arboreal_priestess | Gingerbread Pudding to the Nest, Baltimore, Sunday Morning (Reply)

Convincing Sarah to stay behind wasn't nearly as hard as it would usually have been. She'd been scared, and that was something she wasn't used to. Uncle Mike got her set up in one corner of the main room with a pile of computer pieces Verity didn't recognize. She settled in to connecting wires and configuring settings, looking happy as a clam. Everybody had their comfort zones.

Uncle Mike, however, refused to stay behind. Not that Verity complained much; with him along, they could take the car. They rode in his sedan, blending smoothly into the traffic. If the Covenant was watching for them suspiciously, they'd know to be watching the high ground. Hopefully, being on the roads would keep her and Liam under their radar.

They drove down the streets in silence, and Verity hoped as hard as she could that when they reached Gingerbread Pudding, they would find Sunil and Rochak alive and well, and she wouldn't have to make up her mind about Dominic De Luca. She wasn't ready for that. Soon, maybe, but not yet.

Luck was on her side for once. They found a parking space a quarter of a block from the café, and even from there, they could see that the joint was jumping. The line wasn't quite out the door, but people were pushing their way both in and out, and happy tourists with their cups of cocoa and squares of gingerbread choked the sidewalk.

Dominic had freaked out whenever she mentioned monsters in public places. There was no way the Covenant would try to pull off an ambush with this many civilians around. Too many centuries of secrecy weighing them down.

Rochak	Once they were at the door, Verity let Liam and Mike use their height and bulk to push people aside and she slithered around them and flashed a radiant smile at Rochak, who was manning the counter. He blinked, looking concerned for half a second before plastering an artificially radiant smile on his face and declaring, "There you are! I was starting to worry that you'd forgotten about me, and were leaving me here to die of a broken heart."
Verity	"Never," she said flirtatiously, and worked her way around the people between them to slip behind the counter. She leaned up onto my tiptoes, close enough that onlookers would assume she was kissing his cheek, and whispered, "The Covenant is coming. We need to get you out of here."
Rochak	Rochak laughed nervously. "Of course, sweetheart. Take your friends back to the break room and I'll send Rochak to bring you some gingerbread while you wait."
Liam	Liam couldn't exactly put a name to the feeling of watching his girlfriend flirt with another man. It wasn't jealousy, quite, because he knew that it was the simplest way to get the other patrons to accept their arrival and subsequent demand for the shop owners' full attention. "That's the real reason we came along," Liam said, ostensibly to Mike in an exaggerated stage whisper, with a wink at the patron currently standing at the counter.
Verity	Verity nodded as she dropped to the flats of her feet. "See you soon, honey." Motioning for the guys to follow, she started toward the back. A few people grumbled, but not many. Everyone was forgiving when romance was in the air. "At least we'll eat well before all hell breaks loose," Verity muttered, dropping the lovey-dovey act as soon as the door closed. "I hope we'll be able to convince them to leave."
Liam	"They've always been reasonable before," Liam pointed out. "Hopefully they'll continue to be so." Refusing to run at the possibility of danger was one thing, but knowingly standing in its path, when neither of the brothers were in possession of skillsets useful in a fight? That was another.
Sunil	A moment later, Sunil arrived with a tray of gingerbread, and a white to-go bag of the same stuff. "What's going on?" he asked, his expression already concerned.
Verity	"Nothing good," Verity replied, taking a piece of gingerbread. Because even if everything was already awful, no reason to pass up free gingerbread. "Sunil, this is my uncle, Mike Gucciard. Uncle Mike, this is Sunil, one of the owners of Gingerbread Pudding."
Sunil	"Charmed," said Uncle Mike, claiming his own piece of gingerbread. "Likewise," said Sunil automatically. He turned back to Verity. "What's going on? You don't normally drop by like this."
Verity	"How quickly can you close down and get out of here?" Verity asked, grabbing one of the cocoas he'd brought in as well. "Dominic - who may or may not be compromised, but that's a matter for later - just called me. There's going to be a Covenant sweep of this neighborhood. You need to leave, and you need to leave now."
Sunil	"Now?" Sunil glanced at the clock over the door. "We close in an hour for lunch prep. If I try to clear this place out before then, it'll be a madhouse. I think the best thing to do is close normally, then put a sign on the door saying that we're doing inventory and will reopen during the week. That should buy us a few days."
Liam	"Good enough for now," Liam agreed. "Do you have someplace to go?" Rochak shook his head, and Liam shot Verity a look, one eyebrow raised in a silent question. They had the space, after all...
Verity	Verity could practically feel Candy's glare on the back of her neck as she sighed and said, "Well, we do. Providing you can agree to stay inside until this is over, I've got a place you can go to ground." "Is it safe?" "It's as safe as anyplace else in this town. Safer, if everyone stays careful and follows the rules. Kitty at the Freakshow would also be willing to give you sanctuary, if you don't mind bunking with her entire staff."
Sunil	Sunil made a face. "I'd rather not. I'm unhappy enough at the idea of leaving the café without adding a bunch of strangers to the equation."
Liam	The Nest was full of strangers, too, but there would be fewer of them; maybe that would help. Liam decided not to mention that detail for the moment. "Then you come with us. We'll stay here long enough to let you shut things down, and then we'll take you back to our current base."
Sunil	"Thank you." Sunil put the tray down and went to grab Liam's hand in both of his. Verity slid between them, so he seized hers instead, holding tightly. "I don't know how I can possibly thank you enough. Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to us."
Verity	"It's my job," Verity said. Then she blinked, and repeated, almost wonderingly, "It's my job." "Very?" Uncle Mike frowned. "You okay?" "I'm fine. I just need to go upstairs and make a few phone calls. Sunil, can I use your apartment?"
Sunil	He nodded, reclaiming his hand. "Please. What’s mine is yours."
Verity	"Great. Have some more gingerbread, Uncle Mike. I'll be right back." Verity brushed her fingers over Liam's arm so he'd know she was okay, turned on her heel, and left the room, heading for the stairs up to the second-floor apartment that Sunil shared with his brother. There it was; that was it. She was done. Verity could teach dance classes, she could participate in local competitions, but it was finally time to put her professional ballroom dreams to rest. And oddly, it hurt less than she had expected it to. Maybe her parents had been right when they said that spending some time away from home would be exactly what she needed to set her priorities straight. At the time, she'd laughed at them, saying that all a few years in Baltimore would do was make damn sure she never took off her tango shoes...when really, a few years in Baltimore was what it took to teach her that dancing was her heart, but cryptozoology was her soul. She shook her head, clearing away the cobwebs, and lifted her phone. Time to start acting like the cryptozoologist she was.
Kitty	Kitty picked up her office phone with a sultry, "You've reached the Freakshow, how may we fulfill your midway fantasies today?"
Verity	"Okay, you have got to stop answering the phone like that," Verity snorted. Kitty's response had certainly killed whatever feelings of profound inside Verity had been clinging to. "You sound like you're running a bordello, not a perfectly respectable titty bar."
Kitty	"Sometimes people can't tell the difference, and it helps bring in business," said Kitty, dropping the artificial seduction as quickly as she'd put it on. She was all business now. "What's the news, Verity?"
Verity	"I won't be coming around for awhile." "I didn't expect you." "Neither will Istas." Istas wasn't aware of it yet, but with as many noncombatants as they now had at the Nest, either she or Ryan would need to be there at all times. It was a security measure. "She's staying with me."
Kitty	"That's fine. Let her know that she'll be getting paid regardless, since you wouldn't be keeping her away if you didn't really need her. Anything else?"
Verity	"There are three Covenant operatives in town." She sketched out their descriptions and provided their names, adding, "Dominic may be traveling with them. I think he's still on our side, but it's hard to be certain, and there's evidence both ways. Watch for anybody seen in his company. He doesn't know where I am, and we're keeping it that way. The new Covenant folks have telepathy blockers that may work on other forms of psychic ability and confusion charms. Keep them away from the hidebehinds if you possibly can." "Honey, I'm keeping the Covenant of St. George away from everyone if I possibly can." "That's a good approach. I'll keep you posted to the best of my ability. Things are about to get pretty messy around here, and I'm not sure how much time I'm going to have."
Kitty	Kitty sighed. "Verity, you've done more than anyone could ask you to. This isn’t your fight."
Verity	Verity looked around the perfectly domestic little apartment where, once, three siblings sat and dreamed of a new life, one that involved owning a dessert café of their very own. Below her, the two who survived would be shutting things down, getting ready to abandon their dream - even if temporarily - for the sake of their lives. They shouldn't have had to do that. No one should have to do that. Several dreams had died in this very building, just today, all thanks to the Covenant of St. George. Dreams mattered. She shook her head, even knowing that Kitty couldn't see it. "No," she said. "This has always been my fight. This is everyone's fight."
Kitty	"Fine, then," said Kitty. "What do we do now?"
Verity	Verity smiled into the darkness. It felt good. "We win."

Sunil never returned to the counter, going upstairs to pack as soon as Verity came back downstairs. Then they left their (fully human) staff to clean and close up behind them, the five of them leaving with the last crowd about five minutes before lunchtime closing. Neither brother liked that very much, but Verity was going to use every trick at their disposal to keep them safe and that included taking advantage of the Covenant's refusal to involve ordinary humans in their 'holy work.'

It took almost two hours to get back to the Nest, thanks to Uncle Mike's evasive driving techniques, which included a trip over the Key Bridge. Verity and Liam spent most of the drive watching the mirrors for signs of pursuit. They never came.

Sunil and Rochak goggled shamelessly as they entered the Nest. Each of them had a suitcase, and Rochak was dragging a cooler filled with gingerbread, cookies, and jars of assorted types of sugar in both liquid and granular forms. Verity had never realized there were so many kinds of natural sweetener. Watching a Madhura pack his kitchen was definitely an education.

Istas	Istas was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the room, carefully stitching lace around the edge of one of her seemingly endless supply of parasols. She looked up as they approached, assessing them to see whether they presented any threat. The way her posture tensed said clear as day that she didn't know what Sunil and Rochak were. The growl that followed said she was wasn't taking chances, either.
Verity	Verity started walking just a little faster, putting herself between Istas and the others. "Istas, this is Sunil and Rochak," she said, indicating them each in turn. "They're Madhura."
Istas	Her expression - a mixture of wariness and blank incomprehension - didn't change. Neither did the growl.
Liam	Clearly, further clarification was needed. "They're cryptids, they're harmless, and," and this was possibly the most important part, "they brought cookies," Liam explained.
Istas	"Why did you fail to open with the word 'cookies'?" Istas set her sewing supplies aside and stood in a single fluid gesture. The smile she turned toward Sunil and Rochak contained a few too many teeth. "Baked goods are one of the primary accomplishments of civilization."
Uncle Mike	"Along with...?" prompted Uncle Mike, with the air of a man who both wanted to know and yet already regretted asking.
Istas	"Waterproof mascara, conditioner, and bleach," said Istas. She cocked her head to the side, still studying the two Madhura. "My name is Istas. I am a waheela. Do you know what a waheela is?"
Sunil	"No," said Sunil. He hesitated before adding, "Ma'am." Always play nicely with the predators of the world - and whether or not he knew what Istas was, she was clearly a predator. Nothing else could hold so still while staring so intently.
Istas	"I am a therianthrope from the upper reaches of this continent," Istas said, with perfect calm. "My people come from the ice and the snow and the tundra without end. I live here because I am considered a 'human-lover,' too soft and fond of people to be an effective hunter. Do you think I am soft?"
Verity	There was absolutely no good answer to that question. Sunil and Rochak shot Verity matching panicked looks. She sighed. "Istas, please play nicely. Sunil and Rochak are going to be staying with us while the Covenant is in town."
Rochak	"We bake," said Rochak. "Constantly. And we share." "Hm." Istas considered them. "I will extend my protection to you in exchange for cookies." "Deal," he agreed, fervently.
Liam	Between Istas and the mice, Liam figured it was probably for the best that they now had a couple of dedicated bakers staying with them. Probably. "Go ahead and pick any of the open offices to use as a bedroom," Liam told the brothers, "And we'll get you set up with air mattresses. You've met Verity's Uncle Mike, and Ryan is..." Liam trailed off, looking around the warehouse. "Where is Ryan, actually?" he asked Istas.
Istas	"He has gone to the Freakshow to collect some things, and to confirm that Kitty does not require our services." Istas bent and picked up her parasol. Then she paused, sniffing the air. "I smell gingerbread."
Verity	"Like Liam said, they brought cookies." Verity gave Rochak a meaningful look. Verity liked smart people and Rochak proved to be a smart person. He opened the cooler, grabbed one of the medium-sized bags of gingersnaps, and tossed it to Istas. She caught it one-handed. It took her less than five seconds to open the bag, snatch out three cookies, and cram them into her mouth. "Okay, that's Istas taken care of, and you can meet Ryan when he gets back. I should probably introduce you to the mice. That'll go better if you're willing to give up some more gingersnaps. That just leaves one more person. Hang on a second." Verity cocked her head, 'listening' for the telepathic static of Sarah's presence. As soon as she started looking for it, she found it, lingering at the back of her mind like so much white noise. Sarah? she thought, as loudly as she could. Can you come to the main room for a minute? There's some folks I need you to meet.
Sarah	*I'll be right there,* she replied, her thoughts focused communication to Verity's brain, rather than the directionless mental 'shouting' Verity did. *I just need to get off the phone.*
Verity	Unaware of the entire silent conversation going on, Sunil and Rochak were frowning at Verity, looking confused, while Istas did her best to eat her way through the entire bag of cookies without pausing for air. Verity offered an apologetic smile. "Sorry," she said. "My cousin is coming down to meet you. Her name's Sarah. She's a telepath, but she's a very polite one, and she won't poke around in your head without permission."
Sunil	Somehow, they didn't look particularly reassured. Sunil put down his suitcase and coughed into his hand before indicating the cooler, and asking, "Is there someplace we can put all this? A cooler isn't exactly ideal for long-term storage."
Uncle Mike	"There's a kitchen," said Uncle Mike. "Come on, I'll show you. There's even some masking tape so we can label the stuff you don’t want anybody else touching."
Rochak	"Thank you," said Sunil. He glanced to Rochak. "Will you be all right here with Verity?" "If she were going to kill us, we'd be splattered all over the inside of the café by now, not standing in this godforsaken excuse for a refuge," said Rochak. He sounded tired. "Go on. Make sure everything is put away. I'll get us a room."
Liam	"So," Liam said, after a beat of silence just long enough to be awkward. "Welcome home. At least for the next few weeks, anyway."
Rochak	"You really think this will be over in a few weeks?" asked Rochak dubiously.
Verity	"If it's not, I think it's unlikely to be my problem anymore, because I'll be dead," Verity said, and shrugged. "It's a hazard of the job. When you decide to be the immovable object standing in front of the unstoppable force, you'd better pray that you're right about being immovable, and they're wrong about being unstoppable."
Liam	"It should be noted that I vastly prefer the outcome where you don't die," Liam felt compelled to point out. "Where none of us do." He wasn't going to say something along the lines of how it would never come to that, because if anyone in this room was aware of how real the possibility of death was when you were fighting a war, it was the person who had actually died. Still, he was going to do his damnedest to keep everyone on their side alive.
Sarah	"Hard same" said Sarah as she descended the stairs. She sounded exhausted. Her hair was loose, and her feet were bare. "I don't want to be the one explaining that to your mother, you know."
Rochak	"Hello," said Rochak. His eyes were a little wide. Not unusual in men meeting Sarah for the first time - or in anyone meeting her for the first time. Her cuckoo magic was hitting him hard, and if Sarah wasn't careful, she'd have him thinking that they'd been friends since childhood. Or that they were dating, or married, or who knows what else.
Sarah	Sarah saw the dazed look and flinched a little. "Sorry. I relaxed while I was on the phone, and I just...sorry." Her eyes flashed white as she clamped her shields down tighter. The telepathic static increased in volume at the same time, like keeping herself from changing the minds of people around her meant that it was harder for her to stay out of 'sight.'
Rochak	Rochak blinked and shook his head, like he was trying to clear away cobwebs. His expression changed, going from bedazzled curiosity to fear as he took a large step backward. Then he bowed deeply toward Sarah.
Liam	Okay, well. That was certainly unexpected. "Uh. The hell?"
Sarah	Verity looked just as flabbergasted as Liam and Sarah just looked acutely uncomfortable. "I don't know either," said Sarah. Louder, she asked, "Um, sir? Do you think you could stand up, maybe, and stop being weird?" Pretty please?
Rochak	"My lady Johrlac, if you allow me to take my brother and depart your hive, I swear, we will never darken your door again." Rochak was talking almost too fast for anyone to understand him. It didn't help that he was facing the floor. "I did not know. I am sorry. I did not realize."
Verity	"What are you talking about, Rochak?" Verity asked. "Sarah's my cousin. This isn't her 'hive,' it's our hiding place. If it belongs to anyone, it's mine, since I'm the one renting the place from the dragons."
Rochak	He lifted his head enough to shoot me a deeply apologetic look. "I can't save you. I'm so sorry."
Liam	And that's when the last piece of the puzzle clicked in to place for Liam. Just because Covenant of St. George had no definitive proof that the cuckoos were real didn't mean the other cryptids weren't aware—and 'Johrlac' was the proper name for her species. "I think I see what’s going on here. You called her 'lady Johrlac.' That means you know what Sarah is, don't you?"
Rochak	Rochak's apologetic look turned panicked. "You mean you know?"
Sarah	"Johrlac," said Sarah, sounding not only tired, but suddenly depressed. Discussion of her actual species tended to have that effect on her. "No one knows where we come from, no one knows how to send us back there, and most people don’t know how to kill us. Everybody calls us 'cuckoos,' because a thing can be less scary when you have an easy name to hang on it. We steal lives, and then we end them. Is that what you think I am?"
Rochak	"Please, I meant no offense," whispered Rochak.
Verity	Verity stepped closer to Sarah, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Sunil, Sarah is my cousin. Not by birth, maybe, but by adoption. Voluntary adoption. My grandmother - her mother — is also a cuckoo. She raised my mom. So my whole family is sort of resistant to the instinctive brainwashing. We like Sarah because she's Sarah. We love her because she's family. And she's not going to hurt you. She's here to hide from the Covenant, just like the rest of us." She liked Rochak. And his brother. And felt incredibly guilty for what happened to their sister. But if they were going to make Sarah feel like shit the entire time they were here, they could find a new hideout.
Sarah	"I've always done my very best not to take advantage of the people around me," said Sarah, opening her eyes and looking plaintively at Rochak. "It's hard sometimes. You can't even imagine how hard. But I swear, I'm not going to mess with your head."
Rochak	"This is..." Rochak frowned, finally straightening up. "I've never heard of a Johrlac deciding to live among others as one of them, and not as their master."
Liam	"She does the dishes, too," Liam offered. Not that you'd know it from the general state of her hotel suites, but she'd done so while staying at Verity's over Parents Weekend, at least.
Sunil	"Rochak!" Sunil reappeared from the direction of the kitchen, Mike tagging along behind him. Istas was nowhere to be seen, possibly because the kitchen now contained a great deal of unguarded gingerbread. "Who's this?"
Verity	Verity stopped wondering if Mike had reminded Istas to leave some cookies for the rest of them and braced for Part II of the Cuckoo Explosion. "My cousin, Sarah," she said.
Sunil	Except there was no explosion. Sunil stopped next to his brother, looking speculatively at Sarah. Then he turned to Verity, and asked, "Your cousin is a Johrlac? How is that even biologically possible?" He might have missed that her Uncle Mike wasn't biologically-related to her, either. Cryptids didn't always pick up on subtle human things.
Verity	"See, I'm a little more curious as to how you're identifying her on sight, but yes, she is," Verity said. "Is that going to be a problem?"
Sunil	"No. I'm fully mature. She can't get inside my head." He put a hand on Rochak's shoulder, turning back to Sarah. "If you hurt my brother, I will destroy you. Then I will find the rest of your hive, and destroy them as well."
Sarah	"I'm not going to hurt your brother, and I don't have a hive," said Sarah in a tiny voice. "I just want this to be over before I miss too many classes."
Verity	"Wait, wait, wait, back up," Verity said, holding up a hand. "Mature? What does that have to do with anything?" She was too much a cryptozoologist to be able to let that go without question.
Rochak	"Madhura are immune to the lure of the Johrlac once we pass our third molt," said Sunil. He nodded toward Rochak. "My brother has only passed his second." "Thanks for announcing that to the world, brother!" said Rochak, looking mortified.
Liam	"If it helps," Liam said, giving Rochak a sympathetic look, "none of us actually have any idea what that means." Well, beyond the brand-new knowledge related to eventual immunity to Sarah's abilities.
Verity	"Uncle Mike, can you show them to an empty office? Not one of the ones to either side of Sarah, please, I think we'll all feel better if we're not stacking people on top of each other." And maybe later, when all this was over, if she survived, Verity could sit down with Sunil and grill him on exactly how the Madhura were able to resist the call of the cuckoo - something no other known species was able to do, except for possibly the Apraxis wasps, and those weren't something people could sit down and talk to. Not unless they felt like being stung to death and used to feed the hive's larvae.
Uncle Mike	"I'm on it," said Mike, finishing up a text to Verity's dad to update the journals with more information about the Madhura. Look, he was also a cryptozoologist. "If you two gentlemen would follow me, I'll show you to your quarters - and to the bathroom, since you're probably going to want that eventually." He started toward the stairs. Sunil and Rochak followed him.
Verity	As soon as Verity and Sarah were alone - Liam didn't count, not for this - Verity was turning to give her cousin a deep, comforting hug. "You okay?"
Sarah	Sarah laughed unsteadily. "Oh, I'm dandy. This has been the best twenty-hour hours. The Covenant of St. George has telepathy blockers on their people, so I won't be able to hear them coming. I had to leave my hotel before I was ready, and I didn't have time to finish my homework first. I'm going to miss class tomorrow, Artie's freaking out and wants to fly to Baltimore to panic at me in person, and now there are people who know what I am living in the same building as me." She paused, taking a deep breath. "I know what you are," Verity protested. "I've always known." "You don't look at me like that, Verity. You've never looked at me like that."
Liam	"Because she also knows who you are. As do I." Liam pointed out gently. "They don't, yet. If you'd rather not stay here, though, there's always the dragons. I bet William's itching for a rematch of your last chess game."
Sarah	Sarah gave Liam and appreciative smile, but shook her head. "I can't. Even if I was comfortable leaving Verity behind, which I'm not - " "You don't have to stay for my sake. I can take care of myself." "I don't care if you think you can take care of yourself. I'm not leaving you," Sarah repeated, more firmly. "But even if I was, there's no Internet or cell service in the Nest. The dragons don't consider it a priority. All their calls are made on an old landline the city put in for the municipal workers, and they'd slit their wrists before they paid for smart phones. If I drop off the grid like that, Artie will be on the next plane out of Portland, and I'm not going to be the reason he puts himself in danger. I can't."
Verity	"Right." Verity sighed, rubbing the back of her neck with one hand. One day, those two were going to admit that they were in love with each other. Until then, the rest of the family were all stuck in the middle of their not-a-relationship. "Well, then, I guess we're all just going to have to cope." Ugh. That was such a cop out. "C'mon," she added. "Let's go get you settled. You can try explaining your math to me and Liam, and then giggle with Liam after I fall asleep in the middle of the explanation again."