bookstore, coffee.

[Mad Maddox] Joshua is being cautious of the strangers, as well he should be. Maddox is a dangerous Garou indeed. Sure, he looks like he'd blow over in a gentle breeze, but beneath his ribs beats the heart of a lion, fierce and proud and strong and...No, no he really, truly is that small and weak. He did not prove himself in battle with his new pack over the weekend because, quite frankly, he is not a terribly glorious bastard. His strengths lie with te spirits, with contracts and negotiations. Certainly not fighting.

Still, Maddox doesn't press the stranger with that terrible scar to come on over, hang with the cool kids, yeah? He tips his chin, all the indication Josh gets from him that he's welcome to add his Rage to the pot, scare the kin just a little more.

Mostly, it's because Rain is teasing him about his guitar. She tells him he should tune it, or she'll sound like a banjo in the morning. Maddox unzips his dark blue and still wet hoodie to reveal an orange t-shirt, either genuinely or deliberately faded, with the logo of some college or university. Orange t-shirt, blue sweatshirt, maroon shoes. Truly, this young man does not give one single fuck about his appearance. That or he just doesn't know how colors should go together. The hoodie stays on, however. Like Rain, he'd have to set down his scone to do it, and apparently that's going just a bit too far to be comfortable.

"And what, pray tell, is your prejudice against the noble banjo?" he asks, brow quirked at Rain. Everyone else is offering their introductions. Maddox takes a bite of his blueberry scone, unable to answer her rejoinder for need of chewing and swallowing. "Well, I'm a man of many names," he says, sounding important. "London, Maddoxnot," he's quick to add, tilting his chin and lifting a finger in warning, "like that Angelina brat. I think I'm most fond of Mad Maddox."

[Adara Mires] Everyone introduce themselves, no one says too much about them and it's fine. She drank slowly form her coffee, her eyes moving the the guitar Maddox pulled out of it's case. She identify the brand and all the little quirks and identifications that would be branded in her memory as Maddox's guitar. You own one instrument long enough and no matter how identical it started to another, in the end, it becomes a part of you, easilly distinghisable from all the others.

She unzipped her jacket, taking it off and placing it on the back of her chair and then it was her hoodie's turn to be unzipped, revealing a dark red tank top. Like Maddox, she looked harmless. About 5'5", 120 pounds and nothing about her screamed I can turn into a 9 foot hairy monster..well nothing except her rage that is.

She smiled once more at Reese "Have you been in Chicago for a long time?" Like Rain, like Maddox her voice was harmonious, a lovely voice that you would love to hear sing and also in her case, tell you stories.

[Rain] Their conversation continues, despite introductions, seeming almost irreverently exclusive at times. Rain's voice is warmer, now, drawn out a bit by the banter with Mad Maddox, as he prefers to be called.

"Can't you hear the Georgia in my voice, honey?" she chides, lightly. "I have a healthy and native respect for the noble banjo. Enough to know that that," oh, yes, she points at his guitar with one graceful and expressive finger, "Is no stand in."

Even after little sleep, and even in the sea of all this Rage, Rain's voice is a captivating thing. It draws people in, it binds them together. If she had more practice in wrapping people around her little finger she might be quite dangerous. But this banter with Maddox is toothless. Harmless. It serves to swallow up the silence at their half of gathering.

Adara is giving Reese the polite first questions, without really hinting at why he's been called to a table to kabitz with Monsters. Rain offers him a glance, when her attention is pulled away from the Theurge, after it has lingered uneasily for a moment on Joshua looming nearby. This glance is engimatically comiseratory. He probably doesn't know why yet, and she can't confirm it's warranted, but there's something very strange about this all to her. Cat and mouse. It doesn't set quite right with the Gaian.

Have you been in Chicago for a long time? is the question. Rain's is simpler. It slips in between the rest of the Nation politics at play.

"And why do you take your coffee from a bookstore?" she asks, with a bit of a smile.

[Reese Edward Anderson] Reese was probably the oldest person here by a fair margin. From the looks of things, he was. But despite standing out a bit amongst the young and hipster crowd, Reese fell in with them easily enough. His eyes shifted between each face, curious and alert. Noting those details that everyone noticed when they interacted with a new group of people - how they seemed to view each other; what their particular rules of social etiquette might be. Who seemed friendly (Adara.) Who seemed witty (Maddox.) Who seemed shy (Rain.)

Who seemed dangerous. Initial impressions weren't always accurate, but they were all that one had to go on most of the time.

"Good to meet you, Adara - no Miss, Mad Maddox and Just Rain." For a moment his smile widened into something warm and charming. "I'm a recent immigrant, actually." He said that like he'd moved here from across the ocean instead of just from New England. "Moved out from Boston a couple of weeks ago." In response to Rain's question, he laughed once, gently. "I take my coffee from just about anywhere, if it's of appropriate quality."

Then, to Maddox... "Can you play that, or do you just carry it around to pick up girls?" he asked of the Theurge and his guitar, gently teasing.

[Joshua Coil] *He gets up, then, and he furrows his eyebrows, trying to figure things out. He shakes his head, and heads out.*

[Mad Maddox] "Of course," he says with a negligent wave of his hand, leaping to the defense of his guitar. "Apples and oranges, luv. Apples and oranges."

The Ahroun leaves without making an introduction. Maddox looks up when Joshua rises, and if he happens to look toward the table full of Rage, then the Theurge will lift his cup of coffee in farewell.

"Noooo," he says to Reese, "it's just decoration, mate. I tried to be gangsta, get it on a chain, but it didn't work out." He frowns at that, takes a sorrowful bite of his scone, pretending to mourn the inability to use a guitar as bling.

[Adara Mires] She chuckled at Reese teasing Maddox about the guitar, drinking from her mug with an easy smile then actually laughed at his comment

"Man I'd pay to see you wear a guitar on a chain around your neck, all platinum or something..with maybe soem of those big knuckle rings but yours would be shaped like harmonicas." She wiggled her brows at him, teasing.

The Silver Fang kin has admitted to he was a recent arrival and as such, he probably didn't know who was of his fmily here or who to contact. She'll ask him the question but not now, later. If things come down to it, she'll get his number and call or text Katherine with it.

"What brings you to Chicago Reese?" She ask him with genuine curiosity

[Rain] "You see, some people can play. And then? There's London here..." Rain adds, and it may be difficult to guess at which way to take it. Maddox knows she's heard some of his finer moments, present evening excluded of course. But she's also been teasing him, off and on, all evening. Maybe the Theurge could play, damned well. And maybe he was posing.

But her glance this time is not toward Maddox. Instead her eyes are cast across the table, to the newcomer, with a sort of moment-long solidarity. Pleased that he's teasing Maddox as well. Pleased to have encountered something lighter this evening after all.

She hasn't taken a bite of her scone, and Rain doesn't move to now, but she does find a napkin to wrap it up in. A small harbinger of the goodbyes to come.

"I'd bet you could play a harmonica," she says, to Maddox. Almost like it were one part consolation prize, and one part genuine esteem.

"Do you mind, then, if I escape with your scone?" she asks the Theurge. Just in case he might want it back. The plain one, without blueberries. It's becoming clear that Rain has somewhere to be after all, even if that's just where Rage and all to observant Garou aren't.

[Danicka Musil] Mother's Day is just around the corner. There are cards prominently displayed in the bookstore, a table set up with novels and nonfiction and, of course, cookbooks. The ideal of motherhood is the most advertised, but there are parodies and retro-styled magnets and coffee mugs with a snarkier, more tongue-in-cheek flair sprinkled throughout as well.

By the time Danicka makes it to the coffee shop, she's got a canvas book tote in hand carrying her purchases for the evening. What a thought -- reusable bags outside of the grocery store, too. The heels of her ankle boots tap faintly on the flooring, but there's enough ambient noise that only she or those immediate to her can hear it. Their main purpose is not to provide a measured clip of announcement but a certain shaping of her legs and posture, an added three inches of height. She's 5'9" now, and it's very exciting up there.

Her clothing brings to mind lilacs in both color and the texture of the embellishment on her blouse peeking out from underneath the just-too-small-enough brown cardigan hourglassing her top half where it's joined by a single pearl-colored button. Her skirt is a darker purple, the pleats not too crisp, her legs bare despite the chill that clings to Chicago even in May. Thick blonde hair is up in a rather high ponytail, though it stops far short of being all Blonde Ambition.

To the Garou in the cafe, she's instantly recognizable, like Reese before her. A faint scent of impending storms, fertile fields watched over by black mountains, a warm den full of cubs defended with surges of bloodlust. In any other form but the one they're all wearing they'd be able to scent, under detergent and soaps and shampoos and the smell of Her, the very identity of whoever must have put that subtle, pale ring on her left hand. Even the humans in the room, however, don't have to notice her much to somehow tell: taken.

Granted, Maddox has met her. So it's just that blonde again who happens to be mated to his packmate and who took Carter on a walk while he was still 'imprisoned'.

She sees him after she's gotten to the counter, ordered, and is glancing around when she waits for her receipt. She smiles. Gives him a small wave.

[Reese Edward Anderson] Something about the way Maddox said gangsta with his overseas accent just made the word sound completely wrong, and the Fang kin's expression took on an amused tone. When Adara asked him why he'd moved to Chicago, he shrugged as if it were a matter of little import (though in truth, he was not the sort to pick up and move without a very good reason.) "The E.P.A offered me a job in this district. I'm an Environmental Attorney."

Which explained why he dressed... like a lawyer. And had that messenger bag - briefcase hybrid hanging off the back of his chair. Also, why he was addicted to coffee.

"What about the rest of you? I have this sneaking suspicion that you might not be locals." The accents might have tipped him off. Just a bit. Reese himself sounded less foreign than Rain or Maddox did, though his accent wasn't Midwestern. Rain mentioned escape - an interesting choice of phrasing - and perhaps because of this, Reese met her gaze for a long moment and smiled. "Escape is always better with baked goods."

[Mad Maddox] He chuckles, lets out a Heh! when Rain says she'd bet he could play a harmonica. She doesn't know, none of them here know, what he told Lukas one night in a little restaurant in the Ukrainian village. That he gets bored, so he learns things. Languages, instruments, reads book after book after book. That huff hints at it. Of course, it says.

"That'd be a pretty good bet to take," he admits smoothly. And he lets out a long suffering sigh. "I suppose if you must, you can have it. You'll need the rations on the road." It's obvious that she's got somewhere to be, and Maddox doesn't keep her from it. For all that he'd flirted with her, he doesn't watch her with lingering, lovestruck eyes. "I'll see you around, Rain."

He looks around when he senses that vaguely familiar bit of breeding. When he spots Danicka at the counter, canvas bag with purchases, dressed in lovely and probably expensive clothing, his brows lift. He's not entirely surprised to see her here, on this side of town, in a place like this. The first time he laid eyes on her, Danicka was wrapped around her mate, just before they came to meet the stray and a surly kinswoman. The next time was at the loft, and she was considerably more sober. He lifts his hand to return the wave.

"Boston," he says, turning back to the table. "I've been to Boston." His tone is musing, and he finishes off his coffee. The accents may have tipped him off to the fact that at least two of them were transplants. Maddox could attempt that sarcasm again, but he doesn't. He answers truthfully. Which, given his accent, could come across as deflection easily.

"I came here from Indiana. I was just stopping through on my way to Wisconsin when, I guess you could say I got stuck." The way he says it, though, it doesn't sound unpleasant. After all, getting "stuck" in Chicago has found him with a pack for the first time in years, and a place to settle in after years of drifting.

[Adara Mires] She watches Rain as it seem the Gaian was about to leave them "Leaving so soon?"She ask looking disapointed. She always found her meeting with Rain to be quite short. She offered her a soft smile "Well I guess I'll see you around..or maybe call me so we can jam. We could invite Maddox if we're masochistic" She grinned playfully at Maddox. She wouldn't mind the theurge being there at all. He was funny.

She noticed Danicka coming in, smelling her breeding, recognizing her by her looks alone as well. She offered the woman asmile and nod, waiting for her to be closer before gretting her "Good evening Danicka" She said in a friendly tone. She was far from being close ot the kin, but each time they have met, things had gone well. In herself Danicka was someone she liked and respected, she was also mated to a man she liked and respected as well, making the kin a person she didn't have a desire to be on bad terms with.

Reese ask if she was from Chicago "No, I'm from Arizona..originally, then went to gReece, Seattle and here. Did you meet many peopel since you arrived?" Her emerald eyes are now on him again, watching the Silver Fag kin, making him part of the little group.

[Rain] He supposes she will need the rations on the road. This would have been truer at almost any other time in her life but now. So the smile that curls Rain's mouth as she takes her leave of the table is less rueful and more amused. She assures Adara that they will, someday, jam, and Reese that it was a pleasure to meet him. Maddox, though, gets a short and enigmatic look before the songbird shrugs into her coat and makes her escape.

((Sorry so short! I am exhausted. Thank you all for the scene. G'night!))

[Reese Edward Anderson] Rain departed their informal gathering, and Reese watched her go before noticing the direction that Maddox's eyes had drifted. Instinctively, he followed them, turning his head until Danicka came into view. Another acquaintance of the guitar-toting wanderer, no doubt. A pretty one. Perhaps a bit out of his league (though Maddox did seem like the type who had a lot of tricks up his sleeve.) A cursory glance noted the ring. It was a familiar thing, at his life-stage. Most of the people he knew were either married or divorced - himself among them.

Maddox mentioned having been to Boston, which didn't seem too surprising. Reese himself didn't quite seem to possess the native speaking mannerisms of that city. There were edges of it, certainly. But asking him to say Park the Car in Harvard Yard wasn't likely to get the desired result. But if he'd come from anywhere before this, that was information he hadn't offered. Like Maddox and his Indiana roots.

Adara asked him if he'd met many people since arriving in Chicago, and he seemed to find this question amusing, because he looked at her over the lip of his coffee cup as he brought it to his mouth, one eyebrow arching upward. After a pause in which he took a long drink from that cup, he ran his tongue lightly between his lips and answered, "well, it is rather a large city. So I'd say yes. I've met a fair number of people."

[Danicka Musil] The woman in purple and brown at the counter accepting the slip of paper from the barista is, indeed, considerably more sober than she was the first time Maddox saw her. She looks a million miles from that woman, who was positively gleeful to see her mate. So composed. Untouchable in a way, and if they'd known her a few years ago they'd know she was always like that, that it's not the ring or the Adren Shadow Lord's presence in her life that gave her that quality. It's just easier to explain that comingled fragility and unassailability now:

she is a Shadow Lord kinfolk. Mated to an Ahroun. The fastest thought to mind is that nothing at all dares touch her, nothing and no one risks harming her. The greatest threat to her is... well. Him.

That's what's easiest to believe.

In any case, Danicka is sober, and smiling, and takes a few steps around the counter to accept her freshly made, tasty, very hot beverage. The smile softens to a sort of ambient expression, roughly as deep as the faint gloss over her lips. She walks over and Adara greets her; Danicka gives her a nod, but the truth is, she knows Maddox is a packmate of the Unbroken now. "Hey, Maddox," she says to him first, with what sounds very much like warmth, welcome, and the promise of familiarity at some point.

She looks thirty or so, perhaps a bit younger, with soft lines at the corners of her mouth. None yet at the corners of her eyes. The ring she wears, closer up, is a simple band of brushed white gold, the rims hinting at the glossy rose gold interior. No engagement ring, no diamond, no other jewelry but a pair of rather sedate drop earrings. Reese may know enough about the crowds of high society to tell that what she's wearing is, top to bottom, made up of items in triple and quadruple digits. Her purse is a month's rent.

She gives a small wave to Reese, to, to add to the nod for Adara and greeting to Maddox. No idea who he is, but he's in the company of wolves and doesn't seem to be crawling out of his skin. She guesses. "Dani&+269;ka Musil," she offers, extending her hand to him.

[Mad Maddox] [BTW: This was totem'd earlier:
Kate (and the rest of the pack) hear: "Katherine, you seem to have misplaced one of your boytoys in a bookshop in Wicker Park." They can practically hear the smirk in his voice. "Shall I retrieve him for you?"
to Danicka Musil, Lukas Wyrmbreaker

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [hahahaha!]
to Danicka Musil, Mad Maddox

[Mad Maddox] Rain makes her escape, and is replaced with a Shadow Lord. Danicka greets him by name, in a tone that speaks more of future familiarity than it does present. Truth is, Maddox knows her about as well as he knows Rain, maybe a little less. He's spoken to the Child of Gaia on more occasions, at least. But if it's an honor to be greeted first by the war leader's mate, Maddox doesn't react that way. They just know each other, there's no importance to the order, or so he thinks.

"Dani&+269;ka," he greets, leaning to the side to better look up at her until she decides if she's staying for a seat or not. Maybe someone will tell him someday that it's okay to call her Danicka, but for now he says her name the way he heard it first. He's seated next to Adara, and on the floor beside him is a black guitar case, propped up just against his chair. He's wearing a blue hoodie, his dark hair is damp from being out in the rain not terribly long ago, his t-shirt is orange, his jeans are a bit faded, and his sneakers are maroon. Either he doesn't care about matching colors, or he doesn't know how. Chances are, he just doesn't know how.

The kin are exchanging greetings, and Maddox turns to Adara. "Do you suppose someone actually makes harmonica rings?" Like he's actually considering getting some.

[Adara Mires] She smiled at Reeses words "I guess you're right, It's a pretty big city. I meant more in the lines of friends or acquintances? She shrughs slightly, her coffee almost empty.

Her eyes flickered to Danicka who only nodded to her but acknowledged Maddox in a more familiar way. It seem there was something about the Theurge she didn't know about. Or maybe they've been hanging around together, though Danicka didn't seem the type to hang around Garou just to pass time. Ah well, she never expected the Shadow Lord to warm up to her so..no big deal.

She turned her head toward the theurge and chuckled "I'm pretty sure you could find someone who would craft you one if you pay well enough" She was really amused at the idea that he might actually do it "That would be the funniest thing, I swear"

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Ahrouns are typically associated with war, blood, savagery, broken bodies. Less typically with small independent bookstores in urban-chic parts of town.

That's where this Ahroun is today, though. The bookstore has a deceptively narrow storefront; it actually extends rather deep into the rowhouse it's situated in. Two stories -- the upper one large balcony encircling the lower. There's a cafe in the back, and it's from the balcony that Lukas spies the group down below.

He comes down presently, a couple books in one large hand. He waves with them as he approaches -- smiling at Maddox, giving Adara and Reese friendly nods. As he comes up beside Danicka, he wraps his arm around her shoulder and hugs her against his side, kissing the top of her head.

"Hey guys," he says. "Back on the West Side, Mads? Were you having dinner at Babushka's Cafe?" -- not actually the name of the place.

[Reese Edward Anderson] Danicka would be guessing correctly if she thought this - that Reese was someone who recognized fine clothing and accessories when he saw them. His own suit was probably more along the lines of upper-middle-class boutiques than the multi-thousand dollar outfits designed by Prada and the like, but it was still both fashionable and well-made. (This was an every-day suit, you see. The kind a lawyer would wear to a normal work day. The special occasion suits were presently hanging in neatly arranged garment bags in his closet.)

She greeted him, offering a hand out of courtesy and etiquette, and he accepted it in kind, fixing the woman with a smile and grasping her hand gently (though not so gently as to be perceived as nervous.) His palm was still warm from the coffee mug he'd been holding seconds earlier. "Pleased to meet you. Reese Edward Anderson." Many introductions today, seemingly at random. Though Reese was gregarious enough to take these things in stride. It was possible that he was beginning to suspect some alternate motive beyond simple human friendliness, but if indeed he had suspected such, he had yet to voice that question.

And, unfortunately, it seemed as though he was going to have to follow in Rain's wake tonight, because just at that moment, a faint hum sounded from the inside pocket of his suit-jacket. Momentarily distracted, Reese reached in and pulled out his smartphone, unlocking the screen and checking the text message he'd just received. A slight frown, eyebrows pushing together faintly in an expression of concentration.

"And I... am afraid that I must get going. The interns need rescuing." He slipped his phone back into his pocket and pushed back his chair, sliding the bag back over his shoulder. After draining the remainder of his coffee, he gave a small wave to those assembled at the table. "It was lovely meeting all of you."

And with that, the Silver Fang was out the door and on his way to wherever he'd parked his car.

[Because his writer is totally an hour past her bed-time and needs to sleep. Goodnight guys! Thanks for letting me crash. :)]

[Mad Maddox] [thank YOU! good night!]

[Mad Maddox] Lukas sees them from a balcony above. Maddox lets out a short, low laugh when he sees him, shakes his head as the Ahroun comes down to join up with their small group. Not thirty minutes ago, Maddox had been just outside this bookstore, leaned up against the brick between door and one of the large front windows, guitar out, playing idly. And his alpha was just upstairs.

Reese has to go rescue his interns. If Maddox still had coffee in his cup, he'd lift it as he had with others already, in a sort of salute and farewell. Instead he gets, "Later, mate."

One leaves, and another joins. "Nah," he says, the word nasal, his nose scrunching. "Babushka was so infatuated with me last time. I thought I'd give her some space to clear her head before I went back." The table is smallish, with a solid top and curling wrought iron legs and supports. It's sturdy, yes, and was probably nice and fashionable a few years ago. This place is not new, but it's warm and worn, the scuffs in the wood finish of the bookshelves and the stains in the carpet giving the place a character that Borders and B&N can only dream about. It's the kind of place that invites in all sorts, even if the staff looks askance at the finely dressed patrons that wander in.

"I was busking when Adara and Rain found me. It's a shit day for it, though."

[Adara Mires] "It was nice meeting you Reese, take care" She wave at him as she finish her coffee. Lukas comes ot join them and she offer him a smile, somewhere between polite and friendly. She was on good term with the Adren, but not close to him, not as how Maddox seem to be.

Then something dawned on her, about how both Lukas and Danicka acted with Maddox...and also the man was a theurge, isn't that what the Unbroken were missing? Until recently it seem

"Good evening Lukas, how are you doing?" She ask the Sahdow Lord. Once again, it seem she is surrounded by Unbroken. An outsider once more. It was fine though. She could hold her own around them after all. Or close to. HSe went into a fight with two of their members and hse didn't die...she almost died, but at least didn't.

She smiled at Maddox talked about his earlier performance "Yeah, it seem his guitar doesn't liek rain and was complaining more than playing music"She said with a playful smile at the Fianna

[Danicka Musil] Maddox pronounces her name...well. Sort of correctly. It's with his own accent, and if she were frank, she'd tell him to just give it up and call her by her Americanized nickname. One day she might. However, Danicka is rarely frank. And rarely obtuse as to the people around her, but Adara's assumption that Danicka will never warm up to her does not seem to ping on her empathetic radar. She's polite to a Garou of a different tribe, not a packmate of her boyfriend's, and Danicka is all too willing to accept Adara leaving it at that. Friendship with werewolves is simply not something she often seeks, usually wants, or can easily tolerate.

She ignores the mention of harmonica rings and the like, shaking Reese's hand a trifle more firmly than he allows himself. "A pleasure," she says smoothly, and does not ask questions best left in private locales. Tribe, association, etcetera. It would all only lead to her giving him Katherine's phone number, really. He may already have that.

He excuses himself and she would sit, but then Lukas is coming downstairs and she looks over, noticing him by footfalls, by scent, by the way the air changes -- something. She smiles and waits for him, accepts his arm and the kiss atop her head. Danicka has both one of her thousand-dollar bags and a canvas book tote with her. She hasn't sat down with the group yet, but she's still slight enough compared to Lukas that kissing the top of her head isn't difficult for him. The untouched coffee in her hand is held over to him, was in fact ordered for him. They say not a word to each other.

There are two free chairs now, as Reese excuses himself. Danicka sets down her bags and touches a chair, sitting down without asking ever-so-politely if it's all right. She is not quite so fragile. Not so afraid. And frankly, she knows she wouldn't be turned away. It would be a useless waste of time to bother asking, at this point.

"Your guitar complains?" she asks Maddox, lifting an eyebrow. "Tonally?"

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] "I ran into Maddox at that hole in the wall you showed me," Lukas explains to Danicka, re: Babushka's Cafe. "She's a lot meaner when you're not there. Mad and I still aren't sure she didn't spit in the borscht." Then, responding to the hello, "I'm doing all right, Adara. Yourself?"

They talk about guitars. Lukas sets his books on a nearby table, then puts his hands on Danicka's shoulders for a moment -- a sort of communication without words, a be right back before he goes to get some coffee of his own.

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [hurrr she handed him coffee. ignore last part!]

[Mad Maddox] With Maddox, it's not hard to believe he'd be on good terms with just about everyone he came into contact with. He's incredibly charming, in a flippant, careless sort of way. He carries himself with the confidence to speak on equal terms with the likes of Wyrmbreaker, or to flirt with any kinswoman that crossed his path. As for the pronunciation of her name, it comes closer to Russian than it does British-playing-at-Czech. Still not correct, but not as wholly off the mark or terribly mangled as one might assume, given Maddox's ordinary accent.

Danicka settles into a chair at the table, and no one stops her. Maddox has in fact been half-expecting it since he saw her at the counter, ordering a coffee. Maybe get to know the mate of his alpha a little, or at least play nice with the kin of one of his packmates. And then that packmate comes to join them, and Maddox can't help but turn his attention to his leader, at least momentarily.

Adara comments about his guitar's complaints, and one corner of his mouth quirks up higher than the other when Danicka asks about it. "Ah, yes, and more than yes." He leans forward so he can lower his voice. "And, she's a bit noisier than that, I'm afraid. She's awake." He sighs dramatically and leans back again. "Worst mistake I ever made." His expression is weary, but his tone is affectionate, the way one might complain about a troublesome sibling.

[Danicka Musil] "Ugh," Danicka says, legs crossed demurely at the ankle, "serves you right for ordering the borscht to begin with." Not her favorite dish.

[Adara Mires] She smiled at Lukas "I've been good" She leaned back into her chair, listening to Maddox telling Danicka about his guitar and the fact it was awakened? Did he really do that? That brought an amused look to her eyes.

She zipped her hoodie and then got up, picking up her jacket "Well it was nice seeing you all again. I think I'm going to head back home." She smiled and waved at them slightly.

"Have a good night everyone. See you around" She put on her jacket as she headed toward the exit and then out on the streets. It was colder than when she came in but at least the rain had stopped. Putting her hands inot her pockets, she started to make her way toward the Brotherhood.

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [crap, this wasn't refreshing!]

[Mad Maddox] "I ordered the cabbage." As if he were somehow blameless in inciting Babushka's wrath, and this should absolve him in some way. Then Adara's leaving to go back to The Brotherhood. Maddox offers a wave to her before she goes. "Lovely seeing you, luv. Catch you later." He lays his hands flat to the table, and looks around the little sitting area and beyond, into the bookshop, searching for someone.

"Odd." He shakes his head.

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] "Night, Adara." While the others chat, Lukas sips the coffee Danicka handed him. And glances over at his books. And then at Maddox, quirking a faintly ironic smile. "Busking, guitars, and talking about your instrument like a woman. I'm dying from Fianna overload here, Maddox."

This, from the Shadow Lord with black hair and blue eyes. Who dresses in dark colors all the time. Though -- today, at least, he's in blue jeans; white shirt. Not a trace of black on his outfit. Amazing.

"Nah," he corrects, "you got the beet soup. I got the stuffed cabbage. Ergo you drank the spit soup and I escaped unscathed."

[Danicka Musil] awake, is Maddox's guitar. She gives a thin smile at that.

"Goodnight, Adara," she says to the departing Galliard, leaning back a bit in her chair, resting her arm over the back. She listens with amusement to Lukas and Maddox's banter. "You know, if she spat in the soup, it might have been a blessing. Don't be so whitebread," she chides them mildly, a smirk more in her voice than on her lips.

[Mad Maddox] "Man's gotta make a living somehow, mate," he says, spreading his hands.

Then he pulls a face, actually rocks back in his chair, jerking his head at the very thought. "Ugh, beets? No way. No fucking way. You need to have your head checked." He taps his own temple for emphasis. "That or your memory's going in your old age." He's probably not that much older than Maddox.

Danicka suggests that the spit was a blessing. Maddox's brows come together, the expression incredulous as he looks from Danicka to Lukas. "If that's so, maybe I should've given it up to the spirits. They're all so cranky."

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] "Maybe next time," Lukas deadpans, "you should try spitting on the spirit."

[Mad Maddox] Maddox gasps aloud, covers his mouth and widens his eyes as if Lukas has just spoken some unspeakable swear, one that offends the Theurge on every conceivable level. He looks at Danicka, Did you hear that?! When he looks back at Lukas he leans his elbow on the table, the hand covering his mouth cups his chin, and the shock and horror are gone as if they never happened. "Depending on the spirit, that might actually work."

[Danicka Musil] Maddox flicks Danicka a look. She raises her eyebrows, but the bland expression only lasts a moment. A laugh follows, and a shake of her head. "I'm going to go get some cocoa," she says, and

it's abrupt, the way she leaves her seat and walks, purse in hand, back to the counter to order it. But not abrupt enough, one hopes, to be rude. To be a snit. There's nothing for her to snit about.

Maybe she just really wanted some hot chocolate.

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [EMPAFEE HEER TOO]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 2, 4, 4, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)
to Danicka Musil

[Mad Maddox] [snit? why would i think you were snitting?: empatchee!]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 8 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Danicka stands up, goes to get some cocoa. Lukas watches her go for a moment, then turns back to Maddox. Now that Danicka's chair is empty, he puts his foot on the thin rung reinforcing the legs, as though to hold it against whoever might come along snatching empty chairs.

"I haven't talked to you much since the trip," he says. "You doing all right now?"

[Mad Maddox] Maddox would pay money to see someone approach this table at all, let alone to snatch up an empty chair. There's too much Rage, too much menace, though the men sitting here appear mild enough.

"I think so, yeah. I've been a bit, er, hyper-vigilant since, but you know. Getting swiped and switched around will have that affect, I guess. What about you? That fight was brutal."

[Danicka Musil] [Silly Garou, kix are for trids.]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 3, 3, 4, 6, 8, 8, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6) Re-rolls: 1

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [COUNTERSUBTERFUGE!]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 4, 4, 6, 8, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)

[Danicka Musil] [Danicka is hiding her feelings a bit out of politeness for Maddox. They are not strong emotions, but she certainly wants a break from the thread of conversation they were on when she got up.]
to Lukas Wyrmbreaker

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] A faint, wry turn of his mouth. Then Lukas thinks for a moment.

"I'm ... good, actually," he says. "It was brutal, but it was ... good. It felt good afterward. A little like ripping a scab off, I guess." A few moments' pause. "I do sometimes get, y'know. Like that. Maybe not as bad as the other-me, but ... it was important."

He sips coffee. He sets the cup down.

"You still staying at the BroHo?"

[Mad Maddox] Maddox nods, understanding. Sorta. Maybe. He doesn't know Lukas well enough to have seen him get like that before. But he understands that it was important. "I think...it was like that for me, too. The worst part of me was just, exaggerated beyond belief. Thanks again for not killing me in there."

His own coffee was finished ages ago now. Looking at the table now, Maddox picks up the empty cup and rolls it between his palms. "Uh, yeah. Most days, yeah. I'll probably stay at the loft while they do that inspection thing."

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Maddox gets an odd look for a moment. "You kept the light for us," Lukas replies. "You turned into a bit of a dick, but even though you were vomiting raw sewage and bleeding from the ears, you kept that light faithfully beginning to end. There was absolutely nothing you did that justified getting punished, much less killed."

And, entirely aware of how ironic this is, "You should think more of yourself, Maddox."

The conversation turns to residence, broho, etcetera. Lukas nods. "That's coming up, isn't it? Christ, I hope it goes well. Jenny and Reuben poured their hearts into that thing." And Andrea. But it doesn't seem worthwhile to bring that up anymore.

[Danicka Musil] In time Danicka drifts back to the table, her departure abrupt enough to warrant a closer look by both males but, as it turns out -- at least for Maddox -- there was nothing to it. He was just being paranoid, but he can't be faulted. She is so new to him. Not like him to be paranoid, though. Eh, everyone has off days.

Danicka nudges Lukas's foot with her booted toe and smiles at him when he removes his foot from her chair. She sits back down, hot cocoa in a white mug, and catches up just as they're talking about the inspection. "I may have gotten some interest from potential investors to more long-range plans for the site they're trying to construct on, but that's so far in the future still. I'm worried that the protests are flagging. Once people get bored, things are just going to proceed however the other side wants them to."

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] That smile is returned; perhaps it reassures him somewhat. He shifts his foot from Danicka's chair as she comes to reclaim it. Good. No one else stole it. Mate-chair was protected. Good.

He sips from his coffee again, listening. Then he sits forward, elbows on the table, coffee cupped between his hands -- thick shoulders a little hunched from his posture. "Hopefully," he says, "by the time they try something again, longterm plans will already be in motion. And we could probably divert some of that protest-y public interest into supporting those plans. In the meantime, though, it's a good idea not to let the guard down.

"Have you had a chance to talk to Sarita about this? She leads the Ragabashes now, so she could probably help keep tabs on the site. Make sure nothing's happening under the radar."

[Danicka Musil] Danicka gives a small shake of her head. "I haven't. But I suppose that's really more the realm of Garou. No Kin have come to me saying they have a penchant for spying or observation. I figure that the only ones with experience in stakeouts need to keep a lower profile -- our friends on the force, I mean."

She sips her cocoa. "Truth be told, if I had any ideas to offer in that respect I'd go to her with them, or speak with Matthieu about it. For my part I'm just trying to help in the areas I know I have a bit of influence or can bend someone's ear, trying to keep people from doing something stupid. But you know how well that usually works."

Maddox sees it now, where before he's only seen a giggly stoned blonde or a woman requesting Carter politely for his time. She speaks with Lukas, too, as though he's her equal. She speaks without ducking her eyes or apologizing for herself. No broken Lord kin, this.

[Mad Maddox] He grins at that, and for once it's not a smirk. "I think of myself just fine, which was the problem, yeah? It was amplified." He sets the cup down again, and shrugs a shoulder. It's also in the past, and for a man used to looking only ahead, and only so far as the next city, Maddox doesn't dwell on it.

"This weekend, I think. Mother's Day. Is nothing sacred?" There's some irony to that, more than just a little. All of this is happening around The Brotherhood, right up near their most sacred place.

Danicka returns. Whatever had him looking at her when she got up, paranoia or curiosity or reflex, it doesn't compel him to look again. He doesn't know her well enough to know her tells, anyway.

Talk turns to long-term plans for the 'construction' site, and Maddox's attention drifts, that sharp attention turning toward the window, his head angling as if to listen to something only he can hear. He probably is; he did say that guitar of his was awake. Something brings his attention back into the present, though. He looks at Danicka, speaking to her mate as an equal. Unbroken, too. The corner of his mouth lifts slightly, but before it can resolve into a smile, he looks at Lukas. "I'm going to head back to The Brotherhood for a bit." And he rises, bending to grab up his guitar.

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] The turn of Lukas's mouth is equal parts fond and wry. Yes, he knows how well that usually works. He leans back on the back legs of his chair. "Fair enough," he says. "I'll go bug Sarita about it then.

" -- or maybe Maddox can!" Since he was leaving, and all. "If you run into her and/or Margaret, can you pass the word on? Just that maybe it's a good idea to keep an eye on the dig site, whether or not the bulldozers are gone? And I'll catch you at the Loft later. Or maybe tomorrow."

Maddox out. Lukas sets the front legs of his chair down again, reaching for his coffee. It's cool enough to drink -- so he drinks, not bothering to sip politely and all. "We should get some hunter stew on the way back," he comments to Danicka. "You wanna take our drinks with us and head out too?"

[Mad Maddox] [Maddox would probably say something witty and amazing on his way out, but my brain shut down twenty minutes go @_@. Assume he says something better than, "YAH TOTALLY, BRAH," and makes some sort of quasi-cool exit.]

[Danicka Musil] "G'night, Maddox," she says to him, friendly enough. "I'll see you around." A smile. It's an attempt. Even though he, too, is very new.

He departs, and she sips her cocoa. "I think I'll just leave mine," she says, since it's in a white ceramic mug. "It's not as good as I was hoping. You know how sometimes you're in the mood for something and you realize it's not something that even exists, really? I think that's what a craving for cocoa is."

She leans over and kisses his cheek, her breath smelling of chocolate. "You can talk about that thing you mentioned while I wrap Eat, Pray, Love for your mother."

Moving back, she sees the look in his eyes and laughs. "I'm kidding. Come on," she adds, rising to her feet.