"Companion is a...strong word. For some of them anyways," Edgar said with sort of a mutter towards the end of his statement. There were family members, most in which rarely and barely spoke to him, and vice versa. Others were people from a time he sometimes wish he didn't remember. "Colleagues" from a former profession. He was going to add something else, but noticed that the phone had been answered from the other end.
"Yes, it is," Edgar answered, just barely able to hear what Sammy had asked the elf. "She's my eyes, since...you know," he made a gesture towards his face as if Sammy would have been able to see it. "How've you two been over there? Please tell me we've gotten somewhere on that end?" He had been wondering about Raven as well. In fact, he had already made plans to call her if Sammy and Mason for some reason hadn't picked up.

"Ah ha ha ha" Sammy let out a tired laugh that was almost pained if not annoyed
"Oh, she's laughing" Galiah spoke "That's good"
"No, Galiah, that's sarcasm" Sammy spoke through the phone that was barely audible since Galiah didn't know how to do speaker, so she had to hold it next to both her ear and Edgars. "So crazy wild story, Raven or I guess Roux as she likes to call herself now decided it would be real cool if me and Mason were getaway drivers while she was in Florida."
"But you are in the Floridalands, are you not?" Galiah asked
"Yeah, you see, that's the really funny part. We're actually in Georgia, right outside of Florida" Sammy replied with a groan
"Wh- How?" Galiah spoke in confusion "Lady Samantha, what about that is humorous?"
"Sarcasm, Galiah?" Sammy spoke in annoyance. "I don't know what this new mood swing of Raven's is but it's really annoying and dangerous. She's acting so different, so uppity, so full of herself, so-"
"Not Raven?" Galiah chimed in
"Yeah" Sammy spoke
"So you'd prefer her be weak?" Galiah asked
"No, not that. I mean... I don't know what I mean... What the hell is up with her anyway? Bats, vampire stuff, this sudden mood shift. Edgar, you noticed it too, that she acted different one day but then her normal quiet self with those cute outbursts of hers. But it's like... she's not just acting different, she's physically different. Is this her magic or something? I feel like I'm going crazy here. Am I the only one who is seeing this different side of her?"
Galiah would listen carefully before she whispered to Edgar, "Perhaps this is best suited for you, Edgar. You understand these human things a lot better than I". She would place the phone into his hands and step back for the time being

"Uh, sure...okay," Edgar looked towards where he felt the phone in his hands now, sighing before putting the phone up to his ear. "No Sam, you're not the only one," he said with a sly sign of hesitance as he cringed slightly. He looked towards Galiah briefly as he told Sammy, "Look, Sam. I think it's pretty obvious that whatever happened that night between that mantibat thing and Raven must have taken more than just a toll." He rubbed at his brow. "We can both agree on that right? Right. Listen, one thing that Raven wanted to do was be confident, and not feel like a burden to the rest of us. Ever since what happened in Florida she's been trying to keep herself together. Keep her head together. It's been tough. I don't know if she's ever told you that, and if she hadn't then you didn't hear it from me. Maybe this is her powers trying to adjust to that. Psions aren't exactly as simple as a mage or magician, or hell, even a wizard or witch or — you get what I mean. And that's not even as simple as I'd like it to be. Or, maybe it's worse than we thought, and something definitely isn't right. Honestly, I think it's a bit of both. Or a lot of both. Either way, something tells me that there are going to have to be a lot of bridges crossed when she gets back if we have to. But right now whatever it is, it's been helping," he said, keeping in mind what he had heard about not only Roux's actions against the intruder, but also apparently cracking some code that led them to where they currently were. "That being said, I don't know what you mean by physically different, obviously.."

“Ya know” Sammy spoke “Like paler. A bit thinner. Those freckles of her don’t shine as much on her face and really gives her that cute look to her. She just…. I dunno, seems different. And I don’t mean like these mood swings”
Sammy let out a sigh, her grand brushing through her hair as she heard Edgar’s words. He was right that this was helping them a lot. She wasn’t sure how they’d have dealt with Thube. Hell if they can’t deal with him how would they deal with any other agent. She knew that she had to be stronger and this version of Raven was the only thing saving their skin. But even still, she wasn’t sure. “I don’t know what but… I worry. I worry she’s gonna do something stupid with this confidence while I’m gone. But I also know that I can’t just baby her. I’m her girl, not her mom. But it’s so weird with her. She says stuff like being a different Raven, like she’s from a different world or something. I know it’s probably just the bat and I thought it was just her fucking with me, but either she really believes that nonsense or…. “
She didn’t finish. She didn’t want to finish. She just let out a sigh, “I should probably call her and see what’s up. I’ll save the crazy ass questions for when we have time to breathe. I still don’t get why we’re here waiting while we have other stuff”
She looked around, making sure that Mason was still missing and spoke softly, “Guess one secret deserves one in return. Since you’re the smart one I can trust you with this. Apparently on that machine there were other Keepers. Like… in this country. And I don’t know why I’m waiting here when she can handle this. We can’t let the Droven or the Constables get an edge over us. I’ve stuck it out with two other Keepers through this. I can do it some more. If it’s on that old busted machine, then the Constables definitely have it”

"I know." It was the only thing that Edgar said at first, a small little smirk coming to his face as he glanced in Galiah's direction. But this time his unseeing gaze lingered. It was because of the elf's curiosity, and those oh so sensitive ears of hers that they were at least already ahead when it came to that particular bit about the findings of other Keepers. And since that seemed like the much more easier thing to discuss, he decided to stick to that.

"And if the Constables have it, then I hate to say it, but trying to go at it head first right off bat with our hands full just isn't it. Right now, we need to focus on getting everyone back here alive and regrouping. We need an actual plan, Sam. That faster we can do that, the faster we can work on finding the others. Anyways, how are you guys holding up? No trouble so far I hope?"

“Uuuugh” Sammy spoke, knowing that he was right. Her head pointed to the sky with annoyance and deep thought before she spoke “I really hate flying. I’d hate to come back just to leave again. But I guess we don’t got much choice.” She let out another sigh, now her head hanging as she looked to the black concrete under her feet before lifting her head. “We’re doing good. Nothing but a few pigs passing us by giving us dirty looks. Good ol southern hospitality I guess. I’ll go ahead and call Raven and see what the deal is. Call you right back when I get things figured, alright? Mason might wanna chime in by then, I’ll definitely fill him in on the stuff”
With a sigh, Sammy looked through her contacts, landing on Raven yet again as she did this morning, hoping that the heat had died down a bit

Galiah would take notice of Edgar’s gaze in her general direction, seeing the smile emerge in his face. Even through his blindness, the elf couldn’t help but blush at the sight and ask, “Edgar, what is it that has you smiling so?” She stepped closer to the painter, her hands behind her back as she spoke, "You've got that grin on your face that you don't make in front of the others"

"I know you do." Kyung-ha said. She remained quiet, analyzing how Johnathan's fingers interlocked with each other along with the eager position of his elbows––all small things she deemed as a form of anxiousness she had never seen from him before; something he wasn't allowed to show while being under the control of the council. Kyung-ha released a small sigh, scooting her chair a little forward so her hands could reach Johanthan's since her height sitting down wouldn't reach alone. She cupped her small, but comforting hands on top of his knuckles while finding the words in English to ensure they would be spoken to her best potential. "I was sure that you were only person left remaining from your family, especially after incident in Korea. But Constantine informed me otherwise. You had an older brother, and he...he was alive until recently. During your time in the hospital her plan was to have him visit you to help you regain what was taken from you. Memories. Family. Answers. But... he never made it to the hospital. He never made it alive." She fell quiet, her eyes never once leaving the man across from her. "The Constables no want anyone tampering with what they do to you. They want to cut off any contact you had of your previous life so that all you could remember and appreciate was your time with them." She said distastefully. "And only then––only then with your trust, they could use you. Use you like they have been for years." Her grip tightened only slightly on his hands before they smoothed over onto his palms. "Why, you ask eh? Why would they torment you so long? Chase you? Same reason why Droven did all those years ago... The council was right about you being... special." She fell quiet again, her eyes briefly glancing at her daughter.

Yoon gulped out of her own anxiousness. She had learned to control more of her mana, so the temperature of the room didn't drop like it usually would whenever she was nervous. But it was clear that there was some concern and even pity in her eyes.

"You... You like other people residing in this household share something special that Droven and Council want, Johnathan. And that is being a Keeper wielding some form of magic––

"Mana––" Yoon quietly corrected to herself.

"––that can be manipulated to their liking."

Johnathan sat in silence once Kyung-ha finished. The more the woman spoke, the more she told him of The Order's past and present intentions, he felt something felt what had only at first been a distant numbness twist his stomach around its fingers. When she mentioned his family, he felt something within him shift. An ache that squeezed as he only then was told that he had a brother that had lived passed the incident in Korea only to be met with death inevitably at the hands on the Constables.
He couldn't stop his fists from clenching tighter as Kyung-ha had continued on about why the Droven and The Council were after him, his mind not completely able to wrap around why him simply having some degree of magic would make The Council so adamant about pursuing him. His loyalties had been in their hands. His life had been theirs. His body theirs to mold, his mind theirs to hone. He didn't understand. They housed abnormal classed agents with a stricter hand than the ordinary, and couldn't help but to wonder in the dark about why instead of being placed under surveillance within that sector he was being hunted down.

The distraught man's knuckles had gone white with untapped anger that had been surpressed and numbed so long that he barely felt just how tightly his hands had clenched against the table. His expression had just barely changed, however. His eyes were a sea of questions and things he had yet come to understand in full. There were still more holes within the past events, holes that were much like graves awaiting to be filled. He politely pulled his hands away from Kyung-ha to return to his meal, or at least attempt to. Not a word more coming from him as he processed everything, some things being done so with much more reluctance than others.

~

"What? Can't a guy smile a little when he's proud of his lover?" Edgar said in a joking manner, but with words that he meant sincerely. "You've been a major helping hand to me, and an even better partner-in-crime when it comes to this magic stuff. I'm grateful." He could only smile a little more at first before his thoughts drifted back to the brief conversation between them in Sammy. "So. I'll be the first to admit that it definitely doesn't sound like things are going too well on their end. I wonder just what the hell Raven thinks she's doing?"

~

The phone would rang for a bit after Sammy would start calling Raven's phone. Or rather, what she believed to be Raven's phone. The phone rang another two times, barely making it halfway through the second before being stunted by what sounded like the phone being answered.

"Boo dee dooooo! I'm sorry, but the number you have dialed is unavailable at this time, so please try again or like, don't! Also HIII Blonde, I KNOW ITS YOU!—BEEEP!" Roux could be heard laughing halfway through , and it didn't take much to realize that it had only been the voicemail message.

“Oh for…” Sammy was about to say when she had heard Roux laugh as per usual, still shocked that she was taking none of this seriously like everyone else was. She just had to calm her nerves and reply to the message on her phone, “Raven, or Roux or what, I need to call you about the mission. When you get the time, give me the update. I need to know when it’s time to get moving”

Galiah listened to Edgar’s words that held so much sincerity to them, even if she couldn’t understand his human sayings she could still hear how much those words meant as he said them. As she blushed, she would reply, “I do not believe we have done anything that is against any law but I thank you, Edgar. I have pride for you as well.”
However her smile would falter a bit at the sound of how things were going for the others. She wasn’t sure how bad it was going but she always knew that things were never going well. She let out a sigh and spoke, “She’s the Keeper of the Unorthodox. Clearly she lives up to the title”

(why is it that we're never simultaneously active anymore xD)

The corner of Kyung-ha's lips dipped into a doleful frown when Johnathan removed his hands from hers, only being able to watch how white they had gotten while the lost look in his eyes grew. "Johnathan..." She began. "I... I wish I could tell you that all this happen for a reason or that all this suffering will lead to better future, but..." She wasn't going to sugarcoat anything. "Sometimes pain is just pain and it no for character growth or to be strong, sometimes pain just meant to be pain and only meant to hurt. And that... is okay. It is okay to feel what you are feeling. To feel all you were deprived from before, including your own emotions and past information." She exhaled. "But... I want you to remember one thing for me. Remember, and know, that you are not and will never be property to the Constables, The Council, the Droven or any 새끼 that tries to tell you otherwise. Oke? They no entitled to anything of you and you no owe them shit. Do not let them influence you and turn you into a person you are not. The only person who has a right to you is you, yourself, and you! Oke? All your strength, your courage, your skills, your intelligence––it's all yours and no one else's. You have not lost who you are, you were always yours to begin with and now just finding more. And anyone who try to say or make you think otherwise, I cut! Oke? I'm not going to let that happen. Not again. " She swallowed hard after her sudden exclamation, the anger and guilt she was processing rising to her heated cheeks, which was enough to tell her to settle down. She had failed to protect the rest of the people she considered family, and would do everything in her power to prevent it happening with Johnathan as well. Kyung-ha's silence also wasn't necessarily because she was at a loss for words, but because there was only so much that could be said after all the information she put out about his past. Instead, she let silence takeover so that her previous words were settled and processed.

Yoon frowned, hesitant to place a comforting hand on her mother's thighs since she knew she wasn't one to accept pitiful touches. In some weird way for the past few months, her mother had been more of a teacher to her than a mother (as far as she could remember), and so she felt awkward to break that barrier of professionalism built between them. She retracted her hand and gulped, her eyes slowly lifting to Johnathan too after the incident. "I-I think what she was also trying to say was––"

"I said what I said." Kyung-ha corrected.

"...y-yes but––" Yoon stuttered. "I-I just...she... we... I just wanted to add...that... w-well... We're here for you. All of us. And... a-and you're not alone in this. N-not anymore..." She finally said, especially now with his title as a Keeper. She would've said more, but anxiety got the best of her.

Sangeon, who wasn't the biggest fan of awkward silences, attempted to chirp in after finishing his small bowl of bone broth. "D-Does this mean he's going to be added to the Keeper Krew group chat?" He childishly whispered a bit too loud to Yoon. Yoon responded with an embarrassed shrug, knowing no one had replied to her text messages in the first place so she preferred to save herself from even more embarrassment aside from the cringey name she gave to it.

"Sangeon." Kyung-ha immediately called him out with knitted brows for rudely whispering at the table about their guest.

"....s-sorry..." Sangeon apologized to the man before his mom got the chance to ask him to do so.

To lose his appetite in such a complete manner didn't settle well with Johnathan at all. He was silent, the information that had been fed digesting like raw, tainted meat. It was still difficult for him to collect his thoughts even now, and the most he could will himself to do is to thank both the senior and the younger Park for their support, for what little it did. He found himself standing up, the motion feeling slower than it was supposed to be. Or perhaps it was some form of nausea as he stood and the world seemed to start spinning out of control immediately. Despite this he stood firmly as he spoke. "If you'll excuse me—"

He was already pushing his chair into the table, albeit with a little more than just the necessary force needed. He tried to look Kyung-ha in the eye but again for a time today, he couldn't bring himself to do so as he said to her, "I'm appreciative of the meal that you have prepared, but I am..unable to finish." He stood there with an awkward pause in his words. "I'm...going to tend to the others now." He took the badges with him as he left the kitchen. He felt that it was necessary to move around, to occupy himself with something. He felt rigged as he walked, and briefly he stopped by the living room, throwing a glance towards the sleeping individual, having to remind himself even in his current state that he had to keep an eye on it as another potential problem.

~

"Yeah? Well I'm starting to doubt whether or not that's a good enough thing for us to call good. Or...bad enough thing, actually," Edgar was saying until his words trailed off into confusion for a brief couple of seconds. He felt like he was forgetting something, it had already forgotten something. He shook it off as something mundane and instead spoke to Galiah again. "Those books, would you mind helping me take them out to the RV? I plan on going through some of'em, see if there's something that I missed later on."

~

After Sammy left a message, it really didn't seem like Roux was going to be planning to call her back anytime soon. Raven wouldn't have hesitated to call her back. In fact, she probably would have been the one calling Sammy. However, the phone didn't ring again immediately. But then it did.

Sammy rested against the nearest street lamp to lean against when she didn’t get a call back. And as she looked over her phone as the light dimmed before going into sleep mode, she’d let out a sigh and would slide it into her pocket. But as soon as she heard the ring, she drew it from her pocket with the speed of a bounty hunters gun and hit the answer key with the same speed. It was not her training with an Immortal that brought this QuickDraw of her phone. Merely years of experience with one. She raised it to her ear and remarked before thinking “Raven?!”

“I suppose that’s what makes it unorthodox” Galiah repeated with a light worry in her tone. Her hands had closed together in a polite manner, but even she was unsure of what Raven or this Roux character were doing and if it would pay off. But when Edgar asked for her aid, she was quick to move to the desk, taking as many books as she can within her small arms and holding them close to her. In one swipe, she was able to hold them all and nodded “Of course, Edgar. Anything to help”

There was silence from the other end of the line after Sammy had answered. Some sort of shuffling sound was faint from the other end of the line. And then someone spoke. It wasn't Raven. "Hello!" An over exaggerated salesman's voice answered from the other end of the line. It was like a customer service representative that was way too eager to do his job, let alone to be speaking on the phone in general. And if it wasn't unnerving enough that it wasn't Raven who spoke at all, the sickening amount of cheerfulness that the person spoke with surely compensated. "I'm terribly sorry to inform you that the individual you may have been expecting is... unavailable, at this time. However...perhaps we could have an open, civilized discussion about that while we're on the subject. What do you say, Samantha Nguyen?"

~

Though Edgar was unable to see her nod, he had the feeling that she had done so anyhow after hearing her quick moving feet stepping across the floor. He couldn't help but to follow the sound with his ears until she returned to him. Unable to find her lips, he settled a kiss onto her forehead. "Thanks." He placed his hand onto her shoulder. "Alrighty, you lead the way, I'll take care of the doors."

Sammys face suddenly shifted into one of a much more horrified tone. Whoever this person was, whatever this person was, she was not sure. She was confused, terrified at the mere sound of their voice. Not just it being someone else with Ravens phone but someone that sounded so eager, so joyful. Everything about the other voice made her fears spike without warning . And all Sammy could do was reply “Who the fuck is this? How do you know my name? And where’s Raven? I swear to gos if you hurt her, I’ll break every bone in your fucking body, do you hear me?!”
Sammy looked around now, wondering just what was taking Mason to get back from a five minute trip. She knew that leaving would be bad and go against the plan, but at this point she was certain that the plan was in shambles. She had to get to Raven, to make sure she was safe

Galiah would give a small smile as she would feel his lips kiss her forehead, the very faint sound of a chuckle coming from the elf as she spoke in a gleeful tone, “Yes dear Edgar. Lead the way. I belief your getting accustomed to the manor so I hope you know the path by memory now”

“Johnatha––” Yoon was in the process of standing up before she felt her mother grab her wrist to prevent her from following him. She knew he needed space. But with the distance he had built between them, Yoon caught her breath as the shift in the body temperatures surrounding her finally settled at once. She could feel Sangeon’s nervousness. It was like a windy, yet humid day. Beneath Kyung-ha’s red skin she could feel what felt like an explosive molten lava that struggled to cool down and harden back to its usual cold obsidian. She had to snatch her wrist away from her mom, panting softly to herself to regain her focus.

Kyung-ha didn’t pay much attention to Yoon, her eyes solely focused on the man that excused himself and exited the kitchen area with the badges. She almost wasn’t going to allow him to walk out with them, because carrying them around her waist ironically both gave her strength and also reminded her of how close to death she was in joining them. The woman cracked her fingers underneath the table, swallowing a hard knot in her throat. She lost all her appetite then and there when Johnathan walked out.

Sangeon awkwardly watched between the adults, hesitant if he should say anything or keep on eating. He felt guilty if he continued while the others didn’t, and so he slowly put down his chopsticks and hid his small hands inside the pockets of his hoodie. The only plate and bowl that was empty on the table was Yoon's, who usually ate and finished much earlier than anyone she sat with.

Kyung-ha reluctantly stood up from the table. Her eyes wandered over the remaining dishes, and she slowly began to pile them on her left arm to clear the station and tidy up Constantine's silverware. Much like Johnathan felt the need to remain occupied, she did too. She didn't make anyone follow her, but her silence alone forced Sangeon to attempt and help out by pushing in the chairs. Yoon on the other hand could only watch as the silence consumed them all.

"....y-you're not g-going to go?" Yoon chirped quietly as she watched her mother clear the table.

"To attend something I've caused is one of the most disgraceful and disrespectful things I can do." She explained. "Someone of much greater honor and respect is to lie them to rest." She said, revealing why she never did so in the first place.

Yoon scratched her arms awkwardly, looking between the living room and the kitchen indecisively with a frown.

"Ohohoho! Didjah here that Johnson? She's assuming that I have bones! Now isn't that just adorable?" The eager man's voice seemed to speak to someone else who was present as he sniggered. "Oooo, and that hostility! I can almost see the retail price on it from here! Anywho, who I am is unimportant. Yes, quite irrelevant. But you— oh! We know tons about you, Samantha. Or would Sammy be more appropriate? We'll figure it out, I'm sure. As for this Raven girl. To make a long, droning context short, it appears she has gotten herself into quite the pickle, and can't come to the phone. Would you like to leave a message?"

~

It was all in a matter of minutes that the soles of Johnathan's usually glossed and well kempt shoes, which had become increasingly scuffed over the passed few months, were pushing into the land of the manor's property with each step across the extensive backyard. The shovel that he had taken up felt heavy in his grasp, heavier than it should have been as he made his way further behind the property, back where the trees would start to meet the edges of the grass. He clutched the badges of the fallen agents tighter and tighter until the metallic symbol began to cut into his fingers and palms. It was when he felt the cool breeze that combed through the branches and leaves and the longer blades of grass that twined against the trunks of the trees that he came to a stop.

He was still. It opposed the hot churning sensation that he felt coursing inside of him. A simmering river who's stream was beginning to splash beyond the ways of its flowing path. There was a tree in front of him that he glared at coldly, as if it were the cause of it all. He dropped both the shovel and the badges, at first going to roll up his sleeves and only coming to a stop as he looked down at his clothing.
Still, he stood dressed as if he were an agent of the Constables who had failed their code of uniform and the tidiness that it upheld. The discipline that came with the years of waking to finely press fabric, and with a keen eye rid their attire of creases. The disgust that he felt was indescribable. And it wasn't long after that he started to tear the suit's coat away, ripping his arms from the sleeves. He swiped the shovel up from the ground.

chK. ChK. CHK!
With each time that the shovel struck soil, it was with more ferocity than the previous. It wasn't merely holes that Johnathan dug, no. But for each badge, there was the space of a grave, each one being seven feet in depth. Each grave was dug out in the shape of almost perfect rectangular spaces. And when he finished, and the badges were placed down into the ground, the shovel's head stabbed into the mound of dirt and soil and worms and insects. He stopped, only for his gaze to fall down into the freshly dug graves. He wanted to pay his respects, but words were lost to him in that moment. For everything he would have said would have been in tradition of the ways of the Constables. And so he could only stand in silence, white knuckles tightened around the handle of the digging tool.

~

Edgar did a small whistle at memorizing the place. "I haven't gotten it down that much. This place seems a lot bigger when you can't see where you're going." But knowing that the elf had even that much faith in his ability to navigate with such a handicap felt...nice. It made him smile some. "But, I'll figure it out."

As they would exit the library though, he noticed the foggy, muddy sensation that had stuck to his eyes only minutes ago was less present, which made him come to a brief halt.

Sammys teeth grinded with each sentence, each condescending jeer made by the man over the phone, hearing the way he spoke made her want to reach through the phone and strangle the voice at the other end. And as she was told that Raven wasn’t present, she shouted again, nearly cutting off another one of his remarks, “Don’t fuck with me! Where is she?! Are you an agent, another Driven. Don’t think that just cause you know me means you’re safe if you don’t tell me where she is right now!”
Her hand gripped the phone tightly, the protector creaking at her tight grip. Sammy was so lost in her frustration, in her anger, she didn’t even notice as Mason pulled the car up. He sat in the car. Seeing that expression, seeing that anger, he knew it was best to remain silent

Galiah would almost crash into the back of Edgar as she carried the books, coming to a halt herself and having to rebalance the books that she held before she would peak over like a stray cat at a corner and ask, “What’s the matter, Edgar? Is it another vision?”

Edgar was quiet for a second, but then shook his head slowly out uncertainty. He was certain that it wasn't a vision. God knows he knew what those felt like when they came. But what he wasn't certain of was why things had shifted the way that they had. And so he asked Galiah, "Do you still feel that from earlier? That..that.." He wasn't exactly sure what to call it. "That..blockage feeling?"

~

"How's your father doing in China?" The voice asked suddenly, the question oozing with the enthusiasm of a car salesman commercial. Like Billy Mays had quit infomercials and started convincing people to buy shit cars at an outrageous price. "His wife is just so lovely. And the newest addition to their family," there was the sound of lips smacking dramatically before the next words were chuckled out. "Such a bright little girl." The more he spoke, the more it became apparent that he was emphasizing that she was in no position to be making demands. "Oh and how about Mason? Surely he's meant to visit home these past few years. People tend to change. Especially...fathers. Isn't that right John?"

"That's right sir," another male voice with a similar tone could be heard agreeing.

"Ah, such a great employee. He needs a raise. Don't you agree, Sam-Jam? Cute nickname by the way, oh I just love it! Anywhoooo, here's what we're going to do. And by we, I mean you. You're going to meet me at your little rendezvous, and we shall discuss matters in further detail. Do you understand me, Samantha? Oh but of course you do. After all, more than just Raven's life is counting on just how well you can follow directions. We'll be seeing you soon." There was a bit of link that was cut short by the phone call dropping.

“Blockage?” Galiah had to repeat softly to try and understand what he meant. She looked up to think for a moment, wondering what it could mean before she only shook her head, “Sorry Edgar, I don’t think I do. Are you sure you’re feeling well?”
Galiah stepped closer to the side now to take a glance at his eyes, making sure that he wasn’t feeling anything from before. She couldn’t understand it, but she could see from his face that something was still getting to him

Sammy froze at what she was hearing. The information, information she never told anyone, no one but Raven. Not even Mason knew if this, but this man, he layer out all of what Samantha had experienced, all of her trauma, put out there without hesitation, like he knew it all. And hearing his laugh, she could only speak, but her demeanor, her anger was now subsided with a hint of fear. “Who are you?!” She asked, only to be greeted with a ringing phone as the line was cut. She turned to Mason, finally acknowledging him as he would see the stare in her eyes, a sense of anger burning within her. She hurried to the passenger seat, throwing the door open and slamming it shut
“H-Hey what’s going on” Mason asked out of concern
“The meet up point. Now. I’ll explain on the way”
Mason didn’t need to be told again. He didn’t know what happened but he knew that it wasn’t good. He wanted to tell Sammy that he told her so. That splitting up was a terrible idea that shouldn’t have happened. But as he took notice of the expression on her face, a combination of anger, fear and regret, he knew it was best to remain silent. He just drove down to the meet up point, hoping that whatever was waiting for them was something friendly. Or at the very least, something Samantha could handle

Yoon had chosen to stay behind in the kitchen to help her mother clean up; however, at one point as she was putting away dishes in its hutch, she found herself stuck in place watching the burial behind the small screened window. Her shoulders drooped at the sight, for she had never seen Johnathan in such a position. She could only imagine how much stress weighed on his shoulders after being told everything at once. And now he was burying his friends that despite not knowing well of them, she knew they were good people. She peeked back inside the kitchen, seeing that her mother was preoccupied with her brother. It was her opportunity to place the last dish back in its hutch before unconsciously shoving the rest of the unused drying napkins into her hoodie.

Kyung-ha couldn’t bring herself to even look outside because of the intense guilt that she felt. But she didn’t physically allow herself to show it, which to the blind-eye could seem rude and disrespectful. But as far as she was concerned and in her cultural belief, she knew it was selfish of her to keep their badges at her waist for this long, but she also knew it would be hypocritical for her to finally lay them to rest. Her tainted hands with blood wouldn’t allow them to rest peacefully. And so she would carry on with the tasks left until her last breath. Currently, one of the pending tasks was lying on the living room couch. She warned Sangeon to stay behind her at a good distance as she went and fetched a glass of water to carry back into the living room. Kyung-ha slowly sat next to the sleeping woman with a close range to her weapons if they were needed. Pouring some water onto her fingers, she combed back her hair and flicked the small droplets onto the being like she would her daughter to wake her. Usually Kyung-ha would pour the entire glass on Yoon if she slept in, but she was wary with the stranger and opted for more subtle methods, which included jabbing common ticklish points on her body.

Meanwhile, Yoon had snuck out the backdoor and watched closely as Johnathan stood over the graves. She could feel her mana being smothered the closer she was to him, which in this case she didn’t mind because it also helped prevent any anxious outbursts. She paused in her stare and looked around when an idea came to mind, as if in search for something. There weren’t many options to choose from as far as special flowers went because of the weather. Although, her mom had actually been cultivating some quick-growing plants like green onions, lemongrass, and lettuce for the past months they had been there. And so she opted to pluck some yellow dandelion flowers and purple bugleweeds that grew wildly along the property, hesitantly bringing a handful over. Inhaling deeply, she stepped over his coat and remained at a close distance from the grave and the man, asian squatting to the ground and leaning forward to deliver the handful of colorful weeds she had separated into two sections for the two graves. But then her eyes widened when another idea came to mind, her hands going inside her hoodie to retrieve what looked like napkins from their recent dining experience.

The longer Johnathan peered down into the graves, the more distance his gaze became. The sounds of the world fell into indifference, the sound of the rustling trees and the distant city traffic like muffled murmuring. He could feel it again. His chest felt tight, his breaths tied into knots of air in his lungs. It was like seeing a kingdom of a town built on the edge of a questionably slimming cliff. Beneath that cliff was a raging sea. With every subtle movement, every subtle breeze, the cliff cracked, will and hope and grit being all that seemed to hold it still. It was dreadful.

It made him feel rigid, on both the inside and out. He had to remind himself to breathe, only to seconds later he pulled back into reality by, from his perspective, the sudden sight of Yoon and her presence there. He attempted to recompose himself, but there was a voice in his head that asked him, what was there left to compose?
Despite that, there was still a tinge of utter annoyance that twitched his brow; it wasn't caused by Yoon however. It was more due to himself. Or perhaps it was indeed Yoon, and the extra noise she had brought into his bubble of still silence. How her feet shuffled through the grass. Her breathing everything felt louder in a way he couldn't explain, and it itched a nerve in his head irritably. But as watched her pay her respects to the graves, he felt less irritable and more...

Again, he couldn't explain it. To his mind, uniformed more in the workings of logic and with a finely pressed tie of objection, it was too contradictory. It didn't make sense, the feeling. It began just under his naval, and was as if he were being injected with something by the world around him. Something that felt hot, and was threatening to rise in temperature. It made his hands want to clench tighter, the potentness of it. Yet, as he watched Yoon spreading the picked flowers among the fallen, it was as if the heat merged with something damp and barely lukewarm. And as it rose, it settled into his eyes, causing them to sting in a way that he was far from appreciative of.

It was when Yoon had started to retrieve the napkins though that he was able to be distracted by his own curiosity. He didn't look at her directly, but his head turned slightly on more of a glance as he asked after a second or so, his voice inhabiting a vague croak, "...What are you doing?"

~

"I'm..not sure, actually," Edgar answered after a few moments before going quiet again for another couple of seconds. A small frown of thought had etched into the corners of his mouth, and he debated on whether or not trying to see if he could...well, "See" again or not. He decided that he would, but waited until they had gotten out of the front door. Further away from where he was slowly but surely starting to get some sort of direction on where the earlier sensation currently was.

And as they would venture further and further away, he noticed that his eye sockets started to feel lighter and less covered by the muck of black that he had felt.

Galiahs frown was almost a sixth sense for Edgar at this point with how much the elf worried. At his uncertainty, he was already expecting a comment of worry to be brought his way, and sure enough, the elf made her worried known. “Well we can’t just stay here then if something were to happen” Galiah spoke with concern for her love. “Let’s get these to your immobile home and get you off your foot”

“Faster!”
“Sammy you can’t tell me to go any faster than five miles” Mason spoke
“We can’t let anything happen to Raven” Sammy made her worries clear, in her own angered way
“And we will be wasting more time if I have to explain to a cop why we’re speeding. You know how they’ve been staring at us the whole time”
Sammy let out a sigh and looked out the window, her feet tapping against the floor of the car impatiently. Her mind kept going back to the voice on the phone, that chipper tone. Who was that and how did he know her? Was he an agent, a Droven, or one of the twenty mysterious entities that were coming and going from there lives. Whatever the case, Sammy was more than prepared. She would look back down to the glove compartment, remembering the handgun that Kyung bad placed in there. She was hoping not to use it. But she was certain she knew how to

“I-I just––well, um––I’m––“ She fidgeted with the napkins in her hand nervously. “I-I’m just making something…” She mumbled, her fingers intricately folding pieces of the papers as she recalled the many times doing so in her job in Florida. “Iusedtomaketheseallthetime---“ She rambled, feeling now a little rushed when Johnathan asked what she was up to. “Itsnothingbigreally, j-just something I think that fits—“ She said while twisting the sheets of napkins. “At the s-salon I w-worked in I-I would m-make like fifty of t-these in a day—well, m-mainly swans and sometimes butterflies, b-but these t-too!” It took an extra few seconds, but what she was so urgently working on were two origami pieces in the shape of roses that looked surprisingly real with the little amount of time Yoon work on them. Their shape seemed to stiffen and freeze in time with a little of Yoon’s mana, but she didn’t dare place the make-shift flowers on their grave. She just sort of left them there at the head of the nonexistent tombstones, retreating her hands back to rub at each other anxiously. She avoided eye contact with Johnathan, staring at the dirt instead as she spoke. “…th-they weren’t my colleagues o-or anything a-and I-i-‘m sure w-we never made it to th-the stage to c-call each other f-friends but th-they protected m-me a-and treated me l-like I-I was o-one…th-they really did...”

Listening to Yoon's stammering only caused Johnathan to turn his head further towards her, his eyes squinting at her face and it's features for a moment until they went to the hands that fidgeted with the napkins. He watched the quick but careful folding of the napkins into what would soon become roses of ice. And his gaze followed them to the head of the unmarked graves. Or to him, what would have been unmarked graves. For the Constables, mere coordinates on the map of the planet. But Yoon had marked them herself, and for that, he was grateful.
But after Yoon spoke, there was only silence from the former agent as he stared down into the graves. There was something about staring at the stale glint of the badges, especially the one that had belonged to Makveli, which was now charred and barely holding a clean at all, compelled him to speak. "Upon my initial reunion with your mother, I made a vow to keep you out of harms to the best of my abilities. You, as well as Sangeon. Logically, I would, because you were an extension of her. It was simple. The logical thing to do, being that Kyung-ha was someone I respect and undoubtedly hold in high regards. But the more I came to know and understand you as an individual, the more of a...friend, you became to me. Even if there time with you was scarcer than my own, I believe it was the same for them." He picked up his coat, holding it close for a moment. His fingers rubbed across the collar and the creases in the sleeves.

He was quiet again. His clutch on the cost tightened at first. But then his fingers opened, allowing it to fall down into the grave in the middle. Letting the Constables known as Abel rest with dead. He pulled out a match and threw into the coat. And then another. And then another. He waited until it caught flame. And then began the burial.

~

Edgar half nodded at Galiah's statement, still in thought until he decided to give his earlier decision a go. Or at least he was about to until he considered how worried the elf sounded about his well being. He decided against it, and told himself that he would try his Sight again when he was with himself. Because as worried as the elf was, so was he. And as they would head to his home outside of a home, he couldn't help but think that there was something up with the man that had been welcomed into what was supposed to be there safe space.

~

As Sammy was looking at the gloving compartment in her pondering and Mason drove, there was a flash of light in the rearview mirror that extended to the ones outside the vehicle on both sides. And with the flash came the scream of a siren as the red, white and blue lights of an officer's vehicle lit the back windows.

Mason looked out the rear view mirror at the immediate sight of the lights flashing, already sensing some sort of divine intervention at the sheer surprise of how fast it came on “Oh shit.”
As Mason was already slowing down to turn to the shoulder, Sammy would grab his hand from the gear shift and speak a single word
“Speed up”
Mason had to look at her, shake his head at what he just heard “What?” He couldn’t help but ask
“Sammy” You said if they pull us over it’ll take longer. So floor it”
“Sammy we can’t just-“
“We can’t just anything” Sammy cut him off “We’re dealing with way bigger shit than jail time here. We gotta get there now. So fucking floor this bitch before I do!”
Masons mouth was just agape now, baffles at what he was hearing. And he hates that she was right. He would just turn to the road with a look of dread on his face and groaned “Why me” was all he could say before his foot rested onto the gas pedal and started to speed the car up faster

Galiah would drop the books onto the counter just off in the kitchen as soon as they would enter the RV, her hands moving to place themselves on her back as she let out a muffled moan and stretched her back at an angle. With a sigh as her body sprang back up, she would keep her eyes on Edgar, her hands resting on her cheeks as she waited for him to enter as she replied, “I hope that you are getting the right nutrients. Lady Yoon always falters cause of a diet of those… Lays potato slices I believe they are called. No nutrients in them at all. Tires out too fast. I hope that it is just a small meal for you today, Dear Edgar”

"But the more I came to know and understand you as an individual, the more of a...friend, you became to me. Even if there time with you was scarcer than my own, I believe it was the same for them."

Yoon's lips shyly curled into a genuine smile, her cheeks naturally flushing when she heard these words, hoping that what Johnathan said was true regarding already established friendships with them before they passed. She was also surprised to hear that he even considered her a friend after everything they had been through. According to Kyung-ha, he was more than that to her. He was her big brother––her oppa––and should be treated as such, which explained her shift in behavior and respect towards him. However, it was more than just that title that caused her behavior to change. Yoon truly did come to respect and sympathize Johnathan for all that he did, and that he was, and all that he would become now knowing newer information about his identity. She always secretly did, with perhaps more feelings involved, but had refused to admit it with hints of jealousy that irked her from him being her mother's favorite. She envied his strength and abilities that were superior to hers, but above all, she envied his courage and perseverance through it all.

She was surprised to see him light his coat on fire, but gathered this must've been an appropriate way to let go of the past. Even exposed near the heat, the solidified roses out of paper and ice kept their shape. Yoon stayed on her knees almost in a bow-like fashion to show her respect. Eventually she would stand when Johnathan was almost done, avoiding shoving her hands into her pockets and instead leaving them behind her back. "..I...I remember something Mr. Korsnoff told me a w-while ago..." She couldn't remember what had caused their conversation with each other, but his words stuck with her. "He t-told me to s-stay strong in ways that I k-know how to... that it didn't n-necessarily mean to be physically s-strong or superior, b-but... just trust in the ways we know and currently have i-in front of us..." Her voice was soft, but her words of his advice were genuine and applicable to everyone in times like these.

"Kgh—Potato slices," Edgar snickered for a brief second before asking, "You mean chips? I mean, for as good as they can be sometimes, I don't think I've actually had any since we left the states now that I think about it." He scratched his head as he leaned against the counter a few footsteps away from where Galiah had settled the books. He knew that he probably — no, he was CERTAIN that he definitely hadn't been treating his body in the best of ways for the past couple of days. Coffee only took him so far, and anything else had been little to nothing when he did attempt to eat with a loss of appetite. So he decided to switch the subject. "But, what about you? I know this all has been a lot....aaaand that might be an understatement on so many levels." He sighed. "So..how have you been, as of late? You're wellbeing is just as important as ours, you know? And.. important to me too."

~

Johnathan watched the fire burn as he dug from the mounds of soil to return it to the earth from which it came. He didn't linger on his actions as he did so except when he had started covering Makveli's. The damned fool, full of stubbornness and stuck in his ways until the very end. But there sheer amount of respect and comradery that they had developed towards one another was something that he couldn't just simply deny. His shoulders sunk lightly, but onwards he continued.

Eventually, all he had left to do was smoothing the soil across all three graves that were now full and packed. That was when he heard Yoon spoke. Though it didn't stop him, he listened to what she said, coming to a stop briefly to look towards the softly speaking woman as she mentioned something that Makveli had told her. The piece of advice that he had given Yoon didn't surprise him. It was sound. But most would have been fooled by the man's tendencies and obsession with his weapons and causing "boom things" as he used to put it. It almost brought a smile. It did bring a smile, as melancholic as it was, as he responded, "As much of an oaf as he was, one would think he would have attempted to persuade one of his many explosive devices into your hands, and told you to find something to blow up."

His gaze returned to the graves as he finished. "However... he's right. Those are words to hold close." Once his eyes returned to Yoon, they settled for a moment. And then he spoke. "Thank you, Yoon. Your presence here is appreciated."

~

((I knew I forgot something XD))

As Kyung-ha would sprinkle water onto the person's face, it didn't have much of an effect aside from causing them to shift in dismay in their slumber until they eventually turned away to fall into a somehow seemingly deeper slumber as a hard snore came about. But then there was something that sounded akin to a choke an instant afterwards, and the individual started to shiver uncontrollably momentarily when Kyung-ha poked and jabbed at the ticklish spots until once again, the body shifted itself. But it was then that Kyung-ha would notice the strange lines that etched around its neck. They looked as if they were some sort of stitches, but were far from ordinary. Even the patterns were far from what one would traditionally see, and upon closer inspection seemed to be embedded into her skin as they were part of its pale beige pigment.

~

The moment Sammy had forced Mason to step on the gas, the siren noises cut out immediately. Yet the lights stilled danced behind them, and it didn't take a genius to realize that they were getting closer. They hadn't been the only ones to crank up the speed.

Wham!
They're vehicle would experience a violent shove from behind as the police car rammed into the back of them. "Pull over, NOW." A voice from the cars com demanded. "This is the Valdosta police, pull over now, or you will be subject to forceful action. This is your first and only warning."

Mason and Sammy both lurched forward when the car was pushed from behind, as Sammy looked back outside to see the car speeding up, as well as the announcement, she would look to Mason and retort, “Those aren’t regular cops. Keep driving”
“W-What? Sammy they’re gonna kill us” Mason spoke in fear, now starting to slow his car down a bit
“That’s what they think.” Sammy replied as she climbed into the back of the car, searching through the assortment of bags for her Ashwood weapon, every so often her eyes glancing back to see the car behind them moving
“H-Hey you’re not gonna kill them are you?” Mason said, his foot now pressing in the pedal again as the engine started to roar with speed
“If it comes down to it” Sammy relied coldly, leaving it at merely that

Galiahs left ear would twitch at the sound of what she heard as Edgar made his comment clear. She would give a smile that couldn’t be seen but was heard as she spoke once more, “I am eating fine Dear Edgar. I make sure to enjoy the delicacies that Lady Kyung-ha puts into her meals. The amount of meats and vegetables in there are the right amount to keep one healthy and fit. Course it’s no Aquara Dimos meat but it will have to suffice while I am here protecting you”
As she spoke, her hand would hold onto Edgar’s softly, her fingers licking around it as she added, “Including you, Dear Edgar. I must be at my best to protect the Keepers”

Sammy was right. These weren't the typical officers that one would come across. Which was evident when the supposed officer behind them spoke again. "Your taillights our out and you're going an unreasonable speed for this section of the road!"

Of course, the taillights had been smashed out by the first ram from the police car. And so the question that remained was if this was some scummy cop or a Constable doing a bang up job of acting as one. Either way, the second ram from the police vehicle told them that the driver was more than serious about apprehending them with the use of violent force if need be.

~

"I know. But we've got to be ready to do the same for you too. And we will. I will." He smiled at her some, a small kiss coming shortly afterwards. But then something came to mind that made him ponder with a frown. "The memories that we're missing...it doesn't feel like I forgot anything. But when I try to think back..its like something really is missing. You don't think it could be the Droven thing or anything, do you?" He asked her. "Is that something we can rule out completely? Or..."

Sammy would climb into the backseat now, holding up her wooden blade as her back was against the passenger door for extra room to aim. She used the heel of her shoe to roll down the back window before aiming her blade and spoke, “Ashwood, aim for the car behind us. And try not to kill them please”
“Are you reasoning with the blade?” Mason shouted in complete panic as he felt the second crash from the car, unaware now of what was happening with this guy. As he heard the speaker from the car he spoke “What’s he talking about? He busted out our taillights!”

Galiah would return the kiss as well, giving a small smile that was only faded when she was given the question about their memories. She had to think for a moment and spoke, “I’m not sure. The Droven are pure evil, destructive, they kill millions if it meant getting one person. I don’t know if they are capable of that kind of magic though, to make ones forget. If they could… I’m sure they’d think of something else. It’s not impossible, but it feels improbable. No, I believe it had to have been something else. But we shouldn’t rule the Droven out for now”

Edgar agreed with the elf about not ruling the possibility of the Droven being responsible out. However, that didn't exactly make him feel any better. This was because he himself had never encountered the thing and hoped like he'll that he never did. He didn't know exactly what it was even capable of, but hearing of its tenacity when it came to getting its hands on even one of them, it left a sour feeling in his stomach. But as he thought about it more, a lightbulb clicked in his mind.

He and Galiah may not have encountered the Droven itself, but he knew who did. "I think we're gonna have to talk to Yoon. Maybe she'd have more insight on that side of things considering she's seen what it could possibly be capable of. Right?"

~

As Sammy would speak to the magic bokken , surprisingly enough it seemed to give some sort of response to her intentions, it's wooden edge bristled as Sammy would take aim. However, without the proper command to activate its offensive capabilities, it merely pointed towards its target in stillness.

Almost in sync, the glass of the back window shattered as a gunshot fired off from behind them, and through the rearview. A man had leaned out the passenger side window if the police vehicle and had taken aim. Another gunshot cut through the air, and the side mirror on Mason's side exploded into shards.

Galiah gave a nod at what Edgar was saying “This is true, she would know more about the encounter than either of us. My grandfather only told me stories but I’ve never met one in person yet. We should ask Lady Yoon”
But as the elf was already turning to make her way to Yoon, she would stop in her tracks almost immediately, turning back to Edgar now before she would add, “But would she be willing to tell us? Lady Yoon is always so quiet already, but this… I imagine it’s not something she can easily talk about. Besides she must be busy with the new guest right now. I believe if Lady Kyung-ha is polite with him then so is Lady Yoon”

Mason let out a scream as the mirror behind him was shot out, swerving just off the side of the road a bit before he had to readjust himself. The sheer sound and the sight was enough for Sammy to really feel her blood boiling. Looking again to Ashwood, and seeing an open window now from the backseat, she would sit up in the back seat, having to keep steady as Mason co tongues swerving and demanded, “Ashwood, extend, attack the driver. Humanely please”

Upon the given command, the Ashwood acted. Two large splinters broke away from the wooden blade's center and cracked as they snapped inwards at an angle, forming something that looked like a trident with its outer prongs being bent toward the center one. All it took was a thrust towards the car behind them from Sammy, and it shot forward like a harpoon at point blank, skewering the windshield.
The was a splatter of blood from the inside as the police car would swerve violently momentarily, and the man that had been aiming at them disappeared back inside.

The vehicle fell behind them for a couple of seconds, but then suddenly straightened as an arm popped out the driver's side with a pistol in tow. A man with dirty blonde hair leaned out, the expression on his face solemnly pissed. Another flash, another gun shot, the bullet flew through the back and hit the front window. Another shot sounded off.

PRRRrrrp—
Mason and Sammy would feel their vehicle bump harshly on the left side in the back, as well as the flapping of a freshly busted tire slapping the concrete.

~

"Hm...good point," Edgar replied, now thinking about it himself. He couldn't help but to add, "I still think there's something not right with that guy." Even if Kyung-ha and maybe even Yoon did seem to trust him, there was just too much going on for him to just be giving trust out like hot dogs at a street vendor.

Yoon's human ears perked when she heard Johnathan speak again, her eyes breaking contact with his when she found it a bit too intimidating to gaze at him for too long. But eventually they went back when he heard him appreciate her presence, and the only way she could respond was with a tiny grin and tinted cheeks. She nodded and sort of gave a half bow, her hands naturally seeking shelter in the pockets of her hoodie when the burial was completed. The Keeper paid her respects with another minute of silence to seek solace, but also because she wasn't sure what else to say in a moment like this. No other words of comfort or hope could disguise what he had faced or what was yet to come.

* * *

Shibal... Kyung-ha muttered under her breath at her failed attempts of waking up the mysterious person. She would've tossed the body down the stairs or submerged it in ice until it awoke, however, she wasn't willing to pay the consequences now that her children were in the same building as her. And so she had to resort to softer tactics. Her eyes caught sight of the stitches around its neck, causing a single brow of hers to raise before they both furrowed. Her thumb grazed over them to see how fresh of a wound it was, but was surprised to see how embedded they were into its skin. With a sigh, she attempted another method to awake her, which was to rid her of her sleeping position by making the person sit up straight before standing uncomfortably with the short woman acting as the support that kept her on her toes.

“I agree” Galiah spoke with a bit of worry in her tone, but little else the elf could do. She paced herself back over to Edgar’s side, standing next to him before adding, “We should keep a watch on him while he’s here, see just what he’s up to. If the others are so trusting, it’s best we be the ones to watch out for him”
But as Galiah looked at Edgar’s eyes, she added, “I. I’ll keep watch on him”

Sammy froze up a bit at the sight of the blood from the car, seeing what she was fearing for a moment. But as soon as she saw the angry expression of the blonde haired man, she was almost relieved that he wasn’t killed. That was until he fired a bullet at their tire. Sammy had to duck again to avoid getting hit by another bullet.
“Shit!” She exclaimed “how far are we to the meet up point”
“We should be like half an hour” Mason spoke trying to not spin out the car from the tire blowing out.
Sammy took in a deep breathe, this time knowing that if she wanted to stop the car she had to aim elsewhere. When she stood up again, she aimed her blade at the front of the car and spoke again “Ashwood, extend, stop that car”

"Oh ha ha," Edgar would have rolled his eyes if he could. But he'd take Galiah's version of it over Roux's any day. The thought of it made him want to push the shades further up the bridge if his nose, as far as they would go. "I swear when I get my sight back, I just might super glue a piece of paper over you guys' eyes," he said with a little bitterness, but was obviously joking.

~

After retracting and being given it's next command, the bokken crackled with energy before sprouting out again towards the vehicle. The next gunshot from their pursuers, however, was aimed at Sammy this time, but ricochetted of the metal frame of the now blasted in back window. As they fired again, a bullet managed to strike Sammy's shoulder, throwing off the bokken's aim and causing it to knock the scrape into the side of the vehicle with a deep rut left afterwards.

The police vehicle started to speed up now, moving sharply into the next lane while also knocking one of the few cars that were on that back road with them off the road completely. And to Sammy and Mason's horror, unmarked police vehicles suddenly began to pull out of the cuts on both sides of the road. First one. Then three. They were being ambushed.

Further in front of them though, with Mason's eyes being on the road, he could see something speeding towards them. Depending on how well his eyesight was, within just 100 yards or so, there was a tall figure on a motorcycle, their hair blowing behind them in the wind wildly.

~

Johnathan didn't mind the silence that settled between them in the slightest. However, he preferred the conversation between them, though it didn't spur him on to say anything at the moment. Much like Yoon, he didn't believe there to be anything else to be said aside from one last thing. Something that he remembered his mother saying during the vague memory of a funeral when he was a child. Many people had said it that day, to pay their respects to the dead. "삼가 고인의 명복을 빌다." With this, he gave a deep bow.

~

The individual stirred and only managed to fight weakly against Kyung-ha's persistent attempts to wake her, still trying to turn back away from the woman when she was turned around to sit up straight. By the time she was made to stand, her legs were already giving out for the individual to return to sleep. However, this method of Kyung-ha's seemed to work.

It seemed that once it was clear that sleep was no longer an option at the moment, the individuals eyes opened. It was an exhausted gaze that met Kyung-ha's, one of crystalized sea coloring and having a lack of actual pupils aside from the very very small dots that one would of had to be looking for to find. The individual blinked slowly as their lips smacked quietly, as if their slumber had been quite tasteful. Both movements were sluggish, almost sloth-like though as they went to try and stretch. It was odd, being that the individual either didn't notice Kyung-ha despite being right in front of her, or didn't perceive her as an immediate threat as they released a deep and lengthy yawn.

“Edgar this is no laughing matter” Galiah retorted at the laugh he gave, clearly not getting the sarcasm. Or the joke that followed afterward as she spoke “Edgar, I see no point in gluing our eyes to paper. That’s very coun-“
But as the silence set in between the two, Galiah had to think over the tone he used and the exaggerated manner of his very comment before hypothesizing, “Oh this is one of your many jests again, is it not”

Sammy reaped back into the seat of the car as the bullet passed clean through her shoulder, but knocked her back into the seat, now clutching her bleeding shoulder. “Fuck!” Sammy called out on pain as she clutched at her shoulder
“Sammy!” Mason called back as he turned to her. But Sammy had already gotten back up, clutching her shoulder with as much tenacity to keep fighting as their pursuers
“Just my shoulder! Don’t slow down. Keep moving” Sammy ordered as she would roll down the other window to hopefully get a better aim at one of the two new cars coming near them from the other side. But as she would prepare for the attack, Mason called out again, “Sammy there’s something in front of us”
“Don’t slow down”
“But-“
“Mason, either they swerve or we do, but don’t you dare slow down” she spoke up, already bracing for the worst

"삼가...." Yoon cleared her throat. "삼가 고인의 명복을 빌다..." The woman would shortly repeat after Johnathan with a deep bow that included her getting on her knees and touching the very tip of grass below her with her forehead. For some reason this act felt vaguely familiar, but she couldn't remember where from. And so instead she stood back up, her eyes lowering to view the hands inside her pockets. She was surprised to see they weren't sweating or icing up like they usually would have, and her brows couldn't help but furrow in thought as she remembered the many times her powers were muted whenever she was near Johnathan. It almost made her feel like she was more in control of herself sometimes without the possibility of her magic breaking against her will. She would ask him more about it when they were finished.

* * *

Kyung-ha almost dropped the person she held once her eyes came into contact with ones that appeared to have no pupils. Once again she had to remind herself of what exactly she was dealing with, and this revelation helped her distinguish her own daughter from the person because they were nothing alike with those peculiar set of eyes, which would help her later rid the being she was holding if it ever became difficult. Kyung-ha held her more upright when she began to yawn so she wouldn't fall back asleep. "Oi!" She spoke to awaken it more and grab its attention. "Stay awake, no fall back asleep––" She prevented the body from swaying groggily. "Can you understand me?" Was her first question, not sure or taking chances that the woman spoke the same language or could even get a grasp on what was happening.

As the motorcycle was getting closer, Mason would see the individual starting to stand up while the vehicle was still flying forward. While doing so, they had also pulled something from behind them to the forefront. As they stood all the way up, the blonde of the hair could be seen much more clearly, as well as the figure of the tall woman that stood upon it with a giant grin on her face as she bit down on her tongue while it hung from the side of her mouth. She took aim with the wicked giggle of a maniac, and with our hesitation, pulled the trigger.

There was a loud bang, the woman in the motorcycle seeming to almost loose her balance from the force of it. And as Sammy would look back, she'd witness he blonde cop's head be decorated with a new bloody, jumbo sized hole, his body falling into a hang out the window. The next shot ruptured the passenger side of the vehicle. More blood. The cop car swerved before being sent into a hazardous tumble that forced the ones behind it to either turn sharply off the road to not get hit, and in turn crash, or to run directly into the first which had been wrecked completely now.

"HIIIIYAAA FRAN—" The woman's shrill voice cackled loudly as they passed one another with the motorcycle veering dangerously close while doing so as she crouched down instead of sitting all the way back onto the seat. It almost looked like she crashed while whipping the motorcycle around in a way that should have been nearly impossible, and more than just dangerous. But as she does back in there direction and eventually catch back up to then, it was obvious by the grin still plastered on her face that she didn't care in the least.

~

"Yes, Galiah. It is. Maybe," Edgar added at the end with a smirk, but couldn't help the chuckling that came afterwards. "You know, sometimes you're just adorable," he said with shake of his head while turning to where the books were at. Or at least where he guessed that she put them at. "Alright, well I guess the only thing left to do right now is to crack open some of these books and see if I can find anything else."

~

The person's head tipped to the side slightly, and their eyes blinked groggily at Kyung-ha again. They seemed to squint shortly afterwards though, as if they were having trouble seeing all the way. It took a moment, but they would give Kyung-ha a sluggish nod, lips still smacking quietly. It began to rub at its eyes sleepily, it's legs wobbling again as it went to stretch once more afterwards, stiffness popping out of joints.

~

Once he was finished, Johnathan gathered the shovel that he had used, of course planning to return it from where he had gotten it from in the first place. But before they would leave, he gave one last look to the graves. He promised that he would visit them again to pay his respects once more. And though he didn't say it, he swore as his steps became further and further away from the grave sights that their deaths would not be in vein. Even if it would take him joining them beneath the cold ground to ensure that it was so.

“A warrior isn’t meant to be adorable!” Galiah spoke up with an almost insulted tone, her voice going to a high pitched voice at the mere sound as she spoke in her defense, her cheeks puffed up as she added, “We are honored, feared and respected”
But when he turned to face the books, the little hot air she had breathed out of the elf as she would step over to the books as well, looking over them all, “Yes perhaps. I hope this yields some answers for us”

Sammy’s eyes would shoot open in a mixture of shock and a tinge of horror as she would see the man’s face torn open by a blast of gunpowder and lead. She was familiar with some rough and tumbles, even seeing a glimpse of some of the awful things that unfolded between the Keepers, but even she didn’t see the worst of them such as the incident at the arcade since she was knocked unconscious. This was her first time seeing something so violent up close and all she could do was duck back under when another blast came from ahead of them, only the sounds of the chaos being sensed
As for Mason he ducked ever so slightly at the sound of the gunshot, more so shocked at seeing the woman just standing on the motorcycle. He just kept driving, more than prepared to swerve out of the way despite Sammys orders. He did not turn around out of fear. The events from before still burned into his memory. He just told himself they were fine. But as he would see a glimpse of the woman, hearing her remark as she sped by, and saw her swerving to return, Mason could swear that she was familiar. However he did not slow down. Not out of orders but of fear by this point
Sammy was still in a bit of shock at the sight of the violence that befell her, moreso from the sound of joy that came from outside. And as she remained silent, Mason spoke up, “Sammy?! Sammy you okay?”
Sammy shook her head and spoke in an ominous calm “Y-yeah I’m good. Just keep going”

"Good." Kyung-ha said when she saw the body nod at her question. "I need you to wake up. All the way." She emphasized, letting the person in front of her continue to smack their lips and stretch their joints if that got them alert and aware of their surroundings. She even went as far as dipping a small towel into the cup of water she brought with her so she could wipe away the tiredness left behind on its face. "The sooner you answer questions the sooner you have opportunity to go back to sleep." She refused to let the person go in case they were tempted to fall asleep if they sat back down on the couch or a chair, and instead maintained in her a standing position. "Oi, you know where you are? Who you are?" She asked, wary of her origins and purpose. There were multiple weapons at her disposal, hidden around and on her if she needed them.

* * *

Yoon waited patiently for Johnathan to say his goodbyes, watching as he retrieved back the shovel to return it back inside. "Th-Thank you f-for doing this..." Yoon wasn't sure why she had thanked him. Perhaps it was because he came back, or because he had taken care of a burden Kyung-ha was carrying, or perhaps it was a combination of it all. She walked besides him in silence, and took the opportunity to be the one who opened the door for them both, standing outside and respectfully letting him be the first one to enter.

As Mason continues driving, the woman who ended up popping up in the driver's side tapped on the window. The sense of familiarity only grew when it turned out to be no other than Catherine. Or in this instance, "Kathy With a K". She gave him a wave with some sort of hyped up joy that no one should have had in their situation. She didn't seem to wary about driving as close as she was to a vehicle that was currently speeding with a flat either. As a matter of fact, she had shifted herself into sitting sideways on the bike with her legs dangling of the side, which was even more of a dangerous thing considering her stature. "Looks likeya ran into ya problem AND solution eh? Butcha ain't gonna make far, babies! Not on that. Come on, we got a place ready already! Jackie says we gotta be quick quick QUIIIICK. Follow meeeeeeeeeeeee!" She sang shrilly as he motorcycle sped up to go passed them.

~

The individual was quiet for a moment, becoming still after Kyung-ha's questions. And then it started to look around them wearily with slow turns of its head, as if it were scanning the area. When it turned back to Kyung-ha, it shook its head in the same slothy manner. But for the second question, it's gaze went to the large box that it had been taken from. It's arm rose lazily to point towards it, and then it's eyes where it tediously made two circles over them with its fingers.

~

When Yoon thanked him, Johnathan had almost come to a brief stop to ask why. But then he recalled that they hadn't been buried when he had gotten there, which in turn made his thoughts rest on Kyung-ha. A small frown came to his face, and he reminded himself that he would speak with her again. But part of him didn't want to, out of fear of believing that the had already failed her. Perhaps as an agent. Perhaps as a student. The way his mind lingered on things that before was so mundane was something that he found irritable.

When Yoon opened the door for them both, he entered without question and with a nod of thanks in her direction after placing the shovel back where it belonged. But as he ventured into the inside, he heard Kyung-ha speaking to someone. It made him move at just a slightly faster pace.

Sammy was still in a state of shock even when she would see Katherine pull up to their side of the car, dangerously dangling off to the side. Mason would turn to her and try to keep his eyes on the road. Each time he tried speaking, Katherine would only keep speaking, as if she was merely taking over him before he could get his words out. But despite that, one thing was for sure, they had no chance of getting any further with this thing was falling apart and wasn’t gonna last much longer. But before any arguments could be made, she was already on ahead of them.
“We gotta get to the meet up point, Mason. We can’t just go with some crazy women” Sammy intervened, still a bit out of it after what she saw.
“That crazy woman saved your life” Mason retorted “Twice I believe. We can get there and be back. Besides it’ll be safer with two experienced people. Don’t you think? Besides if Jackie’s there then that means Raven may be there too. We gotta think smart, Sam, not aggressive. Cause that bullet wound shows we ain’t overpowering them.”
Sammy was at a loss, her arms crossed as she had to think, but she was far too out of it to make a clear deduction. She just shook her head and sighed “In and out, understood”
With a nod, Mason would speed up to follow her

Johnathan, and eventually Yoon, would pass by Sangeon who was peeking over walls to see the scene unfold in the living room. He was much too curious now with recent revelations that he refused to just go inside his room whenever Kyung-ha asked her to, knowing she did these things so that he wouldn't witness what had previously been secrets. "그들은 일어났습니다!" He whispered out loud to his sister, not knowing the extent of actual Korean the stranger knew. This also encouraged her to quicken her pace, her eyes widening some once she came into the room.

"You no know?" Kyung-ha's brows knitted inwards when she was told she didn't know where she was. Her gaze followed the person's pointed finger to the box, then back at it once it circled its eyes. "You have tongue to yawn but no words to speak?" She asked if she was mute. "We know you came from box. Box came from sky." She clarified, leading both of them toward the box so she could see where it was she was retrieved from. "Do you know who put you in that box?"

Kathy K kicked her left leg around to the other side of the bike to where she straddled it, giving the engine a good revving. She cackled loudly with the sweet, sweet snarl of the engine. It wasn't soon after that she was pulling out a burner phone and flipping it open to making a quick call. "illOoOo gove!" The exasperated sigh that came from the other end only made her giggle madly. "Whaaat? I got'em!"

There was a sigh of relief as a soar voice spoke. "Thank gods."

"See? I knewya cared!"

"Do NOT start that with me. Let me speak to Catherine please and thank you "

"Nnnnnnnnnnnope! My turn in the hot seat!"

"Catherine we DO NOT have time for th—"

"Nah ah ah! Katherine with a K! Or as sweetums over there said, Kathy K!"

"For the love of—"

"Seeya in a bit Amazon Lady, byyyyyyyyyyyye!"

"Wait no Kathy—
"Is that Kathy K?! Hiiiiiiii!"

"Hiiiiiiiiiii!" Kathy says back, her voice practically waving through the phone.

"Raven—whoever, be quiet!"
"Booooo, you suck!"
"Kathy K do not hang up this—"

"Bubyeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Boop. The call was ended before she even finished.

~

The person shook their head as an answer to most of the questions that Kyung-ha asked up until the last one when they approached the box. To the one about her being mute, she sort of nodded. She hesitated, though it really couldn't be told if that was it or if it was just part of what seemed to be her groggy nature. It moved to the box with sluggish steps. But instead of just opening it, the person climbed inside. Or rather crawled into it. There was a brief rummaging as one of the flaps to the box folded over the entrance, and even the rummaging was sluggish. Once they came back out, the fell face first onto the floor rather than simply standing up and stepping out. But this didn't seem to bother her, for her expression when she lifted herself up into a sit was one of grogginess and indifference.

And as Johnathan entered, having more than just an understanding of what Sangeon had said, he came to a pause before easing over to where he had left his own weapons, looking to Kyung-ha briefly before looking to what the person had in their hands now.

There were two things that the peculiar individual had brought from the box. The first was a small blue box that when opened, hosted a pair of wire rimmed spectacles that had been crafted out of something that wasn't the ordinary. The person put them on, and their pupils seemed to grow just a little.
The second thing that she had grabbed were cards that were blank on the back. The person read each one first. Getting back to there feet, they held the cards close before showing them one by one to Kyung-ha.

The first one read: Greetings.
The second: I have been named link
The third: My voice has yet to develope. Therefore, I am unable to construct speech properly.
The fourth: We are familiar. I do not seek to harm. My purpose is to assist, and to learn.

But the last card was where she hesitated. The fifth one she did not show to Kyung-ha.

(Yan(Pronounced as "Yawn")Yoosha)

Sammy would make her way back up to the front seat now, making sure to avoid any of the broken glass as Mason was still speeding, not even taking notice of the speedometer by this point as he was still frazzled by the encounter. Sammy was as well, but Kyung taught her not to let it show on her face with weeks of training. As Mason was starting to calm down ever so slightly, his eyes would turn to the blood that poured through Sammys shoulder. He panicked again “S-Sam, your shoulder”
“I know” Sammy spoke with a calm, cold tone
“We should really get that taken care of”
“I know”
“Seriously let me-“
“Don’t stop. We’ll get it looked at when we get there. Just focus on driving, you can’t focus on it once you’re tired out. I’ll be fine till then. Just keep driving.”
Mason wanted to retort but knew it’d be pointless. He just tried to keep his eyes away from the bullet wound and totally focused on the road. He kept the car moving, also a bit nervous that the tire would blow out before they got to their destination. But more questions went through his mind, like just who or what was this Katherine person, and if she was really an ally or someone with their own agenda

Kyung-ha hesitated letting the person go from her grasp when she went to retrieve the items from the box, afraid that once in it she would fall back asleep. If that were the case, she was ready to ask Yoon to freeze enough ice that could be dumped on her. But her hand instinctively went to the weapon strapped around her waist as she saw the person rummage through the box. But when she saw it pull out a pair of strange glasses and cards, her curiosity peaked.

Oh great. Kyung-ha internally rolled her eyes when the card revealed her voice had yet to develop. But her face scrunched in dismay when it was revealed that her purpose was supposedly to... assist and learn?She simply took that as another space to be occupied––another mouth to feed, another life now at risk. And on top of that, she was supposedly familiar to her? That was something she heavily doubted, knowing she would never forget a face with eyes like hers. She was about to ask her what authorities had "named her", as she phrased, but then her sharp eyes caught sight of the last card she refused to show her. The woman scoffed. "You can show it to me or I can snatch it from you by force. I strongly suggest first option." She spoke with an authoritative undertone, one that told the person it was going to end very badly if she concealed any information about herself. Kyung-ha's eyes glanced over at Johnathan and Yoon, them glaring momentarily when she spotted Sangeon peeking out one of the walls. She would deal with him later, and instead told them with her eyes alone to be just as wary despite the person not being a threat.

A couple of minutes into their drive, Kathy K took them led them off the road to Florida and instead onto a road that took them across Valdosta and further towards where Sammy and Mason's original meet up with Roux was supposed to be. Until of course, she didn't.
"Aye, didn't I help them folks fix a tire or sum' one time?" She heard Lincoln ask in her mind, who was the one in the "hot seat" when that had happened a while back.
"Oh yeeeah, after Kathy with the K without the E and mean screwed up Katherine's car! Ha! Good times!" Sam snickered.
"It was pathetically predictable at best," Demetrius yawned.
Sam smacked his teeth. "And here comes the embodiment of that nerd emoji."
"Borjya agrees! Small man Sam have no hair on chest. Need to drink vodka!"
"Ain't nobody trying to drink that nasty ass shit man," Lincoln butted back in. "Now that Henn Dawg is where it's at. Shit be smoooth—"
"Hennessy? Ah yes, the broke man's liquor. Try you some Christian Brother's, brother."
"Nigga do I look and or sound like a Christian to you? And I ain't ya brother either. Oh yee-yee head ass—"

While the others started bickering inside their skull, which then transitioned to a full on roasting war, Kathy K tuned them into the background while humming Barbie Girl to herself. A couple of more minutes in, and she could hear the grinding of the rim every now and again from behind her.
Ten more minutes and they were turning off road and onto a dirt road that seemed to lead a good ways back into the woods, taking them far off the open roads. Eventually, she came to a stop at what looked like a driveway that had only been just slightly cleared of overgrown vine and bush and grass.

~

Yan looked down at the card again when Kyung-ha threatened to take it from her by force. The stir in Yan's stomach made it clear that violence was something that wasn't liked. The pair of eyes that are like crystalized water looked to the newer people that had entered in a lazy manner. But when they landed on Yoon, they stopped. The last card was held in both hands and held closely, Yan's steps somehow consistently slow like a tired person walking after a long shift.

When Yan's eyes met with Yoon's, Yoon would feel something familiar caress her mind. Something trying to remind her. Like a soft comb of fingers through her hair as she laid in bed. Like someone she knew long ago, but couldn't quite put her finger on it as it evaded her mind deep inside.

But Johnathan had stepped in between Yoon and the approaching Yan. His eyes weren't cold like those of Abel's would have been, but uncertain and wary.

Yan stared at the man with sleepy looking eyes behind the glasses and stood there as if to patiently wait for him to move. When he didn't, she simply held the card out to him while looking at the floor, seemingly out of embarrassment or shame.

It was then that an expression never seen before on Johnathan's face came about. Confusion. He glanced at Kyung-ha for a moment. And then he read it aloud. "I require the paste of...peanuts?" He paused, his brows furrowing. "What is this? Some sort of horrible joke? Because if so, it's bland and not humorous in the slightest."

Mason was more and more confused as they had taken a far different route then intended, even moreso now when the car had started to go off into the forest. Sammy was far more agitated by the whole thing, perhaps a combination of the shock, the pain and not knowing where they were. As the car started to bump down the dirt road, Sammy would look to her phone again, seeing that her contacts were still on Raven since they got back on the road. She looked over it, thinking back to who the hell it was that had called her. It kept bugging her. And it bugged her more that Raven was probably out there somewhere. She wanted to call again, but what if it was the same guy. What if it was just a dead line by this point. She wasn’t sure and the thought was driving her mad. And the sight of this coney road wasn’t doing her any favors. It was only when they finally got to a mysterious driveway were her thoughts brought to a more current problem.
The clear look of disdain and annoyance was clear on her face, not that different from Kyungs. But it was enough of a chance for Mason to take the distraction and start to try and heal her, his hand resting on her wounded shoulder and slowly starting to heal the bullet wound. Sammy would turn to him with a bit of frustration before he spoke up
“Don’t give me that look” he replied “Be glad that it passed clean. If it was lodged in it would take way more of my strength and you still don’t know how to drive. Can use weapons and fist fight but can’t drive. How about that”

Kathy K jumped off her motorcycle eagerly and turned around to where Mason and Sammy were pulling up. She waved both of her arms at them as she ran towards the vehicle, almost got hit by the vehicle right before Mason could stop, and ended up on the driver's side. Her hands smacked against the window midly as she pressed her face into it. "Hiiiya frans! Long time no hospital yeah?!" Her breathing fogged the window a little. But when she saw Sammy and the wound she had, she for some reason grinned. "But looks like somebody needsa docta! Just like tha good old times! Hiii Sammy!!" She waved through the window, despite Sammy clearly being able to see her. "Come on, I can getcha patched riiiight up!" She raced around to the other side of the van, only to somehow hit herself in the face with the door as she pulled it open. "Ooowwie!" She pouted for a split second, but then she was right back to it. "Put some more pressure on it or ya gonna be dripping everywhere, silly!" She told Sammy. But as she leaned in and saw what Mason had been doing, her eyes sparkles. "Oooo! Magic man stuff!"