After-Midnight Stroll [Open!]

[Devyn Hardwick]

-----------

Why the Eleventh Moon of the Vampire Council had decided it was a good idea to stroll around Times Square at one in the morning was beyond him. Honestly, it was beyond anyone he would've asked. He could have been spending his time increasing his fortune. He could've been eating. He could've... well, he could've been doing anything else that didn't appear at first glance to be a complete waste of time. But this felt right, and he had a habit of listening to his gut instinct. It hadn't been wrong before... at least, not for a very, very long time.

Devyn wasn't even really doing anything. He was just sort of... milling around, waiting for something or someone to happen. He was in the right place at the right time for an event to take place, or at least he was pretty sure he was. Maybe a robbery, maybe a proposal. Maybe something that'd brighten his day, maybe something that'd change his life. Who knew? He fully intended to just roll with it and maybe somebody that wanted to talk to him would recognize him.

It wasn't very difficult to find him, after all. There were only so many impossibly tall vampires with prescription glasses in New York, and only one of them was on the Council. He had some degree of renown, though not nearly so much as he did back home in Europe, but this was still nice. He hadn't expected in all his life to be as... well-known as he was now, much less as wealthy and as well-liked by his peers (even if they didn't usually take him seriously).

It'd be good to make a new friend tonight, Devyn thought, and hoped that it was the reason he'd ended up out here in the first place. That'd make this worth it, moreso than it already was given the stress it was reducing. He stopped on the sidewalk and gazed up at one of the gigantic screens.

"New York City is a bit weird," he said to no one in particular, "but a good weird."

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words || 349 ||
notes || anybody can step right up if they'd like ||
tagged || open! ||
mood || cheery ||
credits || better by cat and the menagerie ||

[Deleted]

Alice Delaney knew she was testing her luck by traveling through vampire territory, but all the f***s she gave were left somewhere back in Kansas since they couldn't fit in her knapsack. Of course, her knowledge of these vampires were null since she never encountered one, but she suspected she could set the vamps on fire to escape. Worked so far in her travels.

It was her kind of night - late, dark and the expensive light bulbs blinking forewarning in Times Square. Her lit cigarette was just another fainted light that brought her slight attention, but not as much as the men in business suits, slutty teenagers or food vendors. Speaking of vendors, she was starving! Stopping by a hot dog stand, Alice reached into her pocket, and pulled out a few bills to pay for the food - a bottle of water and a hot dog topped with mustard, onions, pickles and horseradish. Slipping the bottle in her knapsack, Alice continued her way to whichever destination. That was the benefit of being a traveler. No schedules, no time management, nobody to worry or disappoint if ya didn't call in or was late.

Happily munching on her hot dog, her bright viridian eyes scanned the area. People skating, prostitutes paid to be girlfriends, an odd man staring at the screens, and other random people scattered about. Traffic was still terrible, and Gods-forbid if you drove a truck. Bypassing all the annoying people, Alice accidentally bumped into a woman wearing an expensive dress; the smoker noted that it probably cost as much as a shipment of weed. Unfortunately for her hot dog, it ended up smashed against the woman's chest, and Alice mourned for the lost of her food. It was so delicious.

The woman proceeded to yell at Alice which gathered a small crowd wondering if the two women were going to fight. Alice remained stoic at the yelling having dealt with enough of it during her teenage years, but that was until the woman decided to insult the traveler. Underneath the blinking lights, nobody could tell Alice's eye color tinted a shade of red. Casually, Alice approached the woman, and with her right hand removed the cigarette. Smirking, Alice faked an apology, saying that the woman could pay for another one when she blew some CEO underneath his desk while giving a conference call. Turning to move away, Alice slid the cherry across the woman's sleeve causing it to go up in flames.

Before anyone could say or do anything, Alice exit the crowd back into the sanctuary of being another person on the streets. She chuckled as the woman screamed, and the horrid scent of burnt clothing stung the air. Ah, it was a good night for one in the morning.

[Devyn Hardwick]

-----------

As the commotion erupted, the good weird of New York City quickly devolved into a bad weird. Devyn hadn't joined the crowd around the two women--after all, he could just barely see what was going on with his height anyway and preferred not to get involved in sudden scuffles unless he knew the person in question--and as such when the traveler set the other woman on fire, he made it a point to step back and away.

Alright. So maybe, for the first time in a very, very long time, his instincts had been wrong. This was a bad place to be, and he regretted coming out here instead of doing something more productive or enjoyable like playing table tennis or watching a movie or something. Now someone else might end up on fire. It was time to make his move to get out and get out quickly as fast as he could.

Unfortunately, Devyn was not difficult to pick out in a crowd, and his attempts to blend in were pitifully amusing as he ducked his head down and tried to shuffle along like most of the shorter people. His hands were stuffed into his pockets, and he made an effort to get through the throngs of people as quickly as possible.

He didn't necessarily regret coming out on a night like this, but he certainly could have had better things to do. He'd have to think harder about things next time. He wouldn't, of course, since most things tended to work out for him and one occurrence of it not happening wasn't going to change his entire mindset or worldview, but it was certainly enough to make him think twice before rushing in and listening to his instincts again for at least a few days.

Eventually, Devyn managed to disappear into a small bakery, where he locked himself in the single-stall restroom and debated whether or not he wanted a donut in this time of mild anxiety.

"Um," he said to himself, looking in the mirror, "is this the face of a man who wants a donut?" His face was drawn tight, his mouth narrower than usual. "Yes. Definitely. But... bathroom first."

-----------

words || 364 ||
notes || none ||
tagged || @alice, anyone in the bakery ||
mood || a bit scared, avoiding conflict ||
credits || better by cat and the menagerie ||

[Deleted]

[googlefont='PT Sans']

Dear Gods that woman was annoying, forcing her to smoke the rest of her cigarette before discarding the bud in a nearby trash can. Deciding she needed to lay low a bit, Alice quickly entered a random store that so happened to be a bakery. Great... she hated sweets. Maybe there was something in here that could substitute as a meal since that woman ruined her precious hot dog. There was nothing more delicious than consuming food that increased your chances of a heart attack! Alice chuckled at the terrible humor.

At this time of night, there wasn't exactly a line of customers - in fact, there wasn't any. Pretending to be at least interested, Alice approached the counter glass staring at the tooth-decaying sweetness with a discomfort in her stomach. Maybe they had some extra bread they weren't able to use, and give it to her at a cheap cost or free. Hopefully free. Bread and water - yum said no one ever unless they were on a diet or starving, and starving Alice was. The young woman stepped back, and waited for a cashier or whoever to step out. But there was nothing - no background noises coming from the kitchen, no staff chatter, nothing. Alice tightened the strap around her knapsack, and slowly reached into her left pocket for her lighter.

Something was wrong.

[Aleena Leatherby]

She would blame her lateness on Cromwell.

Okay, to be fair, everyone in the Council blamed everything on Cromwell, even when it wasn’t his fault. It was a sort of running gag amongst the Thirteen Moons; everything was fuckin’ Cromwell’s fault, even if he wasn’t involved in whatever happened. This time, however, it actually was the old man that was to blame, as it was his hatred for werewolves that had caused her to get sidetracked from her bakery.

The Puzzle Piece was her own little piece of heaven, pardon the pun. Rafael had bought it for her after he had learned – after they had both learned, to be fair – that Aleena was autistic. Baking was one of her obsessions, with art being the other, and Rafael had been kind enough to recognize her need for a space of her own. He knew she needed some time to just surrender to the needs of her mind. Originally, Aleena had just worked there part time, but after the diagnosis, Rafael had bought the place, had it renovated, and then named it, all just for her.

He was too good to her, much too good to her. She didn’t deserve him.

She had to shake herself back to the present, pushing Rafael to the back of her mind; a feat that was much harder than it sounded. Cromwell, Aleena told herself, shoving the dead werewolf into the dumpster, had been the reason she had been forced to leave The Puzzle Piece. He needed her to take care of a handful of werewolves, even though that was his obsession and not hers, and so she had wandered away. She had taken care of them, too, and now they were lying in the dumpster decomposing.

“Sorry about that,” the thrall said, pushing through the back of the bakery, “you simply can’t find any good help these—Devyn!” Her voice went up several octaves as the exclamation and, ignoring her other customers, pushed her way to the vampire she had met several times before. The smile on her face was wide and bright, as bright as her hair.

The redhead reached over, taking his hands in hers, and gave it a squeeze. “Never thought I’d see you outside of the Council Chambers! Your cake is finished, by the way. Not that you knew I was making it, but it’s still… I mean, I hope you’ll like it, you seem to have a thing about spiders, and I just— Heh. Hey.”

WORDS ;; 415 ;;
THOUGHTS ;; Sweets for everyone! ;;
TAGGED ;; Devyn Hardwick ; @alice ;;
MUSIC ;; Television ;;
OUTFIT ;; [ Click! ] ;;
OUTFIT ;; joan by heather dale ;;

[Devyn Hardwick]

-----------

Devyn had just exited the bathroom to go get himself a donut when he'd frozen in place, having seen that Alice had followed him (whether intentionally or not) and was just preparing himself for some sort of altercation involving fire when Aleena came through the door.

Completely by accident, he'd wandered into The Puzzle Piece, the bakery of a thrall of one of his comrades on the council. This was the sort of luck he was used to.

"Hey, Aleena!" he greeted her, smiling. Aleena was very, very capable of dealing with threats to vampires, he reasoned, and as such he was as safe as he was going to get. "It's great to see you. Honestly I've thought for a while that we should hang out at some point outside of Council meetings--anyway. Cake? Cake is great. Spiders are great. How have you been?" he asked, genuinely interested in the thrall and her escapades. "You weren't in when I first saw you, so I went to the toilet for a bit, and now I come back and you're here! I'm really pleased that you're here." His eyes flicked over to Alice momentarily.

"So. I was actually about to purchase a donut, or several, or quite a lot, depending on how many you have and how hungry I am in about thirty seconds. But I'm also really interested in this cake--I didn't know you were making me a cake. My birthday's not for..." He thought about it for a while. "Er, days, actually. Huh. Okay, that makes sense. I must've lost track of time. Well! Thank you very much in advance, then! If I have a party, I'd like you to be there. With the cake, ideally. I mean, you'd probably be there with the cake. Are we having a party? I've actually completely forgotten to plan, so I, er, I didn't have anything in the queue."

He fumbled with his back pocket, then pulled out his wallet. "So... how many donuts do you have, exactly?"

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words || 335 ||
notes || none ||
tagged || @alice, Aleena Leatherby ||
mood || doing a bit better now ||
credits || better by cat and the menagerie ||

[Deleted]

[googlefont='PT Sans']

Alice's stomach coiled in discomfort, twisted with a hint of disgust, and she couldn't explain why or what brought this on. It wasn't the familiar pang of hunger, and it wasn't the knife wrenching fear of danger though whatever this feeling was seem like a cousin to the latter emotion. She stared at the woman, possibly the owner, and the man with glasses, but mainly glance between the woman and the bread. The smoker needed some actual food that was somewhat healthy for her. Her hot dog only lasted one bite before it was destroyed.

Reaching into her pocket, Alice cursed a whisper noting she only had five dollars left. Five dollars didn't buy you crap in New York. Maybe a postcard or two, but not a decent meal. Hopefully this woman had a discount section since it was late. Hell, she'd take stale bread. Calming herself a bit, Alice patiently waited until the woman was done speaking to the man. Unfortunately, Alice wasn't bless with patience; all that went to her temper. Her fingers twitch for a cigarette, and Alice knew if she stepped outside the shop she would go hungry for the night.

She would have to search for a dealer tonight if she wanted something to eat tomorrow. Rob from the reapers and give to the thieves was her twisted motto.

[Aleena Leatherby]

The Thrall seemed to vibrate with excitement, the grin bright and wide on her face. She rarely met any of the Council outside of the meetings -- aside from Rafael, of course -- and yet had still found herself viciously attached to each and every one of them. Charlotte was like a mother to her, and Areus like a kind uncle. Rafael was her boss, while Devyn was her dear, dear friend. The Council was like an extended family to the overly strong Plus.

Granted, it was a family that was often overly loud, catlike, and occasionally triggering, but all in all, they were there when she needed them the most. Just as she was there for them, with a cake in one hand and a clenched fist in the other, though that last one was often for the rabble who tried to break into the Council Chambers or get too close to Rafael. Punching and violence were for the humans and the werewolves; baking was for the Council, and it was baking that she had been doing all day.

Reaching up, Aleena wiped her hand over her face, smearing a mixture of flour and partially dried blood across her cheeks. It didn't deter her, though, for she simply continued to grin. "Oh, yes! I made you a big cake, love. It's... It's actually in the shape of a spider, 'cause I figured you'd--" She cut herself off, her face falling, and the redhead pressed her lips together tightly. Her shoulders seemed to sag.

"Oh. I ruined the surprise."

She seemed disappointed for all of three seconds before she realized Devyn was continuing on, wanting not for his doughnuts. With all good luck, she could distract him long enough to make him forget about the spider cake and his birthday surprise. That was always the proper way to make a man do whatever you want, after all; work your way into his stomach and use that to wiggle things from him. So with that in mind, Aleena turned to the counter -- and noticed the stranger.

"Oh. Another-- Oh." She looked between the two potential customers, then decided to ask the other, "I'm about to pick him up some doughnuts. You here for something?"
 

WORDS ;; 378 ;;
THOUGHTS ;; Doooooughnuuuuuuuuuuts ;;
TAGGED ;; Devyn Hardwick ; @alice ;;
MUSIC ;; Fried Green Tomatoes ;;
OUTFIT ;; [ Click! ] ;;
OUTFIT ;; joan by heather dale ;;

[Devyn Hardwick]

-----------

In the midst of his rambling, Devyn had hardly even registered the statement about the cake at all. "Um. It sounds delightful, actually, and I'll probably have forgotten about it in about ten minutes besides." The vampire shrugged. "I'm good at remembering experiences, so I'll retain it when it happens, but... words just don't stick very well up here. I'm sure Raf could tell you all about that, though. Dunno if he's kept any of our notes, but if he has, you should ask to see them." Laughing to himself, Devyn shook his head. "They're, er, they're actually pretty hilarious, so."

Aleena's presence had brightened his mood incredibly. He knew he was a lot safer with her around, especially since she literally dedicated her life to protecting vampires. Granted, she had never dedicated her life to protecting his--and he never planned to ask her to--but she was a very nice person and would presumably defend a friend if the situation called for it, just as Devyn would defend her if she'd needed it. He just wasn't keen on getting set on fire, since Camilla had never told him whether or not it had the same effect as sunlight. They were both... fire... after all.

Taking a glance over to Alice, he noticed her making a face of general disdain and unhappiness. While he wasn't particularly inclined to ask why she was upset, he did decide to help her out if he could--out of one part kindness and one part fear. He sort of hoped it was a money issue. If it was the realization that she was being chased by assassins or something, she was sort of out of luck in his department.

Flipping through his wallet, Devyn realized that he had more money with him than he'd bargained for. "Oh. Um. By the way. Whatever she wants is on me." He gestured vaguely, hoping that money would keep him from dying an inferno-based death. Turning to her, he said, "You can get whatever you'd like, short of the literal entire store."

He hoped that would be enough to avoid conflict.

-----------

words || 351 ||
notes || dev is almost literally made of money ||
tagged || @alice, Aleena Leatherby ||
mood || nervous but still somehow in good spirits ||
credits || better by cat and the menagerie ||

[Deleted]

[googlefont='PT Sans']

Alice's ears twitch, and her gaze turn towards the man. She felt the discomfort twist once more, but she couldn't place it. Why? Why was he doing this? There had to be a reason, logic, some sort of missing variable that wasn't in the equation that would result in her getting a free meal.

Then, it click.

He saw her set that woman's dress on fire, and he was afraid she would do the same to him, or worse, his friend or the store. Did he fear she would set him on fire as well? Perhaps he thought she was a mindless pyro who enjoyed causing people misery (well, this was only half true). The disgust rose up in her throat, and she faintly taste bile. This man was being a coward, and taking the road of currency in hopes that his life would be spared.

The thought made her blood run hot with anger, and she felt the urge to set the building on fire, and perhaps the only thing preventing her was an unlit cigarette and the woman had done no harm (yet). Shoving the the bills back in her pocket, Alice turn to exit the store. Food be damned, she didn't take pity from anyone especially a coward. One would think it was her pride that didn't allow it when it was the experience of a pass-along orphan that prevented her from accepting any sort of charity she suspected didn't have a hint of

"I'm not a charity case," she spoke heatedly. Now, she needed to find a drug dealer, blow his or her useless crap up, and maybe feel better. Thankfully for the woman's bakery, Alice had forgotten about the lighter in her front left pocket otherwise there would be trouble. With that, she push the door to exit the bakery and into New York's bright lit night.

[Aleena Leatherby]

Aleena couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the silence that followed Devyn's offer. If he had given her the same offer, she would have been buying out almost the entire store; that is, if the store they were in wasn't her own, of course. And yet, despite the kindness behind Dev's words, the other woman seemed to have only disgust and anger for the vampire. It was enough to bring her on edge, to bring the burn of anger to the very edge of her lips.

How... utterly pretentious of her.

Noticing the way Devyn seemed unsure around the woman, she moved closer to him, subtlety shifting her body in a way that would not be overly noticeable, but would put her between the pair. If anything happened, the Plus was prepared to use her brute strength to defend him to the bitter end. After all, Devyn may not have been her vampire, but he was one of the vampires, and one of the Council. If she could protect of them, she would protect all of them. They were her family, after all.

But instead of living up to Devyn's fear, the woman just sneered and made a comment that had Aleena barking out a laugh. Her hand came up, to slap the vampire's shoulder -- an action that was probably not too wise, given her strength. But still she grinned, and still she grinned at Devyn, as though she had just been told a joke that was too funny not to share, and it started with, "Charity case!"

The words left her lips, but her smile never fell. "Oi, Dev, I didn't know buying a pretty girl a hot meal counted as charity. Do you think if I got Raf to add my rent and board into his taxes, he could get a few cuts? I mean, I have no real payin' job. And I'm sure I scare him enough that he's more than willing to throw hot donuts at me while I scowl at him from across the room." The woman rested her hand on Dev's shoulder, squeezed. "Actually, that's kinda what happens right now.

"Sort of," she continued, moving towards the kitchen. "Only, he tends to be the one scowling, and I'm the one throwing the donuts. I guess it's the cat thing. You want those sweets, love?"
 

WORDS ;; 382 ;;
THOUGHTS ;; Baker Aleena is Sarcastic and Bakey ;;
TAGGED ;; Devyn Hardwick ; @alice ;;
MUSIC ;; Tony ;;
OUTFIT ;; [ Click! ] ;;
OUTFIT ;; joan by heather dale ;;

[Devyn Hardwick]

-----------

The vampire glanced at Alice as she started to leave the bakery, shrugging. "I mean. I have quite a lot of money, but..." He shrugged as Aleena spoke, risking a small smile and a nervous chuckle. "Yeah. Um. That'd be great."

He paused for a moment, closing his eyes as he took a deep breath. He was pretty sure that the woman had heard all of what they'd said, and if he was lucky, which he was, she would leave without saying anything more or trying anything. But he didn't think that was in her nature, so something else would have to intervene.

It was on that thought that Devyn heard the police sirens.

"Oh," he said, breathing a slight sigh of relief, "I bet they're looking for that woman that set someone on fire in Times Square. That was pretty illegal, after all. I bet the vampire cops are hot on her tail right now. And if they're not, they're about to be." His eyes lit up a little, watching Alice at the door. "I hope they find her before she does something drastic, like try to kill one of the Council and the thrall of another Councilman. That could end very badly in vampire territory, especially if they were to put up a fight." Devyn might not have been the most courageous man on the planet, but he knew when the universe was tilting significantly in his favor, and it was doing so at this very minute. That gave him the strength he needed to talk a little bigger than he would otherwise do, the strength to stand tall (nearly bumping his head on the ceiling) and remain calm in the face of danger.

Now that he thought about it, Devyn was pretty sure that vampires weren't vulnerable to fire. He hoped he was right. He also hoped the police would stop in front of the bakery. The sirens were approaching as they spoke.

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words || 326 ||
notes || luck powers a go-go ||
tagged || @alice, Aleena Leatherby ||
mood || confident ||
credits || better by cat and the menagerie ||

[Deleted]

[googlefont='PT Sans']

Alice had many issues - trust, eating, sleeping, but the most important one that needed to always be kept in check was her anger. For ten years, she bottled it up, and upon discovery of the ability to use fire it became her choice of outlet. Unfortunately for others, it wasn't the safest outlet, and often caused death and property damage. And she could give a f*** less about it too. Among her travels, she wondered if the police were searching for the pyro-drug dealer-killer, and if drug dealers knew who she was, but she wasn't dead yet so no was the answer.

Alice's right hand press against the bakery's door when the woman spoke. Was this woman mocking her? No, it didn't feel like it completely. What was that word... joke. Was the woman joking? Jesting around the words charity case when all in Alice's mind they were tainted words that each new family used to describe the little girl whose mother died of a heroin overdose. It was foolish to assume that the woman was jesting, but Alice concluded the woman was joking.

Alice's eyes shifted from the busy streets to the man. Her mind turning with his words, and the decision she was possibly going to make. So, he was a vampire? That explained the discomfort still toiling in her stomach. Of course, the first thought that popped into her mind was did vampires burn the same way humans did? Did their body roast, their skin curl, and the barbecuing scent of flesh similar to that of a human's? Or, did they vanish into dust upon death? That thought lead to her first option - kill them. The burning desire demanded the crimson liquid, but Alice was able to think through it; after all, it wouldn't be her greatest weapon without her the one in control. But, that would put a price on her head before she step out the bakery, and her life was short enough as it was without hunters to bring her closer to the expiration date.

Trusting against her better pyro instincts, Alice took a step away from the door, her eyes never leaving the man's. The underlying threat did not go unnoticed. If these said vampire cops did come, well, the woman wouldn't have to worry about baking for the rest of the night as her equipment and supplies would be in flames once Alice got a spark.

"Maybe that someone deserved it," Alice spoke, perhaps a tad too harsh. With her right hand, she took the packet of terribly cheap cigarettes from her leather jacket pocket, and slipped one out. Luckily, it was the second of the packet so she may not have to worry for a while. The packet went back in her pocket, and the innocent cigarette fiddle between her index and second finger. Her left hand grip the strap of her knapsack in case she needed to bolt for whatever reason. Her lips twist in a smirk. "If you have any bread you can't use anymore, I'll take it off your hands Mam. Preferably without any sugar in it."

[Aleena Leatherby]

Aleena couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at Devyn's words. Truth be told, she had no idea what the hell she had just gotten herself into, but truth be told, she didn't really care. She was a Thrall for a reason; she knew how to kill, and was designed to do so. She had to be, as Rafael depended on her to survive. So if she could defend Rafael from the likes of all who might hurt him, she knew there was no chance that this woman, who and whatever she might be, would have a chance against her.

But while she prepared herself for a possible fight, the pretentious little bitch decided to hightail it out of there. Either Devyn's words about the "vampire cops" had frightened her, or she knew that she was going to get her ass kicked if she hung around for much longer. That was how it worked. You threaten a Vampire Councilman, you got your ass kicked. You threaten a Vampire Councilman near one of the most dangerous Thralls, and you were looking to die.

Perhaps that was all the woman was, just a walking death wish.

As the woman left, Aleena chuckled, reaching up to run a hand through her hair. "Jesus Christ, Dev," she said, laughter still on her lips, "you do attract the weird ones. 'S no wonder none of your Thralls are still with us." Especially not after that last one. Jeez, and she thought Rafael had issues with people trying to betray him. Reaching over, the Thrall elbowed Dev as gently as she could (though that's not to say it was gentle by any means, but she tried.)

"You come here for any particular reason, then?" Okay, that was a dumb question, but was often dumb questions that got you through one half of a conversation to another. "Or you just tryin' to avoid the Fight Club's newest recruit?"
 

WORDS ;; 330 ;;
THOUGHTS ;; Awkward Aleena ;;
TAGGED ;; Devyn Hardwick ;;
MUSIC ;; Television ;;
OUTFIT ;; [ Click! ] ;;
OUTFIT ;; joan by heather dale ;;

[Devyn Hardwick]

-----------

Devyn held up a single finger as he watched the demon leave the bakery. "Hang on." He watched her disappear from sight, the sirens growing louder all the time, then held up five fingers outstretched. About a second later, he bent his thumb in, then his pinky, then his ring finger, then his middle, then--

Shouting and the sound of violence overwhelmed the block, a huge gout of fire narrowly missing Aleena's door. There was a lot of "Put your hands in the air!" which didn't last very long. Maybe the woman was on drugs, Devyn thought. That would explain a lot, and would be found very quickly by any officers that managed to get ahold of her. A few gunshots rang out, some screaming occurred, and then he heard a familiar, ostentatious voice calling out declarations of rage and revenge.

"So. Yeah, I tend to attract the strange sorts. That's how I ended up turned in the first place." He kicked idly at the floor. "Didn't really like me, but, uh, I did sort of get an awful lot of their money, so I suppose that was warranted. Anyway. It was more just coincidence, trying to get away from her... I think she followed me in, and I'm pretty sure she'd intended to set the place ablaze before you'd walked in. So. Good timing! Anyway, now that I'm here, I'd like to tell you that the place looks marvelous and I intend to purchase an obscene amount of donuts. All this excitement is provoking my sweet tooth."

Devyn thought about it for a minute, then added, "And I don't live too far away from here, if I'm honest, so if you've got... any sort of insect problem, I could go get one of the kids after you've closed up shop and let 'em go to town. If that's not, you know, weird or anything. Uh." He was pretty sure he'd referred to his spiders as "kids" or "babies" around Aleena before for the sake of not sounding completely weird, but he wasn't sure. "By kids I mean spiders," he said, a little more quietly. "In case I hadn't said it before." Then, his voice picking up again and chipper as ever, he said, "If you'd like to hang out a bit at my house, you know, or something, you can feel free. I feel like we don't really see each other much outside of the meetings, and I, uh, I think you're pretty neat and I'd like to be friends, if that's cool with you."

-----------

words || 426 ||
notes || dev the awkward spider nerd ||
tagged || Aleena Leatherby ||
mood || much better ||
credits || better by cat and the menagerie ||