Eva Krasner (runawayearth) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2012-01-15 22:15:00 |
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Entry tags: | 2009-08-29, eva |
So I'll come back to take the weight off your shoulder
Who: Eva and Oz
Where: Krasner cottage
When: 5:00 p.m.ish
Good days were the ones when everything went like it was supposed to and no one got hurt. Sometimes things could deviate completely and they were still cool, still good. Like when the idea for a prank came up and it had to be done right there without any prior planning. That was okay and even good. Oz wished that all that had happened today was that he had pulled a prank and someone had taken it the wrong way and gotten all mad at him. That was easy to fix and get around. An entire bridge blowing up along with multiple other explosions along the road was not a prank gone wrong; that was malicious and hateful and people had died because of it. Oz would have never done something that ended up with people dead and his mind was still unable to process exactly what had happened. After making sure that Raven and the others were okay, Oz had volunteered to help pull people out and get them to ambulances and whatnot. It had been a little hard thanks to the deep gash cross his back, but he had done his best anyhow until they told him that he needed to stop and take himself home. That was when he had seen that Eva had texted and that was when he realized that part of the reason he had been working so hard was so that he did not think about her and where she might be. He had not been sure whether she had come or not and he had actually been scared that he would see her face bloodied like the others. Knowing that she was home and safe was a huge relief. He had told his siblings to go home, sure that at least a few would listen, and make sure their parents were okay because he had to go and see Eva.
Had to.
Normally when he pulled up, Oz would have taken a minute or so to get out and saunter on up to the door. Because it was like a point of pride to not just bound up like some eager pup. This time? This time he was out of the truck before the noise of the engine had completely faded and knocking at the door before he realized he was even there. No matter what she had said or that he was fully aware of the fact that Eva had not been anywhere near the march he still needed to see her well and whole with his own two eyes. Then he would be able to calm down and think straight again. Maybe. There were still the images of those people burned into the back of his mind, threatening to well up - Eva. Cannot do a single thing to help the dead. He sort of kind of hated that.
Though Eva had certainly been intrigued by the Preternaturals for Peace march, and the idea it represented, she had never actually made plans to go. Walking was a lot easier for her now that her cast was gone, but that didn’t mean that spending that much time on her feet would be the best of ideas, and without her own car, getting into Ann Arbor was not always an easy feat. If she really wanted to go, Bradley would have of course helped her, but she was okay with spending the nice day in the garden with Olivia, even if it was a bit warm outside. It reminded her of the weather back in Florida, and though she was a bit homesick, she knew she was where she was supposed to be.
She’d gone inside for a quick break from gardening to check her phone and to get a glass of lemonade when she found out what had happened. The bridge bombed, the buildings surrounding it bombed, all those people... Eva simply didn’t know how to handle it all. Her first phone call was to her father, working at the Owl’s Nest, to let him know that yes, she was all right, because she knew Bradley would worry. And then she texted Oz, hoping against hope that he hadn’t been there. She didn’t know what she would do if something happened to him, and the fact that he didn’t answer right away had her more than a little worried. I’m sure he’s okay, Olivia kept reminding her, over and over, but Eva was earth and therefore would not rest easy until she knew everything was all right. Getting that text back was a relief - as was the knowledge that he was coming over.
Olivia heard the truck’s engine first, barking at the door, and Eva jumped up to get it, her earrings jingling a little as she moved. She was still a little slower than she would be normally, but that didn’t stop her from opening the door and, seeing Oz standing there, giving him a tight hug, careful not to touch his back. For a long moment all Eva did was hold him, letting the physical contact reassure her that, yes, he really was okay. “Hi,” she murmured into his shoulder, since that was where her face was currently buried.
Knowing that the barking was Olivia was a little sign to help the tightness in Oz’s chest release, but it was not until the door opened and he saw Eva on the other side that it vanished all of the way. She moved to hug him before he could, likely because he was too busy staring. He did not care what anyone said, she was gorgeous and the colors that she seemed to lean toward did nothing but compliment her. Oz was awful at fashion but he knew what girls looked good in and Eva? Looked good. There I am. It was good to feel some of his old self coming back instead of that half-numb shell that he had wrapped himself up in ever since he shifted into an otter when he went tumbling into the river against his will. Oz’s arms came up to wrap around Eva, squeezing tightly while breathing in deep to get the scent that was uniquely her in. Yes, she was fine, nothing had happened to her. She was right there and he could stop this unnatural worrying. “Hi back.” Oz was pretty sure that he could have stayed like that for a long time, but for once he was actually tired. What a full day of football training camp could not do, half a day of mayhem had: he was worn out. “So beyond glad that you weren’t there. I kept thinking that I was going to turn around and see you with another broken leg or something.” He pulled back enough to smile down at her, trying very hard to be light-hearted. “Can’t have you doing that since you’re only just healed from the last time!” One of her earrings caught his attention and he prodded it with the top of his index finger to make it swing. “Nice earrings.”
They could have stood there in the doorway forever and Eva would have been content. She did like the fact that Oz was bigger than her and today there was a comfort in that fact, because while she couldn’t really help him heal yet, at least he could know that she was there and she did care about him. Quite a bit, actually. “And I’m so incredibly sorry that you were there,” she said, reaching up to touch his hair, which of course meant she was standing on her toes. Well, of her good foot anyway, the boot didn’t allow her to move like that quite yet. Yes, the thought had occurred to her that she probably would have gotten hurt if she’d been a part of the march, and Eva never wanted to be put in that situation again. The demon had been bad enough. “Oh, these? Thank you.” In truth, she hadn’t really thought much about her outfit aside that it had to be something she wouldn’t terribly mind getting dirty, and of course, Eva did have a weakness for pretty earrings. Behind Olivia was damn near bouncing, running around in circles, and Eva just turned to her familiar and shook her head. “Quiet, Olivia, let him get in the house first.” She smiled up at Oz, “Come in. Do you need anything? Something to drink, maybe?” Never let it be said that Eva couldn’t be a good hostess, and she just wanted to make sure that he really was okay.
Oz was sorry that he had been there too, but he was not actually going to say that. That was not the sort of thing that one just said and he gave the slightest shrug of his shoulders instead. Really he wished that none of them had been there. Some peace march or rally or whatever it’s technical name was was in no way worth death. Nothing was. Oz shoved those thoughts out again, unwilling to accommodate them. “I’ll be fine, Eva, this thing on my back will go away by tomorrow. Might just be a pretty nasty scar and I should get it cleaned.” He frowned momentarily, remembering that he had yet to do that and while he was a were there were still infections that could make him sick. The frown vanished when Oz caught sight of Olivia being all excited in the background. “Some water would be nice, I guess.” Reluctantly he released his hold on Eva and moved to give Olivia a greeting before she wriggled out of her skin in all her excitement. “Hey there Olivia.” Oz even scratched behind her ears and let sniff at all the scents he had picked up while he was on the bridge, in the river, and up around the town. There were a ton, he would know. Glancing back up at Eva he ran his fingers through his hair, hoping that it had not gone totally flat. “So I had a thought today. Before the bridge blew up. Dealt with you.”
Eva’s brow furrowed, just a little. “Do you need any help with that?” she asked. “Like to bandage it up or anything?” She didn’t really know how the were healing thing worked, but she did have three younger siblings so it wasn’t like she’d never done it before. God only knew her mother usually couldn’t be bothered to watch her kids long enough to make sure they weren’t getting into trouble, so often times it was Eva who stepped into that role in Bridget’s place. “Sure, let me go grab that for you.” She didn’t want to leave Oz, but the kitchen was only one room over and it wasn’t like he’d disappear in the time it took to grab him a drink.
Olivia, on the other hand, loved any sort of attention she could get, wagging her tail for Oz. We’re so glad you’re here! the dog said, pressing her nose into Oz’s palm. In truth, the otter did smell funny, and if Olivia could have she would have crinkled her nose at him. Better Olivia hadn’t been at the chaos firsthand. Eva’s been so worried about you, you know. Thank you for coming to see her.
“Olivia, let him be,” Eva chided gently, coming back with two glasses of water and passing one to Oz. “And what was that thought about?” she asked, letting herself smile softly. “Hopefully it was something good.”
Bandages were an annoyance that Oz preferred to avoid. They were good for regular humans and all, but for him they were just itchy and pointless since they were going to have to come off. That and he was not actually bleeding anymore. He decided to wait until Eva returned to tell her that he would rather avoid having one. That was part of the reason why he left the scene as quick as he did instead of lingering so that someone could insist that a paramedic see to him and the reason for the bloodstain first. “I know, I didn’t mean to,” Oz assured the familiar when she crinkled her nose. Accepting the glass he drained over half of it in one go before setting it down on a nearby surface. “No bandaging necessary, by the way, they just itch and I’m so not used to them. Not even band-aids since I never needed them. If you have some peroxide then maybe in a bit you can help pour some on? I dunno, dealing with injuries isn’t something I really have to do.” Oz moved to plop onto the nearby couch before motioning for Eva to join him. Standing was just not going to keep happening for him. “Well I saw Dagmar - shit, I hope she’s okay-” If his phone was not once again in his truck then he would have gone to text her just to make sure. “-and it made me realize something. We’re not actually officially dating and I think we should change that.”
It’s okay, Olivia assured him, only to be waved off by her master. The dog wanted to stay with them, worried about them both, and ended up curling up in the corner of the room, close enough just in case they needed anything. Eva took a modest sip of her water before setting it down on the coffee table and sitting next to Oz, close enough to just brush against his side. That little bit of contact was beyond reassuring at this point and she wasn’t ashamed of that in the slightest. “You should at least make sure it’s cleaned out,” she agreed, “and you just let me know when. We’ve got all the stuff.” Seeing how badly he’d been hurt firsthand just might make her worry that much more over him, but Eva had settled with that. So long as she knew he was okay now and that he would heal completely, even if he had a scar. “Dagmar was there?” Though Eva was fairly certain that Dagmar didn’t really care for her in the slightest, their families were still about to be tied together and she didn’t want to see anything happen about the other girl. She was sure Bradley would get a hold of Linnea tonight, and if he didn’t then Eva might just call herself. Though that thought took a backseat to what Oz said to her next, and a slow smile spread across Eva’s face. “I would like that,” she said. “To be something more official than what we are now.” Somewhere inside her there was a little girl shrieking and flailing about at the news, and she reached over for his hand to give it a squeeze, eyes flicking up to his.
Oz nodded, but he still did not want to get it done yet. He was sort of like a little kid when it came to the idea of getting a wound cleaned, but he was going to blame that on the fact that it was actually a rarity for him to need any treatment at all. That and he was pretty sure that Eva would have a minor freak of some sort when she saw it, even though it had healed a lot better than it would have had he only been human. For that much he was beyond grateful. And I bet I couldn’t handle being all bloody. Oz was not good with being sticky and he had learned that blood could be that before it dried. Way easier, and better, to focus on how Eva had sat down just close enough so that they were touching. “Yeah; think her brother and sisters were too. They’re all water elementals so it makes sense that they’d come. They’re probably fine.” Oz was positive that if that were not the case then he would know before the night was out since their families were relatively close. Not that he was actually worrying about that since he had just gone and said something that he thought was pretty important and Eva was reacting like he had hoped she would. Oz turned his head to grin down at Eva, arm automatically going around her shoulder like it belonged there so that he could squeeze her closer to his side. “That’ll make you my girlfriend then. Means you’re dating an otter, Miss. earth elemental.”
If there was to be a minor freakout at the sight of Oz’s wound, Eva would do her best to keep that to herself. A wound would heal, even if it left a scar behind afterward, and the important part was that Oz was fine. Better than fine, considering he was still walking and talking and not lying in a hospital bed somewhere. Eva had been there before. She never wanted to think about going back to that hospital again, for any reason. “Let me know when you hear anything, will you?” she asked. “I mean... I don’t know Dagmar well, but I don’t want to see anything bad happen to them.” She’d call Linnea herself but if the woman’s other kids were in danger, she didn’t want to be nuisance at a time like this. Maybe tomorrow, she’d call, or perhaps Bradley would have beaten her to that long before she got to it. And of course she was going to react well to what he told her, she’d wanted to hear him say that for a long time! Eva was patient, so she could wait, but it was always nice to know they were on the same wavelength. She tucked herself closer to him when he put an arm around her, head resting against his shoulder. “I will gladly call myself your girlfriend,” she said, “and I love that I’m dating an otter. So long as you’re okay with dating an elemental.” Somehow it made sense in her head, a were and an elemental. At least Oz would always know she loved to be outdoors with him, and seeing all the otters play was beyond adorable. He was beyond adorable. Knowing Oz, he probably knew that already.
“Sure, will do. And-” Oz laughed and shook his head. “I mean this in the best way possible, but you probably won’t ever know Dagmar well. You’re too nice for her.” A lot of people were too nice for Dagmar. Oz had dated her, true, and that confused a lot of people, but he could at least accept that she was not the nicest girl on the block. Oz did not put two and two together; that Eva would feel any sort of connection with Dagmar or the Niemi’s because her father was with Mrs. Niemi or something like that. Those things always went right over his head unless someone decided to take the time to point it out to him. No one had here so he just figured that Dagmar and Eva had met at the coffee shop or something. There were totally more important things to focus on anyhow. Mainly the fact that Eva was cool with being his girlfriend which meant that they were dating. Not just ‘hey want to go to the movies?’ dating either, but actual dating. “Earth elemental and river otter; goes together pretty solid. I thought water would, but that wasn’t near as nice.” He grinned again, those this was different than before, and leaned down to kiss Eva’s forehead. In his mind he figured that since they were dating that meant he could go ahead and kiss her already, but for some reason he was not just jumping at it like he usually did with girls. Eva was different. “Your dad isn’t going to play the over-protective guy and try to shoot me or anything, is he? My mom would just pinch your cheeks and say you’re just too precious, so watch out for that if she catches you. Woman has a firm grasp.”
Eva didn’t laugh in response, but she did incline her head. Yes, she’d more or less accepted that she and Dagmar would never be friends, but the fact of the matter was that someday their families would be bound together whether they liked it or not, so they’d have to get used to each other. “It’s unfortunate, that.” And it was, in Eva’s opinion. She could accept that difference in opinion, but that didn’t mean she’d close the door on it entirely just yet. Who only knew what would happen in the future? Eva, for one, hadn’t seen Oz coming, nor the fact that they were actually, really dating now. It was such a simple term and yet it did mean so much to her, all things considered. She was the kind of girl who would take everything so seriously, knowing it was the earth in her. “I happen to think this works out quite well for us,” she said, blushing a little over that kiss on the forehead, though she couldn’t help but wonder when he’d finally kiss her. Someday, yes, he would, and Eva liked to think she had the patience to wait that out. It didn’t stop her from looking back up to him, face closer to his now. “My dad won’t chase you with a shotgun,” she assured him, “being that - violent isn’t his thing.” Just no. Some men, yes, but not Bradley. “He might talk to you, though. Like all dads do. And I’ll remember that about your mom. Someday I’d like to meet her, even if she’ll pinch my cheeks.”
“I guess weirder things have happened.” Like vampires and exploding bridges. People turning into animals was probably weird by most standards too, but Oz had never thought it such since he had always been able to do it. It was a little different when you were born this way. And look at that, he had gone and made Eva blush just by pecking a kiss on her forehead. That was positively adorable. She was probably the most adorable girl he had dated since... hell, it had probably been Lotti back when they were younger. But Eva was definitely the nicest and the first that he had not just gone and kissed on the first date. Why exactly that was he was still not sure, but he was telling himself he was an idiot for it right now. “I haven’t had to talk to every girl’s dad, some of them would rather avoid that potentially awkward conversation. Even if they all would end the same way.” Oz stopped mid-shrug, just realizing how close Eva’s face had gotten to his. He knew that it was going to happen soon, and he decided that it was going to happen now. How many times did a guy have a brush with death after all? It could totally be his excuse if Eva freaked for whatever reason, but he was definitely not going to think about it anymore, he hardly thought about what he did at all. Oz just leaned in to kiss Eva, finally.
She nodded. “That’s also true. I suppose we just never know what might happen in the future.” Just like she’d never seen this happening between her and Oz, not when she’d first gotten to Scarlet Oak. All Eva had been hoping to do was find her father and hope to god that he’d take her in, which he had, and anything else that happened was icing on the cake. It was probably a good thing that she wasn’t talking to her mom anymore, because she could only imagine what Bridget’s reaction to her daughter dating a were-otter would be. If she couldn’t handle having elementals in her family, then weres were definitely out, too. Eva didn’t care, either way. She liked being with Oz because he was Oz, and the otter in him was just another side of him to get to know. “I suppose that makes sense, not meeting them all. I would like you to meet mine, however.” Bradley was the only family she had in Michigan after all. She did still consider her mom to be family even if Bridget just wanted her back for the child support money. And her half-siblings would always be her siblings, regardless of what happened. Eva could have said more, but the fact of the matter was that Oz had leaned in to kiss her, and that had the earth elemental giving him a happy little groan against his lips, one hand coming up to rest against his face. Eva liked this - she liked this a lot, actually. The fact that he waited for it made it all the better.
How often did a girl say that she actually wanted you to meet her father? Oz could count them on one hand and that was including Eva. He was pretty much okay with that, though. Eva was just special like that. If anyone wanted evidence to prove that then all they had to do was look at the fact that this was the first time that he had kissed her and they had been out several times; one of those dates had even been in his truck at the drive-in. He felt like he deserved some serious props for that one. “That makes up for getting tossed into the river,” Oz declared with a grin, bringing his hand up to stroke back a loose piece of Eva’s hair. He doubted that he was going to be able to find the right way to say just how relieved he was that nothing had happened to her. So he was going to make due with cuddling on the couch and dropping little kisses here and there with no intention of going home until he absolutely had to. He was pretty sure that his family would understand.