“You weren’t joking and I can’t deal with any more supernatural bullshit so leave.” He took mental stock of his supplies, trying to remember if he had anything even remotely useful handy or if it was all in the workshop. He had his phone at least and a fair share of hunters he could call.
She snorted at that, resisting the urge to rub the tattoo on the back of her neck. Daniels was a common enough last name, until you got away from humans. “Then what the hell would I be? A leperchaun? Oh, no, you’re right, I’m the loch ness monster. Really, Wilder, grow up.”
“Then I will straight up carry your ass there and back, blankets and all. Don’t think I won’t.”
It wouldn’t be the first time Matt had done something like that. Ever since he’d hit that certain point as a kid where his growth spurts started to overtake his siblings, he’d gone from being the one getting piggyback rides and such to the one giving them, the malamute side of his genetics kicking in hardcore.
“You pick me up and I’m biting you,” he warned, a faint growl in his voice. It wasn’t a threatening growl, more playful, but he would still bite the other if he had to.
Absently, Tucker nuzzled at Matt a little, the shivering almost completely gone and his body relaxing. It was still a little too cold for him, but he could, at the very least, handle it now.
“Get out,” he hissed. “Get the fuck out now.” She’d seemed human enough but he should have known better, should have noticed something was off. She wasn’t a demon, at least; he was weirdly certain of that. But it didn’t really matter what the specifics were. He had no interest in dealing with it.
“Over a joke? Seriously? No.” She didn’t think he would actually hurt her, but she could always be wrong. Hell, she usually was wrong, but she trusted him. More than she did most anyone else.
The most beautiful of all these was the woman I loved, Satine, a courtesan. She sold her love to men. They called her ‘The Sparkling Diamond’ and she was the star of the Moulin Rouge.
“What the fuck did you just say?” He’d heard her correctly. He knew he had, but he also couldn’t have. She could not have said what he thought she said and he sure as hell couldn’t deal with it when he was already feeling like this.
“It was a joke, not a dick, don’t take it so hard,” she quipped, trying to play it off but she couldn’t exactly erase the tightness around her eyes or the way her posture had stiffened up just a little. Witches looked human and, for the most part, they were, but they were also still supernatural.
“Oh, he’s not. But I’m probably his second favorite, because the rest of you are assholes,” he replied. He watched her work, making mental notes of her movements so that he could do this himself if she weren’t around. There was actually a decent number of fixes he could make on his own that he still took to Willow out of habit. “Bitch at Clyde. Recruiting help was on her for that one.”
“Ozzy’s weak,” was the only comment she had to make on that. Of all of them, he was the one more likely to be killed in a crossfire, the most hopeless. It irked her more than it should. “I don’t see it doing any good, so what’s the point in that?” She didn’t think Clyde liked sharing Harper’s time with her some days and she wasn’t about to go poking at that thought.
Despite the advice of many, many, many people, Wyatt still hadn’t bothered to ward his home against random intrusions. Though it had not always gone well for him, he likely would never change that. The woman who appeared had the same sort of magic about her that Konis did and that reapers did, to some extent. But it was more Keres and less living ghost. He set his book aside and stood to greet her.
“Probably, but I’m afraid Konis hasn’t been very forthcoming about her friends and family.” Well, other than a decided lack of friends, but that didn’t seem worth mentioning. He offered a hand to shake. “Wyatt. I know you know that, but it seems weird not to introduce myself. Can I get you anything to drink?”
He definitely wasn’t what she had been expecting when Pheme came around, spilling her secrets with a glint in her eyes. Too clean cut, to polite. It was unnerving and he was so in over his head.
“If she’s mentioned me at all, it would be as Acacia or Casey, but I prefer Avalon,” she introduced, making no move to take his hand. It was too formal, too nice for why she had decided to just appear in his living room.
“No.” It was an answer given mostly out of spite, but he meant it. Not being a dick was not on the table today. “Today is a more realistic version of me, so again, you can fuck right off. I’m not exactly in the mood for human interaction.” He wanted to break something and that would end up being Colette if she didn’t leave soon.
“Gotta be human for it to be human contact,” she muttered, more to herself than anything. Truth be told, she hadn’t even realized she had said it as she watched him with an annoyed look on her face.