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Post by skyeknight on Mar 27, 2018 16:07:23 GMT
Jane decided to stop at Nevermore on the way home from work. But because the shop itself was busy she went to the kiosk by the police department. The students had been particularly trying during the day. She needed a pick me up. Nothing perked her up more than a coffee and a hazelnut croissant. She hummed happily as she headed over to a table and took a seat so she could enjoy her guilty pleasure in peace. Her head ached and she was sore from chasing the kids around the classroom. But the kids were worth it. They were sweet and kind when they tried to be. One of the kids stayed in at recess to help her clean the classroom. She snuck him a candy bar as thanks. Busy work kept her mind off of what that woman had done.
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Post by Zuyuri on Mar 27, 2018 17:11:00 GMT
Shadow swirled his remaining coffee in one hand. A human hand. The only signs it was still him were his red eyes. The Sapien laced rings, disguised as simple bracelets, stacked on top of one another. The only people who recognized him were select faces, included the people who helped him with the rings. They'd need a 48 hour recharge, but he still had time in this human shape. Someone came in, and he had to do a recheck to see who it was. Jane LaRue, a cop hater, coming in to get a coffee and croissant. She was at the table next to him. Would he recognize her as the rugged man sipping his coffee idly? Probably not. But what could he do to get her to recognize him? The the first thing that came to mind was just a simple question.
"So, the gators biting now that it's spring time?"
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Post by skyeknight on Mar 27, 2018 17:33:56 GMT
Jane had taken a sip of her coffee when the man asked his question, taking her off guard. She retorted with a heavy cough followed by quickly dabbing at her mouth with her napkin. What a question to ask someone! Not many people knew that she had a habit of hunting alligator, but the meat was tasty and her freezer was getting low on stocks of well anything. She turned to confront him, but stopped short. The ruggedly handsome man seemed familiar, but after her run in with that woman, Jane had been set on edge about every person that walked up to her. She eyed him warily.
"Do... I know you?" she asked.
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Post by Zuyuri on Mar 27, 2018 17:42:09 GMT
"Hmm...let's see. You chewed me out at the Lafayette masquerade ball for not doing my job. You helped me take down a giant croc man that could have eaten ten percent of the population for lunch. And I helped you buy school supplies for your kids. Yeah, you do know me. Just...not like this." He rose from the table, coffee still in hand. Now that he was a few heads taller than she was, it was easier to look at her Was it weird to say that he found her...kind of beautiful? OR was that troll pheromones kicking in?
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Post by skyeknight on Mar 27, 2018 17:49:58 GMT
"S-Shadow?" Jane choked out, "But how?!"
She felt her cheeks heating up. She sounded like Namine when the young woman was startled, but this was as much of a shock to Jane as anything else. Because last she checked, Shadow was a homonculous. Not a human guy. She wasn't sure if she should believe it, but he had honestly too much evidence to be anything else. Whereas the woman who had attacked her hadn't answered her questions, but instead egged Jane into her own despair and loathing. She just didn't know how Shadow could change form. Or had he always been able to do that?
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Post by Zuyuri on Mar 27, 2018 18:50:29 GMT
“It’s me.” He said it reassuringly.
The last time someone Jane cared for appeared, it had been a trap. She had every right to be skeptical. He pulled off the black bracelet, where it glowed briefly. The arm became bristled with black fur lined with red. That hair matched the messy style he was rocking as a human...with some greying due to stress.
“Sapien dipped rings,” He explained. “It lasts for 48 hours.”
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Post by skyeknight on Mar 27, 2018 19:17:58 GMT
"Why are you using Sapien?" she asked.
This new shape of his was mildly concerning. Not only had it caught her by surprise, but it suited him all too well. As if she didn't have enough on her mind to think about in regards to Shadow himself. She was already questioning herself for inviting him out to dinner (to her favorite thai place no less) and being concerned all week because he was likely trying to take a go at the woman who had attacked her. Sure focusing on her students helped, but the moments she wasn't up to her eyeballs in work, she thought. Her thoughts lingered into confusing matters. Her father. Shadow. Aqua. Those were all things she wasn't quite ready to deal with. Except no one was going to give her a reprieve just because she wasn't ready.
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Post by Zuyuri on Mar 27, 2018 21:49:20 GMT
Replacing the ring, Shadow answered her truthfully. “There are two demons I don’t want finding me; Disparion, and the demon lady who attacked you. I’m going incognito so they won’t find me.”
Because he stuck out like a sore thumb no matter what he had tried. At least in this human disguise, he’d blend in. The only thing hinting as his demonic heritage were his red eyes. Even as a human, they were subdued to avoid people confusing him for a sucker.
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Post by skyeknight on Mar 28, 2018 17:22:52 GMT
She looked away tentatively. The only reason he had to hide was because Disparion thought that Shadow had it in him to destroy the city and Jane was the one who sent him after that woman. But if they could stop the two then the city would be safe. She wasn't sure where that left her. Of course she wanted to see the city safe. She never wanted anyone to suffer the way she had as a kid watching a demon kill her mom and brother. She at least tolerated him despite his job. She didn't want to see him get hurt because she was the one who had directed him to the demon woman in the first place.
"Don't do anything stupid," she ordered.
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Post by Zuyuri on Mar 28, 2018 17:51:20 GMT
“Same to you.”
He was looking her in the eye. He knew how stubborn and protective she could be. She was not going to stand by and let innocents get hurt. That was something they had in common, a fierce drive to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves. But in the back of his mind, something was being persistent. Jane wanted him to be safe? Why was he suddenly super upset about letting her down of all people?
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Post by skyeknight on Mar 28, 2018 18:12:52 GMT
Jane gave him a tentative smile. This was all so very confusing. She was still trying to wrap her mind around it. That this guy was the same homunculus she went drinking with. The same guy she had Thai with. The same guy she confided after she was attacked. It felt like she was talking to someone new. Except he sounded and acted the exact same. Still, if given a little more time she would get used to this shape of his.
"So... how's the Sapien treating you?" she asked.
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Post by Zuyuri on Mar 28, 2018 20:09:19 GMT
Shadow nervously wrung a hand on the bands. When not part of the disguise, they were the same metal alloy used to hold back his chaos powers, not like he could use them in human form anyway. It was still relatively new, having the system activate on the outside as opposed to being forced inwardly as the Grey Dawn at done. Also, this was untainted Sapien, so the side effects were something different.
"I'll get used to it," he answered. "Funny how a change in height can make you see things differently."
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Post by skyeknight on Mar 29, 2018 12:45:22 GMT
"Just a change in height?"
She couldn't help but laugh. Shadow had changed drastically. If he had wanted to, he could have introduced himself as an entirely different person and Jane wouldn't have known. It was only because he did her the courtesy of telling her who he was that she even knew. She might have figured it out eventually, but Shadow was Shadow and cut to the point. Then again, people were probably treating him differently in this shape. He wasn't a bad looking guy and he was also a stranger, naturally, people tried to put their best foot forward when meeting someone new. She didn't know what to make of the fact that he had come directly to her and told her flat out who he was. She'd be lying is he said she wasn't pleased... Deep down, very deep down. But she wasn't going to acknowledge that.
"Just think of it, all the things you couldn't say to someone as your homunculus shape, you can in this human shape." she laughed, "Tell your boss to go stuff it or tell your coworkers they're annoying."
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Post by Zuyuri on Mar 29, 2018 15:38:23 GMT
Jane was laughing, but he, too, joined in with a few laughs. Yeah there were some other changes. Some he didn’t dare say out loud and especially not to a woman. Thankfully, the chances of accidentally producing an heir were not in question (thank you Professor Gerald). He flashed one final grin at her suggestion, looking back to his cup,
“Oh trust me, I’ve stood up to the commissioner several times. Homunculus or not, it hasn’t been fruitful. He still sees me as the big guy who saved his ass - that’s how I got my job.”
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Post by skyeknight on Mar 29, 2018 18:05:20 GMT
"Yeah, well, he's your boss, there's probably nothing around that," Jane shrugged.
It was likely the same situation as the one she had with her father. He would always see her as 'his little girl' no matter how old she got. Shadow's boss would always see him as Shadow, no matter what form he took. In a way, that was comforting. To have something to go back to. Someone who would always see you as you were. A constant in your life. Things in the city could get kind of hectic. Especially when homunculus decided to take a miracle drug to become human. That was just how things were. Constantly changing.
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