Things had died down as soon as the host got on stage and announced himself. ‘Lawrence’. A very jovial fellow from the looks of things, keeping with the light mood. His clothes were pretty casual, but given that this club did not usually appeal to the ‘high class’, it was something that was welcomed rather than unusual, for lack of a better word. Lawrence welcomed everyone and then introduced the start of the show.<br/><br/>The first act was a woman, dressed casually as well, but most people would not expect a comedian to dress like they were ready for an expensive party, and much to Gabrielle’s surprise the woman was not human. Off hand, it was difficult to tell just what this woman was but that didn’t matter. She merely found it interesting and was curious as to what she would bring to the table; entertainment was far more important than one’s species. The first act was always the one to set the bar in comedy clubs, after all.<br/><br/>Gabrielle clapped for the woman, Janice, as she bowed. When Janice began speaking, she turned away and looked to Jake. Before she could open her mouth, someone had come up and whispered in Jake’s ear. Gabrielle took in the young interrupter’s appearance, curious.<br/><br/>He, too, was not human.<br/><br/>After the two exchanged words, the man went off and Jake finally turned to meet Gabrielle’s gaze, “Have you visited the Intel Exchange recently, Princess?” He asked, elbows propped on the table, curious.<br/><br/>“No, I’ve been mostly on other forums,” Gabrielle replied, “I don’t go there very often.” It was true. A lot of times, Intel Exchange lead to some very dangerous places. Dangerous for her kind, of course, usually pretty harmless for humans. It was mostly a human site, after all, not to mention the occasional honey pot set out by authorities looking to track down certain individuals. Like any place, as long as he or she kept their wits about them, it was fine and dandy, but still not always worth the risk.<br/><br/>“I see.” He looked disappointed, but not deterred. “Well, I’ll cut to the chase then,” he continued, shifting in his seat. He kept his voice low. “I have a lot of people who frequent that site, my friend you just saw included. A lot of shit has gone down there recently, according to him. It matches what you’ve seen on your site. Our kind are being hunted, though there really hasn’t been much more information than that.”<br/><br/>“So, all of this must be pretty recent, then?”<br/><br/>“From the looks of it, yes. How recent? Well, some sources say a few weeks ago, some say a few months to a few years.”<br/><br/>“Either way, it is worrisome.”<br/><br/>“Naturally. We’ll just have to keep each other posted.<br/><br/>Gabrielle’s brow furrowed and she bit her bottom lip in thought. Around this time, ‘Janice’ on stage was making satire about her relationship with her boyfriend’s parents. She wasn’t really paying much attention, lost in her thoughts, and missed the punchline, which Jake had found so funny he put his head down on the table.<br/><br/>The act ended the moment the laughter died down, and Lawrence was up to introduce another act.<br/><br/>Gabrielle was curious to see who the next act was. She waited eagerly, listening to Lawrence make sarcastic comments about Janice’s act: “I wish my boyfriend didn’t have boring parents…” But then something had caught her attention, something… familiar. It reminded her of the presence she felt before -and it was still very vague. It felt… like something was trying to connect.<br/><br/>Or was it just her imagination?<br/><br/>No… There was a man sitting alone at one of the tables. She wasn’t close, but she could see him out of the corner of her eye, and she… she was certain, yes, he had something to do with what she was feeling. Dragons were often sensitive to these sorts of things; it would often get her into trouble. Then again, he was human. That could be the reason he was standing out.<br/><br/>The next act was a man, introduced as ‘Connor’; a man from Illinois, an aspiring artist and high school dropout. He, too, was human.