Everything was dark and fuzzy, but for the bright circle of the portal and the colors that swam at the edges of any figures that crossed into Hawk's vision. A dog-headed guard in a uniform shirt tried, though not very hard, to get between him and the portal. He spoke, and someone answered, but their voices came through in a garbled burst that Hawk could barely understand. He paid the dog-headed guard no mind, and lurched forward without hesitation into the stark white light.

Instantaneously things resolved into another room on the other side, though anything more than a few yards away faded into darkness. Another figure sat at a podium beside the portal, reading a book, and they started to speak as well--Hawk turned his face on them without stopping, and they finally looked up and shrieked something unintelligible. Swiftly, though, Numair interceded, waving a sheaf of paperwork at the other figure. That seemed to stymie them, and Hawk continued on, the sounds of their conversation becoming even more meaninglessly scrambled the further he got.

At the end of the wall, Hawk could make out the blurry figure of Teige sitting on a bench, his black fur rendering him difficult to see in the dimness, but for the swimming colors at his edges and the glow of his headlamp eyes. Teige spotted him at once with a seemingly unpleasant jolt; he said Hawk's name, though Hawk could barely make it out. As he came closer, though, and Teige leapt up, Hawk could hear him exclaim, "What in Christ's name?!"