Time: Morning
Location: Vie et Mort HQ
Interaction with: The Dark Queen herself, Desiree @Potter

Noah’s fun ended as the night gave way to dusk; the sun’s unforgiving rays driving him back to the community he called home. He was back at the headquarters of Vie et Mort for only a handful of moments before he ran into another vampire, Jade, informing him that Desiree had requested him. This news filled him with excitement, it was always an honor to be in the presence of the Queen. Although Jade gave him no further information as to what it was Desiree wanted but he hoped she had a job for him, something he could do to further prove his worth to her and Vie et Mort. Even if he were to be scolded, to be scolded personally by the queen still meant he was worthy of her time, that she had taken an interest into molding him into a better vampire.

It would not due to stand in front of his queen looking like he’d just crawled in off the streets so first Noah headed to home to clean himself up, change clothes, and to brush the tangled mop atop his head. Once satisfied that he looked presentable and dressed in his usual predominantly black clothing, he headed off to see what it was his queen wanted. Noah hoped she had another job for him, his last job had been quite the fun challenge, manipulating the wolf girl that Desiree had been keeping. Although taunting and toying with prey seemed to come more easily to him, deception and manipulation did not, but these were skills all great vampires had and so Noah needed to learn them too. While he had been successful in gaining the wolf girls trust Noah wasn’t sure if this was his skill improving or simply that werewolves were nothing more than dumb beasts.

Noah strode confidently into the longue where many of the vampires hung around to pass the time. He never spent too much time here, many of the vampires of Vie et Mort remembered him from his time as weak human, and some of them still looked at him like he was weak and Noah didn’t care for that. But he belonged here now, the queen had requested him, and soon enough he would prove that he had earned his place among the more important vampires of the collective. He bowed his head in respect as he approached Desiree. “You requested my presence, my Queen. How may I serve you?” Noah asked, as ambition shone through his eyes.

Time:Morning
Location: Operation Humanity Headquarters

---

Most hunters lived at the base, but Angel had figured out from an early age that they were very willing to keep her appeased, so last year she requested to live in her own house in town so she could better watch out for vampires. She had wanted to get some space from the controlling manner that Operation Humanity possessed, but it all ended up only giving her more trouble. Regardless, she had to report to the HQ by 8 am every day.

The routine of walking into the building, whilst having her fellow hunters stare at her like she was a freak of nature, was as per usual. Their eyes would be glued to her and the chatter would lower down to a few whispers. This was all no different than when the troubled kid came into school and everyone held their breath in order to see what interesting or weird thing they did this time. She grinned at them, winking. Angel would never consider herself a victim again. In fact, she considered herself top of the food chain. No one really tried to say anything to her face anymore so it was clear she at least intimidated them.

With the neck wound still healing, she was wearing a thin, black turtleneck today. She was going to the training room originally, but a black-haired man stepped out in front of her and folded his arms. Angel sighed. She had a bad feeling this might happen. The dreaded words followed as expected.

"Trotter wants you in the office." He informed her. The guy's name was Jacob and she had been hooking up with him on and off the last few months for no reason other than the hell of it. He was clearly not the committing type so it was the relationship that benefited both of them. She wasn't sure why she agreed to it and enjoyed it. Maybe it filled a void. Plus, he wasn't ugly.

Angel smiled and reached up to trace his jawline with her finger. "And I want you in the closet later." She whispered huskily, watching the grin the formed on his face momentarily before she abruptly turned away to make her way to the office.

She giggled to herself as she walked away without looking back at him. Her smile fell as she arrived at his office and knocked on the door. It immediately was opened and she leaned in the doorway. "What do you want?"She asked dryly, crossing her arms. Angel was probably one of the only ones here who lacked respect for authority, but that was also because she was one of the only ones who could get away with it. Disrespecting the colonel of a government operation was almost suicide for anyone who didn't hold enough value to be unfirable.

Colonel Nathaniel Trotter sat at his desk, his thick brows furrowed and his blue eyes glaring daggers at her. He had a groomed mustache that matched his dark brows, but unfortunately not a head of hair to match it too. He was always dressed in his classy uniform with all his fancy badges. Angel wondered how come she didn't get any cool badges. She usually got distracted looking at them all but his facial expression was hard to put her eyes away from. He looked really pissed.

He gestured for her to sit, the door slamming behind her. Angel flinched, glancing over her shoulder. A woman by the door glared at her as well and nodded at the chair expectantly. She sat down and folded her arms, leaning back in the chair. He seemed to be taking a moment to collect his thoughts, so she took the opportunity to take the wheel of the conversation, "So what's with the Swedish guy? He doesn't answer texts at all."

"He's not coming. That whole sector had to be sent elsewhere to a more dire circumstance. “ The Colonel picked up his papers and neatly tapped them on the table, organizing them as he spoke. He turned the computer monitor around for her to look at it. A full display of the group of vampires closing in on Angel on the road from a security camera began to play out. “We also have footage of you entering the club and later leaving the club following a subject who was clearly within your ability to eliminate. You injured him and purposely let him run, keeping distance. “ Angel forgot how good he was at putting things together. This was going to be a hard one to wiggle out of. “You antagonized enough in that club to drive some vampires to plan an ambush on you. However, how did you get from the club to that area blocks away? And why on earth did they know you’d follow him there?”

Angel opened her mouth to answer, but he held up his finger. He had known her since she was a child and clearly knew she was about to spew bullshit. “This is all because this little charade of yours is a routine. You’ve done this before, hunted vampires there and purposely hurt them at times in hopes of having them lead you somewhere. No need to tell me where, as I have a good idea of where you want to go.”

Maybe she could fool Niko and Sean, but there was no fooling this man.

“It’s childish and reckless.”He spat, his tone taking on an angrier and sterner tone. “You know how crucial you are and now you’ve gone and made yourself infamous amongst the bloodsuckers. No doubt every one of them is aware of your antics by this point because God knows how long you’ve been pulling this shit. “

Angel dropped her gaze. He was right. For them to plan an ambush the way they did, they must have been hanging bounty posters the way they did in western movies all around, except they stated that she was just wanted dead, instead of dead or alive. “Let them come for me.” The words came out of her mouth without much thought. “I’ll kill them all. Just saves me the time of having to look for them.”

“I’d like to see you take on the hundreds and thousands of vampires Viet Et Mort has stationed right nearby. If you continue the way you are, they will come for you and you are not immortal, Angel. We gave you a gift, yes, but you are still a human like the rest of us: fragile and easy to destroy.”

“A gift,” Angel repeated with a sneer and rolled her eyes. She hadn’t expected him to lay out exactly what she was doing so easily, but she had indeed expected him to treat her like she was a precious killing machine they had to keep safe rather than an actual person they gave a shit about. Not that they practically raised her or anything and that mattered.

He stood up and glared down at her, “I allowed you to live off grounds, you ungrateful girl! A privilege I have given very few!” She returned his glare to which he narrowed his eyes. “We will take that away and have you sleeping in a small room here-”

“I’m an adult. You can’t tell me where to live!”Angel snapped, interrupting him. They had controlled her life for so many years. When Angel finally got to live on her own, it had been so freeing.

Colonel Trotter shook his head, his voice taking on a low tone. “You have nowhere else to go, Angel. Without us paying you, you wouldn’t afford your house or car. Everything you have is because I gave it to you and I will not shed a tear if I have to take it away. Now listen here. You will not be allowed to go anywhere any time after dusk without Sean, Nikolaus or another hunter accompanying you. If we catch you hunting alone, and we will, we have round the clock surveillance, you can say goodbye to your freedom.”

They basically owned her. She was pretty sure her house and car were in his name since she hadn’t known how to buy those things herself and needed assistance. Even if she wanted to just go off on her own and accept being homeless, it could take her forever before she found Viet Et Mort. Angel had to deal with being their bitch for the time being.

Standing up out of her chair, she kicked it back out of her way and turned to leave.

“I didn’t dismiss you. You will also be training until dusk today. I’ll have someone come for you. Go run laps on the indoor track for an hour.”

Angel rolled her eyes and stormed out regardless in the middle of him speaking, but she did hear him and start making her way to the track.

Time: Morning
Location: Sweet Keks
Interactions: @Alivefalling Cyrus @Potter Luna @Helo Liam

---

Sorrel had been glad that Cyrus stayed beside her as she got patched up. The man doing the patching up wasn’t the best with bedside manner and so having her friend there to chat with and distract her from what the medic was doing was a relief. She’d never really been fond of needles, but she wasn’t about to admit that to anyone and she knew how to put on a brave face. She had to admit, though, that the sewing up didn’t hurt nearly as bad as being stabbed by the silver.

Once she was bandaged up, she allowed herself to rest there for a little bit so she didn’t feel as drained. She knew that they shouldn’t hang out for much longer, however, as both her and Cyrus needed sleep and they had animals at home that would begin to worry about them. She was just glad she had an apartment that had a tiny backyard that Helmar could use to go out and relieve himself during the day. He would be upset about not being fed yet, however. So soon she was up and thanking Liam for his hospitality. She’d also made sure it would be okay if she came by sometime the next day to check up on Luna and visit with her since she was still concerned for the girl.

They then left and Sorrel took Cyrus back to his car, but before they got there she brought up something she heard him offer earlier. He’d said something about helping her at the bakery and she actually thought that wouldn’t be a bad idea. So she suggested if he were serious he should stop by the bakery sometime the next day. She’d be grateful for the help, that was for sure. With that she hugged him and bid him good night before going home.

---

The next morning Sorrel woke up rather sore and sighed a bit to herself as she slowly got out of bed. Is this what it feels like to get old? She thought to herself and chuckled a little bit. Helmar looked over at her and cocked his head as if to ask what was so funny. ”Oh Helmar, when you live as long as I do you find humor in the silliest things.” She told him and he sighed as he lay back down. She went about slowly getting ready for the day.

It was rather early, the sun not having risen quite yet as she needed to get down to the bakery and begin making fresh goods. She yawned a bit and made herself some coffee before feeding Helmar and then making herself some breakfast. Before long she had eaten, showered carefully, and then was dressed for the day. She braided her hair in two dutch braids to keep it mostly out of her way. She began to head out the door when she heard whining behind her and looked back to see her dog looking at her sadly. She had her keys in her hand, but after a moment of hesitation she put them back and grabbed Helmar’s leash. ”Fine you big cry baby, you can come with me today.” She said as she gave him a grin which she received a happy bark in response. ”Shhh people are still sleeping.” She laughed as she hooked the leash on his collar. Soon they were out the door and walking to the bakery.

The early morning went by smoothly as she made and began baking some of the fresh goods and now it was time to open her doors. Helmar lay quietly in the corner out of the way as she flipped the sign to open and unlocked her door. ”Let’s see what today will bring, shall we?” She said as she moved back behind the counter and began decorating some cupcakes as she began singing along to the music she had softly playing.

Time: Morning
Location: Operation Humanity Headquarters
Interaction with: @princess Angel

---

Sean gulped down the lukewarm coffee from his mug to wash down the steak and eggs he had just scarfed down for breakfast. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before getting up from his work desk and setting out to find his wild child of a squadmate. His eyes were red from lack of sleep, but he was feeling a bit more upbeat than usual. The reason being the submission of his planned operation on the Pit nightclub. He had emailed the schematics and layout of his plans to the missions cell late last night (really early this morning) and actually got the green light on it.

Sean walked by Colonel Trotter's office and managed to catch a glance from the stern man. Not a word, just a look. Trotter was rarely an obstacle for Sean for quite a few reasons. Sean was contracted, not an experiment, and he was a damn good hunter. There were those that thought he was completely insane for the amount of hours he put into the job, but he had earned a great deal of respect from his colleagues. Speaking if which...

Sean walked up and nodded to Jacob, Angel's friend, before addressing him.

"You see where Angel went?" Sean looked as if he could go to sleep at any moment.

"She was headed for the track. You know what she got into last night?" Jacob wanted a bit of the gossip. Sean smirked before looking around to make sure no one would hear him before whispering

"Just some really inappropriate PDA. You wouldn't believe it unless you saw it. Someone apparently gave her a massive hickey last night." Jacob didn't want to believe something so stupid, but Angel's attire only helped corroborate with Sean's claim.

"Oh…" Sean started to continue on his way before turning to Jacob.

"Yeah, nothing major. She just needs to put a cold spoon on it." Sean just left the man with the false story. With that, Sean continued on, until he reached the track just in time to watch Angel begin.

"And in lane one! We have the one! The only! Huntress with the Hair of Blood! Angeeeeel 'Fast as a Vampire' Beauuuuuuumont!" Sean jested with a chuckle. He laughed a bit more than he expected due to his tiredness. His expression relaxed before he continued. "Trotter sent me an email on the new arrangement for you… I have to agree with the boss on your plan being sort of ehhh… Anyway, I want you to do it again tonight." Sean grinned almost menacingly before letting a huge yawn escape. "So tired… Just tell me that you're in so I can sleep."

Time: Middle of the night, January 25th, 1611
Location: Čachtice Castle, Kingdom of Hungary
Interactions: None

---

They’d finally done it, those damn werewolves finally found a way to remove Elizabeth from power. They even got King Mattias to help them, but in all honesty that didn’t entirely surprise her. The man owed her a vast amount of money, which as a king he found quite embarrassing, so having a chance to remove her from power and, thus ridding himself of said debt, he took it. It was all just maddening to Elizabeth and her hatred for the werewolves was growing. They captured some of her newer vampires, tortured them horrendously, and then executed them all while claiming they confessed that Elizabeth was a horrible murderess. They spun a story so intricate and painted Elizabeth as a horrible person that they were able to turn the whole kingdom against her. Well the whole kingdom minus her clan and her family in Transylvania. The Báthory’s were most loyal to those who shared blood and so her uncle, a Prince of Transylvania and the current ruling power, sided with his niece. There was nothing he could do to help her other than suggesting she live out her days in a nunnery there in Transylvania. No, she would rather face death than hide behind holy women. Death didn’t seem like it would be coming any time soon, however.

One thing those pesky werewolves didn’t account for was the fact that Elizabeth could be quite charming. They’d sent a man, Gyorgy Thurzo, to try and catch Elizabeth in the “act” of torture as he was a man of noble standing and his word was highly regarded. They didn’t expect the Blood Countess, as they’d begun calling her, to be able to charm and woo Mr. Thurzo. A little late, as he’d sent his report to the king, but he had now sent a letter to that same king and convinced him to let Elizabeth live her days under house arrest. A touching gesture truly, but the werewolves would never allow her to live long and they were under control of everything now. They took all her land, her wealth, everything other than what she had confined in the room she now resided in.

She sighed as she stared out the small window, looking down the mountain to her small village she once ruled over. To all those humans who now feared her. To the ones that once loved her thanks to her healing knowledge and kindness. One would think she would now hate them, but she couldn’t blame them. They’d been manipulated into thinking she was a monster. If there was enough fear present you could manipulate anyone into anything. Her heart ached for them as she knew their life was about to get much harder with werewolves ruling. She knew these werewolves looked down on humans, even using them as food on occasion. How many of her people would become a werewolves next meal?

She couldn’t dwell on it anymore and had to try to do something productive as she moved over to her writing desk. She opened the journal that sat there and glanced at the pages. They were filled with sketches of different body parts along with notes beside them. Some pages had internal organs on them, then others had different plants. This was the last remaining research journal she had depicting all she’d learned from dissecting those werewolves she’d killed or those that opted for a merciful death rather than living as a vampire. The rest of her books had been burned, all trace of her medical discoveries destroyed. It was all to make sure she went down in history as one of the most feared monsters.

The sound of the locks on her door clicking open caught her attention, but she merely thought it was a servant bringing her food. She was surprised to see Thurzo and two smaller cloaked figures enter her chambers. As soon as the door was shut, the hoods came down and Elizabeth almost let out a sob of relief upon seeing Nikolett and Anastasia. Both women were her most loyal of the clan, Anastasia being her Second and the one who would inherit the clan once Elizabeth was gone. She moved swiftly to embrace both women before questioning, ”How are you here? Anastasia you were meant to get as many of the clan out as you could. Take them somewhere safe.” As thrilled as she was to see the two women, she worried for her clan, the family she’d created. It was Nikolett who spoke.

”We got as many out as we could. There are many who didn’t make it unfortunately, but the ones who did are safe.” She assured Elizabeth which brought her some relief, but that still didn’t explain their presence here.

”Thank you. Why are you here though?” As she asked the question she realized that Anastasia was dressed in some of Elizabeth’s clothing. She looked between the two women and then at Thurzo confused. Just what was going on here?

”You can’t stay here Elizabeth. You’ll die and none of us would be able to live with ourselves if we let that happen. So Anastasia is going to take your place, pretend to be you, and you’re going to escape.” It was Thurzo who now spoke and as Elizabeth realized what they were saying she began shaking her head. She couldn’t let this happen, she couldn’t let one of her closest friends sacrifice her life for her. This was insanity!

Anastasia grasped Elizabeth’s hands and gave her a sorrowful smile. ”Please Elizabeth, let us do this for you. You’ve done so much for us and now it’s my turn. The clan needs you more than they need me.” She reasoned with her leader and Elizabeth felt tears fall down her face as they embraced once more, accepting their crazy plan. ”Make them pay for what they’ve done.” And with that Anastasia became Countess Báthory. She took the cloak from Anastasia, putting it on and throwing up the hood before she was whisked away from her home.

They fled to Transylvania, making that their new home as they plotted to kill the werewolf pack that had taken so much from Elizabeth. Slowly they began picking them off and, over the years, she eventually was able to take back some of the wealth she’d lost. She’d never be in power like she once was before, but she continued to build her wealth as quietly as possible in order to make sure her clan would never want for anything. She began growing the clan once more as only a mere 50 made it out of Castle Čachtice rather than the 300 strong she’d once had. This was her family and she’d do anything to fiercely protect them.

---

Time: Morning
Location: Hospital ER
Interactions: None



To say the start of her day would be an understatement in Libby’s books. She got in to work at 6 am, just before the sun was to rise even though that wouldn’t have mattered much today anyways since it was overcast and rainy. To start her shift in the ER off she was met with an older gentleman who had some pretty severe burns on his body. Turns out he decided to smoke while on oxygen. Then she had a woman with a broken hip. Her story was she was trying to kill a spider and in her panic fell thus resulting in said broken hip. If Libby had any say she would determine that the spider won that battle. Sometimes the human race concerned her with the things they did.

Now she had a moment of peace as she sipped warm blood from her Yeti cup. Anyone around her would have just guessed it was coffee and if they asked that’s exactly what she’d tell them it was. Having blood on hand was quite helpful because if she became too hungry it became tempting to feed off of some of the patients that were bleeding. Never had she actually done such a thing, however, as that would be severely inappropriate. That is unless they were dying and wanted to be turned. That was an entirely different matter and a way she could save a life.

It was amazing to her how much medicine had changed over the years. They’d gone from blood letting thinking that would cure anything and everything to having vaccines that prevented lots of different diseases. It really was bewildering to live through and see happen. It also kept Libby on her toes and wanting to learn more about medicine. What had once been a hobby had now become her life's work.

As she stood there, enjoying the moment of peace, one of the nurses whose name was Daniel approached her. She immediately thought he was coming to tell her that there was another patient that needed attending to, so when he spoke it surprised her. ”Dr. Bathory...er...Libby...I was wondering if you’d maybe like to go get lunch with me at some point? If it fits into your schedule I mean.” He was quite obviously nervous and Libby merely blinked at him in surprise for a moment which seemed to make him even more uncomfortable.

Soon she gave him a kind smile as she opened her own mouth to speak. ”This is quite unexpected, Daniel. It’s rare to catch me by surprise like this.” She said as she gave a small laugh. He chuckled nervously along with her and she soon realized she hadn’t quite given him an answer. He was unlikely to leave if she didn’t and he looked so nervous it softened her heart just a bit. ”I may be able to swing that, but would you be a dear and give me some time to think about it and work out my schedule?” He looked a little disappointed at first, but she could see that her words still gave him a little hope. He simply nodded in response before leaving her be. Today was certainly shaping up to be an interesting one.

---

After waiting for Marceau to leave, Helene decided it would be best to simply returned to the house she was renting for the night. It had already been quite eventful as far as she was concerned and made her feel confident in her choice to leave home. For the first time in years, she was excited about what the next day would bring. She looked forward to seeing Boris later tomorrow as well and talking about everything that had happened since they last saw each other. These pleasant thoughts brought a bright smile to her lips. However, she could not ignore the warnings of Marceau. There were very real dangers that she would need to watch out for. There was just too much she wanted to see! If anything, she had made a promise to Boris that she would not break.

What was waiting for her just inside her rental home was enough to take her breath way. A single rose laid next to a cream-colored envelope with nothing indicating its sender. Her hands trembled as she sliced it open and took outs its contents. Inside was a flyer of sorts listing information for an audition to be held at the l'amour est dans l'air. The audition was for the classical band that regularly played at the restaurant and was going to be held in the morning before it opened. Between the rose and the flyer, it was anything but a coincidence. It was a message. The Sinclaire Foundation knew where she was. Marceau! A strange sense of fury filled her as she thought he must have went ahead behind her back and informed the foundation of her location. Tears fell down her cheeks. She had only just began to explore all of what Ember Grove had to offer. Helene could even swear she heard the quiet, whispering voice of her mother in the distance. After taking a couple deep breaths, she managed to think more rationally. Why wouldn't they just come here themselves? Why give her this flyer? Marceau also didn't seem like one who would go against his word. Having made herself a nervous wreck, Helene decided to go to bed early. She felt quite tired from the day's events and she would need the sleep for the audition tomorrow.

---

Helene woke up with a strange burning sensation in her throat that went away after a little bit. Whatever it was she hoped it would not affect her voice for her audition. As she gently rose out of bed, a shadowy figure standing in the doorway to her bedroom nearly made her jump out of her skin as she let out a sharp scream. The moment she blinked it was gone. It must have just been her nerves from last night, but it still left her quite startled. A nice, hot shower was enough to release the tension in her muscles and ease her mind off it. She spent a good amount of time selecting what to wear and putting her hair into a single braid that laid over her right shoulder. Helene eventually decided on a dress that had been a gift from her Aunt Isabella. It was not something she normally wore but she thought back to what Marceau said and thought this was more fitting. She checked herself out in the mirror after putting on a matching pair of long gloves and was unsure about her appearance. Nevertheless, it was time for her to venture back out into Ember Grove.

The town was much different during the day than at night, she observed under the protection of her umbrella. She began walking towards the restaurant on the other side of town with a bright and excited smile on her face. While she was worried that the foundation knew about her leaving, she couldn't shake the feeling of having her first real audition. It could be the start of everything she ever wanted. Her fingers clenched tightly around the handle of her violin case. Her music...her songs would reach the hearts of the world. She was sure of it. Every part of her soul would be poured into this performance. Helene only needed to get there first. Admittedly, she was still a little tired but that would not stop her. This was a great opportunity to make herself known.

Time: Morning
Location: Leblanc Home --> walking
Interactions: N/A
Mentions: Monica @baraquiel Rose @Tae Felix @jetipster

---

The rest of the night had been uneventful. Rose had claimed the guy she was talking to was a jerk and she put on quite the act. Violet could tell there was much more to the story, but she also knew she wasn't going to get anything out of Rose that night. She introduced Monica to Felix and Rose and they ended up spending the rest of their time there. Monica was a sweetie. Violet hoped they could grow to be friends. Though a few cute boys had come to the table, Violet wasn't in the mood to flirt as much. She had wanted to stay close to her sister. They had gotten home before midnight and Violet had checked on her pets before going to sleep, snuggling up with Pumpkin and Chéri.

---

Violet yawned as she woke up to the sound of hungry Pumpkin meowing in her face. Her eyes fluttered open to the sight of the calico cat seated on her chest, staring down at her expectantly. She petted the cat's head with a smile. She then brushed her bangs out of her eyes to glance down at the feeling of fur on her neck. Chéri was across her neck, still asleep like a fancy little scarf. She slowly sat up and picked up Chéri to cradle her. "Oh, my hungry little babies."She cooed. Moving over to Lawrence's habitat, she leaned over and blew a kiss to the tarantula. "Good morning, handsome."

She soon made her way downstairs, still in her pajamas and with the ferret in her arms, the cat following behind with excited mewls for her breakfast. Seth Leblanc was in the kitchen, wearing a flour-covered apron. "Hey, dad. Everyone else up yet?"She greeted him as she waved her hand to have the animals' food bowls filled. She set Chéri down and slid herself on to a stool by the counter, yawning once again.

"Morning sweetheart. You're the first awake today. You remain the defending champion." Seth greeted her and moved over to kiss her head. "Any progress on getting a job? Sitting home all day won't give you any inspiration." He moved back to the stove to continue making pancakes. "There's plenty of places hiring in town."

Violet pouted and stretched her arms across the counters as she thought about it. She should have known he was gonna open this can of worms immediately. Rose had a job already and he was right that she shouldn't spend her time off from school doing nothing. "I was thinking of applying to the bakery. I'm not so sure I want to keep up with the computer science major anyway, I'd like to test out my other avenues of expertise."

"Well, you're great at both things, so you'll do fine whatever you choose. You are a Leblanc after all." Seth grinned as he used the spatula to put some pancakes on her plate. "Why don't you bake a little something to bring there and let them see what you have to offer?"

Violet licked her lips with excitement as she noticed the pancakes were blueberry. She began to cut it neatly with the knife and fork, as she was overly proper with things. "Us Leblancs do everything better."She agreed to his first statement, then tilted her head thoughtfully about the second one. "You know maybe I will. But what to make for her..." She could recall going inside Sweet Keks a few times. The desserts were really good so she had to definitely work hard to impress the woman in there. She had definitely seemed shorthanded at least; it was one of the only bakeries in town so it got mobbed due to its fantastic reputation."I don't know how to make anything german."

"You don't have to. When you're applying for a job, you're selling yourself. Make something that will introduce the baker to who you are." Seth told her and she smiled faintly. It sounded like something her mother would have said years ago. Though it seemed like a cliche, she had always been telling them to be themselves all the time. She had clearly rubbed off on Seth even after all this time. It was comforting in a way.

"Maybe I'll make some macarons. I saw them for sale there and I think she'd appreciate a take on it from a girl who lived in Paris for a while." Violet said thoughtfully. She decided she'd probably make raspberry macarons. They were the best. However, she was going to need some supplies. She glanced out the window. Normally, she could just conjure everything she needed, but it was raining outside. It was great weather to take a walk and get out a bit. She had a new lovely umbrella that she wanted to use too. Plus, she knew her dad would lecture her about using magic to cheat her way through life. He did it to both her and Rose any time they took shortcuts.

"Yeah that's a great idea!"Seth agreed then suddenly bellowed through the house, "PANCAKES! HURRY! Get them while they're hot!" She giggled. Seth was too much dad for anyone to handle sometimes.

Violet got up once she had completed her pancake to go upstairs and dress. She returned after a few moments in a pastel yellow sweater with a white, detailed collar complete with a pink bow, and a peach skirt. Her hair was up in a ponytail with a pink ribbon. She had a bag with her and a kitty-cat umbrella. Chéri hopped into the bag and peaked her head out. She giggled, "Oh mon Chéri, of course, you wanna come to the grocery store."

"Violet. Don't let anyone see Chéri..."Seth told her uneasily. "Hunters are trained to look for those with familiars. Be careful."

Violet frowned and patted the ferret's head gently to urge her to hide. "I think most people will just recognize me as the weird ferret mom I am. See you later dad. Give Felix and Rose my love. " She planned to chat with Rose later about what had happened last night. It wasn't a good idea to let her get secretive again.

As for her father's warning, Violet did get nervous when it came to hunters. After all, she had gone through a very awful ordeal with them when she was quite young. However, she still refused to let that fear control her life. In fact, it was something she wanted to directly fight.

She opened her umbrella once outside and began her walk to the grocery store. The sound of pitter-patter on her umbrella was relaxing and she loved the smell of rain in the air.

---

”Genny~” Illia cooed, reaching out with a finger to poke Genesis’ forehead. “Wake up!”

The older woman was curled up alongside the most recent addition to the pack, soaked through, and somehow sleeping peacefully. She shuddered softly as Illia’s calloused finger pressed against her skin, before stretching out and tossing an arm over Volfango.

“God, Genesis, aren’t you cold?” Came the distant voice of Oliver, harsh in comparison to Illia’s subtle prodding.

At this, Genesis stirred. With a groan, she peeled open her eyes and took in her immediate surroundings. Volfango. Yes, he was to be expected. Illia? Not that surprising, as the girl seemed to enjoy following her. That meant Oliver was somewhere in the nearby vicinity. A deep inhale confirmed her suspicions. Out of all the people who could have stumbled upon them, she was glad it was the Greens. They didn’t run their mouths.

Sitting up, she began to cautiously remove herself from Volfango, standing as soon as she was separated from the man. She stared down at him, unsure of what to do. She didn’t want to wake him up, if only because dealing with her mistakes made her panic.

”Fun night?” Illia asked, breaking Genesis out of her trance. The grin on the young woman’s face was mischievous.

Ignoring her question, Genesis asked, ”Do you have a blanket? I don’t want to leave him in the cold…”

”You could always wake him-” Upon seeing the pleading look on Genesis’ face, Illia backtracked. ”No...I don’t think so. Ollie?”

“Nah, but we did bring you a change of clothes... Maybe your windbreaker will fit him?” Oliver offered up the bundle of warm clothes he held in his arms. When Oliver had picked up Genesis’ scent in the woods, he had returned to the camp to retrieve her most comfortable clothing, assuming she had shifted and was in need of a new outfit.

Genesis smiled softly, walking over to retrieve the garments. Unzipping her windbreaker, she laid it out over Volfango’s body, figuring she’d retrieve it sooner or later. With that dealt with, she made her way to a tree and began to change into the leggings and long-sleeve that had been provided for her. Stepping back into view, she jerked her chin in the direction of the path, making her way toward it. As she went, she bent down to collect her purse, leaving any and all sopping wet clothing behind. Without a word, the siblings began to follow.

”So, Genny," Illia called after a few moments of walking in silence. ”We were kinda hopin' that maybe you would consider taking us into town?"

Genesis glanced over her shoulder at the pair. They didn't require her permission to do things, but it made her feel...worthwhile when they asked. It reminded her of the respect she had in her old packs, the respect that took so long to gain in Liam's.

”Yeah...why not?"

---

As the trio passed different places in town, the siblings made up excuses to stop at each location that wasn't a family home. They explored what areas they could, rummaging around shops and pressing their faces up against the windows of closed establishments. It wasn't long until Illia found herself hungry, and Oliver requested they all eat.

Stepping into an adorable, quaint bakery, Genesis walked up to the counter where a petite blonde woman was working. ”Morning," Genesis greeted, as her eyes ran over the many items on the menu. She glanced down at the assortment of cupcakes and other treats protected by a glass cover. Her stomach clenched, hunger filling her.

”What do you guys want?" She asked the two behind her, shifting to let them see better.

"A chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting!" Illia chirped, smiling merrily at Sorrel.

Oliver looked over the menu, brow scrunched. “Can I just get a pretzel?"

”I'll have a pretzel, too." Genesis added, digging around in her purse for the money she had taken from Trance. Clutching a few bills, she waited for the woman to tally up their purchase.

---

Time: Morning 6AM
Location: Kade's Basement Apartment

---

Waking up is no longer the pleasure it once was. There is a fleeting moment every morning where Kade reaches over to brush his hand on his wife's back, but it quickly evaporates like water on a hot surface. It's like his mind is stuck on a fixed point in time, but every morning has to be violently pulled back into the present with renewed realization that she was gone. Perhaps that's how dreams work, if he still had them; instead, he only has still images inside of his mind to hold on to, of things have were, and things that could be. At that moment, he pictured Mia holding Emily, with him holding the camera. He sighed. Hopefully in another life, he's a better father.

He groaned and rubbed the remainders of sleep from his eyes and gazed over the room. his clothes were scattered across, and next to the bed was a bucket with bloodied vomit. He supposed it probably smelled awful but having slept through it he must've got used to it. "What was I thinking - they were obviously cloaking the drinks." He said to himself as he opened the nightstand drawer and pulled out a flask full of rum. What better cure to a hangover? He didn't actually know since he never got hungover before but he felt pretty sure of that decision - and so he emptied that flask, quickly.

He reached for his phone and noticed he had 2 missed calls from an unknown number. Looking through his text messages he realized he finally got a response. "6 PM." was all it said. He swore at the phone. They were really not doing a good job at making him want to stay. Operation Humanity was obviously too busy to keep an open line of communication with new recruits, huh? Maybe they didn't trust him yet, or didn't know just how useful he can be. He grinned, extending his arm out toward his pistol which was on the desk across the room, as it flew right into his grip. He thought of the conversation he had in the bar, about the supposed animal attacks in Lovers Lake, and gleamed at the thought of taking his role in Ember Grove into his own hands.

He placed his pistol down and sprung out of bed, and quickly rushed into the shower. He went over his day in his mind: First he has to go get his car from outside Alexei's. Then he was going to get a massive breakfast somewhere. Then he was going to roam around Lover's Lake, and hopefully run into one of them animals and maybe kill one. Then go get a drink... and finally, arrive at Operation Humanity's headquarters drunk.

---

Time: one hour later
Location: Woods near loverslake

---

Walking through the woods, pistol in one hand and a flask in another, Kade was still trying to clear his throat from the taste of blood. It tasted like rusted iron, but had this thick and bitter feeling to it like he still had some of it stuck in his teeth somehow. He kept trying to gargle the rum in his mouth but somehow the taste of blood was stronger. He started to think that they put gasoline or something in their drinks at Alexei's. Suddenly he lost his balance, his foot getting stuck under a loose tree root, he tripped and fell on the cold ground, facing the sky. He groaned and then gazed at his flask, holding it close to his face. If he were to run into a vampire, this surely isn't going to help him stay sharp.

With that, a flash of memory from last night hit him. Sam. He saw Sam in Ember Grove. He didn't know if it was all the crap from Alexei's that made him hallucinate it or if Sam is actually in this town and is now aware of his presence. Kade swallowed, tossing his flask to the side. Yeah, he should stay sharp.

He then turned his head to look at the tree root that tripped him only to realize it wasn't a tree root, it was a hand. Kade immediately crawled back and sprung up to his feet, clutching his pistol as he gazed from left to right, and then back at the man on the ground. "Gross." The man was beaten up, with a knife in his arm, and his neck torn out. He crouched down to have a better look. "What kind of an animal would use a knife." he said jokingly to no one in particular. He then pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of the body, before sending it to his contact in Operation Humanity, hoping that would get their attention.

He gazed at the body for a moment, and sighed. When he was recruited, he was told that the vampires here are organized, and careful to not leave any traces of their business, which was why they were recruiting. But this... this is not organized. The body was already cold, so whoever killed this poor man, should be long gone. But with such a sloppy job at covering their trail, maybe they left something else behind as well. He stood back up and started snooping around the scene of the crime.

Time: Night
Location: Road 68
Interactions: Boris @Kkushmar, Finn @Milkman

Boris raised his eyebrow, not sure what the other wolf was doing and why he was talking like that. Sure it was easier to follow what he was saying, but the only reason he struggled following what was being said before was because he was bombarded with a bunch of questions all at once, and now he’s struggling to understand why the man is speaking in slow motion. “Why you s..speak like that?” he asked.

Finn was surprised by the question of his companion. The young man was sure that the wolf in front of him was struggling with the english language. But maybe he was wrong. It could be the accent that had thrown him off or the fact that this stranger didn’t seem to speak that much. But it became clear to Finn that he had more or less misinterpreted the situation. It him feel a bit stupid as it made the conversation a little bit awkward. The young wolf smiled and scratched the back of his head as he spoke at his regular speed again. “I thought you didn’t understand english that well but it seems I was wrong. Kind of stupid of me, isn’t it?”

Boris shrugged. He didn’t really think anything of it because he did struggle with the language. “It’s hard to understand when you ask a lot of q..questions.” Annoyed with his stutter, he still avoided eye contact with Finn.

The young wolf could totally understand that mr bloodsoaked shirt found him hard to understand. Finn was an energetic talker afterall. The man in front of him wasn’t the first one to ever tell the young lad to slow down or outright shut it. Finn laughed Yeah, I can understand that. I kind of have this habit of talking a lot and talking fast. Just let me know when I’m going too fast or need to shut it, ok?” The young wolf waited a bit before he continued talking. Finn tried hard to not talk too fast without sounding forced or making things awkward. I still haven’t got your name. You have a name, right?”

“Boris.” was all he said. Boris wondered if he had been too trusting with his name that night. First was the vampire on the beach, Helene, and now it was this strange and curious wolf. For all he knew, he could have been giving his name to those who might seek to harm him and his pack. He then looked back toward the forest in which he pointed at earlier, and shook his head. He wasn’t sure how to explain what happened because he never bothered to find out. “Wolf make distress call. I come. I k..kill Vampire… Wolf goes back to camp with alpha.” he paused for a second, thinking about what he said and then corrected himself. “Two alpha.”

Finn grabbed his car key and opened the door of his Ford Explorer. The young wolf had bought the car from the money that came with his first professional kickbox contract. It sounded like a sound investment at the time. A reliable set of wheels was needed because he needed to drive across most of the country for his fights. However that was when he was still living with his parents. Since his father wasn’t too keen on Finn going to look for his brother, his trip to Ember Grove seemed to be a one way trip. For a moment Finn second guessed his decision. However his mind was soon focussed on the present again. Nice to meet you Boris. Hop in and point me the way to the camp. You’re living there as well, right?”

Finn sat down at the driver's seat and put the key in the contact. For a moment he thought about what Boris said about vampires. It was a strange story, the woods are generally not the place you would expect to run into vampires. However the young wolf did hear the howls and boris was covered in blood but not wounded. Maybe Finn was too trusting for his own good to this stranger, however for now he was the only lead on other wolves he had in this town. Not to mention that the old guy talked about two Alpha’s. The prospect of asking around in two packs for his brother was far too good to pass up. Not to mention that the young wolf was confident in his own capabilities.

Realizing that he had been asking a lot of questions without telling much about himself Finn continued to speak. “I heard the call as well, that is why I kind of drove this way into the woods. I’m not from around here and just arrived in this town. I’m looking for my brother who moved to Ember Grove about a year ago. Maybe he’s part of your pack or someone in your pack knows him.” For a moment the young wolf stared at the steering wheel of his car as he realized that he had put himself on a wild goose chase without any plan or second thought. Just thinking about his brother and what might have happened made Finn impulsive.

Boris started fidgeting with a rock between his toes, and raised his arm up to scratch the back of his head. “I can't,” he said. The thought of going inside the vehicle made him feel very uneasy - just getting close to one brings back memories of being caged up in transport vehicles. Furthermore, he didn’t know if to trust this werewolf who was very keen on entering his pack’s territory. Liam would not approve of it… But at the same time, they do seek out wolves without a pack, and this one could very much be it. He groaned. He very much hated having to think about what would be the responsible thing to do. He leaned against the car and lowered his head to see Finn who was already inside, and made eye contact with him for the first time. “Do you have a pack?”

Boris’s question took Finn by surprise. The man hadn’t spoken much, let alone inquire about the situation. The man’s question forced the young wolf to think about his situation. He left the house against his father’s wishes and those who leave the pack's territory without permission are not really allowed to return. Not really, i think. I left the territory of my pack to search for my brother against the orders of my father. He’s the kind of man that doesn’t allow you to return. So I guess i’m a stray now”

For a moment Boris just looked at him intensely, as if trying to read his mind. Finally he sighed and just pointed toward the road. “Just go s..s..straight.” He stuttered. Paused for a moment to recollect himself before continuing. “When you get to the general campsite place… you’ll be able to s..smell them. Follow the s..smell.” Liam is either going to be happy, or annoyed, he thought. Boris then backed away from the car. “Thanks for the offer, by the way.” At the thought of another stray being helped the way he was when he got here, he shot Finn a genuine smile.

Finn noticed the intense stare that Boris gave him. As if he had a hard time to make up his mind. A stranger asking where to find his pack might come off a little suspicious. Some alpha’s tend to be rather territorial. A trait the young wolf recognized in his father. If Boris’s alpha was anything like his father Boris might feel reserved about disclosing the location of his pack. None the less the man gave Finn some directions, something the young man was very grateful for. ”Thanks a lot Boris. It’s cool that you’re helping me out. I hope I won’t cause you any trouble”

As Boris backed away from the car Finn realized they still hadn’t solved one problem. The big man was still walking around in his bloody shirt and on his way to town. It was clear that the wolf didn’t want a ride. Maybe he suffered from car sickness or something. However Boris had helped him out by telling where Finn could find the pack so the young wolf felt that he should do something in return. The young wolf quickly pulled off his gray t-shirt with his gym’s logo (Wolfe Gym N.Y.C) on the front and handed it to Boris Here, it’s probably not your size but bit will draw less looks then walking around in a bloody shirt. Don’t worry about me, if I get any questions I’ll just tell them that I met some chick at a college party and had to run when her boyfriend entered the room.” Finn paused a bit before speaking once more. ”You’ve helped me out a lot, thanks for that. See ya around!”.

The young wolf closed the door of his car and drove back to Alexi’s. He’d get some weird looks when he entered through the front door of the bar and some drunk elderly lady whistled to him before making some remarks that he could be her toyboy. Finn politely declined the ladies offer and went straight to his room. Once more he looked on his phone to see if he had received any text or call from his brother Mike but nothing. With some quick finger sliding Finn set his alarm. Only 4 hours of sleep and then he should start his morning training routine.

Time: Morning
Location: Leblanc house---> Jogging
Interaction: N/A
Mention: @jetipster Felix @princess Violet @baraquiel Monica
Vibes: ”I look inside me and I see my heart is black…”

---

The rest of the night went well in Rose’s book, no one else seemed to bother them and it seemed that Violet had made a new friend. She was friendly towards Monica, but for the most part she remained quiet unless someone asked her a question. She’d given Vi her story, but she knew that she’d have to explain more later. This was fine as it would give her time to decide on how much to tell her. That would be a concern for later, for now she’d make sure her family had as good of a time as they could for the rest of the night. They made it home safely and Rose had immediately closed herself in her room just in case Violet decided to corner her then. Thankfully she didn’t and she went to bed, but not before taking the hair out of her pocket and placing it in an empty makeup bag that she hid in the back of her closet just in case. She’d hold onto it until she needed it.

---

Rose had awoken rather early in the morning, but she remained in her room as she didn’t quite want to alert people to her being awake. She pulled Monty out for a bit, kissing her familiar’s head before letting him roam for a bit. She then rummaged through her things she’d brought back from Paris until she found a notebook that had been hidden away. She hadn’t looked at this think since they’d been in Paris and the sight of it brought back a lot of dark memories. She slowly moved back to her bed, sat on it, and let out a shaky breath as she cracked it open. Inside were the coded recipes for the different forbidden spells she’d learned. She began reading them over again, refreshing her memory on things and wondering if she’d be able to invent some of her own spells by combining some things she knew. It would definitely be something she’d experiment with, especially if she thought it would help her protect her family and herself from manipulative, dangerous people.

It was her father’s voice calling people down for breakfast that pulled her out of her own mind. She looked to her door, debating on whether or not she should go down yet. She was hungry and she could smell the pancakes, but did she want to be confronted by her family quite yet? She finally decided to start getting ready for the day, wanting to go for a run in order to clear her mind. She still felt that blackness staining her soul and she needed to decide if she wanted to embrace it or shove it back down once more. Getting some fresh air would hopefully help with that.

It took Rose a good while, but she heard someone leave and decided it was time to come downstairs. She put Monty back, promising she’d come back for him later before heading downstairs. She saw her dad in the kitchen, now cleaning the utensils he’d used to make breakfast. He looked up and gave her a happy smile. ”Finally decided to join the land of the living I see.” He pointed towards the pancakes. ”Better eat those soon otherwise they’re gonna be cold.” He went back to his washing as Rose went to grab some food. She didn’t grab much, not wanting a full stomach before going for a run.

”Thanks Dad.” She began eating rather swiftly, ready to be out of the house. ”Who left this morning?” She asked between bites, willing to bet it was Violet since she seemed to always be the one to get up first.

”It was your sister, she went to the store to get some things. She’s gonna go apply for a job at that bakery and bring something she’s made to show off her skills.” Seth explained as he dried the dishes now and put them away.

”That would be a good fit for her.” She nodded as she finished off her food. She moved to the sink and washed her plate herself before turning back to her dad. ”Well I think I’m going to go out for a run for a bit and maybe get some coffee. If Vi asks would you let her know that’s what I’m doing, but I’ll have my phone?” Her father nodded in confirmation. She thanked Seth before heading out the door. She took a deep breath of the crisp air before putting her headphones in her ears and pressing play on her music. She threw up her hood and soon enough she was off, jogging down the street.

---

The Children of the Black Moon died alongside Rachel Bromberg, and were resurrected as the Disciples of the Dark Pact. Lucius had gathered the members of the Black Moon and announced the murder of Rachel by an insidious vampire. Their minds already twisted from the dark spells he had been having them practice, it was child's play to manipulate them into his command. Their grief and fury were forged into a steeled resolved, shaped by his hands alone. No longer was it enough to simply catalog and explore the nature of the dark arts, the Disciples would use the forbidden knowledge they have accumulated to push for their dominance over the lives of humans, vampires, and werewolves alike. Of course, they would be bidding their time. The more they delved into the dark rituals Lucius had provided them, the more they would fall into corruption and hate. They had no idea of course the exact repercussions of the path Lucius was sending them down. For Le Coven Éclairé, they were an obstacle that would need to be navigated carefully. Their strict regulations regarding dark magic would put them at odds with his new coven of dark mages. Ideally, they could persuaded to join the Disciples crusade for witch superiority. That outcome seemed incredibly unlikely.

These thoughts and many others coursed through his mind as he walked down the sidewalk. A bit more distracted than usual, he almost didn't notice the young woman with the snow white familiar walking towards him. This one was bold indeed "Excuse me miss." He began "I couldn't help but notice the adorable ferret you have. I used to have one just like it. There's just something magical about having one as a pet." His keen eyes never failed him. It was likely she was a witch but she was not a part of his coven, that much was for certain. That was enough to make him curious about the witch's identity. The longer he had a change to examine her, the more he slowly began to grow disgusted with her soft appearance. Little did he know the witch who had spotted in the cafe yesterday was tied to this one as well.

What would be required to force her towards the dark arts? Did she have any family? They were always great motivators he found. People would do anything for the people they love, even falling into the deeps depths of which there is no escape. That made him feel just the slightest nostalgic of when times were much simpler. Would she catch on that he knew of her little secret? He began to wonder what kind of disguise he could employ to gain access to her coven, if she was even a part of one. Rot them from the inside out. That first involved getting what information he could gain from her, and then finding an appropriate subject to copy.

Gwendolyn Dexter Barrett

Time: Day
Location: Ember Grove Embassy/Ember Grove Streets/DNA's Dinner
Interactions: @Ithradine Augustus Saul

The office of the Ember Grove’s branch of the Sinclaire Foundation gave no indication to its true nature. Officially, the office was owned by one of the numerous fronts operated by the foundation. This was one specifically owned by their personal practice of lawyers. The total amount of actual vampires that worked at the building was six, with a number of human thralls working under various criminal names. Augustus Saul, the local boss, gave all his orders from here and hardly ever left the place. If he were to ever meet you in the street, chances are you were a dead man.

Saul’s office looked like a modern version of an old noir detective’s office, probably because he once was one. As Gwendolyn entered the room, he was seated in a dark leather chair behind a large, wooden desk “Gwen. How pleasant of you to stop by. I hear you are looking for a job? As always, there was a distinct lack of emotion in his gruff voice. The question was more of a formality than anything. He gestured for her to sit in the chair across from him. It was convenient that she had stopped by, for he did have something in mind that suited her perfectly.

When Gwen had entered the room she was expecting something a bit more grand form her employers, The place smelt of cigarettes, booze and B.O something she was a custom to and actually did not mind. Walking into his office and sitting on the chair across from Saul, she was eyeing him watching his every move carefully. “Yeah i am, i heard you fellas need help with something?” She asked relaxing in her musky chair, Her leg lazily resting on top of her other leg. “So what are the details to the job? I’ve got medical skills if you are looking for a doctor...or a butcher” She just snorted at her little joke.

She wondered sometimes why the Foundation needed her since she was practically a nobody to these people, but she semised that they would be looking for hired help with dealing with hunters, werewolves and humans that are trying to muscle into their business. Not that she cared about the politics of all of it, she was just glad to have a job and a steady cash flow for her drug habits and family.

Saul’s expression did not seem to budge at all at her little joke and simply continued on ”There was recently an...incident involving the Vagus Lupi and the Viet et Mort. You can say what you want about them, but that pack protects their own.” He got up and walked over to a tall filing cabinet and retrieved a manilla folder filled with documents. Saul then sat back down, placing the folder on Gwen’s side of the desk. Inside was a photo and a short summary of the target’s history. Luna Lockheart.

”We are not sure of the circumstances of her escape, but she was recovered by members of the Vagus Lupi. Knowing Liam, it is enough for a declaration of war. Whether or not this will spill over to all vampires in Ember Grove is yet to be seen.” He cleared his throat ”You are to locate Luna Lockheart, gain her trust, and bring her here if possible. The Sinclaire Foundation needs to be proactive in this situation. If you can’t bring her here, then providing enough intel about her current situation will be enough for payment. Any questions?”

Gwen was watching him talking taking in all the information being given to her, it sounded like a search and retrieve mission. She didn’t think she would be good at convincing her to come with her to the Foundation. At best she could build a small bit of trust between the girl and drug her to bring her back, or at the very least tell the Foundation of her location. “And why do you need this girl?” She asked opening up the folder on the desk, looking through the photo’s and the documents inside, “Is there someone who will assist me? Or am I doing this solo?” She then asked placing the folder back on his desk.

She wondered if she was the right person for the job, Usually she would be used for helping out associates of the Foundation with her medical knowledge. And in the back of her mind she wondered what is going on and what she does not know, the thought came to her of playing things smart and seeing if she was playing for the right team if anything big was going to happen.

Saul leaned back in his chair ”Orders from the top. We want to know exactly what Viet et Mort was up to. Depending on the situation, she could be a useful leverage to avoid bloodshed.” He avoided stating who the leverage would be against. Despite its criminal nature, the Sinclaire Foundation tried to operate with everyone’s interests in mind. Vampires. Witches. Humans. And even Werewolves. ”As for a partner….you’ll have Chris Andersfield. He’ll be the muscle if you need it. Chris is currently making a delivery for the mayor, but after that he’ll be at your disposal.” Saul slid a black business card, with a bloody rose on the front, that had Chris’s number on it.

”If there’s nothing else, get started on it. You got four days.” He said coldly. Suddenly, he seemed to have realized something ”Oh. You should know that in four days the boss lady herself will be coming. If you make a good impression, you might be able to do whatever your little heart desires instead of jobs like these….so don’t mess it up. Got it?” The last thing he wanted was for this to end in disaster. That would reflect poorly on him, and Catherine didn’t take failure well.

““You got it boss” She said taking the strange business card shoving it into her pocket, standing up from her chair and giving him a salute before leaving the room. Something did not feel right about this job because she was not sure why they would need this girl. Unless they are planning to use her as some sort of bargaining chip, In that scenario she would not be surprised if that was their intention. Walking into the lobby and fishing out her phone from her dirty pockets. Holding her phone in one hand and the card in the other.

Dialing up the number and holding the receiver to her ear, “Oi my name is Gwen, I just got a job form Sinclair Foundation and i was told by their boss you can help me out, meet me at DNA’s Dinner for more info” She left him a voicemail and walking out of the building. Taking one last look at the building before heading off towards the meeting point.

Time:Morning
Location: Operation Humanity Headquarters
Interactions: @FunnyGuy Sean

---

Angel wanted to go back and kick over Colonel Asshat's desk right into his big head. Maybe she would later. Running around the track was actually helping her ease her anger. Thanks to her efforts, five dangerous, malicious vampires were now dead. Niko did help, but the situation wouldn't have happened without her. That mattered little since he was so stuck on figuring her out. All these years they told her to channel her emotions into avenging her family, then she pursued it and they got mad at her. "What a load of crap." She grumbled under her breath. He could threaten her all he wanted. She'd find another way. Besides, he was kinda right that she was probably getting too popular and the vampires had caught on to her bull at this point. Either way, she would have had to work around this issue.

She was running for a good few minutes when Sean's voice started to echo through the large room. Lucky for him, she had started to blow off a lot of her steam by the time he got there. He started joking around as if she was a track star. It was nice to see him joke around and not be so serious. The whole hair of blood thing was a bit much, but she supposed he had just been hanging around with Niko too much and was catching his cheese. She slowed her running, finding herself grinning at his words. "Yes, yes it is I! Thank you! Don't faint!" Angel dramatically bowed and threw kisses to an imaginary audience. "I love you all! I wouldn't be here without my fans!"

As Angel slowed to a halt in front of him, he continued telling her about how Trotter sent him an email, which she assumed was all about telling him all about how she couldn't go out at night without chaperone or babysitter. Niko probably got it too. She shrugged off her slight embarrassment. "Well... I guueess I could help you if you really need it. I won't make you resort to begging and I'll save your pride."

The poor guy had obviously stayed up all night working on whatever this plan was. He really had to take it easy sometime; he never stopped overachieving. "Yeah, yeah go to sleep, you nut. Take it easy for once in your life. " She paused before he decided to go to sleep and added curiously, "What'd you do to the sugar daddy?" Angel had almost forgotten about him.

---

Monica was introduced to a couple of Violet's friends, Rose and Felix. They were very nice to her, considering that Monica might act a bit creepily because she was always keeping an eye on the ghosts in the Trance. There were no sights of a Fury or a Corrupted though she was slightly concerned when she noticed the growing numbers of Incubi and Succubi. Luckily, the Kindred behind the bartender shouted at the sex spirits and most of them scrammed away. Ghosts will normally allow other ghosts to come near them if they wouldn't become a bother, but Trance seemed to be in the care of that particular Kindred. She smiled and nodded at the yellow spirit and it nodded back in greeting and respect. Other than that, it was a very good night indeed.

---

Despite the soft warm sunlight shining through her windows, Monica still remained in bed and snuggled against her pillows. This was heaven for an indoor-type-of-person like her. It did feel great to meet and make new friends, but nothing could beat the comfort of your own home. All this peace and quiet made her feel sleepy again, and she was about to fall asleep when she noticed something strange.

Monica was living with an energetic ghost as her roommate, then why wasn't she hearing some joyful laughing or off-key singing?

She shifted on her bed to look at her opposite side and opened her eyes to a gruesome sight that will surely make any adult pee their pants, or so Amanda claimed. It was just her looking at Monica with a creepy smile on her face along with her hollowed-out eyes. To others, it will surely seem like it was straight out of a horror movie. For Monica, not so much.

The women stared at each other for a couple of minutes before Amanda's smiled wavered. She exhaled and pouted as she returned her eyes to where they should be. "Dang it, Mo. Why you gotta make it hard for me to scare ya?".

"Mmmmm....". Monica moaned sleepily as she pressed her cheek more against her pillows. Amanda sat up on the bed and started pestering. "Nuh-uh! You can't just sleep again and not tell me what happened last night. How was it? Was it fun? Did ya meet some cute boys? Did ya? Did ya? Did ya?". Amanda kept on repeating while she waved her ghostly hands on Monica's face. While ghosts couldn't physically touch the living, it felt like someone was repeatedly blowing cool air on your face. Amanda kept doing it until Monica was waving her away in annoyance. "Ugh! Fine, I'll tell you. Just knock it off!".

"Yay!". Amanda shouted in triumph as Monica recounted what she saw last night. Monica was afraid she sounded boring but Amanda was a great audience and she kept on eagerly listening to Monica's story.

As the two women bonded together, life and un-life still continued on the outside of their cozy apartment. However, there was one spirit, in particular, that was different among the rest. It was wearing a black gown and had a black veil that covered its face. It looked up at Monica's apartment window and stood there for a few moments before it bowed her head, turned around, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Time: Morning
Location: Streets of Ember Grove
Interactions: @Ithradine Lucius @jetipster Felix

---

Violet glanced down every so often to see if Chéri was peeking her head out a little too much. For a while, it seemed like she was being a good girl and keeping herself hidden, so Violet's attention was taken to what was in front of her. There was a dark-haired man with a beard walking toward her. He looked wise beyond his years and very curious in Ember Grove. Violet wasn't sure if she stayed in too much to notice all the newcomers in town or if maybe they had been here all along and she just never met them yet. She did not notice the ferret completely peek her head out of the purse to nibble on the floral ribbon tied around the handle, just to sample the taste, of course.

She offered a friendly smile when they crossed paths but he paused to speak to her. Politely, she turned to face him and listened. It started off mostly innocent as he complimented her ferret, though she was displeased he had seen it. It got worse when he brought the word 'magical.' The odds of that being just a coincidence were very low. Felix had mentioned the warlock he had seen had seemed old, and this was definitely an older gentleman. It was quite possible that this was the same man. This was better news than him possibly being a hunter but still called for caution all the same.

"Oh, she's just darling," Violet told him, her tone friendly. She was doing her best to keep her thoughts from her expression, though she was sure her eyes had given away a bit of her surprise when he had first mentioned magic to her. "The love a pet can give you is so rewarding." She tilted her umbrella and held it up higher so that it would cover his head as well as they spoke, "I haven't seen you before, sir. Are you new in town?" As she spoke, she attempted to gradually use telekinesis to select Felix on her phone and text him. Chéri was sitting on it, blocking the light, which was from the phone being activated, from being visible from outside the bag. It was difficult since she could not see for sure what letter she was pressing, but she had done this before enough to achieve a close result.

"I doun tht wsrlpck."

Time: Morning
Location: Operation Humanity Headquarters
Interaction with: @princess Angel

---

Sean had been grateful to Angel for playing along with his jest. He was sure Angel wasn't in the best of moods but knew she was a bit of a sucker for cheesy jokes at times. That or she was just on the verge of snapping from the amount of exposure she had from them thanks to Nikolaus. Sean was much too tired to have the latter in mind.

"Save my pride?' Sean chuckled as he looked at Angel with an eyebrow raised. "Right now, I'm staring at a grown woman who is… grounded and is currently running laps like a high school athlete that was late to practice. If anything, I should be lending you some my pride." Sean had definitely chosen the right bait for tonight. Angel was the cockiest hunter on base and she wasn't afraid of a damned thing as far as he could tell. "Anyway, about the old man. I took him into holding to be questioned or whatever they do to people like him…" Sean paused for a moment as if to elude to Operation Humanity's darker activities. "He didn't have much info except for what we already knew and he wouldn't give up additional info on the vamp he was with. The only thing of worth is his high pain tolerance to silver, so I guess they'll keep him for 'further studies.'"

Sean made air quotes with his fingers and shrugged. He didn't agree with all that Operation Humanity did, but the organization took the fight to supernatural like someone emptying a whole clip into their most hated enemy. There was little mercy for the opposition, but also a lack of compassion for those who worked for them. It was something most hunters didn't need in order to go out and do what was needed. Every hunter had a deep-rooted motivation for going after the monsters of the night. Compassion could shut the fuck up and go home as far as most cared.

"What did you and Niko end up getting into?" Sean had a more serious look to him at this point. "By the way, he seems more… hmm… more social with you around. That's good for both of you, honestly." Sean said sincerely. He knew both Angel and Nikolaus had difficulties with meaningful relationships between the other hunters. Both their pasts were filled with tragedy, and Sean barely knew the half of it. If he was being honest, he was not much better with socializing with other hunters either, but a lot of people didn't even know what Nikolaus' voice sounded like or there were those who were too intimidated by Angel's presence to even think of approaching her. When those two are together, sure they bickered, but they get some real good quality personal interaction. Mr. and Mrs. Frankenstein… Mr. And Mrs. Frankenstein? God, I'm tired.

Time: Late Morning
Location: Holiday Inn to Ember Grove Mall to Alexei's
Interaction with:

---

Damien awoke from his slumber with wide glowing yellow eyes. He already felt the excitement of today's potential prospects rush over him. Yesterday had been so eventful, that it lterally bled into the current day.

After about fifteen minutes, Damien was dressed casually in a long sleeved t-shirt, blue jeans, and a pair of blue and white Chuck Taylors. He snorted a bump of cocaine in the hotel bathroom, so despite his lack of sleep, he was wired. As he stepped out from the hotel entrance, he noticed the rainfall which caused him to frown at the sky above. It was light, but would prove to be annoying with enough time. To the mall again I guess.

Damien marched his way across the street to the mall to purchase an umbrella. He bought a cheap plain black umbrella and was out of the mall in minutes, now headed towards his true destination. Lucy was nowhere to be seen, but Damien was sure his familiar was keeping busy. Or she's keeping out of the rain… prima donna. I guess I'll have to see how Alexei's is holding up and if I can make contact with a member of the Children of the Black Moon. Xavier won't allow me to get rid of just Le Coven Éclairé. Like every other town, all witches go… As Damien approached Alexei's, he chuckled lightly to himself as he imagined Kyran's broken body left to be found in the dumpster he dropped him in.

With Alexei's also serving as an inn, it was open to serve patrons, and they served alcohol as early as 10 a.m.

"Shot of tequila. I love a good punch in the face to start things out." Damien winked at the bartender while saying the same thing he had told Kyran when he was in her place.

"Well okay!" The bartender tried to play excited, but was really judging him and his almost creepy approach. She'd keep up her smile… at least so she could get a decent tip from him.

"Hey um… I was actually looking for two of my friends that work here. Rose and Ky? Don't tell me they only work nights… I figured I'd see one of them here. Damien shrugged with a friendly smile. Because I murdered the other one!

Time: Night
Location: Viet-Et-Mort
Interaction: @Potter - Desiree

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“The human farm won’t work forever, Desiree. You will push them into desperation eventually. You need to plan an organized attack at some point.”Marceau told her in regards to her first statement. We’ll figure out where this werewolf is. I do not think she will go to hunters because they would rather kill her than provide her a place. She is probably amongst her kind.”

Marceau wondered why she always insisted on wasting time with her experimentation instead of focusing on what really mattered, but he knew there was no getting through to her when it came to that matter. “Yes. I will try to also identify the red-haired girl and capture. I am sure they have more if they let that one just run where she pleases. Hmm… The security here is flawed and will need work. There will be no more escaping. It is dangerous to this clan. I will inspect the area for the rest of the night and come speak with you again tomorrow.” With that, he ended his speech and was given a glass of blood by the female vampire who he had sent for one. Marceau sipped it slowly and was not disappointed with the quality. Once he finished the drink he set it down and left the room for the night.