xp_logs | Doug and Amanda - Curry Night (Reply)

Doug and Amanda have a Curry Night, and then they both have a "something walked over my grave" moment.

"I'm so full, I think I'm gunna burst," Amanda mock-groaned as they left the curry restaurant. "Forget kryptonite - all you need to beat me is point me at an all you can eat curry place."

"It might be a case of mutual annihilation," Doug replied, holding his overfull belly. "I think they're afraid you're going to eat them out of business one of these days."

"They're trying to kill me before I kill them?" Amanda suggested with a chuckle. "Sounds fair enough. They shouldn't be so bloody good tho' - if they sucked, I wouldn't be trying to work my way through the whole menu."

"Well, if they sucked, they wouldn't get repeat business or make any money. I guess dealing with the 'Bottomless Pit of Brighton' comes with wanting to stay in the black." Doug elbowed Amanda gently as he said it.

She made a rude noise at him and poked him back, although just as gently. "Hey, I'm not so much a Pit as a Deep Hole these days," she protested. "Besides, you ate almost as much as I did."

"Bah, don't interrupt my harassment with your logic," Doug waved a hand dismissively. "You Bottomless Pit. Me strapping young man incapable of using correct pronouns."

"You Tarzan, me Jane, huh?" she teased with a laugh. Then she shivered slightly. "Huh. Something just walked over my grave," she joked.

Doug had never quite understood the phrase 'raised hackles' before, or even what a hackle was supposed to be. But as the short hairs on the back of his neck attempted to stand straight on end, he thought maybe he understood the expression now. He attempted to look in every direction while simultaneously not -seeming- like he was looking in every direction. "You're not the only one," he murmured.

His agreement was enough to shock all trace of joking from Amanda. "We're being watched?" she replied, just as quietly. To an outside observer, they might have been talking companionably. "I've been getting weird feelings the last day or so, that there's someone been following me."

As the pair rounded a corner, Doug quickly took his jacket off and draped it around Amanda's shoulders. Flipping the collar of his polo shirt up, he slouched down to present a completely different profile. He waved a hand to get Amanda's attention and made walking motions with his fingers, indicating Amanda should go on ahead as he fell back, trying to spot whoever (or whatever) was watching them.

Amanda nodded and continued on, focussing on walking casually. The prickling feeling between her shoulder blades intensified, and she had to quash the urge to look around. Or use her shielding spell - for some reason, she was getting seriously wigged.

Amanda was nearly back to the brownstone before Doug reappeared by her side, a frustrated look on his face. "Nothing," he said glumly. "Either we're both imagining things, or it's someone a lot better at staying unseen than either of us."

She shook her head as she handed him back his jacket. "If it was just me or just you, maybe it'd be nothing. But both of us? We might still be learning this whole Trenchcoat thing, but we're still pretty good." She chewed on her thumbnail thoughtfully. "Maybe hit the comm tonight, see if anyone else has noticed anything?"

Doug nodded, scratching at his head distractedly and still casting glances behind them. "That's a good idea, actually." He managed a weak grin. "Is it really paranoia when they -are- out to get you?"

"Not according to Remy. And he'd know."