undergrounds | The June Detective [Open]

A: Everyone's a critic

The only negative thing about his promotion was that Heiji really only had a select few people he could even tell about it -- mention you weren't really a human in casual conversation, see how long till you ended up under psychiatric evaluation. Still, Heiji could hardly conceal his good mood. Thus he had rewarded himself with the latest moderately detective-themed airplane novel by a decent writer that he could find, and was rapidly making his way through it on the train, in the park, wherever.

"I dunno. I can understand likin' a writer a lot. I don't see why anyone would commit murder because of it, though. Ain't that goin' a little too far?"

B: I've just had a little fae experience

Provided they slipped through just the right set of trees, someone might just find the rest of London fade away -- the noise of traffic, the noise of the crowd. Dense forest would press in from all sides, but a stone walkway would lead up below a long row of brightly-painted red wooden gates of some ceremonial significance.

At the top of the stone steps: a small shrine, with two guardian fox statues on either side. How curious...

C Other! Open to suggestions and such; Heiji will also just be outright barging into the personal space of whoever he's friendly with and starting up conversations during the month, so that's a thing, too.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"A pretty crabby wolf in human form. Not that it was all that surpisin'. Wanted to know what I wanted, you know the deal."

Well, he supposed that Mab had a bit of a different way of dealing with humans. Or rather, a more Unseelie way. "Sounds like you've got your strategy pretty well worked out."

But time to switch gears. "So what brought you back to London? I heard you were gone for a bit."

Well she would be crabby too if she had to deal with fleas. "He knew you were Fae?"

The summer court were entirely too easy on the humans if you asked Mab. But no one did. "Perhaps." She agreed. It wasn't like it couldn't change to fit a situation.

His focus switched to her more completely and she paused, smoothing a hand down her hip as she considered her answer. Nothing straight, she wasn't fond of giving out information like he was. "London's courts are some of the most powerful in the world, are they not? Scandanavia has it's place of course. But it is not London." It wasn't even Edinburgh.

"I wasn't really in disguise at the time, so yeah." Actually, he hadn't been in disguise at all, hahahaha.

"You're here on a bit of a mission, then. That makes sense." Especially for Mab, who seemed like a bit of a game enthusiast. Heiji himself wouldn't have considered moving for that reason; home was home and away was away. And that was really the end of it.

"So are you from Scandinavia, then? I've never been. Although I did enjoy a novel from Sweden recently -- it's called 'Gentlemen who Hate Women'."

"Ah. That must have been entertaining." She murmured. A fox and a wolf walk into a bar...

She didn't contradict him. Certainly she considered it her duty to maintain the balance between the courts which did not seem to be problematic here yet, and of course to shore up her own power base. So yes it was a mission, or in her opinion, how Things worked.

"I do not originally come from the north." She replied and that was clearly all he would get on that topic. No need to share with a summer fae exactly why she'd gone up there to begin with, or where she'd caused enough tension to force the move. And she did not want to have to discuss her child.

Her head tilted, almost bird-like. "The title seems contradictory. Was it suitable?"

Heiji had run enough investigations to recognize a dodge when he heard one. But he didn't have any reason to pry. After all, plenty of fae had checkered pasts...

Instead, he moved on to the subject of books, which was one of his favorites. "I'd say so. It was about... a family business, you might say? It went a bit into the Swedish judicial system, but the main plot was about two generations and their systematic targeting of Jane Does that no one would recognize were killed by the same party."

He knew when not to pursue a topic. That was useful.

"They call that..." She tried to remember the term, "serial murder do they not?" Frankly it seemed like a lot of trouble to go to for no payout. And the serial murderers so rarely ate their prey. Still, sometimes the excitement was in the chase. Frankly if someone loved the chase they should stop going after untrained human women and get some prey that presented a challenge.

"Do the books present any insight into a mortal's thoughts then?"

"I'd say a bit -- something into the mindset of humans who fall into violent crime. But I thought the most unique aspect was how much time they spent examining crimes and attitudes towards women. That's a little unusual for what's usually regarded as airplane novels. The later books delve more heavily into the legal system and its weaknesses."

Though whether Mab would be able to relate to the characters, he couldn't say. "If you're curious about thought processes, though, I'd recommend something more character-driven. More Stephen Queen, less Michael Crichtor? Nothin' wrong with a well-researched story, but the characters themselves don't offer a lot of insight."

The humans truly do tend to victimize their women. She has little interest in getting into the minds of victims. "What is an ... airplane novel?" It truly sounded like they all revolved around flight. Which seemed ridiculous but who knew with humans.

"Stephen Queen. I will look into it." Filing the name away alongside Truman Capote she nodded once. "The recommendation is appreciated." No thank you, sorry Heiji. Mab will have to find a proper bookstore. If she can find time to read. She's still not sure it's really going to be terribly useful. She's more interested in interacting with humanity so she can blend in and learn more without bringing too much attention to herself while still being able to question mortals.

"It's a story that you read that doesn't require a lot of concentration. Something to provide entertainment during a trip. They're usually light on the characters and heavy on the action. Of course, if you're interested in what humans think of monsters, you might want the earlier books by Thomas Harrison."

In fact, some might consider fae to be a bit monstrous. "Bit of an exploration of the abnormal psyche."

Well, to be fair, the best practice for interacting with mortals was to slum with them.

Humans can be very peculiar. If you do an activity, should you not focus on it? What good is it if you don't? "I do believe I get a general idea of what they think of monsters." She replied dryly. And Mab did not have any problem thinking of herself as a monster to some humans. They should be scared of her it would keep them healthy. Fear was a delightful motivator. Most didn't know they ought to be scared though which was handy.

But understanding the monsters among humanity could be quite useful.

"I shall take it under advisement." She agreed completely with needing to slum with humans though. It was her goal. The humans could help her learn the ins and outs of the regular realm. She would find one eventually. Someone to suborn into service. Mab needed a bff.

Mab......

In any case, the conversation seemed to be coming to a close, so Heiji gave Mab another bow. "Let me know if you do end up liking one of them. I always like talkin' about books."

Mab isn't concerned with your seelie sensibilities, Heiji.

She reached out giving him a moment to pull away before going to rest her fingers against his cheek, an almost gentle gesture.

"I shall do so. The conversation has been most illuminating." Which was as close as Mab got to a 'thank you'. "Do keep me apprised of any need for assistance with the blocked doorways problem." And then her hand was dropping, with a soft slide of fingers as she turned to go.

Heiji didn't pull away, but he did still when she touched his face. His eyes widened almost imperceptibly.

Yeah, not used to people touching him like that in human form. He did, however, nod in response to her request before she left.

The June Detective [Open]

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that's about as far as I've gotten in wolf threads, just letting you know

I will try to avoid prying too much then LOL she's using you like google.

Re: I will try to avoid prying too much then LOL she's using you like google.

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