Lexi laughed at Neo’s instructions to calm the fuck down. She found his way of speaking to be irreverent enough to be soothing and she wasn’t at all offended by  what seemed like a lack of decorum or respect. Strangely enough, with Neo in the room, close at hand, she did calm down.<br/><br/>“There is this bookmark here. It isn’t mine and I don’t know where it came from,” she tapped the page,<br/><br/>“and when I opened the book using it a strange white dust or powder filled my lungs. I hope to hell it isn’t going to kill me or hex me. But look at this page. I don’t understand the markings. Is this something you understand with the alchemy gig that you do?”<br/><br/>She shoved the book closer to him.<br/><br/>Mr. von Engels and Yukina had joined them. Lexi suddenly decided she liked the woman and was really glad she was there. The older man just seemed like “The Boss”, not in a bad sort of way, but more in a ‘there is distance between the officers and the men’ sort of way.<br/><br/>“Yukina, what did you guys do with that doll? It seems like we should destroy it or something so that there is not power left in it for harm. It is too gruesome to be benign. The way the mouth was pinned shut with all those straightpins through the lips just seems like a violent warning to shut me up. Or maybe all of us.”<br/><br/>“Okay, okay. You are all here now and you came so that we could all examine that book for answers. Let’s get comfortable. I have bottled water and I have beer. I can serve you or you can just help  yourself. Anyone gets hungry, I can make some popcorn and there is also lunch meat for sandwiches. Make yourselves at home. Toss your coats on the bed and take off your shoes if you want. I want to know what the hell is going on so it will fuckin stop!”