She could feel how stressed and tense he was, how uneasy he was with just being here. She got on her knees and moved behind him, continuing to rub his neck and back. His muscles were knotted, undoubtably partly because of how the runners reacted to his presence. He had a right to be tense. As she stroked his shoulders she leaned down, pressing a kiss just behind his ear. Then to his jaw, and his cheek. “They’ll listen. They made be a bit intense, but they’ve got a reason to. Youve made it in, they’ll give you the time, and then won’t dismiss you as long as you don’t give them a reason to. Being important to me helps, too.” She smiled to him, her hands keeping at work. She kissed the top of his head, sighing softly.<br/><br/>“I think they’ll realize they have no other choice but to trust you. This won’t be the first time they’ve heard of the threat, but you have more information than any of them do. They’ll take it seriously, and they’ll want to work directly with you I’m sure. Try not to stress out too much, we’re going to be fine, you’ll be fine. I promise.” She paused her hands, reaching down and pulling his chin gently to look at her. She bent down, pressing her lips to his in a soft, loving kiss. “I promise.”<br/><br/>After they settled in their new room for the night, Marcus knocked. He carefully opened the door, giving the pair a nod. “They’re ready.”<br/><br/>Malia stood, taking Carson’s hand and pulling him up as well. “You got this.” With another smile in his direction, she motioned for him to follow her out. She walked down the halls, following Marcus, before they came to a set of double doors. Taking a breath, she pushed them open, walking in with Carson close behind. There were five Runners sitting around a table, similar to that in Central. They were seasoned, and each of them were likely in their late 30s, maybe early 40s. Runners didn’t always live long enough to become part of the council. Malia approached the table, giving them a nod with a tight smile, which they returned.<br/><br/>“Malia,” the Runner that sat at the head of the table addressed her. He had short hair that was tinted grey from his age. He was the oldest of them, reaching into his 50s. “And this is...” He gestured to the Strider that stood next to her.<br/><br/>“Carson.” She filled the blank, glancing to the man beside her. “This is Carson. He’s a Strider. Carson, this is Michael. He’s the head of the council, he used to be a Runner for Little Lake. He was friends with my dad.”<br/><br/>After the introduction, Michael gave her a sad smile. “I’m sorry about Oliver, Malia.” She simply nodded. He cleared his throat then, tilting his head. “What have you come all the way up here for?”<br/><br/>Malia took a deep breath, wringing her hands together. Michael may have been understanding with her, whether or not they’d be the same with Carson was a different story. Usually, just the guards were the aggressive bunch. “I’m sure you’ve heard a couple chapters have been being assaulted but... as far as I’m aware. That number has grown to five. And they aren’t just assaulted, they’re being wiped out completely. And...by someone kind of familiar. They have been being killed by a group of people with a skull tattoo. Striders, with skull tattoo. Sound familiar?” She looked to carson, taking a step closer to him when she watched their eyes flicker to him. “We also think there’s more than one group, considering how spread apart in distance they are, but close together in time. We think they aim to wipe out all of the Runners. All of them. I’ve already sent out some my Runners on small excursions to other chapters, alert them, get together...the sort. But...” she looked to Carson again. If anyone was going to share about Central, it needed to be him. “But we made a plan. We have sort of a place to hide out, and there’s a lot more to the story than you may think. Carson has first hand experience with this group and... as for who they are,” she reached over and gave Carson’s arm a squeeze. “That’s where he comes in.”