Calling for my demons to let me go

Aurora leaned back, surprised enough by her evident distaste for the Riverborn that she laughed. “What, you aren’t fan of them?” She questioned curiously, leaning on the table. Forwardness was something that she admired, particularly when it meant getting information. “I’ve only met the council members once and that was enough for me, they were a little too much for my taste.” Aurora wasn’t allowed an opinion, but with no one important around to hear it, she didn’t mind voicing one. Still, her words were slightly hesitant and she didn’t like that. “Only the women ones. I knew one already and the other one was… nosy and enthusiastic. I imagine that’s the spectrum of them.”

The barista interrupted Aurora before she could ask another question and she held her tongue, disappointed that she couldn’t ask more on it. Instead, she ventured thoughtfully: “Magic seems like the type of thing that feed off emotion, maybe you need to cut off the emotional aspect to it.” What would that do? She didn’t know, but she’d like to see. Aurora shrugged, toying with her drink. “Its… quiet, I’m not used to places where everyone knows everyone. Where people almost care, its very unusual, but that must be the small town vibe, as you said,” she replied, only taking a drink of her own after Teyla did. “Peace and no obligations, though? I’m not sure how I like that yet.”

“Can’t trust ‘em,” she shook her head. “Even if they’re the victims of this magical scheme, something is at play.” She nodded her head. “Prudes, old school. And I hear this is the ‘new and improved’ group. At least, some of ‘em. Lich and Vampire have been the same since the beginning, no doubt.” Huh, she wondered which council member was which, that Aurora was talking about. But there was no way to tell, so no reason to dwell on it. “I dunno, I have some pretty strong emotions, Aurora.” She took another sip of her coffee though it was piping hot. She made a face at the woman’s words. “I wouldn’t say everyone knows everyone.” After all, there were new people in town, coming and going every day. Still, she shook her head, brushing off the over-simplification. “As I said, you can’t trust ‘em. Anyone. People always have their own agendas, even in small towns like this.” She might’ve begun sounding like a crackpot to be honest, but she had been scorned too much to let another person hurt her again, so she kept the bar low, surprisingly low, and expected the worst out of people. She scoffed. “This place is definitely not peaceful. If that’s what you’re looking for, keep moving. Yeesh, it feels like there’s a new mass hysteria every month,” she exaggerated.

Aurora didn’t laugh, not exactly, but her lips twitched. “At least you’re leaving room for the possibility, you never know what the day will bring,” she said, tapping her fingers on the table. What did she think of the Riverborn? Considering one was her boss, she didn’t know what the correct opinion on it would be and she narrowed her eyes, more thoughtful than angry. “I’ve only met the women Riverborn so far, they were… interesting albeit what you expect from amnesiacs. I take it you’ve met them all, if you’ve been here a year?” Aurora asked, reaching for her drink and considering the offer. It would help to have insight, yes, and she finally shrugged. “Who should I avoid in town then?” She accepted Teyla’s hand, an amused smile crossing her face when she went on to talk about her self-help book. “On the contrary, its very useful to be around people who know their own weaknesses. Are you saying you have no control over your anger, your magic, or both?”

“‘Met them all’? No way. I avoid them like the plague,” she confessed, shaking her head. “Jesus, I dunno. Half the council members, that’s for sure. I’d say Riverborn but you’ve already met some of them,” she smiled. They could disagree on ideologies and still be cordial enough. Teyla may be hot-headed or confrontational but she wasn’t the type to instigate a fight. Not unless something shitty was taking place. 

She wanted to smile at the young woman when she praised her for knowing her own weaknesses. Yeah, she supposed it was a good thing. Mature of her, she might even say. Not that she considered herself immature in any way, but it was a good trait, wasn’t it? “Both, actually,” she confessed, and was cut off by her coffee being delivered. She thanked the waitress (barista? whatever) and turned back to Aurora. “How do you like Lethe so far?” she asked, blowing on the coffee lightly before taking a sip. “I can’t say that its home to me yet, but it does grow on you over time. People aren’t the worst here, probably that ‘small town vibe.’ You’re stuck with the same pool of people, don’t want to stir the pot too badly or else you’ll get shunned.”

Nikolai thinks to himself: the man being an imbecile and her tactic being inefficient is not mutually exclusive. But then again, he can guess that it must be different for women. He can’t help her with the collective disrespectful bullshits of men so he just opts to gesture vaguely, with a vague grunt instead of words– some semblance of acknowledgment there, if one reads into it. “Well, people are aroused by the weirdest shits.” He remarks, not even one bit surprised. Nikolai downs his glass in one swift gulp. Without saying anything, he picks up one of the newly poured drink and puts it in front of him. He shrugs as if that solves the problem– he paid for it, he can drink it. And he saw the bartender pouring drinks. He snorts at the sarcasm, half-amused, half-rolling his eyes. “Ah, yes, obviously from the way I told off that idiot, that should be clear.” He drawls, ignoring all the piss talks.

“Yeah, I guess they are,” she said slowly, looking up at him from her glass. She smiled when he took one of the drinks, grateful she wouldn’t be getting alcohol poisoning tonight. “Don’t get along well with people? You look like you play dirty,” she said, studying the werewolf. Electricity coursed through her veins as she hadn’t practiced using her magic for a long time; with Adam disappeared she hadn’t found a new teacher just yet, and it was wearing on her body. She hated that witches needed to have a ‘middle ground’ regarding using their powers. It was bullshit. So she thrummed her fingers on the counter to elicit some hyperactive energy. “It’s not a bad thing, but its also not... a compliment.” She shrugged her shoulders and took another sip at the bitter beer. She figured both her and this guy were similar in some regards because they struggled with the ‘social’ aspect of bar-hopping, but she wasn’t exactly helping this guy out since she was pestering him, was she?

Aurora shot her a measuring look. “Impressive self-control. Not many can claim the same, they are almost always more likely to shout at friends if they are incensed about something,” she said with a shrug, pulling out another piece of paper. The woman walked away after Aurora gave her the two order and she pulled out a piece of paper, rewriting the paper in short, brisk handwriting. “Sit before you do, just in case. My forgiveness only goes to how many pieces of paper I have in my bag and this is the last one.” Her lips quirked, amused at the question. “I’m trying to figure out who is who in this town. You have a great of leaders, it’ll be hard to keep track of whose ire to avoid.” She tapped the new paper, where she had written out the council members that she knew and their names. Normally, she wouldn’t care to explain her work with anyone, but maybe a local would know better. “Are you familiar with the town? Everyone I’ve come across is either memory-less or new,” she said, exasperated. “I’m Aurora, by the way. What is it you were reading?”

“I dunno, I haven’t done it yet,” she smiled. But then again, she didn’t have many friends in Lethe, did she? She’d gotten in heated debates back in Seattle, but they were all good-natured. The ‘violent’ ones weren’t with friends, so they didn’t count, right? She chuckled airily and did as she was told: sat down abruptly. “Add me to that list,” she said through a slight grin. “What, you’ve met the Riverborn? What do you think?” she asked, then continued “I’ve been here about a year, so I might be able to help? I’m Teyla. I work at the auto shop.” She extended her right hand formally. “Uh, a self-help book. Controlling anger. See, you don’t want to be around a problematic witch who doesn’t have full control.” She tried to laugh it off, but it wasn’t really funny, was it?

The man looks offended before walking away. Finally, a moment of peace. It’s been forever since he had a chance to drink. He would have bought a bottle of vodka or whiskey and had it at the comfort of his apartment. But Nova doesn’t like alcohol for a specific reason so he has decided to come to a bar… Which entails small talks and idiots apparently. Nikolai doesn’t register someone else taking a seat next to him for a good ten seconds through her sentence. He glances over and recognizes her from the gym. “I don’t know how I helped, but you should reconsider your tactic if it took you fifteen minutes.” He remarks before taking a sip off his glass. What’s up with people and unsolicited offers to buy his drink? “I told him and I’ll tell you again, I don’t accept drinks from other people.” He says, but the bartender has already taken the order it seems. Grumbling, he takes out a few dollar bills from his pockets and puts it down on the bar.

“Nah, he was just an idiot, wouldn’t give up. Apparently I had to threaten him with bodily harm for him to lose interest. You never know if it’ll work, sometimes it just turns ‘em on more,” she sounded disgusted with a bitter scoff. Fighting off men was the fucking worst, especially as a lesbian. She couldn’t stand their ugly faces, and to be forced to say ‘no’ repeatedly, in ten different ways? In four languages? With her entire body, including body language, facial expressions, pushing with her hands, the whole gig. It was tiresome. She considered sometimes not even going to a bar and just drinking at home with her friend Avery or Nora. Maybe that would be a better plan, but the experience of the musty bar, dim lighting, smells and everything was one of a kind. She wasn’t a wine drinker like those ‘wine moms,’ she preferred the nitty gritty of the bar. Again, it was all in the experience, and it just so happened that these troublesome men were part of that experience. She was on the fence about it. “Fine, two for me, but it’ll take you twice as long to get rid of me then,” she chuckled. “What the fuck, I was gonna pay for it,” she protested, but he could be much worse, she assumed. “So what, you usually this talkative and enamored? It’s a little much.” She took one of the lagers and sipped on it, trying to pace herself. “Can I get a water, too? I’ll be pissing all night but I’d rather not get dehydrated,” she asked the bartender, who made a face like ‘too much information, bitch.’ She couldn’t care less. 

The woman’s vocal support wasa bit surprising when everyone else in the cafe was makign the collective decision to ignore the loudmouths. She had barely noticed this woman in particularly jostling the table until she was turning around to apologize and Aurora raised her brow. “What, for bumping into the table? I don’t blame you for the idiocy of fool’s who cannot argue without losing their heads,” she replied, not unkindly. “You don’t win that way - or so I’m told.” Truthfully, shows of anger like that were a regular occurrence from her father and therefore not unfamiliar. She lifted up her papers and shaking off the excess liquids. It didn’t do much for the mess, but some of it was still legible. “Did they end up leaving together? I thought they might know each other, there was too much undercurrent for it to be fight about politics alone.” Aurora squinted at her a moment at the offer and then shrugged. “Sure, I need something else to finish this. You should probably sit, too, before the next argument starts up. That table over there is suspiciously tense.”

If there was one thing Teyla couldn’t stand, it was injustice, unfairness, rudeness. So of course she had interfered in the squabble. “Yeah, they were buddies all along. I could never yell at my friends like that, though, no matter how heated I get,” she confided. “Oh, okay. What do you want? I’ll order it real quick and have them drop it off.” After the woman told Teyla, she went up to the barista and ordered the two drinks and a croissant, then pointed to her table. She was back in a moment, tearing off the corner of her pastry. “Good idea, I hear their voices increasing. Hopefully I don’t bump the table again,” she chuckled somewhat easily. “So um, what’re you working on?” Teyla probably wouldn’t have stayed in the cafe, because it was so busy, if the other young woman hadn’t been so obliging, but she figured she could get some good conversation out of it. Why not, right? “I brought my kindle to read... well, its unimportant. But something tells me you’d be much better company to be honest,” she admitted. Teyla could read as much as anyone else, but she did prefer the conversations over it. Reading was more of a learned behavior, her parents had told her to stay quiet, out of the way, and so she had done just that growing up. But she’d always preferred one-on-one conversation over a good book, any day.

“You are,” he reassured her, looking forward. There were times when he didn’t know if Teyla could handle the honesty, if the part of her that wanted or needed affection was drowned out by the stubborn part of her that wanted no one. “I’m here, aren’t I? Not sure how much you’ll get along with my family, especially since Kate seems to bring relatives out of the woods, but its there for you.” He shrugged, thinking about it. “Knowing Kate, she’s been thinking about it the entire time I was gone. I’m hoping for sooner rather than later, maybe that grandfather of mine will have a trick up his sleeve.” Patrick didn’t talk much with Orion, something he was going to fix with time, but he did keep track of the things he heard. Being ordained seemed like something he would have. Her comment brought a laugh from him. “I count myself lucky to have died after I recently cleaned up, I wouldn’t be pleased if I came back with that beard I had back in, say, December.” He lurched a little at her grab, shooting her a look that was fond exasperation. “She’d agree with you there, even I’m the lucky one between us all. At least it was before my hair was white, I’d hate to look a century older than my wife.”

She opened her mouth to instinctively say, ‘I don’t need a family,’ but snapped it shut. Maybe she didn’t need one, didn’t mean she didn’t yearn for one. “You two are cute together,” was what she uttered instead. She sighed, and looked up at the other. “Patrick, you really didn’t have to come today. You should’ve spent the evening with your family. Your real family. It’s sweet of you, but you have a daughter now.” She felt like... it was a competition now, for Selene versus Teyla. Something in her instinctually wanted to fight, but she denied herself that. She didn’t want to, even if it was a gut-reaction from years of neglect, a fight or flight response. “And a fiancee. I’m... just... a friend. You should’ve texted me with a selfie or something, I guess.” There was no turning back the clock, and she didn’t mean to be bitching, but she felt like she was hogging another woman’s father, another woman’s fiance. “I do appreciate it, though. It’s nice to see your face. I thought it was the end, and I’m glad... you came back. If anyone deserved to, you’re at the top of the list,” she finished in a mumble. 

“Yeah, I know,” Avery said with a laugh. “it isn’t that it reminds me of Sedona. It just… Has things that feel like home, separately, I mean. A new home. Like, Sedona will always be home, but that doesn’t mean I can’t make somewhere new home too, you know?” She grinned and pumped her fist, as if she hadn’t thought that they already had a deal. “True. I mean, I still bring my baby in all the time. She is old after all.” It was true. She had had her Plymouth since she lived in Sedona and it had been old even then. It didn’t even have paint, just old primer.

“Poetic,” she deadpanned, but patted her friend’s hand with her own. She pulled out her phone and texted herself everything she needed to buy after work just in case she forgot. “Yeah, your baby’s a piece of junk, hate to break it to ya. But she’s well loved. Even Quinn can tell that,” she said, returning her cell to her pocket. “I have a one o’clock soon, so I’ma eat this banana and get back to it, okay?”

“Yeah, I do,” Avery answered honestly. “Honestly, Lethe feels an awful lot like home in its own way.” It wasn’t the same, she still missed her family, but she was happy here. It felt like she was finally living the life she was meant to live. “Dude, Chinese sounds perfect. Honestly, I’ve been craving it lately.” She had to laugh at the image, amused. “You know, sometimes it feels like that.” She reached out and took a carrot, popping it in her mouth. “Food and coffee anyway. At least I don’t spend much on gas here, I tend to walk most places.” Not all, but she could get around pretty well.

“Girl, Pacific Northwest and Arizona are like opposites,” she said while laughing. “Alright, done deal,” Teyla nodded her head and munched on her carrots for a little bit, grinning when Avery admitted to spending all her money on coffee. That sounded 100% correct, right up her alley. Teyla didn’t drink coffee unless she’d gotten terrible sleep the night before, which didn’t happen all too often. “Yeah, the good thing about Lethe is we can walk everywhere. Somehow I still have a job! People love their automobiles.” 

He nudged her shoulder with his, his voice serious. “I wasn’t gone long enough to think about missing anyone. Not on my end, at least, but Teyla, this is a miracle.” He paused, trying to find his words. It was difficult, to have spent so long watching his words, either because he was a wolf among humans or a chief among civilians, but dying had given him a new appreciation for speaking. “I shouldn’t be alive right now – whatever variety of alive you want to call it, if you’re one of the people that consider liches not to be alive – but I am. Almost lost my chance with everyone. Kate, Selene, Orion, you. You don’t get second chances like this all the time,” he said, tapping his index finger against his cheek, trying to figure out the direction of his words. “Just mean I don’t want to waste time. You’re family, whether you like it or not.” The turn to wedding talk had him confused and he cleared his throat, though he didn’t necessarily need to do that anymore. “I forgot I told you about that before I died. It… We actually haven’t discussed that yet. Its been a long day, we’ll get to it. Preferably sooner rather than later given how much time we’ve already lost.”

“I am? I mean, you are, but I’m not... I mean...” She shook her head, confusing herself. “Thanks,” she whispered. She didn’t deserve Patrick, didn’t deserve him calling her family. She was no longer the placeholder, his family was here, and was soon to be bigger once he married Kate and got her whole side of the family. There was no room for Teyla in that relationship, but she bit down and avoided that thinking. After the moment of silence she asked about Kate. “Oh, I thought it would be... one of the first topics of discussion. Sorry. I guess I didn’t realize how soon you came running to find me.” She smiled gingerly at Pat, not fully real, and returned the nudge of his shoulder with her own. “Just think, no more aging. You died just in time to keep your youth and dark hair. Too soon?” Their path was brightly lit with street lamps and she turned to her side and lifted a handful of hair from his head. His reaction had her grinning a little more genuinely. “Just a little bit of salt in this head of pepper. Kate’s a lucky woman.”

“Mojitos sound amazing,” she said, taking another bite of her sandwich. “But don’t worry, I have all the stuff for bloody marys. I make them based off of my stepdad’s recipe. So I kind of keep the stuff around in case I need a small bit of home, you know?” Oh, dinner. For about half of second, Avery started to panic about what the hell should fix them - pasta maybe? The carbs would do them good. But then she heard the word “take-out” and immediately felt at ease. “Oh, yes, take-out please.  You’re right. I live off take-out. I haven’t properly cooked in ages, but I do feel the need to tell you that I know how.” Kind of. She knew how to make certain dishes, mostly easy. Cooking had never been her strongest suit.

“Does it help? You feel at home and stuff?” she asked between bites. “Alright, one of these weekends I gotta see you in action. For tonight, how does Chinese sound?” she asked, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear with her right hand. She’d be stopping by the store anyways, and the Chinese place was right next door. She could call before leaving the autoshop and pick it up just in time with her other ‘groceries.’ “Now I’m picturing your entire paycheck going to food, and I can’t stop laughing.” She swallowed the last of her sandwich and moved onto a ziploc bag of baby carrots, offering Avery one of them.

“Well then, at least you have a fallback if we don’t work out.” Gwendolyn then nodded in confirmation and took it for what it is. Clients were still clients and she was making a living—she’ll take what she can get at this point. “Whatever you want.” she said with a shrug as she sipped her current drink. “Sounds good. I look forward to kicking your ass.” 

Gwendolyn pursed her lips together and shrugged, before waving at the bartender for another round of drinks. “Well if you know the deceased police chief then I’m pretty sure you’re like the least of law enforcement’s worries.” It was all about perspective. Once she received her drink, the Riverborn took a long swig before diverting her attention to the cellular device given to her. “I have some ground rules.” she stated at first. “In terms of attendance, I don’t tolerate lateness and if you’re going to cancel, I prefer 24 hours in advanced rather than the day of.” She then typed in her number before sliding the phone back to Teyla. “And I don’t appreciate distractions. If I know you’re not 100% there, even if it’s 99.9% that 0.1% is going to cost you—even if we don’t complete the session.” 

Avery hadn’t had a girls night in a long time, too long. Teyla had been one of her first friends in this town, and their weekly lunches meant a lot to her, so the idea of seeing more of the other woman was more than a little exciting. “For the record, I’m only pulling the college card because you pulled the age card,” she shot back playfully. “No one in their twenties wnts to hear how inexperienced they are, and you know it. But alright. At 6:30 we battle.” Ah, the dreaded what are we drinking conversation. Avery liked most alcohols, which made this always tricky because no one ever wanted to hear the word anything. Anything put it all on the other person, and she hated that herself. “Beer is great. Just not light beer, we’d have to drink three six packs each to feel anything. So, you bring beer, and I’ll supply vodka for shots or mixed drinks if we want them? I make a mean bloody mary.”

“Oh, we can have mixed drinks. Text me if you need anything for the bloody marys, Does mojito sound okay? Its just rum and sprite.” She took another bite of her PB&J and chewed for a moment, thinking. She could keep the alcohol at Avery’s place and meet up every other week for drinks, or something like that. “What’re we eating for dinner? Can you even cook?” she asked playfully. “Should I bring take-out? I imagine there’s a lot of take-out happening at the Lethean Times with all you worker bees scrambling around.”