[Jericho]

Jericho's nose was dripping blood and his brain was singing, and none of it was from using his powers. On his venture to find Aiden's pal, Winston, Jericho had run into one of Thanatos's goons and the ensuing scramble had resulted in a probably-concussion (even if that bloody wolf had snorted a laugh at Jeri's complaints like concussion was overestimating the damage a bit). Jeri was also sure he was going home with a shiner that would be very difficult to explain to his clients now that Maaike had snatched off with his sunglasses, and this whole thing was starting to look like far too much trouble and far more effort than Ninian was worth.

Nevertheless, Jericho was stalwart and managed to seek out Winston without much trouble, only to find him already bogged down in trying to keep Aiden's poor simple brain clear of Thanatos's influence. Since Winston was doing a good enough job at deflecting Thanatos, Jericho set out to clear Maaike from the magistrate's grip. He realised quickly that she was pretty well caged behind the puppet strings, though. He could get her free, but it would take too long. Better to do what he came here for; she'd be released once Thanatos was dead, anyway, and it was her own stupid fault for dashing off in the first place. Maybe she'd learn her lesson from this and be a better person for it. Jeri didn't much care either way.

With Winston occupied, Jeri sent a quick tag to Kiel and his pals to pinpoint the Skotadi keeping Thanatos cloaked. He'd let them deal with that while he rooted around in Thanatos's undefended brain for Nin's location, and then if he had time, the others. Thanatos looked like he was beginning to flag, at least; Jeri couldn't actually see him physically, but the walls in his mind were starting to crumble and he felt shaky, like it wouldn't be long before he just keeled over. All the more reason to ram a few more of those walls down while Jeri was looking for Nin.

[Maaike]

Maaike fought the vlareon every step of the way, but it was horrifyingly easy for Thanatos to pluck at her limbs like she was hooked up to puppet strings, and before she knew it, she was raking her claws this way and that in an effort to kill Aiden like some mindless predator. She shrieked and wailed at Thanatos in her mind, but little more came out of her mouth than a whimper here and there — until she actually found her mark and realised belatedly that she'd hurt Aiden.

She'd really hurt him.

Somehow, it gave her the strength to seize up her muscles and stop further attacks, if only for a moment or two, even as she sobbed at the barrage of gleeful laughter and Thanatos' voice telling her over and over that Aiden would never trust her again. She knew that already, thanks oh so much, but it didn't stop every word from digging in to her heart and the pit of her stomach like a thousand knives, over and over until her insides looked like minced beef. It hurt, knowing that even before this, she'd done nothing but hurt Aiden. Even when Thanatos wasn't in charge, she'd made such a hash of things. Aiden wouldn't ever trust her again, and that wasn't even Thanatos's doing.

The further she sank into fatalistic despair, the more control Thanatos had until he was swinging her around like a lightweight sword, her claws an extension of the makeshift weapon he was flinging at Aiden again and again. Kiel and his team showed up and Maaike tried to concentrate all of Thanatos's attacks on them so she wouldn't hurt Aiden any more than she already had, but Thanatos just laughed and directed her back to the leopard. Again and again, over and over.

And then something started to change. The laughter died away and the strings began to slacken off as if Thanatos didn't have the strength to keep them taut. Maaike wiggled and strained against his control, slamming her feet down heavily into the courtyard's flagstones, staggering her way towards the corner where shadows writhed like living things.

“What are you doing? No, no, the other way, go the other way.”

It took her a while because he kept sending her back, and she could see Eilisa in her bird form already slowly melting back into her human form behind the bubble of shadows. Maaike saw other figures in her periphery, a flash of a blade slicing across the Skotadi's throat and the body falling from the roof in a mess of black feathers and fragile broken wings. The shadows around Thanatos dispersed, and Eilisa raised a fist clutched around a rock ready to knock Thanatos out so they could interrogate him later. Maaike kept on staggering towards him, kept on fighting his every twitch and smirk just to keep his focus on her, and snarled through wolfy fangs, “Where the Hel is my son.”

[Aiden]

Fragments of stone slipped under the leopard's paws as he bolted toward the frozen rutilus, evading toppled chiolens and sliding under barricades that formed one second and shattered toward him in the next. As the ground shot up from underneath him, a miscalculated leap sent Aiden flying over his quarry, and he scrambled to redirect his path. Sheets of earth folded toward him like a fist, and the shock of running into one of them stunned Aiden temporarily. Spotting sunlight through his cracked confines, Aiden tackled repeatedly through the stone, growling as the wounds on his back split further. When he climbed out of the rubble, Aiden braced himself for the Zanaryan's worst, except the Zanaryan wasn't even looking at him. Blood bubbled out of the Zanaryan's mouth as he toppled from the wicked knife in his chest. Kiel's nearby shouts were faint and unintelligible, and the protector was quickly distracted by Thanatos' skotados---actually, skotadi. Hearing Maaike's strained sob from one side of the courtyard, Aiden turned and saw that she was running toward him again, claws outstretched. Damn Thanatos.

Winston's grip was loosening on the enemy rutilus, for the thug had broken out of stupor and was staggering to his feet. Almost out of time. Gathering strength into his legs, Aiden hurtled forward to clamp his jaws around the rutilus' greaves and yank the man to the ground. As strong hands gripped at the fur and muscles along Aiden's neck to push him away, the leopard bared his teeth and bit toward the 'vari's uncovered face. Gauntlets gripped and dug into the side of his muzzle, nearly blinding him as he lunged. He tasted metal, and then he tasted blood.

A rush of air warned him of a second attacker, and Aiden roared fiercely as he avoided the swipe of claws. But it was Maaike. Batting the rutilus to keep the man stunned, Aiden tilted his head toward Maaike with a feline whine.

“Should never have trusted her, you fool.”

“Stay strong.”

Though he hated having to fight her, he was ready this time. In the background of Aiden's mind, Winston warred feebly again with the magistrate. In reality, it wasn't difficult to avoid Maaike as she charged forward to punch and claw at Aiden. He reluctantly fought back as well, batting at her and snapping with his teeth. The damned magistrate was simply throwing Maaike to keep Aiden off the rutilus, or to watch them kill each other. “Kill her, guardsman. She's betrayed you once already.” At times when Maaike seemed to regain clarity, stumbling to distance herself from him, Aiden unsuccessfully tried to run back toward the rutilus. He was always intercepted though, and Thanatos-Maaike fought like a relentless vlareon; Thanatos' laughter echoed frequently in Aiden's mind.

Seeing an opening, Aiden butted his head against her thigh to knock her over. The topple cleared her vacant expression, though her body shivered minutely as she fought Thanatos' control. Siezing the moment, Aiden ran toward the rutilus, who by now was standing ready with a shortsword. As the rutilus sneered and swung the sword in a combination of strokes at Aiden, a familiar brown wolf leapt upon the rutilus's unguarded back. Caught unawares, the rutilus could only scream as the wolf made its kill.

Well, damn.

Panting and reaching his last reserves, Aiden staggered clumsily as claws turned into nails, his spine straightened, and brown hair covered his vision. Maaike's clawmark still stung hotly on his back. She didn't mean it. She really didn't. He had to remind himself as Thanatos' influence still lingered in his mind. The woman in question had turned away from him and was stumbling toward one corner of the now-ruined courtyard. Numb with exhaustion, Aiden watched anxiously as a fluttering of raven feathers and then Therian steel descended upon the skotados hidden on the rooftops. As Kiel and Zeph defeated the second skotados, the unnatural shadows in the courtyard dissolved upward like smoky haze.

Newly exposed, the magistrate was pale with fatigue, and the veins on his forehead bulged with waning effort to control Maaike and hold Jericho at bay. Conrad Thanatos no longer seemed quite as intimidating as he had in the courtrooms. His sneer faltered as he finally noticed the Sullivans emerging from doorways, and Kiel and Zeph stalking the rest of the courtyard for hidden guards.

Eyes widening with fierce desperation, the magistrate motionlessly grasped toward Maaike's mind again. Claws against her own neck. Her startled expression mid-snarl. A potential spray of arterial blood. “Call them off, or you'll kill yourself,” he warned in their private conversation.

[Maaike]

Maaike wished she could say she didn't even blink, didn't even think twice before letting Thanatos slit her throat on her own claws. She could have ended the stand-off, given Aiden and the others a chance to grab Thanatos before he could do any more damage. She'd trusted her clan enough to raise Sammy while Maaike was rolling in rage and guilt, so she could trust them to get Sammy back no matter what. They didn't need Maaike. Sammy was probably better off without her anyway.

Except she did blink. Maybe Sammy would be better off without her, but she was his mama, Xanth damn it, and she didn't want to die. She didn't want to die but she was going to, and she was going out on her terms, thank you very much, if it was the last thing she did.

Would be the last thing she did.

She managed to flip herself around just enough to see Aiden's face. It didn't matter, in that moment, that Aiden would never forgive her and never trust her again. It didn't matter that she never got to tell him all the things she'd been keeping close to her chest out of fear. She put as much of it as she could into her last smile and let him see how much she wished things could have been different for them, between them. She let him see that she loved him—

—and then she let her body go slack and her claws dig in until blood began to spill from her throat.

[Aiden]

Wearily, Aiden dragged his feet across cracked dirt and pavement as he approached Maaike and Thanatos. Sullivans trickled into the courtyard, filling it with murmurs and hushed conversations as their eyes fell upon the dreaded magistrate. He glimpsed Eilisa standing behind Thanatos, her weapon ready as she dutifully watched for Maaike's directive. A limping Ronan took respite upon a half-destroyed bench, and Lersa paused by one of the doorways, filling it with tarnished wings. He thought anxiously about Nathan, the crew, and Mikael. Everyone had better be alright. Winston's voice had fallen silent in Aiden's mind long ago.

Despite a tattered suit and winded breath, Thanatos' smug sneer still grew by each second. The magistrate was planning something terrible, and Aiden wasted a second wondering about it. They'd backed Thanatos into a wall, so what in the---Aiden broke into a sprint the moment that Maaike turned toward him. Fear and resignation flashed across her features. Tears glimmering, her smile ached with everything unsaid between them as she lifted her claws to her torso. Stopitpleasestopit! But like a horrible dream, his limbs felt too sluggish, and he was a step too slow. A hoarse scream tore out of his lungs as he saw blood spill down Maaike's throat.

He braced an arm around Maaike's shoulders as she fell,Ggrabbing her hand before she did more damage. Had she hit an artery? Or he feared the worst---bubbling or whistling noises that would indicate a blocked airway. “Say something,” he pleaded, face frozen with horror as he laid her unsteadily on the ground. It alarmed him to see so much blood pour out of one incision. Haphazardly tearing the frayed ends of his shirt, Aiden pressed the cloth against her neck in attempt to stop the blood loss. Her eyes were wavering out of focus, and he watched her anxiously. “Love you,” he murmured, just for the both of them, desperately. Elatedly. With a mix of apprehension. He couldn't lose her. Gods, did anyone have a potion?

[Jericho]

It took longer than Jericho had hoped to find hints to Ninian's whereabouts, and then Jeri was snickering to himself because — of course — the Therian was being held in a cage in a warehouse. Whereabouts? Wareabouts? Well, it made him laugh, anyway.

Along with the shadowy glimpses he got of Ninian himself, Jeri saw a few other Therians scrunched up in their cages whimpering like children. For a second or two, Jeri wrinkled his nose in distaste and called them pathetic, but then he realised that a few of them actually were children and let his conscience make him feel bad for all of three seconds before he was moving on in search of the actual location of the warehouse because basically every port town in Elysia was chock full of them.

Jeri was barely aware of what was going on in the physical world beyond gratitude that it was all keeping Thanatos very busy. The magistrate's walls had drooped and sagged until finally shattering completely, and Jericho swooped in like an anka grabbing prey to find "Moondrop Row, Espur Docks, yessss". It wasn't quite as specific as he'd have liked (they would still have to search the entire block of warehouses on Moondrop Row) but it was better than what he'd had, and it looked like Thanatos had kept the details secret even from himself. ("Do this for me. Don't tell me where you are.") There was a suspicious amount of trust going on for that to happen, especially considering Thanatos didn't seem to trust anyone, but it made sense in Thanatos's head so Jeri let it be.

Mostly because someone was screaming and someone else was nipping at his calf with too-sharp fangs, jolting Jeri "awake" and out of a telepathic daze. He blinked a few times, a little more dumbly than he preferred to admit to but being in someone else's brain always left him reeling to some degree, and stared at the wolf with the sort of blankness reserved only for the aftermath of the deepest trances. It wasn't until the wolf snapped its jaws at Jeri's throat that he remembered what he was supposed to be doing, that he realised what was happening, and he immediately sank back into his thoughts.

Thanatos was so done by now that it didn't take much for Jeri to essentially grab his telepathic arm and twist it up his telepathic back. The magistrate sagged mentally like a deflated lampyridae, but still clung to whatever tenuous puppet strings he'd attached to Maaike. Jeri debated for a hot second if he should just let Thanatos finish the woman off, but there were too many of her kin here to risk their revenge, and who knew when Winston might pop into Thanatos's brain for a look-see only to catch Jeri red-handed.

Jericho ripped into the puppet strings instead, vicious and snarling like the wolf at his heels, and snapped the rest of Thanatos's shields in half. The magistrate was out cold before Jeri opened his eyes again.

[Kiel]

Kiel was, like, fully aware that Maaike didn't like him, you know, and he couldn't say it didn't hurt but, like, he knew he was kind of an acquired taste, you know? He tried not to let it bother him because his mom always said you couldn't please, like, everyone ever, and Kiel wasn't as naive as people liked to think. And also it was kinda funny watching Maaike and Zeph have, like, these crazy-awesome intense glare-off sessions. Kiel wasn't even sure Zeph glared on his behalf (even though the glare-offs typically started after Maaike had, like, said something mean or just looked at Kiel funny), but it was still fun and awesome to pretend Zeph was, like, revenge-glaring on his hubby's behalf.

But the thing was, Kiel did actually like Maaike. Like, she was hard to like because she was all, like, grr and arr and get out of my way, but she was pretty kick-ass and he kind of wanted to be her when he grew up. (Except he wanted to be Zeph, too, and RayRay kept insisting he already was grown up, and he couldn't be, like, three people at once, you know?) And plus, Kiel definitely liked Aiden because Aiden was a cool dude and he was nice and equally kick-ass in his own way, and he seemed to like Kiel back so it was hard not to like the dude, anyway. And Aiden liked Maaike, like, a lot because see aforementioned "Kiel is not as naive as people think". Or as blind. Or, like, as dumb because anyone with eyes could see the goo-goo eyes they made at each other, you know?

So then Maaike was bleeding on the floor and Aiden was pretty much crying and all Kiel could think was "dude, no way, that's not cool" and "dude, don't let Zeph die ever" because Aiden and Maaike weren't even together and Aiden was still crying, and if that happened to Zeph then Kiel would be a total blubbering mess and probably throw himself on his katana or something just to join him.

Kiel grabbed Zeph's hand and pressed in close and bit his lip and ducked his head and thought about taking off his hat because it looked like this was it for Maaike, but he didn't want to be all, like, "yo you're dead you just don't know it yet" so he left it on and patted himself down with his free hand for a spare potion or something to help her. Except Zeph was usually the one being all prepared and stuff, so Kiel tipped up his face with a hopeful expression and got the exasperated glower of d00m for his trouble.

And then Thanatos was crumpling like his puppet strings had been cut, and the Sullivans were all closing in around him with their fangs bared, and Kiel was pretty sure he was about to witness the most feral murder to ever feral or murder in the history of, like, ever. He wasn't totally sure he wanted to see that, you know, but, like, Zeph was handing him a weak-ass potion with a one-shouldered shrug that basically said "we used the rest" or "that's all I've got" or "that's all I'm willing to give the hydra's head who keeps glaring at my hubby", so Kiel beamed at him in thanks and dashed over to Aiden to offer the potion while yelping, “Don't kill him, guys, don't kill him, he has, like, brain stuff!” And then, because Zeph totally snickered at his incoherency, Kiel stuck out his tongue and elaborated, “I mean, like, you know, he knows stuff we need!”

[Maaike]

It hurt more than Maaike thought it would at first, and she realised how stupid that was as she was lying in Aiden's arms looking up at him. Of course it was going to hurt, she'd just cut her own throat to spite Thanatos, but somehow hearing Aiden say he loved her — like that, like it broke his heart — hurt even more.

Maaike lifted a trembling hand to cup his cheek, wincing slightly when she smeared her own blood all over his face, but she managed a tremulous smile for him. It hurt, it all hurt, but she could pretend it didn't if it made things easier on him.

“I—” Maaike choked on the rest of it, "I love you too". She hadn't cut deep enough to ruin her vocal chords or her chances at breathing, but the emotion welled in her throat and stayed there. It was stupid because even now she couldn't tell him when this was the only chance she'd ever get, so she swallowed, and swallowed again, and opened her mouth—

And then that great lunk of a weapon smith ruined it by standing over them, blocking out the sun and offering a bottle with a gruff grunt that could have meant anything from "here I am to save the day" to "hurry up and die you stupid woman". Maaike couldn't even muster a glare to tell him he was getting in the way, no matter hard she tried, but then she realised what the bottle actually was and her breath rushed out and sagged because maybe she wasn't going to die after all.

[Aiden]

Blinking back blurry vision, Aiden immediately took Maaike's hand as she reached for his face. He didn't pay any attention to the slippery feel of blood as he clenched her hand tightly, or to the chaos of therians barking over Thanatos as the damned magistrate collapsed. She loved him back and he could see it clearly. He didn't know how he could be simultaneously happy and frightened, but it was possible.

They should have brought a healer, he thought regretfully as he applied more pressure to her wound. None of the therians had brought potions, since the shift would have ruined it. His gut lurched when he heard Maaike choke on her words, but as he leaned forward, he noted with relief that she was still able to swallow and breathe normally. They needed to do something about the wound though. Maybe--

Miraculously, a bottle appeared in front of him within the grips of a large calloused hand. Aiden hadn't even noticed Zephyr's approach. He should have, considering the height and sheer presence of the rutilus. Eyes lighting hopefully, Aiden hastily grabbed the bottle and uncorked it with his teeth. Carefully, he lifted the cloth and poured the pale pink potion over the grim wound. It wasn't strong enough, he thought belatedly, and as he watched the potion blend and sizzle with Maaike's blood, he prayed fervently to Xanth, to the Aides...even to Danae. After a quarter of a minute, skin and flesh began knitting back together, though the movement was tortuously slow. As Maaike's breath sagged with relief, Aiden placed a soothing hand to her forehead. The potion was only a temporary fix, and she would need a true healer within the hour.

By now, some of the other clanmembers had gathered to examine Maaike. After requesting for a clansman to get their healer, Aiden gently handed Maaike to Eilisa. Not far away, Aiden could hear Kiel still protesting about 'brain stuff' and not killing Thanatos. He saw that a wolf had gotten past Kiel to tug briefly at the magistrate's limp arm, only to be rebuffed by Zeph. Inhaling shakily, Aiden gathered his energy before stumbling to his feet. Straightening his back, Aiden's next words rang sharply within the courtyard. “The Guards will be on their way, so we're leaving and bringing Thanatos back with us. Do not kill him,” he emphasized despite his own dreams of tearing out the vlareon's jugular. He'd lost all sense of mercy for the 'Pet. “Jericho and Winston need the intel first.”

After a strained moment, the wolves stepped away from the magistrate. One of the humanoid clansmen lifted Thanatos by the waist, and in the process, 'carelessly' hit the magistrate's head against a chiolen tree. As the rest of the clan retreated, Aiden pat Kiel's back and smiled gratefully at Zeph. “I can't thank you two enough...” He knew Zeph's disapproval about this whole affair, and of the 'vari's animosity with Maaike. Zeph was too warm on the inside to allow someone to die for merely being irritating though. And Kiel was generous to a fault. “If you didn't have the potion, Maaike probably would've...” his voice wavered as he imagined the worst. After a weary sigh, Aiden smiled slightly. “Thank you.”

[Kiel]

Kiel didn't think he'd ever get used to, like, being thanked for saving someone's life. Like, he didn't want to get used to it, you know, 'cause it was an awesome feeling to know he'd been all, like, heroic and stuff, and it was an even awesomer feeling when people acknowledged that he'd been all, like, heroic and stuff, and he could totally use it to remind his hubby how awesome he was when they got home and had some privacy (because Zeph needed, like, constant reminders of how awesome Kiel was just so he wouldn't run away, okay? Especially when, like, Shane accidentally-on-purpose peed in his boots or something just 'cause he ate the last of the cookies and wouldn't even break off a chocolate chip for her).

Kiel wasn't nearly as awesome at receiving thanks as he was at hearing them, though. Like, he blushed and bounced on his toes and squished his hat between his hands and blushed some more 'cause, like, “Shucks, dude, it's nothing.” Except it totally wasn't nothing 'cause they'd come to save Maaike's kid and a bunch of other Therians Kiel didn't even know, and he'd somehow comvinced Zeph to help out and that was kind of a minor miracle all on its own, and actually it was kind of a lot but Kiel would totally do it all over again if Aiden needed him to. He might think twice if Maaike asked him, just to make her wait and glare at him some more 'cause Zeph had conditioned Kiel to find glaring attractive and kinda cute rather than threatening the way it was meant, but Maaike wasn't likely to ask for his help again any time soon, so it was all moot anyway.

“Dude, I need to eat before the adrenaline crash kicks my butt all the way back to Dardanos.” He was already trembling a bit, always so quick to come down after a fight because his body burned through adrenaline the same way it burned through food. “I could just go for, like, ooh, ouch, hahahaha, dude, don't knock his head off, don't knock his head off!” Kiel was pretty sure that was the second time that Therian had not-actually-an-accidentally hit Thanatos's head on, like, the nearest solid obstacle. If they kept that up, the intel they'd snag out of the magistrate's brain would be limited to, like, "blargh".

[Maaike]

Maaike resisted when Eilisa tried to haul her away, sandwiching her between the other woman's body and Ellery's when her grandpa melted out of whatever corner he'd been lurking in to take the other half of her weight.

“Don't be stubborn,” Ellery chided, lifting her high onto her toes so she had no leverage.

Maaike clutched at her neck where blood still seeped sluggishly from a wound that hadn't completely closed but was no longer life-threatening, leaning over Eilisa's shoulder to get another gander around the courtyard. “Sammy...”

They paused mid-stride, stiffening to look at each other around Maaike's flailing elbows. Eilisa's voice was soft, as if she could hide the pity behind the quiet. “He's not here. The Pet' thinks he knows where the captives are being held, though.”

Maaike sagged, but still kept glancing around, letting them practically carry her away. She didn't like leaving Aiden to mop up, but she trusted him to get it done without losing their only real source of information, to keep the clan civil. Even so, “No, I heard him. I heard him.”

Ellery and Eilisa didn't stop moving, didn't stop carrying her towards the edge of the estate so the healer could deal her with her neck without running the risk of them getting captured. A couple of other clansmen were limping after them with the same idea. The rest, the able-bodied, could scarper quick enough and shift to flee if the guardsmen arrived sooner than expected, but the injured couldn't so they were shipping out first.

“It was a trap, Maaike.” Ellery swallowed, his face grey with emotional strain. Eilisa was the one talking, not quite so attached to Maaike's little man that she couldn't tell it how it was. “Thanatos made you hear what you wanted to hear so he could grab you. Winston said he was trying to manipulate Aiden, too — before he passed out. Winston, I mean.”

It was weird to hear Eilisa ramble like that. She was normally more direct, but they were all tired and trying to make sense of chaos. It took a second for Maaike to parse through what Eilisa had said to realise she'd censored up, though. Seriously messed up. She'd walked right in to a trap.

“Ugh. Please tell me we can kill that vlareon as soon as we've got his captives back.”

Ellery huffed what should have been a laugh but sounded like it was verging on a sob. Maaike had to pretend it was exhaustion and not grief, because she couldn't stand to think they'd lost their chance at finding Sammy and the others. She didn't think she'd survive that. “Get in line, Maaike. Get in line.”

[Aiden]

The courtyard stood in ruins, and parts of the villa walls had been cracked or broken during the fight. Scents from all Elysian species permeated the area, though any Guardsman would conclude it to be predominantly therians. All the more reason to clear out quickly. As Sullivans of various forms and sizes heeded the call for evacuation, Aiden surveyed the area before hurrying out of the courtyard as well. “I wouldn't mind being kicked to Dardanos,” he responded mildly to Kiel's complaint of hunger, “Dardan chowder would be great right about now, and Tammish pie---” Stopping abruptly, Aiden sighed worriedly at the reminder of Sammy. He'd already picked up bits from the clanmembers' conversations: the captives were nowhere in the villa.

“Your back looks nasty,” somebody from behind him quipped lightly.

Turning as he recognized the voice, Aiden immediately saw the shiner gracing Lersa's features. He winced before realizing that the bruise seemed to be the worst of her injuries. Her feathers were dirty and in disarray, and in her arms was an assortment of papers and notebooks. “It might scar.” He tried to shrug it off as if it didn't hurt like Hel, but then he winced as the cuts stretched uncomfortably. As they walked out the back of the villa, Aiden gingerly tapped the scrape on his left cheekbone, which was the same side as Lersa's black eye. “Can you see okay? What did you find?”

“I'll be fine.” The Apali made a self-satisfied grin as she hugged the mess of documents tighter to her chest. “It was nightmarish looking for this in his study, especially while fighting the guy's goons. Can you believe he put traps over this notebook? You'll like this stuff though. A couple of these match the papers we found on the trader back in Vyrmo. We have things on wolfsbane too—it's with Hayden and he's...” Spinning around to look for the therian in question, Lersa's brows furrowed as she saw Maaike up ahead with the healer. “Damn, is she alright?”

“Thanatos got to her, and she cut her neck---” Upon hearing Lersa's hiss of sympathy, Aiden quickly added, “Zeph had a potion so we think she'll be fine.” It tore him to see Maaike so badly injured, but he put on a brave face as Lersa glanced inquiringly. While he wanted nothing more than to stand guard over Maaike as the healer finished patching her up, the task was already fulfilled by Ellery and Eilisa. Healthier Sullivans also flitted among trees or stalked ahead of the group to watch for strangers or the City Guard. A few others, including the perimeter party, were probably already near the bridge bound for the Alexandrian portal. As Aiden took leave from Lersa, he smiled slightly as the anyelos ran toward Kiel and Zephyr with yoohoo's and the remark of 'how come I'm carrying this crap when you two strong boys are empty-handed?'

Jericho stood unhappily among a trio of wolves. As he approached the Peteulanus, Aiden thankfully accepted bandages and a jar of ointment from a clanswoman (Hanna?). “The captives weren't in the villa,” he remarked as he caught Jericho's attention, though he expected the 'vari already knew that. Grimly, he looked toward the large therian who was still carrying the unconscious magistrate. “If you still need info from Thanatos, he's all yours.”

[Jericho]

Actually, the sound of Daranian chowder sounded horrendous, and all this sentimentality was getting on Jericho's nerves, but he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut (even if the lack of sunglasses made his disdain far too obvious). He actually tried to walk away in disgust, flapping a hand over his shoulder as if he could waft away the stench of camaraderie, only to pull up short when three snarling wolves surrounded him.

Jeri heaved a sigh and lifted his hands placatingly. “I was only going to— Never mind.” He let his shoulders slump, let himself be steered back to the main crowd surrounding Thanatos, because it was easier than trying to explain to these "people" that the closeness of all these bodies was starting to get on his nerves. He just wanted some space to himself, Xanth dammit. Was that too much to ask?

Apparently. Or maybe not, because Aiden gave him the perfect opening.

“If there's no one here, we might as well shove him in a cart. I can pry the rest out of his brain on the road.” The docks were all the way over on the other side of the city, and it wouldn't be wise to send a caravan of Therians together. Someone was bound to notice, and cause trouble there and then or mention it to the Guards later when they realised their chief magistrate's villa was rife with the stench of shapeshifters. “Probably best to split up.” The injured wouldn't be much use if there was another fight, anyway, but, “Bit of recon at Moondrop Row, find the warehouse they're in, then discuss your attack approach?” Jericho wasn't about to admit it, but he needed a break and some food, anyway. The headache had taken up permanent residence behind his eyes and was quickly morphing into a migraine. He'd damned well better get Ninian back tonight because Jeri would need someone to coddle him for the next week.