Parting is such sweet sorrow....

[inner_human]

Date: Saturday, December 2, 2000
Time: Early afternoonish
Location: Spinner's End
Characters Involved: Mandy Brocklehurst, Peregrin Derrick
Rating: PG

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[mind_over_mandy]

Festive was hardly the term for Mandy's room. Not one for much holiday cheer herself, she had thankfully been spared the fairy lights, garland and mistletoe that graced the halls of the house. Though they certainly hadn't spared her door that courtesy. It was the first christmas she'd spend without her family, and Monday would be 12th full moon she had spent as a werewolf. One year with the curse; a lifetime to go.

Her room though was rather bare, devoid of many trinkets or ornaments. It held exactly one twin sized bed covered in shabby threadbare quilts, a writing desk littered with newspapers and notes, a bookshelf that held shabby books on about half the shelves and facing the door at an angle was a large, overstuffed armchair with holes along the armrests and backing where stuffing was beginning to exit.

With reading glasses perched upon her nose, her hair in a lazy ponytail she looked up to the door. Legs curled underneath her in that same armchair, a quilt wrapped over her legs and a book in her lap.

The research seemed endless, pointless. She had yet to discover a single precent where lycanthrope rights were successfully defended.

Had they always been the bottom feeders of society?

Rubbing at her nose, she sighed softly, "Yes, you can come in..."

Whoever you are..

It wasn't often people actually came to her room.

[inner_human]

After the glowing... glowiness of the rest of the house, the quiet normality of Mandy's little sanctuary was much appreciated. She was tucked into that pathetic excuse for an armchair and Perry raised a brow as he shut the door behind him.

"You look cozy." He'd had been in Mandy's room less times than he'd been in any of his other packmates', so he took a moment to take in the space... and then another to decide where he belonged.

And to remember just why he'd come in the first place.

He leaned his back against the door and crossed his arms. "All right?" They hadn't spoken much in the midst of their Ministry visits. His own tag was notably concealed within the very high collar of his shirt.

[mind_over_mandy]

Eyeing him surreptitiously she slowly closed her book and set it off to the side. Rare was it, extremely rare rather, that Perry came for a visit, and now that he had he looked rather uncomfortable with himself, or perhaps it was just her. Either way something was bothering Peregrin Derrick; so why had he brought himself to her room for?

"Should that surprise you?" She paused to push at her glasses, "I ought to for as much time as I spend in this chair."

Her grin was somewhat teasing as she shifted her weight against the arm rest. "As well as can be expected, you?"

Small fingers pulled softly at the collar around her neck that always seemed to irritate, before sighing and giving up altogether. "Something on your mind, Perry?"

It was more than obvious that something was on his mind, but perhaps rarer than his visits were the times that Perry opened up, but if he had come with a mind to talk she could atleast help him along. So much like herself was he with his guarded nature that Mandy had always felt more comfortable around him than anyone.

[inner_human]

He semi-grinned. How did his life come to be filled with nothing but cheeky girls? "It's just an unusual sight. You, comfortable." Not to say that she shouldn't be comfortable in her own room, but that she rarely seemed so outside of it. He'd be lying to say he couldn't relate; it was simply an observation.

To the next question his grin turned somewhat wry. "Much the same." He felt a pang of... something unpleasant, as he watched her fiddle with her collar. He was still adjusting to his-though in all truth he doubted he would ever "adjust," or even learn to ignore it.

Well, to the meat of the conversation. He glanced away briefly, deciding how to broach the topic. It shouldn't be so difficult... what was he worried about? It felt strange to say-like a betrayal, and why he should care about that was another question. After all, this was always supposed to be temporary.

He had been horrible to Mandy when she first moved in. Chances were she wouldn't even care that much.

He returned his gaze to her and slipped his hands into his pockets. "I just wanted to let you know... I'm moving out." He watched for her response.

[mind_over_mandy]

She nodded, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "I know. I'm usually jumpier than a rabbit and atleast as tense outside of this room, right?" She sighed at looked around at her pathetic excuse for furniture, "I guess I'm still adjusting... To a lot of things." Her shoulders shrugged as she watched him.

For once Mandy was at ease, comfortable, but Perry was anything but, she waited as he attempted to say whatever it was he was going to say. Her eyes narrowed softly. What was so..

"What?"

"Mov-what?"

He couldn't honestly mean.. Maybe he just meant moving out to another room of the house? Of all her housemates Mandy related to Perry best, was comfortable with him, around him. He couldn't just up and leave her. Wasn't that in the code or something? One didn't just leave their packmates.

Not when they needed them.

[inner_human]

For a moment Perry seemed just as startled; more because of Mandy's reaction. Had she not understood him, or was she just that surprised?

"...Moving. In with Pansy. My...." Briefly his mouth felt very dry. Why did it seem so difficult to say it? It's what she was, afterall. As if it was some huge secret; Mandy surely knew without him having to spell it out.

"...girlfriend. Pansy."