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Ian · Joined: 09 Jun 2008 Posts: 267 Location: South Carolina

~~There is trouble, in the forest, and the creatures all have fled~~ Ian walks down the steps of his house. Mansion, most would call it. He sings as he plays the twelve-string acoustic guitar. He walks past the painting of Flora and stares at it for a long while. ~~As the maples scream oppression! and the oaks just shake their heads~~ 'Never happen in Arden' he thinks. A few minutes later he is drinking unsweetened iced tea and is outside, on the back porch, playing La Villa Strangiato. As he loses himself in the guitar solo, he thinks about the young Hollywood starlet he killed the night before, and how the papers were saying it was a tragic case of fame and heroin, and hence the overdose. A paparazzi had photographed him slapping Flora when they broke up. Lady that she is, she maintained her dignity and just left, not knowing about the picture. It was all over TV the next day. He had the news on and didn't tune in until he heard '...Evelyn Flaumel, whom he took to the Academy Awards last February. A paparazzi caught the slap on video.' Ian had dropped his lunch on the floor and within ten minutes he was on his way to California, cutting through Shadow to speed things up. To make a long story short, he had scaled the outside of the young man's condo, entered through an open slider and found him in bed, wearing a pair of shorts and a shirt that said CBGB. A needle was nearby and the actor was clearly already under the influence. "Junkie bitch." Ian swore. He thought about leaving a dagger in his chest but didn't want to bring any unneccessary heat on anyone so he picked up the needle and refilled it with the white powder and a bit of water. As he put the needle into one of the track marks the actor awoke and blinked. "Who?" The entire deadly load shot into his arm, Ian whispered to him softly. "That's for striking the greatest lady you'll ever know. Die, you bastard." And he did. As the song progressed into 'Never turn your back on a monster' he felt a brief moment of regret but that slap, that slap was stuck in his head. People on this Shadow had no damned manners. Why had he promised his mother he'd stay in New Orleans for awhile and not to contact her? The song finished and he glanced down at his still fingers. He was getting into one of those moods again.

TonyLB · Joined: 09 Jun 2008 Posts: 288

There is a flash of movement, and April vaults quietly over the back wall and into the yard, landing in a crouch in the long shadows cast by the barely-risen sun. In addition to the gloves and high-tops that she has taken to wearing obsessively, she is wearing a silk blouse and long slacks, a far cry from the shorts and t-shirt she had on when she claimed fatigue last night and retired early to her room. The clothes, though fancy (especially for her!), are rumpled and in mild disarray.

She has landed near a tree whose spreading branches come within ten feet of the slightly open window of her room, and she makes a half move toward it before taking in her surroundings. Then she notices Ian sitting on the patio. She freezes in place.

A leaf falls off of a nearby bush, and flutters gently to the ground.

Ian · Joined: 09 Jun 2008 Posts: 267 Location: South Carolina

He is staring into the iced tea now, clearly his thoughts are very far from New Orleans. For once he seems entirely unaware of his surroundings. He glances down at a picture, and April can imagine it is probably Hayden. They had dated for a few years, and Ian had been very serious about her. He actually even forgot to meet April a few times because of Hayden. The "M" word was even bandied about, and then, suddenly, she felt something was wrong and left fairly abruptly. She moved to Oregon and the last Ian had mentioned, she was raising horses on her grandmother's ranch. April even knew what picture it was. Hayden, at the beach, looking over one shoulder. Her tan accented by her jet black hair, and her dazzling smile was accompanied by her sparkling blue eyes, like the water off the beach in the Caribbean. Every once in awhile something would set him off, and into a black mood he would go. His eyes brim up and he puts his head in his hands.

TonyLB · Joined: 09 Jun 2008 Posts: 288

April breathes the quietest possible sigh of relief, then jumps up to grab a branch of the tree, curls her whole body up and around, leaps to grab a gable and swings into her window.

A few minutes later, changed into house-clothes, April walks out onto the porch with an air of innocence. Each of her hands is filled with a tumbler of orange juice. "You're up early," she says. "You doin' okay?" She sets one of the orange juices on the edge of the table, and nudges it in his direction with the tips of her fingers.

Ian · Joined: 09 Jun 2008 Posts: 267 Location: South Carolina

"Yeah, I'm okay." Then he looks at her. "No, I'm not okay. Remember Hayden? I found out she died in a riding accident. I got up early and was going to see if you wanted to go for a drive or something but something made me read the paper first. Riding accident kills noted Oregon horse breeder. My heart seized up for a second. Damn. I haven't even talked to her for almost 30 years. She wanted space. I gave her space." He sighs as a tear races down his cheek. "I still loved her, I guess." He notices the orange juice. "Thank you, April."

TonyLB · Joined: 09 Jun 2008 Posts: 288

"Oh God," April says, paling. "Oh, Ian ... I'm ... I'm so sorry."

She steps forward, reaching, then hesitates. After just a moment, though, she crouches down and hugs her brother around the back of the chair. "God, that's terrible."

Ian · Joined: 09 Jun 2008 Posts: 267 Location: South Carolina

"I guess I should get used to it. Did it matter? Did I have a future with her? She would have turned 50 and I still look like I'm 24. Do any of us have any chance for love, or is it fleeting, because we are who we are?"

TonyLB · Joined: 09 Jun 2008 Posts: 288

April sighs, and unwraps herself, settling into a chair.

"You know we can love," she says with a sad smile. "I wish I could tell you that it wouldn't have worked, and that you didn't lose anything."

Ian · Joined: 09 Jun 2008 Posts: 267 Location: South Carolina

"Maybe I should just revert to how I was when I first got here. Different woman every couple of nights. No long-term or even short-term commitments, for that matter. Enough about me moping and brooding. Where were you last night? Or should I ask?" He grins.

TonyLB · Joined: 09 Jun 2008 Posts: 288

"Ooh," April says, wincing. She tries to look chagrined, but just ends up grinning. "Busted!" she admits.

Ian · Joined: 09 Jun 2008 Posts: 267 Location: South Carolina

His mood improves immediately, like her presence is always capable of. It's like watching a darkened forest lit up by the sunrise. He laughs for a few moments and drinks the last of his orange juice while holding up a restraining hand. "Maybe I'd rather not know. You wouldn't want me performing elective surgery on someone with a longsword. Besides, you can take care of yourself, and New Orleans has a great levee system, so there really is nothing to worry about."

TonyLB · Joined: 09 Jun 2008 Posts: 288

April immediately looks offended. "I'm not going to flood the city! For pete's sake ... that was a one time thing, and it was a long way from here."

She smiles, and brushes a stray wisp of hair across her forehead. "I was out with Jean," she says. "He took me dancing."

Ian · Joined: 09 Jun 2008 Posts: 267 Location: South Carolina

"I hope it was at least something respectable like swing or jazz and not that lambada crap." He picks the guitar back up and looks at it, then back to April again. "Jean. I think he's been getting mentioned more and more, this young man of yours. Let me guess. Athletic, of course, makes you laugh, doesn't mind getting caught in the rain, and treats you the way you deserve to be treated, like a Princess, of course."

TonyLB · Joined: 09 Jun 2008 Posts: 288

"Wrong," April says with considerable satisfaction, "on almost all counts. He's scrawny and a bit clumsy, and he looks like a wet cat in the rain."

She pauses, and looks out over the wall for a moment. "And he doesn't treat me like a princess," she says with a smile.

Ian · Joined: 09 Jun 2008 Posts: 267 Location: South Carolina

Ian laughs, nearly dropping his guitar. "Oh by all that is holy, is he one of those Demons and Dragons players?" He looks thoughtful for a moment. "At least that would kind of fit in." He laughs until he is red in the face. It occurs to April that she has never seen him laugh this hard in his life.