The Arrival

*Cameron turns to Astarte, looking very worried. he holds out his hand to her*

<Do you need to sit down?>

"No, no, I'm okay."

*Lilith suddenly feels like it's been over a week since anyone has answered her.*

L"Uh...excuse me, but I asked my sister to meet me here, & I'd like to go make sure she's alright. I'll be right back."

*And so she heads out into the gym proper.*
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*When she spots Thiera, Lilith strides over.*

L"Thiera! Are these the others from the bus crash? You told me you've 'only seen them around once or twice.' Why have you been keeping secrets from me? What's going on?"

S"This sounds like it could get awkward."
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*When he gets back to the front of the church, he finds that the ad, which was likely a paper flyer, has been removed from the church & torn to shreds, which have been tossed about.*

*Eve looks confused*

<You must be Lilith, right?>

*Cameron still looks very concerned*

<If you're sure. Please tell me if you need anything.>

With no immediate sign of danger, Taiyo's hold on Euryale's hand loosens up a bit.

Taiyo: "You didn't tell her you actually knew us?"

Astarte tried a flimsy smile at Cameron and looked away.

Grimm furrowed his brow and went back to work, not having a spare to put up right away.

*Thiera looks at Taiyo & frowns.*

T"If I told her I kept blowing her off to meet you guys, she would have known something was wrong."

L"Yes. Senthose told me you were probably having some kind of meeting. He says you do that a lot, that you feel you've been stalked since you came back to campus."

*Thiera's gaze snaps to Senthose, glaring.*

T"Well, I don't see how that's any of his business."

R"Hear hear."

S"Well, like it or not, it is now. You weren't lying, congratulations. And now who ever is after you has their sights on all of us."

L"Why didn't you come to me before things got so bad?"

T"I just..."

*Thiera stares at the floor.*

T"There are some things...that I can't tell you."

L"Were you going to tell me anything? What about Mom? Did you ever think about what would happen if they tracked down your home address?"

*She folds her arms & leans back on the wall, looking stern.*
===========================
*Presumably, he actually finishes the damn lawn at some point.*

And Taiyo goes back to crushing Euryale's hand at the mention of home addresses.

Tirea:<They actually broke into my house.>

Monu:<Luckily nothing was taken.>

*Cameron returns the smile*

*Euryale looks down & frowns, rubbing Taiyo's hand, at the expense of her own comfort.*

L"Even better. So, what was this meeting about?"

Taiyo grip loosens when she realizes what she's doing.

Taiyo: "S...sorry."

Eve:<We met to discuss the going on and if we had found out anything new about those stalking us.>

E"It's okay. We'll do whatever we need to, to make sure your family is safe."

R"What about yours?"

E"They're in America, I'm pretty sure they'll be okay."

L"And did you?"

T"Well...sort of...I found some...points of interest...."

*She folds her arms behind her back & watches her foot trace lines on the floor.*

L"'Points of interest'?"

T"Like...the abandoned tuberculosis asylum, & the remains of a burned-out orphanage."

*Lilith stops leaning against the wall & throws her hands in the air.*

L"You were going to walk around the city outskirts, looking for abandoned properties to break into, knowing that people are stalking you?! Thiera--"

*She points off in a random direction.*

L"Places like that are abandoned for a reason. They're dangerous, you could get asbestos poisoning, or a roof could cave in on you! This is just--this is ridiculous! I THOUGHT that you were more RESPONSIBLE than this! Why didn't you call the police, or inform campus security?!"

*She makes a "phone" gesture & puts it up to her head.*

Taiyo: "Thanks."

Tirea:<We called the police after the break in. They said there's nothing they can do.>

*Lilith raises an eyebrow.*

L"So what kind of evidence do you have that you're being stalked?"

T"Well...none."

*Lilith's eyebrow almost leaves her face.*

T"Hey, you've seen how it is. Those guys are gone & we have no idea who they were."

L"The police will find that out."

E"I bet you they won't."

*Lilith drums her fingers on her chin.*

L"Alright. You--and I do mean ALL of you--stay out of this, let the police handle it. If they find something, let them handle it from now on. If not, I'll let you go on this ridiculous quest without telling anyone."

Eve:<....Let us?>

*Eve crosses her arms, looking rather annoyed*

Monu:<How long should we give them to find something?>

Taiyo's quite happy about the possibility of not going to some abandoned orphanage where all those children were killed or an asbestos mill.

Taiyo: "Maybe they will."

L"Let's go with 'until they close the investigation.'"

*She looks pointedly at Eve.*

L"...Unless you'd like them to hear about your trespassing plans."

*Euryale points at Lilith.*

E"Fine, you're on! But you'd better hold up your end of the bargain when nothing happens."

L"You don't have to worry about that. And neither do I, because it won't be happening."

*She crosses her arms. They glare smugly into each others' eyes for the foreseeable future.*

*Eve glares back at Lilith*

Taiyo looks back and forth between the two redheads.

"...So, if that concludes the discussion, is anybody hurt back there?" Hector asked.

Grimm started heading home at a brisk pace, after locking up the church.

L"Not that I saw. They had knives, but no one got stabbed. Well...none of the girls, anyway."
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*He gets sent a picture of the pews inside the church.*

Eve:<I assume the police have been called.>

*Cameron grins at Astarte and gives her a thumbs up*

Taiyo: "Umm...how are we going to make sure our families are safe?"