As Athena heads towards the stairs, Raylan lightly backhands her arm and jerks his head around to the side and led her along the weedy path, bits of plastic and trash half fastened down to the ground by the sprawling plant growth.
Raylan pulled out his phone. Confirming our appointment at 3pm. He glanced over at Athena. "Not all meetin's happen inside."
A few seconds later, a leggy cornsilk blonde stepped out of the battered screen door and Raylan lifted his chin at her.
"Raylan," she greeted, starting with a smile that fell into something a little more plastic and fragile as she spots Athena, though, to her credit, she warms it up as she recovers with a little laugh in her voice as she talks. "And friend, I see. I'm sorry, I wasn't expectin' to see anyone else." At least Ava was genuine, however fractionally closed she was.
Athena was an outsider in a way that maybe the girl had never experienced before. You didn't have to have magic to be eyeballed or isolated out of a community. No matter how polite and smiling that community might be while they're doing it.
Ava looked at Raylan in silent question. His eyebrows lifted faintly as he pulled her back onto point.
"You called me, Ava and I'm here. Why am I here?" His head and tone bobbed with the last bit, the sound of a tired, resigned man who wanted to know why he was working so early in the morning. And without breakfast no less.
Ava clucked in admonishment and continued off the steps, high heels clicking against the old wood. "Now what happened to your manners, Raylan?" She looked over at Athena. "He's never been very good at it," she said, nose wrinkling like she was sharing a bit of juicy, harmless gossip.
no subject
Raylan pulled out his phone. Confirming our appointment at 3pm. He glanced over at Athena. "Not all meetin's happen inside."
A few seconds later, a leggy cornsilk blonde stepped out of the battered screen door and Raylan lifted his chin at her.
"Raylan," she greeted, starting with a smile that fell into something a little more plastic and fragile as she spots Athena, though, to her credit, she warms it up as she recovers with a little laugh in her voice as she talks. "And friend, I see. I'm sorry, I wasn't expectin' to see anyone else." At least Ava was genuine, however fractionally closed she was.
Athena was an outsider in a way that maybe the girl had never experienced before. You didn't have to have magic to be eyeballed or isolated out of a community. No matter how polite and smiling that community might be while they're doing it.
Ava looked at Raylan in silent question. His eyebrows lifted faintly as he pulled her back onto point.
"You called me, Ava and I'm here. Why am I here?" His head and tone bobbed with the last bit, the sound of a tired, resigned man who wanted to know why he was working so early in the morning. And without breakfast no less.
Ava clucked in admonishment and continued off the steps, high heels clicking against the old wood. "Now what happened to your manners, Raylan?" She looked over at Athena. "He's never been very good at it," she said, nose wrinkling like she was sharing a bit of juicy, harmless gossip.