It hadn't been a long time since his kidnapping in front of a building that was supposed to be safe for him, and sometimes James was still a little jumpy. He had thought that he'd be fine as long as Mab and Rook found him in time, but it was coming to be obvious that wasn't exactly true. Not to mention the pinch of survivor's guilt that pulled at him often enough. Mab had helped him through these thoughts, sometimes more than she even realized, and Rook was like a rock for him. A single tower of strength. Maybe he didn't know about that, either. It was easy enough to make up a story about why he wasn't at the shop for a month afterwards as he'd been more or less grounded. The bruises and broken bones healed before that, sure, but he hadn't been ready to go back so soon.
When he was? He reached out to Julian like nothing even happened. Well, not so much that. He was on a mission, now more than ever. He was supposed to be dead and it was his job to make sure the ghouls of New York were accounted for and safe. Well, not just him, but he would be a part of that. After over a decade of not really caring about anyone other than the two vampires he lived with, this was a large turn for him. He hadn't really ever had ghoul friends. New York had changed that in him. Maybe Chiyu helped him with that, in her part.
Agreeing on a time to meet, and the place, all he'd had to do was convince Rook to go with him. Easy enough after muttering the words 'but Ash will probably be there' as if they couldn't have just done their own meet up. Having a Master who was head over heels with the new Master of Elysium did make things a bit easier on him. A hell of a lot easier, really, but he wasn't going to tell anyone that out loud. The two of them arrived a bit earlier than agreed and James made his way to the VIP area, some place a little quieter where he and Jules could plot and scheme. Nothing so dark, but it brought a more rare smile to the ghoul's face. As for Rook? He left him to do as he wished with a thank you and a look. He wasn't about to hug or touch him, as much as he wanted to.