[NPC] Bartender's Story

Rick Brackwall

"How has your day been, Rick? Did anything happen while you were seeing your brother's things to his room?"

Walking along, arms folded behind him, he simply shook his head.

"Nothing beyond the ordinary. Well, as ordinary as circumstances permit. There is still ongoing investigation into what among his possessions was destroyed by the Tsuchigumo. There appears to be little overall damage to his belongings from what was reported." Rick briefly gestured with a short wave of his right hand, bringing his arm across horizontally and ending with a short shrug.

"I went ahead and aligned our documentation with what we've collected so that nothing of his that we have so far is misfiled as destroyed or missing. There is little I can do for what's still pending confirmation until it's collected or verified as destroyed."

As luck would have it they were already right in front of the door where Jonathan and Vesper awaited.

"Allow me." He gave the door a short light couple of raps before opening. Stepping through he stood aside and held the door open for Eine, allowing her to pass through before gently shutting the door behind them. Turning from the door he took a look back at those remaining in the room, one in specific being Jonathan Black.

"Greetings. I am Rick Brackwall. Dr. Minerva and I have come to inform you that we three are required at Auditorium C. I understand you must be curious as to who we are and why you're here. While I cannot ascertain you'll learn all that in the auditorium I can answer what questions you may have on the way. As for now however I bid thee..."

He wore the calm and collected expression of formality as he addressed him. Rick crossed his right hand across his chest and gave a reasonably pronounced bow as he continued.

"Welcome to the WDL Headquarters."

CYRUS JAMES
Miami Regional Hospital.
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x

Cyrus had never felt a panic like this before.

After years of doing whatever he wanted and finding little consequence, he was hardly scared either. The wealth and power behind the James name was enough to keep away fear. Even the few fights he was involved in, he held his own and made sure his opponent wouldn’t try it again. As long as he was Reid James’ son, there was nothing to fear.

But this was completely different from any situation he’d ever been in. He was being hunted down for loving the only man who didn’t find him unlovable. He was attacked from all sides with no hope of defense, not only with fists but with cruel words that stuck to his brain. And he knew, even without being warned, that the moment Michael Izumi knew he survived the attack, he would be out for blood again. And that thought alone sparked his breathtaking panic.

Cyrus never allowed anyone to scare him. But he was scared, so fucking scared, of losing Maddox without being able to truly love him.

Having Maddox close was a momentary relief, a chance to catch his breath as Maddox assured him that he wouldn’t have to worry about those men or the monster he called his father. It was soothing, as Maddox was all he had for strength right now. He needed this, someone to take care of this and take care of him when it was a struggle to keep breathing.

”I love you Maddox,” Cyrus said again, but still it wasn’t enough. He wanted to say it until his lungs gave out, until the only words he knew how to say was I love you Maddox. Right now, he had to focus on getting better. He wanted to be able to sit in the courthouse when they finally arrested all the men that hurt him and watch as they were put away for the harm they did to him. They couldn’t get away with physical and mental trauma they subjected him to.

He squeezes Maddox’s hand, needing him to stay close. ”I’m glad… you were there. My mom, she was… mugged, when I was… younger. I couldn’t do… anything but… watch her die. I didn’t… want to die like that. I didn’t… want to die at all…” Cyrus adds, settling back into the bed when the fatigue starts to hit him. Knowing Maddox was there, protecting him from any tricks his father may pull while Cyrus was still recovering, soothes him more than being in a secure facility. He wanted someone who knew what this man was capable of by his side.

x

x


wren wilson
deadpoolx|xoutfitx|x#BB141E


x


frankie parker
spidermanx|xoutfitx|x#FF0057


x


ross mcculloch
mirror masterx|xoutfitx|x#FF8D34


x


tobias lehnsherr
magnetox|xoutfitx|x#57428C

xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx

Wait? What the hell is going on here? First there's this another weirdo with a mask, then yet another masked weirdo steals him, and leads to a table with random patrons. And now... just as we're following, cause of course brothers had to move.
Well, fine, I would check it myself. Anyway, as we move, yet another two join in.

“Any room for two more? If this is for a job, my friend and I would certainly be interested in joining you.”
Man, crowdy. - He thought, while Lich, and her friend slowly grew annoyed. Too much time is wasted here, in Lich's opinion.

"I guess there is... - Gaveth said -... we could get a bigger fish." Fish? Really? Man, they'll think I'm a fisherman, from a small village, which happens to be the truth, though that's a long, long... gone past.

0000S K Y E 0 M A E D A 00000000000000000|0000000000000000 O L L I E 0 M A R T I N

hexcode
#5b2026 0 | 0 #74908f



outfit
skye 0 | 0 ollie

---

---

The wink made Skye roll her eyes, but she'd be lying if she said the roundhouse kick didn't impress her a little. But she didn't have time to dwell on it, as somebody came at her brandishing a gun. They appeared to have finally realised the two teenagers with knives were more of a threat than the men with guns. So Skye let the illusion drop. That was enough to confuse and temporarily distract them, enough for Skye to slam the man in the face with his own gun. That wouldn't have been enough to stop him, and so Skye ducked and quickly made copies of herself. "What the hell?" The man yelled, right before Skye punched him in the face again before whirling around, driving an elbow into his stomach and snatching the gun from his hands. She slammed the gun against his temple and he crumpled. Tucking the gun into the back of her trousers, she scanned the room. Their numbers had dropped significantly, but there was one or two still standing. One of whom was attempting to sneak up on Sterling.

"Seven o'clock!" She yelled, already sprinting across the room to intercept. The copies of her followed, spreading out in a circle around them. The man halted in his tracks, the illusion clearly perplexing him. Skye halted, stepping into line with the rest of the illusion and standing stock still. The man raised his gun and scanned the circle of copies. He raised the gun and fired at one of them, which disappeared into a wisp of smoke. Skye wanted to glance at Sterling, but she didn't want to make herself stand out from the rest of the group. She had to trust him that he'd know it was a distraction. The man fired at another copy, and Skye had to stop herself from holding her breath. She was exposed like this, and it was putting her on edge.

_________________

Ollie knew to get the hell out of the way when he saw Theo's posture shifting. He threw himself away from them, hitting the floor and rolling straight to his feet. When Theo went feral, there was something... terrifying. Ollie knew it was Theo, knew it was his friend. But the fear was something primal, the realisation that you weren't quite the apex predator any more and you had become prey. He turned away, breaking open the first aid cabinet and searching for supplies. He'd turned around to face Theo when he was suddenly shoved against the wall, hands around his neck. This wasn't Theo, he reminded himself. This was the part of him his friend couldn't control. He knew not to react, knew not to make himself seem like a threat. But then he could see a change, a shift. Theo was fighting back. And then he shoved himself back and Ollie exhaled heavily, not even realising he'd been holding his breath.

Theo's reaction broke something in Ollie. He could see the panic in his face, the fear. It was then that Ollie remembered that his shoulder was still bleeding and he was covered in blood. Slowly, he bent down to retrieve the bandages he'd gathered and walked over to Theo, resting a hand on his shoulder for a brief moment. He pulled a chair so he was sitting opposite Theo, before pressing the bandages into his hands. "All this blood might cause a bit of panic among the hostages. You do my shoulder, I'll check your hands, okay?" He held Theo's gaze for a moment, showing that he wasn't scared. Then he pulled off his jacket, slowly slowly, grimacing at the pull on his shoulder. But the blood at least wouldn't show quite as much on the black t-shirt. He knew they needed to get moving, they needed to get the hostages out, but stressing Theo out might just make things worse.

With the dulled senses humanity provided her, there was no way for her to have noticed ahead of time. There was honestly no way for either of them to have noticed the silent fall, not when they were hardly focused on the ceiling. That, and she was completely distracted by her abject failure to determine ahead of time if they were going to get stuck in another world again. Not that she would admit that to anyone other than herself.

The violent crash of a body slamming into the floor from a very high point jolted her into action and she shrieked in surprise, spinning around to pinpoint the intruder and causing Ash to duck out of her way again. She really needed to stop accidentally killing him.

"What the hell was that?!"

"A person?" Ash suggested, pointing at the blonde guy on the floor. She followed his gaze to the idiot who had somehow fallen from the ceiling.

"Doesn't he know about Isaac Newton?"

Ash glanced at her quizzically and she immediately wished she could retract her question. Instead she just blushed, which she also wished she could immediately retract.

"Meira, how do you know about Newtonian physics and Isaac Newton but not know who Elon Musk is?"

"I told you, he sounds like a weird person. It doesn't even sound like a name." She answered. She stepped closer to the guy, eyeing his skinny frame.

"Do you think he's awake, or do you think he's dead? No, he's not dead, that wasn't a high enough fall. Did he get knocked out? I could just kill him, I guess. He seems like a creepy guy."

Rick couldn't resist grinning at Izzie's expanded commentary. She sounded like a talent scout, or a producer, or a bandleader—which she was, of course. He wondered if she could have been anything else. Could she have played the sidewoman to another? Maybe not with her stature—then again, Dio had played with taller men and never lost command of the stage. He was a born frontman, with a golden throat powered by aetheric lungs that could make the stuff of Michael Whelan covers sound like Renaissance art. And Izzie, in turn, was a born leader, with a clear vision of what she wanted, a keen ear to hear what suited it, and an iron determination to leave behind that which didn't suit it.

Then again, all of that could also apply to a world-class dictator. Perhaps he ought to be more cautious. But for now, there were more important things, like talking shop.

"Good? No, I gotta pay. And talk to the bassist. Hablamos bajista, ¿clara?" 'Bassist-talk' made sense in his head, but not so much out of his mouth. Still, he would stick to it.

It didn't take long to flag down the server for the cheque, and even less time to flag down the bassist, a skinny muchacho who seemed in no hurry to leave. In their low-end discussion, neither of them noticed as the quarter's guitarist quietly made his way to the bar, to a particular young woman with fair hair and a flowing caftan dress.

-------

For a brief moment, Lionel felt a pang of jealousy for Ted, and could not say why. That was a lie: he was jealous because Ted was at a jazz club, the sort of soporific place where people went to relax after a hard day. A bar such as the Anchor, on the other hand, was for a bit of excitement after a long day of modern ennui. Normally that was more Lionel's thing than the jazz club. But this was not a normal situation. The drunk sumbitch was not only drunk and vicariously horny, he was getting violent. With a woman.

This never ended well. Danny had seen that too, if Lionel interpreted his quick bark for "Elliot" correctly. Presumably he meant the large man edging his way through the crowd. Lionel had seen this scene a few times before. Swing and a miss, a forward pitch, then either a strikeout or an intentional walk. And sometimes that happened in the baseball game instead!

Time for a curveball. "Ayo, let her go!"

Drunk Sumbitch froze, still holding the woman's wrist, but his attention on Lionel, bleary eyes narrowed. "Why d'you care?"

"'Cause she don't want none of you, old man!"

Lionel expected that to be a serious aggro-draw, but instead Sumbitch grinned. "Whatcha gonna do about it?"

For the first time that night, Lionel realized he might have fucked up.

The only thing stopping Meira from killing the guy where he stood was the fact that Ash clearly had some kind of plan, and dammit if his plans didn't usually go right and a lot more smoothly than hers. Not for lack of trying on her part, when she actually planned something it always went quite literally flawlessly. She just didn't like planning. Better to take action first.

"People are asleep here?" She dragged Ash along, trying to keep up the conversation. "How would you know? Did you wake up first or something?"

I ordered a soda but the bartender said "no soda just beer and coffee,oh and tea." so i got a sweet tea with extra sugar and light ice and asked for 5. it ended up being 9 silver pieces so i ended up only having 3 silver left. In my head i thought
"maybe i should start adventuring then humans would like me even as the monster prince." later i ordered a nice cold water for free when this huge guy approached. I put my hood further down my head when he asked the bartender "have you seen a kid with black and white wings with horns in here?" when i heard that i threw of my cloak and cast a spell
"light bend and hide me so that my enemy shall not see INVISIBILITY!" then ran out the door and when i looked back the monster hunter was waving his hand cursing but i heard one thing that made me want to seek revenge upon his cursed soul
"you stupid monster prince i'll kill you just like i killed your mother!" then that's when i became an adventurer waiting till i was strong enough to kill him.

The woman turned, following Ted's gaze. "Who was that?"

"Friend of a friend, sorta," he responded. He sipped the Blue Moon like a buffering animation, then added, "I told you about the other band in the studio?"

"Yeah?"

"She's their bandleader."

"Bandleader," the woman snorted. "Does that mean you're a bandleader, too?"

"Not the same way," Ted responded, shaking his head. "She's...different."

"Oh. Like...how?"

"She's very exacting. It's her band. Like Maurice, but more so."

The woman scoffed. "Sounds like the kinda guy Jack and I got rid of."

"Not quite," Ted replied, sipping his beer again. "That guy, from what Jack said, wasn't nearly as good as Izzie was. Probably still is."

"Izzie?"

"Isabel Ana-Maria Martinez de la Cruz," he intoned with all the solemnity of an ancient prayer. "Isabel Martinez for short, Izzie for shorter."

The woman chuckled. "She sounds like a character."

Ted smiled too. "You're not wrong, Steph."

-------

The front door of the Anchor slammed, and Lionel released a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. Somehow, Drunk Sumbitch had got told by a chick two-thirds his size, at a generous estimate. The fact was nothing short of astonishing.

"Awright guys, show's over." Elliot's proclamation worked like a geas. No doubt many of the conversations that started up were nervously noting how close that came to a full brawl, but they were still conversations, in the same way that a pacemaker still induces a real heartbeat. The life they brought back to the establishment was no less real for how forcedly they were induced.

Perhaps it was that change in atmosphere that had incited this lor lady to approach him. And thank him, though for what he wasn't sure. Maybe prompting a chance for them to meet? He wasn't sure, but he wouldn't complain. Talking to a cute chick was better than mulling over how close he had almost come to getting his lights punched out.

"You're a badass is what you are," he said before he could stop himself. Making a face, he held up a cautionary finger and took a healthy sip of his cocktail. "What I meant to say is nice to meetcha, Ada, I'm Lionel.

She gave him a wink and a smirk, taking a sip of her own drink as well. Now that she was sitting so close to him, and she wasn’t being semi-molested by a drunkard, Ada was sure that she had been right. He was the guy from the other band. “Likewise.” She said and leaned on her elbow on the bar. She looked down at the wood and shrugged. “Can’t afford to have rumor going around the studio that I can’t take care of myself, can I?” Ada wondered if he had recognized her as well.

“Studio,” he repeated dumbly, putting that together with that feeling of deja-vu from earlier. The realization hit him suddenly. “I thought you looked familiar! You’re one of those peeps in Psychosis,” he concluded. Chuckling to himself at the coincidence, he took a glance past her, at the stone-cold dead serious chick now talking with Danny, three empty beer bottles in front of her. “She with you, right? Somep’n happen?” he asked, indicating her with a half-nod.

His reaction was amusing, but Ada decided not to give him any stick for it not recognizing her. They hadn’t spoken much anyway and besides, she wouldn’t be offended. “Uh…” She began and looked over at Val who was now in conversation with the bartender. “She is… Was.” Ada was unsure and shrugged, but still smiled. “I’m not sure, really. She’s been miserable since the moment we got here.” She took another sip of her drink. “But she agreed to go out, so I don’t know what the deal is.” Ada returned her attention to Lionel. “She’ll come ‘round.”

I hope.

Ada had truly no idea if Val was going to ever stop being mad at her. She had never experienced Val being mad at her ever before. It was frightening, somehow. Not in the same way it was scary when Izzie got mad. No, this was different. It freaked her out. “So how are things going for you guys in the studio?” Conversation would be her best distraction from the graphic images of what Val might do to her once they left the bar. That is, she assumed she would wait that long.

“It’s alright,” Lionel said, taking a sip of his Libre. “We’re gonna start drum tracking tomorrow. Past few days have been mostly writing a new song to fill it out and recording demos.” He left out that their original plan had been to lay down drum tracks earlier that same day, before Ted started “experimenting” with an alternate bridge riff for “Under the Lash”, which was quickly turning into “Under the Uneven Time Signatures”. By the time Lionel and Zack had wrestled him back from that tangent, it was three in the afternoon. Rather than set up for only an hour of tracking, they called it early with intent to start recording tomorrow. Of course, that was granting that Ted didn’t get sidetracked something for “Defiler of the Mind,” but then again, he seemed to hold that song sacrosanct except for his own solo, ever-changing like his others.

Her eyes widened with excitement. Ada loved the grinding you did in the studio. Sure, you practiced until you had yours songs down before you went in, but there was something about recording them. She settled for nothing less than perfect, so it was a lot of work, but Ada found that she learned so much every time she went into a studio.
“Exciting!” She said, genuinely. “Here’s hoping it goes well.” Ada raised her glass, not really bothered that they had both been sipping drinks while chatting. “So are yo-” the brunette trailed off as she felt a tap on her shoulder. “Hmm?” She let out as she set her drink down and turned on her stool.

"Buy you a drink?"

Lionel blinked. Wasn't this the mopey chick Ada had brought with her? Why was she so chipper? Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Danny gesturing. Open-palm thumbs-up, tilt the hand back, then three, then throat-cut. Lionel immediately decided he hated charades. Danny made the gestures again, slower this time. Thumbs up, tilt back...drink? Three drinks? Cut-off?

Oh.

Ohhhh. Great.

"Uh..." Lionel hoped he could help the situation with some half-feigned casual talk. "What's the drink?"

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

【 JAYDEN KAZE 】
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
【 dialogue: #2acec2 】___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ "If you think you're going to crash, step on the pedal harder. Never mind, never mind,
Even if it's a road of thorns, we still run." - BTS 'Never Mind' _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

All Jayden could feel was nervousness as he watched the news clip for what seemed like the millionth time as he waited to board his flight. Up until 6 months ago Jayden would have been on the first flight out to research anything unusual like this so called golden meteor just in hopes of finding friends and a way home, but now he was hesitant. He felt like he had to protect his heart. A year ago when he released his debut album as J.Kaze he was uncertain on whether or not 'Home' should be on it. On one hand the title track was extremely personal and never actually meant to be heard by anyone else. It held all the pain and fear of being alone that he held in for years. On the other hand the very structure of the song called forth memories of home and he hoped that someone from Aurum would hear it and try to reach out so he’d know he wasn’t alone. When that didn’t happen he broke and throw himself into his music, though he didn’t completely lose hope until 6 months ago. After that he couldn’t even bring himself to listen to his song without crying.

Jayden wanted nothing to remind him of his former home. He even thought of covering up his emblem but that was something he just couldn’t do, so he got a tattoo that incorporated his emblem. Ironically it was of the God of wind but it still helped ease the pain since his emblem wasn’t all he saw while he was sitting in the makeup chair before the concert. He even began to ignore any whispers of things that remind Aurum, like this pro garner one of his earth friends met. His friend kept describing her and all he could think of was his best friend Phia but he refused to get his hopes up and wrote it off as another dead end before looking. Even on the day of the meteor hitting, Jay was doing everything in his power to ignore the news because he couldn't bare the pain again.

That all changed when later that evening he was sitting in the makeup chair getting ready for his last concert before his break when he heard his manager say “But it’s Gold! What kind of meteor is Gold!” This led to Jay’s reluctant turn to the tv but it was just in time for him to see the message. The message that revived his hope and gave him a new destination. He stared at the TV blankly as he pondered his options ignoring every one who was calling his name in concern until finally he looked over to his manager and said, “ Hey Kimmy. I’ve changed my mind. I’m going to head to D.C during my break.”

Now here he is finally sitting on the ground at the airport in his typical off stage style waiting to do something he was convinced was impossible. He had contemplated not getting on this flight multiple times but knew this was something he had to do. He needed to see who was still alive out there and see if there was a chance of him getting home. Also he couldn't ignore that just the thought of him finding others had him feeling more like his old self than he had in a long while. Not only were his smiles no longer fake but there was this familiar warmth coming from his emblem that put his heart at ease. As the flight attendant called for first class to begin boarding Jay grabbed his carry on and skate board to proceed to board. He looked up and saw Kimmy staring at him from her flights waiting area. Waving he entered the plane ready to face the music for the good and bad. Though he was hoping this time it was good.

CassiusPraetorius

Cassius stole another glance up at the sky, the weather had been fine this morning but had since started to turn and the sky had run from scattered patches of cloud to low ragged banks of grey that seemed to not only stifle the sun, but muffle the whole world as if wrapped in a blanket. This wasn't uncommon for this time of year, nor was it uncommon for the mountainous coasts of British Columbia. As a seasoned hunting guide, this was just part and parcel of a life spent out of doors in one of the wildest places on Earth.

He turned to survey the rest of his group as they followed behind him on the trail. It had been a good hunt, not without its share of difficulty and hardship but, ultimately a successful one. On the second last day they had brought down the bull moose they had been following for some time and now it was time to return. He turned back and shouted both warning of the weather, and encouraging the laggards with thoughts of warm fires, strong coffee and stronger whisky.

We could be in for a hell of a storm if this keeps up, and I don't know about you but I'd much rather be sat in the cabin when it hits! He yelled over the increasingly insistent tone of the wind. The pace increased, and at long last over the rise the cabin appeared just a little farther down the valley. A ragged cheer arose and the pace quickened again with the sight and smell of hearth now that much nearer at hand.

They reached the cabin just as the rain began to make itself felt, splashing down in big heavy drops that sprayed off everything they hit. Cassius stood by the door and clapped everyone on the back, making sure that at long last, he was the final member of their party to enter the sprawling cabin that served as home base for Darkwood Hunting and Angling. Hey Bill! Made it back with one in the bag, how 'bout ya break out the case of beer I know you've got stashed in back. He hollered, finally swinging his pack off his shoulder and propping it against the door.

An elderly gentleman tottered out from behind the bar grumbling under his breath All right, all right, keep yer shirt on. You get one each and you can drink it where ya likes, after that ya gots to stay at the bar. You hear the news by the by? He continued as he plunked a six pack down on the long table that graced part of the main room. Come on Bill you know damned well that I haven't unless you tried sending smoke signals. It's not exactly like we get BBC in the back country.

Bill chuckled True 'nough True 'nough. Well get a load of this then, Great big meteor come crashing down over in Washington D.C. there. The real kicker? Looks like it may well be made o' gold. Huh What do ya think of that? Why it's all they been showin' on the news, can't even barely watch the game he griped.

Cassius paused for a second wondering if it could really be happening. He had never known many people from Aurum, his natural abilities and personality having put him in the role of a scout most often. He had spent a lot of time wandering, but sure enough as soon as he heard the words spoken in Dicere, the ancient phrase called to him. He knew whether or not he knew anyone that he would go back. After all, this was his duty as his father had raised him, and there could be no turning his back on it. Huh, well I'll be damned. Don't have any trips scheduled for a while. I'm going to go to DC Bill, I'll bring ya back a piece if it's real gold.

As Bill chuckled Cassius was already heading to his room to pack a bag and a few short hours later, having changed into jeans a grey shirt and a nice green henley, he was on his way to DC, to the address that had been specified. He hadn't know many of the kids who'd gotten out in those last hectic days. He was pretty sure he'd seen Viviannah Bellum and had thought he'd heard some of the Royals had even made it, but other than that couldn't think of anyone he'd recognize. Heck Viviannah might not even remember him. By the time he was old enough to pay attention to such things she'd already become a prodigy in the district eventually even winding up in the personal guard of one of the Royals. His father had run him hard to keep up with her example and Cassius had trained about as hard as it was to train thanks to his fathers often brutal treatment. He liked to fancy he'd gained some small amount of recognition, but nowhere near the level of Viviannah Bellum.

These thoughts saw him through takeoff and into the air where he fell asleep only to wake as the wheels hit tarmac in DC. He rented a car and drove to the address he had heard the meteor was near noticing that sure enough others had already started to gather at the large house. He strode briskly up the pavement his Fire District tattoo on display as he rolled up the sleeves of his henley, paused before the door when he noticed a teary reunion going on between several people and a woman he recognized as being part of the Light District. He took a moment to deliver he a deferential nod before delivering three sharp knocks and waited.