Can't Lie to a Pig's nose. (Isolde))

[Deleted]

So far Edmund's day had been rather good, other than working the bacon-loaded morning shift at the restaurant he'd worked the past few months. If it was one thing he hated, it was bacon's cultural status in America. What he hated even more was writing the orders for bacon and egg sandwiches with a side of still more bacon. It just made him feel like a complete traitor to his curly-tailed go-to shapeshift.

Edmund had been able to keep up with the customer load for the first hour of his shift, but something drew his attention. The man he was waiting on had just started his order of a bacon and egg sandwich with sausage links. But before the drink could be ordered the door into the restaurant opened and brought in the scent of some type of "different" being. was rather new to all the werewolves and even other shapeshifters, just starting to realize that this type of scent came from non-humans. This distraction caused Ed to completely miss what the man's drink order.

A few minutes later Edmund brought the bacon and egg sandwich and sausage links not expecting to be accosted over the lack of coffee. He got at most 3 steps away from the customer before hearing something along the lines of "JESUS CHRIST! WAS MY ORDER THAT HARD?" From behind him. He let out a sigh before turning around. "I'm sorry, sir. Did I get your order wrong?" He said, trying to be as polite as possible but sounding somewhat sarcastic when he spoke. The last thing Ed expected was for the man to stand almost a full head taller than him with his fists clenched and intention for them obvious.

Edmund's eyed flicked dow to the man's fists. "If you strike me, I keep my job and you get charged with battery. If you don't, you can report whatever misconduct I apparently committed and get your order fixed. Your choice." He said, or at least was going to: the man's fist met Edmund's right eye after "If you-"

By the time he had sat back up, Edmund's assailant was gone. The scent of something unnatural seemed closer than ever, though.

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tags:Deirdre Leto

[Deirdre Leto]

Now I’m Here to Give You All My

Love So I can watch your face as I take it all away

The tiny little librarian had seated herself as soon as she entered the restaurant. She preferred to stay out of the limelight if she could so help it as of late. Her status as the Stratus leader would often get her recognition from the kind of people that she was often trying to avoid. The fact that she had one or two Vinci vampires in her pocket only brought more attention to the small shifter organization. The last thing she wanted was a were of some sort coming around and destroying everything that she and her siblings had started before they'd moved on in their own directions. Though, in her mind, her first priority was to protect the shapeshifters in Las Vegas and worry less about the attention that may had been brought to them.

Her eyes trailed toward the small commotion that was caused by a man and a waiter, her pupils dilating slightly as she leaned forward a little. Not getting a cup of coffee shouldn't have been something to get that angry over and Isolde found herself on her feet the moment she saw the man starting to swing at the waiter. The waiters scent was one of a shapeshifters, and her gut told her to move to try and help as much as she could. She forced herself to remain as calm as possible, refraining from shifting as she moved quickly across the restaurant, making it to the waiter just as he was punched.

Isolde moved up to the waiter, her gaze settling on his sprawled out form, him having been knocked to the ground. She stepped to his side and then slightly toward the man who'd punched him, fire in her eyes. If there was one thing she didn't like, it was unnecessary violence. There were actions on the customer's part that weren't needed and Isolde didn't need to speak to be able to show the man that he was now dealing with someone a lot more dangerous than the waiter who'd forgotten the drink order. Her eyes took on a dark expression and her lips a wicked scowl as she inched even closer.

The man seemed to get it into his head that he could take the tiny shifter on with ease, asking if she wanted a fight now. She grinned politely and shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest comfortably, looking a little smug. If he wanted to lash out at her, he would lose. You needed to be fast around these parts, especially when two of your closest friends were vampires and your kind was being hunted by weres and vampires alike to be put into arenas. Isolde had fought off many a supernatural and this human would be no different. The fact that Isolde didn't speak a single word seemed to start to unnerve the man a little and when Isolde moved forward very quickly, standing close and looking rather menacing, he staggered back with a heavy breath and then turned tail, fleeing out the door.

Rolling her eyes, the mute little shifter turned to look at the waiter who was now sitting up. She offered him her hand to try and help him up, the scowl on her features turning into a very friendly smile. Shifters needed to stick together. Maybe she'd convince him to join her organization or simply put him on her list to be watched. If he couldn't protect himself, at least she could try.

@edmund | 580 | OUTFIT | Sorry if it's crappy or weird.

DEE

[Deleted]

Oh, the wonders of the service industry. So rewarding! Edmund was sure he could have taken the man, the only thing stopping him was his need for income. He'd taken worse hits for less reason anyway. Plus it was only a punch to the eye, though the eye that took the hit was less than eager to open.

Whatever happiness Edmund felt about only taking one hit dissipated when he saw why. A pretty little brunette was standing over him, offering a hand. A guy lays me out and gets scared away by a girl. Oh how tough I must look. He took a second before making eye contact, but was glad to see a smiling face when he did. "Did you-" he began, somewhat dumbfounded. A girl like that frightening off the man seemed... Unlikely. Unlikely until Edmund realized she was whom he had smelled, that is. Thank god, shifter. He thought, finally recognizing the smell. He had yet to deal with a particularly malicious were, but had heard enough about what had been happening to shifters like himself to consciously steer clear of them.

After a brief hesitation Ed took the girl's hand. Once up he touched the area around his eye to check for swelling. He winced slightly on contact, but he had certainly had worse.  All signs pointed to a shiner, but that didn't stop him from asking "How's it look? Oh, and thanks." Though girl could have no possible way to know, what Edmund was really thanking her for was the opportunity to discover more like him..

[Deirdre Leto]

Now I’m Here to Give You All My

Love So I can watch your face as I take it all away

Isolde helped the younger man up, looking up at him with a lifted eyebrow as he touched his eye. Of course it looked horrible. Isolde wasn't one to lie, and if she could actually speak she would have told him flat out that he looked like a mess. That was just Isolde. It was who she was. She was blunt when she didn't need to be, but that didn't stop her. Her eyes drifted slowly back to the door, keeping watch out for the man to come back. He'd left without paying, but that was hardly her fault. He's the one who'd decided to off and run like the coward he apparently was. A smile formed on her lips again and she looked back to Edmund, silently wondering if he knew sign language.

Not wanting to risk it, she looked around for a napkin, plucking one up and then took the pen that went along with the pad that he had to use to write his orders down. She scribbled her reply down, "Of course it looks horrible. But you're welcome," she kept hold of the pen and shoved the napkin in his direction, hoping to get the point that she was mute. Her only other option would be to stare at him until the realization came to him. She was hoping it didn't unnerve him to the point that he turned tail like the man who'd punched him. She may have had to write down everything she wanted to say, but that didn't mean that she didn't want to have a conversation with him.

Isolde's eyes fell to her heels, observing the detail of them while she waited for him to respond. The little shifter forced her gaze back up to him, observing his features, trying to memorize them. She never really forgot a face, and that was a good thing for her. In the business that she was in, she couldn't afford to forget people. Especially the people that she was determined to look out for. Any shifter that she came across constantly stayed on her radar. She made sure to remember their scent and was easily able to match the person to the scent. It also helped that she was constantly on the look out for shifters and lately it seemed like more and more of them were popping up in the city.

She crossed her arms over her chest, an eyebrow lifted once more, wondering how he would take the fact that she couldn't actually speak to him like he probably would want. Most of her conversations ended awkwardly because of her affliction.

@edmund | 437 | OUTFIT | Sorry if it's crappy or weird.

DEE

[Deleted]

Edmund was more than a bit confused by the girl's method of delivering a response. He had stare to at the napkin for a few seconds until it clicked. Once he realized she was mute Edmund's face turned red with discomfort and his hand moved to cover his mouth to stop a laugh born from this discomfort. "Are you mute? OhmyGodsorrypleasedonthateme!" Was the mess that made it's way from his lips once he felt able to speak with any kind of restraint. He was wrong about that obviously.

I'm a mess in more ways than one I guess. Smooth. Ed mentally scolded himself. "So, uh," he conversationally limped towards introductions, "My name's Edmund. And you are?" There was a pause before he jerked the napkin back to the mute, accompanied by a quiet "Shit!" From Edmund, who had obviously not realized she needed it to answer.

It occurred to him around then that he would likely have questions not meant to be overheard by the humans in the restaurant or his boss in the back who was no doubt coming to congratulate him for containing himself, assuming this shifter in front of him was not offended like he arbitrarily believed. Even if she left, Edmund had no intention of waiting on any tables with a black eye. With this in mind Edmund motioned for a coworker and pointed to his eye, saying "Phil, does this count as punching out?" And ignoring the lack of concern or amusement in Phil's "Sure." Ed never could make Phil laugh,

With that settled, he turned his attention back to the mute, now having found his center, and much less flustered.

[Deirdre Leto]

Isolde watched the man she'd saved only a few moments ago with an amused expression. She wasn't going to hold it against him if he didn't realize she was mute at first. Most of the time her conversations went nowhere because she was too stubborn to talk to people who didn't know sign language. This was one of the few times where she actually allowed herself a different approach. After all, this man wasn't exactly one of those people who were just outright rude when they realized she couldn't actually produce words. It wasn't really her stubbornness, it was the attitude of the people that she had to interact with. That's why her job at the library was perfect. She didn't really have to speak at all, she just had to shelve books and focus on her research. She didn't have to interact with people that often.

While he spend the time reading what she'd written, she moved back across the diner, going and grabbing her notepad from her bag, coming back by the time that he looked up again. When he moved to hand her the napkin and the pen back, she took the pen and waved dismissively at the napkin. She didn't need it now. Isolde wrote her note back to him, taking her time and picking her words carefully. She missed the entire conversation between him and who she assumed what his boss, scribbling her words on the page.

"I'm Isolde. I think you can already tell exactly what I am, can you not?" she handed the pad of paper to him, a single eyebrow lifted. While she might look a little delicate, she was far from. The shapeshifter standing in front of Edmund was one of the toughest women around. She was temperamental, unpredictable, and very protective, especially of shapeshifters like herself. After he finished reading, she motioned back toward her booth, hoping that maybe they could talk a little more and not be in the way of the other waiters and waitresses who were likely trying to get a move on with their own work. The fight was over and people weren't paying much mind anymore.

[Deleted]

"Sure do." Ed said, complying with Isolde's gesture to follow. He was glad to see most people had moved past what had happened, though he expected his new acquaintance to have doubts about his ability to defend himself against anybody more than human. Such doubts certainly resided within Edmund, at any rate.

After sitting down Edmund realized he lacked any knowledge of shifter interaction, and just uncomfortably sat and looked around for a few seconds. "Sorry if this is weird," he said, focusing his gaze in Isolde's direction. "I haven't really talked to anyone like-" Ed's thoughts trailed off as he scratched the back of his head. "Like me?" He spoke the statement as if it was a question, being unsure if it was okay to say.

Despite his discomfort, Edmund was thrilled to be communicating with a shifter. He had so many questions, the biggest one being how he has the ability to shapeshift. He assumed both of his parents were human, as his father never talked about his mother turning into any animals, and additionally was not even sure it was hereditary. Now that Edmund was speaking with (or would that be to?) somebody who might know, he intended on getting some answers

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Tag: Deirdre Leto
Notes: in a slump...