Breaking news! (Cecil)

"The...big...fancy one." Well, that was a description. Not...entirely wrong, though...they don't want their big flashy recruitment centre to be a dump.
Oh god, he never noticed before just how many promotional measures for the government permeated the place before...
"...yes."

"U-Uh..." Cecil glances away, somewhat flustered. "...I guess they do? But I'm not that. You don't have to say that." He really wasn't sure whether he was being messed with right now, but he was inclined to say yes.

He blinks. "A-Alright..."
Cecil's fingers run through his hair in Melina's absence, trying to get his head straight. He wasn't quite sure what was going on here...or what he was dealing with, for that matter. He got roped into this, and then...he didn't know. It was just somehow different from the horrors he'd come to expect of his recent life. There was the woman too, who mixed seeming obliviousness of the strangest things and normality enough for him to be unsure whether he was being messed with or if there actually was something peculiar here.
He looks up as his milkshake was placed down, drawn from his thoughts. "Ah. Uh...thanks." He takes a little sip of it...not bad.

"Hmmmm what's it like? Your school? I never really went to school...private home tutor and all that." There was an element of anger and bitterness buried in her vocal tone. Was she angry about Cecil not being privately educated? Or angry about her own private education? In all honesty it wasn't even Melina's own education, at least not truthfully.

"Well, I've not been a teenager for quite a while so I'm sure your experiences are vastly more relevant than mine when it comes to what girls your age like." Oddly enough, the teasing and tormenting had quieted down for now as Melina took another sip, through the straw, from her banana milkshake. She was kind of surprised her "human" self's memories contained knowledge of such a nice place. Perhaps it was from happier times.

Well, that idea went out the window. "You got a private tutor?"
...actually, probably shouldn't have commented on that. They didn't seem happy about the whole thing...beeeetter to just answer the question. "It's, ah...it's a place, I guess...they've got a lot set up there, so it's hard to say it's lacking. But when they use the place as a base for the Cadets, tend to push government stuff a lot, and use the history classes to sing the queen's praises instead of actually teaching history...I can't say it's exactly the best as a school. It's just kind of...off."

Cecil chuckles awkwardly. "I, uh, wouldn't be the one to ask about what girls are after. My age or any age. You probably have a better idea than I do."

"When I was younger I guess..." Man that was a really odd realisation. Since taking over this body (which insanely the original Melina had agreed to but perhaps that was due to the circumstances at the time) the Shadow was slowly coming to the realisation all these memories, all these emotions and this body belonged to her now. It was quite odd...especially given how beyond "have fun" Melina had no real idea what to do with all of it.

"The Cadets huh?..Why don't you tell me about them a bit? I don't really know much about them beyond what the news reports." Of yes...that was one thing Melina had promised to do wasn't it? Reveal the truth to the world hmmmm....yes, that was an idealistic goal Melina's original had made her Shadow promise to uphold but honestly? Melina didn't understand why her original had her agree to that promise...what did it matter if the people didn't know the truth?

"I see..." He wasn't going to push any further on that. It didn't exactly seem like the best topic to focus on.

His head tilted slightly. "You...want to know about the Cadets?" Did she think he was privy to some special secrets or something because they set up base at his school?
He wished. Then he might know something to make his life easier at night.
"I don't know much either...I know they're at my school, but I don't exactly see much from them. I don't think I really know who any of them are, other than the ones everyone already knows about..." And frankly, associating with any of them was pretty dangerous even if he could. One slip-up would ruin him. And really, he rather liked being able to go home without being arrested and brainwashed.
...goddammit, there were things it'd be nice to say, but he really couldn't say any of it without a helmet to hide his head. That was yet another dangerous thing to do when people knew it was him.
How did he go about this...?
"They definitely aren't the messiahs people can make them out to be, though. Regardless of what the queen gave them or didn't, they're still just people. And people can be...pretty bad. In the end though, they're basically just demon-fighting policemen - with far too much hype, at that." He shrugs. "Hell, if the terrorist broadcast is to be be believed, they're all working for a government that does shady stuff like sticking demons in people. Their big names, no less...kinda have to wonder if that's where Cadets get their powers if that's true."

"Well, I wouldn't mind knowing a bit about them? I'm...from out of town in one sense of the word." That wasn't technically a lie but neither was it exactly the truth. Melina had a feeling if she was to uphold the more serious part of that promise she made she would probably end up coming into conflict with these cadets sooner or later. It only made sense that she should actually try and find out a little about them.

"The terrorist broadcast?" Now that was something Melina did genuinely know nothing about. Chalk it up to the human, that's former human, once known as Melina Ainsworth lacking in her knowledge of the outside world. That miserable man she had for a father refused to allow her to watch the news or learn about the affairs of the world; something about it "not being the business of a women." Sexest pig. One thing that did attract Melina's interest was this mention of "powers."

"Powers...? What kind of powers? You can't expect me to believe these Cadets you talk about have magic powers...?" Melina spoke in a hushed whispered tone of voice suddenly feeling a little paranoid. She knew the demons existed but humans with powers? An amusing prospect. Her golden yellow eyes flashed with curiosity and mirth. She could accept demons and their supernatural powers...but humans with them? The Shadow found that oh so VERY laughable.

"...there's multiple senses of being from out of town?" That one, he just couldn't quite get his head around. It wasn't important in the end, though. He got the idea.

Her later queries only solidified that she wasn't familiar with the happenings of the place, and his expression twisted into a frown as he took another pull from his supply of vanilla milkshake. Not being aware of these things wasn't exactly a great thing with the state of the city. She might manage fine as just a normal person, but...better to know than not.
"...the Cadets, are as I said, basically the police. Just in this case, they deal with demons and Psyche Terrorists. They work for the Queen - the woman who got the city set up in the first place, and supposedly gives them the powers they use in their work." He sighs, shaking his head. "They're practically celebrities...what with the government being all too happy to pour on the good publicity for them. And to advertise, for that matter. And that's to say nothing of the Queen herself...she doesn't actually really make appearances, but a lot of people worship her as a goddess. Hell, I think the local churches have incorporated her into whatever religion they host...hell if I know why, but it's kind of insane."

His gaze turns onto Melina, a somewhat serious expression to his face. "I can't exactly say I know the details-" All of them, anyway. "But considering this place isn't absolutely crawling with demons like the rest of the world, they've definitely got something to handle them effectively. Hell, if we're to believe what we're told, the Queen managed to fend them off alone while this place was setting up. Might sound ridiculous, but...there was no way this place would have happened if they didn't have some sort of power that let them fight this."

"As for the broadcast..." He pauses. "Well, a group of Psyche Terrorists known as the Platinum Playhouse kinda shook things up recently. They took over the government broadcast centre and sent a message out to the city that the government was doing shady stuff and that they planned to overthrow it. Hard to know what's going on." He took another drink of his milkshake, slightly pensive as he remembered what was actually done in order to make that broadcast happen. "You'll probably be able to find a recording online of the whole thing...not for lack of effort on the government's part to purge it from the net, but right now, they're being put up faster than anyone can get rid of them."

Melina chose not to answer that question. She had honestly said too much already and so pretended not to hear, masking it under the sound of taking another sip from her milkshake. These Cadets dealt with the Psycho Terrorists and the Demons, ending up with vast amount of positive publicity thrown upon them for it. It sounded like a pretty good gig really but not one that Melina was interested.

Melina kept quiet, listening to Cecil talking about the queen and how she had been worked into numerous religions all over the city which did seem a little crazy at first. However, when Cecil spoke further about the Queen and how she had basically set this entire city up herself fighting off the demons single handled to do so or at least, that was the rumor. If that was the case then the Queen's place in local churches seemed to make perfect sense.

The broadcast was what Melina had the most interest in. This Platinum Playhouse group seemed to be directly opposed to the government, desiring to end their regime and overthrow them. It sounded like an avenue worth exploring, especially given Melina's own interests. She would have to watch this video sometime but more importantly? She needed to meet this Playhouse. Taking another sip from her milkshake Melina noticed it was starting to run out. She must have been drinking more than she realised.

"Hmmm....I see...you wouldn't happen to know anything more about this playhouse would you? Such as oooh...I don't know...how to find them?" She kept her voice low and quiet, whispering in a rare display of restraint. Normally she wasn't exactly one to be subtle or quiet about things but in this situation common sense overrode her own personal views. She couldn't enjoy the freedoms of the world if she was locked up somewhere, or worse, now could she?

No sooner than Melina has asked that one little question did Cecil end up coughing as his milkshake went the wrong way.
Did...holy shit, they'd actually just asked that.
Either this was some sort of convoluted trap, or someone was seriously asking how to go find a bunch of terrorists. His bunch of terrorists. And while there was no way she actually knew who she was asking this (he hoped), the fact remained that it was him of all people taking the question.
...he really wanted to hope, but even if all of this was genuine, right here was definitely not the place to answer that question honestly.

Cecil swallowed down, clearing his throat as he tried to get his breath back. "I can't believe you just asked that. I really can't believe you just asked that." His voice took hushed, hissing tone as he gave Melina a pointed look. "Do you want to get arrested? Because that's how you get arrested!"
He stared down Melina for a couple of second before closing them and letting his head droop, giving a long-suffering sigh. With a shake of his head, he looked up at Melina once more, and made sure not to raise his voice. "I'm not going to say anything, but maybe, just maybe, don't ask people off the street how to meet up with terrorists if you don't like the police knocking on your door."
"Or, you know, Cadets. Either or."

Cecil shakes his head. "I can't help you, let alone here of all places. Even if I was the right person to ask, what kind of idiot would just say so to someone like that? That's putting up big flashing lights over your head saying you're either a terrorist sympathiser, or a goddamn Psyche Terrorist outright."

Melina was a little surprised by Cecil's sputtering. Was it really that taboo a subject? Eh honestly, the Shadow shouldn't have been so surprised. The silly people, sorry the silly humans, that lived in this city with their silly little taboo topics. It was a concept that angered the Shadow to no end which was kind of odd. The general "sweep it under the rug" attitude was indirectly responsible for Melina's, well the Shadow Melina's, existence but despite that she still hated it.

The Shadow suddenly grabbed Cecil's collar, pulled him close and planted a firm kiss on his lips right when he was began to flip out about being arrested. If there really WAS a risk of being arrested for this topic of discussion then why was he flipping out about it? He was going to draw attention to him and god only knows who, or what, was watching. The kiss lasted just long enough to go from practical to awkward. As the Shadow released Cecil from her grasp she licked her lips her lips twisting into a smirk.

"Mmmm vanilla is rather tasty. I think I might order one next time." And just like that she pretty much changed the subject, yet the sharp predatory look in her eyes indicated that Cecil had better be quiet. Not down to anything Melina would do but because of the risks inherent to his rambling. Risks that the Shadow was genuinely utterly unaware of at least until Cecil had made the risks blatantly obvious. Hopefully he didn't think she was actually working for the government. Such a thing would be horrible! Who'd want to work for the Queen?!

Brain activity halted as Cecil found himself seized and-
And-

The thoughts would go no further. Something in Cecil's mind refused to accept what had just happened, that this was the scenario he'd ended up in and it was real. He didn't move or resist, or do anything at all, eyes frozen wide open until he was released. He stared blankly, and choked on thin air as she licked her lips and made her comment, shock written across his face alongside the tortured absence of higher mental function.

It was possible to see on his face the way the jammed gears stuttered back into motion, the boy slowly returning to life with a harsh blush and a flustered look. "Wh-wh-what...?" He swallowed with a dry mouth as he looked at the smirking woman, absentmindedly touching a finger to his lip as he tried to mentally work through the events that had just unfolded.
Oblivious as he could be, it was hard to ignore your first kiss when it happened. Especially when it was thrust upon you so boldly and suddenly as this.

Yeah. Melina figured that her new found friend would not have been able to mentally handle that. She sat back in her chair and finished off her milkshake, chuckling contently to herself having found a great deal of amusement in the way she silenced Cecil. Still, it was a side matter next to the elephant in the room that was the Psycho Terrorists. Melina did want to meet them but she doubted Cecil could help with that.

"Mmmm...well it has been simply delightful getting to know you Cecil but I've gotta bounce. My shift starts soon..." She grabbed the receipt and took a pen out of her trouser pocket (she really did need to remember to empty her pockets of junk) and wrote her phone number on the white expanse of paper. She slid it towards Cecil with a cheeky wink, laughing mirthfully to herself.

"For if you want to do this again some time. I'd very much like to try the strawberry shake next time." She then walked past the flustered youth, ruffling his hair up on the way. Just like that she was gone, having vacated the coffee shop leaving behind the most likely mentally exhausted boy.

Cecil didn't even stop Melina this time as she ruffled his hair and left, nodding his head dumbly as she said her piece.
He didn't have a clue what to think of it all. Had someone said this would happen earlier, it would have been dismissed as an outlandish claim, but now that he was sat here after it had just happened the whole thing seemed surreal.

He looked back the way Melina had left, before picking up the receipt, reading the number off of it.

...what the fuck had just happened, and how soon before he woke up?

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