The sun sat low in the west, its waning light staining the sky a robust orange around the horizon. Above and opposite, the dark blue of incoming dusk dominated the sky, the waves of the ocean beneath nearly matched in shade. Day's final moments ended as the bright star nestled itself beneath the curve of the earth, and the brightness of the moon and stars dominated.

Approaching the east coast of the United States, a black plane flew, piloted by a pair of human accomplices to the passengers. The front windows were fully open, a stark contrast to the rest on the plane, all of which were sealed tightly shut. When the sun finally set, the co-pilot flicked a switch on their headset, and spoke over the cabin's intercom. "We are officially past sunset. It's safe to take a look outside."

The cabin of the plane was predictably dark. Locks on the bottoms of the screens prevented any sunlight from entering, whether from a mistaken nudge of a shutter or a possible inebriated challenge issued among passengers. At the message from the pilot, they all simultaneously disengaged, but remained shut unless anyone actively lifted them. There was some light coming from the roof's row of bulbs, but it was kept dim and appropriately moody. A far cry from a typical passenger plane, the interior of the cabin was highly decorative and meant for comfortable travels. A deep red carpet and black leatherbound furniture lined the walls, a bent sofa lining the wall separating the cabin from the cockpit. Chairs and tables were around as well, all of course bolted to the ground to prevent any mishaps in turbulent weather.

A sizable number of Nightkin were riding, seated across the cabin making smalltalk or fiddling with a stereo, currently broadcasting a preferred classical tune of their leader. Vicente, seated in a chair near a shuttered window, raised the blinds to look out. Leaning onto the armrest nearest the wall, he rested his jaw against his fist while peering outside, his leg idly crossing over the other. "It's a beautiful night, isn't it?" He asked aloud, speaking to no one person in particular. A few more windows went up around the plane's interior, other deciding to take a peek for themselves. He addressed another one of the vampires present more directly after she looked outside. Seated across from him was Lucina, who was fiddling with an open laptop sat in front of her.

"Do we have an estimate of when we'll arrive?" There were appointments to be had after their landing, and the sooner they were out of the way, the better. A meeting with the other community leaders in the area would at best be a fruitless attempt to quell hostilities before things continued on as they had for years, and at worst be a disastrous bloodbath. At the time, Vicente was fine with either.

Lucina adjusted her glasses with a quick push of her middle finger, eyes trailing across her computer's screen to the route planner she had set before they left. "We're about an hour from land at most. Our contacts are waiting for us at the airport. The safehouse you picked out is ready for us as well."

"And the decor?" A safehouse was hardly worth staying in if it wasn't a comfortable experience, and Vicente had asked for some very specific setups. Safety, of course, was a necessary part of the building's preparation. An enchanted iron fence with some silver strewn throughout would act as quite a useful barrier against anything supernatural, darkened windows would help keep anyone from an unfortunate end during daylight hours, and a plentiful cache of weaponry for defense and hunts had been shipped in as well. Ideally, it would all come together effectively.

"As you requested. The cellars were expanded to fit some of the more special requests, and a private room in the attic has been put together. And yes, it has a fireplace." Lucina closed the computer, leaving it plugged in, and scooted it off to the side of the table. "You're ready?"

A smile crept across Vicente's face. "If I wasn't, we wouldn't be coming here. I'm more than sure this will go smoothly. If the Acerbis happen to get there first, well, that's what the guns are for." He fully anticipated immediate conflict. Meetings gone bad, an encounter on the street before they had officially made their presence known, or even a run-in with something else entirely. One could never be too careful in the part of society they operated within.

-----

DC's night streets had become host to all manner of creatures. Urban areas were already an ideal home for certain kinds of people, the ever-increasing sprawl offering protection and territories, while the population made for an extremely convenient food source. News of the big archaeological discovery had spread fast, and its display within the Smithsonian museum was an attractive target for all sorts of folk, supernatural or otherwise. The spike in activity within the DC territory invariably led to trouble.

Whether it was a newly moved in vampire with lofty hopes of starting a new coven, a less than agreeable witch looking for supplies of a certain sort, or a therianthrope caught at a bad time of the month, locals within the territory had begun to hunt down problematic newcomers to dispose of them before things went bad. Two such individuals were on such an investigation after a mauled corpse turned up in a park. Reports suggested some sort of animal attack, but the draining of blood and viciousness of the wounds were some degree of proof that something else was lurking within the city.

Days had passed since the killing, but no other bodies had turned up. There wasn't much of a trail, simply the knowledge that something had preyed on a local bystander and was likely still within the area. Patience was wearing slightly thin. Drake, one of the two on the lookout for whoever their target may have been, vocalized his displeasure of another night spent looking for something instead of getting fed himself. "How can we be sure they're still around? Dumbass probably stayed out too late and got fried anyway." A hand idly patted at the side of his jacket, confirming the security of the holster hidden in his underarm beneath it. He played it off by crossing his arms, hoping to avoid the suspicion of any bystanders outside of their vocal range.

"Maybe," Mariko answered, rolling her shoulders as she walked alongside her fledgeling. "Or maybe they're holed up somewhere, waiting until they need to feed again. Do you want to risk having someone else get hurt?" While feeding on humans was necessary for their existence, she found killing them to be supremely distasteful and even a display of weakness. Self control while feeding was admittedly hard, especially for younger vampires, but to give into animalistic hunger was nothing short of disgraceful. In a more pragmatic stance, deaths of this sort tended to draw the attention of people who did know what was going on, and dealing with them was never a pleasant time.

Tightly pursing his lips, Drake refrained from giving an immediate answer. His eyes diverted across the street, watching people stroll along. For a few moments he remained silent, but eventually, he gave a defeated sigh and answered. "No, of course not. What, you think I'm that much of a prick?" He questioned, turning his gaze back to the elder. An expression that began to subtly form on his face, slightly raised brows and upturned mouth corners, made it fairly clear he wasn't being serious.

In response, Mariko made eye silent contact with him for a few seconds. She then answered, smiling a little herself. "Sometimes." She continued to walk, passing by Drake as he stopped in his tracks at her answer. "But you're getting better. Keep it up and you'll be presentable soon."

During his pause in movement, Drake's expression shifted to a more obviously amused one. He almost responded with a quip, but decided against that and continued to walk, jogging a few steps to catch up again.

_________________

The night air was cool as Jeremi stepped out from the shop. The batch of herbs he had wanted were safely tucked into his bag. They weren't particularly hard to find, but he was very picky about which ones he used. Often this tendency to be picky was a pain in the butt and kept him out far later than he should be. Such as now. The whole city was on high alert after that murder a few days ago, but the supernatural community was even more so. They knew the truth. That was no random attack. No animal could do that to a human. Well, no animal that he knew of really. There might be one, but he thought it would have to be a pretty good size, vampire bat-like animal.

Shaking that scary thought from his head, he started to walk down the sidewalk. There were a few other people out and about, but for the most part the city streets were deserted. Everyone was still too on edge to venture much out after dark. At least in the part he was in anyway.

Rolling his shoulders, he picked up the pace. The quicker he got home the quicker he could shake the feeling that was settling in on him. Tensions were high right now and he didn't see them settling down anytime soon. He felt like something was about to break and knew it could only be bad for all involved when it finally did.

The limousine crossed a bumpy stretch of road, before almost immediately hitting a terrain so smooth it could've been made of polished glass; William Severn stared out of a tinted, reinforced window with a slight narrowing of his eyes as he scanned the notably remote section of Washington.

"This was supposed to have been repaved two weeks ago."

"Yes sir, it was," responded Abraham, the soldier seated directly across from him. He was the leader of Severn's security detail, which, while not the most glorious of professions, gave him a comfortable enough existence. He was good enough at the job, although that was debatable in that no one attempted on the life of the Foundation's leader. Big as the world is, no one's that stupid, Severn thought drily as the radio holstered on the man's shoulder began spitting out garbled chatter.

Abraham wasn't the only soldier in the vehicle with him; there were two others in the back, as well as two more in front, including the driver. They were all garbed in black, with helmets and dark visors concealing their features; the purpose wasn't for anonymity, but rather to maintain some consistency. They were outfitted in the same gear as all Foundation troops, aside from having much better weapons available. Although the specialty weapons utilized by Obtainment Units certainly outstripped even the ones carried by the security detail.

"They did shoddy work, then. I expect that rough patch to be fixed immediately," he remarked, even as he attempted to listen in on the transmission. Although the Foundation's sprawling headquarters was less than a quarter mile distant, the limo was slowing down and the other two soldiers in the back were watching their leader, their body language displaying a combination of curiosity and apprehension.

"What's the problem, man?

"ROU-13 is incoming, sir. We're going to keep you clear of i-"

"Don't be an idiot," he interrupted, as he gestured to the driver who was looking back at him through the slit at the top of the partition separating them. "If they've brought back a resource it will be well in hand, and I will not hesitate to enter my own building because you doubt your ability to do your job."

Abraham nodded briskly and muttered back into his radio as the limousine powered forward once again; the armored truck was already parked outside of the loading bay when he stepped out, shining black shoes crunching lightly against the gravel underfoot as he approached the Resource Obtainment Unit. The thirteenth was one of the best, known for bringing subjects in with very little damage to their condition, and as Severn peered into the back of the truck (whose doors had only just been opened by two Unit members) he saw that once again they hadn't fallen short.

Two vampires, fastened to steel gurneys by lengths of silver netting that had been wrapped around their bodies several times, were being carried out; they each had a wooden stake in one leg, and they appeared to be in a semi-comatose state as they were brought out from the metallic lighting of the truck's interior.

As the second one was hefted past, it lurched violently, nearly causing the carrier to overturn; a snarling face with dripping fangs leered up at William, who didn't flinch as members of his detail tensed up on either side of him.

"You'll pay for this! My death shall not go unpunished," the Vampire croaked weakly from behind a malleable curtain of metal. He received a sharp blow to the head as the two men carrying him put him back in a horizontal position, and he either lost consciousness again or chose to keep his silence as they continued taking him inside behind the other specimen.

"It's a good thing you were never alive to begin with, then," Severn replied coldly as he turned towards the facility's main entrance, stopping only long enough to sweep a hand lightly over the smooth black skin of his head. There was much work to be done, and he had little time to waste on vermin.

_________________

The young girl gripped her bag strap tight as she walked out of the subway station. Her finger nails dug into her palm as she looked around the new station, it was her first time in DC and she knew where nothing was. She'd set herself a goal of finding someone who could introduce her to other supernatural beings, specifically merchants. She patted the dust from the subway off of her skirt and picked a direction to walk in, she'd had enough money for a hotel room but she needed to find one cheap enough for her to be able to afford magic stuff as well. As she walked she made sure to keep an eye out for out of the usual stores as well as cheap looking hotels, but nothing was popping out at her.

"Hey pretty girl, you lookin' for a goo-" she walked faster as some creep started hitting on her, she'd seen him hitting on another woman just moments before. "Fine be a ****ing, you're not even hot anyways", he shouted as she walked past him. She hoped that no one else would bother hitting on her while she was on business. Finally she spotted a run down motel, the walls were a stained red brick with cracked windows. I should have taken more money from home she thought as she opened the door. The interior of the lobby was cleaner than expected and the clerk was a well groomed mid-aged female wearing a tan pantsuit.

"Hello miss, how may I help you"? She asked, her smile less than genuine.

"I'd like to rent a room for a week, do you have any availabilities"? The younger girl asked.

"Yes we have one opening, it's fifty dollars per night, will that be acceptable"? The clerk's smile faded slightly, obviously annoyed at this girl.

"Yes it'll do, I'll take the room for eight days and seven nights then" The girl said, pulling out enough cash for a seven night stay.

"Alright, miss, what shall I write you down as?" The clerk snatched the money off the counter and counted it out. After verifying the cash was legit she reached behind her and pulled the lone key of the rack, and placing it on the counter.

"Leone Scarlet", the younger girl answered snatching the key off the counter and leaving the lobby for her room.

As the day faded into night, the people of DC returned to their homes and beds. Blinds were drawn, children were sent away to bed, lights were turned off as the city readied itself for night. However, not everyone was getting ready to sleep- people woke up to work night shifts, insomniacs paced restlessly in their homes, and criminals who did their dirty work in the night.

And some simply didn't need much in the way of sleep.

"I can't remember the last time I've been out to the east coast," Catarina Acerbi remarked. She stood cross armed in front of a window, watching as the sun vanished. "We lose some
of our advantage against House Valtieri over here, but that's to be expected." She stepped back and drew the curtains, which were a deep red color. Stepping away from the window, she asked, "have we heard from the other clans yet?"

"No sign of them yet," said one Daywalker, who was standing at the door of the room. Presently the group, which consisted of Cat, a personal assistant, and a pair of bodyguards there were more of a formality than anything, were standing in the back room of what appeared to be a small law firm. In reality, the room was a safe house for House Acerbi, carefully enchanted to avoid notice.

The room itself was small but well decorated, with a more minimalistic style. Cat regularly cycled through new styles in everything, from fashion to interior decorating. She eyed the white couch, wondering if she was bored of the style yet, and said, "keep an ear to the ground. Have you sent word out to Daywalkers in the area that I'm here?" She had kept her little excursion as secret as possible- even the man she had assigned to oversee the area had not been informed.

The assistant nodded. "Mr Jericho sends you his greetings, and intends to come and see you as soon as possible."

"I'm sure he does," Catarina murmured. "Keep me informed of any updates." She walked to the wall again, taking in the room. Maybe a change of interior would liven this place up. But it would have to wait.

-

Elsewhere in the city, a young witch leaned against a graffitied wall of a building and counted change.

"....Two fifty. Two fifty-five. Two...." Dmitri dug in his pocket one last time. "Two fifty six." He stared at the handle of coins in his hands and tried to figure out what to do with the last of his money. "I could probably buy a couple coffees with this," he muttered. "Probably not a hotel room though." He coughed into his elbow and dumped the change back in his pocket. The story of how he had ended up at DC was rather long and convoluted, and he wasn't exactly sure he could explain the events with any accuracy. What mattered though, was that he was here. And he had absolutely no money and nowhere to go.

Of course, there were places magical beings could go to stay the night, but Dmitri was less than popular, what with the mysterious, possibly contagious illness. He could maybe find a clan house and swear allegiance, but that seemed drastic just to find a place to sleep. Of course, he was running out of options fast. He sighed and shoved his glasses up his nose. It was going to be another long night.

The metro howled as it hurtled southeast, towards the outskirts of the DC metropolitan area. It had left the main area of the city and had emptied of its businessmen and tourists three stops ago, leaving the dusty blue chairs inside fairly unoccupied. By the sliding door, four teenagers were howling with laughter over an anecdote, while the weary woman across from them tried to read the newest edition of Entertainment Weekly in peace. And in the middle of the car sat a pleasant faced scientist, a bulky duffel bag resting on his lap, eating a ham and cheese sandwich.

Sitting in his slightly gross chair, Haddad watched the lights inside the subway tunnel streak by his window and chewed his sandwich thoughtfully. Oblivious to what was happening at the the building where he worked at during the day, he was instead contemplating his plans for the night. The past two stakeouts had resulted in failure, but he had checked and doubled checked the police records, and the small residential district of Trinidad, DC had too many unexplained murders pointing to supernatural activity.

If this side project worked, it would be an excellent step forward for hunting down the supernatural, and Haddad was determined to figure it out.

The subway slowed to a stop, and Haddad got up and swung his bag onto his shoulder and stepped out to the platform. He took the elevator up to the exit, swiped his Metrocard, and stepped out into the cool air. The humidity wasn't bad today, which was a relief. One less thing to worry about. He stood at the entrance by the bike racks, chewing his sandwich and waiting for his partner to show.

Milo had been half dozing, half aware of the fact that he was on a plane. In the crook of his arm, there was a small teddy bear that looked like it had been through more than a few decades of wear and tear, and had seen more than its fair share of shoddy repair jobs, especially where the face was concerned. He didn’t open his eyes when the co-pilot spoke, but rather his eyes snapped open at the same time the locks on the windows disengaged.

He subconsciously moved out of the way of the window that was behind him, and turned his body half way so that he could turn up the blinds without actually exposing himself to any errant sunlight. When it was confirmed that he would not burn to death, he dropped the hesitance and moved the shutter up and looked out the window. It was nighttime, so there wasn’t much to see except the ocean below as they began their descent. When Vicente asked the question, which Milo assumed was rhetorical, he raised an eyebrow quizzically and returned back to looking at the window. In his few rides on airplanes, Milo decided the view wasn’t all that great, and that the heights were a bit daunting.

He listened briefly to Lucina and Vicente’s banter, and cocked his head slightly as the Italian woman asked if Vicente was ready. He let Vicente speak and nodded in approval, and then looked at Lucina. “Nervous, are you?” he asked, adjusting the teddy bear he’d been holding as he turned his back to the window. Milo, as young as he was, didn’t express any worry about dealing with a Daywalker scuffle, but that could also be that Milo never seemed worried about anything.

—

Eli had been around for quite a while now. It wasn’t like he had anywhere specifically to be, and with all the chitter chatter about the Nightkin and the Daywalkers, who was he to not show up? He might’ve not had a foot in either door, but he would be lying if he said he didn’t like keeping up with politics. Anyway, he had been drifting around Delmarva, neither here nor there, honestly waiting for something to happen, as was usually the case for his old, bored self. He hopped from low DC rooftop to another with ease, and landed with a small bend in his knees, his jacket flapping against him.

He looked over the ledge idly, with little interest, until something, or rather someone, caught his eye. He looked straight down, his braid falling forward into his general view. His frown twitched slightly, obviously pleased. He hadn’t the slightest clue what Drake and Riko were here for- and to be honest, he hadn’t seen them in years. He paused briefly, wondering how to greet them. It didn’t take long for him to reach onto his belt and snatch his boomerang from its little holder. He held it between his small hands, looking at its vicious curve fondly. Yep, this would definitely make a good welcome.

He held it experimentally, turning slightly so he could get a good angle. His eyes glowed a bright blue, and the gem in the center of the boomerang did likewise. With very little sound, he twisted his arm and sent the boomerang spinning in a swift arc downward. He could hear the satisfying swish of the air as the projectile cut through it. It flew downward towards the two Gifted, aiming for the redhead first and then attempting to arc sharply towards Mariko after it had finished with Drake.

_________________

Lucina's attention turned towards Milo, and at his question, she raised an eyebrow and slightly pursed her lips. Nervous was a word that could be used to describe how she felt, yes. "It would be foolish not to be. We're going into enemy territory, and we don't even have all of our clan with us," She answered with a somewhat disgruntled tone. "Guns or no guns, we're going to be outnumbered, and our 'acquaintences' have the advantage of daylight hours. It would be different if they were coming into our land. But this?" A subtle shake of her head and a shift of her gaze to the window showed quite a degree of dissatisfaction.

In contrast, Vicente looked completely casual. Leaning back into his seat, he addressed his fledgeling's concerns. "You worry too much. If all goes well, we won't even be around that long. A month, at most. That little tablet is what we're focused on, not the Acerbis. Them being here is just an unfortunate side effect." He made a motion with his hand that suggested Milo join the conversation at their table, as opposed to having to speak from across the cabin. "Their advantages are worth little with our connections. We have people, supplies, and a haven. It will be fine."

"If," Lucina responded, steepling her fingers and resting her arms on the tabletop. "Being dramatic isn't going to keep us alive on the chance that something goes wrong, you know."

"You don't think so? It's worked for me so far." Humor may not have been the most appropriate thing, all things considered, but Vicente was confident in the abilities of his peers. "Nothing will happen until there's a meeting, anyway. Acerbi knows the consequences of sending her would-be assassins when the terms haven't been discussed yet. She isn't stupid, Lucina."

"And that's why I'm worried." Lucina sighed, and adjusted her glasses with a push from the bottom of the frame. "But maybe you're right. I don't know. Let's just keep our guard up."

Giving her a nod and smile, Vicente agreed. "Of course, once we've landed. But until then, do try to relax. 'Nervous' doesn't suit you." Raising a hand, he motioned with a flick of the fingers to call over one of the plane's attendants, a human who operated with the clan in its various endeavors. Pushing a cart over, they produced a trio of glasses, and began to pour some wine for all of them.

-----

The nightly walk continued, mostly uneventful. No trails picked up yet, just smalltalk and discussion of some rather mundane events. Drake was going on about something or other, while Mariko let him rant and continued to focus on the environment. "So I'm in the woods, yeah? Tryin' to find some ****ing' wolverine lookin' dude who stabbed me in a bar. So of course, I chase the guy down, he's losing his ****, and I finally find him out there with some sorta leather club or something. There's like, twelve dudes."

"I didn't know you were into that," Mariko interjected, nudging Drake with an elbow. His reaction of a heavy pout and a returned nudge made her smile with great amusement, and she let him keep going.

"Hey, shut up. Anyway, I'm getting surrounded by these lost boys-looking assholes, and a bunch of them have knives, so I'm thinking-" Drake's words were cut off by a heavy impact against the back of his head, marked with a loud crack of what sounded like bones splitting. While far from a lethal wound for someone like him, that didn't stop it from hurting like a ****ing. He stumbled forward and landed on his face, hands clasping the point of impact tightly. "Mother****ing!" He shouted, rolling over onto his back. "Who the hell did that?!"

Mariko locked onto the boomerang when it hit Drake, and as it turned towards her, she raised an open palm and snatched it out of the air before it hit. Her fingers wrapped around the middle of the weapon's body, the gem's glow fading away after a few moments. She turned it over and examined it closely, then looked up to see if she couldn't detect the source of where it came from. She recognized it as the belonging of an old accomplice, one not seen in quite a long time. "Come on out. He won't bite much," She requested, speaking in a slightly hushed tone that Eli would be able to pick up on, but quiet enough that any of the few pedestrians on the street wouldn't notice.

_________________

The tension still hadn't faded from his minds as he decided to cut down a few alleys. It wasn't like he was in immediate danger. It wasn't that kind of feeling. It was more of...A uneasy feeling in his stomach. Almost like he was beginning to come down with the flu or something like that. It was hard to place his finger on the feeling. It wasn't overpowering, but it was there. Sort of like how he knew when someone was watching him intently. That feeling of knowing, but when you turn around, nothing is there to prove it. That sort of feeling.

The more alleys he cut down, the fewer people he saw. Which was actually a pretty rare thing. Usually. He guessed most of the homeless population were gathering in the shelters tonight. Hoping not to be the next victims. Not that he could blame them too much. Usually they had a hard enough time as is without adding in supernatural community that liked to prey on them.

Turning down the alley that, unbeknownst to him, Ava and Jenkins had just moments before walked through, he also spotted Dmitri against the wall. He was gonna walk on by. Had to steel himself to walk on by him, but the closer he got, the more the doctor in him just wanted to help. The other male really didn't look too good. At least to Jeremi anyway. Maybe he had just spent too much time around sick people to be able to recognize the signs in others. Or maybe it was just the way he looked so dejected.

Sighing, Jeremi stopped in front of him and offered him a hand. "Hiya. Forgive me for being nosy, but you don't look so hot. Do you have a place to stay? If not, you could come with me. We always have room at my place." He offered a small smile and waited to see if Dmitri would accept his offer of help or tell him to get lost. Not that he would care too much if he was told to get lost. He knew he couldn't help everyone. That didn't make it any less of a bitter pill to swallow though.

Leone found her room rather quickly, and unlocked it even quicker. Her eyes scanned the room as the door swung inward, the walls were plastered in wallpaper that looked as if it were ripped straight out of the early 70's. The room was barely furnished, a queen sized bed dominated the center of the room while a television sat on a small dresser pressed against the wall opposite the end of the bed. a small mini fridge sat under a microwave on a small kitchen counter. The faucets in the kitchen and bathroom dripped every so often. Leone tossed her bag onto the bed while she shut and locked the door. Letting out a heavy sigh she stepped over to the end of the bed and plopped down.

"God, this room is disgusting", Leone rubbed her eyes with her hands. She reached back and grabbed her bag and pulled it onto her lap. She tugged at the zipper, pulling the bag open. She didn't have much stuff left, her clothes were falling apart, and her boots were worn down. She'd need to get more money some how. Letting out another sigh she pulled out clean clothes and a bar of soap so she could shower.

"I hope they have clean towels in there". She let out another heavy sigh as she stood up and walking to the bathroom, latching the door behind her.

-----

A man with a black ponytail sat behind a desk with a monitor in front of him. His face was scarred and his eyes were focused, he bit his lower lip as his eyes scanned the monitor's information. The left side of his desk was covered in pictures and knickknacks from various times. Most remnants from the desk's previous owner. One picture sat almost alone on the right side of the desk, the only item allowed to sit next to it was a white and black smith and wesson .45. The man's hand idly reached and toyed with then guy while he continued to read. He let out a sigh and looked up passed the monitor and onto the man who stood opposite of it. His eyes traced down to the stack of papers in the other man's hands, before looking back at the man's face.

"Tanaka, we have the reports in", the man shifted his position to reach over the monitor with a stack of papers in hand. "The pharmacies are doing better finally, the local gangs have stopped trying to force them to pay protection money". Tanaka reached up and grabbed the papers, skimming through them rapidly.

"Good, that means we can continue on in peace." He leaned back in his chair and placed the papers onto his keyboard. "Was there anything else"?

"No that was all". The man stood straight and waited for a response.

"Thank you, be on your way now". Tanaka dismissed him with a wave of his hand. He turned his chair and reached up to close the shutters before the sun peaked over their forest's tree tops. A forest covered mountain covered their home on one side but there was that 6 hour period of time where the sunlight hit them. Tanaka looked around at the two people standing guard on either side of the doors. "Let's keep up the good work, and keep making the people healthy". Tanaka stood up and walked to the door, taking the handles in each hand. "Let's give the rest of the family a nice good morning". He smiled pulling open the double doors. He stepped into the hall that led into the center hall.

As a general rule, Martin didn't like to be out late at night. The night life of DC held very little appeal to him when he could be working or asleep at home- although, he admitted to himself, it wasn't often he was asleep by this time, late as it was. However, despite his best efforts, he was out. And it looked like it had the potential to be a regular thing.

While looking as disgruntled as he could manage, Martin crossed the street towards the subway, spotting Haddad almost immediately. He wondered if he was late for a split second, then spotted the bland looking sandwich Haddad was chewing through. Not too long, at the very least. He stepped up onto the curb and headed toward his partner, through the bustling crowd.

"Where are we headed tonight?" Martin asked, as a way of greeting. Haddad knew much more about this part of their operation than Martin, who essentially showed up and did what he was asked to do. He would frankly rather be doing concrete work on the project, but he could see how this was important too. So he tagged along with mostly minimal complaining. Mostly.

-

Upon reflecting on clan houses for a brief second, Dmitri was suddenly distracted by two people moving toward him. The woman gave him a nod in a form of awkward acknowledgement that he awkwardly returned. The sunglasses gave him pause, and he tried not to visibly scrutinize the pair and instead turned his head away. They could hypothetically just be wearing sunglasses at night. But the more likely reason was that they were Daywalkers or something of the kind. Dmitri coughed into his elbow and was suddenly glad he was somewhat unappealing to look at. Anything that kept him from getting eaten was frankly a good thing in his opinion.

However, this train of thought was interrupted by a man's sudden approach. Dmitri blinked at him and his offer in confusion. He didn't know exactly a good way to say, 'no thanks, I'm really not in the mood to get murdered tonight', which had an unfortunately high probability. However, Jeremi did seem sincere in his offer, so Dmitri didn't want to come out and just accuse him of trying to murder someone. "Uh," he began, "I appreciate the offer, but..." He paused and tried to think of something to say, but ended up coughing instead. And again. "Ah, ****," he mumbled. This really wasn't the time.

Milo raised his arms half defensively when Lucina began chewing him out for calling her out. He tried to meet her eyes, and as he did so, he only shrugged off her comments and stated, “It was just a question,” all the while sounding slightly offended, as if Lucina was the one that had said something wrong. He held his teddy bear close, almost as if he was consoling it. Once he was given the invitation to join the table, he dropped the act, and sat down amongst them.

He crossed his arms on the table and looked up at both of them as he rested his head on his hands. He then perked up once the two were finished talking, and sort of swirled one of his hands around, and looked at Lucina and Vicente. “And nothing says relax better than old fashioned alcohol,” he commented, taking the wine glass once it had been poured in and swishing it around as he circled his hand on the stem.

Back in Poland, they had one wicked brew of something that could’ve, and most likely was, stronger than vodka, which floored you with only half a sip. While he missed that, he supposed that taking part of the cultured lifestyle of wine tasting wasn’t a bad alternative. He eyed Lucina then, and said, “Drink up,” in a way that wasn’t entirely not sinister. He tipped his glass back, and then remembered that he wasn’t drinking hard liquor, and placed the glass down, unsatisfied.

---

Eli had taken his time descending from the building, not outright hopping down due to the fact that there were some stray pedestrians on the street, even this late at night. He had found an alley of sorts, grabbed hold of a drain pipe, and slid down onto the ground. He straightened himself and his clothes, as if he was making some sort of appearance. He strolled out of the alleyway in front of the two of them, arms slightly outstretched in an all about friendly away.

“Mariko! So nice to see you,” Eli said with a smile on his face. He then regarded Drake, and a sort of fake worry colored his voice. “Drake, you good there?” he asked with a smirk. He placed his hands in his oversized pockets. The small vampire saw that he was still moving, and also cursing, so he assumed that Drake for the most part was fine.

Suddenly, Eli grunted, and made a little motion with his hand. “I need that, thank you,” he muttered, happily accepting the boomerang from Mariko. Even though he had been aiming for the both of them, he had to admit that it was much funnier when Drake was the only one having a hard time. “So,” he asked, turning his attention to Mariko. “Hanging out in Daywalker territory, eh? Shouldn’t be really bringing fledglings in here now should we,” he commented, pointing to Drake. He was going to make some snide remark about the current gifted leader being a fledgling as well, but he didn’t want to push anymore than he had, and besides, he was generally curious as to what they were doing in the states.

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As the younger vampires bickered, a thing often heard when they were in each other's company, Vicente let out a heavy breath and shook his head. Kids these days. As vicious as the fledgelings could get with words, he at least knew neither of them was dumb enough to turn their conflict physical, and it seemed to be coming to an end anyway. He took the glass he was offered and gave a silent, quick thanks to the attendant, leaning back to try and enjoy the drink while his company was shooting glares at each other. "You two should really work on your communication," He half-joked, half-scolded, taking a casual sip to brush off any snarky responses that might have been coming his way.

"Oh, but aren't they? The sharpest blades need the the touch of a rough stone after all."

Taking a seat near by, regardless of it's originall occupancy, was Noelle. The young woman looked formally casual: she wore a black cardigan with a red blouse underneath. Her pants, which acutated her lovely curves, were grey. She had black high-helled shoes, yet when she walked she did so with both grace and speed, as if her choice of footware gave her no discomfort. Her hair was as black as night, but tied up into two cute buns. Behind Noelle was a decididly more dumpy looking person.

This person was Donny. He looked cold, considering that he wore a big black jacket with thick thermal pants. He also had a solid pair of boots and wore a strange hat. Despite his fairly dishevel apperance, Donny bowed his head respectfully and took a seat elsewhere. Noelle glaced at her apprentice before turning her head back towards Vincente. "Besides, their prattling is amusing. Like watching children play make beleive."

With a motion of his head that was like a very slight nod, Vicente responded to Noelle's comments. "You could say that. But after a few years worth of this, I'd expect them to act their ages." He eyed the two fledgelings as he spoke, and while he was at least attempting not to look overtly amused, a smile crossed his face when he noticed Lucina's expression becoming steadily more angry. While she didn't say anything, her pupils constricted into vicious-looking slits.

As fun as listening to their arguments could be, he did have some actual news to discuss with their non-vampiric companions. "The house has been prepared for our arrival. You should take care not to catch yourself on the gates." Iron and silver, especially when paired, proved one hell of a pain to the supernatural. Magic disruption and physical wounding were a risk, but they made for effective safety barriers. "If the arrival goes well, then we'll be having a meeting with the Acerbis. I don't trust her to remain civil enough to get through the formalities. Do either of you have any requests for, ah, personal defense tools?"

"Thank you sir, I am adiquetly prepared." Donny spoke out from his seat, earning a quick but sharp glare from Noelle. He in turn looked down and apologized quietly. He thought he was being spoken to. She continued to maintain her polite facade however and repsonded to Vicente. "Thank you for your concern, Sir Valtieri, but I cannot ask you to waste precious resources on our behalf. Truthfully, should meeting come to blows, I can assure you that my apprentice and myself will be able to avoid most of the danger. Though I cannot promise that we will participate in the incident itself." That is to say, should a fight break out Noelle intends to flee, presumably with Donny. Though he would be more inclined and better suited to fight then she is, not to say that she wouldn't help. She's simply not a warrior and knows it.

"Is there anything in particular you would like to request from me? I am honored to be in your company, and I would impore you to allow me to repay you for this kindness."

Vicente simply nodded, setting his glass down. He could understand not wanting to risk one's own safety if the meeting went wrong, especially since the pair weren't technically a part of the clan in the first place. He'd just have to do his best to make sure nothing did go wrong. As volatile as the pair of clan leaders could be towards one another, a populated city was the last place he wanted to make a scene in, lest unwanted attention come to all of them.

"There are a few things that could be done. Enchantment of whatever weapon supply we have, some sort of wards for safety, and perhaps contact with any witch covens you might know of in the area. I doubt they'd be welcoming if I went myself." He was already quite the infamous figure in the various societies hidden from human sight, and the ones who were closest to the mortal world surely weren't a fan. Of course, he also lacked knowledge of covens in the Americas, focusing most of his attention on where he actually came from. If Noelle could establish a secretive connection with local witches, it would be quite an advantageous situation.

"Child's play. I'll be sure not to dissapoint." Enchanting services were easy for Noelle. All she needed was a room and some chalk and she wouldn't even need any other special materials, so long as what she needs to enchant isn't anything particularlly legendary. Protective ward enchantments were also simple for her to pull off, though that may require some material components depending on what sort of wards are wanted. The only real challenging part is to contact the covens in America. Noelle certainly knew a few that she was in good standing with, but frankly she wasn't that well connected with them. She could likely contact the few who would listen to her, but it'll be a dangerous game. Not all the coverns cooperate with her and depending on which one she contacts first, it may cut her off from gaining the assistance of the others. Once they land, she'll need to look into the status of the local witch covens and plan her stratedgy from there.

As Noelle and Vicente spoke, Donny looked and tried to listen. Honestly it seemed like they were talking about things he had no real direct involvement in, but he knew it would be rude if he was distracted and called for him. But he was also bored. Fortunately Noelle spoke out. "Donny, if you have any questions, ask them now." Though Noelle claims otherwise, Donny was certain she knew telepathy.

"Ah, yes. I was just wondering what you'd need me for. I assume that I'll be with you, Master, but if Sir Vincente has any requests...?" Noelle did not admit that she was a bit curious to know if Vicente wanted Donny to do anything in particular himself. She didn't imagine he did, but then again it's not as though Noelle was going to need Donny when hse contacts the covens. In fact he may become a liability if he was involved; many covens do not appricate outsiders, least of all men. It was an old tradition, but most of the covens are lead by old witches.

Confidence in abilities was appreciated, and Vicente was made all the more sure that Noelle could manage what he asked of her. While the safehouse had minimal magical supplies, there would be some things to begin with, and the connections that he was hoping for might have helped bring in a steady stream of whatever Noelle needed for her spells.

Donny's offer took a bit more thought. He leaned forward and rested his arms on the table, one hand resting along his jaw while he considered options. "I think field work might suit you," He answered, pausing momentarily to look for any reaction. Regardless of what it may have been, he continued. "Taking care of outside threats, or perhaps spying. I'm sure there will be something."

Nodding his head Donny said nothing, but was happy that he would be of some use. All Noelle has had him do is act as her lackey. The most she did was help him control his transformations, but beyond that she's been a very "Watch and learn" type of teacher. With his question awnsered Noelle took back the conversation. "That aside, our work will begin as soon as possible. Of course, we'll accompany you to the meeting, unless you'd rather have us begin preperations immediately?"

"I'm sure we'll have time. We aren't heading right in as soon as we land, after all. Once we've settled in and made sure the safehouse is prepared, then we can work on contacting Acerbi. If I had to guess, our first night won't be too rough." Vicente smiled again, this time meant to be reassuring. "Once we've landed, then we can start thinking about work."

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Nestled in the thick expanse of forest bordering the outskirts of DC, the reportedly abandoned Forest Haven Asylum drew in bugs by the thousands. Clouds of moths engulfed lanterns that had been irregularly placed along the exterior of buildings, casting flickering shadows on the rotting plaster walls of the facility. Spiders, attracted by the undisturbed nature of the area, had spun webs in paneless windows and across narrow walkways between buildings. Rain droplets and moths alike hung in the air, stuck to the spider silk. Even with the dim lanterns, the entire cluster of buildings would have appeared to be deserted if not for the chapel.

Located in the direct center of the complex, the Chapel was softly lit with lamps, allowing the broken stained glass windows to cast varying colors on the floor. At one point, decaying pews made of concrete and wood had filled the room, but now they were stacked along the walls to create makeshift shelves. Books filled most of the pews, but an odd assortment of items populated some, and a softly playing phonograph and assorted records took up one. Barely audible over the sound of crickets, the device droned on playing a dated record.

In the back of the Chapel, Anaksi used the pulpit as a table to rest the book she was engulfed in. Her staff was leaning against the back wall, and her seeing stone had been carefully placed on one of the pew-shelves. With all of her followers out gathering supplies to make their new residence more livable, and no pressing magical ceremonies to be done, there was no need for either. With a wave of her hand, a page of the book turned quietly, accompanied by the sound of rings and bracelets clinking against her bones. She had plans for her attendants when they returned, but for now she was content to simply read in the decrepit remains of the asylum.
--
In the central room of the Gifted headquarters, Kavindi sprawled out in the most ungraceful way possible on a small couch. Had she been human, lying upside down with her head dangling off the seat for such long periods of time would have been far more uncomfortable.

The sound of Tanaka’s emergence from the room down the hall caught Kavindi’s attention, cueing her to look over. Forgetting she was holding her phone in her hands, she waved to acknowledge his presence. A casual greeting formed on her lips, but it was immediately cut short as her phone landed on her face.

“Ow.” she deadpanned, letting the device slide off her face.

Kavind had been perfectly able to catch the phone before it hit her using the inherent speed of the Gifted, but she was probably by far the most undisciplined senior member of the clan. If it wasn’t already immediately apparent, it was made more obvious by the method in which she chose to get off of the couch- tumbling backwards by pitching her legs away from the couch. Wobbling as she stood, she greeted Tanaka again.

“What up, Tanaka?” Kavindi grinned in her usual overly enthusiastic manner, pocketing her hands.
--
Despite the fact that vampirism negated the need for food, Evelyn was well on the way to finishing her third burger. The warmth from the food was appreciated, but the stress relief from cramming herself full of food was the main benefit. Evelyn knew that the Valtieris would be in town soon, and the oath she'd been involuntarily taken would force her hand. Granted, she had almost no idea what to do- she'd been given a few spots "suspected of Nightkin activity" and there wasn't much else she could do besides wander around them and hope to be noticed.

Evelyn licked her fingers, wiped them off on a napkin and stood from the slightly wet park bench she'd been sitting on. Today was a good a time as any to start aimlessly wandering the areas, even if she didn't particularly want to. Tossing her trash away with a bit of a basketball-esque dunk, she began loping towards the closest one of the areas she'd been told of. It wasn’t like she had much else to do anyways, besides mournfully cleaning her apartment and lying on her face.

The green line train had just pulled in and its weary passengers pushed their way through the grimy turnstiles, making their way to either the bus stop or the parking lot. Haddad shuffled to the side to make room for them, before catching sight of Martin approaching. He quickly finished off his sandwich by stuffing the whole part that remained into his mouth, and half chewed, half grinned at the grumpy faced engineer.

"Tonight," he said, still chewing his food furiously. "We're going to - " swallowing " - do a couple of field tests with Project Eddie again." He turned so Martin could see his duffel bag, comically large and bulky compared to the skinny man. "Anyway, we have some assembly and alchemy to do, so we're gonna have to find a place to set up. I got a parking lot picked out, hopefully there aren't too many homeless about."

Without particularly waiting for Martin, he shifted the strap on his shoulder, the clanging of metal faintly audible, and started to move down the cracked sidewalk at a brisk pace. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a second, crumpled sandwich wrapped in tinfoil, unwrapping it and taking a bite.

Between Milo's comments and Vicente's lighthearted chiding, Lucina was beginning to feel quite fed up. Noelle's additional comments on the matter certainly didn't help, but it wasn't worth letting herself get any angrier over. At the very least, they were landing soon and she could isolate herself for the rest of the night. Part of her had to admit that her moodiness may have been coming from a lack of rest, but not aloud. Sleeping was hard when undeath necessitated things like coffins or underground bedrooms, and she wasn't going to disgrace herself by napping in a box in the plane's cargo hold.

After she finished her drink, she kept a hold on the glass' stem, pursing her lips and letting out a huff. She'd never been to America, even though it was the place that her surviving family had been shipped off to back when she was a fledgling. It was entirely unfamiliar, and while it was a chance to see new things, going into the enemy's territory during what had been a previously slow era of war would surely flare things up again. She didn't doubt that the enemy had already moved in, and hoped that the precautions taken to keep their new home safe were adequate.

"Milo," Lucina began, waiting to see if she'd actually grabbed his attention before she wasted her breath continuing. "When we get there, I'm going to need your help preparing everything. You don't mind a bit of heavy lifting, I'm sure." While there was a slight bit of sarcasm in the request, she would need at least some assistance. Having the house's newest blood pull their weight seemed like a reasonable enough idea. "It's not all living in comfort and getting cared for once we land. We need to be ready for everything to go wrong at any given moment."

"Again with the worry," Vicente cut in, linking his fingers together as he leaned forward and rested his arms on the tabletop. "Give yourself some slack, Lucina. You've been so high strung these past few weeks, I'm surprised you even agreed to come. It's going to be fine. No harm is going to come to any of you." His tone of voice became more serious, but simultaneously took on a caring, soothing tone. "I assure you." Unlinking his hands, he placed one over Lucina's free hand to emphasize his words.

While she remained stone-faced for a few more moments, she eventually relented, pouting and leaning back into her seat. With a long and slow exhale, she let her shoulders drop. "Fine," Lucina mumbled, tilting her head to look towards Milo. She still expected him to help with her work, but she could at least make an effort to relax a bit.

Vicente smiled and pulled his hand back, satisfied with his success in breaking through to her. It could be quite the challenge sometimes, but he knew she wasn't all anger and stuffiness. For the rest of the ride, he kept up with whatever casual conversations may have been exchanged at the table, until the intercom came to life again some time later.

"We've arrived. Everyone, please buckle up and prepare for landing." The captain spoke, assuming that everyone would either heed the request or get knocked onto the cabin floor. Some communications were had between the pilot and the control tower, and soon enough, they were granted permission to land. The jet slowly turned downward, and after touching down, came to a complete stop. As the occupants prepared to get out, the attendant opened the door, which swung downward to act as a staircase.

The clan's elder stepped out first, followed by the rest of the occupants, vampiric or otherwise. As expected, a ground-based convoy was awaiting them, made up of various cars meant for many occupants.

-----

Drake's first reaction to Eli was a wordless growl. While the meeting wasn't the worst one possible, he absolutely hated the way that he introduced himself. Every goddamn time, without fail. To avoid attracting too much more attention by rolling around on the floor, he pushed himself up to his feet and brushed his clothes off a bit, ending it with a firm tug to the open front of his jacket and an accompanying sniff. "Yeah, fine," He spat out, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"It's been a while, Eli. What have you been up to now?" Mariko responded, passing the boomerang back over to its rightful owner. While Eli was clanless, Mariko was on friendly terms with him. Drake's relationship with him was a bit more complicated. His tendency to disappear for extended periods of time always left her somewhat worried for his well-being, but at his advanced age, she knew he could take care of himself well enough. "And technically, this wasn't Acerbi territory until just recently. You could say they're hanging out in our territory." She winked to signify that it was a joke, knowing full well that if the Acerbis decided to target them for being there, all hell would break loose.

Drake's answer was a bit less couth. "I live here, dipshit. Maybe if you'd stop ****ing off for ten years at a time, you'd remember something about us." The dig at his age irked him, especially given that current management was even younger than he was. Technically, Drake was no longer a 'fledgling' proper, having managed to survive for over 50 years since his transformation. Still, it was an effective insult towards any young vampires, and coming from someone who looked physically younger than him was even more grating. "So what are you doing here? Come to watch **** go down without putting your neck on the line again?"

"Easy, boys." Mariko stopped whatever verbal arguments Drake had queued up before he could cause a scene. "Let's go somewhere more quiet? Then we can talk all we want." She urged Drake to turn and keep walking down their previously used path, and motioned for Eli to follow as well. She knew that the two tended to get at each other every time they met, but for once, she hoped for a more civil meeting.

_________________

"But what?" Jeremi frowned at the other's continued coughing. A small debate was going on in his head. His offer had been refused. That much was clear. Another thing that was clear was that Dmitri was not well. No one had a cough that bad unless they were sick. It was giving him a headache battling with himself. Treating a patient that didn't want to be treated usually didn't end well. He had already been there and tried that. Yet at the same time, leaving Dmitri out here to face his most likely death (eventually if not tonight) didn't set well either with him.

That and the night seemed to take on a quality that Jeremi didn't like one bit. Like it was holding its breath now. Waiting and watching to see what would happen. What would play out. This was not a night to be out and about if there ever was one. Something was going down and Jeremi was willing to bet by sunrise, a fight would break out and news of it would be on the winds faster than a streak of light.

Taking back his hand and running it through his hair, Jeremi sighed before looking down the alley. "Look. My family can be a little...Overbearing, but I haven't known them to kill a guest yet. Not to mention, I'm offering you free room and a meal. If you really don't want to come spend the night, I can't make you. But I don't like the way you sound just now, coughing and so I may put a bit of pressure on you to come with me, but in the end it is still you decision there." Jeremi laid it all out on the table. Yes. He wanted to bring Dmitri home. No. He wasn't going to force the other to come with him. That wouldn't stop him from pointing out things and trying to persuaded the other to change his mind. At least for the next few minutes anyway.

Leone's shower left her feeling just as gross as she did when she went in. The water pressure was weak and the towels were scratchy and didn't dry well at all. She scratched idly at the back of her head as she let out a sigh, stepping out of the bathroom.

"This is not how I planned things", she sighed staring down the shut down television. "I'm going to need to find a way to replace my clothes and get enough money for a better hotel room". She took as long of a stride as she could towards the bed and fell face first down onto it letting out her loudest sigh yet. She wasn't happy with the turn of events that had transpired, but the voice in the back of her head kept reassuring her she'd get her end goal.

"That's all for tomorrow though", she turned onto her back and rubbed at her eyes again. "But for now, I need to try and sleep".

-----

Tanaka gazed over the room as he emerged into it, spotting Kavindi he nodded in the elder gifted's direction.

"Good morning Kavindi", he spoke as her phone landed on her face. Letting out a soft chuckle, he turned slightly to take a pad containing a report that was being held out towards him. He looked it over as Kavindi collected herself. His smiled turned slowly into a frown as he kept reading. The news was certainly interesting but it wasn't something he had fulled prepared for, at least not this quickly. He gripped the pad tighter as he finished reading the report.

"What up indeed", he looked past his conversation partner and around the room slightly filled with gifted again. "Are you up for a trip? There's something we need to retrieve from North America". He smiled and turned and started walking towards the garage, and their assortment of vehicles. "Make sure you pack well, we leave as soon as possible".

Milo tapped on his empty wine glass sadly. He wondered what kind of hand gesture you performed in western Europe to signify you wanted more alcohol. He looked absently towards where the server had went, until Lucina called his name. He made a grunting noise when she paused, and then finally turned to face her. Seemed she knew him too well, he would’ve gladly ignored her if not for the fact that she had made eye contact with him. He learned over the table, one Slavic eyebrow raised skeptically.

He seemed to mull over her request about requiring help, as if wondering if he could add anything scathing while he simultaneously agreed to her requests. When he could come up with nothing, he nonchalantly shrugged, and was about to say something, when Vicente decided to tell Lucina not to worry. His eyes narrowed a bit, and then followed Lucina as she tilted her head towards him.

“Of course I’ll help,” he said with just enough sincerity to make it believable. “And then afterwards, we can both relax. It will be nice.” He kind of side-eyed her a little bit as he finished what was left of his wine, which was nothing but a sip after he’d downed it and realized he wasn’t drinking hard liquor. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve, because he was classy like that.

What Milo didn’t let show was the fact that he gripped his sleeping-aid a bit tighter than he would have normally while the airplane was descending. He didn’t like heights, and therefore, didn’t like flying. Once they had successfully landed, he beat Lucina on purpose to the door, and then stepped to the side as if to allow her to go first.

—

“Oh, you know,” Eli said with a shrug. He actually didn’t know what he was doing because he had only heard snippets of what was actually going on, but he wasn’t going to make that something that Drake could taunt him about. “Heard there’s a meeting going down. And, I know, that you know, that we know—yes, it’s for the clans. But I feel like I would be missing out on some things if I didn’t go, so. Here I am, in the good ol’ US of A. DC still has the pothole problem, I see,” he muttered absently. He graciously accepted his boomerang, and slung it back into a little holster he had for it on a belt that was hidden way under an oversized shirt.

Eli turned his head slowly when Drake snapped at him about living here. Ah, right. Drake was American—how could he forget? Eli made a mental note to put that into his mental notes. And then the stream of insults started. “Ooh,” Eli mumbled, feigning being offended, and then gave them both a small smile. “Sounds like someone missed me. And no. I don’t think ‘****’ will go down. Hopefully not, or, yes, I will leave immediately. I have a bit of a record where longevity is concerned, and I really don’t want to break it.”

Eli’s stream of retorts were cut short when Mariko spoke up. Instead of speaking, he just nodded quietly. While he didn’t look to pick fights, messing with Drake once a decade was just too fun, and Mariko was always a joy to be around. He wasn’t going to end it there quite yet. He watched them walk off, and then tailed behind them, his braid bobbing with every step he took. “Where’s quiet, exactly?” he asked, wondering if they had anything in mind.

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