[Eben Rook]

New journal. It always feels weird starting something new, especially journals. I've got my collected thoughts spread between pages of old books. On top of that, I'm moving. Not permanently, but I don't know how long the stay will be in London. I meet with a realtor there on Wednesday. Hopefully he/she will have something I can just move into.

X Phone taken care of
X Bank notified
X Utilities put on hold
X Change of address form for international postage
X Plane Tickets
X Hotel for two nights

I can't think of anything else that I need to prepare. I'll have my duffel with my gear and my laptop case. I'll be going by plane, so I'll need to make sure things are packed securely and the proper spells are on the bags the way they should be. Honestly, I need to stop being a little bitch about this. Moira fled back to her den in England. I'll flush her out and then I'll be done with it. But London, though...what if my pops is there? Should I track him down? Does he even know about me? What if he doesn't?

[Eben Rook]

Trees are much larger than you think. I couldn’t shake that thought this morning when I was running. London has so many trees. According to Wikipedia, London has the same population as NYC but it’s something like 150 square miles bigger.

Older, too. The buildings on the older neighborhoods are practically held together with just moss and spite. These Brits are so closed off and, well, not cold, but stony. I know they say we New Yorkers are hard, but at least we have emotions, damn...

[Eben Rook]

I know it’s a different country, and I know it’s a different city, but it’s easy to fall into the same routine. The run, then shower, then sleep, then wake up for dinner and then the hunt. Routine isn’t bad, but I worry about complacency.

Nightclubs seem to be the best place so far. There are several regulars I think I’ve targeted as supernatural at the very least. Mages, werewolves, or vampires...it doesn’t matter. A lead is a lead. I know I could just go straight to magical London and Diagon, see if their ministry would give assistance, but...nah.

SAM doesn’t need permission or permits to do its hunting. I’m not on a contract, so the legitimacy of this isn’t on par with past jobs. Maybe they’d be willing to work with me, but I’d rather ask forgiveness than permission.

All work and no play makes Benny a dull boy, so I need to make some friends, too. That and this is supposedly the home country, right? Ma and dad both from here, I might as well get some ties and make some memories.

[Eben Rook]

Stupid song stuck in my head...Brandy didnt help at all with her calling and bringing it up. I don’t even like LMFAO that much, but damn do they do catchy songs. Brandy hasn’t been that hard in getting a song stuck in my head since G6 and that’s when she was pandering for me to get her one. As if. I’m well off, but who the hell needs private transport like that? I sure as hell don’t.

She brought up an issue with T-slam. That boy’s getting too big for Harlem. I bet it won’t be long before MACUSA puts out a warrant for his staking. Thing of it is, it won’t even be for breaking a law; it’ll just be that he’s gotten too much of a power base and they want that coven closed down. We’ve got good relations with him and his crew, so maybe I’ll not take that contract.

Then again, a target the size of T-slam would be a hefty price and if someone’s going to ghost that gangster, it may as well be us. What would Saul do?

Shit, he went in and negotiated with the Master of Harlem like it was a business deal when Parker’s name came up on the kill sheet. Then again, Parker was killing people when he fed. He was breaking MACUSA laws as well as coven rules, so that was an easy sell. Still, being the only white guys in a coven-gang-army of vampires wasn’t comfortable, and I’m sure those bastards could smell our anxiety.

Maybe I would take the contract, especially since Terrance refused to help find Saul’s killer. I should have left for England sooner instead of letting it be a vampire issue. He didn’t want it handled...why would he? His biggest opponent into spreading to the Lower East Side was just murdered. He benefitted. Hell, I almost wonder if he gave Moira the idea to do it. Fucker. It would be like that Harlem hood leech to do something like that...

But it would start a war, and we couldn’t win that. We’d need the packs in on our side and Mike said the Bronx packs are scared of T-Slam’s reach. Scared. What scares a werewolf? Seriously. Hell if I know.

Best thing would be for a coup. Dodger would be a good leader for the crew. He respects MACUSA and he’s not ambitious like T-Slam. Treats the girls better, too. Maybe I’ll start spinning him a dream of how much better things would be without the old school...but Dodger’s not ambitious. He’s a good, loyal soldier...

Well, maybe it’s time to make some things and some people disappear and undermine the coven’s leadership...it’s what a magician does best, after all.

[Eben Rook]

It is late June and the temperature is barely in the seventies. What the hell? My neighbor even had the gall to bitch about it being hot. Be thankful it’s not a hundred degrees and eighty percent humid, Tom, because that was New York last summer.

And the clouds. It’s always cloudy, but it doesn’t deliver with the rain. I’m probably going to regret complaining about that in a few months when it won’t stop raining. That may make my hunting harder if a vampire can make it when it’s cloudy.

Note to self: was Meyers right that clouded days can keep a vampire from burning?

I should see if Qasim would be willing to ship me some more potions. I still don’t feel like I have enough and I don’t trust the potioneers here. I don’t even want to think about trying to do it myself...this apartment can’t handle my potential blunders.

It’s too nice of a place to really stand much magic. The sleek, modern look isn’t normally my style, but Wendy was right when she asked me to take a chance and look at it. I wish the kitchen was a bit bigger, but the views can’t be beat.

I have my safety spells in place. I can’t help but be paranoid here. The community is running on high tension. Even through the ‘stiff upper lip’ façade, I can see it. This town’s a powder keg. When the spark happens, things will get really interesting, real quick. I could stand to make a profit, or get caught in the explosion. Either way, I need to play this safe and smart. Maybe I’ll ask Qasim to send some of the work books for the more robust security spells, too. Can’t be too safe.