#maya002

There had been rumors that Tefi was spotted on the other side of the counter at Latte Love, though the sources that had gotten back to Phoebe weren’t always the most reliable. However, CJ had sworn he had seen his ex-tenant in the opposite coffee shop from his premises with an apron on, and after what her friend’s legal-spouse had divulged following the revelation of Tefi and Foster’s past and his subsequent break-up with Phoebe, she had been avoiding Maya’s shop, just in case. 

She had no intention of stopping for a coffee when she walked past the store, looking in the window out of habit. Not seeing Tefi immediately, decided to risk it. Maya worked hard for this place to flourish and there was already stupid rivalry between the two café’s, Phoebe didn’t need to add to it with her own personal conflicts. So she came in, offering an almost shy smile to Maya as she did so. “Hey, just you in today?” Phoebe asked upon greeting as she made her way over, keeping an eye out for any other barista popping up from the back.

The Thane household has never been short on pets. She and Andy had gotten Noodles when they were still just kids, squeezing him into the tiny apartment they started off in while Andy was prospecting and she was studying her pre-med classes ---- he’d been a cute thing, affectionate even though as he has gotten older he’s become an asshole. They’ve moved houses twice since then, adding to their crew --- two dogs, a handful of chickens. And though she’ll never admit it outloud, Scout has always been Rowan’s favourite. They’d picked him up not soon after moving into their first house they bought together, with Andy going on out of town runs with his father more often than not, and Rowan struggling with her demons regarding both her family and her fertility. He’d been good company --- better than most of the people in her life. Always ready to plop his head in her lap when she’d get overwhelmed and sit until she was ready to face reality again. That hasn’t changed in her life, despite the fact that almost everything else has. 

However, something that has changed about Scout --- while he usually walks calmly beside her, happy to enjoy a leisurely stroll through the park or a hike through the preserve, now she finds herself having to remind him to relax a little. To say he’s enthralled with the rottweiler with them would be an understatement, something that Rowan’s never really seen before from him. But maybe the anxious whining has to do with the fact that he’s leashed and honestly, she doesn’t make him stay that way very long when they’re out on the trails. “Is she okay to be off leash?” She asks, glancing over at Maya. “Though I guess we run the risk of them running off together, since they’re so obsessed.” Her eyes roll, a laugh leaving afterward. “I swear to God, he’s never been like this before. I mean --- he’s always been a social dog, but he’s never been this enthralled before.”

@mayaparker

“You told me that it’s a feral dog!” Tuah whispered loudly, alternating between glaring at the other and peering behind the blackened tree trunk of the Old Growth Forest. Well, a version of the forest at least. Ash-like spores floated in the air and thick fog surrounded them causing low visibility even with his supernatural ability. His ears perked up, straining himself to hear the faint growl that came from the creature that came after them, echoing through the forest making it hard to pinpoint where exactly the beast was.

“I thought it was a feral dog. It sure acts like one,” a weirdly modulated voice answered him, and his attention went towards the doppelganger next to him, its yellow eyes with slitted pupils looking at him blankly (were doppelgangers able to express emotions like humans did? Tuah wasn’t so sure). Then he heard rather than saw the doppelganger talk, “sorry babe.”

“Feral dogs don’t have their faces open up like flower and reveal nothing but fucking teeth, serrah!” It was quite a feat to have Tuah cursed our loud, having undergone a lot of stress trying to get away from the beast as far as possible. But no matter how fast or how far they’d run, the beast managed to get onto their tail, creating a chase of cat and mouse between them – Tuah and the doppelganger being the mice, in this scenario. “And we talked about this. Do not call me babe.” The doppelganger looked away, its long skinny arms wrapped around its folded legs a little tighter. “It’s Tuah. Now let’s just find a way back before it gets to us, alright.”

The doppelganger nodded its head, still looking away from Tuah. He heaved a sigh, running his fingers through his short hair. He had recognized the doppelganger immediately when they bumped into each other, with it having an almost earthy, clay-like smell that he recognized from his first encounter with it. Tuah didn’t immediately knew that it was the same doppelganger, of course, having disguised itself under a different face altogether. The only dead giveaway was when the doppelganger referred to him as ‘babe’, and proceeded to remind him of who (what?) it was. It was upon Tuah’s insistence that the doppelganger reverted itself back to its original form.

As for the reason for them to be this version of the Old Growth Forest… well. Tuah blamed it all on his own curiosity, having pointed the direction of thick viscous trail on the forest ground by the doppelganger which lead him to an ashy coloured tree with visceral-like membrane resembling sticky spider webs covering the opening at the bottom of its trunk. When Tuah touched the surface, it glowed before tearing away in a manner similar that of the flesh. As he pulled his hand away, long fingers held him fast and pulled him into the tree, causing him to stumble into this version of the forest. It was then that he first met the creature, with its saliva dripping onto his face as it snarled loudly. If it wasn’t for the doppelganger’s help, he wouldn’t be alive right now.

“Come on. There has to be another… portal that we can get through.” Tuah slowly got up, having made sure that it was safe for them to come out of their hiding before making his move. “Perhaps there are several gates opened at one time, making it easier for it to travel in and out of this place.” The one that they had entered had closed behind them, and Tuah wasn’t able to find a way to get them opened, not when the creature was hot on their tail, so to speak.

“Maybe the portal where the witch came through still opens,” The doppelganger commented, which prompted another glare from Tuah. “What? I thought she could handle it. She has magic, you know.”

“You –” Tuah clenched his jaw and curled his fist, entertaining the idea of simply beating the doppelganger to a pulp for having brought in another innocent person into this mess. He forced himself to take a deep breath and exhaled loudly, unfurling his fist and unclenching his jaw. “Where did you last see this witch?”