---

While she spoke, Ylva watched as the black haired woman prepared her drink. Her hands and experienced movements an indication that she knew very well what she was doing. The ingredients she was putting did make Ylva curious about the taste as well. When she mentioned that the tradition her clan had of slaughtering the meat for the feast right there was 'metal', Ylva couldn't help but laugh a bit.

"You wouldn't believe-me if I told you more about it!" she said, laughing. She wondered how the woman would react if she told her a bit more of what really happened in those feasts.

"Viv. I like how it sounds! I feel we might see each other quite regularly from now on." Ylva said with a chuckle as she watched Viv giving the drink some final touches.

The very moment she finished Ylva's drink and was handing it over to her, a loud crashing noise interrupted both of them, coming from the bar's entrance. The culprits were two men, whom apparently were fighting before literally throwing themselves inside the bar, crashing through the door and landing on the ground.

Ylva watched with an amused expression as the smaller one of the two, the blonde guy, quickly knocked out the big guy with a punch, before grabbing his head and nodding it with it's hands as he said that the big guy would pay for the repairs.

"Oh shit! Someone knows how to throw a punch!" Ylva said, with an amused smile and a laugh as the blonde guy knocked the big one out.

"Hah! Indeed a good finding. If things like this are common here, I'm probably going to love this place!" she said as she looked to Viv, laughing. While it wasn't exactly her intention, her laugh probably helped to disperse the silence and the strange atmosphere that took over the bar after the loud crashing noise.

"By the way, this is fantastic, Viv!" Ylva said as she gave a sip on the drink Vivian had prepared for her earlier.

The moment Vivian asked for the blonde man's ID and contact information though, Ylva who was distracted before finally picked up a rather... peculiar smell coming from the blonde man. She already knew that there were other werewolves in the town so she knew that sooner or later she would meet with another one, but she wasn't expecting to meet one there. Ylva who was laughing and cheerful before immediately went silent, looking to the blonde man with a piercing stare. After a brief moment, Ylva took another sip from her drink, seemingly returning to her usual self, although it would be clear for the blonde man that she was still watching every movement he made.

"Just out of curiosity... How many times you guys have to fix the front door per year?" Ylva asked Viv, taking another big sip from her drink.

Location: Alexei’s
Time: 5pm
Interacting with: @13orgYlva @Pink KhioneVivian
Mention: @taeSorrel @IthradineVolvango

Finn sat on the floor between the broken glass and other remnants of the door as the female bartender approached him. As he looked around the place he could see the other patrons stare at the scene in a combination of shock and amusement. Somehow he had managed to get all eyes on him again. Especially a large and rough looking female showed a rather peculiar interest in him with her piercing stare. However the young wolf had to finish up some business first.

His eyes followed the movements of the bartender’s hand as she pulled out a notebook and a pen. “Contact information and ID? And here I thought you were about to take my order Joked Finn with a friendly smile. However deep down inside he knew that would be rather problematic. He had lost all his stuff the other night at the art expo, not to mention that he had no clue about how Sorrel would react if she found out that he had beaten some random guy up. Finn doubted that she would be happy about that.

“Well uhm, about that. I kind of lost my wallet and cellphone last night at the art expo. During...what did they call it again? O yeah, the terrorist attack. Lost it during the terrorist attack.” The young wolf thought about the situation for a bit. He was sure that the girl in front of him would not let him get off the hook without dropping any form of contact information or showing an ID. Not to mention that he had to get money from someplace and the 10 bucks Sorrel gave him would be nowhere near the expenses of getting the door fixed.

Then suddenly Finn got an idea. Volvango was some famous movie star or model or something like that. He sure would have enough money to get the door fixed. Just smile a few times cute at him and he would probably keep his mouth shut about what happened. Sounded like a perfect plan in his head.

“So, I don’t have a cellphone nor ID at the moment but you can call this guy that knows me. His name is Volvango and he knows where to find me.” Spoke Finn as he told Vivian Volvango’s cell phone number. ” Just tell him you’re looking for Finn.O and I would love to get a coke”

As the young wolf wrapped up the business side of breaking the door he noticed that the big lady at the bar was still intensely staring at him. Finn had no clue why she seemed to have such an interest in him. There was only one way to find out. As Finn brushed of the last shards of glass he approached the girl sipping her drink at the bar. “I didn’t just beat up your boyfriend, did I?”

Millie looked up and smiled wide when her old friend from earlier appeared yet again. "Not at all!" She scooted over to give him even extra room. She heard him speak a spell, not even moving to conceal it from her much this time. "Well, I just had a feeling you might be one of us. Did you move into a coven in town or are you unaffiliated?" She inquired. Millie hoped Maeve hadn't sent him after her. She wasn't so sure she could go back to them. Surely they'd be able to tell she had been dabbling in darker magics and their rules wouldn't excuse the circumstance.



Angel was surprised when Sean voiced he'd be taking her on a hunt. They had clearly not gotten along much today, so the news was almost funny. He ended up irking her when he downplayed Remy's absence, but she supposed he barely knew Remy and had no reason to care. She did not have a reason to convince him to or fight with him over it, so she let it go. "This is news to me. When is this going down?"

Trotter's parting words against Nikolaus were harsh, but he had always been harder on the two of them and especially Niko. He was probably as used to him as she was. Angel sighed and hopped up to shut the door when Niko had gestured to do so. She leaned against the nearby wall as he started telling them his news. "Billiards?" Angel repeated in disbelief but didn't add anything until he was done talking. The crazed vampire, who caged families and harvested their blood, decided to play some pool in the middle of the day. That story did not add up to her; he had to be up to something bad. The way Nikolaus then referred to the girl Alexander was dallying with as this human made her feel like he did not see himself as one of them. Angel frowned but she had considered it a lot over time. Whatever had been done to change them, had it made them less human?

When he was done with his story, the constant beeping of the heart monitor became more noticeable. She glanced toward it, wondering why he was still nervous. "Do you want us to unplug that?" Angel asked and then nodded to his question."Yeah I'm good. You're the one we should be asking."She replied. She studied his face a moment, deciding to fish for more information. "So. You're usually well-behaved. You go out today, run into Drake, and get ambushed immediately. What did you do to piss him off or was it because you told Drake he has stupid hair? Heard he's sensitive about that." It was probably all of course due to being the son of Trotter that Nikolaus had gotten ambushed. Angel once in a while had gotten ambushed at night since she was pretty good at getting vampires vengeful, but she had yet to directly anger Drake himself, which was her ultimate goal.

---

Charlotte didn't seem to snap awake as her very apartment was broken into, though as Ash tugged on her blanket the sleepy witch was roused from her unintentional slumber bit by bit. Whilst tightly wrapped up in her cocoon of comfort, however, she reached a hand up and rubbed her eyes before looking at the source of the tugging. Without skipping a beat she reached over to try to pat the dog on the head before sitting up on the edge of the couch and letting out a casual yawn. It seemed she either hadn't registered what was going on, or perhaps she thought she was still dreaming? Either way, however, as Charlotte looked about herself and back towards the door her gaze paused heavily on Dante standing there...with a gun...and her door wide open.

Oh.

OH!

OH!!!

"What the hell is going on?! Why are you in my apartment??? Cops, somebody, police!" the suddenly very startled girl exclaimed rather aloud, reeling back as the tugging of the dog pulled her back a bit too much and caused the blanket-clad witch to fall back onto the carpeted floor with a light 'thud', "Oww..."

'Called it. Someone came looking, and the dolt didn't put up any kind of defensive barrier...not even something for werewolves. Just passed out on the couch. But SOMEONE had to keep her busy with pleasant dreams.'

'...In mine defense, eet vas helping her rest more easily.'

'And where did just letting her sleep idly by get us? Unprepared and caught with our pants down.'

'...Did'st thou change thine accent once more?

Regardless, this argument was only prior valid, thus thine discussion beest wholly unnecessary in this particular predicament. Mayest I direct our attentions to the intruder so brazenly in the room?'

'THERE IS SOMEONE WITH A GUN HERE GET OFF YOUR ASSES EVERYBODY! You too Charlotte, sweetie, so please don't go and die on us or yourself (same thing really...) right now, ok?'

She had no idea what was going on, but it was something not good. Not maybe if she could untangle herself from the blanket she could make it to the phone at least. Just like any normal person would maybe try if someone was in their apartment. Then again he was also armed and not talking...maybe magic? She couldn't borrow from the others again in this case unless she wanted to be homeless or more pressingly passed out again in sleep the moment after casting.

Telekinesis! That'd do the trick, she just had to toss something at the guy! Freak him out like any 'normie' could be, get him running and declared insane by the cops! Maybe that would work...again. Albeit last time it had happened elsewhere, so it wasn't as if this wouldn't be a new claim for 'some rando' to make to the cops here(hopefully).

---

---

...This area really was getting to be more interesting by the hour.

Despite her classy enough attire, a beautiful silken black dress with the accompanying jewelry and long sleeves, the idea to find a nice local bar had come to mind after swiftly wrapping up her time at the park. She'd been there a while already to soothe the need for fresh air, but all the same the sights and sounds and such of human civilization had their own charms that she couldn't stray too far from. Plus she'd tasted enough local brews and hooch to know America at least had some entertaining flavors going on with their alcohol. Albeit she had missed the whole Prohibition-era things going on in the past, so this was the perfect time to see if the alcoholic tradition here was developing any! It had to beat anything super-ancient grain beer had going for it, at least as far as the ancient 'middle east' had ever been concerned.

However, on her approach Valya raised an eyebrow at the scene unfolding just outside of her destination. Primarily that of the broken glass door. Not something she assumed was too out of place, or too old of an incident at least, given the lack of police sirens and cars pulling in right now. Either way it spoke to this place having some 'character', and was enough to interest her a bit more than she already was. She'd picked this place at random anyways, so this just made it all the better!

The six foot tall woman poked her head through the door, giving a simple wave towards the bar as if the whole scene right inside wasn't that concerning to her at all. In fact, she only at all lightly clicked her tongue, shaking her head as she looked at the unconscious man before looking back up with a generally pleasant expression on her face.

"Is the bar still open? Heard it has some good local drinks...though it seems I missed some of the fun already. Booh."

Ylva seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the commotion, and it wasn’t surprising given the merry tales she just told Vivian about her tribe’s festivities. This incident might even pale in comparison to Ylva’s definition of a ‘party’.

“Yup,” Vivian stated with a defeated tone. “Brawls happen every now and then but there seems to be more than usual today.” Vivian shot the blonde kid a piercing stare before looking back towards Ylva with a smile. “Glad you like the drink though! This is the first time someone has actually razed down the door since I’ve started working here but we get broken glasses pretty often.”

Now how should I deal with you? The kid, who called himself Finn, conveniently lost his information in the terrorist attack at the art exhibition. Vivian found it hard to trust his words, it sounded more like a convenient excuse to get out of paying the damages for the door. Regardless of the truth, he at the very least recited a phone number to contact and Vivian quickly wrote it down.

“I better not get someone asking me for my pizza order on the other end of this line,” Vivian chuckled, “You can get a coke once this number goes through.” Vivian ripped out the piece of paper from her notepad and waved it before stepping behind the bar. where the telephone was located. Other staff began to sweep up the shards of glass and other debris from the wreckage, though most of the servers returned to work when they noticed that the mess was being taken care of.

As Vivian dialed the number into the keypad, a gorgeous, tall lady stepped into the establishment. She seemed to naturally radiate an aura of class and luxury, and Vivian found it difficult not to have her attention stolen away for a moment by her intriguing presence. When the woman spoke, Vivian snapped out of her brief daze.

“We’re still open,” Vivian replied with a smile, wedging the phone between her ear and her shoulder. It seemed like everyone walking through the doors today was the rowdy type, somehow unfazed, or rather, excited, by the idea of a fight. These types of characters weren’t unfamiliar to Vivian, she’s seen her fair share while working in other cities. “Our door isn’t usually destroyed though, but take a seat anywher-”

A click sounded from the phone, signalling that someone had picked up on the other end. Vivian made a gesture, holding up her index finger as if telling the guest to wait, and urgently pointed at the phone before turning her back towards the patrons. “Yes? Hello? This is Vivian, I’m a bartender at Alexei’s. Your friend, uh, Finn, said to contact you. He broke a door and we need someone to pay for the damages.”

Time: 4 p.m.
Location: Operation Humanity Infirmary
Interaction with: Angel @princess and Nikolaus @Potter

---

Sean had remained silent and watched as Angel shut the door on Nikolaus' cue. He couldn't help but to raise an eyebrow when the guy started to divulge information that he personally felt shouldn't be kept behind closed doors. Keeping secrets from dad was not worth an innocent life.

"If you don't want the girl ending up in the hellhole, why not report this up?! I get it, your dad is an asshole, but you're behaving like a…" Sean stopped himself as he knew scolding Nikolaus wouldn't really help things. He took a quick heavy breath within his pause before continuing with a bit more tact. "Sorry. Just report shit like that next time. It doesn't help anyone to keep information on Drake hush-hush. A whole ambush team was massacred today because Drake got the drop on them… Sean paused yet again, but played it off as if he was finished with the subject. He had just realized something.

Drake got the drop on them... After he came into contact with you! Someone he would have killed on site, bar or not… Sean wouldn't jump on a suspicion, but if it proved to be true, he wouldn't hesitate to put a permanent end to the beeping of the annoying heart monitor.

Good thing there was someone else in the room to take all of Nikolaus' attention. Angel was doing a lot of the talking, and in doing so, she also posed a valid point that only furthered Sean's suspicion. Was the grown man simply being rebellious and acting out or was there something sinister behind his actions?

"I don't think our friend would be alive if he pissed Drake off." Sean joked darkly, yet he was covertly casting his suspicion. "Glad you're still breathing, but it sucks you'll miss out on tonight's search for a particular individual." Sean looked to Angel with a nod. "I think you'll like the details when I tell you in the truck." Was Sean a hypocrite for not sharing details..? Possibly.

But maybe it was because Nikolaus was possibly a mole for the devil, Alexander Drake.

---

Ylva chuckled when she heard Vivian saying that brawls were a common occurrence on Alexei's, which was definitely a positive point to the place on Ylva's book, which should be obvious for Vivian by now. When she mentioned that despite the occasional brawls, it was the first time someone had actually done such a mess and actually ruined the front door.

"At least it gave me quite an unique first impression! Not a bad one too!" she said, laughing heartily as she gave a glance to the big guy, still unconscious and the blonde one.

"Regarding the drink, I liked it. A refreshing new take on an old, old classic. I would love to see what you can make with a good mead the next time I come here too." she said with a smile to Vivian.

As Vivian turned her attention towards the blonde haired kid, whom had introduced himself as Finn, so did Ylva, looking towards the scene in front of her with an amused smile. Despite the situation he encountered himself in, Finn still had a lighthearted behavior, making even a joke as Vivian asked for his contact and ID. When Finn mentioned that he had lost some of his belongings on the small 'incident' that happened last night, Ylva couldn't help but let out a chuckle, raising an eyebrow as she looked at him. Thankfully for Vivian, despite that fact, the boy didn't seem want to cause any more problems as he gave her contact information of a friend to solve that accident.

When Finn noticed that Ylva was staring at him though, he asked if he had beaten her boyfriend, which caused her to laugh before looking at him again. Surprised that he didn't get why she was staring at him yet.

"That sorry thing over there? No way." she said, ridiculing the still unconscious man before giving another sip on her drink. Judging by her arms and her stature though, it seemed quite obvious that he would do the same even if he was not unconscious.

Surprised that the boy didn't get why she was staring at him, Ylva gently tapped her own nose twice. An incredibly obvious hint. If he still haven't noticed what she was due to her smell even being that close, either he was still young or inexperienced. Either way, a clear indication that he wouldn't be a threat and highly unlikely that he was going to be hostile towards her.

"Don't worry, Viv. I'll be sure this rascal won't run away while you're calling his friend." she said, with a chuckle as Vivian took the contact information Finn gave her and entered the bar to call his friend.

The very moment Vivian started to dial the number Finn gave her though, an elegant woman who looked like one of those rich types entered the bar. Interestingly enough, she was almost as tall as Ylva herself, which wasn't something that common. Getting closer to the bar, the woman shook her head as she look to the unconscious man before making a small joke about missing some of the fun.

"Seems like you're on the right place. Good drinks and regular brawls." Ylva said with a chuckle, greeting the long haired woman with a nod and raising her drink.

Just as the long haired woman got closer to them, Ylva had a similar reaction to when Finn approached the bar the first time, stopping and staring at the woman for a few moments before turning back to her drink.

"It's also the only place that seems to sell Akevitt around here, so that speaks a lot about the variety of drinks they have." Ylva said to the woman.

"What a coincidence..." she said with a smirk, more to herself than anyone else but not bothering in hiding that from neither Finn nor the woman who had just arrived.

While it was definitely surprising to meet not one, but two others of her own kin in the same bar, in the same evening, she still didn't know if they were part of a pack or lone wanderers just like her. If there was a pack in the town though, which wasn't really unlikely, especially after meeting two others in such a short span of time, Ylva would have to see if they would be hostile towards her or not. Even though she was confident on her own strength and speed, she wouldn't be able to do much against an entire pack other than flee if they somehow turned out to be hostile against her. For that, despite her pride as an Asulf, she would have to thread carefully when interacting with other werewolves in the city.

---

...Wait, the guy broke into her house and was arresting her?! Sure the whole recording on a phone was convenient, but why didn't he just say it in the first place? Wait, could he even talk? She had no idea, but she began to feel a bit of ire bubbling up at the fact her telekinesis idea probably wouldn't work on some actual warlock. But who was the Circle? That wasn't enough of a name, as the term 'Circle' was (she supposed) not too uncommon among covens perhaps. Yet she hadn't read up on any covens in the area, though admittedly her mother had just sent an email about it yesterday. Plus there was the whole-...wait, OH NO!!!

'Well, zee' girl is not resisting at least. Though to hear of zee circle again eez bringing back memories! Not all zee best, not all zee worst, but memories nonetheless!'

'THAT HARLOT MAEVE'S FILTHY ILK! I SHOULD'ST HAVE ENDED HER RIGHTLY THOSE CENTURIES AGO!!! LET ME AT THIS FOUL KNAVE AND SHOW HER PEOPLE WHAT FOR-'

'Don't scream you idiot, or frankly get us in even more trouble by trying to fight. Idiot didn't put up defenses or anything, just let herself sit there and be salted like...eh, some kind of preserved meat?'

'I am not some slab of magical slab of jerky! Besides, if he was just some intruder I could have handled it! But apparently this guy is a warlock! Besides, who's this 'Maeve', and any advice on how to get out of this?'

'Just go along with it for now sweetie, you're already basically captured at this point. Don't listen to the shouting, however, because SOMEONE decided to fight the Circle some hundreds of years ago after they got dumped-'

'CEASE THINE ILL-SPEAKING OF MINE LIFE CHOICES THIS VERY INSTANT!'

Well, that was one way to ruin her stay here so far. Arrested by the local coven for turning her attacker into red paste and char on the cement and nearby walls. Curse the magical legal system! She had a right to protect herself! Viva la Revolution-!

"Pfphbt!!!"

She made a noise as part of a handful of salt hit her mouth in some part, before the witch went about trying to spit out the offending amount of sodium chloride with a light frustration. However, even she had to admit she was fitting feeling like a 'salty blanket burrito' right now for sure.

"Wait, are you trying to turn me into human jerky for transport, or is this some cool magic-dampening ritual for criminals? I mean, either way you just had to put on the message on or ask and I'd come along anyways. At least instead of knocking me off the couch and getting salt in the carpet.

...Can I pet your dog along the way at least though? Or grab a cup of hot coco for the road? Both?"

As she spoke, Charlotte did her best to sit up on the ground again with her blanket. A hand came up to brush some salt off of her face, before rubbing her eyes a bit to wake herself back up a bit more. As much as she'd flopped around like an idiot, which was embarrassing enough for a witch of her family and especially for many of the past lives in her head as it was, she also wasn't a total idiot. Just surprised and tired and trying to calm down from a potential near-death experience and the fear of being arrested by the...local...coven...ok so maybe being a bit sleepy and still coming-to had helped in her not freaking out as much to that realization.

Either way, she wasn't resisting being escorted along. That would just make things worse. Albeit one of her past lives seemed to have a bit of audible frustration towards this "Circle of Ancients". She could ask about that later, however, though she'd need to sober up some more along the way. A cup of travel coco and/or petting a cute dog if possible would help her calm down enough for that perhaps.

---

---

Valya simply gave a light nod to the woman, whom she assumed was the bartender, before walking over to take a seat. The crowd seemed well enough for a local hole in the wall like this, but she didn't mind either way. Besides, a young 'pup' like that breaking down a door and the bartender having to call to get money to repair a door was almost right out of a human movie. Or comedy skit. Either way it was entertaining enough to make her smirk as she glanced at it all once more before taking her seat near the Nordic-blooded woman who seemed a hair taller than her. Seemed friendly enough, raising a drink in invitation at that, though as she got closer Valya paused for a moment...only for her smirk to perk up on either side of her mouth just a bit more before finally letting out a low chuckle.

"Heh, been a while since I last had a glass of Akavit. Of course last time I did was with a good friend in Sweden, right before they got married I believe. Was a wonderful wedding outdoors, though most of us were nursing a hangover admittedly. Even the groom and the priest! Haha!"

A light peal of laughter rang out of the wine-haired woman's mouth, before she settled down once more and let her arms casually cross as she leaned forward on the counter before her. She then looked over to Ylva again, a look of amusement on her face as she regarded the other woman with a curious glint in her eyes.

"I'm always traveling, of course, so safe to say I've had my fair share of coincidences and spirits both. I am far from a local here, however, though with the 'dog eat dog' world out there I've learned that sharing a drink with others is one way to try to make friends in a new area."

She let the phrase 'dog eat dog' draw out slightly, not hiding it as she tried to drop her own hint. It was almost hilarious she'd run into some of her kind at a bar and the scene of a bar fight, both equal parts fitting as well as interesting. Of course there was a lot going on these days to be worried about, so she had to make clear she was a traveler who had come into the area. Less chances of stepping on the toes of locals initially that way, though she'd be going about her business as she pleased regardless. Still, to see someone of a strong stock here was very curious indeed...every so slightly reminiscent of a part of her own life so very very long ago.

Location: Alexei’s
Time: 5pm
Interacting with: @13orgYlva @Pink KhioneVivian
Mention: @Ithradine Volvango @Crusader LordValya

Finn looked as Vivian picked up the phone and rang Volvango. The young wolf seriously hoped that he was willing to cover for him. Better be in debt then forced to do the dishes to cover the expenses. But then again, arranging a new girl for Volvango to chase should be more than enough reward to get even with him.

He turned his attention again towards the laughing woman in front of him. She clearly liked his joke about beating up her boyfriend. “Ooh, I guess i’m lucky then. You look way tougher than Steven Steroid over there. Anyway, I hope for him he’s better with the ladies than at fighting. Otherwise he might die a virgin.”

Finn watched how the girl in front of her tapped her nose twice. The young wolf wasn’t really sure about what she ment with that gesture. “I don’t do cocaine, that just gets me into trouble with the USADA.” Joked Finn as he was still kindo oblivious to what she meant. It was only then that he realized that she might be implying that he should use his nose.

Finn started to smile as he picked up the familiar scent. If he had been paying attention he should have picked it up miles away but as usual his mind was preoccupied with other stuff. Mostly punching some dude and cracking jokes. “I feel so stupid now.” Admitted Finn as he scratched the back of his head. “Anyway, I’m Finn. You’re not from around here, are you? You’ve got a funny accent. I bet you’re from somewhere in Europe. Russia maybe? Germany? Or somet country in between.”

Before Finn could continue to talk he noticed the scent of a different werewolf in the place. It was the well dressed woman who took a seat next to the heavy metal girl. Her appearance peeked Finn’s curiosity. The young wolf could not help to wonder what business such an elegant lady would have in such a shabby place. Was she some kind of local alpha or something? Apparently not, judging from her remarks about always traveling. “So, uhm where are you from?”

---

As the confusing patchwork landscape of shifting scenes and various abstract parts of the overall mindscape sat splayed out there, it was easy to see how much the component parts vastly differed. Some were grand castle estates mansions, lavishly adorned or armed to the teeth or even grown over with vines among other such varying scenes. Others 'deeper' in were simple cottages or homes, huts sitting in the middle of dense and dark forests or amidst clearings or near facades of villages, and some were even homes that would look in-place stuck in crowded ancient cities and town of varying sizes. Some, frankly speaking, even further and further back began to show signs of being simply vast landscapes of nature that played out before Dante's sight. Great rolling steppes covered in sparse grasses, beautiful lakeside vistas untouched by man, and even a glimpse of the Loch Ness so long ago were at least perceptible from where Dante was.

Even so these mindscapes seemed to go farther and farther and deeper and deeper, as if one was going back further and further in time itself. With such in mind, to try to dig to the very 'root' of it all and travel to the oldest parts would be a daunting task to say the very least...if at all possible depending on what resistance if any arose.

Among these, however, the one closest to the surface and sitting most in front of Dante was a simple scene in and of itself. A grand bedroom, with a massive bed topped in fluffy pillows that seemed like a royal queen's bedchamber taken to another level...albeit with modern amenities. Toilet and sink. Widescreen TV. Magic performing setup on one side. A gigantic bed covered in the most silken of sheets and plush pillows. It was here a visage of Charlotte herself could be seen, sitting at the edge of the bed in loose-fitting pajamas and rubbing her eyes sleepily. The visage would then look over at Dante, rather directly so, before her eyes widened.

"W-Wait!!! Why are you suddenly in here?! Oh no, oh no no no. Ah, ok, maybe they knew before I did you were coming in here," Charlotte's visage said, visible panic in her voice and expression as she looked about the overall mindscape and back at Dante again, motioning him over with haste as she scrambled to grab a hoodie to pull on over her pajamas, "I have an idea. Just come over here near me, ok? We can talk here or something, umm, it'll be safer in this part. They'll be coming to you very soon, just don't try anything cra-"

Dante's actions did not seem to go unnoticed. Much the opposite, in fact. All of a sudden, cutting off Charlotte with a great rumble, the mindscape in all of its peculiar and abnormal entirety seemed to invisibly shift, giving a sensation as if an untold amount of pairs of eyes and focuses had just turned upon Dante simultaneously. Like he'd stepped into a stuffed room, and the crowd crammed inside had just all taken notice of him at once and turned their full attention to him at the very center. Except not all the stares were 'positive', nor were they all outright 'hostile'. Yet they all bore down on him, almost exerting a passive but incredible 'pressure' in some manner of speaking.

"Well well well, what do we have here? An intruder into our mindscape?"

Another visage seemed to appear before Dante, albeit not in the same space as Charlotte, floating there and sitting upon a throne of ice in a Russian military uniform. Her pale skin and blue eyes and highly voluptuous/curvy build were something to behold, and she even held what looked like a glass of wine in her hand. Even so, her rather long blue hair was...alien, abnormal to those who weren't familiar with how witches and warlocks could change the color of things. Regardless, she seemed to regard him with an amused smile and yet a jarringly contrasting cold stare akin to the throne she sat upon.

"You have no idea what you have stepped into, young man, nor whom for that matter. But you had no way to know. Charlotte tells us you haven't sought her further harm so far, so I will overlook this display as long as you keep in line."

Despite speaking in a calm and rather disciplined manner, the final line seemed to be delivered with no small amount of venom as it cut through the non-existent air like a hot knife through butter.

"Restrained for zis situation, aren't you?" another voice chimed in, another figure appearing near the first and glancing at the first before looking to Dante with crossed arms, light clearing her throat before speaking again, "Pardon her, she eez...well, a fan of theatrics in times like these. Not often vee get to speak with another like this, az usually intruders have such intents coming into here zat zey never get zee chance."

This one too seemed to don a likewise 'interesting' visage. She stood with a lovely older style coat hung about her shoulders, green eyes and green hair and obtuse haircut standing out on their own as she glanced over the intruding astral projection with a softer gaze. The nature of her attire seemed to be very distinctly 'French', though the obvious aristocratic air about it all was telling of other things in turn. At the same time, however, she seemed much more modest in her dress and manner than the former by a notable amount.

"Please, let's not get too soft on this one. He is still simply an intruder, and if he wishes to speak and converse then he may speak and converse. If not he may leave. If he tries anything, I will take great pleasure in crushing his astral form alongside 'her'. She won't shut up since the whole mention of the 'Circle of Ancients' anyways, so she'd love to take a swing right now."

"WHERE IST'THIS CIRCLE KNAVE WHO DOTH DARE INTRUDE UPON OUR VERY GATES? I'LL HAVE THE CIRCLE'S HEAD ON MY WALLS BEFORE HE DEFILES THIS MINDSCAPE!

...AN' BRING OUT THA' DAMN HOOR TOO SO I CAN FIGHT HER!!!"

"Dear, your heritage eez showing itzelf again at zee end zere. Weren't you purposefully practicing zee English accent too not zound so Irish-"

"AH' DUN' CARE ANYMORE BOUT' EHT! LET MEH' AT ALL O' EM!!!"

As the now three figures talked among each other, the third dropping all pretenses of a more 'proper' accent as she eventually appeared wearing armor and a weighty one-handed blade already unsheathed. She was visibly scarred over one closed and likely lost eye, though her remaining blue eye shone with ferocity as she barked and brandished her blade by her side. She seemed rather tall in height, armor covering up her notably more curvaceous parts to hide them as her remaining musculature shone through. Her fiery red hair was cut to about shoulder length, and some amount of freckles visible on her face.

Her gaze was turned to Dante with a look of incredible hostility and fierceness, as if she wanted to just kill him, though the figure on the ice throne and the green-haired woman both seemed to shoot her a glare in turn. Likewise the warrior woman seemed to then grudgingly restrain herself back and keep the sword at her side...albeit the blade was still held in a furious and barely-restrained death grip. Like a roiling volcano lying underneath what might be an otherwise disciplined frame.

"Dear, hold yourself back please. Some of us had better interactions with the Circle, and we know you do not like them for your own reasons," another and final voice chimed in, causing the green-haired French woman to tilt her head to the side as if she'd been called out specifically.

As the final 'voice' appeared before Dante, he would see a woman with long, flowing blonde hair and a figure akin to that of a goddess. Her form was simply clad in a lengthy, old, Greek-style toga. Her eyes seemed to be like the color of pure gold, a small golden crown adorning her head, though she seemed to hold herself more humbly and calmly. Frankly, she didn't even present an accent as two of the other visages had already. Even so, her hands remained clasped together in front of her as she gave a nod of general acknowledgement to Dante.

"Ah, none of the others will be showing up by the way. However, if things go south I've no doubt they will act."

The toga-wearing woman turned her head to the other visages, including the panicking one of Charlotte, her voice carrying over like the gentle tones of a mother as the others simply gave a brief nod to acknowledge her words in return. Nothing formal, but noting that they had at least heard her.

"Of course they wouldn't show, we are the four that actually keep involved with the girl these days. Though hearing from 'her' today was nothing short of a miracle."

"...Zis eez true, zo many of us haven't heard from her in zo very long a time. It eez a surprise, and yet it eez a mystery."

"She only ever speak when she desires to these days. In my day she spoke with me only ever a few times, and-...ah, let us not get distracted from the matter at hand."

"Ah' agree wit' her fer' once-. Ahem...Mine anger hast not been dulled toward the Circle by the passage of time, but for the girl's sake I shall hold mineself back. Be not at ease though, oh worm, for thine life hangs in the balance most precariously....damn dirty Connacht hoor..."

"Zere is zee accent again!"

"Póg mo thóin!!!"

"Will two stop it for one second and let us get on with this!"

Charlotte's visage seemed to warily walk over to Dante, now donning a comfortable oversized hoodie over her pajama-clad form, giving a nervous small hand wave as she stood before him. Nervous glances back at the other figures were taken, however, before she looked back at Dante with a look of semi-defeat.

"This must be a very strange sight for you, if you've done this sort of thing before I mean...but umm...welcome? Err...you did just trap me in my blanket though, got salt in the carpet, and...ah...ugh...this is going to be hell to explain."

Charlotte sighed in front of Dante, as if unable to formulate any real words to get her message across, whilst the other visages seemed to silently turn their attentions to them. It was more than awkward having her mind invaded like this, though she was far from defenseless. Actually, perhaps among the best defended if anyone tried to make a mess in here. She wouldn't be ungrateful for that, though the pressing situation itself was alarming and unnerving to say the least. So was taking a werewolf trying to kill her and plastering his insides and outsides all over the...well...'outside'. Literally. Very literally. Criminally so, it seemed, based on what had just happened to her and in her apartment.

---

Ylva was still curious about Finn. Since he didn't get she was a werewolf, she was curious if he was young and raised in a town or maybe recently turned instead of being born as one.

"That is good to hear. I would be offended if someone told me I seemed to be weaker than that meathead over there." Ylva said with a chuckle as Finn told her she seemed to be tougher than him.

"Regarding ladies, I don't know about the others but he won't have any luck with me. I don't usually go out with guys that can't throw a good punch themselves." she said with a chuckle.

When Finn told her that he didn't do cocaine when she tapped her nose, further confirming her idea that he either was a city wolf or recently turned, Ylva couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh, amused.

"Neither do I!" she said, still laughing a bit.

Thankfully it seemed like Finn himself was quick to notice what she really meant, feeling embarrassed as he scratched the back of his head. It didn't take much for Finn to notice that Ylva was really amused, finding it genuinely funny when he told her that he didn't do cocaine. It wasn't like she was mocking or being mean to him too, as it was obvious by her tone of voice and expression.

"You're pretty 'young' aren't you? I'm Ylva. From Norway by the way." she said with a half smile as she gave another sip on her drink. Judging by the way how Ylva used the phrase 'young' to describe Finn, she didn't meant his age when she said that.

When the wine haired woman began talking, Ylva turned towards her, paying attention as she mentioned the last time she had Akevitt, which made Ylva somewhat surprised. Normally, not many people knew or were fans of Akevitt. Upon the mention of the marriage of one of her Swedish friend made her laugh, especially when she mentioned the hangover.

"It does sound a lot like a typical Nordic marriage! That brings good memories." Ylva said with a laugh.

While Ylva was a bit wary regarding the woman, judging by her body movements and posture, she didn't seem to want any troubles, which made Ylva visibly more relaxed.

Strangely enough, despite the regal and 'classy' feel the wine haired woman had, she did seem to be exactly the type of person Ylva herself would get along with. The moment she made the small analogy of a 'dog-eating-dog' world to indicate she was one of her kin, Ylva looked to her with a surprised expression and a smile. Strangely enough, the woman herself could easily notice that her surprised expression wasn't due to her knowing she was also a werewolf but due to the expression she used to convey that.

"Hah! That's a good one. Never heard that one before." Ylva said with a chuckle and a small laugh, clearly referring how she used the 'dog-eating-dog' expression to convey what she really was.

"That is indeed a surprise. We have more things in common than I previously thought. Just like our little troublemaker over there said, I'm also far from being a local. I came from Norway, by the way. In case my choice of drink, name and accent didn't make it obvious already." she said with a chuckle, looking to Finn with a teasing grin.

"I'm Ylva Asulf." she said, mentioning her entire name while observing how the woman would react, just to see if she knew her clan or not.

"Cheers to that. My people always had a saying that there is no better way to know someone than a drink or a fistfight!" she said with a hearty laugh.

Time: Evening
Location: Alleyway and then Alexei’s
Interaction with: Vivian

“Brother Elias, has the lost sheep finally returned to the flock?” A voice asked as two men approached, one on each side of him. While the tone sounded friendly Eli knew better than to expect a warm welcome from these two.

“Did you really think you could come back here and we wouldn’t take notice?” The other voice on his right asked, this voice was harsh and honest. It lacked the forced warmth and veneer of beveloance that the other man liked to maintain.

Eli didn’t need to look at either man to know who they were, Levi and Isaac. Two of Father Xavier’s most zealous followers and their appearance was not a good sign for him. Ironic, as there was a time when he considered the two of them to be his closest friends. “Mac sold me out?” He asked, his surprise not well hidden. He tried to keep himself relaxed even as every instinct he had from hunting screamed danger. He took a long drag on his cigarette just on the off chance that it was one of his last but rationally he doubted Xavier would have him killed in the middle of the streets. At least not by those who were among his less expendable.

“No, we’ve been keeping a close eye on you. Father Xavier really hates to lose a member of his congregation. By our accounts, you’ve been in town for a while now and every Sunday we don’t see you we start to ask questions.” Levi said. His friendly tone continued paired with a smile and hollow eyes.

“We can’t help but wonder if you’ve lost your way.” Isaac added, shaking his head in mock disappointment.

“It’s a small town, I think I can find my way just fine.” Eli said before taking another hit from his cigarette. The glib remark slipping out before he had a chance to think better of it. As soon as the words left his mouth he felt the cigarette being snatched from his lips and pressed into the side of his neck. As Levi casually flicked the remnants of the cigarette away Isaac sent a sharp hit to his ribs. “I’m due back at work, they’ll notice if I don’t get back soon.” Eli added, showing little reaction to the pain. Escalating this wouldn’t help, he could run but he had little doubt they’d find him again, it really was a small town.

“Relax, we’re just here to talk. You work at Alexei’s, serving witches now. I gotta say Father Xavier found that bit very disturbing. Makes us all wonder where your loyalties lie. See I think no way Elias, of all people would, betray us to Satan’s minions. But Isaac here, well, he’s not sure. He thinks you must be in there conspiring with witches.” Levi continued with his tiring game of good cultist bad cultist.

“They have no idea who I was, wouldn’t be welcomed there if they did.” Eli’s still wasn’t entirely sure what their endgame was but there wouldn’t be this much talking unless they wanted something. Did they just need some sort of proof he wasn’t actively working against them? They were by their own admission already watching him, he wasn’t sure what else he could offer to prove that.

“Was? There are no former Holy Saviors save for those who have died in our holy crusade.” Eli much preferred the bluntness that came from Isaac. In truth it had been naive to hope that Xavier would just forget about him, and there was no question that if the choice was to return to Holy Saviors or death he’d pick the latter, it was better than living with the things they would ask of him. Maybe that was the reason he came back to Ember Grove, maybe he really did have a death wish.

“Isaac makes a point. You want to miss out on the meetings and chase the bloodsuckers, that's one thing, but we’ll need proof you haven’t forgotten where your loyalties lie. Next time you see us you’ll have names, information we can use, and we’ll be assured we can count on your loyalty. If not we will be happy to show you exactly how retirement works from our crusade.” Levi dropped his act, revealing the cold man that resided beneath it, with a smirk.

“See you soon, Elias.” Isaac added with a rough smack against his shoulder pushing him forward before the two men left.

Eli headed in the other direction towards the one place in town that wanted something simple from him; manual labor in exchange for money. Why couldn’t the rest of Ember Grove just be that simple? Once he was back at Alexei’s he found things there a bit more out of control than usual but nothing unmanageable. The busted door was a new one but a problem that he was much happier to have than current ones that occupied his mind.

“Viv! What happened?” He asked as he spotted his co-worker on the phone with someone. “I’m gone for a minute and the place’s falling apart more than usual.” He added as he grabbed a broom and went to work cleaning up the shattered glass and bits of broken door up. Then he noticed that with Vivian on the phone the only one left working the bar was Jimmy and that kid had once asked him what was in a rum and coke. Eli sent Jimmy to finish cleaning up the door and to take out the trash while he grabbed drink orders hoping that Vivian was in the process of sorting out the door business. While he worked he also helped himself to a couple of shots because today was already a lot and last call was hours away.

Time: Evening
Location: Wandering Ember Grove being the Pet Detective
Interaction with: Alexander Drake @FunnyGuy

Though Noah tried to sleep away what remained of the daylight hours he remained restless. The little sleep he had managed to get remained haunted by the dream vision the rooftop witch had forced upon him. His mind still lingered on the nightmare of being stalked, being caged, being prey, and of coming face to face with the better Noah. The version expected of him, the perfect monster he was meant to be and that some small trace of his human life held him back from. Noah lacked the patience for time to wash away the remnants of humanity, he needed to become better now. Even as he woke and the dreams left the feeling they gave still lingered. He was still failing. He hadn’t found Shay or caught a hint of the witch, and he had gotten nothing useful from the rooftop witch. While the bruising around his eye had healed during his nap the lack of depth perception reminded him of that failure. There would be time enough later to repay the rooftop witch, for now Noah focused his energy on Shay.

He was finding his first plan, tracking and torturing witches until he found a useful one, was going far too slow. He would keep leaving messages around town, not because it was working, but it was fun. Still he needed something more. It occurred to Noah that he had been looking at the problem all wrong, it wasn’t just that Drake needed the witch found, but his master had lost his pet. For once Noah found the human memories to be useful, he too had once lost his pet. When Noah was ten the family cat had run off, and his mother had helped him put missing posters all around town. He remembered several people calling the house about the cat, and eventually it had worked. So Noah made a flyer, he had no pictures of the witch to use so he did his best to jot down what he could remember regarding her appearance. Missing, the flyer read in big bold letters, followed a brief description of the witch, and at the bottom, his cell phone number. He thought about it for a second, then added ‘reward for any information’ followed by some dollar signs.

Noah used the public library to print off hundreds of copies of the flyer. Noah and a handful of other vampires spent hours putting those flyers up everywhere. They were taped or nailed to signs, utility polls, trees, anywhere they could. They plastered them onto the walls of buildings, stuck them in the wiper blades of cars, and shoved them into mailboxes. The downtown area, the airport and bus station, and especially the local campus were completely littered with them. The majority of Ember Grove would see them, if Noah couldn’t find Shay he would at least make it far more difficult to hide. Maybe he would catch her trail from it or maybe it would apply enough pressure that she’d get sloppy. He was sure it would at the very least make his hunt more interesting, and if nothing came of it, at least it was something better to do.

Noah was hard at work putting up his flyers, when a scent that emanated from an alleyway drew him in. It was a fascinating mixture of both things he found foul and sweet; blood and burnt flesh mixing with the scent of horribly musky animal. The inside of the alley contained a stunning work of art, blood and chunks of burnt carcass splattered across all surfaces in a Jackson Pollock-like mess. Noah recognized the animal smell, only one creature smelled that repulsive, and to see what had been made of the werewolf put a grin on Noah’s face. It looked like something had torn the foul beast from the inside out, and the remains of something that reminded him of static that clung to the air made Noah suspect a witch. He felt a slight sense of disappointment to have missed running into the witch; he would’ve liked to watch a werewolf explode. He lingered at the brutal scene among the small crowd that watched as the towns authorities tried to keep them back while they investigated.

Before he continued on Noah used his phone to snap a quick picture of the alleyway. It occurred to him that something like this might be of interest to Drake so he sent his boss a series of text messages. The first read ‘no luck finding shay...yet’ followed by a frown emoji. Then another text, ‘but working on it, found this in an alley’ with a grin emoji and Noah attached the picture he’d taken. And another text that read ‘smells like werewolf, looks like soup’ with a crying laughing emoji. Followed by a final ‘thought that might interest you’ and a thumbs up emoji. Noah slipped the phone back into the pocket of his stolen jacket, his mood brightened by the beautiful scene in the alleyway and continued back on his mission to track down Shay.

Just as she thought someone picked up on the other end of the line, Vivian’s words were followed up by the all too familiar automated message: “The person you’re trying to call is unavailable at this moment…” She tried a couple more times afterwards but to no avail, so she settled on leaving a message explaining the situation. Even if she couldn’t reach the person on the other end of the number, Vivian felt reassured that Finn wouldn’t dash out with Ylva looking over him, and they appeared to be getting along well with their spirited conversation.

Vivian sighed and hooked the phone back into its slot on the landline, just as Elias returned from his seemingly long break. It felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders the second she saw him step through the now-damaged entryway. He returned to his duties with haste, and was already looking through the influx of orders that have been left unattended amidst the debacle. It was slightly disappointing how quickly he went for the orders; Vivian was hoping to dump the bothersome door problem onto him, but her plans were foiled while she was being held up on the phone.

“Oi, I don’t think it’s a great idea for both of us to be inebriated while working,” Vivian chimed with a playful smile, watching Elias down several shots, which she had already done at the start of her shift. “Celebrating something too? Or rough day?”

Returning her attention to Finn, who was in the middle of a conversation with the two other guests, Vivian folded her arms and leaned towards the group over the bar. “No one’s answering, so it looks like we’ll have to wait for a call back, or do it the old school way—how does janitor or dishwasher sound to you?”