a new day is dawning

“I have a lot to ask, how am I supposed to simply choose something? It must be worthwhile to take advantage of your kindness,” she pointed out, head tilted and brain whirring with possibilities. Her eyes drifted to her hand, resting on his cold cheek, and Aliza realized how different they were. How her touch would be too hot to someone else, and how his was damn near too cold. She trailed a hand over his face, feather-light. “Do you miss it? Being human? Not the power, I know you do not miss that - or maybe you do, I am not sure - but the rest of it. Sleeping, and eating, and feeling warm.” Her voice was quiet, knowing that asking about the past was a touchy subject for him. She didn’t pretend to understand his motives in the past, or his want for power, and hadn’t ever asked about it, so she avoided asking about that. Someday, maybe, but for now she wanted to know if he missed the other things that made him human. The breathing, and the emotions, and the way the world could change so much easier.

He smiled loviingly at Aliza. “You’re not taking advantage of me.” He studied her actions, wondering what was going through her mind. He could tell when someone was lying, but couldn’t hear their thoughts. What a bummer. After hesitating, he nodded. “I miss being human. I do not miss being James Proctor.” Did that answer her question? “Am I too cold for you?” he asked, narrowing his eyes. He felt bad. They could lay in bed together for months but had he been seeping the warmth from her this whole time? Was he hurting her? “I miss the mundanity, yes. Not sleeping has its perks, but I never feel rested. Its always the same. A little... variety would be welcome.” In actuality, this question was a low-ball, quite an easy one. “I think we all take it for granted, what we can or cannot do, no matter what we are. It is only when it is stripped away that we miss what once was. So yes, I miss it. I wish I could love you in the way you need, or crave. But I am what I am.”

Holden arched an eyebrow as he spoke. “Charming,” she said flatly, though she was smiling and not at all put-off. “I was going to ask if you’re alright. I’m figuring so, or they probably would have taken you back first.” She hesitated before venturing, “Were you at the…?” She trailed off, partly due to it being a stupid question and partly because she didn’t want to talk about it in front of the kid. She went back to cleaning up the wound on his knee that would be in danger of being infected if he hadn’t been brought in. Glancing down at the kid, she said, “Alright, Tucker, you are good to go, come on.” She helped him down and walked him out to his mother before returning, watching the man hesitantly. “Someone died tonight, didn’t they?”

“I’m a lich, I’m bulletproof,” he stated flatly. It was a callback to his death. What was it, nine bullet holes? Aliza liked to count them and connect the dots with her fingers, but that was something different altogether. “Yes, obviously,” he said with no bite in his voice (surprisingly). “Um. Yes. Did you know Clark Segen? He was the handyman in town, you’d probably recognize him if you saw a picture. Knocking on people’s doors, offering discounts, he was a good man.”

Does it make her deflate? To know that Alfie isn’t some nameless, faceless person in this man’s mind? She ponders it for a moment, her brows scrunched together in deep thought. But the list of names does not ease her, and Irma’s eyes shoot back to his, a fire lit in them as he tsks. “You are a monster,” she says sharply. “’Not all of them die’ – do you want an award for how lucky some of them were to escape? Do you stay up at night, thinking ‘God, at least it wasn’t everyone!’ to soothe your conscience? Is that how you can manage to show your face around?” Irma is no huge fan of the council, but nor does she consider herself their enemy. And yet her opinion of them is dropping and dropping the more she sits here. Her mouth hangs open, no words escaping, and then it snaps shut, her head shaking with disbelief. “Then she is a fool. What possible lies could you feed yourself and them for this to be a good idea? Please, tell me the justifications.”

He couldn’t help but smile, though he was starkly aware it seemed rather patronizing. No award, no. But to ask such an absurdity... Wow. And then the woman was barking about ‘showing his face,’ which brought him back to seven, eight years ago when he was actually embarrassed to. After all, he’d run from the human world, run with his tail between his legs to Lethe, to hide. 

He was getting a little irked at the woman for going on and on. “Need I remind you liches can tell when someone is lying? If I were lying I wouldn’t have been allowed. But I want to do better and change my ways and frankly I have, and frankly it is none of your goddamn business, ma’am. I’ve paid my dues, whether you believe it or not. Now who the fuck are you?”

The situation with Adam Mallory was right up her alley, but she thought, for a moment, that work could take a break to be around him. It had been long enough that he deserved her attention, and she knew the mysteries would still be there tomorrow. “I have my passions, you have yours, quiet as you are about what those are nowadays,” she agreed, though to tell the truth they had always spent a great deal of time on her own things and little on his. Aliza rested her head against him, sighing with happiness at the return and a measure of her tension faded away, as if expecting a different answer. It wasn’t lost on her how difficult things can be for them, how much his past weighed on his head. “Sharing is hard for you still, is it not? I imagine that will get easier with time.”

He smiled lovingly at her. “How do you know that they don’t correlate, hmm? Our interests can line up like a singular line,” he joked, eyes crinkling at the sides. But then... but then she almost seemed to ask for more. And he felt he had to share. Not had to. Wanted to. “What do you want to know, love?” he asked gingerly, hand still playing with her hair. “Today’s a freebie. You had long travels. Its the least I can offer.” He held her hand and brought it up to his face, to caress his cold, unliving skin. “I wish it were easy with you. Practice makes perfect, does it not? Come on, ask me something.”

Nat rose her eyebrows a little, surprised to hear a tortoise could be such a furtive and skillful little thing. And apparently tortoises were fast too. That was new. “You could do that, if you want” she mentioned, though she shook her head a little afterwards “It doesn’t sound like the most efficient method”. This guy seemed genuinely preoccupied with the missing pet. Being a good Samaritan wasn’t exactly ingrained into her, but she supposed Natalia Starkova could be kinder than Natasha Rusakova had been. “I’m a great tracker, you know. Perks of being a werewolf and all. I could give you a hand” she suggested, feeling odd as she said the words but managing to sell it perfectly with a small smile.

“Yeah? Okay, um... follow me to the apartment. You can, what is it, sniff? Her terrarium? And then we’ll be on our way.” He, surprisingly, smiled at the younger woman. With all the werewolves that worked at the fire department (by no means a majority, what with all the different species, but a good amount here and there), one may think James Proctor would know more about werewolf physiology. But alas, as a Proctor he never thought highly of such creatures, and presumed the worst about them. Now one was coming to his rescue!

They both protested against the x-ray, it would just take extra time that neither of them had. They were still technically on the clock, but that didn’t matter to the doctor, the professional. The man took Deya in and James paced out of the waiting room, across the hall, into another room. He didn’t realize it was the children’s ward until a woman with a colorful stethoscope looked at him with the widest eyes he’d ever seen. “No, we’re not all heroes. Just doing our civil duty,” he stated blandly as if reading from a textbook. “I don’t do autographs, what are you looking at? Getting too much soot on your carpet? I don’t suppose this kid over here has allergies, do ya boy?”

Aliza. He surely meant Aliza Mor, the town’s lead researcher. Nat hadn’t yet met the woman but she had made a point of doing some digging about Lethe’s key figures. It was important to choose her allies well, after all. “Interesting” the werewolf stated simply, though she hardly found a tortoise’s habits and roaming routine to be of any interest. “No, I’m afraid not. A rogue tortoise would have caught my attention, for sure” she added with a light scoff, amused by the idea of an actual rogue tortoise running around town “Are you sure it even left the building?”. Nat was no expert but could a damn tortoise really be that elusive and quick in its escape?

“She’s fast and feisty, you’d be surprised. It’s like a mama bear instinct, her reflexes,” he smiled, even through the anxiety. Butter was cute and over the years he had learned to love her, especially since she and Aliza had moved in. “No actually, I am not. Should I go back and check all the floors? Knock on the doors? Jesus Christ,” he sighed. “She’s never been this much of a headache before, I swear. But even as a lich I’m...” He shook his head. 

“Well, I cannot say that its mean otherwise I look like a pretty horrible partner, don’t you think?” she teased, trailing her fingers down his face, lips brushing against his for another kiss. His touch brought little sighs from her. She was never more comfortable than when she was home with him and Aliza wanted him to know it, tried to show in each touch. It was, she thought, a pleasant difference from the longing they had felt for each other years ago, before they had admitted that their feelings weren’t entirely platonic. She blinked, surprised, hands pausing in their strokes. “Adam’s back? Are you sure?” Of course he was, but that didn’t make it less strange. A year, and he was here. And a new Riverborn, too! “Oh, you’re a brilliant one, you read my mind. I have all of his records from before he left, I have far more data than I do with the others. I was thinking this might be the first good thing to come from a Riverborn arriving, except for Jacob, of course,” she amended, knowing that her assistant washing up as a lich and a Riverborn was a combo that had intrigued her. Aliza shook her head, following him to the couch, unpacking dismissed. “Why do you let me prattle? You’re more important than any Riverborn. And I don’t think there was anything interesting, just a lot of talking and arguing.” She settled beside him, growing silent. Rather than propping her feet up, she curled her legs beneath her and leaned against him, wanting to be close. There was something she had to say, but finding the words was difficult. “James?” she started. Bluntness was how they had gotten this far, she would continue the trend, and Aliza tilted her head, cheek leaning against his shoulder. “I love you.”

James nodded hesitantly. “Yes, ma’am. Adam Mallory. It shook the whole town. Right up your alley but not so much mine, but I don’t mind you jabbering away. It’s rather... cute. Endearing. Work is important to you, I’ve known this for years.” He smiled at her, pushing some loose hair behind her ear, so gentle as if he were afraid to break her. He wasn’t necessarily surprised, but more happy that she decided to lean on him so he could be close to her. James ran his fingers through her hair, almost massaging her scalp in the process, the thumbing making her aromatic hair reach his nostrils. He smiled at her confession, and stopped his hand to squeeze her opposite shoulder closer to him, pressing her against him. “I love you too, Aliza. I should’ve told you sooner. I’ve never really... but I love you.”

Nat witnessed the scene with a frown, seeing the man emerge from the building to ask around about a tortoise. It was an unusual situation, for sure. So peculiar that it nearly made her wonder if this was actually happening of if there was some hidden camera somewhere to reveal the guy was just part of some prank or mediocre comedy sketch. “Butter?” she asked as it was her turn to be stopped by him. Who named their pet tortoise ‘Butter’?

“Oh, yeah. Butter is Aliza’s tortoise. Because my flat is smaller than her old house, she wants to let Butter out every few hours to roam instead of being cooped inside her terrarium.” Butter had a lot of soul, she liked humans and was incredibly friendly, and she loooooved to eat. James couldn’t blame her, he learned over the years to appreciate smells just as much as his taste buds years before. He didn’t need to fill his stomach, so he filled his lungs in whatever way he could. “So that’s a... no?”

“You lost Butter?!” Deya looked up at him instantly as her jaw slowly dropped. “Dude, she will kill you fucking dead. I don’t know how you kill a lich, but she will kill you.” Suddenly, she felt bad for trying to dodge him. The truth was that this was one of those days where she was sick of everything and wanted to work out till she dropped. But this was worth it; both she could help him, and it was amusing as hell. “Dude, what the- How did this happen? Where did you- Oh dude.” She shook her head and grabbed his upper arm, pulling him along with her as she examined the stairwell. “Okay, we’ll find her. Don’t worry. God, you better love me.”

“No, she’s been studying how to kill a lich for centuries, I think... Yeah, I’m dead! I’m dead.” He couldn’t help but laugh at the absurd situation, at least because he had a friendly face to accompany him. “The door was left open because I bought flowers for Aliza and I thought I kicked the door closed and Butter must’ve left. It was barely open an inch, a tortoise isn’t smart... I mean, they are smart, I mean strong enough to pull the door open! What the fuck?!” If he breathed, that would’ve all come out in one long breath. “I do love you. I’d kiss you if it wasn’t against work policy,” he chuckled, lying. “I think we should go back to the apartment, actually. Go to every floor.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” She said, laughing, relieved to have her burden removed. Not just the bags, which had weighed her down from the car to the elevator and the elevator to his door, but the weirdness that had plagued her since she left him last. Something about being around him made her day a little easier to handle and just the lightest touch on her skin was like a refresher. Aliza swayed easily into his touch, leaning up on her toes to return the kiss. She held his face in her hands, forehead leaning against his once their lips part. “Oh, so Butter was the one who missed me then, hmm?” She inquired with a cheeky smile, drawing back some more so she can see his face, thumbs stroking across his cheeks. “Well, I’ve missed you. I forgot how dreadful going places is without your witty commentary about the people around you.” Witty was said with some emphasis, lips twitching, because they both knew his commentary often bordered on rude. She had no filter, true, but James had no filter and no qualms about who heard it, and it amused her greatly. “What did I miss around here? You don’t look like a mess so I’d say you haven’t had to run into any burning buildings recently.”

“Am I witty?” he chuckled deeply, then kissed the back of her hand. “I missed you, ‘Liza,” he whispered into her soft skin, so lush and warm and full of life. “Oh I combed my hair when I saw the car leave,” he lied, as the entrance was on the opposite side of the building as their windows. “Not much. A new Riverborn, Mr. Mallory. I guess you’ve got some work cut out for you since you know this one already. Maybe you can play memory games with him and see if those work, whereas you have something to base his past self off of rather than being a stranger. See? I can think like a scientist, too.” He stuck out his tongue at the shorter woman who always joked that she was the brains and he was the brawn. Which was true, actually. Being a lich, he couldn’t die. And he could lift a lot because he was in shape when he died and was currently a firefighter, so technically he was in the best shape of his life (and death). Still, it was a wonder he could feel his heart beat in his chest, like a phantom limb, when Aliza Mor was around him. “We can unpack later. Tell me about your travels,” he said kindly, guiding her to the couch so she could put her feet on him. He sat on his side of the couch and patted the seat next to him with a grin on his face.

She returned a polite smile. “I believe that being a decent person makes life and… un-life… a lot easier to deal with.” Some people could be short-sighted and as frustrating as they could be, she knew that with a little patience, things could change for the better. “People are much more accommodating when one isn’t acting so difficult.” She didn’t see it as a complicated concept, but she was getting the impression that he liked a healthy debate. She continued to smile.

“That’s sweet… especially since it seems to be a troublesome task for you.” Zanna let out a carefree chuckle. If it was for someone else, she could understand why a person so bothered by others would go out of their way to expose themselves to unwanted interaction, but she still didn’t agree with his behaviour. “I hope they appreciate your efforts. It isn’t fun to be in a thankless situation.” She moved around him to pick up another ingredient she needed.

Deya snorted and shook her head at James’s werewolf joke, throwing him an amused expression. “Nice,” she said, tone nothing if not affectionate. “If that’s a class, you and I should teach it. I think we tolerate very little bullshit and we’re sort of known for it. Plus, we’re firefighters. Who doesn’t want to listen to firefighters?” It was hard to keep a straight face then because, well, many people didn’t want to listen to firefighters. Her hand had already moved to the handle when he spoke and her eyes softened as she looked at him with interest. “Alright. That’s fair,” she told him. “Honestly, nobody ever needs to feel like they need kids to complete them and it’s no different for you two. You’re one of Lethe’s power couples, so whatever you’re doing, you’re doing it right.” Her relationship with James was odd; they were mostly the kind of friends and coworkers who judged others, made snarky comments, and rolled their eyes at everyone else. But sometimes things got real, and she didn’t actually hate that. She took a slow breath as he spoke, glancing at the dashboard as she processed his words. It wasn’t as if she never thought about it, or as if she had no interest at all. She didn’t dislike kids, she enjoyed kids rather a lot (more than she wanted it known actually). But… Was she actually someone who could raise them? Her patience had never been something to brag about, and when it came to relationships, she wasn’t the easiest to get close to. But… It wasn’t crossed out either. “I dunno,” she admitted after she had decided to answer openly. “I like kids. And if I wanted kids… I’m not afraid to do it alone. Often I think I want them, eventually, but… I… Really, James, I don’t know what’s holding me back. It’s like… I’m not sold on it being a good idea in the long run, but I really couldn’t tell you why.”

“I dunno if I believe in ‘power couples,’ but I’m taking it as a compliment either way.” It wasn’t usual for James to smile really, but around Nadeya Roshan he seemed to quite a bit. At work, at least, he was friendly. Friendlier than he was in the outside world. “Maybe you want someone with you, I don’t know. There’s nothing wrong with waiting. That’s one good thing about being a nymph, you’re young for a very long time. Thank God we have supernatural medical practitioners in Lethe, otherwise a lot of surprise pregnancies would be going on,” he chuckled, shifting in his seat to get ready to leave the truck and enter back into society and get his workload taken care of. 

“These things don’t exactly do much for me either, but I still think that it’s better to try to do their job than not at all.” She could tell when a person felt a little slighted, but in her defense, he did ask. “Ah, that’s where things become difficult. There’s a line between what we can assume they know and don’t know. What they should know… There isn’t an official, objective standard.” Zanna then gave him a gently nod and raised the patties she picked up. “They could have tried to be more effective and efficient, but also, a week ago one of the samples had a lovely blend of spices, which wouldn’t have been brought up to my attention if they hadn’t asked me with persistence. Because of those efforts, I’m now going to make burgers for some friends.” She chuckled softly and lowered the patties back into her basket. “Maybe, I wouldn’t know about that. I’ve never worked in a supermarket, but I do support using and practicing our given gifts.” Of course, she hoped that people would do so in helpful ways. “Ah well, I guess there’s no use in being so serious. What are you here in the store for, Mr. Lich?”

He smiled at her, but it was hollow. “Why is it all or nothing with you? Either someone is a considerate host to everyone, or no one?” He sighed at her anecdote. He didn’t care about her finding a new spice blend for a cookout, this wasn’t what he was talking about. The werewolf should’ve taken one sniff and set his sights on a different customer to please. Liches! Don’t! Eat! 

There were times when he missed being a witch. He wasn’t thinking about such memories as he sat on the couch with his feet up, reading a book published before he was born, but he did when the door opened and Aliza came in carrying a surplus of bags and, oh, she was so small it was a wonder she had fit in the elevator with all that shit. 

He put a piece of paper in the book, something random like a receipt that was laying around, and stood up to assist her. “Darling, you could’ve made one trip and asked me to get the rest. By the way, Butter was on good behavior. Missed you, I’m thinking” he said, taking the bags from her and placing them in a disgruntled mess on the table. He held her waist on either side and leaned down to kiss her deeply. It had been too long without her, he had grown so fucking accustomed to her body next to him as he read in the near-dark, or spooned her from behind. He’d even missed giving her back rubs and foot rubs, as it made his hands feel alive instead of dead. Hell, she made him feel alive, not as cold as he was when he was human, not as cold as liches were supposed to be, and not as cold as his difficult personality that scared off intruders.