To Sage, from Tara

[tessa]

I fucking hate malls. There is so much stuff going on it like, fries my brain or something. I plodded through the mall in my sweater and jeans, my hands shoved into the pouch of my sweater making me look like some grumpy teen. I was here for some things for my new place. My old apartment was being demolished. It was supposed to clean up the neighborhood and stop prostitution. Ha! Yeah right, like that was going to happen. Are politicians fucking stupid?

But my new place was bare and I didn't like how un decorated it was. I felt lonely in it, even when there were people. At least I needed some things for my bedroom. I could afford new cheap blankets and pictures. I hated the smell my old ones had and it was scratchy too. My new apartment was too clean. I kept it spotless and it wasn't dirty but it reminded me of a hospital when I first moved in. My living area had a TV and the couch because at least that could be salvaged and wasn't ruined. My old master's sister, who was sympathetic to paranormals, gave me some money to replace the bed and buy some dishes, which was kind of her. At first I hated shopping. I bought the first bed I saw that I could afford and got the hell out of there. Soon, though, I began to enjoy shopping. I mean...I liked being able to say 'I have the right to live better'. And so I found myself in a cute little store for some sheets and pillows and blankets, finding I was actually making conscious choices about what I was buying which, believe it or not, takes a lot of concentration.

"Hey punk, going somewhere?"

"Mommy?"

"Come back here, freak!"

I was picking through some drapes and some... table things (like table clothes or something I guess), when I heard that dick speak. were they seriously picking on a little kid? I wondered. I, like other people in the store, turned to look in the direction of the noise. A few humans were surrounding a scaled little kid with a lizard tail, pushing and kicking at him, but not actually hurting him. They just wanted to scare him to death, assert their human supremacy I guess. I watched for a moment. Poor little kid. He wet himself, and a little dark stain moved down his pant legs. Is it possible to feel your own heart break? The others laughed and pointed cruelly,

"ha! Look at that, big baby pissed his pants."

"I'm not a baby!"

"Baby!"

"I'm not--!"

"Fucking baby!"

"Daddy!"

Ugh! I hate dickheads like that. I hated them so much I did what everyone else couldn't do and walked up to the group.

"Hey asswipes." I grumped, shoving one the the bullies back as he was about to push the kid into a bin of pillow cases. The little boy sniffled and sobbed, but realized I was protecting him and clung to my leg. I felt my chest heat up over my heart and my stomach clench as his little hands clutched the fabric of my pants and hide his face in the back of my knee. I reached down and placed my hand on his bald, scaly head.

"Its okay." I told him.

One of the group members shoved me back,

"Whats that? Whore."

I shook my head and turned back to the little kid, taking his hand. "come on lets find your parents."

What were they going to do to me? I wondered, as I slowly walked the kid out of the store. I could imagine them coming up to me, shoving me down the stairs...something. But no, instead they left us alone. I took the kid back to his father, who thanked me for finding him and went to mall security to complain. I doubted it would do anything but if I was the kids parents I'd be pissed too. I bought myself a drink, because I guess I had a bit of an adrenaline rush back there, and then I went out for a bit of air. I was shaking all over. I couldn't believe how... warm I felt towards the little boy. How strongly I felt about protecting him. It was weird... this whole 'nice' thing. Milo was rubbing off on me I guess. I could see him doing the same thing for the little boy. Would...Milo be proud of me? Was it really that important what he thought? Yes, it was, and yes it did.

"Hey bitch."

My limbs numbed and my gut twisted. Three of the gang appeared, becoming way too close. "Fuck you." I growled. "Fuck off." I stepped back. Was this really happening to me?

[mooka]

I sighed happily for a moment as the atmosphere waved over me. I thought malls were one of the most interesting places. There were things here for everyone, toys, food, clothes. You would wander into one of the stores and come out with something you hadn’t known you were looking for.

Not only did it offer shops for every age bracket, it was also a place where abnormals and humans mixed and it was hard to tell the difference between the two types of people when they were all doing the same things. I couldn’t help but watch a group of teenagers, both humans and abnormals, wandering around the mall together paying no mind to the nasty looks that were cast towards them by older people. At least the next generations of society were more understanding than that last.

Today was my day off, so I had to spend in wisely, unfortunately I kept drifting into alluring stores and getting off track, I still had to go get groceries and clean up a bit. I made a note to myself that I could only stay here for an hour more tops, setting an alarm on my watch for safe measure.

I slipped into a home improvement store and browsed through some of the wares, not for myself, but one of the kids I was Nanning had ruined his mother’s rug and left a nasty stain on the carpet below. I felt it would be a nice gift to the family if I could replace it; it was just a small thing for all the support they had given me. I shifted through some of the rugs, trying to remember what texture theirs had been, but I couldn’t quite remember. But my search was interrupted by a small fight in the corner of the store.

“Baby!”

I peeked around a display of clothes to see what was happening as the room fell into silence. The poor kid was being harassed by a bunch of humans, who did they think they were anyways? A few people around me began to whisper to themselves.

“Should we do something?”

“No way! That gang would come after us.”
Sage’s heart throbbed gently as she looked back to the little kid. They were right though, if someone intervened the gang would most likely hurt them. But of course something shocked me; there was a person that was willing to risk their safety to help out this kid. Whenever I thought the world was only full of cruel people, it tried to change my views and gave the world another gift of kindness.

I watched the woman curiously, a happy expression planted on my face. But I was still nervous for her, afraid that the gang would hurt her. I laughed quietly as she insulted them and then just turned her back and left as if it hadn’t fazed her at all. What a hero she was! But I stayed and watched the group for a bit longer after she left, they didn’t look too happy. I thought about warning the woman, it was the least I could do while I just stood by and watched the kid being abused.

I quickly grabbed the nearest rug with little thought and paid for it just as fast. I returned my line of sight to where the gang stood, but they were no longer there. My heart pace slowed, they must have just left deciding to get over the situation, that was good. I made my way calmly out of the store and began to search around for the woman, who lucky wasn’t too far away from the store.

Shit. The gang of humans had followed after her, damn it! Why didn’t I just leave to tell her, now she was going to get hurt? I couldn’t let that happen to the girl. Well now it was time to fix this and stand and watch before.

“Hey dickheads.” I said with a small smirk.

One of the men turned around to face me with a confused look on his face as I swung my fist around and it collided into his face with a satisfying crack. But it hurt like hell. I winced and shook my hand loosely trying to shake it off for the moment. It probably wasn’t the smartest move, but it was revenge for them hurting the lizard kid. She only wished she had done that sooner.

“Leave her alone, you’re just mad because you got showed up by a girl in public. And now what are you planning? To teach her a lesson? You think you’re going to get away with it?” I tried to keep my voice as even as possible, but I could tell I wasn’t doing a very good job. I was terrified of these people, not specifically them as humans, but by the hatred that fueled them. But people couldn’t do whatever they wanted; they had to be taught a lesson once in awhile.

[tessa]

Whats-her-face had balls!

I was not so lucky, being as terrified as I was. I try to act tough but, I mean, this is my journal. I'm allowed to have inner thoughts and fears. I'm not going to be like; "And I was so bad ass I punched him right in the cock and then I lit my $300 Cuban cigar given to me personally by the President of the United States as a gift for being so damned awesome, using nothing but sheer force of will and Chuck Norris's left eyelash..."

Although that would be amazing (and I kind of wish Chuck Norris lived in this world), but I'm a paranormal not a superhero; I have fears and I do get scared and right then I don't think I could have been more relieved than when whats-her-face showed up. I backed up away from the guys, who were circling us like a pack of hungry wolves. Not bright wolves, mind you...more like challenged wolves, at best.

One of the guys, the one who got punched, held his face in one of his huge hands, grimacing through his fingers which were covered in blood from a broken nose. The other two looked mildly furious, possibly because she ruined the moment, also because they themselves didn't want to get hit. I smirked for a second and enjoyed the other mans pain like the bitch I am, and turned my attention back to the un-injured two.

"She's right, fuckers." I said, drawing upon my inner Milo and hoping that acting skills were contagious. I kept my voice low and spoke through my teeth, casting whats-her-face a glance here and there. People were beginning to watch us and some began whispering. I looked up at them from under the shadow of my brow. I don't even know how I managed to do that, considering I could feel my entire body shaking. I wonder if they could see?

They looked scared for a moment, but they were 'macho', apparently. One of them threw their head back and laughed at whats-her-face.

"She's fiesty, isn't she?" he said threateningly, letting his eyes travel along whats-her-faces body, making me uncomfortable. I reached out and shoved him forward which, apparently, is the best I could do. He caught himself after taking a step forward and turned on me agrily, raising his fist high above his head...

"Come on Matt, let's go!" complained the guy who got punched in the face. He held his nose up and jerked a thumb towards the entrance, and I followed the other man's gaze as he dropped his arm.

"Oh shit! The cops!" he said, "Lets get the fuck out of here." he said, but not without turning to clock me one in the face before he left. Nothing broke but it hurt like bloody hell and I fell against the wall, frowning and burying my face in my hands.

"Fuck!" I grumbled, tensing and un-tensing, breathing through my teeth as I tried to manage the pain. It was over soon, because I healed rather quickly I guess, I don't know. There would be a good welt there later, but right then it had caused the kind of commotion I wanted; the crowd was disgusted with the human punks. I stood after a second on the ground, helping myself up via the mall wall, and took whats-her-face's hand, dragging her along towards the park beside the Mall, which in turn would take us to my new apartment.

I looked back at her, aware that one of my eyes was swelling up, "What the fuck did you think you were doing?" I asked, baffled as I hopped over a small wooden perimeter that basically kept motorists out of the park. "Are you fucking insane? Fucks sake!"

But I smiled at her anyway, glad to see at least someone had a brain in this god forsaken winter wasteland.

I miss California...

[mooka]

Today had turned out to be more…interesting than normal. It was almost funny how boring my life was, that a small fist fight would be the highlight of the whole month. I had to take what I got, and this opportunity didn’t come around long, so why not run with it?

I held my breath for a few seconds, but it felt like minutes, I both terrified and excited to see what those men’s responses were. The woman seemed to be holding herself well, I wondered if she felt as nervous on the inside as I did. But no one would leave me to my thoughts today as the group began to circle us, pushing me closer to the stranger, and closer to the worst place possible; the wall. I held my ground the best I could, but the men were intimidating if nothing else and I didn’t want to keep and least a few feet between them and myself.

I tried to keep an eye on everyone, including the girl, and decide what they were thinking. The man tat I had punched didn’t seem too happy, but caused a grin to spread across my face. I cant believe I actually broke his nose! He had would have a fun time explaining that to his friends. Then I turned my expression to the other two, who seemed a bit irritated, probably because two girls were kicking their asses, but other than that they seemed fine. Lastly, I moved my eyes over to the woman, who’s face was placid, but being this close I could see her body shaking ever so slightly. What a relief! I thought I was the only one panicking.

“She’s right fuckers.”

I laughed a bit too mechanically, but I got my point across. We were a team, from what the men knew, and we could easily handle them with little fear. I was becoming almost giddy now. I felt like some kind of superhero trapped by villains with my trusty sidekick by my side, both of us willing to take a swing for the other.

Once again my day dreams were shattered by the man’s eyes glued to my body, that fucking pig! Thank god that she had stepped in and pushed the man, not knowing how much more I could have taken of that before crumpling to the floor. But luckily the gang seemed to be pushing the last string as well as they began to discus fleeing. We had made it then with little injuries! But the world had to spite me again.

I hissed as the woman received a nasty blow, and glared at the guys, but they just ran off like scared little puppies with their tails between their legs. So be it, I knew they were cowards on the inside, projecting a fake tough shell on the outside to promote their supreme humanity to the world. This made me wonder what I would have been like as a human. Hopefully I wouldn’t be scornful enough to hurt someone else!

Anyways, the cops were coming and I couldn’t wait to blab on the humans, hoping they got a jail sentence, no matter how small it was. I decided to check on the fallen woman and bent down to help her too her feet, but she didn’t need it, kudos to her! “Hey are you ok-“ But she stood up in a hurry and grabbed my hand, I guess I was going along with her. More excitement, I couldn’t complain too much.

I followed after her unwilling, half stumbling and half running, she seemed to be in a hurry. Was she afraid to talk to the cops? What could they have possibly done to us when we were innocent?

Her question hit me as a bit cruel; did she have some ego that I had ruined? I hoped not, that wasn’t my intention at all, but I gave her the benefit of the doubt and just took her sharpness as a gesture from shock.

“Well I was just trying to help you after I just sat and watched that kid get beat up.” I smiled sheepishly. “Well it didn’t turn out so good for you…sorry about your eye.” Even thought I knew it wasn’t completely my fault.

As I spotted her grin I lightened up, knowing that she must be stressed out beyond belief. “I really should ask you the same, sticking up for that kid, you could have gotten yourself killed!” I laughed, with more earnest this time, enjoying myself now. I stole my hand away from hers wincing a bit realizing it was the hand I had used as a weapon.

“Where are we going? Oh and what’s your name?” I finally managed after letting her lead me blindly to wherever she wanted; hopefully this girl was trustworthy enough.

[tessa]

"Tara."

I answered whats-her-name when she asked me what my name was. I led her over obstacles and things that popped up in the park that we needed to skirt , like benches and, oh I dunno, hobos. I didn't really feel like answering the question she asked before, about me sticking up for the little kid. The hell I knew why I did that. To prove a point maybe, I guess. To prove that there were people out there who wouldn't stand for that kind of bullshit? I set my gaze forward and tried to focus on getting out of the sketchy park and not on why I had felt so strongly about protecting the little kid. Its not like I can say I wish someone had done that for me when I was a kid, because I was protected like a normal kid. But when I was a younger teen I kind of wish I had someone to help me, or guide me, or give a shit.

I re-focused myself on getting us out of there and slowed the pace a bit when we reached the sidewalk, panting a bit. I tried to take deep, normal breaths in an attempt to make it look like all that running hadn't effected me much. Was I really that out of shape? I don't remember being out of shape like that, but maybe I had just given up? I looked down at myself and shrugged. I looked fine. I turned to whats-her-face and twitched my shoulders in a gentle shrug.

"I don't think they're going to come after us." I said, looking around for any signs of the police. I was afraid of meeting up with them. Even though those thugs had run off when they saw the cops, didn't mean the cops were going to be kind to us any more than they would if we were both slaves. I had heard of people going to jail and never coming out again. Or, rather, never being seen, spoken of or even acknowleged. People like us should avoid getting arrested as much as possible, is what I'm saying, because devils only know what goes in that that particular section of hell.

I blinked as the clouds, which had been hanging around all day, came together in a clash of sound and fork lightning. Rain pelted us from the sudden storm and yanked on whats-her-names arm, bringing her closer to the block where my apartment was. By the time we got there I was soaked, and I was sure whats-her-face was going to be too. Should I invite her in? I mean, she did kind of save my ass back there, and she seemed decent enough. I supposed, at the time, it was the least I could offer. I had coffee and stuff in my house, and the next shop was another fifteen to twenty minute walk away. In this weather? No fucking way!

Besides I figured it might be time to meet new people, make new friends, yadda yadda, ect. Whatever.

So I turned to her once we got to my door and I unlocked it using the ID pad attached to the front door, which buzzed and popped open for us to enter, and said, "want some coffee or something? I've also got some food if you're hungry. You did fucking save my sorry pelt, least I can do is feed yeh." I grumped, though unwillingly so. I didn't want to sound like a bitch. I was wet, tired, upset with my lot in life, and had just had a terrifying shopping experience. I exhaled gently and forced myself to calm-the-fuck down.

"Oh, and I don't think I got your name. It's..." and I left the blank for whats-her-name to fill, waiting expectantly, waving my hand in that way that people do sometimes. I noticed the girl was pretty, and also had this odd aura that I just couldn't place...

[mooka]

“Tara.”
I made a note and nodded gently at her one worded response. I could tell how much of a friendly person this Tara was!

But I didn’t want to judge her that quickly, who knew what was going on or had happened in her life. Maybe she was like bug. She had a thick outer shell that seemed tough, but anyone who knew how can break it easily and get down to her softer nature.

But I could only take a speculation on why she would be like that. There were thousands of possibilities out there! Abusive childhood, hatful boyfriend, run in with an animal, and many other things that I could go one for hours about. Heck, I could probably write a detailed story about each situation and maybe right sequels of each. But there went my mind again; I always seem to explore my thoughts at the wrong time.

The next thing that I took in was that we were walking, no running, through a crummy looking park which seemed to be a homeless paradise. I followed her along silently until we came to a stop and caught my breathe with her.

“Coming after us?” I wheezed, almost laughing at the thought.

I knew we were both abnormals, but we didn’t do anything wrong. The cops were a bit brighter than that I thought. Especially when there were so many people watching, maybe even recording with their phones, they couldn’t risk arresting us for no reasons. Or maybe I just had too much faith in people that they didn’t deserve.

But we were on the move again as she grabbed my wrist and tried to beat the rain. I still didn’t know where we were going, but it was taking longer than I had expected, and now it was becoming a lot less pleasant. I wiped a drop of rain from my forehead, but then the downpour increased and I couldn’t keep up with all the water. By the time we stopped again I was soaked, and was glad that I wasn’t wearing a white shirt. My clothes gripped my body tightly and my hair was plastered to my face. I’m sure we were quite a wet flustered pair to withhold!

Tara’s invitation took me by surprise; this chick wasn’t what I had expected her to be at all. I needed to watch her a bit more carefully to see what exactly she was all about. Was she just insecure or was there something more deep going on in her skull?

“Uhm…well only if I won’t be a burden or anything. But don’t feel like you owe me or anything, I really didn’t save your ‘pelt’. Thanks though.” But right now anything was better than standing out here in the pouring rain. But yet again I really just wanted to go home and put on some warm clothes then fall asleep. But Tara was an intriguing person, and she had dragged me all the way here. Maybe she had had this plan in mind all along, hopefully just to make friends. But she didn’t seem kind of frantic, maybe she just forgot about me while running to the first place she thought of. But coffee did sound good…

“Oh!” I had completely forgotten my name, how rude of me. I always prided myself in my good manners, but today they seemed to be slipping. First I punched a guy in the face and then someone was inviting me inside and I sounded like a bitch. And lastly I hadn’t even introduced myself to Tara. “I’m Sage.”

I still felt a bit awkward around Tara, unsure if I could trust her completely yet. She seemed like she was trying to keep me out, which I was fine with. I didn’t like to cross personal boundaries. Yet I was extremely curious about her, and was just waiting for the right time to butt it.

[tessa]

Yes, I was sure they were coming after us. She wouldn’t be laughing when they actually did come after us, and it didn’t matter what the fuck we had done to get arrested. I could have been a fucking bystander in the other parking lot and they would have come after us, I’m sure of it. Fucking cops; not all of them are bad but I’ve had my share of crooked assholes.

When we were standing in front of my apartment and she was asking me if she was a burden, I laughed. “Burden?” I repeated, “Since when is having coffee a fuckin’ burden? You don’t worry about that. I’m not trying to suck up to you or anything because you saved my sorry ass.” I rubbed my hands together and raised them to my lips, blowing into them in hopes that it would help make me warmer. I knew it wouldn’t because I was only making more moisture cling to my hands but the short term relief was worth it. The rain continued without us and I stared on down the street, watching and glad we had gotten out of the way. I wasn’t the kind of person to go all out and grovel at someones feet because they did me a favour. I would have done the same I think, maybe. Or if I had done the same the best I would expect was a thank you. But I wasn’t exactly going to blow her off without something to show my gratitude.

I chuckled. “Yeah nice to meet yeh’ Sage.” I said, but I wasn’t looking at her. I was looking down the street. Perhaps it was the rain that was making me look down the street or maybe I just had a sick feeling in my gut about what was about to happen next I don’t fucking know. All I know is that one second I was admiring the rain and the next the police were pulling up in front of us, flashing their weapons in warning. Instinctively I raised my hands in the air, and I could feel my face go pasty white.

“Ma’am, do you have any weapons on you, anything that can get you in trouble? Let me know now.” Said one of the cops; a cute one with a tight ass that his uniform accented. I shook my head in response, my muscles locking me in place with shock and fear. His partner, a female, patted us down briefly. She nodded to her partner and he put his weapon away, “We just need you two to come with us, regarding an incident in the Wonder Metro Town Shopping Center between thirteen-forty-five and fourteen-twenty this afternoon involving three human suspects and a small paranormal boy. You are not under arrest, but you are required to come with me and will be placed under arrest should you choose to resist. Am I understood?”

I nodded, casting Sage a concerned look as I was shoved into the back of the vehicle. The woman was handling me and she was a fucking bitch. The man was a lot kinder, dealing with Sage.
Shit, what the fuck am I going to do? I’m scared, I thought, what is going to happen to me? Sweat clung to my skin and I was suddenly very warm. I bounced my leg on my heel nervously, looking out the windows. I felt sick, imagining escaping somehow, running away to Milo or flying out of the country. I was terrified, and found myself actually praying silently that Sage would be allowed to stay with me. What was going to happen to me?

[mooka]

I sighed softly as she scolded me for coffee being a burden. I was grateful for her for not just leaving me with the thugs, but I didn’t want her to owe me anything or vice versa. This was getting a bit out of proportion and Tara’s temper was beginning to bother me. It wasn’t the fact that she had one; it was just the way she spoke to me. Was I some idiot that didn’t deserve any kindness? I sighed gently, maybe that was the truth. Even though I wore no collar it wasn’t like I was free, I couldn’t live where I wanted or be in a relationship with permission. It was just like being a kid all over again!

Now I had become angry at Tara, maybe she had some good intentions in her cruel talk, but I didn’t want to find them right now. Yeah nice to meet you as well, I mocked in my head. But I was glad I didn’t have to go and be in a room with her as he started to walk, but this day just seemed to get worse.

I groaned as soon as I heard the sirens, automatically knowing they were coming for us. Why did I have to be wrong at a time like this? I stood there stiffly as the car drew nearer, still having a small bit of hope that it would keep driving past us, but I knew that would be too nice.

I scowled as they immediately put out weapons, what did we look like, monsters? I noticed I had my hands balled into fists as the woman cop point her gun at me to raise my hands. I scowled at her, but didn’t speak, this was all ridiculous. I looked over to Tara and saw her eyes wandering over the male cop and groaned loudly, causing the woman to stiffen. “Relax.” I said to her, shaking my head gently. I didn’t really give a shit that they were cops that had loaded guns, I was pissed off, and I wouldn’t let them off.

“Really officer? Don’t you think this is a little unnecessary?” The woman returned my annoyed gaze and shook her head. “No this is necessary this was a public affair and we’d like to get down to the bottom of it as quickly as we can.” So you can get to punishing us quicker I though to myself. Tara was right in that one aspect, the cops defiantly were going to come after us and blame us for the whole situation because we weren’t….human. I was beginning to despise that word even though I had been one; it just wasn’t the same anymore.

I growled softly as the man put his hands on me and showed me into the car, here I was again, people telling me what to do. “You’ll be okay.” He cooed, and I cast him a nasty look before letting him close the door. I ignored Tara’s look as the car began to drive off, my anger vanishing and soon returning with fear. I wanted Edison, as weird as that sounded, he could get me out of here; yell at the cops like I wanted too. But he wasn’t coming and I had to accept that I was stuck with a stranger in the back of a cop car.

The bars that separated us from the cops were the things that frightened me the most. I shuddered and pushed myself as far back into the seat as I could, putting distance between me and the ruthless steel. I shut my eyes and waited for this nightmare to end.

The car came to a screeching stop as they arrived at the police station. I was glad when the female cop came around to my side; at least we had a mutual hate relationship. She and the other cop took us inside and lead us to one of the holding cells, together! I didn’t want to be trapped with the woman any longer than we had been together already. But maybe since we were in jail she would calm down. Either that or break out into tears, either one was better than her yelling at me.

I sat down one of the benches as the door closed behind us, more bars; I shivered. I glared at her for a moment before looking away. “Well this is fun isn’t it? First we get too much courage then we go to jail. Karma’s a bitch ain’t it?”

[tessa]

The ride to the station was utter hell for me. Nothing interesting happened and I didn’t expect to. I had a lot of time to think about how I reacted to being arrest and a lot more of a chance to be embarrassed. What else was I going to do, resist arrest? Just because paranormals were free “by law” didn’t mean people still wouldn’t try to assert their so-called “genetic superiority”, a phrase popularized by the human supremacist movement way back in the early 19th century. I was totally afraid of what humans believed they were capable of doing to me, and despite all of my ‘tough guy’ talk or whatever when I’m not threatened, I would probably never start any –real—fights. Nothing that would possibly get me killed or worse anyway. I watched the window sullenly from my seat, unwilling to look in Sage’s direction.

I felt nothing, aside from embarrassment, as we drove along the bustling roads. We neared the cop shop and only then did I experience any emotion that wasn’t dulled by the hope that perhaps this was all some sick dream. They pulled us out of the cop car and paraded us through the building, then placed us in a rather comfy, cold little cell. I knew my place and found it by sitting on the bench-like bed that hung off one of the walls. It was a bunk bed, with a toilet and sink shielded from the beds by one wall. I sighed and rested my head in my hands, tapping my feet to rid myself of nervous, tense energy; trapped energy. What was I going to do now? I wondered for a moment. I suppose I shouldn’t have worried that much. I would have just been released and then I would have gone home I guess. But at the time anything, but freedom, was possible in my eyes.

I brought my eyes up to look at Sage and held my breath. Maybe they shouldn’t have let us in together, after all. I shuffled in my place and looked down at my toes, brows furrowed. Oh I knew I was a bitch, I totally knew that. Part of me actually hated myself for it if you can believe that. But another part of me needed that self-assurance that the only person brave or stupid enough to get close to me was Milo and that same part of me wanted nothing and no one else to get any closer than arms-length. But that wasn’t fair to either me, or the other people, and since we were going to be stuck here for lord knew how long, and I felt the annoying need to be friends.

“I’m sorry.” I said quietly, “I didn’t… I wasn’t serious about the swearing or that stuff… I appreciated –appreciate—what you did for me.” I sighed, “and I’m sorry we’re in here too. I feel responsible. I should have stayed before but I got scared,” the wall looked much more interesting right then. “so…I’m sorry…”

[mooka]

“I’m sorry.”

Those words always surprised me, which I guess is a bad thing. I seem to expect the worst out of everyone, but eh I can’t be put at total fault for that. Life hasn’t been the best for me, and I don’t like to complain about it though because I know others have had it way worse. That’s it. I would just approach Tara with that thought in mind, even if it wasn’t true, it would be easier to be nice to her while I was formulating a little story. But I did want a friend and it looked like fate had put us here for a reason.

I sighed quietly and ran a hand through some knots in my hair before looking over to her once she was done speaking. “Well thanks for that, but it wasn’t necessary. I’m sorry for snapping at you I’m just a bit stressed out; as I’m sure you are as well.” I smiled to show her that I was serious and not just pretending to make her feel better. Eh false hope, one of my greatest pet peeves. I would rather a person come out and tell me I’m going to rot in jail instead of saying each day “Oh don’t worry you’ll get out soon.” That way I could get my mind set in the right gear instead of hugging onto a nonexistent comfort.

“And I really don’t think it’s your fault at all, the cops just don’t like us, you were right.” Sucking up was also a good way to make friends.

I slid my back down the wall until I could feel the cold touch of the cement floor on my behind. I shivered and scooted around to find the most comfortable angle, the ‘bed’ didn’t look very comforting either. These humans sure knew how to make a person feel welcome.

I coughed awkwardly to try and restart the conversation because Tara seemed like she was planning to dig her way out through the wall using her eyes. I grinned slightly at the thought, but if there was one person who could it would be her. “Well it looks like we are going to be in here for awhile, maybe if we’re lucky a few days. Want to make a shot and try and get to know each other better?” There was a small hope in me that she would rather stay in silence, but if we talked it would at least give us something to do for a bit.

I paused and looked out through the bars, but the outside scene was just as boring as in the cell. “I wonder if we only get one phone call, or if that’s just how the media portrays all of this.”