Family reunion

Matthew stopped at both chick fillet and Taco bell on the relatively short drive through traffic out of the city. He had clearly been using a lot of magic lately, or he anticipated to be doing so shortly as he was packing away as many calories as he could afford to purchase and his stomach could hold. He was pretty quiet along the way, dreading the encounter until they pulled off of the road a ways outside of town and down a private road for several minutes until the reach the gates to the massive driveway of a home that looked like a cross between a wizardly castle and the playboy mansion. Matthew drove up to the gate, rolled down his window, and waited.

Embedded in each of the thick enchanted steel beams of the front gate was a jet black diamond like crystal shaped like an eye. As Matt rolled down his window the center 'eye' opened scanning over the car in a wave of blue light. For a few seconds there was nothing but an awkward silence but eventually a voice began to speak , seeming to echo through the air itself "Oh Master Matthew, it's been so long since you last visited? And who is this strapping young werewolf lad you've brought along, a new friend? Perhaps a new companion?" The slightly effeminate but posh voice of a British man questioned with an almost audible wink "Or perhaps a gift for your poor old lonely butler?" He continued, clearly joking as he continued on hammily "Regardless it is absolutely wonderful to see you again, I must admit the manner gets dreadfully dull this time of year." He remarked as the gates swung open , revealing the opulent white stone driveway lined with perfectly trimmed dark blue hedges of some magical shrubbery. The driveway led up to a beautifully made black marble fountain, which portrayed in all the grace and beauty of a Michaelangelo, the robust form of Matt's father lying nude except for a sash across his privates and surrounded by a gaggle of women. It took everything in Mutt's soul not to look awe struck , let alone impressed by the overly grandious display of wealth.

"Just a business associate, it's good to see you as well Mister Holliday." Matthew replied quickly, but with a visible smile to hear the old butler's voice again; he didn't visit as much as he should, although the reasons as to why were obvious. When the door opened he had swiftly parked his car off to the side before walking getting out, and walking over to his father, careful not to step on the lawn as that was one of the many things the old butler worked hard on. "Father..." Matthew said tensely as he approach, it was a scene he'd seen seen a thousand times, but that didn't make it any less gross.

"Yes, always thought it was a bit tacky myself but the stonework is rather nice." Holliday replied, this time in person as he stood next to the door expectantly "You really should visit more, the dogs will forget who you are soon enough." He pointed out with an equally warm smile on his face and a nod of acknowledgement to the pair. The butler was aging exceptionally gracefully for a man in his early fifties. Though the last streaks of black in his hair had turned to a crisp wintery silver his brows and slim pencil moustache remained a dark sable. "If you've come to see your father, I can assure you that he is in his study at the moment. Found some new bauble or two while out in Cancun and has been up there since before dawn the fool of a man." He explained as he graciously opened the door for the pair to step in.

Quickly he escorted them through the labyrinthine halls of the mansion/ castle that Matt had spent his childhood wandering around. Eventually leading them to the elevator that led up to the study tower. After a quick elevator ride they arrived in the study , a wide circular room centered around a spiraling staircase and filled to the brim with bookshelfs, statues , weapons, trophies and artifacts of innumerable varieties and kinds.

   Standing at a large table , chugging down what (accounting for the eight empty mugs nearby) was mostly likely his ninth scotch spiked cup of black coffee stood a large man with an imposing powerful figure, dark brown hair graying at the temples and a massive cigar in his hands. "Holliday I smell dog, I told you those damn things aren't allowed upstairs if you let it happen again I'll turn one of those precious pets of yours into a goddamn toad....or a box of crayons" He warned as he slowly turned to look over the group. "So I was right about the dog then." He remarked with a low chuckle as he took a drag of his cigar "What do you want this time kid? You only come around when you want to leech a favor off me." He replied as he leaned against the table with crossed arms.

"Well given you prefer to have me around as little as possible I figure it's the least I can do" Matthew rather calmly said, standing in the doorway, not at all phased by the cold reception "This one isn't any skin off your nose anyway. A... friend of mine has been taken by some Fae big shot even Una seems scared of him, and I need to find a scryer who can see into the fae realm... I figured you might know someone..." This request no doubt caught the old man quite off guard, as he had never known Matthew to take an interest in anything adventurous let alone some sort of Fae war.

For a while he didn't respond, examining a cigar before lightning it up with his finger and taking a drag "Uh huh....sounds...interesting." He replied, clearly trying to hide that infuriating smile of his "Aww hell I've never been good at the stoic bit, sure boy I know someone, course I fuckin' do I know everybody. But honestly it's got me thinking what's in it for me?" He questioned bluntly, puffing out a bit of smoke "I mean you're already a failed investment, I'd have to be touched to keep trying, even though we both know you had potential...Why help you?" He continued as he walked around the circular table and made his way to the other side, placing bot hands on it's edge as he looked over his 'son'. "We hate each other, we have for years let's just be honest about it....So if you want help I gotta get something, it doesn't have to be money or anything, but I'm gonna need a deal."

Matthew didn't particularly hate the old man, hatred would require an investment in someone he simply did not have for his father anymore; what he did have was an answer ready, a way to entice his father, and get back at Una for not filling him in fully on the situation "I do know someone you don't actually... the Fae queen herself, in fact I happen to have her phone number..."

"Izzat so?" He replied with a slow nod, mulling it over in his head a bit "Call it right now then."

"You have the spells to see if I'm telling the truth or not; you give me what I need. Then I'll call her up for you." Matthew lays out his deal plainly

"Fine make it boring, whose the dog btw?" He replied as he grabbed a card out of his coat pocket and threw it over to Matt. The 'dog' using all of the restraint within his person not to either insult the man back or break something valuable.

"A friend of a friend, whose helping me with this." Matthew Caught the card Deftly, inspected it for a moment, then held out his hand for his father's phone in which he'd enter all the contact information he knew of Una; grinning as he did, honestly this part was its own reward; although he could nearly see a line of text appear saying "Una will remember this."

His father handed it to Holliday who then handed it to Matt...because his dad's a dick.

Matthew entered the information "Well I think that's it then, It was nice seeing you Mister Holliday."Matthew said before coldly turning to leave

"Of course Matthew, do watch out for the gaggle of swimsuit models they tend to move like a stampede." He replied with a warm smile.

And with that Matthew left checking the address on the card as he did so.

It was off Moorside in the paranormal dockside slums , a dangerous area but nothing bad enough to scare off a pair as formidable as these two.

"Apparently it's at a port not too far from here" Matthew read given how the city was land locked and all, frankly they were lucky it was in the same state

(isn't the City in Washington ? How would they be lucky to find a port in Washington?)

Mutt nodded " I got a bike but I'm sure you'd rather just use your car ....you have a car right?"

(it being the location of an absurdly skilled scryer not a port)

"Do you... do you not remember how we got here?" Matthew asked tilting his head like mutt had said something completely retarded... which he had... since matt had driven them there... in his car.

"...Look the gaggle of super models kinda took precedent in my memory okay?" He replied with a laugh "I'm not used to being around any place with this much money in it, I spent half of the time wondering if i should try and nab anything."

"I wouldn't, he's a powerful wizard, and a bit of an asshole, most of it is probably cursed in case you do." Matthew warned Mutt with a very serious look. "Personally I try to ignore them given the whole, they're all fucking my dad thing."

"Yeah I can see how that'd be a deterrent...and he does seem like a dick..at least you know yours though right?" He replied with a casual shrug.

Matthew made a noncomital "Hm" sound as he unlocked his car and got into the driver's seat, he didn't know Mutt quite well enough to delve into their father issues together, or how he had often thought about killing the old man for Alexander's (who he in many ways considered more of a father sake), but decided better of it.

It didn't matter much, Mutt could sense it, he could sense a lot of those kinds of things, could almost smell them. The want to murder was one of the most distinct of all, and one he'd gotten more than used to. So he simply took it in stride as he hopped in the passenger's seat and gave a wave to the butler who was standing near the door.

Matthew waved as well a little ashamed he didn't come to visit more, before backing out of the Driveway and driving off.