Exton

Wending my way through the guests, making small talk when necessary... I'm headed to the kitchen to take the edge off my thirst when I spot Tori in a corner talking to one of the shifters from the college. I make a note of her location and continue on.

In the kitchen, I take a few hits from a bottle of not-wine - about three-quarters of the bottle, actually. I'm pretty sure it's bad manners to nibble your guests, so I want to put that temptation behind me.

Returning to the living room, I spot Tori again, but now the shifter is nowhere to be seen. I move through the crowd like a hot knife through butter - it's amazing how quickly people make way when I let my eyes go just a little red - and I'm standing at her side in short order.

"Miss Tori," I say, accent up full, "I wonder if I might steal a moment of your time?" Tori grins. "Well, it's a cinch you're not asking for a date... What's on your mind, Nick?"

"Well... I'd like to tap your computer expertise, actually. We want to get a couple of machines - a desktop and a laptop - and a printer that can copy, scan and fax. We'll mostly be using it for email and 'Net access, maybe some word processing from time to time. Can you give us some recommendations, what to look for and what to avoid, that kind of thing?"

"Sure, no problem. If you'll call me when you've got it all, I'll come help you set it up. Here" - she pulls a card from her bag - "my cell number is here, and my email, and this email" - she underlines it with a pen - "is for anything weird that you think I should pass on to Mortuis. Might as well get you guys involved in the 'neighborhood watch', too...."