In a modestly decorated living room, knocks sound out from the exterior door and fill the space. Lalyanpha gazes over towards Mylo and smiles brightly at the four year old. "Guess who that is!"

Blinking his orange-speckled eyes in thought, Mylo's attention span musters up just time away from playing, and he launches off the couch in sheer excitement. "Grandpa! Grandma!"

Lalyanpha quickly grabs hold of the energetic child by the sides, short of him escaping her reach, and tosses back her long golden brown hair, glancing over towards Mason. "Could you-"

With a laugh, Mason nods his head of dirty blonde hair and winks at Lalyanpha. "Already on it, Laly."

He walks up to the exterior door and opens it. Granting a respectful nod to Kallentesson, he smiles at the older evuukian woman behind. "Come on in. Fair warning. You've got about five seconds before the little one is released."

Kallentesson and the woman cross into the living room, and Lalyanpha unleashes Mylo towards the awaiting arms of a kneeling Kallentesson. Sweeping the child up into his arms, Kallentesson hugs Mylo and playfully ruffles his dirty blonde hair. "How's my favorite grandson?"

Mylo excitedly rambles breathlessly a clumsy, compressed version of his day so far to an eager grandfather, hopping around everything he can think of. Stepping around the excitement, Mason addresses the woman with a smile and points outside. "Lasosopha, is there anything you two need my help to bring in?"

With a calm smirk, Lasosopha shakes her head and pats Mason lightly on the arm. "Oh no, dear. Not right now. We will worry about all that later. Right now..."

She steps forward next to Kallentesson, leans on his shoulder, and gazes lovingly at Mylo. "I want to see my little grandchild."

Trying in vain to split his attention between grandmother and grandfather, Mylo decides and focuses upon Lasosopha for the moment. Kallentesson hands over Mylo to his wife and gazes his orange eyes into Mylo's orange-speckled brown eyes with a proud grin. "Oh. The orange is really coming out in his eyes."

Lalyanpha chuckles lightly, rolling her dark yellow eyes with a humored smile and sighs. "Yes. That it is. The genetic specialist we saw says the evuukian coloration will most likely win out over time."

Lasosopha bounces glance between Kallentesson and Mylo with delight blatant upon her light face. Kallentesson steps over his daughter and warmly embraces Lalyanpha with a loving greeting in evuukian. Moments later, Lalyanpha quickly wipes the hint of a tear at the corner of her eye with a happy smile. "I am fine, father. Just busy keeping Mylo out of trouble."

Standing next to Lalyanpha, Mason extends out his hand to Kallentesson. "So, how was the resort with all the houses?"

Kallentesson grips Mason's hand tightly with a stoic hint to his posture, and Mason responds with an equivalent response to the subtle challenge. A test of handshake strength later, Kallentesson nods respectfully to Mason with a slightly annoyed smirk. "Oh. Same as they usually are. For as many deals are made, drama is born. I decided to skip watching yet another archery competition, and the pool party is really just for the young ones to be wild."

Wrestling down a vaguely annoyed sneer, he groans slightly. "By the gods, the new generation is too much at times. I actually had to break up one fight yesterday."

He pauses a moment, reaches into his pocket, and pulls out his aetherphone. "Speaking of which..."

Quickly navigating through menus, he pulls up a picture of Modoran and him posing, and shows Mason and Lalyanpha. Both Mason and Lalyanpha quickly recognize the evuukian in the picture, and stare at Kallentesson, a bit surprised. Mason nods at the image on the screen and tilts his head to the side, curiously. "Wow. He's usually pretty slippery from the cameras. Honestly surprised you got him by himself."

Lifting a curious eyebrow at her father, she narrows her gaze. "My gods. How did you even manage that? Especially with the family history and all? I did not think he would stay in the same room with you..."

She furrows her brow, curling the corner of her mouth near a golden highlight. "Much less, grant you a picture."

With a guilty grin, Kallentesson shrugs his shoulders and smirks. "Well, let's just say I did him a favor, and he returned it. Also, he got the rest of the team to sign a promo picture for you two."

Mason and Lalyanpha exchange surprised glances, and Kallentesson winks. Stepping over to Lasosopha and Mylo, Kallentesson shows the picture on the aetherphone to his grandson. "Guess who I met, Mylokia..."

Mylo's attention snaps over to the glowing screen, and his eyes focus on the picture. Moments later, his excitement surges, and he yells out. "Moddorren!"

Lasosopha strategically lowers the energetic child back down on the floor. Checking out his audience, Mylo eagerly hops around between the adults. "Come see the tree house!"

A few repeated attempts later, Mylo leads Lalyanpha and Lasosopha away through the kitchen towards the back exterior door. Pausing in front of the door, he glances around and calls out. "Daddy, Grandpa!"

Leaning into the kitchen from the living room, Mason nods to Mylo, reassuring him. "In a few minutes Mylo. Give grandma the tour."

Kallentesson lifts an intrigued eyebrow and eyes Mason. "Tree house?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Mason briefly grits his teeth and rolls his brown eyes at himself. "Well, it's mostly a really tall deck around a tree at the moment. But... He loves it."

Kallentesson and Mason idle and stand in silence for a few seconds. Gazing around the modestly decorated living room, Kallentesson relaxes his stance and dons a calm smile. "You two have made a wonderful home here."

Mason blinks, mentally wandering through a surge of surprise, and nods towards Kallentesson. "I'd like to think so. I mean, it can't compare to a house's mansion..."

Narrowing his eyes mildly incredulously at Mason, Kallentesson sighs with a frown. "Do not short change your efforts. Before my brother brought me in on his business..."

He grimaces faintly and grumbles. "To negotiate with all the people he pissed off..."

A smile sneaks out on his face, and he chuckles softly. "Lasosopha and I lived in a place almost exactly like this one. Gods. How I have come to miss those days."

Mason quirks his brow and cocks his head to the side, scrutinizing Kallentesson. "You okay? I mean, you don't secretly have some incurable disease and are trying to make amends before it takes you in a month?"

Reflexively snorting, Kallentesson shakes his head and laughs. "Oh. Gods no. I just..."

He sighs, searching for the words to match his thoughts, and pieces together the best approximation. "I have just come to realize... I just don't like what I do anymore."

Twisting his mouth between a mix of emotions, he shakes his head. "The house head position was fine for the longest time. But, I think I only liked it because I had nothing else. Now..."

Stepping over, Kallentesson gazes through the archway into the kitchen and out the kitchen window and points to Mylo and Lalyanpha outside. "There's better."

Mason glances out the same window towards Mylo and Lalyanpha and nods appreciatively, smiling. "Yeah. Funny how that happens."

Kallentesson cracks a sympathetic smirk at Mason. "Indeed. Lately, everything has come under a new light. The politics, the business, the houses... Gods. It just takes me away from what I want to do."

He levels an honest stare at Mason with a genuine tone. "Listen. The both of you have managed to build a wonderful life here that I was too stupid to realize. Let me apologize for how I have treated you in the past."

With wide eyes, Mason glances around in shock and nods with a gracious smile towards Kallentesson. "Wow... Um... Thanks, Kallentesson. That actually does mean a lot."

Kallentesson smirks and laughs. "Just call me Kal. I think we are beyond certain formalities."

Mason snorts and agrees, walking into the kitchen towards the fridge. "Yeah. Make sense. So, you want a beer? Nothing too fancy at the moment."

With a humored smirk, Kal steps over and examines the beverage stock. "Don't worry. I drank Stag's Standard for the longest time. I am not THAT fancy with beer."

Grimacing briefly, Mason plucks up a can and hands it over to Kal. "Gods almighty, you actually drank straight from the stag? Willingly?"

Kal shrugs his shoulders with a tight smile and hisses in a breath with a hint of embarrassment. "Some months, it was all Lasosopha and I could afford to drink. It was her favorite when we were young."

Pausing in thought, Mason's mind wonders a moment between questions answered and answers with new questions. Kal draws in a long breath and cracks open his can of beer. "Anyway, I plan on retiring in the next year. Finally hand over control of the house to my brother."

Halting mid sip, Mason shakes his head in shock and stares at Kal. "Really? Wow..."

He tips his head towards Kal and lifts up his beer. "Well, congratulations on your future retirement."

Kal frowns briefly and sighs out a faint bit of frustration. "Well, I am NOT there, yet. I have quite a few things to take care of and a few wrongs to try my best to amend officially before I bow out. Also..."

He grits his teeth briefly and takes a long swig of the brew in his hand. "Need to properly prepare all our business partners to deal with my brother."

Pausing a moment, he lowers his voice and gazes over to Mason. "One thing that I am prioritizing, that I need you to keep secret for now..."

He smiles through a wave of regret. "I am reinstating Lalyanpha officially back in the family... And putting her name back on the registry for the house."

Mason's hand reflexively tightens back around the beer almost slipping out of his grasp. He snaps a wide eyed gaze at Kal. "Holy hell... That's- Good gods... That's HUGE. I mean..."

Blinking through memory, he stares at Kal. "As much as I've tried to comfort her about it... She's always missed being part of the family."

Kal nods and fights to hold back guilt-ridden regret seeping into his voice. "Yes. It is going to take some effort. BUT. I think I can get it done. She won't have any real house duties, or any significant say in family affairs. Regardless, she will have every official right to attend family events..."

Staring at Mason, he firmly states. "With you AND Mylokia."

Blinking blankly a moment, Mason straightens his posture and smiles with emotion nudging his voice. "Thank you. Just, thank you. It'll mean the world for her."

Tilting his head to the side, Kal chuckles lightly. "I am going to try to get it ready for her birthday. But, these particular processes take FOREVER. They are not used to reinstatement, and people often forget it is in the greater house laws."

The two men stand and watch Mylo lead Lasosopha and Lalyanpha around the backyard, pointing out various things with long, excited, rambling explanations. Mason finishes sipping his beer and lifts his eyebrow. "You know, we better get out there and give them a break from Mylo."

Kal nods in complete agreement. "Oh yeah."

The two men head out the back door into the yard to the joyful calls of a four year old.

----

In the dusk light, Chad, Veevi, Tassilda, Trakenthin, Deedri, and Modoran walk down a concrete path between tall, leafy decorative plants on the resort grounds. Nearby from choice angles, camera crew record their every movement along the way, working themselves in an active orbit around the team. Veevi struts around in pace with Chad, evocatively stretching out in her bikini swimsuit for the cameras, and grins with a wicked hint. "That was SO MUCH fun! Archery competition AND a pool party in the same day!"

Leaning against Chad, she wraps her arms around him and consuls him with a sympathetic, slightly exaggerated tone. "So sorry you got knocked out of the semi-finals."

Chad glances briefly down towards the still damp pink hair of Veevi and shrugs his shoulders, presenting an amused smirk. "Actually, I'm kind of okay that I didn't get too far, and wind up having Modoran mercilessly beat me."

He checks over his shoulder towards Modoran with genuine curiosity. "I take it that archery competitions must be serious business with the Evuukian Houses."

Pulling attention away from surrounding greenery, Modoran nonchalantly nods and shrugs his shoulders. "Yeah. It's an old tradition they have had for centuries. Most children raised in a house are expected to know how to use a bow and arrow. They used to settle arguments of honor with archery challenges not too long ago."

Deedri smiles and gazes up towards Modoran, brushing her long, multi-colored hair over her shirt-covered shoulder. "You really held your own in that contest. I thought you were going to win it for sure for a while."

Lightly chuckling, Modoran shakes his head of white, grayish hair and puts his hands in his pants pockets. "Oh. No. There were a few famous archers in that competition that would have easily beaten me early if I faced up against them. They were all just playing well enough until they got into the finals."

He curls a sly smirk with a laugh. "Then... They got real serious."

Trakenthin glances up from his aetherphone, lifts an inquisitive eyebrow at Modoran, and pries with hints of accusation. "Seems certain house members wanted to challenge YOU. Specifically."

With Modoran's dark blue eyes widening briefly, he grimaces and calmly plays off his surge of nerves. "O-Oh? Well. You know..."

He draws in a long breath and casually explains. "Being the one Evuukian on the team with a dark evuukian lineage, I am not really all that surprised that a few wanted to see how they measured up. Can not blame them."

His eyes dart around, quickly scanning the immediate area, and his posture relaxes back down. Veevi glances over her shoulder to Deedri, frowning with a slight droop of her fuzzy ears. "I'm really sorry, you couldn't find your bathing suit Deedri. It looked really cute. You can borrow one of mine for tomorrow if you don't find it."

Blinking back to attention, Deedri frantically searches her mind, bouncing her auburn eyes between ploys. She smiles appreciatively, hiding a telling curl in the corner of her mouth. "Oh! Uh. Thank you, Veevi. But, I'm sure it'll turn up. Somewhere... I just bought it earlier today, so it couldn't have gone that far."

She straightens her posture and averts her gaze off to the side. "And, I didn't really mind being the backup medic in case anything happened between the flying arrows and water today."

Tassilda barely contains her knowledgeable smirk, eyeing right through Deedri's guise. Resting her hands upon her towel wrapped waist, she tosses her raven black hair back off her bikini top and struts with an extra bounce in her step. A few cameras focus on her, snapping away from the conversation between Deedri and Veevi. Stretching her arms over her head, Tassilda yawns. "I can't wait to get back and take a long shower."

The group passes a small out building of restrooms. Modoran breaks off from the group and motions a thumb point over to the entry archway. "I will catch back up with you all later. I need to use the facilities. Been holding it since the finals of the archery competition."

Most grant simple acknowledgments, and Deedri furrows a suspicious brow. Quickly walking over to the small building, Modoran slips swiftly into the men's side of the open entryway. A small detachment of recording crew break off from the orbiting mass and wait outside. The rest of the team leaves the area. Minutes pass. More minutes pass. One of the crew checks their aetherphone for the time and sighs. A phone alert chimes from everyone's devices, and they all investigate it. Excitement and eagerness overtake them, and they all rush down the path, extremely faint, argumentative voices resembling Tassilda and Veevi wafting in from the distance.

Seconds later, Modoran slowly peeks his head out from around the entryway corner, searching the immediate vicinity, and slinks out. Swiftly, he slips into the growing shadows of the evening ambiance, sneaking down a narrow side path near the bathrooms. Keeping out of sight, he blends into the surrounding leafy resort scenery and settles on a seat upon a decorative metal bench near a calming pond. He breathes a long sigh of relief and checks his aetherphone. Navigating the messages, he nods and reads. Checking the narrow, secluded path through bamboo forests and exotic plants, he waits.

His attention drifts off into a simple, captivating game on his phone. Two groups of three quietly approach the bench from either direction of the path. On opposing sides, Hektoran and Mishavalla close in. Mishavalla concentrates, faint flows of prismatic flow shimmering along the ground near her two associates. Hektoran keeps pace with a young male evuukian focusing upon a similar magical spell. Gritting his teeth, Modoran quickly taps upon his phone screen and eagerly plays the game on the screen. Hektoran grins evilly and laughs loudly. "What are YOU playing, Modoran?"

Modoran's dark blue eyes spring wide open. He slowly lifts his head of short white and light gray hair, turning to either side, and studies the situation in sheer, utter bewilderment. He mouths to himself in confused shock. "How the fuck...?"

Modoran springs up, checking all the exits. Hektoran steps up to the standing Modoran, smiling with sinister intent, and postures pridefully. "This time... You WILL NOT be getting away."

Recognizing the same group from before, Modoran sneers his upper lip and grumbles in a mix of current and stale frustration, slowly shaking his head. "Listen. I don't know how the fuck you even knew I was here, but still..."

He narrows his stare at Hektoran and states in a low, slow tone. "THIS is a BAD idea. You all should really just drop this."

Mishavalla readies herself into a casting pose, trains her piercing yellow eyes on Modoran, and grins sharply. "Last night we are here. So, the last chance we have to settle this."

Hektoran nods to the two pairs of evuukian comrades, and the pairings secure the exit routes, waiting for action. Hektoran puffs out his chest, glares eagerly at Modoran, and cracks his knuckles. "You know, just take your beating like a proper house reject. It will be a lot easier on us..."

Sizing up Modoran, he snarls his upper lip. "YOU, not so much. And, you would not want to leave any marks on us, since it would just cause you so much trouble for assaulting house nobility... So recklessly."

Studying the scene, Modoran parts a devious smile, laughing darkly, and narrows his stare into Hektoran. "Oh... Really? As if leaving bruises and marks me is going to help you out. Since, I am certain that your great uncle will know exactly what happened after yesterday!"

A sudden, stark realization erupts simultaneously upon the youthful, naive faces surrounding Modoran, the surrounding group contemplating the situation between uneasy grimaces and hints of reluctant squirms. With a final few gestures, Modoran finishes an incantation and vanishes from view. "Bye!"

Hektoran snaps back to awareness, spotting Modoran disappearing, and yells out. "MISHA! REVEAL HIM! HURRY!"

Stumbling into the casting of the spell, Mishavalla quickly runs through the gestures and repeats an incantation from memory. The two pairs of perimeter guards hold their arms out and carefully watch and listen, squinting for activity in the shadows of the late dusk light. Anger swells into Hektoran, and he attempts to turn around. His body struggles to twist. His shoulders remain held in place. Puzzling at the strange forces, Hektoran grunts, his body hopping up from the force of several fist sized, sudden depressions into his gut. Hektoran doubles onto the ground, barely holding himself up, and covers his mouth, reflexively retching.

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The male and female evuukian pair near Hektoran watch their leader collapse into a vomiting fit. Mishavalla releases a colorful pulse from her hands. The wave of glittering particles expands quickly and coats all it contacts in a sparkling layer, including the transparent form of Modoran. Hektoran's pair of escorts lunge at Modoran. The duo release a flurry of punches and kicks that Modoran deftly dodges when possible, weathering the rest. Slipping into a few opportunities, Modoran returns a similar barrage of attacks at the pair. Between struggling grapples, the exchange speeds to a feverish pace. In a lapse of judgment, Modoran side steps into the perfect path for the muscular evuukian man's shoulder check and flies back and over row of metal garbage cans. Laying upon the bent containers, he returns to full opacity, wincing and growling to himself.

Mishavalla helps Hektoran stand back up from a pool of his stomach's prior contents. Hektoran's accomplices approach the trash pile Modoran is in, closing in around him. A sudden plume of inky black mist erupts from Modoran, obscuring the area. The four evuukian lackeys defensively form around the expanding dark miasma, expectantly. Five Modorans leap out from the cloud into dramatic, taunting poses. Hektoran wipes the remainder of the vomit from his mouth, stepping up into the line with the other four evuukians, and readies himself for a fight.

Mishavalla narrows her suspicious stare at the multiple Modorans and studies the animated, mocking batch. Moments later, she squints and spots the distinct lack of colorful sparkles on each of the illusions. She starts to open mouth, and Modoran's hand seals Mishavalla's mouth back up. He hoists her up away from the group towards the nearby pond. "Hush! Don't ruin the surprise for them."

Flailing around in a mix of shock and anger, Mishavalla slams her elbows down into Modoran's sides, attempts to backwards head butt him, and claws behind her after him. Mostly dodging all these attacks, Modoran swiftly drags Mishavalla to the bank of the pond and grins mischievously, laughing softly. "Hey... Remember our favorite game?"

Blinking confused, Mishavalla notices the body of water, and her yellow eyes spring open in a surge of past frustration and muffled rage. Modoran readies himself and tosses the lithe Mishavalla right into the shallow pond. She flops in with an angry scream and flailing splash into the drink. A reminiscent smile appears on Modoran's dusky bluish gray face, and he chuckles to himself. "Yeah... That brings back memories."

He swings around to dart off, and Mishavalla's pair of friends intercept. Within the melee exchange, Modoran fends off the assault, managing a number of well placed kicks and punches between blocks and redirects. Stepping forth, he starts to initiate a throw. Modoran's momentum halts unexpectedly, Hektoran's pair of friends each snatching an arm. Quickly Mishavalla's duo go for a leg each. Modoran tries a fake out and kicks towards the groin on a male evuukian. The evuukian catches the attack and glares at Modoran in disgust. "Dirty motherfucker..."

Completely locked down, the four comrades secure Modoran and present him before Hektoran. Huffing out his exhaustion, Hektoran narrows an infuriated glare at Modoran and punches him square in the chest. Modoran cringes with a reflexive grumble of pain. Hektoran gradually collects himself and resumes his prideful stance, staring at Modoran. "Well... THAT was fun. But... It's time to-"

Splashes of wet footsteps slap out on the concrete pathway above the drone of evuukian curses in a furious woman's voice. Mishavalla storms up with her arm tightly around her soaked, thin shirt, covering her revealed lithe, athletic figure. Her other arm pulls back with growing muscle definition and clenching fist. With a powerful swing past Hektoran, she slugs Modoran powerfully right in the nose, pushing his head back and rocking the four other evuukians holding him. Mishavalla steps away in an indignant huff, crossing her arms. Blinking back to awareness, Modoran recovers to his senses from the blow, struggling to sniff through his nose. With mean satisfaction, Hektoran grins and chuckles. "So, are you learning your lesson?"

Focusing his dark blue eyes upon Hektoran through reflexive tearing eyes, Modoran dons a sly smirk and quirks his brow defiantly at Hektoran. "Not really. But, I have learned one thing."

Hektoran cocks his head expectantly to the side, smugness waning. "Which is?"

Presenting a wide rebellious grin under a stream of blood from his nose, Modoran cackles loudly. "Your sister hits the hardest out of the bunch of you weak loser shits!"

At that prompting, Hektoran and crew take turns elaborately insulting and berating Modoran between punctuating punches or kicks. Minutes later, a distant voice calls out down the path. "Modoran?"

With a final punch in the gut on Modoran, Hektoran directs the gathering down the opposite way, leaving Modoran unceremoniously on the ground. Sitting up on the grass bordering the path, Modoran groggily inspects himself, winces with each muscle flex.

Deedri walks down the narrow, shady path between decorative plants and bamboo. Her furry, tufted ears perk up to distant footsteps up ahead, and she picks up her pace. Rounding a slight curve in the path, she sniffs the air and widens her auburn eyes with the unsettling familiarity. She rushes down the walkway, and her eyes notice a figure slowly standing up. She closes in to an unsettling surprise. "MODORAN?!"

----

Sitting up a wooden bench along the narrow walkway, Modoran clenches his fist tightly and cringes with watering eyes. With a tight, firm pinch of Modoran's nose, Deedri flows magical energies into his nose and gently shifts it around, shifting around internal structures. A minute later, Deedri releases hold of the bridge of Modoran's nose and slips her gloved fingers out from his nostrils. Vainly trying to collect himself, Modoran lightly touches his freshly realigned nose, wincing through the remnants of pain. "OH GODS... You weren't kidding..."

He flutters his dark blue eyes and shudders back to some semblance of nonchalant. "But... Thank you... Ow..."

Aiming a stoic frown towards Modoran on the bench, Deedri leans forward and stares right into Modoran's eyes, a faint auburn glow from her eyes lighting up his dusky, bluish gray face. "SO. Are you going to tell me what happened now? OR. Are you going to keep dodging the subject?"

Sporting a weak smile, Modoran awkwardly stumbles around his words, shrinking in his seat under the illuminated glare of Deedri. "I- Uh... It is complicated, Deedri. It's nothing you should worry about and-"

Sneering her upper lip, Deedri applies a treated adhesive bandage upon a cut on Modoran's face, aggravation slipping out into her tone. "NOT anything I should worry about?!"

She snaps a cutting stare at Modoran, a hint of growl forming in the undercurrent of her voice. "I'm SORRY. BUT, the moment I find you beaten up and abandoned in some alley AND have to patch up you..."

Narrowing her glare, she furrows her fair skin brow, her long, fluffy tail wagging to near thrashing. "I THINK it becomes something I. NEED. TO. WORRY. ABOUT."

Modoran tries to summon up his nonchalant demeanor and fails miserably upon gazing into the examining stare from Deedri. Meekly lowering his head, he sighs deeply and uncomfortably tenses his shoulders, resigning. "It... It was... It was a group from another house. I knew they wanted to settle an old score. But, I did not think they would go this far with it."

Deedri's gaze softens, and she kneels down in front of Modoran, watching untypical emotions on his face. "Why did they want to settle a score with you?"

Drawing in a pained breath, Modoran watches Deedri apply medical ointment onto a large patch of bruising on his forearm and slumps his shoulders, averting his eyes away. "It's for something I did years past. A... um... a crime against their house. Long story short, I orchestrated a theft of their prized treasure, and my team got caught."

Pausing in her treatment of Modoran's minor wounds, Deedri cocks her head to the side curiously, perking her furry ears up, and focuses on Modoran. "Okay..."

She narrows an inquisitive glare upon Modoran and frowns slightly, waiting expectantly. Modoran draws in a long breath, nodding towards Deedri, and reluctantly approaches an explanation. "I... WAS a member of a house. Their house was always boasting about this grand heirloom and how it was such a symbol of their success. My dumb ass thought it would be great to take them down a peg by stealing it long enough for them to admit it was stolen. Then, quietly return it."

Rolling his eyes, he grits his teeth and groans. "It is NOT uncommon for such pranks between houses. But... The group I put together got caught. AND, the other house got REAL angry. REALLY... ANGRY."

He bows his head down slightly. "I took the whole blame for it so no one else in my team got in trouble. It was my idea anyway. Hence, I was dehoused and changed my family name to even things out."

Blinking blankly in thought, Deedri stands up, furrowing her brow, and sits down on the bench next to Modoran. With a few gestures, she finishes up an incantation. Flowing magical energy into Modoran's shoulder, she processes between ear flicks and aims her investigative gaze at him. "But... That's been settled, then. So, what right do they have to attack you now?!"

With a nonchalant smile, Modoran attempts to shrug his shoulders, only managing a squirm into a pained grimace. "Well- Uh... They are just still sore about it? I guess. To be fair, technically, we made off with their artifact that they said was protected by their gods. So, they are just still mad about it? Anyway..."

He dismissively waves off the notion with a hand. "They are just young and stupid, like I was. They got some satisfaction. Nothing permanent is broken. So, not a big deal in the end."

Deedri's eyes widen, her furry, tufted ears drop down to the sides of her head, and she grits her sharp teeth with a growl. "Not a big deal?! You got ATTACKED! This wasn't a bar room fight, or a heat of a moment dispute! This was premeditated, and you could have been seriously hurt! This NEEDS to be reported!"

Wave of nervous energy pulses through Modoran's body, and he turns his head, gazing at Deedri uneasily. "Uh, it's- No. There is no need to do that. It would just cause more drama and trouble. I mean, it would just be my side versus their side. And... It just would NOT go well and-"

Gently resting a hand on Modoran's shoulder, Deedri stares directly into his eyes, straightening her posture, and focuses her stern, supportive voice at him. "This isn't right. You NEED to stand up for yourself. They shouldn't be allowed to do this! If fact..."

She lifts an intrigued eyebrow. "From one of the sources you told me about... I remember reading about laws against house members seeking vendettas against non-house citizens."

Pausing in thought, Modoran entertains an idea briefly and shakes it away. "Yes, but... It would just bring up a bunch of old drama and-"

Deedri slightly tightens her grip on Modoran's shoulder, summoning up her courage, and levels a defiant stare at him. "Maybe it NEEDS to get brought up."

Noticing a faint wince on Modoran, she eases up her grip and exhales. "If you aren't, then I AM. My party member and friend just got attacked, and I am NOT going to let it go. You shouldn't either."

Slowly turning his head, Modoran meets Deedri's auburn eyes. A nonchalant smile gradually appears on his face, and he nods in agreement. "Yeah... Yeah... You are right. I just... It's just not fun dealing with it. I just don't know..."

A simple soft chuckle escapes, and he snorts faintly. "Maybe, it will be different this time around?"

A happy smile graces Deedri's fair face. Suddenly, her furry ears perk towards a section of open space above the walkway. Her eyes flash brightly auburn, and she grits her sharp teeth, curling a hand of clawed fingers at the ready. "Who's THERE?! Drop the invisibility spell!"

Two evuukian women materialize into view on the walkway near Modoran and Deedri. Modoran glances over to the pair, lowers his face in mild embarrassment into the palm of his hand, and slowly shakes his head. "It's okay, Deedri. These are my sisters. The people I was waiting for, out here."

With a graceful and collected demeanor, the older sister bows, tosses her long light gray hair back, and glances over to Deedri with dark blue eyes. She presents a grateful smile upon her dusky bluish gray skinned face. "Our apologies for startling you. We were delayed getting here. And, when we arrived we were not sure what was going on and did not want to intrude on anything."

The younger sister with short white hair grins wide with dark blue eyes, barely containing her energy. "ALSO, you were doing a REALLY GOOD job at talking sense into our brother... So..."

She rolls her eyes with a shrug. "We really did not want to interrupt!"

A light tint of embarrassment colors Deedri's cheeks. Modoran straightens his sitting posture, points to the elder sister. "This is Massadenia, my eldest sister."

He motions to the younger sister, sighing with brotherly annoyance. "And, Linanania, my youngest sister."

Bowing again at the address, Massadenia glances at Modoran and Deedri and waves towards the pathway. "Not to rush anything, but it might be best we get moving, if possible."

Modoran slowly rises up from the bench and stretches out his soreness, nodding in agreement. "Yeah. I do NOT think I want another surprise round. And..."

He smiles warmly and genuinely to Deedri. "I would rather not make any more work for you tonight."

Popping up from her seat, Deedri helps Modoran stand up all the way and checks over for any other immediate issues. "Well, I wouldn't want to keep you from your family, since that's why you came out here. But, stop by my room so I can apply another round of treatments."

Lifting a curious eyebrow, Linanania hops over next to Deedri. "You are not coming?"

Deedri puzzles at the response, glancing between the sisters confused. "I didn't think I'd be allowed to?"

With a smile, Massadenia gazes over to Deedri and leads Modoran in front of her. "Oh, nonsense. Mother would be absolutely furious if I did not invite and bring along the woman who healed her..."

A sly grin widens on her face. "Precious little boy."

A quiet, stale, annoyed groan drifts out from Modoran. Massadenia shines a delighted grin. "So, please, join us. It is nothing official, I promise."

Modoran walks ahead under the graceful guidance of Massadenia, and the energetic Linanania and cautious Deedri talk about random subjects along the walk.

----

Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia wander slowly down a dusty, decorative stonework hallway. Overhead lamps dimly light the quiet passages and an occasional sign indicating the present location or an official warning. Stopping in front of a sealed metal doorway, Aristespha checks the map on her tablet, sorting through a few information prompts cluttering the screen. She furrows her ivory brow, points over to the mechanical entry, and turns to the group. "This one has not been explored. It has been sealed since this site was first discovered."

Sebastian's ethereal form drifts in front of the sealed doors, and he glances over, seeking a confirmation from Aristespha. "Nothing else on file, dear?"

Flicking through a long section of text, Aristespha shakes her head of silvery blue hair, smiling towards Sebastian. "Go ahead, Sebastian."

With a simple nod, Sebastian phases through the metal doorway, disappearing to the other side. Bach wanders over towards the opposing side of the hallway, inspecting a decaying sign written in an old language, and comments. "Huh. It's actually kind of nice to have some of the grunt work done for you before having to trudge through these places."

Cideeda examines the sealed doorway, and her emerald green eyes search along the wall, flicking between points of interest. "Yeah. It does save us a lot of trouble."

She twists her mouth to the side and grumbles. "Still finding a bunch of duds, though."

Stretching her arms back in a long yawn, Sotalia tilts her head to either side. She fights the boredom off her face and idly paces around, playing with her longer fiery orange, wavy hair. "I'll say. I mean, I'm not arguing the logic behind this. But... GODS... It's hard not to be a little bored with it all."

Nodding in begrudging agreement, Dretphi alternates between watching different ends of the current hallway, furrowing her brow. "Only trouble we have had was that security guard. Would not leave us alone."

Rolling her eyes with a sneer of her upper lip, Sotalia groans out her disgust, shaking her head in commiseration. "I KNOW. Come on... THAT place wasn't THAT big. Was he actually expecting us to get lost or something?"

Glancing over, Cideeda pulls herself away from peering through the gap in a ventilation grate on the wall and grumbles with a canine revealing sneer. "That lazy wannabe cop was just looking for a reason to send us away. He was hoping our paperwork had anything wrong with it."

She rolls her emerald green eyes and snorts out. "Probably just wanted us gone so he could go back to snacking on some chips in the office."

Bach furrows his brow, glancing over to Cideeda curiously. "What makes you say that?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Cideeda smirks slyly and chuckles. "Smelled it on him. Cheap store brand, salt and vinegar flavored."

Sebastian's head pops through the middle of the metal doors with an excited grin, and he motions for everyone's attention. "Think we have something! Looks like a research area or an archive of sorts. A few documents and a bunch of little artifacts on display."

Cideeda claps her hands together, rubbing them eagerly, and hunts around the frame of the sealed doorway. "Alright! Now, how to get this thing open... gently."

Standing in front of the metal doors, she feels around the joins, squints at every corner and crevice, and taps a claw tip on the door. Her furry ears flick around and listen to the finer acoustic details. Her eyes sort through the mental images in her mind. She briefly grits her teeth with a faint hum under her voice. "The doors are solid. But, not really thick. It doesn't sound like high grade steel or alloy. So, it's probably a simple hydraulic sliding door."

Rapping her claws on the door, she directs her voice towards Sebastian's floating visage nearby and queries. "Did you see a locking mechanism on the other side?"

Sebastian shakes his head a moment, pauses in thought, and phases back through to the other side. Seconds later, he pops his head back out and shrugs his translucent shoulders. "No. Nothing I can see. The door looks the same on both sides. The control panel on the other side looks the same as this one here."

Cideeda nods, closing her eyes, and processes the information out loud, tapping her toe claws on the floor. "Okay... Low security door... Probably just a standard design they bulk ordered. SO. I wouldn't be surprised if..."

Stepping methodically along the wall section with the door controls, she moves away from the frame. She purposefully hits the lower part of the wall with the bottom of her fist and listens carefully, her furry ears sifting through the sounds. The rest of the team watches her travel a few meters down, slam hard on section, and stop. She spins around with her furry ears flicking and searching and starts tapping around the surface of the wall. Seconds later, she grins toothily and motions everyone over. "There's a hollow section here. It's probably a hidden access panel they blended in. Bach?"

Bach blinks to attention and gazes down at Cideeda. "Oh. Yes? What do you need?"

Pointing to the general areas, Cideeda pantomimes out towards the wall with her suspicions. "Depending on how they built this place, I think it'll either be a few magnetically driven locks OR a spring loaded friction fit from hell. Think you could use your mechanical magic?"

Bach kneels down next to Cideeda, closes his eyes, and places his hands on the wall. Reopening his blue glowing eyes, he grins confidently, nodding at Cideeda. "Yeah. I think I can manage something here. Let me see what I feel."

Flows of magical energy emanate from Bach's hands and glide along the surface, sinking into the wall. Focusing upon the task, he furrows his brow and twists his face with thought. "Huh... It's like some kind of twist lock with magnets. Four of them. And..."

He fights a grimace and grumbles. "Oh. I think they painted over the panel joints. Just give me a second..."

Brief thin lines of energy flicker and finely score lines into a meter by meter square of the wall around Bach's hands. A series of four solid, heavy clicks dully thump out from the revealed panel, and Bach grins with satisfaction. "There we go. Now we just-"

Confidence disappears from Bach's face, the panel tilting away from the wall, and he scrambles for a good hold on it. "Shit! It's heavy-"

A pair of red armor gauntlets thrust out on either side of Bach and halt the panel in place. Glancing up with an appreciative smirk, Bach nods to Dretphi. "Thank you."

Dretphi smiles warmly to Bach, and the two coordinate, easing the panel down to a graceful landing upon the floor. Cideeda pulls out a flashlight from her utility vest, clicks it on, and investigates the hollow section beyond the wall. Scanning over the electrical lines, data cables, and hydraulic piping, she peeks further inside, studying the configuration of the machinery. Minutes later, with the curiosity and lighting sources from the rest of the group, Cideeda slides her contorted self back out of the tight space. "Okay. Real simple setup. BUT, I really doubt the electric pump and valves are going to cooperate. If not due to age, probably interference from some control module that still is active."

Sitting back upon her legs, she tilts her head of short, multi-color hair to the side and ponders out loud. "One option is to cut lines to release the pressure and pry the door open..."

Aristespha grumbles uneasily and slowly shakes her head. "If we could avoid obvious changes, that would be preferred. There are only so many violations of the law I can get overlooked through Grand Library clout, and I would rather not discover what that limit happens to be."

Cideeda grins toothily and eyes Bach eagerly. "I thought so... Bach, I'm going to need your help."

Bach follows Cideeda's guidance, and the two position themselves partly through the access panel frame. Cideeda points out a number of valves, lines, and control mechanisms inside the packed space. "I bet you can easily manipulate the stubborn insides of these and get that door open..."

Lifting an eyebrow, she grins slyly. "AND, keep it looking stock."

Glancing over to Cideeda, Bach smiles with growing interest and thinks through it. "Yeah... Definitely can manage that. But, you're going to have to tell me what, when, and how. I mean, I don't know much about hydraulics in general, especially not setups like these."

With a confident smile, Cideeda winks to Bach. "Of course, that's why I'm here. Ready for your first lesson?"

Over the next few minutes, Cideeda instructs Bach on the basics of hydraulic door systems. With pantomimed explanations of different component constructions from Cideeda, Bach threads magical flows into mechanisms, integrating with the aged devices, and weaves control lines together to handle signaling. The rest of the team watches in fascination. Cideeda navigates the system, and Bach fashions magical manifestations, manipulating the setup. With a number of flow threads in his hands, Bach gazes over to Cideeda expectantly. Methodically stepping through the process, Cideeda recites an ordered list of instructions, waiting for Bach to perform the prescribed tasks. A series of valves creak and briefly fight against the magical might, relenting with a surge of energy. Flows of prismatic power travel from Bach down a thicker magical cable woven into hydraulic pump and reservoir assembly. With careful focus from Bach and Cideeda's percussive coaxing via the butt of a large flashlight, a large hydraulic ram retracts, and one door of the dual sliding door arrangement pulls slowly into the wall.

Smirking with pride, Cideeda sarcastically declares in a mocking tone. "Oh. Look. I think these doors must have FINALLY opened after years of age..."

With an eager flicker in her emerald green eyes, Cideeda grins. "We should probably investigate it."

A quiet and modest celebration later, the team swiftly slips through the doorway. Everyone slowly spreads out into the large room of faintly dusty desks, tables, and shelves. Sotalia rolls her shoulders uncomfortably, surveying the room suspiciously. Her golden eyes widen, and she gawks at a nearby long shelf of labeled magical trinkets and oddities. The long nailed fingers on her hand flex in anticipation. Aristespha calmly lifts away Sotalia's hand and leads her away, shaking her head at Sotalia's pouting frustration.

Slowly approaching the center point of the room, the team shines lights around in searching sweeps of the vicinity. Halting in place, Bach tenses his posture, furrows his brow contemplatively, and pivots around, hunting around for something.

"STAGNANT ENERGY. DETECTED. NEARBY."

The team pauses. Attention collectively gathers upon the sword at Aristespha's side. Sebastian's visage stabilizes, and he wanders his pointing arm out towards a direction. "I think it... It felt something over... There?"

Flashlight spots, magical torch illumination, and a series of drifting glowing orbs light up the back wall of the room. The brightness increases, and the circular outline of an energy dais contrasts the rest of the floor. Everyone locks onto the uncomfortably familiar magical device. Sotalia rests her hands at her hips, narrowing her suspecting stare. "Yeah... I thought I felt something weird in the room."

Remaining still, Bach stares uneasily at the dais. He fights his nerves and grits his teeth, stating uncomfortably. "Yeah... Felt it, too. There's... There's a good amount in there."

Sebastian nods and gazes at Aristespha. "Well, I do think we have a way to fix THAT."

Aristespha glances back, smiling lovingly to Sebastian, and eagerly draws the sword out. "Yes. Yes, we do."

Hovering nearby with a mix of relief and satisfaction, Sebastian stares at the stonework circle. "Let's drain this thing dry."

Returning to awareness from a thought, Bach holds a hand out, halting Aristespha's approach. "Not all of it."

Sotalia blinks confused and irritation rises in her voice. "What do you mean? No. We don't leave anything behind for Noxian to get."

Bach turns around, facing Sotalia and the team, and sighs. "I know. I know. But..."

Waving a hand towards the dais, he frowns begrudgingly. "We CAN'T drain it completely. Otherwise, he'll KNOW something is not right. I mean, think about it. If he's expecting some power and finds none, then he'll start to suspect something and change up his plans..."

He slumps his shoulders and grimaces. "Yet again..."

The team mulls over the suggestion. Dretphi nods in agreement and ponders out loud. "Leave enough for it to... smell... correct. No more."

Defiantly crossing her arms, Sotalia narrows a disagreeable glare at Bach. She meets Bach's gaze and internally argues with herself, telegraphing the progress on her light tan, dark gray bordered face. She grits her teeth and grumbles. "I DO NOT like the idea of giving Noxian anything."

Cideeda sighs, glances over to Sotalia, and frowns with slight droop of her furry ears. "Yeah, me neither. BUT. We got to make it look convincing enough so he won't immediately suspect anything. Otherwise, this whole catching him in the act thing falls right apart."

Some final deliberation later, Sotalia slowly nods and relaxes her stance. "Yeah. You're right... Still don't like it, but it makes sense."

Stepping next to Sotalia, Cideeda flashes a sly grin and holds out a small camera device. "Would helping me choose the right camera angles make you feel better?"

A smile graces Sotalia, and she rolls her golden eyes at herself. "A little."

Aristespha pans a gaze around the room and lifts an intrigued eyebrow. "And, while we are... Unofficially here... Let us see what this room was for."