Message For You (invite only)

"I promise. I will watch over you."

Cris waited until Rowan was asleep and then gently slid out of the bed. He pulled the robe back on and then went downstairs and started a pot of coffee. Somehow he had the sinking feeling he was going to need it. He put on enough of it for the others if they wanted to have a cup or felt they needed it. He even set out the Bailey's should Alfarinn wish to doctor his.

He sent Alfarinn a message telling him that Rowan was asleep and asked if they found anything. Cris knew that something was wrong, more than the fire itself. He might have been single minded while Rowan was burned, coughing up blood and starving on the living room floor but he did take everything in, even if he pushed it aside for the moment.

The thing they had yet to tell him had been obvious when they asked for the original note that Rowan had found. Cris was grateful that they hadn't mentioned the second one to him out loud at the time. It made it easier to push aside. Perhaps it was still an elephant in the room for him but he could stubbornly ignore even a large vampire hunting elephant for Rowan's sake.

Now though, he had time to think and to worry. The thing that his partner had been anxious about him accidentally throwing away must have been another note. That explained Alfarinn's expression when he concentrated on it and why they had asked for the other one.

[I am going to need time off from work. I hope you don't mind.]

[Will it be less than a year?] Alfarinn's voice asked mildly. [You know I'm not one to judge but I would like to point something out.]


[Oh? What is that?]

[[If you are spending time at the Hospital making sure Rowan is safe and pursuing this vampire killer then you really aren't taking time off. Are you?]

[I...but it is personal.] Cris frowned while he found his favorite large mug and began pouring himself a huge hot cup of coffee. This particular mug was light blue with Snoopy as Joe Cool on the front of it in his round dark sunglasses. Someone gave it to him at a Christmas party. He always liked it. They probably thought he used it because it was a gift.

[It might be personal but Rowan is a member of the clan last time I checked. If it had been another one of our clan mates instead of Rowan would you make sure they had security? Would you keep yourself up late at night making sure the killer was found?]

He considered Alfarinn's words. [Yes, but...] Cris sighed. [You are correct. I still intend to be there personally. I want this guy caught.] Dead. He wanted him dead so that he could never hurt Rowan again.

[I wouldn't expect anything less from you, Starbuck.] There was tender amusement through the bond. Cris could also sense Alfarinn's concern. When his friend stopped sending to him then the feelings dampened again. [We are on our way back.]

[Okay, I made coffee.]

[Good. Got any Bailey's?]

Cris smiled at the request and headed back up the stairs. He set his mug on the nightstand and the hopped up onto the railing. Scooting closer to Rowan's side of the bed, he situated himself so that he could look down on the living room below. He was close enough to Rowan to lean down and brush back the hair from his lover's forehead. Cris intended to be as close as possible while still deciding what needed to be done. He held onto the railing with one hand and leaned back, stretching over to pick up his coffee mug.

That is how Alfarinn and Kem found him when they came back in, sitting on the railing with his cup of jo, swinging his legs back and forth, lost in thought.

((OOC: Our lecturing leader back in blue ))

Kem didn't usually find his own psychometry very useful unless he was using it at work. Other people saw images, heard sounds, felt feelings... his was good for determining whether artifacts were real and that they'd come from where they were supposed to have and when. While he was pleased to find another use for it, he would really rather not have done so for this reason, tonight.

That said, he'd gotten some answers. When he and Alfarinn located the first poem in its purple folder, exactly where Cris said it would be, Kem held the two up and looked closely at them. He ignored the handwriting, which from all accounts was more Rowan's specialty, and focused on the paper. Kem had spent years and years restoring books; he knew paper. And near as he could tell, these two had come from the same type of notebook if not the same notebook. His ability confirmed the latter. As he had hoped, the trails the papers made on his mental map were very similar. Both pieces of paper had come from the same region, been processed at the same plant, packaged in the same spot, and carried around until they reached Nachton and differed.

Kem had never before tried to focus on an object close enough to pinpoint an exact city block. Usually a region was good enough. He had MARI display a detailed map of Nachton, though, and he followed it with his fingertip as he held each note. The point at which the two notes' paths differed was difficult to narrow down but after a few attempts he'd managed to indicate on MARI's map a circle about half a mile wide where both papers had stopped for a little bit before being sent out again. They had obviously both ended up at the Towers eventually so while their paths diverged a little they merged once again at the end; that made it tougher. Kem was trying to locate a very small point for a very short length of time in a very large city; he knew he wasn't as accurate as he could have been but at least he might have a starting point for Cris.

Together with what remained of the bottle of rum he and Alfarinn headed back to Cris's home. They entered quietly. Kem looked up to see Cris sitting on the railing of the loft where his bedroom was, a mug in his hands and a pensive expression on his face.

"Not all good news," he said softly, knowing Cris could hear him, "but not entirely bad either."

At the sound of their entrance Aishe emerged from the guest room to rejoin them. Kem smiled at her as she glanced up and then crossed over with a worried smile.

Kem glanced behind Cris as he sat down on the couch. Turning himself toward where Aishe's Creator was literally hanging out, he reached out to the person he knew was behind Cris, in the bed upstairs. He wasn't good enough with a glamour to do so from outside their apartment, but he'd been sending to people for thousands of years now... locating a person's 'self' from a distance came easily to him. He reached out a strand or two of mental 'thread' and wove them toward where Rowan slept.

It couldn't hurt, he thought, to have a little extra calm and comfort. He wove a light blanket over their sleeping Clan-mate. Based on what Aishe had told him about Cris and Rowan's relationship, he knew what he could offer was no substitute for Cris's actual presence but Kem suspected every little bit would be welcome, and he didn't hesitate to do his part.

"MARI, could you please show Cris the map?" Kem asked as everyone gathered around. The AI did so after politely obtaining Cris's permission, and Kem showed Cris the area on it where he could say with certainty both papers from both poems had spent a reasonable enough amount of time to be considered, if not a residence, then someplace their mysterious murderer had spent a decent length of time.

Cris looked up when the others entered and gave them a faint smile. It was halfhearted and probably pretty pitiful but he tried.

"There is coffee brewed in the kitchen if anyone else wants any." Turning to Alfarinn, he nodded in answer to the earlier question. "Already on the counter."

Alfarinn smiled and headed toward the kitchen. Soon the sounds of a gently clinking spoon could be heard.

Kem said that things were bad but not all bad. He had a map which MARI helpfully displayed for him. Cris looked at it curiously and then back at the man sitting on the sofa below him. It was an area of Nachton with a circle marked on it.

"This is where he is?" Cris thought about that. Not necessarily. It is where the notes had been which meant that the murderer was there with the notepaper, presumably this area housed the place that Alfarinn had seen the note being written. "Or at least a place he visits."

"Interesting." Looking thoughtful, he then looked up and smiled at Kem. "It could be very helpful."

Alfarinn reappeared with a mug in his hand. He leaned his shoulder against one of the columns in the living room and looked up at Cris. "There is more. The note was given to Rowan while he was at the hospital. I know that part should come as little surprise since that was where he had been most of the day. What is a surprise" Alfarinn's grey eyes looked calmly at Cris. "Is that he was standing right in front of Rowan when he placed it in his pocket. From what I saw, Rowan could not have missed him and yet he seemed to take no notice of him. Nor did he seem to see the note that was, according to my psychometry, very openly dropped into his pocket."

That news did not make him feel any better but it might help narrow their search. "So someone with blending." They knew now that the person was not human. The man could even be one of their own.

"Kem says the note paper has only recently come to Nachton. So while this person appears to be a vampire, they have not been living here for very long."

"MARI look in that area and see which buildings have been bought recently. I want to know all of them but put a priority on any that were purchased by known vampires, any by anyone in the medical field, and any that work in the hospital with Rowan." Cris took a sip of his coffee. "I don't think this is a personal vendetta against Rowan but since we do not know much about the other vampire we cannot be sure. It is possible that the murderer hates vampires in the medical field for some reason." He shrugged. "Perhaps some vampire let his sister die instead of making her one of us or something like that. We have no way of knowing until we know more about this person and first we have to find out who he is." Rowan had not been in Nachton very long himself so Cris suspected that most of his partner's friends were people from the Towers or work. "Add to the priority list anyone who lives at Liefde or works for Meridian." That should cover any neighbor who might be holding a grudge and might catch something bought by a familiar or bought in their name by their vampire.

"So what we know is we are dealing with a male. He has killed at least one other vampire. He has the ability to blend. He has spent time in this area on the map. We might be able to assume he feels safe there. He has not lived in Nachton long." Cris looked back over the half wall that he sat on and glanced down at Rowan. "According to the handwriting analysis of our sleeping expert, we can also say that this was not a crime of passion. It seems that we are dealing with a serial killer. One who targets and hunts other vampires. It might have started out as something personal but it has become a sport." A serial killer's first victim tended to be more personal. Their choice of victims generally said something about them. There might still be a personal reason to hunt Rowan specifically instead of the other vampires here in the room. Then again, it could just be that his lover was the unlucky person who found the last vampire. Cris would have to speak to Rowan again to see if something he had done might have given his true nature away to the killer who might have still been watching. That might give them another clue. A vampire who hunted vampires wouldn't be so odd if the man were targeting clanless vampires. Cris still considered it murder but many others would not. The clanless, however, were not under his protection.

Rowan very much was.

((OOC: Our caffeinated elder in blue ))

Aishe went into the kitchen behind Alfarinn when Kem sat on the couch. She could feel a little distance in the bond they shared and she saw him looking up at where Cris sat, then beyond. She made a cup of coffee with cream but no sugar, and no alcohol. She suspected Kiamhaat had had enough of that with Alfarinn already. When she brought it back and handed it to him he smiled at her, murmured his thanks, and took it, wrapping his hands around it.

Then she seated herself next to him, leaning lightly against him, and listened to the brainstorming happening around them. She watched Cris's face while he talked. She still wished there was more she could do, but the best thing any of them could do was catch this person.

Alfarinn's news about how the note was delivered was unsettling. What motive could anyone have to do this to Rowan? Particularly another vampire?

"Could it be someone who resents the care he gives humans?" she ventured. She'd met many kinds of people since arriving in Nachton, many kinds of vampires. They didn't all take Rowan's somewhat humanitarian view. Some of them cared little whether a human lived or died from disease or injury.

She and Kem remained mostly silent, Kem focused on glamouring again, though not as intently as he had been while they worked on Rowan's hands. Aishe, for her part, was very thoughtful. She wanted to find clues.

"What if he didn't buy the building the notes were written in?" she asked Cris. "What do we look for then?"

Did they recon the area? Were they going to do that anyway? There were plenty of people in security who could do something like that.

Aishe got up and looked at the map with the highlighted area that Kem had narrowed it down to. She knew the area; it was your average run of the mill city neighborhood. Anyone could live there. How could they find this killer?

Kem smiled gratefully at Aishe when she passed a mug of hot coffee into his hands. He sipped it absently, focused on maintaining his glamour. It was important that Rowan rest comfortably; his pain and shock had been evident to everyone as had Christian's upset. Keeping Rowan comfortable would help them both, in its way.

He nodded at each point Cris brought up. He was hardly a sleuth himself. He knew that. However, he wasn't exactly the village idiot either and the more heads they put together on this, perhaps the more stones they would turn over in their search for answers.

"Hospital employees," he mumbled absently when there was a break in the conversation.

"What?" Aishe looked at him.

Kem blinked and focused on each face around the room. "Hospital employees," he repeated. "Maybe the person who put the note in Rowan's pocket doesn't work at the hospital but if he does he'll be a new hire in the last few months. That could help narrow the search, couldn't it?"

It would if the killer was, indeed, new to Nachton. Kem immediately started poking holes in his own theory but kept silent while he did so. He didn't want to derail anyone's train of thought.

Cris smiled at Aishe and nodded. For a moment he focused on her Security training and was glad that she was exploring possibilities. "It is possible. We don't know. Can you think of any way we might be able to find out?"

He considered her other question, taking a long swallow of his coffee. "We will start with the buildings that have been newly purchased, especially any that are from the people I mentioned before. There won't be many in that small amount of space. Thank you, Kem, for narrowing it down so much." Cris nodded to the Egyptian. "Of those we can do police background checks of who purchased the place. We can probably rule out families. Kem you knew where the notes had been prior to Nachton? If so then we can then rule out anyone who came from somewhere else." Cris looked down at the Elder hopefully. If they knew the paper had come from somewhere like Washington DC prior to Nachton then they could eliminate any of the people who bought homes recently but came from somewhere else. It would drastically narrow down the search, if not lead them right to the murderer.

Going back to Aishe's original question, Cris answered. "If it turns out that he has not bought the place that he is writing the notes in then we will have to look at places that are vacant and for sale. It is possible that the man moves from city to city living in empty homes, never buying any of them. Obviously this will make the search harder but not impossible." Cris hoped the first outcome was the true one, that their serial killer was law abiding in every other way but the killing of people and therefore had purchased his home. He wouldn't get his hopes up yet but if it were true then they might be able to locate him within a day's time.

"Thanks to Alfarinn," Cris nodded to the other Elder who was leaning against the column. " We know that the place has at least a table and a lamp. It seems likely that the whole place is furnished and not just one room. We would get some lucky security people with the right set of..." Cris coughed and muttered "skills" under his breath. Blending and breaking and entering were required, or at least those were very much preferred. "to check out the homes for sale that have furniture in them. They need to look for signs of footprints entering and exiting, especially by back doors or windows and for any signs of habitation." More coffee, more thinking. "One method or the other should find us this guy. Any places that look like they have had recent squatters would then need a security team watching them 24/7 to see who comes and goes."

He looked over at Kem. "We should check those, yes." Cris considered the first note with its strange wording and macabre message. "We should pay close attention to anyone who started working there after Rowan found the first note. Just in case this person took an interest in Rowan then." If the murderer was not interested in his partner because of his medical profession and simply began stalking him because he found the scene of the last murder then it was likely that the murderer did not have any medical knowledge and would need to get a job as something non-technical if he wanted to continue observing Rowan while at work.

He looked up at Aishe. "I need someone from Security with at least some medical experience. It doesn't have to be much since I want them to be with Rowan the entire time. Preferably someone who looks to be older than" Cris pointed to Alfarinn. "but not much. Our fearless leader could pass if we gave him a fake ID and said he was older than he looked. I want someone who is a believable age to be an intern. A sender would be nice but definitely someone trained in self defense." Cris frowned and explained. "If we are dealing with a vampire with the ability to blend then I want to be there watching unseen. From the last note and Rowan's analysis of the personality we are dealing with, I suspect this person watches his victims, possibly learns all he can about them. It is a sport or a game. We certainly know plenty of our kind who like to pick a person to feed from and hunt them. It seems this person might take that to an extreme. If he knows about Rowan then he possibly knows about his relationship to me. Especially if it is someone who is a member of Evenhet. That is a possibility we can't rule out." Cris hoped not. He knew that they had those of poor moral character who claimed kinship with them and he dealt with the least savory members of their clan more than most other people in Evenhet ever needed to but he would like to believe that this monster was not amongst their ranks. "If he knows what I do for a living then he might be suspicious if no one appeared to be watching out for Rowan. The new intern would be the obvious bit of security. I want him to think that. After all Rowan is not incapable of handling himself in a fight so one extra vampire looking after him might be considered plenty."

He looked around at the other people present to see if they thought he was crazy, had any objections or other ideas. Cris sipped on the rest of his coffee and contemplated a second cup.

Aishe shook her head at Cris helplessly. "No. I can't. But I'll find out," she said. "There's got to be someone who can give me some insight into how he is at work. They might know best. He has a lot of friends."

Friends who might know who else didn't like Rowan. Who might also know who had a grudge against him.

"Doesn't his Creator talk to him regularly?"

She thought she recalled that but Cris should be able to confirm. "Shouldn't we tel him what happened?" she asked in a softer tone. "He'd probably want to know if he and Rowan are close."

Aishe would certainly want to know if anything happened to her family. She remembered hearing that her father had had a heart attack... long after the fact. It still stung.

She looked up at Cris when he mentioned needing someone from Security. She understood his criteria, but she couldn't help making a little nose-wrinkled face up at him when he made it clear that he was looking for someone with credentials she did not have. Aishe wanted to help.

"Can't I help at all?" She ventured almost timidly. She could help behind the scenes, sure, but that was probably it. She was sort of hoping to be able to be more involved. Cris wasn't teaching her what he knew for nothing, after all.

She slid off the couch when Cris tipped his mug back. Walking over to beneath where he sat she held her hands up. She knew he wanted to stay with Rowan; Aishe did not mind getting him a refill. She had had coffee with her Creator enough times that she knew well enough how he liked to drink it.

She thought some more as she waited. "What about the building that burned?" she asked. "Can we find clues there, do you think? Do you have contacts in the Fire Department?"

Aishe had worked with Cris for some time, but she still didn't know exactly how far and wide his network was spread. She did know it was vast, and she suspected that was part of what made him such a formidable Chief of Security in spite of being somewhat younger than one might expect from a vampire in charge of the safety of an entire Clan. Cris had a way of earning respect and loyalty though, inspiring people to follow him. He had contacts everywhere. She envied him that resource and sought to emulate it herself.

Cris nodded at Aishe. From what he saw at the Benefit most of Rowan's co-workers seemed to like him. He did not find that hard to imagine. The same friendly charm could cause Rowan problems but Cris would have suspected that to be more an unrequited love gone bad kind of thing and this was obviously not that.

"Yes, he and his Creator are close. I will let Henri know in a bit. He would want to know."

"MARI can you show me the second note?" He turned to Alfarinn. "I take it you scanned it in?" The tall blond nodded an affirmative and waited quietly for Cris to read.

A part of him did not want to look; this message had been to Rowan and that sickened and saddened him more than he could ever say. Just the note was an attack on his lover's privacy and peace of mind. The murderer then killed a child and tormented Rowan with one of his worst fears. Cris did not want to see into this demented man's mind but he needed to. He would understand everything he possibly could about the sick bastard and hope that understanding brought him the vengeance he sought.

After a long moment of staring at the words and clinching his jaw tightly shut, Cris finally blinked away fresh tears that threatened to fall and looked up at the others. Back to business. "Both notes speak of cleansing. If we did not know that he was not human I would have suspected a vampire hunter...one who considers us something unnatural or in need of divine retribution."

Cris frowned thoughtfully. Aishe noticed that he was out of coffee and reached up to catch the mug. He leaned down and let it drop the small distance into her waiting hands. "Of course you can help."

Thankfully, Aishe was not a sender and not medically inclined. He would not have to be worrying about her and Rowan at the same time. Cris loved that Aishe wanted to work in Security. He was proud of her and understood the motivation to serve and protect the clan. He understood that her life would sometimes be at risk and that she would quite probably get hurt from time to time. He almost, occasionally, for the most part, even accepted the he might be the one to put her in harm's way. It was difficult commanding people you have grown to love and sending them into battle but he had done it in the past. It hadn't become any easier but he had gotten a bit wiser. Right now though; he simply could not handle the thought of Aishe and Rowan being in danger at the same time. The idea of possibly losing them both was simply too much. He hoped she would forgive him for being overly protective on this occasion because he couldn't change the fact that Rowan was vulnerable since he was the focus of the murderer's interest but he could keep his daughter away from this madman.

Alfarinn pushed away from the column and moved toward the kitchen, presumably to get another cup of coffee for himself. He said. "We aren't the only supernatural things around but I suspect you were coming to that conclusion yourself. Humans aren't the only ones who have a reason to think we are unnatural or malevolent."

Nodding, Cris sighed. "I don't know much about werewolves. I suppose I can ask Grisha to see what he might have in his archives of ancient and dusty lore." He shrugged. "It could still be a vampire who was created unwillingly and believes all vampires are evil, including himself. "

"Anyone able to get more information on werewolves?" Cris looked at the two elders.

Alfarinn shrugged and headed into the kitchen. His raised his voice just a bit to be heard while he poured his coffee. "I can ask the Mayor but I am not sure he would welcome a question about their abilities. Still it might be a fair exchange for the information he received."

To Aishe's question, he said. "Ume was gathering some basic information on the building itself. We can see what the fire department can tell us about the fire." Cris nodded to her. It was a very good line of reasoning. "If we know what he chose to use to start the fire then we will learn more about him. Was it something volatile, stable, technical, mundane, clever...we don't know yet but we will. I can give you Jeff's number if you would like to call him for me." It would be good for them to meet anyway.

Looking back at the note, he sighed. "Why a bird? Why Icarus?" Cris frowned some more. "He killed a child. She was innocent and human. That seems odd for a religious fanatic." Icarus was perhaps too ambitious or too proud. That might again point to a co-worker. Perhaps someone else wanted Rowan's new position? He was really the only person qualified for the job; at least from what Cris heard. He would ask Lynn if she interviewed other people for the position from other Hospitals. That would widen the search instead of narrow it. It did not explain the previous vampire unless that one also had committed some sin in the killer's eyes.

((OOC: Alfarinn is offering up his contacts but that might not be the easiest route to werewolf knowledge. I just didn't want to speak for Kem and what he might know and be willing to share with class. ))

Aishe reached up and caught Cris's mug. It hadn't fallen as fast as she'd expected; she glanced at Kem and found his slitted pale eyes upon her, a little smile on his face. She returned it.

She hadn't missed the signs of Cris's distress as he read the note that Rowan had received. In the back of her mind Aishe wondered if Cris would run himself into the ground looking for this killer. Yes, probably. And she would do the same if it were Kiamhaat. She couldn't stop him from working himself to near ashes, but she could, on top of whatever else he asked of her, make sure he was cared for while he exhausted his resources trying to discover this threat to his partner.

She nodded to herself as she headed into the kitchen to refill his mug, making quick work of it. That would be her new sub-priority. Taking care of Cris. Surely he couldn't argue. Even the most capable person needed help once in a while.

Returning to the living room she held the mug up. As she expected, it simply lifted itself smoothly from her hands and delivered itself into Cris's without so much as a drop spilled.

[You're getting better,] she said to Kem. When he'd first learned about his new ability he had had a difficult time using it in conjunction with anything else, but obviously he was overcoming that particular hurdle.

She glanced at Kem when werewolves were brought up, raising her eyebrows. She expected he'd offer what he could but she couldn't speak for him. He did have a good relationship, insofar as it could be 'good,' with Dr. Xephier. Aishe wasn't sure how far the fragile trust extended but she was pretty sure the big doctor owed Kem a favor or two.

Cris told her she could call Jeff. Aishe assumed Jeff was Cris's fire department contact, so she nodded and resumed her seat on the couch. As Cris pondered the letter Aishe gave it some thought.

"Maybe we should do some research into the child who was killed," she suggested, Cris's musing leading her to the question. "Maybe she wasn't just an innocent child."

Aishe didn't know what else she could be, but there might have been more to it than that.

Kem's coffee delivery system worked just fine, saving Aishe a trip upstairs or Cris a trip down. He remained silent, still mulling everything over, except for his answer to Aishe.

[Practice, perfect, and all that,] he responded.

The topic of werewolves was brought up, as it must be if they were going to discuss Rowan's stalker being a potential member of the supernatural community. He caught Aishe's glance and nodded.

"I can ask Xephier for information," he said. "I don't know how much he'll give me, or if he'll even be receptive to one of his kind being a potential killer, but I can try."

They hadn't seen each other or spoken in over a year. Kem was all right with tat and he suspected the big werewolf felt the same. In another world they might have been friends but in this one they were reluctant allies at best, until something big (like this, perhaps) came along. Kem was under no illusions that their people could live in harmony but for now they had all settled for an uncomfortable truce.

Cris watched his coffee float back up to him. He nodded to Kem and then said "Thank you" to Aishe for making it. Sipping on it, he listened to the talk of the werewolves from both Alfarinn and Kem. Cris shrugged, wondering if they were not doing the same thing, hoping this twisted monster was a werewolf instead of a vampire when so far the evidence points to one of their own. "No one likes to hear they might have murderers among their own kind but it is an ugly fact that we all have to deal with. Vampires and werewolves are hunters by nature and if this leader thinks otherwise then he would be fooling himself. Of course, you are right. He might not want to admit it." He doubted that the leader was foolish. Neither group of the shifters seemed to be run by incompetent people. They would not have made it this far. Some vampires chose to believe that every one of their kind was civilized and that they all had sage advice to impart the human population through their vast wisdom gleaned through existing for centuries.

Piss on that. He had knew better. Cris had lived for over a thousand years and, while he felt that occasionally granted him some personal insight, he did not feel qualified to lead humanity through his abundant stores of patient benevolence. Hardly, right now he was feeling neither patient or benevolent.

Tilting his head to the side, he looked at Aishe. "What do you mean?" She had suggested that perhaps the child was not so innocent. "I imagine you are not suggesting that a little girl was the leader of a crime ring. So then what? She was someone how involved in getting Rowan burned?" Cris took another sip of his coffee and turned back to look at his sleeping partner. "I know he would help a child, no matter what...." His mind was still drawing a blank. Maybe Aishe was on to something but right now Cris was feeling particularly stupid because he couldn't seem to think of anything. "I can't imagine anyone bribed her into a burning building...They might have originally lured her away..." Want some candy, little girl, and all that. He looked up at Aishe and the others. "From the Hospital maybe?" That would certainly help them narrow their search to that area. "If there was some reason why she felt she could trust this person..." Serial killers were generally quite intelligent and many looked quite harmless. "MARI, could they identify the girl?"

"The police are still running lab tests to confirm her identity." The AI told him."According to the reports, the body was burned beyond the point of visual recognition. They will need to use DNA testing or dental records to positively identify the corpse."

"Thank you, MARI." Cris frowned. A DNA test would take them around five days before they had the results. Matching a dental record would be faster if the police had a place to start.

"Any children reported missing from the area within the last twenty four hours?" The parents or guardian would likely know that their child was lost and, after searching, report her missing. "Or the hospital." It seemed an unlikely place to take a child from but the killer was there with Rowan when he planted the note. Taking a child from the hospital would be noticed far more quickly and would lead them more directly to someone who worked in the building. Even if the murderer did work in the hospital, it seemed unlikely that he would be stupid enough to take a child from there.

"Check the hospital database for children released today." Cris shrugged at Aishe. "Maybe this scenario happened: the child was in the hospital being tested or treated, was lured away by someone who worked there or 'looked' like they worked there, and then taken to the building. A screaming child would be one of the only ways to get Rowan to run into the a fire. A child being released from the Hospital wouldn't be reported as missing by the staff. If... " He sighed. "The parents would know it was missing. Unless someone called to tell them that the child was being kept longer for further examination." He shook his head. "That would still be risky and probably not worth the effort. The parents would probably visit their child in the hospital and would know someone had lied to them. It might still have been a child released today but there would likely have been no call." Cris heaved a huge sigh. "Its all a big what if and too much conjecture. It would be much easier just to steal a child from a park nearby." Rowan didn't say he knew the girl. If she had been in the Hospital for something then she would have been seen by Rowan and he would have recognized her. Cris would have to remember to ask him when he woke up but it seemed unlikely. Any random child would get Rowan's attention. It didn't have to be one he had treated personally.

Alfarinn spoke up from over the edge of his coffee mug. "Why was she tragic? Why a princess?" He referred to the poem. "Was that just flowery wording or did they mean something?"

((OOC: MARI in green and our questioning leader in blue ))

Aishe smiled and nodded in response to Christian's thanks. She returned to her seat on the couch while the topic of werewolves was discussed. She didn't know as much about Xephier as Kiamhaat did but she hadn't gotten the impression that he was unreasonable. Defensive of his Pack, though, yes, which was what she thought Kem was getting at. She knew Kem considered Xephier honorable in his way but she still worried about potential conflict. She would go with him if he planned to meet with Xephier in person... out of sight, of course. Aishe suspected Cris and Kem both might object if she told them she wanted to be present.

When Cris turned his attention to her, Aishe shrugged and said, "I just meant that maybe this child was chosen for a reason."

Cris continued to think out loud, and Aishe listened. His thought process intrigued her; Cris was a brilliant tactician and had such a quick mind that she needed to explain nothing in spite of his obvious drawing a blank when she brought it up. He was hurriedly drawing the conclusions she had drawn.

It ended with him giving her a job to do though, scouring the hospital databanks, and that made Aishe happy. "I'll do it," she affirmed to Cris. "Maybe when Rowan wakes up he'll be able to tell us more. He didn't say anything about her to you?"

Aishe didn't know what the two had discussed while she waited downstairs; even with vampire hearing she wasn't going to 'accidentally' eavesdrop. What they said and did was between them. She worried, but she didn't think Cris would withhold anything important from them. He couldn't go all vigilante and do this alone.

She turned her head toward Alfarinn, nodding at his questions as she gave them some thought. "There's got to be something about her," Aishe said. "He's giving us a hint. Do you think?"

Maybe she watched too many crime shows... this killer, however, clearly wanted Rowan to know he was being messed with. That was another thing, though.

"Why would this person kill someone else if he was after Rowan?" she asked suddenly. "Rowan was in the building. If he were the target..." Aishe glanced up at the loft behind Cris, at the figure in the bed she couldn't see but knew was there.

"...why isn't he dead?"

Rowan didn't know how long he slept before he began to feel pain again. It wasn't as bad as before; his hands were on the mend. It was still pretty bad, however, and the reason for the pain was etched in his mind. He saw flickering fire everywhere. The brand on his shoulder began to burn and he screamed as it seared deep, deep, down past the muscles in his shoulder, into the bone, burning its way out toward his chest.

He wanted to wake up but he couldn't. Ah, the disadvantages of sleeping, literally, like the dead. He was aware that he was asleep. He knew he was dreaming. But still the fire came relentlessly. There was a little bit of calm in the back of his mind that he reached for desperately. It was like a blanket, and it helped, but it couldn't completely fend off the dreams.

Rowan attempted to physically push the visions away but cried out as his hands shot messages of pain up his arms, into his neck, behind his eyes. A little girl reached out for him and he tried to reach to her but as she gripped his hands they fell apart into ashes and the little girl was swathed in flames. They rolled over her like a wave and came straight for him.

Rowan just screamed.

Cris shook his head at Aishe. "No, He said that he had gone into the building to save the girl but that was all." Shrugging his shoulders sadly, he added. "I didn't ask any further questions at the time. I did not want him to dwell on it." Rowan probably would anyway but hopefully he would at least get some sleep first.

"It would seem so." Cris agreed about the poem's mention of the little girl. "It could be anything. Perhaps she is tragic because she lost her parents."

Alfarinn raised his eyebrows and nodded his head. "That might also make her a princess...so to speak. She would be the heir of her parents at least."

The suggestion fit neatly into the puzzle and explained both words, tragic and princess. Cris sighed. "For all we know her last name could be Prince. Or maybe she had a name that means princess. Or a name that is a princess name." Not many people named their children Cinderella or Snow White but the girl could have been named Cindy, Ella, Snow, or something of the like. "She could be tragic because she was locked in the building but that would hardly make it a clue. So if we assume she was tragic before then it could be like Alfarinn suggested or..." Cris turned and looked at Rowan again. "He could have helped her before. Maybe she was tragic because she was sick, had cancer or something degenerative, or maybe she was abused." Rowan saw a disturbing number of child abuse cases. "The clue was for Rowan so he would need to know what it meant, at least when it all played out." He hoped not. Not being able to save a little girl that he had never met before would be hard enough on Rowan. Not being able to save one that he had previously helped would make it so much worse.

Cris stared at nothing in particular while answering Aishe's question. "He is toying with him. Perhaps he believes he is showing Rowan his sins or something. His folly." He shook his head. "All the references to cleansing seems to point to this guy believing he is a righteous judge or at least a just executioner. He seems to want his victims to know why they were chosen first. At least that is my best guess." Cris could not exactly say for certain. How did a person justify killing a child and then calling a vampire a monster? The rationale made no sense to him but then he was not murderously insane.

Rowan stirred and moaned softly in the bed behind him. Cris set his coffee mug down on the railing and then used one hand to keep his balance while he smoothed the other over his lover's forehead. [Shhh, its okay, Love, you are home and safe. I am here next to you. Be still. It will be all right.] He repeated the words softly out loud just in case Rowan found it more soothing to hear them spoken. His partner had not woken up but his dreams would obviously tormenting him. Cris considered whether he should try to wake Rowan or let him sleep. He would see whether or not his presence or words had any effect and then decide.

((OOC: Our insightful leader in blue ))

Through the nightmare Rowan heard Cris's familiar voice penetrate. He was aware enough to know who it was, to register the concerned tenor that he loved so much, and it drew his fevered mind away from thoughts of fire and burning. He struggled past the images in his head, desperate to get to Cris, desperate to wake up. Sleeping wasn't going well; he knew it wouldn't. It was all right, he was safe at home, he could rest comfortably in Cris's arms if only he could shake himself awake.

Rowan had been in situations before where he had desperately needed to wake up quickly, but in each case he had been largely unsuccessful. Now he struggled harder, his conscious thoughts claiming him from the nightmare but unable to truly force a wakeful state upon him.

It seemed to take ages before he began to see bits and pieces of the room around him, dark and comforting, Cris's face close to his, blue eyes sharp with worry. He smelled coffee. Heard soft voices below them. How long had he slept for?

His hands were throbbing painfully but he tried to move them anyway, to reach out to Cris with arms heavy with sleep and drugs. He couldn't move. He could barely process anything mentally aside from the observations he'd just made and the fact that he was sort of awake.

"Am I back?" he asked muzzily. "I'm not still dreaming?"

His mind didn't process the fact that he was speaking in Irish. He just stared at Cris and waited for an answer.

((ooc: Green is Irish... yeah, we couldn't resist.))

Aishe nodded in understanding of Rowan's motives. She didn't know him well... yet... but from what she'd seen of his aura she knew that was the sort of thing Rowan would do. Some ex-pirate, running into burning buildings to save little girls. His parrot had probably been fat and spoiled, too. It was thought with affection; they all had multiple sides. Well, perhaps the others moreso than her. She had not lived long enough.

Most people would not believe Kem had been a killer in his time, remorseless and angry. Most people might be surprised that Aishe saw Alfarinn as a sort of cross between big brother, beloved leader, and someone to emulate. And, of course, almost everyone she knew didn't understand the fact that Aishe adored Cris as her father and mentor. Perhaps in time she too would be viewed as many different things. For now, she suspected she ws still 'the newbie.'

She shook her head as they tossed out ideas and brainstormed the poem. "Sins? What sins?"

It was a rhetorical question - she really didn't expect anyone to answer it. Aishe was feeling indignant on Rowan's behalf. She probably sinned ten times as often in a day as Rowan did. He was as kind as Cris, as gentle as Kem. Who could possibly think he sinned?

Everyone had secrets but Rowan hid very little. Aishe always watched for that; those folks who were hiding things or being guarded always had such a foggy overlay to their auras. Rowan, though, had colors as bright and clear as any she'd ever seen, colors like Eiryk had, that said he was open and willing to be read.

There were sounds coming from the bedroom upstairs and Aishe bit her lip as Cris leaned back over the railing. Kiamhaat shifted on the couch beside her and she looked at his face, slightly pale and a little strained. She rested her hand on his leg and squeezed gently. Glamour was not his strongest ability; if Rowan was sleeping poorly Kem would be fighting against him to try and help keep him calm.

It was going to be a long night for everyone, apparently. She wished she could be more helpful.

Cris watched Rowan struggle to wake up. Normally this process took a while so he knew to wait patiently; still, it was painful to watch his partner climb out of a dream that he clearly had not been enjoying. When Rowan opened his eyes and spoke, Cris raised an eyebrow at him and shook his head.

Alfarinn sent to the answer to his silent question. [He wants to know if he's awake.]
Smiling, Cris nodded an affimative. "Almost. I think if you remember that I speak English and not...whatever that was, then you will be fully with us."

He twisted around and climbed down onto the bed. Kneeling next to Rowan, he took his partner's face gently in both hands and bent down to kiss him tenderly. "Let us both move down to the sofa. I can hold you close and perhaps you will drift off again. If not then you can join the conversation."

Cris moved off the bed, careful not to jostle Rowan overly much in his maneuvering. He then helped Rowan up and walked with him down the stairs. As they got to the bottom, he sent to his companion. [Now aren't you glad you chose to wear the pajamas?]

They settled on the couch and once Rowan was comfortable leaning up against his chest, Cris continued the conversation. "I do not know the answer to why. I personally believe my partner is a saint." He planted a gentle kiss to the side of Rowan's head. "He keeps denying these allegations but I am still convinced." With a smile, he silently added to Rowan. [A non-chaste saint. Do they have those?]

Alfarinn chose to continue leaning up against the column; though, now he chose to sit down on the floor and lean his back against it. He sighed softly. "So we have some things to research. I hope that this goes quickly and well. I could bring in the Avian Surveillance Team again but until we have something for them to watch they won't be much help." He looked over at Aishe. "We could have the Raccoon Recon Team as well. Same problem but worth considering." In the past they had used tiny cameras wrapped around the legs of some of Alfarinn's birds. Once they even put one on Thaddeus. Cris was certain that the Anantya considered it very undignified but he had been driven to find answers about his Creator's death; a little indignity was a small price.

Cris thanked Alfarinn for the offer of assistance but until they had someone to surveil then the avian cameras would do little good. They could help watch the Hospital when Rowan went back to work but there was so much activity that there would be many ways to mask any wrong doing amongst the chaotic coming and going.

"We have some coffee. I do not recommend it with your current need for sleep but if you have given up on the attempt entirely and would like a cup then I think someone might be persuaded to help you find one."

((OOC: Our Reclining Leader in blue ))

Rowan watched Cris speak, and it took a few moments before his actual words penetrated through the sleep- and drug- induced mist to make sense. When they did he smiled.

"English? But I have so many different options to choose from. One would be so boring." Then his smile grew. "At any rate, maybe it's time you learned something new."

The cheerfulness wasn't entirely his; he felt the pressure of the glamour on him. It was good; Rowan was not in danger of panicking at the moment but he was grateful to find the other Elder had been paying attention to it even after he slept. It made him feel like he might be all right going back to sleep... eventually.

He returned Cris's gentle kiss and then nodded at the suggestion that they move downstairs. He was a little wobbly on his legs but not terribly unsteady. Regardless he clung to Cris simply because Cris was good to cling to. As they made it safely down the stairs and he heard Cris's voice in his head he responded in kind. [I suppose... although I will admit to some curiosity as to whether or not I might be able to shock anyone in this room into blushing.]

They settled on the couch. As they did, Kem vacated it with a smile at Rowan. Aishe remained and Kem, like Alfarinn, took a seat on the floor in spite of having other options. Aishe curled up at the other end of the couch, pulling the blanket left over from before off the back of it and spreading it over Rowan before resuming her seat.

Rowan leaned against Cris, closing his eyes and exhaling slowly as he relaxed into that very comforting embrace. He nodded at the idea of sainthood. "Sure. I'm a saint," he mumbled. "And chickens have lips."

[They must have them... or I'm not a saint. Because chastity, with you around, will never happen.] Not a chance. Snowball, Hell, etc.

The mention of coffee made him shake his head vigorously against Cris's chest. "Not a good idea," he murmured.

He was fairly sure he wasn't going to vomit, but the effect of morphine was nearly the same on everyone and the result was, more often than not, messy. With three doses in his system he was feeling more then a little rocky but he had it under control. Putting more of anything in his system right now might have disastrous consequences. He'd had enough trauma today without adding 'everyone watching while I lurch to the bathroom' to the list.

Instead he just lay on his side, hands stuck awkwardly out in front of him, and leaned against Christian, breathing in his lover's familiar scent, listening to that slow heart beat. If they were alone he might have bitten Cris but they weren't and he knew he'd already drunk from his partner earlier. He was thirsty but he could wait a little.

((ooc: My, aren't we humorous when we wake up from a morphine dream. Red is German, blue is French, and of course, Irish is green.))

Aishe watched Cris disappear over the railing into the loft. She heard voices; her Creator's as well as Rowan's. A few moments later they both emerged and made their way downstairs. Rowan looked like hell, in her opinion. He was walking all right and aside from the healing injuries there were no obvious physical problems but he had the look of someone who had been without sleep for days, or who was overworked, or hung over... something. It was just the swollen-eyed, pale, malnourished kind of appearance.

He settled onto the couch with Cris and looked reasonably comfortable. She covered him up and then curled up on the opposite end of the couch. After a moment, she rested her hand on his foot, squeezing gently. Kem slid from the couch and sat on the floor, his favorite seat. Aishe noticed that Cris's coffee mug was making its way down from the railing above to set itself conveniently near her Creator's hand.

She nodded at Alfarinn. "We have a lot of places to start. If we need the Raccoon Recon I can provide."

Aishe had a small army in the woods behind their house. There were literally over fifty fat sassy raccoons there now. It had gotten bad at one point last year; there were nearly three hundred. They knew not to rummage through trash bins and the like, but that area could not support so many. She'd had to convince them to spread out, to move away. They had, after a few fights had broken out over who got to go where.

She was sure that she could work with those left to show them how to perform certain tasks. Raccoons were disgustingly clever, very smart, and with their agile little hands they could perform many tasks that Alfarinn's birds might not be able to.

With Rowan there she wasn't sure if Cris wanted to continue talking about the murder immediately. She knew there were questions that only Rowan could answer but should they ask them now, with the event fresh in his head and him obviously unable to sleep because of it? She thought perhaps it could wait for a little while. She was more tempted to ask Cris to throw in a movie, to do something more to ease Rowan's mind, anything, but she thought only Cris could make that call. He knew Rowan best.

Of course, she was aware that Cris could be a teeny bit protective where his family was involved but she suspected he would rather find this killer and deal with him so that might temper any overriding urge to not question Rowan. Either way it was Cris's conversation to begin, not theirs. If he thought it best that they give Rowan a few hours of peace, then that was what they'd do.

Of course, she didn't know Rowan either. It could be that they'd find it impossible to tear his mind away from what happened. He might still be mulling it over. She shook her head to herself. There was no good solution here. It was a shame; no matter what they did or when they did it, Rowan would not be able to forget this event.

"You will have to show me these chickens." Cris looked down at his companion. He thought they had places to start looking and until they found something factual to add to their knowledge all they could do was guess and second guess.

He looked down at Rowan and sighed. "Well since it appears that you are at a distinct disadvantage I suppose we won't play naked twister." Cris smiled and snuggled Rowan closer. "We could play something like Trivial Pursuit though Aishe might be at a disadvantage in a room full of old folks." He mused on the possibilities for a moment. "MARI could you set us up with a game of Trivia that focuses on the last three decades in a variety of topics?"

"I would be happy to, Cris. I will ask the questions and keep score. How would you like to arrange the teams?" He looked around the room. "I will take the adorably drugged redhead on my team."

MARI raised an eyebrow at him. "Is this a socially based decision or tactical? It would seem wise to pick a more alert team mate." She focused on Rowan and bowed toward him. "My apologies for speaking of your current inadequacies. I believe that under different circumstances you would make an excellent team mate."

Cris chuckled softly. "It is a social decision, yes. He is my partner and therefore I prefer to cooperate with him and support him."

"Aishe is your child. You have a social connection with her as well." MARI pointed out, appearing to find the whole complex puzzle of human relationships illogical.

Cris patiently explained the various connections in the room; he was almost always willing to take the time to help MARI better understand human oddities."Yes, but there are several factors which would cause me to choose Rowan at this current moment. One such major consideration is the fact that Kem also has a close relationship with Aishe. She would therefore most likely prefer to be on his team. Rowan does not have a Creator or child here, therefore he would be without a partner with whom he had a close connection."

MARI looked at all of them for a moment. "I see. It is much like a puzzle and this choice makes the most pieces fit together." She turned a concerned face toward Alfarinn, an expression rare for the AI when dealing with the Elder. "And Alfarinn is without a partner entirely. There is no one here who matches similar relationship dynamics."

Alfarinn shrugged slightly. "It is all right, MARI. I can be an army of one."

The AI appeared displeased with this answer. "That would be unfair. Pardon me, one moment." MARI disappeared from the screen briefly and then reappeared moments later. "Please open the front door, Alfarinn. Your team mate is on her way."

Alfarinn looked bemused. He cast a wary glance toward the door and then shrugged. Soon enough the doorbell rang. He gave Cris a questioning look and was awarded with an approving nod. The owner of the house seemed equally intrigued.

((OOC: Our Partnerless Leader in blue ))