Xaviers!

I don't like this.

You don't have to. You will sit down and you will shut up. You had your fun.

There's a mental growl. You will drive her away!

If I do, then that will be that. You and I can fight for the body, but I want to warn you, bitch, I will not give it up easily.

Another mental growl is the only response as Tereza settles herself to sit on the hood of her car in the garage and sends the text message that every relationship hates.

Code: Select all

You know how to find me. We need to talk.

It's a few minutes, but eventually Tereza can see Sam approaching.

And she does look to be just Sam. Almost to a fault.

In fact, it isn't until she gets closer that Tereza can see just how subdued Sam seems. She almost looks smaller until it perhaps clicks that she's younger looking.

For all the world this looks like Sam when Tereza first met her at Muir. There's imperfections, as if she doesn't quite remember what it's like being this anymore.

"...car's better?" She asks cautiously.

"It'll hold for now," Tereza says, leaning forward and resting her arms on her knees as she scrutinizes Sam. The veins in her arms glow softly and she gets white streaks in her hair.

"I know I screwed up, Tereza."

"So I guess I've earned this."

"You screwed up, did you? How exactly did you screw up? Or are you just saying that because you think that's what I want to hear?" The tone's not harsh, but it is piercing.

"What I did wasn't fair to you. I went way, way too far."

Tereza hmphs, "No, you listened to me. You took me into account, but there was just one problem. You only took one half of me into account."

"I mean I figured I... I weirded you out, there. I probably outright scared you."

"You're so very close, not unlike your appearance right now," Tereza says, "To some extent, I scared me. You encouraged it, but in the end it was me that scared me."

"Like my..." She sighs and nods.

"I figured... non-threatening was good. Normal."

"But... I want to do better, Tereza. I really do. This blindsided me."

"But this isn't you anymore and I wanted to talk to Sam."

"...fine," she says, as a shiver goes up her frame.

Her hair grows longer and wilder, as her height creeps upward and muscle tone builds anew. Her ears twitch to faint points, though still largely human. She lets out a long breath through prominent eye-teeth.

"Sam's... kind of a moving target, some days." She admits.

"If I'm honest, so's Tereza or Glacier, if you prefer," she says, moving a bit more upright again to better match Sam's increased height. She continues to scrutinize Sam, "I think we've needed to talk for a while and we've been putting it off."

"I know there's some things you're not on-board with. Last night was one of them."

"And I know... your wolf wants attention. And she'll go along with a lot of things if I give it."

This close to Sam, Tereza can tell that the wolf smell has returned.

Tereza frowns a bit at the smell change, "Sam, you could tell the wolf to take the full moon for you and she would try to hand it to you. The depths to which she wants, maybe even needs, you is frankly frightening."

"And I abused that. I might've convinced myself it was good for both of us at the time, but I hurt you."

"And she hurt *you*, even though it probably doesn't look like hurt." The look on Tereza's face was just enough to prepare Sam for the brutal candor that was coming, "She won't let me leave you. That will result in a fight that neither the wolf or I will win, regardless of who comes out on top. But that's not healthy for you and that's not healthy for me and if she would quit bitching in my ear for a few minutes, she would realize it's not healthy for her either."

"I don't want to be the thing you're fighting over, Tereza."

"We're not fighting over you, Sam. We're fighting about how we relate to you."

"...you know, no matter how bloody pagan I might get there's still a sizable dollop of Catholic guilt in here."

"I want to help, I just don't know how, especially where I'm the subject matter."

"She's afraid to lose you, I'm afraid to be so dependent on you. Neither of those positions is fair to you."

"I'm not... I'm not so easy to lose. I need you, too."

"And I'm saying I can't do this if we're not equals. And I don't mean you have to run wild with me or Viv whenever she comes back. I mean I need to be able to know that I'm your partner, not your pet."

"We're pack Tereza. I never needed you under my thumb."

"Need, no, but some part of you treated her that way and for reasons I am still discussing with her, she is more than happy to let you do that."

"I don't want a pet. I don't know what version of myself came out last night, but I want a partner more than I want a minion."

"So we'll need to keep an eye on that and be careful. Because she's a needy person, the wolf that is."

"I think I can still... please her without doing that, aye?"

"I think we'll have to figure out what that looks like. I'll have to work with her more."

"I just don't want either of you to feel like I don't appreciate you."

"And I think, if we can be careful, we can handle that in small doses."

"...aye. That was... more than a small dose."

"Yeah. She only started talking to me again about an hour ago. You put her in a food coma, for lack of a better comparison. Some unholy combination of food coma and hangover."

"I suppose I should at least be glad that I'm filling," she snorts.

"Well, you kind of offered her everything she wanted and she didn't have to decide."

"So... less of that, more often?"

"It's a place to start at least."

"I just... thank you for the chance. Really."

"I mean, Viv would never forgive me if I duffed it up the minute she turned her back, aye?" She jokes weakly.

Tereza smiles softly, "Like I said, I'm not sure I could leave, even if I wanted to, which I don't. But we have to figure out how to make things even." She pauses for a moment, "Or at least even-ish."

"You know, when you said that about running with you and Viv... I would."

"In a heartbeat."