Private Being Neighborly

[Evangeline Tallot]

She blinked a few times, and her gaze shift back to him. There was a moment where she just stared at him, clearly confused as to why he would answer her in such a way. "Well, to put it quite bluntly, yes you do." she answered him, but was quick to hold up a hand to clarify. "In the sense that you're handsome, and fairly charming. So why wouldn't you be the type?"

But his following statement made Angie's cheeks pinken just a little. "I...what? The only woman in your life?" While the context was questionable, Angie immediately felt a flush of delight flare through her. Strange, she didn't even know this guy, and yet hearing him say something so odd made her feel good. It made her feel accepted...Odd.

"Alright, well its just a basic set of rules. Wasn't meant to cause offense or anything..."

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Tag: | Chanter Straye |

 

[Chanter Straye]

He just blinked at her incredibly confused. The female likes you. Which he sort of guessed just from scent, but why? So he ignored the bear in the back of his head. “Because they are noisy while the men and women who frequent them are just as frequently stupid. Only way I would go there is if I am with someone who needed protection or was the owner who paid me. Otherwise I could just as easily find better music and maybe better company elsewhere. While saving the money.”

It came out with a soft growl, like a grumpy old man. He snorted and shook his head with a soft chuckle. “It's your territory Miss Tallot… My only value comes from how useful I am and how much money I can pay you. You won’t offend me.. Well... Except maybe my nose or my ears. Otherwise there isn’t enough of me left that is that soft or squishy.”

There really wasn’t enough information she could glean to really do more than just annoy him, maybe. So offense? That was something only weak fools were prone to who were that insecure or that stupid to be open for attack.

Evangeline Tallot

 

[Evangeline Tallot]

"Whoa," a frown tugged down the corners of Angie's mouth for the first time and she raised a hand, palm out towards him as if to ward him away. "Okay, that'll be enough of that miss Tallot thing." she told him with a shake of the head. "Angie is fine. While I can appreciate the respect that comes with referring to someone in such a way, I'm just Angie."

That being said, she dropped her hand and turned back to finish drying the dishes that were left so that they could then be put away. "So is there anything else you need? I noticed that you didn't come with much, but that doesn't always mean anything." He could have stuff stashed in another place after all, but somehow Angie didn't think that was the case.

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Tag: | Chanter Straye |

 

[Chanter Straye]

It wasn’t necessarily about respect, but distance. Yes, she had his respect, but for him keeping distance was habit. Reluctantly he would comply. “As you wish… Angie.”

He then braced his hands on the counter at either side and looked over at her again. “How much you behind and how much you need to cover this month? I smelled the most recent tenant, he hasn’t been gone that long and I bet had stayed long enough to become a problem.”

She did him a kindness, the least he could do was make sure she wasn’t having money trouble.

Evangeline Tallot

 

[Evangeline Tallot]

Well that was certainly right to the point, now wasn't it? Not that the pair of them had seemed to have a problem with that, considering the conversation that they had just had. So, to keep up with this bought of honesty, once the plates that she had, had in her hands were put away, Angie turned to face him again. She leaned against the counter, bracing her hands against it to support herself more.

"You smelled the last tenant?" she questioned him, frowning slightly. "Is there some place I missed? I thought I had cleaned the place really well..." Little did she know that, that wasn't the case at all. But her head shook and she sighed. "I'm not behind yet," she told him truthfully. "But if things keep on like they are, I'll get behind on property tax. Utilities are already taken care of, so that's not a problem right now." She was covered for right now, but that could change in an instant if she didn't get the apartment income coming in.

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Tag: | Chanter Straye |

 

[Chanter Straye]

Chanter shook his head. "I have a keen sense if smell, so much so I can smell who has lived where I do now. I can tell there is no rot or mould. I could even tell what you had for a meal. Were I to change shape I could tell more details, but as a man I can track a bakery from ten or more miles away. I just couldn't tell you what kind of bakery it is. Hell, I can tell you've been living here a while, but that your scent recently started to change."

Probably too much information so he clammed up immediately. People tended to look at you funny when they find out things like this and he didn't even know why he had spoken at such lengths. Probably the food or maybe he was that tired or something. All he knew was that he'd talked more to her than anyone he could remember.

Evangeline Tallot

 

[Evangeline Tallot]

"Wait, wait, back up." Her head shook and she had lifted one of her hand much the same way she had done earlier on in their conversation. "Change shape?" she squint across the short distance between them and her fingers still against the counter behind her drummed against it one time. "I'm going to need for you to clarify just what you mean by that..."

Maybe it was personal, maybe it wasn't. Or maybe she had let a crazy person into her home and into the apartment next door - though that didn't seem to be the case at all. She was pretty decent at spotting crazy in a crowd and in individuals, and he didn't seem the sort. So, she waited calmly for an explanation and would take it from there.

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Tag: | Chanter Straye |

 

[Chanter Straye]

Explanations were kind of useless, even if he could figure out how. So he took stock of the room and casually moved the table out of the way into a corner. He looked at the space again and sighed, without the table would probably be enough. He then without explanation, mainly because they were synthetic materials, took off his boots and shirt before she could protest.

The next instant, something white and big filled the room. Two thousand five hundred pounds of bear stood on all fours swallowing her livingroom and part of the kitchen in snow white furred inches. Black eyes regarded her quietly and his head turned to sniff something, unfortunately it was near the pepper and he sneezed. The bear then sat his rump down and licked its nose turning its head to watch her again.

Now that he was in this form he could tell far more details about her scent than he did before. For one thing he could smell the shift in her scent wasn’t due to sickness. Nor was it due to substances, it was something else though what was a mystery. Before he could tell that her scent was soft, like the smell of candy almost, but that it had a new note of something that warmed the nose. Now he could tell if she was sick, but this was not the case.

Problem was, he worried now if she was going to allow him to stay or not. He also hoped she would scream…

Evangeline Tallot

 

[Evangeline Tallot]

There was no denying the surprise on Angie's face when there was suddenly a bear in her kitchen. She had been curious when he moved the table, had started to question but thought better of it, and when he peeled off his shirt? She couldn't help but to stare. A flush of pink colored her cheeks and across her nose and while she tried to avert her gaze, she couldn't - though that was because of what had come too quickly after.

She was shocked, very much so, and it was obvious in the way she sank more closely to the counter behind her. Yet she did not panic. There was no shriek, no throwing things, no fit. She just stared, completely stunned by what had just happened and what was standing in front of her now.

"I....Y-you're...." she closed her eyes and opened them a couple of times, but nothing changed. So she closed her eyes and cleared her throat, took a moment, then tried again. "You're a bear..." she pointed out, mistress of the obvious in that moment. But, she was used to all sorts of crazy things from Force users, so this wasn't too fetched for her, really.

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Tag: | Chanter Straye |

 

[Chanter Straye]

The bear opened it’s mouth and she’d see pearly white fangs. The huff he made was definitely laughter. His paws sat neatly in front of him, head bowed a little to keep from bumping the ceiling which made his back hunch a little. If she expected him to smell like some wild beast, he didn’t, not really. He did have a musky scent, but it wasn’t unappealing, a lot like citrus really. Not even his breath smelled bad.

This transformation might then explain why he chewed through meals the way he did. To fuel the fangs he could change into. His paws were massive things, one could imagine his jet black claws doing serious damage. Yet he didn’t move to change back just yet, he was smelling his surroundings while letting her get used to him in this shape. Odds were good she’d catch sight of Kalos, on the rare night he took to his own skin. Would he fit through doors? No, but if she ever walked into the apartment one night she might.

Better for her to get a good look now and have less fear than walking into a room and suddenly hello bear.

Evangeline Tallot

 

[Evangeline Tallot]

"Did you...did you just laugh at me?" Angie squint across the distance at him, but it did the work and broke the tension. She smiled and shook her head just a little, but she didn't try to get any closer to him. Just because she didn't freak out didn't mean that she wasn't both impressed and intimidated by the beast in her kitchen.

"Well...this explains a whole lot." she stated, and then folded her arms beneath her bust line as she gazed at him. He was an impressive sight for sure - scary as hell, but impressive regardless. "So...how long have you been this way?" Her brow creased, "I mean...I guess you can't answer that right now, can you?"

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Tag: | Chanter Straye |

 

[Chanter Straye]

His mother hadn’t had a whole lot to teach him, perhaps because she thought she would have time. He just remembered the bits and pieces she had told him or tried to show him. He could speak in this form, sort of. She’d feel a soft brush against her mind as he made another huffing sound, laughing again. --I can, it is hard, but I can. Been able to change shape since I hit puberty.--

She’d sense the strain too, from that brief touch. He hadn’t done this except a few rare times. Maybe if he did it more often it would be easier, but up till now there hadn’t been a point. It would also be harder to hide things, mind to mind he learned made lying or hiding difficult.

Evangeline Tallot

 

[Evangeline Tallot]

Despite the fact that she hadn't reacted negatively to anything thus far, the touch to her mind caught Angie completely off guard. That startled her, and she ducked briefly as if it would help before pressing a hand against her chest to calm the racing of her heart in reaction to the startlement. She took a moment to breathe, then opened her eyes again to look at him once again.

"I gotcha." she assured him. "But thank you for making the effort to tell me." She could feel that it was difficult to do, and while she didn't know the strain personally, she could just imagine what the full feeling was like rather than the backlash she was feeling.

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Tag: | Chanter Straye |

 

[Chanter Straye]

He changed back a breath later, he grabbed his boots and pulled them on before he stood up with his shirt in hand. She’d see he had some scars, a few on his arms, a couple on his ribs, a burn along the top of his shoulder. No tattoos, but definitely he lived a life of danger to be marred so. He pulled on the shirt and rubbed the back of his neck. “At least you didn’t scream… Was worried you would.” Though he did note she was pressed against the counter top and sighed softly. “I should probably leave…”

Evangeline Tallot

 

[Evangeline Tallot]

When he changed back, Angie's posture relaxed, though it hadn't been the bear that had made her tense up. It had been the touch to her mind that she wasn't at all used to that had done as such. Still, seeing him change back to his human skin caused her to calm and she looked him over while she had the opportunity to do so. She took in the scars, and had started to reach a hand out to touch out of curiosity - but stopped when he spoke up.

Her hand dropped and then her head tilted a bit to the side. "You don't have to leave, but I'm not going to stop you if that's what you're wanting to do..."

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Tag: | Chanter Straye |

 

[Chanter Straye]

He shifted feeling rather awkward. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do at this point, but he turned and brought the table back to exactly where he had pulled it from. This was the least thing he could do for her and after the chairs were set he sighed. “I’ll set out in the morning and get some work. I can’t promise steady immediately, but I am sure there is plenty of temp stuff. I’m gunna look for a lot of night crew jobs, since I am more awake at night. I’ll keep you posted though…”

He turned and headed out the door, but paused before he cleared the threshold. “Um… Goodnight?”

He wasn’t sure if this was an actual thing, but it was worth a shot.

The next morning Angie would find that everything past her door was clean. The more she walked, the more she would find that this hadn’t stopped just in their hall. He had, by hand, cleaned everything he could think to clean, all while she had slept. On her toolbox was a note, though the handwriting looked like it was penned by a child, at least the words were spelled correctly.

Found a decent temp job just before sunrise, I’ll be a couple of days, but you’ll have first and last for sure. Hope you don’t mind that I cleaned.

Straye

True to his word however upon his return was indeed first and last, along with enough to recoup her losses. No telling how much he actually kept for himself, but he refused to take it back once he gave it to her. The gig lasted about a month, he’d be gone a few days and then be back a few days and then be gone again. Once done however he was off again finding temp work, but at least she knew he was a man of his word.

She’d get a knock on her door a few hours before dinner time.

Evangeline Tallot

 

[Evangeline Tallot]

It had been quite the ride since Chanter had wandered his way into Angie's life. While she of course had to occasionally check in with the Hellknights, or go to fix something that was in need of repairs that only her hands could fix, she found herself home more than she ever really had been. The company of her neighbor was far more enjoyable than any tenant in the past - aside from her brother who had lived there back when they had gone in and first bought the place - and the fact that Chan was helpful on top of it all was an added bonus.

The apartment, and even the shop being clean all of the time was beyond her. While by no means a slob, Ange didn't have time on her hands to scrub the shop down. Pick it up, organize it from time to time, yeah absolutely. But her mind had been beyond blown when she had gotten up to find things in such ship shape.

Meals together had become a thing, whether it was lunch or dinner depending on Chanter's schedule. Typically it was in Angie's house, and she didn't at all mind cooking nor spending the time with her neighbor. The pair of them compliment each other the way friends should, and it had been far easier for Angie to let her very few walls down to become such quick friends with someone. She enjoyed their meals together, their time spent, and just having him around. The fact that he was a huge ass bear trapped in a man's skin was insanely easy to accept for her, and she hadn't made fuss about it one time. Asked questions sure, but never freaked or fussed.

She had also gotten used to him being gone for whatever jobs he was doing too. So when there was a knock at her door, her brow creased and she looked up from the screen she had been watching to stare at the door for a short time. Then she was up and carefully padded her way to the door so that she could peek through and see who was on the other side, and when she saw? A sigh of relief left her lips and she opened the door for him. "Well hey there, stranger."

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Tag: | Chanter Straye |

 

[Chanter Straye]

Chanter filled the doorway looking like he had dressed in the dark like usual. This time it was hideous and faded neon colors, the kind of throw aways you’d find at thrift stores or anywhere second hand. It all clashed horribly, but then she would notice four bulging bags in one hand and a beat up cold-container used in bulk storage. “You are always treating me to your meat, so when I landed a good deal on some, I thought I’d treat you to mine this time.”

Which didn’t explain why he had grocery bags. “Oh, noticed the other day you were running low on stuff so I swung by this place I sniffed out that carried the same quality stuff you get. Remember how I found that butcher? Well, he gave me a tip and I got a job working at a meat processing facility, which is how last night, I scored part of a shipment someone canceled on. Even came with these cooling cube things, cuz neither of us could store it all ourselves.”

He walked in and set it down with a sizeable thump, then shook out his arm. “I have about sixty some-odd of these stacked up on the roof, gunna move them inside tonight after work. Also gunna see if there are any left over, but was kinda surprising that the boss didn’t just turn around and sell it.”

He set the bags on the counter as he talked, then turned and flashed her a smile. “I also have an ulterior motive… So, I was watching this holo and one of the commercials talked about this barbecue, something about dry and wet… Anyways it looked good and I got the raw stuff all fixed up so that today I could bring the meat, and it over. If we don’t have things to cook it on I could probably rig something up. Can’t cook worth a damn, but taking trash and making it spit fire, that I can do.”

Oh yes he could. He was very good at taking things apart, the putting them back together again was the problem. He was always willing to help her take things to pieces, but got bored afterwards because putting it together again was more tedious. So him rigging a barbecue together was definitely possible, because on the few occasions he put things together again, he did it perfectly. You just had to keep his attention from wandering.

He was like a kid when it came to food. Nothing snagged his attention better. So hearing him talk about food, not to mention all the meat safe and snug up top, was like listening to a kid talk about candy. This was probably a moment where she would see him truly excited, not to mention he thought of her to share with.

Evangeline Tallot

 

[Evangeline Tallot]

He had come right on in, which Angie had expected of course, but...what was he carrying? Never mind what he had said about sharing his meat... She shut the door and followed him, brow creased to where it nearly met in the middle as she stopped just behind him. She listened to him, listened to him explain his job and that all of this was....was meat? "Holy hell..." she looked at what he had and creased brows became lofted ones. "Well, alright. Um," A hand was placed against her forehead and a noise was made in her throat.

"We can get one of those deep freezing units, yeah? And as for the pit you're wanting to build?" Ange's gaze shifted from the products brought home to Chanter instead. "Go for it. If you can find the spare parts to do it in the shop? You're welcome to them." Its not like she was going to use anything just laying around, after all. Better for it to go to a good cause.

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Tag: | Chanter Straye |

 

[Chanter Straye]

He grinned widely. “With these you don’t have to, they are already kept preserved. Like mini stasis pods, but for food quality meat.” A careful distinction he made since anything flesh was technically meat, but not all flesh was meant to be eaten. “I already picked over the parts, just in case, just got to throw it all together. Wanna do it on the roof or would you rather somewhere else? Want me to help stuff your fridge?”

Aside from his bed and a few appliances, staples, groceries and odds and ends, he didn’t have anything much in the way of ‘furniture’ in his room. He ate meals with her, so just paid her extra for the luxury. He didn’t even have a table, he used hers or her worktables if they were open.

Evangeline Tallot