keep your head down, kid.

— WHAT IS LOST WILL BE FOUND, WHEN THE TRUTH HUNTS YOU DOWN.

Warren went on about all the fake details of this made up person, giving her a fake name, address, a false job description, and pulled up a photo of a paranoid crackhead stranger he ran into somewhere along the lines on his way to New York. If this went as planned, he would at least have one righteous elemental out of his way.  “I appreciate the help, private.” He sighed with a frown, giving off a fake impression that he actually cared about his imaginary neighbor and hated the fact he had to do this to the so-called vampire. 

“You know, you would have never expected something like this to come from a guy like him.” He said sympathetically, with no real sympathy going towards anyone real. He had seen what she was capable of doing and if she truly was an investigator who could hunt down almost anyone, maybe, just maybe, she could accidentally set an almost innocent human on fire and he could watch the guilt consume her. 

Ivy grabbed a notebook and wrote down every detail he gave her, snapping a picture of the photo he showed her on her phone. “Trust me, I appreciate the job. Things have been slow around here lately. I needed something to do.” She gave him a smile before walking over to her desk and placing the notebook beside her laptop. She’d have to put all the information in her report later. But first, it might be best to check out the residence. Scope out the scene, see if she could get anything from there. 

When he spoke Ivy glanced up, nodding slowly. “Don’t think anyone would ever even think to expect that their neighbor is a vampire. I mean, that’s straight out of the movies, you know?” Ivy had lived almost her entire life knowing about the supernatural world, but she could see just how scary it would be to think that someone living so close to you could be a creature right out of a movie. But the unfortunate truth is that it was far more likely than anyone ever assumed. “I’ll be heading to the address you gave me pretty soon. I’d say you’re welcome to come, but I don’t like to put my clients in danger. If you get any extra information, though, or if you think of something just let me know. Here,” she pulled out a card from a drawer in her desk, “is my number.”

A snarl escaped the werewolf’s lips, anger building inside him as the ignorant fool decided to approach him instead of doing as told. At this point, his fear from the vampire shifted to the female who clearly had a death wish by coming closer to him slowly. Why the fuck was she not listening to him? He was trying to protect her for her own good. “Fuck off!” He shouted out at her, this time sounding more stern and hateful. He didn’t want to hurt her, or even worse turn her, but she was giving him no choice. 

He groaned again in pain, falling over to the ground as he felt his nails elongate into claws, his eyes changing into a bright, iridescent amber color, and his body beginning to shift into a beast of the night. His claws scratched against the dirty pavement, a snarl escaping his lips as he still sensed her presence. His senses were going into overdrive, hearing the heartbeat come from the female, inhaling the scent of the nearby dumpster, and his field of vision shifting from color to a gray scale. He was going to hurt someone tonight. He was positive about it.

His shout didn’t make her jump this time, but it did spark her anger. She wasn’t sure what this guy’s problem was, but there was no way in hell she was backing down now. Call her an idiot, but Iva Liu didn’t care much for being told to fuck off. Maybe most of the time she deserved it, but she wasn’t going to let it stop her. 

“Oh, motherfucker.” Her words were a strange mix of a whisper and a shout as she watched him fall to the ground. As soon as she saw those claws she knew she wasn’t dealing with a vampire. Just her luck that she’d run into yet another werewolf. Jesus Christ, she was never leaving her apartment again. “You have to calm yourself down, right now. Do you know what you’re capable of? If you turn in the city you risk killing dozens of innocent people.” Ivy took in a deep breath, “I’m not going to let that happen. I can’t just walk away from this. I don’t want to have to hurt you.” Ivy held up her hands as she let her powers free. Flames danced between her finger tips, reaching down until they engulfed her arms from fingers to her elbows. “But I will if you don’t calm the fuck down.” Please let this work, please let this work, please let this work. She was in no mood to fight a wolf tonight. Face it, when was she ever?

Ever since the night he was turned, Adrian had a difficult time controlling his emotions. It seemed like even the slightest bothersome thing would cause his unwanted side to surface and because of that, he began trying therapeutic activities in an attempt to learn to control over his werewolf side. From meditating at least once a day to starting a personal journal that eventually turned into more of an object of research than it did aid his control. Ironically enough, the one thing he found that truly assisted him with clearing his head was the same thing that got him into this mess: taking a walk through nature.

The werewolf had a usual routine of taking a walk almost every night, indulging his heightened senses with the crushing of leaves beneath his feet and the enticing scent of true nature. It was a time away from the busy streets and the unusually more aggressive people. Nothing could be more calming for him. 

In the corner of his eyes, he noticed what seemed to be a couple making out against a tree. Usually he would ignore them and continue his walk but, it felt like his breathing stop and he froze in place as he witnessed the male bite into the side of her neck. “What the fuck,” he whispered under his breath before noticing that the vampire pulled up from his meal to look at the werewolf with a sadistic smile. 

Adrian sprinted away, not looking back if the thing with fangs was following him. He ran into an empty ally way to stop and catch his breath, leaning against the wall in pain. He groaned in pain as he felt the bones in his body begin to shift, quickly removing the top portion of his clothing. He stopped immediately after taking off his jacket as he noticed someone’s shadow entering the ally way. “Stay back!” He yelled, knowing well that he could seriously injure the vampire or even a human passing by.

Ivy was, as usual, on the case. But thankfully this was one that allowed her to be on the move. She loved the chase, loved hunting down whatever it was that she needed to find. A cheater, an object, a lost sibling. She loved being the one to track down things that no one else could find. It was more of a rush than she could put into words. She was currently on the hunt for a young girl’s biological mother. The case at first seemed easy, but the biological mom had gone through a number of steps to hide her identity from her daughter. Which, for Ivy, would mean backing off and forgetting the woman even existed. But her client was adamant about meeting her mother. 

But unfortunately for Ivy, it meant bouncing all over New York City. And at this point, she wasn’t even sure if the mother was in New York any more. Her current lead had taken her to a bar where the woman had previously been employed. Some seedy, damp little place that made Ivy miss Mulligan’s. After talking to the bartender and the owner, Ivy finally got an address. No one she’d talked to had seen the woman in about a month, but she was hopeful that the address was still current. However, she’d have to put off checking it out until tomorrow. It was well into the night and Ivy was in serious need of some sleep. 

On her walk back, though, a noise made her freeze. A groan. Not entirely common to hear shit like that in this city, but it didn’t sound like anything sexual. It sounded like pain. And with the memory of Saints’ Halloween party fresh in her mind, Ivy took off towards the sound. What she found was a single man, peeling off his jacket. She jumped a little at his shout, but only scoffed at the words. “Not a chance, dude.” She took slow, careful steps toward him. “Are you alright? What’s going on?” Luckily she didn’t see any vampires around. A small plus, but a plus nonetheless.

Warren stepped into her office, looking around for anything interesting to catch his eye. Maybe the demon was a little too hopeful for her to have some souvenir from one of her investigations, not even a detached claw from a werewolf was in sight. His eyes arched at her with his arms in his jacket pockets. “Beer and pizza? Sounds like a frat house.” He chuckled, gesturing away from it. “Thank you for the offering but I’ve had my share of New York pizzas and I’d rather not surround myself with alcohol.” He already did that enough at work and he’d rather let those people idiotic enough to obsess over the substance than indulge in it himself.  

A thought came to mind as her desperation for a case clearly showed. “I actually might have a case for you.” He thought about it for a moment again, thinking about all the details that had to be done, sure it would get her out of the picture for a while. “I think one of my neighbors is a vampire.” He lied, concocting a story in his head simultaneously as the words left his mouth. “I saw him having a bite on the way back home. Well, a few bites on his way back actually. And if that’s not enough of a case for you, since I know you like dealing with infidelity, I’m almost positive he’s cheating on his wife.” 

Ivy blinked a few times, a little surprised by his answer. She hadn’t expected that to come out of his mouth, that’s for sure. Though with the sheer amount of vampires and other supernaturals in New York, it was entirely possible that he was right. “Okay.” She thought for a few seconds, pursing her lips. “I’m not a hunter, I don’t kill supernaturals unless I have to. So if you’re saying this to get rid of your possibly a vampire neighbor, you came to the wrong place.” Plenty of the elementals she’d met hunted down supernaturals without even blinking, without doing any sort of research into who that person was. It was like most of them didn’t see supernaturals as people, just monsters.

And, sure, Ivy knew damn well that there were monsters out there in this world. She’d come face to face with more than her fair share. But she’d also met so many supernaturals that were just as normal and mundane as a human. They had friends, families, lives. And they didn’t deserve to die just because of what they were. “But, if he’s hurting innocent people...” Ivy gave a small shrug, “I can take care of that. What can you tell me about him? I’ll need a name, photos, addresses, where he works. And anything else you can give me.”

Warren grew bored of the city, killing drunk humans and toying around with the dark magic he so desperately traded his soul for. The demon was seeking out a more difficult challenge, or perhaps a partner who could indulge in his hobbit of killing with him. At first, no one came to mind for the demon; reminding himself to never trust a trained assassin or even attempt to sway his air-head witch that belonged to the Tsai coven. His list almost went blank until he remembered the literal hot head who barbecued a werewolf about a week ago. A potential supernatural to fillet their victims sounded excellent to him. 

“Private Ivy Investigators, huh.” He talked to himself aloud before approaching the entrance and knocking on the door in hopes to see the same elemental. He smiled at Ivy a she opened the door, arching his brow as soon as he noticed that crazy look in her eyes. “I think I should be asking you that.” He paused looking around the place behind the female. “You look like you’re going crazy.”

Ivy couldn’t deny that it was a surprise to see who it was at her door. She hadn’t expected to see the male again. New York was a damned big place, it was highly unlikely that you’d see the same person twice. But after what he’d witnessed, and what she’d told him about her job, it made sense that he’d track her down. Hell, she’d do the same thing if she were him. And it wasn’t like she was hard to find. She had a business to run, she made sure plenty of people in this city knew about it. “Yeah, I guess you’re not wrong. It’s been quiet around here and I’m itching for a case.” 

The elemental stepped back and opened the door for him, motioning him to come in. “Come on in. You want something to drink? Eat? Whatever? I’ve got beer and pizza in the fridge.” Geez, when did she not have beer and pizza in her fridge? What was this, a frat house? “Please tell me you’re here because you need something? We do a lot of shit here, and if you’ve got a case I’m wiling to hear you out.” 

Maddison had heard murmurings about Private Ivy Investigations but she’d never bothered to meet the face behind it, nor had she bothered to try and figure out exactly what it was that went on there. After finishing up her shift at Roasted, she decided it was time to find out. She glanced up at the building curiously, letting herself in through the entrance way. She couldn’t help but be inquisitive. Was it a human behind such an organisation? A supernatural guilty of their own species existence? Or something more sinister, she stepped towards the office door, knocking - waiting patiently for an answer. As the door swung open to reveal the woman before her, Maddison quickly glanced her over. “So you’re the famous face behind Private Ivy Investigations..” she smiled “Had to come find out for myself..” she admitted 

Ivy raised her eyebrows, the smile on her face twisting into a bit of a smirk. “I’m famous, huh?” To be known for her work wasn’t quite her goal. She didn’t enjoy being noticed, didn’t enjoy having all the attention on her. But having people recognize the work she put into her business? That mattered. It made it all the more sweet when she finished up a case. “My name’s Iva Liu, but everyone calls me Ivy. Come on in.” She let the door open all the way, motioning for the woman to enter. “The couch is just over there. You’re welcome to it. Can I get you anything? Water? Soda? A beer?” Her mother didn’t raise her not be to a good host.

She was just a few paragraphs away from finishing the report when a knock sounded at her door. A twinge of hope ran through her chest as she hopped out of her chair and ran for the door. Pulling it open, she forced herself to smile. “What can I do for you?” 

     “pretty-ish.” the blonde crinkles her nose, curled ponytail bouncing behind her as her head shakes. “but you don’t want pretty on your wedding day. you want beautiful. elegant. memorable.” there isn’t much that makes etta opinionated. usually she is endlessly chirpy but her work brings out the perfectionist in her. every wedding she plans is nailed down to the last detail; her blood, sweat and tears ingrained in place settings, favors, and floral arrangements. “it’s all about the little details adding up to one big masterpiece.”

“Huh, yeah I guess I get that.” Did she? Did she really? Honestly Ivy wasn’t sure. But she supposed it made sense that a wedding mattered so much to people. Especially with the amount of money they sometimes put into them. She didn’t even want to think about how much it would cost to get married in this day and age. Wedding dresses alone could cost more than Ivy’s rent each month. And in New York City, that was saying something. “You know, I gotta say, you’re damn good at this. There’s no way I’d be able to plan a wedding. Even if people were paying me to do it.” 

Parties might actually be Ivy’s least favorite thing. In fact, the only thing that came even close to beating it were almonds. She hated almonds. But, unlike almonds, parties were at times necessary for her job. It might surprise some people to know just how much they actually showed about themselves at a party. And there was never an easier time to take someone off guard and get them to answer questions. Drunk people liked to talk, especially to pretty girls. But the Saints & Sinners party was a whole new animal. She’d been to Saints exactly once before, under the watchful eye of a vampire. And it was the same now as it had been back then. Loud, crowded, full of people half dressed and grinding on each other. The only difference was that now everyone was dressed in costumes.

She was sipping on a mimosa carefully, keeping it slow to not let herself get buzzed. But the thrum of alcohol in her veins was pleasant enough to distract her from her own anxieties. Which let her focus on her task, watching everyone. If Saints was planning something for tonight, she was going to make damned sure that no innocent lives were taken because of it. So when she saw a couple head back to the VIP section, her heart sank. It was obvious that the male was a vampire, and by the way he was dragging the intoxicated girl toward the VIP section, it was obvious just how hungry he was. The elemental stood up slowly, eyes darting around trying to find a way to enter the VIP section without being seen by security. Her feet carried her towards the back before she could find one, desperation rising up in her chest. Maybe she was just being paranoid, but she didn’t want to see that girl’s face end up on the news tomorrow evening. 

A hand stopped her just before she got to the curtains separating the VIP section from the rest of the club. “Sorry, ma’am. VIP only.” It was another vampire, security detail. He was much larger than her, and definitely wouldn’t let her go without a fight. Fuck. How could she convince him to let her in there? “Look, my friend is back there and she’s way to drunk to be alone right now. Especially with some guy that she doesn’t know. Please, just let me go get her and take her home. Please.” She let the desperation she was feeling for the girl shine clear in her voice, hoping that the vampire would let her go. But here merely shook his head, “If she’s back there, she’s safe. We don’t let things happen to our guests here, ma’am. Your friend will be returned to you by the end of the night.” With that he gently shoved her back into the crowd, taking up a defensive stance in front of the door. 

Ivy had to force herself not to gawk at him. What the fuck could that mean? Your friend will be returned to you by the end of the night. The words kept ringing in her ear. On the surface they were calm and reassuring, but he said them with such callousness, with such disdain. What were they going to do to that poor girl? But to keep security from throwing her out, Ivy made herself turn around and walk away. Before she panicked or caused a scene. Nausea washed over her at all the various possibilities. So many things crossed her mind, not one of them ending up with that girl being safe at all. What the hell were they doing back there? They weren’t killing people, she didn’t think. There’d be too many witnesses here, too many people missing friends. So they were truly giving the people back. But what did they do to them behind closed doors? What would make them open up their exclusive doors just for this one night? They let in dozens of humans and supernaturals that they didn’t know. For what? What would make them change their exclusive patterns for one night?

 Ivy’s feet stopped directly in the middle of the dance floor as a thought crossed her mind. Bodies curled around her, moving along to the steady beat as her heart stuttered in her chest. “They’re turning them.”

Warren stopped in his tracks, hearing her speak so disgracefully of the holiday. “How can you not dress up for Halloween? It’s the one time of the year people like u-” He stopped himself and cleared his throat before speaking again, “You. People like you could be who you are without any harsh judgement.” And the same time of the year he could kill without being turned into the authorities because it appeared to simply be a part of the haunted house. “Fuck, Phoenix would fit you a bit more than the Human Torch. But I am down to be Mr. Fantastic. We just need to find an Invisible Woman and the thing.” He shrugged, his lips slowly inching up to a small smile. His brow arched at the mention of the Saints club. “Aren’t they super exclusive?” And why would they be opening their doors to the public at one of their big events?

Ivy raised her brows, folding her arms over her chest. The slip up was barely noticeable, but it made her curious nonetheless. But she chose to ignore it, “There’s always harsh judgement, even if you’re in a costume. Everywhere you go there’s someone out there staring you down and assuming everything about who you are. A mask, a costume, none of that changes the way people look at each other. Like hungry dogs looking for their next meal.” She shrugged, as if the answer was simple. But in truth it was a hard fact to accept, especially as a child. But as the years went by she grew more and more accustomed to how this world worked, and just how nasty it could be. “If we can get the whole gang together, we may just win that award at Saints. Heard there’s  a hell of a prize this year. Couple grand in cash.” She nodded at his question, “Usually, they are. But this year their Saints & Sinners party is open to everyone. Which is sure to be...fun.”