Deja had spent the rest of the night getting drunk at a small local bar and
trying not to think about the situation with Axe. She'd hummed show tunes
for awhile, but after the ten or twelfth bourbon it was hard to remember
the words to Ducaine and the amazing Technicolor dream coat… hell after
about 12 bourbons she hardly remembered who Ducaine was, let alone why he
had an amazing Technicolor dream coat to begin with. After that, her next
few hours were filled with her drinking a few more bottles, challenging
some drunken thug to a fist fight, and beating the holy hell out of him
with a bar stool.
It was nearly dawn when her head began to clear. Deja slowly climbed up the fire escape of a large apartment building, the throbbing in her temples causing her to miss a rung of the ladder every now and then. Not that she cared too much mind you. At this point her only thought was to get to the top so she could sit down, relax, and try to make the hangover go away. About 10 minuets later she made it to the roof of the building and rolled her self from the ladder to the hard concrete and brick that the roof was made up of.
Lying there on the cool cement, her heart thumping, her head aching, Deja decided that she was starting to get too old for nights like this. She had no trouble doing this when she was 14. Then again, she was still so fresh from the lab that anything she ate or drank was transformed into energy and endorphins anyway, so it really hadn't mattered much. But that had long since changed - now it seemed anything Deja drank made her belly ache and anything she ate made her sick. "Ow," Deja quietly mumbled into the cement as the sun broke over the horizon line, shining directly into her tired and sensitive eyes.
Crystalline flicks of light danced throughout the baby blue sky as another day was born in Malland. "Damn you, useless body," she said, squeezing her eyes shut, and slowly rolling over onto her back so the sunlight could warm her. And there she stayed, for three hours upon the rooftop, not moving, or thinking; just breathing and relaxing her mind into a state where she felt whole and at peace. When her mock mediation was done, Deja knew that the time had come to return to the Sisterhood, and decide what she would do about Draven.
As Deja neared Sisterhood Head Quarters, a troubled, and almost rueful look placed itself on her face. 'It's weird,' she thought to herself as she strolled casually down the crowded street. 'I never would have guessed that being a part of the Sisterhood could make me this honor bound. For most of my life I've been looking out for myself and willing to squash anyone to get to where I want to be. I've never been loyal to anyone, or kept anybody's secrets out of respect, only for what I could gain from them.' Turning on to another street in the business district, the young duck made her way, unnoticed through the throng of ducks and Drakes; all on their way to office jobs of some sort. With a confused sigh, Deja continued her thoughts. 'But with the Sisterhood, it's different. I would never betray them, or disobey the rules of the group. Hell, no one there really judges you for being a thief or having a past, and if they do I guess they keep their beaks shut about it.'
She had been thinking these thoughts over and over again since she had heard that name, Axe Draven. Finding out about Draven, had given her cause to weigh her options, and her allegiances.
The duck growled in anger, "I thought Jimmy was the last loose end I had tie up." Deja was referring to one of the Sisterhoods cardinal rules… 'All members must sever all outside contacts.' Now, thanks to Jimmy, Draven knew she was here, and alive, plus she knew Draven well enough to say, that if he wanted to find her, he would, Sisterhood or not.
'Maybe I could talk to one of the other girls about this?' The idea popped into her head quite abruptly, and Deja attempted to dismiss it just as quickly as it had come. "Yeah right… It'll be super fab," she murmured in a high-pitched valley girl tone. "I'll just go up to somebody and ask them to chat. Then after that, we'll do each others hair, and talk about boys while seeing how many ho-ho's we can cram down our throats… it'll be just like a high school sleep-over!" Upon hearing her voice, and her words, Deja had to smile; the ducks in the sisterhood were not really like that at all. However, the notion of any form of girl talk made Deja little queasy.
"This could be why I don't have too many friends," snickered Deja quietly as she entered the main room of Sisterhood headquarters and headed for the kitchen area. Her night out had given her a bit of an appetite, not to mention that she hadn't had anything to eat since yesterday morning. "I'll just grab a piece of leftover…" Deja stopped speaking as she entered the kitchen, her eyes falling on fellow Sisterhood member, DC Frost feather.
DC looked up from her waffle batter at the sound of Deja's voice. "Hey," DC said lightly, wiping a bit of batter from the tip of her beak.
"Hey," Deja replied in an vaguely listless tone, as she removed her leather coat and placed it on a near by chair. "Sorry to interrupt your waffles."
With a wave of her hand DC smiled and then went back to mixing, "Not a problem."
Although DC seemed friendly, there was something about her, that Deja thought was a little off, although she quickly dismissed it as she got the same feeling from almost everyone else here. Allowing herself a cat like stretch, she stifled a yawn, walked over to the large refrigerator, and opened the door. Her blue eyes narrowed to a scowl as she discovered that there were no leftovers inside the fridge. This was the last straw to a perfectly horrible few days! "Well it just figures!" She growled in aggravation.
"Problem?"
Deja shut the fridge with extreme force and turned around to face DC. "Did you know" she asked in an irate tone, "that there is no pizza in here? Now I have to go back out there and get pizza… What a completely productive waste of my time that is going to be!" Realizing that she was almost yelling, Deja sighed, and smiled a little sheepishly, "Sorry… it's been a really long night."
DC added a few berries into her waffle mixture and grinned, "Don't worry about it… it can get like that sometimes."
"It's like that all the time…"
Raising an eyebrow, DC dumped the batter into a large waffle iron and then placed the bowl in the sink. "Is it, now?"
Slumping down into a large kitchen chair, and allowing her head to fall backwards, Deja sighed. "Sometimes… maybe… I don't know. It's like, it doesn't matter what you do… something is always pulling you back down."
Applying pressure to the lid on top of the waffle iron, DC sighed, although it was more for herself than for Deja. "Tell me about it." She strode over the fridge, opened the door, and grabbed the syrup from inside.
Before Deja could stop herself the words were leaping unbidden from her throat. "I thought joining the Sisterhood would help me get away from all of this crap from my past… but here it is… rearing it's ugly head and sticking it's beak into my life." Deja ran her hand through her short hair then folded her arms across her chest. "I thought I got rid of the last thing from my past that could hurt me…"
Opening the lid to the waffle iron with a bit of excessive force, DC smiled ruefully, "There's always something out there, always… the trick is to stay ahead of it."
"Maybe…" Deja sighed as she crossed her legs. "But what if you know that you can't stay ahead of it? What if you know that it'll be right there at your door in a couple of days and it won't be thrilled to see you?"
"Well…"
Deja cut her off, "what if it's tough, relentless, lethal…" her voice softened a bit as she continued, "…irresistible, tall, green eyed, blond, gorgeous, and built like a brick…" Deja stopped herself and looked up.
DC had a slight and almost mischievous smile on her face, and her eyes were slightly twinkling, "I see…"
Smiling, Deja cocked her head to the side, "Can we pretend I never mentioned that last part?"
"Sure," said DC suppressing a snicker as she dished some of the now cooked waffles on to a plate. She then grabbed the syrup and walked over to Deja. "Just remember, you can either spend your life running, or do what you need to do to survive." That said, DC set the waffles and the syrup down in front of the other woman and turned to leave the room.
With a small look of confusion on her face, Deja picked up the syrup, "Uh… DC You're a fellow woman, can you tell me something?"
DC paled slightly, and only turned half way around, "Uh… I'll try…"
"All this confusion and aggravation we feel… is that why drakes think we're strange."
"It's one of the many reasons."
Deja rolled her eyes, "It figures… thanks for the waffles."
With a relieved sigh, DC continued to walk from the room. "Don't mention it."
It was nearly dawn when her head began to clear. Deja slowly climbed up the fire escape of a large apartment building, the throbbing in her temples causing her to miss a rung of the ladder every now and then. Not that she cared too much mind you. At this point her only thought was to get to the top so she could sit down, relax, and try to make the hangover go away. About 10 minuets later she made it to the roof of the building and rolled her self from the ladder to the hard concrete and brick that the roof was made up of.
Lying there on the cool cement, her heart thumping, her head aching, Deja decided that she was starting to get too old for nights like this. She had no trouble doing this when she was 14. Then again, she was still so fresh from the lab that anything she ate or drank was transformed into energy and endorphins anyway, so it really hadn't mattered much. But that had long since changed - now it seemed anything Deja drank made her belly ache and anything she ate made her sick. "Ow," Deja quietly mumbled into the cement as the sun broke over the horizon line, shining directly into her tired and sensitive eyes.
Crystalline flicks of light danced throughout the baby blue sky as another day was born in Malland. "Damn you, useless body," she said, squeezing her eyes shut, and slowly rolling over onto her back so the sunlight could warm her. And there she stayed, for three hours upon the rooftop, not moving, or thinking; just breathing and relaxing her mind into a state where she felt whole and at peace. When her mock mediation was done, Deja knew that the time had come to return to the Sisterhood, and decide what she would do about Draven.
As Deja neared Sisterhood Head Quarters, a troubled, and almost rueful look placed itself on her face. 'It's weird,' she thought to herself as she strolled casually down the crowded street. 'I never would have guessed that being a part of the Sisterhood could make me this honor bound. For most of my life I've been looking out for myself and willing to squash anyone to get to where I want to be. I've never been loyal to anyone, or kept anybody's secrets out of respect, only for what I could gain from them.' Turning on to another street in the business district, the young duck made her way, unnoticed through the throng of ducks and Drakes; all on their way to office jobs of some sort. With a confused sigh, Deja continued her thoughts. 'But with the Sisterhood, it's different. I would never betray them, or disobey the rules of the group. Hell, no one there really judges you for being a thief or having a past, and if they do I guess they keep their beaks shut about it.'
She had been thinking these thoughts over and over again since she had heard that name, Axe Draven. Finding out about Draven, had given her cause to weigh her options, and her allegiances.
The duck growled in anger, "I thought Jimmy was the last loose end I had tie up." Deja was referring to one of the Sisterhoods cardinal rules… 'All members must sever all outside contacts.' Now, thanks to Jimmy, Draven knew she was here, and alive, plus she knew Draven well enough to say, that if he wanted to find her, he would, Sisterhood or not.
'Maybe I could talk to one of the other girls about this?' The idea popped into her head quite abruptly, and Deja attempted to dismiss it just as quickly as it had come. "Yeah right… It'll be super fab," she murmured in a high-pitched valley girl tone. "I'll just go up to somebody and ask them to chat. Then after that, we'll do each others hair, and talk about boys while seeing how many ho-ho's we can cram down our throats… it'll be just like a high school sleep-over!" Upon hearing her voice, and her words, Deja had to smile; the ducks in the sisterhood were not really like that at all. However, the notion of any form of girl talk made Deja little queasy.
"This could be why I don't have too many friends," snickered Deja quietly as she entered the main room of Sisterhood headquarters and headed for the kitchen area. Her night out had given her a bit of an appetite, not to mention that she hadn't had anything to eat since yesterday morning. "I'll just grab a piece of leftover…" Deja stopped speaking as she entered the kitchen, her eyes falling on fellow Sisterhood member, DC Frost feather.
DC looked up from her waffle batter at the sound of Deja's voice. "Hey," DC said lightly, wiping a bit of batter from the tip of her beak.
"Hey," Deja replied in an vaguely listless tone, as she removed her leather coat and placed it on a near by chair. "Sorry to interrupt your waffles."
With a wave of her hand DC smiled and then went back to mixing, "Not a problem."
Although DC seemed friendly, there was something about her, that Deja thought was a little off, although she quickly dismissed it as she got the same feeling from almost everyone else here. Allowing herself a cat like stretch, she stifled a yawn, walked over to the large refrigerator, and opened the door. Her blue eyes narrowed to a scowl as she discovered that there were no leftovers inside the fridge. This was the last straw to a perfectly horrible few days! "Well it just figures!" She growled in aggravation.
"Problem?"
Deja shut the fridge with extreme force and turned around to face DC. "Did you know" she asked in an irate tone, "that there is no pizza in here? Now I have to go back out there and get pizza… What a completely productive waste of my time that is going to be!" Realizing that she was almost yelling, Deja sighed, and smiled a little sheepishly, "Sorry… it's been a really long night."
DC added a few berries into her waffle mixture and grinned, "Don't worry about it… it can get like that sometimes."
"It's like that all the time…"
Raising an eyebrow, DC dumped the batter into a large waffle iron and then placed the bowl in the sink. "Is it, now?"
Slumping down into a large kitchen chair, and allowing her head to fall backwards, Deja sighed. "Sometimes… maybe… I don't know. It's like, it doesn't matter what you do… something is always pulling you back down."
Applying pressure to the lid on top of the waffle iron, DC sighed, although it was more for herself than for Deja. "Tell me about it." She strode over the fridge, opened the door, and grabbed the syrup from inside.
Before Deja could stop herself the words were leaping unbidden from her throat. "I thought joining the Sisterhood would help me get away from all of this crap from my past… but here it is… rearing it's ugly head and sticking it's beak into my life." Deja ran her hand through her short hair then folded her arms across her chest. "I thought I got rid of the last thing from my past that could hurt me…"
Opening the lid to the waffle iron with a bit of excessive force, DC smiled ruefully, "There's always something out there, always… the trick is to stay ahead of it."
"Maybe…" Deja sighed as she crossed her legs. "But what if you know that you can't stay ahead of it? What if you know that it'll be right there at your door in a couple of days and it won't be thrilled to see you?"
"Well…"
Deja cut her off, "what if it's tough, relentless, lethal…" her voice softened a bit as she continued, "…irresistible, tall, green eyed, blond, gorgeous, and built like a brick…" Deja stopped herself and looked up.
DC had a slight and almost mischievous smile on her face, and her eyes were slightly twinkling, "I see…"
Smiling, Deja cocked her head to the side, "Can we pretend I never mentioned that last part?"
"Sure," said DC suppressing a snicker as she dished some of the now cooked waffles on to a plate. She then grabbed the syrup and walked over to Deja. "Just remember, you can either spend your life running, or do what you need to do to survive." That said, DC set the waffles and the syrup down in front of the other woman and turned to leave the room.
With a small look of confusion on her face, Deja picked up the syrup, "Uh… DC You're a fellow woman, can you tell me something?"
DC paled slightly, and only turned half way around, "Uh… I'll try…"
"All this confusion and aggravation we feel… is that why drakes think we're strange."
"It's one of the many reasons."
Deja rolled her eyes, "It figures… thanks for the waffles."
With a relieved sigh, DC continued to walk from the room. "Don't mention it."
