<

For a moment, you humor the thought of jumping out the window to avoid this whole social debacle and the potential consequences of some angry Bites showing up at Eiko's door. Maybe if you were the You of a few months ago. And one smokebomb richer.

You gesture. "Let's get Vi in on this. She probably has a better perspective than you or me." And you can test out just how much Eiko's got a grasp on her.

Eiko's expression fractionally darkens. "Alright. Go ahead."

You open the bathroom door and call out, "Helllooo, can I get the cook in here? We've got something that needs flipping."

Eiko shakes her head at you but doesn't protest. She's either confident or too stubborn to back down.



Vi enters the hall a few seconds later. She's calmer when she looks at you, though she keeps a paw over her nose.

You look down at yourself then back at her. "Do I smell that bad?"

Vi looks at you with a complicated expression. "You smell... overwhelming up close." She glances back at Eiko, then you. "Sorry about earlier. The smell got to me.. But I know what you're about now."

Hm... There's a tinge of fear in her expression. You set it aside as you hit the main issue head on, posturing yourself so you can look between Eiko and Vi. "Do you know what we're doing? Are you onboard?"

Eiko schools her expression, keeping it neutral as Vi tilts her head in confusion. "Uhh, killing the boss? Yeah, I know. I made a deal with Eiko. I sit on the bench and stay out of both your ways when it happens."

"And why would you do that?"

Vi sighs. "The pack's gotten too... wild for their own good."

You laugh. "Wild? More like rotten. One of your guys tried stabbing me last night for going the wrong way. Do you care about that? Is that something you want to defend? This wont exactly be a clean show."

Vi stares at you head on, tone firm, as if she's been thinking about this since last night, "I care about the ones too young to know any better. Does that mean I'll feel a way if something happens to them? Yes. But mainly, I care about being alive." She exhales, "And it's my fault that that happened, so I'll take responsibility."

Well. Okay. You can respect the way she holds her ground.

In the mirror, you watch Eiko's expression twitch before speaking up now, a touch of something there, "What?"

Uh oh.

Vi's ears flatten, tensing up, yet instead of moving away, she seems to... lean closer. "I-it was before I entered the building. I saw you leave and I thought that you were up to something. I texted one of the guys I knew and I thought he would look into it. Maybe tail you. I wasn't expecting him to try to fight."

Oh. That reminds you. You did take his phone and other possessions. Though you haven't had a chance to look at them yet.

"Right. Well. I gave him a closed casket. Do you know if there's any other Bites that could be hot on our trail right now? I can't smell blood the way y'all can. Not sure if I got it everywhere on my way back."



You watch Vi carefully, expecting her to get upset, to pull out her phone for any texts or missed calls, anything.

Vi does pause to think, turning her snout up to sniff the air. She starts to walk off. Eiko and you move to follow as she heads for the balcony. Vi gets some good whiffs in at the balcony door then opens it and sticks her snout a few inches outside.

Seconds pass as you both wait with bated breath.

Vi eventually pulls back and closes the door. "I don't smell anyone familiar around. Not in the surrounding area."

Great! Temporary relief! You'll give Vi extra points for bailing you out of this one.

When you turn to Eiko, you notice the way she seems to be thinking over Vi's words. Her posture's tense. Did she notice something you didn't?

What else do you do/ask?

< >