The Blackbird Tavern & Inn

An hour after four in the morning Ayenee Standard Time a shadow crossed over the hard oaken door of the Blackbird Tavern, and the branded Blackbird emblem upon the door. The mans storm grey eyes traced the door frame before falling invariably to the knob. The shadow over the door seemed to pause and grow denser upon the door, as a hand was lifted towards the knob before falling short. His hand dropped back down and he turned back. His profile faded out as he turned and looked back over his shoulder looking at the taverns front memories flickering over his consciousness. Two were missing, and the one who he despised wasn't here either. A careful step forward hid an odd jostle to his step as he moved forward. Though it had purpose. The Tavern would by the first light of dawn be cleaned to a level of excellence that was impossible for any human hand to manage or a human eye to see the level to which things were made correct. If one so inspected they would find that the wood had been shaved and rounded to a level of glass like texture, the glass seemingly made anew. Even the Iron and metal fittings would have a new-like sheen. Stains within the wood that had aged with the tavern would be gone as if by magic. Even the trash would be empty when Veta would check the cans in the morning to prepare for the next day of business. As he turned and moved back into the shadows his blue hair fluttered within the light predawn breeze. However his gifts would allow him to keep track of what-so-ever happened in the tavern. He had been left in this world forgotten by those who should have remembered him most dear, but he remembered them. With a sudden hard plant of his feet he leaped into the air propelled into the sky suddenly with a mild concussive blast upon the ground leaving a shockwave pattern within the gravel and dirt of the road.
 
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She had awakened , sitting straight up knocking the pillow off the bed as it was teetering there. It was dream..but oddly she couldn't remember it. Pushing back the covers, which most the length was dragging across the floor. It was apparent she slept restlessly. sliding her legs over the side of the bed she rose and began moving towards the dresser, fumbling through one, closing it only to pull out the next drawer, pulling out an article of clothing draping it over her arm as she now made her way towards the closet. She stubbed her toe on the post of the bed, causing her teeter with pulling her leg back and mumbling under breath..the article of clothing she held slipped off her arm, bending down to pick it up she grasped at it but lost her balance and bumps her head the bed post.

" Il diavolo !!" She exclaimed as she rubs her forehead, then hop steps to the closet, snatches an outfit from the hanger causing the hanger to swing then dropped down. She was going to pick it up but the way the morning is going she decided to do it after her shower. Moments later, she is in front of the mirror pulling back her hair to take a look see at her forehead. Frowning cause clearly she could tell a slight bump was forming.

" Soffrire la testa, il piede.." (translation suffer my head and foot)
Finished with her dressing, blow drying her hair, she then heads downstairs and then to the kitchen area. She begins by placing a filter , coffee grounds and water to the Mr Coffee machine..the smell of the brewing drew out a sigh from her. That was exactly what she needed. After fixing her cup, holding it with both hands sipping it as she walked from the kitchen to the tap room of The Blackbird. Upon stepping behind the counter, she was looking over to see what she should do first as she takes a second sip of her coffee. Noticing the trash had been removed, she blinked thinking maybe ..but no, it was empty and a new bag replaced the old. The two glasses that were in the drainer was gone..looking to where she kept them , she noticed there were no empty spaces. everything was in its place..she looked around the room , that and the coffee she was now clearly awake..her startlement took the place of her forming headache. she moved out from behind the counter, still her cup in hand she looks over the room slowly..the place was spotless.

" Hello..? Anyone here ?" Oh how she wasn't sure she wanted to hear if there was or not.
The fixtures ..all polished..everything dusted..and the floor...she knelt down to one knee, reached down her hand and lightly stroked her finger tips over the sheen on them. She rose to her feet, once again looking around the room, she didn't see anyone in any corners, nor under the tables. She moved back to the bar and settled down to one of the chairs..puzzled, and confused..she knew she had the place cleaned..but definitely not like this.

" That visit from Marcus yesterday...and now this today ? I'm afraid to ask what's next."
 
He raised his hand to his head as Veta brained herself on the bed post, there was not an angle he could not see, but even so it was cringe worthy and made him exclaim aloud to himself miles from where she grumbled as she headed towards the closet "Dio mio!". As she went into the bathroom he turned his eyes away and his left eye started to flicker back and forth changing perimeters and orders. Thankfully Veta this early in the morning before coffee would miss the first of the new changes to her bedroom, firstly the bed posts had to go, the material would be removed and new slowly contouring posts would appear, it wouldn't take long, and the posts would be shaped like Italian fountain, smooth lines and the excess material would seem to vanish, although if one so inclined were to carry in an electron microscope they would see that all the wood that had de-materialized was marching straight out the window frame atom by atom. Once the coffee maker chimed he turned around and watched so much of this morning routine familiar, and yet she seemed far less stressed, although she was starting to look like an Oni with that horn springing up from her forehead. His mouth set into a tight line as he pondered, but no using such on her would be unethical, and more importantly it would show his hand far too clearly. He however did watch her eyes flick from point to point in the tap room with a sincere smile and a slowly creeping evil smirk pulling away at her confusion and her curiosity. His little friends however did catch her statement which caused him to frown ever so slightly "Marcus ? Whose Marcus ? " He said to himself before turning away from his window into the Black Bird.
 
Sitting there on the bar chair, she took another sip of her coffee, she couldn't seem to take her eyes off of the changes within the tap room. Her head still hurting from the bump on her head, and the headache seemed to heighten as she tried to think of who could have done this to The Blackbird.

"This place is certainly getting a lot of attention ."
Slowly she slides down from the chair, feeling the coolness as her bare feet touched the floor. It almost felt like she was standing on glass, how it was so glossy. She thought it was so beautiful..the whole room is beautiful she thought as she turned around slowly taking in the whole room. She then went back to the coffee maker and poured herself another cup then pressed the switch to turn if off. She then looked up and noticed in the mirror behind the bar that she had neglected to brush her hair, " I look a mess ! Good thing no one is seeing me right now..and while I'm at it, best I put on some shoes."

As she approached the stairs she noticed the intricate carved designs on the stair posts and gasped. " Oh ! How lovely.." She exclaimed as she placed a hand against the stair post, her fingertips tracing over it. She then went up the stairs and entered into the bedroom once again with her cup in hand..she went to take another sip but stopped . She was in awe as she caught sight of her bed...it was the most beautiful she had ever seen.. " How could I have missed this ? Just...I mean.." She was out of words. She was so awe struck that she nearly forgotten why she came in the room.

" Oh..shoes.." Then she raised her hand and combed her fingers through it but found a tangle. She went over to a mirrored dresser, and she just stood there staring at dresser which designs matched the bed posts. She honestly didnt know what to say. She then began to comb her hair, her hand movements were slow as she wondered upon who had done this, and without her even knowing about it.
" Whoever did this, I wish I could meet and thank him or her. I also wonder if Marcus will return with news from Equilibrium.."
She took a seat on her new bed..it even felt different, she hopped a couple of times as she sat on the bed. It felt really comfortable, like it was custom made just for her. Wasn't too hard, wasn't too soft...she chuckled to herself.." Like Goldilocks.." But her smile changed as she rose from the bed and headed to the window, pulled back the curtain and stared out to the streets below and sighed.

" It's a shame that no one else could experience the changes to The Blackbird...as Marcus pointed out to her..this sector of Ayenee is..dead..abandoned. The reason why there haven't been any patrons since I returned. Soon Marcus may come back with the news of moving The Blackbird to another sector where he says there is plenty of business..I'm hoping I can trust him...but what can I do ? " She placed her palm to the window frame and drummed her fingers along its facing.

With a sigh she turned away and decided to head back to the tap room. Once entering, she moved to the kitchen, a pad and pen she started the motions to take some inventory..when her eyes widened, so shocked to find that the appliances were updated, floors like that in the tap room..glossy finished..she was so in awe that her pen dropped on the floor...it was the sound of it hitting the floor that she realized she had indeed dropped it. She squatted down to retrieve the pen, and while she was down that low she gave a long gaze around the room.
"Who ever has done this put ALOT of effort into this....but who ? and why ?"
 
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Slowly his attention shifted back to Veta as she exclaimed to herself that the Blackbird was getting a lot of attention. His attention wasn't new but as with all things new projects had distracted him for a while. That was always his greatest character flaw in his opinion, he could never stand still or keep his focus on a project that had reached its aim. Why care about something after it achieved its purpose ? The Blackbird though had always carried so much of Veta's attention and had been such a large part of his life, that he kept it close in his mind. He watched as Veta retrieved her shoes. Her shoes always seemed like a means through which she changed her persona, she would wander barefoot when she was fresh and relaxed, but the shoes came on and she was all business. That was another mark in his memory, the sharp change between soft and sweet, and business.

As his mind vacillated between moments of his past and the present she marched around the look of confusion and contemplation plain upon her well known face. His eyes looked over the bump as she reflected upon the mirror, it was going to be a beaut, but maybe she could hide it before any clients arrived for the day. There were still people in Ayenee Capital, although many hid through out the city, but it was anything but Dead. As she mentioned Equilibrium he arched a brow quizzically, a mirror to the curiosity Veta showed a few minutes earlier before wiping the confused expression from his face and turning his attention to a monitor to his left. Upon it he had The ACC governmental Database. It was a simple enough inquiry. With a few clicks and the time it took for the Government servers to locate the information he'd have what he needed to know.

Turning back to Vetas tracking monitor he shook his head at her astonishment of the kitchen and could only imagine how shocked she'd be when she went into her office or even more so at the bathrooms, because if there was one war-zone that never in any taverns existence was called pristine it was the lavatories. That changed this morning however.
 
Marcus hadn't enjoyed the conversation with his sister that evening. But, he couldn't say that he hadn't seen it coming. As protective as he always was of her, she did a pretty good job of looking out for him, too.

Nevertheless, Marcus had made an offer, knowing full well that Equilibrium wouldn't go for his idea. With Anon's new bit of information, he would have to figure something out. But, for now, rest...

* * * * *

Anon

The angelic creature watched Marcus get in his car and drive off before heading back to his own home. The trip for him would be much faster than Marcus' mode of transportation. Once home, he began to ponder the warning he'd given his human friend, and what he might be able to do about it. Marcus' compassion was one reason he was such a good businessman, and Anon admired him for it. However, in this case, he'd made an offer far beyond his ability. Anon wondered if he might be able to do something about the warding around the building of the Blackbird Tavern, but he knew all too well the complexity, and what it would take to undo even one strand of the woven spell, much less the entire thing. He considered getting in contact with Fang to elicit the help of the elder council, but he decided against it. Something like this wasn't a reason to trouble his godfather. In the end, he resolved to help the woman Veta with the transition that would, undoubtedly, be necessary. First, though, other preparations needed to be made.
 
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Her eyes then rests to the hallway..her office is down that hallway among other small rooms...a couple of small storage rooms and a restroom at the end of the hall. Veta's office is the first door to the right..the door was open..she recalled hazily that she had left it open when Marcus made his 'visit'.

Once inside her mouth dropped. It was like stepping into someone else's office..the file cabinets, shelves...THE SHELVES !! Veta quickly bee-lined over to them, examined framed pictures.they were all there. They had been dusted. Then her most treasured ...little clay lope sided vase her son had made her, even had his hand-print on the base. Then there was a heart made also of clay, her daughter made this one..one half of the heart was overly thick, while the other half was thin and very delicate...all her little trinkets were accounted for.

Her attention then drifts over to the desk..
It was beautiful..highly polished finish..a desk blotter ..a pen holder.. she slipped in behind the desk and sat down the seemingly new office chair..it was very comfortable. It had that 'just made for me' feel to it. She pulled open the top mid drawer , everything was neatly placed in organizers..extra pens, pencils..paper clips, book of stamps...ledger, daily planner. Closes the drawer, opens other drawers, ...files, folders, ink cartridges..copier paper . Closing the drawer her gaze glances from corner of the office to the other, she was getting a severe case of goosebumps..she rose from the chair now heading to the hall... "This is getting scary...only thing missing is the theme song of the twilight zone.."

Veta left the office, left the hall. Entering the restroom, everything looked new..the old mosaic floor sparkled..the colors of each tile just popped with vibrant hues. The clean she thought could put a hospital to shame. She approached the sink, washed her face, careful of not rubbing over the bump. The pulled a towel from the dispenser to dry her face and hands..staring to her reflection to the mirror..
" You're dreaming Veta..you hit your head...yes...that's the ticket !"

She then made her way back to the tap room, settling in behind the bar..she pulled a can coke from the glass doored cooler. Didn't bother with a glass, just began drinking from the can. She is wanting answers, she was now feeling frightened. Someone has been inside her establishment..changed everything..immaculately cleaned The Blackbird...what is going on here ?
 
As he turned in his seat he looked to Veta's monitor he watched her mouth loll open as she stared at her office, and chuckled softly to himself before turning up the volume on his end and standing up slowly he needed to eat. Standing he moved around back his hip clipping the edge of the counter behind his monitors as he left out a gasp of pain and annoyance. Thankfully years earlier he's had the counter welded into place upon the floor to prevent spillage of important projects that he wanted to keep an eye on. His left hand taking hold of his side where the impact had taken place and rubbing the ache away slowly as he moved towards the large chrome box of frozen goodies. His right hand seizing the handle before a low buzz emanated from the box and he pulled it open. His hand moved carefully around a few dangerous items and then snagged something far more lethal than most everything else in the cold box. Hot-Pockets... Pulling out two of the little self protected packages he field stripped them and tossed them into the microwave, and started the timer. As he turned back around as he heard Vetas Voice amplified around the room about the twilight zone. He let out a small snicker. For a moment he pondered jacking into the sound system and playing the twilight zone theme. His left eye flickered to the left. In a few moments the Jukebox would start playing Golden Earring's Twilight Zone. Hearing her talking to her self in the bathroom he snickered.
 
Carrying her can soda she slipping out from behind the bar , moving over to a bar chair and sat down, a foot to the bottom rung she managed to swivel the chair around then leaned back, raising the can to take another small swallow. As she sat there she did notice how comfortably she sat. It's not like people would feel like they were sitting on planks over concrete blocks with the old chairs, but these..felt different. The kind of comfort that you wouldn't mind sitting there for a while. She gave a slight chuckle to herself .

"This would be great for business..patrons sitting a bit longer at the bar,..one thing wrong with that..." she continued saying aloud to herself. " You need customers. And right now, The Blackbird is sitting in a dead town, that's what Marcus had told me. I can't believe I didn't notice . I was so excited in getting back after being gone for so long..and look what I have returned to...Oh whoever did the renovations here did an awesome job...how they did it , and I do say they cause no one person could have done this kind of work over night. Makes me shudder to think there have been people in here without my knowledge. Guess I had a few fingers too much to drink that night. "
She took another swallow of the coke..

" There I go again, conversing with myself. " she gave a shrug of her small shoulders, " not like any would know..." She began again to life the can to take another swallow..at that moment she hear a sound..it was a soft sort of hum of a sound..this was creepy..where is ..? Then the song begain playing..she jumped forward choking on her drink and jumping off the stool, " What tha..?" She dropped her can as if it were hot, which it wasn't, and she rushed out of The Blackbird as quickly as she could after fumbling with the lock of the door. Standing now to the sidewalk, a hand to her chest, eyes wide and her body shaking. She stared through the open doorway swallowing hard. " W..what is going on around here ! I'm going crazy..that's it..the emptiness has gotten to me.." she sighed as she looked around, no one to be in sight..only, empty buildings..and debris lying about. She wanted to call out, but..to who ? She swallowed again turning a stare to The Blackbird. The music still playing.
 
His eyes didn't extend out of the Blackbird at least clearly he could see vague shapes outside of the tavern, but not much besides wild hazes at the distance Veta was standing outside. His little friends however started to clean up the coke and can from the floor, removing the chemicals of the soda from the flooring in a hurry. He wondered if her staring in such wild disbelief and horror would notice the minor upgrades that had been done to the exterior or if her horror and fear would be overwhelming, His left eye flickered back and forth for a few seconds as the music ceased to play. He was always known for his little pranks but perhaps he'd taken this one too far.

Clicking his tongue he pondered just going back in person. Certainly it would be awkward, having not seen her since she had left in person at least. His little friends would be all but dormant in a few minutes as nearly all the modifications were managed the only ones remaining were repairing some water damage to a roofing support, and some degradation to the back corner foundation. Nothing terribly difficult to repair of course but time consuming to have it repaired correctly and without dropping the tavern upon Veta's sleeping head. Shaking his head he stood up and took his plate to the sink tossing it in with mild disregard as he heard it shatter. As he stood there he cast a casual glance at his reflection in a side mirror his hair was in vast disarray, and his cloths rumpled. He would need a shower, and a change of cloths before going to see her. As well he would need stims, otherwise he might just fall asleep enroute. Grumbling to himself he started to rip his days old cloths from himself as he moved towards the shower. His white lab coat pulling free and falling to the floor he grimaced at a few rips and loose threads hanging from a few of the hems. His blue hair feeling the tug as his hands pulled a hank of it as he attempted to get out of the long sleeved shirt he'd been wearing. The shirt sported the logo of Murakumo Industries. Hitting the shower his left eye flickered slightly as he disabled his little friends, knowing that leaving them in operation without his direct supervision could get dicey.
 
She stood there, staring and trembling. The sound of the music seemed to have stopped. But still was scared to go back in.
"
What do I do now ? I ..don't want to back in there..." she said as if someone were standing there along side her. She placed her hands to her head , eyes closed tightly.
" I think I may be losing my mind..." She said tearfully as she then lowered her hands, and opened her eyes. "Where am I to go ? The Blackbird is ...no, I do have a place..I'm not sure if it's livable...but right now, I think I will feel safer there than here."
She patted the pocket of her jeans, sighed with relief as she felt her keys were there. She headed off to her car, unlocked the door and slipped inside closing the door. Then slipped the key to the ignition, which was a bit trying as her hands still shook a bit. Soon the car came into life , pull the shifter to the 'reverse' she backed out from the spot she had parked earlier when she had arrived to Capital City. Pulling away, she glanced to The Blackbird..the entrance sign was different, not at all like the one she had..the windows..the clean to them just made the glass seem to sparkle...she turned the wheel, shifter to 'drive ' position and began driving away..her gaze drifted to the rear view for a brief moment gazing at The Blackbird, the building growing smaller, as her tears grew bigger. Shouldn't be long till she reached her destination. Her stomach growled, she hadn't eaten since yesterday morning, and this morning coffee..a coke a few moments ago..and only a few swallows of that.
"
There should be a restaurant not far ..." she then grumbled..
"
How would I pay for it..my purse and wallet is back at The Blackbird ! ..." she glanced at her watch..." I have enough time to make it to the bank it's off for some dinner , the store for a sack of groceries."
It had been quite awhile since being at Cougar Pines..she isn't sure what she will be walking into there..hopefully no 'ghosts'.
 
Rather than park on the edges of the old sector, Marcus decided he was going to drive directly up to the tavern, this time. From what he'd observed, Veta was hardly a threat, and he'd finally decided what he was going to do about the offer he'd made. So, it was best if he got to her as quickly as possible. There was no telling how long it would take for her hopeful attitude to disappear.

"Marcus, we're getting some odd readings from the Blackbird."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it's hard to say. There's definitely...something...going on. I'll keep an eye on it from here, but it looks like the owner may be driving off somewhere."


Marcus sighed. "So you have mystery activity at the tavern and the owner suddenly leaving this early in the morning...in the old sector of Ayenee."

Katarina barely managed to contain a chuckle. "Yeah. Sounds like fun, right?"

"Yeah...fun. Which way is she headed?"


"It looks like you can wait at the next intersection for her. She's headed your direction."


"Okay, thanks, Kat."

So, Marcus did precisely that. He stopped at the next intersection and, sitting with the engine idling, he looked at the road ahead until he saw a car headed his direction. As Veta neared, he beeped his car's horn a couple times and waved, hoping she would notice it was him.
 
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She was driving a bit faster than the speed limit..still shaking, and tearful , occasionally glancing to the rear view to catch a sight of The Blackbird. Sighing and feeling so...up ahead she saw a car sitting at the intersection, there is someone standing there blowing the horn of the car. It was quite obvious the driver was wanting someone's attention, so being no one else is around that someone would be her. Upon getting closer she recognized that it was Marcus standing there. She slowed, a bit relieved to see a familiar face at this moment even though he is kinda still a stranger, but still he was somebody. She brought the car to a slow hard stop, then the car door flew open and Veta jumped out of the car and rushed over to him, she was shaking and her breaths was short and rapid .
" Marcus ! It's so go to see you !! Something..." she stopped right in front of him , staring at him and shaking, do i tell him what is going on ? He'll surely think I'm crazy..I may be crazy....now it's time for a second opinion maybe ? " Marcus..something is going on at the BlackBird..strange things..I don't know what to do..but I had to get out of there ..I can't !!" She was rattling out shaken words describing all that had been happening very quickly, some of her words had jumbled with the next as she was talking very quickly, visibly one could see that she was frightened , she reached out to grasp his hand but instead she grasped her own arms and the tears from being so frightened began to roll down her cheeks.

Suddenly, a thought sprang up ..could it be ? If not that.. " Equilibrium..where you work..would they be responsible for what is going on ? Maybe...chase me out so they could just scoop up my establishment 'making' it their own ? I would like an honest answer, am I ...being played ? Are you involved with this ? " She began taking a few steps back all the while staring at him.
 
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The speed at which she was driving gave him a clue. Suddenly slamming on the brakes and running over to him confirmed it. This city was up to its old tricks. Then, he heard what she had to say. And there it was. Marcus listened as Veta attempted to explain what had been going on in the tavern. He watched her reactions. When she ended up wrapping her arms across her chest and crying, his mind flashed to the last time he'd seen a woman doing that...his sister.


Tifferzzz said:
Just after questioning her brother, suddenly the next five minutes of her life exploded in a whirlwind. X was back...at her home...and had she been a canine then her hackles would have risen to this intrusion.

But then there were bombs and 'booby-traps' and she was slammed into some horrid Hollywood movie where the last thing you would expect would be the thing to kill you. Bombs? Really? Apparently so. Even so weren't boobie-traps in haunted houses? The entire amount of chaos that exploded only sought to further the descending migraine and have her wish that she could force people's heads to explode simply by 'glancing' at them.

What a benefit that would be.

Pupils elongated in the dark, as she hadn't had time to turn on the lights...minus the ones that were switched on by X's men. Thrown aside in the arms of her brother...sharp objects thrown...

Lord. What an awful movie.

She watched the stranger leave. he disappeared and suddenly she was in her home with her brother, and felt more than invaded...she felt violated.

It wasn't because of the bombs...but because they had traipsed through her house without her consent. They had torn through her home as if it were nothing more than a game of hide-and-seek. or perhaps, more appropriately would be the game of 'find-the-bomb.'

She glanced around her home and wrapped her arms around herself, completely oblivious to Marcus' presence. In fact she suddenly felt like a small lost child in a huge foreign home. Her heart ached for something long gone, and quietly she whispered into the silence of the dark home, "...papa..." Though her and Marcus were both close to their parents, Kat was her father's daughter...they were bonded beyond just simple blood, and the separation of him from her life left her flailing in the wind.

Especially now.

Kat had gotten lost before, but in a much more awful way. Her and her father had been camping and she'd fallen behind. Within a blink of a second she was suddenly nowhere near him and lost.

In the dark.

Nighttime was horrid in the forest. She had curled up on the ground and stayed there until her father had found her.

She was scared to death.

And now...she'd gone from standing next to Marcus to falling into this realm of loneliness...wishing for the only thing she couldn't have. She sat on the floor without realizing it and curled her arms around her legs.

Something was beyond wrong.

Kat was someone of control. She was forced to have it when her parents passed, but now...with the stranger and his men running through her home without any permission...she'd lost control. She was nothing to them. She wasn't important...and it was as if she weren't there.

The very feeling passed through her like fire.

She didn't want to be here.

"....papa...." She whispered as soft as the wind.


But, Marcus had been able to help in that situation. It was his sister, and their family home. She trusted him. Veta, on the other hand, had no idea who this man standing before her was. And, voicing her suspicions made that clear.

He took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay, Veta. Honest answer? I'm just going to go completely honest. I knew to come here because I personally like to keep tabs on this area of town. Several other individuals and groups do the same thing, in one way or another. As you've seen this area of town is abandoned, and usually if something shows up, it doesn't go well. So, we've got a sort of unofficial understanding that we'll take turns watching it. This month is my turn. I've got a set of monitor stations set up around the old sector."

"You're going to overwhelm her, little brother."

He took a deep breath and continued slowly. "There's more about me that we can go over once you've had a chance to process all of this. But, as for what's happening to your tavern? No, Equilibrium has nothing to do with it. We've got a lot of irons in the fire, and cover a wide enough array of business ventures that we even have subsidiary companies in other dimensions. But, one of the major stands this company has taken has been community involvement and support. Whatever's going on isn't us. We can either go back and take a look, or I can go with you to wherever you were headed. Your call."
 
He'd gotten out of his shower quickly something Veta would have thought impossible years ago. His eyes moved over to the monitors on the Blackbird, and it was silent dead silent as if abandoned in the midst of its revival. He couldn't guess to how badly his attempt at humor had really terrified Veta, she had always had such a spine of steel, and yet she wasn't there. Sighing he figured she'd have to return sooner or later. His left eye flickered back and forth as his little friends began another task landscaping. Firstly re-seeding the husks of the lawns and restructuring the cells of the hedges and shrubs that had gone dormant or better named dead. The Shrubs would take a while, to really get back to full on growth there was only so much you could do to reanimate tissues even plant tissues, however using the remainders of the trash his friends had made his little friends would begin to form micro-lattices of aluminium that would help to bolster his idea for one of the shrubs when it could be accelerated to full growth.

With alacrity he found his under garment and pants, a nice pair of black dress slacks, with a solid black leather belt. He found his Midnight blue cotton shirt, and slipped it around himself before buttoning it closed, and tucking the tails into his pants before cinching the belt snugly. Licking his lips with an almost nervous tick of shame and fear he shook himself, before pulling out his black with indigo edging vest and fit it around himself, finding it fit a little loosely. Seemed there was a draw back to eating only when starvation started to be a faint pleasant memory. Then he reached into his closet and pulled out a very dressy black overcoat, also fringed with navy, and midnight blues with pops of indigo. Shaking his head he felt the wet sodden mess of his hair flop around like before pulling out a strand of blue silk ribbon and tieing his hair back, before grabbing a brush and working out the last of the knots. Once he was adorned and dressed correctly for his reunion he looked down and noticed he'd forgotten his shoes and socks. He searched around and found one black sock, one brown sock, a full pair of white socks, and then after ransacking his sleeping quarters one pair of navy blue socks, and slipped them on. He looked near the door and saw his trusty pair of shoes and felt that showing up in them would at best make his appearance comic at best, horrifying at worst. Blinking hard and then thinking about where his other pairs were he dove to the ground and located his pair of nuclear loafers, black supple leather with sapphire studs. Moving his way towards the door he looked at the shoes sighed, and looked through his collection of cuff-links finding a pair that matched the sapphire studs, and slipped them into place in his shirt cuffs. As he walked passed the mirror he smiled to himself, he looked a little pasty and thin, but other than that he didn't look bad.
 
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Still she remained a small amount of distance between her and Marcus. Still with her hands to her arms began to squeeze slightly as she listened on to what Marcus was telling her.
"Monitored ? Where I am resided, I've been watched ? "

This in itself was frightening to say the least. It sent her thoughts in like three or more different directions. Why would anyone want to monitor an abandoned sector ? she thought to herself. But then she remembered bits of what he had explained earlier. She , kind of understood..it was mainly for security. She was relieved when he said that he nor Equilibrium was involved with what was going on with The Blackbird. Then he mention about either going to where I chose to go..she thought.
" I..I don't seriously don't know where to go..where I was heading to, has been abandoned for quite some time..I haven't lived there for a couple of years ..I really hate the idea that all this is happening with the Blackbird..."
She sighed , moving a hand up to push away a stand of hair that had drifted over her face as a small breeze began to stir around them..She glanced up and notice clouds darkening..she sighed again, then she quickly thought that it might not be a bad idea to go back to the Blackbird...now she not only would feel a slight security, but he at first hand would notice... "You remember how the Blackbird looked when you visited before ? You should see it now ? So...I think...with you there..I think I can go back to the Blackbird..besides it looks like we may have some nasty weather coming..so yeah..lets head back to my haunted Inn..I would like for you to see and perhaps witness some of the goings on."

She started for her car,but paused and looked back at him.. " Follow me..I will go back..and you can finishing with explaining..I have alot of questions. One being, If you aren't behind this then who is ? "
Veta first made a few backward steps then turned and headed to her car..slipped in through the open car door , reached and closed the door. she started to reach for the keys, then noticed they were left in the ignition. A foot to the brake, she turned the key , shifted the car to reverse backing up close to the other sidewalk then pulled out to the direction for the Blackbird..she swallowed hard, gripping the steering wheel a tad harder. It wasn't long before The Black bird came into view and she pulled into the parking space where she had always parked..two spaces away from the entrance. She remained sitting in her car till Marcus would show up..she was serious..she wasn't going back unless someone was with her.
" What's happened to me? I..used to not get so scared easily...but then again I never had a place to 'change' it's appearances.."

Sitting there, she noticed the outside...she opened the car door and got out of the car slowly, still focusing her attention to the front of her establishment not only noticing the renovation to the front of the building but the landscaping as well...
" How does one repair bushes ?..." She sighed again feeling she needs a drink at this time..perhaps two. What was revealed earlier to her still hasn't completely sunk in, ..the idea she was on someone's 'monitor' didn't settle with her. She peered up and began looking around trying to see if she could notice where the camera's were while she waited for Marcus to show up.
 
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As he moved down the street at an almost alarming speed his Pininfarina Battista seemed to float past debris effortlessly as he studied himself in the mirror with a critical eye. He felt as nervous as seemed possible for him a slight nagging at the back of his mind, and a slowly building sense of guilt. Veta would not be able to see his little eyes well not without a lot of tech, or enlarging magic. Thankfully for him Veta was never one to dabble in magic, or Tech she seemed content to avoid needless complications. Though she did have acquaintances with people who dabbled in both. If any of them came around keeping his eyes hidden and how he had managed all his alterations and improvements would possible to detected but most people didn't look for the small they looked for the large, even Mithrandir seemed to believe that, and where he hated that man, he wasn't wrong. His battista was like all other electric cars rather ominously quiet, and that's standard he'd of course had to make a few modifications to the systems in the car, just to remain correct to himself, but he did like the smooth sleek lines of it, and found only a few alterations were needed. As well why not have a car that you could have drive you. As he slowly approached the block the blackbird was on, as the storm clouds started to roll in dark and ominous, he wondered if now was really the time to see Veta. His little friends informed him of movement on the outside in her standard parking spot, and the landscapers were close enough to at least get the vague image of her. As the Battista rolled onto the block he could see her standing outside she seemed to be looking up and squinting. His first thought was the storm that was rolling in, his second thought was all his hard work was being blamed on aliens. "Typical" He said to himself as his nearly dead silent car slid into the parking spot down from her, the mirror tinted windows would give away nothing of who was in the car. Although he waited to see when Veta would see his car.
 
She didn't hear a vehicle approach nor heard it slide into a parking spot, how she did notice it was the sign of movement from the corner of her eyes, she thought it might have been Marcus to have arrived. She turned around only to find that it wasn't the same car Marcus was standing beside just moments earlier. She took two steps back on the sidewalk, still staring at the vehicle, it's tinted windows were so black they mirrored her reflection off the glass. The atmosphere was starting to feel a bit eerie as she wondered who this could possibly be. Could it be a patron ? Hardly, she said to herself. No one has shown to the blackbird since she had arrived nearly two weeks ago. So she kind of doubted that could be it. She could be wrong..but its just something she felt.
 
Marcus simply stood and waited for Veta's decision on where to go and what to do. He agreed to her decision, and followed Veta easily enough. He did have to stop for a few moments for a passing group of dogs, which had become all too commonplace in an abandoned sector of town like this. By the time he got back to the Blackbird, his eyes went wide. He whistled in surprise, even just by the view from the outside.

"Kat, link in to the car and monitor this."

"Is it that bad?"

"It's that bad."


He heard her whistle, just as he had.

"Stay quiet until I'm alone, again. No telling what's doing this."


Marcus parked and stepped out of the vehicle. As he walked over to stand next to Veta, his right hand went behind his back to touch something back there.

"You weren't kidding. How's the inside look?"
 
She continued staring at the black car with its tinted windows..she heard another vehicle pulling up, even though the engine of the car purred quietly, she could tell it pulled up by the sound the tires made over grit and gravel of the pavement. Even when Marcus spoke, still she hadn't turned." The inside..it's..."

She then turned to look at Marcus, " Marcus..this doesn't look or feel good..I don't understand what's going on, and I really don't like the idea of being in the middle of it...I now wish I would have kept on going.."
She took small steps towards the left open doorway of the Blackbird... " You know...I think I'm going to take my chances and go inside, ..come on..lets get inside and lock ourselves in.. I was scared earlier, but that car seems to scare me even more."
She noticed how Marcus slid his hand back, her gaze then drifted back to look at him, " By the looks, you aren't having a good feeling about this either.." She now began to step inside the tavern, glancing behind her to see if Marcus was following behind.
 
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