Souls abide to an Endless desire. [ psl ]

[privatematter]

WHO Shannon Vaughn (privatematter), Eli Delacroix (aspectional).
WHAT Meet cute. This may or may not be a Loveless fusion.
WHEN 1984. Shannon is 7 28, Eli is 19.
WHERE Chicago, [wherever their region is, I don't remember. We totally figured it out once, though].

The scene was not pretty. Shannon couldn't see it, strictly speaking, but he had been given the brief and knew what had happened. He could smell the copper on the air and it rested like lead on his tongue no matter what he did. That was always how it was when dealing with a murder; the taste lasted for days, sometimes even after the case was closed. It never let him forget what they were dealing with, and while Shannon Vaughn was not the most compassionate man on earth, he felt anger bubble up inside of him whenever he was confronted with one human killing another for some petty reason or another. It was always petty when measured up to the price of another human life.

Then again, it was part of the job. He enjoyed his work, enjoyed (most of) the people he worked with, and he did his part of the job well. Catching the sons of bitches who thought they could shatter peace with no consequence, that their wills were above those of everyone around them, that last moment at the end of the day where the war was not given up and evil had not won, was worth it. His parents didn't really understand why Shannon had wanted to work with the police when he had so many other options, things that weren't so limited by his abnormality. His blindness. That was exactly why he did it, though, the satisfaction of not letting anything get in the way of feeling right. When it came down to it, Shannon just wanted others to feel safe. His part of the work now entailed checking in with any witnesses who had heard the fight in the alley, the screams as the mugger brought out the knife. Thank God for tape recorders, or it may have taken even longer than his seven years tenure to be allowed to take witness statements without any way to officially keep it on record.

He was walking the perimeter now, ears at half-mast while he kept his head tilted and tried to make any heads or tails of the gossip around him, see if maybe anyone had been holding out or noticed something without realizing what they had seen. Lacey was waiting by the truck, drinking from her bowl after escorting Shannon all around the scene while the actual cops had set up. The body was still in the alley and the investigators were crowding around and making it near-impossible for onlookers to get a peek. With the POLICE jacket and his glasses on, Shannon knew he cut an official-looking figure, if incredibly young thanks to his ears, and not the blind police aide that had never attended any sort of law enforcement academy. Now it was up to Shannon to head off any questions or make any statements requested while the officers did their work.

Comments

[aspectional]

Death was always something that had drawn Eli in ever since he was a child trapped in his graveyard for those many years. He could feel it deep in his bones whenever somebody died and in a city as big and populous as Chicago, it wasn't rare that he felt that settling heavy sensation of death coming to someone. His job as a journalist allowed him the excuse to go down to crime scenes and thankfully his boss approved of his initiative towards the more morbid cases he would find himself looking for.

So it was for that reason that Eli was standing at the yellow tape with the other onlookers and reporters, trying to get a peek at whatever gruesome incident that had happened further in. But his attention was pulled away from the crime to the incredibly handsome seemed to be police officer who still had his ears. Whatever desire about the details of the case was replaced with the desire to talk to that man, no matter how he had to do it.

"Excuse me, officer," he said loud enough to get Shannon's attention. "I'm with the Tribune and if you could spare a moment, I would like to ask you a few questions about what happened here."

[privatematter]

His ears perked upright and his head swiveled at 'Officer,' the tone of someone calling out. It was hard to tell where it was directed, but Shannon knew how to intercept such calls for attention while making it sound as natural as possible. He'd had a whole lot of practice over time, and bravado to pull it off besides. "Absolutely," he answered, making his way over to the source of the voice that had spoken up. Thankfully, despite whatever questions this reporter may have had, he didn't seem too eager to cross the definite lines of police work and reporter work.

Although he had placed himself at a comfortable, conversational distance, Shannon kept himself angled toward the scene of the crime. As if he couldn't take his eyes off, couldn't keep away from his duty even when doing a necessary evil such as speaking to reporters. It was a good way to keep people from noticing his floating gaze, his lack of focus. "First off, name's Shannon Vaughn. What kind of questions have you got, Mr. Tribune?"

[aspectional]

If Eli still had his tail, it would be wagging excitedly. The cute officer that had caught his eye was coming over to talk to him. Granted, it was about the crime, but it was definitely a start and that was definitely better than nothing.

"I prefer Mr. Delacroix over Mr. Tribune," he said as he was pulling out his notepad and started to write. "What exactly happened here? How many people were killed? And have the victim or victims been identified yet?"

[privatematter]

Of course Shannon was coming over to talk. If Eli had been in the business for very long, he would have known Shannon was the voice of his precinct, but that had only started a relatively short while ago once he had proven to know how to deal with people and display his own brand of discretion when speaking to the public. It wasn't well-known so much as just starting to be accepted.

"Mr. Delacroix," he allowed. "It looks like a mugging gone violent. No ulterior motive, as the single victim's wallet, watch and wedding ring are all missing judging by tan lines. Seeing as his wallet is missing, we've yet to identify him but are working on that angle of investigation as we speak. It's a relatively fresh case, you understand." Not that they were going to give up every angle just because the facts pointed one way, but reporters tended to be more satisfied by the easiest answer unless there was compelling evidence toward another facet of the story; no one liked loose ends that could only be explained by the imperfection of human nature.

[aspectional]

Not surprisingly, Eli was new to the business, having only just recently joined the paper alongside his father and was still stuck doing the normal articles instead of the investigative stuff he had been taught by Marcus. So he was still not quite sure as the communication between journalist and police reporter really worked and Marcus had always been a fan of teaching through actual experience instead of just telling his son things he needed to know.

"I understand," he said slightly distracted by writing it down. "May I take that to mean that you're not counting out the possibility of it being a setup and the mugging was hiding the actual motive?"

[privatematter]

Shannon let his head tilt in subtle acquiescence, the end of his tail beginning to swish in interest. The longer he spoke with this Mr. Delacroix, the younger his voice sounded. Not that young was a particular deterrent against skill, but for someone young to be on the murder track so soon... There was no way he had been sent here on the pretense of it being a simple mugging.

"That's never ruled out," Shannon said. "Unlikely though it may be, the victim deserves our due diligence in following every line of inquiry until we arrive at the truth of the matter and see his attacker behind bars serving the proper sentence for his crime. Someone killed this man, and we will bring him to justice no matter the complications we may face."

[aspectional]

While he was writing things down, Eli looked up and started studying this officer carefully. He was good at picking up things about people and he definitely wanted to learn more about him. The words seemed to be something he truly believed, but there was something off about him, not really seeming like he had the same presence as the other cops around.

"That's good to hear," he said cheerfully. "The people are worried that this case, like many other recent violent crimes, wouldn't get the careful inspection they need due to the rampant corruption the the police department. What do you say to that?"

There's a tone to his voice on the last part that makes it sound like it was a routine question he's been forced to ask instead of something he wanted to. It's only made more clear by what he said next. "I wouldn't blame you if you said something along the lines of 'fuck off' to that."

[privatematter]

Shannon's reaction to the question was not any sort of offense. Whatever rumors had been floating around, what use would it do to be offended and defensive about the idea of corruption in the precinct? It was laughable. Sure, some of the guys and gals there were total dicks and had their heads too far up their asses to see sunlight, but there was a fine line between doing the work with a bit of grump and doing the work for ulterior motives. There probably was corruption in the department. There always was.

"If there's corruption in the police department," he said carefully, "I'm impressed they've retained so much of their morals as to let the rest of us get on with the job and maintain a 72% case closure rate." He tilted his head back far enough to address Delacroix more directly. "That's just our department, mind, but I like to take that as a positive sign."

Before he could keep waxing on, an officer emerged from the alleyway. "Hey, Vaughn! Where'd Vasquez go?"

Shannon turned toward the questioner, Bates, and his ears twitched back just a smidgen. Despite the fact that he had been watching the alley most of his conversation with Delacroix, he answered, "How should I know, moron? Ask Rocha."

"Rocha said he might have talked to you before going," Bates said irately. "You're all partners, right?"

"Javier probably saw that I was busy," Shannon said pointedly. He turned his head back to Delacroix and offered a roll of his eyes before returning attention back to Bates, who was scoffing in disgust.

"Busy shooting your mouth off, looks like," grumbled the officer. He ducked back into the alley for another round with Rocha. Shannon sighed as he could tell the oppressive presence was taking his leave. That guy was an asshole who had been at the department for two years and still thought himself above Shannon for being able to carry a gun. Stupid posturing.

Now, he turned his attention back to the reporter in full. At least he had some respect. "Now, where were we?"

[aspectional]

For the first time during this conversation, Eli's illusion ears and tail responded in a way actual ears and tail would. At the mention of both Javier Vasquez and Matheus Rocha, his ears flattened against his head and his tail's fur fluffed up. Of all the people he could be attracted to, he ended up with the one man partnered up with Aspects. He tried his best to pay attention to what Shannon and the other officer were going on about, but he couldn't concentrate, his focus turning to spot either of the Aspects in case they saw him.

"Oh, right, um, I believe we were talking about possible corruption in the police force and that it doesn't seem to affect your productivity in closing cases," he responded once the other officer was gone, his voice becoming far more subdued and nowhere near the cheerfulness that he had before.

[privatematter]

It appeared neither Aspects had caught Eli's presence just yet. When Javier left, he had been in something of a work zen, focus on the case and anything pertaining to it. Matheus had been in the alley since before Eli arrived, making sure to wrap up any of the loose ends before the MEs arrived and took away the body. Shannon, on the other hand, was good at paying attention to the signals that others didn't know they put out for the world to see. Without visual cues, they were his bread and butter for reading people.

His brow furrowed and ears turned lopsided while he took in the change of demeanor. That was rather abrupt and what brought it on was a mystery to Shannon. Was Delacroix more sensitive to the subject matter than his presence here would imply? "Are you all right, Mr. Delacroix?" he asked.

[aspectional]

While the Aspects may not be aware that Eli was around, he wasn't going to be caught off guard by them and still kept an eye out for them. Thankfully for him, he could multitask and talk to Shannon at the same time, hopefully without arousing too much more suspicion than he already had.

"Hm? Oh, yes, I'm fine," he answered and it was like a switch had been flipped, Eli going back to his upbeat self like he hadn't noticed there were two Aspects nearby. "I thought I saw somebody I knew in the crowd, but it definitely wasn't them."

[privatematter]

It wasn't suspicion so much as concern. Something had definitely happened, and Shannon knew that it couldn't be what Delacroix had just said. Not that he would call the other man out, there was no reason for that, but it did add another tick of interest in his mind for this young, odd reporter working on a fatal mugging.

"Does that happen often?" asked Shannon, attempting to add levity to the conversation. It wasn't as easy to mistake voices as it apparently was for faces. "Must owe you money or something."

"Mr. Vaughn!"

There was a moment where Shannon truly considered not turning to address the new reporter who had just called to him. But, no, he was on this job because he could do it and do it well. It didn't matter if some reporters were just assholes about getting their scoops no matter who they had to get it from, or were disgruntled by no longer getting to pester the hardworking officers with more important things to do. With an apologetically raised finger in Eli's direction, he turned once again to face the newcomer.

"Avery," he greeted cordially. "You're later than usual to the crime scene."

"Had a bit of traffic," the other man muttered to himself. "Mr. Vaughn, what can you tell me about the scene here? Is it true he may have been cheating on his wife?"

"What? We can neither confirm nor deny that at this point in time," said Shannon firmly. "Where did you hear that, anyway?"

"It's been said the victim was without his watch or wedding ring. It could be he had hidden them before the fatal encounter for reasons unrelated!"

Shannon held himself still and forced himself to take a breath before speaking. Of all the hair-brained ideas for anyone to come up with... "This case is related to a mugging. His wallet and any identification have also gone missing, Avery, which would be in line with such a crime. That his jewelry is missing says nothing to infidelity at this moment."

"Are you sure? My sources say the tan lines weren't as stark as they would be unless someone was regularly taking them on and off," the reporter insisted. "Which I'm sure you would have to confirm with the other officers."

"You're not that late," Shannon said, easily staying right where he was. Even he knew that was a shitty excuse to get him to leave. "Unless your source is some kind of spirit from beyond, you couldn't have possibly gotten a man in there. The police have yet to leave the scene since it was discovered and no civilians have been allowed in."

Avery huffed, moving to quietly raise the tape and place himself under it. "Except for you."

"I'm an employee of the police department and if you don't step back outside the perimeter in the next five seconds, we'll have to detain you for attempt to obstruct justice by interfering with an active crime scene. Avery, is your day going okay?" he asked, head tilted now condescendingly. No matter what other reporters thought they could or couldn't get away with, Shannon was sure he could come out on top. This was beyond the other man's usual antics for poking holes at his competence. "Family life good?"

"Everything is fine, Vaughn," Avery grumped, pulling the tape back and setting himself firmly on the civilian side of the border.

"Good. Then you can go back to your paper and tell your boss that you're not getting anything out of me, or the rest of my department. Have them send someone else, huh?" Shannon grinned to emphasize his point. "Someone who wouldn't try lying and breaking the law just to talk to some beat cops instead of the guy who actually knows what's going on."

[aspectional]

Eli didn't much of a chance to respond to what Shannon said when the other reporter arrived and tried to get into an argument with him over what had gone on in the alley. At the mention of Shannon being a civilian, Eli frowned and studied him carefully for a long moment. When not distracted, he was incredibly perceptive and could pick up on a number of things about a person, which meant that Eli nearly groaned when he realized that Shannon was blind and could definitely never be any sort of police officer. He was really distracted if he couldn't even notice that important tidbit.

His attention turned back to the conversation and by this point, Eli was very tempted to step in. He hated this kind of reporter, only trying to get an article that would put them in the spotlight. It disgusted him and he wanted nothing but to make this little man miserable, so he put on his best smile and checked that the illusion for his ears and tail were flawless before he decided to interrupt.

"'Reporter arrested for harassing police at crime scene' has a very nice ring to it, don't you think?" Eli once again sounded upbeat and rather happy, glancing over at Shannon before turning his attention back to Avery. "Though I think it's a bit of a stretch to call someone like you a reporter. Hear about a dead guy missing his wedding ring and you immediately think infidelity? Were there any keys found on the body, Mr. Vaughn?"

[privatematter]

Shannon picked up the slack easily. Delacroix had been nothing but cordial so far, and thus Shannon was much more willing to work with him in driving Avery out rather than rebuff both at the same time. Besides, he would have totally made one of his partners read that article if Delacroix actually ended up writing it. It would have been fun to read, he was sure.

"No keys of any sort," he confirmed. There was more to it than that—in situations such as these, more proactive victims sometimes tried using their keys as a counter-weapon, and there was a chance those might turn up in the alley. Another reason no one but cleared officials had been in the scene yet. Shannon knew better than to say so in front of an unscrupulous reporter; when Avery was gone, he planned to mention something to Delacroix instead. "Might have been taken by the mugger, which would have been the smart thing to do. No unfaithful husband would leave home without making sure he could get back on his own with no chance of having to rely on a mistress."

Avery looked between the two of them. His expression was clearly unimpressed by the two youngsters still with their ears trying to outsmart him. "No one said anything about this not being a mugging, just that there may be more to the story than the police are willing to consider!"

"Didn't I tell him to leave?" asked Shannon, pretending to ask the less-annoying reporter. He turned back to Avery with a much more serious expression. "No, wait. I did. Go away, Avery. Don't try messing with me, I'm not above calling one of my friends over to make you."

Avery stood up and puffed his chest out. He was about Shannon's height, although he lost out to the extra inches granted by the blind man's ears, and then let himself deflate. "I'll be talking to the chief about this, Vaughn," he warned.

As he heard the footsteps of the retreating reporter, Shannon merely grinned and said to Delacroix, "Chief's not going to do anything. That guy's an asshole and his paper is always two prints away from turning into a tabloid."

[aspectional]

The fact that Shannon was siding with him made Eli more confident that he had done the right thing instead of screwing things up. He nodded in agreement at Shannon's assessment and held up a finger.

"Exactly my point. There's also the possibility that if the ring line wasn't as stark like you said, he could be divorced and thus not be wearing the ring anymore," Eli pointed out calmly. "But we're reporters, not the police, so anything we come up with is pure speculation and nothing we can print."

He couldn't help but snicker at Avery trying to puff himself up. Even without the ears, Eli was taller than them both and had no qualms about standing up straight to look down at Avery in every possible way that he could. When he finally stormed off, Eli tilted his head towards Shannon and smiled.

"I never expected anything else," he replied. "I hate reporters like that. They make up crazy theories and then pass them off as truth. It's an insult to the profession that guys like him are crawling around printing that trash."

[privatematter]

"Not just the reporting profession," Shannon agreed grimly. He turned back to face the crime scene now that Avery was taken care of; he wasn't trying to deceive Delacroix, but Shannon had learned that people tended to take him more seriously when he put up the airs of being someone more important or more... functional. When it came to reporters, he didn't really care to build up enough of a rapport to make his competence known. Doing that at the department had taken years.

Shannon ran a hand up through his hair, ears pinning back before springing back into place with the motion. If Javier had ran off, that meant he'd discovered some kind of lead. Not telling Matheus meant that it would probably not pan out, but it was worth following up on. Maybe there was something more in the alley that most of them hadn't noticed... Well, Javier would tell them when he got back, at any rate. "You've still got your journalistic integrity," he commented. "Then again, sounds like you haven't been on the job that long. Make sure you keep hold of it, all right? Guys like you are the ones who let everyone else know we're doing the best job we can."

[aspectional]

He didn't really answer at first, just studying him for a long moment. Now that he knew Shannon was blind, Eli could take a good look at him without worrying about being caught for staring. Shannon was as handsome as originally thought to be, but there was a solid confidence to him that didn't look like it led to prideful posturing. It was that more than his good looks that drew his eye to him, but ears and tail on a man obviously older than him didn't hurt any. "You don't have to downplay it for me. I'm not going to treat you any different," he said, seemingly out of nowhere. If they were going to talk, then they were going to do it on Eli's terms, which mean equal footing.

There was a soft laugh from him and he looked at his pencil for a moment. "I'm going to keep my journalistic integrity. My dad taught me better than that," he replied seriously. "If I ever end up like that worm, I'll put away the typewriter and never write another article again. Journalism is about sharing the truth, not about spreading lies that will get you the front page."

[privatematter]

"Downplay what?" asked Shannon. Despite not being entirely clear on what Delacroix was referring to, Shannon allowed himself to face the other man as he would anyone else. If he was going to make such overtures, then Shannon was going to take him up on them whether the reporter realized the extent of them or not. It wasn't his fault if other people couldn't keep up with their own actions. "Because if it's about the civilian thing, I should hope not. I'm still more in the loop than you are."

There was a sigh. Shannon shook his head. "Most people who lose their integrity don't even realize it before it's too late. Once they look up and see how far they've fallen, there's not much else to do but keep digging." That didn't just apply to journalism, either. It was something Shannon had seen a lot of in his work with the police, people who had no choice but to keep moving even if it only made their grave deeper.

[aspectional]

"Your blindness," Eli pointed out calmly as he watched him turn to face him. The fact that he was a civilian was something that he was beating himself over instead of being annoyed by Shannon. He should have noticed that immediately. "I honestly don't care if you're a civilian or not, if you're in the loop, you're a reliable source. I'm not going to be picky about that."

There was a shrug and a soft sigh. "Trust me, I'll notice. I might be a kid, but I know the signs, even if it happens to me. I've seen how quickly a person can fall." Thank to his Aspect memories, he wasn't lying. He had seen many people end up that way throughout Thomas' lifetime to know the signs for himself and want himself to never get like that.

[privatematter]

"That's very magnanimous of you," Shannon said neutrally. A lot of people said things like that while still being unbearably awkward around it until they truly understood that the gap in awareness was not as large as they figured. It was something most people couldn't imagine, and thus fell over themselves to try and consider. Still, it was better than others simply figuring Shannon was broken and not worth dealing with. Apparently not willing to let it lie there, Shannon poked at the one thing Delacroix had yet to mention by teasing, "But the ears still weird you out?"

Ears were personal business, but not so personal that people didn't still judge you for them anyway. Either you're too young without or too old with, and Shannon really just didn't care for whatever extra piles of scrutiny he gathered for still having his own. On the bright side, it definitely pulled attention away from his other issues and that was always a plus.

A kid? Shannon tilted his head and filed that away. It wasn't as important to him as most others, but that generally meant one still had their ears. Someone of Delacroix's apparent age wouldn't have been seen as too odd to still have his ears. "You sound like an old man. Cheer up. You've got years ahead of you and plenty of stories to write. Speaking of, this story. What questions do you really want to ask?"

[aspectional]

"The ears?" His headtilt of confusion was almost audible with how immediate and quick he did it. He doesn't really get why Shannon's ears were such an important topic. So he had ears and was older than him. He didn't think it was something he needed to judge him on, especially since he didn't even know him. "Why would they weird me out? Lots of people still have their ears."

Shannon's comment made him laugh softly. Oh, if only he knew. "You're not the first person to say that I sound like an old man. That seems to be a pretty common perception of me." He couldn't help but smile at Shannon asking him about what he really wanted to ask about. "This doesn't seem right. A mugging in a safe neighborhood like this? I bet if I asked any of the cops around here, they'd tell me he didn't look the type to be rich enough for him to picked out for a mugging. It's a cover up, but for what is what I want to pick at your brain for."

[privatematter]

"Lots of kids still have their ears," Shannon pointed out with a shrug. It mostly bothered him because it bothered others. There was no real good reason for Shannon to have kept his ears so long aside from pure stubbornness to keep it going by this point in time. Even then, 'bother' was possibly overexaggerating. He knew it got attention, and therefore reacted appropriately to the sort of attention that it usually gathered. "Lots of adults aren't too fond of grown men who won't grow up, either."

Instead of seeming too bothered by it, Shannon grinned. "You're sharp. That's good, it'll get you far. Then again, out in blatant public might not be the best place to toss around baseless theories," he added. If they were going to speak about the possible hypotheticals of the case, doing so in public where the criminal may have returned to the scene of their own crime was not the best idea. Always better to display discretion when unclear ulterior motives might be involved.

[aspectional]

"You seem grown up to me," Eli said with a shrug. "Society places too much value on a person losing their ears and tails as a sign of reaching adulthood. Putting this pressure on people tends to cause them to do rash things and try to 'become adults' before they're prepared to."

He let out a short laugh, appearing to be amused by his response. "It's only baseless if I don't have the reasoning and evidence to back it up. And if you'd rather talk somewhere else at a better time, then I really wouldn't mind discussing as much of this as you're allowed to with me."

[privatematter]

"It's easier when people have easy to place markers," Shannon said. "Though this really isn't the time or place for a theological debate on the value or lack thereof of losing one's ears." With a mischievous grin, he continued, "I usually save that kind of deep discussion for the second date."

Shannon nodded, then reached inside of his coat. After a moment, he pulled out a business card and held it out for Delacroix to take. It was very plain, just a name, his precinct and extension number within the department. Nothing to say what his profession was, or what his qualifications might actually be. "We should have more information by tomorrow. Give me a call when you've got time and I'll give you the updated scoop. I'd rather have you putting out any of our findings than Avery or his ilk."

[aspectional]

"You were the one who brought up ears in the first place," Eli pointed out. "If you didn't want the debate that comes with talking about ears or the lack of them, then maybe you shouldn't bring it up with a guy whose job it is to ask those sort of questions. And if you're lucky, maybe I'll tell you whether or not I still have mine."

Eli reached out and took the business card from Shannon, looking over it carefully before pocketing it and both his notepad and pencil. It was start and he did get the guy's number out of it, but not in the way he was truly hoping for. "Excellent. I'll definitely give you a buzz when I get some time off to work my own stories. I appreciate the sentiment, even thought I'm sure you'd give it to anybody even remotely more talented than that hack is."