New Hope was rightly named. It was classically cliche but fitting, nonetheless. The town was full to the brim with happy expectations. It truly was amazing how everyone and everything coexisted. There were, naturally, a few bumps in the road but every problem was dealt with such precision and wisdom that the ride was smooth and practically uneventful. The ratio between human and supernatural was heavy on the human side so that was an advantage to the lower percentage of inhabitants.
Speaking of the inhabitants, everyone was fairly good-natured. Something else that surprised the old vampire. The humans were happy. Was ignorance truly bliss? Apparently so. As a rule, Crowne steered clear of the humans but the few encounters that had been necessary had proved interesting. They were constantly willing to help with whatever was asked, far more trusting than they ought to be. Had it been any other place and any other time, Crowne would have found himself a buffet of tasty, well-fed pieces of sweet meat. And the humans here were undoubtedly very sweet. The town kept things local, sticking to near-by farms for fresh food. Schools kept the kids active and it seemed like every housewife was into yoga while every hard-working husband made sure to fit jogging into his busy schedule.
It made him drool.
Other than the tempting morsels that took up the majority of the town, Crowne's main interest was in the minority. The very minor of them all, the two he had been searching for. It had taken him a couple years to finally get a handle on them and now that he knew where they were, finally, he couldn't directly approach them. Not until he had everything else in order. Besides, the two knew he was here. He had made sure of that. There was no doubt that dear Charlotte would have said something to Royce. It wouldn't have taken the boy long to sniff out the area for him. Crowne had been careful to leave his scent nowhere near the young human's actual home. He wasn't looking to intimidate. Quite the opposite. He just wanted them to be aware of his presence. They had yet to approach him since that night some three weeks ago and that was no surprise. Royce and Rosemary, though weres, were not confrontational. Crowne was sure that if it weren't for the lure of the red-head, the two would have taken off.
No, the two kept their distance and he kept his.
Until tonight.
Because he finally had everything ready. Daniel and Mark had made it clear what needed to be done and while Crowne never took orders from weres, they were the exception. Their plan coincided with his own. Their methods were different but like him, they were incredibly patient. The two of them had agreed that the best way to bring Royce and Rosemary back was to give them time. While Crowne did think that time was necessary to heal old wounds, too much time could be dangerous and if the three of them weren't careful, the old wound would scar. Scars were a nasty sort. Permanent and ugly. Metaphorically speaking, naturally.
To push things along, he had to be careful. He wasn't directly approaching the two lost children but inadvertently and very much on purpose getting to them through a mutual subject of their attention. It just happened to be his luck that Charlotte (Charlie was too simple a name for such an elegant-looking creature ... but he'd have to be careful to not call her as such) worked at the a place that offered cover from the public. If she had worked in the mall, that would have been quite annoying. The back alley was perfect, especially since there was not a soul to be seen in any direction.
What was very interesting was her choice of work. Animals. It was quite humorous, considering her company.
Crowne chose a later time for obvious reasons to call upon Miss Duncan, waiting for the right moment to knock on the back door and alert her of his presence but wouldn't fate have it and force their introduction before he had time to think up a clever lie for his reason of being here? The door swung open and red hair flung out, accompanied by a pair of surprised eyes. Trying to look like he had been expecting just this, he set his hands in his pockets and smiled casually down at her. "Hello, love. Fancy a chat?"