Off the black waters of Victoria Harbor, the lights of skyscrapers bounced off the myriad of ships, junks and ferries all slowly coming in and going out of their various ports. One large fishing boat bobbed gently off in the distance, tied to the long creaking pier and diffident to the rest of the busy world just a few kilometers away from the shipyard. Looming inland, a sprawling warehouse's lights indicated that its goods kept within were secure. It was here, that the Sept of the Rat's Tail founded their family and so far have kept the area Wyrm free, if not Weaver.
      Shu Bao reclined in his chair within the main gateway, though it was obvious he was not lax like other security guards. Scratching idly at his ribbed white muscle shirt, a small chuff brought his attention up. Into the darkness he squinted, a lone bright lightpole providing him with a circle of sight and shadow.
      "Who's there?"
      "Shu? Always awake and around as usual mm?"
      The security guard stood up, arm muscles working visibly as he reached for a flashlight kept on top of the security monitor. His mouth opened to reply, but a volley of enthusiastic barks interrupted harshly. In another moment a blur of brown fur swept by Shu's vision and leapt at the shadows just outside the light's radius. A muffled 'Aiya!' split the quiet, followed by giggles and sounds of scuffle. Shu's squinting face faded into a smile as he stepped into the darkness and shined his flashlight upon the faces of his septmates.
      "You're back!"
      "Of course I am Scratcher, now get off me before your fleas decide they want to bond with me too." A loving push moved the hulking brown and black dog off a young woman dressed in a more mundane T-shirt and jeans. She dusted herself off and scratched the top of the dog's head before looking up at Shu. "Never could sneak up when you two were on watch," chuckled the woman. Scratcher sat down and rumbled quietly, scratching at his own hide with a hindpaw. Seemingly understanding, Shu gave the woman a nice, long bearhug, careful not to squeeze too hard lest he break her - not that she'd allow that by any means. "It's great to see you back Yi," the guard commented, his own sentence accented by the dog's added bark.
      "I know," Yi smiled as she broke off the hug. "I'm still a little tired from the time change, but... How've you and Scratcher been? Looks like all is well here. Where's everyone?" She looked beyond the two guards and around the docks. The lights on in the warehouse did get her attention for the briefest of moments, before she looked back to the security guard for the answer. "Cookie, Runner and Lucky's inside, and Andy went out with Ken," answered the human guard. His lupine counterpart growled softly, adding his own commentary of how the two men mentioned were out bonding. Yi smirked off to one side at Shu's description, but the names of the latter two brought her back to the reality. "Then, where is Min and Hung? They went with..? I know Uncle is in at the shop. Oh!" Yi stooped down and pushed away Scratcher's head from a white paper bag. She handed its contents to Shu, and left one open for the dog. "You missed dinner at the shop. But I saved you both some. Thought you'd be here on patrol," clucked Yi with a sisterly tone. "Can't leave this place unguarded. Besides, we _do_ work the nightshift." Shu glanced down at Scratcher before lifting off a noodle from the dog's head. Nodding slowly, Yi folded up the top of the bag and handed it to Shu. The three sept mates walked under the lowered gate acting as a form of territory notification.
      "You certainly have kept the place in good shape it looks like, or are the shadows hiding a few holes?"
      "That's what you think, Yi. We took some time to fix up the place again. Inspectors had come, but left pretty quick. We were just too neat for them I guess, eh?" Laughter followed the implications, and Scratcher picked up his half-finished take-out box gently between his jaws with a grunt. "Let's go inside, na? Maybe we should call Lucky too." Shu shook his head, giving the newmoon a short pat on the shoulder. "Let sleeping dogs lie, is that not the American saying? She's had a hard week. Had a fight with Ken, over a bone of all things. Then again, it was her moon." Yi's eyebrows arched upwards, the news immediately concerning the newmoon. Scratcher growled again around his box, muffled as his voice was it had a threatening tone. Shu nodded solemnly as if he was agreeing, then turned over to Yi. "We can eat aboard the junk. Least there's tables there, and some of the rats can have Scratcher's leftovers. Yi nodded in quiet agreement, a thoughtful expression rising to her features as she followed Shu and Scratcher up the gangplank to the large bobbing fishing boat.

      A flickering set of lights lit up the hold, sending some of the rats inside scurrying for the comforting dark shadows and their bolt holes. The fishing boat's massive hold was partially converted, one section becoming the mess and a few added sleeping quarters. Shu wiped off a table bolted to the floor with a rag, tossing the cloth into the sink. "So where did Andy and Ken go?" With little less flourish, Shu set the paper bag of leftovers onto the tabletop. "They said they were going to take a trip down to the pricier district, but for all I know they could be in Wanchai stirring up trouble again." Shu snorted, lifting out a white styrofoam box. "Those two have been getting together more often than they should be. This is more than they used to...and they live together! Something's fishy, and it's not this cargo hold." Scratcher took up residence in the corner, sharing the rest of his meal with the nibblers while snuffling at the two humans seated at the table. Yi again nodded, taking up a small box of appetizer eggrolls and making it into a short snack. The following silence was only contrasted by the quiet squeaks of the rats and sounds of Shu and Scratcher also eating.
      "How about Hanna?"
      Shu looked up directly at Yi, halfway in chewing a bite of noodles. His swallow was slow, and perhaps painful. Yi's eyes narrowed slightly, a slow sour taste of suspicion rising in her own throat. Shu licked his lips slowly, glancing at Scratcher before admitting, "Hanna's disappeared. It's been almost...a week. She came visiting from KowKoi, and...our efforts to find her weren't successful. And, Ken told Uncle we should assume the worst..."
      A clatter of metal chair against metal floor sent rats shrieking into their safe nests. Scratcher, startled up to his feet, paced along the far wall. Yi's hand gripped the table tensely as she leaned towards Shu. "Where did you say Ken and Andy went?" Shu set his chopsticks down quietly, and stood up as well. "Look, Yi... you're tired, and just came back. I know, I'm the fullmoon and should be all eager to go to the nearest chisucker haven to beat some heads in and find out, but--" The ahroun's words faded as Yi's stare gave him a reason to pause. Scratcher whined quietly.
      "Where... is... Ken?"
      Shu cleared his throat quietly, and then glanced at Scratcher. "I don't know."
      Yi's lips pulled into a grim smile before she walked towards the exit. "I'll find him then. I know how." Scratcher's whine accompanied Shu's words.
      "Be careful Yi. The moon's yours tonight."