"He's just having trouble adjusting to his new temper."

[hazlogs]

It is currently 19:03 Pacific Time on Tue Jan 13 2004.
Currently the moon is in the waning Half Moon phase (56% full).

Cockroach Mansion -- Tower

Unlike the rest of the mansion, the interior of the four-story-tall tower has a
      rough and almost medieval feel to it. It's all concrete and stone and 
      exposed lightbulbs. There's one room per floor, plus a basement 
      underneath; a winding iron staircase leads from one level to the next.
The highest floor of the tower provides the best view of the grounds and
      surrounding neighborhood; there are several windows with dark brown 
      curtains and a couple of chairs to sit in. A black trunk acts as a 
      makeshift coffee table and footrest, and there's even carpeting. 
      Interestingly enough, all the windows are set with heavy black iron bars. 
      On one wall hangs a whiteboard and some dry-erase markers and matching 
      eraser.
The rest of the rooms are used mostly for storage and have a chilly, shadowy,
      dusty feel. In the irregularly-shaped basement reigns the boiler.
There are cockroaches everywhere, on every floor of the tower.

Joshua pages: Salem, incase Sig didn't drop you a note, there's a new door
      here. Reinforced heavy monstrosity that she installed on Sunday night.

The tower is as cold as ever, still reeking of the cleaning chemicals from
      Monday. The bloodstains, as if to spite two days of scrubbing, still 
      clung onto the walls stubbornly as a permanent reminder of Signe's 
      lessons. The Glyphs are back on the walls, and the white board filled 
      with attempts at reproducing them. Josh himself sits on the cot, pencil 
      scratching away at the one of the notebooks Cat brought up a few days 
      ago, making a sketch of the new Glyph he saw on Rina's neck just days 
      ago. He seems distant and removed: as if he wasn't truely there, but 
      somewhere else in thought.

Rina's familiar lighter tread comes up the stairs. This time, though, she isn't
      carrying supper on a tray. She knocks on the heavy door, before coming in.

Joshua either doesn't hear, or doesn't respond. The pencil keeps scratching at
      the note pad diligently.

Rina opens the door and lets herself in. "Dinner's ready," she says, her tone
      controlled and neutral. "Come downstairs."

Joshua immediately fumbles the notebook, surprised at Rina's 'sudden'
      appearance. The book and the pencil clatter to the floor as he stands up. 
      Looking across the room, he takes a breath and shakes his head. "'m not 
      hungry." A bald faced lie, considering once again he hasn't eaten since 
      breakfast the previous morning.

Rina's eyes narrow. "You're comin' downstairs, and you're gonna eat with us.
      You haven't eaten since yesterday." There's perhaps some irony in the 
      pointed words, considering her own heroin-addict physique.

Joshua starts to open his mouth to object before she calls him out on the lie.
      With a deep sigh (as if this was such the hardship, having dinner) he 
      crosses his arms, heading to the door.

"Yeah," she says dryly. "Poor you. Homemade Italian food every day, it's such a
      rough life." She follows him down the stairs.

Cockroach Mansion -- Downstairs

The heavy, dark opulence to this mansion known as Dominion is perfectly
      exemplified by the room vistors first enter, this front hall. 
      Dark-stained wood serves as paneling on the walls, gleams with high gloss 
      in the hardwood floor, and supports a semi-circular balcony in carved 
      pillars. The heavy double doors, made of oak, open into the hall from the 
      south, opposite the huge, hourglass-shaped staircase composed of red and 
      black gneiss which soars up to the balcony; both are fenced in with a 
      wooden railing of simple spiraled posts. Several doorways can be made out 
      on the second floor, nearly blending in discreetly with the back wall. 
      The wall to the left of the front doors is composed entirely of windows 
      which run from the forty-foot-tall domed dark wood ceiling to the floor; 
      if drawn, the heavy velvet drapes of deep red would completely mask them 
      from view, but when parted, as they often are, one has a marvelous view 
      of the grounds outside.
A doorway to the right of the front doors leads to a parlor, and towards the
      back are the kitchens, the large dining room, and Salem's office.

Joshua steps off the stairs, slouching as he makes his way to the Kitchen. He
      grumbles something in response to Rina's comment, but it's not 
      intelligible.

The buzzer sounds, announcing someone's presence at the gate. A peek at the
      security camera shows the Get Jarl resting on the seat of her Harley 
      Davidson.

Rina stops him physically, a hand on his shoulder, when they have left the
      tower. "What was that?"

Joshua turns back up to look at Rina. "Wassn't talking to ya." He responds
      quietly, setting his jaw. "Jus' say'n it's a bad idea, leaving the tower. 
      'sall."

Rina's dark eyes narrow. "How d'you figure?" she asks, flatly.

Joshua shakes his head, turning away from Rina. "You don' believe me anyhow.
      Don't matter." He tries to resume his course to the kitchen, not letting 
      this sit for more than a moment.

Salem emerges from the kitchen in response to the gate buzzer; the Walker's
      dressed in faded black jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt -- dark red, not 
      black (for once). He glances over at Rina and Joshua, giving the cub a 
      bit of a narrow-eyed _look_, then goes to activate the gate so Signe can 
      come in.

She scowls at the boy's retreating back, and then heads for the door--sharing a
      dark look with Salem and running a hand through her hair in an 
      exasperated gesture. "Fuckin' u'pazz'," she mutters angrily.

Signe's on the other side of the door when Rina opens it, having come up the
      drive and parked her bike. She gives the kin a quick look, nodding. "Food 
      ready?"

Joshua shuffles into the Kitchen, shriveling visibly under the combined glares
      of Rina and Salem. He doesn't look smug anymore.

Salem casts a look ceilingward, exasperated. He shares a look, then, with
      Signe, giving the Get a nod before following Joshua back into the kitchen 
      to put the finishing touches on the table setting.

Signe takes a moment to study those around her, getting an idea of the mood.
      Moving into the kitchen, she lifts her chin in greeting to Josh. "Hey 
      kid," she says. "How's the struggle?"

Joshua doesn't make eye-contact with Signe, instead looking at her shoes. "Wuz
      wonder'in if I could talk ta ya in private, later..." He answers back to 
      her, turning around to attempt to help with the table setting.

The kitchen is redolent with the smells of Italian cooking. The table is
      already neatly set, with six places. 

Rina follows Signe into the kitchen, and looks over the preparations, peeking
      into the oven to check on the entree. She shoots the cub a look that says 
      'not likely,' and begins putting together a plat of antipasti. "Good to 
      see you, Signe," she says quietly.

Signe doesn't answer Joshua til she glances toward Salem. Unless the Walker
      elder objects, she looks back to the cub and nods, adding a nonchalant 
      little shrug. "Sure thing."

Joshua doesn't see anything to help with, table already being set and all. He
      nods tightly to the Get before shuffling in behind one of the seats.

Salem glances from Joshua to Signe and back again, frowning slightly. Then he
      shakes his head, clearly attempting to brush off the impending foul mood. 
      "You and I need to have a talk first," he says to Joshua, in a 
      no-nonsense, if gratingly shrill, tone of voice. "After dinner."

Signe looks between the cub and his elder and frowns a little herself. She
      leaves them without saying anything, though, and greets Rina again by 
      saying, "So, how're things with you?" The table setting is examined with 
      obvious approval, and the Get goes looking for a beer.

"I'm alive," Rina says as she brings over the antipasti. "Cat's gonna be late,
      he said, and Idunno about KC..."

Joshua's face seems to roil unpleasantly with the possibilities of topics of
      Conversation with Salem, none of them anything he'd want to talk to the 
      Elder about. A muttered 'okay' is all the response he manage Salem as he 
      waits behind his seat.

Salem wrinkles his nose, displeased with the cub's attitude, then snorts and
      takes his seat at the head of the table. A glass of water, with ice, is 
      already set there.

If there's a seating arrangement, the Get isn't aware of it. So she just sits
      on the other side of Salem. His grumpy mood doesn't seem to phase her 
      much as she settles in, leans back, and takes a sip from her beer.

"So," Rina says succintly, "mangiam', yeah?" She waves a hand, to indicate that
      everyone should sit. She offers Signe a quick half smile, and passes over 
      the big plate. Guests first. Capicola, bits of mozzarella, marinated 
      artichoke hearts and peppers and eggplants, and pepperoncini.

He may know nothing about existing in polite company, but the Cub's got his
      manners down. He waits until Rina and Signe sit down before sitting 
      himself between Salem and Signe, not wanting to be too near either. 
      Folding his hands, Josh says a silent prayer before, looking up 
      expectantly at the plate. Bad circumstances or not, food is food.

Signe takes the plate and dishes out healthy portions onto her own plate before
      passing it off to Josh to her side. "I've met Cat, I think, but I don't 
      think I know this KC. Another Walker?"

Joshua takes the dish, dumping a good ammount on his plate before passing it on
      to Salem as fast as he can without making a mess, trying to keep it 
      moving along.

"Yeah," Rina answers quietly. "You'll hafta meet her. You'd get along." There's
      a touch of wry humor, a slyness, as she glances sidelong to the Get.

Signe smirks. "What, she's a pain in the ass?"

Joshua picks up his fork, working diligently on destroying the meal on the
      plate. Between bites, he listens to the Adults with little interest.

Rina pops a rolled-up bit of capicola into her mouth, eyeing Signe with
      amusement in her eyes. She swallows. "Nope."

Salem serves himself, then passes the plate along. The Walker Elder remains
      silent -- attentive, but silent.

Signe's less diligent than Josh, but she makes a good dent in what's on her
      plate. "Well, if she's not a pain in the ass, I dunno what she and I 
      could have in common," she says, sipping her beer again.

Chew chew swallow. Josh continues his assault on the plate with speed born of
      hunger. He reaches to wipe his face on his arm before stopping himself 
      and using the napkin instead.

Rina laughs lightly, shooting the Get another sly look. "Didn't say /that/. I
      said you'd like her. She's hot. And she can shoot."

Signe furrows her brow, looking across the table at Rina. "Is she kin, or
      garou?" she asks.

Joshua looks up from the napkin, contributing his bit to the conversation. "Miz
      K. C. Rhya is Garou." He notes, stabbing at the food again.

Signe wrinkles her nose, souring as if something she'd eaten suddenly disagreed
      with her. "Garou. Rina, you should know better than to even joke like 
      that around me."

Rina glances to the woman, an eyebrow raised. "What? I know you're taken. All I
      meant was she's cute, she's cool, and she can hit a bullseye at fifty 
      yards. All good qualities." She scoots her chair back, and gets up to 
      fetch the big bowl of salad.

Joshua's brow furrows as he chews, processing what was just said. After a
      moment of this he looks sideways at Signe, and seems to peer. Catching 
      himself, he turns his face back down to the plate, every now and then 
      glancing back over...

Rina sets the salad down and returns to the kitchen again, serving up dinner:
      chicken parmigiana, with pasta and steamed vegetables alongside.

Signe waves a dismissive hand at Rina, shaking her head. "It's got nothing to
      do with being taken. Got to do with the first law." Tilting her head 
      thoughtfully, she adds, "Although, being a good shot is cool."

Joshua doesn't take nearly as much this time around, just enough to tide him
      over. Nor does he delay before launching in on it, suddenly in a hurry to 
      finish eating.

Rina passes out the plates and sets down the big bowl of pasta primavera, then
      drops into her chair and gives Signe a look. "Well, I didn't mean it like 
      that. Just that she's easy on the eye." She glances down the table to 
      Salem, and then digs into her chicken parm. "Not like we need any more of 
      that shit."

Signe flashes a grin Rina's way. "Yeah," she says before taking the chicken
      parmigiana plate and dishing some onto her plate. "Speaking of which, how 
      are things with you and Dale?"

Rina glances down the table, giving the Get a bemused look. "There is no
      'thing' with me and Dale," she says quietly. "It's not like that."

She returns her attention to her plate, then, her expression veiled and bleak.

Signe's never one to not push things, when she can. and she can here. Taking
      another sip from her beer, she sets the bottle on the table and asks, 
      "No? what's it like, then?"

Rina looks over to the Get, her eyes narrowing slightly. "It's like I just met
      him, and Charlie and I were goin' to a hockey game and invited him along, 
      and then I walked into this house and found out he was Get." She returns 
      her attention to knifing up her chicken, with a little more violence than 
      is strictly necessary.

Signe chuckles quietly, perhaps enjoying the Walker kin's irritation a little
      too much. "Yeah. That's a bitch, I know," she says, resettling in her 
      seat. She gives Josh a cursory glance, then looks back at him. "You 
      didn't answer my question earlier, Josh, but I can tell from looking at 
      you not much has changed."

Joshua looks up from his plate, fork pausing midair. He slowly sets it down,
      nodding. "Ya could say that..." He murmurs out, not looking at anyone at 
      the table.

Rina's expression tightens. "He thinks he's gonna kill the wolf," she says
      curtly. Dark eyes glance to Signe. "He won't accept that this is part of 
      him. Like he's, what'd'y'call it, multiple personality or somethin'. You 
      ever heard of anything like that?"

Signe lets out an impatient breath, nodding to Rina. "Yeah, he and I went round
      and round about it the other day. He's as stubborn as I am, which is 
      saying something, you know."

Joshua abruptly pushes out from the table, walking away at a brisk pace. As he
      leaves the room, he can been to be blushing bright red. The noise of his 
      bare feet continues as he breaks out into a run, back to his place in 
      tower.

Signe watches him go before looking pointedly back at the Walker kin. "It's
      gonna be a rude wake up call when he realizes there's only one person 
      inside his head, and it's him."

Rina half-rises from her seat, glaring after him, almost as if she is about to
      call him back in a fury--but she thinks better of it, her control 
      holding. Her jaw shifts, tense, as she drops down again. "Yeah. Trouble 
      is, he's plannin' on killing the wolf." She looks to Signe, and then to 
      Salem. "I don't know how the fuck he thinks he's gonna do that," she 
      says. "But I'm a little fuckin' concerned." Her tone has that false 
      lightness that betrays anger beneath it.

Signe pushes up from her seat, too. Glancing around the table, she says
      quietly. "Why don't we find out? Scuse me," she says, dropping her napkin 
      and heading toward the tower, herself.

[Later]

Rina comes back down to join him. There are faint flaws in the illusion of
      domesticity, now: she is pale and quiet, her expression taut with 
      anxiety. Then again, there wasn't much illusion to start with, given the 
      presence of the gun tucked into the back of her waist. 

"She had to beat him down," Rina murmurs quietly, as she sits down. "The little
      fuck attacked her. And then afterward, he's saying he didn't mean to..." 
      She rests an elbow on the table, and pillows her eyes on the heel of a 
      hand.

Salem is poking at his food when she enters. It's a shame, really, that such
      good food should be wasted on ill moods. He looks up as she enters and 
      his mouth twists into a grimace. "Fuck." He puts his fork down.

Rina doesn't lift her head. "I didn't go in," she says quietly. "Sig's fine.
      But if you wanna go up there, feel free."

"Signe can handle herself," he mutters. He props his elbows up on the table and
      rests his chin on his clasped hands, lightly; his expression's pensive. 
      "Thought I'd reached him, the other day. Convinced him that we weren't 
      demons. But five fucking steps back." He shakes his head.

Rina looks down the table to him. "I'm serious about this multiple personality
      shit," she says softly. "I don't know what to do."

Salem snorts derisively. "He's just having trouble adjusting to his new
      temper," he says, sounding rather peevish. "Hasn't grasped yet _really_ 
      what he is. Hence the excuses, that it's not really _him_." He smiles 
      humorlessly.

Rina lets out a breath, and eats for a while, digging into her neglected
      parmigiana.

Salem follows suit after a moment, managing a mouthful or two. Then he mutters,
      ruefully, "Your cooking deserves a better audience. I'm sorry."

Rina lifts a shoulder. "Yeah, well. Least he came down f'dinner without me
      havin' to threaten him." She lets out a resigned sigh.

"Gaia save us from problem cubs," he mutters again, thinly.

By the time anyone comes down from the tower, Rina and Salem are having coffee,
      quietly, over the disarray of the dinner table.

Signe leads the cub back down from the tower. It looks worse than it is,
      because of all the blood, but both garou are relatively calm at this 
      point. Signe's arm's chewed up, shirt torn and well blooded. The cub's 
      throat bears the tell tale puncture and scratch marks from the Get's 
      claws, and his shirt collar's fairly well saturated with blood as well. 
      The wounds need to be cleaned, but should heal easily.

Rina doesn't look, but watches Salem over her coffee. "We need to make a move,
      soon," she says quietly. "I've got some ideas on what we can do about 
      those competitors of ours."

Salem sets his cup, full of decaf, down as Signe and Josh enter. He rakes his
      gaze over the cub especially, gives the Get a nod, then looks over at 
      Rina. One eyebrow rises questioningly.

Joshua stops at the entery way, chewing on his lower lip as Salem gives him the
      'once over'. Finally, he slides into the room behind Signe, standing 
      against the wall away from the table.

Rina's lips quirk up slightly in a shadow of a wiseguy smirk. "We'll discuss it
      later, yeah?" She glances abstractedly over her shoulder, unconcerned. 
      "Enjoy y'little scrap?"

Salem turns his intent gaze back to Joshua. His expression is carefully bland.

Joshua looks over to Signe, not sure what the correct answer would be. He
      shifts slightly, shaking his head. "... I didn' mean to." He replies 
      apologetically, lowering his head slightly as Salem turns his gaze to 
      him. "I... jus' slipped."

Signe's attention flirts with Rina's comment for a moment before it refocuses
      on Salem. Her natural frown deepens a little. "Not for nothing, but This 
      kid needs something I don't think he can find locked up in here. He needs 
      to kill something. This stupid idea he has about the wolf being some 
      alien inside him trying to kill him has to be drummed out of him, so he 
      can accept who the fuck, and /what/ he really is. You know what I mean?"

Rina purses her lips, and returns her attention to her coffee. "He's not locked
      up anymore," she points out.

Salem's nostrils flare. He pushes to his feet and stalks over toward Joshua,
      walking around him slowly. If he was a cat, his tail'd be lashing back 
      and forth. Eventually he turns his mismatched eyes back to Signe. "What 
      are you suggestiing?"

Joshua tenses, pulling up out of his slouch up as Salem paces near him. He
      uncrosses his arms, dropping them to his sides, not saying anything for 
      fear of further incurring the Elder's wrath.

Signe shrugs, looking throughtful. Coincidentally or not, she doesn't look
      Salem in the eye while she's thinking. Eventually, she looks back up. "We 
      could take him out to the woods for a few days. Make him stay in the 
      wolf. Find him something useful to kill. Something wyrmy. Practice. See 
      if it helps." she looks back to Rina and says, "No offense, but he may 
      not be locked up here anymore, but the only thing that he has to take out 
      his aggressions on around here is people he loves."

Salem inhales sharply, nostrils flaring. He glowers back down at Joshua.
      "Someone'll have to stay with him. Watch him. _Feed_ him."

Joshua's face drops as he listens to Signe's suggestion. Setting his jaw, it
      wouldn't take much to read that he doesn't like the idea much at all. But 
      if wants to complain about it, he's not saying anything.

Rina purses her lips, leaning back in her chair. "I don't like it," she says
      quietly. "He's not stable enough to go out there, off the leash."

Signe looks from Walker elder to kin, to cub, and back again. She suggests,
      "Erika's out there now. She's of my tribe, so, I'm not saying it's the 
      best solution--leaving your cub with one of mine. But she's there, along 
      with Jamethon. and I can keep an eye on him. Can't be there twenty 
      four-seven, but for a few days, I can be there most times."

Salem's eyes narrow; it's clear he has some definite doubts as to this idea.
      "Has he accepted the fact that his _rage_ is a part of him?" He stalks 
      over to stand in front of Joshua, arms folded.

That Signe can't say is true, and she steps aside for the cub to answer for
      himself.

Rina turns to watch the boy over the rim of her cup.

Joshua closes his eyes for a moment, a grimmace on his face. After a moment he
      shakes his head, opening his eyes again and finally talking. "It just 
      doesn't make any sense... I don't hate Jer, or Sig-Rhya, or even Cat. Why 
      would I be angry at them?"

Salem arches an eyebrow. "Don't have to hate someone to be angry at them."

Signe snorts, as if Salem's simple statement was incredibly understated.
      Quickly, she clears her throat, gives the elder Walker an apologetic 
      look, and goes back to being quiet.

"Fuckin' right," Rina murmurs. "I been pretty angry at Salem here, from time to
      time..." She looks over to Joshua, sidelong. "The rage is part of you, 
      sweetie. It's not that you're angry at anyone in particular... just angry 
      at everything."

"It's an emotion," Salem adds. He looks at the teenager sourly. "You get
      unwanted hardons too, I bet. Planning to lop your dick off as well?" The 
      shrill Jackal voice is especially mocking.

"I guess..." The cub replies dubiously. He closes his eyes again, idly chewing
      on his lip before giving a short but earnest nod, looking at Salem. "I 
      mean yer all say'n the same thing. 'n it makes sense, I suppose... So I 
      guess your right." The cub mumbles out the agreement quietly.

Rina drops her face into her hand, giving a little shake of her head at Salem's
      helpful approach.

Signe folds her arms over her chest, casually leaning against the kitchen wall
      while the Walkers talk.

Salem grunts, not looking at all convinced at the cub's acquiescence. "So what
      are you going to do?"

Joshua exhales, not at all liking how the conversation was going. The cub
      responds with a note of dejection: "I'm gonna work on trying not to loose 
      it so often. Not to slip up when someone sayz something I don't like. So 
      I don' hurt anyone."

Rina chews on her lower lip. "Siddown... you want me to toss your plate in the
      microwave, warm it up? You gotta be hungry... You too, Signe." She offers 
      the Get a fragile half-smile.

Signe looks down at her arm. "Na, I'm gonna head back home, I think. I've got
      an early date in the morning with a cub of my own." She glances to Josh 
      and gives him a good-natured 'hang in there' kind of look and then nods 
      to Salem, as well. "Gimme a call if you need me. "

Salem looks over Joshua a moment more, then snorts and stalks back to his place
      at the table. He nods to Signe.

Rina nods, rising to pace over to Signe. "Thanks f'comin', babe." Despite the
      blood, she offers a swift embrace to the Get.

Joshua nods to Signe once, facing her. "... 'n thanks for... yeah." He nods
      once more, as if to fill in the lack of words.

Signe blinks in surprise, and for a comical second or two the Get awkwardly
      just stands there while Rina hugs her. eventually, she hugs the kin back, 
      and even grins. Josh gets a friendly nudge, and the Get heads out the 
      kitchen towards the door.

Rina follows, to open the door and then the gate for her. She stays by the
      door, leaning against it, her head bowed.

Signe pages to the room: Tai chi, man. :) Barlow taught it to Signe. and if
      that image doesn't crack you up, well,...you're probably just too young 
      to get it. :)

After Josh is finished eating, Salem wordlessly escorts him back upstairs to
      the tower.

Joshua eats in silence, before ending up back in the tower again. He silently
      walks back in, sitting down on the cot. At least with Salem, he knew the 
      door would be locked on the way out.

And indeed it is, locked and barred. Then he prowls back downstairs. He pauses
      on his way back to the kitchen and eyes Rina.

She is cleaning up silently, her face averted, the tension instantly betraying
      her. She would not be so constantly turned away from the door, if she 
      weren't hiding something.

Salem's sigh is silent; wordlessly, he joins her, clearing away the table and
      dishes, helping put away the leftovers. All the while he keeps an eye on 
      her.

She is not crying, at least. Her expression is distant, bleak. "You aright?"
      she asks quietly, glancing over to him, concern in the dark eyes.

Salem nods. "More or less." He hesitates, then adds, lower, "Sorry for being
      crude earlier."

A faint smile tugs up at the corners of her mouth, and she almost laughs.
      "Jesus, you think I mind? I was trying not to laugh is all."

Salem smiles crookedly for a second or two. Then, more solemnly, he says, "I'll
      bring him out to the farmhouse eventually. But he's not ready. And as 
      much as I respect Signe's skills, I'm _not_ leaving our cub in the care 
      of Erika and _Jamethon_."

Rina nods minutely, the smile fading. "I'm glad we agree. You dry, I'll wash?"

"Yes'm," he says, the high-pitched voice faux-meek. He pulls open one of the
      drawers near the sink, getting a fresh dish towel; it's dark blue, with a 
      duck embroidered on one end.

The work is quiet, for a time. Her expression is thoughtful. "How are things
      goin' with your... lady friend?"

"Good," he murmurs, then adds, "As can be. She's out of town at the moment. We
      email."

Rina nods minutely, her smile lopsided. "That's good," she murmurs.

Salem doesn't quite smile back; there's a flash of something anxious and
      haunted across his eyes, something that gets buried quickly. He nods.

Rina's eyes are on her work. "I don't want you to be dead inside," she says
      softly. "It hurts too much, if you come alive again after."

"Likewise," comes the brief reply.

Rina swallows. "It's like frostbite," she whispers. "Freezing to death. You
      just go numb, and lay down and sleep." Wistful, she scrubs at the baking 
      pan. "I told her... she's like a fire. And I don't know if I want to get 
      warm, and live through all the pain of comin' back to life... or if I 
      wanna lay down in the snow and sleep, and dream..."

Salem works methodically at the silverware, drying each piece with care. He
      nods slowly. "Know what you mean."

She looks over to him--a fragility in her eyes that she would never reveal to
      others. That expression, that vulnerability, is like s secret between 
      them. "Yeah," she says softly. "I know."

Salem looks thoughtful for a moment, his eyes narrowing faintly. "The pain of
      coming back's worth it."

Rina presses her lips together a moment, studying him. "Y'think?" she asks
      softly.

Salem nods. "You and I," he mutters, "are experts in pain. Pain's not
      temporary. It's constant. Fire can hurt, too." He cocks his head, 
      favoring his good eye as he looks down at her. "It's better than most, 
      though. And better than nothing at all." He shrugs briefly. "You know 
      you're alive, at least."

A wistful smile tugs up at one corner of her lips. "Yeah." They finish up
      quietly, and after the work is done there is a swift hug goodnight. The 
      she slips away, helmet dangling from one hand, her head bowed as she 
      steps out into the cold.