<span style="font-family:Cairo">The friendly environment that Amadan and all the other residents and visitors at Casa Marianella were enjoying wasn’t an environment or atmosphere that was diminished or tarnished at all by Detective Tony Deschenes’s presence because there was little to no reason for anyone in the building to be hesitant about him. Nothing about his apparel screamed detective or police officer in the slightest and he wasn’t intending on revealing that at all, either. In fact, it was an aura in the air that Tony was enjoying even as he walked in. Normally, the detective found himself in situations where negative emotions ran rampant, but here was very different. Here, everyone seemed to feel safe within their surroundings and it meant that the amount of contentment that swelled within the air was so much that it could’ve very easily becoming intoxicating for the empath. It was something he wasn’t used to being around, after all, which meant that he was that much more likely to fall prey to it’s pleasantries. <br/>
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All that remained to make the atmosphere complete was knowing that he was, in fact, still welcome in Amadan’s eyes because that was the reason why he’d come. It had been a few days since the invitation had been offered and Tony wasn’t quite sure if Amadan would’ve ever expected him to accept it. Of all things, he was glad he was able to return a smile rather than a confused gaze or a frown. <br/>
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He nodded at Kelsey’s suggestion and then a thought came to his mind. <span class="fixed-color" style="color:thistle">“I’ll try to remember to bring something in next time I come around,”</span> he commented with a smile. Considering it in the moment, he wasn’t quite sure if it would be possible at all because he struggled finding time to cook even for himself; finding the time to prepare something for a whole group of people wouldn’t be easy. Aside from that, there was the thought that what made Mardis Gras as wonderful as it was wasn’t the food; it was the whole environment of it. <br/>
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<span class="fixed-color" style="color:thistle">“You make sure you enjoy your meal as well as everyone else,”</span> Tony remarked to Kelsey before she left him with his capable companion. <br/>
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Even then, though, it seemed he had plenty of more people to meet before it was time to sit down for a meal for Detective Deschenes. That wasn’t a bad thing at all, though; on the contrary, Tony was firmly of the belief that a celebration was the best place to meet new people. It created better first impressions. True, relying on first impressions wasn’t a good idea - that had been his whole approach to returning to meet up with Amadan again - but that didn’t mean people could really avoid making them. Celebrations led to better ones which simply made celebrations good places to meet people. The mood was already high. <br/>
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Driven by that strong mood, there was very little that could wipe the smile off of Tony’s face and that included the small flickers of anxiety he felt in the young girl who offered him a plate and silverware. The detective bent down to be at her level and smiled as he accepted every piece. <span class="fixed-color" style="color:thistle">“Thank you,”</span> he said to her. <br/>
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Samira wasn’t the only one waiting to greet him, either. Tony followed Amadan’s lead and found himself faced with a table full of people, all of whom seemed just as eager to meet him and it honestly felt nice. Not only was he not accustomed to the pleasant environment, but he wasn’t exactly used to being fully accepted either; it was a struggle that Tony actually likely had in common with many of the individuals he was meeting and it made him feel less like a stranger among their home. To each person who introduced themselves to him, Tony nodded and greeted them in turn; he even took a few moments to wave to some of the younger children and they smiled, happy to be acknowledged in such a cheerful manner. <br/>
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Lost in all the introductions, he hadn’t even noticed that a young girl was preparing him a plate until she actually brought it over to him. When she got his attention, his smile grew even wider, if such a thing was possible. He found his eyes curiously glancing to the plate he had already been given with a curious gaze, wondering what purpose it was meant to serve now that she had prepared one for him. A small chuckled breath escaped him when she looked to Amadan for assistance, but his eyes showed no judgement at all in her lack of confidence; it was completely understandable in his eyes and he took the plate from her after she’d explained all that it had to offer on it. <br/>
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<span class="fixed-color" style="color:thistle">“Sounds delightful,”</span> he remarked to her. <span class="fixed-color" style="color:thistle">“Which one is your favorite? I’ll be sure to try it first.”</span> <br/>
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Fatima paused, seeming surprised by the question before taking a moment to look over everything thoughtfully. <span class="fixed-color" style="color:#a64dff">“I think I like <i>Fattoush</i> from my home best, Meester Tony, but dessert is always good too!”</span> <br/>
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<span class="fixed-color" style="color:thistle">“I’m sure they’re both fabulous. Thank you!”</span> <br/>
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Shyness blossomed in her face and she made her way back to her family without saying too much further. <br/>
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<span class="fixed-color" style="color:thistle">“You’re the second person to tell me the flan is good. I’m beginning to think that I might need to get a second helping of it,”</span> the detective added to Nnaji. He glanced towards the man’s family members when he introduced them and he nodded his acknowledgement. <span class="fixed-color" style="color:thistle">“It’s nice to meet all of you! I’m sorry, but I might have been given a name too many in the few minutes that I’ve been here. I apologize if I am not the best at remembering all of them right away.”</span> Tony already knew that he was intending on coming back though, and he was sure he would learn some of them in time. <br/>
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Finally, he had a few minutes to take some bites into the food he’d been offered, and he did find that it was just as tasty as the company was wonderful. In between bites, though, he did manage an answer to Amadan as well. <span class="fixed-color" style="color:thistle">“I am enjoying it. I honestly don’t know how long it's been since I’ve had such a great meal, actually. The company is even better. I can see why you spend as much time here as you do.”</span> <br/>
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While he continued eating, he realized that home was the perfect place to talk about in the midst of their current environment. <span class="fixed-color" style="color:thistle">“Yes, I am from New Orleans. It’s a city in Louisiana. I was raised there; I haven’t lived there in quite a few years, though. I moved to Austin shortly after I graduated from the academy.”</span> It seemed a simple enough answer and although there were more details to the story, Tony kept it simple for the time being because it seemed efficient enough. <span class="fixed-color" style="color:thistle">“We have lots of foods, though. Jambalaya and Gumbo are probably the most famous. They’ve got a rather unique spice to them that a lot of people don’t get very often.”</span> Of course, it was a flavor Tony had become quite used to over time, though. <br/>
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<span class="fixed-color" style="color:thistle">“I probably would make something different, though. Beignets are something that I can make without too much difficulty and if I could manage to bring them in warm, I’m sure it would be a sweet treat for everyone.”</span> It seemed like a good choice to him because they weren’t quite as commonly heard of and they were smaller so making more would be easier. <br/>
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The cheer of the air had calmed down while everyone sat down to share the meal and eventually, even the volunteers had settled down to eat some of the food that so many had put effort into preparing which was probably a good thing. Everyone deserved to eat, after all. It was a calm that Tony could feel as he finally got to delve into the flan and see what everyone had been talking about when they said it was worthwhile. They were right, too. The sweetness of it almost matched the sweet simplicity of the calm in the air while everyone took their time to share small conversation between each nibble. <br/>
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Then came time for the evening to get fun again. <br/>
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When Amadan got to his feet and prepared to play, Tony’s attention was prepared to shift fully to whatever the celebration was about to transform into. It seemed that many of the others in Casa Marianella already knew what to expect because people started shoving several tables out of the way, clearing some space to dance. Then, by the time they had some space cleared, it seemed that Amadan was ready to play. The melody started and it was hard not to move along to it; at first, though, all there was to do was simply sway. It was the kind of song that grew over time and that was how the dance grew as well. <br/>
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For the first crescendo, Tony was simply watching and enjoying the auras around him. However, it wasn’t long before a young woman made her way over to him. She looked only a little older than a teenager, if she was even that old. <span class="fixed-color" style="color:lightsteelblue">“Hello Anthony. Word of your presence spreads quickly.”</span> Unlike many of the others he had met so far, this woman’s voice wasn’t impacted by any extreme accent. There was something there, but it was something that most likely just came from spending time at Casa Marianella itself. <span class="fixed-color" style="color:lightsteelblue">“I’m Sarai. Would you care to dance? I think you’ll find it’s more fun to dance than to watch.”</span> She extended her hand to him. <br/>
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<span class="fixed-color" style="color:thistle">“Of course,”</span> Tony was quick to agree. He took her gestures simply as more welcoming behavior, something that everyone seemed to have here and it wasn’t something he was likely to be wrong about in the slightest. <br/>
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They both joined into the dance that the whole celebration had become engrossed in and very little could distract any of them at all. Something was familiar to Tony about the woman who’d invited him to join in, though, and his senses reached for her in particular, trying to pinpoint the familiarity of it. In the meantime, he was still enjoying himself, spinning some of the children around while weaving among everyone and finding the pure jubilance of the air returning as everyone wrapped up their dinners. Amadan finished his song and Tony almost expected there to be more. However, that seemed to be the end of it for the time being. <br/>
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Offering Amadan a smile as the Spaniard returned to his seat, Tony returned to his own seat after a moment. <span class="fixed-color" style="color:thistle">“Yes, I did. Music is always something that livens a celebration and I’ve no doubt celebrations are common here, even if they aren’t all formal. This place is lucky to have you, Amadan,”</span> Tony said. <span class="fixed-color" style="color:thistle">“I’m glad you invited me to join you. This isn’t something I’ve ever been able to experience and I must say it’s very…”</span> he realized that there was no single word that encompassed all that this experience had been, but he had to settle on something. <span class="fixed-color" style="color:thistle">“... refreshing.”</span> His smile still remained and he couldn’t keep from inquiring, <span class="fixed-color" style="color:thistle">“Is there to be any more music for us to enjoy?”</span> He truly hoped that there was.</span>