Update thing

[running_fromthe_past]

Janie has gone to Hawaii and with that, Lynn is staying with her Fathers. Anna is alone in the house with her cats and her Darkness. She's gotten as used to the eerie reflection that watches her as is possible, and does her best to ignore the sensation that something lurks in the darkest shadows. She can't stop it, so she has stopped fighting it to a certain extent, letting it pool around her feet and cling to her hair as she passes between rooms in the house.

Milk the stray she rescued from a box by a river is, of her three cats, spooked the most. His ridge raises and he hisses and growls and spits at whatever is there watching, until she picks up the cat and settles it in her lap with soothing words she doesn't quite believe herself. Sometimes the cat calms down, sometimes it slinks away to hide somewhere in the house.

At night when she paints and loses herself in what she's working on, the Dark settles around her like a heavy blanket. When she curls up in her bed, or on the sofa to read, it wraps around her, pressing up close like one of her cats. Possessive and bold.

She's stopped turning on the lights except sometimes out of habit. She doesn't notice the evening's gradual darkening anymore and it takes her by surprise when she finally does notice it's late and almost as dark outside as it is in the house. Her eyes have adjusted. She's gotten used to existing in the dark, moving through it now with a measure of familiarity and comfort and second nature. She doesn't know if she should be concerned by this or not.

She debates going out some evenings. With a house to herself, meeting someone attractive and inviting them back doesn't seem like an inconsiderate thing. Ultimately she doesn't. She doesn't want to try to explain the sense of lurking shadows. What sort of pretty girl will put up with a lurking presence or the feeling that something is watching when they've come over for a one-night stand? A depressed part of her in the back of her mind resigns herself to the crushing fact that she may never have sex again.

Comments

Text from tabi

[lavedaloca]

Want to grab a coffee?

-Tabi V.

Txt

[running_fromthe_past]

I could be convinced to put on pants. 20 min?

Re: Txt

[lavedaloca]

Pants aren't optional? ;) See you then.

-Tabi V.

[running_fromthe_past]

Anna doesn't dawdle. She finds clothes to be relatively presentable, pulls on her Uggs and a scarf and her coat. She grabs her keys and wallet and heads to the coffee shop not far from the house.

[lavedaloca]

Tabi is already there, she is in a yellow dress, and is sipping a bottle of water.

"Hey there."

[running_fromthe_past]

Anna is ion her usual shabby yoga chic. Dressing nice because of a new job lasted no time.
"Hey."

[lavedaloca]

"You look nice." Tabi said, looking over the yoga outfit. "Not as nice as me, but it works. What do you want? I'm buying."

[running_fromthe_past]

Anna smirks slightly at that.

"It's true. I didn't put much effort into my outfit. Sorry if you were hoping I'd be impressive."

She thinks a bit. Mint tea or I won't sleep tonight"

[lavedaloca]

"I asked if you wanted coffee, not a fancy dinner." Tabi shrugs "There's a place not to far from here, but it's a little snooty for my tastes."

She orders the tea that Anna requested, as well as an espresso for herself.

"Are those your plans for tonight? Sleeping?"

[running_fromthe_past]

[She takes the tea and then they go sit down at a table]
I dunno. Sleep is nice. It beats wandering in darkness for hours and then sleeping at my desk tomorrow.

[lavedaloca]

There's got to be something else that you'd want to do tonight, or are Fridays when you have your fun?

[running_fromthe_past]

Anna smiles and Moves the tea bag around her drink.

"I seem like the party type don't I? Truth is I'm just an artsy dyke who like to loaf around with my cats. It's a bit of a secret though. I have a temptation to uphold."

[lavedaloca]

Tabi laughs like she just heard the biggest joke in the world.

"I spend all my time on computers or my comm." She's trying to stop laughing "So. Cats. When can I meet them? Hey, I'm sorry about laughing but sometimes my mind goes places it can't come back from."

[running_fromthe_past]

"You can laugh. I don't mind. But yeah. Three of them. They're settling into the house pretty well. They love having room to run."

She takes a sip of her tea.

"I'm a bit more fun on Fridays. You could come over and we can order in unhealthy Chinese and make cashew cheesecake. And meet the cats."

[lavedaloca]

"Is Chinese with the rice and lots of sauce, or is that Mexican?" Tab really didn't know the answer. Her boss had given her a book on Earth culture, but she fell asleep at the table of contents.

"What time do you want me over, and will you be wearing pants?"

[running_fromthe_past]

"Mexican and Chinese both have rice and sauce. Come by at five and we can go over the menu, order and figure out what to watch on Netflix and make the cheesecake while we wait for dinner to show up."

Anna looks over the rim of her cup and gives a shrug.

"I don't promise pants. You know how I live by now. Nothing has changed now that there are fewer people around."

[lavedaloca]

"I'll bring a bottle or three of Keldran wine." Tabi smiled, and took another sip of her mostly untouched coffee.

"Can you promise no pants?" She's grinning, and she might not be asking a serious question.

[running_fromthe_past]

"I've never had Keldran wine. Does it come in other flavours besides Red and White?"

That seems like a legit question. Anna doesn't know much about the whole of Keldran society in general.

"Between you and Janie from the figure in starting to wonder if there's a bet out on who can get me pantsless first."

[lavedaloca]

Tabi is about to answer the wine question, when Anna mentions that she and Janie want to get Anna pantsless.

"No. I think you're pretty and I want to be friends, and yes, I'd love to see you without any clothes." Tabi realizes she should have probably read a little more of the Earth handbook.

"Let me guess. Sex isn't part of friendships here?"

She would be embarassed, but she wasn't. Tabi doesn't get embarassed easily, she never has. "In that case, my mistake, but I still want to try that cheesecake, rice and Netfix."

[running_fromthe_past]

"I'm sure it happens but... it's a little uncommon."

Anna is, if nothing else, slightly amused. "Is it common where you're from?"

She's had light conversations with Lex of course but the differences between cultures and the more interesting details have never come up.

[lavedaloca]

"It happens all the time, as long as you're honest with your pack about it. Not that I have a pack. I just assumed that yours was cool-

What's it like here? More formal? Again, I am sorry if I've made you uncomfortable "

She really wanted a friendship with Anna, even if it didn't have any benefits or flirting involved.

[running_fromthe_past]

"I'm not uncomfortable. And you're not from around here. And you clearly haven't watched enough TV to pick up on our weirdness."

Anna has gotten the basics on packs after corning Lex so she's surprised that Tabi mentions she doesn't have one. She had just assumed it was par for course.

"It's hard not to generalize too much but most people on earth ultimately pair off once the sex starts. Even if it's temporary. Although I wont say there isn't a rather large percentage of people who have as many casual hookups as they can too."

She's curious though.

"Why don't you have a pack?"

[lavedaloca]

"So you're not in a pack?" Clearly, Tabi had read the situation wrong

"I haven't found anyone to start one with, and my parents pack has been dead a really long time. It's rare, but it happens. Having no pack sure makes running missions for my commander a lot easier."

[running_fromthe_past]

"No. I'm single. And we don't have packs. Not that it isn't a nice idea or anything. People here are generally more monogamous or they're not so committed to any one person."

Anna takes a sip of her tea.

"They use that logic here to make young people work holidays."

[lavedaloca]

"I thought you, Janie, Richard were all pack. You share in raising Lynn and you both clearly care for Janie and she cares for the two of you... um, why are you single if you're not the Beta? That was probably rude but I'm curious."

Tabi looks at her coffee for a moment, then empties a sugar packet into it.

"What's the point of working those days if you don't want to?"

[running_fromthe_past]

"If it was rude, I didn't understand the half that makes it rude"

Apparently her brief conversation with Lex didn't give her quite the explanation or insight she thought it did. She thinks about it a moment

"Janie and Richard are dating. I don't know if that makes them pack but I'm not part of that relationship. Janie and I are best friends... but it's pretty limited to bitching about terrible movies and me making her eat healthy and drink better quality wine. It's just friendship though. With Lynn... I'm just an adult she can talk to if she wants to. She's a nice kid. If she were annoying, I'd keep my distance. She's okay though. And I'm single because my girlfriend broke up with me after we moved here. And there's the fact that I'm high maintenance and I'm not willing to be anyone's second choice. And at the moment I have a pesky darkness issue that makes me a little too nervous to to try to date."

Anna is beginning to wonder if there isn't a vocabulary issue making things more confusing than they should be.

Usually people don't get the choice if they work holidays or not. It's work them or be fired. People with families get to argue they have families and the rest of us don't matter much. Ultimately people can't say No because the Money is too good and they're never getting paid enough, or they get fired.