After the new human had slowly made his way over towards the mannequin, and had been escorted to the medical room for a basic health test, Malin sidled up to Aelfrun’s side, and tugged gently on their sleeve. Aelfrun looked down towards them. “Oh, Asthore, come on, let’s go upstairs, yeah?”

Aelfrun gently led Malin into her room, closing the door quietly behind the pair. “What’s wrong Mal? The new person?” Malin nodded slightly, letting Aelfrun guide her into the veritable mountain of cushions and blankets in the corner of the room. Once Aelfrun was settled, Malin climbed into their lap, pressing themselves as close to the other as possible. “I know, I wasn’t able to pre warn you, but I didn’t know either, Cuan.” Aelfrun reached for their phone and sent off a quick message to Kiandra, before returning their hand to the back of Malin’s head. “We’ll be okay, yeah? I doubt he’s going to try anything.” Their hand started to gently work out some of the knots that had found homes for themselves in Malin’s long hair. “And if he does, then he gets two options. Leave voluntarily, and keep his life, or go and visit his ancestors.” It was at this moment that the door quietly opened, and Kiandra silently slid into the room.
“Already threatening the new kid with death?” She smiled slightly as she fiddled with the lights, dimming the room further. Within the dark room, Kiandra’s blue hair and bright summer dress stood out even with the lights off. Malin turned their head to look at their other parental figure, a hand reaching out to beckon her into the pile. Kiandra obliged, grabbing an extra blanket on the way over. The blanket made its way over all three of them, and Malin finally felt calm enough to close their eyes and rest.

Downstairs, Aubrey nervously stood in the so-called medical room as a three foot wooden mannequin mumbled under its breath at having to measure “a stupid giant again”. The werewolf stood in the corner, arms crossed, undoubtedly not helping his nerves. The imposing figure shifted, and walked towards the mannequin. “Agra, bloody hell, I’ll measure the kid for you, if you’re that irritated by it.” He took the tape measure from Aiken, and walked over to the anxious wreck that was Aubrey. “Stand straight, yeah?”
“I- can’t you get this information from the police system?” For someone as nervous as he was, Aubrey reckoned he was doing a pretty good job at keeping his voice steady.
“As if. Better to do it ourselves.” Aiken scoffed from where it had seated itself on the desk. Randall read out Aubrey’s height from the tape measure, and Aiken entered it into the computer. “Right, next part.” Aiken pulled out a syringe and needle. “Blood tests.” The smile splitting Aiken’s face was only slightly too enthusiastic. Aubrey gulped.

It had been hours, and Aubrey was quite frankly exhausted. He was lying on the sofa in the living room, staring at the ceiling as he attempted to stop the world from spinning. After the medical tests, Randall (Ran? Was he allowed to call him that?) had taken him into the basement, where he had been put through even more tests, assessing his hand to hand combat skills (at least he had been semi decent at them in the academy), whether he could shoot (he couldn’t), and whether he knew how to use knives (unfortunately an area he had some experience in, though that stemmed more from his upbringing than it did any actual skill or want to learn). Honestly, once he had gotten past the blatant weirdness of Aiken and Randall, they weren’t too bad. However, the brief profiles he had had to read before entering this building just wouldn’t leave his head:

Aiken:

Species: Sentient Mannequin (Fae Construct)

Age: Unknown

Pronouns: It/its

Specialties: Nature, Medical and Forensics

Background information: The fourth member to be recruited to the Purple Diamonds project. Was recruited by Aelfrun straight from a prison facility. Convicted on multiple drug charges, suspected murder cases, and providing medical services without a licence. Specific Fae court allegiances unknown. Rumoured to have known Aelfrun and Kiandra before being recruited, but this is unconfirmed.

Randall:

Species: Werewolf/ Lycanthrope

Age: 28

Pronouns: He/him

Specialties: Tracking, hand to hand and close range combat

Background information: The fifth member to be recruited to the Purple Diamonds project. Was rescued by the other team members during a raid on an underground fight ring. Rumoured to be an heir to a large wolf pack, but confirmation on that is pending. Formerly a feral wolf after being held in the fight ring for years. Still considered unstable around others.

Honestly, if those profiles weren’t enough to make anyone slightly apprehensive when meeting them, then what would. One was a convicted felon, and the other was a formerly feral werewolf. He hadn’t had a chance to get to know the other three yet, as they had disappeared upstairs soon after he had arrived, but Randall assured him that they would all make it for dinner. Especially since Aelfrun and Kiandra were the only two who could cook.