Raven was still reeling from the previous weekend's events. She wasn't quite sure how she felt about it, about Jace, but thinking about their time on the boat and the pool-- she did smile, so that was something.

Although that smile faded when she spotted Mitchell seated on the bench a few yards ahead of her. She slowed. He hadn't looked her way yet, so thinking quickly she shifted to look like someone else before she kept walking. Perhaps she'd be able to pass him without notice, without having to talk to him.

When someone got closer, he pulled his feet in, out of the way, reaching for his cigarettes. "Sorry," he said, in case his feet had been in the way.

She started past him, just like she'd planned, but caught sight of how dejected he looked now that she was closer and faltered.

"It's... no problem." she managed. Sighing inwardly, she added, "Everything alright?"

Cigarette in the corner of his mouth, reaching for his lighter, Mitchell looked up. "... not really," he said after a moment's thought. "This place ... this place."

He shook his head, lighting his cigarette.

With a hissed, "yesssss," Mitchell clapped down his mug and reached for the bottle to pour another. "George and I drank a lot," he said, fondly.

She held out her glass, "I hope drinking mellowed him out?"

Because he'd been anything but when they'd met.

"Ask me after five shots," he told her with a grin.

After two, he slouched a little bit lower, his legs tangling with hers. After three, he started talking a little more and after four, he said, "there was a little girl here. She left, too. I was her Valentine. I was supposed to take her to dinner if her Da would allow it. I think she liked me." And he'd liked Annie.

There went Mitchell's smile going lopsided. "I don't want it to be anything but what you wish it to be," he said, slouching again in the seat, feet on the opposite bench.

She laughed, louder than she'd intended. "How diplomatic of you!"

Raven chewed on the onion ring.

With a laugh, he bowed his head. Thank you, thank you.

Another onion ring, too, and more beer. "So, what else do you like, Raven? After liquor and sex?"

Since seeing Syracuse and Annie's name missing from the registry and going to see for herself, Red had been walking around in a daze. Actually, she'd run through the woods in wolf form howling after seeing the boat also gone. There was a part of her that wanted to stay in the woods, find a cave like her mother had in the Enchanted Forest and not come out. It seemed she was cursed. Whenever she began to feel something for someone, they died or left.

Hours later and Ruby emerged from the woods reluctantly, but she was on auto-pilot, not seeing or feeling as she headed to the hotel. Except it actually wasn't that she wasn't feeling anything but that she was feeling too much. Red didn't see the man on the bench until it was almost too late and she almost ran into the side of it.

"God. Sorry."

"It's all right," Mitchell said, before the smell - werewolf - caught him. He swallowed hard, looking away and back. "All right?"

"Fine." Red said, then shook her head. "I mean I'm fine with my clumsy not paying attention but --" She paused then sighed. "Sorry. You don't need my baggage." Ruby smiled without it reaching her eyes. "I'm fine. Sorry to interrupt what you were doing."

"I was only cursing this village," Mitchell repied ruefully.

He already had a shit-ton of luggage. What was a little more. "You don't look fine," he offered quietly.

"To George." And Annie, Tiffany, Selene and Doug.

Mitchell hissed as the whiskey burned its way down. A good burn.

He clacked down his shot glass and picked up his mug to wash it down. This was a good start.

Since he mentioned George, Ruby assumed he was the closest to him that left. "To George." She had absolutely no idea who that was but drank to him anyway. "I'm sorry. Was he a close friend?"

"My best friend. A lyco, too. We anger a lot of people," Mitchell said with a small smile, ordering another round of whiskey. "A vampire and a lyco being best mates. He's a good man. He'll go back to a pregnant girlfriend and he'll be a good father."

How little Mitchell knew of what awaited them all.

Annie got the message from Mitchell just as she was finishing up her shift at the tea shoppe, and as soon as she was out of sight, rent-a-ghosted to where he said he was waiting-- well, nearby, since she wasn't familiar with the actual bench.

Seeing him, his expression and posture, drove home that she hadn't misunderstood. It was true. Her eyes welling up, she went over and climbed up onto the bench beside him, leaning her head on his shoulder and taking his hand. "What happened?" she asked, her voice thick.

"I don't know," Mitchell sighed, his cheek against her hair. At least she didn't mind his hands were cold. "I guess he went back. To be with Nina and ... well, us, I suppose."

"I want him to be with us, here," Annie replied petulantly. "I mean, I'm glad he's with Nina, but still... this isn't right."

It wasn't. But Mitchell kissed her forehead, saying, "it isn't as if we can control who comes and goes, Annie." As much as he wanted to.

Hermione often went for walks during the day if she had nothing else to do. A walk to the library normally. Which was why she was walking home a little later than normal. The library...Well, of course it catches her attention. Makes it impossible for her to pull away until it closes. But as she walked and saw Mitchell she started to smile...until she saw the look on his face.

"Mitchell?"

Shit. Mitchell looked over at Hermione and couldn't hide his sadness. "George has left," he said.

The moment he said that, her heart sank. He had been a good friend even in the short time he had been here. Slowly, she sat next to him and carefully placed a hand on his. "I'm so sorry."

His hands were cold around the gloves of course. She didn't know - no one here now knew what Mitchell was.

No one.

Oddly that didn't bring him any comfort. He squeezed his hand and then gently pulled it away. "He liked you, you know. Very much."