Enter One Idiot [Open]

[Abel Smy]

Abel was always looking around for somewhere new to advertise his business, both human and shifter companies alike. Not that today was going very well on that front... not at all. He had been working systematically around the whole downtown area, dropping in business cards and flyers wherever he found. So far he had been egged (there were still bits of shell in his sticky hair), pushed, yelled at and threatened.

If only because he wanted to try and wash the remaining egg out of his sandy blond hair, Abel had come to a stop in the doorway of what looked to be a coffee shop. Good, at least they might have a bathroom where he could monopolise the sink for a while, he'd even buy a coffee so he was a paying customer. Taking a deep breath and letting it out in a sigh, he tried to remember what his parents would have said about turning the other cheek to the people who had hurled abuse at him today. It made him feel a little better, but he'd still give them all a horrible scowl if he saw them again... his vengeance is mighty, all should fear it.

Finally stepping inside, he did his best to look as inconspicuous as it was possible to be, when one was over six feet tall and giving off a distinctly eggy smell. Head down and hurrying for the back, where he hoped to find some bathrooms, he didn't notice one of his shoelaces had come undone until the traitorous piece of string decided to betray him by sending him flying in a distinctly conspicuous way.

"AHHHH--!"

Damn. That didn't go as intended.

[Odile Advaire]

The bookstore's resident mascot, sitting on one of the myriad of reinforced perches scattered throughout the place, gave the man a piercing look.

A large bird, with dark brown plumage, with some areas of lighter gold-brown feathers around it's head, a sharp curved beak and large claws gripping the wood and leather. It... didn't look much at all like something that might usually be kept as a pet.

But it didn't startle as the man entered. It did let out a sharp hiss as he toppled, mantling it's wide wings and fluttering them for a moment before it resettled. With an almost human glare to the prone figure, it started moving. Shuffling to the end of the perch it did something... most unbirdlike.

It hopped off. And then started walking, with surprising speed.

Soon enough it reached it's goal, a space just big enough for...

It spread it's wings, flapping up to perch on a man's leather covered shoulder and hissing again in his ear before starting to absently preen his hair with the wicked beak.

Claws flexing, it tapped his cheek, as if trying to bring his attention to the man, and then clacked said beak in a clear demand for food.

[Basil Marwick]

Being a horse and having several customers that shifted into larger animals, Baz was relatively unphased by Abel's awkward entrance. Until the crash. That's when he looked up from the desk that everyone knew was 'his', only to shift his weight to allow Odile to land. The man in question deftly fished a few large bits of cooked meat from a container, and would pass them up to Odile. It was automatic, he was obviously used to doing such a thing.

Then he headed over to the crash scene.

"Are you alright?"

He'd offer a hand, even though having a very large bird on one's shoulder wasn't exactly a friendly invitation. The floor-bound fellow smelled like egg and large predator. Though he... certainly lacked the grace of a large predator. Then again, not everyone took on the balance and poise a shifter's species often brought to others. Baz hadn't, not really. Strength was a larger aspect of it for him.

"There's an empty apartment upstairs if you need to wash that egg out. I don't... usually let many folks up there, but it's safe."

The Haunt also had a basement with washing machines. He wasn't about to mention that yet, because that area was specific to staff and people who wanted to move out of the main shop when they shifted.

"Oh and uh. Don't mind my shield-sister here, she looks at everyone like that."

[Abel Smy]

Abel was muttering a few choice phrases to himself, all inside his head, cursing his lack of grace. The shift had blessed him with higher dexterity, but it hadn't seen fit to give him the coordination needed to control that dexterity more often than not. He's pretty sure that if he ever went to the wild and met any wild panthers, he'd be laughed at... or whatever a panther did instead of laughing. Probably something to do with biting.

Taking the hand offered to him, even if it did come with a rather unpleasant glaring bird at the top of it, he stood up and brushed himself down.

"Thank y-- ah."

For a moment he was speechless. He hadn't really seen the bird beyond a flurry of feathers when he was on the floor, but getting a good look took his breath away. It was beautiful, golden-brown feathers and a sharp beak, all sleek lines and deadly grace. He would have reached out to stroke a finger down it's plumage, if he hadn't been sure that would be a fast way to lose said finger. Suddenly coming back to himself, he focused on the man instead, barely registering the strange term of 'shield sister' for now.

"It's not problem, she can look at me how she wants. I guess I did cause a bit of a ruckus. But the offer of cleaning off definitely isn't something I'll refuse, thank you again, sir."

[Odile Advaire]

The eagle gulped down the meat, tongue flicking out to touch his fingers without catching them on her beak.

Apparently pleased with the offering, she hissed in a way that managed to sound affectionate before digging long, vicious talons into the leather pad, shifting weight to make sure there was no chance of her falling.

That pleasure vanished a moment later, and the eagle was back to giving the man it's current perch was offering to help in a very suspicious manner.

The sharp beak clacked sharply, as if to say 'Why are you not kicking him out?'. But she paused for a moment, claws flexing lazily on her favorite perches' shoulder.

Bright eyes blinking, head tilting from one side to the other as she examined the man.

Fellow shifter. Lucky he hadn't upset any of the bookshelves.

She stared unblinking for several long moments before flexing her wings out, one brushing the back of Baz's head, before they pulled back in and she started preening Basil's hair, but not before giving a hiss that was likely the eagle version of 'Of course I can look at you however I want. Do you think you can stop me?"