The sky was dark but growing brighter every few minutes as Cypher walked towards Elaine's house. The morning air was cold, and a light fog hovered in the air. Cypher pressed on. Images of his nightmarish "visions" flashed through his mind, but he shook his head to dispel them. Cypher pressed on.

Now was not the time to be concerned about those dreams, it was a time of action, and he couldn't let his mind wander among the possibilities of his friends being hurt. He needed answers from someone who had known his parents and so, Cypher pressed on.

As he walked the short distance up the winding stone path to the door, crickets could already be heard chirping their early morning songs. Birds too joined the fray, but despite all their noise the morning still seemed silent and lonely.

Dark clouds hung overhead and a light drizzle of rain had begun to fall draping everything in a light mist as Cypher reached for the door knocker. The ring fell against the door three times, clenched tightly between the jaws of a carved panther, but there was no response.

That was unsurprising, it was still very early, but Cypher had no time to wait anymore. He knocked again. More silence followed and Cypher let out a desperate sigh. He reached for the ring again, but before it even fell against the wood, he heard footsteps, the sound of several locks being pulled back, and then, out stepped Elaine Mikorus.

Her hair was let down and hung around her shoulders in a messy tangle. She was dressed in a blue and white polka-dot button-up nightshirt, and a lime green robe was lazily draped over her shoulders with the sleeves hanging freely, but she wore nothing else. Even her feet were bare. To make matters more awkward, the robe wasn't even tied shut, and Cypher got an unwelcome glance at her exposed form.

Elaine didn't seem to care and simply glared at him unhappily even though her eyes were still closed. Cypher waited for a moment, his eyes darting upwards from her exposed body to look at the top of the door frame, and when she didn't bother to tie her robe shut, he began to speak. His embarrassment wouldn't stop him now.

"Hello, Elaine, sorry to bother you so early in the morning but,-" he was cut off as the door slammed shut inches from his face. The ring of the door knocker flicking him in the nose for good measure. Cypher only knocked again, this time with more impatience.

"Fuck off. It's early and people are trying to sleep," shouted Elaine through the door. "Not everyone gets to enjoy the same carefree schedule as little shit ass teenagers. Come back when the sun has been up for a few hours yeah? Oh, or better yet, don't come back at all!"

Cypher could understand her irritation. Not only was it completely rude to bang on someone's door as he had, but it was also really early. Dawn was still a few hours away, but he simply couldn't wait anymore. He knocked again.

"Fuck! Go. Away! How hard is it to get that?" she replied. "It's early as shit, and I’m trying to sleep. Whatever it is can wait until morning!" He knocked again, even harder and louder than before. This time, the door flew open, and Elaine swung a massive Collapsythe at him. Cypher barely had time to dodge the oncoming attack before it crashed into the ground.

The point of the scythe sunk deep into the stone and Cypher fell back on his ass in shock, his balance compromised during his sudden evasion. At that, Elaine actually opened one of her eyes and looked him over carefully.

"Eh? Oh, it's you. The Ceraunus boy. Hell... Ugh, I figured you'd come eventually. Who told you where to find me? Headmaster Sequinnen? Elder Relathor? Oh, I bet it was Alvin. Was it Alvin? Ugh, it was, wasn't it? That crusty old piece of shit! You tell him that I'm coming for him. If he thinks he can send little pieces of shit after me in the morning he's got another thing coming!"

Cypher was taken aback by her sour mood. Yeah, it was early, and he had unexpectedly awoken her while she was sleeping. But her voice carried such animosity towards Alvin that Cypher was worried she might actually hurt him.

Elaine hefted her Collapscythe and laid it over her shoulder. She stared down at Cypher and dug her pinky finger into her ear in an annoyed fashion as she looked him over. One of her eyes was still closed, but despite that, she still looked at him menacingly. Cypher did his best to maintain eye contact and avoid looking down but it was difficult at this angle.

From his place on the ground, he really could see it all, and he didn't know how else to act other than to sheepishly glance around or try and keep his eyes locked on hers. Elaine still didn't seem to care and began to scratch her back with the point of her weapon.

"Well, are you gonna get the fuck up? Or are you going to keep stealing little peeks at my goods? I would really like to get back to sleep you know. What the fuck do you even want? If it's about your father, you could have come later you know."

When Cypher didn't respond right away, Elaine swung her weapon back down at Cypher. The point stuck into the ground right between his legs this time and sent cracks shooting out through the stone. At that, Cypher quickly hurried to his feet. "Goddamn, are you really Fenix's son? Geez, you're slow on the uptake."

"Come on in I guess! If you're anything like him, you're not gonna stop until you get what you want. Maybe I can get you out of my hair quickly and get a little more sleep before dawn." Elaine turned and walked back inside. She tossed her weapon casually to the side and it floated to a rack near the door and set itself onto a hook.

Cypher hurried inside after her and closed the door with a loud thud.