Who: Veronica & Lina What: Booze and a puppy. When: Recent! Where: Local bar with eats. Rating/Warnings: Relatively low aside from mentions of murder? Status: Complete!
As promised Veronica brought Backup to meet Lina and of course drink. No alcohol for him though, she was not one of those owners that gave their dog beer. That was just no. Veronica was seated in the outside area, with Backup on a leash, a water bowl in front of him. He was a well behaved, well trained dog, but still leashes were required.
Veronica had already ordered herself a beer by the time Lina had arrived. With the kind of dreams her friend had been talking about she had a feeling she would need a stronger drink, but Veronica hadn’t had dreams for a few weeks and even when she did they weren’t half as intense as Lina’s. As least they didn’t sound that way. Once she spotted Lina she waved her over, greeting her with a smile. Veronica was not exactly a hugger.
“Hey, meet Backup,” she nodded at her dog who stood up at his name wagging his tail happily. “So, rough night?”
“Understatement of the--puppy!” Yeah, sure, discussions could definitely wait after Lina ever so excitedly greeted the four-legged buddy, anticipating face slobber and other cute doggy antics. Made her wish she had one of her own, but she felt like she’d be betraying Guess - the cat that symbolized her criminal past and douche ex-boyfriend-thing, but she was still her baby anyway.
But a puppy, one day. Definitely.
“He’s so cute,” she gushed, something that was a bit uncharacteristic - especially the high pitched notch of a squeal she let out - and she eventually wiggled onto the seat across Veronica, pushing a wisp of red hair away from her face. “Anyway, sorry. Got distracted. What’cha drinking, RonRon?”
Veronica couldn’t help but laugh at Lina’s reaction to Backup. He did have that effect on people, herself included so she understood the excitement. “He gets it from me,” she quipped with a smirk. “Don’t worry about it. He distracts me too. Best dream gift I’ve gotten yet,” although her taser had come in handy, but Lina already knew that. No need to take a trip down memory lane to that little experience.
Backup sat back down next to Veronica, she patted his head giving the back of his ears a quick scratch before turning her attention back to Lina. “Blue Moon,” she replied taking a sip of her beer. “How have you been? I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever,” other than their frozen yogurt date that didn’t go horribly wrong Veronica had barely seen or talked to Lina. Damn busy lives. “We need to start making weekly appointments. Pencil each other in and all that jazz.”
Blue Moon was a favorite anyway. Lina preferred some fruitiness to her beers, couldn’t stand it mixed with liquor, tasted too wrong. So when the outside bartender made her rounds, she ordered a tall one, draft. Extra oranges, because they were delicious. “Best dream gift, hell yeah. I love puppies,” she cooed, giving Backup a scratch behind those ears. “Oh yes I do.”
But really, enough of the baby voice.
“Sorry for the MIA, though.” Lina’s apology was sheepish. “Been...crazy. That crimewave we had--helped with a rescue mission, a magic guild was formed, one of my roommates is dying…” Wow, what is life anymore, seriously? She breathed a sigh, then crinkled her nose with a smile. “Don’t know what normalcy is even more. But this--drinks and a dog--just what I needed.”
Another laugh from Veronica at Lina’s baby voice. Not something she exactly pictured coming out of her friend, but again Backup did bring that out in people. Well her friends at least. If someone was around that Veronica didn’t like he could tell and got rather vicious. At least that was how it was in the dreams, he was her protection, her backup (hence the name). She hadn’t had any situations where she needed that since she received him.
“Wow,” Veronica replied because really what else could you say to all that. Lina’s life was insane. “I’m sorry about your roommate,” something Lina had probably heard hundreds of times. “A magic guild though, what do you do? Hang out and do spells?” The magic thing went way over Veronica’s head. She had seen Lina use magic and knew there were others that had magic. Her dreams lacked anything supernatural so a lot of it went over her head.
“Glad I could provide you with some form of distraction. Even if it’s more about my dog than me,” she laughed taking another drink.
“People dying or almost dying is the norm lately, pssh, don’t worry,” Lina replied, waving a dismissive hand. Rogue was being stubborn, Booker was being stubborn, Elizabeth mostly had her shit together (aside from announcing her romantic love for her own father on an open forum) - everyone under her roof had issues. And she was trying to help, all while keeping her own mind from losing it. “But magic guild--it’s a safe haven for those coming into their skills. Practice, guidance, teaching. I’m taking care of the finances.”
It was a good job, anyway. Something different that didn’t involve criminal ties and skirting away from the feds. New start, even though the year had started with an unhealthy amount of insanity and chaos. But the Agency, helping Zee with her own business, it was good for Lina. Kept her out of trouble for the most part. She was more than just the woman that ‘blew shit up’ on a constant basis.
“How’s it with you, though?” Once the glasses came, she plucked the oranges off the glass rim and worked on those first. Omnomnom.
That was a norm Veronica was glad she wasn’t a part of. “Your real life is more chaotic than my dreams,” it was at least a close tie. “There are finances?” That honestly surprised the blonde. She didn’t exactly associate magic with anything as mundane as finances, but then what did she know? Clearly nothing.
“Nothing too exciting here. Just dealing with a pregnant roommate and let me tell you, it’s the best birth control ever. If I didn’t want kids before, I certainly don’t now. It’ll just be me and Backup,” again at his name the dog stood up, tail wagging. Veronica laughed giving him a few more pets.
“Go see Lina,” she told her dog with a hand motion to her friend. And just like that Backup jumped into Lina’s lap. Okay, maybe she still had a bit of work to do on the training. She gave Lina an apologetic smile though she doubted she minded judging by how she had spoken to Backup moments ago. “I think my dog might like you better than me.”
Busy, busy beaver Lina was now. At least she wasn’t bored anyway. “Finances,” she confirmed with a small laugh. “Yeah. For additions to it, supplies, so forth--a little more complicated than one might think.” They were prepared though; it was a comforting fact.
“Pregnant roommate sounds--oof!” Okay, puppy, fine. Use her lap as a chair, she’ll circle her arms around you and hug. Lina was on the very petite scale of things and Backup almost looked a bit bigger, but she didn’t seem to mind the sudden weight. “Heeeey, puppy.” A scratch on his side to get his feet kicking, oh yes. “Wow, anyway, yeah--babies. That’s a big thing. When’s she do? Girl? Boy?”
Lina forgot people made babies or something. She was hardly ever around preggo-in-the-eggo people. Life around these parts was too dangerous for that kind of thing sometimes.
Well that made sense. Kind of. She had just assumed magical people could conjure that sort of thing, but maybe not. “Well look at you being all important and in charge of things. I should buy your drinks to celebrate,” and she would. That was settled.
“Backup down,” Veronica commanded after Lina had given him some attention, and back down he went. “I’m pretty sure he thinks he is a lap dog. Not quite sure he realizes he is about the same size as us,” like Lina Veronica was on the petite side as well. Short people unite.
“Girl. Sometime in July I think,” she should probably be keeping better track of the whole thing. “It’s a little nuts. She’s not with the dad. They are good friends though, but yeah complicated. Not sure how this whole baby thing is going to work,” Veronica wasn’t exactly good with kids.
Awww, there went her own personal lap warmer! This place had bar eats anyway - she’d have to order him a little snack. Lina had no problems sharing food with animals, but people were clearly another story. “A girl, eh?” A low whistle. “July’s right around the corner, before you know it. You’re going to be living with her and the baby?”
Wow, drinks and baby talk. Mundane as it was (and she appreciated normalcy a lot more these days), it still felt like an odd topic.
Veronica nodded her head, finishing off her beer. “As far as I know, yes. Who knows how this whole living with a baby thing goes. I’m not sure I am up for the challenge.” Though she wouldn’t just abandon her best friend either. She really just had no clue what to expect. “There will probably be a lot more nights of me needing drinks.”
The bartender came around again, Veronica ordered herself a refill along with some wings, because yum. Then attention back on Lina. “Enough about babies. I get enough of that at home. Tell me more exciting magic stuff,” or even better show but they were still in public so Veronica wouldn’t be too upset if that didn’t happen.
Cheesefries (with all the fixings) were on Lina’s list, then she outright ordered a pitcher just to make sure they’d keep their glasses regularly filled, especially if they picked the same poison. “Right, no more babies. Awkward babies.” It’d been years since she’d been around a tiny human being entirely dependent on adults for care. And the closest to children she’d been lately was, welp, Hellmaster. The demonlord that took form of a child. Well played, little bastard.
“Well, nothing’s too exciting yet. A friend of mine does magic shows - magician stuff, though her tricks are a bit more legit - and she wants to do shows independent. Different areas, not just the place she’s at now. I’m taking care of the books for that, too.” Lina’s magic was bright and shiny right before it either set everything on fire or put a crater somewhere; it wasn’t meant for show. “You know, just being an adult, I guess. It’ll be as normal as I’ll ever get, I think.”
Well that was interesting. “So she is actually magical and does a magic show?” that was settled. Veronica was going to have to go see this magic show. Usually that wasn’t her type of thing. She wasn’t exactly a fan of cheesy magic tricks that she could usually see right through. But if it was Lina’s friend and there was actual magic involved? Then hell yeah she would be there.
“You know I never knew you were good with money,” learn something new every day. But then Lina was just full of surprises in general. At least to Veronica. “Normal is over rated,” she shrugged. Her life was fairly normal compared to everyone else’s in the OC it seemed, but she didn’t mind it much. At least she wasn’t getting kidnapped or blown up. Shit similar to that happened enough in her dreams anyway. Damn her curiosity always getting her in trouble.
“Yep - does actual magic and does her shows with it, though I’ve never actually seen her shows in person. She’s the charismatic type with lots of flair, and I’ve heard all good things.” Besides, Zee usually did her smoke-and-mirror shows at the casino, and Lina was pretty sure a certain asshole would detect it if she was even in the vicinity. Him, her and Neena departed on rocky grounds.
But anyway! Cheesefries and wings, they came just in time! Pitcher too, and she refilled hers and Veronica’s beer. “My parents owned their own business, so things were always about punching numbers and attempting to make profit. And I’ve always...worked in business, anyway.” Putting it lightly, but she wasn’t sure if she could tell Veronica - a lawyer - that she’d been part of a firearm trafficking ring. One of the biggest that ever stained the states. “Not exactly a math whiz, but money and budgeting - those numbers just make sense to me.”
"You work for the show but have never seen it?" Well you didn't really have to see something just because you worked for it, but still Veronica did find it a little odd. Oh well, whatever worked for Lina. She was distracted by the food anyway and immediately dug in. Yum.
Good call on not informing Veronica of her criminal past. Not really because of the lawyer thing. She defended criminals after all, (she just wasn't supposed to know they were guilty) but her dad was a cop, her roommate an ex cop and she was semi dating a cop. Veronica was just surrounded by cops. "I was never good at math. But I do like money," she just didn't have much of it. Oh well. "I just don't like what it does to people you know? I grew up in a town with a bunch of stuck up snobs who treated everyone who had less than a million bucks like lepers."
Hah, well, Lina had a reputation of being very greedy - this life and the other one. She liked money, liked shinies, liked things that were worth multiple dollar bills. Hence the whole ‘bandit hunting’ routine in the dreams; on this side it would manifest to her mugging a couple crooks for their wallets or their shit to pawn. They deserved it anyway, so she was doing the world some sort of service. Somehow.
Greed had gotten her into a bit of trouble too; it’d been one of the driving forces of her criminal career. Things changed. Mostly. “Yeah, I get you,” she replied, an awkward scratch to her cheek. “My parents owed a big debt when I was younger - they borrowed it from the wrong guy, when they were trying to just keep their head above water and give my sister and I a better life. It got...violent, but hey, it all worked out.”
And by ‘worked out,’ Lina made enough money working for Shabranigdo to pay off the family debt and then some, thank fuck.
Violent didn’t sound good. But Lina did say it worked out, so whatever happened couldn’t have been too horrible, right? “Is it all paid off now?” not that it was necessarily Lina’s problem. She didn’t have to take on her parents debt, Veronica wouldn’t feel obligated to help out her mother. Her dad she would do pretty much anything for, but her mom had let her down one time too many. So she would get it on some level if Lina had cut ties with her parents.
“As if growing up wasn’t difficult enough,” she added sarcastically, digging back into the food.
Again, details were kept tucked away to keep Veronica from being in an awkward position. There wasn’t a point to dwell on all that anymore anyway - Shabranigdo was dead, the debt was paid off awhile ago, all of it was irrelevant. “Says the one re-living her high school years via a dream,” Lina smirked, shoveling a good bit of the appetizer into the gaping hole that was her mouth. “How’s that all going, by the way? Any new development? Here and there?”
Dreaming about high school was no fun. Especially this more twisted version. In ways it was a lot like her high school, some of the people were the same as well, but there was a lot more murder in the dreams. “Lots of drama… and murder,” she replied. “After I solved Lily’s murder, the guy I was seeing was accused of murdering this guy in a biker gang. I dumped him though,” that didn’t go over well and she did feel guilty about that whole thing. She knew Logan would be pissed when he dreamt it. “Anyway, school field trip, I was supposed to be on this bus but I wasn’t. Good thing because it went off a cliff. Pretty much everyone died.” She paused to take a drink. “So yeah, no magic, but lots of murder.”
Went off a cliff--what?
“How the hell does a bus just drive off a cliff?” Lina blurted, careful not to rudely spit up bacon and frenchfry bits at Veronica. Murder at least made shit interesting, but christ on a cracker, what kind of high school did the girl even go to? Homicide High? “Why the hell is everyone killing each other in yous?”
“No clue,” Veronica replied biting into another wing. “The theory is the bus driver committed suicide. I don’t buy it. Makes no sense for him to do that with a bus full of kids. Something fishy is going on,” and knowing her dream self she would get to the bottom of it. Not before getting herself into some trouble of course. That was just how it seemed to work.
“No clue about all the murder either. Too much hatred in Neptune I guess. I’m surprised I have survived. I think I would prefer the magic and the uh, demonlords?” at least that was what she thought Lina had called them.
Demonlords and darklords, a whole party of fun. “Well, there’s still killing and illegal things going on - it’s just when you throw magic and an astral race composed of nothing but evil, it all tends to get complicated and...messy.” Like being emotionally blackmailed to destroy the world, that was a new one, and Hellmaster had the perfect bait wave in front of her and taunt with. No one knew what he wanted but her. Even Amelia didn’t want to know the reason - not if it would convince her to not save Gourry.
Thinking about it just birthed a headache, so she tried to shove all that to the deepest darkest corners of her mind for now. “But, hey - you’re what, some badass teenage detective in your dreams? You’ll figure out the whole reason why a bus suddenly drove off a cliff.”
It definitely sounded complicated. Veronica had no idea what the hell an astral race was but considering it was composed of evil, she was going to go with nothing good. “Okay maybe I wouldn’t prefer that. Maybe just the magic part,” because yeah magic sounded pretty cool. And Lina got powers here, which Veronica had to admit was awesome. All she got was a taser a necklace and a dog. No complaints when it came to Backup though, she reached down giving her boy another pet.
“Yeah, that’s me. Veronica Mars - Teen Detective. I should get business cards made,” she laughed, but really who ever heard of a teenage detective. That shit was weird. “I must admit I’m pretty good at the whole crime solving thing. It’s making me re-think my career choice.” Too bad she hadn’t had these dreams before she got buried in student loans for law school.
“Pretty sure being a detective doesn’t pay as well as a lawyer would?” Lina squinted skeptically, then laughed, shoveling the rest of the fries down the hatch in her typical lady-like (which isn’t lady-like at all) fashion, but she left a couple in the basket for the big boy - even lowered it for him on the ground. Puppies had to eat, you know. Even if he was full grown. “For you, Pup-pup.”
Then back to the beer - the pitcher still had enough for two glasses, so she topped each of theirs off. “Glad we did this, though. To just sit down and...kind of breathe, you know?”
Veronica laughed at Backup gobbling up the fries. “Now I’m sure he likes you better,” she joked. “Careful, he might just follow you home.” Although she wasn’t sure how well that would go over considering Lina had a cat. Backup was not a fan of felines. Veronica nodded her head in agreement taking another drink. “We have to do it more often, you know whenever you aren’t busy with all the crazy.”