waves that swallow quick and deep

[stauncherhearted]

oh no, it's another catch-all for Shea's characters!
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Early-July, Cooper

[stauncherhearted]

Things were strange. Extremely strange. Nancy was moving in with Kyle when he returned from his trip, she'd helped remove Norrell- and Childermass- from the board, and strangest of all? She had a boyfriend. A handsome boyfriend who spent the night (or early morning, really) regularly, kissed her when she wanted him to, and other then the time he nearly sent a client through the wall? Hadn't had any awful bouts of jealousy that she'd witnessed.

Things were, considering, pretty decent.

This afternoon, a sunny early July day, Nancy whipped together a picnic basket, a blanket, and informed Cooper in no uncertain terms that they were going on a picnic for lunch. She loved watching him in the sun, and spending time with him in public had a great ring to it. Taking his hand, she lead the way from her Enfield home to the nearest, prettiest park and laid down their blanket. Kicking her shoes off, Nancy sat on the edge of the blanket, her sundress tucked neatly around her, sunglasses obscuring her eyes.

"It's gorgeous, isn't it?" She asked her companion, never taking her eyes off of him, even as she pulled out a bottle of wine and two glasses from the picnic basket.

Of course she brought wine- who do you think she is?

.

[emotioneater]

Cooper was in a relationship. This probably came as a surprise to everyone, but no more so than to the vampire himself. Relationships had just never worked out for him: he was too young, or too old, or just too something to make any relationship he'd ever gotten into work out for him. And the last time he'd been seriously considering anyone had been when James Dean was still alive and making movies.

But Nancy was different. She knew exactly who and what he was, the same way he knew the same thing about her. There was no hiding with each other, which he loved. He could be himself around her. And the fact she was extremely pretty didn't hurt matters at all either.

So when she'd suggested a picnic, he'd readily agreed. He'd even dressed in clothes that were neither worn nor torn for the occasion, wearing a clean white T-shirt and jeans on the bright sunny day. He twisted the daylight ring around his finger as he sat down, another tangible reminder of Nancy. "Beautiful day." He put his hand over her's, squeezing gently. He was a very lucky vampire.

[stauncherhearted]

Two glasses of wine are poured, and she hands him one. It was nice, she decided then and there. Doing something incredibly mundane with someone she cared about. Honestly, it was nice to get a little stability in her life, between, well- between everything. The past year had been seemingly non-stop.

His hand is cold, and she turns hers, so that she can properly hold his. It's the simplest thing in the world, but it's something she never really did. Holding hands wasn't for girls like her. Boyfriends weren't for girls like her.

Well, now they were.

"Isn't it?" She said, trying not to take for granted that Cooper hadn't been out in the daylight in hundreds of years. "I thought it'd be a good one for something like this." She holds her glass out for a small clink. "It's nice to get out, stop spending so much time in our flats." Which reminded her... She needed to tell him she was moving. At least, half-moving.

And about Kyle's bloody 'no vampires' rule. Honesty, she thought boyfriends should be an exception.

[emotioneater]

"Cheer, darling." He clinked his glass against her's, taking a sip of wine. It was the little things in life that he had to look forward to. Drinking wine in the bright sunlight with a pretty girl by his side was definitely one of them. He scooted just a few inches closer to Nancy so that their shoulders were just barely touching.

"Bah, my flat is no place t'be since Jean-Claude's bright idea to take over Southwark." That had imploded in spectacular fashion and Cooper was still sour about the fact that the territory was still in the hands of the Daybreak witches. He wouldn't be himself if he wasn't complaining about something or another.

[stauncherhearted]

At the very mention of her least-favorite vampire in all of London, Nancy made a face. "He's full of them, isn't he?" She punctures it with a sip of her wine.

"Enfield's so far out of the way, though," she tells him with a sigh. "Which... I've been wanting to talk to you about, Cooper." She looks up at him through her sunglasses. "A while back, my friend offered me a place to stay. A secondary home, really. They think it will help me stay safe." Especially if Cooper was able to find her so quickly. Nothing against him, but her former landlord... That was a problem.

Mid-July, Faolan

[stauncherhearted]

Nancy's heels echoed on the pavement as she made her way from the Bethnal Green tube stop. She had no real destination in mind- somewhere populated enough where she was bound to find work. It was harder to work now- less to stop vampires from draining her dry. But she put her trust in them, when she gave them her veins. But business was also drier now, for that same reason. Why pay when you could eat for free?

Good thing her business wasn't only in blood.

Short skirt, hair pulled up and piled onto her head, Nancy had the idea to stop by one of the local, shady pubs. She knew the types that populated those bars, and they were just the type of people she wanted to see. Or, rather, needed to see. Then it would be home to Cooper. Cooper, who she knew hated her work.

But that was a conversation for another time.

A lone figure stood out to her, as she turned a corner. He seemed to be loitering some, and that was enough for Nancy. Wearing the same mask she always did for this sort of work, she approached him, hand on her hip. "You look like you could use some company."

[reticence]

Faolan looks up from his drink. It's true that he's been lingering there for a while. Part of it's because he's on the hunt for any vampire that should happen to even think of acting out. Part of it is really just that he needs the drink that he's nursing in addition to stalking the vampires in the place besides.

It takes him a moment to pull things together and recognize her. Partially because he's been drinking, yes. But also partially because he does know her, and never in his wildest dreams would he have dreamed that she'd be approaching him like this. He's pretty certain that she didn't know who he was, when she did. At least, he figures that given their last interaction, she wouldn't be greeting him like that if she'd recognized him.

Rather than giving her any sort of verbal response, Faolan merely raises one eyebrow at her in silent question.

[stauncherhearted]

Silence, okay, she's used to that. Maybe he didn't hear her over the din of the bar. "Sir?" She asked politely, taking another step forward. It's then that she realizes who he is, in the darkness.

Instantly, she stops in her tracks.

"Shit," Nancy swears under her breath. God damn it, Faolan. Dubhan, whatever the fuck he is. She hasn't been drinking- okay, no, that's a lie. She's nearly always drinking, says the flask in her purse that happens to be connected to the bottle of gin in her cupboard. Never runs empty until that bottle does. Handy little item, truth be told.

"Forget I asked." Terse, her lips pursed. She added, because she could, and she was a teenager still: "Dick."

[reticence]

Faolan narrows his eyes at her again. While he does feel like he deserves some of the treatment he's gotten from her, there comes a certain point where he can't help but feel as though he's being treated rather unfairly, all things considered. Sure, he quit his job and because Kenzi didn't have a bodyguard she wound up a vampire. He didn't make her into a vampire, though. He didn't kill Nancy's friend. One didn't automatically spell the other.

"Can it be you've forgotten me so readily?" Faolan has to ask, and he does a surprisingly good job of keeping a straight face as he does.

[stauncherhearted]

Nancy wanted- no, she needed someone to blame. Sure, she blamed herself enough for it all- if she hadn't been in trouble, Kenzi wouldn't have gone looking for an answer.

"Fuck off," she tells him. "I didn't recognize you in the light." It's the only reason she'd approach him relatively kindly, and she was doing a damn good job trying to make up for the introduction.

Early-July, Eames

[stauncherhearted]

They'd done it. Holy fucking shit, they had done it. Norrell and Childermass were gone, and she'd been the one to help. Without her, they'd still be here. Did she feel bad? Well... Yes. In the end, Norrell had tried to help her. But the damage he'd done to her sisters, her friends, the family she'd chosen was unrepairable, and it had to be stopped. Besides, Eames had asked for a favor.

And she owed him for everything he'd done for her. And you know what? She'd do it again.

She knew she wasn't out of the woods yet. Until the investigation was officially over, she knew there was a possibility she would be a suspect. So she'd been laying low. But that didn't mean there wasn't cause for celebration.

When Eames arrives, she's already got them each a glass of wine poured, and an eager cat waiting for hugs from one of her favorite people. "Eames!" She greets him with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Hullo!" The second she's done hugging him, she hands him a glass of wine. It's cheap wine, the sort she can regularly afford.

She shuts the door behind him, giving them their privacy.

[falsify]

Well he accepts the hug, though Eames doesn't exactly reciprocate, (think of it as a compliment, he doesn't feel the need to pretend he's someone who does all that,) and takes the glass with a smile. There's not as much of a difference between this and the expensive stuff as people would have you think anyway, so it's not like he cares.

"Evening," he says by way of greeting, and when the door's closed Eames raises his glass in a toasting gesture, "and congratulations."

There's no way he could've pulled this off without Nancy, certainly not so seamlessly at any rate. They should still be cautious, of course, but fuck. They did it.

[stauncherhearted]

She always forgets. Too bad she's a big hugger of people she cares about, Eames.

She gestures for him to take a seat. She raises her own glass, a flush coloring her cheeks. "Hush- you had just as much to do with it as I did." She just planted it there.

[falsify]

"And if you think I haven't congratulated myself, Nancy, I'd have to question whether you really know me." Himself and quite a few people, not that they knew what congratulations were in order for, but it was a good week anyway.

Not that Nancy needs to hear about all that.

He sits as directed and huffs a small laugh when a cat immediately hops onto his lap to make herself comfortable, and he dutifully gives her all the chin scratches she can handle. "Either way, it's done."

[stauncherhearted]

"I do know you, that's what worries me. But I haven't given you my
congratulations." She looked at him cheekily.

"it's done and we're free of both of them. Thank god for that- Childermass didn't trust me and did all he could to discredit me. We've just got to wait out the investigation..." which... "I need an alibi."

Early July

[knightscode]

Lancelot is in a difficult situation.

Gilbert Norrell had very obvious enemies, very obvious groups that disliked him, and Lancelot doesn't want to stereotype or paint people with a broad brush of assumption but those people are the most likely suspects.

Both the Fae and Circle Midnight had every reason to dislike Gilbert Norrell and want him gone. The problem was, he'd already fallen from grace. Gilbert Norrell had been losing power.

Why still attack him?

It didn't quite add up.

The investigation is slow going and cautious. Nobody wants to point a finger of blame in the wrong direction and stir things up, especially not the Night Council. It could be a political nightmare if they stepped wrong. But the fact of the matter was, the fae at least were still suspects.

As was someone else.

Nancy isn't the easiest person to find, because Lancelot has no idea where she lives. He does, however, know what she does for a living -- and that makes narrowing it down a little easier. Not that he suspects she'll appreciate being interrupted at work, but he can't help that.

He's dressed down for the night, trying not to stand out -- all faded jeans and a short sleeved shirt in the summer heat. It's luck as much as anything that he finally tracked her down, because somehow he doesn't expect she'd agree to meet him willingly if he'd tried.

It would be suspicious. It should be.

Lancelot offers her a smile and tilts his head questioningly, hoping to silently encourage her over and that she won't bolt.

Re: Early July

[stauncherhearted]

Nancy knows it's a real possibility she'll be a suspect. she's nineteen and she's been a criminal for fourteen of those years. She knows how this sort of thing works and she's prepared for it. Eames got her an alibi and it was air tight.

what she didn't expect, however, was to be approached at work. Approached by not only a member of the council, but a police officer. and approached by a friend at that. Seeing him, she knows deep down what it's about.

But she can lie with the best of them.

Bidding the man she was speaking with a goodbye, she carefully approached Lance. "Hey," she says with a smile. "What's going on?" Super casual. Super casual. "Haven't seen you for a while. No Lily?" she tries not to look too disappointed.

[knightscode]

He wrinkles his nose at that, shrugs slightly.

"It's been a busy month. Lily's hiding in the kitchen. She has a lot of fur and it's very hot at the moment. Kitchen tiles are cool. I might take her for a trim if the heat keeps up."

Which is true enough, although he isn't entirely sure how well she'll take to that. Possibly about as well as she takes to having a bath. He shoves one hand into his pocket and gestures vaguely over his shoulder with the other, lofting an eyebrow questioningly.

"Do you have five minutes?"

Or ten, depending.

[stauncherhearted]

Nancy shakes her head. "poor girl. I could see about some sort of cooling potion, if you wanted." butter him up a bit, why not.

she glances up at him. "Sure- I'm between customers anyway. What's up?" Still as casual as can be.

a pause. "if this is about your party, I'm sorry I caused a scene." Not about what she said, though.

[knightscode]

"Something she would have to taken? She's not very good at taking medicine."

Unless he could mix it. Could you mix potions? Would it make it do something else? He brushes off the through, begins to walk and gestures for her to follow.

"It isn't about that. It's fine, I expected that not everyone would get along. I suppose I should have planned better to avoid it, but it's too late to worry about it now. Nobody was hurt, so it could have been a lot worse. Well, although Faolan did have a terrible hangover if it makes you feel better."

late July, for Natasha

[freelife]

Fuck it. Fuck it. Things were going from bad to worse, and Evie had no one to turn to. Jacob wasn't somewhere she could easily get a hold of him, and she didn't really want him to gloat about what she'd always considered his greatest fault: the fact that she'd acted hastily. Usually, Evie looked at every single angle before making a move. But with Millicent, she'd been rash, and gone in with guns blazing.

Or, well, stakes flying, as it were.

She didn't strike the killing blow. That was all on Alex. But she'd helped take out a guard, given Alex valuable information and items that she couldn't have successfully completed her mission without. She was an accomplice.

That wasn't what upset her, though. She'd killed thousands of people, some worse than Millicent, others far better. She'd make the same decision, if it came down to it, because it had been the right thing to do. But now, they were sitting here with Raymond Harris.

The fear in the city, that was her fault. She was seeing the city she loved and cared for for over a hundred years tear itself apart with fangs and claws. The people she swore to protect were afraid of "gang violence". And she had no one to talk to about it.

No one, save Natasha.

Which was why, with a bottle of fine whisky in hand, she knocked on Natasha's door one evening, hoping the other woman was in. "It's Evie, may I come in?" Vampires didn't need invitations from other vampires. But it was polite. And Evie was nothing if not polite.

[outstandingbalance]

It's Evie's luck that Natasha's in. Luck, and timing—this time of year she can't leave early. Not without taking special care. And while she hates to admit it, she tends not to wake up until sundown, or close to it. She's awake when Evie arrives, but she hasn't been for long. She answers the door without makeup, still in a camisole and shorts, looking a little fresh from bed.

Her eyes go from Evie's face to the bottle and then back again before she steps aside, making room for the other woman to come it.

"Make yourself at home," she says. "I wasn't expecting company though. Everything okay?"

[freelife]

"I've woken you." Natasha, she notes, is stunning without makeup. "I can come back another time. I wouldn't want to bother you." She probably wants to wake up not drink whisky.

"I was hoping we could talk." But she needed to know she could trust her, first. Standing in the entrance hall, she gave a small smile. "But if can wait." She'd draft an email to Jacob, perhaps, all the same. Leave out certain details, and not press send. Probably delete the whole damn thing, truthfully.

"Or I could make you coffee." She liked coffee when she first woke up, which, truthfully, was in the morning. With her daylight ring, it was easier to keep a human schedule. Though she did sleep in a bit later and stay up far later than your average human.

A modified schedule, then.

[outstandingbalance]

"I was awake. Not for long, but..." Natasha tips her head slightly, pointing with her chin for the other woman to take the invitation. "It's fine."

She smiles then, reassuringly. It's clear that the other woman has a lot on her mind, and Natasha can't say what. In their line of work, it's rare to see someone get visibly flustered about something, and while Evie isn't doing so bad, she's still clearly uncomfortable.

"Coffee sounds good. I'll take my whiskey in it. You can have it straight. How's that sound?"

[freelife]

"I can do that." She makes her way into the kitchen. She'd been there before and knew the way.

She actually starts to work on coffee for Natasha- it gives her something to do and makes her feel better about interrupting the other girl's (relative) morning. Evie sets the whisky down on the counter.

Once the coffee is brewed she pours Natasha a big mug, and adds a healthy heaping of whisky before doing the same for herself. Then, she sits at the table. "Natasha?" she asks, looking at her dead in the eyes. "I need to know if I can trust you."