Carpe Diem

Drake was overjoyed to see Splendid enjoying things. His smile was big and wide, his eyes looking to Al and Mama Mary with visible gratitude. If anything, this day was the best he'd had just by virtue of seeing Splendid smile as much as she was.

He listened to Ren explain what the plan was while he noted the scent coming off of Hilary. He'd seen how Ren looked at her, but now his suspicions were confirmed. Whether or not this meant he could trust her remained to be seen.

For the meantime, he just enjoyed eating with Splendid. What came next didn't matter right now. He wanted to enjoy the time they had to be at peace.

Hilary nearly jumped out of her seat when Ren's tail coiled around her and teased her leg. She looked to him, a small, knowing, smile forming on her face as memories of that night made her feel a familiar ache for him.

But there would be time later for that. Right now they needed to focus on getting out of here before the recovery teams found them.

"I was actually thinking about that." Hilary said as she looked to Ren. "I think I might be able to tweak that serum you were using to pose as a human, make it non-toxic... I could help when we get out into the city proper. We'll need people who can blend in... and I'm not willing to do all the errands... "

Drake frowned at Hilary. "Any chance you could come up with serum for all of us?"

Hilary shrugged. "Maybe... one day... but the serum is tailored to Ren's genetic code. So making serum for all of you would be a difficult task... and potentially dangerous."

Drake looked to Ren. "You really feel up to posing with those monkeys again, Ren?"

---

Tad frowned. "Who're you talking about? You know who's smuggled them?" He followed Yazul, eager to learn what he knew.

The sewer was indeed dank and smelly, but Tad was thankful for the gas mask.