axiosawaitaddie

[axiosawaitaddie]

"Sorry, guess I wasn't raised on the right bedtime stories." Addie half rolled her eyes. "When you've never seen or heard of any of this shit, everything is kind of startling." Addie was trying her best to take everything in stride, though. Even the fact that her sister was a vampire and she was a fucking werewolf or some shit like that. "Arcane as in magic, right? Already met a witch or two."

Addie's grow went up but she didn't say anything back to that. "Well, you see, I did this really cool and neat thing that normal ass people do-- I drove a car into town. Crazy, I know." Her voice withheld none of the sarcasm that laced her words.

"So you're a homewrecker? Is that why you don't like bulldozers? Competition?" She smirked.

"Someone had to be responsible in my life," she drawled. Not that she'd been anything close to that, she didn't think. It was her turn to crinkle her nose. "God I hate that place." Mostly, those shops just smelled of B.O. and teenaged desperation, and it reminded her too much of her own childhood, hanging around malls, pissing off mall cops, and smoking weed behind the JC Penny's. "Is it even a strip club if if there's no regret involved?" She shook her head. "What's the world coming to." She paused, as if contemplating his offer. "Only if I don't have to pay for anything or do anything to help set up."

Suresh rolled his eyes. "There are thousands of bloody tales featuring hapless mortals spirited away by Fair Folk, aren't there? I feel as though the barrier should be one of the less startling features of our lovely Cove. It's been happening for centuries." He droned on, voice low and overly droll. "But I shan't tell you about the complicated arcane rites." Not that he particularly cared; he just liked having something he knew and others did not.

"Oh. Do you mean Billsworth?" This was a made-up person. "Hmm. I'm surprised you made it in without running into any. Maybe that's a positive development. Maybe they got tired of skulking about the forest doing foresty things." He waved a hand through the air.

Suresh shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I do my friends sometimes, but not lately." He wrinkled up his nose. "Good for you. I play for every team, but usually, I'm just sabotaging. Don't worry about it. Don't talk to any suspiciously handsome men in a safety vests."

He nodded along. "That was very responsible of you." This came with a devilish grin, but it faltered into frustration, as most did with him. "There's Eclipse. Which pretends to be dark and underground, but everyone knows about it and what goes on there. So it's effectively a Hot Topic; merchandises in the vaguely forbidden. Sinners has dancers. But again...smells more of Febreeze than regret. Hosts fancy dress parties. Do you want to throw a rave in an empty lot with me?"

[axiosawaitaddie]

Eyeing the man, Addie cautiously took the piece of paper. There was just an address written on it. Some place safe. She wasn't sure there really was a place like that, even if people liked to pretend there was. Still...according to Ronnie, she'd attacked her. Whatever Addie became when the wolf came out was dangerous. More dangerous than most things. She folded it up and stuck it in her pocket. "I'll consider it." It was the best she could do right now. She wasn't going to make any promises. She'd stopped promising people things a long time ago.

"Wait, I gotta tell the fuckin' government I'm a fucking dog?" Addie balked, stunned. She ran a hand through her hair. No strings wasn't a real thing, but she wasn't going to point that out. It didn't matter, because she wouldn't be asking. "Jesus christ. Is there, like, a fuckin' pamphlet of all these rules?"

·✥·

"Yeah, or some shit," he returned, without malice. He could see the need to deal with this was wearing on her, and took it as an indication that pressing wouldn't be really helpful. "Alright." He nodded, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper—not a pamphlet, thankfully, but just a scrap that he'd scribbled a small map on. "So, if you need a safe place to be on the next full moon. There's a house in Echo Acres, here's the address. It's private, you won't have to talk to anyone or explain anything. Safer than dragging your meals through vampire territory—for you, and for them." He said, nodding at the carefully appointed lawns and townhouses of Celestial Hills.

"Aside from that, just get to Town Hall soon and ask for the paperwork to declare your species, it's not a big deal. And if you want to talk, or you find you have questions about what's happening to you, they can pretty much always reach me if you contact the hospital. No strings, just if you need anything." Nico raised his hands in surrender, offered her the paper. "And try not to bite or kill anyone around here. The Clan Leader is great, she's a friend, but she'll come for blood if you hurt her people. Not a joke." He waited, gauging the reaction he could read on her face. He wouldn't force her to talk, but it wasn't his habit to just walk away, either.

[axiosawaitaddie]

The wolf, enjoying its meal, did not take kindly to the sudden intrusion. With a snarl, it stood back up, teeth bared, daring the vampire. It gave a warning snap, blood dripping from its maw, eyes wild and angry. That's all it was right now, wild and angry. There was nothing else, it wasn't capable of being anything else, unused to this new, beastly form.

It bent down low, as if guarding its kill. It wasn't willing to leave its prize but it was willing to fight for it.

"You fucking loser!" Ronnie snarled, baring her teeth right back at Addie as the wolf failed to climb the tree, even if sharp claws and fangs did get a little too close for comfort. Maybe it was stupid, to taunt her sister the murderous werewolf, but Ronnie didn't give much of a shit about stupid anymore. She was stupid. All the fucking time. Might as well just lean into it and keep ruining her goddamn life. "You're gonna feel so fucking bad if you hurt me, asshole. You're gonna feel so fucking guilty."

Eventually, Addie darted away, and Ronnie shot up on the branch before jumping down, groaning from the way she landed and hopping back to her feet. "Adelaide, you can't just fucking run off!" It was bad enough having the wolf attack her, but now she had to worry about her going after other people? Ronnie wasn't responsible enough for this shit. She chased after the wolf, keeping distance, watching in horror when Addie took down the deer. It wasn't super horrifying, though, was it? She'd done similar things multiple times. She'd had to.

And the smell of blood now was so enticing that she couldn't pull herself away, her fangs long in her mouth as she walked forward. She was so thirsty. She just wanted a bite.

[axiosawaitaddie]

Addie couldn't help but to preen under the compliment. She liked them, okay? She was a woman of simple likes and simple tastes. She leaned back in the van, laying down and folding one hand behind her head. When the joint was passed back to her, she took it and inhaled deeply. Held it in until her lungs screamed, before blowing it back out. "I'm pretty impressive, yeah."

It was a lie and Addie knew it. She wasn't impressive, she was just a loner who knew what she wanted and went for it. Some people called that outgoing, others called it pathetic. Either way, Addie didn't care.

"I like secrets." She turned her head to look over at Rae. Her smirk grew. "Now you're just trying to flatter me." She let her fingers graze Rae's as she took the joint back again. "Feel free to browse 'em."

"You impress with your music taste," Rae Elle confirmed, her fingers tapping along to the music. "Absynthe" wasn't exactly mellow listening, but she liked it, that punky, Seattle sound and Mia Zapata's voice. Punk music and hot boxing in a van. It made her feel a lot younger than she was, and Rae didn't feel that old.

She took another drag, holding it in her lungs until she couldn't. "Want me to tell you a secret?" She gave a bit of a pause, leaning forward as she handed back the joint, letting it dangle between her finger tips. "I'd've been impressed by just about anything once you started pullin' out the old vinyls."

[axiosawaitaddie]

"How the fuck'd you do that? Build a fuckin' magical barrier that makes people forget when they leave?" Addie huffed, kicking at a piece of trash on the ground. She didn't get all this magic shit. Werewovles and vampires and fairies, oh my! She shook her head. "Some history teacher dude. I forget his name. Bill? Ron? Something like that." She blew out a puff of air. "Fuckin' great." And now she had to worry about people trying to kill her just for living here? Jesus, what had Ronnie gotten her into?

"Check, check, and check. I don't do friends and I don't give two shits if people are mad at me for attending a function. Been dealing with that all my damn life." She glanced over at him, brow raised. "I only swing for the home team, so the hot blokes don't matter. I know literally nothing about bulldozers except that they're big and the demolish shit. Why?"

Addie shrugged as well. "Maybe I am. Guess I'll have to start practicing more." She let out a laugh. "I bet they do. All cops are fucking stupid. Ex was just the most accessible besides coke and I wasn't looking to become a fuckin' crack addict at 12." Not that ecstasy was really any better. She knew she was addicted, but it didn't matter. It never did. "Though I'll take a hit of every now and then, now. Yeah, so I've noticed. Not many underground bars, either. Just normal, fancy shit. Kinda annoying, yeah?"

"The mirage. The barrier. I helped construct it this year. Regular builder I am, aren't I?" This came with a self-satisfied grin, and while Suresh's actual role in maintaining their protective gate was questionable, Fae Magic was necessary for its existence. "Some old guy? Which one? Well, it doesn't make me forget. Too bad, so sad. Besides, you would have had to have passed through it, wouldn't you, love? Unless you can bloody teleport." Some people could, in any case. Suresh scoffed, though, his nostrils flaring. "You're on the metaphorical Hammer Horror backlot. Why do you think? If hunters didn't want to hunt us, perhaps we wouldn't have to bloody live here."

He sighed, pursing his lips. "When I try to not go to things, people whine and moan. Don't make any friends. Don't join any groups. Don't feed gremlins after midnight." Turning to meet her eye, Suresh gave a shrug of his shoulders. "Course there bloody is. The clothes don't turn with the wolf, do they? No, you have to strip down with all your bloody mates. And that's not even mentioning the haze-filled nymph-led trances in the secret Faerie groves." Those did not exist, but he had technically not said they did. "Hot women. Hot blokes. Hot everything, really. I've worked my way through the Emerald Inn, though. Don't waste your time. Do you know anything about bulldozers?"

Suresh scoffed at that. "Maybe you're a bad kidnapper. Maybe you're lulling me into a false sense of security. It's not working." He clicked his tongue. "How very coming-of-age. Some police officers in London really do where those ludicrous bowler hats." He hummed. "I can get you that, stranger. But I'm afraid the underground club scene here is...lacking. And sticky."

[axiosawaitaddie]

Addie looked. Of course she did, how could she not? And Rio seemed to want her to look, so she let her eyes linger along her body, tracing up her slender legs, to the curve of her ass, her hips, the way they swayed to the music. Addie licked her lips, grinning back at the over the shoulder acknowledgement.

"Whiskey, straight, on the rocks," Addie says once the bartender turns to her. She leans against the bar top, giving Rio a steady look and a sly grin to match. "Only for the pretty girls." Her smile only grew. "Men can be so pathetic, can't they?" When the bartender returned with their drinks, Addie set the bill down and grabbed Rio's, holding it out to her. "Do you make a habit of pretending to be a damsel, or was that just for my benefit?"

"Pleasure." The vampire smiled, following Addie's gesture to the bar. She moved slightly to the beat as she walked, her shoulders rolling and hips swaying, the beat of the music feeling like it was thumping directly down to her heart. She could feel the other woman's eyes roaming her, or at least she wanted her to be - she was rarely opposed to the feeling of someone undressing her with their eyes. She shot a look over her shoulder before they reached the bar, partly to make sure that Addie was still following her, partly to try and catch her checking her out. Over her shoulder she flashed Addie a cheeky smile.

"Blanco tequila on the rocks, with lime." She ordered from the bartender, before gesturing to Addie to order. "Do you make it a habit of playing knight in shining armour in nightclubs?" The vampire asked, cocking an eyebrow slightly, adding: "becuase it was a very good look for you, nothing hotter than eviscerating a moron."

[axiosawaitaddie]

"Sort of," Addie started out, "it more or less started because the cops were proving to be fucking useless while investigating my sister's so called 'death'." The last word emphasized by her erroneous use of mocking air quotes. "Did my own research, hired a P.I. and he said I'd probably make a good one, too, with all the stuff I'd put together. So I said why not." She takes one last drag before putting the cigarette out in the ashtray on top of the trash bin outside. Normally, she'd just stamp it out under her boot, but she didn't want to seem so careless around a prospective client. "Jesus, maybe I should've brought my fucking notepad." The evil sheriff, someone named the Catalyst, a dude getting hit by a car-- it was a lot for Addie to keep up with. She'd have to go back over it all later, probably. Start putting together her own timeline.

She stepped inside the cafe behind Kaye, letting the door swing shut with a jingle of the bells attached at the top, making her frown. She always hated shit like that. "There's a queen here? We talkin' royalty royalty, or just, like, in title?" She looked down at the note Kaye passed her. "Wow, already giving me your number and I haven't even bought you a drink yet," she teased, before pocketing the paper. "So this shit's been going on a while now?"

≽·≼

As they crossed towards the Downtown side of the Town square, Kaye couldn't help but wonder at this newcomer. "How does someone get into that line of work, anyway?" she asked, just to help fill the space. "Investigating? Did you just happen into it? Here we are—" Reaching the Daily Drip, they waited to let Addie finish with her cigarette, and shook their head. "I'm quite sure they don't, and only some of that can be blamed on the previous sheriff turning supervillain," they said, with ultimate skepticism. "But I'd say the inciting incident, well..." She mused it over. "It's hard to say. It could've been Mason—that's Mason Mahir, my friend. He died last year after he was hit by a car, but it turned out he had been abducted and operated on, poorly." Kaye lowered their eyes at the sting of it, then continued. "And this incident at the aquarium, there was a scent of apple in the air when everyone's powers were weakened. Apparently it's happened before, back when Lorelai Cavanaugh—that's the old sheriff—was terrorizing the townsfolk on a semi-monthly basis and calling herself the Catalyst. She was prone to dramatics, as you can tell. I was out of town at the time, but I can point you to those who might be helpful filling in those details."

As they entered the cafe, they dug in their purse a second time and began to write notes on a small pad of paper, with names and quick details of who she was mentioning. "Here. Meena, Dhruv... Gia, who found them. And Nyra, our Fae Queen, owns the hotel where that first apple scent incident happened. I'm certain she'll offer what help she can to your investigation, if you tell her I've hired you." She tore off the list of names and passed it over, after adding their own contact information at the bottom.

[axiosawaitaddie]

Addie just hummed, shaking her head. They both know what word she means. Instead, she moves them through another small dance maneuver, twirling Sun-Hee around. "Oh, please, do keep spiking my drinks. It's the only way I make it through the day, most of the time," she grins. "I never said I didn't like it." There was a benefit to knowing how to dance, mostly that a lot of women sort of fell all over themselves for a gal that could dance like this. "I mean, I was, like, ten years old. It wasn't exactly like I could say no." A pause. "I did say no, by the way. But they still made me go. Until I switched out the pudding with mayonnaise and sour cream and made at least five people throw up." Ah, she remembers that day fondly.

Addie wasn't bothered by Sun-Hee's clumsy left feet at all. She couldn't even feel her whenever she stepped on the toes of her boots, reinforced with thing sheets of steel. "I try," she said, shrugging. At least she was good at something, besides sex and getting wasted.

In the witch's mind, it was fair to listen to others thoughts when she'd warned them she could, and they hadn't protested. She'd told Addie, over and over, she was a telepath. It wasn't her fault the woman was committed to disbelief. Thoughts she heard in the other's head perpetuating how much Sun-Hee liked her. She was who she said she was. Addie didn't pretend to be someone she wasn't. A breathe of fresh air with how she was raised. "Which word?" Cheekily, she pretended like she didn't know.

A hum proceed a sharp, "Oh!" Her sheepish grin bore both confusion and the beginning of an apology. "Did you not want me to?" It was consented to, she thought. "Debutante classes?" She asked with a scoff. "No. Not exactly." A lot could be said for the Song family's standards. Not a bar represented in a debutante class, but the expectations of a different culture entirely. "Did they?" She wondered to herself before asking aloud. "You didn't like it?" An unnecessary question, perhaps, even given what little Sun-Hee knew about Addie. "It's surprising," She noted casually. "That anyone could make you do anything you didn't like."

It wasn't that she didn't like to dance. Sun-Hee did. She loved putting on her headphones and bouncing around her house like a fool, but this was different. There was a structure and flow to the movements that left her fumbling for grace and stepping on Addie's feet. "You're pretty good at this." The witch noted during a brief glance up. During which, she stepped on the others foot again.

[axiosawaitaddie]

"At least your honest," Addie pointed out, "I can appreciate that." She still doesn't care much, though. People can do whatever they want, as long as they don't interfere with her life. She has pretty low standards after all. She raises a brow at him. "Uh huh, sure. Whatever you wanna tell yourself."

Addie shrugged. "Wouldn't say it's easier, but it's certainly more honest. Don't care for all that lying to be nice shit. People like that rarely mean what they say." She glanced down at her outfit, scoffing. "If this is what you think homeless people look like, then I worry for how you'd react if you ever actually saw a homeless person." She was far cleaner than most she'd met, not that she blamed them, or cared all that much. She snorted. "Effervescent? Okay Edward."

She brushes her palms across the front of her pants. "If it was stalking, I'd already know what they are." She gives him a pat on the shoulder before she begins to head of. "Thanks, but no thanks. I prefer to work alone."

"Charity cases 'not really my thing." He said. "I like to make my decisions depending on how I feel." Some people would call it impulsive, but Ernie preferred the term: passionate. "Don't flatter yourself, you're deff not the only one I've helped today." He lied. Earlier he knocked an old lady over while helping himself cross the street. It was by accident, of course.

"That's real. Being an asshole is way easier." Ernie said. He raised an eyebrow, "Well, at least I don't go around looking homless," he shot back. This time less serious than before. "Ok, you are the first person to ever call me smug, I usually get effervescent, a man with a zest for life, things like that.

"And that's not stalking?" Ernie said. "Well, who are you looking for? Maybe I can help."

[axiosawaitaddie]

"Guess you're not wrong there," Addie offered back, a grin of her own spreading on her face. At least Rae was taking this all in stride. Addie knew her lifestyle wasn't exactly ideal, but she didn't care. It was her life and she was living it how she wanted to. Everyone else be damned.

As the record played, filling the old van with music, Addie leaned back onto her hands, reaching for the joint once it was lit and Rae had taken her hit. Addie put it to her lips and inhaled deeply, holding the smoke in her lungs and letting it calm the tremor she always had in her hands now. She laughed as she blew the smoke out, and it quickly started filling the van. "I aim to please," Addie said back, holding the joint out to Rae again. "So, was I right?" she asked, then. "Do I impress with my music taste?"

"They look like trouble," Rae said, grinning. She didn't think she minded too much. Trouble was fun. It was fine. It wasn't like she was all sunshine and roses herself. Rae Elle doesn't know if she'd go so far as to call herself trouble, but she was sure there were a few folks from growing up that would. She didn't think she'd mind.

She watched, curious, waiting to see what the other would do, what she'd pick. Music said a lot about a person. What they picked, what they didn't. The tracks they skipped on an album. The order they made their playlists or mixtapes. She liked to know it, to see it. She smiled. The music made sense, tying together a bow around the person in front of her. When the joint was passed along, Rae Elle took it with a smile, pulling her lighter out of her pocket. "Why, thank you, cher," she murmured, pulling it to her lips and taking a drag before passing it back. "Such a gentleman," she teased.

[axiosawaitaddie]

The wolf yelped in pain as a foot connected with its ribs, but it was back on its feet easily, snarling, slobber dripping from its mouth. It launched itself at the tree, crashing into the trunk right where the vampire had just been. Vicious, sharp claws dug at the bark, tearing it apart as the wolf tried to climb the tree, leaving behind marks that would forever scar the tree. But no matter how hard it tried, it couldn't get up, claws not made for climbing sliding back down with every attempt.

A branch snapped somewhere and suddenly the wolf's attention was elsewhere. It smelled more prey. Different prey. As it tore through the woods, pads running silent on the soft undergrowth of the forest, its eyes narrowed in on the bounding prey. Teeth sunk into the deer's neck, the wolf's body landing hard on its back, making them both tumble. Blood gushed and poured into the wolf's mouth, making it salivate more.

Once they came to a stop, only the sounds of flesh tearing and bone breaking could be heard echoing through the trees.

Ronnie was getting lost, and there was a werewolf on her heels, and she was fucking hungry. Really, it was rude as shit that she was having to deal with this, if she was being totally honest right now. Just completely rude and a little silly. Her sister was a goddamn werewolf that was trying to eat her. This was, without a doubt, the cherry on top of a rather unfortunate serious of messes that she'd found herself in. This one, however, wasn't actually Ronnie's fault. At least, she didn't think it was. The last time she checked, Addie was not a homicidal werewolf.

"Oh, my god," Ronnie grunted when Addie leapt on her, yelping as claws dug into her skin and she just barely managed to avoid the sharp snap of teeth. She brought a hand up and used it to push Addie's face away. "Fuck, fuck, Addie, if you bite me, I'm gonna fucking die." The words didn't seem to sink in, though, and Ronnie was worried that her sister wasn't even in there. She kicked the wolf in the stomach, managing to scramble out from under her and throw herself at a tree, fingers digging into the bark as she hoisted herself up to the closest branch.

[axiosawaitaddie]

"Great," Addie huffed, rolling her eyes. Just what she needed, another town full of rich assholes who flaunt their money any way they can. "Right, the, uh mirage thingy, yeah? Some old guy told me about it. Shit's kinda weird, don't you think? Makin' people forget?" At the mention of hunters, her head tilted. "The fuck is this? A renaissance fair year round? Why the hell are people attacking you with fuckin' crossbows and torches?"

She shrugs. "I can just not go. S'what I did back home." Her hands were getting jittery as they walked. She really needed a hit of something, it'd been too long. "Nudity, huh? Should known there'd be something like that in a place like this. Can't say I'm surprised. As long as there's hot women, though, I'd give it a shot, sure. Why the fuck not." She gave a joyless laugh. "If I was a kidnapper, you'd already be, well, kidnapped. Are you?"

Addie thinks a moment. "Nah, most 'em were small town Connecticut cops, who had nothin' better to do than follow grungy lookin' teenagers around." Her being one of those. She ridden in the back of the sheriff's car more times than she could count. "I stay away from city police, they're mean motherfuckers. And usually the most corrupt ones." Addie scratched at her arm, like a tick. "Ecstasy," she said simply.

Suresh scoffed at that. "You came to the wrong place if you don't like those, mate." He should know; he supposed he was technically one of them. But shrugging his shoulders, he gave a distant click of his tongue. "Then I won't go. We can't actually leave here anyhow. I mean, I suppose we could. I could. I can swim. But there are hunters out there just waiting about...perhaps with crossbows and torches and other thematic weapons. But don't you worry. If classics are what you're after, Lunar Cove is full of old farts."

Suresh flashed a grimace. "Again, wrong place to come, love. The Christmas game makes people bloody gnash their teeth. And that's not even counting the other 364 days a year," he sighed very deeply, not making any effort at all to conceal his displeasure. He raised an eyebrow, a low laugh sounding in his throat. "Oh, but who doesn't enjoy a good rough and tumble werewolf? I don't even think you'd have to kidnap them, mate. Once a year, they all strip down and jump into a freezing pond. I think the water and the bloody nudity are just part of it." He shook his head. "You best be careful anyhow. There are real kidnappers about. Are you one of them? If you are, I'd have to scream."

He scoffed again. "Were they all, like, old-timey sheriffs from Leave it to Beaver movies? I'm not talking about myself, love, but even if I were, I went to a respectable prep school. What were they? Gummy vitamins?"

[axiosawaitaddie]

"Kinda pathetic, buddy." Addie recoils. "Uuugh, that makes it sound even worse." She'd been to morning "parties" with her parents where they served scones and tea and those weird little sandwiches that tasted like cardboard. She hated them. "No thanks." She just shrugs. "That's best anyone can hope for, right? Having a little fun before we die?"

Addie scoffed. "Gray areas, my favorite." Addie ran a hand through her hair, shaking her head in disbelief. Not that she didn't believe him about the town border mirage or whatever, but in that Ronnie had tried to make her leave because she wanted her to forget. She didn't want Addie around. Well, that was too damn bad, because Addie had resolved long before now that she wasn't going to quit on this, on her. "So, like, if I leave, I forget? But then I find my way back somehow, and remember everything again? Like, my memories from the town, or just remember it exists?"

"Very daring of you, even with the boots. I fear the power of particularly angry water fowl," Ben joked. He actually laughed, though. Don't sell yourself short! Adelaide sounds like a very classy brand of jam. The kind they serve with scones at high tea." Ben's lips quirked up into a tired smile. "I don't think I could properly stop him if I tried. He do hope he has fun, though." Ben didn't find the job particularly fun. It could be rewarding, yes, but fun certainly wasn't a word to describe it.

Ben shrugged. "There's some gray areas, sometimes, around certain things. Incidents that involve the supernatural tend to go through the council as opposed to local law enforcement. Or in addition." He stops as well, leaning on his cane as he looks back at her. "There's a Mirage around the town's border. Human's that cross it lose the memory of everything they've seen that's related to the supernatural, yes. It's... to keep the town protected," he explained. Ben gave her a sympathetic look, wondering if there was someone out there who wanted her to leave. "For good, unless you cross back into the town. Then the memories come back."

[axiosawaitaddie]

Addie let her eyes wander to where he was indicating. It wasn't really her fault, she couldn't help what had happened. She'd blacked out the instant the wolf or beast or whatever took over. She'd almost killed Ronnie and the thought makes her grit her teeth.

"What, are you the alpha or some shit?" she mocks, folding her arms over her chest and frowning. She doesn't want to deal with this right now. Instead, she makes a sweeping motion over herself. "Well, I'm fine. See?" She's not fine, she knows that, but she's not going to tell a stranger that. She's not even going to tell a non-stranger that. Her shit was her shit, and she'd always dealt with it alone. This was no different. "No, can't say it has. Think I'd remember if I'd ever woken up naked covered in blood in the middle of the woods if it happened before."

·✥·

He squinted at her, uncertainly. "Well, there's a trail of—" Nico indicated over his shoulder, about to point out that the one leaving a trail of bloodied animal carcasses in Celestial Hills might be considered a little bit creepier than the guy who'd followed it, and stopped. It was beside the point, and might only make her feel worse. "Never mind, doesn't matter. Sorry."

Staying several steps away, he shrugged. "You're not in trouble. I guess I'd try to, if I could? Honestly, this doesn't happen as often as you'd think. But I run the Pack in Echo Acres, and when a unknown wolf shifts in the middle of Downtown, it's kinda my responsibility to find out what's up. I'm just here to introduce myself, and see if you're okay." He hazarded an educated guess. "Was this your first full moon, or has something like this happened before?" Sometimes people weren't fully aware what they'd gone through, especially if they had limited memory of it, there was a possibility she didn't know. But that seemed unlikely, given she was here in town. Maybe she'd been bitten by one of Damien's pack, he thought, with a sinking feeling.

[axiosawaitaddie]

"I'm not a good person," Addie stated, simple as that. "And I don't pretend to be. If it makes someone feel better to call me their bad guy, then more power to 'em." She didn't care. She'd left a trail of broken hearts and bones behind her, all the way from Connecticut to Minnesota to Rhode Island. And she'd likely leave a few more behind here, too. At the question, she contemplated for a moment, chewing on the thought in her head. "Self," she finally answered, snuffing out her cigarette now that it was down to the end. She slid off the rock she'd been sitting on and hopped down next to him. "What else would there be?"

Addie just scoffed, rolling her eyes a little. "Considering I've only ever worked with one other PI, and he's old enough to be my dad twice over, I'm gonna say no." At the suggestion, though, she dug around in her pocket before pulling out her wallet and shuffling through it for a business card. There was a scribbled 'Call me ;)' on the card and Addie reached into her jean pocket to procure a pen, scratching out the little message before holding it out to the guy. "Don't have to be missing pets, by the way. I'll find missing people, too. Or objects. Found someone's car once."

[axiosawaitaddie]

Addie's first unfiltered thought was hot. But that was usually her first thought when she looked at a woman. She pretty much thought they were all hot.

But there was hot, and then there was smoking hot, and Rio, as she'd introduced herself, was most definitely smoking hot. Clad in all black, tight pants, tight shirt, skin showing. If Addie were any less of a person, she probably would have been drooling all over herself. But she wasn't some dog and she certainly wasn't some pathetic guy.

"Addie," she said, snaking her hand out to gesture her towards the bar again. "After you."

And, okay, maybe she was being a little obvious with the way she let her eyes roam over Rio's form, but could you blame her? She knew what she wanted and how to get it. Rio just so happened to be the object of her affection now. She leaned on the bar and waved the tender over. "What's your poison?" she asked Rio, then, giving a grin that did not, in fact, hide her intentions.

It had started as drinks and dancing with some people from Blank Slate, but they'd slowly dropped off and headed home, now here she was, not ready to head back to reality just yet, the club feeling like a portal to another world were her thoughts couldn't catch her.

She had just got another drink from the bar when someone shoved into her, making her drink slosh onto the floor, she was lucky not to topple over in her heels. She was ready to bark out and insult at the man, when another woman beat her to it. As the other woman gave the man a withering look, Rio flashed her teeth at him slightly in warning - she had no plans to bite him, but it was fun to threaten none the less.

"It wasn't your fault." Rio replied, her eyes flicking to the moron who had knocked over her drink and fixing him with a glare, before turning back to the woman before her. Her eyes grazed slowly up down the woman, taking in her outfit, before slowing coming back up to meet her eyes, an easy smirk on her lips. "But I will never say no to a free drink." She said, adding. "I'm Rio."

[axiosawaitaddie]

"Now that's the kind of logic I can get behind." Addie shuffled to keep pace with them, one hand in her pocket as the other held her cigarette. She listened with rapt attention, taking note of the names and the way Kaye casually dropped their species. She wasn't exactly used to all this, what she was supposed to do, then? Introduce herself as the human P.I. looking into kidnappings? "The mayor got kidnapped, too? Jesus, you sure the police here know how to do their jobs?" In Addie's opinion, none of them did, really. But that was neither here nor there, because their incompetence gave her an income.

Kidnappings, missing organs, murder-- Addie was beginning to think this town might actually be fun, despite how weird and out of place it was. Who knew? Maybe she'd get to actually have a good time before she finally kicked the bucket. It was better than growing old in fucking Minnesota fixing electrical wiring for old people, that was for sure. "Anything happen before all this? Or was that the inciting incident?"

≽·≼

"Addie, then." They shrugged. "I'm self-aware enough to know investigation isn't my strong suit. Neither is taking time away from my own work. But hiring someone competent to find out what they can?" She smiled sidelong. "That's money well spent, I think." Kaye let out a small laugh at the quick acceptance, and beamed at her. "Excellent. Let's go, then," they said, and turned on their heel to lead the way with brisk anticipation. She loved when coincidence provided, be it pixie luck or the regular kind, it didn't get old. "So, what I can tell you, to start off with, is people you should probably talk to. The most recent ones who have been kidnapped and survived, are Meena Raja, our mayor and the leader of the vampires, and Dhruv Mehta, a werewolf scientist. Another vampire, Gia Ortiz, was the one who eventually tracked them down, I can give you her number. They were being held in tunnels under the Slumber Motel, for about a month. There's also a local podcast that has been collecting information, but I have no idea how accurate it is."