Strictly Business [Closed] - Printable Version
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RE: Strictly Business [Closed] - megs - 10-01-2017
Keiavan released his mother, but didn’t shy away from the strange man that approached them. Blue eyes flicked between his mom and Owen for a few silents moments. He looked as if he were assessing the situation, putting together the pieces of why his mom and her boss would have both appeared to retrieve him from school. Whatever reasoning he’d come up with, he didn’t voice. He looked surprised when Owen lowered himself to Kei’s level and spoke to him like an adult. “I’m Keiavan.” He introduced himself, while shaking Owen’s hand. Kei grinned when Owen winked at him and looked up at his mother for confirmation. “Really? You’re going to watch me play?” Drusilla laughed and nodded, lifting a hand to pat the boy’s hair down. It was curly, but cropped short and tended to stick up at them back. “Yeah. Uncle Kama had something come up, so you’re stuck with me tonight kid.” She stuck her tongue out at him, playfully, and his giggled.
“And I get to ride in this car?” He pointed to the Challenger, while looking up at Owen for confirmation. “The kids on my team are going to be. So. Jealous.” Excited for his ride in the flashy car, Kei pushed past him mother and climbed through the door she had left open behind her. He moved the seat and wiggled his way into the back. Muffled exclamations of his excitement could be heard coming from with in. Drusilla shrugged and smiled sheepishly at Owen, mouthing ‘thank you,’ at him, before slipping into the vehicle herself. “So what do you do?” Kei piped from the back when everyone was settled and they were moving. “Because this car is really expensive, yeah? Do you make a lot of money. Is it a cool job? What does my mom do for you?” The child seemed incapable of only asking one question at a time. His curiosity to expansive to be satisfied at a more reasonable pace. He directed all of his questions at Owen, almost intentionally, as if testing him.
RE: Strictly Business [Closed] - saronym - 10-01-2017
Owen watched the boy with curiosity as they shook hands very seriously. He wondered about the child’s eyes. Blue. Unlike his mother. The chaotic black waves atop his head however were certainly reminiscent of his mother. Owen ruffled the boy’s hair vigorously. “Nice to meet you Keiavan. We’d love to watch you play.” He said before placing both hands on his thighs to push himself back to full height. “Well come on then. In you go.” He laughed as he ordered Kei into the car. It was unnecessary given the child’s enthusiastic scrambling to get inside. Drusilla mouthed thanks at him and he silently touched her forearm signaling that there was no need for thanks.
An impatient mother stuck parked behind his car was waving her hand through her rolled down window as if to signal that they hurry up. Owen gestured back at her in the same manner. “Can’t you see there’s enough room to pull around for f-” he stopped himself from dropping an f-bomb in front of elementary aged kids and Drusilla’s son. “- just - give me a minute.” The woman gave a tiny toot of her horn in response before rolling her window back up.
Owen slid into the driver’s seat and watched the woman maneuver her car around his in the rearview window while Keiavan peppered him with questions. He didn’t know why but that little interaction boiled his blood more than it should have. He breathed out through his nose and buckled the seat belt before turning to Kei. “Buckle your seatbelt please.” He said with seriousness before even moving the car.
While the boy complied with his instructions, Owen pressed the button to a compartment above the rearview window. It cycled down and he snatched sunglasses out. He glanced at Keiavan in the rearview mirror meeting eyes with him before he settled the sunglasses on the bridge of his nose with a dramatic flourish.
“I’m a military spy, Keiavan. My subordinates call me Lieutenant Colonel.” He said winking at Drusilla from behind his glasses. “Your mother is my assistant. But this is all classified military intel. And I cannot disclose to you my worth as a military asset. So I hope you’re good at keeping secrets.”
Owen spiced up his answer with some mild military lingo just to impress the boy. He grinned as he spoke and glanced at Drusilla hoping she found it all amusing as well. It wasn’t far from the truth and most children did enjoy dramatic narratives. Why not give him one?
RE: Strictly Business [Closed] - megs - 10-02-2017
Keiavan’s amazement was audible from the backseat. The child gasped and smacked one hand against the leather seat. “Mom! You work for a spy!” He leaned forward, pulling against the seatbelt to pat at her arm with his hand until Drusilla turned to look at him. She was smiling serenely at him and he considered for a moment that the adults were trying to trick. “Is he really a spy?” He asked dubiously, leaning back in the seat and re-adjusting the belt. “You heard the Lieutenant Colonel,” she replied, seriously. She lifted one finger and placed it over her lips. Her voice dropped to a whisper as she said, ‘it’s a secret, okay?”
The child’s head bobbed up and down, black hair shaking about as he agreed to keep the information he’d been given to himself. Drusilla laughed softly and turned back around in the seat. As she did so, she let her arm fall naturally over the center console. She wondered if Owen would put his arm there again as he had earlier. She gently gave him directions to the soccer field for Keiavan’s game, while the kid fired more questions from the back. “Am I a subordinate? Do I call you Lieutenant Colonel? Does my mom call you that? Are you a spy like James Bond? James Bond gets all the ladies.”
“Keiavan.” Drusilla's incredulity was interrupted by chuckles. “Where did you hear that?”
“It’s just true, mom. I’ve watched all of the movies. Uncle Kama has them. Do you get a lot of ladies, Owen - er - Lieutenant Colonel.”
Drusilla shook her head, lifting one hand to her mouth to suppress a cheerful, albeit, embarrassed smile.
RE: Strictly Business [Closed] - saronym - 10-02-2017
Owen watched the interaction between mother and son through the rearview mirror and out of the corner of his eye. He kept quiet content to let Drusilla make confirmations as to his story to her son. There was a kind of subtly amused smile that pulled at the corner of his mouth. He laughed and shook his head at the questions. “Nah.” He said as they rolled up to a red light. Owen turned to look at Keiavan over his shoulder. “I’m no good with girls. I get too nervous and my hands get all sweaty.”
The lie was delivered smoothly but it’s believability was left to the audience. Owen turned back around and casually rested his arm next to Drusilla’s. This time it was pressed more firmly against hers. Their arms lined at the elbows down. Owen was left remembering that lunch date with Renton. Holding hands with Drusilla under the table. He hadn’t been nervous in the slightest. His hand wasn’t sweaty. It felt like the most natural thing in the world. For a moment he was caught up thinking about romance and women and his pinky finger extended out to brush back and forth against the side of Drusilla’s hand. He glanced over to her out of the corner of his eye when he did it. His chest ached with the attraction he felt for her but also a new tenderness arising out of their earlier emotionally charged discussion.
The light turned green and Owen’s hand jumped back to the gear. The fleeting moment of touch was gone and just like that he was back to the present and feeding off Keiavan’s excited energy that filled the car.
“My friends call me Owen, Keiavan. You can too. If you want.” He offered good naturedly before grinning into the mirror at the child. “So do you have a girlfriend?” He shot a question back at the boy playfully knowing the answer would probably be something about cooties.
RE: Strictly Business [Closed] - megs - 10-19-2017
Owen’s claim that he was ‘no good with girls’ prompted and abrupt giggle from Drusilla. A mostly kittenish chirrup of a sound, that she quickly attempted to smother by pulling her bottom lip between her teeth. Fuzzy ears twitched at attention on top of her head. They were both aware that she knew better than the story he was trying to tell. Not only because of their own surreptitious hand-holding, but her observations of his interactions with other women. That gentle touch to the back of her hand earned him a smile. An obvious curl at the corner of her mouth, clearly pleased, though she kept her gaze out the windshield. Her tail tapped gently in her lap. Drusilla wanted to hold Owen’s hand again, but now she was the one who was feeling nervous. It would have been easy. Simply turning her hand over, and wiggling her fingers between his. Though her own self-consciousness and Keiavan in the backseat kept her from doing so. The boy would have enough to tell his uncle when Kama undoubtedly probed him for gossip. In the end, he pulled away to resume driving. Drusilla curled her fingers together and moved her hand into her lap.
“My friend’s call me Kei,” he responded, excitedly. Immediately latching on to the way Owen implied they were friends. When questioned about his own romantic inclinations, he seemed to freeze up. Eyes tracked between Owen and his mother through the rear-view mirror. “There is a girl in my class. Her name is Lindsey,” he began, likely to the surprise of both adults. “She’s really nice and pretty, but uncle Kama wouldn’t let me go to her birthday party last weekend so now she thinks I don’t like her.”Drusilla’s ears pinned backwards, and she frowned, before turning in the seat to look at her son. “Why didn’t Kama let you go to the party?” Her tail picked up at more agitated rhythm where it had fallen off the seat.
Keiavan was quiet for a few moments. Blue eyes searched Drusilla’s face. He could tell something he had said had made his mother mad, but he didn’t know what. Leaning his head back against the seat he twisted his hands in his lap.
“Why didn’t Kama let you go to the party?” She asked again, softer this time.
“I had a B on my interim report and I had cello practice.”
Ears swiveled forward, and Drusilla turned around in her seat against with a huff. “I’m sorry Kama didn’t let you go.” Agitated, she crossed her arms over her chest; it was so easy for her to become infuriated over her brother. Especially when it came to Keiavan. “Have you talked to Lindsey?”
“No.” A mumble and exasperated sigh from the backseat.
“You should try,” she advised, before momentarily splitting her attention to give Owen directions towards the park where Keiavan’s soccer game was taking place.
“What do you think, Owen?” Kei, apparently, wanted the opinion of another male. Even one that had just admitted to being nervous and sweaty around girls.
RE: Strictly Business [Closed] - saronym - 10-23-2017
Owen shared a mostly involuntary and lopsided grin with Drusilla. His ears pricked at the sound of that feline expression of bemusement she made. That little noise she made seemed to be calling attention to his bullshit remark meant to skirt around the topic of him and women.He glanced over at her to catch the sight of her ears twitching happiness atop her head. His eyes fell to where her tail tapped rhythmically in her lap. He couldn’t watch her feline displays for long before the road demanded his attention.
He once again glanced at Keiavan in the mirror. This time he was surprised with the boy’s confession of his crush on a girl in his glass. Owen’s pleasant surprise melted into a frown as the boy revealed that his uncle had exacted a harsh punishment and probably spoiled a budding relationship. However, Owen kept his opinion to himself until he was brought into the conversation by Kei seeking manly advice.
Owen followed Drusilla’s instructions to the sports complex where the soccer game would take place. He skillfully whipped the Charger around to glide backwards into a spot. When the car was put into park, Owen killed the engine and twisted in his seat to address Keiavan’s question.
“One thing about being a man that I can tell you is sometimes you have to deal with situations in which you have no control. There’s nothing to be done about the fact that your uncle wouldn’t let you attend that party. But you know what he can’t stop you from? Making her a belated birthday card or giving her a present, inviting her to sit at lunch with you, or playing with her on the playground. When another man stands between you and your woman you gotta get creative, you know? Don't give up just because you had a little set back. I'm sure she'll understand if you make it up to her. I’m sure if you ask your mother nicely she’ll take you to buy her a present.” He finished up with a wink at Drusilla before he exited the car.
Owen rounded to the trunk and pulled out Keiavan’s gym bag and hoisted it onto his shoulder while the other two got out of the car. When the doors were closed, he pressed the key fob twice. The car beeped and flashed its lights to signify it was locked.
Unprompted Owen stopped Keiavan from walking off to the soccer field with a hand on his shoulder, he knelt down in front of him and lowered his voice. “The next time your uncle says you can’t attend a party or go play with your friends, you tell him he can shove that cello bow right up his hairy ass -” Owen startled realizing he had cussed at the child. He cringed and briefly put his hand over his mouth. He pulled it away to correct himself. “I meant where the sun doesn’t shine. Pointy end first.”
He rose to his full height and clapped his hands together. “Now let’s go win a soccer game.”
RE: Strictly Business [Closed] - megs - 11-04-2017
Turning off the car brought a rush silence into the interior of the vehicle. Drusilla’s ears twitched to the groan of the leather seat, as Owen turned to look Keiavan in the eye. Though unavoidably a part of the conversation from the passenger seat, Dru didn’t turn to force herself into the moment that the boys were having. She only listened, twisting her watch around her wrist and watching other parents and children in the parking lot. As Owen spoke, it became harder for her to keep the surprise off of her face. It wasn’t that she didn’t think Owen was capable of giving good advice. She was surprised by the tone he took with Keiavan. He didn’t talk down to her son, or assume he couldn’t understand things on a more adult level. She appreciated the effort he was putting into the interaction.
Keiavan nodded along eagerly with Owen’s advice. His brow was furrowed very seriously as he hung on to the man’s every word. “Yeah. You’re right!” Blue eyes flashed with a new determination. “Will you help me, mom?”
“Of course, dear.” She somehow managed this response despite being totally unequipped to handle Owen winking at her.
The child thrust his fist into the air victoriously, before climbing out of the car behind Owen. Drusilla exited as well. She watched as Kei took his bag from Owen, before the man stopped him. She didn’t have to strain to hear the conversation, and easily heard a second and much more Owen-y solution to Kei’s little problem with Kama. She knew she shouldn’t have laughed, but Keiavan did first and she couldn’t help chuckling.
“Hey,” she attempted to chide at the cursing, but Keiavan was already running off to change into his soccer uniform. Walking around the car she met Owen and tried to give him her best disapproving mother look. It wasn’t effective. For one, she didn’t really have a look like that and it was hard to intimidate when she had too look up at him to do it. “I just know I’m going to hear about that from his uncle.” She rolled her eyes, playfully.
RE: Strictly Business [Closed] - saronym - 11-17-2017
Owen attempted to give Drusilla the benefit of a cringe. There was too much of a twinkle in his eye and a subtle curling of his lips that gave away that he wasn’t sorry for what he had said. “Just -”He waved his hand as if looking for a quick solution. “Give him my number. I’ll take care of him.” He grinned at her as if this were a viable solution. “How scary can this uncle Kama be?”
The sun had disappeared behind the horizon and the field lights quickly kicked on. The autumn evening temperature was falling as a breeze picked up. Before he locked the car, Owen fetched his faded jean jacket from the car. He swung it over his shoulder and let it hang behind his back from his index finger. It wasn’t for him so much as it would be for Drusilla, who he imagined wouldn’t tolerate the cold once they were seated on chilly metal bleachers.
He hooked his free arm familiarly around her shoulders, pulling her flirtatiously into his side with his arm tightening around her neck. “Come on. I want to eat something disgusting from concessions.”
Owen ordered himself a chili cheese dog and a soda from the concession stand, but not without complaining that they didn’t serve beer. By they had settled into a spot in the stands and Owen had finished his snack, the game had begun. When he thought he detected a shiver in Drusilla, Owen draped his jacket around her shoulders and put his arm around her again.
“Are you cold?” He asked as his hand rubbed warming friction up and down her arm. He seemed unaware or unconcerned about how couple-like they might have appeared to the other nosy parents or her own curious son.
RE: Strictly Business [Closed] - megs - 02-04-2018
Ears perked to attention and she looked up at Owen as the jacket fell heavy across her shoulders. “A little,” she replied. She pushed her arms through the sleeves and wrapped it around her front and she looked smaller somehow, engulfed in so much denim. “Thank you.” She scooted closer to him without a second thought as his arm came around her. Casual touching seemed easy and trivial all of a sudden. They watched the rest of the soccer game play out this way, and Drusilla eventually stopped shivering. Keiavan was too caught up in his game to notice his mother getting cozy with her boss, on the bleachers, but the other parents certainly were not. It was enough, for them, that she wasn’t usually present at the activity, but now she had show up with a man they didn’t know. It occurred to them of course that scenario could have been benign. That he was her new husband, that she was a busy woman, but that wasn’t nearly as fun as condemning her as some sort of absent-parent floozy.
As the kids ran off the field towards their respective caretakers, Drusilla left the bleachers to meet him on the grass. “You did great,” she compliment, as he leaned heavily against her legs, exhausted, and wrapped his arms around her in a lazy hug. He smiled up at her and said thank you as she pet his head.
“Excuse me.” Drusilla’s ears pinned backwards briefly as she turned to meet the eyes of a short, rounded woman with a severe blonde bob and sour tone. Her face matched, all pinched together like she had just eaten a lemon candy and hated it.
Drusilla ear’s pushed back to attention and she turned to face the woman. She left both hands protectively on Kei’s shoulders as her tail curled towards the small of her back. “Yes?”
“Are you Kei’s mother?” She managed to make the question sound both curious and accusatory.
“I am.” One of her ears feel. “Is there a problem?”
“The problem,” the woman began, crossing her arms under her breasts in a haughty manner. “Is that Keiavan has missed all of his snacks days this month.” While no one approached to assist either woman in the conversation, curious eyes and ears were all attuned to the confrontation. “I’ve had to cover him all month. It’s not fair to the other kids or parents.”
Both of Drusilla’s ears fell back against her hair. Her fingers kneaded gently against her son’s shoulders. “I’m sorry about that. I wasn’t aware. I’ll make sure his uncle knows for-”
“You’ll make sure his uncle knows?” The woman repeated mockingly, her nose soared upwards as if she had won some great victory over her.
“I’ll take care of it,” Drusilla corrected quickly, moving one hand to the back of Kei’s head to steer him away from the nasty woman.
RE: Strictly Business [Closed] - saronym - 02-04-2018
After the game was over, Owen hung back and let Drusilla greet Kei on her own. It seemed like a moment to let them have to themselves. He made himself look busy by taking the candy wrappers from the treats he’d bought at concessions to the trash. By the time he’d ambled back, Drusilla had struck up a conversation with another mom. Owen approached slowly and became privy to the fact that it was more a confrontation that Drusilla was being subjected to.She looked so small in his denim jacket and Keiavan even smaller as he stood in front of his mother whose hands laid protectively on his shoulders. Something about the encounter reverberated through Owen. He thought about the stares he got when Darcy took him to school after the massacre of his family. The looks and whispers and the conversations he sometimes overheard before and after piano recitals. The feeling of being outside. Different. Deficient. Broken.
Drusilla was turning to lead Keiavan away, but Owen remained in place. He realized he had balled his hands into tight fights that made even his short nails bite into his palms. Owen’s hands relaxed and he almost went with Drusilla, but instead took a step towards the bitter mother who had started the whole thing.
“Here!” He said loud enough to garner the attention of the woman and people who were starting to meander away now that the conflict was over. In anger that was nearing it’s dangerous boiling point, Owen fumbled to remove his wallet from his pocket. He licked his fingers and counted out a hefty sum of cash and thrust it at the confused woman.
“I’ll be happy to pay for the snacks for the rest of the season, so long as you stop making collateral damage of kids,” his free hand made a sharp point at Keiavan behind him, “from non-traditional families in your war for moral superiority.”
The scene seemed to freeze. The only movement for a breath of time was a concerned-looking man coming out of the bathrooms and towards the group. Owen estimated that if the man was the woman’s husband and he stayed a minute longer that then he could very well end up in a fist fight. So, he pushed the money into the confused woman’s hand.
“Good night.” He mumbled at her before turning away. He glanced around at the crowd. “Show’s over.” He felt stupid quoting a common movie line, but what else was he to do with all those eyes on him other than acknowledge and dismiss them. Make them feel bad for rubbernecking the conflict.
Owen shoved his hands down into his pockets suddenly feeling ashamed for making a scene. He had taken that mother’s words personally when it wasn’t even about him. He couldn’t even explain the need to protect Keiavan or Drusilla. They weren’t his. In a way, he was also protecting his former self. A little boy who had once suffered the stares of adults more interested in the drama of his life than his well-being.
He walked in silence next to Drusilla and Kei back to the car, thinking of how embarrassed she must have felt. How he probably only made that worse. Once Keiavan was tucked away inside the vehicle and the door was closed on him, Owen breathed out through his mouth, letting his cheeks puff out as he did.
He turned to Dru. “I’m sorry.” His brows pulled together in a deeply troubled frown. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I just -” He cut himself off and shook his head. “I don’t know.”
RE: Strictly Business [Closed] - megs - 02-18-2018
Stunned into silence by Owen’s actions, they walked back to the car wordlessly. Keiavan, not fully grasping what had just occurred, but sensing the tension, also kept quiet. The objects in his bag that sounced against his back sounded louder than they were in the moment following the confrontation. It wasn’t embarrassment that kept Drusilla quiet. It was an endearing sort of awe at the way Owen had come to rescue them. And there she was wearing his jacket, leaning against the passenger side of his car and looking up at him as he apologized to her. “Thank you,” she interjected into the middle of his apology. Ears that had been hanging limp off the side of her head pushed to attention. They swiveled towards him attentively. She reached out and touched him arm, fingers curling lightly around his bicep. “I mean that. I...I didn’t know what to do, honestly.” While they both were likely to silently agree that it wasn’t the best handling of the situation on anyone’s part, Drusilla was still thankful for the assistance.
Her hand fell away from him, sliding behind her back to open her own door. “I should...uh, we should get Keiavan home. I’m sure I’ll be hearing from my brother soon.”
RE: Strictly Business [Closed] - saronym - 02-18-2018
That touch came as a surprise. He frowned down at the hand on his arm and then at the woman who touched him. He could feel her hand lingering on him even when she took it away. He scratched at the back of his neck and nodded too quickly. “Sure yeah. Let’s get him home.”
Owen got into the driver’s side and twisted around to give Keiavan an encouraging smile. “You played well, kid. That nasty curve you put on that kick.” Owen made an appreciative clicking noise and made an ‘ok’ sign with his fingers. “Real stylish.”
He turned back and cranked the car. He followed Drusilla’s directions to her brother’s home. As they drove, Owen soon figured out that they were heading to a part of town notorious for expensive real estate.
“So what does your brother do?” He asked with a hint of suspicion as they pulled into the drive to what Owen would classify as not exactly a mansion but more like an estate. Owen wasn’t unused to displays of wealth, and he was more than aware of the royal family connection, but he was still curious what made the man feel like he needed such a home. Perhaps there was a twinge of jealousy in his question. Owen was well off, but not even close to royal wealth. Not even close.
RE: Strictly Business [Closed] - megs - 03-18-2018
Drusilla ruminated on the way he had frowned at her when she had touched him. It was brief. Just a glimmer of an expression before he turned away from her and got into the car. Perhaps she had misunderstood the parameters of their new boundaries. Was touching only okay when he initiated it? Was his problem less with her and more focused on the situation? She was quiet in the car as Owen chatted encouragingly with Keiavan. She was grateful for the kindness and respect that he showed to her young son. “He’s a doctor,” she replied, breaking out of her thoughts and lifting her eyes upwards to her brother’s house as it came into view. It was boxy and modern in design, two-storied and spread out over the property. A circular drive lined in meticulously tidy agriculture served as the only real decoration. It didn’t strike an onlooker as particularly homey, despite being grand. Upon observing the residence, she elaborated on her answer. “He’s interim chief of surgery here in Winter Haven, and a founding board member of Macrilan General back in the isles.” Though quite the accomplishment on her brother’s part, it wasn’t anything that would encourage the suspicion she detected in Owen’s tone.
Drusilla's ears twitched before they pinned backwards as she noticed a figure standing in the doorway, back-lit by the porch light. She had been keeping her brother updated on their status via text and now he was waiting for their arrival in person. She had been hoping to have a private goodbye with her son, and it wasn’t so much that Kama frightened her, as he made her feel generally uneasy.
“I’ll be right back,” she muttered to Owen, as they pulled to a stop near the front door. She was, in a way, politely suggesting that he stay in the car as opposed to suffering biting looks and pointed questions for her older brother. She moved the seat so Keiavan could crawl out of the back and she instructed the child to say thank you and good bye to Owen. “Thanks, Owen!” He said excitedly, leaning back into the car. “I hope we can hang out again.” He confessed, before being led towards the house with a hand on his shoulders.
It was easy to see the way Drusilla’s tail had pinwheeled towards her spine as she walked Keiavan to the door, and the awaiting figure. Kama was taller than Drusilla, but his angeled features and dark hair was signature combination of the Darkwillow lineage. He was dressed in a bright white dress shirt, black slacks and black shoes. The sleeves of his shirt had been unbuttoned and rolled to his elbows, if he’d been wearing a tie it had already been discarded. He moved to the side just enough to allow Kei in to the house, but when Drusilla tried to follow him he very clearly blocked her with his body. Her ears pushed to attention and her tail unfurled to twitch back and forth as they exchanged quiet, but heated words. Kama gestured towards Owen’s car before crossing his arms over his chest and Dru’s own hands spread outward, exasperated as she appeared to be defending herself.
RE: Strictly Business [Closed] - saronym - 03-21-2018
Owen understood exactly what Drusilla wanted of him and he almost intended to stay in the car to honor her wishes despite his burning curiosity. All he could see of the man occupying the doorway was a man-shaped silhouette. Owen only pried his eyes off the figure to turn to say a final goodbye to Keiavan. “Sure. Anytime.” After he said those words his eyes went right back to the man in the doorway.
Owen observed from the drivers’ side of the idling car whose engine announced its power by a low rumble. He didn’t like what he saw. The way the man side-stepped to block Drusilla. Owen very well knew the defensive way that Dru's body reacted when she felt intimidated. His impatient fingers drummed his agitation out on the steering wheel.
“Fuck it.” He said before he opened the car door and slid himself out. He left the door open and it dinged in protest as he made the walk to the doorway.
Moving up behind Drusilla, Owen put his left hand between her shoulder blades and stuck his right out for the man he could now get a good look at. He had his arms folded over his chest and had some kind of mean looking expression on his face.
“Hey.” Owen said with his hand extended. “I don’t think we’ve met.” He paused letting his austere greeting sink in some. It wasn’t the words he said but the way he said it that advertised he was perhaps not someone to mess with. Nor, in fact, was the woman they had in common. “Owen.” He added fully intending to give the other man a military-esque clasping handshake.
“Keiavan is a great kid.” He said more for the benefit of Drusilla than her brother. “He’s a good center, huh?” He asked even though Keiavan had played forward. It wasn’t exactly the most sly but Owen couldn’t help but test for an opening to embarrass Drusilla’s brother hoping to knock him down a peg.
RE: Strictly Business [Closed] - megs - 03-21-2018
Kama was insistent on arguing with her about the lateness of their arrival, even though she had kept him updated on their whereabouts the entire evening. Drusilla didn’t know why he was being so difficult with her, or keeping her from at least wishing Keiavan good night.“You brought a strange man around Keiavan and you didn’t tell me?” His tone was accusatory as his gaze barreled down at her.
Her ears couldn’t settle on a position. They rotated nervously, shifting between being pressed against her hair and standing at attention. “He’s not strange,” she replied, forcing her tone to remain even since it tended to pitch higher when she was distressed. “Lieutenant Colonel Hart is my boss. I was at work when you called me, he just offered-” She cut herself off and sighed sharply through her nose when she caught sound of Owen’s approach. She didn’t want to be heard defending herself to her own brother, even if it had been apparent enough already to convince Owen to join them.
Drusilla looked up at Owen as his hand met the middle of her back. This was the second time he had come to rescue her that day. She was briefly reminded of her brief stint in holding, and she wondered what inspired him to keep saving her.
Kama didn’t warm up despite the new addition to the gathering. He felt no need to put on airs in front of a man he’d never met before, especially when it came to the care and well-being of the child that he was solely in custody of. Drusilla was his mother and he granted her some leniency due to that fact. His mouth remained a thin, bland line, but a singular brow cocked towards his hairline as he took note of Owen’s tone. “Kama,” he replied without any other pleasantries. He returned the firm and militant handshake, before he crossed his arms again. “They must be trying out new formations,” he continued, unfazed by this particular little jab. “Keiavan usually plays forward.” He glanced between the two in front of him. “Drusilla says she works for you?” There was almost a thread of disbelief to be heard. “Doing what exactly?”