[Indigo]

The building was quite impressive in stature. Six stories tall with walls of solid grey-brown stone, fronted with several artistic-looking pillars and a pair of wooden doors big enough to admit two Hollowhearts side by side, it was frequently mistaken for a museum or some kind of historical monument, or possibly a bank. The ground floor had no windows that anyone could see from the outside. The stairs up to the doors were ridiculous, almost high enough to qualify as their own floor. The only indication of the building’s purpose was a small sign that few people ever even noticed, and it said only League Headquarters XVI, with the name Pepper Hathaway in smaller letters underneath. Very few people ever asked about the sign. Probably no one much cared.

Standing outside this building, halfway down the steps and watching passersby, was a Tengumi. He stared down at the people passing with a kind of raised-eyebrows upturned-beak indicator that yes, he was most certainly better than you. It was really his only solace in this dark time.

The fact was that the inexperienced Rocky had been sent out on a fairly important mission while he, the absolute best of the best, with high performance reviews from more than half the Evelon division, was stuck here at headquarters. Doing nothing. It was an insult to his abilities and his experience, and he was sorely tempted to bring it to Pepper himself. Perhaps he would, eventually. For now he simply awaited the summons he’d been told he would get.

[GrayGriffin]

As nice as it had been for Martin and Livy to finally not be tiptoeing around each other anymore, the very fact that four out of seven of the increasingly inaccurately named Psi Five were in relationships meant that there was a lot more "activity" going on around the house. The pups had run off on a shopping trip of their own, repeatedly reassuring their "uncles" that they would be fine. So, now the three bachelors were wandering around the city, waiting for the youngsters to get tired so they could go home together.

"I'm just saying, you don't have to try a pickup line on every girl that comes your way," said Lucky, the white-and-gray Lucain. "Even if you can judge their reactions pretty easily."

"Aw, come on! My parents will be so upset if they learn that my cousin got married before me!" replied Cheater, adjusting his glasses. He still wasn't quite sure how they managed to stay on his face all the time. "I mean, okay, they're not quite married yet...but you know, they're as good as married in Evelonian terms."

"Maybe you should start reading their reactions to you before you flirt with them," replied Flinch.

"Nah," laughed Cheater. "Foretelling the future is your department!" His head was half turned-back, and so he didn't notice the Tengumi until he ran into him. Flinch and Lucky quickly ran forward to help him up.

"Are you okay?" asked Lucky, extending a paw towards the Tengumi.

"I'm sorry!" added Cheater, backing up and trying to see what the avian was thinking. He hoped he wasn't too mad-he already seemed pretty grumpy.

[Psi Five Primer for info on their psychic abilities]

[Indigo]

As though this day wasn't already bad enough—to be assaulted by such ruffians—he was affronted enough that he didn't say anything for several seconds. He wasn't so unwise as to directly antagonize a group of Lucain lest they feel the urge to turn him into a pathetic heap of feathers, but at the very least he must formulate some response to this insult.

True, they didn't actually seem to have ill intent, but he would take no chances. He couldn't allow himself to be lowered any further than he already had been by the League's absurd proclamations. Outright rage was out, but he still glared quite sharply at the strangers as he said, "I'm fine, I'm sure." He looked them up and down. "Just what is your business here, that's so important you don't look where you're going?" Perhaps if they were here on business of great importance he could convince them to put in a good word for him with the higher-ups. Get his file moved to a better shelf in Pepper's office, or something.

[GrayGriffin]

"Nothing much!" said Cheater casually. "We're just walking around town while our nephews and nieces go shopping! Well, actually they're not quite that. I'm not related to either of these guys, although they're still really close to me! But anyways, I'm only really related to three of them, and they're actually my cousins once removed! Because their mom is my cousin, you see-"

"I think he gets it," said Lucky. Cheater stopped in mid-speech, before closing his mouth.

"Sorry about that. He's...quite enthusiastic. In everything he does," said Flinch, although his expression was somewhat more amused. "Anyways, I'm sorry if we've disturbed your job or something." He had the air of someone doing something important, at least. Cheater, upon hearing this, seemed to focus on the Tengumi again, as if doing so would help him read the avian's mind easier. Yup, that was what he was trying to do. Read his mind and see if Flinch was right.

[Indigo]

"I...see. How...fascinating?" The last thing he'd been expecting was a recital of the strangers' relation to each other, and he wasn't really sure how to respond. He nodded absently at the other's apology. "Nothing to worry about," he muttered.

Lucas stiffened. What to say? They hadn't really disturbed anything, since he wasn't working at the moment. But he could hardly tell them that. It would be humiliating. After all, he was in disgrace, and even if these people didn't know anything about the League--hardly surprising, they didn't look like his kind of people--they would certainly be able to tell that he'd been brought down somehow, and that would be intolerable. He scrambled for something to say, but all he could come up with, without standing there for ages looking like a fool, was, "Well, I am rather busy, but I can stand a little interruption. I'll warn you I haven't much patience, though."

[GrayGriffin]

Cheater backed up, his expression somewhat odd. "Well, okay then!" he said, hoping he sounded innocuous enough. "That's nice of you!" Unfortunately, he wasn't a very good bluffer. It was pretty obvious that he didn't believe what the Tengumi was saying. Lucky nudged him again, and he shut his mouth with a snap, looking rather awkward altogether.

"What were you doing out here, anyway?" he asked. He wasn't quite sure what kind of job involved standing here like this in the first place. He didn't even have any flyers. Flinch moved forward, ready to push either one of them out of the way if the Tengumi got violent.

[Indigo]

"I..." How could he possibly explain this away? He wouldn't have told them the truth anyway, of course, but he certainly couldn't now that he'd dug himself into this hole. And he couldn't take too long to answer, or the whole thing would fall apart.

"I've been assigned to observe the people of this city," he said, in a sudden stroke of inspiration. "I am meant to make a note of their habits and their overall demeanor, and report back to my superiors. It is rather...tedious, at times, but it is not a duty I am prepared to shirk, as it requires a high caliber of skill and I am quite fortunate to be selected." There. Now, at least, they would understand how important he was, and that way even if his disgrace did come out they were bound to be sympathetic about his circumstances. It had all been a misunderstanding, after all.

[GrayGriffin]

Okay, thought Cheater, maybe this League just assigned him to do this job then. Almost any organization did demographics research, he knew. Although most of the ways of doing that were inaccurate, thanks to various biases. He seemed to be looking off into the distance now, recalling various facts he had read about the inaccuracy of statistics. Of course, maybe those reports were inaccurate in and of themselves, in that case...

"Hey, Cheater," muttered Flinch, nudging him in the knee. He blinked and looked over at his two companions, who had been trying to shake him out of his stupor for quite a while.

"Oh, sorry! I was just thinking about something, and I forgot you were here! You know how it is, right? It's how the brain works, you see. It's quite easy to associate one thing with another. There's been studies done on that kind of association, you know! And how, for example, walking into another room makes you forget what you were going to do there..."

"That's how it works for you, at least," said Lucky. But he had an indulgent smile on his face. It was nice to be able to properly understand Cheater again. He'd missed that rambling.

"So you're just people-watching?" added Flinch, turning back to Lucas. "That must be fascinating! I tried doing that before, but I couldn't find a field guide!" He grinned, trying to indicate that he was joking. Of course, considering the varied species that were considered "people" here, you probably could find a field guide of sorts...

"Oh, we never told you our names!" exclaimed Cheater. He readjusted his glasses, which had slipped out of place again. "That's so rude of us! I'm Dennis, and those are Dominic and Willis. What's yours?"

[Indigo]

"It is...somewhat interesting, yes. People will do the oddest things in public if they think no one is watching them." He hadn't come out here intending to people-watch--he had, truth be told, been intending to sulk--but he couldn't help but notice what was going on around him, if only for the opportunity to confirm his moral superiority. Well, it was interesting anyway, but he certainly didn't mind the confidence boost at this point.

He blinked in surprise when the one with the glasses rattled off their names. That would seem to indicate they'd be talking for a while, which wasn't necessarily something he wanted to encourage. But then, he did have to do something in the absurdly long time it was taking for him to be called inside. "My name is Lucas. It is a pleasure to meet you." It was true in some sense, at least.