Dead Lies and Good-Byes (Mature) -- KEEP

[Teris]

Anna-Leigh’s hand twisted as she snipped a piece of hair and gently brushed at it to shoo it to the ground. ”Let’s shave it off.” She had to quickly pull back the scissors when he suddenly moved. While it was annoying when a customer did this, she was used to it, and her face remained in a content expression. Once his head turned back forwards, she gave a few snips to the back to even everything out so he didn’t look like a moron or something, and smiled, despite the fact he couldn’t actually see, what with his head turned. ”Works for me,” were her moderately quiet words.

She worked a while on his sides, gently coaxing his head this way and that when she needed to, but made sure he wouldn’t have to keep his neck craned in an uncomfortable position for too long. First beginning her apprenticeship, Anna-Leigh had only been used to cutting the dolls and fake heads that they were given in class. These you could turn all the way around if it so convenienced you. Starting out at the hair salon was rather frustrating once she was allowed to actually cut hair. Customers would become impatient and cranky by the end of the cut, despite the often-pleasing results. Eventually Plushi gave her a few tips and hints when she began losing customers and was on the verge of being kicked out.

It took a few minutes to finish up his hair, and then a few more to take a few once-overs to make sure she hadn’t messed anything up. As confident as she was in her hair cutting and styling skills, she’d made the habit of checking after everything. She rubbed her fingers together and internally squirmed a bit at the greasiness of them. While it did happen once and a while- and normally there was a free wash included with most cuts, so unless the customer decided to say ‘no’, it was generally okay- it always grossed her out a little. Her comments and thoughts were kept to herself, however, and she merely wiped her hands onto her jeans to rid them of the feeling and then grabbed a different pair of scissors, shaving cream, a lotion, and a shaver.

Since his beard had grown over a bit, she decided to cut it down some first before taking the shaver to it. While she snipped with the scissors, her eyes floated up a moment towards his eyes. She paused so she wouldn’t cut his nose off or something, and then a light pink stained her cheeks before she focused again on his jawbone area. It wasn’t long until she got out the shaving cream and the razor and began to clear his face of the smaller amount of hair. In about seven to ten minutes she was done and was wiping the remaining cream off his face with a warm face cloth and then patting some lotion onto his face to smoothen skin and discourage rashes and whatnot.

She took a step back, grabbing a medium’ish sized hand mirror and holding it up for Morrison to view himself. ”Like it? Or should I change something?” She asked, inspecting her work to see if there was anything too out of place. Personally, she thought that without the beard, he looked a little less intimidating and a little more open to be hurt. Not that she’d want to hurt him. Even if she did, he’d probably snap her neck like a twig or something.

((Sorry I took so long, hectic weekend xP))

[Morrison Whelan]

(( It's okay ^_^ ))

Morrison tried to sit as still as he could while Anna worked on his hair. Partly out of his slight fear of being cut with the scissors and to make it easier on the woman so that she could move around his head and not worry about him turning his head and causing her to cut out a huge chunk of his hair. As little as he cared about his hair most of the time, he would have felt incredibly silly with a bald patch in his head, it might force him to wear a hat every time he went out into public, and he wasn't one to wear hats at all; it gave him terrible hat-hair.

The human was surprising fast at finishing his hair, she only took around 15 minutes and a few minutes of that was just her checking over her work. Of course he didn't have a lot of hair that needed to be cut, as it hadn't grown out too long, but he was still impressed, used to hair cuts, even trimmings, taking about a half hour. It attested to her skill as a hair dresser to an extent, as he hadn't seen how it had turned out yet. He knew she was fast, but the cut could look absolutely horrible.

Now as she moved to his beard, Morrison felt a little bit more nervous. His face was definitely more vulnerable to her scissors than his skull and he could see every move she made, every cut that she made a little too close to his skin. Sure, he trusted her, in fact he trusted her more than most people he had only known for a couple of hours, but there was always that bit of doubt, even around people you knew the best. No matter how well you knew a person, they could slip up and slice your throat open.

He had thought that she would go straight to a razor to clear his face, but instead she trimmed his beard a little first. He supposed that he had let it grown out a bit too much and it wouldn't be easy for the razor to handle. However, the blades so close to his lips and chin made him uncomfortable and he tilted his head up a little, trying to move away, but he forced himself to face his head straight once more and held it steady. If he squirmed while she was working on his beard, there was just more of a chance that she would cut him and it would take much longer.

Morrison would have grinned at the woman as he eyes drifted onto his, but the scissors were too close to his nose and lips that such an expression could press his skin into the blades. Yet the wolf couldn't keep a little twitch of a smile jumping to his mouth at the pink that was spreading over her cheeks. She was rather cute when flustered and walking around in his towel would be entertaining, but he had already decided not too. He'd just have to find some other way to make her blush while clothed.

Anna kept her eyes focused on her work for the remaining time that it took for her to completely shave his bread off, and it was done rather quickly. ”Like it? Or should I change something?” Morrison took a second to look up, uncertain as if he wanted to see himself without his familiar stubble, yet he knew he'd have to see it eventually and the woman would think him odd if he didn't. The sight wasn't too bad. His hair looked perfect, if not a bit dirty, but what got him was the absence of his usual beard. He thought he looked a bit less intimidating and slight effeminate, even with his very strong jaw bones. Running a hand over his chin and neck, it even felt odd.

"It's wonderful," the wolf smiled, dropping the hand to his lap and looking up to Anna. He reached up behind him, undoing the smock before slowly getting to his feet, securing his other hand on his towel to keep it in place. "May I have my clothes back now?" he asked, grinning for a second, his towel slipping the slightest bit as if to emphasize the need for his proper pants.

[Teris]

She stood by anxiously as Morrison inspected himself, waiting for her answer and ready to grab the scissors and go back to his hair if he voiced his displeasure with it. As he ran his hand over the smooth skin, a knot formed in her stomach. Did he like it? Or did he want his facial hair back? It wasn’t like she had an instant hair growth potion for him, so she seriously hoped he didn’t want his facial hair back. Or any of the other hair she’d cut off. Eventually he spoke, ”It’s wonderful.” He told her, smiling up at her after dropping his hand from his face. Instantly her posture relaxed more, and she smiled back.

Her feet moved back when he went to take the cloak-thing off that always reminded her a bit of the Harry Potter invisibility cloak. The flush once again came to her cheeks when he had to grab for his towel to make sure it wouldn’t slip off his hips. ”May I have my clothes back now?” He asked her. She nodded quickly and disappeared into the laundry room, quickly folding the clothes before bringing them out to him.

”Here, you can change in the bathroom if you’d like.” Her words were somewhat quiet as she handed him the clothes, her eyes only coming to his collar bone before she had to tilt her head to look up. It was hard to not pay attention to all of that skin, it flustered her. Especially when she thought of how warm it must be, how it would feel to be wrapped up in his arms with their skin brushing. She gave her head a shake, and the light blush shaded her cheeks before she handed him the clothes and looked away.

”I’m just going to clean up quickly.” She told him, risking a glance before going off to look for the broom. It was beside the fridge, tucked into a little nook that she had to turn her hand to reach. Trying to mostly ignore the werewolf, she got to work. ’Oh jeese, you’re like a school girl that just got kissed. Calm down, he’s wearing a towel.’ ‘Yeah, but underneath that towel there’s nothing.’[/i] She thought back, flushing again on the outside. ’You just need to get laid.’[/i] snorted her inner voice. Anna-Leigh tried to ignore it, but she found her eyes drifting over to the direction in which the werewolf was. She frowned, shook her head as if to tell herself to get out of the clouds, and went back to sweeping.

It didn’t take too long to clean up, and by the time Morrison was fully dressed, she was washing her tools in the sink with steaming hot water and soap. She hated dirty tools, and made a habit of cleaning them after each customer. Drying them and placing them back into the baggy, she decided that she should probably entertain her guest a bit more instead of being a boring little turd. Her tools were left on the table, and she made her way back towards the werewolf’s general area and leaned against the couch, her hands resting behind her slightly on either side. She realized that when her top rode up, she was doing some sort of stupid instinctual display of being single and open, and almost instantly crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes darkening, annoyed.

”Well, I’m glad you like your cut.” She told him, smiling. ”Perhaps you can be another regular at the shop.”

Some of the regulars were ridiculous. Some came in once a month, just to get the very ends of their hair trimmed; those are the ones that never changed. There were a few more she liked better, little kids with their families that would stop in maybe twice or three times a year. Hopefully in about five-six months she could see Morrison back at the shop and give him another hair cut. Unless they became friends and just did another for him here.

Coming out of her thoughts, she smiled over at him again, but was at a loss for what they should do. ”Want to play a game or something? Dominos, scrabble, Life, Monopoly?” She chuckled slightly, remembering a small joke centered on Monopoly. ‘Okay! Screw you Grandma, we’ve been playing this since dinner; it’s three in the fucking morning now! No Grandpa, don’t tell me to calm down, Grandma’s a cheating whore! Maybe she shouldn’t be the banker!’ Her lips twitched, knowing that wasn’t the exact act, but just thinking about it made her amused.

((Gotta love Dane Cook xP ))

[Morrison Whelan]

(( He's dirty... >.> ))

Morrison lifted an eyebrow softly, watching Anna move back to get his clothes. She was blushing again, so that her cheeks were becoming constantly stained with pink. He let his towel slip the slightest bit more before she came back with is clothes, just to play with her a bit. ”Here, you can change in the bathroom if you’d like.” The wolf smiled softly, taking the piles of warm clothes for himself. "I thought I'd have to change out here, but since you offered..." He sauntered off the bathroom, deliberately walking sort of slowly.

”I’m just going to clean up quickly.”

You do that, He thought, shutting the door behind him and letting the towel drop. It felt wonderful to be unconstrained by clothes, but if he didn't get dressed, he'd be stuck in this bathroom the rest of the night, as he thought Anna's head might explode if he was walking around nude. Chuckling softly, he pulled on his clothes as quick as he could, checked himself to make sure that nothing was on backwards or the the like, then moved back into the living room to watch the human clean up her tools.

Morrison could appreciate that Anna kept her tools neat and clean, even if her apartment wasn't so tidy. Though that might just be because she'd had a late night or something, and hadn't had to energy to put anything back in its place. Because it was obvious that she regularly vacuumed and swept, as the house didn't smell, it was just a bit cluttered. Done with her tools, the woman moved over to the couch and posed against it in a way that was rather open and almost wanton. She seemed to realize this a split second later and crossed her arms in front of her chest, looking slightly peeved. Morrison's lip twitched as he held back a grin, and he managed to keep a straight face.

”Well,I’m glad you like your cut. Perhaps you can be another regular at the shop.”

"Perhaps I can," the wolf smiled quietly, though he wasn't so sure that would happen. She'd spoken of how vampires frequented the salon and he didn't think that he would be able to stand the scent of those creatures every time he wanted his hair trimmed. And if he did want Anna to work on his hair again, he was sure that he could always get it done at her place.

”Want to play a game or something? Dominos, scrabble, Life, Monopoly?”

He grinned slightly as she chuckled after the question and thought it over, pushing his hands into his pockets. "Well, I haven't.." The grin on his lips immediately fell flat and he trailed off, eyes shifting down to his jeans. Something was missing, something very important, a weight that he was becoming so used to. Meadhbh's tags, they weren't in his front pockets any more. He patted around the back of his pants, but they weren't there either. "Oh shit," he growled, treading past Anna to the laundry room.

He hadn't checked the bathroom yet, which was the most likely place he had left the tags. but it was easier to check the dryer. And hopefully, he hadn't left them at the beach, or he'd never find them. Growing a little nervous, he crouched down in front of the dryer and reached in, feeling around for the chain of the tags. His hand came upon a thick metal chain and sighed in relief, pulling the necklace out and bringing it up to his chest. Morrison had no idea what he would have done had he lost the tags, it might have felt just like loosing his friend again as these were the closest things he had to her. He just thanked god that the tags hadn't fallen out of his pocket at the beach, or they'd never be found.

Breathing deep, the wolf went back into the living room to face Anna again, the chain clenched tight in his hand that he held over the left side of his chest. "Do you have any card games?" he asked, acting as if nothing had happened, even though the smile on his face was a little less than enthusiastic. He didn't really feel like playing any sorts of games, but it was something to do that would easily distract him from the depression he was suddenly remembering that had engulfed him earlier in the day.

[Teris]

”Well, I haven’t-“ There was a pause in his words, and his face changed to one of slight panic. She frowned, shifting her feet in worry at the sudden change that seemed to her have sprung so unsuspectingly. With his view directed downwards, he frantically felt around in his pockets as if looking for something. Oh, shoot, had he change in his pocket…? Then she remembered the dog tags he’d earlier been fiddling with. Guilt came over her, she’d completely forgot about them when she’d tossed his clothes into the wash. ”Oh shit.” He muttered, walking hurriedly past her to the laundry room.

She stood from her leaning position, eyes flickering with her worry, and she slowly began making her way to the door, hearing the slight clanging as he felt around the inside of the drier. There was a moment of silence, and she was about to peek into the door way, when she almost ran into him. Jumping back, startled, she followed him quietly back to the living room where he turned to face her. ”Do you have any card games?” He asked finally with a tense smile. She remained silent for a moment, quietly inspecting him, her eyes travelling up to his where she stopped and gazed into his eyes for a moment. Silently she scanned for any possible near-future out break, and then nodded when she found nothing.

Clearing her throat because she couldn’t seem to find her voice the first time she’d tried to talk, she nodded again, ”Uhm, yeah.” Her head stopped its nodding, and she made her way over to the TV, under which –in some drawers- where a variety of different cards of which she used for different occasions. ”Well, we have Uno, and then there’s just normal cards…” Reaching in, she pulled out her Easter-egg cards with the chicks on them, followed by a pack of Uno cards, and then another, relatively normal deck with kittens on the back. ”We could play crazy eights, go fish, war, Uno…” Bringing the cards over to the coffee table which was a few steps behind her from her position at the TV, she kneeled, allowing Morrison to sit on the couch for when they played whatever.

A gesture towards the chair was a quiet request for him to be seated, and she took the kitten cards and began shuffling them out of order. Once he did sit, she risked a glance up at him, her eyes still curious. An idea crossed her mind, and her eyes flashed suddenly, a small grin coming across her features. ”Or I could try to read your future… Or past, whatever.” She said, getting up and quickly making her way to her bedroom. In a box beneath her bed were some tarot cards she’d gotten for her birthday when she was about 14. She rarely used them, and when she did she always had to use the manual to try and figure it out.

Bringing the box back to the living room, she opened it up, reached in, and pulled out the small satin pouch that contained the cards, and then the little booklet. ”I’m not exactly good, but it comes with a manual, so if you want to read mine after you can. All for fun.” She joked. Her fingers gently tickled the cloth of the pouch for a moment, before she sat back in her kneeling position, toes curving and wiggling to make sure she wouldn’t get pins and needles anytime soon.

A slight crease between her brows hinted that the question might pop up soon. And it did, ”When’d you lose him?” She asked quietly, wondering if she were crossing a boundary with her question. He or she must have been a fairly old pet for him to be this traumatized. She was concerned about his pain though, most people didn’t become this depressed over a pet. Perhaps it was, like, his lover or something. Now that was a disturbing thought, but he was a werewolf, and she supposed it was possible… Her innards churned slightly, no that probably wasn’t it.

((lol, not a fan of Dane Cook? xP ))

[Morrison Whelan]

(( Used to be, not so much anymore ))

Anna obviously noticed his distress over the tags and she couldn't hide her confusion over it very well. Though she did try to distract him and herself with pulling out all sorts of card decks. Uno, a regular deck, tarot cards. He gave her an odd look, sitting down on the chair across from her. For some reason, he was little afraid to have hist fortune read. Sure, it wast just a kids game and it didn't really predict the future, but all the same, he was scared of what lay ahead him in the hundreds and hundreds of years that were coming too slow.

”I’m not exactly good, but it comes with a manual, so if you want to read mine after you can. All for fun.”

It was a rather poor joke, though the wolf tried to force a smile to his lips at it. Yet it fell flat and turned into a sort of grimace, so he let his face relax again, not wanting to look upset or in pain in anyway, despite that fact that his gut was starting to churn with distress. Neither of them spoke now, the woman looked contemplative, and as if there were words hanging off the tip of her tongue that so wanted to some out. They did leave her lips, but Morrison soon wished they hadn't.

”When’d you lose him?”

"Who?" Was his immediate reaction, yet then he noticed that Anna was glancing down at the tags in his hand and he understood. At least he understood to an extent. He had no idea that she was thinking about him loosing a dog, what came to his mind was that Anna believed he had lost an army buddy, and that he just carried to military tags around for sentiment. His eyes shifted away from her and turned to the ground beneath his feet as he rolled his fingers over the tags, tracing the letters of Meadbhb's name on one, and 'werewolf' on the other.

"Her," he finally corrected Anna, slowly stretching out his hand and placing the tags on the table between them for her to look at. "and about a week ago." Morrison was silent for a few more seconds then took a deep breath and lifted a hand to wipe at his watery eyes. "She was murdered... never found her body." He tried to say this matter-of-factly, but it still came out laden with emotion and brought a few heavy tears to his eyes.

"I should go," the wolf said suddenly, grabbing up his friend's tags then getting to his feet and walking swiftly to the entryway. He went to the closet and grabbed down his jacket, yanking on it by one sleeve. A second later he regretted being this careless as the pistol that he had hidden in an inner pocket of the coat slipped out and hit the ground with a loud BANG as the hair trigger was set off. Morrison stumbled back a few steps, dropping the jacket, and lifted his hands into the air, in a sign of 'I surrender'. Thankfully, the only thing that had been hurt by the bullet was the ceiling, though it had cut up a few wires as the light above him started flickering. "Well, shit," he half-sobbed with exasperation.

The wolf stepped forward and carefully picked up the handgun before releasing the clip and dropping it, along with the bullets, into his pant's pocket. He stood there for a moment after, looking between the gun in his one hand and the tags in the other. Eventually, he dropped the firearm, took a step back from it, and turned around to see that Anna had come over to investigate. "I don't think I should be alone tonight," he told her truthfully, voice shaking the slightest bit. If he went home by himself that night, he would get so fucking wasted he wouldn't be able to stand straight the next day, or he'd sit there on his bed, crying pathetically with his pistol aimed at his head. He'd done so once already, there was no doubting he'd be tempted to do so again.

[Teris]

”She was murdered... never found the body.” Anna-Leigh's face saddened further. She wanted to reach out and gently touch his hand; let him know she was there for him. She was about to, to, when he stood abruptly, saying ”I should go.” There was the clinking of the tags as he grabbed them and, faster then she could have managed, he was at the closet, pulling out his coat.

With the abrupt tug he gave it, something fell out, and not even a second later, a heart-shattering, brain-numbing blast echoed around the apartment. From her standing position, she collapsed back to the couch, shock coming over her. She glanced down, as if looking for a hole in her chest. She didn't feel any pain, so she knew she hadn't been shot. What if Morrison had gotten hurt? Worry crossed her again and she was suddenly off the couch, making her way hurriedly to the door. She paused when there was a slight crunching sound, and a light rain of white plaster ran down in a small stream from the single hole in the ceiling. The light was flickering, and she noted a few small cracks coming off from the central bullet hole. The werewolf was crying, and Anna-Leigh became distracted from the hole in the wall to the being in front of her. ”Well shit.” He sobbed, and the girl could feel a pang of pity sting at her heart.

He picked it up, and his actions of disarming the gun seemed more like a reaction then something he was actually paying attention to. For a moment, all the two did was stare at the black hunk of metal, and then Morrison seemed to snap out of whatever had held him in stillness and dropped it. He stepped away from it and looked over at her. ”I don't think I should be alone tonight.” He told her in a slightly trembling voice. She nodded, her eyes boring into his, a soft expression reflected in them.

She wasn't sure if she should, but remembering back when she was little and was upset, her mom used to, and it would make her feel better. Tentatively, she stepped forward, wrapping her arms around his torso, and tensing in case he threw her off. She swallowed, and her mouth remained open, silently taking in air. ”You can stay the night.” The words were whispered, and then she stepped back. Her eyes were downcast, and then she looked back up into his. ”I'll sleep on the couch tonight, you can have the bed.” A small smile lacking joy crossed her lips, and she gently lead him back into the room. ”Sit down.” While her voice was soft, it was firm, leaving no room for debate.

Leaving him for a moment, she disappeared back into her room to do a quick clean up and change dirty sheets. All in all, it took her longer then she'd have liked, but after about 13 minutes, she was back in the living room, trying to find ways to help Morrison cope. She could only really settle for sitting near by him, uncertain about whether or not she was allowed to touch him, or if she should go get something or do something. He said he shouldn't be alone, so she wasn't sure if he meant alone in a room, or alone in a building or what, but obviously he needed someone there. He just looked so miserable, it wedged itself right into her chest cavity, making her feel slightly hopeless.

It didn't take too long of her sitting there awkwardly before she was sitting near him again and holding him gently. ”Morrison, I know it's tough to deal with this...” She trailed off, unsure of which words to use and which might set him off like a mine. ”Has there been a proper... funeral for her?” No, she knew he probably didn't want to think or deal with any of this right now. Funerals, however, no matter how depressing, helped quite a bit with the grieving process. Especially when a body wasn't found. It helped to move on, tie up the hopeless ends, and not necessarily fix anything, but defiantly put a lid on it; make in controllable.

((Terribly sorry I took so long >.< ))

[Morrison Whelan]

Keeping his eyes downcast, Morrison let his shoulders slump, half watching as Anna stepped toward him. He rocked back on his heels, ready to step back, and his body tensed the slightest bit, as he was unsure as to what the woman was doing. Yet he immediately relaxed once her arms were around him and he gently put his arms around her as well, holding her loosely to himself. The wolf could feel her soft breath against chest; it was rather comforting. ”You can stay the night.” Morrison merely nodded, unable to voice a thanks, and let her go as she stepped away from him.

”I'll sleep on the couch tonight, you can have the bed.”

Turning his eyes up to meet hers, the wolf tried to smile back, seeing as how kind she was being, giving up her bed like that for him, but his face felt a bit numb, so his lips only twitched. Sighing quietly, he let himself be led into the the living room and sat down on command, before leaning forward and placing his hands over the top of his head. As much as he hated to let Anna leave him to go clean up her room for him, he couldn't stop her, seeing as he wasn't exactly up to being forceful or demanding. He'd rather be the one to be told what to do, to be held... He felt almost helpless.

By the time Anna got back into the room, the wolf had sunken so far forward that his head nearly rested between his knees, and he was crying. He wasn't trying to be silent or even quiet, knowing how bad of a headache that would give him, and not wanting to have to deal with it, so each breath was punctuated with a little moan, or soft hiccup. At least he could keep from wailing or bawling like a baby, as he'd gotten that out of his system a few days ago. The sobbing became a bit worse once the woman had sat down next to him, then even more pronounced when she had her arms around him,

”Morrison, I know it's tough to deal with this...”

The wolf hiccuped at his name then moaned pathetically, curling his fingers into his hair. It was tough, it was too tough. He just wanted to forget about the whole thing.

”Has there been a proper... funeral for her?”

He shook his head vigorously in response, then quickly stopped, letting out hiccuping breaths and slowly lifting himself out of his slumped over position. Not looking at Anna's face, afraid to see pity or disgust there, he pulled her tightly into his arms, resting his chin on her shoulder and pressing his nose into her cheek. "No," he muttered hoarsely, finally able to find his voice, even if it was a little uncooperative, "planning a memorial- hic- for next week." For a few moments, he was silent, just breathing against the side of the human's face and breathing in her scent, before whispering softly. "Please," let's not talk." Right now, he was only content with hugging this woman and listening to the quiet around them. Talking wouldn't help, at least not now, talking could only make him feel worse than before, because he would have to confront what had happened. He just wasn't ready for that at the moment.

[Teris]

She allowed herself to be pulled into his embrace, and when his chin rested gently against her shoulder, she reached up and gently stroked his hair. He spoke, though it was difficult to understand exactly what he was saying through all the crying. Her head moved slightly, and she became aware of the close proximity of his face, and how some of his tears were smeared onto her cheek. She didn’t mind. If she could be a strong pillar for him at this time, she didn’t really care what all she got on her; a shower could always be had later on if needed. ”Please, let’s not talk.” His voice was legible this time though hoarse.

There was a nod from her and she pulled away from his face a moment to give him a light kiss on his forehead. Due to the crying, his skin was warmer then it should have been against her lips. Then she allowed his head to rest once again on her shoulder, her hand losing itself in his hair while she tried to calm him. ”It’ll all be okay.” She whispered, and then fell to silence. Pulling him closer to her, she adjusted their position slightly so it wasn’t as awkward or uncomfortable. Although, because of their different sizes, it was more awkward then it would have been if she were the one crying. Of course, that was all stereotypical nonsense; people of all sizes need to be comforted once and a while, not just the shorter whiney girls like in movies.

They were lapsed in silence for about three to five minutes before Anna-Leigh quietly began humming Iris. She rocked them slowly together in unison, and her eyes closed. When she cleared her throat, her humming came to an abrupt end and died. Soon her rocking stopped, and she pulled away again, running her eyes over Morrison’s face before raising her hand and gently wiping remaining tears from his face. Her eyes met with his, and a sad smile, that couldn’t reach her eyes passed the sympathy, touched her lips.

Her throat cleared again, and for a moment she looked away and out the window. The clouds were slowly beginning to clear, and their edges were glowing in an array of warm colours that sometimes seeped through the whole cloud to stain it. The sun was slowly going down, and then it would be night. She should call Plushi and ask him to fill in for her; or call one of the girls. Her eyes went back to Morrison’s face, traveling up to his eyes. ”I have to make a quick call, okay?” She told him quietly. Her reluctance to leave was fairly apparent, as it took her a moment or two to actually stand, but then she was on her feet. She had her form bent slightly, leaning over to gently rest her forehead against his before releasing him and going over to the phone.

The call was quick, at least as quick as she could make it. She quickly informed her boss that she wouldn’t be able to work tonight because of some family issues, and then was told to call one of the girls who worked there –one of the ones Anna-Leigh didn’t particularly like. Some hoarse arguing and harsh whisperings later ended the girl in slamming the phone down. Knowing she needed to calm down before going back into the living room, Anna-Leigh took a moment for a small breather, before a long sigh.

Making her way back to the room, the girl paused in the door way, trying to keep her breathing and motions silent so she wouldn’t immediately catch his attention. He looked so haggard and broken, her eyes and face softened from the lingering lines of anger and annoyance she’d created while on the phone with that bitch. There was a creak in one iffy floor board as she made her way back over to him where she sat on the couch. Instantly, she was moving closer to him while pulling him lightly to her and resting them back in the previous position. This time, however, her hands were on his back and shoulder blades, rubbing gently.

[Morrison Whelan]

Fucking kindness... Anna was so sweet, even as little as she really knew Morrison, and he was having a hard time dealing with it. Unlike Nessa, she seemed to know what would make him at least stay calm, if not make him feel the slightest bit better, and it was scaring the wolf to find himself surrendering more and more to her caring touch. Tears were streaming down his face and hers, meaning that both of their chins were dripping with the liquid. He hoped she wouldn't mind him getting her face, and makeup all wet, but it wasn't as if he could rest his head on her shoulder; she was far too short for that to be comfortable. It was already awkward enough for him to be slouched over that his nose pressed to the side of her face.

At the touch of the woman's lips to his forehead, Morrison let out a soft sort of whimper, trying to hold back even more tears. Not that it helped at all; his crying wasn't anywhere near getting better yet, and it could only get worse until it did. With his chin back on her shoulder, and her hand now in his hair, the wolf felt slightly more clam, though none of his weeping had cleared up, it was just silent now. ”It’ll all be okay.” A tiny half-growled sigh left his lips at that, as he disagreed, but he let it be; Anna was just trying to help and he wasn't up for arguments.

The man allowed himself to be readjusted as he was pulled closer, and found that this new position was a bit more bearable as his back wasn't so awkwardly bent. Then with the rocking and humming (a slightly familiar song, but not one he could place too well), he damned near forgot for a moment why he was crying. That was until Anna abruptly ceased her humming and she pulled away. Sniffling thickly, Morrison reluctantly dropped his arms from the woman and glanced down, only looking back up when her fingers came across his cheeks, wiping his tear strewn skin off. His eyes met with hers for a second, but his own gaze quickly dropped back to the floor, not liking that look of sympathy mixed with pity in her own stare.

”I have to make a quick call, okay?”

Nodding slowly, the wolf brought his hand up his red and swollen eyes, drying them in vain, as tears were still being formed and two seemed to replace every one that dried up. Gasping softly for normal breaths, Morrison watched Anna move off to the phone, after a long pause and a touch to his forehead. Mere seconds elapsed before the man was crying harder again, it was the sudden absence of source of comfort that he done it and now his emotions were yelling for attention. If he'd had it his way, his face would not currently be drenched and red from weeping, instead it would be set in some nasty snarl as he fought off some imagined foe. But as it was, he had no control over his body at the moment, and he had to deal with the crying.

Not having at all noticed what had gone on during Anna's phone call, Morrison found her as calm and sympathetic as before, if not a little more so. Back in her arms, her hands feeling secure between his shoulders, he relaxed into her, wrapping his arms tight about her waist and letting his head fall against her temple so that he wouldn't have to bend over so much. However, this meant that his tears were dropping into her limp hair, though it really wasn't doing much damage, seeing as the rain had earlier destroyed any styling done to it.

Minutes passed in silence, and Morrison was very content to let it stay that way. Yet his tears weren't stopping at all, even though had a while ago fallen completely quiet in his weeping. They were the kind of tears that wouldn't let up even if you finished being sad about what you had started crying over in the first place and they only seemed to go away if you really distracted yourself. The wolf really wanted the weeping to stop, but there was little he could do to keep himself from thinking about Meadhbh.

Sighing deeply, shakily, Morrison pulled his head up from Anna's, lifting an hand from her back to wipe at the tears on his cheeks before putting it in its original position. For a few moments, he gazed at her face, moving between her eyes and other features, as he was still not sure that he was comfortable with the look she gave him. It wasn't a hurtful stare, it was just unfamiliar and didn't feel right, directed at him. His eyes drifted away from hers and down to her lap, tears dropping that way as well, then, slowly, he leaned in close and planted a light, but very deliberate kiss on her lips.

"Thanks," the man muttered, looking up to the human's eyes and holding the gaze for a second before moving in again for a bit of a firmer kiss, his hands on her back drawing her the slightest bit closer.

[Teris]

He was still crying when he pulled away, and Anna-Leigh’s arms loosened from around him, allowing him his free movement. She didn’t say anything, and neither did he. When their eyes met, her eyes stung slightly in reaction to the redness of his. She blinked it back, and was slightly glad when he looked away. Her own eyes drifted away slowly, onto the carpet where she focused on a fuzz ball and acknowledged that she would have to vacuum again sometime. There was a drip on her lap and she glanced down to see a tear. Her face turned upwards when she looked up, and then was startled into stillness when his lips met hers.

When he pulled away, she was still frozen, her eyes resonating her shock. ”Thanks.” For allowing him to kiss her or for comforting him, she wasn’t sure, and she would have said “your welcome” save for when he leaned forward again and pressed his lips in the same spot. She found herself being pulled closer to him, until part of her torso and chest were slightly melded against his body. He was so warm. His lips were hot against hers, hot and softened from the crying. Her own, however, remained tight against his, wondering whether or not she should kiss him back. To pull away might make him feel rejected and cause him to cry again. Besides, she rather enjoyed the kiss, the only problem being she didn’t know why he was kissing her.

If the reasons for the kiss were… different then what she wanted them, she wasn’t sure if she should let him. It was true, the girl had taken a shine to him, and she found him attractive, so she wasn’t sure why she was uncertain about the kiss. She wondered if the reason he was kissing her was out of thanks, thanks for being there for him; or maybe because of the hollow sadness in him over his friend’s death, and he needed a way to release it all in sex or something of the sort; or maybe he did like her a bit and was hoping to make a relationship higher then friendship. She was hoping for the latter, but had a strong feeling it was closer to the mark of the first two.

Nonetheless soon her lips softened against his and she gently kissed him back, against her own thoughts. Her blood was pumping in her ears, and it was just about the only thing she could hear at the moment, save for their breathing. Slowly her lips parted slightly, allowing him to take advantage if he so wished, but not taking the kiss further then he was. Her eyes had fluttered closed and her body leaned forwards a bit, pressing against his.

It was a few moments before she pulled away, trying to blink back the annoying thoughts scratching at her skull. ’You realize he doesn’t actually care for you, right? He’s only upset about his friend’s death, and using you to help compensate.’ She sighed in slight frustration and looked away. Whether those were his intentions or not, she didn’t know, and she didn’t think now would be the time to ask him, not so soon after the crying. She raised a hand to her cheek and felt a damp spot where one of his tears had touched her. She brushed it off as if it were her own and slowly looked back at him, eyes reflecting her uncertainty.

”I-I’m sor-“ She cut herself off and frowned. Why was she apologizing? 1) It made her sound as if she hadn’t wanted the kiss, and was sorry for kissing him back; 2) she had nothing to apologize for –other then the death of his friend- since he had initiated the whole thing. Instead, she gave another small sigh and reached over, pulling him closer to her. With a slow and fluid movement, she pushed herself away so her back was resting in the crook of the back of the cough and the arm, and then pulled him over so his head could rest on her chest, his back mostly against her stomach. Her legs positioned themselves around and under him so it would be comfortable for them both, and once she was settled, she stopped moving.

Tentatively, her hand raised and combed through his hair, her eyes fluttering closed for a few seconds. Despite the calm over-tone of her face, inside she was raging with thoughts and feelings. The kiss had awakened the yearning from long before, and she was trying to push it back down; now was not the time really to be in the mood for such things. Yet she still half wished he would turn around and continue kissing her. Damn it. Then there was the confusion over a variety of things, how she felt, wondering how he felt. In the end, there was a small explosion within herself, as if some part of her were just slamming its foot down and yelling ”Enough!”. Which was when all of her thoughts and feelings fluttered down inside of her, as if having been torn up by some great shredder.

She leaned down and her lips touched his forehead, lingering there a moment before her head rested once again on the back of the couch.

[Morrison Whelan]

Anna's reaction to his kiss was expected; the sudden tension of her entire body, the increase of her heart beat, and the rush of blood to her face, making the tight lips that he kissed rather warm. Morrison also expected her to pull away from him, perhaps offended by his gesture. Yet, she stayed completely still in his arms, probably debating if she should encourage him or not. Truthfully, if the woman pushed him off he would feel dejected and would most likely start crying again as he was still so sensitive at the moment. And if she kissed him back, well, he would take it as far as she let him.

That was just what she did, body relaxing against his own and her lips parting the slightest for him. The wolf lifted one of his hands up to the back of the woman's neck, tilting her head the tiniest bit so that he could kiss her easier, deeper. Tears were still running down his cheeks, tainting the kiss with their salty taste, but they were practically forgotten in that moment. Though they did not stay forgotten once Anna drew away from him, an irritated sigh escaping her. That sharp breath seemed to cut Morrison like a knife and he let go of the human, turning away and feeling a little ashamed. This was worse than when he had kissed Nessa out of his need for distraction, because between him and Anna there was much more of an attraction, yet neither would want to discuss it at the time being. The man wasn't even quite sure why'd he had kissed her in the first place, besides having something to stop his crying, though it hadn't worked at all; tears still dripped from the tip of his nose and chin.

”I-I’m sor-“

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Morrison shook his head softly. She didn't have anything to apologize for, he shouldn't have kissed her in the first place. Just having her hold him was wonderful enough and he'd had to let his impulses go and ruin it all. Fucking emotions made him an idiot, though he knew it could always be worse, his wolf side could be more in control and then he might be trying to rip at Anna's throat.

Breathing deeply, as to stop himself from crying even more, the man began to turn away from the human, at least until she started coax him into a position where she sat comfortably curled around him, his head resting on her soft chest. Obviously she didn't mind at all that he would get another wet spot on her shirt, otherwise she would have gone for holding his head behind her own. Or maybe she was hoping to get something out of the way they were against each other and he had to admit that it was tempting to turn his head to press his face against her breasts, if only for the darkness if would offer. That thought was calmed a bit when a hand ran through his hair and a kiss was planted against his forehead. Under different circumstances, these sort of actions would have reminded him of his mother, yet from Anna, those sort of kind touches gave him the desire to kiss her and hold her.

"Anna," he whispered hoarsely, resting a hand on her knee, "I'm going to be honest with you; sex would really help right now. But I don't want you to feel pressured in anyway, because I am perfectly fine sitting here as we are now." Morrison was beginning to like this woman quite a bit, even more than a friend perhaps, and he respected her too much to force anything on her. If she just wanted to continue sitting the way they were, he was alright with that, though he might fall asleep in a while and he wasn't sure that the woman would be too happy holding his weight like that when he did.

[Teris]

The two weren’t silent for long. She felt Morrison’s hand on her knee and she stirred slightly, anxious and ready to give him what ever it was he needed or wanted. ”Anna,” The whisper sent shivers down her back, but she pushed it away and listened as calmly as she could to his words. ”I’m going to be honest with you; sex would really help right now. But I don’t want you to feel pressured in any way, because I am perfectly fine sitting here as we are now.” Don’t want her to feel pressured? She frowned slightly, and turned her face slightly so if he craned his neck and looked up at her, he wouldn’t see and feel bad. How could he say it would really help, but he didn’t want her to feel pressured? She wanted to give him anything to help him feel better, but that… they barely knew each other. Yet her body tingled and her blood stirred at the thought of it; of him. She swallowed and remained silent for the time.

”Morrison…” She paused for a moment, wondering what she wanted to say. Instead of saying anything, she squirmed out from under him and gently nudged him upwards. She fit herself into his lap and wrapped her arms around his torso in a hug. For a while, her forehead was pressed against his chest, her eyes closed as she breathed in his scent. Then she lifted her head to him and kissed him. While her lips were soft and moulded against his willingly, she didn’t move her mouth in an attempt to deepen the kiss. When she pulled away, she placed one more peck against his lips and contented herself with being curled in his lap.

She knew nothing of the art of love making, and the fact that he wanted to have sex thrilled, delighted, and down right scared the shit out of her. To put it bluntly, her body wanted to, her heart wanted to, but her mind was telling her that now wasn’t the right time. 2/3 said go, and yet that one third made her hesitate. Besides, he would laugh or something of the sorts when she showed him how foolish and unlearned she was in the subject; and she didn’t have any form of protection for sex at all in her apartment. Plus if she slept with him now, it would only really be to calm him down from the crying. While she wanted to do that, she wasn’t sure she wanted her body to be seen as a way to stop his tears.

Glancing up at his face, she noted the tears still trickling down one-by-one, taking their time as they slid to his chin. There was a slight wrench in her heart, and she quickly changed her position so her legs were straddling his thighs, her knees pressing into the soft cushion of the couch. Her hands took his cheeks slowly and gently, and she rubbed the older tears from the bottom of his cheeks with her thumbs. ”Quiet your tears.” She told him softly in a whisper, and she leaned forward to gently press her lips just below his –now- closed eyes, kissing away the tears already fallen. They were salty on her tongue when they trickled through the smallest crack between her lips.

When she pulled away a few seconds later, her eyes travelled his face uncertainly. The angry knot returned to her tummy, and she clenched her muscles, causing her stomach beneath her top to such in the smallest bit. ”Truth be told…” She began quietly, her voice trailing with the unfinished sentence. Her eyes lowered in a slightly distraught display, and she gently bit her lip ring. ”I… I’m kind of scared to… you know.” With her head still lowered, she glanced up through her eye lashes. ”I’ve never actually had… uhm… full blown sex before. I mean sure I’ve messed around but…” Her cheeks flushed and she looked back down. Then she swallowed, ”I’m just not sure…” She could have said ‘what to do’, ‘how to do it’, or even ‘if it was the right thing to do’, but she couldn’t really say any of those, and the ending was left, ringing the possibilities around the room. She rather wished he had of just lead her into something, and then the decision wouldn’t have been left to her.

She could also substitute sex for something different though, couldn’t she? There was just the messing around; hand jobs, blow jobs, making out, touching, feeling, kissing, hugging, snuggling. He’d already offered the snuggling, but they could take it a bit further… Her lip ring slipped from her mouth and she kissed him again, enjoying the warm feel of his lips. When she pulled away, she also slipped off his lap and found herself standing in front of him on the couch. As if he’d been living with her for a while or something of the sorts, she fluffed her hair out slightly, allowing it to ruffle as her fingers felt its texture. She hadn’t had a shower since the morning before, and with her mind wandering, an idea formed. A small smile crossed her lips and she leaned down, pressing her lips to his again before straightening, ”I’m going to take a shower.”

As she turned towards the bathroom, she allowed the words to hang in the air for a little while, the second welcoming still hidden behind it. To make sure the message actually got out to him, though, she paused in the door way. ”If you want you have one after you could. … Or you could join me?” Her throat tightened slightly, unsure if those were the words she’d wanted, but then figured it didn’t really matter.

[Morrison Whelan]

Perhaps he'd worded that last sentence wrong. Anna grew a little tense and the body under him felt a bit too warm. Morrison glanced up at her, but saw nothing more than the side of her cheek, and even that was pulled taught. He should have said something like: "Sex would be nice." or, "We can do whatever your comfortable with." But he'd had to go with: "Sex would really help." He had practically backed her into a corner with that, as if she refused him in that way, then she'd feel bad for not assisting him as well as possible. There wasn't anything he could say to make her feel less obligated either, it would only cause the woman to feel even worse, guilty in a way. So he stayed as quiet as she.

”Morrison…”

The wolf glanced up at her again, waiting for the rest of her words, yet they didn't come. Instead, she pushed him up so that he sat against the couch before sliding onto his lap, hugging his chest tightly and resting her head on him. Swallowing softly and blinking back a few tears, now feeling a little regretful for putting Anna in such a position, he lifted a hand to the woman's hair and stroked his fingers through it softly. After a minute or two, she lifted herself up and kissed him, though he didn't return it and only relaxed his own mouth, softening his lips so that she could take advantage of him if she wished. However, the kiss didn't last too long and didn't go much further, she merely pecked his lips before letting her head drop back down to his chest.

As Morrison continued to run his hand over, through the human's hair, he stared off at the opposite wall, his mouth relaxing into the slightest frown. He didn't realize it, but the look on his face was one of deep sadness and the tears that still dripped down his cheeks only added to his melancholy. The wolf was very comfortable to sit here with Anna in his lap, enjoying having her so near, but there was now a tension between them, as she contemplated what to do, and if to give into the urges of her body, ignoring the sensibilities of her own brain. If she didn't want to make love, that was alright, as long as she was able to relax once again, as this uneasiness wasn't helping him to feel any better.

”Quiet your tears." The man blinked softly, shifting his eyes from the wall to Anna and only now realizing her shift in position. He swallowed softly, his arms wandering around to hug her around her waist, and his eyes slowly closed as her lips came into contact with his skin, kissing away the tears that he just fallen. Letting out a deep breath, he reopened his eyes to look at the woman now that she had pulled away, and he found himself frowning slightly on that uncertain, anxious expression that she carried.

”Truth be told…” She trailed off and fell silent, looking down, but she didn't have to finish the phrase. Morrison knew that she was a little frightened (her body gave away all of her feelings), be it because she was inexperienced, that they knew so little about each other, or because she was afraid what he would do, seeing as he was a werewolf. The latter was something that should bother her; he wasn't up for being violent or even remotely wild, he just wanted something slow and gentle.

”I… I’m kind of scared to… you know.” Yes, he knew... ”I’ve never actually had… uhm… full blown sex before. I mean sure I’ve messed around but…” So that was it, wasn't it? She was just afraid that he wouldn't enjoy her as much as a more experienced woman, or that maybe he would impose something upon her that she would be able to deal with. He wasn't that brutish though, he would be kind with her if she needed that. ”I’m just not sure…” The wolf stared at her down turned eyes for a few moments, not sure how to respond, before also shifting his gaze ground-ward.

A soft kiss awakened him out of a slightly dreary mood and he turned his eyes up to Anna, even returning the kiss a bit. However, he started to feel a bit dejected when she stood right after the kiss and ruffled her hair. His eyes stayed on her for a couple of seconds before wandering around the room a little then coming back to her when she spoke. ”I’m going to take a shower.” He nodded softly after her kiss, clasping his hands loosely in his lap and watching her walk off toward the bathroom. Morrison was also in need of a bath, but now wasn't really the time; he needed sleep more anyway. Maybe Anna would be alright with him drifting off while she washed up...

”If you want to have one after you could. … Or you could join me?”


The slightest twitch of a smile played upon his lips and he slowly got to his feet, using the back of the couch to steady his almost tingling legs. Before going over to Anna, he walked to the front entry hall where his jacket was still laying on the floor. He ignored the pistol next to it and pulled out his wallet, where he always kept one or two condoms, then dropped it into his pants' pocket. The woman would probably catch on to what he had gotten the wallet for, but he wasn't going to mention it as it would only put more pressure on her than there already was.

Moving back to the bathroom, Morrison tried to flash the human a bit of a smile, but his face wasn't working too well and nothing touched his lips. At least he wasn't still crying, though tears were still glimmering on his cheeks, not yet having time enough to dry. Reaching Anna, the wolf swung an arm around her then leaned in for a light, very sweet kiss before gently guiding her backwards and into the bathroom. He didn't mind at all what, if anything they did in the shower, be it actually sex or just standing together under the water naked, he was fine with anything, as long as he had her close to him.

[Teris]

”Wow.” She said finally, blinking to try and clear the haze from her thoughts. Anna pushed herself out from under him and situated herself on the edge of the bed. She bit her bottom lip slightly, glancing over at him. Well shit. Now what? What does one do after a one night stand -if that's what this was? Get up and say “I had a great time, now get the f*&^ out”? She definitely wasn't going to do that. Cuddle? Wouldn't it be a bit weird to just lean over and push him over to snuggle?

Her hand ran through her hair. ”...I'll... be right back.” Making her way to the bathroom, Anna-Leigh quickly did her business and grabbed a wad of toilet paper to wrap the condom in. There was surprisingly not a lot of a mess. Not as much as she'd pictured when people told her that sex was one of the messiest things people can do. To be completely honest, she had no idea what the hell she was supposed to do now. First thing's first, make sure there wasn't a huge mess on her bed. Sauntering back into her room, Anna-Leigh sat beside Morrison.

”Sorry... This is a bit awkward.” She blushed in the dark. Leaning over she gently kissed him while searching out the used condom ((assuming he's taken it off >.< )) and wrapping it into the toilet paper. Pulling away, she blushed again. ”Do... you want to stay the night?” The question hung in the air.

((It took FOREVER and it sucks, but here it is >.< SORRY!! ))