'Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again...

[ourowndragons]

Near the gates of the Main Gauche, there's a demon, sitting in the cold on top of several large suitcases (very, very large suitcases - you might be able to fit her in one of them if she curled up just right), in a thick furry coat and with a cocker spaniel on her lap

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[nothingsodivine]

One may not simply walk into Mordor, but Des certainly walks into the Main Gauche... Or okay, he walks up to the gates where Annie is sitting, grinning a little. Yes, he could have announced that he was coming over the journals, but that beats the element of surprise... Or something.

"You know, I actually thought you guys left ages ago. Good thing you didn't. Now I don't have to be sulky that I didn't get a chance to say goodbye."

[trivialsublime0]

Rusty has a guy to meet in about an hour or so, and then the clubs to hit after that so he can't stay long, but they'll probably have gone before he needs to leave anyway. And of course, he wouldn't miss a chance to say goodbye to his sister, who would very likely kill him if he didn't show up, or at least... hurt him and Rusty does what he can to avoid pain.

He's smoking as he saunters up to her, standing next to Des, who he glances and nods at. "Hey, man. I've heard about you." He holds his hand out to him as a means of introduction. "Rusty."

And then he turns to look back at Annie.

"Hey sis." Rusty glances at the suitcases and a smirk slips across his face. "Sure you didn't forget anything? Like the kitchen sink or somethin'? Jesus."

He's teasing maybe more than he usually would when saying goodbye, because it helps him ignore this feeling he has that he'll never see her again.

[ourowndragons]

"Dessie!" Annie says brightly when she spots him, because... well, it's been a while since she's seen him. She wasn't sure he would come. "Rusty!" It's nice when people come when she calls. There's something reassuring about that.

"I just didn't want to leave anything behind, and you can shut up." She bounces to her feet, Ferdinand in her arms, and moves up to him to kiss his cheek. Shoving Ferdinand into Rusty's arms, she pulls away so that she can bounce up and give Des a hug. "I'd hate for you to be sulky. You're a little old to pull that off quite right..."

[nothingsodivine]

Des accepts Rusty's hand. "So you're Annie's brother, huh? Heard... Vague things about you. Can't say I've been in contact with a lot of people from the Old Country- kinda why this needed to happen." He releases Rusty's hand and makes a gesture towards Annie and her luggage.

And yay, Annie hugs! Des lifts her up a bit when he hugs her, because it's something he does to people who are tiny, especially if they are tiny, blonde and Pagiel-shaped (or if they are Grace or Martha... Maybe Des just does this to all tiny girls). "Oh I can pull of a sulk. I am a master of sulk. You will weep for me, my sulk is so powerful, but no one wants that."

[trivialsublime0]

"Vague's good. Hate for someone to hear any more than that." Yeah, Rusty likes to ruin people's opinions of him, himself.

Rusty happily takes Freddy in his arms, scratching the dog behinds its ears in a I'll miss you, too gesture, cause he is far too cool to actually say it to the animal. "Don't have too much fun in the sun. You'll never want to come back." But apparently he can say that.

He smiles sideways and raises his free hand into the air, tentatively, and not very far, because most of his arm is taken over by the dog. "I kinda want that."

[ourowndragons]

Annie squeaks a little as she's lifted into the air, just because... well, squeaking is sort of an involuntary reaction to being lifted into the air. It's a happy squeak, though.

When she gets set back on the ground, she shoots him a Look. He's being ridiculous. ...Then, it's Des. That much is obvious. "Please don't. I think I'd be a little embarrassed for you." She turns to Rusty, giving him a little smile. "I'll come back when it's warm. Until then..." She waves her hand at the mostly snow-covered courtyard of the Gauche, and the streets beyond. She was in Russia for a few years. She thinks she deserves one winter that's not absolutely freezing.

[nothingsodivine]

"Don't blame you. Hopefully, we're not movin' into a new Ice Age. Maybe it fell through the Rift." Yes, because entire periods of history can totally fall through the Rift- didn't you know that?

Des reaches over and scratches Ferdinand behind the ears. "Your dog shares a name with a very noble bog unicorn, Annie. You should know this."

Well, it needed to be said!

[trivialsublime0]

"Yeah. I know. It's like living in Antarctica or somethin'," Rusty says, glancing at the snow with a frown and unconsciously holding the dog closer to him for warmth. "Surprised you stayed as long as you did actually."

He never minded the cold himself, not even in New York City growing up during their shitty winters.

Rusty smiles at the dog.

"And more and more reasons crop up to call him, Freddy, instead. And what the hell's a bog unicorn?"

[worseforfears]

Becky comes running out about then, a cute little knit cap on her head, her scarf trailing behind her and her guitar case in one hand.

Basically, any adorable movie image of a girl running out to catch a cab or whatever. So. Cute.

She skids to a stop in front of everyone, crouching to set the guitar case down before pretty much launching herself at Des. "You came!"

[nothingsodivine]

"It's a unicorn. That lives in bogs." This is clearly all the explanation anyone ever needs. "They're cute in a... Freakish way."

He might have offered a better explanation than that, but there are Beckys to be cuddled. Des gives Becky a huge bearhug (plus a kiss on the cheek) and grins. Hey, he doesn't get to see his original sisterthing often- she deserves all the hugs. "Wouldn't have missed it for the world, Becks. You can't just get rid of me." The last is said with a bit of a wink. "Not without a proper goodbye first."

[worseforfears]

"Freakish bog unicorns are clearly more interesting than me," she says, kissing Des' cheek as well. "That was my cunning plan to get rid of you. Distract you with bog unicorns. What the hell is a bog unicorn, anyway?"

[nothingsodivine]

Des throws up his arms in the universal gesture of 'I give up.' "If you ever come back from Cabo, I'll introduce you to one. I'm sure Ferdinand can be persuaded to come out of the sewers to come visit."

Well, he might as well give them some incentive to come back! Just in case they wind up staying in Boca forever.

[ourowndragons]

Annie stares at him for a minute, reappropriating the puppy from Des. "Does it smell like bog?" she asks, eyebrows raised dubiously. Sewer creatures. Yeah, that sounds... well, interesting, but not necessarily up close.

After a second, though, she seems to forget it, shaking her head and grinning at Des again, bouncing the puppy (not so much a puppy anymore) a little. Ferdi licks her chin. "Oh, by the way, Dessie? Can you do me a favor while I'm gone?"

[nothingsodivine]

Des quirks an eyebrow and runs through a list of how many times someone (especially someone like Annie) has asked him that and then checks that against a mental list of how many times he's gotten in trouble because of favors and comes up with a number that would concern a sane person and possibly make them wonder why they're still doing people favors.

"You know I've heard that before and usually I end up getting chased by something. What is it?"

Somehow those two thoughts should not follow, but it's Des. He does thinks even when he knows they will end badly, as opposed to thinks where they might end badly.

[ourowndragons]

Annie beams. She knew he'd agree to it - if nothing else, because Des has this hero complex and an inability to say no to a pretty face. She knows the type.

"Keep an eye on my dumb brother, please? I really don't want him to get himself killed while I'm gone." She shoots Rusty a glare. Well, he wouldn't let her call Daddy to get him out of this stupid shit. Des is a good second best.

[nothingsodivine]

Des gives Rusty a long, hard look, and then mistakenly believes that this will probably be a piece of cake and not end in fire and brimstone. One day he'll learn. Today is not that day.

"Hey, no problem!" He gives Rusty a clap on the back and grins. "I'll make sure he's still in one piece when you get back."