shark.

[Danicka Musil] This bar is a dive. There are dart boards on the wall, pool tables in the middle, small sticky tables and shitty chicken wings that are always kind of cold. The beer is cheap and so are the people. It's called Mr. C's, and she comes here out of some sense of warped, twisted sentimentality. She comes here in tight jeans and high heels and keeps her jacket on over her shirt while she plays pool.

Badly.

[Andy Gallo] Andy pushes his way through the door, ever mindful of large slavic men ready ambush him. Because really.. you never know. He takes a moment near the door to check out the place. With his trusty skateboard in hand, he makes his way to the bar and orders a longneck domestic. Pays with a few crumpled bills he digs out of various pockets

[Danicka Musil] Once upon a time, when she first came to Chicago, Danicka was ever-wary of at least one large Slavic man who seemed to show up. Him or his friends. She couldn't go to get a cup of coffee and read her book without being bothered by one or the other of them. She's not wary, though. It's well past dark, it's Chicago, it's a shitty area of Chicago, and she's a slender, pretty blonde woman alone in one of the seediest bars you'll ever walk into.

She looks as unwary as they come. It isn't the steely-eyed focus of a hardcore player or a woman who looks frail but will whip that pool cue over your head and jam it into your kidneys before you can blink, either. It isn't brash confidence. If anything, it looks like sheer foolishness; she should be watching her back. She's being stared at.

Of course she is: her body is lean, her jeans are snug, and her hair is soft and shiny. She's lovely. There's something about her, too, that grabs the attention even of the human beings who are so far from their primitive ancestry that they have forgotten how to spot a werewolf, how to smell their Kin. They just know there's something about her that both tugs at them and worries them. Males are looking, then looking over their shoulder, as though looking for competition. As though watching for whoever might claim her. They're drunk. They don't know why they do this. It's not exactly politically correct thinking.

It happens with Andy, too, though the reaction is different. It isn't as openly lustful or craving. Something about him makes them itch where they sit, makes them notice him, makes them feel threatened, makes them assume he's a grifter, he's probably a gypsy, he's something, something, something. They see him as though he is is more, somehow.

And he is. They just don't understand it.

Danicka leans over her table, which she is just fooling around with. She's not playing against anyone. She looks over at Andy, too. "Fancy a game?"

[Andy Gallo] Andy flashes her a sly grin. His ego inflating to fill the rest of the room. "Don't think I'm gonna take it easy on you just because you're cute.."

[Danicka Musil] She ducks her head for a moment to hide a smile. To hide, then, the rising blush in her cheeks. Charmed, but only for a moment. Danicka lifts her head again and looks right back at him, direct. Not challenging but inviting. She stands up a little straighter and walks over to the rack to take down another cue, brings it over to him, and holds it out.

"Loser buys a round?"

[Danicka Musil] [might as well roll for it]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 3, 3, 5, 5, 5, 7, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6) Re-rolls: 1

[Andy Gallo] He wipes a grimy hand against his jeans before taking the rack from her. A courteous gesture for the punk. "Sounds like a deal to me.." yeah.. that would work. He scored at least fifty from the last sucker he pickpocketed, so he had the cash to cover it. He starts racking.

[Danicka Musil] This woman isn't a streetwalker. There's something about her, despite the casual air of her clothes and the loose low drape of her ponytail, that hints at luxury. She may be wearing jeans: they might have cost the equivalent of a student loan payment. She may be wearing a light jacket: don't look at the label. There's a softness to her features, but for the hard line of her jaw. Her eyes are a murky green, flickering with bits of amber and blue. In this lack of light, however, they're nearly hazel. Her hair is, put simply... golden. There are little lines at the corners of her mouth and eyes that place her at the upper end of her twenties, maybe a few steps into her thirties. She's trim, slim enough to look a bit breakable.

She smiles at him, and her lips are pearly pink, and lets Andy rack the balls. She breaks -- and utterly, totally fails at it. Not a single ball drops into a pocket. Hell. She doesn't even matter to scatter the balls. No surprise, with those skinny arms of hers.

Her pretty brow furrows. "Well, damn."

[Andy Gallo] He.. laughs at her. And doesn't much hide the fact that he is. "Damn girl.. is this your first time?" He meanders to the other side of the table to set up for his shot. "Why're you so interested in playing pool if you suck at it?" He cracks the cue ball stright for the large cluster still in the middle of the table, breaking it up some more, as it were.

[Danicka Musil] "No!" she says, ruffled. Or seeming so. She all but pouts, and by god that's adorable. It's unfair, how a woman her age can look cute doing that, rankled with irritation under it all. "It's ... I've totally done this before."

She moves back to let him take his shot, holding her cue awkwardly. "Well, you know. Practice makes perfect. And most people in here are drunk anyway." She laughs. "Not very good at it themselves."

[Andy Gallo] He straightens up after the shot and motions for her to take her turn. "Yeah.. I guess you make a good point. If you're gonna practice, may as well do it where no one will notice." He leans against a corner of the table, watching her. "But then again.. I doubt you go unnoticed much.. do you?"

[Danicka Musil] Neither of them has sunk a ball yet. It's kind of pathetic.

Danicka smiles at what he says, though her eyes are on the table when she leans over and aims more for the cue ball than for any particular stripe or solid. Her breasts are small; they don't swell inside of her camisole when she leans over, jacket open. They don't threaten to fall out. She's healthy, though still just this side of underweight.

She takes her shot, and the ball bounces off the edge of the table. "Ugh," she mutters, then glances over at him, smiling a little again. She doesn't answer, on whether she gets noticed much or not.

[Andy Gallo] He chuckles a little and looks around the table to scope out a shot. Once he finds one, he leans down to take position. "I've done this a million times. It's not that hard, really.. it has nothing to do with strength.. or power.. it's all in how you hold the cue, and the angle of your shot.. It's math. Kind of.." He points to the ball he's shooting at. "If I hit it straight on.. it's going straight into the wall and not in the pocket. But if I cut it a little to the left.." He slowly takes his shot, cutting it into the corner pocket with a practiced grace. "See? It's finesse. Which is something I know you have.. in spades." He eyes the table for another shot. "I'm Andy."

[Danicka Musil] "Math?" she says, a bit dubiously, brows tugging together. They're so well-kept. Salon girl. Pays someone else to take care of her hair, her face, pluck her eyebrows, wax her legs. It starts to make less sense why she'd be here at all, when in all likelihood she can pay someone to drive her around, too. Her heels tap quietly on the beer-sticky floor.

She watches what he does, listens to his explanation. "Dani," she says, though it's not even close to how her name, or her nickname, should be pronounced. She peers, waiting for his second shot.

[Andy Gallo] He quickly takes his second shot, solids since that's what he sunk the first time, but misses. From the halfgrin on his face one might assume he missed on purpose. "Damnit.. Guess my theory was flawed.." he steps back and watches her take her shot. "Dani, eh? Nice name. I guess." He takes a long drink from his beer.

[Danicka Musil] Her eyebrows flick up a bit. "You guess?"

She doesn't seem offended. Toying with the idea of being offended, maybe, as though to flirtatiously warn him. Play. She looks at him as she steps up to the edge of the table. "I think you missed on purpose."

Taking her shot, Danicka furrows her brow and focuses. This time the ball comes close to the pocket, but bounces off again. In fact... it hits one of his. And sinks it. "Dammit!" she says, huffing out a breath.

[Andy Gallo] He lets out a small exhale of a laugh. "And I think you're better at this than you're letting on. So I guess that means we're both guilty." He circles the table to line up his shot. He'll take his time to line it up, then call it. "See.. i'm aiming for the far left side of the red ball. That way it'll head right.. toward the pocket. Watch." He takes his time and eases it into the pocket he'd called. Then stands with a cocky grin. "Not so hard, eh?" He leans back down for a second shot and effortlessly clips one of his own.. but doesn't make it in. He shrugs and moves to take another swig from his beer. "Never met a chick named Dani before. Just always seemed like a dudes name to me."

[Danicka Musil] The look she gives him is sympathetic. "That's sweet of you," she says, "but how am I gonna learn anything if you keep trying to let me win?"

Watch, he says, and she watches. "It's short for Danicka," she says, and that's not the right way to pronounce her name, either. Da-like-daddy-Nih-KUH. But that's how she says it. "Most people just call me Dani." And that's a lie. Two people in recent memory called her Dani, or Danny, and not because she told them to or asked them to. Because one liked to shorten her to Danny Boy and one was ...well, he was something else.

She rolls her neck, rolls her shoulders back, and takes a deep breath. "I'm just not that good at math," she says, and leans over the table.

A swing and a crack! later, and one of the easiest set-up stripes drops into the side pocket. She breaks into a grin. "I got one!"

[Andy Gallo] He flashes her a cocky half grin. "Good for you." He downs the rest of his beer. "And don't sweat it. Math just isn't a chick thing. I'm sure you're good at other stuff. You cook?" Oh yeah, he totally just went there. He casually leans forward to take his next shot, taking his time to line up a long shot to the far corner.

[Danicka Musil] "I do, actually," she says, without frowning at his comment about math not being a chick thing. She watches him lean over, tipping her head. "Um... I got one, though. Doesn't that mean I get to go again?"

[Andy Gallo] He chuckles again and straightens up. "My bad. Go on with it." He leans against a corner of the table, trying to stay out of the way. "Were you born here.. Dani?"

[Danicka Musil] She smiles happily. Just glad to be getting a second chance, this girl. Proud of herself for sinking a ball, this girl. Leaning over the table and lining up another shot, this girl. "I'm from New Orleans," she says, which is a lie and not a lie.

This time when she hits the cue ball, a stripe drops happily into the corner pocket. She blinks. "Does that mean I get to go a third time?"

[Andy Gallo] He gives the girl a once over, watching her move into and out of the shot. "Yep. Shoot til you miss. Or til you win. Either one." He gets out of the way in case she needs that side of the table. "New Orleans, eh. Good food down there. People aren't bad.. when they're in a friendly mood."

[Danicka Musil] [Argh! Got booted.]

[Danicka Musil] The woman standing at the edge of the pool table, 5'9" in those heels, doesn't have a Southern accent. She doesn't drawl, doesn't coo, and she doesn't seem to have the mannerisms or the attitude of a woman from Louisiana. Nothing about her says New Orleans, not even her pool playing, steadily and rapidly improving as it is. Maybe the Magnificent Mile. Maybe Manhattan. She leans over and shoots again.

This time she sinks two balls. Both stripes. Smiles over at Andy. "It comes alive after dark, really. What about you? Where are you from?"

[Andy Gallo] "Here and there. Home's what you make of it." He says casually, watching the table. "Nice shot. Gonna clear the table on me?"

[Danicka Musil] "I might just," she muses aloud, and takes another shot. This time she misses, and her eyes flicker at that, but she steps back simply enough, turning to Andy and -- for the first time all night -- giving him a once-over. "I'd guess California, at some point. The skateboard. Not a hopping pasttime in Chicago, from what I've seen."

[Andy Gallo] He meanders around the table, scoping out a shot. When he finds a good one he leans in to set up. "Actually I picked up boarding in Phoenix. I've been to California.. dont get me wrong. The people out that way are far too uptight for my taste, though." He sinks a bank shot without much effort, then strolls around to look for another one.

[Danicka Musil] "Never been to Phoenix," she says. "Or California, for that matter. I'd like to go sometime. I know someone there I could have coffee with." Apologize, she doesn't say, for not sharing her crayons once upon a time.

Danicka glances at the table, then a back hallway. "You won't cheat if I go to the little girl's room, will you?" she teases, stepping that way.

[Andy Gallo] He shakes his head no. "No way, this is far too much fun. You want me to wait to take my shot?" He stands back up.

[Danicka Musil] The woman tosses her ponytail over her shoulder. She has no purse; just puts her hands in her pockets and smiles as she heads towards the restroom. "Be my guest," says the blonde, swaying a bit as she walks away.

[Danicka Musil] [Okay! Back in... an hour, hour and a half! Assume Danicka's reapplying her lipgloss.]

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [ack! i really am posting in in a sec! was busy with other scene!]

[Andy Gallo] (that's cool. i'm pretty laid back when it comes to social scenes. no worries)

[Andy Gallo] While Dani's in the restroom, Andy orders another longneck domestic and leans against the table. Watching the other patrons in the establishment.

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Mr. C's is a little out of Lukas's usual way, and not his usual Sunday night hangout. Nevertheless, there he is, coming in the door, standing out from the rest of the rundown establishment's rather rough crowd. His presence sets him apart: back straight, eyes pale and direct. His attire sets him apart, the casual chic of his distressed jeans, his charcoal grey shirt with its short sleeves and red military-inspired piping at the shoulders, at the cuffs, across the upper back.

His rage sets him apart.

They have something in common, though, the tall dark-haired wolf at the door and the lean, tanned man playing pool at one of the back tables. They don't share an ancestry. They don't share a common root. But they have the same je ne sais quoi that makes humans look twice at them. A few hundred years ago the smallfolk would have assumed they were nobility by their sheer stature and demeanor; the purity of their blood-presence. They would have assumed the man at the door was somehow dangerous, not to be trifled with, and extended that deference to those half-blooded relations of his as well.

These days mankind's fallen too far from that root to remember what it is they see in the werewolves and their kin. The patrons look at Lukas and feel a niggling unease; shift farther away. No one remembers that a few months ago he came in here one night and used a man's head as a sledgehammer to break a table. No one remembers that a few eons ago his ancestors rounded humans up when they grew too plentiful and slaughtered them by the hundreds.

All the same, no one comes close to him when he takes a seat at the bar. His order is too quiet to be overheard, but after a while he's served: it looks like a scotch, neat.

[Andy Gallo] Andy watches the man enter, wary dark eyes follow him to the bar. After he's ordered his drink, the grungy kid tilts his longneck in his direction in a form of silent greeting. He's leaning against a pool table, cue in hand, afront a half played game. Alone.

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Lukas doesn't linger long at the bar. Drink in hand, he lays down a bill, leaves some change for tip, gets back up off the barstool. He makes little effort to pretend he isn't making a beeline for the Strider kin at the pool table.

The glass of scotch clinks down on the scratched edge of the table. No mahogany here; just some cheaper, inferior wood. Quite possible the table bed isn't slate, either, but some synthetic material, perhaps even wood. Lukas lowers his knuckles to the felt and knocks. No, not wood. At least there's that.

"You waiting for someone to come back, or is this game open now?"

The Shadow Lord -- because that's what he is, with his black hair, his swarthy skin, his wide high cheekbones and his eyes as pale and cool as ice -- has a courteous, unaccented voice. Plain American, that's what the vowels and the consonants say, even if his face says eastern europe, says slav, says people of the Carpathians.

[Andy Gallo] He leans back against the table, watching the man in his approach. "Waiting for some chick that hit the bathroom few minutes ago. You know how that goes.. could be all night.." He takes a pull from his longneck and looks around. "You.. uhh.. need something? Or just looking for a game?"

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] The Shadow Lord holds Andy's gaze another beat. "Just thought I recognized you, that's all."

Then he looks down at the table, its scatter of solids and stripes. He turns away, plucks a cue off the rack, picks the cube of chalk off the side of the table and chalks up.

"Mind if I play your friend's side until she comes back?"

[Andy Gallo] He considers the idea for a moment, staring down at the array on the table. "Well.. she didn't say ~not~ to.. She just said no cheating. If you want.. it's my turn. You're stripes."

He meanders around the table looking for a decent shot. Leans over to set up something in the far corner. "Name's Andy."

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] "Lukáš." That definitely isn't American: the long a, the aspirated s. It comes off his tongue with enough casualness and ease, though, that it's almost certain his first language isn't English. Or at least, one of his native languages isn't.

Stripes, Andy tells him, and he nods. While the lean kinsman circles the table looking for a shot, the Garou stands back, pocketing the cube of chalk.

[Andy Gallo] Andy sinks a solid in the corner, then circles to look for his next shot. "Nice. Where're you from?" He lines up a bank shot in the side pocket and shoots effortlessly. Misses the shot.

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] "I live here." Lukas steps smoothly forward. There's a subdued, utter confidence to his motion, as though he never makes a move he doesn't intend. In a bar full of drunks, he's singularly coordinated, singularly certain of himself. "But I come from New York."

He plays without any great investment. There's just as much strength and surety in his shot as there is in the way he moves and walks, but he misses and steps back.

"Yourself? New around here?"

[Andy Gallo] He lets out a slight exhale of a laugh. "New York, eh? That was my last stop. Nothing but nutjobs up that way." He wanders the table looking for a good shot, while he talks. "I'm pretty new around here I guess. I've been in town for a few days. Haven't decided whether to set up camp and keep hitching west." He lines up a long shot but misses by an inch or so. He doesn't seem terribly serious about the game itself. On occasion, he eyes the ladies room.

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] "True," Lukas allows, the corner of his mouth hooking upward for the first time, "but I like the City. There's an energy there you don't get anywhere else."

He watches Andy take his shot. When the other straightens, Lukas is still watching him, his pale eyes direct and unflinching.

"If you decide to stay," he says, "you should get in touch with a man named Thoth Massri. I think you're related to him." He shifts the cue to the crook of his elbow, butt on the floor, and gets his iPhone out of his back pocket. "Got something to write on? This is his cousin's phone number. Her name's Gina, and she'll be able to put you in touch with you."

[Thoth Massri] In a small bar like this people were used to big men, big scary men who knew how to throw their weight around and make a good night into a brutal fight. The man that walks through the door almost..almost looks like that kind of a man.

Thoth strode through the door with a measured and almost judgemental gaze. He looked met any gaze that fell on him, and then once that brief moment of necessity was dealt with he moved to the bar. The man's footfalls resounded loudly off the floor of the bar, as heavy, foreign looking boots carried him to the bar. As he sat his long sleeved cotton shirt shifted over his body, contrasting nicely with the dark mahogany of his skin.

When the bartender came to take his order. Thoth merely asked for beer, not knowing what the local flavor was or what was commonly drank in this part of the world. The bartender didn't bother asking what type. He just gave the man a cold one and left him well enough alone.

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] "Or," Lukas adds, his eyes flicking over Andy's shoulder, "he could just happen to stroll in right on cue."

The phone goes back into his back pocket. He raises his voice and calls out: "Thoth!" He isn't bellowing. He's barely even shouting. Half a dozen heads snap around nonetheless, and more than a few look startled or frightened. Lukas ignores them and beckons the Philodox over.

[Andy Gallo] Andy follows his gaze toward the large man. The kin shrinks a little in stature. "Umm.. related to him? I.. uhh.. I mean.. maybe..?" He stammers a second, clears his throat and pretends to study the pool table.

[Thoth Massri] Thoth's body goes rigid for a moment when his name is called, it could only be him...who else on this continent would honestly use that name? He picked up his beer and turned towards those gathered around the pool table. He regarded Lukas carefully, and when his gaze shifted down to Andy his brows rose ever so slightly.

It is at that moment the man decides to rise from his seat and walk towards the pair. This time however, his feet are almost silent, no longer thumping as he walks. "Lukas." He replies as his voice rumbles forth from his throat like a distant storm.

"A surprise...to find you in this little part of the city."

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] The Shadow Lord laughs under his breath, something ironic in his tone. "Not rich enough for my blood, is that the implication?" He nods to the suddenly uncertain kin standing across the pool table, cue in hand. "One of your cousins, I believe."

[Andy Gallo] Andy scratches his greasy scalp with one hand and raises the other in a nervous greeting. "Umm.. sup, cuz?" He offers an almost cartoonish halfgrin.

[Danicka Musil] When you have to take a piss, waiting two minutes feels like an hour. Danicka, to put it crudely, has had enough liquor tonight to need to take a piss already, for fuck's sake. And she waits not two but five whole minutes for the skanks in Mr. C's to stop doing key bumps in the bathroom or applying their makeup or checking their messages while sitting on the toilet.

Some chick, Andy said. Could be all night, Andy said. And while she's waiting to use the restroom, he gives her side of the table to a dark mountain of a man who makes the patrons of this place find other places to look, and even other places to be. The bartender remembers him. Is wary. Says nothing.

Finally, Danicka emerges from the women's restroom, hair hair down now, fingers tousling it. Her lipgloss is, in fact, re-applied. They shine, pale pearly pink and curving. The gloss makes them look fuller than they are, but they're sweet enough on their own. Soft, like the rest of her. Warm-seeming.

Seeming.

Thoth!

Her eyes, meandering their way towards the pool table she abandoned, snap instantly towards that voice. She takes a moment, and that moment lasts half a heartbeat, before she continues on over to the pool table and veritably flows to Lukas's side, sliding her arm around his waist and smiling up at him.

"Hey, baby," she says, cheerfully. "You winning for me?"

[Thoth Massri] Thoth gives Lukas a thin smile as the man laughs and then his eyes are on the kin. He steps around the table and looks down at Andy appraisingly as if he was checking the man for any sign of weakness.

After a few long moments of silent appraisal the man extends one meaty hand to the smaller man, his hand reaching out and grasping the man around the forearm..not the hand. "Good to see you cousin." He says as he briefly looks to Lukas. "As you have heard, my name is Thoth, and you would be?"

He briefly regards Danika, and gives her a nod as he lets Andy's arm fall.

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] The way 'Dani' comes back to the pool table and sidles up to Lukas, one would think this were prearranged. She called him. He showed up. Or he called her. They agreed to meet here.

There's an undisguised surprise in the way Lukas's head snaps around to Danicka, though. He looks mystified. She hugs herself to his side. His arm settles around her after a beat.

"What are you doing here?" he asks. And, "No, I think I'm losing." He hands the pool cue back to her, the tip still chalked.

[Andy Gallo] Andy clasps a grimy hand around Thoth's arm when he shakes. Of course.. his hand maybe makes it halfway around before running out of things to grab.. at least he makes an attempt. He makes as firm a grip as he can.. as lousy as it is and nods at the man in reply. "Andy. Nice to meet you. Surprised.. a little. Last gaggle I met told me I didn't have much in common with anyone in town. Nice to know they were mistaken." When his arm falls, he takes up his longneck for another long pull of beer.

He watches Dani flock to Lukas and doesn't look terribly surprised. "Man.. and here I thought I was gonna get to run the table before you got back.. guess I got distracted." He looks between the three. "Small world afterall, eh? At least there wasn't a knife this time."

[Danicka Musil] It doesn't take a genius to figure out why Thoth is greeting Andy the way he is. Danicka is no genius, but this is her world, these are the patterns it makes. She looks over at the two Striders, thoughtful for a moment. He mentions a knife, which makes her tip her head to the side, looking a bit lost by the comment, but unbothered. She has that lovely ability to remain unperturbed by her own confusion, and in fact is familiar and friendly with it.

At the moment, she is just as familiar, and friendly, with the tall dark and handsome that just walked in and started playing her game of pool. She rests her head against his side for a moment.

"I come here all the time," she says mildly, in answer. "People in dive bars are more interesting than the ones in nightclubs, and they have pool tables."

[Thoth Massri] "I have been preoccupied, my chances for meet and greets have been few and far between. So it is not surprising many would not know I was here...yet. And what is this about a knife?"

Thoth said as he turned his body to face all those gathered and puts a small smile on his lips. "Getting smaller all the time." He says as he regards the Alpha and his mate, silent for a brief moment before speaking again. "There are enough of us for teams now."

"

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] More interesting, she calls the people of Mr. C's. Lukas thinks of four guys around a dartboard; three guys around a table with one passed out. He gives a noncommittal sound, little more than a grunt. Or a growl.

Then, "Tribal warfare. I like it. You two mind if we rerack and start over?"

[Danicka Musil] "Not at all," Danicka says, agreeable as ever, stepping away from Lukas and taking her cue back. "My new friend Andy still thinks I suck."

[Andy Gallo] Andy shakes his head. "No big deal. Met some guy on the street the other night. Thought I was someone else.. He didn't mean anything by it. I think."

He nods to Lukas "Not a problem. Rack em up." He leans back against a wall and drinks from his beer. Watching Thoth. "How long have you been in town?"

He points a finger at the blonde. "This is why I don't play pool with chicks. Dirty rotten cheaters, they are. All of them."

[Danicka Musil] "You missed more shots on purpose than I did," said blonde shoots back, her expression droll though her eyes seem amused.

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] He lets her go easily enough, the tall Ahroun whose blood and auspice would suggest that he's the type to hang on to his kinfolk with a jealous deathgrip, to lock them into towers and cells to breed heroes out of.

"It's all right, I'll make up for it." Lukas's smile is wry as he takes the triangle off its hook on the wall and starts gathering balls out of the pockets. "I really do suck."

[Andy Gallo] Andy mutters from one side of his beer bottle. "Didn't know that fine ass was taken.. Coulda happened to anyone.."

[Thoth Massri] Thoth waits for the balls to be racked as he stands there with his beer in hand, a brief sip taken from it, before he takes a much larger gulp. He looks down at Andy and answers him.

"I have been in town for only a month or so."

[Danicka Musil] No one is staring at Danicka anymore. Not since she walked straight up to that terrifying male and slid her arm around him, pressed herself close enough to him to indicate obvious and intimate attachment, smiled at him and called him baby. Not a single set of eyes in Mr. C's is staying on Danicka now, just in case the dark-haired man takes offense at a passing glance and decides to introduce their skull into the floorboards.

"You're the worst boyfriend I've ever had," Danicka huffs, teasingly, paraphrasing words from over a year ago. She looks over at Andy's muttering and lifts an eyebrow as the fuzzy, static-ridden speakers start playing Thunderstruck.

"Oh, honey," she says, with a sympathetic shake of her head, "you don't get women at all."

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] It takes a certain amount of courage to mutter about a Garou's mate's fine ass while he stands within earshot. Particularly when that Garou has enough rage and presence and ease in his own body that he could only be of the full moon auspice. Particularly when his blood runs with Thunder, that tribe rather notorious for making examples over minor issues of territory and dominance.

Lukas, however, only cocks an eyebrow at Andy. Then he laughs aloud. And then he racks, sliding the collection of solids and stripes back and forth along the table a few times, rapidly, to pack them tight.

The rack comes up. A neat pyramid awaits the break.

"Did you ever work out custody over Gina with Rory?" Lukas asks Thoth, stepping back from the table to get himself another cue.

[Andy Gallo] The boy stretches lanky arms straight up, arching his back a ways. Streeetch.. "Yeah yeah.. I get the parts that are important. The rest don't particularly strike my interest." He finishes his stretch and takes another swig from his beer. "Just because I don't understand the rules.. that doesn't mean I can't enjoy playing the game, babe."

He looks back up to Thoth. Watching the man. Waiting for his reply to lukas' inquiry.

[Danicka Musil] "You don't get to call me babe," Danicka says, gently chiding in tone though the words could have easily sounded like a verbal backhand. She smiles, leaning back against a nearby bar-height chair while the Garou talk about some other kin, some other territorial dispute.

"How about you break, Andy?"

[Thoth Massri] Thoth had been drinking his beer when Lukas brought up that question, and his face darkens perceptibly, indicating that something had gone wrong. "I have, she is under my protection now."

He pauses at that moment and considers if he should speak any further on the topic and in the end decides not to. He looks to Andy. "Show us what you can do Andy."

[Andy Gallo] Andy lets a long sigh out and steps up to the table. "No pressure, right?" He says with an awkward laugh. He lines up to break and makes a smooth simple shot. Balls scatter but nothing is sunk. He smirks up toward Dani. "See.. when how that happens.. you hit the balls and suddenly.. BAM! They're not in the cluster anymore." He lets out another tiny laugh. "Just teasin, hotpants. It's cool."

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Now that's interesting.

She is under my protection now, Thoth said, which implies a successful challenge; transfer of ownership; something. Good news all around. Yet the Strider's lean face darkens with the words, which makes Lukas look at him a moment longer, curious.

There's a moment's pause. Then the Philodox doesn't elaborate. And the Ahroun says wryly, "Congratulations. I think."

His attention goes back to the table as the kinsman breaks. Balls skitter around the table; nothing sinks. Lukas takes the chalk out of his pocket and twists it over the tip of his cue, making no move to approach the table. Looks like it's Danicka's go.

[Thoth Massri] Thoth nods at Lukas' words as he watches the game begin to play out. Andy had broken successfully, if not with any gains, but that didn't seem to bother the tall black man either way.

"There are always problems in such transitions it is a constant." He says casually to Lukas as he waits for Danika to take her shot.

[Danicka Musil] [dexterity + science // -2 diff (lightning calculator)]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 2, 3, 4, 6 (Success x 2 at target 4)

[Andy Gallo] Andy watches the conversation play out but keeps his mouth shut. None of his business, really. And even if it was, he seems to realize his place to an extent. He leans back against the wall and drinks his beer.

[Danicka Musil] "Keep it up, Andy," sing-songs the woman whose former profession is so far behind her most people have forgotten what it was. There's no warning in her tone. It almost seems to be encouragement. She steps forward, eyes on the other Kinfolk, glittering faintly, those amber flecks gleaming.

It's almost predatory, that.

"I think," she says, leaning over and lining up her shot, "I should call you 'sugartits' if you're going to call me 'hotpants'."

A solid goes slamming into the side pocket. She smiles.

[Danicka Musil] [Impromptu rules!

Dex + Science to shoot, base diff 6.
1 ball is sunk for every 2 suxx.
A botch equals scratching.

Go!]

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] "She's yours by blood and claim," says the Shadow Lord leaning against the wall. "No one else's."

He has to know Gina was 'involved' with several Garou prior to Thoth's arrival. He has to know two of those Garou are his tribemates, and one of them his own packmate. He has to suspect that some of the problems Thoth alludes to very likely involves one or both. And all the same, what comes out of his mouth is:

"Assert your dominance. Problem solved."

He looks over at the table, then. "Is it Thoth's turn or Andy's?"

[Andy Gallo] Andy points to Dani. "She made it. It's still her turn. Then Thoth." He pats his chest. "So sayeth sugartits."

[Danicka Musil] Assert your dominance Lukas says, concerning Gina. She glances over at him, eyebrows quirking with amusement. "Mine," she says, at almost the same time Andy is telling Lukas it's her turn still. She grins, turning from Lukas to smile at the Lord who just accepted being called 'sugartits'.

She's charmed. Or endeared. And at least one person in the room can tell it's at least genuine. She leans over the table again.
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 7 (Failure at target 4)

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Lukas laughs, "Okay, if those are the nicknames getting handed out tonight, I'm going to pass."

Mine, Danicka says before leaning down to line up her next shot. Lukas's eyes linger a moment; his grin quiets to a faintly crooked smile. He doesn't tease when her shot goes wide.

"Looks like you're up," he says to Thoth.

[Thoth Massri] "Indeed." Is all Thoth says in regards to Lukas' words as he watches the balls clack around on the table. He raises a brow to Andy's willingness to be called sugartits, but he smiles slightly in the end, the small man knew how to roll with the punches, something that helped travelers, it was a good skill to have.

When Danicka fails to sink anything Thoth takes up the cue and lines himself up. He takes a moment to consider, before at last taking his shot.
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 3, 8 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Andy Gallo] "I don't hand out nicknames to dudes. I'll leave that up to hotpants." He watches Thoth take his shot. "Nice one."

[Danicka Musil] "He already has a nickname."

Danicka's standing back, now, glancing at the bar as though considering getting a drink. There was no loser or winner to her last game, so no one had to buy a round. She draws her eyes off of it and looks over at Lukas while the Striders are engaged with the game; holds his eyes for a moment.

Looks back at the table and watches the cue ball slide right next to the stripe Thoth was aiming for. It's tapped closer to a pocket, but doesn't quite tip in. "So close," she says, a wince in her words. "I'm going to get a drink," she says, smiling at Lukas. "Want anything?"

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] When Lukas straightens up off the wall and comes to inspect the table, he has his pool cue balanced over his shoulder like a staff. Or a spear. Some sort of weapon, anyway. He and his mate pass each other by, eyes connecting for a moment.

"I've still got my scotch," he says, nodding at the tumbler set on the side of the table. "Get me some almonds?"

When he leans down to line up his shot, however, it's clear that he's at least had some vague practice at the Brotherhood's game tables. Either that, or someone's taught him enough that he looks like he knows what he's doing, even if he ...really doesn't. The Ahroun uses an open bridge, four long fingers fanned over the felt, thumb and first knuckle forming a neat trough. He doesn't take practice swings. The snap of the cue is smooth and long and no more forceful than it needs to be.
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 5, 6, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Andy Gallo] Andy smirks at Lukas. "Already has a nickname, eh? Care to share with the rest of the class? Or is that privileged information?" He meanders around the table to look for a decent shot. Finally he lines up something near the corner pocket.
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 5, 8, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Thoth Massri] "Nicknames..." Thoth muses as he watches the game. "Nicknames are something we live with on a regular basis, more so then most."

He says casually as he takes a drink from his nearly empty beer. His cue hangs against the wall, waiting for it to be picked up again. But with Danicka off getting drinks. It would have to wait.

[Danicka Musil] "Almonds," she says with a nod, and turns to heads to the bar, glancing over her shoulder at Andy. "I think you're best off calling him Lukáš," she says, her tongue manipulating the unAmerican consonants with the ease of long practice. Lifelong practice, maybe. The name rolls off her voice with soft, undisguised fondness.

Few people can say the name of someone they love without it sounding like a caress. Can't say it coldly, or distantly. Some avoid saying the names of those closest to them for that exact reason: it gives away so much, and it's nearly impossible to disguise. Danicka isn't even trying to. She just lets it be, out there in the air. "Take my turn for me," she tells Lukas.

She goes on to the bar and asks for a packet of almonds and orders a snakebite for herself.

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] That's two in this bar capable of pronouncing Lukas's rather exotic name, and the second even more unlikely than the first. Lukas has a Shadow Lord's dark hair, pale eyes; he has his slavic bloodline writ all over his face. Danicka's ancestry is subtler, less obvious. With her accentless voice, her effortless charm, she easily passes for some all-american uptown girl; some big city independent woman with a family tree full of WASPs with names like Cameron and Preston and Covington and Hunter.

That's not her background, though. And Dani is not really her name.

"Well, you know what they say," Lukas replies, stepping forward to take Danicka's turn for her. "I'd tell you, but then she'd have to kill you."

Crack! goes the cue off the cue ball, the cue ball off the solid he parked close to the corner pocket on his last turn.
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 2, 4, 6 (Failure at target 6)

[Andy Gallo] He watches the shot, nursing his beer. "Well you know.. that'd be neat and all.. but I have way too much to do this week to be killed. Raincheck, maybe."

[Thoth Massri] Thoth smiles again at Andy's words he was starting to like the man despite the fact that he only met the man less then half an hour ago. He turns his gaze to Lukas as the shot he took somehow failed to sink the solid that was so very close to the pocket instead sending it spinning off over the table clattering into others as it went.

"Indeed, I do not believe we set the stakes quite so high tonight." He says as he picks up his cue and moves to the table, lining up a shot and giving it his best shot. "I think drinks is as far as were willing to bet this evening."
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 3, 5 (Failure at target 6)

[Danicka Musil] Everyone seems to be liking Andy. Danicka appears to: she comes back from the bar balancing a snakebite in a tall glass, another domestic longneck, and a packet of almonds. Three guess who the longneck is for. She hands it off to the Strider, or sets it on a nearby table for him, and tosses the almonds to Lukas.

"So whose turn is it now?" she asks, sipping from her glass.

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] "We officially all suck," Lukas declares. "Mine, but you should take it since I took yours." He tears open the packet of almonds and holds it out to Danicka. "Thanks."

[Andy Gallo] He smirks at the blonde when she hands him the longneck. "Thanks, doll. You're an angel." He drains his current one and tosses it in the nearest can. "And yeah.. we're blowing pretty hard here."

[Danicka Musil] The stereo overhead, shitty as it is, switches from AC/DC to Guns N Roses. I used to love her, but I had to kill her the boys sing, and Danicka, immune to the lurid lyrics, bobs her head slightly from side to side, moves along to the jangly little beat.

"I'm better than all of you," she says confidently, and sets her drink down to take the cue Lukas is offering. She shakes her head to the almonds, smirks at Andy calling her doll and angel: "Hotpants," she corrects, and leans over to take another shot.
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 2, 2, 7, 9 (Success x 2 at target 4)

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Lukas sits on a nearby table, planting a hand on the edge to lever himself up. He eats a few almonds from the bag, then upends it and dumps a handful in.

"Showoff," he says as his girlfriend parks another one.

[Thoth Massri] "We seem to be outdone." Thoth says as he looks down at Andy. "Tell me Andy, do you know what a Traveller would do in this situation?" He asks with a Wry smile as he regards the man, testing his knowledge perhaps?

He watches Danicka sink yet another ball and he looks back to Andy, waiting for his answer, perhaps looking somewhat more urgent now.

[Andy Gallo] Andy watches the woman make her shot, impressed it would seem. "Typically? In a normal situation like this, I'd string the game along as long as I could. Make my way into whatever pockets I could.. score some cash.. excuse myself to the little Andy's room and book it." He takes a long drink. "But I don't rip off family. Bad manners."

[Danicka Musil] "Ty jsi tak do m&+283; práv&+283; te&+271;." Danicka answers, when she's called a showoff. She sounds a trifle smug, going back to the table to pick up her snakebite and have herself another self-congratulatory drink. She looks over her shoulder at the two Striders.

"See?" she says to Andy. "That's what I was trying to do but you kept trying to let me win."

[Thoth Massri] Thoth laughs...for once he laughs and nods to the smaller kin, slapping him briefly on the back. "You know the rules, as well as how to be wise. You will do fine I am sure."

[Andy Gallo] Andy grins up toward Thoth. "Thanks, cuz. Good to know." He takes another long pull from the beer. Eyes back toward the blonde. "I wasn't the only one throwing shots. You said so yourself. So go ahead and finish us off if you're so amazing at this." He motions to the table. "You're still up."

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] "Jo, jsem," Lukas replies; it sounds like some form of agreement. He downs the last of his scotch, sets the glass down beside himself. "Ohnout p&+345;es p&+345;ede mnou znovu." He pops a few more almonds into his mouth, glances smiling at Andy, and then companionably offers the almonds to the Striders.

[Thoth Massri] Thoth nods his head in thanks to Lukas as he takes a few of the almonds in his big hand and pops a few into his mouth, he chews them idly as he watches the two Kin banter and posture, an odd sight, it was if they took over the roles for their Trueborn's tonight, but they managed to do it in a far more civilized manner.

"How have things been since we last spoke Lukas? Have things fared well?"

[Danicka Musil] "Coura," she calls Lukas fondly, as though that's his nickname. She circles the table a bit, turning her back on the three of them. To Andy, as she's leaning over the table, stretching to get her stick to reach the shot she's aiming for: "If I'd known you were family, I wouldn't have tried to shark you."

[Danicka Musil]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 2, 6, 6, 9 (Success x 4 at target 4) [WP]

[Andy Gallo] Andy stares at Dani's backside while she shoots, muttering to himself in Italian. He clears his throat and takes another drink from his beer.

[Danicka Musil] Two balls spiral out from where the cue ball strikes them, sinking one after the other into the corner pocket. Danicka, straightening, smiles quietly to herself. "I'm kicking so much ass," she says with demure cheer.

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] "We took the church," he replies to Thoth, quiet, "at a lower cost than I expected, but at a cost nonetheless. Kemp fell. The kin secured the purchase after we cleaned it out. We have at least one base of operations in the north now. Meanwhile another group of our warriors shut down a farm in the west that was churning out monsters. We lost another wolf there, the Fenrir Wrath, and another the night after. sklora-Myrgen, the Fang. His packmate left town after he died.

"Have you found a pack yet?"

Raising his voice, then, he answers Danicka with lazy good cheer -- "Já tebe taky."

Andy's eyes aren't the only ones that take a downward flick when Danicka leans over to take her next shot. Lukas's lingers only a moment, though, before he sets his bag of almonds aside and comes off the table. He heads for the bar, bringing his empty scotch glass with him. He passes deliberately between Andy and Danicka, and stops long enough to face the kinsman.

"There are limits," he says evenly. "Mind them."

[Andy Gallo] Andy clears his throat and averts his eyes.. once he's warned. "My bad. Habit."

[Thoth Massri] Thoth nod's at the lesson given to Andy, he knew wasn't concerned about the threat...it really couldnt be called a threat anyways. He then turned back to Lukas and shakes his head. "Yes, and No the pack which i had considered joining, as fallen apart due to the death of one of two of their number. I will have to look elsewhere."

He says with some dissapointment. "It is to be expected of course..."

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [showertime! back in a bit! lukas is taking his glass back to the bar.]

[Danicka Musil] Threat, warning, reminder: whatever it is.

Danicka looks over her shoulder when she hears Lukas, when she hears that tone in his voice. Her eyes flick past his arm to Andy's face, as the Strider Kinsman is ducking his eyes. She glances momentarily at Thoth after it, but hearing what he and her mate have been talking about, she exhales and turns around again to take another shot.

Which leaves the Striders to talk, as they might. It's no concern of hers what pack Thoth takes.
[anyone know how many solids are left on the table?]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 2, 7, 9, 9 (Success x 3 at target 4)

[Andy Gallo] (not many if i had to guess! lol) Andy quietly sips at his beer.

[Thoth Massri] [I think three at best?] He turns from Lukas as the man walks to the bar and survey's the table, he notices how few solids there were, and that the table was covered with stripes before he looks from Andy to Danicka. "I believe we are at a slight disadvantage."

[Danicka Musil] [Two! Went and counted rolls in the transcript. *L*]

[Andy Gallo] He nods to Thoth. "Something like that. Maybe I should have held off on the drinking til after the game.. " He chuckles.

[Danicka Musil] Technically it is still her turn. "I'm actually very good at math," Danicka says, observing the table thoughtfully. She twists the cue between her fingertips as she circles the table, trying to see if there's a way she can get the last two solids sunk in one shot. "It would appear," she adds, and leans over. She's said not a word to Andy about whatever it was Lukas was cautioning him on.

She has some guesses. She doesn't bring it up. Maybe she figures having an Ahroun stare you down and warn you off his mate is enough.

Danicka inhales, and exhales on her stroke with the cue.
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 3, 7, 8, 9 (Success x 3 at target 4)

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] When Lukas returns from the bar, he doesn't bring it up again either. There's no new chill in his demeanor; no evident ill will toward the affable kinsman. Instead, he comes back with a new bag of almonds, which he tosses over to Thoth and his kin while he parks his ass back on the table with his own half-a-bag.

The pool table's almost cleaned up. There's one solid left. There's an eight ball. There are a lot of stripes.

Lukas observes this, then picks up the conversation again where it left off. "Would you follow a Shadow Lord?" For a moment Thoth might suspect Lukas was angling to increase his already large pack by another. But no, "Because Dark Sky could use a Philodox. Mila and Nikolai -- both Thunder's, one Galliard, one Ahroun."

[Thoth Massri] Thoth watches yet another ball fall into place. He is fairly certain they have already lost, and he resigns himself to that fact. The woman was a mathematician and Pool was a math based game afterall.

He sips on his beer, the bottle at last almost finished, he seems to be nursing it, not wanting to finish it, like he either couldnt afford another, or didn't want to drink to much. When Lukas returned and asked him about joining a shadow lord pack he seems to consider it, rolling the bottle in his sizeable hands. "That would depend on them."

[Danicka Musil]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 2, 3, 5, 7 (Success x 2 at target 4)

[Danicka Musil]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 3, 6, 7, 8 (Success x 3 at target 4)

[Andy Gallo] He looks up to thoth once again. "I met a chick named Mila. She was pretty neat. Talked down the dude that almost shanked me. So you know.. that's a win in my book."

[Danicka Musil] They are hopelessly outdone, the two Striders. Maybe it would be better if Andy could even get a chance to pick up his cue. For the time being, the three males are just watching the blonde play the game. At this point, that's all there's left to do. She's cleaned up the table, neatly avoiding the stripes. Hasn't scratched. She's only missed once.

'Good at math'. That's one way to put it. She folds herself over the table again.

This is the point where a lot of women would think that the poor guys aren't having any fun, and that it's her job to fix that. It's her job to salvage their egos. Even a few women would consider that a power play, some way to stick it to the man: let them win, and be smug and stupid in the knowledge that they only won because she hamstrung herself. Nevermind that she hamstrung herself to begin with.

Danicka, however, as Andy can guess and Thoth knows and Lukas has seen time and time again, is a goddamn Shadow Lord.

When she bows over the table again, her eyes gleam like those of some kind of animal half-seen in the shadows and underbrush of deep woods. She fixes her eyes on her goal, and then her aim, and then sinks the last solid ball. Without taking a moment to get a drink, without a word to the other would-be players, she shifts her stance to another corner, swings neat and sharp,

and the 8-ball smacks into the side pocket, resounding with a crack as it meets its brothers and sisters down below.

Danicka straightens up. "This means I get cookies."

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] "Look them up," Lukas says, his eyes on Danicka neatly parking the balls into the pockets. "Mila's in the Brotherhood every now and then. You could probably find her in the Caern too."

He glances briefly at Andy, then. "Wait, was it one of us that tried to gut you?"

-- and back to the table again, just in time to see the winning shot. His mate's eyes gleam. There's a killer precision in her long fingers, lean arms; a predator's crouch in the way she bends down to sight along the cue. Something in Lukas deeper than thought or strategy or even the Garou Nation, something that was pure instinct, the animal side of him, recognizes and resonates with that.

Eight ball into side pocket. Clunk. He smiles crookedly at Danicka, then turns -- with more than a little wryness, well aware of how little he contributed -- to offer his hand to the Striders.

"Good game."

[Andy Gallo] "~Gut~ is such a strong word.. I think maybe the guy was just stressed. Not a huge deal." He grins over toward Dani. "Sweet shot."

[Thoth Massri] Thoth shakes the man's hand in his own manner, grasping the forearm...see nothing up his sleeve, not that anything would have even had a chance to help him here. "Indeed." He then turns back to Andy and his eyes narrow as he takes a step closer to the man.

"Who was it Andy? And why did he almost do it?" His eyes becoming more serious and piercing then they had been ever since he walked through the door. But the near gutting of a kin, in particular one of Owl's kin...was not something he took lightly.

[Andy Gallo] He blinks, a little surprised at Thoth's reaction. He clears his throat before speaking. "Umm.. he said he thought I was working for the enemy? Or something? Dude looked like he had shell shock. Name was Kire. But seriously.. it wasn't a huge deal. He put a knife to my throat.. I told him he was crazy.. Mila showed up, then we all had drinks at some redneck's house. It's nothing, seriously.."

[Danicka Musil] "That's pretty forgiving for someone who pulled a knife on you," Danicka says blithely to Andy, stepping over closer to Lukas, reaching past him to pick up her snakebite and take a long drink. She remains where she is now, close to the Shadow Lord's side, right where a pretty Kin like herself is supposed to be. In these heels she's right where their match looks the most picturesque, right where her head could rest easily on his chest, right where his chin could brush her hair.

She drinks, quiet now. Listening.

[Thoth Massri] Thoth's face darkens at that. "He insulted you, and called you the enemy and then threatened your life? Without provocation or reason?" He turned his gaze briefly to Wyrmbringer. "Do you know this Kire Lukas?" He asks slowly as his eyes slowly come back around to Andy and speaks slowly to the man.

"The threatening of our kin by our own people is not something to be taken lightly."

[Andy Gallo] Andy's eyes widen slightly, scratching his greasy scalp. "Umm.. it's not.. I mean.. it's not like that.." his face screams oh shit.. i did it this time..

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] There's a subtle etiquette at play here. Thoth had not intervened when Lukas warned Andy off Danicka. Lukas doesn't intervene now when the Strider takes an interest in the identity of Andy's assailant. There are lines drawn in the sand, invisibly or otherwise: what is yours, what is mine.

He does offer this information, though: "Kire's a Glass Walker. Ahroun. Unpacked. He's a strong fighter, brave and selfless in battle. But he's a little unhinged. Detached by too much war, maybe."

When Danicka lays down her cue and comes over, Lukas wraps his arm around her waist and turns as though to kiss her temple; bumps his nose against her hairline instead, a short, gentle nuzzle like an animal's greeting. Then he lets her go, pops another almond in his mouth.

[Danicka Musil] Her affection is a subtle thing. She chooses to be near a monster that could wrap its hand around her neck and snap her over the threshold of death's door in an instant. She tips her head and lets him nuzzle her the way he does, when his lips cover teeth that turn into slavering fangs more often than she would, perhaps, want to think about.

For the time being, she's watching Andy, and she understands the look in his eyes. The fear of trouble, of being the cause of it, the mess that makes. She knows that look. She knows it rather well, in fact. She puts her hand over Lukas's hand where it rests on her abdomen, as though to reassure him that she's there.

Rather than to reassure herself that he's holding her.

Lukas eats almonds. Danicka drinks her snakebite.

[Thoth Massri] Thoth reads the look on Andy's face like someone else might read the cover of a magazine and his brow raises as he speaks. "We will discuss this further at a later time. After I speak with Kire."

He says as he steps back from the man and considers his next words carefully. "We take care of our Kin Andy, especially when they are threatened by those who should be our allies. You are my Kin, and under my protection as I am the sole child of Owl in this city. Your safety is my concern."

[Andy Gallo] "Umm... I.. uhh.. okay?" He shifts his weight a bit before downing his drink. Nervous. Anxious. Stir crazy. He looks about the room. Maybe scoping an out. Quietly.

[Thoth Massri] Thoth steps back and finishes his beer, a slight smile on his lips just before he presses the bottle to his lips and drains it. When it comes away from his lips the smile is still present as the bottle is sat down onto the table near the pool table.

"Relax Andy, have another drink, nothing is happening now. It may not even come to something. I'm just letting you know how things stand."

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] As Thoth and his kin deepen the conversation, Lukas quietly straightens from where he's leaning against the edge of one of Mr. C's large, rough, stained tables. "I think I'm heading out," he excuses himself. "Good seeing you again, Thoth, and nice meeting you, Andy."

[Andy Gallo] Andy shakes his head, flustered it would seem. "Yeah.. easy for you to say. You're huge! That guy could snap me like a twig! And as soon as he finds out I told everyone he pulled that shit.. what's going to stop him, eh? Just another missing street punk. Well fuck some of that.." He tugs his backpack over his shoulders. "Best case scenario, I'm a pussy because I ran and told you about it. Worse case scenario, I'm roadkill. Fucking, relax.. right?!"

[Danicka Musil] What gains Andy most of Danicka's pity is not his discomfort. It is how obviously it is written all over him. It is how everyone can tell he's looking for a door out. It's for how he's nervous, and he reeks of it. She glances up at Lukas momentarily as Thoth is telling Andy that they protect their kin. She sips her drink as she takes her eyes off the Shadow Lord, then reaches onto the table and picks up a cardboard coaster left there by someone else. There's a ring of moisture on one side, so she flips it over and takes a pen from her jacket pocket, scrawling something out.

"Hang on," she says mildly to Lukas, "I'll go with you. Class in the morning."

Capping the pen, she moves back over to him, handing the coaster off to Andy as she passes. "It was good meeting you, Andy," she says, smiling. Sincerely, but with closed lips and a certain polite reticence. "We should play again."

But that's as far as that conversation goes. Because she's excusing herself with her mate, telling him that she parked out back. They're working out where they're going, and if they're going to the same place, and she's saying something about stopping on the way for yogurt, because she's out of stuff to eat for breakfast on the El towards the school.

Funny. She looks too old to be a college student.

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [thanks for the scene, guys! i had fun, but now i gotta crash!]

[Thoth Massri] Thoth nods to Lukas as the man goes to leave. He also nods to Danicka when she goes to move out with her mate. "Good evening both of you." He says before returning his gaze to Andy, who is obviously ready to leave.

"Come with me Andy...there is a house you can stay at. One set aside by a Kin of ours. You are welcome there." He watches the man. "You will be relatively safe there."