Sitri's American-style saloon was a novelty balanced on the edge of socially acceptable and the seedy underbelly. A curiosity for the rakes. A beacon for the gamblers even if the law disapproved. One of the many trial-places of various entertainments and vices set by Charlotte as the Reverie was being built, invested on, planned, adjusted, tweaked. That day it had been closed for her. Demon lord and demon friend had been vague in their contacts. Happy and giddy but vague. Not that it was in any way unusual. Just their way of doing business.

Stepping through the swinging doors of the Gold Digger attracted the attention of the whole room. A room full of male demons. Mouser paused, huffing, amused, understanding. The proposals and hints of their letters when not discussing the hunt, the secrets and underworld. The recent trip down under. Figures.

"So these are the scoundrels that want my mark." The thief teased, pulling the outer doors closed so no interruption barged through. There was too much there for a random person to see.

Sitri stood behind the bar, smoking, leaning over it,. He had been chatting with an enormous tiger that lapped at a bucket of booze. Said tiger now sat on his hunches and stared at her with big bicolour eyes, mirrored. Amethyst on the outer side, sapphire on the inside. Still mMost had taken on a human guise to mix with the London crowd. Rich and posh, dock workers, Bblack, Chinese, Indian and white, broadening the hunting grounds. Unassumingly human with just a few odd traits to tell them apart. Others had shapes of beasts. A bob-tailed cat with green eyes and blue stripes cutting through the ivory fur. A jaguar-like beast of pink and black pelt with curled copper horns under its ears tapped its claws on the table. A four-eyed cat with orange fur and red swirls hummed a tune, sitting on the player barrel piano, slapping the hand crank when the music stopped. A feline of flame flickered, pale, grey, small, hiding inside the glass of a lamp. Black shadows with golden eyes moved from patch to patch of every darkened area available, peeking, looking more natural. An actual cat, undisturbed by the menagerie, napped on the gambling table half hidden near the small stage.

"I done did some siftin' an' sortin'." Pouring a drink Sirti called Mouser closer. "The young'uns has tails the old'uns has tailcoats. Minus Rufus here." the tiger chuckled like an old man with too much tobacco in his lungs. "They is all kitties 'cause..."

"I am to have a clowder" Smiling Mouser took the glass and downed it. As soon as it touched the wooden surface the jaguar hopped the counter and gripped a bottle, pouring, smiling smugly as others glared. "Thank you, Spots." There was brisling.

The obvious fawning that followed was baffling. Mouser smiled, watching carefully was smiling as they bent over backwards to please her. Except for Rufus. The tiger had taken a more protective stance, sitting next to her, glaring at the young ones and taking a lap from his drink from time to time, growling.

Sitri was chuckling through the drinks, the offering of cigarettes, lighters and trinkets.

"They is eager to get branded." he mentioned, noticing her vigilance.

"You have been wagging your gossipy tongue, haven't you..." Muttering she picked up the booze, scanning it with narrowed eyes before taking a sip. Nothing off about it.

"Ayup. That I has." Carefree he confirmed, stretching, grinning. "You is gonna need a boostin'" He turned serious the demons stopped vying for her attention, stilling around them, watching.

"Thanks Sitri." Mouser shook her head and took another swig.

"I'll want names later or I'm nicknaming everyone." Taking their loyalty was easy, binding power to her, making sure of a strong link to her clowder. Their eagerness and want for power and security in the tangle of connections she had found herself in helped. It was just a loose link for the time. Information took precedence. The rest would be preparation. "So you found him?"

"I has." Sitri nodded. "You was right 'bout hidin' holes."

Right back at the Trancy Estate.

The chilly night wind made the trees rustle, just an unassuming, semi-tamed forest at the edges of the manor, made for the entertainment of the lord in hunts. Close enough for those who ran away to think they had found safety. Close enough for little boys to come and make deals they knew nothing about lured by the promise of safety, of power, of… anything to ease their existence.

There was no resonance, magical or infernal. It made sense for hunting grounds and it made even more sense for a sanctuary, especially after having it abandoned for a while, presence masked, on the run. It was where Faustus had settled for so long that the pull to return would be strong. Also, if there were old souls, half consumed, left in the webs within… Spider demons according to memories and Sitri tended to spin a complex, in-between realms, hunting, storing, skulking, surviving. Hiding away. And then returning and rebuilding. But he should have waited a century or two…

"Burn it down." Mouser whispered, scanning the trees, finding the locks. A threat, uninvited, an executioner. Of course they resisted. However…

Pluto stepped away from the group of demons following her, growling, taking a deep breath, unleashing hellfire. Under its assault the sigils started to crack and glow. The actual blaze was contained within the wards they had placed around the area that reacted to the blackened rose of the broken contract. No need to draw more attention than absolutely necessary.

The Cerberus stepped forth too and clawed at the weakening markings, ripping the mortal realm away, carving a path into the webbed den.

Lae hissed and curled around Mouser's palm, shifting into blades. The recently acquired clowder, whose collective power was seeping steadily into her followed, approached, eager to prove their worth, to upstage dogs and weapon, to show it to the female, Sitri and the connections found through them.

Crushing the rose as proof of a sanctioned execution stripped the remains of the outer defences and allowed them in through glossy swaying silvery webs.