xp_logs | MIXTAPE: 'No Sugar Tonight'

Image by Mackinzie

A mug sat on the sun-warmed wood of the picnic table, full of tea. Steam rose and mixed with the drift of bluish smoke rising from the cigarette in Amanda's hand and she blew on the surface of the tea to cool it as she picked up the mug for a sip. The air was filled with the chirps of birds settling in for the night and frogs beginning their evening chorus and she smiled to herself as she basked in the warm atmosphere.

The wolf came up unexpectedly, nuzzling her lap and hands, looking for treats. Kane walked up behind him, finding a seat on the picnic table across from her.

"Hey, Gord." Amanda hurriedly stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray on the table before fondling the wolf's ears. "No treats today, mate, sorry about that." Then she looked over at Garrison with a smile. "Coming back from giving Gord a run?"

“Not really. I mean, he just runs on his own. I wander back from Harry’s and he just appears like, well… magic.” Kane said with a quick smile.

She snorted a laugh at the pun and ruffled the wolf’s fur. “I would have joined you there tonight, only I had a couple of calls. The problem with having international contacts is you have to take work calls at all bloody hours. But I figure you managed well enough without me.”

“Just getting back into the swing. I have to go into the Field Office in a couple of days to get caught up. But it’s still better than the mountain of paperwork Heather had waiting for me.” He shrugged. “I think that is her way of reminding me I’m back in Canada; bureaucracy.”

“What, no maple syrup or chips covered with gravy and cheese curds?” She knew he’d know she was joking. “They satisfied you’re all in one piece and not about to shuffle off the mortal coil any time soon and whatever else they wanted to check on?”

“A lot of that hasn’t made the official reports. I’m trying to keep a lid on the whole cursed thing for now. The way Heather and Mac are talking, feeding Department H more information about magic than they need seems like a bad idea right now. What about you?” He said. “I miss anything exciting?”

“If I use the “Q” word, we’ll wind up with a full scale demon invasion or something, so I’ll stick with saying there’s been not much in the way of drama.” She reached for her tea and wrapped her hands around the warm ceramic. “Except for the magical equivalent of spam mail – all of us have been getting these bloody rocks for weeks now and there’s no sign of letting up. I might go see if I can get Wong to put us on the “no junkmail” list.”

“Rocks? You know what, you’ll tell me when it makes sense to you. Just let me know if you need a wolf to tear the ass out of someone’s pants.” Kane was deliberately downplaying Gord’s lethal abilities when needed.

“Eh, we’ll sort it out. It’s basically magic bureaucracy, nothing you need to get involved with. It’s more annoying than anything, which goes to say how not-busy it’s been that I’m bitching about it to you.”

“So we’re both fighting bureaucracy. Fuck, don’t bring us down… Gord, stop. She doesn’t have treats.” Kane said as the wolf wuffled away. “I know it’s bad luck but it feels like the calm before the storm, eh?”

“If I had a salt shaker right now, I’d be throwing the whole thing over my shoulder.” She grimaced at him. “Next disaster is completely on you.”

“Fair enough. I’ve earned it.” He said with a sigh. “Ah, fuck it. This is not the conversation for tea. Back to Harry’s. First shots are on me.”