[h2][center][color=red]Kyle and Kayla[/color][/center][/h2][hr]

The drive to Santa Celia had been long and mostly boring. Kayla, being a person of little patience and even less attention span had clocked out after the first hour or so, much to Kyle’s eternal gratitude to whatever higher force was above. Kayla could be [i]annoying[/i].

So given that the sign for the city limit was coming into sight, with a long sigh Kyle decided it was finally time to wake his sister up.

“Hey, Kayla, wake up. We made it.”

Kayla stirred and groaned indignantly, finally waking up after sleeping soundly for several hours. She yawned and stretched, angling her arms as to not get in Kyle’s way. She cracked her neck, which had been resting at an odd angle for a while now. In typical Kayla fashion, she hadn’t really heard what Kyle had said and asked “Are we there yet?”

“Yeah. Take a look.” Her brother replied.

Kayla, following instruction for what was likely one of the first times in her life, cast her eyes out the window just in time to catch the city limit sign as they passed it. She hummed, and sat properly in the passenger seat for another minute or two, only to very suddenly tense up.

“Kyle, pull over.”

“Why?”

“I need to go to the bathroom.”

Kyle offered no response save a sigh. He wasn’t up for the ‘just hold it’ argument. He began looking for a safe spot to pull over, turning the blinker on. They pulled off on the nearest exit, which had been conveniently located not too far away. As Kyle pumped gasoline into the car, Kayla very quickly booked it into the building, coming out five minutes later with two candy bars. One Twix, the other Reeses.

“I told you not to drink that soda before the trip.”

Kayla seemed to choose not to reply to Kyle’s quip, instead offering him a choice of the two chocolate bars. “Take your pick.”

“I’m good.” Kyle replied. As Kayla shrugged and began unwrapping the twix, Kyle finished up pumping the gas. They both climbed into the car, Kyle pulling up to the exit. “So…” He began to say, “Now that we’re actually here, could you tell me what we’re doing?”

“Parker says-” Kayla said with a mouthful of Twix. Kyle winced at the sight of crumbs. Kayla, catching his sideways glance, swallowed and righted herself. “Sorry, Parker says that this city has been piquing everyone’s interest as of late.” She took another bite of her candy bar, finishing the last of it. She took a look at the Reese’s bar, but decided on saving it for later.

“Do you know what a Jäger is?”

Kyle sighed. He hadn’t brushed up on the term in a while. “They’re…” He began, “The ancestor-conduits, right?”

“Yeah, kinda. Our bloodlines have worked together before. They’re kinda like us, but more… specialized. Monster hunters, if I recall right. I mean, their name means ‘hunter’ in German and all.” Kayla laid back in their seat and crossed her arms. “He mentioned that there was one somewhere in the city. Didn’t say who or where though. Imagine that, Lance Parker admitting he doesn’t know something.”

“He’d never be that straightforward with me about anything.” Kyle responded, only half-jokingly. “So, what exactly is the plan then? After we find this Jäger?”

“You eventually learn that if he isn’t sayin’ it, he doesnt know it. Will never admit it though. You know him.” Kayla said, giving Kyle a smile that was all teeth. “I figured it’d be a good first step to know someone in the business, y’know? What’s the saying? Two’s company and three is… also company.”

“Crowd. Three’s a crowd.” Kyle responded bluntly.

“Not according to some of the videos I’ve watched.” Kayla countered quickly, moving on just as fast. “[i]RE[/i]gardless, they’re a local if anything. Might know where to look for trouble. Or at least where to get a bite to eat.”

Kyle nodded. “Good plan.” He said, in a not-at-all-confident manner. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but… Witch Blood is poisonous to Jägers, right?”

“If my readings are right, I think it’s only if my blood is exposed to her bare skin. I should be able to shake her hand just fine when introductions are made. [i]Should.[/i]” Kayla fell quiet into thought for a moment. They were both experienced with the supernatural, and smart too. There was always a catch to things like this. “I suppose I might not be able to heal her, but that’ll require further testing. I’ll have to work out the methodology of the experiment if we get the opportunity.”

She was quiet again, then thought of something more. “Do we have anything in specific in mind for lodging? I love you and all bro, but I don't think either of us will enjoy living in a car for an unspecified amount of time and hoping it rains to bathe.”

“We pick a hotel and we stick with it.” Kyle responded, “Just like we’ve done… I forget how many times now. Been ages since we just stayed in one place. Doesn’t even feel like we have our own house anymore.”

Kayla hummed in response, “C’mon Kyle. You and I both know that we’d go stir-crazy if we stayed in one place for too long. You remember that gig in India we had a few years ago? I hated staying put for three months WAITING for the Naga to show itself.”

“Well, we’ve got a city to rummage through now. Shouldn’t leave you bored. That is, if we actually find something to work on.”

Kayla nodded, but for once didn’t say anything. Instead, she opted to look out the window as they rolled ever closer to the city. Her uncharacteristic silence was welcome to Kyle, but unnerving. Perhaps Kayla could feel something that he couldn’t. Perhaps this city would be interesting after all.

[hr]

After finding a small but nice motel, Kyle and Kayla had decided that there was no time like the present to get a headstart on scouting out the city for potential problems that would benefit from their expertise. As they walked the sidewalk of Santa Celia, Kyle elbowed Kayla to get her attention.

“Hm? See something?” Kayla said, looking up to her brother, who simply pointed in the direction of a gathering of police officers up the road. They had the police tape, the cruisers, the manpower, the whole nine yards. Kayla furrowed her brow. “What about it?”

“Amulet’s humming.”

This caught Kayla’s attention. “How do you wanna go about it?”


“DICKS!” a man in civilian clothing yelled, catching both of the twin’s attention. An officer, who was no doubt the ‘Dicks’ in question, stepped forward to address the man. They seemed to get into a short spat, until the civilian blinded the officer with a high powered camera flash and tossed something into the alleyway, only to walk away thereafter.

“Him. That’s how we go about it.” Kayla said smugly.

“Off to a great start.” Kyle replied bluntly.

“Do you want to question him, or do you want me to?”

“You go ahead. I’ll see what I can gather about the situation from here.”

“I can do you one better-” Kayla said, then pursing her lips. She closed her eyes and spoke. “[i]Cam'wethrin.[/i]” She said, an aetherial echo to her voice. She opened her eyes again, blinking a few times to remove any weariness she had given herself. “You’ll move silently for a few minutes. Do you have some kind of concussive but non lethal bomb? To blind them? I can do it myself, but if you have something…”

“You are… [i]really[/i] starting off pretty crazy with this, you know that?” Kyle responded, somewhat irritated.

“C’mon, Kyle we’re Tourists. It’s what we do.” Kayla said, winking at him.

All she got from her brother in response was yet another sigh.