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Post by ebonyviper on Nov 12, 2008 20:19:42 GMT -5
Shale got a whiff of scent from the cutter. He smiled, "Well, I guess somebody got some last night."
He turned to Bree for a moment as the subject turned to housing. "What about my PI business?" It was the only way he made a living.
*****
"We all would," added Freda.
*****
Ebony nodded and turned her attention to her task, taking her time sniffing around the property, looking for clues.
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Post by Evangeline on Nov 12, 2008 20:34:05 GMT -5
"No reason why you can't keep on with that where you're established." Bree said. "The housing deal just means that you have a place to go to wherever I'm posted, though there would then be limits on where and how long they could send me once we're married."
"Thanks, guys." Erika smiled.
Even Dude hopped over and rubbed his head against her cheek.
After a while, Bill came out with containers and set them up on a low table. "Tea's ready."
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Post by ebonyviper on Nov 12, 2008 20:54:28 GMT -5
Shale exhaled and sat back, "But I mean, this is a big decision for me. I cannot just leave my business and I do have a partnership with Luke. Any decision made about what to do with it has to be that both Luke and I have to agree on it, even if it involves one of us getting married."
*****
"No problem," said Nerisa.
*****
Ebony came over and picked up her container of tea, "Thanks again. I appreciate it."
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Post by Evangeline on Nov 12, 2008 21:14:48 GMT -5
Bree sighed. "I don't want you to do that, Shale. You've worked too hard to establish your business with Luke. It's OK if you stay there, we can see each other whenever I have leave time, or whenever you visit. In a few years, I could just become a reserve officer and we could live together like we should."
Bill inhaled the vapours from his own. "You're welcome, Ebony. It's my own little blend, I just mix together a couple of Chinese and Indian teas. Couldn't really get any commercial stuff that I liked."
Randy cast his eyes towards shore. "I wonder what was going on over there? Fillmore was in and out, and Delfina was looking rather disturbed."
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Post by ebonyviper on Nov 12, 2008 21:45:37 GMT -5
"Well, it's good that we can work something out," said Shale, "And I don't want you to have to uproot yourself either. I'm okay with living apart and visiting each other for awhile."
*****
"It's delicious," said Ebony, taking a sip, "But how is it that you can't get the commercial stuff?"
*****
"He said that his friend Bill had his place ransacked last night," said Nerisa, who had the built-in equipment to hear what was going on at the human camp clearly and sharply.
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Post by Evangeline on Nov 12, 2008 21:56:10 GMT -5
"And hopefully I can get a little more time off after this year." Bree said. "I'm nearing the 15-year mark. Rank and seniority do have their benefits."
"It's something I found when I was doin' a bit of travellin' in Asia." Bill explained. "Only recently could I come up with anything like it on my own, since the stores don't carry it here. Hasn't really occured to 'em yet, I guess."
"Oh, jeez." Marty was chagrined. "Hope he's OK."
"Who would do that, now?" Randy drew back his mouth corners grimly.
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Post by ebonyviper on Nov 12, 2008 22:10:00 GMT -5
"That is good to know," said Shale.
*****
"Ever thought of profiting on what you had come up with?" asked Ebony.
*****
"No one really knows," said Nerisa, "but the Viper, Ebony, went to check out the place to find out."
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Post by Evangeline on Nov 12, 2008 22:37:33 GMT -5
"And like I said, if I just go into reserve, we can live something resembling a normal life." Bree smiled. "And then you can see me in my natural colors."
"She's the most beautiful shade of champagne dun under that red paint." Sharon interjected. "That's one of the things I regret, that we've hardly seen her natural since she was fourteen."
"I've thought about it, yes." Bill nodded, "But I'm so busy with the commissions now that I don't have time to set up another business."
"Maybe it's Carl's thugs, stirring up trouble." Erika scowled. "Whether because they're after something or just as a distraction, I don't know yet, but it sure smells like them."
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Post by ebonyviper on Nov 12, 2008 22:52:07 GMT -5
"Oh really?" asked Shale, looking at Bree after he heard Sharon, "That was your natural color?"
****
"Why don't you get a partner to help you with that?" asked Ebony, "And commissions aren't all you do, are they?"
*****
"I think that's what Delfina suspects too," said Nerisa.
"Oh dear," said Freda.
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Post by Evangeline on Nov 12, 2008 23:25:24 GMT -5
Sharon brought an LCD screen on an telescoping arm out her cabin door. "Look, here's her last picture before she went off to the Academy." On the screen, on a grassy field before a windbreak of trees, was fourteen-year-old Bree with a coat of pale gold that darkened to coppery gold sienna along the dorsal and at the nose and tail, with subtle striping along the sides. It seemed to shimmer in the sunlight like the coats of the Akhal-Teke horses that the humans bred at Ash Mountain. Her darker points perfectly matched her fiery eyes, making her almost sculpture-like.
Bree sighed. Now that her mother had the screen out, there was nothing to stop what she knew would happen next...
"If I could find somebody I could trust." Bill rolled his eyes. "Was represented for a while by this fella in Seattle who said he could put my work in galleries all over the country. As it turned out, he was rippin' me off for a bundle. I've been kinda shy about letting things out of my treads ever since."
"So that means the same jerks who poisoned Bree are still around." Marty growled.
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Post by ebonyviper on Nov 12, 2008 23:45:20 GMT -5
Shale looked at the screen with much interest. He had never guessed that Bree had had this color before. "Bree, you look beautiful in that picture," he said at last, turning to her, "I like how the sunlight bounces off your surfaces like that. They make you look like an angel."
*****
"Well, I might know someone who could help you out," said Ebony, "She's honest, friendly, and she won't screw you over like that other guy. She also owns several hotels and a casino. Her name is Phoenix Grayston and she's my friend. I trust her completely."
*****
"Obviously," snorted Nerisa, "He just doesn't know when to quit."
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Post by Evangeline on Nov 13, 2008 0:02:59 GMT -5
If Bree had blushed, it was well hidden beneath her matte-black face. "Thank you, Shale. Someday I'd like to look in the mirror and see myself that way again."
Sharon, however, was already off to other things. "Look, here she is on her fifth birthday. She looked so sweet with the pink rosette..."
"Mom!" Bree almost buried her head under her bedding...
Bill sat for a minute, thinking. "Well... you don't strike me as the type who'd tolerate any liars or cheats as friends... I can already see that. Tell you what, I have some brochures I had made up a little while ago, how about I give you some to send to her?"
"He's gonna find himself on some really sharp rocks someday." Randy snarled. Size differences didn't matter much to him. "Maybe sooner than later."
"Y'know, I'm not really one to want to make anyone hurt the way he hurt me, but I just want to see his face when he's on the receiving end." Erika snorted.
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Post by ebonyviper on Nov 13, 2008 0:44:55 GMT -5
"And I will tell you how beautiful you look every day," smiled Shale as he nuzzled her.
He turned as Sharon started to show more early photos of Bree. "Heh, thanks, Mrs. LeVassauer..."
*****
"Sure, I'll do that," said Ebony as she took the brochures, "and I'll talk to her. Heh, I was the one that got her into the charities and the fundraisers. She won't mind helping you out at all."
*****
Freda was put off by the threats to Carl's life, even if she was afraid of him herself, and tended to remain quiet. She would never fight anyone nor was she the violent type. It just wasn't her.
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Post by Evangeline on Nov 13, 2008 0:50:47 GMT -5
"Sorry." Erika looked up at Freda. "I've just been under his keel for so long."
"Appreciate it." Bill smiled. "She sounds like a good sort."
"And this is Bree at a week old." Sharon showed a picture of a tiny infant Bree. "You know, her eyes were blue at birth, then they changed to green as she got older, and then they went that coppery color. Her father was exactly the same."
<<< That actually happens with horses that have the "champagne" gene >>>
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Post by ebonyviper on Nov 13, 2008 1:06:43 GMT -5
"It's okay... I don't blame you..." sighed Freda, "I'm just tired... That's all..."
*****
"She's a good mother too," smiled Ebony, "And a good aunt to my kids."
*****
"Yes, she is cute in that picture," said Shale, forcing a smile, then looking at Bree with an IS-SHE-ALWAYS-LIKE-THIS glance.
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