Evelyn knocked on the door to the office. There was a brief silence as she and Bodahn waited for a response. There was nothing but quiet for a few moments, prompting Evelyn to knock once more. She pressed in closer to the door and shouted into it. "Mag?"

"What is it?" her husband's voice shouted back. "We've still got planning to do!"

"It's Bodahn, honey! He has shown up. On time. And I wanted you to greet him. Oh, and he would like a sandwich as well.”

The silence resumed. The sound of the office's door swinging wide open made both Evelyn and Bodahn jump as Mag appeared in the doorway, leaning with his arm against the frame. In one hand he held the tray of snacks and offered it to the guest. "Afternoon," Mag replied, putting in no effort to hide that he was annoyed. Bodahn accepted the offer and took one of the sandwiches while Mag and Evelyn stared at each other.

"You seem uneasy," Evelyn said quietly.

"That's because I am!" Mag replied, struggling to keep his voice from shouting. "Do you know how behind schedule we are?"

"Then I suppose it's a good thing that your other two friends haven't arrived yet."

"I guess so. But that doesn't mean I'm not gonna give them a piece of mind once they finally show up! Punctuality isn't just about being on time. Intent matters too. And after how many times I made sure to tell those two buffoons about how important today was? I know that they're taking their sweet time just to get on my nerves! Wouldn’t put it past them to do this as some kind of crazy ploy to get me stressed out so they can get an advantage during the Hunt."

"And it seems to be working, sweetheart" Evelyn said quietly. She received a cold stare as a response.

Mag quickly darted his eyes to the masked man standing in front of him. "It was nice of you to join us, Bodahn," Mag told his guest. "But as you can see, there will probably a bit of a delay before we can get the Hunt in motion."

"I've got all day sir. A little change in schedule won't do me any harm." Bodahn tilted the brim of his down as he nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"Good. I appreciate your understanding. From getting Sheila briefed to all the small setbacks we've got with the Eco-Dome... it's all adding up and starting to get to me. But everything is still going to go as planned. Just a bit later than anticipated.

"Ain't a problem for me."

"Just like your old man." Mag gave Bodahn a friendly nudge on his shoulder, grinning for a mere moment. "Too bad you don't seem to be quite the shot that he is.”

"Mag!" Evelyn cried out, her face flushed with embarrassment.

"He's an adult now! We talk trash all the time! It's part of the Hunt. You should hear what he and him dad have said about me and my perspiration!"

Evelyn's face winced. "Too much info."

"That's just what we do. Part of the experience”. Mag stepped to the side, revealing Sheila inside his office. She sat next to an ornate wooden desk, fixated on a floating projection until she realized that she was being watched. She got up from her spot, smiling as she jaunted to her father's side. "Sheila and I still have lot to go over and not much time to do it. Would you be so kind as to give us a bit more of privacy?"

"But Father..." Sheila said with big eyes while staring at Mag. "We've been practicing and going over routines for over a month now. It's not often that Bodahn comes by for a visit. Perhaps I could take a break from all this prep. That way I can give our guest company while you focus on making sure everything is set up and ready for the hunt."

"Think you're clever, huh?" Mag said with a scoff. "Just because Bodahn's old man couldn't make it today, you think you're going to have him all to yourself?” Mag looked at his daughter with narrowed eyes. “I was your age too once, you know?"

"They are adults, dear," Evelyn said quietly. "And Sheila has never gotten into any kind of trouble before. I'm sure we can trust her and Bodahn to be alone together for just a couple of hours."

"Mother!" Sheila shouted with a stomp of her foot. "I can't believe you'd even imply that we'd do something like that! And on my birthday celebration no-less!"

"If it makes you feel any better, Mister and Missus Grani, I can help Sheila get ready for the big event. Go over weapon protocols, discuss tactics. All the ins and outs of the Hunt."

The two parents looked at each other in silence, each giving the other a look of distraught. Mag sighed first and faced his daughter again. "Fine. Just make sure that's all you two are doing, all right? You know as well I do how dangerous this can be. If anything happens to Sheila..." Mag stepped forward, pointing his finger in front of Bodahn's face.

"Father!" Sheila grabbed Mag's arm and pulled it down. "Can you stop embarrassing me! Of all the times to choose to be overbearing."

Mag lowered his arm. "You two get the idea. Just... make sure you're focused on getting prepared. Understand?"

"Yes sir!" Bodahn said while giving another two-fingered salute from his forehead.

"Thank you, Father." Sheila's demeanor took an abrupt shift to one of friendliness as she left the room to stand next to Bodahn.

"Here. Take this too." Mag handed over the tray of treats to Evelyn. "Now. No more distractions. If I focus, today might still be salvageable now that I don't have to get Sheila prepped." He closed the door behind him, letting it close with a slam. The other three stood around each other with an awkward silence as they waited for someone else to speak first.

"I'm sorry, Bodahn," Sheila said, breaking the quiet. "But you have been here before. You know how Father gets whenever his plans don't work out to the letter."

"No need to sorry, Sheila. A pop's concern for his daughter is nothing to be ashamed of."

"Why don't the two of you head over to the entertainment room? Perhaps you can use the archives to look over some previous hunts. That way you can get a bit research done and keep Mag from getting... annoyed... any further."

"Sounds like a plan I can get behind, Missus Grani."

"I'll take Bodahn to the room. Are... our other guests still there?"

Evelyn nodded. "Yep! That's why I suggested it in the first place."

With a huff, Sheila took hold of the guest’s hand. "Fine. I guess those two can keep us company. Come on Bodahn, let's go." She then led him down the hall towards the entertainment room.

“Wait. Other guests?” Bodahn asked as he was dragged along. “You mean the other Hunters your Pa invited?”

“No, no. That crocodile Neo-Sapia that is today’s target had some friends.”

“As in people friends?”

“Yep. We managed to secure them inside the entertainment room for now. I suppose Mother wants us to check up on them. But once we’re done in there, we can go to my room to get prepped!” Sheila smiled and picked up the pace, bordering on a full sprint down the hall. “Hurry! The sooner we get to the entertainment room, the sooner we can get to some private studying.”

“Hold on, Sheila! We need to talk about this some more!” Mag replied to no avail. The young woman was already at the door to the other room, eagerly inputting her access code to unlock it.