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[myriadeclipse]

Hugo Inbox

Home of Mockingbird and the voice in his head

Mockingbird

Please forgive me for missing your message. I'll be right with you.

The Other Me

He isn't that sorry.

Mockingbird

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[blossominghopes]

Yeah, I'm prepared if things go sour, too.

[Perhaps Lia could handle herself, but Hugo's presence is reassuring. She at least feels better having him with her.

She'll start eating her own sandwich as she starts walking.]

"Again"? How often does Robin do this?

[myriadeclipse]

They have a bangboo that is the same model as one that is dear to him, so he goes .... often. I've warned him that he's only hurting himself by doing so, but you must let children get hurt sometimes, I suppose.

[ He didn't really think of Robin as his son. It was more like a brother or something else akin to that. Neither vampire nor bangboo were ready for that conversation, so they remained as they were. ]

Once Lycaon gets his own bangboo back, then Robin will settle his attention on the right bangboo. Until then, he is off across the city.

[blossominghopes]

Sometimes the lesson won't sink in until they touch the hot stove, so to speak...

[It is what it is... Giselle tilts her head worriedly, but says nothing. She may be judging. Slightly.]

I... I see. Hopefully it'll be sooner rather than later...?

[Maybe? She thinks?]

[myriadeclipse]

[ Turns his head away, thinking. ]

I got Robin from that strange skeleton. I'm sure Lycaon was thinking of doing the same. So sincerely yes. It shouldn't be too long from now.

[ Everyone else just had to hold on until then. With a thought, Hugo looked down at Giselle. ]

I assure you, Little One, Only Robin is this strange. All the other bangboo are perfectly normal, if not ....quirky.

[blossominghopes]

[Oh boy!]

I'm sure that Bangboo at Random Play will be grateful.

["Eh-nah..." ("I suppose it takes all sorts...")

Lia takes a moment so she can bend down and pat Giselle's head.]

I'm trying to not get too ahead of myself, but I'm already thinking about what to do if this place-- [She holds up the key briefly.] --turns out to be legit. It'll certainly be far more convenient than the Fortress.

[myriadeclipse]

[ Hugo grins, crossing his arms and looking forward. ]

You'll have to think about it either way, yes? You were going to get your own space regardless. So? What ideas are coming to you?

Clearly we'll have to change all the locks, but after that, if this works out, what would you like to do with it?

[blossominghopes]

[She chuckles a little.]

You have a good point. [She taps her chin thoughtfully.] Well, the state of the master bedroom and the kitchen are going to be my first priorities no matter what. [It's just now dawning on her exactly how nice it'll be to have a kitchen with far fewer chances of being already in use.] After that, I guess it depends on how many rooms the place has. That being said, a guest bedroom's going to be mandatory, of course... A dedicated sewing room could be nice.

[She looks at the address again-- right, a better part of Midtown.]

I'll probably start splitting my time between the place and Meropide, if it does work out... with a bias to whatever place I end up with on the surface. It means I won't have to explain the underwater fortress to my parents, since I'm sure they're probably going to want to visit sometime around Christmas.

[myriadeclipse]

Ah, yes. It's in my experience that parents tend to be very critical.

[ He could be talking about himself with his own, but he more means the parents he's observed. In order to be the sort of thief he is, a wide array of performances was necessary. So in short, he people watches and sees all sorts of other family's drama. ]

If you require renovations, you know you can ask me for help, yes? I know The Order pays well and you are responsible. Nevertheless, I want to make sure you're aware you can ask me for whatever you can't do on your own.

[blossominghopes]

And if mine aren't critical, they'll be deeply concerned, anyway. [A beat.] Understandably so, really.

[A house on the surface is just easier for a lot of reasons. Less questions from people, more natural light, feeling less cut off from a lot of things, a kitchen that's entirely her own, all of the decorating is on her terms and according to her sensibilities... more privacy when it comes to certain matters...]

I appreciate it a lot, and I'll definitely ask if I need it. I may ask for your help with some things, anyway.

[Sometimes, transforming just for the superstrength feels a little like overkill. And even with that extra strength, that doesn't make things less of a pain to move, especially for someone who's 5'4".

She checks the address again. Should be almost there, she thinks...]

[myriadeclipse]

I can get Lycaon to help with anything particularly heavy or unruly to deal with.

[ Hugo believes he can handle it himself, naturally. There are some things he's aware of that would just be better to let the wolfman handle. His past as a butler also made his attention to detail far more developed than some others. These compliments aren't ever going to be voiced to him, naturally. ]

If there is planting space, that could be interesting. Flowers, herbs, easy vegetables. It might be getting ahead of ourselves since we're still approaching, but a good thought for once spring comes.

[blossominghopes]

[Naturally.]

Ooh, now there's an idea. It would be way more convenient to grow my own herbs and vegetables... [Hopefully there will be enough space wherever she ends up.

She comes to a stop eventually, glancing down at the slip of paper and up to a house that... honestly, it looks pretty damn normal, all things considered.]

Well, here we are. So far, so good, yeah?

[She snorts and goes up the short flight of stairs to get to the house. Giselle bounces along behind her, clearly a bit excited as well.]

[myriadeclipse]

[ Hugo examined the walk-up to the door with apprehension, slipping his hand into his pocket and following beside Lia. His eyes remained forward, but his ears were paying attention to the space around then, and more importantly, the surrounding sounds. ]

Hopefully it remains that way. I would feel bad for someone on the other end of surprising us.

[ The switchblade he had hidden on his person would be more than enough should there be anyone, among the other things that could happen to a person between both his and Lia's abilities. ]

... And I would feel bad for us, honestly. Having to clean up blood day one? Terrible fate.

[blossominghopes]

Right? Awful, really.

[She unlocks the front door and turns the knob as quietly as she can, stepping back from the door as soon as she's opened it just a crack. She remains quiet for a moment or two, focused on any sounds that could be coming from inside the house.

Once she's certain there's nothing to hear, she cautiously pushes the door open fully before stepping inside.

She glances down to Giselle.]

Stay close, little one.

["Eh..." ("Right...")]

[myriadeclipse]

[ He does know how to clean blood out of things. All vampires needed that skill. It wasn't proper to be messy with your food. It was just tedious to do. He didn't even drink blood that often. Luckily, he couldn't smell any stale blood, so no one had been killed in this place previously. At least not recently.

Hugo followed behind her, looking around cautiously. It was ...surprisingly normal, honestly. ]

[blossominghopes]

[It really is surprisingly normal, but there are also two staircases (one leading up and the other leading down), so there's certainly room for it to get less normal.

So far, though... it's perhaps a bit big for one person, but not absurdly so. And honestly, it's rather pretty. The big windows are a plus, as far as she's concerned.]

... Not bad, honestly. [She's keeping her voice down, just in case. But she does put a hand to her chin contemplatively as she walks around this floor. Of course it doesn't take long for her to head right for the kitchen. Plenty of counter space, cabinets aren't too high...] Not bad at all.

[myriadeclipse]

[ Hugo walked silently, masking his presence, but not himself. He lingered close to Lia, keeping his attention and caution up. Two stair wells. A basement was fun. You could do so many things with a basement.

Venturing to the kitchen, he looked the space over, eyeing the cabinets up and down. It was a pretty nice space. Everything would need cleaning, naturally, but he could see meals and the young couple spending time in the space.

Actually, the thought of the two of them together in it both made him turn his head in disappointment and also grin in amusement. The Washing Rat isn't worthy just yet. ]

[blossominghopes]

[And Lia, for her part, was not only imagining herself and Caleb, but also get-togethers with family and friends, especially when she looked over to what had to be the dining room.

Ah, and there was the backdoor, too. She opened it up to take a look outside out of curiosity and hummed thoughtfully. A small patio and plenty of room for a garden. Good.]

Should we take a look upstairs first or get looking around the basement over with?

[myriadeclipse]

[ That was a conundrum. Did he want to go up or down? Up was probably better. Who knows what could be in the basement. It could wait a little longer. ]

Upstairs before the downstairs. Especially if there's an attic or a crawlspace.

[ If there was that sort of possibility, then going up felt better. It could also allow for checking bathroom and and and space that could be used for criminal activities. ]

[blossominghopes]

Upstairs it is.

[She'll close the backdoor, then, to head for the stairs and start climbing them.

(She does pause at the landing, both to wait for Hugo and to take a moment to appreciate that the space was open enough that she could look down at the dining room from the landing.)

When she does get upstairs, she looks into every room she can. Bedroom, bathroom, laundry room, master bedroom and master bathroom-- ah.]

Yep, looks like there's an attic.

[myriadeclipse]

[ He follows close behind, light on his feet and soundless as always. Each empty room gave him a bit more comfort that this was just a really expensive gift. The news of an attic held promise, though. Creepy things always happened in attics. ]

Oh, fun. Maybe we'll find a cursed, generational spellbook yup there.

[ It was a joke, but he was already glancing up toward the part of the ceiling that lead to the attic. ]

This is a lot of space, though. No creepy or strange things yet. A lot to work with.

[blossominghopes]

Wouldn't that be seasonally appropriate.

[Getting that open and pulling the ladder down...]

A lot more than expected... I may end up having trouble figuring out what to do with it all.

[Up into the attic she goes!]

Nothing creepy up here unless you happen to be creeped out by dust bunnies. But that strikes me as more of a Lycaon trait.

[It's affectionate, she swears.]

[myriadeclipse]

It ... is.

[ He can imagine the wolf walking through and needing to clean the place from top to bottom before anything was done. It was a good thing he was busy. ]

That's good news, though. It's starting to feel like this is a legitimate gift. Odd, but I suppose it could be worse.

And there's still the basement.

[blossominghopes]

[She snickers a little as she comes back down from the attic. Okay, closing that back up--]

By far the weirdest gift I've gotten, but at least it's both apparently legitimate and conveniently timed.

[All too cheerfully:]

But we've still got time for this to go sour! Any bets on what we might find in the basement?

[They are absolutely not going to find anything sinister in the basement, but by this point, Lia figures they might as well joke about it.]

[myriadeclipse]

A cult feels like too much to ask for. Blood stains? Part of a body?

[ He would have smelled it if it were something like that. That didn't stop him from being hopeful for a little horror. In truth, he was happy that Lia's gift didn't turn into something he was going to have to do a full investigation into. If it's a secret second boyfriend, that was going to be Caleb's war to fight. ]

A secret passage to a group of captive virgins. Their captor only comes every few days to make sure they haven't died yet while preparing for the ritual they'll hold during the blood moon.

[blossominghopes]

And here all I was gonna suggest was "maybe a vengeful spirit of some kind that's tied specifically to the basement". [She snorts.] Though, I can't necessarily say I'd discount either way.

[She's not serious about that, though, and it's obvious.

She moves down the stairs unhurriedly, stretching as she goes.]

Probably gonna start putting my focus into getting the place presentable enough come November, I think. October's a bad time for this sort of thing and it's not like I do much of anything in November, anyway.

[Thank fuck her parents respect that she detests Thanksgiving.]