[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/FaCzAxe.png[/img]     [img]https://i.imgur.com/1Hvat1r.png[/img]
[h1]& Henri Han[/h1] [img]https://i.imgur.com/CIgUv1W.png[/img][/center]
[right][code]Friday, October 27th. 6:14pm. Portland International Airport -> Linqian’s Car[/code][/right][hr]
Portland International Airport was as busy as could be expected on a Friday night. People milled around waiting for others to get off planes, while travellers quickly walked from A to B to get wherever they needed to. It was loud, constant tannoy announcements ringing through the overly bright arrivals area.

Linqian stood to the side, leaning against the wall with her arms folded. Sunglasses covered her eyes, to hide the dark bags underneath them, and watched the arrival exit doors intently. She'd driven hours to get here after finishing work at midnight the night before. She was exhausted and cranky and just wanted to get home. This was not how she'd wanted to spend her day off. 

But of course, half an hour after the flight had landed and still no sign of Henri. She could've left later. She should've assumed that the luggage collection would take a fucking age! Hell, even if it didn't she could've made him wait. It wasn't like he had anything to do right now, while she had way too much.

Yet here she was, unnecessarily waiting. 

She took a deep breath, pushing down her irritation. The last thing she wanted to do was take it out on Henri. It wasn't his fault. None of this was. He was coming back because he was struggling and she'd be supportive (but wasn't she struggling too?). He was the one person she really tried to control her temper around... Outside of situations where she was getting paid.

"Jie!"

Linqian’s gaze moved over to the source of the far too energetic voice. Henri was half jogging towards her, with two massive suitcases pulled behind him. His dark curls were an absolute mess, falling over his eyes. He was wearing a baggy hoodie and jeans. Not that she’d expected him to dress up, but he could at least wear a coat when it was so cold out.

"You been waiting long?"

[i][color=CD5C5C]"No,"[/color][/i] Linqian lied, easily slipping into Chinese. It had been frustrating having to only speak English recently - it had always been the case, but before she'd had Jinhai at home to talk in their mother tongue. It was much easier to express herself in it. [i][color=CD5C5C]"The traffic was bad so it worked out well."[/color][/i]

"Oh, that's good. I thought you might be waiting a while. It took ages to get my bags."

Linqian shook her head before indicating for him to follow her. [i][color=CD5C5C]”Come on, let's go.”[/color][/i]

She grabbed one of his suitcases, grimacing at the weight of it. Her arm muscles strained to drag it along behind her as she led Henri out of the airport and to the carpark. They walked past rows of parked cars before reaching the car she'd gotten from Edict. It had been a bit of a dilemma this morning deciding which one to bring - she didn't particularly want her brother in one that almost definitely had dodgy origins, but she'd used it more the past week thanks to her plans to let Henri use the one from Leon. In the end she'd chosen her driving comfort over her slight worries. As long as she didn't get into an accident it should be fine. She unlocked it and popped open the trunk, lugging the suitcase up into it.

"Wow," Henri whistled. "Nice car. How did you afford that, Jie?"

[i][color=CD5C5C]"It was provided by work."[/color][/i] Linqian shrugged. Technically not a lie. [i][color=CD5C5C]"That new job I said about, remember? And come on, it's just a car."[/color][/i]

"It's amazing compared to the piece of crap you used to drive," Henri retorted, flashing her a shit eating grin. 

[i][color=CD5C5C]”Shut it and get in,”[/color][/i] Linqian rolled her eyes, but there was very little bite to her words. Henri wordlessly grinned, shoving his other suitcase in the trunk and getting into the passenger seat. 

"Sooooo can we-"

[i][color=CD5C5C]”No.”[/color] [/i]Linqian didn't even let her brother finish as she pulled out of the parking space, making her way towards the barrier to exit the parking lot... And unwillingly digging out the fucking insane amount she had to pay for less than an hour there. 

"You didn't even let me finish."

[i][color=CD5C5C]”I don't need to.”[/color][/i]

"C'mon, Jie, I just wanted to ask if we could go to McDonalds or something on the way home."

[i][color=CD5C5C]”Are you paying?”[/color][/i] Linqian side eyed him. [i][color=CD5C5C]”We've got food at home. You saying you don't like my cooking?”[/color][/i]

"Noooo. But it's late, are you really gonna cook when we get home? I'm hungry now."

[i][color=CD5C5C]”Here.”[/color][/i] Linqian reached into the back and chucked a plastic bag onto Henri's lap while at a red light. She flipped off the car behind her that pressed down his horn like she'd done the worst shit by not starting as soon as the light turned green. [i][color=CD5C5C]”That'll tide you over. Don't pretend you've been eating at reasonable times recently, anyway. I've seen all your purchases.”[/color][/i]

"You're the best." Henri dug into one of the bao she'd packed. He practically devoured it before reaching for another. 

Linqian rolled her eyes, even as the corner of her lips tugged up into a doting smile. There was nothing she loved more than feeding her brother. She remembered when he was younger and had eyes bigger than his stomach, devouring a whole plate of bao and then complaining about a bellyache for the rest of the day. It'd been so cute. 

[i][color=CD5C5C]”While you can't escape, let's go over some ground rules.”[/color][/i]

"Jie," Henri groaned around a mouthful of food. "Cmon, I'm an adult."

[i][color=CD5C5C]"An adult relying on my money,"[/color][/i] Linqian rolled her eyes. She gestured to the bao he was eating with one hand. [i][color=CD5C5C]"Eating my food. No rules, no food."[/color][/i]

"Are you blackmailing me, Jie? Was this a trap?! Please, anything but that!" He gasped dramatically, clutching his chest. "I've barely survived without it... Fine, I'll follow your rules."

[i][color=CD5C5C]"Good. First, you need to help around the house. Cook for yourself when I'm working over dinner, help with cleaning and do your own laundry. Nothing much. Second, no having people round without asking me. Third, back home by midnight unless you let me know. Fourth, I know this is a break but... I don't want you just wasting it. Either you keep up your studies a bit or..."[/color][/i] She trailed off, frowning. Should she really tell him to get a part time job? He was taking the time out of college because he was struggling. It wouldn't be fair to throw him into the world of work while dealing with grief. She just couldn't do that to him. She'd already been supporting him thus far, so why change things? He'd get one if he wanted to. [i][color=CD5C5C]"Get grief therapy. I'll pay for it."[/color][/i]

Henri gulped down his good, before replying. "Alright. I'll do all of that... I mean, you think too little of me! I've been living independently the past few months!"

[i][color=CD5C5C]”Yeah, and when we visited your place was an absolute dump.”[/color][/i]

"It wasn't," Henri whined, like the petulant child he no longer was. "You just came at the wrong time. I was gonna clean the next day, honest."

[i][color=CD5C5C]”Do you really think you can lie to me? I practically raised you, I can tell when you're lying... so don't even think about shirking your duties now you've moved back.”[/color][/i]

"I won't, I won't." 

Henri dug back into the food, and a comfortable silence settled between them. Linqian reached over to turn on the radio, putting it to a low volume so it was just background music. Her stomach lightly growled but she ignored it, and Henri didn't hear it. He was too busy eating all of the food she'd brought... For both of them. Ah well. That was on her for not making more. She should've remembered how big his appetite was. 

"That was so good, I'm stuffed," Henri grunted, leaning back and holding his stomach. Linqian laughed lightly. Yeah, it was alright. Just seeing him content made her feel full. "Oh! Uncle Andre said to come round when we got in."

[i][color=CD5C5C]”I'll drop you off, then, and you can get the bus home.”[/color][/i]

"He specified both of us."

[i][color=CD5C5C]”Is he paying me to be there?”[/color][/i]

"No he's not gonna pay you, but c'mon, it's like seeing family!"

[i][color=CD5C5C]”It's really not, I work for him."[/color][/i] Though she'd slept with her other boss so she wasn't exactly an example of stellar professionalism. [i][color=CD5C5C]"I'll pick you up after, take it or leave it.”[/color][/i]

Henri pouted. "Alright."

There was a moment of blissful silence when Henri pulled out his phone and started texting. She concentrated on driving, the fervent tapping beside her less annoying than half the things that came out of her brother's mouth. She loved him, but he was an absolute pain sometimes. He either didn't think before he spoke, or said things to purposefully piss her off.

"Sooo," Henri put down his phone, grinning at Linqian and leaning in her direction. "You found anyone special now that you've seen your old friends?"

Case in point.

[i][color=CD5C5C]”No.”[/color] [/i]If Linqian didn't have to keep her eyes on the road she would've been shooting him her harshest glare right now. Instead she could only glare at the car in front of her, imagining it was her brother. [i][color=CD5C5C]”Do you really think now is the time?”[/color][/i]

"Well why not? It's been so long! You need to find someone, settle down, be happy."

[i][color=CD5C5C]”Oh, and why is my younger, barely an adult brother lecturing me on this? I don't think it's any of your business.”[/color][/i]

"Because time is running out! Soon- ow! You shouldn't hit someone while driving!"

[i][color=CD5C5C]”I still had one hand on the steering wheel,”[/color][/i] Linqian replied drily, having just slapped the back of his head. [i][color=CD5C5C]”I'll hit you again if you keep talking like that. Do you think I'm old? I'm only twenty six."[/color][/i]

"Nooo, but you said having kids is something you always wanted! Why aren't you just going for it?"

[i][color=CD5C5C]"Do you think I can't have children past thirty? I don't have the time or money... Are you going to babysit for me if I have some now?”[/color][/i]

"Of course! I'll be the coolest uncle for your kid! I can't wait! I bet they'll be the cutest... Oh I hope they take after their father, rather than you. Then they'll be so cute and not angry."

[i][color=CD5C5C]”Shut up before I kick you out of the car. Don't start making up fantasies as if I'm about to have one.”[/color][/i] Linqian rolled her eyes, tempted to smack him round the back of the head again. [i][color=CD5C5C]”Anyway, I already have you, I don't have the energy for another kid... why are we even talking about this?”[/color][/i]

"Hey, hey, I'm an adult. Don't let me influence your decision."

It was like everything she said went in one ear and out the other. [i][color=CD5C5C]”Do you think I'm putting my whole life on hold for you?”[/color][/i] She was, but she would never tell him that. [i][color=CD5C5C]”I really regret telling you that I wanted children one day... anyway, why do you want to know if I found someone?”[/color][/i]

"Cause you haven't been with anyone since Marcus... It's been three years! I'm just concerned! I thought when you met with your old friends, maybe sparks would fly... A flame would reignite! The way you and Ge always talked about them made it seem like a possibility."

Yeah, because they'd had to take out a lot of the details when discussing it around their Blind brother and they rarely discussed the bad around him. It had been much easier to explain as a group of friends who were there for each other than going through all the details with him. Of course, now that was coming back to bite her in the ass. 

[i][color=CD5C5C]”You just want something to gossip with your friends about, don't you?”[/color][/i]

"No... Well, one of them did ask if you're single."

[i][color=CD5C5C]”Not for him.”[/color][/i]

"I already rejected it. But Jie, you're not still hung up on that scumbag, are you? Is that why you keep tryna change the subject?"

[i][color=CD5C5C]”Of course not.”[/color][/i]

"Good. I swear you should've killed him back then."

[i][color=CD5C5C]”That would be exerting too much energy on him.”[/color][/i]

"I could've done it for you! I'm real good with a gun, remember when we went to the shooting range and I did best out of all of us?"

[i][color=CD5C5C]”Sure, letting my fourteen year old brother murder my ex would have been a great look. I slapped him twice, anyway, that was satisfying enough.”[/color][/i]

"I don't think it was! You should have slapped him for every girl he cheated on you with! How many was it? Six?"

[i][color=CD5C5C]”You remember it far better than you should.”[/color][/i]

"Cause that piece of shit hurt you so much, I'd never seen you cry before til he'd-"

[i][color=CD5C5C]”Can we not talk about this?”[/color][/i] Linqian interrupted, feeling her stress levels rising. The last thing she wanted to talk about was her serial cheater ex. There was plenty that had happened in the lead up to her finding out he was cheating that she has kept from Henri, and some even from Jinhai, that made her feel sick just thinking about him. It was not a conversation she wanted to have with anyone, especially her younger brother. [i][color=CD5C5C]”He's in the past. I'm over it. I just don't have time for a relationship right now.”[/color] [/i]

It wasn't true, of course it wasn't. He'd done too much to her for her to just be over it. Bianca had been the relationship she didn't want to lose, but he'd been the one to ruin relationships for her. How could she open herself up like that again?

She gritted her teeth. This was like she didn't like talking about it, or even thinking about it. Her chest tightened as she tried to suppress the ugly memories it brought back. Her hands clenched around the steering wheel. Fuck. 

[i][color=CD5C5C]”Let's talk about you instead of me. How was the leaving thing your friends threw for you?”[/color][/i]

Once he started, Henri didn't stop talking. Linqian was thankful for it - she just had to listen to him getting increasingly excited about increasingly random subjects, with the occasional agreement or snide comment. She could just concentrate on driving and listening. No thinking about anything else. 

There was still discomfort squeezing her chest, but she could ignore it. Just like she did for everything without an immediate explosive or icy solution. She ignored it.
[hr][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/FaCzAxe.png[/img]     [img]https://i.imgur.com/1Hvat1r.png[/img]
[h1]Henri Han & Andre Makoumbou[/h1][/center]
[right][b]Interactions:[/b] None
[code]Tuesday, October 31st, 4:37pm. Le Tournesol[/code][/right][hr]
Le Tournesol was unusually quiet for this time of the evening.

The lighting was dim, with the raucous laughter of two young men echoing around the place. Andre was sitting at the bar, going through the books, and Linqian was behind it tidying up. She kept glancing over at the two laughing - Henri and Andre's younger son, Louis - with a frown. Henri had followed her all the way to working that morning, disappearing with Louis for a while before hanging around for her entire shift. While she was thankful he was under Andre's extra watchful eye and she wouldn't need to worry about him tonight, she really didn't like him being there the whole time she was working. She loved him, but he was incredibly annoying when she was trying to work.

The bar was closing for most of the evening - there was no point staying open for the duration of the Halloween festival, when everyone would be on Cracker Island. Instead it would reopen afterwards to catch the drunken stragglers who were still out. Thankfully Linqian didn't have to work then. Working up until the early closing had been enough of a pain. At least she'd gotten a shit ton of tips today and yesterday thanks to all sorts of tourists coming to the city.

With another sigh, Linqian put down the last dirty glass to dry. Everything was tidied up for a short close, and put in order for those doing the later shift. 

[color=CD5C5C]”I'm going to get changed,”[/color] she said offhandedly to Andre, putting down a dish towel and heading into the room at the back that served as a break room. It was small, with a table pushed up in one corner and chairs dotted about. There were shitty lockers on one wall for them to put their stuff while working. Linqian put in the key for hers and shoved her shoulder in it so that it would open.

There was a bunch of stuff in it that the coworker she shared it with had left, and her bag. Linqian took off her apron and dumped it in the back. She then slammed the locker back shut.

She didn't have all that long to get ready for the Halloween festival.

Thankfully her Halloween "costume" was mostly normal clothes she could get away with at work. She wore an off the shoulder, white ruffle blouse with long, loose sleeves. On the bottom half she wore a poofy, red skirt over a frilly white petticoat that fell midway down her calf. On top of it all was a black, underbust corset - which she tightened now to accentuate her figure rather than allowing her to breath while working. Low heeled, black boots finished the relatively normal look off.

Linqian squatted down and rummaged through her over the shoulder, plain black bag to pull out the final piece - a hooded, bright red cloak that fell to her knees. She'd never admit that it was made from an old bed sheet and a couple of hours of hand sewing that had resulted in multiple finger pricks and her nearly punching a hole in her wall. Her blood was definitely still on it somewhere. 

Now that she was done with, she finally had time to think about last night… and the weird fucking dream she’d had right before waking up late. In the rush to get to work after she’d barely considered it, but now? Yeah, it was on her mind. She was used to strange dreams nowadays, barely going a night without something, but this one was beyond that. Some random girl she didn’t know, some kind of warning… And those fucking murals. She couldn’t get the one of a small snake bursting out of someone’s stomach out of her head. It was just disturbing. She really didn't want to think about it, but felt she had to. If it was a warning then she shouldn't just ignore it. But warning her of what? Some girl she'd never met? It had said she'd caused all her problems... She somehow doubted Raven Jones was the reason she was in a bunch of debt and barely making ends meet. But Jinhai's death, perhaps?

Linqian groaned. She didn't have the time to consider it too deeply right now. She had to finishing getting ready or she'd be late. She went into the staff bathroom to touch up her makeup, grimacing at the face staring back at her. It was difficult to hide the dark bags under her eyes even with concealer… But she put more on anyway, and an extra dash of red eyeshadow which she’d swept across her eyes. Her dark red lipstick was fixed. Her hair was tied into two low ponytails, just behind her ears, with the curls cascading down her shoulders - a bit messier than it had been that morning, but good enough. 

There were a couple of faded marks across her neck and upper chest that weren't quite covered by the cloak. The guy she'd hooked up with on Saturday had gone way over the top with it, she'd needed it too much to just stop over a minor issue. She wasn't normally bothered by a couple, but this many brought up questions and that was just tiring as fuck. Thankfully a scarf had mostly covered them... And they were faded enough by today that she really didn't care enough to cover them. If someone paid attention to them, that was on them. 

Satisfied, she grabbed her bag and went back out into the bar. She made her way over to her brother and Louis, preparing to give Henri a long winded speech about not being a little shit in public. 

"Whoa, Jie," Henri exaggeratedly widened his eyes, mouth falling open. "You look almost exactly the same as before!"

Louis sniggered beside him. Linqian glared at them both, considering if she had time to give her brother a good beating before leaving. Probably not. 

[color=CD5C5C]”Like you’ve put in much effort,”[/color] Linqian raised an eyebrow. Henri was dressed as Luigi, with a bought outfit and terrible stick on moustache, while the slightly shorter (at 6’) Louis was Mario, with an equally as terrible stick on moustache. [color=CD5C5C]”At least I put in some.”[/color]

“But I look good, right?” Henri struck a silly pose with his hands on his hips. He looked ridiculous between the baggy overalls and the stuck on moustache. 

Linqian bit back laughter. [color=CD5C5C]”Good for an Italian plumber I suppose, but it’s really not flattering. Especially this,”[/color] she gestured to above her lip. [color=CD5C5C]”It doesn’t suit you. Never grow one. And the outfit? Its-”[/color]

"Linqian, come over here for a moment," Andre interrupted before she could continue to rip into Henri, beckoning her over.

She rolled her eyes, but made her way over to the bar, leaning against it and raising an eyebrow at him. [color=CD5C5C]”Yes? I'm off the clock, this better be good.”[/color]

Andre chuckled, entirely used to and unbothered by her attitude. He slid a stack of business cards over to her, and a fifty dollar bill. "If you agree to hand these out at the festival I'll give you 20 dollars now, and another 30 if you get rid of them all."

Linqian narrowed her eyes at the cards suspiciously, picking one up to read it. The bar's name was printed in delicate text in the middle, with an address underneath. On the back were the words '2 for 1 on the first drink.' It was a good deal, and one that would bring customers in and make them money as they bought more drinks beyond the deal. It would advertise them to tourists too. Linqian could already picture how busy it would be, and how fucking stressful her next few shifts were going to be.

And fifty dollars was pretty generous for just handing out cards. 

[color=CD5C5C]"Let me take a couple of cans of beer with me and it's a deal."[/color]

Andre considered it, before nodding. "Fine. Nothing too expensive."

Having got a bit extra out of it, Linqian smiled and pocketed the cards. She then went behind the bar and pulled out six cans of assorted brand beer - Bud Light, Stella and Heineken. It wouldn't be missed, since the place was pretentious enough to have a couple of craft beers on offer and plenty of other mediocre ones on tap. She shoved them into her bag, on top of the tupperware already in there. 

With that done, she walked back over to Henri and Louis, fixing her brother with her best warning glare. Beside him and Louis, both over six foot, she looked tiny - even with the slight heels boosting her height a bit. It made her frustratingly unintimidating.

[color=CD5C5C]”Don't cause any trouble,”[/color] Linqian craned her head back to look up at her brother with a frown. [color=CD5C5C]”Stick with Louis, and let me know when you’re heading home. Don’t try doing anything dangerous. No loitering or affecting other people’s night. And don’t even fucking think about disturbing my night unless its something important, got it?”[/color]

[color=CD5C5C]”And you,”[/color] she turned to Louis, pointing a finger at him. [color=CD5C5C]”Don't you dare buy him any drinks. I refuse to pick up my brother from the police station for underage drinking.”[/color]

“Yeah, yeah, got it, I’m not a kid!” Henri complained.

“I’ll keep him out of a jail cell,” Louis snorted. He then glanced between the two of them and made some excuse about having to talk to his dad, going over to Andre at the bar. 

“Jiejie,” Henri started, in the whiny tone he used when he wanted something. It had worked when he was five, but not so much now that he was eighteen. "Can I go with you?"

[color=CD5C5C]"No way. You agreed to go with Louis and his friends." [/color]

“But I’ve never met them. I’d rather hang out with you… and meet your friends!”

Linqian frowned. Normally she'd give into every whim her brother had after a bit of grumbling, but she really didn't want him around the coven members. Ugh. They were the last people she wanted him to meet right now. She purposefully asked Edict if he’d go with her so she had an excuse to not go with Henri, and avoid the risk of him meeting any of them. She [i]definitely[/i] couldn’t let Henri come along because of that. Getting into Henri’s mind, Blind as he was, would be child’s play for Edict. No way was she allowing that. 

[color=CD5C5C]”The answer’s still no. You need to make friends here, and [i]I[/i] need some time with mine without my little brother tagging along.”[/color] Not that she was meeting many friends. Just the one… if that even counted as a friendship? Eh, she wasn’t going to think too hard about it. She was sure they'd bump into others during the night.

“Then can I have a bit of extra money for the festival?”

The corner of Linqian’s mouth twitched down. No. She should just say no. She’d already given him money, and it was only fair she had some to enjoy herself tonight. Surely she deserved that? But she’d already rejected Henri. It was difficult for him right now, the least she could do was give him a little extra to have fun.

Linqian held out the twenty dollar note she’d just received. 

Grinning, Henri snatched it from her fingers. “Thanks, Jie, you’re the best.”

[color=CD5C5C]”Yeah yeah, whatever,”[/color] Linqian waved him away. [color=CD5C5C]”Remember, keep out of trouble.”[/color] 

She didn’t wait for his response, leaving the bar to head towards the port. 
[hr][right][b]Interactions:[/b] Edict [@AtomicEmperor]
[code]The Harbour[/code][/right][hr]
The harbour was absolutely heaving.

Linqian had expected it, what with all the tourists and free ferries to the island, but that didn’t mean she was happy about it. The thought of waiting over where it was absolutely packed did not appeal. Just looking at all the people made her want a smoke.

Maybe she could have one while waiting. She moved a little away from the waterfront itself, going down a few buildings and finding a wall to lean on. There was still plenty of time until the ferry they’d agreed to meet for, and if they had to get the next one she wouldn’t be all that bothered. 

She pulled out her box of cigarettes and lighter from the handy pockets in her skirt. The packet opened to reveal there was only one cigarette left. Linqian sighed. After this, she’d try quit to save money. She’d been so close before, cutting down to only one or two a week, and then Jinhai had died. Just like that she was right back to it. Fuck, it would be a nightmare to do, but if she thought about it in terms of money saved… Yeah. She had to try. 

Linqian felt more relaxed with a lit cigarette between her lips. It helped her to destress after work and turn off the customer service side of her brain. This was her time now… outside of handing out a few cards. Which would be annoying as fuck to do while going around with Edict. Ah well, if she didn’t manage it was only a loss of thirty bucks. Thirty bucks that she could use- fuck, relaxing! She wasn’t going to worry about that all tonight.

Linqian [url=https://i.imgur.com/Foxf6i6.png]leaned against the wall with her foot up against it, cigarette in between her fingers.[/url] She shoved a hand in her other skirt pocket and pulled out her phone to text Edict about exactly where she was so he could find her easily. 
[hr][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/HcezpUA.png[/img][/center][hr]
Hopefully he wouldn’t pop up out of nowhere to snatch her cigarette and throw it away. She put her phone back away, staring out across the sea front and raising the cigarette back to her lips.