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[furiousfists]

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[nightyorb]

Once Riz would've been easier to find.

When he was younger and a newly minted private investigator (and before that, an unlicensed one), he had put up flyers everywhere trying to get clients. If there was a notice board, you'd be sure to find a Gukgak Investigations flyer. Not so much, these days. He still wants to help people, but he has no time for lost pets or cheating husbands.

Right now, Riz is bent low over his desk, comparing several files, and scribbling notes on a notepad. Around him, the little studio apartment can only be described as organised chaos. A very small (and poorly stocked) kitchenette and an old loveseat are the only acknowledgements that Riz has a body that still occasionally needs things other than to make things right. The rest of the room though is entirely given over to stacks and stacks of case files, nearly every inch of the walls covered in case boards displaying several in progress cases.

Riz doesn't look up when he hears a faint scratching near the window, squinting tired eyes at the almost endless seemingly ledgers as he tries to find the small, so easy to miss discrepancies that will ultimately tighten the net around his next target.

"You are not an actual cat. You don't need me to open the window for you."

On the window sill, Kalina flicks an ear at him with a silent huff, before phasing through the window.

[furiousfists]

As Adaine walks, it starts to sink in that the Bastion City she's seeing now has changed from the Bastion City she's used to. Not in an overt, obvious way. But the people on the streets have their heads down, speaking in hushed whispers about some criminal or other being "brought to justice." Only, whatever "justice" they've been brought to doesn't seem to be a matter for celebration. Large crystal screen billboards display news stories showcasing dead bodies under sheets, a swarm of police officers cordoning off the area, and speak of anonymous whistleblowers, letting the victims' crimes come to light after their deaths.

The Locate Creature spell finally fades, and Adaine will need to rest before she can cast it again. But it doesn't matter, because a different creature locates her instead. Adaine is distrustful of Kalina, of course, but follows her when promised the cat will lead her back to Riz. The whole way there, Adaine's mind is spinning with questions. Since when are Kalina and Riz working together? Where are the others? How much time has passed in between Riz arriving in this apparent future and Adaine herself following?

Kalina leads Adaine up a fire escape to a closed window. She hears a voice inside chiding the cat, at which point Kalina phases inside. Brow furrowed, Adaine steps closer to the glass, and raps her knuckle against it.

"What about me? Will you open the window for a friend?"

[nightyorb]

Riz jolts up at the unexpected voice, turning his face towards the window.

It's difficult to tell if Riz is really much older, or if it is just exhaustion making his face look wan and drawn. The bags underneath his eyes have gone from merely dark to downright bruised looking, and his skin has the slightly sallow look of someone who doesn't spend a lot of time in the sun. And hasn't gotten much sleep on top of that to boot.

Inexplicably his hair still looks amazing, though.

Riz tosses down his pen, and rushes to the window, pushing it open to let Adaine in. The clear joy in his smile doesn't fully dispel the exhaustion clinging to his every inch, but it goes a long way.

"Adaine!"

[furiousfists]

Exhaustion has always tinged Riz's features. So it is indeed hard for Adaine to tell whether the wear and tear Riz is showing is due to age, or too much work on too little sleep. She didn't think it was possible for Riz to look even more tired than he normally did, but clearly she was wrong.

She crawls inside, stepping into Riz's office and giving the room a cursory glance before turning her attention back to Riz. However, even once she turns to face him, her eyes keep flitting uneasily in Kalina's direction. She's hoping Riz will be insightful enough to pick up on her discomfort at having the Shadowcat around without her needing to say it aloud.

"Um. Hi. You, ah..." She doesn't know what to say, especially not with Kalina's ears listening.

"Looks like you beat me here."