Old Habits

[Cadmon Geller]

Empress Teta, Some Cafe, Undetermined Time

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Cadmon scowled as she took the stimstick from him before he managed to enjoy it for so much as a second, and fighting back a smirk in response to her antics. Then she rattled off the details on an elusive suspect. A mercenary, bad reputation, probably a killer. "You sure you weren't hunting for me?" He joked, leaning back into the couch while the downpour outside only grew stronger.

"How big's the score? I might know the guy." He wasn't exaggerating, Geller was familiar with a host of unsavory individuals in the world of guns-for-hire, plenty of them with sky high bounties for their arrest. Something about being in combat for the sake of money rather than service lead some to be a bit more trigger happy in places they wouldn't have been when ROE's governed their actions, like refugee camps. Jobs going that way were the main reason he'd opted for headhunting rather than soldiering.

Even the rank streets of Empress Teta were preferable to standing among the ashes of a tent city he'd been told was filled with insurgents where there had only been families. There was no debate in his mind about that. There was, however, debate over if he should plant himself here and try his hand again at making a difference in the galaxy.

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[member="Joy Erantes-do-Nascimento"]​

 

[Joy Erantes-do-Nascimento]

Empress Teta, A Cozy Cafe, Undetermined Time
Interacting with [member="Cadmon Geller"] ~ Rather Die
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"Yeah, I'm sure you do."

She didn't seem to say anything more on it though, a smarmy smirk plastered across her face. Cat-like eyes wandered back outside the window, to the bustling yet rain-soaked streets beyond, able to see just a little more than most. Couples in the rain ducking for cover, scoundrels swaggering in search of the next bar, families hurrying for the safety and sanctuary of home. Some squirming feeling made her speak up again, clearly on the same page as him, "You know," If only her mug wasn't empty, Joy could have done with a calming shot of caffeine right now, "--I haven't had a real partner since the CSF." A suggestion veiled behind a statement.

"Just an idea." An idea it might only remain, too, if he walked out right now. A part of her couldn't blame him, "Might not be as many credits as your Geno-Whatever, but..."

But the difference it could make to so many. Herself included.

 

[Cadmon Geller]

Empress Teta, Some Cafe, Undetermined Time

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He didn't say it, but he was hoping she'd ask, or at the very least indicate she was open to some sort of partnership. Even among professionals one had to be cognizant, the man next to you in a foxhole was liable to put a hole in your back if it increased his paycheck. Hell, Cadmon had been on both ends of that scenario more than once, but the point being was he didn't need to worry about that here so far as he knew. Maybe it was all an elaborate ruse by a rival syndicate to put down an enforcer who'd caused them trouble, but he highly, highly doubted that.

"Doesn't sound like a terrible idea, I could use a break from the hit jobs." Cadmon said with a shrug, half debating going for another stimstick out of spite, but stopping himself short. He liked the brand, and they weren't the easiest to come by, so he preferred to save the rest for when he could actually use them.

"So who's the targe-suspect?" He quickly corrected himself, trying to shift his mindset from that of a killer to law enforcement. It was time to get back to work on the right side of things he supposed.

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[Joy Erantes-do-Nascimento]

Empress Teta, A Cozy Cafe, Undetermined Time
Interacting with [member="Cadmon Geller"] ~ In The Night
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Her shoulders dropped with a tense exhale released. Of course, he could have said no, that was his right. But damn, was she glad he hadn't said it. There was always a level of genuity to her; simply too truthful to be anything but what she told you she was. Maybe that was a part of a liar's facade, trained into her as an officer, but what were the odds of that? Lacing her fingers together, flesh with metal, she began.

"An Epicanthix I ran into early on in my CSF career, little shorter than you, looks like a vornskr used his face for a chewtoy, dark hair, dark eyes. I know, not the best description. They call him 'Red Rye', never found out why exactly but, hey, codename's a codename. Real name was Ruy Zenn, least, that's what his records always came back as. He was kind of the 'you' before you, had to co-operate for a few investigations-- I worked Vice before I was on Homicide," Joy paused then, shrugging a little towards the ashtray, "Ever wonder why I hate those damn things, now you know. Saw some crazy chit. Anyways, Rye, he was a criminal informant for a while before he totally snapped and vanished, took some CSF assets with him. Ran drugs. High-end, crazy drugs."

Short, to the point, fairly detached. Sure sounded like Officer Valeria was briefing her partner, but a smarmy grin cut that illusion pretty quick, the return to being just Joy swift and sudden, "Haven't seen him in years, figured the Sith got him, but I think he's behind a couple Core cases of bad drugs poisoning people that have cropped up. Brilliant chemist, except the only thing he wanted to mess with was psycho-active substances." Letting out an exhale, Joy looked out the window again. Expression fairly neutral, despite the stirrings of nostalgia, remembrance and tense emotion beneath it, "So. Ever hear of him?"

 

[Cadmon Geller]

Empress Teta, Some Cafe, Undetermined Time

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So the CSF had made a habit of relying on Epicanthix mercenaries, he almost made a joke about species-profiling given he was half Epicant, but he refrained. Profiling was one of the more innocent things that had been justified by waving a a CSF badge. The name was familiar, and the way she described him conjured up the image of a face he thought he recognized, but mangled face mercenaries strung out on drugs with a penchant for backstabbing weren't exactly uncommon.

"Me before me?" He questioned, feigning offense leaning forward, a smirk on his face. "C'mon, you liked more than him."

Had to keep up the banter.

"Think I know 'im, might've worked with him on a job a couple years back. Sounds like a lovely character." He knew he might end up regretting it, but he supposed it couldn't hurt to try, he was going to help her with this. He'd see it all the way through this time too, a paranoid partner couldn't come after you with a SWAT team if you were the paranoid partner after all.

"So when and where do we start Detective?"

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[member="Joy Erantes-do-Nascimento"]​

 

[Joy Erantes-do-Nascimento]

Empress Teta, A Cozy Cafe, Undetermined Time
Interacting with [member="Cadmon Geller"] ~ In The Night
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"Maybe. At least you weren't constantly buzzed out of your mind-- Or, at least, as buzzed out as he was." Joy sighed it out, grin on her face, eyebrow raised in that way she often did when she thought he was being a little ridiculous. Or a little flirty. More than likely both.

Relief flooded her brain upon hearing his final words and her thumb swept across her nose before she spoke again, "Chit, thanks. Didn't think you'd actually do it." That was true, some part of her really had expected this to be their last meeting. Thank the stars it wouldn't be, "Was gonna see if the Teta Security Force had anything worth looking at. Last case of bad drugs following his pattern was here, after all." A rather dry pause filled the air. Joy coughed, before awkwardly muttering, "But, um, if you'd like to see what I have, that's all at my apartment here."

Way to make it sound like you're taking him home with you, genius. Her subconscious kicked her brain in annoyance.

 

[Cadmon Geller]

Empress Teta, Some Cafe, Undetermined Time

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He smirked, he couldn't be sure if she was irritated or flirting, but his money was on a bit of both. Cadmon made a habit of being inebriated, it let him cloud his mind to the sharper pangs of guilt that haunted him most of his waking hours, but the harder spice had been something he avoided. He wanted to block out the bad memories, not replace them with worse ones.

Then of course, she offered to show him to her apartment. She meant it professionally he imagined, at least for the most part, but it was good fun to watch her realize what she had just mistakenly offered. "Lead the way." He grinned, practically daring her to follow up her offer with some sort of clarification that he'd inevitably twist to his own advantage.

While most of him was simply invested in working with the detective once again, a sliver of Cadmon was curious about this mercenary gone off the rails. What had made him snap? Was it the usual like money, paranoia, and the promise of reward, or was it something far more base? Like animalistic bloodthirst. He was intrigued, if only to learn what steps he need take in order to not stray down the same path.

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[member="Joy Erantes-do-Nascimento"]​

 

[Joy Erantes-do-Nascimento]

Empress Teta, A Cozy Cafe, Undetermined Time
Bringing A Guy Home | Interacting with [member="Cadmon Geller"] ~ Revolution ~ "To live, when I've only been dreaming, get love when I've only been stealing."
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Narrowing those near-feline eyes at Geller he got what he wished, something to twist to his favour, as Joy only uttered, "Oh, bite me." Before calling him something probably nasty in Nyraanian but still stood up nonetheless, giving him time to pay and follow and all. Or maybe they were dining and ditching, who knew, at this point, Joy wasn't gonna arrest him for a little bit of that. Ancestors knew she'd done it, recently too, can't always afford that precious caf when you live gig to gig.

Her mouth twisted into a grimace as she eyed the rainy streets outside, "Oh, I should tell you, I have a pet. He might get nasty if he thinks you're a threat." In what situation her six-legged-death-machine might view Cadmon as a 'threat', she wasn't sure, but she was sure that she didn't want to spend the rest of the night stitching up his arm because Mickey got a little chomp-y.

"So just let me go in first, is what I'm saying." Not waiting for his response to all that the P.I. went to push open the cafe door, ready to brave the rainstorm.

 

[Cadmon Geller]

Empress Teta, Some Cafe, Undetermined Time

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And there was his golden opportunity, and he'd be damned if he missed it. "I mean, if you're offering." He teased, rising up from his chair and tossing the required credits for their beverages onto the table. For all his misdeeds, he'd always made a point to pay for his food. Prior to being enrolled in the academy he vaguely recalled his mother toiling away to support them in some diner, always angry that some chithead had bailed before paying. They went hungry on days like that.

"I'm pretty good with animals. Got a lot in common with 'em." ​Whether that was flirting, or a veiled , pretentious, reference to his inner demons wasn't exactly clear, even with his smug demeanor. But in truth he was being honest, back in his days as a stormtrooper they'd raised a Derkolo pup as a sort of unit mascot. It had died when some of the Republic's Jorin clones leveled their position. Funnily enough they were referred to as the 'Derkolo Unit', the bastards.

Following his partner-in-law/justice (?), he stepped into the rain, a neon glow casting itself on the two.

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[member="Joy Erantes-do-Nascimento"]​

 

[Joy Erantes-do-Nascimento]

Empress Teta, Rainswept Streets, Undetermined Time
Braving The Rains | Interacting with [member="Cadmon Geller"] ~ Revolution ~ "Can't let time keep passing me by, run down what I've always been chasing, black out every fear I've been facing."
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He made her sigh. At least that hadn't changed.

For all the chit they threw each other's way, it did boil down to a relationship of respect and admiration. A dynamic of two people forced together by circumstance and weren't keen to let go, even after a year's time. She did respect him. Maybe. No, she did. She respected the fact he had demons he might never tell her about, at least, things not meant to be spoken aloud anymore. Raising a robotic arm to block out some of the rain from hitting her face, she squinted down the street, "Ah, it's this way." Not sounding entirely confident in her assessment or sense of direction the P.I. set off down the street anyhow, careful to stick to the sides to stand under the shelter of overhangs and market stall tarps.

"Where are you staying here, on Teta? Just curious." She half-turned back to look at him as she spoke, gaze still narrowed to help with seeing through the rain -- Though it doubled as a grimacing glare in his direction anyway. Two for one.

 

[Cadmon Geller]

Empress Teta, Some Cafe, Undetermined Time

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He stuck close to her, the cheap tarps of cheaper vendors providing the slightest modicum of shelter from the strengthening downpour. She was right about the core of their dynamic, he admired her for being what he couldn't be because of circumstance and life choices, he respected what she stood for even when it was a tad naive.

She also didn't pry into the reasons behind his waking nightmare, she simply respected that he had a past and let it lie. She didn't need all the details, she'd look at him differently if she knew.

When he looked around, no matter where he went, he saw the repercussions of his actions. In serving the Sith he'd wrought so much wrong a thousand lifetimes wouldn't have been long enough to even begin to atone. Cadmon had resigned himself to the darkness, knowing he could never leave. Funnily enough though, down here in the muck, with her, it almost felt like he could. Not that he could put that into words, or would even if he was able.

"Just some hole, wasn't staying long." He answered above the rain, eyes set on the same building he'd eyed before. The one he'd spilled blood in, just like so many other places. He couldn't escape the past fully, even here, even with her.

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[member="Joy Erantes-do-Nascimento"]​

 

[Joy Erantes-do-Nascimento]

Empress Teta, Rainswept Streets, Undetermined Time
Putting Faith In Him | Interacting with [member="Cadmon Geller"] ~ Revolution ~ "All my wolves, begin to howl, wake me up, the time is now, oh, can you hear the drumming?"
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It was good that Joy firmly believed in the rehabilitation system. Everyone deserved that chance, the chance for something once thought unobtainable. Especially him. If she could offer it, all the better.

"Ah," Her gaze tipped upwards then, to the clouds above, "Renting a place, here. Above-board. The usual." No surprise she had little stomach for finding some scummy place to stay. Her eyes eventually fell to the same building he was looking at, the meaning lost on her but perhaps some part of her recognizing the significance, "You hear about Commenor?"

"Damn shame."

Another sigh slipped from her throat and she moved to keep going, leading towards a far-off apartment block. It looked nice from the outside, but who knew what terrors lurked within. Her dog, for one.

 

[Cadmon Geller]

Empress Teta, Some Cafe, Undetermined Time

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Cadmon, in the midst of murdering people for money and getting blackout drunk had almost forgotten about the Commenor. Another burned world, millions dead, millions more robbed of a life greater than simply scraping by. He'd been a part of that once, of that machine, that monster. His fists clenched and his chest became tight. He was on Korriban, heat washing over him as the Silver Jedi bombs shook the very earth. The sandstorms melded with the flames, surrounding him, drowning him. All he could hear were the screams.

Then came the flashes where he'd been the destroyer, rather than the destroyed. Those were so much worse.

Suddenly he jerked out of it, having halted between two of the tarps with rain pouring onto his head, running down his face. His eyes were filled with terror and shame. "Not the first time, or the last." He mumbled in response, moving to catch up to her. Cadmon's eyes came to lay on her abode. It was nice, on the outside at least. Families congregated in rooms, finding comfort in each other's company, safe from the outside. At least they felt they were.

It was a home. For them, for her, he wondered if he'd ever have a place like that. He wondered if his family still did? Or were they victims of the vicious cycle of violence that had consumed the galaxy for eons? Did they remember him? Did they miss him?

Did they care?

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[member="Joy Erantes-do-Nascimento"]​

 

[Joy Erantes-do-Nascimento]

Empress Teta, A Modest Apartment Complex, Undetermined Time
Holding Faith In Him | Interacting with [member="Cadmon Geller"] ~ Revolution ~ "Oh, there's a revolution coming-- Wild things that turn me on, drag my dark into the dawn; oh, can you hear the drumming?"
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For a split-second, her turned gaze caught Geller's, and Joy's world grew just slightly dimmer. She was no stranger to that look, the way the gaze unfocused as something far darker came out to play.

That was a mistake, to mention that poor planet.

If she searched enough she probably could have learned more, pried into his past forcibly. Even recalling the basics of his file that she'd glanced at long ago when she'd gone in with the intent to arrest him in Coruscant's underbelly was difficult due to the time and the no doubt limited information the CSF had been given at the time. Joy's eyes flicked away before he hopefully noticed that she saw, looking back to the building and silently echoing the sentiment.

"I'm on the first floor, c'mon." She'd taken a step back to idly nudge his side and keep him going, even if he did start to go at the same time. Relatively in sync, relatively in tandem. The lobby of the building was unremarkable in every way, even the way the receptionist dipped their head to Joy and idly gazed to Geller with an expression that read it all. Curious.

Avoiding the elevators she snaked down a hall, counting down doors until she stopped to one at the end of the hall, "Home sweet home." At least, on this planet.

 

[Cadmon Geller]

Empress Teta, A Respectable Apartment Complex, Undetermined Time

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The nudge got him through the doors and inside, away from the rain, and that damn building. His hard gaze didn't come over to the woman at the desk, he simply kept them on Joy. Following her down the hall he recalled a dingier, more miserable hall. He remembered racing up and down it's corridors with his brother and the other children. They didn't have the luxuries of the rich in Sith space, they barely had toys, but they'd made do. It was a happy memory, one of few.

As they walked he took in the sounds; adults laughing, children bickering, what he could only assume was a young couple mid screaming match. It was a lot like how he'd remembered these places being when they weren't in a warzone. Funny that he recalled that, but not what color eyes his mother or father had, or even what their names were at times. It had been so long.

"Time to meet your roommate?" He asked, his voice lightening as he scrambled to take his mind to any subject other than the one it was on. Cadmon was genuinely curious what kind of pet lay in wait, he only hoped it didn't have wings. Flying creatures were a whole lot harder to avoid if they didn't like you, in theory at least. Or maybe he'd just had bad experiences. Regardless, Cadmon found himself rooting for the mystery creature to be of the canine variety.

There was probably comedy somewhere in the fact he'd been worried about the potential of guard dogs a little over an hour ago before violently murdering seven people, and now he was hoping one was waiting on the other side of the door. Yeah, comedy was there, somewhere.

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[member="Joy Erantes-do-Nascimento"]​

 

[Joy Erantes-do-Nascimento]

Empress Teta, A Modest Apartment Complex, Undetermined Time
Chaperoning Two Killers | Interacting with [member="Cadmon Geller"] ~ Revolution ~ "Body aches, I'm bound in chains, well there's a fire in my veins."
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The way Joy opened the door to her apartment was like she was about to breach with SWAT on her back. Maybe it was a habit from her days with the CSF, but it quickly became evident that it wasn't. It was because something with six legs was jumping on the door, desperately excited to see her, occasional yips and whines heard.

"Okay-Okay-- Mickey, calm down." Joy grit out, using her own door as a momentary shield before she put a hand into the foyer of her apartment, letting the animal get a gauge for her presence and relax knowing she was home. Briefly, she looked up to Cadmon with a 'see-what-I-deal-with?' expression, before finally moving to open the door, "Sit, you silly thing, I know, I'm home, it's exciting."

A six-legged canine, definitely a large dog, proceeded to flop to the ground, large and black and relatively intimidating. Well, it would have been, if it didn't have a large tongue lolling out happily, panting out of sheer excitement for his owner to be home. Then sharp hunter eyes locked right on Geller, the colour of molten gold. For a second that telltale seriousness of an animal deciding if this new element was a threat or an ally filled Mickey's expression. Joy seemed a little stiff like she was waiting for the bloodbath to begin.

That was why she let out a exhale when the 'Vornskrill' tripped over its own feet to approach him, sniff his hand, and that tongue rolled back out to lick it.

 

[Cadmon Geller]

Empress Teta, A Respectable Apartment Complex, Late Probably

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He did his best to stifle a laugh as his compatriot breached her own home, thinking of some sort of jab to make at her expense. Then he realized why. The six legged canine was at least a relative on the vonskr, likely one of the GenePals he'd heard of at least once, the natural variety were the beast that the lord of the Sith and House Zambrano took his name from. The man who had effectively ruled Cadmon's destiny for his entire adult life, who was behind almost every terrible order he'd ever carried out. The dog may as well have symbolized all that Geller hated, or at least it should've.

Rather than scowl, Cadmon let 'Mickey' lick his palm before squatting down to the animals level, a soft smirk on his face. With a surprising gentleness, he scratched the dog's ears happily. "You made it sound like there was somethin to be afraid of." He chuckled as he petted the animal for a moment before standing again and looking to Joy, some of guilt threatening to crush him seemingly removed for now.

"So," Cadmon began, eyes scanning the admittedly cozy apartment space. "This is what a home is like?" He questioned, surprisingly serious. Since he'd been a child, his life had been spent in one barracks after another, staging ground after staging ground, chitty tents and run down hotel rooms, nothing quite this...warm. He'd never been in a place like this unless he'd kicked open the door with the intent to kill those inside. Years after the One Sith, and the basics of normal life were still utterly foreign to him.

He wondered if that was sad.

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[member="Joy Erantes-do-Nascimento"]​

 

[Joy Erantes-do-Nascimento]

Empress Teta, A Modest Apartment Complex, Undetermined Time
Tending To One | Interacting with [member="Cadmon Geller"] ~ Revolution ~ "Like every king who lost a crown and all those years are history now."
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"You haven't had to deal with him when he's pissed," The Nyraanian noted a little sourly as she took note of how at ease the two were already, "It's like holding back a bear." Mickey might have looked lanky but he was strong, incredibly so, enough to easily topple a grown man without a single issue. His point about a home led to her eyes finally wander, to assess the space she'd been living in.

It was definitely cozy, a one-room studio space with large windows and cramped amenities, but it seemed well-loved and kept relatively clean. There were three caf machines piled in the corner of the counter which seemed to be taking up the predominant amount of space in the kitchen. The living room was small and just a pair of couches, one of which looked rougher than the other -- Definitely for the dog, judging by the depression marks in the cushions and the general abundance of scrape and scratch marks. A bed was tucked in the corner right by the window, atmospherically shrouded with the shadows from the rainfall still occuring outside and running down the transparisteel surface.

Then the gravity of his words dawned on her fully and she turned to look at him with an expression of momentary concern, "What, never been in one of these?" She'd meant for it to sound a little joking, of course, he'd have had to owned a place like this before.

Right?

 

[Cadmon Geller]

Empress Teta, A Respectable Apartment Complex, Late Probably

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The idea of the jovial animal at his legs being angry seemed impossible, but given its apparent muscle mass, and the species it came from's reputation he didn't think she was exaggerating all that much. It made Cadmon appreciate that he'd always done rather well with animals, having to see the bad side of them was never a pleasant experience. There were no laws that told them how to act when angered, hungry, or otherwise stimulated to act aggressively, they held no regard for morality in those moments, something that was hauntingly familiar to him.

"Only to kill whoever was in it." He responded, taking a look around the space. It spoke of a life lived, of choices made based on one's own beliefs and not the dogma of a lord who cared little if they lived or died. More than that it was something that was truly her's, not something issued, stolen, or bought with ill-gotten gains, no one could take that away from her. Unless she didn't pay her taxes or something. Cadmon had never had that. Not even once.

He supposed that was strange, abnormal, and again, probably a little sad. It didn't bother him he supposed, plenty of things in his life were technically sad. The man had never been in a relationship of the serious sort, he'd never done most anything associated with living a normal life, except maybe having a particularly rebellious adolescence. The academy had been a boring place in the time between where learning had become uninteresting and combat training had yet to be implemented into their regimen. Cadmon had acted out, so what?

And that was the closest he'd come to normalcy since age seven.

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[member="Joy Erantes-do-Nascimento"]​

 

[Joy Erantes-do-Nascimento]

Empress Teta, A Modest Apartment Complex, Undetermined Time
Caring For One | Interacting with [member="Cadmon Geller"] ~ Trouble ~ "We were at the table by the window with the view, casting shadows, the sun was pushing through."
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There wasn't any pity or remorse in Joy's eyes as they fell on Cadmon, only a sort of hollow regret. Shrugging off the coat that had kept most of the rain off her clothes she stole another glance, hanging it up on a hook that was just a bit too high up for her.

Ah, well. Damn it.

"You can stay here, if you want. Got a spare couch, I don't snore, he's got good manners." His allusions to his own accommodations had given her the impression that perhaps somewhere like this would leave him far better off, somewhere warm with people who wouldn't shoot him in the back. It had nothing to do with anything emotional-- At least, Joy told herself that-- And had everything to do with the fact that it was the humane thing to do. It was abundantly and painfully clear he hadn't gotten the luxury of experiencing this yet.

A sharp snap of her fingers lured Mickey over to his master, the creature weaving through her legs briefly as he went to the directed couch that was clearly his by divine right, settling in atop it and looking to the pair over his snout. Outside the rain kept pelting down, running down the window in trails and streaks, connecting and disconnecting... "I'll get the stuff I've on the guy, anyway."