Realistic or Modern Fairweather Communications - Urban Fantasy

[Mikotsuhime]

Wade had been sullen enough that he actually did stop arguing when Azrael threatened to sedate him, which Lev thought was a bit worrying. Normally he would take that kind of threat as a challenge.

When they arrived at her apartment, Percival found his mouth curving into a small smile. It was very rare that he spent time with vampires who were not his father or otherwise immediate family.

"And may that happiness find you well," he said, the response his aunt had taught him as a young boy coming easily.

It was a bit nostalgic.

Lev gave him and Azrael both an odd look, but Percival ignored it. Wade had been trying very hard to avoid him on the way over, but Azrael's apartment was not particularly large. He had nowhere to go now.

"Sit on the couch," he said after taking off his shoes, and Wade turned a fierce glare on him. He looked ready to argue before Azrael mentioned that the neighbours were sleeping. His mouth snapped shut and he decided to kill Percival with his glared instead. When he didn't move, Percival put his hands on his shoulders and herded him over. Lev watched with a bewildered expression as Wade begrudgingly let himself be pushed until he was sitting on the couch. Percival looked around before spotting a blank throw, and he draped it over Wade, wrapping it around his shoulders.

It made him look a lot younger. He always looked older at work, with his thick glasses, but he never wore them in his off time. It was kind of cute.

Until Wade stubbornly looked away and kicked him in the shin.

Lev sighed, because that was a whole mess he wanted no part of. He was no big fan of Percival, and he was prepared to intervene if he had to, but he was at least happy Wade was able to argue and bicker. That was better than being despondent.

And Thea had found a mouse, which was... Cool. Very cool.

Lev's ears twitched as Thea put scooter in the ball, and he kept his eyes on the rodent as she rolled around the room.

He had pulled his tail free from his pants in the ride over, too tired to switch forms once more, and it twitched as well.

He wasn't actually going to do anything ridiculous like eat the mouse. He wasn't an animal. But hunting instincts were hunting instincts, and he found himself crouching down as he watched the mouse come and go. When she got too close to him he gently slapped the ground by her, sending her skittering off. He grinned, because it was so rare that he actually got to play these days.

Wade huffed out a small laugh, and Percival couldn't help the corner of his mouth twitching upwards as Lev's face turned the colour of a tomato.

"I ate," Wade said, even though he very much didn't eat. Well, he had a bit of calamari at the bar earlier. That counted, right?

Percival was giving him that knowing look, though. Wade pointedly didn't meet his eyes.

"Chicken would be good," he said. Wade glared at him, but the sleeping neighbours prevented him from arguing.

When Thea took Azrael into the bathroom, Wade made to get up and head to the kitchen. Percival, however, immediately turned around and pushed him back down onto the couch.

"Stay there," he instructed. "I'll get your tea. You like it the same as before, correct?"

Lev watched quietly as Wade nodded, looking again like the act of doing so physically hurt him. Percival smiled, the kind of smile that actually looked genuine rather than his usual courtesy smile, and he headed into the kitchen.

He sorted through the teas, pulling out a few that he knew Wade would enjoy. Lemonbalm and Chamomile - it would help him to relax a bit. He remembered Azrael's suggestion of Lavender, and located some in the back of the cupboard.

Lev watched as Percival made up a cup for him and Wade, giving Wade the largest mug in the cupboard. He turned his eyes to Wade and raised his eyebrows, but Wade, again, wouldn't meet his eyes.

"I thought he hated you," he said, low under his breath. Wade scowled, his fingers twitching.

"I hate him," he corrected. "And for good reason."

Percival's shoulders stiffened, but otherwise he gave no indication that he had heard.

The apartment was cool, but it wasn't as cold as it was outside. He had taken one of his mother's warming pills earlier in the evening to keep his temperature up, and it made him feel almost completely alive and awake even though it was still the middle of winter. But he wouldn't say tea wouldn't help.

When Thea returned, Lev had been doing his very best not to torment Scooter too much. He only chased her a little bit, and he didn't bat the ball around or anything. He was on his very best behaviour. He had forgotten about tea, though, so he stood up and headed into the kitchen to grab a mug.

"Green tea would be great," he said, perusing her selection before pulling one loose.

 

[Reynarda]

Azrael felt the tension from the day slide from her shoulders. Part of her brain warned not to relax too much, but Percival's use of vampire tradition had caused her guard to slip a little. Besides, Percival was mothering Wade and Lev was engaging her pet in a game of fox and mouse. She almost teased him about it, but worried he might stop. She had known the mouse long enough to be able to tell she was thoroughly enjoying it. The mouse was probably a bit over confident as she had never interacted with an actual predator species, but Azrael knew Lev wouldn't frighten her too much. Besides, Azrael found watching a nonhuman act true to their species rather than the molds humans expected endearing.

"Lev gets the fox mug," Thea announced as they pulled open the fridge. "Got any milk?"

Azrael almost had a heart attack. She quickly looked in the fridge but was relieved to see she had put all the blood for the week into smoothie cups.

"Doc, do we need to talk about your eating habits?" Thea asked, eyeing the collection of broths and very few vegetables.

"I haven't been to the store in a while," Azrael said, and it was not a lie.

Thea reached for the freezer and Azrael quickly leaned against it, pointing at the small carton of milk. "There's the milk. Hand me the chicken broth."

She stayed leaning against the freezer door until Thea had strode off with the milk and began opening her cabinets again.

"Lemme guess, you don't believe in sugar?"

"There's honey in the tea cabinet," Azrael huffed. She had no idea how to keep Thea out of her freezer.

Thea added a generous amount of milk and honey to their tea. They pulled down a blue mug with a fox on the side and handed it to Lev. "See, it says, 'Hey there, hot stuff' on it."

Azrael never thought she would be embarrassed by a mug she, herself, had picked out. She had thought it was amusing. But now Thea was smirking at her, and she could feel the tips of her ears turning red.

"Bet she was thinking of you when she bought it," Thea told Lev.

"No, that's a happy coincidence," Azrael said, opening a cabinet and pulling down a tub of protein powder. It was specially made for vampires--but mercifully refrained from saying so--so she checked the ingredients to make sure there was not too much of a vitamin, protein, or mineral that could mess with a human. Satisfied it would be safe for Wade, she added a small amount to the chicken broth she was warming in a pot on the stove.

She smiled to herself a little. She was essentially making the same thing she would make for a sick vampire, but she knew it would work on a stubborn human as well. The extra protein made the broth a little thicker, but not unpleasantly so. She added a few spices to mask the pure protein taste and a few drops of olive oil. After sampling it with a spoon, she nodded to herself.

She scrubbed out a thermos she usually used for blood--it was clean, she just didn't have an autoclave in her apartment--before pouring the broth into it. She screw the cap on and strode into the living room. Holding it out to a swaddled Wade, she instructed, "Take sips of this. Try to drink all of it but take your time."

Scooter rolled up, bumping her ball into Azrael's ankle. She crouched and lifted the ball so she could get a look at the mouse inside. "What, has playing with Lev made you hungry, too? Or are you just mad he ditched you to get tea?"

The mouse twitched her whiskers in response.

"Yes, well, he can't play with you all night," Azrael said as if the mouse had answered. She returned to the kitchen and pulled a bag of homemade peanut butter bites from the fridge. Sitting in front of the arch chair Thea had claimed, she handed them the bag of treats.

"Hand them to her, she loves these," Azrael said, taking the mouse from her ball and holding her up to look in her red eyes. She gave Scooter a frown. "They have food and they are a guest. Don't you dare bite."

The mouse perched on her rump and eagerly stretched her little fingers out for the treat Thea had between forefinger and thumb. As if she had understood Azrael's admonishment, Scooter carefully took the tiny ball of peanut butter from Thea's fingers. Azrael scratched between the mouse's ears as she energetically nibbled the treat.

"Is this all you dreamed it would be, Thea?" Azrael asked as she returned Scooter to her ball with a few of the treats.

Thea handed her the cup of Earl Grey they had made for her before settling back into the armchair, lightly bumping Azrael's shoulder with their leg. "Mm, it's better lit than I expected. And I kinda pictured a lab, not gonna lie."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Lev's cheeks turned pink when Thea handed him the mug, and then red when Azrael mentioned that it was a happy coincidence.

"A happy coincidence?" he asked, feeling bolder than he had all night. That wasn't saying much, because he was not incredibly bold at the best of time. "As in, you think I'm also hot stuff?"

Ok, maybe too bold. He couldn't actually say that while keeping a straight face. Besides, it wasn't the time to explore that. Azrael had a stalker, and any relationship business could wait until whatever she was wrapped up in was taken care of. That would be the healthiest option for both of them.

"I mean. That was kind of inappropriate," he backpedalled. "The mug is cute! I collect keychains, personally. I have like five that have 'foxy' puns on them."

He followed her and Thea back into the living room, where Percival was holding Wade's cup out for him. Wade eyed it like he was poison, but Percival kept giving him a pleading look. Eventually he reached out and took it.

"Thank you, he said to Azrael when she presented him with the soup. Now that he was inside and the adrenaline had worn off, he could feel how cold he really was. His nose was red, and he sipped at the thermos slowly. Percival placed one hand between his shoulder blades, and Wade immediately stiffened. He squirmed, shifting over on the couch, and Percival slowly retrieved his hand. He hadn't really intended to do that. It was just an impulse. Things were peaceful here, and it got him thinking of old times.

Lev cleared his throat to take the heat off of the other two.

"It's nice playing with an animal that's not scared of me, though," he said brightly. "It's a lot of fun. Not really something you get to do a lot in the city."

Percival settled into his side of the couch, keeping his hands to himself this time.

"It is a lovely apartment," he said. It wasn't a penthouse, or anything particularly fancy, but small places tended to be nicer than big and extravagant ones. He shifted his weight, glancing at Wade a few times. He had made some headway on the soup, and Percival retrieved the mug of tea that was on the side table. "Wo-Wade, would you like more tea?"

Wade gave him a suspicious look, but took the mug anyways.

"I'm still going to hate you even if you're nice to me," he said bluntly, and the edge of Percival's smile twitched.

"That's fine," he replied. Wade didn't actually have to forgive him for anything he'd done. The fact that he kept his secrets secret and was even almost somewhat civil to him most days was enough.

Wade scowled, grumbling as he flicked a bit of broth from the top of his thermos in Percival's direction.

"But I'm exhausted. If you're going to stay, I don't have the energy to be mad at you. Just... don't think it means anything," he mumbled as he took another sip.

 

[Reynarda]

Azrael's heart stopped. She glanced at Lev, having no idea what to say. He was definitely pleasant on the eyes, but she was honestly drawn to his personality more than anything else.

But that was the problem.

He was a good person. He cared about his friends and family, he was brilliant at his job, and he apparently wrote "not that good" poetry. He was sweet and a little dorky and ridiculously kind. She hadn't been this at ease in years. She didn't feel judged or like she had to prove herself.

Lev didn't deserve to get mixed up with her. She had already lied to him multiple times. And if she were completely honest with herself, she didn't want to see the look in his eyes when he found out the truth.

She needed to shut this down now. Maybe if Detective Dekker hadn't shown up. This was her own fault, she had been flirting a little. But if she hurt him a little now, it wouldn't be so bad later. He'd be glad they'd never been anything more than passing acquaintances.

She opened her mouth to tell him he was sweet but she wasn't interested, but he was already backpedaling. He was giving her an out, but she should still say it. But she didn't want him to leave, and the selfish side of her didn't want to set fire to that bridge just yet.

"I'll have to keep my eye out for foxy key chains then," Azrael said, smiling slightly. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Thea dramatically deflate.

Giving up on the Doc and Lev for the moment, Thea watched Wade and Percival intently. Oh, this was interesting.

"That's because she doesn't realize you're a fearsome hunter," Azrael told Lev. Oh, silver. She was doing it again. "I mean, uh, Scooter's overconfident."

She took a sip of her tea that was way too big just as Percival Fairweather complemented her home. She wasn't sure if he were following vampire etiquette or just being nice, but she appreciated it. "Thank you, Percival."

"Is Percival joining fang gang?" Thea asked before Azrael could think too long about what Percival had been about to call Wade.

"Fang gang," Azrael jumped in before Percival could grow concerned, "is what Thea has decided to call us. Despite Lev being the only one with fangs."

"I don't hear anyone else suggesting names," Thea said. "I need to know because rule number one of fang gang is don't talk about fang gang."

"Regardless, everything that happens here is HIPPA protected."

"What?! No! That's not fair! You can't just claim HIPPA on everything Dr. Drake."

"I just did," Azrael said, taking a smug sip of her tea. "Anyway, I'm administering care to Mr. Harper so it counts."

Thea let out a long and loud groan.

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Ah.

Lev wasn't an idiot. He had caught the look that went across Azrael's face. So that was how it was.

That was ok. He had wanted to be her friend first and foremost, and he could still do that regardless of whether or not she was interested in anything more.

"Well, my collection is pretty impressive," he warned, but he was still smiling. He didn't want her to feel bad. He had been presumptuous to begin with. Most human women were a little iffy on dating nonhuman species. This wasn't an unusual reaction. But she hadn't kicked him out, so clearly she was ok with friendship. That was fine. He would be the best friend she could ever ask for, aside from Thea.

He grinned at the mouse as she ate treats from Thea's hand happily.

"I am a fearsome hunter," he said proudly. "When I was about six I caught a rat in the alley outside our apartment and brought it in to show my mom. She did not take it well."

Wade snorted through his nose, because he had met Lev's mother, and he knew this story. He could imagine the reason she was most angry was because Lev hadn't killed the rat first, and let it loose in the living room.

If he had brought in a dead animal, she probably would have praised him.

Percival smiled, pleased his compliment had been accepted, but his face turned to confusion when Thea brought up 'fang gang'. He was pretty sure the fang thing was a secret. He doubted Azrael would have told... He glanced at Wade for a moment, and Wade met him with the most blank stare possible.

But Azrael explained, and a tiny hint of tension left his shoulders.

"I wasn't aware this was a, er, club," Percival said awkwardly, one eyebrow rising. "I, er, don't actually know what I interrupted earlier at all."

It couldn't have been a date. There were four of them. Unless... Was it a double date? Azrael and Thea, Wade and Lev? The idea soured all of the good emotions that had been building up inside of him. He tried sneaking a glance at Wade to see what he could make out from his face, but Wade was studiously sipping his soup.

"We were just out for drinks," Lev said, not missing the way that Percival's gaze slid to him like he was holding a glass of sour milk. Wade smacked him in the shoulder, glaring at him.

"Don't be a dick," he grumbled, even though Percival had not actually said anything. "Clara lets me play at the bar sometimes, and we met up."

Percival's eyebrows rose, because he knew Clara Levigne. She ran the establishment for his mother as a front for venom trading. It was a naga hotspot, and the idea of Wade being there unprotected made his hackles raise.

He did not growl, because he was civilized. But Wade huffed anyways.

"You know Clara, right? She went to Princefield with us," he said offhandedly, as though he wasn't naming one of the most expensive and elite private schools in the country.

Percival nodded stiffly.

"Yes, I am aware. We are... acquaintances."

He didn't really like her that much. He tended to dislike female naga on principal alone, but at least Clara was the type who adopted a few more human customs, and also didn't want to sleep with him.

"Is soup really care?" Wade asked, the corner of his mouth twitching up. "But I would appreciate it if you don't spread the piano thing around. It clashes with my cool tough guy image."

He looked happy, and Percival felt some of his frustration melting.

"Do you still fence as well?" He asked bluntly before he could stop himself, and Wade turned a harsh look on him.

"I'll take it up again as an excuse to stab you."

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Skye fidgeted with a wrench in one hand and a piece of metal in the other. She was trying to screw in a bolt which was rusted and hard to get in. She ended up setting down the just started project on her work table and getting up to pace in anticipation for her first day of work as an intern. She ended up shifting into her half human form with her wolf ears and tail showing. She didn't realize for awhile. When she did, she quickly shifted back to look completely human.

She figured she wouldn't be able to sit still and decided walking around town might ease her mind and release the mix of excitement and worry that plagued her mind. She went to the back of the warehouse and outside where there was a small stream that she used to wash her hands. She washed off the grease that was on her hands and a little on her arm. She shook her arms to get the water off then wiped it on her shirt for extra measures.

She went back inside to grab her black jacket. She took off her goggles which helped her focus when she was working and tucked them safely in a drawer. She put on some black sneakers and was ready to go.

She walked out of the warehouse and toward the gate. She unhooked it which took a little bit of trouble. She made a mental note to fix the hinge either when she got back or after work tomorrow. She slid through, closed the gate, then walked on the beaten path towards civilization.

When Skye finally got into town from her warehouse, which always took a good 20 minutes when walking, she looked around trying to figure out what to do first. Any stores she went into would probably have to be window shopping since she didn't have lots of money. She wondered into stores took look at stuff on the racks. She went into a hardware store and looked at woods and paints. Maybe she should dip her toes into woodworking as well.

She came out of the hardware store and just started walking around on the sidewalk again.

 

[Snowcloud Dreamer]

Akari was heading to a cafe in town, she had a plan in mind but no idea how it would work out if at all still it's not like she has anything else to do. She had posted up on the company's bulletin board in the casual chat section about how she wanted to hold a casual meetup and gave a place and time. Which was quickly getting close to that time and she sends out another message on the casual company chat that if anyone has some spate time she'd love to get to meet them and she's at the cafe, along with a maps link to the cafe in question.
She had picked out what she thought was a rather cute outfit. a short sleeved strawberry print dress, off pink cardigan that was unbuttoned, a pair of tights the same color which she called strawberry milkshake, a pair of flats and a purse that also looks like a big strawberry, finnaly Her hair was simply held back by a hair band that had a strawberry print on it, but otherwise hanging loose down her back. finding a place to sit she orders herself a snack and pulls out her switch and starts playing with it hopping that someone will get the message and decide to show up.

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Skye opened up her recently bought phone as she heard the ding of a new message. She had been clued in on a company message board after her internship was accepted. She was curious on what was going on and assumed it was something related to work. She was pleasantly surprised when she saw a coworker wanted to meet up with everyone and have a casual hang out.

She looked over where the cafe was and determined that meeting someone might help her with her overwhelming feelings. She typed out a quick message about how she would love to meet her and that she would be making her way over. She closed out her phone and put it back into her jacket pocket before starting to make her way over to the cafe.

About halfway there she got distracted by anxious feelings about meeting a coworker and took a wrong turn. She had to take her phone back out and get the map to get back on track. She was a little nervous to meet another coworker. Skye was only an intern and younger than probably most of her team. She couldn't imagine there'd be another 18 year old intern there. That thought made her feel a little lonely. But, it was ok. She was used to that feeling.

She could see the cafe and started getting self conscious about how she looked. She hadn't be prepared to meet another coworker. She didn't have a big wardrobe, but she could've picked something a bit nicer. She fixed her ponytail that held her short messy sky blue hair and brushed off her shirt before walking into the cafe. She didn't really know where she was supposed to sit, so she just texted in the chat that she was there.

 

[Reynarda]

In the years that Thea had known Dr. Drake, they had only ever wanted to shake her a few times. This was one of those times. For a while they had thought perhaps she was just clueless, but they slowly began to realize that she simply didn't know how to handle those situations.

And normally, they would support her rebuffing Lev, but they had seen how much the normally expressionless doctor had been smiling. It was in the little things--she was kind to everyone in her own way, but she had a habit of being more verbally affirming to people she cared about a little more than normal. She also had a habit of attempting to bully them into reaching what she considered their potential. And more than anything, Thea had noticed the Doc had been making a real effort. Until the stalker showed up.

Thea privately vowed to give the man a tongue lashing should they ever cross paths with him. Regardless, they needed to find a way to fix this.

Azrael laughed at the thought of a baby Lev catching a rat and proudly showing his mom. It was adorable.

"That's nothing," Thea said. "I found a stray cat and brought her home."

Azrael, who had heard the story before, pressed her lips firmly together.

"Turns out, it was a raccoon."

After a pause in which Azrael warred with her desire to top those stories and her desire to keep herself to herself. In the end, her competitive nature won out. "When I was twelve, I brought home what I told my parents was a stray dog, but it was actually a coyote. He had a broken leg and I healed him up." She gave Thea a smirk. "But I was fully aware he was a coyote."

"We can't all be raised in the wilds of Ohio with the knowledge of woodland animals like some Disney Princess, Doc." Thea paused. "What'd your parents say?"

"'Mind the carpet, I just had it cleaned.'"

Thea laughed. "They weren't mad?"

Azrael shrugged. "They probably figured I'd grow out of the scientist thing eventually if they left it alone."

"Oh," Thea said, suddenly getting why the Doc didn't talk much about her family. They had thought all parents would be proud to have a doctor as a kid, but apparently that wasn't the case.

"It isn't a club," Azrael told Percival with a roll of her eyes.

"Yes, it is. Percival's membership is pending presidential review." Thea paused. "His case has been reviewed. Membership granted... provisionally. We can be bribed with food and movie tickets to change it to a full membership."

Azrael raised an eyebrow as Percival looked at Lev with narrowed eyes. Good grief, she really needed to pull the idiot aside and tell him she was fairly sure neither Lev nor Wade were interested in each other and to stop viewing the poor guy like a rival.

"Oh, 'she went to Princefield with us'," Thea mimicked in a snobbish voice. "Man, none of the people I went to school with own cool bars."

Azrael had heard the name and couldn't help being a little surprised that Wade Harper had gone to such a school. She would keep her peace, though. Until Wade asked if soup was care. "I'm sorry, are you questioning my methods, Mr. Harper?" she asked, her tone mock affront. "I don't see an 'MD' after your name."

"Yeah, yeah, don't talk about fang gang," Thea sighed is if it were a great personal burden. "But only because Lev asked me and not because it would ruin your street cred. Sorry, Wade, Lev is way cuter than you. Unless... you have a tail?"

"Thea," Azrael sighed. "How would you feel if someone were constantly highlighting what made you a different species?"

"As long as they were pointing out the cute things? Delighted. I wish people would point out my cute human things."

"You have very cute round ears."

"Aren't they though?"

"And cute eyes that can only see a small amount of the visible spectrum."

"Ok, now that sounds mildly insulting."

Azrael's smile slid into a smirk. "Your bite strength is impressive, but your bones are awfully fragile."

"Now you're just being rude."

"Human endurance is astounding. So unfortunate that the human neck--"

"I get it, I get it!" Thea quickly interjected. "How come you didn't list any actual cute things?"

Azrael considered. "Humans will declare just about anything part of their pack. That is pretty cute. Some other species are not so carefree."

"Like you and Scooter?" Thea asked, watching Azrael turn the ball when the mouse got stuck.

"I was thinking more you and the fax machine."

"Listen, Hildegarde and I have reached an understanding," Thea said with a firm nod. "Don't knock it."

 

[Snowcloud Dreamer]

Hearing the ding Akari put down her swich and picked up her phone to check for the message seeing that one of her co workers had arrived but didn't know where to find her she replies back to them. "I'm the girl by the window in the strawberry outfit, playing on a switch, shouldn't be to hard to pick me out." she hits send then after a moment she makes another reply. "if you want me to meet you by where you put in the food orders I can come up there to meet with you" after hitting send she does stand up to look around trying to think if she had met Skye yet or not as she looks for any familiar faces in the crowd.

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Skye pulled out her phone and replied. "Yeah, that'd be great." She put her phone back in her pocket and headed over to line and waited. She looked up at the big menu with all the different options to try to pick out what she wanted. She decided she'd take a hot coffee (something she practically lived on) and a waffle topped with strawberries and whip cream. She tended to suddenly get the urge for something sweet whenever she came to a café. She looked around for someone in a strawberry outfit like Akari had said. She was slightly nervous to meet a coworker before she even began her internship. Maybe meeting someone before the big day would help ease her nerves.

 

[Snowcloud Dreamer]

Akari hears another ding and then puts her switch back into her purse and goes to walk up to the front, and see's a girl placing an order with a bit of a gulp she walks up next to the girl and waves. "uh Skye?" She asks nervously. She's also new to the department and is still a bit nervous herself about meeting people. It's really not her strong suit, but her whole reason for doing this was to try to get better at that and hopefully not be so alone. so she fidgets with her purse some as she waits for the other girl to react. Hopefully she found the right person and isn't talking to a total stranger.

(oh and here's a picture of her dress and How her purse looks )

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

(Nice)

Skye had finished putting in her order when a girl came up to her. She was in a strawberry outfit so she obviously had to be the girl she was looking for. "Yeah, I'm Skye. And you must be Akari right?" She talked cheerfully to try to hide how nervous she was. Though, Akari didn't seem like she was mean or anything. Her cute outfit affirmed that for Skye. That made her less nervous and she was actually excited to be meeting a coworker.

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Wade actually smiled at Thea, though it was more subdued than normal.

"How do you mistake a cat and a raccoon?" he asked, while Lev laughed. Somehow it seemed like the kind of thing Thea would do.

He smiled again at Azrael's recounting of her coyote tale.

"I'm mostly impressed that you managed to heal a coyote's injuries at twelve years old without it biting you or something," he said thoughtfully. "Clearly you're in the right profession."

Percival shifted awkwardly, because this was not an atmosphere he was used to. He did fancy business parties with his parents a lot, and he was very good at meeting pretty girls, smiling and pretending to be interested in what they had to say. But this wasn't that. This was... a friend thing. Genuine friends, not business friends or work friends. who you only pretended to like and tolerate. Was he supposed to share a funny story? He didn't have very many of those. He hadn't acted out as a child because his father's word was absolute. If he every brought home an animal of any kind, his father would either put it out of its misery or get rid of it immediately.

You didn't go against Charles Fairweather's word in his house. It just wasn't done.

"Wade and I met in middle school," Percival said when Thea brought up Clara's bar ownership. "Though I don't think either of us were particularly close with Clara then."

Wade shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. Percival couldn't have been more obvious if he had held up a fishing rod.

"We met up after I moved to New York," he explained, then wrinkled his nose. He had already mentioned the school he went to, so he might as well completely out himself as a rich kid. "I went to boarding school here, but I lived in Washington until I finished college or so. Clara and I ran into one another. She's really cool. The bar there's her baby - she spent months working on the interior design, the drink menu and the band lineup."

He smiled fondly, and Percival shifted again. Clara had only been able to afford the bar because of his mother's and her own parents' sizable investment. Yes, it was impressive now, but it wasn't that impressive.

"He wouldn't dare, doctor," Lev said with a laugh when Wade gave Azrael a flummoxed look.

"Fine, fine, I'll trust you on this one, doc," he said with a roll of his eyes, then went quiet. "Thanks, by the way. For all of this."

And then Thea asked if he had a tail. He snorted through his nose and shook his head.

"Nah, all human here," he said with a roll of his eyes, while Percival, who very much did secretly have a tail, shifted awkwardly once more.

He ran his hand over the tip of his ear self-consciously, and Wade snorted once more. He was tired enough and had been plied with enough soup that he didn't even care that Percival was his mortal enemy right now.

"Relax, Percy," he said in a drawl, and Percival gave him an absolutely affronted look. He kind of looked like a sad puppy dog. "The soup and the tea helped. Stop looking so worried, it's creeping me out."

Percival frowned, but realized that this was, perhaps, Wade's attempt at getting him to relax.

Maybe he could join fang gang. If this was what it was like, it certainly wouldn't hurt.

"I can pay any fee you'd like up front," he said to Thea, and this time Lev choked on his tea.

"They were joking," he clarified, and Percival's face turned red. "It's not actually, like, a club or anything. We're just friends."

 

[Reynarda]

"I'd never seen a raccoon before!" Thea protested. "It looked like a weird cat!"

Azrael arched an eyebrow. "My patients know not to screw with me," she said.

It was actually that she had convinced the animal that she was meaner than he was. He'd growl at her and she'd growl back. Eventually he had given up and let her care for him. Of course, it hadn't taken as much time as the group likely assumed. Once she had set the leg, she had redirected the blood and sped up the bone's metabolism. Several days later, the coyote was better. She had tried to use that to prove she could use her magic for science. Her parents had been less-than impressed.

"Boarding school?!" Thea said. "Those are real?"

Azrael laughed, she couldn't help it. "And so are bears."

"Shut-up," Thea muttered. They regretted ever telling Dr. Drake they had once thought bears were just something their cousins had made up to scare them.

Azrael raised her eyebrows at Wade's gratitude. "Of course. I am a medical professional."

Thea rolled their eyes, but then sighed when Wade said he didn't have a tail. "Rats. Friends with tails are the best friends. What about you, Percival? Secret tail?"

"I have a secret tail," Azrael said immediately, hoping to draw attention away from Percival.

"No you don't," Thea huffed. "I already know what you are."

"And what am I?" Azrael asked, half amused, half worried.

"A Disney Princess who heals woodland creatures," Thea said dryly. Though, they were marking off "heals nature" on their Fae bingo card. They were about to lose their patience and just ask Dr. Drake what she was.

"I think I'd need more colorful dresses for that," Azrael observed.

Thea's attention was quickly arrested when Wade called Percival a nickname. "Aw, 'Percy'? That's so cute! Can I call you Percy?"

"Thea," Azrael scolded, guessing Percival did not like the nickname based on Wade's tone alone.

But Thea wasn't listening. "Standard joining fee is 1K," they said, their face deadpan. But when Lev fowled up their game, they screwed up their face into a scowl. "Hey! Lev! Rude! I could have made money!"

"You are not going to scam Percival," Azrael said. She glanced at Percival with a smile. "Just assume everything they say is a joke. We're just friends spending time together, that's all. But you are welcome to join. And Thea is not the president, they have no actual power. This is an oligarchy."

"You're an oligarchy," Thea muttered.

 

[Snowcloud Dreamer]

She smiles glad someone came, it's actually a relif to know that this adventure isn't a total loss, she nods and stops fidgeting with her purse and reaches out her hand. "Yea, that's me. Nice to meet you. I just started working there recently so I really don't know anyone yet." she shrugs "Anyways when your food is up I got a place for us to sit over there" She points. "uh do you like playing games? I did bring some." she offers hopping she isn't coming off as over eager or something but she thought it would make things easier to have some sort of game to play so it wasn't all trying to make small talk. With just how bad at that she is. Another reason she wore one of her Lolita style dresses was maybie it could be another thing to talk about. "oh and do you know if anyone else is coming? I mean it's fine if you don't but thought I'd ask"

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Skye shook Akari's hand and smiled, "Nice to meet you as well. And don't worry. Your not they only one who doesn't know anyone. My first day is tomorrow actually. Well for my internship at least." She looked over to where Akari had saved them a seat. "Nice." She liked it. She heard Akari say games and instantly got extremely interested. She had played some games as a kid, but when she couldn't now since she didn't have the money and had to save it all on more practical things. "Yeah. I'd be down for that." Her attention shifted to a women bringing out her food. "Um, I don't think so. I mean your the first person I've met so far so I wouldn't really know unless someone posted in the chat." She held her coffee in one hand and took the plate of waffles in the other. She was able to balance it just fine because of past experience as a waitress. "Alright, I think were good to go. Unless you ordered something."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

(TW: Sexual Assault mention)

"Boarding schools are real, and every bad thing you've heard is true," Wade said dryly. Percival frowned, because he had enjoyed his time at school greatly.

"It surely wasn't that bad," he said, and Wade gave him a dirty look.

It hadn't been that bad. He had had friends who made the time go by easier, and it was time away from his father. It was also time that his father had used to sexually harass his interns, accept bribes, and create the mess that had ruined his mother's life. He had been completely oblivious while he was at school, spending time with his best friend, the one person he trusted implicitly.

Percival had betrayed that trust. He wasn't going to get it a second time.

"I've seen a bear before," Wade said, because it was time to put up some barriers. If he got too comfortable, he was just going to get hurt again. "Pretty sure they're real."

Percival frowned, but he didn't push. He could push later, when they were alone, if Wade would let them be alone together.

"I-- Why would I have a tail?" He asked, forcing himself back into business mode. It was easier to lie if he was putting up a persona.

And it was a good thing, because Thea just called him Percy. He kept his smile up, his hands folding into his chest as he switched from 'slightly awkward' to 'polite and personable'.

"You can call me whatever you'd like," he said. He had decided Thea was one of those people he was not going to understand or get along with. When in doubt, be polite.

Wade glanced at him, but he didn't say anything. Boundaries. He wasn't going to interfere here.

"Well, if you ever decide otherwise, I can recommend some excellent restaurants," Percival said with a smile. Lev frowned, because the shift was not INCREDIBLY obvious, but he could sense it. He felt a little bad, because Thea was a bit energetic, but they weren't a bad person. But Percival, for all he was good at navigating board rooms and social events, did not really seem to know how to interact with regular friends.

Somehow he was even worse than Wade.

 

[Reynarda]

"Rub in the bear thing," Thea grumbled. When Percival got defensive of his lack of a tail, they frowned. "Why would you have a tail? I dunno. Tails are cool. Look, Lev has a tail and he's pretty neat."

"Technically humans do have tails," Azrael pointed out.

"The coccyx does not count," Thea said. "If you can't wag it, it doesn't count."

Thea frowned when Percival said they could call him whatever. "Yeesh, don't give me your customer service face. Yeah, I worked fast food, I know what you're doing. If you don't wanna be called 'Percy' just say so. The Doc, for instance, doesn't like to be called 'Miss' anything. She'll gut you like a fish. And I don't like being called 'Theo' because that's not my name. Freaking baristas being like 'Theo!' like I'm some plebeian."

Azrael arched an eyebrow, wondering who Percival thought she wanted to date since clearly he thought Lev wanted to date Wade. Thea? Ugh, no. Thea was like her younger sibling.

Thea was scowling, not sure they liked some hoity-toity guy turning his customer service face on them. Percival seemed to have gone rigid, and even Wade looked like he was pulling walls back up. And she had shut Lev down. Azrael sighed, feeling all the fun of the evening start to leak from the room.

Maybe they were all just too different for fang gang.

Or, part of her pointed out, maybe it would be fine if she weren't there. At least the others didn't literally have the law dogging their footsteps.

Part of her wanted to toss all of them out and lie on the floor and stare at the ceiling while she contemplated her life choices. The other part wanted to make sure they all stayed and kept her company.

But she needed to focus on what was good for her patient. "Wade," she began, breaking the silence with a wince, "you're welcome to lie down in the bedroom, if you like. The couch is also very comfortable. Sorry I don't have more places to sleep. I can get some blankets."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Percival's smile froze.

He had never had this reaction before. Normally when he was polite people liked it. His mother had said to always be nice, and never lose his temper. Losing his temper was weakness. It was always important to be the one in control of a room.

He was not in control now, because his attempt at placation had failed. In fact, Thea was angry at him. Why were they angry at him?

"I-- That's not--" he stuttered, trying to figure out how to salvage this. He knew how he would salvage it at a board meeting, but Thea already said they disliked his 'customer service' face. What other face was there?

"He hates Percy," Wade said flatly, cutting in and saving him.

He shouldn't. He should just let him flounder.

But seeing Percival act awkward like this was nostalgic. Even as he told himself that he was not going to get attached, and that tonight didn't mean anything, he couldn't help but come to his aid. Maybe he was the pathetic one.

Percival's back went Rigid as he turned his eyes on Wade.

"That is not-- Yes, it isn't my favourite nickname, but to say that I hate it is--"

"You hate it. 'People only call me Percy when they want something from me'. Those were your exact words."

Percival's cheeks actually turned pink then, and he awkwardly cleared his throat.

"Well, yes. But--"

Lev could feel a crooked smile come to his face as he leaned back in his seat.

"You don't have a lot of friends, do you, Percival?" He asked, and Percival gave him an annoyed glare.

"I have many friends," he said defensively, and Wade snorted.

"You have business acquaintances, you liar. I'm pretty sure I was your only friend, and now I hate you. So you've got nothing," he said, though for once there was absolutely no bite in his voice. Percival only deflated a little bit, and Lev found himself watching the interaction curiously.

Wade actually pouted when Azrael suggested he go to bed. He wasn't a little kid. But he was pretty sure it was at least close to or past midnight by this point. Maybe he should go to bed.

"I'll go to the bedroom," he said, standing up. He felt better after eating, and the colour in his face was better too. He glanced at Azrael, then nodded to the bedroom. "Hey, can you show me where stuff is?"

Once they were inside, he nudged the door closed, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Can you tell Thea not to take Percival too badly?" He asked, keeping his voice low. "He's not- He just doesn't get a lot of stuff. He doesn't actually mean anything bad."

It felt weird to defend him. He sat down on the bed with a sigh, suddenly feeling exhausted.

"And just... I wanted to warn you, too. He'll always listen to his father over everything else, no matter who it hurts. Try not to trust him too much."

 

[Snowcloud Dreamer]

Skye shook Akari's hand and smiled, "Nice to meet you as well. And don't worry. Your not they only one who doesn't know anyone. My first day is tomorrow actually. Well for my internship at least." She looked over to where Akari had saved them a seat. "Nice." She liked it. She heard Akari say games and instantly got extremely interested. She had played some games as a kid, but when she couldn't now since she didn't have the money and had to save it all on more practical things. "Yeah. I'd be down for that." Her attention shifted to a women bringing out her food. "Um, I don't think so. I mean your the first person I've met so far so I wouldn't really know unless someone posted in the chat." She held her coffee in one hand and took the plate of waffles in the other. She was able to balance it just fine because of past experience as a waitress. "Alright, I think were good to go. Unless you ordered something."

"ahh nice to know i'm not the only new one around here." She nods. "ooh internship? so your still in college then? what are you majoring in?" Akari asks while putting in a quick order for an omelette, and then heading back over to the table once it came up, and she goes to take a seat again and hang her purse off the back of the chair. "So for games I got got a deck of cards and there's a few games there i know. or I got Mille Bornes, which is like racing game turned into a card game, I also got Death on the Cards which takes a murder mystery and turns it into a card game.. and I also got Mario party." She nods. "usually I don't carry this many games with me but figured it would be good to try to bring as many as I could for this."

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Skye stiffened a little when Akari asked about what she was majoring in. "Programming." She said dryly, "But, I'm thinking about doubling in engineering. Though, I'm already booked with this internship." She hoped Akari hadn't noticed the shift in her mood. She followed Akari to the table and sat down across from her. She self consciously looked up at her head and backside to make sure she hadn't shifted without noticing which ends up happening a lot when she's alone. She felt better once she realized she was fine and happily listened to Akari explain the games she had with her. "I get it, it'd kinda be awkward sitting around with people you've really never met before and had to rely on small talk." She smiled, "The murder mystery game sounds interesting. What do you think?"

 

[Snowcloud Dreamer]

Akari blinks a bit at that stiffing and dry reply. "you don't have to worry, I'm not going to judge you. programing was my major as well. if anything I'm happy to meet another person who's into that. but if you don't want to talk about your school adventures it's fine, really I was just trying to make small talk." she says an relaxes again as you seem to. "yea exactly, especially since well my small talk skills are inverse to my programing skills." she nods "and yea I think it's a fun game. the rules are slightly different for 3+ and 2 players." She then pulls out the game and starts explaining the rules. and how to win the game, the rules are pretty straight forward. but it does involve a fair bit of strategy to not lose, then she gives a summary "each turn you draw a card, and either play a card, or put out a set, or play a set that is out, or discard at least one card , then you draw back up to 6 cards. To win if you end up as the murderer then you have to either get all my secrets reviled or run the draw deck out of cards to win without getting the murder card reviled. if your not then you have to get the murder secret card reviled before the deck and your own set of unrevealed secrets run out. also the not so fast cards can stack how every many everyone wants to play so, not only can use use them to cancel a play but you can use them to cancel a cancel. the rest you can read it on the cards what they do. make sense or need more expiation?" She says and separates out the secret cards from the deck, two not so fast cards and shuffles the rest then deals out 6 cards to you and to herself, then sets up the secrets deck so there's six cards counting the murder card shuffles those up and deals them all out. "also you can look at any of your cards whenever you want. and there's plenty of cards that affect the secrets for good and bad."

(( btw if you want to learn more you can check this out: Agatha Christie's Death on the Cards - How to Play ))

 

[Reynarda]

"See, was that so hard?" Thea said with a huff. Even though Wade had done most of the talking. They scowled. He could have just told them he didn't like the nickname. The last thing they wanted to do was call somebody something they hated.

Azrael couldn't help but sympathize with Percival. Letting go enough to have friends was hard. She wasn't even sure she was very good at that yet. She bumped Thea's leg with her elbow as her medical assistant continued to scowl.

When Wade turned to her, Azrael blinked. She wasn't really sure what she needed to show him. She didn't actually sleep in a coffin, her bed was entirely a normal bed. But she rocked to her feet anyway.

She had blackout curtains on the bedroom window, so the room was darker than a tomb until she flipped on the light. To her horror, she found she had not made her bed that morning and there were several mugs and a scalpel on the bedside table. The mugs were just tea mugs, but she gathered them up and knocked the scalpel behind the bedside. When Wade closed the door, she arched an eyebrow, assuming he was about to impart sensitive medical information. She was surprised and then mildly confused when Wade did not do that.

Azrael sighed, casually kicking a leather-bound magic book under her bed. “Thea is… they don’t let you get away with much. Despite being… vibrant and outspoken, they are irritatingly perceptive.” She shrugged. “I’ll see what I can do. I’ll see if I can get them to go easy on him.”

She arched an eyebrow at his warning. “Oh, don’t worry. I know Charles Fairweather’s type," she said dryly. "I just take care of Percival. We're not friends or anything." She winced. That sounded harsh. Especially since she trusted him with her species. "I appreciate the concern, Mr. Harper, but I'm just the doctor. You don't need to worry about me." She smiled to reassure him before saying, "There are extra blankets and pillows in the closet if you need them."

Once Thea judged the Doc and Wade were no longer listening, they glanced at Percival. They felt a little bad. It was pretty sad that he didn't have any friends. Maybe they just needed to tread lightly with him sorta like they did with the Doc. "You can just tell me if you don't like something. It won't bug me."

Thea slid their eyes to Lev. They knew it wasn't any of their business, but they had never been able to not meddle. Anyway, the Doc was being stupid. "You okay, Lev?"

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

(Thanks that definitely helped my understanding of the game)
Skye felt a little bit bad about her response to the school thing, so she tried her best to stay upbeat and cheerful. She had never heard about this game before which is why she wanted to play it. She was always curious about new things. She tried her best to pay close attention to all the directions. "I think I understand it all." She said after Akari asked her if she got it all. She nodded to the additional information. She completely forgot about her food and just realized it sitting next to her. She took a sip of her coffee and picked up her fork to take a quick bit of her waffle. It was nice and sweet and she loved it. She put her fork down and picked up her cards.