Re: [In-person: PJ and Atticus]
Do you know why? [She could relate to that in an abstract way. Her pack hadn't let her get close to people that weren't any of them. She didn't know what they'd be doing if they knew Atticus knew anything about who or what she was. Sure, she could get away from them - and had - but one could argue she was worse for it in the end. Still, she didn't argue, or compare. She didn't know how to be useful. So she smiled a bit back at him.] Must be.
It's bigger than that. But it is what I signed up for.
[She nodded, she wasn't sure about not being able to hurt him, but she took him at his word. It was all she could do, even if she was as tense as she'd ever been.] Tomorrow is going to be a little rough. [She looked up at him again.] It's not usually like this. Not this hard. Or complicated.
[As they entered the barn she told him which lights to flip to brighten up the back of the barn. The horse stall itself was not your typical horse stall. It was the only new part of the barn, and it was situated way in the back. It wasn't shoddy, it was well made. The door locked well. The space where a horse's head might come out she'd added extra bars. Where a horse owner might put a lighter mesh cross hatch, or wood, the steel bars were more reinforced. It looked new, and secure, but it was still a cage. Or a jail cell.
There was hay on the floor of it. A big red tub for putting water in that was under a faucet. It wasn't a bad place if one was a dog really. But she was not a dog. She felt infinitely uncomfortable over what she imagined must be an odd thing to ask someone to do.] It's in the big freezer. There's basically an entire deer in there, you don't need to bring it all. [She stood up, a little shaky, and with her good arm slid the stall door open and shook it a little. It was just fine. But in case he was worried.] Didn't have time to install the disco ball.