BLACKBIRD SINGING; (open)

[Nessarose Allens]

Nes had done what she did best when things got too hard; she disappeared. This time had been longer than anybody had anticipated, more than a few months, more than half a year. She didn't even know where the time had gone. Safe to say, everything she had worked for had vanished. The reappearance of Kaleb so many months before had forced her to go sober - that hadn't lasted very long. As soon as she'd left London her dependency had started again. Once she was safe - in her mind at least, it was safe to do what she used to. The second thing that had reverted back to normal was the voice that used to constantly berrate her. Now that it wasn't protecting her, it went back to taunting and controlling her. Nes could deal with it better though, knowing that - should trouble arrive, it would be on her side within seconds.

The park was dark at night, Nes sat upon a park bench. It was cold out, yet that did not seem to make any difference to her - there were goosebumps upon her skin but she did not shiver. So much had happened, mere cold would do nothing about it. Why had she come back? She knew that Kaleb would not have left London, it was just like him to stick around until he got a rumour of her whereabouts. He knew her. He knew she had a tendency to vanish for long periods of time before reappearing in the same place. Nes was predictable, but London called to her like no other place. It was in her nature to return.

Her pale hands ran through her hair, untangling it with her fingers. The wind was making this a hell of a task, but she was trying her best regardless. The only thing Nes had owned before she left that she still owned now was her laptop - it remained in the satchel by her side. It was the only way she'd been able to have money these past months. Without an income, she'd had to rely on hacking out of bank accounts. Only out of werewolves bank accounts - that was her policy. She felt that it slightly redeemed herself in some way. Though, she was yet to figure out what that 'way' actually was.

A nightbird sounded, her cue to get up from the bench and start walking. Her arms wrapped around herself, trying at vain to keep the cold at bay. It wouldn't work, but hopefully the movement would help some. It felt sort of reassuring to be back in London, although she could only guess how long that would last.

[Morrison Whelan]

Today was one of the rare days that Morrison wasn’t spending entirely with Lexi. He’d seen her that morning, since he’d slept over at her flat the night before and they’d had time for breakfast together before she had to get to work. Bert, his girlfriend’s guardian, still hated the wolf, surprise, surprise, but he at least tolerated him now. When the OldMan saw him, he might not say much to him, yet he would every once and a while, he’d give the other man a nod or even a sincere “Hello”. It was so refreshing to not be glared at every time he left or entered the garage now. Maybe the two men could eventually start to get along, which would make Lexi’s life easier.

This all put the wolf in quite the good mood, making what he planned to do today a bit more bearable. Meadhbh’s house was still sitting in abandoned in Hyde Park. Morrison continued to pay the electricity and mortgage for the home so that it wouldn’t become a haven for junkies, knowing that in its location, no one would want to buy the place. Not that Morrison would have been willing to sell it. Eventually, he would have to deal with the property in some way, since he technically didn’t own it and couldn’t continue to keep it functional for forever. But, he could start to move out all of the furniture, keeping what he wanted and giving away the rest.

He rented a moving truck for the day and within a few hours, he had packed almost full of the items he wanted to get rid of. None of it was that sentimental to him, beyond the fact that it had been his friend’s, so it wasn’t too difficult to let it go. Unfortunately, there was still so much left in the house when the truck was picked up. He could spend another few days getting the home empty, but he knew that the longer he spent there, the harder it would be to detach his emotions from what he was really doing, which to him was dismantling 100-some years of Meadhbh’s life. The only thing that would be left her were memories, a grave stone, the tags he still wore around his neck every single day.

For an hour, Morrison moved larger furniture from upstairs into the now mostly empty living room, but by then, the lack of company had left him to his own thoughts and those were not very pleasant. He’d wished Lexi could be there with him, but he wasn’t sure even that would help since he had yet to tell her about Meadhbh and she had never seen him when he was depressed. Not wanting to let his emotions get away from him, feeling that it would wreck a perfectly good week, he left the property and went to a nearby café that a friend had taken him to once. For a few hours, he stayed there, socializing with whoever was up for a conversation and sipping on a cup of coffee that he had refilled over and over.

Eventually, the café had to close and he was forced to leave, though he did promise to return. He’d be in the area many more times, so why the hell not? Just so that he could pack up and move a few more items in Meadhbh’s house, he headed back and spent as little time finishing the task at hand. As he left the home for good that day, his old friend’s guitar in hand, he felt that he’d avoided grief for the most part and he’d accomplished plenty. There was just one more thing he wanted to do.

Once he had secured the guitar away in his car, he started to move through the park. When he and Meadhbh had first been getting to know each other, they bonded the most over their shared condition. She had showed him many times the place in this park where she had been attacked, where her life had been changed. On her own, she had come to face that her being a werewolf could never be changed and the park didn’t hold any fear for her, only nostalgia. These days, Morrison liked to return to the park to remember the woman, to see if would help him accept what had happened to her. So far, it hadn’t helped, but that could always change.

Only, after a few minutes of being in the park, Morrison was stopped dead in his tracks. This was just too strange that he wasn’t sure if he could believe. He hadn’t seen the woman in a month, his nose had to be tricking him. Unsure as to whether he would be glad to know the identity of the stranger walking a little ways from him, he slowly got closer to them. No, the scent was unmistakable. Goddamn Nessarose Allens. He still hadn’t forgotten the name. Though he was still unable to see her face clearly, he knew it was her, the way she walked and the look of her hair, her clothes, the satchel at her hip.

“Nessa?” he called over to her.

[Nessarose Allens]

Part of her hated to be back here, knowing as she did that it was one of the stems of all her problems. But she was a stubborn creature, even when it came to fighting against her better nature. Somewhere it was more than that though, there was work to be done here, the wolf government was getting stronger and she needed to do something about it. It was not in her nature - the good or the bad part, to let something unjust happen and not try to do anything about it. Her hands absently rubbed her arms, not to stimulate warmth in them, simply for lack of anything else to do. She was lost here, she should be on the lookout for an apartment. By now her old one would have been repossesed, since she wasn't paying it's rent - besides, she didn't want to go back there anyway. Too many memories.

Nes was so lost within herself that she wasn't alert like she'd normally be, she didn't notice the person behind her. In fact, she didn't even hear him, it seemed like her instincts were playing up on her again. However, it wouldn't matter - she did still have weapons on her, trusty knives. She'd never be caught anywhere without those. Nessa. Her body froze, she stopped walking. Mild panic as she recognised the voise. Yet at the same time, relief, she should've known that it wouldn't be long before she ran into Morrison again. He was everywhere he shouldn't be. "Hello Morrison." Her words were stiff, unsure of herself. Slowly she turned around, facing him and yet still maintaining the distance between them.

Eyes tracked him, he looked happier than when they last met. It was in the way he held himself, in his eyes even. That was good. When they'd last parted, it had been Morry who was into drugs - suffering the death of one of his good friends. Meadhbe. Who - Nes still recalled, had tried to eat her on their first meeting. "Long time." She spoke more for lack of anything else to do than from desire to converse. Morrison always had her unsure of where she stood. He was too much like herself - volatile, yet with and ability to be compassionate that she found disturbing sometimes.

Nervously, she took a half step closer. She wasn't nervous of him so much, simply being back here had her at ends with herself. Her eyes flicked to the side for a moment, straining for something to say that would clear the awkwardness from the air. Anything. A hand tugged at her hair once again. "How've you been?" Once, Morrison had been her only friend. Even then, the word 'friend' was in its most hazardous form, she wasn't really sure what they'd been. But she hadn't killed him, nor he her. So, that must've been some sort of friendship.

[Morrison Whelan]

"Hello Morrison."

Morrison felt a shiver run up his spine. The tone in Nessa’s voice and the fact that she hadn’t turned around yet when she spoke was more than a little creepy. It also didn’t help that it was pitch black outside and that they were surrounded by dead and twisted trees. Of course, he’d always thought that the woman was creepy in her own right, she was… haunted. That thing in her head that tormented her, it had even scared him once. For a moment, he had to wonder if it had come back to her.

"Long time."

Blinking, realizing that Nessa had turned around and was looking at him, he shrugged to her. A month was indeed a long time. Usually, he wouldn’t have thought so, but the past 30 or so days had gone by too slowly, since he’d been dealing with Meadhbh, Iivan, work, Lexi, the constant fear of his son. He sort of hoped that Nes had had a less eventful time wherever she’d been hidden away, but he doubted it. “Yah,” he finally replied, lamely. Clearly, neither of them was sure of what they were supposed to say in this situation, but he was sure that within no time they’d been speaking as if they’d seen each other yesterday. They were so strange together and it always put him a little on edge.

Unsure as to whether he should move closer the human or if that would make her too uncomfortable, he stood in place, watching her from a distance. "How've you been?" This was an expected question in this sort of situation, but between them, it could be incredibly hazardous to delve into such a thing. At least for Morrison, he was doing better, much, much better. Nes… Well, she seemed like the same old Nessa, the one before he’d forced her to detox. As it were, he had no idea if that was good or not, though he supposed that he’d find out.

The wolf didn’t reply to her immediately, wanting to get closer to her so that he didn’t have to talk so loudly to be heard. Slowly, and keeping his eyes down for the most part, he walked all the way up to the woman, stopping before he started to violate her personal space. Lifting his eyes to Nes’ finally, he smiled the slightest bit at seeing her face clearly again. “I’ve been…” he paused, trying to think of the right word, but he only shrugged gain. “I’ve been well, better than before.”

She had to know what this meant and had probably seen it before he’d even said so. The way he carried himself these days was so different, he wasn’t even violent toward people a majority of the time. “You seem about the same as always,” he observed quietly, glancing down at his feet then back up. She could take this as an insult, but he imagined that she’d be amused by this more than anything.

[Nessarose Allens]

It took a really strange person to consder Nes as normal, especially with all the talking to herself and spontaneous screaming. At the moment though, she didn't seem too 'out of the ordinary', she simply seemed tired. It was as if everything that had happened had finally caught up with her. In a way, it had, you can only run for so long before you have to slow down because of exhaustion. That's what this stage of her being was like, the exhausted one, the one that just wanted to chill out and sleep. Yet, she knew that she would be unable to do that. Some things are easier said than they are done.

"I've been-, I've been well, better than before."

She nodded to herself; that was what she had expected. "Better" didn't necessarily mean that he was good, he wasn't jumping along rooftops screaming christmas carols. All it meant was that things were not as bad as they were before, they'd gotten better. As most things tend to do. Despite herself, Nes was secretly pleased that Morrison was feeling better. In her own weird way, she cared about him, which made her at least a little bit sensitive towards his feelings. Knowing he wasn't feeling as much pent up rage made her feel - even slightly - better.

He'd moved closer to her. Nes hadn't missed the way he'd moved slowly, training his eyes to the ground so as not to scare her off. A small smile played upon her face as she recognised this - he was treating her akin to a wild animal. A fair thing to do given her normal, flighty self. Nes didn't back away, she knew what Morrison imposing personal space looked like and this was not it. Visibly, she relaxed a little bit, just so that the tension was out of her posture.

"You seem about the same as always."

A humourless chuckle escaped her at this and she smiled just a little bit. It was true, but she already knew that. It was amazing how quickly she could backtrack to her previous self. Pitiful, really. "Yes, well. I don't really have a reason for that aside from the fact that my self control isn't as good as i thought it was." Her voice was dry, there was some sarcastic humour in her tone but that was something that was normal when she spoke. Briefly she looked around, shoving her hands into her pockets. This standing around felt so awkward and forced. Nes glanced back to Morrison and tilted her head ever so slightly. "Shall we walk a little bit?" A strange thing for Nes, to offer more company, but heck, she was in the mood to talk to someone. Even if it was about trivial things.

[Morrison Whelan]

AA twitch of a smile flitted over Morrison’s lips when Nes let out a short laugh. That was a sound he had gotten quite used to. He had hated it before, but he was glad to hear it again. “... my self control isn't as good as I thought it was.” As usual, he ignored the tone in her voice and he’d get used to it soon enough, what stuck with him were her words. It had been stupid of him at the time, but he’d really thought he could change her life and make it better. He would have still thought that if he didn’t know now how much effort he’d have to put into such a task. Hell, he’d only been able to get Lexi off of drugs by starting to date her. And he didn’t think that sort of thing would work with Nessa.

"Shall we walk a little bit?"

“Hm?” Morrison looked up from his hand that he was staring up to look the human in the eyes again. “Yah,” he said, realizing what she’d said, and smiled, “that would be good.” Also tucking his hands into his jacket pockets, the man turned and waited for Nes to come up beside him before moving back down the path he’d just walked up. “Actually,” he said after a moment, looking towards where the line of houses were on the other side of the park, “let’s go get warmed up.” They would have to walk all the way there, so they’d still technically being walking a little bit.

Turning down a path that would take them almost to the front door of Meadhbh’s home, the wolf glanced over at Nes then took a deep breath. Why was he here right now? Part of him thought that he should have just run as soon as he realized who he’d run into again since that part of really did not want to have to deal with her along with everything else. Yet, a larger part of him still cared about her and really wanted to know what she had been up while she’d been in hiding. Hiding from exactly, he wasn’t sure of and he wasn’t going to ask any time soon. That was for later. Everything was for later these days.

“So,” the wolf said, breaking a silence that was growing a bit too long, “I’m glad to see that you’re at least calm today.” He glanced over at her again and added: “Tired maybe, but still.” He shrugged softly then pulled his hands out of his pockets to tug his jacket closer around his neck. Morrison did much prefer her when she wasn’t shaking or screaming at air or trying to hurt herself, though he knew that this all only went away when she had enough drugs in her system. He just tried not to think about that too much.

[Nessarose Allens]

The silence was not frightning as it once would have been, yet at the same time it was not comfortable as it should be. There was a slight breeze that interrupted the otherwise sient night, where they were in Hyde Park meant that even the traffic could not be heard. It was peaceful which was nice, but it was also threatning, as quiet places tend to be. A deadly menace that merely lurked beneath the surface of your thoughts - not doing anything as such, but it was always at the back of your mind to scare you anyway. Maybe that was just Nes, she was known to have weird thoughts. Although she, unlike most people, did actually have a demon that was always in the back of her mind.

"Actually, let's go get warmed up."

Nes paused momentarily and glanced at Morrison out of the corner of her eye. Where would they be going at this time of night? Surely there would be something open, but she suspected that it would not be very close to here. "Well i'm sure that could work just as well." Her tone suggested non-chalance, but like always she was actually curious as to where she was being led.

The path they took was one that she hadn't really realised was there until they were actually walking down it. She felt a small amount of relief that they had diverted from the main path. Although it may have been the safer option, she felt more at risk in the open than she did in the slight cover that this path offered. Silence gre between them and continued to grow, it was becomming awkward but she didn't know how to break it. What could she say that she hadn't said the last time? He'd met his son for the first time and it hadn't gone well, vaguely she found herself wondering what became of that. Anything good?

"So, I'm glad to see that you're at least calm today... Tired maybe, but still."

Once again she smiled a little bit, though this had no meaning - it was simply a gesture. Most of the times she had been with Morrison she had been in some sort of drug related or fear fuelled anger. Except the last time; but her emotionless emptiness had probably - at least for her, been one of the strangest experiences of them all. Briefly, she nodded her head in agreeance with him. "Back to normal, that's me." A smirk played upon her lips, hers was a very fragile definition of 'normal'. "But yes, tired. It's hard to get sufficient sleep when you don't have a set place to sleep."

They walked a little further down the path. She tried to push her hands further into her pockets, although doing so did not make them any warmer. She could see the shape of a house materializing in the distance. Was that where they were going? She glanced at Morrison and inclined her head towards the building. "Is that where we're going?"

[Morrison Whelan]

"Back to normal, that's me."

Morrison had been staring up at the sky, glad that he could see the stars for once in this part of town, when Nes spoke and he turned to look down at her, a grin playing at his lips. That was her, completely normal. The woman who was perfectly fine one day, borderline psychotic the next, and almost emotionless the day after. Normal, that was it.

"But yes, tired. It's hard to get sufficient sleep when you don't have a set place to sleep."

Though this was something he should have expected, since it was hard to keep your rent up to date when you’d disappeared for so long, it still surprised him. Where had she been staying then? For a second, he considered asking if she would want to rent out Meadhbh’s old home for a while, or for good. It would at least solve his problem of what he was going to do with the property. He was distracted from this thought however when they passed by a certain group of trees that he recognized all too well. He used to train Meadhbh out here and they’d had picnics, had just hung out. He was missing that now.

"Is that where we're going?"

Tearing his eyes away from the trees, he looked over at the woman and saw her tilting her head in the direction they were heading, right toward the house. “Oh, yah,” he said with a smile, “the heat’s off, but it’ll be warmer than out here.” And brighter too. Turning his eyes to focus on the path in front of them, he pressed his hands back into his pockets and felt the weight of his revolver under his hand. He really wished that he hadn’t brought it with him, but he couldn’t shake his paranoia about being around the house when his friend’s killer could show up at any moment. Maybe that was a ridiculous thought on his part, though his life had been threatened quite a bit lately, so it was understandable enough.

Within a few more minutes of walking in silence, since Morrison was very unsure as to what to say to Nessa at the moment , they were at the steps of the home. He stopped at the door, pulling his keys out to open the door then pushed through and felt around on the inside wall before he was able to find a light switch. The wolf moved into the front room ahead of Nes and held open the door for her, only closing and locking it once she was past him. “You can sit down if you can find a seat,” he said, dragging off his jacket and moving into the sitting room. He threw the jacket down on a chest of drawers sitting by the door then moved through the room to clear off the sofa that he’d left down here.

A sigh left him as he glanced around the room, still a bit shocked that it he had changed it so much in such little time, and then he shifted his eyes around to the human. “This was Meadhbh’s house,” he told her quietly, slowly sitting down on the edge of the couch. “I’m just trying to get it cleaned out now.” Clasping his hands in his lap, he smiled at Nes then looked down at his feet. It was still hard to talk about the woman, but it wasn’t as hard. At least he had a better hold of his emotions these days and didn't break down in front of people so often, which he was always rather embarrassed about. Of course, he'd never be embarrassed crying around Nessa now, since she'd been there the day Jeena had called him. Just the thought of that morning made his throat close up with grief, though he was able to keep himself under control for the most part.

[Nessarose Allens]

Despite everything that had happened and everything that people might assume, Nes was actually very intelligent. Not just in the normal; 'one plus one equals two" way, either - she could read people very well (when she was high on something that nobody understood) and she could program things without even thinking about it. Although she knew what some people felt simply by looking at them, it was hard for her to communicate anything to them. She was empathetic yes, but she had no interpersonal skills to deal with that empathy. It left her with a sort of pathetic, redundant feeling that she knew nothing about. Frustrating, right? Needless to say, it was harder when it was people she even slightly cared about. Watching the brief flashes of pain and memory pass across Morrison's face killed her because she could not stand the demons that she knew haunted him. Even before he spoke, she could guess who this house had once belonged to. It did not take a genius to guess at the haunted memory on his face.

"The heats off but it'll be warmer than out here."

It seemed that her body decided that this would be the most appropriate moment to give a dramatic shiver, although the goosebumps that layered her skin under her clothes were themselves, testament to the chill of the night air. They arrived at the front door and - as he held the door for her, she stepped somewhat self-consiously into the house. It was plain, both because there was very little furniture left in it and because its design was quaint anyway. Despite the fact that it was empty, Nes could get the feeling of the girl she had once that lived here, there was personality in every aspect of the house. She could only imagine that if this discomfort was how she felt in the house - it must feel terrible to Morrison. He'd known Meadhbh far longer than anyone else and she didn't think that time would ever completely heal this wound.

Eyes traced him as he moved to the couch and she tentatively followed him into the room. His eyes fell to the floor in a way that suggested he was still battling with his emotions. Nes walked slowly and took a seat on the other side of the couch. A time ago, she would have never sat in the same room as a werewolf, let alone the same couch. Was she becomming tamed? She didn't think so, maybe it was just hard to stay afraid of Morrison. As she'd said before, if she wasn't dead by now then it would take something major for him to kill her. "Morr... How are you, really? Last time i saw you... well, neither of us were too good." Her words were halted and nervous, she was concerned about him. He was the 'noble' one in this weird friendship, and the last time she'd seen him he'd been taking drugs. It worried her, she wanted to know if he was ok, for a given value of ok.

[Morrison Whelan]

Once, there had been a time when Morrison would have gotten angry and defensive when he felt that his true emotions were starting to show through. This had caused him to hurt a lot of people, to lose friends and even connections with those in his family when they’d still been around. Meadhbh and Iivan had been the only ones he really showed a softer side to, but now that she was gone and his roommate was absent so much more often, he had to open up to other people. Nes was one of those people, though he wouldn’t have chosen her to be one because she wasn’t the best at being comforting and she got quite awkward around him. At least it was something, and it helped, probably helped both of them even.

"Morr... How are you, really? Last time I saw you... well, neither of us were too good."

Morrison glanced up at her as she spoke and then glanced back down at his feet with a sigh. Their last meeting had been so strange, he still wasn’t sure what to think of it. Both of them had been acting weird, with her being sober and him having been experimenting with drugs, which he would never tell Lexi about. He wished that meeting had never happened since she’d seen so much weakness in him then, but he couldn’t go back and change it and it had gotten him to trust her more, knowing that she wouldn’t take advantage of him like that.

“I’m better” he said after a deep breath, repeating what he’d said earlier, “really, I am. I wouldn’t have come here two weeks ago, but now it’s... it’s not terrible.” He shifted his head to look up at her and looked into her eyes. “I’ve started seeing this girl, Lexi,” he told her, a slight smile coming over his lips at the thought of his girlfriend, “in the beginning, I was just trying to help her, with drugs mostly.” He gave Nessa a slightly sheepish smile, this being the same sort of reason he’d gotten to know her. “And she hated me,” he said, “hated werewolves nonetheless, but eventually we started going out anyway. It’s probably not the healthiest relationship, but it’s helped.” Morrison leaned back in the couch and bit the inside of his lip. He loved Lexi and felt safe talking about her to a small extent, but if he started to think about her too much he’d remember all that he hadn’t told her and all that she had yet to tell him, and he felt no better than when he thought about Meadhbh. It was a selfish thought, but he sometimes wished he’d chosen to date someone with less issues.

[Nessarose Allens]

Nes didn't like to feel pity. She felt that it would disrespect the valor of that person, although there was also the fact that she firmly believed pity helped nobody and nothing. What did it even do? It made you feel sorry for someone, it did not drive you to help them in any way nor did it drive them to rectify their problems. Pity was a simple emotion, but a useless one. That was why, as she watched the various emotions play upon Morrison's expression - she did not pity him, oh she sympathized with him - of course, and she tried to be empathetic. But that was all she would do, out of courtesy and kindness to him and respect of herself.

"I'm better, really, I am. I wouldn’t have come here two weeks ago, but now it’s... it’s not terrible.”

"It's not terrible." He had the knack of describing things in a way that ensured she perfectly understood what he meant. A light smile flicked briefly upon her lips, it disappeared almost as quickly as it had come leaving you wondering if it had happened at all. For some reason, knowing that Morrison was recovering from Meadhbh's death made her happy. Or, it at least did not make her sad. She would have hated to see him miserable and vengeance-fueled forever. "Glad to hear it. You were a little bit of a cause for concern when i last saw you." She shrugged off the meaning of these words as she spoke them, it was the closest she would come to actually saying that she had been worried about him. For some reason, vocalizing these thoughts always gave them a certainty that she could not stand.

Suddenly, Morrison's features began to change. The became lighter and more happy, something which Nes was startled to see. Not to say that she didn't want him to be happy - just the sudden change in his expression was strange to her. It all soon made sense though, a sheepish smile was upon his lips and he spoke in more of rush. Morrison was excited by this 'Lexi' and Nes was happy for him. She could never imagine having someone be so close to her that she was obliged to tell them everything about herself, she wouldn't be able to stand it.

"And she hated me, hated werewolves nonetheless, but eventually we started going out anyway. It’s probably not the healthiest relationship, but it’s helped.”

So it was the tragic love story of star-crossed lovers? A forbidden sort of relationship, not in law but in nature. There were no exceptions to Nes's rule of hating werewolves. She had learned to accept Morrison because had he wanted her dead, she would have been dead by now. Inside her, she knew she still hated him a little bit to, but she cared for him as well. Those emotions were caught up inside her in an unhealthy truce. "What's she like?" Pulling away from her own thoughts, she focused upon Morry, on a topic she knew he would have relief talking about. Nes had never understood love and relationships, after her last failed attempt she tried to avoid feeling anything other than hate or mild friendship.

[Morrison Whelan]

The wolf smiled slightly at Nes’s words, about her being glad that he was better. He knew that she was more concerned for him than she would ever admit out loud and he really appreciated her for it. There were few people that had known him for such a short time that could feel concerned for him like she did, and when they’d first met, they’d been hostile toward each other at best. That had changed enough, to the point where concern and friendship outweighed hate and he trusted her to not take advantage of him. She even cared enough to wonder about Lexi.

"What's she like?"

Morrison’s lips twitched into a grin before relaxing back into a soft smile. He hadn’t been able to smile too widely that entire day, but he wasn’t really feeling depressed at the moment, just subdued. “She would disagree, but she’s really sweet,” he glanced at the hands clasped in his lap, “she’s easy to help too.” Actually, that last part had been a lie and his smile fell at the realization, a heavy sigh rising from hic chest. “Well, I’d like her to be, but,” he sighed again and looked back to Nessa, “I love her. Nothing else much matters.” The smile crept partway back onto his lips and he lifted a hand to ruffle up his hair, trying to relax for the moment. The two of them made for a very fucked up couple, but that didn’t mean a thing.

Staring over at the human for a few quiet moments, Morrison felt very glad to have her there. She was never a constant in his life, yet she always seemed to show up when he needed her (excluding of course the times he absolutely hated having her there). “Thanks Nes,” he said, reaching over to squeeze her knee, it was how he showed his sincerity, “I’m really glad you’re here to listen.” He took his hand back, wrapping it back around the other one. A hurt and worried expression crossed his face then settled into a soft frown. “Iivan hasn’t been around much,” he told her, “he won’t talk about... Meadhbh, he’s been showing up at the apartment after being gone a week and looking a mess...”

For the longest time, Morrison had been so concentrated on keeping his own emotions under control and then being with Lexi, that he hadn’t noticed his own friend struggling. It only really hit him when Iivan come home that one day to tell him that he’d gotten himself a proper job. Yet, only a week later, he was fired and the very next day, he was in the hospital with a broken arm and a bullet wound. “I don’t know what to do,” he admitted softly. He’d always looked to the other wolf for advice, since he was older, more experience, if not a bit insane. Now, he was feeling slightly lost and useless to help his friend.