Anklebiters (Feb open post)

[wolfmarked]

Why do you care what people think?
Department store, early February

"No. No, no, no. Also no."

To say that Skip is picky is... Well. It's very accurate. But Lupercalia with a new pack isn't exactly an every day occurrence. What she does and what she wears there will get back to her father, so she actually has to put some thought into all of it. Even if she'd rather just ignore everything that happens in the middle of February.

"Purple and gold, maybe?" she says, half to herself and half to whatever poor person might be walking too close.


Try to remember how it felt
Jolly Roger, all February

On the clock, Skip has only two settings. She is either excessively friendly or incredibly short-tempered. The usual good will of her as a bartender is sorely lacking, and woe to the person who implies that anything related to her being female has any bearing on the situation. Women are given proper service with a fair amount of friendliness, but men are singled out more than usual as either targets of her rage or objects of her interest. In the bar itself and in the back room.

"'Nother round?" she asks, stopping at a customer to collect what's empty.


Fall in love with yourself
Coffee shop, mid February

February and Skip simply do not get along. She's on edge far more than usual, especially when out and about. And being out with her sketchpad, sitting at a table by the window. It's deceptively warm with the sun pouring in.

The drawing she's working on is of a skeleton, laying back against a bush. Thorns have encircled the ribs, and, in the center of his chest, there is a single rose where the heart should be.

Skip sips her coffee as she sketches in details.


The only one you've got
Simon's flat, February 17th -- closed to Simon

Lupercalia is done. Valentine's Day is over. And Skip can finally start pretending that this month doesn't exist. She still hates February, yes, but at least it's almost done.

So, after a bit of warning -- mostly to make sure they're alone -- she's at the door, holding a bottle of vodka and dressed in an blue ombre cocktail dress.


A broken mirror to reflect
North Pole, late February

Dressed in thigh-high tights and a skirt that barely covers the top of them, Skip is completely at home in the noise of the club.

Tonight, she has only one goal: not going home alone. Maybe not going home at all.

With the music pounding in her ears, she sways to the beat and moves from partner to partner on the dancefloor. The more eyes she can get on her, the better.

When she does take a break from dancing, she stays close to the bar, leaning against it and making sure her cup stays full.

Comments

[wolfmarked]

"A redhead in red? Y' don' say."

She has plenty of red in her wardrobe. After all, it's perfectly fine if you know how to wear it. But she knows that American accent.

"'Sides, plenty of people're gonna be wearin' red. So definitely not."

[akillersmile]

"Green seemed too cliche," he defends himself, giving a light shrug. He crosses his arms as he watches her, exaggerating how casual this all is so she has no reason to worry about an attack or anything as stupid as that. Except she doesn't even look at him.

Kyle straightens and grabs a nice black and gold dress from nearby, eyeballing her size to guess. He steps up behind her and puts the dress in front, emulating every cheesy romance film ever made and not caring in the slightest.

"Big plans?"

[wolfmarked]

"Black's fittin'," she mutters under her breath, but she is at least considering it. And actually takes the hanger to look at it more closely. "Got a party t' go to."

Which she is not thrilled about, and she won't pretend otherwise.

"Haven' gotten yourself killed yet, huh? Guess that's a good thing. You're dumb. But you're cute."

[akillersmile]

Kyle hands off the hanger and steps around her to admire the dress. Not wanting to be in the way of the mirror, he moves off to the side a little and leans there instead. A half dozen questions fly through his mind at the mention of a party, but he knows better than to admit too much ignorance with her.

"Thanks. You're not bad yourself." No use in being coy. Kyle lowers his voice to ensure they're not overheard, but that's about all the consideration she's getting. "I'm mostly up to speed. Your boyfriend said you could tell me more about werewolves though."

[wolfmarked]

Skip stops, stares at him for a moment, shakes her head, starts to speak, stops. Then, she holds up a hand in a 'wait a moment' gesture, takes a deep breath, and lets it out.

"My boyfriend?"

Yes. That is the most important part of that sentence.

[akillersmile]

Kyle chuckles at the question, not at all put off by her surprise. They can get to the more important parts later, if ever. At least she's not completely dismissing him again.

"Yeah, the way he said it, I'm pretty sure even he knew it was a lie. It's cute though. I can see it."

[wolfmarked]

"He fuckin' better," Skip mutters, eyes narrowed. "Who th' fuck was it? So I know whose ass t' kick."

Because, oh, whoever it is? They're dead. Not literally. As much as she'd like that. But she'll make sure that mistake doesn't happen again.

[akillersmile]

"Come on. You can't tell me you're going to kick his ass and then turn around and ask who. I happen to like the guy." He flashes a smile. "Like I said, it's cute."

Kyle straightens from the wall, stepping forward to close most of the distance between them. He grabs the dress she was eyeing before and holds it up in front of the black and gold. "I think you're right about the purple. So what's it like being a werewolf?"

[wolfmarked]

Skip takes the purple dress from him and holds it in her other hand, opposite the black, then offers a bit of a smile. "Well, how 'bout I try 'em both on? You tell me what you think, yeah?"

Not like she has anything better to do. And she needs to forget about that whole 'boyfriend' thing anyway.

"An' I'll answer your questions. Startin' with explainin' that there are two kinds of werewolves."

[akillersmile]

Kyle gives a nod to her proposition. Once she follows it up with actual information, he smiles again, turning to gesture for her to lead the way to the fitting room.

"I'm all yours. For now, at least." Once she's inside and changing, he loiters just outside the room, ignoring an odd glance from a salesperson. "'Two kinds.' I'm listening."

[wolfmarked]

"Activated and not."

Her tone's even while she changes, but she does keep it low. The black one first, she decides in the dressing room, and it's easy enough to slip into.

"Active ones transform every full moon."

She steps out and does a slow turn, letting him take a look at it.

[akillersmile]

Kyle's brow furrows with the information, frustrated at his ignorance all over again. He hides it the second he hears the curtain opening, settling the smile onto his face again. At the sight of her, he raises an eyebrow and reaches out to stop her halfway into her second turn, letting his eyes run the length of her body.

"That's hot," he admits easily. "How does a werewolf get activated?"

[wolfmarked]

"Kill a livin' person," she replies as she smiles at him before turning and going back into the fitting room.

"Unactivated don' change. Pretty much just normal humans."

She slips the black off and the purple on and... Well.

"Damn." Somehow, she just doesn't sound too irritated. The door opens, and she pulls her hair to one side, presenting her back to him, with the dress unzipped.

"Help me out, huh?"

[akillersmile]

Kyle tenses at the reveal, suddenly wondering what makes werewolves any better than vampires. When he speaks again, his voice a little of that lighthearted quality he prides himself on. "How many people do they kill after that?"

His smile has disappeared when she returns out, though he doesn't really look angry or scared either. Kyle gently reaches out to zip up her dress, letting his hand linger longer than necessary on the small of her back. Then he gives her a little space to spin around again. "And which one are you?"

[wolfmarked]

"Depends. Most packs, they don' kill many. Some run wild. Ain' any different than humans who decide t' start killin'."

Just a little messier for their friends and family who had to help clean up after the full moon. His hand makes her smirk a bit, and she doesn't seem the least bit phased as she turns around to let him get a look at her again.

"An' I'm unactivated. Never gonna activate it either."

[akillersmile]

She has a point. A disturbed and ridiculous point, but a good one none the less. Kyle frowns at her to make a silent statement of such before he nods at the dress, forcing his mood to lighten again as best he can. Not quite smiling, but not tense either.

"They don't need to kill to survive," he says as a point of clarification, a question without exactly asking. "Which is it for you? You don't want to kill or you don't want to be a wolf?"

Kyle glances down and back up, admiring her again. No reason he can't multitask. "This one's more you, as long as you have someone to unzip you at the end of the night."

[wolfmarked]

"No, but unactivated wolves are helpless. Our senses aren't any better, we aren't any stronger or faster. We can be turned into vampires. Activate your curse? That all changes."

Her own smile fades a bit as she says it. Because it's not a topic she can joke about, and that's part of why she hates talking about it. Still, at least he's finally asking questions instead of just playing the cowboy.

"My life goes t' shit if I activate it," she says without sounding too bothered. After all, it's simply how it works. She wouldn't get to worry about never working a day in her life she didn't want to if that happened.

But there are better things to think about. Like that last remark. Which makes her lips twist into a bit of a smirk. "Y'know, I'm usually pretty able t' find someone, but... ain' anyone signed up for it yet."

[akillersmile]

"Humans aren't helpless," he counters. He understands that an unactivated werewolf is helpless compared to an activated one, but like hell he's going to let her play that card when she's saying she's on the same level as him. "They just need time, training, and the fuckin' nerve. I'm pretty sure you have the last one and the other two shouldn't be too hard."

He wants to know more about her life specifically and why it should matter, but there's something about the almost sadness in the way she says it that stops him from prying for the moment. Instead, he gives her another smile, more sincere this time. "I'm sure you'll find someone."

[wolfmarked]

"Humans can kill in self defense," Skip points out, looking over her shoulder. "Unactivated wolves? Can't. Unless they want to activate and transform at the next full moon. It doesn't even require intent. Accidental kill? Counts jus' th' same."

Which is an important point, to her. If she gets cornered, she has to be very careful about how she protects herself. If she pushes someone in front of a train? Everything she enjoys in life is gone.

But that's far too serious. And this? Should be fun. So she makes herself smile -- still more of a smirk, really -- as she tilts her head and looks at him. "'M sure I will. After all, half the fun of gettin' all dressed up is gettin' someone t' help you get undressed."

[akillersmile]

Kyle's brow furrows before he tilts his head in admission of her point. It's one thing to fight when you can kill, and another entirely when you can't. Especially with an accidental kill. Still, there are plenty of humans out there who can't kill for religious reasons or because they're scared shitless to or whatever else and most of them manage alright. He wonders if being a werewolf naturally makes her a target.

"You should live with someone who can protect you," he says finally. Truth it, Kyle's at a bit of a loss about it, but his time in the military taught him to trust his brothers in arms above all else and if Skip can't kill, hopefully she has her own people to rely on to have her back. "Maybe they can help with your dress too."

[wolfmarked]

"'S why we have packs. Those who can protect those who can't."

Especially women who are of an age and health to give birth to children. Not that she's going to actually say that. It's something an outsider definitely doesn't need to know. That kind of thing is personal.

"An', 'sides, I'll be married eventually anyway. T' someone in a pack. 'Til then, I get t' have some fun."

[akillersmile]

Kyle plants a hand on the edge of the dressing room just behind her, bringing them a hint closer together. He's learned a lot about werewolves and Skip isn't being the demon he was in their first meeting. In fact, she's actually quite fun and that's something he kind of misses having more of in his life.

"You don't waste any time," he chuckles, straightening from the pose just to tease her. "Be careful tonight."

[wolfmarked]

"'M always careful," she says, flashing him a truly wolfish grin before she ducks back into the dressing room, taking her time with changing.

From inside, she offers, "And any time you wanna tag along an' keep me safe, well. I wouldn' say no."

[akillersmile]

Kyle smirks as she disappears back into the dressing room. Skip makes it too easy to forget how serious and fucked up all this shit actually is. It's refreshing. He waits patiently for her, crossing his arms and playing the part of the gentleman. Or something. He can't help but try to sneak a casual glance from his angle, though the curtain unfortunately obstructs his view.

"Give me your number. Maybe I'll take you up on that."

[wolfmarked]

"Sure."

Skip actually pauses in dressing -- skirt on, shirt on but not buttoned -- to root around in her purse and find a pen and an old receipt. So, she jots her number down on that. Then, she goes to the curtain and opens it just a bit to offer the piece of paper.

While half-heartedly holding her shirt together with one hand so just one turquoise bra strap is visible, along with a bit of her stomach.

"So I don' forget later."