Way of the law (Woof)

It was roughly one in the afternoon, or there about. Jett knew this because Vaedren had began to bug her about eating. It was quite annoying having a little voice in your head remind you of every little thing, but the way Vaedren cared for her was kinda sweet. A smile would creep onto the lawyers face as she shuffled some paperwork around her desk. “Vaedren we went over this earlier. I’m going to be taking my lunch break a little bit late today. We have a visitor coming.” Jett would raise from her seat, folders in hand.

One could almost assume she wasn’t blind with how easily she move about her office. But truth of the matter was, none of the furniture had been moved since she was given the office in the first place. It also didn’t help that she basically had her own seeing eye demon.

Making her way over to a filing cabinet, Jett would open the second drawer from the top. With her free hand, she’d glide her fingers across the tops of the folders. Eventually she’d stop about a third of the way back where she’d end up putting the folders from her desk away. After that, Jett would make her way out into the hallway. She used her right hand to feel for the nearby wall, and used it to guide herself towards the front desk. Of course the whole time Vaedren was telling her how to walk and when to avoid things.

Finally arriving at the front desk, Jett would be greeted by the firms receptionist. Her visitor was bound to arrive any minuet, so Jett decided she’d wait in the lobby for her guest.

Cold. It was cold. It was always cold. The feeling on her skin when she slept, when she ate, when she breathed and moved and walked and lived. Cold followed her. She was so, so cold. School was a nightmare... Every walk though every hallway was a fountain of darkness and... And...

She did her best to keep the cold to herself. It was her own fault anyway. Her fault for being curious, her fault for getting this stupid necklace. Her fault for thinking she could do good with it. And it being her fault, meant that she shouldn't bring this cold onto others. Not when nothing was of their fault. These days she could barely even call upon the same magical power she so desperately wished to have, to own, to feel. It was her warmth, yet an impossible warmth to reach.

But she needed some way to help, not just herself but others. And the only other memory she could firmly attain, was the memory of her. Of the Lawyer that helped her, how her words saved her. It was the only good memory she had of that day... And it was the memory that drove Claire still, despite how the cold made her fingers stiff, her arms and legs unwilling. Her throat tight.

It was why despite every horror, she was outside of the building, the office for the lawyer, a hood covering her face and nearly everything about her. It was a big hoodie. Only her hair was the true telltale for anyone to see her. She had been outside the office for several minutes now, her appointment close, perhaps even passed. Still Claire could not make a move. But she hated it out here, and that was enough to drive her inside eventually. Head down as she looked for the blind woman, and thankfully sighting her, so thankful that Claire increased her pace in such a way that anyone who could see would think her a thug marching towards their next target.

But she'd stop a few steps away, needing to find her voice. The woman was blind, and Claire couldn't be quiet now, she was forced to have to speak. "Ms... Ms... Haaa.. Ms Lockwood? I... I'm here to... TO see you!" Claire shook lightly, thinking her voice too loud, too soft, that eyes would be on her, eyes she didn't want, yet out of everything she did not want to cry, and that would in the end, be inevitable at this rate.

Jett had sat patiently waiting for her ‘client’ to arrive. Each little ding that signaled the arrival of the elevator managed to draw a bit of excitement out of her. Though as each bell rang, her partner in crime remained silent. None of the people arriving on the floor of the firm seemed to be there for her. Then finally the bell rang once more, and a figure stepped out onto the floor that stood out from the rest. Most of the people that came through here were well dressed but this individual looked like they had just walked right off the street.

The accelerated pace of the individual caused a stir in Vaedren, enough to tell Jett he was on edge. A smile a kind smile would appear on her face, almost as if she knew the person. Her calmness to the situation confused the demon at first. She could not see, and usually she was keen to trust in his instincts, but this time she didn’t seem alarmed at all. Jett’s voice then echoed in Vaedren’s. “Chillax big guy, that’s my client.” Vaedren’s edge seemed to dull a with Jett’s affirmation.

When the small hooded individual opened their mouth to speak, Vaedren perked up once again. “What did I just say Vae. Relax!”

Vaedren recognized that voice. It made him angry. He wasn’t so much mad at the person the words were coming from but rather what they had done. Of course Jett would have no idea of the encounter Claire and the hulking demon had shared some time ago. “Your client is Claire? Is sssssshe in trouble again!?”

“What? No! She’s here for a personal visit.” After addressing the demon in her head, Jett positioned herself to greet the young girl. Obviously her aim was way off and she was now facing slightly to Claire’s right, with an outstretched hand. “Claire! It’s so good to SEE you!” she said with a chuckle. Jett never let her disability get her down. She liked to have fun with it. “Please come right this way.”

Jett would then turn around, her arms slightly out to her sides so she could feel around her. She’d then start making her way to her office. Once there she’d wave the young girl in before closing the door behind them. Jett continued to fumble around her office, feeling for every little thing until she finally found her seat. “So! How have you been?”

Hearing Jett's voice was like a lock. It froze Claire in place, emotionally, physically. Which... Was a good thing in the girls perspective. She needed the voice, the calmness that the Lawyer offered. But of course, now she remained silent, barely able to keep up with the blind woman who seemed to be in good spirits.

Following her to the woman's office, Claire sat herself quietly down into a seat while Jett made her way to the seat. Part of Claire wanted to reach out, move the seat closer to the blind woman with her power, but the thought just as quickly made Claire reel back into her seat, as if something was threatening her, only did Jett's voice bring her back, and Claire was thankful she could not see anything... That sounded bad.

"I... I..." Claire paused once more. Hating herself right now. She was safe. Jett was safe. Jett was the only good memory, she had right now. She could... She could ignore the cold for this very moment. "B-bad... Umm... Can... I'm going to be honest." Claire stated, letting her breath out that she found herself holding. It was because of who Jett was that Claire found herself able to trust the woman, the lawyer. And she needed to trust her... For this.

Letting a minute past of her own muted silence, Claire finally let out another breath, more choked then before, but she was able to talk. "I... I'm a meta. That case.. I was there because I thought I could use... I could use my powers. But.. Even after you helped me. I still... I still..." She froze. Mouth open yet not a sound coming out. She needed to speak, she would speak.

"I went after them again. I found them... And... I tried to stop them... So did... Something else... And it... It... It..." Slowly, Claire removed her hood, tears seemed to be trailing along her cheeks, her eyes already puffy from crying before, she had no sort of make up on, her hair seemed to be badly looked after, to anyone with eyes, she looked horrible. "I can't... I want to help people...  But I can't."

Jett could hear the struggle in the girl’s voice. The words were there but she did not want to speak them. This was supposed to be a personal visit, a sort of follow up to their last encounter, but this sounded more like what Jett heard daily. Claire sounded like a client. Eventually she managed to find her voice, and as she spoke, the normally carefree and cheery lawyer let a stern, no, a focused expression show itself. For some reason she felt like a mother in this moment. She didn’t know why. She hadn’t known Claire for long. And Jett wasn’t usually in the business for telling people what to do.

However, hearing that Claire went against what Jett had said, was a bit hurtful. Jett wanted to give the girl that firm talking to that a mother would. She wanted to out right said *I told you so* but the girl was in enough pain as it was. Then there was the other thing Claire said. When she found the people who had pressed charges against her, something else was there.

Vaedren could literally feel Jett’s eyes roll in his direction. There was something haunting about the thought of Jett staring at him. Sight or no sight. He knew she had already figured it out. She was smart. She wouldn’t have became a lawyer if she wasn’t. “Got something you want to say?” The demon would remain silent, and that was all the confirmation she needed, if she needed any to begin with.

Jett’s hand moved for one of the drawers to her desk, inside it was a box of tissues. She’d gently place the box on her desk and slid it in Claire’s direction. “I…I don’t know what to say Claire.” Rising from her seat, Jett would clumsily make her way over to the corner of her desk nearest to Claire. “I get it. You want to do good. You want to make a difference. But you don’t need powers to do great things!” Jett would reach out for Claire. Vaedren eventually guiding the lawyer’s hand onto the girl’s shoulder.

Claire fell silent, still and cold when Jett's hand found her shoulder. Claire hadn't told anyone of what happened, and still really hadn't. It was the other reason she had come here. Because she needed to get it out. She needed the someone who some might frown at because of her fault, yet here she was. Doing good despite it. Despite any kind of look or thought that might have been sent her way.

Taking one of those tissues that had been offered, Claire cleared her eyes, doing all she could to find her center, to let the warmth of the hand help her do so. She needed to say it. She needed too. Because she couldn't keep it in her any longer. "I want to do what you do... I want to be a lawyer. I decided it. Some days after what happened... It's just... It's just. Every time I close my eyes. I see it. Every time I go to sleep. I dream of the... The valley of Bl... Bloo-blood that it bathed me in when it killed all those people. I stopped them. They couldn't move any longer and it... There was so much..." She let out a sob, a shaky breath, and found herself grabbing another tissue, she had started crying again, not having realized such till she had stopped talking.

"I'm really sorry Jett. I just... I needed to tell someone and you... You're the one thing I could think about. The one good thing about that day. The only thing that keeps me... Sane. You and what you do. How you help people. And I just... Hoped somehow you could help me. But I don't know how I expected that from you. That was rude of me... I'm sorry." She wiped anyway the remains of her tears. Somehow, just... Letting out that. It felt good. It was a lot to let out and she really was sorry that she had let it out to Jett, who Claire only knew because the woman had decided to help her. And here she was, putting words that the woman didn't need onto her.

Jett rubbed the girls shoulder, for whatever good it did. She hadn’t ever really been in a situation like this. Sure she could sympathize with her clients, she had to in order to see things from there perspective, but this, this was different. Then Claire opened her mouth again. The first few words put a smile on Jett’s face. *That’s more like it!* she thought. The happy spirits would end there however as Claire continued. Jett could feel the muscles tightening in her hand, but she managed to catch herself before she could squeeze Claire’s shoulder.

She was….She was angry. She never felt like this at all. Maybe Vaedren’s and her personalities were starting to blend, cause right now she felt like ripping the demon out of her mind and beating him with a chair. “HOW THE HELL COULD YOU DO SUCH A THING! SHE’S TERRIFIED OF YOU! JUST HOW BAD WAS IT!” Jett found herself mentally unloading on the demon. And she could sense him recoiling in fear.

“She would not listen to us! We tried to protect her. Wanted her to leave! But the men, they hurt her. And we losssssst it.”

Jett let out a sigh. It made her question ever letting Vaedren ‘take over’ at night. She was still mad at him, but knew his intentions were somewhat pure. He obviously cared for Claire. And most innocent people that Jett seemed to care for. But his actions had consequences and one of them was sitting in Jett’s office crying her eyes out. “Me and you are going to have a long talk later, big guy!”

She gave Claire another pat on the shoulder. Part of the reason Jett became a lawyer in the first place was because she liked to help people. Being a lawyer was the one way she could make a difference, even with her disability. It was kinda noble that Claire wanted to do the same, even if that idea was born from a nightmare. “Claire, everything is going to be ok. Things seem down right now, but it’ll get better.”

“I can’t say ‘I know what you’re going through’ because…well something like that doesn’t happen every day. But what I do know is people have survived much worse. What you saw must have been horrific, but It can’t hurt you. You can’t let it get to you. You’ve got to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get right back out there.”

God she was starting to sound like a really corny infomercial. “Ok terrible speech, but hear me out. What happened to you was an experience. A tragic one sure, but that was it. Think about how lucky you are to be sitting here now. What you saw and went through is a prime example of why I do what I do. People get powers and they think it gives them a license to dispense justice on their own terms. But that’s not how the law works.”

Claire was left only able to nod and listen. But for what it was worth, listening was good. She could listen and she listened because what Jett had to say was... It was good. Parts of it seemed impossibly hard. To let go of those horrible memories. To fight off the cold and get up, despite everything she'd seen. There was more, the feeling of being shot, having her insides torn apart and stitched back together. Her own blood mixing with the blood of the countless dead. More she didn't dare speak of, yet knew she had to push past as well.

Rubbing away her tears, Claire nodded, before remembering that Jett wasn't able to see such a gesture of acceptance, that Claire had to put it into words. It was good that Claire knew only Jett was in the room. Talking would have been a more difficult challenge. "Yea... Yea, you're right. After I got this stupid necklace I thought I could do more, like all those people that are out there... Even now there is one thing I regret from that night more then... What happened. That the big man got away. Because all that I went though was ultimately, for nothing. Just because he got away... But I shouldn't let this stop me... I can't let this stop me." She seemed to haze over for a bit, as if not really there, her lips moving but no words coming out for a moment, a slightly thick mist pouring from her hair. This lasted for a moment before the mist was suddenly cut off, and Claire seemed to snap back to reality.

Starting to brush though her hair with her fingers, Claire smiled to Jett, and when she felt her hair was better then before, she grabbed a hold of Jett's hand with both of hers and shook it tight. "Thank you so much... I've got a lot to think about. Really. Thank you." Claire said as she looked to the door and paused. She didn't want to leave yet. At all really. She felt comfortable in the room. More so then she had before. She felt warm.

*Necklace!?* Jett thought to herself. If Claire was getting her powers from a necklace then she wasn’t a meta. The fact she got powers from a necklace partially concerned her. It sounded all to familiar. But at least in Jett’s case, her parasite was a living breathing thing, and it tried its best to obey her wishes. As much as Jett now wanted to focus on this necklace thing, Claire managed to mention something else that caught the lawyers intrigue. “Big man? Bald? Nearly seven feet tall? Rather…..large in every aspect?”

If this ‘big man’ that Claire was talking about, was the same one Jett was thinking of, then she just might have found a way to connect with Claire. “It was him! Jett! He’s a bad man. He hurt people. Had Claire shot!”

“WHAT!” she managed to shout aloud. What Vaedren had just said only soured her mood a little more towards the demon. “And you let it happen!? What the hell!”

“Happened while we fought the fat man. The necklace healed her!”

Jett could feel Vaedren recoiling in fear. For as ferocious as he was, he truly was afraid of failing or upsetting Jett for some reason. He seemed more afraid of this frail human girl that he did his mighty queen. It actually flattered her….just a tiny bit. For all of Vaedren’s cowering, he grew quite defensive in the snap of a finger. “What is it big guy?

“The necklace. We don’t trusts it.”

Vaedren had a point. Ever since Claire’s mention of it. Confusing still, was Claire’s sudden emotional reversal. She sounded happy, and even surprised Jett with the hand shake. Jett faked a kind smile. She wasn’t ready to let the girl leave just yet. She had another idea. “Claire, before you go…How about you help me with something regarding this so called ‘big man’?”

Clair looked surprised at how Jett loosely described the big man. Nodding her head to the description, before cringing at her inability to learn. "Yea, that's him!" She said, hoping her words did some good. Only for Jett to, for some reason, shout out a what that both surprised and scared Clair, causing her to reel back in fear. Tripping back into her seat and curling up into it.

It was momentary, but the sheer surprise of it had scared the young girl into submission, leaving her shaking in the chair, a confused mix of cold, warmth and fear mixing about inside and around her. But when Jett spoke again, her voice carrying nothing of the surprise, nor volume of what she spoke before, Clair was able to remove the fear stupor she had been put in, relaxing herself into the seat more and thinking of what to say.

Of course she wanted to help. She wanted to help the moment she left, the moment she spoke. Every single moment of every second she had wanted to help. For some reason... She had wanted to help with that very fact after she left... Shaking her head, she then nodded, then palmed herself int he forehead. Blind woman in front of her.

"Yes! Yes. I'd love to help. Anything to stop that man and that drug he made. You don't really see things like that on the news now but... People like him aren't good and with the world as it is... He's getting away with everything he does... Isn't he." She sobered. Bad people. A bad person that in every aspect, spoke and acted as if the law couldn't touch him... No. It wouldn't touch him. People feared and respected him. He wasn't going to be stopped... And she wasn't sure how she could help Jett as herself... As herself...

Jett was glad she managed to stall Clair. The girl came to her cause of a trauma she suffered. She was looking for some way to move past it. She was looking for a way to take Jett’s advice. So naturally it was up to the lawyer to guide the young girl in the right direction. That being said, she wasn’t quite sure how she was going to do that. The most obvious answer was having Clair help her with some office work. There was more to it than that though. Besides, Jett doubted that Clair could read braille.

There had to be something else the two of them could do that could get Clair involved. It had to be engaging in some way, but it also had to get Jett’s point across. “Hmm. Well we’re not going to get any work done around here, unless you can read braille.” she chuckled as she clumsily made her way back to her seat. Reaching out with her hands, Jett felt around for her coat that had been hanging off the back of the chair. After slipping it on, she made her way over to the door and waved Clair on.

“Come Clair, lets get some fresh air….and preferably some food.” Jett would stumble through the office back out to the lobby. She could hear Vaedren let out a small sigh here and there as he hated when she ‘acted’ He gave her perfectly reliable instructions on where to go, but she insisted on appearing to be as blind as possible. The whole “I was blind long before you ever showed up” argument arose plenty of times.

She was just naturally hard headed. She had lived with her disability for so long that she tried to avoid any assistance wherever she could. Once the two were outside, Jett held out her hand for Clair to hold onto. “You can be my guide for the day!” letting out a small chuckle as the two locked hands. “Ok so, know of any good places to eat?”

Clair wasn't sure how to take what Jett was saying. From asking if Clair wanted to help deal with the big man to asking her to go outside, take the blind woman's hand and then lead her to some place for... Food. There was so many things wrong about this. Having to touch someone, like. For a period of time. The only thing that made it possible was that Clair needed too. For Jett.

The other thing was food. Clair didn't know any good places. She didn't know any places really. Like. Maybe a high end restaurant but that was with Kelly and Ben. She never really went out. And that was true for the past while, ever since that... Incident with the creature and the big man. So she just kinda walked slowly, not voicing a word, staring ahead and feeling... Well. Disappointed in herself.

"No... I mean. No. I don't... I've kinda just been walking..." Was she even hungry? Not really. She never felt hungry. Just... Cold, having left that room. But she didn't want to feel cold anymore. And she was hoping Jett could have helped, she did help. And then she said those words that gave her a chance to get rid of the cold for good. Only to do this...

"Do... Do you have an idea. I'm not really feeling hungry anyway but... I'd be happy to lead you there." Clair finally decided to just be truthful. She was happy to walk and be with Jett. But ultimately. She was not hungry.

Jett let out a small chuckle, it was like the blind leading the blind. She was hoping that dragging Clair out into the public would help her open up a bit, but it only seemed to have the opposite effect. She was truly traumatized. “That’s ok Clair. Kinda put you on the spot there.” Jett then stopped, her grip tightening around the girls hand to signal her to stop. Jett decided to consult her inner voice. He was the one with eyes, so he’d know where they were.

“So….Anywhere good nearby?”
Vaedren let out a small hum. “Let’s ssssssee.” a small small strand of red goo would extend slightly out of the back of Jett’s neck. Her hair did a good enough job masking the demon from prying eyes as he scouted for his partner. He immediately recognized the area, and knew of a nice bistro nearby. Retreating back into Jett’s body, Vaedren would whisper instructions to Jett.

“Ok Clair. Judging by the direction we’ve been walking in, and for how long, I think there should be a bistro around here.” She’d move into position next to her guide, a smile on her face. “If you’re not hungry now, you just might be when we get there! It’s a really good spot!”

“Ok…So were gonna keep going this way for another block and then hang a left at the corner.”

The two would continue on in silence as Clair led them through the street. Using Jett’s directions, they’d arrive at a restaurant. When they headed inside Jett was instantly recognized by the host. “Jett my dear! Welcome, welcome! I see you’ve brought a little helper with you today. Who’s the adorable young lady?”

Jett gave Clair a small nudge on the shoulder. “Go on, introduce yourself! This man is the owner of this resuraunt. His name is Alonne.”

The owner would give a slight bow as Jett introduced him by name.

No longer the one that needed to lead, Clair had a moment to breathe. Still and waiting for the blind woman to... Oh. Yes. Blind. How was Jett suppose to know if there was a place to... Eat. Clair stared at Jett as she described that based on how long and the direction that they had been walking, there was a place that should be nearby. Clair however, was gawking at Jett, who did what the shy girl considered about impossible.

But she was given an instruction she was quite happy to follow. Walking in silence, turning left and feeling the need to gawk even more. Jett was correct. How was she correct? Was she a meta of some kind? Able to see... Or did she just have that good a memory. She could believe that. She really could.

Walking Jett into the building, Clair already felt like leaving. Strange place, new people. Nothing about this was nice. Didn't help that the owner of the restaurant that also knew Jett, came by, only for Jett to say she should introduce herself to the man named Alonne who also owned the restaurant that they were currently standing in. No. Pressure. At all. Really. There was no pressure. This was all in her head. She shouldn't even think about it. He seemed nice. Said nice things. He even looked nice in the nice man kind of way. Really. She should just say something polite and nice, just as nice as Jett.

In reality. Clair had been intensely staring at the owner, not saying a word despite the mental battle of words she was having in her head for the past several seconds, before suddenly opening her mouth to say. "HimynameisKialirnicetomeet... you... Umm." She paused, blushing in embarrassment and looking to the ground. Yes. She did not want to be here. Or anywhere...

Both Alonne and Jett shared a chuckle at Clair’s nervousness. “well that’s quite the unique name you’ve got there.” the owner would say, flashing a smile at the young girl. His attention would then shift to Jett. “The usual table I presume?”. Seeing as how Clair was struggling a bit with the setting and being around anyone that wasn’t Jett, the lawyer would shake her head. “Let’s change it up for today Alonne.” Jett didn’t have to elaborate much more than that. Alonne could see that Clair was uncomfortable.

With a nod in the girls direction he’d wave them on. “Right this way ladies, I have just the table for you.” He’d then lead them to a booth located towards the back of the restaurant. The nearest table to the booth was about ten feet away and the backs to the seats were high. It made it the perfect little secluded spot for Jett and her friend. “Enjoy!” he said giving the two a bow before rushing off to find a waiter for their table.

Jett eased herself into the seat and sat there quietly for a moment. She was eager to speak with Clair, but knew the waiter would be by any minuet. So, she settled in, and as she was in the process of removing her scarf, the waiter arrived. He greeted them both with a smile and proceeded to ask what they wanted to drink. Not giving Clair an option, Jett’s head snapped roughly in the direction of the waiter. “Two nice hot cups of tea please.” the waiter nodded and went off to fetch their drinks.

Now the two could talk. “This is a much better location to discuss business. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Jett’s left hand would reach up onto the table as it felt around for the sugar holder. Once she found it, she slid it close to the center of the table so it would be easier for the two of them to reach. “On to the matter at hand. The ‘Big Man’. His real name is Nathaniel Powers. He’s quite the character. Thinks he’s untouchable, just because he’s poured so much money and resources into the restoration of the city.” The pause in Jett’s speech was perfect as the waiter had returned with a kettle of tea and two cups. “This will be all for now thank you!”

“You need to eat!”
“In a little bit. I want to get a few things out first.”

Jett’s internal conversation would get carried out in the time it took her to grab several sugar packets out of the tray.

“Truth is, Mr. Powers is a native. Loves this city just as much as he does money. That doesn’t mean he isnt a deplorable individual as you’ve seen first hand. I’ve got a few ‘friends’ who have had run ins with him before. They’ve been doing what they can to help me build a case against him. And now you are to…..Are these pink?” she asked Clair, holding out the packets of sugar.