Vicente didn't seem convinced. He gave Milo a look that read as highly unimpressed with the excuse. "Perhaps. But antagonizing someone isn't exactly a good way to try to calm them down." It simply looked bad, the head clan of the entire united Nightkin houses struggling with petty fights between its younger members. Not enough to take disciplinary action, but more than a mere annoyance by this point. A small reminder of Milo's ranking within the house would hopefully get things across to him. "Besides, she's my personal assistant. She's been helping run things for longer than you've been alive, Milo. Don't try to undermine her concerns for the sake of personal amusement. Lesser houses fall apart because of things like that; we will not." He spoke firmly, and while he agreed that Lucina was perhaps too concerned for them, he also believed that the antagonism between the two wouldn't lead to anything good.<br/><br/>The walk went on silently for a while, Vicente enjoying the sights and taking things in. Occasional idle chatter came up, but during a talk about the possibility of a vampire president - something that the elder assured would<span style="font-style: italic">never</span>happen - he suddenly stopped and put a hand out to stop Milo from moving past him. He inhaled slowly through the nose, taking a very deep breath. Scents danced along the cold night air, coming from somewhat nearby. People all had their own unique smells to their blood, but it was possible to tell what they were from it, a sort of common touch that they held. It was hard to fully explain, and required experience to pick apart smells to really figure out what meant what. But Vicente was very old, and could pick things up in the area. Five inhuman scents nearby. A smile crept its way across his face as he recognized each. Vampires. Three Daywalkers, each one moving ever closer, and nearer by, a Nightkin. Along with them, the less distinct smell of a Witch.<br/><br/>"We may just have company." Vicente said, chuckling quietly to himself. After such a long flight, a fresh drink was a very attractive option, and introducing himself to locals of his kind seemed a grand idea. He removed his other hand from his pocket and began moving again, his pace quickening with every step. It was still far from a run, but much more than the leisurely slow stroll they'd been taking previously. He crossed a road diagonally when it emptied itself of cars, and found the smells converging toward a single location.<br/><br/>It was going to be a fun evening.<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>"Tanaka has us out here to keep tabs on the area when he decides we're working for him. Keeping tabs on what's going on in the territory, going around cleaning up messes others leave behind. Usually, nothing too special." Mariko rolled her sleeves up, letting the folds of her sleeves rest just below her elbows. "But I'm sure you've heard the news. Mainstream, not supernatural. There was an archaeological discovery recently, and the object has been moved into one of the museums here in DC." She did another quick adjustment to her outfit, tugging her sweater down to straighten it a bit, then turned to face Eli. "Multiple high-ranking houses are moving in to discuss the terms of bringing their conflict here, since they all think it'll be advantageous to have the thing."<br/><br/>Drake, slipping off his shoes, rolled his shoulders and interjected. "The old fuckers are fighting over a rock that might not even have anything to do with them. Some sorta tablet found out in the middle east or something. They think it's connected to that one old mythical fucker, whatever he's called." He removed his jacket, exposing the shoulder holsters he wore under it, as well as a sling on his back that held a shotgun. He'd been prepared for quite a job that evening before  Eli decided to force his way back into their lives. Walking to the couch, he sat down in the middle cushion.<br/><br/>"Raziel," Mariko replied. "Whatever the thing is, it's definitely magical. Information moves quickly between our people once it's figured out, you know." She put her hands on her hips, sighing a little. "I'm not looking forward to any of this. Just when things started to get quiet around here, all this big news started attracting all kinds of awful people. We were out looking into a death, you know? Someone cut to shreds and drained."<br/><br/>"Yeah, a real piece of shit out there." Drake unslung his shotgun, keeping his finger off the trigger as he opened it at the hinge to remove the loaded shells. "I was looking forward to testing this out. So thanks, fucko." He leered at Eli was he withdrew the cartridges, then set the gun down and pulled out a pistol. Once more, he emptied it, dropping the magazine and pulling back the slide to dump the chambered round, which he then pushed into the mag.<br/><br/>"You worry me sometimes, you know," Mariko said, lightly nudging Drake's shoulder.<br/><br/>"Just doin' my job." He shrugged. Being ready to fight just seemed logical given how much fighting was inevitably to come, but a quick look up made him relent somewhat, frowning all the way. "Sorry, just, really wanted to catch that dude."<br/><br/>"Mmmm." Walking over herself, Mariko sat down as well. "There's a lot of conflict coming. The Valtieris and the Acerbis in the same city isn't going to be good for any of us. I appreciate the visit, Eli, but if you came expecting to just hang out and relax, you couldn't have picked a worse time for that."