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All the talk of cupcakes on his phone wasn't doing Alg any favors. Even with the neighbors and Jeremiah swapping baked goods, and his spouse whipping him up something anytime his sweet tooth became unbearable, he still stood now staring in the window of a bakery at a particularly appealing pyramid stack of specialty donuts... next to some sort of PRIDE design made of cupcakes that were slowly disappearing as the day wore on.

Not like he was stalking the cupcakes or anything.

He just happened to be passing by.

Swear to god.

Algernon had very few honed senses but years in classrooms and lecture halls made him hone in on nearby dialogue that was perhaps not meant for himself. The soft talking drew his attention as much as the shop door closing and he glanced to see what stranger had bought, perhaps a cake or pie or donuts, only to find a small young man with a particularly familiar face.

Why did he look so familiar? Eyes, mouth, nose, mop of hair- Oh.

"Jamie," Alg piped up with a note of near surprise because Jamie was a boy now and not some sort of rabbit creature. No teeth or ears, no cotton tail and fuzzy feet. Of course he wouldn't have them all the time.

"How are you?" He stepped forward with a smile and offered his hand for a particularly warm palmed handshake.

Jamie luckily had youth on his side when it came to a weak handshake. Alg was under the eternal impression that chivalry was dead and no one learned proper manners. The fact that Jamie shook at all and didn't stare at his hand like some others, made him a credit to his age.

The young man seemed nervous but he didn't know him well enough yet to tell if that was a constant, or only when he was unexpectedly put on the spot (or turning into a were-rabbit). For the brief moment they shook, Jamie would feel a sympathetic soothing feeling coming from the hand contact which fled as soon as the shake broke.

"I'm fine, fine," Which was of course what most people said who didn't want to launch into the nitpick of everyday life or delve deeply into their emotional issues right there on the street.

"How are you? How's-" his hand waved idly, a pinky ring catching the light, "-everything?" Obviously their last encounter was stressful to say the last (did we mention multiple times yet that Jamie was a bunny man then?).

"I see you got something. Not a cupcake by any chance?" He chuckled.

"Oh no thank you," Alg waved the offer politely off. Of course he wanted a damn peach tart! But he wasn't going to take one of Jamie's snacks and he was sure he could spare himself the calories. Alg pointedly, with that thought, patted his slight paunch.

And Jeremiah would probably be cranky he was getting baked good from outside sources (because Jeremiah was already cranky about surprise cupcake dropoffs and whatnot). Of course that spurned his partner to make him more and better goodies- so Alg wasn't exactly broken up about it.

"I'm interested in hearing what you've learned. If you don't mind. Not today if you don't want to-" Alg idly checked his watch (because he still wore one of those #fashion). "Though I do have the time. But it's- something new. And if you need any help with anything, really don't shy from asking or coming around."

Alg nodded, moving over to the bench which was sporting a familiar real estate advertisement seen commonly around town of a grinning dark skinned man with a beard and a logo of an owl swooping in front of the moon. Alg made a point to sit and block the grinning face after he'd brushed the seat off.

"Don't let me stop you from eating." He motioned to the tart bag. Thankfully the full summer heat hadn't hit them yet, though mid seventies was warm considering the usual temperature.

Alg wasn't sure how to ask things without it seeming like an interrogation, "You're alright after everything?" He meant more than physically. They'd seen horrific violence and Jamie himself had seen the other side of the coin when it came to his unique power set.

"Have the others-" weres, "gotten together about what happened?"

Algie had a bit of a formal posture, very straight with an easy leg cross and a hand drumming lightly on his knee. He recognized the uneasiness in Jamie, that perhaps he was shy and not so good with strangers and Alg of course was little more than that at this point. He'd never been allowed to be shy himself, always put in the position of being the proper little gentleman until it became second nature to ignore his own desire to simply hole up with a book or a game, and instead living to be the ideal that others expected of him.

"None of us quite know what we've gotten pulled into." He smiled a bit, "I think everyone's a bit out of their depth so you aren't alone in that."

He listened to what he was told about moonwalkers, at least it was a better term than 'were-monsters', and frowned a bit, "You know I never really gravitated much to others. I can imagine it must be difficult to have some sort of implicated connection with them. But don't let yourself feel forced to do anything."

He was one to talk, "No one gets to tell you what you have to do. You always have a choice. Protectors are good things, but don't think you have to protect everyone and everything. Especially if you don't feel it- that compulsion to protect."

"I encourage knowing more about anything before jumping in." If anything, Alg could be overly cautious in recent years and the town of Ashdown hadn't exactly proved itself worth trusting in the first place.

"And you have Shiloh." It was clear they were best friends, "Strong friendships are important. Hold onto that."

He scratched his hair, mussing it without meaning to, "Jeremiah I have known each other since we were-" He measured rather low to the ground, "Tikes."

Alg had to smile at Jamie perking up a bit when it came to Shiloh. He knew what it was like to have that relationship. He and Jeremiah had always been near inseparable and not much had changed now.

"He's absolutely my best friend," Alg chuckled, "Our mums were friends in a community group and we were the same age so we'd play together. Went to school together as well." Alg's legs uncrossed and his ankles hooked under the bench.

"He's always been good at helping me sort things out when they get to be too much or.. I think too much." Alg glanced at Jamie and smirked a bit, "And he would stand up for me before I learned how to do it myself."

The older man turned just a bit, elbow extending to rest on the back of the bench, "How's Shiloh about all this.. magic stuff?"