do you fly in the day, darling

[stauncherhearted]

[A June catch-all! Pick an option and say hello, or start something more specific in the comments. Hit me up on plurk if you want a specific starter!]

-

A Just another Saturday night out, Nancy's lips painted blood red and staining the side of her low-ball glass. Her legs are crossed at the ankles, black pumps and fishnets on full display under her short leather skirt. It's a night out, another night working. People around here knew who she was, what she offered. It was easier in supernatural bars, Nancy knew, to find vampires looking for a feeding, or even just a john wanting some company.

She props an elbow up on the bar, and looks down the the way, eyes peeled for any familiar, or unfamiliar, face. She'll just try not to think about how great it would be to be watching Netflix right now instead of work.

B Do you believe in fate, baby, ask me, ask me, the music played in her earbuds as Nancy jogged in place at a cross-walk. Trainers on her feet and hair pulled up in a pony-tail, she was doing her usual exercise routine. Always good to be fast on your feet, she'd learned as a child, and running was a great way to keep that up. Even if she had ways to get away, her feet were still just as important.

Besides, there was something relaxing about running, she'd found. She could shove the world away and concentrate on the music and running and the city. She'd found her way down to the Thames, and was running on the paths near it, past youths with skateboards and graffiti'd walls, business men grabbing a bite to eat right outside the Globe. It was astounding the way the culture and history blended together so seamlessly. She'd never get over that.

The light turned green, and on she ran.

C Choose your own! Private starters in the comments.

Comments

[detectiveofthewest]

"What, there's a song? Sounds gruesome." Not that Japan didn't have its own little gruesome song and story tradition sometimes, but Heiji had grown up with that so of course it was perfectly normal.

"Think I'd like to avoid any ghost nuts if I go looking, though. Supposedly, them supernatural shows have gotten pretty popular, but all the ones I've ever seen are a bunch of twenty to thirty year olds running around in the dark and yelling."

[stauncherhearted]

"It's awful." So she was never going to show it to him. Ever. He'd just have to find out on his own. British history was a bloody one, the two went hand-in-hand. They were the ones who invented murder, after all.

"Gotcha. I've seen a few episodes of Not Natural." The show about the two brothers in the t-bird. "But I think you should be okay. Or go at night." Casually, like everyone broke into cemeteries at night.

[detectiveofthewest]

"Sheesh, it's startin' to sound like everything in London's best enjoyed at night." Not that he really minded; he didn't exactly have to watch out for muggers, after all.

"Okay, so we've talked the tower and a cemetery. What about beaches, any good ones around here for a day trip?" Might as well get some sightseeing advice while he could. Maybe Clive would enjoy a visit (though honestly, it seemed a bit doubtful that someone who lived in London all their life wouldn't at least have cherry-picked some of these places for themselves on a weekend or two).

[stauncherhearted]

Nancy presses her lips together and humms. "Mmm, no, not that I can recall. Bath, maybe, but that's all historic. Truthfully, I haven't been to the beach." Not that rare, to be fair. At least, she thought so.

[detectiveofthewest]

"Yeah, well. It's kinda the same in Osaka. I mean, you can go out a ways, but if it's summer and you really wanna beat the heat, people usually go to Karuizawa or somethin'." Can't. Have everything...

Okay, moment over. That was the last even semi-negative thing he was going to say about his hometown. "...But other than that, it's great! I miss the food."

[stauncherhearted]

"Japan, right?" the names of the cities he mentioned sounded familiar enough that she felt she could guess. "I bet that's only because you lived there. you'd feel the same with any place." She glanced over at him fondly.

"yeah? what's your favorite?"

[detectiveofthewest]

"What? No way!" The honor of Osaka was being impugned (sort of). "Listen, the Kansai area ain't like how it is back east. We've got history, they got a big electric bill and a bunch of crowding. It's no contest! Plus we got Obon and Tenjin Matsuri -- "

Clearly he felt strongly about this if he was lapsing into Japanese. What was he even talking about at this point.

"I always take folks to Osaka Castle, and Osaka Tower's always nice on a sunny day. Oh, we've got Fushimi Inari Shrine. It's got a ton of these big red torii gates that tourists always like. Shitennoji Temple's pretty popular, too, and then there's Soribashi Bridge... It's tough to pick any one I like best, though!"

[stauncherhearted]

She wasn't even sure when he started speaking in japanese, but Nancy was trying her best to follow along all the same. It wasn't going over too well, until he switched back to English.

Laughing, she shrugged. "There's no pressure to pick a favorite," she said honestly, "If you really can't. It sounds absolutely beautiful."

[detectiveofthewest]

"It really is!" Heiji agreed readily. "When people think Japan, they think Tokyo, I guess. But there's all kindsa stuff to see that ain't Tokyo. In fact, if you ever visit, look me up! Even if I can't get away, I'd be happy to suggest some places to visit."

Only fair, after all, since Nancy had been so helpful. And played along with him talking a mile a minute.

[stauncherhearted]

"well you've got three whole islands over there, yeah? of course there's more than just Tokyo. just like there's more to England than just London." and the surrounding UK. "can't judge a country by just it's capitol."


it seemed a fair way to go about. not that Nancy had ever left the Island in her life. and doubted that she would. still... "I promised my friend Stiles I'd visit him in California first. but I'll visit you next. how does that sound?"

[detectiveofthewest]

"Four main ones, actually!" said Heiji cheerfully. Most people didn't even know that much, so good job Nancy. "And a bunch of little ones. We get a lot of variation in weather 'cause we're a bit spread out. Might wanna skip Hokkaido in wintertime, yeah? Then again, they got that Snow Festival. Back in the old days, though? People couldn't get in their front door in the winter. Had to get in and out through the second floor!"

Maybe it was difficult to convey just how much snow the north was used to getting, i.e. a lot.

"Oh, you know Stiles? Kind of a weirdo, right? When I found him, he was stuck in a storm drain."

[stauncherhearted]

"Four," she repeats, "I'll remember that." Not bad for a girl that had never left the country. Or gotten any sort of education.

"Skip Hokkaido in the winter, got it. Though, I do love snow." It never stayed long here, and if it did, it was rain. She laughs along with him, though, because the mental image is just perfect.

"Hey! Stiles is a great guy. Yes... A little weird. He was my date to the ball." Not a date-date, mind you. They just went together.

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji's blinked in surprise. "Really? How was it? Wait... did you meet up with him before or after we talked? 'Cause I'm pretty sure I woulda noticed if he was around..."

Did Nancy ditch Stiles at the ball. Was that what happened.

[stauncherhearted]

"It was fun." For a while. "We let each-other do our own thing, for the most part. I brought him in, and then met up with him again after we spoke."

[detectiveofthewest]

Hmm, better ask Stiles about this later.

"I bet he was just dyin' to get in. Hope he ain't get in too much trouble." Because somehow Heiji couldn't imagine Stiles crashing a party and not getting caught.

[stauncherhearted]

She laughed. "He didn't know it was happening till I told him he was going. But once he found out..." She shook her head. "He's a good guy. Managed to keep his nose clean." Except the Derek thing.

"I mean, he's still alive."

[detectiveofthewest]

"Yeah, though he could really get himself in trouble one of these days. Let's do our best and make sure that don't happen!" Well, in as much as they could, anyway. Stiles was like a one-man wrecking crew.

"Come to think of it, I been meeting a lot of Americans recently. I guess it figures, since London's got so many tourists and out-of-towners and such." Of which Heiji was one, really.

[stauncherhearted]

"That's something I think we can both agree on." She extended her pinky again in a show of solidarity. Team Keep Stiles From Dying! Too bad it wasn't catchy enough for t-shirts.

"Me, too." So her best friend was Canadian. Close enough, right? "Summer's start of tourist season. You get used to it."

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji returned the gesture with a smile. "Wonder if he'd be put out if he knew about it, though. I mean, he don't seem super proud, but you never know." At the very least, Stiles was one of the less prickly personalities he knew here.

"I guess ya do. First time I got here, I thought someone was throwin' a festival and I didn't get the memo."

[stauncherhearted]

"He'd be devastated. We'll just make sure he never finds out." She beams over at him, teeth white when they flash through the smile.

"You're a funny guy, Heiji," she says with a laugh, her ponytail bobbing slightly as she turns towards him. "Next time there is one, I'll throw you a memo, how's that?"

[detectiveofthewest]

Well, those certainly were some pearly whites. "I'd appreciate it! Don't actually know much about holidays around these parts. I'd hate to show up as the only one who wasn't in on the joke. Speakin' of which, Christmas is pretty big around here, right? You eat dinner with family?"

[stauncherhearted]

"Yeah, it is- that's in December, so we've got over six months to go. Usually, yeah." She'd go over to Fagin's and eat with the boy, and then go to work because lonely people existed, too. She generally made a killing.

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji smiled. "Yeah, it's totally different in Japan. People spend Christmas with their date. Or if you're not seein' anyone, it's kinda a tradition to go to KFC."

K...FC? Like the fast food chicken place?

Yes.

[stauncherhearted]

Wait. "The American chicken place?" She repeated with a blink. "That's-" Actually kinda what they did on Christmas.

The big celebration for Fagin was Hanukah, despite being Fae. Christmas, their dinners tended to be take-out chinese. But they had them, anyway, as many of the boys weren't Jewish. It was only fair.

"That sounds standard for me. Christmas is always Chinese food- I was raised Jewish, so it's just a quick dinner with the boys that celebrate it."

[detectiveofthewest]

"Yeah, they ran a great marketing campaign back in the day. So now it's kinda like a tradition." Thanks, America.

He brightened as Nancy mentioned Chinese food for Christmas. "Oh, I heard about that! 'Cause they're the places that're still open on Christmas. Who're the 'boys', though?"