pack business at the loft.

[Edward Bellamonte] (Today I feel . . .)
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 2

[Wyrmbreaker] The Loft again, then.

Not the pool, for once, but the upstairs rumpus room. Lukas is sprawled on one of the beanbag chairs in front of the TV. Until his packmates showed up, he'd been playing the PS3 there: idly, uninvestedly, and with no great skill.

Now they're here, though, and he remotes the TV off; the console. The wireless controller is set aside. He shifts his seat to better see them all, wherever they might sit.

There's a plain cardboard box near him, which he hands Sinclair without comment as she arrives. It's not particularly heavy -- under five pounds, all told -- and when she opens it, it might take her a moment to decipher what's inside. Looks like a pair of ... large staplers, maybe, until she sees the edges.

A pair of folding axes. Lightweight, strong, coated in black teflon. "More discreet than Conan axes, I thought," is all he says about that.

"So," when they've all gathered, "it seems that good old Fons has chosen to disobey Kate's direct order to shun Gabriella. Yesterday night the stormcrow bound to Gabriella sought me out. Since it's only been three and a half weeks, it could have only gained its freedom under the condition that Fons and Gabriella interacted."

[Sinclair] [int + melee]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 3, 7, 9, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)

[Sinclair] Her eyebrows quirk when she arrives and a box is handed over to her. She takes it, brow furrowing, and immediately opens it without question. True to form as someone who learns by doing -- and by fucking up, as often as not -- Sinclair takes one of the pair out and looks it over, setting the box with the other one down on the couch, though she remains standing.

After a few seconds, after some time spent looking over the Thing and running her fingertips gingerly here and there --

SNIKT!

Sinclair bursts out into boisterously loud, rather delighted laughter as she tightens her grip, flicks the 'stapler', and discovers the mechanism for unfolding and locking the axe into place. "Fuck!" she says, quite happily.

"Dude, that's awesome," she says, rotating her wrist a few times but not quite swinging the axe and certainly not throwing it. "Thank you," she says after that, warmly, and more sincerely than her expressions of Fuck or Dude.

She holds it as carefully and as tightly as a Wii controller lest it fly out of her palm, then realizes: he got her two. "Whee," she says, picking up the other one in her left and doing the same with it. That's what she's doing when the others show up: getting used to the feel of the two axes in her hands, chortling quietly to herself occasionally.

It's with reluctance that she folds them back up and puts them away in their box as the meeting is called to order... as it were. Well. They don't stay long. Lukas talks, and Sinclair sprawls on the couch, taking one of the axes out to play with it idly.

"You know I did read somewhere that the IQ of subsequent siblings after the firstborn goes down," she mutters.

[Kate] Katherine does not sprawl.

She stands, arms folded neatly over her chest, her string of pearls pressed against the sheer white blouse she wore, tucked into a high-waisted pair of matching slacks, with her back pressed against the wall just shy of the black leather sofas Lukas is ensconced between on his bean-bag chair. There's a crumpled piece of paper in her hand and she waits for a moment until Sinclair has finished playing with her new toy before she steps forward and thrusts the letter toward her Alpha with a decidedly disgusted curl to her lip.

"Yes, I wager that is what led to this."

It's Fons' letter of Challenge to Katherine.

[Edward Bellamonte] "Handy, then, that I'm the firstborn. Or I'd be rather put out." So says Ed as he slips into the room, carrying his latest book of brainteasers (sudoku and crossword puzzles are favorites because of course he's a seventy-year-old cat lady - he just needs to learn scrapbooking or knitting to make it official) and a pen. He doesn't need an eraser - he doesn't make mistakes. But that is, of course, neither here nor there.

The axes are eyed, and Ed takes a spot out of reach and at an awkward angle from Sinclair just in case - he trusts her skill, but everyone has slips. Everyone makes mistakes. He also does not sprawl, but sits cross legged in his chair (or on the floor, or . . . whatever, he's not picky) to listen. Because of course when they're gathered . . .

"Oh," he says with a raised eyebrow. "So how long do we think Fons has before she betrays him?"

. . . it's important. Somehow. But then there's mention of the letter of challenge, and Edward sighs. Gabriella is his sister, and he loves her - that wasn't shut off in the process of disowning, doesn't have a switch. But all this fuss over things that are more or less inevitable seems silly.

"Why are we surprised? Just as she had to have known what she got was coming, we had to have known this was coming."

[Theron Locke] Theron is there, but quiet...sitting cross legged on a rug as he leans back against one of the chairs. He watches his packmates as they gather. A small smile curling the corner of his lips at Sinclairs reaction.

On the mention of Fons and Gabriella, he just raises an eyebrow "He's done what?" and then he drifts off into silence. He points towards Edward "that one is wise, that he is." a small chuckle escaping his lips.

And then Katherine mentioned her letter of challenge "Ahh so he is trying that again is he. At least he had the honor.." he then scoffs at that "to make it when we weren't mid-battle."

[Wyrmbreaker] Lukas watches Sinclair figure it out. He doesn't explain it, or show it to her. He doesn't need to -- and he suspects it's more fun this way, anyway. When the axe abruptly snaps out, the Ahroun laughs aloud, a short burst of mirth.

"They're utility axes," he says, "so you'll need to rebalance them to your hands. If you want a quality, traditional battleaxe, though, you'll probably have to speak to the Get. Or maybe the Furies." He adds after a moment, "We can spar a few times a week. We should probably all plan to spar at least a few times a month, practice our skills on each other."

Then there's Katherine, huffing. Wyrmbreaker snaps the proferred letter over from Kate, skims it quickly, returns it. Snorts.

"Well, that's a clever attempt to dodge due punishment. But it doesn't change the fact that he's disobeyed a direct order. I'd deal with that before you step up to accept the challenge."

[Kate] "Hm," she says, with a dark expression. "Could I not simply shoot him with those utility axes instead and be done with the man?" She moves to seat herself; sinking down into soft leather with a sigh. "No, well, I suppose that will not do. Unless I drag his sorry excuse for a Fang behind before the tribe and publicly shame him before I address the challenge at all."

Katherine leans back, thumb at her lips, mind turning.

[Edward Bellamonte] "Why thank you, Theron," Ed says, bemused (which is oh, so different from amused) as he goes ignored by everyone else. He shrugs, is quiet, and flips open his book - which doesn't mean he isn't listening, just means he sees no need to speak up just now. He's good at that, staying quiet.

[Sinclair] Truth be told, Sinclair is, of all of them, the least involved in all this. She doesn't really know -- or like -- Gabriella. She doesn't know much about Fons, or understand what is so difficult about all this. She thinks differently than most of the pack in these matters. The case was different when she was younger, but that was when she was younger

and not Garou

and not a Glass Walker.

So she toys with her axes, as a letter changes hands. It isn't read aloud. She doesn't ask to see it. Her eyes track from packmate to packmate as they speak up in turn, and she frowns a little. Suddenly she barks out a laugh. "Behind?" she says to Kate, then settles herself. "Sorry."

This is srs bizniz.

"It doesn't really matter if anyone's surprised," she mutters to Ed. "This is ridiculous. This guy can't answer a direct question, lies his ass off to everyone, picks up kin that have been ousted from the tribe, ignores your leadership only to challenge it -- hell, by challenging he basically just submitted himself to the fact that you are the elder right now and so he's subject to your punishment."

[Wyrmbreaker] "Sinclair's got a point," Lukas says. "If he's challenging your leadership, then he acknowledges that you're the present elder of the tribe. So if he acknowledges that much, then he acknowledges that you lead the tribe in the city, and you gave orders, and he deliberately flouted them when he fraternized with Gabriella."

It's not your sister anymore.

"Kick his ass," is Lukas's conclusion. "Lay down some nice Philodox-y punishment. Then deal with the challenge. Those are two separate issues."

[Sinclair] "And if your punishment is that he should lose a finger for every time he spoke to your sister, then I can now take care of that without dirtying the kitchen knives or getting the taste of his blood in my mouth!" Sinclair says cheerily, waving one of the small axes a bit. "Everybody wins. Except Fons's fingers."

[Theron Locke] "You know we could also .. you know work on providing him a reason to leave completely." Theron shrugs, it seemed that nothing they had done so far had spared them from Fons' shenanigans "Or you make it a condition of his punishment that should he wish to stay in Chicago. Due to his crimes he forgoes any right to take any position of power within the Sept. Though I'm not sure how to swing that."

"Or we could just go with Sinclair's suggestion, which does sound mighty fine."

[Kate] For a moment, Katherine is serious, somber, straight-faced and without a sense of humor. "Have you ever seen me try and kick somebody's ass physically, Lukas? It does not tend to end well for me." He explains, and she relaxes a touch. "Yes, I agree, to both things, he is netting himself within his own lies and he will soon find he has backed himself into an untenable corner."

She listens to the round robin of suggestions, and her expression begins to lighten, she actually laughs at Sinclair's idea of punishment, and says, eyes dancing, "It does sound terribly appealing to lash him with a lasting sting of my disappointment in him. And well I shall show him exactly whom he is dealing with." She leans back, stretching. "I have not survived so long and worked so hard in this city for some little niggling worm to come and try to usurp me. No, no, that will not do at all."

[Edward Bellamonte] "I'm with Theron, actually. On the first, not the last," he says with a frown as he crosses off a clue he's answered. "He's disobeyed a direct order - regardless of what it is, that needs to be seen to. If Gabriella is nothing to us any longer, the rest of that particular issue isn't any of our affair." Ed? Doesn't like solving problems with violence - he never has. It's one thing to fight the Wyrm, and another entirely to bicker and backbite amongst themselves.

Kate's bit about not being adept physically gets a snort. "Unless it's me. And I'm twelve." Which comes as no surprise to anyone, no doubt, especially Lukas who's likely heard the story before.

[Wyrmbreaker] Ironically, Lukas is sprawled in the lowest seat: nearly prone on his beanbag chair, hands laced loosely behind his head. He can see all of them clearly and easily from this vantage point, though, and his eyes are sharp and clear as they flick between his packmates.

At times he nods; at others, he frowns.

"As much as we'd love for Fons to just get the fuck out," he's frowning now, "a punishment that essentially forces him out of the city or otherwise prevents his gaining eldership of the Tribe right before he challenges for it sticks in my craw. That's the sort of convenient solution Fons would think of."

And nodding -- "Ed has it right, there. Gabriella's relationship to Fons, whatever it might now be, is of no importance to us except in that it violates Kate's decree and further proves Fons honorless. Undoubtedly he'll shape her resentment and rebellion into a tool, but we're just going to have to live with that. She's not a part of this pack anymore, so at least she's not undermining us from within every step of the way."

[Sinclair] "There have to be consequences," Sinclair intones, almost to herself, turning the axe over and over in her hand, examining every bolt, every plane of it. "There have to be consequences that outweigh the benefit of ignoring or absorbing them. And I don't mean punishment. I don't... I mean it's nice to talk about slapping him down, but I honestly don't think that punishment is going to be very effective with someone like Fons.

"Punishment," she goes on, as though she's reciting something, "is a construct. It's a decision. Consequences are natural. Consequences are inevitable. Consequences are the eventual or immediate reaction to an action."

She clears her throat, then reaches over and grabs the Monster she's been sipping at since she got into the room. Sinclair folds up her axe with a CLAP! and looks over at Kate. "Fons, like Gabriella, is flouting the authority of the acknowledged Silver Fang elder in the city. A natural consequence of that is that the Silver Fang elder no longer cares what happens to him, no longer seeks to protect him or aid him when he's in trouble. That's one."

She sniffs. "Fons is welcoming a volatile, rebellious, untrustworthy and whiny kinswoman under his wing who is no longer rightfully his by tribe alone. Any others who have interest in her can and rightfully should take her away from him, and even if he manages to keep her, he shames himself before all Silver Fangs and looks like a kin-kidnapper and he has to deal with a volatile, rebellious, untrustworthy and whiny kinswoman who will dog his days just as surely as she dogged yours. That's two." She blinks. "Or three. Fuck, I lost count already? I need caffeine."

She grabs the can of energy drink and knocks back a mouthful or two. "Aah. Where was I? Natural consequences. He's earned -- and beyond earned -- the dislike, if not more, from one of the larger and more powerful packs in the city. He's earned the personal distrust and dislike of several Garou who are each individually strong. I'm not saying this means he'll be abandoned in battle or anything retarded like that, but it's just like what happened over time with Gabriella...

"You piss on people enough, and eventually you find a startling lack of people willing to help you, put up with you, or even be around you. It just takes time, and patience, and I don't think Fons has the latter. I think you do, Kate."

A beat. "Anyway. I'm rambling." She shrugs.

[Theron Locke] "It's a shame then that Fons doesn't have a 'good' twin.. then we could do the old Man in the Iron Mask trick and lock the bad Fons away and let him feed on bread and water till the end of days. At least then he'd be under our control and that mouth of his would be clamped shut." he sighs regretfully "Why are all the good options always out of grasp."

He then listens to Sinclair speak... he looks about to say something, but then turns silent. Looking thoughtful as he processes his thoughts

"What are our options then.... do nothing and let Fons reap what he sows? let his challenge to Kate's Eldership stand in place? If so then we should get started discussing the challenge and ensure Fons is at a disadvantage even if that is not discernable by the terms layed out."

"But frankly I want to see this ended once and for all... ."

[Sinclair] "No," Sinclair says mildly, "nothing I said changes what I agree with: he disobeyed the elder of his tribe and that has to be addressed, and then his challenge -- which is an honorable one, even if he isn't much of an honorable Garou -- has to be answered. I was just talkin'."

She shrugs.

[Wyrmbreaker] "Doing nothing is not an option. Kate will seem weak if she allows the slight to go unaddressed. But Sinclair has a point: typical punishment, loss of renown, the sort -- that might mean little enough to Fons.

"Consequences, on the other hand, are nothing we can enforce. But maybe some punishment can echo the consequences of his action. Something that will matter to Fons.

"What has he disrespected? What does he hold dear?"

[Kate] [Sorry guys! I'll post in a sec!]

[Kate] "I will call the tribe together," she says after they have all spoken and she has ruminated in silence for a time. "We will deal with Fons Van der Noot as a tribe, with me as his elder whether he acknowledges it or not. He will bow to my authority or he will find himself in a very cold and unwelcoming city indeed.

I am not elder because I have bested every Challenge that has been set before me, I have lost before that is true, but I am elder because I am the best at what I do, and what I do better than any other Silver Fang in this city is lead them. They know this, or they would not keep coming to me for aid, for council. For a place to sleep at night.

They would not bleed beside me if they did not respect that. Fons has disrespected Falcon, he holds himself so proud and so full of tradition that he does not see that he tramples on nothing but his own honor. Who would trust to an elder who cannot even hold true to himself, who cannot win a challenge without cheating?"

Katherine shakes her head slightly, eyes distant.

"He cannot win."

[Edward Bellamonte] "Of course he can't. He's a douchebag." Ed seldom speaks so, of course, and it's not dismissive, exactly. He appreciates the seriousness of the situation, he really does. But that makes his assessment no less true.

[Wyrmbreaker] There's a flicker of -- what, frustration? -- over Lukas's face. Then he sits up a little, pulling himself up out of the beanbag chair he's mired himself in.

"Kate," he says, low, "I have no doubt whatsoever that you're a far fitter elder than Fons will ever be. I also have faith that you'll think of an appropriate, fair challenge with which to prove it. If you need our advice in that, we stand ready to give it.

"But I'm not talking about the challenge here. I'm talking about Fons disrespecting your word as standing elder of your tribe. What are you going to do about that?"

[Kate] Kate's eyes find her Alpha's, she seems slightly excited by her internal reverie; sweat beads on her upper lip. She licks it away and savors the bitterness there. "No, Lukas. They are interwoven things, his punishment and the challenge. One cannot be without the other. He must see that I am chosen, that I was chosen, by Gaia. To lead us."

She blinks, her eyes refocus and she seems to come back to the moment; raising her fingers to rub at her temples. "Forgive me, I am... not feeling quite myself." She is quiet a moment, the muscle in her jaw leaping as the Silver Fang struggles against a war born in her blood, borne the moment she was conceived. A sickness; an insanity.

"Fons holds little dear but himself, he believes that we are the supreme power in all things regarding the war. He has disrespected his own King's daughter, he has disrespected his elders before a Moot, he has disrespected the mandate of his own elder, he has refused to carry out the punishment set down on him by the elder Philodox of this Sept."

[Kate] "How do you punish a Silver Fang who has no honor, who would take your punishment and twist it into his own sick interpretation of being in the right?"

[Sinclair] Sinclair raises her hand.

"Can I propose a suggestion?" she says. Not quite meekly.

[Wyrmbreaker] Lukas doesn't answer immediately. Instead, he studies Katherine for a moment, keenly, unflinchingly. When he speaks, his voice is low, but not quite soft.

"I need you with me, Kate, and with this pack. You cannot drift off into the delusions and derangements that plague your tribe. All of us are flawed, but we are weak if we let our flaws rule us. If you give into the madness that dogs your lineage, you'll end up like Fons: twisted, vengeful and insane."

Pause; then he nods to Sinclair.

[Sinclair] "I think," the Galliard says slowly, "we're all just going around in circles saying the same goddamn thing over and over. Fons bad, grr. Fons need punish, rar. Kate's problem but we halping hurr cuz we har pack. Yar."

She says some of this in half-mocking grunts, no less aimed at herself because she, like the rest of them, is included in this 'we' circling round and round the same words. Sinclair exhales then, drops the accented, overblown speech. "I think we, at least for tonight, have hit a wall. And beating our heads against it isn't gonna knock it down. It's just gonna turn our brains into martinis. So my suggestion is,"

said like Because I do have a point, I promise,

"that we break for refreshments and individual brainstorming on the issue of what the fuck to do about this guy other than straight-up kick his ass, because that won't fix or change anything, either." She shrugs. "Basically... let's take a break and talk about it again later."

[Edward Bellamonte] "Martinis . . . actually sound delicious. And Sinclair," he says, slow drawl, "I think your idea is a fabulous one." Because of course it is. Breaking for drinks and frivolity, the better to come back at things in a new light is always brilliant. And therefore, Sinclair is brilliant.

[Wyrmbreaker] A flash of irritation -- "Edward, if you cannot say anything of use, don't open your mouth at all."

-- and then calm again. Lukas shakes his head. "I disagree," he says clearly. "We may indeed have exhausted the subject, but there's no need to return to it. We are going in circles. But that's not because we've hit a wall. It's because I want Kate to handle this herself, perhaps with our advice, but on her own terms. If we talk about it again later, it'll be to the same result. Here's the situation; here are the suggestions; here's the circle we're marching around in because this is not, in the end, our decision to make.

"I could tell you how I'd handle it, Kate. If Fons were a Shadow Lord flouting me at every turn, I would beat him within an inch of his life and remind him who the enemy was. If he turned on me again, I would consider him irredeemable and kill him. If, instead, I stood in your place -- a Philodox of the Silver Fangs -- I would lay a Rite of Ostracism on him and see how he does without the support of those peers he seems to value so very little.

"But I am not you. And my ways are not yours. So we can discuss this as long as we like. You can bounce ideas off us. We can circle as long as we like, but ultimately, the decision is yours, Katherine."

[Kate] At the first, she is angry: "I will never be like that man." She says it in an undertone so steely, so measured and stripped bare of all things but her Rage that they cannot but acknowledge it as fact, as so. She is meeting her Alpha's gaze steadily, without flinching. Lukas can see that the madness, the fleeting, abrupt madness has gone.

Has left her.
[for the moment]

"He does not respect the tribe, he claims that his actions are all for our betterment, but they slap us in the face at every turn. He embarrasses us and in turn, he embarrasses me. His every action is a humiliation that I am forced to endure because he does not believe that he is touchable.

Well, I will make him very fallible.
I will strip him of that very tool that has proven his weapon thus far.
I will take his voice; and replace with that of a jackal.

Let him squeak out his lies."

[Edward Bellamonte] An eyebrow raises, sharp, at the chastisement, but Edward says nothing to counter it. He does, in fact, keep his mouth shut, and his thoughts (or lack thereof, as the case may be) to himself as clearly they are of no merit in this particular situation. He is not one to talk simply to hear himself do so.

[Wyrmbreaker] That makes Lukas exhale a short laugh. "That might actually quiet him down for a while," he says, wry. "Just -- whatever terms you choose for the challenge, take care that he's not handicapped by his punishment. That's dishonorable, and besides, he'll probably twist it into some grandiose conspiracy theory.

"Ed," he turns briefly to his suddenly very-quiet Ragabash, "I shouldn't have lost my temper. But you're a Fostern of this pack. I appreciate your input when you care enough to give it. And if you honestly have no opinion to offer when the rest of your packmates are discussing business, then I prefer silence to frivolous remarks. Not everything is a laughing matter. Do you understand?"

[Sinclair] Sinclair's gone quiet. Her point was taken, and agreed on, and secretly she's rather glad they don't have to reconvene later to talk about this more. She's back to playing with one of her new axes, opening and closing it again and again as she listens to her packmates.

[Edward Bellamonte] "I do believe I offered my opinion," he says with a shrug, eyes on his puzzle of the moment again. "And of course I understand. Your point is taken." He could say more, but instead lets it go. There's no need to dwell.

[Sinclair] [I really gotta go to bed now. Thanks for the RP!]

[Edward Bellamonte] (Night!)

[Wyrmbreaker] "You did," Lukas agrees, "earlier. And I appreciated that. It's just when your opinion dwindles down to smart remarks about whether or not Fons is a 'douchebag', and whether or not martinis are wonderful -- that's useless to the pack. You can do better than that, Ed. You're smarter than most people I've ever met. There's got to be better observations and ideas than those in your head."


(eee, i'ma try to wrap up quick! didn't realize this was gonna turn into a tangent convo)

[Kate] "Mm," she says with a sudden spike in good mood. "What a pity it could not be for all time." Then, she idly curls a lock of fair hair around a finger. "You are correct, however, whatever punishment I set down must not give rise to his sneaking around my rules for the Challenge. I shall have to be very careful not to give him any extra loopholes."

Her lips twist.

"Though I fully expect to be bombarded with insults for my time." Kate falls quiet here, and allows Lukas and Edward to settle their disagreement.

[Edward Bellamonte] "I beg to differ - humor, levity and bonding over strongly mixed drinks are never useless to that pack. Though that's a disagreement we've had before, n'est pas? There's a reason you're the Ahroun and I'm the Ragabash." Ed doesn't smile - doesn't feel like mustering the false one he wears more often than not these days. His eyes, darker, heavier, and considerably more haunted than before his departure don't twinkle with some hidden amusement as they used to near-constantly. He is not the same man as he was when he left - far from it. The scars are not just physical. "Regardless, I will be mindful of my tongue."

[Wyrmbreaker] When Edward reduces it to a difference of auspice, something changes in Lukas's face; turns colder. "There are times when levity is called for," he says. "There are times when it distracts.

"And your auspice is so much more than a pack of jesters, Ed. You're the scouts and the spies and the devil's advocates of the Nation. You're here to give us the view from the shadows -- not the joke of the day. That's why it's crucial for you to actually involve yourself in these discussions. To consider the situation and to advise your packmates from the angle we've failed to cover."

[Edward Bellamonte] "Oh, yes. And I am far more than a jester as well, whatever offhand remarks I may chose to make amongst my pack. My family." Because to him, more than most, pack is family - pack is everything. Without them he is less, diminished, lost. How he'd managed gone for so long is anyone's guess. (Though, fairly obviously, the answer is 'not well'.) "I was serious when it was called for. When it became clear that we were covering the same ground again and again, I was no longer so. Shall I make 'friends' with Fons, then, to offer you this unknown perspective? That's an option I have often considered. I have watched my sister," because disowned or not, one can't scrub away blood - though Ed does correct himself, so there's that, "Gabriella from vantages unseen. She is bitter as any kin in her position and acts out because of it - the proverbial caged bird. I have scouted, I have spied. Do not doubt that I am very good at what I do, Wyrmbreaker-yuf."

Because it's all formality now, as his pen slides between the pages of his book and he stands.

"I am a Fool," clearly capitalized, "but not a fool, whatever I may allow others to think. I am pleased to know, however, that I play the part so well that my oldest friend is deceived."

[Wyrmbreaker] As Edward stands, Lukas makes no attempt to match or exceed the height difference now rising between them. The Ahroun simply looks up at his packmate; this man that is, in fact, his oldest friend.

And his former alpha. And his brother.

Who's all formality now. Who calls him Wyrmbreaker-yuf rather than Lukas, or -- as Sam once favored -- Luke. That alone makes Lukas's jaw tighten faintly. And by the time finishes, there's a unspeakable chill in the air.

"Have you?" Lukas replies; softly. "Have you scouted and spied? What have you learned? What have you accomplished? What have you done lately to aid your pack, your brothers and your sisters?

"What, Edward Bellamonte?"

[Edward Bellamonte] "That," he says, wry, "is a Galliard's job to tell, not mine. I take on the errors of others so that they may bring greater pride to the Nation rather than sing my own praises. But just yesterday I helped to retrieve Hannah and Gregory (insert last name I don't remember here, kin from Harv's oneshot last night and I don't have a complete transcript) as well as Cheryl Danvers and return them to safety from the hands of banes. My darling sister," he says, with an unreadable glance shot Kate's way, "could tell you that. I have fought . . . far more than is in what I would have considered within my skill set of late. And you would question what I've done to help my pack?"

An eyebrow is raised, and yes, that chill is nearly tangible. It's one thing to be dismissed as a Fool (or even a fool), as Edward goes out of his way for that quite often. But this is another thing entirely.

"Do you truly so doubt my Honor, my dedication?"

[Wyrmbreaker] That is a Galliard's job to tell, Edward says, and Lukas cuts him off. "No. It's yours. I'm asking you, Edward.

"Tell me. What have you done. Because I see Katherine struggling daily to hold her family and her tribe together. I see Sinclair learning the honor and wisdom with which she'll temper the sheer ferocity she has within her. I even see Theron, our newest, doing his best to uphold the honor of this pack and to erase the shame of his failures.

"So tell me. What have you done? And I don't want to hear about random encounters on the streets, alone. I want to know what you have done for your pack, which you claim matters so much to you. What have you done to make us stronger? What have you done to make us wiser and more honorable, more fit to face the war? How have you scouted and spied for us, as you say? How have you played the Fool in a way that has benefited us?"

A beat.

"And if the answer is nothing, Edward, then say so. If you mean to do much but have only managed to accomplish little, that's no shame so long as you admit it and strive for better. It's not your honor and dedication I doubt. It's your humility and your ability to face your failures."

[Edward Bellamonte] "....."

Edward is tired. Not in the way that means he needs to go to bed (that doesn't help, really, much of the time), but in the bone weary way they all get sometimes. He is, for a moment, struck dumb at this line of questioning. He closes his eyes, rubs absently at a temple (which shows the faintest signs of not gray, but silver), and then sighs.

"Clearly, it's nothing," he finally says with a dismissive wave of his hand. "So little - no, that's not small enough. So minuscule, infinitesimal, that my own packmates don't speak of what I do between themselves. Perhaps I am just a failure. You'd hardly be the first to say so."

[Edward Bellamonte] (We're getting to the point where I'm having a hard time not letting OOC frustration bleed into this! So, to heed the wise words of a friend [yay, Jess!] I'mma have to ask for pause or wrap.)

[Wyrmbreaker] "Enough!"

Lukas's hand comes down on the coffee table hard enough to rattle the PS3 controller on the glass. A second later he's in control again, his tone modulated, level, low.

"Edward, I am tired of hearing either empty pride or utter self-pity out of you. You sound exactly like Gabriella. Only it's worse, because you're the eldest. You're your father's son. You're a Fostern of the Nation, and when you either boast without cause or wallow in self-pity, you shame your lineage and you shame your sister Katherine.

"I don't ask greatness of you, Ed. Not anymore. I don't expect you to reach the standards your breeding implies. I didn't demand a list of deeds because I expect you to have accomplished anything. I did it because you claimed deeds you haven't done, and I cannot tolerate that.

"All I ask of you is the attempt to act for the betterment of your pack. And if you should fail, then all I ask from you is the honesty and humility to admit it, and the courage to move past it.

"All right?"

(I think we're near a wrap!)

[Edward Bellamonte] "Are you . . ."

He doesn't complete the sentence. Of course Lukas is serious - they've talked about this before, as well. For a while, Ed had succeeded in instilling a bit of humor, but that - like so much else - appears to have changed in his absence. He should care . . . more, because he does care, but there's a weight, and water (or blood, or . . . something) rushing in his ears. And so, still wry, and now self deprecating, he shrugs. "Of course. As you say." And with that, there's focusing on his reflection (no, deeper than that, past his reflection and into the shadow) on the glass table and . . .

. . . slipping away.

[Wyrmbreaker] (thanks for the play, CC. sorry if you got frustrated!)

[Edward Bellamonte] (Thanks to you! And no worries - it's 4am. Of course I'm frustrated!)

[lwo] And a little ant trying to escape the rain crawls across the floor. Crawl, little ant, crawl! For soon there may be smashings or bugspray. Crawl for freedom!

[Wyrmbreaker] And...

Ed vanishes into the Umbra.

Lukas throws up his hands in frustration and flops backwards onto his beanbag chair. "Wonder if he'll be gone another year," he says. He's only half-joking.

[Kate] They argue.
They debate.

They -- grow frustrated with one another and how much, for Katherine, must this be a glimpse back into the past when it had been them; the core of the pack together, arguing and debating and eventually ... drifting apart. At least in the case of the [then] sole Fostern among them.

Now, his sister merely sits to one side, rubbing at her brow as Edward, forever the little boy lost, vanishes once more. "I hope not," she says with bitter amusement. "I could use him in my corner at the tribal gathering."

[Wyrmbreaker] "We could all use him in our corner," Lukas replies angrily, "if he'd bother to actually get in our corner. Instead he drifts in and out doing whatever he pleases and expects to get by with wits, tall tales and breeding alone when he's called on it. God, to think I used to think he was ... some sort of Chosen One."

The Ahroun lapses into a sort of frustrated silence. It goes on for a while. Then, "Honest answer, Kate. Was I too hard on him?"

[Kate] Katherine is utterly calm now, her anger has passed away, her moment of derangement suffered and withstood until now she was as her moon dictated she ought to be; the Ahroun's safe harbor during the storm of his anger, after the storm itself had passed and now required dissembling, examination.

This then, was her role within the pack and furthermore, within the sept itself as elder of her moon.

"You were harsh, Lukas." She lets that sink in, before going on. "But Edward needs a harsh hand to deal with him, it cannot always be fun and games for him, just as it cannot always be ignorance and turning his back on Sinclair. He is born to push the boundaries of what we find comfortable, but he is also born to see the answers that we miss, in trying to be so reasonable and wise."

She breathes out slowly, tangling fingers in her thick mane.

"Edward is much changed, and yet in some ways, he is exactly as he was as a child. Full of bravado and personality, but so easily swayed." Her eyebrows lower. "I used to think that a great boon for shaping him into the leader he ought to have been, but now I think I did not help him as I could have."

[Wyrmbreaker] "Don't blame yourself for the way Edward turned out," Lukas says, still sprawled in his beanbag chair. "It's no more your fault than Gabriella is.

"Or," after a moment, musingly now, "my fault. Or even Ed's fault, perhaps. We all such potential in him. In that breeding of his. But maybe that's all it ever was. Blood and memories; not true potential at all.

"But goddammit," then he's angry again, a flare of it rising up like a lick of plasma from the surface of the sun. "I'm not even asking Edward to be a hero. At this point I just want him to do a little more than lounge about and crack jokes while his sister runs wild and his other sister is assaulted over and over by a crazed pup of a tribemate. He's a Fostern of this pack, and its only Ragabash. He's given us no information whatsoever; no insight. And the last time we were in battle together, he ignored orders, fell out a window, and spent the rest of the time helping a kinfolk flame a giant blob to death."

[Wyrmbreaker] (er. we all SAW such potential.)

[Theron Locke] ((lol awesome scene guys... if your still going when I am able.. I'll throw in some comments :))

[Kate] Katherine's lips twitch as her Alpha explodes into anger anew -- somewhere around the part about falling out of windows and flaming giant blobs, Katherine's shoulders are trembling with repressed laughter and she covers her mouth with her palm to smother her laughter.

To little avail.

She drops her head down, trembling, laughing softly, shaking her head from side to side. "I - I do hope he managed to kill the blob in the end, or did it come and seek its revenge?" She wipes a tear from one eye, sighing. "He did aid me in combat the night before last though, in his defense. It was simply unfortunate that the Master Fomori blasted him and prevented him from fighting longer beside me."

[Wyrmbreaker] "Do you think I'm kidding?" Lukas sounds outraged. "I'm serious. He fell out a window! And then he was helping that woman, that redhead of Taggart's -- Liadan? -- fight a giant meat-blob."

And then his lips twitch. He bites the insides to keep from smiling.

"They did prevail in the end. It was a great big smoking heap by then time we came down from dealing with the Dancers that had spawned the whole mess."

Humor fades. Lukas pushes a hand through his hair -- jet black, straightish, though it would curve into waves if it were a little longer, or a little wetter. When Lukas was a boy, his hair was soft and curled, often tousled.

"I have no doubt," he says, "that Edward is loyal to the pack. And that he'd lay down his life for any of us, just as we would for him. But it's investment I want. Some sense that he's united in a common cause with us. He's grown so distant."

[Kate] Katherine's humor fades some as he goes on, and she begins to play with the edge of the sofa; tracing her fingertip along the seam, back and forth. "Yes," she admits, "He has. Did he ... tell you anything of his time apart from us?" She asks, her hesitation borne far more of a far of revealing an intimacy her brother might not have wished known.

"Of where he went, or what he wound up doing?"

[Wyrmbreaker] "No. I know only that he was in France."

[Theron Locke] Theron pipes up from where he is sitting "Then perhaps we need to find a common cause ? We seem at the moment to be so busy with personal matters that from where I stand we are barely functioning as a pack. And I know I am as much to blame in that regard as anyone else. But when is the last time we hunted together or even ate together... I discount the other night at that Lounge. I mean even our living arrangements are split.. some of us at the Brotherhood.. others of us here. We all seem to find excuses to busy ourselves day to day ... I know I have been spending time with a new friend. Perhaps we need to make an effort to spend time with each other. I think Kate has shown us all up a little badly.. with the work she has down on that garden. Something good.. something lasting." he sighs a little as a memory of a crazy theurge flew through the air on a swing.

[Kate] Katherine nods, and her brows knits for a moment, her pale eyes lowering for a beat, lashes falling to fan her cheekbones. "He did not remain solely in France, Lukas, he sought out, via means of discovering their whereabouts inadvertently from my Uncle, the Black Spiral Dancers that killed our father, and his pack.

Edward hunted them down, foolishly, as only Edward would, and destroyed the lot of them. He died doing so, but he came back."

She smiles briefly, tightly at Lukas. "I don't think he shall ever quite be the same brother that I knew, I believe whatever his experiences in dealing with them, it has altered him. For the better or worse," Softly. "I cannot tell."

[Wyrmbreaker] There's a small silence after Kate finishes. Then Lukas nods. "Well," he says, "that was a brave and honorable thing for Ed to have done."

He's quiet now, relaxed on his rather whimsical seat: a just-past-college-age young man; a great beast. His limbs trail lazily off the beanbag chair, rather the way they would off one of Kate's pool floats, but they're not in the pool. They're upstairs, near the TV, near the PS3, and Edward has vanished again.

"Better or worse," he says, as though decided, "Ed's one of us. And whether he likes it or not, I'm not letting him sink into mediocrity."

Another pause.

"We should hunt together. Soon. The business with the Marys is coming to a head." He glances at Theron and Kate. "Are you two up to speed on that? Long story short: three dead kinswoman are haunting one of Chicago's cemeteries. They seem convinced that a Wyrm relic of great and corruptive power is on the verge of rediscovery by the Wyrm, and they want us to finish the job their Garou couldn't 80 years ago, and destroy it. I believe Truth in Frenzy-rhya's leading the assault."

[lwo] ooc: Ahem, the spy says... Kate was in the car/came to the cemetery for that whole spiel already/is in the forums thread of pausedom... and didn't Theron show up, too? (LOL)
to Kate, Theron Locke, Wyrmbreaker

[Wyrmbreaker] (LOL. oh right. theron wasn't there though -- it was too early. pretend Lukas only looked at Theron then.)
to Kate, lwo, Theron Locke

[Theron Locke] (( yeah Theron only got the invite to Kemp's meeting later.))
to Kate, lwo, Wyrmbreaker

[Theron Locke] Theron frowns somewhat, some of his comments glossed over. But perhaps the other two had become tired discussing the never ending issues.. no matter

"Hmm a relic you say.. it would be interesting to know what type, it's powers... if it is cursed. Whether destroying it is the worst thing we could do. I think we have a lot of information to gather before we run screaming into the fray. Taking on a battle with such little knowledge...seems rather crazy."

[Kate] "I think our father would have boxed his ears for going in alone and being so dense," she adds fondly, with a daughter's prideful recollection of a parent, before confirming: "But yes, he would have been very proud, I think." There's a few minutes of easy silence this time, not quite so strained before Lukas intimates that they should hunt again soon.

And then he speaks of the Marys, Katherine grimaces and stretches herself out along the sofa.

"Yes, everyone panicked when we apparently ran one of the spirits over at the cemetery, and then I almost fell into an open grave. It's all very exciting." Droll.

[Wyrmbreaker] "There's going to be a meeting to discuss it further. We'll discuss it over with the rest and make sure we go in strong.

"And we should do more as a pack," he adds. "It is different now than it was a year ago -- we have Sept and Tribal concerns. We have mates and personal lives. But we should ... y'know. Hang out more." A faint smile quirks his mouth. "You should bring that new friend of yours around, Theron. Who is she, anyway?"

[Kate] "Some of us have mates," Katherine jokingly corrects, and squints down the line of the sofa at Lukas. "Some of us are just as happy single, thank you very much."

[Wyrmbreaker] "Okay," Lukas rolls his eyes at Kate, "I have a mate. You have an auspice eldership and a tribal alphaship."

[Kate] "Which is exactly as if I had a Mate," she laughs suddenly, "Or perhaps two very demanding, whining mates."

[Theron Locke] Theron blushes slightly then and then looks over at Kate with a careful look "Umm I've been spending a fair amount of time with Lonna...Larson. We just seemed to keep bumping into each other. Then we got talking and well have been for awhile. Sorta why I've been wanting to talk to you Lukas ....I want to handle things properly this time, I even spent the afternoon with Danicka the other day to get her perspective on matters..... she told me to ask you to translate 'Lukáš d&+283;lá mi to radost' for me"

"I was planning on summong a crow spirit to carry a message to Dances-with-Fire-ryha to arrange a meeting to discuss the possibility of me asking her out more formally. Though it seems I have a lot to learn in these matters, I am still unsure of what I will offer him as chiminage. But at this stage I will not be asking for us to be formally mated, I just wish to see where things lead."

[Wyrmbreaker] "Yeah," he replies to Kate, "your tribe really is a handful. I thought mine would give me more trouble, what with Shadow Lords all being conniving, backstabbing motherfuckers, but no; the conniver and the backstabber's coming from Falcon this time."

Try not to sound so smug, Lukas.

A pause, then, as at least one -- and most likely two -- and possibly three, if Sinclair has not fallen completely asleep -- pairs of pale blue eyes swing around on Theron. There's a silence. Perhaps everyone's wondering whether or not to tell Theron of Lonna's reputation: welcome wagon. Town bike. Black widow of doom.

In the end, though, it's the Czech, remarkably well-produced, that breaks Lukas's awkward silence. The Shadow Lord smiles, suddenly, completely, an expression that unfurls from ear to ear. It's possible Theron has never seen him smile like that. To be sure, a moment later he lowers his eyes and ducks his head as though to hide it.

When he raises his face again, it's under control.

"It means Lukáš makes me happy. Why on earth did she teach you that?

"As for Lonna, it's a good idea to express your intentions to Dances With Fire early and clearly. He's a lupus, so he'll be very direct. That doesn't mean he's stupid. He'll sniff out bullshit and smokescreens in a second, so don't even try. Just tell him you like her, and that you want his permission to date his kin. If I were you, I wouldn't mention mating at all if you weren't planning to challenge him for mateship. If someone told me they didn't want to be formally mated but wanted to 'see where things lead', I'd assume they wanted to make a whore of my kin and then leave her by the roadside." A shrug. "Not that I'm suggesting you'd ever do that."

[Kate] Katherine launches a pillow from somewhere at Lukas with a fauxly indignant smile.

"Détestable créature avec aucune honte!" She shouts, half laughing, before Theron mentions precisely whom his special friend is and both Katherine and Lukas, at least, grow silent for a moment. Katherine exchanges a glance with her Alpha, returns her eyes to Theron, stays quiet.

Then Lukas mentions making whores of his Kinfolk and there's a flare of agitation from Katherine, a remembered slight, a snort of clear disapproval.

[Kate] "No," she says, meaningfully looking at Theron. "Not that you would ever do such a thing."

[Theron Locke] "Well I could tell you.. but then I would have to kill you" he smiles, his eyes twinkling somewhat "No but seriously I just phoned Danicka and invited her out for afternoon tea to ask her advice on things. " he sighs somewhat "It was mainly a discussion on the Garou concept of mating .. and if a garou and kin could ever be truely happy in a relationship."

"Hmm you make good points though Lukas, I shall take them on board. I was going to offer him my services for a cycle of the moon, to make talens and so forth. In an effort to prove I was capable and to provide him some recompence."

Then the comment from Kate makes his cheeks flush in embarassment "Thankyou for the reminder Kate, but I am hoping to show that I have at least garnered some wisdom from my mistakes at the very least. I want to show that I have learned and will follow the proper etiquette that is befitting of me."

[Kate] "Good," his Half Moon says to him with a gleam in her eye, "This is all I wish of you from my reminder." She falls back against the sofa, and then adds as an afterthought. "Theron, be mindful of Lonna Larson, she came to me for advice not long after her guardian died. She is more fragile than most would recognize."

[Wyrmbreaker] "Let Andrew name his price. Be respectful and polite, but don't serve yourself up on a platter."

Lukas reaches behind his head, rubs his neck for a moment. "For what it's worth, Theron, I think Garou and kin can be happy together," he says. Wry, "We're made for each other, after all. But ... in truth, I think it's rare, and shortlived, and it takes both enormous amounts of work and extraordinary self-control.

"There's no chance of it ever being a fair or safe relationship, you understand? You're a monster; she's almost wholly human. It's entirely lopsided. You hold all the power; your mate has none. So if you want it to be anything but a relationship built on fear and dread and terror, you have to go against every instinct you have to dominate or possess -- and sometimes even to protect -- so that you don't completely stifle her. You have to let her dictate the terms of your relationship. You have to give up control, give up everything, give in to what's between you and, ironically enough, trust her not to break you.

"And that's hard. Especially for Shadow Lords. We're taught to be strong; to dominate."

He's talking more than he expected to. It comes out easily, if quietly; thoughts that he's never really bothered to set into order even for himself. Truths that he recognizes as true even as he speaks them.

"Then, even if you can manage that much, there's the fact that you'll never be able to raise a family with her," he continues. "If you have children, other kin will raise them. Your own flesh and blood won't be able to stand you because of what you are and what you carry inside you. They'll flinch if you touch them and cry if you hold them. If your anger grows too strong, your own mate won't even be able to stand you. You won't be able to live with her; not without eventually crushing her with the weight of your Rage."

He's quiet now, and not looking at either of them. The Ahroun is looking at the ceiling, his brow faintly furrowed, eyes shadowed.

"And in the end," he says, "after all that, inevitably, you'll die and leave her alone."

[Theron Locke] He nods to Kate "Yes I know .. I've seen it.." "I even saw the after effects when .she was delivered to me after a run in with... some sort of creature. She had bone spikes growing out of her" he shakes his head as if trying to clear his mind of the image.

He just listens to his Alpha taking it all in and processing it "You know Lukas for a relatively quiet man. When you do talk....you are very profound. I think I've much to learn from you." he nods and offers him a polite smile.

"But you are quite the pessimist aren't you ? Who do I need to see to have sunshine blown up my arse, and here that everything will be perfect and romantic ?" chuckling softly as he says it, as deep down he realises his Alpha has only spoken in truth and reality.

[Wyrmbreaker] Lukas laughs under his breath; there isn't a whole lot of humor in it. "The last optimist in this pack," he says, "punched a kinswoman he claimed to love after he discovered she wasn't in love with him. I think it's better to be realistic. It's not easy. But if you can make it work, it's worth it."

A pause.

"It's worth everything."

And then Lukas is getting up out of his beanbag chair, groaning as he stretches a spine stiffened by hours of lounging in the same position.

"I'm turning in, guys. Anyone need a ride back to the BroHo?"

[Kate] Katherine seems affected by Lukas' words, and falls silent. She allows the pair of Shadow Lords to speak, and eventually rises only to announce: "I am for bed, Gentlemen, I see that you are capable of finding your own ways out, I will walk downstairs with you, come."

The hostess follows them out, and bids them farewell, before falling to her own bed for the night.