Breakfast of Champions

[Evelynn East]

The... Man in Black? Evelynn didn't know who that was, but she certainly didn't like the sound of him. She had to lean over to see what Becs was writing, but once she did, she shook her head, as if in agreement with the "No no" written at the end of her message.

She didn't like the idea of this guy wandering around, taking pets. Maybe he was practicing so he could start taking children instead. As much as she feared the idea of confronting him and having him take her back to the Keeper, she couldn't just sit around and do nothing out of fear when he might be taking others, too. She was simply not that kind of person.

"So, um, just here and Oakland? Ever hear of him doing this stuff anywhere else?" Maybe there was a pattern. Even if she said she hadn't heard of more activities, that didn't mean they hadn't happened - just that Becs wasn't present if they had. She made a mental note to check the internet for reports of more such activities once breakfast was over.

[Mhairi Ankaa]

Mhairi waited until the others finished looking at the napkin, before she pulled it closer so that she could try to decipher the chimera's writing. After she did, the petite elemental frowned. This was definitely not good. It brought to mind budding psychopaths-serial killers and the like. Starting with animals, perfecting their craft until they worked their way up the food chain. Until they got to humans. This Man in Black needed to be stopped before he started on people.

Mhairi knew that if she stood by and let that happen, she wouldn't be able to sleep at night.

Mhairi's fell-flame eyes glanced at Evelynn "Ah-patterns?" she asks, hoping the inventor's mind was drifting along that vein. "Ah-finding where he'd-ah been. And-ah where's he's-ah going...." she trailed off, pushing the napkin back in front of Beccs. "Alex? Uh-you know records? And-ah news papers and stuff?" the elemental asks, "Would it be-ah possible to-ah find...a pattern?"

[Swami M]

Just like that, Alex's most paranoid thoughts have become reality... He takes a while to process this.

"You wouldn't need a license for a rare breed of dog, at least not from the government. There are private associations that keep track of breeders and show dogs and so forth. You might need something more official if you're keeping wild animals as pets. Coyotes, wolves, whatever. And there's paperwork if you're importing animals of any kind from overseas. That's all something we might be able to research. Along with news reports about the thefts. But do you have any idea as to why this is happening? What's he doing with all the animals? Is this for his own sadistic games or is it for profit? Is he selling them to common criminals or is this, uh, more Organized crime?"

He hopes the emphasis on the second to last word makes his meaning clear...

[Evelynn East]

Evelynn licked her lips, fumbling through her bag to grab her phone. Only, with Alex's point about rare dogs not being registered, she paused, nodding. "That's true, but we'll have some registration for dangerous pets. Like big snakes and stuff. It's a place to start. Besides, we can check out the those breed associations and stuff. People who are into dogs enough to have a rare or valuable breed is probably the sort of person who'd join a dog club, right? And you'd think they'd tell the other members if their pet went missing, so maybe we could start there." Her tongue darted out from between her lips, her brow furrowing in an expression of deep thought. "Maybe there're some, um, internet chat rooms or forums or something about local dog clubs. Seems like a good place to start, see if we can find anything." Another pause, this one accompanied by a gasp as an idea struck her. "Hey! Maybe we can start one of our own! Like, set up some kind of mailing list or something concerning the missing pets! I'm sure lots of people would be happy to keep an eye out for a stolen pet, and then we'll have all these eyes looking out for them, and we'll get informed any time something comes up!"

[Mhairi Ankaa]

Mhairi sat, drumming her drippy fingers on the table as she listened to the others speak.

"So-ah-so...Evelynn, that-ah sounds good. Very good. I'm-ah not that great with computers, but-I-ah could look over comments and the like. I don't think....that-I-ah should be the one to talk-talk to owners and umm..." the elemental trails off, dragging Beccs note towards her.

'Bush critters? Hedge Beasts?' the elemental thought as she fished back out one of her other pens to write upon the napkin. 'Petnappings to make bush critters, or the pets are bush critters being stolen back?' to some her question might seem silly, but to Mhairi, it seemed pretty important.

"But-uh if...or...ah-when. When....we-ah find the pets...what then?" Mhairi asks, her fell-flame eyes darting between those at the table.