"Yes I can!" Eckhart said quickly, happy to be changing the subject. "She's my familiar." He turned to look at the cat, smiling. "Bella, would you like to talk?"
The cat yawned. "Not particularly." she said, lying down. "Meri seems rather dull, to be honest."
Eckhart went red in the face. "T-that's mean!"
"So? It's not like she can hear me."
The healer turned back to Meri sheepishly, an embarrassed look on his face. "Um... She, uh, doesn't want to say hi..."
***
Randal nodded almost dutifully. "Yes Dr. Alderon..."
Porcelina turned to watch the boy leave, then looked back at the elf. "Well if it wasn't you, then who was it! I live in a building full of criminals, I couldn't have just misplaced it!"
***
Hildegarde looked at the writing on Eckhart's window, a troubled frown spreading on her face. "This isn't good..."
"Do you know who did it?" Terrence said nervously. "I mean, it can't have been one of us, right?"
"No." The gang leader conceded. "None of us use this color lipstick." She threw her hands into the air. "I mean,
cherry red? Talk about tacky."
Terrence shifted on his feet. "So... What do we do?"
Hildegarde squeezed the boy's hand. "Don't worry. I'll have Joan look into this." She sighed, turning to leave. "Find Tiffany, tell him to clean this up. Let's not let Eckhart find out about this for now..."