Zap, She Goes!

Deus, she was tired.

She had been tired for centuries, and she would stay tired for centuries more, she suspected, until someone decides to finally cut her some slack and pass the damn job of raining onto some other fool. Yes, raining. Deus, she hated water.

Trudging through the ever present fog of the Upper Levels--when were they going to get over themselves and change the cloud floors to solid stone?--Theodora could feel her muscles screaming for a hot bath. Or a massage. Or both. Damn, but she hated water.

"Yo, Theo!"

Too tired to bother otherwise, Theodora growled out in frustration at the sight of Jack. The son of an Elder and a nymph, Jack was a PR of the Upper Levels by sheer luck and hadn't lifted a single finger in hard labour since he was fifty. And that was saying something. So, blessed with time to spare and a petty streak, Jack was left to play the role of pest to the rest of the UP residents who had legitimate jobs.

"What do you want, Imp?" she snarled out, referring to one of the nicer nicknames Jack had earned for himself.

"Whoa! Talk about Ms. Sunshine syndrome, Theo, you look like shit!" he grinned out.

Balling her hands into fists, Theodora restrained herself from lashing out. After all, he wasn't worth the trouble of having to explain herself to his beloved father. Still, it was a tempting thought.

"What. Do. You. Want. Jack," she bit out, blue lightning crackling around her in response to her ire.

"Hey, take it easy Theo!" She cringed at the butchering of her name. "I just wanted to see if you were free. The rest of the day shift gang are planning to go out for some drinks, maybe a little dabbling with some mortals. There's a space open for you, if you want."

"No, thank you. And it's Theodora. Not Theo."

Halfway through turning around, thoughts of Indonesian style massages drifting through her head, Theodora was stopped by the hand gripping onto her right arm. Looking down at the offending limb, Theo growled deep in her throat.

Oblivious to the impending threat, Jack simply grinned and said,"Aw, c'mon, Theo. You're such an uptight broad. Going out will do you some good!"

Clenching her jaw until her teeth ached, Theodora glared at him as she wrenched her arm away. At least, she tried to. When it was obvious that his grip was not letting up (damn his Elder father for granting him strength!), she growled. "Let go."

Grin widening at her obvious plight, Jack simply shrugged and said, "No."

"Let go, Jack."

"Noooooo," he replied in a sing-song voice.

"Fine." Not bothering to control herself any longer, Theodora watched in satisfaction as bright blue bolts of lightning rushed at the miscreant. Smirking at the yelp that followed and the immediate release of her arm, she turned on her heel and walked off towards her quarters, knowing that the painful tingling would last for two more hours at least. The little wretch wouldn't be having much fun tonight.

Grinning to herself, and with a skip in her otherwise tired steps, Theodora pondered the likelihood of bribing her neighbour into giving her a back rub. He had trained as a masseuse for a while after all...