Demon Marcus, Sunday, All Day

[myownface]

"What use is sitting alone in your room?"

Sparkle was cleaning shop at Demon Marcus today. With all the newbies running around, it wouldn't do to have the place a mess, after all.

"Come hear the music play!"

He'd already filled a box with empty hangers, and was now prancing around the store with a featherduster, alternating between actually using it and singing into the handle like it was a microphone.

"Life is a cabaret, old chum! Come to the Cabaret!"

Just wait until it was time to break out the Windex.

[Open!]

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[myownface]

Avoid the crazy boy. Go clothes shopping. Don't get featherdusted.

Talk to Sparkle!

[myownface]

He will probably sing at you.

If you're lucky, he won't grab you and try to dance.

Re: Talk to Sparkle!

[seveninchmotto]

Checking out the shopping was a perfectly natural thing to do for a girl like Isabelle on her first day on the island, wasn't it? Even if she'd actually been here. Both the island, and the shop. And wasn't entirely here just for the clothes.

The singing got only a slight eyebrow raise. Also, she may have come in unfairly quietly. "Hello, Sparkle."

Fear that smile, Sparkle.

Re: Talk to Sparkle!

[myownface]

Oh god.

Oh god oh god oh god. Sparkle knew that voice. He hadn't heard it much, but he'd heard it enough, and now he was freezing in place and sputtering out the word 'cabaret' like somebody had poisoned it.

"Isabelle."

He was going to turn around to look at her now. Really, really slowly.

Re: Talk to Sparkle!

[seveninchmotto]

Isabelle's smile was genuine, at least. It just happened to have... a certain kind of edge to it. Because she knew how to terrify.

She gave him a little wave, with just her fingers. "Hi."

Re: Talk to Sparkle!

[myownface]

Look, those were the most terrifying fingers Sparkle had seen in a while now, and if he just happened to be staying on the other side of the room, well, no sane persons could possibly blame him.

"Hey. Uh. Little early in the semester for one of those visiting weekends, don't you think?"

Oh shit, she was so here to kill him, wasn't she? Fuck. Fuckfuckfuck.

Re: Talk to Sparkle!

[seveninchmotto]

"Oh, I'm not visiting for the weekend."

And she wasn't here to kill him, either.

The narrative was not going to comment on whether that might have been preferable from his perspective to what she was actually on the island for.

Re: Talk to Sparkle!

[myownface]

"Just the day?"

Look, Sparkle wasn't often a believer in 'wishful thinking,' but there were some scenarios in which he'd happily make an exception.

"Afternoon?"

Re: Talk to Sparkle!

[seveninchmotto]

Isabelle's smile widened as she shook her head.

"The school year."

Yes. The entire school year.

Re: Talk to Sparkle!

[myownface]

Sparkle's mouth hung open for a moment, and then snapped shut again with an audible clack of teeth.

"No kidding?"

Please be kidding?

Re: Talk to Sparkle!

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal watched for a moment, amused at the singing and dancing. Sparkle wasn't bad, either. He waited to see how long it took him to be noticed.

Re: Talk to Sparkle!

[myownface]

"Come taste the wine, come hear the band! Come blow your horn, start cele-Fuck!"

Today was going to be full of little heart attacks, now that Sparkle had been paid a visit by his boyfriend's crazy sister, yes.

"Jesus, I didn't see you there," Sparkle gasped, clutching at his chest with one hand and lowering the featherduster that he'd raised as a makeshift weapon between them.

It had to be at least half as terrifying as the sticker gun, right?

Re: Talk to Sparkle!

[sharp_as_knives]

Maybe half. If only because dust on his suit meant he'd have to have it cleaned.

"I was listening." Hannibal smiled. "It's good to hear you enjoying musical theater, since that's what I came for." He had a bet to collect or pay out, after all.

Re: Talk to Sparkle!

[myownface]

"Right. That opera thing, right?" Sparkle tried not to sound terribly excited by the idea. He kind of failed at it. "I behaved myself for a whole week, you know. Didn't badmouth myself even once."

He had performed a lewd dance with a giant metal chicken on Friday, but that wasn't demeaning so much as hilarious.

Re: Talk to Sparkle!

[sharp_as_knives]

So long as Sparkle hadn't said the chicken was a better dancer, Hannibal wasn't judging.

"Yes, the opera thing. Congratulations." Hannibal nodded at him and pulled a brochure from his jacket. "My schedule is flexible; is there a day that's best for you?" He pointed out the extras on the 15th and 27th. "If you'd like one of these days, you may learn a bit more." He smiled again. "But you needn't feel you have to. This is, after all, your winnings."

Re: Talk to Sparkle!

[myownface]

"Of course those ones are on a Friday and a Sunday," Sparkle mused, peering curiously at the brochure. "I mean, I work those days. Nothing saying I can't knock off from a shift a little early, though."

Seriously, he was pretty sure none of his bosses even lived on the island any more. Hell, it was entirely possible that he was the only employee at either store, these days. Who knew?

"If you had to pick between the Q&A or the insights thing, which would you go with? They kinda both look... you know..."

He shrugged, but the word he was going for here was 'interesting,' without a doubt.

Re: Talk to Sparkle!

[sharp_as_knives]

Fortunately, Hannibal spoke shrug.

"I think the insights would prove more interesting. There, you'll find out what an expert in the field finds of use. With the question sessions, you're limited by what other people want to know. And I would be happy to speak with your supervisor if it will help."

Re: Talk to Sparkle!

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Dinah had gotten thoroughly sick of reasonable clothes after months in Glacia; something with a little glitz would be nice. Cheering.

So was watching the guy who worked her really pull out all the stops in his show tunes impression.

This wasn't going to go as well as Dinah thought... sorry, Sparkle.

Applause!

Re: Talk to Sparkle!

[myownface]

Yeah, this was actually going to go pretty poorly. Not that Sparkle was aware of that when he heard the applause, turning around in order to give a sweeping bow--

And stopping short, eyes wide.

This was not Sparkle's day. Not. This wasn't. It was. It.

"No." He took a step back, and then another, keeping his eyes locked on the woman in the doorway. It would be a safe bet to assume that he was terrified, given the false sense of bravado he was carrying in his posture as he backed away. "No, no, no. Don't you fucking touch me."

Sparkle and Dinah had never met. But Sparkle sure as hell knew that face.

Re: Talk to Sparkle!

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Dinah stopped clapping, stunned, staring back and not moving. "Um? I... are you okay?" She turned to check if someone was behind her, because what? Why was he giving her that look?

Re: Talk to Sparkle!

[myownface]

"What do you think? You crazy fucking vampire bitch."

It made a sort of sense, didn't it? This had to be some other kind of island fuckery. First Alec's crazy sister, and now her.

He was behind the counter now, hand groping for anything at all that he could use as a weapon in case she came closer. It closed around... a bottle. A half-empty bottle of he-didn't-give-a-fuck, just so long as it had some good heft to it.

"Back for seconds, is that it? Found out I got my fucking heartbeat back and decided to have another mouthful or two?"

Re: Talk to Sparkle!

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Dinah's face collapsed into horror. "You met her. Me. Other-me... I. No, look, see, sunlight! I'm not a vampire, I'm not her--"

Heartbeat? She'd killed him? Oh God this poor kid.

Re: Talk to Sparkle!

[myownface]

Right. Like he was going to trust 'oh look, sunlight' around here. No fucking way was he that stupid.

"Right. Tell me another good one, why don't you? You think you did me a real big favour, turning me too? I killed one of my best friends because of you! I ripped out her throat with my teeth!"

It had been a long time before Sholeh could look at him again without flinching. He was still pretty sure she was just doing an admirable job of not letting it show how terrified of him she really was.

Re: Talk to Sparkle!

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Dinah was going to be sick. Shame, sympathy, grief all hitting her at once. Even if it hadn't been her, it had been her. Even if this kid got better, and ... probably, hopefully, oh please let his friend have gotten better too... there were people who hadn't. Who never would. Saying it's okay now was never going to make it okay. He wasn't going to forget. Ever.

Dinah slumped back against the door, hand on the lever. "I'm not her," she said more steadily. Hoping he could believe that much. "That was another me. She's dead. I'm so sorry. I'll go. I promise. I just-- when did this happen?"

OOC!

[myownface]

I'm glad I have a kid that works so well for me when I wake up with show-tune earworms.