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Ottilie tilted her head curiously at Toby's contrasting fur, but there wasn't any condescension about her interest. Creatures became creatures through hybridization after all, with even the most prominent clans descending from groups of what were essentially mutts. If anything she was surprised because Toby could easily fit in among them. Seeing that the removal of his shirt had made him nervous and knowing full well what it was to be self conscious of one's appearance, Ottilie kindly took control of the conversation, wanting Toby to know that wherever he was from her kind had no prejudices towards those of mixed blood, all being essentially of mixed blood themselves, "ya got a coat fer the fields f'e'er I saw one, mate," she commented agreeably, "I've a friend with similar. He makes his livin' as a scout." She paused to listen to more specific instructions from Nochtli about the exact application of the gelly, and nodded, unscrewing the cap of the tube, "thought 'bout goin' inta that line o'work initially meself since ya get ta travel an' there's deductive reasonin' involved. Me mate said s'a lot o'sittin' 'round though, sometimes fer hours in the same spot!" She wrinkled her nose at the idea, casually holding the tube up for Legs's inspection*. Both she and the decipede had been nearly and absolutely poisoned too many times where Jerin and his cohorts were concerned to allow even a seemingly innocent tube of gelly to fly. She didn't make a big to-do about it however, hoping her talk would keep Nochtli from commenting. Legs took a very small dab of the pale green substance, examining it, smelling it, and finally clicking his mouthparts around the tiniest taste, "treasure huntin' can turn up nothin' an' seem fer naught at times, but I prefer it 'cause leastwise yer usually diggin' or explorin' 'stead o'lyin' 'bout." Legs looked up, nodding to her that all was well, and she squeezed a sizable glob into her palm. Rubbing her hands together, she began to gently massage the substance into the rabbit's skin as directed by Nochtli, "what sort o'work d'ya prefer, Toby?"

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Cho frowned, not entirely satisfied with either reply. Dirac's was believable but guarded, intuition telling her there were things he wasn't saying merely to avoid involvement, whereas parts of Aurora's seemed implausible from what she knew of Jerin (although perhaps the mercenary was correct given how often he behaved contrary to his nature simply for the sake of a surprise). She was about to open her mouth to make further inquiries when Jerin's words reached her ears, "Ottilie, like yourself and Burnu, is an old and dear friend, Cho." He smiled up at her from his place on the ground, continuing pointedly, "and I thank you in advance for behaving so civilly towards her and my companions." The kunoichi read the warning between the lines easily, "certainly, beloved." She left Dirac and Aurora alone then, asking Jerin, "what have you discovered?"

"These traps respond to heat and motion," Jerin said, rolling up his sleeve for Junk, who had insisted he contract another virus to supplement the first after seeing the vomit, "normally I'd need to re-wire Junk to scan for their sensors. Luckily I've another robot that functioned primarily as a scanner--" he slapped his forearm to make a well used vein stand up, "--Jack will do the job credibly--ouch!" He flinched as Junk poked him with a needle. Cho crossed her arms, "but how will you find miss Ottilie if you re-call it? I thought this one was leading us to her via their network connection," she gestured at Ball. Jerin closed his eyes, "no longer needed. I'm close enough to where I can locate her myself." Cho and Burnu exchanged a look of disbelief, Burnu asking, "linked...?"

"Mmhm."

"It can not be," Kiku replied, unable to keep the hurt from her voice, "a link can only be formed through admission and strong emotion."

"Of course," Jerin smiled privately, "but whoever said the emotion had to be love?"

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*Decipedes are ideal poison testers given their natural immunity to most toxins. If poison is present within a substance, their small bodies generally filter it out within minutes of ingestion through slits just behind their back legs.

Ottilie listened as she worked, allowing Toby and Kevin to discuss their thoughts without interrupting. She was glad the rabbit felt comfortable enough around her to go into detail about a painful part of his life, but the creature still considered herself unfit to comment on events and individuals of which she knew so little. That aside, words couldn't return Lori to life, or take Tobias back in time to make a different decision. Words couldn't undo Ottilie's own crimes, follies, and record of misfortune anymore than they can at this moment bring back the lady I love and drove away. Nevertheless, the younger girl believed in them, even when she wasn't sure which ones to use or when to use them. "I don't really know what ta say," she admitted when the conversation hit a lull, "I didn't know Lori o'course, but m'sorry her death an' the circumstances surroundin' it brought ya pain." She paused, then asked gently, "what was she like? F'its not too bold ta ask, that 'tis."

Ottilie shook her head wildly at this and spoke with uncharacteristic vehemence, face still somewhat flushed from the revelation of Kevin's discourse, "not 'tall! How could ya have known what was ta come at the time, aye? 'Sides, ya were hurt. Ya needed ta heal 'fore ya could trust anyone 'gain. Expectin' yer psyche ta bounce back straightaway would be as ridiculous as expectin' ya ta walk normally right after breakin' a leg! No, fars m'concerned yer feelin's are an' were as understandable as any stress y'all're under right--" she covered her mouth, embarrassed, Legs rolling his eyes, "--oh dear, m'sorry. S'not me place ta say." Eager to change the subject she looked down, and remembering Kevin's words, colored again, saying, "'pologies ta ya s'well, Kevin. Didn't mean ta give ya the wrong impression 'fore. I thought ya were jokin' an' me reply were meant ta be in keepin' with that. I assure ya Toby's quite correct, though. I've--" she stopped mid-sentence as Nochtli put a firm hand on her wrist. Only then did Ottilie become aware of the numbness of her goopy palms and realize it must be time to re-set Toby's shoulder. Moving out of his way, she translated, "he says ya might feel a bit o'a pinch, but won't be nearly as bad as 'twould without the gelly." The words had no sooner left her mouth when Nochtli seized the rabbit's shoulder and unceremoniously popped it back into its socket. He kept his hands upon him a minute longer, head moving to scrutinize his handiwork. Finally he grunted, satisfied, and released him. Shuffling back, the doctor made a few passing gestures to Ottilie, who nodded gratefully, sitting beside Toby, "yer shoulder might feel a little stiff at first, an' ya shouldn't strain it o'erly fer a few days, but should heal up nice." She nudged the tube of gelly with her foot, "an' ya may keep this ta relieve any pain ya feel."

"The latter," Legs chattered, "among our kind it's considered impolite to comment on the affairs of strangers as if you know their business better than they. It's a matter of propriety." He kicked Ottilie in the neck lightly, "and this one forgets her manners frequently." The girl clenched goopy fists, rolling her eyes as she translated, "aye, s'as Legs says. Among family an' close friends opinions have their place. But with acquaintances an' strangers they're most unwelcome, an' 'tis quite unbecomin' in high society 'specially fer females or males ta let their tongues lash so freely." She sighed, "m'fraid m'often guilty o'lettin' me country manners show. I hope I haven't offended ya."

OOC: I didn't know Ottilie was a Roald Dahl fan =P

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Elated and encouraged by Henry's laughter, Ottilie raised a brow at Toby, tail wagging from side to side as she rubbed her hands together, gathering the gelly into a ball, "prepare ta defend yerself, mate--"

"--What're you doing? Stop acting like a kit!" Legs exploded, throwing two pairs of arms up, "this is my personal nightmare!"

"I thought yer personal nightmare involved birds or parties? Maybe a party thrown by birds." He shot her a look, and she winked at him, then sighed, lowering her head, "m'sorry, Legs. Yer right, 'twas thoughtless o'me." Unused to seeing her repent so quickly, the decipede narrowed his eyes, "well--" realization hit him however when he noticed the corners of her mouth turn up, "--don't even think--!" She clapped both hands around him as he tried to leap away, rubbing them together roughly before opening them again to smirk at her partner, "gotcha, genius!" Legs stood in her cupped hands covered in gelly, and claws curling into fists, emitted a high-pitched, furious chirp, "UGH! You're incorrigible and infantile and impossible!" Shaking wildly, he sent small pieces of gelly flying everywhere before hopping to conceal himself among the thick foliage that lined the walls. Ottilie only laughed, calling after him in a singsong voice, "a lil nonsense now an' then s'cherished by the wisest men!" And with that, she chucked another glob at Toby and dove for the tube of gelly, attempting to secure the main source of ammunition for further messy hijinks...

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"Hear me out," Dirac persisted with a frown, turning to address Jerin, "you made it clear you've no intention of going on without Ottilie. In her message the badge made it clear she has no intention of letting you near Ottilie. Said something to the effect of if she saw you again her next warning 'wouldn't be nice,' right?" He crossed his arms, "considering that and the fact we've seen firsthand how volatile she can be odds are she'll come at us guns blazing. We'll probably have to kill her anyway to avoid catching it ourselves." He grunted, "and even supposing for some reason she doesn't, if kept alive time could present her with an opportunity to gut one of our company or call a slue of her badge friends for back-up." Dirac shook his head, "don't mean to sound paranoid, but I also don't relish the thought of wrestling with the P.I.A. just to teach someone a lesson. Seems counterproductive."

OOC: This one-shot came to me late at the bottom of a bottle of vodka. I think Jerin would appreciate the irony =)

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Jerin was being watched. He tried not to notice, partially because he didn't feel like being about those particular duties that night and partially because he was engrossed in his book. But the feeling nagged until finally he sighed, marked his place, and set the novel on the table. Resting a hand on its cover, his foreclaw tapped against the D in 'Divine' while he tried to squint past the street lights across from the café. Cities were unnecessarily bright...

"Another espresso, sir?" Jerin looked up, offering the waitress an apologetic smile, "certainly not, and do forgive me. You're most definitely ready to close if only I'd let you." She blushed without knowing why and told him he was fine, though earlier she'd been as livid with their singular patron as the rest of her eager to depart co-workers. He smiled in return and stood, absently leaving several credit chips on the table. A moment later she was chasing him into the street, "wait--!"

"--Not enough? I apologize again, my head is elsewhere."

"That's not it. You forgot your change, and you left an awful lot."

"Ah." Frowning, he scratched the tuft of fur on his chin, "hm. Well. Serendipity is a lady far less attentive, charming, and fair than you my dear. It would therefore be quite deplorable of me to rob you of her fickle favors," and inclining his head to her, Jerin walked backwards with a mirthful twinkle in his eyes, "do have a pleasant evening." Trading the brightly lit street for a darkened alley across the way, the creature padded quietly. Before long he was joined by a small human girl, no more than six or seven years old by his estimate. She wasn't exactly thin, but wasn't exactly well fed either, and though her clothes weren't the worst, it would be a stretch to say they were acceptable. He paused midway, turning to stare down at her. When the girl caught his eye she paled, and the carefully prepared words she'd brought with her fled. Worried she might do the same, Jerin took three steps back, allowing her to collect herself. Several minutes crept by while she found enough voice to ask, "do I call you Mr. Jestwood?"

Careful not to make any sudden movements, he crouched in front of her, "Jerin will do. And what is your name?"

"Mattie. I don't taste good."

He raised a brow at her, "Charmed, Mattie I don't taste good. Do you have a nickname? Because while your full name is quite unique it's also the mouthful you should apparently never be." Mattie very nearly smiled, "my name is just Mattie. I wanted to let you know I don't taste good 'cause I'm covered in dirt FOREVER. And I taste like poop and throw up. And the dirt NEVER EVER comes off FOREVER even WITH soap!" Jerin covered his mouth, feigning horror, "goodness, you sound disgusting!"

"I am! AND I 'cause throw up 'cause I taste like throw up. 'Member? And poop."

"I do remember. Thank you for telling me. I definitely wouldn't eat you now even if I was hungry. Which I'm not."

"Then will you take me?" His expression softened, "take you where?"

"You know. Away."

"Have you been good to your parents?" She bit her lip, thinking. At long last she replied, "I'm not sure. I don't see them a lot." The child added quickly, fearing he would eat her despite her terrible taste and his saying he wouldn't if he thought her bad, "but I try really hard!" Jerin nodded, moving to lie on his side and prop his head up. The girl shifted as well, somewhat bolder. "You're smaller than I thought you'd be. And skinny." Jerin chuckled, "are they saying I'm fat now?"

"Uh uh. Molly Mylar said you were prolly a serpent 'cause her mummy said you were scary an' serpents are the scariest things Molly could think of."

"Is Molly a creature?"

"Uh huh. She's the only one I ever known and when I was little HER mummy told me you ate bad children. Then after Molly said that was right but creatures say something else too. They say sometimes you don't. Sometimes you steal them away 'cause they aren't wanted and the not wanting them makes them belong to you." Mattie wrinkled her nose, "I kind of thought Molly was making that up. But then she told me the reason I never heard its 'cause it wasn't a warning for kids. Its for parents." Jerin's eyes regarded her unfathomably, "have your parents been good to you?" The girl's hands curled into fists, "no." The word impelled her, and she opened her thin arms to him resolutely. He gathered her up, frowning when she shivered at his cold touch. Rearranging his hands to rest on cloth instead of skin so she'd be more comfortable, he kept to back streets, weaving his way out of the city. He didn't look for so much as find them. Lately though something strange had been happening: they'd been finding him. He wasn't sure why or how children recognized who he was, but it was interesting enough that when they came calling he nearly never refused. Most weren't even his own kind, though he didn't find that fact surprising. On those occasions when a creature was neglectful or abusive the offspring were more likely to be eaten by predators before anyone could reach them. "Thank you." Her quiet voice in his ear brought him back. He patted her head as best he could, hoping to comfort her, "your welcome, Mattie."

"Jerin?"

"Mm?"

"I'll help you someday. If you steal me to someplace better."

He smiled to himself, "that seems more than fair."

"'Kay. Promise. Cross my heart."