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[wisteriagrcve]

Continue | @blueheartedmayor

"𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭." 𝐊𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝, 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲, 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲. 𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐩? 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐬.

𝐒𝐡𝐞'𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤. 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 . 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐢��𝐥 𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐧. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐦. 𝐓𝐞𝐚 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞. 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐧. "𝐈𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐲. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐞….𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐧𝐨𝐰."

𝐇𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝. 𝐍𝐨, 𝐧𝐨, 𝐧𝐨! 𝐎𝐡 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞. 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐚 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞. 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐭? 𝐖𝐡𝐲? 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭? 𝐍𝐨…..𝐧𝐨….𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬….

𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐩 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝.

"𝐎𝐡, 𝐈 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐈... 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥.... 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐇𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐩𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡. 𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐟 𝐡𝐞'𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠? 𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞."

[wisteriagrcve]

@blueheartedmayor 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 : 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈 𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝑲𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒚, 𝒇𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒇𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆. "𝑰 𝒐𝒃𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒊𝒕. 𝑾𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒃𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒔𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒍𝒚." 𝑼𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒇𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒆, 𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒖𝒕… 𝒂 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒕𝒆𝒂-𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌.

𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐇𝐞𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐝? 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞. 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐨 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐥𝐲, 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬, 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝. 𝐖𝐚𝐢𝐭…..𝐚 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤? 𝐀 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐚???

𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐩 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐂𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝. "𝐒𝐨-𝐬-𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐮𝐧-𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝." 𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠. "𝐈 𝐭𝐡-𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐳𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭."

𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐮𝐩. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭?

[wisteriagrcve]

"𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞, 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧." 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝. 𝐏𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐜𝐮𝐩𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐰𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐨𝐧.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐩𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠. "𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥…. 𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐨𝐰." 𝐀 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬����'𝐭 𝐢𝐭? 𝐊𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐡��𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 - 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲. 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐡𝐨𝐰. 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐚 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥….𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭. 𝐒𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰. 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬.

"𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐦𝐲 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐈 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞." 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭. 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐟𝐮𝐥, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐟 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭.

"That sounds so unusual. How can -" Damien paused as Kitty assured that nothing would be more important than this chance to talk. In one way, it seemed a little unfair, given that Damien himself didn't have such a luxury. However, their jobs were vastly different. Running a city meant there was little time to put things on hold. It wasn't 'okay', but it would at least be 'acceptable'. "Thank you. I do appreciate that. But, do forgive my ignorance on the topic at hand: Is the tea originally purple before the lemon is added?"

When they did arrive at the shop, Damien hesitated. To an onlooker, it would look like he was both waiting for Kitty to go in and to admire the exterior. In reality, he was briefly frozen to the spot. A store dedicated to the occult... One of the last places that Damien would ever willingly step into. Yet, to refuse at this point would be beyond impolite! But the seasons were changing, and that the presence of ghosts would grow gradually stronger.

"Grrrrr."

But that was not right now.

Right now, the leash that he was holding was being sharply tugged by Barnum, snapping Damien out of his thoughts. He took a slow breath, braced himself, and entered.

(It was only a few seconds of a delay, but it felt longer.)

Once inside, Damien unclipped the leash so Barnum could trot into the back room and make a beeline for the bed. Damien was quick to follow, keeping his eye on Kitty until they were past the curtain and into a quieter space. At least it was peaceful.

"Ah. Of course," he nodded, following the order. "So... How long have you had this shop?"

[wisteriagrcve]

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐮𝐛𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐞. "𝐀𝐝𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐚, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐲. 𝐈'𝐦 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐜𝐨-𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬." 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐝.

"𝐘𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐲𝐞𝐫, 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭? 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐠𝐮𝐲 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡." 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐝𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫.

-

Damien didn't know many people that worked alongside Mark. He couldn't even tell whether he had seen them before - any that he might have seen on stage wore wigs or hats. He couldn't trust his sleuthing skills.

Thankfully, the person he had approached was willing to respond with an answer. He was in his dressing room. That probably meant something important.

"Ah. I can wait until later to talk to him." He was going to leave it at that, only for the lady to respond. Suddenly, he was keenly aware of how strange this situation was. Someone walking in off the street and asking to see one of the actors. Damien could be a reporter, or someone with malicious intentions.

"Forgive me for getting ahead of myself. I'm a friend of Mark's. My name is Damien." His right hand was offered to her.

[wisteriagrcve]

"𝐈𝐭 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐇 𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧." 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝. "𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐥𝐞! 𝐈𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐲. 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲." 𝐊𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬. "𝐍𝐨 𝐧𝐨. 𝐍𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭. 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥. 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬."

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐦𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝. 𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦. 𝐏𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞, 𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝.

"𝐒𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐭." 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐝𝐨𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐚 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐯𝐞.

𝐊𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚.

A tea party. Huh. Guess he couldn't argue with this one, not when Kitty seemed so excited about it. Damien couldn't mask his confusion at the revelation that tea in honey was actually a thing and not something that was in fictional dramas.

"Did you just say there's a tea that turns purple?" Damien was quick to follow her once the key to the office was safely tucked away. "Not that I don't believe you, but I simply didn't think such a thing was possible."

Barnum's ears pricked up at the mention of 'bed'. He'd like that, yes. Bed please.

"It does sound like you have a good plan for this. But if anyone does arrive for a reading, I am happy to step outside. Don't feel you have to lose business on my account." Even if Kitty was the one who offered, Damien felt the distinction needed to be made. He was raised to be polite, after all!