belladonna-wright

[belladonna-wright]

Perhaps Jessie needed a little time away herself, perhaps a little trip would be what she needed to shake off this strange sensation that she had had recently, of settling herself down. It felt... wrong.

"Any ideas about what sort of colour scheme he might go for for his room?" Jessie asked, with a teasing sort of innocence as if she did not know that the little boy had a very firm favourite colour. No doubt young Devyn would ensure that a good job was done with some creative use of colours or textures.

"Perhaps some day trips, or something similar?" She suggested. London might indeed be a bit of a large step up - busy and stressful for even grown-ups, and those who had a better grasp than others on hiding their magic. But it was a city she loved dearly, in all it's austere grey misery. "But I'm sure you'll figure it out as you get closer, find something that works for everyone. It must be nice to have the long summer holidays, to have a chance to catch up on things after juggling so much during term-time."

Isaac seemed to be affected by the Morey affliction: that urge to give himself to everything in his life with a whole heap of passion and intensity. A job with longer holidays might be a very good thing, for everyone's stress levels.

@isaac-morey

Trapped! - ColourWright

[belladonna-wright]

For an instant, Jessie was angry that Nick wasn't taking the god-damned hint. She didn't belong in his picture-perfect life and this hallmark holiday moment he was carving for himself! She didn't want to be a part of it because it could never last, not for her, and why couldn't he just understand that!

It was cruel of him, to act as if there would ever be a universe in which she could again be Aunt Jessie, or in which she would be welcome to stay in their little family's life once Isaac had any idea what she was.

But as always, her anger flickered and died, and she closed her eyes, turning her face up to the ceiling.

He was trying to be kind.

That was almost worse. It was like glimpsing through a door at a story she'd already seen before, and knowing the ending, how could anyone bear to sit through it all again?

"I suppose that leaves me a long term to actually learn how to paint, doesn't it?"

@wilde-fun

Going Legit || Nessie

[belladonna-wright]

Wonderful. Well, perhaps for him, but for her it was looking like something of a challenge, albeit a challenge that she could not resist the idea of sinking her teeth into. So Jessie finished up writing a note or two as to her next steps, before she reached out her hand to briefly take his and giving it the obligatory shake.

His hand felt terribly warm in hers.

"At the moment, I don't think so. What I'll do is type up some notes, and then lay out a plan-of-action, and send you that as well, and get to work. Once I have more of an update I'll try to stay in touch letting you know how my progress is going," she smiled. It all sounded frightfully professional when she said it like that, like she'd actually been doing it for years instead of for a matter of weeks.

"It might take a little while to get the right leads, but as soon as I know anything more concrete I'll make sure to be in touch."

@dr-drckken

The Art Of Lying || Dressie

[belladonna-wright]

Jessie's attention, on the other hand, was fixed entirely on her client, and the way that she gazed up at the sky. Freedom. Space. Light. She couldn't help but wonder, really. She hadn't missed the way that Menodora had played with her ring finger all the way here. She hadn't been surprised at the fact that this room could not be further from the traditional, wooden interiors that Menodora had described in her past.

Did the contrast speak to her? Speak of new beginnings? Freedom? Space?

"Well, few places manage an atrium like this," Jessie smiled. She loved the sky. Well, that could be noted. There were ideas there, about colours and styles, and framing, that Jessie could play with. "But it is a very impressive space. I believe the architect said they wanted to move away from the sorts of close spaces that so often turn up in older art museums. They wanted somewhere that spoke of the space and light that most artists prefer."

Jessie headed over to the glass doors, and pulled one open, ushering her client inside.

@menodoramoon

A Field Trip! - Blood Moon

[belladonna-wright]

Jessie did her very best to suppress a flinch at the mention of 'Aunt Jessie.' It might have fooled most people, but it was unlikely to get all the way past Nick's well-trained eye. She had not been an Aunt since 1934, and she had stopped being able to be called that in public a long time before that. More than that, the idea of being around a child? Of being trusted around a child when she and Nick had still never actually spoken about what she was?

It felt wrong.

It felt like it belonged to someone else's life, as if she'd been playing this role so long that she had managed to con them too.

"Oh, I don't know about that," she stalled. "At that age the only thing you can do is tell them to keep having fun, I think... I assume."

She had never had children. She had never even been close to anyone that had them, not really. Indeed, in the past it had been a glorious excuse to slowly drift away from aquaintances once they had their kids and were too busy, and would then never notice her comparative lack of aging. "Wouldn't know, of course."

@wilde-fun

Going Legit || Nessie

[belladonna-wright]

Was that how Ellen had felt?

Jessie had thought it before she even knew that it was looming, as the feeling hit her like a horrible rushing sensation of love and longing and missing all at once. When she looked at Jessie and had seen the pain and the loneliness and had asked her to go and get a cup of tea, had she ever truly been able to let the surface charm get by her after that? Had she always seen the things that stirred beneath the surface and loved them anyway?

And that wound, so suddenly rent open inside her leaving her sore and tender made it ache all the more. Oh she knew the things Nick carried inside him alright. There were many that they never spoke about, the way that their very natures dictated inevitable pain and loneliness, there were others that they had barely brushed the surface of, their experiences, the turmoil they had lived through and come up covered in mud and blood and trying to catch their breath.

In so many ways their lives felt like parallel lines.

She knew Nick and he knew her, not because they'd necessarily shared it all, or because they knew every crooked corner of each other, and for a moment she felt jealous, as if she did not want to share that with this interloper. But that was a petty thing, and the flame quickly died, in the face of seeing how patiently Isaac loved her friend.

"It's enough," Jessie said quietly. "A relationship doesn't ... it doesn't have to be everything being out in the open. As long as you know who the other is, and that you're accepted." Nick obviously felt that. He might not share it all, but he would not still be there if he didn't think Isaac would love him still.

But again, before her eyes she was seeing someone else, a lifetime ago, and wishing she could have shared that wisdom with herself.

Jessie cleared her throat, and looked away out of the window, before looking back with a smile on her face. "Anyway, what are you thinking about doing in the school holidays this year, any exciting plans?" She asked brightly, as if nothing had happened.

@isaac-morey

Trapped! - ColourWright

[belladonna-wright]

Jessie pursed her lips. Damn right he'd looked like shit. He still did for a flicker of a heart beat as he shifted his weight and the pain obviously ran through him, whatever it was that caused so many of his other pains in life.

"Just speak to the damn man," Jessie said, relenting a little but her voice was tired. It wasn't entirely clear whether she meant to speak to Maximus, or to someone at the gym, either of them, really would be a good idea in her view. Much as she usually advised never speaking to the cops, if this Maximus was so intent on keeping an eye out, better to use that than to risk pissing him off.

"I hear that guy at the gym just loves to help people out, he'll be happy to. Or you need to go and speak to the hospital and see if they can't do anything more for you," she huffed, putting her hands on her hips.

"I mean, you can't be doing your job and permanently hurting," she said, a little more kindly. "And unless you're willing to go and do some damn office job, then you're going to need that leg of yours sorting out."

@chiefhugo-slade

proud proud mary // Chessie

[belladonna-wright]

"If you were only in it for the money you'd have written something blatently commercialist and perfect for people to take on their summer holidays and read on a beach lounger without really thinking," Jessie pointed out.

"Some 280 page lightly smutty romcom with lots of witty repartee," she added, smirking a little. "But yes, of course," she said lightly, before leaning in and adding more seriously. "If you will trust me with it, ok? I will read it, and I will tell you what I think, honestly."

Even for Mads, she would not sugarcoat it if she did not think it was right. She would help him fix it, if that was the case, but she had faith in him that it wouldn't be. It would be good. It would be ready for a proper editor.

@mads-morey

Touching Base, Reaching Out - Messie

[belladonna-wright]

Jessie was ... well, Jessie was surprised, and it wasn't often that happened these days. Not even in Swynlake, with all of its twists and turns did people manage to surprise her that often. Yet here was an unassuming high school teacher turned passionate local politician threatening to drop huge sums of money in the pursuit of a painting!

She was certainly going to have to go home and do some deeper homework on her future client.

But there was that feeling again; the same nagging little curiosity she had got when she had spoken to Menodora, or to Shang, the one that made her want to follow along this little path and see where it led, rather than take the safe option and leave it well alone. Where would it take her, if she tried to pin down a painting for this man? She didn't know.

She liked not knowing.

There were some thrills that a long life slowly robbed you of, and when those opportunities came along, they had to be grabbed with both hands.

"Well, I'd have to do some digging, reach out to some of my contacts and follow up the leads as to where to find them, or who to reach out to, but I'm pretty confident that once word gets out I'll be able to find some owners. Whether I can convince them to sell or not is another thing," she warned, (best to be realistic), "But I can try my best. And, even if I do say so myself, my best is pretty formidable."

@dr-drckken

The Art Of Lying || Dressie

[belladonna-wright]

"Well, you see maybe everyone's just too trusting these days," Jessie sighed wistfully, as if that was ever a problem. Perhaps some people accepted things at face value as they were presented to them, but there were still lots of ways that people expected the worst from each other. It was just that they were less familiar with the old fashioned tricks and traps as they were with email scams or suspicious looking adverts popping up on websites.

"Or maybe we need to lead some kind of renaissance for the old ways," she winked at him before lifting her eyebrows suggestively, and then laughing. No, no. She couldn't imagine Nick getting roped into running cheap and easy scams these days, not when he had so much to lose. It had been one thing to take a big chance for a big reward with the job they had pulled last year, but something like that? Well, it was unlikely unless he was feeling particularly bored.

"You can teach Avery a whole world of things to look out for and try to make sure he doesn't fall for it. Otherwise I feel like they grow up in these innocent little towns and get scammed the second you go to a big city and fall for some street performer's hustle."

Not that she was sceptical and jaded or anything.

"More things for you to consider, if you're going on the straight and narrow."

@wilde-fun

Going Legit || Nessie

[belladonna-wright]

[Outfit]

Jessie held the door open, and ushered her client inside the gallery with a smile. It was a big one, the sort of museum gallery that included a bit of everything, but this was very much on purpose. If she was going to get any idea of what Menodora truly wanted, and what was her personal taste, then it was going to be important to expose her to a whole range of things and see exactly what it was that caught her attention.

Grabbing a leaflet about the collection, Jessie leafed through it, and then turned to see how her client was responding to this large white atrium space. Everything, from her behaviour on the train, to her clothes, was another little clue.

"So, welcome-" Jessie held her hands out wide for a moment.

"What're your first thoughts. Feeling impressed, imposed on?" She prompted gently, wondering how the architecture would effect her, even before they stepped through the glass doors into the first of the exhibits.

@menodoramoon

A Field Trip! - Blood Moon

[belladonna-wright]

A Field Trip! - Blood Moon

[belladonna-wright]

Jessie couldn't help but think that Isaac's brain, however it might work and whatever gifts it might have, was far from average. After all, Nick Wilde was not one to be tied down by simply a pretty face! No, there was a lot more to this unassuming man than perhaps even he thought of himself. But Jessie was not about to say such a thing, it would be far too presumptuous and close to do so.

She did wonder, as she stood there in the kitchen and desperately hoped that she would hear the sounds of Nick and Avery approaching pretty soon, whether Isaac fully understood the extent of his influence. The fact that Nick cared enough to try and save Isaac from himself? That spoke to something far deeper than the shallow flings that she had witnessed in the past, and how she knew Nick spoke of things. The fact that Nick cared enough to step back, and to let Isaac run himself a little too hard in his pursuit of having it all, that he loved him enough to not try to change him? That ... well. She had tried to warn Nick about such things.

Jessie fiddled with her necklace a little.

"He can be a surprisingly non-biased judge at times," was all Jessie settled for saying, with the slight smirk of a woman mocking their mutual friend. "But surprisingly bad at asking for things for himself at times."

What? She had a duty as his friend to make sure that Nick wasn't sacrificing too much of his relationship to make Isaac happier overall!

@isaac-morey

Trapped! - ColourWright

[belladonna-wright]

Now, Jessie would have loved to see some push back from this client of hers, some kind of instinct or indication of what sounded good to her ... but, equally, this left Jessie free to take charge. Her very favourite thing.

"Of course," Jessie smiled, taking the pen and writing down both her phone number, and the email address that she most commonly used for things like signing up to gallery newsletters or pre-releases. It felt rather more on brand for the occasion, and if she was going to pretend that she actually did this professional, well, she really ought to have some business cards made up! How peculiar, that this chance encounter was proving so tantalising.

Jessie almost didn't know what to make of it, but she did not want to right now. Right now, her mind was buzzing with the possibilities of it all, with solving this little puzzle for herself and how this woman might respond when showed different things.

For the first time in a long time, Jessie felt her fingers twitch at the thought of something. It was not a heist, perhaps, but it was its own sort of job, with research and planning and creativity required.

She was going to enjoy this.

@menodoramoon

A Starry Sort of Night - Blood Moon

[belladonna-wright]

Jessie smiled at that. It was funny, sometimes, how even grown ups could have moments where their younger selves shone through. Right now, she was looking at Mads; 36 years old, bearded, a man in his prime and yet looking back at her was a much younger man, one still unsure of himself.

"That doesn't mean you aren't creative, or won't be praised for that too," she said. "What about when you were in the band, huh?" She pointed out. "People loved that! That was creative! Nobody that you really care about is going to give you a hard time about this." Jessie reached out, and nudged his knee.

"Maybe you need to give us all a chance to praise you for being creative, eh?" She teased a little. "Seriously. You had to be creative to get this far with your degrees, that isn't a completely seperate thing. You have it in you." She believed that (she would not have said any of it otherwise).

"What about letting someone you trust read it? You could get their opinion?"

@mads-morey

Touching Base, Reaching Out - Messie

[belladonna-wright]

"I-" Jessie was not often rendered speechless, but this man did not seem to realise he was asking her to, well! It was as if he'd walked in and asked her to get him a Turner, or a Constable! A Manet! A Kandinsky!

"I might be able to track down who owns some of the pieces, but persuading them to sell would take ..." She paused, wondering how she could best impress upon her client exactly how hard it would be to actually convince someone to part with one, if they had any wish to at all. "Well, frankly it'd take a ridiculous amount of money, and I need you to be aware of that," she explained frankly.

Sometimes, honesty (and bluntness) was the best policy.

"Have you seen the kinds of prices that Von Rosenbach's sell for?" She asked. "We're talking... well... up towards £100,000 in some cases. I might be able to find a lesser known piece or a particularly hard-up owner who'd sell it for a knock-down price, but it's still a really considerable investment. There are cheaper artists who have less prestige but could be really good long-term investments for a portfolio-"

@dr-drckken

The Art Of Lying || Dressie

[belladonna-wright]

"You aren't mopey," Jessie sighed at him again, giving Bullseye a gentle whack on the shoulder. Well, he could be pretty mopey in his moments, because he was always so hard on himself and he really didn't deserve it. It drove Jessie mad. She wouldn't stand for that sort of behaviour from anyone else treating Billy that way, but him treating himself like that? She hated being powerless about it.

"Well, alright, maybe a little mopey, but we're working on it."

She could be a little mopey herself, but she tried not to let that show too badly to the boys either.

"I appreciate that, Bullseye. I ... I really do think it might be good for you both." If she could just get them together, in the same room, then maybe they would come to understand that neither of them were as alone as they felt. And then, perhaps, she could rest a little easier, and something in her heart that felt such a quiet, insistent tug to help the pair of them, could ease.

"And whenever you feel you need to talk about anything, you know you've got me, right?" Jessie smiled at him. "And I'll never be too busy for you."

@bullseye-stoddard

The Gentle Approach - Jesseye