Night's Omen

Charlotte leaned against the counter of the coffee shop, watching as the guy made quick work of the orders. It wasn't busy, per se, but there were more people than she'd seen in there previously. Finally, the man handed her the drink she'd ordered, and she took it, turning as she dropped a few dollars into the tip jar. Fin had already taken a seat by the window, and she went to join him, sitting across from him and slouching down into her chair.

"Long day?" he asked, brow arched.

"Long week," she said honestly. "So, what's up with this place? Suddenly you guys have steady business, I thought you said you were just hanging out downtown all by yourself most days."

"Yeeeah, about that," Fin said, sitting back in his own chair to stretch. "Apparently Joey knows how to get customers of a certain kind, which, you know I don't care about any of that," he said, making it clear he was talking about supernatural types, "but still, it's a little new for me."

"Oh yeah?" she asked, now curious. She took a sip of her drink, nodding at the taste. "Man, that kid Kevin really knows what I mean when I say extra marshmallow flavor," she admitted.

"Yeah, he's kind of crushing it," Fin said with a lopsided grin. When she nudged his foot with her own, he knew she meant for him to answer her question, and so he sat forward, dropping his elbows on the table. "They're all - " and he mouthed a word at her, but she couldn't figure out what he'd said.

"They're all what? Berries? What are you trying to say?"

"They're fairies," he said, his voice a strained whisper.

"Oh! Oh, okay, that's - oddly specific," she replied, clearly confused. "How did he manage that?"

Fin looked down for a second, wondering how much he should explain, but settled for, "It's like the Lounge, except for - well, them." When she didn't respond, he rolled his eyes. "There's a second menu," he offered, as though that explained everything. And, it did, for the most part.

"Ahhhh, I see. So that's how this place went from a few college students and out-of-towners to having some really good-looking regulars," she said, nodding. "That's convenient."

"Yeah, and it boosted the presence of other things in the area, so now we're kind of known as a spot for them to come. I don't know as much about them as I would like to, but it's weird trying to ask. Do you know anything about them?"

Charlotte thought about it for a moment, then shook her head. "Not really. I bump elbows all day long with the usual types - vampires and shapeshifters, and I think a woman I work with is married to some big shot magic-user type, but I don't really know anything beyond that. Wouldn't even know where to look."

"Yeah, I figured," he said, sounding defeated. It wasn't often Fin came across something he didn't know much about, and he was itching to learn more. Joey was pretty open, but he also got the feeling that the guy was withholding things out of concern, specifically because he'd literally said, "It can be dangerous, and I don't want my new business partner, however silent you are - which is not very - getting too caught up in it." It was fair. Fin recognized trauma when he saw it, and he wasn't about to pry it out of someone. So, he just went with it.

He glanced up as a guy came in with a blonde, both of whom he recognized. "Hey Dahl, Tommy," he said, nodding to them as they walked by.

Charlotte followed the interaction with her eyes, but said nothing. Instead, she glanced down at her phone. "Hey, you given any thought to this holiday party?" she prompted him.

"What party?" Fin said, suddenly dialed back in. He liked parties.

"It's some thing that happens every year in that nice place downtown. I guess it's where a lot of hunters go, but a lot of other people, too. Shit, Jake got invited by Theroux." She spoke enough about work that Fin knew to whom she referred, so he nodded as she talked. "And, he asked if I was going, but I told him I didn't know yet."

"How did Jake get invited before you? He's - "

"Boring? Yeah, I know. But I guess there's some weird six degrees going on there and he knows people who will be there, so naturally, they extended the invite to him, who extended it to me."

"So are you his plus one? Or am I your plus one, to his plus one? What is that, like one to the second power?"

"Fin, that's still one," Charlotte said flatly.

"Math, okay, whatever." He glanced up again as someone else walked in, nodding to him. "Hey Vik, what's up?"

"Not much man, another day in fuckin' paradise," the man, apparently Vik, said.

  "I'll totally go to some fancy party," Fin said, looking back at Charlotte. She had a strange expression on her face.

"Did.. did that man not just walk in and out of here five minutes ago? With a blonde?" she asked.

"What? No, that's Vik. He works down the block," Fin said, acting oblivious to her confusion.

"Dude," Charlotte said, sitting up and setting her drink down. "You mean to tell me that's not the same man who you just said hello to?"

Fin cracked a grin finally. "No, they're not the same person." He dodged a slap coming from her, laughing. "I'm serious, haven't you ever heard of twins before?" He honestly thought they were twins, so he wasn't lying about that - boy, if he knew that complex ass problem.

"What, like fairy twins?" she challenged.

"No! Charlotte, just regular twins. Is this you misdirecting to the fact that you just invited me to be your date for a party?" he teased.

"I didn't ask - alright, you muppet," she snapped, but she smiled. "So will you go?"

"Does Jake know you're asking me?"

"Jake told me to ask you," she said, which surprised him a little.

Not one to be caught too off guard, Fin shrugged. "Sure, I'll go. Clearly he knows how boring he is so he needs me to liven things up a little," he said, dodging another swat from Charlotte. "I'm kidding, Charlotte, Jesus! Yeah, I'll go. If these invites are getting handed out like candy I'm sure I'm bound to run into other people I know, anyways."

"Probably," she agreed. She glanced down at her phone, where she received another text from Jake, this time about work. "Okay, playtime is over. I have to go and actually go be an adult now," she said, standing. "Text me later?"

"I don't know if I'll have time, running this empire takes so much out of me," Fin said, feigning exhaustion.

"Text me later," she repeated, this time slapping the table in front of him. She noticed that Kevin jumped when she did so, and as she got to the door, she glanced over her shoulder. "Don't let him intimidate you, Kevin. You're taller than he is."

"That was cheap!" Fin called, but she'd already gone. He glanced over his shoulder at Kevin, who was staring at him, confused. "Don't even think about it, Kevin. I would drop you."

"Wasn't thinking about it," Kevin replied, then turned, busying himself with wiping down the counter.

Whitney rolled her eyes, kicking back in her chair. Honestly, after working in a costume shop with her sister for the last year or so, which strangely was the longest job they'd held together that actually earned money and wasn't like, illegal somehow, she was kind of over dressing up. She was never over parties, so while she wore normal clothing instead of something cute or sexy or clever, she definitely had a drink in her hand. And besides, this wasn't even the Halloween party, this was some autumn festival bullshit. She was supposed to be running a game, but she decided to get drunk instead, leaving Roxy to do the heavy lifting.

"Hey, lazy bitch," her sister said, slapping her on the shoulder and forcing her to plant all four feet of the metal chair firmly down in the dirt with a creak.

"Mm, think of the devil and she shall appear," Whitney muttered fondly, tipping up the brim of her cowboy hat. No, she wasn't dressed in costume, but she was dressed adequately. Jeans, flannel, a hat. Pumpkin picking, hay rides, and Jack Daniels all had a theme, right? Farm trash? Something like it.

"Come on, it's your turn. I'm tired of making kids cry," Roxy insisted, pushing Whitney out of the chair. Whitney was standing as she was pushed, Roxy sliding into her place, and picking up the bottle of liquor to pour herself her own drink, brushing dirt off the edge of the red cup as she did so.

"You look like Wendy," Whitney said, finally getting a good look at her sister for the first time that afternoon.

Roxy looked up, blinking rapidly. "The pigtails get me tips from gross dads, okay?" she said matter-of-factly.

"Hey, I'm not knocking it. Just, think you exposed some middle-aged mens kinks out there today in front of their families, is all," Whitney joked, holding her hands up. "Okay, I guess I'll go make some kids cry, then. Hey, did you sling any bottles at all?" she asked, before she stepped around the tall bales of hay that blocked their little den in the booth from prying eyes. She meant, of course, if Roxy had sold any vials of dust or other random shit they'd whipped up, which they had been expressly told not to do by that fucking Triste after they'd dusted his girlfriend.

"No," she said bitterly, rolling her eyes. They just keep asking where I got my necklace, but, nobody knows what it is. Just a bunch of humans. Oh, and some shifters. And like, a random Strigoi vampire? Yeah, looks like moonchild just out there vibing with a very human man who is probably going to be her lunch later."

"Strigoi, huh? Ugh, okay, I'll keep my eyes out."

"You do that," her sister said. "I'm gonna keep ol' Jack here company."

Whitney rolled her eyes and shook off, then downed the rest of her cup before wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "It's showtime, bitches," she said to herself, before walking around the hay to the booth front. She flipped the sign from closed to open, and set to shuffling cards. Her time in Vegas had been well-spent; she was able to fill her tip jar with money off of stupid card tricks alone. But then, of course, she had to actually do the shuffling game, wherein someone would have to watch their card, and if they could successfully pick it out of the mix when they were layed out, they won a prize.

Except she and Roxy were just using magic so that mostly, nobody ever got their card. Hence, making kids cry.

Admittedly, Whitney did hand out a few more dumb plastic prizes than Roxy did, but it was mostly because she was already feeling good from the drinks, of which she'd had several. She wasn't drunk, just slightly buzzed, but for Fae, that was enough.

She flipped the closed sign back up after about two hours, then stepped behind the hay wall to count her tips down.

"Hey, let's get some cards goin' out here!" she heard a male voice call.

She looked up, locking eyes with her sister, who stood, ready to go out and handle it.

"Nah, I got it," Whitney said. She tossed her the roll of money. "I know how much is there, so I'll know if you take any. Count it again," she said. She turned back around, muttering, "Yeah, I got your fuckin' cards right here, buddy."

"Hey stranger," the man said to her, a grin on his face. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Well, well, well," she said slowly, doing well to hide her shock. "Look who's back from Hell."

"Hell would be a fucking picnic compared to where I was, sister," Joey said, and though he smiled when he said it, there was no amusement in his voice. "Now, let's cut the bullshit, and get right to it. You owe me a favor, and as I can say I am firmly educated in Fae rules after my lovely vacation, I'm pretty sure that I can still call on that favor, even though it's been - oh, I dunno, forty years? Four hundred years?" he laughed, passing a hand through his unruly hair. "Who can really tell, these days."

"Hey, what's taking so long dealing with the assho-----ly shit, Joey fuckin' Dawson," Roxy said, interrupting herself. She'd come out ready to rage at whatever was still keeping Whitney from her break, and definitely didn't expect that. She crossed her arms, looking surprised, but not unwelcoming. "What's up, man? He finally let you out of there?"

"Roxy," Whitney said sharply. She looked over at her, and shook her head slightly.

"Oh," Roxy said, suddenly re-reading the situation. "Oh. Oh... shit," she hissed.

"And your sister's here too? Perfect! One big happy family," he said, holding his hands up in amazement. He saw Whitney reaching up to the little vial around her neck, but Joey shook his head. "Don't do that. That's not gonna help. That's just hostile, Whitney."

"We can't help you," Whitney hissed. "It isn't our fault you got thrown into Fairy Jail, and we can't get involved with anything having to do with You-Know-Who." The air around her crackled a little, the scent of ozone present.

"Whit, there are people... everywhere here," Roxy said quietly. It was suddenly dawning on her how much collateral damage was going to be had if her sister decided to go nuclear.

"Whoa, whoa," Joey said, like he was talking to a nervous animal. "Whitney, I didn't even ask for my favor yet," he reminded her. "And I wouldn't ask you to mess with that anyways. Either of you. Regardless of if you deserve it," he added sharply.

"Then what?" Whitney demanded. She didn't look any less calm, but at least she didn't look like she was about to burst into lightning.

Joey looked at them both for a minute, and then smiled. "I forgot, actually. But, it's good I found you. Glad to see you both look... well, the same," he said, making a face and tilting his head as he spoke. "I'll remember eventually. Don't worry, I'll come find you. And, hey, in the meantime ah, you guys still sling dust? I don't want any, just curious." He paused. "By the look on your face I'll take that as a yes. Man, you two just... never learn, do you? Alright, ladies, have fun cheating people out of their money. We'll be in touch." He wrapped his knuckles on the counter, and then turned around and wandered off.

"Yo, what the fuck just happened," Whitney said, turning to her sister.

"Uh, which part? When a dude we knew from like 84 who got sent to the Mines of fucking Moria just showed up at our booth or the part where you almost electrified a bunch of mortals or the part where he seems to think we owe him a favor, Whitney? Which part, exactly, are you asking about?" Roxy demanded.

"Yes?" Whitney said, making a face. Roxy grabbed her by the shoulder, practically spinning her in a full circle as she whipped her around, and lead her by the arm towards the parking lot. "Hey - wh - what about our shit?"

Roxy stopped for a second, then motioned for Whitney to keep going. She said something in their native language, and the booth just ceased to exist. She turned around, giving Whitney a shove as motivation to walk faster. "There was dust all over it," she explained, after a long moment of silence. "Come on. Let's get to the shop. Whatever he's going to ask for, it'll be easier to make him come to us first.

"I never got to pick out my pumpkin," Whitney said, defeated.

Somewhere across the lot at the cider booth, Autumn glanced up quickly, almost knocking the freshly poured drink out of her husband's hand.

"Careful," he warned her, stepping out of her way as she stalked by him and walked a few feet out in the opposite direction, looking left and right. "Autumn, what is it?

She narrowed her eyes, looked at Frederick, and in the most Gareth thing he'd ever heard come out of her mouth, simply said, "Fucking fairies."

 

Taro was thoroughly irritated. Not just because of Sophia, though he'd need to deal with that eventually. No, he was irritated because regardless of how far he tried to distance himself from Fae bullshit, he kept getting dragged back into it. Case in fucking point, what brought him to the Excelsior - being told that he needed to deliver some cryptic message to Alexander. And, since he'd been told that Alexander had last been spotted here, he'd whisked himself from the bar counter at Hellcat's Hollow down to the hotel. He got stopped before he could get in the door, instead finding his apparation leaving him just to the side of the entrance. His lips curled into a sneer and he swore. Of course. Because what he needed in his life was more magic. With an angry jerk, he straightened the collar of his pea coat, and then pushed the door inward and entered the hotel.

If he breathed, he would have felt suffocated by the wards. As it was, he could definitely still feel them, bearing down on him and anything else that entered, no doubt. They didn't even try to hide them; and what for? Salvatore Godric wanted anyone who entered his domain with ill purpose to know exactly what was going to happen if they tried to cause problems. He had to admit, it was far more intimidating than hiding one's power, despite the obvious discomfort it brought him. He could appreciate someone who said what they said and stood by it. Taro was very "if you're going to talk about it, be about it," and he'd never been accused of not being 'about it'. He may not have been an ancient, but his ability sure afforded him some bite.

A stuffy man approached him - and by approached, what actually happened was that Taro was making dead straight for the counter when a nicely dressed man stepped directly in front of him, causing him to brake check himself with a small noise on the marble floor from his shoe as he stopped so abruptly. "Can I fucking help you?" Taro asked, not bothering to disguise his annoyance.

"You couldn't possibly," the man said, and there was a chuckle in his heavily accented voice as he said it. "Instead, allow me to assist you, sir, in not making any mistakes while you enjoy the safety of the Excelsior, hm?" He smiled, and it was all teeth.

"Fucking fairies," Taro hissed, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Brownie, actually sir," the man corrected him. Taro snorted, as if there were a difference. "What's your business here? I'll gladly expedite what you need so that you can... go darken someone else's doorstep," he finished, the disdain clear in his voice. He didn't know Taro personally, but he stank of magic that the Brownie immediately recognized as old and chaotic, and he would simply not have it in his domain. After all, Mr. Godric took care of him, and thusly the Brownie did his job taking care of the home in which he lived.

Taro opened his mouth, and then closed it. Had he been human, he probably would have sighed, but as it was, he settled for staring at the man critically for a few moments, no doubt trying to determine exactly how much trouble it might be worth. He came to the conclusion that 'not much' was the right answer there, and besides, Deja had only sent him to deliver a message, not start a fight with an uptight Pixie.

"I'm looking for a friend," he began.

"Oh, you have those?" the man quipped. When Taro gave him a hard stare, he rolled his eyes. "Yes, a friend, what is the name of this 'friend'?" he pushed.

"Alexander Darling," Taro said, pursing his lips. "I'm from Diamond. And I have a message to deliver him."

The Brownie's expression changed almost immediately. "Diamond? Why didn't you simply say so, instead of looming about like you're here to doomsay about the end of days!" he demanded. "Of course, Diamonds are welcomed here without question. My apologies. If you'll follow me, sir," he said, giving a short bow before turning on his heel and leading Taro towards the lounge area.

"Zero to a hundred, it's all the same with them," he whispered to himself, nearly getting his goddamn neck broken from the whiplash of the sudden mood change. He nearly actually broke his fucking ankle as he followed the man into the lounge, unaware of the sunken setting, and gave the Brownie a death glare as he recovered. He swore he saw that bastard smile as he warned him to be careful, and turned back around to take him to where Darling sat.

"Mr. Darling, sorry to interrupt - you seem to have a caller," he said, gesturing to Taro, who came to stand beside him, his face still twisted into a sour expression.

"And I'm sure you were the epitome of a good host," Alexander said, setting his glass down and giving the fae a knowing arch of the brow.

"But of course," he said. He gave another short bow, and then vanished into the throng of people that passed them to the bar, leaving Taro standing there.

"We should get one of those for Diamond," Taro said. "Probably have far less problems with wayward hunters appearing," he added, an obvious callback to something he was still less than thrilled about. Getting stabbed with fae weaponry was at the bottom of his list of ideas for a good time. He reached out reflexively to shake Alexander's hand, having not actually put eyes on him for a while. He had no bad feelings about him; ancients deserved respect, for the most part, and Alexander was as worthy as he'd known.

"Murphy would never be allowed inside," Alexander laughed, clasping the man's hand. "Brownie don't like bad attitudes."

"So I noticed," he said, though his mood was already rapidly cooling.

"I'm sure you didn't come all this way to exchange pleasantries, though, so, what's going on? Has there been any movement with the - all the - things?" he asked, trying to find a way to address all of the absolute bullshit going on in a single word. He managed, as 'things' pretty much covered it all. The dead Phoenix, the coup at Midnight, the sudden re-emergence of Underfae, the devil, and god only knew what else. He'd picked a good time for Henri to visit, hadn't he?

"Yeah, you're right," Taro said. He glanced around, and then squatted down so that he were able to lean on the table and not have his voice so projected. "And, kind of. I'm not sure if you're... aware of what's going on at my guild right now, but we've got a very old, very powerful, and very crazy guest of Thorson's staying because she had an episode that was brought on by something nobody will tell me," he explained, trying to be brief, but also tell Alexander exactly who he meant without saying as much. The man nodded, clearly understanding. "And, she told me, to tell you, that, "He knows". She wouldn't give me clarification, and she said she wouldn't need to, so.." Taro held his hands up, trailing off.

Clearly, she hadn't needed to, by the way in which Alexander's entire body stiffened. He swallowed, and looked directly at Taro, his entire demeanor changing from the pleasant one that Taro had just seen to something much more predatory and alert. "How long ago did she send you?" he asked, his words spoken very clearly and slowly, emphasizing their importance.

"Less than an hour," he said. "I left, went to your guild, was told to go to Hellcat's Hollow, and they sent me here. Everything in between was me getting into the door here and to you," he said honestly. "Should I be worried?" He straightened back up as Alexander stood.

"Yes," the man said firmly. "Don't go straight back to Diamond."

"She told me the same thing," Taro said.

"Good," he said, nodding to himself. "Good, that means she's still firing on all cylinders."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Taro asked, following Alexander as he exited the lounge and headed for the elevators.

"Yeah, actually - that ability of yours, what's your limit?" he asked, waiting for the doors to open.

"I probably couldn't drop a house on someone, but I could get everything up to that point. It's only gotten better with age," Taro said, shrugging. He'd never really stopped to consider his limits. He was aware they existed, but he'd also never tried to throw the Empire State building, either. "I reckon limited only by how much I've fed and the mental strain, honestly. Why?"

Alexander looked away, considering something, and then back at him. "Hang out in the lounge for a while. You're safe here, anyways. I'll come back down shortly. Unless you have obligations to Diamond?"

Taro thought about it for a moment, then shook his head. "Nothing they can't handle."

Nina checked the time on her phone, stepping out of the taxi and onto the street, trying to ignore the fact that she was late. She was typically on-time for anything work-related, but off the clock? Nina was "that friend" who was always at least 30 minutes late. Her friends had started telling her completely different times to arrive at places just to ensure she was not lagging super far behind, but it didn't always work. Today wasn't any such occasion, fortunately - she'd just said she'd meet Joey "around one" for some last minute Christmas shopping. It was one-thirty, so, it technically was still "around" one.

She ducked into the coffee shop, cleverly named Nina and Joey's, despite having zero stake in it whatsoever. He'd been stumped for a name and thought Joey's alone sounded too much like some weird Friends homage, which he'd only recently watched and definitely didn't like as much as the rest of the world seemed to. As she lowered the hood of her jacket, she saw him standing behind the register with the "silent investor". How he'd conned that much money out of the guy, Nina would never know, but she could appreciate the love of passive income, as Fin called it. She saw Fin grin broadly, and realized what was about to happen.

"Ah, shit," she hissed.

"Hey everyone, it's Nina!" Fin yelled, holding his hands up.

It had become something of an Event, anytime Nina of Nina and Joey's showed up. She heard a few cheers, mostly from regulars, while two random off-the-street patrons who had stopped in crowded her and asked if they could get a photo for Instagram. She gave Fin a dark look, then smiled brightly. "Sure, come closer and say, 'Coffee'!" she said, holding up a peace sign, like she did in every photo.

After they had left, she stalked up to the counter, slamming her hand down on it in front of Fin. "Do you have to do that every time I come in here?" she asked. "You know, sometimes I come in straight off the bus."

"Do you really think I'd try to get teenagers to get narcissistic selfies with you while you're covered in someone else's blood?" he asked innocently.

"Yes," she countered.

"Could you do something besides that Ariana Venti peace sign the next time? The page is looking a little stale. If we got more followers, we get sponsorships, and that means more money," he said.

"Who's Ariana Venti?" Joey said, hopping the counter skillfully, coat in tow.

"He means Ariana Grande," she told him, rolling her eyes at him.

"Hey, you get a little tiny piece of this pie too, you know, it wouldn't kill you to enjoy it just a little," Fin reminded her. Because, initially, she'd said no to Nina and Joey's, of course. Despite Joey being her best friend, it was a little too strange. So, he'd told her he'd give her 5%, just to use her name, and she'd agreed. Bills didn't pay themselves, after all. And, unlike her father, she wasn't prospecting to the guilds. On the contrary; she worked as an EMT and made only slightly-better-than living wage; it was her side gig stitching up hunters that really paid the rent. And she didn't want to do it forever. Or, really, at all. But, it was hard to see her dad without it, and so, she'd made a choice.

"Don't push her, man, next time she'll just give them the bird," Joey said, grinning as he put his hand on Nina's shoulder. He knew she didn't actually dislike Fin; they had this witty reparté that Joey enjoyed, because it reminded him of a sitcom. When he wasn't trying to force her to be photo-ready, they rarely had disagreements.

"Hey - any press is good press!" Fin said, pointing at them with one finger while the rest wrapped firmly around the coffee cup in his hand. "You two crazy kids have fun, now! I'll try not to empty the register while you're gone," he joked. Because, for once, Fin was actually making money off of a scheme (imagine that he called investing in a legitimate business a scheme) and he wasn't about to fuck it up. Instead, he turned to the new hire, and grinned at him. "So, Kevin, tell me about yourself. Are you more of a Hot Toddy guy or a Irish Coffee guy? You look like you could get on with the cinnamon." The new hire just chuckled nervously, sure that he had met this man somewhere before, but couldn't recall from where.

"I'm really worried one day he's gonna do that when we've had a bad call, Joey," Nina said, still a little irritated, as they walked down the street towards the department stores. She was surprised when Joey stopped, placing a hand on her shoulder to spin her towards him.

"Hey," Joey said, all business. "He would never. Okay? Get that thought right out of your head," he said, raising a gloved hand to tap her lightly on her blonde waves. "Because if he did, I would kill him. Okay?"

She smiled, rolling her eyes at him. "Why do you go from zero to a hundred and make it look charming?" she asked, giving him a light shove.

"I dunno, I guess, uh, lots of time to work on my character?" he suggested, as they started walking again. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his coat, looking up at all of the high rises. "Man, this place still gets me, how busy it is all the damn time. You know? Like, it's two days before Christmas, why are so many people out?"

"Because everyone waits until the last minute to do anything, and most businesses put things on sale in the final hours to try and push product? Plus, all the people are at work who also still need to shop, and they've been working twelves no doubt since Thanksgiving, so... basically, this is all late stage capitalism consuming its own tail as we all watch," she offered with a wry grin.

"Yeah, it was like this in the 80s too, just less electronic-y," he admitted. "Hey, this place looks kind of cool. I still gotta get a gift for Jamie, because I am an awful friend, and I couldn't decide what to get him. He seems like a vinyl guy."

"He is definitely a vinyl guy, Joey, and you know this because we've been to his apartment where he has showed us his collection of vinyls," she said slowly.

"Shit," he said flatly. "I forgot." Unfortunately one of the side effects of being where he'd been for nigh-eternity meant that sometimes, things just completely escaped him. It wasn't that his memory was full, it was just that sometimes the camera forgot to record in the first place. It was different than him forgetting to get gifts, and more like, still hard for him to reconcile having physical people around him again. Luckily, Nina never gave him any shit for it. Actually, nobody did. It was definitely a return to form from a life he barely recognized.

"It's alright, come on, I have a list of noticeable holes in his collection that I think you could do nicely to fill," she said, giving his arm a tug as she pushed in the heavy doors of the vintage record store. The warmth hit them immediately, and caused Joey to shed his jacket right away, while Nina favoured simply unzipping hers. The music of the Doors drifted through the store, the opening notes to Riders on the Storm playing over the speakers.

"Let's start over here," he said to himself, immediately making a bee-line for something he'd heard Jamie mention once. Nina followed him, pausing to glance at this or that, but ultimately along only to make suggestions.

After a few moments of chatting and browsing, Joey looked up at Nina, and then slightly past her. "You know that guy?" he asked, nodding.

"Huh?" Her mouth parted slightly as she turned, curious as to whom he was referring. She spotted Alexander at the window, with Corinne, and noticed that he'd noticed her. She raised her hand with a wave, nodding to Corinne, and turned back to Joey. "Yeah, he works with my dad. Guess we're not the only ones doing last minute tasks," she joked.

"That makes me feel a little better," he admitted. He glanced back up. "Who's the Fae?"

"Fae?" she parroted. She turned her head back around, looking again. "There's no Fae. They're vampires."

"Sure, the guy you know and the woman are, but the other guy is a Fae," he said.

She turned again, and looked back at him, smiling. "No, that's their fledgling, Henri." She said it the way he said it, en-ree, which made Joey snort. "Maybe they're a weird flavour because they're Ancients? All like, pre-crusades type."

Joey laughed a little. "Nina. Listen, I may forget things a lot, okay, but what I don't forget, is my Fae-dar. And that, my friend, is not a vampire. Ancient, sure, he's old as shit. But that's a Fae running a glamour making everyone think he's a vampire. And, I can't imagine why, but clearly it's for a reason."

"What the fuck," Nina whispered. She turned around again, but they had already gone, the little family. She looked back at Joey. "How sure are you?" she asked.

"Like, a thousand percent. Remember, I was the underdark's personal chew-toy for a few hundy. Trust me, it's not a 'flavor' I forget, Nina. No matter how much I want."

"I trust you," she said, almost reflexively. "Did you pick one?" she asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Yeah, I got, uh, two. Which one do you think?" he asked, holding them up.

"I like the left one more," she said honestly, after a moment of thought.

"Yeah? I kind of like the right. Eh, fuck it. I'll just get him both. I heard Dom and Wren went in and got him some fancy new camera stuff, so, not to be outdone here, but, I think I can do better."

"It's not a competition, Joey, it's just shopping for gifts," Nina said, walking with him towards the register.

"Oh honey, in late stage capitalism, shopping for gifts is competition," he said, and with that, he slapped Fin's credit card down on the counter. "With someone else's money," he added, grinning.

 
Ryan was staring hard at the glass of scotch in front of him. It looked like he was concentrating with the way his brow furrowed slightly, but in reality his vision was blurred as he mentally dissociated from what had transpired between he and his brother an hour prior. He played the whole day back in his head, rewinding each moment and examining it. Sobriety had done wonders for his intuitive aptitude - in the two years since Christian had been gone, Ryan had really cleaned up. As it turned out, if he wasn't taking fistfulls of pills and chasing them with cheap beer to slow his brain down, it actually netted him some pretty good ideas. He'd proven himself over and over in the elder's absence, and actually thought he'd adjusted quite well.

Who knew instead of developing healthy coping mechanisms he could have just gone and had all that shit offloaded from his brain and then destroyed.

His glass came back into focus; rather, the sweat on the side of it did, as he gave his head a little shake, pulling himself from out of the depths of his memory. The bitterness was a reminder that though he was out of the woods, they were still very much in the near background. Ryan knew he would always have that close by, and he had to actively work not to go back into them. He wondered if Christian was the same, and that was why he'd never seen him so much as have a sip of champagne. He'd likely never know.

As if he'd been reading his mind, the clap of a warm hand startled Ryan as he came back into reality, and he turned, eyes widened slightly with surprise. "Hey man," Jared said, giving him a nod. He looked from him to the glass, pointedly, and then back to him. "That bad?" Without waiting for an answer, Jared sat in the stool next to him, giving a nod to the bartender. "Just a Bud Lite, please," he said. His eyes lingered on her for a moment as she got the beer from the cooler and handed it to him, but as soon as she'd left, he looked back at his friend.

"I'm not drinking it," Ryan said, his voice hesitant. "It's stupid - but having it in front of me, I don't know, helps me think?" He glanced at Jared to gauge his reaction.

"You're a grown man, dude," Jared said with a shrug. "But, I trust you. And you've done work for a while now, so, if you can sit with that in front of you and just watch the ice melt, well, I think you're doing okay," he said. "I, however, have made no such pledge to sobriety, and so you'll forgive me if I indulge," he added, lifting the bottle.

"Please," Ryan countered. "We already did that experiment to see how to get you drunk, remember? It was way more than that," he said, nodding to the bottle, "has to offer. By quite a lot."

Jared chuckled. "Yeah," he said fondly. "We were fuckin' stupid, man." They both laughed, and then fell into a comfortable silence, before Jared sat forward a little in the chair. "Let me guess. Today's think tank has been brought to you by the letter C - for Christian?"

"C something," Ryan muttered.

"Whoa," Jared said, unable to hide his shock. "I thought you'd be happy he's back! I mean, I'm sure you guys have some shit to work through, but - man, that's your brother."

"Yeah," Ryan said flatly. "So I'm told."

Jared made a face and put the beer in his mouth before he said anything else, trying to put together reasons why Ryan could possibly be making a problem out of what Jared thought was probably some of the better news he'd received lately. Jealousy that he's not going to be calling the shots? Unlikely; Capri and Axel kind of dual-headed the guild, so it wasn't as though Ryan was ever on the table - and besides, he'd never expressed interest in a takeover, not even in passing - so that was probably out. He could be salty that Christian came back without any warning, that might make sense. But, still, how mad could you really be about that? They'd all shared a hell of a traumatic experience, including Jared, who wasn't as deeply affected by it, but he at least knew what they were all working with. Wouldn't that bring people closer?

"Oookay," Jared said slowly. "So, I don't have to be supernatural to sense the very obvious problem you have with this. Is it because he just showed back up without any warning, or..." he trailed off. He didn't really have a better guess.

Ryan shook his head, making a face, and then he turned his body towards Jared to speak. "No," he said simply. "No, not at all. I'm glad he came back. I mean, yeah, it's kind of abrupt and I wish I'd have known that he'd come back with plans to just throw my life in to chaos, but - ". He fell short after that, looking at the ground like he was grappling with what to say or how to say it. He looked back up. "I guess I didn't know he'd come back like the terminator and just - I dunno. Act like nothing happened?" He shrugged, unsure of how to put what he was feeling into words. "And he's selling the house, so, now I gotta find a new place," he added.

"Terminator? I mean, okay," Jared said, sighing. He set the beer down and turned in his chair, too. "Look, dude. You knew he was gonna sell the house. Like, lowkey, come on. We even talked about that shit. You didn't want to put anything into storage because you said it was his call, and you don't even stay there all the time. You kind of just crash on weekends. So, like, I understand that is chaotic because it is a change from what your normal has been for the last two years, but... I saw that coming, and I know you did," Jared said. He tilted his head to one side. "You can't be sitting here mind melding with a glass of bad scotch because the house you don't own and barely stay at is being sold."

Ryan rolled his eyes, and then rubbed his face with his hands, making a frustrated sound. "Did you talk to him at all these last few days?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, a little. He wanted me to catch him up on what training I did with Axel in the interim, and ask about some other guild-related stuff. Why?"

"He didn't seem like a robot to you?" Ryan pressed.

Jared exhaled through his nose. "No, Ryan. He sounded like a man who left until he got his shit together and came back and put himself back in the fight. What are you looking for, here?"

"He went to Cole, dude," Ryan hissed. "He went and he had all the - I don't know, bad shit - in his head, downloaded, and then taken out, and like, put on a shelf somewhere!"

Whoa. Jared opened his mouth, and immediately closed it. He sat back in his chair a little, facial expression showing that he was clearly processing what he'd been told.

"Yeah," Ryan said, making a 'ta-da' gesture with his hands before turning back to face the bar and shaking his head. He set his jaw with a harsh laugh, and then swiveled back to Jared. "And you know what's even more fucked up? When he came back, he didn't put it back. No, hm-mm. He said he destroyed it. Smashed it. So it's just - gone."

Jared held his hands up, squinting as he tried to understand what he was being told. "Okay, hold on," he said. "What 'bad parts'? Like, specifically, are we talking just like that night, or like, every bad memory ever, or.... " he asked. "I'm just trying to understand. I'd ask what lead to it, but I can kind of imagine," he said, making a face.

"Well, I didn't exactly get a detailed list," Ryan admitted. "But still. I sat here, and I dealt with it, and I fucking suffered. And he just - " Ryan's hand shot up as if to say he 'flew away'. "Just left me here. In it."

He was quiet, but clearly he wasn't done talking, and so Jared just watched him as he tried to find the words. Absently, he reached for his beer and held it up, indicating he'd want another. Several would be more accurate, but he wasn't about to lush out right then and there.

"He said it wasn't an easy decision," Ryan continued. "He said - he said he had a gun in his mouth. And that's what made him do it."

Jared thought on that for a minute, and then nodded. "Okay, so let me ask you something. And I'm being totally serious, right now. What is the alternative, to what you just told me? Dead brother? Because, that's what it sounds like, but I want to make like, crystal clear - "

"Yeah, yeah, dead brother, I guess," Ryan said, cutting him off.

"Okay, just making sure I understand. So, he sat with these feelings, whatever they were, until they made him put a gun in his mouth. And then, instead of pulling the trigger and making you an only child and sole survivor, he got help. Is that what I understand?"

"But it wasn't help, it was - "

Jared held his hand up. "Nope, that's not for us to determine," he said, cutting his friend off. "Plus, I imagine if he got to the point where he was gonna Cobain it, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that he tried talking to someone and it didn't work," he said. "Do I have proof? No. Have I known Christian for as long as I've known you, and know him to be a rational man? Yes, emphatically so. So, what you're upset about, is that... he didn't suffer enough? Or the right way?" He saw Ryan make a face, and held his hand up again. "No, like, please tell me, so that I understand exactly what the issue is."

Ryan stared at Jared for a while, and then shook his head. "I don't know," he said honestly.

"Dude," Jared said, this time his voice much softer. "If the alternative were you being dead, or you lacking the ability to be sad about something that happened to you, I'd thank God every day for my robot friend." He put his hand on his shoulder again, this time more firmly, and gave him a reassuring squeeze. "Don't be pissed off at Christian because you sat here suffering when you had the same choices and opportunity he did, and you chose not to take them. You guys are not the same person. And you're not better than him because you suffered; there's no awards for martyrs here. You're not getting a cookie because you're "good at coping", because we all know that's a recent development and one you've had to actively work for. You're mad at the wrong person, for the wrong shit," he concluded.

"It just fucking sucks that I feel this shit every day if I stop and check in with myself and he will never feel it again," Ryan said, shrugging his friend off. "And yeah, I'm bitter about it."

"Okay," Jared said. "So let's go to Cole's right now. Get that shit taken out of your head and then we can go get a pizza after, my treat."

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Fuck no, I'm not doing that," he snapped.

"So you agree, it's a choice and you're choosing to risk hurting yourself every time you think about something that's painful," Jared said.

"No, I - " Ryan protested. He held his hands up. "Fuck," he sighed. "I am trying to be a martyr about this. Shit, why are you right so much about me?" he hissed.

"Because you're my best friend and we've known eachother for a long time? Oh, and also the vampire thing. I have like, a way heightened ability to compartmentalize shit, and, it also helps me read people better, which I was already good at before, so now basically I'm like autism but faster," Jared said.

"Alright," Ryan said, clearly conceding. "So, I guess I'm the one that needs therapy, then. Well, this ought to make for a fun story when I have to go talk to Anna," he said with a chuckle. "I guess that means I have to go apologize to Christian, too."

"Probably, but maybe not tonight. I'd talk to Anna first, get a handle on things. Something tells me he'd appreciate the explanation," Jared said. "Just a guess, though. I'm just some shady little pendejo vampire who's one bad day away from turning this place into an apocalyptic wasteland," he laughed.

"Man," Ryan said, sitting up a little. "How did we get so mature?"

"I don't fucking know," Jared replied. 

Capri was actually about to leave early for the first time in - wow, a few months, at least. It was rounding 1500 and she'd come in at 0600, as usual. Every day she was grateful that they had people they trusted to watch her daughter, because otherwise this guild shit would have been hell. Neither she nor Connor had any intention of quitting, despite how much shit they'd been through, although if she were a betting woman, Connor might be swayed to be a stay at home dad with the right incentives. He was by far the better parent, and they both knew it. But, none of this was on her mind - instead, she was mentally checking off the list of things she could achieve around the house finally while there was still daylight on the clock.

She saw Bacchus in the hall, talking to Axel, and gave a little more than a curious glance their way as she approached. The body language was relaxed; Axel was standing casually, while Bacchus had his arms crossed, but he was nodding intently - whatever they were talking about, it wasn't anything hostile, and so, she did what she'd never been good at, and minded her own damn business. It wasn't until she was clear of them and almost to the door that lead out of the offices and into the main hall when she heard Bacchus calling her name. She stopped, head tipping back.

"I almost made it," she hissed, not bothering to hide the fact that she didn't relish whatever was coming next. She turned, and her posture did the same thing, telegraphing that this was absolutely the last thing she wanted to be doing. "What, Bacchus? Did you come to - I don't know - buddy up to my counterpart?" she asked, a hand up as she gestured to where Axel had been standing (he was gone, thankfully, because he probably would've had a smart remark).

He sucked his teeth, dropping his head for a moment. "Okay, I deserve that," he acknowledged. "But, no, actually I was hoping to talk to you. It's kind of overdue," he added.

"Fuck," she said, holding her hands up in a strangling motion. "I don't like you, Bacchus. No amount of apology is going to change that, so can we just skip it and go to tense encounters when our paths overlap - on accident?" she asked, emphasizing that they didn't need to try and be in eachother's company on purpose. "Now, that's settled, so I'm gonna go, and you should probably do the same, before Lucien finds out you got out of your cage or - whatever," she said, waving her hand to highlight how much she didn't know about his situation and didn't care. She turned again, planning to ignore everything that came out of his mouth after that. She thought she'd made herself pretty clear, so there wasn't a need for him to speak.

Of course, it was Bacchus, and so, he didn't really care. "Does Connor know you almost left him for Andrew when you were pregnant?" he asked. Honestly, since she didn't care what he had to say, it really made no difference what he said at all, right? He didn't need to have supernatural ability to see the mix of emotion flash over her body as she stopped dead in her tracks. "I got a couple more bombs I could drop right here in the hall, if you really don't care," he said, digging in.

She turned and looked at him, her jaw set in a way that seemed comfortable for her. Wordlessly, she advanced on him, then snatched him by the arm, much to his surprise, and began dragging him down the hall to her office. "Walk," she commanded. "Quickly." He did, though he didn't escape her grip until they were in her office, at which point she shoved him in front of her and cornered him, slamming the door behind her. "Alright, vampire. Say what you came to say. Maybe you'll leave alive."

He bit back the urge to tell her that if she killed him, she'd have far more trouble than it was worth. True, Lucien had told him not to go picking any fights, but in his defense, that's not what he'd come here to do. "I came to apologize," he said hotly, adjusting his coat from where she'd wrenched on it.

"Oh really?" she shot back, arms crossed. She leaned in as she said so, her head tilted. "You could have fooled me. And, whoa, by the way - that was not yours to see, "she snapped. "What, did you rip that memory off me when you bit me?" she demanded.

"Yeah, actually," he said, and to his credit, he didn't step back from her - but nor did he lean in and try to get in her space as much as she was in his. "And a lot more. Sister, you've got some damage," he said, a dry laugh escaping his mouth as he shook his head.

"Don't we all," she said with a roll of her eyes. "So you came here to apologize by telling me I'm damaged? Roger, got it. Tracking. You can go now," she said, arm extending behind her to the door.

"No, that's not the apology - actually, hadn't even gotten to that part yet," he added, brows raised. "Listen, stop for a second. I came here to say I'm sorry for biting you, but also, I got a pretty hard pull when I did. And Andrew Vida? He is not your friend."

Capri stared at him for a second, unsure of whether to laugh or yell. She laughed in the end, but it came out more like a barking noise.

"You already knew?" he asked, a confused look on his face.

She sighed, motioning for him to get out of her way so she could get by him to her mini-fridge, where she pulled out a small airplane bottle of vodka. She unscrewed it in two turns, then flicked the cap off. She nodded, but drank it down before she chose to respond. "Yeah," she said, a little out of breath by the drink. "Whoo, I do not drink like I used to. That burns a little," she said to nobody in particular, shaking her head as the liquor made its way down into her chest and below. "And, yeah, I knew. Not like, a super long time ago. Ballpark, less than a year, more than three months. Time passes weird when you have kids," she said, trailing off. "Anyways, yeah. It's been handled."

It was Bacchus' turn to look a little shocked. "Handled?" he asked. "What, did you cut his head off and burn the body?"

"No, of course not," she snapped. "I told him if he ever came near me again, I'd kill his siblings."

"Oh," Bacchus said, brows perking. "Well, that's - wow, okay, then." He was quiet for a second, and then nodded. "Anyways, that's what I came here to tell you - aside from, you know, the usual 'you need to see a psychologist, I can't believe you're in charge of anything' yadda yadda," he said, making a motion with his hand.

"Wait," she said, catching him just as he'd turned on his heel. He turned back around, looking at her expectantly. "Did you come out here just to tell me that Andrew was a creep?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said, shrugging.

"Why?" She looked at him critically, and he felt like he was being studied. He knew that whatever he said next was probably going to make or break this bridge he was attempting to rebuild.

"Because I knew a guy a lot like that, once upon a time," he said. He heard the 'Mm' noise she made, and couldn't help but chuckle a little. "I guess I value humans more than I used to. It's weird being on this end of things, seeing how manipulated good people get. And he's the worst kind. Because he poses as someone you trust."

"So, what if that wouldn't have worked?" she asked. "Did you have a hail Mary? Some childhood memory of mine you saw that you thought you could win me over on?"

"Honestly?" he asked. When she nodded, he shrugged. "I was going to tell you that Bastian is way more dangerous than I ever will be, but when I stopped to talk to Axel, it turns out, he's actually doing pretty good. Yeah," he nodded, seeing her knowing smile. "Took the wind right the fuck out of my sails, let me tell you," he admitted. He passed his hand through his dark hair.

The phone rang, and Capri held a finger up, answering it. "Varekova. Hey, Dev - whoa, what? Hold on," she said, sliding from the relaxed position she'd taken on the desk to standing. Everything that had been relaxed about her had tensed up again. Bacchus couldn't hear what was being said because he no longer had that vampire hearing, so he settled for holding his arms out, giving her a look that said 'what the fuck' while she listened to whatever Dev was saying.

"Yeah, no, he's right here, I will tell him right now. Okay, thanks Dev." She hung the phone up and looked at Bacchus. "Is your phone off? Dev's been blowing you up," she said.

"I left it in my car because I only thought I'd be here a few minutes. Why, what? What do you need to tell me?" he asked, still holding his hands up. He didn't do surprises well, and anticipation even less than.

"Your girl Aurora just got brought in by one of the Onyx hunters, a vampire named Julia. She got fucked up," she told him, emphases on the 'fucked' part. "Broken femur is all I got, but Dev said she's in surgery now, so it must not have been the only thing. You know, you're human now, Bacchus, or, as close to it as you can get - I think. You have a lot of powerful enemies. This was only a matter of time," she said, and she said it firmly and with no malice.

"Okay, acknowledged. I'm going," he said. No doubt this was his fault somehow. "Fuck, I knew this could happen, I just figured they wouldn't move in so fast," he hissed.

"Welcome to my world," she said. "Can't trust anyone. Look over your shoulder always. You bit me, you saw. Are you sure you're ready for all that humanity has to offer?"

"Doesn't look like I have much of a choice," he said. He gave her one last nod, and slipped out the door, leaving her alone in the office.

Capricia sat for a moment, as if considering something, and then bent down to the fridge and got a bigger bottle. She put two paper cups on top of it, and headed out of the office and down the hall. "AXEL!" she called, alerting her friend to what was coming. Guess it's going to be a late night, after all.

Well, the week back had been a great success. True, there were definitely some uncomfortable adjustments being made on everyone's part - not his, of course - it was clearly the rest of them who had gotten maybe a little too comfortable in the routines they'd fallen into in his absence. He couldn't blame them. He'd been selfish, taking so much time, but it needed to be done. And, now it was all about moving forward, and the best way to do that. At least Axel had been on board, although he could see that his oldest friend did show some concern as to his sudden 180, but Christian assured him he'd get the full story in due time. Axel was smart; Christian had definitely missed his company.

He walked through the parking lot to his car, mentally ticking off things he needed to do now that he was back. He'd had the house put up for sale the same day he came back, so he'd need to swing by and ensure everything had been packed by the movers and ready to be donated. He didn't want anything that was there. He used to, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized it would all just be clutter, and would probably hold him down in ways he'd spent a lot of time breaking free of.

"Hey man," his brother called. His voice cut through the cold dark, and it might've startled Christian if he hadn't have seen that Ryan's car was still there. He turned, raising his eyebrows.

"Hey," he responded, tone receptive. "Since when do you stay this late?"

Ryan resisted the urge to grimace. "Since you left," he said honestly. "No worries, though. Couldn't stay a little Level 2 forever, you know. Had to do something to fill in those shoes." He smiled, but it didn't meet his eyes.

Christian sighed, and set his bag down. "Alright, what?" he said. "Come on, I don't feel like standing out here all night. Clearly something's on your mind, so let's just - " he said, holding his hands up. His entire demeanor was calm, expectant, like this was an inevitability he'd planned for. And, he had. He knew there would be some things that would be unpleasant to deal with when he came home, and this was just one facet of that.

"Dude, what the fuck," Ryan said finally. He had honestly wanted to say something more eloquent, but lapsed back into his most familiar vocabulary, finding he was at a total loss to explain the man standing before him. "Like, who even are you right now? Also, you're selling the house? Yeah, I was the one taking care of all that shit, so I was notified by the realtor because you left me in the contacts and forgot to take me off. What the hell, man?"

  "Oh yeah, that," Christian said, like he'd forgotten to run an errand.

"Yeah man, that!" Ryan spat. He scrubbed his hands across the stubble on his face, then held his arms out. "Dude, did you get your soul stolen when you left or something? That's Eva and Andrea's house, too. All their memories are there. You can't just get rid of them like they never existed."

Christian rolled his eyes. "Don't be a child, Ryan. Souls aren't real. I had Grayson make some adjustments after I left. Mostly because a life of misery isn't a life worth living, and I wanted to wake up without, you know, wanting to eat my own gun every day, so it seemed like the best decision at the time." He paused, noting Ryan's shocked face. Guess he hadn't expected that, had he? "Oh come on, you really think I went off somewhere and meditated for two years? Get real."

"Hoo, okay," Ryan said, exhaling as the complete surprise filled his body like electricity. At least it all made sense now. "Christian, listen - we can go to Cole, and we can put it back. You said so yourself, you've been talking to Indrani - yeah, I know about that - and I think it could be a good thing to deal with it, finally. Maybe process it, actually. I'll even take you myself," he offered, walking closer to him. There had been a healthy distance between them before, but Ryan was closing it.

"What? Fuck no I'm not putting that shit back," Christian exclaimed, the disbelief audible in his voice and on his face. "The first thing I did when I got off that plane was go get that stack and destroy it."

Ryan froze. "What?"

Christian shrugged. "Yeah. What, did you think I'd just leave it on the shelf for a rainy day when I wanted to remember where I watched my wife and child burn to death? No, no way. It's gone. Because they're gone. It was an issue, and now it's not. And honestly? It feels really nice, waking up every day not wanting to die, so yeah, man, I would never have put it back to begin with."

"Christian, you can't just pull out memories that make you said and delete them!" Ryan sputtered. He grabbed his brother by the shoulder, still in total amazement at what he was hearing. "What the fuck is wrong with you?! You're making it like they didn't exist!"

Christian looked from Ryan's face to the spot on his shoulder where his hand was clenched, and then slowly looked back at him before forcefully pulling the hand away. He held Ryan's wrist in a tight grip for a second, and then practically threw the arm back at him. "So you've already said," he said. "Now get your fucking hand off me,"  and though it was phrased as a simple statement, it was a warning. "You are taller than me, little brother. Not stronger." With that, he picked up his bag, readjusting his position.

"You want to sit in the dark and cry for the dead, be my guest. You're lucky I came back at all, and you can thank Cole for that. Now, I came back to do my job, and lead. And that's what I'm going to do, whether you're on board or not. If not, I won't hold any grudges. I mean, I spent my whole life forgiving you for horrible shit you put me through, it's kind of an old hat at this point," he added, shrugging.

"You sound like a fucking psychopath right now, you know" Ryan said, weight to his voice. Christian was clearly getting to him, and it was obvious.

"Maybe. But you know what I don't sound like? Someone who's still tortured by all the deaths he's caused. And hey, who knew? It's actually a pretty wonderful life - I mean, you know, not being crushed by the weight of your own guilt. I could do without some of the other stuff. But, here we are. So, if you're done judging me for the fact that I didn't commit suicide like a good grieving widower, I'm gonna go about my night. You should do the same. Hey - great talk, though. Love to do it again sometime."

He turned and started walking back towards his car, and Ryan followed, only to stop abruptly when Christian whipped around.

"Back off, Ryan," he warned, and this time it was much more obvious. "I love you, but you are pissing me off."

"Well, shit, at least you didn't choose to forget that," Ryan muttered.

"Of course I didn't," Christian shot back, and gave him one last look before he continued on his way. Ryan didn't follow him this time, at least, and Christian didn't bother looking back to check because he was sure if Ryan did, he was going to knock one of his teeth out, and he didn't relish the idea of it. He got into his car, ignoring the cold, and started it with an agitated sigh. He didn't owe anyone these explanations, but he was positive now he'd have to go through that once again with Axel, because Ryan was no doubt already on the phone with him. It didn't matter what anyone said or thought at this point, it was already done.

They'd all have to get used to it, just like he'd had to get used to it.

 
To his credit, Christian had stayed in communication to the people closest to him. Capri, Axel, Ryan, of course. He'd also spoken to Lucien - quite a bit, actually. More than he ever had prior to things having gone so completely south in both of their lives. Hadn't fucking seen that coming. Used to be, Capricia and Axel were his closest friends; his most trusted confidantes. And, they still were, but... Things were a little different now. And two years was a long time to go without really talking, wasn't it?

Christian may have kept in touch with everyone, but what he didn't do was let anyone know when he was coming back. They all thought he'd stay gone, and Capricia would just be the de-facto leader of the guild. She'd been doing a fine job, and nobody was really going to fight her for it. Eventually she'd step down and give it to who best fit the position. From what Christian had been told by Lucien, Jared might actually be giving everyone a run for their money. Of course, he'd also learned some interesting things about that, too. Nobody had mentioned to him that Jared was a Strigoi. Maybe it'd slipped their minds. Axel wasn't willfully hiding things from him, he'd believe that. But he'd also believe they were trying not to stress him out. It was a nice gesture, but unnecessary. Christian was beyond stress, at this point.

He walked into the guildhouse at about eight in the morning, his stride right through the common areas where hunters were eating, joking, changing shifts, whatever. He didn't recognize some of the faces, but some of them, he did. And judging from the looks on those faces, they recognized him, too.

"What the finger-lickin' fuck," Jared said aloud, though to himself, almost dropping his paper cup of scalding coffee. No, that was definitely Christian who'd just walked by, looking like some Business Emo Ken Doll. What the fuck was going on? He couldn't get to his phone fast enough to alert Ryan that daddy was home. Judging by the arched brow as they'd made eye contact, Jared suspected that the man already knew exactly what his first point of action would be upon spotting him.

"Dude, you need to get the fuck up and get down here, right now. Daddy's home, and he looks - uhhhhh - yeah you just need to come down here, bro," he said. He didn't even give Ryan a chance to respond; he woke him up anyways, so Ryan was probably still trying to figure out how to hang up when Jared lowered his phone.

"Nice to know nobody redecorated while I was away," Christian said, walking into his office and scaring the shit out of Capricia and Chase, who appeared to be intently discussing a recent development he had not yet been made aware of. "Ladies," he greeted. He politely ignored their shocked faces.

"You didn't say you were coming back today," Capricia said. She'd recovered from her surprise, and though he could tell confusion still lingered, she reigned it all in. Apparently he had missed things.

"I didn't say when I was coming back at all," he replied glibly. "Don't worry, I don't need a cavalcade to receive me or anything. I've been playing catch-up the whole flight back, and I think I'm about up to speed, but there are still some points of strong confusion. Did we get a donation from Justinian recently, or was that my vodka tonic? It was a long flight, so," he said, shrugging. He dropped down in his chair, looking up expectantly and waiting for an explanation.

"Yeah, you saw correctly. There have been some Very Big Changes, and these have all happened within the last few weeks, so whatever you were sent may be slightly out of date, especially if that's the last thing you saw," Chase said. "Hate to run, but really wasn't even supposed to be here for this long as it is. I need to get back before Shannon burns something down." She paused. "Christian. Welcome back."

"Yep, thanks," he said, giving her a wave. He looked at the doorway for a moment, then back to Capri, who stood with folded arms, leaning against the wall. "Wow, she couldn't get out of here fast enough," he said. He looked at Capri. "Is it the hair?"

She stared at him for a second, and he held his hand up again. "Come on, let's hear it. Just get it out now."

"Christian, you've been gone for two years. A lot has changed. Clearly," she added, her eyes flicking up and down him quickly. "I get that you've been reading what you've been sent, but I think you're missing some context," she explained.

He pursed his lips. "I don't think I am. I mean, let's see," he said, putting a booted foot on his desk and rocking back in the chair, his eyes to the ceiling now as his hand was up, ticking off things as he listed them. "Midnight attack, family - mostly - killed, I bail and leave you in charge. Some very powerful creatures show up in town, another row at Midnight, which isn't Midnight anymore from what I'm told, three ancients get tagged, and none of them kills by our guild, surprisingly. I lost a hunter because Zaine's a creep - nice to see that's still going on, by the way - uh, lots of people coming out of the fucking woodwork with various skillsets, including two missing hunters, one of whom went right back to being missing. Am I forgetting anything? Oh, and there's some evil fairy demon thing and we're housing a super rare 30 Days of Night vampire that happens to be my little brother's best friend and - as I understand - a pretty good shot at hitting level five in record time. And a Phoenix in a pear tree." He stopped. "Did I miss anything?"

"Yeah, two days ago the hunter that tagged two ancients - "

"Who isn't ours," he interrupted.

"Yes, Christian, who isn't ours," Capri said hotly. "Was attacked by two vampires, got the shit kicked out of her, and is now resting comfortably there after Victor had to fix her. What is with you?" she asked, unable to hide the shock on her face. "The last time I saw you face to face you - "

"I'm gonna stop you right there," he said. Everything about his body language changed suddenly. "And I need you to listen to me, Capricia. We've been friends for a long time. That person who left here, that's not the person that came back. And it's for the better. Now, before you launch into a diatribe about how we can't just pretend things didn't happen, yes, I know. I saw Indrani before I came here, and I've got an appointment to see Anna in a few days. I'm fine."

As if to prove it, he got up from the chair and walked to her, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Capricia, I'm fine. Okay? I've had a lot of time to sit and think, and I'm done sitting and thinking. I've kissed all that trauma goodnight. No doubt I'm going to have to tell Axel the same thing, but I'm going to need you to stop looking at me like I've grown a second head, okay?"

"Christian, I - shit, you really saw Indrani already? Damn, she's usually my Uno Reverse card when someone tells me they're fine," she hissed.

"Yes," he said, giving her a shake before releasing her. "I wouldn't lie to you." And he wasn't lying - he was mostly fine. He was serious about seeing Indrani. He didn't feel like it was anyone's particular business for him to disclose the help he was getting and when he got it, but her name carried a lot of weight. Anna was newer; she'd come on in his absence, but she was reputable. Also, because she was new, he had a marked advantage with her not having a bias to who he'd been before.

She studied him for a few seconds, and really looked into his eyes. The truth was that she was a different person, too, though perhaps not quite as drastic, but, she didn't sense any bullshit from him. "Okay," she said finally. "Alright, Christian. I'm not here to question you."

"Yeah, you are," he countered, walking to the door, his hand at her back, indicating for her to come along. "You and Axel are here to check me every step of the way, and for a reason. Now, come on, let's go find him. I'm sure he's already been told, and he's pleased to know that he wasn't informed sooner."

"Hell of a homecoming, I'll give you that," Capri admitted, following him as they exited the office and made their way down the hall. "I hope you know we weren't sanitizing reports to you," she said, her voice low. "We were trying to - I don't know, give you breathing room."

"Understandable. Don't do it anymore, though," he told her, and though he phrased it politely, it definitely was not a request. He said no more on the matter, though, instead telling her about the flight back from across the world, and all of the things that had gone wrong during that adventure. Delays, cancellations, et cetera. She could already see that his intensity had been re-gauged for new depths, so it was best to serve it in small doses. And besides, he wasn't interested in just appearing out of thin air and undoing the things they'd done routinely for two years. He was more attempting to see how they'd been doing things so the hand-off would be clean back to him. Because, he was back, for good - and things for Frost were about to look a little different.

Diamond was probably one of the most secure points on the plane that they currently existed, and yet even still, they had asked the Fae that they did employ to ward more, to give them every potential advantage. They hadn't told them why, because - well, to be honest, the Fae knew. They didn't outwardly know, but something in their magical bones said that darkness was on the horizon, and so they did the things they could, hoping that they would offer at least some defense against what might be to come.

During all this, Aaron tried to split his time between his own crash course education into old Fae history, courtesy of Eithne this time, not Nicolette, while Cory - the Seelie King's son, apparently (and recently claimed, which was scandalous he was told), sat in to catch himself up to speed. He knew the past and the current, but he didn't know the distant past, and he was expected to go back and inform his father and mother of it. Aaron was sure that all of the perplexed glances were his own, though.

"Why are you all so fucking complicated?" he asked, scrubbing his eyes. He stood up from his chair, reaching out quickly to stop a pile of books from falling. He'd accidentally jostled them when he'd scooted the chair out from the table, and he had a feeling they were expensive, because they were old and gross. Everything old and gross was expensive, according to the Therrayans.

"Because - " Eithne paused, trying to think of a way she hadn't explained it yet.

"Because we're like an alien civilization, man," Cory said. "Best way I can explain it. You can't apply your logic to us. It doesn't work."

"Yeah," Eithne shrugged. "I guess that's a good way to put it."

"Hm," Aaron said, scratching at the stubble on his neck thoughtfully. "Explains all the rampant and very open prejudice, I guess." He grabbed his notebook, which he slapped for good measure. "Alright, you two, this has been great, but I need to go and check on my - Deja," he said, stumbling a little over his words.

Unsurprisingly, Deja was exactly where he'd left her. She was in the bed, under the blankets, staring straight out into nothing. She didn't appear to have really moved, and he couldn't tell if she'd slept. He was going to bet not, given the dark circles under her eyes and the pallor to her features. Unfortunately, they'd had to place her in the strongest part of Diamond, and that meant that she was more or less in a heavily warded cell. Aaron had no issue going in or out, but he was the only one who really could. Anyone else would've gotten something that would have offered lasting damage - and that was the point. Deja wasn't trying to get out, either. She was, on some level, aware of where she was. The room was large, well-lit, and offered a clear viewing window where she could communicate with people outside of it clearly if she needed to.

"Hey Dej," he said softly. He set his notebook down on the table next to the bed and crouched in front of her, reaching a hand up to brush some of her hair from her face. "Still catatonic today, eh?" He wasn't shocked when she didn't give him any visual response. Could she even hear him? He tilted his head a little, checking her eyes more carefully. No, her pupils still dilated and contracted, so at least she had some functions. And, of course, she was breathing. It was like she'd just shut down all of her exterior mechanisms and retreated into her head. Lights were on, but nobody was home.

"Got pretty far today, I think I'm mostly up to speed on everything. Eithne wanted you to know that they are working hard to ensure this place is safe, okay?" He glanced up and around, always paranoid he'd find someone standing on the other side of the glass. "Not really a fan of your new aquarium setup, though," he admitted with a wry chuckle. "But it's the best they've got." When she was still not responsive, he sighed, and patted her hand a little.

"We're gonna figure it out, okay? Just a matter of time. Get some sleep," he advised. "I'll come back and check in you again in a while."

Deja had finally been unable to resist that sleep for much longer, and after Aaron left, she lay, thinking of all manner of things, until she slowly drifted into the great big nothing of her consciousness.

She had no idea how much time had passed when she awoke to a sensation that she was not alone.

"How long do you think you can hide?" Taranis asked softly. He was standing there, bent at the waist, with his hands behind his back. His face was right at her ear; she could smell the scent of dried leaves and coldness on him, and feel the warmth of his body. "And how long do you think you can hide him?" he asked. He smiled, and it was not a pleasant smile.

Deja tried to scream, but nothing came out. She found instead that she was completely paralyzed; she commanded her body to move, but it did not obey, instead leaving her there, motionless, prey for Taranis. She couldn't even turn her head, but she could see the figure of him in the dark, somehow darker against it. It was like the floors of his keep; shadows so dark that they ate the darkness up around them.

Suddenly, her eyes popped opens and she lurched forward, gasping for breath. Quickly, she clawed at the bed, getting up and out of it. Her body was sore and stiff and hard to control as she came out of the sleep paralysis nightmare, and she felt like she was swimming as she ran across the floor and to the glass. Her heart was racing, and she felt like she'd been screaming for years. Why was she hyperventilating? She was in a state of complete chaos and confusion, but the fear still rode her blood, and she began banging on the glass, screaming for anyone who could hear her.

She didn't recognize who responded, but she was still wild with adrenaline. "Get me a vampire, now!" she yelled, hitting the glass with her fist for emphasis. The hunter turned and ran out of the room, and Deja's hand slid off the glass with a sound. She began to pace, a tiger trapped in a cage, unsure if it was fear or rage that propelled her. She was so tired she could barely think; her mind was nothing but fog, and yet? She knew one thing very, very clearly.

The door to the main area opened again and the vampire she'd demanded walked in. Taro. She recognized him.

"Taro," she said, running to the glass.

He looked confused, but he didn't bother with the niceties. "What do you need?" he asked. He was aware of the situation, and he didn't want any part of it. By virtue of him being here, he was going to become part of it, and he didn't like that.

"I need you to find Alexander," she said. She didn't give him a last name, and she didn't have to, honestly. "Tell him - " she paused, leaning back a little to try and corral her madness into a single conscious effort. "Tell him he knows."

The look on Taro's face said everything. "He knows? That's it? That's kind vague, Deja," he told her, his hands up.

She hit the glass with her fist again, and though Taro didn't jump, she did have his attention. "Tell him that. Tell him I sent you. You need to go as quickly as possible, and don't - don't come back here right away. Go, I don't know, go to fucking Paris or something for a day or two. Just - tell him, would you please tell him?"

Deja really hit a full range of emotions there. She went from demanding to anger to pleading, and something told Taro that he didn't want to stand around and witness any more of that. He held his hand up again. "Alright. Consider it done," he said. He turned and walked out, shaking his head as he did so. He couldn't even teleport from inside the goddamn room there was so much magic in there. Honestly it was suffocating.

She turned and sat down on the floor under the glass, knees folded up to her chest. She'd never had a night terror like that before. Had he really been able to reach her in here? Or was it her own mind, betraying her? She didn't know. She heard Aaron's voice in the hall, and was mixed with fear and relief that he was coming to her. What was she going to do?