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Jane reviewed the route to Maddy's in her head, and made sure to follow it to the letter. She came dressed in a leather bomber jacket, t-shirt and jeans. Having moved quietly and checked to make sure she wasn't being followed, she made her way inside. Once in, she looked around and tried to take in the sudden shift in environment. Whatever confusion she might've had was quickly hidden, and she went to find a seat while trying to act as if she'd been coming for years.
It feels strange, however briefly, to step through the portal into the Wafflehouse. Just for a moment, and then she's acting like she's been here for years.
There are already two people in the Wafflehouse, along with all of the staff. They're seated on the same side of one of the booths with drinks already in front of them, apparently already having ordered. One is a taller, slimmer figure, a young individual with beautifully androgynous features, dark olive skin, and strangely pale, golden-green eyes, wearing neon athleisurewear. Lux carries themself with a sort of sleek, quiet dignity completely at odds with the woman next to them. Fox is much shorter than Lux, grubby and pale and wearing a crop top and cutoff jean shorts with bare feet. She's got her head leaned against Lux's shoulder and her gold eyes wide, looking up at them with her lower lip stuck out, dramatically pouting. It'd be puppy-dog eyes if she weren't, you know.
Fox.
Lux was holding onto the last traces of warmer weather desperately, not yet wanting to actually... cover up. They're wearing a cropped jacket that has stenciled spray painted designs in bright colors all over it, with a crop top underneath and ripped stockings under neon pink running shorts, clashing eye-strainingly against neon green sneakers with sharpie scribbles all over them. Their arm drapes over the back of the booth behind Fox's head, a milkshake held in their other hand, slurping slooowly from a straw while staring at Fox's pout.
"No. I dressed up as a sexy pigeon last year. I can't wear the same outfit twice in a row. You be the sexy pigeon if you liked it so much."
She wandered over to the two she saw already present and walked over, "Gotta agree, same outfit twice.. people do notice that kinda thing. At least they did when I tried it." Offering them a friendly smile, she nodded to them both. "Sorry to butt in, but I'm kinda new here, and hoping to get oriented a bit. If you'd prefer I buzz off, just lemme know, no hard feelings.." She looked between them both, the friendly smile staying put.
She wibbles her bottom lip at Lux, eyes huge, and the wibbling of her lower lip becomes more and more exaggerated until it turns into fishy-lips, and then she leans up and smooches Lux. Right on the face. Scandal! Fox grins broadly, her mouth full of sharp little teeth, something more fit for the mouth of a canid than a human, and sighs, "O-kay," she agrees. "But I can't be the sexy pigeon, no one would believe me. So you'll have to be a sexy something else." Big blinking eyes, and then she picks her head up from Lux's shoulder at Jane's approach.
"Hi! You are new. I know everybody." This is debatably true. One rather gets the feeling that if someone dropped Fox into a random place anywhere on earth, she'd find someone she knows within five minutes, tops. "You should definitely sit with us and have some food. Do you like waffles? The tiramisu waffles are really good here, I don't know anyplace else that has them. What's your name?"
"Of course I'll be a sexy something," they reply smuggly, grinning playfully at Fox. Their eyes lift as well, looking Jane up and down curiously. "Sure. Have a seat." They tip the glass of milkshake. "Milkshakes are pretty good, too. I'm Lux, and this fish-mouthed cutie is Fox."
She slid into the booth and leaned back, "Love waffles, tiramisu waffles sound great. I'm Jane, nice to meet you both." She looked to Fox, "If you know everyone, any chance you know Mei Lee?" She raised an eyebrow, curious to test Fox's claim. (edited)
The tiny, grubby woman wiggles happily in her seat at the idea of Lux dressing up as a sexy something for Halloween. It's possible that Fox ate a 5 lb bag of sugar at some point earlier in the evening, and this is just the inevitable result. "Yeah, they are," she agrees. "I should get one!"
Yeah, Fox, that's definitely a good idea.
After Lux makes introductions, she hooks a thumb toward the Darkling. "They/them." And then that same thumb pointed back at herself. "Literally any pronouns." But it's the invocation of Mei that makes Fox pause, and then her forehead wrinkles up before smoothing back out. She's an open book written in neon and blinking lights, this one. "... maybe?"
"We just ordered the cinnamon bun waffles. You want them too? ...You know what, yes, absolutely." They lean over to call over to the waitress, "Can you add two orders of tiramisu waffles to that order, and whatever she wants to drink? Thaaaaanks!" They settle back into the booth, lounging back. Perking a brow at Fox's reaction to the question of Mei, but otherwise not interfering. (edited)
"Coffee, black." She says, addressing the drink question before going back to Fox. "Some friends said she's among some of the people who might be able to help me settle in. I don't really have any people here--" She paused, looked out the window, "--err, Philadelphia.. uhh, anyways, you know what I mean." A bit of the anxiety was slipping through. "First time where I'm really on my own."
She leans in against Lux, still, and her hand slips over under the table to rest on the Winter's knee. Usually when she puts her hand on Lux's knee under the table, tickling or... not... tickling... occurs in short order, but her stubby little fingers and small palm just rest on their knee. Her head tips from one side to the other, and she looks up at the Darkling again before turning her attention once more to Jane. "Do you mind if I -- " a pause. "Look at you?" There's a subtle emphasis on the word 'look' that gives it a certain weight. "Who were you with before?" (edited)
If Lux looks suspicious or cautious about the conversation, or Jane herself, it's not showing on their face. They seem perfectly calm and confident, their fingertips idly brushing along Fox's shoulder as she leans in under their arm. "Where you from?"
"I mean.. go right ahead, if it'll help." She shrugged, "I thought I was with the US Army, and maybe I still kind of was? But I found out I worked for a group most call the 'Delta Protocol'." Jane sighed, then took off her jacket, setting it down next to her. A bit of the lip and a deep breath, "I was a medic." Her tone leaves little doubt there was much more to it than that.
It's also clear she was happy to move on to Lux's question. "Originally? Ohio, near Dayton."
Lux has seen Fox do this enough times to know what it means when the Thyrsus' gaze grows a little bit more distant, that Fox's thoughts are elsewhere. They've seen what the world looks like to Fox when she really looks at things, all the layers and shifting colors, the extreme synesthesia of it all. The hand on Lux's knee tightens just a little bit -- and that's new -- while her other hand comes up to cover her mouth like a painter seeing a Van Gogh in real life for the first time. "Oh," Fox breathes, and her gold eyes shimmer for a moment. "Oh, but you're beautiful." And then her face goes briefly pale, and she coughs. "Oh." She bites the inside of her lips. "I see. Um." A small, apologetic smile up at Lux, and she bumps her head against the Winter's shoulder. "Yes. So. Obviously I do know Mei. Um. She belongs with me. She's one of -- my people. So. Uh. What did you do when you found out you worked for Delta Protocol? And -- what did you do for them?"
"Soooo.... What's the Delta Protocol?" they ask, head tipping curiously, only asking once Fox had stopped their stare.
She shifted in her seat a bit as Fox does her examination, she blushes a bit at the compliment and focused attention. Clearing her throat, she got to answering those questions. "I was told that I was rescuing people from hostage situations or kidnappings. I would sneak into places and get them out; sometimes they weren't in good condition and I'd have to patch them up and keep them alive." She looks away when she tries to get the words out for the next part, "They sent me after someone I knew didn't need rescuing, because it was a friend of mine, with similar.."
She waved her hand, gesturing at herself from head to toe, "..y'know, all this. I learned about the Delta Protocol when I learned that I wasn't the hero saving people from kidnappers, I was the kidnapper, bringing back people like myself who didn't stay with the program." She looks to Lux and remembers only Fox 'looked, "Oh, uhh.. Delta Protocol, they're something secret, deep fingers into the DoD and maybe more.. they're responsible for my enhancements. I'm.. I guess I could be called a cyborg? But most of us just go by 'Lost Boys', don't ask me why, though."
Lux blinks twice, head tilting a bit to the side. "Interesting. So you've come to Philly to... hide from them?" (edited)
Fox listens, and nods along with the story. She doesn't look anything, really, except sort of vaguely sad. The waffles arrive -- Fox's with a pile of super-crisp bacon that smells slightly different from most bacon (because it is lamb bacon, which Fox nicely asked Maddy with Big Eyes to stock for her), but she just sort of looks at the plate for a moment before turning her attention back to Jane, waiting for an answer to Lux's question.
"More or less? That and kind of try to find some ways to.. I guess kind of make up for having been a tool for some screwed up secret organization." She looked to the waffles and got some syrup loaded on them while she further explained, "They lied to me, but I still feel responsible. It's not like I was asking that many questions." She cut herself a bite of waffle and took it.
Another look aside at Lux. At this point, Fox may just be checking to make sure that the Winter hasn't evaporated, leaving her here with whatever thoughts are spinning around inside her vulpine brain. "That's a familiar refrain for some of the people I know," she says vaguely. "Are you... okay? Like... do you ... need anything?"
Lux meanwhile has two plates of waffles now, cinnamon bun piled with cinnamon sugar, icing, and whipped cream. And the tiramisu. They take the syrup to dribble over both plates, nudging them both to sit more in between them and Fox, giving the mage full reign to steal.
Lux remains present! They have not disappeared! But they remain unreadable, other than a pleasantly curious expression as they glance up at Jane in between bites.
She savored the bite of waffle."Mmmm..." And then the question. "Uhh, well, yeah, I kinda do, but it's not exactly something you get down at the 7-11." She takes another bite, "...ah, geez, you weren't joking, this is real good."
There's a little pause, and Fox laughs softly. "Well, I won't pry. If you need help, you know." A vague shrug. She finally picks up her fork, then, coerced by the piles of sweet food that Lux has ordered, and the nudging of the plates toward her; a forkful of cinnamon bun waffles gets followed by the salty-crispy of the lamb bacon. "But yeah, I can put you in touch with Mei." Fox doesn't even seem to question the convenience factor of it all -- when you mess around with Fate, Fate messes back.
"Mei's good people." They continue showing down happily, looking absolutely blissful at the taste of the sugary carby goodness. "You'll be in good hands."
"Cool. She sounds pretty good." She pauses and sighs, "Sorry, I got here through magical tunnel thing? And you're already helping me. Probably stupid to not believe some help is possible." She chuckled and playfully bonked her own head with her palm.
"The thing I need is a medication; it's a special anti-rejection serum. I have a supply, but I'm on very thin margins with it, and the stuff I can get is a lot harder on me." More bites of waffle, just plowing through the decadence. "I'll need more of it, or some way to heal even faster than I already do."
"She is. And very nice smooches," Fox opines, flashing her teeth once in something like a smile. It's brief, and then she's eating lamb again. She listens, crunching bacon between her obscenely sharp little teeth, truly not fit for a human mouth. "Hmm." She clicks her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "What kind of serum? Like... is it something you apply, or... " And then she pauses. "Do you have some?"
Lux glances sideways toward Fox. "Think you could replicate it?"
The door slowly swings open, and a wash of Autumn air pushes a spray of richly colored leaves across the floor at the entrance. Lux likely recognizes what that means, the sensations are unmistakable. But the others get this instead:
"Excuse me! We told you, it's not very polite to pretend to be leaf litter! Just because it doesn't break the rules doesn't-"
A lanky, pale, and VERY ornately scarred woman melts upwards out of the scattered leaves and sighs dramatically as she finishes the sentence with a nod. "-doesn't mean it's good manners, yes, I know. Can't a young lady be afforded her dramatic entrance?"
"We've talked about this, V. You're not particularly young NOR a noble NOR particularly well mannered." recited the staff, not exactly put out but more just fending off the attempts at justifying her methods.
"... hmph. Fine then! I shall be a boring pile of proteins and dihydrogen oxide instead of a fascinating swirl of color and cellulose."
"Okay. Skip the menu, I assume?"
"You assume... correctly." V states as she pops her longcoat's collar and dusts off her top. "Thank you, though, for your service and dilligence. I'll double your tip tonight."
"You never order anything!"
"And you'll receive a double portion of my bill!"
The grins on both sides showed this was more back-and-forth than harassment, as V was snarkily commanded to "Shaddup and siddown."
"I believe I shall~"
And she does, swirling into the booth besides the trio, behind Lux and Fox, for a moment seeming unaware of their presence- until she bends backwards with unsettling ease to smile upside at the three. "Good evening, dear Lux, sweet Fox, mysterious stranger!"
"I take it through injection. And sure, I do but it's not the original stuff, it's the stuff I'm getting now, I got it right--" She stops with Vorpal's arrival, watching the commotion and then bringing her own smile to meet her. "Jane's the name. Nice to meet you." (edited)
"That's my hope," agrees Fox, crunching down on more bacon. She looks over her shoulder, blinking once, twice, at the interplay between Vorpal and the wait staff. A vague, lopsided smile plays across her face. "Hey Jackie," she calls, waving her over. "You can't be leaves in here, or they get cranky. This is Jane, who I'm going to try to help." Her attention turns back to Jane. "You got it with you?" (edited)
"If anyone can do it, it'll be you." They smile at Fox, then look up to blink at Vorpal, lips curling into a grin. "I'm dear Lux? Aww. Come sit! We can share Fox butt." They scoot over to give room if Vorpal wants to sit on Fox's other side. "And both of these plates of waffles are mine and Fox's, you're not allowed to have any of it."
"Auh! The AFFRONT of it all! Here I am calling you my dear friend, and I am BANISHED from the delightful treats before you! The inhuMANity of it all!" bemoans Vorpal without a SINGLE scrap of seriousness as she swirls into the booth with... elegances doesn't encompass it. The movement is like watching a horror movie ghost do a flawless rendition of Swan Lake- gorgeous and entirely too smooth and swift and thus unsettling as a result. It's TOO perfect, TOO graceful. But then she's settled down and she feels much more normal immediately. "But I shall partake of your generous offer of "one Fox buttock", please and thank you."
"It's quite a pleasure to meet you, Jane. Are there any special considerations-" She asks, snagging a waffle segment and cramming it into her mouth for just THE most efficient mastication before she continues. "-that need be taken to avoid causing you distress or discomfort? Everyone is different, after all." An innocuous question, but hinting at awareness she perhaps oughtn't have. (edited)
She extends her arm and pushes down on a section of her inner forearm near the elbow, and a large part of her bicep seems to slide aside to reveal an opening; a compartment, inside which was a vial. She pulled the vial out and offered it to Fox for examination. The compartment closed up.
She looked to Vorpal, "I can't.. really.. think of any? Maybe just don't try to sneak up on me? I have trouble modulating my strength when I'm surprised, and training kicks in."
Her head bumps against Lux's shoulder again, that little gesture a familiar thing. She was all bouncy before, but now she's just sorta... headbump. But also doing Important Things. She reaches out her hand to take the vial, and the look she gives Vorpal once she's taken it is almost apologetic. Leaning over to kiss first Lux and then the shadow, Fox says, "I'll be right back. I have to think." A look at Jane, then: "I promise I'm not stealing things. I just need a minute. They'll tell you, I'm not a liar."
A shimmering green iris appears behind Fox in the booth, and she just sort of ... leans backward into it, the iris closing behind her.
Goddammit, Fox.
Lux just returns the kiss, and stuffs another bite of waffle into their mouth. They seem pretty used to this.
Unfortunately, their phone also starts to chime, and they pull it out to peer at. "Mmm... Gonna have to bail. Tell Fox bye for me, when she comes back?" Lux pushes up out of the booth, flipping over the back of it instead of making Vorpal get up to let them out, and lands on their feet. "Nice to meet you, Jane. Good luck with... all of that. Jackie, I need to talk to you about very important dream stuff, soon."
Smooch returned happily, Fox released less happily, a crisp "Dreams! Definitely!" for Lux, and then... it's just her and Jane.
And the ticking diner clock.
"Well. Now that we're a bit more private, what I meant by that was I was trying to figure out if I needed to avoid EMPs or such things, considering your fascinating-sounding additions. I haven't the slightest what they DO, mind, but all those circuits and servos create a lovely sort of harmony- if a muffed one."
...
"Oh, and Fox is definitely not a liar. She'll tell you if she can't do something, or shouldn't, rather than leaving you out to dry. Lying's too much work for foxes."
...
"... so how are YOU today?"
Jane watched Fox just stop being there and looked to the other two. Reassured by their reactions that this is nothing to worry about, she just took a gulp of coffee. She gave Lux a wave when they headed out, "See you around." She looked to Vorpal and shook her head, "Ah, no worries there. It all does.." She looks up for a moment trying to tally up all of how she's been altered. "..it does a lot. Stronger, faster, tougher, and more." (edited)
The iris opens back up again, and Fox clambers out, holding the vial in her hand. "This stuff is... literally poison," she declares, holding out the vial towards Jane. "And if I ever find the person who created it, I'm going to turn all of his blood into it and then light him on fire." She says that the way that most people would say 'and then someone gave me a free delicious dessert.' "But if you need it, yes, I can make it."
Jackie nods firmly. "Aye, I've tricks to do- some of that. I don't have much use for brute strength, but faster? Oh, I can't get enough. My equipment's external but it still means the world to me. So, I'll refrain from excessive electromagnetic pulses with you around."
Refrain?
Was- she implying she could just... make those HAPPEN?
Sure sounded like it.
"Fox!" V wiggles to the side to claim full Fox-bottom real estate once she sits back down. "Lux said farewell, and asked me to take very good care of your butt." A moment passes. "Well, HALF of that is true, anyway."
"Fox- if that's poison, isn't there a chance a combustible reaction could aerate the toxin into the smoke? Perhaps lock him in an airtight room first."
All the talk about lighting people and toxins on fire is static to her; she has someone who can make the serum. "You're serious, for real? Because I certainly do need it. No joke?" She is struck and trying to remain composed, but there's a degree of hope Fox is offering her that is hard to hide. "Someone with my level of modification.. I run out fast. All the time, even. I've been getting used to scheduling my withdrawals.."
A lot of the time, she plays along with Vorpal, happily. Right now, though, she leans over and kisses the Darkling on the cheek, patting her cheek, and turns her attention back to Jane. This is a Fox that Jackie hasn't actually seen before, all business and caregiving. "Yes," Fox says simply, and there's something soft at the corners of her eyes, the manic energy of earlier completely gone. She sets down the vial, frowning. "Do you need it now?" she asks, and then her gaze goes a little distant as she looks at Jane again, inspecting her for indicators of pain or discomfort. She did ask if she could Look earlier.
Vorpal seems a bit taken aback. She takes a second to look between the two and realize she missed the serious spine to the interactions, and settles back into her seat after enjoying Fox's attention, melting out of the forefront to let Fox do what she does.
Take Care.
Of people.
Of animals.
Of problems.
"I need to take one of those every 12 hours to not suffer any bad effects. My next dose is 3 hours out, but I do have a few other vials besides that right now." At the moment, she seemed to be uninjured, but some of her cybernetics are running a bit 'hot'.
"The sooner the better, deffo, but don't worry about rushing if it's a problem. I'll be super grateful just to see more of the stuff whenever it comes. But uhh... there a 'catch' here?"
She looks at the vial on the table, then reaches for a piece of bacon rather automatically, as if her hand is moving without consulting her brain about it at all. Fox seems -- briefly -- lost in her own thoughts. "Hm?" She looks up from the vial to Jane, and blinks twice. "Hmm? Oh. Not from me," Fox answers. "No. My help comes free." She shoves the bacon into her mouth and crunches on it; her shoulders lift and then drop in a big sigh.
"Okay, so this is the second time I've had to have this conversation this week. I'm starting to think that Fate is being a little bitch at me." One hand comes up and scratches at her cheek. "I'm really fucking sorry. You kinda got dragged into the war for reality, soldier."
She raised an eyebrow at the emphasis on 'me' there, but lets it pass. "War for reality?" She nods, bites her lip and looks off to the side as she digests that description, "That's a phrase that's got many ways it could go.. and a psyops propaganda war is the least bizarre, so we're off to a roaring start."
Picking up her fork, Fox pokes at the slowly-slumping stack of whipped dairy atop the cinnamon roll waffles that Lux half-finished before dashing off into the night, the better to do free-running with pure caramel for blood or whatever. "I don't ask for anything when I help people. I don't like when people are hurting, and I don't like it when people do things to people like the things that were done to you." Her mouth pulls to one side a little. "Vasya and Zoya are much better at this sort of thing. Or Aaron." She knuckles at her eye.
"No, I mean it really, like, really for real. Like... " One of her grubby little hands waves. "Time travel, kidnapping, invading people's minds and dreams, super soldiers, kind of war for reality. And unfortunately you got volunteered. By which I mean they fucking lied to you and did it without your consent, and that sucks, and I genuinely am sorry. But whoever those people were that fucked with you -- like -- " another one of her shrugs. "You got away. So that's good."
She nodded, and finished up the last bit of waffle on her plate. "So, you're on the 'other side' of the people who did this stuff, I assume? And there's time travel and mind invasions?" A moment of pause and contemplation, "I don't think I'd believe it if I weren't.. 'modded' like this. But what I've been through, I can buy it."
And she takes the last gulp of her coffee to chase the waffle. "If you need an extra set of hands, that's no problem, depending on exactly what needs doin'."
A little nod of her head, then, and she cuts off a bite of waffles with her fork, perhaps buying herself time for her answer. When she does, her tone is thoughtful and kind of distant. "I don't know who the people are who did this to you," Fox begins. "But I know what... I know... " She pauses, and then, well.
Then she's Fox, and runs headlong into the thing. It's kind of a thing she does.
"So here's the thing, right?" She swallows. "When I stepped out a few minutes ago, I stepped into the spirit world, because that's a thing I can do, because I'm a wizard, except it's considered impolite, we use Mage or Awakened. I'm a wizard, and most of my friends are either wizards or other things that go bump in the night." Another bite of waffles taken, chewed up by those sharp little teeth. Another swallow. "And you, you were a person who joined the Army, and then the Delta Protocol people, and God these people and their fucking James Patterson names for things, they installed all this shit in you, right? And they lied to you. And so now... like... whether you like it or not, you're in the middle of all this bullshit too."
Another deep breath in, slow exhalation. "And there are other wizards, of course. Sort of like... uhh... sort of like magical capitalists, actually. Crabs in a fucking bucket. They'll tear you apart so they can get a little bit closer to the jailers of the universe, get a little bit more power in what is essentially a giant fucking bucket full of crabs. And... they... have tried to kill me. And my family. Many times. And unfortunately they will probably try to kill you, too. Sorry about that. But uh... you know, basically you're in the Rebellion now, but unfortunately I do not have a lightsaber."
"I realize you already said 'that's no problem,' but I kind of feel like I have to say all of this. But yeah. I'll help you. Do you have a safe place to stay?"
She pushed her plate aside and listened in with her full attention. The part about being a wizard is a bit of a moment for her, as is the 'other things that go bump in the night'. But she's soon following, or at least seems to be, in a general sense and nodding. "Well, at least having people trying to kill me won't be a new sensation."
With the question posed to her, she could only shrug and say, "Safe is a pretty relative term. I have my own place, but if the black helicopters brought a bunch of guys to come after me, it wouldn't do much to stop them. Just a regular apartment with a deadbolt, lock, and one of those little chain things."
She puffs out her cheeks, swings her feet under the table. Phenomenal cosmic power... itty bitty Little Fox. "Okay. Right. Well. There is a place I can take you to, if you're comfortable with that, where I can work on keeping you from withdrawing, and Mei comes there often, as do most of the other people you need to meet. Not, like you won't have to stay there, this isn't a polite kidnapping or anything, but you can sleep as safely there as anybody can." Fox chows down on the last piece of bacon, picks up a napkin and wipes her fingers off. "And, like I said. You'll be able to meet people there, and I feel more comfortable doing the ritual work I need to in order to duplicate this stuff there."
"If it helps you help me, helps me meet Mei and.. you mentioned an Aaron, that with a 'Cohen' after it, and Rabbi before? Because that would certainly wrap the whole fate business into a nice neat bow." She chuckled, ending with a playful smirk.
She ticks her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "Yes. Rabbi Aaron Cohen. My former apprentice, Rabbi Aaron Cohen," Fox answers, shaking her head wryly. "I'll send him a text. If you're done eating, we can go. I'll have them put our meal on Zoya's tab." A little wave of her hand to forestall any potential objections. "Her dad was literally a Russian oligarch, it's your solemn duty to spend his horrible money and get some good out of it."
"I'm done, yeah. And I'll take your word for it." She laughs, "Don't have to talk me out of paying for stuff, not like the Army was paying me the big bucks.." She moves to step out of the booth. "This place you got, is in Philadelphia or is it somewhere else?"
"It's outside the city, but it's not far. If you need a ride, we can get one. Usually, I fly," explains Fox, and hops up, grabbing a messy waffle in one hand and consuming it in two giant bites. It almost looked like she unhinged her jaw for a second on that last bite. And then she holds the door open for Jane like a proper gentlefox.
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