Joe's player opening a new thread because he can't sleep ;)

[josephdawson.livejournal.com]

Date: June11th, late morning
Location: In front of the manor
Status: Public
Summary: Joe enjoys the time before his shift starts



The hours just before noon were the most relaxed time in Joe's day: Well after getting up and getting going, and long enough before opening the bar to not require any undue haste in finishing anything.

Presently, he sat on a bench in front of the manor, enjoying the warmth of the sun - not unpleasantly hot yet - and silently musing about how long it would take for McLeod to be bitten by the travel bug again. As far as he was concerned he could take his own sweet time with it.

Comments

[tptb-in-ltsh.livejournal.com]

Continuing their round of the premises and talking to guests, the two searchers spotted the man sitting by himself on the bench. A walking cane leaned at his side. They ambled up to him calmly, looking for all the world like they had nothing specific on their minds.

The driver kept back as the other man 'spotted' the person on the bench and gave him a smile and a nod, changing his path slightly to veer towards the bench.

[josephdawson.livejournal.com]

Joe looked up as the two approached. Something about the way they carried themselves struck a note in him. They weren't watchers, he was pretty sure of that, but they weren't just some guests either. He hoped that whatever they were up to, it wasn't too unhealthy for him. He wasn't in a good position to quickly reach his pistol unnoticed, and hardly in a better one for a good shot if it turned out to be necessary.

[tptb-in-ltsh.livejournal.com]

The men stopped by the bench, the darker one of them looking at Joe and indicating the bench.

"May I?"

He raised his eyebrows slightly in a question.

[josephdawson.livejournal.com]

"Sure," Joe said, sounding easy about it even though he was not. But there was no point in trying to deny them what he had no way of preventing.

[tptb-in-ltsh.livejournal.com]

The darker one of the two sat while the other remained on his feet, positioned slightly to the side like a bodyguard.

"Have you been around for long?", the sitting man asked, as if to strike up conversation. "We've only just arrived and haven't had the time to get familiar with the place yet."

[josephdawson.livejournal.com]

"For a while," Joe allowed. "You looking for something specific?"

[featheredhugs]

"Hey, Joe!" Raphael half-stumbled in, carrying his bunny in one arm and his puppy in the other and half-keeping Pudge perched awkwardly on his shoulder. The owl was flapping madly to get free, giving the angel the appearance of four sets of wings. Raphael's cheeks colored. "Can you... Oh, hello!" He saw the two men and beamed. He loved making new friends.

[alteregon]

The two strangers turned as they saw the new arrival. What a strange person, carrying a bunch of animals and wearing a costume with mechanical wings.

"Hello," the more talkative one of them said as the other one stood ready to pounce if any of the creatures dared launch an attack.

[featheredhugs]

"Hi! I'm Raphy!" He grinned. "I'd shake your hand but ah, they're sort of full."

[alteregon]

Both men stared at the animals, then the man, then at each other. The dark one forced a smile. "That's okay," he said. "We're looking for a friend of ours. He supposedly came through here a few days ago. May you have seen him?"

[featheredhugs]

"I saw a deer come pretty close to the manor," he said. "I think he just wanted some water."

[josephdawson]

Joe looked thankfully at Raphael. He hadn't exactly been afraid, but these two guys did not make the impression of people he wanted to be around all on his own if he couldn't help it. The gun in his pocket was the only chance he had at defending himself, after all.

[featheredhugs]

Raphy plopped down on one of the seats. "They've been quite active playing today. It's good for them, after all, to have the excercize but I think they may be dehydrated. Could I have some water in a bowl for them?" The puppy looked at Joe with Big Puppy Eyes.

[josephdawson]

Joe tried not to let his relief show as he rammed his cane into the ground and pushed himself to his feet with it.

"Of course," he said. "Let's go inside and get them some!" He gestured towards the manor.

He did have a hunch that Raphael had just pulled that stunt to help him out, but he didn't mind in the least. Quite the opposite.

[alteregon]

"Wait a moment!" The man stepped forward to stand in the angel's way. "I will not keep you long. Just one quick questoin: Have you seen this man before?"

He held up the photo of the man he was looking for.

[featheredhugs]

Raphael looked at it. "Why, he looks like the corporation my second cousin twice removed took on back in the 13th century! Or was it the tenth? Not that angels have cousins, really, but sometimes we like to pretend. Although he does have an interesting resemblance to one of the Twelve Disciples... Oh, wait! Back when the Hebrews were escaping Egypt there was a leathermaker who looked exactly like that, different clothes of course and such a pleasant man..."

[alteregon]

The men looked gave each other a meaningful glance. Was he trying to deliberately appear crazy, was he making fun of them or was he actually not quite right in the head?

It was probably the second...

[josephdawson]

Joe looked at Raphael and gestured towards the hotel.

"Let's go," he said, careful to not accidentally trip over any of the plethora of pets that seemed to flock to Raphael.

[featheredhugs]

"Coming!" He turned to the strangers. "Very nice to meet you both!" He turned back to follow Joe.

[alteregon]

The men looked at each other, shaking their heads. This was going to be harder than they had expected.