[Marni] They didn’t notice when Ethan and ‘the kid’ arrived home last night, though Ethan surely noticed what was going on behind the closed door of his twin brother’s room. There is no mistaking the soft sounds of delight, the laughter, the soft murmuring conversation, the bang of a headboard against the wall – and other such noisy things. Aaron was entertaining someone – multiple times. Poor boy is exhausted, and as he promised a ‘before you go home’ round 3 (or was it 4?), Marni’s letting him rest while she goes to scrounge for something to fill her empty belly.
Thus, we have one curly haired gnawer, on the short side of average, curvy in all the right places with a little extra up top to keep the boys happy, standing barefoot in front of the fridge, dressed in panties and her tank top. Curl are a tousled mess, which only serves to make their bounce and tumble more appealing. She locates the leftover pizza, and grabs a beer and nudges the fridge closed with a hip, setting the foil wrapped goodness on the counter and opening it, humming to herself as she does so.
[Ethan] Mornings start early in 14-H. Not necessarily for the twin who is making a living tutoring while he’s staying in Chicago, but for the police officer and the seven-year-old who reside here permanently, their days begin in darkness, and they end the same way.
Ethan is normally the first one awake, but as he suspected last night, his brother was entertaining. The evening’s entertainment is banging around in the kitchen when he leaves his bedroom at 6:31 in the morning, and rather than going straight into his son’s room to rouse him for the day, he heads down the hallway towards the source of the noise.
He’s the spitting image of his brother, just as tall and just as physically fit, though in his t-shirt she can see that he’s lacking the tattoos that grace the right side of Aaron’s body. His hair is shorter. He doesn’t have that arrogant swagger that Aaron does, and he doesn’t eye his guest as though she is a guest at all.
He eyes her as though he knows exactly what she is, though.
“Does he know what you are?” is the first thing out of his mouth. His voice is accented, carries with it over-enunciated vowels and clipped consonants, though it has been worn away by time.
[Marni] She’s in the process of taking a bite, when Ethan joins her in the kitchen. She turns leans a hip against the counter, so she can watch him, study him for a long moment. It’s likely that she’s taking in the differences, one twin for the other – the good twin vs. the bad, the balance of yin and yang.
Or maybe she’s wondering if he’s EXACTLY the same as his brother… everywhere…
She smiles, though, as the first words aren’t a who are you, or what are you doing, or even hey, you’re kinda cute standing half naked in my kitchen – but does. he. know. A brow quirks over dark, expressive eyes that currently sparkle with good humor. In fact, she’s practically glowing – sporting that fresh IGF look that makes her seem even more alive than ever.
“Pretty sure he does. He likely knew before he invited me home, though I didn’t give a full introduction.” She tips her head, and curls bounce over her shoulder as she studies him again. “Why?” Followed by another bite of pizza – the girl worked up quite an appetite, after all.
[Ethan] It’s a reasonable question, why he ought to care, or why that would even be important, why he would ask that to the exclusion of ‘Who are you’ or ‘What are you doing in my kitchen?’ He had only to look her over, once, to realize that he was dealing with someone not-quite-human, it would seem. And that look-over wasn’t thorough. He seems unfazed by the sight of a cute, half-naked young woman standing in his kitchen, as though this sort of thing happens all the time.
This sort of thing doesn’t happen all the time, though, and the irony of the situation may very well be completely lost on the Ragabash if she didn’t get to know the man’s brother well enough to get the story of where that laceration on his eyebrow came from.
“My brother isn’t as good at recognizing full-bloods as I am,” he says, as though that explains everything. “I’m just surprised, is all.”
[Marni] “He got somethin’ against us, does he then?” the question is posed idly, as she knows for sure he doesn’t have a problem with HER, currently. She doesn’t seem to mind that the answer to the question is likely yes, either, because of the previous fact. There’s plenty of trueborn she’s not fond off too. After all, she’s a streetrat – the bottom of that proverbial totem pole.
She lifts a hand, and runs fingers through her curls, before attempting to tuck them behind her ear – they bounce free, refusing to be contained. Much like that little knowing grin she can’t quite keep off her lips.
“I’m Marni, by the way. Wanna beer?” She offers him his own stash – at 6:30 am. It’s 5pm SOMEWHERE right?
[Ethan] “So he claims,” is the equally idle answer, as though they’re discussing the weather rather than his brother’s purported dislike for Garou.
It isn’t much of a discussion. It doesn’t seem to matter that Aaron doesn’t have any great fondness for Trueborns; he didn’t have a problem with her, at least he hadn’t last night, and so far as Ethan can tell, ‘last night’ is typically the only time any of Aaron’s conquests can claim to have seen the man. The Ragabash’s attention is back at the refrigerator, or at least aimed towards its contents, and then she’s introducing herself and offering a beer in nearly the same breath.
A huffing touch of laughter leaves the kinsman’s throat, and he shakes his head.
“No, thank you,” he says. “I’ve work this morning.”
He crosses the scant distance separating them, offering up a long-boned yet strong hand to shake. Should she take it, she’ll find that it’s rougher than Aaron’s. The palm of his hand is calloused.
“I’m Ethan.”
[Marni] “Uhhuh. Why? Someone try to go a-claimin the playboy?” Her dark eyes glint with humor at the thought, and as much as write out clearly that she has no intention of doing that. At least, not at the moment. She was here for a bit of fun and a morning cuddle, and a hot shower after, and a meal – nothing more than that. She even let Aaron think he conquered her, and not the other way around. Generous girl, Marni.
She wipes her hand along the tank top on her belly, before sliding her slender fingers into Ethan’s hand to shake. His hand swallow’s hers but he knows full well she’s likely stronger than he is, and could crush his hand if she wanted to. She doesn’t. In fact, her hand is soft and small and undeniably feminine, even with the warm wash of rage under her skin. Granted, it’s not a lot but it’s more than some, less than others. On her, it simply adds to the appeal.
“Ethan – the good twin.” She winks at him, and then reclaims her hand, to better shove some more breakfast down her throat. “You work for the cops, right?”
[Ethan] The response she gets to the question is a simple closed-lipped smile, one that doesn’t quite reach his eyes, the easy implication being that he’s going to keep that information to himself. What sort of brother would he be if revealed his secrets to someone who he’s never going to see again?
That’s the thing, though. If she’s Garou, and if she’s the tribe that Ethan has to be suspecting she is, then they are going to see her again; unless she meets the same fate as Elliot, or takes off like the one who’s been called Doodle. Ethan hasn’t been to the Graves, likely won’t be there unless it’s to bury one of his tribesmates.
They shake, and Marni calls him the good twin. It makes his shoulders shake once with suppressed laughter, and then he’s pushing his hands into the pockets of his jeans and taking a step back.
“Right,” he confirms. A glance at the digital clock on the microwave, and he says, “I’ve got to get my son ready for school. Let me give you my card before you leave, in case you ever need anything.”
[Marni] “I appreciate that. And I’ll leave a note with the location of my current alley I hole up in.” Oh yeah, no doubt now what Tribe she is. “If you need me.” She grins at him, easily all good humor and fun, and undeniably cute. He mentions that he has to get his son up and she nods. “How old is he?” Curious creature, Marni. always with the questions…
She gathers up her beer, sets aside another pizza piece and re-wraps the remainder of the pizza and puts it back into the fridge, before she takes up the rest of her breakfast.
“Want me to slip back into the bedroom so as to preserve his innocence?” It’s safe to assume there is nothing innocent about Marni. Nothing at all.
[Ethan] How old is he?
“He’s seven,” he says. “He’ll be eight in April.”
Another question, this one tactical rather than exploratory, and Ethan smiles, pulling his hands out of his pockets to prepare to head back out into the hallway. He doesn’t go just yet. Maybe he’s waiting to make sure Marni is actually going to make herself scarce.
“I’d appreciate that,” he says. “This wouldn’t be the first time he caught someone the morning after, but he asks a lot of questions.”
[Marni] She grins and nods, and pushes away from the counter to head toward Aaron’s room. “I’d love to meet him then. I like to ask a lot of questions myself.” She winks at him, knowing full well she’s giving him everything to deduct Tribe and Moon, and by apparent age, he can likely guess rank too.
“Thanks for the grub. And th’use of your brother. ESPECIALLY the latter…”
Shameless, Marni.
She opens the door to the first room on the left, quietly, and slips inside, fully planning on finishing her breakfast before waking Aaron up in the best way she knows how.
[Ethan] [Wrap!]