The Orange Peel

[Mayah Playah]

Awesome nerd

Ellery Advimi

Love binds us together...

Taking a sip of his water, Ellery shook his head. "I think we should all get to know each other." He gestured to the whole table. "I mean, I'd definitely like to know more about the guy dating my Little Mouse, as I'm sure he wants to know more about yo-"
"Wait, you call me Little Mouse too?" asked Basil. "I thought only Dealer did."
Ellery laughed. "Well, yes. We all did. I came up with it when you were two and we were watching The Great Mouse Detective. You giggled every time the little girl came on-screen, so I started calling you Little Mouse, just like she was in the movie." He gestured to Dealer. "You call him Little Mouse too?"

...and so does the past.

Basil Advimi

 

[Its Smiley]

Mayah_Playah

Fredrich Waltz

Dealer nodded. "Although I call him that for an entirely different reason. It's strange, isn't it? How the wind can sound different but the same at the same time."
Fredrich felt a bead of sweat roll down the side of his head as he saw the dreamy look on Dealer's face. What a weird guy, and some of the things he said were far weirder. He looked about Han's age. Was there some large generation gap between them that made people that age so... weird?
"Yes, well... What do you do for a living, Dealer?" Fredrich asked while looking at the man's outfit.
Noticing the stare, Dealer looked down. "Ah yes. I'm one of the card dealers for our city's casino, Bellagio. The top five dealers get nicknames, and mine is Dealer."
"Oh, I've been to Bellagio several times." Fredrich nodded, although it wasn't for the obvious reason. He was often hired by the casino's manager to get rid of people that were very, very good at gambling. "So you're one of the casino's best? You can't be older than twenty."
"I'm nineteen." Dealer said. "As for my skill... I happen to be very lucky, just like the Ace hidden in a shuffle." he said as he got out his deck of cards and shuffled them with ease.

Albin "Dealer" Adamski

 

[Mayah Playah]

Awesome nerd

Ellery Advimi

Love binds us together...

Well, card dealer was definitely better than drug dealer. Ellery gestured to himself. "Well, I'm sure Fredrich's already told you, but I'm a songwriter by trade."
Basil pursed his lips in confusion. "Wait, I thought you were a pop star?" He looked over to Fredrich suspiciously. Maybe he was just lying.
But Ellery quickly explained. "I am, but that just pays the bills. Writing music has always been a love of mine, so I write most of the songs that my band performs, as well as a few more hits out and about int he world." He gestured to the restaurant. "This place is actually owned by my band-mate and his lover. That's their picture right there." He pointed to a picture of a handsome blonde and a nice-looking brunette.
The mouse quickly recognized the boy. He ruffled through his bag, then pulled out a photo of himself, Ellery, and the blonde boy. "Is this the same guy? Are we related?"
Ellery took the photo, then laughed. "No, we're not related, but yeah, this is the same guy. His name's Sang-Min Han, although a lot of people call him Lock. You'd like him. He's nice when he's not rehearsing." Talking about Lock made the bruise on his side sting a little.
"So how'd you guys meet?" he asked, leaning on the table and looking between the detective and the songwriter. "Was it because of a case or something?"
"Kind of." Ellery shrugged. "Lock had gone away for some time and was just coming back, and while he'd been gone, Fredrich here had been taking care of Ethan, Lock's boyfriend. Lock thought that Fredrich had a crush on Ethan, so he called me in to create a distance between them, and as time went on, Fredrich and I just started seeing each other in a completely different way than before."
Basil's nose scrunched up. "Really? It was the complete opposite for me and Dealer. I think I liked him the minute I saw him." He looked up at Dealer. "You thought so too, right?"

...and so does the past.

Basil Advimi

 

[Its Smiley]

Mayah_Playah

Fredrich Waltz

"I definitely knew there was a connection between us once we met." Dealer said with a light smile. "It took me a while to realize it was love."
Fredrich smirked at the two until he heard his phone ring. He glanced it over then read the text message that followed it, his expression losing its warmth. "I might be called away soon." he said in a hushed tone, although he was sure Basil and Dealer would be able to hear. "There's an important trial taking place soon. It involves the Nightingale."
"What a chilling name." Dealer shuddered. "An assassin that can hack into anything. Our casino has housed his crimes more times than I'd like to admit." He suddenly leaned forward. "Has he been caught?"
Fredrich shook his head. "I doubt it. The person accused of being him is my boss, and he couldn't break a pinata if he tried. But I'm the detective in charge of the Nightingale's case, so I'm sure they'll want to hear more about it from me soon."

Albin "Dealer" Adamski

 

[Mayah Playah]

Awesome nerd

Ellery Advimi

Love binds us together...

While Basil was gazing adoringly up at his boyfriend, a severe chill ran down Ellery's spine. He couldn't ever tell his beloved brother about Fredrich's secret, but he couldn't mask his dismay. "They think that Chief Tealy is the Nightingale?" he clarified, fingers tightly grasping Fredrich's arm. "He won't be convicted, will he? I mean, he's not it. He's innocent, so they'll have to let him go."
Basil looked between, sensing something but choosing not to dwell on it. "You mean that creepy killer guy that shot the old physics teacher?" he asked, then leaned forward a little. "I heard that he was paid to kill him by the PTA director. Entri won't tell me anything else about it, but it's gotta be scary. Is he based here? Is that why you're the detective in charge of his case?" he asked, looking at Fredrich.

...and so does the past.

Basil Advimi

 

[Its Smiley]

Mayah_Playah

Fredrich Waltz

"The Nightingale is an assassin that's famous because of all the people they've killed and how." Fredrich explained to Basil. "They're experienced in just about every way to murder, by what we've seen. Advanced poison, sniper shots, or even making it look like someone committed suicide. The only way we're able to tell that it's them is because victims usually have some kind of device hacked to show that the Nightingale has them tracked down."
"Bellagio has tried numerous times to catch him, but he always slips in unnoticed." Dealer added. "It can be frightening to know that a simple customer, maybe even a regular of mine, could actually be a vicious murderer."
"Nightingale murders have been more than average in areas here, so that's why I'm stationed here." the detective said before looking at Ellery. "I doubt the trial will last very long. Cameron told me that Sawyer is Tealy's lawyer, so that should help, but just in case I might have to go in to testify."

Albin "Dealer" Adamski

 

[Mayah Playah]

Awesome nerd

Ellery Advimi

Love binds us together...

Ellery was torn in two. He didn't want poor Chief Tealy to go to jail forever (or be executed) for something that wasn't true, but at the same time, he didn't want Fredrich to be anywhere near that trial. He wasn't willing to risk Fredrich for the sake of someone else. Still, though, Cecil was innocent. At least he had that nice lawyer on his side. But would that be enough?
"Go." said Ellery, turning to face Fredrich. "Whether or not Mr. Loupohl is representing Chief Tealy, there is no one else in this whole world that is as great an expert as you are on the Nightingale. He's going to need you. Just... be careful." He took one of Fredrich's hands in his. "I'll take Basil and Dealer to my apartment, set them up for the night, and then I'll go to the courthouse. Liam can watch Daniel."
Basil piped up. "Actually, I wouldn't mind watching him. I think it'd be cool to meet my nephew." He shrugged a little. "You can have that Liam guy come over and hang out with us, just in case."
Ellery nodded, then looked back up to Fredrich. "Do you know if Cameron's at the courthouse too?"

...and so does the past.

Basil Advimi

 

[Its Smiley]

Mayah_Playah

Fredrich Waltz

Fredrich gave Ellery a soft look and lightly stroked his cheek. "It'll be okay. This isn't the first time someone's gone to court for either claiming or being accused of being the Nightingale." When asked about Cameron, he nodded. "He's been aiding Mr. Loupohl in my place."

Albin "Dealer" Adamski

 

[Mayah Playah]

Awesome nerd

Ellery Advimi

Love binds us together...

"Yes, but this is the first time that someone like Sawyer Loupohl has taken interest in one of these cases." he said in return, relishing in the feeling of Fredrich's hand against his cheek, even if he was wearing his gloves. By this point in their relationship, it felt like an extension of the detective.
By any account, Ellery was right. None of the previous lawyers in these cases were as accomplished as Mr. Loupohl, who was a big-time lawyer from New York and had defended serial killers and high-profile murderers in the past, as well as prosecuted them, but it wasn't Cecil that Ellery was worried about. Sawyer was very intelligent and connected things quickly. Ellery was afraid that, if too much evidence came out, Sawyer would realize the truth and direct the police towards Fredrich himself. If he lost Fredrich, the young brunette didn't know what he'd do.

...and so does the past.

Basil Advimi

 

[Its Smiley]

Mayah Playah

Kenshin Yamada

As Ethan pulled the chair out for Tessa to sit on, Kenshin peered out from the kitchen. His disguise was perfect, an ensemble of black hair (mustache included) and sunglasses, all tied together by a waiter outfit. No one would ever know it was him.
"Which one of us should go out there? Or should we both do it? Which is more inconspicuous?" he whispered to Lock.

Ethan Wilhelm

 

[Mayah Playah]

Awesome nerd

Bae

Sing with me...

Lock was similarly dressed, wearing a brown wig and a sticky beard and mustache, blue contacts in his eyes. They were the same brand that his brother used, so they easily covered the gold. He glanced around, then gestured to him. "I think you. Ethan knows me super well, so I'm pretty sure that he'll recognize me way before he does you." he answered, watching as Tessa sat down and cheerfully started to look over the menu.
Bae snorted, leaning on the wall with his arms crossed. He wasn't disguised, wearing a pair of designer sunglasses and choosing not to actively partake. "You two are so stupid," he said.

....and entrance the world.

Lock

 

[Its Smiley]

Mayah Playah

Kenshin Yamada

Ken nodded as he watched Ethan trip and fall on his way to his own chair. "Alright." he agreed before hearing Bae's comment, turning to give him a stink eye. "Says the guy that looks like he's loitering like a creep!" he snarled. Taking a deep breath, Ken straightened up his posture and got into character, hurrying to the table.
"Hello, I'll be yer waiter this evening. Is there anything I can start ya off with?" he asked as he gazed at the notepad he had ready to write on. He wanted to do a French accent, but he didn't know how to do that in English, so he went with Texan instead.
Ethan, being a Texan, found the accent strange and only raised an eyebrow at the waiter before answering with, "Uh yeah, can I get a glass of orange juice?" He smiled over at Tessa as the waiter scribbled it down.

Ethan Wilhelm

 

[Mayah Playah]

Awesome nerd

Bae

Sing with me...

Rolling his eyes again, Bae took his phone out. He said he'd be a look-out, he didn't promise to be a good one.
Tessa sat across from Ethan, a smile still on her face. She hardly noticed the weird waiter, finding Ethan charmingly awkward and adorable. Realizing that it was her turn to speak, she blushed and ducked her head. "Orange juice sounds good," she said, feeling like a complete spaz.

....and entrance the world.

Lock

 

[Its Smiley]

Mayah Playah

Kenshin Yamada

The waiter nodded and quickly turned around to report to the other two.
"Orange juice. What fruit nuts!" he spat to Lock then gave him a devil smile. "Put laxatives in hers."

Meanwhile, Ethan looked around awkwardly while tapping his thumbs together. "So, uh... What do you like to do when you're not, uh, you know, working?" he asked.

Ethan Wilhelm

 

[Mayah Playah]

Awesome nerd

Bae

Sing with me...

Lock shook his head. "Amateur. Laxatives'll just make him feel bad for her!" He looked around, then dug into his jacket and pulled out a small packet. "This is even better. It'll make her gassy like nothing else." The blonde grinned evilly.

From the table, Tessa was just as awkward as Ethan. She pushed a bit of her hair back, then stared at the table as she answered. "Well, I really like television. The older shows, of course, like Mash, Cheers, of course I'm a huge fan of Friends. What about you?" she asked, fighting the urge to bite her nails.

....and entrance the world.

Lock