"Wait, her workshop? You have access to that?" Dorian looked up from searching, for once taken by surprise. The mention of anything being at an Order of Hermes site was impressive. Hell, he'd never met an actual member, and yet here he was, eating breakfast and planning out an investigation of one.
He considered himself lucky for once.
With newfound appreciation, Dorian gave Sebastian another good, hard look. He was gorgeous. The idea of someone being that put together and having access to those sorts of resources, well…let's say it made Dorian's pants feel much tighter around him. The fact he hadn't flirted yet was an absolute miracle.
"So, finding someone by linking objects, people, places…or what have you…you really need an anchor. Hair's the gold standard — clippings, a lock, whatever. A toothbrush or hairbrush, anything she touched every day. Even her phone would work, honestly, you can do some weird magic with phones if you know how. Worst case, her favorite, but that will get me her general location." His eyes drifted as he thought through some of their options. "If it comes down to that, it's going to take longer to find her. So I hope you can dig up one of her brushes at this workshop you have."
But when asked who exactly he meant by "friend" when he talked about outsourcing… he felt stuck. He hated answering these questions.
"Look, I know how it sounds when I say 'my friend' can help. But he's legit. I mean, he's kind of annoying, but he's someone I trust. Like, no-question trust. My-life-in-his-hands trust, and I don't say that about…" he paused, squinting slightly "… anyone, actually? But it's different. We grew up together. Kind of…well, no, we did…" he waved it off. "… anyway, point is, if you've got her phone or, hell, her lucky sock, we might not have to use him, or at least he can make things easier if we still do. I bet he's outside right now, peeking through a window."
Dorian's eyes drifted over Sebastian again, really seeing him this time, and he sighed. "So, how hard would it be to get access to her workshop right now? Like, 'need my supervisor's signature' hard, or 'sure, you can pop in before lunch' kind of hard?"