Abe nodded with a faux-serious face.  "Well, you introduced her as your decorator.  You stood when she arrived and stayed standing as long as she was here, so presumably: she's not.  However, being your decorator would imply knowledge of you - possibly somewhat intimate, but still a professional relationship.  Also, you did not invite her to sit, which also implied at least a little distance, however much knowledge she might have.  Tom clearly had some feelings for her if her appearance made him think of you.  But again, you said decorator, not in-law or family by marriage.  She also seemed kind of cagey here, so likely not a relative of my new friends."

He nodded to himself.  "Based on that... I can only wildly speculate.  Perhaps someone from south of the borders?  Or south of the eastern borders?"  He stumbled a bit as he struggled to find a public-appropriate way to say demon or oni... both to keep it out of mortal ears, and to avoid an untimely evisceration should Daiyu overhear and be insulted by his guesses.

Sparrow sat there, trying to figure out what Abe was saying. After some time, she started laughing. "That's so funny!" she says. "You couldn't be more wrong. I rose because she's a good friend and I was happy to see her. I invited her to sit after we were done with the introductions. And she is the most normal person I know, definitely not related to your new friends. And she is the best interior decorator and antiquities dealer that I know."

"Talking about that. Where are you guys staying?"
This message was last edited by the player at 20:23, Fri 15 Nov 2019.

Abe openly laughed at himself.  "Well, I'm glad I opened up with calling it wild speculation, then!  I am curious what made Tom think you were related, though."

Abe thought about living arrangements.  "I was planning to live with my family for the summer, but it seems I'll be keeping some strange hours if I'm in a vampire cohort.  I'm thinking it might be better for the four of us to look for a place together."

"How long have you known her, Sparrow?" Tom said curiously, watching as Daiyu walked off. "She seemed kind of formal. 'Daiyu Ming of the House of Ming.' I mean, it would be like me saying I was Tom Flanagan of the Clan Flanagan."

He shrugs his shoulders and smiles. "My dorm room doesn't need a decorator, but my interest is piqued." He takes the card out of his pocket and looks at it again. Funny how she pulled it out of thin air like that. "I guess I'll be stopping by her shop in La Jolla sometime soon."

To Abe, he says, "There's three different feelings I get now - laughter from you, cold from Dean and Jack, and this sense of pain. I felt it outside, and I felt it just now, too, but there are a lot of people coming and going. I just assumed it was Daiyu since she knows Sparrow."

When Sparrow asks where they're staying, Tom nods his head. "Yeah, I was planning on taking a bus back to Pasadena for the summer. I guess I need to call my folks and let them know I'm staying in San Diego, at least for the summer. And I need to go to Alabama in August to do an Air Force course." He looks at Abe. "Yeah, I guess you're right. It would be good to get a place for all four of us."

"That was a little strange," Sparrow said. "I've never heard her say her name like that before and we've known each other for years. But then, if people hear you talking about your feelings like that, they'll think you were strange too. And in a crowded place like this, you never know who's listening." She looks disapprovingly at Abe.


"Pasadena is way too far for your current circumstances," Sparrow pats Tom's hand, while looking at the both of you. "And your friends have probably already sorted their living arrangements. And as it may take a little while to find a place, you can stay with me."

Abe had thought he had everything under wraps.  He thought he hadn't been shaken to the core today like the others apparently had.  But his mouth just kept running in the wrong directions, as the sharp kick he took to the shin reminded him.

Sparrow had only kicked him once, but mentally he kicked himself repeatedly.  He had to get this down before he got someone noticed and killed.  He might have teased one or both of the other people at the table if one weren't his teacher... and if he had not been so busy kicking himself.

"Your friends will likely be busy for hours," Sparrow said. "You may want to contact your families before it becomes too late."

Abe nodded to Sparrow.  "Seems wise.  I'll be back in a few."  He stood and tried to find a quiet place to call from - one where it wouldn't be obvious to the person at the other end wouldn't immediately know he was at a club.  As a last resort he'd approach one of the MIB to ask where he could find such a place.

"Of course," Sparrow says. "Take all the time you need."

After thinking about it for some time, Abe opens the door up to the third floor. One of the MIBs follows him inside. And upstairs. He asks to be let into the private floor and he is. Now, he is far enough away from any noise from below and not where any of clubgoer can disturb him.

[Who do you call? Or do you call your parents' landline?]

[Parents' landline]

"Hello," Cale answers.

"Hey Cale.  It's Abe.  How are things going there?"  He asked.  He wondered if things could possibly be going normal in the rest of the world with how bizarre things had been around him for the past day.  Which made him wonder: Could anyone be turned into a Fae just like the vampires?  Or are Fae a bloodline within humanity... which might mean some or all of his family were suppressed Fae like he was until today.  He'd have to ask Sparrow.

"Hi Abe!" Cale says. "It's good. How are things with you?"

"Doing fine.  The truck is as awesome as we expected.  But I'll be visiting a bit with the guys I'm driving home with, so it'll be a day or two before I drop by the house.  There's no trouble, but I didn't want mom and dad worrying."  He explained, hoping to distract Cale from any probing questions with the mention of the truck.

"You're still bringing the car around before you deliver it right," Cale asks

"I wish.  Joyriding instead of just driving it on a rush-trip would be great.  There was a bit of an accident, though.  No one is seriously injured, and we weren't at fault, so we don't owe any money... but it means that us being early was betrayed to the customer, who didn't give us the option of driving it around for a few extra days."  Abe had gotten to enjoy the vehicle a bit, but nothing like they had planned to.  The disappointment was evidenced in his voice.  He also kept as close to the truth as he could about what had happened.  He even said "is" rather than "was" about the injuries since his friends had died but were doing fine at the moment.

"That's too bad," Cale says. "I really wanted to see the car. It's so awesome! I'm glad you're fine though."

"Me too!"  Abe responded.  "Could you pass along to mom and dad that I'm fine and I'll be by in the next few days sometime, just not as quickly as I had originally planned?"

"Of course," Cale says. "But you're not going to be busy all summer, right?"

"Not all of it, but possibly a lot of it.  I have an intensive internship opportunity that I might not be able to pass up... which might also lead to other cross-country driving opportunities, if I'm lucky.  There might be other stuff I can tell you about later, but I need to get the NDA issues sussed out first."  Abe  replied.

"I get it. I get it." Cale says. "Don't be a stranger though."

Abe nodded, though Cale could obviously not see it.  "No worries on that account.  I'll see you soon."

As he headed back to Sparrow he reminded himself of his question.  When he got back to the table he reported, "I'm set for a bit, but they'll be wanting visits."

He almost blurted more inappropriate words for the public.  His curiosity was going to be the end of him.  "So... is it possible to go somewhere the three of us can talk a bit more openly?"

Sparrow's offer to let the group stay with her had taken Tom by surprise. He hadn't expected her to be so generous. "Are you sure?" he had asked her doubtfully. "Having a bunch of guys crash at your place seems like a lot to ask."

The alternative, staying with a vampire somewhere, was far less attractive, however. Vampires' need to feed is a very real concern, but then again, Tom understood how his presence as a Hunter could be a threat to vampires, Fae, and any other supernatural creatures if he acquires enough training to be dangerous. For the moment, though, Tom has all the threat of a four-year-old in a wolf den.

When Abe returns, Tom slips Daiyu's card back into his pocket. Despite Sparrow's claim that Ming is just an ordinary person, Tom can't shake the feeling that Daiyu is more than what Sparrow says she is. "One of us should wait around for Jack and Dean," he says. "I don't have anything better to do for the moment, so I'm fine with sticking around here."

Abe smirked when Tom mentioned a bunch of guys crashing her place.  Sparrow had only invited two of them to stay at her place.  One was her mentee... and the other was the guy whose hand she was patting when she made the invitation.

Abe shrugged at Tom's offer to stay downstairs.  "Up to you, but I think the guys in black keep tabs on all the important people, and they're not subtle about it.  It'd take like ten seconds to locate us.  If you wanted to stay to listen to the music, I'd understand though."