Ignoring that she was smudging the window Syliva strained to see out across the lit parking lot. While her parents slept wrapped in the itchy wool blankets Sylvia could only think of what happened yesterday. After Yrsa saved them Sylvia tried to go after her. Unfortunately, her father managed to get his bearings enough to prevent her from following after. With her mother’s help, they managed to prevent her from leaving right up until the Rangers showed up. Eyeing the eight-foot-tall form of the massive Sasquatch Sylvia knew she would get far if she took off. Loaded up into an official park van her family was transported deeper into the park. She’d been here too many times to feel any sense of awe at the Sasquatch statue. It was immortalizing the first protector of the park. Flanking the main administration building on the right was the hanger for the small transport plane. Hidden behind the building was the park’s private runway. Flying to the coast was less stressful for the animals than being trucked out of the park. That's the plane that will take Sylvia’s family along with the Kirin she saw yesterday out of the park. Her parents told her they were scheduled to go out yesterday. Due to the ‘unpleasantness’, they were grounded in the meantime. After all, the fleece was still missing. To the left of the admin, the building was the hotel. Sylvia hated it when she was younger. The Sasquatch Folk bore the mentality that houses were for storage and sleep. Any form of interior designing was generally frowned upon. “Flowers belong outside with the sun. Not dying in a pot.” Scolded the concierge when Sylvia brought in a flower a few years back. After that, she couldn’t wait to go back home to her hodgepodge of ocean treasures. Right now her thoughts couldn’t be further from her room overlooking the Kaimana Ocean. Stepping back she knew fogging up the window wasn’t helping the search. Taking another lap around the room she asked herself for the thousandth time why she didn’t walk out the door to join the search party. There were plenty of non-Nocturnals out there with flashlights. She knew the answer. And she hated herself for it. It was because she was too Allàd forsaken scared to venture out into the forest. The body of the Mole man was found but Yrsa and the Satyr were still at large. With her parents’ (lackluster) help, Sylvia managed to convince the rangers that the Wendigo was in danger and not the other way around. After that, they were herded into the room they were currently in until their boss arrived. There was no TV. No books. Just two beds carved roughly out of wood with a thin mattress topped with a handwoven plain wool blanket. There wasn’t even a pillow to rest their heads. Finished with her lap she approached the window yet again to stare out below. Blinking, she realized that the sky was now turning lighter. As she stared a van pulled up in front of the Admin office. It bore the Rainbow Pool’s emblem on the side. It parked with the back doors facing her direction giving Sylvia a full unobscured view of the doors being opened from someone inside. From inside a ramp unfurled allowing the Being in a wheelchair roll out of the van. “What is she doing here?” Sylvia asked aloud to herself. Konani was head of the Atlantis Nature Preserve. Nothing nor no one got on or off the island without her approval. Watching Konani touched pavement next to her waiting attendant, Feray. Able to walk on land and transform back into her dolphin form she was a great asset. The two spoke for a minute ending with Konani gesturing towards Sylvia’s direction. Feray gave a nod before approaching the hotel. Sylvia followed her until she was out of sight before turning her attention back to Konani. The mermaid had wheeled herself up the ramp to the Main Administration building. When the main doors slammed shut Sylvia took a step back from the window. Why were they here? Taking another lap around the room her thoughts drifted to the feece. Maybe Yrsa was right and they should toss it into a volcano. So deep in thought, she didn’t hear a note being slipped under the door. On her third lap around the room, she noticed the folded over note with her name neatly written on top. In the brightening room, Sylvia went back to the window to read in the growing light of dawn. The note was short and to the point. Meet Konani in room 204 in the main as soon as she was awake. Figuring she was awake now there was no point in putting it off. Folding the note she placed it on her parent’s shoes so they had some idea where she had disappeared to. As quiet as she could she left her parents to their dreams. With no carpet to muffle her steps, she cringed with each echoing step. Soon she was outside where she felt like the several feet between the hotel and the admin building were miles. Dashing across she heard the phantom breathing of an attacker hot on her heels. Once inside she took solace in the loud slam the door made before leaning her back against it. While she was catching her breath a Being poked their head out of the many rooms leading off from the foyer. It was a vampire. He gave her a confused look as he took a long sip of his canned drink. Giving a pained smile she said a small hi. Trying to portray some sort of composure she made her way towards the elevator. Sure there were sweeping stairs were leading to the second story but the elevator seemed like a quick getaway. Her assumption was wrong. Turns out the vampire was making his way up the stairs as well. He seemed exhausted as he kept taking sips of his Oxy-Globin (Carbonated pig’s blood). Sylvia stared at the corner of the elevator trying not to dry heave. The smell of pennies managed to drift over to her through the hole in the can. When the door opened with a soft ding and she bolted out. To her dismay, the vampire was going the same direction as her. They arrived outside of Konani Kalakiki’s office with Sylvia knocking on the door while the vampire took yet another sip of his drink. If he was offended his face didn’t show. Feray answered the door surprised to see Sylvia there. Getting over her initial shock she fixed her wide brim greyish pink wool hat. Everyone knew she had a literal hole in her head but she felt more comfortable wearing her hat even indoors. When the vampire male was allowed in as well Sylvia wanted to ask why. “Oh good, you’re both here.” She commented looking up from some papers. “Barely.” Said the vampire. Sylvia gave a start, not expecting him to have such a low voice. Konani gave a one-shoulder shrug as she picked up a clipboard to hold out to him. He set the can on the edge of her desk not seeing the nose wrinkle she gave the can. “No sign of the Wendigo, the Satyr, OR the fleece anywhere. I assume that's why she is here.” He started jabbing the pen in Sylvia's direction. “What?” She asked causing him to stop writing to look at her. “To dredge the lake of course.” He stressed as if she was slow. He then went back to his paperwork. “Swimming is more of a Sun Walker thing. The Satyr might be ok but the Wen-” “Don’t.” She spoke softly with a level tone. The effect it had was like a bomb went off. All eyes were on her as she stood there with a blank expression. Clearing his throat the vampire went back to his paperwork. “No. Sylvia is no longer a part of this mission.” She made a face because the Mermaid’s left ear gave a twitch. Konani’s face was usually stony but her six-inch-long ear fins tended to give her true emotions away. That fact didn’t lessen Sylvia’s fear of her though. “Do not make that face. You played your part. Things happen.” Konani said that last part slowly as if picking over her words carefully. She held out her hand to take the water tumbler from her assistant. Taking one large gulp she then proceeded to pour the remaining contents in her lap. The upper part of merfolk can survive just fine outside of the water for hours. It was the fish part that needed to keep wet. That's what the blanket draped over her tail was for. “No.” She emphasized setting the now-empty plastic tumbler on the desk. “Your new mission is to help with transporting the Kirin back to Atlantis.” Konani signed a paper to then hand it, Sylvia. Sylvia stared down at the form without seeing it. When Sylvia didn’t move the mermaid looked up. “That is all.” Konani gave her a dismissive wave for her to leave. Giving a small thank you she left the room with her orders. Wanting to take her time she used the stairs. She never realized how much brighter fluorescent lights were. Especially compared to the smaller lamps the hotel used. Or how much she liked the thick carpet muffling her steps. Today she cared little to compare wallpaper to bare wood. Her friend was still out there and she was too intimidated to ask. If she was bolder she would have demanded to be a part of the search party. If she was stronger Yrsa wouldn’t be missing in the first place. If only- She was at the main doors again. The bright colors of dawn had given away to bright blue clear skies. Feeling deflated she opened the door to peer out. A warm breeze tickled her face making her feel foolish. ‘This is dumb. I'm being dumb.’ She chided as she left the building. The front entrance to the hanger had a small area to park five cars in front of it. The van was parked there next to the second front entrance to the hanger. That entrance was for vehicles. When she entered the hanger someone was already coming over to meet her. “Excuse me. You’re not allowed to be here.” He chided. He was half her size but he still managed to command respect. “I have orders,” Sylvia said handing her orders to him without looking. She was too busy looking across the hanger at the truck parked there. The stark whiteness of the official park vehicles stood out from the muted colors of the shop. But the truck wasn’t what she was looking at. It was the large tarp-covered cage in the back. From inside she thought she recognized the angry sounds from within. “Kirin Tamer huh?” The gremlin commented causing Sylvia to turn back to look at him. Glancing to his chest she read ‘Dieter”. He smiled up at her motioning for her to follow him. “You need a badge if you want to get around looking like that.” It wasn’t a jab against her per se but her lack of a ranger uniform. He walked away to retrieve her official insignia. While he shuffled through his filing cabinet Sylvia walked over to the cage. When she peeled back the tarp she gave a cry when what was inside charged the bars. “Stewie! Knock it off. You scared me.” At Sylvia’s scolding, the jackalope stopped charging to balance on his back feet. His nose was twitching at top speed prompting Sylvia to stroke the fur pace between his eyes. She could only get her index finger through the bars but it was enough. “Be careful. That thing eats meat.” Deiter warned waving for her to come away from the cage. “She’ll take off a finger before you can even blink.” He warned placing an arm on the middle of her back leading her away. “She?” Sylvia asked looking over her shoulder as if to spoke something different about the creature now. “Never you mind that. She's being sent back to Oasis Spring where she was supposed to be. Some idiot smuggled her up here. Probably trying to make some quick money.” He said leading her out the outside where the plane were parked. The back of the small cargo plane was open for them to walk in. He walked her through what she would be sitting and where the Kirin was to corraled. They were leaving at 0600 tomorrow so she was to be seated ready to go by then. They needed to touch down on Bahamoot Bay in time to take the Lochnessie Ferry to Atlantis. At the mention of a boat, Sylvia made a face. Ships. Eugh. When they were done he walked back to the hanger to continue working. She followed behind when she spotted Yrsa’s RV parked on the side of the hanger. Tree branches were draped all over as if it was haphazardly shoved into the spot between the forest and the hanger. Her heart gave a painful beat. You don’t treat someone's possessions like that unless you didn’t care how’d they react. After all, the dead can’t complain. It was a leap but the vampire's words were still fresh in her mind. Not wanting to look at see the home of her friend be treated in this manner she briskly made her way inside again. The gremlin had turned on his boombox to blare the working of Empress as he oiled someone parts. Normally she would sing along but not today. Her feet carried her to the more animal geared side of the hanger. Various lengths of rope, halters, eye cover to help with the flies. Beyond those were five empty lockers. Poking around further she noticed the sixth locker had an open lock on it. Curiosity winning out she opened it. The locker was full of search and rescue equipment. Several flares, two massive high powered flashlights. A couple of reflective vests, and the biggest first aid kit she’d ever laid eyes on. Hanging on the inside of the door was a large dark green canvas bag bearing the symbol for first aid. The weirdly uncomfortable restlessness seemed to be coming from her soul. She knows she was being dramatic but the urge to do something was causing her to pace. Using the truck to hide behind she coaxed Stewie to her side. As she skritched his her nose the normal entrance opened. In stepped a figure dressed in a large brim hat, a scarf, a pair of large sunglasses. Not an inch of the Being could be seen between the long overcoat and the gloves. Upon noticing he had company Dieter looked up from his work. He turned down the music.The figure removed his glasses and scarf revealing himself to be the vampire from earlier. His pale face was blotchy red now. “You ok? You look you’re going to pass out.” Dieter asked taking the paper the panting vampire held out to him. “I sometimes wonder which is worse, death by sunburn or heat stroke?” Took off his hat to fan himself with it. “Both sound horrible.” The gremlin sucked air through his teeth when properly read the orders. “Speaking of horrible who’d yah piss off?” He asked handing over a set of keys to the vampire. “Yeah I’m driving at night so it's not going to be too bad. Plus the house down there allows us to hunt on the premise. So long as I give the meat to the rancher down there I can eat what I want.” The vampire gave a smile as he put back on his gear. “Or you could give it to your good friend Deets. Come on I'll walk with you.” Dieter smiled following his friend out of the hanger leaving Sylvia alone. She stood there her finger still in the cage. ‘So….thats it. This is what was happening.” This felt wrong. The soft song playing on the boombox crescendoed. Reminding her that it was never really turned off. As the singer belt out we needed to give ourselves one more chance, a wild idea hit her. She took a step back as her body moved to follow through with her idea. Making her way to the unlocked locker she loaded up the green bag. She cleaned out the locker going so far as to take both flashlights. She set the now full bag down to pick over the halter for the one she thought would work. She chose a long loop of rope before heading out to the RV. Which was hard since it was parked so close to the hanger. Smelly red flannel shirt in hand she was ready.