creepy and sleepy

While the car was relatively old, Onyx thought they’d taken better care of it than this. The motor didn’t surprise them as much, but they just stood there and stared at Salem blankly, in shock that it needed new break pads and rotors already. “Uh... wow, okay,” they acknowledged the repairs needed, pursing their lips a little bit. “Let me guess, you don’t have the motor part in stock because the car’s over ten years old. The money’s not a huge deal, I’m more worried about time,” they added, with a slight sigh.

Onyx wasn’t used to running into anyone out here after dark - usually there were just rustling of leaves, a squirrel or two, but never a whole human person. So it was bound to be awkward. They leaned against the tree that they were both beside now, and attempted to be chill although their heart was pounding from the fright. They heard the other plea for them not to call the cops and nodded. “Nah, this is a public cemetery, technically it’s employees only after ten but I won’t report you, you don’t look like a hooligan that’s going to deface gravestones or anything. Wait, another run-in? What’d you do the last time?” they asked, head cocked to one side.

Fully aware of how late it was, Onyx was wandering the cemetery, on a long-distance job for a distant relative of a Centralia resident who had passed around fifty years ago. She’d confirmed that the given name was not in the records for the cemetery at all, but that didn’t mean the relative necessarily gave the correct name. So she was on a mission to find all of the headstones with similar names, of which there were about thirty, narrowed down to twelve with the date range they gave her. She was taking pictures of all of them to cross-reference with the database and find out if their relative was indeed buried in the town. But her phone suddenly glitched out and died, and would not turn back on. Just as she was walking back to her car to plug it back in, she saw someone lurking around behind a tree nearby. “Hello?” she said, in a tone that suggested both suspicion and fear. “What are you doing out this late? Not that I’m... not out this late, but technically I’m working, so...” she partially said the sentence, still glancing around the tree to figure out who it was.

Onyx didn’t even think Circe had noticed that they’d sat at the same table as her, and they really didn’t mind much at all until Circe began mumbling and inching closer and closer to her laptop. She looked like an overtired gremlin hunched over like that, but it was rather entertaining. Clearly she was frustrated about something, and it was even more obvious when she actually began verbalizing it and broke her connection with the screen. Onyx wanted to chuckle, but pursed their lips in concern. “No worries... Is it really that bad?” they scooted closer and glanced at the screen, and then inhaled sharply. “Oh, yeah, that looks at least fifteen years outdated. And who do they think can read text that tiny? Fairies?” they asked rhetorically. “I can see why you’re so frazzled.”

To say that Onyx was a frequent visitor at the local bar was pushing it, though she found herself here more often lately, perhaps out of some twisted need for human interaction. She usually either sat at the very end of the bar for a very easy escape or tucked herself in to the most unassuming booth to people-watch. Tonight was the latter, and when she spotted Wren coming in she waited a while before approaching, mostly because she was eyeing someone at the bar who was very obviously trying to take home the bartender. When she tired of watching that pathetic interaction she approached Wren in her little corner. She tilted her head at the drawing and analyzed it for a moment. “I see, uh... baked potato? But with like, spikes on it,” she suggested, reaching for her drink and taking a long swig.

Onyx was never one to get into too much trouble, they preferred to stay on the sidelines and out of anyone’s business. But they also had a natural curiosity about some things, especially around this town. So when they heard whispers about a tour at least near the mines, they started asking around. They’d of course been given access to the safer parts of underneath the cemetery because they worked there, but the mines? It was unheard of. So when Kimo started getting defensive, they backed off a little and gave him an apologetic look, but one also of confusion. “Alright, chill, I just meant, it would be cool right? If someone was bringing people down there? I’d love to see it as close as I could, wouldn’t you?” they asked.

“I try to be the smartest cookie around,” they replied with a slight smile as he stamped out his cigarette. “I promise not to make a habit of it, we wouldn’t want anyone thinking you’re a bad influence on a good person like me,” they implied, joking of course. They walked through the door he held open, mumbling a thanks before they heard his question about the dog. “Lancelot. But his nicknames include just plain old Lance, Lancey-Wancey, Lando, Lotso-Huggin’-Bear, I won’t bore you with the hundred others,” they smiled widely when talking about their dog. He meant everything to them.

“Oh I know you are,” she confirmed to her friend, narrowing her eyes slightly to imply a tiny bit of annoyance in her voice. She couldn’t stand seeing someone she cared about struggle in the way that Faith currently was. She didn’t pity her, per se, but it was hard to watch her navigate a job that could put her at risk. At some point Onyx had accepted, though, that she was a big girl and could take care of herself. She heard Faith explain that it was in fact the opposite issue to what she had assumed. “Oh, thank god. I mean, not really, because no clients means no money, but I’m glad you’re at least being treated okay,” she said in an attempt at a reassuring tone. She then started to stumble over words after Onyx’s offer and she couldn’t help but let out a giggle. “Alright, alright, I won’t make you take a loan. Just promise me you’ll ask for help if you ever end up needing it, okay?” she looked at her friend with a wide-eyed knowing look and held out her pinky.

“Compassionate?” they asked, pretty positive that was the word he was looking for. They listened to him explain how the gas station worked and were pretty lax about it, and shrugged. “I guess so, and I mean, that’s nice of them, just surprising. In Philly that would never fly, you’d get the cops called on you quicker than you could walk two feet,” they explained. “Probably a Centralia thing, yeah,” they agreed, continuing to walk towards the gas station. “Absolutely, nothing too fancy. I only have myself and my dog to impress,” they laughed.

Onyx began to wipe down their clothes which had gotten mussed while trying to make sense of everything on the ground in front of them, and grinned when they heard Izzy agree to getting a drink. They looked pitifully at the ground and everything that was beginning to scatter even further. “Probably the stuff in glass is okay, and I think this bag managed to fly onto the ground, so I can stuff a few things in there I guess,” they confirmed, picking up a few jars and unscathed boxes, retrieving the more important bags of cereal and sticking them in the bag. They tucked the bag under a nearby bench. “It can wait right here, I’m not going to be the one to explain why I brought a bag of groceries to a bar,” they chuckled and shrugged a little bit. “Let’s go.”

“Yeah, I’m not so sure they’d have any use here, at least not under the surface. If anything it’d probably cause sinkholes and shit,” she thought aloud. “For anything spilled though, I’m sure it’d come in handy.” She looked at him thankfully for the offer to go back in to the store for her. “While that would be hilarious to watch, I don’t think I can let you strip yourself of what little dignity you might have,” she chuckled. When he confirmed that he’d follow her to her place, she thought for a moment and then let out a massive snort after looking him up and down for a moment. Looking to her height, and then his, this would definitely be a photo-worthy moment. “Just, uh, the sweats might look like shorts on you, so that’ll be hilarious. I might have a skirt if that would be too embarrassing,” she laughed again, picking up the last few things to carry in her arms before they headed to her place.

They simply put their head down and began to follow him towards the gas station to replenish their supplies. “Yeah, that’s unlikely. Last time I saw someone drop a gallon of milk they wouldn’t even offer a half-gallon as a replacement, so much for kind deeds,” they remarked, rolling their eyes slightly and turning to face him as he made his comment. “Really? How weird, I’d think they’d be really hard on those things,” they said with a shrug before answering his last question. “Oh, literally just the basics. Cereal, ramen, those kinds of things. I live a bachelor’s sort of lifestyle,” they stated.

Their eyes darted across shelves, contemplating the question they’d been asked. “Honestly? All of the above. If there’s some sort of chocolate-covered-sriracha-pickle I’ve never heard of, I’m all ears, because that sounds really good right about now. Or, maybe it’s the worst thing I’ve ever come up with. The world may never know,” they said with a shrug. “I might as well get one of everything.”

Onyx went to the counter and picked up her to-go order, turning back to Nat as she took a sip of her newly-acquired latte. “Yeah, I really think it does. Of course, I don’t think I’ve ever had enough caffeine in my system to really judge if I’m going in or out at any given moment, so that does explain it a little,” she explained with a grimace.

“Oh.... right,” they said with embarrassment, pulling on the door that had said ‘push’ in their mind and having it open. “Thank you,” they muttered, entering the coffee shop. “Every time,” they muttered under their breath.

Onyx was grabbing a six-pack and perusing the aisles of snack foods, hoping to see something that would catch her eye. She picked up a bag of pretzels and was putting them back after deciding against them when she heard Kitty. “Nope, but the problem is I don’t know what I’m hankering for,” she said with a shrug, holding her six-pack in one hand and continuing to narrow her eyes at the small bags of chips and crackers.

“Do you, uh, need a cab?” Onyx asked, noticing that he was a little off-center, but also that he didn’t seem to be in a great mood. “Or even better, another drink? I just got here a few minutes ago, and I walked, so if you wanna hang with me I can get us both a cab,” they offered, not really knowing why the sudden gesture came out, but it had been a rough day for them at work so they didn’t exactly want to be alone.