| Subject: The first cat out of the bag. |
Author:
Polly
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Date Posted: 10/17/13 5:34:56am
In reply to:
Ruger Moss
's message, "/|Kick It In the Sticks|\" on 10/16/13 10:32:38pm
"Speaking of," Polly glanced at him as he scrubbed his face, "that was a hell of a hit you took. Consider me impressed." She knew she had an unusually high pain tolerance and never really seemed to feel tired in the way it pulled other people down, but she wasn't sure if she would have fared any better in his position. "Not to many people can walk away from a sucker-punch that gracefully. And I would know, I've sucker-punched a lot of people," she teased with a toothy little smirk.
When Ruger teased her about Terrance, Polly snorted out right, "That little shit has a major case of puppy love," she admitted. Annoyance set into the lines of her frame, her finger tips drummed against the steering wheel for just a moment before she took a deep breath as if to say, I'm an adult, damn it, I can do this.
"It wouldn't piss me off so much if it hadn't become so damn obvious after he walked in...at an inopportune moment." She literally let out a frustrated little growl while her teeth pulled back into a supremely nervous smirk. It was probably the biggest slip in control she'd had all night. Discomfort practically wafted from her skin like steam. "And I can't punch him in the mouth cause it'd be like kickin' a goddamn puppy," there, she had voiced her frustration. She had no fucking clue how to deal with a teenage boy. Polly, Demon Slayer, Mercenary, Relic Hunter, was being trumped by a brat in the trows of puberty. She felt like his big sister damn it.
Her tension released some at the mention of Sister Eve, and his exact wording had her grinning, "She's certainly something special." Knowing the stranger particulars of the nun's order made his words a little ironic.
Polly snorted when Ruger started cursing up a storm, "That is liquid gold you're enjoying the effects of. My own special mixture of scent remover, extra extra strength." It had to be. Her blood was downright dangerous. She'd been very careful about the amounts she'd lost tonight and where it landed. None had touched anything but her, except while climbing and that was what the clean up crew was taking care of. She doubted there would be a building there at all in the next few hours.
Polly didn't answer right away when he asked about Jewels. She listened to his advice about dogs, "I heard that back in the day they were Nannie dogs because they were tough and could withstand a little rough handling from a toddler." If that was the case then it made sense that corrupt evil people took a trait like that and twisted it for profit. "I don't know, though, a puppy seems like a lot of responsibility," she mused. "They can't all be as smart as Blue."
Polly had never had to worry about someone asking her if a kid was hers. She'd never been near enough to one for people to assume. Not until Jewels. Polly couldn't stand kids, it was like their physical presence hurt. Just being around them raised all sorts of questions for her that she couldn't answer. She couldn't remember being a kid. She couldn't remember what it was like. She couldn't remember growing up. But that wasn't as bad as the one thing she could remember. She had memories that haunted her, unassigned ones that had no rational meaning. Glimpses of people she couldn't place...just faces floating free in the chaos and shadows of her mind. A child with rosy cheeks and dark hair and Polly's same blue eyes. A sister? A daughter? She'd been asking herself that question for eight years now. The silence of the answer was terribly painful, it cost her sanity.
And until she could remember who the dark haired little girl was the thought of being a mother haunted her, it repulsed her. The thought of leaving something behind like that...was unforgivable. But no one knew Polly had that particular horror to work through in her mind. It would have been a lot easier to see why she just broke sometimes if she explained the irrational guilt maybe. But she couldn't. There just wasn't anyone who could relate. And she wasn't willing to be that exposed. It could get her killed. Christ only knows what would happen if her fears were voiced to the wrong people. They'd make sure she'd never be able to trust anything again. But Jewels...Jewels was different. And however bad it made the nightmares she had to take the kid with her. Leaving her behind was no more an option than not breathing. She endured and she didn't begrudge the little girl at all.
She ran one hand through her hair before putting it back on the wheel and didn't speak for a moment. They had perfect lies set up for strangers around town who asked about Jewels, fake paper lives, perfect digital trails. Tax records for crying out loud. But Polly hadn't really thought about getting tangled up with someone like Ruger so soon. She felt uncomfortable lying to him, eventually there was a lot he was going to have to get caught up on. If he didn't understand just what he was walking into it could be very dangerous if shit finally did hit the fan.
And honestly she really knew it would. She'd gone into this knowing she might have a few years with them here before someone came to burn it all down. She'd come because from the ashes the others would be able to thrive...and from the shadows, she would go back and tie up all the loose ends. She'd kill everyone that was alive to remember who they were if it kept Jewels safe. Those cruel fucking bastards would not get her back. They would come eventually and when they did she was going to systematically destroy them until there was nothing left. So when she spoke, she felt like it was the understatement of the fucking year, "Her Daddy was my first handler. Her Mamma was a scientist, brilliant woman; maybe the smartest alive. They were the closest thing I can remember having to family. The people we worked for...weren't very nice." She ignored him as he changed his shirt, "Problem was, we didn't know how bad it was til it was too late. They'd already gotten their hooks in us pretty deep."
Polly shifted slightly, "Long story short her mother had an accident that same day her father went MIA on a mission that went bad." She briefly glanced at Ruger, who seemed to have recovered fairly well. At least with a clean shirt he didn't look like someone had dragged him behind the truck. "They would have gotten away with it," her knuckles turned white as she gripped the steering wheel and her eyes returned to the road, "but the greedy little fuckers couldn't help themselves. Jewels is even more gifted than her mother. She's priceless. But she's just a kid and she had no business doing what they were making her do." It still made Polly fume that she'd had no idea what had happened until it was too late.
Polly shook her head, "I can't be everything she needs. I can't even come close, I wouldn't know how. But I'll be there to stab something in the face for her if she needs me to. I owe her Daddy that much." Polly had a wry look on her face, "Before her I hadn't spent twenty minutes being responsible for a kid. Fortunately, I think Leroy has always wanted to be a grumpy old Grandpa. He's got a soft spot for her."
They had made it through the down town area at this point and Polly was beginning to wonder where exactly the vampires were headed. They seemed to be going the right routes and speeds together that she could assume they were driving. "That's part of why I have such big plans for this place. Jewels needs roots, but she also needs to dig in deep. There's a lot of land, a lot of potential. I wanna make sure I use every inch to our advantage, 'cause sooner or later, we're gonna need it." She gave a little laugh, "My little trip through the woods is just the first of many. I want that place imprinted in my memory. I want to know which lakes will feed us. I want to know what caves to hide in. I want to rig the deck in our favor." Polly paused just a moment before speaking the last bit, "But I've never even touched a fishing pole and that's like level one weekend camper stuff..." after admitting that she bit her lip in embarrassment. She really hated not understanding something or being inexperienced in common things. It nettled her because she only had less than a decade's worth of memories and was constantly reminded how behind she was.
Polly's eyes flickered towards Ruger as she made a turn. She caught sight of him just as he was taking in a drag on the cigarette. She'd ignored the smell successfully until that moment. Her eyes twitched back to the road and she tried to focus on his question. What had he said about Lake Tahoe? "We all had to scatter for a bit after breaking Jewels out. Leroy had the kids, Sister Eve and I went separate ways, leaving false trails. Unfortunately, this asshole we're following picked up my scent on the way back."
And that brought them to the snag in this evenings plans. Up until he'd walked into the bar, Polly thought he'd just been a vampire who'd picked up her scent. But he shouldn't have known she was going to be there hunting him...and his eyes had told her that he had. How did he know, who told him that the stop in this city would be the end? There were so few people who had that information, a leak was deadly. "I was in Washington most recently. Spending time there is what gave me the idea for this place. A lot of places to get lost in the mountains. I intend to find all of 'em."
She couldn't help it anymore, with a long, deep sigh a sheepish look crossed her face, "Hey, can I bum one?" Leroy had quit easy when it became apparent that Terrance was stealing them. It had been a lot harder for Polly. She didn't buy them often, but when she did she might sit there and smoke the entire pack over the course of the evening. She'd smoked her last one three days ago and the smell, the craving it brought, was just too much to resist.
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