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The jet ski had been locked up, the truck had been parked and the Gwee had been squished into a wet hug. All was well with the world.

Alex had insisted upon a hot shower for both of them, due in part to the sea water on their skin being full of dying serpent, and in part because it just felt really damn good. She had taken the time during Kinsey's turn to gather the materials for her job with Kyou - the form with all the information to be filled out, the case to store the bottle and some paperwork for Kinsey to keep. Contact information, and all that jazz.

She set them out over the dining room table, filling out the portion she knew - name, soul, date, time of capture, et al - and leaving the rest for Kinsey to do herself. Alex sighed deeply at the scent of beef being grilled on the back porch, thankful from the bottom of her heart that her brother hadn't decided to cook fish. She wasn't sure she could handle that tonight.

A chittering alerted Alex to the fact that someone was in the house - or rather, their guest had returned. Standing, she entered the house from the patio, snagging the chirruping Lorenzo out of mid-air and clamping a hand around his protesting muzzle. "Glad you made it back in one piece," she said kindly to Kinsey. The woman was smiling, but her eyes were lined and tired; it'd been one heck of an afternoon, and their work wasn't done yet.

"He's cooking outside, so the house doesn't get smokey. C'mon out!" Clutching the squirming and unhappy Gwee to her chest, she made her way back outside, showing her young friend out to the patio. It was a modest one, constructed of light wood with handrails along the edge and a small stairway leading towards the cliff. A picnic table with a canopy stood in the center, where the soul bottle rested and the paperwork was weighted by a stone; the shirtless brother in question and the grill were closer to the right side of the house, the older man sitting in a rocking-style lounge chair.

Releasing her little reptile (who made a beeline for Brad to console him), Alex took a seat and motioned for Kinsey to do the same, fingers resting delicately over the soul bottle. "It'll be done soon. The food." Her green eyes flicked back up to the young woman, resting her chin in her other hand. "We can do the paperwork in the mean--"

"How do you like your steak?" Brad called down the way, scritching the chin of a very happy Gwee.

"--time, after you answer him." The woman smiled quietly, too worn to even rib her brother for interrupting.

A quiet bit of whuffled laughter returned her answer. "Got it," was all Brad said before he resumed soothing the near purring Gwee, allowing the potatoes to finish first.

Alex smiled pleasantly, giving a small nod. "It's not much, actually, just a description of the soul and any abnormalties Kyou should know about before he puts it in the machine." She extended a hand, flipping through the papers to show that most of it was information and not necessarily things that needed to be filled out. "Liability and all that jazz. It's a necessary precaution after the last Lab burned."

Plucking the pen off of the table, she handed it over to the young woman, clicking it so that the nub was ready to write. Her green eyes turned over her companion's face with quiet consideration before she asked rather bluntly, "Hey, do those jewels mean anything? They're really pretty. Been meaning to ask, but, y'know, giant sea serpents get kinda distracting."

"Oh," Alex replied intelligently, tilting her head to look at the pretty crimson gems before returning her gaze to the papers. "That's very cool. They look nice, too." She was quiet for a time, lost in her own thoughts, before she realized Kinsey asked her a question. The zoologist gave a slight smile, looking behind herself to a particuarly crooked tree near the cliff. She watched it for a moment before turning back to her company. "I wont know for certain until I check tomorrow, but Zahara is at her normal post, so I'm assuming they're okay." A pause, blinking before she elaborated, "Zar is a wild female Gwee who watches us, sometimes, like I watch her kind. She favors that tree yonder."

The woman pushed herself up a little to look over the paperwork, smiling a little as she watched the lines get filled in. "Nah, the big one isn't a liability. It's like, if, the bottle broke or someth-oh!" She stood a little more straighter, remembering something. "Wait a sec." And without warning, she dashed back inside, disappearing for a handful of seconds before re-emerging holding a small velvet jewelry box.

She put the box down on the table and resumed her seat, motioning to the object. "Your friend left us a momento. I didn't realize it at first, but found out pretty fast once the soap hit my hand." Alex held up the aforementioned appendage, which was wrapped in bandages. "Seems his scales by his ears were a little...loose."

Green eyes slid side-long towards the ocean, resting her chin in her good hand after a little nod. "No problem. Thanks for your concern, by the way," she added with genuine gratitude. Her gaze returned to Kinsey, her smile widening as the young woman looked into the box. The expression froze in surprise at the words that followed, however.

"What?" If she looked half as surprised as she felt, her young companion would have to forgive her for her shock. "You don't have to..." she started, but she didn't want to be rude, either. "...really?" A tiny bit of mirth glinted in her eye, her smile warming into a wide grin. "I was thinking you could make a nice jewelry set or something, but if you really want to give them away..." Her attention lingered on the back of the velvet box, the color of her eyes bright. "...I'll definitely take one to Kyou for you. And get one set for me to wear and remember."

If Kinsey wanted to give her one, she wouldn't put it aside. It was best, to her, that she remembered the tremendous burden of taking responsibility for a life...and to believe in second chances. Alex was touched by the automatic suggestion from the woman, having never been granted such a selfless consideration before. "Thank you," she offered gratefully.

She was humbled - perhaps more so than a normal person, but let it never be said that Alex was normal - and, sitting up straighter, she looked over the form from her position. "Looks good." Name, address, soul... "Interesting fel essence," she remarked consideringly. "I wonder what will come of that...?"

She accepted the papers with a light smile, arranging them in proper order. Gathering the suitcase in her arms, she carefully put the documents in a side panel, unclasping it to place the soul bottle within its confines. Alex was quiet while she worked, that strange and enigmatic smile lingering on her lips, waiting until she was finished with the work stuff before she replied.

"That's very considerate of you," she remarked kindly. Her eyes looked beyond the woman for a moment as the hiss of grilling meat broke into the conversation, chuckling softly. "I'm sure Kyou will appreciate it too." Alex stood and placed the suitcase just inside of the doorway, unwilling to let it be at the mercy of any stray elements (which was ironic, given the fel essence) before returning to the woman's side. "I have a guest room," she stated off-handedly, gaze lost over the darkening horizon. She would have remarked on the whole 'Crazy Branch' comment, but her mind was working as it often did, and she couldn't help but question what the heck she was going to do with a serpent carcass at the base of the cliffs. It would undoubtably stink to high heavens come midday.

A soft sigh escaped her. She'd worry about it later, when she didn't have company to keep. Smiling tiredly in turn, she nodded to the sentiment previously expressed, not yet sitting. "I have some paperwork to do for my own studies, but..." Something clicked in her mind, eyebrows raising as an idea occured to her. The woman was suddenly crouching on the bench next to Kinsey, eyes brightly resuming their mischevious glimmer. "Say. You any good with labeling things and mail drops?" Random? Oh heavens no, not Alex!

She smiled widely, awaiting a response to her perfectly left-fielded question.

"Not in the least," she reassured the young woman, smiling. Alex personally doubted she'd get much sleep as it was; no harm in refraining from explaining that small tidbit. "Be my guest. You'll even get breakfast out of it." The woman leaned back precariously on the bench. "Right, B?"

The cook grunted in reply.

Chuckling, she leaned her elbows on the table, nodding to the statement with a knowing smile. "I know. No mornings for you." Yanking her wallet out of her back pocket (something she had with her even if she wasn't going out), she pulled out a card and put it near Kinsey. "That's the firm I work for, on Gambino. I know it's not exactly local, but you wont have to go there for the work itself. You'll just hafta give them a call, tell them I sent you, and they'll probably hand you the job on a silver platter." Alex grinned widely, her brows cocked at an angle to make her look quite devious. "It's mostly just some mobile filing crap and taking things to the postal office. It's easy, but it can be a lot in the summer when my job picks up.

"If no interest, no harm done. Just thought I'd throw it out there, since you can work your own schedule as long as it works with mine." She sat down next to Kinsey properly, all smiles, resting her forearms on the table with her fingers laced together. "So--"

"Dinner," came the announcement from just behind the two, the tall man lifting a dark brow in amusement. "She's too young to make an old hen out of her, 'lessy--"

"Call me that again, Be--"

"--so let her enjoy some things without being so critical." He put the well done steak in front of the younger woman, giving her a charming smile to distract from the sibling spat. "Well done. No pink when I cut it." He put another piece of meat in front of his sister, which looked more burned than well done. "And just how you like it. Alex."

"Thank you. Jerk," she sneered at the man, but her insult was only half-hearted, attention already fixed on her food.

Brad hooked his thumb towards the grill. "Still cooking the potato goods and some corn, let me know if you want more while we're waiting." And with that, he walked back to the food, which was being studied carefully by Lorenzo.

The woman gave a sour glance towards her brother before smiling to Kinsey. "Anyway. Eat up! We make a lot of food, so don't be shy!"