Presto!

[KB]

(( OOC: Good idea, y/n? It just exploded from my fingers like I was possessed, I swear. ))

This was not the life for a son of Tau. He was a one of the seven legendary monsters, damn it. He was supposed to rule over these pitiful mortals, eating them as he pleased and striking terror into the hearts of those that dare defy him. He was Moñái, the great serpent!

"Um, he-llo? are you deaf?"

Angry blue eyes flicked down to the insolent teenage standing on the other side of the counter; he glared at her in an attempt to convey the purity of his hatred for her kind, but she merely smacked her gum like a cow chewing cud.

"Are you gonna take my order or should I talk to your manager, Mahn-tee?"

She tapped her foot impatiently and he wondered vaguely what her spinal fluid tasted like. Probably like starburst. Or semen. She was probably a whore.

"Would you like to supersize that for ninety-nine cents more, miss?" He bit out through clenched teeth.

Eight hours later, Monty was marching as fast as his stupid human legs could carry him. He had to get out. He had to taste fresh air. He had to kill something. Now.

How could a fearsome creature of legend have come to this? Taunting the humans with feats that awed and shocked them was one thing; he actually enjoyed the look of wonder and adoration that came with flaunting his innate superiority. But this. Wearing a ridiculous lime green uniform and preparing horrible concoctions that they stupidly called meat and burgers. And he even had to wear contacts. Angrily, he plucked both blue-colored offenders out of his eyes, jerkily dispensing of them on the sidewalk.

Rent was not worth this, he concluded after five blocks into downtown. Who was he kidding? He was a giant snake. He could live in the damn forest and pick off hunters with more dignity than this.

How dare she. How. DARE. She.

He felt something grab his hand. Stopping cold, he glowered down at a child with a stereotypically gap-toothed grin. And a lollipop. Ugh.

"Hey mith-tah Monty! Do a magic trick!"

The man's mouth screwed up into a look similar to a volcano about to erupt, but he froze. His eyes narrowed. He even smiled.

"A magic trick, huh?"

The child nodded eagerly. Her mother looked suspiciously at Monty, but had seen him before and knew him to be good with children. No one could have blamed her for not knowing that he was on the verge of a meltdown; no one had ever seen that side of him.

No one alive, anyway.

"Okie dokie," he said with a devious tone in his voice. "Close your eyes and count to three."

"One.."

"Don't peek."

"Heh heh, okay! Two.."

The child got no further before the sidewalk erupted into screams. The girl's eyes flew open, terror flooding them as a gargantuan snake coiled above her. She gaped, stunned and rooted to the spot, and her mother screamed as she disappeared down the snake's gullet.

There had been sightings of strange things before. Bridgeport was notorious for cryptozoology and monster hunters. Everyone speculated, but only a select few actually saw anything. The next day, however, the tabloids went wild. The television stations from all over the country went wild. The townsmen went wild. Guns were brought out, and the hunting began. The first place they stormed was the monster's apartment. They found nothing but tv guides and candy wrappers. Next came the sewers; where else would it hide? The woods? Better check those too. Maybe the harbor.

It was over. Monty had messed up, and he'd messed up big time. He was so stupid. What was wrong with him? If he had only waited for the forest, he wouldn't have... Now look. He'd put all his respected peers in jeopardy, and for what? A kid. A relatively decadent kid, with particularly succulent- No. This was supposed to be an inner monologue of self-loathing and regret. He was sorry for this. He was. He had to be.

What do you think Laurel would say to you? The question came unbidden to his mind, and he frowned. She was human, technically; she'd hate him. Humans liked kids almost as much as puppies and kittens. Somehow he couldn't picture her being only mildly irritated with him.

Then where will I go? He felt something in his stomach churn. It couldn't be fear. He was the son of- 

Ah, screw it.

Why stop being honest here? He was terrified of leaving. He'd become so well adjusted. He... Well, he liked this place. Why? Was it because he felt at home with a bunch of monsters? Or was it because he'd actually gained a friend after centuries? Who'd give that up easily?

You. You gave it up the moment you chomped down on the brat.

Damn it. He had to admit, he'd not made the best life choices. At all.

His scurrying through alleyways brought him exactly where he hadn't meant to end up. He stared up at the apartment complex, wondering if she was even home. Then he wondered whether it would be better if she was home or out for the day. He would prefer the delay in conflict.

Either way, he couldn't go through the front. His eyes bled into a very light green that all but blended in with his pupils as he stared up at the fire escape. Was that her floor? Her window? Could the rickety iron even hold him? Ah well. He leapt for the ladder, grabbing it with an accomplished smile before it shuddered, unlocked, and plummeted to its extended length. Monty met the ground. He met it hard.

A marginally dirty, disgruntled, and wild-eyed man knocked on the window he believed to be Laurel's a few minutes later, brushing back his waist-length hair. He hoped she'd either let him in or had left the window unlocked. His hands tugged at the sill experimentally before a wayward breeze brought to his full attention the fact that he'd shredded his clothes when he'd gone all scaly. His tan skin turned all sorts of red in places as he realized how many levels his arrival was indecent, and he hastily looked around for something, anything, to cover himself.

(( Edit: I'm nitpicking it; adding a bit here and there. ))

[Clairice-Sarah]

She felt so sick hearing the news that Laurel called into work that day. She convinced herself that this all stemmed from misunderstanding - that something different happened - and this all would come to light when the investigation was finished.

Three prescription bottles on her bathroom counter found themselves depleting faster than ever in the last few years. Laurel couldn't turn on the TV or answer the phone or sign online without having this story thrown at her. She hadn't felt anxiety rip at her this badly in years, and the fear of herself losing control - especially during all this hype - greatly outweighed whatever effect it could have on her body later. She weaned off the antidepressants a while back but kept the remaining - just in case - and now was the case.

Placated with medication and classical music, Laurel directed her day into baking. Already she completed two loaves of bread and worked now on cupcakes. She chided herself that she really didn't need all the sugar and fat - that already she was pretty curvy and she was such a homebody - but something about medication and years of female genetics told her that chocolate and starch foods were going to make this easier.

All of this was just a big misunderstanding and everything was going to be okay--

Laurel jumped when the fire escape clattered below, her hand flying to her chest to still its flutter. Kids screwed with the fire escape all the time. No need to worry. She sighed, hands covered in icing. Could look later. This was her house, her safe place. She held the icing bag above the first finished batch and continued swirling dark chocolate icing on the tops.

She jumped again and squirted icing on the counter when he knocked at her window.

Laurel leaned out of the doorway to her kitchen, gasping to see Monty - shirtless? (the hell?) - standing on the fire escape. That had been him? Why didn't he just buzz the--
Did this mean he really did eat that kid?

After almost two minutes of staring dumbly, waiting on her thoughts to process, Laurel wiped her hands on a dish rag and went to the window, lifted it open with a dozen questions to ask, and stopped.

Oh he wasn't just shirtless (what was going on?) and as Laurel turned purple, she lifted her eyes up to find his, frowning. "You're naked on my fire escape," she said bluntly, but her voice shook between the words. "...why?"

[KB]

Monty had smelled warmth and sugar when he'd tugged on the sill. Hey, maybe she hadn't heard. He couldn't imagine anyone making delectable treats if they were anything other than blissfully unaware. And if she hadn't heard, he could break it to her in a more gentle way. Or maybe call them dirty, filthy liars. No, he couldn't just so that to her; she had to find out some time. He was sorry and had to make things right with someone.

His train of thought had drifted away from decency and on to who she could be baking for - perhaps a surprise for him, he mused - and he forgot himself as he smiled, still looking a bit crazy.

She looked confused. He suppose he couldn't blame her; he'd never greeted her from the window before. Monty had started to ask what she was baking when she turned an unhealthy color. He'd never seen them do that before.

"You're naked on my fire escape," she said bluntly, but her voice shook between the words. "...why?"

Monty blinked, looking down as if for the first time, and quickly covered himself with his hands as she inquired why he was nude.

"Er, well... I..." He fumbled, wondering whether he should come out and say it before or after he got inside safely. "I sort of.. Had an accident," he said experimentally. "You wouldn't be so good as to tell me you've suddenly abstained from news and media, right?"

His smile was sheepish this time. She'd be fine, he reasoned as he watched her carefully; she was nice. But she did have nieces. Humans made those connections. Eat one kid and suddenly you're a danger to them all. Maybe he shouldn't... Well... Maybe he should at least sugarcoat the truth.

[Clairice-Sarah]

Laurel hadn't seen a guy naked since her high-school boyfriend, and she never expected...this. She kept her chin tilted upward to avoid looking at him as he spoke.

"An accident, huh," she said. He wanted to know if she saw the news? "So that was you, then?" Laurel's tone dropped, and with it her stomach. Was he hiding here? Or maybe he would tell her about the big misunderstanding she dreamed.

Laurel stepped back, to look at the clock rather than let him in. No, she still had many hours until she could take her pills again.

"I'll get you a...towel," she said, turning away to find one, and tapped the power button on her CD player as she passed. It wasn't as if Laurel had clothes he could wear... She stopped in front of the linen closet, wondered if this meant she would go to jail. Was there a law here about letting someone the police wanted in? She could play innocent. Taking a breath, Laurel decided to take it as it came. He was her friend, and though he had a mountainous pride about it, non-human sides needed a certain degree of control. She didn't always have it. Maybe he was the same, despite his boasting.

Laurel dropped the large towel on the couch and walked straight back into her kitchen without acknowledging him further. Oh god, what if this was two weeks from now? Her brother would never take a naked man in her apartment well. She picked up the icing bag and finished off the last three cupcakes of the batch, hovering over them, and picked her favourite looking one and one for her guest. She had a mouthful of cake and icing by the time she returned to the living room, and held the second cupcake out to him, face wearing a dazed sort of innocence.

"It's still warm," was all she said.

[KB]

Was that revulsion? No, no; he was reading too much into it. It had to be the lack of clothes that had her acting like that. Monty was shocked to find himself nervous, and he didn't dare ponder why.

His expression became one of outright worry in the next moment. She'd heard. The man's mouth opened and closed like a fish as he struggled to jump into an explanation, but Laurel stepped back, then left to get him a towel.

He'd initially planned on waiting outside, but thought better of it considering his predicament and clambered through the window. Monty was trying to indiscreetly position himself behind some decor or another when Laurel returned, dropped a towel, and left.

This didn't seem like it was going to turn out well.

The man wrapped the towel around his waist and started to follow her, stopping in the doorway of the kitchen. He watched her finish her - oo, cupcakes! Wait. No. Feeling bad, remember? - and backpedaled into the living room with her.

She held the cupcake out to him and informed him that it was still warm.

Monty took the cupcake gingerly, his concerned expression this time regarding her. He looked down at the dessert in his hands, turning it around on one palm, and then back up at her.

"Laurel," he said slowly. "You're alright... Right?"

He actually didn't feel like cupcakes anymore. His breath left him in a rush. The great serpent was at a loss.

"I'm sorry. I know this looks- er, well, I suppose this is bad. But-" Monty sat down on the couch, sitting the cupcake aside and running his hands through his hair. "I feel horrible, if it's any consolation. I wasn't thinking."

His apology wasn't sounding too good, he realized. He glanced back up at her carefully.

[Clairice-Sarah]

Her? Oh, she felt fine. "I'm fine," she replied, as if he'd asked a silly question. She licked icing off her thumb before continuing, "A little surprised." Laurel sat on the chair and crossed her legs, listening to his apology.

"I guess..." What was she supposed to say? It didn't change what he did, he ate a child, but they weren't normal, either... "I guess these things happen, but...it's still upsetting, to a small community like this." What else could she offer? "And now people are looking for you, right? What are you going to do? You stand out, a little..."

Laurel nibbled at the cupcake. What was she going to do? She felt sick at the thought of breaking the law - her family always had been connected to justice and the law - but he was her friend. The only one she had, aside her coworkers, but she didn't really...spend time with them. But everything would turn out, right?

"I don't really know what to say," she confessed, with an apologetic smile. "You didn't just break the law..."

((ooc: oh god I am struggling with things to say. She's dopey and in shock D: sorry for not reciprocating post length...))

[KB]

(( No worries! I'm trying to not be dull. :x ))

A little surprised? That was hardly the word for it. Monty frowned at her, feeling disgruntled at her lack of a passionate response. Sure, he didn't really want her to be angry or upset, but somehow this was still worse.

He refrained from doing something drastic like shaking her and saying I just ate a kid, Laurel; hellooooo!; instead he settled on replying, "Yes, well... I still don't have much of an idea on where to go."

Monty couldn't expect to stay with her; not now. He quickly continued on to try and stifle any implied pleas for sanctuary. "I'll probably head out of town; I think they are coming the city and surrounding areas pretty well."

How would he get out? Sewers came to mind. And hostile reactions to any and everything he'd encounter in there. He was thinking in regrets and hesitations; why? Her. She was like the guilty conscience he never had. Damn it.

"This was a mistake," he concluded. Monty looked up, his face a mixture of worry and displeasure. A thousand things flitted through his head.

"Thank you for the cupcake, Laurel." Thank you for the friendship, he echoed in his head. Maybe the man would be able to go back to making bad decisions once he was out of there. Monty stood, headed for the door, then cursed and turned to retreat towards the window. He cursed again and rubbed his hands over his face.

She was a lost cause. Her reaction said enough. Monty was a monster. He couldn't escape that. He shouldn't want to. Why behave like a coward?

Do what you have to, his inner voice whispered. He listened. He turned around. His eyes were defiantly cold.

"I'm going to use your apartment."

[Clairice-Sarah]

Laurel frowned. "You're going to leave? To where? And for how long?" He didn't answer though, lost on his thoughts, and Laurel waited patiently for his answer. Her eyes never left his face, and she sat in silence wondering if he only came here to say goodbye. Not that she blamed him - what could he do? - but it didn't sit well with her, regardless.

"This was a mistake."

Laurel frowned, the goodbye, or what he did? Obviously, the latter - of COURSE - she told herself to focus, but it was so hard...how did she get through a day before? She broke out of her thoughts when he spoke again.

"Thank you for the cupcake, Laurel."

"But you didn't eat it," she blurted, pointing to it on her coffee table, and as he got up and paced, Laurel stood. "Where are you going? Monty?"

"I'm going to use your apartment."

"...huh?" She titled her head slightly to the side. "Use my apartment?" she repeated. "Like...? That doesn't make sense. Use it for what?" Despite the medication, she couldn't miss the change in his eyes, decidedly less warm than they'd been a minute ago. Logic told her to step back, and she did, though only to bump into the chair.

She rationalized though, that this was Monty and his eyes changed all the time. And she was being hyper-sensitive because of what happened and how stressed she felt.

"Monty? Can you be more specific?" She swallowed. "I'm..." She told him a while ago she weaned off it. "Just feeling...a little out of it today."

[KB]

Her responses had been as hectic as the thoughts in his head, but Monty was most assuredly focused now. He had never run into this problem prior to Bridgeport. Before her. He never bothered with morals or petty human jobs before. He did as he pleased and was composed. But now look. He intended to fix this.

"Use my apartment" He just scowled at her. "Like...? That doesn't make sense. Use it for what?" Monty's lip almost curled as he let himself turn his anger and frustration on her, made his fault hers'.

She asked him to be more specific, and the man's laughter- a sharp, unfriendly doppleganger to his usual tone- was her response before he closed the distance between them by another step.

"I'm taking up residence for the time being. I'm going to figure out what to do, and you'll help in any way necessary." The 'or else' was heavy in the air.

He only needed a short while for them to clear the woods, stop the search. Then a few decades au naturale and Monty would be off scott free. Hopefully the majority would have forgotten, moved, or died off by that point. Maybe he'd cut his hair. No, he liked his hair.

The man resumed his glaring once he snapped out of his thoughts. He all but dared her to question him. He completely ignored a tiny niggling that said he might regret this later. He was a monster. Monsters didn't have regrets.

[Clairice-Sarah]

Medication be damned. Laurel snapped to attention and narrowed her eyes. Was he threatening her? He was threatening her. A mixture of shock, disbelief, and then indignation crossed her face.

"Excuse me?" she finally managed, though a small, medicated sense of survival told her not to raise her voice. "You...you're not staying here, not if you're going to talk to me like that." Maybe she misjudged him and the friendship. Though she didn't want to think about it that way, if he'd used her to this point, he was was mistaken if he thought she'd put up with him now.

She pointed to her window. "You can't just barge in here and decide you're staying here," Laurel continued, trying to control the shake in her voice. "I had to work just as hard to make a life here, too." The advice that her brother gave her the other night on the phone, "Just in case that killer is still around, Laurel" would be to call the police, kick Monty out, something, whatever she had to to protect herself. Laurel didn't know what she - or her frail other half - could do to assert herself as the one in control. But the way he sounded, the turn things were now taking, she refused to be his accessory.

For the first time, Laurel felt glad to be homesick instead of home. She didn't want to see anyone get hurt, but she didn't want her family to be near this either.

Holding her arm out still, she stood in place, waiting for what he had to say, or the explanation he might give. Maybe Monty was the one off his rocker, the one who needed some kind of prescription.

"I don't appreciate that when I haven't done anything to deserve it," she added. But Monty was good at talking himself up in front of others. He didn't scare her that much, not really, at least not at this moment. Lessons her brother imparted on her overs the years surfaced at the back of her mind, reminding Laurel she had the freedom to be outside and places to go and he did not.

[KB]

She gave him the response he was hoping for, finally. The corners of his mouth twisted up and he looked relatively satisfied. Monty followed the path her finger pointed out, looking at the window with a bemused expression before his eyes returned to Laurel.

"I'll do whatever I want; you don't have the power to get rid of me." His horns shimmered and he attempted to send her a compulsion to sit down just to get the point across. "Really, it's the least you could do for getting me into this situation in the first place."

There, he'd said it. It was out in the open; no beating around the bush. She'd done this to him. She'd made him a sopping mess of law-abiding citizen, and he'd snapped. What else did she expect to happen? Him to live a hunky-dory life at a fast food joint? How was he supposed to brush off insolence and stupidity at every turn when only a century or more ago he had villagers quaking in fear of him? He'd eaten people for looking at him the wrong way! But her. She had to come along, keep him interested, keep him entertained, and bribe him with sweets and friendships until she had him wrapped around her ethical little finger. She was just like Porasy.

The internal comment struck him suddenly, and fueled a whole new rage within him. The fury practically dripped from his expression, so much that he actually turned away.

How could he be so stupid? It had practically happened all over again! He'd let it happen, even when he swore he never would. Laurel had practically invoked the vile spirit of that be-damned mortal. Was Porasy intentionally cursing him? Did she wish to ruin his life for all eternity? Did the girl in whose apartment he now stood even know about any of this? She couldn't. It was merely a sick reoccurring nightmare.

He should take care of the problem before he ended up getting almost killed again. Or maybe this one would succeed this time around?

No. He was immortal. But that didn't mean almost dying didn't hurt.

Monty turned back to Laurel, watching her as he decided what he should do. Even if he loathed her at this moment, that didn't stop him for asking, "Do you think they'll be searching the woods for very long?"

He could get her to drive him out there once the parties had thinned out. Did she drive? "Do you drive?" Maybe he'd been told already. His thoughts were jumbled. He frowned, but reasoned that he could tuck himself away into a duffel bag and have her contact a taxi. Problem solved.

Monty's ruby-colored gaze focused back on her, wondering what he would do with her once that part of his plan had been accomplished.

[Clairice-Sarah]

"I'm still calling bull on this." Laurel's hand moved from pointing to the window to her hip, eyes narrowing some when he said it was her fault. How was it her fault? She tried to think, but nothing came to mind and she was reminded of a petty child trying to win an argument with his parent. Internally she groaned; is this was she was forever doomed to? A parent-child relationship with everyone?

But then his face changed and Laurel's confidence dimmed. She'd never seen that kind of rage on anyone's face before and when he turned away, took that away from her, she felt worse.

Fear was altogether something different from anxiety, and though she know the physiological results were practically the same, fear stemmed from a part of her that she didn't have therapy to control. While he looked away from her Laurel glanced to her fire escape, her kitchen, and the door out, and realized that unless something large and shiny kept him entertained for a few minutes, she really didn't benefit from trying to go.

He caught her mid-stride to rescue her second cupcake batch (which, she realized now, would be DOA) and Laurel stopped on her way to the kitchen.

"I don't know," she answered, honestly, "Almost all of Bridgeport is surrounded by water or trees." That's why people stayed in this town. The nature felt soothing. "And no, I haven't replaced my car yet. Even if I had, I'm not in any position to drive today." Not on this many pills. She could barely focus on one thing for more than twenty minutes.

Deciding that, since he didn't know what he was doing, she was free to move about her own living space and Laurel turned to her kitchen, her happy place. She wrinkled her nose at the smell of the slightly burnt cupcakes, sliding the muffin tray onto the stovetop before putting the remaining uncooked batter in the fridge.

What a day to skip work...

She shook her head and began cleaning up. Maybe if she ignored him and his chest-puffing long enough he'd come around and stop being stupid about this. Yeah, she was mad, upset, and Laurel didn't describe herself as pissed off very often. But the good girl in her told her he was likely as stressed and torn as anyone could be and maybe this was just stages of shock, or depression, and that if she were patient with him everything would be okay.

[KB]

(Edited to add: Sorry I took so long! School work had me by the throat.)

Monty matched her pace as she moved, suspicious of her actions since making the connection between her and his back-stabbing beloved. The more he thought about it, the more convinced he came to be. Everything matched up, and so he began thinking of solutions as he nodded distractedly to her replies and followed her into the kitchen.

She couldn't have told anyone. Not yet. But she might. The fact that Laurel was sympathetic to the death of a child made her a prime suspect for betrayal. And she didn't respond to compulsion. Was he not trying hard enough? Did she develop an immunity? He hadn't chipped a horn, had he? Monty lifted a pair of slender fingers to his head, brushing them gently to feel for any cracks. He wrinkled his nose in distaste. If she didn't respond, he'd have to keep even more of an eye on her.

The man wrote off her inability to drive with the anxiety of his own ordeal and didn't put much more thought into it. That was a simple fix; he was light and she could call a taxi to take him via duffle bag to the same destination. But he'd have to find a way to ensure her cooperation. That wouldn't be hard; she had a conscience. Just threaten a few people and she'd see that it was her duty to do as asked to protect the general public. Human attachments were entirely too exploitable.

Monty returned to the world, his eyes refocusing on her to find her cleaning. Typical. He couldn't help but sneer. Were he anyone else, he'd be able to register what he was doing in a healthy manner. Instead, he picked up a cupcake from her first batch and bit into it as if it too had wronged him in some way.

“Is this what you do all day?” He asked with a mouthful of rather delicious but conniving cupcake. “Bake and clean?” He was being petty and mean; his questions sounded snide. Monty wasn't the best at handling frustration, and he had nothing to vent on. He couldn't leave right now, and he had no idea what to do with himself other than take it out on something or someone. It was easier to be mad at someone if they'd actually done something to him. Er, well. It was easier to be mad at someone if they continued doing something to him. There. That was better.

[Clairice-Sarah]

When Laurel looked back at Monty again, any sugar in her personality was gone. "Well, I'll just stop then. For someone who hates me all of a sudden, you sure don't mind digging into my baking." Laurel dropped the dishes into the sink with a loud clatter, wearing a tight smile. "It's my home, and I'll clean it as much as I want to."

She turned on the hot water full blast to fill the sink with bubbles. She felt as if she was suffocating. Locked in her own apartment. Human Laurel couldn't hold up against him. She didn't want to think about her other self.

"Is that what upset you?" Laurel asked before she could stop herself. "You know, you want to live around people but you don't want to follow their rules. It doesn't work that way." She looked past him to the wall covered in art and letters from her nieces. "I'm telling you that you can't have your cake and eat it." Shifting her gaze to the cupcake he just massacred. She sighed again though, and rolled up her sleeves before starting to scrub at the dishes. She didn't know what else to do, say.

Telling him to get out didn't work.

What now? Why her?

Laurel's hope bug prodded its way into her brain again, promising her that he wouldn't be here if he didn't see her as trustworthy, or safe or...something.

She hated this feeling, hated to be helpless.