9:32 pm

In hindsight, it probably wasn't a good idea to leave things in Mrs. Beakor's hands.

Not that Seth expected it to be, but when she waltzed in a half hour after the diner closed, she had the widest grin on her face. One look and chills went down his spine.

"Hello, boys."

"Hi." Seth tried not to hunch down behind the table. It would have been like showing a wolf his neck.

He looked across booth to Chadley, who'd been entering some notes on his laptop. The two of them had been going over what had happened last night in Eliona. Between the Knight, the Fang, and the long discussion he had with Agadhi, there'd been more than enough material there to keep their little meeting running well over half an hour. Knowing Chadley, the man was probably making another detailed slideshow presentation to share with the others later.

Chadley grunted without even looking up from his screen. It was his way of offering a greeting.

"Tripp in the back?" Mrs. Beakor asked.

Seth nodded slowly. Her weird exuberance hadn't faded the slightest. It worried him.

"Great. I need to tell him you won't be in tomorrow."

"I won't—what?"

At the same time Seth spoke, Chadley glanced up. He regarded Mrs. Beakor for a moment, before returning to whatever he was working on. There hadn't been a single change in his stoic expression.

Seth felt betrayed. He narrowed his eyes at the unhelpful man, before returning his attention to Mrs. Beakor.

"What are you talking about?"

The look she gave him was one of exaggerated disbelief. "Did you forget already? We're going to go get that box. Our plane leaves at noon tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Seth repeated, flabbergasted. It hadn't even been twelve hours since he made the phone call. How had she even-

"Tripp, dear!" Her loud call rang out. She strode around the counter and shoved open the kitchen door. "Do you have a moment?"

A man's giggle came from the kitchen. "Hel! What a wonderful surprise!"

Seth nearly gagged. He put his head down on the table. Yeah, he really shouldn't have expected anything different. The only good news was that he was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to smuggle her shotgun onto the plane.

***

This wasn't how Seth wanted things to go.

He'd thought having Mrs. Beakor hang out in his apartment while he went to Eliona was bad enough, but this—this was on a whole new level.

"You don't have to sit there, you know." He sat awkwardly on his bed while side-eying the chair that Mrs. Beakor had lugged into his room the night before. Only this time, the person sitting in it wasn't Mrs. Beakor. It was none other than Jake, and his entire presence seemed to sprawl off the chair and fill the room.

"It's okay," Jake said.

He showed no inclination of budging. It was like the armchair was his throne, from which he surveyed the entire scope of Seth's bedroom. At least he was polite enough to refrain from making comments about the mess, but that only made Seth all the more self-conscious.

He really had to clean up his apartment one of these days.

Seth sighed. "Well, thanks for coming, I guess. I'm not sure what Mrs. Beakor ran off to do. "

"Preparations," Jake stated. His eyes creased with a hint of amusement.

"What's there to prepare?" Seth wondered. Weren't they just flying down for a five-minute visit, and then back again? Mrs. Beakor was positive they could do it in a day, though he wondered how she'd managed to get plane tickets on such short notice. That wasn't a feat easily done.

Jake just smiled ever so faintly in answer.

Seeing that no answers were forthcoming, Seth got settled on his bed. It wasn't going to get any less awkward if he waited, anyway. He slipped on the headgear and got comfy.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

"Hn."

Seth faded into darkness.

***

Time Elapsed: 00:00:13

Severance arrived in the courtyard as per usual. A glance around showed no one in sight, but that didn't mean there wasn't anyone nearby. This was proved when he entered the clan House.

A silvery mountain promptly bounded down the stairs and accosted him. Severance saw the beast coming and managed to brace himself just in time. Vast reared up, hooked his paws over Severance's shoulders, and proceeded to slobber all over Severance's face.

"Vast!" Severance hissed and shoved the vastlhidan off. "Get down!"

Vast huffed as he settled back on all fours, his tail flicking side-to-side behind him. Severance wiped his face with a sleeve in disgust.

"That's so gross, you monster! That stinks like rotten meat. Haven't you heard of toothpaste?"

Severance made a beeline straight towards the laundry room. Thankfully, no one was there, so he quickly changed his worn clothes and grabbed a few extra sets for his Inventory. He'd discovered that while logging in often 'cleaned' his clothes, it didn't exactly repair them. So, he still had to change them out every now and then.

He spent some time scrubbing his face in one of the barrels of wash water, removing the gross doggy slobber that Vast had so kindly gifted him with.

Vast tried to sneak a drink from the barrel, but Severance quickly shoved the silver head away. "This one's mine," he said, and pointed to one of the barrels he hadn't used. "Go use that one instead."

Vast gave him a look, before he obediently padded over to the other barrel.

When Severance finally emerged from the laundry room, he nearly ran into Agadhi. The clan Head was casually standing just outside the door.

And strangely enough, the Veiled man looked disheveled like he'd just rolled out of bed. His clothes were rumpled, his hair a bit askew, and the faintest of bags could be seen beneath those dark eyes.

For a moment, Severance simply stared in surprise. Did Agadhi get into a fight?

Instantly, his mind flew back to the previous night. The knock on the door, the visitors, and how desperate Mouna had been to get him to go. Something bad had happened last night. That was the only thing that made sense, especially with Agadhi's ragged appearance.

"Is everyone okay?" he blurted.

Agadhi's brows lifted a fraction. "Yes," he slowly answered. "Why? Did something happen?"

Did something-?! The odd answer nearly made Severance stagger on the spot. Did Agadhi hit his head on something? He'd been one of the people to answer the door, for crying out loud!

Now Severance was really getting worried. Maybe Agadhi had gotten concussed or worse in the fight. Halfway to pulling out his war fans and calling upon the healing winds, Severance walked around Agadhi, carefully looking him up and down.

Aside from looking messy, Agadhi didn't appear to have any obvious injuries. But that didn't mean there wasn't anything there.

Severance turned, casting a long look at the main Hall. Everything appeared as it always had. There were no signs of a fight, but then again, the Veiled could have tidied things up afterwards.

"Severance," Agadhi mildly said. "Tell me what's going on."

When Severance's attention snapped back to him, Agadhi's expression appeared as composed as ever. It was like everything was normal. But it wasn't.

"That's what I want to know!" Annoyed, Severance jabbed a finger towards Agadhi. "You're a mess!"

At this, Agadhi gave a single, slow blink. He did not say anything.

It might have been smart to remember who he was talking to at this point, but Severance's mind was full of other things. At the forefront was regret, because by leaving early last night, he missed out on an attack upon the Veiled. Mouna's request might have been the safest one, but only for himself. While he was gone, the Veiled had been in danger.

It left an acrid taste in his mouth. This was never supposed to happen again.

"Who were those people last night?" He went on. "Did you beat them? How did they even know where this place was? And why did-"

Agadhi raised a hand.

As if his vocal cords had been cut, Severance felt silent.

"You were there."

It was a statement that was a question, delivered in such a calm manner that Severance found himself settling down, like a cool stream of water had been poured over simmering coals.

"I heard them knocking," he admitted. "And something about the Fang. Then Mouna made me leave."

He pursed his lips, absolutely not pouting. Next time, he wasn't going to listen to her.

"I see," Agadhi said.

"Well, I don't."

"Indeed."

Severance's jaw clenched. Were all Veiled this insufferable? "What happened?"

"It's nothing to worry about," Agadhi said. "The Fang can be considered old acquaintances of ours. They came to deliver some information. That is all."

"Really?" Severance was dubious. "You know them? Is that how they know where to find you?"

He distinctly remembered being told that the knowledge of this House and its location had been erased. Something about this wasn't adding up.

Agadhi's lips lifted. The sight of it chilled Severance's blood, for it was like seeing a crocodile's smile.

"The Fang are very resourceful."

It sounded like praise, but at the same time, Severance didn't think it was. From that simple statement, he could guess that somehow, these strange visitors had discovered where the Veiled House was on their own. That was supposed to be an impossible task.

Severance considered this. None of it gave him a good feeling.

"Are these people dangerous or something?"

"Yes. It's better that you stay away from them." Agadhi met his gaze firmly. "That's undoubtedly why Mouna asked you to leave."

Severance nodded slowly, though inwardly, he was scowling. How was he supposed to do stay away from them when he didn't even know who they were?

"So... you guys didn't get into a fight yesterday?"

"No. Please put yourself at ease, Severance. Last night's events were unexpected, but affect very little. There is no need for concern."

Despite that reassurance, Severance wasn't quite satisfied. There was still one problem. He gestured towards Agadhi. "Then why do you look like that?"

"Like what?" Agadhi glanced down at himself. He looked backed at Severance, a certain glint appearing in his gaze. "Is there something wrong with how I look?"

It was about then that Severance remembered who exactly he was talking to. This was the man who led the murder-happy Veiled, the one who all of them answered to. And that included Severance himself.

Goosebumps broke out all over Severance's skin. He coughed awkwardly. "No, no. Not at all. You look fine!"

"Good."

Severance sagged, feeling as the steel vise gripping his heart had been released. That had been close.

"Now that we've dealt with that, there's one thing you should know."

Warily, Severance looked at Agadhi. "What?"

"The Champions have increased security in Tomorrow's Edge, but it is better if you limit your time in the city. If you must go, take the vastlhidan with you."

"Yeah, sure." Severance already was planning on doing so. "I'll probably have to go meet up with my team soon, and that's really the only place we can go."

"Then stay with your team. Don't go there alone. I'll try to have someone in the area, but that's not a guarantee, Severance. We have very limited manpower, especially now with the Traders and the Chosen being more active."

"I get it. I'll be careful," Severance promised.

"See that you do."

With that, Agadhi returned to his office. Severance frowned after him, then brushed his damp hair back from his face. If the clan Head himself was giving him a warning, then things really were getting dangerous.

"What else is new?" Severance muttered. He scratched between Vast's ears. "Come on, boy. Let's message Ironhide and see if we have a new teammate to meet."