Madam Mayor

“Good, maybe they’ll just run out of town and some other place can deal with them.” She only half meant it. As they crept closer and closer to the taped off area where the body had been found only days before, Maeve couldn’t help but wonder if she really would be satisfied with whoever had caused so much trouble just leaving. The truth was that the answer was probably no. She wanted them to be brought to justice there in Thornridge where they’d wreaked so much havoc. “Okay…so whoever was out here with them had to have been on the trail too. Do you think they came together?”

“We should catch them before they have the chance to do something like it again. Come on, don’t you want some credit for catching a murderer?” Her words may have been joking but it was hard to find any humor to muster it into her tone. She kept moving along the path, warily looking around the area, like either of them could possibly catch some detail the police wouldn’t catch. She blew out her breath in a huff. “They probably knew each other, then. That could narrow things down. But only if that’s the case.” She sighed as she felt like they hit another wall.

“Dangerously close?” Felix winked, brandishing his wine glass in front of his face. “And what about liking me, past the usual niceties as you put it, is dangerous?” Of course, he knew the political implications. No mayor who was supposed to be impartial other than ensuring the safety of all citizens could be seen as getting too close to someone essentially lobbying for one group of people specifically. It would be political suicide, even in a small town. “Afraid you might not be able to stay impartial if you realize what a fantastic person I am?” He winked again just to show that he was kidding. Sort of.

Zora threw him a flat look before bringing her glass back up to her lips. “Imagine yourself as an objective party, would you encourage me to get friendly with you?” she raised an eyebrow, humor starting to dance its way back into her expression. As pleasant of a front he put up, she knew she would never let herself life him enough to let him get close to any of her weaknesses he could exploit. “I’m afraid you might take advantage of your newfound position as a friend of the mayor. But I’m just being overly cautious, right? You would never.” She smirked, shaking her head.

Most people when waking up in places they had no recollection of getting to, probably would’ve scheduled an appointment with a doctor or a psychiatrist. Sam, however, had convinced herself this was merely a passing phase. Sure, she had no memory of going to the park at night, and so it made no sense that she was here now but she assumed there had to be some kind of logical explanation for it. The dreams replaying in the back of her head, and the pain she felt all over her body begged to differ, but that was neither here nor there. Maybe you’re just a really clumsy sleep-walker, she considered as she continued to make her way down the path, arms wrapped firmly around her body as she blinked slowly and focused on her breathing. No good would come from having a panic attack right now, although she definitely felt like she was on the verge of one.

When she heard the voice of another, she completely froze in place as her brain took a moment to register what had just been said to her, “What? I’m sorry…” The brunette didn’t like hearing how disoriented she sounded any more than she appreciated the dirt all over her clothes, but there was only so much she could do about it. Obviously, she was having a rough time here, “I wasn’t trying to interrupt.”

Zora glanced over her shoulder, finally catching sight of the woman who certainly looked... worse for wear. Clothes caked with dirt was rarely the sign of a good night, and the confusion she heard in her words didn’t really do anything to quell her concern. She waved her apology off. “I’m trying to back off coffee and replace it with exercise. Clearly, it’s not the best route for my personality.” She took a step closer to her. “Are you alright?

GARRATT CERTAINLY UNDERSTOOD the impulse. Solitude was a treasured thing, and runs could be sacred. Any kind of physical exertion, really, provided respite from the bitter reality of the real world. But there was reaching across the aisle to do here. Garratt nodded, once. “Sure. Happy to leave you to it, but I figured that this was a bit of treasured time that we could speak without the rest of the town’s prying ears. Don’t worry.” A flash of a fang-toothed smile. “I can keep up.”

Zora chuckled dryly, shaking her head. “Show off,” she muttered, even before they had gotten started. But she nodded to him, setting an easy pace for herself so she could keep up the conversation. “Guess it’s harder to eavesdrop on a moving conversation, but you could’ve made an appointment with my assistant. I’m happy to stay late to take care of business. In fact, more often than not, I already am. I think this’ll be the first jogging meeting.”

Felix did think he was better than her, but not because of her merits. The mere fact that she was a human ad he was a vampire sealed the deal for him. Even so, he raised his hand, palm facing her, as if to stop her compliments. “Anyone appointed to the council would be a fool to not take it seriously. The fate of our people is in our hands…I’m not sure how I could sleep at night,” he smiled at his own little joke, “if I wasn’t giving one hundred and ten percent. I’m sure you feel the same way. I don’t like to coast either. I want change, for the better, and I want to do anything in my power to make it happen.”

Zora snorted, shaking her head as she finished off the wine in her glass. “You’d be surprised at the people who couldn’t give less of a shit about the fate they’re leaving their people too and just like to collect titles. I’m sure you’d never sell yourself short, but you should know it is something to find someone motivated. Even if we might not always see eye to eye on those motivations.” She reached for the bottle, refilling her glass as she chuckled softly at his joke. “And we could never have you missing out on those evening hours of sleep.” She ran her tongue over her lips. “You know, you’re running dangerously close to getting me to actually like you, past the usual niceties.” She still wasn’t going to trust him as soon as he was out of her sight, but she couldn’t help but slide onto the more optimistic side of things.