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wonder-in-wings · 1 year

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Wrong Alley, Unlikely Ally || Lil, Parker

TIMING: Early August (The Day After A Raw Nerve) LOCATION: A *Different* Alley PARTIES: Lil (@the-lil-exorcist and Parker (@wonder-in-wings SUMMARY: When she hears a commotion in an alley she knows a poltergeist is haunting, Lil confronts him... only to run into Parker, who's just at the wrong place, at the wrong time. CONTENT WARNINGS: Domestic Abuse (implied)

Lil had been pretty excited to get the iron bracelet, thinking that it was the perfect time to see if she could - you know - punch a ghost. It was something she thought would be interesting to experiment and if she was honest - some ghosts like non ghosts did deserve to be punched. She was pretty sure that this would even the playing field as ghosts really liked to try and throw her across the room.

So she had decided to wear it, and go find the son of a bitch who had thrown her across the alley a few days ago. Unlike hunters, Exorcists didn’t really have anything that would make that not hurt and she’d just sat there for awhile. The poltergeist had disappeared after that, and Lil really wanted to settle the scores and had drawn circles to hopefully catch him and beat his ass.

She hadn’t expected other people to be in the alleyway, the sound of people arguing and then suddenly someone running. Without seeing exactly what was happening, Lil moved to help thinking that it was probably something nefarious.

“Hey! What the fuck,” Lil shouted looking now towards the other who was left examining him lightly before saying, “You okay man?”

—

Day 6. Another day, another… well, Parker wasn’t even sure if he could call them ‘unexpected’ anymore when he was referring to his emotional outbursts. This time, he had been heading down the street, minding his own business when someone accused him of stealing their wallet after he absently bumped into them. Parker insisted that he had no one’s wallet but his own and that he wasn’t nearly destitute enough to resort to pickpocketing. Of course, he wasn’t to be easily believed (even though he supposed part of him would’ve gotten less approachable about certain matters once he acquired the jagged facial scar) and when the other guy started to get aggressive about it, the Warden reciprocated in no short order, snatching the individual by the collar and dragging him into the nearest alley. Suddenly the accusatory party wanted no part of this, protesting loudly that he must’ve misplaced his wallet and after a few more moments of his noise falling on deaf ears, he suddenly remembered that his wallet was still in his back pocket and that the whole thing had been a misunderstanding. Parker didn’t say anything through the duration until he had yanked the stranger to his feet, lifting him off of them and slamming him into the wall of the alley. “I recommend you put your money where your mouth is, next time.” Parker tried to hiss in his usual, low tone with its flat affect but every word he said was a little louder. “Take your wallet and shove it down your gullet instead of accusing other people just so you can pick fights.” He said, raising his voice to be heard over the trembling whines of the stranger before unceremoniously dropping him. Hastily, as though someone was lighting a fire under him, the accuser scrambled to his feet and took off just in time for the Warden to hear someone yell and he turned his head sharply. His eyes fell upon the visage of a woman, young, with a youthful face and a stance that suggested she was ready to fight. Parker didn’t respond at first and figured she must’ve been referring to his scar. “I’m unharmed.” He replied quietly. “Did we disturb you?” He asked, casting his unblinking stare down at her. Not a fae. This was good; he wasn’t sure if he had the capacity to deal with another one at present.

—

Lil wasn’t exactly built for fighting supernatural folks - she was hardly a hunter or supernatural herself - but she had always had a mouth on her. So, she’d gotten pretty good at fighting other humans, and while she had no idea in this town who any of these people could have been she was always willing to try.

That and if she had been honest, she did come here to punch a ghost and it appeared that they scratched her carefully made circles to do whatever it was. It was looking like she wasn’t going to get to punch a ghost tonight, so she might as well help. Since the others had left though, she assumed that it was unlikely that she would need to punch anyone tonight. Which was alright.

As she relaxed Lil nodded still looking to make sure the other wasn’t lying that he was alright before sighing slightly. “That’s good. There’s a lot of robberies around here.” She looked around to see that she was going to have to re-draw her circles and rubbing at the back of her neck she continued, “Huh? No, I just heard a commotion and figured something needed to be broken up.”

Meeting his gaze again, Lil couldn’t help but look away quickly, not sure why she didn’t want to hold it and instead started looking at the alley again. “Any reason why you guys were down here? Just asking cause - well you know there’s something that’s throwing people down here. That’s actually what I thought was happening.” She was being vague, mostly because she would rather not tip her entire hand to a stranger. “Same reason the lights broke at the end actually. You should probably head out.”

Crossing her arm she flinched slightly as the thunk of her new bracelet hit her other arm. It was rather thin all things considered but Lil wasn’t used to the metal hitting her yet. She was only planning on wearing it after all when she was exorcizing anyway so it might not actually get much better. Still, she was willing to try. “Just a heads up, you know.”

—

She avoided his gaze which caused him to narrow it at her suspiciously. “I was minding my own business and someone confronted me, accusing me of stealing their wallet.” The explanation was honest and Parker managed to deliver it in his usual flat affect, though even now he wondered what had driven him to pull the guy into the alley and hold him up, yelling at him until he left. What emotion had that been when usually he would’ve handled it in a much more professional and mature fashion? He assumed it was an exacerbated version of the latent irritation that seemed to cling to his every waking moment and decision. He had been told more than once that he was a “perpetual frowner”. …What was she doing here? Parker didn’t respond to anything else she said, instead processing the words in the fashion he preferred, finding that method of thought to be calming to him; finding patterns if they existed. He wasn’t sure if there were ‘a lot of robberies’ around there as it wasn’t a place he tended to frequent - he was preferable to the outskirts, the forests and lakes. Then there was what she said about needing to break something up. She looked like she weighed 120 pounds soaking wet and unless she was capable of supernatural strength, he wasn’t sure if she could break any fights up… Especially if they were anything like how Parker fought off the trio of attempted muggers a few days ago. Parker’s head started to move when the stranger referenced the broken lights at the end of the alley but he didn’t manage and kept his blue-eyed stare on her. “What are you?” He asked, taking a decisive step or two towards her and tilting his head with his narrowed gaze studying her. The lights, the bravado as she called to complete strangers, either of whom could’ve been dangerous, the vague implication that ‘something had been throwing people around’. She may not have been fae but that wasn’t to say she wasn’t also hiding a jaguar under her own skin… or something more dangerous. Maybe she had the capability to break up fights, after all. He wasn’t afraid. He was curious.

—

Lil hummed in acknowledgement of the others story, electing to believe it. After all, she supposed if the fight was broken up, it didn’t truly matter if the man in front of her was guilty or not. While she would always rather work with innocent people, she knew quite a lot of the people around her had done things she wouldn’t like. So, if the man was left and didn’t seem to want to be murderous that would have to be it. Even if the guy was off putting in a way Lil couldn’t really understand.

More distracted by her circles that had been trampled on, she was willing to leave the off-putting man to whatever he needed to do - until he walked towards her. Something more instinctual and closer to her training came over her as her face dropped to neutral and considered the man in front of her. Her eyes snapping back to him, she took one step back and said, “Strange way of asking what my name is. It’s Lil, though.” Still, looking closer he didn’t seem angry at her. It wasn’t in her nature to run either, so for better or worse Lil still paused willing herself to keep the other’s gaze. It was hard for her, something about most of the people she held the gazes of being ghost made the act closer to watching for death then seeing a soul.

He looked like he was examining the Exorcist, and she couldn’t say she particularly appreciated it. “What’s your name?” She asked carefully with her hands coming back to cross over herself.

—

“I wasn’t–” He stopped himself short, a flare of irritation that threatened to turn into an unwarranted snap combusting then subsequently being smothered in Parker’s mind. She wasn’t going to hurt him, unless this was another shifter that liked to play dumb, the way Felix had. What was she hiding under that skin? Why couldn’t anyone just tell him? Maybe if they did, then he wouldn’t have the scar across his face from eye socket to jaw, still red and thick with scabbing. The name “Lil” wasn’t familiar to him, though Parker supposed it made sense - he rarely asked for names. Perhaps that was part of his method. Names meant more if they were given instead of asked for, right? That’s how the fae operated, and she wasn’t a fae. Why were his thoughts repeating in his head? Why couldn’t she tell him what she was? He blinked and his hand clenched and unclenched rhythmically again. ‘It’s okay that she didn’t tell you.’ Then she asked his name and Parker’s head tilted sharply as though the question were something he wasn’t expecting to hear. Should he give her his real name? How about his last name? That seemed like a safer bet if she was potentially dangerous to someone like him. “Wright.” He said bluntly. “You spoke earlier of ‘something that’s been throwing people’. What are you referring to?” He asked again. “Why do you know about the lights going out? Do you know who’s responsible?”

—

Lil’s eyebrow raised at the sudden flash of emotion on the other’s face, not quite sure where to put it. Something about her was setting him off, and while that wasn’t exactly uncommon for Lil she usually - you know - did something to deserve it. She wasn’t even being slightly obnoxious at the moment. It was really making her reconsider her interactions with others.

“Nice to meet you Wright,” Lil said, not sure if she completely meant it but deciding that it was at least in her best interest to try and not be annoyed. At the questions she wondered if maybe he was more so worried about what she had said and a little snappy about it. It would make sense. At the questions she sighed and decided to be truthful even though she was sure that the other was just going to get more annoyed with her. After all, she was never really a bashful one, and maybe he’d just leave if he thought she was being over the top. “There’s a ghost that’s haunting here, see the circles? Their traps for him and it seems like there’s been enough people that they're useless so I gotta go fix them and wait again. Nasty dude and keeps throwing people. You should go, before he gets back. The lights going out means he’s likely around.” She did not mention the fact she wanted to punch the ghost, figuring that the man probably was already on the edge of swinging at her to begin with.

___

After what felt like interrogating a small, yappy dog in a language he knew it couldn’t communicate effectively in, the girl named Lil finally actually answered his question instead of dancing around and not getting straight to the matter at hand. “You’re a medium.” Parker stated the potential obvious and he inhaled deeply, trying to rein in some of the latent aggression that teetered too closely to the edge for it to be comfortable in any capacity. Clench, unclench. Breathe. In. Out. ‘She told you, it’s okay’. He looked from her down to the circles or what was left of them, as the salt was sprayed all over the concrete now. “Apologies.” He said first, keeping his eyes on the salt for a moment before his gaze drifted up to the lights overhead. “For… interrupting your process.” He was somewhat familiar with the concept of mediums - people who could communicate with the ghosts of the deceased - but that was about where his knowledge ended. Parker’s gaze eventually drifted back to Lil, his expression having softened a little more from its intense glare before. “What are you going to do once you apprehend it?” He found himself asking, the residual anger melting away and being replaced with curiosity.

—

Lil raised her eyebrow at the man’s statement as he looked a little less - whatever the emotion that was supposed to be on his face was. He had to have been something either in or next to the supernatural community, and while Lil never really guessed, she did wonder what he was at the moment. “Exorcist, technically but yes.”

It felt a little wrong to be put down as a medium in her mind. Mediums were people that helped spirits, and if Lil was being honest she did no such thing. She didn’t communicate with the dead anymore then the man standing in front of her did. She exorcized them. Maybe other exorcist didn’t feel like that, but Lil felt out of the two she had the less noble profession.

“You’re fine. You didn’t walk through the circles and I should have been more careful,” Lil said with a shrug examining the lights wondering where the ghost had gone. Surely he wasn’t spooked by her now that there was company. He had enjoyed throwing her like a rag doll. Moving now to examine some of her circles she wondered if he had been trapped by one.

At the question she paused now confused why the other didn’t seem to know what she would be doing. Then again, exorcists weren’t all that common and he could be a supernatural folk who didn’t know much of her corner of the world. “I’m exorcizing the poltergeist. So when I get him in a circle I’m going to exorcize him and make sure he can’t possess anyone.” She didn’t mention that it would destroy his soul, something that was always implied with what she did. Still, when a ghost had gotten this bad there wasn’t much else anyone could do. She could hardly leave him here, wait for him to body hop and cause more pain and torment.

No one deserved to not be in control of their own body.It was the worst thing Lil could imagine, and why despite her hating her father for everything he did, why she was still an exorcist.

___

Exorcist. “So you’re a… demon hunter.” Parker was vaguely more aware of what exorcists did in comparison to mediums, if only because Walker, the movie-watcher of the two, liked all those supernatural movies about ghosts and demons and weird stuff. ‘It’s not weird, you’re weird.’ He shook his brother’s voice out of his head and he straightened up, relaxing more fully though he still felt a coil tightly wound in his body. “I still apologize.” It was a half-apology, not entirely warranted and with merit - to his credit, he wouldn’t have even been there had he not been confronted by someone trying to accuse him of something he didn’t do. Parker kept his steely stare on Lil, one of his brows starting to twitch as though wanting to raise in slight curiosity. Part of him wanted to unceremoniously leave her to her… shenanigans but he ended up crossing his arms and exhaling, popping his neck. “Is there… something you’d like for me to do?” He asked flatly though he couldn’t have been sure why. “Or can I leave?”

—

“Why does everyone say that,” Lil muttered mostly to herself before saying a little louder, “That’s a demonologist. I do ghosts. Also not a part of the Vatican by the way,” She said as she saw a flicker out of the corner of her eyes, carefully not looking at the ghost who seemed pretty poised to run at - one of them. He seemed to be considering his options, and she really didn’t want him to choose the man in front of her. Lil had a bad feeling she didn’t want to fight him.

Dropping her bag lightly, Lil carefully considered the options before saying lightly, her face getting serious and more rigid than it had been, “Yeah you should get closer to me for a second because a ghost is looking at you right now like you might be fun to take a joy ride in. He’s considering the both of us right now.”

She was fully aware the ghost could hear her, even if he couldn’t hear him with her hand turning into a fist. It would be a good enough time to test Rhett’s cuffs at the very least. “Can you get between me and the wall quickly? Once you get between me and him, you can continue to run, Wright. He won’t follow you.”

Lil had a bad feeling she was about to get thrown again, and sighed, her back already aching wishing the stupid circles were actually made.

He knew that she said something under her breath but he couldn’t reliably hear what; it wasn’t his business either way. Parker supposed the information that there was a difference between an exorcist and a demonologist was useful, though he couldn’t really know how in his line of work - he supposed that would be an equivalent to someone generalizing fae when there were so many different types. …No, then again, that wasn’t an apt comparison. Ghosts were ghosts, demons were demons and he was feeling himself growing bored of this exchange. However, when he asked if he could leave and she replied with ‘get closer to me’, he felt himself stiffen and the rest of what she said almost fell on entirely deaf ears; get closer to her? The coil that was wound in Parker’s stomach, the snake that rattled irritably, twisting and recoiling at the thought of needing to spend more time in that damned alley than he wanted to and around a ghost hunter. This wasn’t his fight, this wasn’t his interest and she had so readily jumped into his altercation because this just so happened to be the place that a… poltergeist happened to frequent. He felt the pendulum looming overhead, making him want to react with vitriol and storm away from whatever mess he’d been dragged into for the second time that day, leaving her to her business as he wanted to return to his. His hands clenched and unclenched as he remained motionless for a moment. Then the critical thought kicked in. ‘A ghost is looking at you right now like you might be fun to take a joy ride in.’ The concept was absurd and the sentence almost made Parker want to turn his head as though he could see the thing for himself. He couldn’t, of course, he knew he couldn’t but that managed to overpower his urge to skulk off and with no measure of patience and making it very evident that he wasn’t happy about this exchange, he irritably furrowed his brow and trudged over to her, taking long strides to close the distance between them quickly. “I’m not running.” He snapped in his low tone, the only escape of his frustration. Running implied that Parker was a coward and he might not’ve been able to see the ghost but that didn’t mean he was a stranger to combat. In fact, that singular word seemed to get the pendulum to swing in a different direction and he turned to face the same direction as her. “What’s your plan and how can I… help.” The last word was hissed through gritted teeth but he was upset all over again. He didn’t want to be here. He didn’t want to be there in the first place. He hated everything and hated that he was getting so frustrated over what was essentially nothing.

—

Lil’s face had gotten serious, and she just wanted to get the other to leave before something worse happened. Still, as she started feeling the anxiety she pushed it out before it could settle in her. The poltergeist was watching her, and she knew better than to have feelings in front of a mark. Still, she was glad that Wright seemed to have enough sense to walk closer to her and not fight her on that one.

He still looked - angry and that was going to be a problem if Lil wasn’t careful. Still, he seemed sure enough of himself to not get possessed. Ghosts - even strong ones - were unlikely to possess someone who was fully aware. Still, she could see that the ghost was now looking between them - and for the first time she was actually aware of what he looked like. He must have been an enforcer at a club or something as solidly built as he was. He also had a lovely gash up his face that made Lil wonder who he had pissed off.

She would ask, but she wasn’t going to get an answer. Instead, looking back at the caporeal person she thought about it for a second and decided it was worth a try. Talking softly Lil said, “The ghost is going to try and throw me, but he’s a dumbass. You see that circle right there? If I hand you chalk can you connect the circle. If you can, I’m going to run towards the ghost while you do and he’s going to throw me back with him. I think I can time it so he gets stuck in the circle and I can exorcize him. He’s pissed enough at me that he’s going to try it anyway.”

Lil figured if it didn’t work out, then she could just punch at the ghost and make him dissipate. She could always try again tomorrow. Pulling the chalk out of her pocket she held it in her hand waiting for the other to agree or decide to leave.

—

After a pause between the two she started speaking, softly, and Parker turned his head sharply so he could hear her, which did his attitude no favors; he was already frustrated that she implied that he would run considering when she stormed the alley he had come out of that altercation on top and that coupled with his deficient hearing was yet another unpleasant cocktail that boiled the bile in his stomach. Fortunately, he managed to catch that she mentioned something about a circle, chalk, and the fact that the ghost would probably act irrationally, though he didn’t think he’d go so far as to use such casual language when referring to supernatural entities. Parker thought the fae were foolish, haughty and very stupid on most occasions but calling them ‘dumbasses’ was… ‘That sounds more like what I’d call ‘em’. Right. He didn’t look over to regard the supposed circle until she finished with the so-called ‘plan’, realizing that he didn’t need something else to add to his plate of growing irritations that made the pendulum of unreasonable emotions threaten to send him into another fit of anger so he smothered the thought - this was her problem, this was her ghost and her plan and she was young and solitary, it seemed. ‘Afford her patience.’ “Okay.” He replied bluntly, taking the chalk with three careful fingers before finally looking over at the aforementioned circle. He hated not having sufficient explanations but at this point Parker felt dangerously close to either punching the medium or the wall right next to her so he inhaled deeply through his nose, feeling his spare hand clenching and unclenching as he tried to keep his emotions controlled enough to not do something stupid. Without giving her another word, he motioned with his head for her to do whatever it was she was going to do and he went over to the circle, his architectural mind igniting as the artist in him quickly took control of his movements; they were fluid, smooth and careful yet quick and dextrous - he would’ve felt better about this if she’d give him an indicator for when he should stop or how big the opening should be BUT… this was her problem. He was just the guy she found in the alley.

—

Lil didn’t know if she should trust the other who seemed about this close to throwing her himself, but - well she’d worked with hunters who had similar attitudes. She also wasn’t sure that the ghost wasn’t just going to run the other way - but she had a feeling he wouldn’t. Everything seemed to have gotten more aggressive lately, and while Lil always had a bit of rage in her system it was noticeable.

So when he agreed Lil finally turned to the ghost who was smirking at her drawing his hand over his own throat in a taunt. She wondered exactly what he was telling her. It was probably something annoying the way he stalked her in a flash as she ran to meet him, angling herself between the ghost and where she could see the circle, hoping the idiot wasn’t good at listening. Maybe he thought she was afraid.

He seemed to be done with his monologue at least, it was a bit too bad that neither of the people who were there could hear him. He seemed to pause, like she should be shaking. Damn he probably had a funny old timey accent. It really sucked she couldn’t make fun of it.

Instead she just snorted and said, “Bet you won’t. Big guy, You must have been a tough date taking all the air out of the conversation. Hey, did you kiss your mother with that mouth?” She said when she saw his mouth paused, and - that seemed to do it. The ghost started charging towards her and Lil started moving backwards as the ghost started catching up.

Suddenly she felt something slam her, the ghost pushing her back ghostly arms on her shoulders, aiming her towards the wall, when suddenly the pressure left. While that was true enough, the force still managed to cause Lil to stumble and fall to the ground, thankfully not into the wall. Looking up and breathing hard she said, “Got him. Fuck that hurt. You good Wright? Wanna see an exorcism?”

—

Oh, if only he cared about how this was going to turn out. If only she had run into someone empathetic that day, if only he were more like his brother, if only he wasn’t there at that moment in time or she wasn’t the way she was or the ghost was someone less aggressive. There was little point in dwelling on ‘what if’s’ to him. Parker had found some miniscule comfort in his menial task, temporarily feeling a little sense of what could’ve been the peace of an eye in the middle of the storm that frothed inside him as he drew the circle with the chalk. And apparently it served its purpose well enough as Lil was sent stumbling by an unseen force; Parker would’ve acknowledged that she was saying something but he couldn’t hear her well enough to either discern or care about what it was. He’d done the thing she suggested he do and he couldn’t see whatever was now trapped inside the circle but he wasn’t about to suggest that it wasn’t there. Calmly, as though Lil hadn’t just gotten shoved by a ghost near him, he straightened up and held the chalk out for her to take again, trying not to think about the dust that accumulated on his hands. She seemed okay, though, or okay enough and when she asked if he wanted to see an exorcism, he considered silently leaving her to it, leaving that damned alley, leaving that area, retreating either into the comfort of his basement, his bunker or just… into his bathroom to cry with frustration. He tightened his jaw and thought about it for a few moments before he subconsciously started to sign. Fine. Might as well. It wasn’t until after that he realized he did it and he blinked before clearing his throat. “Okay.” He added, feeling himself heating up slightly with obvious embarrassment.

—

Lil sat on the ground for a moment so her breathing could become steady again. She needed to breathe properly after all, and she could see the ghost seething trapped. She would understand if he hadn't, you know, thrown her around again like a rag doll. It was seriously annoying.

Her eyes focused on the other's hands flickering back up to his face as she realized that he probably hadn’t meant for her to understand it. So she signed back, mostly a warning, I speak ASL fluently, so you know. I can understand you. Do you like to sign more? After all, she felt pretty natural in it, and while she would have to speak the ritual - not wanting to take the time to write the ritual down in the circle with the angry spirit - she would communicate with the other in whatever language he felt comfortable with.

She waited briefly for a response intending to answer any questions with whatever he was more comfortable in, as she got up and started to straighten herself up for the exorcism. The hard part wasn’t over for her, unfortunately, but it was simpler now that the man was trapped. Stretching her arms she sighed and said to the ghost, “You owe me a hospital bill buddy.” —

The only thing at that moment that was worse than Parker accidentally signing without realizing it was the fact that Lil signed back. In an instant, two colors of emotion splashed him at once, from different angles, and he sucked in a sharp inhale through his pointed nose. The pendulum was swinging wildly as he was being ripped apart at such a simple question in a language he was so accustomed to knowing in self-inflicted isolation. He wanted to vomit at the overwhelming crash of conflict inside him - both of his parents shouting, but not at him. No, he just happened to be there. He remembered that it was about him, though, which he hated. Did he like to sign more? Did anyone ever ask him? He knew his brother did but he also knew that signing, along with sentence fillers like ‘um’ and ‘uh’ were– He heaved an exhale through his mouth, bringing himself back to the present and Parker glanced around for a moment before his icy blue eyes fell onto Lil once more. His breath, having become shallow, was drawn slower as he willed himself to even it out. He gulped for air, lowering shaking hands that had flown to cover his ears subconsciously at the memory. He imagined he looked incredibly foolish and he felt more heat creep onto his face. Well… she knew now and as he got his breathing under control, chewing on her question after the bile of his memory unexpectedly associated with it, he gave a small, faint nod. Yes.

The anger was all but gone, having been replaced with an unpleasant of emotions that he didn’t want to acknowledge - embarrassment for his slip up, fear over something as stupid as a memory, an unidentifiable third emotion, with its source unknown and obviously so foreign to him that his mind couldn’t even find a word for it. Yes, I do. It’s easier for me sometimes. I’m… He paused before deciding to just tell her. I’m half-deaf. He motioned to his left ear before he gestured at the circle with his head. Show me this exorcism. I’ll help pay for your hospital bill.

—

Something was happening to the other, and for what it was worth Lil waited, not intervening with a struggle she didn’t know. She had plenty of her own internal tragedies and she wouldn’t want someone interrupting them. So she waited patiently instead focusing on making sure she could start her exorcism. Only looking when she saw his hands move again.

Okay. I’ll sign to you then. I like it better myself anyway.

Lil chuckled and signed. I was saying that to the ghost as a joke. You’re fine, Wright. Besides, I’m not going to go to the hospital for a couple of sore ribs.

With that, she nodded, sitting down on the ground - her bones still a little too tender now to stand up and do the ritual. Looking at the ghost who was doing his best to look menacing while trapped in a circle her face turned serious as she centered herself. Grabbing at the necklace that she always had hidden on herself she started carefully speaking, closing her eyes as she felt the ghost trying to break lights again. If she could stop the ritual she probably would have called him a dumbass, as he’d already blown out the ones near the two of them.

The Latin, despite being a dead language itself, seemed to agitate the spirit who just wanted to continue to protect its alleyway. He had died so long ago, but the rage didn’t. Even now he was shouting at the exorcist to stop turning the language to something else. Maybe ask him why he had done all of this. He didn’t want to disappear - the history books wouldn’t remember him or what he had done - but this alley could. He deserved to be here just like the two standing there -the man he wanted badly to possess and walk around as. He raged at the edges of his cage screaming that this wasn’t fair. He existed and he should continue to exist.

It was unfortunate then that the Exorcist didn’t hear him, his excuses or his plight instead her eyes opening to look at the ghost completing the words she’d rehearsed thousands of times, coldly being the last thing he’d ever focus on before - suddenly not existing the air warming up around them and the circle fading as Lil slumped forward for a second.

Lil immediately felt tired as the surge of power came out of her to strike the ghost, her bones aching more than they had before as she saw the soul that was there suddenly not be. She didn’t bother to tell him to rest in peace instead looking at the now only other person there smiled and signed. Feels warmer here now doesn’t it? Ghosts are always so cold. Sorry I usually would have offered to let you actually see it, but I didn’t really want to do that ritual too.

—

There was a feeling as Lil agreed to his preferred method of communication once he had tempered from whatever was going through his mind just moments before, the shard of a memory plunging itself into him. This feeling was different yet just as uncontrollable, especially for Parker at this moment though he’d sooner die than admit it. A sensation crept through his body, a temporary but intense buzz of energy and he wasn’t even aware that he had released it through a quiet hum. The pendulum was on another side now, the anger being replaced by a look of what could’ve been interpreted as sincere confusion and he was so caught up in whatever the feeling was that he didn’t even leave room to be embarrassed by how he took her joke literally, again, as he tended to do with jokes and sarcasm. He offered her a tilt of his head but didn’t say or communicate anything further before Lil started her exorcism. And from then, he watched as she moved, observed as she sat down, studied the necklace she pulled from where it’d been obscured before, strained to hear the words that came out of her mouth in Latin. Parker couldn’t begin to think he could do what she was doing, even if he couldn’t see the poltergeist he had to take her word on was in the circle - though the fact that it had rammed into her previously suffice as evidence enough on its own - but he held considerably more respect for her than he had just five minutes ago. ‘Parker’s got himself a little friend’. Were they friends now because they could communicate in a way Parker never thought he’d have been able to in that town? Were they friends because she didn’t attack him the way the stranger attempted to and now he was watching her perform an exorcism? Did Parker have friends that seemed to be formed organically and not through shared tribulation or hardship? No. No, he didn’t think he and Lil were suddenly friends. That wasn’t how anything worked, not in his mind and not otherwise. They weren’t friends but as she finished her exorcism, keeping his sharp blue eyes on her instead of paying any mind to the rushes of air as the ghost presumably fought against the invisible barrier. They weren’t friends but Parker was suddenly astute in how she acted as the alley seemed to heat up, the circle of chalk simmering away. He tore his gaze from her and looked at where the circle had been moments before. The anger that found itself so easily resting on his tense frame had dissipated similarly and was replaced by… he still couldn’t place it. It wasn’t despair, it wasn’t anger or sorrow or joy or…

Are you okay? He signed, looking back down at her. Would you… like for me to give you a ride somewhere?

What was that emotion? He didn’t know.

—

Exorcists were often weak right after an exorcism, something that meant that it was dangerous to work alone and often shocked a lot of people. It was one reason her dad had lied about her, and told people she was a monster. It should have forced her to go further and become a demonologist - to know her weakness and to seek a community to keep her up. If she was smart, Lil would have.

Still, something more powerful than survival to her was rage, and she hadn’t instead relied on the fact her will was stronger than ghosts and that her physical body would move when she told it too. She hadn’t folded when she was seventeen and she wouldn’t fold here either. So after a moment, she picked herself up slowly and carefully pulling her bag across her before she did so, trying to stop the wincing as she felt her bones again. If it was just pain, it wouldn’t stop Lil, and she’d been thrown against worse before. Looking at Wright, she caught him signing to her again and after she stood up she paused.

Lil realized that she had walked there, not wanting to take the car and leave Jonas without a better car. She didn’t like asking others for help, a gift she suspected her dad had also given her, but well it was better than dragging Jonas out here. Not that he would even mind, so used to having to pick up Lil off of the floor after exorcisms that she could imagine that this wouldn’t even cross his mind as odd. She was standing this time at the very least. Still, the man as odd as he was wasn’t scary to her.

I’m tired, mostly, but I’ll be fine. Bruised probably. Still, I’d appreciate a ride to my house if that’s okay. It’s not far. My twin’s probably home by now. Lil signed, tucking back her necklace close to her heart ignoring how hot it was. It wouldn’t burn her after all. We should go before someone wonders what that was about.

__ He didn’t remove his stare from her until she turned to address her once more, his posture on alert on the off-chance that she would fall over - she didn’t explicitly state it but he was both old and observant enough to know when someone was running low on energy, especially humans. It was one of the things that his mother stressed that he remembered as he was being raised. ‘Humans are fragile things. They are what you exist to protect. Even you, Parker, with your unique mind.’ As he felt the storm inside him settle, his mother’s voice soothed into his mind despite shouting in it previously.

Once Lil responded to him, he felt himself ease just a little more - he never would’ve guessed that by walking down the street, minding his own business then getting into an altercation with an attempted pickpocket would’ve resulted in him taking an exorcist home after watching her work. He also didn’t expect to find someone who shared in his form of communication, let alone preferring it.

He looked her up and down before casting one final glance into the alley, the warm place that once again held a tumult of emotions and unexpected interactions. This one ended considerably better than the one yesterday, of that Parker was certain. Okay. I’ll match your pace.

#wickedswriting #writing // Wrong Alley Unlikely Ally #writing with // Lil #domestic abuse tw #//Parker just loves alleys I guess #The collector // Crimson Period

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