Cain's gaze flickered to the newcomers in the cafe as he waited for Odessa's response. Hotaru Lunair, twin brother to Rayne Lunair. Another tragic story. The cafe was full of them today, wasn't it?

When his gaze returned to Odessa, he couldn't help but notice the look of wariness in her eyes. Cain smiled, and watched the woman as she began to speak. Of course he knew the answer to his own question. It still amused him to ask, just as the woman's responses continued to amuse him. Perhaps if Cain stayed with Odessa for a longer period of time, the glitch in the system would smooth out. The government was always editing the archives, after all.

Cain's gaze locked on the female (Sarah Dunmir) who entered the cafe. After a few seconds, a frown pulled at his brow. He ... didn't know of her. Her face didn't match the archives. Just as Cain began to sift through the information in depth, Odessa spoke once again. Cain's pale eyes flickered back to Odessa, though it took a moment for him to register what she'd said.

"How generous of you," he said, raising an eyebrow. Cain stood, watching and waiting until Odessa had done the same. "I need information." The statement was sudden, and he offered no explanation. Cain moved toward the door, marking Sarah's face in his mind. He'd look into her existence later. For now, Odessa was his priority.

The tall male stepped into the light rain without pausing, obviously not bothered by the weather. Cain moved through the streets with a determination that cleared the path before him. Others moved out of the way. They walked through the rain for a long while until they reached what appeared to be an alley beside the city's library.

Cain promptly stepped into the alley and started looking at the wall of the building. He searched for a few moments, frowning to himself. As though trying to remember something, Cain paused. His hand slid over the smooth surface of the wall, searching for something unseen. A flash of approval passed over his face as a light glow emanated from within the stone.

The dim light grew brighter as Cain accessed the archives. Palm flat against the wall, he began to search. "You should sit down. This may take a while." As he said so, the rain began to hammer down about them. What a lovely time to be standing in an alley and doing mysterious things.
-

"My honey, hm?" Sarah glanced up and chuckled. As the waitress approached, she swiftly dug out what money she had. For the sake of staying out of the rain and having a hot drink, she could spare it. It was dinner, though. "I'll have your jasmine white tea and a blueberry muffin." The Hatter waitress accepted her payment, and headed back to the counter.

Crisis averted. So far, no one knew she was human.

"Adin Clark," Sarah smiled a bit. She'd seen his name somewhere. Somewhere. "Nice to meet you." She hesitated when he asked for a name. "Sarah."

Looking at the Uni, she found herself staring at his hair. Seriously. That wasn't possible. Before she could think twice, Sarah reached forward and felt some of Adin's hair. "It's just as soft as it looks," she muttered. With a laugh, she realized what she'd done. "Don't mind me. My friends joke about me being raised in the wilds." If she had any friends, anyway.

Waiting for her food, Sarah looked down at the table in silence. "Why is your name familiar to me, Adin?" If she didn't keep the conversation going, he might notice her lack of perfection. Or even her smell. A human carried a different scent than a surrogate - Sarah happened to carry the lingering scent of earth and pine. It was a wild smell, and not at all like the surrogates that surrounded them.
-

Isabella pushed the door to the shop open with her foot. The coat had started to slip, and the rain was pouring now. "I'm so sorry, Ari!" The girl let the coat drop behind her, unable to keep hold of it any longer. Isa almost dropped her armful of things, and barely made it to the wooden counter in time. "I ran into someone, and I didn't mean to keep you waiting. You could have closed up shop without me."

She said as much, but Isabella truly appreciated Arix's generosity. Tossing her dusty-brown hair from her eyes, the woman smiled at her friend. "Thank you, Ari. I know I keep you waiting all the time. I don't know how you still like me." She looked over the male's dark hair and pristine features. They were both Hatters, and shared a profession. There was nothing more exciting that could have drawn them together. She considered Arix to be one of the best people in the world - she'd always liked him. For a long while now, she'd wondered if she liked him as a friend, or something more. It was becoming difficult to tell.

Looking into his multicolored eyes, Isa smiled warmly. She could smell the tea he'd prepared. There was a lot of spice in hers, just as she liked it. He knew so much about her. What on earth would she do without him?

"I brought you everything I could find." Isabella gestured to the damp books, clock, and other objects that she'd managed to bring. "The books are wet. I dropped them in the street after some guy stepped in front of me." Her mind went to Hotaru. He had such chiseled features. Was that even possible for a Pyrate? And dear skies, he'd been so solid when she rammed into him. The muscle definition in his arms was incredible....

She cleared her throat and looked back to the antiques. "I think the collectors will pay quite a bit for some of it." Isabella's hand stretched forward to stroke the cat who munched away at it's food. "Your eye always was better than mine, Ari. What do you think?"

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