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 Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2015 8:24 am
"Spiders are horrible. I found one in my house once, it was running up my wall and..." Too many legs. She'd immediately hated the creature, and the way it moved. "Well it's probably still in there. There might be a bunch now." She glanced at Toby, shaking her head. "I think humans in general are backwards folk," Maia observed, quietly. "They eat blowfish!"
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Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2015 8:27 am
"Maybe. Spiders are good, though. They eat all of the bad bugs in the house and don't like to bother humans," Lori added. He was full of information, predictably enough. Not all of it was particularly useful.
"Yeah, well," Toby reasoned, gesturing to Maia palm-up, "Humans consider catching fish in your teeth backwards." More teasing, but a valid point.
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Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2015 8:36 am
"I don't mind them eating other bugs, I just don't like how they move." They scuttled and their legs and-- she gave a shudder. "It'd be nicer if they asked before moving in."
Maia frowned at Toby. She crossed her arms. "Humans consider killing things for no reason perfectly alright, but a seal catching fish for dinner is backwards?"
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Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2015 8:38 am
Toby shrugged. "Everyone has a different view on life and how things are supposed to be, and for the record I don't think anybody at this table believes in killing things for no reason."
A chorus of shaking heads met him. No, they didn't. They also weren't any of them human, but with the way they lived they might as well be.
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Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2015 8:48 am
"Of course not. You protect things." And none of them were human, even if Dari had said Toby had once been. "Like Seamus. And me." From humans. "And humans from other things." Like that Kelpie they'd met.
She wondered if she could convince Dari to stay over again tonight.
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Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2015 9:17 am
Well, sort of. It was close at least. Toby tilted his hand back and forth for a moment as if to say "kind of" and then returned to his sushi. This conversation wasn't going to go good places if they continued, so he abruptly changed the subject.
"What's the strangest thing you've ever eaten, Maia?"
Anything was better than rambling about how humans were lesser in a room full of humans who would think they were terribly odd for using that word.
Dinner was pleasant, and even Dari took a piece of mochi ice dream for dessert, although he just quietly pushed it into his sleeve where he pressed it into what could be considered his "flesh" and absorbed it. It was a neat texture. Some things were worth the extra few ounces.
It appeared as if Maia wanted to head home with Toby on their way back, which was a slight inconvenience but nothing to make a stink about. Someone would have to drive Lori and Annie back home before heading to Toby's house and the other would need to drive Maia back to the base and get her settled before also heading for Toby's house. Dari's car would just have to live in his driveway for the night. The werewolf just thought that Dari might have been a better fit, having spent more time with Maia and having clearly built a friendship. The drive was fairly short and quiet, and Toby parked in the facility's parking lot and got out of the car to bring Maia to the apartment buildings through the front. Headquarters was nearly empty with only a skeleton crew bumbling about, some of them janitors. Most everyone went home at the end of the night, but for Maia this had to be home, only for a little while.
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Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2015 9:32 am
It turned out the strangest thing Maia had ever eaten was ice cream. Well, it wasn't strange now, it'd been strange when she'd first tried it. She hadn't expected it to be cold.
Dinner had been nice, but Maia was starting to wonder whether this hadn't been planned for her. Were Toby and Dari going away? Were they saying she'd graduated from needing agents? She settled in the car, and didn't speak. It wasn't a long drive back to the facility. She rubbed at her eyes. The same awful sticky feeling she'd experienced her first night here had come again. Something had lodged itself in her throat, but she was sure it hadn't been there before.
She didn't want to be here.
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Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2015 9:35 am
Toby knew that Maia didn't want to be here. He was no idiot. Nobody liked their first night alone, but if Dari hadn't caught her upset she would have been two days in already and everything would be fine. They'd been hurting her by coddling her. It sucked, but it was true. She would only be here a few weeks at most. It was like a really nice hotel room. At least that was what he had to tell himself, because he had just ripped this nice young woman from her lifelong home so people wouldn't steal her pelt and rape her. Life sucked sometimes.
When she didn't get out of the car after him, Toby turned and went to the other side to open the door for her. All he could offer was a little smile. Yes, it would be hard, but it was for the best.
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Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2015 9:47 am
Toby's smile didn't reassure her in the slightest. She didn't reach for his hand, instead wrapping her arms around herself as if she were cold. She gave a sniff, nodding when he opened the door. She went through it.
She seemed to be shivering. She looked towards Toby. She knew there was little chance he'd stay. But maybe she could find Seamus. Maybe she wouldn't have to be alone. She wiped at her eyes. "Y-you don't need to come," she said thickly. "I know the way back."
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Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2015 9:49 am
Poor Maia. That was all he could think. His expression went concerned and he frowned slightly. She didn't seem just nervous, she seemed devastated.
"Are you sure? Do you know the way?" No, he wasn't just going to let her wander off into HQ alone. She was suffering, clearly. If she had to be alone, she could be alone in a place she could call her own. "I'll walk you there, come on."
He started off slowly, figuring Maia wouldn't exactly want to jog.
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Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2015 9:58 am
Maia made to follow, wiping at her eyes. Well, it didn't seem he was about to leave, despite being invited to do so. "Dari's staying at your place," she sniffed. She'd guessed: she hadn't seen the alien's car when they'd pulled up."Can I call him later?" If things got bad, and they would if her first night had been any indication. She didn't expect him to come, that was selfish: but maybe talking to a friend would help?
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Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2015 10:01 am
"He is," Toby nodded. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind. Do you have a--" cell phone yet? No, he knew she didn't. Tomorrow she would most likely. "Do you have his number?" Really it had taken him near forever to memorize. They lived in an age where your phone remembered for you. Toby could remember when these damn things were invented.
They continued through the lobby and down the hall to the apartment building. The desert outside was quiet and empty.
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Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2015 10:18 am
"No," she said. She used her palms to attempt to stem her tears, but that strategy didn't seem to work. "But there must be a cordless phone..." Somewhere.
She followed him to the apartment building. A sob escaped her. She missed Dari; he'd appeared when she'd needed him most. Toby didn't seem to be the type to do that.
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Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2015 10:21 am
"I can get it for you. There's a phone in your apartment, it works like any other one." Maia was upset and steadily growing worse. She seemed to be trying to mash the tears back into her face, and he felt a waver in his will. Barely anyone cried, and the ones that did didn't do it before they were through the doors. They did it long before, on the way home, at the first class, something.
He touched her arm while they walked. "It's going to be okay."
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Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2015 10:32 am
Maia nodded. She'd call him later then.
She pulled away from Toby's touch. She shook her head at him. "I thought It would be, after the first night. You said it was the hardest so I figured things would get better. But it hasn't. And the only reason last night wasn't like the first night was you guys!" She walked ahead of him, trying to muffle a sob.
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