RUN RABBIT

"No! You've gotten it wrong. You've gotten me wrong! I don't think you're scandalous, but I can't change what society views as such," Caleb said quickly in his attempt to reassure her. It did not feel good to see Naz so suddenly distressed.

"How am I meant to know that, Caleb?" she replied, trying not to huff in annoyance at the producer. She couldn't let her mood cost her a career because a rumour got under her skin. "You found out that I worked as a bunny and looked like I told you there's a nude billboard of me on Boulevard Drive," she pointed out. As sweet as he was, Caleb didn't have much of a poker face and she could see his impression of her had shifted.

The coolness of Naz's lips did nothing to diminish how soft and pleasant they felt against his own. They would never warm up to the way a living being's would, but Caleb radiated enough warmth of his own to give. He tilted his head just a bit to deepen the kiss and decided that he would let Naz be the first to break it when she wanted.

Naz had been subconsciously waiting for Caleb to pull away and stop her before she got carried away. When he didn't stop, she tilted her head with his, happy to deepen the kiss with a soft hum. She was almost melting into the kiss, feeling her feet start to disappear so she could easily keep their lips together.

A wolf whistle snapped her out of the trance and she pulled back, feeling pink flush across her cheeks and the tip of her nose. It was clear that a few people had stopped to watch them and it made her want to hide inside of her boyfriend's coat. Still, Naz didn't regret taking advantage of his affectionate moods when she could. "I think when you're finished with the hockey game, we should find one of those igloo's to do that again."

She wasn't suprised that the coven leader had found a way to meet the human representative before the rest of them had. It might have been strategic or the witch could have been trying to scare him. "Did you find Elijah to be a friendly face?" she asked, curious to find out about her fellow council member as well. "If you asked my ex husband, he'd say that I'm the opposite. And you can ask him, he works up the hall," she remarked, pointing in the direction of Elliot Atwood's office.

At Naz’s next words, Joanna’s mouth curved faintly, something tired and matter-of-fact slipping into her expression. “Yeah,” she said, after a beat. “Well. Sometimes it’s the only thing that helps.” There was no self-pity in it, no attempt to dress it up as anything else. Just a simple, blunt truth.

Then she went quiet. Naz’s suggestion lingered longer than she expected, settling in a way she couldn’t immediately brush off. Leaving. Taking what she had and disappearing somewhere quieter, somewhere smaller, somewhere no one knew her name or expected anything from her. For a moment, Joanna let herself picture it. Not the logistics, not the fallout, just the idea of it. A life that was hers.

And, perhaps, Victoria's.

Jo swallowed, her jaw tightening as the thought faltered under its own weight. It wasn’t that simple. It never was. She didn’t even have full control over her own money, let alone the kind of life Naz was talking about. Everything she had was tied up in her father, in contracts, in expectations she couldn’t just walk away from.

“Maybe,” she said finally, quieter now, more to herself than to Naz. Her gaze dropped briefly to the packed dirt before she straightened, that polished composure slipping back into place like armor. “Though it’s a little harder when all you really know how to do is pretend to be something you’re not.”

She'd failed with Eun-ji. She told herself she was protecting the woman from gossip that might arise if their bond was discovered. That was a lie though, Naz had broken up with Eun ji and moved out because she was selfish, wanting to finally make it. A few rumours could ruin it all so maybe a vice wasn't a bad thing to have. Naz would stick to messy relationships and lovers instead of drugs but both could be just as destructive.

The pause spoke louder than Joanna's words could. Some people did well with a simpler life but if Hollywood was all the young woman knew, leaving would be daunting. Between endless expectations and rejections and begging for approval from strangers, Naz was overwelmed as well but she knew there was a life outside this city. She hoped that one day the women would find a happy place, either in a person or somewhere far from this city. "I think you'd be fine, it's just pretending but in a new location. Maybe a smaller crowd will help. Less people watching that way."

The moment was quickly gone and she saw the professional facade fall back into place. She nodded, giving her a warmer smile than their first interaction. "Good luck to you as well."

"It's not boring when it has to do with you, my dear Naz. Like I said, I care~" they repeated once more, but did they really? "I'd been hearing that there are some in the Lycaon pack who aren't happy about your relationship with your dear werewolf elder. Probably more than you'd think. Surely you've heard about it?"

"If you cared, you wouldn't look so pleased about it." She didn't want to care about silly gossip but when her boyfriend had a one track mind, she didn't like her chances. It was already difficult for her to commit to things and she knew she was holding back because of that uncertainty. "I've heard about it. Wolves are obsessed with having babies apparently," she said, trying to hold back her bitter tone. "So are they planning on wiping his memories so he'll dump me?"

Howell settled in sipping the coffee which he surprisingly found to be excellent and not at all like the sludge he was used to at the hospital. “That is excellent news. Though I understand why such an agreement was wanted by some, I was hoping to get fair treatment.” His brown arched, his body leaning forward, now curious as to why he was here. “May I ask, if the agreement had been down voted, why not call or send an email?”

Naz was glad she could provide some positive news to start his tenue on the council. "Fairness is what we're aiming for. We have to trust that you'll follow the Golden Rule like we all do." Trust was going to take time to build. Many on the council were unhappy and are still unhappy that there would be a human representative. Naz was undecided but she was definitely curious.

His quesiton made her lean back and shrug. "I should likely say that I could be an ally or a friendly face on the council for you," she began. It wouldn't surprise her if another representative went to him to curry more favour for council votes. "Mostly, I was just curious. I know, curiosity killed the cat or whatever but I'm not a cat and I'm already dead so I let curiosity win."

The wolf could feel his cheeks warming from Naz's words and the way she was looking up at him. They had been dating for awhile by now and Caleb was not a terribly physically affectionate person as a baseline, but there were moments that came around when he wanted to do what Naz wanted to in this moment as well.

"You can do that if you'd like," he answered with a small grin and leaned down to bring their faces closer together. His hand moved to cup her cheek with more intent as their lips touched.

The relationship had been a learning curve for Naz as well. She had been waiting for Caleb to take the next step forward with intimacy but he seemed endlessly patient about it all. It was the first time she'd had a boyfriend or a lover who didn't want more from her. So when a rare moment arose where Caleb was affectionate, Naz felt like she might burst from a simple kiss.

"I would like..." she murmured, trailing off as he leaned down making it close enough that she could. She pushed onto her toes to meet his lips, resting a hand against his waist so she could press a soft, lingering kiss to his lips. His lips always felt hot against her cool skin making her want to wrap herself up in his warmth.

"Alright, Naz Ulusoy. If you say so," the older animal spirit tutted before wagging their finger at her. "You can't say that I didn't check in on you to make sure that you were doing okay given all the gossip that's been coming my way."

Naz had been ready to let the conversation end and enjoy what she had left of the hockey game when the spirit spoke again. "What gossip?" she asked instinctively. Right away she knew it was a trap and she grimaced in response, knowing she'd fallen for another one of Ayumu's tricks. But she was curious. Caleb might not see it but she could feel the disapproval his pack held for her now. "I can't imagine it's very interesting. I'm sure you'd find it all rather boring," Naz responded, hoping to sound flippant about this whole thing.

"Scandalous?" she replied. "What's so scandalous about it? I've seen movies with more sex in it than what I saw in that club. There's more sex in this movie than I saw working there." It was hard for the actress not to sound upset when it was becoming clear that he didn't see a future in her anymore and that stung.

“I think the very last thing they wanted was for me to see inside their dreams,” Victoria admitted. “I’ve apologised, but I’m not sure it changes anything.” The spirit averted her gaze for a moment, before swallowing down a welcomed mouthful of the fresh tequila Naz had poured. She and Jo had been pretty clear on no personal attachments and Victoria seeing inside her dreams had gone against that.

"Well no one really enjoys but I also don't like how a deity can sense how I'm feeling or how a werewolf tells me how nice a smell," she said before she grinned. "Well actually, I do like when a werewolf tells me I smell nice," she hummed, thinking about her boyfriend. Clearly some tequila would do them some good, Victoria could try and forget about her mistake and Naz would likely admit something stupid to assist.

The spirit's brow rose up, surprised by the outburst. Naz had asked to meet so she could tell him that the idea had been voted against and there was nothing to sign. Perhaps her assistant hadn't passed on the other part of the message. Well now she felt guilty for how on edge Mr Maxen was. The tense way the human's shoulders had hunched up had her worried that this meeting might not go well. She had thought they'd get through the coffee before things really fell apart and she was being on her best behaviour.

The secretary was formal enough, polite even but who knew what hid behind that exterior. Blood sucker? Moon shifter? An ability to entrance him into signing whatever the council wanted? Or perhaps just a devious human, he'd run across enough of those in his lifetime. They walked normal, they talked normal as they took him to an office that clearly was significant enough to be a partners office. What his paranoia didn't expect was the sort of face in front of that men wrote Greek tragedies about. If all supernatural were this refined, this well sculpted, he'd be in trouble. After being introduced coughed, trying to regain his senses.

It was why she had been nervously tapping away on her keyboard for the last ten minutes, looking at the time, knowing the appointment was almost there. When her phone rang, she asked them to bring Mr Maxen to her office. She hadn't done much research into the human representative. He was a doctor as far as she knew and seemed reputable but none of them would know for certain until he met with the council.

As she waited for the new council member to be brought to her office, Naz finished off her email and fixed her hair using the camera of her phone. By the time her assistant knocked on the door, she was on her feet and striding over to meet him. Naz smiled warmly at the handsome man, knowing that she was his first introduction to the council he would be joining and she wanted to be a friendly face. At least until she knew him better. It had always been hard for her to trust a human, she was murdered by one after all.

"Hello, Mr Maxen. It's a pleasure to meet you," she said, holding her hand out to him. "I'm Naz Uluosy and I'll also be on the council with you," she explained. Noticing their assistant still at the door, she quickly thanked them. "Thank you, Charlie. Would you mine bringing us something to drink as well? Would you like a water, tea or coffee? I promise we have some excellent coffee," the spirit assured. Due to the nature of her work, the spirit lived off of coffee so they'd made sure they had the best in the office.

The sharp inhale was not lost on Caleb, his sharp senses picking up and cataloguing each noise Naz made as if he were more attuned to them. So she liked that touch. Caleb's eyes roved over her when she turned back around, the pendant resting right there against her unblemished skin.

The way Caleb looked at her made her feel hot underneath the large coat. Over the past few months, Naz had started to realise that the moments when he was quiet and watching her were almost as intimate when they kissed. Both left her wanting to push for more intimacy between them but was never bold enough to ask. "I won't," she promised softly.

Naz had enough experience that simple touches shouldn't phase her but with how slow things had moved between them, the smallest touch felt like electricity on her skin. His fingers drew her in, like an invisible force was pulling her closer, head tilted up like she did when they kissed. "Careful," she warned, resting her hand against his chest. "I already want to kiss you."