He could not believe what he was hearing.

"So, just be careful okay? Keep those in your wallet."

No. He was going to hide them under his pillow. Jude stuffed the string of little foil packets in his pocket before anyone else saw what was Eros had decided he needed.

Thank you, Alister, for tipping off Eros. No, he would not bring Svetty in to this. Not even if they begged.

They let him off the hook for future duty after the first client took a look at his colorful bruising and asked if a client had done that to him. Turns out, if they think you got hit in the face for being a fake, it's that much harder to convince them to part with their cash.

So he got the day off. Well, not really. He was supposed to be on the look out for Sebastian, but Jude only had one thing on his mind.

He cleaned up, made sure he had his sunglasses and made his way out to town. He was already at Aurum's door before he realized what he was doing was real and not him future gazing.

He was knocking on the door.

He was going to ask if Svetty was home.

He should have brought blue roses.

"I'll get it!"

Up, Amelia got from her seat at the table. To the front door, she scurried. Lass scamper!

She opened the door.

Amelia stared.

There was an unfamiliar man standing in the door. And his face looked like someone had not liked it, and had decided to try to improve upon it with their fists.

"Um." She stopped. Then, very politely, she continued. "Who the hell are you...?"

An eyebrow arched towards the ceiling. He paused in his steak-slicing, fork and knife poised over his plate. His little sister had just left the dinner table. And a moment later... some very interesting words had drifted from the living room, to the kitchen table.

Someone... was at the door... and she didn't know them. The eyebrow archer wasn't about that. That was fairly normal. No. It was at... Ami's reaction.

He sighed, and smiled apologetically at Svetlana, then looked towards the other room.

Aurum shouted. "Amiiii? Who are you talking to?"

Who was she talking to? And really. Had nobody taught her manners?

Sveta hat a bad feeling about this as soon as there was a knock on the door and Ami jumped up to answer it. Call it feminine instinct. She just knew this was not going to be okay.

her susupicion grew shen she heard Ami greet the newcomer. Uh-oh. It was definitely not a friend. Whoever it was, Ami didn't like him/her, and that meant doom, Sveta knew that much from hanging out with the Mellitus family.

As she stood up from the table and walked towards the hall to see, she just hope it would be anyone but the one person she did not want Ami to greet like that...

"Ami." Jude blinked and readjusted his sunglasses. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but whatever it was... it wasn't that. "May I speak withs Svetlana, please?"

Jude shifted on his feet. He hadn't seen Ami since he'd grown and now it seemed a bit strange. He didn't think it seemed right hearing those words out of a young girl's mouth. And it was weird to think of her as a young girl... but then again he'd always thought of her as too young for his tastes...

The guy said his name was Ami. Huh. Nope. That was her name. No good, Mister Shades. Wrong answer.

Asked for Svetlana. Was a creeper.

"No go."

Like she'd trust a guy with a banged up face like that, wearing shades? No doubt, to mask his identity!

Again, she emphasized. "Gonna have to need a real name. Or at least--" A hand landed on her shoulder. She glanced back over her shoulder, and saw Aurum.

Aurum shook his head.

"Ami... at least see if Svetlana knows this guy before engaging the Spanish Inquisition."

Amelia crossed her arms with a 'hmph'. Too late. Spanish Inquisition mode had already been engaged. "He still hasn't told me his name."

"Jude?"

So, that question was answered. Sveta stood behind Aurum and Ami, peering around them with a suprised smile. The smile, however, was short-lived when she finally caught up to the situation. Ami. Facing. Jude.
Uh-oh.

Sveta turned a bit pink in the cheek. She was suddenly all self-conscious about the fact that she was wearing a t-shirt and pajama pants; but that was not her main problem right now. Her main problem was. Ami. Facing Jude.

"Hi" she smiled at him none the less. He was wearing shades. Did he still have bruises? He probably did. But nothing a new black eye couldn't cover up...

"No, Ami..." He tried to explain. Really. Women! Aurum was the stabilizing element, sending Ami away before she did something really ugly. "It's me, Jude." He explained it to Aurum without thinking. He knew Aurum. He knew Ami. Ami and Aurum should know him.

Svetty popped into view, adorable in her pajamas with sleepy hair. She waved. Jude waved back. Why were Ami and Aurum both in the way? He just wanted to see Svetlana...

"Can I come in?"

It... was Jude.

Jude.

She wanted to slap her face. Not because it was embarrassing or anything, but because it had been obvious. With bruises like that, there was no way he hadn't gotten them doing something perverted.

Amelia kept her arms crossed. Her upper lip, upturned. She did not move.

"What do you want?"

A hand squeezed her shoulder.

Dammit. Amelia winced.

Calmly, very calmly, Aurum played the brain for his little sister. "He probably wants to talk to Svetlana." He said.

Probably her. Because he never talked much to him. And Ami had not been expecting the kid.

Also. He hadn't been told of the change in ages. Aurum smiled at Jude. "Come on in. Did you do something with your hair?"

Begrudgingly, Amelia moved out of the doorway for Jude.

Ami did not like Jude. Jude was more surprised than anything, and Aurum was trying to manage the situation. Although, when she finally caught up to who the guy in the door was, Ami's face was priceless. Sveta chuckled.

"Come in" she nodded once Aurum gave permission, and she smiled at Jude. He looked like he needed some encouragement not to dance back from Ami's glare. She would have hugged or kissed him, but she was not really sure what power he brought with himself this time. She also couldn't help but blush a bit.

"We were just having lunch" she explained as Jude walked in.

Would hey believe a moose beat him up? At some point the truth was just too weird to share. Like being a kid who felt grown up. See? Jude could learn.

"Guess I haven't seen you since I grew up, huh?" Jude stepped in only after he'd been invited. Not because he was a vampire, but because he was polite. He left his sunglasses on. "Thank you. For taking care of Svetlana. And sorry to barge in on your lunch."

Lunch and Svetty was still in her pajamas? He wanted to hold out his hand to her and be double sure nothing bad would happen with this power... but that could wait. "I can wait if you want to finish up or... change?" He turned his head to Svetlana. The question really was for her. Because he wanted to talk to her more than anyone else in this building.

Amelia kept quiet while Jude spoke. He was speaking to her brother, mainly. So, she got to be ignored.

It was freakish. The 'getting older' thing. Not that growing up was freakish, but... last she'd seen him, he'd been younger. And now, he could have passed for a model on the cover of some magazine for teenage girls. Well, maybe. She imagined so. If he hadn't gotten beaten up for being a perv.

Jude's next comment caused her to arch an eyebrow.

"Um." To Sveta's side, Amelia went. She leaned up to whisper in the other girl's ear. "We need to talk."

Something was going on here that she did not like the implications of. Why was Jude asking Sveta out of the house?

>>"Guess I haven't seen you since I grew up, huh?"

Aurum shook his head. "Nope."

>>"Thank you. For taking care of Svetlana. And sorry to barge in on your lunch."

"It's not a problem." He replied, casually. His hands hugged his elbows as he waited for the other shoe to drop.

And there it went. Jude asked when Svetlana would be ready to go, and... Ami being Ami, decided to take matters into her own hands.

Aurum took a few steps towards Jude, and whispered so that only he could hear. "I think you're in trouble. They're conspiring."

Standing by Jude, Aurum watched the two ladies talk amongst themselves.