Neil didn't like traveling alone.  He hadn't done it in years really and the last time he was on the street on his own William Bowden had beaten him so hard that he literally got a good look at God's face for a few ticks. 

The simple man did as he was told most of his life.  One foot after the other, always as the women in his life said to do... his mother, his grandmother and then Isabella Luciano.  Neil looked down at the watch on his wrist, the one she'd gotten him for his birthday.  It ticked onward, just like the everyone and everything else, oblivious of the fact that the world had grown darker and would never again be so bright.

Adjusting his peaky cap on his wide head of this thinning blonde hair Neil stepped off the bus and looked up and down the street until he spotted the business in which it was said he'd find Kat_Pryde - he knew this part would be hard and so he began to write a few notes in anticipation of the questions he'd be asked.

Going inside and approaching the first person who looked like they might know how to find her, he held up the first note.

Name's Neil, I work for Aurora Byrne of Las Vegas.  I can't speak.  Have to use paper.

Need to deliver something to Katherine Pryde, is she here?

It had been a bit of a rough couple days...  So much death, so much destruction.  So many needless killings.  Or at least that was how one slightly scruffy older Bodyguard saw it.  It had taken it's toll on their world as a whole, but his care came for the city that he resided in...  More importantly the young woman that hew as sworn to protect.  Garth sighed gently.  He knew Kat did not want her location or her state of being to be broadcasted.  And yet he couldn't help but be concerned for her.  She had endured quite the brush with death and yet the very thing that she loathed about herself was the very thing that saved her.  The very thing that made her special had kept her alive...  Again.  And yet she acted like her life had been taken from her after all...  Tonight she had insisted upon going to a bar they used to frequent and to be alone...  Kat wasn't meant to be alone.  It wasn't good for her...  

Garth knew that all too well and yet she insisted.  She had begun to isolate herself more and more.  Few people knew for sure that she was still alive and well.  She had withdrawn almost completely.  Even those she worked with, those that she should be able to open up with...  They never saw her.  She remained closed up in her room, keeping herself hidden away.  Had she truly walked away from death that night?  Some may begin to question it as they hardly saw the formerly blossoming Leader.  But after that brush with her own mortality...  She hadn't been the same.  The light that had once danced in those bold eyes, the life and vibrancy had gone replaced and beaten by the woes of the world...  The darkness crept into the corners of those overly expressive eyes.  Tonight she sat in silence wearing a hooded cloak with the hood drawn up as she drank alone.  Garth worried for her...  Drastically.  He tried to encourage her to do something...  Anything...  Confide in her family members...  She had come right back to the place she had started...  She hadn't abandoned them in body and yet in spirit?  She was all but absent.  

Garth nursed his drink quietly taking his time on his whiskey.  He couldn't allow himself to become addled.  He had to stay sharp for her.  He felt it more important than ever now to protect his small charge.  He glanced over to her again only to find her gazing out the window beside her.  She looked so small...  So...  Defeated.  

And he hated it.

Footsteps drew his attention briefly away from the girl.  He knew she was physically safe for now, but something else caught his attention.  A man was pushing a note at him?  What the hell?  Well Garth quirked a brow and read it over quickly.  Katherine Pryde...  His gaze snapped back up to the man before him, a venom in those eyes.  Who the heck was Aurora Byrne?  Who the heck was he?  And why did he know of his Miss Pryde...  Garth glared at the man before him but kept himself in check.  "I know of  her.  You say you have something to deliver to her...  What do you want with her?"  It was clear that this man was quite...  Protective over her and only once did his eyes betray him as they darted over right to where his young mafioso sat shrouded in her cloak. 

Neil held up another of his notes.  It was simple but he knew this one would get a reaction, he hoped it wasn't a violent one.

My boss is the daughter of the Wolf of Race Street

Gavin Byrne.  Tell her this and she will see me.

Garth wasted no time and read the note rapidly and yet as soon as he did, his gaze snapped up over the small piece of paper to meet eyes with the man before him.  Habitually his gaze swept then around the room and he checked again on the hunched form of his employer.  His gaze softened and he reread the note in his hand.  "I hadn't realized that the wolf had another daughter..."  He knew that this could very well be something that would help his girl.  Kat was broken, confused, lost...  But if what this man wrote was true...  "Wait here."  He stated in a cool manner before moving to stalk over to Kat where she drank.  He leaned over to her and murmured something in her ear.  Her eyes lit up and scanned the room quickly and he indicated to the other man.  That was it...

Kat's heart raced.  Gavin had another daughter?  She had only met the man one time before everything went to heck and she had lost the only tie she might have that was family...  Again.  But this...  This was information that she had not known.  Gavin had another daughter?  Another Byrne?  Her heart raced at this mere idea and hope.  She nodded curtly to her beloved bodyguard and lifted to her feet moving in the direction he had indicated and finding the man that Garth had been speaking to.  She drew herself up carefully but her eyes were guarded.  She could not be hurt like that again...  Just could not.  She wasn't sure her heart could take it...  Again.  Even if she knew it would likely do so as long as she chose this life.  Again...  And again.

"Hello...  I'm told you work for the daughter of Gavin Byrne...  And you're looking for Katherine Pryde...  I am she."  She spoke with a soft certainty and she only hoped she wasn't walking right into a new trap.

Neil looked at her and instantly could see Gavin in the girl's face.  He smiled, genuinely, and barely resisted the urge to hug this woman - another little girl!  Well, not so little but all of the Bryne girls were his little girls since he would have none of his own.

He nodded empathetically as he folded his first note in half to show only the sentence:

Name's Neil, I work for Aurora Byrne of Las Vegas.  I can't speak.  Have to use paper.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope and handed it to her.  This, of course, was directly from Rora herself.  He waited for her to open and read it.

Dear Katherine,

I hope that this letter finds you and yours safe and well.  Allow me to start by introducing myself properly, I am Aurora Byrne the adopted daughter of Gavin and Isabella Byrne.  I expect learning of my existance is a surprise to you since our father was worried about putting too much upon you all at once the day he met you. 

He did, however, tell I and my mother and brother about you.  My mother was planning a dinner party so that we could all become acquainted, to take place sometime after her birthday but... the events of her birthday derailed everything.  I fear that our home in Philadelphia, like Race Street Pier, is lost to us for now and all that we take going forward from there is our memories.

I'm sure you heard of my mother's fall and no doubt that has left you with questions and concerns.  I would like to talk to you about that day and answer any question you might have about our family.  Additionally, I'd like to honor my father's wishes that we get to know one another and help each other as family should.  We are, after all, sisters.  

If you are willing to meet with me, I can make the trip to LA.  I've included a contact number for where I'm staying in Vegas.  Or if you like we could take this to a neutral meeting location... maybe outside the US even?  I can arrange for your travel if that is a problem, commerically or otherwise.  I know with recent events you can't be too careful so whatever makes you and your people feel safest is what we'll go with.

I hope that you can understand my motives in reaching out to you.  Losing my mother has only hammered home how important family really is and no Byrne should be out there in the world alone, not so long as the rest of her pack still stands.  You may not have grown up with me, but you are my father's blood.  If you ever decide, my door will ALWAYS be open to you.  

Your Sister,

Aurora.

Katherine met the man's gaze and lifted her chin, a slight glimmer of her former strength shining in her eyes.  It was clear that the girl was broken, confused, lost...  And yet for a moment it almost seemed as if she'd return to her former self.  But after but a moment, she relaxed again smiling just a little at him.  She was unable to help it. She quickly read the note he offered her and nodded in acknowledgement.  "It's very nice to meet you Neil..."  She stated softly before reading the next line and feeling her heart rate pick up.  Aurora Byrne...  Another Byrne!  And here she had thought she had lost all blood familial ties...  Curiouser and curiouser!

As he reached into his pocket, Garth tensed behind Katherine.  "Peace Garth..."  She murmured softly causing the Bodyguard to relax just a tad.  It was clear that he wasn't too keen on this guy or at least not too sure about him.  Kat looked back over her shoulder and smiled slightly, her eyes glittering again and Garth gave a hesitant smile but would stand down. She looked curiously back to Neil, that same sparkle in her eyes.  As he handed her the letter, her heart leapt.  She saw that it was addressed from the same woman he said to have worked for.  Her heart pounded in her chest as she carefully opened the letter and read it.  She would quietly savor every word, eyes widening just a touch as she read the last line, feeling her eyes misting slightly.  

"I have a sister..."  She spoke soft enough that Garth had to lean close to hear her.  But she looked back to him speaking a tad louder.  "I have a sister!"  She could have squealed but she held herself in check.  She looked back to Neil before nodding enthusiastically. "Absolutely I'd love to meet with her!  Anywhere!  I'll meet with her here, or Las Vegas...  I have friends there as well.  I'm happy to meet her wherever she'd like."  A soft cautionary growl came from behind her and she turned to face Garth.  "Garth it will turn out ok.  I have a good feeling about this."  She stated softly, feeling tears well up in her eyes again which she fought back in irritation.  Garth sighed resignedly and made a mental note to get a bigger contingency of guards to watch this crazy girl.  She looked to Neil.  "Give me two days?  I'll meet with Aurora.  I'll get myself sorted and over to Las Vegas then and once I'm there I'll reach out to you again."  She fairly wiggled with delight.  She knew that keeping their meeting place to herself until they were ready to meet would help to appease those she cared about here.  But she wanted to meet this girl almost desperately.  She had to.