Round 6 Transcript

As the three women walk away from Julia's apartment building under increasingly suspicious stares, they hear hurried footsteps behind them. Halie's voice calls out—"Julia!" The grocer who'd been watching earlier is approaching rapidly, phone still clutched like a weapon or evidence. "Hey! Ladies!" The stranger shouts. "Mind if I ask what you were doing there? That woman looked pretty upset..."

This is getting out of hand. I turn back toward the approaching stranger, my wings twitching with barely contained irritation under the concealing cloak. We don't need witnesses—especially not ones with phones ready to document everything for whatever twisted amusement passes in this city. The grocer looks harmless enough on the surface—a middle-aged woman with practical shoes and a too-brief jacket against the morning chill—but that phone is raised like she's already composing her social media post about 'suspicious cultist activity spotted in residential neighborhood.' We can't afford that kind of attention. The authorities might be corrupt, but they're also predictable—if enough mundanes start reporting strange goings-on around Julia's apartment complex, it'll draw the wrong kind of attention we're trying to avoid. I step forward before Hera or Silra can react—the Cleric is too gentle for this confrontation and my rogue has a hair trigger that might escalate things further. The grocer stops a few paces away, eyeing us with that mixture of curiosity and suspicion people get when they think they're about to witness something truly scandalous. "I don't see how that's any of your business," I say coolly, though my fingers twitch toward the concealed sigils under my gloves—tools for persuasion or suppression, depending on what this woman proves herself to be. "Unless you have a specific reason for accosting strangers in public places? Because if so, I'd love to hear exactly what you think gives you the right to interrogate us."