Case File 2017.08.09
-YESTERDAY AFTERNOON-
The ongoing road trip was getting out of hand and then some...but they'd have to keep going to catch Gwen before she got away-- following the trail of breadcrumbs. The last stop left Liam in charge of a seedling to an ancient oak spirit, adding on the additional charge of keeping his word to find a new home for its essence. There was one he could trust with that relocation. Leeni, the Queen of Spring. However...she wasn't answering but at the same time their last meeting hadn't parted on the best of terms. Trying again within the quiet green of the St. Louis Cemetery hadn't managed to elicit a more favorable response now, though it had attracted the attention of John LaCroix-- who'd recognized Liam as a Senior Councilor of the White Council. That lead to yet another deal, a new set of terms...another task.
-NEXT DAY-
Just before noon Liam and Rhea had departed the hotel. No real details other than to track down a local criminal-- a man by the name of Papa Jean. They'd been gone for quite some time, leaving Alex alone since Delilah had long departed for the Bad Gator to meet up with Lucy for their hair coloring date. However...it was close to two in the afternoon with no Delilah returning or even calling back to the hotel. His gut reaction by that point was to leave a message for Liam and Rhea to head off to the bar himself, and finding a message that it was closed for cleaning.
Meanwhile inside the back room of the Bad Gator...Delilah was coming to and noticing James and Lucy present. She also noticed herself handcuffed to a hook as the two contemplated what to do with what she'd witnessed before losing consciousness. Lucy was a ghoul, and she'd been caught feeding when Delilah had shown up a half-hour early to their previously arranged meeting time. It wasn't long before Alex burst into the room during the middle of that debate, the not-so-nice half more in charge at the moment...and it wasn't made any better at the scene he walked into: Delilah handcuffed to a suspended hook and slightly injured with James and Lucy in the room. He would have unleashed his darker half on the both if not for Delilah telling him to hold back-- even if she'd stumbled upon Lucy's secret as being a ghoul...her life was still hers instead of the ghoul's next meal. The stand off tension grew, but eventually Lucy and James were allowed to leave the room-- that didn't mean the door with wards wasn't bared shut behind them. That didn't leave Alex's mood improved, but even as he was being insistent at tearing his way out to rip Lucy and James apart...he hadn't exactly counted on being distracted by Delilah. Drawing on the experimental trip learned in the restroom of a Cracker Barrel a few towns back, she managed to siphon some of that other half to calm Alex and bring his more human half back into the driver's seat. The whole encounter leaving more chaos in its wake outside of the simple play date of girls going out to the salon for the day.
