dualislogs | If you go I will know by the rain, My Charlemagne.

Haji had been just as quiet as ever, one might have assumed he would have been at least more excited to speak to people once his cello had been returned to him but instead he remained ever the same, untouched by time, silently waiting for the one who always made him wait. The one probably asleep off in that far world he came from.

If he were a more selfish man, he might have tried to move on, but what was life without his mistress? Without Saya? Who was Haji without Saya? That was the task he was trying to learn and yet, it was so hard to fall out of old habits, so as it was with Christmas so close, he sat on a corner, with a borrowed chair from the close cafe and played a few different tunes. Or if people dared ask, if he had at least heard the tune in passing he would do requests. He still didn't say much but he stayed playing for quiet a long time.

He made his way down to the Gallows on one of the days he didn't have to be at the orchestra, though he hadn't been around much he had at least sent Jane messages letting her know he was still alive and still working. Today was important though, even if it may not be to most, Haji was without a real purpose these days and finding that purpose in making his friends happy.

Having spent the previous night in the communal kitchen when most sane people would be sleeping, he had made two cakes, one for Jane and one for his roommate Lorna. Though Haji no longer required food, he had spent his youth running around the Zoo and often helped in the kitchens, after his change, someone had to feed the always hungry Saya. So, this was simply business as usual, but with the added flair of being able to do something nice for a friend without it looking simply store bought. Though, the tea he also had in the bag he carried box with the cake was store bought. Cake and Tea were a great mixture.

Knocking upon the door, with the cello case over his shoulder, and the box in his hand he waited quietly.

It wasn't quite a day off. Dualis didn't do Christmas, at least not seriously given the noticeable lack of dead trees and fat men in red suits. That had been fine with Jane, holidays weren't her thing and she was in the Gallows as usual, "working." By which she meant sitting there and occasionally retreating to the back room to drink coffee and get frustrated by sketching. When Haji stops by she's glad, both for the company and that it's not a customer wasting her time. She's had enough of window-shopping snobs who expect chilled white wine as they criticize the art.

"Hey." She opens the door and holds it for him. "You know, the door isn't locked all the time. You can just come in if I'm here."

Haji had never cared much for the ideas of the German Christmas the British Queen had pushed for, at least until Saya showed such love for those dead trees. How happy Joel seemed witrh the house full of cheer, but now Haji does as he did then, simple gifts to make those around him happy. He can be as miserable as he pleases, but he liked his friends to be happy.

Once she opened the door he stepped inside careful not to bump the large case into her, which honestly was more care than he usually takes with people. His only real rude happy besides his silence was knocking into people with the case. "I will remember that..." He found it easier talking to her, she was one he trusted, as strange as it was it was almost like being back in a place where things make sense. He moved to find a place to sit the box and the bag down before slipping the cello off his shoulders. "I would like to take a few moments of your time, if you are not terribly busy with your art, Jane." Haji looked paler than normal but aside from that, he was just as immaculately dressed as ever, usually the way he looks before he goes to work.

Queen Victoria was a little before her time, and a cello case bopping her wasn't going to upset her too much even if he hadn't gallantly avoided it. Jane presses herself against the wall and holds the door with one hand as Haji maneuvers the cello case in. It's annoying and she rolls her eyes, and once he's past her and into the Gallows' display room she shoves her hands in her pockets with a sigh.

"Don't worry about it. Just come in, get settled." There was a cup of coffee in the pot and Jane considered whether to offer it to Haji. "Do you want something to drink?" she asks. "I'm not doing anything important. All my stuff is shit today."

Edited 2020-01-07 08:39 (UTC)

He probably could tell she was annoyed, but he had a feeling it was but a fleeting moment. Then again, she was often upset, so maybe not. Either way, he was fine. "I will do so from now on." He dared not point out his hands hand been full and he might have dropped something had he not knocked, alas that would not have flown with Saya, he doubts it would with Jane either, and he was perfectly fine with that.

"I am fine, but thank you." He didn't need it, while he could and might enjoy it, he didn't require it and that had been his standard way of thinking for a long time. At least until Riku and George started shoving food and drink at him trying to make him feel like part of the family. The simple white box was tied off with blue ribbons, like the one he always had in his hair....He probably had a spool of it somewhere, and he couldn't find twine, but the box's ribbons were pretty. Once he sat the box down and stepped back he motioned to it. "Merry Christmas, Jane." Next to it was the other bag he had been carrying which was a mixture of teas and coffee, things to keep her going in the long nights she worked.

"More for me, then." Jane had been drinking coffee since she got in. Making and consuming it was about the only thing she'd done today. Which was fine, no one was out shopping for weird art on Christmas.

When he set down the box she paused, surprised. It hadn't occurred to her that anyone would think of her for Christmas; no one really had since the Chief, and she didn't often spend her Decembers in Doom Manor. She's not quite sure what to do with the display of affection.

If it had been someone else she might've just handed the gift back and been done wth it. Haji actually cared, though, she knew that. So she accepted it with a "Huh," and opens the box. The cake looked like it came directly out of Martha Stewart's oven, and Jane wasn't sure when someone had last given her something so pretty. "Huh," she said again.

"Want some cake?"

After spending the afternoon with Jane, Haji who had left the gift he made for Lorna in a little white box in the room knowing it would be safe until his return. Even if it wasn't he wouldn't had minded, but he knew it would be. It was just after sunset, when he appeared, his color had been better for about a week now, he no longer appeared sluggish, so he had finally clearly taken in the blood he needed and refused.

He didn't trust the blood the city provided. Not at all.

But when he returned, he moved to hang up his jacket, having taken to wandering the room and reading off the Dualis tablet since real books were harder to find. Passing time by learning new things. Either way, if she was in or when she came in if not he would offer a soft smile her way. "Merry Christmas, Lorna."

It probably wasn't that surprising that Lorna wasn't in the room. She spent very little time in the room overall, outside of the occasional day or two she spent not moving from bed. Those days didn't happen too often though, which she's oddly grateful for. Better to be on edge nad alert as often as possible in this place. When she came back to the room it was nearing night. The truth is she'd wanted to spend as much time as possible not in the room where she could think about what day it was. It should be Dawn's first Christmas, but instead she's here. Even in her own head it sounds childish to be thinking about how unfair it is, but that's exactly what she's doing as she walks into the shared room.

"Oh," her tone's fairly neutral and she does offer him a small smile. "Merry Christmas, Haji." She can pretend it's not miserable right? That's what half the people here are always doing anyway: pretending it's not as miserable as it is.

Neither of them were home often. Haji never sleeps, and spent most of his time working or hanging around the Gallows. Without Saya, and knowing she wasn't in the world he was aimless. Haji would have rather spent the holiday sitting by Saya's cocoon or walking the streets of Paris, any of the things he would rather do than be in this strange futuristic world without anyone he knew, but he was here so he would make the best of it in the only way he knew how anymore.

Focus on other people. As someone who didn't hide his misery beyond looking dead inside, he could see she was upset, but he was not one to push ~~she wasn't Saya after all.~~ "Thank you." He replied softly as he motioned a hand towards the desk to the simply wrapped box. "This is for you." He didn't expect anything in return, quite the opposite, he just wanted to do something, anything to pass the time.

A gift isn't something Lorna's expected at all. For an instance her expression flickers between surprise and sadness before resting back on something that might be closer to resting bitch face than she intends it to be. Nobody can control their resting bitch face though. It just happens. She walks over, looks at the box and then looks at him.

"Uh, thanks. You didn't have to get me anything," surprisingly there's no awkwardness in her voice, despite the fact that she feels a tiny bit awkward that she hasn't gotten him anything in return. Actually celebrating Christmas here with gifts wasn't really something she thought about. Instead she's been too busy trying to fight off the general depression that threatens to sweep her up at any moment.

Cautiously she unwraps the box and her eyes widen at the sight of the cake. "Damn. You make this? It's impressive." For some reason she really didn't expect him to be an elaborate baker. Maybe she should have considering his artistic leanings with music.

Luckily, Haji expected nor wanted anything in return. He was lost adrift at a sea of new choices in life he had never truly had before and he had no idea what to do with it. So he fell back on ideas of old.

"I assumed as much, but it seemed wrong to simply ignore the date even in a new world." Honestly the hours he spent on the two cakes he made had blissfully kept his mind off Saya and off the confusions and guilt's over his new life. It was gift enough to be busy.

"I am no confectioner, but, I can do enough to be passable." Someone had to feed Saya on long treks, and she was forever hungry. What good was a servant who couldn't whip a few things up? "That said, I hope you do enjoy it, and know that I do not expect nor want anything in return." He had always be simple in what he kept and carried, he didn't want her feeling like she had to do anything. He was fine.

Haji knew where to find Drifter, it was odd but he always just seemed to know when he wanted to find the other man. It was something he considered to be a sign that the man was truly his friend, Or maybe it was just another part of the other's strange powers. Either way, Drifter was always a mystery and one he loved to hear about.

Being as old as he was, not much shocked him anymore, but his strange friend was always interesting. It was already quite late when Haji walked up to the other in his forever silent way, the large metal case slung over his shoulder holding everything he holds dear inside, everything but Saya herself.

"Good evening." He greeted low. His color was worse than normal and he sounded tired, but it was his own stubbornness causing that.

Drifter makes solid attempts, occasionally, to not be found. Nothing against Haji or the few people he can almost consider friends, that are at the very least allies, but he tries to do his 'work' away from the iterations. Various points around the city, dark little corners where no one cares about anywhere.

Store that went out of business? Wrecked mod office? Old storage shed that no one ever uses? He changes around. Seems like the best idea.

This time he's picked a warehouse office. It's a series of them, only half of them in use, this particular one abandoned for some time. He's collecting parts in the area, prepping to build another auto-rifle to pass on to those who need it.

He's in the middle of picking up a hunk of metal when Haji wanders up.

"You're like a hound. I'd love to figure out how the hell you find me."

But man, he is not looking so good. Drifter takes a good look around. Just casual workers, and he's not dressed that differently so no one's been paying attention to him. They're all at a distance anyway.

"What ails you, Brother? Looks like you've took ill in a bad way."

Haji was just about magical like that though, he could just sense things, just about feel them and always seemed to know where he was needed or where to go. Maybe it was a side effect of what he was, or just dumb luck.

How he found the warehouse, who knew, but he pulled it off. "I simply follow my feet." He spoke as he always did, soft but nearly deep. Ever the gentlemen as often as he can be. His answers rarely counted as answers but Haji was the keeper of secrets. He always would be. Haji in his nice suit and coffin case on his back may stick out, but most people somehow always tended to look him over, or would just stare at him. Either way, he ignored people in general. He only cared about those he cared about.

"It is nothing of importance. Simply something that happens, I wanted to see how you are." he deflected, because of course he did.

"Yeah, well... seems like you oughta be concerned with how you are." He gestures for Haji to follow him.

"Come on. Let's go. I got a little room I picked to work in today. Let's sit you down to rest up." And so he can interrogate him about what's wrong.

Haji simply nodded, he didn't feel like arguing death hadn't mercifully taken him yet, he doubted it would any time soon. Still he followed along. Moving silently he shook his head some and finally spoke again.

"I do not require rest or anything of the like anymore, Drifter, but I thank you for the concern." Luckily, Haji still always does what he's told so he'd sit anyway once inside.

"Well you need somethin'" Drifter presses, finding the old office where he'd been working. He shoves everything off the desk in there before sitting on it.

"So, you were tellin' me a little bit about yourself way back when. I'm guessin' being away from your girl is catchin' up to ya."

Haji followed him quietly as he sat the case down near the desk, and walked forward standing a respectable distance and yet, his blue eyes were on Drifter. He could see the mans blood moving in his veins and he hated himself all the more for it.

"Yes, I suppose you could say that, it is more complex than that. My mistress does not inbibe of the living as she should, she instead inbibes from myself, but she is not here so I see no reason to do so myself." He admits to the truth of it. "It is a dangerous thing I do, but if nothing will kill me, why should this harm me?"

"Alright, brother? Hold on..."

He picks up a broken reflective piece of glass, takes it over to Haji, and crouches. He holds it up in front of him.

"Just hopin' that you don't live the 'can't see yourself' stereotype. But brother, you're hurtin'. You're probably not on board with me goin' out there and finding a snack for you, huh?"

And by snack, he means picking off a rando and dragging them back here. Haji seems like he wouldn't want to make trouble.

If you go I will know by the rain, My Charlemagne.

HAJI

Down On the Corner - Open

Closed to Jane - December 25th

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Closed to Lorna - December 25th

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Closed to Drifter December 17th; CW; Vampire eating disorder.

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cw; suicidal idealization, but he a vampire, he fine.

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MORBIUS

JACK

NPC - WILLIAM