The door in front of him was pulled open with far more gusto than Sterling had expected it to be, his eyebrow rose as he came face to face with his spitfire of a neighbor. He could see that annoyance upon her features at his interruption, the girl appearing entirely ready to take on the world as if he was enemy rather than a friend. It seemed as if Sterling was not the only one who had a particularly....trying time of late. He watched as Harlequinn visibly relaxed before him, her voice almost....soft as her purple gaze focused upon him. "Hey....?" He commented, his voice pitched questioningly. There was definitely something....off about his best friend, he could feel it, even if he wasn't yet sure what it was. Sterling's bright blue eyes followed her own as he glanced over his shoulder at the empty hallway, the warlock entirely oblivious of the threats that had, of late, taken to visiting her home. The last thing he expected was her slender fingers to ensare his wrist and yank him into the safety of his home - the door closing loudly behind him. He hardly had a moment to get his bearings before the over-enthusiastic body of a quickly growing puppy all but collided into him. Ace was nothing short of excited, the dog practically flailing in his efforts to get to Sterling's face. The very exuberance prompted a peal of laughter upon his lips as he attempted to show the dog down. "Yes, hi Ace, it's nice to see you too." He commented as his hands ruffled the fur upon the canine's head.

The affection was seemingly enough to prompt the dog to settle, at least to some degree, at his feet. It was only once that thrilling meeting was over that his gaze rose towards Harley, the Warlock inquiring after those very boxes he'd been looking for. He hardly expected the hardened stare that he was met with - the very look caused his eyebrows to rise as her features shifted into a frown. Who would thought cardboard boxes might cause this reaction. Maybe she was...really...connected to her boxes? Her sarcastic, suspicion laden inquiry caused him to shake his head, his blue eyes rolling in the process. "What? No. I just needed something to toss Henry's shit into." His shoulders rose in a vague sort of shrug, Sterling hardly caring, at that moment, that such a comment might prompt a fair share of additional questions, particularly considering how long Henry had lived with him now. He was hardly oblivious to that stare that she beset him with, however, Harlequinn nothing if not entirely forthright even in her demeanor. "What?" He inquired, as if further prompting her to speak the thoughts on her mind - ones he was certain were about to come anyways. He watched as her arms crossed over her chest, the young woman leaning against the door frame before she inquired what lingered so steadfastly upon her mind. She was an observant one now, wasn't she?

A soft breath left Sterling's lips, his hand rose to run through his ebony locks. "Well, Hen..." His voice cut off abruptly as those very instincts all but belatedly slammed into him. In the quiet, small confines of her apartment, Sterling was better able to pinpoint what had felt so....off about his companion. He pulled back slightly, his own blue eyes now staring at her far more intently. "I think the better question is what the hell happened to you....?" Sterling inquired, purposefully clarifying if only to stop the girl from attempting to avoid those far more important questions. "When did you turn? Who....or what bit you?" This, he was certain, was far far more than his failing relationship and Henry's cheating. Mauling or not, at least Sterling hadn't been turned into something else.

STERLING TENEMBRAGE