The Fine Line (Tag: Patricia)

7th Year Posts : 67 Stats : 84 Join date : 2011-05-06

The gallery was suspended in an eerie silence, as though time was frozen on the dark hour of 12:45. Shadow appeared from the corner of the entrance hall, with his gaze fixated on the security camera above him. He stepped forward, unconcerned that he was within its view, an then he took a running jump up the wall. With a click of a button, the camera's recording was halted, an for good measure, he made another jump and tilted the camera towards the floor. He repeated this process throughout the rest of the gallery. Once satisfied, he sunk back into the shadows and crossed to the door of the security room.

Slowly, he reached for the brass door handle, wary of what was on the other side. This wasn't the first time he snuck into an art gallery such as this, but he never had to worry about the guards until now. All it would take is a few harmless hexes, and before these gentlemen knew it, they would wake up in the morning without a clue as to what had happened. And surely this one occurence would not be risking their jobs. He had to reassure himself of this, before he could go through with it. Shadow opened the door slightly, and as he gave it a light push, he sank into the floor again an disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The guard turned at the sound of the door creaking open, and he called out, "Who's there?"

His companion looked up from his computer monitor and gave him a weird look, "What are you going on about?"

As one of them stepped towards the door, Shadow appeared behind them, casting a speedy stupify on one of them, and then on the other just as he was turning to react. With that, he shadow-crossed back to Grace manor; more specifically, to the hall that joined with Patricia's room. He approached the door quietly, and knocked three times.

"Patricia?" He whispered, hoping she hadn't forgotten about the big surprise.

Posts : 101 Stats : 569 Join date : 2011-03-20

Patricia watched the numbers on the clock roll over to 12:00: officially her birthday. A tingle of excitement started at her spine and worked its way up until she was smiling. The turn of the hour meant Shadow would be here soon, and she was woefully unprepared. Downing the last drop in her mug of coffee, Patricia set about getting ready to leave the mansion for some sort of birthday outing that her friend had managed to keep a secret, which in itself was a wonder. There were few times that she could remember Shadow keeping things from her, and none had to do with her; he would always share when she asked, even if sometimes it took more pestering than polite. This time, however, no matter how much she asked or pouted, he held firm with his secret, leading her to believe it was going to be something worth staying up all night for. The discarded remains of three cups of coffee were already littering her over crowded desk, proof that she intended to stay awake until the light of dawn forced Shadow to call whatever it was they were up to to an end.

She paused in front of the mirror, half covered with paint, as an afterthought. She had put quite a bit of thought into her outfit for the night, paired it with electric blue heels; it was more than she usually dressed up around Shadow, who knew she lived in paint splattered clothes whenever she was home. Still looking at herself she frowned, hit with the question of why she was going through so much trouble. It was just Shadow, and it was the middle of the night. With a sigh she flopped onto her bed, papers and brushes rolling off with the movement. Her eyes closed, trying not to think too hard about it, and instead focus on guessing what it could be that Shadow wanted to surprise her with tonight.

A soft knock and an even softer voice sounded from the door, and Patricia jumped up from her position on the bed, certain she should have had at least a few more minutes to get ready than this. “Come in! No wait – hold on, hold on.” A crash, mild expletive, and what sounded suspiciously like a small animal later, the door swung open and Patricia stood blocking the wreckage that she considered her room. “Hey Shadow,” she slipped a stray curl behind her ear, “I lost track of time, sorry. There was this thing, and my hair was wet, and then I found-” She took a step out of the room and closed the door behind her. “Ah, doesn't matter though. Let's go!”

She slid her arm under Shadow's, locking her elbow around his so they could walk arm in arm. With the heels she was just as tall as he was and she congratulated herself on making a good choice by wearing them. She just hoped they weren't going to be doing much walking. The vastness of the hallway, always shrouded in dark corners and low light, rolled on before them, reminding Patrica she still had no idea where they were headed. “So. I find you not telling me where we are going very suspicious. You don't usually keep things from me, and I have half a mind to march right back in my room unless you fess up.” There was no hiding the excitement on her face or in her voice, though, and her bluff was easily spotted; as if she could ever hide anything she was feeling from Shadow in the first place. Patricia was more than an open book, she was a recording screaming out her every secret.

7th Year Posts : 67 Stats : 84 Join date : 2011-05-06

Shadow was relieved to hear Patricia's response, which meant that she had not fallen asleep during his long absence. The sounds that followed were somewhat alarming, and Shadow was afraid he had come to early, but soon enough the door opened to show her standing there, cheery as can be. He then took note of her attire, and looked down at his rather simple and blandly colored button-up shirt and black jeans. He hadn't really thought about it before hand, but perhaps he made a fatal mistake in his wardrobe for the evening. He imagined he looked rather ill-prepared, now, standing the way he was, but Trish didn't seem to notice as she hooked her arm around his and they started down the corridor.

As she mentioned feeling fairly suspicious of all his mysterious behavior, he smiled, but just like every other time she prodded the matter, he was careful not to forfeit an answer. He could still remember when they were younger, and Shadow was afraid of doing anything that may offend her, like forgetting to hold a door open for her, or accidentally trodding over her foot. If he was still that same little kid today, he'd be stumbling over his words right now, trying to assure he that he was not, in any form, attempting to kidnap her. But instead, the Shadow that grew up with her and had grown to know and trust her, said in his always hushed tone, "I fear you would die of curiosity if you gave up now. Besides, you'll seen soon enough Patricia."

They passed a few more open windows before Shadow finally shadow-crossed, with Trish, and ended up in the center of the entrance hall, just like before. He focused his gaze on Patricia, reveling in how she would react to the sight before her. The gallery was one of the well known places in London, which happened to be showing a special exhibit of an artist very dear to Patricia. It was too good of an opportunity for Trish to miss, and between school and spending time with him, he wasn't sure she could have made it by herself. Though looking back now, this seemed to be the best way to do it, as she could get close up with her favorite art, and have it all to herself. He grew all the more quiet, knowing this, and he wanted Patricia to experience it all for herself.

Posts : 101 Stats : 569 Join date : 2011-03-20

When they began to shadow-cross Patrica scrunched her eyes shut and held onto Shadow's arm more tightly. She s hated shadow-crossing, and always had. It just wasn't a mode of transportation meant for normal mortals such as her, and her whole body rebelled against it. While the transition was nearly instantaneous, it left her stumbling forward when the world refocused around her. She was forced to steady her trembling legs by continuing to hold onto Shadow until her head stopped spinning. Though the ordeal of shadow-crossing was unpleasant, she understood that it was an effective way of traveling, and as long as it was Shadow that took her she could bear it. Besides, whenever she drove places with him instead of shadow-crossing he nearly suffered panic attacks, though Patricia wasn't sure why. She was a perfectly fine driver.

“Whoah...” Her voice caught in her throat when her vision steadied enough to look around. They were in a dimly lit hall, ceiling far above them and white walls stretching out around them. Along the walls were paintings full of color and life, bringing the room alive even in the dark and quiet of the night outside. It only took one glance at one painting for Patricia to know exactly where they were, and what she was looking at. They had been transporting from the Manor into London, and more specifically, into the National Gallery. She had been here before on a rare occasion for two, yet never when it was abandoned of its large crowds. Even better, upon the walls where hanging paintings from one of her most beloved artists, Emil Nolde.

Her look of wonder turned from the walls to Shadow, who was watching her intently with his placid eyes. “This is amazing! I've been wishing I could get here! How did...,” it dawned on her then, her eyes growing wider and her grin spreading even more. “Ohhh Shadow, you bad boy! We're trespassing. You did something, didn't you?” Her laugh rang out in the darkness. “What ever am I going to do with you, you criminal!”

Instead of actually reprimanding him, Patricia flung her arms around Shadow, pressing herself up against him and squeezing as tight as she could. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Letting Shadow go she bounded away towards the nearest wall, eager to start taking in all the beautiful art around her.

“Come look at these watercolors, Shadow! Look at all the color!” She rushed back, heels clicking and echoing in the empty hall. Reaching Shadow she grabbed his hand, pulling him along with her. If she hadn't said anything she was fairly certain he would have remained where he was all night, letting her experience the paintings alone if she wished. She didn't though; sharing the experience with her best friend would only make it better, and she could discuss all the paintings with him, too.

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