Poppy gently stroked Simon's hair, quietly reassuring him as she began to push it along, smiling at Smoke as he came up to talk to her, though his commentary sobered her. Three times per dream... Daily in the waking world. Poor guy!

The cats came in tighter as the zoogs grew more rowdy, and Poppy glanced around, nervous.

"I offehed to come wiv to try'n 'elp him git through 'em... 'ese attacks, I mean." Her tail curled loose around her high, the end twitching with unease. "I didn' fink it'd be 'is bad..." She didn't even think to hide the pity in her voice. "I mean, I git bad dreams often, but nuffin loik 'is..."

⋯﴾﴿⋯

"Good," he murmured as he started to turn towards the exit, only to look towards the two helpers. "I'm going to get her to her room," he assured, unsure if they'd be willing to let a random male like him escort Hecate, but in his mind, he was the least likely to hurt her... for reasons he didn't want known.

Hecate's question of Cthulhu brought his attention back to her as he carried her along to her room.

"Yeah," he said. "Nasty squid-face. Didn't meet in person, thankfully."

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Her eyes hardened as he mentioned knowing about her daughter, but she relaxed slightly as he assured her that her anonymity was something he strove for.

When he mentioned sending operatives to fetch them, that they might not be safe, she nodded. "Hecate offered before to have someone pick them up. I'm starting to think that would be wise. If anyone, it would have to be Seela and Bear, so... will have to be after I get reinforcements."

She glanced to either side. "Do you have somewhere more private where we might continue this conversation?"
 
"Normally he just finds a safe spot and waits it out. It's a good thing they want him alive, or they could probably have gotten him killed long ago."
The black cat said.

"Mix that with his pursuits into forbidden knowledge, and you have a problem."
Smoke said as he kneaded Simon's coat with a single paw. He tilted his head.
"It's not usual that it's this intense from what I've seen. Normally it's a slow burn, for lack of a better phrase. I hate to say this, but he might not have long if it keeps up like that."

Simon struggled at hearing those words.
"No. No. We're gonna... they... They're gonna help me."

Eventually, they came to the river, and with it found a beaten path beside it with heavy signs of use. Smoke gracefully slinked up to Simon's shoulder, and batted his face with his paw several times, yielding no response.
"Fainted."
He said.

---

The others nodded, and allowed Bear to see Hecate back to her room.
"...I've seen it in visions... glimpses..."

She said.
"It fucks you up a little to see it..."

She chuckled softly.
"Don't go waking it up now just 'cause us..."

---

"Yes, in fact."
He immediately turned and beckoned.

"The Sanctum."
He began to walk in the direction Elizabeth had been heading before her interruption by the attack. He swiped a card through a small machine attached to the wall, and the metal doors slid open to an elevator.

"We're not a particularly official faction, at least not as much as we used to be. The Professors are the most capable people in The Ark. By some miracle we've managed to hold everything together for this long. They are hopeful your intervention will see an end to decades of desperation, and are eager to share the intelligence we've gathered."
 
Poppy nodded at Simon's words. "I fink the ones doin' it ah rampin' it up, yeah... cuz I offehed to 'elp 'im." Her tail lowered at the admission that it was her fault this fit was worse.

They arrived at the river, and Smoke checked on Simon, proclaiming him fainted. She wanted to splash him to wake him up, but thought better of it—splashing someone with water who was trying to avoid becoming a fish seemed unwise.

"E's a noice guy. I just... wanted ter 'elp 'im, aye?"

⋯﴾﴿⋯

"I'm not planning on it," he assured, "The longer it sleeps, the better things are for everyone."

At her room, he took her in and set her down on the toilet in the bathroom, then checked to see if it was a shower or bathtub. Either way, she would need supervision, in her current state, or even assistance.

He wished he'd thought to bring Seela along—where was she, exactly? For now though, he reminded himself, Hecate's safety and health was important.

"I'm going to change and rinse off before I help you, so I don't just get you dirty again."

What would he say if she objected to his help? 'It's ok, I'm homosexual, just don't tell the Councilman or I'll be killed.'

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Elizabeth followed after him, remaining alert. It seemed that she would get her rundown from them rather than Hecate, which she didn't object to—Hecate was, to her knowledge, still out of it.

Decades, he said, and that caught her attention. Most members seemed fewer than three decades old...

"Most members I've seen have been children," she murmured, "I assume a testament to the struggle you've been through thus far?"
 
"Chin up now."
Split commented.
“If they're doing this because of you, then they think you have a chance."

As they walked along the hoary forest path, the wind in the trees and the trickle of water against mossy stones and past the submerged roots of gnarled trees. Sizable fish inhabited the river, seemingly sustained by the peculiar colorful insects which descended to the water’s surface. Though devoid of other ‘people’, the area was replete with signs of intelligent life. Faded carvings in the larger trees, fishing line caught in the roots and leaves bordering the river, a circle of stones in a small clearing with an old log beside as a seat. The Zoogs cleared out as they drew closer to the border of the forest, ajd the formation of the cats loosened.
“Shouldn't be anything dangerous from here to Ulthar…”
Smoke said, glancing in various directions around the thinning forest.

---

As he carried her through, Bear found that Hecate's bedroom had been cleaned of all but some of the smell and structural damage that the Byakhee caused. Her blankets and pillows had been replaced, which Hecate didn't enjoy.

“Aw jeez…”
She said as she was carried by.

When they entered the bathroom, Hecate leaned forward on the seat, placing her elbows on her thighs and her chin in her hands. Being this close to a toilet triggered something in her gut.
“Hold up…”

She sat up, opened the seat, holding herself up with one arm and clutching her stomach with the other, retching over the toilet. Though her body tried to make her vomit again, her stomach was still empty. She coughed and spat, then responded to Bear while wiping her face in the clean areas of her robe.

“Yeah, go ahead, do your thing.”

Her setup was a decent-sized bathtub built into the wall with a shower-head and a translucent plastic curtain with a floral pattern was pushed to the wall.

---

Arthur entered the elevator, pressing a single button on the wall as Eliza walked in. The door closed, a small bell rang, and it started a gradual descent.

“Our members are, for the most part, young adults who have been exposed to interperceptional forces. After the initial exposure, previously imperceptible locations such as Arkham, R'lyeh, Leng, and entrances to K'n-Yan become accessible. Some report as if they knew vaguely about some of these areas beforehand, others swear they never existed in their perception until the event of exposure.”
He continued.

“Our inhuman and semi-human members are naturally less likely to experience the effect.”
As he went on, his voice began to waver.

“We in fact have had a handful of… disturbing incidents of finding traces of members that have ceased to exist in our minds, leaving nothing but holes in our records..."
 
That caught her attention and perked her up, and she blinked at Split, then grinned. "Fenks," she chirped.

At Smoke's proclamation that passage should be safe to Ulthar, Poppy's tail lifted into an erect hook, and her eyes brightened. "Really?" She relaxed, trusting these cats a lot for someone who just met them.

She let her eyes wander, taking in the beauty of the place, and even some of the signs of intelligent life. She wanted to go clean up the fishing line, but instead kept with the other cats, unwilling to toss aside their protection and kindness.

"Everyfing's so bright and pretty 'ere," she breathed.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Bear waited for her to finish purging her empty stomach, then offered her a water bottle. "Rinse out," he advised before he removed and folded his jacket, then his sweater.

He couldn't help the redness that spread on his face at showing his not-even-bare torso. In his undershirt, his physique was... far from olympian. Instead, he was fat—the firm kind of muscular fat, but still fat.

He hurriedly distracted himself by washing his face and hands in the sink, then looked toward Hecate.

"Alright, you ready to wash up? Do you think you'll need any help?" His tone remained casual. "If you think you can manage on your own, I'll get you some clean clothes to change into."

Honestly, he wasn't sure she wouldn't fall, brain herself, or drown, but he didn't want her to get the impression he was preying on her, either. The longer he remained alone in the bathroom with her, the more he felt like he was getting himself into a bad position.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Elizabeth frowned at the last part. "That is... very disturbing."

It almost reminded her of... of...

The thought niggled at her for a few moments before it slipped away.

"I can't say I have experience with that, but that is definitely disturbing. You don't have anyone present with eidetic memory, do you? I can't help but think that might be useful..."
 
Smoke's ears twitched as his eyes locked intently on the flapping insects around.
“It's worth fighting a Zoog every now-”

Simon woke with a scream and Smoke launched himself high into the air in dreadful fright.
“CHRIST ON A BIKE!”

The cat exclaimed, having manage to cling to a branch above. Most of the surrounding cats turned toward the now very conscious Deep One in concern.
“Where am I?”

Simon began thrashing, trying frantically to pull himself from his restraints.
“Where am I?!?”

His head turned upwards, his eyes rolled to meet Poppy's. He stared at her, eyes stricken with confused panic until all at once, he calmed.
“Oh…”
He uttered sheepishly, putting a hand to his head. He took a deep breath, wavering on the inhale but managing to get a control by the time he exhaled slowly.

“That one was bad.”
He said, before breaking into a nervous cackle.
“Not gonna miss those…”

Smoke eyed him with discontent before leaping gracefully to the forest floor.
“Anyway, my company should be regrouping around an abandoned hut northeast of here. The rest of the trip should be relatively peaceful.”

The cat's ears twitched, then lowered, as he looked to the distance, alerted by the sounds of a skirmish.
“Sounds like the party started early…”

Smoke turned to Pearl, and politely said;
“Well, I'm afraid this is as far as we can take you, we have urgent business with the Zoogs.”

A round-faced feline with light-grey fur and dark-grey stripes chimed in.
“You heard the boss! Let's have at 'em!”

The larger number of felines took off with riled enthusiasm, leaving the original three, Smoke, Split, and-
“Jessie.”
Said Split.

“Yeah?”
Responded Jessie.

“Stop that and let's go.”
Said Smoke.

Jessie ceased scratching at the post at once, a look of annoyance on his face as he and Split took off.

Smoke looked to Pearl, nodded once, then slunk off into the forest.

"...bye..."
Simon uttered almost inaudibly, before wiggling his arms fruitlessly in their restrained position.

---

“Ugh…”
The witch groaned, before spitting a final time, which materialized strangely from her invisible face. She grasped the bottle with a red and blue stained hand.
“...thanks.”

She uttered, before twisting off the cap with her teeth and taking a seat on the edge of the bathtub, sipping from the water bottle. As the liquid enter the confines of her mouth, it distorted and refracted strangely, fading into invisibility as it reached her esophagus. She coughed into her sleeve and looked at bear's reddening face.
“...you don't have to wash me big guy… just make sure I don't zonk out and hit my head on some shit.”

She put down the water-bottle on a nearby shelf, and upon letting go, become suddenly aware of a sharp pain on her hand, and sucked in air through her teeth. Following that was the recollection of the additional gash on her chest.
Hooh boy…! Big guy, fetch me that first-aid kit...”

---

Arthur adjusted the collar his shirt.
“...we have some research on eidetic memory and it's effect on perception. Unfortunately our current data is inconclusive, as a controlled environment in the event of a perception shift is almost an impossibility..."

He didn't look at Eliza much as he spoke, rather he stared at the elevator doors before them.
"That's the problem when you're matter and forces too alien for our brains to have evolved to percieve and process properly... How can you find out why something's going on when you don't understand what's going on?"
 
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"Smoke?" She blinked as she looked up at the cat, now clinging to a tree branch. That was a new exclamation, and... honestly kind of cute.

What caught her attention and returned it to Simon was the utterance of 'oh' in a voice that wasn't panic.

"Simon!" She brightened as she looked down at him. That one was bad, huh? It sure seemed that way!

Smoke stole her attention again, something about an abandoned hut northeast of there, and then a party starting early. He was very polite as he excused himself and his group, and then lingered to make sure Jesse, the third of the original group Poppy met, went along as well.

"Kick their butts! See you soon, and fenks for all yer 'elp!" Poppy waved energetically as they departed. "Yeweh tops!"

Simon's little quiet bye returned her attention to him in time to see him wiggling his arms.

"Ah! So'eee... You weh frashing about and I fought you moight 'urt yesehf." She untied his sleeves and helped him to his feet, then left the wheelbarrow to one side, where it could be used by someone else in need, since it was a good wheelbarrow.

The pillow, she put back into her pocket with a bit of struggle.

"I tried waking you up, but it just scehd you moh... Even 'ad Smoke, Jessie, and Split 'elpin with 'owlin up a storm... You kept troiyin' teh brain yerself on a tree."

⋯﴾﴿⋯

"On it," he muttered as he fetched it, then returned and opened it.

"Let's get the area cleaned up." He grabbed a washrag and wetted it, then began to wash her hand with it, and then her chest, rinsing often between gentle scrubbing. "Let me know if I'm hurting you too much," he urged.

Once most of the blood and ink were washed away, he pulled a squeeze-bottle from the kit and used it to squirt water to clean the rest as much as he could, rinsing away much of the residue until he... couldn't see the area. That prompted him to pause.

"This could be difficult. I don't suppose you can... become visible for a short time?" As he asked, he began to wash his hands again, unwilling to be the cause of her getting an infection.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Elizabeth nodded. "Yes, that would be a problem," she agreed, thinking for a few moments. She absently wondered if a tengu might have better ability to process, but quickly dashed the thought from her mind. There was no quicker way to get her daughter discovered than to have Crow show up and stick his big nose everywhere.

Though at the same time, with his mind, he might be able to help. Her brows furrowed as the internal conflict gnawed at her.

"There might be someone who can help with perception. A tengu. He... does not know about my... informant." Her hesitance was clear in her voice.
 
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"Oh..."
Simon said, an almost comical frown on his face.
"Th-thank you..."

He said, rubbing the back of his head the moment his hands were free. Now, the specific details of the attack blurred, and he set his mind to trying not to recall... the faster his head cleared the better, he thought. He simply had no choice but to be entirely concentrated on...

Reason, or something adjacent to it, came to him, and a small smile crept up on his face.
"...huh..."

A deranged cackle escaped his lips, before being suddenly cut off by Simon trying desperately not to sound like a madman.
"...I-I'm sorry... I'm just..."

He laughed again, calmer, but his breathing grew heavy and emotion threatened to overtake him, but he was well able to control himself, at the very least. He put a hand to his head.
"...There should only be two or three more of these... episodes. In a few days... Dream-days... same thing will happen... and after that..."

His eyes went wide, he stared into space, blinking.
"...and then it's done..."
He stared forward, not knowing what to think, but an unhinged grin was stuck on his face. Just one more dream... and he'd never have to stew over another horrific passage or gaze another abomination... or... run from another Shoggoth again!

---

Hecate chuckled.
Pffff. I can't turn this off. Not without a day and a half strapped to-”

She twitched slightly at the contact of the cloth against the surface of one of her wounds.
“-ow-”

She continued her chatter unfazed.
“-strapped to a machine to get the invisible out of me, and then another day strapped to another to fix it again…”

She started to instinctively shake one of her feet as she went on.
“You know, if you know any albinos, or folks with vitiligo that ran all the way through, and we're talking as little pigmentation as possible or it'll just look weird… you could have some invisible Hunters huh? Some poor motherfuckers'll be in for a hell of a suckerpunch huh?”

---

Arthur nodded slowly.
“There are precisely five members of our organization who are aware of your connection to an... informant. Simon Mortimer, whom I believe you know is accompanying the informant, Hecate, who you've met, Worm… who you've just met, and somehow Eve, bless her soul, a... biomechanical construct...”
He tapped his foot on the ground, unsure how else to say “Frankenstein-Style Monster” but unwilling to use such a crude term. God, what must go through her head when she's alone…
"She was the very tall woman."

There was lower ringing sound. Arthur's eyes widened and he pressed the button again before the doors even opened. There was the whir of machinery and the elevator began to go up.
"...sorry about that... buying time..."
He said, before continuing, his voice growing less stoic as ge went on.

"I represent the final person to know. This event is absolutely unprecedented and it's obviously a guarantee that life for our members is about to drastically change..."
He adjusted the neck of his shirt, and went on.
"Let's just... may we discuss that now? Because I find it concerning..."
 
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"'Ome free, yeah?" Poppy grinned at him. "Yew know, I could tell you stohies 'bout a friend of moin what used to be in love with a guy what looked like a shoggoff-tree." She grinned. "Doesn't steal ye gun, neiver. 'E gave me moin! Falren... er... me da, 'e picked out the shotgun insteadeh somefing more... accurate? 'E knew I was a spoiled lil fing what mostly wanted to keep fings away from me."

She remained still a moment, then pushed forward, wrapping her arms around Simon.

"Oi was so worried when you wouln' wake up! You fink we should continue the way the cats was goin, or go off our own woi? I really wantte see the cat city now!"

Eyes bright, tail straight and vibrating, she was the very picture of feline excitement.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

"That sounds like a pain in the hind," he murmured, shaking his head. "A Hunter, at least, wouldn't need stitches, though... That would be useful enough, though getting a Hunter out of their jacket would be the hard part."

He moved to indicate his, but paused when he realized it wasn't on him, then cleared his throat. "Anyway, this is going to be difficult, since I can't see how deep the wounds are... Ah, wait. You don't mind having some... uh... strange colors, do you?" He rose and headed toward his jacket. "I have some dye used in angiograms. It'll turn everything yellow if it gets into the blood, but it won't cause permanent tattooing."

⋯﴾﴿⋯

"That is... five more people than I'm used to knowing," Elizabeth murmured, but that he knew all by name was reassuring. "I think I recall Eve. She was very, very worried about Hecate."

Arthur was losing his cool, now. She wasn't really surprised, especially when he turned the elevator right back around.

"The stop button, does it call anyone or start up any sort of recording? That might be something to try," she offered, but trailed off as he grew so much more visibly nervous.

Poor man didn't do well with change, she assumed. She reached out and rested a hand on his upper arm, trying to be reassuring.

"Yes, we can, and I don't blame you for being concerned. My hope is that life for your members changing is a good thing, though." She let her hand drop away, then crossed her arms loosely. "I like to think of myself as a protector. You saw how I responded during the attack..." She referred more to tossing her own protection onto those nearby to protect them, and nearly damning herself in the process.

"Though I... should not do that again. My robes restrain my power, and I'm only to shed them when it is absolutely necessary, because otherwise... I'll become a shadow, living eternal in the council hall..." From her tone, it was a fate she feared. "I... moved without thinking earlier..."
 
The idea of a Shoggoth Tree and the... context in which it was used earned a few concerned blinks from Simon, and the image of a content woman entwined in the branches of a monstrous creature flashed in his head. He wondered…

It was very unlikely, that creature no longer resemble the Shoggoth it began as… and the touch of it's gnarled black branches resonated with enough heat to boil all it touched. A romance with it would hardly be mutual...
“I can't wait to meet your friends... You can't imagine how draining it is to hide that…”
He patted his scarf as his smile started to waver, and shoed the thoughts away.

As had been the recurring pattern, his face reddened as Pearl clung to him again, his smile growing a little wider when she voiced her concern for him earlier. He felt a little bad that he tended to freeze up most times she did this, even if it seemed to be reflexive…

He carefully wrapped an arm around her, trying very hard to ignore his shortness of breath. He patted her shoulder, and opened his mouth to speak.
“...”

Again… he thought, and began fighting a losing battle to contain his breath.
“...let's head to…”

He inhaled sharply, very aware that he was acting unreasonably nervous but at the moment, powerless to stop it.
“...Ulthar...”
He breathed out.

---

"Pffff~"
The witch vocalized at the comment about jackets.

"It's a bit of a trade-off really..."
She said casually.
"Harder to hurt, but also harder to heal I guess..."

She chuckled.
"I think it's worth it. But yeah go ahead with the yellow stuff, that oughta be fun to watch..."

She put a finger to her chin in thought.
"The guy who invented the process of turning people invisible was a real fucko. He burned down his lab and tried to terrorize all England. Got caught by a mob and got uh... stomped to death I guess..."

As Bear worked, Hecate remained mostly lost in her own words.
"You saw Eve back there? She's exactly what you think she is. It's great, we're on the road to a Monster Mash scenario. Without the fish guy of course..."

---

Arthur nodded as she spoke, his brows furrowing. To him, there were signs Eliza was a little unconventional, but for the reasons she was, she could also be considered trustworthy. An acceptable condition, he concluded, but time was running short until they'd have to speak with the Professors, and there was an issue that needed to be resolved.
“We have little time so I'm going to be frank… as I've come to understand, Pearl's identity cannot be known the rest of your organization for… reasons. You and I should come up with a plan to ensure this informant remains anonymous, and I'll ensure the other four cooperate.”
He said with urgency in his voice.
 
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"Yeah!" Poppy grinned, not seeming to mind his panic and uncertainty. She took his hand and nodded. "And my friends, they're gonna 'ave a blast meetin you!" She nodded, firm and sure of herself, only to remember there was more than just fun waiting at home.

There was a dying kitten and that kitten's runaway father.

Her smile faded quickly.

"Lesgo," she said as she grabbed his arm and started in a direction she assumed was right.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Bear nodded, then held out a hand. "Put your wrist in my hand here," he said, then waited for her to do it. With his other hand, he held a little bottle of green food dye and a swab, ready to dye part of her skin so he could see to inject her. "This is going to make everything of you yellow. Fluorescent yellow. This includes your pee. It... startles some people."

After he had her arm visible, he opened up a sterile vial and sterile needle, then quickly injected her with practiced ease. He wiped the food dye away in time for her to watch the yellow dye spread through her blood vessels and then into her skin.

"As for Eve, she's fascinating. A pretty good fighter, too."

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Elizabeth closed her eyes. He was right, they needed a plan. "Usually, my plan has always been to let her assume feline form and hide in my robes, where she can't be smelled, until I can get her home. This... might not work, as it's not comfortable for either of us long-term. The next best option is to arrange a portal to my home and send her there, and then continue business here." She closed her eyes, trying to think.

"If she'd answer her phone, this would be much, much simpler."
 
Simon blinked, as Pearl turned… he caught that, how quickly her smile faded… a slight crack in a masquerade. He wasn't going to pry… if anything, it reassured him that she wasn't leading him into some convoluted trick that would end with him tied to a pole and ritualistically gutted. Still, he had to say something… maybe he could lighten the mood? She had been nothing but kind and reassuring to him, even on top of putting him on the fast-track to un-fucking his entire existance.

He thought as they moved along smiling softly as an idea came, and he asked a question, one he wondered to himself after a while.
“...hey, what did I do after I blacked out? Back in that club? I can't remember anything after I started going on about... astral allignments..."

---

“Sweet.”
She said as Bear described her turning fluorescent yellow.

“Oh I bet that'll look Gross…”
She uttered as he said that the dye would also affect the contents of her bladder.

She chuckled and watched closely as the vivid yellow color crawled along through her bloodstream. When her laughter died down, she rested her cheek in her hand, the yellow color creeping steadily through her body.
“Yeah, Eve can shoot a gun, she's strong as shit, she moves like a fucking tiger. Sure, she's big and we used our best uh… pieces, but there's gotta be something more that the process does… or maybe Simon did something…”

She paused.
“She's brilliant, too. Took a week to learn English. Took two for her to be smarter than me… I'm thinking of teaching her some of my magic…”

---

Arthur nodded.
“Well if that can be arranged, I'm relieved. Everything's been happening so fast, I can't imagine they're in any more risk than they'd be any other night, and Simon has years of experience.”

The bell sounded once again, Arthur pushed a button again, and the elevator went down again.

Suddenly, Arthur squinted. Then his eyes suddenly widened.
“Wait. As I heard it… My God… Simon and Pearl met before the events of today, yet this her first time in this universe! There's… it can't be… Simon Mortimer is in possession of The Silver Key!”

---

Eve entered her room and shut the door behind her, taking a moment to lock her door. In two graceful steps, she was at her desk, she pulled her chair up and sat down, releasing the breath she had been holding. With shaking hands she gripped her phone, a tiny device she gripped in a two-toned palm, a thin pink line separating where the flesh of two different people had been fused.

She clenched her fist raised into the air slamming it into her desk. Her fist knocked a heavy chunk of wood and she gasped, a large splinter jutting sideways into the side of her hand. He scowled at it for a few seconds, before breaking completely into sobbing.

With shaking hands, she began to type a message directly to Arthur… she couldn't bring herself to… She pulled the splinter from her hand with a wince, and began to type to Worm. I fucked up. She thought to herself. Oh God I fucked up.
 
She perked back up with a chirp, then looked back at him, only to grin. "You laaaaid down," she purred, mood improved drastically, "And... invited me inte ye lap."

Her eyes narrowed in a feline smile, and she leaned toward him, whispering into his ear, "And... 'en..."

She trailed off, purposeful and teasing.

Nothing cheered her up like teasing a cute man.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

"She sounds amazing," he murmured with a smile as he watched her grow more visible.

"Honestly, really, truly amazing."

He gently wiped her now-visible wound and inspected it, checking to see if it needed sutures or not, and cleaned it carefully, mostly to see how much blood was flowing.

"This is going to itch like hell as it heals," he warned.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Elizabeth frowned, then reached out toward Arthur and gripped his shoulder. "It could just mean he's a Hopper. There are thousands of ways for people to travel the multiverse. I know that Poppy is a Hopper, and for all we know, that club could have been here in this universe."

Her instinct was to cover up for the pair until they were where she could get to them and question them.

"Assumptions do nobody any good," she chided gently as she let her hand fall away. "For now, operate on the assumption that she is a child who isn't certain of her own information, because that is what she is."

⋯﴾﴿⋯

A voice came from her bathroom sink: Seela's.

"Sorry to intrude," she said as she flowed from the tap, then stepped toward Eve, visibly wet, but not dripping. "Do you... want a hug?"

To ask why she was upset felt like prying, but to offer just comfort... that seemed the most respectful route.

Despite already having broken into Eve's bedroom.

Then again, Seela never really considered that she wasn't supposed to be anywhere, given water was pretty much everywhere.

"I heard you crying from the plumbing."
 
Simon blinked, and his expression went blank the moment she began speaking.
“Hm…”

He turned his head to cough, his red ears betraying his attempts to hide a growing blush. His lips tightened to a flat line and his eyes went wide when she whispered in his ear.
“Mhmm…”

He acknowledged wordlessly, nodding, before turning toward her.
“I…”

He stopped and looked away suddenly. At a loss for words, all he could do was laugh sheepishly as he adjusted his scarf.

---

The wound had stopped the majority of the bleeding by now, though was wide enough that sutures would have been advisable.
“Yeah I guessed as much…”
The witch said with a light shrug.

“You know, me and Eve are far from the craziest medical stories you'd hear. Most of them are kinda fucked up though.”

---

Arthur furrowed his brow, his forehead held in one hand. He stared forward, tapping a finger between his eyebrows.
“Well… someone deprived one of our expeditions of The Silver Key before we were able to properly contain it. Some suspected Simon but there was little evidence… if he does have it, it needs to be kept somewhere safe. It is a powerful artifact of Yog Sothoth, said to have been used by Randolph Carter to surpass the limitations of space and time.”

He adjusted his glasses.
“...other people rarely see The Professors…”

Arthur said softly.
“I act as a sort of messenger between them and The Coven at this point…”

---

“H-how did?... Oh my god…”
Eve buried her face deep in her hands, before looking up suddenly.

“Y-you have to help me… please. I… I couldn't live with them knowing… S-simon was one of them… You have to tell Eliza… please I can't let them know I knew… he… he might have manipulated me…”

She looked away.
“I-it was more than just being here… he was a sorcerer, he stole things, he read things he shouldn't have…”

She inhaled sharply.
“I don't know… I want it to be a coincidence but the timing… I don't know…”
 
She leaned again toward him, right into his ear, and whispered, "And then my mouth... on..."

She trailed off, letting his mind go places.

This was fun! It was really fun!

She blew lightly on his ear.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

From a baggie in a pocket, he withdrew a pair of gloves and some sutures. As he got to work, he glanced up at her briefly.

"Yeah? I have to admit, I'm curious."

She was a good patient so far, though so chatty he could only assume she was nervous.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Elizabeth nodded slowly. "Sounds like a stressful position," she murmured, recalling the faces and scents of various Hunters tasked with running errands for the Council.

Granted, they were terrified of the Council—a purposeful fear that kept the wild animals in line.

"Nerve-wracking at best, right?"

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Seela tilted her head. "Can you take me to where his scent might be? They all smelled strange, so if he was one of them, it will be easy to figure out..."

She yawned, tired from such a busy day.

"After I check his scent... I can report to the Councilman..."

This seemed important, enough that she didn't seem afraid of the Councilman. "If the plumbing is connected to wherever she is, I can get to her quickly."

At this, she offered Eve a lazy, tired smile as her eyes closed sleepily.
 
He stared forward, most of his face turning a shade of pink, then red. His shoulders lifted and his face and head retreated somewhat into his own scarf in a display. He could hardly halt his barely-contained tittering until coughing a few times into his elbow.
“...oh...uh… okay...”
He mumbled, and blinked a few times while running hand through his hair.
“...wow uh… I really don't remember any of it...
He said quietly with another barely resteained chuckle, his hand running down to adjust his scarf about his neck. Shyly and swiftly, he glanced up and down the forest trail in an almost unconscious motion to see if anyone was around, or if her and him were indeed alone together.

---

Hecate sucked in air through her teeth when she felt a pinching sensation near the wound, but went on talking without any hesitation or further reaction beyond short pauses as the needle pricked her.
“Okay, so this one doctor used chemical means to... maintain the cellular structure of his body, however, he needed to be kept in increasingly cold... environments to survive… the guy lived in New York in the nineteen-twenties. Apparently he already looked like... Like a corpse. Skin all clammy, didn’t seem to really breathe. Then his “AC” broke.”

Hecate leaned her head toward him with wide eyes, pausing for effect.
“When they found him, he fucking melted to death in a tub of ice water…”

She relaxed her neck and looked away again in thought.
“That was Dr. Muñoz…”

She turned her gaze towards Bear again.
“Then Frankenstein, of course, Herbert West, Dr. Morreau, that guy with the mind-thing…”

---

Arthur shrugged.
“At times… but in all honesty it's far better I act as a middleman for The Professors. It would be too dangerous to have sorcerers of this tier among the average Coven acolyte, the imbalance of powerful magickal presences surrounding The Professors would call for stronger wards that we don't have the means to maintain without methods already deemed ...unacceptable... So they keep physically separated…

There was a ding in the elevator door, and the doors slowly parted to reveal a short, grey, well-lit tunnel with a sliding metal door at the end.

“Their dwelling space is just beyond this doorway…”

---

Eve looked up toward Seela slowly.
“...he's one of them... His neck has these... these veins he hides behind a... he always wears scarf… He'd use makeup or illusionary magics for emergencies…”
She inhaled and exhaled loudly as she spoke, slowly rising.
“...His room is two rooms to the left… we'd need…”
She paused.
“Nevermind, no we wouldn't… he hasn't been there in a few days...”

She continued suddenly with wide-eyes and a wary tone.
“Don't read or touch anything in there, he's more powerful than The Coven knows, and I only know what he told me.”

She blinked a few times.
“H-his kind go crazy… The Deep Ones, one day they just… stop being themselves…”

She paused.
“Heck might kill him… a Deep One whose read through The Necronomicon, The Book of Eibon, Pnakotic manuscripts… they'd let her do it…”

She suddenly reached out, grasping Seela’s shoulder.
“If he hasn’t turned yet… nobody can know… perhaps The Hunters could help him? He wants to be Human...”
 
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"'At's a shame, consid'rin 'ow close we was."

When she was a cat. Laying on his chest.

His glance around broadened her smile, and her tail vibrated in glee. He was so cute when he was all flustered!

"You said I 'ad very... 'andy skills."

⋯﴾﴿⋯

"That... that sounds freaky," Bear muttered as she described Dr. Muñoz's demise. He shook his head and as she listed several others, he finished off the sutures and snipped the excess before he applied ointment, gauze, and tape to hold the gauze in place.

"You'll need to replace the bandage regularly, and use this ointment on the wound," he instructed as he held up the tube, closed it, then placed it beside the sink. "It's just a standard triple antibiotic you can get over the counter, should be available in this world fairly easily."

⋯﴾﴿⋯

"Hm," Elizabeth tilted her head, thoughtful. "I suppose that makes sense," she murmured, then nodded. "Please, lead the way, Arthur."

⋯﴾﴿⋯

"I'll inform Elizabeth," Seela promised, "Discretely."

Simon was the one with Poppy. Knowing this about him, Elizabeth would demand them fetched immediately, given her tendency to overreact regarding her daughter. In all likelihood, the Councilman would send Seela to them.

"She'll probably send me immediately to find him," she murmured aloud without meaning to.
 
Simon covered his reddened face with his glove, before speaking softly;
“That's crazy…”

He looked up and paused, unblinking, his brows furrowed but a nervous grin was still stuck to his face.
“That's a new type of crazy for me…”

Nobody… had really ever acted like this toward him before, he had been reclusive and had learned to shun physical contact for shame of his nature as a monstrous creature and for fear of exposure as the veins above his clavicle grew… he doubted her story, though she elicited the reaction she wanted regardless.

Perhaps, he thought, that was why he was acting so meek in the face of the advances from a beautiful woman promising a solution to his life's work and the company of kind people.

The oddly humorous thought that Pearl's intense flirtation may be somehow emboldened be cause he was a fish occurred to him, and he laughed meekly for a little too long, a shy grin plastered to his pale face after it finally faded.

---

Hecate cackled warmly at Bear's reaction to the story.
“This whole place, this whole thing, that you and your boys and gals found us in... It's freaky from top to bottom. It's like… one of those things where there's a hidden world of magic bullshit, except it's a normal world that's hidden in…”

She groaned, and yawned, god, she was tired.
“It's like being a fucking rat.”
She declared through another yawn as she stretched.

---

“Alright…”
Arthur said as they walked forward down the hall. They approached the door silently, and Arthur went to a button on the wall.
“We're here…”
He spoke into the device on the wall, and the moment dragged on as for almost thirty seconds, Arthur waited without a response. He pushed the button again, harder.
“Hello?”
He asked as the paused continued.

---

“-thank you.”
She said in a hushed tone.
“If…”

She trailed off as her gaze averted, and after a moment's hesitation, she turned back.
“If he's turned…”

She blinked, covering her face in her sleeves, and spoke in a faintly muffled voice.
“He'd want you to kill him. You'd have to kill him. I-if… It comes to that, just ...shoot him first. You can use that... knife after you... I just… If he'd still be in there… somewhere… he'd deserve it… q-quick..."

She bit her lip.
"...and... in the future, I-I... don't think you knew but... Ghouls... that... dog-thing, they can feel pain too..."
She felt like a moron saying those words, but she couldn't help saying them.
 
"An you kept pokin' at me, too, loik you was intrested an' such." She bumped her hip against his, and took his meek laugh as him seeing through her teasing. She tilted her head, then grinned. "What? Ye 'membeh now? Oi was a cat afteh you weh nea-fallin' ovah."

She finally came clean, though she hadn't really lied. "We played a lil bit, an you was drunk and Oi was high on th'nip."

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Bear blinked at the comparison, then shook his head. "I don't quite get it, but you need rest, Hecate."

With that, he finished cleanup and offered a hand to help her to her feet. "Would you like me to stay nearby, in case something else comes, or in case you go into shock?"

He felt like a weirdo for asking, but he didn't want to leave her alone, really. Not when she was injured. An injured kid, and a female, no less. Granted, those very reasons were why it was weird—why people might look at him funny.

He could clear it up easily and fatally if he admitted... what he didn't want to be true.

"I... sorry, that was... a strange thing to offer." He looked away, scowling. "Do you have a friend you'd like to spend the night with you that I could find and ask to come?"

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Elizabeth waited beside him, head tilted as she looked at the device, then as the silence dragged on, she looked toward Arthur.

Her gut warned of danger.

"It can open from this side, yes?" she asked suddenly, frown lines on her face growing deep.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

"I'm quicker with a knife than a gun," Seela said, implying her agreement as she rolled her shoulders. "And I'm not one for needless suffering."

That only left the problem of not being a very strong fighter. In her own element or humid environments, she did well, but most times, she wasn't a match for someone like Bear. That was why they were partners. He covered her weakness, and she covered... well, did he have any?

She pulled herself from that thought, since it was distracting her.

"Want me to go let the Councilman know now? Once I find her, I can ask to talk in private with her."
 
Simon's laughter faded to a subtle grin as she described what had happened, and he sifted through the contents of his mind to try and remember.
“I can't remember any of that, I'm afraid. I got nothing… You can turn into a cat? ...wow that'd terribly usef- I said that before, didn't I?”

He looked up and down the path, his blush beginning to fade.
“Where are the weapons?”

He shrugged.
“-doesn't matter. If this is my last time here, I don't see why I can't spend more money before we head to um... your home dimension..."
He stared blankly forward for a moment before blinking once heavily. His face was still a shade of pink. He smiled softly as he beckoned again.
"Uthar should be poking up over the hills quite soon."

---

Hecate laughed like the witch she was.
“You're the most flustered doctor I've ever seen, big guy. Don't worry about me, you can head out if it's too awkward. I'm made of sterner stuff than the average magical girl.”
She finished her statement with a tired cackle.

---

The moment after the faint echo of Eliza's voice in the stone tunnel faded, there was a clatter and a hiss as some device depressurized, and Eliza's superhuman sense of smell was immediately assaulted by the stench of blood, death, and something foul and utterly unrecognizable…

“Ah, there we go, Arthur said with a sigh of relief.”
The door opened to reveal a large stone staircase leading into an immense hall of a strange green stone, with spiralling pillars of basalt at each rounded corner. There was an immense main hall, with two shorter halls branching off from one side and three to the other, to form the shape of the Elder Sign. Peculiar lamps hung from the ceiling, projecting light only upon that which was caught in the sight of the beam, creating stark contrasts between perfect clarity and patches of pitch-black shadow not even her feline eyes could see through... There were many shelves, wires, screens, and fragments of alien technology upon the walls and stretching to various desks. In the center was a table shaped like a donut with a slice cut out, around which there were roughly twenty-two chairs. One was knocked over. The room was utterly unoccupied, which made it quite peculiar for Arthur to then say:
“...ah, there they are. Right this way, Ma'am.”

---

Eve nodded as Seela spoke.
“...okay, I-I shouldn't hold you back any longer, she needs help quick… her and Simon need help.”
She said as she slowly got up.

“...thank you for checking on me, I should go check on Heck…”
She smirked softly at her unintentional rhyme.
"...this could be the thing Simon was looking for, if the hunters can help him in any way..."
 
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