cut to business.

[Gabriella Bellamonte] Gabriella had spent several more hours away from the Loft since her run in with Lukas out in Chinatown. This wasn't any longer than what she had originally planned, it was her full intent to stay away from the Loft as long as she could get away with, coming home only to shower and retire to bed. Mickey turning up and brightening her day didn't change or influence that any more. The only thing it really changed was her dreading coming home even more.

So later in the evening, well after the sun had a chance to vanish below the horizon and the temperatures were allowed to plummet, the front door opened and Gabbie walked inside. She was shivering, her face was numb with the razor-sharp winter winds, flushed red under the mantle of freckles she alone boasted in her family. Her hair was wind-messed, having been left down all day, and her boots were thick on the bottoms with frozen slush and snow.

The Kinfolk stomped her boots on the front rug, shaking the mess loose, then unwrapped her scarf, removed her hat and gloves, and tucked them away into the pockets of her coat, which she then removed and set to hang on a hook. This left her in long, thick black thigh-high stockings and a charcoal gray skirt that was short enough to be out of season but not enough to be scandalous. A soft black sweater was worn on her top, and everything else was consequence.

Feeling cautious, like something was going to pounce on her, but doing a fine job of not letting it show, she walked deeper into the Loft and left her boots at the door.

[Lukas] The Loft smells like pizza.

Lukas hardly came directly here after his run-in with Gabbie. There was a trip to TD Waterhouse's Michigan Ave. branch, first. Then a stop by -- of all things -- a Home Depot. A trip out to Stickney. And finally, a stop-off at a New York-style pizzeria. A year in Chicago, and deep dish still wasn't Lukas's thing.

Now he's in the kitchen of the Loft with Edward, talking over meat lover's and shrimp parmesan pizza. Gabriella can hear them coming in, their voices low, the bass registers rumbling through the walls, but the consonants and enunciations lost. It's not until she comes out of the entryway that she can hear Lukas clearly --

"...need to take this before the Elders sooner or later. We'll have a talk about it when the whole pack is here."

And then he pauses, looking over Edward's shoulder at his sister.

"Gabriella, come in. Have some pizza."

[Lukas] (btw! you can both assume that Lukas would've given both ed and kate a quick rundown of the afternoon's events. basically -- he saw Gabbie talking to Mickey, and Gabbie was in the process of basically telling Mickey everything about the genevre/fons/theron situation, which Lukas thought was grossly indiscreet. also, she was pretty flippant about Fons lying to Genevre about Theron (telling Genevre that Theron had attempted ot kill him) -- she said something like "As if lying is a reason to keep someone from ever seeing someone else again!"

so, Lukas basically thinks Gabbie's being idiotic again, and a potential liability *LOL*)
to Edward Bellamonte, Kate

[Edward Bellamonte] The TV in the sitting area is flickering when Gabbie comes in, and there's the low sound of pause music from some video game or another twining in with the two masculine rumbles coming from the kitchen. Ed still doesn't leave the loft often, and it's nearly always at the behest of packmate or sister (or a stomach rumbling for something in specific. When Lukas showed up with pizza it was, quite possibly, at the request of his one-time Alpha and best friend - since he was coming anyway, yadda yadda yadda.

"Yeah, talking when everyone's here makes sense. And Gabbie's home," he says, immediately before stuffing his mouth as full of pizza as possible so he doesn't have to talk for a bit.

[Gabriella Bellamonte] Gabbie stopped in the corner of the open space between kitchen, stairway and living room, looking in at the Ragabash and Ahroun. The pair had been speaking of pack affairs, she overheard just a touch of it when she was padding silently on thick stocking feet up the hallway, and had grown quiet when they realized she was there.

Come in, have some pizza.

Gabbie lifted an eyebrow at Lukas and turned to move into the kitchen along with the boys. She didn't reach for the pizza, however, and instead moved for cupboard and then fridge, grabbing a glass and filling it with apple juice from the refrigerator. She would turn, then, lean back against the fridge, glancing first to Edward then to Lukas.

"Can we cut to business? I'd rather dodge out of political banter if I can help it."

[grugni] (anybody mind if i watch?)
to Edward Bellamonte, Gabriella Bellamonte, Kate, Lukas

[Kate] (go for it!)
to Breeze, Edward Bellamonte, Gabriella Bellamonte, grugni, Lukas

[Gabriella Bellamonte] [[ I sure don't. Watch away! ]]
to Edward Bellamonte, grugni, Kate, Lukas

[Lukas] A wall of rage rises from Lukas, silent and icy.

The Shadow Lord stares at Gabriella for a second. Then he drops what remains of his slice of pizza with a flick of his wrist. Sends it splattering back into the box. Plants his hands on the counter -- gently -- fingertips against the marble.

"Fine." His voice is very soft, quite level. "Let's cut to business.

"Do you think we're playing a game over here that has nothing to do with you, Gabriella? Do you think it makes you interesting to play the little rebel, flouting your sister's authority at every turn? Do you think your utter apathy for your family, your own flesh and blood, is actually an admirable trait? Do you think it makes you a worthier person to stab your siblings in the back?

"Do you?"

The Ahroun's voice never rises a decibel; never hardens, never strays an iota from that soft, velvet tone. He doesn't give her a chance to reply.

"You're a privileged, sheltered, foolish little girl. Most little girls grow up, but you -- you've actually managed to become more and more idiotic in the time I've known you. I could care less if you want to play the whore for Fianna and Fenrir and Bone Gnawers and whoever the hell else wants to throw you a crumb of attention, Gabriella. But when you sit there blathering your family's troubles to strangers -- when you sit there defending the actions of a liar who would like nothing better than to see your sister and this pack dragged down into the mud -- well, that crosses the line.

"Listen to me, Gabriella. Fons van der Noot does not have your best interests at heart. He is a vindictive, twisted thing who is on the verge of forgetting his very purpose in life. He has vengeance in his mind, against your sister, against me, against your family, against this pack, against everything and anything that's ever wronged him. He has been spreading lies and breeding rumors, and he will play you like a violin if you let him."

Another pause. This seems to be a genuine question:

"Do you believe me?"

[Edward Bellamonte] Ed's mouth is full. Studiously so, in fact. And, that he doesn't move to defend his sister from this onslaught, as he has many times, is probably quite telling, if one chooses to pay attention. It says that he, too, thinks she's crossed a line, and that it's her mess to get out of.

It's one thing when it's just him she's making look bad - goodness knows, he's let that slide. He would let that slide. But it's another thing entirely when it's Kate and the whole pack. So there's chewing, and allowing Gabbie to take what she gets from someone-thankfully-not-him.

[Gabriella Bellamonte] Lukas tossed his pizza aside with a bit of a splat of sauce and toppings against the cardboard box it had come from, and Gabbie lifted her eyebrows just a touch, then settled back against the fridge. This was going to be a long one. Lukas's fingers made for stiff-legged spiders on the countertop, Gabbie sipped her juice, took a breath, and braced herself.

When the lecture was done, Gabriella was still. She'd taken only one small drink from her glass before she found her appetite and thirst alike dragged away by the needle-sharp claws of Lukas's words. Her mouth pressed to one side, and she exhaled slowly, completely. The juice was set on the counter beside the fridge, left alone for now, and she folded her arms across the stomach and opened her mouth to talk.

But her lips did not form the shape of a 'y', so Lukas launched into speech before she could even squeak a sound by.

[Kate] At some point during Lukas' tirade the sound of the automatic door on the garage opening can be heard.

It would appear Katherine is home from her brief overnight stay in New York. She had received the summons from Lucien and left word with her brother and pack that she would be gone only for the day and that if she was needed urgently, she had her pager and phone on her person -- or, they could simply shout at her across the totemlink.

The door hummed quietly as it lowered, and the purr of an engine died out, replaced with the opening and closing of a door.

[Gabriella Bellamonte] Well, it seems the mouse was allowed a squeak.

"I could hardly care, Lukas."

[Lukas] Lukas might actually be stunned.

"You can hardly care," he repeats. His weight leans forward; his fingers descend, then his palms, until his hands are firmly braced on the kitchen island and his thick shoulders round. He's stripped out of the coat she saw him in earlier. The silk sweater beneath that, too. He's in a buttondown shirt, silvery-grey faintly scored in pale blue, and his sleeves are undone, rolled up to the elbow. The Shadow Lord lowers his dark head and laughs under his breath, disbelieving, mirthless.

"You don't care that this creature has nothing in mind but the downfall of this pack. Of your sister. You don't care about that because, what, he smiled at you and told you pretty little lies and made you feel special? Is that it?

"Is that what you're telling me, Gabriella?"

[Edward Bellamonte] Edward blinks, and finally, he swallows. I could hardly care, says Bella, says his baby sister, and for a split second he looks like she punched him (again). "It's not just Kate, Gabriella," he says - not even Gabbie, for this.

[Gabriella Bellamonte] The bold young Kinfolk might actually have a hint of a sneer on her face for a second when Lukas presses his point further, but the presence of mind was there to wipe it away. She shook her head and lifted a hand to rub first at her forehead, then to drag her fingers back through the wind-tangled half-curls of her thick bronze-colored hair, the inbetween of Katherine's blonde and Edward's brunette.

The hum of a garage door opening, and Gabbie's eyes flicked to Edward when he spoke up, and the Kinfolk shook her head again and wrinkled her nose just a little with a touch of irritation, frustration at the misunderstanding.

"You think that I'm taken by that peacock? Hardly. I believe you're all blowing this beyond what it needs to be. That whatever lies he may have fed his cousin would be business between her and himself, just as whatever abuses our uncle lays upon us will ever be any concern of his."

[grugni] Mickey leans in with professional curiousity, and nods as she speaks, almost reaching out to touch the scar, to trace its pale length, but keeps his hand a good couple of inches clear. When she finishes the tale, he shoots her a quick glance, lucidly and probing, and then he nods, sensuous mouth pulled into a line.

"Well, lessee. Here," he says, pointing at his chest, where a woman's head the size of a soccer ball covers his heart. This one has been done with greater care than the others, though it's all in shades of blue, and the woman depicted has some charm to her crudely sketched cheek bones, her full lips, her luxurious mane of her. "This here is Consuela. Met her down in Tijuana a few years back, near stole my heart. Stole my wallet twice. She wasn't kin or anything, but she was the only girl crazy enough to run with me no matter what time of the moon it was."

He looks down fondly at the face. "She was crazy too. Kept cutting me up when I'd get drunk and get aggressive. She knew she could though, cause she'd seen me heal too many times to care. One night she got pushy though, and kept stabbing. I was real drunk, couldn't see the moon for all the lamps hanging from the tree branches, and was just staggering around the courtyard singing as she followed me, stabbing as much as she could. I was in glabro by then, so I didn't care too much, I mean, it hurt, but fuck, it'd been a lot of tequila, and it would have turned out fine if some guys hadn't come running to see what was the problem."

He sighs, and rubs his hand over her face. "Course, they freaked out, rounded up some more fellas and came back with pitchforks in hand. Consuela, well, she stabbed me in the neck and said I was dead, and they all buried me a few hours later. But then she dug me up herself, I dunno if it was to finish the job, but the same dudes caught her at it and hung her by the neck till she died."

He looks up, face sad. "Crazy bitch. Only woman who gave as good she got, and she got a lot, if you know what I mean. Ah me."

[grugni] (FUCK)

[Lukas] (GOOD JOB MAN!)

[grugni] (Massive apologies, everybody. Please strike that from the screen, and I'm going to log out to make sure that doesn't happen again.)

[Lukas] (everyone applaud-- *LOL* aw. later man)

[Lukas] The Ahroun's rage banks at that. Slightly. His shoulders roll back; the impression that he might leap over the goddamn counter in a second fades. Somewhat.

He picks up his beer -- because what's pizza without beer -- and knocks it back. Then he sets it down and says, "What he told Genevre was the least of it, Gabriella. You didn't know this, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Listen.

"He told her that Theron killed him the first night he was in town. He said this purely to discredit Theron, to smear his name. He also told the Ahroun Elder that Theron had been sent to seduce Genevre purely to make this pack look dishonorable. He told her that I killed my own packmates to seize Alphaship, smearing my name and the posthumous honor of Sampson and Mrena. He told her we were weak and honorless for failing to claim our own territory, when we chose to forsake territory to better protect the Caern.

"He disrespected your sister's position as Elder of her Tribe at the moot. He disrespected my rank. He refused to submit, even to the point of dishonor. He would choose death over rightful submission to one who outranks him, simply because he is Silver Fang and I am Shadow Lord.

"He's vengeful, insubordinate, and blinded by hate. He would turn against his fellow Garou simply out of spite. I cannot trust him at our backs in battle. I do not trust him to keep his attention on the War. He's a fanatic, he's twisted, and he's utterly unscrupulous in his lies. That makes him dangerous.

"Do you understand me?"

[Edward Bellamonte] None of this comes as surprise to Edward. He moves closer to Gabbie now, though not to defend her. It's simply to say, quietly, "Remind you of anyone else?" He means Lucien, of course. That's the most obvious (and most hated) parallel.

[Kate] When Katherine enters through the garage door, she can hear the voices in the kitchen clear as day.

For a creature that was already naturally fair by composition; she looked, frankly, wan. Either she had not slept at all the previous night, or her flight home had left her harried and at wits end. Either way, when her high heels strike the polished floorboards and she appears, standing beneath the archway that led into the main living area; she is clearly tired. Her eyes are shadowed by deep smudges, her small carry on luggage is in one hand and her winter's coat draped over an arm.

Still, for all this this, her voice is level; calm.

She takes in the levels of Rage in the kitchen, the pizza box, her sister's expression, her brother -- something close to a grimace crosses her features as she sees her brother for the first time since she'd discovered precisely what had been going on from their Uncle -- before her eyes stray to Lukas.

It's him she studies the longest.

"What's going on?"

[Kate] (damn typos. delete one of those 'this's!)

[Gabriella Bellamonte] Gabriella at least listened to what Lukas had to say, that much she could vouch for. Fons was a chronic liar, a manipulative fiend weaving tales and lies and collecting stipulations to arrange at his fingertips in manners most pleasing. He sought to further himself by dragging others down by their faces and slapping them in the mud.

Yet Gabriella didn't look shocked or offended, or even moderately surprised. She just lifted her eyebrows and shook her head.

"Yes."

This is both to Lukas and to Edward, with a pointed look to her brother before she returned her eyes to the pack's new Alpha. "I--...." She trailed off when Katherine came into the kitchen, then seemed to deflate. Her shoulders slumped, her posture became loose, like strings had been cut, and her eyes drifted, opting not to settle on any faces.

"May I go, please..."

[Lukas] In lieu of a response, an impression of the entire conversation thus far floods Kate's mind. A banked anger underscores it.
to Edward Bellamonte, Kate

[Lukas] Some of the things Lukas told Gabriella, even Edward and Kate are hearing for the first time. There's an impression of unspoken communication between Katherine and Lukas in the length of their met stare; the depth of their silence.

Then the Shadow Lord turns back to Gabriella.

"In a moment. Gabriella, Fons will be warned to stay away from you. If he violates this, you are to let us know immediately. Is that clear?"

[Kate] It's something like a two-way street, this. Lukas floods Kate's mind with a replay of everything that had so far been said, and both men can feel the swirl of the Philodox's anger in response, the tidal-wave of fury that, curiously, does not end with Fons, nor with Gabriella but seems to fill her to the brim so much so that she almost appears to topple where she stands, baggage in hand.

What she informs Lukas and Edward of is comprised likewise of a series of flickering images, of her feelings as she demanded answers from her Uncle, as she forced a confession from Lucien's lips under threat of torture, how he spoke of plotting Edward's death because, supposedly, he had good intel that Silver Jester had become tainted. Then he'd attempted to lie to her face, and something in the Half Moon had just

snapped

She'd hit him. Again, and again, feeling the surge of red anger swallowing all that she was until his face ran with his blood. Then he'd pulled a knife, and rammed it into the Garou's side; she'd roared, the Rage had taken over and she'd belted him clear across the room. It's a lot, it's a hell of a lot of information dumped on her pack-mates and they can feel the slow recession of her temper.

Kate looks at her brother, drops her luggage, crosses the room and puts her arms around him.

[Gabriella Bellamonte] "Fine," the Kinfolk murmered softly, eyes trailing between the three Garou as each looked at one another, as their faces went slightly slack then played emotions that responded to absolute silence, as their eyes went distant with distraction. She licked her lips and shifted her weight so that she was no longer leaning against the fridge, but instead moving to the side, edging her way out of the kitchen.

"I'll go now."

[Edward Bellamonte] Ed is bad at this - he always has been. He's always been far too indulgent - of himself, of everyone else - and now is no different. When Gabbie slumps so, he closes the distance between them and puts an arm around her, very much the older brother. "Hey. We worry about you, is all."

This is to distract from Kate and that grimace (or near) when she sees him; he doesn't know what happened in New York yet, after all. until . . .

oh

. . . he blanches, and the arm around Gabbie gets tighter for the barest of moments, almost clinging. Then there's Kate with her arms around him and, given the press of Rage in the room (and it is his moon, after all), he lets Gabbie go.

"I'll talk to you later," he murmurs to his youngest sister, and it's relief that colors everything, just now, from his voice aloud to his thoughts along totem lines. "You shouldn't have gone," he says to Kate, but arms around her once Gabbie's released. "Or you should have called me to come with you."

[Lukas] "Gabriella."

Again, the second time today, Lukas calls her back. There's a brief stillness in the Ahroun, his attention pulled away, inward. Then it passes. He holds his hand out to the girl, beckoning her back.

There's a rare relenting in his tone and his eyes.

"I said some painful things. I thought you needed to hear them. But despite that, I do know that you're ... perhaps lonely in your life. I know all your rebellion is rooted in fear of the future and what your Tribe expects from you. And I know it's cruel to take from you one of the few that might seems an acceptable friend.

"But anyone who wishes your family ill could never be a friend to you. And someone who would try to use you for their own gain is not worthy of your friendship.

"There will be others. Okay?"

[Gabriella Bellamonte] Edward had slipped his arm around Gabriella, but it did not lay there for long. She plucked at his wrist and removed it, giving him room to put his arms around the elder sister instead. Gabbie had started to walk out, stockings threatening to slip on the well polished floor if she was not careful, but Lukas called her name, stopped her, and gestured for her to come back into the room. The Kinfolk glanced at Kate, with her head in their brother's chest, watched for a solemn moment, then turned to return to Lukas, walking over to stand in front of him.

She looked up to his face when he spoke, and for a moment it seemed like she was going to soften, to forgive, maybe even smile and say 'hey, it's alright' and let the entire thing die out because it was easier that way. But he had to keep talking, switched from what might have almost been an apology to a reminder, and words that were meant to be encouragement but hurt just as much as the accusations of being a whore. Her mouth returned to a thin grim line and her gaze hardened.

"You are missing the point entirely," she informed him bluntly. "That self-centered beast was nothing I sought comfort in, I'm certain I already told you this. I don't want him as anything, I don't want any others, and your coddling.... it's...."

She seemed to have been on a roll, but her eyes had shifted from hardened to faded, the presence behind them fuzzed like bad radio reception when you start going through a tunnel and things begin to cut out and blur. She slowed to a halt, was quiet for a moment, then simply shook her head and turned to leave.

[Lukas] Lukas looks at the girl for a moment, intent. Then the Shadow Lord merely nods.

"Okay," he says quietly. "I believe you."

He picks up the slice of half-eaten pizza, then, as Gabriella turns to leave. In a few bites he devours it. Then he's walking out of the room as well -- the only comment to his packmates mental, totemic.

Meet by the pool in ten minutes. I'm going to do a few laps.


(annnnd behold how neatly i segued into the forums setup! *victory lap*)

[Theron Locke] Lukas had informed him at the Caern that he wanted to hold a pack meeting. After running a few errands after he had parted his Alpha's and Warcry's company. His car now pulled up out the front of Kate's loft, soon heading up the stairs as he knocked on the door to the apartment.

[Kate] "Gabbie," her sister says softly, in a far gentler tone than she's heard her use for months, perhaps even years, who knew. Katherine gently pried herself loose from her brother's embrace and stepped nearer to plead, staring into her sibling's eyes. "Please, petite colombe, listen to what Lukas says. It is not safe right now. Not for any of us."

A deep, shaken breath.

"Especially not for us."

[Kate] The door is opened for Theron by Katherine's maid, Lucille. The wizened Hispanic woman gestures him inside and offers to take the Shadow Lord's outer garments. Then she directs him through to the living area.

[Theron Locke] Theron gives the maid a polite nod and small smile in thanks as she takes his jacket. Looking around the living room to see who has gathered so far. He makes polite nods in greeting and is about to take a seat when Lukas' request comes through in his mind.

Turning as he begins to head to the pool room.

[Gabriella Bellamonte] Gabriella paused for a second time at the edge of the room to cast a glance back toward her sister. Katherine pleaded for her to heed Lukas's warning, told her that nothing was safe, not for them, not for anyone, but especially not for them. She looked blandly at her sibling, then shook her head slowly, faintly, and exited.

Gabriella didn't head up to her room, however. Rather, she returned to the door, passing Theron on her way without even casting him a glance up. Mechanically, she pulled her coat and scarf and hat on and, unless stopped, she was gone.

[Lukas] A dozen laps later, Lukas pulls himself out of the Bellamontes' indoor pool, sitting on the edge with his feet dangling into water. Beneath the surface, diffraction and refraction makes his legs look shorter, angled, paler than they are. Wet, his hair is jet black; the handful of scars on his body are pale.

He looks up as the others enter, wiping his face with the palm of his hand.

"In case you missed it when I told Gabriella and Ed, Fons has been spreading slander again. This time he stirred up that old rumor about me killing off my own packmates. Then he insinuated that our lack of territory makes us weak. He capped it off with the claim that I'd sent Theron out to seduce Genevre. He tried to turn Marrick against us, though she fortunately had the good sense to fact-check.

"We need to take him before the Elders before he runs his mouth more. Obviously, if we let him speak for himself, particularly on the half-truths he told, he'll spin the story around his way. So I think we should limit the discussion to just the blatant lies -- namely, that Theron was sent to seduce Genevre, and that Theron tried to assassinate Fons his first night in the city -- and let Marrick and Genevre tell the Council what Fons told them. Then Theron should be there to tell the real story in both cases. If Fons must be questioned, I'm going to suggest that questions be limited to the yes/no variety to minimize his chances of talking his way around the Truth of Gaia.

"Kate, you should call Genevre up and brief her on the situation. I should also talk to her myself, I think, so she's absolutely clear on what did and did not happen to Fons. And it'll be good to have more than one Philodox present -- both as additional truthcatchers and to avoid any appearance of bias with Katherine as the Philodox Elder.

"Last thing: I want more than just punishment for his past misdeeds. I want clear consequences set in case Fons opens his mouth and spreads slander again, just like I want consequences in case Fons approaches Genevre or Gabriella or any other kin under our protection. We've got better things to do than chase around behind him cleaning up he messes he makes as he makes them."

[Edward Bellamonte] Ed doesn't stop her, but he's pulling a phone out of his pocket and sending a text before she's fully out the door - soon, her phone is buzzing, ringing, singing or however it lets her know she has a text. When she looks at it, it says, Be careful, and let me know when you're home please. I love you.

With that done, there's a glance Kate-wards, and, "We can talk about it later if you want, yeah? No need to bring all of them into our family mess." He hadn't wanted to talk about it even with his sisters, really; it stands to reason he wouldn't want the whole pack knowing about this bit of their dirty laundry. And so it's into the pool room, and Ed listens as Lukas says what's been going on, and lists his desired course of action.

Though he obviously doesn't like the thought of this Fons guy (who he's only met the once) touching his sister in any way, he doesn't say what drifts briefly behind his eyes - that touching Gabriella is a family matter first.

"All of that makes sense to me," he says - that part's simple, really. The harder part is, "but what kind of consequences? I mean, dishonor is obvious, but in the case of his lies, it becomes a case of his word against ours, of he said she said, and we all look petty and horrible. In fact, all of it's that, really. To counter this, I wonder if we'll have to lower ourselves to his level, is all," is the summation of his ramblings - and Ed is, of course, the most honorable Ragabash ever. It makes sense for this to be his main concern.

[Theron Locke] Theron almost growls as he listens, it was bad enough that he had caused his pack dishonor through his own actions. But now it seemed that others were using it as ammunition to continue to do so.

He then goes silent and thoughtful, waiting for others in the pack to speak before he does so. Pinching the bridge of his nose with a frown, he eventually "I'm sorry my dishonor has caused so many problems for the peak. It seems I am currently the easy and weakest part of this pack to attack. I guess there is no escaping that my actions will need to be made public to the Sept. If so... I wonder if I go before them and repent my deeds and show them my contrition to Kate as my packmate and Tribe Elder. If Fons has any problems with that he will need to challenge Kate directly."

"As for the lies about my attack on him....I was hoping to challenge him with the purpose of having all his grievances quashed and removed from the record if I was successful. Just so they could no longer be used against you all."

[Lukas] "It's hardly our word against his if he lies outright and a Philodox weighs the truth of the words with a Gift, Ed," Lukas disagrees. "The trick is to get testimony from the one lies to. Let him speak for himself and he'll find a way to twist that Gift around on us.

"As for consequences -- if he lies against us again, I want him branded. 'LIAR' carved into his flesh, somewhere where he can't hide it. Let the Theurges figure out a way to do it without killing him; if they can't, I'll be happy to make that a battlescar for him."

A shake of his head, then. "Theron, don't blame yourself. He's not going after you because he's angry at you. He's going after you to get at all of us. It's an opportunity for him, that's all. So there's no reason to throw yourself on your sword just yet. You and Kate can settle that matter privately, the way it should be settled. Whatever you've done, it doesn't give him the right to tell baldfaced lies about you."

[Theron Locke] Theron shrugs a ;itt;e "I will do what needs to be done, in order to protect this pack. If it means I lose honor in front of the Sept so be it. I don't want to see Kate challenged because of a mistake I made. I'm not full of my own pride, that I can't falter in a battle when it will help us win the war."

"But your right about his lies, yes or no answers would be the best strategy. Something else I wish to raise and I know Genevre hasn't done much to help her case.....with the way she mouths off. But what of Fons actions of entering her mind and intimadating her....can he be made accountable of his treatment of kin that are supposedly under Kate's protection?.....I know it's probably no longer my right to be concerned...but I am regardless."

[Lukas] (adjourning to forums due to sleep and afkness!)