Baily Bale (baily_bale) wrote in btvsal, @ 2010-01-24 11:59:00 |
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Current location: | Bus Station |
Current mood: | awake |
Entry tags: | baily bale, brennan bale, place: la |
Pick Up
Who: Baily and Brennan
Where: Bus Station
When: Saturday, Jan. 16th
He had an old Army-issued duffel bag hooked over one shoulder, packed with literally all the possessions Brennan Bale owned. While no one had made any specific plans regarding him, the lycan had stayed in touch with David, his sister, and Baily. Although he hadn't sent letters within the last 6 months, but...he was kind of busy tracking down members of the Coyote pack who had killed Lauren. When word got back to Brennan that the Bales had relocated to L.A....well, he thought one of them could put him up for the duration of his stay while he sussed out the current werewolf he was tracking.
The last any of his family members had seen him, Brennan was a rather happy, quiet individual, full of an idea that probably went against lycan nature. These past 6 months seemed to be concrete evidence to him to the fact that Brandon had tried to show him years ago. Sighing, Brandon pulled out the dog-eared and worn photograph of himself and Lauren, a picturesque view behind them and waited for someone to pick him up.
Baily had been called and asked to pick up Brennan from the bus station. Now, that was probably the last thing she had expected. She had stayed in touch with him after he basically ran away from the family, but he seemed happy where he was. She had stopped hearing from him for a while, so she figured he was busy. She was quite surprised at the Brennan that she saw, though. "Hey, Brennan," she said, coming up to him. Wow, he had changed.
Despite being dressed in his fleece lined denim jacket, simple t-shirt, jeans, and work boots, Brennan was nearly identical to Brandon. However, when he'd been around his family, his features had a soft, naive look to them. Now...His expression was a hardened mask, containing the rage and sorrow he felt, although a guilt seemed to peek through briefly as he hastily slipped the photograph back into the inner front pocket of his jacket.
"Baily..." He said quietly and forced a small smile on his face, the duffel bag slipped to the ground, next to the guitar case leaning against his leg. Probably the only thing he had in common with his twin. Brennan moved to give the younger Bale a hug.
Baily gave him a quick hug back. Really, she wasn't the most huggy type out there, although she would do it. Plus, Brennan kind of looked like he needed a hug. Something had definitely happened to him while he was gone. "So, you're the last person I expected to show up in LA." Then she thought of her sister. "OK, maybe the second to last, but still. Kind of surprised to see you. Glad, but surprised."
Brennan was a little glad and surprised he was here, too. Other than to deal with the business of revenge, the lycan hadn't thought he'd miss his family as much as he was at that moment. He chuckled a little, moving to pick up the duffel bag and guitar case, "You're not the only one."
Baily smiled at him. "So, what are your plans for LA, anyway?" she asked him as she lead him to her car.
Brennan shrugged as he put his stuff in the backseat of Baily's car, "I miss you guys and wanted to come see you after I heard you all were in L.A." He looked away, watching the streets before turning his attention back to his cousin and admitted, "And...it's time to put my differences aside with Brandon." Out of all his family, Brennan missed his twin the most.
"Now that's the truth," Baily told him. "It's time for us to stop arguing with each other." Of course, now she was no longer on speaking terms with her mother, but that was because she told her her sister was dead when she was just embarrassed that she didn't have the ability to shift.
He got into the car with Baily and after a while asked, "So...second to last person you expected?"
"Found out that my little sister was actually alive and not dead from a car accident like I was told," Baily said, keeping her eyes on the road. "Turns out my parents sent her to a school in France because she didn't turn out to be a werewolf. She's actually a Slayer, but that's not the point. They sent her away for being different."
O...kay. And here he thought his estrangement from Brandon was bad. Quietly, because he was so shocked, Brennan said, "...What?"
"Yeah, I know," Baily said. "I'm really not sure what the hell they were thinking, either. I mean, yeah, we're pure blooded and everything, but that doesn't mean that her being, well, I guess normal is something that we should be ashamed of, much less shuttle her off and tell everyone that she was dead. Really, did they think that was going to work?"
Brennan sighed, looking over to study his cousin's profile in silence awhile. Maybe in more ways than one, coming to L.A. was a good thing. Softly, while reaching out to touch Baily's shoulder, Brennan murmured, "I'm sorry, Baily."
She nodded. "Thanks," she told him. "It just pisses me off that I missed out on years of my sister's life because my parents had a prejudice. Well, it was mostly my mother, but my dad could have at least put his damn foot down, you know?"
While Brennan couldn't fully understand not knowing the presence of a missing sibling, he could empathize a little due to his estrangement. For him, Brandon and Brennan had nearly been inseparable as kids, which made this...thing...between him and his brother all the more painful.
"Still, that's my messed up life right now," Baily said. "Not terrible but a few things could be better. How are you doing right now, really?"
Brennan shrugged, his gaze focused out the passenger window as his elbow rested against the top of the door where the window began. His cheek rested against his closed fist and it was beat before he finally answered, "I've been...busy."
Baily caught that beat, but didn't ask. She knew when people didn't want to talk about something or another. That was painfully obvious. So, she changed the subject. "Got a place to stay yet?"
"I'm hoping that I can crash at Uncle David's." Was Brennan's reply, shifting his focus to Bailey again, "I'm handy with a wrench so I can earn my keep if need be."
She nodded, slightly adjusting her route to take them to Uncle David's. "So, what are you looking to do here, anyway, other than reconnect with family? Looking for a job or anything?"
Brennan looked away again, "I don't know if I'll be staying that long." The lycan picked at a loose thread on the upholstery, "I can always work in Uncle David's garage if it turns out I'll be staying longer."
She nodded. "He bounces at Ben's two clubs as well, so that's always an option if you hang around long enough," she told him.
The lycan couldn't help it, he chuckled at the mental picture of David as a bounder. He was certainly built for it! "Somehow that seems like the perfect job for him."
She smiled and nodded. "And he's damn good at his job as well," she told him. "He has the clientele of both clubs fearing the crap out of him, which is good to make sure that no one gets fighty or grabby."
Not too long ago, Brennan would've balked at the idea that people feared his uncle. But now? He could understand. Fear was a powerful weapon to wield and a useful one. "...Good." Was his reply a little surprising? Certainly.
That actually did cause an eyebrow to raise, even though she couldn't take her eyes off the road. Still, that was very surprising. Obviously something had happened, although Brennan wasn't forthcoming as to what. Soon enough, she was pulling up in David's driveway. "Give me a call when you get settled in and we'll hang, OK?"
Brennan got out of the car and grabbed his stuff. Ducking back down to look into the car, he smiled gratefully at his cousin, "Thanks, Baily. I'll see you around." He tapped the roof of the car after shutting the door and waved farewell.
She waved a farewell to him as well, hoping that, whatever it was that he came here to find, he found it and found some peace, because he was not looking very peaceful right now.