OOM
She's settling into a new routine.
There are no more days spent morphing throughout. She'll fly with Tobias for an entire afternoon, when the thermals are best, but Rachel has taken her mornings back. Gymnastics is hers, running is hers. Something she can do with her own body that burns her energy, quiets the feelings of restlessness.
And doesn't tempt her to keep at it for more than two hours.
But Tobias is there, always. Sometimes he'll go down to the garage with her and watch her practice. Sometimes he'll soar above her while she runs. He hunts alone - works better that way - and she'll venture into the bar at those times, say hello, people-watch. But never for long. She comes back to the room and he to the balcony and the door is open between them, always.
Rachel hasn't asked for him to come down to the bar again. He did it for her but didn't enjoy it much, she can tell. And maybe that was another cruel thing for her to do, ask a question when she knew he wouldn't refuse. So they watch television or she brings books upstairs. Little things, human things. Things they can do together in the bodies they are most comfortable, most at home in.
They've talked, some. Rachel is reluctant to ask, fearing the answers, and Tobias is reluctant to tell- for whatever reason. His reluctance is part of her fear. But she knows their friends are alive. She knows Cassie and Marco have their dream jobs, knows Ax has obtained the highest of honors from his people. She knows Jake is alive.
But Tobias really doesn't like to talk about Jake. And that's one reluctance Rachel understands perfectly well. She doesn't push.
He's alive. That's enough.
There is another thing Tobias doesn't like to talk about, more than their friends, more than Jake.
Himself.
And that scares her, too.
Today, in the early evening after the sun has gone down and the light outside is useless for anything but the owls and cats, they're inside with the television on. Some movie neither has ever heard of, which had started out as some sort of business, entrepreneur story, but has moments of family in it.
Rachel, slouched on the couch with her feet up on the coffee table, frowns as the teenage boy hugs his mother and remembers a conversation from Tobias' only visit to the bar.
There are no more days spent morphing throughout. She'll fly with Tobias for an entire afternoon, when the thermals are best, but Rachel has taken her mornings back. Gymnastics is hers, running is hers. Something she can do with her own body that burns her energy, quiets the feelings of restlessness.
And doesn't tempt her to keep at it for more than two hours.
But Tobias is there, always. Sometimes he'll go down to the garage with her and watch her practice. Sometimes he'll soar above her while she runs. He hunts alone - works better that way - and she'll venture into the bar at those times, say hello, people-watch. But never for long. She comes back to the room and he to the balcony and the door is open between them, always.
Rachel hasn't asked for him to come down to the bar again. He did it for her but didn't enjoy it much, she can tell. And maybe that was another cruel thing for her to do, ask a question when she knew he wouldn't refuse. So they watch television or she brings books upstairs. Little things, human things. Things they can do together in the bodies they are most comfortable, most at home in.
They've talked, some. Rachel is reluctant to ask, fearing the answers, and Tobias is reluctant to tell- for whatever reason. His reluctance is part of her fear. But she knows their friends are alive. She knows Cassie and Marco have their dream jobs, knows Ax has obtained the highest of honors from his people. She knows Jake is alive.
But Tobias really doesn't like to talk about Jake. And that's one reluctance Rachel understands perfectly well. She doesn't push.
He's alive. That's enough.
There is another thing Tobias doesn't like to talk about, more than their friends, more than Jake.
Himself.
And that scares her, too.
Today, in the early evening after the sun has gone down and the light outside is useless for anything but the owls and cats, they're inside with the television on. Some movie neither has ever heard of, which had started out as some sort of business, entrepreneur story, but has moments of family in it.
Rachel, slouched on the couch with her feet up on the coffee table, frowns as the teenage boy hugs his mother and remembers a conversation from Tobias' only visit to the bar.