xp_logs | Jay and Amanda - Wednesday noon

Jay and Amanda's arguement reunion.

One could acclaim that it was the perfect day to be outside, sunny but not hot. Cool enough to wear a t-shirt and pair of jeans while washing your beloved truck in front of the garage. Fallen feathers lay scattered in the soapy water that dripped down onto the pavement surrounding the vehicle. In the back, knelt down, Jay scrubbed the bed hard, while the radio blasted from the open passenger and driver door. Most of his body could not be seen, yet his red wings stood out against the reflection of the bright sun and a breeze carried one or two more feathers with it. The sound of a car coming up the driveway caught his attention and Jay sat up in mild curiosity.

The car was the corporate rental car from Snow Valley that Amanda tended to think of as hers - well, at least until Ms. Frost had decided otherwise. There'd been an email about cost cutting, and it seemed the car was about to go. Still, she had it for another week, so she was making the most of it, dropping in to surprise Angelo with lunch. The sight of Jay's wings - and then Jay himself, popping up like a rabbit from a hole - caught her attention, and after she parked and climbed out, she gave him a wave. "Hey, stranger."

"Hey yerself," Jay rested on arm on his leg, and used it to push himself up. Walking to the edge of the bed, he gazed down at her behind the cover of his bangs. "Nice day huh? Wha brings ya round' 'ere? Haven't seen ya for sometime," he commented, dipping the sponge into the soapy bucket and began to wash the roof.

"I've been in Germany for a bit - family wedding. Just dropping by to get some quality time with the boyfriend, make sure he's eating properly." She tilted her head, appreciating the view - Jay was a very pretty man with those wings, and she was Angelo's girlfriend, not dead. "Settling back in all right? Saw you had a bit of a session on the journals. Was just like old times."

"Germany huh? Nice. Ah reckon ya'll had a good time? Who got married?" he asked, purely for conversation purposes. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Amanda watching him, and he turned a brief smile on her before it dropped away at the mention of the journals. "Tell me 'bout it. Just like Kyle ta have a freak out like that. Ya think Ah'd have thrown out his favourite toy or somethin'." So he didn't care if he referred to Kyle as a dog - he was being one - bitchy and every bit like he had rabies. "An' ma roommate got huge hang ups , tho I haven't figured out wha' they’re all 'bout yet." More soap was drawn out from the bucket and Jay paused a moment to appreciate the sunlight before he resumed washing. "Boyfriend huh? Who's tha lucky man?" As if he didn't know, but better to get it from the source, rather then a grouchy sister.

"My oldest brother Stefan - married a Rom girl from another clan. They've been engaged for a while, but they had to wait until the mourning period for our mother was over." Amanda was matter-of-fact, but not uncaring. She regretted Margali's death, but the woman had done more harm to her than just about anyone else, except Candra and Rack. At the thought, as always, her back itched, and she contorted slightly to scratch at the scarring on her lower back. "Kyle's Kyle - you hurt his pride, calling him a chicken like that, is all. Even joking - Buckethead and his goon squad are sore subjects for him, so you probably could have set his head on fire and pissed him off less." She grinned a little wryly. "Gotta say, I don't miss the drama of living here. It's enough for me catching up with the gossip from Marie and coming by to see Angelo. Who would be my boyfriend, tho' I'd daresay you might already know about that if you talked to Paige recently. Unless she's doing the head in the sand thing she does and pretending not to notice."

Jay paused mid washing and swapped the sponge from one hand to the other, regarding her. "Ah'm sorry ta hear that." What else could he say? Congratulations seemed appropriate for the wedding, but a sympathetic word or two never hurt. He knew he would be devastated if his mother died. He had been upset enough when she had a fall, and needed Sam to come home.

"Like hell that's an excuse." Jay snorted. "Can't take a joke, an' don't be lecturin' me on hurtin' his pride. He did me a good number, if ya don't recall." Jay didn't mean to get so angry about it, and bit his tongue on what he could have said about his ex-boyfriend. He was trying not to rehash old mistakes and taking it out on Amanda wouldn't do him any favours. The good mood he was in was now spoiled and sunk him deeper at the mention of Paige.

"Now hang on a sec." He pointed the sponge at her. "From wha' Ah hear, ya'll could be a bit nicer an' not flaunt yerselves 'round 'er. Just cause she got a boyfriend don't mean she didn' care 'bout him." Dropping the sponge into the bucket again, he started to work on the windows, shifting his wings irritably.

Amanda accepted the condolences with a nod, and let that topic go. Family was always complicated, and her attitude towards something people considered vital to their identity tended to not go down well. Same with the Kyle topic - Jay's pride was every bit as ruffled, and there was obviously a quagmire there she didn't want to get entangled in. Besides... "Jay," she said with a small sigh, trying to be patient. "We don't 'flaunt'. We're the same as any other couple around the place, and I'm not about to censor meself 'cause Paige might be offended. It's been, what? Two years since things finished between her and Ange? More than that? She might care about him still, but it doesn't give her the right to demand anything of him. Especially when she was the one who dumped him. And not terribly nicely the first time, but she's excused on account of going balmy at the time."

"Well yah, ya'll can't blame er' for what she did cause like ya said, she didn't have 'er wits 'bout 'er." He stopped scrubbing to scrape off some mud with his finger nails, focusing on it intently. "One year, two years - it don't matter how long ya been apart. Case in point - Kyle an' Ah." In fact, it had been easier to email Kyle when he had known that his ex was miles away. Now he was just five minutes away and Jay could no longer hide by email. His ex was notorious for being annoying. "Ah don't think Ah'd be askin' too much if ya'll showed 'er a bit of respect. She got feelin's too an' disregardin' 'em don't make ya'll good people."

Amanda snorted. "Jay, I've never been exactly considered "good people", even by myself. Tell you what - if Paige has a problem, she can tell Ange, and the two of us can talk it over. Because what I'm seeing here is a brother with issues about his own love life getting shirty on his sister's behalf, and it's entirely possible Paige doesn't give a rat's. Which isn't a bad thing - you're a good brother, you stick by your family. But I don't want to fight about this, 'specially when I don't see what it is we're doing that's any different from her and Jono."

"Ah don't have issues with ma love life," he quipped defensively. He had half a mind to dump the bucket of water over her head for that comment, but her good brother speech disarmed him and dumped the water over the edge. He hopped out from the back and closed the doors of his truck, stifling the radio that blasted within. "Fine. Ah ain't gonna fight 'bout it neither, but she ain't gonna go talkin' to ya when tha pair o' ya are just gonna gang up on 'er. Anyways-" he said as he went into the garage, pulled out the hose and turned it on. "Yer right. Ah haven't seen ya or 'er and Jono ta make an opinion. But ya'll know Ah'll be sayin' somethin' if Ah feel yer backin' 'er into a corner."

"I think the lady doth protest too much..." Amanda murmured, barely in earshot with a small smile. "And believe me, Jay, if I do anything that's backing Paige into anything, you won't be the only one saying something. Angelo still cares about her, and he wouldn't stand for it." She glanced at her watch. "I should go. I've got a place booked for lunch and I still need to kidnap the other half of the table for two. Unless that's 'flaunting'?" she added, teasingly, unable to resist.

Checking the nozzle, he caught the tail end of her words and glared at her. "Good," he nodded his satisfaction, though Angelo would not be Amanda's only problem if she did that. He knew he wasn't much of a threat, but clearly wanted to set things straight regarding his sister, whom he hadn't seen yet. "It might be," he smirked before setting the hose on her.

Amanda shrieked as the blast of water hit her. "You bastard!" she yelped, then clapped her hands together, generating her shielding spell. Which just so happened to deflect the water back at him.

"Ack." Jay sputtered, shutting off the water immediately. "Well that ain't fair," he whined, brushing his wet hair away from his face. Jeans were dry, though his shirt was soaked. "Yer lucky ah' ain't a siren or Ah'd be singing ta ma heart's content and makin' ya walk into walls all day long." Pulling off his t shirt, Jay wrung it out while watching her, waiting with hose in hand until she turned her back.

"Can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. Or some such bollocks." Amanda squeezed water out of her hair, flipping it back off her face as she looked at the state of her clothes. "And here's me with a lunch date. Do not meddle in the affairs of witches, Jay, for they are devious and will get you back later, when they don't have to go find a dry shirt." She waggled her finger at him, still safely behind her shield. "You'll get yours, bird boy," she warned, but there was a laugh in her voice as she said it.

"Oooh, Ah'm scared. You'll be burning at the stake before ya can say Avada Kedavra." Pointing the hose again, she would have to drop her field before she left, or so he hoped. But before he could say or do anymore, a helicopter came down from above and landed within the yard of the mansion.

Amanda blinked. "Um, think I'd better get going," she said. "Looks like this place is going balmy again."