Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Typically on Wednesday nights, Mina would be on the hunt, looking for an easy meal to satiate her for the rest of the week, she would have loved to be doing that and yet there she was looking for one of her bats. She knew which one it was, it was always the same one, somehow always fat little Bonnie would find herself out in the city looking for that stupid suitcase. 

It was a nice night all things considered; a few mindless passerby's as she slipped from dark streets to alleys, none of which paid her any mind, not many cruisers out and about, instead replaced by officers on foot, no witnesses for her feast, a perfect feeding night wasted because of her lost bat. She would have been annoyed if she hadn’t loved the creature so much; she loved all her bats and gave them little names and memorized their names to their personalities. Only one person knew of Mina’s affection towards her pets, and it was the worst one. 

The smell of magic hit Mina like a train, she bit her lip in annoyance as she approached it down a decrepit alley, under a balcony, and up an emergency fire escape to the roof of a modern brick apartment complex. There her eyes met them, the annoying spell caster she couldn’t seem to shake, Arin. They looked so happy as they watched their frogs and her Bonnie play, their smile was soft and warm, it made her sick. With a humph she sat two feet away from Pocket on the apartments roof's edge and kept her eyes on the pets. 

Pocket didn’t let there be a silence, breaking it as she sat down. “You said this one is Bonnie, right?” They didn’t look over at her.

“Yes, a pesky little girl. She’s too cute for me to stay mad at her.” Mina huffed, “Spirit creatures are such a hassle.” She crossed her legs and leaned against her hand as she watched her Bonnie tackle one of the fat frogs to the floor and bit it playfully. 

“They aren’t that bad, just got to train them.” Pocket spoke in a neutral tone, “I could try and teach you some tricks.” They glanced over at her. 

“I’d rather have that mole guy you talk about stake me through the heart.” 

“Mo would do it in a heartbeat too.” Pocket chuckled and their infectious laugh couldn’t help but make her smirk. “But seriously, spirit creatures aren’t that hard to train.” 

Mina couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “If you say so Arin.” 

There was a pause, Pocket shuffled something out of their coat pocket and popped it open, bourbon, she could tell from the smell alone, not the lowest quality either to her surprise. Mina glanced over as Pocket took a swig and offered it at her. “Peace offering.” They muffled under their breath. 

Mina snatched it from them and gulped some down, a warmth washed over her causing the hair on her back to rise. It was nice to feel warm for the first time in a while, she placed the bottle down between them as she reveled in the sensation. 

A few of the other bats flew out of Mina’s bag, she cursed under her breath as they sprawled out and began tackling the frogs. Thankfully spirit animals couldn't be injured, not like she needed to worry about her bats, they were kicking Pockets frogs asses. She pointed at the frogs, with a finger before bouncing it towards Pocket. “I bet like my bats, I could beat your ass like they do your frogs.” She had a cocky glint in her eyes. 

Pocket met her eyes, confusion lingered in their darkness and laid next to something else Mina couldn’t read. “Where’d that come from?” 

“I just think I could, nothing more.” She picked up the bottle again and took another drink, greedily. 

Pocket slid closer to her, just by a foot, and tipped the bottle away from her lips. “That’s still mine you know, and not cheap either.” 

Mina tugged the bottle as Pocket held on. “Well you owe me, and you called it a peace offering in the first place.” 

For a moment Pocket's face seemed to become that not too unsimilar to the face of a kicked puppy. “Is this seriously about the marriage? Again?” They spoke grimly, their fingers white with their grip against the bottle.

Mina couldn’t help but laugh in their face, “For once? No.” She huffed. “Your stupid suitcase keeps luring my Bonnie to you and you keep doing nothing about it.” 

“Me?! Spirit creatures only follow the will of their masters. That's why you must train them because they don’t know the difference between good and bad.” 

Mina’s face flushed with a slight anger. “YOU think I want to see YOU?!” She let go of the flask causing Pocket to lurk back slightly. “In your wildest of wet dreams Fairfax.” 

Pocket rubbed the bridge of their nose and took a deep breath. “Well that just means she thinks one of your negative thoughts is actually something you want. I can help you train her to stop, then you'll never run into me again.” 

“I don’t need your training, Arin, I am fully capable of teaching her myself.”

“Why come up here and sit near me if you are only here to fight?” There was a genuine plea in Pocket's voice, Mina smirked at it.

“Because,” Mina leaned in. “I always win them without having to ruin that stupid cute face of yours.” She slurred the cute, it came out of her accidentally from somewhere she didn’t know. She felt as their heart began to race, it had gotten under their skin. 

One of the bats flew onto her lap and broke her concentration, it curled its head under Mina's hand and fingers and began to rub its face over them. She held the bat softly in her palm and kissed its forehead letting Pocket recollect themself and calm down. Maybe it was from the mindless act of petting the bat or was from the decent amount of alcohol in her system but Pocket smelt nice. Strangely so. She wanted to take a bite out of them, save her the hassle of hunting someone down and just get it done here and now. Mina wouldn’t let them have the satisfaction, they would find it too interesting, enjoy the pain too much. Weirdo. 

“Weirdo?” Pocket looked at her, eyebrows lightly furrowed. 

“Yeah, weirdo, you and your weird freaky magic and frogs.” Mina questioned if she had said the whole thing out loud, if she had she prayed to be struck by a beam of sunlight then and there. 

Pocket took a sip of the bourbon before giving a light nod. “I suppose the frogs can seem weird but if we didn’t have our history, I think you would quite like my magic.” Their eyes stole a glance at her before returning to watch the pets. 

“I don’t think I would ever.” She said sternly. 

Suddenly with a slight chant and flick of Pocket's wrist, a flower sprouted from the end of their nose as they turned towards her, Mina couldn’t help but giggle.

“Fuck you, that doesn’t count,” Mina recollected herself and snapped her fingers for her bats to return to her, everyone except Bonnie flew into her purse. She huffed as she walked over and squatted to pick the palm sized red bat up, she rubbed the back of Bonnie's wings as she placed her gently into her purse. She returned back to the ledge and sat back down, she stared daggers at them. “This is the last time this will happen, see you never Fairfax.” She leaned back and dropped off of the building, balling up before becoming a red bat, her bats followed in toe causing red streaks to seemingly follow her. 

The night passed, as it always did, a clock chimed 5 AM somewhere in the distance, the sky had begun to shift into a beautiful auburn color just along the horizon, she needed to head home soon. She rushed down an alley towards the back entrance of the building she lived in, they always kept the front door shut past 10pm and the sun would be up by the time they were unlocked. 

Mina reached the door and let out a sigh of relief, the door was a gross thing, odd holes on the exterior, claw marks, the poor thing hadn't been replaced or repainted in at least a decade. The lock was rusty but with some jiggling and force of the key, the door unlocked. She entered nobly and locked it behind her, covering her nose at the smell of the back hall, its unkemptness stood out to the rest of the usually clean building. She hated it but it was convenient for when she returned late. 

The elevator was much more Mina’s fashion, state of the art, clean, and smooth. She stayed in the corner of the elevator, leaned against the golden bars and yawned, she closed her eyes until she heard the doors creak open. She glanced at the floor number before she walked towards her penthouse. The locks for the penthouses in this building were magic based, a reason her parents acquired her one here, they stressed it was the safest form of security. Mina placed her palm against the lock and tiredly chanted the incantation before hearing the internal mechanisms creak and snap, the door flung open with some force. 

A small spirit butler appeared by Mina’s side as she walked in without a care, she handed the butler her coat, umbrella, and purse as the door closed shut on its own behind her. She struggled to slip her boots off for a moment before kicking them off towards the wall. Maybe it was from the thrill of flying across the city or the aggravating conversation with Pocket, but she felt tired more than she usually did when she returned home. She didn’t bother to change as she headed towards her bedroom and flopped onto her bed, coffins were so last century, she refused to have one. 

Mina nuzzled her head into the soft feathered pillows before creeping under the blankets, their weight comforted her. The butler swished in and turned off the lamp, checked the curtains to make sure no sunlight could peak through, and closed the door behind him as he left. 

Chapter Text

The next few nights were uneventful, Mina woke up in the evening, did some Autumn fashion sketches for her upcoming line while she sipped on some coffee through a straw, it helped the creative process, and got dolled up before heading out when the sun went down. Her butler had been acting strangely but he was a spirit after all, maybe she would talk to her parents about paying him more, what did spirits even use money for? Mina never cared enough to ask the man, she didn’t even know his name. 

Water flushed the blood off of her skin, her butler just in the other room cleaning up her coat, it was a messy hunt, her least favorite kind. Mina faced the shower head as the water hit her face and soaked her hair, the blood from her neck and mouth dripped down her entire body until disappearing down the drain. Mina took in the moment before she began to clean herself off with soap, shampooing her hair thoroughly. 

Once she was done, Mina stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in a thick towel, she grabbed a second one and began to dry her hair. Something outside crashed and she paused, glanced towards the door, and carefully approached it. She paused for a moment to hear if it would happen again, it did, she huffed as she slipped on a black night gown before slamming open the door and looking around. 

There was nothing out of the sort in the hall, she looked towards the main entrance, once more, nothing. She heard a crash come from the laundry room and peaked inside from the side of the wall, her humble spirit butler hunched over, attempting to catch something. Mina approached slowly and quietly, she peered over his shoulder to see he was trying to separate two spirit creatures. Her face immediately dropped when she saw Bonnie was fighting with a spirit frog, not any one either, by the coloration of the magic she could tell its origins. 

“I really really hate that stupid suitcase.” Mina growled.

The butler jumped up, dropping the creatures as they immediately started to play once more. The butler murmured apologies but Mina placed her hand up and dismissed him, he left the room without a word and Mina rolled her eyes. Pocket had gone on about their training of the spirits and yet here one was. Had they even noticed? Mina rubbed her temples as she picked up the frog using a cleaning rag and held it. She snapped her fingers and after a moment Bonnie sulked and flew back to rest with her sisters on the ceiling. 

“What am I going to do with you, frog?” Mina grumbled under her breath, as she wrapped the rag around its body, leaving only its head visible. She cupped it in her palms as she walked towards her bedroom and plopped it into an empty shoe box. It balled up once it hit the bottom and closed its eyes, Mina covered it and placed it on her desk, she huffed as she did so. 

The small holes of the box let out small green specks of light as Mina searched her bookshelf for one of her grimoire. “One of these has that spell that allows me to send a magic letter as long as I know their name. I'll just message them and tell them to get this stupid frog before it dissipates or starts feeding on my magic reserves.” She had been speaking to herself but she couldn’t help but feel as if someone else was trying to say something in the room. She knew there was no one but something nagged at her, called to her in a soft tone. 

After a minute she had found the book and flipped to the page, she sat at her desk and began to type a letter out on her typewriter before words spoke from the shoe box. It spoke of sunlight and flowers, conversations from people she would never know, it talked of sorrow and mourning. Mina couldn’t help but stop typing, its voice was distorted but familiar. She couldn’t help but grit her teeth as she opened the box.

There the frog was resting, croaking every now and then before coughing up a bubble and a memory she did not know came out of its lips. Mina watched as a bubble of a full sunrise floated into the air, she kept her eye on it before it popped then closed her eyes. She slammed the box closed as she huffed and opened her eyes back. She slammed her fingers into every key as she finished writing the letter, she read over it and crumpled it. She tried to write a letter in a neutral professional manner a few more times before she slammed her fist against the desk and stood with a start. She needed a smoke. 

It was too bright outside at that point for her to smoke on the balcony, she hated to smoke inside, it left an annoying grime on everything, her aunts house was covered in it, but she had no choice but to, she lit the end of the cigarette and took a drag, a calm nostalgia washed over her. 

“Ladies don’t smoke, little summer.” Her aunt would tell her, her voice thick and heavy, croaky from her decades of smoking. She would laugh like a witch before taking another drag. Mina loved her aunt, she let the smoke puff out of her nose, it stung but Mina didn’t mind. Her aunt was the only one who never treated her like a princess, she hated her at first but as she grew older, it was refreshing, annoying and sometimes frustrating, but refreshing. 

Mina tapped the cigarette ash into the ash tray, it had a thick nicotine cover on it, the yellow clung onto the glass like a mask, it was shaped like an elephant leaf, her aunt loved those plants, her small house littered with them head to toe. She said they helped keep the demons away and made the air fresh. She missed those plants. The end of the cigarette always tasted the worst, she puffed out one last time before flicking the butt into the ash tray and headed back to her room. 

It was silent, the frog must have fallen asleep, Mina took a deep breath in and sat back down, she took her time as she wrote carefully, choosing her words with utmost intent. When she was satisfied she removed it from the machine and signed her name in pen, she glanced over at the book and sketched it into an envelope, when the ink dried she tucked the letter inside and sealed it with a wax stamp of the Ha family crest. Mina chanted the spell while one hand was placed on the letter, not forgetting to include Pocket's name. When she finished she flicked her other hand and the letter vanished and bubbled in a cloud of green. 

Vampires don’t tend to dream much, Mina was no different and yet she saw something, it was small at first, no larger than her thumb, she felt as if she were walking through mud as she approached and yet she couldn’t tell what it was, what color it was, its shape. It looked white to her in a void of inky black. She clawed at the shadows around her as she approached, the closer she got the more it took form. A throne of dazzling marble, small at first but grew and grew the more she reached for it. It grew to an impossibly large size, gold lined its intricate carvings, and yet she clawed for it, reaching as far as her arms would let her, her jaw tense, her legs sore. It was so close. 

There was a knock on her door, it creaked as it opened, the curtains screeched as they were pulled to the side, moonlight flooded the room on one tide. Her butler placed a cup of coffee on a coaster on top of her nightstand. Mina watched his green form move as from her peripheral vision as her head faced the ceiling. Not an ideal start to the night, she groaned as she forced herself up, something felt like it was holding her down, something plopped into her lap causing her to jolt awake. She glanced down in horror as she saw the frog lay there happily, it seemed to make a sort of happy chirp sound as it looked up at her. 

The Butler straightened up as he noticed Mina sat up. “Ah, good nightfall Miss Ha. I hope I didn’t wake you,” he said in a soft and polite manner, “You received a letter as you slept, it appeared on the coffee table of all places!” He chuckled then handed her the letter before bowing and leaving the room, shutting the door behind him. 

It wasn’t in an envelope, Mina scoffed as she unfolded it and read over it, Pocket's handwriting hadn’t changed much over the years, still as eloquent as it had always been, she hated them for it, their penmanship always felt like gloating. Despite that, the letter was surprisingly straightforward, they agreed to meet back where they had met a few days ago at 10pm, they even thanked her for telling them, she couldn't help but roll her eyes. It's not like I am returning the thing out of some goodness of my heart,  she thought, the bats just won’t eat the damn thing if I let them. The use of the letter was all but used up and yet she tucked it away in her nightstand drawer before she got up and began her nightly routine. 

Being late was something Mina saw as being sacrilegious as a child, she would grunt and make faces at those who were late to her parents meetings, when she got older she would keep a soft smile on her face as she mocked them, oh if only they saw her now. She lulled her head at a clock as she passed it, its hands read 10:15 on all of its sides, she hissed under her breath as she cut through an alleyway, she hated Pockets guts but at some point it would stop cutting from their time and instead into her character. Once she knew she was alone, she took off into the night, her wings piercing through the smoggy night. 

It only took a minute to reach the building, it looked like the work crew had been there that morning, the cones and tape had all been replaced and there on the roof sat Pocket on the edge, writing away in a notebook. Mina flew around a few times before swooping down and standing just on the ledge, her back heels only slightly on the brick. 

Pocket didn’t even flinch, too attuned into whatever they were writing. “You’re late. How?”

Mina shrugged and stepped down, she shuffled in her purse as she did so. “Oh you know, stuff.” She scooped up the spirit frog in her gloved hand and lifted it up gently, it seemed larger than it had when she woke up, she chose to shrug it off as misremembering. 

“Its never stuff with you and meetings,” They glanced up over their notebook glancing at Mina before darting their eyes at their frog. “What the hell is that?” 

The frog, now twice as large as it had been when it vanished, laid balled up in Mina’s palms with a cute black bow gently tied around its neck. It looked quite pleased with itself. “Oh,” Mina said casually, “I thought it looked dreadfully unfashionable and had a spare ribbon laying around. Inspiration waits for no one darling.” She said darling in a harsh and mocking tone causing Mina to smirk when they closed their notebook and sighed.

Pocket nodded slightly before standing up and placing their stuff in their suitcase, turning their back to Mina so she couldn’t peak in. “It is a nice bow, you always had great craftsmanship,” They closed their suitcase, now with a fabric measuring tape, something she had seen a million times, in hand when they turned, “But I am more concerned about the size increase.” They began to take measurements of the frog, their eyes keen and stern, it almost made the frog seem nervous, almost. 

“I did think something was off but spirits are weird. Could have been a million things not excluding me just forgetting its original size.”

Pocket paused before they took a step back and placed the tape measure one of their coat pockets, “Three typically,” they paced and tapped a finger against their palm, a light green appearing every time they did, bad habit Mina assumed. "Being content, they’d begun to feed on your energy, or something in the spirit world has made them feel unnerved enough to grow in our world.” 

Mina plopped the frog on the ground and nudged it toward the case, the frog refused to move an inch, “Well which of the three do you think it is, Fairfax?” She kept gently nudging the frog with her finger, each time becoming more forceful, “With you and all your wisdom of course.” She sneered. 

A murmur of complaint left Pocket’s lips before they took a breath, “The first one, I guess this one likes being out and about from the case compared to the others,” They went over and picked up the frog with one hand gently, the two’s hands grazed each other and even though it was through two layers of gloves, Mina cringed and moved her hand away. The frog squirmed as Pocket held it in their hand. “Good job.” 

Mina hissed. “Don’t patronize me.” 

“You managed to make a creature you had no idea how to take care of happy, even if  by complete accident, that's something to be proud of.” They weren’t looking at her anymore, their shirt collar covered their mouth, their hair just covering their dark eyes. Mina hated how hard they were to read sometimes. 

“I didn’t do it out of some goodness of my heart Arin, like I said in the letter-”

“I know.”

Mina closed her eyes tightly and shook her head in annoyance, “Good, you have your frog back, it doesn’t seem to have fed off of my magic, I can leave now.” She stood up, brushed some random dust off of her dress and coat, and began to walk towards the ledge when something stopped her.

A conversation faint and just behind her. A gruff accented voice spoke. “Why do you keep visiting that gal? You said yourself, she hates your guts.”

A voice undeniably belonging to Pocket spoke. “She would miss this little bat if she didn’t return.”

“To hell with the damn thing, just nurse it with your magic or the case’s. Pocket, don't put your life on the line again for some vampire girl's feelings.” 

“I truly wish it was that easy Krill.” A bubble popped and the voices stopped.

Pocket remained still, not turning around to wave her off or comment on the frogs strange quirk.

Mina held her purse tightly before shaking her head, vanishing into the night as quickly as she had appeared from it, no flare or glamour tonight, just her and the moonlight against her wings. 

Chapter Text

It was a week before October, the news papers talked about the dropping temperatures under the headline about Mina’s new fashion line, a photo of her front and center wearing one of her favorites from the line, a simple pleated dress that only went to just above the knee, ‘Scandalous’ an interviewee commented. Mina was wearing a different dress from the line that night, much longer and elegant dress, the line was coming out the following morning, a nice and simple Monday launch. 

It wasn’t as fun to host at her studio for investors to chatter while her works sat lifeless on mannequins around them, but her pesky secretary insisted and said it’d be “better for business.” Mina argued as much as she could but soon the event came too soon for her to hire models and she gave in. The wine in her glass swished as she spun it absentmindedly in her hand. 

The elites loved her work, not her: too saucy, too rude, too bratty, cursed. Being called cursed cut the worst, her family could never shake the allegations after Arin died on their 18th, rumors spread like wild fire that Mina was hexed by a witch when she was born, making her a rotten child and cursing anyone stupid enough to wed her. The rumor publication used a photo of her as a toddler with her aunt as proof a witch hexed her, called her aunt all sorts of nasty names, nothing her family said swayed their opinions. The rumor about the witch died down after her aunt passed, “respect for the dead” the journalist who published it said while doing a hail Mary. Even after all of that, she was cursed stained by someone's death she hardly knew about other than rank and status. Mina gulped the wine down in one go and flagged a server down for a refill.

A young man came to her side and silently filled her glass for the sixth time that hour, there was barely any alcohol content in the damn thing, Mina barely felt a buzz, regardless she waved the boy off. Something in the corner of the studio caught Mina’s eye, she took a sip from her glass before casually gliding over. 

A timid girl held her glass with both hands as she glanced meekly at the rest of the room, her long dark hair swept and curled to one side, her eyes black and wide, not too different than that of a doe. She stood awkwardly, shifting from one leg to the other. Mina recognized her immediately, small little Eva Fairfax all grown up, an engagement ring sat on her finger. Mina grimaced at the sight as she approached, shifting it to a smile when Eva noticed her.

“Oh Miss Mina, it's you!” Eva placed her glass on the tile floor and gave Mina a large hug like she did when they first met and she was smaller. “Oh Miss Mina, it's been ages, Mother said I’d never see you again.”

Mina chuckled softly, “Here I am in the flesh,” She wrapped her arms around Eva carefully, not wanting to spill her wine on Eva’s adorable pale hazel coat. She pulled back after a moment and Eva let go. Mina gave her a look up and down and smiled, Eva was wearing something from her Autumn 1947 collection, it’d been forever since she’d seen it, “You're almost all grown up, your birthday is soon, right? I could almost cry looking at you now.” She was lying but she did feel a tingle in her eyes seeing Eva again after so long. 

“Yeah my 18th,” Eva fidgeted with the ring on her finger with her thumb. “It’s scary to think about honestly, so much responsibility, so much change.” Her eyes didn’t meet Mina’s, her breath became shaky.

Mina locked her arm with Eva’s and gave her a soft look, “Here, let's go get some fresh air, okay?” She patted Eva’s arm and began to walk towards the back patio area, completely void of life this cold night. 

The moment the two were alone and Eva sat down in one of the cold iron garden chairs she burst into tears, she apologized as she did so but they just kept flowing. The poor girl, so young and so unprepared for what she had to face head on, stood on the tracks and the train's lights were rapidly approaching. Mina placed her drink down and held her tightly. She was terrible with being supportive but she knew she did something right when the doe buried her face in her shoulder, her hands clenched her back harshly. 

“I wish- I wish Arin was here,” Eva spoke shakily, her throat raw, Mina could feel her heart racing, scared of even the slightest movement. “Arin fixed everything, you know. Never let daddy get mad at us, always took the blame when we broke something on accident.” 

Mina rubbed her back gently, uncertain if she should speak or let the words fall from Eva’s mouth, she was certain the shoulder of her dress was ruined from the snot and tears though, but she would hold her tongue on that. 

“I just wish I could talk to Arin, one last time, get some sort of reassurance everything will be ok,” Eva let go and backed away, her makeup was ruined, her eyes red and puffy, and her cheeks were tender. “I feel terrible, Miss Mina, I feel like the worst girl in the world. I don’t love him, cupid has never struck me for anyone, not even a slight glance. He’s a good man, good family, good record, and so kind, but I look at him and I feel nothing. I am a monster.”

“You aren’t a monster, Eva,” Mina softly thumbed the tears away from Eva’s cheeks, she struggled to find the words and cursed herself internally before she sighed, “You are a wonderful young mind, even all those years back your mother said so, she spoke so highly of you, of your brain. Not to mention as a Fairfax you are higher up the social food chain than he probably is,” She forced a chuckle at the joke and it made Eva’s eyes soften. “Marry him for appearances and if he is truly as kind as he seems, he will be happy just to be in the Fairfax circle and you as his friend.” 

Even after that, Eva still thumbed at her ring, a small tacky thing, Mina hated the style, but it seemed humble and if her current outfit was similar to her everyday outfits, it matched well enough. At least he or someone in his family thought of her fashion taste, she thought. Eva stood up and puffed up her jacket, her head turned away from the glass doors. “Can you fix my make-up before we go back inside? If a journalist saw me in this mess before my birthday and the wedding, oh daddy would be so mad if it made it anywhere in the news.” 

“Of course, I'll make you look like a million bucks!”

Eva chuckled before she leaned against the iron bars and stared into the night sky, she remained silent as she just stared up, in a way it seemed like she was praying.

It only took a moment inside for Mina to find a make-up bag, she returned as fast as she left and began to touch up Eva’s face. The two didn’t talk as Mina worked, letting Mina’s mind wander back to the event from earlier that month. ‘I truly wish it was that simple’ from that bubble ran through her head, what could Pocket have possibly meant? Every time she thought of it her bats grew restless, she had to put poor Bonnie in a bird cage to ensure she didn’t escape at one point, hopefully her purse was secure enough in her private work area. 

When Mina finished her work, Eva looked even better than she had when she arrived and she couldn’t help but beam at her work. “You’re all done kid, you look great.”

Eva nodded meekly and fixed her hair. “Thank you Miss Mina.”

There was something Mina wanted to say but she hesitated before spilling it. “I have something from Arin, it’s small but I hope it can comfort you. I don’t have it on me but here,” She wrote down her address on Eva’s wrist and covered it with the jacket. “Go to the top floor in the morning after 10, I’ll give it to you. The inside is a bit of a mess so you can’t come in but I can give it to you outside the door.”

There was a speck of shock in Eva’s eyes, she gripped Mina’s hand. “Oh Miss, you don’t need to do that, Arin gave you that for a reason. You should keep it.”

Try as Eva might, Mina had made up her mind, she placed her hand up and shook her head. “I insist, it would be rude for you to turn down such a gift.” 

Eva nodded sheepishly. “I’ll be there as early as I can.”

“Good, now let's head back in shall we?”

The event came to a close at 11pm, the servers shuffled around grabbing glasses and empty bottles laying about, the cleaning crew mopped and sprayed down any unfortunate stains or splatters. Mina had cut off the shoulders from her dress and was resewing the seam to make sure it would stay up without the support. It was well into the night and while she was not hungry, something gnawed at her deep within, a feeling that refused to be shaken off. 

Using a fire exit, Mina climbed to the top of a smaller building and laid on her back on the rough flat ceiling, took out her sketchbook, and began to doodle away. The bats flew out of her purse with a start and began to play in the sky, they chirped and harmonized blissfully, their flight patterns calm and slow. Mina played the conversation with Eva over again, should she tell Pocket? Would they even want to know? Blast that stupid Fairfax, and their stupid face, and their stupid scarf, and their stupid case, and their stupid family. Mina scratched away at her paper as the conversation she had and the one from the bubble meshed and twined. The bats grew restless, their chirps became howls and their songs all but became undone. 

Bonnie perched on her sketch book and looked at her. A simple shaped creature of red and yet Mina knew she was beckoning, pleading, she howled low. Mina clenched her fist before huffing and petting the bat's forehead. The bat was still restless, it shuffled back and forth on the edge, Mina grew more annoyed as it did so. She wanted to swear at the bat, force it back into her purse and yet she knew it wouldn’t help, “Go.” Mina said in a reluctant tone, Bonnie didn’t hesitate for a moment and took off. The other bats followed suit, forming a small mass of red that pierced through the night. 

No amount of snapping or commands recalled the bats, Mina jerked up and slammed her sketchbook to the ground before holding her head in her hands. “Just one of you! Not all of you!” She screamed out, frustrated. The bats didn’t listen, disobedient little beasts.

Even with a running start and leaping from the building, Mina could not catch up with the bats, they were always so ahead and flew sporadically, it was nearly impossible for the vampire to keep up. Her wings grew tired by the time they entered an abandoned factory, she had no other choice than to transform back and even then there was a ripping violent pain in her back and arms. The brick wall scrapped her arm as she walked forward against the wall, her muscles were burning, how long had they actually flown? She had no clue. 

The building smelt of death, rank from water damage and mold, what a terrible place to willingly spend any amount of time in. The walls were littered with graffiti, names, signs, warnings of a terrible eclipse probably left by some raving unaccredited mystic. Mina saw her bats swarm and sneak into a room on the second floor. She struggled as she crossed the ground floor, avoiding rusted and burst pipes, broken glass and needles. It was difficult at first but her body healed ever so slowly and each step became a little easier, the pain more bearable. 

There was a soft green ball of light floating around in the office, some of the bats that had managed to get in chased it, others perched on random things and looked towards the corner that Mina couldn’t see because of the obnoxiously large desk blocking her vision. Mina jingled the doorknob, locked, she gave it a good shove and it held its unmoving station. It frustrated her to hell, she took a step back and bit her lip. The door seemed completely solid, she looked it up and down several times before realizing the wood was missing a decently sized chunk at the bottom, too small for a cat but perfect size for a bat. The pain increased once more when she transformed but in her small form she skittered into the room and bared it. 

Unaware of the bats resting on them, Pocket slept mostly soundly sitting on their suitcase in the corner, a shotgun limply held in their hand. It was probably around midnight now, it was impossible to know, the only clock in the room had lost its function years ago. The room was nice compared to the rest of the factory, must have been locked up tight for an important reason, Mina thought as she sat down next to Pocket, uncertain of what to do. 

There was so much Mina needed to know, she wanted to shake them by their shoulders and yell, scream until she felt better, until her pain went away, but she wouldn’t, she wouldn’t get the answers she wanted, she would never be satisfied. Right now she could go for a hard drink.

Pocket always seemed to have some sort of liquor on them, Mina sniffed to see if there was any obvious liquor, nothing, just the terrible smell of old carpet and paper. She was exhausted and achy with no idea how long it would take her to get back to her pent house, she hated it. The conversation from the bubble clawed itself back front and center, it teased her, mocked her, the Fairfax had to have been scheming something, that's why the frog brought it up. The frog had been trying to be merciful, tried to warn her, her hubris had caught up to her after so long.

“-Mina?” A groggy voice broke Mina’s over thinking, Pocket had woken up and she hadn’t even realized. 

“Arin.” Mina spoke bluntly, refusing to allow any emotion to creep out.

Pocket's fingers glowed a soft green, Mina jerked away once she realized they were trying to heal her. “Mina, your arm-”

“Nothing that can’t heal within a few minutes,” Mina’s face shifted, she forced a sly grin and a mocking tone, “You care far too much about people that wouldn’t give a shirt off their back for you,” She stood up, her back to them. “Just pretend I was never here. Get your rest, it would be a shame if something happened because you didn’t.” 

Pocket grabbed onto her hand, hard at first before they realized and loosened it. They wanted to say something, Mina heard the small gasps for breath as they stopped and started sentences. Mina flicked her free wrist for the bats to return to her purse but they refused, their cries soft but wailing, they refused to leave. For the first time ever, her might had lost. She could have slipped her hand out easily from their grip and yet she didn’t, stood there long enough for Pocket to form words. “We have only been in contact for a few months and every damn time it’s something. Nothing is an impossibility with you and I’m sure as hell you're holding your tongue now.” 

“The bats wanted to play, they adore those stupid frogs you know, don’t act so surprised.”

“If it were just that, they would have returned, you trained them well enough for that. Stop bullshitting me Mina.” Pocket got up off of their suitcase and stood behind Mina. A few frogs hopped out of the case and played with the bats.

“You are such a nuisance!” Mina sucked her teeth and gave a sarcastic laugh as she slipped her hand away. “I talked to your youngest sister, there, happy?” She walked towards the end of the long side of the desk and leaned against it. 

“What did she say? What happened?” Mina could hear their heart race.

“Eva was at a private showing of my upcoming line, she looked nervous so I took her outside to talk and the poor girl immediately started sobbing her eyes out,” Mina rubbed her bare shoulder, “She ruined this dress, I had to cut the sleeves off when she was done,” she sighed as Pocket sat in the middle of the desk, their lanky legs dangled off the edge, neither one faced each other. “She talked about how you fixed everything, she was so scared I felt like I was holding one of the lambs my aunt had again. There was only one thing she wanted and it was just to talk to you again, just to be comforted one more time like a kid.”

Pocket leaned back and took a deep breath in, “You didn’t make her feel worse, did you?” There was a hint of humor in their voice.

“Just because I would make you feel worse doesn’t mean I’d do it for all of your family members,” She paused before giving a faint smile, “I would make your father feel worse. He gives me the creeps.”

Pocket chuckled. “You're telling me, I wouldn’t even be at this place if he wasn’t the worst,” They leaned forward again, their head now lightly tilted towards her. “Thank you for talking with Eva, at least she knows she has you now, you're a pain in the ass but I know you’ll take care of her the best you can.”

The air in the room felt lighter, Mina watched the spirit creatures play without a care in the world and loosened up, “If I got too close to her, lord knows what the press would spin it into. She doesn’t deserve my reputation, I hand crafted it myself and like hell if I am just going to hand it over to someone else,” she snapped her fingers as she got up but her bats still refused to budge, despite that she still moved to the door as if they had listened. “That’s all I wanted to say, go back to resting or whatever you were doing.” 

“I can’t rest with all of these bats,” Pocket lifted their hand, a bat hung upside down from their finger, “They’ve never been this disorderly so far, that only leaves it up to you. Is something on your mind?” Their voice was soft but slightly accusatory.

Mina sneered, “Never mind them, it’s just been a long night and they were cooped up. They are just expelling that extra energy or something like that.” She watched as Pocket leaned against the wall next to the door and unlocked it, they just looked at her as she held onto the end of the doorknob.

Nothing happened for a minute, the two stood completely still, locked in their positions like chess pieces. Pocket placed their fingers on the other half of the doorknob, their pinkie gently on top of her middle finger. “Liars know each other, Mina, and I have spent so much time lying,” Their brooding eyes stared into hers sympathetically. “There is nothing you can say I can’t handle.” 

“I truly wish it was that easy Krill. Have these last few months been nothing but an act? Some-,” Mina grabbed their wrist, her teeth barred, “I finally started getting my flowers and you show your face after how long?!” She shoved her other palm into their shoulder, pinning them against the wall.

Pocket looked at her with pure confusion on their face, their breath shaky and heart racing. A few beads of sweat lined their brow. “Mina, you didn’t-”

“You ruined my life once already, do you think I am some sort of moron-”

“The frog didn’t play the whole conversation, it never does. I should have explained that night it happe-”

“So now the liar wants to be truthful? How lucky am I?!” Mina’s rage had reached its boiling point, her over-thinking, assumptions, and fear consumed any comfort from the moment prior. 

Pocket struggled to wrap their arm around Mina’s upper back, their arm slipped and locked their arm around her neck. Mina’s barred teeth pressed against Pocket’s neck as her head was jerked forward, “I just want to make peace with my past, make amends with those I may have hurt that have no contact with my father,” They moved their arm down from her neck, their harsh breath and pulse made the hair on Mina’s neck rise. “I can’t move forward with myself if I leave someone behind who suffered an unjust sentence because of my fathers violence.”

Some of the bats returned to Mina’s purse as Pocket's words sunk in, she didn’t fully believe them but the bubble's conversation no longer kept its grasp and faded. She kept her teeth pressed against their neck, her lipstick now smeared on part of their white shirt collar and neck. Pocket’s pulse reverberated through her teeth, the pumping blood made her realize how much of an appetite the flight had given her, she couldn’t move herself away, “I hate you, Arin.” She cursed through her teeth.

“You know what I really hate? Surprises, nothing good happens from them,” Pockets breathing sped up. “Just fucking do it already.”

A spirit frog fell back after one of Mina’s bats tackled it, she hissed at it, it croaked back, the bat latched onto its neck, viciously at first before it shifted and bit in a softer manner. The frog was content with the ordeal, it couldn’t feel pain after all and the bat wouldn’t kill it, it waited for the bat to finish and let go before leaping back and headbutting the bat.

A tea cup clattered against the saucer as Mina’s butler placed it next to her, she took a sip and closed her eyes in thought again. That was her fourth cup that morning, she had tried four different flavors and yet the taste of Pocket's blood refused to leave her lips. She had tried to read to get the sensation of her fangs piercing their flesh to leave her mind, to drink the tea to forget the taste, to draw to forget how they in some part enjoyed the pain, how she enjoyed hurting them. None of it seemed to work.

Eva would be arriving at Mina’s door at any moment if the grandfather clock in her living room was to be believed, its grand hands read 10:01, she must have blocked out the chiming of the hour. Mina held the handkerchief Pocket gave her at their engagement party, she thumbed its embroidery, so intricate and purposeful. She hadn’t even given it a second glance that night all those years ago, she threw it in a box when she got home, but she never forgot about it. In some part because she thought it an insult, such a lowly gift from someone so wealthy. After they ‘died’ she saw it as a reminder of a future she lost and kept it easily accessible in a jewelry box as a reminder that nothing could ever come that easy, not to be so comfortable and foolish. 

Mina tried to smell the handkerchief, tried to smell the past before everything, before the mourning, before the screaming matches with her parents, before her botched turning from some low rank random. To her dismay, it smelt much of nothing. At least it was easy to fold back into a more formal appearance. 

After a few minutes the doorbell rang, Mina sprang up and headed to the door while she arranged her robe to be more presentable. She put on a smile as she unlocked the door and headed into the hall. 

Eva was far happier this morning than last night, she wore two layers of soft warm autumn colors, her skirt thick and reached her ankles, with the addition of the boots, it must have been cold outside, “Good morning Miss Mina!” she beamed.

“Good morning to you too,” Mina did a little pretend bow with a non existent long dress. “I hope you slept well.”

“Oh I slept better than I have all week, actually today has been wonderful so far! I stopped by the bakery to order my birthday cake and apparently someone already ordered it,” Eva chuckled warmly, not unlike Pocket. Mina shriveled her nose for a moment. “Mother and Father didn’t, they've been busy and according to the baker they looked older than me, the baker said she didn’t get a good look at their face as she wasn’t wearing her glasses but assumed they must have been a Fairfax because of how specific the order was.”

Arin, you fool, that just makes you look like a creepy stalker, Mina thought before she nodded at Eva, “Are you sure it wasn’t a stalker? Sounds pretty creepy to me.” Mina said in a light hearted manner. 

“Oh that's such nonsense, it was probably my betrothed family who did it. His mother asked what my dream birthday cake would be and I told her my usual. I don’t think I am interesting enough to stalk.” Eva giggled. 

“Well you should always keep an eye out anyways, the city isn’t the kindest to bright eyed young women you should know,” Mina sighed before she held out the handkerchief, the green embroidery looped around the edge forming leaf patterns and different sizes of frogs, maybe it was how she folded it but it looked like the lines took the shape of the suitcase Pocket was always seen with, she shook it off before she placed it in Eva’s hand. “Here is that gift I promised, good luck and happy birthday Eva.”

Eva held it tightly, her hand shook as a tear streamed down her face. She smiled as she hugged Mina tightly. “Oh thank you, oh thank you. Curse those bastards that say terrible things about you, you’re the best!” 

Mina smiled as Eva let go, she turned away and covered her mouth as she yawned, “Alright Eva, I should be heading to bed, I couldn’t sleep at all last night because of how excited I was for the launch this morning. Thankfully everything went smoothly and you got your gift.”

“Alright, I should be heading home anyways, I have a piano lesson soon, mother hates when I am late for those.” Eva placed the handkerchief gently into her front coat pocket.

Mina nodded as she turned her back and began to open her front door, “One more thing, I’d hate to see rumors start before or just after your wedding that may stir issues, you should try and stick to sending letters for the next few months.” 

Eva tried to comment but Mina had already gotten inside and locked the door. She took a breath as she kept her palm against the doorknob, she hadn’t slammed it, she hoped Eva would just listen to her advice. Mina yawned once more and headed to her bedroom, her bats over head snuggled against each other and deep in slumber, lucky bastards. The soft bed engulfed her immediately when she collapsed on it, she wormed around to get into a comfortable position, closed her eyes, and became blind to the world. The only thing faintly on her mind was the taste of Pocket's blood and their racing heart, even then those faded when Sandman finally came for her.

Chapter Text

The Cursed Apple was decorated from its lowest street to highest tower the first day of October for the month of spooky festivities, the streets poured with people late into the night, booths were set up for the night to advertise. All morning the news played the warnings of the Friends of Humanity about monsters that sulked the streets, especially this month, but Mina waved her hand and her butler turned the television off so she could rest. The only issue with all of the people is if she felt peckish, she could not satisfy the itch, not yet at least. One day, she thought, one day when I am viscount I shall feast to my heart's content. 

A waitress dropped off Mina’s coffee, dark eyebags circled her eyes. It must have been a long shift with the few stains on her apron and a small burn on her arm, Mina looked her up and down like a hawk before giving her a smile and slid her a dollar. The waitress’ eyes flashed open as she placed her fingers on it, she pushed it back, “Miss your far too generous, your order was only a few cents.” Her voice was timid and tired.

“Nonsense, I know potential when I see it. A girl like you deserves to move on from a job like this into something better. This might be forward but you have the face of a model, you deserve more than some soul sucking job and a,” Mina thumbed the sleeve of the uniform, “tacky outfit.” She placed her business card next to the bill.

The waitress waited for a moment before she placed the bill and card in her apron pocket, “I,” She glanced around and lowered her tone. “I will think about it, miss.” 

As the waitress turned around and rushed off, Mina leaned back in the booth. It wasn’t very busy besides the few drunkards who stumbled in and a tourist family trying to relax while their young child fell asleep against the father. Mina had only ever used this place for meetings in the past, mostly with classmates who’d gossip while they studied and sneer at boys who tried to flirt with them like a pack of vipers. She sipped her coffee in peace as she waited and people watched, it had been so long since there were so many people out and about at an acceptable time for her. In an odd way she missed watching common people live their small lives. 

Bells clambered against the glass door as Eva rushed in, she was early by a minute or so and yet she acted like she was late, Mina perked up and pointed opposite her in the booth. She sat down out of breath and placed her bag on her side, pulled out her notebook and pen, and flipped it open to a page with scribbles. 

Mina looked at it with some interest, she sipped at her coffee after she took a long glance over it. She closed her eyes and placed the cup back down, “So, what's with the notebook?” Her tone was snoopy and direct. 

“Constilations Miss Mina, every night I try and track where the stars are,” Eva turned the notebook around so Mina could get a better look, she pointed at some lines and dots with her capped pen, “Also the moon phase but that is easy to slap in a corner. Do you see how odd some of these constellations are?” She flipped to a previous page and back, pointing at the same area on the pages.

Mina could barely make head or tails of it until she noticed a few stars seemed to appear out of nowhere, she pointed at them when Eva flipped to the latest page. “I don’t think I have ever seen those before, then again it's a bitch to see any stars in this city but they look so odd.” 

“I know! Also the world is full of surprises but stars appearing out of nowhere?! It's all so odd,” Eva pointed her cap to a star she had colored in a faint blue. “This one is always hanging over that really weird and mildly haunted hotel, The Baroness I think? And according to some astrology books it only appeared randomly one day!” Eva leaned back in the booth and took a breath to calm herself. 

Mina finished drinking her coffee and circled her finger on the rim. “You seem knowledgeable on the subject, spit it out.”

Eva leaned forward and Mina followed, in a hushed tone the girl spoke, “I know it’s something big for sure,” She glanced around before she leaned in again. “I told father about it and he got this weird smile on his face and waved me out of the room. I heard him call some of his buddies, whatever it is, father thinks it’ll be good for business,” Eva leaned back and smiled. “Oh but you didn’t hear that from me.” 

“Freaky, I hope it doesn’t affect my Winter line, I haven’t even begun to work on it yet.”

“It just appeared,” Eva played with the cap of her pen. “I heavily doubt it’ll affect anything this year.”

Mina sneered and flashed her teeth at the drunkards when she noticed them watching Eva like a hawk, some of them returned to their sobering coffee, one of them continued. Mina tapped Eva’s arm, “Come on kid, we’re getting out of here. I think I saw someone giving out free bookmarks to promote the calligraphy club.” She stood up and blocked the eyesight of the leering stranger. 

There was disappointment in Eva’s eyes but she nodded and cleaned up quickly, slipping everything into her bag. Mina followed closely behind as she held Eva’s back and forced her to walk faster, the girl tripped slightly on her heels as she did so but in under a minute they were out in the cold Autumn city air. Mina slipped to Eva’s side when she confirmed no one was following, she took a breath of relief, she didn’t have to fight someone tonight. 

A bat flew out of Mina’s purse and landed gently on Eva’s shoulder, Eva yelped and jumped at it before Mina grabbed the bat's small red body and held it in her palm. Eva laughed as she got a better look at it, a few nobodies walked by as the two took up space on the busy sidewalk, Eva rubbed the bats little forehead and smiled. “You never struck me as a pet person, let alone a spirit pet person.”

Mina shook her head and huffed, “I really am not a pet person really,” She continued to walk and gently placed the bat back into her purse. “It's like that suspicion with cats, you might not want them but they will always crawl to you and you’ll adore them to bits. Doesn’t make them any less bothersome or annoying.” 

There was a pause before Eva glanced over, “You never struck me as someone with arcane abilities, is your purse magic? Maybe the charm?” Eva took a hard look over for any signs of magic from the objects.

“Your family are such freaks when it comes to magic, you know that?” 

Eva smiled meekly. “It’s the family business, I do wish I could do magic without the help of something. But it seems you can, there is hardly anything magical about that bag other than its brand.”

Mina playfully put up her hands, “You got me,” She remembered the spell Pocket used and chanted it under her breath and flicked her hand, a bright red rose appeared on her nose. “Don’t tell anyone.”

Eva laughed as a tear rolled down her cheek, she plucked the rose from Mina’s nose and placed it in her hair. “Reminds me of the spell Arin would cast sometimes, when we were sick or just sad there came Arin and a silly little flower nose.” 

“A-” Mina paused and sighed, “A friend or whatever taught me it, I didn’t know Arin had arcane capabilities. Feels like something that would have been on the agreements.” She said the final part with a huff. 

Eva looked at the dreary night sky and held up her palm, the red light from a neon sign slipped through her fingers, “No one knew besides us kids, it wasn’t much, Arin always stressed that. So we never said anything. I think if father found out, especially that Arin had been hiding it from him,” She shuttered and placed her hand on her chest. “I think a shot through the heart would have looked merciful in comparison.” 

The two walked silently as they entered a bustling plaza packed full of booths and people, the crowds buzzed around, many tourists with hefty cameras snapped photos with unconsenting bystanders in the background. Most of the booths were people selling horror related books, Mina picked one up about a vampire woman and her mistress for a few cents, she grimaced at the feeling of the pulp pages but at least she knew it would be entertaining. Eva was at a different booth decorating a wooden bookmark with stamps, Mina couldn’t help but feel jealous of the gentler hand she was given, sure she had a loveless marriage approaching her but who hadn’t? She sat on a bench that faced a fountain, mindlessly flipping through the pages. 

Something nagged at Mina as she went through the book, their coarse pages rubbed the ends of her fingers smooth, but it wasn’t the book, her thumbs nail landed on a line where the two characters were yelling at each other, one offered her heart to prove loyalty, Mina didn’t read on and slammed the book shut, a small hole now left in the page permanently. She looked up at the skyline in a sorry attempt to see the stars, only for her inky black eyes to land on an ancient advertisement of Pocket holding a frog, their face smeared to near unrecognizable shapes but she knew that frog and that brand, she knew the Fairfax’s had a nasty habit of using their children as free marketing. The mural had to be ten years old at that point, such a cruel family, the Fairfax’s. 

With a snap, Mina opened up her lighter and cupped her hand over the end of the cigarette, the butt end pierced tightly between her lips, she let the fire lap over her fingers for a moment before snapping the lighter's lid closed, and took a long puff in. The burn stung worse as the mural stuck in her head, even as she held her eyes tightly shut, it had been there for so long, why only now had she noticed? Why only now did it bother her? Pocket’s face stuck to her mind like tar and it refused to melt away, that night a week ago they looked at her with- 

Mina jolted slightly when Eva tapped her gently on the shoulder, she tapped the ash off of the end of her cigarette on the side of the bench as she peered up. “What?” She said it with more venom than she meant and took another puff instead of apologizing. 

Eva sat down next to her, she was a little fritzed by Mina’s tone but she didn’t show it on her face, she handed Mina a wooden bookmark, her name written in four beautiful strokes, “I hope you like the star stamps, I think I went a little overboard with them.” She gave a soft giggle. 

Wet inky stars lined the thin birch plank, some of it blotched onto Mina’s thumb, “They are quite,” Mina put out her cigarette on the concrete leaving a black smudge and flicked the butt at the side of a bald tourist's head. “Unique.”

“Sorry, the stamps weren't in the best shape after some little kids got to them first.” Eva looked down at her own, the stars just as wonky.

Mina couldn’t help but soften, annoyed at the imperfections but they couldn’t be helped, “Do you remember that party our families had around five years ago?” She didn’t look at Eva anymore, just the wonky little stars. 

Eva gently fanned the ink on her bookmark gently with her glove. “A little, after you know what, it's a little fuzzy to me now. I know it happened though. Why do you ask?”

“During the dinner after the papers were signed, the gifts, and the formalities, I saw Arin run off. We were at the ladies end of the table having our chats but I think something my father and yours made Arin,” She paused, she had heard how her father talked about women her entire life, she was his gem, his girl but how he talked about other women, even her aunt, his sister, her brow creased. “Skittish.”

“I remember father turning as red as a radish, his fist slammed so hard it spilt mothers tea on her, I think you ran after Arin, yeah?”

“Yes, still don’t know why but I did, I think I just wanted to get away from the table,” Mina chewed on the inside of her mouth for a moment before she shifted on the bench and spoke again, “Somehow we ended up on the balcony and Arin had one of your fathers exotic import liquors, strong stuff especially for our age. We drank so much, especially Arin, I think fish would have turned green with envy. We just drank, then talked about some really bad books, ranted about who knows what, and Arin fell back on the ground. We just looked at the stars after that. Did you know the stars look ethereal through the bottom of a bottle?” She felt her purse shuffle around before Bonnie flew out, the bat nervously shuffled before seeing Eva and taking off into the night. Mina cursed under her breath, her eyes lifted to the Grebb ad. 

Eva’s eyes followed too, her mouth hung open for a moment before she swallowed and spoke timidly. “You asked your question, now I get mine. You seemed so confident with the advice you gave me last week, I need to know just to put it to rest,” Her voice lowered to a whisper. “Did you love my brother?” 

“No.” Mina knew it was true and yet the word she had said a million times felt wrong. It was true, she never loved a son, brother, or man named Arin Fairfax, that man was buried nearly 5 years ago. Mina hated the feeling of uncertainty and yet Pocket made her feel like a turtle with her soft belly up. She furrowed her brow as she looked longer at the ad before forcing her eyes open, “I have never loved a man named Arin Fairfax, and I never will.” She said it with such venom that Eva glanced down at the ground.

“Thank you for your honesty, Miss Mina,” Eva’s hair hid her face before she leaned back slightly with a small smile on her face, “I guess we are in the same boat. Could you ride with me in the taxi on my way home?” She fixed up her coat as she bounced up from the seat.

Mina put on a confident face and smiled, “Sure, you're paying though I didn’t bring taxi money and I sure am hell not paying to go to that house again, ever.” She emphasized the ever, the place made her skin crawl ever since the marriage was a bust, something so elegant yet so fake, everything in that house was rotting from the inside and it took her so long to realize. 

Mina walked reluctantly behind Eva as they headed towards the street, a frog stopped her, she knew whose it was, the faint green glow and markings gave it away, and picked it up using a handkerchief before putting it in her purse. Eva hadn’t noticed as she waited by the taxi, its bright yellow door sprawled open. 

The Fairfax Industries tower loomed over the Fairfax manor, the entire building seemed swallowed up in shadow. Mina sat as far left and away from the building as she could, she admired the architecture, she couldn’t deny that but everything else, so tacky, so last century. She waved Eva goodbye but someone stood just out of view by the door, someone well dressed in a fitted suit Mina could barely not see past the shoulders of because of the taxi’s roof. 

As soon as the taxi’s doors shut, Mina made commands through bared teeth, “Drive me as far away from here as the rest of your paid rate will let you, I don’t care where.” Her nails clawed into the back of the driver's seat.

The taxi only drove less than a half mile but it was far enough for Mina to get that creeped out sensation off of her back. She dipped out of view from the street and flew to the top of a random corner shop, she let her legs dangle over the edge as she placed her purse to the side and pulled out the frog wrapped in the handkerchief. It was a different one than the one she tied a ribbon on, much smaller, yet it still seemed to be content as she held it, eyes closed and relaxed. Mina sneered, “I could teach you how to train them,” She said in a mocking tone, flapping her hand like a mouth. “What a joke.”

Chapter Text

Alcohol Dehydrogenase, Mina learned the term in her final year of high school, it's the enzyme that metabolizes alcohol, making it less harmful to the human body. Something her teachers didn’t know was that the enzyme altered the taste of blood, making it sweeter and richer. Mina’s fangs sunk deeper into the neck of a woman who asked her out to some kind of random dingy queer club in Manhattan; she wouldn’t remember her face by the next night, she never did with these flings that used her as some sort of experiment. She would drink with them, get their heart racing, flirt and steal a few glances, take her bite, and leave. It was all so methodical, so simple.

The woman clutched onto Mina’s back, rosary in hand which made Mina’s back tingle and feel warm every time it grazed the back of her coat, they were in a random hall so no one would interrupt. Mina’s lipstick was smeared on the woman's lips and neck, she licked away the small pearls of blood as she pulled away when she was satisfied. Despite the woman's cries for her to return, Mina turned her back and re-entered the main part of the club; she couldn’t even remember the woman's name. 

The buzz Mina had before her meal was running out, she needed to fix that, fast. The Ixian barkeep smiled when he saw Mina approach again, “The usual, sweetheart?” He turned his back to grab a glass, his tail swayed joyfully for the big tip he knew he was about to get.

“Something heavier, dealer's choice.” Mina slid 50 cents towards the barkeep. 

The Ixian nodded and within a moment poured a bourbon and pushed it towards her, slipping one quarter into his pocket and the other into the register. “Enjoy.”

Mina sipped on it until she noticed the frog in her purse begin to act strangely, it wiggled and croaked as if it had just woken up from its slumber acting more active than it had in the last few days. She sipped on the bourbon with one hand and grabbed the frog with the other. The small glowing thing squirmed in her gloved hands, it almost seemed to scream and hiss as it tried to free itself. “Oh my god you're just as dramatic as your master,” The frog slipped itself free from her fingers and immediately bolted towards a crowd. “Shit!” Mina gulped down her drink and ran after. 

The frog was much faster than Mina had expected, she swore under her breath as she ran through crowds and bumped shoulders until she reached the door to the fire exit. The frog squeezed its body flat under the door, Mina followed the tricky thing outside and up the creaky metal stairs. Eventually the strange duo made it to the top and with one majestic leap the frog landed on someone's chest. It croaked low and concerned. 

There, back laid against the edge of the building, was Pocket, haphazardly allowing one leg to dangle off of the building. Facing the stars they had no idea Mina’s eyes burned through them, their hand gently rubbing the top of the frog's head. It was frustrating how careless they seemed at that moment, completely unaware of the world around them, it made Mina’s blood boil. 

As Mina slowly crept forward she watched as Bonnie crawled out from under Pockets scarf and bit the frog, she grumbled in disdain as the two creatures played. She had no idea why the creatures seemed to adore each other so much and it frustrated her so, her mind clung on to it she didn’t even notice the bottle in front of her as she kicked it, causing Pocket to jolt up. 

Pocket eyes met Mina’s fearfully, she could see the cogs in their brain turn before they recognized her. They pouted as they wobbly stood up. “Minaaa, I missed you, where have you been????” 

“Jesus, look at the state of you,” Mina’s face scrunched as they got closer, the smell of liquor oozed off of them somehow masking the smell of their familiar magic. Her eyes glanced at the bottles around them, all wreaked of low quality and cheapness, no wonder why they drank so much. It probably took at least three to even start and feel something, Mina thought annoyed, “I don’t owe you my presence, you know?”

Pocket never seemed like a happy drunk yet there they were grinning like an idiot, Mina’s ears flushed slightly as she rolled her eyes and looked away from their face, “Mina,” They said in a soft voice, they leaned haphazardly against her with an arm her shoulder tenderly as if they were old friends. Their fingers glowed that familiar green as their hand brushed up across the sky. “The stars, oh what stories they have… Something big is going to happen, you know? Something… Oh would you believe it?” 

Mina couldn’t quite translate the drunken rambles and shrugged their arm off annoyed. Yet something itched at her neck, she peered between those sickly green fingers into the night sky, somehow through the city's light pollution and layers of smog she could see two small opposing stars pierce through the sky as sharp as daggers. The hair on the back of her neck raised as she forced her eyes closed, “You are a real wonder, you know that Pocket?” She knew they were alone and yet the feeling of being watched burned through her, she was never the flighty kind but the night sky felt wrong, off in a way she couldn’t put into words. She took a sharp breath and spoke sternly. “We should leave. Now.”

Thankfully Pocket was not in an argumentative mood and nodded, picking up their case and the spirit pets sluggishly before the two began their descent quickly and quietly.

The pair didn’t talk much as Mina held Pocket up, they stumbled a few times over seemingly nothing and tried to flirt with her but she kept going, her gun held in her spare hand. She still had the feeling the two were being watched but every time she glanced around there was nothing, it made her stomach feel uneasy. She was herself a little more than tipsy and yet here she was having to be caring in some way, she hated Pocket's guts for making her do something she was already bad at. At least when they made it to a slummy hotel they had a cheap room to spare, the receptionist warned it only had one bed and no windows but Mina didn’t care at that point, she paid the nightly fee and helped Pocket get to the cheap room. 

Immediately Pocket fell onto the creaky bed with their dead weight, their suitcase under their stomach in a way that looked uncomfortable. Mina sighed as she took off her boots, the room was surprisingly not too disgusting for its price tag, not somewhere she ever thought she would be caught dead in, but it would work well enough for Pocket, why waste so much money on someone who ruined her life after all? She removed her coat and watched as Pocket kicked off their loafers and struggled to worm out of their much too large coat, she couldn’t help but giggle at the ridiculous sight. She folded her coat against the back of a chair and placed her purse by the legs, her bats flew out and hung from the ceiling fan. 

Mina sat next to Pocket and tried to help them remove their coat, Pocket grumbled as she did and she grumbled back in annoyance before after some time, the coat came off. The scarf and neck tie came off next with much ease letting Mina sigh in relief. It was odd, Pocket’s mood, Mina always took them as a moody sad drunk, yet here they were flirtily mumbling what sounded like her name and being clingy, she couldn’t help but find it a little cute. No, not cute, she thought to herself as she buried it before it got too much. Much to Pockets grumbling Mina moved the suitcase out from under them, using the sleeve of their coat so she didn’t have to touch any part of that accursed thing.

After sometime Pocket had situated themself under the covers, Mina sat on the other side of the bed and faced the door, it was locked and bolted as much as it could be but she still felt an unease. Pocket was more use to her alive than dead as much as she hated that fact, she needed to at least keep an eye on them, just for tonight. Pocket's arms wrapped around her waist causing her to get distracted from her goal, she tried to remove their arms but they gripped her with surprising strength considering how small their arms were. 

Pocket mumbled something Mina couldn’t hear which made her more frustrated. She gritted her teeth as she turned and laid next to them, “Speak up, damn you! I can’t hear you when you mumble, it's annoying!” Her tone was harsh and unforgiving. 

Pocket moved their arms up to Mina’s upper back and held her close, their eyes barely held themselves open. “Minaa, I love-” Their voice slurred the last word but she knew what it was. 

“You. You disgust me, your skull is so thick you can’t seem to get through it that I hate you!” Mina’s voice was heavy and uneasy, “You couldn’t even actually die those years ago, instead you chose to come back and haunt me, taunt me, you waste your breath on pleasantries on someone who doesn’t want them,” She froze as they buried their face in her shoulder, their heart rate slow and calm. A tear rolled down her cheek and she wiped it away unapologetically and childishly, her arms slowly wrapped around them, her palms softly rubbed their sweater vest. “I hate your sweater, it makes you look like a bigger idiot.” 

It wasn’t even close to morning but Mina couldn’t help but feel her eyes struggle to stay open, she had a meeting with her parents at noon but she couldn’t help but slowly drift off as she faced Pocket, the song of their heart hummed gently and she couldn’t resist.

The sound of someone knocking on the door made Mina jolt awake, a lamp was flipped on and Pocket was nowhere to be seen, their suitcase and coat still where they were left. “It’s 9, you got an hour to get,” The man on the other side of the door yelled, “We’ll charge ya more if your sorry asses aren’t out.” She listened as the heavy footsteps left before getting up and stretching, she smelt terrible and desperately wanted a shower. 

Mina pounded on the door of the bathroom. “Hurry up in there! Some of us need to look presentable!” 

“Oh come on!” They groaned. “Just a few more minutes I haven’t had a hot bath in ages!” 

Mina huffed and pounded again. “I don’t care, hurry up! Otherwise if you’re paying the late fee.”

“Real mature, Mina, real real mature and classy.” Mina heard them rinse their hair before the drain was unplugged and made a loud gurgling sound. 

Despite the drain being unplugged, Pocket still took a few minutes to get out of the bathroom, Mina clicked her tongue and watched the spirits play with each other. They seemed to play some form of tag, the bats would bap the frogs and then fly off as the frogs would chase back and headbutt them, the cycle continued until Pocket opened the bathroom door. 

“All yours, your highness.” Pocket said in a light but snarky tone. 

Mina couldn’t help but look down and stare at the scar on their chest, it just missed their heart, they had told her but she had never seen it herself. The scar was healed but there was a noticeable indent and bumpy scar tissue around it, forming some odd misshapen star. She noticed their curious look at her and looked away, she hadn’t even noticed they were standing there with just a towel around their waist and their clothes hung over their arms. 

“It's rude to stare.” Pocket said jestfully.

“I just have never seen you shirtless,” Mina pointed broadly at the scar. “Especially not with, you know.”

“I haven’t seen you shirtless either.”

The two just stood in front of each other silently for a minute.

“Heh, guess I’m still too hung over to think over my words. I should probably shut up.” Pocket’s face was slightly flushed, their heart-rate elevated. 

“Yeah, probably the first good idea you’ve had this week.” Mina entered the bathroom and shut the door behind her.

The bathroom was dimly lit with only a flickering light over the sink, it was cramped and dingy, the sink and toilet looked archaic while the bathtub looked like it was shoved in within the last few years. Mina groaned as she didn’t see an extra towel nor any soap, cheapskates, she cursed. She chose to walk to the sink and pulled out a small tube of lipstick and handkerchief, she dampened the end of the cloth and dabbed away any leftover makeup from the night before in the crusty mirror before cursing herself as she saw her lack of reflection. There was no real reason to get fancied up again since she was going to just take a shower when she got home, she reapplied her lipstick combed through her hair with her fingers, she still wanted to look somewhat presentable. 

“Hey are you dressed out there?” Mina interrogated through the bathroom door.

“I think I already did enough embarrassing things last night for my monthly quota,” Pocket groaned in response. “Pretty sure I spent more time getting all the frogs in the case than getting dressed.” 

Mina opened the door and grabbed her brush out of her purse, not bothering to look at Pocket. “I thought you had those things trained?” She said cattily, smirking as she saw Pocket rub the back of their neck from the corner of her eye. 

“They are trained well enough, just a little hard to deal with this raging headache.” They whined, now sat on the bed with the case positioned between their feet. Mina noticed the glowing from their fingers when she turned around and shook her head. She playfully chucked a bottle of paracetamol at them square in the chest. “What the hell?”

“Take one of those, I am not paying that fee because you want to be stupid and tucker yourself out again.” Mina brushed the few tangles out of her hair before curling her hair towards her face and fluffing the back and sides of her hair. 

From the corner of Mina’s eye she saw Bonnie snuggled up with the frog she had been keeping an eye on, both comfortably laying on the bed. She grimaced at the sight before sighing, “Do your frogs have any names? It seems you have more of them than my bats but I don’t think I have ever asked.” She caught the pill bottle as Pocket threw it back gently and dumped the brush and bottle into her purse haphazardly.

Pocket made a clumsy attempt to casually separate the two with the palm of their hand, Bonnie bit them in defiance and clung onto them as they gently tried to shake her off, “ow ow, yeah this one, ow,” they gestured to the frog on the bed before gently pinching the sides of Bonnie's jaw and gently removing her. “This is Spatterdock, at least that's what it says anyways.”

“Like the flower, the Everglades I think?” Mina chose to ignore the last comment as the memory of a voice from the box crept to her. They can keep that weirdness to themselves, they aren’t my problem, she scowled.

A faint smile appeared on Pocket’s face as they got up and grabbed their coat, “I am surprised you know.” They attempted to hand Mina their coat with a soft look in their eyes. 

Mina pushed the coat back with a hand as she grabbed her own coat, “My aunt loved plants, she wasn’t great at taking care of them but she loved learning about them,” She bit the inside of her cheek to hide the creeping sadness in her voice. She coughed as she composed herself and sneered. “I hope you know I am not wearing that.”

“I know you probably have a million complaints about it but I’d be the world's biggest asshole if I was the reason you got burnt,” They looked at her sheepishly but never met her eyes. “You wouldn’t be in this situation if it weren’t for me.” 

“I wouldn’t be in most of my current situations if it weren’t for you, genius,” Mina flicked their arm in annoyance, “Anyways I have that planned ahead for emergencies. You don’t think I carry around an umbrella for some love of the game, do you?” She slipped on her coat and tied it tightly around her waist, it covered most of her exposed skin except for her chest and up. 

Pocket’s soft laugh was infectious, Mina couldn’t help but scowl as she felt her mood lighten, “I think-” They paused, “Well I guess I never really put too much thought into it.” Bonnie snuggled into their coat collar as they put on their over-sized coat, the red bat stood out like a sore thumb against the faded greens of the coat. Yet despite the contrast, she looked like she was at home, Mina hated it. 

There was a bump outside the door that caused the two to snap out of any train of thought or snappy responses they might have had, Pocket’s hand instinctively gripped onto their suitcase. Mina could feel their heart rate rise ever so slightly, she kinda liked it when they were on edge. Mina rolled her eyes as she casually walked to the door and opened it, the door creaked open with some force only for Mina to be faced with the sight of a dirty hotel wall across a thin hallway. She couldn’t help but snort to Pocket's dismay, “Alright jumpy, let’s head out.” She said in a mocking tone that made Pocket huff in disapproval. 

It was pouring outside, the clouds hung dark and heavy and made the sky seem as if the sun never rose. The rain beat against the hotel’s small cloth canopy with an unrelenting force it sounded like it would give out on the twos head at any moment. A cigarette sat pierced between Mina’s lips as she struggled to light it, the wind snuffing the flame every time she tried to light the end. She swore loudly as she threw the lighter on the ground, the damp floor dulled the sound of the metal hitting concrete. 

“You got a light in that case of yours?” She asked, annoyed.

Pocket held the case unmoving and watched up at the sky as thunder crumbled overhead. “Probably. Now's a terrible time to get anything out of it though, they love the rain.” 

“The frogs? Oh come on I know those pills have had to have kicked in by now you can't control a few stray spirit frogs? What even is in that case anyways?”

Pocket didn’t meet her eyes, their face as unfeeling as stone. “... Something dangerous.”

“Oh come on,” Mina shoved the cigarette in her coat pocket. “I don’t think a few frogs are all that dangerous, you’re a terrible liar, you know.”

Lightning struck nearby causing a loud boom to echo out, Pocket's eyes met Mina’s but there was no softness to them, they looked almost dull even. Mina felt her lip flair up at the scene before she noticed their hand. It held on tightly to the case, their knuckles white, their fingers illuminated with that accursed green, the case itself shared the magic color as an etched in rune she hadn’t noticed until that moment flickered softly. 

“Jesus you’re weird,” Mina jeered, her nose furrowed, she thought for a moment before she shoved her umbrella into their free hand, “Here hold this, I’ll hail us a taxi.”

Pocket lingered under the awning as Mina attempted to step out, they held the umbrella straight but didn’t move, “Mina- I have nowhere to go. Don’t waste your money on me.” Their tone sounded almost exacerbated, it was too late to not waste money on them anyways. 

There was a momentary pause before Mina shrugged, "I'll just get one for myself then,” She gave a forceful sarcastic chuckle, “No big deal.” She would never tell them but she really didn’t want to up and leave them, she didn’t know why, she didn’t have a particular reason. But oh the look in their eyes and their drunken rambles, she needed to dissect them, get into that odd brain of theirs.

Neither one moved from their position, both waiting for the other to move like some form of mental chess. “Well?” Pocket looked at her confused.

In one swift movement Mina grabbed an end of their scarf and wrapped it around their face, covering their nose and mouth, “How about we just walk? It shouldn’t be too far from here.” She had more to say but held her tongue. She would never let herself look like she wanted their company, she would never show them weakness. 

Pocket still looked confused but if they had any comments they kept it to themself, only giving her a nod and following along as she led the way, keeping her pace as the two headed off into the unforgiving storm. 

The weather overhead raged on as cars and buses passed slowly by, neither one spoke as they walked side by side, Mina hated how they refused to say anything but gritted her teeth, why did she care if they spoke? Pocket if anything was a sign of bad tidings, showing up after dying and ruining her life unapologetically? Appearing drunk at a random club she was at and causing their stupid frog to interrupt her drinking? The words they mumbled in their drunken state bounced around in her head, they couldn’t have meant it, no it had to be some game, she just had to prove it before it festered into her brain like that stupid bubble conversation. They couldn’t be that stupid as to fall in love with someone that hates their guts.

Without warning Mina held her hand up and Pocket stumbled slightly, a slight confused look on their face. “Do you remember anything from last night?” She spoke sternly and glared as their eyes met, she needed a straight answer. The rant she went on struck her for a moment but her face did not shift. 

Pocket rubbed their thumb gently against the metal of the umbrella's arm and closed their eyes, “Nope, nothing. I think- I remember the stars but anything after that is gone,” They opened their eyes and shuffled the umbrella under their arm, a bit of water got on Mina’s head making her yelp in disgust before she got closer. Much to her pleasure at least, they grabbed out a lighter from their coat. “Oh and that I have this.”

Mina grabbed it violently out of their hand as she grabbed out her cigarette and tried to light it, the wind snuffing out the flame even as she cupped it with her hand. Pocket shifted the umbrella back into their hand and rotated it so the wind was blocked. The wind raged against it and they became all but soaked in the cold unrelenting rain, but Mina was happy as her cigarette lit after one more spark. The lighter clicked pleasantly shut as she took a long draw and blew it out of her nose, the familiar sting felt nice, “Yeah the stars,” The admission from last night lightened but still lingered, her words came out more passively than she liked, “They looked… odd… but you seemed incredibly hellbent on there being something more.” 

Pocket's heart rate picked up, maybe it was because of how close they were or something else but Mina felt like she could hold it, it felt oddly nice, her ears flushed as she tried to distract herself but counting the random out of state plates as the cars passed them by. “I know it stressed me out but can’t put into words why. Probably should just ignore it.”

“I’ve been trying to ignore you in general for months now.” She hissed.

“You found me.” 

“You looked like you were moments away from making a terrible new art display for the tourists.” Mina flicked away the butt end of her cigarette annoyed. 

“I’d be one damn nice piece of art at least," Mina hated how they spoke so unseriously about the potential of them dying. “But I think I have died more than enough on New York's streets for one lifetime.” 

Mina sucked her teeth and forcefully nudged them down the alley way to the building's side door, “Here the side entrance is this way,” she chewed on the inside of her mouth as she tried to hold her tongue, the two’s footsteps echoed against the wet brick walls, “You’re more useful alive than another victim of this city. You suck but you have your uses, lord knows I need to be informed on the newest occultly news if I am going to shake those annoying old batty hags.” She spoke nonchalantly but she wanted her words to lack warmth, even if their words last night were just drunken thoughts she couldn’t feed into it. 

The two kept walking, that old dilapidated door just in view. Pocket didn’t make an attempt to speak again, their pace steady but slightly slower than Mina’s. It annoyed her, every time she tried to get to the door faster thick water droplets hit her head. If she hadn’t known their worth or said her spiel she might have tried to choke them out of sheer petty rage. 

The back hall of the apartment building still rank as it always did. It was today oddly comforting in a way until she remembered her guest behind her and scrunched her face in disgust. Yet there was nothing, no snide comment, no subtle gasp of surprise, just the sounds of Pocket closing the umbrella and shaking it off. Mina turned around and saw them fixing their scarf, her umbrella propped up against the wall, their suitcase still held harshly. Pocket looked ridiculous. 

It was easier to fix Pockets scarf with two hands than one, Mina made quick work of it, anything to get them to leave faster. She never got a good look at them last night when they were so close but she did now, their dark eyes were surrounded by darker eyebags, their cheeks gaunt but sharp, they were surprisingly well shaven and had smooth skin for someone on the run. What a waste of nice features on someone like them. 

“You’re staring again.” Pocket said softly.

Bonnie was snug in the folds of Pocket's scarf before Mina grabbed her gently and stepped back to put her in her front coat pocket, “Just looking for Bonnie.” She hated how she felt her ears slightly flush. 

Pocket nodded and leaned up against the wall, “Is it alright if I wait out the storm in here?” They held out the umbrella towards Mina.

Mina huffed as she pushed the umbrella back at them, “No because I'll be the one bitched at for letting some street rat into this place without supervision. Just keep the umbrella, I am sure we’ll somehow run into each other again and I have a bunch of them.” All she wanted was some alone time and a shower, how hard of a request was that? 

“Do I look like a charity case?” Pocket smirked humorously.

“Yes.” Mina’s face and tone was flat. 

Pocket tilted their head away from Mina, their shirt collar covered their expression, “Can’t say I didn’t walk into that one.” They didn’t budge even as Mina tapped their leg with the tip of her boot. 

Mina didn’t need to see their face to know they were stalling, did they want to keep talking to her or just wait out the rain? She didn’t care, she wanted to refresh and rid herself of last night's draining adventure, “Get out Arin, the clingy act isn’t cute.” She gave them a shove causing them to slide against the wall before popping up straight. 

“I’m not being clingy, just seeing how long I can wait out the storm.” Pocket let themself be shoved towards the door, their shoes made a slight squeak sound as they were moved. 

“You are 22 years old, this is embarrassing even for you.” She sneered back. 

The two were finally at the door, Pocket reached for the handle and slowly turned it, “I’m the best at being the worst.” Their words sounded like a joke but Mina felt the sincerity. She rolled her eyes as they opened her umbrella and headed out, not even giving her a goodbye. 

There is no point in goodbyes, they are just going to keep haunting me. Mina gently rubbed the top of Bonnie’s head as she turned towards the main entrance and the elevator.

It was just her and her thoughts as she closed her eyes in the full elevator, she paid no mind to those who entered as she waited for her ride to the top, she had enough on her mind. Pocket's drunken nonsense entered her mind but it felt soft, stupid like their scarf but comforting. They hadn’t meant it, Pocket couldn’t be that stupid, Arin would have but not Pocket. I could never love them as a person, I have enough drama. They should know that by now.

Mina lingered by her front door before she turned around, a strange part of her wanted to see that faded tattered Kelsey Evans coat. A wave of disappointment washed over her as she turned back and unlocked her door.

God, being around them is making me as pathetic as they are.