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murder by numbers - justin pendleton

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[As soon as it becomes apparent that the City is more crowded than usual, Justin does what is, for him, the unthinkable: he makes a post. There's no deliberation, no planning, none of the typical reluctance to interact with the world outside of his very small comfort zone.

Just a rushed public service announcement.]

If you haven't been here before, this is the City. It's difficult to explain and you likely won't be here long enough for an explanation to matter. Stay calm. You'll only be here for a day or two.

If you have been here before, try to set a decent example.

[But that's not the real reason for this post.]

Euphie? Are you here?

[ooc: Fourth wall post! Very much open, even if your name isn't Euphie. Absolutely anything goes, including face twins/movie spoilers/telling Justin he's a fictional character. Hit him up on the network or feel free to run into him somewhere in the City.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That's nice. Do you always have those? What kind?

Orchids, mostly. The exotics, not the more common varieties that grow well under most conditions.

[His small orange tabby saunters out from under the sofa, stretches, and sits to evaluate Euphie. It's hard to tell if she remembers Euphie or not.]

So pretty! I always liked having flowers too and plants. [Of course plants also make her think of her first City boyfriend, Ken. Things had ended so poorly and abruptly with him. Still, it's only a flicker in her expression before she spots the cat.

Euphie moves to the kitty immediately and sits down across from her right then and there.] Meow.

[He doesn't comment, but he does smile when Euphie addresses the cat. There's something painfully endearing about her lack of self-consciousness and willingness to be child-like.

The tabby trots over to Euphie, tail held high and curved with curiosity.]

She didn't have a name for months, but now it's Electra.

Electra? What a pretty name. And exciting. What made you choose it? [People words for Justin because he is a people. She holds her hand out for the kitty though.]

It's the name of a cat in a book Neil gave me.

[Electra sniffs the offered hand and then nudges it with her head, seeking affection.]

Oh, that's cute. Good book? [Yes, yes, the petting goes here. Nice kitty!]

Not my usual read, but it was okay. [He'd lend it to her if she was staying--but no, now is not a time for thinking about that.

The cat acts like she's been love-deprived her entire life. She's lying.]

What is your usual read? I don't think I know. [Euphie will just have to sit on the floor and let kitty obtain lap status.]

Oh... um. I like literature from the Decadence Movement, but I'll read almost anything.

[Electra promptly makes herself at home on Euphie's lap, rolling onto her back and twisting is a way that only a cat can make look comfortable.]

Decadence movement? [She looks up at him, curiously while her hands remember to keep the kitty happy.]

Nineteenth century, Europe... France, famously. The writers pushed stylistic and topical boundaries of the time. Most of them weren't recognized for their work until after they'd died.

[The cat is very pleased and purrs audibly.]

That must have been hard for them at the time, but it's good they were writing what they wanted to write even if others weren't appreciating it.

It was. A lot of them lived destructive lives... glorified self-induced suffering, died young.

[Electra grabs at Euphie's hand with her front paws and licks the girl's fingers.]

Self-induced suffering? [She looks down at the cat when she's licked and smiles, petting with the other hand.]

Willful poverty, alcoholism, society's disdain for and outright rejection of them and their work.

[The cat lets go of her hand in favor of trying to get as much petting as is physically possible, purring all the while.]

...We could talk about something else.

What did you have in mind? [Sorry, kitty, she takes one hand away to reach out for Justin so he'll join them.]

[He clearly has no choice but to sit, as much as Electra disapproves of sharing Euphie's attention. Justin has to think for a moment.] I want to talk about you... anything about you. Your favorite flower, what you like to read, what you dream about. Anything.

[She smiles, finding his topic of choice sweet and a little embarrassing, but not enough to deny him. She's just never thought of herself as anything special. She leans in close to him. For starters she'll just answer his questions as he asked them, but she might relax into and tell him things on her own soon.]

I don't think there are any flowers I don't like, but I've always been partial to daisies especially the larger colorful ones. [Gerber daisies]

I've always liked fairy tales and stories with romance and fantasy. Happy stories. [There was enough sadness in the world.]

When you say dream do you mean my actual dreams or the things I wish for? [Because they are very different things.]

[Of course she's special. Justin puts an arm around her in a half-hug while he listens (his other hand is busy petting the cat, who seems to think that he should make himself useful if he's going to distract Euphie).

Daisies--symbols of innocence. That seems fitting. That she likes happy stories seems cruelly ironic, all things considered.]

I meant your actual dreams, but I wouldn't mind hearing both.

My actual dreams aren't so pleasant. Actually, they aren't usually dreams. [She wouldn't say this to just anyone.] I...have nightmares about the massacre.

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to--to bring that up...

Don't be, Justin. It's never that far from my mind. And I don't have the nightmares as much anymore.

I wish you could forgive yourself. [Which is totally not the most hypocritical thing ever said. Really.]

If it helps [you, not her.] I don't think it's all guilt that brings them to mind. [It was such a horrific thing to see and be in the midst of even with no culpability.]

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