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Post by skyeknight on Jan 29, 2018 18:57:49 GMT
"And she played me like a harp," Jane sighed.
She buried her face in her hands. Shame was all she currently felt. She knew her mother was dead. She knew it was an illusion and a trick and still she fell for it! It was embarrassing. Normally she was so logical (aside from her short temper). She should have seen this from the start. Instead, she just gave in. Hell. She hugged the demon for crying out loud, spilled all of her feelings for everything going wrong in her life.
"I'm going to keep my gun on me," she vowed. "I'll get emerald bullets if I have to."
The one time she had gone out without protection she was taken advantage of by this demon. Used and manipulated like some doll in a play set for a little kid. It left a particularly bitter taste in her mouth.
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Post by Zuyuri on Jan 29, 2018 20:46:08 GMT
“What happened wasn’t your fault. None of this is your fault.”
Blunt, but comforting. He wasn’t good as being a sympathy card. Especially not through this state of lack of sleep and general agitation. He brought a hand to his gurgling stomach. Talk of a demon was hungry for core emotions was affecting him and reawakening his peckishness. It also was yet another smack in the face for him. He had brought hell to earth, even if it was just minuscule. Thanks to him, demons like the one who attacked Jane were loose.
“I’m sending a warrant out for a shapeshifter. If she looked like your mom to you, who knows who’ll she’ll turn into next.”
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Post by skyeknight on Jan 29, 2018 21:38:46 GMT
"It sure feels like it's my fault." she sighed. "But... thanks Shadow."
If anyone told her that before she moved to this city she would be thanking a police officer, she would have punched them. Yet here she was. She supposed that did mean she had been making strides in the direction of recovery. Upon hearing Shadow's stomach rumble, she was acutely aware of how long it had been since her last meal. She hadn't eaten since the day that demon grabbed her and did... whatever weird demonic ritual thing. So a few days, mostly because she had been sick with worry of what was going to happen to her.
"Sounds like you need a break... I know a really good Thai place down the street?" she offered.
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Post by Zuyuri on Jan 30, 2018 6:23:22 GMT
'If it were your fault, people would be rushing this place in a riot," he pointed out. "But, if there were...I'd fend them off to protect you"
Did that just come out of his mouth? He hadn't protected anyone since the Thrax incident with Yang and he tried to protect her. What'd he get for that? A girl getting her arm cut off. The pain that came with having not eaten in weeks came to him. He looked over at Jane once more, seeming to try and find anything that was coming up from her attack. Hidden scars or bruises. They both looked like a wreck, and with the same problem; demons playing with their greatest weaknesses. Jane offered food, and before he could even talk, his stomach growled for her.
"Ironic; celebrating attacks from hell by eating spicy food." He finished typing the report and sent it as an attachment to the cops on his group.
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Post by skyeknight on Jan 30, 2018 15:08:25 GMT
"Uh, thanks?"
She had half a mind to remind him, that he was the only one who knew what happened to her, aside from the demon woman herself. The same demon woman that decided to zap her into unconsciousness after whatever ordeal they had just gone through. Or bring up the fact she was quite a good shot and could take care of herself. She had always taken care of herself. She was probably the better shot between the two of them anyways. Instead, she was left with this confusing feeling over his vow to protect her from this imaginary mob.
"If you're going to be like that I'll go without you," she said.
She looked away from him, feeling rather exasperated with it all. Here she was, asking if he would go to dinner and he was making fun of her for it. Annoyance won out over the strange and questionable feeling from before. She managed a glare at him.
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Post by Zuyuri on Jan 30, 2018 15:45:02 GMT
“Sorry. Maintaining the welfare of the city while also piecing your own personal mystery tends to make one...an asshole.”
It was a horrible excuse for what he had said, but it was the truth. A shapeshifting demon on top of Disparion which was taking away his longevity was making his outlook right now a bit grim. And with lack of food and sleep, he had gone from gruff to straight up rude. He could hear Sunshine chewing him out for his attitude, and the guilt was setting in. He closed the browser windows and stared blankly at the screen. While he didn’t glare at Jane as she was doing to him, his already angled eyes were furrowing to fight the exhaustion.
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Post by skyeknight on Jan 30, 2018 15:55:40 GMT
"Or you just get grouchy when you haven't eaten? Or slept! You look exhausted." she pointed out.
She got to her feet. What was her life anymore? Friends with cops? Granted Yang was her friend long before her change in career and Shadow was... Jane wasn't sure what Shadow was. They hunted together, they drank and now she was offering Thai food. Either way, her father would be amused by this. If she ever decided to tell him. But since he had been so taken with the faery she hadn't really spoken to him. At least life in this city kept things interesting she supposed.
"You coming or what?" she asked. "I've got some drunken noodles and dumplings calling my name."
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Post by Zuyuri on Jan 30, 2018 16:10:42 GMT
“...Which fillings do you get?”
Shadow bit back the angry comment he wanted to fire back, replacing it with that innocent question. Given what she had recently gone through, so similar to his, being a jerk wasn’t fair to her. The pain of running on fumes was getting to him, and he knew he’d drop if something didn’t get in him. Jane was a mystery herself...kind of. She hated cops, for understandable reasons, and yet she came to him and chatted with him like they were equals. They had drunk together, heard about one anothers’ lives outside their respective jobs..did that mean they were...?
As he was standing, the guilt of how he was acting was fighting through the rage and exhaustion of holding back said rage, leaving him...almost apathetic. Comparing scars over drunkennoodles was a sick way of finally getting food.
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Post by skyeknight on Jan 30, 2018 16:34:21 GMT
"House special," she said, "So I get to try a bit of all their dumplings. I'm not picky as long as the dumplings aren't watery and slimy."
The two of them headed out of the library, with Jane leading the way. The Thai place wasn't far. She tended to frequent it on her lazier days, when she didn't feel like cooking for herself. Or after her students were particularly rough on her. And kids acted out, so it happened. Still, she rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. She didn't know why it irked her so much that Shadow looked one step away from being a cast member of the walking dead. He was a cop after all. But she had gone to him with this trouble of hers. She shook her head, focusing only on the fact that she was about to eat. The staff waved her in and had them both seated, with menus in hand.
"A pot of hot tea for the table," she requested of the server before they were left to peruse the menu.
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Post by Zuyuri on Jan 31, 2018 5:53:23 GMT
Slimy dumplings. Those were the worst. Every time he saw them, he thought of the egg sacs monsters would lay. But at least dumplings burst out seasoned meat and not hordes of bloodthristy beasts.
Jane led the way to this Thai place that Shadow had never heard of. He had been so accustomed to some other places and rarely came to the section of French Quarter to get food unless it was something quick or appetizers at the Bourbon. But judging from the exterior, it was a quick serviced kind of place. For someone in a quick bind, maybe this wasn't such a bad idea. He was silent the whole time, smelling the spices and hearing the clink of people adjusting their plates enjoying steaming plates. They were sat down and Jane took no time to order a pot of tea for the table. Deja vu, she ordered a bottle for them both when at the Bourbon that one time as well.
He opened his menu in silence, scanning what was on offer. His tired brain tried to make garble of the curry names and pronounciations, but it stubbornly wouldn't give him any ideas.
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Post by skyeknight on Jan 31, 2018 16:53:51 GMT
"Are... you okay?" she asked.
She suddenly felt bad, seeing him look as quiet and dazed as he was. She had literally unloaded a huge boatload of her fears on him when he probably had his own to worry about. She took a deep breath. She could offer him an ear since he had done the same for her. She set her menu down. She came here enough for a regular order so she didn't need to look. This would take more concentration to get Shadow to budge on his 'tough guy' act. She supposed even cops like him had their fair share of issues.
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Post by Zuyuri on Feb 1, 2018 5:00:44 GMT
"...I'm fantastic."
Sarcasm echoed with that one sentence. It was still a bit early for their relationship for him to pour out his heart. The last time he did, he had been under the influence of alcohol. Breaking through Shadow's skin while he was sober would be a bit more difficult. A tiny part of his mind chidded him for closing himself off. Jane was coming to him and showing trust. He didn't mistrust her, nor did he hate her. Fatigue was probably also what continued to make him grumpy. Besides, he couldn't let Jane in on his...family issues. Not with everything she had gone through.
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Post by skyeknight on Feb 1, 2018 15:50:33 GMT
"And I've never shot a gun in my entire life," Jane said. "See? I can make shit up too."
The both knew her lie. Especially considering the fact that there was an equivalent amount of sarcasm dripping from her every word. Shadow's tough guy act was a bit frustrating at times, but she was equally guilty in trying to be so strong she didn't need anyone helping her. It took a lot for her to confess to Shadow what happened despite running into him being happenstance at best. She wasn't going to push him. They weren't exactly friends? But they weren't exactly acquaintances either. She wasn't sure where they stood, but the need to offer some advice, was still there. She had given some of those same words to some of her more stubborn and closed off students. Minus the swearing.
"Listen, I know that kind words and a pat on the back aren't enough to make it go away," she relented. "But it gets a whole lot easier when you've got people helping you. You don't have to talk to me, but talk to someone."
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Post by Zuyuri on Feb 1, 2018 16:04:42 GMT
“The person I would normally talk to is up to her neck in wedding plans. The other one is running with my worst enemy. As for your father, he means well, but if he got hurt again, it’d suck for both of us.”
He was no longer dry humored. No, this time he was just bitter. Everyone it seemed was busy. Sunshine was with Riku. Omar and Aqua were either helping Namine adjust or making goo goo eyes at each other. Yang was off on missions with Pitch or spending time with Adrien. Ralph and Elsa had their agendas. Anna was busy either alone or with her girlfriends. He had tried to even contact the Colts, but they were uncharacteristically quiet. Even Jenna seemed to have disappeared. It was the first time Shadow realized that he felt...isolated.
But then there was Jane, extending an open ear. The last time Shadow had this experience...well, he didn’t remember, but he had a suspicion this was the same attitude he had to Maria.
“Let’s just say I have issues with my mind. By the end of the summer, something bad’s going to happen. Something I’m going to cause. Before you found me, I was trying to find some other loophole, some other way to keep this city from going to shit.”
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Post by skyeknight on Feb 1, 2018 16:12:23 GMT
"I'm sure they'd listen if you just said something. You dropped what you were doing for me," she pointed out. "And yeah, dad's stubborn and he's reckless, but his heart's in the right place."
She had been there before. She felt like she had no one else to go to, particularly after she was thrown in the foster care system. All but labeled a number and ignored by the adults who just wanted her to stop being so angry all the time. She also kept to herself after her father's public announcement. She had to get herself sorted out before she went to see anyone else. Because she was full of mixed feelings about everything.
"Like... a curse?" she asked. "Or a prophecy to make you do something to the city? Because I might not know you well, but you would never do something bad to this city."
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