Amber continued to listen in on the Pit stop conversation, but she couldn't really make out much. The pirate girl just hoped Sue didn't do anything weird like try to flirt with Mariette. Or even worse, one of her underlings. Especially that mouthy, big breasted one. But Sue was a smart girl. No matter how cute their disguises looked, their true form would always be that of disgusting, gelatinous harpies. The pirate chuckled to herself. She almost felt bad for them, but they had it coming.

	[i]“Sea scare.” A voice boomed in Amber's head. “How doth thee fair?”[/i]

	Boteg was able to communicate directly inside Amber's head via mental link. He wasn't able to see her, just talk to her. Though if Amber were feeling strong emotions while she “talked” to him, he would be able to pick up on them. The pirate did her best to ignore the fact that her familiar was enjoying a meal while she was standing in their leftovers. [i]“Just keeping up patrols.”[/i] Amber had yet to tell the  paranoid dragon about the impending war. It just didn't seem like a good idea. He would likely try to leave Penrose, which would conflict with Veronica's interests. The Ebon Vampire wanted Amber in this city for some reason, so keeping Boteg in Penrose was important. [i]“Why, what's up?”[/i] It was actually rare for Boteg to contact Amber out of the blue like this.

	[i]“Are thou interested mayhaps in why me had thou take this most perilous journey?”[/i] 

	[i]“Oh uh...”[/i] Amber wasn't expecting a chat like this. Boteg must have been very pleased for some reason. [i]“Well yea, we've been travailing a while. I do think there were closer cities then Penorse that were just as fitting for your uh, majesty?”[/i]

	[i]“But thou art not in penrose for most splendid majesty, sea scare. Me thinks the terrifying one's scare is close.”[/i] The terifying one was a mysterious entity that Amber couldn't really understand. Mostly because Boteg couldn't properly describe it. But a scare was a universal term for a magical girl. 

	[i]“Wait.”[/i] Amber couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. [i]“We're here to confront the terrifying one's scare? Why? You've spent so much time running away from anything that reminds you of the terrifying one?!”[/i]

	[i]“Me thinks the terrifying one will back away when I bare my fangs. But thou now knows why me is in penrose.”[/i]

	Regardless of what Sue did tonight, it wouldn't be as stupid as what Boteg had been plotting since her employment.

[hr]

	One of the drawbacks of not having a patron was that you didn't really know where everyone's turf was. In hindsight, eating their food in a quiet park setting probably would have been a better option. But who knew?

	Regina didn't show it, but she was surprised that this was how beacon conducted their business. Throwing around thinly veiled threats was something Regina would have expected the “bad guys” to do. The succubus would have liked to have spoken with a beacon girl, but Alicia was making it plainly evident that words were off the table. Leave in a hurry or stand and fight were her presented options. Regina found such ultimatums... disgusting. This one would need to be taught a lesson.

	Fortunately, both Beacon girls had revealed themselves, and Regina instantly recognized them. This saved her the trouble of having to dig through their minds to see what they were capable of. Not that Regina knew their full capabilities from their fight a week ago. But knowing their specializations and preferred fighting positions was an advantage the opponent didn't have. If they knew what Regina was capable of, they probably would have realized she was secretly relaying information to Elroy. But they probably saw her holding his hand as just a nervous tick. Elroy would soon know the plan Regina was cooking, and their opponents would be none the wiser. To anyone else, it would just look like the two kids were standing in shock for a few seconds. 

	“My mistake.” Regina let go of Elroy's hand. She looked just as scared and cautious as ever. “I had no idea Beacon was so close to here.” she walked backwards into the street. “I don't really want to be so close to a group of monster killers anyway. I'm sorry.” Regina turned around and ran across the street, disappearing between two buildings along with their dinner.

	But Elroy stayed put. He repeated part of what Alicia said back to her.

	"Regardless of what everyone might think these days, Beacon does not approve of monster girls setting up next to its territory." Elroy started to walk towards her. “But it's okay to recruit them? I had no idea Beacon was so progressive!” The grinning incubus pulled off his glasses and tucked them into his shirt pocket. “But yea, I'm glad you don't have a problem with monster men.” Elroy did not transform. There was no reason to. In the blink of an eye he could revert to his monster form. He did walk with one hand pressed against the arch of his back however. This was so that he could respond to a surprise attack by transforming and taking the shield off his back.

	Meanwhile, Regina took cover behind a dumpster. In a puff of black smoke, she had reverted into her true form. Her horns poked out of her head, her hair style reformed itself, and her clothes changed under the veil of smoke. There was also a small tattoo under her left eye. Regina had no intention of leaving Elroy here alone. She allowed her body to sink into the shadow on the ally's wall and resurfaced just high enough to be able to grab the ledge of the roof. She was cloaking herself at this point, entirely invisible to the human eye. She pulled herself up and swiftly ran over to the edge of the roof. It was time to see what beacon could do.

[@Shifter_Master][@Flamelord]