Cause We Are Living In a Material World

[beatdiva_starr]

Characters: Starr & J
Time: afternoon
Location: on the way back to the Blackstone from party supply shopping
Content: Starr's dragged J off to buy supplies for the upcoming Halloween party.  Will things go as planned?
Format: Prose
Warnings:None.

Comments

[agentpompadour]

Embarrassed didn't even begin to cover what J was feeling right then. Frustrated by his complete lack of control, completely mortified, and abjectly humiliated were all much closer to what he was going through than simple embarrassment. He couldn't tell which part he hated more; that he'd been on the verge of losing control at all, or that he'd nearly lost it in front of Starr of all people, though some part of him vaguely recognized that things would have likely gone much worse for him had Starr not been there to snap him out of it. That woman had been one hell of a siren, and given the other creatures that had been showing up in the city, J couldn't rule out the possibility that she had actually been one.

What was it about this city that just kept throwing him curves?

He heard Starr's comment and cringed. Sure, she was joking, but damned if he hadn't considered it in some vague, melodramatic, juvenile way. "Nah, too easy," he called back, shutting off the water and grabbing a towel. This was not going to be a fun conversation.

He dried, dressed, pulled his hair back - too tired to deal with it otherwise - and steeled himself before heading out of the bathroom into the room proper. "Figure I owe you an apology," he started, "actin' the way I did."

[beatdiva_starr]

She smirked slightly at his throw-back retort. Well, at least he was probably feeling a tad better if he could remark sarcastically like that. The initial frustration and anger with J had passed and been replaced by a worry. What had that woman done? Her music had sounded a little human at first but as the conversation had continued she had picked up on the parts that distinctly weren't. More to the point, she seemed to be able to manipulate feelings of lust and desire. J hadn't been able to help himself and it had probably only been heightened by the fact that he could hear that seductive Music as well. Sometimes it was hard being an agent when you had the Music to affect you like that.

They were professionals though, they'd figure this out and find a way to get around her Siren Song. At least she hoped so. She didn't want to have to worry about J being pulled out by that woman again. After all, what would have happened if she hadn't been there to snap J out of it?

She shook her head, leaning back in the chair she was sitting in and stared up at the ceiling just as J emerged from the bathroom. She removed her gaze from the ceiling and raised an eyebrow, man J must have been exhausted if he was letting his hair down like that.

"Accepted. Though, I know it wasn't completely your fault. That...woman had a pretty heavily tempting song going on back there." She used the word woman loosely since she didn't know what sort of being she actually was. "I think we can both agree it wasn't exactly natural."

[agentpompadour]

Well, at least Starr didn't sound like she wanted to kill him. That was a start, and a better one than he thought he'd have at this point. Looked like he wasn't the only one who had needed the time to cool down.

He snorted at her observation. "Yeah, just a little." More than enough to knock him sideways, at least. He perched on the end of the bed, considering the last bits of their conversation, if he could even call it that, with the woman. "No kidding it wasn't. I dunno if you noticed, but she never answered my question - I asked her what kind of not-human she was, an' she flipped things into overdrive." He had to admit it had been a highly effective distraction. "Don't think she wants anyone to know, which has me thinkin' we should tell people." Out of concern for their safety and a desire for answers, yes, but also a bit of spite. J was anything but happy with this afternoon's events.

[beatdiva_starr]

"Oh, I noticed. Considering it was probably one of the few coherent questions you asked," Starr retorted, the last part not quite under her breath. She knew she should probably be a little more sympathetic but she wasn't letting J off the hook THAT easily. Besides, he was getting out of this without her getting super angry.

Her smirk dropped though as she got serious. "I think she was hiding something. I don't want to accuse her of being a bad person...but there was something distinctly not right about her. And I agree...she was obviously looking for someone or someones and we need to make sure those people are exploited for something they might not understand." To be honest, she felt like she didn't even understand, but with the Music she had a better idea at least. "So how should we do that?"

[agentpompadour]

He tried not to wince at that comment and wasn't entirely successful. Honestly, he was feeling enough shame on his own without her help. Goodness knew getting "help" from women today sure hadn't been good for him. "So I'm one for, what, five? Better'n my usual."

He paused and considered that. "Talkin' to people's the best way to go, I guess. Harry, Karrin, and Mrs. Carpenter all sound like they know more about this version of Chicago than the rest of us - they might be a good place to start." He hadn't discovered that in the best of situations, but at least it was usable information. "Better'n gettin' everyone all worried by takin' it public, at least."