(Untitled)

[classic_palm]

Time: July 13, 2000
Place: some random hallway
Status: Public (Complete)
Summary: Shadow goes looking for the manager.

Comments

[dontcallmegabby]

Gabriel had been up and down the halls of the manor enough times by now, felt the impressions different entities had left upon the walls, and run into a variety of beings that most would never encounter in a lifetime.

Somehow, though, it all seemed lighter when his fingers were idly twined with Belial's.

"... and I really can't help but think that he's got everyone's best interest at heart," the angel was saying about the manor's young proprietor. "It's just that, well... he knows more than most, obviously, but I don't think even he can see everything. Oh. Hello," he said affably, spotting the tall man coming towards them. He'd spent plenty of time in the manor, true, but this one didn't look familiar.

[lordofthesouth]

"Well, he's certainly got a good handle around things here. I'm not sure how wise it is to keep this many... conflicting interests in one place," Belial replied, and looked up to see who Gabriel was talking to. He had been watching their feet, faintly amused, while they walked, and noting the way they moved in time, the same leg swinging forward with each strolling step.

"Well, hello," he said, echoing Gabriel. His hand snaked free of Gabriel's, and around the angel's waist, a bit protective. Looking appreciatively at the man they had bumped into, he raised his eyebrows, and licked his lips.

[classic_palm]

“Hello,” Shadow said, nodding to the two dark-haired men who had just greeted him. He blinked once as the second one wound his arm around the first in an unmistakable gesture.

Alright, point taken.

“I’m looking for the manager,” he said, and then, because he didn’t know if either of these two would be familiar with the young man in question, he held up the drawing. “And this is all I have to go on.”

But before they could reply, however, someone spoke behind Shadow and he turned to look.

[bullfightposter]

Brian wandered through the Manor, ducking into closets and things to see what was in them...

It was wicked, it really was.

He smiled at the stranger in the hall-- then did a double take. Looked at the man. Looked at his shoulders...

"Tell me you play rugby."

What a wicked prop he'd be!

[classic_palm]

“Well, no,” Shadow answered the young man, shrugging. “Though I’ve always thought I might enjoy learning the game.”

He’d mostly done swimming team and triathlon in school, plus weight-lifting team, which he had been good at but not particularly fond of. Outside of school he’d played a lot of backyard football and pick-up basketball, but rugby hadn’t been a popular sport around where he’d grown up.

[bullfightposter]

"You'd be a killer forward," Brian told him firmly. Then paused. "Hey, are you American?"

[classic_palm]

"Yeah," Shadow answered. "Though I lived here and there around Europe for a while when I was a kid. My mom worked for the embassy."

[dontcallmegabby]

Knowing little of mortal sports and caring even less, Gabriel pulled free from Belial's hold on him just enough to take a glance at the picture clutched, half-forgotten, in the man's hand. The fair hair was perhaps not quite unruly enough, and he suspected no artist could ever do justice to the boundless blue of the boy's eyes, but then the angel could have guessed just who this 'manager' was without any visual aid.

"I think the one you're looking for is Adam Young," he said politely to the tall man once his conversation with the younger was finished. "His room's just down there and to the left, actually, but it doesn't matter much. You don't usually find Adam; Adam finds you..."

[classic_palm]

"So I've been told," Shadow answered. "I'll just keep wandering then, and wait for him to find me." He grinned a little. "I'm hoping to get a job," he offered, by way of explanation.

[lordofthesouth]

"What sort of job is that?" Belial asked, eyes not leaving Gabriel. He felt warm when he looked at the angel, and he was sure that it showed in his expression and his movements.

[classic_palm]

“Whatever’s needed, I guess,” Shadow answered, a bit bemused by the man who, despite his question, seemed to have his attention entirely on one person. And that person was definitely not Shadow. “I’m pretty versatile.”

It wasn’t that Shadow minded the man’s obvious interest in his (What was the word for it? Partner? Shadow was never sure just how to be p.c.) companion. It was just… a bit awkward.

[average_adam]

Adam hurried down the corridor to the little knot of people waiting for him. Seemed like a guy couldn't even go to the loo around here without a bunch of people thinking about him.

He went right up to Shadow and stuck out his hand. "Hi, I'm Adam. Welcome to Tadfield Manor. Sorry you had to wait. But at least you got to meet Brian, Belial, and Gabriel."

[classic_palm]

It was definitely the face from the drawing. Shadow wanted to know how Adam knew that he was looking for him in the first place, but he knew better than to ask questions like that. Instead he took the young man's hand.

"Thanks," he said, and then, though he knew it was unnecessary, added; "I'm Shadow, and I was hoping for a job." It was just the sort of thing you did when meeting people you didn't know, even if said person seemed to know a thing or two about you.

"No problem," he added in response to Adam's apology. "Didn't mean to rush you."

[average_adam]

"That's a great name," replied Adam. "And it's okay. It's just kinda weird. Sometimes nobody needs me for days and sometimes it's a lot of people at once."

He grinned. "Anyway, we've got lots of jobs here. You could work at the front desk, in the kitchen, in the bar, in the garden; we need waiters, room cleaners, maintenance, bartenders, gardeners, receptionists, an entertainment director, just about everythin' really. Any of those sound good?"

[classic_palm]

And here he had thought there might not be much for him to do. Shadow considered his options.

He didn't want another desk job, as fun as the library had been, and he was pretty sure he wasn't entertainment director material. Maintenance was an obvious choice, and gardener would allow him to be outside a lot and would probably have good hours…

“I’d like to be a bartender," he said “I’ve done it before, so I know the ropes.”

He liked bartending. He got to meet lots of people, and usually they were friendly and willing to chat. Shadow had always been such a quiet person, he’d never quite realized how much he enjoyed being around people.