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Jeremiah snorted at Sunny, at the confirmation that he owed her. Not surprising. Worse was her response back to Zac, a hand was smoothed across his face. At least Algie was backing him up but judging from the green eyed look he got from the other British man ...

He was definitely in deep.

Sunny eating his heart at an undisclosed future date was not nearly as scary as Algie legitimately mad at him. Pax's gaze on the detective was heavy and distracting from his thoughts, the hair on the back of his neck rising. Not missing a beat, not even caring because he was so done with the Peaceful One, he flipped off a two-fingered salute.

He really did not care. Not when he was in this deep and Sunny was not helping (but she was but she wasn't and ******** his head hurt). For the moment, still staring hard at Pax a bit longer, he moved back over to Algie and Zac. The detective was half-tempted to hook his own belt loop with garish umbrella he had and offer it out to the other.

Not that it would get him out of trouble.

Not that he could, for the moment, say anything that would be of help.

He was honestly embarrassed and pleased by what Autumn had to say. Ducking his head and starting to utter thanks...but

Then Sunny happened, oh LORD did sunny Happen.

“Oh sorry, did I take too much of your SHITTY behavior into account for you to take that deal? It sounds like…Open ended and able to ******** people over is more your style, which…OH…well s**t, that’s pretty much every ‘fairy folk’ story out there tinker bell, wait, you can’t be her…she actually kicked a** when she wanted something done. You get others to do it for you.”

“He shrugged off the attempted calming hand
“And don’t… tell me its better I don’t…look what IDIOT went and made the first deal I heard of! HIM Detective SMORES there, so don’t talk to me about skepticism when I at least tried to block the worst of her shenanigans.

We start asking too many questions, then you better ask this one. How the HELL do we know she’s not just the bait on some Anglerfish mystical monster? The library is like…her memories, her bloody BRAIN is trapped here as best I can tell, so maybe it IS a bad idea to try and force Heliodora out of here, the fact she’s got ice running through her shoulder, and she’s missing a foot aside.

Sorry Pax, sorry Smol, purely theoretical right now. “

He huffed in exasperation and wrapped his arms around his waist, just under where mogget was currently growling in his hoodie.

“I mean look at her…she won’t make deals if you don’t just offer her some open ended favor, the only one I know if she’s now sighting as ‘spirit’ of the deal, but it still involves killing someone…so yeah…tell me its not safe to trust her, but then… expect me to sit back while she eats one of the only good things in my damned life? Yeah… no.. just no. Don’t make like there is some higher ground here. Just Don’t…”

"Stressful. That's a word for it, baby," Autumn mused, reaching over to pet Pax gently once more. He'd flipped out, she got that. She wasn't exactly the prime example of morality when she lost her s**t, either. Having nothing to add to this gigantic argument, she ran her hands behind Pax's ears to where they couldn't scratch themselves typically- though, nothing about this world was typical, so who the hell knew if this was actually their sweet spot. Instead, she pet absentmindedly, trying to follow the argument between Jeremiah, Heliodora, Zac, and the newcomer... Sunny? Whoever the hell that was, anyway.

"Hey, uh. Pax. Weird question. Can I take a picture with you?"

Alexis could say something - and they would, and they're about to - but Heliodora, for whatever power she holds, is still a kid in some surreal, visceral way. And Alexis -- well. They won't hurt kids. Kids deserve better than what they get. They nod at her, shoulders slumping, and shove their hands in their pockets -- meandering a little closer to Rabbit.

It's a terrible day, when the man who almost managed an accidental hit-and-run on you is your best immediate social prospect.

Their gaze flickers to Sunny. "So, who are you, anyways?"

Jeremiah blinks, glancing to Sunny as she snapped at Algie and then blinked as Pax gains two arms and is ...

Jesus ******** Christ. The detective did not even know how to process that. It was enough for him to miss the exchange, to distract him from saying something to Zac. Except that he was not going to. That was something for private. Jeremiah was not the kind to drag that stuff out in the open.

Bad ******** enough that everyone knew about his deal with Sunny now. That personal business was out in the open air and he was not pleased. Another place, another time. Jeremiah was looking at Algie, his arm just barely brushing against his, and giving him a look. One that said they would talk later because, unlike everyone else, this was not for public consumption.

The only thing he had to say, was perhaps a comment that maybe - just maybe - Leila would not be such a bad cop. Except that Heliodora dropped that umbrella bombshell.

He blinked and glanced down at the umbrella, his fingers closed around it tightly. "Ah." The silver-haired man swallowed thickly. "Yes, I did, thank you. It kept me dry." He looked at her then, really looked at her. That she really did not look like the young teen in the pictures he had on his case board in his office. That this was a young woman now. "You've been here this entire time, haven't you? Even while we were in the library, while I was looking everywhere in this place for you and Michael and Adoelle."

Then, because he thought about it. "Do you want it back?" The umbrella. Even if some part of him was attached, despite it's appearance.

No comment on the goddamn selfie with the slenderdeer.

The arm around his shoulders helped keep him quiet, as did the deluge and the fact that Rabbit hadn't meant to yell, not really, he'd just needed an outlet when his ride home had been yanked out from under him. For a long time after Heliodora's scolding he stood there, shivering indignantly and frowning slightly at the number of assurances that this was not a dream that were suddenly flying their way. Even so, he didn't have the capacity to process what that might mean at the moment, so he eavesdropped on the presumably important conversations within earshot and watched Autumn take her monster selfie instead.

When Alexis approached, Rabbit leaned toward them a little in silent greeting.

“Oh sorry Tinkerbell, not grossly open ended enough for you?” He had a lip curled that was a bit like his cat when Mogget got irritated. There was something about owners and their pets… or pets and their humans.

Mogget made a curious sound from inside the hoodie, peering out just enough to show pink nose and wide gold eyes. the little blue-grey smudges giving him further look of perpetual surprise and, in Pax’s case suspicion.

“PurrrrUp!” He purred, eyes wide, fur crested into tiny ‘punk’ spikes before he vanished again.

He pointedly turned…most of his attention to Heliodora, what she had said. Will, will, like will power? He made a small face thinking about … -Sunny- though the very thought of her brought a glower right at this time, and telling Jer to think about…water.

The subsequent soaking.

Couldn’t be… could it?
He… wanted to ask Heliodora some questions but, she’d at least responded to Jeremiah.


“C’mere Mog” He said and stuffed an arm into his hoodie to rub behind soggy cat ears. “Poor cat, bet you didn’t bargain on this when you crept in here did you.”

Finn, for his part, was rubbing small circles on Aleksy's back and watching the proceedings with quiet apprehension. Something strange was going on here to be sure... but he wasn't sure what, and he didn't want to go charging into it when he had someone currently counting on him to stave off a panic attack.

Sure, it seemed sinister, but things in Other Ashdown usually did. As for Heliodora...

Finn looked down, planting a soft kiss on the top of Aleksy's head. He couldn't deal with the missing girl right now.