---

It wasn’t until a fair few hours after the attack on the Cozy Bakery, by whatever it was, that Loni found herself standing in front of Momo’s office door. There was some hesitation there. Had it been long enough? Should she even bother her boss?

While Loni had come back to the Sin Sisters’ after getting some help from others at the bakery followed by proper medical attention at an affiliated clinic, she’d spent the time in one of the staff rooms just trying to calm down both herself and her daughter. But it wasn’t working.

Luciana clung to her, face hidden against her chest. Loni had managed to detach her enough to properly get off her torn wool sweater, leaving her in just a black bralette with a toddler hanging off her front. The little body in her arms still trembled, even if she wasn’t actively crying right now. But it was on and off… and nothing Loni was doing seemed to be working.

Because she was struggling to feel much at all. It was so difficult to comfort her daughter when a cloud of apathy hung over her. She didn’t want to be a bother, but… for Luciana. She carefully shifted Luciana so she could support her with just one arm, her other hand coming up to knock on the door.
"Momo? You busy? Can I come in? I need help with somethin’." Outside of any magical detection, it was obvious that something was wrong. There was none of the normal excited fluctuations in her voice, and no door shoved open to let a demanding toddler run in.

Momo had been aware of Loni’s arrival some time ago, one of the many mouths attached to a pair of eyes tipping her off about anything that happened around her. There were problems to be dealt with, and she’d been on the phone with her relatives South of the mountains for some time. There were no plans to move troops, but there was an offer to extend an olive branch back to the Motherland.
It wasn’t something the Matriarch could justify. Nothing had really happened yet, aside from the scant few problems here in town…

It was unsettling, but she hadn’t needed to bristle up yet. Not until she got the call that Loni and Luciana had been into the clinic near the Storror Apartments, at least. After that, she was dying to get results, and found herself just waiting in her office in the quiet. Not wanting to pry, she stuck her phone in the drawer and waited for that knock.

Not forcing the young woman to push open the door, Momo heard her voice and stood up to open it for her. As soon as she opened the crack, she could smell the seeping stench of Apathy curled around Loni’s hair. Lingering.
But there couldn’t be hesitation. Not with this one… She would feel utterly dejected and there’d be no comforting her after that. And why make the baby suffer more? Seeing both of their faces, it was clear that something had happened… However, whether it was another foolish man in her life, or something more sinister, was yet to be determined.

"Mia Coccinella!? Dio mio, Loni, what’s this I hear about you at one ‘o my clinics? What happened, Darlin’? Luci, amore, come to Momo Zia! What happened to Mami, huh?” she immediately wrapped them both in her embrace, very quickly adjusting her arms to take the baby like she usually expected to happen…

Loni, unusually, didn't say anything immediately. But the tension held in her body began to drain out when Momo got close, leaning into her slightly… hesitantly. She knew her Black Lux still clung to her, and didn't want anyone getting hurt. But she was much less reluctant to hand Luciana over. Not because she didn't want to keep holding her daughter, but because she was sure Momo could actually help. She was Luciana's favourite person… after her Mamá and Vin. She wasn't stuck after using magic that sucked away her emotions.

“M-mama,” Luciana whimpered, big dark eyes filling up with tears again. Her hands reached out to snatch Loni's hair, tangling it in chubby little fingers as Loni passed her over to Momo. Loni froze mid motion, head tilting forward as Luciana tugged.

"I- I- I let her go. We got attacked and I gave her to someone else and I used it but I didn't wanna, and she ain't been fine since, and I dunno what t'do, I was just tryna protect her but- but I failed her." What eventually came out of Loni's mouth was a mess that didn't actually answer either of the questions, somehow panicked without much variation in her tone.

Momo was very used to Loni’s form of panic at the least. They’d been around one another long enough that she’d come to learn the different ways that Loni could be comforted. It was truly about acceptance and warmth; that Loni simply needed someone to convince her that everything was okay.
Naturally, joy would conquer these feelings. All she had to do was express that, and the warmth would radiate from her into these two. At least, that’s what she told herself when something was actually wrong. It worked well enough.

Noticing Luci’s non-compliance immediately, she couldn’t help but smile at the love of a daughter for her mother. It was a projection, and she wasn’t ashamed: It gave her great joy. She reached her arm out, holding Luci up by her rump until she scooted just a bit closer to Loni. The other arm, like the cape of a superhero, draped over Loni’s shoulders and pulled her tightly into them both.
Now, she took the pressure of the baby off her mother while letting her continue to be close, and Loni would get the comfort she really needed.

Moriah spun the two of them in her arms, slipping them into the office while nudging the door shut with her hip. It gave a weighty thunk as the hardwood echoed from the hardware within locking up tightly.
"Easy, easy… Ain’t nobody gonna get you here. You know how safe you are here? And, c’mon, what’s this about failure? I see the two of you in my arms, don’t I? There’s no failure here, Loni… My little Ladybug. Breathe with me, and smile at your small triumph. You made it. You did everything you could, and you kept her safe.” she almost sang, a great well of Green slipping into Loni’s own Emotional Field, trying to bolster her with pure joy. The joy of being united, and of being alive on their world together.

Loni nodded, trying her best to just breathe. It was a little easier like this, so close to so much warmth without having to bear the weight of the toddler she’d been carrying for hours now. She closed her eyes as Green Lux washed over her, head tilting forward towards her daughter. Luci’s little hands moved from gripping her mother’s hair to grasping at her face. The dark cloud of Apathy that Loni hated so much lifted, moving back towards its normal dormant state within her. Shoved right down and ignored like it didn’t exist, unless she really needed it.

When Loni opened her eyes again, she was calmer. Not quite happy, still panicked, but it was closer to her normal flustered self.
"M’sorry ‘bout that…" she mumbled, meaning the lingering Black Lux more than anything. She tilted her head up to actually look at Momo with clear brown eyes. Her hand moved to wipe away the tears that had fallen down Luci’s cheeks. The little girl seemed to relax a little bit too, reacting to her mother’s emotions.

"Sorry, Mijita, Mamá wasn’t herself, was she? But your Aunt Momo’s got you." Loni rubbed Luciana’s curly head, taking another deep breath. Luci babbled quietly in response, not saying anything actually understandable. They were safe now. She knew that. That was why she’d come back here, instead of going home… She felt safe. But she didn’t feel like not a failure. But she’d go back to that later.

"We went to a bakery to get some treats- cause I didn’t get her a cake on her birthday, I figured it’d be nice. We were just relaxin’ when this man made her cry. I- I confronted him and then he…" Loni shuddered, and Luci reactively started to get upset again.
"Shh, shh, it’s ok, Mamá’s okay. But it wasn’t human. I checked… and it was gonna hurt us. There was a lady at our table- she was nice, so I got her to hold Luciana so I could make a circle outta salt. Y’know, the Black Lux one? I did that but I couldn’t take her back cause I got hurt, and I hadta use everythin’ to keep it up, and to weaken it so it didn’t- didn’t…" she trailed off, not able to bring herself to voice the possibility of it killing them. It hadn’t in the end.

Oh… So this is going to be a problem. Oh, good.
There was a long moment where Momo just held onto the two of them, her voice humming deep in her chest; a tune that she often hummed when she was just working at the bar or dealing with some kind of paperwork. A gift from a Mother long gone. She was trying to process the situation and decide how best to break the news without spilling the beans.
"Tell me about it, Loni… What’d you see, my girl?” she gently cooed, her hand rubbing Loni’s shoulder in comfort.

"The actual… thing? It had this smile- it wasn’t right. Its eyes went all black- but not all black, not like mine do when I use that kinda magic cause there was a blue bit in the middle. It cracked its body all over- not like Green where y’change stuff, it got all twisted. Its head turned ‘round while its body was the other way- and its fingers went like knives. Not claws, not like Vin does, like black knives. They were sharp, as- as knives." The hand not on her daughter moved up to her shoulder, though it was now healed. If she hadn’t fallen out of the way… if it’d hit where it was supposed to…
"It was an Apparition, cause it was bright when I looked at it like that, but it died. Not like sealed, actually dead."

Cataloguing the information, Momo’s eyebrows raised up in surprise for a moment, the rest of the face remaining as a concerned neutral. She assumed they were constructs, or something made by another Adept looking to get straight for something the Untouched Glory had done long ago. But, if they were apparitions, then… Were they really dead? There was no way of knowing, but the other problem-
"Just… One?” she asked quietly, face turning down to look Loni in the eye.

Loni’s eyes widened. Why wouldn’t there just be one? Were there more of them out there? Was she going to have to watch out for these things as well as drunk or aggressive men whenever she walked home at night?!
"Yeah, it was just one… I ain’t seen anymore. But it coulda been anyone. No, no, it did some mind magic on a buncha the people in there. Must’ve been just the one. There ain’t others out there, are there?!"

Care, comfort and convincing. Care, comfort and convincing.
All Momo could do was nod her head, taking a deep breath.
"I know those kids up in Raven’s Rest got a taste of one. I… Fought three. In the train station, outside of… Y’know, that train station?” she hinted, knowing that Loni had accompanied her there a few times due to business.

But she took in a great deep breath of air through her nose, puffing herself up a bit.
"I can’t know how many more there are… If there are more: We don’t know to begin with, right? But think about it, if you had trouble killing one? I didn’t! Whose better to protect you both than me, huh? How about this: We send you home, you, and I’ll get a few people out with you, and you go pack your bags and come here. Stay upstairs, you and her. We cook for you, we clean for you, you keep working and doing what you need to do. And we figure it out! Huh? Won’t that be a big help? Plus, you know I wanna see my little bambina, I mean look at you!”

Momo swept her free hand back around, starting to poke Luci in her sides and known ticklish spots.
"Huh? Chunky Monkey? You gonna eat Zia’s spaghetti from the restaurant and get it all over your clothes? Huh?” she chided at the little girl, poking and joking and getting in close to try and grab her attention. Just to ease the burden a little more.

Luciana started giggling immediately, wriggling around and babbling away with what were probably protests in a two year olds language. Her hands flailed about, one hitting Loni square on the nose as she pulled back. It didn’t hurt, instead it just made her laugh. And she’d moved back a bit to be out of the disaster zone, leaving Momo to be hit by thrashing baby hands.

"That’d help but-"
“Ahn, ahn! Uhp, uhhhpppp!” Luci interrupted, arms now reaching up towards Momo’s face. While her face was still red from all the crying she’d done it was much brighter, lit up by a giggly smile.

Momo’s face brightened with the child’s, and she finally scooped her up with both hands under the arms to raise her high into the air.
"There she iiiiiiis! Loco-Luciiiiiii!” Momo laughed and giggled, holding the baby up in the air and making an engine noise with her lips as she flew around overhead.
For all the fun, however, Momo heard the but in Loni’s voice. Still piloting the child around like a mid-century fighter jet, her face turned back down to her dear Loni.

"Listen… I’ll play ball! Tell the other one that they’re more than welcome upstairs. I would just… Rather them be here and you be comfortable, than knowing that you’re somewhere that we can’t reach you.”
She knew what the hangup was before Loni even said it. She didn’t blame the girl; Momo understood what that relationship was for the two of them. Orphans, everything together. Even if the other one was fully Yang to their Yin, Vin was still part of Loni’s life. Luci’s too… And the more people around to raise and protect the young, the better off they’d be.

"Well…" Loni was distracted for a moment by Luciana’s pure joy, her laughter filling the space. It was contagious, and Loni smiled as she watched. It was all she wanted- for her daughter to be happy. So she was willing to actually think about it, even if she knew what Vin would think and there was also her own reluctance to leave a place that was home. Even if she knew it wasn’t great and it wasn’t safe, it was where she grew up…
"I’ll talk to Vin. But I ain’t sure, cause they hate it up here, and the Black Lux. And they got their work down in the South… I dunno if any bar up here would take them, y’know? It ain’t easy to get passes for the bridge if there ain't any Upper District folks involved. I can’t just decide myself… But I’ll talk to them! Cause it’d be safer…"

With both hands free, Loni was able to more easily pull out her battered phone. Her eyes narrowed a little bit as she unlocked it, almost frowning. Remembering something else…
"It ain’t just that. I don’t think my boyfriend’ll be too happy, he’s already upset I ain’t going round tonight cause I ain’t gonna leave my baby girl to sleep alone… He’s been tryna get me to move in with him, so ain’t it bad if I move elsewhere first?"

Momo could only giggle stupidly at the mention of another man in Loni’s life. Another bastard to make things worse overall.
"Honey, you know damn well that if he can’t handle you putting Luciana first, it ain’t gonna work out. May as well break it off early; the only thing you’re building at this point is an unhealthy split.”

It wasn’t like she was trying to be Loni’s Mom… And ultimately, she was responsible for the consequences of her actions. But, not the child. Children, it was communal. You raised them together, and they came to learn based on that platform. That everyone needed to be respected, and that everyone deserved it, because they were working toward the joy of the future. She felt it was just as much her job to do for Luciana as it was her job to create a good environment for people like Loni.

"If its about getting a little play, I understand! But, you can get that here too; I’d even be happy to watch the little one so you can get your jam on whenever you want…”
Of course, they played this game often enough. Loni would complain about something that Momo knew she could insulate her from, and then Loni would do the opposite anyway. It was necessary, at least… One didn’t learn from their mistakes without making them.

Loni’s nose scrunched up and her lips pushed together into the little pout she got when she was going to double down on some misguided decision. It was one place where her and Luciana looked identical- Luci had the exact same expression when she was about to throw a small temper tantrum. But it really wasn’t a problem this time! It wasn’t like what Momo said at all.

"It ain’t like that- it’s serious! Sure, he’s really good at that- but it isn’t just for s-" Loni cut herself off, looking at her daughter, then back at Momo.
"Y’know. He even said he’d pick me up from work and Luciana could stay round at his, just he ain’t met her yet… and then I couldn’t really sleep in the same room as her, could I? But I’m gonna soon… I ain’t worried, he’s good with kids."

Her head tilted from side to side, still wearing that obtuse expression with her arms folded but becoming a bit less certain. Why hadn’t she introduced him to Luciana yet? But of course, she just doubled down more as if she was trying to convince Momo instead of just… leaving it at that.
"This one’s properly serious, just a bit fast… but that’s cause he’s older. He’s gotta… biological clock tickin’ or somethin’! I dunno, I ain’t smart like that… but it’ll work out this time. He buys me things, and he’s gotta nice house, and he wants kids too! So he’ll be great with Luci."

Momo didn’t say any words at first, slowly and surely moving Luciana through the air until she was face to face with her mother. The wriggling child, Momo figured, would be enough to focus on.
"You look at this face ‘n tell me why you ain’t introduced this man you’re movin’ in with to her yet. Why’re you afraid, huh?” she prodded, giggling as she presented her point.
"Ain’t a single biological clock more important than this ticking timebomb you got. Tell that man that you’ll be wherever it is you’re most comfortable from now on, capice?” she grumbled, finally pulling Luci back to cradle her in her arms.

"Can you believe your Ma, Lu? She’s hiding you from another worthless man. I know you’d be mad if you kneeeeew…” she teased the baby again, confident in her lack of ability to understand the greater mood of the teasing. Regardless, she turned her head back to Loni and frowned.
"I won’t tell you what to do. But I’ll tell you I think it's the wrong choice. I always do.” she did her best to be calm and still instill some kind of joy from the response, knowing that as long as it was open-ended, Loni wouldn’t feel too trapped.

And Momo started to move a bit further away, toward her desk to open a drawer for the house key set. It was over a hundred keys, varying sizes and shapes, which had always been a favorite of the little one in her arms to mindlessly play with.
"Ooooh! Its the keeeeeeeeeys!” she cooed at Luci, wriggling and jingling the pile of metal.

“Ahh-ee bah bah, ahh- Mama! Miwah! Ma!” Luciana babbled away happily, hands reaching up to grasp at the keys. She batted them about, giggling at the jingly sound they made, before grabbing a few and shaking them about.

"Mi-ra," Loni gently corrected, trailing after Momo further into the office but stopping before her desk. She couldn’t keep her face scrunched up watching Luci. She was the light in her life… and Momo was right that there was nothing more important than her. Just about that bit, though.

“Miwah!” Luci responded stubbornly, shaking around the key she was holding. “Miwah, Mama!”
"Si, estoy mirando," (Yes, I’m looking) Loni shook her head with a laugh, looking up from her daughter to the keys she was playing with. Luci started giggling happily, jangling them about more. It didn’t take her long to be so completely caught up in it that Loni didn’t actually have to look at the keys and could look Momo in the eyes again.

"I’m not hidin’ her, is just… he’s a teacher, and she’s…" Loni looked at her daughter again, happily playing with the keys. She probably couldn’t understand what she was saying. Hopefully.
"I wanted to talk to you ‘bout some things, cause she ain’t where she should be, but it seems silly with everythin’ else happenin’."

Momo furrowed her brow, trying to understand what Loni meant by “where she should be.” As in, herself? Certainly not the beautiful little monster in her arms… She was perfect in Momo’s eyes.
"If he’s a teacher, he should understand children, Loni… What’s the matter, Love? You can talk to me about anything, I mean… We are technically discussing your safety here. So, go on. Whatever silliness is in your head, you’re safe here.” she urged the young woman on further.

"He’s a highschool teacher, it ain’t quite the same," Loni started grumbling, before catching herself. That wasn’t what she was focusing on right now! This was about Luciana, and it was a worry she had whether there was a possibly judgmental boyfriend in the picture or not.
"It ain’t about safety, it’s just… everythin’ I’ve read said when they’re two they should be sayin’ at least fifty words. Puttin’ together two words too! She ain’t. I dunno if I’m doing somethin’ wrong, and there ain’t… there ain’t any kid clinics in the South, and I don’t want a North one judgin’ her or sayin’ it’s just cause she’s a Southsider. And I dunno if I was the same! Cause there’s no one to ask- Vin said they bet I wasn’t cause there’s no way I’d be quiet, but she ain’t quiet, she just don’t say many proper words… I dunno what to do…"

Momo’s face became blank. Terribly so, almost, like she’d become a stone figure. She did, after all, come from a culture where her peers were born with a grasp on several languages. She herself had known several by the time she gained full consciousness, witnessing a thousand lives pass by her in the blink of an eye. It wasn’t something she had a great deal of experience with… By the time she’d gotten back home, a bunch of the kids had already been born, and Momo hadn’t witnessed any of them growing up in that stage.

"There is a solution for all of this, Loni… I know for a fact that there is nothing wrong with this child. She’s just… She’s confused! She’s got you goin’ on in Spanish… Me trying to use Italian… Any number of the other girls upstairs could be speaking Polish, Arabic, fuckin’ Mongolian? She’s almost certainly overwhelmed!” Momo tried to downplay the severity, mostly because it’s actually how she felt. And even if the child was a bit slower on the uptake, Momo felt like she was really just building up a base!

"You wait; she gets a couple years older, and she’ll be babbling about a thousand different things. I bet you any money… And if she doesn’t? We do something about it. We take her to doctors under my name, and we make sure anyone who doesn’t want to take care of her will do it anyway.” she offered strongly.

Loni let out a long exhale, and nodded. It was difficult to just accept it, because she was a mother- she’d always be worrying about her child in one way or another. But Momo was probably right here. She was, after all, much smarter than Loni was. Luciana was around a lot of other languages. Loni had only grown up with two, and she’d turned out fine… though she did want Luciana to grow up to be smarter than she was.

"She does know words in English and Spanish- like Miwah," Loni half imitated her daughter with a smile. The little girl’s head snapped towards her mother. She paused playing with the keys.
“Mama, miwah?”

"There’s nothing to look at, baby," Loni smiled gently. Luci tilted her head, looking a little confused, before getting over it and going back to happily batting keys about.
"You’re right… for all I know some of the things she says are in language I dunno! She’s probably fine… and you’ll really do that in a couple of years if she ain’t? You’re already doing so much for us… but thank you. I don’t want her to end up like me- not that I’m unhappy! I love my job… I just want her to go to school and learn and not skip cause it all seems too hard and pointless."

Momo found her love for Loni to be so natural. She was everything that the woman wanted in a daughter, and she hoped that at least one of her own would turn out like that. Simple, and fully able to place themselves in a situation of humble understanding. Frankly, it was behavior she still wanted to emulate on her own.

"I can’t guarantee you that I’m right about my assumptions… But I can guarantee you that I’ll be there with you to figure it out every step of the way. Orphan’s club.” she stuck a fist out, letting Loni bump it if she wanted. But, they had the keys in them…

“Ee, ee!” Luciana complained as soon as her toy was out of her reach. She squirmed in Momo’s arms, before launching her little body towards those dangling, tempting keys just out of her reach. Loni’s hand that was going to bump against Momo’s immediately dropped to catch her daughter’s shoulder.

"No, don’t grab." Her tone was far too soft to be properly stern as she pushed Luciana upright. Her little face scrunched up… an awful lot like how Loni’s had been just a bit ago.
“Mama, ee! Ee!” She waved one hand towards the keys, the other patting her own chest.

"They ain’t yours, Luciana. Your Aunt Momo is just nicely lettin’ you play with ‘em. Just like she’s helpin’ me so much with you." Loni smiled warmly at Momo, her warm joy and thankfulness about what she’d just said clear in her expression. Even if anything she was going to say was interrupted by the little munchkin flailing around.
Luci turned her scrunched up face towards Momo. “Ahn Mo, ee?”

Momo cracked up with laughter, immediately conceding the keys to the little girl with her huge dark eyes. She only ever wanted joy in this child’s life… Hopefully to avoid those other feelings that she may be prone to one day. All the testing and the prodding that doctors did? What good was it for besides making her question herself all her life?

"I s’pose you can have ‘em again… Only ‘cuz you asked so nicely though! We’ll work on please, maybe… Next time you want somethin’, we’ll go for it. Show Momma that you’re a good learner, and we just need something to get you into it!”
Her hand slipped under Loni’s, fingers brushing against hers in a comforting fashion as she took Luciana back fully to mess with the keys again.

"Now, Loni… Please, sweetness- sit, have a drink, take a minute to breathe. ‘Cuz we are gonna have to kind of talk about the situation still… That girl Bryn came to see me. She’s sleepin’ upstairs, I think. Says she’s got a lead that there’s worse things coming over the mountain. So, I seriously want you to consider putting yourself up in a safer place. I won’t be having a repeat of the Brutal Days.” she said, her tone still bright, but absolutely stern in its conviction.

With the keys back in her hands, Luciana went back to cheerfully playing. Confident that there weren’t going to be any tantrums- not that Momo couldn’t handle that- she did as she was told and sat down. The minute to breathe or whatever wasn’t so possible. Just sitting wasn’t really something Loni did, unless weighed down by a sleeping toddler. Her body swayed from side to side and her legs bounced, head snapping all around the room like she was a kid in a new place.

But it snapped right back to looking at Momo when she mentioned worse things. Worse than that thing today? But they’d barely killed it. She’d been practically useless.
"Worse? Like- like then? I am considerin’ it, and I gotta- oh! I was gonna call Vin!"

Wherever Loni had been going with ‘I gotta’ was completely lost when she remembered why she’d pulled out her phone in the first place, before it ended up being about her boyfriend. So knowing she’d forget if she didn’t do it right now she pulled her phone back out, ignoring her other messages to go right for Vin’s contact. She hummed quietly as it rang… and rang… and rang, before there was a beep.
”I ain’t free- and if you ain’t Loni, I ain’t picking up. Don’t call back.”

"They must be busy, guess loadsa people wanna drink early today," Loni shrugged one shoulder, playing with her phone in her hands a bit. Vin probably wouldn’t want to… was there even any point in asking? But Momo was saying it so seriously. And if it wasn’t just those things, but worse too… She couldn’t even protect Luciana today.
"I’ll talk to them tonight when we’re both home. I’m workin’ pretty late… but I can say tomorrow! I know you said today but I can’t just move like that, not with Vin not around… if they come back and all my stuff’s gone they’ll think I ran away again, and I ain’t. I don’t wanna worry them like that."

Momo nodded with a soft smile, having been dealing with Luci’s grabby hands. Pulling them away, trying to balance them on her nose to make her laugh…
"Nope, you don’t. I totally agree with you! Y’all are safe right now, right? So, let's not make people panic, and we’ll just work on it as it comes. But, uh… You understand that we’re gonna be doing a whole lot more check-ins, right? As a group, I mean. We’ve gotta make sure that we haven’t been infiltrated, so… Lots of shifts! Lots of work, even if that means you’re just sittin’ around waiting for a private call. I want you all where I can see you.”

"That ain’t a problem- I ain’t bothered by more check-ins." Loni tilted her head, looking a little confused that Momo was saying it as if she would be. It made sense… for safety. And she was a relatively simple person when it came to her life- taking it as it came. Really, her main priority was being not alone.
"It ain’t like I got much to do… I already picked up loadsa shifts in the next few weeks, cause christmas is comin’ up and I gotta get loadsa presents. I’ll be here all the time… ain’t so sure about just sittin’ around work, I ain’t built for that stuff, can I not?"

She switched her phone from one hand to the other, just spinning it to do something with her hands. She spent so much of her time here anyway, so more shifts and work wasn’t really a problem. She did genuinely enjoy her work… when it was her actual job.
"Oh, I can see if someone ain’t them real easy- oh, but it's Black Lux… but I bet it’s easy to check with White too. Just gotta detect Apparitions."

"I’m certain it is, my dear. Baya and Nemo will both be in; I’m sure they’ll pick up easily. Nothin’ a lil’ Recollection can’t solve.”
Momo was always lost in Luci’s absolutely joyous smile when it was in front of her. The keys, the keys…
"Okay, my girl… Key!-” she stated very clearly, holding up the keys and keeping them just out of her reach.
”-Key, please!”

Momo was thinking about what she could do with the extra hands around the building. It wasn’t just going to be Loni; pretty much everyone on staff was going to have the offer for room and board presented to them. This was a family business, after all, and she made the decisions. The coffers looked good; she could take everyone onside for a few months… That was the simple fact of the matter- They all counted on her, and she had to make sure their trust wasn’t misplaced.
"If you need to work, Loni… Why don’t we try putting you into the kitchen in the restaurant? On your spare time, of course. It’s like dancing, y’know?”

"Oh- was worried for a second you thought I was bad at my actual job." Loni laughed, finding it funny that she’d thought that- cause it was silly when she’d been working there for four years with no problems.
"It wasn’t really like dancin’ when I helped out before? Guess I was pregnant, so it ain’t gonna be the same… but sure! I can do anythin’ so long as I don’t gotta use my brain too much."

Luci’s little face was scrunched up as she was having to use her little brain a lot. Her hands reached out for the keys, flailing around.
“Ee. Ee! Ee!” She let out a little huff, trying her best to grab the keys.
“Ee! Tee! Tee!”

"Oh!" Loni’s eyes lit up. "Good job, Cariño. That’s a new sound!"
“Teeeee!” Luci was practically wailing the one word at this point.

Momo laugh aloud again, passing the keys back to Luciana at the sign of her Mother’s praise. Didn’t want to confuse her too badly by sending mixed messages.
"Yesssss! Good girl with the keys!” she giggled, holding the keys close and pulling Luci in to give her a million kisses on the top of her head.
"We’re so proud of you! Smart girl, smart girl! Luciana the Learner!”

She’d made her way behind the desk, flopping down into her big swiveling chair to kick her feet up. She was wearing slippers at this point, telling Loni just how long she’d been there at this point. For a moment, the large woman sat and played rattle-the-keys… Then she sighed.
"I… Haven’t heard anything from my home… I did send word for someone in the Accumularium to send me potentially relevant information, but I haven’t gotten anything yet. And, uh… You remember my brother? Lazarus? Haven’t heard from him yet either, Bryn was supposed to get in touch with him…” she said with only the most vague hint of worry in her voice.

"I feel like if anyone knows something, it's that Apparition he’s paired with.”

Loni nodded along, watching Luciana happily play with the keys again. She managed to dredge up a memory of the name… she didn’t think she’d met him, though. Or maybe she had and she forgot. That wasn’t really important anyway!
"Didn’t you say Bryn was sleepin’? I bet she ain’t called him yet, I always mean to do somethin’ like that before sleep then I just fall into bed and that’s it. Ain’t it easier to just call him yourself? Since it’s important."

Momo’s face was blank, then increasingly concerned.
That’s not a joyous thought.
Fully handing the keys to Luciana, she leaned forward and let the girl sit fully on her desk while she shuffled for her phone.
"Agh, I mean… Is it important? We’re just sitting around waiting for nothing.” she groaned, pulling up the last known number for her younger brother. The number she’d gotten from Bryn… The only time she’d actually tried to apologize.

Still, as if her fingers were compelled, she let them slide to his number, then the call button. The phone slipped up to her ear, and she waited and waited.
”Hey-”
"Oh? El-”
”-What, you thought I was going to pick up my personal number? Fuck off. Don’t leave a message either.-”
BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.
"Fuck! Elay, please call me back when you get this…”

She hung up with a pained look on her face… And then a smile cracked across it.
"Geeze, what a jerk that guy… Gonna make me call him at work?”
She scrolled up. Colombo-Waiting Detective Agency

As it started ringing, Momo let her finger reach out to poke Luci, causing her to slump over slightly and forcing Momo to reach out further to stop the girl from falling.
“Hello?” a shrill voice on the other side of the phone answered.
"Ah, hi… Is this the Co-”
“Yeah, it is. What do you need?”

Momo shook her head. What passed for staff in that little hole-in-the-wall agency wasn’t exactly loving their job.
"I was looking for Detective Motta?”
“That bum hasn’t been here in a week. Did you have a case?”
"N-no! I’m his Sister!”
“Oh, shit. Then I haven’t seen him in at least a year!”
There was a cackle on the other end before the call abruptly ended. Momo looked up at Loni with a sense of shocked humor on her face.

"I… I don’t think he wants to talk to me.” she said very quietly, with a little pain in her voice.

"I- I- I’m sorry! I didn’t think it’d be like that!" Loni immediately did what she was best at- a bit of panicking. After all, she’d suggested Momo call him in the first place. She jumped to her feet, hands thrown in the air. What should she do?! Oh, comfort!
"Maybe he’ll call back on the normal number? I- I dunno, I shouldn’t’ve suggested it… It ain’t so important, is it? That you needed to call…"

Luciana shuffled around on her bottom to face Momo, hands waving in front of her like she was reaching out for her face. A bunch of senseless babbling came out of her mouth.

Rather than reacting to Loni’s worried panic, she looked at the child with a slightly shocked face. A smile still curled her lips upward, so it couldn’t have been too troubling.
"Oh, my goodness… I’m so sorry, Ma’am! I forgot, we were going to have a business meeting, right?” Momo grinned and spoke like she would to an adult, hoping that a lack of “baby talk” would maybe jog something in the child’s mind to give her a wider understanding of language.

Though, there was some internal consideration of giving the child an “Evergreen Checkup”, a basic spell widely spread across the many branches and leaves of the tree that was the Whispering Flesh. It was a flashing spell, one that gave the user an overall picture of capability and capacity through intrinsic understanding. Only so useful as the caster’s ability to parse out the information given, there were few with more qualifications than Momo. She could feel a contributing line in her own body and mind calling backward hundreds of years in time. A memory that wasn’t hers, of a little baby boy in fine silk.

Homozygosity ran rampant through his alleles, lungs half-shriveled with a weak heart to boot. Low chance of survival. The Prince of-

She shook her head, taking a deep breath. Still smiling, however, her face didn’t change. The only option was to continue on.
"Now, what is it you were trying to say my dear? Something about… Taking over the detective agency!? For ten cookies a week!? There’s gonna be some serious negotiations…” she said playfully, both her hands cupping the childs’.

“Oo-ee?” Luciana tilted her little head, seeming to be trying to figure out what Momo was talking about. After a moment she let out a happy giggle, arms flailing up. “Oo-ee!”

"Yes, cookies, you love those, don’t you, Mijita?" Loni was able to relax a bit when Momo seemed to brush it off… And she could only be happy in the face of her daughter’s joy. Of course, her relaxation just meant a different kind of frenetic energy.
"I think she’d be a great detective… She can always sniff out when Vin’s drank more than they said. Then she wails and hits them when they try hug her- Oh! I got some stuff from the bakery, I thought you’d like some- i know it ain’t fuel for you like that but they smelled really nice. Uh…"

Loni shoved a hand into the other pocket of her long skirt - surprisingly roomy, something she really liked about it. Though it was mostly just cute outdoor wear, when she was in the mood to dress up a bit more. She pulled out two bags, looking inside. Oh. Whoops. Both the pink macaron and eclair were squished.
"Well they ain’t so… shapely as they were when I got them."

Taking the squashed bags from Loni, Momo’s face became soft and weepish, and she leaned across to plant a playful kiss on Loni’s head.
"You know I love when you get me things. Thank you, Ladybug.”
Her hand dipped into the bag with the crushed macaron, taking a chunk and popping it into her mouth. For a moment, she sat and seemed to consider the flavor, then her hand dipped in again. A much smaller piece came out, and she held it up in front of Luciana.

"Open! Cookie!”

Luciana let out an excited squeal, leaning forward to eat the piece right out of Momo’s hand. She crunched on it happily.

"Make sure to chew it all," Loni urged, leaning forward and watching Luci intently. She’d gotten the macron because her daughter wanted it, but she hadn’t been sure if she would be able to eat it… really, it was a good thing it was all crushed!
"She picked that one out, probably cause of its colour. It was so cute she was just starin’ at it till I got it… then she ran off! She gave me a real fright going over and tried to get a stranger to lift her up. Thankfully she was friendly… I guess it was on me, not keepin’ a good eye on her."

Though Loni gave a little exasperated gesture, she was energetic as she rambled. It was just nice to talk about the little mundane stresses sometimes… and Momo always listened, unlike a lot of people. It was comfortable, and her smile was open and warm towards Momo.

“Mo, mooo,” Luci had finished the piece she’d been giving and was reaching out for the bag with her hands. Pink crumbs covered the sides of her mouth. “Mama? Ma? Ma ea?”
"Hmm, what’s that baby?"
“Mama ea. Mamaaaa.”
"Eat? You want me to eat too?"
One of Luciana’s hands came up, close to smacking Momo in the face, and she babbled cheerfully. The other still tried to grasp for the bag.

Momo was more than happy to share the cookie at the behest of the adorable little girl.
"You wanna give Mama some?”
She held the bag open for Luci’s little hand to dip into.
"Gentle, Pupa! Not too much, don’t throw it in her face!” Momo instructed as best she could, but who honestly knew what one was going to get with a child.
Regardless, she slid her a little closer to the edge so that she could hand her beloved mother a piece of cookie.

Luci’s hand shoved right into the bag, grasping around for a piece of macaron. Eventually her stubby fingers curled around a bit and she pulled it out. She waved her free hand. “Mama!”

"Ask nicely, Mijita. Mama, please come closer," Loni chided gently.
“Mama,” Luci said in a much less demanding tone, followed by a bunch of gibberish that was probably meant to be imitating Loni. Some of the letters were right.
"Much better, mi amor."

Loni smiled, standing up so she could lean towards Luci. She proceeded to absolutely smack the piece into Loni’s mouth- who’d thankfully opened it in time to catch most of it. Her hands came up to catch the pieces that fell down and she laughed. She’d experienced Luci’s ‘feeding’ before.
"What about your Aunt Momo? Do you wanna give her some too?" Loni asked with a playful grin, wiping pink crumbles off her face. Luciana turned to look at Momo with wide eyes.
“Ahn mo!” Little hands immediately went into the bag, before imminently coming for Momo’s mouth with a handful of crumbly pink goodness.

Momo knew the only way to prevent being coated in pink dust across her face was to use the overcompensation method. As her little hand started its rush forward, she opened her mouth wide- far wider than a normal human, her cheeks peeling up the side of her face slightly -and clasped the child’s arm up to the wrist in her mouth. Of course, she expected the child to squirm a little at the uncanny instance, and hoped that she’d quickly drop the morsel of food before pulling away in panic.

Luciana did drop the food immediately, trying to pull back her arm. Her eyes went wide and her bottom lip started trembling. It was an instant drop from laughing to scared. She turned around, wriggling as best she could and holding out her arms towards Loni.
“Mama- Mammaaaa!” And then she started absolutely wailing.

"It’s alright, baby, it’s not like that." Loni immediately ran over, crouching down in front of Momo and Luci. Her arms went around her daughter, hugging her into her shoulder without actually taking her off of Momo.
"Sh, Mamá’s here, but that’s just your Aunt Momo. It’s like… it’s like Tio Vin, when they get orange and black stripes! Or Mamá when she gets wings… it’s not scary magic!"

Loni comfortingly rubbed Luci’s back, looking up at Momo with apologetic eyes.
"The… creature, its smile went unnaturally wide. It really scared her, she probably just remember it…"

Of course she felt a little stupid. They’d started fighting so fast that she didn’t even really remember their faces to realize they’d been smiling… But they had. They were so friendly in spite of it all. Still, this left her with a problem that she’d have to deal with. Uncanny mindfuckery, she’d probably accidentally scarred the poor thing.
A lesson for later, she assumed… But how to repair it now?

"Oh, Luciana, Auntie’s so sorry! No, no, Aunties not scary! I promise I’m… I’m not…”
She was. She was a horrifying weapon of pure Green Lux whose greatest extent changed the natural world around her. It wasn’t exactly a good thing to raise a child around… Her hand dipped into the eclair bag, getting a little frosting on her finger before holding it up.
"Here, honey bunny! Num nums, it tastes good! Show Auntie how wide you can open your mouth!” she tried to play around.

"Look, Cariño, come on, stop hidin’." Loni gently rocked Luciana, trying to coax her to turn around instead of hiding against Loni’s neck. As she swayed and gently rubbed Luci’s back, the girl slowly started to detach herself again. Even though she was scared, she still recognised Momo’s voice…
"Good girl, nothing scary- go on, show your Auntie!"

Luci kept one hand clinging onto Loni, opening her mouth wide with a cute little ‘ahhh.’ Her face went a little red as she tried to open it as wide as possible, patiently waiting for the yummy frosting.
"Woww, that’s so wide," Loni encouraged.

"Woooow! See, you do it too! Now, go mwah!” Momo smiled, trying to make sure the skin of her face slotted back into place without anymore undue stress to the little girl. As she pursed her lips, she held out the finger with the frosting on it to let her slide it off.
"Mmmmm tastyyyyy!”

Momo giggled, looking at Loni and letting her expression soften a bit.
"Sorry… I wasn’t really looking at their faces. My boots were talking.” she tried to joke.

“Mmmm,” Luciana enjoyed the bit of frosting she got, before turning back around to curl in on Loni’s shoulder. She wasn’t as energetic as before, but she didn’t seem scared now. She was probably sleepy… she hadn’t had a nap yet.

"It’s alright, it ain’t like you were tryna scare her," Loni shrugged the shoulder Luci wasn’t resting on. She continued to make gentle rocking motions, smiling.
"It’s cause it looked at her first… probably smiled unnaturally. She’s used to a lotta magical stuff cause of me ‘n Vin and people here, but just not that. I dunno… it doesn’t matter so long as she’s safe, does it?"

"Naw, probably not… But, she’s getting sleepy after a cookie… I hope she ain’t got diabetes… Does she?” Momo’s eyes widened, regardless of how softly she was speaking.

Loni shook her head, biting her lip to hold back laughter. She just found it funny how Momo suddenly got concerned like that.
"She ain’t. She’s just due a nap. We got up early this mornin’, and then all the shit that happened… there ain’t been a chance. I guess having a bit to eat was what did it." She rubbed Luci’s back, gently kissing the top of her head.
"You sleepy, Mijita? Wanna nap on Mamá?"
The only response was a little wriggle, her face rubbing into Loni’s shoulder more.
"That’d be a yes… lucky I ain’t got work till later."

Momo made sure to slide Luciana fully back to her mother without too much motion, a warm smile as they parted ways for now.
"Go upstairs… Get some sleep before work, get in touch with Vin… I’ll get the house warmed up for you tonight, eh?” she offered, her hand gently patting Loni’s left cheek.

"Mhm, assumin’ Vin agrees," Loni nodded. She straightened up, arms shifting to fully support Luciana in her arms. Her smile was soft, and a bit sleepy now that Momo suggested sleep. She had gotten up early… and would be working as late as normal.
"See you later, hopefully… c’mon, Mi Amor, let’s go nap." Loni continued to murmur softly, switching to Spanish, as she left, door closing quietly behind her.

---

---

---

Princess yiffed all the bad guys and saved the day.

---

”Lazarus… Bim-Elay! Please, do not make us’uh wait!”
The Matron’s thick Italian accent echoed through Elay’s mind as he pressed the last box into its place within his trunk. She was like those people in the Army movies.
The Generals, standing up on tanks, right?
Flashes of television previously archived dug a narrow synapse through his thoughts, triggering imagination to blossom into the vague paints that made up an old technicolor propaganda cartoon. A man shouting out orders, pointed hat on, stars across his lapel…

But every fibre of his being told him not to go. To grab the bedpost and lift it, to slide under it and let it drive through his gut back into the floor. The vivid image of pain in the mind of a child wasn’t something they should have, but Lazarus Alonzo Motta was something of a free roaming child. Fifth of a collective eight children, Lazarus was the only boy; and rather than neglected, he was somewhat spoiled in a unique place between his two parents. He enjoyed solitude, long stints of playtime in the nearby woods punctuated by the warmth of a Mother’s affection.

His Momma, Lady to the Matron, would bring gifts of material and emotional affection- More than could be said for the Matron’s own mostly aloof demeanor. Curt, often chiding in her inflection, there were few rare moments where she privately showered a unique and strangely wholesome affection upon her only son. The two women were the dark and light that made up young Elay’s world…

But for the last year, they’d been making final preparations for this very moment. The moment that he would be expected to pack everything. To make his due, as it were. Both parents told him it was his duty, and Momma sang to him about valor and honor every night. She told him about how he would be safe, and that where he was going was a simple place where they were equal. Where the people didn’t suffer under an evil hand.

It only made him wonder if he’d lived under an evil hand so far.

The room he’d occupied since forever was barren now, devoid of the periodic table poster, and of his papers and notebooks, the bookshelf full of his favorites… The little shelf where his collection of rocks and stones had been. His fossils…
Without warning, his face balled up into a frown, and then his eyes tightened. Tears fell. Even as the servant pulled his trunk away and down the stairs, he stood in the middle of that empty room like a statue. And the boy just cried.

Downstairs, the greatest Matriarch of her time sat against the side of a limousine, her massive body causing the vehicle to lean in the opposite direction. The trunk of it was popped open, awaiting the last piece of luggage to be transported with them directly. The cool autumn breeze brushed against Cadenza’s skin. She could smell a small herd of deer some thousand yards off in the treeline of the property, partaking in one of the slowly ripening crab apple trees. The rotting fruit, slowly fermenting into a tasty treat for the creatures, caused her nose to turn up slightly.

Cadenza ran a hand through the long mop of curly black hair that cascaded down her back and evened out into deep chocolate waves behind her. She stared at the open door to the mansion and listened for the footsteps of her only son to march himself down to the waiting chariot. But what did she get instead? More delays. Things could not be delayed if they wanted to continue operations here in Cloverfield.

She tried to understand. Tried her best to be compassionate and joyful as was necessary… But this was a step beyond. It wasn’t like they were sending him to some of the shitholes she’d been in.
”Oddio Cristo, Nik!? Can you please go an’a get him!? We take much more time an they’ gonna’ think we pullin’ something!” Cadenza groaned, her free hand lazily waving like the paw of a great lion.

"They won't, they won't, you know they're not the sort. I'm sure he's just forgotten something." The much softer, almost nervous, response came from Nikkita- the Matriarch's consort, practically dwarfed in comparison beside her. She reached out to comfortingly touch Cadenza’s arm with an appeasing smile. It was her way- pacifying without pushing back, even if she was half lying.
"I'll get him, won't be a moment."

Another gentle pat and she went back inside. She just hoped their son was still inside, rather than fleeing into the surrounding woods he liked so much in an attempt to delay the inevitable. It would be an understandable reaction…
"Elay? Elay- oh, Elay, Gioia Mia." Warm arms wrapped around the crying boy, and he was pulled into his Momma's embrace. It was a tight, but gentle, hug and Nikki rubbed his back in comforting circles.
”Momma’s here… there's no need to cry."

The boy wasn’t prone to wails, having grown into an otherwise somber lad with few tendencies toward anything beyond placidity. He was a snorter; a genuine unable to stop himself from ugly crying little thing. His arms slipped upward toward his Momma, practically falling into her arms.
”D-don’t - Wanna - G-o-ooo…”

Each word, punctuated by deep nervous honks of choked nasal passages, only added to the sorrow of the moment.
”Please! I-i’m… I don’t- I didn’t think-”
He didn’t have the words to explain how he was feeling. No matter how smart he was, he was seven. Seven years on the planet, to come to know a place of some peace and comfort, to be told it wouldn’t be yours anymore. He could only assume he’d done wrong.

"Shh, shh, it's okay." For a moment Nikki just held him. What could she say? It broke her heart to have to let him go like this too. But there'd been the discussions, where she'd carefully questioned and tried to suggest to Cadenza that it might not be necessary gently. But it never went anywhere- and never could go anywhere, when the other part of her wanted it to happen. Her only son sent away… but to a place where he could be free. Yet she was the one left to deal with the fallout, his emotions crashing against her painfully.

Her arms loosened around him so that she could crouch down, getting at an eye level with him. Tired brown eyes crinkled into a warm, loving look at her son and soft thumbs reached up to try and wipe away his tears.
"I know you don't want to go, tesoro, I know. But you're doing this for all of us. For your sisters, for me, for our Lady... Because you're our strong, brave son, aren't you? You can be just a little bit braver for Momma, can't you?"

Tesoro… The Emerald Son. He had always been a special little treasure. But, one that was always contentious. Most Matriarchs and their immediate circles have little such love for the infrequent male offspring, and they typically serve as cannon fodder for the Children of Alezia. Few had opportunities like the child still honking away in the arms of his birth mother.
”B-but wha-t’d I d-o-o? M-omma! I-I… W-wan’t t-t-o… Come back! P-uhuh-leease!? D-don’t ma-ake me goo-o!!”

Cadenza huffed outside. Not something the child could hear, but Nikki’s trained ear would be more than enough to pick up on it. Though, this wasn’t the normal “Get it over with” huff that she normally shot at anyone taking up more than ten seconds of her time. It was almost empathetic. Private. Like she almost didn’t like it herself.

It would take a couple of extra moments before Elay could stop actually crying. He was still sniffling heavily with snot and tears streamed all down his face. His dark curls were pulled back off his face, and he was in his favorite little suit… But none of it seemed to make him any more confident. Not ready for what was coming.
”Please don’t leave me… Momma…”

"I’m not leaving you.” It was only a half truth, at best, no matter how lovingly it was spoken. It wasn’t her choice- it wasn’t really the choice of the woman huffing outside either, even if she could stop it… with consequences.
"I’ll visit so often you’ll get sick of me… And when your little sisters are older I’ll stay longer. I’ll never leave you.”

Nikki leaned back a bit, pulling a tissue out of her coat pocket. She gently wiped away the tears and snot that had covered his little face.
"Look at you, my big, brave boy. You’re going to do so well… and Momma will miss you so much, so you have to be strong, otherwise Momma will struggle too.”

She could still feel his small hands clinging to her arms with all the strength he could muster. Like some other force was holding him and pinning his feet to the floorboards. It wouldn’t be surprising to see his face bright red and straining, only he wasn’t. Just… Breathing. Desperately trying to do what he’d been taught by the Matron and accepting his beloved mother’s assurances.
”I c-couldn’t ever get sick of you… You’re-”
His voice hitched, and he sniffled again before coughing slightly. Even in his pain, he knew he was to be polite in the presence of his elder. His suit coat sleeve flicked upward to block the cough from going anywhere, and did so twice more before lowering it and sniffling one last time.

”M-maybe, sometime, I can come back? Like, to stay for a little while? I-i don’t have to have my room, I’d sleep in the barn… Wh-erever our Lady would have me…” he was in the bargaining stage now, but a foot shuffled forward as if he meant to move along. Hopefully there wouldn’t be another fit on the way down the grand staircase.

"I’m sure you could, if our Lady allowed it,” Nikki lied, knowing full well Cadenza wouldn’t. Not when it could risk the treaty. But it was an easy lie to tell to try and placate her son. She pressed a kiss to his curly head before straightening back up, removing his little hands from her arms.

"We’ll find somewhere for you that isn’t the barn. If she’s away, maybe you can share with Momma like we always used to? Your sisters can join too… Though last time Gia said she was too old, and I’m sure Rina will feel the same now. It would still be nice, wouldn’t it?” She gently patted his shoulder, a light push towards the door without much power behind it.

Slowly, surely, the boy’s feet shuffled in shiny shoes across the threshold of the door for what he hoped wouldn’t be the last time. It was something of a perp-walk, the sad little thing’s head so desperately trying to stay up at a respectable height. But he felt so rotten. Cast out without understanding what it was he represented.
He was, at least, downtrodden. But feet shuffled down the stairs and out into the front. Cadenza’s arms swept forward, wide open.

”Mi Bimbo! Il grande uomo forte è qui!” My boy! The big strong man is here!
As she yapped aloud in Italian, her boot slipped from the car door and her massive frame pushed forward until she was on her own two feet again. The limousine rocked to and fro for a brief moment.

”Issn’t chu Mamma a live-saver? C’aman, in di auto per favore! The clock, the clock, Dio mio…” She chided, throwing a subtle grin toward her partner for taking care of what needed to be done.
”We stop, maybe get’a gelato! Matrona gonna tell you a story ‘fore e’thing iss done…”

"I thought we didn’t have much time?” Nikki said gently, though it seemed to be less of a question and more of a light hearted rib after Cadenza sent her in to rush him out. She smiled slightly, hand moving to Elay’s back to guide him towards the car door.
"Why don’t you go in first, Elay? You can sit wherever you want, you don’t have to give up the best seats for your sisters today.”

It was a grim prospect not having any of the girls pushing him around for a better spot next to her. Next to the only real source of true warmth in their light.
”I’ll make up for ‘em, don’tchu worry.” Cadenza joked, her large hand pressing against Elay’s back to help him into the cavernous rear of the limo.
Seeking comfort as best he could the boy scrambled for the seat with two armrests so he could prop himself up. At best, he could bury himself in the seat and maybe then they’d change their minds about sending him away.

Cadenza’s hand slipped up for Nikki to take, and she gave another knowing grin. It was subtle, not malicious. It carried a weight of sorrow all its own. After all, neither of them loved the idea of getting rid of this… Little Emerald. His deep green eyes stared at the two women as they slipped into the vehicle on either side of him. The door closed behind them, and suddenly Elay didn’t have anywhere to go. This was really happening…

Maybe if we stop for ice cream, there will be an icicle that impales me and makes me stuck on the pavement…

”Ohhhh, Mi Tesoro…-” the large woman groaned as she let herself stretch a bit in her seat.
”-This is not so different than what would’ve happened! But you must understand… You do this, and in turn you are safe! And so far from all the bad things, Mi Smeraldo!”

This wasn’t entirely common behavior for the Matron. Her usually aloof nature was somewhat peeled back for a fresh coat of empathy and understanding underneath. Or, attempted. She wasn’t amazing at it. It didn’t come naturally like some other Matriarchs, and she didn’t care if it ever did. It wasn’t her breadwinning feature.

”You’ve been told this!”

Elay listened and felt shame. Great shame for being emotional, and for not being able to help himself as tears welled up again. He still couldn’t wrap his head around how this was all planned in some way. Like this was just supposed to happen, and he wasn’t somehow responsible for some great tragedy in his own life.

”B-but… Ma’am… Didn’t mean t-to uh-uh-pp-set y-”
As he started to well up with panic, Cadenza’s finger shot up.
”Do. Not. What’cha Mamma say? You are strong! So be it! Be. It! When you older, you’sa gonna get it all, okay? You’ll make sense of it, and you’ll know it’s what was’a best! Eh? Nikki?” she chided, hoping her partner would step in to bolster the argument.

"She’s right… You’re not going far at all,” Nikki said softly, her arm coming around Elay and gently rubbing his shoulder. She didn’t want to agree with it… but it was preferred to where a son of a Matriarch would normally go. He would be close and, more importantly, alive. She couldn’t say the same for her own brothers- wherever they may be.
"Momma would never let you go unless it was for the best, Mi Tesero. One day you’ll understand… And you’ll be so close! Just a car ride away when you could be so much further. They’ll take such good care of you- they’re all good, loving people. It’ll be like another family.”

”And! Annnnd… Mi Fratello! Zio Alphonso, do you remember? Nana A and B’s eldest boy! Jus’a like you, he make dis’ pilgrimage, and he’s a great man! If nobody else, he’s gonna take’a good care ‘o you!” Cadenza added, assuming that a child would automatically find comfort in immediate relations. She had no clue.

Elay tried his best to wipe the frown off his face, replacing it with some kind of childish determination. But it was difficult. Beyond such, to the point he felt a little desperate to get past this hump of grief in his chest.
”I… W-hat if t-they make me get r-r-rid of my rocks?”
Yet, a child is never above finding a new way to spiral themselves back out of control. But right now, nothing was permanent. No agreement was anything more than a temporary stoppage to a recurring problem.

”O-or they s-e-ll ‘em c-cuz they’re poor!”
He’d heard some of the Matron’s lesser servants talking poorly of the town of Raven’s Rest. Even his elder sisters. His complaints were obvious parroty, but grief was anything but easy to put down.

"They won’t touch your rocks, Cuore Mio,” Nikki tried to comfort him, unable to quite hold back a slight sigh. It wasn’t at him, but those she’d previously told to not speak negatively about Raven’s Rest in places Elay could hear them. It was just one small part of the problem, but one that could’ve been easily avoided…

"It’s true that they’re poor, but where you’re going is a tight knit community that would never take from their own. Instead they support each other. I’m sure all the other children will love to hear about your rocks.” It was soft honesty, Nikki seeing no sense in hiding the truth about Raven’s Rest’s poverty from him. He already knew…
"What they don’t have in belongings they make up in love. They’ll love you almost as much as Momma does, alright?”

”But not as much.”
His voice managed to eek out conviction in that moment, clearing his throat as his brows furrowed into a v-shape across his forehead. The young man’s fists balled up into two little boulders of fury and determination, and he tried to see it through. An argument, just as he was taught. Some kind of rhetoric… That was the word…

”But, maybe more… Since they’re not the ones giving up their son!”

”Hey! Don’t you dare speak’a like that to us! Y’don’t know, Ragazzino! You know nothing about what’a we goin’ through by losin’ you! An’ gettit’ tru’ your thick skull, eh!? You’a didn’t do nothin’ wrong, Lazarus Alozno! Dio Mio!” Cadenza groaned, her hand slapping her face and dragging downward.
”Apologize to you’ Ma! No way you goin’ anywhere talkin’ like that to us besides’a da grave! I make another one’o you in’a ten seconds!”

The look Nikki gave Cadenza over their son’s head could only be described as tired. The unspoken words of ‘you’re not helping at all’ were clear in it. But the exasperation along with the pain from what Elay said quickly disappeared, her gaze returning to its normal placid softness.
"Cadenza, we’re not-” She shook her head, stopping herself from going down that route. Parents should always present a united front in front of their children… even if she disagreed with what was said.

"Don’t say something like that, Elay. I love you so much. If there was anything I could do to keep you with me, I would.” She gently moved her hands to his face, forcing him to look at her. It was an expression so full of love- one that he was used to- but she let just a hint of the sorrow she’d been hiding slip through. Enough to show him how genuine what they were saying was without overwhelming him.

"We’re doing this because we love you. You’ll be safe and cared for… that’s all Momma wants. But my love for you will never change, no matter where you are.” Her thumb moved up to rub his cheek, and there was an expectation in her soft gaze. While her words were much kinder, she was expecting an apology too.

Elay had always felt the subtleties in his Momma’s gaze. The ways she looked at him almost always told him how he should be acting with express clarity, and with her hands on his face, he couldn’t escape it. Cadenza wasn’t so blessed, however. As Elay spoke and she answered, it was like everything had gone completely over her towering head.

”I-m-m sorry, Momma… M’sorry, M-matron…”
”You betta’ be! These people use-a to eat bad children whose disrespectin’ they Ma!”
”Eat!?”
”Well… Not-a no more! But you remember it all the same! In your dreams, in your sleep, yoooooou have to be a good boy, Lazarus!”

Well, Elay certainly didn’t want that to be an issue. Suddenly he straightened up, the Matron’s many tales of strange blood death in the far away places invoked his imagination’s wildest pressures. He looked back up at Nikki, mouth agape.
”Oh-kay! Okay! I won’t be bad, Matron, I promise! So, please don’t make me stay with the cannibals!”

Cadenza shook her head.
”Mio Dio, I can only take this so much… What’am I gonna do, huh? Back ‘inna day, they would-a never had you, Bambino! Figlio morto, capice?! This place, they take you’a cuz Nanas nev’a would’ve cared! They’a sell you! For corn, or grain! So we give’em to the Grove, lett’em learn!”

Cadenza’s voice was loud again. Not shouting, just naturally loud in Italian. Elay just wanted to crawl into a hole with a big rock blocking off the top. He wanted to be buried alive so deep they’d never dig him out. He couldn’t even fathom what they were talking about when the situation was discussed, and all reason flew in the face of that confusion.

”Ma’am… If I didn’t do anything wrong, then will you accept me back in your home!? Ever!?”
”A’m naat’a kickin’ you oooooooooout! Ah’m a gonna give you a boot in your ‘ead, you hear me!?”

"Elay, tesoro, listen to me. Take a deep breath. You're not getting kicked out, and you're not getting sold or eaten." Nikki's head tilted up to look at her partner over his head again, lips pressing together and eyes widening slightly in an attempt to silently tell her to stop talking. It was a look Cadenza should recognise- one used by both sides of Nikki when she said something especially wrong for the situation. Speaking about cannibals and death was just making Elay panic more. But just in case it didn't get across this time… a soft whisper brushed across Cadenza's emotional field.
You're scaring him, Amore…

"You're still our son, no matter what." Nikki looked back down at Elay again, still holding him in place. Her expression softened again. She leaned forward, face close to his as her voice dropped to a whisper. As if it was a conversation just between the two of them- not to hide it from Cadenza, an impossible task, but in the hope he'd feel like he had all of her attention.

"I'm sorry, Gioia Mia. This is out of our control. It's tradition- what you're doing is so important. Without you, we'd all have to leave." She spoke so softly, tenderly. And he would feel a warmth: love, tangible love, a gentle cloud of Pink Lux washing over him. So carefully, without actually doing anything to his mind. She would never use it on her children… she was just filling him with warmth.
”Some of us are born with a purpose, Elay. This is part of yours. But once you're an adult you'll be free to live however you want… and more importantly, you're loved. So, so much. It hurts to have to let you go, Cuore Mio. There's just some things we can't change… I'm sorry you have to learn so early. But it's not because of you, or because we want this… We love you. That’s why the decision is final."
Elay could feel his mother’s magic washing over him, wanting to curl into her to listen to the same lullabies he’d listened to since he was a baby. She was so warm, so welcoming, so absolutely perfect in her intention. Cadenza stared at her son as all of his attention turned to Nikkita. It was for the best, after all; she had no clue how to get this kid to shut up otherwise. It was just painful, and no matter how much they expressed it, she understood he was never going to get it. Children were simple. Things either worked, or they didn’t.

But Green Lux was what she was best at. As Nikki comforted him, Cadenza’s hand squeezed tightly. She could feel the very atoms of the material she was synthesizing from her flesh, layer by layer as it slowly but surely formed within that balled up fist.
In truth, there was no sensation more convincing than this for Elay. Like every little bit of his life was surrounded by love. He didn’t exactly understand how his mother’s powers worked, but he knew she had them. Knew he was being convinced by them too, but to him it was real.

An expression that most normal humans couldn’t make. Not even the Matron
”M-momma…”
Elay slipped over the arm rest he’d been stuck on, crawling onto Nikki’s side and curling up practically in her lap.
”I-I’m… Sorry…” he whimpered, little hands wrapping up into Nikki’s coat.

"It's alright, Cuore Mio… Momma's sorry too." Nikki's arms slipped under his, and she pulled him up properly into her lap. Holding him there like she had so many times when he was younger, before he grew big enough that it was unwieldy. Thankfully her Green Lux, though more dormant in this state, was enough that it wasn't uncomfortable. It might be the last time she could hold him like this… she could only imagine he'd be even bigger when she next saw him.

"Momma's got you… look, you're so big but I'm still hugging you just like I always have… that's how much I love you, Tesoro." She spoke softly, repetitively, as she blanketed him with warm comfort both physical and magical.
”I’ll hold you the whole way… you can even have your ice cream like this. How does that sound?"

”Woah, woah… Tangente, mi amore! We’a gonna be so late, there’s no stoppin’!” Cadenza did her best not to raise her voice or make Elay any more upset than she already had… But the ol’ ice cream promise wasn’t exactly the best option in this situation. She braced as she waited for Elay to start fussing again…
But he didn’t. He hadn’t cared about the ice cream to begin with. Being in his Momma’s lap was the only place where he felt safe, and if they weren’t going to budge, he had to take in all he could.

"Oh? Then you better develop Red Lux right away." Nikki shot Cadenza a deadpan look for a few seconds, before it softened into a slight smile. She could read her son so easily now that she was using her magic, light as it was. He was as content as he could be in this situation… Her arms tightened around him and she pressed a kiss to the top of his head.
"Would you like another treat then, Elay?" she asked without much clues as to what that would be.

Catching Nikki’s hint, Cadenza scrunched her nose playfully.
”I know what our Piccola Gazza wants, mi amore… An is’sa nat gelato. Figglio mio, turn’a to look at my face. Por favore…”

The Matriarch was doing her absolute best to be sweet how she understood sweetness. Her definition was giving, the love of the spread. The offering. In truth, their Little Magpie had always been somewhat bribable. Tangente was sometimes just the thing to get him to operate. There was a reason, after all, why he was such a young child with an incredibly extensive collection of geological specimens. Fist sized crystals, mostly indistinguishable from those formed naturally, would absolutely auction for an incredible price… The value didn’t matter to him. It was the luster, the surreal nature of those clear lattice structures which let light pass through them with such beauty.

He was interested in the Earth beneath their feet. It came naturally to him as breathing. A little connection between the son and the sire… Cadenza’s specialty was mineral synthesis above the hundred other disciplines she’d “mastered.” And each one of his collection had been made by her hand, with little pieces of her very magic strewn throughout them.
And this piece was no different.

The little ring that she formed in her palm was solid titanium, and throughout it’s design were inlays of green and pink stormy opal so small and thinly placed that they could only have been carved from the metal. At it’s head, the opal formed what almost looked like an eyeball, the thickness of the gem letting it display its inner clouds fully.
Cadenza had already strung it to a thin platinum chain, which caught the ring as she let it slip away from her hand and into the air.

Sitting forward, Cadenza leaned down across the cab of the limo to hover over Elay and Nikki slightly. Her free hand rested on the roof, pinning her where she was.
”Lazarus Alonzo… I’m’a not a good parent… But I’mma neva gonna let you tink fo one second that I’mma not tinkin’ about you. You an you sisters! You make’a me a little brighter, okay? So, you take this! An’a next year, I’mma gonna send you something else! An’a, if you start goin’ to school, like a normal little bambino? Then they’a gonna mail me you grades! An’ you keep ‘em up? You keep’a collectin!”

Elay had turned enough to pay the Matron the respect he’d been taught to, and was sitting next to Nikki by the time Cadenza took a breath. He looked at the ring on the chain, and for a long moment he thought about what it would be like to wear that ring. To feel it on his hand.

”But this’a one: Special! It’sa me and you Mamma! Together, you see? It’sa titanium, an’a you get the green an’ pink. When’a you look at this, I wan’ you to tink of the both of us! You unn’astand? Capice?”

She held it out of his reach until Elay accepted what she had said. He did understand, and looked back at Nikki with tears in his eyes.
”Promise me you feel that way too? Y-you both mean it?”

"I promise, Cuore Mio- and I mean just that. You're my heart. This is a little piece of us, just like you are. And there's always a little piece of you in here.“ Nikki's hand lightly tapped the left side of her chest, where her heart was.

"We'll always be there with you." Pink Lux filled the cab- pure love, almost tangible. It washed across Cadenza's emotional field and focused on Elay. But it wasn't a bombardment. It was precise, carefully crafting a lattice of love around his mind. Subtle hints of Green here and there to bolster it… a mother's protection against intrusion, until he came into his own magic and didn't need it anymore. It was like a warm, protective embrace.
”Can you feel how much we mean it?"

He could. Even with his own emotional state so scrambled, Nikki’s influence over the boy was something he’d grown used to enough that it was a comfort in itself. He associated this feeling with truth, because it’d never happened to him only for her to lie. She always told the truth…
So he wiped the tears away from his eyes, looked from Nikki to Cadenza, and cleared his throat with a nod.
”T-then… I understand, Matron. I promise, I’ll… I’ll keep it close. Thank you… Both of you.”

Cadenza’s hand slipped downward, handing the trinket to her only son. Her massive hand rubbed the top of his head, and she smiled.
”An’ besides; is’sa no backwater! They’gota telephone! You call-a you Mamma, she right there…” she laughed, looking up at Nikki.
”Right, Mamma?”

”Mhm, call whenever you want, I'll always try to answer," Nikki smiled softly at them both, eyes creasing warmly. Concentrating on the Joy and Love… it was as much for herself as it was her son.
"It'll be like I'm right there. I'm sure your sisters would love it too… I might have to wrestle Chessa for the phone."

Their second youngest… who was especially attached to Elay. All the other children's emotions had been an extra layer of difficulty for Nikki to deal with…
"And by the time you're big enough to wear that ring I bet you'll be able to drive yourself, and can visit too."

Consumed by the latticework of love and joy, Elay finally felt himself relaxing slightly. Back into Nikki’s arms, he curled up slightly while holding tightly to the ring. But it would only be for so long… His breaths loosened, and he closed his eyes for a moment. It’d be a long time before he’d be able to make it to that moment where he could return, but he had to. Had to make it.

He would show them that he was brave. That he could get there.
”I will, Momma…”

---

Raven’s Rest remained ever rested in its notch in the mountain. The town bore witness to a myriad of colors that exploded across the landscape. Various hues of red, orange, and yellow filled the branches of the trees that seemingly stretched for miles and miles outward from the top of this mountain village down to the bustling city far in the distance. Fall was here, and the air hung heavy with anticipation as this scene meant winter was going to arrive soon. Still, the towns folk tried their best to get everyone in the spirit for the holidays. Spooky skeletons, ghastly ghouls, and monstrous monsters decorated the town as it prepared for the Halloween trick or treat event in a weeks time. Even the church had gotten into the festivities, with a large inflatable ghost staked in the yard.

A small congregation waited by the steps of the church, led by Pastor Frank Miller and his son John. Behind him was an eclectic woman with messy, but clearly curly, hair pushed into a bun and a man who had equally long hair that was matte black and completely straight. Both had their hands on the shoulders of a young girl. She had an oversized puffy coat on and was more invested in a Gameboy than anything else going on around her. The Wren family was here, and they had nothing but smiles as they looked towards the driveway to the church.

“I know we were late but come on, where is everyone else,” Jasmine Wren asked as she shot a side eye towards the pastor.

“You come back t'me ‘bout bein' late when you got four kids t’ wrangle, Jasmine!” Coming up to the church was a taller woman, her dark hair in neat box braids tied back off her face. One eyebrow raised, green lux ears easily picking up what Jasmine said. She was pushing a stroller with a toddler strapped in, her coily hair in two puffy balls.

There was a girl about half her size following behind, her own box braids falling loose to her shoulders. She wore mud covered dungarees over an oversized, worn wool jumper. She held the hands of a little boy and girl, the little girl trying to hide behind her back.

But as they stopped she let go of her brother's hand, pointing. “Ma, why's Elara on ‘er gamin' thing- ain't it rude ‘round other people?”

“We just got ‘ere, ‘m sure she'll put it down,” Eloise Woods responded to her oldest daughter, who nodded seriously and stared at the younger girl.

Elara did not notice the new arrival. They had managed to snag a new copy of the ten-year-old Pokémon game and were currently fighting their way through a gym. An out-of-town traveller had “lost” their device in the restaurant when they went into the restroom, and the device became a gift from Jasmine soon thereafter.

“Elara.”

Elara smiled as they landed a critical hit. She was so good at this game. She was the best at this game. There was nothing that could stop her. A second later the Gameboy was removed from her hand and Elara tried to protest, her head shooting up to her mothers, but quickly pouted and crossed her arms.

“You’ll get this back when you learn yourself some manners,” Jasmine whispered as she placed the game in her purse. “They’re gifts, right Elosie?” Jasmine shot her eyes down to Elara and then back up to Elosie, before she chuckled.

“Gifts, ay, that’s one way’ah puttin’ it,” Eloise snorted. She put one hand on Bryn’s shoulder to keep her at her side, rather than going over to Elara to start her big sister act. “Who else is comin’? Ain’t they late too? Our… visitors. Not a problem s’long as they ain’t got stuck somewhere… y’know, city folk cars.”

“We’re not late,” a panting woman shouted as she ran up the driveway, carrying a small girl on her shoulders. It was Teresa, matriarch of the Ash family, and her daughter Sierra. Teresa was a powerful woman who normally carried herself with dignity and grace yet today it seemed like both were missing as her hair was in disarray, mud was spattered over her clothes, and a frantic look was on her face. “Are they here yet?”

“No, no not yet but what happened to you,” Jasmine asked with a raised eyebrow.

“We decided to enjoy nature and walk here, and the heels I wore were not suited to the trail,” Teresa chuckled as she put Sierra down and walked over to Jasmine and Eloise.

“Speakin' of unprepared rich folk,” Eloise muttered underneath her breath to Jasmine.

"Ma, how rich ‘r they? Rich enuff to buy one of Elara's gamin' things?"

Rich enough that, somewhere a few hundred feet down the road, there was a problem spinning the limousine around in the narrow street they were told to come up. Cadenza had, in fact, seen an ice cream parlor that looked incredibly quaint. There was little resistance keeping her from directing the pull-off so they could all enjoy a cone in a cup. She still called it gelato, which it absolutely wasn’t, but who was going to tell Cadenza Motta that it wasn’t gelato? Nobody in their right mind.

But it meant that the limo had to back out, and with it being such a narrow street, there was a bit of finesse required…
Except the finesse wasn’t enough, so Cadenza had to get her hands dirty. Finding the opportunity to avoid the gaze of the few people in that little downtown area, the Matriarch did her best to muckle up underneath the vehicle, bench pressing it by the frame and spinning it fully so it was once more facing the correct way.

Only once the situation was rectified were they able to progress to their ultimate goal. Around the time Bryn was asking about their wealth, the sleek black monstrosity was crawling up the hill and into view. When it finally rolled to a stop in front of them, it was like the thing was made out of a foreign material. Pristine, with windows so black one couldn’t see through them and metal accents so polished that one could only see themselves staring back. It was audacious for this area… But it only came around once every twenty-or-so years.

It was a treat for the eyes.

But as it came to a full stop, the driver popped up out of the front, practically sprinting around the car to the entryway before pulling it open fully. First came Cadenza, whose massive frame and immaculately tailored suit would’ve made quite the impression among old and young. It was expected that the Grove would come in force to meet them, but…
If this was a force, then nurseries were just army barracks to these people.

Turning her body slightly, she offered a hand to Nikki to help her out of the vehicle, assuming that ultimately little Elay would follow his Momma’s lead.

Nikki looked at Cadenza’s hand with a slight smile, Pink Lux gently wafting out. Undetectable to her Blind son as she carefully checked his mental state. She knew what Cadenza was assuming, but she didn’t think it would be quite that easy without a little more coaxing. Hopefully she would be wrong. She stood up, taking a step towards the entryway before pausing in front of Elay.
"Come on, Cuore Mio, let’s go. Do you want to hold Momma’s hand?"

Despite the belly full of chocolate chip ice cream, Elay still found the time and energy to be incredibly sensitive. Crying again, coaxing him out became just a little more difficult as he did his best to stymie the flowing tears. There were things that felt right, and things that didn’t, and he couldn’t tell anyone that he felt this was wrong. It wouldn’t have worked anyway. The plans were set, and he was so far from being in control that he couldn’t have possibly seen the bottom of it.

But she asked him to be strong. So, he held out his hand and grabbed ahold, even though he didn’t exactly move to get up…
Granted, it wasn’t easy to make him do much of anything. For a seven year old, he was as robust as one could hope. Not rotund or hefty, but densely packed. Coiled and tightened, Cadenza had been pumping him with extra growth for years. At almost ninety pounds and several inches taller than his peers, he was more like a crying boulder than he was a sad little boy, even if he still acted like the latter. This kind of difference would’ve been clear between himself and the other similarly aged children now standing before them as he finally emerged from the car.

Like his parents, Elay’s wardrobe meant he was almost always immaculately dressed, and he was personally fussy enough to detail his appearance by way of styling. His elder sisters helped, of course, but he liked looking nice. He imagined that he was cool, like the men in those gangster films he’d seen Anana and Banana showing in their mansion. This time, he had a waistcoat and a pristine dress shirt (sans tie), along with perfectly pressed pants and a scarf that hung around both sides of his neck without being fully wrapped up.

”Buongiorno.”
Cadenza’s voice cut her son’s internal thoughts, and his head automatically snapped upward to look at her eyes as she spoke. Exactly as he’d been taught.
”Madonna Cadenza Motta-” she flourished a bow, one arm across her stomach while the other splayed out behind her slightly.
”-and you are the Matriarchy di Boschetto, no? The Grove-a?” she questioned with a stern but calm voice.

Nikki stood beside Cadenza silently, one hand on Elay's shoulder. Her smile was well practiced, polite and calm, with her eyes carefully shifting between all of the adults. The neat blouse she wore tucked into a dark, knee length skirt didn't seem to lend itself to the chilly weather- but there were no signs she was cold. While she wasn't as physically impressive as her partner and son, she managed to hold herself in a way where she didn't blend into the background while still remaining relatively soft.

“Yes, I’m-”
"Ma, why’re funny words comin’ outta her mouth sometimes? ‘N why’s she bendin’ like that?" Bryn interrupted her mother with blunt questions. Though she was the oldest of the Grove children, clear by her tallest height (now beaten by Elay), she wasn’t great at knowing when to not ask things. Or, she knew and just didn’t care. A grimy finger pointed at Elay.
"And why’s he so big?"

“Bryn,” Eloise hissed, hand going to her eldest’s shoulder and squeezing. Bryn wriggled, frowning.
“Don’t ask somethin’ like that.” She looked up and back at their guests, a polite smile forming. Noticeably, though she did chide her daughter she didn’t apologise to their guests, rather just continuing.

“Eloise Woods, one of the leaders of the Grove.”

“Benvenuti! Mi chiamo Teresa, sono anche una delle leader qui,” Teresa smiled as she waved. Her family had just gotten back from their yearly trip back to the motherland and her Italian was extra crisp today. Still, the unfortunate quality of the Italian indicated that Italian was never her first language despite being born in Italy.

“And I’m Jasmine,” Jasmine reasoned as she walked forward and offered a hand towards Cadenza, “mind the children. They’re delights normally I swear.”

Both Cadenza and Elay’s ears perked up as Italian was spoken out of the crowd. It was a warmth for both of them, that told them maybe this wasn’t so bad. Cadenza instantly trusted the syntax and found it genuine. Elay was just happy to hear the Mother Tongue, making him feel like there was comfort even in this strange place.
Looking down at the many daughters that surrounded them, Cadenza shook Jasmine’s hand as best she could before stepping forward and squatting down in front of young Bryn. Her grin was huge, and there were far more teeth in her mouth than any normal human.

”You ask’a good questions… Why I so big?”
She looked up at the other grown women, still smiling, then at Jasmine before her gaze returned. It was naturally conspiratory, and it was almost like she was sharing a secret with the gathered children.
”I’a so big ‘cuz when I meet a man’a I no like…”
She paused again, leaning in just a little closer.
”I eat him! Bones’an all!”
Her head tilted back, and she started cackling before standing back up to her full height.

Bryn’s little mouth fell open, and she gaped up at Cadenza. Her look of shock very quickly turned to one of awe. The little girl practically hiding behind her. Robin looked terrified, as if his sister was going to eat him right there. Of course she wasn’t going to eat him… but nasty men? That didn’t seem off the table.

Elara finally looked up at the big woman and chuckled. The chuckle quickly turned into a full laugh.

Watching with a slight, soft smile, Nikki stepped forward towards Jasmine and held out her own hand. "I’m Nikkita Motta, but please call me Nikki. It’s a pleasure to meet you all."

“The pleasure is ours,” Jasmine smiled wide as she tossed Elara a side-eye. Maybe that was the key to getting her daughter's interest—crude jokes about eating men to get big and tall. “I am Jasmine. This is my daughter Elara!”

“And I am Pastor Frank Miller,” the Pastor said as he walked towards the assembled group. “If you need anything while you are here do not hesitate to ask, my children.”

“It has been far too long since a member of the Motta clan has graced the Grove. I hope the drive up was easy, and the journey without hassle,” Jasmine added as she placed her hands on her hips.

"We had a slight issue turning down the street after we took a quick detour to treat our son to some ’gelato’, but it was smooth otherwise. It’s quite beautiful out here," Nikki smiled, easily continuing the small talk. But her hand went back to Elay’s shoulder, gently pushing him forward. "This is my son… Why don’t you introduce yourself, Mi Tesoro."

Elay had still been hoping that his Moms would forget they were dropping him off… That they would get distracted talking, and that they’d all just get into the car together to leave. An unsuccessful hope as Nikki pushed him slightly forward. It felt like being led to the executioner’s block… Like he was a lamb. His voice wavered as he tried to introduce himself.

”M-m’names…- ay”
His voice barely came out of his throat. Even though she hadn’t been looking at him, Cadenza’s head snapped around completely. There was a loud pop that everyone would’ve heard.

”Lazarus Alonso! Usare correttamente la voce! Now!”
Her stern voice did work in that situation. Rather than continuing to mope, Elay snapped to attention. Tears rolled out of both corners of his eyes.

”My name is Lazarus Alonso Motta! Please call me L-A. Elay.” he forced himself to speak loudly, choking on his words at the end of his statement.
”Please t-take good… Care… Of me…”
He couldn’t stop himself from letting it go. From making a fool of himself as he started shaking more than he had in the car ride. It was all real now, especially as the driver had started pulling his luggage trunks from the limo’s rear and placing them down where they were easily accessible.

"Hi, L-A! I’m Bryn! ’m the oldest, so I’ll be your new big sis! This is my brother, Robin," she gestured to the boy beside her, then the girl beside her and the one in the stroller.
"That’s Laurel and Marigold."
She let go of Laurel’s hand and stepped forward, slinging an arm around Elay’s shoulders. It was almost a hug as she spoke quietly.
"Why’re you cryin’ n’ shakin’? Is it cause you think your Ma’s gonna eat you! Don’t worry! The Grove protects its own, we ain’t gonna let her do that."

“Oh yes, your mama is totally going to try and eat you. I would be sooo upset if I was you,” Elara said in a monotone voice.

“ELARA,” Jasmine shouted as she placed her forehead on the palm of her hand.

“Oh. I’m Elara, nice to meet you mister,” Elara looked towards their mom and spotted their game device. A plan was forming on how to steal it back.

Cadenza started laughing louder. She couldn’t help but think of how things were at home, and it reminded her of her own household long ago. Her own mothers had to do the very same thing.
”Ayyyy, you’a see, Elay? They treat you jus’a like Gia an Rina! Dis’a not so different!”

Squirming against Bryn, Elay could only be honest as he was taught to be.
”You’d cry if your parents were giving you up!”
”I tell you, mio Dio, nobody is’a givin’ you up! You’a just gonna live here, Elay!” Cadenza groaned again, her hand in her face.

"She’s right-"

"Why don’t we swap and I go to your fancy place and see if I cry!" Bryn interrupted Nikki before she could begin her comforting. Her arm was still around Elay’s shoulders, hard as it was when he was tall, and she leaned in. A conspiratorial glance was shot towards both of his moms.
"Your smaller Ma looks real young, too, is that why they’re givin’ you up? I heard a lotta teen Mas do that, it ain’t just you."

“Bryn.” Eloise said warningly, though it didn’t seem to have any effect on her daughter.
Nikki was staring speechlessly at the young girl.

Cadenza hadn’t batted an eye, looking between some of the adults.
”Where’s’a my shithead Brother anyway, eh? He was’a sp’osed to be here so Elay had a familiar face…”

But Elay wasn’t doing well. Not after what had just been said to him.
”They wouldn’t want you either.”
His tears had dried up, leaving little streaks down his face as he stared directly into Bryn’s eyes.
”You’re not good enough for them.”

"Well you ain’t-"
Simultaneously, two mothers sprung into action. Eloise went in and physically dragged Bryn away, quietly chastising her while stopping the brewing fight.

Nikki stepped forward, crouching down to pull Elay into a hug. She gently rubbed his back. It was a difficult thing to manage, suppressing her own frustration with Pink Lux. Cadenza had moved on, and she shouldn’t undermine her authority… but what Bryn said wasn’t okay. She leaned back, hands moving to her son’s shoulders as she looked him in the eye.
"Look at me, Cuore Mio, none of that is true. We already discussed this… We aren’t giving you up. I love you too much to do that willingly. But even if someone says something that hurts you, you shouldn’t retaliate. You don’t say things like that." She used a tone Elay would recognise - the soft but firm way she always spoke when she was reprimanding her children. Her head tilted up to look over him as she straightened up, and at Eloise and Bryn.

”Children will be children, but I’m allowing my son to come here-" as if she had any choice-
"- for a treaty under the condition he be treated well and equally to your own children."

“I understand, and ‘m sorry for my idiotic daughter,” Eloise looked down at Bryn, who was now pouting, with narrowed eyes. She had her shoulder in a death grip.
“It ain’t gonna be like that. We treat our members good and equal… And don’t worry, Bryn will be punished when we get home.”
"But Ma my-"
“I don’t care, Bryn. Now, apologise.”

”Woah, lets’a not be too hasty. The girl tells’a little joke, an’a my son is just’a sensitive poco fika. He’s’a little afraid iss all, girls. Give-a him a little space an’a time, an’ he’s gonna be just’a like you brother. Real brother. Elay’a good boy. No apologies… Just time, eh? It’s a scary thing.”
Surprisingly introspective, Cadenza’s voice was calm, and she found herself stooping to the children’s height again as she crouched down low… But her head cocked slightly as there was the shuffling of running. Huffing.

A portly man with thick black hair was huff-puffing his way up the hill to the church. Here he was…
”Alphonso!?”
Cadenza’s body was already standing again, staring down at Al as he was rushing up the hill.
“My Lady! Oh, oh my God, I’m so sorry!”

All the kids would know Al. He was a fun man, someone who would always bring pastries and other goodies to the different families of the Grove. Looking between him and Elay, the similarities were oddly striking. Same hair, same general face… Only Al was nearly six and a half feet tall weighing close to six hundred pounds. By the time he wobbled into the group, he was grasping at his knees.

Elay was surprised that this uncle was the one who was sent to join these people… He’d seen him at his own home before, and had been treated to the exact same kind of pastries that the girls had in their own life. But he was quickly standing by his elder sister with something of a big smile on his face.
”Grosso, we were’a fuckin’ late! An’a you don’t even have snacks!?”
“‘Course I do, Ma’am!”

He pulled his satchel to the front and opened it, pulling out a bag of confections and handing it off to Cadenza. She popped one in her mouth and squealed before crouching down again and opening the bag.
”Ahhhh, so good. Elay? Come’a here.”

Though he’d been clinging to Nikki, both knew he was meant to do what he was told, and stepped forward. Cadenza’s hand raised up, finger beckoning Bryn.
”You too, Bambina… Feisty’a little shit…” she grinned.

"Ma, what does Bambina mean?" Bryn asked, wriggling against Eloise’s grip. Eloise shrugged, and let her go. The young girl hopped forward, not seeming at all intimidated.

Elara suddenly appeared next to Elay, a careful eye would have spotted her, but to the untrained eye it would appear like she snuck over in the commotion and the fighting. In her hand she held a Gameboy, and she stretched it out towards Elay. “You like Pokemon,” Elara asked.

“How did,” Jasmine started as she looked at her hands, and realized Elara somehow stole it from her, “you little shit better not get a champagne taste on a beer budget.”

“I think this would be an appropriate time for us to, maybe, head inside? We’re preparing some barbecue out back and there are more members inside waiting to meet you Elay,” the pastor added as he held out an arm and motioned for the group to actually head inside.

”Si, una memento, Padre.”

Cadenza was surprised at the other girl popping up, but giggled and turned her head back to the two who had already managed to make problems with one another. Elay nodded to Jasmine, but he was trained to keep his focus on his Matriarch when she required it. Two of the bonbons from the bag were pulled away, and handed to both Elay and Bryn.
”Eat’a the treat, and shake hands.”

Elay didn’t think about it. He just took the treat and stuck his hand out, chewing and tasting the amazing flavor of it. To be fair, it did make him feel a little better.

Bryn did the same, throwing the sweet treat in her mouth and munching on it. Her hand went out to shake Elay’s.
"Ma told me to treat y’like my brother, so I was just doing that."

“You don’t get used to it,” Elara said in a monotone voice but had the faintest smirk that Bryn would instantly recognize as the one Elara had when she tried to rile up her friends.

"You just ain’t tough enough," Bryn teased back, free arm coming up to hook Elara in the dreaded Bryn shoulder hook. She knew the look, so she didn’t get pissed over it.

Cadenza’s hands ruffled both their heads. Elay knew what this meant, and smirked right before her powerful arms shunted their skulls together like two pool balls smacking against one another. It wasn’t hard enough that they were both unconscious, so he counted himself lucky that was all. Granted, Elay wasn’t quite aware of how hard she had to do that to knock him and his sister out… Hard enough that this girl’s unmodified skull probably would’ve caved in.

”Now you’a really siblings! Da Motta Smack, eh?”
Patting both of them on the rear ushered them forward, and with his release, Elay was free to speak again. Not that he had the chance…
”Go! Go, go, and watch for your clothes’a catch on fire, Elay… Chiesa is not our place.”

As the rest entered, Cadenza hung back with her younger brother, quickly grabbing him by the collar and dragging him close. It was quite horrifying that she still stood several heads taller than him. Their private conversation faded away as the majority of the group headed for the church.

Bryn took getting her head smacked against another's surprisingly well. There was no crying or complaining, just a bit of pained grimacing. She grabbed Elay's hand, and then Elara's, and tugged them both along.
"We ain't get barbeque often, so this is the real treat. I bet they'll even let us eat first."

Nikki followed right behind the three children after a quick glance at Cadenza, making sure her son knew she was there with a light tap of warm pink lux against him. She didn't want him to think he was going inside alone to face even more strangers… she'd be there with him as long as she could be.

The pastor was already ready for food despite the beef for the group to discuss business first. Three thoughts of ribs, chicken, and an assortment of greens and sides filled his mind as he looked towards the front door. He led the way up the creaking steps, his broad shoulders hunched slightly from years of hard labor and heavier burdens. His son walked a step behind, the family resemblance unmistakable in the sharp line of his jaw and the quiet determination in his eyes. The Pastor looked back on his son and smiled. He was going to continue the family legacy, and work had begun to prepare him for the rigorous journeys ahead. He turned his attention back to the door and with a heavy push the church doors groaned open, revealing a dimly lit sanctuary with wooden pews polished smooth by years of use. The air inside was cooler, scented faintly with aged wood and the lingering sweetness of past potlucks. A single cross hung above the pulpit, its simplicity a reflection of the congregation’s humble means.
“I’d say make yourself at home but this is the lords house,” the pastor spoke again only this time his voice seemed to boom more than before. He was truly at home here, even if he was just the voice of God above.
“Elara, I’ll let you hold onto your game but you mustn't play it while we’re here, okay,” Jasmine said with a stern side eye to which Elara gulped and nodded in understanding.
The back door, behind the pulpit, was open and the group could see a bulky Asian man behind a grill, who spotted the group and simply waved with a smile. His name was Daniel Harrington, and he motioned for an unseen person to enter the building. A moment later a small boy’s head looked out past the doorframe shyly, before he too entered the church and walked up to Bryn.
“Hi, who’s your new friend,” Lucas asked as he avoided all eye contact altogether.
The smell of the barbecue seemed to follow him, and the church was soon filled with the aroma of sweet and tangy meats grilling to perfection.

"Elay! He gonna be my new brother- sorta. I ain't sure how it works!" Bryn grinned, once again slinging an arm around Elay's shoulders.
"This is Lucas… you better be nice to him or I'll beat you!"

Elay stuck his hand out politely as he'd been taught, the frown still filling his face.
”Hi… Our names are similar… Lucas, Lazarus. The L sound, and the vowel/S on the end.

Elay had never been amazing at making friends. These were trained reactions, being taught how to socialize “like a proper little boy should.” It was taxing, and dishonest which was something he was also taught to avoid being. He couldn't figure out when certain rules applied or didn't, and it had become a mire of duplicity in his mind.
It was anxiety inducing.

”The food smells nice… Is that your Dad cooking?” Elay asked quietly, his stomach still working despite every other feeling going on.

Lucas looked up to Elay and nodded. “He is a really good cook,” Lucas paused as he looked towards Bryn with a crooked head, “but you’re not nice to me all the time. Who is going to beat you when you’re mean to me?”

”I'm biggest. Come to me, and I'll win every time!”
The most verbose and braggadocious thing the young man had said all day… Very tough talk coming from someone who was pretty much just crying.

"You-" Bryn pointed a finger at Lucas, then at Elay.
"It ain’t all bout size. Bet I hit you once and you’ll start cryin’... You city folk are all the same, all talk!" All of this was declared with a wide grin, no clear aggression in the girl’s expression… though she did mean every word.

”You shouldn’t talk about fighting so much. My Lady always says ‘Don’t cash checks before the chickens hatch.’ I think it means, like, you don’t know if you’re gonna get stuff before you see what people can do.” Elay did his best to dissuade this Bryn girl from further violence…

Not because he was afraid, of course; rather because he knew there wasn’t anything he could do about it. Ma, and the Lady of course, would tan his hide if he acted too far out of turn. But he wasn’t comfortable conceding the point to his “new sister”. Hierarchy was important, and Elay didn’t like leaving it unsettled before it was tested. After all, these people were outside the Clans: Just because she was a girl, didn’t put her above him now.

Thinking about it deeper, a smile cracked across his face. He stared at Bryn now, waiting for her response to his seemingly insightful figure of speech.

Bryn stared back, tilting her head. She looked confused. She had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. What did that have to do with fighting? It wasn't like she was trying to get stuff out of them? She wasn't a thief.
"Well my Ma says ‘if someone acts outta line, give em a good beatin'.’ Cause you gotta show your strength."

“That's not what Ma says at all!” The little boy who'd trailed behind Bryn, holding their younger sister's hand, finally piped up.
“She says she'll beat your ass if you keep actin' up.”
”Is the same." Bryn waved a hand.

”B-but, you ain’t a Matriarch! Seems like your Ma is, but she’s not as big as Our Lady. So, either you ain’t all that tough, or she hides her powers real well… My Nana’s like that! She’s a real little lady, but I seen’er pick up a whole car when it was in a spot she ain’t want it in!” Elay enthusiastically spoke about his grandmother Bella, who had shown him a great deal of affection in their infrequent meetings.

"What d'ya mean ‘a May-tree-arc'?" Bryn enunciated the word she'd never heard in her life, looking towards her little brother in the hope that maybe he had. He always read books more. Robin just shrugged.
”And Ma can pick up a car! And she can do it with vines too! Pa too, he's always carryin' tons of shit on his shoulders… and he can hear us all round the house!"

”But they ain’t from Cullo! So, they ain’t Matriarchs! And, I mean… Dad? I know a few people who have Dads, but usually they’re not… Y’know, doin’ much. They kinda take care of the kids, don’t they!? Like Lucas’ Dad! He’s cookin’, cleanin’ probably… What’s your Dad carry!?”
Now Elay was just confused. Vines? He knew some Matriarchs fiddled with plants, but personal strength always came first. So why would the vines be impressive?

"Rocks! Pa works down in the mines… he ain't just at home takin' care of us. That ain't normal… he's gotta earn the money so Ma can be a Grove leader. Tha's what I've heard. I don' gettit cause she works too, just less…" Bryn trailed off, still with absolutely no idea what a Matriarch was or what the fuck Cullo was. Was it another mountain town?
"I ain't sure where you've been, but it ain't normal to have two Mas. How they even have you? It ain't… possible, is it? Y'need a man and a woman to make babies." Bryn spoke with the infinite wisdom of a nine year old who'd pestered her mother so much she'd been given a vague explanation of the birds and the bees.

Elay was, at the very least, educated in human biology enough to know what made him different from his sisters. Suddenly his face became incredibly smug.
”I don’t know, Bryn… Sounds like your Ma’s not that strong if she can’t make a baby with another Lady. Y’ever think that?”

”No! That ain't how bee-ology works! Strength ain't to do with that!" Bryn frowned.
“Biology,” Robin corrected quietly.
"Whatever! It ain't possible for a lady to make a baby with another lady! Your Ma's just lyin' to you… it ain't possible."

Elay turned instantly, searching for the Matriarch whom he knew for a fact was the main contributor of his own genes. She had finally come in with her brother, though talking to some of the other people gathered for the welcome. This left only Nikki to deal with his pleading.

”Maaaaaa! Bryn says you and Our Lady couldn’t have me! Am I allowed to say!?” he groaned, knowing full well that he could shut this cocky girl up with one assertion.

Nikki had been talking with a few of the Grove members, but she'd stayed close while keeping one magically enhanced ear on the children's conversation. Just in case… but she'd left her son to navigate the discovery and explanation of families different from theirs. As Elay called for her she turned, glancing over towards her partner in the distance before fully focusing on him.

It wasn't forbidden to say. In this situation… she didn't want him to have to keep secrets around the people who'd hopefully become a second family for him. There should be an understanding both ways about what their families were like.
"You are allowed to say… but Elay? Not every family's like ours."

”What do you mean? Like, how!?” Elay asked innocently.

Nikki smiled gently at him, while internally regretting not talking about this before they arrived. But how could she? She'd grown up in the same circumstances. It was easy to forget that it wasn't normal.
”Well… most families don't have a Matriarch. It's more common for families to be like Bryn's, outside of the Matriarchal clans. So while me and Our Lady had you, for most it's like Bryn said. Neither is wrong or more normal, just… different."

Elay pointed at his Ma, head fully spinning to look at Bryn.
”See!? She said they did it! Our Lady’s got a big cock! And she says I will too when I grow up, ‘cuz it’s in our family!” Elay exclaimed as if it wasn’t the most impressively out of pocket thing a seven year old boy could say.

But Cadenza had never been shy, and her rather crude sense of humor left all of her children using words and phrases they never should’ve known to begin with. He still looked smug, but anyone else listening to the conversation would’ve had to deal with that revelation however they felt was right. She heard Elay say this, and while she didn’t react at all, she gave her only son a very clean and loud high five in her mind.

Nikki's hand came up to cover her face, and the expression of dismay she couldn't keep off it. She should’ve said he wasn’t allowed to say… because she should’ve seen this coming. Hand covering her mouth, she mumbled a few curses in Italian - primarily directed towards Cadenza, who would be able to hear them if she really wanted to.

Eloise looked at Nikki, then Jasmine, before her eyes turned to the children. She wasn’t so upset about her oldest two hearing it- though she hoped Laurel didn’t entirely understand what was going on. Bryn and Robin already knew… she was just concerned that Bryn would take this and become even more annoying about certain things.

Jasmine listened in to the kids conversation with a nervous expression on her face. The kids were young but knew a surprisingly detailed understanding on how babies were made. She hadn’t had that talk yet with Elara. Her eyes slowly shifted over to her daughter, who also had a very puzzled look on her face. “Oh no,” Jasmine muttered. She’d have to have the talk later. Her eyes shifted over to Seren and saw that she was not even paying attention. Lucky for Teresa.

“Why would you want a big rooster,” Elara asked as she crossed her arms, “they’re mean enough when they’re normal sized.”

Bryn had been staring at Elay, mouth slightly ajar, but started laughing the moment Elara asked. Her chest puffed up slightly- because she knew about these things. She knew exactly what Elay was talking about!
"He ain’t talkin’ bout Roosters, Elara! You dunno bout that yet? Y’should ask your Ma!" She put her hands on her hips, turning back to Elay.
"I don’t believe you! Ladies ain’t born with those… and we don’ need em! They’re disgustin’! The bigger the worse!"

“Elodie,” Jasmine whispered as she stifled a laugh, “how dare you have the talk with Bryn without telling me. Now I need to explain so much when we’re gone.”

“She asked, I answered,” Eloise whispered back, shaking her head. “I didn’t expect… this…”

”Well, I saw it! So, quit sayin’ mean things Bryn! My Ma just said, we're not like everyone else! So throw your rules away, cuz I'm here and I'm alive! It had to happen like that!” Elay asserted, growing frustrated like he did around his elder sisters when they acted like this.

”And don't make me get Our Lady, or she's gonna smack our heads again!”

"Oh yeah? Cause I don’t think she has a big-"
“Bryn.”
"He said it first! It ain’t like I’m being mean- he’s just talkin’ bullshit! Your- your Ma’s in on it too! You’re just tryna mess with us cause you think we’re dumb! So get ‘Our Lady’ over I can take another head smack!"

"I’m so sorry for this," Nikki said quietly to both Jasmine and Eloise.

“To everything there is a season,” John started as he walked in between Bryn and Elay, away from his father, “and a time to every purpose under the heaven,” John paused as he smirked, “is this the right time to have this conversation when there’s fresh food waiting for us outside?”

Bryn rolled her eyes.

”He's right! Elay, quit it with this topic, Eh? I'm not'a gonna whip it out here in da Church infronna dees people!” Cadenza growled across the room.

"Or anywhere," Nikki said quietly.

“Oh thank the lord,” the pastor mumbled with a chuckle.

“Amen father,” Jasmine sighed in response, before a soft chuckle escaped her loops.

“I’m John, son of the good pastor here. Pleasure to make your acquaintance,” John said as he offered a strong handshake.

Elay nodded at John, taking what he had to say and absorbing it.
”I like what you said, John… I'm Elay. Lazarus. Like the Bible character! Did you get named after the Saint?” he asked, taking John's hand and shaking it firmly.

”Ma says it's just a book, but a useful book. Good at teaching lessons if you aren't stupid.”

“The Baptist, yes sir,” John responded as he shifted his attention towards Bryn, “a very useful book. If you ever wanted-”

“Why you talking about books Bryn when you can’t even read ‘em,” Elara chuckled as she ran behind the back of John.

“I’m sure Bryn can read just fine, Elara, besides arguments separate friends like a gate locked with bars,” John paused as he turned around and patted Elara on the shoulder, “do you want to start another one when the first one isn’t finished?”

"Fightin’ someone is the best way to get to know ‘em," Bryn rolled her eyes as John went on another one of his little quote readings.
"Anyway, it is done. And I can read. I just ain’t into it."

Elay turned his head to look at the woman he knew to be Bryn's mother.
”Is she like this at home, Ma'am? With all due respect, I don't feel very comfortable around her. I'm afraid she's gonna try an’ beat me up…” he said as innocently as he could, pivoting away from being aggressive in hopes of getting something sweeter out of the deal.

“Look, Bryn, you scared him.” Eloise’s hand shot out to lightly hit Bryn around the back of the head. She pouted grumpily up at her mom.
"But Pa’s friends-"
“I don’t care. Now, Elay… ‘m sorry she’s made you feel like that. She ain’t. My daughter’s real rough soundin’, but she ain’t a bad kid. She’s tryna act tough, but she ain’t really.”
"I’m right here, Ma."
“She only beats up people who deserve it.”

A small hand grasped Elay’s shirt, lightly tugging on it. It was Bryn’s younger sister- Laurel, the third woods child. She tugged downwards, looking up at the much larger boy shyly.

The smaller girl instantly made him think of his younger sister Kiki. He practically melted at the sight, and frowned as he crouched slightly. Just like he'd seen Cadenza do a million times.
”Oh, hi… I'm sorry, I'm Elay. Don't worry, I ain't gonna fight your sister.”
Turning back to Eloise, he smiled.

”I'm sorry for causin’ so much stuff to happen. Are you sure I gotta stay here? I can't go back home after this?”
He figured he'd try one last time.

Laurel nodded with a shy smile, her hand staying grasped into his shirt.

Eloise looked at Jasmine, then Teresa. She didn’t say anything for a short moment. The answer was, of course, that he had to stay. It was part of a centuries old agreement. Tradition. Throwing away tradition meant risking everything they’d built.

Nikki watched out of the corner of her eye, finding herself hoping that one of the three Grove leaders would turn around and say that he didn’t have to. If it came from their end… and the agreement remained in place, then there was no reason for them to leave him here. Maybe they’d finally move past an outdated tradition.

“I’m sorry, Elay, but you gotta stay,” Eloise said eventually. That’s all there was to it. They had to protect the Grove over anything else.
“It’s part of the agreement.”

”But nobody's even told me what that means! Ma keeps sayin’ it's something we all gotta do to make everyone happy!”

There was a throat clearing. Portly Uncle Al wobbled his way past his elder sister and up to his own Bryn: Eloise, whom he had grown up with just the same as Elay would do now with her daughter. Despite whatever shortcomings Cadenza perceived, it was easy to tell that Alphonso had come fully into his role as a bridge between the two groups. That was the expectation. He placed a hand on Lazarus’ shoulder, thumb pressing into his neck comfortingly. It was a Motta thing to do, something Nikki knew and did too.

“Maybe I can help?” Al looked at Elay lovingly, then at his Coven Matron.

Eloise glanced at Jasmine and Teresa again, before looking at Alphonso with the hint of a smile. She nodded.
“It’ll be better comin’ from you. I suppose it’s somethin’ he deserves to know.”

Al nodded and got down to his nephew's level a bit more.
“You listen too, Bryn. One day you're gonna take a Motta in too, so you gotta understand why it's gonna happen.”

While he and Elay were family, it was plain and simple that Bryn and her siblings simply knew Uncle Al better. While he may’ve been down at his family estate once or twice a year, he was in the Wood household once or twice a week. And despite not having his own, he loved Eloise's kids like blood: He understood the crucial nature of this situation.

Lazarus squirmed a little bit, frowning but still giving his Uncle the eye contact he asked for. He could feel his Matriarch's eyes burning into the back of his skull.

“Our family came to America a long, long time ago. Before cars, before lights, before roads and bullets and trains… But we didn't get here first. There were already people here. Magical people, just like us. So rather than hurting one another, they made an agreement. Now, what's most important to Ma, and to Nanna AbBa?”

Elay took a guess.
”Matriarchs?” he asked innocently.

“Technically… It's their daughters! Our family puts a lot of emphasis on strong women. And back in the day, they were even more important, to the point where we boys weren't worth much of anything. So they would give the boys up to the people here, so that we would all be connected. A part of a bigger family, see? So, that's why you gotta be here, and you gotta live with Miss Eloise.”

Al paused, taking a deep breath to consider his next words.
“And you treat her like you would treat Our Lady, ‘cuz she's just as important. And plenty strong! So don't be afraid, eh? You want a little taste of home, I live just down the street. You just come down, or come to the bakery, and I'll be there for you too. Understand me?”

Elay nodded, scarcely understanding more than he did a few moments ago.
”So Nanna AbBa did the same to you? Did you… feel like they were abandoning you?”

Yes… But a show of solidarity and strength was more important here.
“No. I knew my duty to my family. To maintain the way of life my little sisters would be able to enjoy. It's because of you and me, and… Well, Uncle Rocco is still alive technically, but mostly up to you and me to make sure we keep the agreement sacred.”

Elay seemed to consider this for a long moment. Uncle Rocco? He didn't know who the Hell that was, but he did accept what his Uncle Al said. About not being scared, and protecting the little ones. He looked down at Laurel again, and Kiki's little voice echoed in his head.

“I wuvvu Ewway!”

It was only natural that the little boy would start crying again. Al took him in his arms, waving Eloise in and turning his head to look back at Nikki. A subtle head nodded to her, trying to reassure her that it would be okay.

Nikki’s lips managed to pull up into a slight smile towards Al. Her own eyes shone with unshed tears which she quickly blinked away. It was difficult for her too. Holding herself back from comforting her son, because she knew she wouldn’t be able to be there for him in the future. She had to let others step in.

“We ain’t tryna replace your family, but we’ll treat you like our own,” Eloise said, one hand coming up to rub Elay’s back. It wasn’t the most gentle, but the intent was there.

Another, smaller body wriggled its way into the hug between Elay and Al. Arms awkwardly wrapped around Elay’s waist, and Bryn’s rough voice spoke up.
"I’m- I’m sorry I was mean. But I ain’t gonna let anyone hurt you! I’ma treat you just like my other siblings."

“Gross,” Elara said as she looked away from the affection and instead towards the food.

”If you promise, then I believe you…”
Elay hadn't been hugging his uncle back, but as Bryn pushed her way in, he felt the compulsion to comfort like he would any of his other sisters. So, one arm wrapped around her, and the other hugged his Uncle in an attempt to channel whatever good energy he could get.

Then there was another set of arms. Shockingly, the Matriarch herself had stepped forward from her position. It was entirely uncharacteristic of her to give this kind of affection, and even more so in such a setting… But there she was, pressed into her own younger brother's back and wrapping her long arms around to Bryn. She pulled everyone tighter.

”You meana lot more to us than the old days. You Ma an Me don't wanna do this. But we gotta, Bim-Elay… Is'a like you goin’ an gettin’a married. You gonna make us all a big family, Unnastand? Capice?

Al nodded in agreement, shocked as much as Elay to receive any kind of affection from Cadenza Motta.

“Exactly. Our Lady and I are siblings, but I'm absolutely part of the Grove, Lazarus. And Miss Eloise here has always been there for Me. I trust her a thousand percent. And if you ever need anything at all, our family is still bound to us for assistance.”

”Ye, like someone'a wanna Bakery, so all of a sudden, he gotta Bakery!”

Al sighed. Of course it wasn't all perfect.

“Right. Just like that. Nana AbBa are responsible for building my business… I asked, and they did it. So, those comforts you're used to aren't ever gonna go away. Understand?”

Lazarus did… Or, at least he thought he did. His hand slipped up, grabbing hold of Cadenza's sleeve and remembering the gift she'd given him earlier. But he was smothered at this point, and feeling a little cagey because of it.

”Okay, okay! Fine! I'm sorry, I didn't-”
Cadenza laughed, letting everyone out of the vice grip and standing back up.
”Good! Now you want me to beat you to da food? No! So go!”

"Whoa, I don’t wanna fight someone who eats men for food! C’mon!" Bryn gasped, suddenly feeling a threat to her rare bbq food. She bent down to pick up Laurel, hefting her up. She wasn’t going to leave the smaller and weaker behind… but the smaller girl was almost four now, it was getting more difficult to carry her.
"I ain’t gonna miss out on so much meat!" Then she started waddling slowly towards the back door. It was pretty clear she was struggling with another human in her arms.

"Don’t worry, I’ll hold her back," Nikki said with a soft smile, stepping back towards the group from where she’d been keeping a slight distance. She put a hand on Cadenza’s arm.

Eloise let out a quiet laugh as she watched.
“I ain’t sure if it’ll be what you’re used to or up to your standards, it ain’t any fancy food, but it’s proper, good shit.”

"When I was pregnant with Elay, I craved a good barbeque for weeks. We tried everywhere, but nothing was quite right… maybe it’s because the food was here all along." Nikki looked at Elay with a soft smile, then up at Cadenza with a slight twinkle in her eye. She’d had the exact same craving with another two of her children as well, during the shorter time she insisted on carrying them, but that didn’t matter. It was a nice coincidence.

“Come and get some food,” Daniel spotted shouted and the congregation was quick to form a line. Daniel himself prepared a massive feast for the assembled masses, from pulled pork sandwiches to a smattering of ribs, sausages, hot dogs, and a skillet baked cornbread. As well, Jasmine had brought a homemade mac and cheese dish, as well as a fried okra side that Teresa had made at her house. Sweet tea was plentiful, as were the petitions. An hour later there was nothing left of the mass of food. Everyone who ate was full, and Daniel could only smile at his work.

---

Mingling for a little while longer, the day turned into the evening, and things were beginning to wind down.
“It’s time,” Jasmine said to Daniel in a hushed tone. Daniel simply nodded his head and stood up.

“Thank you all for your hard work on this feast, and for making this welcome ceremony as good as it was. It is now time for the initiation. Only grove members may attend the ceremony,” Jasmine looked towards Elay and offered a weak smile, “we leave in five minutes.”

Elay had managed to forget for a little while, the food a perfect kind of distraction. But now they were saying that there was more, and that people weren’t going to be allowed to stay. This meant that he’d be saying goodbye. Like a rocket, Elay was back at Nikki’s side now, clutched to her and holding on for dear life. He hadn’t said anything, but she would absolutely know what it was that he was going through.

Nikki wrapped her arms around Elay, holding him in a tight embrace. Her head tilted forward, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. She pushed down her own deep sadness. There would be a time for that… afterwards. When her son was gone. For now, she concentrated on him.
"I love you, Cuore Mio." She pulled back slightly, one hand still around him while the other gently tilted his head up to look at her. Her warm, loving smile and soft eyes with a hint of wetness at their corners.
"And a little part of me will always be with you. You’ll be good, won’t you? And you’ll phone when you can? I’ll miss you a lot. And this isn’t forever."

”You wrote the numbers down in my ledger, right?”
He was doing his absolute best not to cry. He and Bryn and Lucas, Elara, had all been talking over dinner. He didn’t feel awful now… Just gutted. Just longing for it to not be true… But it was. The Matron’s gift still hung from the chain around his neck, and he felt it warm against his chest.
”And, if I need anything? You’ll do it, right? Can we still get… Y’know, the others? Gameboys, like I asked earlier when we were eating? It’s not fair that Elara had to steal hers…”

The sweet boy was already thinking of the others in a way that benefitted them too… Fairness and equity. The charitable spirit.

"Of course. Anything you want, Tesoro, within reason. Gameboys for everyone, any other comforts you want… I’m so proud of you for already thinking about the others. My loving little boy." Nikki said softly. If only she could do more. Sending material goods was no replacement for being there with him. But there was no choice.
"You’ll be taken care of here… Treat them like a second family. But your first will always love you, and I’ll be just a call away."

Cadenza had approached from behind, crouching down and also hugging around Nikki’s legs… Only, her hug engrossed her consort and their son in an embrace.
”I’ssa time… Elay, you be strong. Am’a beggin’ here. Tough as’a nails this kid. Capice?”

Elay nodded in turn, feeling affection like he hadn’t in a long time from the source of their family’s power.
”Capice, Matrona… Will you ever visit too?”

”Unlikely… We leave’a that up to you Momma… But, you visit with Uncle Al? Maybe I see’a you then. Or, maybe you birthday, eh? You know I’mma busy lady.”

He did. And he could accept it as long as his Momma would really actually come visit like she said. He believed them.
”Then I’ll write you letters… I hope you read them.”
”Every single one. I promise.”

And then she pulled away, placing a hand on Nikki’s shoulder and whispering something into her ear.
”I see you later, Elay… Remember, goodbye’a forever. You never ever say it unless you’a done with someone! Never ever! So, I see’a you soon enough, eh?”

The boy had tears streaming again, but at least he wasn’t actively sobbing now.
”See you… Later.”
Cadenza gave the boy a playful salute, turned her back, and disappeared out of the Church within a few steps. This left Elay looking up at Nikki, and he was clearly trying to say something, but was choking on his words regardless.

”S-so… S-s-see you, Momma…”
His hands released Nikki, and his body intentionally drew itself back despite every fiber it was struggling against.
”Sooner? Rather than… Later?”

"Sooner rather than later," Nikki repeated softly, hands falling down to her side. She had to let him go. She couldn’t hinder him as he forced himself away. And she couldn’t drag it out, both for him and her waiting partner.
"I’ll visit as soon as I can. Be brave, and remember we love you." Her head turned around to look behind her to where Cadenza had disappeared, before going back to her son. A light, comforting blanket of Pink Lux brushed against him. One last magical hug. For now.

"I’ll see you soon." Still smiling, Nikki took a few steps back. Then she turned around, and was gone.

Elay could only hope that the woman meant him too, but as Eloise and Bryn both approached him to bring him along, it was very clear that wasn’t the case.

---

The pastor led his son out of the church, locking the door on the way out leaving only the leaders of the grove, Uncle Al, the children, and Daniel.

“Alright, Elay, you ever teleport before,” Daniel asked as he placed on his hips.

Elay nodded.
”Yes, Sir… One of the revered Sisters in my Grandmothers’ compound is the Teleportation Mistress responsible for ferrying our chosen to Italy. I’ve done it four times in total.” Elay spoke plainly, as formally as he possibly could.

“Good,” Jasmine responded, “the location of the grove is a closely guarded secret. You may never actually learn where it is, and if you do you’d be expected to defend that knowledge with your life,” Jasmine paused as she looked towards Daniel, nodded, and back to Elay, “we’ll travel there now.”

Daniel spread his arms straight forward, extending both pointer fingers out and channeled his magic onto the tip of them. The teleportation magic was advanced. It had two components to it. A powerful masking spell that would make it impossible for anyone to track where they went with any certainty, and a very focused and fast teleportation aspect to it. Sure, Daniel could teleport faster with normal magic but when it came to the Grove he had to be safe. He began to move his fingers in a circular motion, one clockwise and the other counter. As he did this, a solid blue glow emanated from his fingertips that lingered in the air. He continued the motion until his fingertips touched again and he pulled his hands back. The blue circle he painted in the air stood still, and Daniel reached into the circle with his right hand and gripped. Blue streaks shot down and impacted all across his hands, dancing across it like lightning before they burrowed into the hand itself, and the ground rustled as a massive blue circle formed underneath the group. He pulled his hand back, causing the blue circle to extend with it until it formed a cone like shape. He thrust his hand back forward and the group was instantly transported to the grove.

The group was in a relatively empty cavern that was illuminated by bioluminescent plant growth along the walls that seemed to rage to life with the arrival of the group. Even though it did little to truly illuminate the area, it did provide enough to act like a soft night light in a dark area. Elay would see jagged rocks, shadows, and a complete lack of anything in the nearby area. The corridor was narrow, no larger than the blue circle that Daniel conjured which indicated that this location was very much well known to Daniel. Yet he would also see a light down the corridor, and this light would feel both warm and inviting.

“Welcome to the Grove, Elay, hold my hand while we walk to the waters,” Jasmine said as she extended her hand through the darkness and into his field of view.

Elay wasn’t aware of how complicated the magic was… Only that his Momma’s own magic didn’t follow him here, so it had to have been wiped away. Clean slate. But they couldn’t take his inquisitive mind. Couldn’t take the processing power, the ability to detect and discern, and the knowledge he carried with him. As a solitary boy, his main interest was in the treasure of the Earth: Precious metals and minerals. Atomic elements that one could hold and handle, what their properties were, how they developed. He was instructed to, and pushed into such an interest as part of his education to this point.

It was expected that he’d Kindle soon. That the Green Lux inside him would be the main source of his power as a Motta, and that in order to keep up, he had to use more than his personal talent and prowess. He’d need knowledge. To be an expert. To that end, his body was changed and affected daily by his family, opening his third eye before he could speak in full sentences and leaving him beyond a child his age.

Thus, bringing him to a place like this… He couldn’t help but release Jasmine’s hand to stare at the bioluminescent fungal material up close. And with it, he found himself staring at some of the thickest and most comprehensive Anthracite deposits he’d ever seen. This place, the weight on his chest, meant they had to be thousands of feet underground at least. Tens of thousands.

”The Grove…”
Elay turned, eyes wide before he moved back to the group.
”It’s all coal! I’ve never seen mushrooms like that in my books!”

“You’re about to see a lot of stuff that isn’t in any book,” Jasmine said with a smile, “it’s not all coal, mind you. These caverns stretch for miles, and miles, and some many miles more. You’d think it would be hard for you to find your way back to the waters but there’s always,” Jasmine paused as she looked ahead towards the light, “a guiding light home. Can you see it yet?”

Elay looked down the hall, and he could.
”Yes Ma’am… Is it common to make passage down to this place on one’s own? Or, is it just some chance that you may have to travel, and you’d be lost?” he asked gently, curious of why she would make such a specific mention of the light. And what else would be here that he wouldn’t know about?

Probably plenty… They were already in a subterranean cavern system that, by rights, probably wasn’t a hundred percent naturally made.

“You can travel as much of this place as you want, provided you don’t do so alone. There is magic in these corridors, magic that has a story to tell even if you’re not ready to listen. So I ask that you always have a friend with you if you want to explore the caverns beyond the Grove itself,” Jasmine paused as she leaned closer, “as to traveling to the grove alone you won’t learn the location for a while. The first rule of this order is to never reveal this location, no matter what. Once you’re old enough you’ll be given the secret knowledge of how to travel here on foot. Until then, you’ll need to use our teleporters.”

”Will I ever be denied passage?” the boy asked very simply, walking along with the group as best he could without trailing off.
”The Earth holds beauty. And if it’s peaceful down here, I’d like to spend a lot of time…” was his explanation. Definitely didn’t have anything to do with the hunt for naturally occurring crystal formations at this depth. Not diamond hunting.

“Access is open so long as someone is free to take you,” Jasmine chuckled, “I’m sure we’ll be able to work something out so that you can come down as often as possible. Sound fair?”

”Yes Ma’am… And I promise I won’t take advantage of it. Someone says no, I’ll accept it. And I’ll never… Break that promise.”

“We know you won’t, Little Brother.” Uncle Al spoke calmly from the rear of the group. Everyone could tell he was smiling from ear to ear, probably the most enthused about not being the only one bearing the burden of bridging the two groups.
“Now, be still: The real surprise is up ahead.”

Jasmine motioned for the group to follow and led them down the corridor until they finally arrived at the grove after a series of turns. Instantly the group was bathed in the most warm of lights that seemed to uplift, and calm all who felt it. The Grove was the name of the cavern, and it was massive. It stretched upwards an impossible amount, with the ceiling feeling more like the sky than the top of a mountainous cave. The walls were far away, and to the engineering mind it would seem like it was impossible for it to hold itself together. All around the cavern there was yellow paintings that seemed to cover most of the surface areas of the walls and it was this paint like substance that gave off the light and its warmth. Plants, from trees and bushes to the grass under their feet was everywhere the eye could see. In the vegetation there were animals, deer and rabbits were common but there was all manner of animals that seemed content to live in perfect harmony regardless of if they were a predator or prey. There were various waterfalls that fed into numerous open ponds. It was this water that held the magic, and it was this water that would serve as Elay’s baptism.

“So. What do you think,” Jasmine asked.

As they came into the cave and Elay’s eyes adjusted, he took in the scent of the Earth itself, the constant rotation of life and death among this magical cavern and the waters within it. It was everywhere, and he felt like he’d been transported to a world from a piece of fiction. Though, now he assumed Orwell was actually onto something.
He stepped ahead slightly, looking around until his gaze finally passed a bit of water that cast a reflection. His eyes were still red, dry from crying so much previously. His jacket was half on, pulled across his chest and perfectly fitted for his small, albeit robust frame, and his hair had become disheveled from the heat of all the people gathered above.

Now that he was so close, the rushing water was causing enough of a breeze that his hair was being blown in all sorts of directions now. Ultimately, it was pinned back and slicked with a bit of moisture from the water hitting the rocks and misting upward.
”It’s… Amazing, Ma’am! Is it all like this? How many chambers could have this kind of life in them?” the young boy asked, voice full of excitement and wonder.

“There ain’t as much life outside of the main chamber- but many have their own habitat,” Eloise answered from her place in the middle of the group, hands on Bryn’s shoulders to stop her running on ahead. “And many honor our dead. You gotta respect each you enter.”

”You mean like, there’s ghosts down here!? Or… Appa… Apparitions?” Elay questioned with some amount of panic in his voice.

Eloise laughed lightly. “Not that kinda dead… I’m sure there’s some Apparitions down here, all friendly. I mean graves of Grove members long gone.”

”So, it’s like the Catacombs underneath Culla… Where the Matriarchs sleep… Does anyone live down here? Besides the animals?” his questions would certainly have no end, so preventing him from asking any would be the only solution.

“They don’t. It ain’t allowed,” Eloise answered, before looking at Jasmine, silently urging her to start the ceremony. She recognised the childish questioning - she’d suffered it enough from her children.

“Come, Elay, let us begin the ceremony,” Jasmine added as she began to walk towards the biggest pool of water in the center of the cavern. As the group approached Elay would see a horn shaped cup sitting on the side of the pool. Jasmine reached down and scooped up some of the water with it and held it out. “Are you ready, young Elay?”

”A-am I drinking it!?” Elay asked with a little bit of panic in his voice.

“Yes. Don’t worry, you won’t fall ill,” Jasmine chuckled, “the living waters can cure everything, even death in rare cases. You will likely feel even better after drinking it then you did before.”

Naturally filtered, charcoal caves, silicate undergravel, please God and the Mother Deer, don’t get sick…
Elay nodded without words and stepped forward, taking the cup from Jasmine and bringing it up to his lips before tucking in.

The water would taste like, well, water. There was nothing particularly remarkable, even if the taste left a gritty texture on the tongue. Elay would feel a warmth fall over him like someone wrapped him in the warmest blanket. It was snug, it was comfy, it was wet. Elay would quickly realize he was now flowing through the living waters at the center of the grove. He would see that the Keepers were all around the pond, chanting and calling forth something. He would not know how much time had passed between that first drink, and the current moment.

“A new disciple,” a strange voice whispered into Elay’s ear, “how curious. It’s been a while since your bloodline crossed through my waters. What is your name?. Elay would feel a pressure on his shoulders as if something was placing a hand there to comfort the young boy. The voice and presence would feel welcoming, and it would carry a feeling that would betray its incredibly old magic.

Elay’s head was echoing now, his brain wriggling in its fluids as it received a message from whatever was being channeled by the Grove members. He’d drank the water so assuredly, and of course it’d be something far more than what he imagined. It was incredible… And now there was this thing in his brain. Speaking. Comforting. He did not weep, but once again tears fell from his eyes.

”W-what… Oh… Oh, they… I didn’t think getting sacrificed would feel so nice…” Elay groaned.

A coy, cute, laugh would filter from one ear to the next as The Entity found the comment humorous, and waves of warm and happy emotions would flood over Elay. “You’re not here to die, young disciple, you’re here to be reborn,” The Entity clarified, “do you often use humor to deflect from your scary thoughts and feelings?”

”I didn’t tell a joke…” Elay’s little voice echoed upward toward the ceiling of the cavern. He was genuinely concerned thanks to the eerie nature of the transition.
”But… Reborn? Like the Matriarchs? Like the butterfly from the chrysalis? Please, it’s okay! I promise, if you ask my Ma, she’ll do whatever you want to make it right for you!”

“Oh he’s talking to the water now,” Jasmine said to the group. While Elay thought he was talking coherently, to everyone present it would sound like he was mumbling nonsense.

“Reborn as a keeper! You are a sacred warrior! Someone destined for greatness. Are you ready?”

Elay’s body outwardly twisted, reacting to the invasion of this mysterious force with undirected convulsions and the occasional mumbling gibberish.
”No! No, no I’m not! What about Momma? And Our Lady? They never said this would happen, I was just supposed to live here! W-what about the Holiest Mother Deer? The Matriarch, and the faith! I’m…”

Making a lot of excuses. Elay found himself absolutely terrified by the prospect, but totally unable to avoid what was happening. It was all so real, and worse, overwhelmingly powerful.

“Don’t worry, my little guardian. You are home. You are safe.”

Struggling, all Elay could do was exactly what his Momma had told him. Be brave. So he tensed up, took a deep breath, and spoke as calmly as he could.
”F-fine! Do… Do whatever you’re gonna do! Just, don’t make me forget my family!”

“We will never take that from you.”

The words echoed in Lazarus’ mind. Over and over, he imagined the faces that had surrounded him through his life to that point. Each sister, even Big Momo whom he’d only seen twice in person, the many servants and members of the Twin Hills Coven. His grandmothers. The Matriarch herself…
But all faded away to that one single face. The one tender, with love and joy in her eyes. The thousand on thousand mornings of waking up and walking into the kitchen for their morning gathering, just to be embraced by her arms and held there for a moment longer than the others. The special love between a boy and his mother. He didn’t want to lose it. Didn’t want to lose them.

A memory of the “best day ever” crossed through his head in a final overwhelming gut punch. A single wailing sob rose up from the deep green pool… Then, everything went up in a deep emerald flare, the edges of the Luxal outburst not fading into dull pink, but rather shattering the light from one color into the other. The vacuum it caused rocked the ceiling above the pools, causing little debris bits to crash down toward the floor. The green colors formed a stable platform upon which pink fractals danced and sputtered across the cave’s roof.
Magic poured into the boy, whose body was primed and waiting for the right supernatural nudge to awaken itself. The many machinations of Cadenza and Nikkita Motta had paid off, the sheer amount of Lux crowding the boy’s influence showing the fruits of their labor in real time.

Deeper, far below the pools in the dumping basin of the caverns, a nightmare perceived time in slow drips as it caught up to the present perceived in its mind. A moment of the future perfectly perceived from so many years before. A way out. The time to leave was rapidly approaching, and massive paws gripped at the soft moss beneath them in little massaging motions.

Just a little more patience…

---

Cold roads walked alone in the morning,
Whose cobbled steps hardly add up.
If I asked you to love me again and again,
Would you free me from these chains?

Mourning, grief is sticky with a dead tree’s last tears,
And things are worse than yesterday.
Crawl like a snake into the pot,
And boil off the worst of it.

But it burns.
The worst is yet to come.
Whether or not legs will be there to stand on?
Is anyone’s guess.

Elay laid bare in that dark room, staring up at the ceiling fan and feeling every little pain in his body. The last bottle was empty, and Loretta was home for the weekend on family business. Not that she ever got him more booze anyway; said she wouldn’t be caught dead buying that much alcohol from a liquor store. He offered more money all the time, but she wouldn’t budge.

Fine.
Probably better that way. He needed her good image in places like the post office, or the dry cleaner’s. Places where her charms could get things cheaper, or special offers on the side that others didn’t get. That’s really what he paid her for, so… Whatever she thought helped. But that meant he had to get up. That meant he had to… Be out. So, what was the point in being out if he didn’t make the most of it? Transport the shit in the trunk and go check out the board? No. No way.

But…

His torso lifted almost of its own volition. Like something else was calling him out there into the dark. But he didn’t want to. He wanted to die in this box, quiet and spared of all the noise and the fuss. The faces that didn’t know what was happening under their feet to keep them propped up. They didn’t know what it took to make something actually happen. He did… But what did he do with the knowledge? What could he do?

Scars on scars lined his body where the wounds had been worst. Total amputations. Wounds that would’ve killed him had he been any other thing besides whatever freak he was. Hands were swiped away and put back so many times he had a hard time remembering now. The right leg. Entire torso chunks. They still ached and stung after a decent bender, as dehydrated as he managed to get himself…
Standing wasn’t a great idea. Even his reinforced body had a hard time dealing with the lack of nutrients and actual water in his blood. It was a miracle he made it up to his feet and out of his bedroom.

The place was immaculate, which meant she still had someone else come to make sure things got cleaned. Which is also what he paid her for… She could afford to live in one of the smaller apartment complexes down on the actual front of the river, which Elay would’ve if he didn’t also need the office… This setup was just convenient, so here he was in this big apartment. With nobody. Just himself, the ghost in the shell as he was. There was a sorrow to it, but in the same breath, he felt it was the prison he deserved.

More than they got. More than he could give them. More than he deserved. A reminder that he was smaller than the things around him no matter what. That he was less than. The gilded cage was a mockery of his miniscule place. The servant that brought home the money to feed the beast day in and day out. And that beast was on the counter, massive orange paw scooping out of a lasagna pan.

”Ooooh… Whatever your sister’s been doing with this crème sauce? Please tell her to put more into the mixture next time. The texture is like velvet, and the way it brightens up the flavor of the tomato is a brilliantly refreshing kick to my palette.”

The cat’s face was totally covered in Lasagna, and his tail wagged back and forth in a rapid fashion as big yellow eyes stared with playful interest at Elay.

”Gaaaaarf… I was thinking about that one…” he groaned, shaking his head.
The lasagna certainly had been something he was considering. A nice big slice in the oven while he brewed some coffee to try and feel like a normal person.

Normal… Yeah. Normal.

”Having a hard day today, Kitten?” the cat mocked, hearing every single one of Elay’s internal thoughts. The depression was normal, so Garf wasn’t entirely concerned.

”Don’t condescend to me, asshole. I’ll toss you out the window again. Right into the river.” Elay grunted, moving toward the espresso machine and beginning the intricate process of busting out a double shot.

It wasn’t so much the coffee itself, as the caffeine had little to no practical effect on him. Rather, the ritual of doing so, symbolizing the first thing actually done after what one would consider a “sleep period” to be. He didn’t sleep like others. It came in small waves, never dipping below a certain level of consciousness. Before, it’d been maintained magically through a Pink and Green spell that flushed all of his bodily chemicals in a single piss. Any unnecessary acidic buildup from sleep deprivation or overexertion of the muscles came out with a single bottle of water. He hadn’t slept for an entire month during one operation.

But now it came from the beast. The Master. With him, the agreement was simple. Sleep once a week, but he could be free to roam.
Sometimes, Elay wanted to say the Cat’s real name just to make him antsy. He knew he could, but the action had to be spontaneous. It couldn’t be premeditated, otherwise the subject of the prank knew what was coming. So he just kept his mouth shut and continued to pour his espresso, the two accepting a mutual ceasefire for now.

Because as much as Garf loved messing around, Elay could get him into the river. And he wouldn’t have much of a shot of transforming to get out of it, as Elay was in possession of the majority stock at the moment. Fresh off a meal, Garf’s lethargic temperament only sealed the deal. Cordiality it was.

”It’s good you’re up. You’d be proud, when the cleaning woman came I didn’t even actually mess with her. I mean, I kept moving furniture around, but nothing too extreme. She was getting pretty mad though, I don’t know what Loretta told her to get her to work here, but-”

”Garf… I don’t want to know, man.”

”Fine!-” Garf responded dejectedly.
”-To business it is, since you don’t want to joke around! That woman came by. I posed as you and got the scoop. Apparently the last credit card purchase was at Walter, Fiskin and Devons for a few thousand smacks. The hard part now is that the old woman said Ol’ Billy also snagged a few hundred grand out of an Express account they shared. Apparently a lot of it was their emergency money.”

As Garf spoke, Elay was accepting the information both verbally and between their minds as something close to a recollection. After all, his body had been used. He was technically present at these meetings. Probably reeked of alcohol too, which definitely didn’t go well with this dandy lady he’d been dealing with.

”So there’s a paper trail. Awesome. Did he do it himself, or by proxy?” he asked, the final seconds of the pull on his coffee giving way to a moment of silence.

”Seems to be him. Someone reported him using the bills to the authorities in the South. There was actually a responding officer who supposedly confirmed that it was William Finkle, and that the money was legitimate. Gave some phony excuse for being down there, like he was looking at property renovation or something else.”

Elay was hearing Garf’s voice, but it’s like he was sitting there at his desk talking to the woman again… And it was awful. She went on and on about things in droll.

”Do we have a number? Precinct? Any actual information?”

In Elay’s mind, he could see the woman turning over some scribbled piece of sheet paper. He reached back into his pocket and pulled it out, then nodded and went for his phone. Only, when he picked it up, it vibrated back at him.
15 Missed Calls. At least none of them-
He stared daggers down at the phone. Five missed from Elara. Another three from Bryn… Seven from Moriah. There was no way in Hell he was returning that one. But, Bryn? She was technically his Coven Matron.

So was Moriah, but… She was also his sister, and probably wanted to beat him up for past dues. And also hated him… So why was she calling? Why had all three of these-
His hands were already moving. The phone came up to his ear.

Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ri-

”Bryn…” his voice echoed through the phone line.

"Fuckin’ took you long enough, Elay," came the responding grunt from Bryn on the other end of the line.
"Y’better not’ve been drownin’ in a bottle- fuck, I ain’t callin’ to lecture you… though I’d ‘preciate you not droppin’ off the face of the earth. You still run that detective agency, right?"

She knew him too well. He didn’t need the lecture.

”What I do is for my own safety. I won’t let anyone take Garf, and I won’t let you lull me in, Bryn. Yes, I’m still a Private Investigator. If I was a detective, I’d be a fuckin’ cop. Why, you need me to sniff something out for you? I won’t charge if you guarantee me fifteen minutes of safety passing through Raven’s Rest to visit Ma’s grave.”

The paranoia was still so real in his mind. One of the many reasons for the cage; to protect his only chance at the truth from the Coven that kept him as a prisoner for so long. They’d surely try and lock him up again, and Elay along with him if things got to that.

"I don’t give a fuck about the fucking cat, Elay! And you have safe passage in Raven’s Rest all the fucking time! Please visit her grave. Visit all of them." There was an edge of frustration to Bryn’s voice, from an argument had too many times. But also a subtle wavering behind it.
"Yeah, I need you to sniff somethin’ out, but I ain’t payin’ for it with somethin’ you already have. I’ll scrape together the cash… And I keep tellin’ you, you ain’t a fuckin’ outsider. I don’t care if you ain’t doing your fuckin’ duties or if you stole a fuckin’ cat."

”Just… Spit it out, Bryn. I don’t want your money, you’re my Sister for fuck’s sake.”
He didn’t want to have the argument either. He didn’t want to talk about how if she didn’t hold any standards to anything, then the Grove truly was dead. Because if it wasn’t, she’d want Garf locked back up… Because he was a part of the ecosystem down there. He played a role, despite his status as a prisoner.

That if she didn’t care, then why should he? They should all put themselves to the pyre and let it burn away.

”And tell me that Elara was callin’ me over the same shit.”

"You got a funny way of treatin’ me like your sister," Bryn let out a short laugh.
"She will be… I dunno if it’s reached you, but there’s been a buncha shit for us at home. Monster incursions everywhere- today we fought a face stealer. Fuckin’ got Bill… And John’s sure there’s gonna be more. All comin’ from the West. Like somethin’s pushin’ em outta the mountain. We ain’t got the people to follow it. That’s why I’m callin’- and Elara too."

”And let me guess… You went to Moriah to try and find me. ‘Cuz now she’s fuckin’ blown up my phone too, and I woke up to fifteen missed fuckin’ calls between the three of you! And you don’t lead off with Bill being gone? What the fuck, Bryn?”

This all sounded like what an Elay in the Service would’ve dealt with. It sounded like a four-years-ago Elay problem. One that required a rifle, and gear, and a helicopter full of people equipped like that, and heavy ordinance on the helicopter, and air support for the forest terrain, and napalm to burn the woods down, an-

"Look, I’ve had to deal with enough shit that you’re gonna have to forgive me for gettin’ side tracked by you yellin’ at me." Bryn’s eye rolling was practically audible.
"I didn’t go to Mo to try’n find you. I’ve got you’re fuckin’ number! I went to Mo cause she’s our ally and we need all the fuckin’ help we can get. She told me she wasn’t gonna fuckin’ call you… So don’t blame that on me."

There was a deep breath, though the following words weren’t any less sharp.
"If you don’t wanna help cause she’s involved, that’s fine. We’ll stop whatever this is. I’ll protect the fuckin’ town with my life if I have too."

”Oh, sure… Big, Bad Bryn! Grove Matron! Doesn’t want Little Elay involved, ‘cuz he bailed out when it counted, right? Go ahead, blame me for what happened like everyone else does behind my back. How I wasn’t there… Garf told me! He told me I was right!”
Elay was a sick man… Sick with grief. Anything to avoid seeing those people again. But, he couldn’t avoid it. Not because it was impossible, but because there was a Cat staring at him.

A beast that stared deeply into his eyes and knew every single thought he had. Every. Single. Thought.

Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Repent. Repent. Repent. Repent.

”Just tell me where I should start, oh great Coven Matron… How may I serve our Mother Deer?” he sarcastically huffed through the microphone of his phone.

"If I didn’t want you involved I wouldn’t have fuckin’ called you!" Bryn snapped, volume rising. She really did love Elay, under all her gruff layers, but it didn’t change the fact they’d always clashed. And when he was like this.
"The cat’s lying to you. Nobody fuckin’ blames you! D’you really think that? Y’think I blame anybody but myself? That I want to be shouldering all these fuckin’ responsibilities again? I don't blame you for anything. I just wish you’d come home for once!"

Her breathing was heavier, easy to hear even through the phone. Pissed, upset… the latter a reaction not so many could get out of her.
"I ain’t orderin’ you to do anythin’. Y’know that ain’t how we do things in the Grove… Just help if you can."

”If the cat’s a liar, then what good are we to you?”
He didn’t want this. He didn’t want to push her away. He wanted to scream and cry and beg for forgiveness, but she didn’t have the time. Never did. And she expressed it every time he tried… Or, that’s how he felt.

He wanted to deserve love. Maybe this would help. Maybe she’d have a reason, instead of just trying to convince him that things were fine between them just because they had this premade relationship. He couldn’t believe that there wasn’t some level of hatred for what he had, and hadn’t, done.

”’Cuz I can only assume you want me to ask him… I ain’t no Ranger; goin’ up into the hills and roundin’ the other side to hide in a deer blind ain’t really what I trained for in the Army.”
Yes it was. That was, more or less, what the first two years of his service involved. Scouting and recon, typically behind enemy lines. Hunting for supernatural targets, killing them and escaping.

"I want you to look into it however you see fit! If you gotta ask the cat… fine. I trust you, not it. But you can choose which one of us to believe…" She sounded almost… dejected. But probably not, right? Not Bryn.
"Help us figure it out, and stand with us if somethin’ big comes, got it?"

There was a long pause. Long. Like he’d hung up.

”Meet me in the Core. Three days from now. I need to get some sitting money together before I can dedicate myself, but we need to meet in person. I need your Recollection, so I can see exactly what it is you saw. Unless… You’re… Are you still in the city?” he asked pensively.

"I ain’t, unfortunately. Left soon as I finished my power nap- y’know I hate the fuckin’ city," Bryn grumbled, as if they hadn’t basically been arguing moments before.
"Three days, sure… y’know that's Thanksgiving, right? May as well join us this year if you’re in the area."

Thanks… Giving?
His stomach dropped out again. Was it really that late in November? Everything was due soon… He needed a score badly.
”Shit… Fine. Can’t avoid it, huh? It’d only look worse if I did.”

He took a deep breath.
”How… How was Mo? Should I call her back?” he asked somberly.
”I’ll definitely call Elara. Let her know I’m okay. What about Bill’s ceremony? Did you already-”

Maybe not her… He hoped she didn’t have to bury anyone else. Prayed that John got it.

"There was none of him left," Bryn said, voice getting quieter. A moment where her own grief was clear in her voice, before it returned to its normal stable practicality.
"I’ll be holding it tonight and making his grave stone, even if there’s nothing to bury. He deserves it."

She was silent for a moment.
"As for Mo… she was pissed because the creatures got near her… stuff. Only reason she was worried in the first place. I ain’t gonna butt into y’all’s relationship, you choose whether to call her or not. Elara, yeah, call her."

Stuff… Lugar Apartado. The Quiet Places. There was a brief time where he knew what was happening because he was actually helping her. Before a little tiff sent him packing… On the one hand, he understood why she was worried, but on the other hand, he was sad that it was all she cared about to begin with. Her loss had truly done something to her, he felt.

”I’ll give Elara a call… Set the altar. I’m… I’m on the case, Bryn. See you Thursday. And send me a picture of a piece of paper. Written text stating that Garf and I are safe to enter Raven’s Rest… It needs to be contractual, and it needs to have your signature. Please…”

He felt stupid asking, but Garf’s face fixed itself back to the normal everyday cat when he mentioned a contract. So, he could only assume the beast was pleased by the prospect.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever it takes to get you to visit," Bryn agreed easily enough.
"S’long as you can read my writin’, and don’t mind waitin’ for me to figure out how to send a picture with this damn thing."

”The cat could read a baby’s scribbles and translate it. You’ve got three days… It’s the first condition of our contract for this job. The case. I’ll talk to you soon.”

Then he closed the phone, snapping it shut and disconnecting the call. Opening it back up immediately, he went to call Elara next, but something had to be taken care of first. He needed to catch up with this lead. It seemed too good to pass up.

---

Elay’s fingers tapped on the Sergeant’s desk as he waited for the man to return with some files and hopefully a little more coffee. He hadn’t had enough this morning, and once he’d had the taste for the day he couldn’t get enough. Dark and bitter as possible… A simple thing he figured anyone could deliver on. This is where the number he’d called led him, all the way across the bridge and into the relative horror of the 15th Ward. One of the cheapest, dingiest and most dangerous neighborhoods in the city, and one he found himself in more frequently than he ever thought he would.

Granted, that was comforting. When he pulled out the note and recognized not only the name, but the phone number to call, he knew this wasn’t going to be too difficult to follow up with. There was a click, and Elay turned to see John Mackey. “Two Leaf Clover” they called him. Ginger black dude, Mother was a famous performer who settled down in Cloverfield and married a then Detective Daniel Mackey. Few years later, he was police commissioner for the entire city, and was for most of John’s childhood.

Until the scandal burst open that he was connected to the Irish Mafia… Now poor John was down here trying to do the right thing, instead of living in the Gilded Cage pretending that nothing had happened like his mother still did. Elay had done a case for her, and in turn got to know John on a more personal level. Knew the whole family’s dirty laundry.

“So… This Finkle guy. Just… A runaway?” John asked Elay as he set the coffee down on the desk and rounded it to his own chair. In his free hand that wasn’t holding his own coffee, he had a thin file folder.

”Yeah. Carmella Finkle, formerly Carmella D’Angenella?-” Elay’s voice echoed gently, dropping the name of the D’Angenella crime family.
”-She’s the wife… She’s uh… Looking to get divorced. Legally. I assume whatever the play is, going through legal channels is a lot easier for her to deal with than whatever alternative she could scrounge up.”

John nodded in return, nose and eyebrows scrunching together into a thinking man’s scowl.
“Well then… No need to play around with that sort of thing, right? Here’s what I’ve got on Finkle-”

He placed the folder down on the table and split it open. It was an incident report, and a statement taken in Finkle’s own handwriting. That was useful. So was John’s head. Using the hand-written notation as an anchor, and John’s mundane and blind brain as a source, He very quickly compiled a set of memory snaps of the event from John’s response.

”Who's the girl, John?” he asked quietly.

Almost in a trance, John’s response was equally calm and quiet.

“Not sure. Never gotten a name. Seen her around a couple months at least though. Frequents the Bully, pretty sure she’s shacked up at the Deciduous.”

Deciduous Apartments… Not a place he stuck his nose in. Older building, complex like a maze of stairs and halls. Practically non-euclidian. Probably wouldn’t be too hard to fortify, however. At least in small sections.

”Any reason she was with William?”

“He’s been rolling his train in and out of every station that’ll take him. This is the only time I’ve had an interaction with him, but for the past week or so he’s been divvying out cash up and down the Bull for every Jane and Jill interested.”

The Bull, or Bully, was Tauro Boulevard, the main stretch of activity here in the 15th Ward. It didn’t narrow things down too high, but he had other contacts up and down that would be able to point him in the right direction reliably. And, he had her face in his head. If he didn’t see the so-called “Billy Pears” in the flesh, he was sure that he’d at least find her.

The rundown, dimly lit bar was busy for a Monday evening - but not in the way Nessa wanted it to be. People without jobs who’d been here since she arrived, middle aged men who’d trickled in at the end of the working day… and the few young enough for her to consider seemed a little too familiar for comfort. Normally it wasn’t this bad. She’d come to this place first because it was normally where she had the best luck. The Trough was a shit bar, like most down here were, but it was cheap and near some still functioning factories. That made it popular… normally.

It was early. It could get better. Nessa tried to console herself from where she sat in the corner, nursing a shitty beer. From here she could just about see the whole place while being relatively hidden herself. The lights above her strained to work, casting her mostly in shadow. It was quiet in this corner, her only company the damp and mildew on the wall behind her.

Dull brown eyes moved from the grimy tables filled with shouting drunks to the bar itself. It was busy as workers trickled in, regulars and newcomers. Most ordered what was on tap - the same drink in front of Nessa. Tasted more like water than beer, but it was dirt cheap. Still nobody caught her eye… but it was fine. She had to be patient. It wasn’t like she had anything better to do.

But she was beginning to feel… on edge. Like she was being watched. It was a prickling feeling, her Pink Lux attuned mind especially sensitive. Maybe she was just being paranoid. She was used to someone being in her head. She still sensed him, sometimes, even though she knew it was all gone.

Maybe it was a ghost, maybe it wasn’t. She’d learned to trust her instinct. She’d just try another bar.

Nessa stood up, pulling back on her worn black puffer jacket. It was her only protection against the bitter cold. The revealingly low cut crop top and tight black shorts weren’t weather appropriate, but looking attractive was way more important to her. It wasn’t like she’d freeze to death in the time it took to walk bar to bar, or home.

She carefully made her way across the room, making herself as unnoticeable as possible. It wasn’t difficult when she was so short, easily weaving through people until she pushed out the scuffed door.

Cold, fresh air filled her lungs. She’d grown used to the awful smell inside, as if it was trying to live up to its name. She could breathe much easier out here. Her hands shoved into her pockets before they started to freeze, taking a few steps down the street bar patrons used to smoke.

“Nessa? Fuck, it is you- fucking stop!”

Nessa froze, not given much of a chance to respond as one of the smokers pushed off the building’s wall and got right next to her. He loomed over her, forcing her to tilt her head back to look up at his face. It was dark already, street lights flickering and making it difficult to make out his face but… Oh shit.

“Recognise me? Good. You’re lookin’ well after fucking leavin’ me like that, you bitch.”

Nessa bit her lip, body tensing as her magic tightly coiled inside her. She recognised and remembered him… Alex. They dated three months ago for just over two weeks. She didn’t even need to curse him. It had been alright for a couple of days, the sex was good enough, but he didn’t like her attitude. They fought, shouted at each other, then he’d hit her. They’d make up the next day… and it repeated until they were both sick of it. He’d ended it.

And she’d hit him with a curse to give him crippling self doubt on her way out. Maybe done a few other things too.

“Ain’t sayin’ anythin’? Y’scared, Nessa? That ain’t-”

”Move out of my fucking way, Alex. I don’t have anything to say to you.” Nessa hands balled into fists in her pockets as she glared up at him. It would be so easy to just take control of his mind. She could send him away… not, it wasn’t that bad yet.

Alex’s head tilted back, and he laughed. When he looked at her again he was grinning. “I don’t think y’understand, Nessa. You ain’t in control here… y’think I’d just let you go after what you did? I’m gonna make you suffer just like I did.”

”You think you can make me suffer more than you already did? At least I brought something to the relationship. You-” she glanced downwards, then back at his face, ”- certainly didn’t.”

“You fucking bitch.”

Magical shields flared up around Nessa’s hands at the same time as Alex’s shot forward, grabbing her shoulders. There wasn’t enough time for her to actually defend herself, shields petering out as she was slammed against the wall. Fuck, fuck, fuck- Pink Lux started to build up inside her as he pressed painfully close.

---

The case was simple. Where’s my Husband gone? Got ‘em all the time, and it was ninety-nine percent accurate that they’d simply run off for “greener” pastures. Whatever the fuck counted for that in this day and age, Elay didn’t know. Didn’t care to know. Some woman with bigger breasts, or more inclination to swallow than the last. Men were simple animals, almost never bothered if certain needs were met regularly. The only complicated part seemed to be what exactly the needs were; varying from Man to Man, they could be as simple as some nightly cuddles, or as difficult to perform as trapease line sex across-

Lazarus…

The booze was good at least. This place was an absolute shit heap, but it was active enough that he could sit and drink unmolested. He’d taken the scant bits of jewelry he wore and stuffed them deep into his greatcoat’s breast pocket before he even got out of the car… Flash a little bit in this part of town, all of a sudden people looked at you like a mark. Not that he looked like too much of a mark. Too tall, too big, too angry. His hands were like ham hocks, practically screwed around the cup of gin and water he was drinking. The Bartender knew him, at least well enough to know he was here on business.
Or, should’ve been… But the amount of dollar bills Elay had slipped across the counter told another story entirely. He was ten down now, number eleven cooling his palm as he heard the chiding little voice in his head. It wasn’t so little…

She’s getting up, Lazarus.

Elay took a sharp breath.

”You win some, you lose some.”

He tilted the glass back gently, taking another sip and feeling the burning followed by the evergreen taste of juniper berries. It wasn’t exactly pleasant, but it was the most alcoholic shit they had, and he needed the ethanol in his system…

Not this one, Elay. Stand up. She’s headed out, but she’ll be stuck in a crowd.
”If she’s stuck, she won’t be going anywhere.”
That’s absolutely not what I meant, now stand!

Elay spun the liquid in the glass, letting the shitty chipped ice clink around. Then he brought it up, and took another sip. Big sip. Gulp. Chug - Slam.
”Hey! Morris! Another…”
The bartender was receptive to Elay’s bills, as they were immaculate from a North-End bank and marked as such. Little dog-ears from where the marker ran down the side… They were real, and that was the important part. Not some company credit from the factories nearby, or someone’s food stamps that the bar would use to restock its supplies.

So he had another drink lined up within moments, and the barman was quick to claim the money as the joint had long ago ceased to offer tabs. You want a drink, you pay up front for each. Elay was content enough to keep in his spot and keep forking them over, much to the dismay of his partner. Granted, nothing could be done about it in this setting… Not as a fat orange tabby subtly perched in the rafters above. So, the large man continued to sip on his new drink, finally feeling like there was a little bit of joy in his life, and like he’d find a mint condition Cadillac with tinted windows at the bottom of the next glass.

She’s tiny, Elay! It’s hardly stopped her! She's at the door! Door! Door! Elay, she’s-
”Can you shut up? I’m- Fuck, y’know? Garf? Like, seriously, how’s a guy-”

He pulled the glass back all the way, letting the entire drink slide down into the bottomless alcohol receptacle of his stomach. As it disappeared, he shunted himself upward and practically tossed the stool behind him.
”-supposed to get some fucking peace and quiet in a bar!? You think I wanna work? Fucking… Work? For what?
Business wasn’t glamorous. It wasn’t even fun anymore. It was sad, frankly, and made him think of everything he didn’t want to. Triple P’s: Peoples’ Petty Problems. Oh, where’s my husband? Oh, is my girl cheating? Is this person who owes me money still around? Can I pay you extra to collect?

No, you can’t. How else was one supposed to live than the petty thievery of half-caving someone’s head in and rummaging their wallet? Their money was his money, because the fee for these kinds of things was never enough. The mortgage on the agency needed paying, the lights had to stay on, and all just North of the Bridges… Stuck up clients refused to shell out much more for simple detective work than that. Negotiations involved lawyers, and nobody was forking over for them on his own behalf… It never worked out.

So here he was, compelled by the almighty dollar, pushing his way through the crowded bar floor toward his current mark… She was supposedly seen with the target he was really hunting for a few days prior; a conclusion he’d come to after following the chain and the money that was slowly being sucked from his employer’s account. A hotel room, a few nights of stay… A little company. Seeing her on the camera, it was obvious what the “missing” old fart saw in her. Less obvious was whether or not she had any intention of making her way back to this guy. But she was leaving, and it was worth casing her out before stopping her to peel the info out of her skull.

But he got to the door far too late. There was a cloying weight that cascaded from the ceiling and landed itself square on his shoulders. Like a scarf, warm fur surrounded his neck, and Elay reached a hand up to secure his partner a little tighter before heading out the door. It was a cold night, especially in this part of town. When the lights went out, there were a million eyes from the sewers and alleys that stared up at the misery of life in South Cloverfield. They ate well, presumably on the refuse and the occasional dead.
Long ago, they’d picked clean what was left of the nightmares. One may still find a bone or two, but the pests claimed the flesh. Garf’s senses extended to Elay, forcing the two of them into a stark awareness of the hungry rodents in the dark on all sides of the street.

Woah, El… She’s got a John.
Elay peered through the strange glow of sparse street lights and down the block to something of a fuss. Focusing, he could hear the beginning of an argument.
”There goes our plan then… We’re gonna have to wait fo-”
His muscles are tense. Violence is coming.

Well he didn’t want her hurt. That wasn’t very fair, after all, she was just a girl. But there was a very potent flash of Lux that rippled across their shared senses, crashing into Garf’s Emotional Field and turning into a wave of deep pink in front of Elay’s eyes. Which one it came from wasn’t clear, but-
If you bleed him, maybe she’ll help us.

Elay’s jaw clenched. He was already pissy… Maybe this would feel better?

---

”Get off me,” Nessa hissed, her chest heaving up and down as she tried not to panic. She tried to shove him off, but he grabbed her wrists and pinned them above her head.

“I ain't letting you get away so easily,” Alex leaned forward so his face was right in front of hers. She could smell his breath- acrid, laced with booze. Her nose wrinkled in disgust.

Mind control him- no, too nice. Take over, fill his mind with curses so he feels pain every time he thinks of me-
Alex's free hand went to Nessa's throat, and she winced.

As things came to a head, there was a gentle noise from above.
”Mrrrrmmrrrrow!”
Then it was on Alex’s back and shoulders. Not clawing, not biting or scratching, just hanging like a limp noodle… A massive, probably close to twenty pound, tiger tabby had made purchase on Alex’s shoulders, and it didn’t stop meowing for anything… Not until it had all the attention in the moment.

”Oh, shit! Garfield! Oh my God, buddy, I’ve been looking everywhere for you! Excuse me, sir!? That’s my cat! Hold him, hold him! So he doesn’t run again!”
Elay didn’t bother playing drunk. But the two of them both loved playing with a meal… Anything for an extra laugh, to make themselves feel just a little bit smarter. As he spoke, Elay was fast on the approach.

“What the fuck?!” Alex shook his shoulders to try and dislodge the sudden weight.

His hand loosened on Nessa's neck enough that she could push through the immediate panic. Her Pink Lux pulled right back into her body, dissipating as if it had never been there in the first place. It was the careful control of someone who'd been casting since she was a child- and had been punished for any stray Lux or accidental spells. There were no signs that it had come from her in the first place.

It was too risky with someone else appearing to use it. She could take control of them both, but then she'd be more limited. She had two options right now: put on an act and beg the approaching man, who looked large enough to easily beat Alex, for help, or wait for a moment to escape. If Alex pulled his body back at least a little bit further she'd be able to knee him in the crotch…
And this was the South Side. There was no way some attractive stranger was going to help her.

“You think I give a fuck about your cat? I'm in the middle of somethin' here- get the fuck off me.” Keeping Nessa pinned, Alex removed one hand entirely to try and grab the massive cat clinging to him so he could throw it off.

As Alex's hands grabbed Garf roughly, there was another burst of magical energy outside of the Lux that Nessa had been exposed to all her life. Apparitions, uninterested in the silly and petty lights of the Ancients, each gave their own unique and personal signature independent of Lux overall. It was only enough to confuse the Blind, as in an instant the horror of what was actually perched atop his shoulders was revealed to him.

He could only work overtime to try and peel the “monstrosity” from his body, and only as Elay made it within arms reach did Garf finally release his claws to allow himself the opportunity to escape what was coming. From Nessa's angle, it was easy to see right away that the approaching man had no intention of playing nicely. He'd pulled his sleeves up, revealing leather-bound hands that gripped themselves for a moment. The knuckles cracked, and the leather on leather made a subtle stretching noise as it caught on itself.

One large hand caught Alex by the face, thumb instantly squeezing into his temple and causing a shout of pain as the free hand wound back. It was a single hard throw, and Nessa would be able to hear the loud snapping of broken facial bones as the giant in front of her proceeded to do his own bidding. The first shot was devastating, causing Alex's legs to wobble as blood pissed out of his nose.

”Grimy shit-fuck! You'd hurt a fucking cat? Prick!? Bet this feels nice, huh? You-”

The second and third blows caused him to go completely limp, punctuated by a whimper that was probably some attempted plea to stop the violence. Elay was pissed enough that he had to turn his hand over to this stranger, but he hoped this would at least earn him the info he was after.
They were still next to the light pole, and Elay took the head still gripped in his hand along with the man attached, and crammed him against the light pole again and again until there was one last loud pop. The sound of the skull fracturing.

Then he finally let him go. The brain-damaged douchebag hit the pole full-bodied, and slid down it into the wet, cold muck of the South Side street corner.

The moment she was released, Nessa took a step to the side so she was out of any blood spraying range. Her back remained pressed against the wall, eyes slightly narrowed and wary as she watched the man who'd been harassing her get beaten to unconsciousness. Was he even still alive? She didn't care. What mattered was her reaction. Did she pretend to be shocked?

No. Violence and death were just a way of life in the Lower District. Luckily she'd experienced plenty of it before she came here. She felt very little looking at Alex's prone body, aside from a bit of disappointment that it was over so quickly. At least it had sounded painful. A problem for her gone just like that, and she didn't even need to use her magic. Thank fuck.

What did she do now? Her eyes, shadowed by thick hair that had fallen in front of her face, moved to the large man that had protected her. Well, protected the cat… it didn’t matter. He could protect her. He was very strong, attractive, and… didn't look so badly off. His clothing certainly looked of a nicer quality than most of the people's in this rundown area. He was the one- her next target. She couldn't just let him move on. Ensnare him... But she felt magic.

Not from him. From the cat. It was fine.
”T-thank you, you saved me. I think he was gonna- gonna kill me.” Nessa forced her voice to waver slightly, approaching Elay. She brushed her wavy hair back off her face to look up at him with large brown eyes. There were even hints of tears in the corners, conjured up in a moment.
”I d-dunno how to properly thank you.”

Small, delicate hands moved up to touch Elay's arms. They weren't soft, not anymore, but they were gentle. Upon purposeful skin to skin contact, Nessa had to make another quick decision- which curse. Easiest. Want me…
Elay would feel something crawling across his Emotional Field, scratching to try and get in. But it was so weak… there was no way this was the person the potent Lux he felt earlier had come from.

It didn't matter too much, however. He felt magic, he read magic, and thanks to Garf's keen senses, he could see the strands of color lifting Subtly up and off the woman's skin. Blue ripples across the little bit of open space, like plasma arcing off a Tesla Coil.
Before she had the chance to react, Elay's massive hands gripped both of hers tightly. Not to crush, but to detain. But the question was whether or not he told her he knew now…

In the short span of time, Garf had climbed back onto Elay's shoulders, nesting into the collar of his greatcoat and getting comfortable again. Now, four inspecting eyes landed squarely on Nessa's face… But the first one to speak wasn't the man.

”Curses, curses, curses… Maybe you're not such a mark after all.”
Elay scoffed, shaking his head.
”Stupid choice. Probably should've kept the magic in your back pocket. Th'fuck do you think I am, some brain dead Blind?”

Fuck. She was trapped. She had thought he was a fucking Blind. What did she do? Her protective curse, cover him in boils? No, did that even work when someone was already touching her? Fuck. Start cracking his emotional- no, she wasn't even going to consider it. There was no magical way out of this.

”You gonna crack my skull against a pole now too?” Wide eyes turned into a heated glare as she blinked away the fake tears.

”Answer my question, and you're free to go… William Finkle. Maybe you know him as Billy Pears? You spent a few nights with him in the Hemlock Inn, down on Virginia Ave recently. I know you did, so don't lie to me, there’s video evidence. I don't care what your angle is. His wife is looking for him, and I'm the sucker getting paid to drag him back home. So, if he's not at the Hemlock, then where the fuck is Billy?

Elay's voice was calm, stern, and had no sign of fatigue from the previous actions.

”You’ve got the wrong person. Video’s can be faked, y'know. Magic. As Nessa lied, the Pink-Yellow protective spell she was constantly casting across a section of her mind expanded to completely protect her from any possible intrusion. It took more energy… but she had more than enough magic to keep it up like this for hours if she had to.

Of course she knew Billy Pears. Knew both names, knew about his wife, didn't care. He'd been her last hook up- a desperate one, older than she'd normally gone for. But he'd looked like he had money and she needed that more than anything. Except he was a stingy fucking bastard who tried to get her to pay for some of their stay. So she'd dropped him… and spent the next few days in a depressive nightmare struggling to leave bed.
She didn't actually care about protecting him. She just didn't actually want this guy to leave… Was it stupid? Sure, but what the fuck did she have to lose? Her life? Big deal. She'd been beaten badly enough before that she wasn't too worried about it. Best case… she still ended up in his bed tonight, somehow.

”Bit creepy following me around cause of some 'video evidence.’ Sounds like you're just a stalker. You want to fuck me or something?”

Elay's eyes narrowed. For a moment, his mind flashed an image of every single woman in his life. It prevented his hand from curling back and drilling this moron just like the last.
”Are you stupid, or are you on his payroll? Because I promise, protecting Billy Pears isn't worth it. You're dealing with North Side money, and Mr. Finkle’s wife is a powerful woman in her own right. You don't want me pointing a finger at you because you stole my paycheck from me, do you?”

And this was the truth of the matter. If the trail ended here, then both parties got what they wanted… Mrs. Finkle got someone to point a finger at for the “murder” of her husband, and Billy got to escape Cloverfield forever.

”And don't bullshit me about magical doctoring. The cat knows what's fake and what isn't…”
In his head, Garf spoke up.
Gentle, Lazarus. Blue Lux… She's not the type to worry about her own state with depression like that. Maybe the carrot rather than the stick?

It was a little too late, so Elay simply stared down waiting for a response, never letting her wrists go.

North Side money… powerful woman… she couldn't be that powerful if Nessa had never heard of her. Not powerful like… someone with very little power now. She wasn't particularly scared by threats. The risk of getting arrested because of a North Sider was a bit more unnerving. What if they found out who she really was.

But how likely was that? She was more likely to get beaten up before being thrown in a crowded cell. It would be so easy to get out. Nothing like where her father had ended up, a prison made by the Elite Adepts of the north in collaboration with the PRA for people just like them…
”So you'll drag me across the bridge and what, hand me over to this woman and the police? Might as well just throw me in the river and call it a day.” Nessa rolled her eyes.

”Since when was sleeping with someone a crime?” There was no point continuing to pretend she didn't know him, because he wasn't going to let go of it. Did she just let him point the finger and get her sorry life over with? That would be easier… but there was still that contradictory spark to live. And the want to make things as difficult as possible.
”Maybe I'll tell you where he is… if you treat me to dinner.”

”Bitch, do you understand that you’re currently preventing me from eating?”
Elay’s voice hung in the air, all the wind and hot air rushing from him as the situation diffused itself.
”Look… I’m not a cop. I’m a detective. Private Eye. I was asked to find Finkle, and until I do, I don’t get paid. So either you help me, and maybe he’ll be carrying enough cash that we can both eat something… Be practical, don’t be a moron about this.” he growled, implying very openly that he wasn’t above running his Target’s pockets.

”What’s to stop you taking his money and fucking off?” Nessa shot back.

Elay’s hands released Nessa’s wrists, rising up into open palms… He even took a step back.
”What’s to stop you from turning and running now?” he asked, calling the bluff. If this chick was so desperate for a meal, then maybe Garf was right. Play it slow. See if she shows her hand.

Nessa glared at him, rubbing her wrists as if he'd actually hurt her. She could just run. Go to the next bar, try to find someone else, a different bed for the night. But this could work out for her. Maybe.
And if all she got out of it was seeing Billy get punched a couple of times… that wouldn't be the worst night.

”I turn and run and you find me again, stalk me to my place or some shit,” Nessa snorted, as if she had much of a place at all. She shoved one hand into her coat pocket, pulling out a shit, battered phone.
”Fine. I'll find out where he is, but I'm not doing it for free. I'll get something outta it.”

She didn't bother waiting for a response, flicking to one of her latest contacts and calling. It only buzzed a couple of times before the other side picked up and she held it up to her ear.
”Oh, no, I wasn't ignoring you at all!” Nessa's voice changed immediately, from the harsh tone she'd been using on Elay to sickly sweet.
”Just family issues… I'm alright. Do you want to meet up tonight? Mhm… Mhm. Different place? Fine by me. Just text me the address. Mhm. See you in a bit- yeah, don't worry, it'll be just how you like it.”

Nessa wrinkled her nose, lips pressing into a thin line as she tried to clamp down on her disgust as he started going on about just how excited he was. Thankfully, he wanted the real thing more than he wanted to talk about it- so he hung up shortly.
”There.” Nessa looked back over at Elay, gripping her phone as it buzzed with a text message. She quickly checked it, scanning the location he'd sent. A different place… Roots Hotel, though calling it a hotel was generous from memory. It was barely a motel.
”You got a car, or are we walking?”

”Well how fuckin’ far is it?”
In telling him, Elay’s face soured and he took a deep breath.
”Oh… Yeah, I ain’t walkin’. C’mon. Time to earn your dinner for once.”
As he turned, the big orange cat stood up and gave a gentle leap from Elay onto Nessa… Garf could feel that she was cold, and his hot fluff wrapped around her neck with the dexterity of an actively compensating and intelligent creature.

He purred.
”You’re not starving… This must be terribly convenient for you.” he spoke quietly enough that a normal person wouldn’t hear. Elay didn’t acknowledge it, knowing full well what Garf was actually up to. Examining in between comfort, as a cat could only do.
”That was a cute curse. Do you do that with every man you meet? Or just the biggest ones?”

Nessa stiffened as the large magical cat curled around her neck, somehow growing more tense than before. The warmth was nice but the fact he was a cat… bad memories. She tried not to think about it. She ignored his first comment. Not starving, sure. Technically true, she’d eaten some pasta in the morning. The only reason she wasn’t was cause she was used to one or two meals a day now.

”Only the ones that look like they might punch me.” Nessa let out a short laugh. Cute curse… it sure was compared to some of the others. It was just a harmless little curse lightly laced with Pink to make people varying degrees of more attracted to her. She used it when she was really desperate, or didn’t see any other way to get a man’s interest. It was quick and effective, but always bit her in the ass when it wore off.
”Y’know what it was meant to do?”

The cat took its own deep sighing breath.
”And more. Light births shadow; one rarely understands what can be read in the spaces between.”
If a cat could be smug, this one was. Incredibly smug, and it radiated from the little creature. “Little” like it wasn’t one of the chunkiest cats ever. Practically spherical.

”You’ve gotten lucky. We may have a reason to stick with you.”

Nessa didn’t like what the cat was implying. How much did he know? Was the shield on her mind not strong enough? Fuck, she thought her skill in Pink made up for the inexperience in Yellow. Did he know about what she’d… no. He couldn’t. No way he’d keep it from the human he was presumably attached to, and there was no way that guy would still be anywhere near her.

”Cause of my somewhat useful magic, unique skill set and wonderful personality?” Nessa deflected, not wanting to know what the reason he’d gleaned from her was. It was strange talking to a cat like this but… it wasn’t like he was a cat. An Apparition… not that she knew much about them, just that he was probably much older than she was.

”What’s lucky about it?” Nessa said, as if the idea of anyone sticking with her wasn’t the luckiest she’d been in a long time. She jerked her head towards Elay.
”He that good?”

Garf didn’t answer. Elay’s head turned slightly, brow furrowed as he tried to think about why something like that had been said…
A reason to stick around?
Right. Dinner was dinner. But if she was some hopper, like ten thousand other people living and dying in the South, she needed the help. Maybe it was consistency, maybe she was a piece of work. Or a thief. Or someone gang related whom you didn’t actually want in your home. The type of person to let the wolves in through the back door so they can eat your pet and leave.

There was some reason she was hopping. Not stuck in one place with one person. Not living a boring life of working in a factory, or in a nurse’s office, not somewhere mundane where life could just pass along quietly. Elay’s suspicious nature was abound, and he cleared his throat as he hung back a moment to let her come next to him.
”So what’s the deal with the cat flinger? Just another John gone wrong?” he asked with a gruff tone.

”You could say that,” Nessa laughed slightly. Now this was one thing she could talk about honestly. Normally there was that whole stigma around how many guys she’d been with… but he’d probably already guessed. So why not give him the full gorey details?
”Relationship went toxic real quick. We’d fight, then fuck to make up. Got violent once or twice-” understatement, “- y’know, normal stuff. Kept happening. Then after a few weeks he wanted to take a ‘break.’ He’d broken my fucking nose and he wanted a break.“

Thankfully it hadn’t been bad enough to have any permanent effects… the piece of shit wasn’t actually strong enough for that. But she’d been so pissed at the time.
”I was still hot with a broken nose, and had keys to his place so… I fucked another guy on his bed. He couldn’t do shit about it when he got home, either, cause the guy was bigger than him. Then I hit him with a curse on the way out. Piece of shit deserved it.”

Elay shook his head. This girl was nothing but trouble… The chances of her leading him to something like a gang jumping was rising by the second, and if it was a coven, that was only going to make things worse. Because then there’d be dead bodies. He didn’t care about that part, but it never made things easy. Dead people didn’t speak to him. They couldn’t cough up information.
”And what kind of a curse was that? The curse of ‘get your head popped like a grape’?” he asked, the streetlights growing more frequent as he led Nessa along toward the parking lot on the other side of the building.

”Didn’t need a curse for that one, did I?” Nessa looked up at him with a wry smile. Her eyes subtly darted about, making sure to keep track of where exactly they were.
”It wasn’t much, just made him feel a lil worse about himself. My magic isn’t strong enough to actually hurt anyone.” That was a lie, of course. She could’ve easily gotten inside the guy’s head to fry his brain… and that would’ve been showing mercy. But she wouldn’t. So casually thinking about using that magic, the thoughts constantly creeping in, made her feel a bit sick.

It was safer to appear harmless.
”I only use it when people really deserve it. Tiny curses are hardly as bad as beating someone till they’re dead.”

”Whatever makes you feel better, Dame.” Elay scoffed, waving his hand dismissively. He didn’t believe anything a Blue Adept said, or a Pink one for that matter. All they ever did was manipulate and then when they started to experience hardship, they lied and cried until life changed to suit their position. It just so happened she appreciated the help…
It only felt more like a setup because of that. She’s magic, she doesn’t need someone to defend her, she’s lasted this long; what would she need a man for? Or a free lunch?

Getting into the parking lot, Garf made his transfer back to his companion’s shoulders without words, pressing off Nessa’s shoulders as he jumped.
”Fuck, you’re gonna knock me over with that shit.”
”It’s cold, Lazarus. She’s made of bones.”
”There’s gotta be blood in there.” he joked, looking down at Nessa. At the cute little woman he didn’t know. It was a damn shame she wasn’t going to last very long if his suspicions were true.

The vehicle Elay approached was nice twenty years ago, but at this point it was showing its age… Not that it diminished the comfort factor of the heated leather seats or the power windows. Features that were top of the line long ago, now relegated to basic functions that anyone would expect from a modern car. The front seat was occupied by a cat bed, and Elay made no motion to move it for Nessa as the cat climbed into his spot and looked up at her.

Just looked. Stared. Didn’t say a word, despite her knowing that he could talk. Just… Waiting.

Nessa stared back. Her eyes narrowed slightly. What did he want? Was he waiting for her reaction? Did he expect her to put up a fuss about a cat getting the front seat over her? Quite frankly, she didn’t give a fuck. It would be harder for them to physically kick her out of the car if she wasn’t right next to the guy with extra long legs.

But she did crouch down in front of the cat so they were at the same level. It was easy enough for her to use telepathy on something with an Emotional Field- at least when it came to sending something mentally.
Stay out of my head. Keep anything you’ve learned in your own.

Garf seemed to smile as much as a cat could.
Your connection is deeper than what you know. Fate is more than chance, and Fate has brought you to us. And we have been brought to you. Try to relax, and don’t worry about whether or not I’m in your head… I’m far above you. And far above your Father.

And then, with a wag of his tail, Garf picked his bed up in his mouth before dragging it into the back seat to leave the passenger vacant. Elay felt the strangeness in the act, since he never did that for anyone.
”Dude… You’re giving up the front?”
”I have empathy for a stray. Let her feel like a princess.”
Elay scoffed, shaking his head.
”Dumpster Princess. Whatever, get in girl.”

”Nessa. My name’s Nessa,” she managed to snap, pulling herself out of a momentary daze to get in the car. The mention of her Father… so the cat knew. But he must have kept it to himself. She hoped so. There was a slight comfort in the possibility of something being above the man that had spent so long controlling her… even if the rest of what Garf had said sounded like absolute bullshit.

She pulled her knees up to her chest, a tense little pose even as her spine relaxed against the seat. It was comfortable. She’d been sleeping on a lumpy mattress and sitting on the floor because it was more comfortable than the chairs at her place. This was practically a luxury. She waited until Elay was in the car before talking again.
”Why even bother bringing me along? You could’ve just taken where he was and left.”

”You can get me into the hotel room easier. And you asked for dinner as payment, so you’ll get it. I’m not in the habit of making enemies in the South, contrary to how your friend with the concussion may feel.”
And if his inclination was correct, that meant more pockets to run. If every moron she brought carried fifty bucks, he’d eat dinner for free for the next week.

”Lazarus is lonely and sad! He’d talk to any woman that breathed at him.” came from the back seat, a snicker beneath it.
Elay didn’t even blink to acknowledge it. He wasn’t in the business of parsing out what was in his head versus what Garf actually said aloud: Both sounded identical, and if he wasn’t putting any effort into translation before hearing, he’d never be able to know… Unless someone else also responded.

”Awww, poor Lazarus. Luckily I can do more than just breathe at him.” Nessa couldn’t hold back the little snide remark. It wasn’t possible to unless she was trying really hard to win someone over… and that act had ended the moment her curse had failed.
”How do you get sad and lonely when you’ve got a talking cat?”

Elay sighed loudly, shaking his head.
”Don’t listen to the talking cat. Most of his relatives eat children… Not someone to buy bullshit from.”
There was a click as one of Garf’s nails clicked into place between his teeth, picking a chunk of something out from between them before flicking it onto the back seat floor.

”I would never. That’s so wrong.”
His voice didn’t sound insulted. Not even hurt. Casual, like nothing was said at all… Until he gave a wry smile with his eyes.
”Once or twice maybe. Long ago, when that sort of thing was acceptable. I’m more of a Manacott kind of cat. Y’know, milk products. Fresh pasta. Burrata balls fried golden and dipped in-”
”Can it, Garfield… Christ, y’know just how to piss me off.”
”Oh, someone’s hungry too. No wonder you’re in a bad mood. Should you be driving?”

Eleven gin and waters was barely a drink. He turned the key, and the engine started right up despite the cold. Backing out of the spot, Elay took a deep breath and began to focus on his driving, leaving a chance for Nessa to ask more silly questions. He hoped she wouldn’t, but he wasn’t exactly getting lucky today.

Nessa was silent for a little bit. Her gaze never left Elay as she just observed him. Like she could figure out more just by staring. She was mentally weighing up risks. The risk of him killing her, or hitting her, or doing anything else to hurt her. It was difficult to tell. Probably… a moderate risk for now.

Her intense staring was interrupted by her phone buzzing again, and she fished it out of her pocket. A text message from Billy saying he was already there, with an attached picture she thankfully couldn’t see because she had no data.
”What d’you do to the guy when you catch him? Aside from stealing his money,” Nessa asked as she mindlessly sent back a flirty enough message.
”Beat him up? Tie him up and hand him over to his wife? Will you be able to do it if he’s naked when we arrive?”

Elay just shrugged.
”Client’s choice. This one’s cheap: I’m serving him divorce papers. She doesn’t want him hurt ’Unless absolutely necessary’, so I brought a gun I can throw in the room. When the ambulance finds him, they’ll find the gun and report it to his wife as confirmation, so I don’t get screwed if she goes to patch things up later.”
He didn’t seem to have an excited expression about the action, but on the inside he loved a little trick. A silly little thing like that. He could imagine the questions later, and the man desperately trying to wave away his illegal firearm charge. Elay would absolutely testify too, even if it meant having to spend time in the courtroom… There was a chance for a settlement then, and probably out of court so that nothing has to happen publically.

Rich people were the easiest to soak, because while they were stingy in purchasing, they were quick to throw money at not-so-legitimate problems. Just bury it in green dough, and you never need to think about it again.
”And yeah, I don’t mind him being naked. Means I don’t have to feel him up for his shit.”

”Then it’s your lucky day, cause that’s quite likely. I doubt the picture he sent me was him all dressed up.” Nessa shoved her phone in her pocket, watching Elay out of the corner of her eye. She didn’t quite get the gun thing. So the man could shoot himself, or something? It would be a pretty reasonable action but… didn’t seem quite right. Whatever. She didn’t need to know all the details.

”Must be nice to have enough money to pay for someone to hunt down your husband and give him divorce papers. Sure is different in the North…” She knew that better than anyone, of course. She’d fallen from so high… not that she’d enjoyed life there either. But at least she didn’t starve.
”You must live up there if you get jobs from ‘em- but you’re not from there, are you? North Siders wouldn’t come into the South to beat people up or steal cash.”

”I’m from a shithole suburb outside the city… The fuck d’you care? You hear me askin’ personal questions?” Elay responded, his tone finding a register between annoyed and joking. Rather than explaining any more details, Elay pulled his card from his jacket and handed it off to Nessa.

Colombo-Waiting Detective Agency
There’s always one more thing.
Lazarus A. Motta, Lead Investigator
20133 West 9th Ave, North Cloverfield, VA

”My office is just north of the Prosperity Bridge. I look out the window, I see the checkpoints.” he added.
”Yeah, right, from the second floor above the coffee shop. Y’can definitely see past the-”
Elay turned his head to Nessa, a sad and drained look on his face.
”You ask me why I’m lonely with a talking cat? Because the cat is an asshole.”

Nessa’s eyebrows raised slightly as she slipped his card into her pocket, but her expression was otherwise neutral. Strangely. She didn’t really understand it. She’d never been around anyone that wasn’t at least a bit of an asshole. And having someone- or something- around was better than nothing.

”Weeelll, you’ve got an amazing opportunity right in front of you to have some non-asshole company,” Nessa smiled playfully, as if she hadn’t already proven herself to be a bit of a bitch on multiple occasions.
”At least I’ve got a pretty face to make up for any annoyances. Much better than a talking cat. I don’t even have one of those.”

She laughed lightly, not visible sadness in her expression. She was good at hiding everything she didn’t want seen.
”Never really been a cat person myself.”

”Talking pussy in the back seat, talking pussy in the front seat. What’s the difference? I owe you a dinner. That’s all.”
He only meant what he said because he couldn’t imagine this situation squaring out any other way. She was cute; great. Fantastic. She was also another Southern Rat, and was already trying to weasel her way across the bridge. Probably to higher paying opportunities. If she wasn’t such a bitch herself, Elay imagined sending this girl to his older sister… For everything else, she treated those kids who worked at the club better than anyone else got treated in the North.

She’s a cult leader, El. Of course she treats everyone like that.

”The only pussy talking right now is you, Laz. Don’t deny it.” Garf scoffed, shaking his kitty head.
Then he did something unexpected… Standing, stretching, his hanging belly wobbling as he passed one foot and another onto the center console. Then, he was sitting on Nessa’s lap as if he had always been there, curled up and looking at her.
You’ll learn to deal with it. He’s got too many sisters to ever actually hurt a woman, but he isn’t easily swayed by your whiles either.

Just like a cat does naturally, Garf had ignored the part about staying out of her head… At least he was being… Comforting?

That just makes it more fun.
Nessa resisted rolling her eyes at the cat. She wasn’t exactly bothered by how Elay was talking… it wasn’t even that bad. She’d rather not have all the pretend niceties anyway. Then she had to try too.
But if he wouldn’t actually hurt her… she could relax just a little bit.

”We’ll see if it ends with just dinner,” she said, smugly confident it wouldn’t. And if it really did… Well, fine. She wouldn’t have to worry about eating for another twenty four hours if she had enough.
”I won’t even make you take me back to your place if you’re that scared.” She doubted he actually was in any way, but if the flirting didn’t work so well? There was nothing quite like hurting someone's ego.

”Oh, good! I won’t have to put plastic down.” was his only reply besides a big smarmy grin crossing his face.

But it was worth noting in his own mind that Garf had no trouble settling in or being around her. Despite his proclivities, Elay knew the cat wasn’t just good at judging character: He was a perfect judge of character. He just never warmed up to things. Nor did he share his secrets typically, which were themselves rather fickle things that were only as secret as the good they did staying hidden.

More importantly, they were getting close to the address at this point.
”About our Mark… Not like us, right? Blind?” he asked, hoping her knowledge would maybe prove useful enough to justify not handing her a few bucks after dinner and never seeing her again.

”Blind. Really scared of his wife finding out. His thoughts about it were so loud I would’ve had to get rid of my channeler to stop hearing them.” Nessa offered up without much resistance. It was, after all, in her favour that this went well. Then they’d steal his money, and get some decently filling food… and whatever might come after it.
”He’s pretty paranoid in general. Said he wanted to meet somewhere else cause he thought someone was following him. Funny that. Also he thinks he’s still in his prime, somehow, and is convinced he’s got an attractive face. I’d threaten that first if you have to.”

”I don’t threaten. I serve, and I serve. Now, how about his cash? His wife said he’s been pulling bands out of his personal accounts for months now, and now he’s dipping into the business. D’ju see anything like that? Or, y’know, gold, jewellery, flashy time piece?”
Elay cared far more about the loot and the resulting pay from a job well done than his performance in bed for obvious reasons.

”No jewellery, but his watch looked pretty fancy,” Nessa shrugged. She knew just how fancy… enough for a couple month’s rent for her now.
”He tried to hide it cause he was a cheap bastard, but his wallet was stuffed. He was fucking paranoid about that too, counting it all the time like that’d matter if he was mugged.” Though it was probably her he’d been worried about taking his money. It was pretty pathetic.

And sad. Her life really was so sad.
”He wasn’t stupid enough to show off any gold, but I never went through his bags.”

”Geeze, what kind of a Hopper are you? Not snooping through the John’s bag… Christ, at least you could be professional.” Elay scoffed.

He was only half joking. While he didn’t find any particular taste or distaste in how some people chose to make a living, he did believe in being decent at whatever one chose. Some said he had high standards, but to him there were much higher standards to strive for… And he certainly didn’t try. Some ideals were too lofty even for him to meet, and his love for alcohol certainly didn’t help.
He wasn’t quite like other freaks. After a certain point, even he’d get drunk. And boy did he… It was an expensive habit at that volume, so scores like these were necessary.

”Not like it matters to me. If anything of mine ends up missing, I’ll just fucking torture you in a different way.”

Nessa’s eyes narrowed, head snapping around to glare at him. Hopper, be professional… of fucking course. Sure, maybe it looked like that. With Billy it kind of was… but he was the exception to the rule. When she’d been desperate. She got with men to survive, but also because she wanted to be with someone. She didn’t fucking take their money. They paid for things mostly with their own free will.
”Why don’t you just call me a whore like a normal person. I’m not a fucking prostitute. I don’t steal from people.”

Why even bother? He’d think what he wanted to think.
”But you’re making it really tempting to see if you’re really enough of a psycho to torture me. What kind? You gonna break my bones? Or is it sexual… is that the kind of shit you’re into?”

Elay shook his head.
”Nah, the cat eats you from your core memories outward. You lose your sense of self, your identity, your name, your interests and hobbies… Eventually you wind up a living, breathing husk, still fully aware of your surroundings without the chance to understand or retain any of it”
His voice was so matter-of-fact that there was little room for assuming he was joking. This man was serious, and the look up from Garf gave the most sincere expression of empathy a cat could create.

”I’m not that hungry.”
And then the cat winked. Just enough that Nessa would be able to see it.

”And uh, honestly I wouldn’t call you a whore. Someone in that service industry usually has to, y’know, work for their pay. A Hopper is a whole different breed of sla-”
Garf’s massive paw slipped out, a hand resting on Elay’s arm.
”Can’t we be nice for now?”
”Not until I’ve got my hands around a bottle.”

The cat frowned as best it could, clearly shaking its head in disappointment.
”Point was, you’re an Adept. You, just like every other Adept, have some kind of talent that lets you skim cash off people who are trying to be legitimate.”

The look Nessa gave Garf as Elay talked about him eating memories wasn't one of fear. Instead, it was interest. He could do that? How selective was it? Could he eat the memories she wished she didn't have? Even if he couldn't… it didn't sound like the worst thing ever. How much different would it be from how she was now? She already felt like a living, breathing husk. At least then she wouldn't carry these feelings of guilt.
Though the cat seemed to have no intention of actually doing it.

”Careful, this slag could text and warn your mark.” Trisha glared at Elay again, hands clasping together so her chipped nails could dig into her skin. He wasn't wrong. That pissed her off more. But he didn't know her. He didn't know her circumstances, the shit she actually had to do to survive. Just how awful she was.

And exactly why she couldn't use her magic.
”I’m too lazy to work on my magic enough for it to be useful,” Nessa lied. Better to be seen as a lazy slut than risk him finding out just what she could do with her magic. It was more than just controlling people actively. It was implanting commands to do her bidding whether she was there or not… causing them pain… fundamentally changing them. Just thinking about it again made her feel a little sick.
”Cursing people to want and need me is enough. Why do you fucking care, anyway? Tryna feel better about your sad, pathetic life of smashing heads in and stealing cash by looking down on me? Does it boost your little ego?”

”Oh like you’d know about my ego… I care because now you’re eating into my dime! I swear, this was supposed to be a normal fuckin’ case, now I’ve got you to deal with because I agreed to feed you for the fucking trouble. Why couldn’t you just be a normal chick, I mean… Every woman in my fuckin’ life! Every single one!”

The hotel in question was starting to creep into view now, its shitty lights and neon sign above the street calling attention to itself like a naked nun. It was everything one didn’t want to see, but once it was witnessed, you couldn’t look away. This didn’t stop Garf from giggling to himself as the two argued, speaking again in a break. His paws pressed against Nessa, and he looked up at her with a twinkle.
”He’s a master of doublespeak, but I’m quite the translator myself.”

”Garf… Not now…”
”Eh-em: Please forgive my insecurities and gruff external thoughts. I’m too scared to tell you I’m interested in you, and I’m only being rude because I have high standards for Magically-inclined Individuals. I’d like to offer you the opportunity to resolve that, and intend to consult you about it over a plate of spaghetti that we’ll share.”

Elay turned his head, closed his eyes and sighed deeply.
”What fucking room is this guy in? Please? For the love of God?” he asked in an extremely curt and clearly frustrated fashion.

Nessa let out a quiet laugh as Garf ‘translated’, considering scratching him behind the ears or something for a moment before stopping herself. High standards for people with magic… sure, she probably hit those standards. She didn't want to. And she certainly didn't want another person who just wanted her for it. But if he actually was interested in her just a bit… she had a chance.

”Let’s see… oh.” Nessa pulled back out her phone, raising her eyebrows.
”He really is a paranoid fuck, what did you do while tryna find him? Or does he have a gang after him or some shit? 'I gave your name to the front desk, with a description of you. They'll give you the room number and key.’ Didn't know you could do that in a shithole like this.”

”I ain’t given him a lot of options… You get to where they’ll go first, and cut it off. Doesn’t matter if they know you’re looking; all that matters is that they’ve got nowhere to go.”
Elay scrunched his nose, fully pulling into the parking lot and pulling open his center console. Out came a .38 snub revolver, its black metal frame matte in the dark car interior. Garf stood on Nessa’s lap now, stretching slightly before moving toward the gun. His mouth cranked wide open, separating its skull from the rest of the jaw before accepting the gun and swallowing it like a monster. He simply licked his lips and meowed happily, then disappeared in a puff of smoke to leave the duo alone.

”Now, go get the key and the room number. I’ll be waiting.” Elay grunted, head nodding out toward the office separated from the motel’s main building.

Nessa was reluctant to leave the comfort of the warm car with its heated seats. She shifted onto her knees, leaning in towards Elay with narrowed eyes.
”I don't like being told what to do. Try to learn how to fucking say please next time.”

She didn't actually wait for a response, immediately pulling back and getting out of the car. It was fucking cold. She shivered, pulling her jacket close around her. It didn't do much for her bare legs, an icy wind brushing against them and only causing her to tremble more. But it wasn't far to the office - a walk she did quickly, thankful for her sturdy boots which allowed her to walk the most direct route without care for how many potholes there were.

The inside of the office was a bit warmer. It wasn't actually as bad as Nessa had expected. The one receptionist on duty was separated from her by a desk that cut the room in half, with two doors behind her. One was half open, showing a couple of other staff members sitting around. The girl behind the counter looked bored, scrolling on her phone without even looking up. The place was worn, lacking a bit of the gaudiness of the actual hotel. Almost discrete. The perfect place for a rich man to bring his illicit lover.

Nessa rapped on the scratched wooden counter to get the woman's attention.
”I need a key for a room- under Billy Pears. Nessa? He should've said.”

The receptionist looked up at her, then shuffled about some papers. She glanced over Nessa again before handing over a keycard.
“Room 304.”

Efficient. Nessa took the card, turning on her heel and walking right back out. She shivered again, shoving her hands into her pockets to help protect them from the chill as she headed back towards Elay's car. As she approached, she pulled the key card back out of her pocket to wave it at him. She then shoved it back in, keeping a tight hold of it. Just in case Elay decided to snatch it and go up himself. She wasn't waiting out here in the cold. Alone. No fucking way
”304. No escaping out a window for him.”

Elay was wordless in his acceptance of the situation, and didn't acknowledge what was said fully. He waved her away, pointing toward the left side of the building hosting the lower numbers. 101 to 104, then each floor above it, we're the “suites” that the building offered, and Elay was remotely watching as Garf made his way into the top floor.

It took a great deal of concentration to maintain remote viewing at this distance. They couldn't directly communicate, though Garf was good at picking up Elay’s faint thoughts, and read the directions to the target room with little lag time. Poised on the roof above, the fat bastard of a cat took a single vertical leap and dove into the roof, leaving a ripple like water as he slipped right through the solid surface.
He spent another moment wriggling through completely, finally finding himself landing perfectly square in the room’s closet. He had two jobs: Assess potential loot, and plant the gun somewhere incriminating. Enough so, that when Elay started snapping pictures for Madame Finkle, the gun would be there and present to show that there was direct danger.

The cats massive double paws were dexterous, and they pulled zippers open quite easily. Thus, he began rummaging through the man's bags looking for anything fun or important that Elay would want while listening for the commotion to start.
Taking stock, the cat was quick to toss out shirts and pants, underwear, nothing in the main holding pouches…

The sides, the sides! These human containers, I swear on K'nakz-
Garf proceeded to pull open the first side pocket, and out came three or four different clam shell-like containers. These were a little more difficult to open, and he had to use his teeth for now. Popping them open revealed designer watches, and the cat stared at them for a moment confirming the mineral content of each.

Platinum, gold and pearl, diamonds; one was particularly distinctive as it's face was separated into twelve different sections full of a rainbow of precious stones. This would've been enough for a petty thief, but Elay didn't usually take jewellery with such distinction. It was a dangerous game to fence things like that, as they were usually easily recognized and tracked should the client party try to short him. He'd learned that the hard way some years ago.

The other side had a similar pouch, and this was more up their alley: A plastic bag full of fresh, crisp fifties and twenties. He plucked it by a claw and hoisted, feeling the weight and determining that it was close to half a kilo of money… Depending on the denominations, he knew from experience they were looking at something in the upwards of hundreds of thousands.

Again, couldn't take all of it. If the Madame was looking to recoup her losses, which it seemed like she was, there was only so much money one man could spend. Better to skim than to dig greedily and deep.
Topping it all off, a fat diamond ring. An engagement band, audacious white gold wrapping itself around several hundred karats of diamond. She had requested this particular piece if possible, and Garf was quick to swallow the ring for safe keeping.

Now he simply curled up, waiting to step out of the dark when things got crazy.

Back on the ground, Elay could only smile as the two humans started their trek up the outside stairs toward the third floor. He had a manilla folder in his hand with the documents.
”Alright… Garf confirmed good things. There's enough to take quite a bit. So, I guess I'm not so worried about dinner. Now when we get up there, I'm gonna hide on the windowless side of the door. You're gonna knock, and then get in as quick as you can. I'm gonna end up pushing you, so just don't be shocked. I just need to make sure that door doesn't close, ‘cuz if he sees us and we don't stick together, he could hurt you. Capice?”

Nessa looked up at Elay, widening her eyes slightly. Billy couldn’t actually hurt her. Not enough that it would matter. Maybe a hit or two before she breached his mind and stopped it. But… it was nicer to have someone else protect her. But still, she quickly cast her Alarm Bell spell across herself just in case. It would at least give her the option of protection if he tried to attack her.

”Wait… I’ve got the fucking key. You think the guys suddenly gonna gain a ton of muscle and sprint over, throwing me to the side and slamming the door in your face? Seriously? Are you a fucking idiot?” Nessa paused on the third floor as she realised what he’d actually asked. They were still a few doors along, but she lowered her voice just in case.
”I can knock and alert him if you want!”

Elay bit his lip… It wasn't usually convenient like that, so he could only shake his head.
”Jesus, you made your fucking point. Just open the door then, I'll be right behind you.” he frowned, shaking his head and tossing a hand upward in a dismissive fashion.

”You’re welcome, Nessa shot back sarcastically, hand not holding the key card coming up to flip him off. She let out a quiet huff as she continued forward. Of was the dismissive hand gesture… Fuck, so annoying.

Both her hands remained out of her pockets as she approached the door. She didn’t bother waiting around or hesitating, pressing the key card against the reader on the door. With a little click it opened and she pushed right in.

The room was larger than she expected. There was a dark red couch immediately to the left, with a couple of stains on it that Nessa didn’t want to think about. The curtains were already drawn closed, thick enough that there was no seeing in and out. The walls were made to look like a darker wood- fake, of course, but a strange attempt at classy even with an incredibly… crude ‘art piece’ on the wall. It was clearly catering to a certain audience.
Beyond that was the bed. The main attraction. Large, with gaudy red satin sheets. The lights were dimmed, the main source coming from a pink toned strip light across the bed’s headboard.

On the bed lounged the target: Billy Pears. William Finkle. He wasn’t particularly bad looking for his age. At least his body was in enough shape that Nessa didn’t feel too much embarrassment that she’d spent three nights with him.
“Nessa- what the fuck?!” Billy sat up in a panic, the gold silk robe that he was wearing falling open a bit more than Nessa would’ve liked it to.
“Who’s that? What’s he doing in this room?!”

”I thought you wanted someone else to join?” Nessa’s voice pitched up mockingly, lips curling up into a smirk that was directed towards Elay.

As Garf heard familiar voices and felt Elay close in, he stepped through the wall of the closet and landed squarely on the bed next to Finkle. One large gag saw the revolver coughed up and spat out onto the bed by the man's pillow, probability shifting just enough that it would land perfectly next to the hand reaching out to push himself up.

The next moment was a blur of violence. Elay didn't say anything- no quirky one liner, no discussion of terms -as the truncheon he kept in his coat slipped from the sleeve. There was a hollow knock that followed, and the moan of someone who was knocked utterly unconscious by a swift and accurate blow to the temple.

Elay had learned to leave minimal bruising on his marks. It didn't have to be a struggle, after all. Sometimes it was, and maybe they were more fun… But chumps like this guy didn't deserve the time or effort.
Now Elay had Finkle by the ankles, dragging him halfway off the bed so it looked like he'd been standing and fell backwards.

Perfect.
His phone came out, and he snapped a few pictures. Information bridged his and Garf's mind, notifying him of the good stuff.

”Alright, fuckin’... Please go into the closet and get his duffle bag.” he “politely” requested, the please still coming off as aggressive and demanding.

Elay had taken the manilla folder, opening it and reading through the divorce notice briefly.
”Alright Finkle… You in there? Hey, come on…”

His fingers snapped towards Garf, who placed a paw on Finkle's head. He waited a moment, then the man's eyes shot open without another movement.
”You're a wry little fucker, I'll give you that. Carmella sends her regards, says she wants your rings back. And the Holtz and Rekker, if you still had it. I reckon you do, right? That's the real pretty one?”

He was staring up at Elay unable to move. Was he even really awake? It wasn't clear to the outside, but he held the papers up anyway.
”Congratulations, Billy. You're free now. Just cough up what you owe the cunt and spend the rest of your life doing what you please. Good luck.”

And then he was released from the spell, passing back out abruptly. Elay waited for Nessa to drag the heavy bag out from where it was stashed.

”Making a weak girl do the heavy lifting, fucking bastard,” Nessa muttered as she lugged it out of the closet, not bothering to be quiet with it. She went as far as bringing it over and dumping it in front of Elay- or more accurately, attempting to drop it on his feet.

She stepped back towards the bed, one hand moving out to subtly brush Billy’s limp wrist. A pink tether flared into life between them. She didn’t need to touch him but it just made things easier. Quicker.

”That was more boring than I expected,” Nessa commented snidely. At the same time part of her mind was carefully delving into Billy’s. She was erasing herself from his most recent memories, changing them so it was just Elay that had come into the room. And it wasn’t her who’d phone him earlier… she made that memory fuzzy so he wouldn’t quite remember who it was.
”I expected at least one scream.”

Garf’s ears flicked toward Nessa, eyes turning in the sockets for a moment. Elay was already picking through the bag, pocketing the less recognizable watches and pulling a hunk of money out of the bag. Hundreds wrapped in fifties that were wrapped in twenties… Bundles, set up for him to carry around as was necessary… Which meant there had to be more in his actual wallet. Or, the pants. Not paying Nessa much mind, he started to look around the floor before finding the pair and the thickly padded back pocket from which he pulled another half-used fold.

”You’re sick, y’know that? Questioning my fetishes when you’re waiting to watch a man get beaten? Have some self awareness.”
Letting the half-used fold spin through the air, the money smacked Nessa gently across the forehead and caused Elay to laugh.
”Probably not the first time you’ve been hit in the face with a wad of money, huh?”

”Normally I find it pretty sexy, but you wouldn’t be able to keep your mouth shut long enough to be vaguely attractive,” Nessa sneered, squatting down to pick up the wad that had fallen on the floor. She shoved it in her coat pocket without even checking how much there was. Then she swivelled towards Billy again, still crouching. The Pink Lux linking them pulled back into her body.
”Piece of shit deserved to be beaten a bit more.”

She didn’t bother explaining the why, letting the statement hang there for a moment. Finally, she slowly turned back to look at Elay, lips pulling up into a malicious grin.
”But yeah, I’m pretty sick. Sick enough to still be around you.”

Elay stepped forward. His eyes locked with Nessa’s as he did so, hand slowly but surely reaching down and grabbing ahold of Billy’s collar.
”Y’know, maybe… You’re right.”
In a single motion, Elay hoisted the dead weight so his ass was on the bed again. Still holding him tightly, Elay’s hand pulled back and drove itself once, twice, three, four, five times…

There were little gurgling noises escaping Billy’s throat now as blood began to pour out of his nose.
”Lazarus!” Garf exclaimed, a disappointed tone behind it.

But Elay didn’t pay it any mind.
”That make you hot? Huh? Get the engines running now? Sick fucker?”
He got incredibly close to her now. There was tension, and the source wasn’t entirely clear…
”Now say ’Thank you Elay.’ he growled, looking down at Nessa with the eyes of a predator…

Nessa didn’t flinch. Not as he beat the piece of shit nor when he got so close. It was like there was a storm brewing, and she didn’t know whether it would destroy her or sweep her away yet. But it was exciting. Heat sparked across her skin and her body tilted forward slightly; a light brush against his, not quite enough to be properly touching.

”Mm, I think you’re the one it made hot. Just need the little obediently parroted words to push you over the edge? That’s pretty cute.” She stared at him with half lidded eyes, smiling tauntingly.
”Make me.

This wasn’t going to end well…
For the love of everything, not here!
His massive hands grabbed Nessa by the jacket, torso bending down to join their lips together in a rough show of passion. It only took a few moments before he’d picked her up and sat her on the dresser of the room. He shoved her back into the large mirror, banging it against the wall with the force as he continued to kiss her for several long moments.

Hands groped places they shouldn’t have, and Elay knew this wasn’t the right move… But she was so smug. Was it a spell? Garf would’ve prevented it, so it couldn’t have been. There was just something about her attitude, the way she carried herself and didn’t give an inch. Usually women got quiet when he acted like himself, or made it a problem that he wasn’t interested in solving. But this? It felt so strange… So powerful.

When he finally pulled away, drool pulled from between their mouths and he stared her down with those same hungry eyes.
”Say. It.”

A soft groan escaped Nessa’s lips as they parted, dark eyes somehow swirling with want and that ever present smugness. Her legs had wrapped around his torso, one hand tangled in his hair while the other gripped onto his shoulder. It slipped down, fingers slowly trailing across his chest.

It was exactly what she’d hoped for. More, even. There was an excitement that she hadn’t felt in a long time… a stronger spark pushing through the dark cloud of depression. It was rough without proper violence, enough for her to feel something without hurting. It was actually hot. He was.

She leaned forward, head tilting to go past his face so she could whisper in his ear.
”Thank you Elay.” Each word dripped with sarcasm. She was mocking him even as she said exactly what he’d wanted.

There was a pained moan again. From behind. Elay’s expression shifted slightly, and he closed his eyes while shaking his head.
”Good. Now, go get in the fuckin’ car. I’ll be right down.”

---

So there was enough money to eat… Big whoop. The rent for the office, the share of utilities- unevenly offset by the landlord to keep his dying coffee shop afloat -came out to more than six grand a month. Not to mention employing Loretta, and the inevitable kickup to the Twin Hill’s coffers. At least he wasn’t still paying for the property in Raven’s Rest…
After that, the apartment; utilities there, and the monthly booze bill… Not to mention food when it was necessary? Probably another five or six grand. So he snagged fifty grand? That wasn’t half a year of expenses… And these jobs almost never showed up, making this particular instance sting that much more.

Because now he had a leech. A leech sitting across from him at this quiet diner, a pot of coffee in between them. Garf happily purred on the warm seat next to Nessa, head in her lap.
”I thought we were going to Moriah’s restaurant.” he grumbled from below, half dreaming of a plate of steaming hot lasagna with the bechamel sauce he loved so much.

”You either want the fuckin’ chicken, or you don’t. It’s not something to make a big deal out of; go suck a Blind if you think it’ll help.” Elay responded coldly, a flask of something that smelled like ethanol gasoline being poured into his current cup of coffee.

He hadn’t stopped staring at Nessa, however. Not after the mistake he made. He didn’t want her thinking that she was going to get one over on him… So they were getting separate checks. It was only fair, he’d already given her money.

Opposite him, Nessa calmly sipped on her own cup of coffee. Or at least, she gave the illusion of calmness. For once, she’d pushed down her immediate annoyance when Elay asked for separate checks. Not out of politeness… but because she was playing the long game. Know when to push, know when to stop. She was reeling him in. He’d already kissed her like that… and now he couldn’t stop looking at her. Things would progress.

At least she could pretend to be confident about it.
She met Elay’s gaze with a playful smile. As she did she pulled back her hair, tying it into a low ponytail. It revealed slender collar bones, verging on unhealthy, and a smattering of fading bruises. As her head tilted down to read the menu, the cat claw earring swung in her right ear. It stood out against the more simple gold toned hoops she wore otherwise.

Since she was paying herself she was looking for one thing: value for money. Large and cheap. At least this place wasn’t too expensive. If she got something big enough she’d only eat half, maybe, and she could get the rest bagged up for tomorrow. It wasn’t even like she was actively hungry… there was just a constant, slight ache in her stomach. For a moment, she considered not getting anything at all. How much pasta, rice and eggs could she get for the amount a meal would cost? But something that actually had flavour was too tempting.

”I can’t believe our first date is in a shitty diner instead of a fancy restaurant,” she teased, looking back up at him.

”’S not a fuckin’ date. Save that shit.”
Elay shook his head, taking a deep breath as he tugged back the cup of coffee wholesale. It was hot. Like, hot enough that his next exhale was full of steam.
”I told you I’d get you dinner. I did and then some. Go find your own shitty motel room after this, live like a ghetto princess for a few months before you go and find the next motherless sucker to leech off of.”

Garf chuckled.
”Come on, Lazarus! What’s another mouth?” he asked playfully, pawing Nessa’s leg with a gentle tug on her pants with his claws.
”Besides, she can be useful. My curses aren’t exactly safe for working people over. If we get her employed, then we get a grant too. You can pay her salary off that.”

”Oh, and what are you? Some fuckin’ city councilman trying to convince business owners to hire up from the South? She’s bad news. You can smell it, and so can I.”
Elay was already pouring another cup of coffee with gasoline and plenty of sugar. He always got his money’s worth.

”She is… More than she wants to admit. That just means the partnership will work. Hell, why not run scams? She sets ‘em up, you knock ‘em down!”

It had been hard to tell at first, but there was always something clawing at the edge of her Emotional Field. The protection was working, or at least it felt like it was working, but the thing seemed to still know more. Whatever little moment of weakness she’d accidentally given it during their initial encounter, it had to be enough for it to grab ahold of somehow. The feeling had only become more clear now that tensions weren’t hot.

”What am I to you, a fuckin’ pimp? No chance. We run an honest business.”

”They must have a different definition of honest in the North,” Nessa couldn’t help but laugh. She didn’t enjoy being talked about when she was right there, so she was quick to get a dig in.
”Are all businesses stealing and beating people? At least the gangs here don’t pretend that’s part of their honest work.”

She glanced down at Garf, eyes narrowing slightly. Just how much did he know? If he was suggesting that Elay hire her… that just wasn’t possible. Nessa Mendoza didn’t exist. She had no social security number, no way to be legally hired. They couldn’t get a grant or whatever for a Southsider that didn’t exist.

”Also, this ‘bad news’ is sitting right here. Weren’t you taught it’s rude to shittalk people to their face?” Nessa didn’t even bother acknowledging the whole hiring or setting up a scam thing. That wasn’t what she was looking for… But she wasn’t going to turn around and say that it wasn’t just for survival, but because she was lonely.
”Not having a mother explains a lot.”

”Oooooh! Oh no!”

Garf’s sarcastic exasperation echoed up from under the table, but in reality there was a completely different reaction under the surface. Nessa would be able to feel the unlatching for a brief moment as the Cat’s attention turned to Elay fully. Inside his mind, there was a great deal of calming that crossed its way between the two entities faster than the speed of light. It was the only option to keep Elay calm as he could be after a comment like that.

”Don’t you dare. I had a mother. Still do. I wasn’t talking about my-fucking-self, understand?”
A bold-faced lie. A reaction like that? Easy to read from an outsider’s perspective. Defensiveness almost always meant that one hit the mark on the head. But whatever had happened, the clawing feeling at the edge of oblivion was back. Like there was a tiger six inches from her face, but it wasn’t moving.

”Now, as far as talking shit? You owe me. I could’a let that hushpuppy throttle you outside of the bar, and I didn’t. I even paid you. As far as I’m concerned, I’ve well and good earned the luxury of being frank in front of your basic witch ass…”

The waiter finally made his way over… They only had the most masculine presenting people working the tables at this hour; half bouncers, half servers… These guys got paid by the unbroken window at the end of each shift in this part of town.

“What’ll it be, Motta? The usual?”
”Yep… And the fried chicken for my pal Garfield.”
“You got it… How about you, Shortie? Ain’t seen you around these parts.”

Nessa took a moment to respond, moving her heated gaze from Elay to the waiter. She was annoyed, and getting interrupted before she could respond didn’t help. Her inability to prove him wrong was even more frustrating. Because he was wrong. She hadn’t needed his help. She certainly wasn’t a basic witch. But showing up this asshole wasn’t worth risking her safety. It just made it more frustrating.

”Burger and fries,” Nessa said, incredibly to the point. She didn’t react to anything else said. But the slightest hint of Pink threaded into his mind, pushing him to immediately leave after he’d got the order rather than stay and make anymore comments. Then her gaze went back to Elay, eyes narrowing. She ignored Garf completely- seeming unbothered by the claws in her Emotional Field.

”I don’t owe you shit. Did I ask for you fucking help? If it weren’t for me you’d still be chasing Billy around town. For all you’d known what you ‘saved’ me from was just a bit of fun.” It hadn’t been, of course. But if anything Elay had saved Alex. A cracked skull was nicer than what Nessa had considered doing to him. He’d saved her from herself, too. She didn’t like that thought either.
”You just wanted to feel like the big strong man that came in and saved the damsel in distress, I bet.”

The waiter didn’t stick around to chat…
”You just blitzed that poor guy! You absolute bitch, I can’t believe you! You’d do that to anyone wouldn’t you? Christ, I’m lucky I’ve got Garf or you would’ve done it to me too! I’d be wrapped around your finger feeding you grapes out the fuckin’ bag: Do you know how expensive fresh fruit is these days?”

Of course she was like that… You didn’t survive as a paranormal individual in South Cloverfield without using it in any way you could. That’s what was bothering him most at the moment… The fact that, if she wanted to, she could’ve and should’ve been living the high life North of the bridges. But she wasn’t. So, either she was a stupid, lucky priss with the ability to trick suckers out of their cash, or…

Elay leaned in across the table, mug in hand. He took a sip, then another, and another still.
”Hang on… You can’t go North, can you? he asked, eyes narrowing on their own as he drilled suspicion into her.

She should have just suffered whatever the waiter was going to say. Snapped at him, maybe, and verbally pushed him away. But she’d hardly blitzed him. It had been the lightest tap of magic. A push away… she had barely done anything. It wasn’t even really mind control. But it had been a mistake.

”I can.” Nessa stared back, expression unwaveringly pissed. Narrowed eyes, scowl, but no different from how she’d been a moment before. It wasn’t entirely a lie. She could go. Her father had been careful enough that her face wasn’t anywhere. It was the name, and the risk of people in true higher society who might recognise her. The ‘poorer’ side of the North? Less risky. But further in… the risk was too high.

The poor way she lived really was down to her reluctance to use her magic as much as it was the risk of the North Side. With it she could live somewhere nice down South. She didn’t. She couldn’t. Not with the spells she normally let herself use. A light push here and there… but mind control to the point of getting money or property? Ensuring it stuck so they didn’t turn around and turf her out? The thought made her feel sick.
”My magic really isn’t strong. That was a light tap, barely a blitz. I nudged him away. I can’t do much more than that. I use magic to get money, a moment later they snatch it back. I’m too busy trying to survive to improve it.”

Elay laughed aloud. Garf did not like that. Elay never laughed aloud unless he was either too pissed to seem angry, or too drunk to give a fuck anymore. But, knowing and feeling his mind intimately, neither of those things were happening. It was pure smugness.

”So you really are the most useless little Witch in South Cloverfield… Fine. I guess you’re not worth hiring then. Cool. Then after dinner here, we part ways and I ignore my partner here who keeps trying to convince me that I should linger around you for more than five minutes… I’m not in the habit of keeping stray kittens. This one found me, so…”

”I never said I wanted a fucking job from you.” Nessa narrowed her eyes. Stalling for time as she tried to figure out what she wanted. Did she just let him go? After that kiss earlier. The prospect of finishing the meal and going back to her shitty place… able to fork over enough for months of rent, sure, but alone. Back to that depressing hole, to struggle to drag herself out of bed for another day. Just fading away.

Was it really worth keeping herself safe when she was barely living at all? The only thing worse than this was the prospect of prison… but if that came to pass? She could just fry her own brain.
”How would you even know how useful I am?” She leaned forward too, hand sliding across the table towards him. More than anything, she wanted to wipe that smug fucking grin off his face.
”Open your mind up and I’ll show you. Or are you scared?”

”You don’t want that. I promise.”

Garf was quick on the uptake, and jumped into the line of fire in a figurative manner.
”No, Elay, let her! Go ahead. I promise I won’t bite too hard.”

Elay shook his head.
”Not happening. Just because you think you’re some big bad predator doesn’t make you one. And I don’t want to be responsible for cleaning up your vegetable ass off the bench seat after he treats your mind like a carbonara.” he asserted.

”Ooooh, fettuccine… Seriously, why didn’t we go to the Trattoria?”
”Because Momo already tried calling me today! Going in would be asking for fucking trouble.”

”Ohhhhhh. Trisha’s lips pulled up into a teasing smirk. She’d been rejected from proving her magic on him, but that was fine… it had been an impulsive suggestion from desperation. She wanted to destroy that smugness. But the cost… the guilt from using the spell she’d thought of, even if it was immediately dispelled? It wasn’t worth it.

”I see.” She spoke as if she had just understood something. She leaned forward, making sure to give him a clear view of her cleavage. The way she looked at him was simultaneously seductive and mocking.
”You also have a wife at home you’re avoiding! No wonder you didn’t jump at the chance to fuck me. You’re feeling guilty… Awwwww. Worried you’ll be in even more trouble?”

Garf instantly laughed at the suggestion that he had a wife at home.
”Spend more than a few hours with him: You’ll know why that statement was more funny than you intended.”

”The fuck’s that supposed to mean, Garf?” Elay snapped, polishing off the second cup of boozy coffee.

”Unmarriable sack of pain. Missing Mama’s Boy.” the feline chided back fully audible to Nessa.

”Fuck you.-” Elay threw back at the cat before turning and pointing at Nessa.
”And fuck you too: She’s my oldest Sister, and she’s a fuckin’ bitch too. I hope she falls off that pole and breaks her back.”

”That’s just not going to happen, and you know it.” Garf shook his head. But Elay didn’t bother stopping to acknowledge him any further.

”As far as knowing what you can and can’t do? I used to have magic just like yours. Pink, with all that sappy lovey dovey bullshit. I remember fucking around in people’s brains, trying to get them to do what I wanted… It ain’t that hard. So, if you’re tellin’ me you can only do little shit like that? I’m confident you’re useless.” he asserted, willing to die on the hill in the hopes that she would just fucking go away.

He wasn’t even sure why he’d kissed her earlier… His blood was up. She goaded him. He had to do something to take control of the moment… But… Why did she feel so warm?

”Fuck me too? That’s what I’ve been trying to get you to do this whole time!” Trisha’s voice pitched up playfully, eyes squinted slightly as she laid it on thick. What did she have to lose?

Really… what did she have to lose…
”You didn’t have magic like mine. Could you make them do things for you even when you weren’t there? Could you make a single thought cause them intense pain? Just one cast, and that’s it…” Two spells she hated, yet they were just the tip of the iceberg. There were ones she could never mention. Her ability to breach emotional fields. Turning Blinds into monsters. Cursing someone to a slow and painful brain death. Of course, what she was saying now was contradictory to what she’d said earlier. Weak magically, not so weak magically… It would be hard for Elay to tell which was true.

Even mentioning this much was risky. She was pushed by desperation, and the need to prove him wrong… to make him stay. She wanted him. It wasn’t unusual for her, but it was… fast.
And if letting slip a little bit resulted in her losing what little she had? She could barely bring herself to care. It was a gamble. Something better, something she wanted, or losing it all was better than staying as she was.

”I have many uses.”

”See, now you’re just playing your hand. Funny how easily we’re goaded into things, huh? You tell me to shut you up, I shut you up. I tell you you’re useless, you try super hard to prove you’re not.”
Elay was, in fact, a detective. His primary function wasn’t beating people up, it was listening to what people were saying and reading between the lines.

”’Cuz, earlier? You said you were just a weak lil’ thing. ’Oh, Elay I’m no threat! I’m not!’ Then, what? You try to convince me you’re some crazy pink-blue killer witch? Like I’m supposed to believe anything you say at this point?”

Give her what she wants, you get what you want. Period.

The thought echoed through Elay’s mind. He could do things like that at one point. On his own, not using Garf’s power. Lux. It was so natural to him, and he’d been so evil in his teenage years. So full of love and joy and grief and sorrow…

”Y’know… I’m half tempted to keep you around just to watch you spin in circles around yourself. And what’s with you tryn’a get in my pants, huh? I give you a little tongue, you turn into an actual factual groupie? I’ve got a big dick, but c’mon…” he chided.

She was lonely. So lonely that just a night spent in someone else’s bed was appealing enough for her to do things she really shouldn’t for it. Then, for the chance of another. And another, and another, until it became an unspoken relationship that eventually fell apart. Even just the feeling of someone there. Sex was a way to get men, and to keep men, but it also reminded her that she was alive. Not alone in that moment.

Of course, she wasn’t going to tell him that. She wasn’t going to tell him how right on the mark he was about her being a pink-blue killer witch either. It was better that he didn’t believe anything she said. Then if she let something slip he wouldn’t even believe it.

”Believe whatever you want to believe. But you should keep me around, I don’t mind if I’m just entertainment,” Nessa smiled as if it had been a compliment, rather than all shit he was flinging at her.
”What can I say… I haven’t had good sex in months. It’s unfulfilling. I liked what I felt from that little bit of tongue action… but I think I was just being too hopeful. You’re clearly like the rest with some extra kissing practice, big dick or not. The size doesn’t matter if you don’t know how to use it.”

”Fine… Garf? She clean?
”Quite the question, Elay… How would I know?”
”Whatever… But we’re using my condoms. I’m not letting some floozy poke holes in my shit to leash me into a fucking eighteen year long debt. No chance in Hell.”

Garf shook his head, looking up at Nessa.
”At least I like you for who you are… Just, don’t cut my throat, huh?”

The words hung in the air like lead. Elay wasn’t sure why, but he quickly chalked it up to Garf’s nightmare sense of humor.

Nessa’s eyes dimmed, smugness at getting what she wanted- even if it wasn’t in the way she wanted- disappearing. She managed to keep it off her face, playful smile frozen there as she subtly bolstered her own mind with her Lux. Forcefully pulling herself back from the panic attack a single sentence had thrown her into.

Pained yowls echoed in her ears. Phantoms. A memory she wanted to forget, but couldn’t bring herself to erase from her own mind. The Pink Lux meant it was so clear. One hand crept up towards the claw dangling from her ear, curling around it. It hadn’t been her. She hadn’t been the one that did the deed… her Father had. She’d watched, helpless.

”I’ll try my hardest not to,” Nessa intoned sarcastically, trying her best to sound like she had this whole time. More Pink pumped into her own brain. Delaying the inevitable for when she was alone and everything came crashing back down around her.

But she wasn’t going to be alone tonight. And with one night would come others.
”We can use and do whatever you want, Elay.” Nessa went back to the previous conversation, before what Garf had said. It didn’t matter how much he liked her ‘for who she was’ if he was pulling trauma directly from her brain… It was easier to shift back into surface level thoughts. Physical intimacy, goading someone who’s reactions she found interesting.
”If you ask nicely enough I’ll try my hardest to be so obedient in bed, if that’s what you want? Since you seem to enjoy ordering people around. I’m flexible.”

”You can cut all the bullshit out… I’m not a foreplay kind of guy, I don’t do roleplaying. It’s cringey, all that ’Oh Master!’ bullshit. Just get what you want and get it over with, y’know?”

His aversion to sex certainly had nothing to do with his hefty bag full of insecurities… Nor did it have anything to do with the memories from the other places. Other places he didn’t want to think about at all.

”Yeah, Elay hates when people are in pleasure. Bit of a sadist, honestly, you were right about the torture thing earlier.”
”She was fucking not! Elay growled a reply.

At the same time, the food was arriving. Like his entire family, Elay didn’t need to eat often. But when he did, it wasn’t normal. The tray of food slid in front of him dwarfed the burger combo Nessa had gotten for herself, and consisted of nine different plates of distinctly different foods.
At this point, he’d pulled his jumbo flask out and was just drinking it straight without the coffee. As he started wolfing food down step by step, he was taking whole swigs of whatever horrifyingly high proof alcohol he was drinking.

To Nessa, it probably smelled like isopropyl alcohol… Because it was. Far cheaper than actual booze, his superhuman liver and kidneys were able to handle the excessive alcohol load. He was going to need to get drunk quickly if she expected anything out of him other than a rough time.

Nessa wrinkled her nose, unable to avoid the smell of whatever it was he was drinking now that he was doing it so openly. It smelt awful. Like a human shouldn’t be drinking it. Yet he was. It was almost impressive. She just hoped he was able to do anything tonight with the amount he was drinking.

”No foreplay? Really? Either the cat’s right, or you really are shit at it.” Nessa commented, not even bothering to say anything in a particularly clever way. Of course there was still that teasing little smirk to go along with it. She pulled her burger towards her, unable to stop her wide eyed stare at the amount of food he had. It was enough to fuel her for… weeks, probably.

But there was her own food to worry about. Hot, flavourful food. Nessa took a bite out of her burger, and practically moaned. It wasn’t even on purpose. She’d been living off plain pasta and rice for weeks now- the only person she’d been with being Billy for those three days, were all he wanted to do was fuck and sleep. He hadn't bought a single fucking meal for her. So this was her first proper one in a while… even if it was frustratingly coming out of her own money. But for a moment she could forget about that, about all the shit. Concentrate on the simple pleasures.

”Fuck,” Nessa mumbled around another mouthful. She was eating slowly to savour it- and to allow her stomach time to adjust to some actual food. Food with weight and flavour and more than just basic carbs. She didn’t bother trying to be neat about it, though, or holding back the little sounds of pleasure.
”You may have been a complete dick this whole date but at least the food is good.”

”Listen, Missy; This is an obligatory dinner accompaniment. A chance for you to ask any more questions, debrief, whatever. You’re entitled to it as an informant of the case, and there’s a chance you could be called to testify as a witness to the altercation.-”

Elay took a moment to savor a massive bite of grilled cheese fries, matching Nessa’s intensity of pleasure from the food. It was always good to eat a bit of garbage before settling back in on the typical ration food. His Nana’s Ragu, the cheapest meal you could make with good North-Side ingredients. It kept like lead in the fridge, and the extra carbs never went to waste with Garf around.

”-Now, the sex? You’ll shut your mouth after. I have no doubt, I just want you to remember that you asked for it. Capice?”

Nessa laughed. She popped a fry in her mouth, chewing on it slowly as she just smirked at him. Oh she sure hoped he managed that. Then he'd be really good, and maybe she'd actually feel alive.
”Ooo, so confident… you're right, I did ask for it. But do y'know how many men have said something like that? They always think they can fuck me hard enough to shut me up.”

She didn't bother acknowledging anything about being an ‘informant.’ She wouldn't be called to testify. She'd removed herself from Billy's recent memories. To him she was just a fling he'd had a couple of days ago. Unless Elay brought her along… which hopefully wouldn't happen.

Her half finished plate was pushed to the side and she rested her elbows on the table, leaning her body towards him. Under the table, one leg swung forward to brush against his.
”It never works out. It's always all big words till I push back. ‘Why do you always have to fight, why can't you just take it, what do you mean that wasn't enough to tire you out?’ I ain't gonna just ‘shut my mouth' after a bit of a good time… but I'd love for you to prove me wrong.”

Elay was neck deep in his food with the spoon crammed behind the fork to hold down the amalgam of food in a strange chopstick-like manner. He didn’t even flinch from being dragged, feeling the tip of her shoe ride up his shin.
”So… Why’s my cat got a brainer for you, huh? He don’t cling to people like this.”

It was a whip crack of a question, and one that Garf himself relished in. He loved the joust; the interpersonal communication necessary for Elay to carry out his work. The man, despite his pain, had a burning need to find something more. Whether the cat had it or not, Elay could be guided with the carrot. It only took the apathy of lethargy to be broken by the slightest shift in behavior.

Which is why Lazarus was in dread over the fact that it was such a big shift. It wasn’t normal; too pushy and in his face to be anything besides some sort of test! These always had consequences, and for the last few years of their relationship, Elay had learned to just let them happen. They surely wouldn’t press him to break. Couldn’t. He had the greater spirit, and gave it up for them.

To gain knowledge.
What am I looking for here?

His deep green eyes stared up at her from behind a slightly dishevelled mop of raven hair, face tilted to shovel another bite of food in and wait for an answer.

My father's a psychopathic mass murderer who passed his spellbook down to me. My magic's strong enough to create an army of Adepts and cursed creatures with enough time. There was a temptation to tell the truth - at least what she presumed was the reason. How likely was he to believe her? It sounded so far-fetched… but insane as it sounded, she wasn't going to risk it just to see how he reacted.

”He thinks we're fated. Isn't that cute? I didn't expect a presumably ancient being to believe in something like that.” She met his gaze unflinchingly. Technically, it wasn't a lie. The cat had said a bunch of shit about Fate. She knew it wasn't that. It had to be her magic - always was.
”Maybe he just likes me. He’s a cat with good taste.”

Garf puffed himself up as another whole fried chicken leg deposited itself into the maw of the beast. It was a comic come to life, and proportions of the cat ebbed and flowed with the moment. Perception upon it was never fully complete, at best serving as a rough summation of what was actually inside, or behind the veil of the fat orange cat. It was only the longer that time was spent around him that these changes became noticeable, and only to those who walk with their Third Eye Open.

”Oh, I’ve got great taste, and you have so much to taste, little Honeysuckle. Buuuut, I have a feeling this’ll be one hell of a test for the both of you. I’ll have to choose a side.”

The cat’s cocky voice was so full of itself, so smug and self assured, that it would drive any sane person to violence.

”It’s just another in, Hun. You’ll spill the beans eventually, and I’ll have what I want. Case closed on the lonely curse Witch outside the-””
”-The Case of the Wicked Witch of the South, you ricotta-head!”

Elay tossed his head back in an exasperated sigh.
”You got what I meant!”

”That mean you're gonna keep me around till I spill all of my secrets?” Nessa smirked, eyebrows raising slightly. She looked down at Garf for a moment. What benefit was there for him to ever choose her over the person he was attached to? It was strange. But if she got to stick around… it worked out for her for now.

”You’ll be stuck with me a long time if you want to crack that case.” Forever, if she had her way- both in never revealing her secrets, and him being stuck with her. Forever was always the goal…
”But I'm not just a Wicked Witch- or a curse Witch. I have Yellow too, y'know. That ones not such an evil colour, is it?”

”None of ‘em are evil. It's what people do with ‘em that shows the true colors. And, uh… I really didn’t feel it. So, either it's not somethin’ you use a lot, or you’re real good at hiding it.”
He leaned forward, looking around conspiratorially as if anyone could be listening.

”You are gonna work. And I don’t mean on your back. If you’re as good as you say you are, you’re gonna learn how to be useful.” he asserted, punctuated by the cat pawing against Nessa’s leg.

”What he means is we’re a Hannah Barbera cartoon now. Inexorably linked at the hip… Because he wants a sidekick who can hold him at night.”

Elay didn’t respond, continuing to scarf down whatever food he could pile between two utensils.

Nessa thought about it for a moment. She had no idea what the cat meant about the cartoon… not like she'd ever had the chance to watch stuff like that. Even fiction books had been looked down on by her father, if thankfully not restricted. The whole thing wasn't normally what she looked for. But did it really matter. He didn't know what she was capable of, so she could avoid using the magic she hated. And she still got what she wanted… company day and night.

”I like the sound of 'inexorably linked at the hip.’ If you're that desperate for my company all the time, I'll work, I'll learn, whatever.” Nessa smiled slightly, seeming unbothered by the implication she wasn't already useful. She didn't like just being seen for her use and magic- but it was fine. Just a start. It was a nice thought that none of them were evil, but blue? Very few good uses.
”And the Yellow's only on myself… so of course you wouldn't feel it.” And it was almost useless. Not weak, just underutilised. She'd spent years forced to ignore it. But she was always using it in the background- an extra layer under her emotional field to protect her worst secrets.

Incredibly carefully, Nessa found one of her hands pulling back from the table and going to very lightly pat Garf's head. A cautious motion.
”I don't think I'll be the one doing the holding… but I can try. If that's what he's into.” Her gaze moved back to Elay, mocking light behind the fake genuinity.

”I'm way more into you keeping your lips clipped, instead of babbling like you have any idea what's about to happen.” Elay grunted, shaking his head.
”Now finish eating. You’re gonna need the energy.”

Elay had already slept… The day prior had been his cold moment, allowing Garf the run of his body to utilize in whatever way he saw fit. Predation, mostly. An Adept here, a mundane Blind there; nobody could really stop Garf from climbing into their minds for a quick meal. And yet, after such vigorous physical effort, Elay couldn't help feeling his eyes grow heavy. Garf sat perched upon the bureau in which Elay kept all his basic clothing. His massive tail swished back and forth, form shifting vaguely as Elay drifted in and out of rest.

But his phone echoed across the room in a mind-shattering ringtone that made him jump out of his skin.

“She's calling again, Elay. This time, you should answer it.” Garf intoned, mental link buffering the noise to calm Elay's heart rate.

The ringtone was indicative, after all: That ringtone which Elay was most prone to avoiding should one ever call it to begin with.
“~Maybe you're weeeeeeeak. Maybe you're staaaaarviiiiing~”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck! No, go the fuck away!”

“~and we're all hung-a-ry for iiiit~”

Elay tossed what little covering he had off, letting the bulk of it land across Nessa and causing a gentle turn-over. Elay stared at his bed for a moment, thinking about the girl within. Garf had been pumping him full of good vibes all night, which only felt worse… Like everything that was happening around him was all so intentional. That he had no other reason to not answer this phone call…

So he stepped across the room, Garf's eyes never leaving his right hand until it was holding the phone. A single button press answered it, and Lazarus held the phone up to his ear without speaking.

On the other end, a sleepless Momo Motta was white knuckle gripped to her drink. She'd been trying to get through all day, making the fact that he answered at this hour so much more frustrating. She wanted to snap at him and berate her only brother, picking him apart for his behavior without giving him so much as a second chance to think…

But she knew she couldn't. It was a phone; he'd just fucking hang up like always.

“Laz…” Momo's voice hesitantly spoke into the phone.

“What…?” Was the only answer Elay could muster.

“I'm sorry… Bryn came here, and I-” Momo started, but found herself quickly cut off.

“Whatever. Need something, or hang up. I'm not getting hooked into your usual bullshit, Mo.” Elay sternly spoke, wiping the sleep out of his eyes in sheer frustration.

“Elay? Please don't fucking do this right now.” The Matriarch pleaded to her younger brother, hoping to God that he didn't turn this into another temper tantrum over nothing big.

“I'm asking you what you want that you're calling for. If it's my bills, you already know what the deal is. I've spoken to Tatiana and Roman. If it's the current incidents that are bothering you, then just know Bryn and I already spoke about it.” Elay hoped to square away all the bases at once.

“You spoke to her before me?” Was a simple reply from Momo.

On Elay's end, there was only enough tonal shift to guess at Momo's level of displeasure. The truth was, the only person who could bring her feelings of misery and frustration capable of trumping her joy was Elay… In her eyes, the boy had been given every opportunity to seek and produce success.

Yet, no matter the situation, he seemed to be a missile on a downward trajectory at all times. Hopeless, and to shame the Motta name by severing one's Lux and becoming Adjoined to an Apparition!?
But Cadenza had truly loved him… Spoiled him as far as boys went in their organization. Not to mention the skirt he spent his childhood crawled inside of.

“Yeah, I did. She's my Coven Matron.” came Elay's curt, matter of fact reply.

“I'm your fucking Matriarch.-” was the hushed but clearly frustrated reply.
“-I have a stake in everything you do. The tithe is six months backlogged, your case volume is at an all-time low, and your secretary God bless her had the balls to cover for you regardless! You don't even pay her fucking salary! I do!”

And that was it. As if compelled by some unknown force to browbeat and belittle, Moriah began to unleash every little problem onto her brother by force. Money missing? Had to cover the Agency. Meal prepping massive banquets for him to take home, siphoning product from the business. Untimely stops at the clinic, more money she felt he owed her.

“Your life is a fucking debt. Every single fucking step, Lazarus Alonso, is a step paid for by someone else's hard work. You don't know what it takes to feed you, you don't know what it takes to keep you drowned in booze, or what the cost of the roof over your head is, or-”

“Shut up, shut up! Moriah!? Come here now. Come here and fucking fight me, I swear to God and the Deer above, I will fucking devour you. Did you call to complain, or did you call because you're worried about your precious fucking juice bar babies?”

Elay was trying his best not to yell, telling Moriah everything she needed to know about his status. That biting perceptiveness was a true family trait, after all…

“Oh, no… Elay? Is one of your victims there? Don't wanna wake her up from shouting? You fucking pussy… Go ahead! Scream at me like you want to, go on!” Moriah's scowl turned upward into a mocking grin.

“Either make this conversation worth it, or I'm hanging the fuck up.” he replied through gritted teeth.

“It's so worth it, little brother… Shitty little brother…”

The dead air on the other end made Momo cackle in her seat, and the laughter only increased when she looked down at the phone and saw there was no call. On the other end, Elay had crushed the flimsy piece of glass and metal in his hand… Yet his rage only had a moment to metastasize before a dresser drawer started vibrating.

It was only more infuriating that she had the numbers for every single spare line he kept. After all, he just supplied the money. Her accounting department handled billing… She had access to everything. Full of anger, Elay ripped a drawer open to get the new ringing cell phone. It didn't have his preferred tones, so the basic buzzer just grated around in his ear.

“You need to do something to make this right. If she's wo-” Garf said only so much before he was cut off by Elay answering the new phone.

“Moriah, I don't care how you feel about the bullshit. Alright? I just don't. Either you called because you want my help, or you called to drag my bare asshole through a coal bed again. Which is it?” Elay asked with an incredibly stern tone that even Moriah wasn't expecting on pickup.

It caused the Matriarch to take a second in consideration of what to say next.

“Both. You get both. But if you do what we need, you get bailed out again. On agreement, operating costs are covered until the case is closed.” She replied in a far more business-like mindset.

“You already have a pending case.” Was Elay's simple reply.

Over that, there was more silence. Yes, of course: the case that lingered on both of their minds. The Case of the Missing Matriarch. Their genetic progenitor, who had disappeared into the city to save her beloved consort never to return again… Yes. It was the case that their entire opening agreement was based on: That Elay would find Cadenza Motta, and hopefully in turn discover what happened to his own beloved mother.

But as days dragged to months, Moriah got tired of the lack of answers. An audit revealed that Lazarus had simply fucked off the case, and in spite of his protests, Moriah dropped the financial hammer at that point. Ever since, he'd been under the gun to pay his Sister, trying to keep everything afloat so she didn't take what few resources he had away.

After all, he couldn't rely on the Grove. Not for financial support to do his hunting. After he left Raven's Rest, the town's connection to Motta money dried up… The place he once lived in like a white trash prince had since reverted to that dead-quiet coal town it'd been before… The Woods’, his second set of siblings, didn't need him anyway. He hated the idea of facing them soon, still holding the shame of an unsolved case in his hands.

“Pending case my entire cock, Elay. My legacy is the priority now. You've had your chance to look around, and you've given me nothing about it. Either accept the terms of the new case, or tomorrow I'm sending people over there to repossess the apartment and the office. You'll be out on the street faster than that fat freak can meow.” Momo asserted, tossing a dig at Garf in kind.

Elay grit his teeth.

“Brief me then… Bryn said they're… Face Snatchers? Or are they doppelgangers?”

“I don't know, Elay… They were practically clay. They could be constructs of something else for all we know. When I checked them for organic signatures, the magical signature they gave off was chaotic.” Momo explained calmly.

Elay knew well what that meant. It, or perhaps they, we're connected to some kind of Apparitional force. Lux was always organized, well mannered, and funneled into a single path. Even if that path bisector a trillion times, light always had an origin and a ray to follow.
But Apparitions followed no such rules. It was as if they were existing in a specific set of pixels in the television static… No order, no commonality. Only random placements and oddball rules that one may never expect.

“And supposedly there’s more coming? Over the mountains, from the West, something is coming in a wave. Or, waves… Bryn mentioned it.”

Elay nodded as Moriah continued.

“She told me the same. What do you want, then?”

“Ranger shit, please… Anything to get an idea about what's coming…” Momo's voice sounded desperate, like she was on a shoestring waiting for him to say yes.

“That's not detective work. That's dangerous, especially in the surrounding area. I need equipment.” He chided, trying to take from the scenario.

“Whatever, Elay! Whatever you need to do it, just fucking do it.” she snapped in turn.

“Alright, fine Moriah. But don't complain when you get the bill from Toki.”

Moriah sighed, throwing her head back.

“Are you coming to Thanksgiving?”

“Maybe. We'll see.”

Then, like he'd never been on the phone, Elay clasped the machine shut and shook his head. Still staring at him, Garf could only grin.

“So… We're covered to get more food from the Trattoria?”

---

---

---

Tuesday morning, there was a surprising busyness to Underwood Street and its surrounding alleyways. Located on the outskirts of the Circle District, the road was normally devoid of life: boarded up businesses and rundown apartments with little else to it. But right now it was bustling with people and makeshift stalls lining the walls.

It was a market that happened the last Tuesday of every month, facilitated by the ‘generous’ businessman Gideon Cross. Of course, everyone knew it was run by the Hollow… but nobody cared. There was very little good in the South Side, and having a few gang members roaming to stop fights was a small price to pay for a place to sell and barter.

There was a wide variety of sellers in the market. From sections that looked like a craft’s fair, to a small amount more like a farmer’s market, and a sizeable number of stalls selling junk like it was a yard sale. It was a place for people to maybe make a bit of cash- or trade things they didn’t need for things they did.

The Sunrise Art Collective had just finished setting up their small stall. A scratched, but stable, wooden table was covered in a variety of artistic goods. Art prints in a variety of styles and unique, small painted canvas made up about half, with photographs dotted between them. Then were the more crafty goods: little hand sewn animals, knitted hats, gloves and scarfs, hand embroidered patches and a variety of jewellery. Most of this was made of twisted simple metal or had little, hand carved wooden charms. There were a few wooden figures too.

”There, perfect!” Dominika, a short girl with a vintage camera hung around her neck, finished placing the last piece they’d brought with them at the back of the table. It was the largest painting- and the most expensive. There was a chance it could be sold to the more well off South Sider… But it was mostly there to draw the eye.

They’d purposefully selected smaller, cheaper craft items to sell. The large, impressive paintings many of their members made would be kept for selling to the rich… But art should be accessible, and they made sure there were options for everyone.

After all, none of them were well off either.

”It was already perfect, then you started fussing,” Ash rolled their eyes from where they stood behind the stall. Their green dreadlocks were pulled back into a low ponytail and they looked tired… Like always.

Nico watched from the back as the two bickered back and forth with a slight smile. The short, scrawny man sat on a wooden stool absentmindedly whittling away at a small piece of wood. His light brown skin looked pallid in the morning light, brown eyes watching his friends with warm amusement that outshone the dark bags underneath them. He was dressed for the weather and more, bundled up with a thick blue plaid jacket, navy beanie and dark scarf.

”So, where’s your fiance? I’m surprised he ain’t hanging round you like an oversized guard dog.” Ash’s attention turned to him after finishing berating Domi.

Nico laughed, shoulder rising into a shrug. ”He’s in one of those moods… y’know the ones. So he’s painting. I left him to it.”

”I’m surprised you’re awake, with how late we were up last night,” Domi pointed out.

”I’m not that frail. It’s not been so bad recently… I’ve got a good few hours in me today, don’t worry.” Nico shrugged one shoulder. ”You think Julian would let me out the house if I was gonna collapse?”

”Third surprise. Not only did he let you leave without him, he let you out of bed at all!” Domi laughed. ”Seriously, isn’t he normally all insistent about you resting after anything strenuous?”

Nico smiled at Domi slyly. As if he didn’t know all of his fiance’s little quirks, and how to act to get what he wanted. Today it had been as simple as waiting for inspiration to strike Julian, and sneaking out of their shared home when he was distracted. If he acted cute later then there’d be very little consequences to it…

Of course, he wasn’t going to share that. It was better they assume he’d been ‘allowed’ out.

”It’s not like I’m doing anything tiring. I’m chronically ill, not dying,” Nico flashed a wry smile. The most threatening thing to him here was getting a bit too excited over haggling prices. ”It’s not like anyone will try anything here, with the ‘security’ they’ve got.”

”True, they got some real tough looking guys- and gals,” Domi grinned, a twinkle in her eyes.

”Do not go after some gang members!” Ash intoned, fixing Domi with a dead eyed stare that only made her grin widen.

”I say go for it. You never know where you’re gonna find love.” Nico laughed, a gentle smile further softening his face as he thought about his love. It was a shame that Julian wasn’t here right now… But if he was, Nico would be much more stifled. Perhaps he’d noticed Nico’s absence and appear later.

”Gross, miss me with that sappy bullshit.”

”Hit me with it!” Domi laughed, moving round the front of their table with a bag of stuff they hadn’t put on display. ”I’ma go see if I can pick up some sexy ‘security’- I mean, barter this stuff for other useful things. You two watch the stall and don’t do anything I wouldn’t. Oh, first- Smile!”

Domi pulled up her polaroid camera, not giving them much time to pose. Ash didn’t even bother, completely deadpan. Nico grinned, holding up his work in progress figure. With a click, the photo was taken, polaroid coming out with a whir. Domi snatched it and started waving the black square in the air.

”Oh this is gonna look so good, I just know it. I’ll give it to Julian later… Stay safe!”

And she was off.

Nico shook his head as her back disappeared into the increasing crowd. Stay safe… like there was going to be any danger. It was a market. A strange one in a rundown part of the city, but a market nonetheless. A vein throbbed at his neck, a creeping sense of unease running under his skin. But it was just paranoia. Tiredness, maybe. He only had a few more good hours, it seemed…

But that wasn’t important for now. He turned to Ash with a bright smile.

”Let’s get to work, then.”

---

---

Vin hated market days. Sure, they were only once a month… But wasn’t once a month too often? Why were they always put in charge of the security? Sure, they were one of the least imposing looking Hollow members… But so what?! Just being a Hollow member made people wary!

They weren’t a social person and this job came with a shit ton of people tryna talk to them. Like as soon as money was involved they didn’t have any fear of death anymore. Multiple people behind stalls covered in useless shit had already shouted out to them. Like they actually had money to fucking spare…

Especially after yesterday. Dealing with Paloma, then moving a bunch of their shit to Loni’s work… Because she was attacked by one of those freaks. Much as Vin wasn’t a fan of her boss, they put Loni and Luciana’s safety above everything else. It was just safer for her to stay somewhere with loads of people. They could suffer living in the North Side some of the time for that.

But it had been fucking draining to deal with.

So they’d gotten off the street entirely, slipping down a quieter alleyway to climb up onto a roof. It gave them a good view of the whole area without risking people actually talking to them. It was way more fucking peaceful up here. Maybe they could just relax and-

Beep, beep, beep.

Fuck!

”The fuck do you want, Riley,” Vin snapped to the Hollow member on the other end of the line. Someone much lower down the pecking order than they were. He’d defected from another gang in the city that had subsequently been wiped out…

“Uh- we’ve gotta situation, boss!”

”I ain’t the boss. There’s only one boss.”

“Sorry, Vin! But I got two people here causin' trouble- and one’s demandin’ to see the boss. Course, I ain’t gonna call the boss, but-”

”You want me to come down and scare ‘em off.”

“Somethin’ like that. They really wanna fight, man, Damian’s barely keepin’ em off each other.”

”Fine. I’ll be there in’a bit.”

“Don’t you need to know-”

”No. I can smell you.” Vin hung up callously, shoving their phone back in their coat pocket. Of fucking course they couldn’t handle something so petty themselves! It was probably just two people fighting over some fucking bartering going wrong. Just let them fight!

But fuck, Gideon would be disappointed if this was all ruined.

With a groan, Vin stood up and jumped off the building. They landed in the alley with a thud, the few people huddled on it not even batting an eye. This better be the only shit they had to deal with today.

Looking like someone who’s day had been absolutely ruined- which it had been- Vin stormed off into the crowd, towards where they knew there was a ‘commotion.’

---

---

---

---

---

Bryn couldn’t believe she was coming into the city for the second day in a row. Not only that, the fucking North Side of the city. She’d much rather be at home right now… preferably in her bed to catch up on all the sleep she hadn’t gotten.

But no, because her middle sister, Laurel, had invited the hellion of the family to some kind of music event that was happening. Part of it was organised by Laurel herself, some society she was part of in University. That meant Bryn had to drive Mari in, and there was honestly no way she’d let her go off on her own. She didn’t trust her…

So here she was. Walking through Metroparks on High trying her best not to look too grumpy. Because she did want to support Laurel… she just couldn’t stand all the fucking rich city folk.

At least she didn’t have to risk their lives on that fucking boat thanks to a work pass from Momo.

“Lighten up a lil, sis. Laur’s gonna think you’re upset at her! Smile or somethin’, for fuck’s sake.”

"Laurel ain’t an idiot, she knows when I’m actually pissed off," Bryn looked down at her youngest sister with narrowed eyes. "Unlike’a certain someone."

“I know! I just don’t give a fuck!” Mari retorted, sticking her tongue out.

Before Bryn could clap her round the head, she spun around and ran down the path towards where the sound of vague classical music was coming from. Or at least there were violins and a piano in there… Bryn didn’t know shit about music.

She rolled her eyes, hands unclenching as she followed her younger sister.

She’d dressed nicer than normal for this trip to the North Side. Her normal grubby dungaree or cargo pants and tank top combo had been swapped for dark jeans with a dark green wool sweater tucked into them. The sweater had been her Mom’s… It gave an uncomfortable feeling, but they were too poor not to keep and reuse her clothes. It was useful for times like this when Bryn wanted to look a bit less out of place.

She’d even worn a small amount of makeup, though it wasn’t enough to cover the dark bags under her eyes from a night spent patrolling Raven’s Rest.

Following Mari, they reached their destination within Metroparks on High.

The Thanksgiving Music Festival- if it could be called that- was spread out across the end of the park adjacent to Crystalline Mall, the largest shopping centre in the city. The mall’s glass walls could be seen in the distance, many signs pointing visitors on towards it for the Thanksgiving Shopping Festival.

That one seemed even more insane than this Music Festival - it could only be to make money. Signs declared that rare items could be won, and that luxury shops were having ‘never seen before discounts’. It really was an enticement only for the rich.

Even this bit wasn’t much better. There were a shit ton of small, overpriced stalls claiming to sell authentic food of the highest quality with poor Lower District workers behind them that’d barely see a dime. Even fucking merch stalls for the festival itself and the recognisable bands they’d probably enticed with fat stacks of cash. Not that they’d be seeing any of that, since the morning was filled with mostly university bands according to Laurel.

They were even selling fucking instruments. Instruments! Who went to listen to live music then bought a fucking instrument?!

She was surprised they hadn’t gated off the area and charged people to get in.

The Music Festival itself seemed to have two ‘stages’- one to the East and one to the West. Mari had dragged them to the Western one, which seemed to be primarily for groups from the city’s university for now. While the crowd wasn’t large, it was bigger than Bryn had expected.

Young, rich people with nothing better to do on a Tuesday morning.

The stall already selling alcohol probably helped.

There was a large sign next to the stage saying who was playing. Mari paused, grabbing Bryn’s arm and pointing.

“Holy shit, they got the Numbats to play?! Here. Fuckkk… They ain’t even charging people? The fuck is up with rich people!”

Even Bryn had heard of the Numbats. British Rock band… More her kinda shit than the super heavy Metal that Mari listened to, or the boring country music Robin was into. But time to listen to anything wasn’t really something Bryn had and while she was the head of the family, she always let her younger siblings choose shit like that for communal listening.

“I gotta stay for that. I can just sleep at Laurel’s tonight… Fuck!”

"And force me into the city again tomorrow? Hell no. You got patrol duty later anyway"

Mari scowled, turning to look after her older sister. She was swinging between begging and arguing. If they fought enough Bryn might just leave them here.

“You came.” Laurel appeared from a nearby ‘staff only’ tent they’d ended up near, a soft smile blooming across her lips. Clearly Mari had known where to direct them to… She held herself with a quiet confidence so different from when she’d left home, showing off her much taller height now that she was no longer trying to curl into herself.

Her head tilted slightly as she looked between her oldest and youngest sisters, quickly sensing the brewing tensions. She moved in between them, giving both a quick hug.

“I wasn’t sure if you could. Thanks for makin’ the effort, Bryn.” Laurel spoke with a quiet, soft voice, and a purposefully smoother accent. She had to going to University in the city like this…

"Eh, it’s nothin’. Anythin’ to get rid’a this one."

“Hey!” Mari put her hands on her hips, but didn’t argue back like she’d been gearing up to. Not with Laurel now there. They hadn’t seen each other in a while.

There was a moment of silence as Bryn considered what to say. Her and Laurel kept in touch regularly, since Bryn helped with funding and always wanted to make sure her siblings were all safe… Even when she clashed with them. They’d called just the night before to talk about the Doppelganger situation.

Words weren’t really Bryn’s strong point after all.

“Can I borrow Mari for a bit? There’s some people I want her to meet?” Laurel asked Bryn after the silence linger, as if she needed permission. They were both adults… As much as one was an adult Bryn didn’t trust to look after herself.

"’Course. I’ll just wait round here," Bryn shrugged. "Before you go… You’re comin’ for Thanksgiving, ain’t ya? When? You gotta organise with Robin if it’s the day, cause I gotta talk to Elay."

“Elay’s coming?”

"Seems so."

“Oh.” Laurel looked surprised, before smiling. Of the four, she’d always been the one who’d been able to get on with their Foster brother the most. Probably because she was the quietest and didn’t end up clashing with his brash personality. “That’s nice. It’ll be a full reunion, then.”

"Ay, full’a fights, I’m sure… Go do what you gotta do. I ain’t goin’ anywhere."

Laurel laughed slightly, putting her arm around Mari’s shoulder and tugged her away towards the tent.

Bryn tilted her head back, looking around. She didn’t really want to be here… But she was Mari’s ride home, so what was she supposed to do? At least with this music festival shit they weren’t likely to throw her outta the park for daring to linger while being poor.

Probably.

Without much else to do, Bryn moved to the outskirts of the festival area, finding a tree to lean against. With a harsh frown, she was the picture of unapproachableness. She pulled a small, battered sketch book from her bag after some thought. Might as well do something with this time... Soon, keen eyes scanned the crowd as she sketched- both giving her references and keeping an eye on her surroundings. Just in case.

---

---

Ring, ring, ring.

The phone rang, and rang, and rang. It rang so long that it was probably going to go to voicemail-

”The fuck do you want?” Vin’s grumpy voice came through the phone at the last moment. It was followed by a distinctive squelch, and a thud. Distant screams cut through their words as they kept talking.

”I’m in the middle of somethin’- I ain’t got time for your bullshit.” More than just grumpy, they sounded pissed. They were pissed. Dealing with Paloma again was low down on the list of things Vin wanted to do today. Yet, they’d still picked up the phone… ”So spit it out.”

CRACK. It sounded like a bone was snapped in half on the other end of the line.

“Oh, I am sorry to bother you. No BS whatsoever, I swear on my life,” said Paloma.

Judging by the snapping and gooey noises, the somethin’ Vin was in the middle of was prepping a late lunch or an early dinner. Paloma would’ve assumed the screams were their neighbors but she didn’t hear anything. Obviously a movie then, probably a scary one. Was Vin a horror fan? Another question to add to the growing list that she had compiled while the phone rang and rang. Frankly, Paloma was surprised that Vin even answered. Happily surprised. It meant the apparent annoyance from earlier was just a playful act, an in-joke amongst friends.

“I don’t want to waste your time, so I’ll get to the point. It’s just, y’know…”

Paloma clicked her tongue as she flopped back down on her bed, almost burying herself under an avalanche of pillows. She had been so certain that Vin wouldn’t answer that she had spent all of her brain power on thinking of how to play things off when it rang through to their voicemail, coming up with a brilliant strategy of just rubbing her phone on her sheets until the message ended and playing it off as a butt-dial. However, now that she was on the line, Paloma didn’t know how to gracefully satiate her curiosity surrounding the true life circumstances of a true criminal. So why you poor tho? probably wouldn’t land. She swatted a pillow away from her mouth and decided to delay. Surely, the play would come to her like a bolt of lightning.

“Did you like the cupcakes?” asked Paloma. “Betcha can’t guess the secret ingredient!”

There was silence on the other end. It was broken by another snap, followed by a growl. ”You fucking with me? The cupcakes? Why the fuck- Oh, you piece of shit, this one’s fresh.”

Paloma gave an mhm. The strawberries on top of the cupcake were fresh. It was an absolutely devilishly delectable play, but it wasn't the secret ingredient.

There was a wet squishing sound, like eyeballs being dug out of a skull - or someone really going ham on a piece of chicken. Vin’s voice was slightly muffled as they held the phone away from their mouth. ”Don’t even think of running- I can do this all day.”

The screaming in the background seemed to have subsided, though if Paloma strained she’d be able to hear whimpered sobs. Tears that Paloma assumed was from how much Vin was enjoying the treat, having now finally sampled them surely.

“See, I’m in the middle of shit- and you’re phoning about fucking cupcakes?” Vin came back to the call with renewed aggression. “Let me guess, the secret ingredient is love or some shit? Lose me with that crap… You actually got somethin’ important to ask? If not, I’m hangin’ up.”

“Don’t hang up. I wouldn’t call you if it wasn’t important!” said Paloma in one breath that squeaked out like air from a balloon. She figured Vin wouldn’t be able to detect how dishonest that statement was if she sped past it. Paloma rolled over onto her back and hung her head off of her bed, staring at the shelf of neatly organized tabletop miniatures of rotting zombies and disfigured ghouls.

“Anyway, the secret ingredient isn’t love,” said Paloma. Obviously, her baked goods were made with love, hence the strawberry hearts. “It’s almond flour, so you might want to grab an EpiPen if you have a nut allergy. But it is lower in carbs, so if your throat starts swelling shut at the very least you’d still look good.”

“Hello? Vin?” said Paloma, a hint of nervousness in her voice when there wasn’t an immediate response outside the hushed whimper that could’ve been the sound of someone struggling for air. “Oh no, I knew I should’ve mentioned it in the note. I can’t believe this is happening again.”

The silence continued, punctuated by quiet whimpers and the sound of tearing flesh. Maybe they were ripping at their throat as they died from an allergic reaction only caused when it was pointed out? There was a wet splat… the cupcakes thrown at a wall in dying frustration?

”Is that it?” Vin, very much alive, growled after a long enough silence for it to seem like they'd fallen into anaphylaxis.
”I’m hangin' up.”

But there was a pause. Like they were giving Paloma one final chance to say something actually interesting.

“Nonono, nono, no, no-uh!” shouted Paloma as she sat up.

“I actually do have something important to ask. It’s, like, super important. Change our future important. Capital ‘I’ important,” she said, pausing to let anticipation build as a little smirk appeared on her face. “So…wanna guess?”

The hollow, tinny sound of a scream came through the phone, which Paloma could only assume was Vin venting frustration before hanging the phone up. Paloma acted swiftly, stammering out a quick little, “JOKING! Joking. That was a joke. For real, I just have a few questions and then I’ll leave you be. So anyway, I was thinking about what you’d offered earlier, y’know, with the career change. Let’s hypothetically pretend that I was interested. So, how much would I roughly make? Is there like a flat hourly rate or do you get paid by the gig?”

God, she'd really taken that seriously? Vin grimaced as they crushed another zombie face underneath their fingers, stepping closer to the pathetic necromancer cowering against the far wall. They wanted to hang up right there, or tell her it wasn't fucking serious… but they couldn't do that. They couldn't tarnish Gideon's good name like that. Instead, they had a chance to improve it further.

”Depends… There's different jobs y'know. Some people are like… hired men? Hitmen or whatever. Paid by the gig, not really part of the Hollow. If you're part of it properly, it's hourly. Gideon ain't cheapin' out- he treats his people well. The amount’a cash depends on rank and shit. A newbie ain't earnin' as much as someone like me. But if you’re loyal? Gideon pays South Siders better than anyone. Otherwise, you ain't gonna get this kinda pay without sellin' your body.” Vin explained, surprisingly reasonable about it. ”I ain't got numbers, but I know the costs of our places. It'd cover that and more, s’long as you ain't a gambler or shoppin’ addict.”

Paloma felt a bit targeted as she side-eyed the multiple bags on her shelf chock-full of dice.

“No addictions here,” she said, lying mostly to herself.

She wasn’t really considering working for Gideon anyway. Paloma was just curious how much someone working for a crime lord (alleged, alleged) could make because she also knew the cost of their places and it wasn’t much, hence why she lived there. But why would Vin live there? There were nicer places in South Side. Did Vin have a gambling problem? Were they a shopaholic? Or perhaps they were addicted to something a bit more physical. After all, Vin apparently had knowledge regarding how much a sex worker made. Paloma covered her mouth as her jaw dropped. How scandalous! She laid back down on her bed, propping her head up with a hand as her feet kicked in the air. Sadly, there was no way she’d be able to dig at that comment without Vin hanging up, surely.

“But after rent and bills and groceries I’m pretty close to flat broke. Currently, my retirement plan is to hope the next dragon attack isn’t thwarted,” said Paloma with a half-hearted laugh.

“It’s even more strange that we’re neighbors, though, considering how much you must be raking in. If I could afford to move out I would do so in a heartbeat. Hey, I know it’s considered uncouth to talk money, but that’s only because our corporate overlords are afraid of what would happen if we all started wage sharing. I’m sure Gideon would agree with me. So…” Paloma coiled her hair around a finger as she moved in for the good stuff. “How much more are we talking? Hundreds? Thousands?” She gave a faux gasp. “Millions?”

”Oh yeah, I'm a millionaire livin' the lowlife cause I enjoy it,” Vin snorted, sarcasm dripping from their words. If Gideon paid in the millions, they'd live in an actual house… They'd have full savings accounts for Luciana and Loni. But it wasn't that much. ”A couple thousand or so, dependin' on the bills. Y’know how it is- forget to turn off the lights and they wanna arm and leg.”

Vin wasn't the brightest, but they could sense the next question. It was already implied in what Paloma said… why did they still live where they did? Well, all these numbers were based on one person. Back when it had just been them… when they hadn't moved because they wanted Loni to have a place to come home to. Even after they'd paid back the large amounts of medical debt their mothers illness had left… But now? They'd rather save the money for Luciana. Especially when Loni didn't even seem to know what a savings account was.

”Before you start pryin’- I gotta family of three to look after. I ain't sittin' around with thousands spare. Y’know how expensive a kid is?” To punctuate their question, there was a much louder scream in the background. The necromancer was running out of bodies to throw at them… ”It ain't cheap.”

Paloma grimaced and pulled the phone away from her ear, certain that the ear piercing scream must’ve been Vin’s kid.

“Oh I bet. That’s why I don’t have one,” said Paloma.

Despite her earlier mindset of fuck those kids, Paloma actually liked children. There was even something appealing about having a Palo-mini, but the idea of actually having a child was a far-fetched fantasy. It felt irresponsible to bring someone into the world when she was barely about to scrape by herself. Perhaps if she could meet the right guy or suddenly inherit a shit ton of money from a deceased relative she had never met then maybe Paloma would consider having a child before ultimately deciding that, nope, the whole world was still too messed up and she was just too caring of a person to put her own blood through that kind of crap. She wasn’t judging Vin for having a kid, but she would just never be so cruel.

Maybe Paloma was judging Vin just a little. But who cares? It didn’t matter as long as Vin didn’t find out. Judging others was always fun.

“Sounds like a handful, too. What’s their name? How old are they?” asked Paloma. She was genuinely interested for two reasons. The first was that parents loved talking about their kids, but how they talked about their kids revealed a lot about the parent. The second was that she saw a way she could leech off some of that sweet, sweet Gideon money without having to blend up bodies and dissolve their bones in acid.

”Luciana. She’s two.” Vin’s response was very blunt. They loved their niece… But all the more reason to withhold information about her. Who knew what people could do with it? Maybe Paloma would try to blackmail them using Luciana. Vin wouldn’t even be able to kill her for that, because of her stupid fucking ghost. No way would they allow that.

Especially when Paloma was making assumptions about Luciana being a handful. She absolutely wasn’t. She was a ray of sunshine in Vin’s life. The thought of her adorable face lit up with joy made it easy for them to tear apart the remaining zombies. Their foot slammed into the Necromancer’s shoulder, breaking the bone with a loud snap and scream. It pinned her to the wall so she couldn’t run while Vin finished the call.

”Why you askin’? You ain’t one of those weirdo creeps, are ya? Why else would you wanna know so much about a lil girl?”

“Oh, gosh, you got me,” teased Paloma. Well, at the very least Vin was overprotective of their kid, even if they did ignore the brat while she screamed her head off. Funny, with how thin their walls were Paloma figured she might’ve heard it coming through the hall. “I’m actually a black market organ harvester looking for my next mark. You wouldn’t believe the demand for toddler lungs these days!”

“C’mon Vin, seriously?” said Paloma, dropping the bit. “I only even asked because I used to babysit. Figured with us being neighbors it could be convenient for you if you ever wanted to have a night out with Luciana’s pops. Plus, I’ve got a fair rate.”

The background whimpers, and intermittent ‘pleases’, were overpowered by a loud, almost maniacal, laugh. Vin threw their head back as they laughed, only terrifying the poor necromancer they had pinned to the wall more. Just the assumption of them being the parent was too much. Like they gave off fucking motherly vibes…

”That’s funny- She ain’t mine, she’s my sister’s. Her ‘pops’ is swimmin’ with the fishes…” They dropped that piece of information ominously, not particularly bothered how Paloma took it. After all, the police were unlikely to believe someone without a fat stack of cash to sweeten the report.

As for the babysitting… It wasn’t an issue most of the time. Loni took Luciana to work, which was basically full of free babysitters. But there were times when Vin was saddled with the over energetic toddler because Loni wanted to go off with her latest boyfriend. While they loved their niece, it was very limiting with work. They couldn’t exactly take her along to gang meetings.

”I s’pose some occcasional babysittin’ would be useful. It ain’t needed much- all’a the people at the club my sister works at love watchin’ Luciana- but sometimes I got her ‘n get called for a job. You watchin’ her seem a lil safer than takin’ her to a crime scene.”

The crime scene they were in the middle of was at a bit of a standstill. The whimpers were more muffled, as Vin shifted their knee to press it into the necromancer’s face to get them to shut up for just a moment. ”How are ya with that kinda shit?”

“Oh, yeah, all that crap sounds a-okay to me. Let me know if you ever need a hand. I used to babysit a ton and there was only one or two times that it ever turned into a crime scene,” said Paloma with a little chuckle before adding, “Just kidding.”

Vin just helping out with their sister’s kid after her dad had died was frankly more surprising than Vin having their own kid. Paloma had a sneaking suspicion that she was correct after all about Vin’s tough exterior just being a front. Although, “swimming with the fishes” was a curiously specific way to refer to somebody passing. For all she knew, it could’ve been a weird Vin-ism that actually meant that Daddy Luciana was a deadbeat who lived down in Florida and worked at SeaWorld. Paloma teeth pinned her tongue to prevent herself from immediately blurting out if Luciana’s dad had drowned.

“But seriously, if you ever had something come up I’d be more than happy to help out with little Luciana. I typically work the graveyard shift, but other than that I’m pretty much always free,” said Paloma cheerfully, her tone taking a sharp turn towards horrified as she continued, “Oh god, when I say it like that it sounds kind of sad. What I’m trying to say is that I’m usually home. No, wait, that sounds like I don’t have any friends.”

“I have friends,” said Paloma so firmly and definitely that there had to be an asterisk after the statement leading to a footnote. “It’s just that ever since that stupid dragon–”–her friends were either dead or acted differently around her thanks to be influenced by the Samaritan–“–I’ve been so broke thanks to medical bills that I can’t really afford to go out.”

“Bleh, enough about that,” said Paloma. “It’s really sweet that you’re helping your sister out, Vin. And here I was worried that I was living down the hall from some heartless killer! Hah!”

”You are.” Vin's voice was completely flat. Almost dead. There was a loud crack as they snapped the Necromancer's shoulder bone, followed by a muffled scream.

Quite frankly, they didn't care if Paloma had friends or not. They weren't exactly the friendliest person in the world… and they could see why no one would want to hang around Paloma. She was incredibly annoying.

And they didn't really see how being a killer and helping their sister were mutually exclusive. Sure, it wouldn't make them heartless. But they sure were when it came to pretty much everyone else. They loved Loni more than anyone else… and Luciana as an extension of that. There'd be no motivation to kill so brutally without them to provide for.

”If you ain't my sister, I don't give a fuck ‘bout you,” Vin continued, though they didn't know why they bothered. Clearly Paloma was too stupid to see what was right in front of her face. But… Vin's lips pulled up into a wicked smile, making the woman they had to the wall tremble in fear. ”But a babysitter'd be real handy. I'll let my sister know… Y’know what, you could gimme a hand right now. Y'said you work in the hospital cleanin', right? You must be really good at cleanin' up all sortsa body fluids.”

“Um, what?” Paloma blushed, caught completely off-guard by what she assumed was some kind of serious innuendo before shaking the intrusive thought out of her head. She laughed in embarrassment. Clearly it wasn’t that. Luciana probably just had an accident.

“I don’t think I would ever phrase it that way, but sure, I’m a pro. Always happy to help,” said Paloma with a bit too much eagerness. “I’ll just need a few minutes to get ready and then I’ll be right on over. Do you have any–know what, forget it. I’ll just bring my bucket.”

”I ain't at home… so bring'a bucket and whatever other shit you need. No rush, I gotta sort some shit out first.” It was a nice way to put that they had to question and kill this necromancer first - presumably Paloma wouldn't want to witness that bit.

”I’ll text where I am.”

Then they hung up without any niceties. A moment later a text came through with the rough directions to a warehouse down by the river. Instinctually, having grown up in the bad part of town for all of her life, Paloma knew right away that it was an absolutely stupid idea to meet up with someone she barely knew in a seemingly remote location all by her lonesome. Fortunately, she told herself as she dolled herself up in the mirror, she wasn’t completely alone these days. The Samaritan was always with her, even if it was kind of rubbish company and absolutely horrible at holding a conversation. If she wanted to be guilt tripped all the time she would’ve just called her mom.

Fueled by the desire to lasso Vin into her social circle (although perhaps Vin would see it more as attempting to tie a noose around their neck) as well as genuine curiosity, Paloma threw away every bit of street smarts she’d acquired over the years and went to the warehouse. It wasn’t close to her apartment by any means, but it was close enough that by the time she was beginning to reconsider her choices she was already outside of the abandoned warehouse. Her arms itched beneath her nitrile gloves as she saw the partially dissolved frame of the ruins that surrounded the ramshackle warehouse. A flimsy sheet of wood was posted up to replace a missing bay door, slide to the side just enough to act as a kind of entrance.

Paloma stepped forth, carrying the promised bucket of cleaning supplies behind her, as she poked her head into the warehouse and started to call out, “Vin? Are you–oh god…”

The cleaning bucket dropped to the ground with a clatter as Paloma covered her mouth as she gagged at the smell of rot, whipping her head away so quickly that the scene of carnage was little more than a blur. She stumbled outside as she gasped and purified her lungs with crisp winter air. Paloma reached back for her bucket and pulled it outside, her vision tunneling on what appeared to be a gangrenous leg, severed right below the knee, slowly roasting in the sunlight seeping through the warehouse’s makeshift entrance. A thin stream of the Samaritan’s golden light that wisped past the disembodied limb began to fade away. Somebody had heard her. Vin?

Paloma produced a pair of safety goggles and an individually wrapped black medical mask that was accented with cutesy floral patterns to combat the stench, covered herself up, and stepped back into the warehouse. She cradled the bucket to her chest like it was her emotional support animal as she followed the glittering gold. The inside of the warehouse was lit by dim, cheap string lights that hung from storage shelves. Paloma stepped gingerly over the rogue leg, her eyes spying the owner on the ground several feet away with almost all of their insides having become outsides and its head crushed into a fine paste against the cement. Paloma had seen dead bodies before, and this one wasn’t fresh. It had to have already gone through several days if not weeks of decomposition. At least that explained the smell.

The trail of light dragged Paloma deeper into the destroyed warehouse. It felt like Paloma was wandering through a haunted Halloween attraction, only that the production team had gone so over on the gore budget that they couldn’t afford to hire any actors to jump out and scare her. It was difficult to keep track of how many bodies were piled up inside of the warehouse because so few of them were wholly intact, their limbs lost in piles of overturned shelves and their torsos caved into a mysterious mush, with extra bits of cracked bones sprinkled over the floor like sawdust. Paloma passed by another row of shelves and jumped at the sight of a person still standing amidst the carnage before realizing that it was just another dead body, the front of its skull driven so hard into the steel shelving that it was somehow still kept upright amongst its limp feet.

Her path took her through the aisle beyond that body, its arms hanging through the shelving. Paloma passed by slowly, her eyes turning to look at the face of the dead person. She shrieked and banged against the shelf behind her as the corpse opened its milky eyes and a rattling moan escaped from its throat. Paloma clutched her bucket even tighter to her chest as she watched the thing try to reach for her, emaciated arms banging against the shelving as it found itself out of reach–or rather, it acted as if it were out of reach, its claws pulling just before they grabbed at Paloma. Paloma watched in horror as the creature pushed its head further into the shelf to try to get a swipe at her, its mouth gnashing, its eye bulging, until it pushed too far. There was one final bang on the shelf as the body fell limp, having carved through the rest of its brain trying to get an impossible bite.

Paloma’s heart was racing, but at least she was now confident that these things must’ve been zombies and that Vin wasn’t having her cleanup some bygone mob hit. If the earlier racket wasn’t enough to tip off Vin that Paloma was approaching, her arrival was accompanied by the faintest scratch of the Samaritan’s aura as well as her footfalls on the metal steps up to what must’ve been the warehouse manager’s office. This room was also lit by cheap string lights and Paloma smiled under her mask as she saw Vin at the end of the Samaritan’s golden trail. The smile faded from Paloma’s face as Vin leaned back, revealing that the golden trail actually split with the other end wrapping itself around a battered and bloodied woman who was bound to a chair. The bucket dropped to the floor, its contents spilling onto the blood pooled around the chair.

“I should’ve brought more towels,” said Paloma with a forced laugh that turned into a whimper. She didn’t look at Vin, her watering eyes focused solely on the body in the chair. “Is she dead?”

”Not yet.” Vin turned slowly to face Paloma, not bothering to hide the half dead woman. They were… Mostly human. Sharpened teeth pulled up into a wicked smile. Their eyes, dark and catlike, shone with satisfaction. Blood stained their hands, claw-like nails slowly pulling back in to normal.

Her inability to look at them didn’t surprise Vin. The fear was what they wanted, even though it didn’t bring them joy like the preceding fight. They wanted Paloma to see how dangerous they were.

An extra hand cleaning up was helpful, sure, but really they’d invited her in the hopes it would scare her away. One less annoyance to worry about…

”She’s a Necromancer,” Vin explained, leaning over so their arm hooked around the back of the chair. Their victim was still conscious enough to try to lean away from them with a choked whimper. One eye was bloody and swollen, but the other, barely open one managed to look at Paloma pleadingly. ”D’you know the first rule of Necromancy? I doubt it- she clearly doesn’t.”

Patting the woman’s shoulder as if it was some kind of comfort, Vin pushed away and towards one of the bodies nearby. It was relatively fresh. Maybe a day or so old. They nudged it with their boot, watching as the half destroyed corpse still tried to move.

”Don’t kill to make zombies.”

Of course it was bullshit that it was some kind of global Black Lux rule. As much as it was one of many their Mother had instilled in them and Loni, it was barely a part of the reason they’d beaten this woman half to death. After all, they weren’t exactly some virtuous person. They were a murderer too.

They just didn’t like the competition, or the risk of Loni coming across someone doing the exact thing that’d killed their Mom.

”There’s plenty’a good bodies ‘round the city…” Vin rolled their eyes, moving back towards the chair. She’d been stronger than they expected… but not strong enough. They were next to Paloma now, smiling again. ”Maybe I should’ve warned ya it was a corpse cleanup… If you ain’t up to it, just leave the cleanin’ shit.”

Paloma’s gaze lingered on the Necromancer for a moment longer, flicking away only temporarily to glance at the fresh corpse Vin had gestured towards. She felt the Samaritan stir inside of her, as if it were listening intently to her inner thoughts. So, this woman was a murderer? It was likely that her victims were South Siders, too, which meant the police wouldn’t try very hard if at all to look into their disappearances. So this scene that Paloma had walked in on wasn’t Vin going off on some psychotic thrill kill but performing an act of vigilante justice. Paloma knew well enough that some people were just born rotten. Sometimes awfulness had to be met with awfulness to see things made right.

Paloma moved as if she was about to head for the door, but stopped just short of it as she leaned up against the office wall. She folded her arms over her chest as she gave Vin a look. Gone from her eyes was the usual light of wonder and inquisitiveness, replaced instead by a tired expression that someone like Vin would be all too familiar with. It was the look seen on the faces of most people living in the South Side, the look of someone who has been disappointed by life too many times, the look of someone who wakes up tired, the look of someone who wants to see a motherfucker get put in their place but doubts it’d ever happen.

However there was something else in Paloma’s tearful eyes that Vin might not recognize, but if they did it would possibly be terrifying or, at the very least, irritating: a faint hint of admiration.

“I’m up for it,” said Paloma, her voice breaking and casting a shadow of uncertainty over how up for it she truly was. As if to squash any doubting questions, Paloma pushed off of the wall and stood just beside Vin. She was trembling as she stared down at the Necromancer, trying to see not the person but just the murderer instead. She felt sick. She didn’t even realize at first that her shaking hand had moved on until it tapped Vin on the back, nudging them on.

It wasn't the reaction Vin expected, or wanted. Didn't people normally run at this point? Sure, people like them- South Siders- were used to violence and death. You learned to just walk over the bodies… and to avoid the people doing the killing. Had Paloma's sense of self preservation gone when she got her fucking ghost? Or was she just one of those unhinged people who actually thought some kinda murder was morally good.

Sure, there were people it was less bad to kill. Serial killers, rapists, kidnappers… But it was also so easy to point and lie. Like Vin was doing right here.

The Necromancer had killed people… but who was to say they weren't picky about their kills too?

Not that Vin cared. They just hadn't expected Paloma to be able to justify any kind of killing. They should've said they were just doing it for fun…

They stepped forward to get away from Paloma's tapping hand, nails growing in length again. Not the full transformation- pointless now there was nothing to actually fight. Their hand lashed out, neatly slicing the Necromancer's throat. It was neatly done so there was a minimal blood splatter towards them… not that it mattered much when Vin was already covered in it. There'd been a moment when they'd considered dragging it out. Slicing her wrists and letting her bleed out in the hope that would push Paloma away… but waiting for something like that was far too boring. They liked to fight, but they weren't a sadist.

”We gotta dump her further down the river.” Vin pulled away from the now limp body, shaking fresh blood off their claws. Their head tilted towards the other corpses. ”Same for them. The police round here may be useless, but hand 'em a body and they'll throw you in jail faster than you can complain. Same with an obvious murder scene… but they ain't gonna try if it's all cleaned up and someone calls em.”

Not that Vin expected that. But cleaning up after a kill was best practice.

Paloma didn’t answer immediately. She stared at the limp body in a daze. The Samaritan’s light around it was now gone, but as Vin had moved forward to deal the final blow it had become blinding as if the Samaritan was begging for Paloma to intervene. She’d just closed her eyes instead, and now that she could see the body’s killing blow she was certain how she was supposed to feel about the final result. Vindicated? Guilty? Somehow simultaneously disappointed that she had been finished with a merciful coup de grace while relieved that Vin hadn’t dragged out their act of justice? A little feverish, mostly. She sniffed loudly, pushing up her safety goggles to wipe away the tears from her eyes.

“Sorry,” said Paloma with a hushed voice, her hand shaking as she readjusted her goggles. She wasn’t apologizing to Vin. “I’m sorry. She got what she deserved.”

The Samaritan slowed its stirring of her stomach. Paloma didn’t know if it was even listening. Maybe she just needed to hear herself say that so she would feel better. Perhaps Vin would assume Paloma was talking to them, but Paloma felt like they had already known that before they’d set foot inside of the warehouse. There was another long pause as Paloma stared at the ground, calculating whether or not if now was the time to probe Vin’s mind for some insight into how they were feeling, certain that their composure in this kind of situation to be just an act that they had mastered. She decided to focus on the task at hand.

“We should wait to dump the bodies until it’s dark. In the meantime we can just gather them together,” said Paloma, weirded out that she would ever say something like that when she wasn’t playing a game. Paloma reached and grabbed one of her blood-soaked bottles. “Blood is easy enough to get out with some bleach and water. I got some already mixed here and plenty of bleach on back up, but we’d need to get some more water.”

“And more rags,” said Paloma as she pulled a bag of cleaning towels out of the bucket, sprayed one with the bloody bottle in her hand, and began wiping the blood off of the supplies the best she could. “Lots and lots of rags.” Her demeanor started to loosen as she polished the bottle clean. “Oh! And we need some music. You wanna DJ?”

”On what?” Vin was already getting to work on piling up the bodies by untying the dead Necromancer, hefting her over their shoulder. With their free hand, they gestured to their surroundings. The dingy warehouse, covered in bodies in various states of decay. Not a single speaker in sight. Vin hadn’t exactly brought one… They weren’t exactly gonna lug the CD player from home here. ”You got a phone good enough to play music outta its speakers?”

Paloma slipped off her gloves before she pulled out an old, battered iPod. She unwound the wired earbuds, popped one in her ear, and held the other out to Vin as an offering. The cord was so short that they would practically become conjoined twins. “Wanna share?”

They rolled their eyes, dumping the Necromancer’s body against the back wall. ”I’ll do the body gatherin’, you do the cleanin’. Water wise… how clean’s it gotta be? I can fill some shit with water from the river and drag it up here, but it ain’t exactly nice.”

Vin was already on their way towards another body- a rather large man at least a month dead. The rotten smell of decay wasn’t exactly pleasant, but they’d smelt similarly awful smells all the time growing up. They pulled the pulverised zombie with one hand like it was nothing. “As for rags… Well, there’s probably some shit outside. Or… How bout we mug some people for their clothes?”

Their lips pulled back into a sharp toothed grin. It was probably a joke.

“Oh, good call,” said Paloma as she returned the grin. “Then we can just threaten them and make them do all the cleaning for us while we sit back and supervise. Just kidding. We’d have to get rid of all the witnesses after and be right back where we started.”

She put her gloves back on with a loud snap and began arranging her cleaning equipment on a mostly unsoiled desk.

“Anyway, the river water is probably safe to use. I’m sure this place had to have a janitor’s closet at some point,” said Paloma, glancing out the foreman’s window over the warehouse floor. “If we’re really lucky it might even have a trench drain.”

Vin had no idea what a trench drain was, but it probably wasn’t very important. Paloma would find it if it was needed. ”Pretty sure she kept bodies in the closet… But I’ll check for any buckets or rags and shit. After I pile up the zombies. You just get to cleanin’, and I’ll make sure you got everythin’ you need.”

Maybe working with this annoying woman wouldn’t be so bad after all.

---

---

”Alright. We’re gonna need to throw ‘em in over a bit of time. If we do ‘em all at once it’ll be fucking obvious.”

Many painful hours later, and two trips by Vin, the two were at a section of a river about twenty minutes away from the Warehouse. It was still in the city, but a derelict and near completely abandoned section of the Southside. It was just beyond where the two of them lived- the true outskirts of the city. It had never been a good area, but now it was just hunks of metal and close to collapsing buildings. Even the homeless people of the city didn’t venture out here- the rat infested streets of even the Junglelands were preferable.

Vin had taken a… creative approach to the sheer quantity of bodies they had to transport.

Skeletons were snapped into bits and zombies were cut into rough chunks that could be thrown into trash bags. In the end, there were about five bags of body parts and one whole Necromancer - who they’d decided to leave intact and transported in her own bag.

”I can dump her first… Then just throw body bits in. Maybe a competition? Who can throw furthest.” Vin laughed, squatting down right beside the river. Thanks to the destruction of the area, there was absolutely no safety next to it. All that was left was dirt just enough above the water level to not be covered in it.

”It’ll be me. I throw furthest.”

”Oh god, that's so wrong,” said Paloma with a look of horror on her face. These were the bodies of murdered victims. Surely, she was thinking that they should be treated with respect. The look dropped as Paloma grabbed a skeletal hand. ”It's all about finesse, not strength.”

Paloma whipped the hand like a frisbee. It almost immediately spiked into the ground, not even making it into the river.

”T-that one doesn't count!”

Paloma grabbed the hand. Fully warmed up, she readied herself for the real attempt as she took a deep breath. With too loud of a ”Yah!” for what should've been a covert operation, Paloma spun like a shot putter and released the hand. She scanned the river for a splash and when she didn't see one she was certain that she had launched the hand beyond the horizon, unaware that the hand had slipped during her spin and had landed amongst the rocks and litter behind her.

”Beat that,” said Paloma as she pumped her fist.

If Vin liked Paloma more, or was a nicer person, they would have let her have it. But neither were true, so… They started laughing. A harsh, mocking laugh as they walked right up behind Paloma.

”Oh, wow. You’re the best at-” They crouched, picking up the skeletal hand she’d dropped before shoving it into her vision. ”-dropping things.” They stepped out from behind Paloma, arm flinging out to hurl the hand. It arced perfectly in the air before plopping into the water at around the halfway mark. They made it look so easy.

They could get it further. They could probably get it to the other side if they wanted to… but where was the fun in completely destroying her? What if she lost interest because she couldn’t dream of catching up? Then it would be pretty boring.

With a smirk, Vin turned to Paloma, arms crossing in front of their chest. ”Your turn. Try to get it in the water this time.”

“Clearly I was doing a bit,” lied Paloma.

Her face sank as she watched Vin’s perfect arc. Vin must’ve been using magic. Plus, they probably had practiced the sport of limb disposal before. Either way, this contest was unfair and rigged. Paloma pushed away the nagging thought that was trying to pinpoint the last time she had attempted to throw something competitively, fearing the mortifying revelation that it had likely been gym class and the even more horrifying realization of how long ago gym class had been.

She grabbed a skull this time and gripped it like it was a bowling ball with her fingers looped through its eye sockets. Paloma shimmied up to the edge of the river. She let the skull drop low down to her knees and then gave it her strongest granny shot. The skull soared up, up, up and then over her head, landing just beside the pile she had pulled it from. Paloma scrubbed the look of shock off of her face as fast as she possibly could as she shot Vin a sweet little smile.

“Just kidding. This is the real attempt.”

Paloma picked the skull back up. She stared directly into the empty eye sockets, overfilling them with threats promising to find a way to resurrect the owner of the skull just so that she could kill them dead again if they didn’t cooperate. Then she windmilled her arm as fast as she could, releasing the skull like it was a softball, the cranium almost immediately veering to the ground and splintering into smaller fragments as it hit the corner of a cinder block. Most of the bones sprinkled unimpressively amongst the shallows, but dumb luck had one fragment hit the water just right. The flat bit of jawline skipped across the river like a stone before plopping in roughly around the same area that Vin had sunk their first attempt.

“Holy sh–uhh, that’s how you do it! Your turn!” said Paloma in a sing-song voice. “It’s all about finesse, really. Lemme know if you need any pointers.”

She fell behind Vin to let them take their shot, a wicked little smile creeping its way onto her face as Paloma prepared to let loose a loud, distracting cough at just the right moment to really fuck with Vin’s attempt. She didn’t recall there being any rules about winning the competition clean.

Vin was impressed by Paloma’s ability to consistently throw bones into the ground or behind her. She had an amazing inability to throw forward- one of the simplest things to do. Yet, somehow she threw the skull into the ground hard enough to have one fragment skim across the water like the broken pieces of brick they used to throw onto the river with Loni.

But it was a fluke. Finesse, sure… Finesse could definitely help with throwing, but Paloma clearly didn’t have that. If anything the opposite. She was clumsy as fuck! Impressively so.

”Oh, sure, what kinda pointers you got? Is it throw it at the ground and hope it shatters?” Vin cackled. ”You’re gonna waste all your energy spinning your arm like that! C’mon, watch.”

Vin shrugged off their jacket before crouching down, picking up one of the grimmer body parts- a severed foot. It stank, with the skin peeling off to reveal rotting flesh underneath. They shifted their feet to a shoulder width apart, arm coming back behind their head. In a perfect, slow arch they made a motion to throw the foot overhead. Their lithe arm muscles tensed with the movement.

A loud cough threw off their motion, causing them to let go of the foot earlier than they wanted to, when their hand was right above their head.

The gangrene ridden foot soared through the sky like a majestic bird. It continued its glorious migration all the way to the other side of the river, plopping onto the other side. It slowly started to roll towards the edge of the river.

”Shit!” Vin’s hand came back down to slap over their face. They’d been purposefully controlling their strength and aim… But automatically went all out when thrown off by Paloma’s cough. While they weren’t actively using magic, their body was so saturated in Green Lux now that it was never going to be a fair competition. They could throw it to the other side after all.

But they hadn’t meant to. Their eyes narrowed as they watched the zombie foot thankfully roll over the edge of the bank and drop into the water.

”Whoops. You scared me so much I accidentally used magic, which ain’t fair in limbs throwing competitions. I guess we’re still even,” they intoned like someone was holding a gun to their head. Why did they even care so much about making it a competition? It just prolonged their time together… But the alternative right now was packing up their sisters shit and going over there. Being around Loni’s boss was somehow worse than being around Paloma. ”Your turn again… Actually, let’s throw at the same time. We’re gonna be here hours at this rate.”

“Nuh-uh-uh. Magic is a clear disqualification,” said Paloma with a wag of her finger and a shitty little grin. “How can anyone prove that you weren’t juicing on your first attempt?” She glanced at her phone. It was getting late and technically she still had to make it to work that evening. “Ohh, but I'd rather be a good sport about it all. We’ll just call it a tie.”

Together the two dragged the trash bags closer to the shore and began chucking the body parts into the river like they were breadcrumbs to feed the ducks. Paloma kept circling back to a thought in her head that all of this was absolutely fucked up and insane and also kind of exciting. Worried that she might peel back too much if she kept delving deeper into her mind, Paloma began to empty her head by running her mouth.

“Who’da thought that when we met this morning we’d be covering up a murder together,” said Paloma with a nervous giggle.

“Don’t worry, it was justified. I’m not judging or anything, I mean, I’m an accomplice now, but it’s just not where I’d have seen things going, like, ever. This isn’t even the worst thing I’ve cleaned up. I mean I’ll spare you the details but some of the bed pans I’ve had to…yuck! Actually, but they aren’t the worst thing I’ve ever cleaned up. You know what is? You’d never guess,” said Paloma, taking her first breath in forever. “It’s peanut butter. It just smears and coats everything. It’s so frustrating. Hey, are you okay?”

“I mean, like, are you okay?” asked Paloma, her voice growing serious. “Clearly that competition was just a coping thing, right? It’s okay if you’re not okay, okay?”

”Huh? Why wouldn't I be okay?” Vin shot Paloma a look of pure confusion. They dumped a whole torso in the river with ease… They were getting close to the end of the body parts now. Thank god.

But what did she mean by the competition being a coping thing? And that it was alright for them not to be okay? What the fuck was there to be not okay with? To cope with? Sure, the thought of shit being covered in enough peanut butter that it'd be that much of a pain to clean was pretty gross… And maybe the Necromancer killing had been taking out their frustration at letting Caleb die today. Probably also because of unresolved mommy issues if they were perfectly honest… But, they weren't not okay right now. They were pretty fucking happy after getting all of their feelings out with violence. Murder was just a part of their life- a pretty fun part. That was obvious since they were a gang member, so what the fuck was Paloma acting so concerned about?

Unless…

”Oh… Y'think I ain't okay cause you won't leave me alone? Don't worry. Your company ain't as bad as I thought it'd be. You really think the competition was cause it's the only way I could tolerate you? Nah. If I wasn't alright with ya you'd know.” Vin raised a hand- a zombie hand, that was- and waved it in front of them. ”And I ain't just saying I'm okay-” with tolerating her company- ”cause it's the manly thing to do. I was raised in a household of all women! I got that feelin’ shit down real well.”

“Oh, okay,” said Paloma, feeling conflicted between the wave of relief that Vin tolerated (which must’ve been a Vin-ism for “really fricking enjoyed”) her company and the nagging rub that Vin had totally just deflected. She made a face. “I more like meant…nah, nevermind. Thanks, I enjoy your company too. Today’s been–” Fun was the wrong word, or at least she knew it should be. Interesting felt wrong to say. “–exciting. My life’s so boring usually.”

Paloma glanced at the wrapped up body of the Necromancer, “Do we need to do anything before we ditch that? Weigh it down with rocks so it stays on the bottom? Does it matter if it gets IDed? I heard from a podcast that people can be identified by not only their fingerprints but also their dental records.”

”Nah, I gotta trick for that.” Vin grinned. They moved to unwrap the Necromancer, before tipping her body into the river. They kept hold of one arm so it wouldn’t float away immediately. Then the body started to… Sink. It was a simple spell for someone with Green and Black lux. Increasing the weight of dead matter… When it was the perfect weight, so it would float down far enough before settling, they let it go.

”Before you ask, it only works on dead bodies.” They stood up, brushing their hands on their tank top. ”They ain’t gonna find it like that… And even if they do, y’think they’ll put much effort into investigatin’ another dead Southie? Nah.”

With that all sorted they turned to properly face Paloma, hands stuffed in their pockets. ”And if you keep botherin’ me, there’ll be plenty more excitement in your life.”

“You promise?” said Paloma with a tilt of her head, rocking her bucket back and forth playfully like it wasn’t now a serious piece of evidence.

Or was that a threat?

---

---

Vin was pissed that they had to get back onto the street itself. It was beginning to fill up. Not so busy everyone’s movement ground to a halt, but there was enough shouting and haggling and bumping bodies that they were getting more and more tetchy. Why did they have to be in charge of this shitshow!

“-Get outta the way! Let me fucking punch him!”

“You’ll be the one gettin’ fuckin’ clobbered if I-”

“Vin!” The same squeaky voice from over the phone excitedly greeted them as they got to the site of the incident. Thankfully it was a bit out of the way of the actual fucking market.

Two rough looking men were being barely held apart by Damien- a taller, fit man… But not one strong enough to keep two guys clearly used to fist fighting in the streets apart for long. Riley himself stood at the side nervously. He was more like a beanpole, a tall, dark skinned guy with an afro that only added more height. Not the kind for a fight… But amazingly bright, and much better with his words than a lot of the other gang members.

”What the fuck is going on here?!” Vin hissed, getting right in the middle of it. Their tanned skin hardened slightly as they enhanced their muscles without showing any of the normal animalistic features. It’d be easy to solve this if they could turn to violence.

It looked a bit ridiculous as they waded in. They weren’t tiny or anything, but a five-six person getting in between four near six foot or over guys was always gonna look a bit comedic.

“Who are you? Butt out!” One of the guys leered down at them. He looked particularly nasty, with scars all across his face. That just meant he lost a lot of fights.

“Yeah, I asked for the boss-”

”You got ‘em. Fuck off and take the fight elsewhere. I ain’t askin’ twice.” Vin knew talking wouldn’t work. But it didn’t matter. It had to look like they tried. It let Damien step away to safety too.

Scar face laughed, and the other quickly joined. “No chance. You can-”

Vin didn’t bother waiting. Their hands shot up, grabbing both men by the forearm, and squeezing. Tighter and tighter until they reach the point where just a little more, and the bones would crack. Their lips pulled back into a vicious grin.

”Ready to fuck off yet?”

There were whimpers and nods, Vin letting go before they broke the bones. Unfortunately. They always enjoyed that. The fight. It was a shame they didn’t put up one… The kind of fuckers who mostly beat up people weaker than them, aside from fights like this. There were plenty of those bastards round here.

Them running away was fine. Wouldn’t have been a good fight. Vin lowered their hands, muscles still taut. Now they’d need to find something else to get their irritation out on.

CLICK!

Slowly, Vin turned to find a young woman with a camera up to her eye. It whirred as the picture started printing. The camera fell from squinted eyes, hand moving to grab the fully black film.

”Did you just snap a fuckin’ photo of me?!” Vin took a threatening step forward, eyes narrowed. They looked ready to start a fight, hands clenching into fists at their side.

”Whoa! Yeah, I’ma photographer! I see someone so hot and I can’t resist, y’know?” Domi threw her hands up. Maybe should’ve asked… But she knew the photo was worth it, no matter the consequences. A playful grin crossed her lips.

Not seeming scared at all, she held out the developing photo in her hand towards Vin, who looked ready to commit various acts of violence. ”You want it? I promise, it’ll be good. And it’s free.”

---

Loni wasn’t woken up by an alarm clock, but by tiny hands insistently patting her face.

“Maamaaaaa… Maaaa…”

"Solo cinco minutos más, Mijita…"

“Mama, up! Up!”

The patting turned into more insistent slapping and Loni opened her eyes with a groan. Normally Vin was there to deal with ‘mornings’... How they got up early while staying up so late, Loni didn’t understand. Even with Luciana more on Loni’s sleep schedule than anything… The little girl always woke up after eight hours of sleep like clockwork. With them staying at Sin Sisters now, she’d even been able to go to sleep before Loni finished work for the night.

All her grumpiness washed away at the sight of her daughter. She stood on the bed with one hand on Loni's shoulder, the other hovering above her face. Messy curls framed her chubby face which broke into a grin now that Loni was awake.

"Buenos días, Cariño." Loni reached up a hand to rub Luciana's head, pushing herself up into a sitting position. For a moment, she was confused about where she was. It wasn't her pastel pink room, punctuated by insect posters. Oh right… she'd moved into Sin Sisters for now.

Luciana brightly responded with what was probably a morning greeting in response, followed by whatever was on her little mind. She toddled away from Loni, hands grasping the top barrier Loni had put up on the bed to stop her from rolling off. She started to wave one hand at Loni, babbling insistently.

"Alright, alright, I'm gettin' up." Loni laughed, going to lift Luciana up and over onto the floor. Then she pushed down that side of the bed gate to get off too.

Luciana didn't wait for Loni, running over to a large empty space where the toys Vin brought over for her were spread across the floor. She started playing by herself with little giggles and cheerful babbling.

Loni had planned to go to the attached hotel's restaurant for breakfast but… Luciana would just end up wanting to run around. It was easier to ask for something to be brought up. No one was going to be upset if she ordered room service, after all! At least, Loni knew Momo wouldn't have a problem with it.

In the time that they were waiting for food, Loni managed to corral Luci away from her toys for a moment to get her ready and dressed. Then, she went through her morning stretch routine while watching the little girl play.

It was a bit more difficult to get her to eat. She really didn't want to be confined right now, kicking her legs and arms around when Loni picked her up to put her in a high chair. Eventually she stopped protesting and pouting long enough to let Loni airplane a bit of cut up pancake into her mouth… then she was all smiles, grabbing the cut up pieces with her hands and shoving them into her mouth. When she was done eating, Loni let her free with a sippy cup filled with warm milk to drink while playing.

That left Loni to actually eat some food herself… It was just a little more difficult when it was just the two of them. Just a little! Not that Loni was dependent on Vin or anything. She could deal with them not staying here every night! After all, Vin had said they'd would stay when it worked out work wise. Just they had an early shift today so it was easier to stay in their apartment.

Which was fine, because someone needed to check on Archie, Loni's pet giant millipede.

Completely assured of her ability to parent alone, Loni went about actually getting herself ready. Some time to choose and outfit before sitting down to do her makeup.

"Mama!"

Loni turned her head to look down at Luciana, pausing brushing blush onto her cheeks. As she got her mom's attention, the little girl smiled widely. She puffed up her cheeks, patting them with her hands.

It took Loni a moment to understand, before she laughed. "You wanna look pretty like Mamá?"

Luciana threw up her hands, excitedly babbling. Loni smiled, putting down her makeup brush and reaching down to lift Luciana up onto her lap. One hand held her there, while the other reached out for a clean makeup brush.

She gently brushed it across Luciana's face as if she was really putting makeup on. Luciana giggled, body wriggling in her lap even as she did her best to stay still. It was so cute... Warmth bubbled up in Loni's chest, wiping away any of the lingering worries from the day before.

"Close your eyes, Mijita."

Luciana scrunched up her face, closing her eyes. Loni dabbed a smaller brush across her eyelids lightly. Finally, she got her daughter to imitate her pursed lips- to loads of giggles- and pretend to put lipstick on.

"There! Perfect, just like Mamá!" Loni beamed down at Luciana as she babbled excitedly, little arms flailing all over the place. She put her back down on the ground as she started to wriggle against Loni's arms.

Luciana didn't immediately totter away. Her hand grasped around Loni's nightdress, tugging at it insistently while gesturing towards the door. Though most of what came out of her lips was unintelligible, Loni could figured out some of it.

"Mamá's still gotta finish getting ready, Baby. I ain't even dressed! Once I'm done we'll go out, alright? I got somethin' special planned... And we can go find Aunt Momo first!" Really, Loni planned to ask Momo if she'd come along. After all, it was much more fun with more people! Less lonely too... Not that she could be lonely with her daughter around. She just loved spending time with more people. "That sound good?"

After seeming to think about it, Luciana nodded and ran back over to where her toys were scattered. She plopped herself down in front of the piece of paper she'd been scribbling on.

Loni watched her with a soft smile. She was blessed to have such a perfect little girl. Then she turned to the mirror, going back to finish getting ready.

---

Loni's plan to grab Momo as soon as they were ready was foiled by her boss having a client meeting. But that was alright.

But it wasn't a problem! Loni was about to keep the both of them entertained by going outside to the nearest patch of grass to play. Of course, playing ended up being a ‘find bugs' game where she told her daughter all about whatever they found… which wasn't so much here. But there were some spiders, woodlice and even a butterfly!

By the time they went back inside as morning moved to early afternoon, Loni was helpfully informed by one of the other girls that Momo had moved from office to the main bar.

That did make Loni feel a little worried… was she busy? Did she need to man the bar all afternoon? Not that it was an issue! It was as simple as asking and accepting a rejection. Then her and Luci would just go on a little date by themselves.

The club wasn't too busy yet, but it was starting to fill up for the lunchtime rush. Businessmen looking for some relaxation on their lunch break… Loni weaved through the tables easily, ignoring any gestures from clientele with a bright, polite smile. She wasn't working, after all!

She kept a tight, careful hold of Luciana against her chest. She wasn't going to put her down and let her get lost or go up to any of the customers. No way! Even if the little girl was looking around with wide eyed excitement and waving graspy hands around.

But it was a different story when they went behind the central bar, and she saw her Aunt Momo. Luciana wriggled so much that Loni had to put her down so she didn't drop her.

"No running, Baby, hold my h-"

“Ahn Mo!” Luciana completely ignored her mom's soft whisper, throwing her hands up in excitement and shooting forward as soon as there wasn't something holding her back. She barrelled right into Momo's legs with an excited squeal. The little girl grabbed whatever fabric was nearby and tugged, looking up with big, brown eyes. She looked especially adorable, dressed in a pink checked pinafore dress with a puffy skirt over a long sleeved shirt. Her curly hair was done up in cute pigtails with matching pastel pink bows.
“Ahn Mo! Ahn Mo!”

"Luciana!- I'm sorry, I shouldn't have let her go!" Loni immediately, panickedly, apologised. She was dressed pretty cutely herself, if still revealing enough (though nowhere near as much as normal) to not stand out here. A low cut v-neck, pink floral dress with a loose short skirt with lace around the edge. Her own hair was pulled back into a single ponytail, strands already falling out, with a more subtle bow that matched Luciana's. She held both their coats under her arm, hands coming up to frantically wave.
"Maybe I shoulda left her in the back… Luci, you need to listen to Mamá…"

By the time Loni made it to Momo, big strong arms were already scooping the little girl up and hoisting her into the air.

”Luci Bambiiiiiii!”

The massive woman was dressed up for a working bar shift, bedecked head to toe in serious designer business wear. Her blouse was wide open at the front, either side clinging to the mounds of flesh and muscle that she'd bound tightly to her chest. The mass of hair she carried on her head cascaded down her back like a cape, a small tiara band keeping most of it held back from her face.

She had seen Loni the night before, having stopped upstairs to insure the room was taken care of before ultimately making her way back to her own home. But with Vin there, she hadn't put in a great deal of affection toward Luci… It didn't feel right, but giving the little girl an unequal reception wasn't right either.

So Momo was quick to make it up, cracking open a can of soda and letting the little girl sip the sweet treats with a very controlled hand.

”Ooooh, yummy huh? Remember, Luci… Blue! Blue can! The red one? Is gross!” she playfully teased the baby before turning her head to Loni directly.

”Slept well up there, Honeysuckle?” she asked the woman with a wide, joyous smile.

Some others working the bar also greeted Loni, one of them immediately shifting focus to making faces at Luci while she sipped her soda.

Luci giggled, slurping at the can with loud mmms. Her attention constantly switched between it and the silly faces, constantly smiling and laughing.

With her daughter so happy, it was easy for Loni to further relax, responding to Momo’s smile with a bright one of her own and greeting everyone else.
"Yeah, we slept great! There ain’t any lumps in that bed… Ain’t that right, Mijita? You could sleep anywhere, huh?"

Luci pulled back from the can to stare at Loni with absolutely no understanding in her eyes. But her Mama was smiling, so she smiled and babbled as if she did understand. Then she turned back around to Momo, patting her to get her attention.

“Ah ee? Peh! Peh ee!” After saying whatever wise words she had to say, Luci started patting her own cheeks while staring up at Momo with shining eyes.

Loni tilted her head, before laughing. It was that same motion she’d made earlier… Of course she hadn’t actually put anything on the little girl, and she always looked adorable- always would- but it was cute how she was trying to emulate her. She not so subtly gestured to her own makeup.
"Tryna show off how I made you all pretty like Mamá, Baby?"

“Peh ee!” Luci repeated, puffing up her cheeks.

At first, Momo was confused. Not exactly quick on the draw when it came to little things like these, “pretend” had never come naturally to the Matriarch. Reality was broad, and with magic even moreso.

”Ohhhhh… Momma did your makeup, my little Ladybug? Well… Lets take a look at that together, huh?”

The one arm carrying the little girl rubbed a spot of bare skin; the hand that grabbed playfully at her finger. A dart of color, like some kind of octopus shape, darted up Luci’s arm and into her shirt, climbing up to her face and spreading out into a very even-coated layer of makeup just like her own mother’s. With the free hand, Momo lifted the palm to face her and Luci.

All at once, it turned shimmering and became reflective like silver, clearly showing off herself, Luci with her fresh makeup, and Loni in the background with her own big smile. Momo’s joy was clear.

”Oh yeahhhhh! I can see it now, mamacita! You are soooooo pretty! Ain’t she, girls? Ain’t she just the prettiest gal in here!”

“Too good for this place, Mo!” one of the other girls behind the bar joked, causing the group to laugh behind Momo.

"That’s right, she’s really gonna go places." Loni joked back, leaning in to rub the top of Luci’s head. It was only a joke in that Loni didn’t think this place was bad at all. She loved Sin Sisters… But she also hoped Luci could go somewhere beyond her simple life. Maybe university! Or something!

Luci absolutely basked in the attention, giggling and babbling completely incomprehensible but excited words. She didn’t really understand what had happened, but she could recognise some of the change in her reflection, gasping and patting her cheeks again. She wriggled in Momo’s arm, stretching herself up to just about manage to fling her arms onto her shoulders in a little hug.

"Aw, Mijita, que preciosa!" Loni couldn’t help but turn from the joke to also lavishing her daughter with love and attention. A few more Spanish exclamations escaped from her lips before she realised why they were here in the first place… and it wasn’t the makeup.
“Now, Baby, you gotta tell your Aunt Momo why you’re all pretty.”

“Ah.. Peh ee oot! Bih oy! Uhn Mama!”

Momo liked to think she spoke Luci’s language… But there were just some times that life proved her wrong! One day, the little girl would speak English, and Spanish… Probably Italian. Whatever other Latin language crept into her life. But for now, it was a whole lot of nothing.

But that couldn’t kill Momo’s joy. Not much could, but that was an easy thing to shrug off.
”Oh? Yeah? Can you tell Momma that one too? That way her and Auntie Mo can work that out together?”

However, there was a few seconds that Momo had extra in her head. Deep little processes allowed to ruminate and birth themselves as full fledged ideas. Then the translation appeared as if it were in front of her.

”Oh, wait! Toys!? We’re going to get a bunch of toys for Luci!?” Momo’s eyes widened, happy to take the burden of the mistake if it came to that.

There was no reason that she couldn’t take the financial aspect of it in stride, after all. Life got easier like that after everything settled back down… Now, with things coming back into frame riding a dark cloud, she’d take all the pleasure she could get. She’d need the memories, maybe.

Momo’s head spun to one of the other girls behind the bar.

”Hey, go get my coat? I’ll call Teo, she’ll be happy to work until I get back”

There was no need to ask her. Loni almost never had to ask… The presumptive, sometimes pushy Matriarch easily inserted herself into the lives of those around her.

Luci let out an excited squeal at the promise of a bunch of toys, little hands throwing up into the air.
“Oy, bih oy!”

Loni had only promised her one big toy… But that didn’t matter now. She practically beamed at Momo essentially inviting herself along without knowing what exactly was planned. It made it so much easier for Loni. It was why she’d had Luciana ‘ask’ in the first place. Who could say no to that little face?

As much as Loni was bright and confident, she didn’t like imposing.
"There’s this ‘Thanksgiving Week Festival’ at Crystalline Mall- y’know, the real big fancy one! We were gonna go yesterday, but couldn’t cause y’know… So we’re going today, cause I ain’t workin’ today and ain’t gotta worry bout crossing the bridge now! I read there’s lotsa stuff for kids… and adults too! And buncha the shops have discounts cause’ve it."

Momo was more than happy to tag along, and even add a pitstop of her own.

”Of course, Junebug! I had Marco and Regina go over there yesterday, actually… If you’d had a list we could’ve gotten everything taken care of for you… But, this is better! Are we uh…-”

Having already rescinded the makeup spell, Momo let her free hand move to pinch Luci’s earlobe in a gentle way. Her hands were so big, she practically grabbed the whole ear… But for a moment, the little girl wouldn’t be able to hear a thing; just a little rapid earcleaning. It’d feel good for the little one, a ticklish sensation that would make her laugh and forget all about the odd sensation of a blocked ear canal.

”-shopping for Christmas too? Or are we saving that for later?”

For Christmas? Oh shit, she probably should! Last year she hadn’t thought about it in advance, and ended up getting presents after Christmas because she’d spent her entire paycheck for the month… But it hadn’t been so much of a problem when Luci was only one. She loved the boxes the gifts Vin and Momo got her more than she did the gifts themselves.

But this year was different! She was way more aware of things.
"Oh yeah, probably should start that! I gotta spend all’a that money I got last night too- Wait…"

She shoved her hand into her bag, pulling out her phone. Anything she earned was put into the bank as soon as she could so… It should all be in there. Should be… Loni went a little pale as she looked at her bank statement. Didn’t she get loads after doing two shifts yesterday? Where’d it… oh.

Well, she had her credit card! So long as she paid it off.
"M-maybe later! I gotta save to get some real good presents, y’know."

While she didn’t break her smile, Momo’s eyes spoke to Loni in a way that they had before. They were absolutely accusatory, but only in the way that a knowing mother looked at their child when they’d done something foolish. Not wrong. Just admonishing.

”Does my money have cooties? Is my money orange? Does it have a little man in a top hat on it?” she asked with a very flat tone.

"N-No, but you can’t buy my Christmas presents for me. That ain’t how it works, then they’re presents from you, ain’t they?" It was an ‘argument’ they’d had before, and one that Loni was very stubborn about. After all, Momo already paid her! And showered Luci with gifts!

And of course, it was better to redirect it to that age old discussion rather than admitting the reason she had no money right now was because she spent her two days worth of saved salary on a super expensive, rare pal for Archie.

”Oh, how would you know what gift is for Christmas and which isn’t? Especially if I withhold all of them until December twenty-fifth… Then they’re all Christmas. Now, come on! Don’t you worry about your wallet, just let me handle it.” she said, finally releasing Luci from the depths of hearing loss now that the discussion was slain.

But Momo’s coat was already there, and so was her cellphone.

”Ah, shit… Alright. Lulu, be with Momma, honey. Auntie’s gotta make a phonecall. Oh, and is the car coming?” she asked the same Adept who brought the coat. She in turn nodded, and Momo threw a thumb up.

”Great. Loni, Baby, I’ll meet you in the lobby, give me… Ten minutes maximum.”

---

After a short wait, and a bit of a drive, the three reached Crystalline Mall. The largest in the city, it was named for its large glass roof that expanded upwards in ‘random’ geometric shapes. It was the peak of luxury, representative of the state of the North Side of the city and one of the first things rebuilt.

It wasn’t a place that Loni had visited very often. Nowadays they were strict about people like her coming into the North: if she couldn’t provide shift times, they would let her in. But she’d managed to come a few times… But it didn’t mean the place filled her with any less awe.

Inside, the wide ground floor walkway was bustling with life.

The permanent stores and restaurants all had signs for ‘deals’ for the special Thanksgiving Festival. There were large, digital displays describing what was going on. From special screenings in the mall’s cinema, to small rides that had been set up in the large circular hall in the centre of the building. Shopping events, kids events, even late night cocktail and wine tasting sessions.

Right from the entrance, there were extra little popup shops and stalls. Many were akin to what would be found at a carnival: cotton candy and popcorn stalls, all sorts of mini games. Of course, since this was a rich person event put on for rich people, all the ‘prizes’ and goods sold were of much higher quality than would be found at a normal carnival. Some games were even to win designer jewellery and watches… With exorbitant costs to enter.

As for the Thanksgiving theme? It was likely just an excuse for the extravagant event…

But there were staff members dressed up as the event mascots near the entrance. One was a massive, plush looking turkey with golden feathers. The other was a… Purple dragon? Like the kind you’d get in a kid’s cartoon… It was very on the nose for anyone who knew what’d happened a year and a half ago.

“Tih-en! Mama, down! Down!” Luciana wriggled excitedly in Loni’s arms, hands flailing in the direction of the turkey mascot.

"That’s a turkey, Mijita." Loni corrected gently. She looked down at her daughter with her best stern gaze- which wasn’t very stern at all.
"If I put you down, you gotta hold Mamá or Aunt Momo’s hand the whole time, alright?"

Luci twisted around to stare up at Momo, babbling something completely incomprehensible. But her expression was comedic and over exaggerated, as if she was saying ‘what a ridiculous request’ and expecting agreement from her Auntie.

For Momo, the ride had been wonderful. As unsafe as it usually was, with her in a Vehicle, impacts were anything but troublesome. Hence, Luci was allowed to play on the open floor of the limousine, with Momo sat cross-legged at the front in case there were any emergency stops threatening to send the poor girl flying. Instilling her with that sense of safety and insulation probably wasn’t good in terms of actually raising an obedient and well behaved child… But, fuck if she wasn’t going to know what fun was.

When Momo was born, she only knew “fun” from memories that weren’t hers. The rest of it was hard fucking work… Meaning, she had no time to faust that sort of sensation upon a baby girl. Not when she was surrounded by people who destroyed hard work, and consumed pain like snacks. The battle-hardened and tested Adepts of Cloverfield…

And they planned on adding a few more to their visit roster. A happenstance call in the car saw Momo inviting her Matriarchal Desciple, a teen that Loni only knew as “Little Sister”. With her, an escort that Loni would know much more intimately, especially from the Cataclysm days. Ruth L’mata, a Lesser Dame of the Whispering Flesh, and one of the only other fully-fledged Matriarchs that Momo allowed to remain in the Twin Hills specifically.

She was what many Matriarchs considered “Failed Product”, as she invariably did not meet certain criteria that the Ladies of Culla weren’t so kind about. But, her heart and soul were bigger than any other Matriarch that Momo had known. Of course, it was compensation. She felt there were things left to prove, and Momo had no problem taking advantage of that little quirk.

But for now, it was just Luci, Loni and Momo… And the latter was staring at the golden turkey with a massive grin on her face.

”Luci… Come here, love. Stand next to Auntie, okay? We’re gonna race! We’re gonna race, and we’re gonna go see the big Turkey together! You see him?” Momo giggled, squatting down and pointing a finger toward the Turkey as she motioned with the other hand for Loni to put the girl down.

Loni was a little nervous to put Luci down. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Momo- she did. Just there were lots of scary people around! Scary, rich North Siders. Sure, she’d grown up running rampant on the streets of the Lower District… But down there no one was going to kick a snotty nosed kid just for being poor. Vin was insistent they could smell it. The poverty… It was why she was always paranoid when out and about in this part of the city.

Then again, Momo wasn’t… So it’d be fine! She’d probably notice Luci going to run towards something interesting before the little girl started moving.

"Don’t run too fast, I don’ think your Auntie’s pride can take it if you beat her by too much, ‘kay?" Loni jokingly lectured her daughter as she bent down to put her on the ground.

As soon as her feet hit the ground, Luci toddled over to Momo. She threw her hands in the air with an excited giggle.
“Way! Way!” She repeated the same word a few times, hopping up and down in excitement. But even though she wanted to run to the turkey immediately, she did know what a race was. They had to go together!

“A tih-en!”

Of course, what was more fun than a race against Auntie? Only one thing. At least in Momo’s experience, there always seemed to be one thing Luci loved. That she would never say no to.

”Tachi, Baby… Say Tachi for Auntie? Ta-chi. Taaaaa-Chiiiiii” she paused, attempting to push Luci’s speech in a particular direction before she got too distracted by action.

“Taaaa… Taaa-ti. Taaaa-tiiii!” Luci tried her best to copy Momo, brow furrowing. “Taa- Ta-di. Ta-di!”

”Yes!!! That’s plenty, Baby! Oh mio Dio, I’m so proud of you Chiquita!” Momo cheered, her arms hoisting into the air and wrapping around the little girl.

”And for that? Dragonflyyyyyyy! Draaaaaagooooonflyyyyyyyyyy!” Momo excitedly intoned, snagging her by the coat and swinging her high into the air.

As she recognized what was happening, Momo made sure to brace Luci. She had a tendency of getting overexcited, and Momo had managed to catch her every time… But the panic wasn’t worth it. So, preemptive bracing brought Luci over seven feet into the sky, held tight around the chest and legs so her arms could splay out like a bird. Just how she liked.

”Get her wings flapping, Momma!” she laughed, swinging Luci down to Loni.

Luci squealed in delight, arms shooting out to the side and waving up and down.
“Daffeeee, Mama!”

Loni was watching close enough- with no insects in this place to distract her, thankfully- that she easily hopped forward to ‘catch’ Luci. Her smile was bright and joyous, even though she didn’t start to make the surprisingly accurate buzzing she normally did. Because there were so many people around, she could feel them staring…

But she wouldn’t let it actually affect her daughter’s enjoyment.

"No, no…. Not a dragonfly, you’re a beautiful butterfly! They’re way better than airplanes, ain’t they? Cause Mamá can be a butterfly too." Loni laughed, holding the wriggling toddler above her head with ease before spinning around and gliding her back towards Momo.

Of course, Luci didn’t care if she was an airplane or a butterfly. As long as she was being swung around in the air, she was delighted.

Momo’s arms relaxed slightly, however. The reluctance to play along from Loni wasn’t typical… She didn’t want to give Luci the sense that there was something wrong, so her arms started to go through the motion that they usually did, but slowly. As if building up the anticipation… She had to ask.

”Momma?... No wings? You okay?” she asked gently.

"Of course! Is just- busy, y’know!" Loni’s arms jerked forward, motion more frantic than normal. There was a little panicked look in her eyes as they darted around. Her being flustered or even frantic was common, but panicked? Not around Momo, at least. Because they were always in places where Loni felt safe and comfortable. Not a rich person mall. Yesterday hadn’t helped, with the Bakery owner’s immediate judgment of Loni and the other South Siders. It had just reminded her of how they really viewed someone like her…

As Luci slowly came back towards her, Loni shifted her whole body forward, lowering her voice into a whisper.
"They can smell that we’re from the South- Vin says so. I don’t wanna draw any attention cause then they’ll know and Luci could get hurt."

Momo’s eyes said everything that her voice didn’t have to.

”Loni… Make the noise. For the love of your daughter.” she said with a stern, motherly guiding hand.

Loni trembled just a little bit, eyes going wide. All the ‘what ifs’ ran through her head… But hadn’t she promised herself she wouldn’t let any of it get to Luciana? So if she had to endure a few stares, words or kicks, what did it matter? So long as she protected and kept safe her little light.

As she took Luci with steady hands, the practiced to perfection buzzing sound escaping from her lips. It was quiet at first, then loud enough for the three to hear. Luci flailed all her limbs excitedly, delighted laughter only getting louder.

There was immediate feedback from Momo, her face brightening with joy once more.
”There we go! There we goooooo! Dragonflyyyyyyy: Gooooooooooo!”

And then Momo began to slowly but surely start to spin and walk toward the turkey mascot. The constant rotations weren’t tremendously fast or breakneck, nor was her sauntering pace. It was so Loni could keep up, and keep making the noises. This was always a team effort. Whether or not Loni was nervous, didn’t matter. It was all important to push through those nerves, for the sake of one’s inner Joy.

She resolved to talk with Loni about it after they had a moment to themselves… Dispel this notion of bad faith that had built up once and for all…

But, they eventually flew right up to the turkey, and Momo took charge.
”Mr. Turkey! This is Ms. Dragonfly! Please, say hello to her!” she barked in her incredibly loud voice.

“Why hello there, Ms. Dragonfly!” The turkey was clearly paid very well, putting on a goofy pseudo-turkey accent and cheerfully greeting Luciana.
“You must be famished after flying around everywhere?”

Luci excitedly threw out her hands, leaning forward in Momo’s hold towards the turkey. The man in the suit moved himself so she could grab some of the golden feathers, letting out a chuckle reminiscent of Santa Claus as she tugged on them.

“Yes, you’re very smart, little dragonfly! For that, you deserve a treat, don’t you?” Before pulling anything out, the turkey looked past Luci to the presumed parents. At least it looked that way, with how close Loni had ended up shuffling to Momo.

"Oh- of course!" Loni nodded her agreement, doing her best to soften her accent a bit.

“Looks like Momma one agrees, what about… bigger Momma?”

”Oh, if you didn’t, I’d be insulted Mr. Turkey! Please, may it be your most special treat you have!” Momo said with a genuine smile… It wasn’t veiled so much as it was a fully obscured threat.

None the wiser, Mr Turkey pulled a gold foiled egg out of his pocket. In an adult hand-wing thing it looked small, but it was almost as big as Luci’s grasping hand.
“There you go, Little Miss Dragonfly, the special-est treat we have!”

Luci giggled excitedly, immediately putting the gold foiled egg in her mouth. Her lips crinkled the foil and her brow furrowed in confusion.

"You gotta take of the foil, Mijita." Loni laughed, not particularly concerned it had gone straight into her daughter’s mouth. After all, she’d eaten all sorts as a kid that shouldn’t be eaten, and she was fine!
"Give it to Mamá, I’ll unwrap it."

“Nooooo!” Luci stubbornly held onto her now damp prize.

”Hey, Miss!” Momo intoned, sliding Luci back into a more comfortable position.
”Now, you give that to Momma… And you say thank you to Mr. Turkey for your gift that I know you’re gonna love! Say it? You say ’Thank you Mr. Tadi!’” she directed the girl to the mascot with a finger, giving him her massive smile to encourage the interaction just a moment more.

Luci’s little face scrunched up for a moment, before relaxing again as she handed over the golden egg to Loni. She babbled away as she did… Perhaps giving instructions to make sure her Mamá took proper care of it.

She wriggled a bit in Momo’s arms, looking at the turkey mascot with a bright smile.
“Ban oo tadi!” She did her best to imitate Momo.

“You’re very welcome, Ms Dragonfly.” The Mascot said brightly back. If he could smile, he probably would have- unfortunately the plush turkey head covered up anything like that.
“Make sure to enjoy your treat and your day!”

Luci giggled in agreement.

"Here, lil dragonfly… Don’t bite it all at once!”" Loni handed the unwrapped chocolate egg back up to Luci. The little girl stared at it, then at the gold foil in Loni’s hand, before putting together that it was the same thing. She took a tentative little nibble, before nibbling more at the taste of sugary goodness.

"I knew she’d love it here!" Loni grinned, seeming to have completely brightened up.
"Normally Luci hates when Mamá shops, don’t you, baby?"

Luci looked up from carefully eating her chocolate egg to babble her agreement.

”There’s nothing to hate when Auntie’s here too baby!” she laughed in return, handing Luci back off to her mother fully to let the little girl be.

As they walked away, Momo grinned and turned her face to Loni.
”Did you hear Mister Jive Turkey? He thought we were fuckin’.” she laughed.
”I guess nobody’s heard of people having female relatives these days…” she laughed to herself, looking around the mall’s main area.

There was a carousel that Momo was already endeavouring to take a ride on with Luci, but that could wait.
”So? Where to first, my sweet Ladybug?”

Loni was laughing at the thought of Momo being Luci’s other parent… If that was the case, there’d be no way Loni could carry around her daughter like this! Loni bet she’d be double her current size...

But there were much more important things to think about. Where to go, where to go… Loni highly doubted there was a pet shop here that sold the kind of substrate she needed for her new millipede, so that wasn’t an option. Maybe she could get some plants for the new tank she’d ordered?

"A bit of shoppin’ first? Then we’ll have a big appetite to try out all’a the stalls they got." Loni spoke as if she wasn’t a Green Adept who could eat and convert food to magic fuel relatively easily at any time of the day… But it was more for Luci, who was happily munching on her chocolate egg in Loni’s arms. She’d probably get a bit sleepy after it, as well… The time spent shopping should be the perfect amount of time for her to wake back up!

"I wanna get some plants- oh, and a new outfit for Thursday! Gotta have somethin’ nice to change into when I ain’t on the floor."

She hadn’t mentioned anything about insects yet, besides the period of distracting Luci and then dealing with the dragonfly vs. butterfly situation. Maybe that was a blessing? All of the Deer’s creatures were loved similarly, thus there was no reason for her to be averse to the pet store… She’d save it for a little while… Maybe if Loni was just a little tired, she’d not buy any creepy-crawlies that the other hotel guests may be averse to finding on sojourn from her room.

”Let’s save the complicated stuff for last then: We don’t want to be carrying around pots of plants and babies who are tired for too long, will we? Let’s hit some real stores. I haven’t really had the chance to actually bring you to one of these shops, have I? We’ll go to one that’ll be able to cater to both of you. And we can get Vin something too, huh?” Momo asked warmly.

Loni smiled brightly, the thought of shopping more than enough to give her extra energy. It really was something she loved, even if it was normally restricted to online shopping and the occasional trip to a shop in the North when she had time around work.

"I dunno if Vin'll wear anythin' from here, they're surprisingly fussy… Maybe it's a chance to get them to dress nicer!" She had a little bounce in her step, causing Luci to giggle in her arms. The little girl still had her mouth mostly full of chocolate as she diligently and carefully ate it. It had melted onto her hands now too, but Loni wasn't too worried about that. She always carried baby wipes around.

"And no, we've never really been properly shoppin' together… It's always loadsa gifts and work, work, work." She giggled at that.
"Not that I mind. Nothin' worse than not being busy! But real shoppin' is way more fun… I never got to go to many of the shops here. Last time I came was with some of the girls cause Kayla said there was this amazin' smoothie place. It was pretty good, but I dunno with the price…"

Loni looked down at her daughter for a moment, her voice turning more singsong.
"But we don't gotta worry ‘bout the price when Aunt Momo's about, do we, Mijita?"

As if Loni ever really worried about the price when actually shopping… the credit card came out, and that was that till she hit the limit.

Luci had no idea what Loni was asking her, just that it was to her, so she just nodded sagely.

”You know as well as I do that Vin likes the way I dress. As long as you know their measurements, I know just what to get.” Momo insisted.

Her great, long legs took striding steps, though Momo paced herself so as not to lose Loni in the dust.

”I’ve been wanting to get them some really nice things after what happened on your last birthday… It was hard enough getting anything sourced into the city at that point, but still… That look I got? I felt so terrible after…”

She had only gotten a gift for Loni. At that point, apparently that wasn't the problem. The problem was, frankly, unknown. Momo felt the abject distaste directed toward her, and she didn’t stick around. Couldn't.

Loni nodded, grimacing a little bit. She was very in tune with her twin, which made it difficult when there was discord between them and Momo… which there had been since that time. There’d always been a little bit on Vin’s side, but it only got worse. Loni had never understood why it was there in the first place and no matter what she said Vin brushed it off. She didn’t like it, but just put it to the back of her mind because the two rarely interacted.

But it was going to happen more, with Vin staying at Sin Sisters with her… She wasn’t sure if Momo gifting Vin things would help. Hopefully? Hopefully! It’d be a start.

"They were goin’ through a really hard time then… It wasn’t all that." Loni said, with little care for her twin’s privacy.
"Cause they expected it to just be the three of us… And they really missed their partner, I think. It was like I had other people and they didn’t, then I got all these gifts too. At least, that’s what I think. They ain’t really into tellin’ me things so I gotta use the twin sixth sense."

Loni hugged Luci a bit tighter, though she was still smiling.
"I bet they’ll love some nice clothes in their style! They never buy anythin’ for themselves… I gotta force ‘em too when whatever their wearin’ falls apart."

”I do need your advice on what to say… I think ‘I want to be friendly with you so please accept this bribe.’ isn't gonna work.” Momo replied simply, looking longingly at Luci's chocolate egg before gripping her hand together tightly.

When she released the grip, there was a couple more identical eggs sitting in her palm. Thoughtless, Momo popped one into her mouth and nearly wretched. She'd never excelled at product synthesis. Ingredients, single materials, and metallic products were all leagues different. She could form a fully built transistor and stick it onto a motherboard for a quality working part…

But making a chocolate confection? She knew how to make a cacao bean. She knew how to synthesize milk. But the precise ingredient list escaped her. She didn't understand how her Uncle had synthesized sweets and pastries all those years instead of fucking baking…

The second egg wasn't any better than the first. Both were beyond dark chocolate, and tasted like bitter wax rocks that she had to chew through. With a grimace, she tossed them both into her mouth and swallowed without further chewing.

”Though… We should talk about that problem while we walk. My sweet Ladybug? When has a wealthy client ever given you the feeling that they know you're a Southie?” Momo asked rather sternly.

"That ain’t the same." Loni stubbornly responded. It might seem to Momo like she was in a much more argumentative mood than normal, but it was just that she kept hitting topics that Loni was absolutely sure she was right about.

"All’a the clients are from the North, and they do know we’re mostly from the South. But it’s… what’s the word? Uh- transactional? Somethin’ like that. I’m somethin’ they buy, so a lotta them don’t really see me. If they ever saw me in the street, the best they’d do is ignore me- and only ‘cause if they did somethin’ they know you’d never let ‘em back."

It was blunt, but Loni had grown up in poverty facing discrimination. Then those fears had only been fed by Vin’s attitude and what they’d gone through. She didn’t think they were entirely right, cause Vin thought they were all bad. But she knew a lot would judge her. Especially cause of her upbringing, her job, and the kid she’d had so young.

Momo rubbed her nose in embarrassment. Of course that was the wrong example… the dynamics were all wrong. Or maybe it was a matter of perception, or-

”I don't ever want you to feel scared. Or intimidated.” she spoke quietly, but with great intensity.

Being so close physically, Loni would be able to feel the temperature rising off of Momo's body.

”But you understand, there's no sixth sense. And, more to the point, you're more wealthy than any of these vapid airbags. You've been bestowed great and valuable gifts that they will never have. How could you let their perceptions destroy your joy?” she asked sincerely, voice sounding incredibly contemplative.

Loni furrowed her brow a little. She wasn’t really sure how to explain it. It wasn’t that she was scared… and it wasn’t just about any money she had now. They could tell as soon as she opened her mouth, even if Vin was exaggerating about the smell thing. But she was used to it. Didn’t care, really, cause she could take most things thrown at her.

"It ain’t like that. I ain’t scared- just a lil nervous. I don’t care what anyone says ‘bout me… I just don’t want Luci to hear." She spoke quietly too, her daughter still thankfully distracted by the now half finished egg. She was really savouring it.

"I don’t want her to think she’s less than ‘cause her Mamá’s a highschool dropout Southie stripper. She ain’t, and she don’t understand yet, but she will. I don’t want her to suffer like I did… Y’know, even in the South there’s the judgment. All’a my teachers thought I’d end up sellin’ my body or somethin’, so most of ‘em never bothered. They concentrated on the ones from the good areas who had a chance. But Luci don’t deserve that. It ain’t about my joy, it’s about protectin’ her."

She spoke about heavy internalisation discrimination so openly, like it was nothing. It was just so normal to her. It wasn’t that she had confidence issues or anything. She loved her job, and most of her life. She’d just accepted her place in the world. She was comfortable with it. But like all mothers, she wanted her daughter to have the best she could.

This was, of course, what Momo got for not running a traditional Culla Branch. Outsiders did what they pleased, while the small core of Cullan members maintained the beliefs and practices that kept them afloat. It’d never been easy for Loni to entirely accept that emotion was a spectrum, and that abject ecstasy was on one end, and total despair was at the other. Cullans recognized this totality without pain or fear, allowing themselves to strive for the “good” end of the spectrum.

The ultimate belief was that a Green Adept with their Joy was the most basal and powerful source of confidence that one could experience. That if she could only embrace such a lifestyle, and reject the apathy within that caused her to see the world with such sad eyes… She’d be free of rich and poor. Free of worry and concern.

”You’re an Adept of the Twin Hill Coven. One day, Luci will be too. And we will both be there, to help her learn that the only truly important thing in life, is her own devotion to Joy. Struggle will evaporate before her, and all these fears you have as her mother will go with them. I have sworn so before, but I’ll say again: I’ll never let this precious larva pupate into a nightmare. Never.”

Loni admired Momo, but she struggled to not feel… Lesser when she talked about something like this. Loni felt her life was filled with Joy, but she didn’t have devotion towards it in that way. Her upbringing had been coloured by suffering and her Mamá’s teachings. Her Green Lux was her connection to Vin, to Momo, to the coven, but her Black Lux was the only connection left to her Mamá. As much as she hated it, it was still there within her.

She wasn’t ‘pure’ in that way. Luciana wouldn’t be either. She’d be born with that Black Lux too. Even if she didn’t have it, even if she did just have Green… could struggle really evaporate like that? Would her struggle have evaporated if she’d just been a bit more dedicated? Not just joyful, or chasing life’s pleasures because it was the only thing she could actually do…

She knew that Momo would protect Luciana. And maybe it would be different for her daughter, raised surrounded by Adepts and love. Loni had only had Vin and a Mamá who was away more than she was home.

"I know you won’t." Even as Loni agreed, there was a hint of frustration in her voice. A feeling she tried to suppress of not being understood. But that wasn’t Momo’s fault. And she was used to it… Such a small thing was nothing compared to those who couldn’t understand her at all. So she wouldn’t bring it up.

"I don’t think I’m gonna just stop worryin’. Ain’t it natural for a mother to worry? I know my Mamá did… I dunno, I just don’t think it’s such a big deal. So long as I keep Luciana safe ‘n happy, nothin’ else really matters. She’s the most important thing in my life." Loni hoped Momo would understand that. She should, shouldn’t she?

Momo simply smiled and lifted a large hand to rub the top of Loni’s head.

”I believe that one day you’ll understand what I mean. I believe that all of this talk won’t be in vain, and that you’ll pull it all out of thin air. I know you’ll get it. Now, come on… I want to show you something.”

Holding Loni’s shoulder, Momo cut for the nearest service corridor, and slipped down behind a department store into a stairwell. Taking it down, the Matriarch cleared her throat.

”I’m just about due for visiting here, so I figured why not bring you along? You’ve never seen one. One of my secret places. There’s reason for that; but you know how much I love and trust you. And, of course, Luci. You’re both incredibly special to me.”

The stairwell led into the parking garage of the complex, this one meant for employees. There were people hanging about different entrances smoking cigarettes and taking their breaks. None of them paid Momo or Loni much attention as they walked through, though Luci’s presence didn’t exactly scream typical. After a short walk, they came to another doorway that looked to lead back into the mall. But when Momo opened it, Loni would find a staircase, once more, leading downward to the depths. Another of Cloverfield’s massive holes.

Of course this one was filled up with concrete… And, per usual, the bones and corpses of dead Paranormals. However, due to the way the bodies were cleansed through Green and amplified through Orange Lux, there was minimal impression that could be made through any connection via Black Lux… For obvious reasons, the Cullan construction crew responsible for laying the foundation work of the building specialized in Paranormal repair.

And what was more Cullan than using magical dead bodies as support joists for the subfloor?

It would still feel incredibly eerie on the waves that made it to Loni, being such a strange kind of sensation that lingering death didn’t usually have. Had there been such a thing as a “happy” corpse? They didn’t seem sad in their position…
Momo had told Loni about these places before. Told them all, that there were places in the city that were sacred, and that in the event of an emergency, they’d be given patrol of those places.

This must be one of them.

”Do you know what this place is, Loni?” she asked calmly, a smile on her face as she turned back to coax her dear disciple onward.

Loni shuddered, trying her best to cut off her connection to Black Lux so she didn't feel those occasional waves of odd, lingering death. But it wasn't something that could just be turned off… So she just held her daughter a little closer.

"Well it's one of your sacred places where you…" She trailed off, one hand coming away from her daughter to awkwardly gesture. How did she word it? Create children? That wasn't right… How had Momo worded it when she first explained it to Loni? She didn't remember.

"With one of your… children?"

As with all of Momo’s Lugar Apartado, the path ended in a thick, massive, magically enchanted door. Loni would be able to feel the rush of Green Lux as Momo willed the door to open by physically changing a small pin’s material from something magnetic, to something not. A simple shift that made her doors physically impossible to open without a great deal of raw power, either magical or physical. Most would probably need both…

Tumblers rattled about inside the framework, until eventually the frame swung open like a vault door. The inside was, like the others, a sterile brass and copper room beautifully adorned with some of the most articulate metalsmithing that Loni would’ve ever seen. Reminiscent of the safety grates that lined the walls of the upper rails in Sin Sisters, these were telltale for anyone knowledgeable about Culla, as well as the sacred geometry of the Deer itself.

Momo ushered Loni in, closing the door behind them. Even the light that came alive was somewhat copperish, an orange light bathing the place in its hue.

”Spot on. You… Said when you’re a mother, you’ll worry. You know, I do?”

As she said that, the great vat in the center of the floor opened, revealing a pool of deep emerald green within. And inside, was a baby girl just a bit younger than Luci. A year and a half of progress.

”Maybe I mentioned my sweet Fiora? Taken from me, as I hadn’t made good in my diligence to protect her. She’d be nearly ready now. Instead, I’ve… Started something new. Imagine having ten at once, Loni? Pretty crazy, right? Why would I want ten?” she giggled, moving toward one of the massive freezers and pulling out a large sample to begin defrosting in the machine.

Loni stared at the place with wide eyes. It was a lot to take in. The little girl suspended in a pool, growing in a way that was completely different from normal human biology. Or was it that different? Loni didn't pretend to know the science well… But Luci had grown inside her stomach, so maybe it wasn't so different at all…

Luci shared that look, looking an awful lot like her mother in that moment. Having finally finished her chocolate egg she leaned forward, sticky hands waving towards the big, emerald pool.

"Not just now, Mijita." Loni said softly, shifting Luci to one hip so she could awkwardly pull some baby wipes out of her shoulder bag. She tried to think about what Momo said as she cleaned her daughter's hands.

Why ten? Loni knew it was a different process, normally there was… only one, right? Was it for safety? But then… she couldn't imagine raising ten, to only choose one in the end? Surely Momo wasn't planning something like that? Was she?

"I don't know." Loni answered honestly.
"It ain't… cause you're tryna make the most perfect… child, is it? Or… safety?"

As one of the bronze clad clockwork machines spooled up into a frenzy, the frozen sample from within liquefying in a matter of moments, Momo smiled and nodded.

”It’s certainly safer. But, in the Whispering Flesh, ten is a sacred number. There were ten women who gave their lives to make the first Matriarch. Ten sisters born in the hills of Italy, that would later become Culla.”

The machine snapped to a stop, hissing and unlatching so Momo could pull the vial and slide it into another machine. This time, it shook like a rabid animal latched to a piece of meat.

”The rule is always one-for-one. You make a single Matriarch to replace yourself. But, that rule is purely based on a world where Matriarchs couldn’t do what I can. My own Mama… Cracked that mold. Broke it apart, in fact. Now, most Matriarchs born are Nutype. They’ll be as strong as me, probably. So what can I do?” she giggled.

”Break the mold again. See where this new age of discovery takes us. But, that means doing interesting things! New things. Means making changes too. Honey, if you really feel scared up there? Around all those people? I want you to think for one second about what may be under your feet. About all that stuff that they just don’t know about. And I want you to teach Luci how to smile even when she’s not happy. Because she’s set to inherit this world after you, and you can give her everything… But who will give her all of that if you can’t? She’ll learn. Like you did. And you’ll teach her. Won’t you?”

Momo’s hand reached out, brushing against Luci’s cheek to keep her calm while the machine made a terrible racket. But, Momo knew Luci didn’t like things like that. Loud, violent rattlings or motions were usually a surefire trigger.

Luci reactively went from flailing about and reaching to get down to withdrawing back towards the safety of her mom. Her little face leaned towards Momo's hand while her own hands grasped at Loni. Loni held her tightly, gently rocking her through the loud, scary noises.

She was once again thinking through what Momo said as she comforted Luci. It was normal for Loni to take a little more time to think about things before responding- at least when it was things out of her comfort zone. Was teaching Luci to smile no matter what right? She wanted her to always be happy. But that was unrealistic. She couldn't protect the little girl from everything. She could just give her the best chance possible…

"I do wanna give her everythin’… Like, earwigs! They'll watch their babies even if it means they don't eat, and move ‘em and stuff. Or burying beetles! They raise their young in a corpse- but the Mama beetles fight off intruders to defend their young. I want to be like that for Luci. I want to protect her and make sure she's happy even if I gotta sacrifice myself. I would if I had to. I ain't scared for me, it's for her…" Loni's bug speech enthusiasm tapered off a bit.

"Do you really think I can give her everythin'? But I dunno if I have all that much to teach her… I've just kinda floated through life, really? I dunno if I can change that much."

Momo pressed her fingers together tightly, shaking her hand with some dissatisfaction.

”Loni… It’s precisely your ability to waltz through life which will be your biggest gift to her. If you can impart that sense of happy-go-lucky pluck, and she manages to carry it around with her throughout her life? That’s the Joy!... Oh, I know you’ll never quite get it love…”

As the machine clicked off, it stopped all its blustering before unlatching itself and allowing Momo to pull the fully prepared slurry from its container. As she manipulated the thick Green Lux infused material, it glowed at the points where she tugged at its magical fabric. Regardless, she leaned down and planted a kiss on Loni’s cheek, then Luci’s cheek.

”Come, bring her. Show her. This is Armina.”

Once more, Momo walked to the edge of the pool and knelt down.

”Look, Luci! Look!” her finger pointed out and down into the emerald pool at the baby girl inside. Her hair was already long, and contrasted starkly.
”You know, Lon? It’s funny. You’ll be in charge of her. In a way, you’ll be her Godmother. See, she’s… My special girl. Reach out to the Lux, you’ll feel something familiar. Something I bet you’ll be surprised about.”

Loni tilted her head, looking at Momo with a wide eyed stare. She'd be like the Godmother to… the baby? The one who'd come out as strong, if not stronger, than Momo.

"What d'you mean?" She asked unnecessarily, since she was going to reach out anyway.

But there was Luci to worry about first. The toddler was wriggling in Loni's arms, leaning forward with excited coos and ahhs. Her little hands reached out, desperately wanting to touch the strange emerald pool. Loni wasn't sure if she actually saw the other little girl inside, or recognised her as that, but she was certainly enthralled by what she was seeing.

“Mama, dow! Dow!”

"Only lookin', Baby." Loni said softly as she squatted beside Momo at the edge of the pool. She put Luciana down between them, one arm wrapping around her daughter to stop her from immediately running forward. Luci leaned over it, little arms still stretching out even though she couldn't actually move any closer.
"Hmm, do you see the lil girl in there? Just like you."

Luci giggled and Loni smiled softly at her. Then her attention turned to the pool. She'd feel something familiar… that she'd be surprised about… what did that mean? Well, there was only one way to find out. Loni trusted Momo completely, so once she was sure she didn't need both arms on Luci, she reached one hand forward towards the liquid.

And there it was… Just on the other side of the pool, that sensation that Loni had been told to suppress ever since she’d started working at Sin Sisters. Inside that little girl, magic already swirling about her in such profusion as to disperse through that emerald water, was a powerful mote of Black Lux that was absolutely straining and dragging at every single wall and floor in the entire place.

And in that moment, the whispers of the closest layer of the dead spoke to Loni’s connection, and something strange was within…

Every single one was singing in unison. And their choir was harmonious and full of Joy, and clattered about the miracle of the Horned Wolf. And the choir was warm, and they sang as they poked at the heavy copper walls. And they hugged her. And they hugged the child. And in that hug, not a single one of them cared about a thing. No pain, no fear, no heartache of loss as so many dead did. And in that nothingness, they were strangely happy.

”I only know that it's working because I can stand being around her. I told you that I’d never ask you to contribute anything, and I still won’t. But, I think… She’ll be able to teach you things that I never could. And you’ll do the same for her. And, in that, Luci will grow up knowing you as her Mother, but Armina as a Sister.” she intoned with a gentle voice, looking at Loni and Luci with that little smile.

”Let her touch. It won’t hurt her; I would never let anything hurt your little larva”

Loni stared at her hand in the pool with a mixture of awe and discomfort. It was that strange, conflicted feeling whenever Black Lux was involved. The familiarity… like her Mamá's magic, cold but comforting, or Vin's, both brutal and protective in the same moment. But there was also a fear whenever she heard the dead. Memories of all those spirits her Mamá summoned that drained her of her life.

But it did feel different here. A warmth where there wasn't normally one. A gentle hug. It was nice, joyful, even through her lingering fear.

"She has Black Lux?" Loni was still shocked enough by it that she asked the obvious question. It was just so strange… especially after that constant confirmation that she was right to suppress that part of herself and her magic.

She shook her head, moving herself to crouch behind Luci. She let the little girl get closer to the water, gently guiding her to crouch down while keeping an arm around her torso.

Luci let out a joyful giggle as her hands went in, wriggling them around and splashing water across the surface.
“Mama, ha!”

Loni obliged, free hand gently moving back into the emerald water for Luci to hold and play about with. The sensation of the Black Lux pushing outwards made it difficult to entirely concentrate, but what her daughter wanted was more important. Anything for her daughter… And for a daughter of Momo's, a future Matriarch, to be her Sister? It was comforting, but…

"Why? Why did you mix in Black Lux?"

”Oh, so many have tried and failed to break the ceiling. The dome above us, so to speak, which keeps the laws of reality working as they do. As intended. I do it, simply, because someone must break the ceiling. If anyone else can be my contribution, it’s my Black Sheep. Armina is the name of a Necromancer from the stories of Culla. One who came to burn the walls of the city down and end the Whispering Flesh.” she giggled.

”It’s a name we give to girls who we think will be troublemakers. And, with her contributors, I expect quite the personality. It’ll be some years yet, but… Well, if anything happens, she’s yours to keep safe.”

She was regarding the Apartado, but assumed that Loni would take it as if she meant in the event of her demise… Which wasn’t ever going to be a problem. If Momo died before things were finished, after all, things would promptly end. And, if it were after, she’d be a Matriarch. There wouldn’t be any problems.

”But, simply? If I didn’t do this, nobody would try what I’m trying now. We would remain cloistered and ignorant as a Matriarchy. And I’ll do the same with the other girls. I’m solving two problems at once, you see: Integration of separate Lux signatures into the greater Green current. But also, the Hounding. The sickness we experience around strong Black Lux signatures. If I were to succeed in bringing her to term alone, she would revolutionize the Whispering Flesh’s capabilities.” she seemed so proud as she allowed the slurry to dissipate into the pool.

Loni nodded with wide eyed awe. It was a lofty goal well above anything she'd ever thought of. Just the existence of someone like Momo, of Matriarchs, was beyond her simple world. At times like this Loni was reminded of how far beyond her Momo was - but instead of feeling insignificant, it just made her feel blessed that someone like that had chosen to be so active in her life.

She was, at the end of the day, someone content with her simple life and aspirations. She could appreciate people with goals far beyond her without jealousy.

As for keeping the girl in the pool safe if something were to happen… Loni didn't even want to think about that

"Wow. That's amazing… I bet you'll do it. If anyone can, it'd be you." She smiled with bright confidence at Momo.
"Hmm, what d'you think, Mijita? Will Aunt Momo solve all'a those problems?"

“Yeah!” Luci giggled, throwing her hands up and throwing drops of water all over Loni. She didn't understand at all, but she could feel the pride and positivity… the answer could only ever be yes.

"That's right, Baby. You ain't gonna have to worry as much as me." Loni wrapped her arms around her daughter, pulling the little girl between her bent legs and against her chest. One hand gently tickled her stomach and she let out little laughing squeals.

Still smiling, Loni looked back over her daughter’s head at Momo.
"Will it… Help you with the Houndin'? Or is it just gonna be Armina and any made after?"

”I’ll never connect to the Hound’s shade. I’ll be dogged the rest of my life. But, Armina will hopefully open the door for future generations… Which is why my dear Kin-Sisters never bother with this sort of thing. We tend to focus on our own longevity, which means improving the quality of new generations is second in the Guiding Hand’s priorities. Only Matriarchs in positions like mine are afforded the time and space to push the envelope. It’s why my Grandmothers were able to birth my Mother, and why she was able to birth me: The first and second generation of the Nutype.”

Her hands slowly reached out to play with Luci’s before she stood and stretched, the chilly flask still in one hand.
”But, the point of bringing you here… You’re nervous. Shaken. I hope that seeing joyous glory will help you focus on what’s good in life: What’s best. But, I also know that I’m no psychiatrist, and that there’s no panacea for fear. A child is born, it leaves the womb; yet the womb was only as safe as the Mother. All else is illusory, isn’t it? This big copper room is just a womb too, it can be crushed and pierced and stabbed and rent from its seat. Her safety isn’t this place, or that place. It’s you. Your mind, your soul, your attitude… Your confidence is shaken now, but in a week? You’ll have brand new doubts, and the old ones will have faded back.”

Loni smiled up at Momo, nodding. Sure, she didn’t entirely understand everything that Momo said. Sometimes it was hard to follow when it wasn’t said so simply. But she got the message at the end. She was the one who kept Luci safe… And always would, until she could protect herself. Just like her Mama had her. But she and Vin had also had each other…

"I know. Vin always used to say I was a scatterbrain - forgetting things super easily! They’d always bring it up when I was worrying, to say it’d go away. They were always right… It’s hard adjusting still, being in the North after growing up not. Yesterday… I helped get rid of that thing! But the way the owner looked at us… I know she was judging us. I can read it. So I guess that was still lingering."

Loni scooped Luciana back up into her arms, tickling her belly as she straightened up. The toddler giggled and flailed her little limbs about.
"I’m gonna keep her safe… and give her a better place to grow up in than I had."

Momo took a clean, deep breath.

”You’d neglected that last bit… What cafe was it? Diner? I can’t for the life of me remember you mentioning any of the details!” she laughed casually, not wanting Loni to pick up on the subtle question’s intention.

As she spoke, she was moving to replace the cylinder and gather her things. The child was fed, and had a nice bit of socialization with some faces that would be pivotal later. Momo’s subtle pull on the child locked in the memory of watching Luci play in the water, and of Loni’s gentle and tender matronly love. No matter what, this girl would always love the two of them. She’d have no choice, it’d be sheer compulsion. So was the dreadful little programming, the conditioning slowly over the period of defenseless years. Millions of psychoactive triggers…

She may not have been a psychiatrist, but she knew exactly what she wanted.

"Uhhh…" Loni tried to remember. It had been somewhere she really wanted to go, but there were so many places. She looked down at her daughter, continuing to tickle her.
"Where was it, Mijita?"

Luci’s babbled answer was complete nonsense, of course, her arms flailing up to try to capture Loni’s hands. Loni let her, laughing as Luci started to playfully bite at her fingers.

"Oh! Cozy Bakery… I’d seen about it online and always wanted to try it. Never had the chance till then… The macaron I got from there was nice, wasn’t it?! I never got to drink my coffee… Now I can’t really go back, can I?"

”What!? Oh, love, you’ll be going back. How about next week, we’ll go together and I bet they’ll recognize you. Hell, I bet they’ll give you the best seat in the house…” Moriah’s voice trailed off into her smile, spiraling down into her chest where a well of lava gave a single bubble of gas up to the flames of fury.

---

With Domi gone to try and trade art for other wares, Nico and Ash were actually left to watch their stall.

Not that there was much watching to be done. At this early hour, visitors were normally looking to get food for their family or other essentials rather than art. Not that many in this side of town were looking to buy art anyway. They mostly ended up trading for food themselves. They didn’t even have to worry about anything being stolen thanks to the Hollow members on the prowl.

”So…” Ash folded their arms, looking at Nico as he whittled away. ”Now that she’s gone, tell me the truth. You snuck out again, didn’t you?”

”You make it sound like I’m a prisoner in my own home!” Nico looked up with a light laugh. ”Sneaking implies doing something wrong. It’s not my fault Julian was so lost in his art he wouldn’t notice if the building exploded! I didn’t want to disturb him, so I just left a note.”

”Nico, really? He’s gonna be so pissed.”

Nico just shrugged one shoulder. It never lasted, since Julian’s agitation always came from worry for him. He was too protective sometimes, like Nico was a porcelain doll that’d shatter if the wind got a little too strong. His chronic illness was bad, but not that bad. He loved his fiance enough to deal with it, but that meant taking these small moments too.

”So long as I ain’t caught in the blast radius. I’m gonna say I told you to go home over and over again.”

Nico’s lips pulled up into a teasing smile. ”If we’re lucky, he’ll be so excited about finishing another piece we won’t even have to worry about it.”

“We begged you to go home, pleaded with you even,” Alice joked as she hit her vape pen. She held the smoke in for just a moment to release a cloud of vapor above her. It smelled skunky and strong. Alice was wearing her typical outfit, jeans and a biker jacket, with a simple black shirt underneath. Her jacket had various pins that, in actuality, did not mean much or do much to identify who she was. Still, the pin of a hooded figure hanging did much to tell what she was about.

“He means well,” Johnny added as he draped his arm around the shoulders of Alice. Like Alice, he arrived wearing jeans and a leather jacket adorned with pins and patches, but unlike Alice, he did not have a shirt on underneath. His heavily tattooed and muscular chest was on full display. As was a guitar pick that was strung around his neck like a necklace. His beard was longer than normal, as was his hair, and it was more evident as he had it slicked back. “How we doing today?”

”Great, if you keep the smoke away from me,” Nico laughed, wrinkling his nose even though none of it had gotten near him. He smiled brightly at the two- as good a sign as any that today was a good day for him. ”I know he means well… I mean, I love him, don’t I?! Just gotta keep him on his toes sometimes!”

”Gross.” Ash intoned with a deadpan expression. ”Y’know what else is gross, and really ruined my day? Domi going off to hook up with some gang member.”

”She was going to trade…”

”Yeah, but I got a feeling that ain’t what she’s doing.”

“Let her live a little,” Art responded as she walked up as well, “some of the guards around here are cute. Especially that Marco….” One could almost see the corner of Art’s mouth curl upward in a smile, yet look as they might, they would never be able to confirm it. Their expression was deadpan, and their delivery was dry. Indeed, the most expressive part of her was, as it always was, her purple hair. The short, black dress that she wore and the platform boots that went halfway up her calves were almost identical to every other fit they wore.

“Pleeease tell me where she went, if she’s not back in ten minutes, I am pulling her out of that mistake. Or pulling the mistake out of her,” Tessa added with a sigh. They were sporting brand-new earrings that they had bought that morning, and they had two bags filled with other goodies acquired during their hunt.

“Oh don’t you dare,” Alice paused as she pointed her vape pen towards Tessa, who quickly grabbed it and took a hit, “we all have to learn that mistake.”

“Did you,” Art asked with narry a trace of emotion as their eyes slowly shifted towards Johnny.

“I’m hurt,” Johnny responded as he placed a hand over his heart, “I like to think I am a gorgeous life lesson personally.”

”I’m with Tessa on that one. Last thing we need is trouble with the Hollow!” Ash shook their head, waving a hand dismissively to Johnny. ”We don’t have a good track record of learning from mistakes.”

Pointedly, they looked at Alice, then at Nico.

”Whoa. Julian’s a gorgeous life lesson too! One I don’t regret one bit.” Nico laughed, shaving a little more wood off the small charm he was making. Delicate work, but it was second nature to him now. ”But I’m not worried about anything happening. She’s a sensible flirt. And the Hollow isn’t going to cause trouble for a group of Artists. From what I’ve heard so far, contributing Southerners like us are the kind Gideon Cross likes.”

“He likes those who do well by the locals, that much I learned from my dealings,” Alice paused as she grabbed the vape back and put it back in her pocket, “round here.”

“It is much different than St. Portwell,” Art added with a sigh.

“I’m hurt, again,” Johnny added as he feigned a faint. “I’m the love of her life.”

“See? Either we learn that we have met the love of our life, or we learn what to not do again. Win, win.”

”So true,” Nico laughed, before waving a hand at Ash, Art and Tessa. ”You three will understand when you meet the love of your lives.”

”Eh, no thank you. I’m not in the market for that.” Ash rolled their eyes. ”I’ll just keep laughing at everyone’s mistakes.”

The group would suddenly feel a commanding presence coming towards them. Through the shifting crowd they would see a older man walking towards them. He was very well dressed and had more salt than pepper in his hair and beard. Gideon Cross was inspecting the event. At his side was Marco, also well dressed with a silky button up shirt that was unbuttoned a button too many, and expensive dress pants. He walked with his hands in his pockets, yet his eyes scanned the crowd with an inquisitive look.

“Speak of the devil,” Art spoke softly.

“And he appears,” Johnny said as he pulled his posture together, “play this cool, yeah?”

Ash hit Johnny with a deadpan stare. ”Who isn’t gonna play it cool? You’re the biggest risk, Dude.”

Nico smiled slightly, glancing over at the most important man in this side of the city. There was an itchy feeling underneath his skin as he did- a sign of nerves, perhaps. But there was nothing to be nervous about… Just the old flare up. Nico rubbed the back of his neck. ”Now I’m quite thankful Julian isn’t here. Just in case…”

His fiance had quite the temper. But Nico assumed Gideon was unlikely to stop at their little stall anyway, just making sure to smile politely as he got close.

Gideon and Marco made their way through the crowd. Gideon shook hands as he went, exchanged small talks with individuals, and had a big smile as he examined the wares as he went. As he was passing by, he cast a glance towards the assembled artists and their wares and raised an eyebrow. He smirked and nodded his head as the quality of their work was evident even from a distance. He looked away, and the group felt a sigh of relief as he began to walk past. That was before he raised a finger in the air, pivoted in his spot, and turned to face the group. The finger slowly fell until it pointed towards Alice.

“Shit.”

“Oh don’t say that. There’s children here,” Gideon said with a bellowing voice, followed soon by a chuckle. He crossed the distance until he was well within their bubble. “I like to know everyone who sells at these events, and,” Gideon paused as he placed his hand on this chin and pondered for a moment, “I don’t seem to know you all,” Gideon paused as he looked back to Alice, “I do know what you have been up to down here,” Gideon said as he crossed his arms, “did you think you could deal on my turf without me knowing,” Gideon said as a sly grin crossed his face.

“It was a-.”

“Ah ah ah,” Gideon said as he raised up his whole hand to shush. “I am talking right now, ain’t that right, Marco?”

“That you are, sir.”

“And I am talking to a girl who has come down to the Lower District and is selling weed on our block without talkin’ to us first, ain’t that right. Legal weed is just across the bridge up North, and you're just be sellin’ down here at such a discount.”

“It is so expensive across that bridge, ain’t it?”

“And all the taxes they charge, go and fund their side of the city, and we ain’t see a dime of that restoration fund.”

“No, we don’t.”

“What is our cut when someone is dealing weed down in the lower district,” Gideon paused as he flashed a smile towards the rest of the group. Johnny’s hand remained at his side, though he had thoughts about grabbing his pick off his neck.

“An introduction, that’s all.” Marco paused as he crossed his arms and approached the group, “Listen, you’re doing the people down here a service, those rich fucks reap all the benefit but keep the product out of these hard working hands down here. But you can’t just walk into someone’s home uninvited like that. You’re not in any trouble, this time, but going forward, we expect you to stop by The Hollow. You scratch our back, and we will return the favor. We understood?”
“Understood,” Alice said as she uncleched everything and sighed.

“Whatcha making there,” Gideon asked as he pointed towards the charm Nico was working at. He looked over the charms that were already made and pointed towards them, “How much you charge for one of those?” He paused as his eyes looked over the various canvases and whistled at what he saw. “Marco, how is the art at the Hollow,” Gideon asked.

“We have art at the Hollow.” Marco raised an eyebrow as he turned towards Gideon. He could not remember a single painting in the bar portion of the Hollow.

“Fix that,” Gideon said firmly, he then turned towards the artists and nodded, “A pleasure to meet you all,” Gideon finished as he turned back to the crowd and began to shake hands and make pleasant talk with people once more.

“Hi Marco,” Art spoke softly and batted her eyes.

Marco raised an eyebrow and looked at Art, before he looked away quickly.

”Oh my God,” Ash groaned under their breath, hand finally pulling out from their pocket and holding the switchblade within. They stepped back, absolutely not wanting to be the one doing the talking. They were an artist, sure, but not a talker.

Nico smiled, shifting off his little stool to actually stand right behind the table. Not that standing gave him that much more height… The itching under his skin finally ceased, and it was easier for him to speak.

”This is just a small selection of the art from our Collective. Literally. We’d only bring out the small pieces to something like this- easily affordable. Everyone deserves access to art.” He explained, gesturing to the canvas. Another finger pointed at a wooden charm. ”If your boss really wants one of these, they’re cheap… But I’m gonna have to upsell you. It’s only fair the people with the money pay more, right?”

His tone was joking, and he grinned. ”We have many larger pieces, if you’re interested in having a look at those sometime. They’re more likely to fit in a place like the Hollow. Things this size are more for small homes, or offices.”

“It’s only fair when the rich pay their fair share.” Marco smirked as he grabbed a band of money from his pocket. He grabbed a singular one hundred dollar bill and held it out for Nico. “That should cover a couple charms,” Marco paused as he smiled, “and I would love to take a look at your larger pieces sometime. Let me get your number,” Marco paused as he looked at Nico, before his eyes shifted towards Alice, “and I’ll take yours as well..”

“She’s spoken for, suit.”

“There will be occasional sweeps of this district by the cops. I would like to give a heads up when that is happening.”

“Babe, its okay,” Alice said as she opened her phone and passed it to Marco.

Marco grabbed it softly and quickly sent a text to his phone. He passed it back without any further action. His eyes slowly shifted back to Nico.

Nico raised his eyebrows at the bill. Before taking it he bent under the table to get a small paper bag, gesturing to the charms. ”Whatever you want, and I’ll bag it up. You don’t happen to have smaller notes, do you? I’m sure you know better than me how few places will take that here.”

His hand shoved into his thick dark pants’ pocket, pulling out his battered flip phone. He held it out to Marco with a slight smile. ”Here. We’re just settling in, but it will be easy enough to have you round to our studio. As long as there’s a day or so notice, everyone can bring their work in.”

Marco crossed his arms, before raising one up to be level with his head. His eyes remained fixed on the flip phone for a brief moment, wondering how something like that still worked. He rested his weight on his back leg as he looked up towards Nico. Starving artists indeed. He grabbed the phone gently, and began to enter his number when a commanding voice caught his attention.

“Whose this, Julian asked loudly as he appeared through the crowd. Marco did not move a muscle except for a glance with his eyes.

Johnny quickly moved in front of Julian and placed both hands on his shoulders and pushed back. Even as strong as he was, Julian was still stronger and the sound of rubber squealing filled the air and Julian pushed through the hold and pushed Johnny back. “Easy, boss, he’s Hollow,” Johnny whispered, “he’s buying some charms, for a very fair price right now, and wants to swing by the studio for some of our art.”

Julian sized up Marco and let his eyes linger for a brief moment longer before they shifted back to Nico, softened, and a smile spread across his face. “How are you feeling today, my love, Julian asked as he tapped Johnny on the shoulders, prompting the man to release his grip and step aside. Julian quickly covered the distance and walked next to Nico, planting a soft kiss on his forehead.

”Would I be out if I was feeling anything other than good?” Nico replied with a lightly teasing tone, smiling softly up at Julian. ”I see you got my note… One moment, just let me finish this, alright?”

He turned back to Marco, reaching out to take his phone back. ”What charms would you like? I can’t take your money until you choose… We’re very honest artists.”

Marco grabbed two fifty-dollar bills and passed them to Nico, letting him keep the bill he had given him previously. He looked over the charms and thought about what Gideon and his wife would like. He settled on a pair of stained glass-infused earrings and a small canvas of a sunset over a broken town. He grabbed the bag from Nico, placed the earnings in the bag, and carried the canvas in his free hand. He nodded to the group and turned around. “Until next time.”

”It was a pleasure doing business with you.” Nico smiled at Marco’s back, handing the bills off to Ash, who was today’s money holder. They took it and slipped it into a belt they had hidden under their baggy hoodie. ”I think that’s the first time we’ve made money here, instead of trading…”

He laughed, shifting his body to properly face Julian. His eyes creased gently. ”Did you finish the piece you were working on, my love?”

“I did, yes, last night was just the inspiration I needed to finish it, Julian said as he grabbed Nico by the waist and pulled him into a kiss. “What brought the muscle over to talk to us, Julian asked as he watched the money go into the belt, a smile at the sight filled his face.

“They knew I was dealing,” Alice said with a sigh as she walked over to Johnny and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“We handled it as well as we could.”

“It was a fun first meeting. Gideon is commanding.”

”Fun is a word that could be used to describe it.”

Nico looked at everyone else a little helplessly, leaning his full weight- which wasn’t much- onto Julian. ”They wanted an introduction, and for Alice to stop by the Hollow. Which she won’t be doing alone, of course… But it wasn’t a problem so long as we stay on their good side.”

”Easier said than done.” Ash let out a short laugh.

”As long as no one else starts selling drugs without their permission, we’ll be fine.”

“No, she won't. Johnny, you and I will go. We’ll keep you safe, and if they try anything, they end up in the book,” Julian paused as he looked over the group, “good work though, all of you. You did well.

“Thanks boss,” Art paused as they thought back to Marco and in their mind, they smiled, but their face remained unchanged.

“Goes without saying I am going with you, I can’t let those gangsters stare at you unchallenged.”

“Such the romantic,” Alice said as she pressed her face close.

”Let’s try avoid beating any of them up, alright? If possible?” Nico said with a soft firmness, glancing at Johnny, and then up at Julian. It was always better to stay on the good side of those they didn’t have to get rid of. ”At least, let them buy some of our bigger pieces first.”

”If we bring in all our good pieces, I bet we could get enough to pay a couple months rent for everyone.”

“Agreed. Let’s get some money first, besides,” Julian paused with a smile, “I have plans for us elsewhere, so we’ll be civil. Copy?”

“Yes sir.”

“You know it.

”Do you know how hot it is when you give out orders?” Nico teased lightly, before stretching up to kiss Julian's jaw.

”Please, I can't handle so much fucking sappy shit.” Ash groaned, moving things around on the table to cover the gaps.

Nico laughed, still looking up at Julian. ”Well… We don't need everyone here, I don't think. There's hardly room for us all behind the table! So… Should we go take a look around?”

“That’s a lovely idea,” Julian said as he offered Nico his hand, “shall we?”

”Yes, lets,” Nico grinned, taking Julian’s hand. He turned to look at everyone else as they moved around to the front of the table. ”Don’t do anything we wouldn’t do, alright?”

“No promises.”

Nico laughed, and shook his head. He took one last look over the stall to make sure it looked alright, before leading Julian off into the crowd. Of course, he was only able to get anywhere because Julian’s height made people naturally part… Whereas Nico himself would be shoving his way through. He looked up at Julian with a wry smile.

”You’re taking me leaving this morning well. I expected at least a couple of words of lecturing.”

“Oh, we are going to talk about that later. For now,” Julian paused as he winked, “I think you deserve a morning to enjoy some art.”

”I spend most of my time enjoying art,” Nico grinned, eyebrows raising a couple of times, before he glanced around the stalls. The mix was surprising… From people like them, trying to make money of their craft, to people from just outside the city selling home grown food, to people just selling shit they didn’t want anymore. While arguments broke out over haggling, it was mostly peaceful thanks to the Hollow presence. Gave a true feeling of what this side of the city was like- could be like, if they didn’t live under such oppressive circumstances.

”It’s a shame we can’t afford to buy much. I’m hoping to find some kind of embroidery thread- or any coloured thread- rather than art. I’m running out, and can’t exactly afford a restock from the Northern craft stores…”

“We’ll I think thanks to a certain someones sales ability we can afford a few extra things of thread today,” Julian said with a wink.

Nico laughed. ”Yeah, my amazing talent of appealing to their sympathy to the poor. I think handing him my phone really sealed the deal. He properly froze up- and not just because you came in looking like wanted to punch him.”

“I did want to punch him, but he looked sturdy. He would’ve been fine,” Julian grinned, “you never know what someone is up to lately.”

”Babe… He certainly wasn't up to anything with me. I could smell his straightness a mile off, I'm surprised you couldn't.” Nico shook his head, smiling back. Not that it would've been the end of the world if Julian had actually punched him… it was easy to explain away in this situation. Most people would freak out if their fiance was handing their phone over to another handsome man…

“Bitch, you’re so cute you make straight men quesiton themselves,” Julian chuckled, “I am not taking that risk.”

Nico's smile only turned cuter, his eyes crinkling softly. ”Aw, you know just how to flatter me… Like I'd ever look anywhere else when I've got you at home. Well… he did look like he had more money- kidding, kidding, I love you more than anything else in this world.”

He shook his head, voice lowering a bit. ”Y’know nobody else has any kinda chance…”

“I know that all too well. But I will still protect you even if it weren’t,” Julian smiled as he led the way through the crowd.

”And I'd never expect you to stop.” Nico nodded. Especially after everything they'd been through. As they weaved through the people, he spotted exactly what he was looking for- a stall where someone was selling both clothing they'd sewn, upcycled, and other sewing supplies. They had a small selection of embroidery threads… Some clearly just bulk bought, but some looked handmade.

Nico squeezed Julian's hand and subtly tugged him towards the stall. ”C’mon, let's look over here… I need to restock a bunch! Especially since some people don't take care of their clothes like they should then come crawling to me to sew up any damage.”

“Let’s get enough to last for a few weeks at least. I have a feeling we’ll need it.”

”Ugh, you’re probably right… It’s scary how accurate your feelings are.” Nico laughed lightly, approaching the stall. He began to pick through the more plain coloured, practical threads first. One hand was full after picking up a few, making it harder to look… So he just handed the small spools off to Julian. Then, the embroidery thread. ”Warm or cool coloured? I’m thinking about brightening up a couple’ve my more boring pants with some embroidery.”

“We might want to do both, considering our plans for the next few nights. Better to have enough in case we need them, yeah?”

”How much of my clothes are you planning to rip?!” Nico mock gasped, laughing as he picked up a nice selection of both colours. Julian was right… and with an art sale on the horizon, they could afford it.

“As much as I can.” Julian pulled Nico closer as a wide smile crossed his face.

”Heyyy, not in public! Save that for home." Nico laughed, even as he hooked his arms around Julian's neck to pull him down for a quick kiss. Then he pulled away, turning to pay for the embroidery thread he'd picked up along with some less colourful thread.

He put them in his pockets, and reached out to take Julian's hand again. ”Let’s have a proper browse… Maybe we can find a few things for home? We're still missing a lot of shit."

Jasper caught sight of Domi, and a woman stepping aggressively towards her. “Shit. We need to backup Domi.”

”Where?" Nico was immediately alert, though he couldn't see through the crowd to where their friend was. But he did hear.

”No, I don't fuckin' want it.”

”Whoa, no need to get so pissed!”

Still holding Julian's hand, Nico dragged him through the people the short distance to where the fight was brewing. Domi was stepping back, hands in the air and developing photo in one. She wore a shit eating grin like she wasn't about to be beaten up. The person stepping towards her was a few inches taller, shoulder length hair pulled back into a messy ponytail, and baggy clothes hanging off their deceptively muscular frame.

”Domi- where have you been?" Nico called out, hoping the sight of his over six foot fiance would be enough to scare off whoever this was.

It wasn't, of course. Vin was close enough to grab Domi, but their hands were still clenched into fists at their side. ”Give me the fuckin' camera. I ain't lettin' some creep take pics of people that ain't consentin'.”

“Bro, what are you going to do,” Julian responded bluntly as he moved in front of Domi.

Vin's head tilted back to look Julian in the eye, their own narrowing. Their scowl broke for a sharp toothed grin, a dangerous glint in their dark eyes. ”Fuckin’ get outta the way, unless you want me to break you before I smash the fuckin' camera. Y'think your height’s gonna save you? Or you wanna fight? Go on, bro, give it your best shot.”

Julian simply leaned forward towards the troubled girl and smirked. “Nah.”

”Then get outta my fuckin' way.” It was taking a lot for Vin to not start the fight. They could… Sure, Gideon would probably beat them to shit afterwards for hitting civilians who hadn't started shit again, but it'd be totally worth it to wipe the smile off this smug bastard's face.

”Look, if she promises not to take any more pictures of you, is that enough?" Nico asked from the side, glancing at Julian. He wasn't worried, but he also didn't particularly want his fiance getting into a fight right now.

”No way! I'm not stifling my art, especially not when she looks so fucking hot when angry!” Domi piped up from behind Julian, absolutely not helping the situation at all.

Vin's eyes narrowed, staring up at Julian. One hand shot up to grab him by the collar. ”Get outta the way before I make you. Or you gonna get your ass beaten over some fuckin' perv?!”

A bit behind them, a beanpole of a man was pulling out his phone, nervously searching for a number and calling it.

“Oh you’re gonna beat my ass? Calm down before you embarrass yourself you fucking twig and back the fuck off,” Julian said as he effortlessly pulled his head back up and his collar with it.

That was it. Vin absolutely couldn't stand to hear anymore. This guy was fucking asking for it. Calling them a fucking twig- they'd show him.

They didn't say anything. Green Lux subtly enhanced already strong muscles- enough to take on plenty of people, maybe not just as fucking jacked as this guy-, roughly matching the man in front of them. They didn't want an unfair fight, after all. Where would be the fun in that? But the punch they delivered- right to his face- was more than strong enough that it would leave most reeling.

Julian’s head shot over at the force of the punch was much stronger than he had anticipated. A streak of red was visible on his cheek as a stream of blood was called forth by the hit. His eyes shot over and locked onto the small woman and squinted, as the corners of his lips curled to the heavens above. Oh what fun. Julian launched a sudden, and strong, punch towards the gut of Vin.

Vin didn't even bother dodging- which they could do- taking it right to the gut. It knocked the wind out of them, but they didn't need to breath naturally to keep going. Not with Green Lux. It was a good fucking punch, enough to knock them back a few paces. Hurt like hell- perfect. A good fucking fight. Just how they liked it.

With a grin to match their opponents, Vin quickly recovered. One hand shot out to grab Julian's shirt, keeping a much tighter grip on it as their knee shot up hard right towards his crotch. They weren't going to play fair, after all. Fighting dirty was how it was done on the streets.

Julian’s right arm shot downwards and his fist connected with the rising kick. The impact hit harder than most other strikes he’s faced. His eyes scanned the small frame of the woman, and realized a quick truth. She was powered. Julian used his left hand and grabbed the upper chest of Vin , his hand went from one shoulder to the other with ease, and, as he stepped into the move, threw her backwards.

Vin let him throw them- but it was relatively easy for them to spin into the air and land onto their feet rather than back. One of the places where their small size worked to their advantage. They dropped into a crouch, forcing their nails to stay at a normal length. No fucking claws today. Their hand curled into a fist and they shot up, aiming for Julian's face again.

Julian did not wait for their blow to land and launched a strike of his own. As the two fists hurled towards each other, they were suddenly stopped by two hands that belonged to Marco who quickly moved in the middle. Julian found himself off balance as his punch was redirected, and Vin would be once again pushed to the side.

“What the fuck, V?”. Marco had gotten a frantic call from a Hollow member about Vin starting shit, and had rushed over as quickly as possible.

”God fuckin- Riley, you called him?!” Vin's head twisted back to glare at their fellow Hollow member- technically below them, but whatever. The tall guy tried to hide behind his slightly shorter patrol partner.

They were mostly pissed that they'd been stopped from having an actually fun fight. Scowling, they pulled their first back. ”I ain't just punching random people, fucking hell. This asshole's fuckin' friend is going around snapping creepy ass pictures of people! I tried to fuckin' talk it out but he-”

CLICK!

”Damn, this one's even better!” Domi had leaned around Julian, using the opportunity to snap a photo of both Vin and Marco. She carefully took the film and started waving it around to let it develop.

Marco sighed as he rubbed his temple. These fucking idiots. “V let it go,”. Marco paused as he turned and squared up his body with Julian. “They’re done though. If I hear that they’ve taken another photo without someone’s consent we’re going to have a problem,” Marco paused as he turned his face towards Domi, “we don’t want to have a problem, right?”

”I’ve got a fucking problem.” Vin muttered under their breath, though their magic drained away from their muscles. They folded their arms and turned away slightly. Because if Marco knew, that meant the Boss would know, and if they kept fucking pushing they'd have to sit through a lecture at minimum.

”Oh yeah course not, my bad! I'm used to hotties wanting their pictures taken, sorry!” Domi sounded completely unbothered, smiling at both Marco and Vin. She held out the rather nicely shot photo of them. ”Here, at least take this as an apology.”

Nico stepped forward silently, putting a hand on Julian's arm in the hope it'd stop him from doing anything stupid.

Julian felt Nico’s touch and instantly calmed down. His eyes instantly lost their intensity, and his posture pulled itself back into his normal relaxed composure. “We good?.” Julian looked towards Marco as he asked.

“Yeah,” he replied as he grabbed the photo.

“Nice punch.” Julian said as he turned around, leading Nico and Domi away. He was very curious about what the photos revealed.

Vin just flipped a middle finger at Julian's back.

Once they were far enough away to not be overheard by any enhanced ears listening, Domi threw up a peace sign and grinned. ”And that, boys, is how you get access to the Hollow.”

Nico let out a sigh. ”Next time, maybe don't photograph the most aggressive looking one? You're lucky we were in the area.”

”I knew tall, dark and handsome would come save me.”

“You’ve got that big dick energy,” Julian grinned as he tapped their shoulder with that first, “good fucking work.”

Domi laughed, a hint of evil in it. ”Thanks, Boss. They were real fucking cute too, so I got something out of it.”

Nico glanced between the two of them, shaking his head with a smile. ”C’mon… Let’s get back to the stall, make sure the others haven't found trouble while we were away.”

Screams. There were always screams. And it hurt. Her nerves shooting off pain signals for injuries that didn’t exist. A punishment for disobeying that had her curled up on the floor as her brain hurt itself. Just like she deserved.

”Don’t pretend you don’t enjoy it, Vanessa. Disobeying me won’t save you.”

Her father’s voice echoed in her ears, distorted. But he wasn’t actually there. As she uncurled she was in that dreaded room. The sterile chamber where she was forced to use spells that she hated, and she was locked in when she refused to. Only she wasn’t alone. No, worse. People stood, staring at her lifelessly. Judgingly.

Victims. People she’d killed or changed beyond recognition. Faces that she recognised without them actually being faces. They were shadowed, but she could feel their burning hatred. She deserved it. She deserved all of it. But she didn’t want to be down here… not again, not forced to do all those things again.

”I’m sorry,” she whispered. But it wasn’t enough. It never would be.

The bodies moved towards her, and everything began to shift. The sterile white walls became patched with colour, like the walls of her bedroom. The environments merged. A gentle meowing came through harsh accusations.

A calico cat, white paws stretching out towards Nessa. She was so soft… Nessa hugged the only thing that had truly loved her close, burying her face in her fur. She was alive, she was alive, she was- No, no, no.

Her hands were sticky with blood, the cat cold in her arms as she floated in nowhere. Her victims were still there, watching. Amber eyes narrowing. Like cats. They were merging into each other. Cat-humans yowled and blamed her, human and animal screams crashing into her mind. But it was weird, it wasn’t the normal nightmare, it was-

A dream.

---

Nessa woke up with a gasp. Hazy eyes squinted, trying to figure out where she was as her heart stopped thudding in her chest. For once, it wasn’t solely panic gripping her when she woke up. Everything felt… odd. The dream had turned odd.

Everything hurt, and there was a heavy weight on her chest. She knew why everything hurt… The sex had been more like a fight until she’d finally, eventually, given in. And it had been good. Amazing, even, for how fucking rough he’d been. She’d only goaded it on… it had been part of what made it so enjoyable… but she’d fallen asleep able to breathe. So why was there-

Finally, Nessa’s eyes adjusted to reality. It was light enough now that she could see the massive cat lying on her chest. Her whole torso, really. Her eyes narrowed. Why was it… the dreams…
”What the fuck did I say about getting in my head?” She hissed, voice rough. She didn’t care enough to use telepathy. If it woke Elay up, it woke him up.

”Oh the things we leak out in our sleep…”
The deep orange tabby was perched loaf-style atop Nessa’s body with his face staring directly into her own. His eyes were the eyes that had filled her dream, and there was a wide cheshire grin escaping from under his half inflated jowls.

”You give up a lot more after a passionate night. His nightmares, I’m rather dull on. But yours? What a wealth! And you want to stay? Be my guest, kid; I’m on your side until I’m not.”
But he didn’t move. And from the other side of the bed, Elay erupted into an elongated snore that should’ve woken him up twice over. But, it didn’t… He just started breathing normally again. Garf didn’t flinch.

”So, Daddy, huh? Elay’s got issues of his own. You wouldn’t believe it.” he chided smugly.

As Nessa properly woke up, the mental shield she cast to protect her secrets quickly reformed. Not that it mattered. If he could get in while she slept there was nothing she could do about it… Which only pissed her off. But maybe this was retribution, somehow.

”No one’s on my side.” Her head turned to the side to stare at Elay for a moment, distracting herself by being impressed that he was still asleep. At least she didn’t need to worry about him hearing anything… Her glare turned back to Garf. How nice for him that her nightmares were enjoyable. Almost worth having them! Nothing quite like waking up from reliving shitty moments to a smug cat staring at her. And this would keep happening? Was it really worth staying?

It was. It was better than being alone.

”Oh, he got a psychopath parent too? That’s nice, something we can bond over.” Nessa didn’t ask more than that. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to know- of course she did. But she didn’t trust it. No one- nothing- gave out information for free. So she answered with practiced nonchalance. She’d pretended to be unbothered by her nightmares many times before, when they’d been so violent she woke up whatever partner she had at the time. The asshole cat adding to it was just an extra challenge.

”Yeah, I’ve got Daddy issues, surprising no one. Just because you snuck into my dreams doesn’t mean I want to sit here and talk about shit with you.” Her body was tense the longer she lay there, scowling at Garf. It hadn’t been the worst dream she’d had… But she couldn’t stay in bed and dwell on it. That would just drag her further and further down, until the guilt was unbearable.
”Can you get off me? I want to shower.”

”You are mighty presumptuous, Vanessa. Your life? Very sad. Sad enough that I wouldn’t want to waste brewing time on talking about it.”
Garf’s lower end stretched high into the sky, belly dragging against Nessa’s chest as he did his yoga. Just enough to stay limber. Enough to remind Nessa that it was a massive cat.

”Were you sober enough to remember where the bathroom is? It’s not a big apartment, I’m sure someone as bright as you can find it.”
Garf skipped off Nessa, passing over and onto Elay’s shoulder. There was a gentle light shining through a nearby window that cast a shadow across that cat whose eyes became amber. The shifting dark of it gave only a vague hint to the horror of what was a true form. Many-Legged Beast, the Thing from Saturn whose nature was beyond human understanding.

It simply sat, mouth agape and drooling with burning eyes staring into Elay’s skull… Burning a literal hole through it the same color as the cat’s eyes. But it wasn’t doing it to Nessa…

Nessa pushed herself up to sit with a suppressed wince, head turning to look at the cat. The monstrosity. It was horrifying. Viscerally terrifying. Just the glimpses she could see beneath the ginger facade… But she didn’t actually feel herself feeling any more scared than she had before.

She was always a bit scared, underneath it all. Of so many things. What was a creepy ancient cat burning a hole into someone’s skull when she’d frequently seen the worst of humanity? At least it was in its nature, awful as it was. She was pissed it had gotten in her head, pissed it had enjoyed her nightmares- but at the same time, she had them anyway. It hadn’t made them any worse. And it probably wasn’t killing him… hopefully… that would be a shame…

And it was right about her life being very sad. Sad enough it almost wasn’t worth living.

”I didn’t down a bottle of ethanol like him, I know where the bathroom is.” She rolled her eyes as if she wasn’t witnessing some eldritch horror, swinging her legs round to get up from the bed. The moment her feet hit the ground her legs gave way underneath her, and she shot out a hand to keep herself standing. Fuck. A moment's wait, and her legs seemed alright to support her again.

Obviously her body wasn’t happy after last night. It wasn’t the strongest, but if there was one thing Nessa was good at it was enduring. Years and years of pain inflicted on her meant she could just push through it. Ignore it. Enjoy it, even. So she made her way to the bathroom after another moment, even if her whole body was a bit shaky.

She’d slept without clothes, and didn’t care to put any on for the short trip there. It made it easy to just turn on the shower and get right in. Cold water quickly turned warm, hitting bruised and marked skin. It felt so luxurious. It was her first hot shower since the fling with Billy… and the Hemlock Inn had shitty showers. She was tempted to stay in there forever. But she couldn’t. Even a long one could result in a certain someone demanding money for a heating bill she couldn’t afford…

So she cleaned herself thoroughly, making the most of being able to properly wash her hair. She reluctantly dragged herself out. Hair dried enough to not be dripping anywhere, towel wrapped around her… She made her way back into the bedroom.
”You haven’t sucked him dry, have you?” She intoned, heading straight towards one of the closets and pulling it open. She was just looking for a t-shirt… something to pull on that wasn’t her own minimal, not particularly comfortable clothes.

”I could never.”
The voice beyond had long abandoned its sustenance meal for something more worldly. There were loud clacks and clangs echoing from the kitchen. Moans of pleasure followed soft, wet slapping noises and a final loud belch.

”It’s simply my turn for a little extra control. We’ve got a schedule you see… He sleeps nicely once or twice a week, and I get to shed my little coil…”
It was Garf, but it wasn’t… There were clear signs of red spatter across the walls that could be seen from the kitchen.

”Though, respectfully, I’ll cut it short for your sake. Ohhh… More… We need more of this pasta! That woman, that… Chef! Her hands are angelic in the organization and composition of ingredients!”

Thankfully, the closet Nessa had opened was full of things like sweaters and coats. Something easy to slip on and big enough to hide in if she had to. With the gurgling and bubbling voice in the kitchen, it was probably good to have a place to hide.

”Lucky him,” Nessa muttered with a grimace. She grabbed a sweater, pulling it over her head as she considered just climbing in and staying there until Elay woke up. Just like when she was younger, crawling into her closet in hope that her nightmares would go away…
They never did. Maybe this would, but she wasn’t that scared. What was the problem, really, if she went through and it decided she was its next meal. Maybe not the nicest way to go… but imagining Elay’s reaction when he had to clean up the mess offered a sliver of joy at the thought.

”Oh thank you, you’re too kind, doing that for me,” Nessa called back sarcastically. She pushed up the sleeves of the sweater she wore- large enough to swamp her, going just below her knees- so her hands were through. A careful casting of her Alarm Bell spell… just in case. It probably wouldn’t do any good, but better to do what she could to survive.

She did her best to fake calmness, even as her mind swung between two places. Hypervigilance, body tense for an immediate flight, but also a lack of care for whatever might happen to her. Contradictory, but both feelings somehow existing at the same time.

”So you eat what, pasta and bad dreams?” Nessa walked out into the kitchen to absolute carnage. The red splatters that on closer look weren’t blood, but some kind of sauce. Trays scattered that had presumably carried the godly pasta. So much red… She felt a bit sick. She covered her nose, eyes moving to Garf. Or what she presumed was Garf. A much scarier version of him.
”Is there anything else edible in here?”

That scarier Garf had exploded in proportions from a house cat to something one would see at an exotic zoo. Massive, fluffy orange and black fur shimmered with every color of the rainbow as it contorted the light of the open refrigerator behind it. It had to be something like fourteen feet of massive cat with paws the size of pizza peels. The tail thumped heavily against the floor as its attention was solely held on the prospect of eating from multiple pans at once.

Not to miss the second body. The underbelly, the two extra limbs like hooked arms scraping at a pan and raking food into the face of some other thing growing from inside the cat. It had the face of a man… One she knew? No. Only for a moment did that wretched parasitic thing look like her Father. It couldn’t. But it greedily shoveled the violently red sauce into its gullet, using its thick and padded pseudo-fingers to greedily push that nightmarish mixture into its face.

The cat head cricked downward to look at Nessa fully, grinning from ear to ear and revealing a nightmarish set of teeth.

”You had zero qualms about swallowing what he had to offer last night. Surely that’s enough.” the monstrous Garf intoned with a greedy shake of his tail.

Nessa couldn’t suppress her shudder at the sight of that head, and the shadow of a face she hated- but desperately wanted to see again. Even her braveness- or more accurately, lack of care for her own life- had limits. Just don’t look at the creepy face and hands. Look at the slightly less creepy massive cat.

Though the smile- with the red sauce staining it like blood- wasn’t much easier to face down. But she did, eyes narrowing slightly as she stared up at him. He was big enough that one paw could easily take her out… It would be a shame that her blood would blend in with the pasta sauce.

”That’s not exactly filling. It’s not like I bit off his dick and ate it,” Nessa retorted, managing to push through the horror and weirdness of the whole situation.
”So you’re a voyeur cat too. Did you enjoy it? No wonder you had so many comments about what he’s into… I’m just surprised you’re into watching like that. You gonna do that every night?”

”I only enjoy it as much as it fills my gut afterward. Your pain, your pleasure; it is the excess I crave. And you are a buffet, my dear. But, amazingly, you manage to be important to more than my nagging hunger. Thus-”

Garf’s entire mass shifted, those strange human hands sliding against the floor and buckling up to grip the checkered tile floor of this North-end apartment’s kitchen. One released itself as a great, many-toed paw slapped into the cold red sauce spattered against the corner of the floor near Nessa’s feet.
”-I offer you an accord… Someone to ’Be on your side.’ as it were.”

As Nessa’s own voice echoed back into her head, there was a moment where Garf’s neck craned back to allow that face half buried in fur to witness and observe her face. Her reaction.
”Your dreams and nightmares: Gone. Dark sleep. Like you’ve never dreamed of… Feed me, and I will guarantee that this moron is more attached to you than any silly Pink Lux spell could make him.”

Nessa folded her arms, staring at Garf. It was difficult to know where to look - the cat face or the much more disturbing one. Her body tilted back naturally as he got closer, but her feet stayed rooted on the spot.
It was such a tempting offer. Dark, dreamless sleep… something she hadn’t had in a long time. Not since she started helping her Father. Before that, her sleep was more of a mixture. And someone who wouldn’t leave her like the res…

But what was the catch? Nothing was given for free, and ‘feed me’ was too vague. She didn’t trust it.
”I don’t want someone attached to me magically. I want something genuine- someone who actually wants me.” Rare honesty, but only said to a creature that had already pulled so much from her head. She used her magic on men when she was desperate, needing them to survive… but it wasn’t what she really wanted. It’s why she tried flirting first, or using the simplest spell that only influenced them enough for her to slip into her bed. She wanted to live, but she also wanted someone who liked her. They never did, leaving her in this painful cycle of deserved abandonment.

”And feed you what? My pain, pleasure, other emotions? You’re already eating them. Or… is it my magic you want?” Nessa’s eyes narrowed, lips pulled into a thin line. Her whole expression screamed scepticism.

”I did have a taste. But if you open the restaurant to me at night, I can guarantee your stay. Not only that, but I can guarantee that he comes around to you. And it won’t be a trick… Just the right nudges from me, and the whole house of cards folds into a nice and even deck. You get to pull every card in an organized fashion, life flows-”

Garf’s massive hands bumped into a tray on the floor, sliding into a streak of sauce. It greedily brought the saucy appendage up to the cat’s face, letting it lick and bite and snap until the hand was gushing… Ragu. It smelled like oregano and parsley, and then the hand was there again as if it wasn’t still being crunched in between Garf’s many teeth. The beast belched again, shaking his head.

”Fucking… Just let me do that every night, and you won’t have nightmares. G-o-d… The cryptic bullshit, am I right?”

The second face hissed out laughter between eating gobs of its own gloppy gore from the spot that it splashed out onto… Mostly out into an empty pan thankfully.

”Also, no… There’s spoiled eggs. Worcestershire sauce. Several bottles of isopropyl alcohol. A severed human head. Nothing edible to your rudimentary human stomach.” Garf’s voice was so full of slop that it was hard to tell what he was saying.

Nessa couldn’t hide her disgust, whole face scrunching up as she watched Garf devour Ragu like it was a carcass, his own hand and all. It was awful, and nearly destroyed any appetite she had. Nearly. She had to eat after last night. She didn’t quite get the end of what he said, beyond it being clear there was nothing for her to eat here.

”Fine… just my nightmares? Not my magic, nothing else?” She still didn’t trust it. But could she really say no? Would her life be any worse if it turned out to all be a lie? What was the downside? Perhaps, that she’d lose the reminder of what she’d done… No. She deserved the nightmares, but she’d never forget. Couldn’t.
”I’ll take it. The accord, or whatever- as long as my magic isn’t touched.”

She frowned, head tilting back so she didn’t have to see the red sauce mixed with spattering of gore.
”And I’ll go out to buy something edible.”

”You intend to leave?!”
Garf made the classic cat stretch look nightmarish as sections of his body split apart to reveal breathing organs and other arms desperately trying to escape their prison.

”Go to the Club! Go to that green marble floor, and those black chairs with the dark leather! To that establishment where the woman makes the sauce! Get more for me, and you will be rewarded handsomely!” the creature demanded, giant paw stomping and bapping at an empty tray.

”I intend to go to the nearest store, buy some eggs, and come back,” Nessa rolled her eyes, mostly to avoid seeing Garf’s internal organs for more than a couple of seconds. What Club? How was she supposed to know? And she wasn’t going to go buy him some more fucking Ragu sauce to slurp off the floor.
”I’m not running errands for you. Fuck, you think I’ll risk trekking across the city to carry back more pasta? If you want shit from a nearby grocery store, I can do it.”

”Fine, whatever. Like I care…”
Whatever the emotional shift was, it wasn’t right. There was a sense that the creature had instantly drummed up plans for revenge and was carrying them out as they spoke. Like his entire nature had shifted to vendetta despite the words being so innocuous.

”The coffee shop downstairs. I demand two dozen bagels, and two pints of that delectable hot-pepper cream cheese. Three pounds of bacon, two dozen eggs inside each bagel top, the dried salmon, sausages-”
Then he looked at Nessa again, head cocked to the side.

”-I do hope you’re taking my order. They won’t be shocked.”

Nessa’s jaw went slack as Garf just kept going. It was enough food to feed her for a week. Longer, probably. Could she even afford that? Technically, she shouldn’t even spend her money on it… If she used Elay’s, would he get the cat to eat her whole self? Surely not. Maybe he would… It was worth the risk. She’d put a tiny amount of trust in the cat to stop it, if only for the more frequent meal she’d be giving it in the future.
”Yeah, yeah, I’ve got Pink Lux. I remember it all. Shit ton of food that I’ll barely be able to carry, but I’ll get it to appease you.”

The curse of mental magic… inability to forget unless she erased it permanently from her own mind. She frowned, looking around the kitchen.
”Where’s Elay’s coat? I need his keys and shit… wasn’t exactly paying attention to where things went last night.”

”Oh… Y’know, you really hid your thieving inclination well from me. I honestly thought-”
Garf started to chastise her about stealing, but quickly started to laugh.
”-Baaaah, I’m kidding. Now, think about where you came in. If you can remember the bathroom, you can remember where the jacket is.”

And then the blasted beast continued to make its order as he watched Nessa from his fat haunches. The jacket was easily found on a chair near the door, coincidentally near the bathroom. There was a wad of cash in it, as well as the keys to the apartment as was expected. It was only as Nessa was getting ready to open the door that Garf spoke up again.

”Actually… Forget it. I don’t want it anymore. Get whatever you want… Elay will be mad if you don’t get him a hot cocoa though. And don’t go into the agency. Just pass it going down the stairs, and head outside to the right.”
Garf’s voice sounded strained, as if he’d become bloated further and was having a hard time breathing.

”Seriously? I gotta remember you’re whole fucking order cause I can’t forget it and you don’t want it? You are so annoying,” Nessa turned around, foot out to hold the door partially open. But just hearing him was uncomfortable. Had he eaten too much? Was that even possible? She didn’t really care. She had to care about herself firstmost, after all.
”I don’t have energy to snoop around, anyway. I’ll get his drink.”

She properly pushed the door open, lips pulling up into a slight, not particularly genuine smile.
”Don’t miss me too much. I hope you’re normal size when I’m back.”

---

One quick trip to the coffee shop downstairs, and Nessa was back up with a satisfactory breakfast in her arms. She’d planned to go for the cheapest thing on the menu- but everything was so fucking expensive it was about the same. She ended up with one bagel with an egg, another with bacon- in case Elay wanted something too. And if he didn’t? She’d save the second one for dinner.

The bagels were in one hand, takeaway cup of hot cocoa in the other. It made it a little difficult to unlock the door… but she managed eventually, pushing it open with a soft grunt from the effort.
”Honey, I’m hommeee!” She put on the most aggravatingly cutesy voice she could as she let the door slam shut behind her.

”Oh, good. Mop with legs.”
Elay’s voice wasn’t a snarl so much as it was a huff. One loud, annoyed huff.
”I can’t imagine you-”

As Nessa made way into the kitchen, she’d find Elay completely naked and working down with a mop and bucket. Garf hadn’t gotten any smaller, but he did have a rather strained look on his face. His stomach growled loudly, causing the second entity to writhe and scream in pain. Elay’s face was plastered rage, and he held up the mop at the cat.

”-Do not! Do not throw up! If I didn’t know any better, I’d be so much more pissed off! But clearly it's my fault, I didn’t have Beth come over to re-ward the fridge, so you win! But do not vomit or I will actually seal you and become a fucking wimp.” Elay snapped. Then his face turned back to Nessa.

”And what’s with you jackin’ my shit, huh? You don’t steal my ass, what; you think you earned the extra because you lasted a few more rounds than I figured you would?”
His arms shot up, crossing over one another in a big X pattern.
”Wroooooong. Cough it up, c’mon; how much money did you waste?”

It was really hard to take a naked man holding a mop seriously. Nessa didn’t bother stopping the quiet laugh that escaped her lips, before she rolled her eyes at him.
”Can you get back in bed and maybe wake up on the right side of it?”

Of course she shouldn’t have expected him to wake up any less of a dick than the night before. Hadn’t really been hoping for it, either. But she wasn’t just going to cower because he was difficult. Of course she was going to push and push, until eventually he gave in. Even if it meant dealing with this shit because she decided not to take her own money.

”Yeah, actually, I think I earned breakfast after the shit I put up with. I should’ve reported you for fucking domestic violence.” Nessa sneered, holding up the bags with the bagels and the hot cocoa. Then she put them down on a counter.
”Two bagels, one hot cocoa, calculate it yourself. I don’t remember.”

”Domestic violence? Show a cop around here your I.D., Sweetheart: You’re getting dunked on your way back down South. If you care to remember, there was a border guard giving me a hard time over a certain someone not coughing up a pass?”
Elay didn’t laugh, but he did smirk. His eyebrows rose, and his lips pursed as he tilted his head to look at Nessa.

”Now… You got my drink at least. So, I guess I’ll write it off as a business expense. Get my bagel out… Feed me while I clean this fucking mess.”
He looked like he was cleaning a murder scene, the bucket full of deep red liquid. It was never going to be easy taking a naked man mopping seriously, but he held himself with a strong and demanding confidence that wasn’t common among men Nessa was typically around.

He started mopping again, like there was nothing else to do on the planet. Elay kept staring at the stains on the walls and mumbling to himself quietly while he waited.

Nessa stared at him for a moment in disbelief. Was he being serious? Of course he was being serious… it was obvious he was being serious. There was a certain sexiness to the way he ordered her around after last night… but that didn’t mean she was going to start doing whatever the fucked he said! Especially not after his smug comments. Did he really think she was going to roll over after yielding a couple of times in bed?

She picked up one of the bags, wriggling half of the bagel out of it.
”Feed yourself. You think I’m your fucking servant or something?” She took a bite out of the bagel she’d picked up- the one with the egg- and chewed it slowly. Loudly.
”Did I even say the other one was for you? I’m really hungry… I got you ‘your drink’, the cat didn’t put any other orders in for you.”

Elay smacked the mop back into the red water, causing it to splash out slightly.
”Oh marone, you’re already giving me conniptions! Hand over the money in the pocket and lemmie count it: If there’s a cent missing, then all this is mine. I told you, I’m not in the business of taking in strays!”

His hand was outstretched waiting for the money that had been in his jacket pocket. Had he really remembered how much was there? After dinner last night, and buying more booze? And bribing that bastard at the Checkpoint?

”You’re just gonna count it and claim shit’s missing anyway,” Nessa rolled her eyes again, not even flinching at the aggressive mop action. She was trying to figure out how far to push. It was in part testing boundaries. How much she could get away with. How much she could get from him. At what point would he snap and hit her. Making sure not to go so far she got kicked out on day two.

”Here, take the fucking bagel.” Instead of the money, she slapped the other bagel bag into his outstretched hand. It wasn’t that she was planning to hold onto his money. She didn’t even plan to hold onto his jacket for much longer. She just didn’t want it to play out the way he wanted it to.
”If you want this one, you’re gonna have to take it from me. You seemed pretty good at going into my mouth last night.” She smirked, before taking a large bite.

Elay rolled his eyes and shook his head in a disappointed fashion.
”No, no… See, I’ve gotta teach your dumb ass everything.”
He held the bacon bagel up, quick anger flaring across his face.

”No cream cheese? No cheese at all? Were you raised by animals? Christ! And when I tell you to feed me, it’s because I need my hands to do something else! What kind of assistant are you supposed to be?” he snapped, ripping off a piece of the bagel and putting it up to his mouth.

”Like this: ’Oh, Elay, thank you! You’re the best, Daddy! Thank you for cleaning and mopping so that I don’t have to get my hands dirty’ he mocked her, then popped the little ripped off piece of bagel into his mouth.

Still, his head shook with disappointment and frustration. Then Garf’s stomach flared up again, and he groaned in the background. Elay’s expression changed in a split second, eyes looking at Nessa with something else. It was only for a moment, but it was enough to see that there was something other than this. A cry for help, maybe.

Nessa’s head tilted to the side slightly, immediate sassy comment dying on her lips. A slight peak below the incredibly rough surface… not that the tiny hint looked any less rough. Of course not. Happy people tended not to be massive fucking assholes.

”Ugh.” She backed out of the kitchen for a moment, before coming back carrying her worn jacket. She pulled out her money and keys, before dumping the jacket in front of Garf. She pointed at it.
”If you’re gonna throw up, throw up on that. I need a new one anyway, and I don’t want to be made to clean it up.”

A shitty solution, but what else could she do? Start feeding Elay the bagel? No way, she wasn’t feeling that much sympathy after one tiny little look. She turned back to look at him, eyes narrowing. Right back to normal.
”Also, I thought you didn’t do roleplaying? What was it… you called it cringey! Have you changed your mind? Want me to start calling you Daddy now?” She raised an eyebrow.
”Won’t make me clean up your cat's mess.”

Elay frowned, then groped at the bridge of his nose.
”God… Fuck… This is it! I’m actually going to die of a brain haemorrhage, and all that money I had stashed away would be useless!”
Melodramatic as always, Elay tossed his free hand up with the bagel still gripped between his fingers. His faux exasperation was palpable.

”You have zero concept of something like sharing, do you? What’d I say? You don’t mop up my cat’s mess, and in return, you show a little fucking hospitality! I ain’t tryn’a make you a slave. But you oughta be thankful!”

”Ohhh, thank you so much for taking me home and fucking me and letting me buy a bagel the morning after! I’m so grateful, what would I do without your generosity? I’d be starving on the street corner I used to call home!” Nessa threw back mockingly. It was like his annoyance fueled her. In a way, it did. Reactions meant he was listening. And the way he talked… it just made her want to push and push.

But she did hold out her hand.
”I’m so sorry, I just assumed the feeding was a kink thing! But if it’s what an assistant does, of course I’ll feed you, because that mess might run away if you take a break to eat!”

Elay just stared at her and ripped into his cream cheese-less bagel.
”Seems like you heart’s not really into it. Like you just want me for my body. I feel so used.” his voice remained emotionless, monotone.

”Go… Be a bitch somewhere or something, I don’t care. Just do it being naked, so I know you’re not taking anything else from me.”

”Alright.” Nessa inclined her head, seeming to acquiesce. She took off his jacket first, throwing it over a chair, then the sweater underneath. It was given the same treatment. Then she turned around, going over to the counter she’d put his hot cocoa on. She moved it to the side and lifted herself up onto the counter, spinning around to face him. Her legs crossed over each other as she looked at him from a slightly more even level.

”This is somewhere. And look, I didn’t take anything.” She held up her hands, though there was still most of a bagel in one. She managed to, impressively, hold back any comments on how she was here for his shining personality. Instead she tilted her head, voice losing a bit of the mocking edge.
”You’re less violent than I expected.”

Elay shook his head, eyes narrow and nose slightly scrunched.
”And what the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

He approached her, stepping forward until he was brushed against her leg.
”Just because you kept asking for me to go harder, doesn’t automatically make me some woman beater. Mentally, maybe… But I try my hardest to mentally beat the shit out of everyone I meet. Better to be taxing than be forgotten.”

And then he leaned in to kiss her again, like his tongue was trying to steal the bagel from her throat, not that it could.

---

Deciduous Apartments. The location of Nessa's shitty, shitty ‘home’. Located on the outskirts of Westwood in an area not so fondly known to the locals as Junglelands. Nessa didn't even have a place in the 'nice' (slightly less awful) Evergreen Commons apartment complex... Which this much worse building had been named to match, or perhaps mock. No, she couldn't afford to lock into an actual rent contract. Didn't even have the identification to do it! Instead she lived in the one place that accepted weekly rent and where absolutely no contracts needed to be signed, filled with all of the South's undesirables.

She was able to direct Elay to park right outside. Calling it a parking spot would be a stretch - someone had half assed drawn lines on the wider bit of road right in front of it. It wasn't like anyone but the owner, and a few exceptions, owned cars here anyway.

The building itself was four stories high, square and squat. The outer walls were a patchy grey- whether by design or years of fumes from the factories staining it, it was difficult to tell. The disrepair of the place was obvious from just a look. Cracks, broken pipes, some windows completely boarded up. It was run down. Hardy vines valiantly fought against the horrendous environment, winding up parts of the wall and pushing into the offered cracks.

There was one door at the front, one at the back, leading into dirty corridors and the internal staircases. It made the most of its space, with apartments at the front and the back- small square windows pointed out onto the street they were now on. At this time it was quiet. Depressing, almost. It felt like there was a dark aura hanging over the entire place.

”It won't take long. It's not like I have much shit.” Saying that, Nessa didn't immediately get out of the car. Instead she twisted her body around to face Elay. She leaned over the centre console, one hand reaching out to rest on his thigh. Her head tilted upwards, lips pulling up into the little playful smile she seemed to use when she wanted something.
”Y'know, if I move outta here you won't even have to pay me much. A little for food- cause you're clearly stingy there- and other essentials... it's not like your rent would go up. I'm going to be sleeping over anyway...”

It didn't actually matter what he said. It wasn't like he knew how much shit she had. She could turn back up with a suitcase full of all her things and he'd be none the wiser. If she was going to spend every night in his bed anyway, she might as well save herself the cash…

Elay’s hand swept hers away with the care one would offer a fly. He could practically smell the disingenuous nature in her voice, and it gave him a nagging feeling. Another woman in another age. But it was enough that he didn’t think he wanted much more of it. Not like that at least…

”Oh yeah, real convenient for you. You wanna wake up every morning with a chance that shit like this morning will happen again? I bet not… So we’re gonna go in there, pay a month down, and then grab whatever shit you think you’ll want.” he ordered with a cold and dispassionate tone.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want her there… He kind of didn’t. Mostly not. It was taxing having her there in that regard. Like he knew he wasn’t going to want to be that close to her forever. Or, maybe they could use the place. Having a second apartment in such a shitty and unassuming place was something he could write off for the business. A second office didn’t have to be listed, and maybe it was win-win enough that everyone could find some kind of satisfaction.

Besides, if she had a place she could go back to with relative safety, at least he’d know where to start looking for her if she ran off. The box for the stray in the rain.

”Then if you’re serious about earning a little money, we’re gonna need to rustle up a case. Something bigger than mugging a fuckin’ John. I’m not above hitting dealers and shit though, if… You know a good route?” his grin was clear as he spoke thinking about the violence.

”Oh, right! I forgot to tell you about all the drug routes I know!” Nessa rolled her eyes, withdrawing back into her own seat. She gestured out the car window.
”If you just stand on that corner for a couple of hours you’re bound to find someone tryna sell you something. But y’know people who stick their nose into that shit tend to get killed. No, I don’t know a good route. Do I look like I do that shit?”

She did technically know a dealer or two, if she scanned back through her memories of the men she’d been with. There’d been the one guy that was doing pretty well for himself… parts of her memory with him were too fuzzy for even her to access. She’d blocked his number, but could find him if needed. It would be nice to see him beaten to a pulp- but no, she didn’t want to see his face again. Only if it was absolutely necessary.
”The only person in that building with any money is the owner, so unless you wanna get paid for Garf catching rats for her… We’ll need to look in another area. I can get something, if you’re really that incapable of finding your own cases.”

”Christ, Nessa, you always make it so fuckin’ personal. It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours, and you’ve already given me the fuckin’ breach load like nine times. I ought’a just drop you here and leave like I originally planned, but our orange friend seems to have some fucking plan for you.”
Elay’s hands shot up, gripping at nothing with a very meticulous and slow motion. So slow they didn’t fully close before being brought back down to his steering wheel.

”And that was my shock at you not being a powder queen. Had you pegged for ice or something honestly. You seem like a real upper girl, y’know naturally down and wants to cut loose?”

Elay pushed the driver’s seat door open, slipping out of the car and into the cold of the early afternoon here in the South…
The fucking toll! I’m going to need to smuggle her back up! God damn it all, why?

Garf didn’t speak. Just placed the image of a magic eight ball in his head. The result?
Future Unclear.
There was a devious laugh out loud as Elay shuddered the mental prod out of his head and slammed the door shut.

”Yeah, whatever… Stay warm fuckface.” Elay grumbled under his breath.
”C’mon, Chessa. I mean Stressa. Fuck, sorry, Bessa?”

”Haha, I know you know my fucking name,” Nessa rolled her eyes at him, not entirely rising to the bait. He’d said it only moments before… She was more pissed off that he was surprised she wasn’t on drugs. Sure, maybe she’d considered it when everything first went to shit… but the idea had very quickly gone. It was expensive and would leave her vulnerable. There were better ways to ‘cut loose.’

She got out of the passenger side, making sure to slam the door behind her. Her hands immediately shoved into her jacket pockets and she shivered slightly. Too fucking cold. First thing she was doing when she got into her shit place was changing into pants that actually covered more than her ass.
Instead of moving towards the building, she turned towards Elay, eyes narrowing.
”You don’t need to come. I don’t have much… and you can just give me the cash to pay for the next month, or whatever.”

Elay scoffed again, this time waving his hand.
”Give you the cash? Trust you to pay a bill like this? Absolutely not, you’ll pocket the money and spend it faster than I can say ‘don’t pocket the money’. So, nah. I’ll go with you, and I’ll pay.”

He had a stuck up way of saying that he was willing to pay her rent. Granted, a shitty place in a specially shitty part of town, but Sugar Daddy behavior was what it was. In his demented brain, this place was a safehouse now. Somewhere they’d be okay to crash if worst came to worst.

They. Us. The inexplicable draw to pull her just a little closer despite all the growling and barking and snarling… The beaten dog wanted to be loved, but the hand that pet was the one closest to the mouth. Not to mention the deeper things. The real feelings that were buried miles below the surface. He couldn’t help but feel like something was wrong with him, which was obvious to anyone else. But maybe he was too far gone, or maybe the ego was too strong to let go of all the bad.

But he was still waiting for her to cross the parking lot at his side. He wasn’t waiting for her for no reason.

Nessa wasn’t quite able to hide her genuinely irritated expression at Elay insisting on coming along. Contrary to what he probably believed, it wasn’t because of the money. She wasn’t stupid enough to pocket and run with his money when it would be way more beneficial to stick with him. Things paid for, and company. Really the latter was more important, as much of a dick as he was. She’d had all the money in the world once, and only felt a little more alive than this.

But what if he saw the state she’d been living in, and it disgusted him enough to leave there and then. Sure, he wasn’t exactly in a great state. But the hovel she reluctantly called home was on another level. At least he was paying… small blessings, a month's rent paid before he saw the shithole it was.
”Fine, but don’t blame me if a rat bites you.”

It wasn’t exactly a long walk across the ‘parking lot’, across the scrawled in lines and around the potholes. Nessa stuck close to Elay, anyway, pretending that she wasn’t keeping a fragment of Pink active to detect anyone nearby. It was an awful part of town, after all. Unsurprisingly nothing befell them on the short walk.

She wasn’t particularly happy to be back here, twisting the handle of the front door in just the right way that the broken lock meant it just swung open. Instead of going up the stairs immediately in front of them like she normally would, she veered left onto the first floor corridor. Little paws could be heard scurrying along the floors and scratching in the walls. There was a musty smell that hung over the place.
”The owner uses the first apartment as an office.” Nessa explained, just in case he somehow thought she was pulling something. She rapped on the door, hoping the landlady wouldn’t be in a talkative mood.

A few moments later the door opened, revealing a dark haired middle aged woman. She was a fair bit taller than Nessa, a fair bit above average even, but nothing close to Elay. Behind her a sliver for the inside apartment turned office was visible. It looked neat and tidy, with undamaged walls and a bookshelf just past the woman.
“Oh, Nessa, I didn’t expect you t’grace my door.” Irene, Nessa once again belatedly remembered, raised an eyebrow. Her gaze moved up to Elay immediately, lips pulling into a mocking smile.
“Another man, huh… Leaving again? You gotta pay yesterday ‘n today.”

”No,” Nessa responded sullenly, hands clenching into fists inside her coat pockets. It was hard to try not to rise to it. Often she did, and it just landed her in a shittier situation where her electricity ‘mysteriously’ cut out for a day or two.
”I’m paying for the month. Like you suggested yesterday?” She then looked at Elay expectantly.
”It’s two hundred.”

Irene whistled, before letting out a short laugh. She didn’t seem intimidated by Elay’s size at all as she looked at him with an expectant, almost mocking and definitely fake, smile.
“Bringin’ someone round to pay your rent’s a first.”

Elay didn’t mince words, sliding out something other than cash for once.
”You take checks? If we’re renting it for the purpose of the business, I’ll also need a statement from your end.” Elay spoke plainly to the woman inside, explaining the circumstance as was necessary.

”And you’ll be dealing with me directly from now on. The rent will be paid on the same day every month, so have the statement written up because I don’t like to wait. Understood?”

In his hand was a small ledger, with a checkbook tucked into one side which he was writing two-hundred dollars out. It was a steal for a month, and whatever rats were inside were practically free beef jerky. He didn’t need the pomp and the lights shining into his window from the river where the bridge and the checkpoints were. He’d seen some of the most disgusting hovels, slept in environments so dank he thought he’d grow mold.

”And how much do I need to pay to modify it? We’re using it as an office-living space for the Columbo and Waiting Detective Agency.”
He turned over his business card to the old woman, along with the check.

Irene’s eyebrow was raising higher and higher, at risk of pushing into her hairline. She took both the business card and check without immediate comment.
“North Sider, huh? Ain’t anyone else who uses checks round here- aside from Gideon Cross himself!”

Nessa wasn’t sure how she felt about all of this, but she managed to stay silent for once. It could be positive. It suggested Elay planned to keep her around for a while. But it also meant if- when- he got rid of her she’d have nowhere to go. While she’d been in a constant cycle of leaving and dragging herself back like a cat from the rain, it was always to the same shitty apartment. Irene didn’t bother renting it out to anyone else. A small gesture of kindness, or some shit like that. But then she’d be really fucking stuck.
Maybe it wouldn’t matter by then. Maybe she’d be too far gone to want to continue after being dropped again.

“I can get a statement done in no time- soon as you finish whatever other business you two had here.” Irene was sharp as ever as she looked down at Nessa, but there was none of the normal subtly snide comments. Money talked, after all. She held up the business card Elay had handed her.
“We can talk ‘bout somethin’ that’s been botherin’ me a while, too. Fix that and you don’t need to pay anythin’ to modify it.”

”You’ve got a case that needs handling? You gotta quote the price high first, y’know? So that when you say ‘or you can take care of something for me’ I’m more inclined to accept. For next time…”

Sharp as a whipcrack, Elay didn’t miss a thing.

”And if you must know, yes. Northsider. That doesn’t mean you’ve got carte blanche to start raising the rent on me either; I’ll figure out what every single other person in this borough pays for rent and bury you in logistics.”

His hand swept up under Nessa’s arm, moving her less by force and more by suggestion.
”We’ll discuss it when I come back for the statement. Lets go, Nessa.” Elay grunted in a directive fashion.

“Check the borough and you’ll find this is the cheapest you can get,” Irene laughed. She didn’t acknowledge the rest, holding up a hand in a half wave before stepping back and letting her door close.

Nessa let out a light huff even as she let Elay move her. Only because she would rather get going than stand in this corridor any longer, or deal with Irene’s looks. It just made it more annoying how she basically treated Elay with respect because he handed over a check. Fucking money!
”Oh, so you remember my name now?”

Contrary to her sharp words and glare, she turned around and did exactly as he directed- leading him back to the stairwell. Then it was up two flights of stairs, and along another almost identical corridor. Nessa stopped in front of a door about halfway down. With a frown, she reluctantly pulled her keys out of her pocket. The two locks were undone and she, even more reluctantly, pushed the door open and let him in.

What was revealed was a small, messy room. Damp was evident on the outside wall, with mould spreading from the corners and across into the room. In the back right corner was a small double mattress. No bed frame, just the mattress pushed against the wall, with a ratty duvet and pillows strewn across it. Various clothes were thrown on top of that. At the back left was a ‘kitchen’ consisting of a small refrigerator, gas stove and one countertop. A pan had been left on the stove. To the left of the kitchen, a sliding door was half open to reveal a tiny bathroom.

There was one small square table with two chairs just in front of the door. The final piece of furniture was a wonky, very broken looking wardrobe. Empty glass bottles on top of a pile of shattered glass haphazardly shoved into the corner nearest the door. The whole place was barely warmer than outside.

Nessa went for the suitcase beside the mattress immediately, crouching down to pull out some clean underwear and a dark tank top. Without much care she stripped down until she was in just a bra, throwing what she’d been wearing on the top of the suitcase. She pulled on the replacement underwear and tank top, moving to the mattress to pick up a pair of cargo pants. They looked dirty thanks to the various stains- darker ones from the constant dirt of the place, and a variety of reddish-brown ones that Elay would recognise as blood.

As she changed, she turned her head to look up at him.
”So, what am I doing? You said to grab the shit I’ll want, but then you’re turning this into an office-living space? So I can’t exactly leave anything behind, can I? I’m basically homeless now. Where do you want me to sleep, the streets? Cause you sure didn’t sound like you wanted me in your place.” She wasn’t stupid, she could read between the lines that that wasn’t the case. But she needed verbal confirmation that she wasn’t just getting tossed out. Then she could trust it a little bit.

Elay’s face turned up in a sneer. He’d absolutely seen worse, they just needed a little luck in scoring some furniture to spruce it up. Hire a magical cleaner, have them give the walls a good once-over for sound proofing and insulation, then you can work on other things. Like, for instance, the door… Already having two locks on it was great, but it was cheap just like everything else, and looked like it was made of balsa.

He’d happily replace the door with something better, or at least get barring on the back of it with a magical access. Surely if she knew they were cracking the apartment, she’d request keys for any new locks. But fuck trying to get into the magic barricade. Call the cops, they’re not going to come down here to bash the door open for the property owner.

“Do it yourself.” they’ll say.

”Th’fuck do you think? It’s a safe house. Office, whatever you want to call it, we’re gonna keep it in our back pocket. Capice?”

Nessa narrowed her eyes slightly, crouching down in front of her suitcase as she half assedly folded the clothes she’d thrown in there.
”So you’re graciously letting me stay with you? Really?” She spoke more monotonously than she did hopefully. Really pushing to confirm it without seeming desperate. The she probably already looked pretty fucking desperate.

”Oh, whaaaaaat? Am I speaking Italian? I know I said ‘capice’ but that’s a pretty well known slang term regardless of its origin!”

Elay gripped at the bridge of his nose.

”I’m saying don’t be afraid to leave shit here! Take it all if you must, but you’re gonna hate transporting it back and forth… And remind me next time we’re coming south to bundle up that spare dresser I have… This place needs a piece of furniture that isn’t schifoso…”

Nessa stared at him for another moment, before nodding. She’d just wanted to hear him say it. Just in case. She turned back around to her suitcase, considering what to leave behind. She didn’t exactly have much clothes now… so she pulled out just a few outfits, the nicer more revealing clothes she’d wear out, along with some tops so she’d be able to cycle through for her more practical outfit.

”You’ll want to replace the mattress if you’re ever gonna sleep here. It’s way too short. And lumpy.” Though she wasn’t sure how much he cared about comfort. She turned around towards the mattress in question, lifting it up slightly with a soft grunt. Her other arm went under, and into a tear on the bottom. It came back out with a small stack of cash. All the money she had to her name… slightly increased after she sold the valuable thing she owned. Frowning, she stuffed it underneath her clothes.

”Oh, and also…” She stood up, having to go past Elay to get over to the tiny table. She squatted again, pulling a thick leather bound book out from underneath one of the legs. It immediately tipped towards her, stopping when the broken end of the leg hit the floor.
”You need to provide your own book to keep it up. Or buy a new table.” She stared up at him, holding the book against her chest as if it was some kind of treasure, rather than something she used to keep a table from tilting over.

”Oh, wow… Tome worth keeping, right? Crazy, I mean I guess you’re already part way through that one?” Elay asked sarcastically.

It was fairly curious, that she’d have to keep the book under the table. Usually those sorts of things were meant to stick around: Someone’s forgotten distraction left to serve a more divine purpose at the end of days. Yet, this book gets raptured? He had to see for himself at some point. The burning curiosity fell from the sky into the pit of his stomach to give birth to another tree in the Grove.

”Is that everything? I assume you’ve got zero food that’ll spoil in the fridge?”
Elay’s long legs took him back to the door, looking around one last time.

”The fridge isn’t even on.” Nessa shrugged. She didn’t have any eggs left, and she’d finished the last of the pasta yesterday… Maybe there was some dried food in the back of the cupboard, but that wouldn’t go off. It’d probably just be eaten by the rats.
”I don’t keep a lifetime's supply of Ragu around.”

She shuffled back over to her suitcase, dumping the book on top. She quickly slammed the suitcase shut over it. Maybe she should’ve just left it where it was. Hope that the building burnt down and destroyed it too. But it would probably survive a fire. It was so fucking enchanted that it would probably survive anything. So it was safest with her… even though the sight of it made her feel a bit sick.
”This is it. I leave my large collection of clothes bought with stolen money somewhere safer.” Tone heavy with sarcasm, she lugged the suitcase towards the door.

Elay was quick to take the bag from her. It wasn’t clear if he was just impatient watching her lug it around, or if he was subconsciously being gentlemanly, but it left Nessa free of weight to do things like lock the door back up. With his long strides, he was down the hall and back down to where the people walked the Earth. That long corridor, in Elay’s mind, felt like a tunnel to another world with its long, monotonous series of alternating doors without windows. Every apartment building or complex felt like that.

It was like the tunnels… Safe.

”I’m gonna pull the car up! Gotta talk to the old lady about whatever this job is.” he called backward, foot hitting the first step to go down into the parking lot.

A minute or so later, he was pulling around with Nessa’s suitcase already in the trunk. It paid to keep cars in neighborhoods like these close as possible to where you were going to be. Even if it was just a little nicer, someone probably had a reason to break in. Hell, even if it was a shitbox, there was reason enough. So, pull up to the office, take out the key, lock the doors again and beckon Nessa toward him.

”Alright, you know this lady vaguely more than me. Any reason I should be suspicious of whatever line she’s about to try and cast for us?” he asked with a serious tone.

Nessa shrugged, hands shoved into her jacket pocket. Was there anything suspicious? Maybe that from what Nessa knew the landlady was stingy. Hiring a private investigator was more than Nessa would expect for someone who’d rather deal with criminals to supply the building’s electricity than pay decent money for it. But more than that…
”She has some kind of magic. I’m not sure what, but a strong emotional field. Not mental, because I didn’t feel anything against mine.”

”No shit…”
Surprise was registered on Elay’s face. He hadn’t even bothered checking, so to hear that was completely unexpected.
”So, what? You think it’s gonna be some kind of bullshit? Does she know you’re magic?”

”I don’t know. Maybe. She’s never fucking said anything, but that doesn’t mean shit.” Nessa frowned. She could know. Probably did, if she’d felt Nessa’s tap against her emotional field. It was difficult to tell, because Nessa had worked hard to perfect a more subtle initial intrusion. But if someone was strong enough, they’d always be able to tell.
”She didn’t even react when I first checked, but us South Siders aren’t exactly flaunting our magic to the world. But it might not have anything to do with magic. Just important to know, isn’t it?”

Elay shook his head.
”Could mean everything. Could mean the difference between a smile and a worm crawling into your brain to rewire you like a puppet. Predators don’t always love sharing territory, never mind parley.”

Still, Elay’s head nodded into the office, directing Nessa forward.
Did you read all that?
No response from the cat. Nothing except a gentle little snore.

Garf… Wake up.
Mrmmmhgnm
Useless fuck…

Elay moved to the door and held it open for Nessa without even thinking about it.
”Alright, Granny… So this job you mentioned. What’s going on with it?”

Irene looked up from the desk she was sitting behind, smiling slightly.
“It’s polite to knock. Have a seat.” She gestured to the two rather uncomfortable looking chairs in front of her desk. The one she was sitting on looked much nicer.

Nessa was quick to sit down, looking around with a frown. It always irritated her how nice this place was when all the apartments for rent were absolute shitholes. Cheap shitholes, but still shitholes.

“Here’s your statement.” Irene pushed it over the table towards Elay. Her gaze stayed on him, practically ignoring Nessa, which just made her more annoyed.
“As for the job… Recently, I’ve been having an issue with tenants not paying. Of course, there are plenty like Nessa- worthless people without a coin to their name and no drive to actually earn it. I frequently have to chase them for rent.”

”You fucking old-”
“But,” Irene forcefully cut off Nessa before she could respond, leaving her to stew in silence. She wanted to snap back with more, but she didn’t want to lose out on possible money. A rare moment of self control for the greater good.
“I have many who have jobs. Low paying jobs that leave them living here completely hopeless and near destitute… but jobs that pay the bills. Recently, people from both groups have stopped paying. More than that… some barely respond to my threats to evict them. Like they’ve been changed somehow.”

Irene pulled open a desk drawer, pulling something out.
“Someone in the area is luring away these poor people and scamming them out of their hard earned money. It’s awful for my business. Unfortunately, I don’t know anything about this person. Which is why I need someone like you to look into it.”

She held out the thing she’d pulled out- it looked like a card from some game. It was green, with a picture of someone transforming into a bear on it.
“I found this on one of the victims.”

Elay’s hand instinctively reached for the card, examining it in his hand rather thoroughly. After a moment of this, there was a faint giggle in his head. The faintest giggle. Whatever it was, someone knew something.

”You’re telling me… This card? That’s all you’ve got? And you’re convinced that whoever this individual is, they’re… What? Pied Pipering your tenants away? Sounds like some drug dealer shit.” Elay remarked, shaking his head and looking back up at the old woman.

”Also, uh… Did you… Hear yourself? Just, like, y’know checking to make sure. Anyway, I’m sure we’ll be able to figure something out. But, what do you actually want done about it? You just want us to, y’know, identify the culprit? Or is this something else?”

Nessa leaned over a bit to look at the card, narrowing her eyes. It just looked like a card to her. If she had White Lux she’d be able to glean something from it… but her unique combination was useless here. It looked and sounded stupid. Like, one of those card games people got into at school… but people were spending all of their money on it? Disappearing? That was insane.

“Well, what are you willing to do? Can you ensure they leave the area permanently?” Irene raised her eyebrows.

”You want us to kill him?” Nessa frowned.

“Intimidate him,” Irene smiled.
“And you’re correct, it’s surprisingly similar to a drug dealer. Addictive, somehow. The way people are hooked is almost… magical.”

”Yeah, well… I hear you’re a little magical yourself.-”
Elay’s cold, dead eyes looked down at the old woman with knowing intent.
”-So, say we intimidate him into leaving… You offering extra? After all, we agreed upon permission to modify the apartment. We never negotiated any actual price.”

“Well…” Irene pulled out a small bundle of notes, pushing it across the table.
“How about two hundred up front, which covers a month of rent… which you can write off as a business expense while freely using the cash. Then… Three or four times the amount when it’s finished, and permission to modify the apartment. Assuming you do the job well.”

She clasped her hands together, chin resting on them as she watched him without much true emotion.
“Or do you think your services are worth more?”

Elay’s face went from vaguely intimidating to entirely deflated in a matter of a moment. He could only clear his throat and reach into his pocket for another of his business cards.
”I’m having a hard time here. Y’know, I could’ve sworn I gave you one of these earlier. Handy little business card. Says the name of the detective agency on it? Also, y’know… The address. In the North. Which I pay rent in.”

He looked down at the miserly two hundred, then thought about it turning into eight hundred, or even a thousand.
”So, what do you think? You think that a thousand bucks is all you can spare?” he asked expectantly.

“Do you think I should pay you more just because you're from the North?” Irene responded.

Elay’s eyes narrowed.
”No… I think you should pay more because we’re going to be dealing with one another long term. Potentially very long term. And that’s probably going to be good for you, because having someone like me around means you’re safer. Because, well… If I wasn’t around, who knows what could happen to this place. Scary to think about, isn’t it?” he asked, jaw half-clicking into place as he thought about a beautiful burning motel.

”But if you scratch my back, then I’ll be sure to keep yours scratched. Keep all the roaches and rats out of your larder so to speak.” Elay finally offered, nodding slowly.

Irene took his barely hidden threats with a straight face. After all, you couldn’t show weakness in this part of town. But after a moment, she started laughing.
“You’re sharper than I expected, for a young Northerner.” There was a hint of surprise in her expression, and she went back into her drawers to pull out another stack of cash.
“A thousand upfront. Up to eight times that after, if it's a job well done. Because you’re correct. Strength is everything here. Perhaps you can even hold off Gideon Cross and his gang before they take over the whole area.” Another thing that would be, of course, bad for business.

“Plus, you’re taking in my favourite street rat.”
”I’m none of those things,” Nessa huffed. She’d been watching the negotiations with a silent glower, knees drawn up to her chest and scowl permanent on her face.

”Five g’s cash, up front. No rent; rather, from now on, I expect two and a half percent out of your end every month. You’re paying me, or Gideon Cross is gonna be the least of your concerns. Consider it insurance. Then you’ll know that if this problem of yours is real, I’ll be here to do something about it.”

Elay wasn’t about to let this lady get off scot free. If her whole problem was trying to soak up whatever income the poor people around could give her, it was only right that some of it be relinquished all the same. This was, of course, the law of the bigger fish. The small yielded, and the evil would always be wiped to the side. It was a historic imperative. Constant.

In that moment, he let out a burst of Garf’s senses from his head, passing across her Emotional Field and sinking subtle teeth into the surface to get a sense of the strength. If it got through, a jolt of horror… Barely visible, a piece of cloth seemed to appear and hang down from Elay’s head. It didn’t obscure him, except for the single instant in which it was necessary to use his power. Like a single frame lost in the reel of a movie.

Irene flinched slightly. Elay would be able to feel she had an Emotional Field of moderate strength. Not so easy to get into… but the Apparition within recognised Garf’s magic and cowered from it even while its host held relatively strong. It wasn’t weak by any means, but it wasn’t at the level of the Wampus Cat.

“Fine.” Irene responded after a moment's thought. A quick internal conversation. More cash was pulled out and added to the stacks already on the table.
“I accept the cost of your insurance services.”

Nessa looked between them with a frown. She could feel the magic in the air, though she couldn’t tell anything about it. Just the heaviness… she was attuned to it. Well trained. For a brief moment a strand of pink floated out, before withdrawing back into herself. What was she hoping to get from that? She didn’t have an in to either of them. Yet. No, she never would.

Irene stood up to lean across the table, holding out a hand to Elay.
“Let’s hope you do solve my very real problem, or you won’t be seeing much from your cut.”

”Lets hope your problem is real enough that I come back and apologize to you. Now, other than the card… Do you have any leads? Where they’re getting from, what’s the drop, who are the biggest players in the apartments? Anything?”

“Floor two, number seven. Floor three, number nine. They ‘play’ and haven’t left. I don’t know where they get it from. I don’t make a habit of spying on my tenants,” Irene replied, to the point.

”Well, we’ll consider changing that policy in the near future, right?” Elay laughed smugly in return, having just barely heard the shriek of fear from within. It was always better when the Apparition was the one scared.

Turning, Elay nodded and waved his hand.
”Columbo on the case, Ma’am.”

Nodding his head at Nessa to direct her toward the door, he opened it again and held it for her to leave. Once they were all alone again, he smirked.
”Well? What’ya think? Ever hear anything about this crap?” he asked, holding up the card one last time as he let himself examine it for any magical properties.

”No. I haven’t seen shit like this since highschool. This one’s new too.” Nessa leaned over to look at the card too. She wasn’t exactly social with people in her block. If she was here, she was in her apartment struggling to do anything.
”There was something a few months back about new competition on the streets… but I think that was drugs. Not card games. It seems like bullshit, but she wouldn’t waste money on that.”

Not picking anything up, Elay shook his head in return.
”Well… Either the cards are enchanted so well that Garf and I can’t tell they’re rigged, or they’re not rigged. They’re just normal cards.”

Looking at Nessa, he narrowed his eyes.
”So… You been working on any spell having to do with addiction lately?” he asked in a sarcastic tone… Despite that, however, he didn’t seem to be budging or moving on from it.

”You’re hilarious.” Nessa sneered, glaring up at him. Of course this asshole was turning it on her. As if she’d use easily trackable Lux like that. If she had the inclination, she’d just overload Blinds with cursed commands that had them coming to her with money for nothing. But she didn’t. Refused to.

”The only thing I get people addicted to is my body, and there’s no magic to that.” Half true, half false, since she did have a curse that made people magically want, need or love her. That was, in a way, a spell to do with addiction.
”Do you think this is some kind of big play to keep my addictive card game empire running, or some shit?”

”Could you stop asking asshole questions like that? I don’t fucking know, Nessa. Could be! Literally could be anything. Do I have to remind you that magic is involved? Or can you extrapolate what the fuck that means in terms of our ‘realm of possibility’?” Elay snapped.

Stepping away, he started to make for the stairs again.
”Now, there’s no chance you’ve spoken to these neighbors, is there? Two-seven, or three-nine?”

”In case I’ve Pink Luxed their brains and have them under my control?” Nessa scowled, still very much pissed about him practically accusing her of being behind it. Then he just moved on like that. Oh it could be her! Sure, could be, but it fucking wasn’t!

”No, I haven’t. People in this building aren’t exactly talkative. I try spend more time out of this shithole anyway.” Nessa followed behind him towards the stairs with a light huff.
”Ooo, careful, if I get behind you I might nail you with a card addiction spell.”

Elay shook his head, laughing and starting his way up the stairs to the second floor.
”Would you get over yourself? God, you can’t let it be, can you?”

---

It was about fifteen minutes later, after having waited at the door of two-seven for far longer than was necessary, they’d made their way to the end of the third floor. Three-nine was before them, closed with a small layer of dust built up on the knob. Elay had knocked a few moments ago, but the two were left without an answer.

”Right… With Garf asleep, I’m kind of useless. I can get some pretty basic senses out, but… Well, usually I’d just smell them through the door. I can’t. You got anything to pick up people through walls?” he asked Nessa with a sheepish tone.

Nessa reactively smirked.
”What was it you called me yesterday? Most useless witch or something like that? Not so useless now, am I?” She was so smug about it. Of course she was, after how he’d treated her.

It wasn’t difficult to send a Pink tendril through the door. Solid matter didn’t block mind magic. She couldn’t actively control people she couldn’t see, but she could get to their minds. It was easy to hear their thoughts… or hit the blocking emptiness of an Emotional Field. She felt out a wall of negativity inside. Unsurprising.
”There’s someone in the back corner. Pretty unhappy right now about ‘not getting what he needs.’”

”Is that all you can tell? Magic around him, any curses or anything?” Elay asked, body moving to take position in front of the door to open it.
”What about physical capabilities?”

”All you asked was for me to sense something through the walls.” Nessa rolled her eyes at him.
”Can you normally smell how fucking buff someone is?”

After some unnecessary cattiness, she shifted herself to lean against the wall beside the door. It wasn’t that sensing that stuff was difficult. It just required going in, unless it was incredibly potent or poorly cast. She closed her eyes, face going blank.

Gross. This guy’s mind was horrible. Cluttered like a hoarder's den. He probably didn’t even need addiction magic to get deep into a game like this. But… there was a tingling feeling that Nessa would get when she delved into a mind her Father, or his assistant, had touched. External changes. Well hidden… threads of a subtle spell intertwining the space she floated in. She could sense that it had been a few hours since it was cast by the way the threads, now that she pulled them out, glowed brightly. In a few days it would dim and disappear.

So it wasn’t magic like hers. Not a permanent change. Something that needed frequently recast, but dragged the victim back to the caster. Moderate strength…

Pink Lux. Pretty smart spell. Nessa didn’t actually talk, instead the words were whispered across Elay’s magical field. Another thread of Pink from her to him.

But he himself was not magic. There was a chance this guy could lead them back to the source if they waited long enough. But, that would be incredibly long. So, Elay’s new dilemma was whether or not it was worth waking up Garf, or asking Nessa to get any further. He had to test her capabilities sooner or later, so…

”Alright, so you got that… Can you get memories? Track our source without us even touching this guy?” he asked in a matter of fact tone.

Nessa had to withdraw from the guy a little bit to properly hear Elay. She could, but it was muffled. Like she was underwater.
Could she get memories? What was she, recently kindled? She’d dug her own hole by pretending to be so weak for self protection.

What happens if I say no? As Nessa replied with her magic, outside body expressionless, the her inside the guy’s mind scoffed. It wasn’t difficult to go through his recent memories. She knew where she was looking, following the thread of Pink magic.

Oh, smart. Whoever it was had blurred out the location. The memory was still there, but it was like it was corrupted. She could undo it with enough time… but that was a hassle. Irritating, when they could just follow him there. It was simple for her to implant a command on a blind.
Feel the need to buy more, go do it immediately.
Then she grasped the Pink thread inside, supercharging it.

”Why would we track them when we can follow him?” Nessa asked as she pulled out of his mind, eyes opening again.

”Well, obviously because sitting here waiting for him to do it would take ho-”

The door opened before Elay could finish his sentence. A short, scrawny man dragged himself out. In his hands were a couple of cards, similar to the one they’d seen earlier. He was muttering under his breath about bullshit pull rates and how the next one would be the one as he shuffled into Elay.

He didn’t even seem to notice. His eyes were glazed over and he turned to go around Elay. It was both the subtle curse Nessa had cast on him, and the addictive Pink magic already there. Nessa stepped back to let him.

”Oh look, I bet that’s where he’s going right now.”

Elay’s eyes swapped between Nessa and the man’s back several times before he finally shook his head and moved to follow.
”Yep, alright. Fine. This kind of thing? Makes me way more inclined to treat you with a modicum of respect. Not that I’m afraid, but… Clearly you’ve got more tricks up your sleeve than you wanted me to know.”

He walked with a purposefully slow stride as they trailed the man, one arm wrapping around Nessa’s shoulders and pulling her close.
”You’re telling me this ain’t satisfying? Doing work, instead of just doing whatever? We’ll actually get to see something. Do something about it, and there’s a good chance that there’s profit at the end of this rainbow. D’ju hear what the deal was? She’s paying me two and a half percent of her turnover monthly. Sucker should’ve never tipped her hand.” he grinned.

”Well she’s normally the top of the food chain. Those kinds of people always think they’re gonna win. Easy for someone bigger and stronger to knock ‘em over.” Nessa shrugged, leaning in towards Elay. She held back the more snide, immediate comment on the tip of her tongue for once. She should enjoy him being a bit less of a dick for a moment rather than poking the hornet’s nest.

”Sure, I find so much satisfaction out of dragging shit out of someone’s mind and manipulating them. Now that you’ve shown me how fun it is, maybe I should set up my own rival detective agency. I was always just getting with guys cause I didn’t realise how satisfying magical detective work was.”

Elay couldn’t help but laugh and shake his head. She was utterly unstoppable when it came to this kind of shit. Her terribly crass and biting sarcasm, the disregard for the humanity of the subject, the blatant disrespect toward whatever was in her crosshair… It wasn’t exactly a desirable trait, but it was certainly more fun than some girl like his sister Rina. Quiet, almost beaten down; what good was life without a struggle?

Are you romanticizing her trauma-filled aggression right now? You are a disgusting little man, Lazarus Motta.
Oh now you wake up, you cheeseball looking fart… What’d God kick you out of Heaven again?
It was the one where the refrigerator comes alive and consumes me.
Ah, yes. The Ouroboros.

Along the path near the stairs, Garf was standing and watching the man come down until he hit the stairs. Then he hopped up on the railing, giving the puppetted man a once-over.
”So the Wicked Witch turns her hand! This feels intricately woven. Skillfully… Would you say it took you long? Or is this sort of thing natural to you?”

Garf’s question came with an unblinking yellow stare. He was looking at Elay’s hand comfortably wrapped around Nessa’s shoulder at a lower point. It was like they were watching their toddler walk to the park by itself.

Nessa stared back at Garf unflinchingly. Of course it was natural. She’d used it day after day for at least ten years. Basic mind control had been mastered before she was eleven. Then this, a non active curse, after she’d cracked emotional fields. Using it in this way… didn’t make her feel quite so sick. Not this spell. It was almost innocent. A trigger, and then a command was followed.

She tried not to think about how it would keep happening as long as this man had the addictive spell on him. She’d made sure he’d never be able to resist it.
”It didn’t take long, but it’s not that intricate. I mostly piggy backed off the spell already on him.” She shrugged the shoulder that didn’t have Elay’s hand on it, smiling at Garf.
”I’m best at delicate application of Pink Lux. That’s probably why it looks so intricate. Skillful, but not so dangerous.” It was a lie of course, and he’d know it, but she was walking the fine line of being useful to Elay while not revealing her full horrific capabilities.

”Wow, real compliment taker. Great.”
Garf shrugged off her response with a turn and a couple of steps forward into the middle of open air. He was trotting forward just as he would on solid ground, turning around and sitting down in mid air to watch Nessa and Elay walk down the stairs.

It wasn’t until Elay was far below him on the ground floor that he broke eye contact with a position on the horizon, and like a cartoon, gravity came out from under him. This caused the massive cat to fall three stories onto Elay’s shoulders, with every single claw on his massive double paws sinking into Elay’s greatcoat.
The searing pain didn’t matter too much… But instinctively, Elay’s hand gripped Nessa’s shoulder a bit harder. Enough that he could see it hurting someone frail. So rather than keep the hand there, he pulled away fully and stuffed his hand back into his pocket.

”Oh, thanks Big Guy. That was great, I loved that greeting. Really.” he grunted, shaking his head before turning it to Nessa.
”I’d say sorry for squeezing, but we both know you can take it.”

”That’s not the enjoyable type of pain,” Nessa shot back, with an exaggerated pout as she reached up to rub her arm. The reaction was noticeably delayed, waiting for Elay to let go and talk before it happened. She’d barely registered the pain. It hurt, with her body weak as it was, but… it wasn’t so bad she even really thought about it.

And contrary to what she said, all pain was enjoyable in some way. Even if it was a reminder she was alive. Or a delayed minor punishment for using her Father’s spell.
”But you don’t need to use Garf as an excuse if you’re horny like that! I understand.”

Elay wasn’t so bashful as to pass the opportunity up. His right hand came back out of the jacket and flicked through the air to wrap against one of her cheeks.
”Don’t get fuckin’ fresh with me… Jesus Christ!” he shouted, shaking his head.

Was this the kind of thing he was looking for? Fun? For five seconds he could forget that she was anything but there to make him feel better. She wanted what she wanted, but maybe that wasn’t all she was? Or maybe they were just two animals drinking from the same fetid pool. He didn’t know why Garf had any feelings toward her, but he thought he could imagine why just for that short moment. Joking around as they followed a mark to a possible target…

This was probably a better first date.

”You like it when I do,” Nessa retorted with a smirk, voice slightly more breathless. Her hand came around to capture his before he could withdraw it. It wasn’t anything romantic like holding it, rather her nails scratching against the back of his hand. She wasn’t worried about playing around too much and losing the person they were following… she had a Pink tether on him now.
”I’m hot and interesting. You’d already be bored if I kept my mouth shut like you originally wanted. You can’t deny it.”

Elay didn’t answer her, just leaving his hand where she apparently wanted it to be. He grinned, then shook his shoulder to let Garf drop down onto her. The tubby cat was a heavy weight on her shoulders, and his nose gently brushed against the hair on the back of Nessa’s neck.
As easy as pulling from a brand new deck of cards. Not… Not the ones you’re following. Real cards, the fifty-two-in-four.

Being so close to Garf, one could feel his voice just slip into the littlest places in one’s Emotional Field. So tight, so cramped, so sure that the old wound was closed up and not bothering… But once was enough, and he could worm his way in whenever.

Just continue to placate his ego. He’s a simple thing at this point. the cat intoned, letting his voice echo around Nessa’s head.

Nessa had grimaced slightly as the heavy weight dropped onto her shoulder, using it to cover up her annoyance at him getting into her head again. She leaned slightly more towards Elay to help with the weight, managing to hide the irritation back down under a playful smirk.

Not sure you can call what I did ‘placating his ego’, but sure. I’ll keep flirting with him. It’s the same with every guy. She responded even as she was annoyed he was in there. How? His own magic? Or was it…
No, it couldn’t be. She’d gotten rid of all of his magic. No more curses on her. It was all gone. It didn’t matter that it felt similar. It wasn’t that.

But how many times do I need to tell you to stay out? It’s not fucking hard. Pass the message without getting in my head.

You don’t even know how this works. Telepathy, mind reading… All tricks my people developed. But I don’t need it, because no matter how much you feel me inside you? You can’t stop the future from happening. I have been inside, I will be again. Thus, I simply am.

Like he had never been on her shoulders, he was back on Elay with his face looking down at Nessa. Garf’s tail swung side to side, and he smiled a wry smile that looked terribly fiendish on the face of a cat. Abnormal.
But they had to cross a street away from the apartment building, so Elay was sure to take a few swinging strides to cross behind Nessa from side to side. To effectively cover her from both angles as they crossed, and prevent her from being the first to be injured in the event of a reckless driver.

”Christ, where’s this guy headed? Too bad it wasn’t isolated to the complex, this would’ve been much quicker…”

”The Pink Adept’s too strong to keep it to one building. Maybe at first… but this has obviously been going on a while.” Nessa responded, tilting her head around to glance at Elay. She was surprised by how he was acting as they went across the road, as if he’d actually try and stop her from being run over. Huh.

”He’s not that strong. But strong to do this across an area of town.” As she spoke, Nessa tried to figure out where they were going through the thread she had attached to the man they were following. But with him following a magical command, his head was practically empty. On autopilot.
”It can’t be far. Most people in this part don’t drive, so… it should still be local.”

”Fair… Garf, who is this guy anyway? Anyone we should be worried about?”

He was talking about the man they were following, to which Garf gave a vague grunt of address.

”Not a lot to know. Born and raised pretty much within this three square mile area. Didn’t have much of a chance before whatever this was came along, so I doubt he’ll have much of one after we get rid of it.” Garf explained in a nonchalant manner.

”Right. I should’ve guessed. Just-”
”-Curious. I know.”

The cat was gone then, like he’d never even been there to begin with. He was up ahead, walking alongside the dazed man.

”Oh, great… He’s hungry again.” Elay gave a slight frown, looking down at Nessa.
”What’d you think about this morning anyway? Seriously not put off?”

”He was really annoying. Tried to demand I go pick up more of that pasta, and then gave me a mile long list of food he wanted from downstairs… then told me to forget it.” Nessa shrugged one shoulder, taking issue with something relatively mundane rather than the whole horrible cat-human creature Garf had become. There’d been some fear at the time, but… she’d seen a lot of monsters. Created them. It was nothing more than extra fuel for already constant nightmares.

”The second face was disgusting. And I figured if he decided to kill me, I’d get to come back as a ghost and watch you suffer over cleaning up all the guts across your kitchen.” Her lips pulled up into a sarcastic smile. Definitely a dark joke rather than a genuine thought she’d had at the time.

”No doubt that would’ve happened. You haunting me and everything.” he joked.

Then the mark hooked a right. A few more twists and turns through the maze of buildings on this particular block, and he was headed into a nondescript bar room with a couple of toughs outside chatting and smoking. Elay grinned.
”Oh, man… A drink! he said brightly, following not far behind into the bar.

”You’d be better off buying paint stripper than anything here,” Nessa commented as she followed behind him.

Inside was about as run down as could be expected. Dirty, it smelled like spilled booze and smoke. The furniture was an odd, half broken assortment. It was about half full. Regulars, probably, tough looking guys from the area. Even the bartender looked like the rest. It made it extra easy to see where the scrawny guy they’d been following went.

She followed Elay over to the bar, sensing what the man was doing rather than actively watching. The neurons firing as they controlled his movement… then he was further away. Downstairs. She could still sense him, but it was a bit more difficult to follow.

He showed one of his cards and was let through the back… Into a basement. She thought to Elay, while wrapping her arms around one of his and pressing her body against him. While she assumed he was going to the bar because he was a fucking alcoholic… it wasn’t like the person they were following could get out without them knowing. But everyone in this place could be in on it.
”What’re you getting, Babe? Can I have the same?”

”Don’t call me Babe, that’s gay.” Elay snidely replied backward, leaning into the bar and waving a massive arm for attention.
”Two seven and sevens!” was his request, spinning and waiting to look back out at the bar. He wasn’t trying to look like he was actively scanning, but the place really just revealed itself to him.

At least it was mostly a cube. He tried to get a read on where Garf was, but he wasn’t locating back. It was either interference, or Garf’s subtle suggestion that he should come and look for himself. But he wasn’t going anywhere without some new alcohol in his gut.

”It sure is gay, since you’re acting like a massive pussy over it. We might as well be two fucking lesbians,” Nessa rolled her eyes at Elay.
”I can practically see you growing tits in front of my eyes.”

”My pussy is massive.” was the only reply Elay could muster, just smiling and shaking his head.
”Who taught you how to joke, anyway? Where’d you get your humor from, really?” he asked, nothing better to do with this moment of waiting for the good stuff.

Nessa shrugged one shoulder with a short laugh.
”Dunno, picked it up from people around me. Guys I hooked up with. Always kinda leaned that way naturally.” It was a genuine answer. That, and hours spent as a child allowed on the internet with absolutely no parental supervision. But she’d always had the inclination to be a bit crude… it’d just been suppressed for a long time.
”Certainly wasn’t my parents. Both were fucking tight asses.”

”Oh, Daddy issues? Or was Mommy the one who hit you more?” Elay grinned, totally insensitive to the nature of the question.
It’s not like he didn’t know what he was saying was bad… He just couldn’t muster enough of a fuck. Either she would stick around, or she wouldn’t. Either way, he didn’t feel like it was any sort of problem he had to solve. No change necessary. No doing anything differently.

”Is it not allowed to be both?” Nessa raised her eyebrows, as she clamped down on the sickness the question made her feel in her gut. The hint of buzzing in her mind, a phantom pain left from years of magical brain zapping.

It was Daddy issues, of course. Total abandonment didn’t quite beat out constant abuse.
”What’s it matter? Tryna figure out if I’ll drop you for a hotter woman that’ll treat me the same?”

”Nah. If I was worried about that I’d introduce you to my Matriarch.”
The comment was given, and passed away, without any real context. The drinks showed up, and Elay threw a crisp five down on the counter before tucking the entire thing back ice and all. The glass hit the counter, and he admired a couple of half-shocked faces nearby.

Then Elay started to stretch his shoulders and arms slightly.
”Alright. You coming down? Or you just gonna let me handle it?” he asked.

”Coming down. I want to make sure you don’t fuck it up.” Nessa grabbed the other drink. She didn’t have the ability to just chug ice like that… but she did finish off the drink as quickly as she could with a grimace. It burnt as it went down her throat, but that was part of what she drank for.
”How will you even know which guy it is?”

”Well, Garf’s awake at least. I can tell who's magical and who's not. Then, determining Lux from other stuff is fairly simple. I can see it all, if you can imagine. People’s eyes, their teeth; I can see all their veins if I try enough, outlined in whatever color they practice. If there’s more than one, it shimmers between the colors. Sometimes it gets hard to tell then.” Elay explained, starting to saunter over toward the door that led downstairs.

”We’ll figure it out. Now… Will they let us both in with only one card, I wonder. Can you check anyone’s mind to see if they’ve seen people throwing packs away in the trash cans up here?”

”You want to rifle around in the trash for some cards?” Nessa stared at Elay incredulously. Seriously? One minute he was bragging about seeing Adeptal colours in people's veins like a weird kind of vampire, next he wanted to act like a raccoon in a trash can?
”Fine. Don’t let me stop you having a trash shower.”

It was a bit annoying to check minds like that. She chose a few people near the door. Her feet walked on autopilot as she gleaned the information, leaning slightly towards Elay. Then her head very slowly nodded.
”Yuuuppp, your trash can awaits.” She subtly gestured towards the one nearest the door.

Elay nodded, looking around, the floor to see if there was any kind of magic user who would notice his illusion when it came. There weren’t, and then suddenly there was Garf. He was high above, his favorite place to be, and swinging his tail.
Lord… You’re going to pay me extra for all this running, right?

You’re paid handsomely. Now come lounge.
With pleasure.

Garf leapt down onto Elay’s shoulders, letting his gut hit the back of Elay’s neck. In that motion, the impact of it forced Garfield’s skin to stretch in a cartoonish fashion, snapping back as a fully formed scarf that hung down the open sides of his greatcoat. There were a few moments where Nessa would be able to see Garf’s eyes peering back at her as they slowly faded somewhere into the depths of the scarf.

Then Elay raised his hands, holding one side of the scarf to twirl around his face. There was a wave of magic that Nessa would be able to feel wash across the room, and suddenly everyone was laughing at Elay. But all their eyes were at once on his scarf, which meant every single observer was now caught. It was a sticky trap for Blinds, as there was little chance for them to distinguish reality from his design now.

He could play with their heads in funny ways. Like, making them think they were all naked. And always had been. Or into simultaneously weeping at once, which he did just to make sure the few people who weren’t looking actually turned around and saw. Then, all of it washed away. The bar room returned to normal, and the whole operation carried on.
Without skipping a beat, Elay moved forward to the trashcan and opened it up, then rummaged around for another card until he found a whole stack.

Taking one, he dusted it off and stuck it into his pocket, then put the lid back on the can and snapped his fingers. Garf was gone, the scarf was gone, there was no sign that anything happened besides Elay moving back to Nessa’s side.
”And nobody’s the wiser. Now, here.”

He pulled out the old card that the landlady had given them and handed it to Nessa, then nodded toward the basement.

”The scarf flick was so lame,” Nessa couldn’t hold back the dig, after having to witness it. Sure, the magic was impressive enough. But the delivery? Hilariously lame.

Taking the card, she headed towards where she’d seen their target go. Back corner, a more shaded area with an opening for the stairs down. There was a muscular man sitting right beside it.
Nessa didn’t even wait for him to say anything, holding her card up in front of her, and out of sight from most of the bar, with a smile. He narrowed his eyes at it, then Elay’s, and nodded.

”Strange security system,” Nessa said under her breath. The stairs were dimly lit, and the smell of smoke only got stronger as they got into the basement below. It didn’t even have the ‘homely’ dirt of the upstairs bar. Just concrete walls.

There was a narrow corridor that then opened up into the main underground room. More oblong than the bar above it, it clearly spread out under the house below too. Artificial, bright white lights hung above table upon table laid out in long rows. The place was packed. Men and women sitting opposite each other, slapping down cards in a furious game. There was shouting, cheering and crying. Aside from the people playing, there were people ripping open packs and trading with each other. Everyone had a slightly glazed look in their eyes, along with almost feverishly high emotions.

Right at the back was a slightly separated table, where the man they’d followed was. Across it were what looked like boxes filled with sealed card packets. Two men sat behind it. One was clearly serving, while the other’s chair was pushed further back as he scrolled on his phone. A woman leaned against the nearby wall and stared at him.

Nessa was incredibly careful as she opened her mind, sliver of Pink Lux moving into the air. Not looking for magic like Elay could see. Looking for a specific signature.
But it was everywhere. Everyone but the three at the back had it, now that she knew what she was looking for. It was overwhelming enough that she stumbled slightly, tilting her body towards Elay to hide it. Unnecessarily when everyone was so focused on the cards.

Elay could almost crack up with laughter at the scene before him. There was no way these dudes were actually hooked like this, but the more he opened his senses to what was going on, the more he realized just how serious this was. Worse was the triple-Adept combo at the back of the room. Yellow was never great; they were simply ready for a magical invasion of their mind better than others. But then there was an Orange-Pink… Their mark? The Red was most concerning, as they were generally combat oriented… Of course, she wasn’t sat at a table either. Clear security behavior.

Elay quickly bridged their minds using Garf’s connection.
You got it too, right? The three in the back? Got anything to bring the crowd under our favor?

Nessa’s eyes narrowed slightly, glancing past all the Blinds to the three in the back. Trying to zone out the background noise was just a moment. Focusing in… None of them were the one. She knew what his magic felt like now, and he wasn’t there.

Thankfully. Because yes, she could mind control every single Blind in this room if she had to. That many were difficult to give intricate commands to, but just to help them? To be bodies in between? She could.
But she really didn’t want to. Just the thought of it made her chest feel tight, another panic attack pushed down swiftly by her own magic. She could do so much more than that too. What if she used too much, and killed them like she had many before? She couldn’t.

They’re not who we’re looking for. Not the one. None of them have the same magical signature. Nessa did her best to not change her expression, staring at the card she had intently for a moment.
I can’t. This size of crowd is too much.

What about dispelling the effect? I just don’t need all these potentially hostile bodies in here if we’re gonna have a fight over this…
Elay’s voice was adamant coming through Nessa’s mind, and gave a sense of confidence that could only be presented in that theatre of the mind.

Nessa didn’t feel confident if there was a fight when there were three Adepts. But… she could run. If it all went to shit, she’d just turn and run.
I can do that. It’ll take a bit. I’ll have to release them all at once, I think. As Nessa replied she moved away from him, spinning herself round to sit in a free chair. There was no one opposite her, and thankfully everyone seemed caught up in their current games to not immediately fill the spot to try to play with her.

Maybe talk to them? Be less suspicious?
Where she sat her eyes glazed over slightly, still staring down at the green card. Her body slumped a bit as she carefully, subtly, sent out tendrils into every Blind in the room, while keeping a light thread attached to Elay so she could still speak to him.

Elay wasn’t exactly dressed like he was some card game junkie from the south side… Kind of stuck out like a sore thumb in that regard. Never the less, he did what he could do and took a deep breath before making his way to where the vendors were. It took a moment for the small line that had built up to clear out. Enough time that Elay got to see some pretty crucial behaviors to mimic.

Chief among them was the sheer bulk at which people were buying these cards, and the voracity with which they shredded them open. It was actually comical, but also necessary to play the part as best he could. He could see them shaking harder and harder as they got closer to the front, until they said those magic words.

”B-boxes… Eight.” his deep voice timidly spoke, still remembering the days of utilizing voice manipulation in his Pink Lux. It was amazing how much less intimidating a meek and quiet voice was than an absolute bullhorn.

He pulled cash from his pocket. They always only had just enough for what they were buying, so he’d ripped off a few hundred from the wad without taking it out.

The Yellow Adept nodded, having to pull up some more boxes from underneath the table after the small line Elay had stood in. Eight boxes, neatly put in two stacks. But he kept his hand on them rather than immediately pushing them forward. A hint of suspicion is his eyes he didn't bother hiding. He knew how to get customers talking too- hold back the goods and they'd get desperate.

“Just eight? You ain't buying for your girl too?” He nodded over to where Nessa was sitting.
“I ain't seen you two round before… you new? Or just tryin' a new location?”

Elay could’ve given any excuse.
”Nah! F-fuck her. She can do w-what she wants! She’s the whole reason we gotta go this far down t’get anything!”
He hoped the “clerk” would bite, and let Elay spin a yarn about her freaking out over a match.

Mr. Yellow glanced over at Nessa again, then at Elay. Of course he bit- getting information about their ‘customers’ life was an important part of the ‘job’.
“Oh? She kick up a fuss in another location? Lemme guess… didn’t get the card she wanted?”

Mindlessly, Elay’s hands ripped into the first box like an animal, ripping the top and snagging the first pack out and splitting the perforation with dextrous ease. His head tilted downward, then shot to attention as he robotically flipped through cards.

“Lost… Bad match.”
He had no clue what to look for, but he knew how people who played these kinds of games were. Kiki had been into this, and there was a time where a group of the kids from Raven’s Rest had been into a similar card game.

He knew what ripping a pack of cards open was supposed to look like. Looking through them, he started to get a feeling for it. Then, in classic fashion, Garf’s knowledge came into play. This was a “Discovery Moment”: Enough knowledge had passed through his brain based on reading mechanics of the game that Garf’s understanding was able to diffuse into his own mind.
None of it was organized, of course. Garf was never going to let it get like that. But, for what he could gather within a few moments, this pack was dogshit.

”FfffffUCK!” he snarled, going for another pack. Purposefully fumbling around, he was trying to take as much time as possible out of these people’s days.

”Listen, Man… You had anyone pull any Trombone of Earth and Darkness cards? Not the whole set, just the core monster. I can’t fucking get it!”

“Hmm, not sure,” the man said, a glint in his eyes as he saw Elay’s distress. He tilted his head back towards the other man sitting behind him, playing on his phone.
“Anyone got the core E n’ D Trombone?”

“With one per ten boxes? Not here.” The Pink-Orange Adept looked up, going from bored to grinning in a moment.
“But that just means it’s still out there, don’t it? Maybe the next one’s the one, my friend. Buy two more boxes and you’re practically guaranteed it. Going for E ‘n D, though… you gunning to win in the big leagues?”

”Why the fuck else would I be doing this? E ‘n D, Googly-Verse, the Ramen King. I want the big three themes: Pure collecting. She plays them. And when she’s got money, she rips her own. She was already bad off a bad set of rips and then-”
This pack was shit too. He became even more distressed.

”Ohhhhh my fucking God! I swear, I swear I’m gonna kill someone over this man, I fuckin’ can’t stand this shit…”

“You’re just a collector-”
“Oy, no violence in here,” Yellow Adept interrupted his suddenly overly enthusiastic friend, though there wasn’t really any bite to his words. No fear, just some gruffness.

“Sh, we’re talking cards here…” Pink-Orange shook his head.
“You got good taste. Which is your favourite theme… since there’s no point askin’ what your favourite strat is then, since you ain’t the player. She signed up for the Tournament?”

As the guy started talking excitedly about the card game as if he was also magically drugged, Nessa’s mental voice spoke up again.
Ready?

Elay spun, grabbing the box in his hand.
”No! No, no no! You said one in every ten boxes!? I’ve bought twenty-five so far, so you’re lying to me! And I know it!”

The escalation of involvement was turning into something more. He could feel everything on edge.
Hit it.

“Calm down, man, it ain’t guaranteed-”

All at once, Nessa pulled the remaining thread of addiction out of all the Blinds in the room. As the glazed look in their eyes disappeared, it was replaced by violent emotions. Nessa subtly pushed emotions in various ways. Some bolted, running towards the small corridor that led back upstairs. Others turned to violence. She didn’t need to control them to direct them towards their scammers now that their minds were freed. Just boosting their anger a little bit had a couple flipping tables.

“- you can’t- What the fuck?! Gus, control ‘em.” Yellow looked back at Pink-Orange, Gus, as a light glow flickered into life around all three Adepts. The woman who’d been on standby pushed forwards.

Nessa quickly moved herself off the chair, crouching down and shuffling under a table. As Gus’ Pink Lux moved out to try calm down the suddenly riotous ex-card addicts, she swiftly moved to negate it. It was easy. Pink obviously wasn’t his stronger type.
“C-can’t, magic-!”

There was immediate panic. Overwhelmed by the stronger presence of Pink control, the weight of Nessa’s magic was too heavy for the Orange-Pink, and suddenly his presence was totally lost among the sea of newly raging people. There was a long moment where everything was too wild for anyone to pick up the dropped ball, and Elay tried his hardest to bring the distance between himself and the Red Adept down to nothing.

Only to hit a brick wall. A literal brick wall, not even face height. It was strong enough to stop his charge dead and nearly knock the wind out of his chest. The thing was rapidly expanding around the little tables that had been the vendor’s desk,
”Oh, no! Not a wall! Who taught you how to do that?”

Garf was already perched atop the ever-expanding brick wall, and his eyes were staring directly into the eyes of the Red Adept. It wasn’t a meow. It was a roar. A scream from beyond the belt of meteors protecting the inside of the Solar System. All at once, every dropped phone screen and set of glasses on a face was broadcasting the same orange and black static.
In a flash, Garf became a new piece of clothing. A thief’s hood, complete with shawl, wrapped around Elay’s face, and as his face was half-covered, his eyes disappeared into blackness behind it all. Two dark yellow cat eyes opened with thin pupil slits in place of his own.

He shot a glance back at Nessa, then held a hand up to wait for a bite.

“Where?” Yellow Adept hissed, more concerned with the Pink competition than Cat Man. Guy pointed a finger towards Nessa under the table, trembling slightly as he backed away towards a back entrance. His eyes moved towards Elay.

Which was his mistake.

All at once, the Orange-Pink could see a star falling through the streaks in the fuzz of a phone screen. The trail it left spun itself together slowly, inch by sacred inch, into a loop thirteen passes long. A winged, halo sporting individual formed within the noose, and jerked to the side as the apple crate was kicked out on front of him. More and more detail formed, until Guy could see his own face in the eyes of that winged figure.

Vines slowly crept from his mouth, then a melon-like fruit depositing itself upon the ground before the hanged man. All of this in the minds eye, not but a few layers deep into the Emotional Field of this low-class Adept. They weren’t ready to defend themselves.

The Yellow Adept peeled off from his friend, oblivious to what was happening to him. There was one goal in mind. Glowing, secondary shields surrounded his fists, allowing him to knock out the Blinds on his way with relative ease.

Fuck, fuck. Nessa cast her reactive shield just in time, but the shields flaring into life across her hands were useless as he grabbed her leg and dragged her out from under the table. Her other foot came up to try and nail him in the face, pathetically hitting his chest. She struggled, rearing up to try and grab his hair.

But she was too weak to do anything. One hand grabbed her wrist as he flipped her onto her back, pinning her to the ground. Her mind raced. What did she do- cover him in boils, cripple his confidence so he backed away? Boils- It’s weak! It’s so weak- he’s weak!

With his hands on her wrists, Nessa could sense his emotional field. It wasn’t as strong as she’d expected. He… he wasn’t a strong adept.
Immediately, she changed tactics. It was almost scary how quickly she turned to that magic when threatened. The subtlest thread of blue started prying at his Emotional Field. It was like a second nature, something she could do as easily as breathing. Ten minutes, just survive ten minutes.

His hand moved towards her throat, and Nessa shoved her head forward to bite it as hard as she could. He reeled back.
“You bitch!” He went to slap her across the face.

Elay’s trap worked perfectly. The Orange-Pink had observed the static, and a Seed of Knowledge was implanted. This gave Elay an incredible range and ease of movement in the small area, utilizing the power of Doorstepping. Wampus cats, their strange ways and all, require unique skills to operate as they have for so long.

To that end, the way of Doorwalking: Folding space between two distances at the behest of the Cat, and using that path to step between short distances. In Elay’s case, it was mostly in a short radius around a particular target, as he had to have a stable connection point to base his walk around. Like a beacon, a lighthouse in the fog by which he could navigate during his short period in the dark.

Surprisingly, the Yellow seemed to be the aggressor, while the Red was seemingly occupied with keeping their supplies safe. So, one was trapped. The other was hitting his new sidekick… Elay’s body spun, and in the motion of transferring himself in reality, he spun himself through the Dark and back out next to the Yellow Adept within the blink of an eye.

Then his fist was careening toward the guy’s head at full tilt, Elay’s back leg pulling up off the ground to deliver as much downward force as possible.

The Yellow Adept hadn’t expected teleportation, too busy acting out whatever sick abuse dreams he had on the ‘helpless’ woman he had pinned. Elay’s fist slammed into the light shield around him first. It flickered under the impact and immediately shattered, the fist continuing right into the guy’s head. It knocked him back, allowing Nessa to roll out from underneath him.

”Fuck,” she hissed under her breath, scrambling backwards. Blood sluggishly dripped from the corner of her lip, her cheek throbbed, but she barely noticed it. Her chest heaved up and down, eyes wild with panic- but not from being pinned down, as much as it would seem that way. No… she’d started using it. The spell. Fuck, fuck- why couldn’t she stop herself?!

Surprisingly, the Yellow Adept recovered enough from Elay’s punch to turn around and throw a shield enhanced one of his own. It was a wild attack, footing unsteady.

Elay felt every little bit of the impact from that shield against his hand and wrist. It felt like punching through half a dozen layers of glass without gaps. Elay’s hand throbbed, and he tossed his head back to howl like an animal before stabilising himself. He was getting a look around when he got bumped around by a few of the roiling people in that basement. Just enough that he could see the hand closing in on him from the crowd with intent. He slipped underneath a bystander, flicking his head down and letting the blow crash into the Blind’s face.

His body rolled up under the newly unconscious man, pushing up and forcing himself forward harder than before. In a single fluid movement, the shawl around Elay’s head split in twain, crawling down his arms and wrapping around his fists. The orange and black wraps shimmered, and he let the glimmer flash upward to distract. The chance to throw off where his hands would be in a strange afterimage shimmer.
”Eat this!” he screamed, letting the fist catch air like a bullet from space.

The Yellow Adept was caught in the distraction of the afterimage, shielded hands moving to block a blow he expected to go to his face again. Instead it slammed into his gut, knocking him back with a pained yell. He stumbled, before falling onto his knees. In a desperate attempt to not get kicked in the face, he launched himself at Elay’s legs.

”Can you fight with a bit less yelling?!” Nessa hissed, attention snapping to the back of the room, where the Pink-Orange had snapped out of his trance enough to start fleeing out the back door.

Elay wasn’t a slouch with Garf’s feline reaction speed and perception coursing through him. The speed of light traveling in and being processed near instantly to send a reaction back through the muscles. He pushed up on one leg, forcing his whole body upward like a spring and crashing back down onto the Yellow Adept’s back. There was a very clean reactive instance, and Elay felt the resistance of a new shield. Thankfully, his emotional field wasn’t doing so hot. There was a small resistance, then a pop as his fist crashed downward like a rocket into the back of his neck.

A small plume of steam curled up from his hand, and he stared down for a moment. Just one, before his boot rose up again, stuffing the Adept’s head into the floor like a smashed pumpkin. The Red Adept had missed the show, but heard the shriek of pain that came from the first blow and knew her companion had fallen. It was on her now. Brick walls fell away, and in their place rose ferrous towers strung with lights and peaked with razor sharp tips.

”What kind of element is this… Architecture!?”

The two miniature Eiffel Towers rattled slightly, then sent themselves soaring through the air. One toward Elay, and the other toward Nessa.

Shit. Nessa scrambled backwards on her ass, getting under the table just in time to avoid meeting an untimely (or deserved) death on the peak of the Eiffel Tower.

”Maybe she’s just French- Fuck!” The metal strips that made up the tower peeled away, lancing out towards Nessa. She let out a pained moan when one embedded itself in her leg, before wrapping tightly around her calf. Weak shields fizzled in and out of existence on her hands. With a grunt, she managed to maintain them and leaned forward, trying to rip the metal off her leg.

”Can you smash her head in like you clearly love to do?!”

Elay was fully grappling the other tower, their various iron crossings turning into an army of tendrils looking to hook and stab anything they could. They weren’t just towers… Architect Elementals. Golems made of pure control of the structure they’re made out of. Quite the thing for a Red Luxer to mimic…

There was only one real option here. He’d have to leave her alone and hope that she didn’t get stuck to death because he decided to let the second one go. But the seeded individual was escaping. He only had so much time and room left. Trying to drop the tower’s attention for just a second to swap forms, Elay kicked its base out and dumped it on its sharp tip to embed in the ground. For just one moment, it let him loose enough that he could stop gripping.

No longer in need of Garf’s strength, the hand wraps quickly receded back onto Elay’s head, encompassing his face again. In that same instant, he was gone. The elementals both pulled back at that moment, responding to a threat to their source. But before they could get close enough, the wall crumbled. The two elementals sadly wandered about before flaking into rust and eroding into nothingness.
Behind the falling wall, Elay had the Red Adept by the face and was squeezing. Nessa would be able to catch the last moments of struggle before the hands stopped trying to pry him away and the legs stopped kicking.

Dropping her, Garf pulled himself off Elay’s head and hit the floor with a thud before perching on top of the victim.
”Still alive… What’s in the fridge?”

Eyes became massive and saucer like, just like that morning when Nessa woke to Garf. His mouth peeled open, and there was a slurping noise as drool poured from the creature’s mouth. Meanwhile, Elay was moving back to Nessa. He didn’t say much, but he was already checking her wound and rummaging around in his coat for something.

”I can’t be everywhere at once… You’re really gonna need to hold your own in those situations.”

”Oh right, I should’ve fucking developed some combat spells right before we got here! The card game den I knew was gonna become a battlefield!” Nessa snapped, grimacing. Her hands moved to press the material of her cargo pants into the deep wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding. It wasn’t good, but it wasn’t so bad that it’d kill her… unless she just let it bleed and bleed until she had none left in her body. She’d been cut plenty of times before. Normally not so deep… but it wasn’t the end of the world.

There were still some conscious blinds around, looking around with fear and confusion. Before they could properly react she was in their minds. Making what had just happened fuzzy in their minds, erasing the three of them, then nudging them towards the door. So it was just them.

”Maybe you could stop being an asshole and rouse up some sympathy for just one moment. Or do you just think this is a little scrape I should shrug off?”

”It is.”

It wasn’t. It was a serious wound, it’d be expected that you pull whatever soldier sustained that off the field for medical attention. It was the kind of wound that would get infected easily. They didn’t have to worry about that here, however… So, it was unfortunately something she was going to have to deal with. Elay’s sympathy didn’t come from voiced concern anyway: It came from action.

He was pulling her hands away now, leather gloves gripping her hands tight and pulling them away.
”I get what you’re trying to do with the pants, but you’re just begging to get an infection like that. Stop.”

He had a package, and ripping it open smelled like sterile alcohol. A bandage roll, that he deftly began to pack the wound with until it was tight enough that he could wrap. He’d long since placed her hand above the wound to apply pressure.
”We’ll get you to a doctor. Just hold it for now, and don’t move around too much…”

The last of the trio of clowns was gone, but whenever Elay closed his eyes he could see this sapling far in the distance. The Seedbearer, trying his hardest to escape. It was the best lead Elay could ask for, and now they had five days to follow up. So, there were two bodies in a basement under a seedy bar in a shitty part of a shittier part of a shit city.
But there was still a spell protecting something. Elay could see the Red Lux clear as day, as Garf was feasting upon its channelling host. It was an enchantment of some kind, or… A ritual?

He smiled.
”Garf… Turn her off.”

There was a wail of pain that left the Red Adept’s lips, then nothing. The little protective circle around the strongbox faded away, and Elay patted Nessa on the shoulder.
”Lemmie see what they had, then we’ll go. We got what we needed for now.”

”Sure, take your time, it’s not like I’ll bleed to death.” Nessa rolled her eyes. Of course she had enough energy to be sarcastic, so she wasn’t dying. It hurt like hell, hot pain spiking down her entire leg, but she was used to pain. Had become numb to the lower level of pain from shallower cuts, so something like this… was bearable.

Though the sterile alcohol going in it had been way worse than just pressing pants fabric into it. Which had never given her an infection before.
”You not gonna take all the cards? Rip open a bunch of packs and join the addicts? It could make you so rich.” She sneered, head tilting up to narrow her eyes at Elay slightly.
”Maybe rich enough to find a doctor that’ll take me and not make shit worse.”

”Would you stop worrying about a fuckin’ doc? It’s covered. Consider it a medical plan from the company.”
There was a moment where Elay wasn’t sure if there was something else going on with the box… Security. The Seedbearer had it rigged to get a picture of who it was that opened it as an absolute failsafe. Funny, but Elay could see right through a cheap enchantment like that.

So he did what any good thief did, and pulled his jacket up before opening the box. Some distance away, the fleeing Adept got an image of Elay with his jacket flipped over his face, and his middle finger sticking up, embedded into his brain. It wouldn’t have been so bad if that guy hadn’t just implanted the worst nightmares he’d ever have into his brain too… Now he had to remember that.

Elay wasn’t aware of the extent of psychological damage done, but he was satisfied with the pay for it. Like most criminal enterprises, this was a cash business. Which meant there was at least ten grand in the hold for operations. He quickly stuffed handfuls into his empty inner pockets, then spun and made way for Nessa.

”You probably gotta get carried, don’t you… Little Baby.” Elay mocked her with a pouting face, but didn’t wait for an answer to scoop her up.

If she hadn’t been injured, Nessa would’ve tried to kick him in the face. She had to settle for a heated glare. The effect of it was dampened by her pained moan as her leg was jostled a bit.
”Fuck off, I bet you’re enjoying this! Getting to be the big strong man carrying the damsel in distress… And you’ve got all of the control! I can’t even run- oh I bet you love that, fucking sadist.”

”Oh yeah. I love babysitting, you know me. Christ, you think this is preferable to us walking out of here on four legs total? Are you beamed out of your mind?”

Still, they could get out at all. That was the most important part. Pockets were more full than before, granted there were a lot of ones. Garf would stay behind and take care of the bodies. Check wallets too, or at the least bring them back to him intact.

”It’s gonna take all day for Garf to feel like doing any more work. So let’s get you fixed up. You’re goin’ in the trunk, by the way; I’m not paying that fuckin’ toll anymore. And once we’re done, we’re gonna see about getting you a work pass so we can avoid this from now on.”

”With my fucking leg like this?” Nessa’s upper body tilted back slightly so that she could properly glare at him. The hands that had gone to his shoulders for stability gripped tightly.
”You want me to suffocate and bleed out? Might as well just slit my throat and throw me in there like some shit murderer.”

She gnawed on her lip, brow furrowing as she tried to think of another solution. Because as much as he was an asshole, the ‘toll’ - bribe - was a rip off. She wouldn’t want to pay it either. Her face scrunched up in annoyance. For just a moment, she disappeared. Not physically- Elay could still feel her weight- just visibly. But after just a couple of seconds she blinked right back.

Fuck! Because of course she didn’t just miraculously perfect that spell. Trying while injured definitely didn’t help.
”Do any of the border guards have magic?”

”No, I really don’t think you get it. I’m not, morally, letting you blast some poor borderguard because he’s trying to get extra cash to feed his kids. And frankly, I want to put you in the trunk. Because I’ll get to drive without you bitching in my ear. And you can’t really do much to stop me either, which is just better for me.” Elay explained as a big smile crossed over his face.

”Are you fucking with me?” Nessa hissed. She wasn't planning to blast anyone. Just erase herself from their view, or nudge their brain to not notice her. Subtle Pink magic without any long lasting effects… she wasn't some crazy brain changer. Not… not anymore. Not by choice.

Her fingers dug into his shoulders, but her tight grip was much more likely to hurt her than it was him.
”Nothing’s gonna stop me from bitching in your head, you fucking sadist. What, so fucking excited to shove a woman in your trunk just cause she talks a bit? Fucking put me down, I'll limp to a fucking ditch to die in, I'd rather do that than give you the satisfaction of shoving me in there.”

She pulled back her good leg, trying her best to kick him in the chest.

”Talk a little bit?!” Elay blurted out with laughter as he ascended the steps and back out into the cool Cloverfield evening.

”Maybe if you shut the fuck up? Like, now? I’ll forget that I’m carrying you between here and the car, so when I get in I’ll still be carrying you!” he continued to taunt her, truly unconcerned by her physical assault. She simply didn’t have the leverage to get any kind of upper hand, even if her physical performance was higher than average thanks to her Adeptal bloodline.

Nessa shot him the most vicious glare she could, lips pulled into a nasty scowl. They got a few looks as they went outside, but most people minded their business on this side of the river- or just didn't give a fuck. They could try kill each other out here and nobody would bat an eye.

She really didn't want to be thrown in the trunk… but she also hated being told to shut up more than anything. There was a moment- just a moment- where she considered trying to breach his emotional field. The cat was distracted, sleepy- No, no, she couldn't fucking do that. She wasn't going to do that anymore, not even to this asshole.

Her disgust with herself manifested as choosing to continue bitching.
”And let you have some peace and quiet before you decide to throw me in there anyway?! I know your fucking type- 'Oh just do that and maybe I won’t do this'- where maybe’s always the most important word. Like you'll just forget instead of mentally bitching about how much of a hassle this is for poor you.” She really didn't let up in mocking him in return, even with the cramped, dark threat looking over her head.

As she mentioned him throwing her in the trunk anyway, Elay had to stop walking to start cracking up. His laugh was so loud, it scared a passerby into tripping over a rogue cable strewn across the sidewalk.
”Oh! Oh, fuck! You-You’re good! You’re good, Nessa… Excellent call.” he finally finished. It almost made him want to keep her in the front seat out of respect… Almost.