The clattering of his heels whipped the walls around him as the echoes emphasized the dead silence in the mansion. He walked along the vast hallways like he was familiar with every inch of that place. Nothing or no one dared stand in his way until...

"Father! You've finally come to join us," said Euriella as she came out of a room to greet his presence.

He didn't stop and without a glance towards her, he spoke, "Well, yes. That was the plan after all," He walked past her, through the doors she'd just exited. He neared a black leatherette, high back throne chair, that looked every bit as expensive as his all black outfit, "I see you've been busy," he said motioning at Euriella's harp near one of the windows.

"Of course, best to keep ourselves informed in order to stay ahead," she said after sitting closer to him.

"I am always ahead," he added, in a calm tone but with a stern look on him.

"Right, you are," she said, "This town has changed quite a bit since the last time we've visited," she added.

"Spare me these fruitless chats, would you? And tell me how much we've progressed in our plans?" for a man over a century of age, he sure sounded hasty. For a man over a century of age, he sure didn't seem all that old. Physically, he seemed to be in his very early thirties or even less; flawless skin, piercing blue eyes and overall, universally desired features; it was obvious that his years dabbling in the powers of the supernatural served his interests well.

"Our plans are on track," she said.

He did not seem convinced, "Is that so? Did you fetch her?"

"I went to a few hours ago,"

"And?" he asked after she'd remained quiet for too long.

"She was already dead when I got there," Euriella announced.

"I thought you said she'd survived,"

"I thought so as well, but apparently she didn't fair against the Oni at the hospital," she explained.

"Well then, I am afraid you'll have to replace her. You understand that, don't you?" his tone shifted at those words. He sounded like he was asking nicely, like Euriella had a say in the matter, even though they both knew that was not the case. Neither of them said a thing for a while; Euriella stared at her harp pointlessly and he, the apprentice, gazed ahead just as purposelessly as she did, "I still find it odd," he said out of nowhere.

"What is?" her eyes darted back towards him.

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"Last time we spoke, you'd said that they all survived the last night. What are you trying to say? That you somehow missed your sister's death?" he continued.

"I still don't understand what happened either. Marie- Amélie was at the hospital at the time and none of ours were present to tell what really happened there," Euriella was lying through her teeth; she did her best to hide her truth, did her best to conceal her fear; after all, she was lying to the apprentice and that was no easy task. From the short words they'd exchanged since he'd gotten there, it was clear that he'd burdened Euriella with the task of fetching her sister, Maylee, that they still called by her birth name, Marie-Amélie. Maylee was to be an apparently important part of a yet another sordid plan of his... But for a reason that Euriella couldn't feel safe disclosing to anyone, she chose to lie knowing full well the consequences she was to face should that information ever leak to his ears.

"What about the others?" he asked. It seemed like he was dropping the subject a little too quickly; clemency was not part of his vocabulary, nor was it a second nature to him and Euriella was left wondering if he'd believed her or... If he was simply stringing her along.

"The others?" she asked, out of her element.

"That true alpha and his pack, who else would I be talking about?" again, he seemed unbothered, but she knew reality to be very different, she knew him very well, she knew not to be fooled by his calm temperament.

"Oh them..." she muttered, "They're still running around like the children they are," she added.

"You seem... Distracted. I don't like it when you are distracted," he stated coldly.

"Well, like you said... I only seem distracted. I am not," she said.

"Did my toys perform well? You haven't told me about that part either," his mood swung suddenly, and he appeared to be very excited about the topic he'd brought up.

"They've done quite well for themselves, but they are flawed. As the confrontation proved last night," she said in a dry tone.

"And how so?" he quizzed, all ears for her answer.

"For one, your invulnerable matt, wasn't that invulnerable it seemed; he has a weakness, and I am sure you know how they found out about it," she started.

"That stupid girl went and ran her mouth... What's new?" he commented through half gritted teeth.

"Then there was the nogitsuné, he found his match against a celestial kitsuné and a powerful one at that,"

"That old bat still has zing," he chuckled, refereeing to Noshiko Yukimura.

"The Oni are useless during daytime and Kate Argent was bested by another bone woman, and she too is pretty useless without the berserkers, honestly,"

"You mean that little Hayden; her case is interesting when I think about it, might be worth the study," he said.

"Should I put her on our list of goals?"

"No need, if things go the way they should, we'll have everything we want and then some. The sun will never shine the same upon this town... Upon this world. I'll be their new sun, their dark sun,"

They both decided to leave the conversation at that. The apprentice retreated back into his own thoughts and Euriella chose not to disrupt him. She knew it was best to leave him be when he was in that state. She left the room shortly after, in order to allow her brain the time and freedom to process all that happened in the preceding days; that was a luxury she couldn't afford near him. She wasn't to be "distracted" as he'd described it so well.

She thought back on her actions a few hours prior, and the consequences resulting from them that she'll have to endure in her near future. Whether she regretted them or not, did not matter a single bit... For it was too late for her to take them back in any way; the only thing she genuinely felt sorry about, was the fact that she left her sister for the final time, without proper goodbyes.