Ross sat there listening to the questions and their answers. And they were bloody good questions, all the immediately important bases were covered. Now it was just up to Ross to decide how he wanted this to go, he was going for a cash in hand form of payment, that was for curtain. He was also pretty sure he didn't wan't to sleep in a building with more than one of these people, he didn't trust any of them as far as he could throw them, except the kid, he was fairly sure he could give her some serious air time. Either way, he'd probably shack up in a nearby hotel, or motel, somewhere cheap. He'd deal with all that later though first, he'd have to listen in, Eve was talking again.

Great. A test, Perfect... Ross looked a little annoyed as he peered around the room, Ross wasn't the kind of person who could read other. Well not most of the time, and this time was no different, he'd not picked up any signs that one of them could be a mole. He wanted to say it was this Elizabeth chick, but his only reason for that was because she'd been there before him. fuck. I should've watched more detective shows... Only person Ross was sure about was the kid, she was far to young and wild, not to mention her accent was from the other end of the planet.

Ross was at a loss. He could just beat the information out of them, that worked well. But he didn't think that would be great for first impressions, or tolerated by Lady Eve. Lucky for him the creep in black seem to have a guess, the vial on her neck pointed at Scarface. But looking at the vial was full of some red shit, Ross was pretty sure it was blood but didn't care enough to think about it. It also seemed that the lady of a thousand questions also thought that Scarface was the mole, poor bugger already had two fingers being pointed at him. Ross had no competent guess so he figured he'd just follow their lead and see where this goes. He did fell like he needed to say something, just to make sure he wasn't just looking around at people like a paranoid wanker. "Could I-uhh get another drink?"

Lady Eve observed the goings on with interest from her dark corner of the room, highly invested in the progression of events. It did not take long for fingers to begin pointing. It would be interesting to see how everything went from here, to be sure. Alonzo took everything in stride, stoically sitting through the initial questioning of Erin, and only giving Elizabeth the briefest of glances to acknowledge her own accusation. He took a second to gauge the rest of the room, then nodded. "You are both correct. I can easily produce the answer, and I do not fit in here. I had hoped to observe each of you longer before revealing the answer so anticlimactically. However..." The scarred man reached forward from his seat, hand outstretched like a claw. He moved it downward, as though scraping the air itself. With the motion came a tear in space, a black void that bled what could only be described as wispy smoke. His hand reached in, and pulled back out. No sooner had Alonzo's hand left the tear did it heal itself. And yet something about that space, that portion of the room, it just felt... Off.

And off was how one could describe the contents Alonzo had produced from the void. He held in his hand a large jar, filled with green fluid. But it was not the fluid which was most jarring (mind the pun) but the object suspended within: a full sized human brain. Pristine, carefully removed from the head of some unfortunate soul. He placed the jar gingerly upon the coffee table, then met with the eyes of everyone once again. "I am out of place because I am vastly more experienced. A warlock for hire, a sort of magical mercenary if you will. This is not my first time around the block." My Gift allows me to peer into your hearts and know your deepest, darkest secrets. Your whole lives laid bare, as I read your memories like a book. The last bit was not vocalized, his lips completely static, and yet all others in the room could plainly hear him speaking so clearly. How was that?

"Yes, I have read your minds, and thus I know exactly who the plant is. Or, to be more specific, I know who the plants are. It would seem this test was setup as a trick question, and our kind host has left two moles within the group. You," he pointed casually toward Mallaidh, "have been too preoccupied with looking out of place and uncomfortable. The act is too strong. And you," he once again pointed, this time at Erin, "are using a simple telekinesis masked as a dousing spell, which you used to cast suspicion off of yourself immediately."

Alonzo turned his head to Lady Eve, nodding her head quite impressed. "Shall I kill them?" he asked as casually as one might ask for the time of day.

Lady Eve shook her head. "No. There will be no death tonight."

---

Erin waited patiently for everyone else, smiling lightly at Elizabeth for reaching a similar conclusion through her own means.

That, however, was the end of her enjoyment as Alonzo attempted to shift suspicion back to herself with lies!

How dare he call her a liar with lies.
How dare he threaten her.

How dare he.

Erin let go of the little Carn, pushing the girl gently back into the sofa behind her.

"You dare to spout such lies? Such low, miserable, worthless tactics. And you dare to level such threats? You have no hope of matching me, child." Her voice was ice, smooth and deadly to those caught inside. "Parlor tricks such as levitation, misdirection, and other pathetic acts are for street performers. You are no warlock for hire. You are a street performer in fancy clothes. Your poor deflections only enhance your guilt. Threaten me again, and you will not get the chance to regret the action."

With a sudden flip, she smiled again. "Why, I dare say you couldn't tell me where on my person I keep a weapon and what my singular mission in life is," she challenged, voice like honey. Inside was still fire and fury, however. No one knows. Dare him to lie again. I'll kill him. No one will stop me from gaining what I need. For her. Always for her. I won't let this dirty lying bastard besmirch her. No no no no. "Or even what my Gifts are, since you so blatantly lied about my magical powers."

He knows nothing. What I've sacrificed. What I'll sacrifice. His guilt is sealed.

With a light smirk she turned to the other woman, Mallaidh, whom the vagrant had wrongfully accused. "Don't worry, dear, none of our fellows could hardly be so dense as to believe his lies. The poor fellow needed to pull that brain out so he could have one."

“It’s not you, is it?”

"No," Devyn whispered back with a smile, "But that's exactly what the mole would say, so watch out."

Apparently, Devyn thought as she listened to Elizabeth talk, the mole is Alonzo. Thinking again on it, she supposed it could be him, but still, she felt like everyone was being convinced by Erin's spell. Devyn coould make a pencil spin around and point at Alonzo and claim that it was her magic spell doing it. Make some flashy lights and act like she was all knowing...that was the issue with 'diviniation'. It was almost impossible to prove until physical evidence or logical reasoning confirmed it.

Then Alonzo pulled a real power move.

Devyn flinched when he talked to her through her mind. Jesus! This guy's no joke. Telekinetic trickery, that was a real-enough looking brain he just pulled from literally thin air, and she heard his voice in her head. That lended some credibility to his magic, but again...how could she tell? Perhaps he could only speak to minds, not read them? There is such a thing as one-way communication, and microphones aren't on all the time.

He accused Erin and Mallaidh, and (probably for show) asked if he should kill them. So, naturally, him accusing Erin made him more guilty, even though Erin accused him in the first place. So, if he says he didn't do it, he's guilty, but if he admits it then he's obviously guilty. Sounds like a witch hunt where the accused can do nothing right. This wasn't investigative at all- Erin would make a great yellow journalist.

"We can't just making fancy lights and throw out entirely baseless accusations. Diviniation spells are worthless without rational thinking to back it up. We might as well be taking a lie detector test for how useless this 'evidence' is." She essentially announced to the room.

She continued her speech, and began counting reasons on her fingers.

"So, Alonzo could be guilty because Erin's vial pointed at him," She pursed her lips and made a dismissive face.

"Mallaidh could be the mole because she's too nervous," Her tone of voice wasn't particularly convinced.

"Or Erin could be it, because Alonzo's secondary brain said so. Oh, yeah, and the two of them are more guilty because they accused each other. That's all we have so far- which is essentially nothing at all." She rose her hands high in an expasperated gesture, and let them fall against her jeans with a slap.

"So...Elizabeth," Her eyes snapped to the Irish woman. "You think it's Alonzo and you don't have any magic bodily fluid to back you up. Why?"

---

"Oof, this place is gettin' bloody saucy," Carnation commented as she landed in the sofa behind her. She pulled herself all the way on it before watching the situation unfold in front of her and the others. Everyone was waving fingers towards another person in the room, and honestly Carnation was surprised nobody commented on her yet. That being said, she didn't know who the hell Lady Eve was, nor did she know anyone else in this room.

Reviewing the details, Carnation stood up from her seat as she walked over to Alonzo. For the most part, he seemed like the one who was the most guilty in this case. For a moment, she considered that the guy in the corner drinking would be the one, but she quickly ruled him out. It's doubtful that this Lady Eve would associate herself with a drunkard proudly. Erin was another questionable suspect, but she was gonna give Carnation clothes, so she couldn't accuse her. Alonzo, though, had said something to Lady Eve that seemed incredibly casual for the situation. Asking her so calmly "Shall I kill them?" was something incredibly incriminating given the situation.

That being said, Carnation was against just accusing the apparently-psychic man like that. No, she had to be crafty with it and point out the flaws in his plan. Which was what she intended to do. "Alonzo, if y'can read minds and memories, what's my full name and where are my parents?" Only Carnation knew these answers at the time, so Alonzo would have to guess pretty luckily. Of course, he might actually know, but that begs the question of 'how the hell does he know?'.

Things went downhill rapidly. Accusations flying like bullets, Erin and Mallaidh having the pointers of suspicion firmly placed on them, brains being brought out... It was all very dramatic, and very unscientific. She would have to dissect things, and then reply to Devyn. Not an issue at all. Firstly, the matter of Alonzo. Supposedly he was a magical mercenary of some sort, and she could easily believe him. Those looked to be burn or shrapnel scars, although she had to admit she wasn't a medical professional, but with his claims, it did make sense. Next came him opening up a rift. A parlour trick, nothing more. An impressive one, but very much a parlour trick. She examined the embalmed brain, and then he spoke into her mind.

She recoiled. Holding her head, she frantically looked at the man, before taking a number of deep breaths. No, no, she couldn't get worked up. Instead, she slowly stood up and cracked her fingers individually, looking at Alonzo as she did so. The man continued to talk, to lay the blame on others, but she wasn't convinced. She had come to a conclusion based not on parlour tricks or magical vials of... Best not to think about it too hard. She had come to a conclusion based on empirical evidence, and she was never wrong.

Before she could speak, of course, everything went to hell once more. Erin started exclaiming and gesturing, and then switched her personalities like she was playing cards, not people. Elizabeth wasn't convinced, and, unlike Alonzo, she could attest to knowing where her weapon was stowed, although as to the first question, that she was unsure of. She did have a marvellously good insult lined up, however, she had to appreciate that.

Devyn was next to speak, and she found herself agreeing with the woman once more. Perhaps she would need to change her tact with Devyn- consider her an ally, not enemy. Perhaps not. There was plenty of time to tell. She cleared her throat, and inclined her head at the other woman. "Thank you Devyn. Alonzo, unlike the rest of us, is far too familiar with this situation. His clothing is of suspiciously good tailoring, if you'll note, even now it's not pinching him, where any store-bought shirt would be. Clearly tailored to fit to his own body dimensions. Furthermore, despite claiming himself to be a magical mercenary, and although the promise of payment has been made, money has not exchanged hands, he has immediately turned towards Lady Eve for approval of his actions." A small smirk played across her lips, even as the bastard child adopted by bastard mother cropped up. She ignored her chattering in her inane accent.

"Furthermore, none of the others fit with the mole. The Scotsman, Ross, I believe, is too uncomfortable with the fineries we are currently enjoying, especially the butler. That makes me think he is simply unused to this, and if he routinely spent time around Lady Eve, that would be unlikely. Mallaidh, is clearly not the plant, for reasons that are far too numerous for me to get into right now, even if she is the perfect example of an enigma encased in a mystery." She pulled out the neck of her turtleneck a little bit, getting into her evidence.

"This leaves you, Devyn, Erin and Morgan. Morgan is not the plant. For a start, she has recently come off a rather bumpy plane ride, is tanned beyond what one would experience over here, and has an Australian accent. Furthermore, I believe Lady Eve to not be in the business of associating with people such as her, and I do not mean her age. Then, perhaps it is Erin. Certainly, she fits in with the style that our host has pursued, apart from the fact that she is black where our host is white, blood where our host is life, and so on. Furthermore, she fits with Morgan in the fact that she does not seem to be the sort of person Lady Eve will associate with. For both of them, I direct you to the girl's gloves and the woman's vial, which is not normal blood."

She stood up dead straight now, her hand sweeping around a little bit. They wanted to bicker and use magic? She had her own damned mind, far better and more keen than waving your hand a vial of blood from a fucking miscarrage. "Which finally leaves Devyn and Alonzo! Devyn, you, whilst being both American and not having any of the immediate things that tipped me off, are not the plant. I can tell this because you also have the look of someone that has recently stepped off a plane, and you are subtly displeased with the good Lady Eve, and her in return. This then leads me to point the finger of blame at one single person! That person is you Alonzo, and I have heard nothing other than threats that confirm. My. Own. Thoughts!" She finished with a flourish of her hand, and then crossed her arms.

"Now, without parlour tricks, without magical vials or strange telekinesis, that is how I reached my conclusion!"

Great things were getting complicated. So this dude is a Magic merc? He did look that part in fairness, scars didn't normally come from safe work, not that many at least. Ross just sat there watching things happen, he wasn't gunna point a finger at anyone. Only finger he'd be moving would be his middle one, and that was if someone accused him, which hadn't happened yet. Then out of nowhere the dude pulls out a brain in a jar. "Oh for fuck sake, some of us are still trying to drink!" Ross would say, the sight of the fluid in the jar instantly putting him off his drink.

But the fun wasn't over. Magic merc was also apparently a mind reader, that irked Ross a but. But he didn't feel like he had anything to hide, and if the fucker brought up what happened with his family. Well he'd know what was coming. Ross was going to give his two cents about everything, but then Erin ripped into Scarface pretty dam good, she also had a good point. And the chick, Devyn, she was on top of things. It was just going to descend into a finger pointing mess if it continued down it's current path, hopefully Elizabeth had a really good reason for believing it was Alonzo.

Turns out she was a detective in the making, throwing out little details Ross hod overlooked entirely, But honestly, he didn't feel bad about it or anything. He knew he wasn't a detective, he didn't expect himself to notice shit like that. he also wasn't happy about being told he wasn't used to rich things, he was plenty used to rich things, he just found them weird is all. That aside Liz had a really solid reason for thinking it was Alonzo, so he might as well throw his lot in with her. "Fuck. Sorry mate but she makes a pretty dam good point."

---

Mallaidh stared transfixed at the brain, like a snake to a charmer’s flute. It took several seconds for the accusation to register. When it did, she scoffed, and began a response that withered like fallen petals from her lips when death was brought into the equation. She swallowed. Her lower back was suddenly very damp, and the room felt small.

Thankfully the others didn’t seem so taken with this accusation, immediately turning upon him with all sorts of rhetoric and reason. Mallaidh unclenched her hands. Blood dripped, only once. She didn’t notice.

Before her knees gave way, she fell into a chair, trying to suppress her now-wilting tremors.

She sat, wordless. Alonzo was the only one she knew to be lying, so she let the others handle him; best not draw herself into the limelight again. She stared into her palms, trying not to let the malaise steep her mind.

Alonzo smirked as the others began to gang up on him, and chuckled with clear superiority. "Oh ye of little faith." He shook his head, looking downward, then began speaking to each of his aggressors in turn, starting with Erin. "My dear, any attempts upon my life would be quite inadvisable, I assure you. The last person to try is, well, right here." He tapped the lid of the jar sitting in front of him on the table, then turned his gaze to Carnation. "Little miss Hendricks, they are always with you, are they not?" He then spoke to the entire room, standing up from his seated position. "I have been paid by kings and celebrities, politicians and peasants, for everything from murder to espionage. If I have had the honors of Queen Elizabeth's parlor, why should this modest manor be uncomfortable to me? Your logic is pathetic. Or perhaps you would like me to divulge your secret," he spoke dramatically, turning to Elizabeth with a wry smile.

"I believe that's enough, Sebastian," spoke Lady Eve for the first time. She stepped forward. "At this point you are only digging yourself deeper and ostracizing the others. Best to put on your face again, love."

In an instant Alonzo's entire demeanor had changed, as though he were a completely different person. The tense-yet-comfortable shoulders slacked, the steely eyes became more apathetic, and his tone certainly was not that of a professional, but more of a slacker. "Man, it was just getting good. Alright."

Alonzo's skin began to bubble and reform, taking on a new tone, new height, weight, his hair altered in cut and color, even his clothes were changing. Before the group stood a new man, completely different from the grizzled, scarred Alonzo they had gotten to know over the last few minutes. "Sup?" he said, shrugging his shoulders. "The name is Sebastian. Call me Seb if you want. I'm Lady Eve's son." He sat back down, slumped really, and put both feet up on the table, crossed.

"Love, mind your manners." The Lady's tone was stern and strong. Sebastian rolled his eyes and straightened up in his chair. "Well done. That took far less time than I had anticipated. Sadly it did not give me the opportunity to observe many of your tactics and abilities, but my son will fill me on on his own observations as well."

Sebastian gave a lazy thumbs up. "I can't peer into the dark depths of your minds, but I can read surface thoughts. Anything you're actively thinking right now. It's pretty cool."

"Yes, well," Eve straightened up and blushed a bit, embarrassed by her son's blase nature. "I want to thank you all for participating at this time, and I apologize for any inconvenience. If you are no longer interested in my proposal, you are free to leave. My butler will provide you with a check for $5000 just for coming tonight and participating. If you are interested in pursuing this endeavor, then I believe it is time to work our the details, yes?"

---

"Fuck he knows," Carnation muttered under her breath as she sat back down, glancing directly at Lady Eve as the situation resolved and explained itself. Alonzo - Sebastian, rather - was the son of Lady Eve and was the mole like Erin had suspected. Carnation was... heavily against Sebastian knowing her surface thoughts. It was her own mind, even if it was the surface, and she didn't like how he was using his magic to see into her psyche. It wasn't right.

Lady Eve brought up the ending of the situation, and Carnation saw everyone else in the room glancing at the others. It looks like the youngest was going first on his decision, which was kind of sad to be honest. Carnation took three steps towards Lady Eve. "I'm in. Though I want to talk with ya' on th'side for the matter of me being legally here, Lady Eve." Carnation looked towards everyone before she spoke again. "Some bloke lost his clothes in Aus' and gave me a suitcase to ride in."

Glancing back at the group, Carnation looked at everyone and began to profile them in her head, just for her own reference.

You had Ross, a man who liked to slam drinks and probably was in way too deep to get out at this point. He didn't seem like a bad guy, rather just someone who got caught up in the wrong place. Carnation wondered if he would be willing to hang out with a supposed 'serial killer' in the downtime this group would have if he stuck around.

Moving on, Mallaidh was tricky to identify. Like Ross, she seemed caught up in the wrong crowd, but unlike Ross, she was more of the opposite of the others here. Ross was just a nobody, but she seemed like someone who spoke the truth. If she needed to be silenced later about the details of the people she just met, well, hopefully Antonio wouldn't mind getting another soul in the vault.

Elizabeth was a character. She was quick to figure things out and formulate ideas that made sense. She was dangerous in the right places, but valuable in them as well. She seemed to be the first to notice Carnation's hands as well, which was quite interesting indeed. She wasn't one to play around with.

Devyn was... Devyn. For this entire meeting, she didn't act like she was really involved. She was fine, Carnation guessed. There weren't any problems with her immediately unlike two others here that had problems. Carnation would give her a 3/5 on Yelp if she could.

Carnation didn't understand Erin. From the gothic vibe, to the vial of blood, to the slight Germanic accent, Carnation could only guess several things about the woman. One was above all else, though, and that was how protective she was of Carnation despite just meeting her. It was disgustingly nice, and it made Carnation gag slightly. Carnation would ride it out with her for a while, in case she turns out to be pretty cool, but for the immediate future, there wasn't any trust forming on Carnation's end.

That only left Sebastian. Out of this entire gathering, Carnation saw the most of Sebastian's character, and she didn't trust him at all. He might've been the son of her future employer, but the trickery he pulled off with the brain from the pocket dimension, being Alonzo entirely, and reading her goddamn mind, he wasn't giving Carnation a good impression. A close eye would be kept on him, that's for sure.

Carnation looked at the rest of the crowd and addressed them all at once. "C'mon kiddos, don't tell me that I'm going into this solo."

Devyn rubbed her eyes, trying to wrap her head around the annoying antics of Lady Eve. The whole mysterious benefactor schtick was already wearing thin to the impatient journalist. Interviewers always tried to pull 'clever' tricks like this. Whether be an interview to be a nurse, social worker, accountant, construction worker or freelance magical vigilante, smug interviewers were always trying to candid camera their potential employees. For example, Alonso was a spy the whole time, played by Lady Eve's son. Great, Devyn thought, a family business. Those always worked out.

Nonetheless, she was very much interested. A hefty amount of for investigating things and stopping shady secrets nobody wants in their city. Not to mention Devyn's thirst for excitement she didn't want to admit to herself.

Her co-workers seemed...interesting, for sure. The only one getting on her nerves was that little girl, who apparently thought she was independant, and was also giving Devyn some bad vibes. (Most children gave her bad vibes, but Morgan particularly so.) She wanted to get to know the rest of them a little better though because they seemed to be a cast of characters that Devyn wanted to learn more about. If only they could actually begin.

"Okay," She said, exasperated, through the her palms on her face before removing them, "I'm interested. I was always interested. If we're gone playing games, I'd like to move on." The quietly reminded herself that this still was an interview.

"Thanks for having us all here, Mrs. Eve," She continued, changing tones by injecting chipperness into her voice, "I really do want to do this," Devyn said truthfully. She just hoped there wasn't some final stage of the interview, beyond an actual interview.

Ross watched the big reveal unfold. So the Tough looking dude was actually Lady Eve's kid? Fuck that shit, at least he didn't have to worry about the kid saying anything about his parents, wait shit he was thinking about them right now, fuck quick hide it! Ross looked at the brain on the table as everything got resolved. Ross was indeed still interested, he wasn't sure if he'd have a good drinking buddy out of any of these people though. What did that matter? He'd been his own drinking buddy plenty of times.

Ross finished off his drink as the Aussie kid spoke up. She seemed a right little shit now, at least in Ross' eyes. She seemed extremely overconfident, but what were you to expect from a 12 year old. Ross wasn't sure if she was twelve or not, but he thought that'd be a good guess.

Then the chick, uhhh shit he'd already forgotten her name hadn't he? Wait no it was Denver! No that was wrong, Denvy? Shit... Devyn! That was it, her. She was. well she seemed alright, she was done with the games, that was something Ross could respect.

Ross put down his glass, finally done with his forth glass. He then nodded over in Devyn's direction. "Like the lady said. Enough games. As for my interest. I stand by what I said earlier. I'm in." Any kind of caution was out of his head now, multiple factors lead him to being suddenly more confident, the largest one being alcohol. as he finished he'd shoot a glared at Carnation just to make sure she knew he didn't like her, being fair he didn't like any of them yet, but being more fair, he didn't like anyone.

Lady Eve gave a nod of acknowledgement to each of her guests that accepted the offer, clearly enjoying that everyone had chosen to stay. Even Erin, livid as she was at the false accusations of Sebastian, agreed after a period of silent stewing. The rest of the night passed quickly as the Lady prepared everything that her new employees had required, setting up each one's situation to their specific and individual needs. Those who wished to be official, she gathered their information for proper bank deposit and tax forms. For those who desired not to be on any form of record, she offered to provide false identities in the event of being stopped and questioned by the police. It would bode ill for any of the illegal aliens to be unfortunately deported, after all.

Once all had been said and done, Lady Eve bid them all a good night as it was time for her to retire. Before she took her leave, the matriarch of the manor instructed her butler to escort the group to the rooms that had been provided, noting that, at least for the time being, she could only house four or maybe five (if two were willing to bunk together). Those who wanted to stay were allowed, while the remainder were referred to a hotel down the road. The group's new benefactor gave one last statement before her final departure: For everyone to get good rest, for there was no shortage of strange events now populating the city. They would be instructed to pursue their first assignment tomorrow afternoon.

Sebastian seemed bored through the proceedings, paying very little attention. This behavior was a combination of pure disinterest, as well as fatigue. The bags under his eyes were proof enough of that. Yet despite it all, he seemed fidgety. Twitchy. Excitable. Desperate for something entertaining to occur. Alas, he would not receive his wish this night, and Sebastian retired along with his mother, knowing that tomorrow would be a better day. He, as well as the rest of the group, would have the rest of the night and the following morning to reflect on events.

Ross was more than happy to see the night events finally end. He appreciated the fake ID, it might be nice to finally be able to move around somewhere without getting chased by the feds. Ross finished his final drink before getting up and promptly leaving. He was more than eager to sleep, jet lag finally kicking in. He'd head off for the hotel Lady Eve said was down the road, he didn't want to hang around with any of theses people, not yet at least. After gathering his things he'd head out of the house without a word, slinging his bag over one shoulder and heading down the road to the hotel.

Well this is going to be interesting isn't it? Who would've thought that you'd end up here? Helping some warlock Yank clean up their city. Gotta love magic... Ross would enter the hotel and drag himself to his room, crashing onto his bed. He didn't unpack or anything, his primary concern was sleep.

---

Ross would wake up the next morning with a head splitting headache. Groaning as he rolled out of bed, her trudge his way into the hotel dining area and got himself a continental breakfast. His head pounded as he sipped his coffee, he sighed knowing that he'd have to go back to that mansion soon. He'd just have to suck it up and get on with it, that's what his mother used to say.

He did what little thinking he could as he ate some bread with jam on it. He seemed to keep focusing on what kind of troubles they'd have to face. If this lady needed this many people for her cause, then the threats would have to be substantial wouldn't they? He hoped he'd still be useful. He knew that back in Edinburgh he was a pretty big deal, but he'd not come into contact with a warlock, and had no idea what kind of capabilities they had. So for all he knew, he was now the small fry on the block, being vastly out o his depth. He then reminded himself of what Lady Eve had said about them being the only ones who'd made it to her mansion, and how many others were contacted. And so far nothing super crazy had been shown off by the Warlocks, not that he knew who they were, but he assumed it was everyone else, Even the Kid. He managed to convince himself that it must've just been that he was so skilled with just his magic, that he was comparable to warlocks. Yeah that was it.

Devyn was not staying at this mansion. Infact, she was eager to leave. As nice as it would be to have a butler, she wasn't even sure if she could ask him to do things, and she didn't want to risk looking foolish if the answer was no. Plus, this place was strange and probably had a roach problem. Not to mention the fact that it was always better, in her experience, to sleep at places available to the public.

"Thanks you, Lady Eve," The journalist said politely. "I'll be staying at the hotel." She said incase everyone else wanted to stay here at the manor (which she doubted, but just in case). A strand of her blonde hair had fallen in her face and she brushed it out of the way as she walked out the door. The crisp midnight air stuck her, highlighting the fatigue around her eyes.

The car door closed behind her, and it was warmer inside. It was nice to be done with that tense situation- hopefully as they get to know each other things will go a little smoother. It was a short drive, the lit up sign of the hotel a beacon of respite. Automatic doors dinged as Devyn walked inside, carrying a rolling bag of luggage in one hand and reaching into her purse for a pen and cash in another.

The receptionist behind the desk greeted her. It was a brief exchange and Devyn got her room for the night. Her card key opened the door, and that all too familiar feeling of being in a hotel room encompassed her once again. Locking her self in, Devyn removed her leather jacket and her shirt, the apparel becoming stifling in a private environment. Eventually she into her undergarments and slipped under the covers, picking up her smart phone and selected her husband's number.

A few rings later, Reynold's voice came over the phone.



She tapped the button, ending the conversation. She set the phone on the night table, and felt for the lamp switch, her eyes still closed. She found it, and the room went dark, the back of her eyelids no longer a warm orange color. Devyn sighed anxiously, her next inhale a snore as she quickly fell asleep.

Devyn Haverly has a finely tuned internal clock. At the rise of dawn, her eyes fluttered open and she stretched, fairly well rested and eager to begin her new little adventure.

Now, she didn't want to wear the same clothes two days in a row, did she? She had to put on a good impression. She figured she would be staying at the hotel for a few days, anyway. Now, what to wear?

A few minutes later, Devyn has showered and brushed her teeth and tied her hair into another ponytail. Now, she was wearing a tight black t-shirt, jeans and sneakers. Her gun was now in her purse, safely disassembled and mostly out of her mind. Heading downstairs, Devyn was earlier than most of the patrons for her pre-paid medium quality breakfast. Selecting a plastic cup of orange juice and some wholesome cereal, she had sat down when she noticed one of her co-workers, Ross, make his way down stairs.

"Hey, Ross, right?" She said as he sat down. She picked up her foot items and went to go sit down next to him.

"It's me, Devyn, from last night. If we're gonna be working together, we might as well get to know each other, right?" She narrowed her eyes and smirked. "Geez, you seem a little worse for wear."

She lowered her voice slightly, then said in jest: "Is your pact that you must have hangovers every time you use a spell?" She said this, of course, not knowing he wasn't a warlock. But depending on how he answered, she might be able to figure out of he was one or not.

@LemonZest1337

---

---

The following events passed by in a hurry, becoming a hazy smudge upon the footnote of the day in this new dream-reality. To Mallaidh, it felt like she was in a silent film, watching through eyes that weren’t her own. And so, she found herself sitting cross-legged at the end of a bed in their host’s abode, rerunning events in her mind. Next to her sat a large portion of the official documentation and forgeries required for this adventure.

After accepting Lady Eve’s offer some of the others had left for a hotel. Molly didn’t want to offend their hostess, nor did she trust herself not to run from all the weirdness if she returned to normal society. She needed to see it through to the end. Next, she had retired, bidding everyone a goodnight. She had shot a text to Sandy, saying it had panned out well and she’d be working for the foreseeable future on a project.

The following hours crept by painfully slowly. Every sound and shadow sent lightning thrumming into her heart. She stared at the door to the room, expecting it to open at any moment that night. All sorts of horrible eventualities played their course out in her mind, and she regretted not going to a hotel when she had the chance.

Eventually, though, exhaustion relieved Mallaidh from her sentry duty, and took her to a sleep full of words and warm breezes, like breath down her neck.

---

Morning came. She sat bolt upright, looking around with frantic eyes. Slowly, memory returned to her and she fell back into the bed. She pulled up the covers and rolled over away from the sunlight that broke into her room. Something she had not noticed yesterday, or too early this morning rather, whilst she had been stewing in sweat and frayed nerves, was just how comfortable her bed was. That she was still alive to appreciate that did wonders for her trust.

Her mind drifted to those she supposed would be her colleagues for this endeavour. She had not been paying too much attention to them the night before; she was quite incapable at the time. Devyn seemed nice enough, as did Ross, well, normal, at least. But the others? They had peculiar airs that did not sit well with Molly. First impressions could be as deceiving as looks though. She resolved that today she would pay closer attention to them all.

Until such time came though… she pulled the covers tighter, determined to stay in bed until someone came calling or hunger pangs pushed her out.

---

Erin continued to stew over the entire situation, gradually deciding that this Sebastian was an annoying, self-centered pissant. No matter that the Lady was the root cause of the annoyance, he was the one who did it as such. She did not want to deal with him.

The others.... Well, besides Elizabeth she honestly felt rather unimpressed by the lot. Excepting Morgan, of course, the sweet little thing. So full of spunk and confidence, and a hint at possibilities.

The Lady was taking care of manners, and Erin moved before the child could. "Yes, I'll remain on the down-low if you please. And make Morgan my daughter, it'll be simpler to deal with any issues if they arise that way, and keep suspicion aside."

---

Finally, everything was settled. And finally..."Come, dear, I have a promise to keep. I'm sure there's somewhere nice enough to shop at around here."

@Gardevoiran

Paid by... Arrogance. The sheer arrogance of him. She bit her tongue a little bit, even with the matter of her secret brought up. No need to make the fact he found his ability- if that was even true, repulsive... Nonetheless, the good lady stepped forward in order to clear things up, and she had been right. Pathetic logic be damned, she had known who it was using her own brain cells thank you very much. His tone of voice shifted, and a younger man with hair more like a modern art exhibition slumped down into his chair. The fact that Eve commented about his own observations made her a tad more nervous, but she breathed out slowly.

Surface level- How positively Machiavellian of him. Mention secrets, drag the one thing that people didn't want known to the surface, and then he could read it as if it was the darkest depths. The pink elephant conundrum weaponized by a mind reader. How fantastic. That being said, just because the pearl-clad lady had an odd son didn't mean that she wasn't still interest in continuing. She was more than willing to work for this lady- a paycheck whilst she continued to work on what she had always wanted anyway?

Then another round of things being cleared up. The Australian... Of course. That was why she seemed so unkempt, besides the fact that she seemed to be homeless. Riding in a suitcase. Devyn seemed... Frustrated at the revelation, but as more and more of the assembled crowd placed their hands into the metaphorical ring until there were none left not standing inside... It was time for minutia. Sorting out banking and passports, tax forms, all that sort of thing. A fresh identity in hand, and it was time for them to retire, thankfully.

Leaving the manor, she was filled with a mixture of feelings. Mostly mild frustration at the fact that she had to now fruitlessly work on suppressing her own memories around Lady Eve's son, but there was a hefty dose of suspicion, confusion and tiredness. The cool air caressed her face as she, and several others, made their way to the hotel. A fine establishment. It would do.

Erin led Morgan back into the city proper, the time showing nearly 3am. They used an Uber, surprisingly easy at this time of night. Not that any mortal could hope to interfere with her plans, of course.

The only open store with clothes was Walmart, and Erin was going to be damned before they bought clothsc from there. No, something better. Thanking the Uber, they continued on foot.

Finally, something worth the time and hassle. They were closed, and honestly that wasn't about to stop Erin. Carefully she picked a side door, rather surprised at the lack of an obvious alarm. Perhaps they trusted their cameras and locks? Or perhaps someone had forgotten to arm the device before leaving?

Either way, Erin held her arms wide as they entered the building. "Come, lovely, let's get you some proper outfits!"

"T-this place is closed." Carnation was blunt. She might've been a killer of many many sorts of pedophiles but she was no thief. She upheld her morals to the T, even if it seemed very backwards for her to do so. "... but... as long as you promise to leave cash behind t'pay with..." Carnation trailed off as she reluctantly stepped inside to gaze at the racks of clothes.

"Hush, child. Let's find something better than that..... Mess you're in now."

"I have a name. Ca-" Carnation silenced herself before turning away and browsing the clothes in the store, looking for things that are more comfortable than anything else. She found comfort trumped design, and this shirt was pretty great even though it had a really bad design on it. It was some anime shit, if she remembered correctly.

"Of course you do. And not that one, dear, unless you want fat men with too much screwy hair on their necks to bother you." Erin replied dismissively. "I hear they're fond of ponies lately."

Picking up a black baseball shirt off the rack, Carnation looked over at Erin and spoke. "... Erin, if I'm gonna be your daughter, then you should know... uh..." Carnation's face flushed red as she tried to hide her embarassment.

"That your real name isn't Morgan? I noticed that, yes. Or that you're decidedly dark, though I'm not sure how exactly? Because I don't care. I will take care of you now, and one day you'll have a beautiful sister...." Erin's response was quiet, as she nodded slightly at the shirt.

"How in the bloody hell did you find out?!" Carnation pulled the shirt down from her face as she browsed a small bit more, still glancing at Erin occasionally to make sure nothing bad was going to happen. "It also kinda is my real name, just... not my first."

"You just said you had a name and it was 'Ca', I'm not stupid you know. No one gave away all their basics, if you noticed, because we don't trust each other." Erin shook her head. "Why, not even that little brat could answer my demands. As soon as I understood his little game I simply avoided them. I have things that are much more important to remember than silly answers."

Tossing over a green hoodie, she continued. "I do everything for my daughter.... And I'll do anything to get her back."

"... Is that vial...?" Carnation began her question but ended it preemptively as she was hit in the face by the hoodie. It didn't hurt her but it did cut her off, for the better in her eyes.

"Yes.

Carnation stuttered before simply lifting up the clothes she had put into a pile beside her and taking them into the nearby changing room. "I-I... I'm sorry for that..."

After a minute of silence, Carnation reemerged from the changing room with an entirely new outfit on, accentuated by the green hoodie she was wearing. Her left hand was covered by the glove, as per usual, and even though it draped down to the middle of her thighs, the girl didn't seem offput by it. Her sleeves were rolled up and her baseball tee was showing out from underneath it.

"... I-I'm Carnation. There's probably a news story in regards t'my family somewhere."

"A little, how do you say, drab? But it will work better than the terrible junk you had. Come, come." Was she referring to the clothes or the name? No way to tell, as she began ushering the little girl back out the way they had came. "I think a hotel will do us just fine over unnecessary proximity to that brat. Though I do recommend hiding that glove of yours from prying eyes."

”It’s a leather glove at first glance, mate. I have a semi-matching one.” As if it was from nowhere, Carnation pulled out black leather glove, incredibly similar to the one she was wearing, but with a few obvious differences upon closer inspection, namely the color. It would work to draw suspicion away for a short while. ”It’s not magical, but it works.”

Carnation shot Erin a slightly dirty look. ”Can you leave the people we’re robbin’ some cash, mum? We are about to be a lot richer than we were, especially me.”]

"I left exact change on the counter by the register while you changed." Erin shut the door behind her, locked, before gently laying a hand Carn's shoulder. "Anything else we need to do for you tonight, my flower?"

”Not that I can think of, mum, Carnation pulled out her knife and flipped it, checking it’s blade before folding and stowing it back in her hoodie pocket. ”Anything you need to do?”

Erin shook her head, black locks dancing around her.

With that, the two strode towards the hotel, a mother and daughter to-be.

---

Carnation woke up in the opposite bed to Erin, her hair as unkempt as ever and her clothes just as crummy as ever. Sure, she had a set of nicer clothes now, but it was a single set of clothes. It was mostly clean, but her old clothes were what she had to sleep in. Gross, but they worked for the immediate time.

Erin was awake, sitting upright in the bed filing her nails before she quickly glanced at Carnation. She smiled pretty brightly as she addressed the child. "Go and take your shower, my dear. I would imagine it has been a while since you've taken one."

"Well, yeah. Streetrats can't really get showers, mum."

"No shit, luv. But I'm not going to smell you all day, and neither should anyone else, when there's a perfectly working shower right there."

"Uh... okay..." Grabbing her things, she stepped into the bathroom and had a long awaited shower. Even if the hotel toiletries weren't the best, they were well used and pretty much empty at the end of the shower. Stepping out again in the clothes she had obtained last night, Carnation looked over at Erin and saw she was done filing at this point. Now she was just sitting on the end of the bed waiting.

"Ah, doesn't it feel good to smell like a flower, my dear?" Erin asked with a delighted expression. As a response, Carnation simply nodded, having nothing to say. "Good. Let's go and get some breakfast, shall we? How long has it been since you've eaten a full meal?"

Carnation remained silent as the two girls walked out of their hotel room door. A slight shrug did answer the question for Erin. "My, if you can't remember, than it must have been quite some time!"

---

Ross looked up from his bread and tea, watching Devyn take a seat at his table. Perfect. She was speaking far too many words, and even managed to make a little joke about hangovers, how cute. ”Ok lass I’ll stop you there. I don’t think I remember you, there was a fair few women there and I was, very drunk.” He said this know full well who Devyn was, but he just wanted to be an asshole.

He would have to try harder than that, however, because Devyn took it as friendly banter. Her smirk did not fade.

”You were drunk last night? I’d never have guessed.” She looked him up and down- yep, that was the same shirt...and the same pants...same everything. He spoke the truth, however. He was the only ‘guest’ that was a man. Poor Ross- he seemed to be quite outclassed. Devyn tried opening him up again for two reasons: Because she would like to get to know him as a person, and she needed to get to know him as a magician. Unfortunately, however, he artfully dodged answering her joke/question about him having a pact. She’d have to try again for more information.

”What brings you to Boston? If I’m not mistaken, I hear scottish in your voice.” She asked. Comparatively, Devyn had a plain American accent, the calm, usually understandable voice of a newscaster.

God this lady liked questions, how annoying… ”Same thing that brought you here, some letter from… Whatever that demon Eve showed us was. Coarse I didn’t know what I was getting myself into at the time. But hey shi-. Things could be worse.” Ross had to catch himself at the end there, he wanted to come off as at lest semi decent.

Ross again sipped his tea, he wasn’t a big tea fan, but he felt like it helped wash the beer breath out. He never really tested to see if that was true though. ”And you’re not mistaken about the scottish. But I’m not that sore about leaving home, I wasn’t very popular.” he chuckled lightly, taking another bite out of his final slice of toast.

”Do you have wanderlust?” Devyn asked. ”I’ve always had trouble staying in one place for too long.” She said, looking down at her cereal and absent-mindedly stirring it.

"Probably. But it’s fairly hard to get out of a country when you’re a convicted criminal.” Ross would give a little shrug. God it was like Devyn was trying to peel him open and see what was inside, what was with all these damn questions? ”So. Enough about me. What made you decide to stick around?”

Convicted criminal. The words rang around in her head, trying to find memories where this information would give new context too. She couldn’t find anything. Devyn also wondered what Ross was convicted for. This guy just shrugged, said “enough about me.” He could have done anything from petty theft to serial killings...but that was a bit over the top, because no one in their right mind would hire a convicted serial killer. It was the unconvicted serial killers you had to worry about.

Still. Devyn tried to hide her surprise, not to show some weakness in front of him, but her eyes did widen and her brow did raise. Indeed, Devyn was playing intricate mind games of reading, of information gathering, and Ross was somehow winning by just trying to eat breakfast.

Devyn cleared her throat, took a small sip of her orange juice and thought of something to say.

”Well, you know, I’ve always been interested in magic. I’m a journalist, so I look for new things; I try my best to help people by spreading the knowledge. The pen is mightier than the sword, and all that.” She used her plastic spoon to write important, imaginary essays in the air between them.

Ross had picked up on Devyn’s shock, he hid a smile as she revealed her occupation. Oooooh she’s a fucking journalist, that explains everything. Wait shit, she’s probably taking mental notes on everything I say, I better be careful. Ross had finished his tea, having moved onto a glass of… Well it was pretty obvious. ”Let's hope the pen is mightier than whatever Ms Eve points us at…”

Devyn smiled and nodded, taking another spoonful of cereal.

Ross looked at his drink briefly before taking a swig and setting it on the table. His demeanor shifting considerably, he didn’t look like a man having his breakfast anymore, now he was a man on a mission. ”I’m going to straight with you. You better watch what you say, because I doubt that some of the others would be so welcoming towards your questions. You’re a journalist, I know asking questions is in your nature. But if you dig too deep in the wrong places, you’re going to find a corpse, and if you’re not careful, It’ll be yours.” He then leaned back on his chair, casually taking another swig, seeing how Devyn would react. She didn’t strike him as a bad person, and he felt like she deserved a little warning.

The journalist became still during Ross’s little warning, looking at him with an impassive stare. Then, she pointed at him with the end of the plastic spoon, wagging it up and down and making on odd face. As if to say; ‘Ahh, there you are.’ ”Well, thank you for the warning, Mr. Ross.” She cleared her throat.

”But, I’ve seen my fair share of corpses.” She paused, eyes briefly glazing over as she reflected on on her time in various divided countries during her time as a war correspondent. Her expression brightened again, looking at Ross.

”Well, thank you for sharing breakfast with me, Mr. Ross.” She slung her purse over her shoulder, stood up and threw away her empty bowl and cup. As Devyn passed by the table again, she hesitated.

”See you.” Devyn concluded simply, absent mindedly pulling her black shirt back down over her belt and quickly leaving the hotel with more respect for Ross than when she went in.

Ross would look at Devyn her impassive stare making him worried he’d pissed her off, but hey, what else was new? Then she waved around her spoon and thanked him for the warning, then clearing her throat. Ho boy was he in for it now.

He was braced for some kind of annoyed rant about being able to look after herself, or her already knowing not to be a sticky beak and ask to many questions. But instead she simply said she’d seen her fair share of corpses, but she clearly wasn’t happy to be thinking back on those moments. Ross didn’t think he’d have to worry about this girl, she seemed like a good person.

He’d give her a simple wave as she walked off, purse slung over her shoulder. He’d not say anything and just give her a courteous nod. I’ve pissed her off… Well at least she’ll probably be a bit more careful now. Ross would sigh to himself then finish the last of his apple juice.