#thread.dusty

Being officially together with Dorothy meant that on a daily basis, Pesor spent an even longer time thinking about her. And also got into contact with her family a lot, whether when they came to pick Dorothy up from their place, or when they happened to see them out somewhere. There was some belief in Pesor’s heart that they’d become a happy family eventually. That they would be accepted and they would be able to join their family dinners and gatherings and special occasions. Of course Dorothy would invite them, and then they’d feel at home, and it was like the family they’d never had. After all, it had only ever been them and their mom. 

So when they saw Dusty sitting all by himself, no little kid in sight, he figured he could go up to him and it would all be alright, after all, they were dating his little sister, and Pesor figured they made Dorothy happy. 

They really hoped they made Dorothy happy. 

“Hey Dusty,” they said, smiling. “Can I uhm… join you here?” they asked, raising their order of burger and fries.

Benny enjoyed breaking up marriages and relationships. It had never been his intention when he'd slept around when he was younger, perhaps naively he'd believed that people wouldn't cheat on their partners. Though eventually he'd done it himself without much second thought. But by then he'd been an accomplish often enough that he'd already been on the same level.

And now he just revelled in being someone's secret, in the adrenaline rush of doing something that was wrong. He didn't care about the feelings of others, he didn't take those in regard for even a moment. He simply managed to find someone he felt physically attracted to, and did not care one bit about their relationship. Not even if they shot him down.

He clicked his tongue when Dustin walked into the cafe, the place was almost empty, a bit on the dark side given the weather outside, but very cosy.

Cosy enough that Benny felt like every bone in his body was vibrating towards chaos. So he instantly flung himself to Dustin's side, a grin on his face. "I feel like buying you a coffee," he said. And definitely more besides.

Some things would never be creepy to someone like Bijan, some things would always be preferable above others. An empty graveyard at late evening, absolutely no problem, a grocery store where nobody smiled, sounded like heaven.

He lived in libraries, in research labs, in places with few to no people. Finding himself in a bustling diner was unlike him. He was pushed every which way as he searched for a spot to sit with his coffee order and his future cinnamon roll, which was to be brought to him. Eventually someone pushed him and he landed on a chair opposite of a familiar face from the University. "I'll have to impose," he said, throwing a look back at the person who had pushed him. "If that is alright with you."

Pesor was not used to being in this kind of situation on his own. They'd always ended up with their mother beside them, she would make sure to reach for his arm whenever something bad happened, as if she felt it coming. Pesor was always at a loss, always confused and worried. Even more now, when the first person they reached out of didn't pick up. Her phone was dead, it went straight to voicemail. They tried Dusty, they tried a few more names, but they found their phone was empty as well, the battery quickly draining. They had too few people in their address list. Who could they go to if their mom didn't pull them to safety?

Pesor took a deep breath as they ran down the street, where during the day they felt like they knew the town, it was completely different in darkness. They weren't even sure how to get home. "Hey!" they called to the first person they saw. "Do you have a working phone?"

Bo was contemplative these days, far more on his second job as a vampire hunter - or lackey - than on his first job. He still managed to clock in on time, give it his all on the air, and raise no concerns. But outside of those hours, he was trying to think of ways that they could further this. He wasn't sure what the whole thing at New Years had been about. He'd just followed. Like he was prone to do when it came to Rosalin.

He followed because he thought it would supply him with information, with knowledge. He hoped in time he was uncover the name of the vampire who had killed his family.

This was just a stepping stone in that direction.

He had headphones in as he was listening to a new album that had been delivered to the studio that morning, but he wasn't registering any of it. He was considering which area of the city he was going to patrol tonight.

Bijan had requested to see all available pictures and charts from his Doctor. He might be a microbiologist, but he understood biology as well. He wished to see the facts, not because he needed to draw his own conclusion, but to understand it better. If he didn't, it would remain a mystery, a lump of flesh and bone having its own set of problems. If he saw a clear picture, if he could study the image of exactly the damage that had been done to his foot, he would be able to make more sense of what had happened.

Sadly this was not the case, while the bear claw left clear marks and indicators as to where they'd entered the flesh and which bones and muscles they'd scraped along the way, his own fall still made little sense to him.

Still, he'd asked if he could get copies, and with a small portfolio of images and charts, he made his way back home. This was upon agreement with his doctor, who knew there was little they could do for him at the hospital. He needed rest, fluids, and to allow for his own body to heal itself. It would need time, and perhaps it may not heal completely.

Time…

Plenty of time. Luckily - mostly for himself - Bijan was not a difficult patient. He would take it easy because his doctor said so. But he still wanted to go outside. So he'd seated himself in the gardens of the university, with a book, his whole leg taking up the entirety of the bench he'd picked out. And he set to reading. A book on the muscles and bones and cartilage of the foot. He looked up when he spotted a familiar figure. "Duck-Young, how have you been?"

Had Pesor known the moment they'd settled into Anchorage that it has a circus, they would've gone there straight away. Not because they had a certain interest in it, but because it was an almost melancholy feeling that followed them regarding these types of places, of lives they had never really led, of opportunities that hadn't been bestowed on them.

But now they knew Dorothy worked here, they knew someone from their past - an idea that hadn't yet become solid in his brain. They couldn't believe this was happening, and now they were heading to the circus to see if they could find her around, meet her for lunch or just... just see her. They were walking through the area with a huge smile on their face and their hands deep in their pocket as they tried to scan every single face that passed them.

Pesor had not expected to meet another familiar person in Anchorage, and then Dusty appeared out of nowhere and they stopped mid-track, one eyebrow raised. "Dusty?"