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 Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2017 11:13 am
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The hours before moonrise were always the worst, playing footsie with how long to wait before everyone should go to the otherworld, fighting symptoms of the animal waking up, the forced compulsion to shift that still rattled her bones nearly a year after becoming a moonwalker. But Lily never particularly minded it, mostly because it was a time where the pack came together and suffered as a singular unit, bound together by their strange ability to be furries once a month. It was completely and totally bizarre, but that's just how family worked, right?
Except now a pivotal part of her family was missing from the group text, the meetup plans, was hiding away at home because something had literally pulled the moonwalker out of her bones. It was a concept that unnerved Lily beyond belief--it wasn't like losing a limb or a sense, it was losing something deeper, something core to her identity. It was like a death in the pack, and Lily had no idea how to be supportive when her mind was running the process of grieving.
How could there be a pack without a pack mother?
Lily was planning to meet up with the others in an hour and a half, somewhere public with plenty of entrances to the otherworld, but she had other stops to attend to first. First, she had to get groceries, and then it was time to pick up Jamie for his monthly carpool to their Moonwalkers Anonymous meeting. Most of the ride she spent in silence, except when she made a turn off of their regular route, murmuring, "Hold on, this'll take just a sec."
She stopped her car at the lawn of the Fitzpatrick-Townhome home, reaching behind her seat for a full-sized watermelon that she'd buckled in. "Umm, you can come with if you want," she shrugged over to Jamie, her lips pursed tightly so that she could fight the frown she wore in her mind. This was heavy stuff, too heavy for Jamie, but he was technically an adult and she wasn't about to tell him how to make his decisions.
Dressed in something black and oversized, Lily clambered out of her car and up the driveway to the house, watermelon crooked under one arm. She knocked at the door then stared down to keep from staring up, where she might have seen trees or a particularly enticing awning to climb on. She needed to keep focused. She had a melon and a rehearsed line of support to keep track of, it was too late to turn back now. Just a quick gift, and then moontime.
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Posted: Sat Apr 08, 2017 11:46 am
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It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out where they were going, not that Jamie would've made a fuss either way. Hands in his lap, he tried not to fidget, tried not to think too hard about what he'd seen of Eve and the Spinel Lady through Shiloh's memories in their shared headspace. This was the perfect moment for pulling the life's not fair card, but everything felt too solemn for childish proverbs. Lily's train of thought was one he shared, her feelings mutual. Mourning was a really good word for it.
"I'm coming," he said, getting out of the car to join Lily without another word. They'd all been through enough that Jamie didn't shy away from harsh realities anymore. If anything heavy was meant to happen today, he'd deal with it as it came. Couldn't be any worse than waking up and wondering who might wind up hurt today.
Besides, Lily had a melon and her reassuring words, and Jamie had his arms, ripe and ready for a hug. That was a start, right?
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Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2017 1:28 pm
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Lily tilted her head up when Leila answered the door, nodding slowly. "Yeah, we just wanted to stop by and check in before...you know, stuff," she murmured, the words dry like cotton in her throat. Under normal circumstances, she might have looked past Leila for signs of her chicken friend, but her senses felt overloaded and she just wanted to focus on her mission. As an afterthought, she patted Leila's shoulder as she walked past into the living room, a sign of affection even if an absent-minded one. She stopped mid-step when she saw Eve, feeling like she was going to choke.
"...Hey, Mom," Lily murmured, shuffling the hold on her gift so that she was holding it like a hug. "I, uhhh...I brought you a watermelon. It's got vitamins and stuff." She had Jamie with her, which meant she was the adult in this situation and couldn't cry. She had to be strong, both for him and for Eve.
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Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2017 2:13 pm
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"Oh, hi..." Jamie greeted Leila in return, "Thanks." It was hard to be talkative at a time like this. As someone who lived with Eve and likely knew her better than anyone, he assumed Leila would understand.
During the short trek into the house, he stuck close to Lily's side, but only until he saw Eve at the table. Lily may be holding back, but Jamie definitely wasn't. It was in his nature to be far too emotional, even if sometimes it did him more harm than good. This would be okay, right? They wouldn't mind? Surely Eve wouldn't, at least. It wouldn't be any different than any other time she and Jamie met.
Without a word he closed the gap between them and threw his arms around her. The lack of pack touch was like a slap to the face, but it didn't do a thing to change the way Jamie felt.
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Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2017 9:49 pm
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Lily let the melon into Leila's hands effortlessly, her eyes still on Eve as she shrugged. "I mean, originally I was just gonna bring a honeydew because that's, like, more travel-sized, but I didn't want you to think I was only halfway committed to providing some nutritious cheer." Her head swiveled towards the kitchen and she blinked at Leila, trying to figure out how she'd just spoken without her mouth, but ultimately she shook her head, electing to ignore it.
"It's...umm...about two hours to go," Lily continued awkwardly, closing the distance. She walked to the side of Eve opposite Jamie and knelt, leaning her head against her packmom's shoulder. The lack of any sort of warm feeling felt cavernous, and Lily let out a ragged sigh that was in no way or shape the beginning of a sob.
"I wanted to see you," she admittedly lowly, one of her arms reaching over for Eve's hand. "Everyone else sucks and they don't know what they're doing."
As an aside, she glanced up at Jamie, biting her lip. "Well, not Jams I guess. He's cool."
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Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2017 2:42 pm
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If there was anything to smile about, it was this: a moment with two of his favorite people no matter the circumstances. It might've been easier to bow his head and give into moping, Jamie was very, very good at that, but he tried not to. So, for their sakes, he tried to do just that—to smile.
"Thanks, Lily," he said, going for playful, but sounding nearer to that same not-a-sob as his pack sister. He cleared his throat. It was really obvious. "I try." Though honestly, he felt a lot like he didn't know what he was doing a lot of the time. While he knew much more than he did when they'd first been struck with were-itis, there were moments he wished they'd had someone to teach them more than the fact they had to go to Other Ashdown when they turned on the full moon.
"It's gonna be weird without you, though..." he admitted to Eve, picking idly at her shirt sleeve without even thinking about it.
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Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2017 4:48 pm
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Eve took Lily's hand and pulled her in closer as she did so, and she stayed quiet a moment to enjoy her pack's company with half-lidded eyes. "I know it's not the same," she said, her voice low and honest. "But I'm still so glad to see both of you." Then she gave Lily's hand a gentle kiss, and did the same for Jamie's forehead. If it weren't for the oncoming moonrise and the work she had to do, she would have happily stayed with them like this all evening.
As it was, she did let them go. Eventually. Eve was a little sad for it, knowing there'd be no time spent together shifted to come after. "We're hoping this isn't permanent," she said. "Ezra's sure of it. I'm still not sure I can believe it, myself."
Lily and Jamie had likely heard of Ezra.
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Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2017 12:07 pm
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Lily didn't want to leave. She just wanted to rest her head on Eve and hold her and maybe cry a little because she was totally in control of her emotions and it was okay to cry. Having responsibiliities was bullshit, knowing she would have to get up and leave and drive herself and Jamie to an appointed meeting place just so they could survive the shift without wanting to kill people was also bullshit and it would have been so easy to drift and just let it all fade away. But Eve lifted her hand and Lily lifted her head, and maybe she was wiping delicately at the edges of her smudged eyeliner.
"I mean, nothing's permanent if you scale of time is long enough," Lily nodded, "But Ezra probably knows his s**t, so you're in good hands." She hadn't spent much time with him personally, but given that he'd ambiguously saved them from the otherworld once he couldn't be that bad, even if he was at some point a person constantly on fire and terrifying.
"But whatever's going on, you're still the packmom, you don't get to leave that easy. You know that, right?" She wobbled as she uprighted her stance to standing. "You're one of us, no matter what happens." If she kept saying it enough times, it would even maybe start to feel real.
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Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2017 3:34 pm
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Beneath the kiss, Jamie's forehead warmed and his cheeks followed suit, lighting a faint pink. Affection was always welcome, always reassuring, and though it couldn't eliminate the worry entirely, he knew things would be okay with time. Eve was still part of the pack, just like Lily said, even without her powers. That wouldn't change.
"I think he's right," Jamie said, standing up straight but lingering close. His hand never left Eve's arm. "It seems kinda like... anything is possible with the right direction. If there's anything I can do to help-" Though he trailed off, his determination was obvious in the way he stood up straighter. Even more so in the way he wiped beneath his own eyes. It didn't help that Lily was misty, whether she wanted to admit it or not. Jamie was a crybaby and boy was he easily swayed to tears. Still, it proved how much he cared, how much he believed, and how much of himself he'd invested in their group.
He bumped lightly against Lily's side. "We've got your back..."
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Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2017 6:02 pm
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"The way you two are carrying on, I feel like I'm at my own funeral," Eve smirked, but she was obviously sad about this too. They'd all been moonwalkers together for almost a year, and now it seemed likely she would miss their anniversary. "But feel how you need to. That's what I ended up doing for a while." She took Jamie's hand that rested on her arm, and squeezed it tight. "I'll be sure to give one of you a call if I need something. For now... I think I have enough to stay occupied."
She motioned over to the table, inviting them to sit for a while if they felt they had the time. Renard's notebook was open to a later page that was either dense with diagrams and charts, or was in actuality one giant chart.
Eve broke into a spontaneous second of laughter as she settled back into place. "Leila wants to know if either of you want a Pellegrino," she explained. "Or some juice. There's also still some tea left," she finished, pointing with her pen towards the teapot.
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Posted: Thu May 04, 2017 12:34 pm
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Lily snorted. "Feelings are overrated," she said glumly, picking at the splitting edges of her nail polish. She moved to sit down, but stopped and made a face, actively fighting the urge to push the chair aside and climb on top of the table. It was a constant thrum in the back of her head, a nagging reminder that they only had so much time before they needed to go.
Her hands gripped the back of the chair next to Eve's, and with a concentrated effort she slid it back and sat down. "I'd kill for a Pellegrino for the road," she said, looking at Eve and then down at the charts, idly curious. "You been busy with some...next level crosswords or something?" She didn't recognize the handwriting, or most of the symbols, but it didn't seem out of the realm of possibility that it was some huge puzzle. Eve seemed like the sort of person to enjoy puzzles, she was clever like that.
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