@King Cosmos@13org@AWACS@BigPapaBelial@Martian

Amanda was just waiting around. Her eyes a fluttering of light flashes and other such randomness as the whole group got around. Of course she heard about the whole conversation. The group decided to have the night out together, with the only exception being Ulross, who decided to retire for the day. Big guy also made a big impression to her, considering all the firepower he managed to lay down, alongside with Scarlet of course.

"Just a moment, I'm perusing the Frankfurt office's database to find some grub we can eat." Amanda replied to the group. Not moving an inch as her eyes kept fluttering in a small lightshow. In a flick of a switch though, Amanda shook her head, looked at the group, and smiled with a shine of a thousand suns. "Found something, It's an old German restaurant just across the block right over there. It's an employee favourite, it's implied that their beers and meat selection's top quality. So let's go there!! My treat." the android gestured, leading the group towards the restaurant.

The restaurant itself felt... old, like some tavern where traders and adventurers would go in ages past. Signs of modernity are still present, there are computers, people texting each other in their cellphones, and cars parked all across the street where the restaurant lies, but the restaurant itself felt like some old tavern that just got transported into 1995. A real gem by the looks of it. Amanda, herself knowing German, gestured at the waiter. "6 persons please." She ordered in German, and they were promptly placed in two sofas surrounding a table right next to a wall.

Red leather sofas too. Fancy.

"Alright, I'm just gonna sit here and relax while I'll let you order some stuff. The waiter said that their beers, bockwurst and hollandaise asparagus are their top sellers."

---

"Wait, really? By the way Amanda was asking you to go with her, I thought you knew the city like the back of your hand..." Faye said, with a thoughtful expression as Morgana mentioned that not only it was also her first time in Frankfurt, but she also did not speak a word in German.

Unfortunately, Faye was basically in the same situation as Morgana. She didn't know a single word in german and it was her first time coming to Frankfurt. While her sister could certainly help her, she was, most of the times, really busy and Faye didn't want to bother Victoria just to ask her about a good place to eat sweets on Frankfurt.

"Right! It's not really that big of a problem. Just as Morgana said, we can just ask some people about good reccomendations." she said excitedly, smiling to Morgana as she said they could ask inside for a somewhere with a good dessert menu.

---

As the group reunited again after a few minutes to clean themselves and change their clothes, Faye, noticed Micheal as he joined them. The clothes he was wearing now gave him a completely different feeling than the ones she first saw him with. While there was still the signature charm his previous clothes also had, with the feathers addorning his vest and the beaded bands on his hat, the contrast with his previous clothes made him look like a completely different person. Scarlet arrived soon after and quickly showed Faye she wasn't the only one surprised with Michael's new appearance.

"He looks almost like a different person, right?" Faye said with a chuckle, walking up to both Scarlet and Micheal.

"Your friends seem to be very excited too!" Faye said, leaning forward and waving to the gods that accompanied Micheal.

When Scarlet approached her, asking if she was okay, Faye's expression became a bit more serious as she nodded her head. Micheal followed soon after, talking a bit about his own experience, offering support, should she need it.

"I'm a bit better now after Madeleine helped me. Thanks for the support." Faye said with a smile towards Scarlet and Micheal, hugging Micheal and Scarlet back.

"I am... very sensitive to magic due to my Fae blood. But the... thing that is emitted anything that has a connection to the abomination is... different. Dark magic makes me feel uncomfortable but that is worse... Much worse..." she explained as she let go of them, with a serious tone.

"Still, Morgana's hat did help a lot. I might ask her to do something similar to me. To try lessen a bit the impact that energy has on me." she finished with a smile.

"Anyways, enough of this gloomy talk! Amanda has already found us a good place to go and I don't know about you guys, but I am definitely hungry!" Faye said, her usual energy coming back to her.

---

Faye was really amazed by the restaurant as they arrived. It looked just like something straight out of a fantasy book about adventurers and travelers. hopping in front of the group, Faye couldn't help herself but start wondering around the place as Amanda spoke to the staff.

"Look at this! I feel inside a fantasy book! So cool!" she said, amazed as she looked around the place, realizing after a moment that the group was already going for their table.

Much for Faye's surprise, the table they were taken to had two, very comfortable looking, red sofas around it, being one of those fancy tables that were next to the wall. Without hesitation, Faye immediately let her body fall in one of the sofas with a giggle, confirming that they were indeed as comfortable as they seemed to be.

"What is a bockwurst?" Faye asked, sitting upright and leaning forward as she heard Amanda mentioning the restaurant's 'specialties'.

"I don't know what it is, but it sounds funny. I think I'll have one of those." she said, thinking to herself as she relaxed her body into the sofa.

The young half-elf had found himself lost in the chaos of the battle, being quite stunned when the Abomination appeared. But the battle had wrapped up, the forces of the OMR victorious. Avi didn’t say anything as he was loaded into an OMR transport and taken back to the office. Once there, Avi avoided his teammates, still stressed from the events of the day. So he went into one of the side office rooms where he was debriefed by a senior agent. Avi perfectly recounted the events that had just transpired, sure that his statement would be the same as the other agents involved.

Once the debrief was done, Avi left the office room without saying a word. He still felt stressed as he now knew that this assignment was going to be a lot tougher than he had thought before. He contemplated just turning in for the night, and have a fresh start tomorrow. But as he made his way through the halls, Avi found Amanda and the others talking. Apparently they wanted to go visit the town. The android asked if anyone knew a place. While Avi did speak German, he had never been to Frankfurt before and thus was clueless about local establishments. He wasn’t even sure if he wanted to go with them.

Yet somehow Avi found himself following the android as she led the agents to a nearby restaurant she had discovered on the computer. As he walked, Avi thought up a possible excuse to return to the office, not really comfortable in this situation. But in the back of his mind, Avi heard his mother chiding him, telling him to put himself out more. So this phantom of a memory did end convincing Avi to remain with the group.

The rest of the walk was brief with the agents reaching the restaurant in very little time. The restaurant itself looked like it belonged in a small village in the mountains and not the big city. The classic architecture really clashed against the high rises and office buildings behind it, but yet Avi still found it charming. Once they entered, Amanda asked for a table for six in German. Her use of the language was perfect, causing Avi to wonder if she had actually learnt it or that it was simply in her coding.

As the greeter led the group to their table, which was a booth with red leather sofas, Avi turned to her and said in German, “Thank you ma’am.”

As Avi sat down, Amanda mentioned the restaurant’s top sellers. Yet again Avi wondered about her android nature as he thought about whether she could even consume food. He didn’t think it appropriate to ask, so instead he looked down at his menu. The waiter had recommended the beer, to which Avi considered, after all he was off the clock and could partake in an adult beverage. Unfortunately he was not familiar with German brews, having mostly just drunken Canadian beer.

Avi then heard Faye talk about the bockwurst, to which he explained, “Bockwurst is a sausage with ground veal and pork. It’s good, I used to have every year at Oktoberfest back in my hometown. I am actually tempted to get it myself, but I might go with the hunter’s schnitzel.”

Avi felt odd cutting in like that, but that voice in his head telling him to socialize was still strong as he mulled over what to order. While everything looked good, he felt he should possibly be more courageous with his food intake as well.

@Kumbaris @King Cosmos @13org @AWACs @BigPapaBelial

Once Scarlet stepped up to Michael's side, she complimented his rather formal attire and made a joking question about going to a dinner party. She nodded in agreement to Faye's statement regarding Michael looking like a completely different person. The homunculus raised an eyebrow once Michael whistled at her, stepping a little closer so she could hear him. She listened as Michael spoke to her, and being a woman who just can't take a compliment, she blinks and looks away sheepishly for a moment. "Well, uhm... you can thank the folks at the infirmary for that, made my arm good as new." She said with a soft smile as she brandished her right arm, displaying its lack of damage. "But uh, yeah. Thank you." Scarlet nodded in a slightly awkward manner, but her soft smile hinted appreciation. Faye pointed out Michael's companions, and Scarlet turned to look in the direction in which they'd be. She smirked a little at their outfits, it seems as if Michael couldn't help but form a well-dressed entourage of his own. Once Michael started filling her in on what's going on, she listened and gave it some thought. It seems as if folks are trying to figure out where to spend their night out at Frankfurt, and given that most of them are foreigners, they don't exactly know where to start. Not like Scarlet would know where to look, most of her time spent outside of the United States was either in a hotel or a warzone. She wasn't exactly the most 'touristy' of travelers.

Scarlet's gaze shifted up to the taller man beside her once he asked for her opinion. She couldn't help but smile a bit at the Red nickname given to her. She's been called that a few times before by other folks she's worked with, and she never minded when they did. It was always a little endearing. Once Michael finished telling her what he felt like eating that night, Scarlet shrugged. "Well, uh... I don't quite know, to be honest with you. I never really been to any erm... 'real restaurants' outside of the States. Normally I just go to whatever place that serves burgers, chicken or pizza. I can only last on 'premium quality' MREs and candy for so long." Scarlet rolled her eyes as she airquoted 'premium quality'. "But uh... if you're asking me for what I'm in the mood for, well..." Scarlet was about to say that she could go for some chinese takeout, but no one really needed to know that she was an apartment dweller from Cleveland just yet. "... I don't know, really." She lied. "I guess I'll stick with whatever sounds the tastiest, wherever we decide to go."

Scarlet then turned to Faye, who had a free moment to be spoken to. Scarlet then checked in on Faye, Michael joining with her. She listened to the both of them, hearing out Michael's story. The homunculus imagined every detail, including the bits regarding people bursting into flame, as well as the eyes. Just the very thought of it brought the fear she's suppressing back up into her heart, the otherworldly fear that she felt when fighting Scary Thing. She blinked and tried her best to hide it, barely just maintaining her composure by taking a deep breath and a long quiet exhale. However, the sight of Michael's friends did give her a light chuckle, grounding her a little with a bit of distraction. Michael's resolution did give her a bit of a smile, and she turned to him once he apologized for 'adopting' them in a sense. Scarlet shrugged. "No worries, I appreciate the sentiment. All I ask is that you forgive me if I end up being a terrible little sister, I kind of grew up as an only child." The homunculus replied, and before she could say anything else, she felt herself suddenly get pulled towards Michael. A split second later had her realize that it was indeed Michael himself, and that she was being hugged. And as much as she'd hate to admit it, Scarlet's lonely touch-starved ass liked it. Slowly but surely, the warm feeling of the group embrace dissolved the eldritch fear in her heart until it was nothing more than a small anxiety.

Scarlet chuckled sheepishly as Faye thanked them. "Hey, it's nothing. I'm just glad you pulled through." Scarlet remained in the group hug for a moment, joining in with Faye as she spoke to them. Once Scarlet was released from the group embrace, Scarlet's smile remained. She hadn't been hugged in a long time, and shit that felt good. Scarlet heard Faye out, learning of her rather unique blood form which makes certain magical energies react with her in adverse ways. That would explain why her bag of holding was acting weird, the otherworldly energy must've interfered with its function. The topic then changed to going out to eat, and it seems as if Amanda already found a place for them. Scarlet nodded. "Suits me. Right behind ya."

---

It turns out that the restaurant was just a short walk away from the office. The restaurant was quite interesting, having a very old western European look to it that made it look like it was transported straight out of the fantasy (a.k.a. historical fiction) movies that Scarlet saw. It was a little surreal, but at the same time, quite interesting. The homunculus soon found out that she wasn't alone in thinking that, as Faye voiced Scarlet's thoughts almost word for word. Scarlet didn't speak a lick of German, and she was too lazy to put on her enchanted translation device, so she remained huddled in the middle, simply going where the others went. It wasn't long before they ended up at a booth table with a nice view. Scarlet took a seat (next to Faye and Mike if she could help it), and listened to Amanda. "Thank you." Scarlet said to Amanda with a smile and a nod. As the others discussed what they wanted to eat, Scarlet grabbed the menu and looked it over.

God, what the fuck, I can't understand any of this shit. Scarlet looked for the closest English cognate she could find. Her enchanted translation device was something she wore in her ear, which allowed her to tactically communicate with allies when she was on her deployments. When it came to text, however, she often had to ask allies to read them out loud so she could hear the live translation. The asking allies part, well, she might have to do here.

Scarlet looked around to see who would be the most qualified to help her find a familiar dish that she'd be comfortable with trying, and ended up overhearing the exchange Faye had with another agent. Scarlet tilted her head slightly, before recognizing him as the elf who returned fire at some of the bikers earlier with his service pistol. She simply nodded to herself and remained quiet for a moment. A part of her wanted to ask him whether or not they served burgers here, but at the same time she didn't want to out herself as 'too American' in a place like this. Scarlet bit her lower lip, sitting in awkward silence for a moment or two as she figured out what the hell to do.

Scarlet took a deep breath and sighed. Fuck it, here goes nothing. Scarlet looked to Xaviron, and cleared her throat. "Uh... I'm sorry, I never caught your name, but uhm... I'm Scarlet Rubashka, uh... callsign Venom Bean. I'm a freelance contractor brought on to help you guys out." She looked away for a moment, and looked back to the elf. "So uhm... I'm sorry if this is a stupid question, but do you know if they uh... serve any burgers here? I can't read German."

The homunculus sighed and leaned back. She closed her eyes for a moment, and turned to both Faye and Michael. Rather than sit in awkward silence, she decided to break the ice while everyone was figuring out what they wanted to eat. "So uh... where are you guys from?" Scarlet asked.

@King Cosmos@13org@AWACS@BigPapaBelial@Martian

Amanda couldn't help but give off a smile as Scarlet, Faye and Xaviron interacted with each other. They may not be aware of it, but they are building team solidarity by doing this, and Amanda's loving every second of this interaction. The friendliness, the joviality, the Scarlet's questioning on whether or not they have burgers in this restaurant. Ah, good times this one is. Right, Scarlet's question.

"Hmm..." Amanda looked at the menu, flipping it's pages and looking at every offering intently. "I'm... no, sorry Scarlet, they don't have Hamburgers here. But, would you be interested in trying a Hamburg Steak perhaps? It's not the same, but it does offer a beef patty glazed in sauce and accompanied with vegetables. It should do the trick Scarlet." She hopes that Scarlet would be satisfied with the answer, from the German cultural books that she's read, Hamburg steak is generally considered a delicacy in Germany, and she silently hoped that Scarlet would agree to order it.

While she waits for Scarlet to respond though, her mechanical head turned towards Micheal, seemingly glued to the menu at hand. "Micheal, you still confused about the language? I can help translate the menu if you want. It's not really that hard once you get to learn the language."

But her train of thought was interrupted when Scarlet suddenly asked everyone where they came from. And Amanda, ever the social wallflower, responded first. "Well, I was born in Utah. Well, 'born' is a pretty generous word there. But I currently live in Arlington, that town in Virginia near DC? I work for the OMR's DC office, and OMR North America branch to an extent. It's fun being an agent in this agency y'know? Lots of fun investigations, lots of combat sparring, lots of interacting with deities and the like, lots of paperwork, okay maybe that last part isn't so fun but I still do enjoy getting to visit many places in America as part of my work. Busting up any illegal Magical Operations is also fun."

---

"Oh so that is Bockwurst? It definitely is simpler than it sounds! Thanks for the explanation!" she said, with a giggle as she heard Xaviron explaining what Bockwurst was.

"Hm... Schnitzel does sound funny as well, but Bockwurst is still funnier..." Faye said, thinking to herself before she turned to Xaviron once again.

"Besides... It seems to be very tasty, especially with the way you explained it. It's decided then! I'll order the Bockwurst." she said, smiling to Xaviron.

Faye had noticed in the corner of her eye how Scarlet seemed to be having some trouble with the menu, but she ended up talking to Xaviron before she could offer some help (which wouldn't be of much use anyways, since Faye didn't speak German nor she could read it). The moment Scarlet turned towards Xaviron though, asking if they had hamburgers with a rather embarrassed expression. Amanda was quick to reply to Scarlet's question though, suggesting her a 'Hamburg Steak', which, much like Faye's 'Bockwurst', did sound delectable.

"Ooh! This one sounds tasty as well. I can give you a bite of my Bockwurst in exchange of a bite of your Hamburg Steak if you want to try it." Faye said with a giggle as she looked to Scarlet, before she asked the group where they were from.

"Me? Oh, I was born in London on the Hayward family's mansion on Knightsbridge. I spent most of my time in the family's estate near Dartmoor National park after I visited the Fairies and my powers awakened though..." she said.

"My parents didn't need much convincing when I asked them to. Not only it would be easier to take care of me there but It was closer to the forest, a place that always made me feel safe and relaxed, due to the magical energy it has." she explained.

"I don't have much to say other than this though. Unlike you guys I'm not an agent for long nor I trained like you guys did." she finished with a shrug as she looked to the others, curious to hear about them.

Micheal looked the menu over, turning it left, right, upside down and then backwards even, trying to get any idea of what he's looking at. And finally holding his hand sup over his head, "I admit it, I can't read German. Who can? Can someone point out any kind of decent beef or steak dish? I don't got the first clue what I'm looking at." He chuckles and lays his menu down on the table, looking around and pleading with his eyes hoping for help. He shrugs while also keeping an eye on his tag-alongs, the Gods, though they seem to be behaving themselves...while making a pyramid out of cutlery they somehow procured. Just as long as they don't make a mess.

He smiles and looks about taking in the team, nodding his head, "I'll be honest, I had my doubts when I got here. Looked at the team we had, didn't know what to think."

He takes a deep breath, "As to answer your question, I'm Micheal Crane, Member of the Shaman Confederancy of North America. Spanning all of Canada, The Northern Territories and the United States. And technically, because of...well mistrust and over a century of seeking independence for the First Nations and West Indian peoples, we are not actually members of the OMR." He let that settle for a moment. He waits then continues, "We act as a Reserve force for the OMR, and watch over the many Trickster gods of the North American Native communities. Try to keep them in check, and watch over our lands. In exchange, we choose to come and answer the call for help from the OMR." He grins a little, "So the Confederacy chose me come over here and help out." He grins, "You could have worse. My cousin Tyler, is a Shaman too, and he doesn't study or perform his duties at all really, could have had him instead." He grins, "I think I've done enough don't you?" He grins brightly and shrugs.

He groans then looks at his menu you, "So uh again...which is the best steak-like thing on this menu?"

After the homunculus asked the elf if there were any hamburgers in a German Restaurant, Scarlet couldn't help but feel out of place. She did the best she could to hide her embarrassment for asking such a silly question and outing herself as the 'most American' of the group. She didn't hide it as well as she thought she did, however. Scarlet's attention was caught by Amanda, who interjected with something rather helpful. The mercenary couldn't help but wince a little once her commanding officer told her that this place didn't serve burgers. Before Scarlet could ask for a better recommendation, Amanda gave hers in the form of Hamburg Steak. The way Amanda described it made it sound quite fancy, at least in comparison to what Scarlet normally ate. It does sound quite tasty, and even if she couldn't get a side of fries, the dish itself should make up for it. Scarlet smiled a little at the suggestion (as well as Faye's reaction), and nodded. "I'll go for that then, thank you." Scarlet briefly turned to Faye with a bit of a smirk. "I might just take you up on that offer. I barely heard what... blockwurst was, but if it's anything like bratwurst then I'm down."

Before long, a good portion of the table figured out what they wanted to eat, and some awkward silence came. Before Scarlet closed her eyes, she managed to catch a glimpse of what Michael's friends were doing, and was amused for a brief moment. She remained quiet, though her silence was only filled with the nervous thoughts her brain produced unprompted. She took a deep breath and sighed in an attempt to remain calm. When things got quieter, she looked up to the others and spoke up. "So uh... where are you guys from?"

If Scarlet was going to be honest with herself, she didn't expect Amanda to be the first to answer. In most situations, she's used to the commanding officer being the last to answer. Scarlet was quick to pick up that this group wasn't an ordinary team. So Amanda's 'born' in Utah, but currently lives in Arlington. Definitely a career agent, that's for sure. Enjoys the work and the travel. Scarlet couldn't help but smile a little at Amanda's explanation. "That's nice. Most people don't get to say that they enjoy their jobs, but it seems as if you already found your calling."

Faye gave her answer not long after Amanda finished, and the moment Faye said London Scarlet's eyes lit up. So that's where your accent came from! Scarlet thought to herself, amused that she didn't make the connection until Faye spelled it out for her. Faye spent most of her time around fairies in the woods, and is a new recruit to the OMR. Scarlet's American ass didn't know where Knightsbridge was at, but living close to the woods sounded nice. Hell, living near any natural terrain sounded nice. Scarlet turned to Faye, giving her a soft reassuring smile. "Hey, if it's any consolation, I'm sure you know a hell of a lot more about the OMR than I do. Most of what I know about the OMR is shit I just found out today." Scarlet chortled.

Michael came next with his answer, and Scarlet turned to him to listen. It seems as if shamans were still in vogue for indigenous North Americans, with enough to form an entire confederacy that spans the whole continent. Scarlet didn't know much about the indigenous peoples of North America, nor about their sizeable contribution to the fight against the abomination, possibly for reasons that Michael explained. Scarlet looked to the gods once Michael mentioned them, and smirked a little. She turned back to Michael, who explained that someone like his cousin Tyler could've been with them instead. Scarlet returns his smile. "Ehh... I dunno." Scarlet shrugged playfully. "It's not like you gave me the courage to fight Scary Thing or whatever." She gave him a playful nudge before leaning back. "Uhm... if nothing suits your fancy, you could get what I'm getting. It's a Hamburg Steak. I think Amanda said it was a beef patty or something like that glazed in sauce. Comes with some vegetables or some shit. It might not be your thing, but uh... yeah." Scarlet shrugged, giving Michael a look that said I'm just as lost as you are.

Every now and then, Scarlet checked the areas surrounding them for any potential threats. She saw a few agency types by the bar, as well as a few who carry themselves in a way that Scarlet was almost too familiar with. There was a moment of silence, and it took that moment for Scarlet to return to the conversation. "Oh, uh... my turn? Okay." Scarlet cleared her throat. "So, I was born in a small town in Alabama, but I moved to Ohio with my parents when I was one. Cleveland, to be exact. Lived there ever since. I didn't really uhm... have an interesting life or anything. Spent most of it playing games and watching movies, really. Only started doing mercenary work 2 years ago." Scarlet intentionally left out the part where she died and became a homunculus. No one here needed to know that. Yet, at least. It's not like she would remember much of her past life anyway, a lot of that was a blur to her. "My contracts took me to places like Australia, some parts of Africa and the Middle East, and a few places in the Pacific. Just yesterday I completed my protection contract in Bosnia, and happened to be in the neighborhood when the OMR called me up. I signed a contract and now I'm here with you guys on the duties of armed security and crisis response. Most of what I did was quite boring, but I've been on a few interesting assignments." Scarlet smiled a little. "And so far, I can safely file this away as one of the more interesting assignments."

The half-elf felt a twinge of anxiety as another agent engaged him. Avi felt out of his element as the team bonded over dinner. While he could easily through up a facade, Avi knew that it wouldn’t be fair to his teammates. He had a lot of practise at lying, as that was the whole reason the OMR had hired him. He could easily slip into a character, blending into whatever was going on. However, Avi thought that it might be a good idea to try being himself for once. This was proving harder to do as Avi had been undercover so long that he almost forgot what his true self was.

As Scarlet introduced herself, Avi snapped out of his mental ruminations, “My name is Xaviron, illusion caster and often undercover asset. But I suppose that if we are working together, you would better know me as Avi. That’s what everyone back home calls me.”

Scarlet then asked if they had any burgers, which almost caused Avi to chuckle. He supposed some American stereotypes seem to be true. But before he could answer, Amanda jumped in, recommending the Hamburg steak. As Avi sunk back down into his seat, he did admit that it would be a good choice. However, Avi perked back up as the group began discussing where they were from.

Amanda the android was ‘made’ in Utah, which made sense to Avi. After all a secret android production centre would be easier to hide in a state with a smaller population density. Faye then talked about being raised on her family’s estate, hanging out with fairies. This prompted Avi to ask a question.

“Sorry to cut in, but I have a question. I was always told by my magical instructors that the Fairies are leaving this world in large groups. Is there any truth to that? I’ve never met a fairy before to ask and I know you’ve got Fae blood,” questioned Avi.

Michael then began to speak. While Avi had known he was a shaman, he didn’t know that he was part of the official confederacy. Back when Avi was a cop, he often had dealings with the Shaman Confederacy of North America. Usually that meant dealing with unlicensed members who were peddling spells or charms that weren’t regulated. Avi had always held these Shamans in esteem as he knew that they did good work. Then Scarlet, the one who had started this discussion spoke, talking about a simple life in the States. Apparently like Avi, her line of work took her all over the world, which was a genuine perk of working with the OMR.

Avi then realized that it was his turn to talk, “Like I said, you can call me Avi. Born and raised in Vancouver, Canada where I developed my magical skills. While my father’s elven bloodline goes far back, I’m am only a half-elf, as my mother was human. I actually followed in her footsteps initially, going into law enforcement. I was part of the RCMP for several years until an unfortunate incident during the whole chaos of the Abomination coming. But after leaving the RCMP I was scooped up by the OMR. They’ve mostly had me go undercover in the years I’ve been with them, so this kind of mission is something completely new to me.”

Avi then turned to Michael, “I know you mentioned being a part of the Shaman Confederacy of North America, but are you Canadian? Or did I miss it when you spoke? Even if you aren’t though, have you ever been to Vancouver? We have a great Oktoberfest every year that serves this kind of food.”

Once Avi stopped talking, he was surprised by how much he did say. It was probably more at this restaurant then he had said the whole rest of the day. Avi wasn’t sure if he had gotten too personal, but he did note that he had left out his last name. Which was fine for now, he had only known these people for a day. Perhaps as the mission continued, he might try opening up again.

@Kumbaris @King Cosmos @13org @AWACs @BigPapaBelial

Morgana stayed quiet as the others spoke, staring at the open menu in her hands but reading nothing into its contents; and not just because it was all written in German. Her mind was occupied elsewhere as she listened to everyone else’s stories, thinking about something that had been on her mind since their first briefing, a concern that only grew as everyone revealed more about themselves.

The conversation at the table fell into a lull once Xaviron had finished speaking and it took Morgana a moment to realise why. She closed the menu with a snap and placed in down in front of her. “I suppose that means it’s my turn.”

There was a pause as she decided how much she should say; not because she had anything to hide, just to keep things succinct. People who talked about themselves too much were a bore. “If you didn’t catch it earlier, my name is Morgana. I’m from Northern England originally but I haven’t been back home in a while. I joined the OMR straight out of university as a researcher and since then I’ve been working in the Department of Heretical Studies in London to… correct our notions about how magic works. My talents lie mostly in rituals and apotropaic magic; binding, sealing, warding, that kind of thing. Some healing and scrying on the side. Enchanting as well I suppose; placing spells onto objects.”

Morgana shrugged. “That’s more or less it. I was occasionally asked to consult on cases, or investigate something, when my expertise was useful, but I don’t do field work. Or I didn’t, until today. I’m not sure why I was asked to come along on this mission.” And that was the crux of the matter, the concerns that were occupying her mind. She turned toward Amanda, the person who was nominally in charge of this mission. “I was hoping you might be able to shed some light on that actually. Why was I selected? Why were any of us?”

An undercover agent, an inexperienced agent, a reservist, a mercenary, a researcher. Aside from Amanda herself none of the members on this ‘team’ seemed like the kind of people who would or should be put onto a case as important as this; a weapons smuggling group capable of long-range teleportation, who sold to people who dabbled in demonic magic and abominable artefacts, maybe even sold those kind of things themselves. They’d handled themselves well so far, but this was too important to leave to a hodgepodge team like this.

@Kumbaris

@King Cosmos@Martian@13org@AWACS@BigPapaBelial

Sure enough, just as busy as the group was talking. The chef was busy preparing a medley of food for the group. Schnitzels, Bockwurst, Hamburg Steak, and a bunch of other stuff the group ordered. The food came quickly afterwards, the group, pleasantly surprised by a mixture of food and drinks, are now starting to eat, and eat well. "Wow, you're all really hungry aren't you?" Amanda asked, seemingly surprised by the eagerness some of her agents are chowing down the food. "I do get descriptions of how food tastes and feels like when ingested, but I never understand the strong attraction humans had towards food. I mean, eating nutrients can't be that good can it?"

She eyes the Bockwurst being eaten by Faye. "Can you describe it Faye?" She asked. "How it feels to have that in your mouth and all... Sorry, sorry. I know I'm being weird, but I just can't... get away from the fact of it. It can't be that good can it?" Amanda's mind is just having trouble computing all of those potential sensations. She knows that the OMR is researching on artificial tastebuds and a working digestive system for Androids. And she really fears that should they pull it off, and they put her with those augmentations... Her mind will literally melt with all the potentially good sensations assaulting her mind. "You know, if there's an augmentation that allows me to eat food. I'm kinda feeling on not taking it. I fear my mind's gonna melt form all those good sensations or something."

The sudden question from Morgana about agents though, suddenly piqued her interest. Amanda was silently thanking the researcher for posing that question, since the food stuff is bothering her mind too much at this point. "Uhh, sure Morgana. Just let me clear my mind first, then I'll answer."

She has to be in a good frame of mind to answer her question for this one, since it'll get pretty messy if she explains it with her messy brain right now.

"Huuuuuhhhh. Alright, so there's this thingy we have in our Philly office, yeah the HQ. Called the 'Agent Potential Calculator'. Don't worry it's not some magical contraption that does mind control or that stuff. Just some super advanced algorithms inside a computer we Androids helped build at the request of the Director herself, it is meant to assess the potential future of agents based on reviewing their abilities, accomplishments, and history within the OMR. The machine changes all the time really, sometimes even radically changing the 'potential' of an agent should he/she accomplishes some radical mission or experiences some crazy stuff. But nonetheless, I'm getting sidetracked here."

"I chose all of you here because that Agent Potential Calculator calculated that you'll be a perfect match for this mission, basing on all your abilities, magical skills, academic history, and status within the OMR. The calculator picked all of you for this particular mission, and honestly. Considering the potential all you agents have, and the abilities you've shown in that small firefight that afternoon. I think I've made the right call to heed the Calculator's calculations."

"Anyway. Micheal, what did you order?" Amanda asked, trying to shift the topic back again to food.

---

Just as Faye finished to talk a bit about herself, Xaviron made a rather interesting question about the Fairies, mentioning that his instructor said that the fairies were leaving this world in large groups. Such question made Faye's expression become a bit more serious and thoughtful as she replied.

"Well... Yes and no. Fairies aren't leaving the world. They are just leaving the human world. The world is much bigger than what humans think it is. Places untouched by human hands, where natural, primordial magic still flows strongly." Faye said, the brief silence after she spoke being a clear signal that she wasn't going to say much more about the exact places where fairies lived.

"Still, there are still some humans who have contact with fairies though... Sometimes knowingly, others, unknowingly... Those who are closer to the world than the others, closer to magic itself." Faye said, with a mischievous expression as she gave a small glance to both Micheal and Xaviron himself, clearly hinting at something.

"There are two main reasons for this... One is that the modern world... The 'human' world isn't a place for the fairies anymore. Fairies feel magic, live magic, they are magic... Free, wild and untamed. Humans, in the other hand, always tried to control and posess magic, to shape it to their own desires. Their magic formulas, their spells and their enchantments force magic to flow how they want it to flow... It's the complete opposite of the fairies' nature, going against their very essence. The other reason, perhaps the most impactful one is that there is nothing more terrifying for the fairies than the energy that the 'Abomination' unleashed in this world after the Shattering... The seeds that it planted continue to slowly grow and take roots. The Earth itself fights against it, but no matter how powerful and mighty is the magic that run through it's 'veins', it won't be able to stop the corruption forever..." she continued, her tone becoming darker more serious this time.

As the other members began talking about their own origins, stories and how the came to the OMR though, Faye's curiosity quickly made her mood get better as she listened curiously to their words. While she did notice that the group was pretty 'diverse' before, it was only now that she was realizing how true that was. Each one of the members had a different background and came from many different parts of the world. Each one with their own stories to tell, some even having mixed blood like Faye, such as Xaviron himself. Even when talking about training and skills, there was only a few similarities between the members.

Faye smiled, satisfied when Scarlet accepted her suggestion to try a bit of her Bockwurst.

"Avi said it's like a sausage made of pork and ground veal. It will be my first time eating it as well so we can give it a try together when it gets here." Faye said with a smile.

"I don't know that much more than you to be honest! One of the reasons why the OMR called me here to be a recruit is because they want to study, register and test the limits of my abilities." Faye said, with a little giggle when Scarlet mentioned that she should at least know more about the OMR than she did.

"I have a feeling that the fairies would get along rather well with these trickster gods!" Faye said with a chuckle as she turned her attention towards Micheal when he spoke about the Shaman Confederacy.

Faye already knew Morgana was an expert in 'human' magic, but the moment she said a bit more about herself, Faye had realized that Morgana was much more important in the magic academic society than she realized. Even though Faye herself didn't care much about 'human' magic, she knew about the Department of Heretical Studies and how influential it was on the magic academic society.
Other than that, Morgana did, surprisingly enough put into words the exact same question Faye made herself a while ago, about the reason behind the group's creation and the members that were chosen.

---

As the food the group asked for finally arrived and the group started voraciously devouring the food, Amanda mentioned how hungry the group was. Which honestly, was expected after such an... 'agitated' day.

"Here you go Scarlet! You'll definitely won't regret tasting it! It's great!" Faye said as she cut a piece of her bockwurst and passed it to Scarlet. Merely by looking at Faye eating, was enough for Scarlet, and pretty much anyone else, quickly realize that she was simply loving the dish she asked for.

When Amanda asked about how it tasted, trying to figure out what exactly 'eating' felt lke, Faye got a bit surprised. It was definitely a hard question to answer. After all, eating was something so natural that nobody ever really stopped to think that much about it.

"It's not just about ingesting nutrients! Food is simply delicious! There's the taste, the food's texture, the smell, even the appearance influences on how one can 'enjoy' their food! Plus, food tastes especially good when you're hungry!" she said, chuckling as she stopped eating to answer Amanda.

"The meat has a very juicy texture and the inside is really smooth! I don't know what they used to season it but it's awesome! It's like if it was smoked, but it also has some herbs inside that give the meat that 'zing', you know?" Faye said, trying her hardest to describe what 'eating' the bockwurst was like.

"It's very hard to explain properly how it feels, but if you have the opportunity to try it, you definitely should!" she finished, encouraging Amanda to try the augmentation she mentioned about.

The moment Amanda began explaining about the Agent Potential Calculator, mentioning algorythms and other complicated stuff, it was almost as if Faye's brain immediately began ignoring the boring stuff, concentrating only on her food, that was, until Amanda mentioned that she had a high future potential, even though she was very inexperienced.

"Wait, you mean that even me, who never had any formal training before, have a promising future as an agent?" Faye asked, surprised.

Once Avi introduced himself, Scarlet replied with a friendly smile. "Nice meeting you." Soon the conversation moved on, and she asked everyone where they were from. Scarlet retained her smile after revealing a little bit about herself to her newly acquainted comrades. Shortly after she introduced herself as an escapee from the purgatory-like realm that some people like to call Cleveland, Avi's turn came up. The homunculus listened as the half-elf revealed where he was from, as well as his police background. Turns out he was a mountie before he joined the OMR to work as an undercover agent. Scarlet nodded, a little impressed herself. "I suppose it won't be long before Pierce Brosnan puts your life story to the big screen, huh?" Scarlet asked with a soft smirk, before waving her hand. "Sorry, dumb joke."

As the conversation progressed, Scarlet caught bits and pieces of what the others were saying, particularly when Faye was answering Avi's question. Eventually, Scarlet turned to Morgana once she spoke, and listened. So Morgana makes up the second brit of their current team, sharing that title with Faye. Scarlet then realized that she and Amanda were the only Americans at the table, Avi and Michael being from Canada themselves. Morgana revealed that she was more of a researcher than a field agent, and that her talents covered a vast number of magical sciences. Scarlet shrugged. "From what I heard, you really helped us out alot. You helped Faye out when Scary Thing screwed with the uhm... magical things, and you managed to seal Scary Thing's power, giving Amanda the chance to bring the target into custody." Scarlet smiled just a little. "I'd say that's pretty damn good work for someone without any field training."

It wasn't long before the food arrived. Scarlet, who's honestly starving right about now, thanked the waitstaff and immediately went to down on her Hamburg Steak. Once she actually had a decent bite of it, her eyes lit up almost like a Christmas tree, and she continued eating it. Once Amanda commented on the agent's eagerness of devouring the food, Scarlet looked up. Every now and then, Scarlet would forget that Amanda was a robot. Right, she can't eat with us. Scarlet thought, almost feeling bad about it. For a moment, Scarlet started giving Amanda some actual thought, thinking about the nature of her being a sentient robot. A synthetic being, just like Scarlet herself. Well, at least one part of her was natural, and even then it wasn't entirely all there. For a moment, Scarlet's eyes met with Amanda's, before she returned to her food. Does she know? Will she? Scarlet's pace slowed as she mulled over her thoughts.

Scarlet's thoughts were cut off once Faye spoke to her. She looked to Faye, blinking, before it clicked in her head what was going on. "Oh, right! Thank you." Scarlet smiled, gently taking the bit of blockwurst that Faye handed her. Scarlet had a bite, and after liking what she was tasting, she went to town on that too. "You're right, it is great. Thanks again!" Scarlet said in between bites. She listened to Amanda and Faye's interaction in regards to how the food tastes, Scarlet nodding every now and then to corroborate what Faye was talking about. Not like Scarlet would be the best to describe food anyway, other than food tasty, me likey. Once Faye encouraged Amanda to get the augmentation, Scarlet finished her bite and looked to Amanda. "Well, I personally wouldn't blame you if you still didn't want to get it, I'm sure a whole new form of data to process would be overwhelming." Scarlet took another bite and finished it, using her fork to make a few gestures. "But if it's something you really want, I don't see a reason not to go for it."

As everyone spoke and ate their meals, Morgana brought up a rather interesting question. Come to think of it, this is a rather diverse group, especially for an organization like the OMR. Scarlet's experiences often had her in groups where people had similar skillsets, where these skills are multiplied in the form of squads and teams. This team seemed more like a joint task force with a bit of a ragtag feel to it. A task force that left a lot of questions lingering in Scarlet's head, some that Amanda will hopefully answer.

It took Amanda a second, but she eventually produced an answer. Scarlet leaned in closer to listen, and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Out of all things, a computer program chose them? Scarlet is somewhat familiar with computers herself, having tinkered with machines that ran Windows 3.0 some time ago. All things considered, they were mostly just consumer electronics that did their jobs well. With the way that Amanda described the Agent Potential Calculator, Scarlet could only guess that it used something far more advanced than what she's used to. Maybe the OMR got Windows 95 before everyone else did. Lucky bastards. Regardless, it seems as if the calculator made no mistake in assembling this team. Once Amanda finished her explanation, Scarlet nodded softly, giving it a little more thought. Did the Agent Potential Calculator factor me into their equations? I just got back from deployment yesterday and signed on today. Was I really just in the neighborhood? Scarlet wondered. What exactly do they know about me?

Scarlet's mind jumpstarted once more once Faye spoke up, asking if even she had potential as a somewhat untrained OMR agent. Now that Faye spoke up about it, Scarlet figured that she would use this as an opportunity to do so as well. "Come to think of it, I'm kind of wondering if I actually ended up in the erm... 'APC' myself, or even how it got data on me. As far as I know, I'm not an OMR agent." Scarlet said, taking a sip from her glass of water. "Not that I mind being a wrench in the works." Scarlet gave a light smirk before speaking again. "Still though... I couldn't help but think about it. You guys aren't planning on recruiting me... are you?" Her tone was much more curious than accusatory. "I wouldn't mind if you were, I'd kinda be flattered, but... uh... yeah."

As Avi finished talking about his background, Scarlet interjected with a joke about Pierce Brosnan playing him in a movie. A small smile formed on Avi’s face at the thought of being compared to the suave, good looking Brit. And speaking of Brits, Morgana then revealed her background, also being from the UK. She also revealed that she dealt more with the academic study of magic then its operational use. Avi was impressed with her skills, recognizing the disparity in magical aptitude between her and himself.

But Avi’s admiration was interrupted by Faye answering his question. Apparently the fairies were still on Earth, just outside the reach of the more mundane races. Avi was aware that there were places where magic flowed that most couldn’t reach. He thought of the wand in his jacket. It was said to be taken from the world tree Yggdrasil, as apparently one could reach the world tree from somewhere here on Earth. Faye then spoke of the corruption in the magic of this world that came from the Shattering.

“I have heard stories of something corrupting this world’s magic. Some colleagues of mine who are more in tune with that kind of thing have said that energy from the Shattering had messed up the world pretty bad,” added Avi.

It was then that the food arrived, an Elf waitress placing a large plate of schnitzel in front of him. The half-elf immediately felt his stomach rumble at the sight of the German food. He hadn’t had a good meal since leaving Canada, only terrible airline food and random snacks here in Frankfurt. Avi then immediately began to eat his meal, unconsciously eating at a faster rate then was probably proper form at a public gathering. But Avi couldn’t help himself after having a first bite. This schnitzel was a good deal better than the one he was used to at Oktoberfest back in his hometown. Avi only paused when Amanda made a comment about how hungry everyone was.

The android then asked them to explain food and mentioned an augmentation that would allow her to eat food. As Avi wondered how best to explain eating, Morgana asked a question that had been burning in Avi’s mind. Why was he on this assignment? Why was any of them? Amanda paused before answering. Apparently HQ has an advanced algorithm in a super computer that assesses agents’ operational value and possible future operational value. Avi had heard of this kind of concept before, but only really in Sci-Fi novels. But in those books it was usually a bad thing leading to a dystopia in which every one is given a role. While Avi didn’t think that this technology would lead to that future, it did present some ethical questions that Avi would need to spend more time think it over.

Avi decided not to continue musing over the implications of the algorithm, instead watching Faye attempt to explain the bockwurst, before jumping in himself, “I would say that you at least try eating Amanda. Take what I got, the hunter’s schnitzel. It has a crisp from the breaded pork, and a nice savory and earthy taste from the mushroom gravy. But those words probably don’t mean anything to you. I guess you just need to try it out. I mean you could remove the augmentation if you wanted, right? If somehow you just despise eating.”

Scarlet then had a question about her status as a mercenary. It did present another issue to Avi if none OMR agents were included in the algorithm. If someone loaded everyone in the world into the algorithm, that could lead to some troubling conclusions. As Avi finished his schnitzel and downed his German lager, he was tempted to ask about the reach of this program. But he caught his tongue, waiting till he knew more before raising any issue.

@Kumbaris @13org @King Cosmos @BigPapaBelial @AWACS

@Kumbaris@King Cosmos@Martian@AWACS@13org



Looking down at the beef-ish dish before him had Micheal smiling and nodding. He kept track of the conversation as the other spoke and ate and drank. He'd been hoping for something beefy, as he so rarely gets beef dishes out where his personal lodge is. It's usually moose, elk or deer. With a grunt he looks up from his meal, "Oh..." He swallows quickly and has to wash it down with near half his glass of something purple. Grape juice maybe. Possibly Welcher's Grape juice. Hey for a First Nations fella it's rather classy. He dabs at his mouth with a napkin, "Sorry. Just been abit, some fine dining here." He chuckles, "Okay yes. Avi, brother. Yes, so very Canadian. Interesting you said you're from Vancouver? Well I'm from just next door. Alberta. About two and a half hours north east of Edmonton actually. Little Reserve called Saddle Lake." He grins, "That's great. We can talk Lethbridge whiskey, maple syrup and hockey. He stops and looks critically, "You aren't a Calgary Flames fan are you?" Honestly the tone of his voices says this very well could devolve into a fight depending on the answer.

But soon he's straightening up and smiling at Amanda, "That Hamburg steak dish some were talking about. Ended up indulging in my need for protein." He chuckles softly. He leans over a little and grins at Faye, gesturing to his three godly tagalongs, "The three over there have been following me around since just after the Abomination was stopped. If you want to get some attention, just go and talk to them at some point." He nods and returns to his meal for abit.

Listening as he eats to the conversation and the revelation about the Agent Potential Calculator. He hums chewing thoughtfully, "So you're saying, it took into account the actions and thoughts of one of the more untrusting factions of the world and somehow choose me of all people to come and help out here? That's...well hard to believe. But then here we are." He nods. tapping his chin with the handle of his knife. As if saying that the Confederacy of Shamans is untrusting is common knowledge. Though it might be news to some, anyone knowing the history of degradation, lies, cheating and misuse of power against the First Nations peoples of North America and the world, would understand why the Confederacy is untrusting of others. Centuries of getting the short end of the stick and all.

He shrugs, "Well we're here now." He spears one of the sauteed asparagus that came with his meal, "I swear this stuff is godly."

@King Cosmos@13org@AWACS@BigPapaBelial@Martian

The dinner the team ordered was finished in no time. A quick succession of talking, followed by chewing sounds that gave Amanda a tremendous amount of data to be later processed. This is certainly a very interesting experience, while the android is familiar with the concept of eating, and has seen humans eat, she has not seen such a concentrated amount of pleasure visibly emanating from the group. This act of bonding over shared food certainly will make Amanda think more about human nutrition once this mission is over.

And speaking of things being over. The dinner was quickly finished, and Amanda insisted that she should be the one paying for the bills. "Hey, I probably receive a larger paycheck than all of you, it's the least I can do as your team leader." She replied to every attempt made by the group members on paying their own share. "Don't worry about it, pay me back in your performance in this case, okay?"

She quickly bid goodbye to the team after the dinner. Making sure that their trek back home (or hotel) won't be anything too dangerous, walking back herself towards the OMR office, she was already on her way to her sleeping quarters, but turning a corner, she met that Demon Madeleine once again.

"Oh, hey Madeleine. How's that cleanup op going?"

"Oh, Amanda, welcome back! Going as well as it should be. All evidence should be in your office by tomorrow. Say, I also heard that you might be planning a trip to Minsk? Belarus?"

"Oh, yeah! That. The Minsk situation is pretty complicated, but I do think that I need to split the team into two parts. One will handle the situation here in Frankfurt, decipher evidence, catching criminals, do the typical stuff. And I need to take a task force to Minsk. It seems that one of the portals that was used in the Warehouse opened in Minsk, and I intend to follow this trail of breadcrumbs to hell if I have to."

"Well, say hello to the Devil for me should you go to hell. It's been a couple centuries since I myself ventured back down there." Madeleine visibly joked. Both of them chuckling a bit at the implication. "Oh, Amanda, I nearly forgot. Since you will be away in Minsk. Perhaps... I can take temporary charge of your team in Frankfurt should they need a leader of sorts? I take it that you'll have your hands full trying to ensure the safety of your team in Minsk?"

Huh... She's right. Amanda thought. How did I not think of that yet?

"That... would actually be nice Madeleine. Huh, how did I not think of that? I trust that you have a lot of experience dealing with agents right?"

"Obviously Amanda. I have to work with at least some people during my centuries old life, a bunch of hodgepodge agents from all over the world should be nothing for me. I can handle it."

"Well, then I expect you to be present in my office at 10. We'll discuss the situation and I'll then have you take charge of the home team. Would that work?"

"Fantastic. I guess I'll be sleeping right away now. Don't wanna be late to our little meeting now do we?"

"And so will I."

Just as the two of them were about to part ways though. Madeleine asked one final question, a question Amanda's been silently dreading this whole time. "So, where did you go for dinner?"

"Uhh, I think we went to this place called Gaststätte Atschel. The food seems good, but I kinda fear that you might laugh at me for eating at some tourist trap or something."

Madeleine's eyes glowed the moment Amanda mentioned that name. "Oh, on the contrary, that's... a really good first choice Amanda. Nice."

Silently, Amanda felt a wave of relief as Madeleine praised her. Let's hope that Amanda won't be bringing the group into tourist trap restos from this point forward.

---

"Wow... I did not expect that there are that many documents being hidden inside that house."

"Do not blame me for that Amanda. I suggest you check up on Mr X and see why he has a bunch of paperwork lying around."

The meeting between Amanda and Madeleine was a huge mess from the start. Not necessarily a mess that strains their relationship, quite the opposite in fact. But a mess that the two of them genuinely did not expect. Amanda woke up, and entered into a room filled with documents of official... stuff, and a confused Madeleine telling her that this is not her fault. "I swear I will kill the clerk who took my orders too literally. When I meant to 'send the important documents to her office first.' I really should've meant the really important ones. Sorry for the mess Amanda."

"Nah, don't worry about it. It just means that the group staying here would have a lot of work to look forward to in the next couple of days. Slaving away to paperwork should be no problem for them, hopefully."

And surely enough, Amanda's Slaves Agents soon arrived. All of them blissfully unaware of the impending paperwork doom that greeted them should they stay.

"Alright. So, Madeleine here will be a temporary replacement for me in the next couple of days, because I will be taking a short flight to Minsk and investigate the stuff Faye uncovered while at that warehouse. Faye, you're coming with me to Minsk okay? I probably need your Fae senses even more now to deduce what their plans in Minsk are. And all the rest of you are free to either stay in Frankfurt, and sift through the evidence uncovered in the house. Or join me in an Adventure in Minsk, don't worry, the boring paperwork stuff won't be there forever. I'm pretty sure that Mr X will be mobilizing resources even more now considering that we've gathered a significant amount of evidence."

"So, make your choice agents." Amanda declared, her tone deliberately boastful, as if they're playing some sort of gameshow. It's the least she can do to lighten up the situation.

The sun rose on the dawn of a new day and Morgana was greatly regretting her indiscretions the previous night. Not because of anything as mundane as a hangover, she could handle her drink perfectly well and had barely touched anything alcoholic at the restaurant besides; no she was simply regretting putting aside work for socialising now that she could see how much she had left undone. No less than fourteen messages from her lab assistants and colleagues back in England that demanded a prompt response, wards to purge of abyssal energy and rekey as well as a few interesting leads that she wanted to follow up on personally. Even though the meal had been… nicer than she had expected, she wasn’t sure it was worth the mountain of paperwork that was in store for her.

Then she walked into the meeting room and saw that there were yet undiscovered peaks of paperwork to deal with.

“Surely there is some kind of clerical staff who can deal with this instead of us?” Morgana eyed a nearby table with a look of suspicion, stepping away from it as the tower of paper began to wobble ominously in her direction. “A small army of clerks perhaps?”

Given the apparently sensitive nature of their assignment, she was worried that the answer might be no. More than likely she would only that anything in this room was too classified or potentially dangerous for anyone but themselves to see. “Fine, I’ll stay here in Frankfurt. But don’t be surprised if some of this evidence mysteriously disappears.”

@Kumbaris

---

Thanks to OMR's 'generosity' and the Hayward family's influence, Faye was able to get a room in one of the best 5 star hotels on Frankfurt. A place where both the OMR could keep an eye on her, was easily accessible for when they wanted to run some more tests about her abilities and it was comfortable enough in order to not offend the Hayward family and satisfy Faye's own tastes. With an incredibly soft and big bed, just the way Faye liked, she had a wonderful night of sleep despite being away from 'home' and the forest.

As the new day dawned, Faye was woken up by the few rays of sunlight that were able to pass through the heavy curtains that covered the windows, blocking both light and sound from the city below, a request from Faye herself as she wasn't accustumed with the lights and sounds of Frankfurt at night.

"Hnnng... What time is it...?" Faye muttered, yawning as she rolled on the bed and reached for her cellphone, only to immediately jump off the bed, alarmed as she saw the five lost calls and the three alarms that had failed to wake her up.

"Dammit! I am SO late!" Faye said to herself as she immediately started wearing her clothes and getting ready to go meet Amanda and the rest of the group.

---

Thanks to her portals and her blink ability, Faye didn't take too long to get to the meeting room. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to go back in time so she was still late.

"I'm sorry! The hotel bed was so comfortable and I- Ack!" Faye begun, her voice being heard before her presence was noticed as she blinked inside the room where Amanda, Madeleine and the other members already were, before she interrupted herself with a loud yelp, stumbling on the pile of documents Morgana had just stepped away from, making them all fall on top of her in a rain of papers and documents.

"Why would someone pile up documents like that?! That has to be made on purpose!" Faye complained as she stood up, looking at the huge mess that it caused, knowing that she definitely wouldn't be able to clean that up by herself.

As she gave a small look around the room, which seemed to be more a dungeon of documents and papers, straight out of a clerk's nightmare, she was relieved to hear from Amanda that she would accompany her to Minsk, since she would need her abilities to help uncover exactly what was going on there, meaning that she wouldn't have to deal with all that paper, with that job being left to Morgana and whoever else would prefer staying there instead of going to Minsk.

"I'm sorry Morgana, I didn't mean to..." Faye said, with an awkward smile as she looked to the amount of papers and documents now on the ground and then to Morgana again.

@Kumbaris



After the night and the very nice meal, it was back to the HQ then to his hotel down the way. It'd been a good night, slightly dizzy from drink and good company. And the sleep that night had been full and good. Despite his hitch hikers playing some kind of convoluted card game into the early light of the day.

But the next day had come around and he'd woken, done his morning routine then walked into the main area of the hotel room, grinning broadly. The three dieties laid out in the living room. He summoned his tomahawk and conjured the ruins for wind and sound, and with a bang set off a burst of thunder. Setting the three gods to scrambling in shock and surprise. Each of them giving him a angry glare afterward, Micheal just laughing his balls off by the looks of it.

A little bit later

Mikey and the Gods who are still groggy show up. He joins the group in planning.

After abit he raises his hand, "Uh hello, I'd like to accompany the team going to Minsk, I feel my skill set would be very much useless with paperwork. I hope this is okay."

He smiles brightly and almost casually reaches over and smacks Whiskeyjack across the back of the head as he tries to balance on Raven's head, "Stop that..."

Needless to say, the group's time spent at the restaurant felt quite short. Or it actually was, Scarlet couldn't tell. Just about everything that was in front of the homunculus was ravenously devoured, almost erased from reality within minutes. She spent some time with the other agents making minor jokes and quips, commenting every now and then when she had some of her own experiences to offer. But for the most part, she didn't say much. Despite what happened today, she still felt a little out of place among the 'actual' agents. This wasn't new to her, she often found herself embedded with more established groups wherever she went. While it was nice to befriend and hang with these people, she's never there for long. She knew that. They knew that.

So once the night was actually over, and everyone went home, Scarlet did what she usually did. She spent her night at a cheap hotel, alone, with nothing but her Nokia and a boxy CRT television to keep her company. She lied in bed, stuffing her face with pretzels and candy while she watched whatever softcore stuff that Skinemax had on that night. She did this for at least a few hours until she felt the realm of dreams call her name. She turned off the TV, cleaned up whatever messes she made, took a shower and went straight to bed. She fell asleep minutes later.



Ever since she started doing contracts for more organized groups, Scarlet made a point to keep a special pouch in her holding bag just for keeping receipts. She did just that with just about every purchase she made while on the job, even when she knew that not all of them would be reimbursed. Even if none of it was, she'd still be making a tidy profit. Regardless, Scarlet was typically careful with how she spent her money, as a little honesty and integrity goes a long way. Organizations will recognize that you aren't taking advantage of them, and that you did your job as they asked. Next thing you know, half of the many jobs you get are from referrals alone.

Scarlet placed the receipt she got from her taxi ride into her receipt pouch, along with the receipts for the hotels she's been staying at, the meals and snacks she's been purchasing, as well as that Honda that she rented. She thanked the driver and made her way to OMR's Frankfurt HQ, marking her third visit. The last two times she was here, she almost got lost. She was able to reunite with the rest of the group within minutes, entering their office and forming up with the others.

Just as soon as she arrived, she noticed the stacks of paper that filled the surfaces in the office, enough to create a city with lots of paper skyscrapers. She then turned to Amanda and an agent that Scarlet may have seen once or twice. Scarlet gave the demon a quiet and awkward wave hello while she stood there, waiting quietly. Soon Morgana arrived, followed by Michael and his posse, who quietly walked in through the door. Scarlet turned to Morgana as she asked if there was anyone better qualified to handle all of this paperwork. Scarlet thought that too, and even wondered if most of it can be processed by a computer. She also noticed how groggy Michael and his companions looked. However, there seemed to be someone missing from the group.

"Where's Faye?" Scarlet asked quietly.

As if on cue, Faye's voice came through the ether in the form of an apology. "Oh, uh-" Scarlet turned her head to the source of the voice. Just then, Faye blinked right into the room, almost colliding into Scarlet herself, who quickly stepped out of the way with a quiet yelp of her own. The wobbly stack of papers proved to be a rather formidable obstacle to the agent as she tripped over it and comically fell into the path of its collapse. Scarlet only had enough time to wince once it made impact with Faye and the ground. Faye didn't seem too happy about that. The mercenary thought about asking if the agent was okay, but she didn't seem any worse for wear.

Once everyone was present, Amanda spoke. The demon was introduced to the group as Madeleine. It seems as if their current group will be split into two teams, with Amanda taking a task force over to Minsk and Madeleine supervising the investigation here in this office. Thankfully, Amanda offered the group a choice in the matter, if in an amusing way.

A few moments of silence passed. Morgana eventually relented, volunteering to stay in Frankfurt to take one for the team. Scarlet smiled a little bit in relief and appreciation. As she will reveal in a few moments, Scarlet might lack the many job requirements to handle a task like that. Michael echoed her thoughts with his answer, citing that he didn't really have the skill set necessary to deal with what was here.

"I'm with Mike on that." Scarlet added, gesturing to him. "My contract says that I'm only here to shoot guns, defuse bombs, act tough and save lives." Scarlet pointed to the mountains of paperwork behind her. "I don't think I have the college education or agency training needed to make that go away." She could list many other reasons why she'd go to Minsk, like the fact that her contract is still legally binding and she'd still have to fulfill her duties of armed security and crisis response, or the fact that she'd need Amanda's written approval to stay here with Madeleine and that's even more paperwork to handle. Regardless, the choice was obvious, and her answer was clear.

"So uh, yeah. Minsk will be my final answer. I hope y'all don't mind."