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As the conductor was beginning to do his rounds, Cross decided that he could do with a bit of unpacking while he waited for the conductor. The same thought seemed to had crossed over the colonel's mind as the panther was already opening one of his suitcases and brought out the clothes that he might be needing for the four day journey ahead.

"Mind if I close the door for a bit?" he asked Graves.

The colonel, who was in the process of removing a set of dinner jacket, nodded. "Sure, go ahead."

With that, Cross slid close the door and proceeded to sort out his clothes, deciding which would he would use throughout the journey and which would stay securely locked and stored.

The uniformed Malinois came around Cross' compartment half an hour later. Simon Dupont was all smiles, and he was holding the same clipboard from before. However, the detective suspected that the board now held an entirely different content.

"Good afternoon," the conductor greeted, tipping his hat while he gave Cross a small nod. "May I have your passport and your boarding pass, please?"

The cougar compiled. The conductor stamped the boarding pass after giving it a brief look, before he went to study Cross' passport; inspecting the silvery coat of arms of Federation of Hesperia emblazoned on the navy blue cover before he looked over the identification on the first page. With a small nod, the conductor stored the passport into the small leather satchel strapped across his shoulder.

"Everything in order?" Cross asked casually.

"Everything is fine, sir," replied Dupont with a smile. "Seems like you're one of the few Hesperians travelling with us on this train today."

The detective quirked an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yes, most travellers seemed to come from Avaloria or Columbia, sir," said the conductor with a small chuckle.

Cross nodded. "I see. Not even a Gallian onboard?"

"In the Valmangne coach? Not really, no, but I believe there's one Gallian passenger on the next car. A doctor, I believe. I have to check," Dupont replied. "The Pierrograd coaches are filled with Arlemanians and Rosvenians, naturally."

Chuckling in agreement, Cross then let the conductor to relay the standard welcome greeting and an explanation of the train's various amenities; from the two dining cars in between the four passenger coaches, the lounge car, and the observation car at the end of the train.

"If you have any questions or needed any assistance during your journey, feel free to call me or Herschel. We will be more than happy to assist you."

Cross gave the conductor a thankful nod. "Alright. Thank you, Dupont."

"You're welcome, Mr. Cross," the canine smiled, before he clicked his tongue. "Ah, right. I just remembered. Herschel has relayed to me to inform you that Mr. Gideon Cross is residing in the other Hieropolis-Valmagne coach, sir, the Émeraude car. Your brother is occupying compartment 2," he recounted. "The Émeraude sleeping car is right next to this one, sir. Down that way," he gestured to the direction of where the next passenger carriage was located.

"Ah," the cougar nodded. "Alright. Give Herschel my thanks."

"Will do, sir," the uniformed canine nodded. "I will take my leave, and welcome onboard, once again," he gave a final nod before moving on to the next compartment.

Cross looked until the conductor had left the premises, listening as he knocked on the door of Colonel Graves' compartment before he returned to the task of sorting his clothing, which took a better part of the minute.

With everything done, the cougar went to slipped out of his thick coat and jacket, washed his face, and changed into a more comfortable, airier clothes, as it was a lot warmer inside the train.

He knocked on the communicating door once he couldn't hear the sounds of Simon Dupont talking next door. Graves slid the door opened and Cross could see that the colonel was just finished with his unpacking.

"Well then, I'm going to see my brother. Would you like to come?"

"Sure," the panther smiled. "Just let met get my jacket."

Moving to the next sleeping car, Cross and Graves weaved past passengers who were standing on the hallway, admiring the view of the sprawling, snow covered plains outside Hieropolis. They came face to face with the conductor in charge of the Émeraude coach the moment they stepped into the sleeping car, and found out that it was the ram conductor they had met on the station moments before.

The horned conductor directed them to Compartment 2 after Cross asked for his brother's whereabouts, which was located the far end of the car. Crossing over the sleeping car, the detective and the colonel stopped at the aforementioned door and gave it a couple of knocks.

"Yes? Who is it?" came Gideon's voice.

"It's me, Gideon."

A moment later, the door cracked open and Gideon Cross' blue eyes--both natural and mechanical ones--peered from the doorway. A moment later, the door was pushed open and the cougar himself was grinning brightly at his twin brother,

"I see you brought the colonel with you. Come on in then."

Compartment 2, as it turned out, was a second class compartment. It was virtually similar to the first class compartments, only the difference was that it had a far simpler decor, equipped with a washroom that was shared with the neighboring compartment, and it was a double sleeper room instead of being a single sleeper.

Cross was not the least surprised when he saw that his twin brother had a roommate.

He couldn't help but give the canine who also occupied Gideon's compartment a quick study. His brother's roommate was a male Akita with rich honey-brown coat with white and black markings. He appeared to be in early to mid 20s, and judging from the tags on his luggage, the canine seemed to be enjoying a vacation on his own. His clothing style suggested he's from northern Columbia, possibly the Federal States or Laurentian Dominion.

"This is Spencer Callius. Callius, meet my twin brother, Leonidas, and this is Colonel Achilles Graves," Gideon introduced.

The Akita blinked as he shook paws with the two felines. "Your twin? Oh, nice to meet you then, Mr. Cross, you too colonel."

"The pleasure is ours," Graves smiled as he returned the canine's handshake.

"I go by Leon whenever I'm with my brother. Reduces the confusion," the detective said.

Callius chuckled. "Very well then."

"So, what brings you on this train, brother?" Gideon asked as he sat down. "I recall you wrote to me that you've solved the colonel's case.

Cross gave a small nod. "Indeed. I'm actually heading back home. The colonel has paid for my ticket on the Mercurius Express as a thank you gesture," he said.

Gideon stared at the panther before he chuckled. "That's generous of you, colonel."

"Not at all, not at all," the colonel chuckled. "It's a small thing compared to what he had done for me."

"Oh, you're a detective?" Callius went to ask, looking back and forth between the two cougar twins.

Cross nodded. "Yes. We both are, actually."

"We're more like partners, really." His brother replied. "But we're off duty at the moment," he added. Cross's eyebrow quirked upwards slightly at the remark.

"Indeed."

Callius nodded. "Ah, enjoying a small winter break then."

"We were planning on touring the continent, originally," Gideon answered before Cross could open his mouth. "But my brother here was summoned by the colonel and so I was left minding the office on my own, before I got bored and decided to take a small vacation for myself. It's far too cold in Hesperia anyway."

That was a blatant lie of course, but Gideon always did have a way with words. Cross couldn't help but wonder why his brother would hide the real reason he took to travelling the continent.

Unless...

"And now it seemed that we're on our way home," Cross concluded with a grin of his own. "Well, aside from the colonel's case, my stay in Anatolia wasn't terribly long. What about you then, Gideon? You never said you're going this far south."

Gideon made an offhand gesture with his paw. "Well, I didn't plan to, really, but you know how easily I can get sidetracked."

Another lie of course, but Cross decided to play along. He gave a derisive snort. "Sidetracked by the beautiful young females no doubt, or did you splurge our money to get to Hieropolis? Heavens know how you can burn through our expenses."

The cougar with the ocular prosthetic placed a paw over his heart. "To think my own twin would thought of me so lowly," he lamented, muzzle twitching. "I'm hurt, dear brother... truly, I'm hurt."

The two cougars simply stood there for a full second, not moving an inch, before they broke into laughter.

"In any case, I must say, travelling suits me," said Gideon as his laughter died down.

Cross chuckled. "I'm sure it does. So tell me, where have you gone during your vacation?"

Graves cleared his throat, perhaps sensing that he was somewhat intruding in a familial moment. "Well, let's let these two catch up," he said. "How about we head to the lounge car, Mr. Callius?"

Callius blinked before he shrugged and nodded in agreement. "Sure, I needed a drink anyway. I'll see you there, Mr. Cross?"

"Of course," the two detectives replied in unison.

Evidently, the Akita was only referring to Gideon but he returned the grin either way. He quickly moved out of the compartment with Graves, the panther closing the door behind him. Cross could hear the panther engaging Callius with a few questions as they made their way to the next car, their voices slowly melding with the thrumming and rattling of the train.

"So," Leon Cross began as he sat down on the foldable armchair across the large sofa, "how did your little adventure go so far? You said you almost lost track of Le Chevalier du Noir in your telegram."

"I said almost," the other cougar grunted as he too, sat down. His ocular implant automatically focused and refocused as he turned his attention to his older twin. "Avaloria is the same as always. Crownsbridge is bustling, grey, and cold. Gallia has been quite, ah, enlightening, I must say."

"Enlightening... I'm sure it was," Leon Cross grinned with a slight purr. "Enjoying the crème de la crème of Lucierian high society no doubt."

The younger cougar seemed to flush slightly. "Well, you know what they say, people of Luciere are the most welcoming sort in all of Gallia."

Leon chortled openly. "Go on, dear brother. Who is it that managed to entertain your nights in the city of lights hmmm?"

The younger cougar let out a soft cough. "A young saxophonist I met a couple of times in the hotel's nightclub."

"A saxophonist? Hmmm... that's unusual. Didn't you usually enthrall someone with a higher caliber, say... the Dauphin of Gallia. Oh, or perhaps the King himself?" Leon grinned impishly. "Pity you and the Marquis de Lavigne du Levammase-Ligneux did not last long. He was very fond of you I remembered."

Gideon playfully punched his brother's shoulder. "Oh shut it. It's not like you can keep your paws to yourself. Still have a thing for authority figures eh, dear brother?" He smirked. "You and the colonel shagged just this morning, don't deny it! Also, I distinctly remembered that you still have a thing going on between you and one Inspecteur Hugo Janvier from Saint-Verseaux. Oh, or did the distance between Hesperia and Gallia proved too much for you that you have a budding relationship with Captain Davios Stormme from our own police force?"

Leon harrumphed. "Oh, caught that with that eye of yours, did you?" he gestured to his brother's ocular implant.

"I don't need my observation prowess to deduce what kind of shenanigans you and the colonel were up to this morning," Gideon replied with a scoff. "You practically reeked of sex, dear brother."

"Hmph. For the record, the colonel and I both had been without companion for so long." Leon gave a shrug. "Besides, it's not like I bedded with him every night. And just you know, Inspecteur Janvier was nothing more than a very reliable friend, and my relationship with Captain Stormme is purely professional. There is absolutely nothing between us that is untoward," he said with a grunt.

"Mhmm. A very professional one indeed, or am I looking things too deeply to your letters, hmm?" Gideon purred suggestively. "'How I longed to meet you again, my friend... the days seemed grey without your companionship...'" he recited.

Leon's eye twitched and pursed his lips. His neck fur fluffed up slightly. "How many times do I have to tell you not to look at my personal letters?"

Gideon gave a shrug. "Not my fault they were sitting openly on your desk unattended."

If they weren't in a relatively small space at the moment, Leon would have wrestled his brother to the ground. Instead, he decided to return the punch he had received earlier. Gideon did not seemed fazed at all, but he did pout.

"Heh, in anyhow... I only stayed in Luciere for a week. Once I caught wind that the Chevalier had moved onced again, I followed tracked them down to Arlemania, where they stayed for a couple of days. I tracked the thieves across the country before I followed them to Rosvenia--which, I must say, has been quite the experience so far. And to answer your question, I almost lost track of the thief in Rosvenia."

Leon goggled at his twin brother. "You... wait, you went as far to Rosvenia?"

"Mhmm," Gideon nodded. "I tracked them down from Volgrov, Nevaresk, and then to Pierrograd where they stole a ring of rare blue diamonds from a countess. The ring is pretty expensive and is made of rare stones, yes, but it's not that famous outside the family. It's not even a famed family heirloom nor a national treasure..."

"You're saying that it doesn't seem like his M.O. at all," Leon summarized. "By the way, this Chevalier du Noir, you keep referring it as "them". Sounds like you seemed to believe that there might be more than one?"

"Indeed," Gideon nodded with his fingers pressed together under his chin. "It's what I had suspected. After analyzing the scene and interviewing witnesses, I concluded that there were at least two thieves working together in tandem. The facts suggested as much."

"I see. Hmm... so not only this Chevalier du Noir has the Star of the Orion but also a Rosvenian blue diamond ring."

"Yes. I think they were getting somewhat desperate, or they wanted to throw the police off their scent, who knows." Gideon gave a shrug. "What I do know though, the thief managed to made their way all across Rosvenia, all the way to the White Sea, and their tracks disappeared right there."

Leon blinked twice, before he frowned. "So, you mean that thief had been running rampant in who knows where for the past few weeks?"

"Not quite," his brother grinned. "I did have a bit of help from Phoenix--"

"Phoenix?" Leon hunmed. "As in the independent Rosvenian intelligence agency "Feniks"?" at his brother's nod, the cougar couldn't help but chuckle a little.

"Funny you should mention them."

Gideon's brow furrowed in confusion. "Why?"

"Well, just so happened that I was involved with a Phoenix agent while protecting Colonel Graves and the secret military plans he had in his possession. The culprit who wanted to steal the plans was in fact a rogue Phoenix agent. The other agent was tasked to bring down the rogue agent by the headquarters, and we worked together to keep the colonel safe," Leon revealed. "He's off duty now that his mission is essentially over, and he's with us on this train."

"Oh, how interesting," the other cougar nodded. "Perhaps you could introduce him to me. I never really properly thanked Phoenix for their assistance. It was somewhat difficult since no one knows what the Chevalier du Noir actually looked like, but we managed to get wind that they--or one of them, we couldn't be sure--would board a train at 5 o'clock from Hieropolis Central in Anatolia to Luciere Gare de Saint-Leontius, Gallia."

Leon couldn't help but frown. "The only 5 o'clock train from Hieropolis Central is the Mercurius Express... now that would mean--"

"--that our thief is inside this train with us," Gideon finished with a nod.

The frown persisted on Leon's forehead. "A jewel thief inside a train full of rich, and certainly bejeweled passengers, Gideon."

"You think they would resort to petty thievery on this train?" Gideon raised an eyebrow.

"You did say they had stolen a Rosvenian countess' diamond ring," Leon pointed out.

His younger twin hummed and nodded. "I see your point. However, I doubt there would be a priceless heirloom or an internationally renowned jewelry onboard this train."

Leon nodded slowly. "I guess you have a point."

"That I always do," the younger cougar replied smugly.

Leon was quick to counter. "That you don't."

"That I do."

"Not always."

"I beg to differ."

"Prat," Leon rolled his eyes with a hint of a smirk.

Gideon returned the smirk. "Git."

The two brothers shared a laugh and then fell into a comfortable silence. They watched the scenery going past the window for a moment.

"You also mentioned in your last letter that you're close to figuring out the identities of the thieves," Leon began. "Care to shed some light?"

Gideon then launched into a full length explanation on how he managed to narrow down the list of suspects into three possible species. They could be either equine, bovid, or canine. However, he hadn't manage to narrow the specifics down into individual species just yet, something which he was aiming to do now he's on the Mercurius Express with the thieves. The Chevalier du Noir, as it would seem, were pretty good at covering their tracks.

"Fortunately, we might have an advantage," Gideon had said. "I believe they are still thinking that they are only pursued by the police. They wouldn't know a private investigator is also involved."

"Hmm... what made you so sure of that?"

"Simple. My involvement wasn't made public from the start, and I since I had merely been gathering information, I had never been directly engaging with the thieves."

Leon gave a light nod. "Now your discretion made sense. It is a fair point." He paused as he went to look at his wristwatch. "Well, we better catch up with the colonel and your roommate before they get too antsy."

Gideon stood up just as his brother did. A teasing grin grazed his lips. "Afraid of them getting too cozy with each other are you?"

"In your dreams," Leon rolled his eyes as he smoothed down his jacket. "Say, how's the office holding up in our absence? Any news from Flint?" he said, referring to the young Peregrine falcon who worked as their secretary.

"Last time he wrote, nothing major had happened," the younger cougar replied as they walked out into the corridor. "Seemed like Lieutenant Valerio had dropped by asking for us a few days ago and left fuming when he realized we're abroad to sort two different cases."

Leon chortled. "Really now?" He could easily imagine the doberman Inspector stomping out of their office mumbling about their audacity of not informing him before they gallivanting across the continent beforehand.

"Really," his brother affirmed with a chuckle of his own. The then turned towards the uniformed ram sitting by his little chair. "Ah, Faucher, could you lock the door please?" he called out.

With the door securely locked, the two brothers headed towards the lounge car, which was immediately next to Gideon's sleeping car.

The lounge car, named as the "Soleil Lounge" as stated by the plaque situated right by the vestibule, was wide and long, filled with large, plush armchairs, sofas, and ottomans in groups of twos, threes, and fours. The entire lounge was paneled with lacquered, rich brown wood inlaid with gold with gleaming brass fixtures. Wide, panoramic windows gave a great view of the Anatolian barren plains, backdropped by the sun setting beyond the snow capped mountain range.

Coupled with the snow leopard who was tinkling a popular swing music by the mini grand piano, it was a pretty relaxing atmosphere.

There were quite a number of passengers inside the lounge at this hour in the late afternoon, no doubt getting some drinks before dinner was announced. Cross found the colonel and his brother's roommate occupying a set of four seats in the middle of the car.

Making their way past the bar area, the detective could hear the colonel giving Callius one of his experiences during the Great War among the general chatter of the lounge. The Akita seemed to be deeply enthralled by the panther's tale that he didn't even notice the two cougars approaching.

"Ah, there you are!" the colonel exclaimed with a large grin on his face when he noticed the two felines. Callius made a small, startled jump when he finally noticed the Cross brothers.

"We were just wondering where you two have been."

"We're just catching up. Brotherly stuff and all that jazz," Gideon answered as he settled down to one of the empty armchairs.

"Let's just say my brother's little Ivorian Grand Tour was far more exciting than he implied," Cross explained as he sat next to Graves.

The panther rumbled mirthfully. "I'm sure it was."

Gideon gave a mock groan. "Don't start."

A waiter came and asked the cougar twins for something to drink. Cross went with a martini while his brother opted for a sherry. The waiter left with a bow and Cross turned to Callius.

"So, Mr. Callius, where are you from, by the way?" Cross prompted.

"Oh, I'm from Templeston, Columbia," the Akita replied. "I work part time at a clock store downtown."

Gideon became quite interested. "Is that so? Perhaps you can have a look at my pocket watch later? I've noticed that it tend to slow down lately no matter how much I tune it."

Callius gave a rather sheepish smile. "Ah, I'm not an expert, but I'll see what I can do."

"That would be appreciated," Gideon beamed.

"What brings you to Hieropolis, Mr. Callius?" Graves went to ask. "You're pretty far from home."

"Oh, I was with friends, going around Ivoria since we have the cash," the canine replied. The corner of his muzzle twitched. "But I decided to continue on my own to the southern regions while my friends went back to the Federal States."

Cross gave a light chuckle. "I'm sure it had been quite the adventure."

Callius grinned. "Oh, it has been an adventure alright. I went to Misarya for a while. There were lots of interesting sights and I met quite a few interesting people too."

The canine proceeded to launch into a spirited retelling of the interesting points he saw in the city of As-Qair, the three day cruise he took down the Nahail River, the ancient Misaryan temples he visited, and also the great tombs and the pyramids. It would seem that the Akita was quite the avid traveller.

"There was a number of honeymooners too," he said as he sipped on his coffee. "Lots of rich people, basically. I didn't know the Nahail river and the delta area is a popular tourist destination in this time of the year."

"It's only natural. It's a lot warmer compared to the countries in northern Ivoria," Cross said.

"And there had been a major discovery in one of the great tombs a few months back I heard," Gideon supplied. "It had started a craze on everything related to the ancient Misaryan culture."

Callius shook his head in amusement. "I see," he took another sip of his drink. His ears flicked as a passenger entered the lounge. The canine blinked and his gaze followed the small, slender lioness who had walked past them, picking up a magazine and settled on a seat further down the lounge. The Akita had a look as if he was trying to remembering something but whatever it was it had slipped his mind.

"You know that lioness?" Graves went to ask.

"Hummm... I'm not sure," Callius answered as he turned back around. "I think I had seen her somewhere but I forgot."

The colonel hummed. "I see then. It'll come back to you sooner or later."

"I suppose," Callius chuckled. "Well, I think I'll come back to As-Qair someday. It had been an adventure."

Cross grinned. "It sure sounded like it. I wished we could have more spare time for a real vacation for once, don't we?" he turned to his twin brother, who raised his glass of sherry in agreement.

"Maybe someday."

They fell into comfortable silence as the train continued along its way through Anatolia. The sun just had disappeared behind the mountains when the Mercurius Express pulled into a town. It was quite hard to see due to the lack of light, but Cross could just make out that it was a major town judging from the number of high-rise buildings that stood out against the twilight sky.

As the train slowed down, Cross could see the long, low lit platform. The town's train station didn't seem fairly large, but it sure looked pretty crowded. However, it would seem that the Mercurius Express was merely passing by as they were out of the station fairly quickly. They were soon picking up speed once again as the train cleared away from the station.

"I wonder when dinner will be served?" Callius went to ask, checking his wristwatch.

"Usually, the first dinner service will be around six thirty," Graves answered him.

The Akita nodded. "Ah, another half an hour then. I'm famished."

Another passenger entered the lounge as the words left the canine's muzzle. Or rather, two passengers made their presence known. It was a pair of lions, a husband and wife, Cross guessed judging by how close they were standing to each other, and the wedding bands on their fingers. The lioness, clad in a simple, sleeveless deep red evening dress, was practically radiating with happiness. Her platinum blonde hair was done in a pinned back, elegant waves. A necklace made of several chains of rubies ringed with gold adorned her neck, with a matching gold bracelet around her wrist. Her husband, a tall, strapping lion with well trimmed and stylishly slicked back mane, was smartly dressed in a well tailored evening tails.

Every passenger's attention in the lounge was immediately drawn to the pair as they made their way to the seats across where Cross and his companions were sitting. They nodded their heads in acknowledgement to the husband and wife. Callius doesn't seem to be able to stop staring at the lioness.

Gideon nudged the canine's paw discreetly.

"Stare any longer and the husband might get violently jealous," the cougar whispered with a grin.

Callius immediately averted his gaze and seemed to flush from embarrassment. He hadn't needed to be worried however as the lion didn't seem to notice his unabashed staring.

"I think I've seen them somewhere..." he trailed off.

Cross crooked an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Yeah... I'm not sure where however," the Akita hummed thoughtfully.

Cross hummed and looked over the lion couple.

"I'm glad, Theodore," he heard the lioness said.

Her husband beamed. "Oh yes?"

"It has been a nice honeymoon."

Theodore gave a rumbling purr. "I'm happy you enjoyed your time, Eliza."

The smile didn't seem to quite reach Eliza's muzzle however. "I did enjoy it, especially our time in Ispania... but I don't think I quite enjoy Misarya with... with that... " she trailed off.

"Ah," Theodore seemed to nod in understanding. "Well, at least we don't have to worry about them now. I made sure of that."

Eliza smiled a nod. "I guess you're right. But... I can't keep but feel that something would be off... like they will appear the least we expect it and..."

"Hush. We haven't seen them for the last few days did we?"

"I guess you're right." Eliza seemed to sigh.

Right at that moment, the lone lioness from before lowered her magazine and rose from her seat. A huge grin was plastered on her face as she swiftly, and silently headed over to where the couple was sitting.

"Oh hello Lizzy darling! I didn't expect to see you here!" she exclaimed, almost leaping as she made herself known.

The two lions froze. Eliza turned around on her seat to stare at the other lioness in a mixture of surprise, fear, and anger. Her husband simply looked incensed.

"I... but we..."

"It's funny how small this world is, don't you think, Theo dear?" said the unknown lioness.

Theodore stood up. His paws clenched. "Catherine..." he seemed to compose himself after glancing furtively at the attention gathered around them. "Is your fiance with you?" he finally said, teeth clenching.

The grin only seemed to grow bigger. "Oh of course Zachary is with me. He's in his compartment of course," said Catherine with an unnerving amount of enthusiasm. "Perhaps we could sit together during dinner, hmm?"

Eliza took that moment to stand up. Her jaws clenched. "I'm afraid we have reserved our table, just for us, Cathy. Now if you'd excuse us."

"Of course, dearie."

The husband and wife moved past Catherine in a briskly manner, heading to the other end of the lounge car. Cross could hear the door closing none too gently behind them.

The moment the two lions disappeared, Catherine's grin dropped from her face. A rather hard edged expression replaced the intense smile instead. She barely even acknowledged the stares she had been getting as she turned on her heels, heading to the direction of the Hieropolis-Valmagne coaches.

"Well... that was one interesting spectacle," Graves observed as he sipped his drink.

Callius clicked his fingers. "Now I remember!"

The Cross twins raised their eyebrows together.

"You know those lions?" Leon went to ask.

"Yeah, they were in the same hotel with me in As-Qair," Callius replied. "The husband and wife are Elisabeth and Theodore Meyer, and the other lioness is Catherine DeWitt. Ms. DeWitt is engaged to a leopard called Zachary Hale. Though, DeWitt seemed to be quite obsessed with the Meyers."

"Obsessed?" Gideon repeated. "How do you mean?"

"Well, apparently DeWitt and her fiance had been popping up wherever the Meyers went. They first appeared in the hotel I was staying in Lusqur, though they didn't do other than exchange a few words back then. When I'm in As-Qair a few days later, I was in the same hotel as the Meyers. DeWitt and Hale were there too. I heard DeWitt and her fiance were with the Meyers while their are having their second Nahail cruise upstream," he said. "Oh, I saw them again when I'm in Iskanderion. The Meyers looked visibly agitated by that point."

Cross hummed. "Interesting..."

"Indeed," his brother agreed. "Do you know what caused DeWitt and her fiance to follow the Meyers?"

Callius gave a shrug. "I heard DeWitt and Mrs. Meyer were childhood friends. Rumour has it that Mr. Meyer was once DeWitt's boyfriend."

Gideon whistled while Colonel Graves snorted.

"Ah, it's fairly simple to me," said the panther. "DeWitt obviously couldn't move on from Meyer and is extremely jealous and spiteful over her friend whom Meyer had chosen instead of her."

"If that was the case, it's an extreme one at that," Cross pointed out, "considering she already has a fiance."

"Point."

"It still points out to a childish love tantrum however." Gideon remarked.

"If you put it that way, I can agree." Callius chuckled.

Cross turned to look at his brother. Gideon's brow creased in a way that would indicate that he had noticed something noteworthy. He was going to ask when a rythmic, tinkling of a bell drew everyone's attention.

The next moment, the tall, burly form of the polar bear trainmaster made his way across the lounge, swinging a silver bell in one paw while he called out:

"Premier service! Premier service! Le dîner est servi sur la voiture-restaurant! Dinner is served in the restaurant car!"

The trainmaster then repeated his announcement in Arlemanian and Rosvenian as he headed over to the Hieropolis-Pierrograd coaches further back on the train.

Graves went to check his watch. "Huh, I guess it's the time," he said. "Well then, we better get ready."

"I guess we should," Cross nodded as he went to stand up, followed by the others.

"We'll see you guys later tonight," Gideon said. "We're going to be in the second dinner service," he gestured to Callius and himself.

Cross nodded as he straightened out his jacket. "Alright. We'll catch up soon."

"See you later then," Callius wave a small wave.

"Come on," Graves cocked his head as he and Cross made their way back to their car, weaving past the light passenger traffic in the corridor. A slight grin blossomed on his muzzle. "You help me get into my dinner jacket and I'll help you?"

Cross couldn't help but smirk back. "Of course. But don't get your hopes too high, colonel."

"Hah, we'll see then," the panther purred as he placed his paw on the cougar's shoulder, giving it a fond squeeze.