Fun and Games

Grinning deviously at the narrowed eyes and the complaint, she retorted without thinking “My waffle now” finishing off the waffle the question made her study him a moment, picking up on some of the differences from when she’d seen him last. In a strange way, he seemed more mature and settled in himself, deciding it was a good change and shrugging at the question “I don’t know, something fun, its been so long since I’ve had fun or done something other than work. Got any ideas?” it was as if she’d shed what she had been and was ready to take the next step forward. Getting off of the bench and deciding it was time to get dressed, Dani left the room and dressed in a pair of leggings and a loose shirt, deciding that that would do for the day she reappeared and wandered over to him, folding her arms and waiting for any suggestion of what they could do. Thankfully the shadows were cleaning up the kitchen so she didn’t have to worry about it, several baby ones squabbling over the leftover maple syrup before an older shadow turned up and scolded them, finishing it so they couldn’t argue over it anymore. All of this a part of her mind was aware and keeping tabs on them all which allowed her to keep her attention on her Jory waiting to hear what he wanted to do, the fact that he seemed a little more mature and confident in himself allowed her to treat him a little more as an equal instead of just a subordinate.

Meeting his gaze squarely, there was a noticeable softness to her gaze when she was looking at him or talking to him, “Very well then” reaching out she grabbed him by the front of his shirt and led him to the couch, once he was in the optimal snuggle position she settled down on the couch with him using his chest as a pillow while her arms wrapped around him feeling a lot happier and settled now that everything had been sorted out between them. She’d missed him but had been unable for all of her cleverness and ability to manipulate hadn’t been able to figure out how to get back to the way they were, although they were not quite back to where they were they were definitely on the right road. Wanting to do nothing more than just cuddle close with him, blue eyes closed and she nuzzled into him with a very clearly contented sigh, completely relaxed. Tui had found a place in the room to perch and preen herself, quite pleased that her charge had come up with a good idea, had managed to complete the idea and now was back where he belonged, wanting nothing more than for Jory and Dani to be happy the bird reached around and yanked out a couple of loose feathers keeping herself busy while the pair of lovebirds snuggled into each other on the couch like newlyweds. Pausing a moment as the bird realized that it was rather cynical when it came to love, she dumped that thought and went back to what she was doing.

Feeling quite happy when the arms wrapped around her and he nuzzled into her hair it didn’t take long for her to drift off again, over the next couple of months the pair started to settle back into the way things had been, one of the first things Dani had insisted upon was an anti-possession tattoo for him although she’d let him pick where it went, clearly relaxing a lot more when it was done, she proceeded to soften around him more than she ever had before, allowing him more choice on things so they were more equals than anything else. Things had been going good when one day he’d vanished out of the blue after heading out to the park to play, Lana had surfaced once more and taken him along with his guitar. After spending a good amount of time beating the shit out of him and once she’d broken everything she could the demon had moved onto his hands. Crushing them again and again until the bones were essentially non-existant and to add insult to injury she injected a toxin into them, using magic to link the toxin to the strings of his guitar so every time he played the toxin would move and slowly kill him, what she’d done physically to his hands was enough to make them ache every time he tried to do something delicate like playing with them. Jory was left lying in a cage with scraps for clothing when Dani found him, stalking over to the cage he was kept in there was a dangerous look on her features. Absolutely furious at what had been done to him when Lana showed up to gloat, the demon didn’t get a word out before the shadow master stabbed her with a knife spelled to send any demon to hell, once she had gone Dani turned and moved over to the cage unlocking the door and hesitating not wanting to hurt him anymore. In the end she decided to knock him out and get him to Renee and Killians, her shadows picked up his guitar, Renee kept the man unconscious for four days while she spent all of her time and energy healing him as best as she could. Once she had done all she could, Dani took him back home allowing him to wake up when he was ready, doing her best to stay busy she wound up absently playing on the piano he’d brought her, going over songs.

Eventually growing sick of playing something that only happened when she was feeling anxious or concerned, Dani stood and moved away from the piano, making something to eat mostly because she knew she had to, she hadn’t ever felt so concerned about someone before that wasn’t Killian and even then not to this extent. Managing to down two pieces of toast with butter on them, she wandered back into the bedroom and shared a glance with Tui wondering if he was awake yet, they’d been home for a few days and in total it’d been about two weeks roughly since he’d gone missing they felt like an eternity. The bird had refused to leave its chosen person side the entire time, something Dani couldn’t help but be jealous of, her own shadow was gone and she missed its presence every day, the sarcastic smart talking Hyena had gotten her through many a rough time but she could be happy in the fact that at least Killian, Renee and Jory still had theirs. Tui had explained that she’d hidden from Lana so the demon hadn’t had a chance to hurt her as well, briefly brushing her fingers down the birds back she moved to sit on the edge of the bed taking a deep breath and closing her eyes trying to organize everything so she felt less jumbled.

Smiling slightly when he moved to sit up and lean into her, Dani quietly and carefully wrapped an arm around him “Hi Jory” leaning her head against his she didn’t say anything else for a while before deciding to explain  “Lana took you, which I'm sure you’ve figured out by now, I found you and got you back to Renee, she spent several days healing you then I brought you home. It’s been about two weeks since you were stolen, I brought your guitar back too” If that demon dared show its ugly face again she’d make sure it wound up pushing up daisies permanently, Tui meanwhile nestled into Jory and ended up perching on his shoulder like she usually did, small wise little eyes shining affectionately. Renee had mentioned something about his hands that she’d been unable to heal which was causing the blonde woman some despair and concern, there was nothing she could do right now so she instead decided to keep quiet on that front, there would be plenty of time to talk about it later. “Hungry?” That would be a good gauge to see how well he was feeling, he usually had to feel pretty poorly to turn down food, briefly brushing her fingers through his hair, Dani made sure to keep all of her concerns private they wouldn’t change anything right now.

Rolling her eyes with a slight smirk she stood and moved into the kitchen, telling him off when he attempted to make food she made him sit down while she threw together something edible and passed the plate over to him with a look that suggested any comments might land him in hot water. Not that hungry herself she merely pulled the box of fudge Renee had given her out of its hiding place and sat down closeish to him but far enough away that he couldn’t steal her fudge without her being aware of it, quite contentedly nibbling away at the tasty cubes making mental lists of what she had to do. She’d gotten behind on work since he had been taken and it felt like there was a mountain load to conquer to get back to where she had been, frowning subtly her eyes seemed far away as she busily organized and sorted out her mind. Sure, she worked for Ice at present, but that was fine, Dani had her own ideas of what she would do and where she would get, and for now playing up to her great grandmothers desires was working out perfectly. Ice wanted a capable heir and had decided Jet was not that, so she was eyeing up Dani instead, Kelly was far too unstable for such a role after all, Dani knew that she’d be able to run Ice’s empire much better than the old witch and was looking forward to when she ousted the bitch from her position at the top of the triangle and put her where she belonged.

Faintly hearing the question she glanced over at him “Nothing worth verbalizing” wiping down the counter once he had finished she had leaned back against the bench, her mind switching to Lana and what exactly she was going to do to the demon in retaliation for what she had done to her Jory. He spoke again and once again it took a moment or two for things to sink in “She will be flattered with whatever you do for her, she quite likes flowers, you could get her a young rose in a pot to add to her garden or something like that” it was rather sweet of him to want to do something for Renee, “She’s fond of you” while Killian was more neutral towards the young man, what he’d been able to do for Dani meant that at least if something happened he’d keep him mostly safe. Walking over to her piano she brushed her fingers over it before she opened the lid and sat down musing over various songs before selecting one and starting to play, the melody was simple yet soothing, one she had written herself a few months ago when she’d been awake and snuggled into Jory. Her eyes closed while she played knowing the song by heart even though she’d never written it down, nor even given it a name.

Letting him curl up with her she leaned her head against his, “Nothing with words yet or a name” remaining cuddled with him for a while, she wasn’t really in the state of mind to count the minutes, Dani wound up sitting up and pulling away, reaching out to where Tui was she picked up the guitar of his and briefly plucked at the strings the song that was swirling around her head coming out. The tune was sombre and had an almost mourning tone to it, not really focusing on what her fingers were doing, she was of a mind to let them move and pluck out the unnamed song. Most of the time she only touched his guitar when he allowed her to, yet for some reason this song didn’t feel like a piano song, it needed the warmth of a guitar to sound right in her mind, something about it hurt, this song hurt without words, without even having a feeling or emotions attached to it yet. Every now and then she back tracked a little picking out several notes until she found the right one, coming out of the haze to find tears in her eyes, Dani reassured herself that it was just a song, the ominous feeling that plagued her was ridiculous and what she needed to do was just enjoy the happy times that were ahead of them both, they were home and had nothing to worry about.

Listening to him play the bright and cheerful song she found herself relaxing, letting him get up and leave, Dani mused over things quietly, accepting what was offered when he came back she bit into the apple "Keep playing?" all she really wanted to do was wind up fast asleep curled up into him listening to the music he played. Snuggling back into him she murmured "you play well" not one of her best compliments but she wasn't really in a mood to say very much, she needed him, something that she didn't particularly wish to admit to anyone not even herself. She'd always taken pride int he fact that she didn't need anyone, she could survive and do everything she needed to do all on her own, she was complete. Yet with him it was like she'd just been an empty house, that no was occupied again, so warm so content, feeling her eyelids grow heavier and heavier the shadow master closed them and sighed softly to herself wishing that this moment would never end, his shoulder was a little bony to use as a pillow but Dani had no intention of moving elsewhere.

Happily listening to his music, Dani didn’t complain when he stopped, merely flicking a curious look at him since it was a little different to his usual habits, perhaps he was just tired. Giggling softly when his curly hair started tickling her face, Dani lifted her hand and gently tucked it behind his ears so it wasn’t tickling her anymore. Comfortably leaning her head against his, the shadow master was content, pleased to have him back, she wouldn’t let him go anywhere again, he was hers and she was his, nothing could separate them again. Nestling her nose into his hair inhaling his familiar scent, it was comforting, “Come on Jory, beds more comfortable, I’ll wind up with asleep limbs” getting up she tugged him up to come with her, dragging him behind her by his shirt. Ditching most of her clothes she snuggled herself underneath the covers of the bed and waggled her eyebrows at him with a sly grin, once he joined her she quite happily y cuddled close and kissed his cheek affectionately. Tangling her legs with his and using his shoulder as a pillow she sighed rather contentedly, having missed him and missed being close with him far more than she’d realised. “love you Jory” murmuring the words, she yawned happy to let things go further if he wanted to.