AN: This is the third "Patrol Log from the Field," in this case from London.
To yellow 14: At least he's in jail now, right?
To Butterfly: Hopefully some of them got answered during the "SLD Case Report"!
Anne pushed her chair back from the table with a sigh of contentment. Across the table from her, Bri likewise set her fork down and leaned back. After so many nights of trading off cooking, it was nice to let someone else prepare dinner! Anne grinned. "Thank you so much for inviting us!"
"Oh, it's absolutely my pleasure," Amelie assured them. "It's just as easy for the chef to cook for four as for one." She smiled mischievously. "And I don't think Felix would come home for dinner half as often if we didn't have company!" Her eyes darted across the table to Bri as she spoke. Anne stifled a laugh.
"Mother, I've told you," Felix retorted, rolling his eyes. "If I skip dinner in the dining hall too often the others will get suspicious." Amelie hummed in amusement.
Barkk tossed another piece of pot roast into the air and caught it in her mouth. "That dining hall doesn't know how to make good beef," she huffed.
"No arguments here," Felix agreed, shuddering.
Anne grinned. "You should have tasted the coq au vin that Bri 'cooked' last week!"
Bri groaned and rubbed her forehead. "For the last time, I had no idea that the wine had gone that sour."
"I thought wines were your thing."
Bri gave her a deadpan look. "That doesn't mean I drink it all that often…"
"You're always welcome to drop in," Amelie assured them. "Any time. And especially at dinnertime!"
"We may have to take you up on that," Anne responded. She smirked. "Perhaps on Bri's nights to cook!" Bri stuck her tongue out playfully.
"It's so amazing to have everyone here together so much!" Barkk enthused, clapping her paws in excitement. "We need to do it more often!"
Felix groaned. "Fine… we'll come home for dinner a little more," he acceded. "But I'm pretty sure we have to get going now." He raised an eyebrow at Anne and stood up, scooping Barkk up into his hand and placing her on his shoulder.
"Yeah, I suppose it's time for us to crack on." She sighed, gazing longingly at the tart sitting untouched on the table for dessert.
"Do you want a piece before you leave?" asked Amelie, noticing where she was looking.
"Oh, I probably shouldn't," Anne admitted, frowning. "I don't want an upset stomach while we're on patrol."
Amelie hummed. "Well, stop back here after you get done, and there will be some left."
"I'll hold you to it!" promised Anne as she joined Felix in the doorway.
"How about you, dear?" Amelie asked, turning to Bri. "Would you like some dessert?"
"Not right now." She sighed heavily, her mouth turning down into a frown. "Actually, I should probably get to work on my homework for tomorrow…"
"Well, do you need to go back to your flat to do it?" asked Amelie, raising an eyebrow.
"I mean, I need to get my tablet, but I don't really need to be there…"
"In that case, would you like to stay here and keep me company?" Amelie smiled impishly. "There are biscuits and tea… and dessert when you're ready!"
Bri raised her eyebrows in surprise and gave her a small smile, joining Felix and Anne. "You know what? Why not?"
Anne looped her arm through Bri's and led the way back to the Hero Study where she had left the bag with her Bandruí suit, Felix trailing after them as they discussed the upcoming weekend. Fortunately, while it was still a cold January, the snow had finally melted through most of the city, so they could at least take a walk by the river during one of their study breaks. Bri placed her thumb on the fingerprint reader to let them in, and activated the portal back to their apartment while Anne fetched her bag and Felix dropped into the armchair, scratching behind Barkk's ears idly while he waited. Ten minutes later, Bandruí emerged from the bedroom next door, just as Bri returned through the portal, her backpack slung over her shoulder. Bandruí cocked her head and listened intently: strains of Liszt echoed down the hallway from the direction of the sitting room.
"Have fun," Bri called as the portal whirred back to life and the workshop appeared through it, the lights turning on automatically.
"You, too!" Bandruí replied, giving her a quick hug.
Felix smirked. "Don't worry, mon Fer: I'll take good care of her."
Bri arched an eyebrow. "To be honest, I'm more worried about you, Pup!" she called behind her, leaving the Hero Study and turning to follow the sound of piano music.
Felix scoffed and rolled his eyes as they jumped through the portal into the pristine workshop. He transformed and pushed the door open, gesturing for Bandruí to lead the way out.
"So what's the plan tonight, Hound?" she asked, sliding her sapling smoothly out of the earth next to the workshop door. With a thought the roots twisted together into a tight clump and she set it on the ground, watching her partner carefully.
The Hound frowned and started jogging down the alley away from the Strand, slowly enough for her to keep up. "Quick lap, see if anything comes up, then see about a little sparring?" he suggested, accelerating slightly.
"Fine by me." Bandruí raced after him down the alley and along the High Holborn, past several pubs with raucous music sounding out of their open doors. It was a fairly quiet night; in the cold, few people were on the streets apart from those rushing home or to a restaurant, their breath fogging in front of their faces. She quickly found herself panting in exhaustion from the pace that the Hound set, the frigid air burning her lungs. "H–hold up," she finally gasped, stopping next to the Museum of London, leaning her sapling against the wall, and putting her hands on her thighs.
The Hound froze and looked back at her in surprise that quickly turned to shame. "Oh – sorry," he apologized. "I was trying to pace myself, but I… guess I didn't do a great job of it. Iron Maiden can keep up pretty easily."
Bandruí quirked an eyebrow at him. "Do I look like her?" she demanded, amused. "Until Bri makes me a jetpack or rocket skates or something, it's just my legs getting me around."
"Yeah… we can just walk for now," he told her, letting her lead the way up the Aldersgate Street north from the museum. As they walked, the Hound's miraculous ears twitched and he cocked his head before taking off down the nearby alley. "Hello?" he called as Bandruí followed more slowly. A voice answered him, too quiet for her to hear, and he said, "It's pretty cold out here, sir. Let me find you somewhere warm for the night."
Bandruí watched in surprise as the Hound escorted a man in a ragged old coat out of the alley, carrying a small bag slung over his shoulders. She raised an eyebrow in surprise, and he shrugged. With a nod, she followed them down the street until the Hound stopped outside a tall brick building with a hotel sign over the door. Without hesitating he led the man inside while she waited outside. Fifteen minutes later, the Hound emerged from the hotel alone. "Everything okay with your new friend?" she asked.
He frowned. "I was just about to leave when he started talking," he admitted. "Rough life, lost job… You know the story. Said he hadn't eaten in a while, so I told them to bring up whatever they had in the kitchen." She nodded as the Hound started walking briskly up the street and turned onto Clerkenwell Road. "I just… I wish I could do more for him than a warm bed and a meal."
She hummed. "That might be all the Hound can do for now."
"But Felix Graham de Vanily might be able to do more…" he mused, stroking his chin. "That's something to consider." They walked in silence for another half-hour before the Hound paused with the Strand in sight, looking down the side street at the Lincoln's Inn Fields. "Still interested in sparring, or did I tire you out too much?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"We can give it a shot," she agreed, stepping off the sidewalk into the grass and stopping near a tall sycamore.
Turning to face her, he folded his arms. "So how is your close quarters fighting?"
Bandruí shrugged and planted her sapling in the ground. "I have younger brothers."
"Let's test that, shall we?" The Hound slid one foot back, fists raised in a boxing stance. Bandruí held her arms up in front of her face defensively, watching him carefully. Without warning, the Hound advanced, aiming a slow punch at the side of her head. Bandruí blocked with her left arm, simultaneously punching him in the chest, but he eluded the blow. She followed up with another punch, and he caught her fist with one hand, holding her in place as he boxed her ear, the heel of his fist freezing a breath away from hitting her. She flinched away from him, her back hitting the sycamore trunk behind her. "Don't put yourself in a vulnerable position," he warned her, releasing her hand.
Bandruí smirked, eyes lighting up in exhilaration. "I think that applies to you, also!"
The Hound furrowed his brows in confusion, cocking his head to one side. Suddenly his eyes widened and he ducked, a moment before a tree branch swept through where his head had been. He spun into a cartwheel away from her as her sapling produced acorns and swung around, launching them into the air, narrowly missing him as he contorted to avoid the projectiles.
Bandruí pulled a handful of seeds out of a pouch on her belt and scattered them on the ground between her and the Hound. The ivy seeds, roots sprouting even before they left her hand, caught into the dirt and grew rapidly under her influence. The Hound had his leash out and spinning in a shield moments before the first ivy shoot got within range, blocking the plants away before they could wrap around him. As he backed away, Bandruí flicked her wrist. A tree root rose out of the ground directly behind the Hound's foot. He caught his heel and fell backward, turning his momentum into a back-flip, narrowly avoiding the encroaching ivy.
Suddenly he threw his leash and wrapped it around Bandruí's waist, pulling her off the ground. She yelped in surprise as he jumped and caught her in midair. Finally he landed back on the ground and set her on her feet. "Right, point taken," he conceded holding a hand up. "Still, it wouldn't be a bad idea for you to figure out how to fight without exclusively relying on your powers – even just well enough to get away from a stronger opponent."
"Fair." She knelt beside the newly-grown ivy plants and plucked a handful of seeds, carefully replacing them in the correct pouch, along with a couple acorns that had landed nearby. She hummed in contemplation and placed her hand on the longest ivy plant, which wrapped around into a wreath and separated from the ground. Setting the wreath on her head, she collected her sapling and nodded to the Hound.
"Really leaning into this 'druid' thing there, aren't you?" he observed as they cut through another alleyway to return to the workshop.
"This way I have something on me in case you try pulling a stunt like that again!" she retorted, raising an eyebrow.
"Good thinking," he acknowledged. "Do you and Bri practice sparring a lot?"
"Only on patrols," Bandruí answered.
"It's something to try," he suggested. "She's really good – in and out of the suit. I mean, she actually fought off the Vicar with nothing but her bracelets back in the fall. She did a lot better against him than I did." Bandruí hummed knowingly. The Hound grimaced. "Of course, I have a miraculous, so…"
"The two of you have a really good partnership going," she observed, raising an eyebrow. If she didn't know any better…
He shrugged. "I guess we just work well together."
"Is that all there is to it?"
He frowned. "What are you getting at?"
"Good looking, rich… I'm just surprised you're single," she told him planting her sapling back in its spot by the workshop door. She pulled off her wreath and replanted the ivy next to the wall where it started creeping up the side.
"I've had girlfriends in the past." He folded his arms.
"But not now?"
He shook his head, his shoulders slumping, and pushed the door open. "Not many of them ever stuck around for long – I've honestly known Bri longer than any other girl in my life."
"Why does that not surprise me?" Bandruí muttered, shaking her head. Louder she told him, "In case you're really that dense, you should know that she trusts you. A lot. Have you considered what that means?"
He arched an eyebrow. "Of course I have – I'm not an idiot. I just… I don't want to mess this up. And after everything she's been through…"
Bandruí nodded. "Good. Whatever you are, you're at least good for each other." As the portal opened to show the Hero Study, she smirked. "Just remember: if you hurt my sister in any way, I will cocoon you inside a tree!"