"Perfect." Yasha spoke, the answer she was given being one that was more than just satisfying enough. She folded the picture back in half, the dividing crease perfect within the paper while it was slid back into her pocket. Now we're getting somewhere. "So you both have worked in the same space you say? Tell me, this building that you speak of wouldn't happen to be one the numerous ones for nightly activities would it?"

~

Raven felt as if she were about to faint once the man had yelled again, but at least knowing that it was directed towards more than her gave her at least some since of safety. She watched as the crowd began to back away, some of them still having that unnerved expression as they started to depart in numerous directions. She watched them leave in clusters, her gaze moving rapidly across them until it was pulled back to one person in particular. This person was a man that she hadn't noticed was somewhere near the front. He was so plainly dressed that she felt that it was almost unnerving, like none of the clothing exactly fit the person that wore them. Though the crowd moved, he didn't. And he was staring right at her with a blank look. Like no one was on the other side of those eyes. Not only that, but there was something that screamed danger to her. In her current state of anxiety everything seemed potentially dangerous. But this was different. It was almost as if the feeling was absolute and smothering.

"Would it?" Kore repeated the question while staring at Yoon who discreetly hid behind Yasha and chewing her gum. She chuckled dryly and got up from her positioning of admiring the young woman before she began to scan the items. "Yes, there are many activities to do at night." She answered a certain part of her question. By the looks of her expensive jewelry despite grungy clothes, it was assumably obvious what she worked as.

"C-Can we leave?" Yoon barely whispered into Yasha's ear.

"Why?" Kore asked all of a sudden, but whether that was a response to Yoon's questioning or Yasha's questioning was unknown.

Yasha glanced over at Yoon, pausing for a moment before she answered her question. "Yes, in just a moment. You may return to the car if you wish, and I'll join you shortly. There is one more thing that I have yet to ask that I require an...answer for." Her speech slowed down some near the end when, her eyes starting to squint some as they left Yoon and she gave a thoughtful "hm". Her attention went back to the clerk. "Why? Well it so happens to be that the person we're looking for is a former acquaintance from my senior years of schooling. Though 'acquaintance' wouldn't be the appropriate word I suppose. You see, she is a relative from my father's side of the family–a cousin. I was oblivious that she still had a place of residence here, and I thought that it would be pleasant to surprise her with a visit," she lied. "After all, it is Christmas."

"You never went to school in this world." Kore rested her cheek on the palm of her leaning hand, tilting her head slightly as if she were interested in what else Yasha had to lie about. "Did she?" She looked at Yoon for a response, who just widened her eyes in shock and debated whether she should make a dash to the car. She was about to mumble something until Kore held out the heavy bags of items she bought. "Here, Princess of Gluttony. You're the whole package of those sins." She smirked slightly as her attention went back to Yasha. "My job here consists of catching people in lies, so if you're some type of mercenary I suggest you make your leave." Her eyes twinkled a soft yellow before they returned to her hazel color. "That'll be twenty eight dollars."

Yoon bit her lip in slight frustration at what she was told, rummaging through her purse until she pulled a 20 and a 10 out. "Sh-she's not a mercenary!"

Kore blinked at the sudden exclamation. "How do you know that? You've only met her a few weeks ago, didn't you?" Despite distractions of music, Kore was very observant and noticed the smallest changes, which consisted of her bringing a new friend to the gas station–unlike previously where it was only her around two in the morning shopping for food.

"Oh, this chicks good" Sammy added out of nowhere at Kore's response. She was still standing there, holding her bags and listening to the conversation out of curiosity. But she then noticed that she brought some of the attention to herself, for better or for worse. She gave a dry chuckle* S-Sorry about that. Just kinda overheard. I-I'll be heading out now. Have a merry Christmas and all that *With that, Sammy turned on her heel, not turning to face them a second time and made her way toward the exit*

*Mason took notice of the crowd leaving, sighing with relief as they had all walked off. But his attention was brought back when he saw that the only two people left were Raven and the man. And just like Raven, Mason got vibes that were unlike any other from this man. Something about him brought an uneasy feeling in Mason's gut. Mason stuck his head out again and shouted* Hey, didn't you hear what I said!? Get outta here!

"I thought so." Yasha said, staring at Kore now. Her eyes shifted in shape for only a fraction of a second. "Usually I wouldn't resort to such tactics to gain information. But I can assure you that if you believe that I'm some variety of mercenary that has come to spy on some counter clerk with shiny rocks then you've surely deluded yourself. Yoon, go to the car. It appears that I may have more business here than I thought." And though she spoke to Yoon, her eyes never left the person behind the counter.

~

Raven flinched a little, feeling as if she had began to forget that Mason was there to began with. Not as if she had short term memory or anything of the sort, however. As the man stared into her soul, she felt as if she were gradually being pulled away like there was a leash on her mind. Her head felt like it was feeling with water, her thoughts distorted voices. She felt her stomach clench, a wave of sickness coming over her.

But then the man turned his attention from Raven, his head turning towards the window in a fashion slow enough to be just as unsettling as his overall demeanor. His lips curled back into an unusually stiff smile, almost as if the notion was being forced. And it grew and grew until it became a grin, his eyes not leaving Mason. Suddenly, he began to take long steps backwards like a rewinding button had been pressed and he was doing some sort of lunging steps in reverse until he disappeared around the corner.

Raven stood there with visible trembles. She had pressed herself against the side of the van, her lungs constricting further, oblivious to the fact that she was holding her breath out of fear that something as simple as breathing would have caused the man to attack. Or even worse, brought him back.

Sammy made her way out of the store in a hurried pace, but immediately turned to the side of the store's entrance, the ads in the windows barely hiding her slender body. Of course, she was more than a little uncomfortable standing in the store and watching the scene play out, but she was not about to let such a moment pass her by. All this talk of mercenaries and searching for someone put so many ideas into Sammy's head. She took out a phone and went to the video section, holding it up slightly and recorded the scene on her phone, setting her bags down by her ankles so she wouldn't tire out her one hand holding them all while the scene played out before her

Mason watched the man step back, keeping his demeanor. In secrecy, the sight of his grin was enough to make him want to roll the windows up and drive off in a hurried manner. But once the man backed away, he groaned "Fuckin' drug addicts, I swear." He rubbed his hands against his face before he turned his attention to Raven, this time in a calm manner, "Hey, you gonna be alright kid. Sorry if I scared you like that. I thought maybe the crowd would go away if I yelled at them. I'm not really much of a fighter. I can barely throw a punch. Oh, the name's Mason, by the way. Not that you gotta tell me your name. I just felt it would be appropriate, ya know?"

Kore continued resting her cheek on the palm of her hands, unbothered by her surroundings. She glanced at the recording camera and snickered to herself. “Come on now, can’t let you record without getting paid. That’s just not how it works. It’s supposedly a free country but I suggest you lower your device.” She said simply with a smile before her eyes made contact with Yoon’s who was just standing there idly.

Yoon’s pupils went to Yasha quickly after what she heard from her. “N-no, WE should go to the car.” She butted in.

“Ah, pride. Another deadly sin.” She smiled at her with teeth and curiosity, switching the songs on her playlist while doing so.

Sammy was taken aback completely when Kore spoke to her specifically. She was hoping that she would at least be well hidden for a time before she was noticed, but being found almost instantly pushed her to put her phone in her pocket, take her goods and get away from the store as fast as possible. The last thing she wanted was to meet the scorn of the store clerk, whoever she was. All Sammy knew was that, in her mind, she was more than good. She was really good. She did make sure to take a mental note on Yoon's response to Kore. She didn't know where this would lead and she didn't have intention to stick around, but she did hope this wouldn't go badly for the two

"It sounds as if someone has been reading a vast bit too much into this world's fairy tales." Yasha replied apathetically. "What amuses me is that you sound quite sure of yourself. It's 'cute', as Yoon would say." She turned her head a little and gave a sideways glance towards the stores window, her brows furrowing after a brief pause. "I suppose we'll be taking our leave now then," she said to Yoon, making her way towards the door. "Good day."

~

Raven was hesitant at first, but gave a quick nod after a few seconds. She tried to be still, but the adrenaline that rushed through her veins wouldn't allow her trembling to come to an end–though it wasn't as severe as it was in the presence of what she could only hoped was an addict strung out on something that she would rather not know about. An epiphany hit her in her time of desperation, and she went rumbling through her pockets until she found her inhaler to help calm her breathing. Luckily she had actually remembered to bring it with her after the last time.

"T-thanks," she said hoarsely in just above a whisper when she was able to speak. Though she was well enough intimidated by him, she was at least going to thank him for getting her out of that mess and more importantly that weird man away from them. She looked over at the soda machine and the remnants of what was left of what was formerly the soda machine's. "I...don't know what happened." She mumbled in a shaky voice.

Sammy was already down the curb, a distance form the window, feeling a bit of stress rising inside of her from the scene. "What the hell was that all about?". Sammy took out her E-Cig once again and took a long drag on it, exhaling a cloud of smoke from her mouth to calm her nerves. Regardless, her curiosity was still high on what that was all about. And that store clerks eyes, for starters. Were those contacts? And all this talk about mercenaries? Something about those two was not normal. The only one she could understand was the little Korean girl. She definitely looked as timid as anyone would be in that situation. Sammy took another drag on her E-Cig before putting it into her pocket

Mason gave a shrug at Raven's response and followed up on it, "Eh, don't worry about it, kid. A lot of weird things have been happening lately. That's kind of why I'm here." Mason looked around them, making extra sure that no one was still lingering about before he continued, "Are you okay getting somewhere by yourself? I have a friend coming by soon, but I can give you a lift if you want. Don't worry, she's cool. Way more chill than I am" He gave yet another chuckle, before following up, "That was also a joke"

Raven–again–was hesitant to give an answer. She didn't exactly approve of getting in cars with strangers. Or vans, which gave her even more of a reason to decline the offer. However, when a thought of the creepy man being right around the corner or waiting to follow her home crossed her mine, she was quick to reconsider. And when Mason made it clear that he was joking about the last bit, she asked in an attempt at a joke to make things less awkward, "Which part, the friend or the lift?" A noise that could only have guessed to have been a chuckle, escaped her lips, her fingers fiddling at the cuffs of her sleeves nervously.

Mason gave a soft smile at Raven's attempt at a joke, unable to keep a chuckle from escaping as he opened up the back of the van for her "Well, I certainly wouldn't joke about a ride after the stressful day you've had. Sorry if it's a little messy. My friend can be a bit lazy at times". The back of the van was strewn about with all sorts of girls clothing in one pile and a single shirt and pants nearly folded on the other end with a large mattress in the back. Raven could mistake it as someone living in here, only... Mason did live in here. Mason moved briskly through the back of the van before he hopped into the front seat, sitting back in it comfortably before he turned to Raven "Feel free to make yourself at home. We don't got much, but it's enough for us".

"Well aren't we part of those so-called fairytales?" Kore smirked gently, holding out the change of what Yoon had paid. But Yoon wanted nothing more to do with the store, and she quickly grabbed Yasha's arm to scoot themselves out of the shop.

"Have a very jolly Christmas." Kore called after them, taking the change as a tip and hiding it within her bra cups. She leaned back in her chair some and chuckled, going back on her phone as she popped another bubble.

Yoon was practically pushing Yasha with all her strength to hurry at this point. "weirdweirdweirdweird--" She muttered to herself, opening a package of gummy bears to ease her worries.

Yasha was forced into taking a few quicker steps while being pushed towards and out of the door, eventually coming to a complete stop once they were a couple of steps away from the store while scoffing at Yoon some. She habitually brushed herself off, a brief sigh blowing from her nostrils. And when she started walking to where the car had been left, she spoke. "Are you really so afraid of sociability that you couldn't wait within the car for even three minutes?"

~

Raven peered into the back of the van, watching Mason climb up to the front until her gaze went to everything else that was within the van. It was the first time she had seen something like a mattress where it currently was–or seeing the inside of the back of a van altogether. The sight of the clothes that were riddling the space was another thing completely. When she saw the pile of what seemed to be a woman's clothes, only the worst things came to mind. Perhaps those were pieces of clothing from victims that were just kept around as some sort of trophies like how serial killers sometimes kept body parts from their victims or like how hunters kept moose heads and stuffed them. Maybe this was how he lured people in, waiting to find some poor girl in distress so that he could nab them. She knew that it was probably wrong to judge someone to this degree, but she was both cautious and uneasy. But on the other hand, Mason–if that was even his real name–seemed to be genuine. But so did most people until they showed what they were really capable of.
"Uh...uhm...that friend that you were talking about. When is she going to be back again?" She asked, trying not to sound too worried or as if she had already assumed something.

Mason turned his attention to Raven as she stood outside of the van, observing the inside from the outside while not actually going inside of the van. He didn't try to convince her to get in or anything, he just gave a light shrug before his attention turned back to the vans windshield. At Raven's question, Mason leaned forward in his seat, a faint squeak being released from the seat, taking a look outside, and saw a woman in odd clothes walking down the street with bags in her hand and responded, "She's right there. Took her long enough. I thought I parked close to the store".
After a few short moments, Sammy knocked on the window, waiting for Mason to respond. He gave a grin as he rolled down the window of the passenger seat and asked "Password?"
"Shut up!" Sammy said casually before he went around to the back, unaware of who she was going to see on the other side

Yoon came to a pause at what came out of Yasha’s mouth. She felt like she was five years old again, being scolded by her mother for not wanting to play with the other kids in the park alone. The young woman never admitted to being attached, but she refused to go to public places alone or even to an actual market. Yoon frowned, her lips pouting slightly as she did so. “....I...” She felt her throat constrict. “I just didn’t want one of my only friends getting hurt...”

Yasha came to a stop at the passenger's side door, turning to look at Yoon with a genuine expression of surprise. But then her brows furrowed. "I'm here to protect you and your fellow Keepers Yoon. My well-being is a shadow in the light of a much greater cause." And then she smiled. "Aside from that, worry yourself not about me. I'm sure that I can take care of myself."

~

"She's right there."

At first, Raven thought that it had been another joke that the man was attempting to throw together. Upon hearing the second voice of what was undeniably female along with the playful exchange between the two, she let out a sigh of relief. Well that didn't take long at all. But then the sound of footwear against gravel became apparent along with the realization that they were moving towards her. She stiffened a little out of habit, and as the brunette would circle around the corner, she stood there dry mouthed and fidgeting with the cuffs of her sweater.

Sammy turned around the corner of the van, stretching her neck in a clockwise motion as she moved to the back of the van to climb in, but came to an abrupt stop when she saw Raven standing there awkwardly. Sammy stared at her for at least three seconds, as if she had seen her somewhere before, but brushed it off and gave her a smile, "Oh, hello. Mason didn't tell me we'd have a guest over. I'm Sammy. I'd shake you're hand, but my hands are a little full right now". With that, Sammy moved passed Raven as politely as she could into the van, setting the bags of snacks in one side of the van before she sat on the floor of the van, whipping out her phone and looking over it before looking back up at Raven and waving to her "Well don't just stand there. Come on in."

"Y-yeah but if you keep trying to protect everyone then who's g-going to protect you? I-I can't kill flies that enter my room but I can at least prevent you from getting into any possible trouble..." She mumbled quietly at the situation that just happened. She remained quiet for a few more seconds before apologizing under her breath and hopping into the car.

Raven, despite being invited in a second time by the Sammy, stood there blinking like she had no idea what was happening. She almost felt even more hesitant with being invited in so casually. And even though she tried not to think about it, she couldn't help but think that they could both have some sort of Bonnie and Clyde thing going on. But at the moment, it was either a two bank heist criminals or a mega maniac. And it didn't take her very long to take her pick.
She gulped silently, climbing through the back of the van and stood there awkwardly trying to find out where to sit until she found a small space that was both closest to the door but also far enough away from clothes and anything else that didn't belong to her so no one would think that she was trying to take anything.

~

"...Huh.." Yasha stood outside the car for a moment, her hand on the door as she thought about what Yoon said. A small frown came across her face as she opened the door with what was said in mind. Her job was to protect, it was her duty. It was why she was there. And 'trouble' in their scenario was going to become avoidable at one point or another in order to fulfill her duty. Yet this human wanted to keep her away from what she needed to do to keep them safe. Surely Yoon was well aware of her motives to protect her family at any costs. Yet the two conflicted and left her with a strange feeling gratefulness, for she couldn't help but to feel that her short companion had spoken with sincerity as she got into the vehicle.

Sammy turned her head curiously as she took notice of Raven's silent behavior, but she gave a shrug and turned back to Mason, whispering a bit. It wasn't clear what she was saying, but Raven could make out a few faint words "... You never told me that... And to think you were into... What will poor Joey think".
In that instance, Mason shoved Sammy in a playfully rough manner in the shoulder, Sammy now in a fit of laughter as he did so. Mason followed his shove up with a remark, "Shut up. And besides, I told you Joey wasn't my type. Nice guy, but just not a fun person" Unlike Sammy, Mason was far louder with his words, so Raven could hear all of it. With that, Mason turned his attention to Raven, giving her a nod, "So, where to? We can get this van to wherever you need to get to. Like uber, but free, so I guess that's a bad service...That was also a joke"
As Mason continued making awkwardly bad jokes, Sammy kept her shades up to hide her occasional glances over at Raven. She was far from threatening in any manner, quite the opposite really. Anyone could easily take her, but something about her... she felt familiar. And Sammy couldn't help but bring it up, "Hey, not to change the subject or anything, but to totally change the subject, you look familiar. Have we met before?"

Yoon closed the door to the car and remained seated in silence for a few seconds. She didn't move as her hands were on the steering wheel and her eyes stared ahead at the nothingness in thought. It wasn't until finally when the engine roared, she blinked. She grabbed a piece of gum to calm herself down at what had just happened. "Wh-Where to next?"

"Back to the mall," Yasha answered while putting on her seatbelt. "I'm sure that your mother is missing the company of your aid by now, no? I in the meantime, have business to attend to for today."

~

Caesar's head lifted just in time for him to step out of the way as someone–a girl perhaps, rushed passed him in more of a hurry than he had seen anyone as of recently. He scratched his chin, raising his eyebrows a little as he watched her person off on their way before giving a shrug and continuing on his own way down to the store that was on the corner.

~

"Reed Blvd, just a couple blocks down. Not to far from here." Raven answered when asked where she was headed. So much with following through with the doc's suggestions huh? Her conscious nagged. In just a few moments of utter chaos, she didn't see herself going too far from home anytime soon again until she had too.
And with that good idea in mind, she was sure she would be able to keep to herself in her space she took up in the truck. However, as usually, life had other plans for her.

"Hey, not to change the subject or anything, but to totally change the subject, you look familiar. Have we met before?"

Raven had to lift her head back up just as she was going to rest them in her arms, the question catching her attention. She rubbed her arm a little, speaking quietly. "Um..no, I uh–I don't think so." She stammered out, shifting in place a slightly.

"...no... pretty sure she just misses you..." She mumbled to herself, looking back as she backed out of the parking space. As she was doing the U-turn around the store to get back onto the road, her dark brown eyes accidentally made eye contact with Kore who was staring at them the entire time through the windows of the shop. She gave a smirk and waved goodbye, which only encouraged Yoon to surprisingly drive faster so they could be out of there sooner.

Sammy looked over at Raven, her eyes squinting behind her glasses as she stared at her curiously. Though she didn't leave her spot in her seat, Raven could feel a suspicious presence looming over her, as if Sammy had become more unsure "Are you sure? I could've sworn-"
"Sammy, leave her alone." Mason replied as he turned his eyes to her before he moved his attention toward Raven, his gaze reaching hers as he stared at her through the rear view mirror, his tone coming off much softer and kinder than his response to Sammy "I'm so sorry. Sammy's got the curiosity of a five year old. She can't help but throw question after question at people until they get absurd. She's a bit of a dolt but she's harmless."
Sammy turned her attention to Mason, lifting up her middle finger toward Mason in response before she sighed and turned to Raven, "Sorry, guess I got it mixed up. There was these crazy girls in the shop, all talking about searching for someone, being mercenaries or some shit, and they had this picture.... Eh, nah, what are the chances". With a wave of her hand, she sat back in the passenger seat, taking out a can of beer from the bag before she turned to Raven and offered her one, "Want a drink?"

Mercenaries? "Like in the action movies?" Raven wanted to ask, but refrained from doing so. Though she still couldn't help but to think, What's up with all this weird shit these passed months? First it was the incident about the mall in November, then someone gets turned into splatter art in Orlando. Not to mention that she had started getting the feeling that she was being watched. When she was offered one of the beers, she didn't take it immediately. There was of course, more considering on her behalf before she came to the decision to accepting the can. Wondering if drinking was a good idea for herself at the moment crossed her mind, as did the fact that she was around strangers. But she didn't feel right declining it either. Besides, its only one.."Sure–I mean if its okay, I guess." She took the can, making sure to add a thank you while in the motion.

~

Yasha glanced at where Kore was waving from, rolling her eyes with a softscoff as Yoon started driving in a way that was out of her element. However, she didn't make any comment on it and instead fetched her phone from her pocket and turned it on to see what time it currently was. It's still early,
With a good plan already in mind, she figured that Yoon wouldn't fret over a few more hours of absence. After all, she had a family to spend the holidays with, while on the other hand she would have families that she would have to oversee from the afar once she found the rest of the Keepers.

"No problem." Sammy nodded with a smile as she cracked open her own can. She held it up to her mouth before turning toward Mason and speaking in a joking tone of voice "Mason doesn't get one because he's a big lightweight"
"Mason doesn't get one because Mason's the designated driver for your lightweight ass." Mason replied to her casually as he started the engine, the van humming to life after Mason had to turn the key four times. The van gave a light rattle in the back for a moment as the engine began to roar to life before the van started moving slowly. As Mason pulled out onto the road, Sammy spoke to Raven casually, taking a sip of her beer, "So, what is it that you do around here? Mason and I just got here and we plan on sticking around for a while, but we don't know any cool spots around here to hang out. And unless you really really like P3P on the PSP, you probably don't wanna stick around here for hours and hours. You gotta know some fun spots, right".
Though Sammy didn't pay any attention, she could see Mason roll his eyes from the rear view mirror at Sammy's questions and short attention span. But in an instant, Mason had to stop the car suddenly as a black car with two women inside drove passed at an alarmingly fast rate. Mason hit the brakes, not too hard, but hard enough for Sammy to choke on her beer and start coughing. Mason slammed a fist onto the horn to let out a blaring honk and shouted, "Hey, watch where you're going! Sheesh, some fuckin' people. You alright, kid?" He asked Raven, almost completely disregarding Sammy as her coughing finally started to slow down

A lightweight? He's as big as this van though, Raven thought to herself while the conversation was on the subject of drinking. It was actually sort of weird now knowing that the mountain of a man that drove couldn't hold his liquor, yet she didn't even know why she found it so odd. She did snicker some at Mason's reply to Sammy, but cleared her throat and silenced herself quickly and quietly, not really wanting to draw attention to herself.
By the time the van started moving, Raven cracked open her beer, her sleeves covering half of her palms as she held it with two hands. When Sammy's question came around, she was just taking her first sip and did so like someone would do with a hot beverage.
"Well, I-I think I know of a few 'cool' places that you guys could try out." Or at least places that she thought were pretty cool. But most of them were open nightly considering that she rarely was out in the morning. Luckily for the few times out the year that she had no choice but to do just that, she had found some of the more secluded spots that she and the few people she could consider as friends had. "There's this one spot just outta midtown that's kinda nice. It's a bit–aah!" Before she could even finish, she found herself being thrown to left a little with some of her beer spilling on a shirt that was sticking from underneath the larger pile of clothes, the screeching of breaks within her ears. For a moment she thought that they were spiraling out of control or something until she heard Mason shout at someone who she could definitely assume was another driver. And when he spoke to her she had to readjust herself both mentally and physically before se answered first with a nod. "Yeah–yeah, I'm okay..I think..." I hope, her thoughts followed up.
And then she felt the moisture of the beer that she had wasted on her hands when she was sitting herself up some more. "Oh..oh jeez–I'm sorry i–it was an accident," she said. "I-I can take it to the cleaners!"

Sammy finally managed to settle her coughing down as she followed it up by taking two more sips of her beer. Her gaze was on the car that they almost collided with, taking notice of the two girls inside, the same girls that she saw a few minutes ago in the store. Regardless, she took one more sip of her beer before she looked over. Seeing the the beer had spilled onto her hands and onto one of Mason's shirts, Sammy couldn't help but snort a little before she let out a bit of laughter "Hey, don't worry about it. I'm not hurting on any shirts. Besides, that's just one of my undershirts I wear. It's not high class fashion like what I got on now" She said casually as she brushed her hand against her shirt before following it up with a question, "What about you though, are you okay? You didn't get too much beer on you, right?"

Raven, already flustered as is, shook her head with a sigh of relief. "No–just a little bit is all–I mean notalittlebititsactually like a medium puddle–but not that much its–" She stopped when she realized that she had just made what could have been a simple answer into something more complicated for herself, and so she eased into silence. Her hood had managed to slide off some from when she fell to the side, so some of her dark black hair hung in front of her face a little. She wiped her hands off using the insides of the sleeves that were just behind the cuffs, though she came to regret doing so when the now damp fabric brushed against her skin.

But it wasn't until she looked up at Sammy in hopes that she hadn't realized what she had done that she came to a stop. It wasn't until that moment that she realized that Sammy wasn't a bad looking person–not by any means by her standards. Not only that, but she had also realized how expensive her clothes looked compared to her own. She probably gets all the dudes, she thought to herself with a few pinches of jealous salt. Or was it envy? Salty envy? Envy salt?
She ended up shrugging off the thought before she gave herself a headache and instead looked for anything that would make things not about her. "So...I uh, see you guys have some guitars and stuff. Are you a two man band? Or...I mean, one man one woman band." Because of course, people tended to get very offended over things like that.

Sammy looked over at the guitar and shook her head, "Oh, not really. That's just Mason's guitar that he plays if we ever go to a party or if he gets a little tipsy and wants to play something for fun"
Mason couldn't help but shrug, feeling a little flustered at the thought of playing the guitar. "I mean... I can pluck a few strings, it's nothing, really. We certainly ain't no White Stripes" He joked as he tried to shake the thought away.
Sammy couldn't help but scoff a bit at his answer, but turned back to Raven to answer the rest of her question, "Nah, not really. We're actually just a two team graphic novel creators.... well... we haven't gotten a single pitch made into one yet, but we're working on it. I do the art for them and Mason writes out the stories. So far, we haven't really gotten much luck finding a publication for them because our ideas are 'bland' or 'Not interesting' or some shit", she said as she bended her index and middle fingers to make quotations, "So in the mean time, Mason writes articles online for some website to get us money. That's what the laptop over there is for." She said, pointing at the little HP laptop over by the mattress, closed to conserve what little battery life was left on it.
Mason butted into the conversation at the mention of the articles to keep Sammy from saying anything too crazy, "It's just a website dedicated to strange happenings in America. It's nothing too big, but it does have a small following. The website pays me enough for us to feed ourselves. Like just last month, I saw a van in the garage near the mall, smashed flat. I don't know what caused that, but... It couldn't have been an accident. At least not one made by any car or an intoxicated driver crashing into the wall. It was just too... otherworldly"
Sammy turned her gaze to Mason halfway through, going a little silent after Mason's response, then she tilted her glasses down and looked over to Raven, for the first time Raven getting a look at her brown eyes, a look of disbelief before she whispered to Raven, "This fucking guy, am I right?" she then followed it up with a sly snicker, Mason looking over briefly before he responded, "Hey, shut up! I don't really believe that crap. I'm just trying to advertise. You know the more clicks we get, the more money we get. Don't act like it didn't make you a little curious"

Yoon gulped to herself, her grip on the steering wheel tightening some as they continued their drive. She decided to play some music to ease her worries, turning the volume up once they reached a stoplight. The young woman reflected on having to go back to work which mainly consisted of aiding snobby people. But she knew her brother was there as well so at least their family was together for Christmas. Or at least, most of them.

Meanwhile, Kore continued to snicker to herself when she saw the car drive off. She plugged the earphone back into her ear, finding herself scrolling through Yoon’s profile in different social media’s where she didn’t hesitate to send a friend request and follow. She took another sip from her red bull and went back to chewing her gum into big bubbles.

"Really?" Raven found herself more intrigued by the duo than she would have thought at first glance, especially finding that one of them had a hand in music. Or "plucking a few strings", as Mountain Man Mason–a name she had already come up with in her head because she thought it sounded cool–had put it. Either way, if it was something dealing with music she was all ears. She even almost had half the mind to tell them that she was a pioneer of music herself, but considered that it was better not to do so. But what surprised her the most was when Sammy told her that they were graphic novelists. If anything, she would have thought that Sammy was some sort of fashion designer or something along those lines and was just getting a ride from a friend for the time being.
Yet things threw her for a loop even more when the laptop was brought into the conversation. "Articles? You can make money off of those?" Her brows furrowed as they went into more detail about what the articles pertained to, and when the incident at the mall was mentioned she thought back to when she had first found out about thanks to a friend that worked there later on that day. It had been just a week before Halloween, and she had just getting out of bed to prepare for her nightly routine when she had gotten a call with him telling her to turn on the news while he was explaining what he could of what went on. And even with it being months ago, she could still remember that haunting feeling of something looming over her for the rest of the night and even a few days afterwards.
"This fucking guy, am I right?" She heard Sammy say, in which she gave a light shrug in response, drinking from her beer. And while Mason defended his take on things, she couldn't help but to wonder if they heard about the more recent event. After all, they did make their money off of articles. "Well...I mean...there has been alotta weird stuff going on for the last few months. Like, some really bizarre stuff too. Just a couple'ah days ago some dude exploded in his car over in Miami." She held her beer close as she spoke, feeling a comfortable enough now to take a bigger sip than her previous ones. "Just him, not the car I mean," She added. "Its been on the news for the passed five or six days. I dunno if that would be up you guys's alley, but its kinda creepy, and I've never hearda anyone just..ya know...exploding at random."

~

Yasha didn't say much of anything while they were on their way, her attention more focused on her phone and what more she could gather in terms of information before it was time to put things into action. There was a lot that she had considered when it came down to it. And something that was included in that was how exactly was she going to explain everything to the other Keepers when she did find them? Or better yet, how would she explain things to Yoon when the time came?

~

Caesar was still looking behind him after hearing the way a solid black car had taken off down the road, shaking his head a bit. Hope whoever it is isn't in so much of a hurry to crash, he thought to himself as he pushed through the door to the store, the bell not something that he really payed attention to while doing so. But then a friendly smirk came across his face when he saw who was behind the counter. "Well would you look at who's stuck here for Christmas. Hope this place pays time and a half. Then again, I doubt it."

"Yeah, we heard" Mason said with a nod, though the mood seemed to weigh down a bit on the group. Mason thought it over for a while, about how someone could just explode like that. He shook his head before he continued, "It's stuff like that why we came here, honestly. It gets people talking and gets the word out about strange things happening. I mean, no gun could do that much to a person, surely. Not unless there was a bomb, but the car would be in pieces too. It just doesn't make any sense."
As Manson thought the whole thing over, Sammy, trying her best to lighten the mood, patted Mason on the shoulder and replied, "Come on, Mason. For all we know, it was some sick prank using pig guts and shit. You can't go around starting rumors with that kind of stuff. It starts to get people paranoid and stuff. I mean, what if people started thinking they were gonna blow up any second? We got enough things in this world to be scared about. The last thing we need is more rumors, right."
Mason rolled his eyes around before replying, "Look, I just do it for the money, okay? I don't do it with intent to fear monger. I gotta make a living too, you know."
Sammy rolled her eyes back at him in a mocking manner before she turned to Raven, "Well, don't worry about it. Whether it's a prank or people really, truly are exploding in their car, I don't intend to explode any second. I mean, I'm too cute to become a splattered mess."
"Oh please" Mason joked, "I think that would be an improvement"
"Hey, that's mean, Mason" Sammy replied in a joking tone of voice as she sipped from her beer again, tossing the now empty can aside and grabbing another

Raven glanced at the can that was tossed aside and then at Sammy, a bit surprised that she had finished hers already. Her own can was barely passed the half way point and already had given her a small buzz. She wasn't much of a drinker at all, though she would have a beer or two every now and then. But as of now, it had loosened her up enough for her to take a poke at a conversation. And unlike most times, she actually felt like she was getting somewhere. "So how long have you guys been down here in Florida–if you mind me asking, I mean."

Yoon soon found herself pulling into the parking lot of the mall she had been to almost every day of her life since she was 11. After previous events, she had decided to stay near the main entrance and exit in case of an emergency where it would be easier to escape. Yoon parked her car in isolation from the rest, making sure she was in between the lines before turning the engine off. She sat there quietly for a few minutes, debating on asking a question before stopping herself from doing so.

***

Kore took a second or two later for her eyes to greet Caesar since she was switching the songs from her playlist. She was willing enough to take one earbud out, but still remained in her relaxed and rather observing position. Her smirk expanded when she recognized the man before her after her scent was able to. At his comment, her head tilted slightly and she raised a brow. “My shift isn’t for the entire day. After all, it gets fun at night where I’m guaranteed to be paid better. I enjoy the wandering souls here during the day. You’ve just become one of them–ironically on the day the KKK was formed.”

"About two weeks" Mason replied casually, shrugging his shoulders at the thought, "We had intentions of leaving a week ago once we got the story on that crashed van, but after so much more stuff started to happen... And we haven't gotten a call back for our third publication meeting, we decided to stick around a bit longer."
"And that, my dear child, is why I need to find a place to hang." Sammy interrupted casually, "Because I don't wanna sit in a van all day. I gotta at least live a little, you know?"

"I think I do, yeah." Raven hadn't thought about it until the words of her therapist managed to shuffle its way from the back of her mind that this was a perfect opportunity–and excuse–to keep herself out of the house for a little while longer. Even though she felt like that was the worse idea ever, she was told that getting out of her comfort zone every now and again would help. And what better time was there than now, after being in the middle of a cash grab frenzy, stared down by a potential escaped mental patient, and now in a van with two strangers that were seemingly as down to Earth as such an uncanny duo could get. What was the worst thing that could happen? And so she continued, "What I was saying before is that I know somewhere that's pretty laid back. Its a little more secluded and not many people know about it since its only been open for a couple of months. They have decent food, and people sometimes do karaoke or whatever on Friday–oh, and a small arcade on the inside with a bunch of old timey games–" Which was actually one of the reasons why she had started going so frequently when she had nothing else better to do. The arcade games were always a kick of nostalgia, and she was pretty good at them. She paused to take a few more sips from her can and went on. "I usually go there with a friend or two when I don't have to work."

~

"Uh..really? The more you know I guess. Glad I can be considered a wanderin' soul though." Caesar replied jokingly, though a bit thrown off by the added bit of information. He wasn't one to look into the darker undertones of things when it came to certain holidays, most in which he enjoyed for what they were. Time that he got to spend with family and friends over food, memories, and other things that were worth catching up on with those who hadn't been seen in a while. "Anyways, I thought it'd be a nice gesture to stop by and say hey, ya know? Christmas spirit and all of that stuff."

~

Once they arrived at the mall, only then did Yasha's eyes lift from the screen of her phone long enough for her eyes to acknowledge the change of scenery from the moving cars on the road. During their ride there she had done a bit of research on the location that she would find the Keeper at, taking note of the nightclub's time of operations as well as the entry fees. Things were so much easier once she had found out how to use the internet. To her it was like an endless, pageless book of nothing but information. After a moment in silence, she spoke while removing her seatbelt and then opening her door. "I suppose this is where I'll take my leave. The day is still young and there is much to review before the first steps towards securing this Keeper are taken. I'd encourage you to enjoy the day with your kin. Oh and do give your mother and brother a smile and a good day for me."

Sammy couldn't help but gasp in surprise, her mouth agape, her eyes wide as she looked at Mason, then back to Raven, then back to Mason again, though it was possible she was just exaggerating for the sake of humor. Mason glanced over at her, before he gave a sigh, "You want to sing at the karaoke place, don't you?"
"How did you know I was gonna say that?" Sammy said in a pleased manner, a little joyful that Mason caught on so quickly. Mason replied, "Because I know what you want and what you want is to sing and make the rest of the place suffer with your bad taste in music. Honestly, letting you in there would be crime."
Sammy scoffed and replied, "Better than listening to The Smiths every day."
Before Mason could give an insulted reply, Sammy turned back to Raven and spoke, "Don't listen to this guy. This place sounds like a lot of fun. Hey, why don't we hang out there sometime. Mason's pretty busy with stuff, but I on the other hand have all the free time in the world. I'm good whenever you are, girl"

“oh...” Yoon mumbled under her breath when she realized Yasha was leaving. She awkwardly tapped her fingers behind her back and looked around while still listening to what she had to say. “yeah... o-okay...” She said as a response. “Heh...” She forced a laugh. “I’ll try...” Yoon said to her last few requests. “Be careful out there...” Was all she could say to protect her since physically she felt more of a burden. She hopped out her car and shut the door lightly.

***

Kore’s mischievous smirk only seemed to expand more, waiting for Caesar to finish his response as she kept her tilted head on her resting palm. “Christmas spirit?” She asked herself more than him, her eyes wandering through her playlist momentarily before her eyes went back to the man in front of her. And she stared at him in silence as if in search for something in his soul before finally blinking. “And why are you really here?” She asked with an extension of her vowels as if it were a coo.

"Really?! O-oh–I mean–definitely, yeah I'm good whenever too." Even though her stomach jumped and twisted nervously, Raven's eyes lit up when Sammy sounded like she was genuinely interested in going to the place that she was talking about. It was almost too good to be true how things with how well things were going. Was it all a dream then? She made a mental note to pinch herself when she had the chance, because even if this was a dream then there was no way she was going to screw things up. Not that she would want to do so even if it wasn't one. But then she paused when she realized something. And after finally finishing off her beer she said, "But hey, the Smiths are pretty good though."

~

"Oh uh, that's kinda a funny story actually," Caesar chuckled some, though the undertone of bitterness within it was peeked its head from behind the sigh that came afterwards. "I came out this way lookin' for another job and thought, hey, why not stop by and see what everyone's favorite goth doll was up to while I was at it." It wasn't like he had gotten fired or anything. Or...not for doing anything wrong at least, but more due to the happenings that prevented him from keeping a job that dealt with physical work. He wasn't really one to sit behind a desk or take phone calls. It made it him antsy and anxious to move around and do other things.
And so he continued jokingly, coughing a little until the crook of his arm at first. "And I doubt you'd want to go to any party on the oh so famed day of the KKK band becoming a thing."

~

Yasha climbed out of the car with her bag in hand, closing her door a little harder than Yoon had absentmindedly while her thoughts went about freely in her mind. However, she didn't leave immediately and instead turned her gaze from the mall and to Yoon. "I'll get in contact with you in the next couple of hours to check in on you all. If anything out of the ordinary occurs then do not hesitate to contact me by call or message–or 'text'. And don't forget to open your last gift on the table back at your residence." She paused for a moment, her attention turning to Yoon fully. She was silent for a few seconds, searching. The corners of a mouth pulled back into a small smile. "It is odd. How so much greatness will come from such a small person." And then she grinned. "And to think that I'll have the task of passing my knowledge on to you while I'm here," she turned and started off on her way. While doing this she added, "I'll be the first to admit that it excites me. Enjoy your day Yoon."

"Awesome" Sammy replied, taking another sip from her second can of beer before she placed it into the cup holder on the side.
Mason gave reassuring nod of satisfaction at Raven's response "Well thank you. Glad to know someone here has good taste."
The conversation appeared to make the trip go by in seconds, as the van soon came to a rolling stop at a street corner with the sign reading "Reed Blvd". Mason put the van in park before he turned to look over at Raven, "Well, here we are. You be sure to get home safely, alright. Wouldn't want anymore crazies running around".
"If any of them show up, I'll kick their ass!" Sammy added, balling up her fist as she looked over at Raven with a reassuring nod. But before Raven could even move to exit the van, Sammy responded with a surprised tone, "Oh yeah, we never did get your name, did we? I'm Sammy... obviously. And this man is Mason... also obvious."

Raven came to a stop, already in the middle of standing up when Sammy spoke. When she thought about it, she hadn't told either of them her name. Mostly because one, they had been strangers and two, she hadn't really expected things to go as they just had. And before she knew it she was starting to smile, the thought of having knew acquaintances making just a little giddy on the inside. And though a little hesitant at first, she pushed passed it. "Yeah right, I almost forgot. I'm Raven. A-and hey, you guys should...ya know...stop by tomorrow maybe–I mean if you aren't to busy with...stuff." She chuckled nervously in an attempt to cover up her desperate attempt at having new friends.

Sammy couldn't help but stare at Raven with a bit of surprise at her name. She looked over at Mason for a moment before looking back and commenting, "That is an awesome name! It's like that Poe poem"
Mason and Sammy both looked over at each other, with Mason scratching at his chin before he responded, "Well, I do have an article to write, but I can push it off until next Tuesday. Sure, I could stop by tomorrow."
Sammy was already grinning with a joyful grin at the thought, "Hell yeah! We should go somewhere real fun! We can get pizza and go to the bar and sing karaoke and check out a movie and Mason can pay for the whole thing."
"And the wholesome feel is gone." Mason replied dryly at Sammy's last comment, but still couldn't help but have a genuine smile at the thought of Sammy having another person to hang with. He turned his attention to Raven and gave her a nod, "Alright then, Raven. Tomorrow it is. And if you ever need to talk with us, we're never too far away."
"Yeah, we're pretty much in the store parking lot most of the time." Sammy joked casually

“I’m not freakin’ small!” Yoon exclaimed with flailed arms, as if that was the only information she heard that processed through her head. She hmphed and rolled her eyes softly before turning the opposite way. “YeAh yEaH, good day to you freakin’ giraffe.” She muttered.

***

Kore stared at Caesar with an unamused expression at his nickname, rolling her eyes internally when she was told why he actually was there. However, she couldn’t help but admit how ironic it was for a human looking for some form of help to someone like her, almost pitiful in her eyes. “I love to party.” She said, denying Caesar’s last comment. “A job?” Her head tilted and she chuckled to herself. “A big guy isn’t mean to sit down signing papers.” Kore added, almost as if she knew his situation perfectly already.

"Then its settled, tomorrow it is then!" Raven said, but almost more so to reassure herself that things were actually going well. So well in fact that she even tried to do something 'cool' and throw up a piece sign before she stepped out the back of the van, but failed miserably before she could even try. While on her way, the top of her head smacked against the top of the doorway and she winced and cursed to herself in pain silently. Laughing out of embarrassment, she resisted rubbing her aching head, quickly closing the van doors.

~

Yasha chuckled at what she considered to be Yoon's overreaction and rolled her eyes with a scoff at what she assumed was supposed to be an insult. Be that as it may...she has a long path ahead of her, she thought to herself. And so did the others.

~

"Yeah, I know right," Caesar scratched his head, a sigh of irritation escaping his mouth at the thought of it. "I guess the bright side is that it don't take me long to find another one. Well that and I at least knew to have some cash put back before hand. Anyways, whataya gonna be up to after you dust this place anyways?"

Yoon muttered to herself a few curse words in Korean, walking on her own pace into the mall. She was eating a few gummy bears on her way in, momentarily walking on the tip of her toes to see what it would feel like if she were a few inches taller. However, she didn’t really see a difference at all. Yoon rolled her eyes and got into the escalator, waiting until it arrived to the floor her mother’s salon was located on.

***

Kore raised a brow. “Whatever I want.” She shrugged, pausing to pop another bubble with her gum, her eyes on Caesar while she did so. “Maybe I want to complete hours on my other job. Maybe I don’t. It depends if an additional one thousand dollars is needed in my bank account.” She said simply before she made another bubble.

Sammy smiled at Raven's response, her arms crossed as she responded, "Can't wait, Raven". She was ready to give her a nod and a wave on the way out, but stopped when Raven smacked her head on the roof of the van. Part of her wanted to ask if she was safe, but another part wanted to snicker at her. However, she had no time for either as Raven closed the van door before she could say another word. Sammy just gave a sigh before she reached into her pocket, taking out a pack of cigarettes and looking over at Mason, "Well, at least she's a cute girl."
"Oh, is she your type?" Mason replied in a joking manner
"Maybe she is, maybe she isn't. Point is I got plans this New Years and you're just gonna have to sit here by yourself" Sammy said in a slight muffle as she placed the cigarette between her lips, lighting it with a plastic yellow lighter. Mason had already rolled down the window before she starting lighting it and used it to get some fresh air before he got the van moving, Sammy looking out from her window to try and get one last glimpse of Raven.
"Shame. What am I going to do without you yelling about something on New Years while I sit here and just relax." Mason kid

"An extra thousand dollars?!" Caesar chuckled in disbelief. "Hell, I hope you mean a month cuz that's crazy. That's like, a month's check depending on who's payin'. What do you do, strip?" He said jokingly. But then his phone began to rang, and he held up a finger before Kore could give a reply. "This is Tony, run ya mouth," He said when he answered the call. It was his way of not saying "hello" like everyone else, though it was more of a habit that he picked up from his father. "Oh, hey sis..Yeah, I forgot to save it in my –what!?!"

The light brown tan within Caesar's face seemed to start to drain away slowly, and his jaw clenched slightly. "Si..." He mumbled and turned away from the counter for a couple of seconds. "Right...gimme a few seconds, I'll call you right back...No, I mean right back, I swear." He turned to Kore. "Shit–uh I'm sorry to have to cut things short. I've got some stuff to handle over in Orlando." He stuttered a little, like he was still attempting to register something. "But hey, you still got my number right? We should hang sometime."

~

Raven tried to keep a casual pace but even then, she still felt like she was on the verge of bursting into a sprint while she was on her way home. A mixture of relief, anxiousness and joy had her heart wanting to hammer out of her chest and maybe do a couple of somersaults while it was at it. "OhmygodIcan'tfuckingbelievethis!&quo­t; She mumbled to herself frantically yet excitedly, throwing her hood back on all the way to avoid noticing any strange looks she may have gotten if someone overheard her talking to herself. Because as long as she didn't notice, then she didn't care–especially now that her mood compared to earlier this morning had gotten a major buff. So much so that she felt like celebrating her small victory over life and treat herself to something sweet and unhealthy.

-

As the van was heading up the street, a pair of zoned out eyes were locked onto it. Up on the corner of the block, a small crowd of people were waiting to cross the street and among them was a man that stuck out a bit more than everyone else. Whether it was because of the clothing that didn't seem to match the person, or the unusually large and stiff grin that was stuck to his face. And as the traffic light went from green, to yellow and finally to red, he stood idle while the people around him shifted into movement to cross.