fandomtownies | Friday at Red's and somthing's up

On her way over to the Perkolator for her morning double shot, Shane catches sight of an oddly familiar large red blur out of the corner of her eye. She stops and takes a few steps backwards and looks into the shop window, smiling as she recognizes one of her customers from the previous evening. She glances up at the shop sign for a moment before making up her mind.

"Hi, um... hope I'm not bothering you," she says quietly as she pokes her head in the door. She's dressed in a crisp white men's shirt with a black and red striped tie knotted loosely at her throat, torn jeans that have seen better days and her black sneakers.

"Hello, Shane." Red said with a grin. Thankful for the distraction, he folded his paws on top of the paper and gave her his undivided attention. "You're not bothering me at all. Come in!"

"Kay," her smile was faintly bashful at the edges as she stepped into the shop. As she approached the counter, she could see two smaller creatures much like Red tumbling around on the floor together. She chuckled. "Cute. Are they yours?"

He looked over at the two cubs who had taken to occupying themselves by playing with a paper bag, one inside, the other outside and trying to get inside. Red's expression grew fond and he nodded. "They can be a pawful at times."

Shane leaned over the counter and watched them with an oddly wistful smile on her face. "They're sweet," she murmured.

"Feel free to take them home," Red said affectionately. "When they get you up at 3 am to play, they aren't quite so cute."

As if on cue, one of the cubs suddenly found Red's tail terribly fascinating and leapt up to gnaw on it. Red's good eye visibly winced but he didn't otherwise move. "Their teeth are getting sharper."

He shifted on his stool and it successfully dislodged the cub who found the empty coffee can even more interesting than Red's tail. "So, what brings you out and about today?"

Shane shrugged as she stepped just behind the counter and took a seat on the floor, smiling as one of the cubs padded over to sniff at her curiously. She held out her hand, which was also sniffed.

"I was on my way to get coffee," she said, a slightly thoughtful note in her voice. She worried on her bottom lip for a moment and looked up at him. "Something's going down, isn't it?" She asked, faded green eyes not reflecting fear or panic, just a strange kind of certainty.

Jumping down from his stool, he padded over to the storefront door and looked out of the glass. "It's something unidentifiable in the air. Something's...off," Red shook his head and turned back to face Shane. "There was nothiing in the paper that I could read."

She nodded. "I could feel it when I was walking outside," she replied, quietly agreeing with him.

Shane let out a soft chuckle as the cub who'd been sniffing her hopped up into her lap and clamped his teeth down on her tie. Well, at least it's not my hair... that would have sucked.

She soon sobered, though, as she looked back up at Red. "It wouldn't be," she said as she shrugged, her tone pensive. "I mean, what would they say?"

"It would depend on the newspaper, I think." Red padded over and flopped into the floor with Shane. "I was hoping to get some idea though, something that just didn't 'seem' right, if you get me." He licked a paw and pulled it over his blind eye. "Something out of the ordinary."

"Well... like what?" She asked, shooting him a curious look as she petted the cub's head. He was still alternately biting or batting at her tie as she and Red spoke. She chuckled. "I mean, pretty much everything is out of the ordinary around here, man."

He chuffled and scratched slowly at an ear. "I don't know what I would be looking for but I feel certain I would know it when I see it." An idea occurred to him and he twisted around back to his feet.

Red disappeared behind the counter where there were sounds of digging and clunking and a bit of jingling. It was then silent until he came back around the counter with something in his mouth.

Placing them at Shane's knee, he flopped back down again. "Take those. Theyr'e supposed to bring the wearer luck and safety in time of need."

On the floor by her were two silver, solid circlette, bracelets, carved with unrecognizable glyphs around the circumferences.

Shane picked up one of the bracelets and turned it over in her hands, eyes widening as she studied the beautiful craftsmanship. Complex designs, but at the same time, very clean. "Thanks, but... I don't have much money," she replied with a slight shrug, her thumb tracing the intricate engravings in the metal.

"It's a gift," Red said with a grin. "Indulge me. If the protection is not needed, they would still look good around your wrists."

Shane looked over at him, obviously considering the offer. It seemed it would make him happy if she took them and... if the feeling in the air outside was anything to go by, she probably would need some kind of protection. Though, from what, she had no idea.

After a moment, she nodded and smiled as she picked up the other bracelet from the floor and held them together side by side so that she could study the engravings.

"Thank you," she murmured sincerely.

"Besides," he said, walking over to her. "It'll be a nice trade for the cost of the tie." Red picked up the cub by the scruff of the neck. A brief tug of war ended when Red gave a warning growl and the cub hung curled up and hanging from Red's teeth.

He walked to the counter and set the cub down, nosing him back there with a gentle tap.

Shane chuckled as she slipped her index finger under her tie and examined the damage: it was full of fang punctures and tears and soaked in drool. She wrinkled her nose a bit, but after a moment, she began laughing heartily as she leaned back against the side of the counter.

"Thank you," she said, still chuckling as slipped her tie off and laid it down on the floor beside her. She unbuttoned the top couple of buttons of her shirt, loosening the material from around her throat to adjust her look slightly and make it more casual, since she was now lacking a tie. Well, at least one without bitemarks and drool.

She slipped a bracelet on each of her wrists, feeling the cool metal making contact with her skin as she tugged the buttoned cuffs of her shirt down in place over them. Something about the coolness of them against her skin seemed to dispell a bit of the uneasy feeling she was still trying to shake off from having been outside.

Pleased she took his gift, Red went back to the tie and stared down at it. "Is it salvagable?"

Once she'd tugged her right sleeve back into place, she picked up her tie again and looked at it. "Probably not," she said with a small sheepish smile. "But it's totally cool, though. I got it at a thrift store. Which means I owe you ... whatever these cost minus, like, five bucks." She held up her left arm and tugged her sleeve down just slightly, revealing the bracelet there.

"No. Gift, remember?" Red tilted his head to inspect the bracelets on Shane's arms. "They were made for you, look how they resonante on you. It would be criminal to charge you."

Shane glanced at him for a moment and then looked back at the bracelets. They'd certainly seemed a lot bigger when she'd been holding them in her hands, but as soon as she'd put them on, it felt as though they had conformed to the circumference of her own wrists. "What do you mean resonate?" She asked, eyes narrowing slightly. "Where did you find these? You didn't make them yourself?"

"I come across things in my travels. They find their way to those who should own them." With a lick of his snout, he snickered. "I'm simply a...broker?"

Shane let out a huff of laughter. "Right," she said, amusement making her eyes twinkle. "A broker."

She drew her knees up and rested her left arm against her thigh, studying the bracelet. It seemed to have a strange sort of glow about it that she hadn't noticed before when she'd just been holding them. Very faint, but still very much there. She reached out with her right hand and extended her index finger, smoothing it over the brushed silver of the bracelet. It felt faintly warm to the touch of that hand, but still felt cool on her wrist. Man, that's wild.

"I don't know if I should be happy these were meant for me or nervous," she said with another chuckle, though there was no trace of nervousness in her voice, only good humor.

Red stretched out in the floor next to her, watching in interest as she inspected the bracelets. He had found those in a tucked away stall in India. An old woman chased him down the street at night, insisting he take them.

He was never one to argue in the face of something that seemed to be destined to happen. So he took the bracelets with a thank you and held on to them.

A few times he thought about selling them but it never seemed right to. Now, he understood why. “The divine provides for us, even when we don’t know we are in need.”

"Mmm," she hummed noncommittally. Shane's mother had been a rather bad Catholic but Shane herself hadn't been to a service or to confession since she was ten years old. Her communication with anything remotely divine had been ... infrequent, at best.

"Something about them... they feel... familiar," she said quietly, creases forming between her brows. She glanced up at him and gave him a faintly self-conscious smile as she shrugged. "I don't know."

“It doesn’t surprise me, they are yours,” he remarked casually. “You’ll know how to use them if you are ever in need.”

((ooc: they’re charmed to allow her to be invisible when she’s in danger.

And I’m heading home and will be about an hour before I can respond again.))

Shane shot a slightly quizzical smile his way, but nodded all the same. "I just hope I won't be in need any time soon," she murmurs with a grin.

((ooc: ooh! very neat! :D

And - no problem :D))

"I hope so, too," Red said with a soft sigh.

His head lifted at the sound of rending paper and playful tribble-y growls coming from behind the counter.

Shane reached out and placed a hand on Red's shoulder, giving it a gentle pat. Hearing the ripping and growling noises a moment later she too looked up and chuckled. "Hey, you know... if you ever need any help with them or anything, just let me know, okay," she murmured, leaning over slightly towards Red.

A paw came up to rest upside down on Shane's cheek. "Thank you for the offer. I may take you up on that some time."

The coffee can came rolling out from behind the counter, followed by two furry bodies, giving chase.

"Sooner than I first thought I would," Red said with a chuckle.

Shane nodded, offering him a small, warm smile and a shrug. "No problem," she said quietly. As the coffee can came rolling out, her eyes followed the two cubs as they bounded after it and she couldn't hold in her own laughter at the sight.

"I think I'm done for the day," Red said as he sat up. He shook out his fur and yawned. A long stretch as his body pulled and pushed, he shook again.

"If you have time, I can put the cubs upstairs in the flat and we can find some more cherry pie?"

((I don't know how long you want the two to sit there and chat or if you want to do zombie things, but the zombie activity is starting up. I'm good for anything...just don't want to drag you along if you aren't up for the zombie fun.))

((I'm up for it! :D Let's go do zombies! :D))

((Since this is from earlier in the day, right now Shane's over at Deb's, holed up with Geoff Chaucer and Page, fyi...))

((Hmmm...Red will try to get to others when the shop closes then since the zombie thing takes place at night.))

((No worries, then - just had an angel escort come knockin' at the door, anyway ;D))

((then we can continue here chatting or wrap up. up to you))

Friday at Red's and somthing's up

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