Paul unpacks the final cardboard box sitting in the main room of his new two-bedroom apartment. It is filled with books, a heavy load saved for last among all his other possessions that furnish the small space. But it is among his most important, containing the material form of the knowledge he's accrued over the years. And at the bottom...

A yearbook, dark green and labeled with the name of his high school he attended in Arizona. It seems in pristine condition aside from the stain of finger oil spread over the stacked pages as if it had been paged through many times. It's been seven years since that fateful summer, when his life had changed. If he could take it all back he would, a life for an Awakened life. But what is done is done, at least as he is now. He understands that much at least.

Paul cracks open the all-too-familiar book and flips easily to the page he's observed the most. Chelsea Price, once his classmate and first love. He performs the gestures that grant him vision beyond the veil of the living. Lifting his eyes he sees her, sitting there upon a chair, staring out the window. Her face, her hair, her clothes, all have not changed even slightly from the last time he saw her in the flesh. And yet, there's something restless about her, a jagged edge to her translucent ephemeral form.

"Sorry it's so small," he says apologetically to her. "But once I start my job we can always move to a bigger place."

The ghost turns her head, regarding him warmly with a brief smile that quickly fades. "This is fine..." she says distantly, her voice creating no actual sound, but he senses and understand the message nonetheless. Though her appearance remains familiar, Chelsea's personality is a shadow of its former self, troubled, short-tempered, and private.

For seven years he's been building his career, expanding his knowledge, and this job would be just another step towards better understanding the burdens of the human psyche. The more he understands about the Fallen World and its methods the more he can distinguish the influence of the Supernal from that of The Lie. The mental health clinic is such a place, not that he'd be a practicing psychologist, oh no. With only undergraduate degrees he's still in need of more experience before he could start his own practice. Still, no one held more burdens than the mentally ill.

But that isn't why he's here in Sacramento. That isn't why he's brought her this far. His search for her murderer brought him here. Seven years is a long time, however, and the trail has gone horribly cold. But he isn't one to give up easily. She could never rest until he brought justice to her killer.

He's heard from his Mentor that a Consilium is rumored to function within the city. No doubt he would have to start looking for its members to get permission to remain within city limits and learn the local laws.

Paul stands, taking the books and placing them on his library shelf. Their occult topics read out on the bindings of various titles he's collected. He places the yearbook among them, its addition out of place from the rest.