Time Warp: Off The Map [Rhea]

[Rhea Hartman]

"I bet she would." Rhea smiled down at the tumbling puppy. "Wouldn't you, sweetheart? You're going to be a big girl." She tucked her hands inside her jacket pockets. "You'd have to be a pretty stupid street punk to go after a man with a dog."

For the first time, Rhea saw something like a real smile cross Cecil's face. This was encouraging. "I'd be happy to," she said cheerfully. "Just make sure you've got the shoes for it. Once we get to Abe's I'll dig out a napkin. Speaking of which," she pointed across the road. "That's where we're headed. Great little restaurant, and we can get your miss some sausages."

Her suspicions confirmed, Rhea felt a rush of relief that she hadn't tried putting a field on the poor Welshman. "Hammel, and yeah, I did." Rhea lifted a cheerful, knowing eyebrow. "I'm a suppressor. So don't go getting on my bad side, in case you had any ideas."

They had finally reached the warmth of Abe's, and Rhea pushed open the door with a tinkle. She rubbed her hands briskly together. She hadn't been dressed for standing around. She lifted a hand to several of the other patrons and sidled towards a booth by the window. "We seat ourselves. I'm sure your pup will be fine if you just keep her in your lap."

The woman slid in first, stripped off her sweaty jacket, and picked up a menu, showing off impressive shoulders, arms like pythons and several tattoos in the process. There was a long scar down her right forearm, a burn on her left wrist, and nicks and dings to be expected from police work. "Coffee sounds fantastic right about now," she mused to her menu as she examined the selection of meat omelets.

[Cecil Wathen]

Cecil’s ghost of a smile turned proud as he looked down at Mephit, the Kelpie puppy playing with the lead as they walked through the sleepy little town. She was handling this very well, clearly better than he was. For that he was incredibly thankful. Cecil wasn’t entirely certain how well he would be able to cope if she had become overly upset or distressed by the nighttime move to another state. “At the moment, I think she’d be most likely to try to love them to death. I don’t think there’s a bad bone in her body.”

At the mention of having the proper shoes for a hike, a slight frown creased Cecil’s brow. Yeah, he hadn’t really thought of that, his mind was far too busy elsewhere. “Ah, uhhh… There’s a hiking store somewhere in town, right? I… don’t exactly have much gear here with me.” In truth he had little more with him than the clothes he was wearing right now, but even a small town like this would surely have some kind of outdoor wear store, especially if what she had said about summer hikers was true. Brown eyes looked over at the indicated restaurant, briefly taking it in. “Looks good.”

As Rhea smiled and informed him what her power was, the faint smile returned to Cecil’s lips and he gave a quiet chuckle. “No worries from me; my power isn’t exactly overflowing with offensive ability. I think the most I can do is confuse people a little bit.” He tightened Mephit’s lead as they crossed over the road; there were no cars coming, but he wanted to get her into the habit of being right by his side when crossing as soon as possible. “I don’t want to get on your bad side though, I’m fairly certain you could kick my ass without breaking much of a sweat.”

Cecil’s kept the lead short as they headed into the restaurant, Mephit’s tail wagging so quickly her whole body was swaying as she took in all the exciting new sights and smells. Cecil managed to give a polite smile to the other customers and tucked onto a seat in the booth, steering Mephit under the table and out of the way. He tried to get her to lie down but she was too giddy and nervy at the same time, so he eventually settled for her sitting between his legs with her tail thwacking against his calves.

Cecil shrugged out of his own jacket, placing it on the seat beside him and rolling up the sleeves of the long-sleeved shirt he wore underneath, idly scratching his wrist where the d20 dice tattoo rested. His eyes glanced over Rhea, confirming that she really was one lady he wouldn’t want to cross. “Yeah, coffee sounds great.” Cecil picked up the other menu, looking over it. “So does bacon and eggs.” What I wouldn’t give for cockles, laverbread and rarebit, though. “Thanks again for this, Rhea. It’s uncommonly kind of you.”

[Rhea Hartman]

"Don't worry about it, you won't have any trouble." Rhea didn't sound surprised to hear that Cecil needed to go shopping. "We've got a few stores, and they always keep some good boots in stock." She gave only the briefest glance down the road before stepping over the curb and jogging across the still quiet, frost-crusted street.

She caught the door behind her on fingertips to let man and puppy through. "Yeah, probably," she said with the easy tone of the self-assured. "But I don't think you've got too much to worry about," she added with a friendly wink down at Mephit. "So what's yours?" Between her experience as a recruiter and an officer on a meta task force, she was familiar with the range of powers. The same experience predisposed her to feel warmly towards those with, as Cecil said, little offensive ability.

She watched Cecil over the top of her menu as he wiggled his dog into place and settled down. He seemed more cheerful than he had been ten minutes ago, but she still sensed a weight hanging around his shoulders. "Glad to help. You looked like you could use a good breakfast."

The waitress materialized at their table, and Rhea asked for coffee with cream and sugar. When the waitress had trotted away with a promise to return in a few minutes for their order, the police officer asked, "So what brings you to Pilot Ridge, if you don't mind me asking?" If not her tact, her tone at least implied that she would be content with 'no.'

[Cecil Wathen]

Cecil didn’t plan on staying in the town for more than a few days at most, but it was certainly a pretty place and he would make the most of his temporary hiding away from home to go and explore it a bit. Shit, he’d have to find a payphone at some point and call work to explain why he’d be gone a few days, since his mobile would be dead soon. That was not a call he was looking forward to making. “Good to know, thanks. I’ll have to get missy here a few things too, I think.” Like proper food, and a bowl to put it in.

Whilst Cecil was physically very fit and well built, he hadn’t done much beyond jogging and the occasional gym session for years and anyone with a half-decent set of fighting skills would be able to put him on his arse without too much difficulty. It hadn’t always been that way, but Aaron hadn’t exactly approved of Cecil’s prior kickboxing training and it had been years since Cecil had put on gloves. “I can make people see and hear things. Not like actually seeing and hearing them, just in their heads. If I can think or visualise it, I can make you do so too.”

His power was something that Cecil had detested at first but quickly grown to love and learn to use in his favour. It was a great storytelling aid, and as someone with such a vested interest in roleplaying, that was never a bad thing. “A good breakfast and then back to the hotel for a good shower, I think. Please, if there’s any way I can repay your kindness, just let me know.”

When the waitress appeared Cecil ordered a black coffee and asked if there was any way he could have a small bowl of water for the dog, please. He had half-expected Rhea to ask him her next question but it still made an ugly knot tighten in his stomach. Subconsciously fidgeting with the ring on his left hand, Cecil stared blindly at the table. He didn’t want to talk about it, didn’t want to answer her, and certainly didn’t want to think about it. However, a small part of his rational mind told him that he should, that he couldn’t hide and run away from it. “I, uhhhh…”A deep frown crossed his forehead, Cecil rubbing at the side of his face as he tried to find the words, battling to fight back the rising sob that threatened to rock out of his chest as he thought about just what had happened only the night before. “I… I finished work early last night, because of the snow. I went back home… and… and…” Cecil took a deep breath, trying to settle himself but ultimately failing. “My husband… He… He…” Cecil rubbed over his eyes stubbornly, trying in vain to fight back the tears but not being able to stop them from welling in his eyes and rolling slowly down his trembling cheeks.

[Rhea Hartman]

"Really?" Rhea's said with mild interest. "You get the headaches then, I suppose. But I can see where that might come in handy." Other people might have inquired further about how this projection worked, what it entailed--but Rhea was a practical woman. She had rubbed shoulders with meta humans her entire life, and even the mental powers that many people feared and distrusted held little awe for her. Her nonchalance was helped by the knowledge that no psychic could go picking through her brain if she didn't want them to. “Sounds like a plan,” she added with a smile.

The waitress was halfway back to their table, and turned smartly on her heel and returned to the kitchen as Cecil began to cry. “Ah, you poor bastard,” Rhea sighed. She extended a hand and patted his wrist, a little awkwardly, since they had known each other for about ten minutes. A statement like that could only end with either “he was gone” or “was in bed with someone else,” and Rhea had enough experience with runaways to know which was more likely. She extracted her napkin from her bundle of silverware and handed it across the table. “I'm sorry.”

[Cecil Wathen]

Cecil gave a small nod of his head, fingers idly fidgeting with the corner of the menu. He didn't normally fidget and fuss with things but tensions were a lot higher than they were for the usually laid back and easy going Welshman and it was helping to keep him a little distracted and stop him simply falling into wallowing. “Sometimes I get headaches, yeah.” He gave a quiet, humourless chuckle. “It's the hallucinations that go with it that really get me, though.”

There could be little doubt that Cecil was trying valiantly to battle back the flood of emotions, to keep his tears reined in and not just start sobbing like... well... like he'd just discovered that the man he'd been with since he was twenty years old had been sleeping with someone else. He was trying so hard to keep his cool, but was failing utterly. Broad shoulders shook softly and Mephit whined in quiet concern from under the table. Cecil reached a hand down, gently fussing her ears to calm her as he gave a small nod in Rhea's direction at the attempt at comfort. He took the offered napkin with the hand not petting the dog and rubbed at his tired, bloodshot eyes, uttering a soft “thanks”. He suddenly gave a firm shake of his head, as if trying to shake away the grief, and was clearly trying to keep it all closed off despite the fact it was welling over the surface of his demeanour. He gave a breath of a laugh, trying to lighten the mood but not even convincing himself, never-mind anyone else. “Sorry, I'm not normally this bad company.”

[Rhea Hartman]

"I'm sorry," Rhea sighed again, and her hand moved to a more bracing rub of the shoulder. Patting on the hand was not going to cut it if he'd found his husband in bed with somebody else 12 hours ago. "It's okay. Start sobbing and no one's gonna remember. Just let it all out." While he made a visible (though not very successful) effort to pull himself together, Rhea reached over the back of the booth and grabbed two more sets of napkin-wrapped silverware from the table next to them. She slid the lot across the table towards Cecil. "Don't even think about it. If it was me, I'd be drunk off my ass and knocking teeth out of anybody who looked at me funny." The slight wry cast of her voice made it sound like this wasn't pure hypothesis. "I'd probably have been arrested by now, matter of fact."

[Cecil Wathen]

Cecil had never really been the sort of person to get outwardly emotional like this. He was very passionate about the people and things that he loved, sure, but he had never been the sort to break down into tears because he'd accidentally burned dinner or anything like that. He usually just shrugged things off and tried again. This, however, wasn't something he could merely shrug off. Could he try again? Could he go back and talk it over with Aaron and give things another go? He honestly didn't know...

The Welshman's attempts to hold it back and calm down were valiant but ultimately unsuccessful, and his broad shoulders were trembling as she spoke and retrieved more napkins. He gave a tired laugh that lacked any actual humour. "If I start sobbing I'm worried I'll never be able to stop again." It was a truth that hurt to admit; Aaron clearly didn't care about their relationship, but Cecil truly felt like this was killing him. He took the napkins with a soft "thanks", wiping the tears from his eyes only for them to be instantly replaced afresh. Mephit whined anxiously under the table, Cecil reaching under again to rub her side and try to calm her a little. As Rhea spoke again Cecil gave another weary laugh, but it was joined by a tiny hint of a smile across his lips, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Remind me again never to piss you off. I quite like my teeth staying where they are."

[Rhea Hartman]

Rhea didn't know what to do. Had Cecil been a friend, or even a colleague, she would have crossed to his side of the booth, eased him onto her shoulder and wrapped him in a gentle side-hug. Following would be rubbing of the shoulder and patting of the arm until Cecil wore himself out, and then thorough abuse of the offending party. But the fact remained that their acquaintance was now at twenty minutes, and unless he broke down completely, hugging still seemed inappropriate.

She was rescued by the waitress, who had now visited every other table in the restaurant twice and had little choice but to finally bring the pair their coffee. She set a pot down between them along with cream and sugar, and asked hesitantly, "Would you like anything to eat...?"

[Cecil Wathen]

Cecil hated this. He hated the fact that he was reduced to crying in a restaurant in a town he didn’t know in front of a woman he’d known for barely any time at all. Everything hurt, so much worse than anything he’d ever experienced before, and it felt like there was only one small twig battling to try to prevent the entire dam from collapsing. That one twig was formed of his pride and dignity, and it had taken one hell of a battering. What an idiot he had been to think that Aaron wanted no-one but him…

Movement around the table drew Cecil a little way out of his spiral, and tired, bloodshot eyes heavy with tears yet unfallen glanced up at the waitress. He managed to give her an apologetic smile, but it looked as pathetic as he felt. “Uh, just some toast for me, thanks. Suddenly feeling a bit nauseous. Any chance I could get a plate of bacon too, please, for the dog?” He thanked the waitress as she said that would be okay, and gently petted the fretful pup under the table while Rhea made her order. He knew that he should eat some real food, but he didn’t entirely trust his stomach to keep anything much more than toast down right now.

[Rhea Hartman]

Rhea was a proud woman, and when Cecil still refused to keel over sobbing on the table, she recognized the splintering little twig for what it was. She shouldn't have pressed him for details. Well, the least she could try and do now was try and give the twig some help.

She ordered a sausage omelet from the waitress, then poured two cups of coffee and slid one across the table. "Here, let me show you where that trail I was talking about is. One second, let me find a pen." She rose and headed to the register, and lingered making small talk with the waitress long enough to give Cecil some time to pull himself together.

When she returned, she pulled one of the many napkins back across the table and began drawing a diagram. "So we're on Broadview street here, you see?" She moved the napkin to the center of the table and tilted the drawing sideways so Cecil could see it. She continued to draw as she spoke. "Denny Way is three blocks to the north of us, and you can follow it out to the state highway. The main trailhead is about two miles down the highway, going east." She circled the spot on her hand-drawn map. "It's called Kitchner Peak, and you want the Granite Slope trail. You could walk all the way out if you want, but I recommend a taxi since the hike itself is nothing to spit at." She wrote down both trail names, as well as 'Dick's Sporting Goods.' "That's your best bet for finding any gear you'd need. Tell him I sent you; he'll make sure you get the good stuff." She slid the napkin back across the table with a smile. "You said you did sports tourism, so I'm going to trust you're not going to wander up with bad shoes and a six pack or try and get stuck in a tree well."

[Cecil Wathen]

It was a deeply awful feeling, like he was standing on the edge of a cliff with no options but to plummet down or turn and go back. Every way he looked forwards, there was just a vast sea of nothing. If he looked back there was familiar faces and familiar places, but they were smothered with the fog of his grief at Aaron’s betrayal.

Cecil managed a tired half-smile as Rhea slid the coffee cup over to him, taking it with a soft “thanks” and cradling it in his broad hands. The cup was warm and oddly comforting, and he gave a small nod of Rhea excused herself to hunt down a pen. Breathing slow and deep, Cecil worked hard to calm down a little, helped along by gently fussing with Mephit. The coffee was hot and burned slightly as he swallowed, but he didn’t really care. When Rhea returned he was obviously still a mess, but he’d patched up the dam enough that it was no longer leaking everywhere.

Listening and watching intently as Rhea outlined the route to get to the hiking trail, Cecil was glad of the distraction. Focussing on that kept his mind busy and preventing it from wandering off elsewhere, and in a way it was good to be thinking about hiking again. It had been quite a while since he’d been able to hit the trails, and it was always a thrill exploring a new location. “How long do you think it would take, roughly? Just so I can work out if Mephit’d be okay coming along.” Sure she was athletic and of an energetic breed, but she was still young and likely wouldn’t be able to make a very long trip. He managed a small but slightly more genuine smile at her quiet concern. “As long as I don’t run into one of the non-existent bears, I’m sure I’ll cope well enough.” He then gave a quiet breath of a laugh, trying to ease some of the tension out of himself. “Hey, if I like it, I might even buy a tent and live up there. Might not be quite as comfortable as an apartment, but there’d be a hell of a lot less drama.”

[Rhea Hartman]

Rhea was glad to see Cecil looking at least slightly more composed when she returned, if still miserable. She wondered if she'd be getting a call from one of the bars late tonight to come pick him up.

Rhea added some sugar and a generous helping of cream to her coffee. Her spoon made a gentle tink tink as she stirred it together, then tapped it dry on the lip of her mug and took a sip. "Well, if you take the Granite trail I was talking about earlier, a couple of hours at least. Maybe four, depending on how fast you go. Five, if the snow's deep." She set her cup down and her eyebrows furrowed in thought. "I'm trying to remember--there's a bunch of trails up there, and I think there's a shorter loop she could probably do. But I don't think I'd risk it in the winter."

She raised her eyebrows as she took another sip of coffee. "Hey, don't make any promises until you've seen it. The squirrels can get aggressive up here." She rolled her cup slowly between her hands and continued in a softer voice, "It really is something to see. You can be out all day if you want. There's an offshoot from one of the trails that goes all the way up to the peak. Brutal hike, seven or eight hours round trip, and it'll wipe you right out." She smiled sadly at him. "Not much room for thinking when you're busy cussing out a mountain and hoping your legs don't fall off."

[Cecil Wathen]

Cecil was quiet as Rhea spoke, gently cradling the warm coffee cup and his gaze roaming restlessly from her face to the table in front of him to the door. It was dumb, but somewhere in the back of his head he kind of kept expecting to see Aaron standing there. Begging for forgiveness or saying it was all over, Cecil wasn’t sure, and it hurt to think about so he tried as best he could to keep his focus on the police officer while she spoke. “Hmmm, I could have a look and see if there’s any dog daycare’s in the area, I guess. Failing that, I bet even just exploring around the feet of the hills here gives some amazing sights.”

At the mention of the squirrels Cecil actually gave a quiet laugh, undoubtedly the most genuine one he’d made all morning. He was still quite clearly miserable and exhausted, but letting it out and actually telling someone seemed to have done a little to alleviate some of the intense pressure weighing down on him. “Squirrels are nothing. There was a news story back home a little while ago about a whole village that was under attack from a pheasant.* Now those things are deadly.”

The change in Rhea’s tone caught Cecil’s attention and his gaze finally settled on her. He matched her sad smile with one of his own and a quiet, tired sigh. “That sounds exactly what I need, really. I might actually have to try and find somewhere to keep an eye on Mephit for a few hours.”

* He is not making that up!

[Rhea Hartman]

"A pheasant?" A skeptical crease appeared between Rhea's eyebrows. "You mean the birds rich English people eat?"

Her gaze moved down to the puppy nosing Cecil's hand. "I suppose she is too little to leave alone for long. I've got to work in a couple of hours, so I won't do you much good." She leaned back in her seat and scratched the back of her neck in thought. "There might...a big new pet shop just opened up in town. I can't remember the name of the guy who runs it, but I think it's called the Argo or something. Art? Asp? Ark!" She snapped her fingers. "The Ark, that's it. Real big store, and I think the guy who owns it is from Britain too, come to think of it." She took another sip of coffee. "He would probably know somebody."