Time Warp: Aches and Pains (Open)

[Takchawee Ominotago]

June 2013

Ugh... This whole pregnancy thing was really starting to get old. The morning sickness, the frequent trips to the bathroom, the taunting and teasing... Tak was getting drained. It had been alright, for the first couple months; apart from some queasiness and other discomfort, she'd been fine. But now, with only a month or so until the due date, Tak was really feeling her last (hopefully) couple of weeks.

She was scanning for books in the library, her loose, dark-colored sweater doing little to hide the roundness of her still-growing stomach. Tak had always been small, and all the extra weight was dragging her down, making her take frequent breaks to sit and rest her aching back.

As much trouble as it was, though... She was looking forward to finally holding her daughter in her arms. Even if she had to give the girl up for adoption, Tak still wanted to be in her life. In fact, she was reaching up to grab a book about what to expect for the upcoming months, but it slipped out of her hands and fell with a soft thunk on the floor.

Tak sighed. "Of course..." she mumbled, clutching her belly as she slowly and somewhat painfully stooped down to try to pick up the dropped item.

[Beau LaRoux]

"Hold on a sec there, ma'am," came the voice of a smiling young man. He swooped in, ducking low and scooping the book up in one smooth motion. Beau LaRoux nodded to the young, pregnant woman, holding out the Beau and favoring her with that charming smile of his. It made him look a little younger than his seventeen years would have hinted, and the lack of height wasn't helping matters much either, but he still looked about as friendly as could possibly be.

"Lady in your condition shouldn't be bendin' all that much," he said, speaking as if he knew. Beau nodded toward the stomach, like she couldn't already figure it out. "Did you maybe need some help with somethin'? I was jus' in here to drop off some books for a friend," Beau turned, jerking a thumb toward a drop-off point just within sight of where the two of them stood. He really had just been in here to drop off books for a friend; Beau generally didn't head to the library of his own free will. He knew it well enough; he had been going to the school for a few years after all, but it wasn't exactly the place he'd choose to hang out if he had his druthers. It was fortunate for Tak that Beau had been distracted by the noise after he'd dropped off his own books. After spending a second looking to see if one of the books he'd been carrying had slipped, Beau quickly figured out that it was the pregnant woman, and from there, he wasted no time in heading over to help.

"Name's Beau, by the way," he finished, figuring that it was only polite that he introduce himself too. Helping was always appreciated, to be sure, but knowing his name would only make that easier.

[Takchawee Ominotago]

Tak blinked and looked up as a blonde boy she didn't recognize came in and snagged the book before she could, slowly standing back up and holding a hand against herself for support. "Thank you," she breathed, relief softening her features. It wasn't extremely often that teenagers, boys and girls alike, were polite enough to help her when they saw her struggling. In a way, Tak was alright with it - she was an independent young woman, and liked to be able to do things on her own - but at the same time, a little courtesy really went a long way. She took the book with care, holding it tightly so it wouldn't slip again.

She chuckled quietly, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Just a month more, and I won't have to worry about it anymore," she told him, immensely impressed with this stranger's politeness. She didn't sense an ounce of judgement from him, which, given her ability, would have been easy to read. "Um... Wow, I don't know, I'm so used to doing things myself," she admitted, considering his generous offer. "Are you always so polite?" Her smile widened, glancing in the direction he was pointing and nodding. "I don't come across boys so considerate all that often. Between you and me, there are... A lot of jerks at this school." Not all of them, certainly, but a good portion; teenage boys in general just didn't seem to realize other people had feelings. A couple of the potential fathers of her child included.

"A pleasure to meet you, Beau," she replied, offering her free hand. "Takchawee. Tak for short." It was usually easier for people to remember the latter. "As for help... I don't know, honestly, just some pleasant company is always nice," she finally said.

[Beau LaRoux]

It was strange, but Beau couldn't shake a feeling like something was tingling in him, telling him stuff about this girl that he'd just met. It was sorta like a gut instinct, a reading that he didn't quite get, and he was usually a fan of following his gut. He couldn't quite sort through it all though; it was just strange gut sensations that roiled about. Weird; must be her power or something.

There were questions to answer, and the whole manners thing sorta came into play with that too. Beau nodded at the first, admittedly the easiest, question. "Sure do, especially to ladies in a certain way," he gestured yet again, before realizing that was the second gesture he'd made toward her stomach since he'd met her. Beau tried to turn the gesture into his dusting the book. There was a hand to take too, which Beau did. He felt that little tingle that so often happened when he touched another meta: as if the physical contact wanted to make it known that the strongest variation of someone's ability was now Beau's to play with.

"Tack-cha-whee?" repeated Beau, absolutely butchering the name in every conceivable way possible. He blinked. "That's certainly a... name," he didn't want to be rude. Tak didn't seem like much of a name either, more like something you spat, or a sound effect you made when mimicking a gun. Not that Beau was about to suggest either of those. This girl looked like she had enough problems without Beau being a jerk about it. 'sides, he could practically hear his mamma telling him to always be nice for young ladies, especially pregnant young ladies, 'cuz "if anyone needs our prayers, Beau, it's those poor young mothers."

"Well, ain't no trouble, Tak," he almost butchered that too; it clearly didn't sound comfortable to him. "I reckon I could at least help you get your books or whatnot. Ain't great shakes 'round here though, but I can fetch an' carry jus' fine."

[Takchawee Ominotago]

Tak chuckled lightly, not missing the half-gesture towards her rounded belly, but didn't comment on it. He seemed genuinely polite, perhaps just a little unused to being around young pregnant woman, which... Wasn't a surprise. Tak knew it wasn't extremely common; and, well, it was sort of taboo anyway. Most people, if they weren't judgmental, were just awkward. "Well, it's a very nice way to be," she replied, dipping her head slightly. A lot better than all the rude young men who only seemed to care about their 'swag' or whatever it was guys were into these days.

Her cheeks dimpled with amusement as he attempted at her name. "Tahk-chaw-way," she corrected slowly. "Don't worry about it, most people don't get it right... Ever. It's Sioux." Which was why nearly everyone knew her by her nickname. She tilted her head curiously. "Where are you from?" she asked. He obviously had an accent, and he reminded her of those good ol' southern boys you saw on TV sometimes, or heard crooning country songs on the radio. She'd grown up on a reservation in Montana, so she knew little about the south.

She winced as she felt a rather sharp kick against her stomach, and pressed her hand against the swollen area again. "That would be lovely," she managed to reply, offering a weak smile. "Thank you, hun." She wasn't sure what he meant by the last bit of what he said, but she just went with it. "Um, I think that's all I came in here for, really. I was just going to go check out. I have some other ones on reserve though, so... I could use help carrying those." And then maybe find somewhere to sit down and rest a bit. She nodded in the direction of the checkout counter and began to meander that way, waiting for Beau to accompany her if he still wanted to.

[Beau LaRoux]

Beau just sort of waved off the compliments. As horrible as it might sound, he'd grown used to being told how very nice he was, used enough that they didn't even phase him by this point. For some reason, he felt like Tak at least meant it, which meant a lot more to him than if she'd just been throwing it at him, which girls seemed to do with remarkable frequency around here. Then again, Beau had met most of the males here; he couldn't say he blamed the females.

The name bit just made him chuckle, lowering his eyes to his shoes for a few moments, "I think I'd better stick with Tak. Ain't real polite if I go butcherin' your name. Probly somethin' real important to your people," if there was one people that Beau's family respected, it was the Native Americans. It wasn't like they'd come here from somewhere else and threatened America; they pretty much were America. Plus, Beau thought he had at least some Native American blood himself; that happened down in: "Louisiana," he offered as an explanation, making the word sound as Southern as it needed to be. "Some little one horse town that I'm sure you ain't heard of afore, though we spent most of our time in the closest city. Weren't nothin' like Pilot Ridge, that's for darn sure."

Beau nodded, looking around the library. Yeah, the library in his town was divided into two sections: huntin' an' stories. So, yeah, definitely a step up. His attention jerked back to Tak at her next statement. It was weird, but for a moment he almost felt like he could see... feel an aura? It had to be her power working on him, and he wasn't about to go asking whatever it meant. Probably something to do with the baby. Beau knew he'd just have to do the right thing and help her get her mind off it. Or him. Or her.

"Sure, I can carry your books. Ain't gonna be askin' ya to go steady though," he agreed, giving her a wink. He strolled along beside her, his hands in his pocket. "Wouldn't want ta mess with the daddy anyway," he added, giving the stomach another nod. Hey, no one said tact was his strong suit.

[Takchawee Ominotago]

Tak tilted her head slightly, listening to Beau's comments about her name. "That's fine," she replied easily. It was nice for someone to actually respect it for once, although the 'your people' bit made her just a tad uncomfortable. Still, she shrugged it off, smiling a moment later. "Mm, I've never been that far south," she replied, tucking away this information. "I grew up in Montana. Never left the state until I came here, actually." She chuckled. "I know what you mean. The town I grew up in was pretty small too." There was a very strong sense of community there, though. Living on a reservation, Tak was used to knowing most of the people that lived around her. Once she'd come to Hammel, though, she'd become slightly more reclusive. It just wasn't... Home. Didn't feel quite right, even after several years.

The longer she talked, the more information that started drifting off of Beau that she latched onto and pieced together to get a bigger picture of him as a person. Musical talent was a strong sense that she was getting - it overwhelmed nearly everything else, really. She'd ask him about it later.

She did laugh, though, at what he said next. "Oh, sweetie, don't worry about that," she chuckled. "I haven't gone steady with anyone in years." Given her current situation, that was something that a lot of people tended to frown upon; she hoped Beau's opinion of her didn't change because of it. "Her father wouldn't care anyway. He's around, but we're not together." She said it all matter-of-factly; it was just something she'd had to accept. Cam was his own person with his own relationships. He was supportive, but she knew she couldn't rely on him forever. She let the potential offences roll off her like water; he meant no harm by it, she knew. "Besides, I'm sure you can find someone with much less baggage," she added as an almost afterthought, shooting him a small smile.

As Tak reached the counter, she requested the other books she'd put on hold, and while they waited, she drummed absent-mindedly on her stomach, peering over again at her companion. "So... You're a musician?" she asked, with no obvious clue for knowing this fact.

[Beau LaRoux]

Sounded like their homes were that weird combination of absolutely different and eerily similar that you ran into every once in a while. It definitely made Beau feel more comfortable. Also seemed to be adding something. Beau could've sworn he was... getting a mental image or something? This power was definitely an odd one, a prickling kind of feeling. Yeah, Beau wasn't doing great at handling it; it felt sort of like telepathy or empathy but not quite.

No going steady, no real idea of whom the father was... no, wait, she knew, but he didn't care. Beau frowned. He wasn't sure how to process that. Sometimes fathers weren't as responsible as they should be, which was always a shame. At the same time, Tak should've waited till she got married before getting that serious. On the other hand, didn't Indians have different rules about that sort of thing? Not together, who has a baby with someone and just... Beau actually found himself liking the father of Tak's baby less and less by the moment, and he hadn't even met the guy. As far as Tak went, all Beau could do was feel more sorry for her, really, even if the whole situation was also her fault.

Definitely not someone he wanted to actually date, but he figured he could keep the flirting casual and polite anyway.

"Dang, guess I'll have to see if you've got a little sister," he joked, sincerely hoping that she did not, in fact, have one. Fortunately about that time they'd actually arrived at the counter. Which was soon followed by a random and totally accurate question that left Beau blinking numbly.

"Uh, yeah? I play a few instruments an'--- wait, I didn't say anythin'," he frowned for a moment, working through it. He then snapped his fingers. "It's that tinglin'! Your ability, it's some kinda readin' thing, right? You get a fuzzy feelin' of the other person." At least that explained a fair amount, like the tingly sensation and his own staticy picture.