"So, this is what I would look like as a human? Most people on other worlds just thought I was a strange fey and didn't realize I was a half breed." – Anna after getting an amulet to conceal her.

The day after the raiding of the enchanter's guild found Kurt hard at work. That work was mostly staring at a list he had been writing. It was a list of all his projects that he had ideas for but hadn't actually put any research into to move the proverbial progress bar. He just hoped that it wouldn't be like the traditional loading screen where the bar filled rapidly before languishing at 98% for eternity.

"Alright here is what I have." Kurt began, addressing the room which consisted of Val, Kristi, Penny and special guest, Anna. Their fey guest had thankfully not been too awkward after the minor incident that morning and only avoided eye contact until breakfast was served. She perked right up when he gave her a copy of the amulet that Kristi wore and hadn't taken it off since.

It turned out that Anna was a rather cute human when the amulet was activated to change her shape. Her normal lynx color hair darkened to something close to a dark brown that was lighter at the tips but still short and in its seemingly natural pixie cut. Her skin took on a slightly darker complexion, appearing to be more olive in tone than tanned like Kristi. Her overall shape remained petite and rather short but there was some muscle tone that stood out when she moved.

Kurt began with his older ideas, moving from the top of his list while Penny wrote them on a whiteboard that looked suspiciously like the one formerly in her office. "I have improved casting focus, improved storage ring, elemental or general enchanted weapons, translation items, healing items, armor, clothing and lastly, internal enchanted items."

Val raised her hand and began speaking. "About that last one… I am all for a little experimentation in the bedroom, but I don't think I can walk around with something shoved in my a…" She began before Kurt was desperately waiving his hands to stop her.

"No, NO! Nothing like that." He quickly said while blushing a little. "Remember the tags that the guild put in their prisoners? That is what I am looking at." He said and noted that Anna flinched a little at the suggestion. "I am not talking about trackers and kill commands either."

"Then what are you talking about?" Kristi asked while looking at the whiteboard. "If you explain a bit, it might help us narrow down the order to make things in."

"So, remember when Sam asked for a sort of medallion to keep in her to help with fire and sunlight?" Kurt said and got nods all around. "I thought that was unique to her but then after yesterday, I got another idea. What if I can make something that can stay in the body permanently with no ill effects and be of constant use?"

"Elaborate a little more." Kristi was looking interested in the idea.

Kurt tapped the ring on his hand. "What if we had enchanted items that people couldn't take from us? Sure, I might not get the same size out of an internal storage device but then we would never be without a weapon. Or could I use one of the telepathy enchantments for magical communications and have us always be able to talk without actually speaking? Things like that."

Val was nodding along. "I like the idea. And if you use medical grade metals, then it would be perfectly safe." She considered it for a moment. "Sounds like a great number two pick."

"What is number one?" Kurt asked, confused.

"Armor." Kristi and Val answered at the same time.

The rest of the morning was spent with them going over the list and sorting the items into priority for him to work on. The number one slot ended up being both armor and clothing since everyone was sick of having to throw away clothes after every mission because they were ruined by damage or staining.

When the debate and list was finally complete, they ended up taking a break for lunch. Penny went back to the Order while Kurt broke out the sandwich materials for the girls. It was simple fare but also easy enough for them all to make what they wanted and not have to actually cook.

While eating, they spent some time getting to know Anna a bit more. Kurt found out that she was actually born in one of the fey realms to a middling lord for a father but grew up far from the courts for her own safety.

She had spent most of her childhood in small towns and villages on one of the more primitive worlds where the tech tree seemed to stop in the late 1800's of Earth's timeline. It was there that she had learned enchanting before traveling to Verdant to apprentice with an enchanter. After several years of that, she traveled to another realm to try and open her own operation but ran into issues with the guild.

"Shit, I am sorry that happened to you." Kurt said, offering a pat on her shoulder. "I am sure we will get around to taking care of that problem in the very near future though."

"Yeah, but now, what am I to do? I can't go back to any world the guild has a foothold in, and I don't know what to do to make a living anymore." Anna lamented.

"Perhaps we can be of assistance." Penny said as she entered with Jay following close behind. "Sorry to disturb you but we figured you would be done with lunch by now."

Kurt waved her off. "It's fine, we were done and ended up just chatting. What's up?"

Penny looked at Anna. "I would like to borrow you."

"And I would like to talk to you, Kurt." Jay said. "Perhaps down in your work room would be an apt place to have this conversation."

"Sure thing. Anna, are you ok to go with Penny?" He asked while bussing the plates.

Anna considered for a moment before their handler interjected. "We don't actually need to go anywhere, I just wanted to talk to you for a while." That seemed to ease the worry that Anna was showing on her face, and she joined Penny in the living room.

Jay followed Kurt and the girls back down to the workroom, looking a little confused as they walked past its former location and over to the new vault door. "I see that you have updated your security."

"Yeah, I ended up not needing this room for its intended purpose and it's way more secure than my old one." Kurt said while opening the magical locks and walking in. "Plus, now Kristi gets her own room for her hobby."

Kristi saw Jay turn with a raised eyebrow. "Video games and other media." She answered his unspoked question.

"Ahh, I have always been more a fan of table top myself." The demon said while sitting on one of the many stools that were still out around the whiteboard and taking a moment to study the list. "I have actually thought about joining that little group of yours on Saturdays but it's a little hard with the time zone thing and my home in France."

"You are always welcome if things change." Val said with a friendly smile.

"Hmm, perhaps if the wives decided to move to a house here in the states." He mentioned idly.

Kurt and the girls shared a look. "You're married?" He asked with a tone of surprise.

"Yes, but that is beside the point." He pointed to the whiteboard. "Penny bumped into me earlier and mentioned that you were working on new projects but having some issues."

"Umm, yeah. Not so much with the armor but the clothing and the implants are going to be tricky. I haven't done anything like those and have no idea where to start or even begin to research the topic." Kurt admitted. "Honestly the only place I can think to go for answers would be my uncle, but he is off world and also part of the guild."

"Well, this is rather fortuitous then." Jay said with a sly grin. "You see I had the time to do a little snooping in the office of this branch's leader. While there, I took the liberty of picking out a few things, some of which you might be interested in."

A moment later there were over two dozen books stacked up from the floor, right next to Jay as he summoned them from his ring. "These are yours to do with as you please." He said while stabilizing the pile slightly. "I would give you more, but they aren't in English. Most of these probably aren't even your particular brand of enchanting but might help give you some insights or inspirations."

"This is a lot." Kurt said while transferring the books to his workbench. "Like how much does all this cost?"

Waving a hand, Jay pulled a face. "Bah, this is a personal gift, but speaking of costs, I have another question for you."

"Ok, what can I help with?"

"So that little branch had an awful lot of enchanted items in storage. Not much of it was very good but the quantity has a certain quality of its own." Jay pulled out a list and looked it over quickly. "The Order left it up to me on how to handle the inventory in the storage room and I was considering selling it. Do you have any thoughts?"

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Kurt considered for a moment, but it was Kristi who weighed in with her opinion first. "How about you give the support teams first pass at the loot? See if they want anything for themselves and then sell the rest. Then you can divvy out the money from the sale."

"Yeah, that." Kurt said. He wasn't about to steal Kristi's thunder but would definitely support that idea.

"We can make that happen. I was also wondering if you wanted your payment in cash or precious metals." Jay gestured vaguely at the workbench. "For whatever you cook up next."

Thinking for a moment, Kurt came to a decision. "Cash is fine for now, but can I ask for something else?" he already had a lot of materials but needed some capital for getting things made. Not that he needed more after his earlier windfalls, but more liquid cash was always good.

"Let's hear it." Jay said.

"Can you take a portion of that and give it to the former prisoners to help them get back on their feet? That and make sure the support teams get a bonus if they don't want enchanted items."

"How noble of you." Jay sighed. "Fine, I can do that. I will arrange for a direct deposit to your account."

Val stepped up then. "Can you also transfer our accounts to the bank Kurt uses?" She gestured between herself and Kristi. "It just makes it easier for us to have everything on world rather than needing to pull cash from the Order or do money transfers."

Jay pulled out a note pad and began writing. "Consider it done. I am sure your banker will be very happy." He said to Kurt. "If there is nothing else, then I will be on my way."

Kurt walked him out, Kristi and Val in tow. As they crested the stairs, they saw Anna and Penny sitting at the counter with a familiar welcome video playing on a tablet.

"Oh, good, you accepted." Jay said. "We will take good care of you for as long as you require."

Anna looked startled but just nodded. "T-thanks. I-it seemed like a good opportunity."

"Hmm, quite." Jay drawled. "Anyway, I am out of here. Kurt, take a long weekend and we can move on to regular assignments on Monday. Consider it a little vacation bonus if that makes you feel better."

With nothing else to say, Jay promptly left through the door to the breezeway. That left Kurt and the girls standing there with Penny and Anna. Nobody seemed to be exactly sure of what to do next until Anna suddenly perked up, the color draining from her face.

"Where will I stay?" She asked in an anxious tone.

"Well, I can get you a room in the barracks for the time being. As an auxiliary to Jay's teams, it would be easy to do." Penny offered. "Then you can begin to look for an apartment or other arrangements without the pressure of being homeless hanging over your head."

Anna's eyes flicked to Kurt and the girls. He saw where this was going and just decided to get ahead of it. "Or you can stay with us for a little while until you get settled." He felt Val's hand patting him on the back and he felt a happy sort of pride coming from the emotion sharing jewelry they wore.

"Yeah, just stay with us." Val said, adding on to Kurt's offer. "But we need to do one thing, now that we have some time off."

"Oh?" Kurt wondered aloud.

"She needs some clothes. It isn't like she can keep wearing your sweatshirt and my capris, no matter how cute she looks." The kitsune pantomimed pinching her cheeks.

Kristi pumped a fist, hissing out a 'hell yes.'

Kurt looked over at her. "Why are you so excited?"

"Because while Val and Penny take her clothes shopping, we can go visit Alec and go gun shopping." Kristi said while wrapping herself around his arm. He didn't know if he should be scared or aroused at the sensual tone she used for the words 'gun shopping'.

Either way, that was a deal that he could get behind and they all got ready to go while Penny finished up getting Anna signed on with the Order. A few minutes later, they had all piled into Kurt's SUV and were making their way through the snowy countryside toward Traverse City.

*****

While walking to the front door of Hamlet's, Kurt's phone pinged and he quickly checked the message before letting out a little laugh and opening the door. Just on the other side was a mostly empty showroom with only a couple customers bumbling around in the shelves. At the counter, right next to the door, was Alec, putting his phone back in his pocket.

"Hi there. Welcome to…" Alec looked at him, then at his phone, then back to him. "What, can these things summon people now?" he asked.

A robotic and slightly muffled voice suddenly began to speak, coming from the phone in his hand. "While the reveal of magic brought information about many topics, the art of summoning is…"

"Oh, shut up you useless old hag." Alec swore at his phone and silenced the digital assistant. "I just wish I could turn that bitch off, but they hard wired it to a button on the side that I bump all the time."

"Maybe you should talk to her more, then she will find out how off putting you are and leave on her own?" Kristi offered as she bellied up to the counter next to Kurt.

Alec chuckled. "Ats a good one. I'll have to tell Na about that."

Sensing a moment to jump in, Kurt spoke up. "So, I didn't actually read your text, but we were coming to look around while Val is shopping with a friend." He explained. "What did you want to talk about?"

Smacking the counter, Alec turned and waived them to follow. "That's right. Your work order came back from the smith. Old blood sucker finally got around to finishing your stuff." They were passing the break room as Alec said that and they were suddenly greeted by a short, slim man poking his head out into the hall.

"What was that about blood suckers, short stack?" His voice was slightly accented, sounding like he was from the New York area but hadn't lived there in a while.

"Who are you calling short stack? You are like barely an inch taller than me." Alec retorted.

"Yeah, but I'm slender so I look taller."

Alec huffed. "So, you're calling me fat?"

"No, no. I think the term is stocky." The Vampire smiled, revealing his fangs.

Kurt felt Kristi flinch at the sight and figuring out exactly what the man was. "Kristi, meet Cavans. He is the gunsmith that I normally work with."

That seemed to clue in the two bickering employees and their attention turned to Kurt and Kristi as she grabbed his hand and squeezed. He hadn't forgotten about her aversion to the vampiric races and would support her as best he could.

The movement didn't go unnoticed, and the newcomer decided to take matters into his own hands. "Hi there. Kristi, was it? I am James Cavans and most normal people call me James, but these two dick heads use my last name for some reason." His brown eyes held no malice, only seeming to be filled with understanding as he introduced himself. "Don't worry, I am not a traditional member of my race. I am a big proponent of consent, if that helps ease your concerns."

Kristi smiled, not a full smile but at least a polite one as she nodded. "Nice to meet you, James. And it kind of does." She answered and slightly slackened her grip on Kurt's hand.

"Oh, since you are here with us." Kurt began and summoned the rifle he had been using in the vampire rift. "Can you change out the handguard on this and make sure everything else is still good?"

James took the rifle after jumping slightly, shocked from it suddenly appearing in Kurt's hand. He turned it over, inspecting the deep cut to the side of the handguard. His nostrils flared slightly and he looked up, locking eyes with Kurt.

"Sure, but why does it smell like blood? Almost like vampire blood if I am not mistaken." He said while walking down the hall with them.

"Because we fought a lesser vampire." Kurt answered in as calm and matter of fact tone as he could manage.

"Uh huh. Care to elaborate?"

"Nope."

James snorted, clearly amused. "Then mind telling me how this was almost cut in half?"

Kristi summoned her seax, clearly displaying the short, razor-sharp edge. "I was a little overzealous and the vampire didn't provide the resistance I expected."

Stopping in Alec's office, James stared at them with narrowed eyes. Kurt decided that perhaps a little bit more information would help ease the suspicions the gunsmith was having. "Order Stabilitas business."

That made James' squinted eyes widen and he suddenly dropped the subject. "Yup. Got it. I will take this back to my bench and see what's what. Back in a flash." He said and quickly made his exit, leaving Alec's office and continuing down the hall.

Alec flopped down in his chair while Kurt and Kristi took the couch. "Well, that seemed to work. Wonder what his experience with the Order is." He mused while summoning a bunch of boxes from his ring. "Here is what I was texting about and why Cavans was lurking in the break room."

Kurt slid the boxes over and checked them out, making sure that everything appeared in order. "Looks good but we also have some other business if you are so inclined."

"Don't threaten me with a good time." Alec laughed. "What did you need?"

Kristi filled the dwarf in on why they were in the area and the reason for them paying the shop a visit. He seemed amused that they had decided to duck out of the shopping trip and came to him instead. Just as they were about to get up and head out to the sales floor, James came back into the room.

"Well, I got news." He said, handing Kurt the rifle with its handguard removed. "That fore end is pretty much trash. The gas tube was dented slightly, the rail is a complete write off and I am surprised the barrel held. That gouge just in front of the chamber is deeper than it looks." He explained while using a metal dental pic to point out the damage.

"So, all that's worth saving is the muzzle device and receiver?" Kurt said.

"Yup, we have a new barrel and gas tube but we don't that handguard."

Kurt thought for a moment. "Can you change it to a different handguard? I wasn't exactly married to the one I had on it."

"Yeah, I can." James answered. "Let's go see what is on the shelves. Do you need it to hold zero or…?" He began to ask Kurt about his needs as they walked out to the sales floor. Kurt confirmed some details then approved the selected rail, opting for a Geisselle that was reportedly very good.

While James was off rebuilding his rifle, Alec took them around the displays, asking what they wanted to see. Kristi led the way, poking around in the handgun display for only a minute before going to the long guns.

"What is that?" She asked, pointing to a black rifle-looking gun with a thick barrel and very wide magazine.

"It's a twelve gauge." Alec said while grabbing it and clearing the action before setting it on the counter. "Built kinda like the AK but scaled up. This one is made by K-USA."

Kristi ran her hands over it, running the action and testing the controls before shouldering it. She adjusted the stock a little and even fiddled with the magazine. "How do they perform?"

"Perform at what?" Alec asked. "I wouldn't exactly take it hunting or go to shoot clays with it, so I need to know what thing you want it for."

Leaning in a little, Kristi lowered her voice. "For the things we do."

"Well, it's not the most reliable feeding and cycling with low power ammunition but I don't think you would have that problem given your use for it." Alec answered. "If you find a good slug and buck load that you like, it should be just fine with a little red dot on top."

"Magazine capacity?" Kurt asked. He knew a little about these guns but wanted Kristi to hear about it from a more knowledgeable source.

"They have fives and tens pretty commonly available, but I know some companies make longer mags up to like fifteen. There are a few that make drum magazines, but they are kinda expensive. Three-inch shells are max on these and like I said, you want some good stout loads, the lightweight shot doesn't cycle well."

Kristi looked at Kurt. "I am thinking a shotgun would be nice for anything small or the things that clump together."

Kurt nodded. "Probably a good idea and with the rings, storage isn't a problem like with some shotgun mags. It's hard to get a lot of rounds when the magazine takes up so much room on a vest."

"I will take it." Kristi said promptly. "Plus, the best ammunition you have and all the extra magazines."

Alec took the gun back and put it on the rack. "I got a new one in the box in the back. Plenty of ammunition but Magazines I will have to order. They could be here by the weekend."

"How about you and Na come over for dinner on Sunday then? Just bring the magazines along." Kurt offered. He pulled out a paper list from his pocket and marked off an item.

"Sold!" Alec laughed. "Now, what else can I tempt you with?"

Kurt had been eyeing one gun in particular. "Show me that Sig MCX in three hundred. Something tells me that I will want more suppressed options soon." With that, they moved farther down the counter and spent the next couple hours making the owners of Hamlets a little richer.

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