They had about half a dozen cats in the alleyway, not bad for a first day. Sometimes the cats were skittish about showing up, but seemed like the word had gotten out. Reine squatted down at a respectable distance away from the setup of food, occasionally making eye contact with a cat and making a weird noise or two.<br/><br/>Hearing Julie, she glanced back to see the large, strong woman struggle with a kitten. Her expression stayed neutral, except for a slight crinkling at the corner of her eyes.<br/><br/>"Try to listen to it," she suggested, turning back to the other cats. She didn't expect the werewolf to succeed outright; communication with animals outside your therian classification was difficult to master. But if Julie worked on understanding cats, canine communication would click easier later. Pity no dogs had shown up.<br/><br/>There wasn't any time at the moment for the werecat to offer more detailed advice. She had six cats to keep track of. It took a lot of focus; animals didn't communicate in languages like humans did. Ideas came in a jumble of sensations and images and feelings that didn't translate easily. "Who killed those therians?" was a difficult thing to ask in Cat.<br/><br/>After a few more minutes of intent listening, Reine had finished talking to each cat. She stood up, looking back at Julie and shaking her head. "Nothing on the the therian killer," she said. "But there are two therians in the area, if we rush, we may be able to warn them."<br/><br/>----<br/><br/>Haddad pulled out a tablet computer from his bag and started booting up the software. "Just leave them there," the scientist said. "It'll move on its own soon enough." The software loaded, displaying a user interface that was an absolute wreck in terms of attractive layout design, but good enough for Haddad.<br/><br/>With a barely audible whir (They had spent weeks on noise reduction), the first of the machines started up. It was the largest one, an UAV with a torpedo shaped body. Attached to either side were wings consisting of multiple thin panels, arranged in a layered fashion and attatched to a hollow aluminum alloy framework. More panels were arranged at one end of the machine in a fan like shape. As the machine turned on, the framework unfolded and and the panels flexed, like the wings and tail of a bird.<br/><br/>A notification popped up on Haddad's tablet.<span style="font-style: italic">'tony' is online.</span>Officially, the name of robot was the 'Hawk', but Haddad had designed the software, so he got to pick nicknames. Satisfied, the man picked up the machine. Checking the wind, he hurled it in the direction of the train tracks on the opposite side of the street. The Hawk glided forward, starting to make a downward turn just before its AI kicked in. The wings flapped several times, and then lifted high into the air, using its wings to climb to an altitude of thirty yards above the ground. Once it reached an ideal height, it began to circle above them. With the distance and the cover of night, it passed enough for a bird as to not raise any suspicion.<br/><br/>The second group of robots were now connected, a dozen small drones known as Beetles. True to their name, they were insect-like in shape, although any close look would quickly reveal the visible circuitry on their backs. Each was about two inches long, with six robotic legs and small cameras mounted on their backs. A prototypical aetherial energy reader was embedded between two sets of wafer thin wings. The names of the machines showed up on Haddad's tablet. A glance at his screen would reveal he had named them after<span style="font-style: italic">Shrek</span>characters.<br/><br/>The robots worked in a complex system. The Hawk was responsible for amplifying and relaying communication signals and live feeds from the other machines to Haddad's tablet in milliseconds. The Beetles' AI would make them move around the area, theoretically seeking out abnormal levels of aetherial energy indicative of recent leftover traces of magic. Of course, it would require a supernatural being to<span style="font-style: italic">use</span>magic within range of an Beetle in order to be detected. If the project worked, Severn might be pleased enough to give them more funding. Though they had to show actual results first. The last three tries hadn't turned up a thing.<br/><br/>The Beetles scattered off, some of them flying away and some of them scuttling. Watching them go, Haddad handed his tablet to Martin. "Here you monitor them first," he said, pulling his sandwich out of his pocket to continue eating.