Zach Temple (bbstarsnake) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2010-10-12 22:47:00 |
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Entry tags: | #solo, 2009-07-30 |
Let off some steam
Who: Zach, some NPCs
Where: Basketball court
When: Afternoon
The news had bothered Zach more than he really wanted to admit. Not because of what had happened, babies getting killed was just one of those things that happened and he thought it was totally normal since he did it too. But because it'd made the news and because of that bit of leaked information about a bloody trail and something about a snake. He hadn't heard anything said about lamia or naga so he hoped that people weren't smart enough to pick up on that but he couldn't be sure. Things like that you couldn't ever be sure of thanks to the power of the Internet and paranoia, courtesy of your local supernatural-haters.
Best way for him to get his mind of off it was to hit up the courts. That and it was one of the only ways he could go about ignoring the constant calls from various members of his family. Why the hell did they automatically jump to the assumption that just because he was off on his own he'd be out making childish mistakes like leaving a trail? Please! Abduct the baby and then eat it and throw the bones in the river or something instead of leaving them in the crib. That was just needlessly traumatic for the parents on top of creating that whole media mess he didn't want to be reading about for the next month or two. Good thing he'd moulted the previous month so he didn't have to go out looking for a few more. Something told him that small children were going to be a lot more carefully looked out for for awhile. Until they forgot.
They always forgot.
He didn't like that the sky was overcast because it meant that it was going to be cold but running around at the court and shooting from every spot imaginable, making most of them and missing only a few of the more awkward ones, meant that he'd worked up a nice sweat when he stopped for a break half an hour or so later. Sinking down onto one of the benches he took a long drink from his bottle of Gatorade, wiping his forehead off with the back of his hand, tongue darting out to pick up the surrounding scents and see if any were - oh hello. His head shot up and a moment later a girl around his age appeared with two young boys in tow. One of them was wearing a Pistons jersey that was way too big for him. Blooming basketball fans. Nice. Girl wasn't bad either even if she tasted distinctly human.
Seeing her stop and glance at him for a moment then at the boys, Zach found his easy smile and nodded at the net. "It's okay, they can play, I was just doing some practice. Gotta keep in shape for the season." Star player wouldn't be all that star if he came back limp and out of shape. Zach might be lazy but that was only for things that didn't relate to basketball. Basketball was important and pretty much the only reason he found it necessary to interact with the rest of the people on the planet. That, and it was more fun to drink with them instead of just by himself. Who was supposed to remember his witty one-liners and appreciate his glorious stories if the only other person in the room was his reflection?
Hearing that, the boys were instantly on the court, arguing about what they were going to play. Zach grinned and shrugged. "I was like that when I was their age," he admitted. "Though I think I always made my baby-sitter play with me." Had he had a baby-sitter? Probably not, his mother hadn't worried because she'd always told him that if someone tried abducting him all he needed to do was pull out his fangs and take a nice big bite. People never expected a normal looking kid to be venomous. Seeing her start to relax Zach put his basketball down between his feet and held out his hand. "I'm Zach."
"Hilary," she returned, shaking his hand before sitting on the bench next to him. "So you said you were getting in shape for the season. Still in high school?"
Zach's mouth dropped open. Maybe she didn't live there during the winter so that could excuse her ignorance on what he considered to be the next star coming out of Michigan. Who didn't know about Zach Temple, the Wolverine's best player? Probably a lot of people, actually, but Zach's ego had never allotted space for humility of that degree. "Nah, star of the Wolverine's. Guess you're not a fan of basketball?"
She ducked her head in apology, cheeks stained pink and Zach tasted a hint of embarrassment. "Sorry, no, I'm more of a football girl."
"Aw, that's too bad, I thought you were kinda cute for a minute there." Girls who didn't like basketball, or who liked another sport more than basketball, weren't the sort that Zach wasted effort on. Even if they were cute.
Her face went a little cool in an expression Zach knew all too well. So he wasn't surprised when she said in a cooler tone, "Sorry, I've got a boyfriend."
"He play football?"
"No, he's an intern down at Calvert & Blake."
Why did that name sound so... oh. Zach's eyes went a little flat when he realized why he recognized the surnames. Calvert was that guy who'd been debating with the vampire chick down in town hall last night. The one who thought that supernaturals needed to be registered and probably wanted a pelt of were-fur to make the rug in front of his fireplace. "So you're pro-human then?" He had to ask. Zach wasn't big on politics or law or any of it but even he knew some things and if this Hilary was anti-supernatural then he figured that it'd be one more way to get the ants out of his pants over what had happened with the babies outside of town.
She nodded curtly, eyes on the boys who had decided on a game of HORSE. Zach loved that game but he couldn't play with them because they'd be way outmatched. And they were being watched by an idiot. Zach knew he wasn't the brightest bulb in the box but at least he didn't go around admitting a stance like that when he had no way of knowing what the other person was. Looked like he'd rattled her unintentionally. "Ah, now that's too bad. Say, did you read the paper this morning, watch the news? See what happened to those poor kids outside of town?" Zach sighed and shook his head. "Shame, huh? I mean... parents really need to watch their kids carefully and keep them safe from things that go bump in the night." Hilary's face was pale and she'd stood up, but Zach wasn't paying much attention to that. Standing people were just as easy to scare off and someone who'd stand on that side of the line deserved to be scared.
Plus, after his half hour of playing, Zach'd discovered that he was feeling a touch territorial. He hadn't known there were other lamia in Scarlet Oak outside of his family and no, he wasn't considering anything else as an option. Dead babies and a snake-like thing, that meant lamia in his mind. Or twisted were-snake. "Poor things probably didn't even have time to cry for mommy. And the second, well, that was just for sport I bet. The fun of it."
"You're sick," Hilary hissed.
"And you're an idiot who didn't think about who she was sitting next to at the court." Zach grinned widely up at her, allowing just the tips of his fangs to fold down and flash at her before he snapped his mouth shut. That was all he needed to do before she was stumbling away, one hand on the back of each of the boy's jerseys and ignoring the cries about how they hadn't been out hardly at all. Whatever. His mother would chide him for doing that and his father would smack him upside the back of his head but Zach didn't care. Wasn't like he was going to get into trouble just for scaring the bejesus out of some human girl whose biggest connection was likely some low-life intern.
But I really need to start watching out for that other lamia. Make sure whoever it is isn't going to go and make hunting difficult. So don't want to move. Really, inconvenient and Zach was way too lazy for the effort required.
And while he was at it, he needed some tortilla chips and salsa, his stash was running low.