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[amyinnile]

Time ticked away so very slowly for the one who waited with nothing better to do, the only comfort in it all was Natsuki's gentle yet still tense voice coming through the speakers as she focused on driving and rushing over. It kept Amy grounded when all she wanted to do was crumble. A deep sigh of relief escaped Amy’s lips when the witch finally announced that she had arrived. “I locked up for the night Natsuki, everything is locked up. Even the back door.” She informed her friend, managing to turn around where she sat on the floor just enough to toss a glance beyond her bedroom and towards where she knew her front door was. She could not see if of course, too deep into the house to have that line of sight. She also never kept a spare key under the doormat or anything like it, a woman living alone could never be too careful no matter how good the neighborhood she lived in was. “I can’t get to the door to let you in.” She concluded, dropping her head onto the palm of her free hand. She was just making everything so difficult and it made the frustration in her grow worse.

"I will not rush," Natsuki lied into the phone as she pulled out of her parking space and began to drive speedily down the empty street. She could afford to drive a little bit recklessly at this time of night. Greywood was the unique sort of town that tended to be busy at most hours considering the heavily nocturnal population of vampires only going out at night or other such supernaturals but it was still considerably less than during the day so the roads remained mostly clear, only filling with cars closer to the main streets or the darker roads that led to the more popular nightlife areas. Closer to the more affluent neighborhood, the streets were bare and so Natsuki pressed on, urging her care to go faster while her heart raced in her chest and she occasionally spoke to the speaker, reassuring her friend that she was almost there. Almost. Almost.

"I'm here," the witch pushed the button to kill the engine and grabbed her phone where she had thrown it, fumbling it against her face, saying again in case it wasn't heard, "I'm here. I'm outside." She wore only house slippers, hadn't the time to put on anything else and so they padded softly as she jogged up the pathway to Amy's house and reached the front door, trying to open the door with a jangle of the handle.

[amyinnile]

“You don’t need to spare my feelings, I know you’d be in the first rows to watch me fall.” She snorted at her friend, rolling her eyes a little at him insisting that the gays would save them all from this atrocity because even still, the atrocity persisted and it was right there, in their faces. “I guess everyone was afraid to break a nail over it this time around. No heroes still standing.” She commented petulantly as she took a delicate sip of the hot liquid. She then smiled at Mik, picking up a handkerchief to dab its corner carefully over her painted lips. “It’s truly one of its kind, isn’t it?” As a born Greywooder, she was naturally very proud of her town.

“Ughh, I thought doing other people’s homework for them would not follow me out of high school but apparently not!” She groaned jokingly but then gave Mik a little side glance. “You know what… why not something stronger now?” She whispered conspiratorially to him then fiddled with her very fashionable but slightly bulky bracelet. Apparently it had a secret cap on it which Amy undid and then offered the accessory to the fae man under the table, giving it a little sloshy shake to indicate that it was full of liquid inside.

A gasp left his lips, “maybe not the first,” he said playfully although if he was honest he knew he would be the first to film it.”  Mikael nodded in agreement.  “Perhaps you are not completely wrong in your sentiment,” unwilling to admit she might be right.  “However, my kind would have prevented all of this the moment she made mention of what she had planned.”  Mikael looked down and reached for the stem of his glass and took a sip of water wishing it were wine.  Listening to Amy, he merely looked surprised by the charity event.  It had been ages since he had been involved in anything supernatural.  Most of his family lived like humans, barely going to the fae realm.  And being in New York City this long, he kind of forgot what it meant to be part of the supernatural community.  “Interesting, I am sometimes still in awe of this town of ours.”

Mikael rolled his eyes playfully, “girl, I just got back to town.  I don’t need to read the invitation, I just need to be invited.  Plus I got you to keep me in the know.  After this, I vote to go back to your place and crack open a bottle of wine.”

[amyinnile]

She was halfway across the University’s courtyard, taking a shortcut through it from one wing to the next. This was where her true Greywooder nature came forward - a staircase leading up to nowhere had practically manifested in the middle of her place of work around Christmas last year, now existing where once was just a circle of rose bushes. And Amy had accepted that fact as if it were the most expected of changes that could or could not have happened and either way it would not truly disrupt a thing. Most of the regulars at the University had pretty much accepted this fact in the same way, more troubled by the frequent outsider visits and inquiries they’ve made as well as the town’s attempts to investigate this odd occurrence and construction in the shape of spiral staircase that lead up into the sky. 

After a while, once everyone was assured that they would find nothing, at least not in ways they’ve been searching so far, the stairs without their usual purpose which was to lead up to somewhere were left alone to simply exist where they were, taped off by black on yellow warnings to ‘watch out’ and ‘keep away’ just in case. And everyone agreed to watch out and keep away but mostly because, after revealing no new neat trick, the novelty of it all had faded. 

She would’ve passed Anastasia by, determining her without deeper thought over it as just another onlooker, if the woman hadn’t spoken to her, making Amy come to a sudden halt in her, quick high-heeled stride. “No, they’re not.” She answered simply, briefly confused by the assumption. “How can I help?”

Stairway to Nowhere//Amy & Anastasia

@amyinnile

Anastasia walked onto the grounds of Greywood University in her usual business attire. Her dark hair was tied back in a sensible bun. While she carried her badge, she had not brought her gun. For everything John had claimed about this town, it didn't seem necessary. She'd perused the university's website and found nothing especially odd. They did have a higher than average number of occult studies, but that didn't inherently mean he was right.

She stopped in the courtyard, studying a set of stairs that seemed to go nowhere. Someone, a drunk at the local bar, had mentioned these stairs. He had claimed it was a stairway to heaven. That, of course, was simply impossible. The actual stairs, the ones she was looking at now , didn't seem to go anywhere. "Pardon," Anastasia said to a women who seemed to be a professors, "Are these stairs an art installation? I don't see a plaque."

[amyinnile]

“Hmm. Perfect. Self-projection at its finest form. Sure, nice, speak for everyone else like you really know them, I’m sure everyone will appreciate it.” Amy rolled her emerald eyes at this childishly dramatic statement. But those deep greens flicked back at the other with more seriousness as things seemed to escalate. “Do not cuss at me.” She advised, voice now quite lowered with sternness.

“The cart rolled right past me. It literally hit that vehicle over there. The first line out of your mouth, to me, a person who ‘inserted herself’ was ‘don’t snitch, I’ll pay you’. Means you know you did something bad. You involved me and now that you don’t like my reaction to it, you’re acting up? So lose the attitude, apologize as it is polite, and feel free to leave this parking lot, no one is holding you here. Ma’am.” And that usually courteously used word directed at one commonly older than oneself was definitely not used with a respectful tone. 

"I hate to break it to you but everyone is selfish deep down. It's not my job to look out for anyone else but myself." Maia said flatly. It was a frame of view she was taught from a very young age and she never quite broke the thought process of it. Sure there was something to be said about community but deep down Maia knew that the only community was the one you created and she kept everyone at arms length, knowing that letting people in got you hurt and she wasn't going to have that happen again.

Maia felt like she was seeing nothing but red. "Oh fuck you. You're acting like the cart was going a hundred miles an hour. Literally why do you care so much? This had nothing to do with you, you just inserted yourself into this and made it so much more of a problem than it needed to be." Not that Maia was that much better for continuing the fight, but she felt she was just defending herself.

[amyinnile]

“You do not know me well enough.” She reassured him - perhaps it wouldn’t be called complaining otherwise, but Amy was very prone to displaying judgmental behavior if nothing else. It was a form of complaint so to speak, although she was usually not impacted by the things she complained about. However, Abe was right about one thing - when Amy was truly disadvantaged, she’d usually just focus on fixing the problem rather than waste her time on complaining. “It is. It was.” She corrected herself quickly, not liking to dwell on how much she missed it. “Well, I’ve been to the Saqqara Necropolis, near Cairo, the Matriya Sun Temple in Heliopolis, Pyramid of Khufu, the Al-Hamdiya Necropolis, that’s roughly 2 km south of the village of Khazandaria on the east bank of the Nile, and about 20 km north of Akhmim…” She then caught herself going too much into details and cleared her throat, chuckling at herself. “In any case, Egypt. Been to Egypt a lot.” 

She was sure he was just being polite about the siren stuff, Amy herself never having gotten too much into the whole deal even though that was the deal made for her and she now had no way of avoiding or ignoring it. After all, she never truly consented to being turned. “I suppose. I try not to think about how much time I have.” She brushed it off quickly. She was too glad to see him enjoy the meal to have anything spoil that mood. “Really? No girlfriend to cook something up for you every now and then?” Another one of her sneaky questions veiled in a joking tone but was actually fishing for more information about him.

"Honestly? You don't strike me as someone that complains abut much of anything," he said as he observed her mannerism and shook his head. He didn't know her much, if at all, through brief conversations and neighborly hello's, but since the renovation he'd seen a bit more about her and she seemed to have everything in a tight grip so complaining definitely seemed odd.

"Oh? That does sound like an interesting job that involves a lot of travel," he said, hiding the surprise on his face as he chewed, leaning on his elbows, leaving the fork down for now. "Where did you go?" he asked with interest, never having been a history buff outside of his own nationality's but definitely having watched a few documentaries here and there on finds that caught his interest. "And that sounds like an interesting thing to learn, if you do need it... but you do have all the time in the world I suppose," he said at the information and then nodded. "Oh, for sure. I haven't had such a good homecooked meal in... a while," he said, meaning in years. He was already on his second plate so he had to give himself a bit of a break.

[amyinnile]

She glanced at him again as he stammered and the perfectly sculpted naked body above the blanket and the towel he was covered in and sighed softly. It was so sad and pathetic, really. She sat next to the most gorgeous naked man she had ever known and he was barely noticing her. Friendzone was a cruel place. “No I don’t, unless you say it properly.” She said sternly to hide her inner turmoil. She also had to admit that she was being a little petty with him right then, almost having an urge to punish him for his disinterest. Very mature, Amy. Very mature. 

“Sounds more like the start of hypothermia. They say before you freeze, one of the first symptoms is a sudden wave of heat like a fever. And people about to freeze actually start taking their layers of clothes off.” It was a knowledge Amy had picked up along the way, having worked in harsh climates before. One would think that the desert is always scorching hot. Not so much when the sun goes down. At his question though, she shook her head. “No. Sirens are dead, after all. Can’t get sick when you’re dead.” She shrugged, not thinking through the fact how shocking that statement must’ve sounded - to declare that you’re dead yourself. “I mean, there are some sicknesses, so to speak, that impact our overall state. The level of pollution in the water we swim in and consume. And there is always a chance of something magical inflicting us. But common  colds, flu and other diseases, even the more serious ones? No, we don’t have to fear those. We pretty much stay as we were at the time of our death. If you were sick when you drowned though? Hmm, I don’t know about that. I never met someone like that to see what happened to them after.” She did, she just didn’t know it. 

"Kind of... not really, I just... you know what I meant," he said with a sigh around his smile, and the thought over her question for a short time before nodding. "Colds, no, not really... but I've had some nasty fever for a bit after being wet outside in temperatures like this," he said, in his head back to the few times where it had happened while he'd swam in a lake during winter while camping. But realistically, one of the times he was sure it was bad mushrooms he'd found. And the other time he been able to get the fire started for a while. "Never can be too sure," he said, knowing that just saying he didn't want to just walk out wet outside wasn't appealing. "Do sirens get sick?" he asked, wanting to put the subject back to her, looking over as she stirred the bucket of ice cream and not seemingly noticing it.

[amyinnile]

“Such is the price of a good scoop.” She smiled, bright coral red lipstick in hard contrast with white teeth. Her grin only grew as Halil confirmed the acquaintance with the mentioned mutual. “We email. That’s more than enough of me for Aziz.” Although dear to her heart, professor Youssef was also a notorious chatterbox. A call with him could easily turn into a two-hour listening about the details of some very specific few topics he held great interests in. He also had the tendency to repeat himself so it was likely that the said topics were broached more than once in the same fashion. Endearing as it was because of his enthusiasm, it was also tiring.

“The very very beginning? Indiana Jones.” She knew what he meant but nevertheless took advantage of his broad question, just because it was entertaining. “I wanted to wear a hat, carry a whip, run through booby traps and find cursed treasure.” She let that set in, wondering if he’ll take her seriously or not. “Oh, just a cup of water is fine.” Amy added, genuinely just wanting that. “You mean I’m not being paid to do this? Well…” Then she made a move like she was about to get up and leave but instead remained seated after all, letting a little laugh trickle out of her lips at her cringey joke.

"Advice every reporter should take, although only half do." Save for his peers throughout the world who feared for their safety in war stricken countries, Hal had little regard for the group allowing lobbyists and consultants to dictate what they wrote. "Freedom of the press is a moving target. Trouble of all kinds usually follows us."

Hal laughed. Professor Youssef went on at length about Amy. "I did! Aziz is a good friend. He gave you his best and said you owe him a call. He claimed it was overdue."

Hal stood again and strode over to the espresso machine. He knew what he preferred—caffeine jitters would keep his mind whirring at the speed of light. "No better place to begin than the beginning. Why don't you tell me about how you got into the field while I fix you something? It's the least I could do," he added quickly, in case she had any objections. He would do the same in his own home. "I'm borrowing your precious time."

[amyinnile]

Amy laughed good-naturedly, waving a hand for Bailey to just forget about it. “I ramble a little, please don’t mind me. This is magic anyway, a very unstable, broad topic. No one is all-knowing about it, even if they finished the highest studies at any supernatural university in the world with flying colors. So you can always expect magic to keep surprising you.” She hummed then, pressing her red lips into a tight line. “We’ve… had a few of those. But as I said, the mists tend to get people… lost. Some of them have never been found again.” It was a little comical to talk about it - after all, the idea of the experiment getting the better of a mad scientist was somewhat humorous but it still ended up being a tragic missing person case. 

“Highly recommended.” And also Amy loved to recommend her dear friend Natsuki to anyone and everyone because she deserved all the success in the world and for her business to prosper. She had to give Bailey a little frown though, unsure what the vampiress meant by her next statement. “What do you mean? Nonsense, just hit me up, I’ll bring you in as a guest.” She offered, completely dismissing the notion that Bailey is ‘not fancy enough' for a country club. 

“Yes! Literally Greywood is only calm around the residential areas. The town truly never sleeps.” She grinned then nodded along as Bailey listed some things she usually enjoyed instead. “Concert venues are very rare in Greywood, unfortunately. Some local bands may set some things up for festival season and holidays but otherwise I am afraid rarely anyone can come here. I do know we have a few world-known celebrities taking up residence in Greywood though! Minho, you know Minho, right? He is a pop artist, I believe.” Amy elaborated. “Otherwise, you can find plenty of nightclubs Downtown.” At the mention of shopping, Amy looked interested. “Oh, the Celestial’s Boutique? Love that place. The precious gems I’ve found there, you would not believe. Oh yeah, what would you like to get?” She asked then, as she spotted their server approaching.

“Don’t ask me, I didn’t even finish high school.”  Bailey was an average student, but with everything taking place in her life when she was younger she left for the streets and never thought about returning to school.  The way she figured she had centuries to learn everything if she so desired.  As Amy explained some things, she nodded. “Perhaps, although it would be interesting if there was some mad scientist that was willing to test things out.”

“Might have to check out Hida, I do love Japanese culture and the cuisine of course.”  She commented.  At the mention of tennis courts, she raised a brow.  “Not sure a fancy country club would want the likes of me.”  After all, she used to be a street rat and did not have much money even now.  “Might have to check the night market, so this town really does cater to the creatures of the night.  That’s pretty cool, the town never really goes to sleep.”

Bailey shrugged.  “Not sure, still getting my feel for the place.  I often am attracted to concert venues, clubs, and things of that nature.”  Although in her forties, she still grasped to her twenties since she was changed at such a young age.  “Perhaps we can just browse for the time being and maybe settle on a place for fun.  I do need to get some clothes, so I thought about heading to the vintage place.”

[amyinnile]

“Oh, you have PTSD? You were the worst student ever. You’d put these on your head every time I started talking!” She pointed at the pair of headphones that went with the device, the ones with the spongy ear pieces. “It was in one of the totes in my under stairs crawl-in storage.” She grinned over the toothpick she had stuck between her teeth, nimbly switching it from corner to corner of her mouth, a habit formed from all the olives she ate out of all the martinis she drank as often as she could. As Aiden was someone she knew since childhood, Amy did not keep up appearances. She curled her legs under herself on the chair she occupied, nestling herself in as small as she could get. “You did a great job on the fence, by the way. Sorry to bother you with that. Hopefully it will survive the next winter. For some reason it’s always that part that’s the problem.” She complained, plucking out the toothpick to get to a very stubborn piece of food somewhere in the back.

Aiden had really become known as a handy guy in the past few years, especially since he started helping out at the ranch and had to learn how to use every tool for every emergency and repair, bar the plumbing which he could do the simplest things only. He often went home to help out his parents with something, be it around the back yard or down at the business, he didn't mind helping his old man, long since desensitized to what happened there. And with time some of the neighbors had heard from his mother that he could help out without charging anything but food so he had found himself with a good deal. Coming over at Amy's today he had fixed a part of the backyard fence which had taken damage during the winter and was now sitting full on the couch after he'd eaten most of the pie she'd made.

"Oh, God, haven't I been thru enough pain, you go and call my tutoring PTSD," he groaned in fake horror as he saw an item that he recognized right away mostly for the stickers on it but also because loosing it had been a trauma back when he was eleven. He shook his head at first as if he wouldn't take the memorabilia and then extended his hand to do just that. "Where would you even find thing. I swear half my school things have long gone in the trash," he laughed, still surprised at the item.

[amyinnile]

“Agreed.” She confirmed back, quickly giving a fake smile to someone passing by their table and giving them both a quick nod of their head in greeting. Of course she could barely remember where the person knew her from. Fortunately they did not linger and just moved along. “I’m sure you’d be the first one up to film it on your phone.” Amy joked back, she was a harsh judge, true, but she was also not above self-deprecating jokes. She snorted then as she picked up her cup of the classic Earl Grey. “I think anyone with at least some common sense in them would be able to tell her the same. But hey, at least the cause is just. A charity event to fund in-depth research on moonlight and sun charms? Good choice. It’s one thing for witches to hold the knowledge and us to rely on their goodwill and limits to their magic. Having some scientific research behind it though? Could be revolutionary for the supernatural world.” Amy nodded along as she sipped on her tea, actually impressed with the cause for it all. It almost made her forgive the teacup candles.

“So you don’t actually read the invitations? You just… drop by if it sounds fun?” She teased her friend with a giggle.

Since Mikael’s arrival, he has been cozying up to his friends from the past, but also those who could get him approved to be part of the exclusive country club in town.  After all, New York City back to Greywood felt like a step back in his life and he desperately needed something to fill the void in his life.  Thankfully, an event was coming up he was invited to and one of his dear friends Amy was going to be there.

“Oh honey,” he quietly spoke towards Amy, giving a nod in agreement.  “Some people should not be allowed to host.” Perhaps it was a bit rude on both their behalfs, but the truth hurts.  “It certainly would at least brighten up the party,” he chuckled to himself, kidding with the siren.  “The problem here is that she didn’t have a gbf, because no way would my kind allow this travesty.”  Mikael did his best to keep his voice low, but there were a couple of hisses that he could not hold back.  “Although invited and I am sure it was on the invitation, what is this soiree supposed to be for?”

[amyinnile]

“Well, since it’s related to the side of the law that you’re not particularly specialized in, then arranging a contact with someone who is would already be more than enough. Otherwise, we could also sign up a partnership for this as co-hosts, if you’d be interested. It always gives people who’re thinking of investing some security to know that not everything is on one person but two or more. Less of a chance that there is a hidden agenda to embezzle or launder funds. Which is of course not my intention but in any case I would need legal backing which would vouch for me and anyone else who plans to coordinate it with me.” Amy explained, picking up her drink again to take a quick sip.

After she did so, she plucked the olive in the martini by the toothpick it was impaled on and slipped it between her teeth, careful of the bright red coral lipstick she wore. “I mean, this is just an idea of mine. Merely paying the fee to participate in the auction which would go into the charity pool should it occur would also be quite enough, to secure some solid bidders to keep this interesting and more of a challenge for everyone involved. In case you’re not too keen on being more deeply involved than that.” She gave Valentina plenty of room to refuse, in case the woman found it too much of a financial or reputation risk for herself over another woman’s word whom she pretty much very recently met.

As someone who had to often fight off ex wives from time to time or fight at least the allegations of sleeping with their ex partners Valentina understood the moments when a job didn't love you. It was the cost of being a stunning woman in what was mostly known for being a male dominated career; "I get that it happens to everyone at some time in their career I think" willing to help Amy out even with a recommendation once she could hear what it was the other was wanting or suggesting

"That makes complete sense and I think that's a great idea I mean it's one of those ideas that you can't really have too much off, like no one is going to complain of having back up funds or too much of them" and the auction itself was a great idea but Valentina was relatively curious; "What did you need from me? Like how could i be of assistance in this?" would she requesting a donation because it could be a good time to go through her ownerships this time around or was she requesting more of her lawyering expertise?

[amyinnile]

Amy was about to comment with ‘who’d ever want wrinkles?’ but then she realized that she will never get any while her sister one day will (unless something unexpected happens) and her parted lips closed before she ever spoke. As headstrong as Amy had always been, especially in her youth, not even allowing the family members to get the better of her when they tried, she was starting to change. Because she was starting to realize that all of her time with her family was limited for an altogether different reason than before. So what was even the point of being stubborn about a little argument? Her expression softened. “It’s okay. There’s nothing for you to be worried about. Everything sorts itself out eventually.” 

She really didn’t follow up on Liv’s private matters so hearing that she was having some relationship issues came up as news to Amy. “Well that’s unfortunate. His loss. But on the bright side, better to realize that it won’t work out early rather than late, when you get more attached.” Was in Amy’s not so humble opinion a very reasonable comforting attempt. Sometimes Amy failed to realize that comforting didn’t necessarily need rational words. “You can also just not be friends with him.” She shrugged. You win some, you lose some. 

“Oh, do they have vegan carbonara?” Amy mused, picking up the menu again to flip through it and try to find it, knowing that her sister was vegan. “Well if you’re gonna get pasta, then I’ll get pasta too. Frutti di mare sounds good to me.”

"That is true and I do not wish wrinkles upon anyone until they are ready to have them but at the same time you know keeping the worries at bay is easier said than done" but then again there were times that Liv appreciated her anxieties as they kept her meeting her deadlines; "I mean nothing overly huge but the guy I was seeing didn't exactly work out, which is you know, it's fine I respect him a lot, it's just going to take a lot to be friends with him you know" especially since she did still have feelings for him which she was trying to push to the side; "What were you thinking of ordering? I am eying up that cabonara but just wondering if it's maybe too much at night time"

[amyinnile]

“That’s very thoughtful of you.” Amy smiled softly as the other woman corrected her on the ‘better’ part. Although probably just politeness, Amy still took it as a compliment. She didn’t mind that a last name was not shared, retreating her hand after a brief gentle squeeze. “Nice to meet you too Sophie, are you from around here?” The town was small but not that small and Amy had been gone from Greywood for a decade; it was very possible that she’d missed a few permanent residents or new arrivals. Even in the town the size of Greywood, it was still impossible to know everyone. 

It was polite to refuse once, but after that first refusal Sophie was happy to take the sweater. She smiled and said, "If you insist." She draped it over her arm along with a pair of jeans she wanted to try on. "Thank you," she replied to the compliment, "But I'll have to disagree on better. I do think it'll look nice on me though." It was perhaps haughty, but she knew that she was pretty. After all, it had been one of the few values Father saw in her.

She tucked a piece of long black hair behind her ear before shaking Amy's hand, "I'm Sophie." She didn't give a last name. It was a bit odd not to, she knew. Plus, the name was borrowed from a corner store display and not the one she had grown up using. Still, it felt smart not to give out more information about her identity than strictly required. "It's nice to meet you," Sophie added.

[amyinnile]

“Because you don’t live alone in the world but in a town, which is a community. If you want to do whatever you want and not mind your behavior, go live on a deserted island then.” Amy genuinely could not figure out the reasoning behind the other siren’s words; had she been raised by wolves somewhere on the margins of civilization and now, once released upon the society, just stumbled about like a miniature tornado completely unrestrained and pathetically lacking in experiences, so much so that playing with shopping cards was enough to entertain her? How unattractive.

When Maia admitted to her true age, Amy had barely batted an eyelash at it, cool as a cucumber. “Eighty and playing with shopping carts? I wouldn’t spread it around if I were you.” She said flatly, remaining unimpressed. “In any case, no one expects a stray shopping cart. So you are exempt from being held accountable for your error but others aren’t? Why should anyone else be extra vigilant so you’d have more room to be extra careless, hm?” She raised her perfectly plucked eyebrows, pressing the other siren for a logic behind this completely faulty line of thought.

"You do realize that people can be older than they look right?" Maia rolled her eyes knowing that there were more than meets the eyes when it came to most species. She was getting annoyed and was prepared to have it be left there but the other continued and she audibly groaned.

"Why do I have to look after snot nosed kids when they have someone else that should be looking after them." She definitely was not a kid person and sure she didn't want them hurt by any means but Maia questioned where that line of the responsibility falling on her landed. "It's not my fault that this theoretical kid isn't being looked after properly. And stop fucking calling me young lady I'm eighty years old let me have my fun fuck." Sure if Maia stopped to think about it, her actually saying her age wasn't as much of a win as she thought it was, but it sounded good in the moment.

[amyinnile]

“Oh wow, so now it’s my fault?” She glanced at him with a stern look that didn’t really hold any weight, especially not when she said it around a spoon of ice cream in her mouth. It was just that part of the sentence, the ‘I just honestly wanted to see you tonight’ part roping her back in, not letting her draw a line. “Do werewolves catch colds?” She asked as she idly stirred with the spoon the almost completely melted ice cream in the box. She had half the mind to rewind the parts of the movie she’d just missed, see them again even though she’d watched them a hundred times already.

Despite his best attempt her emotions were flooding into his mind and that made everything more complicated in his own head. If he were a better man he would just say something that would explain to her that he wasn't a man she would want to have anything to do with, even their friendship sometimes felt like it was too far and that if anything were to happen he would be the one to blame... but despite trying to change your life you couldn't really change who you were and so he had said nothing in the past months and said nothing now, being selfish when he shouldn't be. "I know, and thank you for that... I just honestly wanted to see you tonight and then you bossed me into the bathroom," he said, trying to make the situation lighter with a joke.

[amyinnile]

“Write only nice things and I am sure trouble will stay away from you. It’s a pleasure, Hal.” She joked in return, only minding the slightly enthusiastic handshake a bit. As much as her hands were used to some hard field work, they had grown dainty in the past four years during which Amy only had paperwork and keyboards to deal with. Her chuckle grew a little breathy as she retreated, a shake of her head. “As far as Alexandria? You did not get to professor Youssef of the Faculty of Arts Department of History and Archaeology there already, did you? He’s a flatterer, don’t listen to him.” She waved a dismissive hand, taking the compliment through a joke.

She took the seat once gestured to do so, opting for a little settee area with a coffee table in the middle on one side of the office rather than the central desk setup. It just felt more comfortable this way. “Then we better start. Oh, would you like something to drink? I think that over there is an espresso machine and there is also an electric kettle. I think I can spy English Breakfast, chamomile and not sure, something fruity too.” She offered, squinting at the little break corner by the water dispenser in the room in attempts to figure it out.

After Hal managed to find a pop star in Greywood by sheer luck, he didn't expect to find another expert within the same town boundaries...albeit a very different field.

And yet he did. While Amy Baxter appeared to have grown up right here in Greywood, the work her studies involved whisked her all the way to Egypt. She impressed Hal in every regard long before he would dream of interviewing her, although most of his information was by word of mouth and passing mentions by friends at Abu Mena.

Sometimes, it felt as if he was meant to come to Greywood. But Hal had never believed in fate nor destiny and was not inclined to start now. Instead, in an absentminded online search for new interviewees in the local area, Hal found a list of experts in residence and the rest was history, or in Amy Baxter's case, archaeology.

He shook her hand a bit too eagerly. "Good morning, Professor Baxter. Please call me Hal. Hearing 'Halil' usually means I've gotten myself into trouble." A rare thing indeed. He was not his brother, but the shadow of a scolding always folded itself in the syllables of one's entire name. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with me and at last putting a face to a name I've heard as far as Alexandria." He gestured for her to sit first. "If you'll indulge me, I have quite a large number of questions about your expeditions."

[amyinnile]

“Bingo.” She confirmed his guess at which sibling would enjoy or not enjoy family chaos, pointing a finger at him playfully. “Your prize? Not hearing me complain about it as the eldest.” It was a relief to hear that Abe was not overly troubled by his home project though. She herself would’ve long gone nuts if she were in his shoes. Borrowing a handsome neighbor’s shower or not, Amy would loathe to have her home in shambles for months. She would not be able to stay there while the work was being done. Abe seemed to be taking it very gracefully though, which was good because he didn’t seem as frustrated about it as she would be. 

“Oh, no, they don’t usually. I’ve been working at the university for about maybe three years. Four now, actually. Before that, I was an archeologist working on the digs. So I did a lot of field work abroad.” She explained then smiled delightedly as it seemed like she’d made Ibrahim laugh, however awkwardly. “Impressive! I know sirens who could with a single drop of someone’s blood into the water pinpoint their exact location. I haven’t tried though. But the lifeguard sirens at the Sapphire Sea like to brag.” She shrugged indifferently. Amy had to admit that she was not the most attuned to her supernatural side. “Do you like the dinner?” She asked, wondering if he enjoyed it.

"I guess the oldest wouldn't enjoy it and the youngest wouldn't care?", he asked after a second of thought and smiled. It seemed like a logical thing. Then he shook his head. "Oh, no, that's fine. They could probably be done quicker if I was at home more. So it's what it is, I'm not complaining," he assured her. Sure, this way it was also more expensive but he had enough stashed money to live comfortably with the firefighter salary without worrying when he had extra expenses. It was one of those things no one really knew and he tried to make it hard to notice.

"Really? I wasn't aware that professors need to travel a lot," he asked, unaware of her previous job and the time she had spent out of the country. He put the bottle down and coughed, holding in a laugh and shook his head again, looking down at his plate and pushing around with his fork. "Yea... yea..." Ibrahim said with a smile on his lips as she teased and then thought for a moment. "I mean, it will take some time but it's usually not hard. Especially if I have an item of yours I'll be able to track you quicker," he said, knowing that it sounded like a hunting dog, but in reality, if you honed that skill it wasn't too hard. He had learned it when back in Istanbul. It came in very handy in some situations.