for the rest of us death will be a relief

[praevaricatio]

Comments

[lengthened]

I'll try anything. Maybe that could give us somewhere to start.

( She hasn't tried modern conveniences in her findings. )

It could really be finally safe to go to trusted friends. I do know one person who was there, then.

[stupetballs]

Are they a witch like you? Or are they some other kind of immortal?

[There are apparently a lot of them out there and Waverly is trying to keep up.]

[lengthened]

They're a vampire. We were a part of the same guild. That's what they called themselves back then. They are a conglomerate now. ( Big business. ) And not where I would look. ( Or poke her head back in. ) Thank you, for listening.

[stupetballs]

Of course. Thank you for trusting me with it.

[She knows how hard it must be to talk about, given how long they've been separated.]

But yeah, we can start with the DNA test. It will take some time to process. But if we can identify him or find a picture I can start running image searches and see what's out there.

[And then she'll know what he looks like now. Really looks like, not just imagining what he might look like.]

[lengthened]

That's somewhere to start. It's... what I needed. Just a - kick.

( She takes a sip from her whiskey, finally. )

I know we started in a strange and fearful place, but, I am very happy where we've ended up, Waverly Earp.

[stupetballs]

I am too.

[It's been good to have new friends. It feels like a while since she's made them, never mind more than that.

Her fingers run down to the chain around her neck and she looks down at the ring.]

It's funny that I'm kind of the reverse. You're a parent looking for the child you lost, and I was the child looking for the parent that lost me.

[lengthened]

Did you ever find the parent that lost you?

( She's hopeful Waverly will want to talk about herself. Her life. They don't know each other as well as they should. Between the friendship and flirting here and there, there has always been a connection between them. And this parallel shows it. )

[stupetballs]

I did.

[And there's a twinge of sadness to it, because it didn't work out the way she hoped.]

Unfortunately he died shortly after. We didn't really get a lot of time together.

[lengthened]

That couldn't have been easy. Did he find you or did you find him? Did you find each other, even for that brief time?

( The twinge of sadness still comes with a lot of meaning. )

[stupetballs]

[Oh, but that's kind of complicated to answer, isn't it?]

His name was Julian. Momma was married when they met, but Ward wasn't exactly a good man and they fell in love. When they found out she was pregnant with me, things ... escalated. Julian was an angel, and the Ghost River Triangle is designed to keep things in, more than keep things out. A demon had stolen his ring a long time ago and Ward, because he was a vindictive ... person, kicked him out of the Triangle, and ... Julian forgot who he was, and was just wandering for years until I stepped out of the Triangle and ... called him home. I didn't realize that was what I did, but I did.

[She shrugs.]

He still had amnesia when he showed up, though, so he was Charlie the firefighter, and he was a good man, but we didn't know who he really was, because he didn't either. I had recovered his ring and it literally wouldn't come off my finger, but ... he could take it off. Putting on the ring helped him regain himself. So I had him back for a little while.

But like ... a few hours later, we got caught in this big battle, and someone I loved very much was very badly hurt. He used his power to heal her, for me. But because he did that, he couldn't protect himself, and one of the revenants killed him.

[And then she killed them but that's not necessarily important right now.]

[lengthened]

Alexander has more experience with the Ghost River Triangle and Purgatory, but I've absorbed some of the information. It sounds like a trying time, like you were just starting to get to know one another. Sometimes, the people we love are ripped away from us, even if we'd rather have those years back. Whatever time you had with him was special. I'm sorry he didn't survive that battle.

( He died nobly. That may have tempered the loss. )

I only hope I'm not too late.

[stupetballs]

[Waverly nods slowly.]

I hope you aren't too. But ... depending on what he experienced he may ...

[She pauses as she figures out how to phrase this.]

Don't take it personally if he wasn't looking for you too. For a long time, I wasn't looking either.

[lengthened]

Waverly. I take very little personally. And this wouldn't be any different. I care about him and I worry for him, but I know he might not be anything I recognize. He doesn't know I exist. If he did, when that light didn't go out, he would know I was on the other end.

( She'd hope. )

[stupetballs]

Okay. Just ... making sure.

[She then pushes up.]

Let me grab my kit so we can get this started.

[And they do. The DNA results go in, and while they're waiting for those results to come back, Waverly's dad reappears! How strange! So she winds up running away from New York to go deal with that.

It's not until she is on her way back to New York, in the back seat of Dolls' car with Julian next to her, that her phone pings with the DNA results. At first, she perks up when she sees there's a hit, and then frowns when she realizes it's a dead body, not a living person.

But that also doesn't make any sense. How can someone who died forty years ago be setting off Adal's magical radar now?

She pauses, before swapping to her text app and starting to type:]

You said your son appears and disappears. When was the last time he fell off your radar?

[lengthened]

Originally, in the 80's. And then straight into the 90's. 1993 or 94. The 90's were a bit of a blur, admittedly, and I had some outside forces I was battling, so I couldn't try as hard as I wanted to find him. And, I thought I'd have time.

( it could have been 1995 or 1996. this is very important to her. but she is a very old woman. and the 90's had a lot of experimental drugs. rock and roll. and anti-establishment causes she fought with and for. )

[stupetballs]

Got it.

[She goes back to her search. Tapping her thumb nail lightly against the side of her phone for a moment, she takes the image of the victim and plugs it back into the search for a reverse image search. She then puts her phone to the side and lets the search run.

Once they hit the New Jersey Turnpike, it's completed, and her hunch seems a bit more concrete.]

I got a hit off the DNA test. I'm on my way back to the city but if you want to come by the apartment tomorrow we can walk through it?

[lengthened]

I don't want to take you away from anything.

[stupetballs]

Oh, you're totally not. I was going to be home handling some work calls anyway, so you'll be a nice distraction.

[Alice already has plans to go in search of Christmas onesies for Julian and will probably take him with her to make sure it fits properly. This is New York City, and she is a girl on a mission.

Waverly may go with them, but she also told Adal she'd help, and the sooner she has this information the better. And just to sell the deal:]

I may have a picture. I'm still doing a little bit of digging to confirm, but I also think I may have some answers about why he keeps going missing.

[lengthened]

What time, tomorrow? I'll bring bagels.

[stupetballs]

Any time after noon should be good! I should have everything organized by then.

[lengthened]

Let's say 1p. I like absolutes. And donuts.

And you, Waverly Earp.

[stupetballs]

[It's been a while since she's been liked - or liked someone back for that matter. She can't help the smile that crosses her face, but remembers she's in the car and not alone so she tries to neutralize it, before texting back.]

I like you, too. See you tomorrow.

[The next day, she will be ready and waiting. She's dragged the roller whiteboard out of her room once Alice and Julian slipped out on their quest, and has all of the information she's found laid out in front of her.

Now all she needs is Adal and they can get started.]

[lengthened]

( Adal delays the whiteboard moment so she can put the bagels on a plate, pour them each the mimosas she's brought - she's double-fisting a coffee - and sat on the couch like she's in a class, she's ready for whatever Waverly has for her. )

Did you just happen to have this white board on hand?

[stupetballs]

Oh, I bought it when we moved in.

[She flashes her a grin.]

My mind works better when I can lay it all out visually.

[lengthened]

I bet you call them murder boards.

( It's cute. )

Okay, let's begin.