The darkness (closed)

Austin couldn't help but chuckle as he watched Vixen chew up the steak Ember had cooked for her. "I think just getting out of the Clocktower helped her a bit," he said, scratching behind one of Vixen's ears and earning a quiet growl from her. "She used to be so jumpy around everything. She's still skittish, but it seems to have gotten better."

"I think it's more like you've taken her out of the city. Even at the London bureau, you'd see a fox, and be like, "Oh look, it's a fox", then it disappears. In the country, you actually see them." Ember finally finished mopping up the mess that Bud and Lou had made.

Austin gave a small shrug, watching as Vixen tore the steak apart, half of it flopping off the side of the plate and onto the placemat while she chewed up a portion she'd bitten off. "Whatever her reasonings for becoming less skittish," he said fondly. "I'm just glad she's doing good."

"Well, as soon as the little miss is finished, we can head off to the bar" Ember said with a sigh as she looked to the little fox.

Austin gave a small grin and laughed. "There's a trick I have to get her to move where I need her to be." He said slyly before he wrapped an arm around the young fox and then grabbing the plate after he'd pushed the steak back onto it. Vixen yelled at Austin angrily, as though she were cursing at him for taking away her food. "She can finish it when we get there." He laughed as Vixen's paws churned at the air.

"Well let's get a move on" Ember said before she quickly scooped up the cubs, and raced off to the bar. She knew better than to get between an animal and its food.

Benjamin and Austin followed after her, Benjamin just a few paces behind and Austin a bit further, the plate held a good distance from Vixen while the young fox was squirming in his arms, neck stretched out to try and snatch at the steak. "Calm down, Vixen!" Austin said with a laugh. "You'll get to finish it when we get to the bar!"

Ember skidded to a halt at the bar door, and quickly flung the doors open.
"You can put Vixen on the counter." Ember stood at the counter for a while before setting the cubs on the floor. The room looked quite a bit like an old tavern, the brown leather couches being the only exception. Ember moved to the fireplace, and started a fire before moving to the bar to get a drink.

Austin nodded and placed both plate and little canine onto the counter, quickly withdrawing his hands the second she lunged for the meat and there, she continued to eat in peace, sounding like a cat who was enjoying their food by making a noise similar to "omnomnom."

"Hungry little girl, isn't she
" Ember said teasingly as she dug around in one of the shelves. She found a hookah, and set it up a bit further along the bar from Vixen. She opened the windows before she returned to the hookah. "You name it, we have it. Get yourselves a drink. Either of you smoke hub?"

"No' really."
"Haven't really taken to smoking." Austin sidled up to the bar and took a look at what drinks they had while Benjamin gave a small chuckle.
"I could go for tha' drink ya bough' me back in America."
"And I don't really care what kind of drink I get."

Ember packed the hookah away, and poured her friends their drinks.
"You two have a stronger will than I do" Ember said with a laugh as she handed Austin and Benjamin their drinks. She unlocked the sliding door leading to the balcony, and returned to her friends. "To our victory over the phantom menace" Ember said happily as she held her glass in the air.

"A Star Wars joke. Nice." Austin stated with a shake of his head, though he couldn't help but smile as he, too, raised his own drink and Benjamin gave a laugh as he raised his own.
"Le's hope we don' have ta deal with 'im anymore." Austin paused as Benjamin took a drink from his glass and soon followed suit. A thought still ran in his mind: What if they would have to deal with Haemon again?

"Thank you, Austin, I do try." Ember took a sip of her drink, and looked at the cubs. Bud and Lou had fallen asleep in front of the fireplace. "I don't think we'll be seeing Haemon for a while."

"God, I hope not." Austin said into his cup before he took another drink, his eyes turning toward Vixen as she got down to half of the steak. Just by that statement alone suggested that he was scared of what would happen should Haemon come back.

"I know it's difficult, but just try to forget about Haemon for tonight. Just enjoy the drink. I mean, look at Vixen, all that matters to her right now, is that steak" Ember said as she pointed to Vixen.

As if on cue, Vixen let off another "om nom nom" sound as she chewed through another strip of meat. Austin couldn't help but chuckle and took another drink of the alcoholic beverage that Ember had given him before he set it down and asked for another while Benjamin had plopped down onto the leather sofa, his drink set down somewhere near him and his phone out. Possibly playing a game, if Austin knew Beckett for however long he'd known the young man.

Ember poured Austin another drink before making her way to the couch. She sank into the couch, and let out a sigh. The next day would be incredibly difficult.

Austin took a seat of his own while Vixen finished her meal and gave a cry. She wanted down. Vixen even started pacing the counter, her head tilted down toward the floor. Austin gave a chuckle, rose from his seat and helped the young fox off the counter before he sat back down, sipping his drink.

Ember seemed distant as she thought quietly. They had dealt with the threat of Haemon Donnelly, at least for now. But they also had a very real, very dangerous threat: Marco Coetzee, Ember’s ex boyfriend. They were safe at the Shay Manor, but they couldn't stay there forever.

Neither young man spoke. Benjamin was thinking while he was playing Assassin's Creed: Identity and Austin merely withdrew into his own mind to think. But he wasn't alone. Samuel was there, as comforting a presence as Austin's father had been. Yes, they'd combatted Haemon. He acknowledged that there was a threat to them still and it didn't just come in the form of Ember's ex. Austin's brother, Garrett, was still out there, alive and doing God knows what.

"Guys, I know this may seem a bit much, but I really think we should do some training at some point. If he was able to take down half of the London bureau, Daz, and Patches... He'll take us down with little effort" Ember said sadly as she stared into her drink.

(Maybe Marco and Garrett should team up?)

(Then they'd need to meet up somewhere. :3)

"And let's not forget that my brother's still out there," Austin added quietly, rising from his chair to pour him another drink.

"Yeah, we need to figure out where both of them are. Most importantly, we need to prepare." Ember took a sip of her drink, and sighed. She had always been a lone wolf, but now she had people to protect.

"And make certain that we're ready for anything," Austin added, remaining at the bar and taking a deep drink from the glass he held in his hand. "My brother fights like an Assassin but acts like a Templar. No doubt in the years I've spent trying to find his trail again, he's been training with the Templars to become a deadly hunter."

Meanwhile....

A figure dressed in a black leather jacket, hood drawn up over his head, cast his gaze around the street for a brief moment before he jogged across the road and slowed when the shadows of an alleyway closed around him. He acted as though he'd done this a million times. He crossed the ground to one of the walls, walked around the dumpster that was there and leaned his back against the wall, crossing one foot over the other while his head bowed and his hands tucked neatly into his pockets. The way he acted made it look like he was waiting for someone.