Xaviers!

"I ran with Brand for a while in Paris. She's passing as normal, so the Authority hasn't picked her up. I asked her to help me out with some markings." She leaned forward, showing that the wings were attached to a raven and the raven was surrounded by sacred-looking knot work. Brand had apparently worked it into Tereza's previous tattoo of the ice-shrouded valley. The whole thing had a 'significant' feel to it.

"Mmm," she murmurs, her eyes fluttering for a moment.

"If only you knew how that feels from this end. I'm flattered, really."

"It's partially pragmatic. Marking myself as belonging to the Morrigan dulls my link to her because I'm not hers really anymore." She smirks, "It's no ring, of course."

"As if there's a priest left that would satisfy either of us on that."

"But I could get you a ring. I'm good at finding... shiny things."

"Not necessary. I prefer the tattoo," she says, leaning back and looping her arms around Sam. "I've only been back in London for a day or two. How did you find me?"

"Darling, to my eyes you light up the night sky. Those other packs sputter and spark with their clumsy fighting but you..." She runs her fingers through Tereza's hair, "...are a flame."

"Packs can afford to be clumsy... unless they're fighting me. Should I tell you about the vampire I killed in Paris?"

"You know I love to hear about a good fight."

"Well, she was sniffing around the resistance group, trying to figure out who the leaders were and they asked me to hunt her down and get rid of her. Cornered her on top of Notre Dame..." What followed was a blow-by-blow accounting that would have made some movie director's day, involving a roof-top brawl and a chase through the streets, "... and then I left her head spiked outside the Authority's office and threw her body through the window. And then I left to lay low somewhere for a while."

"Damn it, I missed all the fun."

"I've been... a bit more low-key. Some of the street gangs have gotten religion, so I've been nudging them to make some rather specific tags at key parts of the city. The Authority thinks they cleaned all of them off, but they're wrong."

"Useful that," she says, twirling some of Sam's hair around one of her fingers. "Just think of the things you can do now that you've got your werewolf back."

"Mmm, and what do you want to do now that you're back with your goddess?"

"I'm sure I'll think of something," Tereza says, pulling Sam's face to her for a kiss.

***

The next morning, Tereza stirred briefly and then her eyes opened with a snap. For a moment, her brain panicked until she remembered where she was and she relaxed with a contented sigh.

The Morrigan has gotten out of bed, letting Tereza sleep in as promised, though the sheets are still thick with her scent. Both of theirs, really. However another scent wafts over the curtains of the bed's canopy.

Bacon.

That starts the engines working and she extracts herself from the bed with a long stretch. Following her nose, she doesn't bother to get dressed and makes for the most direct route to the food.

The Morrigan is standing in front of a gas stove, cooking bacon in a cast-iron pan. She slides the last of it onto some paper towels and pours some scrambled eggs into the pan.

"I did promise food," she chuckles as she senses Tereza entering the room, not turning around. She's wearing an apron and nothing else.

"Food is appreciated," she says. Now in decent light, Tereza has a lot more tattoos than she did previously. There's very little of her skin that isn't covered in ink of some kind.

"So should I feel jealous that Brand got to touch as much of your skin as she did?" She smirks over her shoulder.

Her well-toned frame is only adorned by the occasional scar. Only ones the goddess considers significant, Tereza knows. Only ones that have stories. If it wasn't for the apron she'd look like a throwback to an ancient time.

"Not that they aren't pretty. It gave me so much of you to explore all over again."

"If you want to be jealous, you can be. She'll tell you to go fuck yourself though because I'm a pain in the ass when it comes to these things."

"What, did she have to hunt down a silver needle or something?"

She slides the eggs onto two plates and carries them along with the bacon over to the table.

"No, but with Brand's power, she can fix them, so everything has to be perfect. It's a good thing there's really nothing else I want done. I think I exhausted her patience with the last bit of this." She touches the back of her forearm where there's images of all three of Sam's faces.

"You'll make me get a swelled head, there. That's not easy with a goddess," she smirks, sliding a plate over to Tereza and leaving the bacon within reach.

Tereza loads up the plate and starts eating, "So what's on your schedule for the day?"

"Heard some rumors that sound like some of the old crew is rattling around London. Thought I'd check that out."

"Want some backup?"

"I don't think I could keep you away, so I won't try," she chuckles, sitting down and starting to eat.

"It'd be the difference between walking with you on the street and perching on the rooftops like one of your ravens."

"I don't know how any of them feel after all this time, but if having you there is a dealbreaker for them I've got no use for them."

"I can at least sense if any of the packs are nearby. Give us at least some warning," she says, plowing through her food.

"And if worst comes to worst, I'd brawl by your side any day."

"I'm always ready for a fight," she says with a feral grin. She finishes, setting her plate aside as she gets up, "I'll go ahead and get dressed."

"Now I'm regretting this plan," she smirks and sticks her tongue out at Tereza.

"But I suppose negotiations demand trousers."

"Going in the fur would attract too much attention. We'd definitely have a fight on our hands then."

"Oh, you don't have to sweet-talk me," she chuckles, stripping off the apron and hanging it near the stove.

"It's so good to have you back."

"At least I haven't smelled any vampires in Lambeth. I wouldn't be surprised if they're parking most of those in the richer sections of London." She pulls on her own clothes, stretching back into them and making sure they're loose.

"I wouldn't mind sending a few of those to their proper deaths," she says as she pulls on an outfit fairly similar to what she wore the night before.

"They're overdue."

"Maybe once we're done scouting around we'll go hunting," she growls softly.

"For now, let's just hope the old crew and the packs or the vampires aren't one and the same."

"One can hope," Tereza says, "Lead the way."