Realistic or Modern Fairweather Communications - Urban Fantasy

[Mikotsuhime]

Wade tilted his head to the side. He wondered if she was being honest, or if she was glossing things over. She had, after all, cared enough about Percival to invite him along.

“Well, I mean, I don’t really care all that much,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. ”If he makes a mess of things it’s his own fault. But he’s just not... He’s not as mature or put together as he seems, is all. And I just wanted you to know so you don’t get burned.”

’Like I did’ goes unsaid.

“Anyways, hell, give me an extra pillow. If I’m gonna be leeching off your hospitality, I might as well go all out,” he teased, though his smile faded a moment later. “And— I know you said you’re just doing your job, but I mean it. Thanks. It was... It wasn’t a good night, but it’s bearable now.”

Being here, surrounded by people who cared, even if it was just a little bit, made the urge to shrivel up and disappear settle down a bit. It was still there, but it wasn’t as deafening and all-consuming. Just a steady background hum that he could ignore if he tried.


Percival opened his mouth and then closed it again, gaping like a fish.

He was not good at being frank. If you flat out said what you wanted, it was easier for people to take advantage of you. You always had to be careful in conversations. The idea of just flat out saying ‘I don’t like that’ was completely foreign to him.

But it looked like they were at least trying. And he had upset them, even if he didn’t really understand how or why.

“I— Well. I can... perhaps make an effort,” he said, his cheeks pink. “Percy is... not my favourite name. I prefer Percival.”

It wasn’t great, But it was a start.

Lev glanced between Thea and the closed bedroom door for a second before he sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

“I’m fine,” he said, though his smile was a little thin. “She’s going through a rough time, and she needs a friend more than a relationship right now, I think. Maybe in the future things will change, and if it’s meant to be it’ll happen then.”

Percival blinked, confusion crossing his face.

“Wait,” he said, because he was starting to think he had gotten things wrong. “You were courting Doctor Drake?”

Lev stared at him, his eyebrows shooting up to his hairline.

“Uh. I mean. Kinda? Yeah?“ he said, completely bewildered. Percival looked equally confused.

“But I thought you were in love with Wade,” he blurted out, and Lev released a loud, snorting laugh.

”God, no,” he said once he had gotten a hold of his breathing. “Believe it or not, I am actually straight.”

 

[Vexumin]

Odhran gives the lass a long stare as she just kind of stood there. He wasn't sure what to make of this odd situation. She hadn't sit like he had offered for her and he usually was uncomfortable with unnatural silence. He slowly slides off his chair and just kind of half smiles at the lady that had approached him. "W-Well, sorry ya don't feel like sittin'. Hopefully you get a bit of, eh, clarity of mind in your near future?" Oddie shrugs his shoulders, not entirely sure how he should have worded that, but the second he finished talking, he starts to go on his way.

He shifts into a sort of half running pace. Just long strides that let him get from one place to another quicker and without all of the energy loss. Thankfully the Puca were a somewhat energetic race and could get to most places with ease. As he runs, he slides into an elevator just as it is about to close. Taking the lift back to his office space, he looks at his desk and frowns. Another file and another sticky note. He grabbed the file and looked over it for a long moment. His eyes are in a squint as he does so.

He grabs a pair of glasses from a low drawer and slides them onto his head. His eyesight ruined from long years of close study work and being close to computer screens. It bothered him sometimes, but that's just the thing with age, and though he was somewhat younger than most Puca, he still racked up many years in his life. After an hour of looking and occasionally glancing to his computer to fix the off bug within a program, he flops the file in hand back down onto his desk and breaths a sigh. "Right... Bit more lookin' around then." Odhran hops from the desk and heads down a few floors again.

 

[Reynarda]

Azrael shifted a little awkwardly. Maybe she shouldn't have brushed it off quite like that. She was starting to think she and Percival needed to have a sit-down chat about vampire parents. Her eyes slid to the door and she sighed. She supposed she wasn't even being honest with herself. She felt protective of Percival. He was a bit of an idiot, but her interactions with him had alluded to the fact that there was more at play with him than he let on. Seeing him look helpless while his father had torn Wade to shreds only reinforced that.

And all the kicked puppy looks he had given Wade were starting to make more sense. She couldn't help picturing Percival sulking in her office, wrapped in a blanket and sipping blood through a straw.

Azrael hesitated, then let out a breath. "Look, Wade, I know it's none of my business, but... well, I guess I just want to say when your dad is a rich asshole like that, it can be hard to... get your own feet under you." She quickly held up her hands. "I'm not excusing anything by any means. I just wanted to... I don't know. Come at it from a different perspective, I guess." She shrugged. "Charles Fairweather is a special breed of dick. If he ever comes after you again, let me know. I'll deal with him."

Azrael's lips twitched upwards. This annoying idiot was growing on her. "Well in that case, let me get you the best pillow."

As she pulled the largest pillow from the top shelf in her closet, she said. "You know... I'm not a mental health professional, but that doesn't mean I'm not happy sit and listen." She glanced over her shoulder and tossed him a genuine smile. "With or without the lab coat. Even if you just need a sympathetic ear."





Thea grinned. "If Percy isn't your favorite name, what is your favorite name? If you Margret or something I'm going to throw this pillow at you."

They grinned. "Sorry, that was a joke. I'm too used to the Doc. She usually just deflects all my jokes by saying something snarky."

Thea blinked and then shook her head. Dang, Dr. Drake did not know how good she had it. He was cute, sweet, and over here being all "she needs a friend right now". Like dang. "Well, if it helps, you made that woman smile more times in a single evening than I had managed all year. And I'm hilarious. I think the stalker really shook her up. If I ever catch up to him, I'm gonna beat his ass."

They blinked, looking between Lev and Percival. "Hold up, what? I thought maybe Wade had a crush on Lev, but Lev like Wade? Really?" They snorted. "I should spread that rumor around, that would be so funny."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Wade did not want to make light of what Azrael was saying. He understood. He understood a lot more than she thought.

But he coudn’t help but let out a sharp, bitter laugh.

“Trust me,” he said his voice dark. “I get asshole dads.”

Maybe it wasn’t fair to say ‘my dad was a dick and I turned out ok’. He was not really ok. He spent a week in the hospital’s psych unit after his high school graduation because his father’s misdeeds had messed him up that bad. In comparison, Percival’s actions were a lot more normal and understandable. But that didn’t make them right.

He took the pillow, fluffing it as he placed it behind his shoulders. He wasn’t sure if he should bring this up. Azrael had her own problems to deal with. But at the same time...

”My dad was a horrible person,” he said, because he had to start somewhere. He didn’t want to give the whole story, so he figured it was safest to be vague. “He and Charles Fairweather didn’t get along. Charles wanted to ruin his life, so he did. And the guy had it coming. I don’t feel bad at all, and he’s dead now, so good riddance.”

His voice was venomous, and he clutched the edge of his blanket.

“But Charles - he made it out like my mom was complicit in everything. Like she conspired with him. She didn’t. She didn’t know anything. But nobody cares about that. Everyone wants someone to blame.”

He sighed softly. He hadn’t actually told anyone about this since Lev three years ago. It was strange talking about it again. It wasn’t hurting, though. If anything it was cathartic.

“I moved to New York to get away from everything, you know? Start a new life where basically nobody knows me. I knew the area from when I went to school, but I was just a complete nobody, you know? It was really nice. That was five, maybe six years ago now. I worked three minimum wage jobs and it was hell, but it was like. The good kind of stress.“

He smiled at the memory, fiddling with the blanket in his hands. “And then I put in an application at Fairweather Communications. Mostly because I was pissed off. I’d changed my name and everything, but applying there was like a big middle finger to that whole family. Like ‘fuck you guys, I’m still here and I’m still kicking’. Every other place didn’t want me because I didn’t go to a fancy university, but Percival interviewed me. I thought he hired me because I was a good fit for the job, you know? But finding out that I only keep my job out of some kind of favour to him, that sucks. I’m not so proud that I’d quit over something like that, but... God, his dad is such a prick.“

He laughed again, bitter and angry.

”But like you said, you’re not that kind of doctor, right? I just figured... Well, you and Lev have a good thing going on. He trusts you, so I trust you. And if we’re gonna be friends or whatnot, I might as well tell the story, you know? Get it out in the open.”


Percival frowned. He didn’t really have a favourite name. Percival was his name, and it was what he liked to be called. Although...

”My brother calls me ‘Perce’, which is not bad,” he admitted. “But I am not entirely one for nicknames.”

Lev gave Thea a resigned smile, although his cheeks heated up a bit. It was nice to hear that he had improved her mood, if only a little bit.

“I mean, that’s all I really wanted, you know? To cheer her up. She’s helped me out a lot and I wanted to return the favour.”

His smile fell at the mention of the stalker, his mouth twisting into a frown.

“Yeah. We can figure out how to deal with that problem later. I won’t intervene if she doesn’t want me to, but I don’t want her to deal with it all by herself either,” he said solemnly.

Percival hummed in agreement. He could have the issue taken care of discreetly... His mother had most of the underground community of naga and lamia in the area under her thumb. But he had a feeling Azrael would object to him assassinating her stalker without permission.

Lev groaned loudly when Thea said they thought Wade had a crush on him. Percival looked absolutely crestfallen, and he quickly waved his hand dismissively.

“No, no, Wade’s just a touchy guy,” he said, eager to get that misunderstanding out of the way. Percival perked up a bit, and man, when he wasn’t on his guard, he really was easy to read. Lev wondered how he had seemed like a mystery for so long. ”Everyone thinks we’re like that, but we’re not. I had to go through like a month of my aunt giving these awkward speeches about how it’s ok to be gay before I finally convinced her I’m straight. We’re just really good friends.”

 

[Reynarda]

The last thing Azrael had expected was Wade to start sharing right then and there. As she did when any of her patients started talking about what they were going through, she sat. She perched on the edge of her bed, her eyes on Wade and her head tilted intently.

She winced a little when Wade expressed no sadness at his father's death. He must have been a truly horrible person to not be mourned by his own son. When he said Charles Fairweather had gone after his mother, Azrael's eyebrows lowered. Oh, she had pegged Charles as the worst kind of vampire, but she hadn't realized how right she was until now. It made her want to personally go after him.

"For what it's worth, they're lucky to have you. You have dragged many of your people down to me to be taken care of. From what some of your team have told me, you make sure they keep a healthy work/life balance. You also don't lord your position over them. And, you took good care of your newest, Mr. Shepard. Your team is one of the most productive in the company. Charles Fairweather can blather on about it being a favor all he wants. The simple truth is that your team is the backbone of the company, and without you, they would not accomplish half of what they do. You're a hard worker." She lifted one shoulder. "But even not from a profit standpoint, you go to bat for your team. That is more valuable than anything else, in my opinion."

She sighed when he laughed bitterly. "Yes... well, what I meant by saying I'm not that kind of doctor is that I feel out of my depth. That doesn't mean I'm not happy to talk with you about it."

She thought for a moment, wondering if she could get her hands on some psychology textbooks. The hospital library probably had some. She'd call them and ask to reserve them for her.

Azrael looked away when he said she and Lev had a good thing going. She opened her mouth and then closed it. Staring at the floor she said, "Yes, well... maybe don't go reading too much into that." She should just flat out say she wasn't interested so Wade could relay that to his best friend and they could all agree he had dodged a bullet, but something about having this conversation in her own bedroom was lowering her guard. "Lev is... he deserves better. I don't talk about my family because they're not great people. And I just... I don't want him to get hurt."






Thea snorted. "Percival it is, then. It's cool. I am not frightened by three syllable names."

Thea made a face. Dr. Drake would have stayed cheered up if that guy hadn't showed up. Groaning dramatically, they stretched across the arms of the chair and then flopped so that they were staring at the apartment upside-down. "Ugh, she's not going to let you help. She once struggled opening a box for like ten minutes all while refusing to let me help. She doesn't let people help. It's so annoying."

Thea nodded wisely. "What we need to do is help anyway. I'd say we hunt him down and beat him up all mafia-style, but she did say he's a cop so maybe we shouldn't do that. Might look bad. I dunno. I'm open to ideas."

"Hey, at least your aunt was cool with all that, you know? Some aunts might not be." Thea had noticed Percival's crushed expression when they said they thought Wade liked Lev. A smirk curled around their lips. "Yeah, well, that makes sense. Speaking of touchy guys though, what is he doing that's keeping Dr. Drake so long?"

They had a feeling Dr. Drake was probably trying to get Wade to let her take care of him, but it was way more fun to mess with Percival. They clearly couldn't ask him if he had a secret girlfriend--the guy went all stony when they had mentioned secret tails, after all--so this was almost as good.

 

[Snowcloud Dreamer]

"ooh good, if you do have any questions just ask." she smiles and then when you go to take a bite of your waffle that reminds her about the omelette she had just gotten and she takes a few bites of that too. then she puts down her fork and picks up her cards. "might as well take a peak at our secrets and find out which of us is the murderer." Akari says before giving those cards a peek. "You can go first. and I find it's eaiser to keep the secret cards seprate from the 6 cards in your hand. since the actual secrets sans the murder one don't make any difference what they are just if they are reviled or not, oh and once we get a discard you can draw from there instead of the deck."

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Skye took a peek as well. She nodded to additional advice. She then took her secrets cards and separated them from her six other cards. She shuffled through her cards to try to see what she should do first. She picked out a Tommy and Tuppence and put them on the table. "Time to reveal a secret." She said before taking a sip of her coffee.

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Wade had not really been expecting a pep talk. He wasn't quite sure what he had been expecting, actually. But when Azrael listed all his good qualities, he felt himself blushing.

"Well," he began, about to refute everything she said, but he forced himself to stop. He had gone over this with his therapist. It was rude to refuse compliments, and she wouldn't be saying these things if she didn't believe them. Somehow that made his blush worse.

"I... Thanks," he said finally, feeling a little warm in his chest. Most people who weren't directly on his team thought he was just loud and brash, causing problems for everybody. It was nice to hear the opposite.

But maybe he should have warned her before going off on his whole life story.

"Ah, I didn't mean to pressure you or anything," he said with a wry chuckle. "I do see a therapist. I try to do everything I'm supposed to, you know? That was less... I guess I just wanted to open up as a friend more than anything."

And it had also been a long night. He was perhaps more loose-lipped than he would be normally. And when she started going on about how her family sucked and Lev deserved better, he found his lips pursing.

"Speaking of therapists. I'm gonna tell you what mine told me," he said, hoping he wasn't too out of line. "And that's that you shouldn't decide for other people what they deserve. If somebody wants to associate with you, it's because they see something they like. You turning around and saying you're not worth it is shitting all over their choices and judgment. Sure, you might be hiding secrets. But Lev's friends with me, and my family's a mess. And he likes you, clearly. Even if you're not ready to date anyone, try not to push him away, yeah? He's a lot more durable than you'd think."



Lev laughed, though there wasn't much humour in it.

"Yeah," he said, because he knew 'not wanting help' all too well. "But we can't force it, you know?"

He had a feeling Thea would try to force it anyways. He'd have to keep an eye on them.

"Beating up the stalker is not a good idea. If you go after someone like that, they'll always take it out on the victim once they're able to," he explained, paroting what his mother had told him over and over again. "And, you know, he is a cop. So that sucks."

Percival raised his eyebrows, clearly a bit surprised.

"She's being stalked by a police officer?" he asked in disbelief. Well, that made disappearing him a bit harder, if that option came up.

But then Thea was joking about Wade and Azrael, and Percival deflated. Azrael was pretty and successful, so it made sense. Although he was also successful, and he didn't think he was unattractive. He could certainly at least give her a run for her money--

"Nah, Wade's like horrible with women," Lev said, because he could see the gears turning in Percival's head, and it was a little mean to let him flounder like that. But the more he thought about it... "Actually, though, they would be a good match. I mean, not them specifically, but Wade needs somebody who'll butt heads with him and take care of him when he needs it, you know? Azrael's really strong willed like that."

He was just speculating, but he saw Percival deflate once more and quickly waved his hands.

"Not that I'm saying they'd ever get together. I obviously don't want that, you know, because of reasons. I think maybe we should not talk about this."

 

[Reynarda]

Azrael clicked her tongue at his blushing. Clearly Wade needed more verbally honest people in his life. People probably just assumed he was self-assured since he had a habit of throwing his weight around.

She smiled, glad he saw a therapist. Good. At least he recognized he needed help and was making strides to make sure he was okay. "Good. But if you ever need someone to talk you up, come ask me what I hear about you from your team. I'll include my own analysis as well." She paused, pressing her lips together. "And if you need someone to bully you into getting proper sleep and eating well, that is a friendship service I also provide. I'm sure I can get Lev to snitch on you."

She blinked when he turned the tables on her. She had hoped he would agree with her and promise to tell Lev there were better, less criminal fish in the sea. But instead, he pointed out she wasn't being fair to Lev. She wanted to point out that Wade's family weren't perched on a bloody criminal empire, but what did she know? She guessed his father was some sort of businessman since Charles Fairweather had gone after him, but there were other ways to hurt people besides murder. But also his father was dead, he couldn't hurt anyone anymore. Not that she thought any of the trouble would come from her family themselves. Her parents would probably be thrilled. She just didn't want him getting tangled up in all the trouble that followed her naturally.

But maybe Wade was right. Maybe she could at least stay friends with him. Though, she should probably be a little upfront with him about what he was getting into. She would ease him into it, maybe.

Azrael slid off the bed and smiled at Wade. "Sounds like your therapist is an intelligent person. I suppose I could take their advice." Hand on the door, she paused. "And thanks. I'll... give it a shot."

She almost explained that as long as he was in her house on good faith, he was under her protection in accordance with vampire etiquette, but instead settled on, "Get some rest. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."



Thea frowned. "Dang, you're right. Ok, I'm running all my plans by you first," they decided. The last thing they wanted was the guy to go after Azrael just because they had busted his kneecaps. They huffed. "Yeah, the guy's got guts, I'll give him that. I once crept up on her unintentionally, and she almost took my eye out with a scalpel. Now I always announce myself at the door."

Thea grinned as Percival drooped like a neglected flower. The poor guy. He was making this too easy.

But now Lev was dropping a little and they realized they needed to rescue the two men. "Oh don't even worry. The Doc is most likely in there giving him a lecture about how important proper sleep is. Don't even worry, the thought hasn't even crossed her mind. I'm pretty sure she's put him in the 'sibling' category. She has like four categories. There's 'patient', 'sibling', 'person she couldn't care less about', and 'enemy'. Percival, you and me and Wade are in the sibling category. You know you're in this category when she tries to bully you into doing more good things for yourself. Also, she does this with her face." Thea made an expression that Dr. Drake had probably never made in her life, pressing their lips together in a weird smile and raising their eyebrows. "No, hang on, it's more like this." They shifted the smile to more of a soft smirk, which looked a little more like something Azrael might do. "And Lev, you're in a brand new category we shall call the "what the heck" category. She'll probably still bully you, though, so I hope you're prepared."

Thea stretched, pleased with themself for explaining the complexities of Azrael Drake, MD. They glanced at the still ball to find Scooter breathing softly in sleep. They stood with a groan. "I bet the Doc has some secret ice cream in her freezer. She thinks I don't know she keeps ice cream in the break room freezer behind her smoothie supplies, but I do."

They strode over to the freezer and pulled it open. Thea stared at the contents. Welp. That wasn't ice cream. That was blood, they were pretty sure. Guess they could check that on their bingo card. Thea carefully angled themselves to block the freezer from view of Lev and Percival. There was probably still secret ice cream in here.

Azrael stepped out of her bedroom to find her medical assistant rooting through the blood in her freezer. Her heart nearly stopped, and she took in a sharp intake of breath.

Thea glanced over their shoulder to find Azrael staring at them, blood gone from her face. "Woman! Were is your secret ice cream? I want it!"

Azrael's mouth opened and closed several times before she forced her feet to move forward. She crossed the room and crouched to pull out a small tub of chocolate ice cream.

"See, I knew you had secret ice cream." Thea tossed her a cheery wink as they grabbed a spoon.

Azrael let out the breath she had been holding. "Is this what you do? Go to people's houses and root through their food?"

"Yup." Thea portioned out a generous helping into a bowl. "You said to make ourselves at home."

Azrael rolled her eyes. "Would you like cookie dough to go in it?"

"Heck yes."

Azrael opened the freezer and pulled out a small zip-lock bag of cookie dough pieces and paused, trying to remember what she put in it. Nothing that was bad for humans. She shook a few out onto Thea's ice cream and leaned on the counter, looking at Percival and Lev. "Anyone else want ice cream while Thea's got it out?"

She guessed Percival didn't, but Lev might. And she might as well share since Thea had gone digging through her freezer.

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Wade gave her a small smile. It was a bit embarrassing to hear nice things about him from somebody who wasn't Lev or his mom, but it was also kind of nice.

And she had promised to give Lev a chance. He was glad; Lev deserved a good woman in his life.

"Thanks, I will," he said, pulling the covers up to his chin and tucking himself in.


Lev laughed. It was important to find humour in the situation, even if it wasn't funny.

"Don't feel bad or anything," he told Thea. "My mom taught me the best ways to handle this stuff when a friend of mine had a shitty boyfriend in high school. I wanted to beat him up too, but that would have just made things worse."

He hadn't been seriously worried about Azrael and Wade hooking up, but it was nice that Thea was kind of pumping him up. He appreciated it.

"I don't mind being bullied a bit," he said, then paused. That... probably did not sound very good in this context. "I mean. Uhm. You know, in the friendly way. I'm not into weird stuff or anything."

He was really kind of making a fool of himself a lot tonight. He groaned and leaned back in his seat.

Percival's eyes went wide as Thea just waltzed into the kitchen and helped themselves to Azrael's freezer.

"Is it really appropriate to be rooting in her kitchen?" He asked, a little horrified. Lev glanced at him, then smirked.

"Let me guess, you were the kind of kid who was terrified to touch anything any time you went to a friend's house?" he teased. Percival glared at him, but he didn't actually seem to hate him anymore. Gosh, if Lev had known he was just being a petty kid, he would have told him he was straight sooner.

"I didn't visit friends' houses often," Percival replied stiffly. Mostly to hide the fact that Lev was right. When he had visited Wade's dorm room for the first time he had stood awkwardly in the middle of the room until Wade told him to sit down 'wherever'.

He really should stop Thea. Azrael likely had blood in her freezer, if her freezer was anything like his own. But Thea already was angry at him earlier, and he didn't want to upset them and in turn upset Azrael. This was stressful. Was this what having friends was like? He was exhausted already. He couldn't imagine working with them.

"Sure, why not," Lev said, because if the ice cream was there, he wasn't saying no. Percival shook his head.

"No, thank you. I'm quite alright."

 

[Reynarda]

Thea laughed. "Literally no one was thinking that until you said that," they informed him with a grin.

They laughed at Percival's and Lev's exchange. "You don't do this to just anyone. You gotta know who's gonna care and who's not. The Doc will make her annoyed face but she won't actually mind."

Thea watched Azrael scoop to make sure Lev was not getting special treatment before cheerily carrying the bowl to him. Azrael glanced at the inside of the carton and shrugged to herself. Might as well finish it off. She dumped some cookie dough into it and grabbed a spoon. Thea waved her into the chair and then sat on the floor, refusing to look at her as she attempted to get the guest to sit in her chair. With a resigned sigh, Azrael sat, draping one knee over the arm.

"We're trying to figure out what to do about your stalker," Thea said, digging into their ice cream.

"Nothing," Azrael said. "I will handle him."

"See? Told you she'd refuse help."

"Thea, he is dangerous."

"Can't be that dangerous," Thea stuck their spoon in their mouth thoughtfully. "Is he human?"

"Yes. But that doesn't mean he's not dangerous." Azrael made a face and poked her ice cream with her spoon. "I swear he's part cat. The man has nine lives."

Thea snickered. "Why, how many times have you tried to kill him?"

"Zero," Azrael said, scowling at Thea. "Anyway, I will deal with him, end of conversation."

Thea opened their mouth, but they could feel the Doc giving them a dark look. "For now," they said.

Shaking her head, Azrael glanced at her three remaining guests. "Are any of you tired? I can rig up some beds if so."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Lev groaned, because of course his big mouth would get him in trouble.

Percival sat on the edge of his seat, one eyebrow raised, but he didn't comment. It didn't seem appropriate.

Lev took the ice cream, then winced a bit as Thea bluntly said they were trying to figure out a solution to the stalker problem.

"Well, I think what they mean is that we're here if you need us, however you need us," he clarified, because that sounded a lot better than 'we are going to handle this whether you like it or not'. "Even if it's just having somebody to talk to, or walk you to your car or something."

He gave Thea a pointed look, because the next part was important.

"Neither of us are going to make contact with this man if you don't want us to," he said clearly. "This is your problem, and it's up to you how to go about solving it. But, you know, we're here for you. I don't want you to shut us out because it's too dangerous."

Percival hummed in agreement.

"If it would be helpful, I could increase security on the ground floor," he suggested. "Your assistant mentioned the assailant is a police officer, but unless he has a warrant he won't be allowed in the building."

Lev wasn't entirely sure if that was the right way to go about things, but he wasn't going to call Percival out on it.

But Azrael didn't want to talk about this, so he wasn't going to drag it out.

"I could sleep," he admitted. "It's been a long night and--"

Lev broke off at the sound of an abrupt snore from the bedroom, and he had to choke down a laugh.

"I can sleep on the floor," he said, while Percival huffed.

He had turned his phone off earlier to follow after Wade, but it had been long enough that if he didn't turn it back on soon, his mother would call the police herself.

He pulled the phone out and fipped it open, turning it on and wincing as it buzzed. The screen announced ten text messages and seven unheard voice mails from both his mother and Normandy. There was one from Tristain that only read 'stop causing problems over your pet project', and he frowned as he immediately deleted it.

"I should be going, actually," he said grimly. "I didn't tell my mother I was leaving with you, so she and my sister are quite worried."

He headed to the door, having not taken off his coat, but paused before reaching into his coat pocket.

He pulled out an old gas receipt and a pen, scribbling down his number.

"This is my personal phone, if you need anything. I only ask nobody use it during work hours, unless there's an emergency."

 

[Reynarda]

Azrael sighed. The last thing she wanted Dekker knowing was that she had friends now. Mostly because he didn't believe her capable of friends and would therefore assume they were business partners of hers. He might learn something if he looked closely at the Fairweathers. She did not want that--mostly for Percival's sake. In the event he labeled Lev or Thea as "poor unfortunate souls that witch has duped", he'd try to warn them. Neither of them were stupid. They'd probably realize there was truth in his ravings.

She suppose she should be feeling warm and fuzzy that she had people who wanted to help. The first time he had hunted her down, she had gotten an unsigned card in the mail in her mother's handwriting saying they had lost track of him and to be on the lookout. Her parents clearly hadn't been worried. He was just some human. All he could do was out her and force her to withdraw from med school, no big deal. Luckily he had been brand new on the force and clearly didn't remember what she looked like. He hadn't even realized he had come to the right school until she stupidly stopped to watch a local police officer yell at him for harassing research students.

She couldn't help smiling at Lev's kindness. She appreciated it, she really did, but she just couldn't risk it.

"No," Azrael said when Percival suggested not letting him in unless he had a warrant. The more they escalated this, the worse it would get. Right now she had ways to make sure it didn't get worse. "If you did that, he will come back with an actual warrant," she said. "Let me keep the warrant thing to hold above his head. Look, he hasn't bugged me in three years. He's here because he wants something. I need to just figure out what it is." She laughed bitterly. "Who knows, maybe it's medical advice."

Azrael paused, figuring that wouldn't assuage anyone's concerns, especially since Thea had their face all screwed up in displeasure. "Why don't we do this? I will let one of you know where I am at all times. I'll tell you if he approaches me, alright? If I haven't checked in after say, an hour, you have my permission to come after me, guns blazing. Fair?"

"Fiiiiiiine," Thea groaned.

Azrael stood and dug in the hall closet. She tossed several blankets and pillows at Thea, who squawked indignantly. "Here, make a little bed for Lev."

While Thea began extracting themself from the mass of pillows and blankets, Azrael followed Percival to the door.

"Are you going to be alright?" she asked, hoping her voice was low enough that Thea wouldn't hear and hoping Thea would be thoroughly distracting Lev. She glanced down at his phone. She hadn't missed the incessant vibrating after he turned it on. "You aren't going to get raked across the coals for this, are you? You could stay here."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

She was worried. Lev could tell that they weren’t doing a great job of assuaging her fears, but he didn’t really blame her. She had history with this man, whatever it was, and she had secrets. Even an idiot could tell that much.

Lev just wished she would believe him when he told her the past didn’t matter.

Thea didn’t seem pleased, though, so he eyed the bundle of blankets and grinned. He had an idea how to take their mind off it.

”I don’t need a lot,” he said, standing up. He had guessed where the bathroom was earlier, since there were only two other rooms in the place, and Wade was cuddled up in one. “Hang here for a sec.”

He retreated to the bathroom to take off his clothes, and then folded them neatly so he could get them in the morning. He left the door open a crack so he wouldn’t need to use hands, and then shifted.

It had been a very, very long time since he had walked around as a fox. It was a little disorienting, but not to the point where he was overly bothered. He hit the door with his nose to push it open, and then headed over to the pile of blankets Thea had laid down.

He didn’t quite look like a regular fox; his colouring was off, and there was the hint of magic that dogged his form. He was more gold than orange, even though he wasn’t blond in his human form.

Thea had seemed entranced by his ears earlier, so he figured this might distract them from Azrael’s predicament for a bit. It was always novel to humans.


Percival nodded, content to let Azrael decide how she would handle her stalker. He wasn’t going to escalate if she didn’t want to. When she asked if he wanted to stay, he was very tempted to say yes. But ignoring his parents now would only make it worse later.

”It’s better I go,” he said, keeping his voice similarly quiet. ”If I stay out tonight, It will only make them angrier when I do return.”

He imagined his mother would be more worried than angry, and then give him a lecture about how he never acted like this until he met that Harris boy. She would fret over him, and his father would give him a severely disappointed look. If he was lucky, it would end with only a lecture and a mild punishment.

If he was unlucky, it certainly wasn’t himself he was worried for.

He cast a glance to the bedroom, then hesitated as he placed his hand on the doorknob.

“I know it’s entirely unfair of me to ask,” he started, his voice strangled. “But... If my father goes after Wade because of this, could you... be on his side?”

He still didn’t know what had happened tonight to make Wade so angry. Charles didn’t feel the need to tell him, but it was clearly a punishment meant for the both of them. Charles had learned years ago that Wade Harper was the easiest way to keep his son in check. Percival hated how well it worked, to keep him using the same trick over and over again.

But he couldn’t do anything about it. There was no way he could ever defy his father or the Fairweather empire, regardless of the cost.

 

[Reynarda]

Thea waited obediently, still displeased that Dr. Drake wasn't letting them help and Lev had agreed to let her decide how she would handle it. Making a grumpy face to let everyone know they were displeased with the situation, they arranged some blankets in a little nest.

But all thoughts of that immediately evaporated as the most beautiful fox they had ever seen in their whole life pranced out of the bathroom. Thea's brain short-circuited. They knew, distantly, that this was their friend and one did not just start petting their friends without permission.

Thea let out a small squeal that they drew out for several seconds. "Oh. My. Stars." They held their hands up to their mouth as if doing so would contain the excitement. "You're so cute! I can't."

Their fingers kept twitching towards Lev's very soft-looking head, so they finally just sat on their hands. They would not start petting their friend.

"That's not fair," Thea finally said. "How dare you be so cute. That should be illegal. How's the bed I made? Wait! Can you talk while in fox form? Is that a stupid question? I'm sorry, I just can't. Why are people afraid of fox spirits? You're so frickin' adorable."




Azrael nodded. She understood that. But she also wanted to give him the option. "If you ever need to get away, you're welcome to hide out over here."

She arched an eyebrow, wondering what unfair thing Percival was about to ask of her. If it was just to keep an eye on Wade, she was already doing that. But when he asked to side with Wade, she flashed Percival a bit of fang in her wicked grin. She would have sided with Wade just for the opportunity to side against Charles Fairweather. But even if she hadn't ended up liking that pain the ass, Lev liked him and Percival liked him. She would have had to like him by proxy.

"You don't even have to ask," Azrael said, smirking a little. "I'm in Wade's corner already."

Azrael hesitated. She understood how terrifying vampire parents perched on an empire they'd spent centuries building could be, but she still felt that it needed to be said. Softening her expression, she said, "You know, I think Wade would like to have you in his corner, too." Someone who was better at this might have reached out and rested a hand on Percival's shoulder, but Azrael only leaned towards him slightly. "I don't know what happened and I don't need to, but you don't have to play by anyone's rules but your own. Wade is important to you. Act on it."

 

[Snowcloud Dreamer]

Skye took a peek as well. She nodded to additional advice. She then took her secrets cards and separated them from her six other cards. She shuffled through her cards to try to see what she should do first. She picked out a Tommy and Tuppence and put them on the table. "Time to reveal a secret." She said before taking a sip of her coffee.

"Well putting the set down into play and playing it happen on two separate turns. so yea that'll happen but I get a turn first." I say and draw a card, and then discard a devious card.
"and of course I'd get nothing useful. alright now you can make me revel a secret." I say and flip over a secret card. it reads 'Untouched, you've never been kissed and would kill for one' I sigh a bit as I look at it. "never liked that card hits to close to home. anyways. that's your turn as you played a set, so now for mine, and lets do a card swap." I say as I place that card down, then offer you one of the cards in my hand but holding it so to you it's still face down. "so um, what's your favorite show? or do you have one? also don't feel like you have to pick something; normal;" she says while making air quotes. "because that word is so relative you could actually end up making me think your weirder then had you told me your actual favorite." she says with hint of frustration in her tone. "peoples obsession with normal has been the source of way to many problems. and I'm going to stop there before I get tempted to hop up onto a soap box. so uh encase it got lost in my little rant. do you have a favorite show?"

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Skye looked down at the Untouched card. She felt bad about what Akari had said. She gaped for words to encourage her coworker but couldn't find any. In the end, she kept silent and took the card she was offered. She then gave up a Harley Quinn card which she only did because she didn't understand how to use it and thought that maybe it wasn't a good card. She also didn't have another Harley Quinn to match it with. She could've read the card, but she was too distracted listening to Akari and trying to figure out what to say. She held out the card face down so Akari could take it. She listened as Akari got passionate and ranted on about normal. She found the rant surprisingly encouraging and decided to actually tell the truth for once. "Um, well." She started, "I don't really watch shows anymore. Well, I would, but I can't really afford it. I'm living on my own now and have other expenses that are more important. That being said, when I was younger and lived with my family I watched a lot of shows. I think my favorite back then must've been Sabrina the Teenage Witch."

She didn't say why it was her favorite. But the reason why it was was because she felt like she could connect with Sabrina. Even though in the show she was a witch and Skye was a werewolf she felt like she could understand the struggles of being different from everyone else. Especially in her family. That show was always a comfort for her. Plus, Salem was funny.

She took a card from her deck, which was a point your suspicions card and put it in the discard pile. She then took a card from the pile. She didn't think that one would be any use in a game of two. She noticed she only had four cards because she had put down the two detective cards at the start of the game. "Wait, am I supposed to take more from the pile or do those two still count as my cards?" She tilted her head a little, like a confused puppy. Something she had a habit of doing when she was confused on something or asking a question. She always wondered if it was a werewolf thing or just a subconscious thing she always did.

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Thea's reaction was exactly what Lev had been counting on. They seemed thoroughly distracted, and had he been able to smile with a fox's face, he would have.

They wanted to pet so bad. They were showing surprising self restraint, so he decided to reward them by nodding to their hand and then bowing his head so they could scratch behind his ears. His dad would say it was domesticated behaviour, but Lev knew he had let his mom scratch behind his ears more than once. It was just nice.

When they asked if he could speak he shook his head. Fox spirits of his kind could, but that required magic and training he didn't have. He had no intention of becoming powerful or formidable. He just wanted to live a normal life.

He eyed the bed Thea had made, then curled up on one of the pillows. He looked up at them as if to say 'see? I don't take up much room'.



"I'll keep that in mind," Percival said, his lips curving into the ghost of a smile.

He doubted he would ever take her up on her offer, but it was nice to know that it was there regardless.

But when she said Wade wanted him in his corner too, he felt his smile go sad. Right. Maybe that had been true at one point, but he had messed that up rather royally. Wade still hated him thirteen years later, so he figured that bridge was already burnt.

But... Perhaps she had a point. Wade was important to him, and it was his refusal to stand up and claim that importance that had led to all of this in the first place.

Next time he would say something when his father tried to punish Wade to get at him.

"Thank you, Azrael," he said, his voice quiet as he bowed his head in the traditional vampire show of respect. "Your support means a lot. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to get in touch."

With that, he slipped his shoes on and headed out. It wasn't late to the point of worry, but it was probably around one in the morning. The streets in this part of town were fairly quiet. He stood outside the building, pulling out his cell phone to call a cab.

 

[Reynarda]

Thea suck air sharply through their teeth when they were invited to pet Lev's head. They reached out, tentatively resting their hand on Lev's head. Thea let out a long sigh. "So soft."

They figured it was okay to scratch his ears a little because they personally loved when their mom had scratched their head when they were little. They reasoned it would be really funny if foxes purred.

Thea shrugged when Lev shook his head. Not seeming bothered by the fact he wouldn't be able to verbally respond, they said, "You know, it's really not fair that you're cuter than me."

When Lev curled up on one the pillows, Thea chuckled and adjusted the nest so it was fox-sized. They really wished Dr. Drake would turn around because they were desperate to see her expression.



Azrael couldn't help smiling when Percival used her given name and then dipped his head in respect. It was so nice to interact with another vampire on friendly terms. "I won't," she promised, nodding to the gas receipt with his number on it. "Be careful."

Part of her wanted to tell him to call her when he got home just so she would know he was safe but he was a grown half-vampire who could take care of himself. She fully intended to corner him later and demand to know what his family had done to him, anyway. She didn't want to be too overbearing.

"May your night be clear," she called softly after Percival before closing the door.

She turned to find Thea gesturing dramatically at a golden fox curled up on one of her pillows.

Azrael did not coo over babies or want to pet every dog she saw--maybe just some of the dogs she saw. But if her heart really were dead like the legends said, that sight would have started it again.

Thea had never seen that expression on the Doc's face before, and they honestly didn't know how to interpret it. She looked a little like her brain was not working.

"Is that Lev?" Azrael said stupidly, because of course it was Lev, who else would it be?

"Isn't he the cutest thing you've ever seen?" Thea asked, smirking at the doctor who seemed to have been glued to the spot in front of her door.

The answer was "yes", but Azrael wasn't about to deal with that right now.

"I bet if you asked nicely he'd let you pet his ears," Thea said, still in that smug tone.

"I'm not--Thea," Azrael huffed, turning to the thermostat and lowering the temperature. She didn't lower it to her preferred temperature as she knew Thea was cold-natured, but she did lower it enough so that she was a little more comfortable.

"If you think this is bad, you should have seen the time when one of our patients brought her newborn to meet her," Thea said in an aside to Lev. "The baby smiled and the mom was all, 'Aw, she likes you!' And Dr. Drake panicked and said, 'Babies don't have control of their facial muscles until two months of age.'" Thea watched Dr. Drake put a drowsy Scooter back in her habitat. "So the mom had some tests done and she had to hold the baby. That baby fell right to sleep."

Azrael scowled. That was because she had held the infant close to her heart and then had hummed at a frequency that calmed human and vampire children alike. It was science.

"Will you stop straightening your apartment and come over here," Thea said with a snort.

Azrael stopped fiddling with the throw pillows and huffed. It wasn't that Lev was very cute in his fox form--okay, it was a little that--it was more that he had felt comfortable enough to shift fully into his fox form in her home. She didn't deserve that level of trust. She hadn't even trusted him with her own actual species. And what if he would be able to smell the species differences between Thea's and her scents in this form? He would know she was lying to him.

Thea flopped to the side and grabbed the hem of Dr. Drake's duster. Azrael let out a small yelp when Thea yanked and dragged her sideways. She twisted so as to not fall on her medical assistant and landed awkwardly on her knees next to Thea. Thea grabbed her arm so she couldn't escape.

"Lev has officially become the cutest of fang gang," Thea announced. "I'm mad. I require a consolation prize."

Azrael snorted. "You're a different kind of cute, Thea."

"Thank you."

Turning to Lev, Azrael opened her mouth. Then she closed it and cleared her throat. "I have to say I'm honored, Lev."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Lev pushed his head into Thea's hand, very thoroughly enjoying the head scratches.

This form was quite inconvenient in the big city, but there were some very prime advantages.

When Thea suggested that Azrael pet his ears, Lev nodded. He would very much like that. It wasn't as weird when he asked for affection in this form, and people were usually more ready to give it without feeling weird about it. It was part of the reason why he'd shifted in the first place, aside from his bid to distract Thea.

He sat up curiously as Azrael finally turned around, and he looked very pleased with himself as his tail swished back and forth. He wasn't very vain about his human form, but his fox form was pretty. And cute.

He didn't have the capability to laugh, but he made a noise that sounded like a huff of air when Thea told him about Azrael's adventures in babysitting. That was cute. He had no trouble believing that that had happened.

She seemed a bit awkward now, though. He wondered if maybe he had misjudged things. But then Thea was bemoaning how he was cuter than them, so he patted them placatingly on the arm with his paw.

And then Azrael said she was honoured. Lev's ears stood up straight, and he looked very proud as he jumped over and headbutted her knee.

He hadn't really even been thinking about it too hard when he shifted. He felt safe here, and he trusted Azrael. Regardless of past or secrets, he at least knew she would never hurt him, and that was all that mattered.

 

[Snowcloud Dreamer]

Skye looked down at the Untouched card. She felt bad about what Akari had said. She gaped for words to encourage her coworker but couldn't find any. In the end, she kept silent and took the card she was offered. She then gave up a Harley Quinn card which she only did because she didn't understand how to use it and thought that maybe it wasn't a good card. She also didn't have another Harley Quinn to match it with. She could've read the card, but she was too distracted listening to Akari and trying to figure out what to say. She held out the card face down so Akari could take it. She listened as Akari got passionate and ranted on about normal. She found the rant surprisingly encouraging and decided to actually tell the truth for once. "Um, well." She started, "I don't really watch shows anymore. Well, I would, but I can't really afford it. I'm living on my own now and have other expenses that are more important. That being said, when I was younger and lived with my family I watched a lot of shows. I think my favorite back then must've been Sabrina the Teenage Witch."

She didn't say why it was her favorite. But the reason why it was was because she felt like she could connect with Sabrina. Even though in the show she was a witch and Skye was a werewolf she felt like she could understand the struggles of being different from everyone else. Especially in her family. That show was always a comfort for her. Plus, Salem was funny.

She took a card from her deck, which was a point your suspicions card and put it in the discard pile. She then took a card from the pile. She didn't think that one would be any use in a game of two. She noticed she only had four cards because she had put down the two detective cards at the start of the game. "Wait, am I supposed to take more from the pile or do those two still count as my cards?" She tilted her head a little, like a confused puppy. Something she had a habit of doing when she was confused on something or asking a question. She always wondered if it was a werewolf thing or just a subconscious thing she always did.

You got a Mrs Marble card from Akari for the card swap, and she then looks to see what card you gave her while you where thinking up a reply. She then smiles "Ah I've heard of that cartoon but I can't say I've watched it. though I'd have to say i do miss those old cartoons from that era they where better then modern ones.so now I watch eastern ones, better known as anime. but since I'm curios what if any other show of that era you might of seen have you seen Rescute Rangers or Tailspin?" she giggles a bit. "ooh you gave me a wild card that was nice of you. any ways when you play or discard more then one card at the end of your turn your supposed to pick up as many as you need to get back up to 6 cards. so go ahead and do that now then take your turn." She then smiles and puts down her cards and goes to much some more on her food. she did notice the puppy style head tilt but just thought it made skye look more cute.

 

[Reynarda]

Azrael chuckled as Lev headbutted her knee. Her shoulders relaxed. Maybe it would be okay if she just very gently patted his head. He was clearly alright with it. All her muscles tense, ready to jerk back at the slightest sign he was uncomfortable, Azrael very carefully ran her fingertips around the base of Lev's ear.

Oh that was soft. As he didn't seem to be tucking his tail and running, she stroked the top of his head. He was very pretty, Thea was not wrong. And his pretty golden fur felt very nice under her hand.

"Are you... humming?"

"What?" Azrael said, startling and feeling her face heat up. "No. Why would I be humming?"

Thea eyed her for a second, and Azrael made sure the blood stayed away from her face. She needed to get a hold of herself. She knew she lacked tactile stimulation, but if she was humming just from this, it was worse than she thought.

"You made that same sound when I was doing your hair, too," Thea mused.

Azrael's cheeks flushed despite her best efforts.

"Are you secretly a cat? Are you purring?"

"No! It's not--I'm not purring." It was kind of like purring. "Will you just let me be content, yeesh."

Thea held their hands up in surrender.

Azrael returned her attention to Lev's velvety ears and sighed. Thea and Lev trusted her by being unapologetically themselves around her. But she had been lying to them.

They wouldn't judge her or be afraid of her. They had rallied around her when they found out someone was after her. And anyway, Thea had already seen the contents of her freezer.

Azrael took a deep breath and forced it back out. She could feel her heart rate skyrocketing, and she didn't even bother to try to bring it down with her magic. There was no point, it wouldn't work. She felt a little shaky and dizzy so she took another deep breath and slowly let it out.

"Doc?" Thea ventured, resting a hand on her arm.

"I haven't been completely honest with you two," she admitted, her heart pounding in her ears. It was probably nearing normal human rates. "And I need to tell you something."

"You're pregnant," Thea said, deadpan.

Azrael startled and twisted to face them. "What?! No! Why would you think that?"

"I didn't, you were just making me nervous," Thea admitted. "I figured I'd break your panic a bit. Anyway, it can't be more dramatic than that, so carry on."

Letting out a breathy laugh, Azrael shook her head. "No, not that. But--" She took another deep breath. Oh, this was hard. She'd never done this before. "I'm not, um, human."

"No, don't tell me!" Thea said, clapping their hands over their ears.

"What?" Azrael said, more confused than she had ever been in her entire life.

"Doc, I have been trying to guess for two years. I'm so close."

"What?" Azrael repeated, shocked that Thea had known she wasn't human.

"Wait, wait, wait, let me guess." Dr. Drake just stared at them, so Thea continued, "Ok, ok, so you have pointed ears and sharp teeth."

"What?"

"Oh, come on! You've never noticed me smoothing your hair over your ears? I do that all the time. Now shush, I'm thinking." Thea thought very deeply. "You have a thing for plants and you healed a coyote. So I'm thinking some kind of... unseelie? Or something?"

Azrael stared at her medical assistant. "You saw the blood in my freezer, Thea Kennedy, and you think I'm some kind of fae."

"Alright, unseelie is a no. Dang, I was so sure on that one."

Azrael was so lost and confused that she glanced at the fox sitting in her living room to see if he knew what was going on.

"Do you have any other forms?"

"No, the myth about bats is largely incorrect." When Thea hmmed, Azrael snickered, the tension sliding from her shoulders. "I just gave you a hint."

Thea squinted at her. "Your eyes look red sometimes... hang on. Banshee?"

"No." This was not at all how Azrael had thought this was going to go.

"Dang. Alright, I give up. What are you."

Azrael grinned, actually grinned, showing off her teeth. "Well I'm not telling you now. This is too amusing."

Thea groaned. "And Lev can't even help me because he can't talk in this form. I know what you are. You're a jerk."

"That is not a species," Azrael said, snickering.

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Skye took two more cards from the pile and was now back up to six cards. "I was actually referring to the original Sabrina, but I do remember seeing a few episodes of the animated one too." She had to think about Rescue Rangers and Talespin for a second. Those shows sounded familiar, but she couldn't remember where. She knew they had aired on Disney, that much she remembered. After a few seconds of thinking about it she remembered. "I think my little sister watched those shows. I must've been in the room when they were on because I do remember that Talespin had a bear character named Kit, what was his last name, something to do with clouds I think. Anyways, I specifically remember him because he did that sky skiing thing and it reminded me of my name." She blushed a little, because to her it sounded silly and she was a bit embarrassed she had told her coworker that. She was remembering more and more of Talespin and remembered actually liking it. She remembered her older brother would jokingly tease her about watching the cartoon. She had hated when he did that when she was younger. But, as she got older realized that he didn't mean any harm by it.

She realized she had not taken her turn yet and looked through her cards. She decided to play a look through the ashes card and ,after reading the card aloud, took the first five cards on the discard pile. She ended up taking the devious card into her pile then putting the four others plus the card she had used into the discard pile. She was intrigued by the eastern cartoons known as anime. She had never watch an anime, or at least she didn't remember if she did, and wanted to know more about those. "So, what are these anime shows about? And what's your favorite one." She felt bad that the conversation was becoming all about her and wanted to shift it so that Akari could tell more about herself.



Zorion stood in his small kitchen with the water running and spewing down on a piece of cloth. The sink was full, but there were more pressing matters. He rung the cloth out so that it was completely soaked, then rushed out of the kitchen and into the bedroom that him and his son Alistair shared. There buried under the covers of their bed was his ten year old breathing heavily from a fever. He moved his hair up to put the cloth on Alistair's forehead.

It was anyone's guess on what he should do now. Alistair's condition always fluctuated. He might have a fever for an hour than the next hour be fine and able to walk around. Sometimes it took a couple days for him to get better and there was no need to take him to the hospital. Then the other days he would need to rush Alistair to the emergency room.

He was looking better and even felt less hot, but obviously the fever was still there. He wondered what to do. He thought about taking off tomorrow, but realized he probably wouldn't be able to pay the hospital bill if it did come to that. He groaned and walked out of the room. He picked up his phone and flipped it open. He saw his boss's number and wondered if Percival would allow Alistair to come to work with him so that he could be examined by Dr. Drake and her assistant Thea.

Well, it was worth a shot. Alistair seemed stable and could want until the morning to be examined and given medicine. He had toughed out worse before. When it came to Alistair he didn't want to risk anything. He thought about whether he should call or message Percival. It was already around one in the morning and he didn't know if he would be up. He thumped his hoof on the floor as he thought. He decided on a message since that would mean he would see it whenever he checked his phone.

He pressed on each key to right out the message, "Hello, Mr. Fairweather. My son has been becoming quite feverish and I was wondering if I could take him with me to work tomorrow to be checked out by Dr. Drake and Thea. There is no need for alarm. He is stable as of now and doesn't immediately need care. Sincerely, Zorion Ariti"

He figured being formal was the best way to handle this situation since he didn't personally know Percival outside of work. He hit the send button and went into the kitchen. He was talented at making a certain herbal tea that always helped Alistair feel better. He got out a mug and began making it. He took out the honey to add in later, which he learned combatted the bitter taste of the tea itself.

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Lev shoved his head insistently against Azrael’s hand, clearly enjoying himself. He wasn’t really expecting her to start purring, though. He would be smiling if he could, and his tail swished back and forth in amusement.

But then Azrael got very quiet, and Lev butted his head up against her side, hoping she could calm down a bit. He wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, but he hoped he could comfort her a little.

When she admitted to not being human, his ears perked up. Ok. Not being able to talk was kind of a pain right now. He immediately stood up to head to the bathroom, then paused. He made a gesture with his paw that was supposed to mean ‘I’ll be right back’, and then disappeared behind the door. He COULD have changed there, but he was not comfortable being naked in front of her and Thea. Mostly Thea. Lev could already imagine the jokes they’d maKe.

A second later he emerged from the bathroom fully human, a wide grin on his face As he struggled to pull his shirt over his head.

“I knew it,” he said, a little proud and a little smug. “I was stuck between vampire or just, you know, kinda goth. You kinda always smell a little iron-y, so I was leaning towards vampire.”

It wasn’t anything a human would pick up on, and at first he had attributed it to working in a clinic. Clinics always smelled like blood and antiseptic.

”Well, anyways. Everyone has reasons for keeping their species secret, you know? Did you want us to keep this in the room, or did you want to let Percival and Wade know? You know, since they’re part of ‘fang gang’ too.”

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Percival was not necessarily avoiding his mother. It was impossible to avoid her for long anyways, so it wasn’t like it was worth it to try. But, well, he really did not want to go home right now, even though he’d said that he needed to.

He phoned Normandy first, wincing as she picked up and sighed without even saying hello.

“Mom and dad are so pissed,” she said, annoyance in her voice. “You left a family dinner to go after the guy dad hates, like, fifth most in the world. He was furious all night.”

Percival rolledhis eyes, because he was sure there were more than five people his father hated more than Wade. Wade hadn’t even really done anything to him, other than refuse to lay down and die when Charles decided the world was better off without him and his family.

Actually, thinking about it, Normandy was probably right. There was nothing his father hated more than challenges to his authority, and Wade did that more than anyone else he knew. Maybe he did have a high spot on his ‘people I will destroy’ list.

“I wasn’t with Wade,” he lied. Normandy’s silence on the other end of the line was deafening, but he ignored it. He could lie to his sister just as well as he could lie to everyone else, he was sure. “One of my employees was at the bar, and she was having problems with a stalker. I didn’t feel comfortable leaving her to fend for herself, soI accompanied her home.”

It wasn’t totally a lie, which made things easier. Normandy still didn’t say anything, and Percival began to sweat.

”Regardless, I‘ll be home shortly. I’m just waiting on a cab,“ he assured her.

Finally Normandy snorted in disdain.

“Fine, whatever. I won’t question you anymore. That is, iif you agree to go out with Monica again,” she said, and Percival grimaced. Monica was the girl Normandy had tried to set him up with, and while he was sure she was a very nice lady, the last thing he wanted to do was see her again.

“I’m really not interested in dating,“ he began, but Normandy cut him off.

“Look. I know you have it bad for Wolfgang Harris,” she said, and Percival drew in a sharp intake of breath despite himself. “Mom and dad don’t yet. If you want to keep your family, your job, and your status, you need to make sure it stays that way. Dad will kill you if he finds out you want to shack up with the guy who keeps spitting in his proverbial face.”

Percival had no words to deny that, and his face fell. He knew it was true. His parents thought the reason he kept Wade around was purely guilt, but that was only because they only spoke at dinner once a week and neither of them were interested enough to pry.

“Just... Look, it’s not going to work out anyways, ok?“ she said, the annoyance in her voice shifting to frustration. ”We both know mom’s gonna marry you off to some girl from a powerful but not too powerful family so you can fill her full of eggs and make snakey grand babies. It’s better if you just cut your losses and give up now.”

Percival grit his teeth, but he, once again, didn’t have a response.

What she was saying made sense, but that didn’t mean that he wanted to consider it.

“I will consider going out with Monica again if you smooth things over with mom,” he said finally, and Normandy groaned, but she didn’t object.

“Fine. Whatever.,”

She ended the call so Percival didn’t have to, and he pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger.

When he received a text message, his first instinct was to throw the phone at the wall. His cab just arrived, though, so he decided to just sulk instead during the ride back to his apartment.

He stared down at the message, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

His father would say no to something like that, and suggest that he paid his employees enough for childcare. Percival would be expected to do the same, but at the moment he just could not bring himself to care.

’Not a problem. Just be sure he doesn’t disturb the others on your team’ he sent. He went to close his phone, then after a moment changed his mind.

‘I hope he feels better soon’ he followed up, and then shut his phone off. It was late, and he was cold and tired. He just wanted to go home and sleep.