JENNA: * Jo, for her part, continues her musing in the street, watching passersby with approximately as much interest as she paid the eating establishment. She arches a brow when one of the birds attempts to accost a pedestrian, yanking back with some irritation. "People aren't for eating, bird. We'll feed you once we're out of town."

JUSTIN: * Shane's planning is rewarded, as he winds up with two full meals without a horrendous waiting time. At least, horrendous when you've got someone waiting for you out on the street. He gladly pays the restaurant for a pair of their serving trays (as he really doesn't want to risk putting so much food into a bag or pouch), and after he fastens the covers over their plates with a bit of string, he marches back out onto the street. "Hope you didn't get too bored, Jo."

JENNA: "Your peco has an eye for the ladies," Jo remarks, reaching over for the trays so that he can mount up. "I thought he might be hungry." Her brief smile turns into a grin moments later. "But I figured if I have to wait, he has to wait." She turns her gaze back to the street for a moment, grin fading.

JUSTIN: * Shane tuts quietly, snagging some rope from the saddlebags and using it to secure his cargo to the saddle of his bird. "Well, as long as he keeps his eyes off of you, I won't have to hit him." He turns the peco a questioning look, but it ignores him in favor of sniffing the trays on its back. "Well, I'm hungry too, so we'd better get this show on the road."

JENNA: * Jo nods, turning her peco to the road and setting off at an easy trot toward the teleporter. "I guess I'll be throwing up every time we have to come here," she remarks as she goes. "We certainly have less trouble when we take the telepad." Then again, she still holds out hope they'll never have to come back here.

JUSTIN: * Shane shrugs his shoulders lightly, grabbing his reigns and leading the bird after her at a crisp walk. "Considering how tough the rest of you is, I can't understand how your stomach can be so weak." He scratches at his cheek, brow furrowing for a moment before he shrugs again. "Well, I suppose you aren't /all/ tough."

JENNA: * Jo arches an eyebrow. "Everyone has their weaknesses, right?" She shakes her head, frowning. "I can eat anything, but ... well, at least teleporters aren't a frequent hazard." She keeps a wary eye on the street, picking up the pace a bit as they near the telepad. As little trouble as they had going in, she wants even less going out.

JUSTIN: "Some just have sillier weaknesses than others." Shane quips, probably ignoring the fact that he isn't in a position to be talking. "But at least you're braving such dangers in the name of the greater good."

JENNA: * Jo gives him a long, silent stare, then makes for the pad itself, swinging down from her peco as she goes. Once in place, she seats herself on the stone and sighs. "Someday I'll find something that makes you vomit uncontrollably, and we'll see who's laughing then."

JUSTIN: * Shane wanders up onto the pad and flops onto his but across from her, intent on sharing the indignity if it must be had. "As long as it is something rare, and allows me to be close enough to deposit it where you can see it." He grins, tipping his hat to her briefly.

JENNA: "As long as it's not on my feet," she says drily, glancing over at the workers, who are indicating it's time to get the teleport going. She sucks in a deep breath and sighs again, closing her eyes. "I've been nice enough not to actually throw up on you, anyway."

JUSTIN: "I've been waiting for it every time." Shane says, words almost lost as the pad lights up. Their bodies are taken apart and shot through the air to be reassembled on the ground below, no worse for wear -- at least, on the part of Shane and the two pecos. He hops to his feet easily, and holds a hand out to help Jo, if she doesn't decide to crawl away first.

JENNA: * Jo gets to her feet on her own, leaving the pad rapidly in search of a private place to let her stomach spasm. She finds it in a cluster of bushes a few feet away, emerging when she's finished and scouting around for Shane.

JUSTIN: * Shane and the pecos vacated the pad in the meantime, and are currently parked at the side of the road in wait. He gives her a brief wave and tilts his head, managing to keep a straight face. "Anything new come out?"

JENNA: "Not that I know of," she replies mildly, a little annoyed at his amusement. "You can go back in the bushes and check if you're all that interested." She doesn't say anything else, swinging onto her peco and starting for the road. "I thought we could head a few miles out before we ate -- get out of the crowd."

JUSTIN: * Shane sighs quietly, knowing he shouldn't have expected anything better for a response, and grabs the reigns of his bird to follow. "Fine, fine. Just keep it slow, as one of us is on foot until after we stop to eat."

JENNA: * Jo shrugs and continues, making for a clear patch a little ways off the road -- if a mile or two down it. Once she's settled on a spot, she swings down, tying her peco and getting it some promised food. That done, she pats its beak and seats herself on a nearby rock to wait for Shane.

JUSTIN: * Shane keeps quiet during the trip, and upon arrival at the clearing, he is quick to tie his peco up next to its companion and unpack their lunch from the saddle. He turns a sideways glance over to Jo, trying not to grimace at her less-than-joyful mood, before clearing his throat and walking over with their trays. "Meat and veggies, as usual..." He sets one of them down on the rock, and unties the other, removing the lid and handing the plate to Jo.

JENNA: * Jo takes it with a smile, turning silently to her food and eating slowly, as she's still in the process of thinking things through. As much as she speculated, she really hadn't been expecting enough money that she would be able to stop working. She has her doubts whether she really wants to stop, as well, which she's certain will confuse and possibly annoy her companion.

JUSTIN: * Shane takes up his tray, parking his butt beside Jo and working the plate free from its holdings. "You're awfully quiet," he says, keeping his tone down. "Still have a lot on your mind, don't you." He pokes at his exposed meal, finding his appetite slightly diminished.

JENNA: * Jo nods, setting her food down for a moment and watching him. "You already have ideas, right? What you want to do with all that money," she says after a pause. "All I really wanted was not to starve ... and I did that well enough without it." She shrugs, looking back at her plate. "I don't know what to do with it."

JUSTIN: * Shane sets his plate off to the side for the moment, as well, leaning forward on his knees and tapping his forefingers together almost anxiously. "That's not so strange, I guess..." He isn't sure how much he should poke right now. She hasn't had too much time to consider things on her own, and it wouldn't be fair to put ideas in her head, whether he thinks they'd appeal to her or not. "You're... happy with the way things already are. Aren't you?"

JENNA: "It's what I'm used to," she replies, then applies herself to her food for several minutes before speaking again. "I like traveling. I like being on the road. But traveling without a goal in mind ..." She shakes her head and continues eating, unsure exactly what she's saying.

JUSTIN: * Shane clasps his hands, staring down at them for a moment before rubbing them together. "Well, who says you can't travel with a goal? There are more goals in life than finding work, right?" He reaches over and pats her knee. "You could travel to the seaside to swim. Or to Alberta, to do some shopping." He tries hard to make it sound appealing, but he isn't sure that's quite what she's looking for. "It's... it's not so bad..."

JENNA: * Jo shakes her head. "Don't.. don't worry about it," she says finally. "I'll think of something." What that something is she doesn't know, but the idea of having nothing to do -- or being confined to one place -- is almost enough to make her sick to her stomach. She attempts to fight that, however, as she continues her meal.

JUSTIN: * Shane gives her another sideways stare, but he relents, sitting back and grabbing his plate to continue his picking. "Well, you have all the time you need. I'm not trying to rush you to a conclusion." He goes quiet after that, concentrating (at least, visibly) on his food.

JENNA: * Jo nods, finishing her meal without anything further on the subject. She sets her empty plate aside and gets to her feet, pacing a bit before going into a slow set of exercises. It appears she's trying to work off some nervous energy. She stops midway, however, and retreats to pester her peco a bit.

JUSTIN: * Shane finishes his meal slowly, watching Jo when he's sure she isn't watching him, and finally places the cleaned plate down. He isn't sure if he should start packing things up or let her work as she sees fit, so he simply sits and waits, watching the grass sway with the breeze.

JENNA: "Are you ready?" Jo asks suddenly, as if coming out of a reverie. "It's a long ride to Prontera." She grins, starting to untie her peco. "No good thinking about it when there's terrain to cover."

JUSTIN: * Shane startles out of his stare, glancing up at Jo with a slight blush. "Oh... Of course." He gets to his feet, grabbing the now-empty trays and plates and tying them together to save space. He walks over to his peco with a sigh, attaching them to his saddlebags. "I guess I'll have to find a place to get rid of these when we reach the city."

JENNA: "I'm sure someone would buy them." Jo grins at him, mounting up and starting for the road. "Or at least take them off your hands. I doubt they're worth much." She seems to have recovered her good spirits by the time they reach the road, though how much of that is simply ignoring the problem at hand it's hard to say.

JUSTIN: * Shane glances down at the unsightly trays dangling from the side of his mount, and makes a face. "I'm sure there's someone, somewhere who wouldn't mind some free serving trays." He shakes his head and squelches a large yawn, feeling unnaturally weary after their meal. Blaming it on too much brain work, he makes a point not to think about their money, their future, or anything else for the rest of the trip. Unless, of course, he does.

JENNA: * Jo doesn't bring up the subject of money for the rest of the journey, maintaining her carefree attitude almost until they've breached Prontera's city walls. Her quiet mood returns a few miles out, and by the time they enter the gates, it's clear that only tight control is keeping her from bolting.

JUSTIN: * Shane enjoys the respite while it lasts, but he clearly is feeling a bit more on edge as they near the city, as well -- and probably because he's anticipating Jo's change in mood. Once they've arrived, he's afraid to bring it up, for fear that his companion's strained control will snap at the audible mention of her worries. So instead, he just trots along, looking for a place to get their birds stabled during their stay. "We haven't been to Prontera in a while, have we?" He starts, innocently enough.

JENNA: "You like Prontera about as much as I like Juno," she responds with a ghost of a smile, starting for her parents house along a route she's never forgotten. "Things did go kind of badly the first time we were here." She looks around idly as they move, wondering, it seems if she'll run into anyone she knows from the ages ago when she lived there.

JUSTIN: "Well, in light of how things ended up..." Shane turns his peco to follow her route, and pulls up alongside her. "I suppose things went very well. Except for the part where you almost got away." He grins slightly, leaning back in his saddle as they go. "Besides... at least there's nothing here that scares me stiff or causes me to lose my lunch."

JENNA: * Jo is about to respond, swinging down from her peco, when a voice not heard in probably a year and a half bursts out from nearby. "Jo! Hey! You came back again!" Jo whirls in surprise to see Avery jogging in her direction, out of uniform -- apparently it's his day off. "Avery!" She lifts her hand with a smile and a wave, but as soon as he's in range, the large man wraps her in an enthusiastic bear hug, lifting her from the ground and giving her a spin before releasing her.

JUSTIN: * Shane jumps at the sound, swinging his peco around to see who's behind the loud exclamation. Upon seeing who it is, his eyes roll heavenward and he quietly mouths a curse before forcing his gaze back down again. What happens next just rubs him the wrong way, however innocent it might have been, and he practically snarls. "Well, look who's here..."

JENNA: * Jo is laughing by the time Avery releases her, and she stumbles back, leaning against her peco for support. "Good day, Avery?" she says mildly, and her old friend salutes her cheerfully. "Great day!" He then glances at Shane, apparently missing his expression and tone entirely. "Hey! Looks like you caught up with her, yeah? Good work." Jo utters a faint snort, glancing at Shane and noting he's probably in no mood for this. Avery makes things easy for her, however, by tousling her hair and starting up the street again. "Sorry -- can't chat. Got a hot date. Catch you later for a drink, maybe!" he calls, and then he's out of sight.

JUSTIN: * Shane glares after the man as he leaves, completely tempted to just trample his thick head with his peco. And if the peco's personality is any indication, it would probably have no problem with mutilating a random human individual. "Do you know any men who aren't complete idiots?" He asks with contempt, clearly meaning it.

JENNA: "Do you want me to count you in that total?" Jo asks easily, still smiling faintly after Avery's departure. "He's not too smart, but he's a good guy," she says, shrugging, then she starts up the street again, towing her peco along. "I don't have very many people who would remember me kindly, you know?"

JUSTIN: * Shane snorts, climbing down to the street rigidly, and only turning his eyes once Avery's disappeared from sight. "Oh, I'm sure most men remember you /very/ fondly, Jo." He straightens his coat and follows after the woman, glaring at nothing in particular.

JENNA: * Jo rolls her eyes, turning and planting herself in front of him, hands on hips. "So you wouldn't have been so angry if it was a woman who did that? What if it was an elderly man?" Her brows lift. "Shall I kiss you and make you forget about it?" She gives him a chance to answer now, tossing her head.

JUSTIN: * Shane turns his face away from her, a little annoyed at the insinuation that he's that easy to deal with. "I'd like to point out that most women and eldery men wouldn't be physically capable of doing that..." He reaffixes his grip on the reigns of his peco and walks around her. "Let's just go, all right?"

JENNA: * Jo sniffs and follows, catching up after a moment to twine her arm with his and nestle lazily against him. Her other hand holds the reins of her peco, which ignores them both. "You worry too much," she remarks, leaning her head against him.

JUSTIN: * Shane's grouchy demeanor softens slightly at her affectionate touch, but he is far from admitting that his worries are unfounded. Men aren't so easily trusted. "I would rather be safe than sorry, that's all..." He murmurs, slipping her hand into his and giving it a soft squeeze.

JENNA: * Jo sighs, returning the squeeze and glancing up the street again. She almost falters in surprise when she realizes they've almost reached their destination, but she presses forward anyway, her grip becoming even tighter when they reach the door. She stops there and hesitates again, apparently working up the courage to knock.

JUSTIN: * Shane slides Jo a sideways look, giving her a moment to build her confidence. He's mildly impatient, however, as -- by contrast -- he's rather excited about the meeting. Leaning over a little, he nudges her lightly with his elbow. "Want me to knock, or...?"

JENNA: * Jo gives him a sideways glance and shakes her head, lifting her hand to knock on the door and releasing his arm. There's silence for several moments, and Jo is tempted to break and run in the interval, but before she can make up her mind to do so, the door creaks open, and an older woman looks out, a puzzled frown on her face. She sees Shane first, and her puzzlement deepens, but when her gaze shifts to Jo, she freezes in place, much as if she can't believe what she's seeing. Jo lifts her hand with a wan smile. "Hi," she offers weakly, and the woman's face crumples for a moment before she flings herself beyond the doorframe to wrap Jo in an affectionate (and apparently long-denied) embrace.

JUSTIN: * Shane is about to open his mouth to say something, but he's forced to dodge out of the way as the older woman hurls herself onto Jo. He stares, a bit shocked -- even though he probably shouldn't be surprised, considering. "Uh..." Once again, he tries to think of something to say, but now he feels like it would be out of place, as Jo is clearly the center of attention at the moment.

JENNA: * Jo is momentarily panicked, a feeling that only intensifies when it becomes clear that the woman is crying. "I --" she begins, but the woman straightens, shaking her head and dabbing at her eyes with a worn apron. "No.. no, I'm sorry -- terribly -- I just didn't expect --" It's in the middle of this broken statement that another voice calls from inside the house. "Elle? What in the devil's name is going on?" The woman directs a very cross look inside, then smiles. "Marcus -- she came back!" A puzzled silence follows this, and she turns back to Shane and Jo. "Please -- come inside."

JUSTIN: * Shane clears his throat quietly, deciding he'll just wait to introduce himself when the subject comes up. He reattains his grip on Jo's hand, reaching around to pat her arm with his other hand. "Come on, Jo." He also refrains for asking her if she's all right in front of her mother, not wanting to give the impression that Jo doesn't want to be here -- though in a way, that might be true.

JENNA: * Jo lets him keep hold of her hand this time, stepping into the house without answering. The woman, Elle, has already moved into the dining area, where she is squabbling good-naturedly with her counterpart about being ready for guests. The man falls silent when he spies Jo, and she is once again stricken with the urge to flee. "By the gods," he says. "It really is." Elle tuts him. "You think I'm blind, old man?" Then she turns to Shane and Jo. "Please -- please, come sit. I'll make tea." Jo complies immediately, pausing in front of her father, who also hesitates, then tousles her hair before pulling her into a hug. This time, she manages to return it. "Sorry," she says blankly, and he releases her, shaking his head. "Don't be."

JUSTIN: * Shane's own excitement is given a lift at the obvious excitement Jo's parents are feeling, but at the same time he feels a little awkward, being the unknown extra. He complies with the request, however, and slowly takes a seat. His eyes stay on Jo -- one, because she is the only familiar element at the moment, but also because he wants to make sure she doesn't freak out belatedly.

JENNA: * Once they're all seated and comfortable (or as comfortable as they can get), Elle returns with the tea, setting out a chipped and worn tea set and leaving them each to season the beverage as they see fit. Jo reaches instinctively for the sugar, which causes her mother to smile. "Still like it sweet, then?" Jo hesitates, then nods, a grin starting. "Though I haven't had it in a while ..." Elle sniffs. "Well, you should have come home sooner, shouldn't you?" Then her gaze shifts to Shane. "Well, now. I'm afraid I've been terribly rude -- who is this young man?" Her brows lift with interest.

JUSTIN: * Shane looks up from his tea, which he was busy sniffing at, and looks around for a moment -- as if making certain he's the young man she's referring to. "Oh, no harm done, madam." He clears his throat, sitting up straighter and taking off his hat. "My name is Shane Veribaent, from Juno originally. I'm Jo's..." His eyes shift over to Jo, and he smiles weakly. "Travelling companion." If their relationship is going to come up at all, he'd rather Jo be the one to inform her parents about it.

JENNA: * Elle directs her daughter a knowing smile, and Jo busies herself with her tea, face reddening. Marcus snorts. "Juno? That's a long way to come ..." Elle smiles. "After so long ... we have more than a night's catching up to do." Jo nods, reddening again. "I.. I'm sorry ..." But her mother shakes her head, reaching across the table to take her hand. "You came back." Marcus, in the meantime, is peering at Shane again. "That looks like a uniform ... were you a guard?"

JUSTIN: * Shane dashes some sugar into his tea, and looks up again, this time over at Jo's father. "Hm? Oh..." His eyes steer down toward his hat, and he can't decide whether to smile or grimace, so he does neither. "I was, yes... Most of my life. Until Jo came along." He grins crookedly, taking a brief sip of his tea to test it. "Things got a little complicated from there."

JENNA: "To put it mildly," Jo mutters, and Elle begins to laugh. "Jo, what did you /do/ to him?" Jo looks at her, almost indignant. "I didn't do anything -- he started it!" At this, Marcus begins to laugh, and Jo takes a long drink of tea, setting the cup down a little hard on the table. "You might ask him what he did to /me/." And Elle immediately turns to Shane, brows lifted with amusement and interest.

JUSTIN: * Shane stares across the table at Jo, halfway through a sip of tea, and sets his cup down. "I think we can agree there was some mutual fault on both sides." He smirks, going slightly red in the face at the thought of explaining everything in full detail. If that is to ever happen, he will definately leave it to Jo. He looks over to Jo's parents, who are clearly looking for more of an answer than that. "All... all I did was ask for her papers..."

JENNA: "Which I imagine she didn't have." Elle tuts, sipping her tea, apparently well-acquainted with her daughter's bad habits. "Well, you seem to have both come through it all right." Jo nods, taking another drink, and Elle sets her cup down, watching them both. "How long.. are you going to stay?" she asks at last. "I mean -- you must at least stay for dinner. I won't have you leaving before then."

JUSTIN: * Shane nods his head quickly, smiling. "Dinner would be welcome, thank you. We didn't come all the way to Prontera for a spot of tea." He glances over at their daughter. "Right, Jo?"

JENNA: * Jo nods, suddenly remembering the other reason they've come. She pauses, thinking about bringing it up, then decides it's better to wait until they're leaving, so it will be harder to turn them down. "That's fine," she says instead. "Home-cooked food can be hard to come by on the road."

JUSTIN: "Not that I haven't given it my best shot." Shane states, giving Jo a level look. "But I can only do so much without a kitchen." He sighs lightly, giving his attention back to his tea and drinking it gratefully. Tea is something he hasn't had since his own parents were alive, and it's a nice change of pace.

JENNA: * Jo finishes her tea and sets the cup down, feeling both out of place and perfectly at home. "There's not much to be done with a campfire," she replies, not bothering to add that she wasn't really referring to /his/ cooking. "Well!" says Elle. "Then we'll have to go all out, won't we? Jo, won't you come with me to the market? We do need a few things." Jo nods immediately, getting to her feet.

JUSTIN: * Shane looks up with a start, slightly dismayed at the two women's imminent departure. The last thing he wants is to be left alone with Jo's father, for fear of being interrogated without Jo there for support. But he doesn't protest -- after all, Jo's mother has probably wanted time alone to chat with her daughter for years.

JENNA: * Jo smiles at Shane briefly, then leans to kiss his cheek. "We won't be long." Elle gets to her feet as well, issuing a stern warning to her husband not to scare off the young man. He gives her a doubtful look in response, but she's already bustled off to get her shawl. Jo follows her shortly, and they're both gone in another minute, leaving the pair alone. Marcus arches an eyebrow and gives a low snort, chuckling. "So I take it our little Jo has caused you more than your share of trouble?"

JUSTIN: * Shane rubs at the back of his neck, still staring at the door well after it's shut behind the departing duo. "Trouble in spades, to be sure..." He smiles slimly at the thought, recalling the early months of their "companionship". Turning back to his tea to finish up his cup, he then takes the pot to pour himself a new serving. "From what I hear, she's been a handfull since she was a child. Care to validate that?"

JENNA: * Marcus chuckles, lifting his teacup in a mocking toast before setting it down again. "Preferred to run with the street urchins day in and day out, never would attend school. We managed to keep her from stealing, most days -- or at least from getting caught by the guard." He laughs. "That was why I asked, you see ... of all the people for her to take up with."

JUSTIN: * Shane chuckles weakly, not sure exactly how much of Jo's criminal career he should let on about. That's Jo's job if she feels like advertising it. Still, he can't say much without at least alluding to it. "Well, that's the funny thing, really..." He takes a sip of his tea, sighing a little and rubbing his cheek in thought. "It certainly didn't start out as a happy thing. I wanted to lock her up for a long time." He grins, looking fairly sheepish at relating this fact to the woman's father.

JENNA: * Marcus looks at him for a moment, then starts laughing again. "That's what I thought -- so you /were/ chasing her first. Honestly, that girl ..." He smiles briefly, then takes a long sip of his tea. "Well, you'll forgive me if I say I'm grateful you never did manage it."

JUSTIN: * Shane blushes a bit, attending to his own tea for a moment before he responds. "In light of how things turned out, I suppose I'm rather grateful I didn't, also." He taps at the side of his cup for a moment, then quirks his head to the side, scratching at his neck. "To be honest, I'm still not entirely certain how things worked around the way they did..."

JENNA: * Marcus scratches his chin, grinning again. "Chance, if you want. Luck, fate." He shrugs, apparently not putting a whole lot of stock in any of these options. "I'm at least glad she found someone good. There are worse fates that could have befallen her ... particularly with the paths she ran." He extends a hand to Shane. "So I'll thank you for that, at least."

JUSTIN: * Shane takes the man's hand after a slight hesitation -- after all, he surely doesn't think he deserves any thanks. Nonetheless, he gives it a good, firm shake and smiles bashfully. "I wonder if she'd agree that I'm not one of the worse fates..." He shakes his head a bit, look turning more serious. "I certainly had a worse fate in mind before I met her, though." A brief grin returns almost immediately. "As much of a headache as she can be. I just wish..." He stops short, giving his head a second shake and deciding its probably not fair to talk about that right now.

JENNA: * Marcus watches him for a moment, taking another long drink before he replies. "Well ... Perhaps you'll have better luck tying her down than we did," he suggests comfortably, swirling the dregs of his tea before taking a last sip. "Not that I'm saying it will be easy or anything.'

JUSTIN: * Shane grimaces slightly, looking down into his tea and watching it steam. "Yeah. I know." He rubs at his eye, and tries not to look too dreary at the thought. "We have very little in common, except each other. I'm prepared to follow her around all over creation if that's what I have to do." He takes another drink of his tea and looks around the room. "But it would be nice to have something like this, for ourselves. If I can only convince her she won't die if she stays in one place longer than a week."

JENNA: "I'm sure you'll figure something out," Marcus offers unhelpfully, then grins. "After all, you've followed her this far. You must have some wits about you." After a moment more he rises, gathering the dirty dishes to take them into the small kitchen.

JUSTIN: * Shane hurries to finish his tea, getting to his feet and stepping after Marcus as he downs the last of the liquid from his cup. Not wanting to get in the way, he steps off to the side and places the saucer and cup down on the counter for the moment. "If you don't mind my asking, sir, there's a... um, question I had. It might seem a little random, but..." He rubs the back of his neck, and clears his throat. "What would Jocasta's surname be...?"

JENNA: * Marcus glances over his shoulder curiously, running the water cold to rinse the cups out. "Do you mean her biological family's name or ours? I don't know that she's taken either one." He shrugs, turning to the business of washing. "She was young enough at the time we didn't press her with it, so I doubt she has."

JUSTIN: * Shane makes a face, shaking his head slightly and turning back to look into his empty cup. "I suppose I should have expected..." He rubs his brow and exhales a quiet sigh, picking up the cup and bringing it to the sink. "She's stubbornly independant, it only makes sense."

JENNA: "Well, it's only a name, in the end." Marcus continues washing dishes, an expression of casual contentment on his face. "She is who she is whether she wears it or not." The washing goes quickly under his expert supervision -- apparently he's quite used to the job.

JUSTIN: * Shane makes another face, wondering if he's ever going to find someone in life that shares his traditional values. The odds aren't in his favor. He has to consent defeat, however, as the man has a point -- even if he would rather he didn't. "I suppose..."

JENNA: * Marcus grins at him, noting his discontent, and sets the dishes aside, making his way back to the table. "You've gotten yourself mixed up with an unusual girl, I'm afraid," he remarks. "But like I said -- you've kept up with her this far. I'm sure you can figure something out."

JUSTIN: * Shane ambles after him again, feeling rather like a little boy again with the way he's following the older man around and asking questions. "I'm fairly certain I've only kept up because she's gone a little easy on me. But I suppose I can't complain about that."