Conri had never ridden passenger in a mail truck before, he wasn’t even sure if it was legal for non-employees. He sat with his bag in between his feet, anxiously holding it tight. Landis kept driving like it was nothing so maybe it must’ve not been an issue. His mind was split between making obscure puzzle pieces fit in his now demented reality and how he’d make amends to everyone who had to deal with him these past few days. Especially Eli. 

“You seem deep in thought, anything you want to get off your chest?” Landis’ words flew in one ear and out the other, disrupting his original thinking. 

“You ever just,” he started bluntly, not sure how much was acceptable to divulge on an acquaintance. “do you ever feel like you’ve woken up and you're not living your real life anymore, but in some messed up horror movie?” 

A pause from Landis. 

“Believe it or not, yes. And I guess if I really think about it, its been in the back of mind for quite some time.”

Curiously, Conri shifted his gaze just enough to find Landis in his peripheral vision. Landis’ attention was on the road, but the usual smile Conri came to expect had drifted. His lips were in a straight line and the muscles in his cheeks were relaxed. Conri could see the light from the setting sun blend warmly into the rustic blond and golden ginger color of his hair with the tiniest glint of amber from his eyes. As he found himself getting distracted, he looked away again, and gave the passing scenery in the window his full attention. 

“You’d think living in tangent with everything out of a fantasy tabletop game mixed with modern standards of living that nothing would surprise you,” Landis unpromptedly continued. “and yet even still, when real monsters show themselves, its nearly impossible to not be surprised. Or even terrified.”

The disfigured reflection of Dalton flashed in passing windows as they drove, his extended jaw opened in hungry anticipation. The afterimages reminded Conri of how he thought he saw Rovin everywhere after Emmett saved him.  

“Sounds about right,” Conri exhaled shakily. “You think you’ve seen them all until something new comes out in public, shouting about devouring flesh.” 

A pause. An uncomfortable pause while Conri mentally kicked himself for ruining the mood even further. Conri was afraid to see if Landis was side-eyeing him, if what he said was so out of pocket that it took Landis' attention away from the road. He continued staring out the window for the rest of the trip. It didn’t feel too much longer until they came to a complete stop, the engine still lowly humming under his feet. 

“Unfortunately, they are more common than you think.” 

The unexpected response made Conri’s skin crawl. The four floored building of Conri’s apartment stood beside them just as it did this morning, dull red and brown bricks and all. Conri fell completely against his seat as he gathered his now racing thoughts.

“Didn’t mean to frighten you, I just thought, since you brought it up and all.”

“No, you’re fine. I just wasn’t expecting that.” He turned to look at Landis. “Even though, after today, I should've learned to accept the unexpected.” 

“Its not the easiest information to accept, but at least they seem to be few and far between in the city." he quickly added. "I’m sorry.” 

Conri wasn’t sure if this was good news or not as the initial thought of multiple Dalton’s ravaging the city was terrifying, but to know the general concept wasn’t completely unheard of somehow made his body relax. Conri was handed an uncomfortable opportunity and he chose to embrace the uncomfortableness. 

“You were hoping to grab something at The Drip right?” The abrupt question caught Landis off guard.

“That was my original plan, yea. Why?” 

“I don’t have the means to recreate the cafe aesthetics, but I can still make you a latte or something,” Conri was hoping the offer sounded genuine. “if you want to come upstairs.”

“Oh! Well that’s a mighty kind offer from you,” Landis’ back straightened up. “Are you sure, I know you said it was a long day.”

“Making a few drinks won’t kill me. It’ll have to be some variation of coffee though since its a studio apartment and not Gwendolyn’s kitchen.”

“Thank god I’m not picky.” Landis undid his seatbelt and turned off the truck’s engine. 

Once they exited and locked up the truck, Conri kept a step or two ahead, he held the door open then proceeded to take Landis up the stairs out of habit. He didn’t think to ask if he needed the elevator. Landis kept up without much trouble though. Conri’s keys jingled through the hallway and he pushed himself inside quickly, only to discover the state he had previously left his apartment, unfit for guests. Landis made no comment as he was directed to the kitchen table. 

“I’ll just be one second.” Conri said as he set to insert some sense of order to their surroundings. 

Landis sat down and found himself smiling, threatening to release a small chuckle watching Conri run around. Removing his cap, his hair still neatly tied behind him, and setting it down by the stack of papers on the kitchen table. The handwriting looked hurried, but the arrangement of words and diagrams were clearly the building blocks for crafting incantations. 

“Any requests?” Conri’s voice soon mixed with the clinking of glassware having finally made his way over to his kitchen counter. 

“Surprise me.” Landis hoped that Conri would take that as a hint to make whatever is easiest as his eyes continued studying the open facing page of notes. “Are you taking classes at the academy?” 

“Nah, I can’t afford it with my current paycheck.” Conri’s back was still towards the kitchen table as his hands set up his stovetop espresso maker. “I’m just doing some independent studying as I work through some things.” 

Landis asked no further questions and let Conri work. The longer Landis stared at the note, the stronger his assumption was that they were in the really rough draft stages of understanding the language. He gave into further curiosity and started taking in the apartment entirety which didn't take long. The kitchen sat next to the front door, an open concept bedroom was behind the kitchen near the only visible set of windows across from a dresser that stood against a brick wall covered in posters and parallel to a second door that might’ve led to a bathroom. Small, but livable enough for one person; Landis tried taking up less space by tightening his broad shoulders. It didn’t help much.

Soon Conri came over and placed two mugs onto the table before taking the only other chair. The aroma from the mugs were nutty with a subtle sweet scent of cocoa, Landis took a mug noting a pillowy cloud of whipped cream, dusted with cinnamon and few chocolate flakes. Vienna coffee. 

"Let me know what you think, if you don't like it, I'll give you free drink next time you come to The Drip." Conri had his mug already up to his lips and took a small sip. Landis did the same. His insides felt like they were receiving a hug, which he didn't know he needed in this moment. 

"I think this could be my new favorite," placing the mug down, careful to not spill on the notes or his hat. "but then again its hard to have a favorite when you have a lot of favorites." 

Conri responded by chuckling. The initial warming intake of a fresh cup eased him, but it couldn't completely repress the aftermath of the day. 

"Landis, what did you mean when you said its more common than you think," he started, forcing himself to not back down. "did you ever encounter some sort of monstrosity?"

Conri expected push back, instead received a half nod in response. 

"My family isn't from the city, so I'm not sure how different our sightings were, but when your father is on the safety bureau of your town you get to see and hear a lot of things. Things children really shouldn't be aware of."

"Your father took you with him to work?"

"No, I started volunteering at the bureau when I was older, but even still when you're young," his eyes fell to the mug. "curiosity is a double edge sword."

"You can say that again." Conri took another sip, letting his hand linger around the base of his mug. "I thought I was helping a friend today, but only feels like I did more harm than good jumping into a fight the way I did. The way this guy looked was so different than before, I still don't know how he split his body in such a gruesome way."

"How so?" Landis leaned forward in his chair as Conri explained Dalton's progression from their first encounter at the academy to full on predator then about Eli and what the police found afterwards. Landis felt his jaw tighten at the description of the scorch markings. "I'm so sorry about Eli, I can't imagine having to experience that first hand."

"I just hope he's safe now." Conri's eyes drifted to Landis' hat on the table, briefly studying its well kept condition. "Neither one of us could ask Dalton why either since he's rabid and on the run. All he kept saying too was devour and erase which isn't much to fucking go off of. "

"Wait he was chanting the entire time?"

Shit. Conri bite his tongue, he still didn't have a full answer for his newly discovered ability of invasive insight. 

"Not out loud." Phrasing was going to be crucial to not make Landis think that his thoughts were currently being preyed upon. "It was like I was hearing a thought on a loop and it wasn't the first time." 

This wasn't the direction he had initially intended for this conversation, but as he sat, spilling what felt like his life story to his mailman, it felt strangely relieving. His voice sounded clear in his ears and he felt more awake: overall he felt stronger and more confident the longer their conversation went on. Even Landis started looking more engaged than before. This interaction felt hopeful.

"You've definitely peaked my interest." By the end of Conri's explanation, Landis had finished his drink. "I'd say you're guess as to that inner voice being external incantations sounds accurate, but as to your friend's wife saying you were devoid of magic sounds hard to believe." Gently he picked up the page of notes he had previously reviewed. "Arcana is a living language, it breathes and speaks. Its your interpretation and how you find your own way to listen to it is what's important. Lineage plays a role too, though I'm not too familiar about shifters, but we giants always had a close relationship with magic. We've learned to converse with it in multiple different ways and pass them onto new generations." 

Listening intently, Conri tried imaging how goliath sized beings would speak to something that wasn't physically making its presence known. He looked toward the page Landis had, remembering the challenge it was to get that far. Still he felt so behind in being able to grasp the full understanding.  

"Unfortunately," their tone dropped as they set the paper down. "there will be those who just want more. And that's when I first saw a monstrosity. Someone wanted more than knowledge and took the lives of several giants all in hopes of achieving their goals. Whoever they were resorted to illegal practices which I believe, after hearing your story, were the same ones I witnessed growing up."

Conri could only study Landis' focus in silence, taking in the impact of their words and feeling a burning sensation grow in his chest. The guilt of being powerless had returned. He knew he couldn't help return those who Landis had lost nor could he immediately catch the culprit on his own. His guilt persisted and felt warranted. Conri's situation could've ended like Landis' and if their situations were truly that similar, Conri would feel indirectly responsible. Dalton was wearing a copper earring. Most wouldn't think too much of it at first, but Conri knew that copper was a conductor and its catalyst would be Rovin. The idea made sense in theory, though pieces were still missing, the clarity surrounding them sharpened. Conri wanted to help Landis and if it happened to involve taking down Rovin, even better. 

"I am so sorry for your loss. " He let those words take up space before continuing. "If we are dealing with the same individual, then I'm more than positive we can help each other and put a stop to it."

He watched Landis' gaze rise and make eye contact. The same tint of amber reappeared in his eyes, a proud and beautiful glimmer emphasized by the kitchen lights, then his mouth stretched back into that signature smile Conri came to associate him with. Landis shifted in his chair and produced a pen from his pocket then wrote something in the upper right corner of Conri's note. 

"I believe we can too." 

Landis slid the paper over to Conri to inspect and to find his cellphone number.