"What exactly is the point of this?"
"We need clothes." Nadiya says, "And keep your voice down."
They're standing in the middle of the thrift shop's only shirt aisle, just a few racks away from the door. Nadiya has a pair of jeans in her hands. It's the nicest one she can find, the cheapest too, better prices than the Wal-mart Remy suggested.
The clerk over by the counter idly watches them over a den of stacked corduroys.
"I wasn't referring to that." Irene mutters. She waddles past a tight spot between two caged racks, keeping with the long strides of Nadiya. "I know we have to do this but I was more or less talking about our next plan."
"What more is there to talk about? We've already discussed this at length." Nadiya takes a button-down shirt off a hanger and examines it. Plain, neutral colored; not the tackiest thing she's ever seen, but it's better than nothing. She tucks the shirt under her arm and moves on to the next rack. This shirt will have to do. "It's like I said, We don't have a lot of options, so what we have is what we have, and what I have right now is my lab."
Irene follows behind, her head stays tucked below the surface line of hangers. Something about how the clerk is eyeing them makes her nervous and clutch the blue-grey sweater closer to her chest. "And is that just the plan? We head to your place and that's it?"
"Well, do you have a better idea?" Nadiya stops and looks at her. "Because if so, I'm all ears."
Irene blinks, then shakes her head. "No, not really."
"Well then, okay."
After enough looking, they pay for their stuff, a button-down blouse and jeans for Nadiya and a sweater and spare jeans for Irene. They grab something for Remy as well. He's out somewhere getting food and necessities for the rest of the trip while they clothe shop. Something Nadiya has relegated to him as his one and only job.
The time limit was ten minutes, they've been here for a little over three and he'll be here soon to come pick them up. With the clothes still in hand, Nadiya decides the quickest course of action would be to change in the shop's changing room.
She goes first, quickly putting her clothes on and steps out to swap with Irene. Two minutes later, Irene pops her head out. "So, where exactly is this place of yours?"
"Washington, near Seattle, actually. I have a lab and an apartment, never really gave the lease up before I left." Nadiya pushes the rest of the old clothes down in the bag. "In hindsight, that was probably a good idea considering the mess we've entered."
"Seattle…" Irene says, "That's really far."
"It's a long way from here, but it's the only place I've thought of. It's a home, a place to stay and lie low, my lab's there so I can always return to work whenever and I don't have to worry about hotel hopping or gas expenses." She grumbles that last part, more to herself.
"Remy's already agreed to it and Kardala's more or less along for the ride. I don't know if it's because she really wants to or if it's just contingent on our 'bond', but if you have another idea in mind…"
"No, I, it's fine." Irene steps out and places her filthy clothes in her own bag, fixing her hair. "I don't really have much of a place to go to either, gave that up when I worked for the Fellowship. And I'm pretty sure half the stuff I had's gone now? So it's not like I have much. Your place is fine."
Nadiya doesn't feel as convinced. She crosses her arms. "And you're going to be okay with that? Just living in Washington, knowing what happens when you're in full vicinity of us? That's not going to pose a problem?"
Irene stands still, hands and all motion quieted. It's a long minute before her eyes carry her gaze to the floor and she sighs, solemn, tiredly. "I know that. It's not going to be an easy change, but I'm willing to put up with it. Truth be told, I don't really think I can do much on my own, anyway. It's a thought that kinda scares me so, whatever it is you choose to do, I'm willing to go along with."
"Hm." Nadiya doesn't press any further, feeling like she can't and also because she doesn't think she has the emotional expertise to venture further into it. "Then it's settled." She turns on her heels, hands reaching for the keys still in her small handbag.
"Seattle it is."
Two days and several hours later, they arrive in the city.
Seattle's lights dance along the hood and roof of the car as they pull closer, drawing them in as the buildings crowd and climb above them. The sun sets in the west, a reddish pink blob in the sky, bleeding between the clouds as night crawls from the east.
Bellevue is a far-off and distant thing behind them, crammed back like a captured mirage in the rearview mirror, bustling, busy and bright eyed. A sister city, bridged eleven miles out from the main one, it's denser and less congested, though still it buzzes with life all the same.
Everything feels so big here, maybe even a little too big. Nadiya can't for the life of her remember the last time she's taken the sights of the city in. It's almost suffocating, naturally pressing down on her like a weight. Big cities like these always did that to her, no matter where it was she came from.
The apartment complex is just around the corner. She rides around the streets, stopping at a red light when she spies it a block down from the old fish market area. A coffee-brown brick building with a red roof and long windows. The building is evenly split. One side of the complex sits on the left end while the other wing sits on the right with a gated courtyard wedged between it. She passes it to make way for a parking area that's nearby.
She'd rather ditch this car and trek the rest of the way on foot, but the streets as they are now are bursting with eyes and sights and sounds and that calls into question the problem of the Goddess. Nadiya would much rather move discreetly than draw anymore attention to herself.
"Is that the place?" Remy says, poking his head out a window and eyeing the passerby's walking the street.
"Yeah, that's it. Just, give me a moment to put this thing somewhere and…" She draws the car into a random parking lot and pushes the driving-stick into park. "Apartments on the right, in the first complex, we can take the stairs in the back."
"Finally!" Kardala grins and kicks the door to the car open with more force than necessary. There's a squeak and what sounds like a grisly wham of metal against stone before it falls away and goes sailing across the lot.
At the sound, Nadiya flinches, "What was that?"
"Um, I think Kardala just kicked the hinge off the door?" Remy says somewhere behind her. His hands are gripping the seat an uncomfortable amount.
Nadiya blinks slow, once for clarity and another to remind herself of the days to come situating with these two. "Great."
"I can make no apologies for my strength, as you both know I am quite strong."
"Whatever," Nadiya says and gets up from her side, slamming the door behind her. "It's not like we were ever going to use this car, anyway."
"We're just gonna leave it here?" Remy has the rest of their junk and trash in hand, one slung over his shoulder like a plastic backpack.
"It's a stolen car."
"Well, yeah—"
"And it's broken."
"That too, but are we sure we can just leave it?" He gestures to the door-shaped hole of the car and makes an outward swing to the rest of the lot. "What if someone comes around and notices?"
"Then it won't be our problem." Nadiya shrugs her shoulders and takes to tossing the keys into the bag Remy has in his hand. "Besides, its likely to get towed before sunset tomorrow, we should be fine."
The place is just the same as she left it. Compact, yet spacious in some areas. They certainly made it with a lot of modernity in mind to give off that "newish" contemporary vibe most places have nowadays. Nadiya's always liken it to that of a cozy college dorm than anything, except that it was more open than square.
"Woah…" Remy plops the junk on the floor—polished wood. She forgot that too. It's not as clean as it was the last time she was here. She'll have to make a mental note of that in her head later for cleaning supplies.
"Ah, so this is where the Demon lives." Kardala ducks her head into the living room, eyeing the furniture and walls with pique interest.
"Did", Nadiya corrects. She hangs the spare key she received from the front desk on the key rack in the hallway. "I've only lived here for a bit, like two months and a half."
"Seems kinda cramped though." Remy says. He tugs at the collar of his t-shirt, sneezing at dust. "And stuffy."
"Oh, you'll get over it." Nadiya walks over and goes to turn on a light. "We all have to now that we're officially settling in. "
It's late, but she decides there's no time like the present to give a tour of the place. The kitchen comes first, then the living room; two of the biggest places in the whole house. Her place isn't much for decor, in fact it's very minimalist.
The kitchen is modest and square, with just a single coffeemaker and toaster on one counter-side by the fridge. Black granite slates the counters and egg-white cabinets line the walls. Aside from the fridge, the only other appliances she has are the dishwasher and microwave.
As little as there is to the kitchen, there's not much else of a living room either. A stuffy but comfortable brown couch, a coffee table and a large box-like TV sits on a stained entertainment box. The box had been a gift from a colleague some long time ago. "Here's the living room and kitchen, there's not much stock right now, but we can worry about that later." She says and continues on.
Next comes the bedrooms. Both her bedroom and the one other room in this place abide by each other, on the right-hand side of the hall. The bathroom on the left end hall, neighbors to the room on the farthest side. She heads for the one farther down. "This is my room." She gives them a brief peek, bed and all, before closing. Moving on, there's not really much to see. "And then the guest room." She opens the door, and they all look inside.
"You're kidding, right?" Remy's eyes bounce around the room, from the messy paper filled desk against the corner wall to the stacks of book and boxes filled with junk.
Well, she supposes it's not really a "guest" room yet. There's sure to be things in there she hasn't taken care of. "Okay, so maybe it's not guest-proof, yet…"
"You think? It's like Fibber McGee's closet in here!"
Kardala pokes at some silver tubing on the floor, watching as it wiggles. "Who is Fibber?"
"It's just a saying and please don't mess with my stuff." Nadiya waves her hands away, corralling them back out the door to close it behind. "And yes, I know it's a mess. Forgive me for not having a clean and furbished house. It's not like I was expecting to have guests when I rented the place, much less roommates."
"Fair."
When they come back to the living room, Kardala places her hands on her hips, smiles, "A fine place you have here, Demon. I must admit I expected something more… inordinate, but I cannot say I am disappointed. This 'apartment' is suitable for my tastes."
With the way her head near scraps the top of the ceiling, it'll be a wonder at all how she'll settle in such a tiny house as this. They'll have to think about that, and other things as well. Food and bed-wise. Do they even make beds the size of gods?
"Thanks, I guess?" She's not really sure what to say to that.
"So where are we bunking for the night?" Remy asks, plopping on the couch.
That's at least easy to figure. Nadiya pulls the bag off the floor and drags it into the living room, moving towards the couch. She slings it off her shoulders and unceremoniously drops it between the gap of the couch and floor. "Here. Knock yourselves out."
"Amazing." Remy muses. "You've done it again." He yawns for a moment, then drops like a log back first against the couch, sinking in. "We've moved in."
Nadiya looks at them, a little tired, lethargy catching up with the rest of her as she leans against the couch. It's going to take some time getting used to this, knowing what she has gotten herself into and knowing not at the same time. "You've certainly have."
