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Post by Zuyuri on Aug 7, 2017 3:27:25 GMT
"I had to take off towards the end of the concert, but they were having a good time while I was there."
Best that he leave the whole 'reunion in hell' out of it. They were here to just look at supplies for a third-grade class, not compare battle scars. Besides, telling someone they had connections to the king of hell himself was...well, the info sort of slipped when they were at the bar drinking away their shit. Not a total loss there.
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Post by skyeknight on Aug 7, 2017 17:36:12 GMT
"It went well." Jane told him. "I think everyone had fun."
It had been quite the turn out. The charity that her father had worked alongside had faired quite well in their little fundraiser. Not to mention her father sold quite a bit in merchandise. Jane joked that his name would become a household one. That parents would groan as their kids begged to play his songs 'one more time' for the hundredth time in a row. That more people would want to sit in on the bar performances. That the bartender at the bar he performed at might have to charge a cover the nights that Omar worked. There wasn't a frown on a single face in the crowd.
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Post by Zuyuri on Aug 8, 2017 15:13:07 GMT
"Contrary to popular belief, we do like to have fun in this town," Shadow muttered.
Bellerouge was on the very bottom of "tourist attractions" or "places to visit in Louisiana." The people who came to the town had some dark quirk about them be it dressing in all black, a mistake in the humidity of the state, or that they worshipped a god in some theogony that was dead to the world.
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Post by skyeknight on Aug 8, 2017 18:30:07 GMT
"You do realize that almost every 'fun' get together I have gone to there has been some sort of problem, right?" she asked.
The Lafayette Ball was attacked by demons. She got nabbed off the street on the way to her dad's. Even Yang went out with a boy and it ended up in the papers. Besides, Yang hadn't seen many 'fun' things happening in town. Her father just happened to do something nice for the charity but everyone benefitted from it. It almost made people not want to gather together for that exact reason. That they would be attacked by the forces of evil every time they tried.
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Post by Zuyuri on Aug 8, 2017 19:53:52 GMT
"I wouldn't call standing in the open floor of a show-off attempt to make rich people seem like a welcome family when the truth is they want nothing to do with the quote on quote commoners fun."
And that was all he was going to say before the unprofessional attitude kicked in. The Lafayette ball had rubbed him the wrong way even without knowing Thrax used it to make his famous 'I'm here' show. Besides, it kept making him think of the Lancelot backhand sword hanging on his wall. He only used it for decoration now, but how he used it to protect Yang...and ironically she got her arm severed...he looked over at a pile of papers sold by someone who recreated the sheets from shredded work and by, what else, magic, stitched the pieces to make unique pieces of loose leaf.
"You guys use wide ruled in the third grade, right?" he pointed to the stall selling the unique sheets
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Post by skyeknight on Aug 9, 2017 1:40:56 GMT
"Then you must not have danced with anyone," Jane replied. "Think of it as a get together with friends, not a show of wealth."
The ball might not have been a lot of fun. She didn't exactly dance with anyone. She mostly just spoke with Yang, up until Thrax's attack. She supposed the city would have to open up and try to relax, or at least her friend group. She blinked in surprise once she realized that she was considering Shadow in that group. She was distracted and it took him pointing out the paper for her to remember the task at hand.
"Yeah, good eye, Shadow."
She picked up a few packs of paper and paid the vendor.
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Post by Zuyuri on Aug 9, 2017 14:05:14 GMT
"No. Not really the 'dance' type." Beneath the saltiness of that statement, there was a tiny little bit of regret and sadness. He had missed a lot, not just from the get together, but from everything being ripped from his life. Outside of Yang and Sunshine, he never talked or, well, had any sort of interest, in spending any time with a young girl. Even the memories he kept of Maria held no indication he danced with her.
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Post by skyeknight on Aug 9, 2017 14:45:28 GMT
"There's always next time?" Jane offered.
Shadow seemed very put out by the fact that he hadn't danced, or perhaps she was just reading into things. He did say he liked someone who was with someone else. Which didn't exactly set him up for a dance partner. She didn't even want to suggest it being the fact he didn't have the right 'partner' to dance with. Maybe he did want to dance with the woman he had a crush on. But it could have been that she hadn't wanted to dance with him, which wasn't fair. But Jane didn't know Shadow's crush. He never gave her a name. She could probably piece things together if she had spent more time around Shadow and his friends, but she had only spent time with him.
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Post by Zuyuri on Aug 10, 2017 17:11:34 GMT
A humorless laugh came from Shadow's chest. The echo betrayed a lot of the sense of isolation he felt deep down. How on any given day, being alone cut him ever slightly. He was only now understanding the value of frirndship. Ironically, it took three blonde girls for him to get the grasp. Doing something mundane as picking up school supplies, which he gestured to a quilted tissue box for Jane to look at, was suddenly more interesting.
"Maybe we can get Sunshine to make artwork for your room."
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Post by skyeknight on Aug 10, 2017 18:22:15 GMT
"But then there would be nothing for the kids to decorate!" Jane laughed.
Namine had gone through a purge in her art supplies. The young blonde had been getting rid of things she didn't use and didn't expect to use or at least not for a very long time and by then they would be past expiration. Oddly enough she had a lot of coloring books. Perhaps from her own childhood or just as something fun and relaxing to do, but she willingly gave those to Jane. She smiled at Shadow. They had gotten everything she had needed for the classroom, plus a little more considering a tissue box and a last minute grab for plain folders.
"We... could always use guest speakers..." she said, suddenly not looking at him. "I mean, if you'd be interested in that sort of thing."
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Post by Zuyuri on Aug 10, 2017 19:51:27 GMT
"Oh, fine," Shadow jokingly pouted.
That pout turned into something that he hardly ever showed. Because ten years on a supernatural police studying supernatural crimes sucked out assumptions and replaced them with anticipation. Because on all his years as both a cop and an Other, no one had ever asked him for such a favor. His jaw slightly dropped, and his red eyes were widened just a smidgen.
"You know in all my years on the service," he said quietly, "I've never been asked to do that."
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Post by skyeknight on Aug 10, 2017 20:26:01 GMT
"I, er, the offer's there if you want to. I mean, not everyone likes kids."
Except making sure kids were happy was all but Jane's driving passion these days. Kids were the most important thing she knew. Though it could have been the troll-instincts shining through in true nature. She was compelled to be around kids and take care of them. Natural caregivers. She supposed she wanted to see if Shadow was as much as a hard ass as everyone made him out to be. There was no way a tough and gruff guy like him could hate children. Her dad looked like one of the scariest guys out there, but once you got to know him you realized he was a big old softy.
"I just figured, if the kids grew up trusting cops... And since you do your work right, it might make things easier?"
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Post by Zuyuri on Aug 13, 2017 1:07:05 GMT
"I'll...have to check my schedule."
Between making sure Yang was ready to get onto the squad and catching up on the crimes placed by all the different kinds of monsters, he would have a full plate. However the chance to let kids know that Other cops were just the same as any other person in a police uniform. How, in their own way, they were protecting Bellerouge from a different kind of a danger. A danger that could disguise itself as an average citizen. How the stranger offering candy or rides could also be a hungry demon. The Brothers Grimm weren't exactly exaggerating when they wrote Hansel and Gretel, but that was a crime story he'd have to sugarcoat.
He was also, well, kind of flattered that she said he 'did his work right'. He did it all because he promised a dying twelve year old girl he'd protect people...before she, well, died. Of course, he wouldn't say it out loud.
"Hell with it. Let's pick a day and time and I can be there in a jiff."
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Post by skyeknight on Aug 13, 2017 1:32:30 GMT
"Well, maybe within the first month of school?" she offered. "We can work things out closer to a date."
She smiled. She was pleased to hear that Shadow would do it. The kids always enjoyed guest speakers. It was a break from normal lessons. Speaking to a cop was probably good for them. To know who to trust if they were ever in trouble, that Others were cops too and that the kids could aspire to be anything they put their minds to. Not to mention, having a safe face to go to might make things different for the children. This was Jane putting a lot of trust in Shadow as the one decent cop she knew because she was letting him go in front of her charges to speak.
"I'll owe you one." she said.
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Post by Zuyuri on Aug 13, 2017 6:31:17 GMT
"It's a deal," he nodded.
Perfect spacing. It was less stress on her end because by the time the first month of school was coming to a close, she would have gotten better acquainted with her kids to know which ones were troublemakers and the like. On his end, it would give him much needed time to get some crimes under wraps. Well, provided demons and covens and whatever creatures, like those hearthound things Jenna had warned him about.
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