Flicker & Flame

Vi could feel Darla loosening up- this was the most alive she’d seen her since they’ve known each other. Vi’s chest burned with satisfaction, with feelings of contentment. “Good.” She said, her voice low but the gruffness of it reaching Darla in the back anyway. “You’ll see.” She chuckled to herself.

They were about a minutes drive from the top when Vi returned her hands to the bikes handlebars. She lowered them back onto the road, the wheels screeching slightly upon their return. “I think you’re gonna love it.” She raised her brows secretly, wondering what Darlas reaction would be. 

They finally arrived to the summit as Vi pulled into a small dirt parking lot. Vi stopping the bike abruptly, her leg kicking out to steady them as she the bike turned into a parking spot. She shook out her hair, running her hand through it in an attempt to tidy it, but as always, it was still messy chic. She kicked her leg over the handles, taking a step off the bike before reaching her hand out. “M’lady.” She smirked, her hand offered to Darla. 

Darla wrapped her arms back around Vi’s middle as they began to descend, the change in the pull of gravity suddenly making her stomach flip. But she knew Vi had it under control. Still, she would be lying if she said she wasn’t just a tad thankful when they finally set the tires back down on solid ground. 

A huge smile on her face, and a slight playful roll of her eyes, Darla took Vi’s hand and hopped off the bike. She didn’t know if she felt lightheaded from being up so high, or from flying just now, or from something else entirely. She immediately turned to take in the view. “Christ alive, this is goddamn gorgeous up here,” she gawked, a gasp edging into her voice. It was honestly a breathtaking view...even when she turned back to look at Vi.

Darla’s fingers holding onto hers mad Vi’s smile expand into a toothy grin. This was the closest she’d felt with someone in a while, romantically, at least. She shook her head slightly, trying not to read too much into it, she knew this was a casual fling- but she couldn’t help feeling something more when she saw the way Darla reacted to her touch, or when she said something that caused her lips to unwillingly lift at the corners. They sped along, reaching a higher point in the sky, almost flying above the trees. Vi knew exactly where she was taking Darla. 

“I thought you said you liked it when the motorcycles were fast.” She smirked, knowing full well that wasn’t what Darla meant. “Don’t you trust me?” She replied, biting her lip.

Vi could feel the adrenaline coursing through her veins, taking her happiness higher than where they were flying on the bike. With her arms still out, Vi looked back to Darla, turning slightly in her seat to rub her cheek against Darlas. “We’re almost there.” Her voice lowly rumbled. They were about three fourths up the mountain, about a ten minute drive to the summit, less than that if they continued to fly. 

Darla has really let herself go. Flying through the air felt like the crisp wind was chipping away at her hard exterior, causing pieces to break off and fly down to the ground to shatter. It was scary, that was for sure, but she felt secure holding onto Vi, her magic holding Darla in place. Her life was in Vi’s hands, and while she’d been in more dangerous situations with much sketchier characters in the past, this was the most vulnerable she’d felt in a long time. 

“I trust you,” Dara admitted aloud. It didn’t sound like her voice as she yelled it over the roar of the engine, voice echoing over the treetops. She relished in the feeling of Vi’s cheek against her own, turning her head to kiss it gently. Cold skin on chapped lips, both the winds doing. 

He wasn’t much of a talker, but it was true that Ephram was easy to read. Even in the pressure cooker of prison he’d never really, truly learned the flat inviolable stare, the one that gave nothing and asked nothing; he could marshal his expression into one that was still as a pond, but he couldn’t keep his emotions off it. He didn’t have that sort of guile built into him, not like, say, their Daddy did. Harlan could lie for hours and straight to the faces of people he was lying about and nobody would think to correct him.

His son wasn’t any good at that. Ephram was honest in word and deed for the most part, even if that did shit-all in terms of self-preservation.

“Me and Cheyenne got that in common,” Ephram said with his slow sideways grin, “You always was more slippery’n the both of us. Lil fox girl spirit, you are.”

Darla’s objection to Ephram’s decision that he wasn’t cut out for anything good was … surprising, and not, at the same time. He’d always suspected his little sister wasn’t half as uncaring and too-cool-for-school as she always put up as her front, but she sure as fuck did a good job of that front. Not out here in the oncoming dark, though, the two of them alone. She let it drop, a little bit.

And Ephram loved her fiercely for it.

But he had his hangups too, so he didn’t say anything like that or try to tell her that she could do anything she wanted, really, if she just bent her determination to that end. “Fuckin’ frat boys takes some know-how,” he said, feigning deep consideration of the notion, frowning in thought and nodding. “Maybe you should brush up on your skills afore you head out. Only we ain’t got no frat boys round these here parts, so I reckon you should find yourself a letter jacket, and pick out some nice young bull-calfs, and wrangle that jacket on em and practice kissing and canoodling with em so’s you can git used to the level of conversation and finesse when it comes to fuckin’–”

He didn’t make it much further than that, dissolving into barking, cigarette-hoarse laughs as he dug his hands into his pockets, hunching over. “Bring me with you, Darla,” Ephram said, starting to walk out into the field. Not to get away from her, just because he needed to move, work out the electric twitches in his muscles. “I’ll fuck all the sorority girls. What should I practice on, huh? Ain’t no poodles round here.”

It was eye opening sometimes, to see how others saw her. A lil fox girl spirit. Cute. Cunning. Conniving. She supposed it was better than some of the other things she’d been called in the past, even by this very same brother. 

She couldn’t help but laugh at his competing frat boys to bull-calfs. “I’m thinkin’ more like snortin’, dirty wild boars. Easy to wrangle for a gal like me but you gotta ask yerself, do you really want to?” She laughed along with him but as he started walking away, she felt her face screw up a bit in confusion, following him with slow, meandering steps as she took another drag from her cigarette. 

“I would, Ephram. If you really wanted me to. You ain’t even gotta fuck no Sigma Apple Pie bitches.” She couldn’t help but giggle at her own dumb joke, but her tone returned to its seriousness just as quick. “Yer the one oughta be goin’ to college outta the two a us. They got art programs and shit, yeah? What would I go for? Dumb blonde 101?” 

Vi smiled, the wind whipping her growing hair around her face. “We sure do.” She called back. Vi bit her lip, knowing full well the effect she had on Darla just in that moment. “Thank you, darlin’.” She said, her eyes focused on the road ahead of them, Darlas touch distracting, but welcome. She could feel Darla pushed up against her back, and her arms wrapped around her stomach made her cheeks red. She loved the feeling of being trusted, especially in this case where Darla literally had to trust her with her life. 

Vi took the turns elegantly, trying something she hadn’t in a long time. She summoned the power she could, directing the wind to lift them up as they slowly rose, pulling them slightly above the road as they continued to accelerate uphill, and soon they were practically flying. Forget the broom- this witch had her bike. 

The leaves fell slowly from the trees, which were all turning a warm red color as if to give example as how the season changed from one to the other. Vi lifted her arms, stretching them out as she used her power to control the bike. 

Darla was mighty impressed by the fact that while she could feel Vi reacting to her every touch, she wasn’t letting herself get distracted. Darla had the attention span of a puppy most times, especially when it came to sex, and she knew touches to her bare stomach as she sped down the road would have had her totaling this bike already. 

It took Darla longer than it should have to realize the wheels of the bike had left the road completely, hovering above the asphalt. She scrambled to get a better hold around Vi’s middle once she realized, and yelped when Vi’s arms stretched out wide. 

He allowed himself a slight grin. “Like I said, part of the job.” He had to admit, Darla was entertaining; a refreshing change of pace from his usual more sedate company—or the absolute stillness of no company but his own. Will raised an eyebrow in response to her lingering look, meeting her gaze with an expression of dry amusement.

As she fiddled with the phone and inspected the picture, Will tucked his hands in his pockets and pretended to know what she was talking about. “Yeah? Alright then,” he said with an easy shrug. If she was content, then he considered his job done. 

“I’ve always found that the best views are never from behind a camera lens,” he remarked idly, giving her a look. He had nothing against photographers, but held a tiny bit of dismay for those tourists who spent their entire trip camera in hand, never stopping to appreciate nature in its most immediate form.

“Whole forest’s got a lil’ something extra. Think it’s something to do with ley lines or such.” He pushed his hair back from his face. “This spot here, though? Nah. Aside from the occasional faerie ring. There’s a big old standing stone not too far from here, though.”

Darla had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at his comment. Sure, he was right, but she was so tired of hearing that. Saying she should put her phone down and enjoy the moment. She did. It took two seconds to take a good picture, and it was how she made her money. “Well I ain’t behind it now, am I?” She asked cheekily, literally putting her phone in her pocket to prove her point. Even if he hadn’t meant it as a direct jab at her, that’s how she took it because in Darlas mind, everything was about her. 

“Don’t shave it, you got a weird-shaped head. You don’t recall what you looked like as a baby, gross.” Ephram grinned at her, fast and sudden through his more usual heavy world-weariness. “All sorter lumpy and alien. We told Loretta to put you back where you came from but she said nuh-uh.” Ephram laughed and held out his arms to the sides, tilting his head back. “Cut it short! Like Sister Maria. The hills are aliiiive–”

He trailed off in the song, squinting at her and saying, “Oh, right. You cain’t sing a dang note.” Ephram chortled a little meanly, but only a little; this was ordinary sibling teasing, after all, not the real deep down hard pickaxe leave-you-bleeding sort of scrap they were capable of getting into. 

And he tilted his head at her as she talked about girls needing a good dicking, sucking on the inside of his bottom lip as he considered just … saying it. That girls weren’t the only ones. That her brother needed it too, needed more than that – a good hard slap to the face, a good barrage of filthy name-calling – to settle the screaming tumult in his head some nights. That he was gonna be getting it tomorrow night at eight o’clock, don’t be late, from Otis fucking Jenkins, older than their Daddy.

Instead Ephram puffed on his Red Apple and drawled, “If you’re takin’ it into your own hands, girl, best be hidin’ your lil vibrator or whatever somewheres your momma ain’t gonna search it out. Cheyenne says she couldn’t hide so much as a single joint without Loretta bloodhoundin’ it to the light.”

He grunted slightly when Darla called him gross and shoved him, rocking gently with the push. And then looked over at her, really looked at his little sister, when she asked about if he’d ever thought of leaving town. “Yeah, of course,” Ephram said, and then, “and I always know I ain’t gonna. There ain’t nothin’ out there for me, Darla. Anythang I can have in this life, it’s right here in Apple Fall. Ain’t nothin’ else I’m fit for.”

Not a dumb trailer-trash piece of shit like me, Ephram thought savagely, barely even twenty-five and already dirty and used up like some old junk car only fit to be broken down for parts. But that was him. It wasn’t Darla.

Ephram curled his fingers against the small of her back, petting her there a little. “You could make it, though, iffen you wanted. If you maybe wanted to head out to … to college, or somethang. Beauty school. Hell, to Vegas to be a show girl, I dunno.”

“At least I ain’t look like a fuckin’ egg like you,” Darla teased back with a grin. “Bout to hatch one of them chickens you love so much straight out your noggin’.” Darla used to mind the sibling teasing, even the jab at her tone-deafness. She used to really let it get to her. But she could tell when the teasing had true malice behind it. Ephram could be easy to read sometimes, and his annoyance in her bubbled to the surface so often it was impossible to miss now, if only from repeated viewings. 

Darla chuckled at Ephram’s take on Loretta’s knack for sniffing out sin. “That’s ‘cause Cheyenne ain’t sneaky and she’s a shit liar. I got my spots and my systems.” Spots she’d only found because Cheyenne told her about them, but she neglected to add that. She loved her sister, but she didn’t like to admit getting help from her in any way.

A frown creeped slowly on her face as Ephram spoke about himself. As much as he annoyed the everloving shit out of her, she always hated to hear him tear himself down. “That ain’t true. I reckon it’d be good for you,” she mused as she puffed on her own cigarette. But she didn’t push it, because she knew she’d get nowhere fast. 

Whatever was happening right now might have been considered a vulnerable moment for them–for whatever their relationship had boiled into recently–but Darla wasn’t in the mood to argue. A rare occurrence really. Usually, she was the one starting shit. But tonight, she’d had enough arguing. So when he went on about how she was Daddy’s favorite and how Daddy didn’t love him the same, she said nothing. At least not at first. But she quickly got restless, her lighter twirling in her hand not doing the job to keep her occupied. 

“I’m more’n just a pretty lil girl,” she grumbled into the crisp air, staring straight ahead before looking down and becoming particularly interested in her own shoes. 

Darla scoffed at the mere thought of what Ephram was suggesting. “Finn? No way. I wouldn’t want a shack up with no friend a yours.” That was a bit harsh, and usually she’d leave it at that, but then decided to amend a bit. “Boring will stop me. I’d take dirt fuckin’ poor over boring.”

She gazed over at Ephram a bit expectantly, holding her hand out casually, holding the lighter between two of her fingers. “Can I bum another, brother-o-mine? I’ll even giggle and toss my hair for you if it’ll get me what I want.” She couldn’t help the petty comment. “Or I can just owe you one.”

“Darla,” Ephram said impatiently, “of course you’re more’n that. All’s I’m sayin’ is – that’s what Daddy wanted from you, and you’re it. You’re what he can understand, you’re blonde and you’re pretty and you behave like how you’re spose’d to behave. Even the mixin’ it up with dumb ass hoodlums and gettin’ into your lil bits of mischief here and there, it’s adorable, come on. It’s your fuckin’ stock in trade.” He forcefully blew out a stream of smoke from the corner of his mouth. “So don’t use it and then complain that it’s what you’re known for.”

Busting on Finn was a more appealing conversational bent, though, and Ephram latched onto it and took the slightly harsh comment to a more vicious level. “Finn’s so boring even the other accountants take off when they see ‘im coming. How he ever got anybody to fuck ‘im I’ll never know. Poor girls probably gave ‘im a ride just to shut him the hell up.” 

Hearing Ephram rag on his own friend was highly amusing to Darla. He was never one to hold back his thoughts. Pettalines in general never held back much of anything. But it still amused Darla to no end. “Sometimes a girl just needs a good dickin’, even if she’s gotta take the reigns her own damn self.” That was probably a very inappropriate thing for her to be saying to her brother, but Darla never cared about that sort of thing.

She took the cigarette gladly, lighting it up as quick as she could and taking a satisfying drag. In the dim light the only thing that really stood out was the glow from the tips of their cigarettes. “You’re fuckin’ gross,” Darla teased, pushing him sightly. But suddenly silence filled in the space between them with an awkward aura. She had so many questions for Ephram, but she wouldn’t let herself ask them. She was almost too scared to hear the answers.

As Vi reached up and tucked some of her hair behind her ear, Darla felt her cheeks blushing in spite of herself. She wasn’t usually one for mushy shit like that. It always sounded cheap to her. But Vi saying it felt different somehow, in a way she couldn’t quite pin down. Everything about Vi was so different. Foreign and exciting territory. She was just so unapologetically genuine, so unashamedly herself, that it was almost scary to see. And yet, it seemed to pull those same feelings from Darla. An urge to not lie about her emotions and bury them deep down. Sure, they bubbled to the surface and rolled helplessly around the pot because she wasn’t sure what to do with them, but all the same…even if it felt like a bad idea, Darla let herself be swept up in it, at least for today.

She took the helmet from Vi with a cheeky smile. “And they say chivalry’s dead,” Darla teased, running a hand down the arms of Vi’s leather jacket before pulling away and shoving the helmet on. She shoved her bag into one of the saddlebags and hopped onto the bike with Vi. “Maybe one day I’ll take you for a ride,” Darla commented as she got settled, sliding her hands up under the jacket to wrap her arms around her middle, audibly laughing at the implications of what she’d said. “Horseback ridin’, I mean. I’m real good.” 

She squeezed Vi’s middle as she started the bike, the purr of it sending a thrill through her chest. “Ready when you are, darlin’.”

Vi noticed the color in Darlas cheeks turn slightly before she looked away, causing butterflies to swirl around her stomach. “I guess chivalry could be rearranged to fit these days- it’s not a bad thing to redefine sometimes outdated concepts.” She winked.

Vi turned, her foot kicking up to wrap her legs around the bike. She turned the key, letting it warm up for a moment while patting the tank. Vi’s eyebrow raised at Darlas mention of taking her for a ride. Darla couldn’t see her face, as she was seated behind her- but she could likely hear the smile on her lips. “Horses, sure.” She nodded. “Actually- that sounds really fun. We should do that.” She said, patting Darlas hand on her stomach before kicking off the sidewalk with her boot.

Whenever they’d roar through Apple Fall she’d always dream of jumping on the back of one and being swept away on some grand adventure. Finding herself in the arms of a leather clad lover. A bad boy. Someone that took no shit but knew how to be soft with her. The leather jacket rubbing against her arms made her blush as she pushed the thoughts from her mind.

“Ready!” Darla called back over the roaring wind. She hugged Vi tight around her middle, fingertips having creeped closer and closer to the hem of her shirt as they’d drove. And as they started down the winding roads at the base of the mountain, Darla ventured to touch the tight, smooth skin of Vi’s stomach. She was well aware it was dangerous. Any distraction could prove disastrous for them both. But Vi’s wind magic was powerful and she trusted the woman she had her arms around, even if she wouldn’t admit it to herself outright.

“As are most things.” Vi complimented, her free hand reaching up to Darlas face, her fingers caressing by her cheek to tuck a lock of hair that turned strawberry blonde in the warm sun rays. For someone so adamant that she ‘wasn’t gay’, Darla had sure warmed up to her. Vi wiped the dew off the seat with the bottom of her shirt before leaning against her motorcycle. She pulled Darla closer, pulling her arms up to her shoulders as her own slid around Darlas middle. 

“Oh no, you’ve found me out.” Vi smirked, looking up at Darla. “-but you will need to hold on tight, especially around those corners.” She fibbed. When she was driving her magic was slightly in control, holding anyone on the bike secure. Darla could even hold her arms out while Vi drove, feeling the wind through her hair and the breeze wrap her as if she was flying- but Vi preferred to be held, the intimacy of Darlas wrapped around her was one that she craved. She wouldn’t be mad if Darla wanted to try it though.

Vi stood, leaning down to peck Darlas lips with her own before pulling the helmet off the handle bars. She pulled her close, her hand at the small of Darlas back as she brought up the Helmet. “M’lady.” She offers the helmet. 

As Vi reached up and tucked some of her hair behind her ear, Darla felt her cheeks blushing in spite of herself. She wasn’t usually one for mushy shit like that. It always sounded cheap to her. But Vi saying it felt different somehow, in a way she couldn’t quite pin down. Everything about Vi was so different. Foreign and exciting territory. She was just so unapologetically genuine, so unashamedly herself, that it was almost scary to see. And yet, it seemed to pull those same feelings from Darla. An urge to not lie about her emotions and bury them deep down. Sure, they bubbled to the surface and rolled helplessly around the pot because she wasn’t sure what to do with them, but all the same...even if it felt like a bad idea, Darla let herself be swept up in it, at least for today.

She took the helmet from Vi with a cheeky smile. “And they say chivalry’s dead,” Darla teased, running a hand down the arms of Vi’s leather jacket before pulling away and shoving the helmet on. She shoved her bag into one of the saddlebags and hopped onto the bike with Vi. “Maybe one day I’ll take you for a ride,” Darla commented as she got settled, sliding her hands up under the jacket to wrap her arms around her middle, audibly laughing at the implications of what she’d said. “Horseback ridin’, I mean. I’m real good.” 

“Sorry hun, it’s part of the job,” he said with a shrug, not really sounding all that apologetic. “Besides, there are better places for bumpin’ uglies than out in the woods. There’s bugs. Dirt getting places it shouldn’t. Tree bark might look smooth, but it’ll do a real number on bare skin,” Will pointed out, ever the one to consider the practicalities. He spoke from experience, but there wasn’t any need to tell Darla that: it’d probably just give her more ideas. He had known others like her, pretty and she knew it. Used it. Wielded it like a weapon as naturally as she breathed. Irresistible, if he allowed himself get swept along by her charm. In another day and age he would have played along, but now it just felt childish. Amusing, yes, but childish.

“Got it,” he echoed, taking the phone back. The phone felt too small for his hands, all sleek metal and glass. He missed the good old days when cameras were heavy, solid things. Now they’d been reduced to an app. Musings aside, Will did his best to center the image on Darla. He had no idea what made a good shot, what angles were the most flattering—he just pointed generally in her direction and pressed the button as directed.

“How’s this?” he asked, once again turning the screen towards her. His thumb had slipped into the frame, a blurry smudge in the corner.

Darla had a feeling Will wasn’t quite as impressed with her advances as she’d hoped. Probably all for the better, really. This town was so full of attractive folks Darla was almost starting to wear herself out on them. Still, losing a potential conquest was a bit of a blow to her ego all the same. “You’re no fun,” she teased finally, smirking and giving him a lingering once over before sighing in defeat.

She posed for the picture and rushed up next to him when he offered her to have a look. A frown creeped onto her face. “You got your thumb in the way,” she said bluntly, taking the phone from his grasp. She pinched at the screen for a few moments, squinting in concentration.

Vi smiled, biting her bottom lip so she wouldn’t smile too wide. She could tell Darla wanted her, and god damn it she wanted her too- but she wanted to tease her a little longer, spending some actual time together where they weren’t fucking. Not that Vi minded, but she wasn’t about to spend her only day off this week indoors. Even if she wanted to, the wind pulling her through life wouldn’t let her.

“Sounds like a plan- just promise me you’ll be careful with my baby.” She winked, leaning into Darlas kiss. She brought her hand up, touching her neck momentarily before Darla pulled away. Vi sat still for a moment in the booth, her eyes looking up and down Darla as she stood from the booth, a smile pulling at her cheek. She shook her head, sliding out of the booth. When she stood she patted the stray crumbs off her jeans.

“As you wish.” Vi took her by the hand and pulled her outside playfully. Her motorcycle sat on the corner, shining in the morning dew.

“I’m careful with you, aren’t I? Sure your bike can take a lil more punishment.” Even if it--for some reason completely beyond Darla--fucking didn’t seem to be in the cards for them at that moment, she couldn’t help but let the teasing words spill out of her. It was like second nature, really. And when Vi’s eyes roamed over her as she got out of the booth, she caught Vi’s eyes in a knowing look. There was some sort of motive behind this, she could tell, but she couldn’t put her finger on what.

Darla couldn’t help but giggle as Vi pulled her along outside. She loved how strong Vi was, not that she was really resisting. “Dang honey, she’s even prettier in the sunshine,” Darla complimented of the bike. Last time she’d seen it had been in a dark parking lot and she’d been pretty dang drunk. But the dew sticking to the metal made the thing glitter and shine like a gemstone, and Darla couldn’t help but smile. 

“The forest ain’t nearly as private as a lotta people think,” he stated. “This whole area’s public land, so I’d recommend conducting private ‘activities’ elsewhere. Otherwise some sap out on patrol’s gonna catch an eyeful that he didn’t mean to, and it’s embarrassing for all parties involved. If you get what I’m saying.” Will knew he was being a downer, but it was his job. And he’d had far too many encounters with couples hooking up in the woods to the point where it was more tiresome than amusing. 

“Nice redwood though,” he added as they passed the tree. He couldn’t tell if that was just the way she was, or if Darla was trying to drop a hint, or if she was messing with him. Their eyes met, and he definitely caught the wink, unable to help but let out an amused snort in return.

“Err,” is all he got out before her phone was thrust into his hands. Will didn’t look much older than his thirties, but when confronted with the wonders of modern technology, he acted like a clueless old man. It took him a long moment to find the right button to turn the screen on. “How do I get to the camera?” he asked, turning the smartphone back her direction.

“You always such a dang party pooper?” Darla asked, an amused edge still on her voice though it was a serious question. He looked like a fun guy, but maybe Darla had read him wrong. They had only met briefly before. “Besides, that poor sap you’re referrin’ to would be you, I reckon? Can’t very well happen upon yourself, now can you?” she reasoned with a shrug.

She’d definitely been trying to drop a hint, but even if she wasn’t, it was honestly the way she always was. She couldn’t keep the dirty thoughts out of her mind or off her tongue. Sometimes it got her into trouble, and sometimes she found herself in wonderful situations. Either way, she was much more preoccupied with the snort Will gave her. Was he laughing with her or at her? She couldn’t rightly tell, and that bothered her immensely because she prided herself on being able to read people.

She waited for a moment in her pose on the stump before realizing Will was having trouble with the phone, only a split second before he said something. She got up, walking over and stepping next to him, taking the phone and holding it so he could see. “Right here. The camera icon,” she said, a bit impatiently. But she tried to keep her cool, considering he was doing her a favor. Their hands touched for a moment and Darla was reminded of what it felt like to rub her hands on that big redwood they’d passed, except inside of her brain. He felt like earthness and age, and suddenly Darla understood. She couldn’t remember what they were called, but she knew there was a type of fae that lived a long time and had something to do with nature most of the time. The problems with being under-educated in the supernatural world, she supposed.

“Daddy got me out of prison a year early.” Ephram’s voice was sharp as broken slate, dark and dusty as he coughed and spat. The Bonford Coal Mine had been the easiest place to find work after he got out back into The World, welcoming ex-cons and the uneducated alike, and after all Ephram had gotten his GED in prison but that counted for shit, really, in the larger scheme of things so under the ground he’d gone. “He never visited, he never called, he never sent a fuckin’ picture postcard sayin’ hey son, hope you ain’t fuckin dead along with the stuff Cheyenne brought me from the rest of you’ns. So yeah, I guess Daddy loves me, shit, Darla.”

His turn to roll his eyes now and start chain-smoking another cigarette. “You know as well as I do – as well as everyone does – that you’re Daddy’s favourite, his pretty lil girl who giggles and tosses her hair and gits whatever she wants. So don’t start with that bullcrap. Not with me.”

Ephram pinched out the cherry of his finished smoke and pocketed the half-inch of tobacco and paper left, out of habit, before saying, “There’s decent fellers in town. Problem is they don’t got the sorter bankrolls that you’re lookin’ for, eh?” He snorted, waving a hand in front of himself as if shooing mosquitoes away. “You want me to set you up with Finn? You know his family’s got money. And him in Lexington a certified fuckin’ accountant now, makin’ that cash. He’s boring as shit but hey don’t let that stop you, sister.”

Whatever was happening right now might have been considered a vulnerable moment for them--for whatever their relationship had boiled into recently--but Darla wasn’t in the mood to argue. A rare occurrence really. Usually, she was the one starting shit. But tonight, she’d had enough arguing. So when he went on about how she was Daddy’s favorite and how Daddy didn’t love him the same, she said nothing. At least not at first. But she quickly got restless, her lighter twirling in her hand not doing the job to keep her occupied. 

“I’m more’n just a pretty lil girl,” she grumbled into the crisp air, staring straight ahead before looking down and becoming particularly interested in her own shoes. 

Darla scoffed at the mere thought of what Ephram was suggesting. “Finn? No way. I wouldn’t want a shack up with no friend a yours.” That was a bit harsh, and usually she’d leave it at that, but then decided to amend a bit. “Boring will stop me. I’d take dirt fuckin’ poor over boring.”

“Hmmm.” Vi hummed in reply. “-I mean, that is true.” She nodded, her hand leaving Darlas knuckled as she her in closer, their thighs touching under the table and her arm leaving Darlas back to return to the top of the booth seat. She reached out, pulling her coffee off the table and leaning back into the booth. 

Vi bit her lip, shaking her head at Darlas low rumble. “Oh, Darla, you magic woman.” She said, leaning in to kiss her gently. “Let’s go for a ride, then. That’s what I was planning on doing, anyway- would you like to join me?” Vi asked, tilting her head. She took a sip of her latte, polishing off what was left and setting it back on the table gently. “I was thinking of going up to the mountains, I haven’t been to the peak in a while. I think you would appreciate the view.” She plopped the last of the sandwich into her mouth, savoring the last bite of egg and bread.

“I seem to remember that you liked the ride last time, and to think that was only a short distance.” Vi brought her hand back to Darlas and used her finger to draw invisible shapes, her touch lightly caressing Darlas skin. “Maybe I’d let you take a turn, teach you how to ride.” She offered.

Vi’s apparent rejection of her advances honestly confused Darla a little. She’d never been struck down by Vi in the past. They both wanted each other and Vi was clearly teasing her, so what was the hold up? But instead of getting frustrated, Darla was slightly intrigued by the idea of taking a ride with Vi. “I mean, I’m enjoyin’ the view right here jus’ fine,” she muttered softly, winking at Vi, but then nodded. “Sounds real nice though. Wouldn’t mind bein’ your passenger again if you’re takin’ me somewhere worth my while.”