The following days past in a surprisingly calm and uneventful haze. After Leo returned from his meeting with Crawford, he had only told Hal the bare minimum, causing the vampire to raise his eyebrow. Hal wondered why Leo looked so out of his element when he returned. But probing him with questions had only resulted in annoying him. Hal was surprised that Leo could even become annoyed. He was always so calm. So reasonable. Like he was wise beyond his years. The thought angered Hal a bit, but only because he knew that he was over five centuries old and not even close to being so wise.

Hal had decided that the healthy thing for him to do was not dwell on things and just to stay indoors as much as possible. Focus on tidying up and keeping his mind busy. He still took a few sips of blood every day, and each time he did, he stared at how much was left in the bottle. The amount was shrinking every day, and the thought that he would have to do without made Hal nervous. He ultimately convinced himself that, once the blood was gone, he could learn to cope without. After all, he'd done just that during the first three days of living with Leo.

But there was still an alternative to coping without it. A few years ago, he and Cutler had managed to scare a medical student into doing their bidding, so getting a few blood bags in time of need was no problem. But Hal immediately pushed the thought out of his mind. He didn't want to come to that because he knew that this was just the excuse the monster within him was looking for. He convinced himself to just take it one day at a time.

But taking it one day at the time was proving to be quite difficult when, a few days later, Hal and Leo were walking towards the little café as they had many times before. They knew something was wrong the minute they saw the building surrounded by a trail of cars, an ambulance, and plenty of commotion.

"Excuse me" Leo asked a passerby, "what's going on?"

"Word around here is that someone had a bad accident and died this morning. Some young waitress, apparently."

Leo had a million thoughts running in his mind. And just as he begged whatever god was still left in the universe for Pearl to be safe, Hal tapped him on the shoulder.

"Look" Hal said, motioning with his head.

Leo followed where he was gesturing and his eyes settled on a woman who was standing in the middle of all the commotion, yelling at everything. It was Pearl. She seemed almost translucent.

Leo, who had never seen anything like it before, was floored. He just stared at her, motionless.

"She's a ghost" Hal said tentatively. "The others can't see or hear her because they're not like us."

Without another word, Leo began walking towards her. Hal quickly stopped him.

"Leo, I don't think it's wise to bring attention to ourselves like this. I think it's better if she came to us."

The werewolf looked around at the ubiquitous people and had to agree Hal had a point. He resorted to waving until she saw them. Soon enough, a very pissed-off Pearl took notice and began walking over.

"Alright, what exactly is happening?" she asked them "Why is everyone ignoring me?"

"They're not ignoring you, Pearl" Hal said, "they just can't see you."

"What are you talking about? You two can see me just fine."

Hal took a deep breath. "Pearl, the reason everyone isn't reacting to you is because, well... you're dead."

The ghost frowned. "What?"

"What's the last thing you remember?"

Pearl looked at him like he was stupid.

"Humor me."

"Well, I woke up this morning, came to work, said hello to the chef and the other staff..." She froze. "There was blood. I don't remember what happened, but I just know that I had a terrible ache in my side, and then I woke up out here. Are you saying I died in there?"

"You didn't notice you were slightly see-through?"

Pearl looked offended.

"I'm sorry" Leo said, "but it looks like Hal's right. You really are dead."

The ghost shook her head, visibly exhausted. "God, I've been screaming me head off for hours and here you are waltzing down and seein' me. How's that possible?"

"Hal and I, we're..." Leo struggled to think. "we're different."

"Different how?"

Leo looked towards Hal, who was rolling his eyes.

"For god's sake Leo, just tell her already. There's no point in trying to shield her from this life when she's already part of it."

"What life? What're you two talking about?"

Leo wasn't keen on the tactic Hal had adopted, but there was no turning back now. "I'm a... a werewolf."

Pearl's face was motionless, and then broke into a smile and chuckle. "Right, and I suppose he's a unicorn or something?"

"Vampire, actually" Hal corrected.

"What are you two tryin' to pull here? You think I'm thick or something? I'm dead, not daft." She was visibly angry now.

Leo leaned towards Hal and lowered his voice. "Hal, show her the vampire eyes."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I can't do anything, since it's not a full moon, so you'll need to turn your eyes black and show her the teeth."

"Leo, I'm not a dancing monkey."

"Hal-"

He held his hands up. "Fine, fine." Hal sighed and then turned his eyes black with little effort.

Pearl shrieked for a second, and then moved to punch Hal in the chest. "I knew it! I just knew something was off about you. The second I met you in that alley I said to meself that there's no way you're not some loon who's prowling the streets."

"Well, your spirits seem to have heightened considerably" Hal said, not understanding how she could just hit him like that and not apologize.

"And you're really a werewolf?" Pearl asked Leo. "A proper one? With the howling and the moon and all that stuff?"

Leo nodded. "I am."

It took a bit of convincing, but soon enough, Leo and Hal had managed to bring Pearl back to Leo's flat. The werewolf quickly set the kettle on for tea, realizing too late that Pearl wouldn't be able to have any.

"So you're a werewolf, he's a vampire, and I'm a ghost." Pearl said, pointing at each of them. "Shouldn't the world implode now or something?"

"Those like us have been around for centuries, actually" Hal said.

"Then how come I've never heard of any of this?"

"Because no one different is ever keen to be put in the spotlight. We try to keep the lives of all supernaturals secret."

"I'm a supernatural now" Pearl said, realizing. "Does this happen to everyone? Just ghosts walking around the city like nobody's business?"

"No. But it happens sometimes" Hal said. "It means you have unfinished business."

Pearl widened her eyes. "You mean like if I was murdered?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well the pain in my side could mean I had a heart attack, but what about all the blood I saw?"

"You're right" Leo said, "it doesn't make sense."

"What bothers me is that I can't remember exactly what happened."

"That sometimes happen to those who die a brutal death" Hal said.

"So then you think I was murdered too?"

"We'll have to wait a few more days until your memory returns. Until then we have no way of knowing what your unfinished business is."

"So I can't know what my business is until I complete it?" Pearl frowned "Well that just sounds deliberately cryptic and confusing."

Hal gave a half smile. "Such is the ways of the afterlife."

"You're more than welcome to stay here until you find out what you need to do" Leo said.

"I appreciate that, but this kind of seems like a small flat. I wouldn't want to impose. Besides, I have no clue what vampires and werewolves live like."

"Our life is rather normal" Leo said, "and there's no imposition, really. Right, Hal?"

The vampire struggled to produce a realistic smile.

"Am I talking crazy, or am I starting to look solid again?" Pearl asked suddenly.

"I think you are" Leo said.

Hal nodded, realizing that ghosts who had a familiar or a root meant that they had a better chance at not fading away eventually. It seemed like, whether he was onboard with the idea or not, she was becoming attached to them. Hal was immediately wary of this.

As Leo went into the kitchen to get the tea, Hal followed him.

"I think you were right before" Hal said in hushed tones, "we should her away from all this. She's asking too many questions."

"She's dead, Hal. We couldn't just let her roam the streets by herself, not understanding why she's here."

Hal sighed. "It's not right. The three of us being together. Do you know why vampires are the only supernaturals who stick together in large groups? It's because it's an easy way to cause chaos. A large number of us staying under the same roof is just a recipe for disaster."

"It doesn't have to be" Leo said.

"But it's the natural way things are. We're all volatile, Leo. Especially me."

"If you'll afraid that you'll hurt her-"

"It's not that" Hal said, shaking his head. "Pearl's dead. What worries me is that she won't like what she'll see in this world of ours. She might blow our cover, even unintentionally."

Leo left the kettle on the table and then moved to place a hand on Hal's shoulder. "You need to learn to have faith in people, Hal. If I wouldn't have, then I'd probably be dead by now."

Hal thought back to the cellar when Leo had told him that he would rather die than fight again. Leo had placed faith in Hal, something he still couldn't quite grasp. Hal just had to hope things would turn out alright, even when every fiber of his being was screaming that this wasn't possible.

"I spent quite a long time thinking about our condition, you know" Leo said, who was again busying himself with the tea. "You might not believe this, but I was actually angry for a long time after I was turned. I kept wondering 'why me?' It just didn't seem fair."

"What changed?"

"I realized that we were pushed on the outskirts of the normal world. But it was for a reason. I believe that we are on the outside of humanity so that we might guard it."

Hal thought for a moment. "You almost make it sound like we are worthy."

"Because we are. We're trying to live our life as noble and quiet as possible. And by doing that, we're protecting the rest of the world." Leo turned to face Hal. "Does that make sense to you?"

Hal nodded. "It does. But I'm still not sure about the three of us being under the same roof."

"Then you're in luck. Because we won't be under this roof for much longer."

Hal raised an eyebrow.

It turned out that the owners of the barber shop Leo worked for were thinking of retiring. And since Leo had spent most of his youth saving money, he was able to make the couple an offer for both the shop and the flat upstairs.

Hal assumed that their move meant Pearl would just settle on haunting Leo's old flat, but the ghost had shown quite enthusiastic at the thought of moving with them. When Hal asked her why, Pearl had simply told him that someone had to look after the both of them. Further probing with questions had only aggravated her, Hal noted.

And despite how bizarre their situation was, only one day later they were inspecting Leo's new flat.

"I'm really liking this place" Pearl said, regarding the flat "but I'm still not sold on it completely."

"Why not?" Leo asked.

"There's a spider nest in one of the bedrooms."

Hal recoiled in disgust.

Leo smiled. "You know, this might be the first time the two of you actually agree on something."

"Well did you get rid of it?" Hal asked Pearl.

"I can barely touch anything at all, and you want me to get close to something like that?"

"You're a ghost, nothing can happen to you."

"Well that thing isn't in my room, so it's not my problem."

Hal paused. "You've already picked rooms?"

"Of course."

"Pearl, you're a ghost, you don't need to sleep."

"So that means I have to stay outside like a dog?"

"I didn't say that, I simply-" Hal turned to his left. "Leo?"

"You can have my room, Pearl."

Hal couldn't believe his ears. "And where do you intend to sleep?"

"After spending weeks chained-up in a cellar, I don't think sleeping on a sofa will be any problem."

Hal sighed. "Fine, but I'm still not getting that spider nest."

"Hal, you've lived five hundred years of blood and chaos, and you're afraid of a few spiders?"

"They're filthy creatures."

"Five hundred years?" Pearl asked. "No one told me we were rooming with a grandfather."

Leo stood back as the two continued their banter, happy that, for once, something had gone his way. He was now in charge of a barber shop all by himself, and he had two friends to keep him company. Leo regarded his new life, and resolved to enjoy the calm while it lasted.