Mystery Lake

[41] Needs and Wants

"What do you want to know?"

Roxy checked all around her for blind corners, dark patches, and other unpleasant voids. The trees stood like placed, stern soldiers blocking the view. The angles of the road were clamped off by signs, lamps, and Cerberus nearest to her.

Rydia was close, but not so close that bolting would be a good alternative to standing her ground. Her arm span loomed enough that Roxy understood that if she made a dash to escape, the behemoth woman could simply pluck her off the ground like a small game piece on a board.

The threshold of safety had been crossed and there was nothing she could do about it. Better to maintain her cool and hear them out. The pair hadn't done anything to hurt them and had most recently saved them from being eaten. What happened in the diner was also the reason for the tension quivering in Roxy's heart. Whatever dealt with the Hollows made her feel like even less than a wandering insect in comparison. The fact that each of them wore the apparent face of a relatively normal human didn't help.

Rummaging around in an impressively deep suit pocket, Rydia pulled out a small spiral-bound notepad and flipped through a few pages.

"Have you noticed any peculiarities recently? This could include strange people speaking to you in unexpected ways. Appearances and disappearances of humans or non-humans. The presence of things that would be considered monstrous. Unpleasant, untraceable odors, or weird weather phenomena. Sudden internal factors such as hearing or seeing things that others don't. Or an observed change in the personality of someone you know." The hulking lady continued to speak in her tiny, high-pitched tone, which flattened out for a moment before climbing back to a protective squeak.

Cerberus stood there with his back against the brick, his legs outstretched, and his arms folded over his stomach. Despite how clearly masculine the guy was, Roxy found it to be an oddly effeminate pose for him. Not something she wanted to point out, but she filed it away.

No one passed by, same as when those two smokey monsters had been after them. Clearing her throat, Roxy proposed, "I'm sorry, I just came out for a breath of air, but I really have to take the world's biggest, most ungodly, screaming, messy shit. Could we just pop inside for a second? We can all make ourselves comfortable; I can take care of my bowels; you can enjoy some tea, and we can talk."

She thought that was a pretty good proposal, along with being precisely embarrassing in all the right ways. If she asked if they could go upstairs to talk, then that could easily be turned around to perhaps going to their vehicle, where who knows what could happen there, or some other assurances could be made to keep her cornered like this. What could they possibly say to this?

Rydia answered first with a cheerful smile and an exuberant nod. "Oh, yes, please. That would be lovely. I honestly have to pee like a wild horse, so that would be a relief. I had seven cups of green tea earlier and we've had to stop everywhere along the way. Sorry, boss."

Cerberus put a pair of fingers to his forehead and bowed. Rydia dipped her head to him with an awkward smile before turning back to Roxy. "Lead the way, ma'am."

Technically, that was what she wanted. Not to be isolated from the others by these two. Although it occurred to her that if Rydia and Cerberus were dangerous, then she was just inviting another set of monsters into their midst. Not much to do about that. Just hope that her universe-slicing power would help and that Ross still has more to Charlie. But mostly hope that these two didn't mean any harm.

"Sorry about the front entrance; the steps are a little bit tight because it's an old building. Just take it slow. Everybody all right upstairs?" Quite obviously, Roxy used a louder voice than usual. They learned from the monster attack that the walls were unfortunately thick, but hopefully someone inside could hear what she was saying. Fortunately, the two in black didn't seem to be too perturbed by her almost shouting.

Rydia inspected the blocked-off, out-of-service elevator, although it seemed unlikely that she would be able to fit into it, even if she crouched down. As for the stairs, that was even more of a challenge, as the entire space required Rydia to contort herself in order to creep precisely upwards, all the while avoiding smashing her head on the low ceiling. She spun around several times before finally slipping through the entryway. Cerberus actually did a half-pirouette, but with obvious restraint.

Roxy braced herself to enter such a supernatural and conspiracy-hungry place with what should have been the enemy. Stepping through the threshold brought a moment of quiet uncertainty. Eugene looked up first, and Miranda followed shortly after. Eugene's mouth just hung open, and his eyes widened as he spotted Rydia. She was indeed quite a sight. The wooden floor beneath her creaked with concern. The massive lady gently folded her arms in front of her and dipped her head.

Cerberus dug into a pocket and flashed a badge, announcing, "FBI, Special Investigations Unit. I'm Agent Cerberus, and this is Agent Rydia. We just wanted to ask your friend here a few questions about some recent events they've been involved in. Sorry to intrude on your business, but she asked to go somewhere more comfortable. I hope this isn't too much of an imposition. We should be out of your hair shortly."

Eugene seemed to be vaguely aware of what Cerberus was saying, as his attention was on Rydia all through that explanation. Even when Cerberus finished, it still appeared that the man still seemed hopelessly entranced. Roxy cleared her throat, and the man straightened up with several quick blinks.

"Oh! Welcome. As long as she's comfortable, there's no problem. Sure. Agent Rydia, was it?"

The hulking woman gave a simple, demure nod. Eugene rose from his seat and approached her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Anything you need, just ask me."

"Restroom?" She squeaked the question urgently. Eugene promptly directed her to a small staff bathroom area that Roxy hadn't noticed, tucked away at an angle along the back wall behind the counter. Rydia remained in place, checking on Roxy and asking if she needed to go first. Roxy patted her stomach and assured her that she could hang on for a few minutes. Wedging her way into the tight water closet required another deft display from Rydia.

Once the door was closed and locked, Roxy's tummy gave its own response with a gurgle that sounded more like a groan. A consequence for fibbing? Fair enough, at least she wasn't alone with these two.

Cerberus sighed and adjusted his oversized suit jacket. It still looked as rumpled as it did before. Eugene scrutinized the man from top to bottom with his left eye mostly closed. "Can I see that badge of yours again?"

With narrowed eyes, he pulled out the ID again and held it out for a long time without letting Eugene get too close. Probably because it was fake, like the rest of the stuff the guy had. So if they weren't with the FBI or the Department of the Interior, then what was their deal? Roxy doubted that either of them would give a sincere or coherent answer.

Eugene pointed his finger at various aspects of the badge. Roxy could tell from this distance that the photo didn't look at all like the man it was supposed to represent. Eugene probably came to the same conclusion, but his mind was on other things.

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"I was wondering... Your partner? Partner, right?"

Cerberus sharpened his expression with a lowered brow. "Yeah. What about her?"

"I hope this doesn't sound too forward. I was just...it's kind of awkward. But I was wondering if she was spoken for. Do you think she might be interested in something… like a date?"

Roxy hadn't expected Eugene to go in that direction, considering he was dealing with a whole mess of thoughts about the water and how he wanted to deal with it. Not that she was going to take issue with his romantic inspiration. Everyone had their thing. It was more of a matter of concern that magic, or trickery was happening again.

Cerberus craned his neck and looked as if he were scrutinizing the shop owner just as carefully as his credentials had been checked. "Spoken for? You mean with someone? Dating?" Of all the things Cerberus had said since they met, this felt the most natural.

Eugene adjusted his thick, gray hair with a clear tension in his features. "My apologies. It's quite presumptuous and unprofessional to put forth the matter, especially since we've only just met. I mean no disrespect to you, and especially no disrespect to Miss Rydia. I can easily drop the matter."

Not giving an immediate answer, the agent plucked the shades from his face, folded them neatly into a breast pocket, and squinted at Eugene. "… You want to ask her out on a date?" Immediately, Eugene fanned his hands, nervously mortified. He tried to obscure his comments in vagueness, but Cerberus relentlessly pressed the same points, as if he secretly represented Rydia's parents, checking to make sure everything was all right. Eugene needed to be on his best behavior, and he rose to the task.

The gray-haired hippie shopkeeper outlined his intentions, taking into consideration whatever the agent's work schedule was, not wanting to overwhelm her, and genuinely planning a nice evening.

"Don't jerk her around. If this is what you want to do, make it clear to her. Do it right."

Despite the speed at which all this was happening, Roxy didn't see the slightest wavering from Eugene. He resolutely declared that he would do it right.

Moments later, the figure in question emerged from the stiff, awkward confines of the small room after gently rinsing her hands in the sink in the corner. Before she could even properly disentangle herself, Eugene put forth his proposal.

"Lady Rydia, would you do me the honor of joining me for dinner at a local Italian restaurant? It's just a block down the main thoroughfare."

The massive lady paused in place and shifted gently as she absorbed and processed this information. Eugene clearly had some sort of Amazon warrior adoration thing going on. Despite his general reticence and hesitance in dealing with so many different matters, she had to give him credit for boldly seizing this without wading through every moment of reflection to get there. Hopefully, this meant that her relatively random advice on other matters had gone to a positive place.

With a looming, almost seismic presence, Rydia still maneuvered cautiously around the back of the store, as if afraid that the slightest shift might topple everything. Roxy remembered a test of the old phrase about a bull in a china shop, which discovered that such animals were strikingly graceful. The immense woman took the utmost care to make sure her wide swath didn't cause any collateral damage.

Not exactly what Roxy had expected, considering the way they had first met the woman, growling with overwhelming weight about squirrel oddities and then providing a thunderous rumble to Cerberus' strike on the Hollows. She couldn't quite reconcile all that with what she was witnessing now, but perhaps it didn't require a complicated answer.

Finding a stretch of relatively open floor space to place herself and respond appropriately, Rydia replied, "Honor? Italian restaurant? Oh, that's very sweet of you to offer. I do feel a might peckish, but I really shouldn't eat Italians."

Eugene responded with a spontaneous, sincere chuckle and Rydia soon echoed them, as if working through a quiet coughing fit. Cerberus squeezed his forehead again but didn't call out any of her comments. They did exchange a look, but it was unclear what they meant to say to one another.

Not human; it was laughably obvious, to the point that Roxy felt like it had to be some kind of put-on fake-out. No way that creatures wearing the faces of humans could possibly be so ridiculous and obvious with their secrets. Her guts complained a second, louder time, and she decided to take her leave. Miranda was still at the back of the room, playing the role of the careful observer without comment. She should be enough. The addition of Jake or the old lady would have been better, but she doubted the two agents would try anything.

Once within the water closet, she noticed and grimaced that the warmth of Rydia's body had left a trace on the seat. A human quality, at least as far as she knew. There were no other signs that someone else had used it.

Soothing the pizza, the tea, and the rancid memory of what had gone before was no easy task compared to a simple bladder. Another less glamorous look behind the curtain of a female body. It still had to do shit. Not that living with Jess had left Joel with a monumental amount of mystique about girls. She wasn't gross, far from it. It was just one of those things you learn together.

She shivered all over, even though it didn't feel that cold in this cramped space. Haunted toilet? Sure, whatever. The feeling settled after a while, as if she were burning a surprising fireball of heat off her body, and it was a huge difference compared to anything around her.

Keep at it, and she may produce her own weather systems. ...Please don't produce a weather system. They'd already done enough weird stuff as a group.

With this exorcism from her body complete, Roxy stretched to her feet and felt sore, as if the whole thing had come with a tenderizing. This friggin day. It started so early, and it was still going.

Thinking back on Rydia's peculiar comment about the restaurant, she wondered if some form of consumption was the end result of the Hollows. Oh shit... she really had to go pee. Claims of drinking too much green tea. But they knew that some fairy species could be converted into watery substances. Roxy peered into the toilet and wondered if she'd just taken a shit on top of the remains of those bastards who tried to turn them into food. An appropriate end, but total speculation.

Returning to the store area was a relief and a release of the mental equivalent of a breath she'd been holding. No one missing. Nothing perturbed or horribly transformed. Rydia lingered near Eugene, with Jake finally out on patrol.

It occurred to her that they'd all somehow forgotten that the old lady was cooking dinner, which complicated this fancy Italian restaurant proposal. Not that the two of them couldn't double dip. Rydia could probably take down an entire meal from the old lady and still have plenty of room for another. Maggie wasn't around to offer her opinion on either dinner or the visitors.

Cerberus lingered in the far section of the store, near some of the older-looking things. She approached him carefully and not too close.

Time to deal with this and hopefully find questions and answers.