Samuel Priest had a routine with certain kinds of emails. He didn't let the computer do the sorting for him; he might know the rules of arcane bureaucracy but he had no real interest in working out how to make the computer do something he was perfectly capable of himself. Instead, with the kind of deliberation that could - and did - drive the younger members of his organization up the wall, he considered each message, then with all the speed of a growing oak, resigned it to whatever folder or trash bin it might belong in. He didn't even delete the endless messages from marketers and people who were certain that what he needed were "dynamic, modern, data-driven approaches" to his very peculiar business, but he did have a folder for them. If you could read the words, the label would say "Fools, Damn Fools, and Liars." And then there were the...other messages. Missives from, well. You could call some of them peers, or fellow delvers in the darkness. Others were communications from dark gods, lost prophets, or the Faen courts. All had their particular strata of Priest's attention, given in their turn. And at the very top of that priority list were messages from Eleanor Tregellan. They were so special, in fact, that Priest even had a special routine for those messages. He made them not his problem. Priest sighed, then reached to his desk phone, a heavy, corded thing, and punched a number in while cradling the receiver on his broad shoulder. The line rang three times, before clicking with connection. "Oh, you're awake, how lovely," he said without preamble, "Miss Blackwood, I do hope you have a moment. It seems our...associate...is looking for her employee. Yes, again. I don't suppose you've seen her lately? Well, I would ask you to get a message to her, if you wouldn't mind..." ---------------------- "You know that I'm not actually your messenger service," said Morgan Blackwood, her quick fingers buttoning up her shirt. "It [i]is[/i] possible for you to look at your phone now and then." "I check my phone all the time," Teajay replied from the bathroom. She pulled a brush through her hair, then used her fingers to tease the strands the way she liked. "Let me guess, to see who you've matched with on Deisul," Morgan sighed. Teajay poked her head out of the bathroom, "Morgan Blackwood, as I live and breathe. [i]You[/i] know about Deisul?" "I..." Morgan waved a hand, "Not what we're talking about." Could that be a flush on her cheeks? Surely not. Morgan let out a surprised breath a moment later, Teajay having bolted out of the bathroom and wrapped her arms around Morgan's waist from behind in a hug. "I'm so damn proud of you," Teajay said into Morgan's back, "Look at you! Baby's first online dating profile! You have to let me see it. Wait, did we match? Holy shit, is [i]that[/i] why you're here?" Her tone held nothing but playful, teasing delight. "Tarah," Morgan said, clearing her throat, "Tregellan says you have a case." She reached down and gently pulled herself away from Teajay's embrace, "And since apparently she included Mr. Priest on the email, this one might be important? So, please, if you could, just check your messages." Teajay stepped away from Morgan, a sly grin still on her face. She walked into her bedroom and scooped up her phone, her thumb tracing a complex sigil on the screen. A moment later, she let out a sound halfway between dismay and surprise. "Urgent, huh?" Teajay said, "I guess I'll have to wear pants for this one." ----------------------- Chicago in February is not anyone's idea of a good time. The winter had lost its novelty earlier in the year, and the knowledge that there was still quite a lot more to go could be enervating. The last few months had been dry and mild, but the wind still blew with icy teeth. Teajay stepped down the alley wrapped in a wool coat to her calves, bright blue scarf at her neck, and a knit hat with a pink cat's paw on one side, her steps careful while she approached the knot of other investigators. "Heya, everyone," Teajay said, stepping past Alcander. The man looked even more tired than usual, the poor thing. "Oh, fuck," she managed, seeing the ichor-coated body. "You know, Eleanor, that you could mention something like 'don't wear something you mind getting stained,' in the messages sometimes." Teajay stepped closer to the body, then lowered herself to take a closer look. No expression, no contorted limbs. Not even a smell, which...well. The less said about that, the better. Other than the black goo - which Teajay was [i]not[/i] going to touch - hardly anything remarkable at all. Curious, that absence. And while she thought about it, focused her attention, that absence deepened and grew. More than a simple lack of context, and lack of clues, there was something [i]important[/i] missing here. Something about the body felt...wrong. Not just out of place physically, but something else. A cold blankness where even an impression should have been. She swallowed. "Do...you guys feel that?" Teajay said, standing. She turned, her eyes scanning the empty air. The hair on her arms prickled, even under her jacket. She took a few steps further down the alley, almost unconscious. There, a little way further away from the rumbling El tracks, she felt...something. With a start, she realized it was the Outside, but not an invitation, nor a demand. A presence, like a hand on the other side of a pane of glass. "Oh, fuck," Teajay said to herself. "Talenarael" came a voice, like a whisper on a wind. "You come for the soul." "I..." Teajay swallowed, "No, I...don't..." "Gone," the voice interrupted, "Missing. Taken. Destroyed. Lost. Nothing to speak for. Only a hollow." The words seemed to take a tremendous amount of effort, or come from a very long distance away. "I don't know what to do with that right now," Teajay said, "Okay, fuck it. Do you know who he was? Anything about him?" "Not the first," the voice said. And with those words, the presence faded, the pressure of the Outside falling away at the same time. "Shit," Teajay muttered, then turned to look back at the group. "Er...how much of that did any of you hear?" She said.