The rain fell hard against the windows. The small shower room in her Haven was steam filled and invitingly warm. Martha was preparing for the evening with care and attention. Few details would be overlooked.

Towels wrapped tight, she limped to the chillier bedroom. Clothes neatly laid on the neatly made bedspread, the corners perfectly aligned.

Hat? Check. Gymslip? Check. Washed, scrubbed and cleaned..dab of perfume? Check...shoes polished? Check! Letting someone know where you are going? Not yet...

Of course she trusted Conner. Yes, he wore a mask...which many would call eccentric. But so do, she had noticed, ice hockey players...oh...and bandits...and some of those ghastly, awful, brutish and violent Men in those advertisements for horror themed motion pictures...

Conner seemed...well, cultivated in his way...far from ghastly or brutish.

Notebook and ballpoint pens? Check. Keys to Haven? Check. Old college scarf? Check.

But yet, the Beast could be volatile. To hazard the Beast - and be a foolish victim to it's erratic predations...or the possible Mercurial temper of my host...well, that would be a reckless act indeed! Who knows what sort of Man he really is, behind those masks!

No, she thought, experience teaches that it is far better to at least tell someone where you where going. Then, if the worst should happen, at least - while rescue may not arrive - there would be no mystery for those left behind.

A swift text to the Harpy..."Dear Madam Harpy, am meeting this evening with Mr Greyson to fulfill earlier missed opportunity to talk with him at Elysium. Hope you are well! Kindly Yours, Martha."and a letter, neatly written, and left in a locked draw at her Haven, offering similar explanation.

Cheap walking cane? Check. Battered US Army surplus M-95 haversack? Check. Possible clues left in event of mysterious disappearance? Check!