A Day Off (Open)

Salone was eating her pancakes when Sam poofed in behind her causing her to squeak with surprise and shock, dropping her fork with a clatter onto her plate. With shaking fingers she picked up the fork and wiped off the handle while the sketch book shut on its own accord. Johnny was in the back room so he didn't see it.

“Don’t do that!” She said punching him lightly in the arm before sitting on her trembling fingers. “Very rude, how would you like it if I dropped you off a cliff.”

She was joking of course but he has still startled her. Salone lightened up after her fingers had stopped shaking and she pointed her fork at him threatening him jokingly before going back to her pancakes.

“So whatcha’ up to today?” Salone asked, finishing her last few bites.

Sam found her shock to be amusing, she gave him another playful punch on the arm as she made a joke. Sam noticed her hands shaking slightly, he did not mean to scare her that much and he felt slightly bad for it. He was going to grab her hand to stop her from shaking, but she quickly calmed down and returned to eating her meal.

She asked him what he was going to do today, he never had any idea of what he was going to do, he would just roll with what happened on that day. "Well I came here for a coffee and then I was probably going to end up beating up some criminals later, am I right Johnny?" he asked as he came over after recognizing him with a coffee, "Yeah sure Sam haha" Johnny did not know he was actually speaking the truth. Sam pulled out some money to pay for the coffee but Johnny declined it, when he turned around to walk away, he quickly slid the money into his back pocket and took a sip of his coffee. "I didn't think you would still be here, what are you planning on doing today? Do you trust yourself to venture out into the maze of streets alone?" Waiting for her answer, he looked up at the TV on the wall, a news story was playing at a low volume about the reconstruction of New York, Sam had seen this story going on for a while, but he did not take any time to look it up himself, it did seem like a very bad occurance.

Salone chuckled at Sam’s response, “I would guess so. Seems like an honorable past time. “

To be honest she hadn’t thought about what she was going to do today, she had only planned as far as breakfast. She watched as Johnny declined Sam’s money and she flashed a smile at the man.
“Well, getting lost wasn't really an option today now is it? I was going to go explore for a bit before going for a run.” When she said run, she meant at her top speed all over the roofs of homes. “Maybe do a little pest control or hunting.”


Salone wanted to go explore the goblin sewer tunnels, see what other dark creatures were lurking down there. But she doubted she would find anything, except for gunk and scum that would leave her smelling delightful.

Pest Control? Hunting? What was she going to look for, rats? He had no idea what she meant, but Sam was certain it was probably something strange and possibly dangerous, Sam was not sure if it was ok for her to do it alone, but she probably knew what she was doing.

"I guess I can tell you this now" Sam lifted up his coffee and swirled it around, "Remember when you told me to wish on that shooting star? I wished to see you one last time, I know it sounds cheesy but I don't really have anything else I could wish for" Sam laughed to himself slightly, why he needed to tell her that he did not know, but it was out in the open now and he felt slightly embarrassed about it. He left it for a minute before changing the subject, "I tell you what" Sam stood up and leant over to the wall, pulling out a map from a small rack hung upon there, he picked up one of Salone's pencils and circled Johnny's Cafe on the map and marked it as "JC", he then followed the road down and around a corner before marking another area, marking it as "My House". He put the pencil back down where it was and slid the map over to Salone, "When you are finished with your pest control, swing by my house and we can do whatever you want, my treat. I may not have a lot of money, but you deserve a good send off, agreed?" He waited for a response, either yes or no.

Salone blushed faintly at his wish; there was nothing special about her and she had no idea how she had gotten Sam to like her. But Salone grinned and ducked her head as he drew a map; she leaned over his shoulder to look at it.

“Sounds fun… as long as we keep alcohol out of the mix,” Salone gave him a crooked grin, her brown eyes crinkling at the corners. “What time should I meet you there?”
She made rapid plans in her head, bringing a sugary item should have her covered... but what kind? Chocolate sounded good.

“Surprise me on what we are going to do, okay?” She gave him another smile before sliding back over to her seat, finishing the drink that she had bought. Salone then removed her sketch book from the table and put them inside her bag, along with all of her pencils.

Sam stood up out of the corner and looked behind him to see Johnny asleep in the back room of the Cafe to his amusement. Sam was not planning on the two getting drunk together, the thought of alcohol did not even cross his mind, he had not touched the stuff for several years and it would take some persuasion to get him to pick it back up again.

"Lets just say... around 7 or 8pm" Sam did not want Salone to rush to his house and forget about whatever she was doing, so he gave her a decent amount of time to let her finish whatever it was that she would be doing. She also wanted him to surprise her with whatever it was that they were going to do, Sam had not really put that much thought into it, but an idea immediately popped into his head, but he would need to by the supplies first. "I promise it will all be a surprise, I'll see you later", he gave her one more smile before vanishing into smoke, he then quickly ran to several different shops throughout the day to get the supplies that he needed for Salone's surprise.

Salone smiled, delighted, “Seven it is then and it better be.”

The young woman squeaked as he poofed out, that would take some time to get used to. Salone smiled to herself and took her dishes over to the box, as well as Sam’s which sat abandoned on her table. Then she left just as Johnny was waking up.

Salone hunted as a house cat, the same tiny tabby housecat that she had been sitting on the roof as. The tunnels were disgusting. But there was nothing down there except for large rats that stayed away from her. Slowly she shifted back to a human, her eyes glowing faintly. The shapeshifter crept onwards down the tunnels, then she heard a noise… she shifted again, this time to a panther. The noises of bones rattled and scuffling filled her ears. She growled faintly and was just about to pounce when she realized it was a homeless man, she scented the air and the man’s odor confirmed her findings and she walked away.

Salone reached the top at about four pm. She checked her phone and found a message from Penny saying she would be back late at about elevenish. Salone grinned before making it back to her hotel, showering, and changing, trying to get the stench of the tunnels off of her. She left her hair down before checking her watch… six thirty.. hng… Cake… she should go get cake… preferably the chocolate kind. Salone vanished out the door and stopped at the bakery. She was there for several minutes before choosing a dark chocolate cake. It was small, but very chocolaty looking.

The shapeshifter knocked on the door fifteen minutes late, holding her cake in one hand and supporting a small kitten in the other. The kitty had followed her from a few blocks away; A little black and white female with mismatched eyes. When Sam opened the door she offered the cake before putting the kitten down.
“She followed me.”

Sam had been relaxing on his bed as usual, allowing the time to pass as he had already set up what he wanted around the back of his home. Sam looked to his clock on the wall, 7:15pm it read, she was either coming late or not at all, but Sam remembered how excited she looked when they made this plan and knew she would not miss it, sure enough his idea was correct as there was a knock at the door several seconds later. He leaped up from his bed and hurried to the door, he opened it to see Salone standing in the moonlight, holding a small cake and a... kitten. A kitten that had apparently followed her here, his placed was already a mess anyway, what would the harm be for a cat to be there too.

Sam stepped forward and closed the front door behind him, stopping the small cat from entering in the process, he kindly took the gift cake and walked to the right, "Come on, your surprise is around the back." Salone lifted the kitten off of the ground and followed Sam around the side of his house and to the back, he did not have a garden per say, it was just wide open land that no one had claimed. Sam walked over to a red and white checkered picnic blanket with a tray on top of it, that tray was covered with a towel. In front of him was a large bundle of wood surrounded by a circle of rocks and he had something else slightly off in the distance, he had no time to study the look on Salone's face as he was making sure everything remained perfect. He sat down on the left side of the blanket and patted the other side "Come on, sit" he pleaded, and she did just that, bringing the cat with her, she sat down next to Sam. "You know its a shame you didn't tell me about bringing this cake around, what are we going to do with these?" he pulled the towel off of the tray to reveal a wide range of sweetened treats, "I've been watching the things you eat, I hope that you will enjoy these." Sam then proceeded to light a match and threw it to the large bundle of wood, setting it slightly alight, the small spark soon turned into a large flame, and the bonfire was born.

Salone picked the kitten up again who in turn snuggled, purring, against her neck, generally she didn’t like cats but she was willing to make an acceptation in this case. She sat down on the edge of the blanket eyeing the snacks with interest.

“Are you trying to give me a cavity?” She smiled before laughing at the cake. “Well… I guess it is kinda my fault.”

She placed the kitten down and watched her toddle around… the poor thing couldn’t be very old and Salone wondered where its mother was before turning her attention back to Sam. She was delighted by this whole situation; Sam was easy to get along with and never kept her guessing. He seemed so honest… unlike her… Suddenly she felt guilty for not telling him she wouldn't be around for much longer. But she kept her face clear and happy while talking to him, shoving her worry to the back of her mind. The heat from the bonfire rolled over her like a warm blanket but shadowed the other half of her face.

“This is great, I cannot believe you put this together in a few hours. “
At least he had gotten something done while Salone had been tramping through the sewers looking for a nonexistent magical pest nest. That still puzzled her to pieces but she would dwell on it tomorrow on her way home to her dog.

Salone was suprised that Sam could get all of the supplies in just a few hours. "Well... any normal person wouldn't be able to do it, I guess being able to teleport helps out a lot" he said jokingly, that was the first time he had ever been able to make a joke about his powers, he had always taken his powers seriously used them for fun on occasion, he also did not have anyone to talk to about them, so he was glad Salone was there to listen to it. They conversed for a short while, it felt like hours but was probably only a few minutes.

Sam excused himself as he walked to the left side of his house, he returned with more large sticks of wood, he threw them on the bonfire and found a smaller twig to poke them with, speeding up the burning process and giving both of them a new wave of heat. "I'll be right be back" he said, he vanished from her sight and reappeared in front of his fridge, opening it and pulling out 3 bottles of water and a bottle of milk, he closed the fridge door and opened up a cabinet just to the right, pulling out a clean bowl, he was having some trouble holding all of them at once, but he managed to teleport back and he dropped it quickly onto his blanket. "Per your request" he leaned down to the ground and picked up a bottle of water, handing it over to Salone with a grin "No alcohol", he returned to the blanket and opened up his own bottle, taking several sips, he then dragged the bowl over to him as well as the bottle of milk, the newly found cat seemed very exciting by this, as Sam poured the milk out into the bowl, the cat was already diving in. "And this is for this little guy", he placed the bowl in between the two of them and grabbed a sweet treat of his own, "Is it time for the grand finale?.... Nah, maybe in a minute" he thought with excitement.

Salone laughed again, “Well as long as you don’t get stuck between two places, you should be good.”
The shape shifter had gotten stuck between two creatures before and it was not a pleasant experience. Salone jumped again as Sam teleported in and out.

“Do you have any idea how alarming that is, it scares me every time. “ She said this with half of a laugh. It was indeed startling for any individual. She couldn’t help but smile when he smiled at her, it seemed that smiling was contagious. “The reason I said no alcohol is because of my medical condition… it makes me miserable and I am sick for days-“she stopped and busted out laughing at the kitten. The little thing had stuck its head into the milk stream and was lapping it up as it poured around its ears. Salone reached out a finger and stroked the fur on it’s back.

“What is the possibility that I can smuggle you into America?” She asked the little thing as she stuck her face into the milk. She gave the tiny cat a gentle smile before looking up at Sam.

Sam was looking up at the stars and drinking his water when Salone asked if she could smuggle him into America, a strange thing to say, but it was not until he turned to her when he realised she was not talking to him but to the cat... A smile slowly panned across his face "That was a close one" he thought, he managed to stop himself from any further embarrassment.

"Sorry it is so startling, you're the first person i have ever used it casually around, I guess now I know what it is like for others to be around my powers... your little dragon wing trick wasn't exactly relaxing for me either you know", he looked back to her "I'll try to use it less around you", that was a promise he was going to find tough to keep, using his power was 75% of his travel, it was second nature for him to use it when travelling.

Sam shot up to a standing position with an eager grin, "Ok... The cat might not be a big fan of this, but I hope you enjoy the show" Sam pulled another match out of his pocket and lit it as he was running a short distance away from the house, he was still in Salone's view, but was still very far away, he had hoped that she could not see what he was doing. Sam reached down to a wire, 6 wires to be exact, but there were all coiled into one, he lit the fuse and blew out the match, dropping it quickly on the grass afterwards, he started to run back to Salone to watch the show, he was about to teleport when he realized the promise that he kept just a few minutes ago, he teleported half of the distance between them instead of appearing next to her and startling her again. He ran over to her and sat back down on the blanket "3...2.....1" almost on cue, Fireworks erupted in the air, with loud fizzes and bangs, startling the cat but giving Salone a smile, the bright colours from the explosions brightened up their faces with each bang "Pretty impressive huh?!" he asked, he spoke it slightly louder than usual due to the slight ringing in his ears and he wanted to get his voice over the explosions that were happening in front of them.

Salone let out a bark like laugh, “Trust me, that wasn’t even close to dragon esqe. I can do better than that when it comes to dragons.” Her fingers messed with the medallion when she said this, leaning back onto her forearms to tilt her head up to look at the sky and the stars. It was hard to believe what stars actually were and she tilted her head to one side, considering them for a moment before looking back at him. Sam had something different planned?
Oh dear.
Salone watched his form move over to something in the distance; she couldn’t quite make it out what it was. In no time he was back over next to her and the fireworks went off with a flash, illuminating the entire area with multiple different colors. The little puff ball hissed and hid her head in Salone’s armpit while Salone herself

laid back and looked at the array of lights dancing across the sky.
She tilted her head closer to Sam as to hear him better, “It is, this is great Sam. I really appreciate it and the effort you went to for all this.”

The shifter leaned away again to get a better look at the sky.

The fireworks lasted several minutes, with the grand finale finishing it with a loud bang and array of colours. Sam was pleased with how it all went, he did not spent much time or thought on it all, and it had all worked out great with Salone being pleased with it all.

Sam stood up slowly after the cloud left behind, veered off into the distance. He grabbed some water and poured it on the dying embers of the bonfire. "Well that's it... That is all I had up my sleeve, and with that, you can go home and i can know that I showed you a good time in the end, if you have any trouble taking that cat home with you, I would be happy to keep him here, it's not much but if he followed you off the street, it had to be better than there right?" Sam picked up the little kitten off of the floor after it had snuggled around his legs, he held it close and felt its warmth through his T-Shirt, the cat seemed to like him and he liked it too, even if he couldn't keep hold of it, he knew the cat would try to come back into his house eventually seems that in his brain, this is where he can go for milk.

Salone gently corrected the gender of the animal, “He is a She and I think she likes you pretty well.”
She tilted her head back to look at him, her dark blonde hair tumbling around her head as she did so.
“I did have fun, Sam. “ Salone stood and dusted off her jeans as smoke finished hissed into the air. The kitten seemed quite infatuated with Sam’s shirt and that seemed quite funny considering the situation.
“I haven’t had this much fun in a long time,” She slid her arms around his neck and gave him a light hug as to not squish the kitten.

“Maybe I will see you again?” She asked, “If you ever figure out if you can teleport to Cali or if Penny gets a big old meeting here again.”

Salone flashed him a wide smile before backing up and her white and caramel feathery wings sprouted out again with a gust of wind. Then she was gone.
During the flight Salone’s hair whipped out of her face and she avoided several collisions with birds. Then she landed gently on her balcony outside her hotel room.

Salone stated how much fun she had and hoped to see him again sometime in the future, the odds on that happening were quite slim, he could barely teleport two people at the same time, let alone teleport across the ocean, but that gave Sam something to work for, maybe one day he will develop his powers until they allow him to teleport across countries.

In a quick flash, Salone had sprouted her wings and flown away, it was over fairly quickly and there was nothing awkward about it. Sam looked down to his newly acquired cat who was pawing at his shirt, causing several small little's holes "What are you dong?" he asked the cat in a playful voice, "I think I'll call you... Amber" he smiled to himself, the cat probably had no idea what he was talking about, but Sam liked to think that he was listening. He put the cat down on the ground and it walked back over to the milk, attempting to lick it through the glass and wondering to itself why it was not working. "Time to clear all of this up then"