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“Sounds agreeable, I can get copies set up within the month. There are a few more journals I have yet to find. Liam has… started a war against the dust in all the unused rooms so as a side effect I am getting around to going through the boxes that have been left alone for the better part of two decades.” Closing the journal, he set it aside from the cook books and continued through the box as he waved a hand in front of his face as he coughed and wheezed from the aerated dust. He’d hit his inhaler later but for now it wasn’t too bad.

“Would you like more lemonade?” Looking down at the emptied glass, the ice balls were only half melted. The mention of rotating bulbs and things meant that the blonde would be poking around more often which he was still… conflicted on but as long as they didn’t bother him it would be fine. Liam also liked the way things were so he was keen to let Alexandre continue with that since it seemed to be doing no harm either.

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Rene looked over the wardrobe, running his fingers over the edges and reaching over the top to feel for a spare key that might be tucked away where someone shorter couldn’t reach. “Nice, turn of the century I believe… maybe a hundred or two hundred years old? It’s been taken care of pretty well. The lock shouldn’t need much work though finding the key would be best. I can open it without damaging it though so it can be locked in the future.”

Digging into his satchel, he pulled out the lockpicks he kept for when he handled some of the older furniture that had keys rusted and broken off inside the locks. Fiddling with the lock for a bit as he stayed quiet while he focused, he couldn’t help but be curious as to what was inside. It looked like a wardrobe but anything could be in it depending on how long ago the key had been lost. It could be something that even Aloysius had never seen, maybe even their father or grandfather had never seen. It was one of his favorite parts about old things, you just never knew what they held, it was just like the strangers he saw on the street or wandering into his shop.

“Ah ha.” A dull click, followed but a puff of dust, and then he pulled the wardrobe open slowly. Waving his free hand in front of his face to clear some of the dust, he saw boxes and clothing. All old yes but still rather normal, a bit of a let down but anythign could be inside. “Do you want to bring this down? Or just move things aside to check the drawers and interior for termite holes?”

Looking over to Liam, he dusted himself off a bit.

“I am quite alright, better than Liam. We found out his is allergic to dust. But yes, I have other notes and things in the gardening shed and I am fairly certain there are more projects that had been started which may be in other journals.” There was plenty that he knew of and he was sure there was even more than he didn’t know of from before he’d been born.

Setting the now empty box on the floor, he sorted some of the books back into it before getting up to grab a cloth to wipe the table down to get rid of some of the dust. Noticing Liam coming with another box, he smiled and took it from them. “Thank you darling.” His hand lingering on theirs as they handed him the box, he looked over it in a bit of confusion as he didn’t recgonize it in the slightest. “Hrm… interesting.” It must have come from somewhere he hadn’t poked around in or that hadn’t been touched when he was growing up here.

Taking his seat back at the table, he didn’t sort through this box yet. If it was something from before he wasn’t sure what was in it and didn’t necessarily want Alexandre to find out about family secrets at the same time he did. “What other projects have you been working on? I have been managing a few lieutenants so far with one being very promising.” He was very proud of Brassite, the spunky girl was quick to listen and follow orders while still having enough sense to keep out of too much trouble.

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“Of course, I know a few keymakers back home and I’m pretty sure I can find someone stateside in time to make a period accurate key. I didn’t damage the lock, they were much simpler back then so honestly in a pinch you can use a small skewer or thin rod to pop some older locks.” It was something that he was glad for because sometimes the newer locks were beyond annoying to manage.

Waving the blond off, he pulled a penlight out and looked over the wardrobe and noted a few things that needed to be looked at. Nothing too bad but it had definitely had some moths in there which had eaten some of the clothing. Some scuffs here and there and wear signs from use but luckily no termites which meant it had been stored accordingly and kept away from anything that might cause problems. Everything here seemed to have been well taken care of which was nice to see and he was glad to have a bit more to do here. It was interesting to see Liam and Aloysius outside of powering up, they were very different. At least Aloysius was.

Kneeling down, he pulled the drawers out and saw them full of papers and photos, all older than he would have expected and decided to leave them in there for now unless the paper decided to fall apart at being touched.

Hearing Liam coming down the stairs, she poked her head out from the room and took some time to inspect things. Narrowing her eyes as she looked down the stairs towards the kitchen, she saw the small blonde from before, the one that had started a fight in the backyard. Taking the initiative, she headed down slowly and quietly. Her attire was all borrowed from Aloysius in a way, just programmed to fit her better leaving her looking somewhere between male and female. It wasn’t something she minded, she preferred the clothing style they wore as it gave her more of a professional appearance that she approved of.

Passing Liam as they ascended the stairs with drinks, she gave him a curious look. “I think I want to meet them, I still have about fifteen minutes so I may need you to close the piano up for me. I don’t want to hurt your ears by jumping on the keys trying to clean up as a cat.” Keeping her voice low, she smiled and continued down stairs and into the kitchen. Ignoring the pair at first as she poured herself a glass of water, she listened to the mention of a project, one that she’d seen in her wanderings in the castle. She’d seen the garden in passing but hadn’t entered it.

Moving to one of the remaining two chairs, she smiled an went to looking over the books on the table. “I hope you both don’t mind if I join you? I finished with my lessons for the day Aloysius.” Offering a knowing smile, she sipped at her glass slowly.

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Blinking a bit in surprised at the appearance of his mauvian, he nodded. “Yes of course. Alexandre this is Desiree and Desiree this is Alexandre, we have been acquainted for about a decade I do believe. Alexandre, she is family in a way. I believe that would be the best way to put it.” Though sometimes time from back then was foggy, things drowned out by alcohol and hard to pull up sometimes. Not that he wanted to think about some of the things that haunted him and Desiree knew that as well as Liam. It was something he’d made steps to move past and had been holding together better since sobering up.

Watching her for a moment, he wondered what kind of game she was playing. It was true that like this she was only a civilian and nobody would be the wiser that she was normally a cat. It was something that took getting used to on his side of things but it was nice to have a student to teach that he could converse with about things that he normally couldn’t bring up. It made things easier, helped get things off his chest between her and Liam which made everything run smoother.

“But yes Alexandre I know a bit of your garden. Though I do prefer the work you have done here. It is good to hear that your office is no longer a jungle, it is no doubt nice to have your space back after moving everything?” It also meant that there wouldn’t be that issue of getting accidentally drained and knocked out by the things if they were alone. It was a poor way to go even if he was curious if the plants could drain someone dry when they were all together in a place like that.

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Nodding, he placed a piece of non damaging tape over the lock mechanism to help keep it from locking when it shut as well. It wouldn’t leave any residue which was good and then he could work on things more as needed. “Either way works, you know I don’t mind coming out here. I find all the things that are hidden so very interesting. It’s like a time capsule here each time you send me a photo or ask me a question.”

Standing back up, he looked around the room at the other cloth covered objects. It looked like a room full of spectres but he knew it was either furniture or instruments that laid under the sheets. Taking the drink from them, he took a sip and paced around as he scanned the area. “What do you plan on doing with all these excess rooms once you have it all cleaned and sorted? Are you keeping all the furniture or will you be downsizing since its just the two of you?” Not really hinting at anything, just being curious, René trailed his fingers over a few of the cloths as he wanted to look at what was underneath them.

Watching them carefully she already had a few question on efficiency and if proper measures were being taken to mitigate accidents. It wouldn’t do the Negaverse well if someone who wasn’t supposed to be drained fell unconscious while managing a project. It felt sloppy to her and if she was in her normal form her fur would be bristling in annoyance.

Out of habit, she pulled a little notebook from inside her vest and clicked a small pen. “Now have you considered a digital map or some sort of topographical overlay to monitor productivity? Proper warnings and such I would assume have to be trained to avoid accidents.” Raising an eyebrow as she scribbled some notes, ideas for something because she was always working even if she’d never worked in front of her musician. She just felt like this was something that needed to be monitored if it dealt with energy.

“With them being varied it may be good to set up some method to track each individual plant’s location though on how to avoid it being to conspicuous it might take a bit of work. Interesting though if I do say so.” She knew a few corrupts that were conflicted when it came to draining and the war as a whole so anything that would make it easier to get them back to work would be good to help out with. “Do you have someone working on the digital side of things? I hope you won’t be managing it all on paper as Aloysius does.” Shifting slightly to look at the taller male, she puffed her cheeks up slightly. She adored the man and shared many of his habits but she knew that his secretive methods did not aid in the greater good for the Negaverse. She wouldn’t ask him to change though since she was new to it all but if others were willing for her to poke into things she’d be up for it. It gave her more to do and keep busy with while here instead of out and about.

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That was not what he had expected but it pulled a laugh from him as he watched his mauvian get to work. She was always dedicated it seemed, not just with her music lessons or with helping keep things running around the house. “She does make some good points so I will defer to her for some things related to technology.” Settling in, he watched her writing notes and cringed a bit. Her handwriting was…. Horrific. Whether that was because she only had one good eye or because she was getting used to human hands still was up in the air.

“My office has… been redecorated a bit as Voce’s collection has grown. I had to adjust a few things lately within my cases as well.” The locks that he had installed because of Melody now served the additional purpose of keeping his youma out of them. It worked out for the best in the end but at least he was getting a lot more information moved around quickly with his youma being a bit better with his orders. It also seemed that they could even been temporarily be bribed by shiny objects which was amusing. At least that venture with the senshi of alternatives had been interesting, especially so after he’d looked into things and found out that the senshi had been under the influence of something.

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Nodding, he pulled the cloth down cartefully to try not to let too much dust float up into the air. “Sounds good, there’s plenty of space and I look forward to what I find. It’s fun, no? Finding things that have been left untouched for years. Things maybe Aloysius has never seen.” It was possible from what he gathered looking at some of the things. The one he uncovered looked to be a dresser with a vanity folded and built in. Looked like there was another lock but this one seemed to have the key stuck to it.

“Sounds good to me, I’ll be able to find new homes for anything you both discard. As for room planning I can help a bit maybe though that’s usually a personal thing, though I can always help fill spaces or things that might need replaced.” Finishing up his drink, he offered the glass back to Liam as he cleaned some of the dust off of the next piece of furniture with a cloth from his bag so that the dust didn’t scatter everywhere.

Tapping her pen on her notebook, she nodded a bit. “I see, I prefer technology and music myself but I don’t mind looking into things. More eyes to make sure things are running smoothly wouldn’t be harmful.” Eyeing Aloysius for a moment she slipped the page and scribbled down a phone number before tearing it out neatly and handing it to the small blonde. Her face didn’t really let anything on, they hadn’t asked her if she was a senshi or agent since most wouldn’t assume a human could be a cat. It would be a fun little game to pass the time between watching over her two humans here.

“You can reach me via this number most of the time. I prefer text over calls if that works for you. Plants aren’t quite my thing but I can digitize records to make them accessible on a wider scale as well adding a search function in to cut down time looking for information if that’s alright? I really hate when things aren’t running smoothly with proper and effective timeframes.” It really did bother her sometimes when students ran late or stayed over their appointed times here and the same carried over into her work with senshi. The newest one she had met and helped awaken was…. far from what she normally wanted to deal with but she figured Liam would get them on a better track.

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Sitting with his hands folded over one of the books he’d pulled from the stack, he was proud of Desiree, it was nice to get the chance to see her doing things. Most of what she’d done had been while he was at work or otherwise indisposed. He knew she didn’t follow him along because Melody might bother him while powered up, that and if she was with Liam she could keep him hidden to lower the risk of him getting cornered and attacked again.

“It is good to hear how things have come for you Alexandre, just let me know where to avoid. I really would like to avoid getting drained and passing out on my way back from the university after working late.” That and he needed to make sure his small team knew as well in case they wanted to help or just avoid the same issue.

“We can talk more on this later though, I think with all this dust I would like to cut things short so I can clean up and make sure Liam is alright.” Giving a slight nod, he got up from his seat to leave his mauvian with the blonde and grabbed a damp cloth to try and get some of the caked dust off the table before heading up the stairs slowly. He half kept an eye on the pair, knowing that she’d get the man out here before her timer beeped.


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“Of course, of course. You can always count on me for helping with these things, I honestly prefer it over the rest. I’d rather fight dust bunnies and termites than senshi and knights.” Laughing as he spoke and waved off the dust cloud, he turned as he heard someone approaching. The steps were farther apart than the ones he knew came from Alexandre so it must mean that it was Aloysius.

“Ah I think it might be time to head out, I can bring my kit next time to get a mold of the keyhole to try and get a key made for you in time if we don’t find it the next time I’m over. Thanks again for letting me know about these treasures you keep finding~ I’ll be sure to help keep them in good shape.” He was a bit giddy over the things he’d seen so far and was more than excited to see what else might be in the endless rooms of this manor.

“Just let me know or you can stop by my shop during the week and I can help figure things out.” Waving as he stepped out of the room, he smiled and said a quick goodbye as he made his way down the stairs. He noticed the piano had stopped earlier but now it was his first time seeing who had been playing it. From behind he mistook them for a male but as he came around and heard them talking he figured it out.

“So mon ange, what have you been up to without me? Behaving well I hope?” Draping his arms over the other he snuck a quick kiss on their cheek as he looked the woman over, trying to place their face if he had seen them before. They had a very unique appearance so after a moment he figured he hadn’t met or crossed paths with them at all yet. “Ah hello.”

Waving to Rene as they left, he smiled as he saw his fiance waiting for him. “Ah, I see. That was where the box came from, I was waiting for you to sort through it just in case.” Looking over the old wardrobe, he remembered it always being shut when he was growing up since the key had been lost while his father was a child. “We can look through it all here tonight if you want or we can rest a bit? You can take a break you know darling?”

Stepping in close he wrapped an arm around them as he leaned his chin on their shoulder. “I like him too, he seems to be much more grounded than the other. I can tell he has been trying to patch things up in a way. I still am a bit cautious with Alexandre after that incident though.” Pressing a kiss to their cheek he sighed.

“It worked out in the end though, you got me to go to a doctor and stop smoking.” The latter being the bigger deal in the long run but he’d been holding together well in the six months without it. “We can head down now either way, I know Desiree is going to shoo them away before her glamor expires for the day. You should have seen her, she makes me quite proud.” He hadn’t really gotten to see it first hand but he was very happy with his mauvian even if he really hadn’t needed her to do anything other than keeping close as she always had as a cat.

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“Of course, I look forward to assisting with things as I can between other duties. I will see the two of you out though for now, I need to finish my lessons for the day then get back to work.” Offering a slight smile she pushed back from the table and stood, gathering the glasses to put in the sink before heading towards the door to see them out.

“I’m sure we’ll meet again soon Rene, I want to hear about any antique instruments you may have in your collection.” Offering another slight smile as she nodded and shooed them out the door, she shut and locked it before sighing and feeling herself poof back into her mauvian form.

She’d felt her alarm buzzing on her wrist and had cut it rather close this time but she’d been too curious about things there was a lot to look into and it would be a nice project to do on the side. Making her way back towards the couch, she stretched out and took over the small pile of pillows for now. It was a good time for a nap since she figured the other two would be down soon enough to sort through things and at some point she would get back to work on some of her projects.

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Smiling at their response, he leaned into their touch. “I know but I still want to make sure~ You have a reputation mon ange.” Pulling them up as Desiree seemed to be giving them the hint it was time to go, he definitely saw hints of Aloysius in her and he half wondered if they were a daughter or something of the sort. He was also curious why he’d never met them before if they were in the Negaverse either. It would be hard to miss a half blind woman if they really were as efficient as they seemed to be.

“I did enjoy things there are some very old and nice pieces up there you migh be jealous of. I certainly am.” Taking steps as the woman shooed them, he would have said something if he’d gotten the chance. But he heard the lock click as soon as the door shut and he sighed. “Yes lunch sounds perfect. Efficient and a bit rude… have you met her down below before? I wonder where Aloysius picked up someone like that.” Shaking his head he made his way back to their car.

“Alright darling, I just wanted to make sure you kept from pushing too much with all this now that my back has healed up enough for me to help. Let me help take a look so we can get a shower and maybe rest on the couch with as show on.” Pausing before letting go, he held them a bit tighter for a moment.

“I can understand that, I still am perturbed by the whole incident since you were injured and I was already worried enough without having to be pulled into their problems. Hopefully it works out and maybe things might calm down a bit more. I enjoy the peace out here with you and I want it to stay peaceful.” It was safe and quiet which was something he’d needed even if he’d had his hangups about this place before the sudden shift out here.

“Come on, I want to hurry so we can get you out of all this dust. I am quite afraid the dust bunnies will eat you alive.” Teasign slightly as he brushed some off the dust off of his fiance, he went about pulling things from the wardrobe to bring down later. There were more than a few things to sort through so they would both have their night cut out.

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Nodding as he squeezed their hand slightly in response, Rene smiled. “Well we’ll figure it out eventually, I feel like Lorcan would like her. They both have that same get out of my house but politely way of shooing people.” Looking back towards the Sharp manor he couldn’t help but laugh a bit at it all.

“I think that sounds good, a nice night with you cooking and we can put on something or just stay in. I think I feel like something light but we’ll see after lunch and a quick stop at my shop. I need to pick something up that was delivered.” The rest of the night would be for them, no work or other interruptions which was how he liked things. He looked forward to the weekends with Alexandre after work each week.