InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Did you dream with me?"

the inestimable irene adler . iris thorpe (nightmrholmes) wrote in bellumlogs,
@ 2010-02-20 00:11:00

Entry tags:

big bad wolf, irene adler

Who: Iris & Shane
What: TO THE RESCUE.
Where: The first landing, and the stairs between the first and second floor.
When: About 1 AM.
Warnings: None! Unless there's a bit of foul language, but nothing extravagant.
Notes: I'm so cruel to my characters.

Iris had a long day--though all her days were long. She had experienced even longer days that just dragged on and on while she lived a constructed life and smiled into faces that made her retch on the inside, as if the very life she lived was not just a tool but a cage. Those times, however, always had a light at the end of the tunnel. There would always be a day when she could shed that identity and never go back. Now it seemed as if she had no tunnel, no track, and though there was a light, it was so far off in the distance, sometimes she thought she imagined it. Two part-time jobs meant two eight hour shifts three days a week, and the other four days were eight hours each. The coffee house one was best: she had the midnight shift and sometimes she'd listen to recorded audio lectures of MIT and Standford professors--they uploaded these free on the internet, and Iris didn't have to be a hacker to work a cheap mp3 player.

Today she was bundled in layers of turquoise and vivid mauve, finding some sense of energy in bright colors, so that at least when she caught her reflection in the side of an espresso machine, she didn't have to watch the energy sap out of her. She was on her way up to her apartment (one sad, paltry flight of stairs, a twice daily insult), when three things happened simultaneously: her phone vibrated in her pocket, her gloved hand slid off the polished wood railing, and her sensible heel caught the edge of the step rather than the flat of it.

There was one positively terrifying moment when she put her hand back and all she felt was air. She felt herself beginning to fall, panic rattled her head for one endless second, her other foot went down as all her weight fell sideways on her ankle--and with a muffled shriek of mixed pain and surprise, she tumbled down six stairs and landed hard against the wall on the landing. Her bag flew through the air and landed on the third stair, spilling out her belongings in every direction.

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wolfishane
2010-02-20 04:33 pm UTC (link)

Shane was on the stairs, headed down, when he heard a shriek. It hadn't been a particularly good week, and he was lost in thought over Boyd and what he was going to do to try to fix the situation. The scream did a better job of puncturing those thoughts than anything else could have. He made it down the next flight of stairs in record time, spotting Iris at the bottom as soon as he came around the turn.

He knelt down next to her when he reached her. She looked dazed, but conscious, and her head was up, so at least she hadn't broken that. "Are you alright?" he asked, looking her over for any sort of serious injuries, eyes catching on her ankle and the odd angle it was turned at. Still, if that was the worst of it, she was a lucky woman indeed.

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nightmrholmes
2010-02-20 07:35 pm UTC (link)

The mauve skirt was stretched up above the tangle of knees in black leggings, a gesture toward fashion and practicality rather than modesty, but certainly a boon at the moment considering her revealing position. "I..." she said, trying to make the stars stop exploding in front of her eyes and pull herself together, physically and literally. She unwound her arms from under her body, sat up away from the wall, and winced as she took stock of herself. The rest of the bruises didn't immediately make themselves known, but her ankle certainly did. It screamed at her, demanding notice and care. "I think I twisted my ankle," she gasped, stretching it out before her and forcing herself to breathe slowly. "Done it before, it's weak there." She hoped it wasn't broken--she couldn't pay for a hospital visit.

Iris looked at her rescuer, and while dazed, she was in perfect possession of her usual faculties. Interesting bone structure--extremely thick shoulders. Perhaps a bruiser, a workman, someone used to using his hands. She'd have to listen to some more speech to get a fix on him, but it certainly wasn't New York that she heard. Decent clothing, out of fashion but dressed for the weather. Odd eyes. Ice eyes. "Did I interrupt your climb?" she asked, managing a small smile.

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wolfishane
2010-02-21 01:27 am UTC (link)

When she straightened her leg it became clear that the ankle was beginning to swell, but it didn't look so lumpy or out of shape that she'd likely broken anything. A fracture was still possible, but nothing worse than that. "Most likely," he said, looking back up to her face.

"Not at all," he said, smiling slightly. "Do you think you can stand on it?" He shifted his weight so that he could help her up if she said yes. Otherwise, he'd get to add another woman to the tally of those he'd carried around the building injured in the last few weeks.

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nightmrholmes
2010-02-21 02:52 am UTC (link)

"Unless I'm going to spend the night here." Clearly this was not an option, so, after glancing aside to see if he was willing to assist, she took his arm and gained her feet. Foot. The bad one elicited a wince and an immediate shift back to the other side. "Well. Shit," she said, succinctly. She had two shifts to work tomorrow, and how she was going to pay rent at the end of the week without the work, she had no idea.

Awkwardly, she hopped a little so that she could catch herself on the railing and retrieve her bag. The false bottom had come loose and the little packet of lockpicks had fallen out--along with a compact, her wallet, loose change, a cheap cell phone, a pocket knife, a small palm-sized book with a black cover, a discarded earring, a gold bracelet of fine chain, three bottles that were labeled as various consumer lotions, and a scattering of feminine things.

She winced as her ankle wobbled at each hop.

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wolfishane
2010-02-21 05:09 am UTC (link)

Shane helped her up, then gathered her things from the ground so she wouldn't have to bend to pick them up, putting them back into her purse. He didn't pause when he saw the packet of lock picks, just ran his eyes over them like they were as innocuous as the compact and put them in her purse along with everything else. This woman was a more than she seemed on first glance.

When everything was off the floor, he wrapped an arm loosely around her. "Lean as much as you like, you're not going to knock me over," he said. "Going up?"

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nightmrholmes
2010-02-21 05:18 am UTC (link)

She too was casual enough about the lockpicks. It was hard to tell if she even knew what they were, or would have noticed if they were not there. The pain in her ankle was tremendous, if her tight expression was any judge. She took him at his word and leaned most of her weight on his arm as they gained the first step. "I'm just on the second floor," she said, voice tight and trying not to gasp as she tried to walk, failed, and went for a hop to gain the next step.

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	wolfishane 2010-02-21 05:21 am UTC (link)
	He took each step slowly, giving her ample time to hop up. "Glad it's not far," he said. "We could have tried the elevator, but the damn thing never works." Climbing down five sets of stairs because the elevator dropped them at the wrong floor was much worse than struggling up one. "Mind if I ask your name?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

nightmrholmes
2010-02-21 05:55 am UTC (link)

Ah yes, the pesky elevator. She'd read a lot on the forums about it. Iris did her research. "Oh, of course, should have introduced myself, shouldn't I?" There was a touch of British there--or perhaps Irish? "I'm Iris," she told him, absurdly pleased to be using her real name despite the pain of the meeting. "I appreciate your help, Mr. ...?" she trailed off, fishing for a name.

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	wolfishane 2010-02-21 06:10 am UTC (link)
	"Marion," he said. "Shane. I would say it's good to meet you, but the circumstances probably could have been better. Are you new in the building?" The name was unfamiliar to him. Then again, his scope had been fairly limited of late to a few particular tenants instead of the building at large. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

nightmrholmes
2010-02-21 06:23 am UTC (link)

They made it to the landing, which Iris was desperately grateful for, and then they went all the way down to the end of the hall, where 206 was. He was desperately polite, which Iris liked. Nice, polite handsome man to help her down to her door when she did the stupidest thing she'd done in a long time. "Very new," she said, stretching her residence of several weeks generously. "Interesting place. Have you been here long, Mr. Marion?" Definitely Irish.

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	wolfishane 2010-02-21 06:28 am UTC (link)
	"Over a year," he said. "Interesting is a good word for it." There was a touch of dry humor in that. She had no idea. He picked up on the accent but didn't comment on it, not directly, anyway. "Where did you move here from?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

nightmrholmes
2010-02-21 06:43 am UTC (link)

Well, well. Shane might be surprised. Research meant several hours reading back on forum posts that happened before her time. Bellum Letale was a busy little gin joint, that's for sure. The oh-so-slightly affected accent would do for right now; she didn't need to lay it on too thickly, nor did she need a complex backstory. Her intent right now was trust, and speech, like body-language, was an adequate tool to enhance both. "Not around here, that's for sure," she said, easily. "Chicago, for a time." She didn't get too specific about what was before Chicago.

"Here we are. My key is in my bag, would you mind--thank you." And with his help, she dug her free hand into the front pocket and found her key ring. Carefully, she disentangled her arm from around his neck, balancing on one foot. "Thank you so much for your help," she said, earnestly, softening up the vowel in Gallway's style, not too much. Not a native then, unless she hadn't been there in a long time.

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wolfishane
2010-02-21 06:52 am UTC (link)

He listened to every syllable, attention sharpened exponentially by the mention of Chicago. He had a hard time writing that off as coincidence--then again, he was sort of paranoid. Maybe it was nothing. He helped her fish her key out of her bag, and listened again to the very light accent. It was hard to tell whether she'd done some traveling or it had just been a long time since she'd been back.

"Not at all," he said. As he puzzled out the accent he was also trying to identify the scent that hung around her. It was odd, musky and unique, and he couldn't quite equate it to anything else he'd come across. "Try not to walk on it for a while, if you can help it."

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nightmrholmes
2010-02-21 07:09 am UTC (link)

That scent wouldn't ever be found anywhere but where Iris was, and where Iris had been. Enjoy it, Shane. It's a unique experience.

Her expression became rueful. "I'll work something out with my boss. I really needed those hours, too." She sighed, deeply, a touch of fatigue creasing the edges of her eyes, but then she purposefully brightened up. "Oh well. Just another day." There was no Chicago in her speech; not that she couldn't put it there, but because she kept it out quite purposefully.

She put her hand on the door as she unlocked it, leaning and looking over her shoulder at him. Clearly she did not intend to invite him in, but she didn't want to seem rude either. Her gratitude was obvious. "Nice to meet you, in the circumstances." She smiled and brushed her hand over his elbow. The musky, alluring smell got stronger.

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	wolfishane 2010-02-21 07:20 am UTC (link)
	The light touch and subtle cascade of scent that accompanied it were enough to stop him in his tracks for a few seconds, thoughts grinding to a stop. "Hopefully they'll be better the next time we meet," he said, after a slightly too-long pause. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	nightmrholmes 2010-02-21 07:27 am UTC (link)
	"Unless I go head over arse down the stairs again, they can't be!" she returned, laughing. Iris pushed open the door, caught the edge of the wall, and hobbled into her apartment, not showing more than a sliver of bare entryway wall before slipping inside. She gave him another melting smile before she shut the door, and wished him good night. Click, went the lock. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

wolfishane
2010-02-21 07:33 am UTC (link)

What an interesting woman.

His opinion of her had turned about 180 degrees since finding her at the bottom of the stairs. Initially, she'd seemed normal, average. Now, based on her accent, her lockpicks, her professed move from Chicago, and that odd, musky scent, he'd be hard pressed to pin her as anything less than intriguing.

Now it was just a matter of figuring out whether that was a positive of a negative thing.

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