2017-04-17: Tailor-Made Problems
- Log: Tailor-Made Problems
- Cast: Leon Albus, Lily Keil, Jude Moshe
- Where: Adlehyde, a Tailor
- Date: April 17, 2017
- Summary: Leon and Lily go to a tailor. They meet Jude Moshe there, and things take a turn for the strange -- and the surprising.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
Leon needs to have a relationship with a good tailor. After all, despite being a Drifter, he won't dress roughly, in second-hand clothes. He wants sturdy garb, but he also wants to look good. And, for tailored shirts, pants, and vests, that means he needs a tailor. Which is why he has been trying different ones in Adlehyde.
Today, he brought Lily with him for her opinion. It isn't hard, of course, to get her to come with him. They've already checked a few vests; he returns from the fitting room, wearing the black patterned vest that he settled on. His grey coat has been left behind, which is bundled up on the side -- and with it, the holster that includes Argent Divider. That sits on a bench, as a neat bundle.
He looks pleased. Things like this make Leon feel civilized -- feel like he isn't on the run, with tens of thousands of gella on his head.
He smiles at Lily, a show of good cheer, and then slides his hands into the pockets of his pants. "I think this might be the place," he says. "The tailor seems to know his business. And from everything I've seen thus far, I can't complain about the rest of the clientele."
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
No, it's really not at all hard to get Lily to come along and watch Leon try on fine clothes. It's not even a little bit difficult, even discounting the fact that she could use more tailoring herself.
Mostly she does her own apart from Leon, without mentioning. Today she may change her mind, but she's looked about the shop herself for more than just concern at sightlines for Leon.
She's pleased too, though. While Leon has discarded his coat, Lily is dressed in red with deep red gloves, her boots making a shoft sound along the wooden floors as she turns the rest of the way to check the vest Leon is wearing.
She looks him up and down, and nods, an expression like approval on her face, reserved as she might be about it.
But he smiles at her, and she actually smiles back. "I'll say the tailor knows his business," Lily answers. "You look great even now." A beat, "If you have no complaints, then I have no complaints. It's an easy place to reach, too."
<Pose Tracker> Jude Moshe has posed.
And from everything I've seen thus far, I can't complain about the rest of the clientele.
And just like that--
"Right? Looking good in decent company -- what more could anyone ask for, yeah?"
--Leon Albus skillfully jinxes himself and Lily in one fell swoop. Because that voice is doubtlessly one that should be familiar to them, even if one they haven't heard from in some time. Easy, calm, and ineffably affable, carried with all the carefree confidence of someone speaking to old friends. And they need only look to the front of the store to find the source--
--in the form of one Jude Moshe, carefully holding a long black silk scarf with an orange tip in front of his neck as if weighing it against his ensemble with a critical eye. Given how comfortable he looks, it's an open question just how long he's actually been here -- but given the friendly smile that he offers two people he tried to haul off to a Kislevian prison not much more than a month ago, maybe 'comfortable' is just his default state.
"You kids have got good taste, I'll give you that much," he continues on, in an ever-so-carefree way; he frowns, lifting the scarf up just a bit more, before ultimately putting it on the rack once again. Beside him is a bag, and what looks like a small, colorful bird made of gears and metal rather than flesh and feathers perches on the countertop, head cocking at strange angles as it takes in the room surrounding it. Jude seems to pay it no mind; instead, he just waves down the owner of the establishment, offering some quiet words to him for a moment before looking back to Leon and Lily with an expression best described as 'hapless.'
"Small world, huh?" he asks, as if this were all sheer coincidence. "Still, you ought to talk some sense into your boyfriend -- no tie? You're never gonna be treated like an adult if you keep dressing up like a kid, y'know. I've got a couple suggestions, if you've got the time..."
Yes. He's offering fashion advice.
Really.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"Thanks," Leon says, with a smile down at Lily. "It should be easy enough -- and the fabric is sturdy enough that it won't tear easily. That isn't a bad thing in our line of work."
He opens his mouth to say more, but those words never come out.
Leon tenses the moment that he hears the voice -- the very instant -- because he has a good head for remembering faces, voices, and details. He had to, as commander of the Black Wolves. He hasn't let that skill rust. His eyes widen sharply, but narrow just as quickly when he turns around to look squarely at Jude. He doesn't lift his hand to his collar, but the way his fingers twitch is a sign that he wants to.
His eyes dart to the side, where his coat is bundled about his ARM, and then shoot back towards Jude. He almost rushes right for it, except that he is suddenly aware of where they are. A busy shop, in a busy merchant district, in a busy city. This isn't a place for a gunfight -- much less slinging about powerful sorceries -- and that stops him.
"...Moshe," he says, his voice turning icy. "I can't say I expected to see you here. I'm sure someone is interested in your suggestions."
He looks around the shop. A clerk stops to look at them -- but then keeps moving, and a few of the other customers have already gone back to what they were doing. "But I don't think they are here. What do you want? Do you intend to do this here?"
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily is silent when she hears a voice talking to the both of them unexpectedly. She's silent when she immediately identifies it as one she remembers; her memory had to be sharp as well to support the commander as his second. ...And she's silent as she flexes the fingers on her left hand just before she turns that way to look towards the front of the store.
She doesn't get the chance to answer what Leon said about fabric. And of course, the same thing occurs to her about this not being the place, though she still considers it until she spots Leon look to the side and then choose otherwise.
Her golden eyes flicker over the small, colorful bird, as if looking for what it might do, and then back to Jude again. She looks sharply, angry.
And she doesn't answer his note about ties, either, though she narrowed her eyes at the suggestion of what she should do with Leon to begin with. Leon is addressing what he said well enough; Lily is silent punctuaion for now.
<Pose Tracker> Jude Moshe has posed.
Leon's eyes dart towards his coat, and the ARM concealed within. Jude doesn't follow his gaze.
But it still doesn't stop him from clucking his tongue in subtly disappointed disapproval.
He has them at a disadvantage, yet again; no doubt his own ARM is concealed in his frock coat -- a charcoal gray, this time, noticeably different and not quite of the same quality as the one that Leon and Lily both all but ruined. In the time either of them moved to act, he could draw and shoot.
But it never comes. There's not an ounce of hostile intent in him as he's addressed so coldly, as he turns to face them fully, that bird turning in the same motion to peer at Lily -- the lenses that make up its eyes seeming to come into focus on her with some kind of rudimentary curiosity. Instead, Jude just winces in an incorrigibly blithe way for Leon's biting words, heaving a sigh to the open air. "Ouch," he grimaces, shaking his head. "Well, don't let it be said I didn't try. I'll just keep the offer on the table for now. Maybe you've still got a bit more growing up to do first."
And this, too, he says with the easiest of smiles.
The question that comes, though -- coupled with the dagger-laden stare that Lily levels on him -- prompts Jude to immediately lift his hands palms-upward in a lackadaisically warding gesture. "Hey, hey, easy there, I feel like you're going to set me on fire with that kinda look," is what he says first to Lily, his expression turning to the apologetic -- but one that doesn't really quite reach his eyes. "What I want is to pick up my stuff from here and get back to my job. Here's a couple lessons for you, since you're both new at this still and you're making some -- sorry -- amateurish mistakes. One: you can afford to loosen up a little every now and then, it might just save your hides. You two don't have -that- big a bounty on your heads. Though I hear someone's has gotten just a bit bigger." His amber gaze slides pointedly to Lily in a very 'what mischief did you get up to -this- time' kind of way adults might save for unruly children.
"Two: you never bring your problems to the tailors. This is sacred ground."
He says it with such a perfectly straight face, it'd be easy to think he was telling the truth, too.
"You might as well be pissing on a Guardian shrine, or whatever it is people worship around here."
Shoulders rolling in a simple shrug, Jude's right hand snaps out with perhaps alarming suddenness to swipe up the bag near the bird. It lets out a mechanical little chirp, but otherwise stays in place as Jude starts walking forward. Towards the two. Slowly, as if to indicate he means no harm. "Still, it's kinda serendipity that I found you two here. I was actually just thinking I needed to find you both. Funny how things work out, yeah?" He looks Lily's way, offering a little hint of a smile for her.
"Did Josie give you my message?"
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
Leon keeps his eye on his coat, but he doesn't immediately move to it. He doesn't relax, precisely, but some of the tension leaves as he transitions from expecting a fight and preparing to shoot first. His brow furrows, though, at the insult. However, as Jude speaks, he relaxes slightly more. He doesn't quite let it go -- he was tricked once, after all -- and then he looks around the surroundings, before he looks back to Jude.
"Sacred ground," he repeats, not quite believing. "We loosen up." It almost sounds defensive; maybe it cuts close to things told to him when he was at the academy. "We don't loosen up against someone who would have sent us back to a prison cell." A beat. "Or a firing squad."
He stands up straighter, though, and looks less like a wolf about to pounce. Then, he frowns, his head tilting -- and he glances to the side. Towards Lily, who knows Josephine Lovelace better. His silver eyes regard her, carefully.
The question is unspoken: did Josie speak with her?
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
The bird is strange, but positioned in this standoff Lily doesn't have much time to engage in any curiousity about it; she watches it seem to move on its own while she's looking at it, and moves on. She still knows one of them would be shot in the space it would take her to lift her arm. So she glares at him, certainly. The tension of anger still coils in her fingers as she lets out a breath as he talks, lets the words wash over her. It's a little different from the way Leon transitions here.
"Do you?" she asks Jude about his comment on fire. She is not really asking. In fact she's rather thinking that would be an improvement. But she listens, and--
Lily looks flatly at Jude as he gives her that look. This isn't even a glare anymore, but something warier. ...Tough his comments about sacred ground get more of a frown, particularly talk of pissing on shrines. She doesn't like that much. But she isn't the first to say something substantative.
"I don't loosen up," Lily offers helpfully on the heels of Leon's answer. It almost does sound helpful. ...But while it isn't quite the same deth lare as earlier, Lily doesn't entirely stop glaring a lot of the time. Her gaze is sharp as she narrows her eyes when Jude starts talking serendipity, and almost smiles at her. Then--
Leon glances to her, and she looks sidelong at him, inclining her head very slightly before she looks back to Jude.
"Yes," Lily answers simply.
<Pose Tracker> Jude Moshe has posed.
We loosen up.
I don't loosen up.
Jude Moshe stares at Leon. And his brow just lifts.
One... anguishingly slow... centimeter at a time.
"... Well, glad to see you're on the same page, at least."
The second point just inspires Jude to lift a hand, rubbing at the back of his mane of unruly red hair. "Hah. Got me there," he concedes without so much of a beat skipped. "You're learning, kid. I'm proud of you."
But he keeps moving, that bag hanging from his index and middle fingers so loosely it seems liable to slip off at any moment -- and yet, never quite does. When he gets close enough, the man just leans against the wall near Leon and Lily -- close to that coat that Leon has his ARM squirreled away in, yet not close enough that he'd make it to the thing faster than its owner would. Almost like a deliberate gesture. Do you? asks Lily, without asking.
"It alternates between that and feeling like you're trying to freeze the blood in my veins," is his helpful quip to her, "if that helps make you feel any better."
Eventually, though, Lily relents with her answer. "Great," he declares simply. "Believe it or not, I was pretty touched by what Josie told me. Struck me as a bit impulsive, I guess, but I dunno. Kids'll be kids. And maybe it's just the romantic in me... but I'm rooting for you two."
Just what is he talking about? He doesn't seem to specify; he just lifts up that bag, and takes a step forward to hold it out to the two of them. In offering.
"So, here. I just wanted to give this to you -- kinda a little congratulations gift, I guess."
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
Leon gives Lily a brief look at her claim that she doesn't loosen up. It is a look that turns into frowns by increments equal to the slow arching of Jude's eyebrow.
But he nods to his partner. If she spoke with Josie, that must mean something. He trusts her well enough -- though he doesn't know that she knew anything about Jude. He steps closer to his coat, before his eyes are brought to the bag. Leon meets Lily's eyes, then he nods. She can cover his back better, in case this is an ambush. She can make a spell with a thought.
"So you talked to her about us," he says. Gathering information, he doesn't say, but his tone makes it clear. "She told you some things, then."
He steps close enough to Jude to take the bag from his hand. He looks down at the bag, a careful study for any traps, before he looks back at Jude. "...All right, then," he says as he opens it and looks inside.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily is unmoved by Jude's stare at Leon, which makes sense, since it isn't at her. She might be entirely, but Leon glances her way, and... keeps glancing. She tilts her head in the way of a little shrug, quirking just the ghost of a smile despite the situation.
It doesn't last long; she turns to look at Jude again with more of her attention than a moment ago, because of course she couldn't completely stop watching him. She shrugs lightly at him.
The bag catches her attention, not for the first time, as she imagines what could be in it. Jude's positioning is something she takes note of, and what he says...
"It does make me feel a little better," Lily answers, without so much as the slightest change in her inflection. It's not quite flat, but it's sure close.
Lily answers, and Jude answers; her hands still at her side, the black-haired woman watches him with one eyebrow raised by little bits the more he mentions wha Josie told him and what it means, and what...
She meets Leon's eyes, and doesn't have to nod. No, Lily looks to Jude because Leon has the bag covered. He moves to look inside; she frowns at Jude.
"What, exactly, did Josie tell you that touched you so much?"
<Pose Tracker> Jude Moshe has posed.
"Well, she saved me from a dire situation," 'him needing a light for his cigarette' certainly qualifies as that in his book, "and you two just kinda came up organically. You ought to be happy. She was singing your praises."
He sees the way they cautiously eye that bag. And there's nothing in the redhead's expression other than nonchalance -- and a dim sense of distant approval.
"But we did both kinda came to the conclusion you're a bit too nice for your own good." Well. 'You're' in the singular, at any rate.
There's no obvious traps on that bag, at least. It's an impeccably put together paper bag, at that, looking like something made for giving gifts, decorated to the nines with little bits of crumpled white paper stuffed inside to make the whole thing look authentic. Really -- someone went the extra mile putting it all together. And inside?
Leon might not find what he would have expected, if he was expecting anything at all; all there is seems to be a book with a blank, black leather cover, the spine wrinkled and ribbed with well-worn use, and beneath that, what looks to be a few vials of something that looks more or less like ink -- like the kind a symbologist might use.
"It's temporary," Jude helpfully explains, his words vague enough to not draw undue attention from the other patrons. "Comes from a plant out of Aquvy. Pretty useful for a lot of things, but... Apply it to the skin like you were painting or something, and it looks just like a tattoo. The ink should last a week, maybe two before it starts to fade. The book should give you a good idea of the runes you're gonna want to apply -- Ms. Keil here doesn't seem the type to favor subtle techniques so you don't really need to get too complex with it to be convincing."
This is all rattled off with such matter-of-fact assurance in those words, so calmly, it's like the man is speaking from experience. His hands lock behind the back of his head as he rattles those instructions off like one might a cooking recipe; and if Leon or Lily take up that book to look inside, they'll find a comprehensive guide to symbology runes -- just about enough to make passable duplicates, if someone was a good study.
... oh. Yes.
And there's the silver necktie that's currently being used as a bookmark tucked away between the pages.
Helpful smile goes -- here!
One that fades at that question. What did Josie tell him? He blinks, almost like in honest confusion. "Huh? What else would it be?
"About how you two went and tied the knot, obviously."
And here, unless stopped, Jude is just going to sling his arms around Leon's shoulders to toussle the young man's blonde hair in a friendly gesture one might reserve for an immature little sibling -- probably less so for a bounty someone's hunting.
"I gotta hand it to you, kiddo -- I didn't take you for the spontaneous type, but getting eloped, just like that? You two are a whole hell of a lot more passionate than I figured!"
Yep.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"Too nice for my own--gh," Leon grunts, in irritation. He doesn't voice much else just yet, because he can't quite bring himself to disagree. After all, being too nice for his own good was how he got into this mess with Jude -- and some others besides.
He didn't know what to expect. This isn't it.
At first, he makes a small, confused noise in the back of his throat before he pulls out the bottles of ink and the book to set them down, so Lily can see. He keeps quiet, at first, as Jude explains, but then his eyes widen with realization. It sets in, then, that Jude saw her magic for what it wasn't. He realizes.
His gasp is quiet, but sharp, and he looks at Jude with alarm and then appreciation. This isn't from something revealed; this is spoken from some manner of experience, and that raises far more questions about Jude Moshe than he ever had. "Then, you're..."
But he quiets, because when it comes to keep this secret, Leon has years of experience. He nods, slowly. "...I see. It's a thoughtful gift," he says. "Neither of us has practiced our calligraphy in a time."
He had been speaking with calm and control. That calm and control doesn't last. First, his frown comes back at the necktie, as he comes to it, and then he looks up -- and has arms around his shoulders and his hair toussled. "You--" His face reddens. "I didn't--we aren't--why does everyone keep assuming we've eloped! We have some style, damn it!"
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily, despite what she ought to be doing according to Jude, does not look particularly happy. Mostlyshe looks wary, continuing to watch Jude as he mentions the conclusion he drew, and takes the hand behind Leon and briefly rests it on his back at his irritated grunt, meant as a calming gesture.
His approval concerns her, and Lily keeps watch of Jude at first accordingly, unblinking. So she doesn't see anyting in the bag at first;no, the first thing that she finds is the explanation, straight from the horse's mouth, as it were. Temporary... Something. Temporary tattoos. A ripple of confusion and then of apprehension shift over Lily's face, muted as her expressions are but clear enough. "The..." Her eyes flicker as Leon sets things down on that counter, and it all starts to make physical sense. hose most be the inks, that the book.
"What..."
Leon speaks it aloud, more or less. Slowly Lily looks back to Jude, uncertain, topaz eyes wide. She wants to look at the book, but she doesn't look away from Jude. So, she sees the helpful smile at about the same time that the silver catches her eye. "Very... thoughtful..."
And then--
For a few heartbeats Lily is still silent, before suddenly, loudly, "I am SO TIRED of people talking about my marriage!" Her voice is... brittle. "Do I really seem that dispassionate!?" She pauses, looks to Leon briefly, "Style? I--"
Her face isn't faint; if anything, shes paler than usual. She takes a step forward, but she can't reach Jude with Leon rght there; she reaches out and takes the book instead, flipping through it. "This is... extensive..."
"And I have no idea why you would give it to me. How did you know? Why would you..." She hesitates. "And what..." Leon might recognize it, the start of her difficult talking. "You--You can't be like me. Not you."
<Pose Tracker> Jude Moshe has posed.
It's interesting, the differing ways in which they react. Both come from a similar place of confusion and surprise, and Jude sees it clearly etching over both of their features in real time. And then... it starts to deviate, little by little. Alarm in Leon gives way to a slight semblence of appreciation as the young man takes to the subtleties of the conversation like a duck to water. Caligraphy, he says. Jude just smiles that smile of his. It's like a friend who knew the perfect gift for old comrades.
Or a fellow con-man going with the flow of the con.
But as appreciation, such as it might be, comes to Leon, it's Lily's reaction that draws the attention of those amber eyes. Apprehension, uncertainty. Those eyes go wide. It's the look of someone used to distrust. Jude knows it well enough by now.
Which doesn't really stop him from delivering that nonchalant little coup de grace that gets even the stalwartly stoic Lily to crack. He can't help himself; he laughs, easily, openly, like a good-natured friend might. "Relax, relax! You two make it way too easy, sometimes. Trust me -- I think you're about a hundred times more passionate than most people give you credit for, Ms. Keil." He had the burn wounds to prove it, at that. Fond memories set to the wayside by what -Leon- has to say. "Style?" he asks, with a blink.
"Ha ha, now that's more like the Leon Albus I imagined. I bet you've got a whole damn book full of wedding plans."
One can just imagine all the things he might be picturing about Leon excitedly picking out wedding cakes and a venue and everything.
Thankfully, he eventually relents; that arm looses and slips away from Leon to hook into the pockets of his pants as his amber stare directs itself towards Lily, looking through that book -- starting to hesitate through her words. He lifts a brow. "What? A fan of caligraphy?" he asks, in that roundabout, conversational way. "Yep. Born and raised. You looked like the type to me, so I figured I'd go out on a limb. Of course, there's some very select groups of people who don't like others who dabble in the hobby without their say-so..."
His shoulders lift with a helpless shrug. "... so I thought maybe you could use a helping hand. Trust me -- there's worse people in this world than a nice guy like me to get the attention of."
...
"For your caligraphy."
Sure. This doesn't stop him, however, from looking sidelong at Leon, with only one question in his stare. Something like,
'She's not gonna try to set me on fire on sacred ground, is she?'
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
Leon spots the way Lily tenses. He knows this -- and he hasn't seen it in years. They didn't get out of Kislev without close calls, when someone almost found out about her magic. He reaches a hand out, placing it on her shoulder, and squeezes with his fingers.
He frowns, brow furrowing more, but he doesn't answer the accusation of a book full of wedding ideas. (Lily said she wanted to plan it, and Leon isn't the best at planning.) But he keeps quiet, especially with the way that Lily looks a little ragged after all of that.
And the way that Jude confesses exactly what he is. He has a magic that others, especially Solaris, would not approve of. That knowledge, that admission, doesn't fit in the view of Jude that he built up. His eyes narrow, as he regards Jude and sees the question in his look.
He shakes his head. He isn't sure.
But he tries, in his own way, to defuse the situation: "...Why are you helping us?" he asks. "Was it really what Josie said? Or do you get something out of it? And... why tell us about this hobby of yours?"
Because even if he was helping them, it's a dangerous admission to make -- of course, they certainly won't tell anyone. Leon doesn't even have to ask Lily that.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
The hand on her shoulder gets no quick reaction, nothing obvious, but it's an assertion for Lily of Leon's presence, calming. ...But while it keeps her a little grounded, it can't calm her all the way, with everything going on at the moment. Even the talk that would usually only frazzle her continues to fracture her nerves at first.
So when Jude laughs, she frowns at him until he says relax... and reminders her of someone else. She finds herself mollified on the front of her passion by his answer to her, and doesn't really have the wherewithal to be annoyed at herself for it in that moment.
Leon's brow furrows at the matter of wedding plans, but Lily can't quite bring herself to comment in the moment. It's still too surreal to be talking pleasantly about it. And Leon is right; she does look ragged. Her posture is straight, but she's still holding the book. She waits for an answer to what wasn't quite a question.
Jude sets up the code very easily; Lily nods to his initial question, and doesn't take her eyes off of Jude's as he explains the rest. It might be harder to follow, but her question set up for it in turn. And everything that he says lines up.
Recognition, accordingly, is clear in Lily's gaze, pale as she still is. But the answer to Jude's question? Well, obviously, it's very hard to tell. Lily might have done any number of other things, right until Leon speaks up and she turns her head to look at him.
Leon doesn't have to ask, of course.
"I... see. So you are." She can follow the words, but it's harder to voice them at the moment; she stands up a little straighter, a little more military. She sighs. "I have so many questions..." A pause. "About... calligraphy." It sounds clumsy on her lips.
"I don't understand this at all." She sets the book down on the counter--but gently.
"Or not enough of it."
<Pose Tracker> Jude Moshe has posed.
Why is he helping them?
That's the question, isn't it? Just why would he, of all people, help the two of them? There's so many possible answers, and from a man who made his first impression with the barrel of a gun, many of them aren't that encouraging.
So of course, his ultimate answer comes in the incredibly encouraging form of a blithe shrug.
"Yep. She touched my heart," he declares in such a casually off-beat manner it's hard to say if he's being honest or glib -- or even taking -any- of this seriously. "What can I say? I've got a weakness to a woman with a pretty smile. It's a hell of a burden." And here, he rubs at the back of his neck, looking aside with a weary sigh.
"... Man, even -mules- cost an arm and a leg out here. What am I gonna do..."
No, he's not explaining the context of that, either.
After all -- there's more important things. Like the fact that he just so casually revealed that very, precious fact about himself, to people who owe him no favors. Certainly, there isn't much they can do about it -- and certainly, he doesn't think them the type to act on that information for any variety of reasons. But exactly why he might go out on a limb like this, even as a gesture...
... well, that remains an open question.
It doesn't make his slight wince any less pronounced when Leon offers him no assurances of -not- being roasted on a spit-fire -- though the sigh that comes after is a bit of a half-assed one, as if he couldn't commit wholly to the effort of looking relieved. Instead, he just turns his gaze toward that well-worn book as it's set down, and tilts his head.
"I bet you do," he says after a moment, before holding up a single finger into the air. Within moments, he's putting a hand inside that frock coat -- a gesture that could be threatening, if he wasn't holding up his other hand in that 'I come in peace' gesture. A few minutes later, a crumpled slip of paper is produced, and offered out -- to whichever one wants to take it.
"It's where I'm staying. Kinda," he declares, in that vague way of his -- a simple address that, at a glance, seems to be an inn at one of the nicer parts of town. "Long story. Anyway -- you want answers, I get it. But like I said, I've got work... and here's probably not the best place to talk about caligraphy, y'know? You two ever want to talk about it, you can find me there."
As if anticipating something, Jude just lifts his hands afterwards. "No trap, I swear." His grin grows haplessly lopsided. "That just makes it sound even more like a trap, doesn't it? Well -- just get in contact with me. We can set up a place that seems a little less like I'm gonna hurl a burlap sack over your head when you aren't looking."
Caligraphy: truly a brutal hobby.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
Leon frowns, a little more, at Jude's response. He can't say what he makes of it -- if he believes a word of it, even. The statement about mules costing a lot, too, doesn't sit well with him. He straightens his back out, though, and nods when Jude offers the slip of paper. He steps forward and takes it, looking the address over. He recognizes it.
He made himself familiar with Adlehyde's layout.
His nose wrinkles, before he looks up. "...Agreed," he says. "This isn't the place to get into the details. The public isn't interested in such a topic, anyways."
It is something of a lost art, calligraphy. He glances sideways at Lily. He doesn't know whether they will go -- except that he does. The desire to know more, to know anything about Lily's magic, is a powerful one. He doesn't doubt that it will come before common sense. But they need more information, he decides. Leon's mind races.
Fortunately, he knows a woman with information. He can't say whether she would know a thing about Jude Moshe -- but he knows little enough.
Maybe Cassidy Cain will know more. It can't hurt to ask, can it?
"All right," he says. "We'll need to discuss it. Then, we can send a message."
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily has absolutely no idea what this mule thing is even about. Her believing Jude or not is met not with a raised eyebrow, not with a relieved smile, but with a flat stare. It doesn't last her all that long; it isn't even as sharp as earlier.
Lily stands still otherwise, shoulders back to keep holding herself up properly. There's still no guarantee that Lily won't do some fire.
And yet...
'I bet you do', Jude says, and maybe Lilydoes understand more than she thinks. She notes his warning to wait, and keeps her hand out at her side. She does not take the paper first.
Lily can't see it from here, but Leon can show it to her in time. She's foused more on Jude than on his writing, lifting a hand finally to brush some of her hair back out of her face, frowning but in the usual way for her. "...Right. It's not the best place, and you have things to do." Leon has already agrees though, and Lily goes along with it. She glances to him at the same time that he looks to her, and her gaze suggests, beneath everything, one thing: what she'll be doing about this.
It's probably obvious to him.
Lily looks back to Jude. "I--" 'We'll need to discuss it.' Lily recognizes the prudence of that answer immediately, and closer her mouth before she completes her own answer. Maybe she'll ask if Josie knows anything more about Jude Moshe. Or maybe she won't. ...She needs to talk to her, either way.
She still isn't feeling terribly well.
Calligraphy: mysterious, with many hidden depths.
"...I'll get started on the book."
<Pose Tracker> Jude Moshe has posed.
"Do whatever you have to, I'm not in a huge rush," is Jude Moshe's easygoing answer, a hand waving through the air. "I'm here covering the exhibition until it's done," which might raise further questions, but he still doesn't seem inclined to answer, "so you've got plenty of time. Still, I gotta say -- you being here's a huge relief off my shoulders."
What? Maybe he means just finding fellow caligraphy enthusiasts. Maybe.
If he has anything else to say, it's stopped prematurely as the shop owner approaches; in his hand is that light tan frock coat that Jude so prizes, fixed into its pristine condition after being so unrelentingly brutalized. His grin is enthused, in a subdued way, as he takes the coat from the man, slinging it over his right forearm.
"Thanks, Ericks. Perfect as always -- you really got a knack for this stuff," he asides to the man with an easy smile.
"Not a problem, Mr. Moshe. Enjoy," is the answer, before Jude shrugs leisurely.
"Always do."
And with that, Jude turns around, lifting a hand to wave through the air for Leon and Lily as he goes. "Enjoy the book, Ms. Keil. And the tie, kiddo. I'll be seeing you soon, hopefully. C'mon, Jacob."
And off he goes, as affably and carefree as ever; that bird, upon apparently hearing its name called out, hops up onto Jude's shoulder just as the redhead passes by, looking back with those curious mechanical eyes seconds before the man opens the door and walks out with the jingle of the bell.
It all happens so naturally, that it might just take the two a second to realize something:
...
...
Jude didn't pay for his coat.
...
... and the owner is still standing there.
"Ah," the man clears his throat, "yes. Now, just the matter of payment -- Mr. Moshe said he would be leaving the bill with you..."
...
... And Leon need only turn over that slip of paper to see it.
A line of costs, all tallying up to a (relatively) modest(ish) amount of gella. For work on a frock coat. Light tan. And underneath the total is just one simple word:
'SORRY'
He DID promise it when they first met, after all.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
'Covering' the exhibition? Leon wonders about that. He frowns, again, but he nods. Even if something is off about the statement. He shrugs his shoulders, folding the slip of paper but not tucking it away. He glances at Lily, as Jude talks with the shop's owner. He can see it on her face.
They will be meeting with him.
He sighs, and then he looks back up at Jude. He nods, once, though there is a frown again. He doesn't need a tie.
He watches Jude walk away, and it takes a moment to realize that the owner hasn't walked away too -- and then why. It isn't for Leon's own tailoring. It is, rather, for something else.
His silver eyes widen, and he unfolds the slip and flips it over. Then he scowls down at it, and looks back up. His jaw works and his eyebrow shakes.
"I'll need a receipt," he says, through clenched teeth. "For Moshe. He'll be interested in it."
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily doesn't ask the further questions raised; Lily has decided on some other questions already. And when Jude just happens to talk about relief...
Lily actually sighs. It's a very tired sigh. Really, it doesn't have a place on a woman younger than Jude.
But the coat she recognizes immediately, without all the marks she remembers inflicting on it. She looks between the tailor and Jude, then back to Jude himself, inclining her head in a nod of farewell more out of habitual manners than nything else. "Right," she answers. Enjoy the book.
But Lily indeed gave Leon exactly the look that she does on rare occasion, when usually she's quite content to discuss or even defer to him. Not here though.
She's prepared to be done with this whole thing, and then she looks to the owner with a lifted eyebrow. Leaving the bill... with...
She looks down to the bill in question. "..." Lily pauses. She considers. And then she looks up at Leon.
"...That man is ridiculous," she mutters, and starts collecting the contents of the bag, inks and book and all.