foodfight, zombieland.

[Sinclair] Outside the moon is waning from Sinclair's phase. No matter; it was waning from her phase the other night when she and Lukas taunted poor Christian into a frenzy, and she was sickly and tired and angry at life when she and Lukas took the younger Ahroun down. Even on her worst nights, even without Perun, Sinclair is deadly. There are reasons why her names use words like war, like brutal.

Tonight she's hanging out in the common room, slouching on the sectional couch with her socked feet up on the coffee table, knees bent, watching the big screen television. The movie is Zombieland, and it's already near the end. They're at the amusement park and shit is getting real, yo.

There are chips and cookies and popcorn and other assorted snack foods all over the table, and some empty cans of soda, and some empty bottles of beer. There are also fruits and vegetables and meats and only some of each has been eaten. There is half a tuxedo cheesecake with a fork lying in the pan.

Sinclair, who is deadly, who is war and brutality, is picking a kernel from her teeth, looking aggravated by it.

[Katherine] Sinclair who is deadly, who is war and brutality -- is sitting beside Katherine who is dainty, who is elegance and sophistication and who is eating popcorn and staring with fixed concentration at the TV screen. She's dressed casually for Kate in a white button up blouse and jeans, her feet bare and sandals shucked away beneath her.

Her toes were painted pink.

There were pearls around her neck, and a slender wristwatch slid over the delicate bones in her wrist every time she scooped up more popcorn. Her face reflected the tense situation on screen; she winced, she drew in a sharp breath, she laughed when something happened. All in all, watching Katherine watch a movie was almost as entertaining as what was actually on screen.

"Oh no," she's saying now, pointing with a handful of popcorn. "Why on earth did they do that?"

[Sinclair] "Shhh!" Sinclair says. Again.

[Adamidas] Jesse Eisenberg is the poor man's Michael Cera.

Whens he comes into the common room, freshly showered after what could have very well been the longest shower known to humanity, she notes... not who is in the common room (living room?), but rather, she notes who is on the TV. Jesse Eisenberg. They're watching Zombieland, it's towards the end, and shit just got real.

She doesn't make any noise, except for the sound she makes when she's walking, and that's one hundred thirty-something pounds of quiet. She takes a seat at the nearest place possible, which is the sectional. Adam looks to her side, on one end(ish) there's Sinclair, who looks like the popcorn kernel might just get it. Nearby, there's Kate. Who looks very, very proper.

Adam looks back at the carnage and zombie mayhem with vaguely romantic overtones, and watches. There is a grin on her face the size of Tallahassee.

[Erika] The petty little weasel who dared call himself a man, much less the warden of the federal prison in Cook county, occupied most of the doctor's late afternoon. By now the woman who barely eats is ravenous and angry about having missed out on her manicure appointment by several hours. She is dressed in some cutting edge black Armani women's suit, dressed all in black except for a delicate silver chain with a budded Orthodox cross beset with an Alexandrite. The cross looks almost 80 years older than the woman wearing it. Unlike most Orthodox jewelry, it isn't horrifically gaudy: it's tasteful, and genuine chrysoberyl of that color is difficult to obtain outside of Russia.

The over-dressed kin seeks shelter from the peanut-crunching crowd. Some of her recent exploits, while riveting, left her high and dry for want of substance. Immediately, the kin sets her standard gift on the bar before ascending the stairs. More orchids.

[Wyrmbreaker] At one particular tense, suspenseful moment of the movie --

"WHAT,"

-- Lukas, bellowing that single word at the top of his lungs, vaults over the back of the couch and drops down between his popcorn-munching packmates. His voice drops promptly to conversational tones,

"are you guys watching?"

And, provided it hasn't just been tossed sky-high in startlement, Lukas digs his hand into Kate's popcorn and grabs a handful.

[Sinclair] Instantly, the Galliard beside Kate grabs a throw pillow and commences beating her Alpha with it, whacking him over the head, whether Kate lost the popcorn or not. "Will. You. Two. Stop. Talking. During. The! MOVIE!"

Naturally, Kate gets hit with the pillow a few times as well by the Walker. Who apparently has a pet peeve.

[Ruarc o'Conaill] Ruarc has moved into the tenth room of the BroHo. He hasn’t spent much time there however. It seems as if he quite often sleeps elsewhere. But every now and then he does pop out of it, hitting the showers or the washing machines or just to relax in the common room for a spell before heading out to do whatever it is the Fianna ahroun does.

The tall Irish steps into the common room now, drawn perhaps by the feel of rage or more likely the sound of action from the big screen TV. He doesn't speak, but he does stop at the entrance, looking to the TV and then to the gathered. A shrug of his shoulders and he moves to take a seat somewhere where he has a good view of the screen, and possibly within arm’s reach of certain meaty snacks.

Dressed casual in dark blue jeans looking quite new, and a grey V necked tunic that reveals plenty of tan skin and shapely muscles. His hair is dark with just a touch of red despite the lineage of his blood, shaved along the sides and kept a little longer over the top of the scalp. His eyes are a stormy gray and blue and not green as could be expected. Few would know the signs by sight. His blood sings of pure Fianna, but his appearance reveals older lines still in him, of a now fallen tribe that once roamed strong on the British isles.

[Katherine] WHAT

-- Lukas bellows, and his Half Moon lets out a shriek and tosses half her popcorn into the air, for, you know, it just so happened that he yelled this battlecry of questioning at the same moment as a zombie almost ate one of the heroines on the screen. She's coughing now, half inhaling a piece of popcorn and being belted in the face with Sinclair's pillow for almost choking to death with high thanks to her Alpha.

"Homme Idiot! Vous essayez de me tuer! Je le sais," she's saying while taking up a handful of popcorn and littering it throughout his hair.

[Erika] The kinswoman turns her head before climbing the stairs and makes an order for something... anything... she doesn't care what. Erika hasn't eaten since.... well, who knows? An order for wine goes out as well. After placing her order and paying in advance, she climbs the stairs and comes in during a particularly tense-but-playful time.

She quirks a brow and looks towards the two she doesn't really know, looking for a sign of their heritage. The analyst becomes self-aware and shuts it down for right now. Instead of interrupting the movie, the Fang kin with very strong breeding says nothing and slips into a smallish seat on the couch while Sinclair, Lukas, and Kate are distracted.

[Adamidas] It's not a dignified sound that comes from the Fury. Oh no. Not at all. It starts as a snort, a chortle, covered up by willpower and a hand. Then?

Oh no... noooo it gets better. She stops watching the movie at this point, watches the Unbroken instead. There's no need to recap their actions, but rather, Adam sees the whole thing explode into... well... something that was infinitely more entertaining than the movie, that's for sure. It starts as a snort, and evolves to a chortle, then a giggle, then a flat out all-in-out laugh.

She keeps her mouth covered, but... it doesn't do much to hide, or muffle, the fact that she is cracking up.

[Ruarc o'Conaill] Of course, the show the Unbroken is displaying is quite a bit ore interesting than a movie walked in on at the end. Ruarc raises his brows, grinning wide and grabs some of the snacks, munching happily and watches the pillow slapping, popcorn tossing and general ruckus of the three fosterns without making so much as an effort of hiding the amusement so clear on his face.

[Erika] Suddenly noticing the food in front of her, Erika pops one of the snacks into her mouth with no hesitation. She restrains herself from gorging because of the food she ordered.. whatever it would be. Erika's never seen Zombieland, so the scene between the packmates are vastly more entertaining. Pack and Sept interactions... if she could, the doctor would write her thesis on it. The therapist mind tries to surface again.

The kin keeps to her own thoughts, softly giggling at the three. For a while she preferred the human militant types to Garou society, but recently she's had to wonder if it isn't turning the other direction.

[Wyrmbreaker] Wyrmbreaker suffers, laughing and yelling wordless protest, through a good half-dozen thumps of the pillow before he manages to wrest it from Sinclair

and promptly stuffs it back in her face. By then Katherine has recovered from her near-death experience and is smooshing popcorn into his hair, so Lukas reaches out with his own buttery handful, blindly, shoving it in the rough direction of Kate's head.

And all the while he's yelling, "Shhh! You're ruining the movie! SHHHHHHHH!"

[Sinclair] "MotherFUCKER!" snaps the Galliard, and

everyone can feel it. Erika has it worst. She doesn't have rage of her own to buffer her, doesn't have rank or Luna guarding her, telling her that there is nothing this creature can do to her that she can't survive. But everyone knows what Sinclair has done: the story is still lingering around the caern of the Gaian she killed while possessed. Most have forgotten about the bullshit with Dietrich, few even heard about the frenzy that was set off by her Alpha simply being knocked down, but they still remember that she was twice used as a tool by the Wyrm, and they still remember the name of Strikes With Valor In His Heart.

A good Child of Gaia.

A good Ahroun.

Gone, now, because of her.

It's balanced somewhat by the rest. The fact that she's known to be able to translate between Ahrouns who can't seem to understand each other. The fact that she's a teacher, albeit a ferocious one, who imparts a sort of savage wisdom to those who find themselves in her makeshift classrooms in alleyways or rocks at the caern. She will heal those who are not her own, she will hold her tongue now where she did not when she was younger, she has the sort of honor that even Fenrir grudgingly recognize.

But it isn't her sheer rage that makes Sinclair feel as though she is constantly balanced on a knife's edge of violence. It's something else entirely, hungry and inhuman, and it is not a playful, cute sort of animalism. She is a predator, pure and simple, and as good at it as a shark, a lion, an eagle,

a wolf.


She could not behave like this with Cliaths or Kin. She would not let herself. Lukas and Katherine, though. With the two of them she can snap and they won't flinch at the sound of her voice, they will know she's playing still and not quake. With the two of them she can leap across poor Kate and tackle Wyrmbreaker, swinging around him by an arm. "Kate! I'll hold 'im down! You douse him with Mountain Dew!"

[Katherine] -- which elicits a gasp of horror and the reflexes by which she clearly avoids being spritzed by women demonstrating poor quality perfume at the Mall. Butter, in her hair? Never shall such a thing come to pass. Of course, amidst all this chaos and noise has come Erika and when she's settled down somewhat, the Fostern Half Moon casts a smile at the Kinswoman and then inclines her chin in her pack-sister's direction; a finger hovering over her lips.

Follow by a mimicking slice across her neck.

MotherFUCKER!

Of course, then Brutal Revelation is leaping over her form toward their Alpha and shouting for the Mountain Dew. Katherine slides out from this impending battle and begins to cast around for the weapon called upon. She finds a partially opened can and rattles it, the liquid sloshing around within; a very devious smile crossing her lips.

"Oh," she says, "Oui."

[August] Mmm.. did she smell popcorn.. and snacks? Oh yes she did. August peeked down the hallway towards the common room. Yikes.. a room full of rage. Was it worth it for some popcorn? You damn well bet it was!

The very pregnant blonde kin casually snuck (not really.. sneaky like, but not as to draw attention to herself) down the hall and towards the table with the snacks. The young woman was dressed in a bright sundress and her hair was down, and slightly curled at the ends. Like usual, the young woman was barefoot.

As soon as she was close enough to the table.. a slender hand reached out and snagged a handful of popcorn. MmmmMMmmm! Buttery Goodness. Now.. where were the M&Ms?

[Ruarc o'Conaill] Oh this just got good. Ruarc leans forward, happily munching on the snacks, watching the fight that is taking place not far from him. He casts a glance at Erika, blinking at her. Damn that woman was pure bred like there was no tomorrow… oh wait. There likely wont be.

Then August is getting one look as well. Another who’s breeding is screaming loud. It almost takes his full attention, until someone yells ‘Motherfucker!’ and Ruarc is looking back.

“Ye, I got five on th’ lasses sayin Wyrmbreaker gets showered. Any takers?”

MunchMunch

[Erika] The skinny slip of a woman has blood and experience that should normally give her something of a substitute for rank or rage as far as buffers go. Yet something about Sinclair's tone is like a squall suddenly coming to life, a lit match, something.... explosive. Erika knows it well, but that doesn't stop her from slipping into panic. The sudden shock of it sends her physically reeling off her perch on the couch with a small squeak of a noise. Her hairpin slips out of its neat place and her hair falls around her face. The grown woman feels so much like a child in these moments, and she hates it.

The sudden flash of rage is almost enough to send her into a panic attack. The squeak and thump on the ground is the only announcement of her presence in the room so far.

[Wyrmbreaker] Of course, Wyrmbreaker is laughing so hard by now that he can't even put on a good show of SHHHing his packmates loudly. He's wrestling with Sinclair, and we don't mean mild, polite little shoves and grabs. To just about anyone else it looks like mortal fucking combat. Someone gets thrown head over heels. The coffee table slams aside. Cheetos spill on the ground. Pillows smash into faces hard enough to break mortal noses. An elbow knocks a bowl of popcorn flying, and then,

just as Katherine grabs the dreaded weapon,

Wyrmbreaker's bare foot snaps out with admirable precision and kicks the can out of her hand, across the room, dousing both Ruarc and August in room-temperature Mountain Dew.

"Puny heroine!" Lukas bellows in his best villain-voice. "You'll never defeat Thundericus! MAHAHA!"

[Erika] ((Retract?))

[Erika] ((NM))

[August] Nooo! Not the popcorn! August longingly watched as her favorite snack o-the-day is lost to the floor. The playfighting caused the kinswoman to back up some.. - mainly to stay out of the way as she finished her one lone.. handful.. of popcorn. Damnit. Stupid Trueborns ruining her snack. Didn't they know pregnant girls gotta eat??

She gasped and attempted to dodge the spray of room-temp-Mountain Dew.. but, face it.. August just wasn't that fast anymore. Part of her hair dripped with the sweet substance.. and a portion of her dress had gotten a nice shower as well. She pouted a bit.. and then just laughed.

[Katherine] Lukas kicks the can out of her hand, and it douses Ruarc and August. Katherine blinks, and pivots on her heel to look at the suddenly dripping audience. Her mouth twists, her eyebrows drawing together as she mouths oops in their general direction. Then, Katherine is digging out one of the unopened cans of Mountain Dew and leaping into the fray.

"You are ridiculous! Now, sit still while I saturate you in soft drink, Thundericus."

[Ruarc o'Conaill] He blinks and then he gets showered. It makes him blink again. Looking down at himself. Looking to auguast, then back at the fight. He laughs. A roaring, knee-slapping laughter at that. See, its on now. He might live to regret it? But if you cant have a little fun before you get killed, what’s the point?

So he throws caution to the wind. They are three fosterns. They are pack mixing it up. Ruarc will be damned if he isn’t going to get to thwap someone with a pillow for the dousing of mountain dew.

The Fianna throws himself into a combat as dangerous as any he has faced outside these walls, only the weapon of choice now are not claws and fang, but snacks and pillows, one which he grabs and thwaps Kate with from behind, still laughing.

A true gentleman after all.

[Adamidas] This is what it feels like to be Caesar.

It's like watching a Gladiator battle, complete with -icus names. She sits up a little straighter and continues on with laughing. It's even accompanied by the little kicking of her legs and a bit of clapping. She starts to get up, "ohmigawdAugusthi."

She waves.

[Sinclair] For the most part, Sinclair seems utterly unaware -- or unconcerned -- with the others in the room. One has to be focused in order to wrestle with someone bigger than them, stronger than them. Lukas is stronger than she and Kate, bigger. She's baring her teeth and snarling, all but shrieking, and if she were in another form her fucking claws would be out. She's grabbing at his hair and she's not playing nice, no, she's fighting dirty, kneeing him in the ribs and then swinging around his back, hooking both her arms around his neck to get him in a headlock

so of course he throws her over his head and she hits the other end of the sectional couch. It's a tuck and a roll and a snarl as she leaps back at him.

The couch wobbles for a second from the sheer force of that lunge, as Mountain Dew goes flying. Poor August. Poor Erika. "Cockroaches live forever!" she roars, and sits on Lukas's chest, cackling. She's about to grab a can of Dew from Kate to pour it right on Lukas's face when

Ruarc hits Kate

and Kate jostles Lukas

who isn't exactly lying still anyway

which topples Sinclair to the floor. She lands with a surprisingly canine-sounding yelp.

[August] Oh.. look! A sane person! The 'omygawd' caught her attention. August's gaze suddenly landed on Adam and nearly instantly she grinned oh-so-brightly. Yes, she was massively pregnant. Yes, she was coated in Mt. Dew.. but, eh, this was kinda fun.

The kin was careful to avoid the combatants as she headed towards the Fury. Didn't they meet during a fray in the living room last time?

"Hi! Crazy.. eh?"

[Erika] Erika now shrieks for fear of ruining the Armani-- a recent gift--with something as horrid as Mountain Dew. Many would rather see the suit burned, torn, destroyed utterly than such a blasphemy. Still on edge, now that it's all about play, there's relief and redirected concerned for her suit. Skipping over the movie night carnage of the commons, the kin darts towards the shelter of the hallway, peeling off the top before it is ruined utterly. The light grey camisole beneath it is fine, but just a touch too-thin. The battle scar along her right side is clearly visible now. A drop or two could be cleaned... certainly her face and shoulders are misted with the beverage.

The kin drapes the overblouse on a doorknob and leans out of the hallway, crossing her arms over her chest in a position that almost makes her seem chilled. Or nervous.

[Wyrmbreaker] "Aha!" exclaims Lukas as Kate gets whacked from behind, "you've underestimated me again, Falcona! I have allies!"

And Sinclair goes yelping to the floor, and Lukas is staggering to his feet only to have them swept out from under him by Sinclair's mile-long legs. The thump he makes crashing down probably frightens a few of the occupants into thinking the building's about to come tumbling down. He makes a wordless noise that would, in another form, be a play-bark -- and hurtles himself at Sinclair in a flying tackle.

[Katherine] The Fianna smacks her from behind with a pillow, so naturally, the Silver Fang spins around --

-- and douses him afresh with more Mountain Dew, eyes gleaming. Ruarc must be dripping wet by this point, and rather sticky. Katherine snatches the pillow from him and whacks him in the face with it. Behold, your Fosterns.

[Adamidas] "No kidding, right? I'm kind of excited though. Pretty soon, after this is done, I think that guy is going to wrestle a lion," she gestures to Ruarc with her head.

Sure enough, she has this Colosseum thing down pat. She heads over and bumps August with her hip, "How long until you have the baby?"

[August] "Do think we can give them a thumbs up, or thumbs down when their done? Maybe the loser cleans up the mess?" She grinned "Cuz.. if we don't make them, I'm going to end up doing it.. and I don't want to."

A hand rubbed her belly. "Uh, any time now. Or.. it could be a few weeks. I'm sure ya'll will know when it's born since I live here again. Hopefully there is some sound proofing between rooms.."

[Erika] "I'd like to see that," she says about the lion wrestling. The good doctor breaks a smile finally at August, moving towards them warily. "It looks good," she says. "Who's your physician? I might know them."

Ah, the workaholic emerges finally. But at least she's in a good mood now. The silver thing around her throat practically glows without the black contrast of her overshirt. She still seems cold or nervous.

[Sinclair] "What the fuck?" Sinclair is saying, as she quite neatly trips her Alpha. "Thundericus? Falcona? God, it's like you're eight."

She sounds amused, at least, but only for a second, because even though she didn't exactly mean to trip him, there he is on the floor, and now he's

launching at her, playbarking, to which she yelps and dives out of the way, rolling to one side and then getting up on her hands and knees, scrambling for the bean bags. "He's gonna EAT ME!"

[August] August motions the other kin over - somehow, they'd found a relatively protected corner to watch the carnage. "Oh.. I don't have any one in particular - just whomever will see me at the County clinic." A beat. "You're a doctor? What kind.. and have you met Adamidas?"

[Erika] The kin shakes her head. No good came from the County clinic. She'd know. They meant well, but just are too busy. "Psychiatrist, sweetie. But I can find you a good obstetrician no problem. Didn't I see you down on the wrong side of Cabrini Green a few nights back?"

"Ah, hey there Adamidas." Odd name. Erika offers a hand for the dark-haired woman.

[Adamidas] "Hey, Erika, right?" she takes her hand, and gives it a shake. She's firm without too firm. Confident, and... well... even. She nods up, "holding up okay? How was the book?"

A moment,t hen she speaks to August, "yeah we met earlier, but we didn't get to talk too much."

[August] "That's sweet.. but, I can't afford a real obstetrician. It'll be ok.." She smiled.. and then took a longing look over at the snack table. Damnit, she was still hungry.

She then glanced back towards Adam and Erika. "Yeah.. I do some stuff for the women's shelter - I was checking on a client."

[Erika] "I finished it and left it to a friend as a gift for his hospitality. I remember now... it was at the lounge in Mag Mile... with these folks." She remembers being cornered and focused on by all those Garou, all that rage in one spot and nothing but bulletproof plate glass at her back.

The kin gives the other an odd look. "Alright then, come see me at my office, then. I can do an exam and recommend you to a good one that one of the public programs cover. I always have my phone on... so give me a call anytime."

A business card is pulled out from a sleek metal case in her pocket. She hands it to the other kin.

[Wyrmbreaker] "Damn straight," Lukas says -- that he's like eight or gonna eat her; hard to tell which. Then he scuffs Sinclair's hair, suddenly and affectionately, and climbs off her to grab up the spilled bag of cheetos.

Throwing himself down on the couch with his prize, "But good thing I've been distracted by cheetos. Alas, the dark fate of cheetos!" -- and down the hatch goes a handful. Mouth full, then, "We going to finish the movie or what? I love that part with the guy and the thing and the other-thing."

[Adamidas] "Aww," she says, and the Shadow Lord is off of the Glass Walker and has cheetos and... yeah. A little disappointed that the battle of epic proportions and mountain dew has subsided, so it was back to reality.

"Oh, hey, August? Harmony and I share a room now, so if you need anything, just ask, okay?"

[Sinclair] Sinclair is flopped facefirst on the beanbags where Lukas toppled her before scuffing her hair and messing up her ponytail and grabbing the Cheetos. She twists her head around, rubs it on the cushions, then looks over at Kate and Lukas and Ruarc and Erika and Adam and August and the mess they've made of the room as the credits roll to the tunes of the best song the Black Keys have ever made, darn tootin'.

"I'm tired and I don't wanna play'nymore," she grouses. "And you missed the guy and the thing and the other thing, you nerd."

Pushing herself up on her elbows, she peers over at Erika and August and their maelstrom of breeding of various sorts. Her eyes touch on Erika's scars, then on August's belly. "You know, you stay here after that thing is born, it's gonna end up permanently psychologically fucked up or on the wrong end of a sleep-deprived werewolf's frenzy."

Revelation. See: brutal.

[August] Exam.. by a .. psychiatrist? Really? Was she just insulted? Sure, she's had some crazy shit in her life.. but.. she's not exactly crazy. August gave Erika a skeptical look.. and took the card as it was offered (it'd be rude not to). She muttered a thanks - still trying to figure out if she should be insulted or not.

Then, others spoke up.. which distracted her from that topic. "Thanks.. but I'm ok. I manage by myself." She offered a smile, like she really believed it.

August's brows furrowed at Sinclair's statement. Did she just imply they would kill her baby?.. That.. was.. just.. horrible.

She was silent for a long moment as her eyes welled with tears... and she muttered.. "I suppose I could stay at the women's shelter instead.."

[Erika] Erika's turn to get angry. It's sudden, unmistakable, how quickly her mood changes. If her fate was only slightly different, she'd be among them. Its a sign of her blood, her family line... if their kin are this mercurial, who knew how fucked up the trueborn in the family are. Not one to act on anger, especially when in a room among loose canons, the kinfolk lowers her head and literally bites her tongue for a moment before she can speak.

Her eyes flick mid-blink in August's direction and she touches the pregnant kin's arm as reassurance. "If you need a place away from here to stay, you're welcome to stay with me until you get on your feet. It's private." Her generosity, hospitality, is offered without a moment's hesitation.... to practically a stranger. Except she isn't. Some things like Tribe don't much matter among some kin.

[Sinclair] The look Sinclair gives the two Kinswomen then is baffled, and openly irritated. "Dude, don't cry about it, Jesus. But you're that big, you gotta start looking for someplace else or your kid's gonna have a shit time of it."

She looks uncomfortable. And yes, annoyed, wriggling up onto her knees to sit in her nest of bean bags. Erika offers her place, and Sinclair throws up her hands. "See? Nobody's gonna let a girl with your breeding and a baby live in a car or something, for fuck's sake. Stop crying."

[August] August sniffled. What exactly did Sinclair expect.. she was pregnant! Emotions were easy to mess with. The Trueborn had absolutely no idea what she'd been through.. and the fact that she had no one she could rely on.

No tears.. not yet at least. "Excuse me.." No, she wasn't going to give anyone the pleasure of watching her cry.. August turned and headed for her room.

[Wyrmbreaker] "Are you in contact with Lila at all, August?" Lukas's tone is substantially less -- well, brutal than Sinclair's. In the end, though, what he's saying may not be. "Because Sinclair's right. I love the Brotherhood," frank, that, "but it can get rough here. It's no place for a newborn.

"Lila's a good Alpha for your tribe, though. She will help you if she can."

[Wyrmbreaker] [shit! um. sneak my post in before august's! *LOL* it wasn't refreshing!]

[August] {If that's the case.. add this to mine!}

"I have been trying to get in contact with her for two weeks. I can't seem to get ahold of her. But.. it's fine. I can make it on my own." A small sad shrug.

[Erika] Erika allows the kin to make her exit. She goes back to looking slightly chilly in the corner beside Adamidas. Suddenly, her manicure is interesting enough to warrant staring at it. She chews on her lip defiantly. Erika knows where August is coming from. There's always the close-knit comraderie among Garou, pack or not, and kinfolk are sometimes just the odd family members that get in the way of the party.

Sometimes the life is great, but being around them at all is often life-threatening. Not to mention thankless?

There's a tension in the air that the psychiatrist doesn't like. She realizes her food never came. Probably because of the raucous.... Erika reaches for her blouse and starts to compose herself quietly.

[Adamidas] She inhales, deeply, and closes her eyes for a second. Long , maybe. Tolerant, who knows. But, in the long run, who really knew, or cared, what was going through her head. This, however, is something that is neither here nor there. She says, "well, August, that's probably not the best of ideas."

Because, as we all know, this particular seventeen year old Fury is going to let a distraught pregnant woman do whatever she wanted, "I know you can do it on your own and you're an independent woman, but really, if you don't have to do it alone you probably shouldn't. And, since you don't have to do it alone, talk to your tribe. Even if you can't get ahold of Lila, ask Harmony for help, ask that little cowboy... Spartan or something. And if they can't help you, you know I'm around."

[August] She shook her head slightly. . "I lived with Erza, he took care of me.. I was forced to stop living with him and move here. And now, I'm not encouraged to stay here? Even though I work hard to earn my keep? I make minimum wage.. that gets me pratically nothing. I refuse to burden anyone with my shame..." Maybe she meant her baby? "I can stay at the shelter."

[Adamidas] [WP: not your kin, not your kin, not your kin!]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 3, 6, 7, 7, 9, 9 (Success x 5 at target 6)

[Erika] The psychiatrist turns to chase after the pregnant kin. "Honey, it's not shameful to be a single mom. That neighborhood is horrific. You wouldn't be a burden to me, I'm rarely home. If you feel you want to repay me somehow out of pride, that's fine."

Erika's expression seems genuine. Sincere. Honest.

[Adamidas] "August," she says her name patiently, a bit more patiently than someone her age should, but by that point... Erika is handling it. And she just nods. She inhales, and doesn't say anything else. Doesn't indicate that she has any intention to do so, either. The young woman puts her hands on her hips, and takes a few steps around the living room. More to walk it off. By this point August has made some ground, and stillness did not suit her.

[Erika]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6) [WP]

[Wyrmbreaker] Something about Wyrmbreaker hardens. The cheetos bag in his hands crackles noisily as he crumples it suddenly, tossing it atop the coffee table.

"August," he says flatly, "Ezra's made a fool of you if you think he had your welfare in mind at all. The last Child of Gaia kinfolk he managed to get his claws started out pleased with his protection and ended up all but enslaved to his will. He was a twisted thing and I'm glad he's not my problem anymore.

"As for the rest of it -- no one's kicking you out. But if you try to raise a baby in here, the rage will likely drive him mad. If you genuinely think you can protect him from that, then stay here as long as you like. I'd talk to Lila first, though."

[Wyrmbreaker] [fuck!!! i swear my screen's not refreshing.]

[Wyrmbreaker] ["...get his claws IN."]

[Sinclair] It takes far less effort for Sinclair to keep from hassling August any further. Adam has to hold herself back, but Adam is a Black Fury. Sinclair is a Walker that has, often enough, been mistaken for a goddamn Fenrir. Lukas giving her two hand-axes really didn't help that image any. She is looking at her arm piercing the way Erika is looking at her manicure, flicking the edge of the little bar once before looking over at Ruarc and Kate, who are

still

wrestling.

Her eyebrows hop up. She hears Lukas's voice harden and her eyes track over to him for a moment. She watches him as he speaks, then watches to see how August responds to that. Not her Kin. Not her Tribe. Not her anything.

Which begs the question, why did she say anything to begin with?

[August] Her tribe doesn't care. She's nearly certain about that fact. If they would have cared, someone would have checked up on her and figured out that Erza had started to mess with her. They would have known Paul had left her with him.. But not one of them did. Not one has lifted a finger. It took a Get to remove her from the twisted Shadow Lord's claws. Yet - how many even knew about it? Kora had said she'd speak to Lila.. but still, nothing. This has lead her to a conclusion:

Silent tears ran down the sweet kin's cheeks as she spoke. "The thing is.. no one would notice if I disappeared or even just flat out died. No one.. at a all. Do you know how lonely that is? Do you know how awful that makes me feel?"

And, a moment later.. she just nodded to Erika... quietly: "Just for a few days.."

[Wyrmbreaker] There's a beat.

Then Wyrmbreaker gets up and starts cleaning up the mess: the spilled popcorn, the scattered cheetos.

"Hey," he calls to Sinclair, or Adamidas, "grab me a trash bag, will you?"

[Erika] August might not have noticed the scars on her face, her uneasiness towards the Garou in the room despite being completely generous and concerned for a non-Fang kin... but it certainly wouldn't go unnoticed by others for long. Erika, for one, might be one of the very few people in the entire Sept who knows exactly what she's talking about...

Because she's been there.

Seven steel pins in her arm and 3 reconstructive surgeries said so. Her bad hearing in one ear said so. The fact that she, with all that breeding, has come alone with no children or family to Chicago says quite a bit, too. Kin smiles at the other kin, reaches for her arm.

"Trust me, I know."

That's all she really needs to say.

[Adamidas] She inhales, and rage doesn't so much flare as it makes itself known. Theurges aren't the most blessed (cursed) of Gaia's protectors. They're prone to other problems; there is a solid chance that Alethea Adamidas will disappear off into the umbra one day and never return. There is always a chance of this, that some umbral tether will be cut and she'll drift off. That Gaia's demands will drive her insane, and she won't be able to distinguish the umbra from the physical realm. Those driven mad by gnosis are rarer in these times, but that's neither here nor there.

Theurges are blessed with rage as well, no matter how faint, and it still has the potential to make itself known, and in this young woman it reads as tense muscles, heat, and quiet ire. She takes a step back and she exhales. There's a world of things she could say, and right now?

None of them make it out of her mouth. Instead, she shakes her head and heads to the bathroom of all places.

[Sinclair] The Galliard on the bean bags doesn't even try to conceal the roll of her eyes. She's a horrendous liar. Some of that is simply the fact that she doesn't attempt to lie. She doesn't hold a lot in. But she doesn't say anything else, til Lukas asks her about the trash bag, and she makes a face. "I didn't make most of this mess," she grumbles at him, but starts to get to her feet.

"I think there are some in the bathroom and laundry room. I'll get some stuff to clean up the Dew," she says, since she was the one who suggested it get poured on people. "If you wanna watch Zombieland again I'm down, by the way. Since you missed it. And maybe this time Kate will KEEP HER DAMN MOUTH SHUT!" she tosses in, shouting the last few words over in the direction Ruarc and Kate went when they were done playfighting.

[Adamidas] ... or, of course, she veers to go grab a trash bag instead of going off to the bathroom.There's a clear stop turn and go-the-other-way.

Less... something, too.

[August] And as if to prove her point.. while she was standing right there - they'd all forgotten about her, save Erika.

A moment later she was just gone - likely having gone back to her room to have a hormone induced sob session before she moved out.. yes - in the middle of the night. Who would notice afterall?

[Erika] Erika lets the other kinswoman do her thing. She couldn't blame her. The Garou in the room acted predictably as usual, shirking responsibility for the kin... not their business... not their "thing"/property. Erika stepped up: kin is kin. Blood ties are only as strong as they're made to be.

Her mood is irreparable, however. All these semi-responsible Garou in the room and not one could find themselves to say something encouraging to the woman? Her disgust is obvious: she makes no motion to hide the sneer or her curt mannerisms, but it doesn't border on rudeness. It is what it is.

Without looking at any of them, the other kin seeks to depart. She offers in a polite tone towards the movie-watchers. "Dosvidanie," she gives a respectful, but curt goodbye.

[Erika] ((ty for rp guys had fun now i have to go to sleep. Night))

[Wyrmbreaker] [night!]

[Wyrmbreaker] When the mess is cleaned up and what can be salvaged has been salvaged, Wyrmbreaker knots the trash bag off and leaves it by the stairs for the next person heading downstairs to tote.

"Okay," he says then, picking up sofa cushions and tossing them back into place, "let's watch it again. Adam! You in?"

[Adamidas] "I'm in," she says. The Fury vaults the couch. Or, well, sort of. She climbs over the back of the sectional and slides into a rather comfortable position. She sits cross legged on the couch, and nestles into a comfortable position, "I freakin' love this movie."

It had zombies and romance, what more could a girl want?

[Sinclair] It's a good thing the sectional couch is scotch-guarded, and that the floor isn't really carpeted. There are reasons for that: the people who refurbished this place and outfit the second floor for Garou and Kin to occupy knew better. Rugburns, stains... all sorts of awful things could happen if you didn't plan according to who would actually be living there.

Still. Sinclair avoids the place on the upholstery she was just scrubbing with a washcloth, and sits somewhere else. There are still plenty of snacks on the coffee table, though not much popcorn is left after being tossed around the room. Perhaps it was while they were wrestling or while she was complaining about being tired or while she sits back down, but Lukas -- and perhaps Adam, if she stays -- will notice that her eyes are a little red-ringed, a little underscored by dark circles. That she's paler than normal. That she really does look kind of... well. Tired.

She is more than happy to watch Zombieland again.

Granted, she falls asleep somewhere around the time Woody Harrelson and not-Cera run into Emma Stone and that cute kid from Little Miss Sunshine, but at least she doesn't snore when her face smooshes against Lukas's arm, nor does she wake when he nudges her over and her head flops onto a throw pillow.

[Wyrmbreaker] [annnnd it's a wrap!]

[Sinclair] [Thanks for the RP! You're beautiful! MWAH! *bows, lights out*]

play by play.

[August Grant] It was passed dinner time - thus, the Brotherhood's downstairs dining room had mostly cleared out. Several people were still scattered about, however - including a young blonde woman with enough breeding that even a Silver Fang might not turn their nose up at it.

She sat at one of the two person tables off to the side. No one was with her, but it didn't seem to bother her - it looked like she'd just finished dinner and was now nibbling on a piece of chocolate cake dripping with chocolate sauce. The kin who ran this establishment knew her well - and new how she liked her desert.

Her blonde hair was neatly pulled up. Her features fine, fresh. Her attire was a little old fashioned, a button up shirt and a knee length jean skirt. She looked like she might have just fallen off of the turnip truck, actually. But, is was no matter - there was something else that was usually noticed first about August. The kinswoman was pregnant. Very pregnant in fact. There was no hiding it now.

[Victor Oseragighte] He has kept to himself largely since arriving, taking up a room at the bording house. He descends tonight to find something to eat. By now they knew that he was on a pretty strict diet, and when he takes a seat silently his plate is loaded with meat and little else save for a few garnishings his system should be able to handle (after all, even a wolf was not a total carnivore).

He takes his seat at a table nearby, nodding politely as he settled down. Victor is dressed simply; blue jeans, red and gray polo shirt, hard-toed boots.

[August Grant] A slender hand rose in greeting - and in that hand, was a fork, with a small piece of cake on it. She wiggled it a bit in a wave and smiled, then proceeded to eat the cake.

She wasn't the type of kin who could pick out just who was who on sight - but, since he seemed to have come from upstairs.. well - then he was likely a friend. All-in-all, August was just a nice girl.. and it showed.

[Victor Oseragighte] The wave gives him pause and he returns it, smiling back. He looks around a moment before rising, taking his tray, nodding to the empty seat across from her, a silent request to join her, with just a gesture and a look.

[August Grant] "Sure.. sure.." She grinned and reached across the table to move her items from where they sprawled over her 'half' of the table.. so that he could have some room. It wasn't much, just a few glasses, a book - on pregnancy no less - and her chocolate cake.

"Hi!" Yup, she was for sure bubbly today. "I'm August." Her fork was set down - she must have felt introductions were important. Thus, a soft hand was offered out.

[Victor Oseragighte] He sits and is about to dig in when she offers her hand. Fork goes down and a smile spreads as he accepts it carefully over their meals, a firm, simple shake. "Victor." His accent is not American, though with just one word it can be difficult to place.

[August Grant] She shakes the hand and then releases it - her own hand going to wrap around her glass of milk. She takes a small sip, and waits for him to take a few bites of food before she continues on.

"I don't think I've seen you around before.. new in town?"

[Victor Oseragighte] He nods as he starts to eat, answering her only once his mouth was not full. "Week and a half or so. Still getting to know the place. People. Lived here once as a kid, though." Aside from the meat on his plate he has a tall glass of milk and another of water.

[August Grant] "Is it treating you well so far..?" A beat. "The people of this city that is? Is it much like you remember?"

[Victor Oseragighte] "Not much. Don't remember too much, though. Was pretty young." It is readily apparent that Victor doesn't use two words where one will do, his speaking style terse but not impolite. "Jury's still out, but... I am mostly liking it here."

[Edwin Morr] ((BotME))
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 1, 6, 7, 9, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 2 at target 8)

[August Grant] Well.. lately her company has been less than idea. Either, no one, aka an empty pack house, or one very odd Shadow Lord - whom she was entirely undecided if she enjoyed speaking to or not. So, a few words was bette than no words. Plus, it seemed that August had enough words for them both.

"Ah.. I see. Well.. I do hope that it turns out well for you. It's a fairly nice city. I showed up in the winter - not so much fun.. but the weather is wonderful now.. so at least you arrived now." A beat. "How's the food? I think they do an excellent job here.."

[Edwin Morr] ((Houdini trick))
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7, 8, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 7 at target 6) Re-rolls: 2

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] The Brotherhood isn't quite so jampacked these days as it was, but there's still constant noise, constant activity. The kitchen's bustling downstairs -- Sunday dinners, families coming in from the neighborhood to enjoy hearty, homestyle, vague ethnic meals. Somewhere down the upstairs hallways, someone's playing music. Someone in the shower drops a bottle of shampoo -- a series of loud, echoing thumps culminating in a exclaimed Shit!

The door to room 2 opens. Lukas comes out, rumpled, yawning. Like so many other Garou, his schedule's turned around, nocturnal. 9pm's a perfectly good time to wake up. His black hair is tousled. He's in a plain t-shirt, light grey; drawstring slacks, dark grey. He has a tumbler in hand and a toothbrush. Padding up the hall to grab fresh towels out of the linen closet, he passes the common room -- peers in squinting at the lights, yawns again.

"Hey," is his offhanded greeting toward the occupants. Then he's out of sight. A cupboard thumps open and shut. Coming back, he has a bath towel over his shoulder, and he's scrubbing sleep out of his eyes with the heel of his hand. "The herbed rack of lamb is first-class."

[Victor Oseragighte] He smiled and nodded again. She gets the impression that despite his interest in his meal and his quiet demeanor he is listening intently to what she says. When Lukas comes by he nods to him as well. A cant of his head at the rack of lamb... that DID sound good. And probably entirely edible for him. There were downsides about his change in diet since his first change... and then there were upsides. "They've been very... accomodating for me. I'm thankful for that."

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [doh. lemme revise.]

[August Grant] "Wonderful." Another small bite of cake. "Are you staying here? It's a rather nice place. I stayed here for a time, until I found somewhere else to stay. It was very nice to be welcomed with open arms and the what not. Though, it was difficult to make an impression here.. so many other 'family' members running around and such." Another bright smile graced her soft features and lightly glossed lips.

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] The Brotherhood isn't quite so jampacked these days as it was, but there's still constant noise, constant activity. The kitchen's bustling downstairs -- post-Sunday-dinner cleanup. Somewhere down the upstairs hallways, someone's playing music. Someone in the shower drops a bottle of shampoo -- a series of loud, echoing thumps culminating in a exclaimed Shit!

The door to room 2 opens. Lukas comes out, rumpled, yawning. Like so many other Garou, his schedule's turned around, nocturnal. 9pm's a perfectly good time to wake up. His black hair is tousled. He's in a plain t-shirt, light grey; drawstring slacks, dark grey. He has a tumbler in hand, a towel and a toothbrush, and he disappears into the bathroom.

Ten minutes later he's padding down the stairs, marginally more awake now, groomed, clean. Passing through the kitchen, he grabs an apple out of a basket and otherwise stays out of the staff's way. The doublehinged door opens with a light thump from the shoulder. He heads for the bakery station and its bagels, passing August and Victor on his way.

"Hey," he says, and, "the herbed rack of lamb is first-class. Bagel's aren't bad either."

He leaves a few dollar bills atop the bakery counter. There's more money there -- off-hours donations and payments from other residents who've nabbed a scone here, a bagel there. Lukas bends, hands on knees, to study the contents of the display case with great interest.

[Victor Oseragighte] "Nowhere else to go, yeah. Seems a nice place, though." The truth was, there were some people he figured would take him in, but he wanted to get to know the locals here, and so it was better not to rely on friends and kin for the moment. "I find that if you are patient... you will stake your place. Time enough for everything," he added with an easy smile.

[August Grant] Hazel eyes shifted momentairly to the new arrival.. and all of his rage. It was almost impossible to miss. For all the times she'd passed him in the hall when she lived here, there was no clear recolection of meeting him. Then again, she knew he was important and well.. she is pretty much at the bottom of the importance totem pole - so it wasn't surprising.

"Hello." She responds with a friendly smile and a little finger wiggle. "The bagels are the best. I had one this morning, actually."

And then, breifly to Victor. "Very wise words.. I believe that as well.."

[Edwin Morr] The night was warm, scarcely cooled from the daytime heat and light that had scoured the concrete jungle below. The moon's lidless eye, widening by the day now, stared down without pause from the heavens above.

Within the Brotherhood, it might as well have not existed.

Still, it was said that walls had ears. Some nights that was more true than others... Nights like tonight were prime examples. A figment, or nightmare, depending on whom you asked, made its way within the confines of the downstairs, skulking from shadow to shadow in an overly fluid, hard to follow fashion.

To most, it would be as nothing... until it simply blinked into existence where before there had been nothing. ((7 suxx at diff 8 to see him ahead of time))

The creature looked like a man, a man named Edwin Morr. A forgettable figure wholly unassuming in his countenance, whose face could be anyone's or no one's without much help. Eyes that were gray, or perhaps blue, stared from the shadows of a baseball cap worn low upon his brow. His shirt was of a simple gray/black flannel pattern, long-sleeved in spite of the warmth. A black tee shirt peeks from beneath the overshirt, as did the worn hiking boots from the legs of the Wal-Mart brand blue jeans he wore. The whole of him seemed a cookie cutter, as though his ensemble was as forgettable and easily replicated as was he...

The only part that stood out at all, the only sigil or device to his clothing, was the Fox Racing emblem upon the bill of the baseball cap, done in raised gray thread against the darker black background.

A lopsided liar's grin split the forgettably featured man... A grin wholly in keeping with the apparent breeding flowing from him. For all his forgettable nature, there was something about him that whispered of secrets and darkness... Shadow Lord to any who had ever seen the like.

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] When Lukas came here a year and a half ago, he was a loyal Beta, a good packmate, a facilitator and righthand man, but no leader in his own right. He was a Cliath of no great renown, worthy only of a name more descriptive or unusual than the most basic, undefined and undefining name a fledgling Ahroun could possibly have: Wyrmbreaker.

A year and a half is a long time in the young, unfettered Sept of the Maelstrom. Long enough to break many Garou; long enough to make the rest. These days that name of his sounds more like a title, an honor in and of itself. When he introduces himself or is introduced by another, it's as an Alpha three times over: pack, tribe, auspice. No one's ever tried to frame him with another, better name because it's no longer necessary. It's the other way around now. His name doesn't define him; he defines his name.

For all that, sometimes that newfound responsibility and respect still surprises Lukas himself, and sometimes -- times like this, when he's offduty and relaxed, bumming around what serves as his home -- he hardly seems to live up to the significance he's attained. He's looking in the cold case, thoughtfully chewing his lower lip; he's looking up over the top of the case and grinned suddenly and disarmingly at August, saying, "Want another one?" as he straightens.

He's grabbed himself an everything bagel: seven or eight different seeds atop slightly moist, dense bread. Some cream cheese, too.

[Victor Oseragighte] His answer to August is a knowing smile and a nod, going quiet once more as he eats. While he seems quite willing to answer questions, it does not appear he will offer much more unless he feels the need to. "None for me. Intolerant."

[August Grant] "Oh, no thank you.." A hand motions to her now empty plate of chocolate cake.. before that hand comes to rest upon her very obviously swelling belly. "I don't between the cake, and the baby, there is much room for anything else in there. Thank you very much for the kind offer though.

You are welcome to pull up a chair and join us, if you'd like?"

It was only then when the kinswoman picked out the man who seemed to appear out of no where. Odd.. very odd.

[Victor Oseragighte] Edwin must have appeared in a blindspot for him; he did not notice the man until August reacted, catching her startlement and then turning. Since he did not see him appear from nowhere, he failed to understand what had surprised her so, canting his head to look up to the man.

[Edwin Morr] Edwin grins that liar's grin, seated calmly at a table near the bar. A metal flask is withdrawn from a pocket, and with dexterous fingers, he quietly unscrews the lid. Victor's canted head and quiet gaze are met in kind; Edwin stares back at him the whole while. Then, without averting his gaze, the flask is raised to Edwin's lips and he takes a swig therefrom.

He didn't make much of a face thereafter... But one who watched closely might see it. Whatever it was in the flask, it had to be alcoholic to some degree to evince that reaction.

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Lukas's crystalline eyes drop briefly to August's belly. "Congratulations. I didn't realize. Paul's your mate, isn't he?"

As he speaks, he's deftly slicing a bagel in half, placing them in a toaster oven. While he waits, he peels the little plastic square of cream cheese open, and only then -- all of a sudden -- notices Edwin's appeared.

That's almost literally true. The Ragabash has a way of moving about unnoticed, only to casually turn up when the eye finally catches up. Or rather, when he lets the eye catch up. Lukas's friendly demeanor shifts somewhat; he looks at his tribesman thoughtfully for a moment, then turns to get his bagel out of the toaster.

"Have you guys met? This is Edwin. Edwin: August, Victor."

[August Grant] The young woman shrugged slightly. "I live with Paul, and I love him - but no, I am not offically his. But, thank you for the congratulations.. only another two-ish months and we'll have a new little kin or trueborn running around here.." She smiled brightly and then glanced back to her company. He was the quiet sort, wasn't he?

[Edwin Morr] ((brb - phone))

[Victor Oseragighte] He notices the similarity between the two, Lukas and Edwin, something intangible yet apparent to the right instincts. A small nod is offered to Edwin, still wondering what it was that had so surprised August. Something he'd missed seeing, he guessed.

He looked back to her and smiled, dark eyes dropping a moment to her stomach before rising once more hers. "Congratulations."

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] "Well," slathering cream cheese generously onto his toasted late-night breakfast now, "my congratulations to him as well." He drops his bagel halves on a plate, grabs a carton of whole milk out of the cold case, and comes out from behind the bakery counter. "Thanks for the invite," he adds, "but I'm going to have a quick word with Edwin first."

Which is where he heads: the shadowy, sly creature's table, setting his plate down before pulling out the chair across from him.

[August Grant] The young woman just smiled. Men never were good at math. She hadn't been in town long enough for this child to be Paul's, but there was no need to correct him. Plus, he was already off to speak to the sudden appearing one. No matter! The young woman sipped at her milk again.

"So, Victor.. anything interesting going on?"

[Victor Oseragighte] Interestng? He paused at that question, looking to be considering it. What would she consider interesting? The Spiral attack? The bonfire? He did not actually know. He took a long sip of milk and finally shrugged, answering with a dry chuckle. "I am not certain what would you consider interesting," he admitted, a straight-forward truth.

[August Grant] "Well - let's put it this way. I live in a pratically empty packhouse.. save Erza and he barely talks to me.. and then I come here and chat with the kin.. and go to work on weekdays. That's it. So, anything out of the line of that is interesting. But.. I know, it was a rather vague topic.. I guess I'm just out of stuff to ask.. surprise.. even I run out of words somtimes.." A sight smile.

[Victor Oseragighte] "Ah. Well. Spirals causing trouble. I suppose that would and should interest you then. Had some trouble with two last night. Afraid they're still at large. I think.... otherwise I am a bit new here to know much of what is happening. Sorry." He chuckled and realized that she was looking for conversation, and he was a better listener than speaker.

[August Grant] "Ooh?" She perked some. "You met two? All alone.. and lived? Well.. that is a story indeed!" That kinda indicated that he should tell it.. but if he didn't want to share - then, she'd just let it go.

"Thats so much more interesting than anything that I've ever done.." She chuckled slightly.

[Edwin Morr] Edwin nods in greetings to both Victor and August, a sly wink for the latter of the two while he waited. Then, Wyrmbreaker approaches... The shaded gaze shifts to him.

The liar's grin never falters.

"Now, jes' which quick word ought we be havin', e'sactly?"

[Victor Oseragighte] "Not a very good story. I almost did not live." He frowned and closed his eyes, then opened them slowly. "Grant Park. I was talking to Adrian. Get kin? One of the first I met here. Of a sudden, he is pulled into the fountain and I am blindsided by what seems to be a dog. Adrian is being.... drowned." There is something in the way he says this that indicates a special horror for him, more than natural. "In the fountain. I took the war skin, but... maybe because it was my moon, maybe the cowardice of it." Maybe the drowning. "I lost control. I remember now, after... I felled the 'dog.' A woman, when she reverted. Turned on the man who had Adrian. He was in the nearman, I think. He never stopped choking him, even when he turned to deal with me. One-handed, he fends me off, knocks me out, but it is with his bare fist, so I awaken in moments, come to my senses. Too weak to try to fight him directly, I had to crawl to the other and take her hostage with my knife so that he would release Adrian. I... healed some, but was still suffering wounds from the woman's teeth. He took her. I could not stop him. I managed to get Adrian breathing again.... and then Mama Ankle-Biter showed up to heal us. No glory. Just survival."

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] The Ahroun settles across from the Ragabash. Out of his usual finery, in lounge pants and an undershirt instead, he seems paradoxically larger; rougher around the edges. His eyes settle on Edwin for a moment, but rather than replying, he simply pushes half the bagel across the table to his tribesman.

Hospitality. Neutrality. Old world manners and primeval customs.

"I don't know," he says. "You took off pretty fast last time. I didn't feel like our conversation was quite finished."

[August Grant] She.. blinked and then looked a little surprised. Wow, that was -quite- the story there. "Oh my goodness Victor.. That's horrible.." She frowned slightly thinking it over.

"Thank goodness you were there to save Adrian. Is he ok now? Did he go home with his kin.. or even better a true? Does he need someone to look after him?" Apparently, her mind had gone a different direction. Her protective, caring, instincts had kicked in.

[Victor Oseragighte] He had to smile at her concern, reaching over to place a hand over hers, silently comforting her, calming her. "He is alright now. I saw to that." He did not add the part where he was dead certain, based on things they had said, that the two Spirals were after Adrian specifically.

[Edwin Morr] "Well..."

Edwin slides the flask across the table to Wyrmbreaker... the smell from it is somehow excessively caustic and alcoholic all in the same turn. And faintly... it smells of corn. Though surely no whiskey sold legally had quite the content the liquor within the metal flask does.

Its scent alone answers that question.

"Seemed ta me ya'd made up yer min' 'bout whut comes ne'st...

Ain't too bright fer uh feller ta beat 'is head 'gainst uh wall jes' ta prove he's stubb'rn 'nough ta do't."

[August Grant] "Oh good." It did seem to wash the worry from her face. Her hand turned under his and then squeezed his for reassurance. This was a scary place to live sometimes - and it seemed like almost a scarier place to raise a baby.

"I am so glad that things worked out at least.."

[Victor Oseragighte] "They did. And will," he assured her again firmly. With all he had been told of the recent threat to kin, he guessed she'd heard some of it and was probably rightly concerned.

[August Grant] Well, yes - she'd heard some. Mostly from Simon.. and a little from Erza. Then again, how much should the little Coggie kin trust the Shadow Lords? They always seemed to be up to something.. especially Erza!

But mostly, she'd been left in the dark about the exact nature of the threat. "Thank you.." It was at that point, August pulled her hand back and neatly rested in her lap.

"I suppose I should be more careful about going out now days.. especially after what happened to the poor kin last eve.."

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] It's courtesy rather than any real desire for Edwin's paintpeeling moonshine that has Lukas taking the flask and slugging it back. He can already feel it burning down his gullet when he passes it across the table and picks up his half a bagel. And his whole milk. Good nutritious breakfast.

"I wasn't aware there was anything to make up my mind about," he replies mildly. "It's more: I was there. I led that battle. If you have questions, I'll answer them. If you'd rather hold onto your grudge, then it's your mind that's made up, Edwin. Not mine."

[Victor Oseragighte] He nodded to this and murmured. "There is danger right now. These Spirals attack kin. Very much on purpose. That will not be let to stand. But... until then? Public places," he advised softly.

[August Grant] "Well.. I don't go much of anywhere save here, the packhouse and work on Simon's advice. It's just the back and forth that worries me sometimes. I know I'm safe here, and there - but, I can't just not go to the store and everything. I do have a pack to support.." Somewhat. She cooks every day. No one eats it, save when Paul's home. But, she dutifuly does it anyway..

[Victor Oseragighte] He nodded in understanding. "Go with another when possible. When not, go in the day, keep where there are people. Even Spirals don't want to be looked at too closely."

[August Grant] "Thank you.. again. But for now, I should be heading home. One of the kin in the kitchen get off now and she's agreed to drive me back. So, I should go with her. I will be careful. You be careful too Victor.." Then, the blonde pregnant girl stood and gathered her book and personal items.

[August Grant] (Ok, must depart. Cold medicine is kicking in.. thanks for the play all.)

And then August headed off for the kitchen to head home.

[Victor Oseragighte] He smiled and nodded his farewell to her, raising his glass of milk in a brief salute.

(( Enjoyed! have fun! ))

[Edwin Morr] Edwin chuckles at this even while ripping a small, bite-sized piece off of the bagel he'd been offered. The sound was sardonic, wry... but not without its measure of mirth.

"So... Yer tellin' me dat believin' I got some grudge 'gainst somebody udder'n our en'mies ain't you makin' up yer own min' on th'matter?"

He shakes his head, still chuckling... Pausing only to devour the bite sized piece of bagel. Then, retaking his flask of liquor in hand, Edwin lets his shaded gaze drift to the reflective surface briefly...

Before it again returns to Lukas.

"A'ight... Supposin' uh feller was curious. Supposin' I gits ta wond'rin' how three shaddah's walk while one whut ain't gits kilt.

Supposin' I's ta ask fer th'play by play."

He continues to grin that liar's grin the whole while, as though he were ready to laugh all over again at some macabre joke only he and the shadows knew. It only changed, ever so slightly, following each swig of the liquor in the flask... And then only to tighten briefly, in the manner of one well accustomed to its ilk.

[Victor Oseragighte] With her gone he ate in silence, though he did keep a watch from where he was on Lukas and Edwin, curious still about the latter and his effect on August.

[Simon] Simon slipped quietly into the Brotherhood's common area with a smile on his face. His curious eyes wandered and his smile brightened as he slipped into the room. Graceful as ever, the Full Moon didn't appear to have any agenda or direction he was apparently just paying the place a visit. Out on patrol and as Hatchet once said everyone takes their turn looking after the brotherhood.

[Victor Oseragighte] Victor's earned his own keep offering to do odd jobs for the place, having proven to be fairly skilled in such matters. He does not at all mind doing a little hard work to pay for the room and board while he decides where his place is.

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] There's no humor on Lukas's face now, no smile. He watches the Ragabash levelly as he chuckles and grins, all shadows and lies. Then he looks around once, ascertaining that the Brotherhood was closed down now, the humans herded home, the kin at work mopping the floors and closing down shop.

Victor's there too, possibly listening. This does not appear to deter Wyrmbreaker.

When he turns back, there's a certainty in his air. He picks his bagel up, holds it in his teeth, and dumps the crumbs onto the tabletop. With his palm he spreads them in a thin, even layer -- an arena on which he then sketches with his fingertip. There's surety in his motions, in his mapping. Lukas is a more than capable warrior, a dangerous foe to face, but he is first and foremost a tactician, a strategist.

"My mate and I were at the Blue Chalk cafe," he says, drawing a long rectangle. "The front door was here," he points at one of the short sides, "and there were windows along that wall. The back door was here," the opposite side, "and there was an office here, restrooms here." He blocks off smaller rectangles in the back corners on either side of the back door. "There were cameras in the corners, four of them surveying the cafe area. The counter was here. Our table was here."

A semicircle along one of the long sides represents the former. A circle is drawn toward the back, not far from the hallway to the restrooms, the office and the back door, representing the latter.

"Lonna joined us. She sat at our table. Then Theron, who came to us as well. A waitress approached like this -- " he indicates a track from the counter to the table, " -- and vomited on our table. We tried to herd her into the restroom. She transformed before our eyes, sloughing her skin off and becoming a monstrosity. Others around the cafe were beginning to change as well, here, here, here, here and here."

Dots scatter the cafe between the Gaian's table and the door.

"Dani&+269;ka went for the office immediately to try and disable the security cameras, to stop the upload feed, and to delete all video that was already taken. Lonna headed the other way, toward the windows in the front. I think she wanted to block them somehow."

He starts drawing arrows in the crumbs, like a football coach explaining a complicated play. One arrow swoops toward the office; another toward the front wall.

"One fomor went after my mate. Another went after Lonna. Three closed on Theron and I. One was here, still transforming." He stabs a finger close to the front wall. Close to Lonna.

"Theron and I held our ground to keep the fomori out of the office. We were in homid by my command, to preserve the Veil until Dani&+269;ka could get the cameras down. We injured one of them, but it was a war of attrition. Meanwhile, the one fomor close to Lonna had grabbed her, but she was uninjured."

He pauses for a moment there, taking a sip of milk.

[sorry for the screen-crusher, guys! thought i should post there before it got too much longer.]

[Victor Oseragighte] With just the few of them left, it was only natural that he'd tune in to Lukas' tale. It is evident he understands the gravity of it, too, as his face becomes very serious the more Lukas reveals.

[Simon] Simon took a seat, he didn't want to interrupt what appeared to be a possibly private meeting. He put his feet up and leaned back while glancing towards the Two. He couldn't help but pay attention to what was being discussed, it was the only thing that was happening in the place right now after all.

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] The mug of milk is set aside, then, and the Ahroun leans forward to continue his account of that fateful night. There's an irony in this. Garou have died by the dozens in this city; for the most part, their stories are woven into song and sung over their burning bodies at their Gathering. None have had their tales laid out like this, so clinically, in such cold, stark detail: stripped to the motions, to the events, to actions and their consequences that led to the inevitable end.

Then again, Garou are born to die. They have no problem accepting the death of their own kind, or even their own deaths. When their kin die, when their loved ones are stripped away, it's a different story. An unexpected shock. Something to grieve over in all its many and bitter stages.

"Another of the fomori began to make for the office," he continues, "and Theron and I both turned on it. The other three close to us were alternating attacks on Theron and I, biting and clawing, trying to vomit their filth into our faces to taint us. We fought them hand to hand. We were quick, but we did little damage. Across the room, Lonna was fending off the fomor on her when the other one finished his transformation. He went after Lonna."

For the first time now, Lukas pauses, his brow furrowing, trying to remember. He closes his eyes for a moment, bringing the scene to mind. It wasn't like this when it happened. It wasn't cold and clinical. It was bloody and raw, normal men and women transforming into monsters, peeling their own fucking faces off, shrieking, vomiting, seizing on the floor.

it wasn't cold. It wasn't clinical. It was harrowing, chaotic, desperate.

"Then Dani&+269;ka got the cameras off. Theron and I snapped into our warforms. Almost at the same time, the fomor that had a grip on Lonna took a bite out of her. She was wounded. Not direly, but not lightly either. The fomor was going after her. I wasn't certain that he would kill her, but it was a possibility."

There's a pause, heavy. The Ahroun's hand draws into a loose fist, thumb rubbing along his index finger for a second. It's the only sign of tension. When he goes on, his voice is as level and even as before.

"There wasn't enough time to kill the fomori closing on the office and cross the room to Lonna. There was time for only one or the other. So if you want me to explain to you how the kin of Thunder lived and the kin of Unicorn died, then you answer you want is very simple."

His eyes flick up across the table, implacably blue, the color of a glacial's heart; the color of an alcohol fire, pale and almost hueless.

"Because I chose to defend my mate. And Theron chose to defend the kin of Thunder."

A second elapses. The rest of the story is short.

"This one went down in one bite." He wipes one of the X's off the map. "Theron went after this one, injured it. This one," he points at the one on the other side of the map, near Lonna, "killed Lonna. Theron almost frenzied, but he kept his head. The fomori dropped Lonna and came toward us. Another bite did for this one," another X wiped away, "and this one," and another, "and this one," and another.

"Of the last two, I think I finished one and my mate the other. After Lonna died, it was all over in seconds. But by the time we went to her, she was beyond our help."

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [er. "then THE answer you want is very simple."]

[Edwin Morr] ((Houdini bit))
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 3, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6) Re-rolls: 1

[Edwin Morr] Edwin watches it all with that liar's grin upon his face, though with his eyes narrowed, the grin seems far less pleasant by the end of things. The metal flask disappears in a pocket, and Edwin stands...

"Reckon so...

See ya 'roun', Lukas."

With that, Edwin's form fades swiftly from view, disappearing into the shadows from whence he came.

[Victor Oseragighte] It's his moon, and he cannot forget that. He growls, a low sound from his chest, despite being in homid, and lowers his head in silent remorse for that loss they speak of. These kinslayers needed to be stopped. He had no doubt this was probably related to the Spirals somehow. It seemed they had specifically gone after kin, by this tale. When he looks up again, the other man is gone, and he blinks. So. Maybe that is why August had been so startled.

[Edwin Morr] ((Night folks; thank sfor the rp))

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [night man!]

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] And that's it. No comment one way or another; no anger, no acceptance. None that Edwin would show, anyway. Nothing but a noncommittal phrase tossed out, and then -- nothing at all.

Left behind, alone at the table now with its map drawn on crumbs, Lukas's hand clenches into a tighter fist; he lets a breath hiss slowly out between his teeth.

Then his eyes flick up; hit Victor's directly. "She was a kin of Unicorn," he tells the man. There's no reason to preface it or explain it; no reason for either of them to pretend that Victor hadn't been listening, "warded by Lila Waking-Dream, mated to none. She died in the Spring."

[Victor Oseragighte] "I am sorry. I will remember." There was nothing more he could offer, not truly. Meaningless words about vengeance? The fomori were dead and she was still gone as well. Advice there was none to give. No offer he could truly make except simple condolences and the offer to remember her, though he had never known her.

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Lukas's smile is faint, a little wan. "I wasn't close to her."

This could be cold; a verbal stiff-arming. It's not, though. It's simply honest: perhaps brutally so. There are Shadow Lords like Edwin, sly, everything held beneath a layer of deceit. Then there are Shadow Lords like Lukas: unflinchingly straightforward. In the end, each is as ruthless as the other in its own way.

"I barely knew her," he continues. "I'm sorry she died too, but save your condolences for those who genuinely grieve." He looks down at his breakfast: his day's just beginning. There's a bit of bagel left, and he eats it, washes it down with milk. The subject change is perhaps deliberate. "You're living here now, are you?"

[Victor Oseragighte] He did not respond to ask who were the grieving parties, suspecting he'd find out. Suspecting that, really, he knew from that tale. At the questioning of his living arrangements he merely nodded, allowing Lukas opportunity to go on with whatever point he was working toward with that query.

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] There's no real point, as it turns out. Lukas simply nods to the reply. "It's a good place," he says, offhandedly. Then he pushes the crumbs together on the tabletop, sweeping them with the blade of his hand until he can wipe them off entirely into the palm of his other hand and pour them back on his plate.

That little bit of housekeeping finished, the Ahroun stands. "I'm heading out for Caern patrol," he says. "I'll see you around, Victor."

[Victor Oseragighte] Another small nod as Lukas goes and he considers that; caern patrol. Good way to learn the bawn. The area. He may have to take along some evening.