RUN RABBIT

[caleb-lycaon]

"No! You've gotten it wrong. You've gotten me wrong! I don't think you're scandalous, but I can't change what society views as such," Caleb said quickly in his attempt to reassure her. It did not feel good to see Naz so suddenly distressed.

"What do you mean? Do you think I'll stop working with you?" he asked in return. "I'm not that sort of person, Naz."

[naz-ulusoy]

Naz had no idea if she had gotten Caleb right or wrong. She had hoped he was different but now she would never know. Now when he looked at her, all he would see is the bunny costume and not her. "Society will never change if people react how you did," she said. She had enjoyed this film so much and it felt bittersweet now, knowing the rumours could mean it was her last movie.

"How am I meant to know that, Caleb?" she replied, trying not to huff in annoyance at the producer. She couldn't let her mood cost her a career because a rumour got under her skin. "You found out that I worked as a bunny and looked like I told you there's a nude billboard of me on Boulevard Drive," she pointed out. As sweet as he was, Caleb didn't have much of a poker face and she could see his impression of her had shifted.

[caleb-lycaon]

Caleb's greater height had him winding his arms around her waist in return, wanting to lift her off the ground as they kissed, knowing that she was likely on the tips of her toes already.

The coolness of Naz's lips did nothing to diminish how soft and pleasant they felt against his own. They would never warm up to the way a living being's would, but Caleb radiated enough warmth of his own to give. He tilted his head just a bit to deepen the kiss and decided that he would let Naz be the first to break it when she wanted.

[naz-ulusoy]

The spirit would never tire of kissing Caleb like this, especially when it felt like it happened so sporadically. She was enjoying being wrapped up his arms and her body curved against his, happy to steal the heat radiating off the wolf beneath his coat.

Naz had been subconsciously waiting for Caleb to pull away and stop her before she got carried away. When he didn't stop, she tilted her head with his, happy to deepen the kiss with a soft hum. She was almost melting into the kiss, feeling her feet start to disappear so she could easily keep their lips together.

A wolf whistle snapped her out of the trance and she pulled back, feeling pink flush across her cheeks and the tip of her nose. It was clear that a few people had stopped to watch them and it made her want to hide inside of her boyfriend's coat. Still, Naz didn't regret taking advantage of his affectionate moods when she could. "I think when you're finished with the hockey game, we should find one of those igloo's to do that again."

[naz-ulusoy]

[howellmaxen]

“I can respect fairness, and it’s honestly appreciated.”  Howell wasn’t sure if he’d ever get over their bias if that had decided to muffle him. He wasn’t a hard gossiper, nor would he run and tell everything to the human community but something about an NDA had sat wrong with him. Perhaps it was the years of being silenced at home as child that influenced his grown-up opinion on the subject. “Golden Rule?....the one to not expose the community to the rest of the world. As much as I would love there to be true transparency, you won’t find me mentioning any of this to other humans that don’t already know, but only if they need to know.” “I’ve meet with Elijah Remington, I think he had hoped to possibly be a friendly face as well….” Starring at the dark liquid in his cup he fought with the idea of how open he should be to her curiosity. “Well…I’ve been told I’m an open book by many, my ex fiancée doesn’t count, so please ask me whatever you’d like.”

[naz-ulusoy]

"That is the rule," the lawyer agreed. Naz had always had a way of finding ways around rules and laws and making them work in her favour but even she knew the importance of abiding to this rule. "It's for the best, it's impossible to know if our communities could co-exist if human's knew the truth." She was sure that Howell would want to disagree but his nervousness was a dead give away that he struggled with that knowledge as well.

She wasn't suprised that the coven leader had found a way to meet the human representative before the rest of them had. It might have been strategic or the witch could have been trying to scare him. "Did you find Elijah to be a friendly face?" she asked, curious to find out about her fellow council member as well. "If you asked my ex husband, he'd say that I'm the opposite. And you can ask him, he works up the hall," she remarked, pointing in the direction of Elliot Atwood's office.

"I guess I was curious why you would take up this job?" That felt like the most obvious question but she was still curious.

[spiritvictoriawu]

Naz’s grin made her smile. “You’re very cute when you’re smitten, do you know that?” She pointed out. It was nice to see her friend so happy.

Victoria quietly snorted, “Don’t they get enough action as it is without inviting nude models to your house?” She teased, “Still, I wouldn’t turn down the opportunity.” She offered a sly smile before sipping at her drink. “Thank you. Now you have plenty of time to tell me what you’ve been up to with your boyfriend as of late…”

[naz-ulusoy]

end~

[detectivejdarling]

Jo let out a quiet breath through her nose, her gaze drifting for a moment before she gave a small, absent nod. “That’s fair." Naz wasn’t wrong. Jobs like that didn’t come with the same kind of money, or the same kind of freedom. That was the trade. It always was for women. Her eyes flicked back to the other actress, sharper for a second. “Just… don’t let people pull it out of you like that,” she added, less pointed now than before. “You don’t owe them that story or an explanation. They'll just use it against you.” Twist it, reshape it into something else entirely. She knew how that went. Knew, if it came down to it, she’d do the same.

At Naz’s next words, Joanna’s mouth curved faintly, something tired and matter-of-fact slipping into her expression. “Yeah,” she said, after a beat. “Well. Sometimes it’s the only thing that helps.” There was no self-pity in it, no attempt to dress it up as anything else. Just a simple, blunt truth.

Then she went quiet. Naz’s suggestion lingered longer than she expected, settling in a way she couldn’t immediately brush off. Leaving. Taking what she had and disappearing somewhere quieter, somewhere smaller, somewhere no one knew her name or expected anything from her. For a moment, Joanna let herself picture it. Not the logistics, not the fallout, just the idea of it. A life that was hers.

And, perhaps, Victoria's.

Jo swallowed, her jaw tightening as the thought faltered under its own weight. It wasn’t that simple. It never was. She didn’t even have full control over her own money, let alone the kind of life Naz was talking about. Everything she had was tied up in her father, in contracts, in expectations she couldn’t just walk away from.

“Maybe,” she said finally, quieter now, more to herself than to Naz. Her gaze dropped briefly to the packed dirt before she straightened, that polished composure slipping back into place like armor. “Though it’s a little harder when all you really know how to do is pretend to be something you’re not.”

A beat passed between them before she glanced past Naz again, toward her own set—toward the place she was expected to be. Whatever softness had flickered there a moment ago was already receding. “Good luck,” she added, almost as an afterthought, already halfway elsewhere. “With… all of it.”

[naz-ulusoy]

Naz simply nodded, knowing that everyone had their own vices in this business and outside of it. She had offered a warning but Joanna was under no obligation to listen to it so she wouldn't make a big fuss about it. Something still ached inside her though. It wasn't her job to protect her or every other puppy eyed woman who stepped into her life, though it hadn't stopped Naz from trying to.

She'd failed with Eun-ji. She told herself she was protecting the woman from gossip that might arise if their bond was discovered. That was a lie though, Naz had broken up with Eun ji and moved out because she was selfish, wanting to finally make it. A few rumours could ruin it all so maybe a vice wasn't a bad thing to have. Naz would stick to messy relationships and lovers instead of drugs but both could be just as destructive.

The pause spoke louder than Joanna's words could. Some people did well with a simpler life but if Hollywood was all the young woman knew, leaving would be daunting. Between endless expectations and rejections and begging for approval from strangers, Naz was overwelmed as well but she knew there was a life outside this city. She hoped that one day the women would find a happy place, either in a person or somewhere far from this city. "I think you'd be fine, it's just pretending but in a new location. Maybe a smaller crowd will help. Less people watching that way."

The moment was quickly gone and she saw the professional facade fall back into place. She nodded, giving her a warmer smile than their first interaction. "Good luck to you as well."

[nakatomi-ayumu]

"Oh? I thought you weren't interested," Ayumu chuckled, eyeing the furrow appearing between Naz's brows and delighting in it immensely. Not that it stopped Ayumu in any way.

"It's not boring when it has to do with you, my dear Naz. Like I said, I care~" they repeated once more, but did they really? "I'd been hearing that there are some in the Lycaon pack who aren't happy about your relationship with your dear werewolf elder. Probably more than you'd think. Surely you've heard about it?"

[naz-ulusoy]

Naz was cursing herself for giving herself away so easily but she hadn't expected Ayumu to be gossiping about her relationship. They looked far too pleased with themselves and regrettably, she was going to give into it. "Call it morbid curiosity," she replied.

"If you cared, you wouldn't look so pleased about it." She didn't want to care about silly gossip but when her boyfriend had a one track mind, she didn't like her chances. It was already difficult for her to commit to things and she knew she was holding back because of that uncertainty. "I've heard about it. Wolves are obsessed with having babies apparently," she said, trying to hold back her bitter tone. "So are they planning on wiping his memories so he'll dump me?"

[howellmaxen]

“Well, you caught me. I’m afraid of lawyers.” He chuckled for a moment, embarrassed by his own behavior brought out by uncontrolled tension. A grown man even entering a world of unknown was a grown man and should be able to control himself. Control himself, those words from his grandfather always slipped through the barriers when he wasn’t in control. “My apologies though it was uncouth of me to address you like that.”

Howell settled in sipping the coffee which he surprisingly found to be excellent and not at all like the sludge he was used to at the hospital. “That is excellent news. Though I understand why such an agreement was wanted by some, I was hoping to get fair treatment.” His brown arched, his body leaning forward, now curious as to why he was here. “May I ask, if the agreement had been down voted, why not call or send an email?”

[naz-ulusoy]

She chuckled at his joke, finding it amusing because he wasn't the first man to say that to her. Naz was only five feet tall and she tried her best not to be scary despite being a spirit. Somehow, men were still scared of her. The human representative was already turning out to be interesting and his need to apologise showed that he was a gentleman at least. "I appreciate the apology but I assure you it's not necessary. This is an unusual time for you so that can call for some unusual behaviour," the spirit replied.

Naz was glad she could provide some positive news to start his tenue on the council. "Fairness is what we're aiming for. We have to trust that you'll follow the Golden Rule like we all do." Trust was going to take time to build. Many on the council were unhappy and are still unhappy that there would be a human representative. Naz was undecided but she was definitely curious.

His quesiton made her lean back and shrug. "I should likely say that I could be an ally or a friendly face on the council for you," she began. It wouldn't surprise her if another representative went to him to curry more favour for council votes. "Mostly, I was just curious. I know, curiosity killed the cat or whatever but I'm not a cat and I'm already dead so I let curiosity win."

[caleb-lycaon]

"Aha... If you put it that way, we'll never go," Caleb said truthfully. His mother rarely took vacations, but Caleb wanted to do this with and for Naz. "Why don't we aim for a date in October? That's a good time for the autumn season and will give me plenty of time to prepare the pack for my absence?"

The wolf could feel his cheeks warming from Naz's words and the way she was looking up at him. They had been dating for awhile by now and Caleb was not a terribly physically affectionate person as a baseline, but there were moments that came around when he wanted to do what Naz wanted to in this moment as well.

"You can do that if you'd like," he answered with a small grin and leaned down to bring their faces closer together. His hand moved to cup her cheek with more intent as their lips touched.

[naz-ulusoy]

"Good point," she replied in understanding. Her position as an elder was very different to what Caleb had to do in his day to day. Naz wanted to accommodate that and the pack but she was hoping for some time for them as well. "October then," she agreed. "You can handle the pack and I'll clear my court appreances as well." That was the only thing she really had to worry about. Judas would take care of their home and the council could revert to Victoria if needed.

The relationship had been a learning curve for Naz as well. She had been waiting for Caleb to take the next step forward with intimacy but he seemed endlessly patient about it all. It was the first time she'd had a boyfriend or a lover who didn't want more from her. So when a rare moment arose where Caleb was affectionate, Naz felt like she might burst from a simple kiss.

"I would like..." she murmured, trailing off as he leaned down making it close enough that she could. She pushed onto her toes to meet his lips, resting a hand against his waist so she could press a soft, lingering kiss to his lips. His lips always felt hot against her cool skin making her want to wrap herself up in his warmth.

[nakatomi-ayumu]

"I care about those of our kind who are younger than me," Ayumu returned with a sly smile. "So many of you are like children to me. I would even say that it includes you," they laughed, able to tell that they were annoying the spirit elder quite successfully.

"Alright, Naz Ulusoy. If you say so," the older animal spirit tutted before wagging their finger at her. "You can't say that I didn't check in on you to make sure that you were doing okay given all the gossip that's been coming my way."

[naz-ulusoy]

"I'm not a child," she huffed, knowing it sounded just like something a child would do. The other animal spirit really had away of getting under her skin and she fell for it every time. "I do say so, Nakatomi Ayumu," she responded in kind, trying not to show her annoyance with yet another huff of disapproval.

Naz had been ready to let the conversation end and enjoy what she had left of the hockey game when the spirit spoke again. "What gossip?" she asked instinctively. Right away she knew it was a trap and she grimaced in response, knowing she'd fallen for another one of Ayumu's tricks. But she was curious. Caleb might not see it but she could feel the disapproval his pack held for her now. "I can't imagine it's very interesting. I'm sure you'd find it all rather boring," Naz responded, hoping to sound flippant about this whole thing.

[caleb-lycaon]

"O-Of course not," Caleb said quickly to reassure her that he believed her, but he could feel his face heating up when Naz all but confessed that one of the rumours was indeed true.

"And I mean, there isn't, usually, but you know this industry. It's not easy for anyone with a, uh, scandalous past to, uh... get too far..." Caleb babbled and ended the sentence defeated because he realised too late that he might have said the wrong thing and dashed Naz's dreams of building a bigger career in Hollywood.

[naz-ulusoy]

While Caleb was trying to be comforting, she couldn't help it when her expression fell. She'd worked so hard to get this far and one rumour would be her demise. Her expression fell and she wrapped an arm around her waist, wishing she could run away from this conversation. She had thought Caleb would be different to the other men in the industry given he had been much sweeter and kinder than most but she could tell he also thought less of her now because of this job.

"Scandalous?" she replied. "What's so scandalous about it? I've seen movies with more sex in it than what I saw in that club. There's more sex in this movie than I saw working there." It was hard for the actress not to sound upset when it was becoming clear that he didn't see a future in her anymore and that stung.

"So I guess this will be my last movie then?" she guessed.

[spiritvictoriawu]

“I’d like that.” Victoria smiled. She found herself glad that Naz continued to be her friend, despite Victoria’s best efforts to push her away in the very beginning. The feeling of dread always lingered, wondering what she might think of her should she learn her past.

“I think the very last thing they wanted was for me to see inside their dreams,” Victoria admitted. “I’ve apologised, but I’m not sure it changes anything.” The spirit averted her gaze for a moment, before swallowing down a welcomed mouthful of the fresh tequila Naz had poured. She and Jo had been pretty clear on no personal attachments and Victoria seeing inside her dreams had gone against that.

Victoria’s eyes returned to her as Naz took her hand, quietly glad of the contact and reassurance. “Thank you for having me over,” She responded fondly. “And for being my friend.”

[naz-ulusoy]

After a night of drinking and revealing secrets, she knew that a spa day would help put them both at ease and recovery. They couldn't change what had already happened but they could forget about it with massages and sauna's.

"Well no one really enjoys but I also don't like how a deity can sense how I'm feeling or how a werewolf tells me how nice a smell," she said before she grinned. "Well actually, I do like when a werewolf tells me I smell nice," she hummed, thinking about her boyfriend. Clearly some tequila would do them some good, Victoria could try and forget about her mistake and Naz would likely admit something stupid to assist.

"Thank you for allowing me to be." They didn't talk about it much but she knew it hadn't been easy for Victoria to let her in but Naz was persistant and patient. Now they considered Victoria has one of their closest friends and she was forever grateful for it. "And anytime. You should come over when Judas does the nude model painters, I can't paint but I enjoy watching," she joked, offering up another drink to her friend.

[howellmaxen]

"You're more than right, I have many questions." Thousands rushed through his mind but he knew he had to be specific. He couldn't let anything slip about the Artemis faction and what secrets they kept. This was politics and anything he gave away could be easily used to extort more out of the faction or worse, try and collapse it. Damn though had he come off to aggressive? "My apologies Ms. Uluosy, I hadn't meant to come on so strong. I'm obviously interested in what cou-." His eyes followed the the secretary as they returned with coffee. Unsure about who knew what he kept his mouth shut, thanking them for the beverage. Tapping a finger against the warm ceramic shell of the cup he gathered his thoughts again. "What exactly council feels I need to sign a confidentiality agreement for, when I am most likely to suffer repercussions just existing." He sighed, unsettled with his own demeanor. "No, let me restart. How are you today Ms. Uluosy?"

[naz-ulusoy]

She could imagine that Howell did have many questions and Naz couldn't answer them all but she could try. If she was to be his introduction into the council, she needed to make a good impression. It was in the council's best interest that this went well but selfishly, Naz also wanted to make a good impression for the spirit community that she represented. It was all politics in the end and you needed to have people on your side. "I understand, don't worry. I can imagine this is quite a stressful time for you," she said, hoping to soothe his concerns. She wouldn't be easily spooked by a sudden outburst.

The spirit's brow rose up, surprised by the outburst. Naz had asked to meet so she could tell him that the idea had been voted against and there was nothing to sign. Perhaps her assistant hadn't passed on the other part of the message. Well now she felt guilty for how on edge Mr Maxen was. The tense way the human's shoulders had hunched up had her worried that this meeting might not go well. She had thought they'd get through the coffee before things really fell apart and she was being on her best behaviour.

She tried not to smile at the up and down's this conversation had taken already but nodded in agreement, happy to allow him a restart. "I'm doing well, thank you. And please, just Naz will do." Naz couldn't help but smile at the situation, finding it oddly amusing. "And I know you're tense so perhaps I can give you some good news to start?" she offered. "The council met and voted on against the confidentiality agreement."

[howellmaxen]

Who: @naz-ulusoy Where: Law Offices of Ulusoy & Atwood Partners Skyscrapers weren't inherently ominous or daunting. In fact they were just metal leftovers of the wealthy trying to prove to another who has the bigger one and at the end of the day line their bank accounts with more zeros. You've seen one, you've seen them all. Unless of course Howell supposed, if you were the Swedish tourist taking photos of the architecture as if they were Ansel Adams right next to him. This was in fact not just another building among the many in the Dymock that served as hubs for all sorts of enterprising dealings. This building held his fate, not destiny that sounded hopeful, exciting even. No fate was a better term, for the worst could yet still come. The sun was past noon, creating a looming shadow for the building. Goosebumps freckled his skin as he pushed himself forward trying not to think about it. He moved almost mechanically interacting with the service desk, standing like a good boy for the elevator. It was best not to think of what monstrous creature awaited him to sign his soul away. His lanky legs carried him from elevator to receptionist's desk as if it was nothing. Clearly it was just his mind that felt the weight of the world and not his body. "Yes, I'm here to see a Ms. Naz Ulusoy."

The secretary was formal enough, polite even but who knew what hid behind that exterior. Blood sucker? Moon shifter? An ability to entrance him into signing whatever the council wanted? Or perhaps just a devious human, he'd run across enough of those in his lifetime. They walked normal, they talked normal as they took him to an office that clearly was significant enough to be a partners office. What his paranoia didn't expect was the sort of face in front of that men wrote Greek tragedies about. If all supernatural were this refined, this well sculpted, he'd be in trouble. After being introduced coughed, trying to regain his senses.

[naz-ulusoy]

The election of the human representative was all that the council had been talking about. After a long discussion about the process, Naz had drafted up some legal papers. Most of the time they were simple documents with legal terms but the council had infused more magic into this contract. Naz wasn't completely happy with the terms but it was her job to deliver the news regardless so she had invited him to her office to make it as official as possible.

It was why she had been nervously tapping away on her keyboard for the last ten minutes, looking at the time, knowing the appointment was almost there. When her phone rang, she asked them to bring Mr Maxen to her office. She hadn't done much research into the human representative. He was a doctor as far as she knew and seemed reputable but none of them would know for certain until he met with the council.

As she waited for the new council member to be brought to her office, Naz finished off her email and fixed her hair using the camera of her phone. By the time her assistant knocked on the door, she was on her feet and striding over to meet him. Naz smiled warmly at the handsome man, knowing that she was his first introduction to the council he would be joining and she wanted to be a friendly face. At least until she knew him better. It had always been hard for her to trust a human, she was murdered by one after all.

"Hello, Mr Maxen. It's a pleasure to meet you," she said, holding her hand out to him. "I'm Naz Uluosy and I'll also be on the council with you," she explained. Noticing their assistant still at the door, she quickly thanked them. "Thank you, Charlie. Would you mine bringing us something to drink as well? Would you like a water, tea or coffee? I promise we have some excellent coffee," the spirit assured. Due to the nature of her work, the spirit lived off of coffee so they'd made sure they had the best in the office.

With the drink order taken, they were soon left alone. He looked tense but the spirit had expected that. Instead of jumping right into the legal paper work, the spirit decided some small talk couldn't hurt. Leading him towards the chairs by her table, she sat in the one opposite him. "I can imagine you must have many questions. I'd be happy to answer some for you, at least the ones I'm able to."

[naz-ulusoy]

🚫🤔👽💕😒💋

🚫 already answered~ (but the answer is jerks)

🤔 What do they find they spend a lot of time wondering about?

What comes next. The general idea of spirit's is they're waiting to move on to the next life and Naz often wonders about when that will be for her. She is already older for a spirit and she spends a lot ot time thinking about when time will run out.

👽 What’s something that they believe that most other people don’t?

She believes in big foot. Trust her, she saw him one time.

💕 What do they remember most about their first crush?

Her first, first crush would have been another rabbit. From when she was a spirit, there was a boy in the village she lived in that would bring her flowers. It wasn't appropriate for the time so when his parents found out, he was barred from seeing her.

😒 What is something that will instantly annoy them?

She hates when people pick on her height.

💋 Do they have an ideal "type" in a romantic partner?

With men, Naz generally likes tall handsome men with sweet temprements. She likes someone who will take care of her but also understands that she's independent. Basically she's a bit of a princess.

For women, she loves confident and motivated women but she also wants to treat them like a princess as well. She likes getting to spoil her partners so they have to be receptive to that as well.

[naz-ulusoy]

♡ (for Jo)

Send ♡ to see what my muse thinks of yours

●●●●● | ATTRACTION ●●○○○ | AFFECTION ●●○○○ | INTEREST ●○○○○ | LOYALTY ●●●○○ | TRUST

Naz can appreciate a hot woman when she sees one. I think after the Hollywood dream, she has a small inkling of affection from their interaction. Naz has heard about Jo's good work as a detective through different cases and also because she's police, Naz has some level of base level trust with her. But she's also human and Naz can never fully trust humans. If she ever finds out about Victoria and Jo, her interest will increase tenfold.

[caleb-lycaon]

Caleb had to wonder if he could be doing more to assure Naz that she would remain his first choice when it came to gifts like this, and even decisions like this. "Would you prefer a spring or an autumn vacation? I've seen photos and Japan looks beautiful in either of those seasons."

The sharp inhale was not lost on Caleb, his sharp senses picking up and cataloguing each noise Naz made as if he were more attuned to them. So she liked that touch. Caleb's eyes roved over her when she turned back around, the pendant resting right there against her unblemished skin.

"Then don't," he responded with a smile, his hand lifting to run gentle fingers against her cheek like he wanted to draw her in and he leaned down slightly. It felt good seeing something he gifted her around her neck and knowing that he was the one who put that smile on her face.

[naz-ulusoy]

There had been a reason that she had picked tickets without a set date. Naz's life was a lot less complicated than Caleb's. She only had a business to run, not a pack to guide and who relied on her. "I think spring might be too soon, right?" she asked. "How about you look at what work looks like and what the pack might need and we'll go from there?" she suggested. "I'm the boss so I can take annual leave whenever I like." She would have to still give some notice but they had always made it work before.

The way Caleb looked at her made her feel hot underneath the large coat. Over the past few months, Naz had started to realise that the moments when he was quiet and watching her were almost as intimate when they kissed. Both left her wanting to push for more intimacy between them but was never bold enough to ask. "I won't," she promised softly.

Naz had enough experience that simple touches shouldn't phase her but with how slow things had moved between them, the smallest touch felt like electricity on her skin. His fingers drew her in, like an invisible force was pulling her closer, head tilted up like she did when they kissed. "Careful," she warned, resting her hand against his chest. "I already want to kiss you."