Kimi could find nothing that piqued her interest, except the herbs, she grabbed the one that had seemed to interest the other man that had been here, then moved to the cellar doors to leave.

12:15, Today: Kimi-Yuka Noriko rolled 14 using 1d20+5. Move Silently.

In reply to Artemis (msg # 50):

Stefan listens to Ian. "I did not mean she might be da traitor. She may have been sent 'ere by da traitor. It vill be very interesting dhis charity event. It vould be best ta keep an eye on 'is vife an da people she speaks vith."

ooc: Kimi/Jacob/Stefan
Alright, I'm going to move you guys back to the original thread now, so if you have anything to finish here go ahead but there will be a post for you in chapter one. John, you are still here for the time being.




Kimi: You head back to the men of letters but do not run across Lily and John yet. She may have taken a different route or she could already be there. Headquarters are rather large and it is not uncommon to have difficulty in finding another person if you aren't sure where they will be.

Stefan: Ian gives a nod, frowning in contemplation. It is clear he is greatly bothered by what happened at the tailor's and it is distracting him. Well, we'd better go report our suspicions. He says shaking his head.

In reply to Artemis (msg # 47):

John looked over as Lily grabbed him. "She's still in there last I checked but the tailor didn't notice her. We'll need to come back later to let her out, preferably under cover of night."

Lily looks up sharply, guilt obvious on her face. Well, if anyone can get out of there on her own its Kimi. We should head back to headquarters. If she's not back by this evening we will go and get her. Did you discover anything or did I ruin it all for you? She asks with a scowl, though you sense she means it for herself. You walk as you talk and as you head back to the warehouse you see a young woman walking down the street looking at the shops distractedly. She is beautiful and what's more, familiar. Alarmingly so. She heads in your general direction, though she is still a ways off. Suddenly she turns to look at you directly and your breath catches in your throat. Dina. Impossible.

John stopped dead in his tracks as he saw the woman heading his way. Any response to Lily gone as he stood there rooted I that spot. "No that- that can't be."

Lily looks at you in confusion. What are you talking about? She demands, trying to see what you are looking at. Dina stares at you a long moment, her face unreadable but it is clear she sees you. Your eyes lock and then she very calmly walks into a shop without a second glance.

John didn't even hear Lily speak as he watched his dead wife. "No that's impossible." John ran forward as she entered the shop trying desperately to catch up with her."

You go into the shop and see that it is a shop of figurines and trinkets. Dina is nowhere to be seen. The shopkeeper looks up at you expectantly. Can I help you sir? He asks with a warm smile. Lily follows you in utter surprise but she has stopped asking you questions for the moment.

John stopped as he looked around the shop his Dina nowhere to be seen. "Did you see a woman come in here sir? About yea high long wavy blonde hair?" What was going On here? Was he hallucinating? Had it all finally caught up to him?

The shopkeeper frowns, shaking his head in confusion. Sorry sir, no one has come in recently but yourself, and the lady with you of course. He refers to Lily. The Indian woman, however, looks almost as shaken as you. But John. I saw her too. The woman on the street right? You knew her? How could she have disappeared? She turns to you and asks in a low voice. Who is she?

John frowned in return at the man's reply, he was considering the possibility he was losing his mind when the indian woman stepped up beside him. He looked over to her his eyes wide, his brow covered in sweat. "She's mah wife." He replied in a low whisper. "Mah dead wife."

Lily looks at, stunned. You're sure? It wasn't someone else? It was her? She doesn't sound as though she doubts you, but rather she wants to confirm before she makes her next move. She takes your hand and gently leads you to the street to avoid being overheard by the shopkeeper, who is looking very confused at the display. How did she die? Did you burn the body? She asks quietly.

"Ah'm sure, Ah'd recognize that face anywhere." HE allowed himself to be led outside, looking both stunned and shocked himself. "We had a ranch out in Texas, I went out huntin for a few days and she stayed with the children. When I got home..." He trailed off looking into the distance as he fought to compose himself. When he spoke again his voice was unsteady. "They were all ripped pieces, clawmarks all over their bodies, half eaten, barely recognizable. I burnt the whole house to the ground, with them in it." The texas ranger's hand went into his coat pulling out his hip flask, and he twisted the cap off and brought the flask to his mouth, pouring the contents down his throat.

She listens silently and you see a great deal of pity on her face as you tell your tale. She puts a comforting hand on your shoulder and you are surprised at how kind she suddenly looks. A far cry from her usual angry self. Perhaps there was more to this woman than it seemed. I see. I am so sorry for your loss. She pauses. Do you...keep anything of hers with you? Anything important? A lock of hair, her wedding ring?

John nodded at Lily, not trusting his voice right now and reached under his collar and produced two rings on a long silver chain. He took the rings between his fingers, holding them seemed to calm him. "Right here, the engagement and the wedding ring."

She looks at them and her face turns sad. Oh John. She sighs. You can keep them for now, but I'm afraid if we are dealing with a spirit then those may be her tie to our world. If that's the case you may need to destroy them. Or at the very least we'll have to see if we could put a ward on them, but I doubt you could get away with taking them out if that's the case. Still, we don't know yet if that's what this is. We'll need to do some research. Has your wife ever come to New York before? Is there a reason she would go into that shop?

The widower shook his head as he put the rings back under his shirt. "I HAD them exorcised, had a priest take care of it soon after I took up the life. Ah'm not stupid. And she's never been to New York and I can't think o any reason she'd go in some trinket shop."

The Indian woman looks relieved but shakes her head. I never meant to imply you were stupid John. I don't know how much you know, I just wanted to be sure. She falls silent a moment and then tilts her head. Well, I guess there's not much to be done about it now. If you want, when things calm down a bit we can come back after closing and investigate. Just because he says he knows nothing doesn't mean it's true. She offers. We'd better make sure they don't need us for anything important first, but I will make sure it is a priority. She looks at you questioningly.

He stood there a moment staring off into the distance before he turned to Lily. "Your right, there's nothing we can do about it now. Lets head back." He replaced the flask in his coat and turned to head back.

You walk back in silence, feeling the sting of what has just happened. A thousand questions roll through your mind and Lily frowns in thought too. At least she saw it too. At least you know you're not going mad.

You return to the men of letters and Lily puts you in another study telling you to stay while she sees if Kimi has returned. It is about twenty minutes before she returns at which point she enters with a frown and sits down across from you. Well, it looks like she made it back alright, but she found some disturbing things at the tailor's. It seems they are shipping some crates at the harbor tonight. They are filled with summoning scrolls that look to be a roll call of sorts for some very high level demons. If you are up for it, we've been asked to interrupt this shipment tonight. After what happened though, I understand if you aren't up for it.... She trails off awkwardly.

John had lit his pipe while he waited for Lily to return, but the flask remained in his pocket. "Ah'll go. Ah already signed on fer this 'savin tha world' gig, Ah ain't takin a breather just cuz Ah got a good scare. Besides, if Ah stay behind, Ah'll be stuck with ghosts of a different sort."

Lily smiles slowly, looking pleased but still a bit worried about you. It would seem her prickly exterior has been put away. No doubt she feels sorry for you, but it is better than her snapping at you every five seconds. Very well. Let's get you some quarters and upgrade your weapons. I also want you to meet the rest of the team. She adds.

ooc: Go ahead and respond, but I wanted to let the others catch up a bit before I add you to the mix, so don't think I've forgotten you! :D

He nodded and put out his pipe as he stood replacing it back in his jacket. "Lead tha way."

She takes your weapons and drops them off to a very capable looking fellow with instructions to have them returned to you as soon as they are finished. She leads you down the hallways and soon knocks on the door to a study. As you enter you see Victoria with two other women. One is a proper looking lady in fine attire, the other is a woman with surprisingly short hair who is dressed in the normal fashion, but she looks awkward and out of place. You see her shoes are remarkable as well for they are like nothing you have ever seen before.

ooc: I posted for you in the main thread "the beginning of something" so feel free to react and interject there.