A free therapy session, that's what Flora liked to call her playtime with Titan. The cute face of the dog and his sweet smile made her forget about her rage.

She desperately needed to put her entire life on pause. Inside of her mind, there was a big ball of anger, and for the last few days, it kept growing and growing. It got to the point where she feared that it would soon turn into a black hole.

What happened to her house put an immense amount of pressure on her wound. Flora had to leave behind her safe place, the home she created for herself as a symbol of her new beginning. Still, she clung to the hope of returning once the horror was over.

The young woman found refuge in Clio's house. If she erased the fact that a cult destroyed her living room, the prospect of living with her friend sounded delightful. The only inconvenience was the presence of Mr. Cheaney, who couldn't stop dancing because of his enthusiasm. And if she considered the man too loud, she couldn't imagine what Clio must think about him. Her quiet friend must be exhausted, so much that she refused to accompany her in the next step of the investigation.

It's been a week since she had to move, her original plan to dive into the investigation got ruined by the constant attacks of the Bearers of Salvation. The Protectors barely had time to breathe and all the members had doubled their work. Even her meeting with Titan was delayed.

"You're the only one who can make me laugh so hard at this time," She complimented the energetic dog.

Titan maintained his carefree demeanor even when the world around him was crumbling. Flora loved to see him chase butterflies around the garden, her smile seemed to be attached to her face.

The Pit Bull's ears perked up at the sound of the young woman's words. In an instant he was next to her, moving his tail full of enthusiasm.

"Qué hermoso que sos!" She exclaimed as she took a picture with her cellphone. Used to being photographed he looked straight at the camera.

"Would you stop taking so many pictures of my dog?" Momotaro complained. He was there to pick up Titan.

"Never, he's too cute." To reaffirm her statement Flora hugged the dog. In return, she won kisses on her entire face.

"Did you have fun, buddy?" The young man asked Titan.

"We had a lot of fun," the blonde answered, her eyes shining once again. "I really needed my Titan time, I was about to go crazy."

"Bad week?"

"My living room was destroyed by Peters' cult and now I have to live with an extremely excited Mr. Cheaney in Clio's house. I swear that man never closes his mouth, he keeps talking about how happy he is to have a sleepover with his new friends." She let all her frustrations out. "It's more than bad. And if it wasn't enough I have to work with Noah today."

"Good luck with Noah, you're gonna need it. And remember to not tell him anything about Borbala, hide all the information you can from him."

Momotaro's requests piqued Flora's interest. What were his real intentions? She had already accepted the deal but she still wanted to satisfy her curiosity.

The chance to ask about it was thrown away by Noah when he stepped into the garden. His everyday arrogant attitude was transferred to his posture, the redhead walked like he owned the place.

"What do we have here? A Bts member and the crazy latina," Noah mocked them as he got closer.

Momotaro's immediate response was to whistle. The redhead got confused until  Titan woke up from Flora's lap. Seconds later he was being cornered by the dog. He prepared himself to run but Flora grew a vine wall around him.

"I wouldn't try to escape, the thorns are a little poisonous," explained Flora. "Bts member?  First, they're Korean and Momotaro is Japanese. Second, his dancing and singing skills suck, it's a lack of respect to compare him to the talented members."

"Are you helping me or insulting me?" Complained Momo.

"I'm being honest," replied the young woman.

"I don't need your honesty at this moment."

"Yeah! Can you stop fighting and let me out?" Noah interrupted, scared by Titan's growls.

Flora made the vines disappear and Momotaro called the Pit Bull to his side.

"I'm letting you out only because we have work to do and I don't want to see Stefan mad again. The last thing I need is for him to make you my permanent partner," confessed the girl.

The blonde said goodbye to Titan and Momo with a hug. Then she passed right through Noah in the direction of the headquarters without saying a word.

Sometimes the best option is to close yourself to the world's stimulus, and for Flora that was the correct moment to shut down her investigation partners.

She delimited the use of her senses, her focus directed only towards the road as she drove. From the passenger seat, Mr. Cheaney wouldn't stop narrating the experiences he shared with Ms. Kepler, the woman they would be encountering at the cafe. In the backseat, Noah sent glares at the old man.

"Zygmunt, repeat the plan to me," requested Flora once they made it to their destination. The trio still stayed inside the car.

"I go inside first and find Ada. You'll come inside five minutes after and sit close so you can watch me in case something happens. I have to ask about the address of the elders' relatives and any additional information she may have. If she questions why I'm asking, I'll tell her that I'm trying to win my way back to the village by selling the Mayor information about the demons."

"Perfecto. You can go," she replied, happy with his answer.

As they arranged, Flora and Noah waited some minutes before following Mr. Cheaney's footsteps. The hardest part of their job consisted of pretending to be civil with each other.

The smell of coffee filled their nostrils as they crossed the front door. The place was small, only five wood tables occupied the space. They choose the one against the wall opposite to their companion's direction. Indiscreetly Flora eyed the two old friends that were smiling as they talked, driven by enthusiasm.

"Everything seemed to be running peachy," the blonde commented in a moderate voice tone.

She didn't enjoy talking with Noah but they would call others' attention if they stayed quiet their whole stay in the austere coffee shop.

"I hope that the crazy old man doesn't mess up the plan." He took a bite of his chocolate brownie showing where his interest was. "This is delicious. The place looks depressing but the food surprised me."

"Can't you say a compliment without throwing out an insult?"

The redhead moved his left arm to signal towards the decorations, or the lack of them. "I'm telling the truth. My grandmother's house has a better style."

Even if she put an immense amount of effort into identifying the positive points of the design she wouldn't win the debate. The walls were painted in a bland beige, only two pictures were hanging on their surface: one of a rainy sky and the other one had a single yellow tulip.

Flora's disappointment got pushed to a side when she discovered the presence of a young woman sitting at the table next to them. The journalist was trapped by her big brown eyes, framed by the longest eyelashes Flora ever saw. Her dark skin seemed to glow under the natural light coming inside from through the window.   A sweet smile was present on her face as she read the book that kept her company, making Flora's heart jump.  Last, she noticed the girl's brown hair braided into cornrows.

"Jealous?" Noah accused Flora. "At least you have the personality. Oh, wait. Your personality also sucks."

"I'm not jealous. It's called being a lesbian."

No comeback came out of Noah's mouth. A smug expression emerged on Flora's face, it was clear to her that she won their discussion. The young man pretended to be compelled by the food and stayed quiet for a long time.

"Am I the only one who didn't know?" He asked a few minutes later.

"Probably, the rest of the members aren't as dense as you. You shouldn't assume everyone is part of your hetero club."

"What about the others? I only knew about Gellert."

"You really thought Gellert was the only gay in the group?" Flora exclaimed with a laugh. "I won't make a list for you, do your research. I'll give you a little help, Clio is asexual and Momotaro is bi."

Once again Noah fell silent. The blonde let him process the information, and they remained that way until they left the coffee shop.

"It was so fun. Did you know that Ada's grandson started high school this year?" Zygmunt asked on their way back.

"Really? That's great" Flora followed the conversation.

"But Ada said that he's a little shy," continued Mr. Cheaney. Only the girl paid attention to him, Noah discarded his words as he usually does at least he's talking about the mission. "The poor boy only made two friends. Not a big number but Ada thinks they're good kids, they're trustworthy."

"Two is better than nothing," she confirmed.

Flora was glad about the outcome, they had two family members to interview. She sent a quick wink in Zygmunt's direction, he had done an excellent job at getting the information and keeping it hidden from Noah.

We had a little more time with Noah. What do you think about him?