arboreal_priestess | MHA #6 Tuesday Night (Reply)

The apartment was silent when Verity unlocked the door and limped inside. The mice had either finished whatever religious ceremony they'd been practicing when she'd left or moved on to one of the quieter parts of the liturgy. Either way, they didn't come out to interrupt her as she dug her phone from her backpack and grabbed the first aid kit from the medicine cabinet, stripping out of most of her clothing and dropping them into the bathtub. She didn't think ahool blood was acidic, but why take chances?

Wearing only a long t-shirt and her underwear, Verity hobbled back out to the couch, shoving a week's worth of laundry onto the floor and groaning when her bruises brushed against the cushions. Once the aching stopped, she examined her foot to get an idea of the extent of the damage the snare had caused. It didn't feel broken and had supported her weight from Baltimore to Fandom, but no dancer ever took injury to an ankle lightly.

Fortunately, most of the damage appeared to be superficial; some bleeding and bruising, but nothing worse. That load off her mind, Verity felt the last of her energy drain away. She had plenty to do: disinfect and wrap her wounds, eat dinner, call her family and let them know there was an official Covenant presence in Baltimore. That last one was the big one, really, but for a moment, all she could just was just sit and try to make sense of it all.

Liam	Liam didn't check in on Verity every time she went out to Baltimore on patrol. His girlfriend was a grown adult, after all, and had been doing this long before they'd even met. She didn't need him hovering constantly. Tonight, though... tonight he couldn't shake the nagging feeling that he really should stop by. And he knew better than to ignore those feelings by now, so here he was, knocking on her apartment door.
Verity	Hanging up with her dad had left Verity feeling even more exhausted than before. She tried to get up to answer the door and boy that was no bueno. Her ankle did not want to support her weight enough to stand, never mind walk over to the door. Her knee buckled with pain and she sat back down on the couch again with a thump. Well...shit. A quick conversation with one of the mice had him scurrying over to unlock the door, unhitch the chain, and--with a great deal of effort--slide the bolt and then he was scampering back to the spare room with cheers of "CHEESE AND CAKE!" in exchange for his assistance. "It's open!" she called sweetly, her hand on a gun under the pillow and a second at her back. Several knives were hidden on the backside of the couch within easy reach of her hand. Prices didn't like letting people into their homes without first ascertaining who they were and that went double when they'd just tangled with the Covenant a few hours ago. If it was someone--or even a lot of someones--looking to cause some trouble, they were in for a big surprise.
Liam	That she hadn't come to the door definitely wasn't a good sign. "It's Liam!" he announced, before stepping inside. "You can put the gun down." No, he couldn't actually see it. He just, you know. Had met Verity.
Verity	"Liam!" Verity said, sounding pleased. "I wasn't expecting you. Yeah, one sec, I'm putting it away." The hell she was. Sure, she rustled around to make it sound like she was doing something before he'd stepped inside, but the gun remained pointed at the doorway from under the throw pillow. Though, to anyone who didn't know her, she looked perfectly relaxed, sprawled out on the couch, a pleasant smile on her face. "Wanna shut and lock the door behind you, sweetums?" Which was definitely a thing she called him all the time, yup.
Liam	... 'Sweetums'? Did she have a head injury? Still, Liam did as she asked and then headed over to the couch, pausing a few feet away. He could probably shield himself from a bullet if he had to, but all told he'd really prefer not to get shot at, especially by the person he was dating, thank you. "Rough night?"
Verity	"Well, Officer, I have had a doozy of a day," Verity drawled, wincing as she shifted and accidentally brushed her ankle against the couch cushions. He was wary and looked confused by the endearment. Good. A shapeshifter wouldn't know that was weird and if the Covenant had gotten to Liam somehow, hopefully he would have played along as a warning. Not that either scenario was likely, but it wasn't paranoia if they were actually out to get you. "You remember that night in China when you woke me up, talking in your sleep?" she asked. "Could you remind me what it was you said? Exactly how you said it?" Give her a lightshow, Liam. Or she was aiming for your kneecap.
Liam	That was an oddly specific request. Which was why she was making it, he realized, a moment later. She was the only other person on the island who knew anything about the Kimera language, so it was less about whether he actually recited the tale in question and more about proving he was who he said he was. So Liam obligingly provided the requested lightshow. When he finished, he spread his hands out, palms-up, in a 'See? It's totally me!' gesture.
Verity	Yeah, she still hadn't really parsed the words he was making when he lit up like that, he could have been complaining about the wee-fee for all she knew. But he knew what she was talking about and complied with her request and proved there and then that he was her Liam. "Hey," she said, sounding more normal and less like she was about to burst into high-pitched giggles and call him cuddlewumps or something. "Damn it's good to see you." She slid her guns out from where they'd been hiding, flipping on the safeties, pulling out the clips, and emptying the chambers in flurry of quick, professional movements. That done, she set them aside and held her hands out to him in greeting. "Thanks for indulging your overly suspicious girlfriend," she said. "But I wasn't kidding when I said it was a hell of a day." Her little dust-up with De Luca hadn't left any marks on her face or hands, but she could feel every punch, every step, and every minute in that fucking snare throughout the rest of her body.
Liam	Truthfully, he'd briefly entertained just listing the first few rules of the game of qaliöl or something, but the weird pet name and the fact that she'd let the mice answer the door meant he wasn't really concerned with being a smartass at that exact moment. "What happened?" he asked, as he sat down (gently) next to her on the couch.
Verity	Verity reached up to rub a tired hand over her face. "Got to update the family records tonight," she said. "Had to tell my dad that the last recorded encounter between my family and a Covenant family known as the De Lucas occurred about ninety minutes ago out on a rooftop in Baltimore. He set some snares. I got caught in one." She gestured to her ankle where a circle of dried blood provided a bright counterpoint to the darkening ring of bruises blooming under her skin. "The Covenant is in my city and he's already made a kill."
Liam	"Well, shit," Liam managed. "Did he say why he's out this way? Random chance, or was he looking for you?" And as for that bruised and bloody ankle, Liam held out a hand, palm down, just over the injury and gave Verity a questioning look. "Want me to fix that?" he checked. He was fairly certain of what the answer would be.
Verity	"Yes." Verity said immediately, only barely remembering to add a "Please?" at the end of that so she wouldn't be rude. But this was her ankle--she'd be no good for either cryptozoology or dancing while it was injured. "The Covenant's decided Baltimore’s ripe for a purge," she added, leaning back against the couch and closing her eyes. A purge. Jesus God, nothing she wanted to think about. "I think he's the only one in town, at least so far, but there’s no guarantee things are going to stay that way."
Liam	Liam was hardly going to rescind the offer just because Verity forgot the 'please'; she had a lot on her mind after all. His palm lit with the energy of the shaqarava and he concentrated on healing the strained muscles and torn skin. That done, he leaned back as well and sighed. "I may not be from your world, but I can guess well enough what a purge means," he said solemnly. "So what's our next move?" Verity's world, yes, but not her burden alone. Whatever she needed him to do, he'd do.
Verity	Verity's soft sigh of relief as the pain in her ankle lessened turned into a sharp groan as she considered his question. "We're going to have to go pay a visit to the bogeyman."
Liam	"The what now?" the term seemed vaguely familiar, in the way most things people typically do or experience in childhood were to Liam.
Verity	"The bogeyman," Verity said. "Well, a bogeyman," she amended. "Dave, of Dave's Fish and Strips. Like almost all bogeymen, he's an information broker of the highest order. The Covenant's in town--Dave probably already knows his name and the last three addresses."
Verity	"Gotcha." So not quite the monster-under-the-bed in the stories from his mother's memories of childhood. Maybe. "That's a terrible name for a club," he couldn't resist adding. "And I say that as someone who used to live someplace called 'The Flat Planet'." But that was neither here nor there. "I'm guessing Dave won't give us this information purely out of the goodness of his heart." Did bogeymen have hearts?
Verity	Oh no, very much the monster-under-the-bed from the stories. Though, honestly, they preferred closets. "It's a strip club," she said with a shrug. "If I hadn't gotten a job on the island, I probably would have ended up working for him." Beat. "As a waitress." Verity danced, but not like that. "And no. I might be able to threaten it out of him? And remind him that the Covenant is no one's friend. But it's a point of cultural pride for bogeymen to get the best bargain."
Liam	Hey, Liam had nothing against how anyone chose to earn a living, and that included stripping. Still, he was selfishly glad Verity had ended up at the Devil's Nest and not there. "So we shake him down and/or pay him off, find out what we can about this De Luca and if he's got friends waiting in the wings, and figure out how to get him out of the picture without attracting the attention of said friends," Liam said. "That about right?"
Verity	Yeah, but stripping would involve her grandma leaving Hell just to come and read her the riot act. And get a fresh supply of grenades, because why waste the trip? "Pretty much, yeah," she said, getting more comfortable against him. And sighed. "He ID'd me. Well, I ID'd myself. I lost my temper. It's hard to remember to play the innocent bystander when you're hanging by one ankle a couple hundred feet above street level."
Liam	Liam reached to put his arm around her shoulders, drawing her even closer. "Which means while we're looking for him, he'll be looking for you."
Verity	"Me and any cryptid he can get his hands on," Verity said, resting her head on his shoulder. "He killed an ahool. In my city! It wasn't doing anything wrong. I mean, eventually, sure, but it hadn't been given the chance." She sighed, burying her face in the fabric of his shirt for one long breath. "But I'm giving him one. Because those are the rules we play by. He gets to kill an ahool and set snares in my city and there's nothing I can do until he does something else." Sometimes she really hated the rules she had to live by. First those serial killer ghouls and now a member of the Covenant got to walk free because of them.
Liam	"But you'll be prepared when he does," Liam countered. "And you know I've got your back. Whatever's happening, we'll deal with it."
Verity	Verity held him a little tighter, snuggled a little closer. "I'm glad you're here," she said. "I mean, I just convinced Antimony not to come out here because Oregon has its own problems but--it's nice to know someone's got my back." Sarah would absolutely watch it, of course, but Cuckoos weren't built for fighting. They were ambush predators and when danger came, all of Sarah's instincts told her to withdraw, stay quiet, and wait until it was safe to come out again.
Liam	"Always," Liam promised, shifting slightly to press a kiss to her temple. "Mind if I stay here tonight?" Sure, the chances of De Luca tracking her back to the island this quickly were fairly slim, but the feeling of vague foreboding was hard to shake.
Verity	"Would you?" Verity asked. "I've got some sweatpants here that belong to Alex that you can wear if you wanna get comfortable." After the other night, Verity might have made a move to make this sleepover a little more...exciting...but after her tussle with De Luca she just wanted warmth and comfort. To be held.
Liam	"Of course," Liam agreed. After a beat, he added, "We might wanna move off the couch, then, I suppose."
Verity	Verity groaned at the thought of moving. Liam had healed her ankle beautifully, but the rest of her still felt like she'd hung upside down for awhile and then had brawled with a dude on a rooftop. "You're making sense but I don't have to like it," she declared. Fucking Covenant.
Liam	"You'll like waking up in a real bed tomorrow morning, though," Liam pointed out, tugging her gently with him as he got up. "Let's go."
Verity	Verity let him pull her up and led him into her room. "And tomorrow we get to do it all again," she murmured. "But hey, at least we get a tomorrow." The ahool wouldn't. And neither would anything else De Luca caught in his snare. And that was all the motivation Verity needed to keep fighting.