"I would be hurt if I was forgotten after only four years," Kira said with a pout then smiled at Connor, giving him a nod.

She stayed by Roland and crossed her arms simply out of habit whenever someone was talking. She frowned when she heard about a missing child and sighed. But she had to remember, vampires weren't the tight knit family like a pack was. But her mother must be chewing out Connor's uncle by now for not letting something like that be known sooner.

"I agree with Roland, and even if it was a suspected runaway, the packs would have seen him making his way through the forests at the very least had a scent, do you know if any have gone to Mike and mentioned seeing anything?" Kira asked then shook her head.

"If Rosie honestly doesn't want to go to the D'finn nest then she shouldn't have to, I can stay here with her and just follow her around. Heck, she could even spend the night like old times."

-Jenna-
Jenna paused, her eyes going blank for a moment. She could sense that something was distressing or frustrating Rose. Ever since Rose was a little girl Jenna had been able to tell when Rose was upset or something was wrong. It seemed that whenever Rose became distressed enough she subconsciously projected her feelings over large areas, but only to those she was extremely close to, that she had opened up to even though Rose didn't realize what she was doing. As far as Jenna knew, she was the only one who could feel Rose's feelings of worry and stress, but she supposed that Roland may be able to feel the slightest tinge of Rose's emotions considering how close they had become over the last few years. It had taken Jenna years to realize that it was Rose subconsciously projecting her emotions that had caused Jenna to occasionally feel random waves of unexplainable feelings. Jenna was willing to bet that even if Roland ever did end up feeling any of Rose's subconscious projections, he probably wouldn't have any clue what they were or where they were coming from. Jenna glanced back at Will. "Please excuse me, Will! I need to go deal with Rose, but I'm sure I'll see you around," Jenna said, before turning and walking towards the shop. "Rose, what's going on? Are you okay?" Jenna asked Rose through their passive telepathic channel.

-Rose-
Rose was not happy to say the least. She rolled her eyes when Connor seemed to make the suggestion that she couldn't take care of herself. Rose was concerned to hear about the D'finn "child" that had gone missing, but at the same time she didn't really understand how her going to the nest would help anything. At very least, Rose had expected Roland to take her side, so when he agreed with Connor her eyes went wide in surprise. The surprised look didn't last long before her eyes narrowed to give Roland a frustrated and slightly confused look. "What the hell Roland? You know the D'finns don't want me anywhere near their nest, and that I am more than happy to comply. I don't belong there. I'm not going, and you can't make me." She half growled and half groaned at Roland telepathically, as stubborn as ever. Rose glanced from one person to another in the diner, and as she glanced at Kira, she realized her scowl could be perceived as displeasure about her return to Arryn. Rose wiped the look of frustration from her face and smiled at Kira, but it was obvious she was still internally pissed off. "Sorry about that glare, Kira. I'm glad you're back! I swear the glare was never intended for you, just these boys driving me insane," Rose spoke through slightly gritted teeth, though it became obvious she was gritting her teeth is a comical, joking manner as she rolled her eyes and let out a little huff of a breath.
Rose paused for a second as she heard Jenna telepathically asking her what was wrong. She quickly explained how Connor wanted her to go to the D'finn nest, and why. Rose was assuring Jenna that she need not worry because she wouldn't be going, especially since Kira had offered to hang out with her, when Jenna cut her off. Jenna demanded that Rose go, and would not here a word against it. As the conversation proceeded the frustration rapidly returned to her face. When Jenna wouldn't hear a word more, Rose finally agreed since she really had no choice.
Rose snapped out of her own little world and addressed Kira. "Thanks Kira, but for some reason unbeknownst to me, Jenna is demanding I go. You know how Auntie J gets when she demands something, there is absolutely no changing her mind. So I guess we're stuck with these goofballs for a while," Rose joked, putting on a goofy frustrated smirk in an attempt to hide the extent of the inner turmoil she felt when she contemplating going to the D'finn nest.

-Yamato Eiichi-
His strange device crackled again, asking for a report on his distance from the station. They must be a little worried. Yamato broke into a fast jog, crossing blocks quickly. Arrival at the station only took two minutes or so at that speed, but the Vampires and Lycans should get here at a better pace if they were hurrying. He swung open the right glass double door entrance on the station easily, already past reception before it shut. His personal office was littered with papers on various things of interest to his family; they wanted to know everything going on in the town. Yamato swept the pile of seemingly random documents off the table and into a heavy folder. They all had connections, and this case would be no different. Connections. He had just begun copyiing his few notes onto a larger notepad when his radio crackled again. Meet them halfway, and aid in escort back to headquarters.

And then the office was vacant again. The Eiichi were not a family of fools, well, usually. But Yamato did not take after the poor example of his great great grandfather so there was little risk in that kind of incompetence. On top of that, he could not enter homes, or even tell lies easily- Even at this age! They just seemed to stick a bit in his mouth. It made Yamato the perfect patrol man. But it was his power that qualified him as a body guard. Quickly the man's pace picked up again towards the D'finn nest, hoping to catch the group sooner rather than later.

-Emlyn-

Emlyn had missed the town meeting, though in his own defense the time had been set quite early and he'd needed more time to prepare his wardrobe for the day. The subject of the meeting wouldn't be too terribly hard to guess, people had chattered about the death of the D'finn woman, and he'd listened. Tragedy it was, truly a tragedy, to lose such an old member of their little society. But, he had just the outfit in mind to flaunt for the day.

It had been a while since he'd done a darker-colored set -a tragedy in of itself, he looked damn good in black. But, morbidity governed his wardrobe, and what he donned was an elegant and intricate uniform consisting of every hue of gray to black and even a touch of purple, for that little ethereal flare. He wore a long-and-wide sleeved shirt, and a vest, black as night, with silver lines that flowered off from the base all the way to his shoulders. A drape adorned his waist that fell behind his legs like coat tails that did not end, with a black exterior and a deeper gray interior. The most ridiculous piece -for the always was such a thing- was a shoulder mount, which consisted of a spaulder like piece, equally dark as the rest of his clothes. Flared off of the top like sunbeams were four meticulously spaced feathers, each a varying shade of violet. Then as always, the rather tacky pink scarf was wrapped 'round his neck and tucked securely.

He preened for a while, making sure everything was in place just as it needed to be. Had to look proper when death was about. By the time he'd left his shop, he caught site of the people exiting the town hall en masse. He might have made a subtle pose, but he had a destination in mind and had put enough time into practicing that he was sure enough he could retain his aesthetic on the move. Much to his pleasure, he saw many of the crowd proceeding to the ice cream shop; now he could show off and get his drink.

There was a familiar face among them, though distantly familiar. He was bad with the names of those that weren't directly influential to him, but he was sure it began with a "K", or perhaps an "L"? Lisa? Kayla? Kari? Bah, he'd maneuver it out of her if he needed it. Which he might have, as it turned out; Rose, along with Connor, and Kira's apparent company, Roland didn't appear as though they planned on sticking around. His smile faded for a moment. Pity, he was certainly craving a cold drink.

"Hello~!" he greeted, giving a wide wave that ended in a bow to those present. "I'm terribly sorry I missed the meeting this morning, Roland, I hope your father will understand. So, has a verdict been reached? Was poor Mary truly murdered?"

"Emlyn, right?" Roland checked with the fey, "I'm sure my father understands, it was fairly short notice. Sad to say it appears that she was." Roland let the somber mood of the meeting hold for a moment. "We are actually heading out to the D'finn nest now to attend to another matter if you want to join us. Connor, please feel free to lead the way." Roland finished loudly with a half smile on his face, doing the best to lighten the spirits of the others. There were dark times ahead, and Roland knew everyone was going to need a little bit of light. Connor started to walk out of the building and Rose was just about to walk out from behind the counter when Roland realized something. "Wait!" The others froze, and Connor jumped, turning and pulling out a knife from his inner coat, where he had tucked the sheath away.
"I completely forgot, Kira and I came here because we were thirsty!" Roland exclaimed with a smile, "Can we get to-go drinks Rosie?" He asked with a huge innocent grin.

If looks could kill, then Roland would be dead on the floor in that moment. Rose's eyes narrowed to the point that she struggled to actually see everyone clearly, but she was too busy making a point to really care. "Oh, of course your highness," Rose half growled and half mumbled. She made her way back behind the counter, and started pulling out glasses for their drinks. "Of course I'd love to make you a drink, because god forbid you be thirsty while you drag me along on D'finn errands. What can I get you two?" Rose dramatically huffed in a sarcastic tone, with an exasperated look covering her visage. Rose knew that Roland would be able to pick up on the fact that though she was indeed frustrated, for the most part she was just being dramatic to make a point on how much she was against going to the D'finn nest.

"Why thank you milady." Roland said grinning, "Can I get a ginger ale with vanilla ice cream?" Roland asked with a smile. With out breaking in his outward smiling appearance he used his telepathy to silently ask, What is up with you? I haven't seen you this out of it since that thing with the hula-hoops and the wild turkey in sophomore year.

Rose rolled her eyes at Roland, and dipped into a slight, sarcastic curtsy. "Well of course, Master." Rose muttered. She caught glance of the knife Connor was holding and gave him a vexed look. "Put that thing away before you hurt someone." Rose turned away from the group and started making Roland's drink. She turned away so that she could talk with Roland without having to worry about what her expression might tell the others. You know very well know what is wrong with me, Roland Gethin. You're making me go to the D'finn nest- the one place I'm seriously not wanted. Don't tell me you haven't seen the way that Connor's uncle looks at me. I don't know why, but the man hates me. I'm not exactly keen on walking straight into a nest of vampires, in which the leader hates me. By the way, you promised you would never bring up the thing with the hula-hoop. Ever again. Rose turned, setting down the drinks on the counter in to-go cups. In the process of making Roland's drink, Rose had made herself a drink as well that she dosed with a packet of blood that she kept hidden away for emergencies. Unlike other vampires, Rose had never been able to enjoy the taste of blood, or the sensation of consuming it because it almost always ended up making her sick, but she added the blood regardless because there was no way in hell she was going to go into the D'finn nest as weak as she was now. Rose thought she had made the drink discreetly enough that no one would know about her secret ingredient, but then much to her own chagrin Rose realized that Connor would probably be able to smell the blood. Her cheeks instantly blushed a bright red.

Connor smelled the blood and instantly could tell where it was coming from but ignored it, choosing instead to slide his multi-metal knife, swirling with gold, silver, and iron, back into it's old worn leather sheath. It was a Vida family heirloom from the old days, when the bloodlines were all trying to kill one another, and it was a blade that had the blood of every family on it. The legends about the knife went hundreds of year back, and if they were to be believed, every bloodline, even the Vida themselves had suffered by it's blade, and the head of the Vida family passed it, and it's tales down to the future head, to preserve the family legacy.

Rose ignored the fact that she felt like crawling under a table and dying out of embarrassment, and instead turned her attention to Kira. She smiled lightly, though her cheeks were still a bright pink. "What can I get for you, Kira?" Rose questioned, while she pulled out a cup for Kira's drink.

Emlyn's expression stayed the same, though his tongue rolled behind his lip in the most subtle twinge of agitation. 'Emlyn right?' Of course it was; how had his name not reached Roland's memory? It must have just been the stress of the morning weighing upon him, so he checked it off and realigned his grin.

When Roland extended the invitation, that grin widened. Usually he was left to gather his information from gossip strings about town, which, while often entertaining, were often tainted with bias. It wasn't often he got to sit in on the real deal, and get the stories straight from the horse's mouth. After all, he was a tailor; what place did a tailor have in a murder investigation? There were things even he couldn't talk himself into, and thankfully now it didn't appear like he'd have to.

"The D'finn nest, huh? Sounds marvelous, I'd love to offer my attendance," he said, adjusting one of the feathers upon his spaulder. "Pit the circumstances though, I do hope those lot are in a good-"

Emlyn jumped when Roland shouted, looking around wildly and setting his gaze on Connor's knife. Even when the excitement calmed down, he kept his eyes on it for a few moments more. Ugh, ghastly thing it was; both for being a blade, and for the []iabsolutely[/i] hideous amalgamation of colors that made it up. And on top of all of that, an old leather sheath.

The others, or at least some, seemed to be moving back inside for their drinks, though Rose looked none-too-happy about it. Odd, he thought, but then again one of her own kind had been murdered. That was a big deal to vampires, wasn't it? Or was that with the beasts? He couldn't quite recall which, but then again, he wasn't about to ask. He shoved his own thirst aside -it wasn't as if it was necessary- and decided to wait outside for them. He twirled around on a heel, facing the rest of the town, and held his post there, going back to adjusting the feather on his shoulder.

"No offense taken Rose, I know how our boys can be a pain. Sorry I haven't been here to help keep them in line," Kira said with a smile. "And alright, what Auntie J wants, Aunte J gets, but I may end up having to split off from you guys, if for nothing else than to drop my backpack off and let my dad know I'm here. But if you end up wanting to get out of there, my house is just down the road from the D'Finns and you can hide out there, I'm sure nana will have some sort of cookies baked up."

Kira hummed softly and turned to look at the new face that entered the soda shop. Well, this was starting to look like a regular party now... but who was this guy? Oh God he looked familiar, why was her brain breaking now? And then Roland said it. Emlyn! Of course! She gave him a quick smile and moved to start out of the building when Roland suddenly exclaimed for them to wait, turning to give Roland a short glare while Connor pulled out a knife. She put her hands on her hips and shook her head, she may not be able to read minds, but from the sudden glare Rose gave Roland, they were talking about something she didn't like.

"I'm okay, I pretty much just followed Roland so I could catch up on what's been happening," She said, wrinkling her nose at the smell of iron.

"So now we can head out to the nest for real." Roland said smiling as he hoisted his newly made drink with one hand, he strolled passed the counter and opened the glass paneled double doors, speeding one open with his free hand and nudging the other aside with the bulk of his body.
"Just so you guys know," Connor said walking towards the doors himself and opening the door that Roland had been holding with his body, freeing him up so that sides of the doors were open for the girls. "The D'finn mother, her name is Tracey Ellis, and she is a little... unstable." He hesitated trying to find the last word. "She might get just a bit nasty," He said letting the door swing shut behind the girls and beginning to walk. Roland gestured to Emlyn to follow them with a smile. Connor continued "Don't hold it against her or anything, she is just upset about her baby disappearing, the boys father has always been on differing terms with her, and the kids just about all she's got."
"So by nasty you mean?" Roland asked eying Connor sidelong. Roland had gradually drifted to stand between Emlyn on his right and Rose on his left, with Kira walking to the right of Emlyn and Connor on the far side. If Roland had to be honest he had sort of done it on purpose to put as much room as possible between Rose and Connor.
"Nasty as in if you say the wrong thing to her right now she might take a swing at you." Connor responded.
"Super." Roland muttered under his breath. It was about a twenty minuet walk from the ice cream shop to the D'finn nest, and now they were finding out that it would be a whole lot less fun a trip than they had already thought.

-Rose-
"Thanks Kira, I just might take you up on that offer at some point," Rose replied, letting her expression relax into an easy smile with a quiet sigh. She still wasn't happy about being dragged to the D'finn nest, but she figured if she had to go to the D'finn nest she might as well try to relax and enjoy everyone's company as much as possible. "By the way, it's good to see you again Emlyn! It's been awhile!" Rose glanced back at Kira as her nose wrinkled, and guessed that it was probably from the scent of blood in her drink. Rose blushed further, the dash of pink spreading from the apples across the lightly freckled bridge of her nose. Though embarrassed and ashamed, Rose forced herself to keep the lighthearted smile in place, and simple took a calming breath. Rose quickly put away the ingredients and dishes she had used to make the drinks before making her away around the counter, all the while wishing away the pink and red tones from her cheeks.

Rose followed everyone out of the soda shop, sliding past Connor with her drink gently cradled to her chest. She locked the door quickly before falling into the line on the left of Roland. Rose looped her arm through Roland's and glanced up at him, forcing a slight smile as unease and nervousness readily shone in her eyes. Rose was good at forcing smiles and hiding her true emotions, but for those close to her, her emotions were always evident in her eyes. When Connor started talking about how the mother might end up picking a fight, she pulled her eyes away from Roland and glanced over at Connor. "Oh wonderful...," Rose muttered under her breath quietly. Rose always tried to be nice to people, and be everyone's friend, but for some reason a lot of people tended to misunderstand her intentions. She'd always been a bit different, and Rose figured that was why she never felt like she totally fit in, and why she was close to only a couple people who tended to be different like her. Rose decided that she was going to do her best to just keep her mouth shut, because the last thing she needed to do was piss off another D'finn and end up starting a fight.

See, some people didn't show up to town meetings because they had a good excuse full of actual reasons and things explaining why, exactly, they wouldn't show up. Koop was not "some people".

To be fair though, she hadn't exactly risen that morning with the intent to go--she worked in a library, and on top of that with the kind of dude who went to stuff, so there wasn't exactly a reason for her to be there. The Ventus Pack wasn't exactly prestigious--as packs go, at least. Pride in being collectors of history--really most of them were library workers, professors, historians, wolves of that ilk--but also the kind of lazy where they knew what they could and couldn't reasonably get away with. Were it something that her presence would be a benefit at, she would go.

But this town had like four people in it and they all knew how this chick was--bookstacker at the library with a penchant for blasting her headphones too loud? No truancy officer was gonna get after her for this one.

She did have the decency to shuffle out into the world once it seemed like the thing should be out, and it didn't take her long to spot her coworker--seemed to have gathered a following, or maybe joined one, heading out of a drink shop. She let out a sharp whistle, lifting one arm in a wave while the other tugged her headphones down around her neck, breaking into a quick jog to catch up to the lot. She stepped up to Roland's right, somewhat shoving herself between him and the Fey that she prolly knew from somewhere but couldn't put a name to. "Hey! Hey hey, hooooooow'd the thing go, any verdict?" Her whole demeanor was vaguely dog-like, from the barking greeting to the bouncy way she put herself beside Roland, Koop was just all around the kind of person who made non-believers pause a moment before saying werewolves weren't real.

"Hey Koop, beyond that Mary's official designation as cause of death is non accidental?" Roland asked smiling at his coworker. He knew that she didn't enjoy town meetings during the best of times, and this was most certainly not the best of times. "It's officially a murder is basically all the information that was shared at the meeting." He shrugged lightly, "But there is currently a working theory that the D'finn may be being targeted. We're all heading over to the nest to meet with a woman whose son has disappeared. It might just be a run away, but you never know."

"Well, I guess we can just announce that we think the D'finn are being targeted." Connor shot Roland a sharp look.

"You didn't complain when we told Emlyn." Roland retorted. He knew that Connor's frustration came less from actually sharing information than that Rose was so mad at him. Roland had never quite understood the differing dynamics between the two, it was strange in a way, it seemed as though there was a feud being maintained with he-said-she-saids between Rose and the D'finn sometimes. None of them seemed to want to be around her, and she consequently never wanted to be around them. All in all strange to say the least, due to the tight nit nature, inherent in Vampire culture, which was especially potent with the D'finn.

"You didn't tell Emlyn we thought the D'finn were being targeted, you said we were 'attending another matter'." Connor's imitation of Roland was terrible, a high pitched mocking tone. "You didn't say what we were doing."

"Well a D'finn kid, who is also thirty, may have been kidnapped and we are going to investigate." Roland said smugly, as they arrived at the crossroads of Lakeview and Hillcrest, turning left onto Hillcrest. Another block and the Nest was finally within sight.

---

The D'finn nest is a massive building, made by constructing additional wing upon wing to a central "original" house. When Arryn became an official town, and new housing was built, houses popped up around the nest, however as the D'finn grew in population, they felt that in order to uphold their traditions the nest needed to expand, and so each newly turned member of the D'finn family is expected to buy a him adjacent to the D'finn nest, so that an expansion can be made to include that home. Yet another reason why Mary, the D'finn vampire who was killed was such a unique individual, old enough, strong enough both physically and in terms of will power, and respected enough to have been able to demand a house, not only separate from the nest, but actually relatively far away, on the other side of town.

This particular practice of building the nest up is unique to the D'finn, other vampiric nests in the city are large properties, to be sure, however, other bloodlines don't insist on living in such interconnected corridors, allowing branch families to build or buy homes off site.