Daniel sighed and rolled his eyes at the scene that had unfolded before they left. He had been hoping the high school rivalries had maybe mellowed out over the years but that appeared to have been hopeful thinking. But things had settled down soon enough and once Carlisle returned they were off to the woods.

Daniel hadn’t come in a car so he caught a ride with Carlisle in Miles’ car. Something he regretted as soon as he got a taste of Miles’ driving style. He had never been more glad for a car to be put in park. Carlisle lead everyone to where the breach in the barrier had been repaired by him last night. He explained what was going on, but halfway through went in to a slightly unhinged rant about no one understanding him.

He seemed to get it under control rather quickly which was good, because the barrier certainly hadn’t liked his mood swing. The group was told to go look around, or they could stay with Carlisle while he took care of the barrier. Daniel noticed Cat and Victor heading off somewhere. That was fine with him, they were closer to each other than he was with either of them. He had planned on sticking with Carlisle but it seemed both Miles and Aurora had that covered. So it seemed Daniel should look around for anything strange, but he also wasn’t supposed to go anywhere without a partner.

Danny thought for a moment then had an idea. Looking up and around he found what he needed, a tree branch that was definitely enough to hold his weight. It was also still in eyesight of Carlisle so he wasn’t even really going anywhere. Dan put two fingers to his forehead and focused for a moment, then he found himself sitting on the branch. It gave him a better vantage point to try and spot anything. Unfortunately the woods weren’t exactly thin so it was far from a perfect plan.

He took a look around and didn’t notice anything strange. He then felt a buzz in his pocket. He took his phone out to see who had texted. There was no name, but he knew the number. Whoever this was had been in contact with Daniel for a little while now. They wanted him to keep an eye on things. Of course that sounded incredibly sketchy, but they didn’t seem to have any ill intentions so he decided to go with it.

[i]What is the status of the barrier?[/i] No greeting or anything, straight to business. At least Daniel could respect their efficiency. [i][color=00A651]Mostly fine, Carlisle is fixing it up now.[/color][/i] Daniel had asked multiple times who they were, he hadn’t gotten an answer, so at this point he was done trying to figure that out. They were someone who knew about the town and wanted to keep people safe. Again, incredibly sketchy, but if Daniel didn’t help and someone he cared about got hurt then he’d never be able to forgive himself.

Another text, [i]Good, keep an eye on Carlisle. Let us know when his condition changes.[/i] Something about this text rubbed Danny the wrong way. After reading it over a few times he realized it said when his condition changes, not if. As if they knew something was going to happen. [i][color=00A651]When?[/color][/i]

[i]Yes, when. Stay focused. The final stage is about to begin.[/i] Well that wasn’t ominous at all. Dan started to wonder if he had made a mistake in helping whoever this was, even if all he was doing was keeping an eye on things. But he didn’t have much time to think about that. Looking down he saw that Carlisle seemed to be done working on the barrier. Daniel put his fingers to his forehead once more and popped to the ground in front of his tree before walking over.

[color=00A651]”Hey Miles, Carlisle. Man you look spent, hopefully that means the barrier is all good.”[/color] Daniel kept his tone light, trying his best to keep the fact that something was going to happen to Carlisle out of his mind.

[color=00FFFF]"Yeah no. I am fine. Just need rest. Hopefully the barrier is secure. So long as I stay calm"[/color]

[color=00A651]”That’s good. Other than being tired you doing alright? You seemed a little off this morning. And getting your head slammed in to the table like that couldn’t have been fun.”[/color] Dan was worried. He knew something was going to happen to Carlisle and soon, but he couldn’t exactly just come out and say that. Then he’d have to explain how he knew and it would make the whole situation worse. For now he just had to gently feel out the situation and keep vigilant.

Normally he wasn’t one to excessively drink, but at the party he planned on getting at least a little drunk. Not so much that he lost his faculties, but enough to have a good time.