[PRP] Ketchup (Jeremiah/Rabbit)

[Smerdle]

It didn't take long after his first post-sigil conversation with Jeremiah for any follow-up urgency to fade. Between his new-old job, adjusting to a different dynamic with Liv and Jim, and adapting to the constant presence of a pair of nine-year-olds, Rabbit's focus was understandably scattered. And then there was Temperance. He hadn't even had the presence of mind to consider the benefits of consulting a magical cop after some magical creature had staged a magical home invasion. It was only following the one-two punch of their disastrous noble get-together and the surprising news that Ezra had been the one to tithe Jeremiah that had prompted him to call. Or text, really. Get in touch. Whatever.

azuredreams

text to jeremiah:
hey! would it be ok if we talked? whenever you're not busy

 

[azuredreams]

More often than not, Jeremiah was doing something. Whether it was work, spending his time in other ashdown, or researching- he was constantly in motion. Rabbit's text came in the middle of research, a book on magic set aside, as he picked up his phone and responded.

Smerdle

text to: rabbit

i am free at the moment, if you are?
where would you want to meet?

 

[Smerdle]

A part of him had hoped that Jeremiah would be available now. Most of his bosses over the years had seemed to make their own hours, and there weren't a lot of jobs bossier than the Chief of Police. As such, Rabbit had spent ten minutes or so trying to think of places to meet, the locations getting more and more outlandish until he finally decided to just give up and go with the default.

azuredreams

text to jeremiah:
i'm at darlene's

He was sitting in an out of the way booth, a modest pile of french fries doused in an immodest pile of ketchup on a plate in front of him. Once his text was sent, Rabbit picked up his fork and poked around in the mess, deciding he was no longer hungry soon after. The plate was nudged aside, a napkin draped over it out of respect for the dead.  

[azuredreams]

5merdle

text to: rabbit

i'll be there shortly

Shortly turned out only to be a few minutes because Jeremiah took advantage of certain abilities he had (it saved on gas and cut down on his carbon footprint alright). He walked into Darlene's, no time needed to adjust the difference in lighting, and looked around for Rabbit.

It only took a moment, the younger man in a booth Jeremiah himself preferred because it was out of the way and in a nice corner nook.

"Hullo, Rabbit," Jeremiah called out, approaching the booth and sliding into the opposite side easily.  

[Smerdle]

"Hey," Rabbit said, echoing his text. "That was... quick. Very shortly." He smiled as Jeremiah sat, despite the state of the world and his concerns regarding it. "How have you been since the meeting?" He initially meant personally, but as soon as the question was out in the open, he realized that there had been a sort of to-do list decided on between the bile and the dramatic exits.

"Are there document things going on? I'm sorry I didn't ask sooner. I've been busy."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"Certain benefits related to my status," Jeremiah replied with a small twitch upwards of his lips. He did not answer right away, instead waving at one of the familiar servers and giving a drink order.

"Busy," he replied once they moved away, "and currently we're in the process of finding it. It is bigger than just the Court though that is a heavy focus."

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

"Oh." Bigger than the Court. He had been reading that mailing list that had cropped up as avidly as he did the Enquirer, but much like that rag, none of it truly felt real. The fact was, Melany was alive, at least in part due to his tithe, and they were all in danger because of it. Pax was dying. And presumably there were a million other things that nobody was talking about. But first things first.

"So, you've got that all... under control then. Good." He sounded vaguely authoritative for all of two seconds, given that he wasn't trying to. It was almost reassuring, the kind of tone a parent might use to keep children from panicking, and it gave the brief impression that maybe Rabbit wasn't such a poor father after all. Then he swung back around to the matters at hand, melting into his natural form: the restless bag of bones. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm thinking about how I want the Court to go so I won't be so useless the next time you call us. And I had a question too. More of a cop thing, really. Has anyone in town been complaining about, like, some mysterious invisible thing trashing their house?"

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Jeremiah simply raised an eyebrow at the authoritative tone - the corner of his mouth quirking up just a little - before he nodded. "As much as one can have anything under control in regards to that place. Nothing is ever as simple as just one thing and frequently tied together."

He was watching Rabbit. It was likely noticeable that Jeremiah had picked up some of the Burning Man's mannerisms; the ones that were just simply sensed. "It may end up being sooner than later, so be prepared. Things are advancing quicker than I'd like but there's little choice I have in this. As for mysterious things thrashing houses ..."

Jeremiah sat up just the smallest bits straighter, his focus on Rabbit zeroed in. Those eyes of his were that much brighter as well. "How so? Actual damage? Things moved back to places they might have been before the shift?"

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

"That's been happening?" It was arguably even more strange than what he had experienced. "I mean, we didn't live where we do now before..." He whispered for a moment. "...the sigil... so I don't know for sure. But this is more of a 'I'm looking for something and it might be in here so I'm just going to throw everything on the floor until I find it' kind of mess than a reshuffling. Things could be going back to the way they were, but if they are, the people who owned the place before us must have liked s**t all over the place. It's more... I'm more worried because it happened in the kids' room in the middle of the night."

The staring, the... Ezraness, wasn't any more or less disconcerting than it had been before he had known where it came from. Still, it was somehow easier to talk about break-ins and the restructuring of the world than it was to potentially fall to petulance. Whyyyyyy didn't you tell me you were my brotherrrrrr? No. That was best saved for the end of all of this when he could get up and walk out once things got weird.

After a brief pause, during which his darting eyes actually met and held Jeremiah's, Rabbit ordered a drink too.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Jeremiah's lips thinned, fingers drumming against the table before he stopped. "That- I don't know that that is the same thing, if so. There is something I am trying to find and track down. It, for a lack of a better term, glitches as it moves and likes to attack places in other ashdown that are different in Ashdown. It is most often destruction of an entire place, not just a singular room after it's tried to move things around."

It was not lost on Jeremiah that there was a switch in Rabbit's demeanor. That there was something- Well, he was not quite sure he could put a word on it. The darting eyes weren't helping and he simply inclined his head with a raise of his eyebrow in question.

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

"Oh. Well, I was in my room when it happened, so I didn't see any glitches or anything. The kids were in there with whatever it was, but they slept through the actual trashing. When I woke them up they told me I shouldn't worry." The brief roll of his eyes suggested that he didn't agree with their assessment of the danger they were in. "Maybe I can set a trap? If it blips around, I don't know if I'll be able to catch it." He waved his hand a little. "I don't think it's the same thing though. Which means there are two weird punks throwing things around."

He looked down at his hands, traced a wonky infinity sign into the table, and sighed. "I don't know."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"If it's what I am looking for, a trap will not work on it." A breath was let out. "Likewise, I've only seen it on the other side, though it's able to cause change here if it does enough." Which another reason that it was likely not at all whatever Rabbit was dealing with in the rooms with the kids.

"Sounds like your kids might have an idea of what it is and that laying some kind of trap may be for the best." As it was not what he was dealing with at all, in his opinion. "I could always come by and have a look, if you'd like? See if I can detect anything." There was a vague gesture upwards towards his eyes.

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

He looked up again. "Yes. Maybe. I think I might try a few things myself first, but I'll let you know. Thanks though. Good luck with your thing too."

It was Rabbit's turn to sit straighter as his drink arrived. He gave the bourbon as casual a glance as he could, showing admirable restraint in leaving it where it was.

"So. Melany. I heard she's in college now. And I saw Ezra playing a guitar, so that's a thing. He... is he helping with any of this? I get kind of..." He gestured in a way that might have best been described as a wibble. "... around him and I couldn't talk about anything important." He caught the hand that had wibbled with the other and held them both still.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Jeremiah's posture adjusted almost immediately, head tilting just slightly before he let out a sigh. Most of his actions, though they spoke of Ezra, were long ingrained in him (so one had to wonder where they truly came from). "I've sought his counsel, if that's what you mean. Though considering his change in status, I try to not bother him as much. Especially given that he should not even be on this side."

His expression softened, just slightly, before he gave an understanding nod. "It's difficult to talk to him. Mostly due to the differences." The man who was Father was not this twenty-something who was the offspring of two friends he held quite dear.

5merdle

word count to here: 733

 

[Smerdle]

"Is it?" Rabbit had seen the changes, he wasn't blind, and yet nothing had felt different at all. Not a thing. He had still been cowed, afraid, and eager, all the wrong words spilling out of him when all he'd wanted to do was impress.

"He told me he'd tithed you too. I didn't know. I think I was jealous." He laughed airily, sliding his glass closer. "I find it hard to talk to him because it always has been, because even though he looks like some Freddy Krueger-handed kid, he's still just the same. I guess not Freddy... or it would be knives... but, you know." Rabbit sighed through his nose. "It was bad enough when it was just me and Alois. Even though he disobeyed, he was strong. But now you. You. I have no idea why he chose me."

He made a small, dismissive gesture against the table. "It's not important. Sorry." He tried to move on, his voice low, but the topic was still the same. "I met him on the other side. Why's it bad for him to be over here?"

azuredreams