Vex had been in the boutique when Scanlan's voice came over the earrings. She didn't answer, going quiet while she tried to decide if she was going to see him or if she should check in on Percy first. She'd told Percy in her first days here, of course she had, how Scanlan had left them, but he'd really gotten angry at Winter's Crest, when he saw firsthand how badly Scanlan had hurt Pike.

Better to see when Scanlan was from, first. Since it had been different for each of them, and those who'd arrived after Vex all seemed to be from much later. It wasn't easy blending in, when all around was a riot of pinks and reds and oversized florals, but Vex was very very good at being stealthy, and frankly, Scanlan deserved to be snuck up on. She might as well have suddenly appeared beside the couch where he sat, dressed not in the armor she'd been wearing the last time she saw him, but more modern jeans and a grey pullover she'd found comfortable, flattering, and practical if she ever did need to fight. Her arms were crossed, and she had a dangerously amused glint in her usually warm dark eyes.

"Scanlan," she began, sounding a little like Gilmore, or Scanlan himself when he wanted something from someone who wouldn't want to give it. "Let's start with you explaining why I should try to convince Percy not to shoot you in the knee."