Xaviers!

The trip from Japan to the UK was long and tedious, but uneventful for the most part. Colette had made use of the delay between their arrival back on the mainland and their flight departure to actually see a little bit of the country, but it was merely for her to help kill time and give her mind something else to think about other than worry about Basil or moping over Chisaki's parting with the elder Spencer again. For her the trip was far more emotionally draining than physically - the girl have absolutely no problem with any sort of cramped traveling conditions; though the same couldn't be said of her traveling companions. The keys jingled as Colette opened the door to the mostly stripped-down townhouse, the cardboard boxes still stacked on the floor or sitting on the counter, open and in the process of being filled.

"You boz must be so tired... please, come inside. I can make us some tea, or you can rest on ze beds upstairs if you like. Please excuse me, I had forgotten zat zings are still a mess, but I can retrieve some linens if you give me a moment." The woman's small rolling suitcase made it as far as the living room before it was forgotten, unimportant to her purpose at that moment.

"Oh God no stairs," Diego groaned before plopping onto the couch and resting his floofy head on the armrest.

Chisaki smiled at Diego's antics.

"I would like something to drink. May I?" She asked Colette.

"I'm pretty thirsty myself," said the quiet boy-ninja absently as he followed them inside, his thoughts elsewhere.

Colette looked to Chisaki before she spoke. "Normally it would be ze responsibility of ze host to prepare ze refreshments, but you are more zan welcome to do so if you wish. In truz, your tea-brewing skills are probably superior to my own."

"Chase? Diego? Will tea suffice, or do you require somezing more robust?" Even if she was handing the reigns over to Chisaki she still wanted to be a good hostess.

"Tea would be great," Chase answered with a nod, "As long as it isn't herbal."

Diego let out a brief snore and adjusted for comfort. Just like a cat to sleep at the drop of a hat.

The pastel entity milled about the kitchen, making her and Chase some Lady Grey she found in the cupboard. Routing through their utensils drawer, Chisaki's cuteness instinct immediately locked onto tea infuser with a bee charm on it, taking it for herself without really thinking about it. Tea of course was Basil's territory, so the two different mugs that were pulled from the cabinet were both very much his aesthetic.

Without really thinking she presumed tea wasn't so much Diego's 'jam', and looked through the fridge to see if she found anything sugar-y and sweet in there that an American might enjoy. She settled on a bottle of Fanta Orange, opening it with a bottle opener shaped like an ornate skeleton key and placing it down next to the sleeping boy on the coffee table.

While Chisaki focused on the tea, Colette looked for something to go with it. Having intended to move out she had been letting the pantry go bare, but given her usual diet that meant that things like meats and vegetables had disappeared - biscuits and other sweets were still on the menu. Her body shifted and warped itself around the other girl as she worked, something Chisaki probably hadn't witnessed before as during their time spent together as roommates she endeavored to be as human as possible; with the exception of getting dressed, of course. With her defying regular human constraints like the length and number of limbs, it did not take her long to assemble a small selection of nibbles to accompany the tea, which she set on the coffee table in the living room.

"Zis... is actually razer nice. We really should have invited our friends over more often." Colette said softly, thinking about better times, moving some folded curtains off of one of the chairs so that she had a place to sit.

In true cat fashion, the sound of food snapped Diego to attention.

"Ooh, coo- I mean biscuits. And a soda. Nice. Thanks," he grinned, drinking some of the Fanta.

"So, what is our next step?" She asked, more addressed to Chase and Colette than Diego.

"We talk to the Spencers. It's better to wait until we actually know something before talking to Mrs. Benson," Chase answered.

Colette wrung her hands a little bit.

"I... and definitely not looking forward to ze latter conversation."

"Maybe the first conversation will ... prime the pump? Is that an idiom?"

"I mean, it's an idiom. Sounds a bit odd but I guess it works. Assuming Collette is the pump."

Colette pulled her phone out from her breast pocket, looking at the device almost absent-mindedly before she began to tap on the screen.

"I... really should not be delaying zings furzer. Even if I am told zat I cannot rush zings, I cannot stop zinking zat every moment I am not looking for Basil is a moment wasted.

"I have sent word to madame Dafne telling ze Spencer household to expect our call. Perhaps zis will help cut zrough any... what is ze word for when one wastes someone else's time, a roundabout?"

Chisaki shrugged as someone answered the phone.

"Hullo hullo!" Dafne's voice cheerily greeted.

Colette fumbled with her phone as though she had forgotten it. "Oui allo! Madame Spencer, how are you? I hope zat zis is not a bad time."

"Finding an opportune time around Offley Place is like finding a useful fuck boi." She replied, sounding unconcerned.

"What can we do for you?"

"Well, ze truz of ze matter is zat I have a friend here who would like to ask you some more questions in relation to Basil. Would zis be acceptable?" Colette left out the part about the trip to Japan, she assumed that they were either already informed, or that it was something she could share later.

Dafne hesitated awkwardly.

"Well yea, but you know him better than we do lovey. Not sure how we could help.

Full disclosure, Gus and Hugo can hear this right now."

"No, I do not zink zat you fully understand. Zese questions effect or concern Basil, but not all are about him. Zat Monsieurs are present as well is all ze better."

Colette offered her phone to Chase, already set to speakerphone. "Monsieur Delacroix, if you would be so kind."

"Hello. I'm sure you know who I am from your research into Basil, so I'll skip the introductions. What we want to know is, and I don't mean any insult, if anyone in your family or its orbit has the motive and temperament to make sure Basil can't stand to inherit anything. It wouldn't be the first time someone of means made a potential problem disappear and we're struggling to find a place to start looking."

He wouldn't admit knowing about The Board unless he had to.

"you of course realize we're aristocracy?

It's a difficult question to answer, Chase Tristan Delacroix." She replied, suggesting she may know who he is better than he does. The broad smile that painted itself across her face could be described by some as a little unnerving.

"By the very nature of it, the moment we cast suspicion on one of our relatives, we cast suspicions upon ourselves as well.

For example, Our brother Emil is a right little shite, one I am sure Gus wouldn't be too torn up over suffering an unfortunate accident. And if he were to befall a tragic fate, with uncle Eddie and cousin Basil now being AWOL, Gus could make a case that they are the rightful next in line after our father buys the farm.

By the old ways, Gus would have been denied access to such, but the world is changing and even our circles must embrace some level of the change if we wish to survive...."

Chase's train of thought derailed at the mention of his middle name, which he had forgotten until that moment. He cast a 'little help please' look around the room, as his next question eluded him.

"Madame Spencer, please." Colette's voice sounded particularly pleading as she spoke. "For monz now, my boyfriend has been held captive, or worse. I am at fault for zis, at least in part; boz for his disappearance, and for wasting so much time due to my own stupidity. We have visited Edmond, and he has given us all of ze help zat he can. Now I am turning to you and your family again and asking for your assistance. If you can help us eliminate ze places we should not be looking, and focus on ozers where we should, zen I would be eternally grateful and forever in your debt.

"I do not wish to put you in a difficult position, but I - I just - I miss him so much." She slipped back into French again as she started to get choked up, she always was so emotional. Even with everyone telling her it was alright she had difficulty enjoying her time in Japan, it all seemed so frivolous and selfish of her.

"Wait, you found Uncle Eddie? And he was still alive and not under the influence of some necromantic magic or some shite?"

"Yeah. It's not our place to say where but he was perfectly fine... if a little out of touch with current society."

Colette pulled herself together, looking as though she was a bit surprised by Dafne's reaction. "What? Like it was difficult? I zought zat you were simply ignoring him."

Dafne narrowed her eyes a bit, but laughing despite herself.

"Oh? What gave you that impression?" She asked, only faultering slightly but recovering pretty well, all things considered.

"Well, you seemed more concerned wiz ze consequences of his potential reappearance, razer zan his well-being. Zough I should apologize, perhaps I received ze wrong impression. But zat is beside ze point, we are looking for Basil, not Monsieur Spencer."

"Then we're back to the original question again, which is who would stand to gain from kidnapping your beau for the betterment in our shared lineal descendancy." She responded, chewing on her lip.

"I shant amend my answer that just about any of us would stand to gain from Basil's disappearance, in one way or another. If you think having a mutant relative is hard in the lower classes, rest assured it's not any better up here.

Therefore, the bit we should be leaning on is the temperament bit. Who has the stomach to disappear yet another one of our relative so hard, that the original one worms out of the woodwork to see what all the commotion is about. And further, I think it stands to reason that it's not anyone privy to this call. Granting you an audience only serves to weaken our ability to hide our indiscretions, and grants us nothing in terms of return.

Unless we were a trio of sadists.

Hugo?" She calls out to someone not in frame, leaning back and forth to spot the person. " Any sadistic tendencies you'd like to share with the rest of us? " She queried of the unseen person, clearly having a laugh at his expense.

"Not in the least. I'm told I'm really quite boring," Hugo said in a professional tone.

Dafne winced.

"My condolences to the apparently multiple theys who had to endure your incredibly vanilla lifestyle in order for there to be a consensus formed."

Well, that sort of answered a question no one asked.

"Anyone particularly aggressive that you can think of?" Chase asked, hoping he'd never be that dry a person.

Dafne again looked at someone off camera.

"Mx. Gus, do you have any opinions on the subject or should I just start spewing all of our family secrets?"

"Well they've taken it upon themselves to go this far down the rabbit hole, haven't they?"

Dafne arched a blow and licked her teeth with a smack, then sighed.

"Alright.

You tell me what you know about Edmond, and I'll share what *I* know about the family.

In detail."

"I'm not comfortable divulging his location but anything else I know is fair game. Will that be a problem?"

"You're not very good at give and take, are you?"