[Open - Area Around Irish Coffee After Midnight]

[everywere]

I check all the locks and alarms again, even though I did that all on my last sweep. Routine is both an enemy and an ally. As long as I don't use the routine to become lazy and remain alert, it's my ally. Not that this place is a likely target but lack of vigilance is an enemy.

I can hear the training drilled into my head, even if I don't remember where and when it came from. Like everything else I know it's just there. No memory of how or why, just there.

I hear a sound, faint, but definitely there. No human could hear it, but then I'm not human. I don't know what I am, exactly, but I'm not human.

I sweep the flashlight back and forth, although I keep it on more to blind others than help me see. I can see perfectly in the dark, just like I can hear things a human shouldn't. I take a deep breath and I can smell that whatever it is, it's a human. Or at least smells similar to a human.

"Who's there?" I call out.

Comments

[everywere]

"I don't know what I am," I tell her. I'm not sure how I can explain it better than that. Maybe I should just show her though. I know she can do magic so maybe she can tell me what I am. Or make it go away.

"I can show you though. If you want."

[irishcoffee]

"Yes, I want," Maggie said and finally released his hands, but only to bring them up and cup his face in them. "I have magic enough to keep myself safe, and I think you need answers. My purpose here is to help the residents and I think this is the only way I can help you. If you're worried, and you think that worry would hinder this, I can call Bella." I smiled. "Between us, you wouldn't stand a chance."

[everywere]

I wouldn't be so sure about that, but I'm not going to hurt her. I'm still in control when I change, it's just a different kind of mindset, a different kind of control. As long as she doesn't act like prey or attack me she should be fine.

I stand back clear away a space in the middle of the floor, no use damaging the place. I peel off my shirt first, the silver ink of the tattoos catching the light. The symbols aren't any I'm familiar with or any language I've found here. Of course, I might not be asking the right people. Each one hurts like hell, weres being allergic to silver, but it's a pain I'm used to.

I strip off everything else too, not worried about modesty. The tattoos run all over my body, sigils and runes mishmashed all over me. I crouch down on the floor and I push.

The shift is painful, but like the tattoos it's a pain I'm used to. Bones snap, crack, and pop to rearrange and skin tears with a wet noise. I can make the shift happen fast, almost instant, if I need to but there's no rush. The wolf form comes first, it's easiest. It's big, more massive than I normally am, and I can make it bigger too. The puma comes next, jet black and sleek. A bear, a massive Kodiak is next, then I shift back to a human. I have more, but I'm tired and I think I made my point.

I'm sweating by the time I'm done and the tattoos are smoking a bit, not used to that much shifting so quick.

"If you have something to eat... that would be great."

[irishcoffee]

It took her a minute to refocus after he stripped to skin in front of her. Impressive didn't begin to cover it and she felt a flash heat steal through her body to the point she had to pull a breeze around her to cool the flush on her skin. Then she forced herself to refocus.

Her eyes traveled over the markings on his body, surprised at the shimmer of metal in the ink, but she'd seen things like that before. Then the shifts started and she gasped audibly. Not because he was a shifter, but because the metal and the animal forms...it wasn't ever a good combination. Especially with the wolf form.

Her mind still reeling from it all, Maggie moved swiftly into the cold to-go case and pulled out two sandwiches, then pulled a Coke out as well, remembering his preference.

"Right here," she said and pressed the food into his hands before darting away.

She returned a moment later with a wet, clean cloth and started wiping the cool cloth over his face, and his arms, cooling the skin with a breeze she stirred into the air.

[everywere]

I try and eat the sandwiches slowly, but they're mostly gone by the time she returns and starts wiping me down. Her touch, even through the cloth, feels good. It's calming for the most part but every once in a while her skin brushes against mine and it sends a surge through me. I'm not very used to contact like that.

"You don't have to do that," I say, but since it's after I finished the food and she's got most of my back and arms it's a pretty empty comment.

"But thank you."

[irishcoffee]

"Shhhh," Maggie said softly, calling more water from the sink to remoisten the cloth as she moves to his other arm and chest. "You went through the sandwiches fairly quickly. Are you still hungry?"

[everywere]

"I'm okay for now," I say, leaning back just a bit so she has better access to my chest. I don't want to admit it, but this feels really good, and not just because it's getting me cleaned up. Maybe just the fact that someone cares makes it nice.

[irishcoffee]

"All right. Just let me know if that changes," Maggie nodded and finished with the cloth, draping it around his shoulders so the cool could continue to work against his heated skin.

Not wanting to move away just yet, she traced one of the runes she'd regcognized. "I counted three forms," she said softly. "Wolf, bear and a cat form. Is that the extent of your shifting or are there others as well?"

[everywere]

It's an effort to keep my breathing steady as she touches me and part of me wants to give a happy little growl at the sensation. I've got a lot of tattoos, maybe she'll touch them all.

"There's more," I admit. "I think some I don't even know about."

[irishcoffee]

"It's not common for a were to have more than one form, but not unheard of," Maggie said softly, "I still think I should probably let Bella know just the same, especially the cat form. I think they're her favorite and I'd rather she didn't mistake you for a rogue."

Her fingers moved over kanu and laguz, the runes that spoke to her magic as well as a few others she recognized, though the metal in them jarred her. It wasn't pain, but it wasn't right, either. "Did you do these?"

[everywere]

"I've been fine so far," I tell her, but I'm not going to argue it. I know when someone is determined to do something and Maggie seems intent on looking out for me.

This time as she touches me I can't help the soft sigh that escapes me at how nice her touch feels.

"I don't know if I did. I don't think so. I don't have many memories from before I came here. I just... know things."

[irishcoffee]

Maggie took that as tacit permission to talk to Bella, so she decided to not push the matter and risk a gag order of some kind. She did smile when he sighed, and tried to ignore why his warm skin under her fingertips felt as good as it did, to ignore the bass beat of her heart in her chest, and how much she liked both.

She tried to tell herself to move. And had about the same amount of luck.

"What things do you know?" She looked up, offered him a small smile, "and why do I get the feeling you don't mean driving cars or writing in cursive."

[everywere]

Her heartbeat is faster but she's not worried or scared, she seems... pleased. I guess she really likes helping people out? She doesn't take her hands off me either and I'm not going to remind her that they're there. She'll probably take them off eventually but until then I'm going to enjoy this.

"Know how to do that. Mostly... military things. How to fight, how to kill, how to infiltrate."

[irishcoffee]

"A soldier of some sort then," Maggie guessed, "or something like it. But without anyone from your home to confirm or deny, we can both guess until we're blue and never come up with an answer. The best is that someone you know comes here, or your brain unlocks what's missing. Until then?" Maggie shrugged and blew out a breath. She hated being unable to fix what was wrong.

With a mental shake, she turned back to her resident, searching his face. "How're you feeling now? You don't seem as panicked as before."

[everywere]

"Better. Your touch was calming," I say, although I don't know why I admit that. Maybe because I hope she'll do more of it. I don't need it, but it's nice. Like I said, don't ever remember being touched like that.

"I guess I should get dressed and go," I add, but I don't move. Not yet. She's right, this is a safe place.

[irishcoffee]

That was when Maggie realized just what she'd been doing. Her face flushed to a bright red and she pulled her hands away. "I'm sorry!" She said it, her voice half horrified, and unstuck her ass from the floor to move away and give him space.

"I mean, I'm glad it helped but I shouldn't be sitting here...I should have stopped."

[everywere]

I don't know if that's revulsion or shock or what. Sometimes motivations for actions are hard to sense and it's not an exact science. Nodding, stand up and start to get dressed again. I should probably go talk to the police, explain that I set the kid on fire and put him out so Maggie doesn't get in trouble.

"Thank you for listening. And the food," I tell her as I pull my pants back on. "I'll pay you back tomorrow."

[irishcoffee]

"Anytime," Maggie nodded and stood to put more space between them. One thing was fucking sure, she wasn't going to be able to go home after this. Her fingers were still aware of him, and she only kept from reaching out again by clasping them together. She wanted to touch, she wanted to be touched. She suppressed the groan.

Yeah, home wasn't an option. She'd never sleep and anything she'd be able to do to herself wouldn't cut it.

"Any time. My door's pretty much always open and if I'm not here, my cell phone number is on the door." Maggie took pride that her voice was steady as she spoke. "And not a worry about the food. I don't charge anything, labor or otherwise."

[everywere]

I can smell her excitement. That's always felt voyeuristic to me, knowing that when someone is so obviously trying to keep it hidden. It's not that she's ashamed of it either, I can tell that now. I want to show her I feel the same way, although maybe she can tell from the bulge in my pants, but I don't know how.

I haven't been with someone since I arrived here, so maybe that's part of it. More than that though, I liked how she touched me. I want to feel that again and more.

"Your, uh, your nightgown is very... revealing. I like it."

Oh God, that sounded horrible. Someone needs to save me from myself.

[irishcoffee]

Maggie turned back around when he spoke, the wild in her eyes for a flash only before she iced it over. There were so many different ways to interpret what he'd said, she didn't trust herself to try.

"Thank you, I think. I wasn't intending on being seen by anyone this late, so I didn't change." She laughed a little, some of the husky in her voice audible, fingers plucking at the nearly sheer gossamer. "Then again, I'm almost wearing more with this than I do normally, so there really wasn't much point."

[everywere]

My eyes go a bit wide at that and I pull on my shirt to try and cover that up. I doubt she can read arousal like I can but you never know. I can tell she's even more excited now but I still don't know what to do with that. Sometimes I wish everyone could sense things like I can.

"You just walk through town naked?"

[irishcoffee]

"Not as such, no," Maggie said, and couldn't even bring herself to smile. Not when his chest was on display again and the play of muscles moving had her fingers itching again. "I just meant the sundresses are shorter, end a bit above my knees. So there's less of my actual skin showing now than in my usual dresses."

[everywere]

"Your current nightgown is very... transparent," I say, wondering if maybe she doesn't realize how much it shows. It definitely doesn't seem like the sort if thing you wear lounging around the house in the evening.

"It, it shows off your body very nicely."

[irishcoffee]

Maggie looked down at the comment and swallowed. The opaque material might not even be there for all it didn't hide. Then she remembered the kid, the bottle, and the water. It had been soaked when she'd drenched the boy and apparently, the water damage looked to be permanent.

And then she took a leap, since he was almost fixated on it. Just the thought of his eyes on her curves had her body ramping up. It was the strangest thing - like she could feel every place his eyes touched like a physical touch to her skin.

"Do you like what you see?" she asked, hoarse again.

[everywere]

I take another breath and I can smell her desire and it's intoxicating. I like her body. Soft but still firm, not too lean. My animal instincts tell me she would be a good mate, good to mate with and I'm certainly in agreement.

I nod in response to her question, not trusting myself to speak, the hungry look in my eyes evident. I want to be absolutely sure she wants this, because arousal does not equal consent, and I feel like if I so much as move I'll lose what little control I have.