"Oho, laundry service," Riley said, managing to crack a more genuine smile despite his pitiful condition. He accepted his shirt back with a nod and what was almost a bow. "Normally I just have to sit in the laundromat in my skivvies to get anything washed; I could get used to this." Regarding Izzy's question, he made a brief, pondering expression as he tucked his clean shirt away. "That would make sense. Though I can't imagine that guy holding a grudge. At least not consciously. I don't think I'd ever care to meet the sort of person that he could deliberately hate." Again he gave Izzy one of usual looks that implied he knew more than he was letting on.

The two didn't have much more to talk about after that. Riley decided to try and get some sleep in before he went back out to scout around town, and Izzy took the hint to mean that he was done talking. She tracked down the vampire child and managed to feed him, which she hadn't been able to do for some time. He seemed cranky from going so long between meals, and pulled from her neck more aggressively than usual. With that, she left the abandoned school, filled with her own thoughts and anxieties.

[center][u]The next day...[/u][/center]

The 26th started like any other day that summer, Izzy being awoken by her rambunctious brothers. Her parents were back at work today, but apparently they had given the boys a stern warning while Izzy was out, and they had abandoned their plans for vigilantism for the time being. Ever a relief to Izzy, she took the day for herself. There was something she hadn't managed to do since this whole mess started, and it was the perfect thing for clearing her head and organizing her thoughts: taking a nice, long hike.

Izzy set out on her usual route, he feet taking her along practically by themselves as she lost herself in her own thoughts. Even so, or perhaps because of it, she ended up passing by the same park where she had found Cerasus, what seemed like a lifetime ago. Where she had tried to sacrifice herself for him. That was where everything had changed, for both Izzy [i]and[/i] Trevor. Despite her best intentions, she was at least indirectly responsible for getting Trevor involved in this world of things that didn't make any natural sense. Would there be any way for him to leave it? She didn't even know the solution for the current problem at hand, nor did Riley.

Practically in a trance, Izzy found herself slowly walking around the roundabout, pulling it along with one hand, and listening to the creaking sounds the old fixture made. However, as she made another loop around, she suddenly found herself face to face with someone. Reflexively, she looked up, and found herself staring into a pair of yellow eyes. Certainly not human eyes. Jumping back, Izzy found herself practically nose to nose with the White Wolf. Though this park was off the beaten path, it was still in broad daylight, and seeing the aberration was intensely startling. The Wolf looked at her with something of a smirk, tilting its head in a distinctly canine manner.

"Aren't you a little old for a place like this?" It asked, in almost a playful tone. "You're not here to prey on little children, are you? You'd be more frightening than an aberration." Its smile widened, showing its sharp teeth, as it laughed at its own joke. It seemed more articulate than it had before. Was it getting smarter? Or was it integrating with Trevor more? Neither option was good.

"Don't look so uptight," it said, looking at her condescendingly with Trevor's face. "If I was here to kill you I would have done it already. I came to reason with you." Giving Izzy a moment to let it sink in, it continued, "I think I've become a bit of an unusual case. As an aberration, you could call me a 'possession' type. I take over the brain. Meaning that I take knowledge. With all of the wits and knowledge that my master has, I've gone from a very weak aberration to one that could cross blades with that pink-shirt-guy. But that also means I've taken on all of my master's burdens. Like that house. You know what I'm talking about, you've been there. I could smell you when I went back to change clothes." Indeed, the Wolf was wearing a different pair of boxers from the last time she saw it. There was Trevor in that for sure, a hygienic person that made sure to change his undergarments once a day.

"My master lived in that house for fifteen years. With [i]those people[/i]. Can you imagine the pressure that put him under? The stress that builds up over fifteen years? That's the part of him where I live: his stress. And being born from that, I'm influenced by it. I've been attacking people at random, but not because I want to hurt people. It's just a release. Like ringing a doorbell and running away, or spray-painting a building. It's relieving stress."