@galraxn is boutta SUFFER
Twigg’s was her safe place. A bit hipster, sure, but she didn’t mind. The naked bulbs hanging from thin black wires almost reminded her of Christmas lights. The honey hued oak of their counters gave the place a warm and welcoming glow, and it always smelled of fresh roasted beans. It was homey, and familiar, from the decor to the people.
Tim, the owner, knew her by name, by now - when he saw her approaching in the morning, after her run, he unlocked the door a little early and let her shimmy inside, to wait and chat while he ground the first batch of beans. His employees knew her as well; Aisha was starting college soon, Tammy was the mother of two bright daughters who liked to ask Natalie a million questions, and Destiny - though she had been frosty toward Natalie, at first - always lit up when she saw her, with a million gossipy stories to tell. They were friends, in that casual, ‘I see you every day so I may as well get along’ way. Even Tim’s son Brandon, who often ran the till, had gotten over his clear and vicious hope that she would be his soulmate, and could now look her in the eye without seeming wistful, or longing.
She wasn’t Brandon’s soulmate. She wasn’t any of the staff’s soulmate. Which was exactly why she liked it there. She had nothing to fear, there. Nothing to worry about. It was her place - comforting, and secure, and clear of the danger of some government assigned asshole ruining her life.
As she ducked into the shop that afternoon, she noticed that it was a bit busier than usual. It wasn’t enough to turn her away, though, as she ducked through the door and made eye contact with Destiny, up behind the counter. The dark haired young woman raised one hand in greeting, a happy smile lighting up her face. The quick flash of fangs in her mouth seemed out of place, when juxtaposed against the trendy haircut and soft aesthetic of her outfit. A bright yellow bandana wrapped around her head, tying her hair out of the way. It brought out the gold in her honey hued eyes, their thin pupils betraying her heritage as one of the many half galrans on the planet - as if the teeth hadn’t done that well enough.
"Natalie!” She beamed, calling out over the crowd. “Is it the usual? You can grab your table -- I’ll bring it over to you!” “Oof. I’m getting predictable, aren’t I?” “Only like clockwork.” Destiny laughed.
Still, it was nice to be able to just weave through the crowd, and find a place - her place, in the corner, by the window. Chuckling to herself, Natalie turned to do so, barely noticing the chime of the door opening behind her. Usually, she’d have looked - have scanned them, briefly, for any sign of that accursed starburst. Today, however, she didn’t need to look. She felt them, as soon as they came in. Like a lightning bolt down her spine, radiating out from that awful mark which rested, traitorous, between her shoulder blades. To have it happen here, of all places -- it really felt like a slap in the face. Or a stab in the back, as it were.
She had always told herself that when it happened - if it happened - she would not cause a scene. She wouldn’t even look. She would keep calm, and escape, and they would be none the wiser. They wouldn’t have a chance to touch her, and seal the bond, and her fate besides. Now, though, it seemed that she was failing at that, entirely.
She heard the room gasp, an excited murmur running through the gathered crowd. All eyes swivelled toward the door, too near to Natalie for her comfort. Determinedly, she did not look - couldn’t have, even if she wanted to, because it seemed as if she was frozen. She knew what they would see, anyways. A glowing mark, somewhere visible. Filled in with colour for the first time, signalling that their soulmate was nearby. They’d all seen it a thousand times before, but that didn’t stop people from nosily ‘ooh’ing and ‘ahh’ing and gasping aloud. She could hear some of them moving already, trying to spot the matching glow, somewhere in the crowd around them. It worked on proximity - everyone knew that.
Their attention being on whoever had just entered did not make Natalie feel any better about the expressions which twisted across her face, unwelcome and instinctive. She could not stop them, though it wasn’t from lack of trying. She managed to halt the gasp - the soft oh of realization - from escaping, but she had no hope of holding back the brief flash of instinctive joy that soared through her heart and across her face. Almost immediately, it was replaced with an expression of open horror, her stomach heaving with a lurch of nausea. It felt a little bit like she couldn’t breathe, and she wondered if this was what a panic attack felt like. It certainly felt like what Wynn had always described. She couldn’t quite take a whole breath, and her feet wouldn’t seem to obey her. Her heart was hammering in her chest, as much from fear as from the endorphins that were flooding her body. Screaming, that she should look. That she should reach out toward her ‘other half’, and welcome that fucking bond --
“Oh, you lucky boy!” One older woman cooed, just over Natalie’s shoulder. “Quick, quick? Who’s the match?” Suddenly, she was thankful that she was wearing a jacket. The thick denim would do well to hide that glow -- or at least, she hoped it would. She fought to blanket her face with a mask of nothingness, with feigned curiosity, so she could turn around and escape, without another word. She squeezed her eyes shut, and managed to take a breath which was meant to steady her. Waited, for the count of three -- and opened them, to the sight of Destiny’s own yellow eyes, fixed knowingly upon her.
The mug she’d been carrying shattered, and before Natalie could even hope to try and beg her to be silent, an excited shriek ripped forth from the barista. One clawed hand swung out, and pointed, her squeal persisting like a robbery alarm. She was impossible to ignore. Impossible to duck. Especially when, in that high pitched, excited voice, she trilled out --
“It’s you! Oh my god, Natalie, it’s YOU!”
