cape_kore | Day 90; Video 003

[Brigid's face heats. Riley has no reason to forgive her.]

Yes, it's over. I... can explain it to you, if you'd like. Somewhere neutral?

[There's a flicker of curiosity in her eyes before she covers it.]

No tricks? No flipping out?

[Because Riley was willing to listen, but she wasn't willing to walk into any sort of trap or excuse to have another fight.]

No. Nothing at all, just me talking and keeping my hands to myself.

[She's really sorry.]

[Riley takes a minute to think about it, but she'd have to be blind not to see how Brigid looks genuinely remorseful.]

Okay. Where?

What's left of the pier? I can be down there in a few minutes.

Give me about ten.

[She turns off the device, pausing in her room as she wonders if that was the best thing to do.

But she couldn't keep avoiding her forever. The town was too small. And if she had a legitimate excuse, then it just seemed that the decent thing to do would be to at least listen. She could still walk away.

Mind made up, Riley put on her shoes and headed to the pier.]

[There are advantages to having higher than average strength. One of them is shoving pieces of wood into the ground to make a very rough bench. She's sitting there, her fingers tracing over the rough rosary she'd made. She hears Riley approaching and scoots to one end of the bench, leaving plenty of room for Riley if she wants to sit.]

Are you still injured?

[She has to scoff lightly at that, sitting at the other and of the bench, hands in her lap.]

You should know better than that.

[But that small part of her that's not irritated at Brigid recognizes it as an attempt to show concern. She looks the girl over, not seeing any marks on her either. Good.]

Is this where you're going to clue me in on why you went all aggro on me?

[Brigid snorts herself.]

In this place, stranger things have happened.

[Like being pulled off a werejaguar by an archangel.

Brigid takes a deep breath and looks out at the water.]

The moon amps... everything up to eleven. Senses, tempers, everything gets amplified.

Wolves are pack animals. We need the stability of the pack to keep us sane, to help control the instincts that can, and do, take over. Most of all, we need an Alpha. The one wolf to which we bare our throats, and who is pack parent, lawkeeper, lawmaker, and judge all in one.

I don't have an Alpha here. Well, didn't. Mine is back in Boston.

In my world, those that don't have a pack are called Omegas. It's a terrifying prospect because, usually, they go crazy and start eating people. Packs or hunters kill them. This place... it ripped me away from my pack, from my Alpha, and then the full moon was coming.

A confluence of events that just knocked me for a loop.

[Fair enough. She couldn't argue that. Hell, their presence here was weird enough and she was also good friends with an angel and someone that brought people back from the dead. Weird was open to interpretation.]

I've been around werewolves on a full moon before, but, it wasn't really that close to it. Not enough for you to be that on edge. I guess that's why it didn't click for me.

[She played with the edge of one of her nails, giving Brigid an assessing look.]

You're still away from your alpha, though. So what does that mean? Are we going to have to chain you up or put you in a locked room?

[She didn't like the idea, but she was more partial to that than finding out someone had been seriously hurt, or worse.]

Edited (bad html, sorry.) 2013-07-10 05:32 (UTC)

Two days before it. Usually it only gets that bad during the first few times. I've had control for years, though.

[Or thought she had. Maybe she should work on it some more. With Derek here, she has an Alpha to train with.]

There's an Alpha here.

[Her voice drops low, knowing Riley can still hear her.]

He doesn't want it advertised, but he's an Alpha. Since he's without a pack, and I'm without an Alpha it works.

[She smiles slightly.]

He seems nice? He was in my dreams and understood a lot of what I didn't say. His name's Derek.

Oh, right. Him.

[She remembered the scowling face from her one chat with him before. That was Brigid's idea of nice? Well, Riley didn't know. Maybe he'd just been upset because he was here. Maybe he smiled a lot and really was nice. Maybe he was even huggy.]

There aren't really a lot of... us who want to advertise that fact. Balthy says he knows the, uh, hunter you mentioned and that he doesn't think they'd be inclined to go after us. Not here, anyway. Not unless we did something.

[There was a small sideways glance at Brigid then, a sort of quiet reminder that she needed to keep herself in control.]

[Brigid's Alpha has a tendency to be broody and Derek is young, so she isn't bothered by it at all. He's nice enough to take on a wolf that he has no reason to.

She snorts about the hunter.]

I kept my temper with everyone but you and Dilandau. I didn't even scratch him. Back home, that would be enough for the hunters to come after us. I won't trust it until I see it, even if St. Balthazar says it. I can't.

[She's a little hesitant to bring up Balthazar again, but hey, Brigid mentioned him first.]

You know, you don't have to call him that. St. Balthazar.. He's not all stuffy like the other one. Just Balthazar works. Or Balthy.

[She was keeping Snowball to herself. That was her name for him.]

It's not stuffy to want to be called by your proper title. I enjoy St. Raphael's company.

[She fidgets with her sleeves and then shakes her head.]

He's St. Balthazar. Being part of the Host offers him a degree of respect that I won't breach. It would be like walking into school and calling a teacher by their first name. It's just not done.

[She could argue with that, but she stopped to take a minute and look at it from Brigid's perspective.]

I guess it's just different for me since I wasn't raised the way you were. No religion for my family, so I don't have the same view on them. Balthazar is just another non-human to me, albeit one I haven't seen before. But then, I've never seen a psychic, even though my brother has.

[This was the hard part, but if they were going to live in the same town, it was better to get it all out and done with here and now.]

I'm sorry if I... antagonized you. More than I should have. I'm just not used to that kind of aggression for what I didn't see as a reason. I mean, I see it now, but I didn't then. So... I'm sorry.

Most, even in my world, aren't raised with religion.

[She's been made fun of for her views, even if they don't perfectly align with the Church.

The apology surprises her and she blinks, looking at Riley.]

It wasn't your fault. There's no need to apologize. You didn't know and I wasn't, exactly, forthcoming about my issues. And we can agree to disagree about the angels?

I can do that. As long as you can deal with the fact that I'm close to Balthazar. Not like, that close or anything, but he's my friend. I care about him. He's not some omnipotent being to me, but I'll respect that it's different for you. Just... no freaking out on me because I smell like him or call him a nick name.

Deal?

I can handle that.

[She smiles a bit weakly. She doesn't want to deny anyone the comfort that they find in this place.]

And if it gets to that point again, I think I'll ask St. Raphael to just... knock me out or something. I don't think it will happen again, but better to be prepared.

I can probably be a bit less easier to ruffle if I know what's going on, so I can always point out if you're acting out of sorts or not.

[She tipped her head to the side, giving Brigid a considering look.]

That mean we have a truce? We're good?

[Brigid offers her hand, no claws, just blunt nails.]

I'd be glad to count you as a friend, if you don't mind?

[There was a half a second of hesitation as Riley thought it over, but her smile came quickly enough and she took Brigid's hand, giving it a firm shake.]

Good. I'd rather have a friend than an enemy. Especially one that gets me, you know? I mean, the whole... rawr thing.

[Brigid's smile expands and she lets go of some of the tension she'd been holding onto. It is nice to have someone who understands the pull of the moon around.]

I know what you mean. It makes me miss the pack so much more. I miss movie and pizza nights, the pack meetings... the family.

[Riley sighed softly.]

I miss pizza.

And my family. I haven't been away from them this long before.

Pizza we can do. I think. I mean, we'll have to find yeast, and all that stuff, but I've made homemade pizzas before. It might have to wait until the gardens start producing.

[She thinks. It'll be a pain to make the sauce, but they can make big batches if the tomatoes produce.]

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