Here Lies Poor Old Jack

“M-me?” Berlioz quietly asked, pointing at himself, a bit surprised. When he made a spontaneous decision to come out to the bar tonight, he had not expected himself to stay for so long and even less to be offered to have a drink bought for him. His left hand subconsciously reached for the phone in his pocket in case he had to call Toulouse. However, no red flags or bad vibes were given off so, Berlioz was allowing himself to believe the other male wasn’t going to try and harm him. “ If you allow me to buy you one as well, stranger. I should give you a fair warning though, my company might prove to be a bit on the dull side, but I’ll try. Um, oh, I’m so sorry..I’m Berlioz. Pardon my rude manners; I swear I’m not usually so rude.”

“Yes, of course you,” Jack said with a grin. He seemed nervous, and Jack worried for a moment that perhaps they’d had an interaction somewhere before--an altercation would’ve been the right word. But no, Jack settled when he offered to buy him a drink in return and called him a stranger. Good. This was fine and good. “Well, only if you feel so inclined to do so,” he smiled.  “Oh you’re certainly not dull. More lively than the people I work with,” a joke only for himself, really. “Oh, you’re definitely not rude. You’re probably the most polite person I’ve met in here. I’m Jack, it’s a pleasure to meet you Berlioz.”

@nightshadesx​

@demonxofxlight​

Tiberius knew Jack would be at the beach. How he knew? That was classified information as far as anyone was concerned. He wasn’t there only for Jack though. No, Maddox was there as well and Tiberius also had his eye on a young woman that was there as well. He had a full agenda. When he finally found Jack though he approached him with a friendly smile. “I didn’t expect you to be here,” he said. “I never would have thought it was your scene.” It wasn’t really his either but as long as there was alcohol involved it was alright.

He smiled when he saw the familiar face approaching him. Some might say Tiberius was a bit odd, but Jack didn’t really think so. At least he didn’t think he had any right to say because he definitely wasn’t any weirder than Jack was. “Hello, Tiberius,” he greeted him brightly. “Oh, I mean, usually I don’t think it would be, but I was just feeling in the mood for something lively like this. And I’m so glad I came, it’s been so fun so far. Have you seen some of the sand sculptures people have made? They’re really creative,” Jack could talk for hours about nothing. He caught himself though. “How are you, though? Are you enjoying yourself?”

Jack Skellington

Sally was used to Jack being late. She was always very much on time, too punctual if she was being honest with her, but that was okay because it gave her time to work on composure. She has known Jack since they were both kids and yet every interaction she felt like a nervous schoolgirl with a crush. Hopeless. “A hassle? Now that sounds like a god story…” Jack’s work was something that he cared about deeply, and Sally would never let herself get upset over him being late because of it. “The shop is fine. Been a little slow…I think another sale or something is due. But other than that, same old, same old. My life isn’t that terribly exciting, I’m afraid.”

“Well, just some things didn’t go quite as planned and then there was just a bit of a mess with one of the stiffs-- um, actually, never mind, probably not best to go into details before a meal,” he chuckled a bit, almost awkwardly. He forgot that most people didn’t really like to hear about morgue work in general, but especially not when they were about to eat. He never really cared, though. “But long story short, I got a bit carried away and just didn’t realize the time. I should set an alarm or something so this doesn’t keep happening,” he gave her an apologetic smile. He listened to her talk about her day like it was the most interesting thing, but she didn’t seem to think so. “I think your life is pretty exciting,” he said. And not just because of her magic. “You get to talk to people, which I bet some of the things they say are a lot more interesting than what my clientele has to say. Though... it would be pretty insane if any of mine did talk...” he trailed off for a moment, considering that thought and how the hell he would even react to that sort of situation before returning his attention to Sally. “But, alright, the shop is fine, things are the same. Not the most descriptive, but I can work with that,” he teased with a grin. His expression did soften a bit, though. “How are you yourself aside from work? What... hm,” he pondered a question for a beat, “What was something that you saw or that happened that made you smile?” it didn’t matter to him if Sally thought her day was boring. He wanted to hear all about it.

Megara’s frown slowly morphed into a more casual, neutral line before she let out a soft sigh. He did move, and she could see her mark now so it wasn’t terrible. She figured she could have worse tablemates, like wonderboy. Taking a really good look at him instead of just being annoyed right off the bat, she found his face familiar and knew that she had seen him come in to talk to Hades. At least he probably wouldn’t interrupt her work too much. If he knew what was good for him. Though she thought that, she also knew she didn’t really have the heart to throw someone under Hades feet unless absolutely necessary. “Right. Of course they would pick a crowed cafe.” Meg pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. “Yes, you’re fine now. You can stay. I’ve seen you around before. I think we have… friends in common.”

He gave her a small nod of appreciation, thankful that he didn’t have to try asking anyone else to share their table. Of course, if she had told him to get lost, he would. But she let him stay and even made a bit of conversation. He chuckled dryly. “I feel like friends is a strong word, but yeah. We’ve definitely crossed paths before.” he offered her a hand to shake. “I’m Jack, since we’ve never been formally introduced.” He caught a glance over to where she kept looking. He knew it wasn’t his place to say, but knowing what he did about Hades... “So, I take it this is more than a coffee break?”

the lovers: do you have a crush?

“Um, well, saying a crush sounds so childish, doesn’t it? I’m not really sure. I don’t really think about those kinds of things too much...”

the chariot: thoughts on astrology?

“I let an apple rot in my room when I was young just so I could watch it decompose. I didn’t think about the consequences of bugs and mold finding their way across my desk. And while I found it interesting, my parents were less than happy to come across that mess. Might not sound like something super regret worthy, but I can’t think of any other times in my life that I’ve either gotten in trouble or missed opprotunities because of fruit.”

“I do. There is something very relaxing about their turbulent nature. The howling of the wind that rushes through the trees, the feeling of the electricity on the air, the smell of the earth as the rain crashes down, the way the thunders rumbling echoes across your chest. There’s something quite comforting in it all, even with the violent nature it so often portrays.”

“I don’t believe that just some random websites can predict things about you because of when you were born or any of those personality quiz type things, but I don’t discredit it. I definitely believe there can be some truth to what the stars have to say about you and your journey.”