Chapter 229 : Welcoming cake

James and Maggie had devised a plan to welcome Jeremy to the Shades Of Penumbra properly. Well, Maggie had the idea of making something alon

James and Maggie had devised a plan to welcome Jeremy to the Shades Of Penumbra properly. Well, Maggie had the idea of making something along the lines of a surprise party, but was thankfully deterred by James' argument that their mutual friend wouldn't be too fond of such a surprise, and that a party of two for one wouldn't be as exciting as she thought. What he didn't mention was that Jeremy's reunion with his lost sister would also get in the way of the party mood. Yes, the siblings were happy to be reunited, but there was still the matter of facing her when she had twisted so far from her old human form and was still struggling with the change. If he had to guess, James would say there was a good chance Jeremy wouldn't celebrate anything until Maria got better, or at least could participate in a party herself. James hadn't pried too much into the rest of their family, but he still couldn't help but notice there had been no mention of their parents, at least around him.

So, instead of what would be an unwelcome and awkward surprise, James had planned something much calmer, and along the lines of what he expected someone with the pseudonym "Silence" to like. Yes, there would be a cake, but no decorations or confetti or anything flammable. Just a cake, a knife to cut it, and plates and spoons to eat it, all in one of the break rooms. Simple, sweet, quiet, effective. The one point of contention had been the cake's flavor, with James and Maggie disagreeing on what Jeremy would like. She insisted he'd like something sour and bitter, like coffee or dark chocolate, whereas James thought beneath all the darkness, he'd like something sweeter. Maybe something with red fruit? Vanilla, for sure, would be fine. No one disliked vanilla.

Thankfully, they didn't have to do this alone. James couldn't interrogate Maria himself, it'd be odd, but he did take advantage of the little sessions the Patchees had to talk about their respective pasts together and with those willing to lend an ear, using the reports of these events that his employees made to gather information about Jeremy through her. Was it morally questionable to use what was otherwise the closest thing they had to therapy like this? Maybe. But at this point, as much as it shamed him, James had done far worse.

Maggie, for her part, had the admittedly smarter and far less morally condemnable idea to just pool knowledge from the HardCored crew, sending private messages to everyone to ask them if they could remember what Silence had to say about cakes and desserts in general. In the end, they both were a little right. When James went to Sweet Pete's - it was the only bakery he knew of and one he was used to visiting already, not to mention that with a chef with literal sugar powers he figured they'd probably be the best - he ended up commissioning a black velvet with vanilla and white chocolate in addition to the contents of the usual recipe. The local telepathic space squid was happy to see him, and he was happy to share news about Larry, Barry, Jeffrey, and Mark, as he always did when he dropped by.

So, when Jeremy was notified to take a detour through one of the break rooms on what was his official first day working for Silhouette, he came face to face with a grinning girl and pitch black humanoid, both in casual clothes, and standing in front of a table set with a black cake with "Welcome" written in white icing, posed just right to be front and center without obscuring the dessert. Maggie had insisted on asking someone to check the framing for them beforehand, and Larry had been bribed with promises of leftover cake. Though really, he was just glad to be useful, the sweety goodness was just a bonus.

"Yo, Silence! Welcome to the gang! But seriously, dude, you look exactly like I thought you would."

Jeremy, for his part, gracefully stood still and confused for merely a moment before realizing what was happening and slipping back into his usual aloofness.

"Magic, I presume. As active as expected. And I see you roped a poor employee into this. How did you even manage to convince management to direct me here?"

James chuckled awkwardly, scratching at the hair at the back of his head - as usual, his regular form was just a colorless version of his human body, bar the new clothes, but he was a little excited to be meeting with someone who could actually perceive it properly, such as the eyes and mouth. At least, he hoped that was the case. Jeremy could see the shades of black in his office, so it only made sense he'd be able to see the shape of his form, even if the monochrome usually hid it.

"Hey, Silence. Don't mind her, I already barely managed to convince her this would be more appropriate than a full disco party."

"Hey! I never said anything about disco! You invented that!"

Jeremy blinked as his brain connected the dots - someone who was rather calm yet who could banter with Magic, who called him by his online name, and had evidently shadow-aligned powers. And then he was also reminded of the fact that he got not one but two recommendations according to Silhouette during his job interview, with his not-yet-at-the-time employer then apologizing for almost spoiling a so-called surprise.

"Excuse me, would you happen to be... James?"

Maggie didn't leave him the time to respond, popping in with a somehow even wider grin.

"Yep! Jamie boy here is apparently one of Silhouette's first employees. Put in a good word for me when it was my turn to audition."

"Oh, please. You were already going to get the job, I just made sure the boss would be more forgiving of your... Manic energy."

"Oh, I'm far from manic, you little-"

Jeremy looked at the back and forth uncertainly before clearing his throat.

"So... You work for Silhouette too. And have been for some time, if I understand this correctly?"

"Oh, more than that! Our little James is the big boss' right-hand man. Ain't that a big shot role for him?"

James made a show of rolling his eyes, also rolling his head a little to make sure the gesture would be caught properly by all parties involved.

"Please. I'm not his right-hand man. The closest to that position would be Techlord, and even then, it's not a perfect fit. It's like I told you before, Maggie. Silhouette's chain of command relies way more on independent groups than on a clear hierarchy. There's no clear second, just a bunch of mini-bosses he can speed dial to get problems fixed or who can call him to handle something they can't. More like a president and their ministers than, say, a gang."

"And like I told you, that's how most big groups work. And since you are the one Silhouette drops all his paperwork on, you are his go-to problem solver. Congrats, number two!"

Jeremy looked taken aback by that.

"I'm sorry, James is what?"

James waved off her remarks and just stepped closer to his black and white friend.

"Never mind her. It'd be more accurate to say I do an assistant's work. And the way she phrases it, it sounds like Silhouette doesn't do a thing when really, he's very active. I'd say I spend as much time in his office as he does, and we're both often out on errands. He's a good boss, if he's a bit... Off-putting for some. Like, back in the early days, he was the one who went out to buy pastries for everyone. And he did it with his own money. Now he delegates and all that, but trust me, he cares. He's just not the best at showing it."

And considering Jeremy's own experience? The reunion with a sister he thought lost, that he'd never see again? The knowledge that in the seedy part of their society, Silhouette was secretly plotting to help those left behind and monsters others would rather put down? Yes, Jeremy could believe that. Silhouette might not be a saint, he could certainly figure out that much, but the man had his loyalty. 

"I see... So... James is James, I presume."

"James Valdest, yeah."

"And Magic is..."

"Maggie Thespian. But really, Maggie and Magic both work. I know James prefers using the real thing, but I get it if that's not your style. What about you, spooky boy? Something emo, right? Like, Edward."

"Why would Edward be emo? I mean, I do think Silence has the look of an Edward, but that doesn't make the name itself emo."

"I dunno, James, it just has that vibe, you know? The vibe of someone in a dark room, lamenting their life, tormented by horrors and tragedy. And clearly you see it too, even if you refuse to admit it."

Jeremy interposed then.

"Wait, wait. Maggie Thespian? Thespian, as in the theater term? Did... Is that your actual real name?"

"Uh, yeah? Why?"

"Maggie Thespian. MagicIsTragic. Thespian for theater, theater is known for tragedy. Then you have Maggie, which has the same three starting letters as the word magic. You just took pieces of your name and twisted them to make an alias!"

"Oh. Oooh. Wait, that sounds smart. I should have done that. I just picked what I liked."

"But you did do that! James, a little help?"

"Sorry, Silence. I kinda figured something like that would happen. And to be honest, my name isn't that much better. I mean, a guy named James with shadow powers and confused about the general situation? JamesIsInTheDark is a little on the nose."

"Boys! If you're done talking about how smart I am, you still haven't shared your name, mister shades of grey."

Jeremy sighed before standing a little straighter, and James knew deep in his non-existent heart that for a moment, his friend briefly considered bowing for his introduction, before remembering he was dealing with Magic and it would likely not end well for his morale. Still, James pictured the scene as though he had done so. 

"Jeremy Jones, I'd say it's a pleasure, but I am familiar with your gremlin ways. James, good to meet you in the flesh, as it were. Although I think I remember you saying something about losing your carnal form?"

"Dude, you sound weird. Don't say that James is carnal."

"Ahem. What Maggie probably meant to say was that, yeah, I'm no longer made of meat. I'm solidified darkness, like Silhouette. Well, I'm solid, whereas Silhouette tends to be on the more... Viscous side. I think? He can also be wispy and merged into ambient shadows. Anyway, no problem. I won't be offended by a saying about meat. I'm not that petty."

"Ah, good to know. I know that in your situation, some would be. Like the one who turned into a living cloud of pixels. I think we mentioned him before?"

"That does ring a bell, but I don't think I've ever seen him chat."

"He stopped being active after a while. He still drops by on the website from time to time, but mostly on the forum side or in other chat rooms. He was only ever a brief guest in ours, even if we did our best to make him feel welcome."

"What Silence means is that he only made his monologues half as long."

Jeremy grumbled, but notably didn't refute her point. Good to know he had some awareness of his habits. Well, it made sense, since while being proper, he hadn't gone on a melodramatic tangent in his interview, much the same way Maggie had been calm and quiet for her own. Which... Well, really, James figured it wasn't that remarkable, in the end. Really few people were the same around their boss as they were with friends, especially online friends. The Internet had a way of unleashing something in people they normally kept under wraps, even around those they trusted.

"Come on, stop arguing, you two. We have some nice cake to eat."

Without much further ado but a lot of grumbling, slices were cut, placed on plates, and finally scooped with spoons that were then put into mouths. Going by the smiles and pleased hums of his friends, James figured it tasted good. He wouldn't know, his new body had no sense of taste and couldn't eat. He'd just store the cake he "ate" inside of himself until he found a place to dump it. Or, he could try sending some to Polisson through his fake hammerspace. The rat wouldn't mind the dessert's state.

"Mhm, whoa, this thing's good. Where'd you get it from, James?"

"I concur, this is wonderful. I'd like to know where to order future pastries and sweets."

"Funny you say that, it's Sweet Pete's place. And I'm glad you guys like it, I love the guy's work, but I don't have a lot of points of reference, at least in Zalcien."

"Sweet Pete? Isn't that the guy with sugar powers? The Vigilante that keeps fighting Napolitan Bonappétit?"

"Yeah, that's him. Silhouette's used to buying treats from him for the troops, so I figured I'd ask if we could have a custom cake for this. You can thank everyone on HardCored for the taste. We pooled our collective knowledge of you to figure out what to order."

"Mhm, Vigilante cake. You can taste the crime."

"Hush, you gremlin. Besides, since he only operates in the slums, where laws aren't as clear, I don't think the man officially qualifies for the Vigilante status. That being said, he does make wonderful creations. Say, James. I couldn't help but notice you implied Silhouette was the one who ordered this. Our boss.

"Oh, yeah. Like I said, Silhouette's a good boss. He's usually too busy for that kinda stuff, but he likes to make employees happy. Like how, since today's your introduction day, Maggie and I have been officially appointed as your welcoming committee, in charge of making you feel like a part of the team and of showing you the ropes and everything to know about the place. In other words, we only have to cover some boring stuff, and for the rest of the day, we can just hang out. Unless one of us has an emergency and has to go, of course."

Try as he might, Jeremy couldn't hold back a smile.

"Very well. If we must."

He barely grumbled when Maggie bumped him in the ribs with her elbow, a wild smile on her face.