55. [Action]

[justcautious]

[Chris has been out patrolling for the day so far and he hasn't really noticed anything odd. Or rather, he's noticed quite a lot of kissing but presumably it's holiday-related? Nothing to do with him, unless it's a troop of devious kissing-pickpockets. But he doesn't find that likely, at least, not likely enough to bother with investigating any of

Comments

I always wind up going with 'hilarious'. 8| Even- no, especially- at the expense of her dignity.

[badhairlifetime]

She notices that fowl pas* while noting that she really should make an effort to be friendlier in the City.

"About as much as I can be, I suppose. What about you?"

*Like a faux pas, but the person committing it winds up looking a bit like a duck.

Ha! Dignity.

[justcautious]

Well, other than the whole thing with his girlfriend leaving and feeling kind of depressed...

"Fine, I s'pose. Same old. Been 'avin' any luck on cases an' that?"

For a given value of dignity. In Hiyori's case, zero.

[badhairlifetime]

"They've been going alright. Pretty minor offenses so far. Still in the beginning period, I suppose." After all, it can't be that the crime rate is down here. Crime never takes a vacation, Vimes always said. There's no reason it would be any different here, even if it was a pocket dimension.

"Anything . . . major happen with you lately?"

Ah, a trait Chris shares.

[justcautious]

"Yeah.....there might be sommat with leather jackets but I reckon DI Tyler'll 'ave you on that if 'e wants you t' be."

He shrugs. "I dunno. Loads o' people leavin'." Not saying 'no', but not going into detail either. He's not going to lie but dragging it out isn't the man's thing to do. Subject change instead. "You notice all that kissin' about?"

Maybe that's why they get along . . .

[badhairlifetime]

"Leather jackets? Haven't heard of that, no." She'd be great at tracking for it, though. Leather was very distinctive.

"There do seem to be a lot going missing." Not that she really knew many people to begin with, but she knew that the Chief was talking about her right hand man leaving, and was pretty upset about it. She won't push Chris talking, though.

"I happened to have come into contact with it, yes. From what's been going about, it's been a curse before."

Possibly so

[justcautious]

"Bit nasty, that," says Chris. "Turns out someone was makin' jackets usin' humans for th' leather."

"I must've missed it. Can't see me forgettin' sommat like this." He glances up, not being able to help himself. Nothing there...yet. "Cameron thinks it's prob'ly sommat t'do with the mistletoe that's been showin' up."

Possibly so

[badhairlifetime]

"That's-" Sick? Monstrous? Incomprehensible? "not something I've ever heard of before." She too glances up.

"That's been the word on the street. I don't know how, but it only happens when the mistletoe is above two people." It seemed to work on her, a little, before, at any rate.

[justcautious]

"S'tradition, that. Only...not compulsory. Or, mostly not compulsory. Cos it sn't usually cursed." He shrugs. He's looking straight ahead, now, so the mistletoe's moving in. "I never 'eard of stuff like these jackets until I was brought here neither."

[badhairlifetime]

"Tradition? That's something else I'd never heard of before. What's tradition about them?" It made her mind wander back to the Disc, and Hogswatch there, in her various 'families'. One of them had considerably less money, but was a lot more enjoyable than the ones where she supposedly had 'everything that she could ever want'.

Of course, Hogswatch made her think of sausages, and the sausages made her think of, well, the jacket predicament at hand. It also made for a nice distraction from her noticing how close she was getting to Chris.

"Any leads on the guy that's doing it?"

[justcautious]

"Dunno why, only you're meant t'kiss under mistletoe," says Chris. He shrugs. "I don't know anythin' else about it. The jackets, though....they jus' showed up in a shop underground, I think. I can't remember what 'appened to th' bloke sellin' 'em, though."

This is so not the appropriate conversation for the mistletoe to show up in, but it is basically over their heads now. "There's loads of 'orrible sorts here who'd do somethin' like that. Vampires, mainly. An' one creepy little girl."

[badhairlifetime]

"Odd." She thinks. "Do you mean that he disappeared or he's already been questioned?" A weird sort of business, indeed with this jacket scandal.

"Vampires." She tries not to growl the word out, "Yes, vampires. It's a wonder how many of them are here, really. What little girl?"

[justcautious]

"Oh, um, I mean we questioned 'im once but didn't get too far. He had no idea. Just his usual supplier, he said, so....I dunno. It's in the file. Weren't actually me goin' down there, really, it were a copper who's not even here, now."

Chris blinks and pauses. "Oh, s'this little girl, only she's evil an' her name's Road."

[badhairlifetime]

"Hm. Yeah, right. Not our case. But still . . . "

Well that was helpful information to know. She'd have to keep aware of that, then. "I'll have to remember that. So, what, have the vampires not been behaving here?"

[justcautious]

"It depends on the vampire, I s'pose..." says Chris hesitantly. "I mean, most of the ones I've seen or met are bloody evil but there was a bird wanted t'join the Force once who was a vampire." He pauses. "An' I've been one, twice, an' I weren't that bad. Didn't bite anybody. Stayed underground, mostly. But the ones we're worried about are dangerous sorts. We try an' keep coppers watchin' them, only it's hard, cos they're vampires an' that."

[badhairlifetime]

"Evil? And they're left out in the open? I thought that I'd-" Careful with the phrasing, "noticed some strange activity." Her mental hackles go down a bit at the next part. "A curse, I'm assuming. What'd you do in the underground?"

She snorts. "And I suppose that a few of them are still keeping the guise of being perfectly civil citizens."

[justcautious]

"Can't do much about 'em, though," says Chris ruefully. "Sort of a curse, yeah. Or...the first time I was bit by a vampire but the second time was a curse. Mostly I just stood around an' smoked an' that. Avoided folk."

"Course they are." He frowns. "I don't trust 'em. I reckon they're always up t'somethin'."