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Shun wasn't completely certain what to do with himself, beyond his usual routine of working and training. The recent oddities in Ashdown's weather concerned him. It wasn't exactly a good sign, he felt. He needed to do something, but Jeremiah's recent talk with him had him feeling like there wasn't anything he would be able to do. He might have just been a lost cause.

At some point, during work, Leila had invited him over. Maybe she had picked up on his dour (well, moreso than usual) mood, somehow, or maybe it had just been a regular thing she did. That much didn't matter. He recalled an earlier bit of advice that he needed to reach out more.

Maybe it wouldn't hurt.

And so, the detective made his way over to her residence and knocked on the door. He had went and made a small box of square chocolate chip cookies... People usually brought food when visiting places right? That was normal? He wasn't actually sure, but he did it anyway.

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The one who answered the door was not someone he recognized. Shun blinked at the figure, wondering if he had come to the wrong place on accident. He was relatively certain this was Leila's residence, but there was still a chance he had messed up somewhere.

It'd just be another mark for him.

"...Is Leila Townhome here?" he asked, a little uncertain. He really hope he didn't ******** up the address somehow. If he had... well at least this was just a visit, and not him trying to investigate anything. That would have been so much worse.

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Shun blinked right back at the kid, not really sure what it was he said. Once he was allowed, he nodded and walked on in. He removed his boots and looked around, getting a feel for his surroundings, while making his way over to the living room as directed.

He didn't seat himself just yet, as he waited for Leila to show up, somewhat awkwardly.

"Townhome," he greeted. He shifted slightly at the mention of Mercer. He had doubts he'd be dropping by that household again anytime too soon. Not after the last time they spoke. He would only be wasting the man's time.

"I was told I should try to reach out more often. And... tea... if you happen to have any," he requested before looking down at his small tupperware box, "Oh. Ah... I brought some... cookies?"

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The cookies were square shaped. Several of the edges of them looked as though they had been cut after baking. Because Shun had filled an entire pan with cookie dough, then sliced it up afterwards. That was how he rolled.

Settling on down, he just kind of grunted at the question.

"Depends. I was not exactly harmed, unlike some of the others."

Well. He had been, but his wounds had been healed up pretty well while he was still in Other Ashdown.

"I have not felt rested since that night though, no. What of you?"

Hearing some birds from elsewhere, the detective looked around. They sounded like they were inside the house.

"Birds?"

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"You what?"

Shun knew very little of what happened during that time Autumn had been taken. And by that, he pretty much knew next to nothing about that incident. So it was a little surprising to hear that Leila had experienced something like that. She was obviously alive now so something must have reversed... that.

Either that or it was some sort of lucid hallucination.

He turned his attention to Julian.

"...Are they always that noisy?" he asked. Birds could certainly be talkative. However, the random comment about a shadow hedgehog had him blinking.

"Uh, what?"

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Shun furrowed his brow, staring at Julian, "I sound like who?"

The sudden exit of Leila caught his attention. He could hear a couple things she said, followed by laughter. The fact that she had just contacted Jeremiah, apparently, did not make him feel much better. Was there something he had done that warranted her mocking him behind his back just now? As if Mercer needed anything else against him.

Meanwhile, the finches were... getting incredibly noisy. How did they put up with this ruckus?

Rubbing his head, he was about to lean back in his chair, when Julian spoke up again. Looking down, he saw one of the small birds there.

"Did you leave its cage door loose?"

Or maybe the bird was a little houdini.

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With a sense of curiosity, he watched Julian handle the bird, carefully scooping it up and whatnot so that it may be returned to its cage. Noise aside, it seemed rather trusting of the boy for him to be able to do that. That took time and commitment to achieve.

"I am. Relatively speaking, at least. Are you?" he asked with a raised brow.

He wasn't sure if he knew of it because of personal experience or if he just knew from Leila talking about things.

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Shun eyed Julian a little cautiously, not really sure what he had apparently just found. Slowly, he pushed himself up to his feet and moved on to follow the young man to what was apparently his room.

He wasn't sure what he was expecting to see, but... he sure wasn't expecting to see that.

For a few moments, he just stared at the strange arrangement of shiny objects. Apparently these were stolen from various members of the household, if Leila's outburst was anything to go off of.

"I can safely say I have not see anything like this before... Did you do this?" he asked, raising his brow at Julian. Maybe he thought he could summon a demon with this... or something. It wasn't likely to work.

Right?

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