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Hopeite had been following a young couple that afternoon, tailing back just far enough that they couldn't see her. But she made sure that the toddler between them caught glimpses. As the trio grew more and more uncomfortable on their walk, plagued by the sounds of broken twigs and creaking branches, they sped up, forgetting that the toddler had only just recently gained control of it's little legs. The baby fell a few times, but the parents, ever vigilant, always scooped them back up and set them right again. Hopeite figured that they weren't so scared as they looked, however, because they never felt enough alarm to pick the child up and run. And that was just perfect for Hopeite. She halted her torment after several long moments, though continued to follow them in the thick brush of the park.

When the couple was certain that the threat was imagined, they smiled at one another and slowed. Their pace turned leisurely, and they allowed the toddler a little more leeway. So the baby toddled forward and backward and side to side as it pleased, and Hopeite watched for a long moment before she quietly began humming. She was too far away for the parents to hear, but the toddler was closer. She stopped and looked around, searching the afternoon woods for the source of the music. Hopeite's uniform allowed for a small amount of camouflage, but toddler eyes were easy to deceive as well. When the toddler drew closer, Hopeite drew away. The toddler followed, taking very deliberate and careful steps away from the path. Back and back into the brush, so that when the parents began to call, the child did not hear them.

Hopeite continued to hum as she knelt down to caress the child's soft little cheek and began to drain her.

Oh for the love of --

"Why must you assume the worst Dear Harmonia," Hopeite purred, scooping the now sleeping toddler up into her arms and cradling her close. "Though I suppose since I am the bad guy, it would be natural to make that assumption." She didn't have to fake the irritation glittering in her eyes. But she couldn't let her anger get the better of her. She'd been caught in the act, after all, and now she had to cover. How much of this had Harmonia actually seen? Hopeite had to gamble on the fact that she'd only seen the last few seconds...

"As it turns out," she huffed, spinning from Harmonia to stalk back to the parents, "That she got separated from her mother and father." As she spoke, Hopeite stroked the child's hair, soothing her in sleep as though she were her own child. "It's true, I was out for my quota, and it's true I did drain the child. But not for the reasons you think." Speak slowly. Speak evenly. "She was running, hopelessly turned around in the woods. The trees all look the same to my adult eyes, I can't imagine was nightmares she was seeing." What then? Had she caught her or -- "She fell. Tripped over a root. Poor dear. That was when I found her, sprawled out on the ground and hysteric. I drained her so that I could calm her down. And now, I'm taking her back to her parents."

Smooth. Hopeite smirked, thoroughly proud of herself for the fluidity of her own lies. She would be surprised if Harmonia saw through them, though if she did, she had a plan B. After all, Hopeite held the child. The child, sleeping soundly in her arms, would protect her.

"And here I thought our little chat had proven me better. Senshi are all the same, bloodthirsty and searching for a fight after all."

Hopeite shrugged, bouncing the child further up on her hip. "Maybe some scraped knees and elbows, but nothing that can't be fixed with some disinfectant and bandaids..." So Harmonia had not been there for the whole scene. Excellent. Hopeite preferred to toy with her a little more before she discarded her. The more she could gain her trust the better. and so, to keep the rouse up, Hopeite looked around for a moment, as if judging which way she needed to go in order to find the parents. The child stirred slightly, eyes fluttering open, and Hopeite drained just a little more energy from her. She smiled sheepishly at Harmonia and muttered, "I can barely handle a sleeping child... it's better if she stays this way rather than screaming whens he wakes up being held by a stranger..."

Again, not a complete lie. Now that she was holding the child, the last thing she wanted was it wailing in her ear. So the child fell back onto Hopeite's shoulder and she noticed, with growing irritation, that she had begun to drool. Perfect. Now she was going to be soaked through with baby slobber. There was a reason Hopeite had a dog and not a child... she had no patience for this...

"Maybe if we head towards the main path we'd be able to find them," she offered despite her irritation, trying to ignore the growing wet spot on her shoulder.

Victory swept over Hopeite with Harmonia's apology. She forced her smile to remain humble, however, as she cast it over to Harmonia. "It's not the crying I'm worried about. I'm worried about if she breaks free from me and runs back into the forest. But I should keep a hold of her. The Senshi are already not very well liked in this city. To see you holding the child may cause... concerns... Plus I'm an adult... it's just better if I keep her. But I promise, I won't drain her anymore." Hopeite wiggled her pinky finger to prove her point. "But it's not your fault that you assumed the worst. I'm not the nicest person, I've got a serious case of resting b***h face, and what else would any rational person assume if they happened upon that scene? I'm just grateful that you didn't attack me like the others did."

As "luck" would have it, they wouldn't have to be searching for very long. Off in the distance, voices could be heard calling for the child. Stephanie, it turned out, was her name. Better to have the child awake when the parents showed up... no awkward questions to have to answer that way. Hopeite reached down and ran a light fingernail against the child's cheek. Not enough to cut, but only tickle her awake.

"Stephanie... time to wake up, dear."

The child batted her eyeslashes open and looked blearily at the stranger holding her. She began to whimper lightly before Hopeite slung her against her shoulder and began patting her back, distracting her with the light impact. She'd seen her own mother do this with other children at her bookshop... it should work, right?

"I don't see why you can't come. It'd be some good PR for you guys. Word of mouth is very important." She flashed a warm smiled at Hopeite over the lump of the child against her shoulder and thought for a moment, considering Harmonia. "No... no you know what... you should be the one to deliver the child. Now that I'm thinking about it, it can't go any other way, right?" And Hopeite knew exactly what to tell the parents when they found them as well. Hopeite foisted the sniffling child over to Harmonia, grimacing slightly at the drool spot on her uniform. Hopefully it'd be gone by the time she powered back up.

A woman's voice shouting the child's name erupted closer and with more panic than before and Hopeite knew that she'd handed the child over just in time. Her little brunette head popped up at the sound of her mother's voice and she twisted in Harmonia's arms, reaching out for her mother with the same panic as before.

"Don't let her go, Harmonia, dear. Just in case she runs back for the woods in blind panic. Deliver her right into the mother's arms."

Whent he mother arrived she had a million questions, but the first thing she did was rip the child from Harmonia's arms. The father stepped between the pair and his family. Hopeite forced darkness over her expression.

"You own this young woman your daughter's life," she growled in defense of Harmonia's honor. "I only happened upon them both, but if it hadn't been for her working quickly to calm your daughter, we might never have caught her. Gods only know where she'd have ended up. Show some gratitude." The parents blinking blankly at them both, and then watched Harmonia for confirmation. Hopeite nudged her to prompt that confirmation.

It was the mother who spoke up first, behind her husband's shoulder.

"Well... thank you very much, young lady," she said tentatively, checking her daughter over for obvious signs of injury. When she found none, she offered a timid smile to the Sailor Scout before her. The husband, however, remained solidly between them. As though he would be any match for Senshi magic. Hopeite herself wouldn't come between that kind of magic and it's target -- not at this point in her training. The group stood at a stand still for several long seconds, and in that silence, Hopeite After a moment, however, the mother's light hand rested on the husband's shoulder, easing the tension from his body.

"Honestly," she said stepping out from behind her husband, "Thank you. You have no idea what she means to us." The husband protested, but the wife held up her hand. "Issac please, terrorist or not, she saved our daughter. She's alright by me." The mother rummaged around in her purse for a moment before producing two twenty dollar bills and holding them out for the two before her. "Please," she insisted. "It's nowhere near enough to bringing our daughter back, but it's all I have."

Now, this was interesting. Hopeite stood back and waited for Harmonia to make her choice. She was, after all, a teenager. And they often hurt for cash. Twenty dollars was not chump change for someone her age.

The family left, father shuffling his wife and child away while the little girl waved sleepily back at them. Hopeite waved automatically and questioned why she had done so, but pushed the thought from her mind. Clearly hanging out with children had made her soft... Irritation bit at Hopeite's stomach, causing her to scowl into the night where the family had once stood. She was not soft. Hopeite had every intention of leaving that girl int he brush to fend for herself once she was done with her. If the parents found her, fine. If someone else found her, fine. If she died, fine. But she could feel her carefully honed edges being worn away...

She needed to move ahead with her plan. It was time. Harmonia trusted her, enough not to attack her when she had found Hopeite very clearly in the act of something terrible. Trusted her enough to take her word for it as Hopeite turned around, looked her in the eyes, and gaslit her. Yes. It was time for phase two.

She turned suddenly to Harmonia and curtly stated, "you should go home. It's getting late and god only knows what might be lurking in the trees after dark." It was difficult to hide the chill in her voice, but if Harmonia asked it would be easy to blame it on the rudeness of the father or the strain of having been out for so long. Anxiety seemed to be the catch-all excuse nowadays anyway. She could blame it on that too. Hopeite also had no idea how must strain draining put on someone, and while it was little more than a scratch to Hopeite's nerves, she could always say it was more. Hopeite had plenty of outs for her sudden shift in tone.

"I need a long bath and a facial."

Not a lie, actually. With all of her good work recently, Hopeite felt that she deserved a bit of a treat. Especially since she was about to go in deep with her cover for the next few weeks.