Ouch

Dec. 29th, 2024 04:11 am
mitochondriaaya: (Parasite Eve)
Who: Aya, Mog, hospital staff, boys?
When: Four months into her work as a beat cop in New York.
What: Well, hospitals are always fun.

How did we miss this hospital? )
mitochondriaaya: (Parasite Eve)
Who: Baby Aya, Dilan, and Braig
When: Not long after Aya is officially moved into the house.
What: Horror is different for everyone really.

And tales to tell in the dark )
mitochondriaaya: (Default)
Who: Nevada, Braig, Elsy, Yinsi
When: Around the time Braig turns thirteen.
What: Nevada...lays out some plans. Prequal to this.

And danger recognizes danger. )
mitochondriaaya: (College Aya)
Who: Aya, Braig, Dilan, a tent?
When: A few months after officially getting married.
What: Soooooo technically, Dilan is supposed to submit his own entry but they'd been locked in a lab for months and entered for him? Aya and Braig totally they'd entered him in light of fact of getting OUT and getting MARRIED.

Nicest invasion to date! )
mitochondriaaya: (What now?!)
It started...oddly. It started with a phone call at two am, and of course she answered, who would call when it wasn't an emergency after all? "H'lo?" Granted, she didn't exactly manage articulate for said early morning emergencies but hey, she managed two syllables!

"Is this Aya?"

It was odd that she didn't recognize the voice. It was female, a little breathy. Excited maybe? Older than teenaged though. A hospital worker would have used her last name since they'd have the boy's contact sheets. "May I ask who's calling?" her polite chill kicked in belatedly, assuming it was some kind of telemarketer with really bad timing.

"My name is Mina, can I call you Aya?"

Mina? Mina Mina...no, that wasn't ringing any bells. "You can call me Ms. Brea. You have about three seconds to tell me why you called at this hour before I block your number."

"Hey, sorry! Sorry! The boys are such night owls I just assumed their family was! Were you sleeping?"

...hadn't that been implied? "Yes." And then, like a good little highschooler, she hung up, rolled over, and went back to sleep. She wouldn't even have remembered it if she didn't get a call a few days later. "Hello?"

"Hi, is this a better time?"

"...pardon?"

"Oh, right, sorry, hi this is Mina! Is this a good time to talk? I wanted to apologize for waking you up the other night!"

Aya pulled the phone away from her ear and peered at the screen, 'Private Number' was REALLY USEFUL. "Okaaaay, Mina. How did you get this number?" Because she certainly hadn't given it to the girl.

"Braig!"

"Really?"

"Well, he was going to call you and introduce us on the phone but he fell asleep when his hair was getting brushed...and then there was the breakthrough over in metaphysics and you know how it goes!"

Sadly, she did know how it went with the boys calling her, but she'd never had one of the girls take it into their heads to call her unless she already knew them. This was...kinda creepy admittedly. "So why did you need to call?"

"Oh! I'm going to be traveling near where the boys say they live and they wanted me to get a chance to have a decent lunch before the performance so I was suppose to get an introduction! I'm in the string section of the orchestra that's doing a charity event there next week?"

She did know about the charity event next week, she'd be attending with Elcy and Yinsi, the rest though? Um. Huh. A part of her was sorely tempted to dial Braig into a three way conversation, the rest of her was curious though. Curious or bored, the two were a lot alike some days. "I'd suggest you and your group eat at Midna's. It's a small cafe but good food that'll certainly last you through a performance."

"Actually...I was hoping you might have time to meet up? I've heard so much about you!"

Yeah, she'd seen that one coming honestly, chalk one up to instinct. "I'll actually be getting ready to attend the charity event," she admitted lightly, "so any meal would have to be a late brunch at best." Her afternoon was booked, honest, with hanging out at home with Elcy and Yinsi!

"Brunch sounds lovely! Better than sitting through yet another tuning session!" Mina laughed lightly. "Still at this Midna's? What do you call late? I can make reservations to meet you there!"

Aya was...back to staring at the phone, yes. Weirder and weirder. "Let's say eleven, then, day of the concert." This was going to get...interesting. The big question was whether to tell the boys or not?

Hmmm.

Not until after she met the girl.

Oddly it felt kind of like getting ready for a hunt as she got ready for brunch. There was no time for the full regalia she'd be wearing to the fundraiser with the elders, but there was certainly time to fish out the rather high end sun dress and designer heels. Not what she preferred, no, but it was a form of armor as Elcy had taught her. "Where are you headed all dressed up?" Yinsi asked from the porch.

"Someone's down from the city with the orchestra," she admitted brightly, "knows the boys so I thought I'd say hello!"

"I know that smile," the older man chuckled, "no biting."

"I wouldn't get blood on this dress!" Aya laughed in turn. "Back by one, I promise."

Midna's wasn't a four star restaurant, no, but it was full of polished beach wood furniture, every bit hand done and none of it mass produced junk, sea glass chandeliers and a great menu. It was good for vacationers and locals alike, though being dressed up meant indoor seating; surfers got the patio.

She was early. It meant she could get a seat at the 'reserved' table, the only one with a little hand written card saying 'reserved!' in fact, and get her back to a wall that let her watch the door. Her first impression of Mina was...height. The girl was half Asian, that was obvious, but no Asian woman Aya knew of stood at six two, most of it leg. The hair was traditional black, braided, and falling near to her ankles (and wasn't that fun to untangle from the boys?) but the eyes were a shade of olia gold closer to honey and the face was a touch too triangular. An islander, maybe? Asian and Maori somehow? It'd be rude to ask, and it didn't matter in the long run since it all added up to 'knockout'.

Granted, the boys tended toward the exceptional. "Aya?"

"Who else?" she answered, holding a hand across the table to shake.

"You...don't look like either of them, still, I thought I was just missing something in the photos, I'm red-blue color blind."

"Adopted," Aya admitted. "It confused the Clans at first too, when I visited. Mainly because I burn so easily." Still, menu time? Menus were polite to offer!

"I see!" Mina grinned and cooed over the pasteboard as she read off possibilities. "The boys never mentioned this place! I wonder why?"

Well that was interesting wasn't it? "They get busy," Aya waved the waitress off and watched her dining companion, bemused. "Normally they'd ask for a to go bag. Must be a bad labs week."

"Oh, should I bring them something back? What travels well?"

"They'd love to split one of the berry custards," where by split she meant Braig did stupid things for the custard and Dilan loved berries? But a girlfriend would know that. Better is a cream and egg custard, no sugar, so Dilan didn't get the ick face if he got a bit on the fruit!

"I'll order two then!" Mina grinned and wow, what a grin. It was kind of too wide somehow?

Ick. "So...you've called me several times and I still don't know who you are Mina."

"Oh! I'm sorry! Mina Chou! I met Braig at an event and Dilan came and well..." hard to resist, right?

"Aya Brea, we were introduced by a hamster," Aya deadpanned.

"...okay? That's nice. I didn't think a hamster would put up with Dilan."

"When he was younger it was a little easier on the pets," Aya chuckled, leaning back as soup arrived. "But that's not what you want to talk about."

"...oh I want to know everything!" Mina grinned. "Likes, dislikes, they are well worth knowing and you've got something of an inside scoop!"

"The girlfriends are usually a better bet for the kinds of details you want, Mina. I can't tell you anything useful for dating."

"But you can tell me what they like and don't like, when they started loving things they love..." she sighed dreamily. "And the girls are jealous, they just want to have them all to themselves."

Oooookay then. "Hmmmm, no the girls are sweethearts and there's a lot here that have moved on and are always happy to chat."

"Not the ones they have now," Mina huffed. "They won't last."

Considering at least one she knew of had been with the boys a year that was kinda weird to hear but sure, she could roll with it. "I don't get to meet all of them," she admitted, "hard to schedule visits! I'm sure whatever happened though they didn't mean it, the boys don't pick mean spirited people."

"They do when they're tired and the girls are good at hiding," Mina sniffed. "You should really call and fuss at them about that."

"Maybe, I fuss at them a lot when they are stressed," Aya dithered.

"I know, you sound like someone they love very much when they talk about you," Mina admitted, "that's why I knew I had to meet you. To let you know I'll take care of them properly!"

Uh huh. Yeah, that was exactly what this sounded like. Sure. "I appreciate the effort."

"Maybe we can hang out after the concert? Oh, or I know! We should get a picture to show the boys!" And just like that she was moving around the table to throw an arm over her shoulders, phone held up to snap a photo. EEeeeeeuuuuugh.

She could predict the rest of the meals 'subtle' attempts to get promises to call the boys about the girlfriends and questioning about what the boys liked. Loved. Preferred. Creepy creepy creepy.

"Don't forget your custards," Aya reminded as the clock ticked closer to her deadline to get home."

"Oh, you have to go?"

"A lot to do before the concert, Mina, it was nice to meet you," she allowed, holding her hand across the table to shake once more. "Tonight then."

"Tonight sis! Really, you make such a great little sister how does anyone use your name?!"

Eep. Yes, she was dialing the boys the MINUTE she was outside, as she was heading for the car. Voice mail was fine, yes, "Dump Mina, now, if you're actually dating her. Consider a restraining order." Meeble.

Heeeyyyy maybe she could feed her to Elcy and Yinsi? Problem solved? She'd see what the night offered by way of opportunities!
mitochondriaaya: (Young Aya: Fight like a girl)
"And the front walk is lava too!" Aya laughed, nudging the front pavement with a toe. "That means everything inside and the way in have to be crossed..."

"Remember mom said no using the rose trellises," Braig remarked from the window above, foot braced against the sill and a book firmly in hand. "Not after last time."

"WE REMEMBER!" Dilan and Aya chorused obediently.

"Okay, if those are lava it's my turn. Let's see. Any of Dad's clothes are armor, mom's clothing is magic and fireproof?"

Aya nodded, trying to remember all the places that they could find such. It'd be a hell of a detour to go to the laundry room, but the front closet might have some things? "We need a timer! Ever five minutes badguys come! Lava snakes and wall crawlers and stuff!"

"I have one of those! I'll go get it before the floor melts!" Dilan scrambled through the front door, laughing. Sure, it'd be a bit of a mess as they made things to cross the lava, but not too much if they did the rules right!

"Hey, am I stuck in a magic castle this time?" Braig laughed, marking his page so he could look down at the kids. "Lava, armor, and creepy crawlies?"

"Looks like!" Aya laughed. "And if we don't make it you're gonna fall into an enchanted sleep and rot away!"

"I think you mean I have to wait for my true love to kiss me," Braig corrected with a grin.

"But if we don't make it we're dead, and if heroes can't make it then you're toast!" Aya pointed out cheerfully. "Unless you're magic too. Really magic sleep where you don't need IVs and stuff."

"If I"m a princess I won't need IVs," Braig snorted. "That's part of the magic. "Plus 'rotting away' is a really bad ending. My stories have better endings."

"Says who?" Aya grinned up at him.

"Says me. I'm a genius and I know these things." He stuck his tongue out at her, naturally, then went back to his book.

"Right, right, okay...clothes..." That meant next rule was hers. Hmmm. "Hey Braig! Toss down some bouncy balls! Those'll be the badguys! We can bounce them and if we get hit or fall in the lava we're hurt!"

"You are so lucky mom moved the breakables out of the livingroom..." And that was the ONLY reason why Braig was going to duck back through his window to grab what she asked for. Honest! It wasn't that he wanted to hear them down there dodging bounces or anything...

"Yeah, I know!" Granted, Elcy was smart too, she knew which way the wind blew with so many youngsters in the house! "So that's rule three! You get hit by a ball when the timer goes off and you're hurt and have to take time to bandage or find magic!"

"Healing magic has to be different than mom magic!" Dilan noted, coming back out the door with the timer tied in a scarf to his belt loops. "Touch a potted plant and you can heal a wound!"

"Okay, that sounds good!" Because if they tore a leaf off a potted plant they'd get in SO MUCH TROUBLE! Okay, so, challenges, helping items..."Time limit! We need a time limit before Braig is in an enchanted sleep!"

"End of book, then I'm napping," Braig called down.

"Does that count as my rule?" Aya sighed.

"Nah, go ahead and figure out another." Dilan ruffled her hair and started looking around the yard for things to build a lava-proof path out of.

"Uhhh...." well, what was left? Hmmm. "If you are hurt you gotta hop or not use your arm or whatever got hurt?" she suggested with a shrug. "I think we got everything!"

"About time," Braig laughed.

"Hey, rules are important!" Aya stuck her tongue out at the window above then grinned at Dilan. "Okay, ready?"

"Yeah, I think we've got a change!" Dilan agreed cheerfully, reaching into his makeshift pouch to set the egg timer for five minutes.

"Heroes always have a chance!" Aya laughed, headed for the shed.
mitochondriaaya: (Young Aya: Thoughtful)
She peered into the room, nose at the edge of the door as she looked the bed over. Dilan had been sick all week and now, now he wasn't moving. Everyone had told her he'd do this, that he got really sick in the winter and that meant he went into a coma for a few days.

Like it was normal somehow, comas.

She knew what a coma was. It was that time when the people you loved fell asleep, and while they were asleep the machines stopped beeping and the doctor came to touch her gently and tell her that the rest of her family didn't make it. To tell her she was lucky because that meant that she could have a transplant from her sister and her eye socket would be okay. She wouldn't be blind in one eye.

Comas meant that doctors could cut you up and you never left the hospital.

But Dilan wasn't in the hospital and she wasn't exactly sure how to take that. He had an IV hooked up, but no beepy machines and he was still breathing. She could see that from here. He was breathing and that was a good thing. It meant he wasn't dead.

She didn't want Dilan to die.

Weirdly enough that made the boys room a very scary place and that was why she was standing at the threshold, watching. When her sister had slipped into a coma they'd put up a curtain between their beds; at least she could see him. She had no idea how long she stood there just waiting for each breath before Yinsi touched her shoulder. He probably expected her to jump, and she did, but the scream? Yeah, she hadn't expected that at all.

It didn't wake Dilan up. It did wake up Braig though, making the boy sit up from his slump beside the bed and peer balefully toward the door. Not that she saw it, she was too busy running, the surge of adrenaline pushing her in a screaming dash down the hall to her own room.

It was Yinsi that pulled her out from under the bed and held her as she babbled something, she couldn't remember, later, what she said but he listened and that was a good thing because it let her wear herself out and he was probably the one who tucked her in. and she knew he was the one who sat by her bed when she managed to wiggle herself off the edge, because when she woke up he'd caught her and was trying to get the blanket untangled.

She'd been too weak, in the hospital, to roll out of bed. That was different at least. And when he set her down she was peeling off down the hall to peer through the boys door again. Dilan was still breathing.

Good.

It was weird. She could see Braig sitting the chair by the bed, reading a book, but she couldn't really look at him, her eyes stayed on Dilan. And this time, this time she managed to step into the room. A few steps before her feet froze to the floor. What if going all the way in meant something went wrong?

And...yeah, she was running again. Stupid feet.

She didn't have a good answer, and she was afraid and it was stupid.

Elcy fed her a sandwich this time around, and made her go out into the garden to weed a bit.

And then she had to stop weeding when Elcy noticed she pulled up everything under the windows.

She didn't like being afraid.

It made her angry, because Dilan was in a coma and she couldn't fix it. So what was she suppose to do?!

Braig had a good idea, he was in there, reading, and keeping watch. She could do something like that, right? Maybe.

If her feet let her.

Stupid feet.

How, exactly, did someone fix their feet?

Yinsi found her again, standing in the hall and staring at her toes. She...didn't really have any ideas. Screwdrivers weren't for feet after all, and she didn't think tape would help at all. This time when Yinsi touched her shoulder she didn't jump, she just blinked. "My feet are broken."

"They look like feet to me dear," Yinsi pointed out, kneeling down so he could poke one of her bare, grubby little toes.

"Hey!" she twitched her foot away from the poking, then dug her big toe into the carpet behind her. "They won't listen to me. I need something to fix that."

"Like what?"

Yeah, that was the problem wasn't it? "I don't know. Something...maybe glitter? Would that help?" Sparkles were distracting right? Maybe they wouldn't notice she was walking into the boys room if they were sparkly?

"And glue?" Yinsi chuckled softly. "I think we have that. Anything else you'll need?"

"My Moogle. And some books. A lot of books."

"Alright, stay right here," Yinsi ruffled her hair gently and headed down the hall.

And...she could do staying. She started leaning at some point, trying to peer through the doorway again even though it was waaaaaay down the hall, but her feet didn't budge an inch. Not until Yinsi got back with a bowl and glitter.

Glue felt really weird on her feet but not in a bad way, but in a cold muddy kind of way! "Am I gonna get stuck to the bowl?" she asked, peering down at her toes as she wiggled them in the Elmer's puddle she was now standing in.

"Now, I'll hold you until your feet dry and then you'll be fine!"

Glitter, unlike glue, didn't feel like mud at all. It felt kind of like snow, and sounded a bit like emptying the pencil sharpeners at school. And then her feet were covered in sparkly rainbows part way up her shins. Apparently Yinsi had found ALL the glitter in the house. That was kind of awesome. "Think this will work?"

In answer Yinsi scooped her up and dangled her upside down, letting glitter rain over the hall as she kicked her feet to air them. "Do you?"

"My feet feel weird!" she laughed. Hopefully weird enough right? Maybe. She could feel her head turning red from dangling upside down!

"Should I dip your hair in the bowl too?" Yinsi laughed, poking her nose. "You'll match then, top and bottom!"

She honestly thought about it for a minute but, well, "No! That's silly! I only need to fix my feet!"

"You sure?"

"I'm sure! I'm sure! Put me dowwwwwwwwn!"

Yinsi poked her foot, checking to see if it was dry, then draped her over his shoulder instead, "Nope, not yet. Let's go get your moogle and stick some books in a bag okay? Then your feet should be dry alright?"

"Okay!"

The next time she stood in the boys doorway she was prepared. She had a backpack on and her moogle in her arms, and her feet were all kinds of distracted!

And Dilan wasn't dead.

Glitter got her to the edge of the bed, but then she froze again, shivering as Yinsi followed behind her quietly. She had to touch Dilan just...to make sure. Once she poked his hand Braig gave up and reached out to grab her arm. "C'mon, monkey, sit here."

Hopefully neither of the boys minded that she was going to end up reading half her books out loud...and her feet were all used up for now. Yeah, they were done. She wasn't leaving the room again for nothing. Not for a while.

That was alright though. She was in, that was what mattered!
mitochondriaaya: (Bio-sensitivity bed)
She looked over the papers in her hand and chuckled softly, Mog, also sitting at the table, chuckled as well. "It's just...odd," she admitted. "This still feels like Sannish's house you know? I don't feel right renting it out just because we got talked into a bigger place..." Beach strip or no, the larger house was a hell of a fixer upper.

"Kuuu-po?"

"I'll look it over more in the morning okay?" It'd be the best way to offset the costs of taking on the new house, even with her savings it had been a bit of a panic inducing moment, but it still...didn't feel right.

Sannish would laugh at her. For a minute she honestly considered calling the Territories just to ask permission. Annnnd then he'd laugh. The man was Merchant Prince in the best sense of the term, he'd tell her to use the property wisely.

"Kupo pu po?"

"Yeah, go ahead Mog, I'll finish packing up the kitchen here then go to bed myself." She gave her friend a hug then watched the moogle bob off down the hall then hitched herself up on to the counter to reach the highest shelves. Hmmm, counters. She was going to add longer counters and more work space in the new house when she fixed up the kitchens. She liked sitting on counters so obviously there needed to be more of them.

Somehow she'd assumed some day she might outgrow the personal ideas about how furniture should be used, but since the boys hadn't, well, she didn't have to yet. That was her reasoning anyway. Right, back to what she was doing. Packing. And not letting her hands shake. It was such a stupid reason to wake up with nightmares huh?

But she'd had nightmares. She hadn't slept through a night in the past week as the house paperwork was signed and rental debate had arisen; it was a relief to go to work in the morning these days. Mog was worried, bless her fuzzy little bobble, and they were both trying not to just scream at the walls and throw things in boxes at this point. How they'd amassed so much stuff in the few months since transferring to town was beyond.

Granted, a chunk of it was the synthesis anvil and forge that Mog's parents INSISTED she had to have. Every moogle on their own did! And a chunk of it was the furniture people kept dropping by as a 'welcome home and we know you'r eon your own now...' even though the small house came furnished.

Furnished to KATZU STANDARD no less! Most of the heavier furniture was coming to her new place, for Dilan and anyone who visited from the territories; plus there was just something comforting in being able to curl up entirely in an arm chair some days. Still, there was just....stuff. So much stuff. What happened to the days when she had a few duffle bags and was good to go?

Oh, right, she'd been a tiny kid then. Right right.

Speaking of...the boys would be almost as good as talking to Sannish, right? She glanced at the clock then hit the speaker on her phone. She'd aim for the lounge in the labs first, they were probably there or just getting ready to leave by this point in the day.

If they were going home. She didn't like how often lab work for them turned into 'and then I emerged three weeks later'. So, yes, best to ring the area closest to a coffee pot. "This is the badged wonder calling braniacs," she trilled when she heard the machine roll over, she almost missed the tone by having her head up in a cupboard but hey, at least she had something to say?

"Pick up pick up pick up if you're there gentlemen..." Or not. Hey, maybe they actually made it home tonight? Well then. "Alright, elsewhere. CLICK CLICK BYE!" She wrapped a few more glasses then hit the button for the boy's flat.

Ah, but what if they were actually out on a date? It was...a weekend wasn't it? She didn't really keep track anymore since she and Mog covered most the oddball shifts currently. Hmmm, yeah, a weekend. "Hey, calling those currently unoccupied!" she chirped at that machine. "Just..yeah. I'm up. I'm...staying up. It's that kind of night. Call back whenever." She didn't want to ring their cells really, not for something silly. Besides, she kinda wanted them both on speaker and that was iffy with cells.

A few more hours and if she hadn't heard from them she would call the territories. Or wait until she could have coffee with Elcy and Yinsi in the morning. Yeah, that seemed like a good backup plan.
mitochondriaaya: (College Aya)
She nudged a wrapper with her foot and watched it crinkle on the side. Huh. This wasn't good. Had the boys actually spent the night here? She couldn't picture it really. It would drive Dilan nuts...

....

"Hey, are you a swear? I don't remember you...." the girl on the stairs looked like she'd prefer to be laying down. That wasn't a good sign. Hung over probably.

She shifted her guess to 'likely' when the girl winced away from a sunbeam that entered the door behind her. "Nope! I'm trespassing. Looking for two students, Braig and Dilan? Came to a party?"

"If you're not a sister go away," the girl waved a hand and started back up the stairs.

Right.

She held her breath until the girl was gone then went back to wandering through the common room. Ugh, wow, when they had a party here they really trashed the place huh? And there was...clothing everywhere. She counted something like a dozen shirts and three times that many shoes. Fewer pairs of shorts but she almost assumed the sheets had been togas.

College life. Charming.

Right. She checked her watch then started folding clothing and setting the room to rights. Why not? They'd left a note in case she got in early enough to attend, and since this was...far from early enough, well, best to make the morning a bit better?

She'd make breakfast.

If she found the kitchen.
mitochondriaaya: (I'm just resting really)
"Hello?" The rough voice sighed tiredly into the phone. "This number is listed as the emergency contact number for an Aya Brea. If you are her closest relatives she is in need of a pick up at the state police building in Keys." The man on the phone seemed really, really tired.

Granted, a bunch of police cadets had been graduated this week so that was probably part of the problem.

"If you are not her nearest contacts please relay the message to someone able to pick her and her friend up." And get them out of his building, please?

Pretty please?

The girls hadn't stopped giggling since they'd been picked up.

The moogle cuddled in the human's lap was trilling kupos in between poking at the tape on her bandage. The bandage on her bald spot. Over her tattoo. There was a tattooed moogle in the precinct.

Giggling.

The girls weren't drunk or high but they were blowing off stress in a very...teenaged sleep over kind of way and they were making the cops tired just by looking at them really, hence the phonecall out.

Aya's one phonecall had apparently gone...somewhere else.
mitochondriaaya: (Default)
Who: Aya, Braig, and Dilan!
When: Aya's second grade year
What: Sometimes it isn't easy following in the boys footsteps...even when she isn't!

Oh so they could really hope! )
mitochondriaaya: (College Aya)
She wasn't surprised when the machine picked up. She'd been in college three years, which meant the boys had doctorates under their belts, a president on their speed dial and so many other things besides and yet...


...she'd kinda hoped. "Hey," she noted when the machine clicked over. "Me. I know you guys are busy and I know I garduate in a week but...preliminary physicals for the police training is before that. I'm going to cut my hair. want to hang out?"
mitochondriaaya: (Sexy sprawl)
Aya cracked an eye open and peered blearily up at the ceiling. Still daylight, still boiling outside...and she was still awake. Damn. The bungalow was catching a nice breeze, the roof gave her shade, but today had dawned hot and gotten hotter. She was seriously considering switching over to nocturnal for a day or two...

...wouldn't be too hard she hadn't really been sleeping at night anyway. "Hey," she murmured against Dilan's chest. He was a great pillow and she was touched that he'd stayed sprawled with her when Braig felt like catching a few waves. Truly touched. That sunlight out there was a big temptation for her kitten! "We have to find Braig a ring."
mitochondriaaya: (Thinking in street clothes)
Graduation was just before her birthday, so Aya was fifteen when she slithered into the graduation gown and tried her hat on. Walking with a tassel (as practice proved) was distracting. She wasn't katzu, true, but she still had the urge to bat at it. Instead she had to look calm. Sedate. Grown up.

Yeeeeah.

At least she wasn't Valedictorian, that would have added a whole new level of stress to her last year of school! And still she'd almost been swayed by the teacher who suggested she stay another year. Almost. Life didn't wait though and the boys were already so far ahead of her that it was a laughable idea to 'catch up' but hey, at least they could all be in college for some of the same years! Sure, not the same college but...yeah. She went out with her friends the night before graduation, a low key party out on a floating dock with a lot of silliness and loud music, but hey, they were all seniors, it was expected!

She made it home in the morning in time to toss back a mug of coffee and try to think about breakfast. "Have to be at the field at...four? Four thirty. Right. Yeah." More coffee. The message light on the answering machine was flashing so she hit the button and listened as her dad rambled cheerfully about it being the day, and he had his ticket to the graduation, and he wasn't going to lose it and what else did he need to remember? "Your head," she chuckled, listening. He'd been leaving messages all week as the day rolled closer. It was nice for Jerrig to be excited.

Granted, traffic was going to be hell with the town turning out to see graduation at the nearest sports field and tourists flooding in to see the surfing competition in the town nearby, but as long as everyone left early they'd be fine right? Right. It wasn't like she had to drive.

Maaaaaaaybe staying out all night hadn't been the best plan though. The coffee waqs sitting heavy in her stomach and she felt her hands tensing around the mug as REAL LIFE loomed up in her mind.

Ouch.

Yeah.

"What was I thinking?!" It was totally okay to ask these things of the empty kitchen, yep.
mitochondriaaya: (College Aya)
Aya was sprawled across the bed, head hanging off the end as she watched the boys. She wasn't sure what was going on with them this week but they weren't holding still at all. She was half tempted to snag one of their phones to speak to one of the girlfriends instead but...that involved moving. It was the weekend after exams. She didn't want to move.

"So..." she started again, a word she'd kinda uttered every few minutes before getting dizzy watching them move around their apartment "...I was thinking of getting a tattoo."
mitochondriaaya: (College Aya)
Aya reached out to slap her alarm clock and pulled the covers over her head. She really didn't want to get out of bed today. The very idea of going into the courtroom scared her. Yes, she'd have to get over that eventually, but suing...suing just gave her the creeps. It felt like things were out of hand. Out of control.

She hated that feeling.

That meant she wanted to stay in bed. Sadly, she could smell coffee. And the snooze button wasn't where it was suppose to be...in fact, her alarm wasn't where it was suppose to be. "The hell?" she muttered from within the blankets.
mitochondriaaya: (Young Aya: Party Girl)
The elastic strap was suppose to go around her ankle. Of course, the board she'd gotten hadn't exactly come with instructions (that she saw anyway), so she had it kinda tucked in the shoulder strap of her swimsuit. She couldn't find her flip-flops, but she did remember sunblock! That as the important part right?

The boys had promised to teach her how to surf! Or wake surf...or wade, or something. She could swim a little, and she didn't think they'd be going very deep, but this was her first time to the beach that wasn't poking at tide pools. She felt kinda...grown up.

Yep, very grown up with a board almost as big as she was.
mitochondriaaya: (College Aya)
Fourth of July tended to be a big deal in their family. She'd hiked into the beach house almost as soon as school let out for summer; just to start getting things ready. The boys had some last minute experiments to wrap up this year, so it'd just be her and Braig's parents until the girlfriends started showing up.

By the time July rolled around there were tents and cheerful knots of people all up and own the beach. Sure, once, a long time ago, everyone could have fit in the beach house...but not now. In fact, it was more than a little intimidating now, to sit out on one of the break water pilings and look back at the beach. She could identify most of the early girlfriends by sight even from here. Most of them had dragged her out swimsuit shopping the last week of her junior year.

But now there were people she didn't really know well too. College girls and business women and...

...and Aya was just old enough to be feeling more than a little awkward now. There was a beach full of beautiful, intelligent, wonderful women aaaaaand she had almost nothing in common with them. She didn't like how that realization made her feel, so she was out on the pilings with Braig's parents, setting up fireworks.

One good thing about the increasing, yearly crowd was that everyone brought some kind of explosives. The show got better every year. In fact, it looked like the setup was going to stretch almost out of the cove tonight! That meant she really needed to stop thinking and get back to doing...
mitochondriaaya: (Default)
Aya smiled up at the bouncer and held out the family photo. Yep, he'd seen the boys, she had the right bar. He seemed a little bemused when she didn't even try to get into the club, she just sat down against the nearest wall with good light and started her homework. She hadn't told the boys she was coming over this weekend, though given their college routines by now they should have expected it.

To be fair, she hadn't expected to be there. Pierce had been taking her to a convention nearby and then got a call from one of his security clients. That left her with a free weekend...

...and no boys at their flat.

Well, it was fun to surprise them. She'd planned to hit the local bars within walking distance, and if they weren't there go back to their place and declare it hers...luckily for her feet, it was the second bar she'd hit.

And the bouncer was old enough not to get idiotic over a young blond doing homework.
mitochondriaaya: (Nevada)
It was a day like most others; sunny and bright with the sound of children screaming on the school playground. Recess always had screaming, usually it was the playful kind. Today the only anomaly was the principal standing outside next to a strange man whose gaze was weighing each of the running children in turn. The principal was trying to be helpful of course, pointing in the direct of one of the mobs.

Said mob was currently devolving into a medieval war on the monkey bars. The self-proclaimed King Braig was holding the top of the span with his loyal Knights holding either side for the moment. The barbarians were numerous though...and seemingly impervious to pain given the scraped knees and elbows they were gaining.

The man nodded gratefully to the principal so that the man could head back indoors...and waited. He wanted to see how this little war played out. And how the kid interacted with the two friends he'd been told about.
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