"Everyone knows Cathy," He replied, "No one really knows what she does per se. We all have our speculations, especially.. well.. with the drugs, no one quite believes her when she describes what she does." A shrug, "The woman is a bit weird, kinda crazy, maybe, but then again that doesn't surprise me in the slightest."
Kaito thought back to the news he had read in the paper the other day when he returned home. How the drugs that Mary had taken were apparently Cathy's. How she had gotten them in the first place, Kaito could only make assumptions. Everyone had their speculations no what she did, and what transpired between the two women. There was a lot to unpack and not much of the news was in the public bar one or two articles that had been written already.
For all he knew it could have all been fake news. But Rosaline confirmed the overdose. Were they related? How would she know? And why was she so interested in the two of them? Kaito was tempted to ask, but the look on the other woman's face had him holding back his own questions for the time being. He didn't want to scare her away.
Rosaline listened intently. Bits and pieces of what he gave added to the information she already knew about Cathy. It seemed very few people actually did trust her. Mary had been one of those people. So had Rosaline before she’d learned to the secrets Cathy kept and her role in Mary’s death. The morphine Mary had consumed to claim her own life had indeed been Cathy’s. The woman had confirmed it. And Rosaline had yet to speak to her again.
She knew the nature of her questions would raise suspicion in Kaito’s mind, so as much as Rosaline wanted to ask about Pete, she held back. Instead, she sighed slowly. “Thank you,” she said simply. Another idea formed in the corner of her mind. She could ask about someone else. Again, as much as she wanted to, Rosaline didn’t. But apparently, it was like a sign of his arrival.
The door to the cafe opened again, and another man entered. He was ruggedly handsome with a full beard and slightly long brown hair. His clothes were worn but not ratty, and his eyes were brown and kind as they scanned the cafe. His gaze landed on Rosaline. “Hello, Fairy.”
The woman in question almost immediately blushed and twisted in her chair to greet the man. Her expression and demeanor softened at the sight of him. "Jacob! What are you doing here?"
"Well, I spied you walking into town and thought you might need to catch a lift back up to Bayview, eventually," he answered. Then his eyes shifted behind her and caught on the man she was talking to. "Hello, Kaito," he added with a grin. “Haven’t seen you in a while. How are things?”
Before Kaito could tell her that it wasn't a problem when it came to sharing the information that he knew, there was another presence in the cafe. For this time of day, it was beginning to become quite a party in the little place. Not that Kaito minded, he was a people person after all, and he was more than happy that the cafe could potentially have more business. Well, one more person that was new in town, at least.
Maybe he was just too soft for the place.
Regardless he met Jacob's grin with one of his own and have the man a two-fingered salute, "'Ello 'ello," He said, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms, "Oh you know me, travelling the world and all, nothin' out of the ordinary mate. Just popped back for a bit of down time before the next tour."
The next mission. The next clean up. As long as he was alive, as long as humans were around, the oceans would never be free from the mess of them all. This was going to be his job forever, and he didn't mind one bit.
Rosaline listened with interest to their conversation, and her curiosity peaked at the mention of Kaito's travels. She arched her eyebrows. "Tour? What kind of tour?" she asked.
Jacob grinned and chuckled at Kaito's reply. "Fair enough," he replied. "You know me, satisfied as ever in this little town. Especially since this lovely lass arrived." He winked, indicating Rosaline, and the woman in question brushed her hair behind her ear and blushed lightly. "I see you've met the enchanting Rosaline Ward."
Immediately, Rosaline's eyes widened as Jacob introduced her. The addition of her last name threw her off. It was the same as her mother's had been, Mary Ward. The woman who had created a double life for herself behind her family's backs. Who had suffered from Alzheimer's near the end of her life. Who had a secret love affair with a man on the Isle – Pete. Who had killed herself from a morphine overdose. Who had left her house on the Isle – Bayview – to her two daughters. And only one of them had stayed.
Jacob noticed her mannerisms shift immediately, and he straightened. "Oh shit… I'm sorry, Ros."
Rosaline shook her head and looked out the window, away from both men. She debated getting up and leaving, but then where would she go? Only back to Bayview for Jacob to follow her there? She didn't think so. Better to stay here and face the music now.
Kaito couldn't help but raise a brow when Jacob introduced Rosaline with her full name. Ah. So that was why she had been so interested in wanting to know what he knew about Mary. That was entirely fair. He would understand that if he was in her position that it would be difficult when your mother made a name for herself on the Isle and not entirely for good reasons. He didn't have a family anymore, so he could only partially relate, he supposed.
But he was well aware of how uncomfortable it was making her. He was obvious. Kaito wasn't the best at reading people, he was a lot better at reading fish than he was humans because that was where his talents lay, but it was clear that she didn't like to associate with the last name. Fair enough. And who was he to judge? He wasn't going to treat her any differently than he had been before just because of who she had been related to.
"Aye, no judgement here," He said gently, offering a small smile. And then he quickly moved on with her first question about the tour, diverting the topic away from her name because it was clear that she didn't want that to continue, "And uh- I work in rehabilitating oceans," He continued, trying to find the best way to describe what he did without saying he was a fucking descendant of a God, "All across the world. I'm planning on going to Australia soon to work on the Great Barrier Reef."
Rosaline was too quick to observe Kaito’s reaction. She caught the arched eyebrow and how his gaze looked her over just a bit differently than before. It was how Cathy had looked at her when they first met. And Pete. Rosaline still wanted to wrap her hands around his throat.
Her eyes narrowed slightly and looked up at Jacob. The man recognized that he’d messed up and pulled up a chair to sit down at their table, slightly closer to Rosaline than Kaito. “Sorry, Ros,” he murmured. Though he didn’t touch her. Not unless she instigated it. Rosaline wasn’t a very touchy-feely person. She preferred solace in the form of favors and company.
She looked back over as Kaito started talking again. He might mean it now, but wait until he knew the whole story, and not just the rumors flying around. Courtesy of Cathy.
Rosaline was grateful for the change in topic, and as she relaxed more, her hand slipped into Jacob’s knee, and her thumb rubbed over a frayed spot in his jeans. He grinned subtly and accepted the gesture while she listened.
“That’s fascinating,” Rosaline murmured. “You must travel very often then. Do you only go to places near the coast?”
Kaito reached forward and grabbed at the empty cup of coffee that now sat in front of him, tracing the rim with his forefinger. Maybe he should get another damn coffee. Even though he loved people - to an extent - they were often hard to interact with. There were very few who knew about who he really was, and those who did were other reincarnations of Gods that had long since passed. The Earth was a far different place now than what his ancestors had once walked, and so he had to be careful.
There were only three people like him. That he knew of. Kaito hadn't seen them in a while, either. Maybe it was why he busied himself in his work trying to help the oceans rather than meeting new people. It only reminded him of his friends, his true friends, that he never got to see. Well, barely got to see. Aurelia was always wherever the sun shone the brightest and Ilias didn't like people much to begin with so meeting up with the other two Gods was a challenge. Either way, he wasn't about to risk someone knowing his secret and spreading it, not when word was quick to spread on the Isle.
"I do, yes," He said, looking up from his cup to Rosaline, "My work revolves around the sea, why would I bother going inland?" Kaito cracked his signature grin, though there was something behind his eyes that didn't quite match the look he was giving.
