Lay You To Rest

"I wasn't sure what kind of candy you liked, so I got a spread." Efe returned from the snack bar with his hands perhaps overly full, two sodas in one arm while the other balanced a popcorn tub as well as three bags of sweets. Approaching the passenger side of his vehicle, he passed some of the food through the window, craning his head upward as an advertisement started up on the projector.

A dancing pretzel sang a jingle and hopped across the screen. "Oh! Should I have gotten pretzels?" This came as a joke, and he gave a soft laugh and started to move around toward the driver's seat.

Pausing for a moment, however, Efe seemed to grow some somewhat self-conscious upon catching his reflection in the vehicle's door, a proper mirror since he had gotten it washed for the occasion, of course. The button-down, something Efe did not typically wear outside his uniform, hugged his arms in the correct way. And that meant he was trying too hard and should not have let himself be talked into donning it.

Clearing his throat, though, he slid easily into the seat. "Have you seen these movies before? I used to think they were pretty scary." He smiled.

Most of the flowers that Efe had brought her were now (hopefully) safe in a vase on her counter at home, but she'd plucked one of them from the bunch and slid it behind her ear. It matched her outfit, after all, how could she not? And they were sweet and they smelled nice and they made something warm tickle her belly. The last time someone had gotten her flowers had been over two years ago now, and while Efe was nothing like him, she still sometimes saw the shape of his smile in Efe's.

"Gummy bears," Rangi stated, reaching out and taking what was offered anyway, "for future reference. Specifically the green and yellow ones, but I like the clear ones, too. Did you know they're pineapple flavor? And the green are strawberry, not the red." As the pretzel danced, Rangi laughed, but she wasn't really watching the screen. "I think popcorn is much more of a classic movie snack. Though, it's been ages since I've been. Drive-in or otherwise. So maybe that's changed."

She hadn't gone to the theater much as a kid, anyway. There'd only been one in town, and it usually only played movies that were out of date by about six months. Still, sitting alone in a dark theater had never seemed like the best use of her time, when she could've been spending it outside hunting down insects in the woods or swimming in the ocean.

As Efe climbed back into the car, Rangi took a moment to admire the way his chosen shirt seemed much more fitting than anything else she'd seen him in. Not that she was staring, but, well, they were right there! She cleared her throat and looked up, setting the candy in the center console to be shared. Her own attire-- a nicer blouse, bright colors for summer, and a pleated skirt that reached mid thigh-- felt almost too casual now. She smoothed her hands down her thighs and nodded. "I'm a big Alien fan. And aliens in general. They fit in well with the cryptid crowd. You know, like bigfoot and mothman?" She had always been fascinated with that world, even if technically she was part of it. She was more than sure at least a few people out there considered banshees and the like cryptids. "What about you?"

The mention of their last encounter drew another huff. It hadn't been one of his better moments, but then again, she hadn't exactly left the slate clean herself. "You seem to be remembering that conversation rather selectively," he said, tone flat. If empathy had been absent then, it certainly wasn't making an appearance tonight.

"What does that even mean?" Ken rolled his eyes at the nonsensical. "I'll pretend you making so little sense is because you're drunk, and not because you're actually this stupid. Doing you a kindness with that really." Feeling his temper scrape a little thinner, Ken knew he should walk away but his feet, however, stayed exactly where they were. "Last chance. Before I stop asking."

"I remember you being a fucking asshole the entire time," Rangi scoffed. "Does it make you feel powerful? Pushing other people around?" Sure, she was probably forgetting a few things that happened, and that maybe she had goaded him on a little bit, but in her mind, she'd been pretty out of it and vulnerable, and all he'd done was yell at her, call her pathetic, and shove her to the ground. Oh, and threaten to kill her. She wasn't forgetting that easily. Maybe that's why, when backed into writing a name down on a sheet of paper for a pointless vote, his name had been the only one that came to mind.

"It means you fucking suck." She rolled her eyes with great exaggeration. "I don't need your fucking sympathy. It's a little late for that." At his warning, she straightened herself up and folded her arms over her chest. "Make me. You didn't seem to have a problem doing it last time."

"Fair. Delicate is probably a better word for it," She nodded, not having any contradictions there. She was a scientist at heart after all. Not a linguist, and at the end of the day, English wasn't even her first language. So whatever word Rangi settled on seemed about right to her.

"I could, but," She trailed off. Her gaze dipped as her shoulders lifted and fell once more. "I don't know if I want to? Sometimes, things happen, and it feels like the opportunity just passed, and sure, you can try to go back, but I feel like then it would sort of feel like some consolation prize, in a way. It's not like I'd be able to get those years back, so I think I'd rather pursue something else entirely than be constantly reminded of what I gave up, I guess," She explained. There was also the fact that she no longer really felt fit to be a doctor, given she had hardly lived her life by any code to not do harm these days. "Thanks. Me too. And yeah. It definitely seems like it does suck. The whole dying part, but I'm starting to think maybe every species has their own sucky parts and disadvantages," She admitted. "Thanks! It is a good name, isn't it?! And what does Tapu and Mana mean? I could say the same about me. But, now I'm out here being a photographer part-time, so I guess I'm just one of those rare right-and-left-brain people."

"Honestly? I wasn't really sure. I...admittedly didn't think about it a lot." Mostly because Rangi didn't want to think about Dhruv a lot, and the painful relationship they'd found themselves in, a cycle of pain being passed back and forth between them as they were both reminded of-- and reminded by the other-- of the people they'd lost. "What? Oh. Yeah, he-- yeah. It's incredible, what he discovered." She nodded. "I just mean, like...it's kind of a little, uh, concerning, don't you think? To know that someone can become a werewolf without even being bitten. It's good knowledge, though, yeah. I think people should definitely be made aware of that. All of that."

Rangi gave a small shake of her head, although it was in agreement. "Right, no, that makes sense. I-- I get it. It's not quite the same, but I didn't start school in the mortuary science track." Another thing she'd done that had disappointed her parents. "No, I guess not. But if time is going to pass anyway, then why not do something with it?"

Truly, Rangi had to agree. Not being able to lie certainly sucked, but at least it wasn't dying or whatever. Even if her banshee-isms made her feel like wanting to die, sometimes. She would give anything to not have to death scream ever gain. "Pro and cons for everything, right?" She shrugged. "Well, mana is, like, energy. Like-- the supernatural energy within a being. And Tapu is a type of sacredness. Like, um-- think like, holy relics in a church or something. It's Māori."

"Yeah... well, that was before," He muttered under his breath, not seeing a need to fill in the gaps as to what he meant when it came to before. Years before he'd been taken. Back when he hadn't been so fucked up in the head. Before everything had gone to shit... seemingly for the both of them.

Groaning, Rangi buried her face back into the pillow and curled up in a tighter ball as she felt him rise out of the bed. She almost reached out for him but managed to have at least enough awareness of herself that she was able to restrain from it. When he returned, though, she peeked one eye open to look up at him and whatever he was offering her. Really, she kind of hoped it was maybe another shot of something-- tequila, vodka, hell she'd take gin, really-- but when the strange liquid came into view, her face scrunched up. "What is it?" she asked, sitting up just enough to reach for it. She eyed it warily, sniffed. Took a sip. "Ugh. Is this a hangover brew?"

Still, she took another sip. This certainly wasn't the first one of these she'd had, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. With each gulp, though, more and more of the previous night came back to her. The feelings of being unwanted, the bars, the stumbling around downtown, the showing up unannounced and out of her mind wasted here. The flirting, the touching, and, oh-- the kiss. Her face flushed bright red, as if she'd just come in from a long day out in the hot sun. "Oh, gods," she muttered, setting the drink aside and burying her face in her hands, "oh my god. Last night. I-- jesus. I'm so sorry."

"The fucking smell," Ronnie muttered. "And the fact that you were drunk texting, and-- you know what? I've already-- fuck this." She looked away first. She couldn't bear to keep looking at Rangi while she was like that, so fucking unbothered. "Well, I don't want that. I don't know anybody who does. For you to lay there or suffer or-- Fuck, Rangi. Don't be-- Don't be fucking gross."

Ronnie frowned before quickly scrambling onto the bar and snatching the bottle out of Rangi's hand. She could have just jumped, but this kept Ronnie above Rangi, looking down at her and raising an eyebrow before downing the rest of the bottle. It wasn't great. She found herself wrinkling up her nose, but, triumphantly, she said, "There. Got it. Wanna tell me where there rest are?" Save Ronnie from having to hunt everything down.

"Well you should take it back! Or, fuck, at least know you don't have to. You don't owe me that. You don't owe me anything. I'm the one that hurt you." Her face crumbled a little bit before it tightened, and she crossed her arms over her chest. "I am sorry. For all that... and for Addie, too, fuck it. It's kind of my responsibility to make sure she doesn't, like, be a bitch to my friends."

"You never complained about it before," Rangi huffed, blowing a puff of air against her palm and sniffing, as if to see if she, too, could smell the alcohol on her breath. She could. It was bitter and sweet. Red wine. The same bottle Ronnie had now just downed. Rangi tilted her head up to look at Ronnie on the counter, which just made her giggle, shrug. Ronnie was so short that even at this height, she was only a few inches above Rangi's eyeline. "Well, I mean, at least if I died here the cats wouldn't starve. Unlike if I'd drowned the other day or whatever." The admission was dropped quickly and with ease, no tightness to it all despite the it of it all.

Instead, Rangi's hands, unable to keep to themselves, snaked around Ronnie's waist and pulled her towards the edge of the counter. "Careful," she murmured, "you might fall and hit your head." Not that it mattered, since Ronnie was a vampire. She could get up and walk it off, unlike Rangi. At Ronnie's question, Rangi just shook her head. No, she wasn't going to just lead her to the rest of her alcohol, though, at the moment, she couldn't quite remember what was even left in the house. Surely there was a bottle of tequila somewhere, perhaps over by the couch. Maybe on her nightstand.

Rangi's face screwed up for a moment, unsure of what to say except, "I'm not doing it cause I owe you? I'm just...doing it because I-- because I care--" well, she couldn't say it, now could she? Ronnie had run off on her last time she had. She didn't want her to leave again. So she just left it there. Instead, she leaned in closer. "If you're sorry then--" her breath was heavy and she furrowed her brows-- "act like it."

It was a juggle getting inside. From finding Rangi's keys, to unlocking the door and keeping the cats in. Charlie thought they'd made it successfully when Rangi bent over to pet her cats. "Oooof!" The siren struggled to hold her friend up. Slowly, she lowered Rangi to the ground before letting go. With a long exhale she stood up. "Just stay right there, okay Legs? I'll be right back."

She'd been over before. It was easy to find the kettle, dry clothes and blankets. Food was harder as the fridge's main staple was wine, but she left that to figure out after she situated Rangi. "Okay. Time to get up. Here," Charlie bent down and offered up her hands. "Let's go.." She guided Rangi the best she could into her room where she left dry clothes for her and an extra blanket out. "Change into somethin' dry while I finish your tea, okay? Be careful, please." The last thing she needed was for Rangi to bump her head, which is why she hurried back.

"You decent?!" She asked from the door.

"Still..." Rangi mumbled but didn't finish the thought, too preoccupied already. She just nodded as Charlie headed off to who knew where-- not Rangi-- and let the two cats rub against her legs and arms, pulling Tapu into her embrace and nuzzling the cat's head. In her state, he was so soft and pliant, like a pillow, and she wanted to fall asleep right there.

But then Charlie returned and Rangi looked up at her, eyes glassy, reluctant to let go of her cat. His weight in her arms felt like a balm, like an anchor. She let him go, though, and reached up for Charlie's hands. It took her a minute to stand, legs like jello as they wobbled, much akin to a baby deer's. "Sure," she nodded again, stumbling into the room and over to her bed, where there were some warm clothes laid out. Rangi picked at them for a moment, watching the cats crawl all around the bed now, having followed her inside. Mana gave a quiet, almost pitiful meow and Rangi reached out, scratching her chin. It was almost as if they could sense what had happened-- what had almost happened.

"Sorry," she murmured under her breath, "I wasn't tryna leave you guys or anything." Though, it begged the question-- if something did happen to her, who would take care of them?

A knock at the door returned her to her thoughts and Rangi remembered she was supposed to be getting dressed. "Like, in general or right now?" She giggled, tired. Then. "One sec." She tugged her wet bathing suit off and switched it out for the clothes, warm and soft and comfortable, before going back over to the bedroom door and pulling it open. "Ta-da."

Lara hummed. "Then if that is what you want." She grabbed a coffee mug and the pot, setting it on the table for Rangi while she ate in case she wanted some. At the explanation of who this Gordon Ramsey was, she could only nod. "I do not own a television," she stated. What need did she have of one? There were far better things to do, in her mind, than watch an angry British man yell at people all day. There was work to be done, and far better ways to relax. "If he is famous for yelling at bad cooking, then I cannot imagine how that is entertainment," she added.

"I would lie, but I don't do that often, not even now that I can. Life, I am afraid, is often an ache. But that means that you are living still. Should the aching cease, should you find yourself... numb, then there is more to worry for then just the ache." Lara busied herself with work putting things away in the kitchen, or moving them towards the table so that Rangi might have more if she'd like it.

At her next question, Lara just stilled. "No. My parents were human. This was not... the first life I have had."

Rangi nodded, as if that made it final. "It is." Now she just had to figure out what she would cook again. Not spaghetti. (Anything but spaghetti). She glanced at Lara, then around the small room, as if she might somehow find the answer in the kitchen. Well, she half did. "Yeah, that...that checks out, too." Lara didn't seem like the kind of person to enjoy television. Rangi snorted. "Some people like that, watching people yell at each other. I never really got the appeal either."

Well. That wasn't exactly what Rangi wanted to hear, even if it was the truth, even if she knew it was the truth and that lying about all that was a disservice. Still, she sighed again. Grabbed the coffee pot and poured a glass, not drinking it yet, but wrapping her hands around the warming cup.

And now, it would be her last life. Rangi bit her lip. "Sorry. I-- sorry." She hadn't meant to bring up things that hurt to remember. Quietly, around the cup in her hands, she muttered, "This is my first life ever. And I already feel like I'm just messing everything up, all the time. I-- sometimes I just think that maybe starting over would be easier." Death, after all, didn't have to be the end for a fae, even if they chose it for themselves.

Zeina didn't say anything. Not at first, but they did slip off their shoes in front of Rangi, followed by the gloves on their hands. They only wore them these days because they happened to make one hell of a fashion statement, and they were quite fond of them, having grown far too accustomed to wearing them over the years. But it seemed like the gloves might've found a better home from the looks of it. Resting the gloves carefully on top of the shoes, making sure not to touch the other, Z took a step back of their own before they sank to their knees beside the other fae and motioned with a tilt of their head towards the gift they laid out before them. "A gift. For you. The shoes might be a little small, but they'll at least be something to get you home. Though I could always give you a ride too if you prefer. And as for the gloves, you don't have to take them if you don't want to," They promised her. Their voice dipped back into a whisper as the smallest glint danced across their eyes. "But, they are exquisitely made and will prevent any unwanted visions if you'd like a hand up," Zeina offered, extending out their hand toward the other. "Unless that is, death doesn't scare you, and in that case," They wiggled their fingers over at her as they assured her, "You're welcome to sneak a peek into my past, if you'd like. But no pressure one way or another."

"I..." Well, really, she didn't know, except that Rangi had been apologizing for that since the day she'd found out she was one. Her cheeks burned and she tucked her head away, embarrassed. She just barely managed to choke back another apology, choosing instead to curl her knees to her chest and blink away the harsh sting in her eyes. The gravestone in front of her came into view as she did so. Mason Mahir. Oh, well, that explained why she was here. Too much at once, tugging her in different directions. A broken heart, wound reopened time and time again because she just couldn't help herself, could she?

When the other person-- the possible other banshee, but she wasn't letting herself hope again, not anymore, not after so much time alone-- sat beside her, Rangi startled, unwrapping her arms and sitting up. "Oh." She looked down at the offered pieces of clothing. "Thanks." She didn't think she'd use either, but the gesture was nice. She just...felt too ashamed of it. Of still not being able to stop herself whenever she got like this.

Instead of saying anything back to words she only half registered, Rangi just looked at the other woman. "Are you...?" Like me. Please, please, please, she didn't say.

Ducking his head, then, Efe gave a laugh. "Yeah. You're...uh, from a proper warm climate, right? I mean, I think! I don't actually...what's the weather like there, huh?" He pursed his mouth, offering a hurried nod. "I'm enjoying seeing everyone. And uh...yeah, I'm on break. But you're not a bother. I'm happy to see you. Have you been...uh, drinking? It's important to stay hydrated with this heat and all."

Rangi held up two fingers, pressed together. She'd seen it in a movie before. "Scout's honor," she smiled. "Besides, I don't leave my morgue often so I don't see your mom around much, anyway." This was a tease, too, light and easy, like everything seemed to be with Efe. Though her features immediately turned taught and stressed at the mention of ichor. She remembered from last year, last time, when the humans were given a choice, apparently, to take it or not. Efe had taken it. Now, there was a wolf who had also taken it and had become a frothing, horrid creature, his life torn from him. Rangi paled a little. "You're not-- you haven't taken it again, right?"

The change of topic was not unwelcome, even if she gave one last wary glance about it. "I do, yeah. Temperate is the proper word, I think. But it's warm, usually. It's nice. We got our fair share of rain and cold, though, in winter. Which is opposite to here. Sometimes I still forget that." Despite standing outside in the current June, which was summer here but not there. She shrugged. "Nowhere near as hot as Australia, thank the gods, but it's nice. Like-- like fresh sheets from the dryer warm." She nodded. "Oh, are you working the festival? Yeah, that makes sense for you." Another lighthearted chuckle. "I'm happy to see you, too." She blushed, luckily it blended in with the flush of her already red cheeks. Her eyes went down to the bottle on her hip. "Umm, yeah. It's-- it's a festival, you know? Who doesn't wanna drink? I promise I'm staying hydrated, too! I know the dangers of heatstroke. I've seen my fair share of those on my table to know better. And I can't lie."

It wasn't easy to support them both, on top of their things. Her wings fluttered back and forth, constantly adjusting to keep them up straight. She was anxious, unsure what to do about what had happened in a way that felt meaningful. Rangi clearly had something going on that Charlie didn't know about, but the best the siren could do was help her sober up. Whatever it was couldn't be made better by drunk suffering or whatever that was that Rangi did.

"We're almost there." She tried to be encouraging. The walk from Sunny Harbor to Celestial Hills wasn't long, but even she was beginning to feel exhausted. "We'll get home... change clothes, have a snack, and sleep this off, okay?" It wasn't clear which one of them she was trying to assure. "Don't that that seem nice?"

Did ya... Rangi waited for the rest of the question, wondering how she'd answer it, but it never came. Instead, she was being lifted off the sandy beach and leaning against Charlie, head sagging a little. She never realized how draining almost drowning really was. She could breathe fine now but her body felt like a sack of lead. There was only one other time in her life where something similar to this had happened-- she'd been young, young enough that she hadn't presented as a banshee yet, and she'd just been learning how to surf. She was on a board by herself for the first time, her dad on another nearby. A wave larger than she'd anticipated had washed her away. She'd woken up on the beach with her mother leaning over her, actually looking worried, terrified. Despite that, they hadn't taken her to the hospital. Just in case. They couldn't risk it. Rangi had slept almost twelve hours after it happened.

Now, she wanted to do the same. Just curl up in her bed and sleep until all of this went away and she could wake up and pretend it never happened. "Sorry..." she mumbled about halfway through the walk. "Just tired." She nodded and let her head rest on Charlie's shoulder. "Sounds nice."

When they finally made it to Rangi's place, she fumbled in her bag-- when did she grab her bag? Had Charlie done that for her?-- pulling out the keys and unlocking the door after a long moment of struggling. The cats were at the door to greet her like always and she smiled, still tipsy, and bent down to hold out a hand to them. "I'm salty," she muttered to them, giggling quietly, forgetting, for the moment, why she was brought home in the state she was.

Ronnie didn't waste much time covering up the smoke detector once it was located, using a chair and her toes and jumping just a little. When she came back, she plopped down, lit up one of the joints, and took a drag. It didn't have the same effect that it did when she was alive. Or human, she supposed, because being a vampire was sort of being alive. In the weirdest, hey-you-sort-of-died-and-came-back way possible. It was just sort of dull. Or it took more. This would probably have more of an effect if she siphoned magic more often. Which was... completely and utterly irrelevant to watch Ronnie should be thinking about, as she dragged herself back to the present and leaned in closer to Charlie to take one of the red gummy bears.

"It's probably something to do with... the early 2000s and short guys and complexes," Ronnie mumbled, not really caring much about what was happening on the screen, even as she watched.

"I gotta.." Without taking her eyes off the screen, Charlie lifted herself up from between Ronnie and Rangi to make her way to the kitchenette for another bottle of wine. She took of sip of her new drinks and maybe a humming noise of approval. "This ones delicious!" Charlie said between long sips, as she remained at the counter and watched the movie play.

Rangi scrunched her nose at that. "His hair is stupid." She just didn't mention that she basically had that haircut in primary school as a child, before she grew it out. Only to cut it again once she left home.

Charlie stood up and suddenly there was no barrier between Rangi and Ronnie, who had the joint between her lips which just made it that much more difficult for Rangi to look anywhere else but there. She took a handful of gummy bears in an attempt to distract herself, trying to focus on the screen, before she finally decided she needed a hit, too. She leaned over without really looking at Ronnie and held her hand out. "It's puff, puff, pass, not hog the whole thing," she muttered.

"Jesus," Ronnie muttered. She couldn't help but soften, though. She offered Rangi a lopsided smile of her own. "And you're drunk." Still, the smile didn't last. "What if something happens while you're alone here? If you slipped and hurt yourself, if you drank too much? It's not any better just because you're in your own house and there aren't any fights for you to get into."

Ronnie wrinkled up her nose. "A fucking-- a... Oh, geez, I don't know? Maybe?" She guessed they'd find out. "If I find your weed before I find your booze, I'm gonna smoke it myself, so you better just hand over all the wine and anything else, okay?" Maybe that could alleviate Ronnie from having to do too much.

"I'm-- I'm sorry," Ronnie said quietly. Not just for breaking Rangi's heart. That felt inevitable. It was what she did, even when she tried to warn people against it. But she was sorry for being one of Rangi's best friends, too. It meant that Rangi had shitty taste in friends. "I'm not gonna ask you to take me in. But she-- what? She yelled at you?" Ronnie pinched the bridge of her nose. "Of course she did. And of course she was. Shit, I'm sorry for that, too."

"Hmmm, yeah," Rangi hummed, laying her head on her arm as she rest on the counter. "What gave it away?" The smile drooped from her face, though, nose crinkling. She didn't really get why Ronnie was so worried about it, if she supposedly didn't care about Rangi. If this was all just supposed to be fun. After a long moment of meeting her eyes, Rangi just shrugged, far too nonchalant for what her answer would be. "Guess I'd just lay here and suffer or whatever. At least if I died, the cats would eat my body."

Standing up way too suddenly-- needing, then, to take a moment to stop the world from spinning-- Rangi sauntered around the counter and grabbed the bottle she'd abandoned to answer the door, shaking it at Ronnie. "Here's one," she said, taking another swig. She swayed on her feet and stumbled against the counter, then lifted the bottle up over her head as she smirked at Ronnie. "Come 'n get it."

Rangi just huffed. "I'm not asking you to ask. I'm just saying, the invitation is always there. If you want it or need it or whatever. I have a whole empty room available. Plus I'm like not here that often so it's not like you'd even see me that much if you did stay." At the rest of it, Rangi just laughed. Actually full-belly laughed. "God, stop saying sorry. I get it, you think you're sorry. But you sure don't act like it. I don't care if your sister yelled at me. That's like...not even your reasonability to be sorry for. No--" her face scrunched-- "reponsi-- respondi-- responsibility. Yeah."

"You do not need to thank me. I don't mind helping you." It had been a long time since Lara was Rangi's age, but she knew how hard it could be to learn these abilities. She would not recommend to Rangi what she herself did, which was to disappear into the desert for several years before managing to control it. "Who is this Gordon Ramsey? Is he local? I have not had his cooking." She shrugged. That was certainly true. There is something to be said about the sharing of responsibility that comes from being away from civilization.

Lara hummed. "I would assume that something would come of that. It is possible to separate the act from feelings, I am sure, but not many can manage it." She took the pan of bacon and brought it over, offering for Rangi to put some on her plate. "I'm sorry if that isn't what you wish to hear, but you do have it. Time. More than you will realize. You don't have to let go right now. It is... It hurts, si, but it is not the worst thing in the world to allow yourself to ache. Just don't so much that it's all that's there."

"Maybe I don't need to, no, but I want to," Rangi corrected, taking a bite of a piece of bacon. It was really fucking good and exactly what she needed after waking up from another sleepwalking episode. It was also, she realized, the first food she'd had in over twenty-four hours. She'd fallen asleep on the couch last night after she'd gotten home, too tired to make anything, phone still open to the food delivery app. She'd never ordered anything. "You don't know who Gordon Ramsey is?" She glanced at Lara. "Actually, no, that checks out. He's uh, he's like one of the most famous chef's in the world. Big TV personality. He's British and likes to yell at people for their bad cooking."

Well, Lara was right about that. Rangi certainly couldn't seem to separate her feelings from the physical act, no matter how much she wished she could. She rubbed her head, groaning. "I'm so tired of aching." Physically, emotionally, mentally. All of it. Rangi had been aching far longer than the last two years, when the physical ache became so red-hot it felt like an actual wound on her body. Apparently, she'd been aching since the day she found out she was a banshee and she'd had to watch the light fade from her parents' eyes as they realized it, too. That she was nothing but a disappointment. She took another bite of bacon.

"Were your parents like us? Um-- banshees? Or were they other fae?"

Before responding, he lifted a hand and snapped his fingers twice in front of her face. "Are you awake this time?" The gesture might have seemed uncalled for to most people, but the question was entirely genuine. The last time she'd crossed his path in the middle of the night she'd been wandering around in her sleep and, frankly, he wasn't particularly interested in repeating the experience. Satisfied enough by the immediate scoff that followed, he let his hand fall with a quiet huff. "Good. You are. Then you can move."

It was only then that the smell reached him. His gaze flicked briefly toward the bar she'd emerged from before returning to her, the slight sway in her posture confirming what the scent already had. "You've been drinking. A lot." It was a feat in itself for a fae to have consumed enough to be drunk, and that somehow, flattened his expression even further. "Fantastic," he muttered, "you're intoxicated and in my way. I don't have the patience to deal with this."

"Piss off," Rangi snapped back, smacking his hand away from her face. She swayed in her spot, grabbing the nearest solid object to keep from falling forward. "Like you cared whether I was awake last time or not." She remembered how uncaring he'd been about her confusion and disorientation. And sure, maybe he'd been dealing with his own bullshit, but a little empathy went a long way. She'd tried to be nice, in the moment. But she'd also been fresh off the one year anniversary of the loss of her best friend. Sue her for being a little out of it.

And fuck him for always being such an asshole. She would never forget the thing he'd said to her. Whether he meant it or not, he'd threatened to kill her. Back then, she'd wanted him to. Now, well, if she did want to die, she certainly didn't want it to be by his hand. She crossed her arms over her chest and stood her ground. "Sucks to suck, I guess," she grumbled at him.

"Uh huh," Kiraz gave her a small nod, letting out an amused chuckle under her breath as she watched Rangi fidget with the lobotomy pick in hand. "I just meant that I've always found it fascinating how complex and simultaneously feeble the human mind is, is all, but yes, you are technically correct if everything you said there."

"I was, yeah, but I never completed the program. " I went on medical leave for my sister, which wound up being permanent," she admitted, before clarifying, "The medical leave." My sister's fine now, albeit a vampire. And the mortuary route is cool. I don't really blame you," She mused as she placed the scalpel back down to examine the lobotomy pick. "They're awesome, and here all I have at my place is my frankenrat. He's a labrat I rescued and now my good friend." She had a fair share of weapons she kept elsewhere, but in truth, her favorite weapon of choice was to use a syringe to create an air embolism in her victim's veins.

Rangi swatted playfully at Kiraz as she poked her cheek. "Seriously? I guess that's what he gets up to in that lab all day..." Not that Rangi had ever asked. The two of them had a rather tumultuous relationship, despite both of them mourning two of the same people deeply. "Saliva, huh? That checks out. There's a lot of diseases and bacteria that can be transmitted through humanoid saliva." It made sense, too, how Dhruv would come to that conclusion. Still, it was impressive. "So people can really become a wolf without even being bitten? That's...a little disconcerting." Truthfully, Rangi had never really feared changing until she'd met Lara. It had never been an option in her mind and now it was seeming more and more likely.

"I wouldn't say feeble," Rangi shrugged, "more...delicate. I mean, the brain is encased in bone for a reason, right?" She tapped the side of her head with a grin.

"Oh. Well, I mean, that's an admirable thing to have done. I'd say maybe you could go back, but I don't know if the URI campus here has a pre-med track." Rangi shook off the notion. "I'm glad your sister is okay, though. Vampirism aside." A pause. "Not that being a vampire is a bad thing! Or that vampires are bad! Just-- you know. The dying part probably sucks." She chuckled. "That's cute, that you rescued a lab rat. Frankenrat is a good name, too. I'm not nearly as creative. The cats are just Tapu and Mana." She pursed her lips again. "I guess that's why I went into mortuary science and not liberal arts."