[Tawny Vokes]

[nospaces]

[attr="class","post-littlecloudSTREET-o"]

[attr="class","littlecloudSTREET-post"]

THERE'S NO DEVIL ON ONE SHOULDER

and angel on the other; they're just two normal people

Her feet hurt and she had to piss something fierce. [break][break]

Tawny focused on the two griefs, using the discomfort as a crutch and a motivation to keep herself going. To keep her mounting frustrations at bay. Every time she stumbled, she simply straightened herself and trudged on, mouth pursing smaller and smaller with each drunken step. Her Uber driver had kicked her from his car a couple of blocks from her apartment building and she'd had to walk the rest of the way herself, trying to look worlds more steady than she was. But her home, her bed, her bathroom — they were all only a few more minutes away. Then she could just put this whole stupid night behind her. [break][break]

As she approached her building, she pulled the bag at her hip in front of her and began rooting within for her keys. Then she spent the next couple minutes swaying in front of the building door, digging and growing more and more frantic when they just... didn't turn up. She tried to recall if she'd taken them out at some point. If she'd put her bag down anywhere. Nothing else was missing. She was moments away from upending the whole damn tote on the concrete before her when she shucked a disbelieving sigh and rolled her eyes. [break][break]

Clinging to the railing beside her for support, she slowly lowered herself to sit on the step's edge and brought her bag to her lap. Then she tossed her head back, slacked her shoulders, and blew a long, exasperated breath into the night air above her. For a moment, she only sat there, face scrunched as she blinked at the sky. When she felt the tears collect at the corners of her eyes, though, she gave herself a quick shake and startled back into action. She pulled the phone from her bag and squinted into its brightness, trying not to reel. [break][break]

She opened her contact list and began to scroll, lip working its way between her teeth. [break][break]

Her landlord was a hard no. She'd only get cussed out, told off, and hung up on. [break][break]

She could call the Uber guy back. He wouldn't be happy to hear from her so soon but maybe he'd still check the backseat for her keys. It was likely that he wouldn't answer, probably suspecting she'd only thought of better arguments to make (like a scorned woman returning to the room she'd stomped out of a half-hour earlier — "oh, and another thing"). [break][break]

She could call her brother, Cooper. He'd pick up... if he woke. Let her stay the night and figure out what to do in the morning. Elise wouldn't like it, though. Especially since Tawny figured she'd be spending the next few hours getting up and down to heave over the kids' toilet. Poppy would find the whole thing hilarious but the younger ones would probably be a little flabbergasted. [break][break]

Matty? He was probably already dead to the world. Luck? He'd certainly give her shit. But it'd only take reminding him that she'd seen him in similar (or arguably worse) states to shut him up. Noah? How would she recover from that one? [break][break]

Her screen went black, just long enough to show the vague (but still remarkably frazzled) state of her in its reflection, then blinked back to life long enough to announce its dead battery before going dark again. Tawny blinked dumbly, made a couple of increasingly desperate taps, then flung herself to her feet and off the steps. "Fuck!" She stumbled onto the sidewalk, bag swinging as she careened unsteadily on her feet. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" [break][break]

She allowed herself to throw a fit for only a half-minute longer — stomping and spinning, hands lifted and fingers curling in and out of fists — before she straightened with a deep, centering breath. "Okay, okay... yep," she shrugged her shoulders, dropped her phone back in the bag that she resettled at her hip, then wrapped her jacket tight around herself. "These things happen, Tawny, we're just gonna... we're gonna..." her lips thinned and she sniffed, running her fingers through her hair. Her attempt at self-reassuring lost its steam — she didn't really know what she was going to do — but she lifted her chin and nodded nonetheless. "Manifest it. You just... you dropped your keys. It's no. Big. Deal. We got this." [break][break]

She stepped off down the sidewalk in the direction she'd come from, eyes sifting about the ground as she halved her focus between looking and keeping her stride as unstilted and straight as possible.

i'd speak to you in song[break]but you can't sing (as far as i'm aware)[break]though everyone can sing (as you are well aware)

Tag: Ferris Felwinter [break]
Give me a nudge for any tweaks/changes!

[newclass=.littlecloudSTREET-post]background-image:url(https://i.imgur.com/uRNx3aF.png);background-repeat:no-repeat;width:360px;text-align:justify;padding:20px 50px 25px 50px;background-color:#f5f5f5;color:#666;line-height:1.2!important;[/newclass]
[newclass=.littlecloudSTREET-post b]color:#3C6075;[/newclass]
[newclass=.post-littlecloudSTREET-o]background-color:#444B57;width:460px;padding:15px;[/newclass]

[Ferris Felwinter]

He was supposed to be home. Supposed to be asleep. But something about one of his cases kept nudging him awake, like a dot he just couldn't connect, only he didn't know what it was trying to connect two. It bothered him. He'd decided to take an evening walk rather than a morning run, to try and get somewhere new, to shake things out. To lose and regain focus. Tonight, he'd drove to a local gas station and walked from there.

So far, he wasn't having any success on that front. But the night was still young. He glanced down at his watch and changed his mind.

Ferris kept his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket, toying with the lighter he always carried. He didn't presently have anything to smoke on him, but the smooth metal of the lighter gave his hands something to worry at while he was free to think of other things. Namely how stupid he was testing his willpower with a lighter in his pocket.

Footsteps ahead of him drew his attention to the woman just in time to avoid bumping into her. He turned sideways to avoid contact, grey eyes sliding over her. And then he stopped. Normally, Ferris would say his ability to put names to faces was laughable. Considering not just his job as a detective, but his deep appreciation for film and movies and actors. He could get by quite well knowing every film someone acted in before coming to their name. Just like he knew the desks and hobbies and pets and gifts of his coworkers without being so positive on their names. But he knew Tawny from her walk. Admittedly it was a bit wobbly, but still. This close, that perpetually disheveled hair couldn't belong to anyone else.

Normally, the man wanted nothing to do with her. But there was something off about her tonight, largely in her lacking attention. He stopped on the sidewalk, turning to look at her. And then said more words to here than he had all month despite collaborating with her in the office more frequently than he cared to admit. "Tawny. Hey. You alright?"

[Tawny Vokes]

[nospaces]

[attr="class","post-littlecloudSTREET-o"]

[attr="class","littlecloudSTREET-post"]

THERE'S NO DEVIL ON ONE SHOULDER

and angel on the other; they're just two normal people

She'd been searching for what felt like thirty minutes already — an exaggeration spurred mostly by aching feet — when someone (who she'd almost walked right into) said her name.[break][break]

Just how lucky was she, to run into someone she knew? They could let her use their phone. Or, if it was a neighbor — obviously likely — maybe they'd let her in the building. Let her borrow their couch for the night (or at least their bathroom while she waited for someone else to pick her up). She lifted her head, all her hopes bright on her face as she spun around to look at her would-be-savior.[break][break]

"Oh." She frowned, excitement slipping from her eyes while her gaze fell in a quick, pointed glance-over from the man's face to his shoes. "It's you."[break][break]

Detective Felwinter. [break][break]

He'd never liked her. Which was fine. Tawny wasn't unaccustomed to being disliked. Sometimes — like with the Uber driver tonight... a couple of nosy friends this week... that bus driver who'd commented on her lack of smile just yesterday — she made it a point to be unlikable. [break][break]

But with Ferris, it seemed they'd started on the wrong foot. And it hadn't been her fault at all. She hadn't done anything to him — blatant or underhanded — to earn the looks and disregard. Yet he always seemed to put an entire room between her and him. Dropped his hand when they reached for the same drawer or cabinet. Paused in the breakroom doorway when he saw her at the community coffeepot (unable to hide the fact he was "second-guessing his timing" when she raised her attention to note him there). [break][break]

She didn't have to be a detective like him, to figure out what it meant.[break][break]
It wasn't what she'd done but what she could do. [break][break]

Typically... Tawny could understand the trepidation. It was why only a choice few people, outside of those she worked with on the regular, knew about her Gift. No matter how close she was to someone, how long or how good of friends they were... them knowing meant she could expect some sort of hesitance any time she reached for them. Even when they hid it well... probably even when it didn't truly exist at all... Tawny would always see it. Read it in the briefest of looks or twitches. Fabricate it in her mind when there was no tell. And no matter how founded she knew it was — how much she really couldn't blame someone for it — it never failed to snag in her chest. [break][break]

But Ferris wasn't her friend. His dislike of her had never hurt, only irked. And it had never seemed a bridge worth trying to mend. Especially not now, when she was already frayed and irritated. So, when she lifted her gaze back to his face, she didn't keep the scoff from her voice or check the narrow to her eyes. [break][break]

"Hardly any of your concern, is it?" Her lips threaded up at the corners into a tight, shallow smile and then she swiveled back around to continue her search. Another couple of stilted steps and she paused to tuck some hair behind her ear; fingers sifting through the tangled length of it before she pressed its split ends to her lips. She watched the ground before her pensively, trying to ignore the way it swayed. [break][break]

She'd already retraced her steps to where the Uber driver had kicked her out. It was very unlikely she'd find her keys on the way back. And she supposed... she really should take advantage of someone she knew being there. With a private roll of her eyes, she looked back over her shoulder, mouth tucked with obvious reluctance. "I lost my keys. And my phone's dead."

i'd speak to you in song[break]but you can't sing (as far as i'm aware)[break]though everyone can sing (as you are well aware)

Tag: Ferris Felwinter [break]
Give me a nudge for any tweaks/changes!

[newclass=.littlecloudSTREET-post]background-image:url(https://i.imgur.com/uRNx3aF.png);background-repeat:no-repeat;width:360px;text-align:justify;padding:20px 50px 25px 50px;background-color:#f5f5f5;color:#666;line-height:1.2!important;[/newclass]
[newclass=.littlecloudSTREET-post b]color:#3C6075;[/newclass]
[newclass=.post-littlecloudSTREET-o]background-color:#444B57;width:460px;padding:15px;[/newclass]

[Ferris Felwinter]

The frosty reception was pretty expected. He didn't make up reasons to leave whenever they shared the same room at work, but he certainly didn't hang around for idle chat. Of course, Ferris didn't do that with most of his coworkers unless he was cornered. It was nothing personal, chitchat simply wasn't his thing while in the office. But Tawny...he didn't even invite the option. It wasn't that he ignored her (that might have been better) but he was very aware of her presence and without prompting would move across the hallway or drop his hand from the coffee pot. She'd never really talked to him either so he sort of figured she had something against humans. Or just him. Which was fine, they were coworkers, not friends. Ferris didn't go out of his way to make good with either.

All that aside, he couldn't just pass by someone on the street, when they looked so distressed and...lost. Ferris slid his hands into his pockets and accepted her apathetic reply. He could take a hint. Whatever her problem was, it wasn't enough that she wanted to stoop to asking for help form the guy in the office whom she didn't talk to. That basically made him a stranger. Come to think of it, he was probably worse than a stranger.

Still, he stood there, silently watching her pace down and then back up the sidewalk, looking at the cement. Her phone/wallet/keys something to that effect. He glanced along the lamplit walkway and mulch and curb and didn't see very much either. A crushed beer can and some plastic remnants that might once have been a shopping bag. Ferris kept those less than helpful observations to himself.

When she paused and turned back, he looked up at her, expecting her to call him a stalker and to get lost. Well, maybe not since they didn't really speak to each other and that would be a lot of words to waste on him. Her harsh judgement of what was and wasn't his concern felt about right, though it still made him bristle. He narrowed his eyes at her. She could have just said she didn't want his help. He shrugged, at a loss. It wasn't. Especially since it was her business. And then she stopped and turned back and this, surely, was where she told him to get lost. Instead, he could see in her defensive but determined posture and the redness to her eyes that suggested she had been crying, that she was going to take this the opposite direction.

"Oh," he said, swiftly trying to figure out how he could help with that. Probably she had already been over the sidewalk enough times and of course she knew to look at the 'last place she'd seen them. So he didn't ask. He was a detective, sure, but...not in his normal life. "Can I give you a ride or...help charge your phone?" He looked up at the buildings on the side of the street, some apartments... "This is your apartment building, isn't it?" He guessed in the tone someone might in a horror movie when they ask their partner if the bad guy is right behind them. "I can...break down a door? Or...call your landlord?" Although suggestions, he was very serious in that he could do those things. At least his tone suggested as much. Somehow, he doubted Tawny (or her landlord) would like either option.

[Tawny Vokes]

[nospaces]

[attr="class","post-littlecloudSTREET-o"]

[attr="class","littlecloudSTREET-post"]

THERE'S NO DEVIL ON ONE SHOULDER

and angel on the other; they're just two normal people

Though Tawny had no idea why Ferris Felwinter was walking Downtown so late at night — looking a bit tired, she noted, now that she was really looking at him — but it seemed he was trying to be helpful. She wasn't sure if she had the real, honest right to feel surprised... but she did. He offered her a ride... to charge her phone... to break down her door... and Tawny watched him with as much care as she could manage in her current, frazzled state; mouth swishing to one side of her face and lip edging between her teeth. [break][break]

The idea of letting him help her was a bit rankling. She supposed... later... she'd have to express some sort of gratitude. Maybe even apologize for her present behavior. And that wasn't really something she was good at. It'd be a simple thing if he was a friend; some fair-weather someone she had the choice of seeing and could control how little or how much she allowed them to affect her daily life. But they worked together. There was no avoiding him completely. And it wasn't totally unimaginable that, someday, they'd have to work together.[break][break]

In some recess of Tawny's drunken brain, it occurred to her that these were all reasons she should probably be a little more civil in the first place. But it wasn't a very loud thought. Louder, was the gradually-creeping (and quite reluctant) acceptance that... she didn't have many other options at the moment. [break][break]

"Yep," Tawny answered, voice still somewhat drunkenly-hostile as it left her lips almost breathlessly. She hiked up her shoulders and beckoned to the shitty brick building with her arms thrown wide, bouncing on her toes while she flashed a wild, sarcastic grin. "This is home." The arms fell with a smack to her thighs and her mouth fell back into a pouty frown. [break][break]

"Actually, that's my apartment right there," she lifted a hand to point at the second-story, street-facing balcony just to the right of the entry doors. There was the faintest suggestion of a yellow glow through the drawn blinds; from the light she always kept on for her ferrets. Who'd be peacefully dozing, no doubt. Completely oblivious to her plight. That, or pacing about endlessly, eager for her return and a bit of freedom before she went to bed. She screwed up her face — mouth drawing in a tiny, tight line of frustration — and shook the finger on the air. It seemed so unfair that it was so close. And not. She remembered she'd left her morning cup of coffee on the iron-wrought table stuffed in the tiny balcony space and the thought... the image of it... was almost taunting. [break][break]

She puffed a breath in her cheeks, held it, then blew it out with a whoosh; dropping her hand, her head, and her shoulders all in one, smooth motion. She started a slow, defeated pace to where Ferris stood, half-expecting him to edge away as she closed the little distance between them. She didn't know if she did it as a conscious action — perhaps to make him feel more at ease — or if was just a natural, thoughtless thing... but she tucked her hands "safely" in her pockets. When she neared, she lifted her face and squinted; one eye screwing closed as she mulled over the options he'd presented more sincerely.[break][break]

"My landlord would probably just laugh. Or scream a bit and then laugh. And, though even I would be able to kick down my door," she tilted her head, gesturing toward the exterior steps and entrance. "Getting through this one's a whole 'nother thing." She tipped her face skyward, blinking rapidly while spluttering at the bits of disheveled hair that stuck to her face and the corners of her mouth. She really didn't want to ask him to drive her to her brother's. Nor did she want to sit in his car long enough for her phone to come to life so she could call anyone. She wanted to pee, change into some PJs — her own PJs — and curl up on her couch. Forget the whole night had happened and maybe — it was actually quite inevitable — finish having a nice little cry about it. [break][break]

Her gaze drew to the balconies again and, after a moment, drifted to Ferris. "Think you can reach the fire escape ladder. If you jump? Or can give me a boost?" If she could just climb up to her balcony, there was a 50/50 chance she'd left the slider unlocked. Worst case scenario, she could climb up to the next balcony, knock at her neighbor's window, and ask them to let her in the building. Though... it was also a 50/50 chance that they'd be so generous.

i'd speak to you in song[break]but you can't sing (as far as i'm aware)[break]though everyone can sing (as you are well aware)

Tag: Ferris Felwinter [break]
Give me a nudge for any tweaks/changes!

[newclass=.littlecloudSTREET-post]background-image:url(https://i.imgur.com/uRNx3aF.png);background-repeat:no-repeat;width:360px;text-align:justify;padding:20px 50px 25px 50px;background-color:#f5f5f5;color:#666;line-height:1.2!important;[/newclass]
[newclass=.littlecloudSTREET-post b]color:#3C6075;[/newclass]
[newclass=.post-littlecloudSTREET-o]background-color:#444B57;width:460px;padding:15px;[/newclass]

[Ferris Felwinter]

Tawny's gaze cut like a knife. He could feel her ripping him apart and weighing the pieces against her feather and heart and keys and dead phone. The same spine numbing feeling of when his wife found out he'd been keeping her birthday plans secret. Only this was sharper and less personal. He could turn around and shrug off the situation like a jacket, continue on his way and never look back. Her sleeping on the porch or walking a few miles to a gas station or pay phone shouldn't be anything to him.

Especially as she spoke so dismissively, her tone clipped. It wasn't the first time he realized others found speaking to him a chore. It was honestly par for the course. But they worked together. Maybe not directly, but in the same building. There was no avoiding her and if things were frosty before, they would be downright cold. If he went back on his olive branch now, he may as well not have offered one.

Ferris followed her gesture to the balcony that Tawny indicated and the faint light on the other side of the blinds. The second story balcony was small, with a table and chairs and a few odds and ends that screamed it was a very lived in space. A fold up fire-escape was tucked off one side. Tawny's finger waving display might have made him smile if they knew each other better. As it was, he gathered she was more deeply upset (and drunk?) than she was letting on.

The woman dragged herself over to him, defeated. He stood his ground, though part of him tensed slightly, even as he watched her put her hands in her pockets. He didn't know all the details about Tawny's power, but he knew it relied on touch and would be lying if he said he wasn't a little afraid despite himself. If her didn't laugh at her finger waving, her 'thinking face' earned a raised eyebrow in amusement.

He could tell the building was locked from here, just not how. He'd kicked open a few doors in his time, but he wasn't so sure about this one. Not without looking at it. "Not without criminal charges," he noted, considering her landlord would be unhappy enough to yell about a missing key. It was late, he supposed. This close to her goal, it seemed silly to drive her elsewhere, but that might be the best open.

As she described a vague plan about the fire escape, Ferris moved past Tawny, turning to the side carefully to ensure no one popped any personal space bubbles, moving a bit closer to the front of the building to see if he could reach the wrought iron mechanism. "We could give it a try," he allowed, figuring she must has left it unlocked or had a key up there somewhere. Ferris put a hand to the wall beside the first-floor window, looking up. Even a foot taller than the petite woman, he couldn't simply reach the balcony without jumping. And even then...he'd have to try and use the wall as a springboard. The detective was fit, but even he wasn't sure he could reach it. Still...the alternative required physical contact so...

Ferris took a step back from the wall, looked up and then took a running start to the wall. He got the boost he needed and reached up - just to brush against the lower bar. The landing he had planned out a lot less, landing on one foot and staggering to the side and barely catching himself with a hand on the entry way. He grimaced, admittedly a bit embarrassed by his lack of coordination. "I guess it's a good thing I never tried out for long jumping, eh?" He asked it like a serious question, but it was probably a joke. "Boost it is," he said, looking back down at her.

[Tawny Vokes]

[nospaces]

[attr="class","post-littlecloudSTREET-o"]

[attr="class","littlecloudSTREET-post"]

THERE'S NO DEVIL ON ONE SHOULDER

and angel on the other; they're just two normal people

Tawny watched him, unable to decide his feelings. Given her profession, she liked to think people weren't mysteries to her. But she wasn't sure what to make of his standing there. Couldn't decide if he was tense or amused. Maybe he was both. Maybe it was his own indecision about how to go about her that muddled the tells. Maybe he was always a little hard to read. Most probably, she was just drunk, due for a cry, and a bit too irritated to look too close or squint. [break][break]

He gave the door and the balcony she pointed out a study. Then, after some initial inspection — what to expect from a detective? — he made, and failed, an attempt to get ahold of the fire escape. Tawny started forward when he stumbled, but then he corrected himself and she fell back. All for the better — what could she have hoped to do if he fell? Catch him? Even if she did manage to right him, all she could imagine was him shoving away from her with a (suddenly very readable) bewilderment. [break][break]

Grimacing and looking a bit abashed, Ferris joked about the lack of success. Tawny lifted her brow agreeingly. "Yeah, good thing..." her lips thinned and she raised a shoulder. "Might have made away with bronze, still." He looked back at her, taking her a bit by surprise as he consigned to the "boosting" idea, and she found his eyes without concealing their widening in surprise. She looked just as quickly away, unsure if she should feel a certain way by his willingness to help her. Her current predicament damned, it'd be so much easier if he wasn't being amenable — it'd justify her being catty and snide and snooty, which were all things she really wanted to be right now. [break][break]

"Great." She pulled her hands from her pockets and clapped them together, lips tucking dramatically as she stepped forward; attempting to pretend this assist wasn't going to be anything but uncomfortable for both of them. "Lucky for you, I did dance and gymnastics for half my life. And," she paused for effect, lifting a finger and giving a severe nod as she tipped back and let the moment linger. "Half a year of cheerleading in middle school." She dropped the hand, shoulders slacking with a shrug as she moved closer. Unlucky for them, she wasn't sober. But that didn't need to be pointed out. "I also try to manage a... dozen or so pull-ups every year. Just so the gym membership doesn't go to waste." [break][break]

While humor typically never went amiss, Tawny could hear herself the lack of conviction in it. The reaching in it. And, as she stepped to Ferris and gave him another lookover, her lips turned down at the corners and she started more genuinely, "If you're worried, I get it. If you don't wanna, I get it. Really, I do." She'd be a pissy brat about it, most certainly, but she didn't not understand. "And you don't gotta." She wrung her hands before her, feeling a phantom tingle of acknowledgment that they were the problem as she worked her fingers together and dropped her gaze to peer about the sidewalk exaggeratedly. "I'm sure I could scrounge up some pebbles. Start tossing them at windows. Borrow your phone and blast Peter Gabriel's In Your Eyes, John Cusack-style, until someone wakes up?" She snapped her attention back, eyes bright while her mouth quirked emphatically. If catty and snide and snooty was out of the question, then maybe joking was easier. [break][break]

"Or we can just make this quick and never talk about it again. How do you wanna do it?"

i'd speak to you in song[break]but you can't sing (as far as i'm aware)[break]though everyone can sing (as you are well aware)

Tag: Ferris Felwinter [break]
Give me a nudge for any tweaks/changes!

[newclass=.littlecloudSTREET-post]background-image:url(https://i.imgur.com/uRNx3aF.png);background-repeat:no-repeat;width:360px;text-align:justify;padding:20px 50px 25px 50px;background-color:#f5f5f5;color:#666;line-height:1.2!important;[/newclass]
[newclass=.littlecloudSTREET-post b]color:#3C6075;[/newclass]
[newclass=.post-littlecloudSTREET-o]background-color:#444B57;width:460px;padding:15px;[/newclass]

[Ferris Felwinter]

Her acknowledgement of his attempt and his joke was actually surprising, enough to earn a smirk that faded quickly. Not because he thought Tawny didn't have a sense of humor (he would readily admit he didn't know her well enough to know one way or the other) but because she was the one reassuring him after he poked fun at himself. They weren't supposed to be on speaking terms with each other, let alone be not just civil but almost friendly. Maybe it was just because she was drunk and a bit desperate. Or maybe he was the one with the problem and that was why he was trying to at least pretend he knew how to be a Good Samaritan. If she was anyone else on the street, he'd do the same thing.

His eyes jumped to her hands and the little clap she made that was probably just drunken habitual mannerism than anything meant to make him nervous, but nervous he was. He remained precisely where he was, watching her profusely express her qualifications to be lifted up to grab a fire escape like she was preparing for a highly sought after job interview. It was actually quite precious and positively grounding at just how...normal she was. For a drunk white girl with no keys and ruined make up, she was doing a great job of pulling herself together. Was she always this fun? Or was this a defense mechanism? He wasn't good enough at people to know, but he was aware enough to know he had purposefully not paid attention to her before. "That half a year of middle school cheerleading has never been so essential," he encouraged. Whether she was serious or not, he could play along. Even if by the time she got to the bit about the gym, he could tell she was over selling it.

He looked down at Tawny as she stepped closer, the hair on the back of his neck sticking up. But he held his ground. Even managed to risk looking away from her and up at the fire escape to ensure he was in a good position under it. Ferris grimaced. "I am. And I don't," he said. "But we don't need to get into that." Whatever dread he felt wasn't her fault and he was an adult, he could handle it, like he handled all of his problems. He looked down at the mention of pebbles. As much as he appreciated her spit balling other ideas... He frowned thought at the reference...

"Did...did that even work?" Ferris didn't recall enough of the movie except he supposed Tawny's dejected facial expression was hauntingly similar to Cusack's in that scene.

Her following words made the comparison painfully direct to easy sex and Ferris inhaled heavily. Alright, guess that's how this was going to go. "Or we treat this like a one-night stand, sure. Perfect," he rumbled, shaking his head. He bent his knees and leaned against the wall slightly, interlocking his fingers to make a set for her to start with. He wanted to do this quick, face to face, with as little talking and touching as possible and he didn't dare say any of it because there was no way he could make that joke and get away with it as not sexual harassment. "Ready when you are," he confirmed. Physically, at least. Mentally...he tried to look anywhere but at her hands.

[Tawny Vokes]

[nospaces]

[attr="class","post-littlecloudSTREET-o"]

[attr="class","littlecloudSTREET-post"]

THERE'S NO DEVIL ON ONE SHOULDER

and angel on the other; they're just two normal people

His face gave a subtle twist; half-hidden as he tipped his visage away, looking up and away from her as she edged closer. Like a hopeless, beaten dog she was slowly cornering. As if simply turning cheek from whatever expected abuse was approaching would make it a little more merciful. He confirmed, with only a few, terse words, that he was worried. He didn't want to do this. And, not in the exact words but with the same decided firmness, his reluctance wasn't up for discussion. [break][break]

Tawny's tongue pressed hard into her bottom lip and she breathed a slow breath through her nose, trying to curb the stubborn want to bristle still pacing within her. She always hated that. When someone shut something down because they didn't want to talk about it. What if she wanted to talk about it? What if it needed to be addressed? She knew she was guilty of the same, stark stonewalling — very, very guilty of it... and often — but it didn't mean she couldn't be irked when the shoe was on the other foot. She never claimed to be above hypocrisy, after all. [break][break]

A couple minutes ago, before she decided she should at least try and return his amenability with some civility... try to put a muzzle on that pout and snark within her... she might have nodded slow and squinted at him while she sharpened a retort behind her teeth. Spoken finally, with a bit of quiet, loaded challenge, that maybe they should talk about it. And that, her Gift — the obvious problem he had with her — was, believe it or not, something she couldn't really ignore when it became a little uncomfy. It was a part of her life, something she'd lived with since she was practically toddling, and no, actually, there was no shoving its existence out-of-mind for her when doing so was convenient.[break][break]

As it was... after a considering moment... Tawny only let her mouth twist and gave a single, brisk dip of her head. It wasn't worth it. Ferris knew next to nothing about her. Had made his mind up prior to now. It was a prejudice not worth the effort of even attempting to sway. And it wasn't wholly uncalled for. She didn't have to wonder for a reason because there were plenty. And she didn't care. She didn't care. [break][break]

Maybe trying to maintain some degree of nonchalance... or maybe just to deflect... he questioned the plausibility of her suggested John Cusack ploy. She lifted a single shoulder, tone notably less responsive than before, "No. It didn't. But it's a 90s rom-com — it works out in the end, anyway."[break][break]

Ferris readied himself. At his dry (obviously unenthused) comment about treating the situation like a one-night stand, Tawny tipped her head and clucked her tongue before she finished stepping to him. "Hey. You said it, not me," she muttered, eyes downcast and look impassive as she slipped out of her heels. They were dirty, inconvenient, and would only make things more difficult. With a quick glance above her head, gauging the distance and position of the fire escape folded above them, she sucked at her lips determinedly and planted a foot in the cradle of his braced hands; one of her own reaching to anchor and support herself against his shoulder while she started a preparing bounce.[break][break]

Quite purposefully, she was moving intentionally and decidedly. Didn't ask him if he was ready. If he was certain. Didn't look to his face to see if he looked ready. It could have been the wrong choice — maybe Ferris would prefer she treat him like a leery horse, like to buck or bolt when moved upon too quick — but she figured, if she treated the whole thing like it wasn't a big deal, it would... seem less like one. In any case, the quicker it was over and done with, the better. And, admittedly, her concern about how comfortable he was about the whole thing was starting a steady wane. [break][break]

"Five, six, seven, eight," she started in a toneless, under-the-breath chant; giving a sarcastic, back-and-forth tilt of her head as she timed her bounce to it (letting it grow a little more weighty with each rise and fall and expecting Ferris was clever enough to figure out where the lift would be). "Better than the rest, headed straight to the top, LEMS—" her fingers braced and her lips tucked, "Can't. Be. Stopped!"

i'd speak to you in song[break]but you can't sing (as far as i'm aware)[break]though everyone can sing (as you are well aware)

Tag: Ferris Felwinter [break]
Give me a nudge for any tweaks/changes![break]
Or if you want me to move the lift more along~

[newclass=.littlecloudSTREET-post]background-image:url(https://i.imgur.com/uRNx3aF.png);background-repeat:no-repeat;width:360px;text-align:justify;padding:20px 50px 25px 50px;background-color:#f5f5f5;color:#666;line-height:1.2!important;[/newclass]
[newclass=.littlecloudSTREET-post b]color:#3C6075;[/newclass]
[newclass=.post-littlecloudSTREET-o]background-color:#444B57;width:460px;padding:15px;[/newclass]

[Ferris Felwinter]

Ferris didn't need to look directly at Tawny to know she was debating whether it was more important to her to get into her apartment at this exact moment, or if she wanted to have an impromptu and slightly drunken heart to heart. As it was, she very clearly didn't like his approach, even though he thought mirroring her words would be all she wanted from him, since she'd never made any attempt to ask for more before.

Having been married for a number of years, eight, in fact, Ferris was certain he knew when a woman wanted something from him. Only Tawny wasn't his wife, and he felt no burning need to begin a more open dialogue with her about their problems. It shouldn't bother him that she was so annoyed with him.

He sighed as her insistence that he was the one who said it and therefore it was his fault reminded him of his teenage daughter. Right, he didn't exactly want to be made fun of right now. He should have just kept his mouth shut. They were just two adults, breaking into an apartment late at night. As she stepped into his hand and braced herself against him, he turned his head to the side so he wasn't face to face with anything he shouldn't be. Despite her bringing it up moments ago, the goofy cheerleader routine was entirely unexpected. But cheesy as it was, having a tempo to sync up together helped. While he'd never done dance or cheer, Ferris was plenty musically inclined. That and her hand tightening on his shirt at the shoulder, gave him plenty of cue of when she was ready to be launched upward.

Tawny's petit size helped make it a smooth transition, belying their usual discordant demeanors toward each other. Despite the strain on his knees, he managed to boost her up, and then of course realized that landing was important too. Even if Tawny managed to grab hold of the fire escape. He tried not to entirely let her go, in case he needed to help hold her up of catch her on the way down. Of course, she might just as easily manage to get her feet on his shoulders or something, but he wasn't about to leave that solely up to her, considering the state she was in.

[Tawny Vokes]

[nospaces]

[attr="class","post-littlecloudSTREET-o"]

[attr="class","littlecloudSTREET-post"]

THERE'S NO DEVIL ON ONE SHOULDER

and angel on the other; they're just two normal people

She may have fibbed a little. Even during her (very brief) stunt of kiddie cheerleading, Tawny had never, ever been the flyer. When Ferris hoisted her up, she tried not to sway too violently, to keep her breathing even, and to feel just a little less drunk. [break][break]

Her fingertips brushed against the ladder's cold metal and, for a suspended moment that made her breath hitch, she thought she was going to miss. But with a jerk (and resulting wobble), she struck out again and curled one hand, then the other, around the bottom rung. Beneath her, she could feel Ferris' support teeter as he tried to keep her steady while she pinched her mouth and began to tug and yank; trying, as well, to keep some of her squirrely weight lessened with the "strength" in her arms.[break][break]

The thing didn't budge. Only rattled.[break][break]

Ferris' strained rocking became gradually more pronounced. Tawny could feel the brief seconds she had before she had to come back down ticking by fast as she darted her gaze about in search of some locking mechanism that she maybe hadn't noticed before. "Come on, you... stupid... bit—" trapping the rest of the curse in her teeth, she hardened her eyes and shifted her focus. If pulling the ladder down wasn't going to work... and it seemed solidly stuck.. maybe she could lever herself up instead. Drag herself onto the landing and prove she hadn't been bluffing about those "one dozen yearly" pull-ups. [break][break]

She took a breath and held it puffed in her cheeks as she made the attempt; slipping from Ferris' continued bracing while she anchored herself up and searched for another handhold — something she could strike out for other than the ladder. None of it was graceful. But, in the moment, she'd happily settle for puffing. Wriggling like a worm. And looking a fool as she rolled on her back and panted skyward once the thing was done. It'd still be a triumph. And she could send Ferris on his way. Maybe with a 'thank you'.... maybe. [break][break]

The ladder creaked. The sound of it widened Tawny's eyes. Then, with a slightly more grating screech, it snapped loose from whatever was keeping it in place and dropped partway down before coming to a jarring stop. The jolt and surprise of it was enough to startle and she squeaked warningly when her fingers tore from the rung and she dropped.

i'd speak to you in song[break]but you can't sing (as far as i'm aware)[break]though everyone can sing (as you are well aware)

Tag: Ferris Felwinter [break]
Give me a nudge for any tweaks/changes!

[newclass=.littlecloudSTREET-post]background-image:url(https://i.imgur.com/uRNx3aF.png);background-repeat:no-repeat;width:360px;text-align:justify;padding:20px 50px 25px 50px;background-color:#f5f5f5;color:#666;line-height:1.2!important;[/newclass]
[newclass=.littlecloudSTREET-post b]color:#3C6075;[/newclass]
[newclass=.post-littlecloudSTREET-o]background-color:#444B57;width:460px;padding:15px;[/newclass]

[Ferris Felwinter]

Ferris craned his neck back to try and see if Tawny got a hand on the rung or something. He didn't quite trust her. Not because he thought her athletically incapable or inept, but simply because he had no idea how drunk she was. Speaking from experience, he was pretty terrible at remaining upright after drinking, let alone attempting some acrobatics. He let out a silent breath as she got a grip on the rung, but when it didn't come down with her first couple tugs, her weight in his arms and on his shoulders became more and more precarious.

The seconds ticked by quickly, and just when he opened his mouth to warn Tawny her return flight was boarding, he felt her use his shoulders as a springboard. The man grunted, surprised and amused and perhaps grudgingly respectful of her bravery. Or stupidity. The two were closely related. For a moment, it looked like the woman just might haul herself up, despite how slim and delicate her arms were. He watched her wriggle and struggle, hands half raised uncertainly, trying to continue spotting her.

The faint creak drew his eyes up to the mechanism too, and time seemed to slow down for a moment. The metal on metal screech as the ladder began to drop and then caught again, sending the woman into free fall as she tried vainly to imitate the noise the ladder had just made.

Ferris was ready to catch her, scooping her up in his arms and pulling her to his chest mid fall. But he wasn't so ready for the impact and landing, her weight unbalancing him, his left leg buckling beneath him, and he fell hard on his backside and shoulders, Tawny cradled mostly protectively against his chest. Her weight coupled with the fall crushed the air from his lungs. Ferris lay there for a moment, stunned.

[Tawny Vokes]

[nospaces]

[attr="class","post-littlecloudSTREET-o"]

[attr="class","littlecloudSTREET-post"]

THERE'S NO DEVIL ON ONE SHOULDER

and angel on the other; they're just two normal people

She'd been touching him before. Her bare feet had been in the cradle of his palms. His hands and arms had braced against her shins... her ankles... as he lifted her up and supported her. But she'd been prepared for that contact. Even as drunk as she was, over twenty years of practice made it so blocking out the memories that threatened at every touch required little thought. [break][break]

But it did still require thought. Something she lacked entirely, in the split (yet strangely suspended) moment she fell. She crashed into Ferris beneath her and, as he moved to catch her the best he could, she crashed, too, into the river of his memories. [break][break]

Slipping into memory while panicked was disorienting. Doing so while drunk was often a difficult keen. Being drunk and panicked was like her head being dunked immediately beneath the waters while the tide tugged her to-and-fro with no direction or aim. Had Ferris himself been collected — had the unanticipated touch been from someone attempting to calm her, or attempting to instill some honey-toned comfort, it might not have been so violent. But he, too, was surprised. Unsettled. He chopped the waters. Made them more rushing and turbulent. And the combination of his unease with her own unpreparedness made it all the more impossible to get her metaphorical feet beneath her. To find the riverbed long enough to push herself back to the present. [break][break]

As she whisked between memories, she tried to shut her — his — eyes against the images that flashed, unbidden, before her. Images not meant for her. Snippets of his past that disappeared with each dunk of her head below the surface and changed to something different when she broke back up for air. A beach scene. Bars. People she didn't recognize. Herself. It was all too quick, too harried, for her to immediately digest. She knew some things would stick — would spring back to mind, crystal-clear, once she was calm. But she couldn't focus on them now. Especially as she tried to quell her panic the best she could.[break][break]

After all... the last time she'd spiraled through someone's memory so terribly... she'd taken a chunk of it with her in her ascent from it. Sure, this wasn't as extreme — she'd been dying then — and it'd only been a few minutes that she'd stole. But... still.[break][break]

Sucking a hard breath into her emptied lungs, Tawny did her best to scramble off of him. She finally yanked herself from his memories to wriggle and elbow from his chest, then slipped back into and out of them in the resulting struggle. Her arm skipped against his arm — she faced his dead-eyed stare in a bathroom mirror. Her palm pressed to his arm as she flipped herself around — she blinked at the inquisitive look of curly-haired girl. Her fingers slipped down and to the skin of his stomach, bared in the fall, as she slid back — the Sector building loomed tall above her — and finally, she shoved quite ungracefully off of him and onto her ass away from him. [break][break]

It took a matter of seconds. But she breathed hard, chest heaving, as she embraced the enormous relief of getting away from him. Swallowing and blinking rapidly, she kicked herself a little further away to allow him (and her) his space, then lifted a hand to wipe away the wild hair that'd scattered across her face. Thought rushed back and she tried not to blanch. "Fuck... fuck..." The world tilted beneath her. Beyond the sound of blood and breath in her skull, it was far too quiet in the aftermath of everything she'd seen. She tried not to wretch as she pulled herself forward and let feeling slip slowly back into her.[break][break]

Most immediately, there was anger. At him. For catching her. For his stupid ill-ease around her. For catching her despite his ill-ease. But more than that, there was anger at herself beginning a slow brim — for proving his wariness quite justified. But she shoved it down. Tried to swallow it before it could truly form. Instead, she decided it was best to simply make sure he was okay — hadn't broken or bruised anything too bad. The anger could be faced after. "Fuck! Are you..." she swallowed, wincing as she levered to her knees and pushed her hands beneath her to try and stand. "You okay?"

i'd speak to you in song[break]but you can't sing (as far as i'm aware)[break]though everyone can sing (as you are well aware)

Tag: Ferris Felwinter [break]
Give me a nudge for any changes! Or if you want more of a reaction or more of a description of the memories? I figured she could pick them apart later, when she's able to think more, but if you want me to get into it, lemme know!

[newclass=.littlecloudSTREET-post]background-image:url(https://i.imgur.com/uRNx3aF.png);background-repeat:no-repeat;width:360px;text-align:justify;padding:20px 50px 25px 50px;background-color:#f5f5f5;color:#666;line-height:1.2!important;[/newclass]
[newclass=.littlecloudSTREET-post b]color:#3C6075;[/newclass]
[newclass=.post-littlecloudSTREET-o]background-color:#444B57;width:460px;padding:15px;[/newclass]

[Ferris Felwinter]

Ferris wasn't a fan of all the physical contact but he kept his unease to himself. It wasn't so bad if he had something else, like a task, to focus on. But he wasn't prepared for it on the landing. Thankfully, he was much too distracted by landing ass first, shoulders second on the cement, plus her weight on top of him, to worry about where exactly she touched him. It almost helped that the mess of hands and elbows and knees was mildly painful. And probably, from any third-party witness, comical.

He'd nearly pulled himself together, painful as it was, when Tawny slammed her hand on his stomach and pushed herself away, forcing any breath he'd just managed to pull in out again in a loud oof. He doubled over on his side, gasping in pain at the motion and trying to inhale.

Ferris groaned in reply to her question, pushing himself up. He dry-heaved a few times as his diaphragm figured out how to function again and then finally drew in one shuddering breath and then another. "Fuck," he breathed, echoing her much more violent spew of the word. "Maybe," he added, voice a high pitched, forced, rough whisper, trying to both groan and inhale at the same time. "Think I bruised my tailbone," he added, wincing and trying to find a position on the ground that both didn't hurt and facilitated breathing normal. "And my skull." Ferris took another, deeper breath, reaching back to gingerly touch the back of his head and the bruise he could already feel there.

The woman was pale as sheet, having scrambled all the way out of arms reach in her haste to get away from him. She seemed even more stressed than when they started. "You okay?" he asked, returning the question, voice growing closer to normal as he looked up at her and then at the fire escape. The ladder rung was a lot lower. Probably he could reach it, if he could stand up. In a minute.

[Tawny Vokes]

[nospaces]

[attr="class","post-littlecloudSTREET-o"]

[attr="class","littlecloudSTREET-post"]

THERE'S NO DEVIL ON ONE SHOULDER

and angel on the other; they're just two normal people

Tawny watched him roll and heave in front of her, lips pulling and eyes screwing in a slowly-worsening, somewhat-apologetic grimace. She couldn't be certain what'd been more damaging — his initial slam to the sidewalk or her desperate and damn-near clawing bid to get away from him. At least she hadn't hooked him in the face with an elbow or kneed anywhere (arguably) more important than the stomach. [break][break]

Ferris recovered... mostly... and pulled himself to a sitting. She searched him with wide, probing eyes as he groaned, worked on his breath, then eventually managed a reply to her concern. He was okay — maybe. She blinked rapidly, a quick puff slipping through her nose as her face slackened with relief. His wincing complaint about bruised butts and skulls was more reassuring than his words; she figured broken bones or cracked skulls would earn something a little more stated. [break][break]

Then again, so many men were ridiculously close-lipped and stubborn when it came to pain. And Ferris, he seemed the type. It'd likely surprise no one if he fractured something and then proceeded to go about his life with a grit jaw and the self-deceiving insistence that 'he was fine'. But Tawny wasn't about to press. With her mind still reeling and her heart still working to slow in her chest, she couldn't afford the thinking. It was for his girlfriend or his wife to pester him about, anyway. [break][break]

Not her. [break][break]

Unable to formulate an actual reply to articulate her relief (or anything else, for that matter), she simply nodded, swallowed, and finished pushing herself to her feet. He returned the inquiry — asking if she was okay — and Tawny didn't immediately answer. She pressed her lips and focused on keeping her breath even through her nose as she brushed the grit from her palms and then her knees. The flutter in her chest was still tight, threatening to constrict further, but after a moment, she decided to steady and dropped her gaze to him. [break][break]

"I'm fine," she said simply, proud of the mostly-unaffected way it left her lips. Though perhaps a touch reedy, her tone was largely flippant. And, remarkably, she even managed a convincing imitation of their earlier, slightly-edged humor as she arched a single brow and added, "Lucky for me, something broke my fall." It was clearly an imitation, though — a transparent attempt to keep herself firm, perhaps — and the humor didn't ring quite honest, even to her own ears. The sound of it made her want to roll her eyes, simultaneously uncertain if the frustration would be at herself or him. It would be easier if it was him. She looked away for a brief moment, eyelids fluttering and mouth pinching tighter, then stepped forward and extended a hand.[break][break]

She watched his face, eyes set and almost impassive. It wasn't so much a dare for him to accept — to take her hand, to touch her purposely — as it was a demand. She didn't know where exactly the hardness came from — or why it was there — but a part of her suspected she needed it more for herself than him. Needed, quite abruptly and desperately, either an unspoken acquiescence between them or a clear excuse to stoke her disdain. Either would do in the moment. "Come on," she wriggled her fingers. "Get up and show me you're not broke."

i'd speak to you in song[break]but you can't sing (as far as i'm aware)[break]though everyone can sing (as you are well aware)

Tag: Ferris Felwinter [break]
Give me a nudge for any changes!

[newclass=.littlecloudSTREET-post]background-image:url(https://i.imgur.com/uRNx3aF.png);background-repeat:no-repeat;width:360px;text-align:justify;padding:20px 50px 25px 50px;background-color:#f5f5f5;color:#666;line-height:1.2!important;[/newclass]
[newclass=.littlecloudSTREET-post b]color:#3C6075;[/newclass]
[newclass=.post-littlecloudSTREET-o]background-color:#444B57;width:460px;padding:15px;[/newclass]