Fun and Games

Tui sighed and looked at her human quietly ‘You turned and destroyed her piano, she lost control of her temper and threw you out because of it. We need to find somewhere for you to stay so you can figure that out” she wasn’t about to tell him what to do with his life now, he’d been with Dani for over ten years at this point and this was a massive change. After being shut out by Dani which only confirmed her belief that the blonde wasn’t thinking properly, the little bird’s main concern was looking after Jory, “Come on, up you get. For now just focus on the next step, we need to get out of here and find somewhere safe.” She wasn’t a fan of dark alleyways as with her time with Dani she’d become aware of what kind of unsavory ruffians frequented such places, and he didn’t need to get himself beaten up or his guitar taken right now, “I’ll stay with you Jory, you don’t have to worry about going through this on your own” rather firm on that front, the bird did its best to preen his hair, having bonded with Jory quite some time ago there was nothing that could be done to take her form him now.

Hiding in his pocket when they found a place to stay as most places didn’t accept birds, the shadow reformed as herself in his lap once he’d sat down with a sigh, having already decided she’d do everything in her power to look after him. The bird tilted its head watching him through dark eyes before she climbed up her arm to sit on his shoulder and started preening him carefully, unsure of what exactly was going through his mind. Over the next couple of months she made sure he ate, had somewhere to sleep and showered regularly, focusing on the next step since he was in shock, able to feel that Dani was as well, the bird had shut the shadow master out not wanting to have anything to do with her until she realized what had actually transpired. Returning from a flight with a twenty dollar note clasped in her beak, the bird had stooped to stealing every now and then to make sure that he had enough money, it disgusted her that money was so important, over someones health and needs but there was nothing she could do. Perching on the back of a chair in the room he was staying in, her human had a pensive look on his face, so she tilted her head to the side in a silent question.

Black eyes studied his face and she found she didn’t have the heart to try and persuade him otherwise, it was going to be a long, fruitless task as the bird was more than well aware of how much this was going to cost. ‘Very well, I shall aide you’ she could guess that he was going to want to earn the money so she would have to keep her thievery to money to pay for his food and shelter. It was going to take a good few years, potentially even a couple of decades so she was thankful that he was now a shifter, it’d make things easier for the pair of them. ‘We can and will do this, together’ for him she was willing to deal with the mild humiliation of performing along side him so that watchers would bestow them both with more money, he didn’t have any other specialties so the best way to earn money was to take jobs at bars and busk. In a strange way she was proud of him, the fact that he’d come up with this idea on his own and seemed to have the resolve to see it through, he’d changed so much since she’d first met him and become a better person.

The man had worked so hard, earning money and saving it, the interest that his bank account had collected had helped immensely while she’d kept to her private promise that she’d steal food money for him. Now finally he’d been able to buy the piano, perched on his shoulder she could feel the nerves coming from him so she gently tugged on a lock of his hair “I will protect you if something goes wrong” wanting to reassure him as best as she could the bird continued “No She’s out on a job for ice” it’d been harder than she’d expected reaching back through the link with Dani to find out what she was doing, after having actively shut her out for about six years, but she’d managed it and now they knew their next steps to take. Helping him get the piano to where it needed to be, the bird lost its shape and wrapped itself around his wrist looking like a slim black bracelet that’ dkeep her out of the way no matter what he chose to do form wise.

Things were quiet for a couple of hours before there was the sound of a key in the door, at first glance she appeared to be the same as ever, wearing dark clothes that fit her well it seemed she’d been doing some snooping. The years away from him after everything that had happened had been more difficult than she let the world believe, she’d gotten used to the sense of peace she’d had when settled with him, the easy silence that stopped her mind from constantly thinking. However, she was very unsure how to go about undoing what had already been done, she knew now that it’d been Lana that had possessed him and forced him to destroy the piano, the demon had readily admitted it. Closing the door behind her and quite tempted to go to bed without eating anything, she made herself make a sandwich. She was nothing if she didn’t care for herself well, while leaning against the bench chewing, the nagging at her stopped her from heading to bed with it, something had changed in the small house. Finally, it hit her, the piano standing neatly tucked out of the way where it had been before it’d been destroyed. Moving over to it she brushed her fingers over the wood, discovering it wasn’t the same one, that was impossible, but at a first glance it had, now aware that she wasn’t the only one left in the room, Dani sat down on the seat and opened the lid. Closing her eyes for a moment she reopened them once the choice of what song to play had been chosen, starting to play the first song that had come into her head.

She played and played until it was dark and her fingers were sore, closing the piano she sat there a moment trying to figure out what to do with Jory, after a moment of hesitation she reached down to where she knew the dog was and stroked him silently, ending up rubbing his ears very gently. Yawning widely she ruffled his ears then stood “It’s late, I’m going to bed” stepping around the piano stool she walked into her room and when he didn’t follow she whistled for him softly once she was in her pyjamas and was sitting on her bed brushing her hair. She had several small rituals she’d picked up as habits that she did before bed and brushing her hair was one of them as it soothed her, glancing up when she heard his nails clicking on the wooden floor Dani didn’t look at him until she was finished. Setting the brush down she got into bed yawning again “Get the lights would you” he was tall enough to reach up with his paws and flick the lights out, once the dog had “Come on then” followed by the sound of her patting the spot on the bed next to her. Listening to him jump up onto the bed, she kept patting the bed until he was next to her, snuggling down under the blankets she freed an arm to continue patting him, it was after her hand had slowed to just rest on his head gently when she spoke once more “Thank you Jory, I’m sorry” she couldn’t remember if she’d ever apologised to anyone apart from her father, having spoken very very softly she wasn’t entirely sure if he heard and understood her but it didn’t matter, he was back home and she was home.

The fact that he snuggled closer suggested that perhaps all was well, thankful that he was with her again, all she wanted to do was snuggle with him and not have to worry about anything for a bit. With the familiar warmth snuggled next to her, Dani quickly fell asleep, during the night she curled around the dog that she’d missed more than she’d ever expected to. Waking up when the light from the unclosed curtains hit her face, she stirred a little before remembering what had happened the night before and cuddled him closer, not wanting to be away from him like that again. She’d spent a while trying to ignore how uncomplete she’d felt after sending him away, however now he was where he belonged again it was like she’d finally come home and was complete. Smirking slightly when the dog moved and snored, she petted him “Silly dog” speaking softly and with a voice filled with affection, the woman sincerely wished that this moment could last forever, her logical side however knew that it wouldn’t, so the best she could do was promise to herself that she wouldn’t push him away again no matter what, they’d stay together like they belonged. Content there she hummed the song to herself that she’d written about him, the one that she’d played the night before on the piano even though she’d converted it to guitar and personally thought it sounded better that way.

Unable to help her smile when he woke up and clambered onto her, not protesting she simply waited until he was comfortable and wrapped her arms around him again, not intending to let him go for a while. At his quiet apology, the blonde woman leaned her head up enough so she could kiss his nose very gently “It wasn’t your fault, Lana used you to hurt me and I exploded” it’d taken her a while to realize that, but once she’d calmed down from the storm of emotions it had been fairly obvious. “Going to play with me later? I’ve still been practicing” He was an idiot, but he was her idiot and some how this idiot had a tendency to be completely adorable, he’d thought to save up and replace it, something about that touched her heart that he’d cared that much to get her a new one even though there was no guarantee that she’d accept him again, but he’d at the very least wanted to replace it.

Giggling a little when he licked her nose “I’ve been practicing both actually” watching him get to his feet and jump off of the bed, the sudden loss of blankets made Dani roll her eyes theatrically “Cheeky brat” getting up and stretching luxuriously before following the dog. “You’re rather perky for this early in the morning” watching him and figuring out what he wanted, a cunning grin wound its way onto her face. Leaning against the door frame into the kitchen not unlike Killian and quirking a brow, Dani waited for him to let his guard down a little before she moved in an attempt to catch him, however she wasn’t quite fast enough and the dog managed to escape her grasp. To be honest she was fairly unsure she was doing this right, the last time she’d played or even felt playful had been with him over six years ago, it’d be easier to use her shadows to catch him however somehow it felt like cheating if she let her shadows help. Waiting with more patience this time, Dani waited for the golden opportunity before pouncing and managing to grab him, giggling again without realizing it the blonde lifted him up so he stood on his hind legs with her hugging him “Gotcha!” kissing his head very briefly she let him go and straightened in order to consider what to have for breakfast.

Snorting with amusement when he spoke, she poked him with a foot “Something tasty, perhaps some waffles” in all honesty she wasn’t that hungry but understood he would be. Jory was a boy after all and they ate a lot, rubbing his ears as was her habit, Dani walked through the room back into the kitchen, still in her pyjamas not bothering to get changed yet. She hadn’t taken a lazy day in a about six years, so she was more than ready for one now she had him back, getting items out and realizing that there was no waffle maker here so her shadows were sent off to go collect one from her parents house knowing that Renee would most definitely have one or two lying around since she was quite the fan of sweet things. Until they returned, she moved around the kitchen collecting ingredients and starting to mix them into a bowl, she’d made waffles a fair bit with her adoptive mother, usually as a treat when her father had been away doing work. The recipe thus was ingrained into her memory and wasn’t one she could forget very easily, yawning briefly and rubbing some sleep out of her eyes while she worked, Dani ended up humming Heaven underneath her breath.

Glancing over at him when he spoke, she propped one hand on her hip and quirked a brow “Dogs don’t get waffles, they get dog food” meaning that if he wanted the waffles he was going to have to shift and eat them like a person. Not all that pleased that he was pushing the boundaries she paused in what she was doing to use her foot to push him back out of the kitchen, the shadows popped back into the kitchen with the waffle maker with a triumphant chorus of squeaks. Turning and praising them with a gentle smile “Good Job” setting it up, it didn’t take too long before there was a small stack of waffles on a plate “The maple Syrup is in the fridge if you want that with it Jory” not all that hungry herself she wound up with only one or two on her own plate. Knowing very well that he wouldn’t end up at the dinner table, she perched on the edge of the bench picking at her plate, soon finished she ended up watching him tuck into his food, her gaze rather gentle for once. It was nice to feel like she was finally at home, swinging her legs back and forth a little the shadows continued to make more waffles until there was another stack, to reward them they were allowed to have a waffle to share amongst them with some syrup on it.

Sitting there peacefully while he worked on his second stack, dani lost her smile and hopped down from the bench, leaving the room she wandered into the living room and stood with her hands on a window sill staring out of the window while she listened carefully to what her shadows had to say. Frowning to herself, Dani mused over what to do, she needed to go and sort out what was happening or risk angering Ice, however the temptation to just stay with Jory was far stronger than the desire to stay safe. Wondering if this was how her father felt when he was summoned by Ice when he was busy with Renee, making her mind up and shutting herself off to the nagging sensation. Choosing Jory meant that she would be in trouble later, but for now that didn’t matter, walking back towards him she smirked noticing that his hair was still rather damp, so she ducked back out of the room and returned with a towel that she tossed over his head. Doing her best to ignore the slight adrenaline rush from ignoring Ice, Dani wandered in and stole a waffle off of his plate while he was distracted and danced out of reach to sit perched on the bench cross legged nibbling on it almost daintily, in a playful mood now that they were together like they belonged again.