The sultry roar of his bikeâs engined died down as he pulled into the parking lot. A sly grin spread across his lips as he turned the key, kicked down the stand, and slid off the sexy piece of metal all in one motion. Jagger had bought the motorcycle new off the line and never once had he regretted it. To this day his Honda Rebel was hailed as one of the best âvintageâ motorcycles around. He stroked it lovingly as he walked away, casting one final glance at one of his favorite possessions before opening the door to the restaurant and heading inside. The bar had a free seat, so he placed himself in it and flagged down the man with the alcohol. âJack and coke.â As the bartender hurried off to meet the hellhoundâs demands, he turned and glanced around the room. His smiled landed on the person next to him, and he nodded kindly as they made eye contact.
   Emily's day had been a surprisingly good one. She'd won in court in a case where the odds had been stacked against her, despite working tirelessly to shift the power the other way for weeks, and she'd received a message from the grandmother of one of the families in Darfur which she sent money to. All in all, her week was going well. Her helmet was on the floor next to her bar stood, where she was sitting at her usual place at the bar, a glass of expensive bourbon in hand. She looked up briefly as she sensed the Hellhound walk in and after her standard once over turned back to her drink. She picked up one of the menus and gave it a once over and was deciding between burgers as the Hellhound sat next to her and ordered. She looked up at him, and returned his nod. "Evening."
It had been a few months since nearly losing her life and Katherine had gotten back into the swing of thingâs. Sure, some nights were spent waking in cold sweat over the dreams she was experiencing, bit the satyr had a knack for compartmentalizing the smallest details. She dove back into work, trying to make sure that this spring was her last semester. It made her scarce, but it was therapeutic. Katherine finally had a break after classes and swung into her home away from home in the hopes to have a little bit of a distraction before the boring life of a college student made itself known again. The young satyr entered the coffee shop and let out a sigh. She put her best smile on her face and headed to the counter. She deserved the smallest break and this was it.
   Emily was sitting at a table near the counter of Logos, scanning the latest newspaper. She had her usual coffee order in hand - a cinammon-vanilla latte - and was sipping it periodically. It wasn't often that she spent longer than 15 minutes at the coffee shop but today was a usual exception. Sasha was working and the Valkyrie was early to pick her up, before they went out to dinner with KĂĄti. Every now and then, Emily looked up casually to see who was coming and going.  It was in doing this that she caught sight of Katherine as the Satyr entered. It had been a while since she'd seen the young blonde and Emily took her in carefully, noting the small sigh and smile combo.Â
     "Afternoon, Katherine. Are you doing well?" she asked, as the Satyr reached the counter.
The weather was growing warmer now, springtime on the horizon and the strange winter storms at their backs. Slowly Talos was easing back into normalcy. Or at least, he was trying to. At the very least he knew a little bit of fresh air would do him some good. Avidly the Gryphon had been avoiding running into people for a while but now that the sun had fallen behind the horizon and the air had grown crisp with night Talos had gone off, pacing through the paths of Freedom Park. Eventually he found a patch of grass that he settled down upon, laying back against the cool blades and letting his eyes fall shut. He didnât move from that position until he heard a set of footfalls approaching and his legs shifted to splay out in the grass, head tipping to the side to observe whomever it was that approached. âI take it you could not sleep, either?âÂ
  Since the memorial, Emily had been working all hours of the day. The cases had flooded in and taken up a lot of her time, the rest of which was divided into relaying messages from spirits or sleeping. She had left Coleman and Jacobson later than everyone else and decided to enjoy the fresh hair instead of riding straight home. She took a detour through Freedom Park and was enjoying the early spring evening when she saw Talos. She stopped nearby as the Gryphon spoke and looked him over. "In a manner of speaking."Â
Shane reached out and took the piece of paper that was offered to him. He remembered seeing the book on their shipment lists, but was uncertain as to where it had been relocated. âGive me just a moment please, and Iâll look this up in our computer. I know we have it, Iâm just uncertain as to where itâs gone.â He smiled up at her quickly before turning back to the machine. Fingers flying over keys, he located it without much trouble and nodded at the screen quickly before moving around the counter. âJust a moment please.â After hurrying off it didnât take him long to find the volume and he brought it back in a swift manner. Handing it over to her with a smile, he began to wonder just how many rare Mythics were in Atlanta. This was the third heâd encountered, and he knew that he wasnât a common species himself. âMay I help you with anything else Miss?â
  She let the Mythic take and look over the paper, her hand going back down to her side. She nodded in recognition as he spoke, not particularly interested in chatter about a Librarian not knowing where books were, looking to just quickly get the loan and leave. Her eyes followed him as he left to get the book, taking in details about the man's appearance and outward behaviour and filing them away. It was more on reflex than on actual interest, but her mind didn't dwell on it as she smiled back politely and took the book from him. "Thank you." Holding the tome in the curve of her her right arm, she shook her head. "No, that will be all."
August wasnât going to force Emily to speak when he himself did not feel like doing the same. Instead, he downed a shot as quickly as she did hers, waving at the bartender to refill. As the liquid sloshed along the glasses, August nodded in approval before shifting his attention to Emily. Regardless of the fact that Sebastian never said anything, August knew he was fond of the Valkyrie. She was always the date he wanted to bring and they had even spent Christmas together. The memory sent a wave of sorrow through Augustâs body, his lips bowing into a frown. That wasnât a happy time anymore â just another token of loss. At the question, the Muninn pointed a finger in the direction of his chest. âBullets, went right there. And I couldnât fucking do a damned thing. One minute Iâm checking taâ see if heâs fine and the nextâŠâ He scoffed, seeing the spray of blood flash before his eyes. âYaâ get the picture.â
   Emily looked at August, as the younger Muninn spoke, her fingers clutching the next shot in her hand. She took in his words letting the information filter in and fill the gaps in her knowledge. "Picture received." The fact that she now knew what happened, at least to some degree, helped her acknowledge the information, although it did not help her anger and loss as nearly as much as it could have. The biggest factor in her response to Sebastian's death was the degree to which she had cared for the Muninn - a level which she had not realized. They had never spoken about it and she had not thought too long about it, but now it was obvious to her. She nodded at him once and drank the shot in her hand, before gesturing to the bartender to just leave the bottle with them, then filling it back up herself. "Another?" she asked, before filling August's glass.
She hadnât left the house in a couple of days. She needed the time alone and away from the shop. However, when she got the message from Alex she knew that she had to go in. She wanted to prepare some arrangements for the memorial and she had a feeling others would be thinking the same thing. It was unfortunate that funerals meant flowers, but she always tried to make them bright, color and full of life. She was struggling with that at the moment. She couldnât focus and all she kept thinking was that Bailey wasnât with her. Once more lost in her thoughts she didnât hear anyone come in, but thankfully the voice broke through to her. âIâm back here.â She called before coming to meet the Valkyrie. âHello Emily.â She didnât want to assume she was there about flowers, so she didnât ask if she needed help and she knew there was no point in asking how she was, so she left it at a simple greeting hoping the other would go from there.
   As Emily waited patiently for a response, she looked at the displays, assessing and admiring the floristry. The Valkyrie nodded to the Leshy in greeting as the woman came into view. This trip was multipurpose, the way Emily liked most things to be, with Kai's message to pass on as the priority and a memorial flower arrangement and apology as secondary items.
     "Are you busy? I have a message for you." She stated, not sure if the woman would know the kind of message she meant.
August flew over the mountains below, the wind blowing through his feathers. The snow-topped mountains, with their peaks and valleys were a welcome sight to his eyes. Despite the memories invoked of the mountains of his native Scandinavia, the flight was freeing and well passed due.
August didnât pay attention to whom entered the bar. Everything was static, both physical noise from the people around him, and the mental noise his mind was causing. He wiped his palm against his jeans, smearing the blood upon the fabric, before picking up the pieces of his broken shot glass and tossing them in the nearby trash. âAdd it to my tab,â he waved his hand aimlessly in the air, not caring that it was still slashed and the liquid was seeping through the edges of pricked skin. The only thing that made him turn was Emilyâs voice, but the normal acknowledgement heâd have for her died within his eyes long before it had the chance to appear. He felt nothing and everything. âMore like two gallons,â he mumbled. âPretty sure Iâve passed that on my own. Not that it matters. Allâs fair in love and war.â
   Emily gave a half-hearted smile, as she placed her hand down at her side. She herself had drained all but one bottle of her personal store of alcohol in the last day and thought nothing of it that he had probably reached that amount. Love and war... That phrase had never made less sense to her than it did then. Fair was not a word she would use to describe their losses. "I had not planned on stopping there." She didn't say anything else as she passed him one of the drinks the bartender made and raised her own slightly before downing whatever it was. Words were not her friend in that moment.  The only things that came to mind were to apologize for their loss - but no amount of apologizes would change the fact Sebastian was dead - and to ask what had happened. She simultaneously didn't want to talk about it and had to know. "How?" she said quietly, before the thought had finished being processed.
   After Kai had come to see her, Emily's mindset had shifted closer to normal as the days went by. She was still feeling the loss of those close to her, but the bigger picture and her general outlook were firmly in place again. Sometimes a close friend could bring you back to yourself. With the trouble of finding a new executive assistant and getting back into work however, the lawyer had not yet been able to visit FĂona in order to pass on Kai's message. Alex's text about a memorial though, prompted her to leave work during a break between paperwork and head to the Leshy's flower shop.
      "Hello, FĂona? Are you here?" She called confidently from the doorway, as she arrived, looking around for the blonde woman.
Emily was sitting in the upstairs room of her house, back against the arm of the black leather sofa, legs out in front of her. One knee was bent, propping up the book in her left hand. A whiskey glass was in her right, periodically being brought to her lips for a sip. Her last bottle of whiskey stood on the floor, next to the remnants of a half eaten sandwich. The Valkyrie's hair was tied back in a semi-messy ponytail and she was in her most comfortable clothes. Despite her trip out earlier that day and the pieces of her usual mindset slowly rebuilding itself, she could still not let go of the emotion that had flooded her after the raid.
Emily had spent a great deal of time in this room both alone and with spirits, so when she felt the presence of one, she glanced up on instinct alone before registering who it was. As Kai came into view, Emily placed her book down and downed the rest of her glass. She was glad her friend had come to see her, having hoped that she would. People didn't always, but had believed she could count on the Thunderbird to do so. "Kai..." she said, with a mixed tone that she was unable to hide. She stood to check the door was locked, before turning back shifting into Valkyrie form as she did, not concerned about her clothes.
Spirit Kai smiled peacefully at her friend and waited for her to change. It seemed she had waited for her. They knew each other pretty well and that had not changed with her death. âEmily, adeezhĂ. Itâs good to be able to talk to you. It has always been a solace to know that this would be possible. Feel yourself hugged.â She moved closer towards her friend until just about a feet remained between them. She knew her friend was hurting and she was here to take some of that pain away, from Emily and from the others if she could.
Emily nodded with a small smile, stretching out her wings as Kai spoke. "It is," she smiled as Kai air hugged her. Kai was the one person in a long time who she had let in and the Thunderbird knew her better than all others. The fact that she was here was comfort in and of itself - it showed Emily that she was not suffering. The Valkyrie's gaze flicked to the floor and back, "I could not retrieve you from the field." Her regret was evident, an apology hidden in the words. Others may have missed it but she knew Kai knew her well enough to know.
Spirit Kai shook her head lightly still smiling. She knew her friend had worried about this, but a Thunderbirdâs body was hard to retrieve under better circumstances, with no bullets flying around. âItâs just the body, an empty shell. Donât worry about it. And donât worry about me. Iâm at peace, it was an honorable death for the best cause I can imagine, Iâm just sorry youâre suffering. We all knew the risks and we made it. We freed a lot of people, we freed my mom. I have no regrets Em, please try to find your peace with this too. My path ended here, yours is going on and you need to continue. There is still a lot of work for you and the others. I donât want you to hurt because of me, I want you to smile when you think of me.â
Emily felt something lift as she heard Kai's words. She had known and believed the Thunderbird had an honourable death, that they had begun to achieve what they had dedicated their lives to. She had brought Kai into this cause and known that she was there with equal determination and willing to do whatever it would take, but knowing it hadn't changed sensation the loss she had felt or the complex anger that plagued her. Not being able to respect the body of her friend in death was hard to deal with. To hear those words from Kai herself however was different. It let the knowledge wash over her and enabled her to accept it. She stood naturally straighter now, with the tension she had held leaving her. There was still the loss of Sebastian but Kai had managed to rebuild the bigger picture that had crumbled in her mind. The knowledge that her best friend was at peace and understood, cleared the haze that had clouded her. âYou shall not be forgotten.â Emily said, the dual meaning that she would miss her but carry Kaiâs strength with her. âWise in life and death, may you ever stay the same.â
Spirit Kai could see a weight fall of Emilyâs mind at her words. Her visit had already paid off. âYou give me too much credit Em, I wasnât that wise in life, I made some mistakes like everyone does. Living means making mistakes and thatâs okay. I need you to tell the others so they can breathe more easily again too. We donât want to be forgotten but we donât want you to hurt because of us. We want you to live the happy lives we fought and died for.â She smiled at her friend knowing she would understand. âAnd now I need you deliver three messages for me, can you do that?â
Emily smiled, as soft laugh falling from her. Kai was wise in Emily's eyes, in ways she wasn't. Always knowing the right thing to say to the Valkyrie in times where she was unable to do so herself. "I only give credit where it is due. Mistakes do not mean you are unwise." She nodded with understanding, "And so we shall." She would at least and ensure their sacrifices were not in vain. There was nothing she wouldn't do to pass on the messages from the spirits of loved ones, and this held more true for those from her friends. "It would be my honour."
Spirit Kai couldnât help but laugh too when she heard Emily laugh, it was so good to see her mind freed from sorrow and part of the pain and to hear her laugh again. âYou should laugh more often,â she said quietly. âEspecially in times like these, but now the messages. I wonât be able to stay much longer. Please tell my mom that Iâm sorry we didnât get the chance to talk but that Iâm okay. Freeing her alone would have made this worth it. And then tell Alex that he shouldnât blame himself for anything. He did the right thing, he had to make a tough choice. Tell him it was an honor to have known him and to have been a part of this, this movement that will set all of us free. And that it was an honor to fight with him. And last but not least you need to talk to Fiona. Tell her that sheâs better than this and that sheâs stronger than this. There are a lot of people out there now who need help, who are in need of a kind soul like hers to get through the memories and the nightmares. Tell her sheâs stronger than this and that I donât want her to mourn me like this. She needs to remember all of her friends fondly but she canât see it like we left her. We will always be with her.â Kai closed her eyes briefly concentrating so she could stay a little longer.
Emily nodded lightly. Laughing came easy around Kai, but she would endeavour to do so more. She listened intently, taking in the messages, their details and committing them to memory. The words held great importance on many levels and she would make sure they were relayed as their were told. A twinge ran through her mind at FĂona's message, the woman also deserved an apology, having not warranted the edge of Emily's fury. The Valkyrie recognised the signs that her friend was soon to leave and as much as Emily wished Kai could stay, she would not hold her back. "Until we meet again, I thank you and wish you well."
Spirit Kai smiled again and put a hand over her heart in greeting. âIâll always be here in a way. And I truly hope we wonât see each other for a long time. The spirits with you Emily. Thereâs hope.â She nodded at her friend and smiled again, but the pull became stronger, she had done what she came for so she didnât resist and vanished from the Valkyrieâs presence. She had given her messages, she knew Emily would deliver them and now she hoped that they would be able to give everyone involved some peace of mind.
Freedom. Somehow this is what being âfreeâ felt like. Shane looked around at his new workplace, wondering just how he felt. There was a sense of numbness filling him, still wrapping him in a cocoon of calm. The calm he had worked so diligently to maintain was holding fast so far, and for that he was grateful. Being around so many humans and Mythics simultaneously would take work, especially as the beast within him constantly threatened to force its way to the surface. He wasnât that man anymore, though, and he forced a smile to his face as someone entered the library. âHello, welcome to Fulton County Library. Can I help you find anything?â
   Had work not called earlier that morning, about Emily's assistant leaving Coleman and Jacobson, the Valkyrie would not have come into town. As it was however, she'd had to make the trip to fill in urgent paperwork that wouldn't wait until she returned after her pre-booked time off. Her mental state had shifted, the fury bowing to the combined lawyer-soldier attitude that took control. Since she had to head into town anyway, she had decided to cross off a few tasks. One was to stop at the library to acquire a temporary copy of an expensive law book to use, whilst the replacement order for her newly alcohol-soaked copy went through. She nodded at the librarian as he greeted her and approached him taking a piece of paper from her bag.Â
     "I am looking for this," she held out the neat hand written note, which detailed all the information about the text, "for short term loan."
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