Leon sat still as stone in his seat. A pair of sound canceling headphones over his ears, his aviators shielding his eyes, and his trench coat pulled up over his chin left him blissfully unaware of the order to disembark. It wasn’t until a stewardess tapped him on the shoulder that he emerged. Leon slowly pulled back his headphones and lowered his glasses.

“Sir, are you alright? The passengers are disembarking.”


“I’m fine, just not a fan of planes. Well… more so planes with other people.” Leon sighed getting up.

Leon grabbed his bag and started shuffling up to the exit. Even with most of his senses blocked out a crowded small space was havoc for him. Even if there wasn’t anything paranormal he had a nasty habit of looking for it even if it wasn’t there. Nowadays Leon reserved himself to quiet thought while cutting off the outside world when traveling.

Thankfully the Portland jetport was quite a bit smaller than Chicago’s. Leon moved along at a slow, but steady pace as he woke himself back up. He grabbed his duffle bag and double checked that everything was intact. The totems were fairly strong and packed between clothes, but a good shaman always tends his tools.

As quickly as his mood was improving it was ruined. He couldn’t help but sigh when he spotted the client here. The last thing they needed was a civilian with no clue what was going on. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if this was something simple like a small monstrosity or something else that dies quickly to bullets, but no, mind-warping terrors of the beyond were more likely right now.

It was almost the same moment that E set her eyes on Leon. He furrowed his brow. Clearly, she was looking at him, but there was something else too. Another set of eyes? A quick sweep of peripheral vision showed nothing. Reaching up to his neck Leon ‘accidently’ knocked his headphones off. Turning quickly he scanned the area behind him before snatching up his belonging. Nothing obvious.

“Ku, is that you?” Leon thought focusing on the totemic mask he wore.

“And if it is? I was promised blood. Where is it?”

“You were offered blood under a very specific condition. If you want it then you’d best not obscure my searches from now on.” Leon mentally growled.

“You mortals are always cute when you try to be menacing.” Ku laughed until his voice faded away.

Leon huffed trying to figure out what this feeling was in truth, but it was so distant and unfamiliar Leon couldn’t quite set it into what he knew.

To his knowledge, there were a handful of distinct stares. There was, of course, the actual normal human stare that you can pick up on through social cues. Next up would be the uncanny stare when you know a normal person is staring at you, but there is no normal reason you'd know that. That was usually some underlying esp. Then there were the troublesome kinds. The stares that came from spirits or other things in the beyond. When their eyes set on you, the warmth would be sucked from your bones. It unnerves you, but that's about where it ends you know you're watched but it's hard to say what they perceive. The last is worst. A truly piercing stare. You feel someone really prying into you and picking you apart. It's like having someone looking deep into your mind.

Whatever was looking at that certainly felt close to the third case, but something about it made Leon worry it might lean into the fourth. From now on he was on high alert. No one was above further discretion.