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Who: Jo and the people she invites to stay with her.
Where: Her house which is also the Continuing Hope Art Gallery
When: Sunday - Monday - Tuesday (all three days can get clumped into this one post. Just put the day in your subject!)
What: Duh. People have been locked out of the castle. This is because of that.
Notes: Sunday, we will assume she invited people in their own journals or they knew they had a standing invitation to stay if things went crazy. Those people, I've oocly contacted. On Monday, she will be making a journal entry opening up space in the gallery. She didn't want to do it if it was just a one-day thing. So if you want your character to get some CR with Jo, or anyone you see tagging into this post - feel free to throw a Monday or a Tuesday up in this post and direct someone toward it! You can reply to their comment with an OOC note or just send them a PM. None of us bite and we want more CR! -- also -- 3rd person narrative OR [commentspam] are okay by me.

It was... weird. Well, not as weird as hearing that before she had arrived in the castle no one had been actually "arriving" for a month. That had been around Christmas, nearly two years ago, and that was when apparently people were moving to the city convinced that they were 'from' the city. So far, it didn't sound like the stories she'd heard from those days. If anything this just felt like the castle was having her time of the month and didn't want anyone to touch her.

Or, maybe the castle was tired of everyone saying that it was a horrible place to be. The damn thing seemed to have a mind of its own, why not feelings too? Whatever was wrong with it, there were leaves piled up, people stuck outside and a lot of residents not feeling exactly welcome in a place that had kidnapped them.

That was the most ironic thought of the day.

Jo had a few friends that she knew would show up if they needed a place to crash, so she spent most of the early morning hours making sure she had clean towels and that the pull-out couch had clean sheets on it. Lucky for anyone staying with her, she'd gone grocery shopping the other day -- it had been on her list of things to do along with the inventory for the Lux -- and so her fridge was just fine. Besides, she assumed that this wasn't going to be a week-long thing.

Well, she hoped it wasn't going to be a week-long thing.

For the moment, Jo was just wondering what she was going to do with her time. It had been a while since she'd had a day off from the Lux. Not since... before the pirates. When her bar was destroyed. Man, she really hopes her bar isn't destroyed.

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Jet, who's own bottle was still half full, thought he could tell that there was something a little off with Spike. It had always been difficult to put a finger on, but after years of getting to know Spike on the ship, he had at least begun to decipher the Spike code. He hadn't been paying too close attention, but he may have noticed a glance one or twice.

"Something eating you, Spike?" he asked, having gotten relatively comfortable in Jo's chair.

Of course, Spike might have gotten away with it if it weren't for Jet being there. His comment was enough to momentarily bring him back to the present.

"Just wondering what's going on at the castle." As far as lies go, that one was fairly blatant. No matter what the castle did, Spike couldn't bring himself to worry about what it was planning. (He should, but old habits...) "This is probably the first stage."

Julia, for her part, had taken to doing her best to pretend that nothing about this was awkward. And, in fact, to all but the most shrewd observer, she was doing a masterful job at it. Standing by the window on the opposite side of the room with a drink in hand, she appeared almost completely and perfectly composed.

There was only one thing to give her away. Every so often, she'd let her eyes wander across the room, stealing a covert glance at a certain someone over there before quickly shifting her attention away again. It was subtle, but if someone were to pay attention long enough, they'd see a systematic pattern. And that systematic pattern was enough to show that she wasn't being as subtle as she thought she was.

It was during one of these moments that Jet spoke up; her gaze had been focused on the wrong thing at the wrong time. She attempted a quick cover by busying herself with her drink and returning her attention to something going on outside of the window, pretending not to listen to the ensuing conversation.

Jet grew skeptical, and the word was probably written across his forehead. Although there may have been some reason to take Spike's word. After all, the castle was in plain view through the window that that pretty blonde was looking through.

"You mean you're not used to this sort of thing by now?" he quipped, a wry smirk on his face as he lifted his bottle to his lips again.

The funny part is that he really should be. Given his history, he was nearly convinced the place was run by someone who had a personal grudge against him. It wasn't the first time he'd thought it.

One more glance up to the other side of the room, then a second later he replied. "Yeah. You could already tell that's not anything new."

Jet leaned back in his chair, catching that glance. Once or twice was one thing, but more than that and he had to grow curious. He took a look behind him, catching sight of the woman.

"Why don't you go talk to her?" he asked, hooking a thumb over his shoulder in her general direction.

Pretending always had its limits. No matter how practiced one seemed at the art, how convincing their mask had gotten through years of intensive use, everyone had a breaking point.

And Julia was just about to hit hers.

It was too much all at once. Every time she felt that gaze on her, it chipped away at her composed facade just a little bit more. She'd been coming into this at a distinct disadvantage, after all; the events of the previous night had hardly given her enough time to recoup and rebuild her armor. Weakened, vulnerable, she couldn't really think of a time she'd ever been more unprepared for something.

If she stayed in this room for another second, she might honestly go insane.

Setting her glass down on the windowsill, she quietly slipped out of the room for a much-needed smoke break.

If it was one thing Spike hated (and it wasn't) it was being obvious. Still, even after a comment like that, he wasn't about to acknowledge anything. This wasn't a schoolboy crush he was making eyes at from across the room -- and the fact that she was staying firmly across the room said something about how their last few talks had gone. There was a measured pause once she left the room before he finally looked at Jet.

"Talk to who?" There was a small hint of tension when he asked, but that was to be expected when the entirety of his pathetic story was so close to being outed. Especially with Jo in hearing range. They couldn't get drunk fast enough.

Jo chuckled, mostly to herself, but she glanced up to Spike, "Pretty sure he's talking about Julia. Who, before tonight, I didn't even realize you guys knew. If I had, I would've warned someone. Possibly her."

There was a lot of amusement in her tone, even though she assumed this wasn't a very funny conversation. Though, honestly, of all the people Jo could've befriended -- the fact that she seemed to be circling this crowd was funny to her.

"I think with the level of avoidance in the room, there's a lot that's unknown here." Yes. Jo had some drinks. Yes. They were making her mouth open a bit easier.

Well, that was a name Jet hadn't heard in a while. Although, come to think of it, it wasn't quite that long. "Julia?" he asked, putting the pieces of this jagged jigsaw puzzle into place. "That's Julia?"

He thought that maybe when he'd spoken to a Julia through the journal that it was just a coincidence. But there was something about the way Jo mentioned her name. Familiar, as if everyone knew her. It was the catalyst to his thinking.

He was always the last to figure out these things, wasn't he?

"Small world..." he said, more to himself than to anyone else.

Spike didn't reply, to either of them, which was a reply enough in itself. Faced with looming interrogation, he did what he always did. He downed what remained of his drink, stood up, and headed for the door -- except he picked the one in the opposite direction. It was a good thing he knew his way around the entrances to the place.

So what if that made him a melodramatic house guest, or that neither of them deserved to get cut off. There were some things they were worth being spared from.

Jet sat, watching As Spike made his exit, then turned to Jo. "Something I should know about?" he asked tentatively. It felt like something private, that should be left alone, yet he also felt like everyone knew something about it but him. Jet didn't like to be left in the dark, so questions seemed like the best option.

Jo exhaled, through her nose as she thought about it, frowning a bit.

"I'm not really sure. I just know that Julia showed up recently and around that time Spike got a bit distant. I figured something happened, I just -- I'm not really sure what it is."

Her brow furrowed, and she shifted her weight a bit, "Maybe it's something from back home. I know how that can be." There were always secrets with the Winchesters and she was pretty sure that transferred over here.

"I'm gonna go talk to him, I'll be back." Jo moved past him and headed back down the stairs to see if she could catch up with him.

Jet wondered what had transpired between those two to have made them so distant. Back home, the mere utterance of the name Julia had sent Spike into a fit of unexplained passion. In fact, it had almost earned Spike a one-way-ticket off Jet's ship. Now that they'd found each other, here of all places, what was making them so distant?

He had half a mind to go talk to Julia. He wanted some kind of explanation for this. He took another sip from his glass, thinking it over before finally standing, wandering off to go find the other blonde.

One cigarette had suddenly turned into two. The leaves were starting to accumulate, but it didn't appear that the woman standing outside particularly cared much about that. She was a woman lost in her own thoughts (that distracted, vacant look in her eyes would betray her as being mentally being miles away), a woman slowly beginning to unravel at the ends.

No, she wasn't really planning on going back inside anytime soon. At least out here, she still had a shot.

Jet walked casually, although it was apparent that there was purpose behind his locomotion. When he found the woman that Spike had been eyeing the whole evening, he stood a few feet from her, lighting his own cigarette. It wasn't until after a few puffs that he finally spoke.

"It wasn't a coincidence after all, was it?"

If hearing another voice nearby had surprised her (which, for the record, it did), she didn't show it. Her eyes were fixed on some unknown spot in the distance as she took another drag off of that cigarette, giving off the appearance that maybe she hadn't even known anyone else was there at all. That she'd been too distracted to notice that sort of thing.

But, after an almost impossibly long moment of silence, there was evidence to suggest otherwise.

"I guess not."

Jet's mind was working to come up with a way to find the answers to his questions while not being too abrasive. Julia definitely seemed like a strong woman, but he felt compelled to help. Much like the spirited daughter of an old friend.

There was another pause on his end before he decided to speak, taking a couple more puffs from his cigarette. "So, how'd you meet 'im?" he asked, not quite taking note of the fact that this could very well be one of the few glimpses into Spike's past he'd ever get to have.

She still didn't turn to face him, instead opting to idly watch a stream of smoke rise into the air as she exhaled. These things were easier to maintain with distance, without eye contact.

"Meet who?" She knew her time was running out, especially with the vibe that she got from this guy. That he probably wasn't going to accept cryptic, vague evasions as answers. Nevertheless, she would keep trying for as long as possible. It was all she had to protect herself at this point.

Spike didn't waste any time heading out. Even walking at a normal pace his long strides were hard to keep up with, and he didn't slow down once he realized he was being followed. He was used to it.

Once outside, he immediately reached for a cigarette, and paused by the street if only because he forgot about the leaves that flooded it. If not for that, he would have been gone by the time she reached him. At the moment, he defaulted back to his usual stoic attitude, like he hadn't just stormed out inexplicably. Smoking helped to ease the tension, but it was a temporary fix. He'd have to improvise from there.

She was a bit ticked that he was avoiding her like this. Catching up to him was easy enough, even with those long legs of his, since the leaves had opted to really limit the distance he could go.

When she managed to meet up with him, she tucked her hands in against her sides, folding her arms over her chest. Glancing up at him, she huddled in against herself, trying to keep warm.

"So. You gonna just avoid the whole situation now that she's here? I mean, I tried to get you to talk to me before and we got interrupted. No one's here this time. You can trust me, Spike."

He gave her a side glance, not quite turning to face her. She was filling in for Jet's role now; apparently he hadn't had the time to warn her when it was better not to bother.

It wasn't fair. Spike was aware when he was being rude, especially to her and all the ways he'd taken advantage of her generosity. Saints had less patience than a bartender. He breathed out smoke while that thought kept his mind firmly elsewhere.

"It's cold out. You should head back inside."

"I should, but I won't. Something's wrong, Spike and honestly I'm tired of not knowing what is going on. I've been more than patient and I've lived around two brothers that practically breath lies and secrets. I'm a big girl and I can handle whatever is goin' on in your head."

Jo folded her arms across her chest, glancing up at him, refusing to budge and if he moved, she'd just follow him again.

He didn't walk off, but it had more to do with not feeling like swimming in leaves to get to the next open building. Just barely. Things were so much easier when he could jump in his ship and fly off whenever he needed to. He'd done that to Jet so many times that he practically stopped caring.

"I'm not out to kill anyone, Jo." Which would work as a better joke if he hadn't been the last time. He thought she'd want to know anyway. "You don't have to worry about me."

"Believe it or not I wasn't actually worried about that. You didn't ask me for an artillery or tell me that I was better off staying out of it."

Her lips pursed as she glanced up at him. Really, this was getting to be old. She thought that he was a friend, even if they'd crossed that line a few times, and if he couldn't rely on her to be there for him then what the hell was she doing?

"I'm not worried, Spike. This is more of the concern variety. I don't know much about Julia, but if there's something that I should know - I'd rather not get blindsided in there."

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Sorry, I had a typo ;; Damn my lack of an edit button

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He can come find her outside if he wants :)

XDDDD

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