A Grimm World » Places

         M A R C U S x A L L E N

Outfit
Marcus glared at the blinds. They were open just a crack and the sunlight managed to get pinpoint accuracy on his left eye. It was too early to be awake. Sure, the rest of the world might be going to work, but not Marcus, so it was very inconsiderate for the sun to be doing this. He untangled himself from the conglomerate of limbs and bodies sprawled across the bed. He ran his fingers through the tangle of curls on his hair and looked back at the debauchery behind him with a wry smile. Compared to the scene in his room, his dreams had been surprisingly innocent.

It had felt so real, more like a memory than a dream. It was definitely a dream though. There was no way he was Prince Charming. Everything had been so formal, so serious, more like a debutante ball than a party he would actually enjoy. He pulled on a pair of pants and headed down to the kitchen to set the coffee away. He was sipping his way through his coffee when he heard footsteps upstairs. Apparently the sun was victimising his friends as well. He turned the page of his book, barely paying attention to the world around him. He wasn’t an awful host, he did manage a ‘bye’ as people left. His school days had instilled some manners in him after all.

Marcus read until his coffee was gone and then he stretched out. A little voice told him he should probably get dressed. Marcus folded the corner of his page and dropped his cup into the dishwasher. Dressing for the day was something of a ritual, and when he was done, he was going to spend the day making a nuisance of himself.

A N N AxD O R S E Y

Outfit

Anna stared at the ceiling from her bed. She blinked once, blinked twice and sighed. That dream had been a whole other level of nonsense. She heaved herself up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. The floor was cold, and the contrast woke her up. Her alarm went off again. Anna jumped at the sudden noise and switched the damned thing off. She stretched out and sluggishly began to get ready for her day. Finish your residency in a small town, they said, it’ll be fun, they said. Maybe that was a little harsh. Essex wasn’t all bad. It was peaceful enough, and most of the people were nice. And now she was the only vet while Dr Hawkins recovered from his accident, however long that was going to take.

Flashes of the dream crossed her mind. A bear in a lush forest. It reared back and hit someone. Rose Red… Wasn’t that a song? Rose, Rose, Rose Red, will I ever see thee wed? And there was a little girl, she couldn’t quite remember the girl’s name though. Wasn’t that the issue with dreams? They were far too vivid and faded even faster. Anna shook her head as she packed her bag for the day. Even if the ache in her chest was heavy, it was just a stupid dream. It would pass. The feelings always did.

The air was cold out and Anna pulled her coat a little tighter around herself. A stray cat paused halfway across her lawn and watched Anna. Anna looked back at the cat. “Are you following me today?” The cat tilted its head.
“There’s food at the clinic for you.”

That seemed to do it for the cat and it began following Anna a few paces behind. The cat was small, most likely from lack of food, and he needed a good clean from what she could see. Maybe she would have to do a proper checkup on the little guy. Anna kept checking back over her shoulder to see if the cat was still following her, and each time it was looking up at her as if to say ‘yeah, I’m still here, keep walking’.

It was a short walk to the vet clinic and Anna set about her routine, checking on the animals that were in and cleaning everything down again. She coaxed the cat up onto the counter and set down a bowl of food for him to tuck in to. “Now what do they call you?” she mused, running her hand over his back. Not that she was expecting an answer, but the cat was entirely focused on his food rather than the vet fussing over him.

“Sparky.”

Anna frowned and looked up, expecting to see someone in the doorway. “Hello?”

The cat’s tail thumped against the table. “Down here.”

Anna looked down at the cat. Clearly she hadn’t had enough sleep, because everyone knew that cats couldn’t talk. And yet, this one was.

“My last people called me Sparky,” the voice (the cat?) repeated. The voice was a slow drawl

Anna nodded slowly, reaching for her phone. Leisl was at the top of her messages. Anna typed frantically.

To: Liesl
Hey, don’t suppose you slipped something in the coffee pot? XD