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 Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2014 3:00 pm
They did it again. Back and forth they just kept going, explaining and apologizing. Anita laughed quietly, burying her face in her knees again. Her eyes stung and she closed them but she kept listening. Nodding. At least until he said why he thought he needed to call back. No, that wasn't right. She didn't interrupt, as much as she wanted to, she listened while he continued.
Her eyes opened and she stared at the colors finally staring to collect overhead with blurry vision. She laughed. It came out short and louder than her voice had been but she laughed. Why was calling the paramedics sweet? Whatever. He could think that if he wanted.
”That was a call for status, not apology...” Anita scoffed quietly. Her head felt heavy all of a sudden, her body sluggish. She could hear Tango panting quietly near them.
”But good,” she mumbled, turning her head so her mouth wasn't obscured rather than raising her voice. Her eyes drearily fell shut again. ”No regrets on my part. You got your sunrise, you got the times you don't think about it... those are important. Keep those.”
Anita managed a smile despite being unable to open her eyes. She was going to miss the show but she could feel the growing warmth and light. While she thought she could hold on and experience it in other ways, it didn't take long for her body and mind to start drifting. Her breathing was calm and steady, head rested slightly on its side with one arm and her knees acting as a pillow. The other arm had been resting along her thigh but it slid limply until her hand hit the grass. Walking all the way from the house so early in the morning must have drained her more than she anticipated. It certainly took the wiring out of her.
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Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2014 3:01 pm
Mordekai folded his legs and watched humbly as the sun slowly rose. He managed a wide smile and weary nod to Anita as he squinted his eyes and rose one hand to his forehead to combat the oncoming light.
"Yeah... thanks," he muttered, quieter than he intended. He leaned back and tilted his head as amber drowned the area with its morning gold. He supposed, to him, the sunrise was a common occurrence-- but it was rare that he was able to sit back and appreciate it.
He didn't take notice that Anita was falling asleep until the sun had fully risen. He glanced at Tango with stark satisfaction, first, then frowned curiously upon realizing that Anita was, in fact, practically curled up into a ball. He whispered "must be sleepin'" toward Tango, then stood up to outstretch his arms and work his legs. He supposed he would let Anita rest for a little bit-- she was finally asleep, for God's sake-- and pat his knee lightly to call for Tango's attention.
He walked a few steps backwards. "C'mere, Tango. We'll let Anita sleep some. How's 'bout we play?"
---
By the time Mordekai checked his cellphone for the time, he was well worn-out and panting from the amount of running he'd done around the field. He'd taken off his coat at one point and took the effort to wrap it around his waist, and he felt happier than he had been in a long time, being able to run around freely on the field in the new year. When 7:59AM flashed from the phone screen, though, he felt somewhat apprehensive. Anita was-- still asleep, he assumed, and he had to wake her up.
He managed to pace back up the hill and stare between the horizon and towards Anita a few times. He was never really good at waking people up well, not even Johan or Annie. How the hell was he supposed to know how to convince Anita to wake up and walk 40 minutes back home?
He started by walking skittishly next to Anita and crouching forward. His hand hovered over her shoulder before he retracted it. Instead of nudging her as intended, Mordekai whispered ever-so-quietly: "Anita, wake up, please?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2014 3:02 pm
Tango was panting too by the time they made it back. He hung around Mordekai's side, walking slowly. The wolfhound followed him at every pause and even approached Anita who, by now, had moved from her seated perch to laying on her side on the grass. Her arms were cradling her head like a pillow, hair splayed out and covering most of her face, with her legs curled up and trying to bunch into her coat to keep warm. The sun was helping but it was still very cold out.
His whisper did nothing. Anita breathed steadily, eyes closed and partially hidden by her mass of hair. Tango's eyes followed Mordekai's hesitant hand initially, stared at him when he spoke, then looked at Anita a few moments later when all she did was curl up tighter.
Hot wet garbage tongue met her face.
Anita let loose several sputters and buried her head further into her arms, retreating from Tango's reach. She groaned and whined, wiping her face off with tired dismay, then rolled onto her back. Tango followed. ”No,” she pleaded groggily, an obvious croak in her voice, ”No, buddy, you're nasty.”
More sputtering, some blown raspberries, and she finally managed to push the furry meathead away from her face. Only when she tried stretching her legs out did she realize how completely frigid they were without the warmth of her own body. She looked around in a daze, eyes half lidded, and finally pulled herself to a sit. Outside. She looked to her right, Tango. To her left, Mordekai.
”...Oh.” Anita blinked slowly before reaching up to rub her eyes. Without looking up at Mordekai for confirmation, she held out one hand while the other continued rubbing her face. ”Pull me up, please? I'm wearing stupid shoes...” To illustrate, she kicked one of her legs straight and twisted it. A big ol' dumb heel. Never again.
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Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2014 3:06 pm
Mordekai clapped as quietly as he could and laughed beneath his breath when Tango shmecked Anita. As Anita was rustling in her place, though, Mordekai called Tango over to scratch him under his chin. He leaned forward and said in a bemused voice, "Now, tahyo, those were awful manners," then glanced at Anita again. Ah, she was waking up!
"O-oh-- yeah, c'mon," he grabbed Anita with his own hand and gingerly pulled her along, rising from his crouch to a kneel, squat, then full stand. Once they were both fully up, he finally spared an actual glance at Anita's heel-- he sputtered and looked away a moment.
"Aw, damn, 'm sorry, madam," he brushed a hand through his hair, "Din't even realize y'were wearin' heels. Woulda spared you th'trouble of havin' to walk all the way out here otherwise." Come to think of it, though, shouldn't he have noticed the clack of her heels on the patio? On the rocks by the stream? He was never too good at paying attention to those kind of things, he supposed, or he noticed earlier and took no particular heed or mind.
He inhaled a sharp gust of air before studying the fields again, the unwrapped his coat to put it back on. Now that he stopped moving, he realized just how cold it was, and flannel didn't offer that much warmth. "Figured I'd wake y'up since it's 8 now, an' the boys're pro'ly gonna wake up soon, if they haven't already. If you want, you can sleep back in th'house some, I'll get 'em to shut up."
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Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2014 3:07 pm
Of course the dog didn't mind much that his manners were called into question. Tango just breathed and wagged with increasing excitement as Anita was assisted to her feet.
She scoffed, ”I agreed, didn't I?” It was her own damn fault for wearing 'em and out of all the events tonight that was her biggest regret. The fact he called her madam, and the boys called her miss during Thanksgiving, never ceased to make her laugh on the inside. She supposed right now it sat well but damn she wished she had a burp in the chamber or something just to put the politeness to rest.
While Mordekai got his coat back on, Anita kept rubbing and wiping her eyes. They almost felt glued together, that their lids were attempting to permanently bond. ”Appreciate it,” she mumbled and nodded, the movement of which was sluggish, ”Yeah, I – I'd like to sleep... not on grass.” She offered Tango some gentle scratches behind his ears, under his jaw and chin, then got him to follow with a couple soft and slow pats to her thigh. The outside of her slacks felt like ice and for a moment she was glad her legs had gotten so numb she couldn't really feel them. That was dumb, though, she had to not do that again.
The more she tried to walk the more off kilter she realized she was. At first Anita started at about the same pace as Mordekai and Tango but, a few minutes in, her course was veering slightly right and she was a few yards behind. She kept rubbing her eyes. It didn't seem to do much good for her vision which kept clouding from exhaustion and a couple times she felt herself blink – not just her eyes but like her entire body blinked.
”I am not long for this world...” Anita mumbled passively once they got closer to the creek. She stared at it with tired bemusement that was trying to be disdain but that expression took too much effort, so she just stood there with tired eyes and limp arms at her sides and tried to assess how in the hell she was going to cross the creek in heels when she was practically in a narcoleptic state.
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Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2014 3:49 pm
He shrugged halfheartedly at Anita's addendum and could only think to make a fussy noise, at first. "Yeah, but 's'just th'principle of the matter, you don't ask a lady wit' heels on t'walk for an hour to an' back somewhere. But hey, anyway," he turned around and began walking, "Let's get you back home, then."
It was a pleasant, silent walk back until they reached the creek. Mordekai took a few ample hops onto the creek rocks until he realized that Anita wasn't following behind-- he looked back and realized that she looked worse for wear. It seemed like the nap cozied her into a sleepy state of mind, though it didn't serve them very well with getting back. His smile lit considerably, though, and when he walked back to where Anita was, he offered an extended hand to her. He nodded towards the creek.
"C'mon, I'll walk you through. Least I could do." he glanced at Anita's hands-- Jesus, some people had pale hands. He added, "Y'want gloves or somethin'? I have a pair with me an' everythin'."
The way Anita was sluggishly following behind, though, whether she took his hand or not, he wouldn't risk having her slip into the creek and break her skull open. He crooned his neck forward slightly and tried to actually look at Anita's face, see if her eyes were even open, and grinned.
"Y'look like you're gonna collapse on command right now. Y'wanna wait it out or somethin'?" At this point, Mordekai looked fairly concerned-- it didn't help that he felt incredibly lucid and alert right now while Anita clearly wasn't, but hell, if he had to, he could carry her back. He just wondered if she would mind that more than he would.
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Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2014 3:52 pm
Lady wearing heels. God, make it stop. Never again, for real. She laughed, though, and shrugged – particularly at the noise he made at first.
When he came back she stared blearily, managing a lopsided smile after a second. Anita didn't seem to give the gesture much thought; too tired and it was with a single, useful purpose. She took his hand, though it was more like she gave him her wrist while she grabbed the hem of his sleeve. ”I bet they're big,” she rattled off, her tiredness only succeeding in adding a deadpan tone to everything she said despite her brows being raised above barely open eyes which made her look quietly impressed with everything. Too tired to even answer the question properly.
Once they both had a grip she inched closer and tested one leg. Her eyes opened a bit more once she was at the water. A few times she blinked and opened them wide just to try and wake herself up, to be more alert, but it barely succeeded.
”Mm-mm,” her rejection was swift, then everything else after was delayed, ”Don't wanna drag it out. Sooner we get there the sooner I can not freeze my a** off.” Why these pants? Literally, why? She didn't even remember buying them. Were they a gift? They fit, so she had to have tried them on and accepted their existence at least once before. God, were these Summer dress pants? Was she that much of an idiot?
One step, kept sturdy with Mordekai's assistance, then her second leg followed. It was a much slower jaunt across the rocks, Anita pausing to get both feet onto the same rock where they were big enough, otherwise she stood there with her leg held up as if she were mid-cancan. Tango just watched from the sidelines, deciding to stand right in the water while the humans negotiated their positions. It took a few minutes despite the creek's size. When her feet were firmly planted on the grass, Anita let her head hang, her hair covering most of her face. Her fingers clutching Mordekai's sleeve felt frozen in place, too cold to move, so she did it without even realizing.
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Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2014 3:53 pm
Mordekai allowed Anita to latch onto his sleeve without resistance. He was taken a bit aback at her comment, though-- it was neither a yes or no, really, but when he saw Anita's hand near his, he realized her palm was pretty damn small compared to his. They would serve more as weird oven mitts than gloves, and he laughed bemusedly as he led Anita along the creek trail.
"Alright, then, watch your step." It took a while, but Mordekai was more than willing to wait on Anita and continue along the path without resting. If she needed help with extra balance along the creek, he managed to sturdy his stance and guide her along by pulling his sleeve gently as leverage. "Careful there," he breathed, chuckling along when Anita stopped in a strange way. It didn't help his chuckling fit when he saw Tango waiting on them, but he waved at the wolfhound as if he were an old friend.
When they managed to get to the other side, Mordekai let out a sigh of relief before patting Anita on the back. He let her rest for a while-- she looked even more tired than she was before-- and smeared some of the excess water that still managed to slop onto his soles.
"Y'did good. C'mon, the rest is jus' walkin', you can do it," Mordekai chimed, before turning towards the house to continue on their way. He noticed, though, that there was still weight tugging against his sleeve, and he glanced toward Anita for a moment. As it were, she was still gripping onto his sleeve, and he wasn't quite sure what to do about it. Make her let go? Ask her to?
Then again, she was practically sleep-walking. With an amused grimace of resignation, Mordekai let her keep at it. He piped up encouragingly, while pointing towards the green splotch of garden just ahead, "Now that it ain't so dark out, y'can see the garden from here. Looks like a tiny l'il bug right now, though."
The rest of the open woods looked as expected-- dead and brown and dirt-patched from the winter weather. Dead leaves were strewn about everywhere, except for the strangely well-kept narrow pathway they'd trudged along before. The night moisture seeped into the dirt and made their footsteps sound dull and eerie, and as the sun continued to settle in, the morning dullness chased after it.
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Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2014 3:54 pm
Anita gave a low hum at the pat to her back, her voice clipping slightly from the impact. It just made her smirk. As it was, she was completely unaware of herself maintaining the contact though she did feel a tug on her arm when Mordekai began moving again. She stumbled just a little before following along. Tango zigzagged around them, not quite following any discernible path but keeping roughly toward their destination.
Part of her wished she accepted the offer of gloves but most of her didn't even recall the question. Anita forced her eyes opened when he spoke again. Her vision was still blurred and she had to blink several times so it wasn't just a bright and weirdly colored blob all meshing together. Once the colors actually settled and the vague shapes became sharper, even if they were still mixing, she smiled. ”It's really pretty here...” she mused, more to herself than Mordekai, ”I like it a lot.”
It was obvious Tango liked it here too, if that fact couldn't be gleaned just from how quickly he plodded to and fro, how casually he laid down among the grass and flowers. Living in an apartment building didn't afford much room for dogs. The yard was limited and most of what Tango had access to was beach. Back in Durem, when she was holding up the duplex, there still wasn't a good deal of yard in front or back. Durem structures in the city were too closely packed and Gambino was a damn island.
This, though... this place was perfect.
Her steps were a little uneven, her course veering slightly from side to side. Still she hung on. Anita's head would bob occasionally, practically nodding in and out, and each time she righted herself she gave a small grunt. They were almost there. Maybe. She didn't actually know how long they'd been walking but it was true enough, she could see their destination with the growing light.
”Thanks for inviting me,” Anita eventually mumbled, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. She took a deep breath, then paused everything except for her feet. There the beer was. A quiet belch forced her mouth open and she clamped her hand over it immediately, hunching forward. Her laughter was subdued, no noise coming out as her shoulders shook. After a second she managed a very muffled, high pitched ”s'cuse me”.
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Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2014 3:57 pm
Mordekai managed to slow down a bit and allow Anita to teeter along, as it were. He was more than satisfied with watching Tango sprint about for hours, if it came down to it, and if she needed the time, she needed the time. Instead of smoking, he found it momentarily rewarding enough to simply blow fog from his mouth in little puffs-- he only stopped when Anita mentioned something. He looked around, as if he needed evidence to believe her, even if he'd been back here hundreds of times before.
"Yeah. Yeah," he grinned, then idly kicked a few leaves from beneath his feet, "Glad y'think so. I like it a lot, too, even in win'er, nice an' brisk, good for walks like these. If I wake up a little early," not sleep at all, "I can take a tiny stroll 'round here to catch some breath."
Even despite Anita's slower pace, they walked a great deal while she waned between states of consciousness. He allowed her to keep clinging to his sleeve, though it meant putting his gloves back on his hands awkward-- he simply stuffed his free hand into his pants pocket and continued along. Once silence between the two settled in, Mordekai hummed a strange amalgamation of tunes beneath his breath.
By the time Anita spoke again, they had managed to reach the foot entrance of the vegetable gardens. He stiffened his shoulders and stared back at her-- before he could issue his welcome, though, Anita belched. He laughed as quietly as she managed to burp. "Don't hold yourself back, now," Mordekai commented in earnest. If she was scared of out-burping anyone in the house, she had another thing coming.
Mordekai took a brief detour to walk through the vegetable and fruit groves to check on a few things-- he uprooted an onion plant and checked on the figs before leaving. Naturally, before the winter season, Duncan and he cleared out most everything, and it all looked much deader and browner than it usually was. Getting back to the front porch was relatively painless, though Mordekai noticed a few beer bottles still left in certain orifices of the porch, which he kicked aside with a frustrated sigh.
The pomegranates. Mordekai stopped near the pomegranate bramble, which faced the backyard door head-on, and finally tugged on his sleeve to capture Anita's full attention. With a tired smile, he motioned toward the house. "We're here. I'm gonna check on these poms real quick, so take yourself an' Tango back inside." Mordekai realized the inside of their house could potentially be just as cold, considering neither he nor Duncan used the heater.
"An' if y'need more pillows or blankets, jus' come yell at me or somethin'." In truth, the amount of blankets that were available downstairs were pretty much all he and Duncan had to their disposal, but he could find something if he looked hard enough for it. Maybe in the attic somewhere.
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Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2014 4:00 pm
The discovery of more bottles made Anita frown, though she only knew what occurred as they were kicked away and the sound reached her. She passed a quiet sigh as well, hers just sounding exhausted rather than frustrated. At the tug, Anita grunted and directed her attention to the pomegranates. They just looked like a big blur. That was all Mordekai's words sounded like, too. She was vaguely aware they'd reached their destination. It wasn't until the mention of blankets that Anita released a long and contented breath, her fingers finally releasing the sleeve she'd held hostage.
”Okay,” she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. Tango yawned. Their approach to the back door was clumsy, mostly on Anita's part, but she managed to get it open and Tango entered first. Once she was inside and reached something to lean on, she unceremoniously dumped her boots off in the kitchen. Walking immediately became less of a chore but she still dragged her feet.
Without paying any mind, Anita started pulling her jacket off as she rounded the corner into the living room. The couch was in sight, empty with a large blanket near it. From the sounds of things, everyone was still asleep. There were certainly bodies strewn about the floor and, with a quick glance, she saw that Cruz remained curled up in his position on the armchair – though whether it was due to his current status as an amorphous green blob or not, he looked decidedly cozier than when she'd put him to bed. Once her coat was off Anita deposited it haphazardly across the arm of the sofa and practically tripped face first onto it. A second later and she released all of her breath, deflating. Refusing to lift her head, her hands groped blindly until they caught the blanket and she swaddled herself in its warmth. Only when she was suitably covered did she set about removing the practically frozen slacks and the dress shirt, keeping a camisole and undershorts beneath them. Her knee high toe socks helped keep her insulated and, for a while, Anita just rubbed her thighs to get them warm. It didn't take long, once the chill was pushed off, for her to fall still and be swallowed back up in sleep.
Cruz was given a start at her flop and lifted his head. It was well past dawn, judging by the light in the house. Had she really just now gotten to bed? Tango stepped carefully around the sleeping bodies of the bodies and approached after checking that the new one on the couch was definitely Anita. The frei gave him some affection, then detached himself from the blanket and chair.
Was anyone else up now? What managed to keep her awake?
A quick survey of the kitchen and the rest of the first floor yielded no results. It was only thanks to detecting motion from one of the windows that he noted Mordekai's presence out back. Come to think of it, Cruz did think he heard the door. Were they outside? The croc observed him as he worked on the pomegranates. He didn't know what was happening out there but, then again, he also wasn't sure what was happening now. Cruz was still waking up but he recognized unusual behavior if it was true Anita had been occupied outside. A dull throaty hum announced his presence back in the living room as he took his spot In the chair once again, wrapping himself in the blanket until all that was visible was his head. He would think on it later.
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Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2014 4:01 pm
The only person that managed to be awake by this time was Skye, though he was drinking beer idly in the kitchen when Anita slipped by. He glanced at her and blinked, but allowed both her and Tango a quiet passage to the living area. If his intuitions were right, she hadn't slept at all. And neither did Mordekai, but that was reason to give him s**t later-- for now, he would let him be, especially after hearing the sound of clinking bottles from the porch. Whoops, his fault entirely.
A few of the men shuffled where they were once Anita laid down, but no one seemed to have any inclination to get back up at all. The pillows that Mordekai had strewn around the floor were now effectively being used by all of them, though the fact that there were less than five available meant a few of them were unconsciously vying for comfort.
While the rest of the group enjoyed their sweet silence, Mordekai picked through the pomegranate bush with relative ease once he was able to put his gloves back on. They were getting smaller with the winter season, which was disappointing, as the harvest this year offered much less than the autumn and fall previous. It took a few pomegranate picks, but Mordekai finally managed to find one that was a plump and bright red. He set the others on the ground next to him and knelt down.
"You haven't been doin' so hot these past few years," Mordekai whispered; he polished the pomegranate with his gloves and offered it a brief kiss on its crown. "Please don't die on me again, Annie. I'm tryin' to take good care of you."
Despite being alone, Mordekai always felt somewhat embarrassed and unhinged walking to a damn plant, but it was the only way nowadays that he offered any prayer. He grabbed the rest of the pomegranates from the floor before rustling through his pockets to check the time again: 8:51AM. It was already getting late. Should he even wake Anita up for breakfast, or should he let her have some sleep?
He gaped a bit at remembering Anita, though, and staring at his cellphone screen. As he remembered, the entire screen was lit with one gaping, forgotten message: 5 missed calls. He'd been avoiding the use of his cellphone ever since the incident, as it were, for the past two weeks. Like a stubborn, anxious idiot.
Mordekai sat down on the porch. It took him some fiddling, but he managed to navigate to voicemail; he set his pomegranates on his lap and listened intently. His conversations with Anita were pleasant enough today, enough for him to consider that, possibly, they were on okay terms, and Duncan would no longer feel so awful. To start on a blank slate, though, he had to get this over with.
The first two messages were from Stephen and Maree, wishing him a Merry Christmas. Eh. He smiled at the short message from Jocelyn and Kashi.
Then:
"God dammit... Please be okay..."
He stared at the pomegranate bush as he continued to press his phone against his ear, well past after all of the voicemails were heard. God, he was such an idiot.
It took him a while to stand back up, but he did, his eyes narrowed and heavy. Even with all of the apologies he'd given Anita, he still felt a pressing urge to ask for forgiveness again.
With pomegranates returned to his arms, Mordekai stumbled weakly back into the house and nearly jumped from his skin when noticing Skye. Skye lazily waved back, and Mordekai noted in an uncomfortably loud voice: "You're helpin' me make breakfast," before practically chucking the onion plant at him.
Skye naturally ignored the onion plant, and it landed on the wooden floor with a hollow thwunk. Mordekai swore bitterly.
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Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2014 4:04 pm
The announcement of breakfast and sudden noise drew Cruz's attention. All Anita did in reaction was groan and pull the blanket over her head. He rubbed his eyes and gave his cheeks a light pat with both hands while pulling free of the sheet. Tango had since settled, curled up on the floor near the couch but leaning beside one of the boys, with his chin resting between his paws. His eyes opened at the sound and his ears swiveled attentively but he was too tired to go after it and it was obviously not a knock on the door. That didn't stop a single, low growl from issuing. Cruz cooed softly too him and the dog grumbled, closing his eyes again.
”Good morning,” the frei announced with a soft rumble upon floating into the kitchen.
His brows upturned as he looked between Mordekai, Skye, and the fallen onion. Once the offender of the earlier sound was identified, and no one seemed keen on retrieving it, Cruz plucked the plant up himself and turned it over in his hands. He held it up to the light, examining it, then set it gingerly on the island where he let one of his hands rest. A few of his nails clacked quietly on its top.
”Did you sleep?” Cruz tilted his head toward Mordekai. He knew Skye did. When the man woke and got some beers, he had stirred for a moment. That was when he first noticed Anita hadn't bedded down but he also had no idea what time it was then. The sky was still dark so he didn't think much of it.
Though he gave a pause, Cruz didn't quite wait for an answer. He looked over his shoulder to the living room area as if peering through the wall. ”Were you with Anita?” It was a completely innocent question but, in present company, it could have easily been twisted.
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Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2014 4:05 pm
Brief swearing fit aside, Mordekai managed to calm down and walk to where Skye was to begin preparing breakfast. He opened the fridge and grabbed through its relatively empty contents for eggs, milk, butter, cheddar, and tomato. Once he managed to get everything out, he closed the fridge door and startled slightly upon seeing Frei there. Skye offered Cruz a quiet 'hey' and chuckled at Mordekai's surprise.
"Good mornin'." While Cruz picked up the onion plant, Mordekai took his armload of ingredients and set them nearer to the stove. Without inquiry, Skye managed to rustle through some cabinets to grab salt and pepper.
"Someone wash the bowl from the sink," Mordekai muttered-- he paused where he was, though, standing near the kitchen counter juggling between holding ingredients and finding a mixing spoon. Though Mordekai made a move to respond to Cruz, he only managed to gape and stutter before the Frei asked another question.
The blond looked back at Skye, who leaned back against the counter and crossed his arms expectantly. Mordekai didn't give him the good graces of being embarrassed for long, though, and nodded.
"I was with Anita, yeah, we went wit' Tango out to the fields for sunrise," he found a mixing spoon underneath the kitchen island and threw it into the sink as well-- it was dusty and poorly cleaned. He stifled, "Me, I din't catch any sleep, but Anita managed to for a little while. Sure she's sleepin' right now--"
"You drag that poor girl for an hour-long walk to see the sun rise? Tch," Skye waved his finger towards Mordekai, who glared at him, "She was even wearing heels."
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Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2014 4:10 pm
Mordekai's momentary stifle just made Cruz raise his brows with more curiosity. He didn't see any reason for there to be a delay in response given the subject matter, so he just figured it was a matter of the man's exhausted mind. In that time he returned Skye's wave and offered a bright smile. Skye's response to Mordekai's delay also went over the frei's head.
Cruz nodded with a curious pout. The croc watched the mixing spoon bounce a little in the sink before settling. He floated over to it and started running the water, having caught Mordekai's quiet request for the bowl to be cleaned as well. He did the dishes at home sometimes so this was nothing new – save for the different sink set up.
The frei looked over his shoulder as Skye interrupted, mouth hanging open slightly. He glanced back and forth between them, then closed his mouth tight. Was the walk that long? ”Are heels bad?” He rarely, if ever, saw Anita wear them but her mom certainly wore them a lot. Other questions brewed up, too; no one else was mentioned, save Tango, and everyone else had been asleep. Before that, though, Anita seemed to be keeping her distance from Mordekai, which he figured in some fashion had to do with what she explained about the previous phone call even if the details were lost to him.
”Was it a nice sunrise?” he asked Mordekai with a light smile while he rinsed the suds off his hands, ”Did you have fun?”
Something about two humans going out of their way to watch a sunrise together sounded oddly like something intimate. It was something he vaguely recalled seeing, that or a sunset, on television and more often than not it was in the form of a “date”. Was that what happened? Cruz pondered idly on this while his rune pulsed. That would be really strange for Anita. There was quite a bit of doubt in the frei's mind that that was the case at all but he was sure if he asked Anita point blank she would deny it anyway.
Didn't kissing happen on dates?
Suddenly the croc's eyes lit up. He turned back to stare at the sink, gaze drifting quickly as his mind went into overdrive. Did Anita kiss someone?
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