Brigits_flame:Beseiged
[Note: okay, this one might require a little bit of background information. A friend of mine commented that Teri from Fuel would make a good werewolf from the "Werewolf: The Apocalypse" roleplaying game. I agree, so I'm giving it a shot.
For reference:
-Glass Walkers are a tribe of werewolves that live in cities and are a lot more comfortable with technology than other tribes.
-Werewolves travel in packs, often of the same tribe.
-The phase of the moon a werewolf is born under determines their role in the werewolf world. Those born under the full moon are ahroun, the warriors of the werewolf nation.
-They have a "feat name" which they are known by among other werewolves.
Hopefully that'll make things a bit easier to understand. Enjoy!]
Teri enjoyed her job. She did. Support-staff in a large law firm may not be glamorous work, but it was satisfying. She was helping justice be done, a worthy task for anyone. It occasionally grated on her nerves to spend all her time surrounded by steel and plastic and glass, but when that happened she'd just take a personal day and drive up north to spend some time at the cairn. Even Glass Walkers needed an escape every once in a while.
Unfortunately, escape wasn't always available. With a massive appeal and a number of missing staff - including Denise, the little blonde clerk had finally quit after enough gentle nudging - Teri was the only one available to sort through all the transcripts, witness reports, filings, and interrogation notes to make sure there were no discrepancies.
"Hey, where do you want these?" A voice sounded from behind another stack of boxes.
Teri glowered. "Wherever you can find room."
The intern found a clear space on the floor and put the boxes down, right next to where she was sitting. "Wow, it's like a fortress in here. You could hold off a siege or something behind all these." The boy grinned at his own joke.
Teri looked around and managed a chuckle. "Yeah. Any more of those?"
"We're still looking through the vault. I'll bring up whatever's left."
She sighed. "Great."
*
"Teri?" Peter, one of the junior partners, leaned through the doorway and peered into Teri's office. The room was filled with cardboard boxes and stacks of file folders. "Are you in here?"
"Over here," a hand waved from the back corner, behind a pile of boxes labelled "CS08-754". Peter walked further into the room, careful not to let any of the folders touch his $2000 suit jacket.
"Marcus has you on the Oliver appeal?" As Peter approached he could see Teri sitting cross-legged on the floor, several stacks of paper arrayed in a semi-circle around her. Her long auburn hair was gathered in a bun on top of her head, secured by half a dozen pens. She had a red pencil in one hand and a multi-coloured highlighter wheel in the other.
"Yeah," she paused to highlight a line in blue and made a shorthand notation next to it. "Two days until court and our clerk vanishes. I tell you, I thought I was finished with cross-checking." She growled under her breath. "Goddamn flake."
Peter cleared his throat. "Look, Teri, I - well, David really - wanted to talk to you about that. Apparently Denise made a complaint before she left."
Teri glanced up, distracted curiosity playing across her face. "Let me guess, too much work and not enough pay? She wouldn't be the first."
"No, uh," Peter cleared his throat again. "Well yes, I mean, of course. But there was something else."
Teri's gaze slid back down to the papers in front of her. "Okay, and? I'm not in Personnel, Peter. Why do I care if she had a complaint?"
"It was about you."
Teri's eyes snapped back up, and Peter had to force himself not to take a step back at the force of her gaze. Most of the time Teri was one of the friendliest, most accommodating people in the office. He'd worked with her on several cases and considered her to be a friend. But when the work piled up, or one of the clerks made a stupid mistake, or one of the senior associates tried to throw his weight around - no one wanted to be in Teri's way then.
"What's the complaint? I only worked with her on this case, hardly enough time to piss her off that much."
"Well," Peter glanced over his shoulder to see if anyone was within earshot. "She says that you threatened her a couple weeks ago. She was afraid for her safety."
*
"What the hell, Ironheart?! You work with her, what if she tells someone? You don't think I could have handled it?" Moth paced restlessly around the apartment, shoulder length hair in disarray from his fingers scrubbing through it.
She snorted. "After how many nights, huh? Before she falls in love with you, like they always do and you have to get me to do it anyway? 'I can't bear the look on their face'," she mimicked angrily. "It's easier this way."
Moth turned and pointed at her. "We're happy here, damnit. No fighting in how long? Fritz is going to get his degree in six months, Callback is getting a rep at the clubs. If we have to leave again, what's that going to do to them?"
She growled at him, furious that he would suggest she didn't care about their packmates. Her chest burned. "We won't have to leave. She'll back off, it's under control."
"Do I have to remind you about St. Louis? Or Seattle? I can't keep cleaning up your messes."
"It's not a mess!" She ran at Moth, then hit the ground hard when he flipped her.
"Don't test me, girl." She strained against him for a moment, daring herself to use her full strength against her alpha, then collapsed back.
"It's under control."
"It better be."
*
Teri paused for a long moment then burst out laughing. "Are you serious? And Dave believed her?"
"No, of course not. But you know we're required to talk to you about a serious complaint, especially when there might be legal repercussions."
A smile remained on Teri's face, but her eyes hardened. "She's planning to sue me?"
"Well, uh, it's a possibility. She didn't say as much but, you know, she hinted. David just wanted to catch it before anything happened. Check with you to see if you thought we should know anything."
Teri smirked. "Yeah, right. She was hitting on a friend of mine and I told her to back off. You think anyone's going to believe that I threatened her?"
Peter chuckled, his posture relaxing. "No, of course not. You know David. He's a worrier."
"Right," she smiled. "No problem. Now, if you don't mind, I really need to get back to this."
"Sure. Thanks. I'll see if I can send over Marie or something, once she's done with the Peterson Estate." He grinned, and turned to leave, just in time to miss the flash of red in Teri's eyes.
*
Little bitch, told you not to talk. Stay away from me, stay away from my pack, peace in the world. Come after me? Think you can handle it? I'll tear you down, limb from limb.
Ironheart could feel the Rage growing inside her. Too long trapped in this office, too long surrounded by paper, too long away the sky. Too close to the full moon.
Don't need this. Don't need them. Cut and run, find another place. Done it before, do it again. Burn them down.
The constant ball of anger in her chest started to burn, she could see a flame dancing in front of her gaze.
"Calm, Ironheart. Breathe. Don't let the Rage control you. A warrior must be in control. Fight to protect yourself, fight to protect your pack, fight to protect the Wild. Never in anger, never to harm."
The voice of her mentor chased the Rage away, and Teri could breathe once more.
*
"This is the last of them." Two more boxes appeared in Teri's vision as the intern put them down. "Looks like your fort is complete."
Teri waited until her vision had completely cleared, then looked up and smiled. "Guess the world is safe from me for a while longer."
The intern laughed awkwardly, not sure he understood the joke. "Yeah, right. Uh, see you later."
"Later."
For reference:
-Glass Walkers are a tribe of werewolves that live in cities and are a lot more comfortable with technology than other tribes.
-Werewolves travel in packs, often of the same tribe.
-The phase of the moon a werewolf is born under determines their role in the werewolf world. Those born under the full moon are ahroun, the warriors of the werewolf nation.
-They have a "feat name" which they are known by among other werewolves.
Hopefully that'll make things a bit easier to understand. Enjoy!]
Teri enjoyed her job. She did. Support-staff in a large law firm may not be glamorous work, but it was satisfying. She was helping justice be done, a worthy task for anyone. It occasionally grated on her nerves to spend all her time surrounded by steel and plastic and glass, but when that happened she'd just take a personal day and drive up north to spend some time at the cairn. Even Glass Walkers needed an escape every once in a while.
Unfortunately, escape wasn't always available. With a massive appeal and a number of missing staff - including Denise, the little blonde clerk had finally quit after enough gentle nudging - Teri was the only one available to sort through all the transcripts, witness reports, filings, and interrogation notes to make sure there were no discrepancies.
"Hey, where do you want these?" A voice sounded from behind another stack of boxes.
Teri glowered. "Wherever you can find room."
The intern found a clear space on the floor and put the boxes down, right next to where she was sitting. "Wow, it's like a fortress in here. You could hold off a siege or something behind all these." The boy grinned at his own joke.
Teri looked around and managed a chuckle. "Yeah. Any more of those?"
"We're still looking through the vault. I'll bring up whatever's left."
She sighed. "Great."
*
"Teri?" Peter, one of the junior partners, leaned through the doorway and peered into Teri's office. The room was filled with cardboard boxes and stacks of file folders. "Are you in here?"
"Over here," a hand waved from the back corner, behind a pile of boxes labelled "CS08-754". Peter walked further into the room, careful not to let any of the folders touch his $2000 suit jacket.
"Marcus has you on the Oliver appeal?" As Peter approached he could see Teri sitting cross-legged on the floor, several stacks of paper arrayed in a semi-circle around her. Her long auburn hair was gathered in a bun on top of her head, secured by half a dozen pens. She had a red pencil in one hand and a multi-coloured highlighter wheel in the other.
"Yeah," she paused to highlight a line in blue and made a shorthand notation next to it. "Two days until court and our clerk vanishes. I tell you, I thought I was finished with cross-checking." She growled under her breath. "Goddamn flake."
Peter cleared his throat. "Look, Teri, I - well, David really - wanted to talk to you about that. Apparently Denise made a complaint before she left."
Teri glanced up, distracted curiosity playing across her face. "Let me guess, too much work and not enough pay? She wouldn't be the first."
"No, uh," Peter cleared his throat again. "Well yes, I mean, of course. But there was something else."
Teri's gaze slid back down to the papers in front of her. "Okay, and? I'm not in Personnel, Peter. Why do I care if she had a complaint?"
"It was about you."
Teri's eyes snapped back up, and Peter had to force himself not to take a step back at the force of her gaze. Most of the time Teri was one of the friendliest, most accommodating people in the office. He'd worked with her on several cases and considered her to be a friend. But when the work piled up, or one of the clerks made a stupid mistake, or one of the senior associates tried to throw his weight around - no one wanted to be in Teri's way then.
"What's the complaint? I only worked with her on this case, hardly enough time to piss her off that much."
"Well," Peter glanced over his shoulder to see if anyone was within earshot. "She says that you threatened her a couple weeks ago. She was afraid for her safety."
*
"What the hell, Ironheart?! You work with her, what if she tells someone? You don't think I could have handled it?" Moth paced restlessly around the apartment, shoulder length hair in disarray from his fingers scrubbing through it.
She snorted. "After how many nights, huh? Before she falls in love with you, like they always do and you have to get me to do it anyway? 'I can't bear the look on their face'," she mimicked angrily. "It's easier this way."
Moth turned and pointed at her. "We're happy here, damnit. No fighting in how long? Fritz is going to get his degree in six months, Callback is getting a rep at the clubs. If we have to leave again, what's that going to do to them?"
She growled at him, furious that he would suggest she didn't care about their packmates. Her chest burned. "We won't have to leave. She'll back off, it's under control."
"Do I have to remind you about St. Louis? Or Seattle? I can't keep cleaning up your messes."
"It's not a mess!" She ran at Moth, then hit the ground hard when he flipped her.
"Don't test me, girl." She strained against him for a moment, daring herself to use her full strength against her alpha, then collapsed back.
"It's under control."
"It better be."
*
Teri paused for a long moment then burst out laughing. "Are you serious? And Dave believed her?"
"No, of course not. But you know we're required to talk to you about a serious complaint, especially when there might be legal repercussions."
A smile remained on Teri's face, but her eyes hardened. "She's planning to sue me?"
"Well, uh, it's a possibility. She didn't say as much but, you know, she hinted. David just wanted to catch it before anything happened. Check with you to see if you thought we should know anything."
Teri smirked. "Yeah, right. She was hitting on a friend of mine and I told her to back off. You think anyone's going to believe that I threatened her?"
Peter chuckled, his posture relaxing. "No, of course not. You know David. He's a worrier."
"Right," she smiled. "No problem. Now, if you don't mind, I really need to get back to this."
"Sure. Thanks. I'll see if I can send over Marie or something, once she's done with the Peterson Estate." He grinned, and turned to leave, just in time to miss the flash of red in Teri's eyes.
*
Little bitch, told you not to talk. Stay away from me, stay away from my pack, peace in the world. Come after me? Think you can handle it? I'll tear you down, limb from limb.
Ironheart could feel the Rage growing inside her. Too long trapped in this office, too long surrounded by paper, too long away the sky. Too close to the full moon.
Don't need this. Don't need them. Cut and run, find another place. Done it before, do it again. Burn them down.
The constant ball of anger in her chest started to burn, she could see a flame dancing in front of her gaze.
"Calm, Ironheart. Breathe. Don't let the Rage control you. A warrior must be in control. Fight to protect yourself, fight to protect your pack, fight to protect the Wild. Never in anger, never to harm."
The voice of her mentor chased the Rage away, and Teri could breathe once more.
*
"This is the last of them." Two more boxes appeared in Teri's vision as the intern put them down. "Looks like your fort is complete."
Teri waited until her vision had completely cleared, then looked up and smiled. "Guess the world is safe from me for a while longer."
The intern laughed awkwardly, not sure he understood the joke. "Yeah, right. Uh, see you later."
"Later."