a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x

Blue Forest Banshee Part 103
Crazy is as Crazy Does

At a quarter till six the next morning, I was walking across the commons to the dining hall to meet Inazuma. I had my phone out, debating whether I should give in to my desire to call Giniro and interrogate her over this whole "appear before the Council" thing. I know; it makes me crazy when Heero gets over-protective of me and here I am, planning to do the same to/for him. I get the eye-rolling-ness of it. Still hadn't stopped me from bouncing back and forth on the idea all night.

I stopped walking and took a deep breath. Nope; not gonna do it. I have way too much other stuff to do today. I will wait patiently until Heero gets home and then I will consider whether I need to tap-dance on a Dragon.

"Duo!"

I glanced up and saw Inazuma and Enrique coming from their quarters. We met in front of the dining hall.

"Ready to go?" Zuma asked brightly. Enrique smiled indulgently at his boyfriend and tipped his head in greeting.

"Yep. Shall we eat first?"

"Yeah. Who knows when we'll get lunch?" I grinned. Inazuma and I both tend to get extremely focused when we're working together.

Enrique snorted and opened the door, ushering us through. "I will ping you at noon, so you will have no excuse. And yes, Heero's orders," he snickered.

I rolled my eyes, but didn't argue this time.

We were among the first to hit the serving line, so we were finished by 0630.

Enrique had stuff to do, so he left us at the Port Room. I waggled my eyebrows inquiringly at Inazuma and he colored up a bit and said softly, "He got called home because of a death; he's doing research today."

"Not a family member, I hope?"

"No, a local fake-witch. One of those Human fortune-tellers; a tourist attraction of some sort. The Clan doesn't like it when stuff like that happens in their environs. They have a good relationship with the Human locals and they want to keep it that way." He sighed. "Rique thinks it was just a Human crime, but better to be sure."

"Oh yeah." Many of the possibly Magic-linked crimes we investigate turn out to be simple Human-on-Human crimes, but there's always the possibility of someone going rogue. No one wants to be known as the investigator who blew off another Voldemort.

~*~

Our porter dropped us at the main gate to Ctik's former property. We would meet the Pumas there and then walk up to the house. I was curious to see whom we would be dealing with. I know that everyone in Trowa's Clan rotates through the different jobs; I just hoped that whoever showed up would remember me from my visit.

A middle-aged First Nations Wizard appeared with the Pumas. He and the male Puma exchanged fist bumps and then he departed. The Puma and the puma with him approached us.

I just want to say here that I certainly didn't expect to see a Were-Puma in animal form; surely that would be a little awkward on the job? I managed not to drop my jaw, fortunately, as the puma was bounding toward me and rose up on hind legs to wrap those muscular front legs and massive paws around my shoulders.

"Duo! How nice to see you again!"

The voice was familiar. I blinked. "Cathy? Is that you?!"

"Ha! See, Beren; I told you he'd recognize me!"

I certainly recognized Trowa's sister's voice; her current form? Not so much. "Wow! I've never seen you in fur," I laughed, returning the hug.

She gave me a squeeze and dropped back onto all four feet. "I didn't think you had, and normally I wouldn't come out on estimate calls like this, but I couldn't resist. You're re-homing a vampire?! How could I miss that!" she laughed.

The male Were-Puma stepped forward to shake hands with Zuma and me. "Good morning! Lovely day for it. I'm Beren; Cathy's uncle, and I apologize for her manners," he smirked. Cathy took a half-hearted swipe at his leg and rolled her eyes. "I've heard a lot about both of you from Trowa."

Inazuma blinked. "Nothing bad, I hope," he said hopefully.

Beren laughed. "Not at all. According to him you're the best kits they've had in the MIO in years."

I looked at Inazuma. "Okay, I so owe Trowa a case of soda." He snickered.

"So, gentlemen; who're we gonna be working with? Your vampire or a representative?"

"Representative," I confirmed. "Ctik has collateral descendents who live here. The whole situation is kind of complicated; I can fill you in on the way. The current resident would very much like you to handle her move as well. Ctik wants the bill for both moves sent to him in care of the Castle. Will that be all right?"

Beren produced a small electronic device and began making notes. "That's fine. I take it he doesn't have a new home yet?"

"Still working on it," I sighed. "Um... You wouldn't happen to know of any vampire-friendly properties in your area? Something reasonably spacious with a few acres?" He actually gave it some thought, or maybe he was just formulating a polite "hell, NO!"

"I don't know of any... Cathy?"

"Not since the Flaming S was sold." She ambled along beside me. "Not a lot of large houses around us. Some McMansions down on the flats, but I doubt he'd want one of those."

"No, we've already discussed modern construction."

"Pitiful, isn't it," muttered Beren. "Now, that's what I call a house," he said approvingly when we caught sight of the house. "That's been there a few centuries."

"Ctik had it brought over from Eastern Europe way back. The family's been here since at least the 1700s."

"I'd be loathe to let that go..."

I sighed. "Yeah. Well, that's where the 'complicated' part comes in..." I gave Beren and Cathy the short version of Ctik's problems with Miles and Theodore, and explained that he had placed his trust now in Gisela and the children. When I told them what was to become of the house and property, Beren stopped and stared open-mouthed at me.

"Has that fuckwit been disemboweled yet?"

"No. He's still family and Ctik is all about family," I sighed again.

Cathy snorted. "Honestly! There's family and then there's family... Good crap; that would be like one of our Clan selling the business out from under us all." Her eyes narrowed. "Simply would not happen. The council would make a rug out of him."

"A sad and tattered rug..." growled Beren. "Well, let's see what we can do for this silly creature and his decent family members." He scanned the front of the house, muttering under his breath about rooms and trucks.

"There are extensive cellars and a basement, too. The house used to have gargoyles on it, but Ctik never installed them when it was rebuilt; they're stored in the cellars, along with some other statuary. Didn't want to scare the locals, I guess."

"I can imagine," said Cathy. "Beren, we'll need to split up or we'll be here all week. Give me the walkie and once we're introduced, I'll go with Inazuma and you can go with Duo. Are we emptying the entire structure?" she asked me.

"From the highest attic to the deepest cellar. Ctik's stuff needs to be stored until I can find a place for him and some of Gisela's too, maybe. She's house hunting right now, but I don't know how much luck she's having. There's a lot of stuff," I warned.

Cathy gave me a toothy grin as Beren fastened a pink collar with a tiny transceiver attached around her neck. "Testing, testing," she muttered and her words echoed from Beren's belt.

"All set," he chuckled. "You know, Pri about had a conniption fit when he had to wear this one last week."

"Pri's a dick and you can tell him I said so."

We climbed the steps to the front doors and I lifted the huge doorknocker and let it drop.

Five seconds later the door was flung open by Michael.

"Duo! Welcome!" he cried. "Mom! It's Duo and the movers!"

Michael was so excited he was bouncing. He grabbed my arm and hauled me into the foyer, the rest of my team following. If it hadn't been for Gisela coming down the stairs, I might have made some comment to them about smacking the smirks off their faces.

"Duo!" she cried. "How good to see you again!" She shook my hand and glared at Michael. "Michael, dear; please do not frighten off the movers." He ducked his head, still grinning.

"Hi Gisela. Let me introduce you. This is my coworker at the MIO, Inazuma. This is Catherine Bloom from the Puma Clan and this is Beren... um..." I realized I didn't know if Beren had a last name or not. He saved me by offering his hand to Gisela and bowing over it.

"Beren Tall Ears; at your service," he said warmly. Cathy didn't offer to shake, but she did incline her head gracefully.

"And this is Gisela Grinsted and her youngest son, Michael."

As I had expected, Michael was staring at Cathy. "You're a mountain lion!" he exclaimed.

Cathy sat back on her haunches and folded her front legs across her chest. "Actually," she began, "Mountain lions are just large cats; we are Were-Pumas or Pumas for short."

At the sound of a Human-sounding voice coming from the large feline form, Michael took a step back and whistled. "You're Magical!"

"Indeed we are, young man," said Beren with a smirk.

"Holy wow!"

~*~

It took a few minutes to sort out the Magical Creatures to Michael's satisfaction. Gisela rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"He's been talking about this non-stop since yesterday," she murmured to me. "I hope he won't be too annoying."

"Oh, I can take care of that. Zuma, why don't you and Cathy go with Gisela and start at the top of the house and Beren and Michael will go with me to the cellars."

"Yes sir!" he snapped out with a pretty decent salute. I hissed at him and Cathy hooked a claw into the top of his boot.

"C'mon, Elf; time's a-wasting." They headed up the stairs as Cathy began asking questions about the house and the furnishings. I turned to my team.

"Okay, Michael; you're the tour guide. Lead on to the deepest cellars." He started bouncing again and waved us after him as he headed toward the back of the house.

~*~

The deepest level was thick with cobwebs, but we didn't encounter any spiders or other critters. I wondered if the cobwebs might be some kind of vampire "atmosphere" thing. The space was fairly tight, what with the structural supports and the foundations and it seemed to be mostly filled with old packing crates, trunks and odd-looking contraptions. It occurred to me that we probably should have this stuff looked at by an antiques dealer to see if any of it was worth anything. I made a note.

Beren made a rough circle of the cellar, a fairy light hovering a foot above and ahead of him. He tapped away on his handheld device, muttering under his breath about cubes and spells, with the occasional exclamation of surprise. Michael trailed after him with a huge flashlight, pointing out some of the more obscure and shadowy niches.

I wandered a bit on my own, taken by the stonework. It looked grey and sparkly in the fairy lights, but I haven't enough knowledge of geology to tell what kind of rock was used. The surface was slightly uneven from the original cutting, but it wasn't rough. My fingers slid over the finish, lingering at the cool, almost polished feel of it. The individual stones were so precisely fitted, so massive and so sturdy that I wondered if the crew that reassembled the house had been Dwarves. It gave the impression of having grown out of the earth, rather than being planted into it.

"Hey, Michael!"

"Yeah?"

"Do you know anything about the reassembly of the house?"

"Um... A little bit... Ctik showed me drawings once, but that was a few years ago."

"Did he mention who put it back together?"

"He just referred to workmen and craftsmen. I think there's a file somewhere with all his paperwork in it. If Dad didn't take it," he muttered darkly. "I can ask Mom if she knows where it is. Why? Is it important?"

"Mmm... Just my curiosity at the moment. This is some beautiful work and I just wondered if the construction crew was Dwarves."

He stared at me. "You mean... like Gimli?!"

I rolled my eyes at him. "No, I mean real Dwarves; the folks who can make the stones sit up and bark." I laid my hand against one of the huge stones. "I know Humans do this kind of work, but I just wondered if Ctik might have had some Dwarfish connections."

Beren joined us then, and Michael managed to pick up his jaw. "Not really all that much down here, volume-wise," said Beren. "If I were you, I'd have the antique folks in for an appraisal before we start, though. I've got five bucks that says some of this stuff is worth more than all our trucks combined." I blinked at him and he grinned.

"I just added that to my list..."

"Trowa said you were a smart critter," he chuckled. "Ready to go up?"

"Absolutely." We'd passed through the upper cellar without stopping on our way down; I really wanted to see the gargoyles.

~*~

I got my wish. In spades.

From Michael's description, I expected a matched set of carvings, but the reality was even better. To my eyes it seemed that no two of the statues were alike. Gargoyles crouched, lounged and stood sentry in as many different poses as there were statues. Beren and I both threw out multiple fairy lights. I stopped counting at 30; there were more. I don't know how long I stood with my jaw hanging, before Beren nudged me.

"Uh... Duo?"

"Huh? Oh. Right."

"Pretty cool, yeah?" said Michael proudly. "They're all different, I think." He turned his flashlight to illuminate individual faces.

There were stylized faces of cats, dogs, humans, birds and other creatures I couldn't immediately recognize, but scattered among those were the cultural memories of Heero's people. At least a third of the visible gargoyles had the fierce and elongated reptilian faces of Wyverns.

It took my breath away. The western guardians; the Dragons tasked with watching over and guiding those early Humans... I could suddenly see the models for these guardians, crouching on rooftops, cliffs and battlements, attempting to guide and teach the unruly Humans that were their assigned charges. Once upon a time, there had been Wyverns all over Europe, the Middle East and African. In some places they merely watched, looking on as primitive Humans made their first attempts at civilization; in others they appeared occasionally to guide and teach and become legends and gods. In a few, they regularly offered knowledge and insight to those who would accept it. And these were stone memories of those guides.

I stepped forward and ran my hand over the stone body of the foremost Wyvern. This one said my inner voice; this one is mine. "Wow..." I breathed aloud. "These are... are... just wow," I finished in a whisper.

Michael bounced on the balls of his feet. "Aren't they great?!" he laughed. "I was down here yesterday after you called and I used the leaf blower to dust them off. I've never been all the way to the back of them, because the light won't reach that far, but I think there's even one that looks like a Sphinx!"

Beren nudged me gently and mouthed the words "leaf blower?" That shook me loose from my trance and I laughed.

"Pretty inventive, Michael. Pretty damned inventive."

Beren produced some equipment from his other space, saying helpfully, "Measuring the space. I might as well consider these things as one huge block for moving purposes. I wonder if the vampire would consider selling one? I wouldn't mind having that lion-headed guy."

"Ctik always said it was sad that they were all stored away down here," offered Michael. "Duo, you should ask him."

I was still charmed by the statue I was petting. "Yeah, I think I will. The gargoyles at the Castle are nothing compared to these."

Beren chuckled and suggested we add some more lights and get the things counted. We soon had the cellar lit up like an operating theater.

The other, non-gargoyle stuff in this cellar was much newer than the stuff downstairs. It was still very old, but probably only back to the 19th century. I added this space to my "call an antiques dealer!" note along with some general descriptions of the contents of the various niches.

We were only about ninety minutes in the upper cellar; it wasn't as filled with detritus as the lower cellar had been, and Beren was blocking the contents by niche. When it came time to move all of this stuff out, Beren explained, the Pumas would bring a double crew and use magic to shift things to the trucks. They don't have the same kind of other-space magic that the Wizards have, but they are highly skilled in the "nesting" of goods for packaging.

I kind of hated to leave "my" gargoyle behind when we went up to the basement, but I'd made another note to ask Ctik if he would consider selling a few of the statues. Where in the hell I would put the thing was a whole other matter, but it would be fun to see the look on Heero's face.

The basement proper was what they call "finished", with seating and separated areas for different purposes. There was a work-out center with various machines and free weights and a hobby corner outfitted with cabinets and bins and an area with several low tables and comfy chairs and containing a huge walk-in refrigerator filled with bottles of wine. There must have been a thousand tucked into their individually slots. Who in the hell could drink that much wine in a lifetime? Other than Dwarves, that is.

"Oh, that's Dad's wine collection," said Michael, when I asked. "He buys wine like Breeze buys shoes. Mom says he's a wine snob. I've tasted it, but I don't get what the big deal is. Tastes like sweet vinegar to me."

"Huh. I've never been a fan of wine much myself," I muttered still staring at the multitudes of bottles. "My Clan has vineyards, but more for the grapes than for wine-making." I looked over at him. "Do you prefer beer?" I asked.

He made a face. "Oh, hell no! That's even nastier! And I don't drink the other booze - the distilled stuff - either," he snorted. "I drink Mt Dew; Mom says that's bad enough, but at least I won't be a drunk."

I snickered. This is a pretty unique kid. "I don't know; I've had Mt Dew and it gave me heart palpitations. You must be made of pretty stern stuff."

"Well," he said proudly, "I am a Vrostek."

"Not a Grinsted?"

"Not anymore," he growled, face clouding over. He turned on his heel and stalked out of the cooler.

Wow. I hadn't anticipated that. I hoped it wasn't my fault. I'd feel kind of weird to be the reason for someone repudiating his family. Then again... If he had decided on his own, well, can't say that Miles didn't deserve it.

Michael was gone when I stepped out of the wine cooler. I cast a look at Beren, who shrugged.

"He's getting some sodas. And taking a few minutes to remind himself of how grown-up he is." He tapped a few keys on his handheld and then looked up at me. "That's an honorable and upright youngster there. He'll do well in life."

"I think so. Ctik is clearly fond of the children and Michael especially seems very close to Ctik. I never realized that vampires would have such close ties with their families."

"I don't think it's very common, but I've heard that the ones who do are generally no threat to Humans or Magical Creatures. They're grounded; more attached to the living world than the ones who seclude themselves from it." He shrugged. "It's just something I've heard, though. Don't go considering it the truth," he smirked.

My phone chirped then, and when I looked at it the message was from Enrique: "Eat. Now." I snickered and sent back a "yes mommie." I relayed my orders to Beren and he nodded. "Excellent timing! I'm done down here. The individual niches and areas make it easy to block. I have a couple of interns right now who have a lot of raw talent at nesting, so they'll love this," he grinned.

"Great! And I added this level to the antiques note. I wonder if the old stuff belongs to Ctik or to the family? I should ask Gisela." I made another note. As we started up the stairs, I clarified my random thought. "I don't know much about Human marriage, but I'm pretty sure stuff has to be divided in the case of a divorce. Maybe it would be better if all this belonged to Ctik; then Miles couldn't just grab it and start an Ebay store."

"One of the Human kin is a divorce lawyer; I could ask him for a consult."

"Really? That would be super!" That led me to another thought, not so errant this time. "I know Gisela has already contacted a lawyer; do you think Ctik should have one too? I mean, he was the one most injured by Miles' greed."

Beren produced a business card. "This is the bottom feeder; he's good, and despite his chosen specialty, he's a nice guy, too. I'm pretty sure he'd jump at the chance to do some consulting for a vampire," he snickered.

"He's a fan, right?"

"Oh, hell yeah! He and Sean are into all that nonsense," he snorted.

Heh. Something new about Were-Pumas; even they were susceptible to the cultural fads.

The stairs led up to the butler's pantry off the kitchen; we almost ran into Michael at the top.

"Are you done?" he asked, sounding slightly disappointed. He passed out icy bottles of soda and led us through to the kitchen, where we found Gisela, Cathy and Zuma gathered at the table.

"Down there, yeah," replied Beren. "It's not difficult to block an orderly space."

"Are you finished with all the underworld?" smiled Gisela. "We've done the attics and the storage cubbies and Ctik's suite and we're working on the third floor now. Inazuma got an order to eat."

"So did I," I laughed. "Heero likes to set me up with babysitters when he's gone. If Enrique says we should eat now, we better eat now or we'll both catch it when we get home."

"Well, good for them," she laughed. "I've ordered pizza; will that be okay?"

The chorus of agreement shook the room and she grinned in delight. "Michael, will you get the antipasto trays, please? We can nibble a bit until the pizzas arrive. It should be about twenty minutes yet."

Michael set the trays out on the table as Gisela passed out plates, flatware and napkins. She cocked her head at Cathy. "I've never served a Were-Puma before; what would make it easier for you?"

"Thank you for asking," said Cathy graciously. "I won't touch the common plates; I'm sure my favorite uncle can help me." She rubbed her head against Beren's arm.

"That's how we do it when someone is in fur," Beren explained, giving Cathy a gentle poke. "Now, at home, this glutton would be up on the table fighting over chicken legs."

Cathy shot him a look. "And I'd be winning, too!"

~*~

The pizzas arrived with a bonus - Breeze and two men, one young, one not-so-young.

Gisela erupted from her chair and ran to them.

"Matthew! Karl! What are you doing here?!" she cried as she hugged them both.

Breeze stood by, holding the pizza boxes and looking smug. "I called Uncle Karl Sunday morning and told him everything. He said he'd get Matthew and come as soon as possible."

Gisela drew back to stare at her daughter. "I... I am... speechless... apparently." She looked up at the man who was very obviously related to her. "I was going to wait until I had everything in order... You know... all those grown-up things. But I'm so glad you're here! Thank you, Breeze! That was a great idea." She turned to hug her now-pizza box-less child.

Beren had lifted the pizza boxes from Breeze with a smile and was setting them out on the bar. Michael sauntered up to give his sister a one-armed "manly" hug and whisper something to her. She smirked and swatted him lightly.

Gisela turned to the rest of us - you've heard the term "radiant", I'm sure; well, the woman actually glowed - and began introductions. Of course, Cathy got most of the attention, and she accepted it regally, like the on-the-fast-track-to-matriarch female she was.

Pizza was passed and Karl and Matthew explained their side of things and Beren and I took our respective turns to share our plans for Ctik and for Gisela's move, whenever that would be.

Breeze took an immediate shine to Inazuma and he ran with it, flirting and sparkling for all he was worth. She hoped he hadn't seen the mess in her room; he replied gallantly that he'd seen no messes anywhere in the upper floors. Michael muttered that he just hadn't reached his sister's room yet. Breeze glared at him, but he was too far away to smack.

Beren's magical gadgets intrigued Matthew and they were soon deep into a discussion of nesting vs. other-spaces. Karl turned to me to inquire after Ctik and get information on my plans for the vamp.

"I met Ctik a few months after the wedding," he explained. "When she told me that her new husband had a vampire ancestor living in the family home, I was... well... surprised?" he laughed. "And of course, I immediately had all the usual concerns, so they invited me to visit and meet him." He shook his head, chuckling. "I was... mmm... somewhat disappointed at first. I expected Bela Lugosi in a cape; I got Keanu Reeves in a tuxedo. Ctik was nothing like I expected; not a dark moment about him. You'd have thought he was any guy off the street, meeting the in-laws and a little uncomfortable in a monkey suit. I liked him immediately. Best of all, from my point of view, he really liked Gi." He shrugged in the way that meant he was going to say something he wasn't comfortable with.

We had moved to a sofa in a kind of family room area adjoining the kitchen. Beren, Michael and Matthew were discussing the cellars and Beren was drawing sketches on a pad at one end of the table. Inazuma and Cathy were describing their respective Clans to Gisela and Breeze at the other end. No one was noticing us, but still Karl checked the location of his relatives before continuing.

"I kind of thought of myself as my sister's guardian back then. I'm younger by five years, but Dad was in a nursing home with a traumatic brain injury and Mom was focused almost exclusively on him, so I figured it was my job to make sure Gi didn't do any stupid girl stuff."

From across the room Cathy's ears twitched our direction and she snorted and grinned a mouthful of sharp teeth at him.

"Human girl stupid stuff, I mean," he amended quickly. Cathy nodded her acceptance of the definition.

Karl shrugged, more naturally this time. "What can I say? It's a guy thing, I guess."

I agreed, thinking of my own guardian.

"Ctik was totally cool, though, and Vivian was just fabulous, so I could report back to Mom that all was well with her baby girl." He smiled. "Back then, Miles was even a pretty decent guy. I don't believe greed is genetic, but he sure seemed to begin channeling his father after a few years." He shook his head in disgust. "I was out in Wyoming by the time his behavior began to get... noticeable. I kept my mouth shut, though. Not my place to interfere in someone else's marriage. But I sure let Gisela know that if she ever needed help or even to talk, I was there."

"That's really all you can do," I agreed. "People see what they want to see and if you try to force it... Well, that never ends well." Suddenly I realized why everyone warned me away from matchmaking with Wufei and Trowa. They would either come to it on their own or they wouldn't, and any meddling on the part of an outsider would only ruin the whole dance. I should have seen that in the beginning.

I shook that thought away and explained my ideas for Ctik's future and my frustration with the available property. I also grumbled a bit at my time restrictions.

"I only have until Sunday to find someplace for him. I understand why he can't just stay at the Castle, but it's still irritating. Trying to set up a suitable household in a few days is just impossible," I sighed. "I'm not giving up, though."

"Is there such a thing as a temporary place? Like a hotel for displaced... um... persons?"

"I think the Castle would be it, except that he can't stay there after Sunday. The School of Wizardry is attached to the Castle and Q is pretty sure that parents would have a collective dairy herd if word got out." I sighed and took another bite of my pizza.

"He couldn't hang out at one of the Clans?" He tilted his head toward the table.

"As it was explained to me, he really needs his own territory to be safe. If he's just visiting somewhere, he might attract the attention of other vamps. They do tend to be territorial, like any large predator." He blinked at me. "Not that Ctik is a real predator," I added hastily. "Even Heero says he's harmless. But you know how people get with unusual things."

"Yeah," he sighed. "I would offer him space with me, but I live in a condo. I doubt he'd be happy with that."

"I'll find him a home," I said firmly, "Even if I have to build it myself."

~*~

After lunch we all returned to our explorations. I switched over to Cathy's team to make things a bit more interesting, as well as to get an idea of the upper floors for myself. Both of the boys - well, young men - chose to stick with Beren. The shiny gadgets win every time. Karl was happy to join me with Cathy and the rest.

They had completed the attics - yes, plural - and the fourth floor and about half of the third floor, so I mostly got to see a lot of closed rooms and shrouded furniture up there.

"Most of these rooms have been closed for years," Gisela explained. "As you can imagine, heating this pile is out of the question these days, even with the fireplaces. When we came to live here, Vivian had her bedroom on the ground floor, so she didn't have to deal with the stairs, you know. We just took over the second floor." She smiled at her memories. "I miss Vivian, but I'm glad she didn't see what Miles has turned into. Anyway, there was more than enough room for us there. Miles had a office and the kids had an enormous playroom."

Breeze blurted out, "Mom even let me make one room into a closet! It's great!"

Karl snickered beside me. "My darling niece is a power shopper. But she never pays retail."

"Darn right!" Breeze laughed. "Grandma Fredericka always said that."

"My Grandfather was in the business," explained Gisela with a smirk. "I learned early how to tell a deal from a scam." She sobered then, and I wondered if she might be thinking of the scam she married.

"A good skill to have," I murmured.

Breeze caught Inazuma's arm. "Come see the closet!" He grinned at me and followed her willingly. Inazuma likes shopping, so he'd probably enjoy the experience.

I turned back to Cathy. "Need any help?"

"As a matter of fact, how about if I call and you log?" She slid a device across the floor to me. "It responds to the voice of the person holding it."

I picked it up as Karl peered over my shoulder. The screen lit up, displaying a list of the previously entered inventory. "Cool. Is it magic or technology?" It didn't really matter, but I do like to know what I'm using.

"Magically enhanced technology. Beren's youngest devised it about ten years ago; he's a really bright kid."

"No kidding," muttered Karl admiringly.

"Let's hit it, guys. Time's a-wasting." She showed some friendly teeth and began to recite what she was seeing. I echoed her and watched the words appear on the tiny screen. Nice.

Gisela identified each item by its owner and Cathy explained that she would sort the master list by owner once she was back at her office. When the crews arrived, they would have magical lists that would identify the various items so that each person's property would be nested separately for packing. Super-nice. I wanted to be there when they worked; I was curious to watch the nesting procedure. Then I realized that I could demand a demonstration from Trowa. I found myself mildly annoyed that he had never elaborated on this whole nesting thing before.

We worked our way through the rest of the third floor and caught up with Inazuma and Breeze on the second floor. The closet was indeed awe-inspiring. I have never seen so many pairs of shoes before in my life. Even Karl looked stunned.

"Holy Imelda Marcos..." he breathed. "Jesus Christ, Breeze!"

"They're not all mine," she shot back. "That section is Mom's."

He turned to stare at Gisela. She shrugged. "What? You know I like shoes."

"Crap. It's genetic."

"Of course it is," she smiled and patted his cheek. "Don't you remember Mama's shoe closet?"

Karl groaned while the rest of us snickered.

"Okay," said Cathy, "Since this room is so nicely divided already, we'll just mark the various sections. I can see that this one is Breeze's and this is yours, Gisela?"

"Guilty," she sighed. "The rats' nests are the boys' and that one is Miles'. Is it possible to box his section so I can get it out of here?"

Cathy sat back on her haunches thoughtfully. "My nesting skills don't compare to the current crop of interns, but if you've got... say, six medium-sized boxes, I can nest this into them today before we leave."

"That would be wonderful. I really don't want him back in the house, if it can be helped."

Cathy cocked her head in sympathy. "Totally understand. No problem. I'll box and I imagine this charming gentleman-" she waved a paw at Karl "-will be happy to deliver them to your soon-to-be former mate." Karl rolled his eyes, but grinned.

"Oh, just one thing... When he opens the boxes, the nesting magic dissipates unless one of the Clan or a Wizard is there to control it."

"Wait... You mean Miles' stuff will... explode out of the boxes?" I blurted out.

"Yup." There were those really pointy teeth again. Everyone stared at her for a good five seconds, before Gisela began to laugh.

"Oh, yes! Oh, absolutely! I'll even warn him, but he'll ignore me."

She and Cathy shared a sisterly smirk.

Once again, I am really glad I prefer males to females.

~*~

I won't belabor the rest of our time with Ctik's family. We finished up about 1800 their time. Cathy took 20 minutes to nest Miles' belongings into the six boxes that Michael found somewhere. It was a fascinating process to watch. She had us pull everything out of the closet section and divide it into six equal piles on the floor, then she began to shrink the piles.

"I'm not quite as good as some," she said with a sigh. "One of the interns could probably nest everything here into a single box, but I know my limits."

"No problem," said Karl. "I'm sure we can stuff these into the van. Do you just shrink everything, or is there more to it?"

"There's more, but it gets rather technical and if you don't have some basic magical knowledge it doesn't make a lot of sense. It involves high pressure and a vacuum and some physics, according to Emil." She smirked in his direction. "If you'll be here when we pack the house, I'll be sure to assign him; I know he could bore you to tears."

"I'll make a point of it. I'm an engineer, so I might be able to follow him."

I wasn't really eavesdropping; they were just close enough to hear. And I recognized a tone of flirting in both their voices. I blinked. It felt... weird. Almost voyeuristic.

"Really?" purred Cathy. "How interesting. My family has had several engineers. My brother Trowa is a genius with internal combustion engines."

"I'm a mechanical engineer by training and trade; I'd love to meet him sometime."

Okay; time for me to get lost. My ears were turning red; I could feel the heat. Icky.

I skipped down the stairs to join Zuma and Beren.

"Cathy's almost done. Beren, can I get a copy of your inventory when it's ready? I want to go over it with Ctik and explain some of my ideas."

"I can send a copy of the rough to you right now," he offered. "Cathy will send the prettied-up up report tomorrow."

"That'll be good." I gave him my email and a moment later he said, "All sent."

I wanted to do some massaging of data myself when we got back to the office. It would keep my mind off when Heero would be back.

Zuma waggled his fingers at me. "Duo, print out a copy when we get home and Enrique and I can give it to Ctik tonight. It'll give him time to think of any questions or concerns."

"Oh, Sap! Thanks!" I made a note to myself. Dammit, I had too many things going on to keep track of them all!

"Yeah," he grinned, "I don't think you want to make Heero be sociable tonight. He'd probably eat someone just on principle." He spotted Karl carrying a box down the stairs and moved to assist. "I can get the rest for you."

"Thanks, but the boys will bring them down. They're still scooping their jaws off the floor," he laughed. "And I swear Breeze is trying to figure out how to turn a nesting into a closet that lives in a dresser drawer."

Beren laughed. "I won't tell her, but it's been done a few places. It's an expensive piece of magic to maintain, though. I've never seen the point, but rich folk..." He shrugged.

Karl nudged the box. "Do you folks do regular moves? Without the nesting?"

"Oh, sure. This is a special deal because Trowa and Duo work together." He grinned at me; I had not realized that I - and by extension Ctik - were getting the family discount. Yay nepotism. "The nesting service is usually about 30% higher, but we do a lot of regular moves for non-Magical Humans. It's our Clan business."

"And your location...?"

"Mmmm... Not far from Four Corners; do you know the area?"

"I'm in Wyoming right now, so yeah. Spent a summer as an undergrad at the Anasazi site."

"Then you know Claw Point."

"Oh yeah! There's a diner kind of place there..."

"Best burgers in a hundred klics," Beren nodded.

I looked over at Inazuma; he looked at me and winked. I snickered. Was that flirting upstairs not just a bit of idle play? Would Trowa have to sharpen his claws?

~*~

Zuma and I left with Beren and Cathy. They offered us a lift to the Castle, but I'd already scheduled a porter, so we declined. Or I did. Zuma - damn him anyway - has no need of port services, but he was adamant about sticking with me.

The same First Nations Wizard who dropped them off collected them; Beren introduced him as Ted. We shook hands and he smirked at me when Beren mentioned that I was a colleague of Trowa's. There must be a joke in there somewhere, since people I've never met before seem to be so amused by me, but I just don't have the spare time to wonder about it right now.

Watching them vanish reminded me once again of my own problem in that area. I really hope that I can work out some sort of porting ability eventually, because relying on the pros is a little embarrassing. If I couldn't manage it at all, it would be one thing, but knowing that I can port a few feet and no farther is just maddening.

Once the Weres were gone, Inazuma and I began comparing notes. He'd taken the time to run down and get a quick look at the cellars and the basement, and he agreed with my idea to call some antiques dealers. He even offered to make those calls and coordinate with Gisela for me. That took a load off my shoulders, since I was still trying to come up with something for Ctik.

He suggested that most of the contents of the place were likely classified as antique, given what was in the attics and Ctik's suite, although he wasn't sure how old or from what style the objects were. There were paintings in Ctik's suite, though, that he was fairly sure dated back to the 16th century, at least. I managed to not drop my jaw and added "art appraisal" to my antiques list.

And how in the hell Miles had not managed to make off with those was something of a miracle.

Jake showed up then and started the whole hair thing. I keep forgetting that I'd had it cut just a few days ago, as well as the fact that no one outside of Inazuma and Enrique (and Heero, of course!) had actually seen it shorter yet. I had to do the pirouette and explain the chain of thought that led to the chopping off, and stress the fact that it was my idea, not Heero's. Why the hell anyone thinks Heero has any control over my hair - or anything else about my person, for that matter - is a complete mystery to me.

Inazuma snickered the whole time and even contributed. "Ask him where the cuttings are right now!" he demanded, and Jake raised an eyebrow at me.

"Okay. Where are the cuttings now?"

I rolled my eyes and huffed mightily. "Wrapped in silk and hidden away in Heero's locked dresser drawer. Where the fuck did you expect them to be?"

They fell on each other, laughing hysterically. Bah.

~*~

Back at the office, I had to do the damn hair thing again. Everyone oohed and aahed over it and only Wufei dared question whose idea it was and even that was stated rhetorically. Everyone had to touch and measure it and demand that I take my braid down and twirl so that they could then run their fingers through the loose strands.

"Have I just placed 'best in show'?" I finally asked testily.

Tiffany laughed and patted my shoulder. "You've always been best in show to us, Duo. It's just such an amazing difference." She swept the others with an amused glance. "And I believe we are finished being astonished now, and will let you get onto your job. And we will all return to our own jobs." The last part contained the steel of an order and everyone drifted amiably back to their desks.

"How was it working with Cathy and Beren?" Trowa asked after a few minutes.

"Your sister is very scary," said Inazuma. "I shudder to think what she'll be like as Matriarch."

"She wasn't... um..." Trowa waved his hand trying to find the word he wanted.

"'Diva-ish'," suggested Moira.

"Yeah. She wasn't a diva or rude or snotty, was she?"

"Of course not!" I exclaimed. "She was..." I gave it some thought. "She was very regal; as if she were already Matriarch and acting as an ambassador for the Clan. The family loved her. And Beren, as well."

"Oh good," he sighed in relief. "It's not that I expect Cathy to be... diva-ish; it's just that... you know... she usually is," he smirked.

"I think she was flirting with Gisela's brother."

The room went absolutely silent. I looked up.

"What? Cathy isn't allowed to flirt?"

Trowa looked like I'd smacked him with a live trout. Tiffany answered me.

"Of course she is, Duo. I'm sure Cathy flirts with a lot of guys." Trowa blinked several times, as if he somehow couldn't connect his sister with the concept of flirting.

Enrique nudged Trowa. "Surely you are not feeling patriarchal? Your sister is a beautiful creature; any male would be lucky to attract her attentions." He waggled an eyebrow. "She has flirted with me on occasion," he snickered.

Trowa looked torn between exploding and curling up under his desk. His face was getting red, his fingers twitched and even his unibang seemed to be trying puff itself up. Wufei left his desk to go to him.

"Trowa? I didn't mean she was... you know, flirting, like seriously. They were just bantering back and forth." Probably not a good idea to mention that Beren had told Karl where the Clan was located.

Wufei arrived behind Trowa and swatted the Were-Puma in the back of the head. "Get a grip, dammit," he snapped. "She's a ruling female; of course she's going to be on the prowl for a mate! Dumbass!"

Trowa jerked and then wilted. "Sorry," he said meekly. "I just forget..." He ducked his head. "She practically raised me," he muttered.

I looked at Tiffany for help; she came through for me.

"Regardless of her place as your mommy figure, she will eventually have offspring of her own, Trowa," she said with unusual gentleness. "The important thing is that the mate she chooses is worthy of her. I doubt she's going to do anything silly."

"Um... Yeah..." He looked around and shrugged uncomfortably. "Sorry. It just... surprised me. I think I'll go get some coffee..." He headed for the door.

Wufei rolled his eyes and snorted. "I'll come with you, dumbass." He caught Trowa at the top of the stairs and slung an arm around his shoulders. "I'll buy."

I slumped back in my chair. Another hoof-in-mouth moment!

Moira came over to pat my shoulder. "It wasn't you, Duo. Trowa's just a little weird where Cathy's concerned. He's proud of her, but he's also really attached to her. Their parents died when he was very young, so she's been like a mother to him. I don't know if he's ever really thought about her finding a mate; she's always just been 'big sister Cathy'."

I let my head fall onto my desk. Then I banged it a couple of times. "I don't have time for drama!" I wailed. "I have to house a vampire and keep Heero from getting flayed! No more! Please... Just no more drama," I whined. Moira gave me a hug.

"Tough shit, investigator. This is the job," she declared.

"Arrrrgh!"

A Starbuck's cup appeared in front of me. "Coffee. Sugar. Caffeine. Drink, Banshee, and then get back to work." Enrique winked at me.

I thanked him wearily and cuddled the vente frap. And noticed that everyone had Starbuck's. Sometimes Enrique is wonderfully accommodating of us.

Okay; Trowa has issues. We all have issues. No need to make him feel bad; Wufei would either cheer him up or shame him into feeling better. And I still had a vamp to deal with. Back to work, dammit.

~*~

I opened my email, found and snagged the attachment from Beren, as well as one from Cathy. Her mail stated that she would merge both raw lists and have a professional copy for me by 1000 tomorrow. I thanked both of them in reply and got to work.

I hadn't meant to get too into the lists, intending to just print them out as-is to give to Ctik, but there were notations galore all through them; stuff like 'antiques appraisal', 'gemologist', 'art museum', 'resale shop', and my favorite, 'what the fuck is this?!'

I was still snickering over those when Zuma sidled up to my desk and slipped a parchment in front of me. It was a list of names and phone numbers, with dates and times next to each one.

"Your appraisers. I've already called Gisela and she'll be ready. I've also arranged with the port room to pick up and deliver the appraisers. I thought we might get a better idea of the value if we consulted people not from that area." He grinned brightly and batted his eyes at me.

I stared at him for a good five seconds. "Damn! You're good! Where have you been hiding all this coordination?" Inazuma isn't usually the most organized person in the office; was this some kind of love sickness?

He smacked me lightly. "I asked Enrique and Estaban where to start and they both said not to do everything local. Sometimes local appraisers will collude to get better deals. And Estaban suggested I start with 'estate sales' for my Google search."

I looked over at the South American Elf and Wizard and gave them two thumbs up.

"Do you want to do all of the walk-throughs, or shall I do some?"

I checked the dates. There were about twenty appraisers scheduled over the next three days. We were going to wish we had a time turner by 1500 tomorrow. I opened my calendar and began plugging the times in. "Zuma, we're going to need more than just the two of us."

"I can help," said Tiffany, appearing at my desk. "I'd like to get a look at the folks who care so much about a family vampire. And I helped with the estate when my grandparents passed."

Inazuma and I looked at each other. "We won't need to use the port room for all of them that way," he said.

"Yeah..." I grinned up at my boss. "We would love to have your help!"

"How about Moira too? You'll have to break early to be here when Heero gets back from his Clanhold."

"Oh." I'd almost forgotten that Heero wasn't quite finished with his own mess. "Right. Yeah; sure, then. Um... If you're sure Q won't object? It is supposed to be my project..."

"Don't be silly; you are allowed help. You're also being graded on how well you make use of resources. We're your resources," she smirked.

"Cool." I looked around the office and raised my voice. "Yo! Anyone else want to get in on this vampire thing? Plenty of stuff to do."

~*~

Trowa and Wufei wandered back a bit later; Trowa looking a lot less spazzed-out. I assumed there was at least a double shot of caffeine in his coffee. He paused to murmur in my ear, "No worries, Duo. I know she flirts, but it always makes me feel weird when I hear about it second hand. Sorry for being a dick."

"Hey, no problem, Tro! I'd probably feel the same way." He rubbed his cheek against mine and grinned, before heading back to his own desk.

"Besides," said Wufei quietly to Trowa, continuing a previous conversation; "You love kids and what better way to get revenge on Cathy than to over-sugar, over-caffeinate and over-spoil her future off-spring?" Trowa gave him a wide-eyed look and then frowned thoughtfully.

"I hadn't thought of that..."

I wondered briefly if I should warn Cathy. Nah; she's a big girl. She can deal with her brother and his enabler.

Inazuma had brought a chair over to my desk and we'd begun sorting out who would be doing what when. I wasn't watching the time, so when Tiffany called for attention, I was surprised at how much we'd accomplished in such a short time.

"Lady and gentlemen; Q just called. They will be here in about ten minutes. Debriefing in Q's office. Duo has schedules for us for the next day or two." She raised an eyebrow at me and I waved the pages. "Good. Everyone collect your schedule and head down to Q's office."

Everyone filed past my desk to pick up a list for the next day. I made sure to thank everyone profusely; they didn't have to help me, after all.

I was about to follow when a thought threw itself into the forefront of my consciousness and I made a sound that will not be called a squeal. Fuck!

"Lawyer!" I yelled. "I forgot to call the lawyer! Oh, shit!"

I started digging in my bag for the card Beren had given me. Everyone was staring at me in confusion. "Here it is!" I grabbed my phone and started to dial, but Tiffany plucked the card from my hand.

"No, you are off the clock as of now. Inazuma can call the lawyer." She handed the business card to the Elf as I goggled at her. "In fact, Trowa, do you know this person?"

He glanced over Zuma's shoulder at the card. "Oh, sure. That's Sean's honey."

"Excellent! You can call him, after Zuma explains why you'll be calling. Perhaps the vampire would like to speak with him."

"Okay. Yeah, he and Sean will go crazy over a real, live - um... dead vampire."

I managed to get my mouth closed. "Damn... Thanks, guys. Hey, give him my number, so he can call me with any questions."

"Will do," she smirked. "But not tonight." She tilted her head toward the French doors.

Heero was standing on the balcony.

Every other thought went right out of my head and I scrambled for the doors. Heero pushed them open and caught me when I threw myself at him. We just clung to each other for a while, until I pulled back enough to whisper, "Are you all right?" into his ear.

He heaved a huge sigh, still not easing his grip on me. "Missed you," he finally whispered. "Missed you a lot..."

I damn well expected more than that out of him. I poked him gently. "Come on, Heero; you're scaring me."

I didn't want to growl at him, but my ribs only bend so far, and if he cracked or broke one through inattention, he'd feel even guiltier than he already did. He caught his breath and his arms loosened, but didn't drop.

"Sorry, Chosen..."

"Are we supposed to go down to Q's office?"

"No. I'll debrief you."

That's got to be one of the silliest words in the language; I want to laugh every time I hear it. Another time I might have turned it into something playful, but I could see Heero wasn't ready for that yet. He looked tired and even a bit haggard.

"Then let's go home. I missed you, too." I kissed him gently and he kissed me back just as gently. Then he swept me up in his arms as he changed form and threw us off the parapet.

We glided all the way to his balcony and once inside we went into the usual dance. I needed to see if he was hurt anywhere and he needed to distract me and we both needed to comfort. I got him out of his clothing finally and noted that he had no new scars or wounds, so I could breathe more easily. He did his magical trick and vanished my clothes and proceeded to sniff and kiss me all over. When we were both satisfied with what we'd found, we finally relaxed.

"You're really okay," I murmured. "Physically, anyway, yes?"

He smiled at me. "Physically, yes. Mentally... remains to be seen," he sighed. He hung his head with a sigh. "I don't ever want to have a day like that again; not if I live another thousand years."

"Who would?" I agreed, smoothing his hair. He snorted.

"It wasn't even useful... If the boy had lived, at least it would have been worthwhile," he said with a shake of his head. "As it is... just another body."

"Talk to me."

"Dinner first?"

"You sure?"

"Haven't eaten since yesterday morning." He tossed his phone to me and headed for the bathroom. "Haven't showered either."

Damn tap-dancing lizard... Maybe a shower and food would help him decompress. And loosen his tongue.

~*~

I didn't want pizza again, but I did want something substantial for Heero. Both of us can go without food for a good while, but neither of us looks forward to it. I browsed through his list and then called the better hamburger place. They do some super burgers, as well as fish and chips to die for. I ordered two of the giant burgers, one Hawaiian style and one San Francisco style, a side of fries and onion rings and a salad that we would share and an order of fish and chips for myself. I hoped he would appreciate my nod toward a balanced diet. We already had tea and sodas in my reefer. I used Heero's credit card and asked for magical delivery; they know us, so that part was easy.

The food arrived five minutes before Heero came out of the bathroom. I was just setting everything out when he sneaked up behind me and gave me another hard hug.

"Thought you might be drowning yourself in there," I teased.

"Just scrubbing. What tap water there is in that region comes out brown. Call me an elitist, but I prefer my water to be clear."

He kissed the back of my neck and then let me turn around to return the hug. "You want to talk now?" he murmured. I wanted to get this over with, if only to relax him enough to sleep. I was already pretty sure we wouldn't be getting frisky. His affection was there, but restrained.

"Will you tell me everything?"

He winced and sighed. "I don't want to have secrets from you," he began slowly. "I told you most of it last night and the rest... is not terribly pertinent."

"But I really want to hear the whole thing," I coaxed. He planted me in a chair and took the opposite chair.

"I know..." He rested his head on his clasped hands. "Can you bear to wait until after I deal with my Clan?"

Oh. I hadn't considered that he might need to talk to the IchiBan first. She did, after all, have a bigger claim on him than I did right now. I wanted to hear everything and then dissect it and examine all the squirmy little bits, but I suppose I could contain myself for another day. Somehow. Crud.

I sucked it up, though, understanding his annoyance at possibly embarrassing his Clan, and slapped on a smile for him. "I can do that, Heero," I murmured. "As long as I get you back in one unblemished piece." I offered him an onion ring.

He took it and crunched noisily. "'Unblemished'? What do you think Giniro will do to me?" He smirked wearily.

"She's a Wyvern, isn't she?" He nodded, humoring me. "Then I think she might do pretty much anything, but I don't expect her to do anything that leaves a mark. I like you just as you are," I said firmly.

He laughed and rose out of his chair to lean over and kiss me and then we attacked our dinner.

~*~

Heero crouched on the stone parapet of the balcony, arms around his drawn-up legs and his chin resting on his knees. His talons dug into the stone, anchoring him against anything short of an F-4 tornado. He couldn't sleep. Wasn't fair to stay in bed and disturb Duo; he'd had a hard day of his own, inventorying the vampire's possessions. Nice of Beren and Cathy to come themselves, instead of sending someone Duo didn't know. Inazuma had stepped up, too, and supported Duo quite nicely. Enrique had followed through and pinged them both at lunchtime. Gisela had ordered pizza. The Weres were both absolutely charming. Michael was a kid with a great future. Gisela's brother was a nice guy. Ctik owned a hellacious amount of stuff.

Duo was worried about Giniro's Clan summons. He'd assured him that it wasn't as dire as it sounded. At some point during the on-site festivities, he knew that Q had called Giniro and brought her up to date on the incident. On the one hand, it was somewhat annoying that his grandmother and his boss had such a good relationship, but on the other hand... Well, it was actually rather... comforting. Not that he would ever admit that aloud.

Now he was beginning to feel like Chang. He snorted softly. A couple of roosting bats stirred and stretched their wings and let go their perch to sail away in search of a snack. He watched them go somewhat wistfully. There were moments when being low on the sentience scale seemed a contented life, but only moments.

The weather was growing warmer ahead of summer. He'd left the door open to Duo's room for the breeze; such as it was at this hour. The moon was on the wane; the dark sky filled with stars. Times like this, the Castle was almost like being at home... especially with his Banshee safe and sound inside.

He sighed. He wasn't doing as well with his attempt at self-distraction as he had hoped. The death of the youth in Africa still replayed itself in his head at every pause in his directed thoughts. He still could not find the moment of his failure and that nagged at him. There had to be something he missed. Some word or gesture on the part of the leader; some clue of what was coming. Something that he should have noticed, should have acted upon to prevent the death.

Try as he might, he could find nothing. Q had assured him over and over that it was not his fault. Q was angry with himself, as well, for not being prepared. He well knew the ridiculous religious practices of Humans, and this sort of thing had even been in the general news of late.

They were both, he counseled the Wyvern, accustomed to dealing with rational Humans, not the sort who wallowed in ancient (and modern) superstition. He was also furious with the local office for not documenting this absurd behavior and putting a stop to it. Human cries of witchcraft invariably fell on those who had not a drop of true Magic in them, and were powerless to defend themselves. It was incumbent upon the various local offices of Magic and Wizardry to be aware of such outbreaks of nonsense and deal with it accordingly; clearly this particular office had achieved a spectacular fail.

Heads would roll, figuratively, and by the time Q got done with them a good many Wizards would be sitting in fifth year ethics classes again for refresher courses.

Heero blinked, then snorted. Damn. Even his directed thoughts weren't cooperating. He sighed heavily. The promise of future discomfort for those responsible did nothing for the boy who died so horribly. Although... He would be lying to himself if he thought that the Africa office didn't deserve a little fear right now.

A touch on his shoulder. He jerked upright, even as he recognized his Banshee's scent next to him. Damn, but the creature was stealthy!

"Thinking?" Duo murmured.

"Yes. Can't seem to put it out of my mind."

The Banshee insinuated himself under Heero's arm and circled his waist, leaning in against him.

"You could have woken me. I'm good at distraction."

He shook his head. "I would rather not bring this particular thing into our bed," he whispered. He returned the embrace, snugging his Chosen close.

"Gotcha. Um... Distraction. You could help me wind some yarn," he offered helpfully.

Heero snickered. "And have my arms be useless all day? No thanks. How about a little flying? We haven't done a night tour in a while."

"I would love to fly with you," Duo purred, stretching up to kiss his jaw line.

"You really are good at distraction, Chosen. All sorts of distractions." He scooped Duo into his arms and stood up, morphing as he did so. "Which direction shall we go?"

"First star to the right and straight on till morning?"

"How about a circuit of the town and a hello to the lake monster?"

"That'll work too."

~*~

Duo awoke with his hand clutching Heero's pillow. Heero's empty pillow. He rolled his eyes and sighed to himself. He didn't really think Heero would sleep through the night, but he'd had hopes. Ah, well. He would just go reel him in again.

They'd gone to sleep in Heero's room, so he checked his own first. The Wyvern had been known to retreat to the other room when he couldn't sleep - some silly notion about not disturbing Duo.

No sign of him in the bathroom or in Duo's room. The balcony, then. The door was open a bit. Even when he needed to 'spare' Duo, he needed to be able to hear him. Duo smirked to himself and slipped out the door.

Yep; there he was, crouched on the stone parapet, staring out over the grounds and the hills. Duo blinked. Blinked again. Lifted one eyebrow.

Huh. That was new. Heero was crouched on the stone, his Wyverny talons digging in for stability. The rest of him was his usual Human-friendly form. Well. Learn something new every day. So the tongue wasn't the only micro-change he could do. Cool.

He oozed silently over to lay his hand on Heero's shoulder; the Wyvern jumped. Duo snickered. It always tweaked his Banshee pride when he could startle a Guardian.

"Thinking?" he murmured.

"Yes. Can't seem to put it out of my mind," Heero grumbled.

"You could have woken me. I'm good at distraction," he reminded, insinuating himself into Heero's embrace.

"I would rather not bring this particular thing into our bed," Heero sighed, pulling his Banshee closer. Duo thought a bit, debating between sympathy and snark.

"Gotcha. Um... Distraction. You could help me wind some yarn," he offered helpfully, choosing to walk the line between the two for now.

Heero snickered and nuzzled at Duo's hair. "And have my arms be useless all day? No thanks. How about a little flying? We haven't done a night tour in a while."

"I would love to fly with you," Duo purred, stretching up on his toes to nibble at his jaw line.

Heero smirked, feeling much better. "You really are good at distraction, Chosen. All sorts of distractions." He scooped Duo into his arms and stood up on the parapet, morphing as he did so. "Which direction shall we go?"

"First star to the right and straight on till morning?" Duo quipped hopefully.

"How about a circuit of the town and a hello to the lake monster?" Heero countered, and slurped his tongue over Duo's face.

"That'll work too," Duo laughed. And maybe he could manage to get inside that thick skull and trim back some of the guilt.

~*~

In spite of our excursion in the night, I was up by 0530. Heero was in the shower again, so I took the opportunity to step out onto my terrace and close the door behind me. He didn't need to know what I was doing until I'd finished pissing off the IchiBan.

I opened my phone and hit the speed dial button for Giniro. I'd been over every scrap of our conversation since he got home and Heero never said not to whine to his grandmother. I wasn't planning on whining anyway; I was just going to very maturely ask that she not disembowel my boyfriend for doing something by instinct. I may not have actually "chosen" him yet, but I'm about as sure as one can be that I will as soon as he lets me.

"Good morning, Duo," she answered and I could almost feel her smile.

"Good morn- um... no, it would be evening for you, wouldn't it? Good evening, IchiBan."

"Before we continue, is this about Heero's difficulty?"

"Yeah; actually it is... I just wanted to tell you that I'd really appreciate it if you didn't roast my boyfriend."

"Roast him? Why ever would I want to roast him?" She was smirking now; I could feel it.

"Because of the difficulty? He said he has to appear before the Council and explain himself. Are you sure there's no roasting involved?"

A tiny, clearly indulgent sigh. Cool, I'd amused her.

"No roasting, I promise. No disembowelment either. It's a formality, really. Whenever one of our Clan has a... difficulty with the Human world, they are required to come home and explain it personally. It's not a punishment, Duo. Not as such." She was quiet for a moment. "It's more of a debriefing. Is that the correct term? Explaining a situation and one's part in it."

"Yeah, that's right. It's a military term, isn't it? For an oral report."

"Ah. Exactly. Heero has to report on the mission and detail the situation for us."

"Is he going to be punished?"

"I won't know that until I hear his report, little one. But if you are thinking 20 lashes with a cat o' nine tails, don't be silly. We are civilized creatures. He might have to write some lines and take a refresher course in how not to eat Humans." Now I knew she was snickering. It relieved my mind considerably, though.

"Okay, as long as I get him back the same as he left here. Thanks, Giniro."

"You are most welcome, Duo. I understand you are house-hunting for a vampire. Is it a good vampire?"

"He's cool. Not like the goofy fictional vamps. He's very family-oriented, very benign. I like him and I think Heero does, too, but he growls at him for not being a very competent vampire."

"Well, Heero is all about competence and efficiency. And fear; a little fear is a good thing."

"This is true."

"Have you situated your vampire yet?"

"Not yet. There aren't a lot of listings around here for 16th century manor houses. Inazuma and I spent yesterday arranging for the moving of his belongings from the house into storage. And reassuring his family that he's going to be fine. The rest of the week looks like we'll be knee-deep in appraisers."

"Excellent; I am sure you will succeed. Give the Elflet my regards. Safe day, little Banshee."

She closed the connection before I could say goodbye. And then I realized... Giniro had referred to Ctik as "my" vampire. Bloody hell... That female has spies everywhere.

~*~

I expected a busy day; I didn't really expect total chaos.

Okay, not total chaos. It was only a little chaotic and mostly controlled, but my head was somewhere else most of the day, so I wasn't at my best.

Heero left early with Jake after giving me a fierce kiss goodbye. Another nice thing about my recent hair trim; my braid doesn't drag in the dirt when Heero dips me. Jake was immensely amused.

I hit the dining hall immediately after and got a to-go box loaded with protein and carbs, as well as a marginal cup of coffee, and headed for the office. We would be coming and going from there with the porters to avoid conflict in the port room.

Trowa caught me at the door to tell me that he'd talked to the lawyer and he was thrilled to be of help to a real vampire. He even offered to put Ctik up if we didn't find him a place by Sunday. Trowa laughed at that, since his cousin and the lawyer lived in a fancy condo outside Albuquerque. Still, it was nice of them to offer. I filed it away, just in case.

He also assured me that they had all found Ctik absolutely charming and certainly the least scary vampire imaginable. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, for Ctik, that is. I expect he has scary-vamp moments, just not with the people who are trying to help him.

Tiffany had already left with the first appraiser; I had an email telling me that Gisela was lovely and the kids were funny and holy-shit-Gisela's-brother-is-cute!

I inhaled my breakfast, checked my list and began wrangling appraisers. It's not all that interesting unless you're right there. The first on my list was relatively young - she kept thanking me for giving her such a wonderful opportunity, so I guess she hadn't been doing this long. At the house, I turned her over to Gisela and headed for my next.

I went back and forth all morning and into the afternoon, fetching appraisers, going on walk-throughs and sending lists to my email. Cathy had left a few of those nifty handhelds for our use and we all used them to record the appraisers' opinions.

I think we were all astonished by some of the offers for the stuff in the sub-cellars. Apparently, the junk was in excellent condition for all of being a few centuries old. A couple of people practically drooled.

The art and other pretties in Ctik's suite made a huge impression on all of them. A few made tentative valuations, but most of them were very insistent that we get someone from one of the big museums in, to be sure. Tiffany whispered to me that one woman had muttered about Rembrandt and Michelangelo. I'm not a complete fool when it comes to Human things, of course, and I was shocked to think that Ctik might actually own Old Masters.

None of this crop of appraisers wanted to go on record with the art, and they all agreed that we should call the museums and the big auction houses. Among the starting suggestions were Sotheby's, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Museum, the J. Paul Getty and the LA County Museum of Art.

Gisela and I were still slack-jawed when Tiffany came to take me home to meet Heero.

"Oh, my god," breathed Gisela, the list in her hands shaking slightly. "A Rembrandt? A Rembrandt?! In this house all these years?!" She looked up at me. "I can't believe Miles didn't take them!"

Tiffany patted her shoulder. "Be glad he thought they were copies. If he had taken them and Heero found it out... Well, you'd be a widow, not a divorcee." Tiffany has such a way with words. Gisela just stared at her, speechless.

"Would you like us to call?" I asked. I was a little concerned that she was going to just faint altogether.

Karl appeared then, and took the list from his sister. "I'll start calling." He looked a little stunned, too, but I figured he hadn't actually lived in the same house with millions of dollars worth of fine art, so it probably wasn't so scary to him.

"Good idea," agreed Tiffany. "Duo and I need to get going; we'll see you again sometime tomorrow. The rest of the horde will clear out in an hour or so."

"Of course," said Gisela faintly. "Thank you so much..." She looked ready to burst into tears, so we made a quick departure.

~*~

Heero was already waiting when we arrived. He wrapped me in his arms, just holding onto me and I clung back for what felt like an age. When I lifted my head from his shoulder, Tiffany was long gone.

"How'd it go?" I asked hesitantly.

"Not bad at all," he smirked. "Although my wrists are sore from all the writing I had to do. In Wyvern, Japanese and old Latin." He flexed one hand.

"You... Writing? What were you writing?"

"Lines," he sighed. "Just as I did when I was nine. One thousand times in each language. 'I will not behead Humans without due diligence.'"

I blinked at him. "Was Giniro angry?"

He shook his head. "Giniro and Faiesa were almost strangling trying to not laugh at me. They were angry at the situation. And at that miserable Human for putting Q and I in that spot to begin with. Idiot," he growled.

"So... just some lines and everything is fine?" I still found it hard to believe.

"Mostly. I am hungry," he declared. "Food first, cuddle second, details later," he commanded.

I had a feeling his 'later' might be a considerable distance from my 'later', but I'd get it out of him eventually. I know how to make his toes curl.

He made his change with a toothy grin, opened his arms and I stepped into them. We flew to our tower and I had all of two minutes to get the ravishment started when the knock on the door split us apart.

"Who the hell...?" I muttered, but he just laughed and opened the door.

The house Elves maneuvered the catering cart through the door, flashed matching grins at Heero and bowed themselves out again, all in one practiced motion.

"What?!" I demanded.

"I told you," he said with a smirk. "Food first, ravishment second. Then we can meet with Ctik and I will give you some details. Close enough?"

I was pretty hungry... and the ravishment part wasn't a bad idea at all...

"Yeah, okay. What's under the shiny dome?"

"Protein. You'll need it."

So, he was right. He's almost always right. I gave it up gracefully, ate my dinner and then... had dessert.

~*~

Duty called, eventually. Literally.

This time it was a real estate agent, plinking away from the fire. I stirred myself from Heero's embrace and staggered toward the brazier. I probably would have opened it without a thought and flashed some poor Wizard, if Heero hadn't done his magic thing and produced a robe around me. I blinked a couple of times, woke up a little more and grinned at him.

"Thanks, big guy."

He just smirked and rolled off the other side of the bed on his way to clean up.

I opened the fire connection to Ms Waldenstein, a Witch who had to be at least 90 years old and probably ate whippersnappers like me for breakfast. With jam. She was a close personal friend of Tiffany, though, so I didn't think she actually would.

"Good afternoon, my dear Mr Maxwell," she said crisply, then eyed my disheveled state. "Or should that be 'good morning'?"

"Good afternoon, Ms Waldenstein. My schedule is a little scattered right now. Time zones, you know."

"Ah, yes." She gave me an arch look that said she knew all about 'time zones' and when did we start calling it that? "Thank you so much for the photos of the lost property; this gives me a much better idea of what the client would accept." I'd done a bunch of picture-taking yesterday, and Tiffany had suggested that I attach some of them to the emails I sent out.

"Oh, good. Mr Vrostek isn't looking for anything of the same scale, but he does want something substantial, not one of the new style houses."

"Of course not," she declared haughtily. "You didn't specify an area or region; does it matter?"

"Not really," I said slowly. "Maybe something within a few hours of the Castle would be nice." She made some notes and then said, "You also did not specify a price range."

"I think we'll worry about price after we find something suitable," I hedged. I had failed to list 'budget' on my to-do list, so I needed to talk to Ctik and Heero about that point.

"Is the property intended for one person or for a family?"

Oh. Well, that hadn't occurred to me either. It was possible that Gisela and the kids might want to live with Ctik... Or visit, at the very least.

"Let's assume that Mr Vrostek will entertain. Perhaps something more than a bachelor flat, but less than a castle?" I grinned.

Ms Waldenstein smiled like the land shark she was. "Excellent! I will have a list for you by tomorrow morning. Good afternoon, Mr Maxwell." The fire died and I let out a huge sigh. Older Witches scare the crap out of me. They are almost as intimidating as the IchiBan.

~*~

You don't seriously believe Heero told me everything after the fire call, do you? Of course not. He insisted on washing my hair and then combing it out for me to braid, picking out my clothing for our meeting with Ctik, deciding where we should meet him; all with a running commentary on his trip to the Clan hold, my day with the appraisers and possibilities for Ctik's housing.

I kind of expected it and I could have just told him we'd wait until after this week to discuss his issues, but he's kind of cute when he's attempting to be perky and distract me. Wyverns don't really do perky that well; it comes out way too intense. It's fun to watch him try, though; I'm not sure if he's figured out how bad he is at it.

He called Ctik and arranged for us to meet at a nice club on the north side of town. It's a mixed clientele, but more up-scale than the Potbellied Goose. The music runs to jazz and blues, rather than rock and country.

We drove instead of flying as the forecast was for rain later, and we were just getting out of the car when my phone rang. I answered automatically and found Raia on the other end.

"Hey Raia; what's up?" It was nearly 1900, after our usual office hours, but Raia and Q often stay until much later. Q isn't just our boss; he effectively runs the Castle and sometimes shit happens after hours that requires his attention.

"Hi Duo. Sorry to bother you; I know you're probably meeting your vampire, so I'll be quick." I rolled my eyes at the "your vampire", but couldn't work up enough indignation to complain. I suppose he really was "my" vampire, at least until I found him a home. Interestingly enough, she didn't sound anywhere near as nervous as she had the day Ctik arrived. Guess she'd been talking to the office. "I took a message for you this afternoon and after some discussion, it was determined that you should be the one to make a decision on it. Since you are an adult."

The phone was on speaker and Heero was at my elbow. I glanced at him and he had that "I know nothing" expression, so I knew that adult comment was a dig at him.

"Heero's here and looking guilty," I told Raia and watched him glare at my phone. "What didn't he want me to know about?"

Raia snickered. "You know him so well! As I said there was a call for you and it caused a bit of discussion over whether you should actually get the message." I raised an eyebrow at Heero and he just rolled his eyes. "But since you are an adult and perfectly capable of dealing with things on your own..." That was open to debate on occasion, but I do like to at least be informed. "The call was from a doctor; Julie's psychiatrist. She wanted to talk to you about Julie."

That made me blink. Is it childish to admit that I'd just sort of shoved Julie and all that attendant crap into a corner of my mind and thrown a tarp over it? I thought I was done with her.

"Did she... um... say what she wanted to talk about? Wait. A female doctor? I thought Julie's shrink was a guy."

"That was the sheriff's shrink; this is the hospital shrink. Dr Radcliffe. She wasn't specific, just that she would really like to talk to you as soon as possible. She left her office number and her personal number." A doctor - a Human doctor - left a personal number?! Damn! This was serious!

Just what I needed in the midst of an hourglass assignment. I rubbed the back of my neck and decided I might as well get it over with. "Text me her numbers, please. I'll call her now. Thanks Raia. For being my advocate." Against my over-protective boyfriend.

"Will do, sir. Let us know if you need any help with whatever it is." The connection ended and a moment later the text came through.

I closed my phone for a moment. "Heero, you've been doing so well... What the fuck?"

He laid his arms around my shoulders and kissed my cheek. "I only suggested holding off until next week. I never said you shouldn't know."

I poked him in the ribs. "Suu~uuure. How about if you go find Ctik and let me deal with this and get it out of the way, okay?"

"I'd rather -"

"Of course you would, but unless you want to tell me every-damn-detail of your 'difficulty' right here and now, you'll haul your scaly ass into that building and let me pretend to be an adult for a few minutes." I poked him in the sternum and he winced. According to the Weres, my index finger is pretty damn sharp.

He sighed heavily and rolled his eyes. "Very well, Chosen. Five minutes and I come looking for you."

I snickered and gave him a shove.

It isn't that I don't appreciate his concern - or Raia's or Q's or any of the rest of the office - it's just that I'd like to take a stab at these things myself before I have to call in the flying monkeys. They, on the other hand, want to be proactive. Maybe by the time I'm old and gray they will have stopped. Ha.

I punched in the doctor's number, pausing before the last digit to take a deep breath and let it out. I'd kept my promise to supply Julie with yarn, but I had no idea how that had worked out. No one had called to say she'd gone even more nuts and crocheted a slipcover for the jail, so I just assumed everything was okay. And truthfully, after what we found in the woods... yeah, that tarp was pretty big.

I hit the last digit and listened as the ringing began. My bravado was strictly for Heero's benefit; I'd rather be having my head shaved with a rusty blade than doing this, especially right now, but that's what adults do: deal with the hard stuff.

Just as I was hoping to get voicemail, a pleasant voice answered, "Dr Radcliffe."

"Good evening, Dr Radcliffe," I began in my customer service voice. "This is Duo from the MIO. I understand you wanted to talk to me?"

"Ah, yes. Thank you for calling back so quickly... um... Duo." They do like their surnames, Humans do.

"I figured if it was important enough for you to leave a personal number, then I'd better avail myself," I smiled. She chuckled.

"That's true. Getting a personal number from a doctor is pretty rare these days. The reason I called, Duo, is that I have been assigned to Julie Strauber's case at Cumber State. I am looking for something more than what is in her file and she listed you as her only close friend. I am aware of the circumstances that brought her to us and I do understand that you may not wish to be associated with this, but I felt I needed to ask you personally. Julie isn't at all well, but I believe there is hope with the right treatment. Would you be willing to talk with me?"

Okay, pretty succinct. Not like I couldn't have predicted it, had I bothered to think about it in the past months. Still annoying, though. It felt like she was trying to lift the edge of my tarp. And when did Julie get moved to a hospital?

"Dr Radcliffe... I... You know..." I stopped and cleared my throat and stiffened my spine. "I understand, Doctor. In spite of everything, I don't have any animosity toward Julie. I'd like to see her get better and maybe have a real life someday. But right at this moment, my schedule is insane. There is no possible way I could sit down with you right now." Wow, I was saying no to someone! Heero would be thrilled.

"It needn't be right this moment, Duo. Perhaps we could schedule an appointment for next week or the week after? I have a number of openings."

I felt him before I saw him. Heero materialized in front of me, pointing at his wrist. He doesn't wear a watch, but the gesture is universal. I rolled my eyes at him.

"I'm working on a time-sensitive case right now, but I should be free next week. Do you have time on Wednesday?"

"I have openings at 0900 or 1400."

"Make it 0900. Where do I find you?"

"Cumber State. The gate guard will direct you to the building and the receptionist will show you to my office."

"This is an actual mental hospital?"

She sighed. "I'm afraid so. It's not like in the movies or on TV, though. We're really very benign."

I snorted; she probably got that a lot. "Okay, I'll see you on Wednesday at 0900."

"Thank you very much, Duo. This could be very helpful for Julie. See you then." The connection dissolved.

But would it be helpful for me, I wondered. I shook that away and looked at Heero. "I have an appointment next week."

"All right," he said and I waited for my guard-lizard to inform me that he would be going with. He surprised me, though. "Would you like me to be with you or would you prefer to speak with the doctor privately?" Damn that had to hurt.

I thought about it for a moment. "Can I get back to you on that Tuesday? I'll probably waffle all weekend." I grinned at him and he relaxed. Give and take, folks, give and take.

~*~

Ctik greeted me like a long-lost brother; a hug, kisses on both cheeks and clutching my hands like a drowning man. Heero didn't even growl. I expect Ctik either warned him or asked permission. The vampire may not be a very good vamp, but he doesn't seem to be stupid. I hugged him back and we took our seats.

"Duo! How wonderful to see you again! Heero and the Elves have told me what you've been doing for Gisela and the children - how can I possibly thank you enough?!"

I blinked at him. Enthusiastic much?

"Ctik, I'm happy to help and I'm having fun. Have you talked to Gisela today?" I asked, suddenly remembering those paintings that had her almost passing out. I should probably get that out of the way. Another of those "adult" things.

"No, I find it easier to call her in the morning, before I rest. Those time zones," he said ruefully. Yeah, those time zones... muttered the dreamy little voice in my head.

"There might be a complication. We're having appraisers in to make sure what all is in the house and what the market value is," I began and he nodded. "I gather it would be a good thing to separate your stuff from theirs before the divorce gets ugly." I remembered that the Elves had given him a rough copy of my inventory and he'd also spoken with the lawyer last night. "The thing is... you have some paintings in your suite... Um... I'm not quite sure how to ask this without being rude... Are they real? I mean, are they actual works by the signed artists? Because someone mentioned Rembrandt today..." I trailed off hopefully.

Ctik frowned briefly, then smiled. "Ah! I know the one you mean! That is not a Rembrandt; it was done by one of his students." I slumped back into my chair in relief. "It may be valuable in its own right," he continued, and I sat up again. "But I've loaned most of the Rembrandts to museums over the years. The Titians and the Raffaello are in the house, though not displayed at the moment. I've also loaned out some of the others; I would have to check my records to know which are where." He tapped a finger against his cheek as I gaped. "Let me think... I believe only the student works are actually hanging in my suite at this time." He smiled, a bit sadly, I noted. "After Theodore, I felt it prudent to put the others away. They are in the vault."

Holy crap. He really did have real art?! Gisela would pass out.

"Vault?" murmured Heero. "Where is this vault?" He glanced my way and I had to shake my head; I hadn't found anything that could be considered a vault. Maybe it was off-site?

Ctik turned to me. "Do you recall, down in the sub basement, a door? It's not exactly hidden, but it takes some doing to find it."

I shook my head. "No, I didn't see anything like that. It's down there, with the gargoyles? Oy vey." Damn. If he had a hidden vault, then he might have to find it for us. "It's spelled, I assume? And not just with a blood spell?"

He lifted one shoulder. "No. Sometimes," he said slowly, mostly to Heero, "I do learn from experience. Theodore thought the paintings were all copies. I will admit that I never actually told Vivian that they were authentic. She may have assumed that they were simply very good copies."

Heero snorted. "Ctik! You do have a brain after all!" Ctik grinned ruefully and inclined his head in acknowledgement.

"I did take your lectures seriously back then. I just didn't take them seriously enough, as it turns out." He shrugged. "What is done is done. I have started over before. It is an annoyance, but nothing more."

Vault. Real art. Student copies. I was officially in way over my head now.

"Ctik, you should call Gisela and Karl tonight. Hearing the word 'Rembrandt' almost gave Gisela a heart attack. She really needs to know what's going on and where to find that vault, too."

"You are right, Duo," he sighed. "I am so used to living with those pieces that I almost forget what they are. My family was considered fairly wealthy when I was young; my grandfather and my father commissioned a number of works with contemporary artists and they even bought some existing pieces. My father's youngest brother was something of an artist, also; not on the scale of the great artists of the day, of course, but Father adored him and was very proud of his work and I still own a number of his canvasses. I don't believe I've ever talked about this with Gisela. I know I never spoke to Miles about it, or to Theodore. My branch of the family does not seem to have inherited that sort of artistic talent." He produced his phone. "Please, order dinner; my treat. I'll take this outside in case Gisela needs to shout at me."

"No way. She's really fond of you, Ctik," I said quickly. "And she's furious with Miles." I'm sure he already knew that, but it wouldn't hurt to remind him. He smiled and nodded and made his way across the restaurant.

Heero eyed me fondly. "Chosen, are you perhaps doing a bit of... hmm... not exactly matchmaking, but social circle making?"

I leaned my elbow on the table, my chin in my hand and thought about it. "Probably," I admitted after a moment. "I really just think it's important that Gisela and the kids remain in his life, regardless of whatever Miles has done. Hell, if I thought I could manage it, I'd get him a house big enough for the whole family and move them all into it, but Gisela has a career back there, and the kids are in school. She wouldn't want to uproot them right now."

"You never know. Perhaps she's already thought of that but isn't comfortable bringing it up."

I stared at him. "You're the one who's always telling me to butt out of peoples' lives. Now you're encouraging me?"

"I told you to stay out of Trowa and Wufei's relationship; you're perfectly free to meddle with Humans all you like," he snorted.

I laughed. "Sap, you are such a speciesist!"

"I am a Wyvern," he declared haughtily. "Of course, I am speciesist. It's what Dragons are."

I reached over to hug him and he nuzzled my hair. "Okay, you big scaly lump, I'll give you a while to get your story straight about the 'difficulty' and the punishment, so you can properly 'shield' me. You needn't try to distract me anymore," I snickered.

"You are much too smart for me, Chosen," he murmured in my ear and then kissed my cheek. Yeah, right.

~*~

Ctik was gone for almost fifteen minutes; at the ten-minute mark, I was ready to go check on him, but Heero just rolled his eyes at me and I realized I was doing the same thing he does to me. We had ordered and had just received our food when Ctik returned looking amused and relieved.

"Gisela had no idea there is a vault, but Michael has seen it. He has always played with the gargoyles." He chuckled fondly. "I will need to open it for the movers, but it is apparently undisturbed. I gather Michael has tried some of the crypt tricks on it and been disappointed that he couldn't get in."

"Ctik, that kid needs a career that will let him be as nosy as he likes," I said. "He's interested in forensics."

Ctik rolled the word around silently on his tongue. "He has mentioned that word, as I recall. I wasn't familiar with the context. It is an investigative technique, is it not?"

"It is," said Heero. "Popularly linked with criminal investigations right now, due to the number of television programs, but found in almost every field. Duo has spent more time with Michael than I have, but he does seem to be a very sharp and detail driven child."

"Oh, he is very bright," Ctik agreed proudly. "Not that the other children aren't, of course, but their enthusiasms seem much more... hm... channeled? Perhaps, they have always known their paths."

While they discussed the kids, I listened and ate and thought about how the same set of genes could produce such different personalities. That led me down a well-worn path into some of my own fantasies.

I used to daydream when I was a kid; of what my life would be like if my mother hadn't died. I didn't know until I was on my own that Human kids frequently have the same sorts of dreams. I probably wouldn't be here if Danc had lived. Or maybe I would have wandered with her. I might have grown up knowing who and what I was. Might have known my father as a father, rather than a nebulous cloud of mist. Maybe I would have had siblings.

Banshees aren't prolific breeders, but they usually have more than one child when they have children at all. I could have been a big brother to someone. Could have been a son instead of a nephew. Maybe even had a kid or two of my own. The sexuality of Magical Creatures is a lot more fluid than that of Humans, magical or not. Look at Heero with his duty children. Maybe I would have done something similar. My mother could have been a grandmother, an aunt to Dael and to Caz's children. Maybe my mother would have even challenged Mika for matriarch...

I blinked. Crud. I didn't need to do that again, especially right now; those daydreams just led straight to sleepless nights and deep black thoughts. I took a deep breath and focused again on Heero and Ctik.

They had moved on to the general topic of living quarters and the information that we had a Witch helping. Unfortunately, Heero was saying, the habit nowadays was for rather close and tacky dwellings. Most of the old buildings had long since been torn down or turned into hotels or tourist attractions. The few not so purposed were in the hands of the super wealthy and unlikely to ever be available at any price.

Ctik sighed and I jumped in to tell him we'd figure out something, one way or another. I felt like such a slug! All he wanted was a suitable home, and so far... nothing. Then Heero brought up something else from my list.

"Ctik, you have no supply of earth currently, is that correct?"

The vamp twiddled with his drink for a moment. "That is correct," he said finally. "I had only the one coffin... Another foolish move on my part."

"Never mind that now; I believe you have learned better." He glanced at me. "Duo, what do you have scheduled for tomorrow?"

I blinked and fished out my list. I wasn't entirely sure what day it was - Wednesday? No, today was Wednesday.

"More appraisers," I said finally. I grinned at Ctik. "We're inventorying and valuing the contents of the house, so you can tell if Miles might have made off with anything." He blinked at me and sighed.

"That boy..." he muttered. "Vivian would be heartbroken." He shook himself and took a deep breath. "Never mind. Thank you for that; I am sure Gisela appreciates it. She mentioned being amazed at how much is actually in the house."

"Beren says people always have more than they think they do; something to do with perceptions." I turned to Heero. "Are you volunteering to help?" I asked winsomely and he snorted.

"In a way. Ctik needs a supply of earth -" I tapped my list to indicate that line. "Excellent. While you are dealing with the house, then, I will go with Ctik to collect a good supply of his earth."

I opened my mouth to say... something, and then closed it when I realized that I couldn't be everywhere and do everything myself. I wanted to, though; oh, how I wanted to be the superhero that did it all. That was just a little bit disturbing, too. When did I become the only person who could fix something? I couldn't even reliably control my own magic!

I took a sip of my drink instead, and regrouped. "Tomorrow? Where do you have to go?"

Heero produced a map and he and Ctik put their heads together over it. "It may be possible to do it tonight," Heero muttered. He retrieved his 'does everything but beat off' cell phone and began checking websites. "Do you have your pouch of earth with you?"

Ctik pulled out the small pouch and handed it over. Heero tapped it with his fingers a couple of times, then tapped the map. A tiny gold star appeared on the map, accompanied by a string of numbers.

"Cool!" I leaned in, trying to read it. "Did you just GPS Ctik's earth?"

Heero snickered. "I have Chosen a brilliant Banshee! Yes, I 'GPS-ed' Ctik's original burial site."

Ctik and I laughed. "And that's helpful because...?"

"Because now I can calculate the sunrise and sunset times for that position and determine whether we should go tonight or wait until tomorrow."

Time zones again!

Ctik looked hopeful. "I tend to rise early and go down late," he offered. "Sometimes as much as an hour after full sunrise. Depending on the season, of course. And I do have a few charms left."

The idea of swooping off tonight to accomplish Operation Dirt kicked at my adrenalin. "Is there time?"

"There is time." He twiddled something else on the phone and hummed to himself. "And we are in luck; there is nothing currently obstructing the site."

Ctik blinked. "Really? After all this time? Amazing!"

"Humans tend not to build over graveyards," I reminded him. "Bad juju or something."

"This is true... And the cemetery was still active the last time I visited and that was... oh, before the big war. Maybe in the 1930s?"

Heero tapped the map again and we saw an aerial view of the location. It looked like any old cemetery with some old statues and buildings that were likely family crypts, a fair number of old stones and a scattering of the modern style markers or smaller headstones. Not as well manicured as the American style of burial, but tidy and obviously cared-for. Even the old church was somewhat intact, although there was a suspiciously shiny bit that may have been part of a metal-roofed addition.

"How interesting! I have never viewed it like this. Where would my grave be?" Ctik asked eagerly.

Heero tapped a remote corner. "Right in here. This is the oldest section. It goes back into at least the 1400s. Since you were a visitor and not a local, they chose a plot on the edge of the grounds." He smirked at us. "Not quite in the pauper's section, but still within the hallowed ground."

"How generous of them," I muttered.

"Ilya paid," murmured Ctik dreamily. "I still had my funds when I awoke. She was always generous that way."

TBC...

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