InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "The turtle moves!"

Raven // Ezra (Shae) Dufraisne (in_the_wings) wrote in paxletalelogs,
@ 2010-10-02 22:55:00

Entry tags:

changing woman, raven

Who: Shae and Kamillah
What: Stairway to...heaven?
Where: The stairwell
When: October 2, shortly before midnight and after this thread
Warning: ...yeah, okay, there's a SMUT ALERT.

Two days, Shae thought as he pressed himself flush against the wall of the third floor landing. I'm gone for two fucking days, and everything goes to pot. He was seriously beginning to wonder if someone at the bar had spiked his drink.

His day was supposed to be done. He'd caught the perp, he'd collected on the bounty- hell, he'd even met an unsuspecting neighbor in the process. It was time to kick back and relax.

So why was he suddenly walking into a goddamn Egyptian tomb? And then some kind of Greco-Roman temple? The stairwell had seemed normal enough that he'd sought refuge there, and he'd been hoping against hope that somehow this elaborate hallucination of his would evaporate by the third floor, but- nope, no such luck.

Shae was usually a logical person. A rational person. Maybe a little gullible at times, and certainly susceptible to a well-planned swindle. But this...this, was out of control. Was he actually losing his mind, or were there trees growing out of the third floor? What would he find in his own apartment, if he could even make it that far without dissolving into a giant puddle of crazy? He was starting to get really nervous, and when Shae was really nervous, he had a bit of an itchy trigger finger. That didn't necessarily bode well for anyone else who might have been unlucky enough to take the stairs...

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sugar_cycle
2010-10-04 03:08 pm UTC (link)

As if his rising nerves called to some bitchy goddess of fate, there was movement - fast, energetic movement - around the curve of the current stairwell. From above, a curvy little lady came bounding down the steps, two at a time, dark hair fluttering behind her in the rush. Hands awkwardly juggling a purse and a soft duffel bag, her head was tipped downward to watch her feet.

A collision was inevitable, really.

With a very decided "eep," the young woman hit Shae's chest, sending him into an instinctual braced mode with one hand grabbing at the railing, and rebounded to land on the stairs without a shred of grace. Her purse and bag hit soon after her and slid down a few steps. She stared up at him in confusion, big dark eyes blinking.

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in_the_wings
2010-10-04 09:05 pm UTC (link)

...there were fucking trees in there!

Yes, Shae was still trying to figure out the mechanics of his delusion; he was so engrossed in just staring at the serene woodland landscape stretched out before him that the sound of someone approaching on the stairs didn't even register. It wasn't until the force of another warm body colliding with his own sent him staggering back a step or two that he reacted, jolted out of his stupor, his revolver drawn and pointed at the offender with a resounding "Shit!"

Surprisingly, it was her eyes that he noticed first- large, dark, very confused eyes. She had quite the pretty face overall, and it wasn't until his gaze dropped to her slightly heaving bosom- either from fear or exertion, he couldn't really tell- that his brain suddenly switched back on.

Immediately he snapped his arm back, removing her from his line of fire and inwardly cursing his ridiculous paranoia. What if he'd actually shot her? May as well heap a nice, big serving of voluntary manslaughter on top of that insanity plea. Although now that he thought of it...yes, the eyes definitely had it. Especially a fresh pair of eyes.

Shae gestured down the corridor with the gun in his hand, hoping he didn't look half as psychotic as he was feeling right about now. "Do you see 'dat? Please tell me you see 'dat."

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sugar_cycle
2010-10-05 12:35 am UTC (link)

"The gun?" The young woman blinked and then followed the motion of his waving hand. "Oh. Oh, right." Giggling now, she drew her knees up and adjusted her position on the stairs to a more lady-like seat, a fleeting expression of discomfort crossing her face as she felt a future bruise press against the step. Then she dropped her arms, crossed at her wrists so her hands dangled over her knees, and smiled. "It's kind of pretty, isn't it?" she asked. "Much nicer than the desert, I think."

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in_the_wings
2010-10-05 01:19 am UTC (link)

...alright, well. That wasn't exactly the response he'd been expecting.

Shae stood there dumbly for a moment, arm still outstretched like a statue, as he tried to decide how to respond. Obviously he wasn't the only one who could see the strange hallucinations, so maybe they weren't actually hallucinations at all. That was reassuring.

Of course, if they weren't hallucinations, then the images were just...there. Not so reassuring.

What the hell was going on around this place? Shae was a little taken aback at the girl's nonchalant attitude, but that in itself was no reason to wave a gun in her face. Carefully, he replaced the revolver in its shoulder holster beneath his jacket and looked down at his new acquaintance.

"...'dis isn' weird to you at all?" he ventured, a little unsure.

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sugar_cycle
2010-10-05 01:48 am UTC (link)

As his gun disappeared, a little, unconscious sigh left her and her shoulders slumped ever so slightly. Next her hands laced together and she leaned towards him a bit, head tilting back as she smiled up the distance between them. Her step was a few higher than his but the combination of her position and height still put her at a disadvantage. For an experienced observer like him, though, it was easy to pick out the changes - distance or no.

Clearly, the gun had made some kind of impact.

"Honestly?" she murmured. She gave another little Gallic shrug and lifted her voice again to better answer him. "Just a little. But I've had some time to get used to it. It happened Friday night when I was baking and all of a sudden..." She unlaced her hands and threw them up in the air as if releasing sparkly, magic-filled confetti. She winked. "Marble, ahoy."

Dropping her hands again, she tilted her head to one side. "But you didn't know... Are you new to the building?" Her eyes widened and darted to the gun again. "Or have you come to arrest someone here? Oh. Oh, wow. Um..." She pressed her palms to the stair below her and attempted to scramble back to her feet, a far more difficult task than normal thanks to his proximity hedging her area of movement. "Shit," she hissed as she slipped a bit. "I'm sorry. If you, um, well... I really hope it isn't one of my new friends." She paused in her motion and offered him a sweet, sheepish smile.

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in_the_wings
2010-10-06 01:55 am UTC (link)

Shae blinked as the woman suddenly rushed to stand, then looked down at his own attire. His clothes were rumpled from having spent the last two nights sleeping in his car, his five o' clock shadow was almost developed enough to walk on its own, his hair was starting to make its own gel, and it looked like some of the taco sauce from his lunch had found a permanent home on his left pant leg- oh, wait, there was some on his shirt, too.

Somehow, that didn't exactly scream law enforcement official to him, but what the hell.

"Don' worry, ma cher, I'm off da clock," he said, mustering up his most charming smile and reaching out to steady her. Okay, so something extremely unusual was going on in the building, and apparently it had sprung into being completely without warning. He was still a little unnerved by the whole situation, but at least he had a great view.

That's right, a whole five feet and four inches worth of dark-haired distraction...give or take a couple of inches.

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sugar_cycle
2010-10-06 02:18 am UTC (link)

As his hand gripped and steadied her, her head snapped up to meet his eyes again and a flicker of some confused recognition flashed through her dark-eyed gaze before she dispelled it with a little giggle. Her free hand reached up to clutch at his shoulder while they worked together to get her stable again. The step put her almost on level with him. Her chin only had to lift slightly for her to be able to smile thankfully straight into his face. Her hand lingered at his shoulder and she made no move to pull the other away either. Fascination and interest shone in her expression as she studied him almost rudely, intense and curious. Suddenly, she wrinkled her nose but, as far as he could tell, it had nothing to do with his state of hygiene. Certainly not if her hands were still on him like they were.

"Kami," she offered finally. Another pixie grin lit her face and she moved her hand at last from his shoulder, edging it slightly over his chest as if checking for a heartbeat but missing the anatomical area completely. "God, I hope I didn't hurt you..."

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in_the_wings
2010-10-06 08:03 am UTC (link)

There was definitely a moment, as they briefly locked gazes, when he felt something...familiar pass between them. The feeling was gone almost as soon as it appeared, leaving them in a bit of a staring contest.

Oh yes, Shae recognized that look- direct, unapologetic, appraising. She was checking him out, and he took the opportunity to do the same. From this vantage point, he had an incredible view of those gorgeous grey eyes and those full, sultry lips.

And she was touching him. Mm, what a development. It was good to know that little incident with the gun wasn't too off-putting for her. He glanced down at her wandering fingers, a highly amused smirk stretching across his lips.

"I don' bruise 'dat easily, Miss Kami, but feel free to look all you like."

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sugar_cycle
2010-10-07 02:01 am UTC (link)

At his teasing tone, her hand stilled against his chest in its vague attempt to check for injury and she met his eyes again. For an instant, she lost herself in wonder at how very dark they were. Almost as quickly, though, Kami regained control of herself and her smile glowed with more mischief than innocence. "I could," she drawled and she dared to walk her fingers along his collar bone before drawing her hand back to tuck a soft curl behind her ear. Her gaze never wavered from his even as her attention expanded to contain all of his lean frame. "But I should probably warn you that I don't even have a certification in first aid, mister."