Chapter 1: What blew in with the wind

"Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker?"

It was a quiet but windy night for Portland, Oregon. A strong East Wind blowing, but everything was peaceful, lacking any major incidents. The full moon was high in the sky watching over the night dwellers as they went about in their business. However, many wesen found the night to be too quiet, as if the world was holding its breath; the calm before the storm. Despite the general feeling of peace among the Kehrseite (humans), even they could feel the underlying current of unease blanketing the city. Would be miscreants and criminals decided that this night was not the night for their criminal activity, wesen parents tucked their children in and triple checked to make sure their kids were safe in bed.

John Oblinger was very nervous, yes indeed. He had just encountered another Grimm, yes, another Grimm. Not that the first Grimm was bad, no, she was good, very helpful. She had helped them earlier when the Hässlichen had started bullying them. But everyone knew about that Grimm. She was good Grimm, but this one… this new one was, well, new. He might be one of the traditional Grimms or even an Endezeichen Grimm. He really didn't want the Grimm to stay here, but what choice did he have, the Grimm wanted to buy that shop, how could he say no. He… He needed to tell the rest of the Lodge quickly so that they could be careful around this mysterious Grimm.

The Prince was lounging in a chair out on the balcony, reading a novel and enjoying glass of wine when he felt it. The uneasy presence that permeated throughout his canton. It was thick with power but held no clear intentions. He frowned as he tried to decipher what little he could about this new player. No matter, if this newcomer was a threat to the wesen he protected, he trusted that his Grimm would be able to handle it, although she was relatively new to this side of the world. If she needed help, he would make sure to provide the assistance she would need. The Prince closed his book and set it on the table next to him. He crossed the patio and opened the glass doors. As he was about to enter his dwelling, he paused and looked back out across the city. He had a feeling that things were going to become even more interesting than they were before. Whether it was a good thing or not, time would tell. He turned and headed back inside, closing the door behind him. He entered his bedroom and climbed into his bed.

The Mellifers gauged the newcomer's aura as he entered the city. They faintly detected that he was a Grimm, but there was something more underneath, a power they couldn't quite put their finger on. His intent was barely readable, but what little they could glimpse showed that he was not a threat to the city. Their new queen, the Mellischwuler, decided that there was no further action to bet taken, yet, but they would be watching, as they always do.

The Hexenbiests in the city all shivered as they felt the entrance of an enormously powerful being enter the city. They could tell that this newcomer was a very powerful individual. They found this mysterious creature instantly appealing. However, they could not help but be uneasy with this new presence. A feeling of danger and warning, that this newcomer was not one to be taken lightly. Those about to brew wicked Zaubertränke's decided that it could wait another day. There was just something off about this new presence, as if it was going to come after them during the dead of night and behead them. They made sure to strengthen their wards before they retired for the night.

Theresa Rubel, or Trubel as she was known as, had an uneasy feeling on this night. She didn't know what was causing her to feel uneasy, maybe she was just feeling a bit stressed after a long day. She shuddered as she thought of the things she had witnessed while investigating the Geiers and their horrifying actions. At least the two siblings and the others were fine for now. She should feel better after a good night's rest. After all, she probably had another long day tomorrow, knowing her luck.

Nick stood as he moved chairs, tables, racks, and various vials and jars of spices, tea leaves, and coffee beans around the shop. He had moved here to start a new life, away from the constant strife of Europe. His eyes glowing the color of liquid gold as he directed furniture and various appliances to their proper location. He put up decorations and monitored the paintbrushes as they painted the decently sized shop in a pleasant green color. When everything was done, and materials put away, Nick stood at the entrance as he took in his new store. It was perfect; this was the start of a new chapter of his life. One more thing before he headed to his new home to unpack. He stretched his arm out in front of him, with his palm facing the door. A brilliant and intricate Crest appeared in front of him. He cast defensive wards around his new establishment and charmed the less… human items in his store to be unnoticeable to the Kehrseite, regular humans. With that done, he pulled out a bell and lightly rang it. The next moment the shop was devoid of any life.

Everyone waited to see what would happen the next day, what surprise awaited them in the morning.

The city woke up the next day to find that nothing had changed, nothing except a new coffee shop that opened close to the Portland Police Department looking, for all intents and purposes, like it had always been there.

Nick opened the doors bright and early, at 6 am. He got the shiny new machines that he had bought ready for the day and put the pastries inside ovens. He doubted that he would get much Wesen customers at first. The landlord, an especially nervous Eisbiber, had probably told his wesen friends that he was a Grimm. Not that Nick cared much, though he did tell him to keep quiet. He really wasn't looking for a profit. He had enough blood money to live comfortably without working for the rest of his life. Yet, he was never one for just sitting around, and his other…usual activities were less than acceptable for his new life. So, he thought it might be interesting to set up shop as a coffee parlor inside of an apothecary where he would make and sell potion, ointments, medicines, and base ingredients for the Wesen and Kehrseite-Schlich-Kennen (humans who know).

All of his customers after he first opened shop were humans. Blissfully ignorant of the wesen world and of the dangerous assassin (former) who was serving them their hot macchiato's. Not that he would go back to his old ways, better leave old skeletons where they belong, buried deep several meters under the ground.

Nick didn't mind the current situation, even though business was slow, he could afford to bleed money. It wouldn't be too long before word spread that he brewed the best coffee in Portland. He was using the best blend of beans and ingredients after all, many of them exotic or hard to come across, not to mention much to expensive for a normal person to get their hands on. Then again, he isn't quite normal between special contacts and the fact that throwing money at suppliers tend to make acquiring ingredients simple. The wesen might take a bit of time to come around, however. Nick shrugged, it wasn't like he was in a hurry to make new wesen friends. If they could get used to an active Grimm in their city, they'll get used to a retired Grimm running an apothecary coffee shop.

Speaking of the other Grimm, he had looked into her and it seems that she was new at being a Grimm. Likely she's never even hear of wesen before last year. At least this meant that she wasn't one of those wesen hating, Grimm hunters. He'd run into several while in Europe and let's just say that their disagreements ended with there being less psycho Grimms in the world. Maybe he should help her, as a fellow Grimm. No, that sounded like too much trouble. He would assist her if she ever came knocking or if she was in a dire situation. Otherwise, he would focus on his coffee shop.

His intuition was correct as it wasn't long before his shop becomes very popular in the city. Expensive as the ingredients are to buy, they taste the best and he keeps his prices low, making his teas, coffees, and snacks a must have in Portland. The apothecary portion stayed relatively untouched as his human customers wouldn't be able to notice his wares thanks to the distraction charms he had placed on them.

His first time seeing the Portland Grimm was when she came in to order some coffee for herself and her friends. It seemed that she was a police officer, more specifically a detective, at the Portland PD. She introduced herself as Trubel. Nick had to consciously focus on not woging while she introduced herself to him. She was a strong Grimm, though she didn't seem to be able to control her abilities particularly well. Probably depended a lot on her instincts rather than conscious skill. He watched as she ran out with a couple of Caffe Americano. Nick wondered how long it would be before she figured out that he was a fellow Grimm, albeit a retired one.

One of his first regular customer was a vet named Juliette. She often comes and orders a few drinks while she eats lunch. She usually reads books or people watches while she here. Sure, she was gorgeous, and any other hot-blooded male probably wouldn't have wasted another second asking her out, but Nick wasn't a regular guy. When he was still active in Europe, it was never a good idea to start a relationship, considering what he did for a living. Even now, after he's somewhat settled down, his inner wesen wasn't interested in bonding with a regular human.

Juliette walked into his store with a new customer. "Hey Nick! Can I have the Rose Tea today?" she asked him cheerfully. The dark-skinned man following her doesn't share her cheerful demeanor, but instead carries a confident attitude. His police uniform immediately makes Nick wary as he has some, less than dubious merchandise that aren't exactly completely legal among his wares. His supernatural merchandises are spelled sure, but they won't do much at preventing wesen from spotting them. He quickly checks the police officer and quickly breathes a sigh of relief as he confirmed that he was human. Not that he wouldn't be able to handle anyone, Nick just didn't like causing a scene.

"Oh right, Nick, let me introduce you to my friend Hank, he's a detective at Portland PD. He's always bringing in stray cats and dogs to my clinic. Don't let his mister tough guy attitude fool ya for a second, he's a huge softie." Juliette says as she introduces Hank.

"Juliette!" Hank exclaimed with a slight blush.

"Hey man, I only tell the truth." She replied with a mischievous smile.

Nick could tell that she was going to tease Hank further, so to spare him the social humiliation, Nick began to start brewing the tea. "So, will it also be Rose tea for you, or would you like something else?"

"I'll try this Rose Tea that Juliette's been talking about." Hank said. Nick gave a hum of confirmation and got back to brewing the tea. Not that he really had to, he always kept his brews ready made and delicious all day long with his magic. But better to keep up pretenses.

"So what brings you here to my shop Hank?" Nick asked.

"Ah, I came here with Juliette to keep her company during her lunch break. And to see the shop my partner's been frequenting the past week. She's been praising your shop, swearing that your coffees are Godly." Hank explained.

"Of course they are, I only use the best ingredients, whether they are available or not." Nick said with a wink. "Anyways, here are your drinks, enjoy!"

He watched as Juliette and Hank sat down at one of the tables and began to converse. He began to feel a bit wistful as he watched them interact. They were so comfortable with each other, poking and laughing at each other, like they've been friends for a long time. How he wished that he'd been able to make friends, it was just, hard to when there were people constantly after you, misguided thinking that they would successfully hunt the predator. Not to mention he had been the hunter himself before. Just like it was infeasible to have a relationship in his old line of work, it was difficult to make lasting friendships. The closest would have been acquaintances he had whenever he stayed in a place longer than a day. Well, that all in the past, he would have a chance to make friends now that he was here. Who knows, he might even find someone worth courting, someone powerful, someone who could be his equal.

A few hours later Nick served his last customer and contemplated what he would do today while he closed. He flicked his hands as the door locked and the sign switched to [CLOSED]. He knew that there was another apothecary in the city that was mostly geared towards wesen customers. He might as well check it out, see if they had items that were of any interests to him. What was the store name again? Right, Exotic Spice & Tea Shop. It shouldn't be that far of a run from here.

Rosalee was restocking some of the wares on the top shelf when she heard the door open and the bell ringing, signaling that she had a customer. She felt uneasy for some reason. "Hello!" She called out as she turned to greet her client when she saw that it was a Grimm. Not Trubel, the Grimm who had helped bring her brother's murderers to justice, no, this was an unknown Grimm, in her store. She shrieked and briefly woged before she lost her footing and fell backwards towards the ground. She closed her eyes as she waited for the impact. She was so dead; the fall would hinder her enough to prevent her from running from this Grimm. She hoped that at least Monroe would be able to escape.

Nick sighed as the Fuchsbau freaked out at the sight of him. Really? He would have thought that the presence of another Grimm before him would have reduced the shock value, well more like fearful reaction, at the sight of a Grimm. He really should start trying to find a way to mask his inner Grimm from wesen. Only problem was that he didn't know how wesen could even tell that he was a Grimm, maybe his eyes, or his aura? He was brought out of his contemplation when he saw that she was losing her balance and was about to fall. He immediately directed his magic to stop her fall.

Monroe rushed upstairs as quickly as he could after he heard Rosalee scream. He desperately hoped that he would make it in time to help her. He kicked the door open and barged into the main floor and immediately halted as he took in the scene. Rosalee was suspended mid air laying on her back as if she had been falling. Across from her near the entrance was dark haired man with glowing eyes the color of molten gold with his hands stretched out towards Rosalee. And there was something else, something off… something unsettling about this guy. Wait he's a, "Grimm!" Monroe snarled as he woged and prepared to leap at him.

Nick watched as a man barged through a door behind the counter. He had heard a second heartbeat in the building, so he knew that there had to be another person in the premise, but he did not expect a Blutbad to come rushing to the Fuchsbau's defense. He quickly held up his hands, palms out to show that he meant no harm. "Woah there, I'm not here to harm either one of you!" Nick said as he tried to placate the snarling Blutbad.

Rosalee opened her eyes as the pain she had been anticipating didn't materialize. She turned her head as she watched Monroe charge into the room and immediately woge as he snarled at the Grimm. Said Grimm had his hands up as he attempted to placate Monroe. "Before you do anything, let me just set her down first," the Grimm said before he gestured at her. She felt herself slowly being tilted upright until she found herself on her feet. She turned to look at this mysterious stranger, who had caused her to fall off the ladder, but also had saved her from the fall…somehow. "What are you? I've never heard of a Grimm who could do the things you just did right now." Monroe unwoged as he stood next to her.

Monroe felt his face change back to normal as he stared at this Grimm who had just performed magic in front of him. He knew that Trubel wouldn't have been able to do what this Grimm had just done. Heck, he'd never heard of any Grimms who'd ever been able to perform the feat he had just witnessed. "First off, you're a Grimm, right? And you're definitely not here to hunt us, right? Please don't kill us." He asked as his adrenaline wore off.

Nick internally sighed as began to reassure the wesen that he wasn't here on a Hunt. Heck, he considered himself retired. "Yes, I'm a retired Grimm and no, I'm not here on a Hunt. Besides, I only the bad ones and I doubt you both killed any innocents recently… have you?"

Rosalee and Monroe both shook their heads quickly as they both gave a sigh of relief. Another Grimm that was kind of like Trubel. This made them relax a bit, but they were still wary of this stranger.

Nick stood there as the two wesen stared at him in awkward silence. He decided he might as well break the silence. "So, I'm Nick. Nick Burkhardt, I moved here from Europe a couple of months ago. I'm the owner of the new coffee shop, Abhorsen Coffee and Etc. Have you heard of it?" He said as he held his hands out in a gesture of friendship.

Rosalee quickly shook herself out of her stupor and shook Nick's hand as she introduced herself. "Yea, I've heard of it. Heard that you sell the best coffee and teas in the city. My name's Rosalee Calvert. I'm the owner of this store. This is Monroe. He's here to help me reorganize some of the wares." Monroe shook Nick's hand after Rosalee as he said, "Nice to meet you."

Monroe shook Nick's hand as he was feeling a bit of déjà vu from his first meeting with Trubel. "So, if you're not here to kill us, what are you doing here? And how in the world did you do that levitation thing earlier?"

Nick quickly contemplated telling them the truth. It would help make friends for sure, but there were many things he didn't necessarily want to affect his new life. He decided he would only tell them what he was, they seemed trustworthy. "Well, as you know I'm a Grimm, but I'm also…"

*Ring Ring Ring*

"Uh, I gotta take this." Monroe said as he pulled out his phone. "Hey Trubel. I thought a vacation for you kinda meant, uh you know, a vacation for me too."

Nick raised an eyebrow as he heard their conversation. It would seem that Portland's baby Grimm had enlisted the help of this Blutbad, Monroe, to help her deal with the Wesen population. Smart girl. He wondered how their first encounter went.

"My Groin is fine, thank you." Monroe replied as now both Rosalee and Nick looked at him funny. 'I have yoga this morning' Monroe mouthed at them.

Nick's sensitive hearing could hear their conversation. "This is a weird one. Some sort of bird like creature. Big golden eyes, golden plumage" Wait, they couldn't be talking about Seltenvogel, can they?

"Woah, woah, woah. Is this a joke?" Monroe exclaimed. "That sounds like a Seltenvogel, if they weren't extinct."

"A Seltenvogel?" Rosalee asked Monroe incredulously.

"Sounds like it, yea."

"They aren't quite extinct you know, rare sure, but there are a few still out there." Nick interjected.

"Yea, I'm with Rosalee and… a guest. I was helping her out in the shop." Monroe talked into the phone as he looked at Nick.

Nick looked at him nonplussed. He heard Trubel say on the other end, "Is everything okay?"

"Yea, everything's fine. But let's get back to Seltenvogel…" Monroe began explaining information about Seltenvogel to Truble.

Nick left Monroe to his phone call while he began to browse the selection. He was keenly aware of the Blutbad and Fuchsbau's gaze on him. Huh, they had a lot of exotic tea leaves here. He might buy them to start selling them at his shop, maybe the Formosa Pearl Oolong?

"… Seltenvogel will produce this kinda, large glandular thing." Monroe trailed off.

"It's some golden egg thing, what was it called again…" Rosalee said as she started walking behind the counter to look for a book. "My brother should have a book on it."

"It's called an Unbezahlbar." Nick provided as he turned around with a bagful of tea leaves.

"Easy for you say," Monroe said as he frowned. "Our guest says that it's called an…" Here Monroe just faced the phone at Nick.

"An Unbezahlbar." Nick repeated, "It's a dense mineral deposit which grows in the throat sac of a Seltenvogel once in their lifetime. It's kinda like an egg, once it gets too big, it needs to be… 'delivered', for a lack of a better term. It's incredibly valuable and if it is damaged during extraction, it becomes worthless."

Rosalee found the book and flipped to the page that had details of the Unbezahlbar. "Yea, everything he said is correct." She said as she looked at Nick strangely.

Nick couldn't help but preen a bit. Just a little bit mind you, he doesn't preen super obviously, thank you very much.

"She wants to know why they're so valuable, does the book say anything?" Monroe asked.

"Um, there's not that much information about that here," Rosalee said as she began skimming the pages.

"Well, they're unbelievably rare, for one thing. They're also made of pure gold. They're not only precious for the gold content, but because they can be used as an incredibly powerful catalyst for spells and potions." Nick said. Funny they should mention this. He himself had an Unbezahlbar in his possession. A gift from a thankful Seltenvogel he had saved back in Europe. It was incredibly useful for potion brewing, less for spell casting b/c He wasn't a Hexenbiest nor a Zauberbiest. A Hexenmeister had no need for a magic enhancer. Their Crests were all they needed.

"Oh man, this is the woman with the Klaustreich?" Monroe asked.

Nick frowned. He's had a few run in with Klaustreichs before. Their males were very charming… at first, but they are very aggressive and extremely treacherous. He could attest to that, one had tried to kill him in his sleep after a night together. He tuned out the rest of their conversation as Monroe mentioned something about a Klaustreich from his high school. He turned back to look at the tea leaves and grabbed some Star of China. These two teas should be a nice addition to his menu. He took these up to Rosalee and asked her to ring him up. He stood there as Rosalee began to total up his items. Monroe ended his call and walked over to the counter.

"That'll be $300." Rosalee said.

"Holy crap man, what are you buying?" Monroe exclaimed.

"Just some new tea leaves to make at my shop." Nick replied as he took the bag from Rosalee. "Thanks!"

"Anyways, I think both Rosalee and I would like an explanation. That is, if you would feel as kind to indulge us both. Totally up to you man." Monroe said as both he and Rosalee stared expectantly at Nick.

"You know who we both are, we'd like to know who you are. You're not just a Grimm, are you?" Rosalee asked.

Nick sighed. He might as well show them to gain their trust. That's what friends do, right? Trust each other? If he wanted them to be his friends, this might be a good way to start. He made sure that he had space around him before he woged.

"Oh my God!" Monroe exclaimed.

Rosalee stood there in shock as she took in Nick's wings, six of them in fact, and his glowing golden eyes. The next moment his wings folded in and vanished while his eyes returned to their original gray color.

"You're… you're a Hexenmeister, aren't you?" Rosalee stammered, "I gotta have a book somewhere around here about you guys." She said as she started rummaging through counter.

"Rosalee, what are you doing? He's right here in front of us!" Monroe exclaimed as Rosalee stopped her search. "So… what, are you like some sort of wesen, Grimm hybrid?"

"I prefer the term Grimm Hexenbiest, but that works too." Nick replied.

"Yea man, whatever floats your boat." Monroe said.

"Just, don't go around spreading this information. I want to kinda stay low key here for as long as I can." Nick asked.

"Yea, sure man. We both can keep a secret, heh, right Rosalee?" Monroe asked.

"Yes, we'll keep quiet about your, heritage. Just, wow, I've never seen a Hexenmeister before." Rosalee said.

"Yea, your kind are like, Wesen royalty. Not like the Royals, but better, and wesen." Monroe said.

"Yea, thanks guys, I really appreciate it. Look, I gotta go, but if you need anything, here's my card," Nick said as he handed them both his information card. "I may be retired, but it doesn't mean that I can't help out your baby Grimm when she needs it." Nick decided that he was feeling a bit flamboyant at the moment. So, he took out Yrael and used his free hand to wave at the two. "See you around, come visit my shop sometime."

Rosalee watched as Nick rang the bell he had produced out of nowhere and vanish from her sight, as if he hadn't been there just a moment ago.

It took Monroe and Rosalee a few moments to break out of their stupor.

"Holy shit! We just met a real live Hexenmeister! And he had six wings, he's definitely one of the stronger ones." Monroe thought out loud as he began to walk back downstairs to bring up the boxes he had been packing.

Rosalee shook her head as she started to put up some of the jars again. There were two Grimm in the city now, albeit Nick claimed that he was retired. Either way, things were definitely going to be lively here in Portland.

Nick's first wesen customer showed up the next day. He was slightly suspicious at the large uptick in the amount of police officers that started showing up just a day after he met Hank. He had just served 8 officers coffee and biscuits. Yea, Hank definitely had something to do with this.

"Hey! You must be Nick, my name's Wu. Hank told me that you have the best…" Wu trailed off his introduction as he looked at Nick and Nick stared back at him. "Holy shit."