Alicia is leaning against a tree with notebook in hand. She's drawing in it, eyes focused upon the paper with intent. She's wearing a pair of sweats, not her typical farmhouse attire.

Elan moves into the compound, and gives a waves to Alicia. "Heya," he says as he moves towards the center of the place. He looks up at the evening sky and stands there for a second, just looking.

Alicia lifts her gaze up from the notepad and watches Elan for a moment -- then smiles. "Good Evening Elan-Rhya." She mummers, finally putting the pad and pen away and off to the side.

Elan looks down. "Oh, yes. How are you?" He walks over to the Gaian. "Sketching?"

It's not long after Elan's arrival that Bernie comes into view, seeming slightly out of breath. Alicia gets a wide, bright smile, and a wave, before the Ragabash pads over toward the pair, and stops, waiting a moment to recover completely from -- apparently -- the run, before speaking.

Alicia smiles and wiggles her fingers over to Bernie, then picks up the pad, showing the Elder Gnawer. "Yup. Just finishing up some artwork of the forest."

Elan looks over at the sketchpad, then glances up as Bernie approaches. He smiles and folds his arms, standing back up. 'Wassup?' he says to the Gnawer no-moon.

Bernie grins and runs a hand through her curls, detangling them a bit as she stads up straight. "Hey," she greets them both, before answering Elan, "...y'left a note y'd be here, an' I needed t' talk t' ya, hence I'm here. So, 'f y'gotta moment?" She glances over at the sketchbook, admiring the drawing.

Elan nods to the young Cliath. "Shoot," he says.

Alicia glances up at them for a moment, raising up a brow. "Um...ya two want me ta' scoot? Or...?" She trails off a bit. Well, this is her home, kinda.. after all. "I can go ta' the..farm... "

"A'ight, well, see, since Leda crapped out on dealin' with th' whole bone situation, me an' Kaz an' Joey are doin' somethin' 'bout it instead, so parta it is, durin' that bigass banquet they're havin', I'm takin' a group t' destroy or r'move what research an' shit they got at th' school, but, y'know, they have all this security, like alarms an' cam'ras an' shit, so someone's gotta deal with that, an' Joey said you had a Gift that maybe would handle it, so, would it, an' c'n ya help out with it?" Bernie asks, with a quick shake of her head to Alicia.

Elan nods at this. "I do, indeed. I can make Weaver things stop working for a time. I'll be glad to come with you."

Alicia lets out a slight breath and slinks back down the tree to her rump -- plopping down easily. Tucking the pad away inside her backpack, she zips it up quickly and listens.

Elan considers for a bit. "Which ones of you have Nobody Notice Me?"

Bernie grins. "Cool beans. An', y'mean Blur, yeah? That's kina th' main prerequisite I'm usin' on my group. I do, Collin's prolly helping, he does, I'm askin' Max an' Timinator, they both do, an' Yi if she's still 'round an' stuff... Joey does, but 'course he's doin' th' other half."

Elan nods at all these things. "When and where?"

Bernie leans briefly against a handy tree. "Thursday night, durin' th' banquet -- we'll prolly start just after it does. An', at th' school, but prolly we'll meet up at th' Church, 'cause we don' wanna be, like, loiterin', y'know? People might notice, an' shit."

Elan says "I'll be there."

Bernie grins, and straightens up with a slight bounce. "Kickass. Thanks. God, I still have so much shit t' arrange..." She shakes her head a little, and then steps over to gives Alicia a big hug.

Elan laughs a bit. "I'll be interested to see what you guys have come up with."

Alicia smiles and reaches up, wrapping her arms around the Gnawer's waist as well, hugging tightly. "Hey." A grin forms upon her lips.

Bernie squeezes the Gaian before releasing her, and looking just the slightest bit worried for a moment, despite the grin she turns back to her elder, "...well, if all goes well... it, uh, oughta go well. Heh." She sighs, looking back to Alicia. "I totally wanna hang out an' talk an' shit, but I gotta go run around s'more an' get this shit t'gether. You gonna be 'round here, 'f I get a break?"

Elan says "I'll see you later, then, OK?"

Alicia nods her head and shrugs. "Maybe.. Riting /real/ soon from what I hear.." A smirk. "Which means I'm free for the rest of the year." There's a slight eye roll. "Um.... I miss you?"

Bernie nods to Elan, and then laughs. "Cool. You c'n come over an' hang with me, fin'ly. I'll show ya th' couch, an' stuff. I miss ya, too..." She gives the girl another hug. "'case they send ya b'fore I get back... g'luck. Kick th' Rite's ass."

Alicia nods her head with a faint smile. "Thanks. Ah' just get this story over first with Andrea Rhya. Then..she tells Adam to..do what he wishes with me..an badda-bing, I'll hopefully be a cliath." Grinning, she squeezes Bernie back tightly, then kisses her on the cheek. "But, in case I die.." She trails off, teasingly. "I'll let you have all my crap."

"If you die," Bernie replies, completely deadpan, "I'll kill you." She smiles then, and ruffles her friend's hair, messing it up before she turns to go. "See ya both later -- thursday an' friday at th' latest, r'spectively, 'less you're off Ritin', 'lish." With that, she continues on out of the Compound.

Elan shifts down, then runs off as well., bushy tail wagging.

Alicia smooths back her hair and huffs some, watching the two Gnawers go. At this rate, she probably won't rite for another.. four months.

[...not much later, at the Rialto...]

Kaz is perched on the stage, reading a comic book.

Bernie comes in, looking a tad on the frazzled side, but smiling slightly anyhow. "Hey," she calls in greeting, a little breathless but reasonably cheerful.

Kaz looks up, and grins. "Yo, hey. 'Sup?"

Bernie hops up to sit on the stage beside Kaz, and then just flops backward onto the boards. Her head clunks, followed, after a pause, by an almost bewildered, "....ow." She stretches a little, pushing her hands up along the floor above her head, and then brings them down again with a sigh. "Too fuckin' many variables," she announces, "If I wan'ed t' deal with this many variables I'd be spendin' my free time studyin' Calculus. An' now that =that= whine is over, hey. How goes?"

Kaz looks down at her comic book, and then up at Bernie, as she wraps the book up in one fist. "Well, Tim's back from Portland. Ran int' some kinda shit, but he's pretty ok. Intr'duced him t'th' Brain over there." There's a pause. "So you talkin' variables on what, this skeleton shit? Oh, reminds me, I gotta coupla tickets, if they'd be useful."

Bernie nods, "Skeleton shit indeed. An' cool, on all counts..." She pauses, quickly running through her mind where tickets could fit in to the current plan. Which reminds her that the current plan isn't quite what it was the other day. "...Joey was gonna talk t' ya 'bout th' current incarnation of th' plan, he get to yet?" she asks.

Kaz shakes her head. "Nope. Well. Other than that I know there's two angles now. Grab th' skeleton an' break shit."

Bernie nods, and laughs softly. "Well, yeah, that's 'bout th' siza it... an', dammit, I still gotta figure out how t' do th' ransom without us gettin' caught. Mmph. So, yeah. An' Elan's gonna help my smashin' team, doin' th' tech-jammin' shit on th' cam'ras an' all... meanwhile, I interviewed Ling, grad student there? An' they sent bits t' University of Washington an' t' th' Smithsonian, we got anyone in those places that could make th' bits go missing, d'ya know? C'n we find out quick? An' Ling has sketches, an' I was thinkin', raccoons are good at... subtle acquisition of objects, yeah? So maybe Hood could get her satchel for us, she keeps the book an' her laptop in it, an' it with her, all th' time I saw her..." The ragabash rambles, jumping from bit to bit as her mind does.

Kaz takes this a step at a time. "'Hood can way steal small shit, yeah. I think he'd enjoy it, f'that matter. I dunno if we can get word quite so quick t'DC an' t'U Washington, but we can try. I'll get on it, yeah?"

Bernie nods. "Cool. How small is small? Like..." she lifts her hands, outlining about the size of the satchel, "...is this too big?"

Kaz shakes her head. "Nah, I think he can handle that. With enough, y'know, effort."

Bernie grins. "Cool. 'cause her sketches are too good, an' plus, who knows what's on that laptop?" She pauses, the grin dimming. "I don' wanna hafta... kill her or somethin'. She's nice, an' stuff. But she's also th' one doin' th' DNA testin', an' she's already found it's a lot like wolf DNA. She thinks, maybe it's a missin' link b'tween omnivores an' carnivores."

Kaz winces. "Shit. I'd rather see what we can do with, y'know, misdirection and stuff."

Bernie nods. "Me too," she replies, quietly but vehemently. "We're gonna go in an' destroy those results, so there shouldn't be any proof... but, y'know, she'll still know. So. Tryin' t' think what might make her think she'd messed somethin' up th' first time. But." She's lying flat on her back on the stage beside Kaz, knees dangling off the edge.

"But..." Kaz trails off. "But what, she's a good one so prolly didn't fuck up?"

Bernie nods. "Yeah, she prolly didn'.... I mean, it makes SENSE, dunnit? I'd expect us t' be closer t' wolves'n t' bears... I dunno, I think she'll find it weird, 'specially if there's other differences they notice." She sighs, and mutters, "I really wanna go find Leda an' hit her 'til I feel better."

Matt slouches into the auditorium, pausing near the front to stretch before plopping into a seat. "Fought Oi might find you 'ere, Books. Hey, Ten Speed. How are ye? Mind if Oi act the tea leaf an' steal 'er away?"

Kaz says, "Prolly, she would, but fuck, if she only got the new evidence.. Not much she can do, hey?" At sight of Matt, she grins, and shakes her head. "Hey, Matt. I ain't got no problems with that, nope."

Bernie nods at Kaz, and pushes up to sitting, smile returning, at the voice. "Hey, you. 'm I s'posta get inta a big bag labeled 'swag' for that, or's walkin' gonna do?" She glances to the Alpha a moment, thinking. "...I =think= I covered everything I hadda. If not I'll be, like, breakin' your door down shortly, yeah? An' it's okay for me t' ask 'Hood t' do that for us, yeah?"

Kaz blinks. "Shit, sure. I mean, it ain't like we can't /talk/ to him, and all..."

Matt shakes his head slowly, obviously tired. He still has his work clothes on, though the pull-over is untucked from his pants now. "Oi've not stencilled the bag yet, so ye may 'ave ta settle for ropes an' gaffer's tape."

Bernie laughs, and blushes slightly. "I'll walk. I think th' other might get, y'know, weird looks on th' street." She pushes up, hopping off the stage, and looks to Kaz again, "Oh, hey? An' with th' chain... don't just ask 'bout Gnawers? Anya us, anyone who could get t' it an' all..." A hand goes through her curls again, and she sighs. "So, yeah. Thanks."

Kaz nods. "Plannin' to, yeah. Broad skills, an' shit."

Matt shrugs, from his chair. "Ye can walk if ye like. I'm gonna spare me plates an' take the Lambretta."

Bernie giggles. "Well. I guess that'd work too." She flashes Kaz a smile and a wave, and heads out the way Matt came in.