Maya Parker

“There’s no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, Maya,”  Iann groaned lowly, rubbing his brow.  “At least, that’s not the way I think about this.”  The young woman was so intent on trying to do what was ‘right’, but it was far more complicated than that, especially when it came to Tuah, and talking about Tuah.  

“I asked if you wanted to know everything, and you said you did.  If you realize that you’re in over your head, that’s fine.  I don’t need you to use morally-upstanding excuses for why you’re changing your mind. You don’t wanna hear anymore, so I’ll stop talking about it.  Not a problem.”  He nodded in agreement.

“It is better this way.  Don’t be sorry…”  Iann smiled then though, as Maya kept talking and she said the words that did reassure Iann: she’d do her best to give Tuah the help she could.  Really, that was all Iann cared about.  People helping Tuah through support, not through fixing or solving his problems.  No one could solve Tuah, but Tuah.  

Iann had learned that the hard way himself, but he didn’t regret everything he’d done.  That effort that Iann put in had all been worth it.  Just to see Tuah’s smiles and kindness shine through all the shit, brief as those moments were for the beleaguered vampire.

“Just…remind him in small ways that you care about him.  Even if it’s literally saying,  ‘I care about you, dumbass’….”  Iann shrugged and knocked on his own head.  “Sometimes that’s the only way to get into that coconut of his.”

He stood up and dusted himself off even though he wasn’t dusty.  “Well, I better get going, kiddo.”

what song makes you feel better?

what’s your feel-good movie?

what’s your favorite candle scent?

what flower would you like to be given?

who do you feel most you around?

say three nice things about yourself (three physical and three non-physical).

what color brings you peace?

tag someone (or multiple people) who make you feel good. 

what calms you down?

what’s something you’re excited for?

what’s your ideal date?

how are you?

what’s your comfort food?

favorite feel-good show?

for every emoji you get, tag someone and describe them in one word.

compliment the person who sent you this number.

fairy lights or LED lights?

do you still love stuffed animals?

most important thing in your life?

what do you want most in the world right now?

if you could tell your past self one thing, what would it be?

what would you say to your future self?

favorite piece of clothing?

what’s something you do to de-stress?

what’s the best personal gift someone could give you (playlist, homemade card, etc.)

what movie would you want to live in?

which character would you want to be?

hugs or hand-holding?

morning, afternoon or night?

“That isn’t what I asked,” Ciara replied with a raised eyebrow, but didn’t push it. She had no doubts about what the young witch was or wasn’t capable of, and it was on Maya’s head, whichever consequences came her way. 

Maya’s question did give her pause though, as she straightened her hair back into place. “Yes. I have a lot of books, on these kinds of injuries, and other demonic traits. You just have to give your word you won’t try summoning anything in them.” She chuckled, turning around to scribble a note on her notepad. “I’d be in serious trouble if I was responsible for another demon in town. But aside from that, yeah. What kind of books were you thinking?”

Maya glanced over at Ciara. “I know,” was all she said. Because there was no point in pretending like she had answered the question or misunderstood it. She hadn’t answered the question, on purpose, and they both knew it. 

The smile that found its place on Bobby’s lips when the stranger, without question, got into a protective pose in front of her was blinding. Bobby was just tickled someone actually listened to her. Someone who helped without question was always an interesting type too. “I like keeping things exciting and I’ve found inducing a heart attack is pretty spontaneous,” Bobby said quietly, her ears now catching the slow clicks of a bicycle being walked on a sidewalk. Showtime.

There was a doorway that partially obscured any part of Bobby that the sweet-smelling girl didn’t. She completely pressed herself against it, feeling the cool metal of the door on her palms as she watched a blue head pass by, making questioning coos as they did. “It’s weird, right?” Bobby asked, stepping out of the doorway, peeking her head out of the alleyway to follow that bobbing blue speck until it disappeared around a corner. “This town is weird. I don’t even know how to ride a bike.” Bobby turned back to the stranger, giving her a questioning look.

“Where do you work?” Her nostrils flared and Bobby tried, really tried to not look like a dog that had just sniffed out a bone, but her scent was a curious mix of things Bobby wasn’t sure how to label yet and it smelled so good. The one scent she could place was vanilla. “A…bakery?” Bobby ventured her best guess. Maybe she was getting a hang of this super scent thing, or maybe her common sense was jumping out for once.

Maya had to huff a laugh. “I mean, I love spontaneous too, but I think heart attack might be the wrong kind of spontaneous,” she teased. It was second nature for her to help. Especially in situations like this where there seemed to be something tangible to fight.

It didn’t escape her notice the way the woman pressed closer to the wall. Maya didn’t turn around, knowing that would only alert the person that there might be something worth looking at down the alley. Instead, she maintained her casual pose and listened. A bicycle rolled slowly by. “Yeah, the town’s weird as fuck. Portland and Austin ain’t got shit on us,” she replied under her breath, “But how’d they know you can’t ride a bike. Even I know how to ride a bike.” 

scarlettxruby‌:

txt: I’d say you didn’t say hope to die but I’m not gonna jinx it. 

txt: Not gonna have a cow. Cross my heart. ;P

[TXT] Alright, see you later

“You make it sound so simple, as if I can just excise whatever you consider is the relevant part of Tuah’s life from all the other things, even though you don’t even know what’s relevant and what’s not.  Life isn’t like that - life is -a - a - a layered network of connections and interconnections. It feeds and folds into itself.” He wasn’t even sure if that analogy made sense, but he figured Maya would get the gist.

Iann shook his his head.   “You can’t really think it’s that easy, huh?  Three hundred and fifty-fucking years - of which I’ve only been privileged and honoured enough to learn even a small fraction of that, most of which Tuah would’ve probably never wanted me to know, if I didn’t find out through learning everything I could about him - and you simply want to be told exactly what you believe I should only rightfully be telling you, and nothing more?  Too bad.”

Iann tilted his hand towards Maya.  “I’m telling you the best that I can and everything I can, for Tuah’s sake, because he says you’re his friend.   And because you say you’re his friend, and you want to care for him.  I asked if you wanted to go there, if you wanted to cross his personal boundaries, and you said you did. But if you now don’t think you can handle his messy, complicated, fucked-up life - or god forbid if you think it’s too invasive for you - then don’t ask any more questions.”

Taking a breath, Iann slowly exhaled, tilting his head at her.   “Maybe it’s better if you care without knowing.  You know, sometimes people appreciate that, hm?  Tuah especially.  Sometimes…well sometimes the big guy just needs a hug or something.”  He couldn’t imagine Maya Parker giving affectionate, spontaneous hugs though.  

“Uh…or just basic kindness I guess.  Smiling at him, or taking his dog for a walk while he’s busy.  Or…” Iann racked his brain.  “Doing something silly to entertain him when he gets that morose sad-puppydog face and he doesn’t think anyone would ever notice him, because who’d ever notice Tuah, Son of Arjuna.” Iann snorted, and folded his arms.  “He’s got a great sense of humour.”

Before she could swallow her pride, Maya huffed an almost incredulous laugh. Of course, it wasn’t simple. She knew it wasn’t simple. When it came to people, nothing ever was. It was all a complicated balancing act. But she erred on the side of not invading privacy if it could be helped. At least, she tried to.

She knew only too well what it felt like to not have boundaries and secrets respected. Even with the best of intentions, it always hurt. She’d seen the way too that doing it put distance between her and the people she had been trying to help. With Ryden most recently, but at least a dozen times before. She’d always read it as her behavior being hurtful enough that they didn’t want to be around her anymore, lest she hurt them again.

“Of course, its not that simple Iann,” Maya said, “Give me a little credit.” She sighed. Explaining her thoughts to Iann had never been something she was good at. Explaining her thoughts at all had never been something she was good at. But she wasn’t convinced anymore that it wasn’t worth still trying. “And it’s probably me backing out. But I know what it feels like for someone to suddenly know your life without you being the one to tell them. I know how much that can hurt.”

She shrugged, not knowing what the right thing to do was. But she gen’t think it was listening to Iann lay out Tuah’s whole messy, complicated, fucked-up life for her. “I know I might be wrong. Knowing everything would probably mean I’d be of more use in this situation. But in the long run, I think its better that Tuah gets to decide what I know about his past. The last thing I want is for him to feel like betrayed him, however good the intentions.” 

Maya took a long drink from her coffee. It was getting cold, but she ignored that. “I’m sorry. I probably could’ve handled this whole conversation better. But know I’ll do my best to give Tuah the help I can, even if its not as informed as it should be.” 

“Cover me.” Bobby grabbed the wrist of the nearest girl walking down the street, pulling her into a nearby alley with Bob. The wolf looked at her with wide and expectant eyes, her nostrils flaring as she caught a whiff of…she wasn’t sure what. Her senses had been so overwhelming as of late and there was less and less she could identify.

“Like, literally cover me. Body block me. There’s some crazy…something with blue hair that’s trying to get me to go on a tandem bicycle with her.” Bobby pressed her body against the wall, gesturing at the woman to stand in front of her, blocking the view of the alley to anyone that could pass by, even a crazy lady on a bike. “You smell good, by the way,” Bobby added as an afterthought, still more focused on trying to blend in with the wall than not saying weird shit.

The words the stranger said sunk in quicker than usual thanks to Maya’s immediate jump to high alert. Her posture relaxed as she huffed a laugh. She didn’t move though, still blocking the stranger from this mysterious tandem bikes fanatic. “Jesus, give a bitch a heart attack, why don’t you?” Maya said with no malice in her voice. 

Ruby could understand the mindset of expecting the worst. She’d already been through it in her own head, when she’d first learned she was pregnant. So even if she hadn’t known Maya for as long as she had, Ruby would’ve understood. And she wouldn’t take it personally. Or fault her friend for thinking it. Because why wouldn’t something go horribly wrong? Especially when it almost always had in the past? Not just for Maya herself, but for Ruby too. 

But Ruby liked to think that Maya knew her too. Better than most. So she laughed when Maya claimed Ruby’s child’s first word would be a swear. “Well, there’s two of them, so odds are one of them won’t be cussin’ before they can walk. Though between you an’ me, Aedan’d probably think it’s hilarious. It’s Tuah who’d be scandalized.” The affection she held for both men, and Maya herself, was clear in her voice.

“Sounds perfect, thanks.” Ruby sat down as Maya moved off to make tea, knowing her friend probably needed a minute. She idly wondered what Ryden would say when she told him, or when he found out on his own. It wasn’t like he wouldn’t be able to smell the change in her. Ruby was fairly certain he’d be happy for her, but she also didn’t want to upset him, knowing what she did about his past. 

When Maya returned, Ruby took the tea with another hum of thanks, cupping the warm mug in her hands. Her own expression brightened as Maya confirmed that she did want to be the babies’ godmother. Ruby huffed, smirking slightly as Maya joined her on the sofa. “Well, if you do, then at least I’ve got one helluva story to tell the kids when they’re older.” It was straight gallows humor, Ruby knew, but she also knew the cult - whoever the hell they were - were very real. So dark humor that acknowledged it, even in passing, was better than denying anything was going on. 

But talk moved on, and Ruby sipped her tea. “Honestly? I’d be more shocked if you weren’t. But only because I know you do give a shit.” Ruby didn’t see her friend as who was constantly anxious or worried about every little thing that came around. But she knew Maya would worry about the big things. And this was kind of a big thing. “Plus it means you get first dibs on gloating that you can still drink and fit into your jeans while I can’t,” she grinned. 

Maya had to laugh when Ruby claimed that if she did get murdered it would mean that Ruby would have a hell of a story to tell the kids. “I do think it would also mean that legally you have to name one of them after me,” she joked. She had to laugh and joke about it because her other choice was being terrified. And she never wanted to be terrified again. 

Especially since being terrified made her stupid.