Mythic

(starting somewhere randommm)

Tristan pushed the doors aside, casually passing through the metal detectors that guarded past the library doors. Lifting one hand, he removed his hood and ruffled his black bangs out of his face. He removed his sunglasses, allowing his colored eyes to be exposed to the dim library light. A dark brown should be enough to be inconspicuous in such low lighting, so long as he kept his excitement under control. Every lead he asked had led him here, and while he couldn't actually feel it, he knew the girl was close. He made his way to the center of the room to the librarian's desk and leaned over to smile at the surprisingly young woman in the chair.

She looked up and smiled after a couple seconds, her bright eyes flashing him an appreciative look. "Can I...help you?"

"Yes, I'm...looking for someone actually."

The girl fidgeted a little. "Uhm...for someone? Not a book to read?"

He smiled. "Yes. Has a girl who seems relatively reclusive come in at all?"

The librarian's face fell with disappointment. "Oh, right, her. Yes she's here. Good luck trying to get her to talk though."

"Thank you. Do you know where..."

The young librarian jerked her head over to the side as she turned to help someone else.  "Did you find everything you need?" she asked, her kind tone sounding a bit more forced.

He turned around to see a girl, either young or quite short for her age, with long black hair placing books on the counter.  She flashed a small smile, but didn't say anything.

"Yes, well...you always do." the librarian muttered.  Tristan was surprised at her rudeness, but saw that the girl made no move to acknowledge the comment.

The girl took her books silently and turned towards the exit. On closer observation, he could see the girl had a set of headphones in beneath her black hair. It definitely explained her less than talkative behaviour, but why a smile like that?

Tristan narrowed his eyes and slowly probed out with his energy out of habit.

Nothing. He couldn't feel anything. No emotions whatsoever. But that was impossible. No human could void his powers just like that...this girl wasn't a normal human. It was her.

With a grin, he pulled back on his power. The librarian turned back to him with a quizzical look. "Are you alright sir?"

Tristan shook his head for a second and looked to her. "Yes, thank you. I think I just found what I'm looking for."

As he walked away, he could hear the girl mutter "Of course you did."

He sighed a little as he felt her jealousy. Poor girl must have had something bad happen to have a lingering jealousy like that.

After the girl left the library, she didn't go far.  Just across the street to the park.  She found a shady tree away from the other people there and dropped her messenger bag with a sigh, plopping down on the grass and laying back, rubbing her temples.  He could see her lips moving, but it was too noisy to hear what she was saying from this distance. For all he knew, it could be the lyrics to whatever song she was hearing. She looked awfully tired though.

Tristan put his sunglasses back on and moved towards the girl. He put one hand in his pocket and smiled as he stopped in front of her.

"Excuse me miss? Hello? Can you hear me?"

Judging from the complete non response other than bopping her head to her music, she hadn't.

It was time to try a different tactic. With a flick of his hand that was out of the pocket, he focused on his emotions. He wanted to get through to her. He wanted to. He was determined. With a slight flash, a small piece of golden energy manifested between his fingers. Aiming it at her, he removed his fingers and let the energy flit forward. With a slight fizzle, the shield's front side bore a hole, enough for him to 'look' inside. "You can dispense with the pleasantries you know. I won't hurt you."

The girl's eyes flew open and she sat bolt upright, yanking out her headphones as she saw him in front of her.  She looked around and seeing no one else, her gaze returned to him, eyes narrowing for a moment before she relaxed, obviously remembering not to blow her cover.  "Heard of a personal bubble?" she arched an eyebrow.

He nodded his head slightly. "Yes, though it's not normal that a bubble can actually block a person entirely."

Her relaxation disappeared completely and her eyes narrowed as she made to get to her feet. "How the hell did you do that?!"

Tristan put his hands up as he felt her spike of fear and animosity. "Whoa whoa, easy now, ok? I'm a friend of Felix."

As fast as her relaxed form had disappeared, now so did her angry one.  "Felix?  He's...He's still alive?"

Tristan let his hands fall as her energy did. "Yeah. He and I are...old friends. Been through a few things here or there."

She shook her head, a slight smile appearing. "I doubt that anyone who knows that old coot hasn't been through a few things..."

Tristan chuckled. "Yeah...no lie in that."

"So..." she wrapped up her headphones and iPod, putting them in her bag.  "I get that you're a friend of Felix's...But that doesn't exactly explain why you were apparently looking for me." she arched an eyebrow.  "And I still don't know how you got through my shield...it's strongest when I'm just relaxing and can concentrate easier..."

"Well, let's just say that...wait." Tristan felt a disturbance nearby. Someone, or someones in this case, felt very, very dangerous. Malicious, greedy, and directed at...her.

"We have to get out of here. Now."

She was about to ask why when a different voice entered the conversation.

"Now now, don't run off so soon, Evie.  Not when we've finally managed to catch up after...how long now?  Eight months?"

Eve glared at the person now separating themselves from the shadows.  "Not long enough." she spat, violet eyes flashing.

"Hmm, yes...good disguise there, honey. You almost look normal." A man, not too much older than Eve was, walked over.  He was wearing the usual long trench coat with the insignia Eve knew to be the Agency's. But what was most recognizable was his shaggy hair.  It looked black, but shimmered shades of very dark blue and purple without the light even hitting it.

"Dusk.  I should have known they'd send YOU again." Eve's tone didn't soften a smidgen.  "They always send the rat that hides in the shadows."

"Oh, you know you missed me." Dusk smiled, probably the creepiest looking smile anyone had seen.

"Oh yeah." Eve's eyes narrowed.  "And this time, I'll make sure to hit you!" she threw out a hand and Tristan could barely see a shimmering barrier around the other man.  But it was very wavy, not solid at all.  Dusk chuckled and swiftly disappeared into the ground.  He reappeared behind Eve from the shadow of the huge tree they were under.

"You'll have to do better than that, dearie." he taunted, creepy smile still in place.

Startled, Eve whirled around, her barrier dissolving completely as she lost her focus. She swung at his head blindly, but her hand went right through it.  Dusk just laughed.  "Did you miss the part about me being able to turn into a shadow form?" he grabbed her wrist, hand apparently solid. "When I want to, of course."

Before she could blink, Eve saw a hand whip in front of her, to grab the wrist of her assailant. With a sharp jab, Tristan punched the man's nose and Dusk let go of her. Reeling back a little, Tristan sent a kick to his chest and he flew to his back on the ground.

"I don't think the lady likes to be touched. And it appears that you can't phase out if you're being touched by an outer force. Handy thing to remember."

Dusk held his bloody nose for a while, but it didn’t take long for it to heal.  All Mythics seemed to have one form of healing or another… “Who’s the uninvited guest?” he asked as he got back to his feet. “You should know that it’s hazardous to your health to play hero around this girl.” He brushed himself off and made his way back over to Eve.  “See, folks I work for have been looking for this little lady for years.  They’re veeerry interested in the…ability…she has.  They want her bad.” He patted Tristan’s shoulder.  “Now, I’m not sure why you’re not freaking out over the weird abilities I’ve shown…Maybe you watch too much sci-fi…But do yourself a favour and stay out of this. The people I work for are not people you wanna mess with.”

Tristan froze for a moment, the kid actually thought he was human. Either he was either getting very good at hiding his ability, or this boy was just that stupid. Slowly, he let a grin creep across his face, then a chuckle rise from his throat, then a laugh from deep in his chest. "Oh wow hahahaha! I've heard villain speeches before but seriously, that's the best you could come up with? Hahahahaha!

Eve and Dusk looked at the other man like he was crazy.  The latter cleared his throat. "Hm...Okay, well...if you don't mind, kid," he phased into shadow form, disappearing and reappearing in front of Eve. "I have a job to do."

Eve glared daggers at him and threw up a barrier, but it was weak due to lack of concentration and didn't do a good job of stopping Dusk. "I told you once, I will tell you again.  I'm not going ANYWHERE with you!"

Tristan immediately stopped laughing widened his stance. With a sharp movement he snapped his arm backward into a backfist and connected with the side of Dusk's head. It wasn't hard, but was enough to send the man stumbling the other way. "I said, the lady doesn't want to go with you."

"Oh, the idiot won't take a hint, huh?" Dusk got to his feet again.  "Fine. Your funeral." his body phased again, but this time, his shadow changed as well.  It lifted from the ground and stood beside Dusk, taking a fighting stance. "Let's see...how does that song go?  ~Like the wallpaper sticks to the wall. Like the seashore clings to the sea. Like you'll never get rid of your shadow. Frank, you'll never get rid of me.~" he grinned.  "~Me and my shadow~" the shadow Dusk appeared behind Tristan.  "~Are gonna kick your butt!~"

Tristan sighed. He really didn't want to resort to this. Then again, wiping the smug look off his face might be fun. He began to focus, feeling the emotions around him. "You're making a big mistake kid. This is your last warning."

Dusk's eyes widened in fury.  "It's YOU who's made the mistake!" he yelled as he lunged forward, his shadow doing the same from behind.  But only the real Dusk was able to follow through, as his shadow was stopped by something.  Behind it, Eve was standing, hand out toward the shadow, eyes focused directly on it.

"Quit using underhanded tactics, Dusk.  Fight like a man for once."

"Damned Guardian!" Dusk spat.  "Once I'm through with hero boy here, you're next!"

Tristan felt Dusk's fury. 'Looks like someone had a temper' he thought with a smile. As Dusk ran at him, he quickly grabbed the arm that reached out to punch him and twisted it behind the boy's back. With a quick kick to the back of the knee, Dusk fell to a kneeling position. "You have quite the temper for someone who’s supposed to be...cool. Mind if I borrow it?" With a quick movement, Tristan, slammed his hand onto Dusk's chest, palm open. Concentrating, he mentally reached in and took hold of the angry energy. He felt the familiar burn that anger always gave off, and he pulled his arm back while holding the energy.

Before his eyes, Dusk saw a black sticky substance come out of his chest.

Tristan snapped his arm straight and concentrated. Anger was a very brutal force. What could he make with it that wouldn't kill the kid? Thinking for a moment, he smiled and let the energy take shape. The black substance swirled around his arm, writhing like a living monster. Slowly, it began to solidify along his arm in the form of thick, black muscle. Soon enough, it stopped in the form of a giant black arm. Tristan grinned at the boy's shocked face. “And, as they say; Tristan SMASH!" he shouted in his best impersonation. Bringing his right arm forward in a solid uppercut, Dusk was slammed right in his chest and lifted off the ground about ten feet, and flew for about 30. With a yell, he hit the ground back-first and rolled to a stop in front of a park bench.

Tristan grinned and flexed the black arm. "I did warn you."

As much as Eve was trying to concentrate on restraining Dusk's shadow, the sight made her lose focus a bit.  'He's...like me?' she thought.  Felix had told her there were others but she hadn't seen any outside of the agency... She jumped and let out a curse as she saw that the shadow wasn't being held back anymore.  "Look out!" she tried to put up another barrier, but her focus was too divided now.  She saw Dusk getting to his feet and just barely managed to stop him from getting back into the fray.  Though she had to admit, two against one wasn't looking so unfair now...

Dusk fought against her shield, hitting it as hard as he could.  "Oh, you wanna make this fight between us, Evie?!  Fine by me!" he gave her shield a particularly hard hit, knowing from experience it would rattle her concentration.  Sure enough, her shield shattered with another hard hit and Eve cried out in pain as she staggered back, holding her head. "Thought I forgot that weakness, huh?  Big mistake." his creepy grin was back, although it was more crazy than smug now.  He was losing it.

Meanwhile, Dusk's shadow had made a beeline for Tristan, obviously having a one track mind and only thinking about how he was supposed to have attacked him earlier...Shadows were fortunately not as intelligent as their owners.

Tristan saw it coming at him from Eve's warning. With a quick sidestep, he moved directly to its left and the shadow stumbled past him. With another quick uppercut, his hand connected with the shadow's ribcage.

To his surprise, the shadow was solid and flew a few feet back. There was a shout to his right and he turned to see Dusk flying again. Tristan blinked for a moment, then grinned. This was going to be fun.

He ran after the shadow, letting go of the black energy that surrounded his arm and it returned to normal. As the shadow hit the floor, he grabbed its wrists and flipped it onto its stomach so to pin the arms behind the back. Sure enough, Dusk was in the same position when he looked up. "Well now, this is a bit of a...bind, for you isn't it!?" he shouted.

Dusk struggled wildly, spitting curses as he struggled to get to Eve, who was only a few feet away, still cringing in pain.  

Tristan looked back down to the struggling shadow. Moving both wrists to his left hand, he focused his energy again to his right hand. Determination. Determination. Determination!

A flash of golden energy spewed from his hand and took shape like the black did. Tristan clenched a fist around the energy and a golden dagger appeared in his hand, gleaming in the sunlight. He placed the dagger at the neck of the shadow and pressed a little. Dusk froze as he felt a trickle of blood run down his neck.

"I wouldn't move if I were you." Tristan said sternly.

"Ugh, you always were useless, brother." there was a blinding flash of light and suddenly both Dusk and his shadow had vanished.  "This definitely isn't over." the same voice said as another flash of light appeared, leaving behind a girl with hair so light that it was almost white.  She too wore the agency's trench coat. Dusk stood next to her, arms crossed and almost looking pouty.

Tristan let go of the dagger and it dissipated as well. "Well look what we have here, twins~ Maybe this will be interesting after all. Your brother was a little boring to be honest."

"He's an idiot." the girl replied flatly, face showing no emotion, except maybe slight disdain.  "Unable to handle a pathetic weakling like Guardian..." her head snapped to look at Tristan, still emotionless though her voice sounded otherwise.  "And now YOU'VE come in, playing the hero and messing everything up. How irritating.” A bow and arrow appeared in her hands, both such a brilliant gold that they seemed to glow.  “I will only give one warning.  Stop getting in our way.” She knocked the arrow and pulled the string back.  “If you don’t, I WILL make you regret wasting your time.”

Tristan could feel the determination from this girl. That was going to be an arrow of serious power. Definitely a step up from her brother. This would be interesting. But he wasn't about to let her bully him. He was after all her elder of a couple thousand years.

Tristan widened his stance and took a defensive position. "Sorry miss, but I can't do that. I am here to protect her. And I will. not. fall." Willpower. Every ounce he could spare. He wouldn't fall here. Not by this girl. Willpower was the greatest defense, and would stand up to anything if he was willing to. He felt it rise up in him, exuding from every inch of his body. He looked at the girl. "Hit me with your best shot."

"Then you have given yourself a suicide mission." she pulled the string of her bow back tighter and let the glowing arrow loose with a small flash of light.  Only to find it was suspended in midair, stopped by the girl now in front of Tristan, holding out her hand at the arrow.  "You pathetic fool.  You can't keep a barrier up for long in your condition."  

Eve didn't seem to care, glaring at the other girl as she tried to focus and strengthen her shield.

Tristan looked at her. "Eve, it's all right. I'll be fine. Let it go."

Eve shook her head. "You...don't know...Dawn's arrows..." she managed to get out without her barrier weakening. Dawn was nonplussed by the whole thing, simply shooting another arrow and watching the cracks in Eve's shield (thanks to her power of bending light, she could actually see the barriers Eve put up).

 "You're not going to last Guardian.  Give up now." she said in monotone, preparing another arrow.

Tristan smiled. "Trust me Eve."

Eve glanced back at him, shaking with the effort of keeping up the shield.  She was pretty sure this was a bad idea...but still...she finally dropped the shield, feeling like she was going to collapse.

Tristan's eyes snapped back to the arrows. Clapping his hands, the willpower around him condensed in front of him just as the arrows came to him, trapping them in a wall of energy. Calling upon the final remnants of the anger he stole from Dusk, he let the black sticky energy wrap around his right hand and latch onto each arrow, flipping them around to point back at Dawn. Pulling back on them, he allowed the sticky substance to create a bow of his own. "I think these belong to you."

Dawn's pale eyes widened and there was another flash of light as she and Dusk both disappeared before the arrows could touch them.  "You win this round...But the fight's far from over." her voice echoed before the light in the area returned to normal.  They had really left.

"C-Cowards...They always run when things start going sour..." Eve muttered.

Tristan let the energy dissipate and scoffed. "Puh. They're kids. Let them throw their tantrum. For now, back to the original plan, we need to leave."

"Agreed." Eve nodded, looking a bit tired still.  "Follow me.  My house is safest.  It's a bit of a long trip though, fair warning." she walked over and picked up her bag. 

Tristan smiled. "I'm used to travelling. Done so all my life."

"Well, you can catch a ride with me if you'd like, or just follow.  It's up to you. Oh..." she turned to face him.  "And thank you...y'know, for helping me..." she held out her hand. "Since you found me through Felix, I'm guessing you know my name.  But you've already saved me once and I don't know yours. That's a bit rude." Her smile softened her words.

Tristan took her hand firmly. "Yes. My name is Tristan. And I am a Mythic like you."

Eve arched an eyebrow.  "I kind of guessed that by now." she laughed slightly.  "And here I thought I was the only one not brainwashed by the Agency." she shook his hand.  "Nice to meet you, Tristan." she smiled.

Tristan grinned wider. "You're in for a bit of a shock. I thought I was. Then again, a couple thousand years will do that.

Eve's smile melted into a look of complete shock.  "A couple thousand...what?  But you only look a little older than me!"

Tristan laughed. "Here's a little secret for you. I'm one of the original Mythics. I'm ageless."

Eve slowly let go of his hand, giving a few once overs.  "...Whoa." was all she could manage.

Tristan nodded. "Hence my reason for calling them children."

Eve looked like she wanted to say ALOT more, but as she looked around, seeing people started to glance their way, she shook her head.  "We should go before we end up talking about things these humans can't fathom...Not to mention I don't know if any more agents are hanging around.  Bottom line, it's not safe to talk here.  Come on, you can hitch a ride home with me."

Tristan paused for a moment. "You mean like, in a car?"

Eve chuckled.  "I walk a slightly more adventurous path.  Ever ridden on a motorcycle before?"

Tristan looked at her incredulously. "Is it like riding a horse?"

She laughed slightly.  "Kind of.  C'mon, follow me." she took his hand, leading him back down the street toward a parking structure. "There she is." she said fondly as they came up to a small park spot on the second floor.  Sitting in the middle of it was something that looked like a very suped up bicycle, painted in metallic blue and green paint on a white background. 

"....I'm riding...on that?" Tristan eyed the mechanical wonder skeptically. "That is not a horse."

Eve laughed again.  "I said it was KIND OF like riding a horse." She took what looked like a highly impractical version of a helmet off the handlebars.  "Oh...I don't have an extra...Oh well.  Here." she handed the headpiece to him.  "I keep a shield up when I ride, so I'll be fine.  I don't condone riding without a helmet, but the time calls for it and you need it more."

Tristan turned his head to the helmet. "I'm not getting on that beast."

She arched an eyebrow.  "What, you don't trust my driving skills?" she got into the bike's saddlebags and pulled out a jacket and gloves.

Tristan flipped the helmet in his hands. "No, I don't trust the thing that's not alive and is still supposed to take me where I need to go."

"She doesn't.  I do." she pulled on the jacket, a sort of wing design emblazoned on the back.  "I control this 'beast', as you have so meanly called her.  So if you're saying you don't trust her, you're saying you don't trust me." she pulled on the gloves.  "Which I suppose is understandable, you HAVE just met me." she shrugged.

Tristan bowed his head slightly. "Forgive me. I don't mean to be so...reluctant. But, I've been alive since millennia before these...creations, were even a dream. Call it nostalgic, but I'm still used to the old ways. Most days I just walk to wherever I need to go."

“I understand, I suppose…” Eve replied, checking various things on her bike, frowning every now and again and tinkering with some of the machinery.  “However, if you are going to continue living in this day and age, you’re going to have to get used to the technological side of things.  And believe me, it’s a lot easier to get used to something when you have someone who’s understanding and willing to help, as opposed to someone who’s just there to teach you for their job and really couldn’t care less how scared you are.”

Tristan mulled this over for a moment. It was true; things were going to be difficult if she was going to be around. They would need to stay together, and his preferred method was not going to allow that. With a deep breath, he placed the helmet over his head and put the visor down. "Alright. Let's try."

"There you go." she gave him a smile.  "Don't worry.  I promise that I won't let anything happen to you. I'm not as reckless as most of the people who ride these things." she got onto her motorcycle and kicked the stand up.  "Just hold on tight and if you need to, close your eyes."

Tristan slowly swung one leg over the cycle's rear and slowly cinched his arms around the girl's waist. This was pitiful. He was millennia old and he was afraid of this two wheeled monstrosity.  "I'm ready." He said sternly.

She patted his arm.  "Hey, I know how scary it can be. I was petrified when I first got on one too." she turned on the bike and it hummed to life, engine purring quietly. "Just try to let me breathe, okay?" she joked, trying to lighten things.

Tristan blushed lightly under his helmet. He loosened his grip with a nervous chuckle. "My bad."

She chuckled too and shook her head, backing her bike up so that it was in the driving part of the lot.  "Ready?"

Tristan nodded. "Just go."

Eve nodded and put her feet up on the rests as her bike gained speed.  Then she really took off.  They were out of the parking lot and zooming down the city's streets in no time. "Doing okay back there?" she asked, shouting over the wind as they left the city and careened down the highway, weaving in and out of traffic.

Tristan focused to keep his grip loose. They were going fast. Faster than any horse. At the same time, it was a comfortable ride, no bumps, just a smooth flow over the ground below. "I'm...I'm ok. For now"

"Let me know if you want to stop for a bit.  There's no rush." she quickly passed a truck, waving a hand to thank the driver for not cutting her off.

He grinned slightly. "It's ok, I'm doing fine. Let's just get to where we can go"

"Okay then.  Hold on!" she rolled on the throttle, opening up the speed a little more.  Within less than an hour (at least it felt like it), they were off the highway and zipping down a quieter road.  That road led to another forested one and after a few miles on it, she turned off on a small brick wall that had a plaque on it.  Tristan couldn't read what it said, they went past it too fast, but he knew from the tall hedgerows on either side of them that this was either a private road or a driveway.  He got his answer (driveway) when they came up to a fairly nice looking two story house.  It seemed to be in the middle of traditional and modern, not on either side of the spectrum.  But all of the pieces fit together and made it quite nice to look at.  Around the house there appeared to be quite a patch of land and Tristan thought he could see a pond or lake in the back.  Dang, Felix had gone all out to make sure this girl was taken care of.

Slowing down slightly, Eve turned the bike into a slightly sunken road that apparently led down into her garage.  Within moments, the bike was parked and turned off.  "There we are.  That wasn't so bad, was it?" she asked as she expertly got off the bike once he had done so.

Tristan jumped off the bike and took the helmet off with a shake of his head. Breathing slowly, he calmed his heart down. "No, I suppose, but I still can't get over it just yet."

"I didn't expect you to." she laughed.  "It took me a few times to get used to it." she took off her jacket, putting it back in the saddlebag.  "Just hang the helmet on the handlebars." she said as she pulled out her messenger bag, searching the pockets for something.

Tristan put the helmet on the handlebar, and he looked back to her. "Missing anything?"

"Nono." she pulled out a small ring of keys.  "Just had to find my keys..." she twirled them on her finger as she walked over to a panel on the wall and pressed a button.  With a slight clunk, the garage door slowly slid closed and (judging from the loud click) locked.  "Come on then.  Door to the house is over here."

Tristan walked forward and gave a smile. "Felix sure has spared no expense."

Eve smiled slightly back.  "He definitely did...It's way more than I need or deserve." she picked out a key with a blue smiley face cover and stuck it into the door, turning it and then turning the knob.  "Watch your step.  The stairs up to the main floor are a bit steep."

Tristan followed her slowly, marveling at the homely antique feel to the house.  "So then, I suppose we owe each other a talk?"

"Yes, but I feel I would be a bad hostess if I didn't let you get comfortable and ask if you would like anything." she replied as they made their way into the living room with a very high ceiling.  Paintings were scattered on the walls and he noticed a large easel in the corner by one of the huge windows.  "And to humbly ask if I can at least change my clothes.  It's been a long day and I have to be honest, these contacts are really starting to get uncomfortable."

Tristan nodded. "Of course. Please, go on. I'll be here."

Eve gave him a grateful smile.  "I won't be long.  Before I go, is there anything you'd like?  Drink or a snack?"

Tristan shook his head. "I'm fine. Don't worry."

"Okay then.  I'll be right back." with that Eve left, disappearing down one of the halls.

As Tristan waited, he felt something brush his leg and heard a tiny mew.  There was a little cream coloured tabby kitten staring up at him with bright blue eyes.

"Oh? Haha, well hello there little one. And who might you be?"

"I see my Sephie has made herself known. It's odd, she's usually very shy." Eve said as she walked back into the living room, now wearing jeans and a teal sweater.  Her hair and eyes had changed as well.  Her long black hair was now short, just touching her shoulders and brown with honey blonde shot through.  Her eyes were mismatched, one blue, one green.  THIS was the Eve from Felix's picture.  In her arms was another kitten, a black and tan tortishell.

"I can see why you keep the contacts in," he grinned. He took his sunglasses off and allowed his pale silver eyes to shine. "I can relate."

She smiled back.  "Nice to finally meet someone who can." she set down the tortishell kitten on the couch next to her as she sat down.  "It's nice not having to wear those things when I'm not alone for once.  Oh, by the way. That one is Persephone, this one here is Hestia, and I have a third, Hades, but I doubt you'll see him til meal time.  He's not too social."

Tristan smiled at the cats. "Now there're three names that stir up memories"

Eve tilted her head as Persephone brushed her head against Tristan's hand, clearly trying to get his attention. "What do you mean?" she scratched Hestia behind the ears as the kitten sat in her lap happily.

"I mean that those...what were they...Gods as you call them, were quite real. Met them all actually."

Eve's eyes went as wide as her pet's.  "Really?!  Felix told me that the Original Mythics were from a long time ago, but even he didn't know how far back they went...So, you met the gods and goddesses of Ancient Greece?! That's amazing!" Something told him she was a bit of a history nut.

Tristan grinned. "Yes. Hades was a misunderstood but fairly sickening son of a gun. Bit of a recluse too."

"I could tell that from the stories...I called that kitten Persephone partially because she and my Hades don't get along.  Did the real ones get along?"

"It was a...grudging respect. They worked together for the sake of the people. Doesn't mean it was harmonious."

"I could have guessed that...What about Athena? She was always one of my favourites."

Tristan bowed his head lightly in thought. "She meant well most of the time, but her plans were too big for her on occasion. Also, she wasn't exactly...compassionate. She was the "goddess" of wisdom. And sometimes that meant bad news for the mortals."

"Well, no one said she was kind..." Eve shrugged.  "I'm afraid to ask, but what were Zeus and Poseidon like?"

"Poseidon was more of a level-headed guy, but still a pain sometimes. And Zeus? A power-hungry, amorous, ill-tempered bigot."

"Hm...just making sure the stories were accurate.  Never liked him.  Not once." she stroked her cat's head.  "What about Hestia?  Did you ever meet her?"

Tristan paused, and bowed his head deeper. "Yes...Yes I knew Hestia. Matter of fact, she was my mentor in training me to use my powers."

"Woooow...Really?!  That must have been amazing!" Eve paused as she noticed his change in mood.  "...What's wrong?"

"...it's...a long story."

Eve held up her hands.  "I get that.  No prying from me." she went back to scratching her kitten's chin.  "So...I suppose you want my story, unless you already heard it from Felix..."

Tristan's grin returned instantly. "Really? You expect the old man to say anything?"

Eve chuckled.  "Good point. What would you like to know then?" Hestia climbed out of her lap and curled up next to her on the couch. 

"Wherever you see fit to start."

"Well, to start with, I'd like to know how you got Felix talking about me.  He never talked about me to anyone.  He was insanely protective..."

Tristan gave her a look. "I didn't. I saw a picture, he gave a cover, I came looking."

Eve's expression changed.  "...A picture?" she repeated.  "He has a picture of me?"

"On a shelf in his room, yes. You were still very little."

"Oh God...he kept that awful thing..." she made a face, but it didn't last long.  "He kept it...What....What cover story did he give?"

"That he was watching you for a friend."

"I see..." she sighed.  "Well, I don't really know how to start...I've known that I wasn't normal since I was...Well, really since I was born. The doctors couldn't think of an explanation for my eyes or my hair...It just didn't make sense in my family's genealogy...And then of course there were the marks..."

Tristan's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Marks?"

"Knew you'd ask." Eve smiled ruefully.  She rolled up the sleeve of her loose sweater. "I really need to learn not to talk so much..." On her arm was a labyrinth of marks that seemed to come to a kind of point near her elbow. It looked like a very complex tattoo.  "I was born with these...feel free to be freaked out.  Even my parents were for a while with these."

Tristan looked at her with a grin. "They look like more than just tattoos to me."

Eve smiled crookedly.  "If they were just tattoos I wouldn't have been born with them, nor would I be as eager to hide them.  Why else do you think I was wearing long sleeves on a nice day?" she sighed, letting her sleeve fall back down. "It's nice to see someone not freaked out by them for once, I gotta be honest."

Tristan shook his head. "No...no. I can feel...power from them..."

"Well, your feelings are spot on." she closed her eyes and visibly relaxed.  Slowly, a set of wings unfurled, seeming to pull off from her arms and spread wide.  They looked like nothing Tristan had ever seen and that was saying something. 

"Well now...in my millennias of life, I haven't seen that yet."

"I'm pretty sure no one has, aside from Felix..." Eve lifted her sleeve again. Now her arm looked normal, there was no sign of the marks anywhere.  "And before you ask, yes they work.  I can fly with them."

Tristan gave a grin. "then why didn't you just use those instead of that mechanical behemoth?"

"Hey, don't talk trash about my baby...And I never use these unless I have to.  Can you imagine what normal people would think of these?  No.  And besides, using them can take up a lot of energy if I'm not relaxed.  And, frankly, there are few times that I can relax like this."

Tristan nodded. "I know. I feel it."

Eve closed her eyes and the wings folded back onto her arms.  "So...as you can see...I'm very far from normal.  And this made my childhood difficult at best...But my parents did their best to give me a normal life.  Moreover, they still loved me, no matter what I looked like." she bit her lip slightly.  "A-Anyway...It was all fine until I was five years old...an older boy was bullying me, saying that I was a freak...I got upset and yelled at him to stop saying mean things..." she swallowed.  "He did."

Tristan could feel her sadness welling up. He bowed his head for a moment, then looked up at her and put his hand out. With a smile, he focused on her sadness and took hold. With a pull, he pulled the sorrow from her body. Eve's eyes widened as she saw a dark grey cloud float from her chest and float over Tristan's head. With a snap of his fingers, a torrent of rain began to fall on him, but amazingly, only him. He smiled at her as his hair fell wetly. "No need for sadness now. I kinda don't have alot of clothes on me~"

"H-How do you do that?" she was still stunned by the whole thing. "You did something like that with Dusk too...I've never seen or heard of a power like yours...Felix told me a lot about other types of Mythics he knew, but..." she reached out a hand, yanking it back when she felt the rain on it, obviously trying to see if it was real.

Tristan laughed and with another snap, the cloud travelled out the window. "My powers are a little different. As the last Atlantean, my power is undiluted, and I have one of the original powers of a mythic. My powers control emotions. I can feel them, affect them, remove them, and manifest them. I can make people feel how I want them to, and I can manifest their emotions into physical power, or even objects. Like the raincloud."

"Wooow...that is so cool!  I mean...to have control over something as potent as emotions...So that's how you could tell Felix was lying about me, I'm guessing?"

Tristan nodded. "Correct~ Emotions are as real to me as the kitten you're scratching. Each emotion has its properties, and can be used in different fashions. For example, that child's anger is a very powerful and blunt emotion. If you want to know how it feels, it's like a combination of putty and rubber. It's malleable to anything and can harden to almost any density. Like the arm I made, it can even mimic real muscle."

"And sadness makes rain?" Eve asked curiously. It had been a long time since someone had been so interested in his powers simply because they were curious.

Tristan shook his head. "Sort of. Sadness is slippery. It can shift to anything that is hard to hold or has little friction, like water."

"I see...what about...happiness?" she asked eagerly. 

Tristan smiled. "Happiness is a warm energy. Enough of it, you could start a fire with it."

"So even that could potentially be used as a weapon?" she gently pet Hestia, who purred contentedly.  Persephone was curled up next to Tristan, fast asleep, the conversation obviously not as interesting to her as it was to her owner.

Tristan nodded. "Any emotion can be a weapon. Even with people yelling at each other you can see how emotions can affect people, even if the argument isn't very strong."

"Wow...so your powers are pretty much limitless."

Tristan cocked his head a little. "In a way. Emotions are potentially limitless. But...and I can't believe I will tell you this, but if you want my weakness, my powers are only as strong as the emotions I draw from. Myself or someone else. When the emotion wavers, so does the manifestation."

"I see...it's kind of like my powers, except that mine are fully dependent on me.  My shields come from concentration and if I'm not fully focused, my shields are weak..." she looked sheepish. "As you saw in the fight with Dusk.  I'm not usually that helpless..."

Tristan nodded. "Control is something that comes with time. There are times still when even I can't control my power."

"Really?" Eve looked skeptical.  "I can't imagine that with you..."

Tristan looked down. "Everyone loses control of their emotions."

"...Oh...Oh I see..." There was an awkward few moments of silence before she spoke again, trying hard to find a safe subject.  "So...earlier, when you were talking to that creepy kid Dawn...you said you were here to protect me?"

Tristan broke of his trance and looked to her. "Yes. As it turns out, I am the reason you have your powers.

"Eh?" Eve tilted her head.  "I don't follow you..."

"Felix and I were the start of the mythic project all those years ago. We used my blood to create a serum to try and recreate the mythic race by infusing it in humans. It happened before, so we thought we could do it again." Tristan looked down at his arm. "We used my blood as the basis for the serum. But it didn't seem to work on the subjects so we just gave up. But in the past years, we've been getting word that that children and teenagers were popping up in the news with supernatural occurrences tied to them. We discovered that it was this generation in which the serum was effective. Your generation."

Eve didn't know how to respond to this.  On the one hand, she'd been searching for these answers for a long time...on the other... "Did you...work for the Agency?" she asked after a long pause.

Tristan bowed his head. "They...were the ones who funded our research. But they were the reason we gave up. When we realized why they wanted to help us, we chose not to continue the research."

"But you still worked for them.  You AND Felix!" The two people she had been stupid enough to allow herself to trust. 

Tristan put his hands up. "Years ago, yes. We had no idea what they wanted. And when we did, we stopped."

"And what DID they want?  What DO they want?" she put up a shield, definitely not feeling safe anymore.  "What could they gain from you and Felix making our generation's childhood a darn near living hell?"

Tristan felt the shield go up. It wasn't very focused, but he didn't fight anyway. He gave her a very serious look. "We didn't mean for it to happen like that. What we wanted was to recreate my race using your grandparents. We had no idea that you all would be the ones to inherit powers and not them. And if you stop for a moment, I'd like to point out that if you think your life is a living hell, try living out over two millennia after watching your entire city and family die, being targeted by so called "Gods," and trying to find fragments or individuals of your old life that could have possibly survived only to be disappointed year after year of absolutely nothing. Oh, and living alone with no one to call friend and no one who would accept someone who even remotely seemed more powerful than they are is no picnic either. Felix is the first person besides Hestia I have ever let myself get close to, and for all he's done for you would immediately shrink back and lash out!?!?!"

Tristan didn't even realize the black sludgy substance begin to seep from his hands and wrap around his body slowly, covering more and more of his body like a parasite. By luck, he looked down to see the mess he was becoming, and shut his eyes, slowly letting his anger die. The blackness on his body seemed to solidify into a charcoal-like substance, and with a shake, shattered and disappeared from Tristan's body. He looked to Eve. "See? Even I lose control sometimes."

Eve couldn't answer at first.  She was too angry, too hurt, too scared, too everything.  "You would shrink back too if after thinking you know someone for years, finding out they work for the people who would have gladly kidnapped you from your family, even with your parents' full knowledge that they were attempting it.  The people that you've spent your whole life trying to run away from, having forced yourself to leave your home in order to protect your parents from them." she never once raised her voice as she said this, almost sounding calm. "Finding out they're the whole reason you're being hunted in the first place.  Forgive me for feeling a little less safe and trusting."

Tristan paused, then sighed. "I forget what being young and how scary the unknown can be." He lowered his gaze and lifted his hands. "My hands are here. I won't use my powers. If you think I'm untrustworthy, go ahead and take advantage here. If not, then put the shield down, and let me speak.”

There was a very long moment that Eve glared steadily at him, but eventually, reluctantly, the shield dissipated.  Whether he had worked for the Agency or not, he had saved her life back in the city and she had only just met him...She was definitely more afraid of him and Felix now, but she would at least give Tristan a chance.  Felix, she was unbelievably pissed off and hurt that he had lied to her because they had known each other for a long time...But Tristan, she didn't know enough about to really be too mad...

Tristan lowered his hands. "Thank you. I can feel your anger at Felix, and fear of me. But if I had meant to harm you, I would have finished you myself rather than let those two brats go at you again. And as you'll notice, they didn't know me. And so, if I was ever with the agency, it was a long, long time ago. If you want further proof, I know what they want. Felix and I both do. It's why we stopped researching." He gave a smirk. "And if I was with the enemy, would I really say the grand master plan to the hero?"

Eve snorted slightly at the idea of her being 'the hero'. "What DO they want then?" she asked, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs, wrapping up in a safe ball.

Tristan closed his eyes as a painful memory surfaced. "They want your powers. Cliché I know, but it's true. Only, they think they found a way to separate the ability from the host mythic. I saw it once when they used it on one of the original subjects. They believed the power was still there, it just needed to be pulled out. But...that mistake cost the subject her life. I told Felix what happened, and he and I both agreed to get out and hide ourselves. He found places, I just chose to travel as I always have. After all, CIA has nothing on someone who's over two millennia old."

Eve's eyes were wide.  "S-So...that 'Academy' that they keep trying to get me into...?" She had wanted to be rid of her powers at one point, but never if it would mean her death!

Tristan nodded. "Seems to be one of their famous cover ups. And for many, who doesn't want to have their own private school?"

She curled into a tighter ball.  She had known the Agency was bad news, but to hear that all they wanted was her power and really didn't care if she lived or died scared her.  More so than it had when she thought they were just recruiting soldiers and making an army.

"To be honest, I wonder why they haven't done anything to those two that attacked you."

"I don't know..." Eve said softly.  "But...I've always thought that there was something really wrong with them...they seem...like they're not the ones in control sometimes."

Tristan nodded. "From what I gathered in the fight, they were not trained in how to use their powers. They acted like children testing out a new toy. I can think of hundreds of ways they can use their powers. But they only use the most basic of their abilities and boast about it as if it's a major accomplishment."

Eve got out of her ball and stood up.  "I-I'm going to make some hot cocoa...d'you want anything?" she was too anxious to sit still now.  She had to do something to keep her mind off of how scared she was now.

Tristan looked at her and smiled. "I'll take one as well.

Eve hurried into the kitchen part of the open floor plan and easily found a packet of her favourite cocoa powder for times like this, chocolate with a hint of mint. ~Calm down, Eve...~ she told herself firmly as she set up the kettle for hot water.  ~You've dealt with worse things, you can deal with this too...It's fine.~ she poured the hot water into two generous mugs and added the powder, stirring it in.  The scent of the cocoa helped calm her a little bit and she put the two mugs on a tray, carrying it out to the living room.

Tristan looked up as the smell hit him as well. "I see you've done this before"

"A few times." she set the tray down on the table, taking her mug and sitting back down on the couch.  "Felix...he told me that when I get too stressed is when I have no control of my powers...Stress ruins concentration completely...and when I have no control, that's when the really bad things happen...so, I take any and all measures to keep calm..."

Tristan looked in approval. "Commendable effort. Trust me when I say I know it's not easy."

"Hell no it's not..." she took a sip.  "Especially when you've been told that these people hunting you don't need you alive after all..." she took a deep breath and another sip.

Tristan picked up his mug. "I would bet. Well, any other questions for me?"

“I have lots of questions, but nothing sounds right at the moment…my brain is still trying to process that I’m in the same room as the reason I’m like this and I’m not doing anything about it…So I guess I’ll just ask what happens now? I mean…you’re here to protect me, even though I don’t need it…” that last part was a bit of a lie, but she had perfected the art over the years of cover after cover…She doubted he could tell.  She didn’t need protection, per say…but (and she would never admit this out loud) she was pretty tired of going this alone.  Tristan was the first person like her that hadn’t tried to attack her on sight.  “Am I kind of stuck with you, then?” Persephone lifted her head and meowed in agreement with that suggestion.

Tristan nodded. "For the time being, it would be best. You can always say no, I won't stop you if you do. But from here, knowing that there are more like you popping up around here, we will need to find the others and prevent the fate that awaits them. And I'm fairly sure Felix knows where to find them."

Eve's face curved into a frown. "I don't want to see him right now..."

Tristan looked up. "Because he never told you?"

"He worked for the people who had no qualms about hurting me...he never told me that he did.  He never warned me that they might come looking for him...All those years, he lied to me...Sorry for the drama, but I don't like trusting easily...Just cos I do it, doesn't mean I don't kick myself for it..." she took a deep breath, taking another sip of her drink to calm down.

"I can understand," he said sadly. "I'm sure he didn't want to tell you and that he hoped that it would never happen this way. Sadly though, it did. But we really need his help on this. If you would like, I can speak to him alone to get word of any nearby mythic. You can wait elsewhere."

Eve sighed.  "Let me think about it, okay?  It's been a very eventful day today and I might think through things clearer with a clear head tomorrow..."

Tristan nodded. "As you wish. I will be outside if you need me." Rising to his feet, he gave a nod and slowly made his way out the room.

"Um, I don't think so." Eve stood up as well, setting down her mug.  "Worked with the agency or not, you're still a guest of my house.  I will feel like the worst hostess if I don't at least show you to one of the guest rooms..." She watched as the little cream coloured kitten scurried over to him.  "Not to mention, you have won over my overly shy cat.  That does mean something, she's not even that close with me. If I don't treat you well, she'll never let me sleep..."

Tristan looked down at the cat at his leg and smiled. "I'm usually used to sleeping outside. Sleeping in a bed isn't a luxury I usually afford myself.

"I'm afraid I will have to insist on letting you have that luxury while you are here." she rolled her eyes before sighing.  "If for no other reason, for saving my life today.  Not to mention, this house is about as safe as you can be.  Only Felix knows where it is, aside from me.  I get my mail in the city, so not even postal service people know where I live."

Tristan sighed. "I suppose if I must. But a word from the wise, never get too comfortable. Your faith in this place is admirable, but always be on your guard." He smiled. "But I do thank you for the invitation. And I do accept it."

"Good.  And I know to be on my guard...Trust me, I learned that the hard way..." She said the last part softly, hoping he hadn't heard it.  "Anyway, follow me.  This house has more guest rooms than I will ever need...It's nice to finally be using one."

Tristan did as he was told, and followed her down the hall.

"All of the guest rooms are upstairs.  I hope that's not a problem." Eve said as they came to a fairly elegant staircase, nothing castle or mansion worthy, but definitely not plain.

"Hey, I may not trust mechanical creations, but stairs aren't a problem."

Eve chuckled.  "Of course." she led him up the stairs and down the hall to one of the doors on the right.  She wasn't kidding, there really were a lot of rooms.  "This should suit your needs nicely." she opened the door for him, moving out of the way as Persephone streaked in. "I hope you know that you have a friend for life now."

Tristan nodded with a grin. "A friend I'm happy to have. I hope to say the same for the cat one day." He winked at her then turned to enter the room and close the door.

Eve rolled her eyes good naturedly.  "I meant the cat...But whatever.  My room is down the hall on the right, should you need anything.  I'm going to clean up downstairs and then I will be headed off to sleep. Need anything?"

"Just some rest. I'll be fine otherwise, thank you."

"Very well.  Good night then."

Tristan let a heavy sigh slip out as he unslung his bag and sat on the bed. Well, it was a start, but of all the days he'd lived, longer ones were yet to come. He could feel it.

***

The next morning came too early for Tristan’s taste, even being a morning person.  Despite wanting to go back to sleep, he was wide awake from the moment his eyes had opened.  It wasn’t just because either.  He had felt something.  A spike of frustration. Then a slow subsiding into sadness.  Then…nothing. There was only one person that he knew of that could close themselves off so he felt nothing.  He sighed and rolled over so he could sit up on the edge of the bed and slowly stood up. Quietly making his way out of his room and down the hall, he soon came on the large living room with tall windows from earlier.

In front of one of them was the easel he had seen before, except now the painting on it was uncovered and he could see that it was partially finished. He couldn’t tell what it was at this point, but it looked like a lovely painting.  He also recognized the same art style in the paintings on the walls, meaning that they were Eve’s handiwork too (as he guessed the unfinished one was, seeing as there was no one else in the house…).  Hanging on the back of the easel was a loose white smock…well, it was white at one point, but it was splattered with so many different colours that it was hardly its original colour anymore.

The window next to the easel was open, but the breeze coming in was pleasantly warm.  Which was probably why Eve was sitting outside on the patio that wrapped around the side of the house.  She was sitting perfectly still, Indian style in jeans and a plain cami (it was still too dark to see the colour), hands on her knees.  As he walked closer, he saw that she was breathing deeply, eyes closed.  But her meditation wasn’t as calm and easy as it seemed.  Her brow was slightly furrowed and her deep breathing was anything but smooth. The only reason he hadn’t felt anything before was that she had a shield up, even if it was really shaky.

Tristan gave a slight wave. "Someone on edge this morning?"

In less than a second, Eve's eyes snapped open and she was up on her feet, looking like she could easily take down whoever was in her way at that moment. 

Tristan chuckled softly. "I'll take that as a yes."

It took a moment, but eventually, Eve relaxed.  "Don't do that...You have no idea how I am when I'm unstable..." she ran her hands through her hair. 

Tristan crossed his arms. "I grew up with a childhood of hiding and once or twice fighting with a philandering lightning god with wife issues and my powers rise and fall with the tide of emotions and you say I don't know unstable?"

"I've thrown people up against walls from all the way down a hallway without even thinking about it and taken away abilities like talking and being able to walk.  And that's just for starters."

"Yes, well, least your anger didn't level an entire Greek city."

"No, I've just sent little kids to the hospital..." Eve sat back down.  "What are you doing up, Tristan?" she asked tiredly.

Tristan leaned against a wall. "I'm an early riser. Always have been."

"Tristan, it's not even four AM..."

He sighed and put his hands up. "I felt a disturbance here. Came to make sure things were alright."

Eve sighed. "Everything's fine...I couldn't sleep so I got up and decided to work on my latest project...but I couldn't concentrate and so decided to meditate to get my head on straight.  End of story."

Tristan cocked his head. "Why do I have the feeling that's not everything?"

Eve groaned and leaned back on her arms.  "I'm not used to telling the truth...I've been telling lies for pretty much my whole life...and now here you are, someone who can see through them...Can't decide if that's irritating or not,"

Tristan laughed. "Imagine how it is to know that everyone lies to you every day, and know what they're lying about?"

Eve made a face.  "Way to make me feel like a horrible person..."

Tristan lowered his head slightly. "Humans lie by nature. It's natural to be scared. At the same time, you gotta realize what that does to the people you lie to."

"Seeing as I usually never see them more than once, or if I do, not often, I never really thought about it...Felix always told me that in my case it was okay to lie..." she curled up in a ball.  "I guess he certainly knew the truth of that..."

"Well, wouldn't you call it a bit hypocritical to be completely upset with him about his lie to protect you?"

Eve was quiet for a moment.

Tristan could feel her emotions rising in a whirlwind, but perhaps this could be a good thing if they swirl the right way. "Not to be cruel, but you say that you lie to others. This means you do it all the time and to protect yourself. Whereas this is the first lie that you've heard from Felix. And it wasn't to protect himself, but you."

"...And you have unshakably sound logic...I think I may regret letting you stick around..." He could tell by her tone that she wasn't one hundred percent serious.

Tristan laughed again. "Please, you needed this and you know it."

"I'll never tell." she teased before falling back into her depressed state.  "I just...Felix was kind of like an uncle grandfather to me...Despite training me to use my powers, he tried to make sure I had a normal life as well..." she laughed slightly.  "He let me put him through dance lessons one night when I was listening to my favourite songs just to make me happy.  He had kisses and band-aids for every little cut and he made sure to scare the monsters out of my room before I went to sleep.  To hear that he lied to me, even if it was for my own good, really hurts."

Tristan nodded. "And now you know the opposite side of the lie. Of course it hurts."

Eve nodded.  "Not to mention, I haven't seen or heard from him in...well...years...I know it's the best thing to do, since he probably knows a lot about other mythics...I just...I don't know how to feel about seeing him again..."

"It's understandable. At the same time, you know that his reasons are good. He would not have done this if he did not care. And though a lie, there is no possible way this could have been used to hurt you."

Eve sighed.  "You have too much logic...That's not allowed."

"I've had eons to understand people," he replied. "It is learned."

Eve looked out moodily at the sun starting to rise, streaking the clouds vibrant shades of pink and purple as it did.  "All right...We'll go see Felix." she said after a few long moments of silence, getting up and brushing off her jeans.  "You know where he lives?"

Tristan grinned. "Maybe, if he hasn't gone anywhere."

She groaned.  "This is a good point...He's probably not going to stay in one place for too long...when was the last time you saw him?" she stretched, her back cracking a few times.

"Hmm...not since you were little I'm afraid."

"Lovely...This will be a long trip..." she said tiredly.  She looked over at him.  "Well, before we do anything, there's one stop we need to make." she looked at her watch.  "Should be open soon...Got time to pack and such..."

"Hmm?"

She gave him a once over.  "You need gear." she bent down to pick up the cat twining around her legs.  This one was different from the other two he had seen, so he guessed this was Hades, her anti-social third cat.  "Hello, my handsome boy..." she cooed to the black animal as it crawled up on to her shoulders.  She turned back to Tristan.  "I know a place we can go that we can get everything we need for a very reasonable price."

 Tristan looked himself down and stared at his bag. "My gear works just fine"

She gave him a look, fighting a smirk.  "Not for my method of travel, it doesn't..." she said, scratching Hades under the chin.

Tristan stared at her with narrowed eyes. "I am not getting on that beast."

Her own mismatched eyes rivaled his. "You would do well to stop calling her that.  And a little trust would be wonderful.  I have a covered sidecar, as long as you don't mind traveling with my babies.  I don't trust anyone to take care of them." Hades brushed his head against her cheek as though to agree. "They're a bit too attached to me for me to leave them anyway."

Tristan looked over to the cats and back to her and sighed. "I suppose the car will balance it better."

"Imagine that.  I'm not out to make you miserable!" Eve rolled her eyes.  "I have to go pack.  You can come along or you can hang out here.  Whatever you want to do. Mi casa, su casa."

"I believe I shall give you some privacy and stay with the cats"

"As you wish.   I won't be long.  Help yourself to anything in the kitchen." she waved her hand as she walked back inside, resetting the cover on her painting so that the canvas was completely hidden.

***

"Eve!  Where ya been, honey?" a woman came out from behind the cashier counter.  Her long, dirty blonde hair was put up in a messy bun and Tristan could clearly see tattoos one both of her arms left bare by the logo emblazoned black tank top she was wearing.  Her outfit was completed by dark, worn jeans and boots."I thought for a minute I wouldn't be seeing my favourite customer anymore!"

Eve chuckled.  "Good to see you too, Al." she said, reaching out her hand to finish the woman's offered high five.

"You changed your look again, honey?  Didn't you just change it a few weeks ago?"

Eve shrugged.  "Hey, you know me...Change is good."

The woman, Al, chuckled.  "Yes, you do seem to like it."  She noticed Tristan then.  "Well well, what's this?  Finally got yourself a boyfriend then?"

"Alice." Eve gave her a look.  "Don't be ridiculous.  This is Tristan.  He's...a friend.  We're here to get him some gear.  We'll be traveling together a while and he needs it to keep safe."

"Traveling together, eh?" Alice arched an eyebrow. 

"ALICE."

Tristan smiled. "Haha, I think Eve is a bit too young for me I'm afraid."

Alice gave him a once over, looking confused, but soon shook off that expression, holding out her hand.  "Well, any friend of Eve's is a friend of mine.  Alice Harvey, owner of Al's Motorcycles."

He gently shook her hand. "Charmed"

"Hm.  Nice handshake there.  Polite, a little on the weak side, but at least you look me in the eye when ya talk to me." she let go of his hand.  "So.  By the looks of ya, you need the works."

"You got it, Al." Eve said, frowning at Tristan's earlier comment.  How old did he think she was, exactly?  "Helmet, jacket, boots, everything."