arboreal_priestess | Gingerbread Pudding, Verity's Baltimore, Thursday Afternoon

Verity's usual means of information gathering involved hitting the homes and workplaces of the local sentient cryptids and asking what's been going on at (or sometimes under) the street level. That wasn't an option with Dominic along; she wasn't going to introduce him to more cryptids than were strictly necessary.

Unfortunately 'more than strictly necessary' wasn't the same as 'none.' Verity had told Liam to meet them at Gingerbread Pudding, owned by a Madhura family. Verity had never met them; she usually visited near closing time when the owners were finishing up in the kitchens and left the running of the cash register to one of several human high school students. But today was early enough that one of them was behind the counter. She was a petite, attractive woman of Indian descent, wearing a sapphire blue T-shirt and a bright red apron embroidered with 'Come catch me! Be a Gingerbread Fan!' Her thick black hair was bound into two long braids that dangled over her shoulders as she served a slab of dark brown gingerbread and a cup of hot chocolate to a customer, smiling all the while.

The Madhura were attracted to sweet things. They thrived on honey the way dragon princesses thrived on gold, or bogeymen thrived on information. Owning a place that specialized in desserts was probably close to her inborn idea of Heaven.

Dominic	Dominic eyed the Madhura with evident bewilderment as they waited for their turn to approach the counter, nostrils flaring slightly as he detected the distinct spiciness of her pheromones. A happy Madhura was close to irresistible. It was part of what had kept them alive for so long.
Verity	Before he could barrel forward and demand information, Verity grabbed his sleeve. "Relax. She's a Madhura. They're originally from the Indian subcontinent. They used to be worshiped as gods and goddesses of plenty, because they always knew where the honey was." They took another step forward as the line advanced. "They're harmless, they're friendly, and they usually know what's going on. Also, if you try to attack a potential informant before I can even ask questions, I'm going to take a page out of Hansel and Gretel's book and shove you in their gingerbread oven, got it?"
Dominic	His expression darkened. "I don't believe we share the same definition of 'harmless.'"
Verity	Verity dug an elbow into his side. "Just shut up and let me talk. You keep an eye out for Liam."
Liam	"Sorry, sorry," Liam was saying apologetically to the people behind Dominic and Verity in line. "My friends are just, oh, hey guys!" he chirped, voice full of false cheer as he made his way over to the two of them.
Dominic	"I found him," Dominic drawled.
Verity	"Super-fucking helpful, Dominic," Verity hissed, but turned to give Liam a relieved smile anyway. Odds were less that she'd end up murdering Dominic with someone else there as a witness. Alternately, she'd have a hand burying the body. Either way, it was a win.
Piyusha	Dominic glared but fell silent as the last customer collected his purchases and went to take a seat, letting them step forward. The Madhura turned her smile in their direction, saying, "Welcome to Gingerbread Pudding. I'm Piyusha. What can I get for you today?"
Verity	"Three of whatever you think is good, and some information." Verity did her best to look harmless as she offered a return smile, and said, "My name's Verity Price. This is Liam and our...friend... Dominic. We wanted to talk to you, if we could."
Piyusha	All the innocent looks in the world didn't do much when they came attached to that name. Piyusha's smile froze in place as she glanced between them, finally saying, "Verity Price? As in...?"
Verity	"That's me. We're trying to figure out what's going on. Please?" Dominic was still glaring. Verity dug an elbow into his side. He grimaced. "I promise we won't take up too much of your time. We really just wanna help."
Piyusha	"All right." Piyusha nodded toward a door marked 'Employees Only.' "Head in the back. I'm going to get one of the other girls to take the counter, and I'll be right with you." The people who remaining in line grumbled darkly as she slipped out from behind the counter, leaving them temporarily without a server. She escorted the small group to the small employee break room and then left again, the door between them and the café swung shut, and leaving them alone.
Liam	"You know," Liam remarked casually to Verity, with a sidelong glance at Dominic, "in some ways, he reminds me of my father." The human one, that was. "That wasn't a compliment," he added, mostly for Dominic's benefit.
Verity	Verity snorted, amused. "I haven't even told you about how he fucked up my competition yet."
Dominic	"And I do believe the information I provided you with was reason enough to do so," Dominic retorted stiffly. "And, uncomplimentary or not, I'd rather be compared to your father than hers." Verity made an offended noise and Dominic rolled his eyes. "Oh honestly now," he sniffed. "It can be no shock to you that no respectable member of the Covenant wishes to be told he sounds like a traitor."
Liam	Ronald Sandoval would have cheerfully sold out the entire human race if it meant he, personally, came out on top. Liam was pretty sure that went against even the Covenant's extremely questionable tenets. "Technically speaking, neither Verity nor her father were ever part of the Covenant," Liam pointed out mildly. Yes, he knew very well that their entire family line was considered traitors, but it was hard to resist splitting hairs when faced with someone who clearly adored protocol so much.
Verity	"If you want traitors, you'll have to go back at least two generations," Verity said tightly. "And if you ask the mice, they weren't traitors even then."
Dominic	"Ask the what?" Dominic was momentarily nonplussed before he shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest. "Do you really want to have that conversation here and now, when I may be the only chance you have of finding this creature before it does real damage to your precious city?"
Verity	"My only chance?" Verity sputtered. "We're here following my lead, surrounded by my allies. What makes you God's gift to cryptozoology? You didn't even know what a Madhura was a minute ago! So why are you my only shot at finding something that may 'only' be the size of a blue whale? I'm pretty sure I can find something that big without your help. All you're doing is keeping me off the rooftops, scaring the local cryptids, and slowing me down."
Dominic	"And what is it that you think you can do for my search, exactly?" Dominic demanded. "Are you planning to tango gaily down the yellow brick road to victory? You're a traitor, from a family of traitors, and there's not a damn thing you can do that I can't do without you!"
Liam	"Hey," Liam said, stepping between the two of them. "Piyusha seems like a nice young lady, let's maybe not commit a murder in the back room of her shop, because I don't think she'd appreciate that?" he said to Verity. "Also, what's this now about finding 'something big'?"
Verity	"He thinks there's a dragon somewhere asleep under the city, based on some old Covenant records he found," Verity snapped. "I guess he was looking at the Covenant's Greatest Genocidal Hits and noticed they'd missed one."
Dominic	"You are an insolent, irresponsible, immature little bitch!" Dominic growled, his temper frayed nearly to the breaking point.
Verity	"And you're an arrogant asshole, and there may be a dragon under this city!" Verity growled right back. "And you poke me with that finger and I'll break it off, watch me!"
Liam	"As entertaining as that would be, can we put it on hold for now and instead work on figuring out what to do about a possible dragon?" Liam interjected.
Verity	Right. Regardless of whatever that asshole from the Covenant thought about her or her family, Verity was a professional. She took a step back, closed her eyes, and took several deep breaths. "We start here," she said, forcing herself to sound calm. "We get information. We may have a dragon. But even if that's true, it's not whatever is causing my cryptid families to go missing. Technically, the two might not even be related. Either way, our best bet is to get as much info as we can about either and see what overlaps."
Piyusha	The door to the employee room opened and in came Piyusha, carrying a tray loaded with three slices of frosted gingerbread, three large mugs of chocolate milk, and a small plate of graham crackers and honey. She took a seat across at the card table that dominated the break room, putting down her tray so that the crackers and honey were closer to her. "Now," she said, focusing her attention on Verity, "to what do I owe the honor of the attention of your family?"
Dominic	"We want information about the dragon," said Dominic, his tone barely short of rude.
Piyusha	Piyusha froze in the act of reaching for one of her graham crackers, simply staring at Dominic. Finally, she allowed her hand to drop to her lap and looked to Verity once more, asking politely, "Is he a member of your family, or is he a member of the Covenant?"
Verity	"The latter." Seeing the burgeoning panic in Piyusha's eyes, Verity added, "But he's promised not to hunt anyone who helps us in our investigation unless they become an active threat to the local human community." That was a transition that would mark them for a hunt by Verity's own family, as well as by the Covenant. No matter how much they may like a cryptid, once they start actively hunting people, they had to be stopped. That's part of the service they provided to the local ecology of the places they lived. Dominic glanced at her, frowning, and she kicked him under the table. They'd discuss the promises he hadn't actually made but was damn well going to adhere to later, after she'd calmed down the friendly neighborhood Madhura. "And this is Liam. He's with me, so not an ass--" Verity coughed. "Ahem. He's not a member of the Covenant."
Liam	"Not Covenant, and also not an asshole," Liam informed Piyusha cheerfully. "He is right about one thing," he continued, jabbing a thumb in Dominic's direction. "We are looking for information about a possible dragon."
Piyusha	"I...see," said Piyusha, relaxing marginally. She picked up one of her graham crackers, dipping it into the honey. "I'm not the most connected in this city. I work in a dessert café, y’know? But I do hear things, sometimes. Things that aren't always all that nice." She looked between the three of them, still spinning her graham cracker in the honey. "You swear he's not going to come back here and hunt me?" she asked, jerking her chin at Dominic.
Verity	"I swear," Verity said solemnly. "If he does, he's the one endangering the ecosystem, not you." And would be given the exact same treatment.
Piyusha	Piyusha relaxed further. "You should try your gingerbread. It's really good. Secret café recipe, people have the stuff shipped all over the place, because you can't get it anywhere else." She waited, until the three of them had all tried a sliver of the gingerbread. Dominic was the last one to try, his eyes steady on Verity and Liam in case they started choking or frothing at the mouth, or whatever it was that he had been paranoid about. His bite--and the subsequent "Mmm" that none of them had been able to suppress--seemed to have been the last piece Piyusha needed to convince her that they weren't intending to set her on fire. "Like I said, I'm not the most connected person around, but what I've heard is that not everyone who’s leaving is actually, y'know, leaving. Some of them just disappear. No notes, no forwarding addresses, nothing."
Verity	"Well, that happens," Verity said, picking up her chocolate milk. "Especially with news of the Covenant being in town getting out--"
Piyusha	"Does it usually happen with the lamia?" That stopped Verity cold, leaving her staring at Piyusha in shock. Lamia were endothermic cryptids with the torsos of women and lower half of snakes. They couldn't blend into human society and the cold left them weak and disoriented. Safety in numbers was the lamia creed...and no lamia in history would abandon their nest without a damn good reason. Seeing Verity's reaction, Piyusha pressed, "How about the hidebehinds? Four of them have disappeared, too."
Verity	"How can you tell?" Verity asked automatically. Then she shook my head, throwing off the last of her confusion. "Sorry. That was flippant and speciesist. I just...why hasn't anybody told me this?”
Piyusha	"Maybe because there's a member of the Covenant in town? I mean, you brought him here. To me. You led him to me." Piyusha worried her lower lip between her teeth before adding, "It sort of creeps me out."
Dominic	"Madam, I assure you, I could have found you on my own," said Dominic, frostily.
Piyusha	Piyusha met his eyes straight-on, squaring her shoulders. "Would you like to bet on that?"
Liam	As entertaining as it was to watch yet another person square off with De Luca, this wasn't the time to derail the conversation. "Okay, okay," Liam said, "Back to our missing persons, are there any common threads- species, geographic location, anything at all?"
Piyusha	The question got Piyusha frowning again. "They were all female, and they were all unmarried or unmated," she admitted. She worried her lip as she thought, and then added, "Some went missing during the day, and some went missing at night. A few were regular customers. I've been thinking about getting out of town."
Verity	"That just might be a good idea." Verity pulled her wallet out of her bag and produced a business card, setting it on the tray next to the graham crackers and honey. "Call me if you need anything, or if you find anything else that might help us figure out what's going on. If it really is a dragon--"
Piyusha	"I'll call you," said Piyusha. From the expression on her face, she even possibly meant it. She picked up the card, laughing nervously as she tucked it into her pocket. "My brothers aren't going to believe that I met a real Price. Sunil's convinced you people are just fairy tales."
Verity	"We don't get enough happily-ever-afters for that," Verity said softly.
Piyusha	Piyusha's expression sobered. "No, I guess you wouldn't." She glanced at Dominic. "That's all I know. I'm sorry I couldn't help more."
Dominic	It wasn't terribly hard to catch her drift. "Don't worry," Liam said, flashing Piyusha a gentle smile, "You've helped more than enough." That smile took on a darker edge as he shifted his gaze to Dominic. "Hasn't she?"
Dominic	"Yes," said Dominic. He managed to make the word sound like it pained him.
Verity	Verity stood. "We won't take up any more of your time. You'll call?"
Piyusha	"I'll call," Piyusha said firmly. They exchanged polite farewells as she escorted the three of them to the door, waving off Verity's offer of payment with a laugh that only sounded slightly forced. Through the glass, they saw her returning to her place behind the counter. Then they walked away, and would never see her alive again.