ᴡᴇ ᴘɪʟʟᴀɢᴇ, ᴡᴇ (plunder) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2017-02-02 10:03:00 |
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Well, originally, Lina hadn’t planned on doing this with a kid latched onto her hip - Amelia had just undergone another checkup, the doctor phobia having finally ceased (meaning she also didn’t burst out crying at vaccinations and such, but it didn’t stop her from getting a little teary when her munchkin got pricked with a needle, okay, shut the fuck up), and she was now at the age of always clapping at things, sitting up, teething, scooching - the prelude to crawling, anyday now - and what had been a mother-daughter scenic stroll around the beachfront turned to be a curious visit. Thanks to Nealbear she’d gotten a business card of someone who could possibly help with this, uh, peculiar family inquiry. It’d been in her purse since then, and she confirmed their current proximity so why the hell not check it out? Pete had talked about it sometime before, back in December, and she promised to look into it to spare him the emotional burden of seeking someone out and doing the whole shebang. But it was Christmas, Amelia’s first, and then not to mention his birthday, New Year’s, then sleeping for two weeks after all those festivities. No way in hell was she going to put a damper on any of that by poking at an investigation in regards to finding out what really happened to his missing mother, but it was definitely a priority for the new year. This year. Time to start closing that particularly blank chapter of the Wisdom book. To prevent herself from tripping on air from the docks to the doorstep of the boathouse (she was always a little extra paranoid and careful with the crapper in tow), ruby eyes scanned the vicinity for wandering stares before lifting up into the air with a whisper of a levitation spell. A quick transport onto the houseboat, short-heeled boots landing on the wooden flooring - she wore black leggings because ‘pants’ were for losers, a comfortable plaid shirt with a necklace accessory meant for chewing thanks to a tiny someone’s incoming teeth. Amelia, for one, let out thrilled giggles and squeals at the short ride, all while fashioning one of Uncle Hawke’s latest crocheting projects; a warm beanie with teddy bear ears.“ Gods, you are loud,” Lina breathed a laugh, adjusting her a bit. “Okay, okay, see this - go on, press it.” A button? Of course Amelia would press it. Mommy’s instructions were followed, up until the third time the doorbell was rung in a span of half a second because now Lina was certain her daughter was going mad with power. Calm yourself, child. The lullaby of the ocean was something that Killian missed, admittedly, with him officially a landlubber now. But he was able to have the best of both worlds, with a home on land and a workspace at sea. His houseboat had been officially converted to a more ‘professional’ environment, with the living room as a main meeting space, the bedrooms used as storage and the kitchen more for preparing things like tea, coffee, or snacks for clients - he kept it stocked regularly, and maintained the houseboat as he always did in terms of tending to the topside garden and having the bottom of the vessel cleaned on a schedule. But on a day like today, when he could hear that lullaby - the ocean itself breathing her poignant salty breath, the breeze whispering like a lover as he sat at his maritime desk working with the windows open? He really missed it. No wonder he planned to get married on the deck of his beloved Jolly Roger. Hearing the doorbell ring a few thousand times jolted him out of his ruminations. “Nervous twitch or something?” he grumbled, going to answer. He didn’t think he was expecting any clients? Kenzi usually took care of his schedule for him, and she hadn’t informed him about new appointments but perhaps something was missed. A redhead and a baby weren’t what he was expecting, but alright. “Can I help you, love?” he asked, thinking there was something familiar about her anyway. The baby was certainly cute, too. “Sorry,” Lina drawled out in some mild exasperation, practically wrestling with Amelia’s stubborn grabby hands when it came to reaching over towards the doorbell again - it made noise, so clearly it must be a toy! Talk about a real goddamn struggle. “Hi, I know I didn’t call ahead, but I was in the area and wanted to see if -” Mommy won that match, by the way, and once the baby’s distraction was now diverted onto the crystal necklace her sister-in-law had gifted her, she rewinded her words with for a proper introduction. “I’m Lina, one of Neal’s friends?” The Inverse-Cassidy Glory Days of adventuring across the country on personal missions were tales told plenty, and likewise was the stories of Killian’s involvement in Neal’s dreams. Except nowadays he was more known as ‘Niko’s godfather’ and not ‘the stepdaddy pirate that boned his mom and went for his baby mama.’ “I think you and I had a brief bonding session about dipshits talking ‘pirate’ on the network, too.” There was contribution to the greetings from the Mini-Wisdom as well, with her talkative baaaaahhh and mostly gummy smile - there was a tooth at the bottom poking through, and whole lot of drool. “Oh, of course, I knew you seemed familiar,” Killian chuckled, and stepped back so Lina could come inside. “I’ve heard of the wee one too - Amelia, yes? Neal’s mentioned the whole family.” He tickled the baby’s tummy, delighting in the subsequent toothy giggle from her. Well, only the barest of teeth there, but she was a sweet little thing regardless. He could tell the mischievous glint in her pretty, sea-coloured eyes would develop as her personality did - perhaps a trait from both parents. He had a few files and piles of paperwork on the coffee table, but he moved them to the desk so he could catalogue them later, motioning to the comfortable sofa that sucked you in. It was the same furniture he had when he lived here, for the most part, so it was very worn in and cosy. “My daughter’s about five months and loves putting her hands on everything too. But have a seat, anywhere. Care for something to drink?” The Captain was ever-so-hospitable. It was all that good form. The ghost of Liam, acting as the angel sitting on his shoulder. Lina could at least trust the kid to not be fussy - nowadays there wasn’t much that she cried about, and Amelia seemed to like strangers. Much to the dismay of her parents. It meant she made noises and batted her eyes at total strangers at at a fucking grocery store that prompted unwanted conversations and let’s just say Mr. and Mrs. Wisdom were definitely not about that life, thank you. Talk to the middle finger, weirdos. “I’ve heard about her from Hawke - congrats! I bet they have matching face warmers too from the guy,” she grinned, taking a seat and occupying her lap with an insanely talkative (it was all babbling nonsense, she never shut up, not even at night) baby mutant. Done with the teething necklace, Amelia decided she wanted to play with mommy’s hair. All bright, fiery and long, and it sometimes tasted good too. “I’ll take a water, though, if you don’t mind? I came here with a job for you, but since it’s overseas and the thing hasn’t been touched in eons, I wanted to see if it was something feasible for you to do.” Water and a cup of Irish tea coming up - it was Irish breakfast, in a green Twinings canister and essentially one powerful caffeine jolt thanks to the mixture of many different kinds of black teas. The Irish liked their tea strong, and it usually had to go with milk to offset the punch it packed. That was something he could use right now, he thought, as he put the kettle on and poured a glass of water from the pitcher in the fridge. “Overseas? In Ol’ Blighty, perhaps?” Killian guessed, bringing Lina her drink. “Should be alright, I’ve been sticking close to home since Meara was born but I think it’s about time I take on a case that requires some travel.” He’d missed it, for one thing. And for another, it would give him a chance to tie up some loose ends of his own - if he was going to Britain for one reason or another, may as well kill two birds with one stone. “What’s the situation?” Ah, water. It was safe. It didn’t leave stains should Amelia flail around and knock it out of her hand all over her shirt. “That’s the place,” Lina winked with a snicker. “Yeah, over yonder’s definitely where the investigation needs to happen.” If she had to go for whatever reason too, sign her up - this was for Pete. There was absolutely nothing she wouldn’t do. Break a couple laws, burn things to the ground, punch an old bitch in the face. All in the name of love. “My husband’s mother went missing when he was young. No trace, nothing, not even a peep on the radar throughout the years,” she explained. Baby Wisdom was currently pacified with all that red hair wrapped around her fingers - the sorceress was prepared for some painful knots later, sigh. “In the dreams they figured out what happened. Blame went to a serial killer, but here? That case is ice cold, and the assumption is that she’s dead. And if she is, at least there can be a proper funeral.” Maybe that’d smooth things more on Harold’s end, too. For some dumbfuck reason Pete was the scapegoat in all that and, alright, she got being hurt at losing someone you loved but don’t take it out on the innocent party. Lina was civil for his and Romany’s sake but also wouldn’t be afraid to crack a couple bones if their father went on a blaming binge. She was explosively protective. Literally. Killian took notes while Lina talked, having settled in an armchair. Kenzi had converted him to the 21st century in terms of organising his files and making final reports, obviously (not to mention there were certain databases he didn’t have to have hacked anymore, because he had his official licence), but he didn’t use his laptop for client meetings, still sort of old-fashioned in the sense that he liked to handwrite his own scribblings in his own shorthand. Helped him better interpret what clients wanted. And now, she was officially a client - both her and her husband, it seemed. “Cold case file. He’s from London, yes? Sounds like someone in Scotland Yard cocked that up,” he snorted disdainfully. “Not surprising though.” They were complete shite - and recently had a bunch of sensitive documents leaked. Killian wouldn’t trust them as far as he could throw them. “But sounds grand, love. I’d be glad to get that wrapped up for you both - you must want the closure by now.” It was why people came to PIs, for the sake of closure. So many unanswered questions, and his job was figuring out the pieces of the puzzle. As it so happened, Killian was the best at it too - not to toot his own horn, but if the shoe fits. “Oftentimes our dreams parallel our lives here, so if he could give me all he knows from the dreams? I can start in a few spots and see where it leads, if anywhere. Might be a dead end, might not be, but eight times out of ten there’s a correlation of some sort,” he continued. That’s what Lina thought, too. Echoes of their other live existed here. Undeniable patterns that were sometimes good and often times bad - she had a laundry list of those, from having a price tacked onto her head and a shit reputation to being hated and wanted dead by a monstrous family (the entire demonic hierarchy in her dreams, ain’t that shit poetic). It had already crossed their minds that Pete’s mother was, well, dead, but a confirmation would put the rest of the family to ease. And the secret definitely did lie on what her firestarting husband dreamt about the situation. “We can get that for you,” the tiny woman nodded, bouncing her knee a bit in an absentminded gesture to entertain the bitty human creature on her lap. “He’s had it tough with his old man because of what happened - they’re better, especially with this munchkin in the picture helping patch things up, but the absence of his mother’s a wound that hasn’t been patched up yet.” Even if the Wisdom Matriarch wasn’t a sterling example of loving parent, either. Lina just didn’t get it. How the hell could you not want to give your spawns the world? Whatever. Pete had her ridiculous parents that loved him without question, and tried to keep him fed and drunk like every day was a party. Rom, too. “I’ve never done the deed of hiring a PI, so…” Nose scrunch. “We’d foot the traveling expenses of course, and if you need a traveling buddy I volunteer. I’m forcefully persuasive.” And not always discrete, but. Forcefully persuasive got her pretty far in life. “I understand having it tough with the one who is supposed to be your father,” Killian said, and it was a shame that he and Brennan had never patched up their differences - but then again, there really wasn’t anything for he, the child, to apologise for. A father had one job, and his had failed at it. So. At least Killian hadn’t committed patricide in this world - the alcoholic did the favour for him, how nice. “And I very well might need a traveling buddy. Someone close to the case, and who is forcefully persuasive. It’s a talent of mine too,” he grinned crookedly. Though, admittedly, his methods involved more broken bones. Lina’s probably involved fire. Both were equally effective. He jotted down a couple other things in his notepad. “Now, if there’s anything else for you to add feel free to let me know. Such as, how would you like the final report? And I presume that it’s just the information-gathering? I’ll be leaving any potential, ah, revenge to your spouse?” Killian had gone there before, for clients, aye. But he always left it up to them. Sometimes they liked to return the favour themselves. Do their own dirty work, and he didn’t begrudge them. It was a shitty hand that had been dealt, but it also made Pete the father he was now - and sure, mistakes were bound to happen once their little one became more of her own independent person, but he’d never not let Amelia know he loved her. Lina was also pleased to know the two of them saw eye to eye in regards to necessary force. Not like she expect him to walk the straight line of what was legal, considering she was staring Captain Hook straight in the face. That’s life for you. At least life here. But this whole thing was clearly personal, and she’d be up this situation’s asshole without hesitation unless Mr. Hot Hands decided to step in. “I didn’t know there were options for a final,” she told him, scratching her cheek. “You’re the pro that came well recommended, so I trust you - but in the scenario there’s retribution that needs to happen when you are out gathering that intel, that’ll be up to the husband to see how he wants to handle it. I’d expect him to cut loose, fire-knives blazing. Honestly? It’d be pretty damn therapeutic for him.” Cutting loose in the form of violence usually was for them. It’s what made them oh-so compatible, always encouraging their fiercely short tempers shamelessly for gratification. “Because if there is some kind of scummy killer behind all this like we’re expecting, I’m going to be pissed if he just ended up passing away in his warm bed when he was responsible for ruining entire families.” “Some people like a hard copy for a final report, some like it digital,” Killian explained. “I always like to give clients the choice. And noted about the retribution too. I figured that would be the case, however, I like to get the air cleared about that as well.” Plus, he’d adjust his fee accordingly if need be - but in this situation, he probably wouldn’t have charged an arm and a leg. It was for a fellow dreaming denizen, and one with fatherly issues at that. Captain Hook had a few soft spots, somewhere. To be frank, he expected that there’d be a scummy killer behind the scenes too. No one went missing for that long of a time, vanishing without a trace, unless there was some foul play going on. Perhaps a three-percent chance that the former Mrs. Wisdom had left her family and assumed a new identity (it’d be simple enough to do in a large city like London), but Killian doubted it. The darkness of their pasts, that always carried over. Somehow. It was inescapable. The kettle whistled at him, and he got up to pour his tea, bringing a mug back into the living room. “I’ll just get things settled with Meara and making sure my fiancee’s fine with my going overseas, get what I need on your end, then should be good to go.” Lina was a haggler of prices, but there was no price steep enough for this closure. Gangs could always be robbed to replenish the funds. Like she’d ever reject the chance to step into her role of a modern ‘bandit killer’ and go all Robin Hood - except she’d steal from the bad to keep for herself. It’s not like she and Pete weren’t well off, anyway. Government gigs cut nice checks, and she had the side-job helping Zatanna book shows and making sure there was a nice steady revenue coming from that. “I’ll get it all squared away with Pete, take your time making sure you got all your ducks in a row - trust me, I get the kid thing all too well,” she smirked, pointing at Killian for Amelia to take notice. “Right, munchkin?” Wide blue eyes blinked up at the pirate captain and for whatever reason, she grinned, showing off that somewhat visible bottom tooth and string of drool dripping from the corner of her mouth. “Maybe when we’re not dealing business sometime, we can get yours and mine on a little playdate. Seeing two babies make noises at each other is reaaaaally entertaining for some reason.” Or, hell, when you had one of your own everything they did was entertaining. Consult the series of videos that took up most of her phone space that starred the little lady. “Of course, I think they’d make good friends. You’re a sweet little bugger, aren’t you?” Seeing the baby grin was just too bloody adorable - what was wrong with him, he’d been sucked in by infant cuteness ever since becoming a father, probably before that - and he gave Amelia his finger so she could grasp and flail and be all excited about shaking hands. “It is quite entertaining seeing how they react,” he agreed. “Especially since all they do when they’re so wee is sleep and cry.” And shit their nappies, that too. But not too much of a personality yet; watching Meara grow and learn about the world around her was endlessly fascinating for Killian too. “It’s also nice to know other parents of young ones, in our vortex of alternate universe hell. Kind of its own support group, in a sense, besides dealing with the dreaming thing.” Very sweet, and very much unlike her temperamental parents. Did mean babies exist, though? Amelia hadn’t thrown anything at their heads yet and wasn’t one to throw fussy tantrums often unless she wasn’t feeling well, so fingers crossed there - hopefully she wouldn’t be a high maintenance diva as she grew older. “I think we’ll all end up missing those sleeping and nonstop crying days to a degree,” Lina grinned, bowing her head down to give her smiley baby a big ol’ exaggerated smooooooooch on the cheek. One the little thing was oh-so delighted to receive, hence the high-pitched squeal. “It’s definitely a hell of a miracle we can parent considering our environment, but I think it’ll be important for kids that come from us be friends too,” she added. “You’re shacked up with Regina, right?” Ohhh, fond memories of overdosing on caffeine on her couch while they dealt with Project ‘Get Daddy Out’ from one of those infamous Storybrooke bleedovers. “Our girls are going to see some interesting things as they get older, and they’ll need someone their own age they can talk to.” Niko, too. Lina was still crossing her fingers about a betrothal down the road. Just sayin’. “Aye, that’s her - we just got engaged,” and if Killian sounded proud, well, he was. Regina was quite the ‘catch.’ She was smart and successful, gorgeous, they were sexually compatible (understatement, since they were sort of always going at it), and he was also well aware that she was the type of woman whom her ex-what-have-you’s would pine for. Well, sorry not sorry or however the saying went. Once you go pirate, you never went back. She was his now, and he was hers. “It’ll be grand for Meara to have friends her own age,” he agreed. “Then when they’re grown, and we’re old and grey and hopefully this county hasn’t killed us yet, we can just all get together and tell embarrassing stories at the same time, since it’s a parent's duty.” Wasn’t it though? He’d drink to that. “Awww, congrats!” See, even Amelia was clapping her hands at the announcement - even if she had no idea what they were saying and was doing what babies did: plain nonsense. “Welcome to the ‘doing it backwards’ club, where the babies come first and the ceremony with the rings comes after,” Lina snickered. “More fun that way, I think,” Because fuck tradition, and if you really wanted to test the strength of a relationship? Have a kid, among the other trials people regularly faced just by living here. Handle that hurdle and marriage was a piece of cake, delicious cake. Rising from her spot, she adjusted the tiny blob of genetics against her hip with a playful bounce. “You’re a pirate, so I’m guessing it’ll be a hell of a party for the two of you. Let the rum rain. But I’ll get all the necessary details for you and send it your way. You can toss me the pricing, we’ll get that settled and...take it from there?” That sounded just fine to him (and that blob of genetics received another poke n’tickle in the baby belly too, ye gods, she was cute), and Killian did the gentlemanly thing to see the lady out. He wouldn’t take up much more of her time, since she likely had the rest of her family to get back to - and he would begin doing a little leg work on this case, too. “Seems alright to me, love, you’ve got my contact info. It was nice meeting you, finally,” he smiled crookedly, charming with that wink he added to the package - something natural, from a true scourer of the seas who looked for any occasion to make it rain rum. Yes, this would be a good job. Nice and meaty - he lived for ones like these, providing a lot of closure with perhaps just a bit of violence. It was the pirate in him, and one should know to hardly expect anything less. |