Young Writers Society

Ryder glanced at the other people present, trying to figure out what the next best approach was. The girl who had never given her name was acting in a way he didn't like in the slightest, Meryl seemed confused, and the apparent wolf-lion seemed just as put off by the unnamed girl as Ryder was.

Plus, there was something going on further down in the alleyway, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know what.

"I think none of us are from here," Ryder safely assumed. Leader mode was already kicking in. This group definitely wasn't like his resistance, but he could handle a difficult person or two. He gave the group a wave - Meryl had already heard who he was, but everyone else hadn't.

"I'm Ryder," he said, though it was mostly to the wolf-lion. "Ryder Salvai. It's a good idea to figure out where we're from, but I think names are a better place - then we can stop calling each other things like 'wolf-lion' and 'human' in our heads."

He turned and gave the unnamed girl a smile, but anyone who knew him well enough could tell it was just as fake as her tone.

Taber gave a shaky laugh. "If you don't remember my name, just call me a wolf - I like that better," he said. He turned to the other person who had asked him a question, trying and failing to not glance at the third person as her eyes wandered around her surroundings. "And I don't see anyone who looks like me or my friends, so I'm guessing we're not from here either?"

He heard a loud clang! coming from behind the dumpster and winced, then plastered his smile back on. Better not to think about it.

The smile that Queenie returned was cold, calculated, "Pleasure to meet you, Ryder," she chirped, "I'm Queenie." She left out her last name.

On her phone, what looked like a list, written entirely in French save the occasional mention of a name or two, continued to grow.

She reminded him of his brother.

...He hated his brother.

"Nice to meet you, Queenie," he said. The only person who hadn't been introduced - save for the two in the back of the alleyway - was Meryl, but he already knew who she was.

"That's Meryl," he said, gesturing over at the girl in question with a smile.

Then he turned back to Taber, making sure to take note of his request. "I'll remember that," he promised with a smile. This one was different than the one Queenie had received; it was warm and genuine. "But I don't think I'll forget that your name is Taber."

Queenie had vanished momentarily, escaping the notice of the others until her return, "We should get out of here," she said, dropping the false tone for one that made it clear she wasn't taking any arguments, "There's a hotel three blocks down from here, I've got cash for rooms, come on," she gestured them after her as she began the walk to the hotel, not bothering to check if anyone was following.

He watched as Queenie returned to the street, seeming to forget that three out of their group of six weren't human. Hoods could only do so much.

He glanced back out into the street, and at the sky above. Sunset was coming. It wouldn't be long before darkness - they could search the streets for answers then.

"I think we should stay here until the night falls," he said. "We can't stay in a hotel when we look like this. We need to find out what happened to us, and I think searching the street is our best option."

Queenie waited until she turned the corner to stop and read through her list. On the top was a note about the vantage points above the alley. She waited a moment. No one followed her.

She sighed, wondering why she cared as she entered the building adjacent the alley and climbed to the roof, where the echo of Ryder's voice carried up to her. She rolled her eyes when she heard his plan. Clearly, he overestimated the amount that any employee ever cared about anything when presented with money.

Taber was a little happier about Queenie leaving than he would've liked. On the other hand, he did like the sound of a hotel, especially if she had the money for it. Then again, even if Ryder's idea didn't sound so safe, he was a little nicer about it. So, while Taber smiled and nodded at Ryder, the wolf had acutely no idea what to do, which unnerved him a little bit.

"What do you expect to find?" Lunis said. Taber looked back to see the panther striding out of the alley, tail swishing from side to side. Kendrik followed Lunis, the hound rubbing the back of his head and muttering. The hound held Lunis's knife in one paw, but it looked pretty pointless now.

Stopping in front of the others, Lunis crossed his arms. "Who's to say the evidence we could find hasn't already been trampled by all of these people? If we haven't already noticed it, I'm not sure we will."

He admittedly had no idea what they were looking for, but there had to be something out in the street that would help them put the pieces together.

"It might have," he admitted. "But we have to try looking for it - I don't think we'll get home unless we take matters into our own hands."

He gave them a confident smile. "Even if we don't find clues, we might find something that can give us a better plan."

It was getting late. Though she couldn't see the horizon, the sky was dimming from amber to velvety black and lights flickered on in buildings around them.

Meryl herself was unsure of what to do next, now that the initial shock had worn out. She was in a crowded New York with a phone she couldn't use when she most needed it, with others who seemingly hailed from far flung places. And she wasn't eager to attract a lot of attention. Maybe alone she wouldn't but with the others...

"I agree with Ryder," Meryl said. "I think I might go look around and see if there are any others who are stranded here as well."

Kendrik looked over Lunis's shoulder and scowled. "How long's it gonna take for this crowd to clear up?" he said. "And what're the odds someone's gonna spot us anyways, even when it is dark out?"

Queenie took the fire-escape on the other side of the building down to the street, dialing the hotel's number as she went.

Still completely oblivious as to why she cared, She approached the group with the phone to her ear, listening to the ringing as she answered, "Not good."

A woman picked up the line and she booked the largest suite quickly, watching their surroundings as she did.

Great.

Queenie was back.

He took a deep breath, forced a smile on his face and said, "Even if you are noticed, they'll probably think it's a trick of the light," he said. He thought for a moment, then decided to go out on a limb and be a little risky.

"I'm good at helping people hide in the shadows," he added. He could use his magic if necessary - he just wouldn't let them realize it was there or who it had come from.

Queenie watched the distasteful look on Ryder's face with no small amount of glee. Taking a page out of her sister's book, she kept a flat expression and matching tone as she finished the transaction, confirming that she would pay in cash thrice over before hanging up.

"So," she said, "seeing as the likelihood of finding anything in the dark, even in the city that never sleeps, is little to none, and I've got a fairly-large hotel room waiting a few blocks away, you guys have a choice to make."

Kendrik was just about to comment that Lunis had just cut open a hole in his pants to show his tail, but what Ryder said next derailed his train of thought. "What do ya mean by that?" Kendrik said, narrowing his eyes.

"I'm not against the hotel thing she was talking about," the panther said, pointing to Queenie (who appeared to be holding some kind of odd device). "But I can hide pretty well on my own. They won't even get a good enough look at me to think it's a trick of the light."