Thread: The Only Rules That Matter: Bloodlines (Corsair&Madam Mim)

Most of what they needed were pork and beef bones for the stock. May walked around the store, looking for the other ingredients while Jack got the bones in an effort not to have to look at what some poor animals had been butchered for. She wasn't entirely vegetarian--yet--but that didn't mean she liked having to look at what was done to them. A lot of the flavoring she already had at home, but some ingredients like the shrimp paste and rice noodles she plucked from the shelves while the soup bones and oxtails were wrapped in paper. So it's soup? May asked as they carried their groceries home. I can do spicy, man, but I do like to taste my food. And whe-- May froze for a moment before stepping behind a wall and peeking around the corner. Down the street a middle-aged man in a business suit stepped into the machine shop below their apartment. She swallowed hard and, trying her best to look brave, turned down the alley between the two buildings. C'mon, I'll show you the back way, she said in a studiedly casual tone. The back way was simply following a series of gravel parking lots where residents and employees could park behind the line of businesses further down the block than the machine shop. May led the way up the fire escape to the bathroom window and crawled in, stepping as quietly as she could off of the toilet and tip-toeing down the hall. Instead of putting the groceries away she set them on the small kitchen table and crept back into the living room, laying down slowly on the floor and pressing her ear to the wooden floorboards. -ng you see, the man was saying. She's all I have left in the world and it would mean so much if you could just show me where to go so I can ask the people up there... Yeah of course. Jerry, sweet Jerry Brown, was always helpful. Sometimes too helpful. Just go 'round the side of the building, there's a door with some stairs. There's three floors of apartments, but there's only two on each one s-- May had heard enough. Biting her lip and looking panicked she looked around. Maybe if she just stayed here on the floor she could make herself small enough... It wasn't five minutes before there was a pounding on 2 across the hall. Wincing, she checked to make sure all of the locks were engaged before creeping in front of the couch so it would hide her in case he decided to look through the peep hole. She cringed again when the pounding started on their door. May? roared the man in the business suit. May Delphine! May!! May caught Jack's wrist as he went towards the door and shook her head frantically, pressing a finger to her lips. He'd be gone in a few moments. And he was. It was easy to hear him walking down the hall and back up to the second floor and repeating the process, shouting her name and pounding violently on doors. There were footsteps across the ceiling and angry voices above them. The walls and floors in this place were thin enough that it was easy to hear everything above a murmur. Whatchoo want, disturbin' decent, peaceful folks in the middle of the like this? Mr. Franklin in 5 above them demanded angrily. I'm looking for my daughter, May Swift-Palmer. She's a runaway, looks like this...have you seen her? A long pause. Nope. You think any self-respectin' white girl'd be livin' on this side o' town? Mr. Palmer said something derogatory about May's self-respect and Mr. Franklin made an angry noise. Talk like that no wonder she's a runaway. Listen you cantankerous old n-- Ain't no use in name callin', Mister, Mr. Franklin interrupted. She ain't here. Good luck. There was the sound of a door closing in Mr. Palmer's face, then the sound of him cursing violently and hammering at and kicking the door. His footsteps faded and went up instead of down. Eventually he pounded back down the stairs and slammed the door behind him. May crawled over to the window and peaked out, watching him as he came to the sidewalk, got into his Aston Martin, and peeled off. May sat with her back against the wall, breathing hard and shaking. It was a long moment before she looked up at Jack. How 'bout that soup? she suggested with a weak smile. The smile disappeared when there was a knock on the door. May honey? Mr. Franklin's voice came through the door and she relaxed. You alright? Pushing herself to her feet May opened the door and managed another shaky smile. You were right piece of work, ain't he? The old man folded her into a hug where she promptly, finally started crying. Hushing her gently he led her over to the couch and sat down with her. Why don't you put the kettle on young man? he suggested to Jack. This...this is m-my new roommate, Jack, May said from behind her hands. George Franklin. He shook Jack's hand.