#corpse diem

Being alone for a little bit was totally fine. Erin could handle some quiet, no problem. It was her preference before and she was safe again. This wasn’t the same kind of silence that surrounded her like cold concrete walls. This was the creaky silence of an old home, birds chirping in the trees outside, and the slight rush of cars that drove by the home on occasion. This was normal silence. Nothing to spiral into a panic about. Again. Marley hadn’t been there to dissay the symptoms and she didn’t feel the need to share–what would it help, anyway? If she wanted any hope of regaining a semblance of normalcy, she needed to strike that balance herself. Find a way to deal. Maybe complete silence wasn’t necessary right now, though. She turned on her music, breathing deeply as the sounds coming from her headphones calmed some of the anxiety tightening in her chest. This would be fine, and for once, she really felt that.

There was a pull of the ward surrounding the home alerting her that someone was on the property, followed by the sound of a door closing, barely audible over the music in her ears. Marley said she’d be gone for a short bit, not too long, but surely not this short. She paused in the kitchen, clicking her music off again. The television was on now. Weird. Her eyes narrowed and despite the icy cold fear trickling along her spine, Erin advanced. Marley wouldn’t just come home without announcing her arrival in some way, and though she was likely overdoing it, she made sure to grab a kitchen knife on her way out. And she was glad for it. That absolutely was not Marley sitting on her couch. “Who are you? Get out!” She instinctively yelled, thrusting the knife in the general direction of the intruder.

Marley said she could come over any time she wanted, and normally, Cass might have been more hesitant to take her up on it. She was never good at accepting help when it was offered, too used to doing everything on her own the way she had growing up. But… Things in White Crest were getting weirder than usual, and she was nervous. Couple that with the uneasy worry about Marley that had taken up residence in her chest since the moment those hunters attacked them, and it didn’t take much prompting for Cass to head over to Marley’s place. There was no one home when she let herself in, and she shoved down the concern rising in her chest. Marley not being home didn’t mean anything. She repeated the reassurance to herself a few times, taking a seat on the sofa and turning the television on in an attempt to ease her nerves.

She’d made it almost all the way through an episode of some mindless sitcom when the door opened, and her shoulders slumped a little in relief. Despite her best attempts, the worry had been gnawing at her all throughout the show, her heart unsteady in her chest. She didn’t look back towards the sound, keeping her eyes on the television in preparation to play it cool when Marley entered. And… maybe she should have looked. Maybe if she’d turned around, she wouldn’t be dodging a kitchen knife right now. “Whoa,” Cass yelled, leaping off the couch and halfway across the room. “What are you doing in Marley’s house? Back off! I know kung fu!” She really, really didn’t, but sometimes the lie was enough to convince people not to come close enough to test it.

Erin startled at the young woman leaping from the couch and backed up even further. The knife in her hand stayed firm in front of her, despite the slight shake in her hand. This girl looked young, really young, but if she had to wield it to protect herself? Well. So be it. But the confused look and Marley’s name on her lips was enough to calm Erin down. A little. Her brows narrowed sharply. “This is my house. Well–our house, sure, but–” Not the point. Erin straightened her back, the steel from her voice softening just a bit to give way to her mounting confusion. “You… know Marley?” This young woman, no later than early, early twenties if she had to wager a guess. It didn’t help question marks springing in her mind. Why was she looking for Marley? “If you’re looking for Marley, she’s not home right now. And you know, you really shouldn’t be just–letting yourself into people’s homes.” She waved the knife in front her. “That’s how accidents happen.”

The knife was still pointed firmly in her direction, but it wasn’t swinging towards her anymore. Cass did her best to ease the pounding in her chest even as she held her body in a defensive position, trying to remember the moves Metzli had taught her in their training sessions. There hadn’t been nearly enough of them to properly prepare her for a real fight, but… This woman was clearly scared. Maybe a little confused. And as she spoke, things started sliding into place. “Oh,” she breathed, dropping the defensive stance. “You’re Erin, aren’t you?” If this was Erin, the panic made sense. She’d just been through… a lot, and she’d come home to find a stranger on her couch. Which was so not the first impression Cass had been hoping for. “Sorry. I’m sorry. I’m — I mean, Marley told me I could come over, if I wanted, and there’s, you know, the roots, and I was just — I was kind of worried about her, because she just went out and got you back, but her hand’s still hurt and she said she was okay, but, like, she says that sometimes when she isn’t so I kind of wanted to make sure, and…” Realizing she was definitely rambling, she cut herself off with a cough. “I’m Cass. Cassidy. I’m, um… Me and Marley are friends.”

Why did this kid know her name? Erin stiffened even further as she looked at Erin with a recognition that honestly made her even more uncomfortable. But she didn’t look ready to unleash said “kung fu” on her anymore. She was rambling about roots, and Marley and introducing herself. It was only then that Erin felt comfortable enough to let the knife fall to her side, though the confusion wrought in her features was still as hard as ever. “You’re friends. With Marley,” she echoed the last sentiment, like there was going to be an epiphany following those words. God, she’d really missed more than she realized while she was gone. She hated the feeling of constantly trying to catch up. “You,” she said more pointedly, maybe more harsh than she intended. But she was so… young. “I didn’t think Marley liked, uh–” she shrugged, gesturing vaguely towards the young woman. “Kids. Or people your age. Sorry. I don’t know–” she started, but stopped when she realized she didn’t know exactly where this was going. She didn’t know much of anything about Marley’s life these days, it seemed, and the thought struck something in her chest and remained there unsettled. She’d been updating her, little by little, on the things that Erin had missed but this was a detail she missed out on so far. “She must trust you enough to just… let you wander into the house whenever you want. Would’ve been nice if she let me know that.” After a moment, still trying to decide if she trusted this stranger, she set the knife on the table beside her, though stuck near it for now. Nodded her head. “Sorry. About the knife.” Her head tilted and she folded her arms over her chest. “How do you know Marley?”

Cass wasn’t sure if she was making things better or worse here. The woman — Erin, this was Erin — didn’t look anything close to comfortable, but the knife was dropping lower and lower until it hung harmlessly at her side, so at least there didn’t seem to be any immediate threat of stabbing. She nodded quickly as Erin repeated her statement, shifting her weight uncertainly. “No, it… It’s okay. I, um, I don’t know if Marley does like people my age, but she likes me. We met a few months ago volunteering at a soup kitchen. Around the holidays?” Providing more details, she thought, might help Erin grasp the situation a little better. Unfortunately, Cass wasn’t entirely sure how to describe her relationship with Marley. Friends didn’t feel like quite the right word, but family felt presumptuous. And she didn’t want to make Erin feel… alienated. “She, um… She’s been, kind of… Looking out for me. Since we met.” She hoped it would further explain the situation. “It’s okay. I don’t blame you. I probably should have… Called ahead or something. Made sure Marley was actually here.” Or at least given Marley a chance to warn Erin. “Me and Marley have been hanging out a lot. She, um, she’s letting me stay in her old apartment. The one downtown? The place I was staying before was…” She trailed off with a grimace. “Well, it wasn’t great. So Marley said I could stay in her old place if I helped her clean it out.” And then there’d been the hunters immediately after that conversation, but… that was probably something that could wait.

It was a little calming to see that this young woman was as nervous as Erin seemed to be, though likely for different reasons. Cass continued to explain but it didn’t feel like anything was being answered. Each explanation begged another question in Erin’s mind. “A soup kitchen?” She realized she was starting to sound like a broken record, simply repeating the things Cass was trying to explain but it was apparently how she was processing. Marley met a kid at a soup kitchen, made friends and invited her into her home? And she hadn’t mentioned any of this even once to Erin? She ran a hand down her jaw as the poor girl continued to ramble on like she was in trouble. “No, no, it’s okay. I’m sorry. I just–I didn’t know.” She wondered how much Cass knew about her in turn, and given the way she continued to look at her, Erin had a feeling it was more than she was immediately letting on. For a moment, she felt like the stranger in her own home. But the fact that Marley hadn’t spiraled into a long, alcohol-addled death march was a hopeful sign. She’d found friends. She’d found other things to care about, to keep going. After seeing the despair that had followed her and Anita’s break up, the loss of Lydia, and the brain injury colliding all at once, Erin’s worry felt warranted. But this seemed like a step in the right direction. Outside of the lost limbs, maybe she didn’t need to be as worried as she thought.

Erin cleared her throat, pulling herself out of her thoughts as Cassidy finished speaking, and she did her best to unclench her jaw in return. She owed this young woman more gratitude than she could properly express or show at the moment, her mind still reeling. “I’m glad. I was worried about her but–” a wry smirk pulled at the corner of her mouth. “Seems I didn’t have to be as worried as I thought. I’m glad she had someone while I was, uh, gone.” Her brows furrowed together again. “Wait, she’s actually letting you stay in her old apartment?”

It wasn’t as if Cass didn’t know how to make people like her. She was actually really, really good at it. She’d always had a natural way of knowing what people wanted her to be and twisting herself into that particular image — something she was only now realizing was probably tied to the less-than-human parts of her — but she’d never been good at doing it in an honest way. Her placements in foster homes always ended the second she let her real self shine through whatever ruse she was putting on, and most of her friendships before White Crest had similar outcomes. She didn’t want any of that with Erin. She wanted Erin to like her in a way that might have been a little desperate, because Erin was important to Marley and Marley was important to Cass. She wanted the same honesty here that she had with Marley, partially because Marley would know if she offered up anything less. And it was rare for Cass to go into an interaction with a desperate desire to be herself from the start of it. It was rare for her to not want to warm the other person up to the idea of her before tossing the truth down on the ground between them. She wasn’t sure it was a thing she’d ever actually tried before now. “Oh,” Cass replied, the word feeling lackluster on her tongue. “Well that’s — I mean, that’s okay. I can, um, I can fill in the gaps. If you want.” She was bad at this. She was so bad at this.

But Erin seemed to be making an effort, anyway. Cass offered her a small smile, relief clear in the expression. But when Erin mentioned Marley having someone, she glanced down again, feeling inexplicably guilty. “It was more like I had her, I think,” she admitted. “I mean, I don’t know how much help I’ve been. I think I kind of… brought more trouble her way than anything else.” Marley was missing fingers that would still be there if not for Cass’s ignorance against the rangers who had attacked them, after all. “Yeah. Yeah, she, uh… She pretty much said I could have it? Not for free or anything,” she added hurriedly, not wanting Erin to think she was taking advantage. “Like I said, I’m helping her out. But… Yeah. She’s letting me stay there.”

There was an energy that swarmed around Cass that tapped into the mutual nervousness between the two, maybe even stronger than Erin’s own. She didn’t know or understand Cass’ exact reasoning, besides the fact that maybe she felt guilty for being caught lounging in someone else’s home. Maybe Marley had told Cass some of what had happened to her murdered/missing girlfriend which would, understandably, level up that awkwardness. That part at least seemed to be true from the little that she’d shared. Still, she could feel it trickling into the room and it took a few breaths to ground her back into the moment and remember that she was probably supposed to be the adult in this situation, trauma or not. “Yeah, actually. That’d be helpful,” she shrugged, a small smile on her face trying to ease some of those feelings she could feel trickling from the younger woman. “I kinda missed a lot. I’ve been hounding Marley with questions ever since I got back. I just don’t think we got around to discussing you or who you are to her just yet.”

Erin’s smile softened at the idea of Marley being a rock for someone else. Helping someone else. For all the self-loathing and self-doubt Marley put herself through, she’d done well by Cass. That fierce loyalty was one of the things she loved most about her. She nodded again. “I’m glad she’s putting it to use. Sounds like it’s working out for the both of you.” Shifting away from table and the knife, she took a short step towards Cass when her smile suddenly dropped. “Shit, do you want, uh–something to drink? Or eat?” She winced. “Coffee maybe?” That was probably one of the few things either her or Marley actually still consumed. “I think we might have just coffee, actually. Or water. Or whiskey.”

Cass nodded, shifting her weight uncertainly. She knew the bare minimum of what had happened to Erin, knew that spellcasters had taken her and kept her for months to make money, but she didn’t know much beyond that. She hadn’t wanted to know much beyond that. This town was terrifying sometimes, and Cass was still learning how to breathe through it. She wondered how hard it was for Erin to breathe through it now, wondered how much scarier it was to have such definitive proof of how terrible people could be. If Cass were in her shoes, she’d probably be hounding everyone to find out what she’d missed, too. Chasing normalcy seemed more than fair, considering. “You can hound me with questions, if you need to. I won’t hold anything back. Promise.” It was unsettling, the way she actually meant it.

Until Erin stepped away from the table, Cass had almost forgotten the knife was there. The moment she’d realized who the other woman was, she’d kind of forgotten about everything else, so focused on putting the face to a name that had been more of a ghost than anything for months now. The movement brought her gaze flickering back to the weapon for half a second, a silent acknowledgement that it was there, but not a danger. Her eyes quickly moved back to Erin when the other woman spoke, brow furrowing momentarily before she shook her head. “No, that’s okay. I’m okay. I’m not really hungry or thirsty or anything.” She tended to either eat before she came to Marley’s or bring any snacks she might want along with her, given how bare the cupboards tended to be. The last thing she wanted was for Marley to feel the need to stock the pantry just for her benefit. Although… “Maybe the whiskey’s not a bad idea?” If nothing else, it might help loosen the the situation up a little bit.

It wasn’t hard to miss how eager Cass also seemed to be to smooth things over. Erin could appreciate that, given she’d been the one to whip the knife out first. She nodded her thanks at Cass’ sure words–her promise–and let out what felt like her first real relaxed breath since she’d stumbled upon the other woman in her living room. “Whiskey sounds great, honestly,” she huffed a small laugh. She turned and made a step toward the kitchen before the nagging adult part of her pulled her back. Turning on her heel, she raised a skeptical brow in Cass’ direction. “Are you… old enough to drink whiskey?” She looked young so it was a fair question. Not that she was about to deny her. No harm in one drink, even if she was a little young. “You know what? I don’t need to know.” She insisted, shaking her head and dipping momentarily into the kitchen to retrieve the bottle and two glasses, before slipping onto one side of the couch as she poured.

“I do have some questions for you. If you’re serious about that promise of yours.” The p-word wasn’t something Erin liked to toss around, ill fated fae-flashbacks filling her mind, but the young woman had been the one to make the promise and not her. She was bound to nothing and that was the most important thing. She tipped enough for one serving into the glass and pushed it across the coffee table to Cass, briefly meeting her eyes before she started pouring some for herself. “You and Marley are close, right? While I’ve been gone?” Gone seemed sufficient enough for now. Marley may have trusted her, which was a feat in itself, but she was still all but a stranger to Erin. “How has she been?” She asked after a moment, concern filling her tone as she looked to Cass again. “If you know Marley, then you know she’s kind of a closed book. But you’ve been here and you’ve talked to her while I was–” she swallowed, glancing back down to her cup briefly. “I just want to know if I should be more concerned than I am, you know?”

Erin seemed to agree that whiskey might help things, and Cass offered her a small smile as she turned back towards the kitchen to retrieve it. It might not be the healthiest way of dealing with things here, but honestly? Cass wasn’t sure what else to do with the situation. She’d never been good at awkward encounters, and this one seemed to be headed in that direction if they weren’t careful. Letting out a quiet laugh as Erin questioned the legality of the drink only to walk back on the question, she shook her head. “I’m twenty-two,” she offered. “So it’s totally fine.” Though in this town, she doubted it was a huge concern. White Crest’s law enforcement probably had far bigger things to worry about than underage drinking, considering.

Watching as the whiskey filled the glasses, Cass nodded for Erin to ask whatever she wanted. Taking the glass off the table, she took a contemplative sip, wincing at the burn. “Yeah,” she nodded, “we got pretty close.” But, of course, that wasn’t the question Erin really wanted answered, and Cass sighed. Shrugging a shoulder, she took another sip of the whiskey and it went down easier, this time. “She’s better now that you’re back,” she replied. “Happier. But in the beginning, when she thought you were…” She trailed off, worrying her lip and letting the end of the sentence hang. When she thought you were dead. “She wasn’t great, for a while there, I think.”

Twenty-two. God. She was young-young. It was hard to miss the way she winced at the burn of straight alcohol, and for a moment Erin thought to offer her something a little less harsh to cut it with, but Cass impressively continued to drink without complaint. But what she noted most was the care in Cass’ voice when discussing Marley. She still wasn’t entirely sure what bonded these two together but whatever it was, it seemed genuine. “Can’t imagine she was,” Erin nodded, flickers of imaginary scenarios playing in the back of her head. “You think?” She thought maybe she’d had too much time to obsess over them before, about Marley was doing and what she was up to in her absence, but maybe she wasn’t far off. She hoped she was. “Sorry. I don’t mean to put any of our stuff on you but I just, you know. Worry. So thank you.”

Her finger tapped anxiously against the top of the glass and she stirred at the edge of her seat. “I appreciate your honesty and I don’t know what Marley’s told you about me but you’re clearly important to her. Which… I get the feeling means I’m going to be seeing a lot of you.” She cracked a brief smile and continued. “So it’s probably fair that I’m honest here too. And if you have any questions, I can try to be as honest as I can with you too.” It wasn’t a promise, and that hesitation still tugged at her chest, but it was… a start?

Cass nodded, looking at the glass in her hands. It was understandable, of course, the way Marley had been in the beginning. When she thought Erin was dead, when she’d been positive that the woman she’d loved was murdered for no good reason. Of course she’d been desolate, angry, upset. There was no surprise there. Cass liked to think she’d be the same, even if she’d never loved anyone like that to know for sure. Even if she’d never had anything worth losing. But Erin was back now. It felt like a miracle, like a dream even though Cass was only meeting her now, after it was all over. She was back, and Marley was happier for it. She was better. “No,” she shook her head, “it’s okay. You’re not putting anything on me. And I’m — I mean, I’m glad she has people who worry about her. She deserves to have that, even if she doesn’t think she does.”

The warmth spreading through Cass’s chest as Erin said she was important to Marley had nothing to do with the alcohol she’d been sipping on, and she smiled as she glanced up to meet the other woman’s eye. “I hope that’s okay,” she said, because she liked Erin, even if she hardly knew her at all. At the offer, she hummed thoughtfully. “I, um… I should probably tell you something else, too. I’m, uh…” She trailed off, hunching her shoulders a little bit. She’d never actually told anyone this before, was only just coming to terms with it herself, but honesty was important here. Cass got that. “I’m, uh… Maybe not human? Which is something Marley’s been helping me figure out, too. I know about her, too. And she, um, she mentioned some magic stuff with you? Just to… put the cards on the table and stuff.”

A warm smile lit up Erin’s face. Cass knew Marley for… what? A few months now? And already she had her pegged pretty well. For as tough and mysterious as her girlfriend tried to be, there were some things she couldn’t hide, and Cass cared enough to pick up on them. Damn it. She was starting to like this kid already, and she could see why Marley might have too. “She does. And you and I both know she doesn’t worry about herself, so the more people looking out for her, the better.” She paused for a moment, squeezing her cup between her hands. “Just don’t feel like you have to worry too much, you know? I’m back now and Lord knows I can worry enough for the both of us and then some.”

Erin sat back in her seat at Cass’ nervous confessions, taking another long sip of the whiskey, nearly emptying the glass. Huh. She knew–well, she knew more than she ever thought Marley would share with someone she hadn’t known that long. Knew the kind of secrets that only a particular, earned kind of trust could pull out of someone. “That’s right, yeah,” she confirmed. “That’s alright. Might be better that you know off the bat instead of us all doing that weird dishonest dance around each other. ” Another smile, shy and a little unsure this time, but she pressed on after a tense pause, despite every instinct in her screaming at her to withhold. There was something so genuine about this girl though, and with Marley’s trust backing her, she felt comfortable enough to let loose the tight hold she held around her own secrets. “I’m a fury. An erinyes, to be specific. I help people get revenge on those who’ve wrong them. Honestly I’m kind of new at the gig though. I was human less than a year ago.” Her eyes narrowed after a moment and she reached for the bottle to refill her glass. “What exactly does ‘maybe not human’ entail?”

“No. She doesn’t worry about herself.” Cass swallowed, remembering all too well the way Marley had taken on that hunter, the way she’d grabbed the barrel of a shotgun and had her fingers shot clean off her hand only to worry after Cass when it was over. She could still taste the iron in the air, still hear the echo of the shot. She thought she probably always would, thought it was the kind of thing that would stick with her forever like the scar the knife wound would leave when it went from its current state to fully healed. “I’m not sure I can stop,” she admitted. “But, hey… I guess that means you’ve got help, right? In the worrying department.”

It didn’t take long for Erin to reply to Cass’s confession but to Cass, it felt like an eternity. So far, the only people she’d told about this were Marley and Metzli, and in both cases it hadn’t been so much a confession as it had been confirming a theory. This was different. This was someone who didn’t know her beforehand, someone who she could have just let assume she was human. But she didn’t. She liked to think of it as a step forward. A step in the right direction, maybe. “I’ve never been much of a dancer,” she joked, tapping her fingers against her glass just to give them something to do. She nodded as Erin explained what she was, eyes wide and a little curious. “An erinyes,” she repeated. “And you were human before? Were you… Was it like what happens with vampires?” Metzli had told Cass the story of their death and rebirth, and it sounded terrifying. Cass hoped Erin’s was kinder. Taking another swig from her cup (it went down easier the more she drank, she found), Cassidy shrugged. “I, um… I think I’m a siren. Actually, I’m pretty much positive. But until a little while ago, I just… I thought I was human.”

The more Cass spoke about Marley, the strength of whatever connection the two shared grew clearer. Despite the circumstances and questions she still had, that wasn’t something for her to prod any further at. Wasn’t her place. It seemed good, and Cass seemed loyal, and that was all Erin needed to know. Marley had found people, friends, in her absence. An anchor to hold her down. Her grief had been real, but so were these bonds, and for the first time in a while Erin found that she could breathe a little easier. There were others to help her worry now. “Fair enough. Just don’t mention it to her or she’ll get all defensive and weird. Weirder than usual,” she added, smiling softly.

Erin shook her head. “No, not quite. I don’t know exactly how that goes down but I didn’t die. It’s a long story as to why, and I can tell you about it the next time you come over if you want, but this was something I asked for. Another fury deemed me worthy of becoming an immortal vengeance bringer and so–” she waved a hand and shrugged. “Here we are.” There should have been a level of anxiety that held her back from sharing something like this with Cass but there was something about the young woman that didn’t trip that fight or flight trigger in her. Another good sign this kid seemed alright. “Siren?” Erin paused, the species name rebooting a recent memory. “You’re a bird? Sirens are like–birds, right?” She narrowed her eyes slightly, tilting her head as she peered closely at the very human-looking person in front of her. “You didn’t know you were one? Does it like–turn off an on or something?

“I find that pretty easy to believe.” Because it was. Cass hadn’t known Marley as long as Erin did, knew she didn’t know her as well, either, but she knew enough to know that Erin was absolutely right. Marley didn’t want anyone worrying about her, least of all Cass. And maybe some time ago, Cass would have found it easy to grant her that, would have thought it simple not to concern herself with someone else. She’d been more selfish back then, when she lived on the streets and couldn’t afford to care about anyone but herself. But… she was different now. And, despite the fact that she’d only been a part of her life a few months now, Marley was a big reason as to why.

She listened as Erin spoke, looking curious but accepting the request to save the story for another day all the same. It was strange, the idea that someone would… choose not to be human. Given the choice, Cass would have chosen humanity in a heartbeat if it were offered to her. “I’m glad,” she offered, “that you got to choose.” Erin deserved that. Everyone deserved that, she thought. Everyone deserved the chance to decide for themselves what they wanted to be. The tragedy was that so few people got it. “So I’ve been told,” she muttered, nose wrinkling as she looked down at her feet. “I’ve never turned into a bird. I don’t know how to turn into a bird. I’ve got other… quirks, but they were always there, you know? And I never had anybody to tell me what was normal, so I guess I just assumed…” She trailed off, shrugging a shoulder. It wasn’t entirely true. She’d known, on some level, that she wasn’t exactly normal. She’d just… made excuses for it. She’d turned herself into a superhero so she could pretend she was human. It was a pretty decent magic trick, if you asked her.

“She’s annoying like that,” Erin quipped with a smirk. She wondered if Marley had any idea at all how many people actually wanted to, and did, care about her now. Even now she could only imagine the uncomfortable look on her face already if she’d ever dare to bring it up.

Erin gave a small smile, thankful that Cass didn’t press or ask any other questions about it. She seemed like a good kid, Marley trusted her–which was praise enough in itself–but she barely knew her. It’d only been a half hour since she’d been waving a knife in the face of what she thought was an intruder, after all. She had some catching up to do, apparently. “Thank you,” she nodded, and meant it. Cass may not have known all the fine details but for whatever reason, it was a better reaction than she expected. When Cass glanced away, she quickly remembered the privilege of her choice. Remembered how deeply Marley had struggled, and still struggled, with the struggles that came from a situation so similar to Cass’, and it made sense for it to potentially be another tie that bound them together so quickly. Maybe Marley saw a bit of herself in the young woman. She winced at the flippant way she reacted now and it was abundantly clear that she still had some work to do in that whole “not overreacting about supernaturals” department. She shook her head. “Hey, everyone’s normal’s different, you know? And that’s just your normal. Absolutely nothing with that. I hope you know that, or that you’re on your way to understanding that.” Despite her human biases and naivety, that was something Erin had always felt strongly about. “Also, uh–I know that I’ve known you for all of… thirty minutes, so if this isn’t something you want to talk about with me, I totally get that too. Still very much in the learning process myself.” She forced herself to smile, though the intent was genuine and laced with regret. “I’m sorry I called you a bird.”

“Super annoying,” Cass agreed, but her tone was fond and there was a smile on her face. It was nice, meeting someone and already having this kind of connection through them, being able to say, for what might have been the first time in her life, that she knew someone ‘through a mutual friend.’ It felt normal, even if nothing about the situation was. Even if she only knew Marley because they’d both had terrible starts in life, even if Erin had been holding a knife on her minutes ago because she was still trying to come to terms with having been kidnapped and held captive for an extended period of time, even if no one in the equation was human. It all felt normal.

And that was a relief. That was something Cass had longed for for so long now that she couldn’t remember not wanting it. Her definition of what ‘normal’ meant had changed in that time, of course, had shifted and grown as she had, but the desire had always been there. Would always be there. There was a part of her that was a little jealous of Erin for getting to choose to be a part of this world, and it wasn’t right or fair or okay but it was present all the same. Erin deserved to be able to make that choice, but Cass liked to think that she had deserved it, too. She should have been given the option, should have been able to decide to be a part of this. And maybe she would have chosen it for herself, given enough time, maybe it wasn’t the worst thing in the world, but she still wanted the choice. She still longed for it. “I’m… coming to terms with it,” she replied slowly, and she liked to think it was true. She wasn’t accusing anyone of lying when they pointed out the things that made her not-human anymore, wasn’t lashing out or making excuses for every supernatural occurrence in her life. That was a step in the right direction, even if it was a small one. She offered Erin a small, grateful smile and shrugged a shoulder. “It’s not really something I know how to talk about with anyone,” she admitted. “Marley had to basically force me into it.” And as much as Cass had resented it at the time, she was glad Marley had done it. She thought about what Bex had said, about how denying something like that over and over and over again only ever got people hurt. Cass didn’t want to hurt anyone. She never had. Letting out a surprised laugh, she shook her head. “It’s okay. I guess I kind of am a bird. Technically.” She paused for a moment. “Marley gave me a book she had about sirens. It said I hatched out of an egg. Do you know how weird that makes it to eat an omelet?”

It was subtle, like she didn’t want to reveal too much of herself, but the internal struggle was clear. Cass hadn’t been given that choice but Erin could empathize all too well with how it felt to be dropped into a new, strange world with no anchor and no directions. Finding out your father was a part of some supernatural black market organ ring was very different from discovering you were an entirely different species, of course. “I’m sure,” she nodded. “I’m glad you managed to find Marley. If anyone can help you, it’ll be her.” A ping of pride reverberated in her chest. Marley, encouraging others to be honest with themselves and to open up? Maybe Erin had finally gotten through to her on that after all. Another relief there. Right now, she’d take all the victories she could get. “And she’s right. Ignoring it or keeping all of that in won’t do anything but put you and others in danger down the road. I don’t doubt that Marley’s already told you that too.” It was one of the first things she remembered Marley trying to hammer into her thick skull. “It’s a lot but it’s necessary. I’ve only known about all of this stuff for a little over two years now and I’m still struggling to keep up.”

Erin laughed, hard and abruptly, cutting through the remaining tension lingering in the room. “I’m so sorry, I’m not laughing at you. I’m not. That’s just–that’s really unfortunate,” she managed between smaller, quieter laughs. “I promise I’ll never offer you eggs or fowl of any kind if you still want to step foot in this house after today.” She wondered how often Cass had been here while she was gone, often enough that had given her the confidence to waltz right in and make herself comfortable on the couch. Not something she was used to but the last thing she wanted to do was disrupt any kind of routine between the two. And whether she was aware of it or not yet, the kid was already growing on her.

It was easy to see why Marley loved Erin so much. She was kind, understanding. She didn’t deserve what had happened to her, didn’t deserve to have spent months locked away and aching because some selfish people saw her as a get rich quick scheme. Cass was so glad that Marley had been able to save her, so glad that she got the chance to meet her. Erin offered her an understanding that few people in White Crest could manage. There was something wonderful about that. Smiling, she nodded her head. “She was good at making sure I got it.” Cass might still be denying it entirely if it weren’t for Marley’s insistence that they talk about it, if it weren’t for the way she’d made sure Cass understood the gravity of it, understood that there was no getting away from it. “Maybe we can start a study group,” she offered, only half joking.

Erin’s laughter felt contagious, and Cass didn’t try to stop the giggles bubbling up from her own throat. She dissolved into laughter right alongside Erin, shaking her head quickly. “No, no, it’s — It’s kind of funny.” She paused a moment, biting her lip. “Between you and me? I like omelets.” She dissolved into another giggling fit as soon as the words were out. It took her a moment to catch her breath and by the time she did, the whole vibe of the room seemed to have changed. The tension was gone, the discomfort was gone. Erin didn’t seem quite as unsettled and Cass didn’t feel quite as awkward. Slowly, Cass walked back over to the couch and sat down. “Do you wanna watch a movie?” She asked, glancing back to Erin with a small grin. “I’m marathoning the Sharknado franchise. I was just about to start the fourth one.”

Sounded about right to Erin. When Marley was determined to do something, she made it a point to get it done, no matter what. Apparently helping out Cass was one of them. She wondered briefly if it helped–to have a distraction, something to care about in Erin’s absence. She wondered if it helped her grieve.”Oh, I’m sure she’d be thrilled about that,” Erin quipped, shaking her head at the mere thought. She’d gotten enough eyerolls and balks from Marley about her supernatural questions in the past that she was sure the two of them combined, bringing more questions to her, would go over super well.