Shiver reaches forward and takes the proffered plate. Gesturing to the small breakfast nook they sit down with a pitcher of water and breakfast.

"I love fruit, thank you for making breakfast for me. If it wasn't for you I'd probably forget to eat until I was ready to pass out." The large troll allows a smile to pass between them. His new companion seemed to enjoy domestic activities and being useful, so he made sure she knew that her effort was always appreciated.

"My day has been going well. I had to work with Sully some more--you remember her right, the blind girl, frizzy hair. Anyways, Mynce wanted her to work some more against multiple attackers. She's doing much better than the first few times. I was also asked if I would do a small meet and greet for the group. Did you want to come along?"

Angelina beamed under the praise. "Yes, I recall her. Nice girl. Good to hear she's doing well. Meet and greet...sure. So where are we going today?"

"Well, we need to track down a runner group and talk to Mama Fortuna about some shamans who are verging on the nastier side of business. It's my hope that the runners will have tracked them down and with the information from Mama Fortuna, we will be able to eliminate the problem before they become dangerous."

"Shamans engaging in dark arts? That can't be allowed. So have you figured out how to contact the runners yet?"

"Yes, Mama Fortuna is also a diviner she should be able to point us in their direction."

Finishing his plate of pancakes, he pours himself a large glass of water and leans back.

"Ah." she said, finishing up the last of the bacon. "So...when are we going?"

"Go take a shower and put on some work clothes. I'll do the dishes and we can get going."

"Alright." Angelina said, heading off to do just that. She wasn't long, as a quick application of Fashion and Makeover took care of the toiletries that took mundane women hours. Dressed and ready to face the day, she returned to the kitchen to see if Shiver was ready.

Shiver finished placing the last plate into a drying rack. He could have used the auto-cleaner, but he preferred to do the little things by hand. Seeing Angelina come out of her side of the penthouse, the large troll moved to the door and picked up his coat. Stopping for a moment to pull it over his massive frame, he grabs the cane and his hat and they head out.

He pulls his sunglasses on to keep the bright sun at bay as much as to cover his very unique eyes. Robert, the doorman, has a cab waiting for them and they are soon moving through the downtown core to the eastern fringe. They disembark about a block away from the address and walk towards the converted newstand that Mama Fortuna uses as her talismonger shop.

The structure leans slightly on one side where a support beam was cracked during a drive-by some months back. Rumor has it that the go-gang was subdued by a shadowrunner team who owed the ugly gnome a favor. They apparently brought her back ritual samples of the gang members, but no one has pried too deeply.

Shiver and Angelina stand off to one side as Mama uses her old style crank calculator/register to complete a sale.

"She may not immediately take to you, relax, it's only because you're prettier than she is." He whispers to his companion.

A quiet crash is heard from the back room as the customer walks away. The gnome jumps down from her stool and begins shouting obscenities in Polish. Climbing back onto the stool, she looks surly and asks without any form of introduction.

"What do you want?"

Shiver steps forward, carefully keeping his eyes averted from the bruised hunchback running back and forth behind the counter cleaning up messes.

"I'm looking for information about some shamans who may have been raising Nomads and a team of runners that is pursuing them." He reaches into his coat and places fifty nuyen on the counter. "This should start the conversation."

Shiver & Angelina
The old woman squints from atop her step ladder. She looks Angelina up and down. She spits on the pavement near her feet while making a sign to ward off the evil eye. "What fool would conjure Nomads to them?!" As she speaks a large msihapen hand, the knuckles draped in course hair, feels around the counter for the fifty nuyen. "I could find these people for you but that would take a little more to grease this palm."

"I fully understand that more nuyen is required. This fool was letting them loose on a large party, friends that would be regarded as freaks and outcasts by society. I hope you understand the reason we would need to stand together against that. How much more is necessary?"

Shiver & Angelina
She laughs huskily and immediately starts coughing. Reaching to her side and gesturing wildly. Once again the hairy hunch surfaces above the line of the counter. The same meaty hand hands her the fifty nuyen. She grabs it and rushes it to her mouth. Her eyes grow large at the sight of the money. "NOT THIS YOU IDIOT!!" She throws the money behind her as she expertly launches a kick into the hump. A low grunt is heard from below the counter. "Hand me that rag you half-wit!!"

More crashes are heard as she slowly stops coughing. "I don't care about people I don't know and I make it a point to know as few people as possible. As for the cost, it depends on how much you want to know. I start at 1,000 and go up from there." As she speaks the hand returns with a rag, she promptly coughs something up into it and tosses it to the area behind her.

The timid angel-girl took an involuntary step backwards as Madam Fortuna spat in her direction, and made a sign against the evil eye. Despite Shiver's warning, she found herself drifting towards an all too familiar pit of dispair. Not like she had asked for this change.

But no...that marked the path to destruction. God moved in mysterious ways. He had marked her with a countenance that some reguarded as angelic. Madam Fortuna merely feared what was different. If she recalled correctly, humanity and metahumanity had faced similar trials when metahumanity appeared on the earth.

Pulling herself out of her introspection, Angelina turned her attention back to the transaction at hand. She decided to keep silent, as the Madam didn't seem to like her, she would only make matters worse.

Sensing Angelina becoming introspective, Shiver shifts his cane to his left hand. If she changed in the middle of the street, he would need to be ready for the newcomer and Desdemona would not like being coddled. Keeping his eyes on Mama Fortuna but extending all of his other senses to tracking his fallen angel, Shiver withdrew a matte black credstick which he used for business like this.

"Very well, here's 1,500:nuyen:. I need to know where to find the runner team that seeks this shaman group."

:: Moira nods. ::

"While I love Murry's idea, Bakatare is correct. The Red Queen was rather specific regarding what she wanted to happen. I do have one spell that pay work to our advantage, but it will still not be easy. His emotions I can control, but what he does with them, I cannot. And once I engage him, his pet may very well try to stop me if she senses what's going on.

"What I think needs to happen, is we need to trigger his impatience, his arrogance. That shouldn't be too hard at the party. We could get someone, a woman is best, to insult him. Wait...

"Ok. How about this. We get Madam Yin to book a special act that night. I'll sing. I have made enough of a name for myself that it wont seem to out of place. My gift is amplified significantly by my song so I can weave my spell on him directly from the performance. You will all be targeting his pet. If she seems to take any suspiscious interest in me, take her out. Sniper rifle would be the easiest, but the quieter the takedown the better. I'll keep pushing him for an emotional explosion and if Im careful, I may be able to reduce his willpower at the same time. This will make his magic weak and if he tries to cast, or summon, the drain will probably kill him."

:: She looks at the team hoping for some feedback that doesn't scream "You're crazy" ::

Bakatare ponders for a long second before replying.

"That sounds like a good plan, but I think it may be more to our advantage to turn your talents against those less liable to be well protected, or those not as strong. By targeting his pet or the rest of his Circle, you can simultanously embarass him at the party as she requested, show an obvious loss of control to his Circle, and perhaps get the 3-4 mages there fighting him instead of him fighting us."

Shiver & Angelina
The old gnome grabs up the credstick and bites on it, somehow satisified with its contents to pass it off to the ever-present hump. The hump descends for a brief moment and returns. A pair of large manish hands deposit a dinged up old silver plate with a raised lip around the edge and a small well-worn leather sack to the counter.

Mama gestures impatiently for Shiver's hand. Once placed within her grasp, she quickly cuts a small gash in the palm with the nail of her pinky finger. The nail is long and filed to a sharp point. She presses the palm to her mouth and sucks at the wound. Turning her head to the side, she spits out a glob of blood and spit into the plate's center. She release's his hand, while wiping the blood from around her mouth on her sleeve. She grabs the small bag, loosens the drawstrings, and fishes out a pinch of some pugent herbs. She flings the mixture into the blood and spit. She leans over the plate, humming and stirring the mix together with her nail.

After a few minutes, she begins to chuckle to herself. Her laugh is dry and hollow. "The one you need to seek is known to you. I see a woman of white and a sea of monsters. I hear music and flows of light. She is the one. She can take you to the people you seek."

:: Nods. ::

"That makes sense, but if we're leaving the most powerful mage unaffected by my spells, then the liklihood that he will realize I am the cause. If he focuses his attack on me, I'll be mostly unable to adaquetly protect myself as I wont have any spell defense at my disposal. I wish we had more magic oomphf, even if just for the spell defense."

:: Moira sighs heavily, the excitement of a good plan waning slightly. ::


"In fact, that brings up a good point. If they have too much spell defense up, then there wont be any affect from my singing whatsoever. We should formulate a backup plan in that case."

Blaze speaks up. "Well, we have 2 other mages so we can provide some protection. As for magical oomph, all we need is some expendable spell foci for whatever spells we think we need to cast that night." His eyes gleam with blloodlust, clearly the idea of finally taking action against the shaman group appeals to him.

Bakatare nods, surprised to hear the suggestion.

"Blaze is right, actually. With your ally spirit and mine, we'll have 5 mages worth of spell defense to allocate around, and I, at least, am trained in some of the more advanced techniques in deflecting mana."

"I had forgotten that you and I were not the only mages."

:: Moira smiles at Blaze and Fenris. ::

"Ok, I'll need a Health Focus and a couple of Control Manipulation focuses for the spells I will be planning on using."

Paladin sits back and crosses his arms with a smile of satisfaction. Things were finally falling into place...

"I'll be stealthing out in the crowd as physical backup if things get ugly. I'd love a shot at pitting myself against his toy."

Shiver winces slightly at the feeling of Mama Fortuna sucking at the wound. He still had scars from a ghoul which had done a similar thing on his right arm. Listening to the divination, he nods once.

"Thank you for your assistance."

Turning he ushers Angelina away heading for a local coffeeshop. There the old troll washes his hand with hot water and soap to lessen any chances of infection before sitting down with his partner.

"Alright, it appears that Iblis has gotten herself involved in this fiasco as well." Shiver glances at his watch before pulling out his cell phone. "She should be up, there wasn't a rave at the 'Looking Glass' last night."

Dialing the number, he waits for the white-furred decker to answer.

The Safehouse Group
As you begin to lay the plan out, you all here a disco song coming from one of the bedrooms. The volume is incredible loud and the song instantly irritating.

In his best cheesy horror trid announcer voice, "Iv. Is. Alite!", Murrey grabs an instant-hot thai meal and sets it aside.

:: Moira rises to her feet almost immediately, knowing that Iblis needs her rest but the call may be important. The shrill tone of the phone makes it remarkably easy to locate and Moira hesitates only a moment before she finds the latch to open the phone; the obviously synthetic pink fur covering making the object look more like a Lisa Frank style Tribble than an actual phone. Luckily, the phone accepts the incoming call immediately upon opening and Moira presses it to her ear. ::

"Hello?"

"Hello, this doesn't sound like Iblis...is she available, tell her Shiver from the Looking Glass is on the line." The heavy Japanese accented voice rolls out of the troll's deep chest. His English sounds like that of a long term transplant.

"She is, resting at the moment. If you are truly from the Looking Glass, then you may be aware of the tragedy that transpired at their latest event."

:: Moira's eyes drop down to watch the sleeping frame of Iblis, a visable cut still red and healing on her finely furred face. ::

"That is the reason for my call. I have information for some people working with her an taking out the trash. I know about wanderers who crashed the party."

"I represent the people you are looking for. What information do you have?"

"Come to the Dark Roast on the corner of 103rd and Walnut. We need to talk and I have people for you to meet. My associate and I stand out in a crowd."

"I can meet you there in one hour. Look for a woman in all white with a man in all black."

:: She pauses only a minute to locate the blue glowing off button and closes the phone. Heading out into the main room, she hands the phone to Bakatare. ::

"We've been contacted by a supposed friend of Iblis. They say they have information for us, but Iblis can't be moved. I'll take Blaze with me to meet with them, you guys may want to think up a backup plan if things get ugly. Oh, and contact Madam Yin to get the ball rolling with my performance."

:: Taking her car, she takes a moment at a stoplight to concentrate on Blaze's attire, though the effort was minimal. She simple reverted all the clothing to the darkest black tone before focusing on herself. Her casual jeans, t-shirt and sweater transform to a smart, blindingly white knee length business dress, white wool cloak and barret. ::

:: Navigating through the eternally wet streets, she makes her way to the designated coffee shop. ::

Shiver looks over to his companion.

"Come on, let's go take a walk and get some air before they get here. We could make it to the shelter and back in time if we hurry."

Paying their tab, the two changelings leave the coffee house and take a cab over to Zha Min Zhu's shelter. The time helping the needy and downtrodden was important to Angelina, he knew that. The large troll just hoped it would build up in her enough resistance to hold off any negative upswell that this afternoon might bring. While at the shelter he calls the informant and arranges where and when to meet before going out to the back to help move the larger boxes of donations to the designated storage areas.

They leave and make it back to the coffee shop in time to meet Mrs. White and Mr. Black. Shiver is confident that a large, well muscled Japanese troll with black scales would stand out in the mostly human crowd. The fact that his almost angelic companion has a light dusting of gold through her blond locks solidified, in his mind, their standing as the "different" ones. He sets his fedora on the table and leans the cane against his leg before ordering a pot of tea and two scones with seasonal fruit.

:: Arriving at the coffee shop, she's able to find a parrallel spot about a half a block away. Stepping out, she flips the collar of the cloak up to obscure the majority of her face as she steps under the eaves of the roadside market, her companion walking a step behind her, a black shadow to her white form. ::

:: Her eyes didn't even bother scanning the crowd. Her crystal blue eyes looked directly at Shiver and an involuntarily shiver passed over her spine bringing a subtle smile to her lips when thinking of his name. Truth be told, however, the true reason for the shiver was that his scales reminded her of the Red Queen, and her unforgettable meeting. She could still feel the claws digging in her neck. ::

:: The girl at his side was an interesting contrast to Shiver's style, but the golden aura that adorned her hair seemed to compliment, rather than compete with her companion. These were obviously Iblis's kind and she felt oddly comforted in their unusual appearance. ::

"Shiver, I presume?"

Angelina was more than ready to go when Shiver was done. She found that she wasn't any more comfortable around Madam Fortuna than the gnome was around her. Once seated at the coffee shop, she had time to look at Shiver's scratch. Once it had been cleaned out, she took his injured hand, and let the healing powers flow over it, closing the wound. Not a serious injury, but what is power for, if not to help your friends.

After Shiver was done with his call, he suggested continuing on to the homeless shelter as they had originally planned for today. The latest string of tests had kept her away from the shelter, and she was eager to check in on her cases. She thanked God for the gift of healing he had given her along with her changed appearance. Magic augmented the mundane healing she had been able to apply before the change. Checking in, she found that all was well. Even her more serious cases were well on the road to recovery.

Her mind put at peace in reguards to her charges, she accompanied Shiver back to the coffee house to meet the ones known as Mr Black and Ms White. Odd enough choice, as the ones they were meeting bore those colors as well. A sign perhaps...and the woman looked familiar... "Moira?"

:: Moira froze for a moment. She was certain that she had never seen the golden girl before, but the voice held the maddening hint of familiarity. Unfortunately, though her uncanny nack at recognizing voice, the contrast between the completely unfamiliar image and the voice was too great for her to place. ::

:: Now the question was, should she affirm the question and perhaps give her identity away much sooner than she's hoped to in this meeting? No, always better to avoid direct questions until there was enough information to make an informed decision. ::

"I'm sorry?"

:: She works to keep her inflection and body language neutral. Hoping that the noncommittal answer would not give her away unintentionally. ::

"Oh...sorry...you remind me of someone I knew...well, it seems like forever ago. Well, before the change. But I'm babbling on, when my friend had something he wanted to talk to you about."

Shiver raised one eyebrow at the interplay between the two women. Unsure if this was a case of the woman simply not recognizing Angelina due to her transformation or if something else was happening, he chooses to file it away and bring it up with Mynce later. The smallest things often could prove to be the key to understanding the paranormal.

"Yes ma'am, that's what most people call me Shiver. I don't believe I caught your name earlier or your associate's. But I'm sure once you've been seated all those pleasantries will pass between us. Please, sit. I highly recommend the house coffee, it is rich and full bodied with a hint of almonds."

:: The more the girl talked, the more her voice registered in Moira's mind until she finally closed her eyes to force her mind to concentrate on the sound alone. At that point, it was only a matter of seconds for her to place it. Her eyes snapped open to look at the girl again, comparing her memory of who she used to be to the girl who sits before her now. ::

"Angelina?"

:: Turning to Shiver, she nods and takes a seat opposite them and turns to smile at Blaze. ::

"The house coffee sounds rather inviting, would you mind fetching some for us?"

:: Blaze hesitated a moment, but realized that the slight familiarity that passed between the two women turned this meeting a little less dangerous and so he left to complete the small errand. Moira then focuses back on the strange couple as sje unbuttons her cloak. ::

"You're companion was correct, I am Moira. I apologize for not recognizing you, though I must say the change rather suits you."

"Oh. You do remeber me. As I said, it's been forever. We really do need to catch up sometime. So much has changed."

"Though it is always a joy to see the reunification of acquaintance after our change, we must settle down to business. I am in contact with an organization that monitors paranormal threats in the area. To that end, I have an informant with information about the group that you are hunting. They will share that information with you only if I am there. My associates are also hunting the spirits that were unleashed upon the Looking Glass a few nights ago. That said, do you wish our help?"

Paladin watches Moira and Blaze take their leave, then digs into his pocket and dials up Madam Yin.

"Ok, where would you like to meet?"

Paladin
"Why, good morning to you as well. Me? I'm fine but please let's dispense wiith the pleasantries and get down to business." You hear a a long suffering sigh. "I would prefer some where discrete and not connecteed to me in anyway."

Paladin grins to himself. "Go downtown. Between 12th and 13th street there is an alley on the north side of Wilshire. Walk down it, I'll be waiting for you."

Nothin' like introducing the prime and pretty to the Underground.

Paladin
"Charming. I'll be there." She hangs up promptly.

Paldin pockets his P-Sec and turns to Bakatare, "Wanna go meet with the Madam?"

"I would have preferred you handle it over the phone, actually. You probably shouldn't go out alone, and Iblis is still out, and someone needs to stay and keep an eye on her. Have Murrey give you a ride and keep an eye out."

The mage seems quieter then normal, almost pensive as he scrolls through some information on a poc-sec.

"I thought you wanted to meet her, thats all, I ain't exactly a people person. I figured Murrey could watch Iblis."

"Not a bad idea, actually. If she's still out, why don't you grab her and we'll put her in Murrey's van and they can take a drive. I'm sure he can handle just about anything if he's behind the wheel."

"I appreciate the vote of confidence. I'd be happy to watch over the fuzzy elf, but what about those monads? Is the van still protected against them?"