"Where to next?"

Andrew examined the address. "I think we're going to have to take the subway next. This one's on the other side of town."

"Subway?" Eirene questioned. Maybe she'd heard the term a few times in her life, overhearing the conversations of others, but she didn't know it was a way of travel. In fact she believed she had once seen a sandwich store named 'subway'. The look Andrew gave her made her wish she'd never asked. His gaze felt like he was judging her for her lack of knowledge about mundane things, and her ignorance bothered her too sometimes, but she couldn't help it.

"It's a popular way of underground travelling; mostly known for successful suicide attempts."

Eirene gasped and an awkward silence broke out.

He cleared his throat. "Again; only a joke,"

"You have a sardonic sense of humor, my friend." Connor raised his eyebrows. "Let's get going before it gets dark."

They started walking again, Connor leading and Andrew lagging a bit behind. Eirene looked at him from the corner of her eye; she wondered what was going through his mind. It seemed unlike him to make jokes, and she took that as a good sign—it meant that he was reaching out—but the nature of his jokes made her suspicious about his past. Did something happen that could have messed with his psyche?

Connor was leading them to the subway but made them stop several times for several reasons; a few times because he believed he had turned the wrong way.

Andrew had finally had enough of wondering around in circles. "Do you even know where you're going?"

Connor paused, walked a few feet away, followed by Andrew, to observe a street sign "I'm not even sure anymore."

Just when Eirene was going to demand he ask for directions, she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around to see a guy smiling at her. He was a few inches taller, with dirty blonde hair and green eyes.

"Hi sorry, I couldn't help noticing but…you are extremely good looking." He stuck out his hand. "I'm Nicholas."

Eirene was too taken aback by his boldness that she froze before eventually putting her hand in his. "And I'm...um, Eirene."

His smile widened, and she took notice that he was handsome. "I've never seen you around New York, do you come here often?"

"Not really I'm not—"

She felt a pair of hands pull her back and realized it was Connor. "Hey, what's going on here?" He was smiling a little too big, and eyes were strained. "Who's the guy?" He drew closer to Eirene to whisper in her ear: "I thought we had a no strangers policy?"

Nicholas's smile shrunk as he slipped his hand into his pocket. "Ah, is this your boyfriend?"

Eirene shook her head and pulled away from Connor's side. "No! Um, Connor, this is Nicholas—"

"Call me Nick." He grinned.

She cleared her throat, his smile made her feel a bit hot-headed. "Right; Nick, this is Connor. My…my friend?" She didn't mean for it to sound like a question, but this situation was just all too confusing for her.

Nick barely acknowledged Connor with a nod, turning his attention back to Eirene and asked if she'd like to go for a drink. She could feel Connor's fingers pressing into her skin as a warning.

"Oh! Uh, I'm not sure I really have time right now?" How was she supposed to answer question like that? She'd seen enough shows and watched enough people interact that she knew he was 'asking her out', but the concept still seemed so foreign to her. And she couldn't really think properly with Connor's eyes boring into her. She knew she should say no, but the guy was so nice-looking that she wanted to at least say maybe. Though before she could answer, she felt a hand on her head and turned around to see Andrew giving her a look.

Her sense seemed to set back in and she shook her head at Nick. "No, I'm sorry. But I'll be very busy for a long time."

He seemed to size up the two guys before nodding and stepping back. "I see. You even have bodyguards." He laughed and took another step back. "I'll be on my way then."

Andrew scoffed, and with his hand still on her head, started tugging her in the opposite direction. "Come along now, we have important places to be."

They all turned around and went on with their way, Connor muttering things under his breath and Andrew rolling his eyes endlessly.

"I didn't like that guy, did you like that guy? He seemed sketchy. And he smiled too much."

"His smile was nice." She laced her fingers together. "He—" She paused. Looked at her fingers, and without a second thought or a word to the guys, she sprinted off in the opposite direction, in search of Nicholas. The boys followed, calling out her name and asking what was wrong, but she didn't risk stopping for even a second; she had to find Nick, the one with the green eyes and dirty blonde hair; Nick, the one with the smooth voice and nice smile. Nick, the distracter, Nick the liar, and Nick the thief.

Gods, how could she be so stupid? This is the second time she's had her ring stolen without her knowledge, and she wanted to kick herself for it. She should know to keep a closer eye on that ring, it was the only weapon she owned whose motion and groove fit her stride perfectly. It cut through anything and disintegrated monsters thoroughly. And it had been given to her as a gift by Zeus at one of her darkest times, how could she disrespect herself and him by losing it? Trench coat, blonde hair, trench coat, blonde hair. She thought as she ran through the crowd, searching each and every back for the accursed boy.

"Damn it Eirene, where are you going?" Andrew yelled from behind her, yanking her arm and jolting her towards him. She struggled relentlessly, spewing out broken words like "Ring—stolen," before he understood and let her go. Both boys continued to chase after her until Eirene finally came to a stop as she realized that Nicholas was long gone. She started to sink to the floor when she felt herself being lifted back up by Andrew.

"He got away!" She yanked at her roots. "I can't believe I let him get away!"

Connor was breathing heavily next to her. "What, oh gods, what did he take?"

She wiggled her fingers at him. "My only weapon; my only weapon! Oh gods, why didn't I feel it when he shook my hand? Why did it take me so long to notice?" She was whining and hitting herself on the head. "I'm such an idiot, I'm such an idiot, I'm such a—"

"Idiot, yes," Connor held her wrist to keep her from bashing her fist against her skull. "But he's an even bigger idiot for thinking he can get away with this. We'll find him, eventually."

"What do you mean eventually? We have to find him now. That was my weapon he took!"

Eirene was raising her voice, and Connor had to shush her as onlookers stared. "We have a quest to finish, we have to find Dennis. Plus, people like 'nicholas' have a tendency of popping up again." He cursed. "I knew I was getting bad vibes from him."

"It's tragic yes, but you've still got your shield and…well your entire body seems to be a weapon." Andrew pointed out, trying to see the bright side of things for once. But Eirene couldn't go 'super saiyan' every time she fought. She hadn't shown it, but she was tired. She had killed a Manticore, killed off a fury, encountered a Lamia and fought off empousas all in one day. Even healing Connor had taken a toll on her, but she endured her aching muscles because she didn't want to seem like the dead weight, or slow their quest down. But the added weight of her losing her ring made her feel like collapsing into an eternal slumber.

"Can we… can we find somewhere to sleep for the night?" She asked suddenly. Looking up at the sky, it was increasingly becoming darker.

Andrew looked at his watch. "It's not very late."

Connor nodded. "And we still have to find the bakery."

She wanted to say screw the bakery, I'm tired. But nodded and followed the boys as they (finally) asked for directions and started venturing the right way. She was still in shock from what happened, and she was incredibly ashamed of herself. Her most prized possession and she couldn't keep a closer eye on it? Oh how her 'siblings' must be jumping with glee!

"Eirene, it's alright, we'll find your ring. Or we'll get you another sword." Connor tried to ease her nerves, but all he did was aggravate them. She felt it was better to keep quiet, or she might have another outburst. He just didn't understand.