Amabilis calmly made small talk with Peggy and Crystal, trying to seem like he didn't carry a Swiss Army knife or loaded gun. Magenta didn't say a word, she just folded her arms and stared into the distance threateningly.

He was surprised to see that Peggy seemed to like him. It was unexpected. She seemed mature, intelligent, almost motherly, and Amabilis knew he didn't appeal to people like that. Not that he appealed to much of anyone.

Peggy and Crystal were finished eating and Magenta and Amabilis weren't interested. It was too late for breakfast, and much too late to wake up, but regardless Stellaluna walked into the room, rubbing her eyes as if she'd just been woken up.

She was still wearing the same thing as yesterday, including Amabilis' jacket. It was too long for her but looked decent.

Amabilis looked up at Stellaluna (a rare event).
"Luna, I need to talk to you."

Stellaluna flopped onto the couch.
"Great, you can start now."

"I can't even see you." Amabilis commented, shifting in his seat.

"Lucky you." Stellaluna muttered.

"Please. Can we talk...alone?"

Crystal smirked and twirled her hair around her finger.
"Ooooooh~"

Peggy grabbed her coffee off the table and left silently into her room. Crystal slowly dipped out of the room herself with a smug look.

Amabilis sat down on the couch, opposite side to Stellaluna.
"The girl's gone."
He said.

"Me and Magenta are going to look for her tonight. You can join us for today only but please weigh the consequences."

Stellaluna nodded absently.
"Yeah. I'll help you."

Amabilis leaned back on the couch.
"Thank you."

Stellaluna chuckled.
"For someone who beats people up for a living you're really polite."

"I just think...life is short. You should thank people when they give their time to you. Shouldn't you?"

The girl didn't say anything. She mouthed the word 'wow' and Amabilis glanced over as he said
"You can meet up with me at my house at...five thirty?"

Stellaluna nodded, internally screaming.
"Sure."

Crystal poked her head out of her room with an arm shielding her eyes.
"Are you guys done yet?"

"Yeah." Amabilis said.
"You can come back in."

Crystal came back into the room and sat between the two.
"Peggy likes this couch and you're not allowed to make out on it."
She stated.

"Nothing to worry about, Crystal." Amabilis claimed.

"We're just friends." Stellaluna added.

Amabilis raised an eyebrow, dead serious as per usual.
"We're not friends either."

putting a hand to her chest Stellaluna sighed.
"I'm wounded."

Amabilis held out his hand to her, and after a moment of hesitation Stellaluna gave him a high five.
"The keys." Amabilis sighed.
"I just want my car keys back."

Stellaluna awkwardly rushed into her room to retrieve Amabilis' keys. They were placed on her night table. As she was spinning the keys around her finger she couldn't help but hear Peggy talking to someone through the wall. A phone call?

Stellaluna shrugged it off and tossed Amabilis his keys. He caught them without even turning to look at her. Show off.

"Well Magenta, we should be going now." Amabilis said and the magenta haired girl materialized out of thin air next to the door.

Crystal and Stellaluna watched, shocked.
Crystal ran over to Magenta and beamed up at her.
"What?! That was cool! What- what-"

Magenta looked at her for a split second before disappearing again. Amabilis crouched down and tapped on the floor. Somehow Magenta's shadow was still there.

"I'm sorry, she's shy." Amabilis said, he clicked his boot against the doorframe as he walked out. Like a dog, Magenta's shadow scurried after him.

Stellaluna gently closed the door and turned to Crystal.
"I knew she was magical and I was right!"
Stellaluna exclaimed.

Crystal cheered and fangirled a mile a minute and Stellaluna questioned Magenta's name, she said it was terrifyingly obvious and basic.

There was a loud crashing sound from Peggy's room and the young woman yelled
"That's a candle!"

More furniture slammed against the ground and Peggy shouted
"You can't eat that!"

Crystal and Stellaluna shared a concerned glance. They slowly walked over to Peggy's door and eased it open.

Inside, Peggy was tackling a young woman in a dark green hoodie who appeared to be eating a candle.

"It's not edible!"

"Why are you concerned about the candle and not the robber?!" Stellaluna shrieked.

Honestly she was surprised how well Peggy was holding off against the theif. Even if she wasn't fighting back.

"We have real food in the kitchen!" Peggy promised.
"Just drop the candle and I'll make you a sandwich!"

The girl skittered our from under Peggy's arms and into her wooden closet where she shut herself in and continued knawing on the candle.

Nobody wanted to open the door and nobody wanted to call the police. It wasn't the most believable crime so far, and the cops in this city always seemed to be busy with something big.

Peggy said if the girl didn't leave after she was made a sandwich she would call the cops.

Crystal knocked on the closet door.
"Lunch delivery!" She sang.

Nothing. Suddenly an arm tore out the door and the girl snatched the sandwich away. She ate it ravenously and Crystal tilted her head.

"When's the last time you ate?"

The black haired girl scowled.
"I would've eaten, but I suppose Five and X forgot to feed me while I was their prisoner."

Crystal started to ask when the girl stepped out of the closet. She dropped her hoodie onto the floor so that Crystal could see her hair and face unobscured.

Oh no.

Midori watched her realize.

This girl, this robber, was the werewolf lady from last night.
Crystal didn't speak. She looked like she was about to cry, Crystal didn't know if she should be afraid of Amabilis or Midori. She hadn't wanted to be afraid of either, but she was of both.

Midori held up the sandwich.
"Poisonous, Right? You're trying to kill me."

Crystal's eyes widened.
"What? No! Of course not!"

"I can take way more poison than humans. And I won't be eating your food again."

"But you're the monster that lives in our closet now! You can't leave so soon!" Crystal begged.

"Your glasses friend...she was not there. She isn't involved is she? But...you and the tough kid are just actors. I would never trust you."

Crystal looked up at the annoyed looking young woman.
"I'm sorry that X was a jerk, I'm sorry that Stella was a jerk, I'm sorry that the scientist was a jerk- I'm sorry, but I want you to stay I...don't have many friends here and I don't think you do either I-"

Midori laughed under her breath.
"Friends? I don't think I need -or want- friends."

Crystal fiddled with her bracelets, as she often did when she was feeling pressured.
"Midori..." she cleared her throat.
"I might seem childish to you, but I'm not. I try to see the good in everything, I try to be happy, to make everything something exciting. I won't rest until you feel good inside, until I find the good in you and bring it out."

She placed her hand on Midori's shoulder and the woman tensed.
"I will love you, but you have to open u-"

Midori swatted Crystal's hand away, snapping
"I don't want your love. You are childish and you are stupid if you think I could ever care about you, or anyone else."

Crystal's lip quivered and she looked down at the floor.

Midori almost felt guilty for the kid. Whatever, she had got her message across that Crystal had to stay away, that was what was important.
"You're wrong about me, too. I'm bad. That's the end of the story, I'm not a tortured soul or a tsundere I'm just bad."

Crystal didn't look at her as she left the room, closing Midori back inside.

Midori sat still in the room for about half an hour, just letting her inner turmoil surround her. Then she realized this was pretty much a prison but with interesting stuff. So naturally she started searching through Peggy's things.

Peggy seemed to really like books and paper.

Midori decided to be nice and ripped a page out of the front of a book.
She took a permanent marker and started writing in the best English she could, even if the letters looked weird.

Peggy,
I understand you too have been held captive by X's weaker henchmen. It is okay, I will protect you. If I do not escape soon I will be punished and I do not enjoy punishment. Please tell me when it is a good time to attack and if I will need additional weaponry.

Midori smirked at the note and put it in one of her stolen hoodies inner pockets. She continued rooting through the woman's things and grew increasingly excited when she discovered all the clothes.

Now, dress up was usually reserved for incognito missions, but Mordecai used to tell her she stood out too much with her black cloak.

Mordecai...she wondered what he'd think of the new outfit she had just put together from Peggy's stuff.

There was a knock on the door.
Midori opened it anticipating Peggy and her face fell when she realized it was the tough kid. Her least favourite.

"Hey, creep, me and Crystal are getting Japanese takeout. You want anything?"

Midori scowled down at the short girl.
"I'll..." she had never been offered anything but leftovers. And she could take a little bit of poison before she hit her limit, still they seemed to be feeding her an awful lot...she'd better play it safe for now. They wouldn't poison their own food so...
"I'll just have your leftovers."

Stellaluna nodded and her and Crystal dipped out the apartment door in mere minutes. That was when Midori flung herself into the living room.
She slammed her letter onto the coffee table with such force that Peggy's coffee nearly spilled.

Peggy looked up to Midori, wide eyed and lifted up the letter. She fixed her glasses and when she was finished reading she put it down with a sigh.
"X? Is that...Amabilis?"
The woman outlined an X on her cheek and Midori nodded.

"You don't need to worry. Amabilis, Crystal, and Stellaluna are actually very friendly people. They won't attack you if you don't attack them."

Midori scowled..
"I don't believe you."

"I'll...get you home- wherever that is. But at least stay for dinner." Peggy said, Midori trusted her. She would.

"I like your outfit. If you want you can keep it." Peggy added. Midori thought she would, it made her feel...different.

When Stellaluna and Crystal got back they placed a variety of food on the table buffet style. Then Stellaluna muttered something about her night job and rushed out the door.

Peggy didn't remember Stellaluna having a night job. Especially not at four thirty. Suspicious -but she couldn't do much about it.

Midori seemed less on edge without Stellaluna there. She ate her sushi by hand in silence but Peggy couldn't stop looking at her.

It was...her teeth. They were comparable to a sharks. It wasn't just fangs, almost her whole mouth was made up of large, sharp teeth.

Midori grunted at her and Peggy quickly apologized, looking back to her own food.

"What's that?" Crystal asked, breaking the silence.
"Your...tattoo..?"

Midori raised an eyebrow before realizing what she was talking about.
"Nothing."

Crystal kept staring at the marking on Midori's neck. A bright, almost glowing, blue 01. It was more a branding than a tattoo, but Midori could see how someone would be oblivious to that.

When Amabilis saw it back when Midori was...a family friend...he found it highly suspicious. Crystal shrugged it off. Midori liked that.

"So uhh..." Peggy pushed a bowl of soba across the table for Midori.
"What brings you here?"

"Grout between the bricks. I dug my claws into it and pulled myself up."

Peggy and Crystal continued eating in terrified silence until Crystal squeaked
"Cool."

Midori finished her soba quickly and went into Crystal's room, Stellaluna still wasn't back yet and she would take her place.

She sat on the girl's bed, holding her knees. She pulled a necklace out of her pocket and ran her hands up and down the cold green emerald.

"Hey, Midori." Crystal said when she came into the bedroom.

Midori grunted in response. These delinquents didn't deserve real answers or greetings.

"What's that?" The younger girl asked, peering at Midori's necklace.

"None of your business." Midori snapped, shoving it back into her pocket.

Crystal frowned, sitting down on her own bed.
"Well, I think it's very pretty."

Midori flipped over so that Crystal couldn't see her face as she growled
"Yeah, Thanks."

"Stella's gonna be home soon." Crystal said.

"Will X be with her?"

"I don't know."

Midori nodded slowly.
"Then I won't leave yet. If I have a chance I'll take it."

Crystal looked anxious at this.
"Umm...how about you just take a nap?"

Midori scrunched up her nose.
"A...nap?"

Crystal melted into a smile like she had seen a baby animal.
"Aww, you're so cute!"

Midori scowled, shooting Crystal an annoyed glare.
"Shut up. Don't call me that."

"Okay, a nap is when you go to sleep for a little while before you actually plan to sleep for the night."

Midori looked at the posters on Stellaluna's wall. Bands and movies she hadn't seen, in one of the band photos...was that Stellaluna? She looked younger, but it was undoubtedly her. She was holding two sticks over a big cylinder collection.

"I'm not going to sleep. Listen, 'Crystal' I can sniff out a trap, I'm not making myself vulnerable in front of you."

"I'm not dangerous. Neither is Peggy."

Midori kept looking at the picture of Stellaluna.
"Neither is Stella." Crystal added.