[CENTER][img]https://txt.1001fonts.net/img/txt/dHRmLjE0Mi42ZjBiYjcuUzJGc2FTQk5ZV2hsYm1SeVlRLjE/crash-bang-zipdap.regular.webp[/img][/CENTER] [hr][color=0072bc]PRA St. Portwell Housing Block, Kali's Apartment Early Morning[/color] [hr] [color=#8670AD]"So the paperwork's done? Good." "No. No I don't think any of them would question it enough to actually make an inquiry right away but you can never be too careful, especially with them." "Yes, I know..." "I know what the main goal is but if we can kill a few more birds with one stone then I might as well right?" "Look, I know it doesn't look apparent now but I'm sure that whoever is committing these murders probably has a connection to the snake as well." "Yes... yes it's that... instinct of mine."[/color] [color=#D01417]You mean me.[/color] Shut up. [color=#8670AD]"I know, I'll be as a discreet as I can, and once again, thank you Ma'am, I won't disappoint."[/color] As the line cuts off I feel gravity begin to take me as I fall backwards onto the very mattress I had just spent the entirety of my morning's effort convincing myself to get up from. Hah... and here I thought I was more disciplined than this now. Today really is bringing back all sorts of things from the past. Things I missed, things I wish I could forget, things I thought I had burned away from myself forever- [color=#D01417]and things you don't want to acknowledge.[/color] You're [i]talkative[/i] today. [color=#D01417]Should I not be? It's funny every time I hear it. How you're using [i]me[/i] as the discreet option to find the original.[/color] I'm not using [i]you[/i] I'm using the [i]connection[/i] that you have. [color=#D01417]It's all the same isn't it?[/color] No it's not. [color=#D01417]You're right. If it was my way we would've just burnt the whole place down until we hit the right spot.[/color] This is why we don't go with your ideas. [color=#D01417]You can't deny it would be easier. Way easier than... this.[/color] I look over towards my bedside table. Laying on it, the envelope that damn letter arrived in. I can still see the seal from here. Letting out a sigh I turn my entire body on my side just to keep myself from looking any longer. It's right. [color=#D01417]I know.[/color] And yet, I'm still going to do this anyway. I stare up towards the ceiling. A blank space. An empty void. Nothing to bother me, nothing to drive me forward, nothing to push or pull me in any direction at all. World where I am truly left alone. But I can't keep staring at this forever. I've tried. I've tried [i]so many times[/i] [color=#D01417]but in the end the world can't help but drag me back out. Can't help but continue to push and pull me wherever they please. Kicking. Screaming. Crying. Shouting. It really makes you want to-[/color] Stop. I push it down. Somewhere deep, somewhere hidden. I can feel it trying to break free but this isn't ten years ago. Time has made me a master of denying my impulses. Even the one that's keeping me chained to this unreasonably comfy bed. And so, I rise, tearing myself away from the embrace of nothingness as I look at my room once more. The dull reflected light of the sky bleeding through my windows paints the whole room a dull, gentle blue. It's almost as if the world itself is waking up with me. I still can never understand how the commander is able to wake up at this ungodly hours though. Maybe I'm not the only one possessed. But it is an admirable trait, and I should be taking after her example, especially now. I stand up, let out one of the longest yawns of my life as I stretch out my arms and legs before picking up the letter again, skimming through it once more. My heart-rate begins to subtly increase as I take in a deep breath to steady it. It's been a long time. People change. I've changed, no doubt. In fact I might even be downright unrecognizable to some of these [i]people[/i]. So who knows? Maybe things will be fine this time? We've all had time to mature, grow, become more well rounded individuals. Maybe things will be different. A chill runs through my body. Maybe things will be... different. I guess I'll just have to see. [hr][color=bc8dbf]Across the street from Flower's and Canvasses Late Evening[/color] [hr] What the hell am I doing? [color=#D01417]Being a creep?[/color] Yes, that's EXACTLY what I needed to hear right now! [color=#D01417]Oh well that wasn't my intention bu-[/color] I send it back down to the depths again as I let out a sigh. A long, beleaguered sigh full of venom that, if it were real, I would ingest right away myself to put me out of my own misery. Here I am. A grown man. A fully grown human being. An actual adult and I'm here, sitting on a random bench fully dressed in uniform, suit, tie, black on black, trays of food in hand that are probably getting colder by the minute though thankfully I can still feel a bit of warmth, staring at a bunch of other actual adults from across the street through a window like some kind of creep. I really thought I was over this. The coven was supposed to be an old chapter of my life, one that I no longer have to pay attention to because those pages were already read way too many times. And yet the fear remains. That gnawing feeling in my chest remains. And maybe even those undeserved feelings of admiration also remain. The sun has long since set. The only thing illuminating these streets are the dull barely maintained street lamps that were put here god knows how many years ago to make a [i]symbolic[/i] attempt at lighting up these streets at night. Thankfully the one that's supposed to be lighting up my bench is on the fritz. Not surprising. They don't pay the civil engineers enough here to have them check up on these things often enough to keep them fixed. Ordinarily a pretty bad thing but today their underpaid negligence is keeping me in darkness, and with my clothes and skin it's [i]very easy[/i] for me to blend into that darkness. So at least I can be a creep without anyone [i]seeing[/i] me be a creep. [color=#D01417]Keep telling yourself that.[/color] I will. Still, it looks like whatever meeting they're having in there is coming to a close. Or maybe I'm imagining it. Whatever it is, [color=#D01417]our window of opportunity is closing, quickly.[/color] The world won't let me sit here with my indecision forever. I get up from the bench. Deep breaths, deep breaths. You got this. Just act natural. You're Kali. They all know Kali. They... know what... that... means. I swallow as if something was caught in my throat and before I can even have a chance to continue that thought I find myself walking. Steadfast, forward, with a posture that was drilled into me through years of training. I am a machine made of flesh going through a predetermined subroutine, all the way until my hand feels the chill of the metal door knob. That's when the [i]human[/i] gets knocked back into the drivers seat. I'm late. Way too late. It's always been [i]too late[/i]. But it's fine. It has to be. The knob turns. The door opens. Light, excruciatingly blinding light, washes over me. In an instant I'm bombarded with all sorts of voices. Some familiar, others not so much, some pleasant, others disturbing. It's getting out of control again, and it's switching between everyone. Like a broken radio unable to settle on a single channel. Why now? Why here? Why is it always with [i]them!?[/i] Stop! Deep breaths. Calm thoughts. Push it down. Push it all down. Shut them out, every single one. Don't even let the slightest thing in. Alright. Now then, judging from the looks on all of their faces I must have just opened the door and stood here with the most intense look I've ever made in my entire life for the past five seconds. [b]Fuck.[/b] Okay, don't panic. Panicking will only make this worse. Use your legs. You have feet. And with that I walk [i]into[/i] the flower shop so I don't stand in the middle of the doorway like an actual psychopath and look towards the gathered crowd properly. Oh god. They really do look like they're just about done here. Fuck- what did I interrupt? What did I miss? I, no, stop don't think about that. Remember, thoughts happen in real time. [b]REAL TIME![/b] You're just standing here. Speak. Say something. Say [i]anything at all.[/i] [color=#8670AD]"Wow- it's... really been that long huh?"[/color] I manage to eek out from the depths of my frozen brain. Well, it's a start, but I can't stop here. [color=#8670AD]"It's... crazy, really. You all look so different. So... very"[/color] I catch a glimpse of Talya, [color=#8670AD]"very different..."[/color] Holy fucking shit. That catches me off guard, but the strange snake shaped charcuterie board manages to snap me back to reality as I am very boldly reminded of what I'm holding. [color=#8670AD]"Oh, and uh... I brought food too. I know I didn't need to but I figured it would be..."[/color] I start as I quickly walk over to where that charcuterie was placed to set my own tray down, [color=#8670AD]"nice."[/color] God. They're really all here. This is real. This isn't some kind of fucked up nightmare I'm having like it usually is. The past is here. It's all here. It's all in front of me again. And I'm the idiot who willingly walked into it. I steel myself, another silent breath, as I once more turn to the crowd as I say [color=#8670AD]"And it really is great to see all of you. Really-"[/color] and then my eye catches Simone, [color=#8670AD]"great... to... see... all of you."[/color] [b][i]What am I doing? Why am I here?[/i][/b] [color=#D01417]Irregular brainwave activity. Elevated Heart-rate. Hyperventilation. Oh, dilated pupils huh?[/color] No. [color=#D01417]Face it, you're already compromised.[/color] No, I can do this. This is fine. [color=#D01417]No it's not. We both know that.[/color] But I- [color=#D01417]We have a job to do don't we? Relaaaaaax, it's already long past sundown. You can't keep me out even if you wanted to. [b]So give me my turn at the wheel.[/b][/color] One more deep breath as I close my eyes and mutter to myself [color=#D01417]"Always was shit at small-talk."[/color] I don't really know what expression I was making before. Probably something familiar to all of them. But it's right. I am here for a job. What I need isn't the past. [b]I need to face them with the present.[/b] As I open my eyes the training I've spent years perfecting once again kicks in. The cold, unfeeling, unwavering gaze of scrutiny, and [b]authority[/b] that I've used time and time again in many missions past. Empathy has it's place for sure, humanity as well, but when you're dealing people that you know won't cooperate easily, sometimes you have to remind them that it's not the gun on your side they should be afraid about. [color=#D01417]It's you.[/color] [color=#D01417]"You know what, I can tell you're all not in the mood for this,"[/color] I can see it in their eyes, [color=#D01417]"So I'll cut to the chase."[/color] I start walking. Slowly. Deliberately. Each footstep intentionally made to make sure it was heard as I speak. Making my way towards Auri and as a consequence the central area of the room's focus. [color=#D01417]"The murder of Ashley Stone. Portwell PD's latest cold case. You can imagine why they haven't been able to make any headway on it. But... funnily enough, there's enough to suggest that the murderer has been acting over interstate lines, and as such via standard protocol, that case has now since been taken over by the Federal Bureau of Investigation."[/color] I say as I begin to reach into my inner jacket pocket. [color=#D01417]"Because of this, an agent from the Bureau has been dispatched to head the investigation here. One who has a history of dealing with crimes [i]like this[/i]."[/color] I say, finally stepping in front of Auri before revealing to her, and everyone else in the process, my badge. [color=#D01417]"[b]I am that agent[/b]."[/color] I say looking Auri directly in the eyes.