Board Thread:The Mech Bay Bar'n'Grill/@comment-24930445-20140526230330/@comment-24930445-20140602005030

Being Home

They spent a month on their mountain. The kids, Vee included, had argued at first, but not strenuously. They could sense something bad had happened and she wasn’t taking it well. As an extended member of the family, Brandy had been invited along and she readily agreed.

The first week, Kat frequently spent most of her days at a little pond meditating, while her nights were spent snuggled in Ry’s arms talking softly.

She had been pleased to catch a glimpse of the pack that first day. At first the wolves... her wolves had been shy, keeping their distance and watching her closely. Over then next several days of Kat simply meditating and watching them, they relaxed enough to let the pups come out to play, something that lightened Kat’s heart immensely. She knew none of her original pack still lived. It had been too long and their life span too short, but before her were their offspring and she smiled, seeing how the pack had flourished.

Ilrea found her on one of these days and, for the first time in a very long time, mother and daughter just sat and talked about nothing and everything all at once. They ended up swimming in the little pond, splashing and laughing and, by the time they had returned to the cabin, the years of frustration at each other had vanished. They had become friends again.

By the second week, Ry and the kids were often with her on her little jaunts to watch the wolves. As she had predicted, Aerli had named all of them and had done so much research on the species, she was practically an expert. Kat’s brightest moment came when she and Aerli had been silently watching the pups play.

The girl hadn’t moved for over an hour, simply content to remain as she was and just watch. One of the pups had become curious and wandered over for a sniff. Kat smiled at the awe on the girl’s face, vividly remembering the first time it had happened to her. Soon, a second pup had joined the investigation, then a third. Kat kept a close watch on the adults and, though they were nervous, they made no move towards Aerli. How the girl kept herself from touching the pups, Kat would never know. It was something that, even now, she itched to do. Aerli simply sat and let the pups climb on her and play.

Curiosity on the alpha female’s part became too much and, slowly, she also made her way over to where Kat and Areli sat. She remained more than an arm’s distance away, but she did not seem frightened or aggressive. She merely sniffed the air in their direction.

Seeing mom, the pups abandoned their new play toy and ran to her, nipping her heels in an attempt to get her to join in their fun. Mea’Auk, as Aerli had name the alpha, sniffed each pup, assuring herself that they were all well and then simply laid down. Kat heard the soft gasp of shock from her daughter and she chuckled softly. Kat knew this would be a day Aerli would never forget.

In the weeks they spent on the mountain, they had sent several invitations to Ben, Sandy and Tarin to join them for barbecues and just general “family” time. All other communications had been ignored, at least by Kat. It had felt right having Ben, Sandy and Tarin there, laughing, eating, swimming…  friends sharing good times. They even roasted marshmallows on several occasions over an open campfire and, at some point, one of Kat’s guitars had been brought out and several songs were mangled during a sing-a-long.

Kat had watched Ben and Sandy during these times and she smiled at his happiness with the woman. Yes, her world was tilting right once again.

By the third week, Kat knew things were getting better when she found herself plotting revenge against the Raiders, Jack and Travers included. Her thoughts ranged from small, viscous pranks to all out firing of the entire band from the Company, with flashes of weapons fire thrown in for good measure. Ben and Tarin had talked her down from firing them, reminding her that they had been an essential part to her D.C.A.C.T. operation. Still, she had been betrayed by those she had once called family and the betrayal was something she could not forgive easily.

Vee had come out to the pond one day, comm in hand. “Miss K. Its Travers again. He’s insisting on talking with you.”

Kat actually chuckled. She knew the comm was open, but vid was off. “Tell tha’ rat bastard ifin he don’t stop callin, I’m gonna modify tha’ comm so the electronic feedback when I throw it in th’ toilet will fry him.”

<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial;font-size:15px;white-space:pre-wrap;line-height:1.15;">Vee smirked, then put on his “serious” face. “Mr. Travers? She said…. yes.. well. Honestly, sir?  I’ve seen what she can do and I personally wouldn’t chance it.”

<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial;font-size:15px;white-space:pre-wrap;line-height:1.15;">Kat stifled a laugh as she watched Vee appear to listen intently to the man on the other end, finally ending the conversation with “I’ll let her know, sir.”  He laughed as he closed the comm. “He isn’t happy with you.”

<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial;font-size:15px;white-space:pre-wrap;line-height:1.15;">Kat shrugged. “Big whooptie-fuck.”

<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial;font-size:15px;white-space:pre-wrap;line-height:1.15;">Vee came over and sat next to her. “He mentioned the project you were working on before you left. He’s worried about the time crunch.”

<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial;font-size:15px;white-space:pre-wrap;line-height:1.15;">She shrugged again. “Let ‘im.”

<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial;font-size:15px;white-space:pre-wrap;line-height:1.15;">“Miss K…  Kat…  listen, I don't know for sure, but I have an idea of what happened and your reaction is understandable. You need to go back to your life. Something important is brewing and you need to be there. You’ll kick yourself if it all goes south and you’re busy sulking on a mountain somewhere.”

<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial;font-size:15px;white-space:pre-wrap;line-height:1.15;">She watched the boy silently as he spoke, then slowly shook her head. His clothing today were more in keeping with a seventeen year old young man on a camping trip. He had put on a little body mass lately and it showed in his chest, arms and legs. Cut off jeans, frayed at the bottoms, tank top and sandles kept him cool in the warmer weather. “When did y’grow up, Vee? When did y’become a man?”

<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial;font-size:15px;white-space:pre-wrap;line-height:1.15;">He blushed scarlet then stared out over the pond. “I just know that running isn’t always the answer.”

<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial;font-size:15px;white-space:pre-wrap;line-height:1.15;">She had heard the same words from Ry and Ben and, though she agreed with them wholeheartedly, she just hadn’t been ready to face the reality of it. She still wasn’t, but, perhaps time on the mountain had given her just a little more strength to deal with it.

<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial;font-size:15px;white-space:pre-wrap;line-height:1.15;">“Gi’ me another week, Vee then we’ll g’back.”

<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial;font-size:15px;white-space:pre-wrap;line-height:1.15;">He nodded and laid back on his arms, watching the sun play off the water. “Want me to let Travers know?”

<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial;font-size:15px;white-space:pre-wrap;line-height:1.15;">“Hell no. Let ‘em stew. He’ll figure it oot soon enough. By then, I might actually figure oot wha’ I’m gonna do aboot ‘em.”  She sighed softly.

<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial;font-size:15px;white-space:pre-wrap;line-height:1.15;">“We could raid their closets and sew frills on their clothes. Maybe drug them and give them permanent make overs.”  Kat blinked, then laughed as the visuals of the men in drag slapped her between the eyes.

<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial;font-size:15px;white-space:pre-wrap;line-height:1.15;">“Oh, Vee.. tha’s better than annathin I’ve come up with yet.”  They spent the rest of the afternoon planning the Raider’s downfall.