when it rains
#1
Set sometime during the first week of March. For Tammi and her Hybrid.[html]
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It wasn’t officially spring yet, but there were bouts when the weather seemed to sway towards the better (reflecting what was to come) only to fall back towards the harsh. Today seemed to be one of those tease days, showering the land beneath the Halcyons and consequentially, Ryan, in warm spring rain. The young mother had left little Valkyrie in their den, the girl having been tired after a morning playing outside and needing a nap. Ryan had taken the time to stroll in the dusk light, letting the rain water soak her rust colored coat.


She settled down on a rotting log, taking a deep breath as she thought about the events that had come to past within the last week. Gabriel had given Ryan important advice and the young woman knew she needed to follow it. She was frightened, but knew there would be no way around it. She needed to tell him.


The showers had turned from a sprinkle, to a drizzle, and now to what seemed to be a light mist. It gave Inferni’s scenery a sense of mystery, but mostly a sense of apprehension: a fear in the unknown that could easily be lingering in the darkness of that mist.




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#2
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Hybrid could not decide if he liked or disliked the rain. He supposed he could remain indifferent to it until he made up his mind, but he doubted he would even consider examining the topic unless, well, it rained again. A particularly large rain drop landed on his nose; he frowned, pulling his head back slightly. He looked up, curious to see who was at fault, only to realize there was no one around him. The sky stretched on for ages, dark and gloomy above him, but light and airy off in the distance. He remained still for a few moments, staring at the lighter clouds, but was unable to summon any emotions. He did not feel envy nor disdain; how strange.



With nothing better to do, Hybrid set off to peruse the territorial borders. He doubted anyone would be foolish enough to wander by Inferni on a day like this, but Hybrid was constantly being surprised at how stupid some creatures could be. It was still raining as he made his way along the Easternmost edges of the territory. He was soaked through and through. He paused only long enough to shake his fur before continuing on.



Eventually, the rain eased up. Again, he could see the sun off in the distance. The sun was higher now, partially obscured by clouds. He had been wandering out here for two hours. Still, nothing. There was no anger, no remorse. He did not regret spending two hours wandering about (aimlessly), and could not decide if this was a good thing. Perhaps it was not.



He set off, making his way back to the heart of the territory. The ground squished and leaked beneath his paws, the dirt turned to mud and the trees bearing more water than fruit. Of course, these trees would not bear anything for many more months. There was nothing here. Just a few trees, some wet sand, and some dirt. Nothing was worth his time. He sighed. He should sit down soon. He had nothing better to do anyways (so why not?)



That was when he noticed her. A coyote, some female or other, sitting on a log only a few paces away. She was wet (soggy?) and did not seem to be doing anything in particular. Hybrid yawned; how boring. He sat down, eying the girl. He flicked his ears forward, curious to see if she would say anything, but otherwise remained still.
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#3
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She raised her hands to slowly wring out her hair. What was she even doing out here? She knew she should be back at home, snuggling with Val in the warmth of their den. But this was one of the rare occasions that Ryan had some time to herself, and she felt the need to spend it away from the little girl. She needed time just to sit back and think. She needed time just to breathe.


She inhaled: filling her lungs, calming her nerves. Yet, after a moment's delay, found that the air was tainted with the scent of someone nearby. How she hadn’t caught the sounds of his paws squishing in the moist ground, she didn’t know. Maybe she had let herself fall too far from reality. She turned, crimson eyes falling on the one person she needed to see, yet wished would never turn up. And then she let out an audible sigh, because she knew what she was going to have to do now. It just scared her to see if Gabriel’s predictions would be correct. (At least she hadn’t encountered him with the little girl by her side).


"April showers bring May flowers," she spoke softly, "though I’m not sure what March rain means." She studied his face for a moment, then his frame, finding the similarities that transferred from him to her daughter. Did he remember her? Did he remember that night? She swallowed the air in her mouth, looking from her own hands back towards Hybrid. "I," she started, "have something you might be interested to hear." Panic flared in her stomach, rising in her throat. Now, or never. Now or never.



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#4
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The girl said something, and immediately, Hybrid snapped to attention. He eyed the woman as she said something – something that rhymed? – cautious of a possible threat. He did not know if he could trust this girl or whether she was a threat. He did not recall her face too well (or at all) and was unaware of her intentions. He had been attacked in Inferni before; he was not about to let those lessons go to waste. Hybrid gazed at her, frowning slightly, trying to determine her intentions. April showers? May flowers? March rain? Just girl stuff. He snorted and grimaced slightly. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes; girls. They were so... flowery. He chuckled. And he was so damn witty.



She was watching him. He frowned to himself, uneasy with the attention. He hoped she was not studying his scars. He had a few new wounds as a result of his spar with the black and blue wolf and he was not proud of it. A truly proficient fighter would be able to defeat their enemies without being injured. Somehow, this made Hybrid feel... inept. Inept at the only thing he was talented at.



Her gaze shifted. Hybrid tilted his head, watching her. She spoke. He frowned. "Yeah?" he replied flatly. "Say it, then," he commanded.
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#5
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She winced at his tone, though she knew she should expect this. Who he had been that night was not who Hybrid really was. In fact, who Ryan had been that night was not who she was. But it did not change the fact that that night had occurred. She took her time; inhaling and exhaling, calming her nerves. She was trying to figure the best way to say it, but knew there was none. Better just to throw it out there, and hope for the best.


"You have a daughter," she told him, speaking softly while her gaze studied the damp ground. She let the silence roll in, let him absorb that, before she slowly raised her gaze to study his reaction. She was scared as to what she might see.




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#6
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She was slow. Hybrid stared at her -- unabashed, frank -- as she took her time to steady herself. And she took quite a bit of time. Hybrid rolled his eyes. How many times did one have to breath in and out before they were ready? Just say it, damnit, say it, sayit, sayit, SAYIT. Hybrid frowned. His mind was screaming at him -- at her -- but he still could not feel it. All he could feel was the quiet ebb of the echoes as they dissipated.



And then she spoke. Hybrid's frown deepened and he wondered for a moment if he was imagining things. No, that did not make sense. "I don't have sex with females," he replied, his words tinged with the overlay of disgust. Clearly undisguised disgust. Females were abhorrent. The only ones he could recall having sex with were all male: Vitium, Samael, Jasper, Pilot, and Ryan. None were girls. None of them was this girl. She looked a little like Ryan, but he could not tell. That night muddled and mixed. He knew Pilot and Ryan had been there... but who was this woman?
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#7
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His response was nowhere near what she would have expected of him. She let out a confused, incredulous gasp. What was this about? "But," she started, brows turning in perplexity, "you did." Suddenly she wasn’t scared anymore. At least, not on the surface. Now she was angry, desperate to make him understand. Maybe he didn’t prefer to have sex with females, but he had.


"Hybrid," she said sharply, almost fierce, "you had sex with me." A pause. She waited for the reaction, studied the blood red gaze so similar to her own. "That night. In the mansion. With that white wolf." The memories came back to her and she tried to stop them. She placed a hand against the soggy bark of the log, trying to steady herself. "You have a daughter now," whether you like it or not. "Her name is Valkyrie."



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#8
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No, Hybrid replied silently, shaking his head, I did not. Why would he? He had no purpose to have sex with a female. He had no desire. The thought alone sickened him. And he knew all of his partners; none was female, most certainly not this female. There was nothing familiar about her -- Hybrid did not even know her name. He had never met her before in his life. It just was not possible.



She said it again. Hybrid frowned, tilting his head to one side. Saying it more than once wouldn't make it true. It would only make the speaker sound like a fool. Hybrid began to reply, but she cut him off. He growled. She still had more to say.



Hybrid laughed. "No. Pilot was there. He can tell you. I had sex with Pilot and a guy named Ryan. He told me." Or, wait, had he? Yes, he had. After Hybrid discovered it was not Pilot (since Pilot had wandered off somewhere, but left him with a friend) he and Ryan had sex. This was not Ryan. This was some girl. Some stupid girl. She probably had a stupid girl name like Daffodil or something equally repulsive.
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#9
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His low growling didn’t frighten her and instead she matched it with a low grumble of her own. She would make him understand if it was the last thing she did! His laugh only boiled her blood more. Why wouldn’t he listen to her? But then she couldn’t help but offer her own chuckle. Oh Hybrid, why are you sooo stupid? "Hybrid, I’m Ryan." She paused then, letting that sink in a moment longer. "I’m Ryan de le Poer. I’m the person who was there with you and Pilot that night. I’m the person who you got with. And now you," a finger jerked in his direction, "have a daughter." She had turned on the log to face him better, while her palms gripped the damp surface to keep herself steady. She would make him see it. She would make him understand.



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#10
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Hybrid frowned. Blinked. Frowned again (more, deeper this time), thinking. Contemplating. That was what he would have called it had he possessed the vocabulary to do so. But he did not, so he simply sat there, frowning unintelligently. "But," he began, his frown deepening even more, "you're a female," he said with a degree of certainty. She was, wasn't she? He glanced up at her eyes, then drifted lower, down her neckline, to her shoulders, and then to her breasts. Yes, she was female.



Why had he had sex with a female? Hybrid was so confused. Hybrid tried to frown some more, but found that he could frown no more. He had reached his peak of frowning and could frown no more. He needed a synonym. Unable to frown at this thought, he instead tilted his head, staring off into the distance for a moment. Then he glanced up to Ryan (girl, girl, girl, he reminded himself), pausing to stare at her for a moment. "I had sex... with you," he stated at last. He paused. "That's disgusting," he noted blankly. His gaze remained fixed on her.
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#11
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Ryan waited. Stared. Waited. Sighed. Waited. If he would just… understand! Finally, he seemed to give into the idea, stating it no longer as a question, but as a statement. "Sure," Ryan replied, not really interested in whether he found it disgusting or not. She had done what she needed to do, and that was that. He knew about Valkyrie now. It was over. She didn’t need him around to help raise her, she just wanted him to know.


Ryan stood up from the fallen tree trunk, squinting in disgust at the mist. "Now you know," she stated plainly to him, attempting to futilely wring some of the water from her hair. "If you ever want to see her, our den is by the shore." She dropped her fingers from the lock of hair, realizing her attempts wouldn’t help. She gave him a nod then, unsure of what else to do, before turning to stalk off. She didn’t really think there was anything else to tell him. And frankly, she didn’t feel like sitting there to have a casual conversation. That night with Hybrid had ruined everything she wanted. She didn’t want to have to see him any longer than she had to.


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#12
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The two exchanged glances. For a moment, Hybrid wondered if she would say anything more, but all she said was, sure. And that was it. Hybrid began to stand up, but was cut off by the sound of the girl's voice. He frowned slightly, no longer interested in the conversation. She had told him a number of disturbing things. He would now have to go mull it over and figure out what he would do. At this point, ignoring her (and her child) seemed like the best idea. He wanted nothing to do with them. He didn't care if they wanted something to do with him. Hybrid expected that, in time, Valkyrie would grow up and perhaps want to see him. He would only have to make sure that he disappointed her so soundly that she never wanted to see or speak to or of him again. That would be the best plan. Then perhaps he could go back thinking he was gay and she could go back thinking whatever she had thought before.



Now you know, came her words, and for this, he said nothing. He moved to leave, but she spoke again: If you ever want to see her, our den is by the shore. He stared at her for a moment, unsure of what to say. "Yeah," he replied lamely at last. He paused this time on his own accord, but had nothing to say. He shrugged -- to her, this time. She walked away and he walked away. Hopefully he would not see her or their -- no, her -- child again.
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