Ghost Whisperer High Concept: Intuitive Ectomantic Forensic Scientist Trouble: Door's Always Open Daemon's words give her a measure of peace. She moves the bag and jacket onto the back of the chair between them, then moves over to sit in it. She leans forward, leaving her chair a bit to give him a hug. This close, he looks much the same: same clothes, same scars, even the same haircut. But something is different, although she can't quite put her finger on it. She squeezes him a little tighter, savoring the moment, then pulls back. She'd like the hug to be longer, but boundaries are important. Still, he chose the perfect word to describe seeing him: calming. She sits back in her chair and smiles warmly at him. "Well, it's been eventful. Bought a house with Jason, then we got suspended from work. Jason's on paid leave; I'm not. He'll probably be fine, but I have a feeling I'm gonna be fired. I've been leaning into the side gig more to make some money. I'm Cleveland's Kim Russo," she says with a wry chuckle. "There's no shortage of ghosts or people who want my services. I've had to raise my prices. Too much demand, not enough supply." She sighs and he notices subtle signs of fatigue: her eyes aren't as bright, her tone isn't as chipper, and she seems a little distracted. "It's an honest living, though. I do right by my clients, even if some are more interested in it for the thrill than actually bringing anyone peace. Bachelorette parties are the worst." She looks around. "By the way, where's Gabe? Is he hiding?" OOC TBD

Daemon "D" McKnight High Concept: Independent Shadow Hunter Trouble: Tethered to an Ancient Ghost "It's okay. I'm nervous too. I wasn't sure how I'd feel once I saw you, but it's oddly calming. Like it's supposed to be, I think." It is good to see her. I've missed her. What's the phrase? Absence makes the heart grow fonder? I'll probably never get over her, but I can't let her know that. "Angry? No. That all left me the last time we spoke. I don't have it in me to hold a grudge against you. Now regret? Absolutely. There are so many things I'd wished I'd done differently, but I think we covered all that before." I can't stay mad at her. The moment I see her, I crumble. "I don't think there's anything you can answer, other than how are you? What have I missed the last three months?"

Ghost Whisperer High Concept: Intuitive Ectomantic Forensic Scientist Trouble: Door's Always Open "Those are the best places," Marina replies with a smile. She looks down at the menu and the choice becomes immediately clear: aloo gobi. After only a few seconds, she lowers the menu to the table. "Ready when you are." She takes a moment to look around the place. It's quaint, cute. A wonder that she and Jason haven't been here before. She'll have to bring him here so they can rank this place on their list of "Best Indian Eats". Hopefully it's good. He'll definitely want to come here after he hears she went with Johan. She would hate to disappoint. OOC TBD

Ghost Whisperer High Concept: Intuitive Ectomantic Forensic Scientist Trouble: Door's Always Open Marina notices Daemon's slight surprise when she doesn't give him their customary hug. A pang of guilt strikes her heart. 'It was the right thing to do,' she tells herself. Thoughts race through her mind as he sits down. How would this go? How was he? Was he different? The same? Would he be cold? Warm? Aloof? Welcoming? What happened in the three months that he was gone? He'd kept his promises and she'd kept hers: he sent semi-regular texts that he was okay and she didn't respond, and now here they are, finally meeting. As he sits, Marina tries to quiet the kamikaze butterflies in her stomach. It's his words that calm them, though. He doesn't say he's "fine", his life is rebuilt, his list is complete, and his smile is genuine. She relaxes a little. A genuine smile touches her lips. "Wow, you've been busy." Before she can continue, the waitress arrives to take their orders. Marina's too nervous to eat, but a drink may help. She orders a red sangria and waits for Daemon to place his order. After the waitress leaves, she returns her attention to Daemon. "I'm sorry if I'm being weird. I'm so nervous. I didn't know what to expect, but it seems you're doing well." She gives Daemon a small smile; her face relaxes into a look of relief. "I'm so happy to hear that, Dae." She finally takes her coat and purse off and sets them on the empty chair beside her. She's dressed rather conservatively: a white button-up shirt and maroon knee-length skirt. She'd just come from a job. It was important to look professional, especially since the majority of her work came from word-of-mouth. Under the table, she slips her heels off. There was a lot of walking today. Taking her heels off feels amazing. Her gaze returns to Daemon. He looks good: largely unscathed but perhaps a few more scars, but he's more relaxed than she remembers. He's always been good at hiding things, though. And even when he hasn't been, she's never pressed the issue. Still, he reached out... Marina decides to address the question on the forefront of her mind. Tentatively, haltingly, she asks, "Are you still angry with me? Anything I can answer for you?" OOC TBD

Johan Gentleman Thief High Concept: Reformed Thief trying to turn a new Leaf, Trouble: Old Habits Die Hard Skills Skills Burglary (+4) Notice (+3); Stealth (+3) Athletics (+2); Deceive (+2); Investigate (+2) Empathy (+1); Lore (+1); Rapport (+1); Resources (+1) Johan motions for the waitress to bring them one each. "Sorry, I stop here regularly. They don't have the best coffee but it still stands up, and the people are amazing, as well as the location." It seemed that Sushi would still wait a bit. "It is no problem, I can't tell you how often I case a meeting to find out they wanted to jump me. Though I handle it a bit differently. Not that your way is bad, we just have different styles." OOC Hide this

Johan Gentleman Thief High Concept: Reformed Thief trying to turn a new Leaf, Trouble: Old Habits Die Hard Skills Skills Burglary (+4) Notice (+3); Stealth (+3) Athletics (+2); Deceive (+2); Investigate (+2) Empathy (+1); Lore (+1); Rapport (+1); Resources (+1) Johan was not expecting to have Marina slip her arm into his. He did not release her arm, but also knew that he would need to address this with Jason carefully should it come up. Thankfully it was rather short, ah, good. "Thank you, I appreciate it, I personally would rather run away than fight. Even better is avoiding trouble all together, but sometimes you just can't." He had been very lucky so far. And he had Marina and Jason to thank for that. They arrived at the 'Masala Lala' and Johan waved at the receptionist. "Rahvi, do you have a booth available?" he asked walking up to give the plump woman behind the podium a great big hug. "Yoan, good to see you again!" He made small talk with Ravi while she led them over to a booth and left them with menu's promising to drop off water. "This place is very good and Rahvi likes to treat regulars like family." OOC Hide this

Daemon "D" McKnight High Concept: Independent Shadow Hunter Trouble: Tethered to an Ancient Ghost Daemon watched her walk in and make her way to the table. When she approached he stood and stepped to the side like he had many times before when he arrived first for their business meetings. Only this time there is no hug, something he didn't expect. Had it been so long she no longer wished to do so? Or was it for Daemon's benefit? She sat down and he sat after her. "I'm good. Things are better. The estate is finished and the wing that collapsed is rebuilt. I've exhausted the list." He waved to the waitress to let her know to come by when she was ready. "I haven't had a hospital stay in quite a while, so there's that." he smiled as he did so.

Ghost Whisperer High Concept: Intuitive Ectomantic Forensic Scientist Trouble: Door's Always Open Marina steps off the bus and looks towards Bram's. She's been here hundreds of times. It's practically a second home. But tonight feels different. Three months since she last saw Daemon; she wasn't sure what to expect. She's a little early, so she lights a cigarette and moves to the designated smoking section outside. Nobody else is there, which is perfect. The solitude allows her to gather thee thoughts and prepare herself. When she walks into Bram's, the place is rather empty. Her eyes immediately settle on their old table, but Daemon isn't there. Her heart drops. Maybe he was late or maybe he texted her asking to reschedule. As she moves to pull her cell phone from her purse, she sees him in the corner. She smiles slightly and walks to the table. Unlike previous times, she doesn't give him a hug. Instead, she takes a seat opposite him and looks on him with obvious relief. "Daemon," she whispers, voice somewhat shaky. "I'm so glad you asked to meet. How are you?" OOC TBD

Daemon "D" McKnight High Concept: Independent Shadow Hunter Trouble: Tethered to an Ancient Ghost Daemon walked into Bram's and walked to the table he used to share with Marina, pausing briefly. It was unoccupied and he hesitated. So many memories. He looked around as he pulled one of the chairs, and saw an empty corner table. He slid the chair back to it's original position and walked over the corner. He slid into the chair that was backed in the corner and sat down to wait. It has been three months since he last saw Marina and he was a little nervous. A lot had happened since then. He had spent the time clearing his head and trying to 're-invent' himself. He didn't know if it worked, but he felt much better and was more at peace with himself than before. Someone had once told him that when he was forced to make a decision, choose the one that allowed him to sleep at night. He had slept much better in the last few months than he had in years, and there were less nightmares. He had periodically texted her to let her know he was okay. He had kept his promise this time. He called her a few days ago and asked if he could see her, and he kept another promise that the last meeting wasn't a goodbye. They settled on this day and time and now he was waiting. He declined the water for now when the waitress came by and asked her to come by when his company came.

Daemon "D" McKnight High Concept: Independent Shadow Hunter Trouble: Tethered to an Ancient Ghost "Sushi would be welcome." He waved off the events outside. "Please forgive the minor interruption," he turned and waved for the waitress and when she looked over in his direction, he hollered. "Same thing, please." He looked at Johan, "I don't know the hand signals."

Ghost Whisperer High Concept: Intuitive Ectomantic Forensic Scientist Trouble: Door's Always Open Marina gasps as Johan pulls the girl from the street. This whole time he's been very aware of their surroundings, noticing things she didn't. She looks to the girl who's moving away from them, then back to Johan. "You don't owe me any explanations. I don't need them, really. You are kind, good to us, and very good at what you do. I can trust you. That's all that matters to me." The signal changes to allow them to cross. She looks both ways before beginning to walk, then casually loops her arm through his. That girl almost being hit shook her up more than she expected. "Thank you for your help today. It was nice to have you with me, show you a bit of what I can do. Jason and Daemon, they're a bit more obvious in their talents. I tend to fade in the background, which is fine. I prefer that. But there's an art to subtlety, a finesse that they sometimes miss." They reach the other side of the street and she releases his arm. "It's nice to have someone with that same predilection." OOC TBD

Johan Gentleman Thief High Concept: Reformed Thief trying to turn a new Leaf, Trouble: Old Habits Die Hard Skills Skills Burglary (+4) Notice (+3); Stealth (+3) Athletics (+2); Deceive (+2); Investigate (+2) Empathy (+1); Lore (+1); Rapport (+1); Resources (+1) Johan holds up his glass "Italian Soda, you can have it in whatever flavor you want, but I feel that this may not scratch your itch. Perhaps Sushi?" He then finished the glass and set it down. Then looked back over at where three men just ran off. A broken hunter, but still a hunter. It would seem that one that carried solid street cred. Johan was tempted to seek answers, but quite frankly, the best pace to search for answers was before him. And that would not leave a paper trail back to him. OOC Hide this

Johan Gentleman Thief High Concept: Reformed Thief trying to turn a new Leaf, Trouble: Old Habits Die Hard Skills Skills Burglary (+4) Notice (+3); Stealth (+3) Athletics (+2); Deceive (+2); Investigate (+2) Empathy (+1); Lore (+1); Rapport (+1); Resources (+1) Johan does not stop, but for a heartbeat he may have slowed down. "I guess I have not been too forthcoming with my past. And I thank you for that." Again there was another crosswalk that they had to wait at. "I used to work in security, there are not too many places that I am not able to get into." Though dancing around the truth, nothing was really a lie. Johan then reached out and grabbed the arm of a kid about to run out into the street. The kid spun on him about to yell up unto the point where a taxi zipped by. "Sorry about that," he said to the girl as he released her wrist. "Yeah, you better" she tried to sound tough, but she was obviously shaken. Johan then turned to Marina. "Sorry about that. I feel you understand." OOC Hide this

Ghost Whisperer High Concept: Intuitive Ectomantic Forensic Scientist Trouble: Door's Always Open Marina stands up. "I won't keep you any longer. I know you have other things to do Thanks, Daemon, for talking with me." She walks over to the chair near the door that she was waiting in when Daemon entered. She grabs her purse and slings it over her shoulder, then turns back to look at him. "Take care of yourself, Dae, and don't forget to text me this time. I'll see you soon, I hope." Marina gives him one last smile before leaving the room. OOC TBD

Daemon "D" McKnight High Concept: Independent Shadow Hunter Trouble: Tethered to an Ancient Ghost She releases the hug and he lets her go amd sits back. He slowly nods, "Deal."

Ghost Whisperer High Concept: Intuitive Ectomantic Forensic Scientist Trouble: Door's Always Open Marina pulls back a few moments later, shaking her head. "You know that's your tell, right? That you say you're 'fine' when you're really not." She leans back in her seat and frowns. "One day you'll tell me the entire truth. Until then, just share what you're comfortable sharing. Deal?" OOC TBD

Daemon "D" McKnight High Concept: Independent Shadow Hunter Trouble: Tethered to an Ancient Ghost The hug was unexpected. After a moment of hesitation he wrapped his arms around her and hugs her back. "It's ok. I'm fine. I'll be fine." He holds her as long as she let's him.

Ghost Whisperer High Concept: Intuitive Ectomantic Forensic Scientist Trouble: Door's Always Open Marina's face falls. Everything clicks into place, things she should have pieced together before. She can't fight the urge anymore. She leans forward and draws him into another hug. The idea of him bearing so much pain alone is heartbreaking. "I'm so sorry, Dae. I might not have been there, but I am now." She hugs him tighter. "I'm so, so sorry." OOC TBD

Daemon "D" McKnight High Concept: Independent Shadow Hunter Trouble: Tethered to an Ancient Ghost "That isn't necessary. It's dead." He might have forgot to tell her that part. "I wanted to see what I could find for future reference. If there was anything. Maybe I could have done something different and maybe I wouldn't have had to bury that many."

Ghost Whisperer High Concept: Intuitive Ectomantic Forensic Scientist Trouble: Door's Always Open Marina blinks a few times, taking it all in. "Wow, uh, yeah...that's a lot." It's painful knowing how much he's going through without her. All the big things she'd usually be there for, he's now going through them without her. This is necessary, though. For growth. For their friendship. For him. At least, that's what she'll tell herself. Whatever he needs, she'll give it. "If you ever need me, I'm there. No questions asked, no explanation needed. Should I wait to leave until after you have, just in case this thing is following you? Because, you know, mud." She smiles weakly. OOC TBD

Daemon "D" McKnight High Concept: Independent Shadow Hunter Trouble: Tethered to an Ancient Ghost Daemon looked at Johan, possibly considering something. "Nah, excuse me a second." Daemon picks up the phone again and calls the number that texted him. Under his breath so the waitress can't hear, "Lose my number and leave Cleveland. If i ever see your face again, I will kill you and your two buddies in the alley." The guy standing at the corner started looking around frantically. He walked toward the alley and seemed to be speaking, then all three ran down the street. "Well, Johan, it seems my night just cleared up. I think I'll have whatever you're having." He smirked.

Daemon "D" McKnight High Concept: Independent Shadow Hunter Trouble: Tethered to an Ancient Ghost "It is." How much to tell? "Other than a bunch of funerals I attended, one of the wings in my newly built estate collapsed, I had to get a new truck, and that lycanthrope I fought became an ally, nothing." He smiled sheepishly. Daemon didn't want to reveal that Aura was staying at his estate just yet. He'll have to figure out how to breach that subject another time.

Ghost Whisperer High Concept: Intuitive Ectomantic Forensic Scientist Trouble: Door's Always Open Marina laughs. "The idea of you creeping and lurking is just hilarious. I can't see that being your style. Although, I have to day I was surprised by your lockpicking skills." She looks at him and raises an eyebrow. "Pick that little skill up in private school?" OOC TBD

Ghost Whisperer High Concept: Intuitive Ectomantic Forensic Scientist Trouble: Door's Always Open Marina takes in the mostly-healed cuts on his face. She frowns a little. She has her doubts about his truthfulness, but she says nothing further about it. Instead, her mind turns to an earlier mention that nagged at the back of her mind. "I'm assuming that was one of the distractions you mentioned. Any others I should know about?" OOC TBD

Daemon "D" McKnight High Concept: Independent Shadow Hunter Trouble: Tethered to an Ancient Ghost "I had nothing so we set up an ambush and I drew him into it. T had the rocket. I was fine." He tried to dismiss it. "I'm glad he had it. T didn't have to get involved, but he did."