WINTER IS COMING

[Doom]

Monique hugged Stephanie back, careful not to allow her skin poison to flare up again. However, if Stephanie's skin happened to touch Monique's tears, then chances are it would hurt a little.
"K-Kailen," Monique stuttered, suddenly remembering the news that he and his family had been attacked. "What happened?"

[Raven]

Kailen shrugged. "A bunch of people showed up," was all he said.

[Doom]

Monique stepped away from Stephanie, frowning at Kailen. "And then...?"

[Gifted]

"Monique, we can talk about it later. Did you pack food?" Stephanie asked.

[Doom]

"Um..." Monique opened her suitcase, clothing spilling out as she did so. "I don't think so. Sorry."

[Gifted]

Stephanie gritted her teeth. "And I don't have stored food, I was given an allowance weekly for it. Great. Three people running away from society and not one of us is bringing any food." She shook her head. Getting mad at these two, who had fled in high stress, high panic scenarios, simply wasn't fair. "I'll have to get some." She started digging through another one of the many suitcases, all of which were already packed and filled to bursting. "It's best I go alone, I'm best at blending in." She threw a fake ID and a police badge on the bed without even thinking about it. "Kailen's place will probably be the smartest - probably some old cupcakes or something in the back of the fridge."

[Doom]

Monique watched as Stephanie threw items out of her pack, gasping when she saw the police badge. She picked it up, examining it as Stephanie said something about cupcakes.
"Is this real? How did you get it?"

[Gifted]

Stephanie looked over and snorted. "Pfft. No. Fifty bucks on ebay. Still, no one looks closely enough to realize it. Not even the cops themselves, if I do my job right."

[Doom]

"O-oh," said Monique with an uneasy chuckle. "That's... kinda disappointing. You've actually fooled cops before with this?"

[Gifted]

"Yup. I tell them I'm a detective from another state. It's all about the timing you choose to meet them. Try to go to them halfway through and tell them you're a cop from out of town, they get upset and insist on running credentials and generally get pissy. Roll up as they're still processing the crime scene and say the same thing, you're added smoothly into the loop." She tossed a white button up blouse, a formal suit jacket and some dress pants onto the bed as well, pulled out a rather large makeup kit and zipped up her suitcase. "I'm changing in the bathroom. Anyone needs to use one there's one in the lobby."

[Doom]

Monique looked bewildered. "But... can't they tell you're not an adult?"

[Gifted]

Stephanie grinned. "You clearly haven't seen the magic I can do with makeup." She grinned. "Watch this." She disappeared into her bathroom with the clothes and the makeup kit and shut the door.

[Raven]

"I think most people don't even know what they're looking for when they look at badges. I mean, you couldn't tell it was fake, could you?" Kailen asked Monique. "I have no idea how to tell a fake one from a real one."

[Doom]

Monique nodded. "You're right. I couldn't tell one way or the other. But a suspicious cop could probably tell the difference. I guess it's a good thing that Stephanie knows what she's doing, or she'd be caught real quick." Monique held up the badge, frowning. "Although, I don't know how I feel about lying to the police."

[Raven]

Kailen snorted. "Well, you had better get used to it really quick, because the next time we come across them, they might try to kill us, or worse," he said.