Who: Marian and Zhen
Where: The boarding house
When: midday

hold for alyson & zhen (:

Hold for meeting the Seraphim and walking in the rain.

Who: Eris and Jakob
Where: One More Round
When: after hours

Who: Hero and Sam
Where: Sam's Place
When: Early afternoon

Despite no sleep last night, Hero was practically bounding up the street. She had coffee in one arm and Nighthawks' cheese fries in the other: She never walked into an interview without doing her homework first, not even when it was a semi-spontaneous one.

The interview had been originally scheduled for earlier in the week, at the police station. A sort of 'Day in the Life of ECPD's First Female Detective' human interest piece. It had actually been an interest piece that Hero, always one for a bit of 'Girl Power!', had been genuinely looking forward to -- especially since ECPD's lady cop had some very uncop-like family connections. Which either meant she wasn't so shiny herself, or she probably had some issues to reconcile if she was. Or it could have meant something Hero hadn't thought of yet. Either way, she had been interested.

who: arden and jesse
where: the park
when: mid day

For a girl who had spent her morning with only herself to occupy it, Arden had certainly put it to eventful use. Other kids might be sleeping in their Saturday safe and warm in their homes, but she couldn't get out of hers quick enough. She had spent the early hours lying still beneath her covers, not daring to go the bathroom, trying not to breath unless she had to. Once her dad's footsteps had disappeared with the sound of the front door Arden got up, ran to the bathroom, got dressed, and headed out the door.

Who: Pepper
Where: Under sixth street bridge
When: Morning

Pepper's eye still throbbed, but she ignored it as she watched him, watched the man who'd given it to her. Watched him placing things, making himself at home - in her patch. That was her patch. He might be bigger, and stronger, older - but it was still her patch. But he'd thrown her out on her ear like a street rt and now here she was, cowering behind some garbage cans like one, unable to face him alone.

Who: Dodge and Evelyn
Where: On the streets
When: afternoon

Dodge was holding court in the afternoon light, despite the lousy weather. Lounging on a railing of a high stoop he was dolling out order to his subordinates, updating on them on Maddy's return, changing out the newest set of orders and interrogating those who weren't able to find out that someone had grabbed her from the church. His enforcers had already wandered off with some of the boys, doling out physical punishment where it was deserved. Those used to him in leader mode might have noticed him being a little tougher than usual, holding people more accountable for mistakes.

The morning's haunting still sat uncomfortably with him, and he continued to turn it over in his head this way and that, but he wasn't going to let it be true. No, today he was completely Dodge, maybe even a little over the top but that wasn't going to stop him.

Below him a group of boys not involved in court were playing a make shift game of hockey on the frozen sidewalk, trying to push a tin can into two turned over trash cans with whatever they could get their hands on. Occasionally their cheers would erupt which made him smile. They were happy, his boys. Patrick had been wrong, Dodge was doing just fine.

Who: Benny
Where: Chinatown
When: Very late

For all intents and purposes, it was a laundromat. And most of the day? It actually was one; a huge and sprawling launderer's facility that oversaw countless jobs pressing linens, cleaning bedsheets for the hotels in town, freshening server's uniforms, and more. It could have been a lucrative business in and of itself for the owner, but when the owner was an affiliate of the Jade Lotus? Legitimate business was never enough. Benny had known that would be the case, and after long weeks of waiting, he finally had his proof.

Who: Hero
Where: Her apartment
When: Sometime between dawn and late morning

 
Hero blinked.

It was morning.

...

...When the hell had that happened?!

A bit disoriented at the fact, she glanced about her living room where she had spread out her papers for the night. The gray light of dawn (or, considering the weather, maybe even late morning?) had crept into the deepest corners of the room, competing with the glow from the table lamps behind her. Her fireplace housed only a few embers now and, feeling the goosebumps brush against the cloth of her shirt, she realized she was pretty fucking cold. She shook her head a bit, casting off some of the disorientation, and took a long and final drag off the cigarette dangling from her mouth. She held the smoke in for an equally long moment, before exhaling out and crushing the remains into the ashtray beside her -- which, she noticed, was filled with far more butts than she remembered smoking.

Who: Maddy and Alyson
Where: Around Town
When: Early morning

Maddy woke up alone, sprawled across her bed with hair in her mouth. It wasn't dark outside anymore. Morning had come, but the pinging against the window let her know that the freezing rain was continuing. Wonderful.

Maddy couldn't remember a winter when they had such a terrible storm on the horizon. Not any time outside of the depths of summer. The clouds are dark, purple and black swirls behind the skyline of Eidolon, clouds illuminating with the flashes of lightening.

She stands on the seemingly weak railing of the bridge while the thunder crashes and she can feel the electricity in the air. The electricity is thick in the air, dancing across her skin like an itch she can't scratch. A mosquito she can't find.

I stopped by the orphanage today. It’s been years. There aren’t nearly as many children there as there used to be, and that breaks my heart, because I know so many of the ones who could be there are out in the streets instead.

Today, I went to see my father with Ian. I hadn't really thought it through at first, but it was a good thing Ian was there. I think he's the only reason my father didn't drag me home right away. I tried to tell him that I wasn't coming back, that I needed to be at the Drake, that I needed to be anywhere but that house, but at first he wasn't listening. It took Ian's assurance that I was perfectly safe there in order to persuade my father to let me stay. I told him I was going right out after this talk with him to start searching for jobs again and he seemed pleased, but still worried.

Who: Evelyn, Shoshannah, and Ian.
When: Jan. 22, morning.
Where: The Drake

who: roy and lily
where: the library
when: mid morning

Roy had just got done with running numbers, and had stopped on the way back to the vault at the library. He wanted to get a typewriter for his sister, but had absolutely no idea whatsoever what one might cost, where he could get a used one, or even if he should or...basically he was clueless. The only people he could think of that might be able to help him, were at the library.

"...hello?" he called, leaning a little over the desk to see if he could see behind it, wincing faintly as his voice echoed. He'd not even been trying to be loud, but the place had acoustics like you wouldn't believe.

Who: Angelo and OPEN TO ALL!
Where: One More Round
When: late-ish

Who: Andrei and Ava
When: Early Evening
Where: The Green Fairy

Who: Dodge
Where: The streets
When:: Just after dawn

He woke with dawn. Maddy wasn't awake yet, and he took it as a chance to sneak out from the bed, hesitating only briefly before leaving her tower room.

At first glance he was a mess. His face was bruised across one whole side, his clothes were dirty and rumpled in from being slept in for two days, and given the dull pain in his ribs he lacked the normal litheness of his gait. Besides the fedora perched on his head, he looked far more like just any old street kid rather than the Prince of Thieves.

Glittering points that downward thrust,
Sparkling spears that never rust.
What is it?

Who: Andrei
Where: His living room
When: Sometime after midnight

Andrei was restless, dangerously so. He was literally pacing around his living room even. And he had been at it for, oh, maybe an hour? Even a man as apathetic to politics as him couldn't help feelings the effects of their surrounding stress. The Syndicate was on edge. The O'Malleys were a has-been name now, to both the delight and ire of Andrei's 'superiors'. He personally had spent quality time with the last of that dying breed, extracting any and all information that could be extracted from an unwilling party: which, it turns out, could be a hell of a lot. And then he had spent other parts of his time creatively disposing of said informats before, in their panic, they did something to weaken the Syndicate further. And any normal day that would've been enough to send him on his happy little way.

But the days had been getting less and less normal. They had been pulling at him: the people who like to be addressed by 'sirs'. The people who fancied there was some chain around his neck they could tug any which way they pleased... And if there was one idea that could really bug him? one thing that made his perpetual smile twitch the way very very little could? it was being bound. restrained. chained. He was a man who loved to use his hands, and even the concept of them being metaphorically tied didn't sit well.

who: brett and eris
where: her place
when: wee hours
(nsfw)

Brett's world, which had never run to a real timetable that normal people would recognise, had, in the past day or so, completely ceased to run to any timetable at all.

Who: Ian and Sam
Where: Sam's place
When: Evening

Who: Dutch and Evelyn
Where: Dutch's place
When: Dinner-times!

Nervous? Dutch? No. Maybe. It wasn't like he found himself here often, after all. He rarely cooked in his apartment, either eating out from Nighthawk's or making the barest of sandwiches for himself, but there he was. Clad in an a-shirt for the moment, Dutch smiled in amazement at his entire situation as he gave the contents of a sizzling skillet a toss, breathing deep of the aroma that rose up from it. If his place had been clean before? It was somehow cleaner tonight, better lit, more welcoming with the radio on low in the living room near an open window that vented the heat of the kitchen out to the streets beyond.

Still, it was strange... he was having a guest, one he'd invited all on his own. Even stranger was the fact that Evelyn had said yes, but Dutch wasn't going to decry the chance. The young woman was sweet, raising up protective urges in Dutch for the first time (aside from Cheyenne) in years now. She'd bought him a delicious bottle of wine, remembering his fondness for it, and tonight? He wanted to share it with a friend. Were they friends? Dutch certainly thought so, or else he might have never made the offer.

Moving to turn the heat down on the stovetop, he tugged the refrigerator open to pull the wine out, gauging the temperature critically as the bottle sat in a gnarled hand. It felt nicely chilled, but Dutch slipped it back into the fridge as he scowled at the clock, moving to grab the new flannel Evelyn had bought him and pull it on over his a-shirt. She was due sometime soon, he knew, but it had been so long since he'd done anything like this that he could only hope he'd timed his preparation of the meal close enough.

I don't think I've ever felt so relieved. Just sitting here watching her breathe feels like cool hand against my forehead. At least she's safe. At least she's alive.

Still. I didn't find her. No, she found me, broken, bruised and battered, half asleep on her bed. I still failed her. What if it happens again? When she's not actually safe? Or if next time I don't fail her but fail the boys, those who rely on me for everything.

Who: Angelo and Shoshannah
When: Jan. 21, early evening through the night.
Where: Nighthawk's, then Angelo's apartment.

Who: Evelyn and Ian
Where: The Drake (main lobby)
When: Late late morning/noon-ish

Evelyn was ignoring Dolores' pointed speculations and side-glances as she went about consulting yet another directory for her most recent request. She had left one of the guests and returned to the main lobby in time to see Ian escorting a young lady up. Seeing the hotel manager escorting a guest to a room was nothing unusual. But escorting a pretty young lady, hand on the lower back, up to a room she apparently couldn't pay for? Evelyn was no idiot, and pretty damn observant when it came down to it. She had enough experience with men to know that a hand on the lower back was no professional gesture or a sign of being 'just friends'.

And she found that with that thought she had to fight the straight line her mouth threatened to turn into. It was stupid, really; Evelyn had never had and never will have any intentions of sleeping with her boss. Or any boss. Ever. So she should have felt relieved at seeing Sullivan escorting some guest with the attention of an admirer. But she didn't feel relieved; instead she felt another irriation piled on to the general state of worry she had woken up in. And, had she been anywhere but work, she might've let her face betray her. But she didn't. Evelyn made sure she didn't; not with Dolores and the rest of the staff eying her so closely; not when everyone here suspected it had been some 'thing' with Ian that had gotten her this job. She wouldn't let a case of wounded pride prove them right.