The clock read seven thirty-five in the evening.<br/><br/>Covering his mouth as he yawned, Cornelius decided that in about two hours he would close up and call it a night. This evening had been a rather quiet one compared to how hectic the rest of the day had been for him. All he has had for company at the moment was a cup of tea, the relaxing sound of the old clock ticking away over in the corner, and a book he has been trying to finish for the past few weeks now. Save for the usual rainy weather of London, leaving him cooped up indoors, and the tedious work of sorting out things he has put off sorting, he was feeling rather content. Having caught mostly everything up, he has found himself with some downtime. Who could pass up the time to sneak in a few chapters of a good book before getting ready to head home?<br/><br/>Nobody likes cleaning, and he still had a lot he needed to do. Perhaps more than what could be crammed into a little over an hour. He would need to either improvise or put his book down right now, but knowing him the former was the more appealing choice.<br/><br/>A knock at the door sounded suddenly, “Come in.” As the lynx looked up from his book to meet his visitor as they walked into the room he saw a man, soaking wet, he recognized oh too well.  A welcoming smile appeared on his expression, despite his concern that the man might get his carpet all muddy and wet, after having just cleaned the office. He waved for him to come further into the room. “Well this is a surprise.”<br/><br/>“I…” the man cut him off, shifting somewhat nervously. “Do you have a moment?” Something was definitely off. What could he need? The chances of this man dropping in to say hi were not likely. Usually, he was someone who only showed up when he needed something or because he had to.<br/><br/>“I am going home in about an hour and a half and have some things I must attend to beforehand. Will this be quick?”<br/><br/>“Well, it’s about my case…”<br/><br/>“Ah, yes.” Cornelius finally closed his book and stood from his chair. “Your case. How has everything been working out for you? I assume you have gotten the notice in the mail about your court date has being moved up again.” He gave him a neutral gaze but his arms were folded over his chest. In the past few months he has worked with this man, the lynx had come to the conclusion rather quickly that he was not a fan of him. Excuses seemed to be the only thing he could come up with. Dealing with him was always a process that was most irritating; he never gave straight answers and seemed very elusive. He seemed to be in one such mood right now. It made Cornelius rather uncomfortable.<br/><br/>“I lost those papers you told me about.”<br/><br/>“Oh?”<br/><br/>“I’m sorry, I know I’ve never been the most organized person… please, give me another chance?”<br/><br/>“Well, I can’t say I’m too surprised.” The lynx ran a hand over his face and sighed heavily. “Unfortunately, no. Without the proper evidence, I don’t think I can support your case any longer, Jonathan.”<br/><br/>“Please. I beg of you, man, I can’t go back there… I was told you were the best of the best. Come one, man, just help me out?”<br/><br/>“I have done all I can. You were given plenty of second chances.”<br/><br/>Jonathan took a step forward, hands balling into a fist. “Cornelius… please… I promise I’ll get my shit together.” There was clearly rage in his eyes. Most likely trying to be intimidating, but honestly the lynx could so nothing more, as he had said. All he did was shake his head. The man was known for being disorganized and he was getting tired of dealing with him and his excuses. There was no longer any hope to be had for him. It was unfortunate, yes, and there was a part of him that truly did want to help. But there was a strict code in the Hawthorne family and Cornelius refused to just break it for no reason. Perhaps if Jonathan had showed more potential, but all he saw was a man who burns bridges and was not applicable for a second chance.<br/><br/>The next thing Cornelius knew, Jonathan lunged for him, and his fist collided with his jaw. The lynx saw stars before he completely blacked out.<br/><br/>When he came to, he found himself to be in a very different setting than his office. His glasses didn’t seem to be on his face; he could only make out certain shapes. Anything that might familiar was almost immediately recognized, however. He was going to have to rely on his sense of smell. He wasn’t sure how long he had been out or how he got here but he didn’t really like the feeling he was getting from the overall atmosphere. The air seemed to be still, giving off a foul and stagnant odor, and the most noticeable thing, when he got his wits about him, was that he was lying in a puddle of water. Tangled in the stale air, was the smell of rotting flesh and death; as he further observed his surroundings he noticed there were a fair number of corpses lying around. Not all of them seemed to be human either.<br/><br/>He might be next… Just where was he? His immediate reaction was to get out of the water as quickly as possible. Get out of the water, find his glasses wherever they may be, and maybe look for something to defend himself with before he went off to explore wherever he was. A catalyst for magic? Something sharp? Hell he would even make do with some rocks to use as projectiles to the best of his ability. Any sort of weapon would suffice. He was not usually someone who was paranoid but felt like he was going to need whatever sort of weapon he could get his hands on, especially with having the handicap of blindness holding him back. Bare hands included; he kept his claws filed down but he was a cat and didn’t mind using someone as a scratching post if it came down to it.<br/><br/>A groan left him as he tried to sit up, rubbing his jaw, which still felt a little sore. The lynx felt dizzy once he got to his feet. He held his head. When the dizziness subsided he took another look around, contemplating whether or not he should look for a place to dry off. The damp air, and being wet, was making his skin crawl, but he did not have the tools to make a fire to dry off. From the looks of where he was, it didn’t look like there were too many natural resources to even build a fire to begin with. Not in his immediate area, at least. He walked for awhile, time seemed to flow differently here so he was not sure for how long, and then suddenly voices had caught his attention.<br/><br/>Cornelius froze for a moment. Then, deciding to be a little bold, he slowly moved towards what looked like some kind of stone structure, staggering a little, that had once been part of something larger. The voices were coming from whatever was in the center of the area; that must have been what the stone had broken off of. It appeared similar. Resting on the edge, much to his relief, were his glasses, which he immediately picked up and put on. With clearer vision, he noticed there was indeed a gathering of others in this place. He could hear their conversation well and suddenly questioned just how large the area was. Part of him wanted to explore it, but maybe it was better that he stuck by any signs of life that he came across. Once more, the bodies littering the ground seemed to tell him that might just be a good idea.<br/><br/>Sudden uneasiness sank into his stomach. He remained where he was, trying to figure out whether he should feel reassured or terrified that there were other signs of life here. Typical cat nature was leading him to be curious, common sense and cautiousness was telling him to keep his distance. Do all cats just waltz up to strangers without checking them out?<br/><br/>Gathering information while staying out of site, yet still within earshot, was his best bet for now.