Aftermath (invite)

[Enver Marshall II]

"****! ****, ****, ****!" Enver growled out once he was in the security of his own space, where there weren't little ears around. He grabbed a decanter of brandy and tossed it against his office wall, as he glared at that very wall, almost sneering at it. He moved to a painting on the wall, ripped it from the wall and smashed it down over a corner of his desk.

He was angry. Things had not gone well. In fact, they had gone far from well. He had joined the militia to get his hands on the Cure. He had gone in with the intent of waiting things out, and watching how they unfolded. He had no intentions of killing someone. Or even hurting anyone; especially no one on the side he was on. He had every intention of talking with whoever was in charge and trying to get the cure in peaceful means. Telling them to give him the cure. He had the means and the money to keep it safe. he would get it out of town. No one would know.

But things had spun out of control at an alarming rate. He had seen a dozen vampires at first. But as the hours passed, more and more appeared. Soon, the entire building was crawling with those who sought to kill the guards defending the cure. It was their cure. They had the right to defend it and the right to defend their lab. What the **** was wrong with people? No. Not people. Vampires.

Desperate times, called for desperate measures. There were only a few floors between the cure and vampires who were slaughtering the people who worked for this lab. Was everyone so against the possibility of a cure? Everyone, but him and the one or two other vampires? And the paladin's upstairs with him? Enver knew why they wanted the Cure, and knew no good could come from it. He had to get the Cure first. He couldn't let them get it. Enver was all for the Cure, but only if the person wanted it. Not to potentially use it against his own kind.

Enver remembered knocking on the door of the science lab and trying to plead with the scientists to let him in. Let him have the Cure. He would protect it. But they felt safe behind their blast door. Untouchable. Enver knew from experience how wrong they were. He looked to the guards on the floor with him and the handful of others that weren't thrall spies and made a decision that would haunt him from tonight, onwards.

He moved towards a small group that were watching the elevator. There had been a spy in their midst and were waiting for her, he imagined. Enver wasn't bothered by her, he had his own agenda too. Save the Cure for those like him and one day use it on himself. Very quietly, he cleared his throat and looked at the female vampire and the male vampire. "Kill the guards. Get their security clearance. We don't have the numbers and we're going to lose the cure and our lives. There's at least fifty vampires, if not one hundred storming this place." He turned to look at a paladin who was by himself, then stopped. "Make it quick. Don't let the guards suffer." He then revealed his plan to the lone paladin and the plan had been carried out by a few of them. With the blast doors open, Enver wasted no time getting inside and looking for the scientist. Again, he tried to persuade them, but they weren't having any of it.

There was shouting between everyone. Everyone was killing someone, but where was the cure? Was this a hoax? Was there no cure? Enver lifted up his most prized gun and shot one more scientist in her head, before he ran out of bullets. Still no signs of the cure. Had it all been in vein? Had he made the wrong choice? He did. he knew he did the second he suggested killing them. They had a family. Maybe kids. No matter if he had gotten the cure tonight, he had still made a bad choice and it haunted him now as he paced his home office. He had been wrong on so many levels. There was no cure and he killed people for nothing. He was no better than those who killed dozens of guards. Two wrongs didn't make a right. They had all been ******* wrong.

[Enver Marshall II]

A night had passed and Enver was feeling no better about his choices. Even if he reflected on what Indigo had told him. She had told him it might go the way it had. He hadn't gone to work. He remained in his office with the door locked. He had told Rosa to take Grace wherever she wanted to go, and told her what charge card to use. She only needed to keep the girl out of the house for the majority of the day and night.

Enver hadn't changed from the suit he wore the night before. The coat had been removed and tossed in the fireplace in hopes of destroying the blood on the coat. Then the button down shirt too. Everything until all he had on was his socks, boxers and white tank top. And still, Enver could almost see the blood on his body. Even though it wasn't there. He could see and feel it. On his hands. On his arms.

Enver had smoked all the packs of his cigarettes as he paced his office. As he sat in the large, leather chair in the corner. At the chair behind his desk. On the ground and he sat against the door of his office. How many people had he killed? Five? Six? no, maybe eight. Eight. Why hadn't they let him have the cure? No one would have been the wiser.

At one point, Enver had found himself on the ground near the shattered decanter, removing the pieces of glass from the booze on the ground so he could slurp some of it up. Hopeful that it would make him feel better. With booze, it could go one of two ways and it seemed it clung to his woeful mindset. Depression struck hard.

Enver played all his Frank Sinatra records, stared at the ceiling and let his thoughts roam. He should have grabbed their badges. Found out their names. He could have given the family members some money. All his money. He could get more, but they would never get back their loved one. What had he done?

He asked himself this more than a dozen times. Probably two dozen times. All he could reply back was the single thought, 'Murderer.' He was a murderer. No, murderer was too nice. More like a serial killer. he killed a lot of people, for something that might not even exist. "I have to make amends." Enver said as he looked towards the broken decanter and sticky liquid on the ground.

His phone went off for the tenth or so time tonight. Finally, he begrudged himself to answer it. He swiped it off his desk and answered with a gruff tone, "Hello?" The guy on the other end didn't wait. "Enver, been trying to call you all day and night. Where have you been?" "Who is this?" Enver asked, his words slightly slurred from the booze and lack of sleep. "Enver, it's Benny. Ben. You okay? Rough night?" There was a tone in his voice. Hesitation, though Enver couldn't really identify it as much. "I'm fine. Fine. More than. Fine. What's up?" Enver asked, not feeling like talking anymore.

"Now, before you get too excited about it, it's not a done deal. Just...think of it as a break." Ben began, Enver sliding back down to the floor. "I think we should cancel the movie premiere next month. With how things are currently standing...might not be a good time, Enver. It's just a break. We'll shoot for the following month. When things are calmer." Enver clutched the phone in his hand and squeezed. "No." He growled into the phone, then slumped his head forward. "The show must-" He was cut off. "It will. It's just...the sales might not be good. And remember your tour? I want my friend alive, Enver. more than the release of a movie. We'll try again in November." With that, Ben hung up and left Enver hanging with nothing more than the possibility of something that might not ever happen.

[Enver Marshall II]

"Mr. Marshall." There was a knock on the locked office door, light at first and then firmer. Rapid, even. Enver pulled his head off his desk with a groan and blinked at least half a dozen times. He groaned and flopped his head back on the desk. "MR. MARSHALL!" The knocking became insistant as Enver figured out who the voice belong to. Rosa.

"What?" He bellowed out from a tilted head that glared at the closed door. He made no effort to get up; there was no sounds of movement or life, other than his voice that had barked back at Grace's nanny. "Mr. Marshall. There is someone at the gate. I think I should be letting them in." She said quickly as he finally heard the buzzing of the gate's bell in the intercom system. "They have had complaints they said." Enver groaned and turned away from the door, before he sat back in the chair and rubbed at his weary, bloodshot eyes.

"Cops?" He asked, gritting his teeth together. He imagined they would come at some point given he threw their police officer right out the building. Enver had no love for a police officer that turned a blind eye to the shady dealings of the people who worked for him. It just meant that Harry was equally as shady as his staff was. "No. I don't think so. They say they are here about Grace." That had him stopping behind his desk and standing up tall.

"What day is it?" He asked, looking at the grandfather clock nearest to the only set of windows in the office. "Monday." She answered, before jingling her keys and opening the office door. "Oi!" She said as she saw Enver in less clothing than she was paid to see him in, and smelled the stench of some form of alcohol she wasn't familiar with. "What happened to weekend?!" He asked, not sure how so much time went by. "I come in here yesterday, but you weren't awake. Sleeping. All day and night. It's Monday morning. A little after eleven a.m." He nodded, then stiffly moved around the desk and to push the talk button. "Hello?" He asked after he cleared his throat.

"Mr. Marshall?" A female voice asked on the other side of a fence from a four door something or another. Something he'd never been seen in. "Yeah? How can I help you?" Rosa moved around the office, picking up anything she could find that seemed to be out of place, before throwing her hands up in the air and walking away, complaining in her Spanish tongue. "Mr. Marshall, may we come in? We're here on behalf of your daughter, Grace Marshall? She's fine, but we've had some complaints..." The woman trailed off, not wanting to say more than that. He removed his finger from the intercom system at his desk and looked at Rosa. "She at preschool?" Rosa nodded as she made her way out of the office. Of course she was. Rosa would need a good raise and a paid vacation. If Enver could remember. "Sure, come on in." Enver said with a buzz of another button, letting them inside his property.

There was a long drive to his house and so while he had about five minutes to look half way presentable, Enver moved to the laundry room and pulled a clean sweatshirt out of a laundry basket he had seen sometime last week. A pair of dark blue denim jeans came out of the same basket and he all but hopped into those. He zipped and buttoned them on the way to the door, but stopped at his office to close the door. As the bell rang, he approached the door and then ran a hand through his hair. Whatever. At least he was dressed. Slowly, the door was pulled open and Enver stepped back immediately as to avoid any sunlight. While he wouldn't burst into flames or anything, he still didn't want to feel the effects of the sun on his pale vampire backhand. "Hello, Mr. Marshall. My name is Tammy and this is Roger. We're from Child Welfare Services..."

[Enver Marshall II]

Enver sat there listening to the various complaints by neighbors that had been made against him. Or people from Grace's school the last few nights. Both employees from the government lacked any personal skills in his opinion, but it didn't matter. They had him by the balls. "Sure. I've had a drink or two here and there. Not while she's around." He interjected as they went into his past and his abuse of certain drugs and alcohol. "Haven't touched any drugs in a long time." He followed through, before grinding his back teeth together.

"No one is saying you're a bad guy, Mr. Marshall. We're only hu-well, you know..." She trailed off, writing in her notes, before closing it and smiling. "But, we, all of us, have to think about what is best for Grace." Her eyes moved around the room, looking for things like pictures of Grace. Pictures of them. Things that shouldn't be out or near a child, while her partner in crime suddenly asked. "Have you been drinking recently?"

Enver cleared his throat and then shook his head. "Do I look drunk?" He asked flatly, before standing and moving to grab a bottle of water from the fridge in the kitchen next to the dining room. "Who watches Grace when you're drinking?" He asked, another question that was damaging and Enver knew it. "Depends. She's got an aunt who loves her to pieces and then there's Rosa. She's always around an adult." Enver pointed out, noticing how his things were getting looked at.

"Look. I know what's going on here. But, as the entire world knows, I'm not like those other assholes." Enver stated, moving to claim a seat on the chair once again, as he opened the water bottle. "I been pretty clean for a while. I make money. She goes to the best preschool there is. Unless you know one better. Let me know. Food in the fridge. Clothes on her back and in her closet. She doesn't need for anything." Enver pointed out, scooting to the edge of the chair. "So, unless you have any solid evidence she's being neglected or abused, I suggest that you strongly get the **** out of my home. Now." Enver barked out, setting the bottle of water down on the table next to the chair he sat on. The woman blinked, then allowed her mouth to open into an 'o' shape before she jotted a few things down. "You're right, Mr. Marshall. Everything seems to be kosher, but the truth is...in light of recent events, vampires can't be trusted around humans. Including you." She snapped her notebook closed and then stood, as her partner moved behind her. "We'll be in touch. I'm sure we'll be hearing more about Grace--and you." They left not long after that, leaving Enver to stew over things.

Was he the best dad in the world? Probably not. But there were a hell of a lot more worse ones out there than him. Weeks ago, his neighbors would have came over for a barbecue and pool party. But because of what happened at the military compound, now his neighbors felt the need to protect his human daughter. What next? Calling some place to report Rosa for some sort of work abuse? Maybe being an illegal immigrant, maybe? She wasn't an illegal immigrant and he paid her damn good, but it would only be a matter of time before his life was being picked away by those near and around him. "******* idiots." Enver growled before he threw the bottle of water across the room and watched it bounce off the wall. Something had to be done. Again. But what?

[for_peace][/for_peace]

[Every]

"You know his book isn't actually that bad."

The words caused her to temporarily pause before she continued on with her stretching, bending forward at the hips, her knees slightly bent and wrapped her arms around her calves. It was a deep stretch, one that she knew that she didn't need to do, but the sensation in her body was one that she appreciated. The familiar pull of her muscle from the time she'd spent in gymnastics and running track. Her chest was pressed flat against her thighs, a few strands of her hair tickling her ears as breathed evenly. It was later on the evening, just after the sun had gone down.

"I can't hear you." It was more that she didn't want to hear Locryn's praise towards Enver. She knew the girl was a fan of his work, but Every would rather not hear about it. It was bad enough that they were related, that the two were similar and had to spend time together due to their relationship with Grace. She adored the little girl, though. It was nice to have someone innocent, someone pure to spend some time with everything going to **** as of late.

In the days that had followed with Longslade, she had kept the email portions she'd gathered and received from Ariadne. She didn't know who had gotten to the cure, she didn't know what was going to happen regarding it. Her attention had shifted to the increase of ballsy paladin and sorcerers, their attacks on those within the city and on herself. It hadn't surprised her to see his face amongst them, but as she straightened back up and lifted her arms above her head, Every ignored it for the time being.

She would deal with them, eventually. But now, now was more important for survival to be focused upon. Any wounds that she got would heal, whether on their own, or sped along by a power, and she would deal with her new little pet soon. She hadn't made up her mind on how, yet, but she doubted it would be peaceful. "It's sad how his mom died." Her thrall caused her to open one of her eyes and glare at her briefly as she recalled the conversations she'd had with Emilee in the past.

The limo ride that still caused her to bristle when she thought about the discussion of her sex life and that she'd made her go to a holiday dinner. "She was ill. **** happens." The shadow bent down once more as she heard a page turn. When Locryn fell quiet again, she straightened back up and tilted her head from the left and then again to the right. After she popped her jaw, she moved to collect her gloves and pulled them onto her hands.

"Hey Siri? Play 'Rough Night' playlist." She called out, the mechanic voice repeating what she said as she went to her punching bag. The amount of military presence in the city and their tendency to be pricks, shooting as they felt threatened. The fear of vampires had seemed to increase greatly, the woman thinking more on her faction as she went along with her days. Quite a bit of hacking had been done recently, too, so she could lower the notoriety of some in the city - she wouldn't admit that she'd released some evidence against others, however.

With the beat that began to play, Every threw her first punch and then a second. Her knee connected with the bag as it swung back in her direction before she increased her pace. Locryn listened to the noise as she continued to read, the noise never seeming to bother her. The time that had passed wasn't noticed until she heard Zachary in her head. "Eve, you might want to go visit Enver. Some chick left earlier from CPS. You were a bit busy with work." Her wraith's words caused her to pause as she caught the punching bag, a frown playing across her lips.

The weight of it caused her to step back briefly, her dark hair falling in front of her face as she blew some of the strands away from her face. "What are you talking about, Si?" She asked. Her eyes became glazed over as she focused, entering his mind through the connection before she was able to see the property leading up to Enver's home. She'd asked for him to watch over Grace as the world turned to ****. It wasn't that she lacked faith in her cousin - she didn't have any in him, really - but she trusted him with the girl more than she trusted hunters.

"I don't know. You told me to keep a low profile, I imagine suddenly floating around your cousin's place wouldn't be a low profile considering I don't know if he can see wraiths. Just overheard a woman, your cousin and a man talking." The voice in her head had her scowling as she made a mental note to dispell him - the thought not a private one as she heard her wraith going, "Don't you dare." A moment later. Muttering unpleasantries under her breath, she shouted, "Siri, stop the music." before removing the gloves from her hands and tossing them into a corner.

"Fantastic." Disconnecting her mind from her wraiths, Every moved to collect her phone and then a loose zip up tee, pulling it on over the sports bra she wore. Her car keys were on the opposite side of the cabin and she didn't head towards them - instead, she slipped into shadows and focused on the location. In a split second, she teleported directly to Enver's residence - it wasn't something she did often, it wasn't something she liked to do, really, as she allowed the shadows to retreat before she wandered up to the door.

She knew she could easily get inside - she was a shadow, she knew how to pick locks. But, there was a tiny fear inside her gut that Grace was gone. That Enver had done something to frighten someone into calling child protective services on him. She'd never seen any bruises on the girl. Were there any hidden? Instead of raising hell, yet, she tried to keep her temper in check as she lifted her hand and knocked four times quickly. "Enver!" She said, trying to keep her volume even, "Rosa!" It took her a moment to remember the woman's name.

Every didn't understand why CPS would go to her cousin's house - not without serious allegations and she wanted to get to the bottom of it. She wanted her wraith to be a little bit more useful as he hovered in the corner of the yard, watching. Could they donate to officials? Could an event be done? Was it because Enver was a vampire - she knew him coming out was a stupid move, always had. As she tried to wait patiently, she focused on pushing the shadows away from the door and brightening the area to distract herself.

[x]

[Enver Marshall II]

Hours had passed and Enver was no further into thinking about what could, or should be done now that vampires had a bad rap. It was hard to believe just a day or two ago, his neighbors had thought him to be one of the best dad's in the neighborhood, but now, out of fear, they turned their opinions against him and turned on him. Grace had been in bed about an hour before there was pounding on his front door and it wasn't hard to make out just who it was at his door. Only one person had a voice that grating, making Enver hunch his shoulders at the sound of her calling Grace's nanny's name. He wondered how long she would stay out there before she left, or just let herself in. Probably the latter, and that made him grind his teeth together in minor irritation.

"Hold on." Enver bellowed out as he got up from the chair in the semi darkened room to open the front door and...Enver slammed the door shut and made a face that wore disgust well. "What the ****, Every?" He wanted to burn the sockets of his eyes from seeing as much flesh as he saw when opening the door. His eyes narrowed, before he flung the door back open and then grabbed her by her wrist and dragged her in. "I got neighbors watching. Tomorrow will be CPS at my door talking about complaints of a hooker in my house while my kid is at home." Enver closed the door as quickly as he could, before he gave Every a pointed look. "Rosa is sleeping. Grace is sleeping for about two hours now." He moved deeper inside the large estate, expecting her to follow. "I would have kept Grace up had I known you were stopping by." Well, maybe not. Could they dob someone in for letting kids stay up too late?

"I've not really slept much the past few days." It was evident in what he was wearing and the fact what he was wearing was stained with booze, and wrinkled to high hell. "And not in the mood for some stupid cousin stuff. Got a lot going on right now." Enver partially admitted, before he snapped his fingers together, a light bulb going off in his head. Just before he shook his head and sighed. "Stupid idea." He turned back to look at Every, without really looking at her. "Come back in a couple days, maybe. Yeah. Two days." Enver said with a droopy nod of his head, before he rubbed at his eyes and then had a Eureka moment. "Got it. Casino night, or something at the Casino." he then looked at Every. "Grace is in trouble. We're in trouble." He said with a heavy sigh, before slumping down in the leather chair he had been sitting in while watching a fire roar in the fireplace.

[for_peace][/for_peace]

[Every]

[for_peace][/for_peace]

She was going to give him five minutes before letting herself in. Either by using a power or picking the lock, she hadn’t decided yet as she waited. The woman felt her wraiths mind linking to her, listening and waiting with her in case she became more frustrated. On some level, she supposed it was the sense that she was more concerned about the girl than anything - she’d been in a broken home. She’d dealt with CPS before as a teenager and due to Dylan’s connections, they always left them be. From within, she heard the bellow and she folded her arms in front of her chest as she began to count. ”I was -.” She hit the door with an open palm as he slammed it shut.

Instinctively, she invited herself in just before he opened it again. The woman hissed as her wrist was grabbed and she was hauled inside. Every stumbled inside, catching her footing and pulling her arm free fast enough to deliver a punch to his shoulder. ”Okay, first of all - **** you, I don’t look like a hooker. I came from my dance studio and if they come, send them to Apparition. Secondly, if I were a hooker, slamming the door in my face, opening it and then dragging me inside? A little more suspicious than just letting me in to begin with especially seeing I have picked her up wearing this before.” She straightened up and zipped up her tee. ”I’m not here to harass you. What’s this about Child Protective Services?”

The shadow ignored his comment about being fucked. She could smell the alcohol on him and felt her eyebrow twitch in frustration as he mentioned a casino night. Her hand went up to pinch the bridge of her nose. ”Please tell me you weren’t wearing that when they were here.” Every frowned, thinking about the fact he’d admitted there was a lot going on. She reluctantly said, ”Enver, let me help where I can. Go take a shower. Throw out the booze.” Her eyes narrowed at the stains on his shirt, following him near the chair and choosing to take a seat facing him, her back towards the wall. ”If they come back, talk with them and call a Child Protection lawyer and don’t treat them like you would a cop. Offer them something to drink, ask one of your employees here in the house to make sandwiches or something.”

At the mention of being in trouble, the woman gave a shake of her head. ”We’re treading water, but we aren’t drowning, yet. It’ll be a challenge, but she’ll be okay. We will be okay. Even if we hate each other, we’re family, Enver. And we’re both stubborn as hell.” Her shoulder lifted and fell as she shrugged. ”What do you mean, Casino night? Something fun? Or do you want to get more spotlight? You can always do something nice for a local school. Replace the computers in the high school and university.”

[Enver Marshall II]

The '**** you,' wasn't a surprise, and it rolled off Enver's chest and out of his mind without so much a second thought. There were two types of Californian's in Enver's mind...his type and then hers, and he got used to it the last seven or so years. So '****' and 'you' in the same sentence barely made Enver flinch or slow Enver's train of thoughts. That was, until Every mentioned CPS and then, the Allurist felt his gaze harden and lock on his cousin. His body tensed and Enver was ready to rip into Every with his thoughts and opinion on the matter. Had she been behind the call? He glanced her over, feeling a strong sense of paranoia building. Was she trying to take Grace from him? Why? Every hardly wanted a kid attached to her every minute of every day, but she did spend a lot of time with the girl.

And as he looked her over with narrowed suspicion, she too was giving him a once over. “So what?” He sneered, glancing down at his appearance, knowing just what she was talking about. “Been a long few nights.” He commented icily, before sighing. “But Grace is taken care of.” He assured Every, just in case she was behind the random visit that might not be as random as Enver believed it to be.

The offer of help had Enver on high alert. When did she ever want to help him? The suggestion of a shower wasn't one that needed to be made, Enver knew he needed one, but the idea sounded better than it had a few hours ago. “Don't judge.” He commented when she mentioned the booze, knowing that if he could take a breath in and suck it in, that the woman standing a few feet away from him wasn't any less luckier in the aspect that she wasn't drowning in it.

He was about to nod and turn, taking in Every's first suggestion, when she gave her thoughts on how to treat CPS. Enver felt his anger rise and soon, he was lashing out like his animal personality would. Defend what was his territory and what he considered his. “I'll ******* kill them if they come back.” He growled, partly knowing that his words were an empty threat. Maybe. Probably. It depended on the moment and his emotions. “They just came in acting like I'm some terrible parent. Fine, sometimes I drink. Rarely, but I do. She's got clothes on her back. Roof over her head. Food. A pool, toys, television. Only thing she doesn't have is that stupid puppy she wants.” He cleared his throat and shook his head. “I don't yell at her. I don't spank her. Just do time outs...” He felt helpless. Maybe he was too laxed as a parent. I'm ******* trying.” Enver jumped on his own defense, even if Every hadn't assumed anything of his parenting styles and techniques. “Everyone knows that she's safe. I'm not going to eat her or something. I'll tell you want it is. It's profiling. Against vampires.” He raised a finger in the air, and lost a little bit of his balance.

As Every kept talking, he felt himself getting confused, as he didn't even know what he was capable of doing, or would do. “Yeah, those are good ideas...” He agreed, then pinched the bridge of his nose. “I need a shower.” He blurted out, then moved out of the room, but stopped in the doorway. “And to think. I don't even know where to begin.” He admitted with a shake of his head. Had he seen Every at the military compound? Enver couldn't remember, but chances were, she had been and that meant she was part of his problem. Part of Grace's problem, now. “Give me twenty.” He said quietly, before finally leaving the room.

[Every]

The hardening of a gaze had her glaring at him more. She didn't have the patience for fighting with him, and... there it was. Every felt her hackles rise. It wasn't often when she was annoyed that she showed her fangs, but when it came to him, well, she couldn't help but it. Then again, she was smaller. Perhaps it was an attempt to look more threatening. "The ******** going down in this city had me concerned so I had my wraith nearby to let me know if something happened to Grace. Ever deal with paladin, Enver, or even some of the cops in this city? Not so friendly. Doubt some of them will take care not to harm a little girl. Sure as **** don't care about cleaning up the mess in this place." There was more to it, really. But she wasn't about to tell Enver about her issues with her uncle. Not at the moment, anyhow.

"That doesn't answer my question." After a moment, she retracted her fangs. She tried to calm herself down. There was the temptation to teleport him into the nearest source of water - his pool would work. "I'm sure she is taken care of, because I would murder you outside of the city limits if I even thought you were mistreating her otherwise or die trying." Every blinked. The tone of his voice hadn't been missed, but she brushed it aside and let it roll down her back. There wasn't any need to set off any more alarms. The man was more paranoid than she was on a good day.

Every didn't point out that she had already judged him - there was already a term of sentencing waiting once he was sober, actually. "That'll come to a matter of opinion later." But could she truly talk? Hadn't she buried herself into the bottom of a whiskey bottle from time to time in the past? There was the brief distinctive memory of it around college. And before the murders... She shoved the thought out of her mind. If there was anything becoming a vampire had done, it was sober her entirely. Even if she did want a drink from time to time. "Look. Even if I want to put you through the wall often, Grace is my family and you are, too. I'll be damned again before I do absolutely nothing to help you try not to get that little girl taken away." The words had her uncomfortable. It was written across her features, but it was the truth. And it made her want to wash her

She didn't particularly care when he lashed out. Her eyebrow simply lifted at the threat, her expression portraying very clearly of a silent, "Really?" before she gave a shake of her head. "It's their job. As someone who actually had to deal with the fucks before, I can tell you that they're doing it to test you. Lashing out is exactly what they want, especially given the fact you are a special case. I doubt there are many vampire parents around." The woman gave a roll of her eyes as she picked at her fingernails briefly. A sigh escaped past her lips. Truthfully, she couldn't imagine being in his place at the moment. An animal backed into a corner was likely the best example, and that was a sensation she was familiar with. Almost too much. "And it would look particularly bad if the two social workers who came to your home suddenly ended up dead, or roughed up some. Personally, I'd turn the investigation around on the neighbor who reported you, or scare them into revoking their claim, but I'll behave for now." The shadow shifted her weight.

"You seriously do. I'm pretty sure my thrall is able to smell you through my senses." The woman deadpanned. Every lifted her hand and ran her fingertips through her hair. She tried to think of different things to do, or at least what she could do. Did Enver drink coffee? She didn't particularly care. As the man said to give him twenty, Every waved him off. It wasn't like she hadn't been inside the large home before or wasn't capable of entertaining herself for a short spell as she dropped herself into a seat and crossed her leg over the other. A short conversation was held between herself and Zachary - she wanted names and began to mentally begin a search of the internet to find out what she could about the CPS workers who had come along.