.o17 ☈ hide away from the sun;

[sting_to_death]

I twisted my ankle and can't walk, therefore I won't come to work for the next few days.

Luckily, I had already compiled the schedule for the next week. You'll find them in the usual place, Bastet. [ MYSTERIOUSLY, THE SCHEDULE DOESN'T INCLUDE HER.

How fortunate, isn't it? No, I don't want anyone to come over and try to help, it would be just a

Comments

quicklog?

[felinemystique]

We'll talk more about it when I get there.

quicklog!!

[sting_to_death]

[ Lin closed the journal, knowing that arguing with Bastet at that point would have been useful. She had decided she was going to come over, and she was going to come over. Period.

At least that idiot hadn't come with her.

And yet Lin couldn't help but sigh as she nervously walked up and down the small apartment, avoiding the mirror as much as she could. ]

Re: quicklog!!

[felinemystique]

[She didn't waste much time, setting her half-finished dinner in the fridge so Mugen couldn't get to it, before heading out to Lin's place.

Sometimes she really didn't get that girl--a child could have seen through her lie, even through paper. Why even bother?

She arrived quickly enough, and knocked on the door, even though Lin likely sensed her already.]

quicklog;

[sting_to_death]

[ She opened the door, not even bothering pretending she couldn't walk. ]

Bastet.

[ Lin didn't look at her, kept staring at the floor. She felt immensely guilty for skipping work, but not so much for the lie. She didn't think for a second Bastet would have fallen for it. ]

Re: quicklog;

[felinemystique]

[Lin's embarrassment was clear to see as Bastet stepped inside, closing the door behind herself. She scanned Lin from head to toe before speaking, her voice casual.]

Lin. You're looking healthy today.

quicklog;

[sting_to_death]

You already knew that.

[ Not that that's going to make her feel any better about the veiled scolding that's in there.

Lin took a step back, eyes glued to the ground, and scratched the back of her head, where her cat ears would have been-- if she had had a pair at all. ]

What did you want to talk about?

Re: quicklog;

[felinemystique]

Yes. I knew it, and I wager most people who read that did as well.

[It was all she could do to keep the faint thread of exasperation from her voice--there was the small chance that this was more serious than she expected.]

I want to know why you're not coming in to work. Did you think I wouldn't give you a day off if you needed it?

quicklog;

[sting_to_death]

I don't know if I'm going to need just one day off.

[ Her hand slid down to one of the ribbons at the end of her tails, as she started fiddling with it. ]

And I was ashamed of telling you about it. It's a silly reason and it shouldn't keep me from working.

[ Except that she still was ashamed to tell her about it. Obviously, otherwise they wouldn't have been going in circles around it. ]

quicklog;

[felinemystique]

[Bastet looked puzzled, frowning a bit.]

You don't look any different from normal. Is it a memory crystal punishment?

[Had Lin's speech been affected? Was she being followed by animals or music or fireworks or any of the other odd prices they paid for recovering scraps of their past?]

quicklog;

[sting_to_death]

[ That would have been better. For however silly her punishment was, at least she would have had something to show for it. But, no. ]

N-no. It's just-- everyone has...

[ She glanced quickly at the top of Bastet's head-- okay, maybe not everyone, but still... ]

Re: quicklog;

[felinemystique]

[It took her a moment to interpret Lin's look.]

So...you can't go outside because some people have cat ears?

[She'd seen countless people mortified by having their inexperience publicized for all to see, but she hadn't yet run into someone embarrassed by the opposite--so Lin's problem didn't immediately occur to her.]

quicklog;

[sting_to_death]

[ At first, Lin had just been pissed that everyone but her had cat ears, for once she wouldn't have minded playing along with the Tree. But then-- ]

I... It's...

[ She walked over to the table where her closed journal was, and started flipping through the pages. ]

I saw someone writing about... What those ear mean. And I'm--

[ She stopped at one page in particular, leaving the journal open. ]

I am aware this is not a good reason to skip work. I know. For this, I apologize.

[ Then, finally, she stepped back to let Bastet see. ]

I-- would rather not everyone knows certain things about me. And I'd rather not know certain things about them, or things about their past, I'd really rather not--

[ Realizing she was talking way too much, Lin bit her lower lip. Clearly, she had been mulling over some things way too long. And it was too heavy on her to keep some things from Bastet. And yet... ]

Re: quicklog;

[felinemystique]

You're a grown woman; there's no shame in your having had sex.

[She shrugged.]

You're over a hundred years old--I'd find it strange if you hadn't by now. And who cares if you can see everyone else's status? It's not as though details are being broadcasted.

[She folded her arms, her frown deepening. Not in an angry way, but in clear puzzlement.]

Lin...this can't be all that's keeping you inside. You went outside while the unicorns were here, right?

quicklog;

[sting_to_death]

[ Hearing Bastet talking about it so freely made Lin freeze on the spot. And hearing out loud that she must have had sex made it all feel more real.

Over a hundred years old... She hadn't really ever thought about it this way. And still, there were so many questions that needed an answer, because Lin knew her own personality, knew how people reacted to it, and knew how easily embarrassed she was by that kind of thing. It just didn't make any sense. She should have had cat ears too. ]

It was different, I didn't know what the unicorns meant back then. And it was months ago, I don't think anyone remembers about it anymore.

[ And even though Lin was perfectly aware that after letting a little of it slip out she was going to look like an idiot in Bastet's eyes for not telling her the rest--

Something was stopping her. She couldn't even tell exactly what.

They weren't even strictly related, the fact that she didn't want to go outside and the secret she was holding in. But the issue was the same-- privacy. She didn't want to go outside

Re: quicklog;

[felinemystique]

[Bastet gave her a long, unreadable look. It was obvious there was more to it than what Lin was willing to say. But while Bastet could care less who knew she'd had sex, there were other things about herself that she held far more closely, and she'd hate for any of them to be broadcast.]

I still don't really understand. And since you won't tell me what's actually bothering you, I suppose that's not going to change.

[She stepped closer, taking one of Lin's tails of hair and tickling the other woman's nose with it.]

Still, though. If you wanted a few days off, you should have just come found me and asked.

[She indulged Lin often enough as it was--what was a few days vacation?]

quicklog;

[sting_to_death]

[ There was a faint blush on her cheeks, maybe more from the embarrassment of what she interpreted as being scolded for not coming to work than from the closeness. Or maybe just for both.

Anyone else and they'd get their hand bitten for touching her hair, and teasing her like that, daring acting so intimate. But this was Bastet, and wasn't everything always different with her? ]

I hope there won't be a next time, but in case there is, that's what I will do. And anyway, when I'm back I'll make up for all the lost time.

[ She wanted to add something like I promise, but once again the words got stuck in her throat and refused to come out. That seemed to happen a lot with Bastet. ]

I know I have no right to, but could I ask you a question?