basic meet'n'greet.

[Gabriella Bellamonte] Monotony was hard.

After having her business kicked in by those Silver Fangs that blew into town not so long ago, Gabbie had been all but chained to her bedroom at the Loft with only her sister and mother for company, when they were around. She loved her mother and had missed her dearly, loved Katherine and the time that she was around rather than out doing her duties as a Garou, but... Well, since somewhere around the start of puberty she never could shake the feeling that she was treated more like a prized pet than anything else. Sometimes a small child at best, when things were 'serious' and she had to be spoken to directly, face-to-face. Gabriella, you have a duty to your family. This is the way things are. You wouldn't want to upset anyone, would you? No? Good. Now go play with your violin and paints.

Soon as Katherine's grip on her leash had loosened, she'd come back to the Brotherhood. She was walking up the stairs now with a tote bag slung over her shoulder, containing bathroom essentials and some clean clothes. She intended to spend the night here again, the first time she'd do so in well over a week. Her hair was brushed back into a loose ponytail that let pieces hang free about her face, and she was dressed rather casually in a pair of ankle-height black boots, dark wash jeans, and a form-hugging soft beige sweater. As has been the case for a little while now, she seemed like she was tired or dragging, not completely present or invested in reality. Just here following steps and routine without a whole lot of care.

[Lukas] (go ahead man, open scene)

[Bai Chou] Another figure was currently loafing on the couch inside the Brotherhood of the main room. The Uktena, being as socially recluse as ever, had been slipping into the upper confines of the establishment through the Umbra when others hadn't been around to sleep on the couch or abandoned rooms he could find. Still prideful in ways, Bai hadn't directly asked anyone about living quarters but had gotten the gist of what the place was sorta for...a halfway home sorta gig for the Garou and kin of the city.

But he knew some wouldn't overly like him that much...so he had just kept to himself. But he was tired...he wasn't being cautious. In truth, he was being down right lazy as he was still flopped on the couch...half snoozing.

[Lukas] When Bai wakes up, he's no longer alone on the couch. Lukas has taken up residence on the other length of the sectional, his head propped on the arm, a book in his hands.

The cover reads The Godfather, of all things. And there's a glass of red wine on the end table over his head. When Gabriella comes up the stairs, he turns a page, but doesn't look away from the book. Must be an engrossing read.

[Bai Chou] Bai made a slight face at the book when he fully gained consciousness. It was a bit late to ninja vanish now and honestly, he was Chinese descent, not Japanese. Ninjas were for the Sony whores. He shifted to sit up, sliding his glasses off to rub at his eyes and gave a tired yawn...he didn't want to know why one of the springs felt sorta loose. He just knew his back didn't overly enjoy it.

[Sinclair] It's cold outside, frigid to anyone used to warmer temperatures. Sinclair is one of those. She does not go outside without several layers on these days, unless she has to or she's trying to prove something, or punish herself. She has not gone outside at all today. She's only just now waking, just now showering, just now walking out of her room again after getting dressed and going towards the common room.

Her hair is still wet, darkened by water, twisted into two knots at the nape of her neck, the ends fanning out. She has thick black eye makeup on, turning the soft blue of her irises into something colder and clearer, making her entire appearance more harsh than tender. She's wearing a black tank top with a faded skull and crossbones on the front, arms bared so that the thin bar pierced through the skin of her left bicep is visible, as are the tattoos on both arms, including the latest name on the list on her right. The symbol on the back of her neck is similarly bared, her hair tucked back enough that every ring and colored bead glinting on her ears can be seen.

She's wearing red pajama pants with penguins on them. Her feet are bare. Her toenails are blue.

"Hey," she says when she comes into the common room from the hall, walking to the pool table. Her feet don't make a sound. Only the hems of her pants do, scuffing on the carpet.

[Lukas] "Mmh." It's a noncommittal, distracted sound. Lukas gets to the end of the chapter and closes the paperback, reaching over his head to set it down. "What was that?"

He sits up, swinging his feet to the floor. And, noticing Bai has now sat up, Lukas grins crookedly. "Morning, Princess." It's good-natured.

[Bai Chou] Bai just made a face, meanwhile going to reach into his pocket for his cigarettes. His eyes pause on Sinclair though...staring at her before he went back to sliding out the cancer stick. Sinclair and him already had history from their attempt at a dance the other night. He then went to slide out a box of matches...striking it for a moment.

"What time is it? Afternoon...night?"

[Sinclair] "What was what?" Sinclair asks, taking a rack and cue off the wall and setting them on the table. She starts taking balls out of the side, dropping them into the triangle on the felt. She knows Bai is staring at her, though she's hardly the most perceptive person in the building. Or on the block.

[Lukas] "What you just said." Lukas frowns at Sinclair, confused now. And then, shaking his head at Bai, "It's about 11pm. Long night last night?"

[Bai Chou] "Yes...was going through my old territory. Chinatown hasn't changed much as far as I can tell."

Bai lit his cigarette, blowing out the match once the flame has lit the cherry. He eyed Lukas for a moment before he looked back to Sinclair...the blue eyes passing over what she was doing...body language...stance before he looked back to the novel reader.

"The name is Bai Chou. I am known as Godslayer amongst the people, Uktena Theurge."

[Lukas] The three Garou present right now have in common the color of their eyes, and little else. "There were some odd things going on earlier this year in Chinatown. Things seemed to have settled down, though." He reaches across to Bai Chou, offering his hand. "Lukas Wyrmbreaker, Shadow Lord Ahroun. This is my packmate," a nod to Sinclair.

[Sinclair] She frowns back, looking equally confused. "I said 'hey'. It's considered a greeting in some cultures. Also, it is food for horses." The last ball drops into the rack. She scrolls it over the felt a bit, positions it, and removes the plastic guard, hanging it back up.

The Galliard looks... well. She doesn't look tired. She doesn't seem worn out. She looks like a college student hanging out in the commons on an all-nighter, ready to study but taking a break instead to play a game of pool and shoot the shit for awhile. Everything that makes her seem distant is in the fact that she is not threatening anyone. Even her mouthing off is free of malice, even disrespect.

She leans over to break, but glances past her shoulder at the two of them. "We've met."

[Bai Chou] "Yeah...we have."

He glanced at Sinclair but he didn't bring it up. It was their business, not Lukas'. He turned back to Lukas after letting go of his hand.

"Its been awhile since I've met a Lord. Two years almost...maybe longer."

[Lukas] The corner of Lukas's mouth quirks up. "We're not that rare, much to the grief of some." Curious, "Where have you been?"

Lukas gets up while he speaks, keeping his eyes on Bai Chou to avoid the impression of simply turning away. He goes over to the pool tables, though, picking up a cue without bothering to ask if he could join the game. It's assumed. They're packmates.

[Bai Chou] "I'm originally from the Chinatown back in Cali. Came here a couple of years ago. Things happened...went back home for awhile. Decided to come back."

He glanced over as Lukas went to join the pool game, Bai more then happy to just laze on the couch and smoke himself.

[Sinclair] Lukas's assumptions of what packhood is and entails have seemed different, at times, from Sinclair's. He treated her as a packmate when she was not, when she was still bound and leading a pack under another totem, and she did not behave in kind. Not until the Storm Chasers disbanded. Not until the night she came to him and asked for advice before kneeling on the ground and learning how to create a Storm Feather.

It's entirely possible that in Sinclair's world, their pack bond does not make him wordlessly welcome at any activity she engages in. It's also possible that, since the night they underwent the rite, her thoughts have changed on the subject and he's right, it's assumed, he doesn't need to bother to ask or even explain what about her Hey confused him.

She looks at him. Her brows tug together. She leans over the table and breaks.

[Lukas] "Los Angeles or San Francisco's Chinatown?" Lukas chalks up a cue while he waits. When Sinclair breaks he glances at the table, taking note of the balls that sink. To the Galliard, "Looks like you're solids."

[Bai Chou] (Ugh...ignore my mention of Chinatown)

"We were actually in Seattle...there's a small sort of Chinatown there..but its not vast or huge. Not really could be regarded like the one here in Chicago."

[Sinclair] "Looks like," Sinclair intones absently, leaning over to take another shot. She has nothing to say about Seattle, or Chinatowns, and -- perhaps understandably -- she does not seem particularly interested in striking up or joining in the conversation with Bai Chou. Then again, only Bai Chou may know. Sinclair hasn't paid attention to whether or not a rumor has gone around lately about their scuffle in the hallway.

She's good at pool. Not incredible, not amazing, but she has a natural ability and a certain skill with the stick, and since she doesn't seem distracted by talking just yet, she has the focus to pull off a few sinks in a row without much pause.

[Lukas] "Never been to Seattle," Lukas replies, and smiles. "Hear it rains a lot. What were you doing there, if you don't mind me asking?"

[Bai Chou] "Visiting Buddha."

Bai smirked a little, blowing smoke into the air now.

"I lost my mate and my kids here in Chicago. Causes a person to want to take a moment and re-evaluate things. My moment was almost two years."

[Lukas] Lukas laughs under his breath. Bai only smirks. Lukas's mirth dies when he goes on. The Shadow Lord's eyes lower to the felt surface of the pool table a moment, then rise back to Bai's.

"I'm sorry for your mate and cubs."

Sinclair finally misses a shot, and Lukas steps up to line it up. It turns out he's a casual player, not particularly competitive. He was probably pretty decent back in the Boston days, the clubhopping days, the barroom days, the Bellamonte days. He slacked off in between. He's getting better again with a pool table literally twenty feet from his bedroom door. He goes two shots before he misses one, and steps back again.

"Why do you play up to the stereotypes?" There's no indication he's trying to insult Bai. It's curiosity again. "Looking out for Chinatown. Making cracks about Buddha. It's almost like you encourage the labels."

[Sinclair] "Because what people think of you can be just as much of a tool as your claws," Sinclair says lowly, stepping forward and leaning over the table. She's been quiet, though that only bears mentioning because anyone who met her a few months ago would comment immediately on her mouth, on her loudness, on her brashness. She is still brash. She is still harsh. Her eyes stay on the table as Lukas is playing, but flick to Bai when he mentions taking a moment.

Two years' worth of moment.

She doesn't chime in, though. Doesn't apologize for his loss. She only speaks up when Lukas talks about stereotypes, questions the Uktena. On that topic, she has something to say. "Or maybe he thinks it's funny."

[Bai Chou] "Because, as she says, it amuses me...we codify things by stereotypes. Its part of psychology. Just like you assumed when I said I lost my family here that they're dead with your tone when I in truth mean that my mate cheated on me and I gave my children to my tribe to raise."

He inhaled the smoke again.

"It could be said it runs deeper then that...that me embracing stereotypes is some repressed way of dealing with having one foot in my culture and one foot out since I'm hapa. But in the long run, not any of that really matters as I'm Uktena first, human born next, and hapa last."

"Besides...interesting shit happens in Chinatown and I've yet to meet a pack in Chicago that's ever tried to claim the territory besides a lone wolf like myself...which is kinda sad."

[Lukas] Lukas frowns as Bai Chou gets upfront about what happened to his mate and children. There doesn't seem to be anything to say about that: one of those truths so awful there's really no getting around it or softening it.

Not that Lukas is ever one to soften the truth, anyway.

His eyes flick to Sinclair as she speaks. "Spoken like a Shadow Lord," he says; there's amusement there. Then, to Bai, "My pack isn't really one for claiming territories anyway." Maybe he's moving back to safer grounds. Maybe it's just courtesy, to stop prying into the past. "We prefer to stay closer to the Caern anyway.

"Garou aren't really meant to be alone, though. Tell me what you're looking for in a pack and I'll see if I can point you in the direction of one that might suit you."

[Sinclair] The Galliard smirks, with some amusement. She doesn't react with annoyance at being compared to a tribe not her own. She misses her next shot and goes to sit on the edge of the other table, legs dangling down, feet swinging. The butt of her cue is set against the ground, held like a staff, her shoulders rounding. There is now, as there always is, something animalistic about her that ignores the trappings of human appearance, human culture, human norms. Even wearing the skin she was born in, it would be easy enough to forget that Sinclair does not have the mind of a beast.

That she is, in fact, a person and not simply a predator. Still, all the same, the way she looks at Bai seems to be searching for weakness, for a place to strike. She doesn't look at Lukas like that. With Lukas, she acts like a wolf who knows that baring her teeth to him is less wise than baring her throat.

She glances at him when he mentions packs, then back to Bai Chou. "There's an Uktena-led pack that follows Black Unicorn," she says, "but I think you'd fit in with them about as well as I would."

[Bai Chou] "Mmm....I'd be just fine with ones that could deal with me. That use their brains. When I was here, I avoided most of the packs that were allied to war. I'll fight but on my own terms and not some dictated idea of glory and honor. My way of fighting involves knowing my enemy...and avoiding suicidal confrontations if I can help it. Not to say I'm a coward...I've come close to losing limbs for this city."

He just glanced to Sinclair and gave a nod.

"...I might honestly have a better chance trying to form a pack."

[Tiberius Havel] (( open scene?))
to Bai Chou, Chloe, Lukas, Sinclair

[Lukas] (yep, open!)

[Tiberius Havel] *Sounds of feet on the stairs herald the arrival of someone new. Not stomping but they are garou. They'd hear someone coming.*

[Lukas] "There's the Bogeymen." There's a faint -- very faint hint of dislike in Lukas's tone. "A pair of Ragabashes of my tribe that follow Fox. They're about as honorable as you might expect, but they definitely do fight a more subtle war."

When Tiberius enters the common room, he'll find Lukas taking a shot at one of the pool tables. Sinclair, holding another pool cue, is sitting on the edge of the other. Bai is smoking on the sectional couch.

"The Swarm's Uktena-led too. They follow a totem of war, but they strike me as the tactically minded sort as well. But if neither suits you, there are plenty of packless Garou waiting to be formed up."

[Chloe] "No-jus- will you- but-"

She huffed a large breath, and found herself being shoved halfway up the stairs by one of the poor workers at the brotherhood. Whatever part of the argument there was happened to be lost to the ages. The redhead huffed.

"Fine!"

Chloe tromped up the stairs, grumbling something about not being allowed to pay or showers or something to that effect.

"Fine, then maybe I won't pay to do my laundry here? Maybe I'll set the washer for a double rinse cycle, too," it's as mopey as she could get about being allowed to do her laundry for free.

There were people. Green eyes widened and she shut up.

[Sinclair] [don't wait on me]

[Tiberius Havel] *As Tiberius reaches the top step he leaned into the room and looked around. As if looking for someone in specific. Not finding the person, he stepped on into the room.

Tiberus did not have the intensity of the others in the room. He's a tallish Asian man in his mid to late 20s. Tonight he's in jeans, and an unbuttoned black shirt, over a dark gray teeshirt. A dark green jacket hung to mid thigh. Dark hair and dark eyes rounded out his look. Though the garou present knew him to be of a moderately decent blood line. Yeah, the blood stood out.

Yearing voices behind him on the stairs he looked behind himself and moved out of Chloe's way.*

[Tiberius Havel] (Hearing, not yearing voices))

[Bai Chou] Bai just gave a nod.

"We'll see what happens. Either case though...I'm likely going to focus on Chinatown...too much a part of my history now to just ignore it."

He blew some smoke out again, glancing at what was left of the hand-rolled cigarette...then the eyes turned to the new faces. He eyed the other Asian but his eyes also eyed the ginger as she came in...she looked like a likely Fianna. That made him grimace.

[Lukas] "Fair enough," Lukas says, and turns toward the stairwell as two newcomers rise into sight. "Hey, Chloe," he says, greeting the one he recognizes. "Laundry day?"

The pool balls crack! off each other sharply, then thud off the bumpers. Nothing sinks. Lukas steps back.

[Chloe] She came up the stairs, and Chloe was... well... dirty. Her hair was red, bright red, and surprisingly clean, but the rest of her wasn't. It's hard to tell with her kind whether or not she has freckles or dirt spots. She adjusts her backpack over her shoulder.

"Yep."

Chloe said it with a defeated sigh.

"Coltranes won't let me pay for it, too... jerks... Ain't gonna waste water, though, so if any of you guys are brave and have something to throw in, speak now or forever hold your peace."

[Tiberius Havel] *Tiberius looked around and offered those there, a friendly smile. Didn't show teeth. Some garou saw that as a threat or a challenge. Moving further into the room he glanced to the table and nodded to each in turn. Glancing back he noticed Chloe's state of cleanlyness, or lack there of. It just made him smile a bit more. * Evening everyone.

[Lukas] "I've got laundry," Lukas replies, mock-serious, goodnatured with the waning moon, "but whether or not I'm throwing in with yours depends on what yours have on them." Pause. "And whether they're dark colors or lights."

His clear eyes flick to the quiet, tall stranger, almost certainly kin for his lack of rage. "Hey," he replies. "Got a name?"

[Bai Chou] Bai went back to smoking, watching the pool game that the two were having but idly letting his gaze rest on the new faces. For as wordy as he had been, he's gone equally quiet again. He finally rubs the cancer stick out in an ash tray now that it was down to almost nothing.

[Tiberius Havel] *Tiberius jumped a little at the "hey". Not like a huge jump or anything. Turning he raised his brows and then nodded, moving to offer Lukas his hand. His movements were graceful, perhaps good genetics or the like.* Tiberius Havel. Nice to meet ya.

[Sinclair] With a slide of her flannel-covered ass off the polished wood side of the table, Sinclair hops to the floor and walks to the table she and Lukas are playing on, surveying the balls left and cocking her head to the side. She glances over at both Tiberius and Chloe as they enter, pale eyes intent on each of them in turn. She's wearing a shirt that bares both arms, her hair pulled to either side.

There's ink on the back of her neck. There are four names tattooed on her right bicep, three downward-pointing spikes on her left. There is a thin, short bar of titanium pierced twice through the skin of her left bicep, above the spikes. The symbol on the back of her neck, visible when she turns to lean over the pool table, is a quartered circle: the planetary sign for Earth.

Kenneth
Regina
Colfax

and

Arthur

flex as she takes her shot.

"Already did mine," she tells Chloe. "And the Coltranes have a thing about hospitality. It's because they're Fianna, I think. Find another way to repay them, if your heart's set on it. If you just force cash on them they might just be insulted."

[Lukas] "Lukas Wyrmbreaker," Lukas says. And then he points at the various entities around the room, "Bai Godslayer. Chloe Whispers to Nothing. Sinclair Warcry. Kinfolk, are you?"

[Kate] Truth's Meridian takes the stairs one at a time, her arms laden with a heavy gift basket. It is covered in a plastic cover, with a heavy red ribbon affixed to one corner. Beneath the cover, a mouth-watering array of food stuffs can be glimpsed; from crackers to cheese to champagne to varieties of fruit and chocolate.

"I come bearing the cast-offs of a courting real estate agent," The blond creature greets the assembled in the common room with, setting her heavy burden down on an unused pool table, Katherine Bellamonte tousled her fingers back through the heavy mane of hair that fell over her shoulders and smiled at her pack-mates. "Là," she presents, nodding toward the collective she does not yet know.

"This is what is to buy the Bellamonte Manor, chocolates and sweet-meats."

[Tiberius Havel] *Following the introductions, Tiberius gave them each a nod in turn* Nice to meet all of you.

*Then to Lukas' question he nodded* Yeah. Got it in one. Been in town a month or two.

*Kate arrives and his brows raise as she carries in the basket, grinning aa little. He has no idea what a Bellamonte Manor is, maybe a house or land holding of some kind but he's amused*

[Chloe] ""Well, it's denim... it's light wash denim... or, well, it used to- anyway. It's technically a load of darks, it's not gonna get bleached. It's got Chinatown on it, and a bit of Bronze. And barbecue sauce."

Her attention moves to Sinclair. Green eyes attentive at first, then thoughtful. She nods.

"Think I got something..."

Quietly pleased with whatever thought came. Katherine is up the stairs and she turns. For now, she is quiet. The redhead smiles smokething polite, then she blinks.

"Wow."

It's the only thing she can get out

[Rory] She's in a hurry. She'd found the message left declaring it laundry day, and of the three outfits she has... two are dirty, and one could probably use a scrub already. She isn't pleased they're doing it at the brotherhood, due to what happened last time, but it's what they have, what they need, and Chloe said it was ok.

Chloe's word is law.

So, hoping she gets there in time, she sneaks through the backdoor, and up the stairs... following the scent of food carried by Kate - her belly grumbling LOUDLY to protest it's empty state. But she stops when she's close to Chloe, and judges herself and her dirty clothing to be in time.

Rory is a curious creature - though her breeding sings the scents of warriors and kings, her skin itself holds no scent at all. There's nothing that marks her clothing, her presence with a scent that is distinctly her own. But that's neither here nor there - Chloe is here, and that's enough. [What Fianna in her right mind would follow a gnawer? Willingly?]

She nudges her alpha with an elbow, lightly. "Made it."

[Bai Chou] Bai glanced...it was starting to get crowded. He briefly gave a wave of his forefinger and middle finger before his hands reached to slide out a small pocket mirror out, gaze going to it...

...one moment an Uktena there...

...next moment a vacant couch for people to sit on.

[Sinclair] Dex + Melee
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 4, 5, 8, 8, 8 (Success x 2 at target 6)
to Sinclair

[Lukas] "Whose?"

Whose kin, he means. Then Kate appears and, as she passes him on the way to the unused pool table, he reaches out and deftly plucks a pear from the basket.

"And Katherine Truth's Meridian, and Rory Tongue-Twister," he adds to the end of the introductions. Straight white teeth, the incisors a touch too long, bite into the piece of fruit. Mouth full, he adds to Katherine, "Real estate agent? Who's buying or selling, and what?"

[Tiberius Havel] *Tiberius had noticed the increase in people too, so he backed out of the way. One thing you generally didn't want to do in a social situation is crowd a true born. Leaning aginst the wall he slipped his hands into his jacket pockets and watched the interplay of the garou present.

The entrances of such beautiful women. Nodding to them when Lukas intros them* Tiberius Havel. A pleasure.

*Glancing back to the Lord his brows rose* Unicorns', sir.

*A bit of a start when Bai dissapeared, you never really got used to that, then looked back to Lukas to gauge a reaction*

[Sinclair] The sound coming from the pool table is a series of clacks and thuds as balls are sunk one after the other. The game has been casual, and remains so, even as Bai vanishes without more than a fingerwiggle of goodbye. She knows Kate is coming a few seconds before she recognizes the scent of the woman's breeding past all the unwashed Garou tromping around and the presence of a purely bred kinsman in the air. It's not like sensing Joey. It's not like sensing Dietrich. It's nothing at all like Lukas, either.

She looks over and gives an upward jerk of her head to Kate. The Alpha is doing introductions. She did not jump up to do so, though presumably that's her job as a Galliard. One of her jobs.

As a courtesy, she speaks up to let her playmate know: "Eight ball, side pocket." And then a thump. And a heavy clack as it drops into a mesh of leather to join its brothers. "Hey, Katherine," she adds.

[Chloe] She shot a look at the Fianna beside her and she grinned. Chloe, who was small and slender and redheaded like her packmate (but with a lot less breeding), bumped her with her hip.

"Don't get too comfy, Rory, we're doin' security fer the Coltranes after the dryer goes off."

Attention back on Tiberius.

"Great to meet you, sir."

[Lukas] "You'll want to meet with Evan Judgement-of-Sterling-Silver, then," Lukas says to Tiberius. He has no idea he's speaking of a dead man. "He's the elder of your tribe."

Sinclair sinks the 8-ball with a thump. Lukas glances at the table in time to see it go in. Then he holds his cue up. "Anyone else want a turn?"

[Rory] She nods, accepting that. Chloe will note there's something a little different about her packmate, like there's a secret she can't wait to share, despite the fact that her lips remain sealed here, in front of everyone. They're quite a pair, Chloe and Rory. Fragile looking and cute, yet decidedly dangerous under it all.

She glances around the room, and almost shrinks behind Chloe, shyly. her shoulder remains behind Chloe's, maintaining contact, and a sense of the steady calm that Chloe exudes. Introductions made, she nods to Tiberious, and glances at that basket again. Something smells delicious, and her belly rumbles. Loud.

[Kate] Lukas steals a pear from the basket as she passes and the Silver Fang tsks before she sits her burden down and carefully peels back a corner of the plastic with a loud crinkling. She was a tall creature, the Half Moon and in possession of a great deal of elegance in her movements, in the manner she spoke, and in the cast of her pale eyes toward the new Kinsman being introduced.

"Charmed," her voice was surprisingly youthful, and airy. Though her smile was a touch too sharp to be devoid of that element of unease most Garou cast. "I'm sure. Please," with a wave of her hand, she gestured toward the basket. "Help yourself to something, I will never eat all of that." Sinclair says hey, and Kate's head cants to one side, a private smile geared toward her newest pack-mate before she tosses the Glass Walker an apple.

"With regards of Chicago's premiere estate agents," Reading off the card attached, the woman sniffed and sat on the edge of the unused pool table, turning to address Lukas' question. "Every few months we are overcome with offers to sell the family manor in the city. This, I suspect, is the first wave."

[Tiberius Havel] Thank you. I'll keep an eye out for him. Evan. *Nodding, putting the name to memory. Evan Judgment -of-Sterling-Silver". Got it.

He watched how the others interacted. Dark eyes watching their movements. Becoming very much aware of the destructive power in the room. These 5 people could rip appart a battle tank if they put their minds to it. That sort of thing humbles a guy.*

[Chloe] She looked back at Rory, brows raised and jaw set and she waited.

She didn't wait for too long, though, because she was grinning from ear to ear soon enough and she started off to the laundry room. You know, if it weren't that one of them was a mule and the other was a mutt, the two could have been sisters.

[Lukas] "You're not going to, are you?" Crunch. Another bite of pear, sweet and crisp. "Sell Bellamonte Manor, I mean?"

[Rory] She didn't wait too long, and leads them to the laundry room, and Rory follows her, knowing there is just a bit of privacy there, where she can share her secret with her packmate, her alpha, her closest friend. She doesn't even make her wait long enough to steal some fruit from that basket, instead dutifully following to the laundry room.

Once there, she starts to unpack her backpack to find her clothing to add to the pile. The pants and shirt she wears is clean, and nothing Chloe's seen before. And therein lies the secret...

That she whispers, just in case.

[Sinclair] "They'll have to play the loser," Sinclair says to Lukas, hanging up her own cue. "I'm about to head to the caern."

She catches the apple as easily as though she's in the backyard tossing a softball back and forth with her dad. It's cool against her palm, and she peers at it thoughtfully before taking a bite, sinking her teeth past the thin skin and into the crisp flesh with a crunch.

She walks away from the pool table, the roll of her hips with each step leading to a strangely heavy but silent footfall, simultaneously lazy and composed. She goes to Kate's basket and digs out a handful of foil-wrapped chocolates, swallowing her bite of apple. "We should talk, soon," she says lowly, presumably not just to the Fang but to the Lord as well.

The Walker has not been herself all night. They don't know her well yet, but they know enough to see that. Something is weighing on her, and the only reason it's evident is that she has never seemed so burdened before. She heads out of the common room, apple in one hand and chocolates in the other, to go get her shoes on. And maybe something other than pajama pants with penguins on them.

[Tiberius Havel] *Ti watched 3 of the ladies exit and raised his brows. Looking to Lukas he grinned just a bit. Gotta love the innate powwer of their kind.

Glancing to the table he shruged* I'll play, if no one else wants to.

*Shrugging out of his jacket, he reached behind him and pulled out the pistol and holster. Slipping it into the jackets inner pocket, he lays them over a chair or something and goes to pick a stick*

[Lukas] Lukas nods as Sinclair passes him again on the way out. "Yeah," he says. "We should."

Then she's gone, and he's laying his pool cue across the now-bare pool table. "I'm gonna go get my load of laundry, Chloe. Be right back. Kate -- hold that thought."

[Chloe] She is throwing her clothes in. Whatrever is in her backpack, whatever can come off her body. Layer upon layer upon layer-

Chloe Rowan Abernathy knew how to layer her clothing. She had on a lot more clothing than she had let on, until she was down to a pair of white shorts (yes, they were surprising white, ridiculously white. Shouldn't-belong-to-a-Bone-Gnawer-White) and a tank top with a built in bra.

"I'll wait to start, rhya!"

Rory leaned in, and the Bone Gnawer dropped a pair of jeans on the floor instead of the washing machine.

She stops, she turns and looks at Rory, and she blinks.

"No way."

a beat. Eyes wide, and half a blush on her cheeks.

[Kate] Katherine palms a plum in her hands, smoothing her thumb delicately over the fruit's surface before she lifts it to her lips and sharp white teeth easily tear through the lush flesh into the soft pulp beneath. The fruit was ripe, and sweet and somehow Katherine managed to eat portions of it without dribbling juice down her chin.

"Sell the Manor?" The Philodox's tone is edging on incredulous, she shakes her head in the negative. "Never, --" Sinclair leaves them then, and the Half Moon follows the Glass Walker with keen eyes, her brow vaguely furrowed. There was something there to be had, she felt sure, but it was a passing thought, idle and half-formed and she let it drift to be replaced with another sweet morsel of fruit.

"As you wish," she replies quietly, her eyes turning from Lukas, jogging to fetch his dirty laundry to the boy taking up the abandoned pool cue. The Silver Fang's lips quirk, and she slips daintily to her feet, finishing her fruit. "I shall be your opposer, Monsieur."

[Sinclair] [Thanks for the RP, everybody! I gotta cut out and head to sleep soon or I'd stick around.]

[Rory] Rory doesn't layer as well as Chloe, not yet. In fact, all she has to add to the pile is two pair of jeans - dark wash - two t-shirts and a sweater. Then she peels off the NYU t-shirt she's wearing, the long sleeved thermal underneath it and her jeans, leaving her in a tank top and panties - both of which are clean. For someone as shy as Rory is, she has not a single speck of modesty when it comes to her body, or the fact that she's all but naked in the laundry room now.

Chloe drops the jeans and her eyes are wide as she takes in the impact of the secret, as Rory blushes, deep red painting her cheeks as she nodded, and ducks her head to hide behind those fire-red curls. No way, her friend and alpha says. "Way!" is the quick reply.

[Tiberius Havel] *Tiberius smiled to Kate and bowed his head* I'll consider it an honor.

*After choosing a cue he moved to the table and started racking up the balls* Would you care to break, Kate, ma'am?

*His motions denoted an economy of efficientness. A flow and ebb of someone that worked out regularly, but wasn't obsessive about it. After a few moments he set the triangle and lifted it away to hang on the wall. Motioning to the table*