2020-08-29 - So, About That Body...

The first order of business had been figuring out a temporary solution for housing the unkittens while Declan and Justin put an enclosure together. She was loathe to leave them alone because, well, they had a lot of Glimmer and she was sure the first time they were left alone in the house there wasn't going to be any house to come back to! And so it was that Dahlia was walking along the Boardwalk with a covered basket that contained said adorable, deadly critters. On a hunt or a particular person.

And there he was. Dahlia spotted Aidan a little ways down. It hadn't been too hard to catch wind that he was the person who had discovered the woman in the dumpster. He would be the best person to talk to. At least so she could get a better idea of what the heck to do and what she was dealing with. Hopefully.

He was mid-performance as she walked up, so she adjusted the basket a bit, waiting patiently and watching curiously.

Aidan is not particularly difficult to find. It's a nice day, in a summer rapidly coming to an end, and all the various buskers are out in force, taking advantage of the Saturday crowds. They're certainly not Portland crowds or Seattle crowds, but for Gray Harbor and the other small coastal towns? Crowds. So that's where he is, and it's not as though there are a lot of people out here in top hats and tailcoats. Particularly not over a closely fitting green t-shirt featuring the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles which, from the design and the state of the printing, either is older than he is or really wishes it were. There's also an old, faded pair of jeans that someone at some point turned into bell-bottoms by the 'slit the side seam up some and put in a triangle of other fabric' method, the 'someone' in question having gone with an exuberant rainbow tie-dye for the spot. They hang over a pair of well-broken-in black Docs with rainbow laces. It is not the most easily missable look on the boardwalk.

And, of course, there's the fact that he is performing. He's got a small but tall wooden table before him, thick-topped enough to suggest it contains a drawer -- possibly where he carries around his props. And he does have them, a deck of cards currently out on the surface. "...and we tap it twice and... is this your card?" he inquires, suiting action to word and then flipping one over. The young woman standing closest to the table makes a happy little noise and nods, clapping her hands together twice. A small smattering of applause filters through the assembled group as he sweeps the ancient hat off with a bow, and looks pleased as the young woman and another watcher drop a few coins in.

He sticks a finger into his pocket, holding it open, then tips the hat and lets the coins tumble neatly from the one to the other -- not a trick per se, but it tends to keep attention. "Okay!" he exclaims, setting the hat back on his head and beaming at the audience while his hands swiftly return the cards to the drawer, "I need a volunteer, who wants to volunteer? Won't hurt a bit, I promise. Unless you're a hypochondriac, and that's not my fault anyway." As usual, there's a bit of jostling as people try to push their friends and loved ones to step up.

Dahlia couldn't help but smile just a bit as she saw the card trick being performed. It wasn't often she really ever watched things like this. Too busy, too much going on, ect. A little bit of movement from her basket brought her back into the present. Right. Kittens. Unkittens. She draws in a soft breath. When she asks for a volunteer, Dahlia steps forward. Basket still hanging on her arm, not going anywhere. "I'll take a stab at it." She offers.

"On the condition that I keep hold of the basket." It was a very important basket. A few curious murmurs rose up. One younger child spoke up, "What do ya got in there?"

Dahlia put on an easy smile as she looked to the boy, "Something special, an' secret." Leaving it at that before looking back up at Aidan. "What'd ya say?"

"A brave adventurer!" Aidan declares, giving Dahlia a brilliant grin, "And that's fine, I don't care if you're juggling chainsaws as long as you can still write at the same time." He pauses briefly, cocking his head, "Actually, no, strike that, you would totally steal my audience. Remind me to learn how to juggle chainsaws." A few people giggle. "Basket is probably fine, though." It does get a curious look, as he produces a bit of paper, an envelope, and a ballpoint pen, setting them out on his little table.

"Write a word on that piece of paper, and seal it in the envelope. I'll turn around, so you know I can't see it." He does, rather ostentatiously. Drama! "Choose your word carefully," he instructs her, "...and not, like, password or 1 2 3 4 5 or qwerty or something, that's just asking for people to break into your mind and steal all your delicious secrets, like that one thing that happened at the club you don't want anyone knowing about, you know the one... all done?"

Dahlia couldn't help but laugh. "You're lucky I left my chainsaws at home." Winking and moving closer to the table. She listens closely to the instruction. "Mm sounds easy enough." She carefully switched the basket to her other arm. Aidan might hear a bit of mewing coming from the basket. Dahlia tries her best to ignore it. Instead listening to his words. Brow raising at his mentioned 'that one thing at the club'. There have been a handful of things at a few different clubs. If it throws her off kilter she doesn't let it show though! Instead? Despite perhaps a bit of flush to her cheeks, she writes down the word kittens and then slipped it into the envelope and closed it up. "Alright, all done."

"Fantastic!" Aidan replies, turning around, "And people complain about our educational system." He clucks his tongue once, taking off his hat and setting it down, then holding out the other hand for the envelope. Most people won't notice the flicker of a glance toward the softly mewing basked. Once the envelope's passed over, he lifts it up high, moving it back and forth to show off to the audience before holding it to his now bare forehead. He makes a good show of concentrating, eyes narrowed and focused first on Dahlia, then up into empty air just above. "Yes," he murmurs, "Yes, I can just about--" Quite suddenly, the envelope bursts into flame, and Aidan drops it onto the table with a little yelp of apparent startlement. One of the audience does the same, and a few gasp, in likely more genuine surprise. "Oh, nononono," Aidan mutters, "Not again," and yanks a handkerchief out of his pocket to smother the little fire. It gets several firm (not to say near-panicked) pats before he lifts the fabric to see what's left --revealing only a flattened little pile of ash. "Oops," he says sheepishly. "Iiiii guess I was thinking too hard."

A little cough, and he uses the handkerchief to dust the ashes off of his little table. "Nothing to see here," he declares, and tucks the little cloth away. "Well." He stares at the table, now bare but for the hat, with hands on his hips and a 'now what?' expression for a beat, then brightens. "That," he declares as he pulls another envelope from his pocket with a flourish, "is why I always bring a spare." This gets some giggles and one or two people glancing around to see whether anyone else seems to have spotted the issue with this that they have. If they're right, the magician is blithely unaware of it.

"Okay," he says to Dahlia, giving her a look as serious as his tone, "I don't have a third one, so this time, just to be safe, I'm going to ask you to give me a hand. I want you to think about your word real hard, okay? Really wedge it in there. Radiate it out into the world for me." This envelope gets the forehead-pressing treatment as well. A pause to think, his eyes narrowing again, and he gazes dramatically off into the middle distance. "I sense... warmth. Softness. But just a little bit of bite. It's not you, is it?" Focus redirected just long enough to her for a grin, before he goes serious again. "Just kidding. ...kidding? Kidding... hm, that's ringing a bell. But that's not it. Kindling, no, kindle? Nothing about e-books, no, but a kindle, a kindle... of... kittens!" he proclaims triumphantly, brandishing the envelope and offering it toward her. "Have I got it? Wanna check?"

Dahlia steps back, a curious interest in her eyes. She can feel a touch of Glimmer use right before the envelope decides to spontaneously combust! Which causes an upturn of her lips in a smile. Clever. She had to give him credit, he was an excellent showman and had some real talent. She found herself enjoying the show despite the conversation she wanted to have to Aidan at it's end.

The bartender refocuses when Aidan directs his attention back to her. "Alright, I'm thinkin' about it." She confirms and does think about that word. Kitten. Unkittens. She inadvertently glaces towards the basket again but then back up at Aidan as he starts listing off things. She chuckles. "I'll bite if ya want me to." Dahlia teased him in return with a grin. This got a couple other chuckles from the group. But then he finally comes to the word. Kittens.

She opens the envelope and, presumably, there's the paper that she'd written on earlier with the word kittens on it. "He got it!" She confirms for the group, lifting the paper to show it. Not quite sounding surprised but definitely impressed. "That's awesome, how'd you do it?" The natural question one usually wants to ask after such a feat.

Aidan's grin widens briefly at the teasing offer, but he goes on without further immediate comment on that line of thought -- as he regularly play-chides frat-boy types who volunteer each other for this particular trick, this is a family show. Gotta leave that innuendo light.

At the confirmation that he got it correct, and the reveal of the right slip of paper, he raises his arms in beaming triumph, snagging the top hat along the way, and sweeps a flamboyant bow, bringing it across him in that movement and handing it off to the nearest bit of audience to be passed. It's a weird little bit of trust, but generally seems to work out -- a few people investigate the thing to see whether they can spot any pockets or special trick things in it, but they also tend to tip, and somehow people rarely try to take anything out rather than putting in.

"Thank you!" he declares once it's off, "...and I could tell you, but they'd excommunicate me from the Guild of Magicians and I'd have to roam the earth sad and lonely and singing for my supper, and no one wants that. Definitely not if they've heard me sing. Ladies and gentleman, thank you for your time, and let's have a hand for today's beautiful assistant!" There are some laughs and cooperative clapping from the audience, and not too long after, the hat has made its way back to Aidan, and most of those gathered have made their way further down the Boardwalk.

Dahlia smiles and gives a little wave at the clapping for the 'beautiful assistant'. She waits until the crowd has moved on before her attention turns to Aidan again. "I was hoping I could talk with you. My names' Dahlia by the way. I don't think we've properly met before." And she couldn't remember if she had to introduce herself before the trick started! No harm in saying it twice. She shifts the basket in her arms again. "About that, uhm. Body you found." Words a little hushed so only he could hear it. And he could hear a bit more mewing from the basket.

"Aidan," the magician replies, "....well, The Amazing Aidan, if I'm performing, but usually just normal Aidan. Hi." He gives her a grin that might be brighter if there weren't dead bodies involved; he glances down and watches the money from the hat as he migrates it to his pocket. "What did you wanna know?" he asks, as he puts the now-empy hat back onto his head, and starts to pack up the table. It's a funky little homemade thing, made with a certain amount of knowledge what he was doing, but not quite to professional standards. The way it folds up into itself to be carried by a shoulder strap is kind of neat, though. Given the context, the mewing basket gets a slightly wary look. "Kittens?"

"I, uh...the paper didn't have a real good picture of it all...but...I don' think that guy killed his wife." Dahlia said softly, looking a little hesitant herself as she nodded. "Unkittens." She clarified softly. "They...look normal but." Well...She carefully lifts up the basket lid and one of the kittens pops it's head out a bit. It looks totally adorable and young except that when it mews, Aidan can see the uncharacteristically sharp teeth. "I think they're...from the other place." Some how. Some way. She carefully nudges the kitten back into the basket so the lid closes again. He can also likely sense the strong glimmer coming off them. "I found them near the beach and it's difficult to explain but...I just wanted to get your take on the body...what happened when you found it? If anything?"

Aidan looks somewhat uncomfortable. "Yeah, it was, um. Let's sit down?" He leads the way over to the nearest bench, brushes some abandoned fries off it with his boot so that the seagulls fighting over them go with them to the ground, and sits. "So, um. Yeah, it wasn't any guy unless he's got teeth like... that." A gesture to the basket. "She definitely was just really... nibbled. And I think you're right?"

He takes a breath, and answers the other part. "So, me and my friend were having a sandwich, and I saw this cat by a dumpster across the street, right? Little black cat. Only she was staring at me. Like, RIGHT at me. And then also the dumpster. So I went over to see what was going on, and-- do you ever-- I can kind of communicate with animals some?" This is the kind of statement that gets people looking at you really weird, and the tone suggests it might have in the past. But she does Glimmer, and she has unkittens in a basket, so probably she'll get it, right?

"So I tried to see what was up with the cat. And she was... angry. She had kittens on some towels in her person's place and his-- girlfriend or wife, I dunno, was pissed and made him get rid of her and the kittens, take them to the shelter he originally adopted her from. She escaped when he got there. And she said this was a message to my people. For-- thinking we can control what cats do. And that she'd do it again." He pauses. "I dunno really who I'm supposed to tell that or what to do about it, honestly. How did, um. What's the story with the not-kittens? As much as you can explain?"

Dahlia followed Aidan to sit, listening intently. The basket settling on her lap now. She relaxes some as Aidan explained his story, thankful that it actually sounds similar and she wasn't a crazy person. "Same. I found an amazon box with the dude's address on it. The kittens were inside. And I saw the back cat too. But like it seemed so much larger . I don't know if it was a messenger or the actual mother...but I saw the same scenario. Kittens were had, female human was upset...the whole thing." She looked down at the basket. "I don't know how the kittens are supposed to be a message. Or if there's a message I'm supposed to deliver...somehow."

She sighed and looked back to Aidan. "I tried to bring the cats to the house and that's when the neighbor told me what happened. I don't want an innocent dude going away because of weird Gray Harbor shit. I think I'm going to ask Javier what to do. The police chief. I don't know I want to keep these things...I mean. Besides the shine and all they're...mostly normal." She frowned. "But if I try to put them back in the other place what if that just makes the cat angrier?"

Dahlia relaxed against the bench lightly. "And she said she would do it again? Do you think there are more cats like this in the area? Just....waiting to chomp someone up?"

Aidan opens his mouth, then closes it. A moment before he opens it again. "I was gonna say I think it's just her. But. I don't have any good reason to think that, really? It was just kind of a feeling. So it might be 100 percent wrong. If these are her kittens then... I think they'd be half normal-cat? Half weird black uncat, half big tabby tom. I dunno what that means for them. You had his name and address, though?"

He gnaws lightly on his lower lip. "Yeah. We gotta figure something out if the guy's getting the rap for it. Like... there's gotta be some," this is not a conclusion he'd really prefer, "cops like us we could point the problem out to? Or. Maybe someone in the ME's office? I mean they do the official cause of death thing, right?" His knowledge of these things is pretty much entirely television-based.

He studies the basket as though he could see through it to the unkittens (half-kittens?) within. "In what the cat showed me... she seemed okay with her kittens being at the shelter, mostly. Not thrilled, but-- she knew they'd take care of them, because they'd taken care of her? All I'm pretty sure about messagewise is, she wants us to not interfere with cat life. But I can't tell everyone that. And I think... most pet cats like being pet cats? Most of the ones I've talked to anyway."

"Maybe? I mean even if they are half normal...they're still too dangerous to put with some completely normal unsuspecting family. Or the shelter." Dahlia sighed. "Javier's the only one I know well enough on the force to talk about it to. So I'll keep you in the loop on what he says if you like..." She pushes a hand through her hair. "I don't know anyone in the ME's office. Or anyone who would know someone in that line a work. Do you? Could be useful."

She lifts the basket some again to let the kitten poke around a bit and get a peek outside. "Yeah I mean, I've never owned any pets but I was pretty sure that cats just kinda did whatever they wanted anyway and only came to you when they wanted food or attention." Dahlia shrugged. "We'll just have to...stay vigilant I guess? And also keep an eye out for any other kittens like this?...I don't know the average kitten litter but I fee like there's a good chance there wasn't only three of them."

"Stay vigilant," Aidan agrees, nodding once firmly. "I dunno any MEs either, but, your guy probably does? I mean, he'd work with 'em and all. But if I meet one... I'll, um, try to to figure out how to talk to him about weird homicidal cats. If he's like us. Or she. Or, you know."

It's hard not to watch the unkitten poking around, so he doesn't bother trying. "Don't most things kinda only come to you if they want food or attention? Attention covers a lot of stuff," he muses, then shakes his head. "Nah, if they're... if they're the, uh, murder weapons, they're definitely too dangerous for some random person to end up with. But I dunno what we could do with 'em. Like, we can't just abandon them on the other side or something. They're babies. Plus not sure I wanna see their mom madder than she is. If she's their mom." Which seems... likely. "I wonder how dude ended up with an uncat anyway? And baby-her in a shelter?"

"I'm sure he does. He's like us so...he might know someone." Dahlia agreed, her attention remaining on the kittens. Ready to gently push them back into the basket if they tried to get too rambunctious. She chuckled when Aidan asked about the attention. "I mean, I guess that's true. I dunno, like I said - never been a pet person before. This is all new territory for me." A little shrug of her shoulders .

"Yeah, definitely don't want them in incapable hands. Or the guilt of knowingly putting them in incapable hands." Dahlia gives a wry smile. "Exactly. They're defenseless...sort of. I'm not so sure they even ate her on purpose you know? What if they were just going on instinct? Cats are carnivores, and I've a feeling these ones especially are...they've been eating canned tuna and milk so far okay." She gave a light scritch to one of the unkittens.

"I definitely don't want to end up with the wrath of the black cat." Dahlia thought it over a moment. "If I...remember right? Or assume right...I think the man adopted her. But she was already pregnant maybe and he didn't know? Or maybe she got out one night?" A thoughtful noise. "I don't know why she was in the shelter to begin with though. That might just remain one of life's unanswered questions."

Aidan nods. "He sounds like the dude to ask, then. And, they maybe didn't? But even if they did they're babies and, I mean, we don't punish kids the same as adults for stuff usually. And also they're cats. And, it might be they just did what their mom told them too, also. But that doesn't make them not dangerous then, just kinda... maybe less their fault than it might be otherwise?"

He takes a breath, and sighs, gingerly offering the back of his fingers toward one of the unkittens to sniff and see if it wants him to pet it. "Definitely don't want them in incapable hands," he echoes, with another nod. "Which... really might end up making stuff tricky. Think there's, like, Veil pet shelters maybe?" He takes a moment to reply things in his head. "I think the man adopted her when she was a kitten, or at least pretty small, and didn't get her fixed. So she got pregnant. I dunno if she got out or he just let her be in or out when she wanted. I mean, that's pretty obviously what she wants. Freedom. But it's. Kinda not okay to get it by killing people and kinda framing other people for it, is it?"

This strikes something in his mind, from the way his brow furrows, and he pauses a momennt to untangle things. "it's supposed to be a message so she must want people to know. It's not gonna work if people just think some guy killed his wife or girlfriend. So... yeah. Huh. Maybe she doesn't get that most people won't... see it. Hear the message. Or maybe she thinks getting folks like us to know and to see that lady dead and that dude taking the rap will get us to do what we have to to fight for what she wants?"

The unkitten sniffs at Aidan's finger and then gives it a little boop with his nose. A totally normal kitty who wouldn't mind being pet at all! "Exactly." Dahlia agreed. 'They really can't be blamed if they're just...listening." She frowned but chuckled a bit as well. "I don't think there's any Veil pet shelters. Not yet at least." Hopefully never. She had zero desire for more veil creatures to be running around this town.

Dahlia thought on Aidan's suggestion for a moment. "Maybe? It sounds possible..plausible even but...still unlikely she would get the results that she wants. We're not just going to let all the house cats free and let them take over the town." She sat back against the bench. "Maybe it's more about....cats will be cats. Just roll with the punches? Don't fault a cat for mother nature taking its course?"

She pulled out her phone to check the time. "Ah, shit. I need to head back and start getting ready for work. She quickly pulled up a new contact and offered it to Aidan. "Here, lemme get your number. If either of us thinks of anything more we can let each other know."

Aidan can't help melting a little at the boop and totally pets that totally normal (un)kitty! Just because it probably ate a lady to death-- okay no, when he thinks about that it does make the kitten a bit less cute. But it's still a kitten, so it's got a lot of cute to spare. He just keeps his fingertips clear of the mouth area. He needs those. "...well, maybe that's why they're ending up over here, then," he muses when she gives her opinion on the lack of Veil pet shelters (he really should've been more precise about his modifiers!), and sighs quietly.

"She... definitely wanted us to let them be free and follow cat nature. Not fix them, I think. Not get upset when they have kittens on the good towels. Let them keep the company they want to keep. Not... interrupt nature, not decide for them when they can breed or fight or play. She said to stop them, not her. Do unto others, which, that's supposed to be as you would have them do unto you, so, would she have us have babies bite her to death? 'cause I don't think so. And she said, a life for a life, but she didn't get killed and neither did the--" a stutter of a pause, and he points to the basket, "them. Except you found them by the beach? And definitely the kittens got taken to the shelter. Maybe-- maybe we should go look at the shelter and see if there's more kittens there or something..." It's a shelter, and it's late summer. There are definitely kittens there. Though he probably does mean specifically relevant ones.

He takes the phone when it's offered and puts in his information (under 'aidan'), then hands it back, letting her handle the text to send him the info in return. Perhaps just in case she doesn't want to, though that would make texting in either direction tricky, so maybe he hasn't thought that far in this case. "That sounds like a plan. And hopefully your Javier dude can at least get that other dude out of suspicion or something. I mean. From what I saw and all... his crime's really just he likes cats but he's kind of a pushover. And that's a shitty thing to get your life ruined for." He shakes his head, then finds one of the smaller smiles for her. "Anyway, good meeting you. Even if I'd kinda mostly vote for reasons with less dead people in them."