|
Post by Orfeo on May 24, 2017 12:12:28 GMT -5
"I don't know," murmured Jailean, "sometimes you could pass for a Jesus." She smiled a bit, trying to make light of the situation even in the slightest, trying not to think about just how high over her head this whole situation was. Cults and murders and worshippers. As if people who could turn into animals wasn't crazy enough. And this was coming from her, someone who even to then was tye definition of something strange.
She leaned back a little, crossed one leg over the other, and sighed as her hand reached up to rub at the side of her temple. "Phoenix. Right. Of course a phoenix. Why would it be something that made even a slight amount of sense? Well, here's to hoping that the whole phoenix thing was just figurative imagery meant to represent something else. Because I'm pretty sure I'll have a fit if it turns out that there is actually such a thing as a phoenix. You're like one step away from telling me that dragons are real too."
Deeo breaths. She made the effort to try to visualize the air she breathed, just like she did during mediation, and very quickly the confusion she felt subsided to manageable levels. "I have to say, Jua, you people are more full of surprises than I initially thought. Knowing that you can become a lion is about the most normal thing I've encountered so far." Despite this, she kept her tone of voice light and tried not to seem as if she were annoyed or confused. She realized her words might have made her sound as if she wanted out of the crazy car ride, whereas in reality she didn't want this gone. Again, she made the effort to relex her posture a little more.
"I'm not concerned, honestly. Just more curious than anything. Some..." she shook her head, "kid claimed his parents were friends with Leo. But he didn't seem to recognize anyone there. So I doubt it's something of concern."
Staring at Jua, she realized it had felt like ages since the two had a prolonged one to one conversation without either one or the other being interrupted."Anyway," she began, paused for a quick second to think, and then continued, "what's been happening with you? How are you holding up?" Jailean leaned forward again, her voice having picked up once more both in pace and tone, reflecting the genuine interest she had in his life. "Planning anything? Plotting something interesting? Give me all the gossip, Jua."
|
|
Jewel
Healer
Loyalty comes in many forms. Some are more obvious than others. -Thorn
Posts: 2,195
Pack Status: New Dawn, Nighstar, Rogue, Other
|
Post by Jewel on Jun 19, 2017 3:30:01 GMT -5
Penny needed to get out of the house. Out of the pack. Away from everything. At least for a while.
She couldn't pretend that what she did was right. Even if it was for X. She couldn't sleep, knowing that she took the father away from a child. A husband from the wife. A son from a mother. There was no taking into consideration the wise words from her otherwise goofy Beta that what she did with her animal side reacting – not her.
On top of her own turmoil was her parents' tension. Everyone acted as if everything was fine. But something … changed between her mom and dad. Avery was actually bitter. Timothy was silent, never reaching out to his mate unless she touched him first. Before Penny "left", the only couple that rivaled her parents' touchy-feely-ness sS Uncle Nate and Aunt Jewel. Now? It was like a ice wall was built between them.
Penny never was one to run away from problems. But here she was, doing exactly that. Taking refuge in Pawpaw. He always was a reassuring presence, and never pried unless absolutely necessary. Penny didn't have a filter, though; if someone asked a question, she'd answer honestly. Yet, when she called her grandfather, tears burned her throats so bad that all she could get out was: "Can I come over?"
Carl wasn't going to say no of course. She was warned of his guests, disclosing very little other than her elusive Uncle Leo and two of his friends were here until further notice. At that point, she didn't care if the Queen of England deigned to visit Carl. So she waltzed in as if she owned the place, slit-pupil eyes yellow and bloodshot from crying.
"Hello?" She heard someone call out. Make. Kind of deep. Yet no hostility. Unless Dad was exaggerating, this couldn't be Leo. Chairs screeched, indicating someone was getting up. Maybe two. Quickly, she scented the air. Another shifter. And a human.
Strange.
Immediately, she headed for the kitchen, hands behind her back as she walked on her toes. "Hi!" There was a perk to her voice. One that didn't give away that she'd been crying, even though her eyes did. She made no move to cover them as she came face to face with Jua.
He was tall, she noticed, like most shifters. Bald. Dark brown skin. "I'm Penny. One of Avery's kids." She lifted both her hands. One to take Jua's; the other, Jai's. If Jailean took it. If not, she could use both hands to shake Jua's large excuse for one.
Penny heard a door open, then close, deeper in the house. She tilted her head curiously, then straighten up and dropped her hands. Slowly, at a snail's pace really, her eyes changed their color from the inherited Constantine yellow to the green her mother had, starting from the pupil outward. She didn't feel the change, so she slipped with feline grace past first Jua, then Jai to get into the kitchen. "Who are you guys?"
"None of your concern."
When she heard that answer, she was already by the fridge, hand on the door handle. It wasn't Jua that spoke. A new voice spoke. This one had to be Leo Fowler. She moved her head, brows raised high with her lips pursed, looking so cat-like it wasn't funny. Then she scoffed, opening the fridge. "Oh, I already know who you are, Mister –" then she deepened her voice mockingly, trying to get it as deep as his – "'None of Your Concern'.
"I was asking your friends. And you look like a drowned rat, Uncle Leo."
|
|
|
Post by Orfeo on Jun 25, 2017 16:57:26 GMT -5
Jailean was taken by surprise at the sudden entrance of the girl. It wasn't something she was waiting for and immediately she looked toward Jua for some sort of affirmation that, indeed, she did belong here or that he knew her in some form. However, quickly thinking, she figured that it was aright for her to arrive. The way she walked in and didn't seem to try to hide and the form with which she had introduced herself to the two of them in a carefree manner. Jailean figured that she too was one of the animal shifters. A lion like Jua and Leo? Or maybe something else, like she had heard of but never seen. One thing for sure though, Penny was not human. Meaning that, once again, Jailean was the only human of the group again.
"Jailean," she replied as an introduction, awkwardly shaking her hand lightly, a little cautions and a little unsure. Again, her eyes drifted toward Jua as she seeked some kind of guidance from him. Something that would clue her in on what to say or how to act. Avery's kids. Was Avery that one lady she met before? Her memories felt fuzzy, unable to really be able to recall who was who at the moment. "I'm-" she began slowly, pulling away a little and making an effort to relax around the new arrival, but before she could continue she found herself cut off by Leo.
Relief. Jailean closed her eyes for a quick second and took in a breath of air to calm her heart rate. She found the nearest chair and slumped down lazily, a feeling of exhaustion overcoming her as she reached to rub her temple. If Jua did not seem alarmed and Leo wasn't making much of an effort to get Jailean out of the room, then things were going to be okay. A rather simplistic way to look at things, but it was a tried and true method that had worked before.
"Uncle?" she blurted out without thinking, opening her eyes to find Leo and then Penny. If she hadn't made the connection before, then she did now. Penny was Avery's daughter, and Leo being her uncle meant that Avery was Leo's sister. "Huh," she continued, without really going anywhere else with that sentence. At first it surprised her that Leo hadn't mentioned that Avery was his sister, but a moment later it stopped surprising her. It didn't make Jailean upset, she had no reason to be upset that Leo wouldn't tell her. It was, however, nice to know.
She'd have to remind herself not to pry on it. At least not too much with Leo.
Sensing some tension, Jailean huffed and took a good look at Leo. "You know what? She's... well, kind of right." Her voice was soft and almost a little tired, but it picked up with some slight hints of amusement weaved between the words as she twirled a strand of her between the fingers of her right hand. "You kind of do look like a drowned rat." She glanced toward Penny and smirked, this time addressing her. "Penny, was it? Please do get comfortable. Let me get you some water. And you, Jua? You seem a little thirsty. Maybe a beer?" Then her eyes turned toward Leo. "Sit down and let me get you something too. It's been a long day so something cold would help."
Even knowing he had been in a cult, and having learned a little of his past, Jailean still didn't see Leo any differently. She felt relief wash over her like a warm bath at the thought, then moved to get herself something to drink along with something for anybody else had they wanted it.
|
|
Jewel
Healer
Loyalty comes in many forms. Some are more obvious than others. -Thorn
Posts: 2,195
Pack Status: New Dawn, Nighstar, Rogue, Other
|
Post by Jewel on Jun 30, 2017 0:19:30 GMT -5
Penny decided something right then and there.
She knew that the drowned rat comment had irritated Leo, surmising that a lot of little things irritated Leo. But to have Jailean agree with her, which made Leo's frown deepen and brows furrow even more, lightened her heart. She sent a grin to the woman, all teeth, showing that they were sharp but didn't intend on using them. "That's okay!" she chirpped in reply. Definitely, she felt the tension her being here caused. But she didn't mind it. It wasn't as rough as the tension back home. This, right here, she could deal with. "Pawpaw leaves some lemonade and clementines in here for me." She referred to the fridge that she opened. "Besides, I'm already up here. I can get it."
With a feline grace, she bent at the waist and grabbed the neck of the lemonade jug from the inside of the door to set it on the counter. After that, she crouched down to be eye level with the six pack of beer cans on the bottom shelf. In a few tugs, she had two of the beverages out of the plastic rings. "Nasty things," she said lowly, straightening until she was at her full five-foot-six height. "Here you go!" She tossed them both at the same time to the only two men in the room. Of course, they caught them with ease, but while Jua shrugged and opened the top, Leo snarled his lip.
"We went to Taco Bell. I already have a drink."
"Sourpuss."
Leo growled, passing a hand through his hair. "Jailean, you yourself need to sit down." He remembered their conversation in his bedroom. How she wasn't meditating and that it was draining her to not do so. "Let her get it."
"My name is Penny." Whereas Penny sent Leo a glance she saved for bugs that didn't bother her but still wasn't on her "favorite bug" list, she gave Jai a beaming smile. "You do look a bit tired," she ventured, twisting off the lid of the lemonade. "I'll share! And Pawpaw has my clementines stashed somewhere so that Uncle Jaye doesn't eat them; they're stocked full of nutrients that relieve digestive nastiness and promotes better heart health." She nodded resolutely. "Also, they help build strong bones, support muscle movement and relaxation. Aunt Jewel said something about it being an anti-cancer fruit, too. But shifters don't get cancer. Actually, they're never really sick."
Still smiling, she pressed the lemonade into Jailean's hand, not giving her a choice whether to accept or decline her offer. Then she hopped onto the counter, maneuvering to get on her knees as she peered over the top of the fridge. "Nope. Not here."
"Penny."
"Leo." She responded with a deep voice, mocking his scolding tone.
"You need to leave."
"No, I don't. Pawpaw said I could come over."
"Why?"
"None of your busy-ness." Then she turned to Jailean, jabbing a thumb into Leo's direction, who was rounding the corner of the counter to where they were. "Is he always like that?"
|
|
|
Post by Orfeo on Jun 30, 2017 6:12:42 GMT -5
Without trying she gave Penny a grin back, one which came naturally and felt right. She almost laughed as she saw Leo frown a little more, but stiffled it and simply kept her composure as she approached Leo and Penny. "Lemonade sounds pretty good actually. Although I'm not really sure on what a clementine is, so I guess lemonade it is."
Needless to say she now felt a little foolish for having doubted Penny when she first showed up a few minutes ago. Frankly, a few minutes is a hell of a quick time for someone to make a complete turn on how they saw someone, but to Jewel, Penny just seemed to radiate charisma. It helped she didn't know of their situation, so the conversations naturally steered to nice things rather than being forced to go in that direction in order to avoid reliving painful past menories. She also did figure that it helped to stay on the girl's good side. Jailean saw those teeth as Penny had grinned and something in the back of her mind told her that she wouldn't be afraid to use them on someone she wasn't particularly fond of
As Jailean took the drink on hand she couldn't help but yawn, as if on cue to Leo's concern about her being tired. She smiled lazily and scratched at the back of her neck. "Don't worry, Leo. I've been through worse. But I do think I'm going to sit down." Jailean toom a couple of sips of lemonade and then gently placed the bottle back on the countertop. Another yawn rocked her body but she then found herself almost laughing at Penny' remark of Leo, their entire previous exchange having gone over her head.
She looked at Leo and shook her head slightly, not quite knowing what to say about him. Was he always like that? No, not really. In fact, rarely to be honest. Or maybe she was used to it enough that she wasn't quite sure. "Who, Leo?" Jailean shrugged. "It depends. I don't really know what's going on here so I really can't say." She shrugged, but with a small smile on her face, turned on her heel and promptly plopped back down on the closest chair that she could find, bringing her legs up to herself before turning her attention to Leo.
"At the very least let the girl stay a half hour or so. God knows where she came from. Could have been pretty far from here so let's just let her rest a bit." She saw no harm in it. Penny didn't seem to have any intention of causing harm, and in her books that was good enough for Jailean. And it wasn't like Penny wanted to stay the night either. At least it didn't seem like it. With only the clothes on her back and nothing else? No, unlikely.
|
|
Jewel
Healer
Loyalty comes in many forms. Some are more obvious than others. -Thorn
Posts: 2,195
Pack Status: New Dawn, Nighstar, Rogue, Other
|
Post by Jewel on Jul 1, 2017 2:28:53 GMT -5
Penny stuck her tongue out at Leo, who reluctantly stepped away from the lioness shifter on the counter. She liked Jailean; she wasn't a crazy human who worshipped shifters and didn't look at Penny with some sort of awe - fearful or otherwise. In fact, with how Leo reacted to Jai's "let her stay", she gathered that Leo at the very least respected her.
Dad said that Leo was a bad person. So, really, he shouldn't have the decency to respect someone of his own species, let alone one that most supernatural beings considered below them.
She landed on the balls of her feet, then took the bottle of lemonade to swallow a mouthful. She didn't care that Jai had just drank from it. There was no getting sick for her. "Yeah, Uncle Leo," she chirpped, going through the cabinets in search for her treasure. "Jailean, you've never had a clementine before?" she asked incredulously, circling back to the topic of her favorite fruit. "Oh, my gosh. When I find them, you're just going to have to try one."
The front door opened, making Penny pause to instinctively scent the air. Then she smiled. "Pawpaw!" she cried jubilantly, leaving a cabinet open to meet her grandfather. And by the time she came around the counter, Carl was in the threshold between the living room and kitchen.
"Hey, sweetheart." He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, a plastic sack in one hand as he hugged Penny back with the other. "Uncle Jaye will be home soon. He's at the skate park with a couple other of his friends." When grandfather and granddaughter split apart, he set the plastic bag on the white countertop. "You three successful in your endevours in town, today?" he asked curiously in the way of greeting.
|
|
|
Post by Orfeo on Jul 1, 2017 15:26:13 GMT -5
Jailean nearly rolled her eyes. The confrontational attitude was a breath of fresh air and, funny enough, it was nice to see someone that knew of Leo who wasn't really afraid of him and wasn't actively trying to kill him. She found it a shame that the family still looked at him in a... peculiar way. But then again what did she know about families after being raised in a lab till she was eighteen? Just the stuff she read on the books and saw in the television, her recent experience with the Pride not withstanding.
"Like I said, no idea what it is. But I'll give it a try." Jailean couldn't help her smile. Penny seemed like a ball of energy that couldn't be controlled. Doing her own thing and not having people tell her what to do. Not quite unlike Leo in that regard. Family resemblance was still there, even if it was just a little and on fleeting moments. "As long as they're nothing too sour. I can't stand the taste of sour food that has nothing sweet about it either."
It took her by surprise that Penny had been able to tell that Carl had arrived, with the way she went after her grandfather making Jailean think that the girl had suddenly lost her marbles. She never heard a door open and hardly even heard any footsteps till Carl had made it to the kitchen. A sudden chill went down her spine at Carl's sudden appearance, looking to Jailean for a moment like a stranger rather than the man that had taken them in. It only took a couple of seconds for her to relax and for the chill to leave her body as she finally made out whom she was staring at.
"Hi Carl," she spoke softly, in the same way she had always spoken to him. Respectfully and a little bit cautious and mindful of the words she used. Jailean couldn't help it. It was a habit that seeded itself into her from the moment that she first put eyes on Carl. It wasn't about to go away anytime soon.
She spoke as she moved to close the eyesore that was the open cabinet. "Yeah. Leo and I got our stuff done. He's got everything though." She looked toward Leo and smiled as her hand pushed the cabinet closed before turning her gaze back to Carl. "Nice enough place as is. Comfortable. I really think it'll do for a good while. At least until things start to pick up, but," she shrugged her shoulders as if to say 'oh well', "we'll get there when we get there."
Jailean sat up on the counter and rested her hands on her legs, simply watching them all, once again yawning lightly.
|
|