mongrel heart

Hayden Lewis. 30. MI6 trainer.

[poisonedparadiserpg-blog]

Did you know him well?

[lewishayden]

I... Yes and no... I trained him, like I did everyone. He was always so grumpy about it — we weren't really on the best terms, but this... is horrible.

[lewishayden]

Wait... No... I just — I saw him two days ago... How do you even react to this?

[lillian-dawes-deactivated201310]

Late night punches || Hayden & Lillian

[lillian-dawes-deactivated201310]

She stretched her legs as she sat on the bench, moving her hands down to massage her screaming muscles. “Long as I got a booze, a tolerable room and a good window to jump out of I decide I cannot stand it anymore, I think I’ll be good.” she said moving her hands to her hips.

The girl was about to ask why when she kept going, then was going to intervene again, but it seemed her millisecond of a chance was up, the girl kept going. She couldn’t help but let a small laugh out. “Well you know what they say, if you can’t do…teach people how to kill a person the physical way and spend your day dealing with training the Q-branch while trying not to kill yourself.” the girl said with an overly wide smile as she picked up her gym bag and hoisted it over the shoulder. “You should be happy, if the place is at a hotel it might just force me to rest in a way you can’t.”

[lewishayden]

Hayden groaned. "Don't remind me about the Q-branch. I almost forgot I have to train them today." She took a deep breath, in exasperation, before continuing in an impression. "Good morning, Jay. Nice to see you again, as always. I assume you, too, have received the message from our supervisor indicating that we are to spend the weekend together in team-building exercises. Doesn't that just sound like a jolly good time?" She groaned again, pulling on the skin of her cheeks, contorting her face into a ghoulish expression. "Just kill me now."

At Lillian's second comment, Hayden narrowed her eyes, increasing the intimidating factor of her presence. "Oh, I can force you to rest, young woman. Don't test me — I'm bigger than you, I'm stronger than you, and I have the authorization to cross that line if I deem it necessary." She smirked, letting Lillian know she was (mostly) in jest, before adding, "Yeah. I have a lot of privileges here."

[the-brooklyn-project-blog]

A long night || Samuel + Hayden

[the-brooklyn-project-blog]

It got to the point where Samuel was practically drooling on his fist, snoozing as he hunched over with his head propped on his fist. But Hayden made sure he didn’t get farther than a few heavier, sleepy breaths, the hard nudges against his shins startling him quite soundly. “‘M awake, I’m awake!” he hissed as he scrambled to wake up, groaning as he tried to shake the drowsiness off his back.

He shrunk a little with a whine as the woman began to cackle at him, too drunk to remember if he had ever heard such a noise from the often already terrifying trainer.

"For the record, I’m not gay or in the closet,” he said with a scowl as threatening as a kitten with a nose in some Irish Cream, trying in vain to twist away from Hayden’s prodding without spilling out onto the floor. The comment meant to try to get the woman stop sniffing on his trail was technically true, even though he was just not piously heterosexual by anyone’s standards and the marks were from a man this time… Probably. He couldn’t exactly remember details like ‘were there breasts or not?’ anymore with his possibly more than mild intoxication. “Not exactly eventful… I mean I think it was earlier, but now I’m on my own with nothing to show for it and just trying not to fall asleep. It’s a bit difficult.”

[lewishayden]

It took every bit of concentrated will in Hayden to stop herself from rolling her eyes at Samuel's profession of heterosexuality. "I really don't care," she mentioned, casually, with a mocking grin, before pointing out, "But you seem to. And I think that's funny." She scanned him quickly with her eyes, noting the wrinkles in his shirt, collar jutting out at odd angles, and the unusual dent in his coiffure. Face still keeping that expression somewhere between smug satisfaction and disbelief, Hayden rested her head on the back of the couch.

At "nothing to show for it," she started to let out a chuckle, drowning out the rest of his statement — she didn't really care much about his explanation, anyhow. She cocked her head dramatically to the side to look at him. "Nothing to show for it?" she scoffed, raising an eyebrow at him, "Mate, you look like a hungover university girl the morning after, and technically it's still nighttime." She pressed her index finger against her thumb and flicked the discoloration on her neck. "Welcome to the slag club. Grab a condom and a cosmopolitan," she smirked, taking her arms out in a grand gesture. She pushed his shoulder gently and laughing, shaking her head.

[archer006-deactivated20131202]

Fuckin’ christ, I need to be paid more. 

[lewishayden]

[seriechuck]

[the-brooklyn-project-blog]

A long night || Samuel + Hayden

[the-brooklyn-project-blog]

"I prefer ‘taking advantage of my day off tomorrow’," Samuel grinned sleepily, feeling the effects of the two lagers in his system. Yes, he was drunk, but it never took much with his slight frame. "Drink fast and then nap forever," he amended, his head settling on his fist again as he began to doze off a little bit. Hayden would protect him he figured, and he mumbled something to her that might have been an acknowledgement that she was indeed very human.

He yelped and his arms did a bit of a windmill impression when he was all of a sudden yanked upwards by the collar of his shirt, wriggling in his drunken confusion when he heard Hayden exclaiming about something she had seen. Sam let himself be pushed back into his chair with a half-stumble, settling in a heap of gangling limbs, and blinked up at the trainer.

"I have a what?" he asked nervously, running a hand along his neck and trapezius to find where there was a hint of pain… there. Oh god, he thought to himself with a slight panic, she knows I’ve been snogging! To the man who valued his privacy more than anything else this discovery was promptly mortifying, and he waved his hands a little wildly as he blushed to his chest. ”I-It’s not what it looks like!” he tried desperately, despite already knowing that rectifying anything was a lost cause.

[lewishayden]

Hayden rolled her eyes as Samuel set off rambling, his speech eventually reducing into nothing more than a few incomprehensible mumbles. Anything after the world nap was lost to her, and probably to him as well, as he took the opportunity to try and fall asleep on the sofa. His cheek wrinkled pressed against his hands, and his eyes blinked shut for longer and longer until they were half of the time shut. When the mumbling became nothing more than a low groan, Hayden decided to stop indulging him. "Oi!" she called, nudging his shins with her feet. "Get up, Keats. You're in public." Hayden had serious concerns about the social skills of the Quartermasters, especially in moments like these. She sure as hell wasn't their babysitter, but sometimes she felt like it.

When she pointed out the strange discoloration on his neck, then he decided to return to coherency. "It's not what it looks like!" he yelped, astonishingly lucid considering his earlier state, and Hayden laughed, something halfway between a chuckle and a cackle. A little bit maniacal, but not mean-spirited. "Oh, it's definitely what it looks like," she managed between laughs. Hayden sat down next to him and poked the spot, laughing again and shaking her head in disbelief. "Who knew Samuel Keats was such a ladykiller?" She looked at him and amended, "Or mankiller," with a tilt of her head. "It's all the same, I suppose." Running a hair through her hair, she turned her head towards him and added, "So I take it you've had quite an eventful night?" Sleep could wait, Hayden thought. This opportunity demanded to be seized.

[the-brooklyn-project-blog]

A long night || Samuel + Hayden

[the-brooklyn-project-blog]

Samuel blinked sleepily up at the new arrival when he heard a greeting, needing a second or two to pair that too familiar voice with a face. Hayden. "I suppose that’s one word for it," he sighed wistfully with a fist on his cheek, his foot bobbing slowly where his legs were crossed as he settled back into his slouch. "Bit of a disappointing night I suppose."

He figured that the trainer probably did not need to know how he had once again failed to get a leg over, and so kept the tidbit quietly to himself. The last thing he wanted was to endure more teasing speculations on his sexuality from a co-worker, so he was not about to give her any fodder. Sam never knew on what foot he stood with the rather harsh trainer, but he did respect her even if he was convinced she was secretly trying to kill him with exercise.

"What brings you around this part of town, Ms. Lewis?" he asked as polite as if they were still in the office, his tone rather teasing despite his sleepiness. "You seem rather vexed yourself."

[lewishayden]

Samuel's reaction time was slow, and when he looked up at her, the pupils of his eyes appeared dilated. His speech was languorous, in a way that he usually didn't speak. "You're drunk," she observed, voice flat and even. She remained standing, hands in her pockets, looking down at him as he slouched in his chair. "Drunk on a weekday," she noted, in a voice that would have been singsong on a less intimidating person. "Live fast, die young," she joked. Ironically, at MI6, Quartermasters were among the least likely to live fast and die young, not to mention that, in the literal sense, Samuel himself was a horrible runner. Hayden offered a teasing smirk.

"Personally," she continued, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, "I'm just trying to get home. I live up over there," she waved vaguely at the direction in front of her. "I've been up since God knows when doing training sessions and, despite rumours in Q-Branch, I am actually a human who requires basic needs such as food and rest." She paused, raising an eyebrow. At that moment, head tilted slightly to the side, she noticed a discoloration on the right side of the neck. "That's strange," she thought, "I didn't kick him in the head." And then it clicked.

"You sly dog!" she exclaimed, grabbing him and pulling at the collar of his shirt. She confirmed her suspicions, then pushed him back into the sofa. "You have a hickey!"

To be honest, she was impressed.

[the-brooklyn-project-blog]

It's rather quiet in Q-Branch

[the-brooklyn-project-blog]

Leave my bird bones alone, please. And I think I’d be more of a runner than a lifter with my body, but finding out would require getting up off a couch so…

[lewishayden]

Of course. God forbid you should ever have to move a little. So how are things back at the Nerd Herd, anyhow?

[the-brooklyn-project-blog]

It's rather quiet in Q-Branch

[the-brooklyn-project-blog]

Excuse me if I don’t believe you.

… Besides, I’m convinced that you might have cracked my sternum.

[lewishayden]

Your biceps were the ones that failed you there, mate. Trust me, if I wanted to break your collarbone, I would have.

[the-brooklyn-project-blog]

It's rather quiet in Q-Branch

[the-brooklyn-project-blog]

You’re practically abusive, Ms. Lewis.

[lewishayden]

Are you still mad about that time the bench press bar fell on your chest? Honestly, Samuel, that wasn't even my fault.

[the-brooklyn-project-blog]

A long night || Samuel + Hayden

It was near midnight when a young man shuffled down Dean Street, shirt rumpled and clearly exhausted as he made his way towards the nearest tube station. He had decided to go to the club after his shift was up, of course stopping off at home to change and shower, but soon learned what a terrible idea that was after he remembered after a couple of drinks that he had had only a few hours of sleep.

Not to mention that apparently interested parties found it rude when you fell asleep with a hand down your trousers while snogging against the wall of a club.

Samuel groaned softly as he collapsed in a metal chair of a cafe, entirely too sober for this time of night, and wondered if he should order a cup of that sludge the rest of the branch was so fond of drinking. But was he that desperate for caffeine…? His stomach roiled at the thought of coffee after his two lagers, and he idly ran his fingers through his hand-tousled hair. Sure he was disappointed that he wasn’t going to get laid tonight, again, but that was no reason to sink to the levels of drinking coffee!

[lewishayden]

Hayden had spent the whole day cooped up at headquarters, training largely lazy and unwilling personnel. Sometimes she didn't know what she was doing there; most everyone there expressed severe displeasure in having to exercise. But she got through the day, somehow, and hurried out of the building as soon as she got the chance. The sun was down, and the day had turned into a deep, blue night, complete with a crescent moon. Hayden groaned.

She paced down the sidewalk and started her commute home, stepping down the stairs into the train station. Truth be told, Hayden hated using the tube. It was always hot, always crowded, and always strangely sticky, as if a million small children and run their hands all across everything before she arrived. This was probably true. But today there was an accident near Hayden's apartment, making public transportation the favored route of transportation to headquarters.

She stood on the subway, largely empty now save for a middle-aged woman carrying a shopping bag, a couple towards the end — who, despite some efforts at public decency, could not keep their hands off each other — and a few scattered passengers, heads bowed, keeping to themselves. Hayden plugged in her earbuds and listened to music to pass the time. The couple got off the train, one coyly leading the other by the hand; A group of drunk university girls boarded. They chattered loudly about diverse but equally vapid topics, while Hayden chanted to herself, "Two more stops. Two more stops." Two stops later, she bolted out of the train, hands in fists in her pockets.

The station was 3 blocks from her apartment, and she was so close, she could practically feel the cool touch of cotton sheets on her skin already. She passed a open cafe. She stopped for a moment — what kind of cafe is open this late? — and was about to turn away when she noticed Keats at a table, alone, with a sour look on his face. Though she presented an exterior of coldness, Hayden was actually rather fond of most of her coworkers. So she made what was surely a monumental sacrifice in detouring from her route home and entered the shop. She walked up to his table and announced, still standing, "You look glum."

[lewishayden]

Antebellum || Siobhan & Hayden

[siobhanahearne]

"Right." She remembered the correct term, it certainly made more sense than coach potato. "Perhaps you will see a different, more likeable, side of him. At least, that is the aim of M. We should be optimistic." Siobhan shrugged, "It might be fun. Imagine the chaos." Her eyes shined a different kind of brown, brighter and slightly more gleeful. 

It was true that sometimes Siobhan treated herself as an android, it was certainly easier than trying to work out human emotions. She did not think of herself as strange, but simply found it easier to not express or explain what emotions were. She watched Hayden’s reaction and noted her expressions. It was shock and maybe apprehension? She knew that it was hard on others when she expressed more than just mild amusement; it was kind of funny in its own way. “It is different on the field. We have to trust each other, or someone will get injured or killed. The stakes are high. Trust falls, not high stakes.” Siobhan’s features softened in amusement. 

[lewishayden]

Hayden smiled at Siobhan's suggestion; the woman was growing on her. Nevertheless, Hayden found it difficult to match Siobhan's optimism. After all, Siobhan and her partner, although both curious personalities, got along fine. Hayden's relationship with her mission partner was more, for lack of a better term, hostile. But the latter part of Siobhan's comment again disturbed Hayden slightly, reminding her that Siobhan was often her conception of a psychopathic serial killer. So she let out a breathy chuckle and responded with a simple, "Let's hope so," and nodded.

To Siobhan's second addition, Hayden had little to offer. Despite working for the same agency, their jobs were nothing alike, and the truth was that no matter how closely she worked with the agents, Hayden understood little about them and the way they worked. Some, like Bond, behaved more charismatically, but the truth was they were all very private people, and very much alone in their minds. Hayden didn't try to venture in. So in response to Siobhan, Hayden went for the joke: "Well, if it's... trustfalling over a pond of hungry alligators, perhaps..." Besides, Siobhan, for all her stoicism, did seem to have a hearty sense of humor.

[archer006-deactivated20131202]

Last time I checked it’s not you who s-signs my paycheck, Lewis. Besides, if I want to run 5K I’ll run 5K. I don’t need you yelling demands behind me like a PE teacher. 

[lewishayden]

I'm sorry, what was that? I can't hear you over the sound of M telling you that my sessions are mandatory and my orders are to be obeyed.

[lillian-dawes-deactivated201310]

Late night punches || Hayden & Lillian

[lillian-dawes-deactivated201310]

She burst into laughter when the girl called her out, she guessed when someone was at least closer to you the less elaborate you needed to be in your lies, otherwise you’d be called out just like that.”

She watched the girl walk over to her phone, finishing off her stretches and placing her main gear back into the bag, she could feel this ending, though on hearing about the mission she couldn’t help but feel a little intrigued. A mission where even the trainers were involved, what was this to be, some kind of relations-oh no, she could not. If it was a relations seminar she would fling herself off the building, there was nothing worse than being forced to interact with people. She took a deep breath out and looked at the girl. “This is going to be…interesting.”

[lewishayden]

"Interesting," Hayden began, with an exasperated sigh, "doesn't even begin to cover it." She tucked her phone into the pocket of her shorts (God bless Adidas) and ran a hand along her hair. She blew out air sharply from her mouth, vibrating her lips.

"Do you know the last time I was asked to assist in a mission?" Hayden asked,hands on her hips. She didn't wait for a response from Lillian before continuing, "It was a few weeks after I started here. They were sending a junior agent to Thailand to infiltrate a human trafficking ring, and they needed an expert in muay thai. I told them it was horrible idea, but of course they didn't listen — they never do — and do you want to know what happened?" Again Hayden didn't wait for an answer. "It turns out that I can't act to save my life. Quite literally." She finished her speech with a sigh, and then, "So, um, missions and I, we have a bad track record."

[the-brooklyn-project-blog]

It's rather quiet in Q-Branch

[the-brooklyn-project-blog]

I… w-what? What does my supposed sexuality have anything to do with anything?

And I was never afraid of women, I just hide from the ones that want to beat me up.

[lewishayden]

Hey! I've never tried to beat you up — safety first, mate. It's not my fault you bruise easily.

[archer006-deactivated20131202]

Why exactly do you think asking me is going to do anything? 

[lewishayden]

Shut up and don't speak to me until you've run 5 kilometres, Archer. I don't have time to feed your ego.