Tania Filteau's Story

The boss was talking to someone new; she could tell because she didn't recognize either the voice or the face it belonged to, a face that looked quite young. She knew looks could be deceiving though, especially in the supernatural realms, where the trajectory of aging more often resembled the bastard lovechild of a Kahlo dreamscape and a Dalí-esque melting clock than any linear, mundane model. So based on mundane, human measures, the new person was probably twenties. Early twenties. Maybe late teens. Maybe. But more likely closer to twenty than anything, and on the other side of twenty than eighteen or nineteen. Tania smiled. This could be fun.

While New Person was still talking to Catherine, Tania hopped onto the back of the bench, perching easily without needing a handhold, long purple curls bouncing over her shoulders with the sudden motion. "Hi there! I don't know you; who are you? Do you know the Warden somehow? Am I supposed to know you?" The younger woman spoke rapidly, with hardly any breaths at all in her sudden string of speech, her head cocked slightly to the side in an almost playful expression, wide eyes fixed on New Person. Tania looked human enough, but the asymmetrical, pointed ears, hint of fangs, and long, sloping forehead suggested otherwise. She somehow managed to balance two coffee cups in only one hand, both of them marked to indicate four shots of espresso in each, and her speech sounded like it, and she knew it, but she was long past the point of caring.

"No competition? I wouldn't be so sure about that..." Catherine said thoughtfully. The last time she had even agreed to train with Molly the other had definitely given her a run for her money. It had required her to use some higher level, heavy hitting magics that she'd rather not have had to even touch. "We're both old and out of practice." She added, completely ignoring the fact that neither one of them looked terribly old. In fact the both looked very much as if they were in the prime of life, neither really exhibiting any real signs of aging.

Looking back out of the window of the train, she frowned again. The last few weeks had been hard, and she suspected the next few would be as well. "They've already reactivated me." She said plainly, unsure if she was happy to have something to do again, or if she wasn't happy about having to report back to Council again. Then there was the matter of their suggestion that she take Tania with her on this latest trip. "Christ..." She muttered under her breath wincing at the sudden explosion of sound behind her.

"Don't you think you've had enough coffee for today Miss Filteau?" Catherine ground out, resisting the urge to cuff the woman back into her seat.

"Oh my god, it's Gaudia 2.0." She said eyes wide as she looked the girl over What that purple hair? It was. Molly approved. The energy level though was off the charts. This was Gaudia when Tristia was nowhere near. Absently, Molly wondered if the twins ever managed to fix that issue. "Yeah, new rule new kid: you aren't allowed more than one cup of coffee a day. As your superior officer, once they recall me," which would be as soon as they realized she had been located, no doubt, "I'll take one of those, and Catherine will take the other, and you are not getting a refill."

"I'm Sergeant Molly Bronson. Catherine and I work well together, in the field." In the office? Well. Kind of. Molly had no doubt she bothered Catherine greatly. The planeswalker knew it too. It probably had something to do with her sheer disregard of boundaries at the best of times. Molly wasn't fond of not knowing what was happening, and was well aware that she was incredibly hard to ward against. "Now, in the interest of blending in, we sit in seats, we don't perch on benches. Take your seat, new kid, and hand over the coffee, before I cheerfully decide you get no caffeine at all."

And she would cheerfully enforce it too. Molly had picked up some skill in her self-imposed exile. She could create basic wards now, and she would ward the coffee pot against Tania touching it.

"But ... but ... " Tania stammered out, something like panic appearing in her eyes. "You can't do that! That would end in disastrous physiological consequences! I have to have my coffee! It's mine; it's a basic sentient right! It's not like I'm taking Spice or Pattern or some other awful dangerous substance; it's just caffeine. You can't be serious." Tania rocked slightly on her heels, still perched on the back of the seat, though she had started edging closer to Catherine and away from Molly, whom she now gave a highly suspicious look of the feline variety.

Tania chewed down on her lip, fangs showing, and then slipped into the seat between Catherine and the window on the train, keeping the Warden between her and this Molly Bronson Sergeant Person. "But you can't have my coffee. It's mine, and I paid for it, and I need it. Unless you'd prefer to see what I look like back on lycacil again, because that shit was NOT pretty, and in fact, could probably kill me, and I'm pretty damn sure that me on lycacil is an infinitely more dangerous concoction than me on caffeine, thank you very much." Without handing over either cup of coffee, she downed full half of one in one breath. "Pharmacologists who've bothered researching lycacil are all in agreement, that weaning off of the poison comes at the cost of a substitute addiction, which is actually kind of unfortunate, but it's still for the better. I mean, who wants their body tethered to a highly volatile substance that can cause an excruciatingly painful death if abruptly stopped, anyway? Not me, that's for sure." She huffed, downing the second half of that first cup of coffee.

"Anyway, it's nice to meet you, Sergeant Molly Bronson. I'm Tania." She stuck out a hand in front of Catherine, practically beaming.

"The coffee Tania..." Catherine said warning the other not to try her patience, the silver ring on her right hand briefly glowing. Patience was one thing that the Warden was short on recently and this latest addition to their team was grating on her nerves. "Coffee is not a 'sentient right' either, nor will it kill you to go without." She added as she took advantage of Tania creeping closer to quickly grab at least one of the coffee's. This had to at least be the woman's fourth or even fifth venti triple moca espresso that day, and Catherine was seriously contemplating giving her a triple venti valium just so she could get some peace.

"Yes it's Gaudia all over again." Catherine said to Molly. She was beginning to wonder who's bright idea it had been to insist she at least take over part of the girl's training. "And she hasn't quite figured out that blending it is a good thing." She added taking a sip of the coffee she had stolen from Tania before making a face. "Good lord that's awful... you must bleed pancake syrup!" Catherine exclaimed, momentarily forgetting that there were some things she shouldn't say in public or at all. Muttering under her breath about the girl needing to learn moderation, she set the coffee aside.

"You'll likely be recalled within the next week or so Bronson, until then I'm stuck with little miss addict over here."

Molly shook the new kid's hand, rather amused. "Try becoming addicted to something healthier. Exercise, vegetables, gardening...." Not coffee. "Or at least cut down on the espresso." She suggested, planning on warding the coffee pot. It was clearly needed. Still, it was nice. "I suspect once I'm recalled, we'll be on the same team." It would be surprising if she wasn't. Molly knew she wasn't trusted with her own team. "Former addicts sound like just the sort of people I'm teamed with. I won't ask for details. Your private life is yours, just keep working on the weaning off."

A second Gaudia. This would be interesting. "I'm sure she's not so bad Catherine." Molly said and glanced around. "Besides, isn't adversity supposed to be good for the soul?" and it wasn't like Catherine lacked experience with high energy people. She would be fine for the next week or so until Molly was recalled. "I better find an apartment so they can recall me. Any suggestions?" They would have to be able to find her first, after all.

Tania startled, borderline hissing at Catherine as the older woman took her second cup -- the one that was still full. "That was mine ... " she said, in a mournful tone. She bristled at both women's comments, and yanked her hand back from Molly, shaking her head. "You know, it's not particularly nice of you to call me an 'addict,' when it was never actually voluntary, because I resent your implication, thank you very much." The corner of her mouth twitched, and she brushed some of her thick hair behind her shoulder, moving it out of her face. "Besides, it's obvious you don't know anything about what lycacil actually is, or who uses it, or why, because if you did, then maybe you'd have, like, a bit more sympathy. Or a lot. Fully eighty-four percent of all people with a chemical dependence on lycacil developed it entirely involuntarily. But I thought you'd know that."

Tilting her head back and slightly toward the side, she lifted her fingers, focusing her telekinetic sense on the coffee cup with the intent to bring it back to its rightful owner. That would be Tania Filteau, of course.

Catherine raised an eyebrow at Tania as she started hissing. "Language Miss Filteau." She said mildly. "I realize you aren't exactly adjusted to life outside of... things yet." Catherine wasn't entirely sure what exactly to call where Tania had been, as she had not exactly been allowed to be privy to those files just yet. She could have some sympathy for adjusting to the world outside of what had been safe and familiar, but this woman was ridiculous. "But, I really don't care what lycacil and you've been talking about it non-stop since we got on this bloody train." She continued leaning in closer to the other woman. "I need you straighten up and behave or else things will not bode well for you." She explained returning the Tania's hiss with a predatory smile that displayed a pair of very white and very sharp fangs. Catherine normally kept a very strong glamour up when on active duty, but there were times when she tended to let it slip, and this was one of those times. Molly had been on the receiving end of the quiet, seething anger, Catherine had just directed at Tania more than once, but never had Molly or even Karato found themselves on the wrong end of the Warden.

Settling back into her seat, she ignored Tania's tugging on the coffee mug and turned her attention back to Molly as if nothing had happened. "I would say both of us need to consider housing sometime soon. Alexander and I sold the house after Brandon's death... there wasn't any reason to stick around."

"I was never in drug crimes, so nope. No need." Though she was never certain to call what she worked as or in. Special crimes? Annoying ones? High risk crimes, to the poor officers assigned them? All of the above, she decided, even if it was primarily homicide. "But let's not upset Catherine. She's more powerful than both of us combined, promise, and it never ends well." Though Molly gave the other a run for her money, when Catherine was bound, at least. Unbound, and she'd be dead in a heartbeat and she knew it. There were charts. "As a hint, Tania," her voice grew quiet, so just the three could hear, "when she gives you that smile, you've gone a bit too far."

The woman considered Catherine's woe, and sighed, thinking to over. "Will Alexander be joining you?" Would she have to prepare for his particular brand of chaos and disorder? She never knew. Things got exciting when she did though. "If not, I'm up for splitting a hotel while I check out apartments." if they could stand each other that long.

Catherine hated her already. That was it. Tania pouted, facing away from the other two, and tapped her fingers to a rapid rhythm on the armrest. It was that smile that had done it, and she suspected it wouldn't be long before the other one, Molly, decided to hate her too. Friends were hard to come by. And these people definitely did not seem like friends. Behave? Did Catherine think she was a dog? "Okay, fine, if you don't want to talk to me, I can take a hint; I'm not stupid or something." Tania stared out the window instead, at the gleaming city lights around them.

After a few moments, Tania reached into her pocket for her comm, and opened one of the games she'd downloaded a week ago onto it, full of bright, shiny colors and puzzles that required quick thinking and management of multiple strands of thought simultaneously, the kind that had always proved more interesting than the lecturer the times she'd tried doing the college thing. It wasn't that she was unintelligent, just that she hated classrooms and people who were so self-important they seemed like they'd explode from the amount of air in their head any moment. And college bred them. The games were far more captivating.

It wasn't that Catherine hated Tania already, it was that the woman was making a bad first impression. "No... Lex will not be joining me." She answered Molly shaking her head. Council kept him busy enough as it was, and it was unlikely that he'd ever take interest other than a passing one in whatever went on with MCU. He had his own particular brand of chaos, and making things work, despite what his wife might advise was a particularly bad idea that week. She also didn't find herself having the patience to deal with whatever self depreciation that Tania suffered from, her hands were full enough.

"If you want to split a hotel that's fine. I think Miss Filteau here would more than likely be comfortable with her own room." There was no way she was going to force the girl to having to share a room. Besides which, there were things to discuss with Molly which were definitely above the rookie's paygrade.

Catherine was a grump, would be how Molly summed it all up. Still, she doubted she'd hate Tania. Maybe pat her on the head occasionally, but hate, no. "Probably. It's always awkward being the new kid. I'll share with you Catherine." She had a feeling that they had a lot to discuss. The woman stretched and smiled, pleased with how the day was going already. It looked like she could drop back into the swing of things. That would be nice.

The tall woman leaned over and nudged the rookie. "Hey kid, don't feel bad. You'll find a niche in the group dynamics soon enough." It came with being the rookie. "Besides, if they follow patterns they have in the past, you and I will likely be partners on the day to day cases. Catherine only works the big ones." Hell, Molly didn't work too many of the day to day complaints foisted at MCU anymore. That's what minions, aka rookies, were for.

Tania advanced another two levels in the flashing puzzle, knees tucked comfortably under her on top of the seat. No way was she putting her feet on the floor, not when she could cozy up all the way in the nice upholstered seat. Still wasn't as comfy as the kinds of huge leather couches that swallowed people or creatures her size, but better than the awful plastic chairs at the lab by far. She pretended her second cup of coffee wasn't sitting just out of hand's reach, taunting her with its chocolatey, caffeinated aroma. That wasn't very nice of them, taking her coffee like that. But at least it wasn't her teeth. She'd been through that, and goddess, did that fucking hurt.

"What's day to day then?" said Tania, fingers still sweeping furiously over the screen. "Petty theft? Accidental dark magic expulsion? Baby demons? Things that go bump inside teenagers' closets? Or, like, your everyday missing corpses? Or fresh corpses with all the blood missing? Like, exactly how day to day are we talking about?" Even without coffee in hand, she spoke like she didn't quite need to breathe.

Catherine looked across to Molly in the seat facing her's before answering Tania, "It's a little more tame than that... mostly things like noisy or weird neighbors, magical graffiti, and yes teenagers messing with things they shouldn't. Demons, corpses, and then like is generally a bigger case. You would not be allowed to work one." Catherine explained with a slight shrug. Rookies on some of the larger cases tended to bungle them up, make a mess that only resulted in having a Councilor breathing down her next for the rest of it. "Look, all you need to know is the laws, and what you can and can't do." She said, wanting to tell the young woman to just keep her head down and her mouth shut, and she wouldn't attract unnecessary attention of the Council. But somehow Catherine felt that this was not going to be the case with Tania.

"Larger cases.. are more complicated just by their very nature. Sometimes they involve asking favors of certain groups." Catherine added as the train began to slow, signaling either a problem with the track or that they'd reached their destination. She was banking on the latter, and would really like to avoid outing herself just yet in a new city.

"The worst rookie case I ever worked involved finding out the weird smell reported from a witches home was the dead witch." She shrugged and smiled to Tania. "I was also a specialist as a rookie, so ideal for cases involving my specialty. If you have one, you may get to consult on those." If not, then oh well. Molly considered everything. "If they do end up partnering us, you may get to go on some not rookie cases, but you'll have to work hard for me to even consider that. You have to be able to defend yourself and defend yourself well for the higher level cases." Her voice was firm on that. "What we work with is dangerous stuff. Our criminals are worse than most, and the higher the case, the harder it is to survive without training. They also involve a certain level of politics." Especially anything involving vampires or the fae.

Molly grinned. "Before you ask, my specialty is demons, hunting them, their cultures, interacting with them, so on and so forth." She wasn't all human herself, and most demons viewed her as demonic. She let them, for the most part. It could be advantageous when dealing with a demon not looking for a fight. "The warden's is politics, as far as I'm concerned." She teased Catherine, amused. Politics, because Catherine was always eyeball deep in them.

Tania pressed her lips together, contemplating for a moment. "Well, I guess that makes sense, then, right? Like, paying my dues and everything? Man, I couldn't wait to get through training, and now I'm already on a train with the Warden -- I'll take it. Even if you did take my coffee, which yes, still bothers me. But you know," she continued, shifting her position in the seat ever so slightly, and her feet still up on the seat, folded under her, "It's probably a good thing I'll get small things first anyway, because I am definitely not ready for anything major; I mean, it would just be so awful if I fucked up, and I want to do things right. I will develop more skills though, right? Practical skills." Tania rolled her eyes. "College was very theoretical."

"Yes.. let's go with politics." Catherine said in semi agreement, anything else just made it more complicated than it needed to be. Some days she even wondered how she ended up in her current position, as there were many times when a cell back at Broadmoore was much better than what she'd had to deal with so far. Granted there wouldn't really be much time for her to spend catching up this time, Council had expected her to hit the ground running. This time there would be no second, or even third chances she suspected. They had to do it right the first time instead of messing up what should have been a normal situation. "I'm only one Warden Miss Fliteau, there's more than one of us, and most of us are fairly human." She pointed out, trying not to scare the girl more than she had earlier.

Likely it would be easy to erase any memory of what had just happened, but first she'd have to get around Council's binding, and that could take a few days to work out what sort of fresh hell they had devised for the likes of her. "But yes, you'll develop more skills as time progresses and you'll get to know how the system works in a practical sense; it's not all book learning, but some helps."

"I've met other wardens. They're pretty competent people but they are just people." she cautioned Tania, smiling. "And you'll get training and more practical skills. You'll get some practical combat skills, even if, ideally, you'll never use them." Ideally. Molly used hers rather often, but that was the name of the fame after all.

She smiled to Tania. "No one at the office expects you to hit the ground running." That was key. No one at the office. Outside the office, basically everyone did. "if anyone hassles you about not knowing this or that, remind them that you're a rookie. It works for about six months." But only really well for the first month.

Molly hadn't even bothered with using it, having been a contractor before she worked for MCU. "They'll assign you a partner to make certain you know how to use and care for your equipment and to show you the ropes. We aren't going to throw you into the deep end."

Tania half-turned to glance over at Molly and Catherine, self-consciously tugging down on her hoodie, which had started riding upward and pulling enough of her shirt with it to expose a small strip of skin. "Politics? What kind of politics? As in, exactly who are we trying to avoid pissing off, and what would happen if we screwed it up enough that we did piss them off too badly?" She was morbidly curious about that one. There had to be some intriguing stories there.

After Molly spoke, Tania mulled that one over, tongue pressing into a gap between two of her teeth for a moment. "And when do I found out who my partner is, and will that be before or after we get there? Because I'm cool with working around other people, but I've got to say, I've had some pretty bad partner experiences, like this dude who never actually communicated about anything but somehow still expected me to follow these exacting standards that I didn't know existed and couldn't possibly have figured it out simply by mind-reading, which is not a skill I have, though that would be pretty cool." Tania exhaled forcefully, but even that didn't seem to last as long as it might have coming from another person. "Though I guess it could also be terrifying because there are some people whose brains I do not want to see the inside of, because that would probably require several lifetimes' supplies worth of brain bleach afterward."

Catherine offered an annoyed sigh in response. "First, learn to breathe between questions, second it's mostly territorial disputes between certain entities of the unseen type." She didn't reference the fact that at one time her own nephew had dared to cross all territory boundaries within a single night, without asking prior permission. That was the type of fire she didn't enjoy putting out, at all. "But, to put it simply, we're avoiding pissing off the were-packs, vampires, and covens. It sounds easier than it is." She explained before rolling her eyes at Tania's comment about mind reading.

"I will warn you, Tania, that several of our officers are telepaths. Some better than others, but you should have recieved training on how to shield yourself mentally, for the sake of others you work with and the fact you may encounter a telepath in the field." Catherine tried to explain patiently, but she could feel the migraine worming it's way in from the back of her skull.