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Veti had tried to retreat back into the shadow of the standing stone as Henry approached, taking a step back as her eyes dropped to the ground, suddenly ashamed that she'd somehow made a spectacle of herself when she'd meant anything [i]but[/i]. The siren was dear to her, he always would be - though her face reddened with the realization she hadn't said not a single word to him since the memorial service. 

The genuine, undeserved warmth in Henry's smile told Veti all she'd ever need to know, about what a shit friend she really was. She'd tried, God [i]knew[/i] how she'd tried to keep up appearances for her old roommate and the her new one. Still smiling and showered, clean clothes and eating [however dubiously] whatever Siya put in front of her, playing endless games of fetch-the-squeaky-toy with Artie in exchange for whatever bits she'd sneak him from those [dubious-but-well-intentioned] eat-in meals. Sometimes she'd even laughed, like when labradoodle or great Dane Artie rolled in the bits of torn up squeaky toy blissfullly, big ol' tongue hanging out. The best part was always the little game she played with herself though, seeing if she could catch Daisy smiling too.

But Veti just didn't have the heart, the strength to keep up the pretense beyond the walls of their apartment - so what in the hell was she doing here now? How damned useless would she be to whatever Reginald Hoyle might need, the only werewolf she'd ever known who'd been kind to her, treated her with respect, dignity... What in the hell was she doing here, if she couldn't even find the courage to say hello to an old, dear friend?

Veti took a deep breath, and fought the urge to pull the hood of her sweatshirt all the way down to her chin and just... Pray to disappear or something equally as ridiculous. She beat the shit out of that urge, and stuffed its broken body somewhere deep inside. Instead, she wiped the tears from her cheeks irritably, swiftly with the palms of her hands before pulling the sweatshirt's hood back as she met the siren's matchless gaze. 

"It's good to see you too, Henry," the werewolf said softly, and meant it, before she wrapped her arms around his shoulders swiftly, pulling him into a quick embrace, stepping away just as quickly before he could protest. A pretty little copper-headed girl, scented to Veti's delicate nose like lake reeds and driftwood, seemed to be vying for his attention at the moment, and the werewolf wouldn't keep the siren's attentions from the lovely creature - not even to read a grocery list. "Stereo instructions though, and it is wonderful to meet you Mila. Henry is a wonderful guide through labyrinthine company bureaucracy - and friend. [i]Especially[/i] friend." she added with a small, sweet grin. She bowed her head respectfully to the young-seeming woman, years of intercultural, interracial, and interspecies work for Bain & Hoyle coming back to her in mere moments. Veti knew well in the Veiled World, that appearance and reality were often much at odds, particularly when it came to guessing at ages.

And then Nestor passed.

It was really more than the demonspawn's breathtakingly unconventional dress that held her attentions, of course. Her lover hadn't had many friends really, beyond Siya and, on occasion, Atticus - and sometimes even Henry, though the two were just as likely to bang heads and chest thump than talk like civil... Uh... Sentient beings? Veti laughed to herself, just a little. In general, most people seemed to think Max was a bit of a crass dickhead, truth be told. Beyond his parents, Veti felt sure she just might be the only one who ever saw Thad beneath, and even then for her, the warlock's true soul had only ever been a tantalizing whisper until the very end. But for whatever blessedly grand reason, the demonspawn and the warlock had hit it right off, become fast friends in the last days before death took him. Even the cold, straight-up crazy demoness that passed for Nestor's soul seemed strangely fond of her man.

So when that eternal gentleman passed, his kind words ringing in her ears as he moved to change into something far more fitting for mixed company, Veti nodded and averted her eyes, instinctively giving this decent man as much dignity as could be mustered in the moment. "Not nearly so well as I, Nestor. [i]Thank you,"[/i] she said softly as he passed. Siya was talking to Atticus now, the little vampiress long since gone from glowing to luminous in his presence, and Veti was content to see it so. Her skin prickled slightly, and Veti knew from some long experience now, that Daisy had arrived. Unexpected considering the Reaper's antipathy toward the company since Thad had died, but the werewolf still found her presence strangely comforting. Veti didn't question small blessings. Not anymore.

The werewolf wasn't surprised in the least to hear a frigidly cold voice whisper in her ear, a bitter arctic wind in the voice of Nestor's demoness soul. [i] “Yet when the weight of the heart becomes too great to bear, the strings will snap... one by one...”[/i]

Veti's jaw set tightly, a small, sardonic smile chiseled on her face as she crossed her arms over her chest. She sighed, lifting her sapphire gaze patiently toward the main body of the assembled group. "Bitch, don't you [i]know[/i] it."