Now done with their second piece of pizza and full, the twins settled down more comfortably in the couch. They watched as Frost hurried across the room with interest.

Frost stated "Chillz is here" was all Frost needed to say

Athena on the other hand, had picked up on the urgency, and the exacerbated cold that came with Frost's intense emotions. She watched Peridot's reaction, how her tan skin went pale, and she seemed ready to bolt immediately. "You-- he's here? Shi--oot. Uh, uh.." She pressed her lips together.

Athena nudged Stephana. "I think things got more serious," she said quietly.

Ken moved to walk into the room after Frost.

"Looks like our best option." Bart speculated. He hooked his hook on the roof top again, sliding down.

Oh, shit, really?

Oh, shit, it did.

Stephana stood up straighter, becoming more alert. Time to start paying attention. Probably also time to start considering blowing the Popsicle stand.

Peridot rubbed her forehead. That meant they were hot on their trail. "We...we need to get going, then," she said quietly.

Athena was watching quietly. She didn't have to worry about any hunters beforehand, she didn't want to start caring now. She looked at Max for a moment, but she knew Peridot would prioritize their safety.

Alright. Seemed like

-Bad Magic Man in town.
-Magic Man coming for us?
-Peri and the Gang wanted to Flee Magic Man.

Stephana "hmmmed" to herself quietly, activating her logic engine. This was a tricky situation. She could leave now, but it seemed like a high-pressure moment, and just leaping right into it now might cause an issue. Like it might come across as, 'Thanks for the pizza, but I'm yeeting out this place before I get shot.' Which was true, but...

Maybe she could bring up the old 'Let's split up!' tactic? Like, how was he gonna know that she was half-magic?

Maybe wait for the group to make a call before tossing in her chips.

"Chillz is my adopted brother and he hates Velkar with a passion, me especially. There was an accident involving my parents, and Chillz blamed me. He's been bitter about me and all Velkar. He is a master sniper, he shot an ant between the eyes from across town as a dare." Frost explained "If he's here, we're going to have to listen to Peridot and bail fast. However, I think we shouldn't make a pattern of goign nothing. We have always gone North. I think we should go to my Hometown for a while. It's a large enough city for us to hide and there's plenty of spots for us to hide. Plus it'll throw Chillz and the Hunters off our trail"

"There...hasn't been a pattern of going north. What?" Peridot looked confused. "I was in Texas before I sent out the message. And Maine before that. Don't you think your brother would guess you're going to go home to hide?"

Athena looked around at everyone else, and then pulled out her phone. "Is that offer to go with you still on the table?" she texted Stephana.

There was an art to the Subtle Text. BT (like any edgy teen) had it down to a science, and Stephana followed suit with her own practiced skills.

u bet. mybe hit up smne here, bus to Portland if spook?

Ah. Full-text style, a rare sight in the modern world. She replied with another burst of chopped word soup.

hope so. dunno tbh. waitng 4 their plan b4 tryn to skoodle. tnse moment & all

"I don't think we are crazy enough to try that," Peridot said. "I think Ken's suggestion was good for now," she looked at Ken. "Sorry, it's a mess right now, but we can lay low, hide out, if they find us, we'll leave but right now there's no way they should be able to."

These are both stupid plans but yeah