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"No worries sweetheart," he said carelessly, and curled his tail around her delicate waist to ensure her safety. He was right - soon enough, they arrived at the gates of a homely amusement park.

He skidded swiftly to a halt and put a foot down to stabilise the Harley. "Off you go, luv. I've got to wheel it into the bushes so no one steals it." He smiled at her wryly, releasing her from his tail's grasp.

Lilith watched as the two sped off. She knew that they were headed to the amusement park that was only a few miles down the road, but still it seemed to her as if they were crossing the Pacific Ocean for a quick bite to it.

She sat down on the front steps and watched Colton run awkwardly after the bike, tail wagging in anticipation of the chase.

What was she to do? She wanted to protect Arama, rip Maxwell's throat out and kiss him all at the same time. Her head was a mess and creating a nasty buzz of a migraine. She would just have to wait.

A very nondescript minivan that apparently no one had noticed pulled over to the shoulder of the road Colton was jogging on--albeit fifty or so feet in front of him, tires squealing in protest of the sudden stop. A kitty woman's head poked out of the passenger side window, and a waving head soon joined it. "Colt! Get in the car," she said, with a wide grin on her face. Spotting Lilith's telltale feathry-ness seated on the steps of Hytech, she pitched her voice louder. "Lilith! You want to come along?"

The outside of the minivan may have been nondescript, but the inside was anything but. Seats had been removed and replaced with comfortable bean bag chairs, the inner frame of the van obscured by computer screens and various monitoring equipment. Though with a lower head-to-floor ratio than the typical spy van, this one was family-stealthed and perfect for infiltrating such locations as malls, beaches, and amusement parks.

Shimy hadn't been amused when she'd discovered Philomena had gutted and "improved" the family van, but she had been persuaded that it was a good thing, and 'Mena had promised to take Shimy to spy on whatever ended up being Eli's first date.

Had Eli known, he probably would not have been amused either, but Eli was blissfully unaware of his grandmother and mother's machinations, as usual.

"I wouldn't be much of a gentleman if I weren't able to satiate such sweetness with sweets, yes?" He purred as her hands swept past his hair gently, placing a paw on her hip. "The fair is full of delights for lovely little ladies such as you." A subtle movement allowed him to rub his head against her pretty fingers, and he stepped forward to shift the paw to the other side.

"Come dear," he roguishly tugged her along by her waist. "Let's take in the sights and see what you would like to do."

He was quite pleased at her returned motion, though made increasingly aware of her height - she hovered just a bit over his shoulders, and she was certainly going to get taller.

"I do apologise if I'm too condescending," he murmured as they strolled. "You're such a sweetheart that I feel the urge to be protective, but I'm sure you must find that annoying at times, yes? I remember that little defiant rise of your head..." He chuckled at the memory. "...so I really shouldn't be too parental. Else what would be the fun of going out with me?"

He had huffed and puffed and nearly blown his own lungs out, when - by some miracle that only the Gods and Goddesses of HyTech knew - Mena pulled up with a van. He was surprised to spot Lilith, but didn't give it any more thought as the female got in. The puppy Hyte jumped (more like stumbled) into the vehicle and closed the door behind him, still panting and clutching at his side.

It only took him a moment to realize that this was no ordinary Shimey van; no, this was all Mena's work, clearly. Colton gazed wide-eyed at the screens and comfy seats. It was like technology heaven, though he had no idea what the difference of the shiny red dial was from the dark blue twisty thing. Colton almost reached for one of them to test it out, but then reconsidered; knowing Mena, she'd probably installed a self-destruct button somewhere in the van in case it "fell into the wrong hands" or something like that.

He moved to settle into one of the seats and hunkered down, folding paws over his stomach. He smiled thankfully to the cat Hyte and turned back to Lilith. "We're only going to spy on them, that's all. Nothing too serious. Besides, I've got to get a report back to Isoke and Gyasi."

"I'm opting out for mole" Lilith piped up. I may do things I will regret later.

She eyed the rest of the van nervously, afraid to accidentally touch something and buckled her seat belt. She was ready, but just for what she wasn't sure. Could her heart handle the rejection at seeing Amara and Maxwell looking happy together?