This was the ritziest place Benjamin had been in a long time. Everything in this neighborhood screamed money, both old and new, and it made the little were shifter's skin crawl as he skulked along the annoyingly beautifully-manicured shrubbery that lined every sidewalk.

It wasn't often he graced such prosperity such as Anacosta Heights with his lowly presence, and yet Benjamin found that unannounced visits with the higher-ups of the Sacrosanct world simply came with the territory. At least...whenever Benjamin decided it did. How astounding it was, to the little dealer of misgivings, how one could walk such a pristine neighborhood with not a clue of the dark dirty secrets that lived in the many rooms of these beautifully looming mansions. No one would ever think twice of the people that lived here â€" Oh, no. Not anyone who lived in Anacosta Heights. And after all... why should they? It was safe and comfortable and secure, a perfect little bubble for those who could afford it (and believe him, they could afford it), to make sure that they floated peacefully on their Victorian dreams.

But Benjamin knew better.

He knew that this place was simply a façade, a money sink â€" something to keep up appearances that could otherwise be so easily shattered. Certainly not everyone that lived here could be played so easily and yet for every twenty or so houses that happened to live a lavished life of 'normal' luxury, Benjamin found there to be one house he could happily milk for so much more, and, well. There were hundreds of houses.

The little black cat weaved quietly up and down the streets, ducking between car tires and perching atop brick walls as he lazily sought out this afternoon's query. The slender black tail twitched, wafting to and fro as the calculated gaze every feline seemed to possess lingered from one corner block to the next. He knew what he was looking for and yet the feline seemed to take his precious time. It wasn't until someone tending their garden had attempted to coax him over that Benjamin decided his sight-seeing hours were through for the day and promptly vanished into the nearest thicket of bushes. He did have business here, after all. Well... possibly.

It was a fifty-fifty chance that Dareios would even be home. It was a sunny afternoon, if not a mildly bright over cast â€" not exactly vampire weather, should anyone have asked Benjamin's opinion, but it was a start. Either his studious little bloodsucker was hiding out under a pile of duteous paperwork at home or he was doing it elsewhere. Either way, Benjamin's trip would not be entirely in vain. The simple pleasure of seeking out the Mayor's home was a victory all its own. It goes without saying that Benjamin never had any semblance of an invitation to start with, to his utter horror. The relationship that had been established with Sacrosanct's local "outed" celebrity was shallow, at best. Dareios had proven a useful resource with a large bank account and Benjamin was happy to oblige for now, doing a little of this, a little of that... helping keep the peace between ugly blood thirty monster and friendly neighborhood vampire. The cat's tail twitched in amusement, his large glassy gaze cast upon perhaps one of the more beautiful mansions in the neighborhood. A black town car was parked near the lower driveway, a few security hands idly talking by the front gate.

It took much too little effort to glide past undetected. Benjamin was small for a cat, his black coat lending to the darker, richer colors of the surrounding region that helped him move unnoticed. A few short loping strides later and the feline crossed the front garden soundlessly, and without stopping, made a quick bee-line for the front door the second it happened to crack open. A housekeep seemed to be dragging a thick carpet out onto the patio to shake and rid it of accumulating dust, and Benjamin could not compliment her timing enough.

The black feline slipped inside, trotting about the shadows of the luxurious innards with a single destination in mind. No doubt this house was large, but Benjamin was determined to find Sir Dareios before Dareios found him.