It's been several months since a ragtag group of misfits got together and put a stop to the machinations of the rogue Vampire Sorcerer, Vaz. With all leadership gone, the remaining vampires of the Red Court began to disperse. Some chose to stay in an attempt to found holdings of their own. Those that did were swiftly dealt with by a contingent of Wardens sent by the White Council. Since then, there has been a marked increase in the number of Warden sightings in the area. Most speculate that this is due to increased patrols on the part of the Wizards. These rumors are unsubstantiated due to the White Council's secretive nature, but most hold it to be true.

It's a quarter past noon and the Snuggly Duckling is packed to capacity. Practitioners of the mystic arts from all corners of the city are stopping by for a bite to eat and a chance at shade under the hot summer sun. Jack is working the grills like a man on fire in his efforts to fill the orders of the hungry mob. A fierce grin lends itself well to his weary features as he passes several trays of food along to the front counter. There, they are picked up by Robin who busies herself with delivering the food to those who have ordered and collecting the orders of those yet to be waited on. The air around her is practically buzzing with joy as she goes about, the sheer positiveness of her energy bringing smiles to the faces of those she passes. Even Suzette is feeling the mood, as she's been noticeably less crabby since business started picking up.

[NPC ROSTER]

Felix False
Felix can be seen enjoying a meal by himself in a corner of the main dining room. In spite of the packed nature of the pub, most everyone is giving him a wide berth. This is the first time he's been seen in over a month. A digital camouflage backpack is in the seat across from him and is filled to the brim with what looks like everything he owns.

Naomi Sasaki
Naomi is working hard trying to keep up with the hectic pace, bouncing between helping Jack at the grill, carrying food around, and washing dishes. She's keeping up the pace surprisingly well for someone so slight of build. Every so often she stops what she's doing and jots down some notes in one of the many journals set aside on a nearby table. Old-looking texts lay open in varying degrees of organization and perusal.

Judi Dutremble
A nervous looking young woman with long brown hair curled up into a spiraling ponytail that trails to her lower back. No matter how hard you try, you can't seem to figure out how she got it to stay that way. She can be found in the library room toward the back of the building perusing the bookshelves and tidying up with a feather duster. Books left lying out are swiftly put back in place and board games left unfinished are put away and stacked neatly on the shelf where they're kept.

Michael Thompson
A young man with a shock of orange hair and a diamond piercing in his left ear who exudes an air of confidence. He can be found lounging in the library towards the back, lazily stacking a large house of cards with unnerving ease. The house of cards is getting to be pretty big by now. Oddly enough, one would expect the cards to have fallen over from all the hustle and bustle.

"Hey, Felix! How're you doing? Haven't seen you for a while."

Charles takes a seat at Felix' table, and greets him with a happy smile.

"Hmm? Oh, hey Charles," Felix looks up from his chicken sandwich and gives a half-mumbled greeting. "I've been out and about these past few weeks. Haven't had much reason to stick around since the local Red Court was all but destroyed."

"Yeah, I'd imagine not. You should pop round to the Theatre sometime, we're putting on a production of Wyrd Sisters at the moment." Charles glances over at the backpack. "Moving house?"

"Sorry, but I don't think I'll be able to make the showing," Felix sighs. "That's the thing about the Reds. They tend to be a little annoyed when people who work for them commit treason. I've had hit squads come at me a couple times since we took down Vaz. I figure it's best if I get while the getting is good."

"Treason?" Charles raises his eyebrows. He pops open a can of something sugary and fizzy and takes a gulp. "So... Vaz attacked and imprisoned his leader, whatshername, and you responded by finding a way to take out a traitorious vampire mage that you couldn't survive against one on one... and now they're after you for dealing with the original traitor?"

"What'd you expect? They're Reds." Oz says breezily as he walks by, plopping a rather battered looking plush parrot on Charles' shoulder. "Pardon." Weaving his way through the crowd, he makes his way over to the grill to order some food. Unlike everyone else, Robin's aura of cheerfulness and joy only brings a scowl to his face.

"Eh, they have other reasons to be angry with me," Felix waves his hand in a manner that suggests sweeping things under a rug. "But think of it this way; what I did with you guys would be pretty much the same as a member of PETA getting his hands on an assault rifle and emptying a clip or three in a McDonalds. People who do something like that tend to get the needle. The only difference with the Red Court would be their wildly differing opinions on what constitutes cattle."

Charles takes the parrot off his shoulder and stares at it. He sighs, and tosses it onto the table. "Yeah, well, if you need to get away, I can help if you want. Not with the actual travel, I mean, but with the whole not being noticed thing." He takes another swig of cooldrink. "I've learnt a thing or two since the whole Vaz incident, and given that you basically saved all our lives there, it's really the least I could do."

It's a very special day for Neil. Today is Get Drunk Before Noon Day. He goes to the library to talk to Miss Neat Freak. There is no distinction in Neil's mind between 'talk to' and 'harass.'

"'ello, name's Neil. Monkey man. Survived an attack from one of those silver coin demon thingies. Raided that vampire mansion. Roasted marshmallows over the head honcho's body. They called me sick, but I kept my word. Anywho, I'm also extremely British. Name's Neil, Neil Hewlett, what's yours?" Neil has in all likelihood met Judi before, but he's terrible with names, faces, and general identities

The door of the Snuggly swings open, letting in a blast of heat and bright sunshine, framing the silhouette of a cowled figure. As the door swings shut behind him, those inside can see that he wears brown robes, well cared for, but with more then a few patches and repairs. He has an old canvas duffle bag slung across his back, and as he strides towards the bar, the glint of something metallic can be seen within the folds of his robes. He stops before whoever happens to be working the bar and lays down a fistful of dollars.

"Lemonade. Ice cold."

"Saved your lives? If anything, I owe you guys the favor. If you hadn't come with me to fight Vaz, I wouldn't be here right now. You don't owe me anything." Felix finishes tucking into his meal and fishes a few bills out of his wallet to put on the table.

The young girl Judi gives Neil a wary sideways glance. She's obviously at a loss as to what the drunken monkey is talking about. She edges slightly away from him as he speaks. "My name is Judi... Is there something I can help you with?"

Brecon doesn't need to stand in line for very long, as Robin is escorting people to empty tables to place their orders there. When he gets to the register, Suzette eyes him with a certain measure of annoyance. "You do realize, of course, that it is common courtesy to remove any hats or hoods when indoors, do you not?"

Brecon cracks into a mischievous smile as he pulls back his hood.

"After being gone for a few months, I thought I'd try for a mysterious entrance. It's good to see you Suzette. How have you been keeping?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't seem to recall who you are," Suzette smoothly replies, taking the money and ringing up an order for an Iced Lemonade. As he was standing at the back of the line and Suzette has no one else to see to at the moment, he manages to get his drink rather quickly.

Charles shrugs. "Meh. We would have ended up having to deal with him eventually. Anyhow, it's not as if it would be any trouble." He concentrates on a glamour, and in a moment he looks like a fat man, in expensive clothes, with a thin moustache under his nose, a monocle in his eye, a cigar in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. He takes another gulp of cooldrink-that-now-looks-like-wine, before speaking with an over-the-top British accent. "Entirely up to you, old chap, but if you'd like a glamour before you go to throw any watchers off your trail, just say the jolly old word, what?"