[Genesis Donovan]

Put me back together, or separate the skin from bone
Leave me all the pieces, then you can leave me alone

---

Yet another boring shift came and went. Currently, Genie was filling in at a doctor's office as a receptionist. She couldn't keep herself from snooping through the files as she pulled them out for the doctor, looking for anything of interest. She spent most of the day answering the phone, setting appointments, and checking in patients. The most interesting thing she learned by snooping was that one of the patients was there because they were hearing whispers in their head.

She wasn't sure what she expected to find in the files, but that wasn't really it. A little more than halfway through the day, she gave up snooping and just pulled the files and stacked them like she was supposed to. It felt repetitive and methodical. And utterly boring. She had no interest in talking with the other staff, discussing how bad the nurse's new haircut looked or who should eat more salads for lunch in lieu of cheeseburgers. It was inane conversation that didn't really matter. Occasionally, she would give a nod or smile to seem like she was engaging with them, but really, she was just counting down the time until the end of the workday.

At least she would be working somewhere else tomorrow. This was a one day gig. Short staffed office had someone taking the day off, so they called in for a little back up. She didn't mind the work, even if it was rather routine. It gave her something to do, got her out of the apartment and her own head for a while.

After work, Genie was hungry. She didn't feel like cooking for herself tonight, and she could use a drink. She pulled her black Honda Civic into the parking lot of one of the bars on her way home. They had decent food and cheap drinks, so it would do. As she was walking into the bar, Genie's cell phone chimed with a new notification. She pulled it out of the pocket of her dark jeans, and looked at the screen. One new message. Unknown sender. Genie fully expected that this was going to be her next job, so she waited until she was sitting in a booth, relatively secluded from the rest of the patrons.

'Yo, check the listing.'

Genie stared at the screen, puzzled for just a second. Who would just tell her to check the listing? It couldn't be a prank, it was too specific. The unknown number wasn't unusual, but she did wonder who the sender was since this wasn't a job. Or was it? Would there be something obvious when she looked at the latest bounty listings? She didn't wait to find out. Genie pressed a few buttons and pulled up what she was looking for. She began looking through the active bounties, starting with the newest. Nothing jumped out. Then it clicked...

Genie swiped quickly, sorting from highest value targets instead of newest. She scrolled for a few seconds before she found what she was looking for.

She clicked on the listing for Ray Donovan. The word 'eliminated' was stamped in red letters diagonally across the mug shot. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared at the picture. Someone had finally taken him out.

"Holy shit..." Genie wasn't sure how she was feeling. There was a sense of relief, that he could never get to her again. There was also a sense of regret. Her mind was racing with all the possibilities of what could have happened to actually eliminate him. How many people had to be involved? She pushed her nails into the palm of her hand, breaking the patter of thoughts that she was having. Now was not the time to think about this. She didn't want to spiral right here, in a bar, surrounded by other people.

Genie got back up from the booth as a friendly looking server was heading over.

"Sorry, I changed my mind." She looked at the server as she walked, and mumbled the apology as she made a dash for the door, not paying any attention, too lost in her own head. Until she came to an abrupt halt, having collided with a solid mass.. Another person. "Oh shit, I'm so sorry..."

---

Tag: open
Note: Jumping right in with her... Feel free to move her around a bit or make assumptions.

[Esha Mullur]

Esha couldn’t quite decide if the doctor’s office was more or less cramped than the hospital. Less spacious for sure, but certainly less crowded. Not exactly the type of place she planned to work in the future, but a fully fledged surgeon would have to make these kinds of trips for consulting purposes, which is precisely what her superior was doing today and far be it from her to turn down a learning opportunity. The poor sod they had come to talk to was considering brain surgery to get voices out of his head. Seemed a bit extreme to her, but apparently the guy had tried everything.

Once everything was said and done, her superior agreed to put him into consideration, they just needed to review his medical files. Naturally, Esha was requested to fetch them. When she arrived at the receptionist’s desk though, she was nowhere to be found. Clearly, she had just gotten off for the day, which wasn’t a big deal considering that all the necessary paperwork was left out in the open. She just flipped her fingers through the papers until she found what was needed.

As Esha went to leave though, she felt something kicking at her feet. Curious, she peered down only to spot a wallet. She retrieved the thing and popped it open, looking at the driver’s license for guidance. Oh! She recognized that face! It was the lady she ate with during her lunch break at the office, the one she was talking about the cheeseburger lady with. She could never fathom how anybody could eat fast food, let alone red meats. That was a different tangent though.

Quickly, Esha raced to a nearby window, hoping that she could find the woman before she vacated the premises altogether. She seemed to be just in luck… seemed. She saw the lady walking through the parking lot, but couldn’t raise her attention by knocking on the window. Figures, she seemed pretty checked out when she was on the job too.

Well, thankfully Esha’s part was done once she handed the papers off to her supervisor, so she could hopefully make time and cross paths with the receptionist in the parking lot before she took off. Such a break could not be had though, as she saw her car pull off as soon as she exited the building.

Not one to take failure lightly, Esha’s eyes immediately dashed to her scooter. The pursuit was on.

Nimbly following the Honda Civic through traffic, Esha did as well as she could with her 50-mph scooter to keep up. She narrowly lost her target if not for the fact that she pulled in to a familiar looking bar. Well, most were familiar to her. “Bhagavaan ka shukr hai” she muttered under her breath as she lessened her tension.

Casually pulling and parking in place, Esha hung her helmet off the handle of her scooter, readjusting her headscarf in her rear-view mirror to ensure she didn’t have any quills poking out. She briefly wondered if people might think she’s crazy waling into a bar still wearing her doctor’s coat and business casual, but she supposed she couldn’t be the weirdest person around this early into a bar’s night. Really, all she needed to do was pop in and- well, that proved more difficult than initially thought.

Upon stepping in front of the door, Esha was met with her query, a little faster than she wanted to. The woman smashed right into her, catching her completely off guard. “Tatte!” she blurted out as she was thrust backward, falling squarely on her tailbone. For a split second, her clothing expanded a bit, her quills trying to puff out completely as a fear response, however, her clothing was tight and bulky enough to keep them contained, ultimately rendering them placid when things settled. An awkward gasp of air arose from Esha’s mouth, her air intake being a bit frazzled as her hidden gills expanded.

She coughed and placed a hand at the side of her neck, visibly in pain. “No need to… *hack* panic” she assured as she winced a bit. She reached her hand into her pocket and pulled out the woman’s wallet, holding it forth. “I… got your wallet.” Dear lord were gills more of a nuisance than they were helpful.

[Genesis Donovan]

Put me back together, or separate the skin from bone
Leave me all the pieces, then you can leave me alone

---

It took a couple seconds before recognition set in. Genie had just ran smack dab into one of the women she had been working with all day today. Esha the medical student. Her last name wasn’t coming to Genie’s mind, but that may have been because her head was still spinning from the news she’d just gotten. They had eaten lunch together, though Genie did far more listening than talking, as usual. She hadn't given the woman much thought since lunch time.

”I am so sorry..” Genie repeated, feeling terrible for landing the other woman solidly on the floor. ”I should have been paying more attention to where I was going.” Had she been hurt when she fell? Genie hoped that wasn’t the case. Hopefully she just lost her balance due to the sudden and unexpected impact.

”My wallet?” A look of confusion crossed over Genie’s face. She looked at the wallet the other woman was holding out, and sure enough it was hers.. She wasn’t sure when or where she had dropped it, but she was grateful that Esha had come to return it. ”Thank you. Oh for god’s sake, I’m just the biggest mess today. Here, let me help you up…” Genie held a hand out to assist the other woman off of the ground. It was the least that she could do, since she was the reason Esha was on the floor in the first place.

”I promise, I’m not usually this much of a disaster.” Genie assured, as much for her own benefit as for Esha’s. Generally, Genie could get through a day without causing a huge scene or even being noticed by anyone. She hated the fact that she could feel people looking at them now, watching them. ”Are you hurt?”

Genie would have to wait until later to process what she had learned about her father. She pushed the thoughts about him to the back of her mind, forcing herself to be present and focused. She’d just literally run into someone, a person who knew who she was, even if it was just from one day of working together. It was careless, not paying attention to her surroundings, letting a mistake like this happen. It was also just as careless, if not more so, that she had managed to lose her wallet today. She was going to have to work on being more careful. She was starting to feel too comfortable in this town.

---

Tag: Esha Mullur
Note: Let me know for any changes

[Esha Mullur]

Esha’s hand remained at the side of her neck, for some reason under the illusion that nursing her gills would make basic breathing easier when she knew full well that it didn’t. To be fair though, she hadn’t had this type of surprising incident in quite some years, so it was surprising that her gills were giving her any issues at all. “Oh, all is forgiven” she assured in a bit of a raspy voice. “If my wallet went missing, there wouldn’t be a single person left standing until I found it either” she joked with a wave of her hand.

She took the woman’s hand as quickly as she had taken her apology, her dainty figure rising back from the ground. Genie seemed to be quite off-kilter today, which is normally not a judgement that Esha would make about a person she had just met, but she gave off such a quiet air back at the office that she seemed unnaturally over-apologetic. Could just be Esha projecting a bit though.

Esha took a quick sweep of her clothes to get the dust off. “Oh, I’m sure, if I were working behind a desk all day I would… um, not be at my best either” she pleasantly answered, though with a bit of cough at the end. “I’m good though” she added with a hearty cough, the kind that normally signaled a clear throat. “Just, um, swallowed a bug taking my scooter over here. I could really use a glass of water.”

There was a slight twinge of concern on Esha’s face as she looked to the other woman again. She seemed like she was having a day, and maybe that was one that Esha could help out with in some way. “And maybe you could use a drink, doctor’s orders, I can have the prescription paid for” she assured with a nod of her head and a gentil pat of the hand that helped pull her up.

Assuming Genie would follow, Esha began making her way to the bar top.

[Genesis Donovan]

Put me back together, or separate the skin from bone
Leave me all the pieces, then you can leave me alone

---

Of course, the other woman assumed that Genie’s hurried pace was because of panic induced by a missing wallet. Truth be told, Genie hadn't even noticed that she was not in possession of her wallet until it was being held out to her. She would have noticed a lot sooner had she actually ordered anything, and it would have been quite embarrassing once she did figure that out. It would be a good cover, she wouldn’t have to try to figure out another excuse for why she barrelled into Esha hard enough to knock her down.

”Crazy how one small thing can throw someone off so completely.” Genie stated as she helped Esha back to her feet. ”Still, I should have been paying more attention.” Even though it hadn't actually been her missing wallet that had thrown her so completely off, Genie was honest when she said she should have been paying attention. Being careless wasn’t good. It led to making mistakes.

The other woman insisted she was okay, that she’d just swallowed a bug on her way there. It dawned on Genie that she must have been following her, it wouldn’t have been a chance meeting inside the bar, especially since she was literally looking for Genie to give her wallet back to her. Genie felt like she was losing her touch. She hadn't even noticed that she was being followed from the office.

”You know, I agree with your diagnosis. But my treat. It’s the least I can do, after you came all this way to return my wallet to me and I knocked you flat.” Genie insisted, and she moved over to the bar with Esha.

At the very least, she could still get a drink and dinner and avoid processing the news. Besides, it wouldn’t hurt to try to be normal for one evening, instead of her usual reclusive, hermit act. She wasn’t great at making friends, but it wasn’t very likely that she would see this woman again outside of their office hiring a temp again.

---

Tag: Esha Mullur
Note: Let me know for any changes

[Esha Mullur]

Esha took to the bar top rather naturally. It was hardly the first time she had been out, even to this bar specifically, though it did feel a bit odd being in work clothes and it not even being dark out yet. It was certainly unorthodox and she would have naturally preferred to have a change of clothes if she was having a night out on the town, but this wasn’t quite about her.

She let out another light cough, then asked the bartender for a glass of water to start her off, then turned back around to face Genie once more. “Fair” she replied simply to her offer to pay. “You might get me knocked flat a second time tonight” she joked.

Her glass of water clunked down right behind her, prompting Esha to subtly take surveillance of the place. “Then again, this place is not exactly… er, lively at this time of day, is it?” she quizzed as she bobbed her head around, lightly gesturing at the other patrons around. As she was gesturing around, she very sneakily dipping her fingers into her glass, wetting them quite thoroughly, before slipping them underneath her scarf, wetting her gills. A burst of air came from her nostrils, as if she had held her breath for the past two minutes.

Just as she was given this sensation of relief though, a brief notion of panic crawled up her leg in the form of her phone buzzing. The panic somewhat stemmed from the fact that this was outside of her designated call times, so it must not have been someone who was in the loop about her schedule and would have to be informed later by strongly worded email. As she pulled out her phone and her eyes narrowed on the number for the caller ID. It was her parents’ number. “Ugh, only my father would be up at this ungodly hour” she grumbled in the back of her throat. “It’s, like, 5am in the morning in India right now, he has to be awake before sunrise for his morning prayers” she clarified for Genie’s sake.

Out of spite, she allowed her phone to buzz in her hand, taking a sip of her water while watching it go until it finally ceased. Another voice mail she might have to begrudgingly listen to later just to make sure a relative hadn’t died or something of that matter. “Stubborn old man” she breathed out irritably before taking another sip of water. “With how much he tries to call me about boys he just met, you’d think he was the one who wanted to marry them” she added with a tinge of disgust.

Now, all she could see with her glass of water was disappointment. “Oh, I’m going to need something much stronger than this now” she said with a shake of her head. She promptly knocked on the table “Two shots of Pickleback, now-ish please.” She gestured with two fingers, then knocked it down to one as she pointed to Genie “You wanna double up on that?”

[Genesis Donovan]

Put me back together, or separate the skin from bone
Leave me all the pieces, then you can leave me alone

---

Genie felt completely thrown off kilter at the moment. After barreling into the other woman and knocking her over, being friendly was the least she could do so she was going to step outside of her comfort zone. She felt like she was a cheap imitation of a regular person, like an imposter who was watching the interaction through someone else’s eyes. Normally she wasn’t very good at small talk, but right now it was especially bad. Her thoughts were scattered, and she unfocused. Her normal observant demeanor was gone for the time being.

”I guess at least this time, it’s not gonna be by brute force.” Genie commented, recognizing Esha’s statement as a joke. She glanced around the bar slowly when Esha motioned, coming to the same conclusion. It didn’t seem to be busy there right now, but it was just the start of the traditional happy hour, so she assumed they would be picking up soon. She was still looking around the room when there was the familiar sound of a vibrating phone. It wasn’t Genie’s this time, much to her relief

Esha’s comment about the ungodly hour didn’t strike Genie as even being odd, until she went on to explain that it was due to the time difference in India. The other woman had a father who was involved enough in her life to call her, first thing in the morning, even if it was extremely early for him. Genie noted that Esha did not answer it. Before she could figure out how to address it, how to ask about it, Esha was explaining again.

”He’s trying to set you up? The thought seemed so foreign to Genie, but not just because of a cultural difference. She hadn't seen her own father in twelve years, but even if things had been different and she was still stuck in his web, she would imagine her father caring enough, unless there was something that he could gain from it. Was Esha’s father the same? Were all father’s like that?

”Oh, absolutely double that.” Genie nodded as she spoke, loudly enough for the employee to hear her as well.

While they waited for the shots to be delivered, Genie stared at the countertop for a moment, then turned to Esha again. ”So, if your father is in India and you are here, why does he care who you marry?” She was sure that the answer would be, at least partially, cultural. But there had to be more to it, since Esha was so far away.

---

Tag: Esha Mullur
Note: Let me know for any changes

[Esha Mullur]

At Genie’s question about Esha’s father trying to set her up, Esha’s head rolled back a bit. No question could have summed up her relationship with her father for the past few years than that. “Oh, he’s been trying to set me up since I was in high school” she answered exasperatedly. “Probably even before that, but I’d rather not know” she added under her breath. There was a bit of a nostalgic air that she had with her memories about her father, before marriage became such a priority, that she preferred remained untainted, but realistically, the man must have been considering it very early in her youth, it wasn’t exactly uncommon.

Before Esha could unpack the next question though, she absolutely needed some booze to get it going. Luckily for her, shots had a very short turn around time. Two shot glasses were put down before her, one straight whisky, the other pickle juice. Without even a moment’s hesitation, she slung the whiskey back and chased the fury down with the pickle juice. It was the right kind of fire she needed in her belly right about now.

“For one” she began, her head whipping back down from the heat of the whiskey. “My father is a guru… essentially a saint. Upholding tradition is kind of his calling, so his job necessitates that he and his family uphold traditions because if his house is not in order, what good of a guru is he? Traditionally, couples are arranged through a nayan… I guess you would call them a matchmaker. When a nayan approaches a family with an offer, it is taken very seriously, especially if the man being offered is of a good caste. Dating is not a thing that happens between two people, it’s a family affair. Unfortunately, where I am in the world doesn’t disgrace my family any less.”

Esha placed her elbow on the countertop, slipping her hand under her scarf as if to wrack her hair. “And then, I’m only here in America so long as I’m in my program. Once that’s over, I will have to go back home, unless I get a VISA and the hospital takes me in as staff” she stated, as if she was having a pre-emptive migraine just thinking about the whole work VISA and citizenship process. She let out a sigh. “But I can’t not go home either. Just… give up on my old life? I couldn’t do that to my parents.” she added as she shook her head. “And, ugh, mango season in India” she let out as if in ecstasy, clenching her fists to the heavens. “I don’t know how or why you would find yourself in India during the summer, but grab an armful of mangoes if you can, you will not regret it.”

[Genesis Donovan]

Put me back together, or separate the skin from bone
Leave me all the pieces, then you can leave me alone

---

The more Esha explained about her father, it seemed like all fathers - all families - pretty much sucked. She couldn't imagine living in a culture where she was expected to get married, otherwise it was looked down upon. She was aware that it was a particularly big difference between Indian and American cultures, but she still felt badly for the other woman. To have all of that expectation and obligation from her family put on her, it must suck. It was almost enough to make Genie glad she didn't have a family to care about.

Never again... Now it was certain that she wasn't going to ever have to deal with her father again. The thought was brief before she pushed it away, opting to pick up the whiskey in front of her and down it, following closely with the pickle juice chaser. She made a small grimace even though the burn from the whiskey was already beginning to fade, tamed by the vinegary pickle juice.

Esha continued to explain her father's status. He sounded important. Wasn't a guru supposed to be an important figure in a community? She wasn't well versed in the subject. Her education had been more like the bare basics. No one ever cared if she did well, so she didn't bother aiming for good grades. She paid enough attention in school to graduate, and that was it.

"Sucks that you would be seen as a disgrace, even as you're working to become a doctor." Genie shook her head. The bartender picked up the empty glasses and asked about another round, and Genie took the liberty to nod for the both of them, figuring Esha would need it as much as she did.

When the topic changed to mangoes, Genie gave a small smirk. Mango was one of her favorite flavors, especially in smoothies. She could only imagine who good fresh mango would be, in season in India. It certainly stirred up what seemed like nostalgia for Esha. "At least that sounds like it would be delightful."

Genie nodded a thanks to the bartender when a second round of shots was set in front of them. She picked up her shot glass and turned toward Esha. "To complicated families."

---

Tag: Esha Mullur
Note: Let me know for any changes

[Esha Mullur]

Esha let out a small sigh, a bit relieved that she could vent about that aspect of her life, even though just thinking about it just brought back memories she’d rather repress. All her life she couldn’t remember a single time where she argued with her father about anything, or, at least nothing substantial. Up until she became a ‘woman’ and suddenly her home life was bickering or slinking away from the subject of marriage. At the very least, she had sympathy and alcohol to help with matters.

At Genie’s comment of her choice of career, Esha waved her hand and rolled her eyes. “Ah, being a doctor’s not that impressive. Maybe for lower caste” she scoffed in a sort of mocked tone, as if it was something told to her all her life. “My mother now, she was impressive because she was an acclaimed surgeon and an attentive house wife at my age.” She looked down at her glass of water again, her gills flaring again under her scarf. “Not that my father ever needed much attending, he spends half his day meditating or teaching someone else how to meditate.” She grew a small smile though. “She’s happy for me at least.”

Esha placed her glass aside as another round of shots came around. She politely bowed her head to the bartender. She turned to Genie once more. “Oh, its an event!” she stated expressively with her right hand as she discreetly dipped the finger of her left hand in her glass again. Unfortunately, she wasn’t looking and dipped her fingers in her shot instead. She coughed again, then continued with “People go crazy for mangoes when they’re in season.” Subtly, she slipped her left hand behind her headscarf again, rubbing her whisky tipped fingers along her gills.

Picking up her shot glass, Esha joined Genie in her toast. “Aye” she agreed before upending her glass into her mouth. Her head tweaked a bit after, as if she was stung in the back of her throat. She could only hope that the pickle juice could save her as she doused that down her throat as well. Head still shaking a bit, she let out “oh, that one was strong, shit.” As soon as the curse came from her lips, she raised a hand to her mouth, but snorted quickly afterwards, her gut jiggling with contained laughter.

Seemingly a bit light headed, she turned to Genie again, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Ugh, I’ve been complaining so much. Your turn. Talk some shit about your family” she again had a bit of giggle fit when she cursed.

[Genesis Donovan]

Put me back together, or separate the skin from bone
Leave me all the pieces, then you can leave me alone

---

There was not a world in which Genie could imagine becoming a doctor not being impressive. The amount of schooling alone, compounded by the years of clinicals and residencies must mean something. But she supposed for her, anything that took that much work and dedication was impressive. Her own day job merely required that she knew how to use a computer and type at a decent word per minute. Not that she actually needed to work as a temp to get by. What she made from the Guild was more than enough to sustain her. More than anything, she worked to blend in, and also to have something to keep her busy.

”I can’t imagine. She shook her head. ”I mean, if she’s happy that’s one thing, but it sucks that getting married seems to be the only acceptable choice.”

The other woman coughed again. Genie wondered if she had been more shaken than she claimed from being knocked over, but she pushed the thought aside. Surely, she would have said something had she been hurt. When the second round of shots were delivered, they went down quickly. Genie thought it was just as smooth as the first round, but it wasn’t a general consensus, but the other woman laughed it off easily enough.

”There isn’t much to tell about my family.” Genie shrugged. She hardly ever had these kinds of personal conversations. When she did make small talk, she always tried to keep the other person talking. Apparently, that wasn’t going to work in this situation. ”My mother died when I was young, and when I was thirteen I went into foster care. I haven’t had any contact with my biological family since then, and it is for the best.”

It wasn’t a complete lie. Foster care was a stretch. It was more like kidnapped with the intention to be used against her father. When that didn’t pan out, she was turned into a weapon instead. It wasn’t the kind of story you shared. It wasn’t anything she cared to talk about, but especially not today.

”The plus side is I don’t have anyone who cares what I do. No one to pressure me to get married or do something different with my life.” She gave another shrug. ”I don’t have anyone to answer to.”

---

Esha Mullur
Let me know for any changes

[Esha Mullur]

The buzz of the alcohol continued to make Esha’s brain feel a bit silly. She wasn’t super sure what it was about that last drink that seemed to have an effect on her, usually she could two shots of whiskey and avoid getting this sloshed, but it wasn’t exactly a high priority of concern. Really, her mind was focused on literally anything else, yet nothing at the same time. Alcohol was a funny thing like that.

Her focus was still on Genie, for the time being anyways. She could hear the clacking of pool balls which made her eyes zip over to the group of dudes there, but it returned to the other woman very quickly with a shake of her head. Reminding herself of the topic at hand, the lamentation of the fact that she was required to pick a suitor to win her family’s good graces. The crux of Esha’s adult life. “Yeah…” she agreed in a sigh. “I’ll take what I can get while that big dumb wall is there though” she added with reluctant pep.

When Genie admitted to not having much family, moreover being quite estranged from a very young age, Esha put a hand to her mouth, almost like she wanted to return her words back to where they came from. “Oh, I’m so sorry!” she apologized in an uproarious manner. “That’s so sad! Ugh, my dumb whiskey mouth, I’m sorry I brought it up. I couldn’t even imagine. Family was so important back home, it made it seem like everyone was in those bubbles.”

As much as conforming to societal norms and feeding into the family legacy was what gave Esha the most grief at the current date, she also struggled to think what her life would be like without the structure or the social aspects of her family. Of course, she’s been living that way for a few years now, it was a bit less important now than it was during her formative years. “Yeah, but like, doesn’t not having people to care what you do kinda…” Esha’s head sloshed to the side for a second, her brain in the midst of loading the next word in her sentence. Alcohol brain was making the translator work overtime a bit. “… Lonely? Like, if no cares what you do, why do anything?”

As she realized the words coming out of her mouth, she placed her palms over her eyes. “Ah! I’m making things sad now” she lamented in an exaggerated manner. She slapped her hands on the table, as if she stumbled on the solution to her problem. “More drinks makes less sad! Or more drinks is making more sad” she said in an inquisitive manner as if she was in the midst of some philosophical breakthrough.

[Genesis Donovan]

Put me back together, or separate the skin from bone
Leave me all the pieces, then you can leave me alone

---

Genie hadn't meant to make Esha feel bad or guilty about her complaints against her own family. Maybe she should have made something else up, said she just hadn't talked to her own family in a while, lied about there being a falling out. Anything that didn’t get pity and sad looks.

”Really, it isn’t a big deal. It’s all for the best, in the grand scheme of things.” Being away from her father was something that Genie considered to be for the best, though she wasn’t sure she would have chosen the path that she wound up on instead. Actual foster care would have probably been better, but she knew that system had its own faults.

Maybe family just always sucked. Parents screwed their kids up, pushed what they wanted on them without a care about what the kids wanted for themselves. Genie didn’t think it seemed like Esha was giddy with excitement at the thought of getting married, so why should she be expected to comply with family expectations?

Esha went on, and Genie tilted her head to the side slightly. It was lonely, sometimes. She did everything she could to make herself blend in, invisible in more ways than just one. She didn’t like standing out or being noticed. It wasn’t comfortable. But, as Esha pointed out, not having anyone to care what she did also had its downsides.

”I guess I just tell myself it’s better than the alternative.” Genie shrugged. It was better than the alternative, that much was true. Well, she convinced herself of it, anyway. She told herself that she had more freedom now than she would have had with her father, even while she was working for the Guild and answering to them for her mistakes and failures. They didn’t control every moment of her day. They couldn’t make her do things she didn’t want to do. Not really. There were consequences, but she was the one in control of her own choices.

It was all an illusion. She didn’t have control of major aspects of her life. Saying she didn’t have anyone to answer to had been a complete lie. She answered for her mistakes and her failures. She couldn’t refuse to follow orders without answering to someone about it.

”It’s not really sad. It just is.” She shrugged again, and motioned the bartender for another round of shots. ”Maybe it is a little lonely sometimes, though. And drinks, well, they make things easier, right?” Genie was already starting to feel the warm fuzzy feelings starting from the first two rounds, but she figured a third round would be good. At the very least, maybe she’d feel more comfortable talking to Esha about families.

”So, aside from mangoes and marriages, what’s India like?” Genie asked, wondering just how different things were in the two countries. She knew some of the differences, they were common in pop culture, but she’d never really given it deeper thought.

---

Esha Mullur
Let me know for any changes

[Esha Mullur]

Esha found it particularly odd how nonchalant Genie was about having no family. It could just be a case of culture shock, but she was almost certain that Americans still had familial ties and bonds even if they were a bit more chill than what she was used to. It could have also tied in to her status as a foster child, though, she would think that they would be left in want for what they didn’t have if anything. She supposed that might not apply to everyone.

There was certainly something liberating about the idea of not having those family ties, the prospect not being absent from Esha’s mind. It would certainly make her life a lot simpler, but moving forward from there… What was left for her? Of course, she had a career and friends, but that in and of itself just wasn’t fulfilling. The most frustrating part about her self-imposed exile was the fact that she couldn’t connect with her family back home.

By the sound of it though, their situations were pretty different. Esha’s family at least wanted to engage with her, albeit, by upholding traditions that Esha wasn’t comfortable with. Genie on the other hand, it seemed like after her mother died the rest of them just didn’t want anything to do with her. “Yeah, you might be right… if the rest of your family left you to deal with dogs, then good… good riddance. Bunch of shit sacs” Esha slurred with a crescendo of confidence.

“D’oh, it gets very lonely!” she replied quickly. Something about thinking of Genie without a family gave Esha flashbacks to when she first transferred to America during high school, back when she struggled with English and wasn’t sure how to engage with people from a culture so foreign. It was in a lot of ways liberating that people didn’t know who she was, but on that same token, that meant she was receiving a lot less attention than she was used to. At least she was still on speaking terms with her parents back then, otherwise she would have had almost no one to talk to during the first half of her placement, but even phone calls weren’t substitutes for real human interaction.

Esha proceeded to swing her arms around Genie, trying to give her a big sloppy squeeze of a hug. “But that’s okay though!” she reassured. “Families can always be made! …and I don’t mean in the biological way, but that is also an option. It makes the gods very happy” she added with a logical nod.

Eying the next shot of rounds, Esha was momentarily wondering if she should take that next swig. Considering how out of her gourd she was already feeling, logical Esha would have said no, but logical Esha had departed some time ago. Before she could make the decision for sure though, Genie asked a question that made Esha’s sparkle with nostalgia. “Oh! It’s beautiful! So vibrant. Everything really. The people, the buildings! Its so weird how almost everything in America is box shaped and gray. And, like, all the asphalt and roads, is this country made for cars or people?” she recounted in a stream of consciousness manner. Then she picked up her shot glass. “And then there’s this” she added with emphasis as she presented the tiny glass. “I’m not a clumsy person, but all this glassware and the, uh, porcelain plates, I feel like I’m gonna break them at any second. Why do you guys not use metal? Especially when you know that drunk people might use these things and not be super careful with them?”

[Genesis Donovan]

Put me back together, or separate the skin from bone
Leave me all the pieces, then you can leave me alone

---

A smirk tugged at the corner of Genie’s mouth when Esha called her family shit sacs. She wasn’t wrong, Genie’s family sucked. She knew that where she was now wasn’t ideal, that she hadn't really had a childhood, but she couldn’t begin to imagine where her life would be now had she stayed with her dad, if Toby hadn't shown up and ripped her from that world. It wasn’t a life that she was glad for, but would she even be alive right now if she’d stayed in her father’s house? After what happened with her mom, she had her doubts.

It was all messed up. Sorting out how she felt about it would be impossible. Especially right now. She wasn’t good at dealing with emotions, especially acknowledging her own. She had far more experience bottling them up, pushing them down and ignoring her feelings. It didn’t make any difference to her situation no matter what she was feeling, so it was just easier for her that way.

”You’re right, they were a bunch of shits. I’m better off without them.” Better off now that Ray is dead. Better off never seeing him again. Now, there was no way that he would ever control her again, no way that he could do to her what he had done to her mother.

It also meant there was no way she could ever confront him. No way that she could be the one to take him down. No way to get out all the anger and hatred she still had against him. Genie let out a slow breath. The first two shots were definitely hitting her system already. She wasn’t a practiced binge drinker. She had a couple drinks now and again, but shots usually weren’t her scene. However, shots seemed to be right for the occasion tonight.

Suddenly, arms swung around Genie. She stiffened. She flashed back to her father, grabbing her and telling her what to do. To Toby, catching her before she could get away from him and forcing her to leave with him. She hated being touched, especially without warning. It bordered outright fear. But Esha was harmless. She wasn’t trying to use a gift against her, and she wasn’t making Genie do anything. She was a human, only trying to, what, comfort her? It’s what humans did with each other, right? It was normal.

Genie fought the strong urge she had to disappear, she forced herself to stay visible and not panic. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding in at first. ”I think I follow what you mean.” She responded, halfway following what Esha was saying. You could choose the people you saw as family.

Sure, she was familiar with the concept. She just didn’t have anyone she was close enough with, anyone who would care enough about her, to consider family. As for making a biological family, Genie let the comments hang. She wasn’t sure that the gods would want her to procreate. She might pass her mutation on, just as Ray had done to her. She didn’t want to risk bringing more gifted into this world to do more damage.

The next round of shots was delivered, and as soon as the other woman’s arms dropped, Genie downed the whiskey. She didn’t even bother with the pickle juice this time. She didn’t need to dampen the burn. Not like the third shot burned nearly as much as the first had, anyway.

Genie listened as Esha described India. She could tell the other woman held nostalgia for her homeland, and she wondered what that was like. Hell, Genie didn’t have anywhere she even considered a hometown. She was born in New York, but she didn’t remember anything about living there. They’d moved on before she hit one year old. She couldn’t remember being in one place more than six months to a year her whole time with her father. She spent five years in LA, but that wasn’t home. Since then, she found herself bouncing around California, and in her adult life Los Eurosia was where she’d felt the most settled, where she’d spent the most time so far.

It must be nice to be connected to a place. To have a home.

”Wait, so you are saying glassware isn’t a thing in India?” Genie latched onto that, bringing herself out of her own rabbit hole of thoughts. ”I can’t imagine cups and plates being made of metal. But you make it sound like common sense.” How many less dishes would people go through? How much money would restaurants save, replacing cracked and chipped glass and porcelain service ware? Genie stared at her own empty shot glass, considering what it would look like if it were metal instead. Shots and drinks wouldn’t look as enticing. A whole industry would be out of business. That’s probably why Americans didn’t use metal.

”It probably isn’t aesthetically pleasing enough for mainstream America.” Genie mused aloud. ”People are so vain, they want everything to look just so.”

---

Esha Mullur
Oh my, this is all over the place, I’m so sorry. Let me know for any changes!