Between Milo's comments and Vicente's lighthearted chiding, Lucina was beginning to feel quite fed up. Noelle's additional comments on the matter certainly didn't help, but it wasn't worth letting herself get any angrier over. At the very least, they were landing soon and she could isolate herself for the rest of the night. Part of her had to admit that her moodiness may have been coming from a lack of rest, but not aloud. Sleeping was hard when undeath necessitated things like coffins or underground bedrooms, and she wasn't going to disgrace herself by napping in a box in the plane's cargo hold.<br/><br/>After she finished her drink, she kept a hold on the glass' stem, pursing her lips and letting out a huff. She'd never been to America, even though it was the place that her surviving family had been shipped off to back when she was a fledgling. It was entirely unfamiliar, and while it was a chance to see new things, going into the enemy's territory during what had been a previously slow era of war would surely flare things up again. She didn't doubt that the enemy had already moved in, and hoped that the precautions taken to keep their new home safe were adequate.<br/><br/>"Milo," Lucina began, waiting to see if she'd actually grabbed his attention before she wasted her breath continuing. "When we get there, I'm going to need your help preparing everything. You don't mind a bit of heavy lifting, I'm sure." While there was a slight bit of sarcasm in the request, she would need at least some assistance. Having the house's newest blood pull their weight seemed like a reasonable enough idea. "It's not all living in comfort and getting cared for once we land. We need to be ready for everything to go wrong at any given moment."<br/><br/>"Again with the worry," Vicente cut in, linking his fingers together as he leaned forward and rested his arms on the tabletop. "Give yourself some slack, Lucina. You've been so high strung these past few weeks, I'm surprised you even agreed to come. It's going to be fine. No harm is going to come to any of you." His tone of voice became more serious, but simultaneously took on a caring, soothing tone. "I assure you." Unlinking his hands, he placed one over Lucina's free hand to emphasize his words.<br/><br/>While she remained stone-faced for a few more moments, she eventually relented, pouting and leaning back into her seat. With a long and slow exhale, she let her shoulders drop. "Fine," Lucina mumbled, tilting her head to look towards Milo. She still expected him to help with her work, but she could at least make an effort to relax a bit.<br/><br/>Vicente smiled and pulled his hand back, satisfied with his success in breaking through to her. It could be quite the challenge sometimes, but he knew she wasn't<span style="font-style: italic">all</span>anger and stuffiness. For the rest of the ride, he kept up with whatever casual conversations may have been exchanged at the table, until the intercom came to life again some time later.<br/><br/>"We've arrived. Everyone, please buckle up and prepare for landing." The captain spoke, assuming that everyone would either heed the request or get knocked onto the cabin floor. Some communications were had between the pilot and the control tower, and soon enough, they were granted permission to land. The jet slowly turned downward, and after touching down, came to a complete stop. As the occupants prepared to get out, the attendant opened the door, which swung downward to act as a staircase.<br/><br/>The clan's elder stepped out first, followed by the rest of the occupants, vampiric or otherwise. As expected, a ground-based convoy was awaiting them, made up of various cars meant for many occupants.<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>Drake's first reaction to Eli was a wordless growl. While the meeting wasn't the worst one possible, he absolutely hated the way that he introduced himself. Every goddamn time, without fail. To avoid attracting too much more attention by rolling around on the floor, he pushed himself up to his feet and brushed his clothes off a bit, ending it with a firm tug to the open front of his jacket and an accompanying sniff. "Yeah, fine," He spat out, stuffing his hands into his pockets.<br/><br/>"It's been a while, Eli. What have you been up to now?" Mariko responded, passing the boomerang back over to its rightful owner. While Eli was clanless, Mariko was on friendly terms with him. Drake's relationship with him was a bit more complicated. His tendency to disappear for extended periods of time always left her somewhat worried for his well-being, but at his advanced age, she knew he could take care of himself well enough. "And technically, this wasn't Acerbi territory until just recently. You could say they're hanging out in<span style="font-style: italic">our</span>territory." She winked to signify that it was a joke, knowing full well that if the Acerbis decided to target them for being there, all hell would break loose.<br/><br/>Drake's answer was a bit less couth. "I live here, dipshit. Maybe if you'd stop fucking off for ten years at a time, you'd remember something about us." The dig at his age irked him, especially given that current management was even younger than he was. Technically, Drake was no longer a 'fledgling' proper, having managed to survive for over 50 years since his transformation. Still, it was an effective insult towards any young vampires, and coming from someone who looked<span style="font-style: italic">physically</span>younger than him was even more grating. "So what are you doing here? Come to watch shit go down without putting your neck on the line again?"<br/><br/>"Easy, boys." Mariko stopped whatever verbal arguments Drake had queued up before he could cause a scene. "Let's go somewhere more quiet? Then we can talk all we want." She urged Drake to turn and keep walking down their previously used path, and motioned for Eli to follow as well. She knew that the two tended to get at each other every time they met, but for once, she hoped for a more civil meeting.