(Untitled)

[off_the_hookah]

Who: Neil McLaughlin (the Caterpillar); Elisa Miller
When: Friday, February 15 - Late afternoon
Where: Elisa's car, on I-190 to Niagra
What: Neil and Elisa clear the air
Rated: R for language and adult situations

Comments

[fairestone]

Elisa was a little more then surprised that they were actually going through with this vacation thing. She was trying to tell herself that he wasn't going to hate her for this, but she was doing a very poor job of it. She'd barely said two words to him since they'd gotten into the car, mostly because she didn't know what to say. Was she supposed to ignore it and act like it didn't happen? Or actually deal with it? Silence was better.

She might have been humming along to the cd, mostly because she was trying to keep herself focused on the road instead of being distracted by all the silence. Sometimes she thought she should just turn the car around. She certainly didn't deserve any kind of break. Instead finally after they passed the zillionth McDonalds, her stomach would no longer keep quiet. She looked over at him, "Um.. do you.. I mean are you hungry? I'm kind of.. starving.." she asked quietly.

[off_the_hookah]

The sound of her voice was strange and unfamiliar to his ears - he was much more accustomed to hearing a confident Elisa speaking, not this timid creature. Another pang tore into him, the emotions so jumbled in the pit of his stomach that he couldn't properly identify them. Turning his head and blowing a stream of smoke out the crack in the window, Neil took his Caterpillar time answering her question in a shockingly calm manner.

"Sure. If you'd like. I could use a cup of coffee."

[fairestone]

Barely she nodded her head at him, heading to the next exit before she pulled off the highway. It only took her a moment to find some place to pull into. Normally she'd just go through the drive thru and then they could go back out onto the road, but she figured some space was necessary, and stretching out her legs was probably a good thing.

Parking, she shut off the engine and sat for a moment, "Do you uh.. want me to.. get it for you?" she pushed open the door but she didn't quite get out until he answered her.

[off_the_hookah]

"Naw," Neil said, similarly opening his door. "I'll come in." He had the same idea about stretching his legs, too. Stepping out of the car, he dropped his cigarette on the blacktop and crushed it out with the tip of his shoe. The wind was brisk, so he buttoned up his coat and slid his hands into his pockets.

Strolling around to the other side of the car, he stood looking sheepishly at Elisa, waiting for her to join him so they could walk to the rest stop, side by side.

[fairestone]

For a moment she stood there before coming around to his side, since he seemed to be waiting for her and then headed into the fast food place, wrapping her arms around herself as they headed inside. It was only moderately busy inside, so she went and got into line, gazing up at the menu.

Occasionally she looked over at him, but she still didn't know what to say. She ordered food, and let him get what he wanted and then got their food after she paid and waited an age and a half for them to put the food onto a tray.

[off_the_hookah]

Nothing on the menu seemed to strike him as appetizing, and he wasn't very hungry anyway. It didn't stop him from staring at the menu - anything to keep from noticing that Elisa was periodically glancing over at him, as if she was expecting something. Sighing, he was about to order a small coffee, since for some bizarre reason, this rest stop didn't have a Starbucks inside, but then changed his mind when he noticed the advertisement for Shamrock Shakes. When their number was called, Neil picked up and carried their tray.

"We can get a table by the window," he said, idly, nodding in the direction of the dining area. He slowly began heading in that direction.

[fairestone]

With another small nod, she headed over with him towards the window, letting him pick out the table before she slid into a seat across from him. At least now she could eat, and eating meant not having to talk, which was probably a good thing. She got her food off the tray and started to eat.

Glancing down at her watch, she rubbed the back of her neck with her other hand. "We might be able to get there before it gets dark.." if she sped. Maybe.

[off_the_hookah]

Neil sipped his milkshake and stared out the glass at nothing in particular. "We should hurry, to beat any rush hour traffic."

All this awkward small talk was grating on his nerves. It was about time to somebody tried to break through the emptiness.

"So."

This was going to be harder than he initially thought.

"I wanted to see an example of your magic, but I didn't expect to do so in quite that way..."

It was Neil's attempt at being light about the subject, although once he said it, he regretted having done so.

[fairestone]

When he brought it up, she looked down at her tray for a moment, not sure she could look at him. "No, I'm sure you didn't. And I.. I fixed it. I mean, I negated the whole.. spell thing," she finally said, letting out a breath.

"I can't really.. explain myself why I said yes to him. I just.. had so much to do, and I wasn't thinking. But that's.. usual for me I guess. The possibility of you being infected at all never once crossed my mind. If it had, I would've.. There's a lot of things I should have done, but I didn't. I don't know what to do except to say I'm sorry. And it won't ever happen again. I'm not... touching magic. Not anymore.."

She picked up her soda and took a sip, hoping her face wasn't too red.

[off_the_hookah]

"I'm glad you did. It would've been horrible if the car inexplicably broke down in the middle of nowhere, or something like that."

He was trying hard not to get emotional about a subject as sensitive at this. It was easier to be analytical, but he couldn't accept the fact that she had agreed to do this so easily.

Remaining thoughtful, he poked at his milkshake with the straw. "It's either all or nothing with you, is it? No middle ground? You first get rid of all your mirrors, and now you're abandoning all magic? I still don't understand why. I'd even accept a predisposition because of your Tale identity over nothing." Neil frowned deeply. "I'm not the only one, was I? I was reading through the compendiums, a couple people mentioning getting cakes from anonymous sources."

He couldn't keep a expression of horror from creeping on his face. Was Jacob that cruel? Could Amelia be so easily manipulated into doing wicked things? Neil hung his head and rubbed his temples, the sick feeling in his stomach returning in full force.

[fairestone]

She couldn't stop herself from chewing on her straw, nervous and unsure of what to say. There went her appetite, she pushed her food to the side on the tray and ran her hand through her hair. "I've tried.. it's all just.. too much temptation. Every..." she let out another breath. "Every single time I've gone through life.. I've been.. murdered. Or .. it doesn't matter.."

Slowly she shook her head, "No, you're not the only one. I don't know who else. And it's not like I was even mad at someone.. just at myself.. I always just.. sabotage myself. That's what my therapist says.. she's right. Rationally I know I shouldn't be so.. jealous and angry.. but.." she wiped at her eyes before she actually started to cry.

[off_the_hookah]

The mention of the word murder caused Neil's head to turn to look directly at her. As a Modern Tale, he hadn't the same experiences with past lives as Elisa had, and so it wasn't something which he'd immediately consider, even though he'd often toy around with the thought, in theory.

"Or what?" he asked tentatively, unsure if he wanted to hear the answer, but needing to know.

It was good to hear that Elisa was seeing a therapist, and Neil nodded solemnly. "But you can't help yourself," he said, finishing her sentence. He could tell she was beginning to cry, and he wanted to try to help her to feel better, if only just a little bit. "At least you feel remorse about what you've done. That's got to count for something."