Episode 84

Dr. Dawkins steps up to the front door and turns the knob. Pulling the door in, he smiles with delight at Nash and Harvos on the front porch. "Gentlemen, it's good to see you. Now, come in before we let too much nature inside."

With a snort, Nash steps through and brushes off his nose with a grimace. "You're telling me. These bugs must be waiting for anyone at the door around here."

Habitually ducking his head to clear his horns under the doorway, Harvos moves off to the side and nods to Dr. Dawkins. "Sounds pretty lively out there."

Dr. Dawkins closes the door, chuckling briefly, and rolls his green eyes. "Oh, yes. Usually the bugs aren't so bad, but all this rainfall has helped them tremendously."

Signaling for Nash and Harvos to follow him, he directs his voice back, walking through the house. "One summer, I had some wild whelps hatch a nest. Those little ones got the taste for insects and scoured the outside of the house for everything they could fit in their maws. Best exterminators I ever had. Really wish they'd come back."

He motions towards the couch in his well decorated living room, approaches a wide table with a few bottles of fine liquor, and sets out some glasses. "Anyway..."

Lifting a curious brow, Dr. Dawkins' addresses both Nash and Harvos, hints of confusion tainting his voice. "Now... While I do enjoy your company and having a proper excuse to drink, I'm a bit puzzled as to what you needed to talk to me in person about."

Pointing to the two glasses and waiting for the acknowledgment from Nash and Harvos, he tips a bottle of amber liquor close to them and inquires further. "Especially under the explicit context that you didn't want to speak over the phone about it..."

Both Nash and Harvos spot the glasses and nod confirmations towards Dr. Dawkins. Drawing a long breath, Nash glances over to Harvos and grits his teeth briefly. Harvos furrows his brow, narrowing his brown on black gaze, and sighs uneasily. "To be frank, Dr. Dawkins... We think someone has been monitoring you in some shape or form."

Dr. Dawkins pauses pouring the alcohol into the glasses and tilts his head to the side, facing away from Nash and Harvos. "Really? What makes you believe that?"

Scratching the side of his head, Nash grimaces, sorting through an explanation. "Well, I don't know how much you've heard from which sources, but... To hell with it. Noxian-"

He rolls his pale blue eyes and wrestles down a grimace. "Well, Isaac snuck into the basement server farms. And, left with... Something?"

Dr. Dawkins' eyes spring wide open briefly, and he grasps hold of the two glasses with a healthy portion of brown liquor in each of them. "I thought there was something stirring on campus. I hadn't heard from a few of the old faculty still teaching there recently. Wondered what had been keeping them."

Stepping carefully with drinks in hand, he presents the alcoholic beverages to Nash and Harvos and focuses an intrigued stare at them. "Very interesting... Do they know what he took? And... Why he was even there?"

Nash shakes his head with a long exhale. He pulls a hearty sip from his drink, hums in thought, and nods thankfully with a lift of the glass to Dr. Dawkins. "No. To be honest, everyone is pretty clueless. Hell, the only reason we knew it happened was because I was reviewing camera footage for something completely unrelated. Remind me to tell you THAT story later."

Pouring some of the drink into his mouth, Harvos sighs, gazing up at Dr. Dawkins. "We wanted to let you know sooner, but..."

Dr. Dawkins cracks a dry smirk, turning around, and walks to the table along the wall. "Allow me to make an educated guess. Upon seeing the report, the higher ups collectively soiled themselves in abject fear and panicked uselessly to try figure a way to handle it without alarming everyone else. And, while they've been flailing around, they have told everyone to keep quiet?"

Nash and Harvos exchange glances, focus down upon their drinks, and down large swigs. Drawing in a mildly embarrassed breath through his nose, Nash groans off the alcohol vapor in his mouth and nods with a grit of his teeth. "Yeah. Pretty much that. Almost exactly. So other events have happened, too, and they've called in... People."

Slumping his shoulders slightly, Dr. Dawkins shakes his head of short, well-kept white hair, grumbling with tinges of annoyance showing. "By the gods, how many organizations are poking around in the Grand Library now?"

Wrestling the words on his face, Nash frowns awkwardly and shrugs his shoulders, gazing at the liquor left in his glass. "All the ones that matter... And a few more that really don't."

Pouring a very large portion of the golden brown liquor from another glass bottle, Dr. Dawkins sighs, rolling his eyes with a grimace. "So, they're at that point now. Gods help us all now."

Harvos places his half full glass down upon the coffee table in front of him, thoughtfully puts his hands together, and directs his voice towards Dr. Dawkins. "The most troubling part is that this seems like it was planned out. It happened just after we left with you to go to the buffet. We've gotten evidence that indicates that Isaac has someone helping him out. It seems whoever even followed us."

Slowly resting the bottle down, Dr. Dawkins places a tight grip around his glass of liquor, idly swirling the beverage around, and stiffens his posture briefly. "Really? That is quite concerning..."

Pushing through his nerves, Harvos draws in a calming breath and levels an explanation at Dr. Dawkins. "THAT is why we had to talk to you in person."

Dr. Dawkins cools, slowly lifting his drink to his mouth, and maintains his gaze away from Harvos and Nash, calmly waiting. Glancing around the room, Nash pauses the paranoid hunt, furrowing his brow wary, and loudly whispers at Dr. Dawkins. "We think you were..."

He bounces his stare between the extents of the space. "Or, ARE... Being watched, recorded... Something like that."

Blinking, Dr. Dawkins' mind processes the information, and a sly smirk cracks from the corner of his mouth. He takes in a long, relieved swig of liquor. Assuming a facade of concern, he turns around, facing Nash and Harvos, and visibly puzzles. "Gods. Thinking about it... That was unfathomably convenient timing on Isaac's part. Very strange."

Nash nods in complete agreement and searches his own mind between his different theories. "That's what we thought. Thinking about it, Isaac has shown his ability to use our own hacking software."

Rolling his eyes partially at himself and shrugging his shoulders, Harvos grumbles with a guilty undertone. "Of course, our department isn't above utilizing a variety of similar tricks to get access to archaeological finds."

Dr. Dawkins drifts off in thought, tilting his head to the side, and sighs in mixed acceptance. "That we certainly aren't."

Narrowing an inquisitive gaze upon Dr. Dawkins, Nash mulls over the possibilities out loud. "Have you noticed anything off around the house lately? Television not working right? Phone acting up? Computer crashing? Anything just out of the ordinary?"

Visibly searching his mind, Dr. Dawkins' green eyes dart around, and he pours some of the golden brown liquor into his mouth. Narrowing his gaze at Nash, he cocks his head, twisting a frown. "My outdoor house lights have triggered on at the oddest hours of the night this summer. They haven't done that since the whelps left. And given the hordes of insects laying in wait around my house, they certainly haven't returned."

Harvos sits up straighter, gradually nodding, and proposes. "Yes. THAT might be a sign. Someone trying to figure out how to get to the house and seeing if anyone reacts to the lights coming on..."

Nash scratches the graying beard on his chin. "What could have been done to this place? Maybe getting into the utility boxes?"

Harvos and Nash exchange theories between each other, and Dr. Dawkins rests his drink on the table. He points through an archway leading out of the living room. "Well, we probably won't find anything just sitting around. Let me check on my laundry, and finish your drinks. We'll do a little investigating outside before it gets too dark for us."

Both Nash and Harvos agree, working on their beverages between debates of possible domestic infiltration tactics. Calmly exiting, Dr. Dawkins travels around the dining room, navigates through the kitchen, and steps into the utility room with a washer and dryer. He locates a broom, pivots around quickly, and swiftly approaches the back exterior door. Reaching over to the dryer, he turns the dial, setting a time, and presses the start button. Under the drowning drone of the machinery, he opens the back door quietly, pushes out the screen door slowly, and carefully leans outside. Spotting a neatly closed utility box nearby behind a large shrub, he slides the broomstick along the outer brick wall. He catches the top latch and expertly flicks it open. With a hard tap of the broom end, the box cover hinges down, exposing carefully arranged communication service wiring. Dr. Dawkins aims the end of the broomstick, thrusts the tip harshly into the cables, and roughly stirs the bundle into a mess. With deft precision, he positions the end of the broom under the box cover, drives it upwards sloppily over the wiring mass, and slams the top latch partially upon the catch.

Slipping himself back inside, he guides the screen door, shutting it securely, and closes the utility room door tightly. He replaces the broom back exactly into its spot. Arranging his clothing back neatly, he brushes his fingers through his hair and grins sly and satisfied. Walking eagerly through the house into the living room, he calls out to Nash and Harvos. "Okay, gentlemen. Let's see what clues we can find around this old house."


A large, ornately carved wooden door swings inwards, passing under the bell arm. The chime ringing out into the open, well-lit space, Isaac steps through from the outside dusk light. The door closes back up, and he walks slowly, surveying the area. Odd items and strange kitsch cover heavy tables arranged within the central space of the shop. Down long side paths, selections of magical commercial products and unique offerings fill aisles of tall shelves. Isaac navigates through the displays of merchandise, stopping along the way for interesting items, and eyes them briefly in passing. A few other asides of studying artifacts later, he notices the attentive, bright orange eyed gaze of an evuukian woman and settles his attention upon the locked, glass display cases behind her. Presenting a proud perk of her light skin brow, the evuukian woman tosses back her long, flowing crimson and gold blended hair. She pulls an intrigued grin on her cheeks, gracing the lines of color at the edges of her face. "Welcome to Lady Rhian's Shoppe of Magic and Treasures. I am Lady Rhian. And, I can tell YOU are a discerning customer."

Cracking an amused smirk, Isaac brushes back his wispy, gray hair, and laughs lightly. "Maybe... How can you be so certain that I am such a particular customer?"

Rhian smiles slyly, lifts a confident eyebrow at Isaac, and points towards the tables in the central space. "Well, you stopped and checked out the best items at each table. You looked at them carefully, but none interested you enough to actually pick it up. But, I saw how you reacted to..."

She steps to the side, waves out her hand towards all the strange artifacts in the glass displays behind her, and grins brightly. "The best in the house."

Crossing his arms humored, Isaac slowly nods at the deduction and tilts his head to the side with an inquiring gaze. "They are indeed very interesting. And, any other time, I would love it if I could find out more about them. Unfortunately, I'm on a bit of a quest at the moment, so I'll have to stick to the mundane."

With a playful, dramatic sigh, Rhian slumps her shoulders slightly, cocking her head, and maintains an eager smirk. "Oh well. I understand, but you are more than welcome to gaze upon them as long as you want. They MAY be waiting here for you next time you visit. But..."

She glances over at the inventory sealed behind the display glass and lifts an encouraging eyebrow at Isaac. "I just never know."

Shaking his head with a chuckle, Isaac glances over to the impressive stock of strange artifacts and crafted items and shifts his attention back over towards Rhian. "I just may. After business, of course. I saw you had some magic detection sticks on the shelves, but I was curious if you sold them in bulk? I am planning quite the trip into the zone and need a good supply."

Rhian straightens her posture, twisting her mouth vaguely, and furrows an examining brow towards Isaac. "Ah... First time going into the PWZ?"

With a single nod, Isaac sighs out a little bit of his pride. "Yes. I'm not a stranger to weird zones. But, I have been told the PWZ is... More unique than most."

Kneeling down behind the counter, Rhian sorts through the lower counter shelves and directs her voice towards Isaac. "Oh, yes it is. And... I have a few suggestions."

From her right hand, she places down a small, rugged metal box with a glass window lid up on the counter. With a firm grip on a leather bag, she stands up, easily curls her arm, and puts forth significant effort, plopping the sack on the counter. She slides the metal box in front of Issac and pulls out a large metal nut with a piece of fabric tied through it from the leather sack. Isaac blinks blankly, alternates his curious, illuminated gaze between the two items, and cocks his head. "Interesting. I'm definitely seeing some enchantments on that hardware and some very curious magic flows from items in that box."

Rhian grins eagerly at Isaac's conclusions and nods. "Yes. Indeed."

Closing her eyes briefly, she opens them to a glowing bright orange, directs her attention to the cloth tied metal nut in her left hand, and presents it to Isaac. "As wonderful as mage sight is, we both know that keeping it going non-stop will put anyone under unnecessary strain and tie up your focus from the many, many other things happening. And in the PWZ, you CAN'T be distracted."

Tapping her finger on the metal box, she smiles and blinks off the illumination in her eyes. "This is an anomaly detector box. Inside are containers with different materials taken from the PWZ that react to the different things you might encounter. And, thankfully, they react well before you get too close to them."

Tossing around the fabric wrapped hardware in her left hand, she glances over at the metal object. "Despite its obvious looks, this is a typically reusable investigation tool. Treated with mild enchantments to help identify what strange phenomena you might have found yourself near."

Isaac pauses mid thought, narrows his gray eyed stare at Rhian, and cocks his head curiously. "Typically reusable?"

Rhian smirks sharply and laughs, her very long, pointed ears twitching. "Well... While most would be perfectly serviceable after certain anomaly investigations..."

She furrows her brow and smiles slyly. "Recovery in those situations is not... How to best put it... Advisable?"

From the back area, the door opens, and a man in worn adventuring clothes with wild, brown hair steps out carrying handled, cylindrical containers. He loosens the nicely knitted, green scarf around his neck, places the vessels on a sturdy table, and calls out towards Rhian. "Found a Sparkler, two Streamers, and a Glow Ball last night. Should make for some good trinkets-"

Staring over towards the counter, he spots Rhian and Isaac and blinks to an awkward silence, muttering. "Oh... Sorry... Didn't know you had a customer..."

Rhian turns around with a warm smile towards the man, motions him over, and presents an entrepreneurial grin towards Issac. "Allow me to introduce you to a reliable PWZ contractor, Mavian Rha-she. He will attest to how useful my finely crafted detectors and rugged investigation tools are."

Mavian's face blanks briefly. He draws in a long breath, walks up to the counter with a mildly annoyed glance to Rhian, and rummages through a pocket. He reveals a detector of similar construction to the one on the counter and a worn cloth wrapped metal nut. "I've used Rhian's tools for years, and personally found the detector fragments used in them from the deepest part of the PWZ. These simple looking cloth wrapped chunks of metal have kept me from making some very bad mistakes."

Focuses the faint overall glow of his green eyes at Isaac, he states with a genuine tone. "If you are going into this zone, you'll want both. Even with what I can see with my eyes, I'm not going to take anything to chance. So, neither should you."

Isaac scrutinizes Mavian's appearance, studies his body language, and nods in agreement. "I must say, THAT is indeed very convincing."

With a smile, he gazes over to Rhian. "I think you've certainly made a sale. I still wouldn't mind a few boxes of the typical detector sticks."

Rhian grins brightly, with a happy squirm in her body language, and nods. "Of course!"

She goes over to a nearby register and swiftly taps numbers into the device. Isaac glances between Rhian and Mavian, pondering a moment, and inquires. "Does the name Beckerin mean anything to you two?"

Rhian lights up with a delighted smile and glances over to Isaac. "Yes, it does! He has been quite the reseller of my hard to move artifacts, and always seems to drum up business for me."

Twisting his mouth, Mavian sighs with a begrudging respect. "And... He's actually quite good at finding the oddest leads to the strangest finds..."

He narrows his faintly glowing eyes and lifts an intrigued eyebrow. "How do you know him?"

Isaac blinks a moment and shrugs his shoulders, plainly stating. "I do not know him personally, but a friend of mine who does says he recommended that I should find this place..."

He slides his stare over to Mavian. "And ask about someone to guide me into the zone."

Hints of hesitance and tension slows down Rhian's data entry, and she narrows defensive stare at Isaac. "Why do you need a guide into the PWZ?"

Sensing the change in the mood, Isaac draws in a long breath and calmly explains. "Well... To be honest, I'm trying to find a fellow colleague who my friend and I haven't heard from in quite some time. We believe he went to study some ruins out in the PWZ, but hasn't sent any recent updates. So, I'm trying to find him."

Rhian's sternly protective demeanor fades into a softer, empathetic exterior, and she nods slowly. "I can understand that. Well, I can't personally help, but Mavian could."

Crossing his arms, Mavian focuses a scrutinizing stare at Isaac, tilting his head to the side. "So... Do you have any specific locations you know to check, or any last known whereabouts to go by?"

Isaac shakes his head, sighing, and frowns. "Unfortunately not. I have some vague hints from his last update, but nothing specific."

Searching his mind, Mavian grimaces and slowly shakes his head. "I'm not one for wandering aimlessly in the zone. Do you have a name?"

With a plain tone, Isaac replies. "Dr. Malkav."

Mavian's faintly glowing green eyes dart around his memories. Seconds later, a semblance of recognition dawns upon his light tan face. "I swear... Yeah... I've heard that name before. In conversations with other zone runners."

He gazes at Isaac, slides a pad of paper over, and searches around. "Okay. Here's what I can do right now. You'll want to head to Precipice. It's THE LAST thing you can call civilization in the PWZ before you leave the calmer part of the zone."

Pausing a moment, he briefly deliberates inside his head. "Well... As calm as it can be most of the time."

He glances around the counter space nearby, hunting for something. "If your friend is still alive and well, he probably HAS to make a visit there to get supplies. There's not that many people in that town, so SOMEONE has to know him and have some contact with him."

Rhian hands Mavian a pen with a warm smile, and Mavian writes out information on the paper. "I'm currently on a... break from doing guide work. BUT, I usually have a room at this inn in Precipice when I'm working."

He presents the note to Isaac and holds out for a handshake. "If you can find out any specific places to check for Dr. Malkav, try to find me in two weeks, and we'll talk further."

Smiling appreciatively, Isaac shakes Mavian's outstretched hand firmly. Carefully stowing away the contact information, he retrieves his wallet with an expectant gaze at Rhian. "So, what do I owe you today?"

Rhian recites an amount, Isaac hands over appropriate currency, and Mavian awkwardly figures out how to package up the purchased merchandise. Hoisting up his new property, Isaac grants a respectful nod and heads towards the front exit, pausing along the way to wander his curiosity to other items in the aisles. The door swings open, and he leaves the store. The bright chime sounds out, and the door drifts back, closing. Rhian stretches her arms out on the counter with a happy smile, and concentrates her bright orange eyes towards Mavian. "So... What are you doing tonight?"

Mavian blinks blankly, stiffening his posture, and awkwardly stumbles upon his own surge of shyness. "I, uh, um... Nothing really. Just wanted to rest and catch up on the shows I missed while I was out. The usual..."

A sly smirk creeps out from the corner of Rhian's mouth, and she pivots around, facing Mavian with a slight frown. "Oh. I guess I understand. I really wanted to cook something nice, but it just seems so wasteful when it's just yourself. I wouldn't want to impose on you catching up on your shows and all."

Springing his eyes wide open briefly, Mavian shakes his head, fumbling over his awkwardness, and softly replies, fighting a flush of embarrassment. "Well, uh... I mean... I can watch them after you get to cook something nice."

A bright smile graces Rhian, and she claps her hands together. "Yes. WE can watch them after WE eat."


Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sotalia, and Sebastian sort through the volumes of text descriptions upon tablet, phone, and paper upon the dining table. Collating a few packets, Bach offsets the section titles from each other and lays out the arrangement upon the table top. "Okay... So, I think we can pull these off in a day."

Narrowing her emerald green eyes, Cideeda flicks her furry ears in thought and nods with a little reservation. "Probably. They don't look too involved. But..."

She reads some text from her phone, jots down a title upon a blank piece of paper, and inserts the page between two sections in Bach's stack. Pointing to mark on a map print out, she motions towards two other points nearby, grinning with a scheming tone. "THIS one is along the way, and we could easily fit it in. Get the most out of the trip."

Sotalia swipes through a list of different postings, sneering her upper lip, and scrolls further down, whining. "Gods almighty... What is with THIS area and wanting people to check out deep, dark ruins this month? Half of these posts are for exploration and inspection of some underground, ancient, and

/ or creepy bunker with some fucking questionable history."

Nodding in begrudging agreement, Dretphi frowns and groans disappointed. "Would not mind something outdoors. Tired of finding terrible things indoors."

Leaning back in her seat at the dining table, Sotalia stretches her arms up and curls her back with a smirk. "Oh, girl, I know it. At least, if we run into something outside I can use the FUN spells to take care of it."

Sneaking a guilty smile, Dretphi rolls her steely gray eyes at herself, giggling. "Use the FUN gun."

Sebastian glances away from peeking over Aristespha's shoulder, snorts ethereally, and shrugs his ghostly shoulders. "I would not mind another nature hike in a park, even if that means running off another bratty teenager."

Cideeda raps her claw tips upon the table top, grinning toothily, and wags her long fluffy tail. "It was a little fun teaching her a lesson. Though I did feel..."

She pinches her thumb and forefinger close with a guilty smirk. "A little... Just a little bad that there was only cold water working."

Glancing between everyone, Bach contorts his sun-touched face, donning a sly smirk. "Oh... Yeah, um... The hot water worked just fine."

A long silence looms over the room. Watching the rest of the team's reactions, Sebastian snorts out a laugh. Aristespha blinks with an amused smirk. Dretphi covers her mouth in a mildly humored surprise. Sotalia cocks her head with a delighted smile. And, Cideeda snickers and laughs. Shaking her head of wavy, fiery orange hair with a mix of approval and surprise, Sotalia lifts an intrigued brow. "Bach Warwick... Really? And here I thought I was being a bad influence on you."

Dretphi summons up a semblance of a disapproving frown towards Bach. Cideeda narrows a playful glare toward Dretphi, pointing a clawed finger. "Oh! Don't you act all high and mighty now. You purposefully sprayed her up the back when she wasn't expecting it. I saw the look on your face."

Drawing a long breath, Dretphi rolls her eyes at herself and awkwardly twists her mouth, mumbling. "Call me a brute..."

A faint chirp sounds out from Aristespha's shorts pocket. Glancing down, she reaches her hand in and retrieves her aetherphone, puzzling. Sorting through the menus, her violet eyes read through a message, and she furrows her ivory brow with suspicion and confusion. "Speaking of her... Pardon me. She wants a private video call."

Amid exchanges of intrigue and curiosity between everyone else, Aristespha walks towards the hallway archway. She taps a few buttons, initiating the call. Stepping through the doorway into her room, she sits down on her bed and holds the phone in front of her expectantly. On the video feed, Valavera brushes her golden hair out her green eyed gaze and huffs out an upset breath. She tries to smile. "Hey, Aristespha. Sorry. I really need someone to talk to."

Aristespha smiles slightly and nods to the screen. "I am here for you. So, what is on your mind?"

Valavera sorts through the words on her face, working through the scattering of thoughts, and pieces together sentences. "Well... While in summer school at the university... Which is going REALLY amazing and I really like it... Um... I... Met... Someone."

A sly smile graces Aristespha's ivory face, and she focuses her attention upon the conversation with renewing interest. "Really? Do tell."

Summoning up the courage, Valavera verbally wanders around, watching Aristespha's reaction through the other side of the phone call. "Well... We met in my botany class and have been lab partners for a while. I asked him out to a show for a local band a friend plays in... And well... we kind of hit it off. It was SUCH a really nice night."

Aristespha studies Valavera's image on her phone, perking her brow inquisitively, and pries eagerly. "Okay. So, first, what is his name?"

Valavera bites her lower lip, averts her green eyes side to side briefly, and draws in a cautious breath. "Alexander."

An abrupt quiet stifles the call and ambience of the surrounding room. With the emotional pressure growing, Aristespha's expression blanks. She tilts her head slightly, creeping towards an uncertain observation. "That name sounds very... Hu-"

Valavera interrupts. "Human."

Aristespha's violet eyes spring wide open, and she grits her teeth. "Oh. Oh, gods..."

With a frown, Valavera snorts petulantly and turns her head away unhappily. "Fucking knew it. Damn it! I hoped you would understand."

Pausing mid breath, Aristespha locks an uneasy stare upon her phone screen and cautiously inquires in a serious tone. "Why would you think THAT?"

Growing more defiant and disappointed, Valavera narrows a glare through the video feed at Aristespha and loudly rambles. "Because, you are out there! In the world. More worldly? I do NOT know! You just seemed more experienced and around more different people. I thought you would just understand, like, immediately."

Aristespha processes the explanation, easing out a moment of relief, and quickly contains a new swell of concern. "Yes. I am. And, I UNDERSTAND what you are going through. I really do. It is just that you have to consider the bigger picture. You are a daughter of a prominent house-"

Valavera tosses her hair back angrily, spitting out. "Fourth child. FOURTH! You should know that fourth children don't receive anything worth mentioning."

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Aristespha releases a long calming sigh, draws in a deep breath, and refocuses her gaze towards Valavera's video feed. "Fifth child speaking here. Fourths get a little more. Okay. And, that is why you have to be careful with this and conduct yourself-"

Riding upon a surge of stubborn angst, Valavera berates Aristespha over the call. "Oh! Conduct myself as a proper Evuukian House woman?! What?! And, be some tag along to everything my brother and sisters get to do?! FUCK THAT! Gods, I really should NOT have call-"

Pulling a sharp inhale through her nose, Aristespha powerfully yells at her phone in an authoritative, motherly tone, directing a short commanding sentence of evuukian punctuated by Valavera Tala Erisa Verherin's full name. Valavera reflexively seizes, awaiting with a wide-eyed, spooked gawk. Easing out an uncertain and uncomfortable breath, Aristespha holds a finger towards the camera, signaling Valavera to wait, and searches her feelings. Aristespha contorts her face towards a conclusion. Valavera's previous emotions fade away into genuine concern, watching Aristespha internally wrestle with something big and concerning. A smile appears on Aristespha's ivory face, and she snorts with a slight shake of her head. Turning her head, she faces down the hallway and calls out a warm, loving string of evuukian around Sebastian's name. Valavera blinks blankly, the verbal communication failing any revelations in her mind, and stares perplexed.

Sebastian peeks his head down the hallway, notices Aristespha motioning him over, and flies into her room. Patting a spot on the bed next to her, Aristespha waits for Sebastian drifting down upon the covers. She adjusts the aim of the camera to include both her and Sebastian. Aristespha alternates a point to herself and Sebastian, repeating the motion awaiting Valavera's reaction. Seconds of sorting through the implications later, Valavera's green eyes widen in a surge of recognition, and her jaw drops in utter shock, tinges of delight slipping out. Aristespha grins slyly and addresses Valavera. "Now that you know I UNDERSTAND, would you like to be educated on how to navigate current Evuukian house society and maintain such a relationship?"

Valavera straightens her posture, bringing her phone closer, and eagerly nods. "Yes. Oh gods... I am REALLY SORRY for acting like that and all- But. Yes. Please teach me."

A spark of young delight lights up within her, and she smiles expectantly. "OH! Is it going to be like in the books and all?"

Narrowing her gaze, Aristespha rolls her violet eyes with a smirk and waves the chuckling Sebastian away. "I would ask what books you are speaking of... BUT, one thing at a time. So, tell me all about this boy."


Sounds of the summer night fill the surrounding dense forest of the small clearing. A chorus of insects, small nocturnal animals, and calm wildness merge together into an evening ambiance. A dim glow radiates from a low fire and illuminates the circle of different tents. Walking into the center of the camp, Chad surveys everyone of the team and hems. "Okay, everybody. Gather around."

Deedri closes up a medical bag and hops up. From nearby shadows, Modoran nonchalantly emerges and stands next to Deedri. Trakenthin finishes a page of a book, replaces the bookmark, and joins the center gathering. Brushing her fingers through her raven black hair, Tassilda flicks away a stray leaf and steps next to the group. Veevi grumbles, standing next to an open door of the black SUV, and stares at the still, unmoving charge indicator on her connected aetherphone. Chad waits a moment, narrows a mildly annoyed gaze at Veevi, and calls out. "Veevi. Would you please join us?"

Faint rustles of leaves sound out from the perimeter of the camp, and camera crews level their aims, moving into choice shots between Chad and Veevi. Flicking a pointed, fuzzy ear towards Chad, Veevi disdainfully sneers her upper lip, crosses her arms defiantly, and grumbles loudly. "I can hear you just fine from here."

Focusing his glare, Chad rests his hands on his side and smirks. "You do understand that if you don't attend these meetings, you won't know what we're doing. So, you just might be left behind... All by yourself... In a strange forest, locked out of the SUV, during the summer heat, and with all the hungry forest creatures around you."

Veevi's pink pupil eyes widen, and she weighs the degrees of discomfort in her mind. Huffing in disgust, she begrudgingly walks over. "FINE."

Chad clears his throat and addresses the group. "Okay. We're going to start a deeper search of the forest tomorrow. We got a good start today with scouting the immediate area thanks to Modoran and Trakenthin. We'll be going as one group and keeping as alert as possible. Until we get a better idea of what this forest has, we need to be extra cautious. So, get a good night's rest, and we'll start bright and early tomorrow."

All the team agrees, with one exception. They break towards each of their individual tents. Veevi checks her phone, slams the door shut in frustration, and quickly slips into her tent nearby. Camera crews retreat away, leaving smaller remote cameras. The activity around the camp dies down in comparison to the wildness around.

An hour passes peacefully. Stirring around her tent, Veevi peeks her head out, scouting around, and slinks out, her tail low to the ground. Creeping around the perimeter of the camp, she keeps a careful watch of the other tents, focusing upon one on the opposite side. She sneaks to the best of ability around the site and arrives. Kneeling next to the back entry, she pulls up on the zipper. It remains in place. Veevi tugs harder upon it and strains her muscles, failing to slide it up the track. Many failed attempts later, she snorts and huffs, grumbling to herself. "The fuck is wrong with your tent, Modoran."

A sharp snap echoes faintly across the camp site, and Veevi's fuzzy ears perk towards the noise. She narrows her pink pupil eyes in the direction of her tent. Her bewildered gaze widens, spotting Modoran slip into her tent. Bewildered, she cocks her head to the side and ponders the situation. Pulling an evil grin across her face, she swiftly slinks around the camp back to her tent. She dons a seductive flow to her body movement and loosens her top, pulling herself into her tent expectantly. Inside, she finds only her bedroll and other belongings. Sitting back on her legs, she briefly searches the interior of the tent, spinning around, and tries to slip back out through the flap. The tent fabric wraps around her face tightly, and she pulls away, puzzling at the closed zipper on the flap. Gripping the slide handle tightly, she pulls up expectantly. The zipper denies. Pulling harder on the mechanism, she mumbles out curses under her breath, her anger revealing her vain, obvious efforts.

A young fvalian woman yawns, blinking her eyes, and tilts her head sleepily in front of a monitor screen. Walking quietly over, a young fvalian man holds a steaming cup of coffee near and softly whispers. "Urdi, coffee?"

Urdi stirs back awake, turns her nose towards the hot beverage, and appreciatively grasps hold of the drink with a smile. "Thank you, Radnae."

Radnae settles into a chair in the van interior and glances over another large monitor. He blinks a moment, the feed switching from another camera. Tapping a few control buttons, the screen switches back, and he takes control of the remote camera. Adjusting the zoom and aim, he mumbles out in surprise. "The fuck is going on here?"

Urdi slides her gaze over to the screen and tilts her head. "Is she... Oh my gods... No..."

She picks up a pair of headphones, slips them on, and dials in a volume knob. Moments later, she twists her face in a mix of disgust and disbelief. "She really is. She's bitching about it not opening."

An ill-humored smirk grows upon Radnae, and he directs his voice behind him at a middle aged man in another seat. "Hey, Harris... You WON'T believe this. Check out camera three."

Harris presses a few buttons on the control console and studies his screen. "What the? Is that dumbass stuck in her tent?!"

Radnae snorts, shaking his head, and quips. "I think we found our first clip for next week's show."


Late afternoon sun shines overhead through the forest canopy and projects swaying shadows upon the ground. Chad leads the team, navigating ahead through the tall trees, investigating any suspicious areas along the way. Trakenthin surveys each new stretch of land, noting the landmarks around, and compares against a paper map. With prompts from Chad and other team members' suspicions, Modoran carefully scouts out from the group, exploring unusual activity. Tassilda monitors the magical activity in the area through incantations and detection tools. Deedri assists, sweeping for magical activity, and studies relevant chapters from her guide book.

Lagging behind the team, Veevi follows along in a perpetual state of annoyed and petulant. Grumbling to herself, she occasionally kicks forest debris and searches the area with her hand upon her holstered laser pistol. With each stretch of boredom, she retrieves her aetherphone and stares at the out of service icons and dwindling battery meter. Glancing around, she notices the team far away. A surge of anxiety and fear drives her forward, rushing back up close to the group.

Behind and off to the side, various recording teams keep track of the Flames of Phoenix. Gerald aims his shoulder camera for a shot and abruptly blinks, his viewfinder blacking out briefly. He records the shot and inspects his camera. A few initial checks later, he shakes his head with an uneasy frown. Samantha glances over. "Anything wrong?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Gerald hoists the camera back on his shoulder, grimacing. "I don't know. A lot of weird little glitches happening too often."

He eyes the surrounding forest and narrows his distant stare out into the wilderness. "We actually might be getting close to something."


Flicking her short hair tail, full of frustration, Veevi eyes the traces of late morning sun hinting through the dense, gray cloud cover, and crosses her arms. "OKAY. SO... Are we seriously going to explore another part of this fucking forest for no good reason?! It's going to RAIN!"

Chad rolls his brown eyes, curling his upper lip, and keeps his attention towards the game trail. "Yes. This is the last section near the predicted crash area before we have to expand our search. SO, you better help us find it. Otherwise, we are going to see ALL parts of this gods damned forest."

The Flames of the Phoenix continue forward with Chad in the lead, Trakenthin, Modoran, Deedri, and Tassilda following close behind. Trailing behind, Veevi glances back towards a small camera crew tagging along and grumbles out her grievances to a captive audience. With the darkening skies, progress slows along rougher terrain and traces of disappointment creep into the team. Chad halts and scans his distant stare along the edges of his vision. "Where are we now, Trakenthin?"

Stepping up next to Chad, Trakenthin holds out a paper map and taps his finger roughly on location. "Here."

Resting his hands on his sides, Chad twists his mouth. "Okay. Damn. I was hoping to see something..."

A strong gust blows overhead and filters into a brisk breeze through the trees. The wind passes over. Deedri's furry ears perk up, sorting through the noise. She darts her auburn eyes around and spots unnatural debris rattling upon the ground. Kneeling down, she cautiously pinches a jagged fragment of aluminum between her claw tips and holds it up into view of the rest of the team. "I think we might be close."

The team, including Veevi, gather close, examining the thin metal sheet. Trakenthin searches along the ground. "Out of place."

Narrowing his gaze at the material, Chad carefully takes it from Deedri and studies it closely. "This definitely came from some kind of aircraft. It looks just like the exterior sheets the machinists use when they make replacement panels for the planes and drones being restored at my dad's garages."

Squinting her examining stare upon the metal, Tassilda furrows her brow and cocks her head puzzled. "I think I'm feeling magical leftovers on it."

Chad quietly processes the possibilities. He stands up tall, hands the piece back to Deedri appreciatively, and walks further down the path. "Okay, everyone. Keep an eye out. And, be careful. We don't know exactly what brought this thing down. Let's not chance anything."

With renewed vigor, the team trudges forward. They travel through the winding path and find more metal fragments along the way. Modoran and Trakenthin both notice broken branches high up in the trees and sheared bark on trunks. Minutes of travel later, the group arrives at a thick wall of brush and tall hedges surrounding a large area. Awkwardly probing the plant life, Chad pushes through a thinner section with assistance from Trakenthin and Modoran holding back intruding, obstructing branches.

The rest of the team filters through, and the camera crews fight rougher patches for passage. Chad, Trakenthin, Modoran, Deedri, Tassilda, and Veevi gawk at the scene before them. Bright, vibrant flora around a small stream sways in the gentle breeze swirling in the vicinity. Carpets of flowering plants shift intermittently to unseen forces across the ground, and glimmers of colorful illumination spark around the area. With a weak gust, one of the four main propellers on the large drone spins with a barely audible whir. The chassis of the machine rocks gradually upon the soft soil with the wind. An accomplished grin grows wide on Chad's face, and he gazes back at the team. With a presenting wave of his arm, Chad brightly smiles proud and chuckles, stepping to the side of the team. "I think we found our drone."

Walking ahead, Deedri holds her hands up to the team and signals them to wait. "One moment. There's some really obvious signs of spirit activity. I'd like to try out a detection spell before we go any further."

Chad blinks, nods in agreement, and motions encouragingly. "Of course! Please go ahead. Let's not get ahead of ourselves."

Checking her Tobin book briefly, she slowly recites through the complicated incantation and performs a chain of gestures with exacting movements. Summoning up magical flows, she focuses condensing energies between her palms and flings her arms wide, releasing a faint pulse. The wave travels a few meters before dispersing completely and barely highlights a few translucent entities. Deedri's furry ears droop slightly, and she frowns out her disappointment. "Well, uh... That was supposed to be a little more revealing."

The rest of the team watches the illuminated spirits. Chad smiles at Deedri and reassures her with a proud tone. "I think that's pretty good for a first try at the spell. It worked. Just try it a few more times."

Deedri's mood perks up, and she summons up another attempt at the spell. The team cautiously travels towards the crashed drone within the spiritually revealed passage. Deedri releases a few more focused spirit detection pulses, checking the route leading to the autonomous aircraft. At the drone, Chad and Modoran investigate the large, two meter wide and long machine. Trakenthin searches up into the trees, surveying the area above them. Tassilda and Deedri use their aetherphones and document the drone, often distracting themselves with photos of the surrounding area and the animated spirits. Camera crews struggle with capturing all the different things happening along with the team. Veevi watches idle spirits resting upon different plants and attempts to poke them in the absence of Trakenthin's stern, disapproving stare.

Minutes later, Modoran stands up, stretching his back, and shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly. "Except for that one side, this thing looks like it is in great shape. Do not know why it would've crashed like this."

Blinking thoughtfully, Chad crosses his arms and twists his mouth uncertainly. "Yeah. I know. I've actually seen worse looking things fly. So... Probably some flight control system acted up and it..."

He glances around the area. "I guess, gracefully failed into a hard landing?"

Narrowing his hazel eyes, Trakenthin slowly pivots, facing Chad and Modoran, and sneers through his suspecting tone. "Quite successful for failing. There is a crude path through the trees that leads here. Broken branches confirm its route."

Tassilda walks with Deedri, holds up her aetherphone, and furrows her gray brow, alternating her scrutiny between two images on the device. "Not to make it seem even more suspicious, but for crashing, this thing looks almost exactly like its stock profile picture."

Lifting her toed boots, Deedri steps onto a rocky patch of forest floor and her teeth with a wary tone. "Also... As easy as it is for ME to push my boots into this dirt, I find it REALLY weird that a crashed drone this big isn't sunken in."

The team mulls over the observations, contemplating together. Outside the deliberations, Veevi pesters a very tolerant spirit under the attention of a camera crew.

A loud, powerful rumble of distant thunder rolls over the area and rattles the team back to the immediate reality. Chad peers up into the darkening skies and sighs uneasy. "Okay. Well, we found it. And, I think that's good enough for today. Let's double-time it back to the camp, and get ready to weather this storm."

Veevi reaches out with a stick, readying her swat at small glowing orbs. The surrounding spirits disperse away from her, swiftly disappearing. Cocking her head of pink hair to the side, she stands up and whines. "Aww! They all ran away."

Tassilda glares over and quips derisively. "I guess your stench finally drove them away."

Veevi and Tassilda lock confrontational glares. Deedri's ears flick around, hunting for a sound. Her frightened auburn eyes widen, her tail fur puffs out, and she calls out. "What is THAT?!"

Quickly approaching from the distant woods, a brightly shining being of translucent, angular shapes and jagged energy trails flies towards the crashed drone. It abruptly halts short of the downed craft, swiftly shifts opposite of the team, and hovers up. It pulsates a reddish light out in the area. A growing cacophony of calculated acoustic wave forms floods local soundscape in a strange chaotic chorus. Deedri steps back uncertainty, fear blatantly upon her face, and searches her mind frantically. Noticing the obvious unease, Chad motions slowly and positions himself defensively with Trakenthin and Modoran in front of Deedri, Tassilda, and Veevi. In a surge of reflexive fear, Veevi fumbles for her laser pistol and tries to draw it. She winces at the harsh clamping of Chad's hand upon hers. She glares bewildered at him in a mix of fright and anger. Chad remains quiet and drills a grave, serious stare through her.

The camera crews attempt to record, fighting constant equipment glitches, crashes, and malfunctions. Blinking, recognition rises into Deedri's mind, and she whispers to the team. "I think this is an Anima. It's a spirit that tends to affect technological devices and seems very interested in such things."

Chad directs his voice back over to Deedri and inquires. "Are they hostile? Aggressive?"

Deedri bites her lower lip uncertainly, drawing in an uneasy breath, and weakly shrugs. "The guide book said they are sometimes protective? Often territorial?"

Trakenthin darts his hazel eyes at the pathway in the trees, the anima's position, and the drone. With a few grath curses under his breath, he sternly signals everyone back. "Get away from the drone."

The team pieces together the situation enough and quickly arrive at the same conclusion. All step carefully back from the anima and craft. The distance from the anima grows, and the speed of the team's and crew's retreats increases. A bright, jagged thread travels the dark cloudy sky in a lightning flash. An overwhelming boom blasts down up the forest. The anima flickers chaotically, releasing a distorted screech, and slams into the drone.

Everyone in the area freezes. The quad propellers spin to full power, servos articulate motors downwards, and the aircraft leaps up into the air. Navigating the surrounding trees frantically, the drone slams hard into nearby trees and snaps through branches.

Blue white light floods the area. A jagged run of lightning launches up into the sky instantly. A spray of electrical arcs erupt out from the drone. The concussive eruption of air sends Chad, Deedri, Modoran, Trakenthin, Tassilda, and Veevi onto the dirt. Recording teams stumble upon the ground. A torrent of water drains through the canopy into a full downpour. Recovering from the blinding flash, deafening boom, and sudden soaking, the team struggles, the crew scrambling away. Chad, Deedri, Modoran, Trakenthin, Tassilda, and Veevi barely manage enough of a recovery of their senses and witness the anima infused drone roar out in an echoing, digital scream. Releasing a spray of electrical arcs into burning trees, the drone charges forth in flaming magical fury.

Everyone scatters in pure panic.