The summer had been too long for Vahika's taste. Even with cooler nights and regular breeze, she longed for the fall season. The warm colors and the crisp weather would be welcome. She had never experienced it in Chicago, so that would be a first. Her favorite season would hopefully make the transition to a new place and a challenging assignment easier.

At the thought of easier, she stared at her reflection in the mirror and scoffed at it.

"Since when do you do easy?"

Her reflection stared back and right on cue her beloved cat Tedinka jumped on the bathroom counter, pawing at the Fae's mascara.

"Tedi," she growled at her obnoxious tortie who only gave her the most feline smirk.

She picked the wandering makeup product and returned it to one of the decorative containers she had brought along with her. While most of her condo was still pretty much full of unopened boxes, she had set up her work station already, and her bathroom. Even her wardrobe still mostly lived in open suitcases. It had only been a few days since she had arrived from Virginia. Tedinka had actually taken the long drive pretty well. After all, the cat had gone through several moves and lives with the Watcher, so she knew the drill, and she knew her mistress would never abandon her.

It was still early morning and she had several hours before scouting for her new protegee. It had been a few years since the Fae hadn't been on the field for a long-term assignment with another immortal. She had trained a lot of new Watchers back on the East Coast, with a few travels to Europe. After so many centuries on Earth, she had found herself alternating a few decades in the field and on the research side of the Watchers' work. It had worked well, even though part of her still thought she had lost her marbles for volunteering for her new assignment.

Walking to the kitchen, she made herself some tea, before feeding Tedinka. The cat had already fallen in love with the view outside the windows. It didn't take her long after eating to go curl up on her favorite blanket and watch the birds and squirrels.

Vahika always thought that having a cat was the perfect pet for a Watcher. They both did the same in some way, except birds and squirrels caught on being watched more easily than immortals, she thought. She knew that her new assignment was aware of her previous Watcher and that it might cause issues, or have Vahika reveal herself earlier than planned. The Order always hated that; but at the same time it had proven somewhat practical on several occasions. She had worked in the research unit with Maria for a while, especially after Hawkins had poofed from the face of the Earth for several years.

Maria had put Vahika's name at the top of her recommendations for the Immortal's new Watcher. Vahika had volunteered without hesitation. Fae Watchers from House Liam who had her longevity, hadn't been surprised, but most humans had stared at her in shock.

Taking a seat on her couch, which currently lacked enough cushions, she took a careful sip from her black tea before setting it aside. Opening her laptop, and grabbing her notebook and pens, she wanted to go through Hawkins' files again before starting direction observation.