#c: swimmingwiththefitzes

[efexumukoroxlc]

Efe gave an understanding nod at that. Living in this place, at the very least, required as much, and really, some part of him knew he could choose to leave it at any point. So many of his friends and neighbors, people about whom he genuinely cared, could not. "Yeah, but I guess Cat-Man doesn't have the same ring." He smiled.

Efe raised his brow. "Uh, well, I'll do my shameless plug. We're always recruiting volunteers. I understand water can...forgive me, complicate things, but there are roles that don't touch the hose." He gave a gentle shrug. "That's right. People get pretty into it. I mean, I'm a Bears fan, but...hey, go Eagles?" He laughed. "A lot of people watch, so companies spend a lot of money on the ads so they're memorable. That's all. They're different than the ones that usually run, and they get celebrities and stuff."

He hummed. "You're not wrong about that. Gatherings of more than, like, ten people freak me out now. But I feel you. I did the Talent Show on a dare," Efe admitted. "Well, the contracts to build them were canceled. The second one was reinstated eventually, but she was never commissioned. She remained in reserve until she was sold for scrap in the 1950s. Bad luck maybe. Funding and government contracts more likely, you know?"

"I understand that I'm supposed to... accept it. I really don't mind most of it," Billie said. She just didn't like her own. Why was it that some people could make flowers bloom or turn invisible, and yet every time she touched water she turned into a bloody fish? Or if she felt moody, she could end up with an actual storm cloud over her head? It didn't seem fair to her that she had no control over herself and that she never would. She would rather focus on the conversation about comic book characters, as silly as it was. Billie nodded sagely. "Ah. So they're retractable claws, similar to a cats."

That made sense. "I imagine fighting fires would certainly things. I... enjoy adrenaline as well. Or I'm used to it." Adrenaline, fighting, high stakes and life and death scenarios, these were all things that Billie understood with stark clarity. "The Super Bowl is the large American Football game, correct? I have not been to a Super Bowl party. I'm, admittedly, not too familiar with the sport in practice. I understand that there is a ball that frequently gets thrown or carried, though." She was curious enough about it now, though. "What's so fascinating about the commercials?" she asked.

"I've seen posters and announcements for things around town," Billie said. "They look... interesting. I always worry that one will be attacked during the middle of a performance." Billie ducked her head before shaking it, smiling, though it was more of a grimace. "I don't think I would do well performing in front of people. I'm not much of an actress." She looked back at him when the discussion turned back towards the ships, her head tilted to the side. "Is there a reason they never finished either Unicorns? That's kind of fascinating.

[cantfightmoonlight]

@swimmingwiththefitzes

"Noted. Macing and kicking is a good plan B. Plan A is run like hell, by the way. But, maybe with your help, I could have knife throwing as a Plan C?" She offered up optimistically. Taking the other knife from Billie as she narrowed her eyes back towards the tree and tried to aim the tiniest bit above hers only for her to overshoot it. "Dang it," Bells bottom lip jutted out into a small pout. "That doesn't count! I- I would like a do over please."

[firefighterxefe]

Efe gave a short, understanding nod. "Yeah, I mean, we had a television and all ourselves. But no cable. And my parents didn't really like letting us watch it for too long. Hey! Maybe that's it. Maybe I have no moderation ability now because I never had to have it growing up. Like those kids who aren't allowed to eat candy." A laugh came at his own expense, but really, he did think his television watching was more a result of opportunity than genuine desire. "Well, there is Chicago, of course. Which is where I lived. But it's also a lot of corn. And soybeans, fun fact," Efe grimaced. "But okay! Billie then. Thank you. I like it too. You can call me that if you want. Or just Efe." Crossing his arms at that notion, though, the man gave a weak shrug. "I think we've all had to live that lesson a little too much, don't you? But, oh, uh, yeah. Humans are cutthroat about sports in general. We could make pool life or death. In fact, I've seen pool be life or death." He smiled more brightly. "Really? Okay, great. We can find a few more folks. If you have anyone you'd like to invite, you should. Otherwise, it'll be all the fire brigade. And I love them all dearly. But friendly competition would go out the window."

Billie blinked before smiling, glad she'd actually managed to make him laugh. "It's not really-- I mean, I grew up without one. My dad might turn on the news if we were staying at a hostel with a TV or somewhere nicer, but I didn't really have much control over any of it." It was why she'd always gravitated towards music, and musicals; even if she couldn't see the story performed, most musicals were telling the story straight through the lyrics. It was how Billie really learned to understand the world. She cocked her head to the side. "Is there not much in Illinois, either?" she asked before considering his own question. She'd never really considered her name that much, though Wilhelmina was associated with long nights and longer training sessions and some sort of failed task. "I don't think I prefer Wilhelmina, no. I like Billie just fine. Efetobo is a really nice name, though. I like it." She nodded. "Very grim, and all of them have some sort of lesson, even if it's just that there's danger lurking in unexpected places." The idea of something as mundane as bowling being considered cutthroat was both intriguing and mildly concerning. "Bowling is considered cutthroat?" she asked, a bit absentminded as images of bowling somehow being played with weaponry involved. "I certainly think the Catalyst has tried to take a lot of the security and... enjoyment out of living here. I cannot think of anything better than showing them that they've failed. I think a bowling group would be a good way to start that."

[cantfightmoonlight]

"Hi," Caleb repeated again, giving Billie a small, but reassuring nudge as he did. "Okay, well, then, to Wore-Drobe it is and exactly like the ones Dr. Sattler wears. Figure we should dress the part, right? And, I, uh, very much doubt that. But, the first rule of fun is not to overthink it. The only things you should be asking yourself is does this bring me joy and does this make me laugh or smile? If the answer is yes? You're having fun. If the answer are no, then we pivot and do something else," He promised her, giving her pinky a light squeeze in return. "Now, for my ideas, so option A) we dress up in Dinosaur suits which will conceal our identities so no one will know its us and then we can chase Mateo around the town pretending to be T-Rexs. Option B) Mateo dresses up as the dino and chases us around town dressed up as the characters from the movie. Option C) I either bring a sandbox to you or we can head over to my place. I live on the beach so there is sand in my backyard we can use and I can get us a whole bunch of tiny dinosaur figurines and legos and we can act out the movie with the dinos and destroy the tiny buildings. Option D) we head over to my place where you make yourself comfortable on my couch or on the beach while Mateo and I re-enact the movie for you. Option E) we get dressed up as the characters from the movie and head over to the lab that I work at to try to create our own dinosaurs and, when that fails, we can dress up my pet bunny and mice as dinos and take adorable pictures of them, or Option F) back to the drawing board. So, any of those ideas sound enticing to you or?"

@swimmingwiththefitzes

"Hi," Billie greeted, trying not to appear too nervous. She gave Caleb a smile as well, tentative and small. "We can go to Wore-Drobe, certainly." She shopped there mostly, anyway. It had been pragmatic, when she'd first gotten to Lunar Cove with no money and just some clothes she'd regretfully stolen from a house a few towns over. Now, she just liked it; she liked vintage styles and the worn quality of clothes that were typically thrifted. "Khakis like the ones Dr. Sattler wears?" she asked, her head cocked to the side. "I'm... interested to see what suggestions you have. I've never been good at this. Ah, fun. I'm not really good at having fun. Or coming up with fun ideas," she mumbled. She stared at his pinky for a moment before taking it with her own, linking them together.

(@cantfightmoonlight)

[efexumukoroxlc]

Efe flashed an uncertain smile. "I don't think you're alone in that." His own lifelong relationship with magic had proven complicated. On one hand, some part of him wished he had it. Growing up in this town, seeing his friends mature into themselves in various ways, learn to wield the powers with which they had been born, he had felt terribly small, inadequate. But on the other, the capability for individuals to misuse that power, as had occurred over and over again in Lunar Cove, frightened him. For as much as he cared about this place and the people in it, he thought, even now, if his family decided to leave, he would follow them. But he did not allow those thoughts to linger. "Well, he can put them away. I guess that helps, yeah?"

Efe knit his brow, giving a low hum at the question. "Ah, well, I guess I can't say I'm not into the adrenaline. There's a rush to my job, sure. But..uh, well, the Super Bowl's in February. That's fun. People get worked up about that? You ever been to, like, a Super Bowl party? Even if you're not into the game, people like the halftime show. And the commercials." He nodded.

He smiled. "Well, there you go. Some happen around here in Lunar Cove. People have tried to recruit me into them. Since that talent show, but I don't think I'm much of a performer. Have you ever wanted to be in show? Even if it's not a musical maybe." He imagined it was more complicated for sirens. "Ah, well...I don't know about land mammals. But aquatic mammals, sure. Orca. Dolphin. There were a few...stinging land animals I guess. The Scorpion. Tarantula. Viper. Believe it or not, there were two Unicorns, both unfinished, but even they were named after a narwhal, unicorn of the sea."

Billie gave a little huff. Quietly, she said, "I don't particularly care for magic, either." It was true; everything she said had to be true. But it was more specific than that. Billie didn't care for her own magic. At best, it was an annoyance. At worst, it made her feel like she wasn't a person. She was trying to get better about that. But such grievances weren't meant to be dumped on people. She looked down at her nails, mildly perplexed. "That seems terribly inconvenient, metal claws. I don't know if I would like such a thing." They had to get in the way of a lot of times.

Humming, Billie nodded. "I think that roller coasters would be fun. Perhaps." She didn't know if she'd find it stressful, or not. She found driving rather stressful, but roller coasters might be nice, so as to not actually be in control of something. "I'm not sure I enjoy a lot of particularly exciting things," she said sheepishly. "I feel rather anxious a lot of the time. Excitement sort of contributes to that. I don't enjoy surprises. But what do you find exciting? Normal exciting, proper exciting? I'd like to do more normal things."

Tilting her head to the side, Billie couldn't help but be mildly intrigued by the concept. "Slime tutorials is a strange name, but I do like watching musicals. Ah, there. I find musicals exciting. I've been able to see a few live. I really enjoyed it." A reward for good work. The memories were a little tainted, now, but she still remembered being young and actually getting to be happy, properly happy, if only for a moment.

She listened to him speak, actually interested in the topic. Boats were pretty irrelevant to her. If she got in the water, it was typically to swim. The thought of being on a boat or ship or in a submarine was unnerving because of the increased likelihood that she might get wet on accident, forcing her to be stuck with a tail and deal with that for an extended period of time. "I don't think you're being boring at all, I promise. I asked, and I was curious. Were the animals exclusively aquatic in nature, or did they pick, perhaps, land mammals as well?"

[efexumukoroxlc]

Efe flashed a smile. "Hey, that's fair. What if we just say it's like magic? That does all kinds of things that don't make sense. But there are some, like, graphic novels, I think that are a little more based in reality. Maybe those are a better buy." He gave a low hum, turning to give another look around the shop, but from what he knew of said novels, they also tended to lean toward the serious. He was not sure they made for fun holiday gifts. But then again, maybe all these gritty superheroes did not either. He laughed. "Yeah, not really like the animal. His claws are made of metal maybe?"

Efe nodded. "I wear mine on this leather strap underneath my turnout coat. I don't think all that makes a difference underwater, though," he sighed, his features furrowing. "Yeah. I wish we had more...roller-coaster excitement, though. Less life and death excitement. Does that make sense? I don't find Lunar Cove exciting. Mostly stressful, to be honest," he admitted softly. "What do you think is exciting? Like, enjoyable exciting?"

Efe pursed up his lips. "YouTube has those. One of the kids told me about...'slime tutorials?' Slime tutorials are musicals. I don't really know why. But sure. Anything you could ever want to know more about. The library has a lot of real documentaries too. You just need a card, and you can bring them home for a week. I'm trying to get some gaming systems and televisions in there actually. So maybe people can watch them there too."

He tightened his jaw, allowing the hunter conversation to fade away, aware of the heaviness that it carried. But he took the opportunity to go on a tangent. "Well, in the beginning, they were largely named after animals. And then, until around the 1930s, they were named alphanumerically. A-1. That kind of thing. Because they were producing a lot more quickly. Back to fish until 19...1947? They decided to name them after World War II boats, which were already named after fish. So the fish thing continued until the 1960s really. It was hard. It needed to be pronounceable and easy to spell, but it couldn't repeat. So they had to get creative. Sometimes the Smithsonian would send a picture of the fish the vessel was named after to hang aboard so the sailors could be proud of it." He shrugged. "I'm sorry. I'm being really boring."

"I don't think I care for Superman," Billie muttered. "He makes no sense." None of this made sense. Then again, most media didn't make sense unless it was a documentary or educational program. Perhaps Billie just missed the person she'd been sharing most of this stuff with. It was fun to lean into the silliness, the unbelievability, of things like superheroes or dinosaurs when you were appreciating it with someone important. She started to nod; she knew what a wolverine was. But then Efe mentioned yellow suits and claws, and she groaned. "I don't know a wolverine like that."

Billie laughed a little. "I think some of them have ways to communicate inside them, though I'm admittedly not an expert in scuba gear. I've never needed it." He was right, though. There was little in comics that was actually realistic, and Billie was beginning to think that, perhaps, that was the point. "I think that... excitement is subjective. What you find exciting might not be what others do, and that's perfectly fine. I feel like there's enough... excitement in this town most of the time that extra is almost unnecessary." She was, quite frankly, exhausted by excitement. If she didn't force herself to do other things, Billie was quite certain she'd simply stay at home, in her bathtub, and sleep. Or scream underwater. She wasn't certain. "That's kind of nice, not having to interact with things. When I was younger, I'd try to find websites that would... let me watch recordings of musicals," she murmured. "Documentaries would be nice. About anything?"

It was hard for her not to hunch in on herself, shrugging. Was this place actually safe? Safer. Maybe. "Thanks. I'm not-- I'm not like that anymore," she said softly. She appreciated the turn of conversation, latching onto it. "Do the names of the vessels mean anything, or are they just supposed to be... fun? But I agree. I think that history is hard, though. Some people don't want to reckon with the past."

[efexumukoroxlc]

Efe cocked his head to one side, his brow shooting up as he spoke. "Well, Superman can also...fly in space, I think. So he's just impervious in general. He's an alien of some kind. His weakness is kryptonite. It's, like, this glowing green rock that takes away his powers." Pursing up his lips, Efe gave a low hum. "They're another group of superheroes. I think maybe they go to a secret school or something? Do you know Wolverine? Like, the guy with the yellow suit and the claws? He's one." He laughed, ducking his head. "Ah, well, I insist you were."

Efe smiled. "I don't know. Do scuba suits have little radios in them or anything? Maybe they could talk to everyone else who's also wearing a scuba suit. But between you and me, I'm not sure comics care very much for what is and is not realistic." Thinking for a moment, Efe allowed his features to harden. He gave a weak shrug. "I'm not sure, though. To be honest, I work in what a lot of people would consider an exciting job, I guess, but at the same time...I don't think I really do very many exciting things. I'm sure someone must give lessons around here, but...I don't know." He shrugged, deflating a bit, before giving a nod. He worried, quite often, that he was boring. "The good thing about YouTube is you don't actually have to interact beyond watching if you don't want to. But sure. Some are like movies. Others are more like...podcasts. Or documentaries maybe. Just about any topic you could ever want."

Efe crossed his arms, shifting a bit in place. "Ah...Yeah. I had this buddy, who...well. I'm glad you're here and safe." Said friend and he did not really talk anymore, after Efe had reacted badly to the revelation of a hunter's upbringing. He was trying to give more benefit of the doubt in this moment. "I..uh, read this book about the USS Tang? It was my dad's really. But then I picked it up and started thumbing through, and before you know it, I was reading another one about the USS Alligator, which was the American Navy's first submarine. I just think history can be interesting. We repeat what we don't learn from. Every damn day, to be honest."

"So he's either impervious to heat or simply to his own lasers," Billie murmured, nodding slightly as he considered it. "And invulnerable. That is... perplexing. Everything has a weakness that can be exploited. What is an x man?" she asked. She hummed. She was frequently, endlessly frustrated by magic. It lacked explanation, even if its weaknesses made up for that. Even her own body was traitorous, all thanks to magic. She didn't understand why it behaved the way that it did, only that it did, much to her own chagrin. She managed to give Efe a small smile, though. "You're welcome, though I... don't feel particularly helpful, I'm afraid."

She sighed. "It is all underwater, yes," she said. She'd made a mistake picking it up. Perhaps comic books weren't for her. She should stick to numbers. Sudoku was never this perplexing. Or irritating to think about. She did manage to huff out a laugh. "There would likely be less conversation if they were all wearing scuba suits," she said. "Though, the blonde one, the one called Dolphin, she doesn't talk much." She tilted her head to the side. "Have you ever wanted to? I'm sure there are people around here that do lessons, it being a coastal town and all." She shook her head. "I don't use social media very often, so I don't go on Youtube. That does sound... interesting, though. Long videos. Like movies? Perhaps not ones about comics, though."

For just a second, Billie considered what she was going to say. She couldn't lie, but she didn't have to tell the whole truth. "No." Still, most people were at least subconsciously aware, her history broadcasted in front of most of the town regardless. "I was raised to be a hunter. As in, one of supernatural people. Military and survival tactics were a part of my upbringing." That sounded nice, a show where people read to you. Something normal, something that was for children. Had she ever gotten to be a child? Quietly, she asked, "What kind of submarines?"

[efexumukoroxlc]

"Well, I, uh...." Efe felt his eyes widen, but in truth, he had never thought too hard about the intricacies of Superman. The questioning seemed to take him somewhat aback, and he found he had no real answers. "I think he's, like, invulnerable maybe. Like, he'd be immune to his own lasers? I think one of the X-Men has eye lasers too, but he needs to wear special glasses to keep them from firing all the time. Maybe it's magic? I mean, I've seen people around here make fire in their hands. Where does that come from?" He smiled. "Good then. Thank you for the help. Sometimes I need someone else to help me make a decision."

Efe hummed, furrowing his brow. "It's all underwater, is it? Maybe it's just for convenience. Otherwise, they'd have to put people in scuba suits. I mean, I wear air tanks all the time at work, but I've never been scuba diving." He sighed, thinking better of going too far down this path with a siren. "Do you ever go on YouTube? Sometimes people post these long explanations on there? I mean, some of the kids I work with watch them. They're like, hours and hours long." He grimaced.

"Oh! Are you into...military stuff? I like...books about submarines." It sounded utterly ridiculous to say aloud, but he had found himself picking up some of his father's reading habit in his creeping, lifelong fate of becoming the man. "It was, like...this kid's show on PBS? They taught you about reading. Sometimes famous people would come on and read to you, but I was little and didn't know who any of them were."

"Can he?" she asked, genuinely curious. "That's hardly practical, shooting lasers from one's eyes. How does he keep them from hurting him? Are they actual lasers? How does the heat not affect his vision? Where do the lasers come from?" None of the questions seemed to have logical answers, something that she was finding seemed to be the way of most forms of media that were consumed. Even the things she liked, the movies and musicals she'd seen, didn't really make sense. "Retro," she murmured. "I think he should suffice, yes."

Billie frowned. "I can't tell what she does," she muttered. "Other than have scales and swim. Which. A lot of people swim in this book." That seemed to be all of what they were doing. She just didn't understand it. She sighed. "I think you're probably right. I don't understand where to start with these things. Do I look for the original? Would going back one issue be enough? How do you read these things?" It was, really, all quite frustrating.

Mouth twitching slightly, Billie managed an approximation of a sheepish smile back to him. "My father was also fond of... education. Most of what I read were, ah, etiquette textbooks or military tactics. Survival strategies." Things that she could then attempt to put into practice. Her head cocked to the side. "Reading Rainbow?" she asked.

[efexumukoroxlc]

Efe cocked his head to one side, as if he were really considering this fact for the very first time. "Yeah, yeah...I guess he does. I don't know. Does he have laser eyes? That sounds pretty scary to me. I mean, I like to think I'm pretty strong too, but I can't shoot lasers out of my eyes." He pursed up his lips, voice trailing off. "We'll go with Superman. He's retro. I'm sure he'll be fine. I hear there's a new movie coming too, so maybe I can get ahead of that."

Turning back, he offered a smile. "Oh. Yeah, I've heard of Aquaman. But what can Dolphin do? I know he, like, talks to fish, doesn't he?" Efe wrinkled up his nose. "Maybe you had to have read, like, the prior issue. A lot of these things have been running for years and years. I can't even keep up with the movies, and then...you know, like I said, they keep rebooting them, I guess. Maybe I should get action figures instead, and they can just play whatever they want."

The smile which followed was gentler. "I wasn't really allowed to read them myself. My parents were big on...educational media. If it wasn't teaching me something, I couldn't watch, read, or play it." He knit his brow. "There was a lot of...Reading Rainbow."

"He wears red undergarments over his tights," Billie mused, looking at the hero brightly plastered on some of the walls. "How scary could he be?" But appearances could be wholly deceiving. She knew that better than most. "I suppose he can be scary. Isn't he rather strong?"

She held up the issue she was reading, frowning. "It's..." she sighed. "Aquaman, apparently. He wears orange and has a beard. HIs companion's name, the blonde with-- with grey scales, is apparently Dolphin." She found it a bit ridiculous, the whole thing, and mildly uncomfortable, especially since that particular shade of scales was something she saw every time she got wet, much to her own chagrin. "I don't believe it's very good, but I also don't know what's going on, so that could be... contributing to my opinions."

She scratched the back of her neck, embarrassed. "I'm really a terrible judge of any of this. I don't think I really knew what a comic book was until I was in my teens, and I'd certainly never read one, even after. I'd never watched the movies." She understood so few of the references that she was supposedly robotic. A computer would at least have access and understanding of pop culture, though.

[efexumukoroxlc]

Efe flashed a small, apologetic smile before breaking into a laugh. "See, that's just the thing. I mean, I'd assume as much. Superman is usually pretty...PG maybe. From what I gather? But I feel like everything has a gritty reboot these days? How's someone supposed to know what's normal Superman and what's...scary Superman?"

He sighed, but really, some part of him knew he was winding himself into knots over nothing. Holiday toy drives were naturally not competitions he could or should strive to win. But he really did want to make someone's Christmas a little brighter if he could help it. It was that nagging fear of screwing up holding him back.

"What are you reading? That one any good?" He inquired, craning his neck. Efe almost asked how she was doing, but he held himself back. So much had happened, and he had, at least, witnessed Billie that night. But he knew pressing the matter was not his place. Perhaps casual neighborly conversations like this were more helpful.

Billie had never touched a comic book in her entire life. She only tangentially knew what a superhero even was, having seen glimpses of the movies or heard references being made. Superman could fly. Batman had a strange cape that she thought was horribly ill-suited for his line of work as apparently a billionaire vigilante without powers. Of course, if he figured out a way to utilize it as a weapon, it might perhaps be useful. As it was, though, she could only see it as, at best, a style choice and at worst a hinderance to mobility. So she knew nothing about comics, and yet she was at the comic book store, getting hopelessly lost in images of some brightly colored individuals intermixed with more sinister looking ones, dark greys and shadows punctuated by pops of red. Another attempt to broaden her horizons, since her usual reference to help explain pop culture references didn't want to talk to her, right now. Because Billie was an arsehole.

She was holding up a new-ish run of an Aquaman comic and attempting to not look deeply offended at the character apparently named Dolphin, with her blonde hair and silvered scales, when she heard Efe speak. "I have no idea," she admitted quietly. "I actually don't know who any of these people are. Superman? Superman is child friendly, right? He seems like he smiles a lot."

[firefighterxefe]

Efe raised his brow. "Uh, that's sort of the common notion, I guess, yeah. You ever catch those game shows on TV? People win tropical beach trips left, right, and center. They never send anyone to, like, Ohio. Or Rhode Island. You know what I mean?" Gesturing vaguely around himself, he thought better of the remark as soon as he said it; he did not mean to denigrate Lunar Cove specifically. But his feelings about the town itself grew more and more difficult each day, as though by being here, living in this place, he was avoiding something someplace else. He did not know how to move past it just yet. "Oh, really? Like Bill...or? I guess I never knew their first names. Is Grimm a real last name? Or was it sort of a pun thing?" Shifting a bit in place, he finished up the remainder of his folding and zipped up his laundry bag. "That's a good outlook to have. Very level-headed. But...I still hope you have plenty of much better ahead. I find it's kind of nicer to find yourself living one of your best days, rather than one of your kind of bad-ish ones, yeah?" He laughed, shaking his head. "Well, good. And thank you. Everyone has so much going on, this place can get a little solitary. I find an ear, and I go off. Random question. You, uh, ever go bowling or anything? Is that weird? I'm trying to find people to go with. Not, like, a full league or anything. But I figure recreation among the species might make us all get along again."

Billie wrinkled her nose. "Beaches are considered paradise?" she muttered. That seemed like such a ridiculous notion to her. Beaches were places that she spent the whole time either with sand in her shoes or worried that she was about to get wet and not have legs. To call them paradise seemed a little far fetched, but what would she know? She gave him a smile back, just as weak. "Solvable with a moral lesson for children. That sounds about right. I was actually named after one of the Grimm brothers. At least, that's what I was told. It wasn't my... thing, though." She didn't even know if she had a thing. She nodded. "Werewolf parachute pants, yes. Makes sense." Billie picked at her sleeves. "I really do appreciate that. It's nothing for you to be sorry for." She gave him another small smile. "Really, in the grand scheme of things, I've been through much worse. A brief amount of public humiliation-- which, really, it was just taking photos with children-- isn't that bad." She put her hands up. "No, no you're fine! It's nothing to apologize for! You're not bothering me at all!"

[firefighterxefe]

Efe sighed before managing a genuine laugh. "Good for you. Really. I watch too much. The firehouse can be a little uneven. Every big disaster, we're all on our toes, of course. But in the in-between? And I'm grateful for it, mind you, but it's just TV or weights. And I just washed all these; I'm not looking to go up a t-shirt size." He shrugged. "I don't know what's in Ohio either. Maybe nothing, but I also used to live in Illinois, so...I'm really in no place to talk." He knit his brow. "Ah, okay, that makes sense. Do you, uh, prefer Wilhelmina? I don't think you should apologize for your name. People should get it right. My full name is Efetobo. So, you know, we have about the same number of syllables, yeah?" He smiled sincerely, laughing and nodding in agreement. "They are grim, aren't they? I feel like bad stuff is always happening to the heroes in them. Not just to the bad guys. But...uh, yeah! Here's to better ahead. If you'd like to go, I'm happy to...you know, hang. But, ah! You say all that because you've never been in a league. League bowling is cutthroat," he quipped. "But maybe we and a few others can sort of...form a group. Try to have a good time. Might really tick that Catalyst off to see a few of us just having a normal discounted lane night."

"I, ah, don't watch much reality television. Or tv in general," Billie said, a bit sheepishly. She hadn't even watched any movies recently, and she'd started to enjoy watching movies. "I suppose that makes sense. I don't know what's in Ohio, and the beaches here are decided not tropical." Billie didn't think she'd ever been anywhere actually considered tropical. Her travels had been decidedly well above the equator. She was used to cold waters and colder people. She laughed a little, ducking her head as she folded a pair of trousers and added them to her hamper. "I mean, perhaps his friends called him Bill, maybe. His name was Wilhelm, which, well, my name is Wilhelmina, which is why I go by Billie because Wilhelmina is just a lot and it's a bit difficult for people to get on the first try and no one has ever wanted to say that many syllables in a row for a name without stopping, so. Ah, but, yes, it's a real last name, just German, though I think it makes sense. Those stories were rather grim." She didn't know if her outlook was level-headed, but it was the only one she could really fathom having, at this point. It could have been worse. It had been, actually, a lot and often. "I am... hoping for better, ahead," she said tentatively, letting the truth of it all actually mean something to her. "I think you're right about the solidarity. It's necessary for survival, at this point." Her head cocked to the side. "Bowling?" She did know what that was, as useless as the knowledge was. "I've never been, actually. That's a really lovely idea, though. It's not a contact sport, but it still adds a sense of competitiveness and camaraderie that inspires closeness."

[firefighterxefe]

Efe offered a weak shrug, shoulders heaving with an emotion between resignation and perplexedly. "I mean, I'm not sure it's a requirement. But a lot of those shows are set on the beach, you know? Dating in paradise. Surviving in paradise. Everyone living together in a big house in paradise. Those are kind of the genres. I mean, so I've heard." He flashed a weak smile. "Uh, yeah, I guess so. I think maybe being solvable is a cornerstone of those kinds of stories, you know what I mean? Everything needs to work out or not work out. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a moral. I volunteer for this program, for human kids. Reading is part of it. I don't, like, browse the Grimm collections in my spare time. Not that that would be bad if it was someone's thing!" His brow shot up, but he did realize he was being overzealous in his explanations. "Werewolf parachute pants," Efe decided at last, flashing another weak smile. "Ah, well...I'm, uh, sorry it happened. And glad it all worked out. Or at least I hope it did. I think this Catalyst has mostly succeeded at making us be bad to each other, though. I hate to say it. But I guess I have it easier. Being human, I mean. Not having to be here. I'm sorry. I'm talking a lot, right? Am I bothering you?"

Billie blinked, slightly confused and more than a bit concerned. "Do reality tv stars typically walk around shirtless? Is that a requirement to be on television?" If the thought of being put in front of people or on camera hadn't caused her to shrink before, it certainly did now. What a terrifying thought! She smiled. She knew what Cinderella was. "Couldn't hurt. Find who it fits, solve the fairytale. Can fairytales be solved?" She thought about it. "Fae trousers? Or... werewolf trousers?" She shrugged, looking down at her own clothing, careful to make sure that the buttons on one shirt were all done and that it was folded in such a way as to not leave an unsightly wrinkle. "I don't remember much of the sentencing, to be perfectly honest. I didn't... really pay much attention to what people were saying. I was just really ready to go home."

[firefighterxefe]

"Unless you're a reality television star, I guess. Then you wouldn't even need to wear a shirt," he attempted to joke, but immediately thinking better of himself, Efe lapsed into a sighing explanation. "Someone stole the remote at the firehouse. So we can't change the TV channel. I don't normally watch that stuff. For what it's worth." Looking over his shoulder, he offered a weak half-smile. A laugh echoed from his lips, and he ducked his head, holding up a solitary sock that had apparently lost its partner. He grimaced. "What? Like Cinderella? Should we...should we be looking for the owner door-to-door?" He rolled his eyes with a joking hum. "I guess not. Maybe she has turned over a new leaf, after all. What's the opposite of a vampire tee? A werewolf sweater?" He sighed, crossing his arms and giving up on his missing sock. "Well, I, uh, hope no one's holding anything against you or anything like that. My parents are on the Coalition, so if any stern doctors said anything rude during your sentencing, I would like to formally apologize on behalf of my family."

"I think that's rather reasonable," Billie said, smiling. "A shirt wouldn't have much purpose if it didn't fit over your head." She carefully folded a shirt of her own, adding it to her basket in hopes that it wouldn't wrinkle too badly. "Perhaps it was left here on purpose. Someone deciding to change their ways, give up on the sparkles and the silly puns. This could be the turning of a new leaf, you know." A ridiculous statement, and one that was likely not true, but, when one couldn't lie, it was best to live in probability. It was an improbable thought, but not an impossible one. The shirt was likely just left behind on accident, but there could be more to it. Billie's smile dimmed a little, but she managed to keep it up, despite the circumstance. "I'm doing fine. It's nice not to be considered a criminal," she said. All things considered, things could have been much worse.

[firefighterxefe]

"And I don't wear anything I can't get over my head." And really, the shirt was ridiculously small in Efe's grip. A low laugh echoed from his throat, and he folded the article of clothing gently and placed it atop the washers. "Someone must have forgot it in there before I threw my stuff in. Maybe they'll come back for it," he sighed weakly, giving a weak shrug. But, still, he thought, this was a sort of nice back-and-forth, normal neighborly banter. For the briefest moment, he believed that maybe things could simply be regular again, even here, in a town like this. He almost regretted his next question. "How...uh, how you been holding up?" He had, at the very least, heard tell of the Renaissance fish tank, and that was a pretty crappy thing to make a person do. Now that it seemed he would join the Coalition himself, maybe he would advocate for more sensible punishments. He tossed one of his t-shirts into his laundry bag.

Billie had the night off from work, but that did little to adjust her sleep schedule. If she was going to be awake long into the night, then she was at least going to get some things done. That included laundry. She had been folding her clothes, still fresh and warm, at the laundromat because she knew if she just threw them all in her basket and drove home, they'd simply never get folded at all. Her headphones were on, one of the few songs from the Hamilton soundtrack that she enjoyed played softly in her ears, the back of her mind pointing out each different stroke of the keys . When she heard the man's voice, she looked up, startled. She looked at the shirt, first mildly disgruntled before amusement set in. "I should think not," she said. Looking at the silly t-shirt made her feel lighter than she had in quite some time. "I don't wear short sleeves," she added with a slight tease in her tone.