𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 ~ 𝘚𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘯𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘴

~ 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙁𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣: 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙄𝙨 𝘼 𝙆𝙪𝙜𝙚𝙡𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙯? ~

The evening wind howled and blew past Astrid as she stared out the hotel room window, her eyes closed as she sent one of her shadows to Sloane and presented her with the mixtape. Somehow, in that short hour since they said their goodbyes, it was her mission to finish that project. Given the circumstances of her sibling's deaths, Sloane was bound to not be able to sleep that night. And it was the Shadow Girl's fondest hope that all the love she poured into that cassette would help make the night easier.

Viktor and Allison were nowhere to be found, so she didn't have to worry about Allison's unwanted rant about the Sparrows and how she was a traitor. Well, if I'm a traitor, at least I'm a traitor in love. Astrid reasoned with herself. The black cloud with glowing eyes flew toward the window, the howling winds growing louder and louder until the shadow collided with Astrid, returning to the small ball of black from whence it came.

"Thank you," Number Eight whispered before the ball completely vanished. While Fei had her ravens to do her bidding, Astrid had her shadows, and with just a nudge or wave of her hand, they would do whatever she wanted. Though she needed them during missions or to simply scaring her siblings as a child, it was the first time Astrid had sent a message to someone using a shadow. And while she did have doubts about it working, the shadows proved to her yet again they could accomplish their tasks.

~~~~~~~

That next morning, the hotel lobby was eerily quiet as fewer guests sat at the bar. Unlike the last few days with dozens indulging in their morning coffee or liquor or sitting on the sofas reading the daily newspaper. From where Astrid was standing, all she could see was an old man, a young couple whispering to each other, and of course, Chet who was eagerly standing at the counter, ready for any potential guests.

"Hey guys, have you seen Allison?" Viktor called out just as the elevator opened, and he walked down the steps. Luther and Astrid turned around, eyes widening at the sight of the cut on their brother's cheek. "What the hell happened to you?" Luther questioned. "It's uh... it's not as bad as it looks," Viktor responded, wiping away the blood and causing it to smear. "Well, it looks as if you're lucky to be sitting upright," Astrid noted. "Did Harlan do that?"

Viktor shook his head, insisting they had a minor disagreement, but Luther and Astrid were not convinced of this. Just as they were about to press him further, Diego entered the room, claiming he checked the perimeter, and everything was clear. "Now, we're gonna have to take turns," The Kraken pointed the tip of his blade at the three of them. The Ape-man gasped as he saw Diego had a deep cut on the back of his neck, almost like he had been hit with a glass bottle.

"What happened to you? Did you fight with Harlan too?" Astrid questioned. "The Sparrows are right. He shouldn't be here, he's dangerous!" Luther insisted. "He's only dangerous because I made him that way. This is my problem to solve, and while I appreciate your concern, I need to figure this out," Viktor explained. Out of the corner of the Shadow Girl's eye, she saw Allison walking down the stairs, curiously looking around as she wondered what they were talking about. She too, had bruising and cuts on the back of her neck and lower lip.

"Oh my god, he got you too?" Luther looked at the three in disbelief. As much as it surprised Astrid, she concluded that either the three of them fought with Harlan and tried to water it down for everyone else's sake, or they each had their own battles to deal with. The latter seemed to make the most sense since Diego and Allison were both clueless as to what Viktor went through.