Lily Denman

Lily Denman, 29. Artist, mother, small business owner, metahuman, rebel army affiliated.

[harrythedreamer-blog]

Harry stopped, biting her tongue as she realized her mistake. She kept quiet, suppressing her raging questions as Lily got her daughter settled. Once Anna was taken care of, she followed Lily as instructed into the kitchen, hanging on her every word. Harry’s fingers fidgeted nervously, the fact that her friend had been interrogated doing little to calm her anxiety.

Harry seemed caught off guard by the redirrection to her meaningless drawing; in truth, she hadn’t even been paying attention to what she was painting. Studying it further, however, she nodded, looking back up at Lily. “I…yeah…last night…” her eyes went back to the picture again, analyzing it further. “I kept seeing it, like an image flashing. Someone…some people were screaming in it.” Harry had forgotten about the dream until now, not having known that it had been a real, significant place. “There was a lot of blood…”

[lilydenmanwotna]

Lily waited patiently for Harry to process the information, almost relieved when she seemed confused about the painting. “Last night,” Lily repeated, nodding as she picked up the painting and studied it carefully. It was definitely the apartment, just as Lily had seen it last, besides the blood. “You must’ve been in the head of somebody who was there. One of the rebels.”

With a sigh, she set the painting down and rubbed her forehead. “The only good news is, that means at least one of them survived,” she said out loud, though mostly to herself. With the grim idea now out of her head, she headed to the kettle and flicked the switch, instinctively glancing across to check on Anna while she did. The young girl was drawing intently, her toes curling and uncurling in the air in time to her music. That was a relief, that Anna didn’t seem to have picked up on her mother’s worry. Turning her head back to Harry, she shot her a weak smile. “Tea?”

[thirdnova-kara]

“Is that all it is?” Kara asked, once she realized it had been Lily Denman she was sitting next to. It’d been long enough since the raid that it was somewhat safer for the Rebels to scour out of Charlie’s home, although blending in and buddying up was strongly encouraged. Being in a house with about twenty people had gotten claustrophobic for the Nova, and that was eventually how she’d ended up on a train, sitting next to the young mother. She had donned a brunette wig and glasses, of course, not wanting to risk being caught. 

[lilydenmanwotna]

Giving a small sniff and lifting her head, Lily nearly gasped when she recognised the woman sat next to her. “Oh my god,” she breathed, half in relief and half in fear. If Lily was spotted with the rebel Nova just having vehemently denied anything to do with the rebels, she was in huge trouble. Still, she could hardly do anything now, and Kara was barely recognisable in her disguise. Shifting slightly closer, Lily shook her head and lowered her voice. “I didn’t recognise you. I’ve just come from CARMA, they questioned me about the apartment.” She breathed out hard, looking over Kara’s face. “But anyway, are you alright? What’s the situation?”

[mickeyandmumbles]

[japanesebanshee-deactivated2016]

Naomi wasn’t know for paying much attention to her surrondings while listening to music, but ever since CARMA got her name careful became her surname. Her eyes would move to any sudden move and this time it was a girl. The girl didn’t look dangerous, but she was trembling and looked hurt, disturbed. Was she crying? She noticed how her nose seemed slightly red and her cheeks a little wet. Maybe something happened to her? The girl took off her earphones and took a tissue from her purse, offering it to the other “You okay?”

Stressful week…Well, so why was she crying now? “You sure it is just that?”

@lilydenmanwotna

[lilydenmanwotna]

Lily gladly accepted the tissue, using it to dab at her eyes. Everything had just overwhelmed her all of a sudden. All day she’d been strong, but once the ordeal was over and she’d allowed herself to think about how close she might have been to losing Anna, and everything else she had to be thankful for in her life. “No,” she admitted, lifting her eyes and taking in the kind stranger’s face. “It is more than that, but please, don’t worry yourself over me. I’m more relieved than anything else.”

[harrythedreamer-blog]

Harry looked up from her spot on the floor with Anna when she heard the door open and close, watching as Anna ran towards her mother. She remained seated as the two had their exchange, wanting to give them a moment but secretly itching to run and check on Lily. When her friend walked into the living room, Harry set aside the painting she’d been doing with Anna (just like like Lily taught her) and rose to her feet, moving quickly to where Lily stood. 

“Don’t mention it,” Harry brushed off the unnecessary gratitude in a heartbeat. She took Lily’s unoccupied hand in her own, her eyes filled with inquisitive worry. “What happened? What did they want? What did they say? What did you say?” the questions flew out quickly before she could stop them, her tone that of anxious concern.

Behind her on the living room floor were the pictures she and Anna had created in her mother’s absence to distract her and calm her nerves (both Anna’s and Harry’s). While Anna had painted generic, pretty pictures: a flower, the sun, her and her mother, a cat, Harry’s paintings consisted of only one image and only one color.

4 or 5 small white canvases lay scattered round the floor, all pictures of an apartment building done in bold blood red. Harry had started with a small brush, but when her hands began shake with anxiety and fear she opted for finger painting, the color still staining her hands.

What she didn’t know was that each apartment building she had created was the same one; the one in which Ross had lived. 

[lilydenmanwotna]

Lily sat herself on the sofa with Anna in her arms, gently rubbing the little girl’s back as she watched Holly. The more anxious sounding Harry’s questions became, the more agitated Anna was, squirming in Lily’s arms and looking up at her, murmuring, “Mummy?”, in a worried voice.

“Harry,” Lily hissed, shooting her a furious glare. “Lily, sweetie,” she soothed, looking back down at her daughter with her tone and expression instantly calm and comforting. “Me and Harry need to have a grown-up talk now, okay? You understand what that means? I’ll get you some headphones, and you can take them and your crayons over there and draw a new teddy for yourself. I’ll get some of the big paper, and you’ll have yourself a new massive fluffy teddy, yeah?”

Anna nodded, and Lily stood up, finding a pad of A1 paper and laying it out on the floor for her. Catching sight of the blood red paintings, she froze for half a second, before moving swiftly back into action and carrying on organising the crayons for her daughter. By that point, Anna had found her headphones, and Lily happily handed over her phone for her daughter to find the music on, knowing she could trust her with it.

Once Anna was settled down with the music on, Lily settled gestured with her head towards the kitchen. She picked up one of Harry’s paintings from the floor, and led her through. It was an open floor plan, so Lily had a good view of Anna, but they had a little more distance here. She took a seat calmly at the breakfast bar, setting the painting down on the table and pointing to it. “This is the apartment I shared with Ross. When their base was raided last week, I let Rebels stay there. CARMA found them in the apartment, they were questioning me to see if I knew.” Her voice was fast and low, but clear, quickly letting Harry know what she needed to. That done, she studied the painting again. “Did you dream this?”

[project-avatar-deactivated20160]

Mordecai took in what the woman said, sighing and looking at his mug of tea. There was nothing that Lily didnt say that Mordecai had already thought for himself. “I….am tired of hiding, Lily.” Mordecai stated, looking up at the woman. “The Rebels have been acting in the shadows for too long and it can easily be argued we have been making large steps backwards instead of forwards…..we have to do something different if we wish to survive.”

[lilydenmanwotna]

“We’re all tired of hiding,” Lily replied grimly, still studying Modecai’s countenance, making sure there wasn’t anything he was holding back. “And yes, I know. We aren’t perfect, but things can improve. God knows after this things are going to be very different. But please, Mordy, hold on at least until we’re back on our feet. Then we can talk about what’ll change moving forwards, and you have every right to be part of that discussion when it happens.”

[project-avatar-deactivated20160]

Mordecai shook his head, smiling sadly. “It does not matter. If the Rebles feel that strongly about me perhaps it is time we part ways.”

[lilydenmanwotna]

“I know it’s hard when you feel unappreciated, but please, give us a chance. I’m sure you understand that tensions are high. Everyone living at the base has just lost their home, we’ve all lost our leader and so many friends. Right now people are scared, and scared people don’t think about what they’re saying. They’re angry, they want to strike back at CARMA but they can’t, so they have nowhere else to direct their anger but at each other, and you.” She sighed gently, taking a sip of her tea and leaning back to regard Mordecai. “If nobody else is saying it, I will. We all appreciate you and everything you do for us. We wouldn’t have got to where we did without you. But, you have to remember that this is an incredibly stressful time. Stick with us, and we’ll come through. We’ll work it out. But please, don’t leave us when we need you most.” Quieting, she summoned up a friendly smile, releasing his arm and cupping her mug to keep her fingers warm. “Besides, I’d miss you if you left.”

[lilydenmanwotna]

Finally arriving home from her grilling by CARMA, Lily had barely managed to close the door behind her when she was leapt on by a tiny figure. “Hello sweetie!” Lily exclaimed, forcing a wide smile and scooping her daughter up into her arms. “Did you miss me, love?” She waited for the answer, watching Anna carefully as she nodded and buried her face in Lily’s shoulder. “Aw, well it’s okay now, love. Mommy’s here, I’ve got you. Let me get my coat off, and we can have a nice long hug, yeah? Have you been good for Harry?” She set her daughter on the ground and turned to remove her coat, spotting Harry and throwing her a grateful smile.

Moving further into the house, Lily picked Anna up again and held her closely, letting her bury her face in Lily’s hair. “Thank you so much, Harry. Honestly, I don’t know what I’d have done if you weren’t here. You’re a godsend.”

@harrythedreamer

[project-avatar-deactivated20160]

Mordecai nodded with a sigh. “More and more rebels are acting as if I am the enemy.” He replied honestly, his eyes showing a deep hurt over that fact. “….so I do not know where I stand.”

[lilydenmanwotna]

Lily tipped her head to one side, slowly reaching her hand across the table and giving his arm a comforting squeeze. “I’m sorry, Mordecai. In what way are they doing that?”

[lilydenmanwotna]

What a day, Lily thought to herself as she stood shakily on the subway platform, waiting for her train to arrive. She hadn’t even known CARMA had raided her apartment until the agents arrived at her door and asked her to go with them to the base to answer some ‘questions’. Thankfully, there was no evidence she’d known anything, and Lily was a decent liar, so after a few hours and a firm warning, she was released. Shakily, Lily boarded her train, taking a seat without paying much attention to the person she’d sat next to. When they spoke, she glanced up, discreetly wiping a tear from her eye. “No, no. I’m fine, thank you. Stressful week, is all.”

[project-avatar-deactivated20160]

Mordecai nodded, hsi brow furrowed. “Family comes first; no matter what.” He replied with a kind look. “And if the Rebels wish to look past that…then perhaps they are not the right movement.”

[lilydenmanwotna]

Lily nodded, brushing a strand of hair off her face and nodding. “Thank you for being so understanding.” With another weak smile, she let her eyes roam Mordecai’s face. “What about you, though? How are you coping? You must be very stressed too.”

[project-avatar-deactivated20160]

Mordecai hummed, looking relieved. “Good…..I beg your pardon I got worried the novas were exposing your daughter to this.” Mordecai smiled softly at the other. “Good….I will ensure that as well if you let me.” Mordecai replied.

[lilydenmanwotna]

“That’s alright. I promise you, if I thought she’d be put in any danger from all of this, I’d turn people away at the door.” She shot a grim smile back, nodding in thanks. “I appreciate it, a lot. You understand my daughter has to come first.”

[project-avatar-deactivated20160]

Mordecai’s brow furrowed at the woman’s question. “Your…..apartment?” He asked, looking worried and confused. “They should not be sending anyone to your apartment.” Mordecai stated. “You have a daughter correct?”

[lilydenmanwotna]

Lily shook her head, pushing her hair back off her face. “My daughter lives with me in our house in Elnora. The apartment’s in a completely different part of the city, still leased under my husband’s name. He offered it up as a safehouse before he was taken, and I decided not to sell it so it could still be used.” She managed a soft, reassuring smile. “I’m not going to do anything that might put my daughter in danger.”

[isaaxgreen-blog]

“Lovely place.. But I’m probably a little biased. If you ever decide to go I can totally give you a few little tips of great places to visit that most tourists won’t find. If she’s at all musical then I can send you to the best places… Maybe not for a child actually on second thought.” Ross sipped his drink, he could recommend the best little jazz clubs or bars with live music that aren’t ever flooded with tourists. But they weren’t kid friendly really. “I’m sorry to hear that…” He never really knew how to deal with situations like that, he’d usually say something inappropriate or put his foot right in it. “Of course, there’s one over there lead the way.” The man picked up both of their drinks so Lily could hold the box and her bag as they moved.

[lilydenmanwotna]

Lily smiled, considering the offer. She didn’t go on many holidays, and she knew Anna would love to go somewhere exciting. “That would be amazing, honestly. Though, yeah, maybe I should wait ‘til she’s a few years older. That way she can really appreciate and remember it.” Standing, she followed Ross over to the table, placing the box between them and her bag on the floor. The box was made of white cardboard, around six inches by four but with quite tall sides. Once she had Ross’ undivided attention, Lily opened it up, and pulled a piece of paper out of it, placing it on the table in front of them. On the paper was a painting of a small tabby cat licking its front paws. It was a good painting, obviously done by an extremely skilled artist, but as Lily brushed her finger over it, the cat flicked its tail and appeared to meow silently, before resuming the licking of its front paws. In front of their eyes, the painting had come to life. “Pretty cool, huh? It gets better, though.” Glancing around to make sure nobody was watching, she reached towards it, her hand sliding right through the paper and into the painting. She wrapped her fingers gently around the cat, pulling the animal out and releasing it in the box. It was miniature, the same size as it had been in the painting, and was obviously very confused about the new dimension it’d just been introduced to. It rolled over a few times, pawing at the sides of the box, before sitting still and once again going back to cleaning its front paws, tailing swishing.

[fuck-lady-luck-blog]

“Awesome.”  he said as he sat next to her with a nod. “Nice to meet you, Lily, I’m Jonah. A Gin and Tonic, if that’s cool.”

[lilydenmanwotna]

“You too,” she nodded back, a friendly smile warming her features. “Gin and tonic, sure.” Half way through leaning around towards the barman, she paused. “You’re over 21, right?”

[logija-deactivated20160411]

[lilydenmanwotna]

logija:

painting (detail) by Marco Grassi

[project-avatar-deactivated20160]

“Right now? You relax and think of yourself.” Mordecai stated, draping a blanket over the woman’s shoulders. “The main game plan is that we try to recount and lick our wounds from there.” The man replied, pouring himself a cup of coffee before moving to sit before the woman. “I am unaware…” He replied gently, his brow furrowing. “I am working on finding her location…”

[lilydenmanwotna]

With the blanket over her shoulders, Lily set down her coffee cup so she could pull it more tightly around herself. “Thanks, Mordecai. I’m alright, though. I wasn’t there. I’ve only heard bits and pieces about what happened.” She nodded, releasing another long sigh. “I hate to have to ask this, as well, but do you know how long my apartment’s going to be being used as a safehouse for?”