Exchange PI Saving with wisdom and with brandy kegs

[Juniper Gray]

Juniper's birthday came and went without any fanfare--she hadn't really shared it, thinking it unimportant, and the fact that she was twenty-one now didn't really register. There were other things on the young tiger's mind, such as the concluding semester at school and her hectic, unstable work schedule.

Still, it wasn't too bad. She got to see the city, riding her bike hither and yon, and keeping busy seemed to be the best way to stay even-keeled and out of trouble.

Today was a rare day off, but she'd decided to get out of the apartment anyway. She had no plan when she got on her bike--the beach was open, even if it was a bit cold. There was also always something to see down in Balmoral, or up at Baxendale. She briefly considered harassing Max, but when she concentrated on their link, she sensed him out in Newton, which meant he was probably at work. Important firefighting work, to her perception, so she started toward the familiar old brownstone. Work that only seemed less important because of her familiarity with the Exchange's day to day.

Locking her bike up against the front fence, she strolled up the steps and pushed inside. Peterson was at the front desk, the field agent who'd ostensibly drawn the short straw on receptionist shifts. He knew her face and just gave her a wave as she passed before hitting play whatever he was watching on his phone.

Once inside the main bullpen, she greeted another passing agent, making a habitual beeline for the break room to check for snacks. Finding a sleeve of cookies, she started making rounds through the quiet business of the desks, chatting with the people she knew. She ended up stopping at Dune's desk for about twenty minutes, eventually dropping her bag there while she asked intrusive questions about her cool new arm. The older woman took it in good-humor, indulging the young tiger while she typed up a report. Once she was done and hit print, however, she interrupted the girl with a smile and briskly ordering her to take that, and a huge box over to the Inquisitor's office.

She balanced her sleeve of cookies on top of the file box and the newly printed report, and started off for Theo's office. Finding the door partially open, she kicked at the base of the jamb, knocking that way as she called earnestly, “Hullo, Mr. Crowhurst. Special delivery.”

[Theo Crowhurst]

The day hadn't been too busy, a momentary lull in dealing with magical morons and supernatural simpletons, allowing him to catch up on paperwork, of all things. One would think there wouldn't be much of it, being lawless vigilantes in the eyes of the police, but when their front was a legitimate private investigation firm, they still needed to file the evidence of their investigations, should someone come knocking. It helped that a significant portion of their work was just that, tracking individuals down and finding the information they needed. With a side of banishing ghosts.

Each incident needed a report anyway, so they could spot any patterns, and while Theo didn't personally go through all of them, he took his fair share. The team of agents he worked with the most were the reports he took, rougher monster encounters, emergency call-ins, and the grislier cases. He'd briefly taken to fielding the reports from the team that dealt with banishing ghosts, with some experience there, but it wasn't his preferred field of work. It wasn't so clear cut as that if an agent found themselves on a scene that needed an immediate response.

Theo shuffled one folder into the pile he'd designated the done pile, pulling up the next one and letting a snort as he saw it was one of Dune's. He braced himself for the colourful turns of phrase, a frown already furrowing his brows as he flipped it open. Although, he didn't have the chance to get too deep in his personal grievances with his agent's quirks in her report writing. The kick at his doorjamb made him look up, ready to bark out an admonishment, before he heard Juniper's words.

The Englishman sighed, lifting a hand to pinch at the bridge of his nose. “Enter,” he ordered, closing the file and pushing it to the side. “What do you have for me, Miss Gray?”

[Juniper Gray]

On his invitation, Juniper pushed the door open with the box, gentler with it than she had been with the door frame. The man was at his desk, pinching the bridge of his nose, but if that was because of her or whatever he was reading, she didn’t give it a second thought. Mr. Crowhurst always looked like that anyway.

“Nothing bad,” she assured him with a toothy grin, cheery after her bike ride. “Probably.” She didn’t know what was in the box, even as she hefted it to prop two corners on the edge of the man’s desk. Not on any papers thankfully, but it was in a position where she could slide it up into a spot where it’d send a pile askew. Fortunately, she did not do that. Still holding up the other end with one hand, she pulled the report off the top, teasing it from under the sleeve of cookies as she explained, “I was told to bring this over to you. A report, something real heavy, and… cookies I guess. If you want one.”

Just one, out of the whole sleeve. There was a limit to her generosity.

[Theo Crowhurst]

Nothing bad could mean anything, but with her tacked on 'probably' Theo judged she didn't know what was in the box. As she propped it up on his desk, he began piling the files in neater piles, shifting them off the desk so the box had space. He gestured for her to push the box further onto the desk, now that it was clear, but he huffed a laugh at the biscuits. Where'd she steal those from?

“Biscuits,” he corrected, pointedly, giving her an arch look as he reached and took one. He put it in between his teeth, feeling the crunch, and took the file with his free hand.

[Juniper Gray]

At his invitation, Juniper paused pulling out the report and pushed the box the rest of the way onto the desk with one hand. It was heavy, full of she-didn't-know-what, but the young tiger hefted it without issue.

His correction got a snicker out of the young tiger. “Oh, aye, biscuits!” she replied, badly imitating a British accent. “A bit 'o biscuits n' tea, innit?”

Grabbing the cookies, she lifted the sleeve straight to her face and carefully pulled her own out with her teeth, thusly claiming the rest of the cookies for herself. With her other hand, she handed over the file.

[Theo Crowhurst]

Whatever was in the box was a mystery, but if it was arriving by way of a courier of convenience rather than carried personally, it couldn't be urgent. The file would no doubt explain it, he thought. Dune wasn't prone to spontaneous gift giving for the big box variety.

With the biscuit in his mouth, he couldn't complain about her atrocious accent, melding... something vaguely Scottish with what passed for a mockery of cockney off of telly. He did arch a judging eyebrow at her, which encompassed both the accent and her way of eating the biscuits.

He flipped the file she'd handed him around, flipping it open to check, before snapping it shut and setting it aside. He lifted a hand and took the biscuit out of his mouth, chewing the piece he'd bitten off. He swallowed before he spoke.

“What has you darkening my doorway, other than serving as impromptu courier?”

[Juniper Gray]

Theo's judgemental eyebrow arch just made Juniper grin, displaying bits of cookie around her teeth. She knew she was being a little shit, but she was unrepentant. She didn't subject him to that for too long, though, closing her lips and then dragging her tongue over her teeth to clean them.

He wasn't telling her to get out right away, so on a whim, she sat down in one of the chairs in front of his desk, watching him flip the report open while she tongued another cookie out of the sleeve. She was still chewing when he asked his question, which meant she hastily swallowed, and subsequently coughed up a few crumbs into her lap. However, she wasn't talking with her mouth full.

“No reason. It's my day off, and I wanted to get out of the apartment,” she shared with a lighthearted grin, shrugging her narrow shoulders. “I figured I'd come by and visit you guys.”

[Theo Crowhurst]

Juniper had settled in one of the chairs opposite the desk, and Theo watched the crumbs fall. He supposed it was something he should've expected, considering how much he knew some shifters could put away.

“And eat our biscuits?” Theo said dryly, although the curl of his mouth was closer to a smirk than a frown. “Consider that the department birthday gift. Had a chance to celebrate?”

[Juniper Gray]

Grinning, Juniper tipped the sleeve of cookies up at the Inquisitor in a cheeky toast. Having expected nothing at all, calling it a birthday gift made it extra tasty. As she finally deigned to pull one out of the sleeve with her fingers, she shook her head.

“Nah,” she said breezily. “Too busy. Agent Dune offered to take me down to Barbarous for my first drink, but it's hella noisy down there.”

Also, Dune's partying style was a little too rich for Juniper's blood.

[Theo Crowhurst]

“Noisy is one word for it,” Theo murmured, looking down at his own biscuit as he took another bite. It was the sort of biscuits you found lined up neatly on grocery store shelves, the cheap brand by the colour on the packaging. Theo had yet to meet an agent who brought in anything freshly baked, but he supposed that was the nature of the job. “Did you go for drinks somewhere else, at least?”

[Juniper Gray]

Juniper's nose crinkled up in amusement at Theo's assessment of Barbarous. She wondered if he'd ever been down there, but trying to imagine the imposing glowering man in amongst the crush of dancers wasn't possible. He'd go down only in an emergency, she was sure.

The tiger bounced her shoulders in a careless shrug and shook her head. “Nah,” she said again, swallowing her cookie a little dry. “I guess... I thought about it? But I dunno where to start, you know?”

[Theo Crowhurst]

Theo quirked a smile at Juniper's words. He could imagine she found it daunting, not knowing what she liked and any bar shelf would be crowded with options. Never mind a bar in itself being daunting, as she'd judged Barbarous to be. One had to know where to find the quiet hole in the wall's that Theo favoured, even if he went to more high-end establishments at his age.

How had he learnt how best to drink? The favourites of friends and family, he recalled, the odd recommendation from a bartender when he really wanted something new. He'd settled into his likes by now, but he didn't snub trying something new.

“Ah,” he breathed, holding up a finger as he turned his office chair around to access the cupboards behind him. He shoved the remainder of his biscuit into his mouth, chewing as he reached for a lower cabinet and opened it to find a likely dram for them. What passed as his liquor cabinet in the office was not as well appointed as the one in his penthouse, but it didn't need to be. He only had a few bottles in there, many not even opened, and most near full still.

He picked out one he hadn't tried himself, the new one from Speyside distillery, turned back to Juniper. “Start exploring, I'd say, starting with whatever people recommend. This is a Benromach 21 year old,” he offered her an amused grin at that, but continued, “Want to try a dram?”

[Juniper Gray]

Juniper didn't hide her surprise at Theo's reaction, and she watched him curiously as he turned his chair about to his cabinets. The chair was quiet to human ears, well-cared-for, but she could hear oiled metal rasping against itself. As he leaned down, she craned her neck and caught sight of the bottles arrayed there.

As he pulled one out, her mouth dropped open a little, her eyes going wide. The name meant nothing to her, but the bottle looked very fancy and very expensive to her youthful eyes. She felt a mix of both trepidation and excitement that the Inquisitor might want to share a drink with her. “For real?” she blurted, not knowing what a dram was, but figuring it was a cup-full or something. “I- I mean, sure, that'd be... really cool. Unless, like, this gives me expensive taste or something,” she joked, putting her sleeve of cookies aside to scoot her chair a little closer to his desk.

[Theo Crowhurst]

It wasn't hard to see she was surprised, but Theo just grinned and thunked the bottle onto the desk, reaching behind him again for two glasses. Her incredulity had his grin widening just a smidge, finally turning back to line up the glasses in front of him. Taking the bottle again, he twisted the top, the crackle of the seal loud in the quiet office.

“It takes more than a few fingers to get a taste for whisky, so I think you're in no danger of that just yet,” Theo pointed out with a low laugh, tipping only a finger into each glass for a taste. That done, he put the bottle aside and picked up both glasses, offering one out to her.

[Juniper Gray]

Curious as ever, Juniper continued to watch Theo as he worked, grinning widening when she heard the bottle crackle open. Her sensitive nose picked up the fragrance that exuded from the narrow neck--not too unfamiliar, but nothing she'd ever personally tasted before. Her eyes tracked his hands, watching as he arranged the glasses and poured just a bit into each.

The Inquisitor's laugh loosened her up a bit, even if she was so surprised she could've fallen out of her chair. Her silence probably gave that away, no pithy or stupid comment following his reasonable reply. Instead, she huffed a little, and then when he offered her the drink, she reached out with both hands, one cupping beneath the base. With intense concentration, Juniper held it gingerly, like it was either a baby or a live grenade, or both, as she lifted it to get a better whiff of the alcohol.

It was pleasant but potent. It was a warm smell, smoke-like and fruity, and tempting to drink, but she waited. Theo was the cue, and she lifted her intent gaze to watch him, observing carefully how he might drink. Or sip. Or slam it back, perhaps? She had no idea.

[Theo Crowhurst]

Juniper was quiet for once, but Theo could see how closely she was watching him. The slight twitch to her nose made him wonder if she wasn't picking up the smell of the whisky, the nuances his human nose couldn't pick up without having his nose in a full glass of the stuff. The way she cupped the tumbler when he handed it over to her amused him, but he wisely kept quiet about it, holding his in a far more ordinary way.

“This kind of whisky you sip,” Theo informed her, tone warm and pleased as he raised the glass to swirl the liquid underneath his nose. Now, he caught the more complex notes, taking his time to breathe it in. He savoured it for a moment, before finally taking a sip, giving Juniper an amused glance over the rim.

[Juniper Gray]

Watching Theo as closely as she was, Juniper picked up the way his demeanor softened. Catching a what seemed to be rare glimpse of the Inquisitor relaxing into taking a drink he clearly enjoyed was fascinating to the girl, but she decided not to comment on that. She didn't want to draw attention to it, in case he'd stop. Instead, she adjusted her grip on the glass, picking up on less neurotic way he held it.

His straightforward comment about the drink being something you sipped helped immensely, and Juniper laughed, a little embarrassed. It was like he'd read her mind. “Glad you said that,” she muttered, genuinely taking note as she finally looked away from the man and down at the glass. She took a conscious sniff of it again, and had to turn her sensitive nose away from the full force of the fumes. Shaking her head and recovering quickly, she held her breath and tipped it back just enough to let the liquid touch her top lip and get a bit into her mouth.

As might be expected, her expression pinched and and puckered as the liquid seemed to burn in her mouth and twist up into her nostrils. Swallowing quickly, she wheezed, “Oh, that's- Wow, okay.” Eyes tearing up, she looked up at Theo with an incredulous expression that said 'and you sip this?'

[Theo Crowhurst]

The Englishman smirked at Juniper's embarrassed laugh, but he kept mum as she seemed to investigate the glass with equal parts trepidation and suspicion. Her reacting to the smell–he had to assume it was that, with her little turn and head shake–made him wonder how it smelled to such an enhanced nose as hers. Not good, if he recalled his own juvenile thoughts when he'd first tried it. The alcohol had seemed to burn his nose, near acrid, but he'd grown to like it now.

When she did take a sip, Theo was almost braced for her reaction, even as he relaxed into a second sip of his own. At the twist of her expression, pinching and puckering like she'd tasted something foul, he barely held back a low laugh. Her wheeze encouraged it, but he kept it quiet, deep in his chest, more a rumble than the wild laughter Juniper indulged in. Her teary eyed look of incredulity only had him laughing more.

He lowered his glass, keeping it steady on the desk, as he grinned at her. “Not to your taste?” Theo said through his rumbling laughter.

[Juniper Gray]

It was impossible to miss his laugh, which was rare enough on its own, but now it was directed at her! Juniper's expression twisted with mild mortification, heat creeping up the back of her neck, while a helpless smile fought its way onto her face. She couldn't be stoic about this, much as she wanted to.

“It's-” She lifted a hand to coughed softly as speaking caused air to move over her tortured throat and nasal cavity. Swallowing a few more times, she managed, “It smells so much better than it tastes!”

[Theo Crowhurst]

Theo cut off his laugh when he saw that flash of mortification, not wanting to laugh at her. He was still smiling, but he softened it, just a tad. Enough that she got that he wasn't making fun of her, hopefully. He gave her a moment, sipping as she coughed and recovered from the burn.

“I remember thinking the same when one of my sisters tricked me into downing a shot of the stuff,” Theo shared, smiling a little as he shared. He'd fared far worse than Junie, he recalled.

[Juniper Gray]

“A whole shot!” Juniper gasped, theatrically sticking her tongue out and crinkling up her nose at the idea. “She didn't warn you that it's for sipping and all?” Juniper could guess why--that seemed like a sibling thing to do.

Despite herself and all her protests, Juniper absently lifted the drink to her mouth again, apparently quite done with the ordeal. Chatting, rather than just sampling it while under observation, distracted her enough from the monumental effort of forcing herself to take another sip. Her face crinkled up again, but she didn't gag nearly so much this time.