Blaguarro Town Main Station

[Inkedust]

The railway station was the closest thing Blaguarro had to a central square.

In keeping with the town's rundown nature, only the bare minimum was taken into consideration here. A pair of metallic platforms flanked the railway with little care for shade or seating. Only a few shoddy sets of stairs that led down to the dusty ground were built to accommodate the platforms.

During the height of noon, the platforms were unbearably hot, only cooling off by sunset, so townies (particularly drunkards) only showed up at night. Unless, of course, a train were to come through. Then, a congregation of anxious and startled pokémon would edge in, eyeing both train and driver suspiciously from behind buildings. Very few had the confidence to approach out in the open.

 

[Inkedust]

It was late morning by the time the train arrived to Blaguarro. Just as promised, the selected volunteers were awoken by a maus at dawn and were promptly led to the station by Bellatrix where the train rested. Jaak had waited patiently just outside the station with a friendly smile and wave.

The ride, fortunately, remained dull and uneventful. Jaak remained in one piece and there was no hide or scale of any monstrous charmeleon, allowing for plenty of opportunity to plan and idly small-talk. The goal for this trip was simple: gather as many clues as possible pertaining to Terminal Two's whereabouts and whatever security measures might be in place. Then, the team would return and discuss their findings with those in Frontier Town.

When the train came to a stop, all that was left to do was to wait for Jaak to come around and open the car. Instead, a second voice rang out from just outside.

"Ya have a lotta nerve to come back here, city boy!"

Those who had landed in Blaguarro would, unfortunately, recognise it belonging to the gabite Ryder.

"Just doin' my job," replied Jaak, unbothered by the gabite. The side of the car opened, blinding everyone inside with bright morning light.

Bellatrix was the first to hop out, acknowledging Ryder with an unamused stare. The gabite inhaled sharply. "You brought them back!?" he shrieked, voice cracking.

"Yes, wonderful to see you again," Bellatrix replied dryly.

 

[Butterfree]

Dave spent most of the train ride pacing restlessly back and forth. He was getting real fucking sick of the name Blaguarro. Okay, so this time they were heading there in daylight, on a train, which was an improvement. And maybe they'd find out something about Terminal Two. But the skin of his whole shoulder and flank was still fucking itching and numb, the fur coarser than the rest of him, and as far as Dave was concerned he wanted to be at the Haus sleeping for a fucking week already, which was what he had meant to be doing after the little trip to the cabin. Why was everyone even in such a goddamn hurry? They'd already missed their chance with the wagon; what difference did it make when they checked on the stupid hick town full of obnoxious brutes? Fuck all this.

(To boot this was all at the behest of Mr. Humans-Sure-Are-Great, which was obviously such a great fucking idea, brilliant, let's follow him to the place with the murderbeasts. But when he'd brought that up Wes had told him he'd talked to Jaak and was pretty damn sure he wasn't one of the supremacist types. Which was good, he supposed, and was why Dave had even agreed at all, but everyone else sure hadn't had much reason to trust him.)

He wished he could have even been surprised when as soon as they got off the train they were being harassed by one of the very same idiots from back then. He was not in the mood to even deal with these shitheads right now. Instead he just have Ryder a withering glare and hoped the rest of the group would not try to start some inane conversation.

 

[Goat]

The new orbit of Astrid’s own world may have decimated the old seasons in lieu of new ones, but the planet’s rotation—the daily cycle—had remained untouched, somehow. So she had always woken up at dawn for one unfortunate reason or another. Now at the whims of Forlas’s orbit around a different star… today was no different.

Astrid took only a moment to taste the air of Frontier Town before departing, frowning at the distant smell of iron.

I wonder if I should make small talk with the others on the train with me? Get some mutual familiarity going? That would be smart… she thought to herself approximately forty-five seconds before passing out in her seat. She slept like a log for the rest of the trip.

When they landed, Astrid groggily slithered out of her seat and got a proper footing once she was on the tarmac. They were in a glorified outpost, it seemed… not glamorous at all. Her shoulders loosened and she looked almost relieved, though the occasional nosy observer watching the train roll in did give her pause a couple times.

“We’re not here to get in the way. Just to mind our own. My name’s Astrid, uhh.” The Gabite ‘greeting’ them didn’t seem like he’d care at all. Down to business then. “You seem like a… smart guy, uh. Anything we ‘oughta know before stepping into town?”

 

[Shadow Serenity]

How in the seven hells did morning people function? When the maus woke her that morning, Kimiko had half a mind to just roll over and go back to sleep. But then, that's not why she'd come here, was it? She'd agreed to go, with the thought that she was one of the more rational ones, and it wouldn't do to make a poor impression. That didn't stop her from wondering why they couldn't have left three hours later.

She'd spent the majority of the train ride pointedly ignoring most of the others, resting her eyes (but not actually sleeping) while she listened to them chatter in case anything important or relevant came up. Half of them seemed to be members of the first 'investigation' group, which unsettled her a bit. Not that getting attacked out of the blue was their fault, but she'd considered the whole 'pretend to be a prisoner' plan itself insane from the beginning. Maybe getting derailed before even arriving at Terminal Two had been a blessing in disguise.

At least there were a few faces she felt she could reasonably trust. She'd had a very brief spar with Andre, Odette had proven to be a thinker, and while she hadn't seen the vulpix - Astrid, was it? - since they'd landed in Gerome's bar, she'd been amicable then.

Kimiko had hoped to feel a bit more rested when they arrived, but the train ride was far faster than she'd expected. She muttered a curse under her breath when the door was opened and, even through her closed eyes, the light burned. It took a few moments of blinking to adjust enough to see, then she dragged herself outside at the tail end of the group.

 

[Hap]

Thanks to his shitty sleep schedule, Ridley had been, depending on your perspective, already awake or still awake at the time the maus came to fetch him.

His travelling companions, on the other hand, mostly seemed to be varying degrees of groggy or bad-tempered about their early start. Not a lot of morning people here, obviously. Ridley knew most of them, although he'd never spoken to the zorua or the yellow snivy before and had only interacted with the Alolan vulpix - Aster? Astrid? something like that - peripherally during the events at the gala.

Ridley didn't realise he'd been half-expecting another Witching Beast attack until he found himself relieved when the train rolled into Blaguarro Town after a blissfully uneventful journey.

The town itself, though... Ridley looked around, noting the crowd of suspicious people eyeballing them from a safe distance. Well, this place certainly didn't seem as friendly and welcoming as Frontier Town or Little Scriven.

And the welcoming committee was -

The gabite inhaled sharply. "You brought them back!?" he shrieked, voice cracking.

Well, that certainly sounded like an interesting story.

 

[JFought]

Isidora was quiet through most of the train ride, only speaking when spoken to or when she felt her input was needed. She wasn't feeling very friendly today. Being stuck with humans never helped, but it wasn't just that. The air felt as if it were concealing a hidden claw, knowing the dangers that could potentially await them. There wasn't much room to be friendly. This was business, and she was going to treat it as such.

After her eyes adjusted to the light, Isidora spitefully ignored Ryder and jumped down onto the platform. "Thanks for the ride, Jaak." She could feel the heat of the metal lick around the edges of her sandals: times like these she had to thank her foresight in grabbing them. It was hard to say she 'preferred' the open air when just about everywhere felt like standing in an oven, but the day wasn't at full heat yet, and she had regained a strong enough control over her ice powers that she was starting to get used to mitigating it. Really, she was just glad to not be in a stuffy train car with at least four confirmed humans anymore.

She tugged at her new scarf. She was still getting used to the way it felt around her neck.

“You seem like a… smart guy, uh. Anything we ‘oughta know before stepping into town?”

Isidora had her back turned to them as she spoke. "Don't bother with him. There's nothin' useful behind his eyes." Normally she would have felt bad insulting a gabite like that, but she was willing to make a special exception for Ryder. After looking around a bit, she threw an uncaring glance back at him. "Where's your skarmory friend?"

 

[Sinderella]

Odette had naturally been an early riser, but something about getting up before the ass-crack of dawn just felt sacrilegious. But she couldn't confidently say she was tired. Whether that was her natural affinity for being up early or her own lingering adrenaline around the scenarios she'd come up with while she was trying to sleep the night before, it was hard to tell.

She was certain she recognized everyone who had gotten on the train with her. Kimiko was a relatively welcome, familiar sight. She might have been pleased to see Andre and Ridley, but she had half a mind to ask either one of them if they really thought going back to where they had their asses beat was a good idea, helpful insight aside. Same to Wes and Dave, but she wasn't sure what kind of rapport she had with either one of them and picking a fight on an enclosed train hardly felt like a good idea. It was bound to set some bad juju inside a situation that was already teeming with something ominous. She'd have to suck up her choice words and let them go. Or maybe keep them on standby in case Isidora was game to do some more glaring today. The vulpix was a wild card; she only knew her from the battle at the safe. She seemed okay.

Nonetheless, Odette wasn't set on doing any talking so early in the morning. She settled into a corner with her journal and a pen, and spent the whole ride over writing down her hypothesis' on Terminal Two and the Witching Beasts. She was constantly flipping between pages, referencing previous notes, and writing down new ones. She didn't have much to go on, but she was best off being even slightly prepared than not at all.

When they finally arrived, she understood what Sonora was talking about--now, taking it in without screaming locals up her back, it really did look like a shithole town. Of course, this would be the place where illicit experimentation was happening; nobody would question it.

The "screaming locals" thing didn't last very long, with the almost comical arrival of that same gabite that had accused her of being a Witching Beast not weeks ago. A deadpan look crossed her face, and she settled her journal into the crook of her elbow and placed her free hand on her hip.

"Calm the fuck down; you're gonna tear your vocal cords at the rate you're cracking right now," she retorted. "Or is that the normal Blaguarro welcome?"

 

[HelloYellow17]

Oh, for the love of—Wes snarled at the cocky lizard bastard, but didn’t bother to give a snide remark as several others had beat him to it. He was content to ignore the guy completely, but then the Sneasel he recognized from their first landing had to go and ask about the damn Skarmory.

No, no, hell no. Wes was perfectly happy to never see her again, thank you very much, and he recalled her not being very friendly either, so why would they need her around in the first place?

He huffed irritably and hopped out of the car, pushing roughly past Ryder and taking in the town once again. Precious little sleep the night before, plus being back here in such a hostile place, plus retracing their steps past where the shadow Charmeleon had made it’s appearance all had Wes on edge to a degree he hadn’t felt in a long time. Consciously trying to keep his hackles from bristling noticeably, he swept his gaze over the platform, taking note of the many pairs of eyes peeking out from shadows and around corners.

“Right,” he said, loudly enough for both Jaak and Ryder to hear. “What’s next? Where to?”

He heard a frightened squeak from somewhere to his left. Sands, these mon were terrified. Could they have encountered the shadow Charmeleon too…?

Wes cleared his throat and relaxed his stance a little, raising a paw to extend it in the direction he’d heard the noise. “It’s, um…it’s all right,” he said more gently, his voice a little scratchy from tiredness. “We’re here to help. We won’t harm you—any of you.”

It was a slim chance that it would help, but it was worth a shot.

 

[Inkedust]

Ryder looked like he was a hair trigger away from flying into a screaming rant, a look that Jaak snickered at. Ryder glared at the vigoroth before crossing his arms, eyes narrowing defensively. It looked like he wasn't going to stand down any time soon. Bellatrix stepped to the side and sat down no doubt looking forwards to the ensuing entertainment.

“We’re not here to get in the way. Just to mind our own. My name’s Astrid, uhh.” The Gabite ‘greeting’ them didn’t seem like he’d care at all. Down to business then. “You seem like a… smart guy, uh. Anything we ‘oughta know before stepping into town?”

Isidora had her back turned to them as she spoke. "Don't bother with him. There's nothin' useful behind his eyes." Normally she would have felt bad insulting a gabite like that, but she was willing to make a special exception for Ryder. After looking around a bit, she threw an uncaring glance back at him. "Where's your skarmory friend?"

"Don't play dumb with me!" Ryder snapped, pointing an accusatory claw at some of the members who'd initially landed in Blaguarro. "I knew that them showing up outta nowhere was a bad sign. You think we're stupid enough to not notice unnatural things happening since?" He looked towards Isidora with a growl. "Think I care what Erva thinks? She's too thick-skulled to notice anything despite being the day watch-mon. Those towers are addling her brain, I tell ya!"

"Calm the fuck down; you're gonna tear your vocal cords at the rate you're cracking right now," she retorted. "Or is that the normal Blaguarro welcome?"

Then, the voice of a familiar mawile caused the gabite to freeze in place. He trembled though it was impossible to tell if it was from anger or fear. "I am calm!" he shouted back.

He very clearly wasn't.

“Right,” he said, loudly enough for both Jaak and Ryder to hear. “What’s next? Where to?”

"You get out!" Ryder answered instantly. Though at this point, it was probably wise to consider every word out of the gabite's mouth background noise. Jaak certainly thought so as he scratched his chin, considering Wes' question.

"Let's see," Jaak began. "Asking the locals around would be a good start, of course, though you can also start looking around for any clues if you think you can manage on your own."

Wes cleared his throat and relaxed his stance a little, raising a paw to extend it in the direction he’d heard the noise. “It’s, um…it’s all right,” he said more gently, his voice a little scratchy from tiredness. “We’re here to help. We won’t harm you—any of you.”

The group Wes approached looked at him then back at each other with skeptical stares. "Is what he says about yous true?" asked a young scraggy after a moment. "That yous the reason why folks are vanishing in the middle of broad daylight?"

That caused Bellatrix's ears to perk.

 

[Shadow Serenity]

Gods, it was way too early to be dealing with this.

It seemed like the group that crash landed in this area had left quite an impression on this gabite. She almost snapped back, "Do you know a machoke named Dayle, by chance?" but caught herself. She knew no one in their group was responsible for whatever unnatural events he was blabbering about, but she also knew of the off-worlders' background situation. This guy likely did not, and it wouldn't do anyone any good to entertain that thought, either. Besides, starting fights with the locals was not why they'd made this trip. They needed cooperation.

Her tired eyes drifted to a small group of 'mon addressing the blue rockruff. People vanishing in broad daylight... caravans of 'mon no one would notice being missing... Maybe they could get a general idea of where that terminal was.

Kimiko turned to Jaak, pointedly directing her questions at their guide rather than the frenzied conspiracy theorist dragon. "What exactly are these 'unnatural' activities around here? Is there any truth to that?" she asked, gesturing to the little scraggy. Did people actually see anyone vanish in broad daylight or was this a case of someone walking around a corner and out of sight? "And if so... do any of the missing have anything in common? Species, elemental affinity, location they were last seen...?"

 

[Sinderella]

"I am calm!" he shouted back.

“Right. And I’m purple,” she said politely as she stepped around him, taking one solid look around the immediate area. She took notice of some hidden pairs of eyes, and the timid postures of everyone who lingered close enough for her to see.

Gods. Everyone looked so scared.

She briefly searched for signs of any murkrow.

"Let's see," Jaak began. "Asking the locals around would be a good start, of course, though you can also start looking around for any clues if you think you can manage on your own."

Ask the locals around my ass, she said. Not a single ‘mon in the immediate area looked keen on speaking. She felt like she’d have a better chance hunting down the charmeleon that scorched the initial group and asking him to dance a waltz with her. She sent Jaak a dubious look.

“You really weren’t kidding when you said the ones who live here aren’t gung-ho for strangers,” she said quietly. “What are the odds any one of them would even speak to us?”

"That yous the reason why folks are vanishing in the middle of broad daylight?"

No sooner had she asked did she happen to glance over and catch Wes mingling with some of the locals already. She stepped closer without thinking about it, very interested to hear where this was going to go. She wasn’t disappointed. If anything, she was a little dumbfounded.

There wasn’t any talk of people disappearing in broad daylight in Frontier Town, which told her that it was either another shitty rumor, or it was only happening here. If it was the latter…

She’d thought it herself; it was a shithole. If she had to guess, the ‘mon who lived here weren’t exactly the wealthiest. Poverty-stricken might have been a nice way to word it.

If she were to get into the mind of someone running a nefarious institution called Terminal fucking Two, and said someone couldn’t get ahold of the prisoners or throwaways from a place like Frontier Town, then the next best tree for pickings would be exactly where they set up shop; the destitute town with its destitute residents no one would miss.

That was a lot to draw from a mere question without another follow-up, though.

“Who the hell is saying that?” she muttered to nobody in particular. “How does a ‘mon go missing in broad daylight? And how long has that been a problem?”

 

[Butterfree]

The group Wes approached looked at him then back at each other with skeptical stares. "Is what he says about yous true?" asked a young scraggy after a moment. "That yous the reason why folks are vanishing in the middle of broad daylight?"

Dave squinted at the Scraggy. "Hang on, what the fuck? What do you mean, vanishing in the middle of broad daylight?" That didn't sound like getting attacked by monsters - at least not if they thought the cause was them. "Like, just poof into thin air?"

 

[HelloYellow17]

Wes blinked at the reptilian mon who spoke up—a young one, judging by the voice and baby-ish face, and the fear in the poor kid’s eyes stirred something within him. “I…what? No, what that guy is saying isn’t true,” he said gently. “He’s probably just scared and looking for someone to blame.” He raised his voice to ensure Ryder would hear that comment.

“We’re here to…to find out what’s going on. And to help.” If we can. “Can you tell us more about these disappearances?”

 

[Inkedust]

Jaak looked at Kimiko and shrugged. "Exactly what I told ya few days back," he replied. "More sightings of them beasts, attacks and supplies going missing." He scratched his chin. "'Mon going missing is new to me though."

Scraggy shrank back a little by the sudden influx of attention but gave a few quick nods. "Yeah! Like when yous are following a 'mon walking down the street but then they turn the corner and then poof! Gone! Can happen to anyone too. Ryder's sayin' it's the same thing that caused yous to appear here."

Ryder shot the scraggy a harsh glare causing a few of the scraggy's peers to hush him and pull him away from the odd strangers.

She briefly searched for signs of any murkrow.

Odette didn't have to search for long. A small murder was found congregating on the roof of a nearby building squawking amongst themselves but if she was to listen closely...

'That fraud Ignatius is done for! Done for! Done for! Fraud! Fraud! Fraud! Ignatius!'

"I think they know about the wagons now," Bellatrix said quietly to Odette. "That charmeleon was almost certainly sent."

 

[Sinderella]

Scraggy shrank back a little by the sudden influx of attention but gave a few quick nods. "Yeah! Like when yous are following a 'mon walking down the street but then they turn the corner and then poof! Gone! Can happen to anyone too. Ryder's sayin' it's the same thing that caused yous to appear here."

Odette narrowed her eyes and began gnawing on her bottom lip as she began to think more on it.

The same thing that caused us to appear…

She shot a look back at Ryder. “And what’s this thing you think caused us to appear?” As far as she knew, it was the Cloud, but if the squealing dragon had anything else to say about it…

'That fraud Ignatius is done for! Done for! Done for! Fraud! Fraud! Fraud! Ignatius!'

"I think they know about the wagons now," Bellatrix said quietly to Odette. "That charmeleon was almost certainly sent."

It was hard to focus on what the squeaky gabite had to say, though, because all she could hear at the very tip of her eardrum was the murkrow murmuring among one another. Ignaughty’s name coming up made her shoulders tense.

“Yeah, something like that,” Odette whispered back, not taking her eyes off the murkrow. “How the fuck would it have gotten out? Murkrow blabbing? Or maybe someone close to Igidiot?”

Her eyes briefly darted toward the horizon, possibly too fast to notice unless one were looking closely. “If it was sent, what are the chances they up that fire power now that we’ve got a more organized group here?” she added.

 

[JFought]

"Think I care what Erva thinks? She's too thick-skulled to notice anything despite being the day watch-mon. Those towers are addling her brain, I tell ya!"

"Got it, she's on lookout." The town's watchguard were likely to know the most about what was going on, though Isidora was concerned about whether they'd be all that cooperative, Erva especially. Can't know until you try.

The scraggy's comments about missing pokémon got her attention, though he was pulled away before she could ask anything. For that group to believe Ryder's word and respond like that to his glare -- How much respect does he command around here? She couldn't believe his word was worth that much, but if he was spreading rumors...

Isidora made sure to keep an ear out for his response to Odette while she marched right up to the group and crossed her arms. "You say it can happen to anyone? Any of you know anyone who went missing?"

 

[Butterfree]

Scraggy shrank back a little by the sudden influx of attention but gave a few quick nods. "Yeah! Like when yous are following a 'mon walking down the street but then they turn the corner and then poof! Gone! Can happen to anyone too. Ryder's sayin' it's the same thing that caused yous to appear here."

Odette took the words right out of Dave's mouth: what thing exactly did they think had caused them to appear? This didn't sound like monsters, but it did potentially sound like somebody ambushing someone with an Escape Orb or the like.

He furrowed his brow. "Any Charmeleon gone missing recently, by any chance?"

 

[Shadow Serenity]

So Jaak had no new information... or well, no, that wasn't true. 'Mon going missing was news to him compared to last time. But that didn't seem to be useful info, given what the party already knew. Either the 'mon started disappearing after the cloud dropped everyone here, or it had been going on longer than that and most people, including Jaak, just hadn't been aware of it... But given the deadly effectiveness of the ambush, and Ignatius' logs, Kimiko suspected it was more likely the latter.

And he didn't seem to know anything about possible hotspots, so they'd have to seek that out on their own.

What Blaguarro considered a town wasn't quite what Kimiko was expecting, although perhaps she should have. Figures this was the spot chosen for recurring shady caravans. She had half a mind to start wandering to see if she could find any possible locations that look like they could be reasonable abduction points, but something told her splitting up wasn't a good idea - she'd suggested a smaller group originally, but even she recognized that going off solo was reckless. At this point, anyway.

So she held back. She noted Odette and Astrid whispering to each other, probably not wanting the gabite, or possibly even Jaak, to overhear.

Meanwhile, a few others were engaged with the little scraggy, peppering the young-looking 'mon with questions. Kimiko felt a little guilty - he looked young, and they were treating this like an interrogation, throwing question after question at him. But looking at the town that awaited them, she couldn't really argue against using whatever possible source of information was willing to open up to them, either.

 

[Inkedust]

“Yeah, something like that,” Odette whispered back, not taking her eyes off the murkrow. “How the fuck would it have gotten out? Murkrow blabbing? Or maybe someone close to Igidiot?”

Her eyes briefly darted toward the horizon, possibly too fast to notice unless one were looking closely. “If it was sent, what are the chances they up that fire power now that we’ve got a more organized group here?” she added.

"The consequences of the Gala was all Frontier Town could talk about the following day," Bellatrix answered. "One, or two, or several must have overheard it and mimicked it to show off. Then it was only a matter of time for word to reach here and for whoever's associated with Terminal Two to overhear. And I don't know, but that should incentivise us to not take any significant risks here."

She shot a look back at Ryder. “And what’s this thing you think caused us to appear?” As far as she knew, it was the Cloud, but if the squealing dragon had anything else to say about it…

"The fuck am I supposed to know?" snapped Ryder, not hearing anything about the murkrow. "You tell me! All I know is that it ain't natural and weird things tend to stick together. Especially appearing and disappearing acts!"

Isidora made sure to keep an ear out for his response to Odette while she marched right up to the group and crossed her arms. "You say it can happen to anyone? Any of you know anyone who went missing?"

He furrowed his brow. "Any Charmeleon gone missing recently, by any chance?"

"Nah, we don't see chars 'round these parts. Too dusty for their tails to handle. And yeah! Anyone. Like the twins, the weird shady 'mon 'round Town Hall, One-Eyed Joe and my pa," Scraggy explained, growing ever so slightly more confident. "Also I hear one of the watchmon also went missing the other night. That's what ma's been sayin' at least."

"And there is no physical evidence left behind?" Bellatrix asked, approaching the scraggy.

"Well, there's always some sign of a fight - like dirt being kicked up - but its over so quick that they may have never been there at all."

Bellatrix began to look deep in thought. "And are these spots still—"

"OI!" shouted a distant voice, old and weathered. It cut right through Bellatrix's question and startled the murkrow into fleeing. "What's all this fuss about?"

Just ahead, they could see the source; an immense aggron, lumbering towards the group, wearing her well-rusted plating with pride. Upon hearing her voice, Ryder went pale, whipping around to address her.

"Anite!?" he sputtered. "What's got you coming all the way out here? I've got the situation all under control—"

The gabite made a sharp squeak as Anite picked up by the head, unceremoniously dumping him off to the side.

"Plumbing's stopped working again, Ryder?" she asked with a low growl.

"What? No! What's that got to do with anything?!"

A mildly amused huff. "Coulda fooled me with how much shit yer full of." She looked over the group, a hard glare in her eye. "Strangers, huh?" she asked. "Don't see that everyday." She flicked her head at the scraggy. "If I heard right, you're interested in the disappearances happenin' 'round town?"

A nod from Jaak was all she needed.

"Hm." Anite's eyes narrowed. "I know you, city boy. Didn't think you as the prying type. What's got you and your little collation so interested. Better question, how'd you find out about our business in the first place?"