December 12, 2002.12.12.02. - shift.....up? [eliza-petar-simon-decker-dire](eliza)
King had retreated to his patch under the coach, wedging himself under there and watching the three shifters at the table warily.Lila sat on James' lap, hands reached out so that she hold onto the ends of different dreads, bunching them together and then letting them all go, watching them spring back into place with a delighted smile. Dreads were bound to be amusing to a small child, especially when her own dark curly hair was somewhat fluffy at the moment, having been recently washed and blow dryed, what with the weather being the way it was. She yawns widely and rubbed at her eyes with the back of one hand, but looked like she was trying to stay awake out of sheer stubborness. It was highly likely that she would be soon fast asleep, using James as a warm, living pillow. She stares after Rune on her way out then returns her attention to James' hair and face, which is occasionally graced with the presence of 'Rounie' giving him 'toy kisses' on the cheeks and neck.
When Rune rises to leave after draining the second drink that was brought, she nods and smiles slightly, her eyes still having that vaguely blank look to them that showed no signs of emotion and thoughts to the other woman. Eliza folds herself back into her chair after placing a drink in front of Petar. She cradles her own in both hands, leaning back in her chair and taking a sip.
"Take care, Rune."
(james)
those dark eyes evenly watch through the introduction
well? at least he's not a Lord
close enough, but not bad enough
and the raggedyman extends a hand in black knit at-one-point-not-but-now-fingerless glove"James Branson, Drums on Skulls, Cliath Bone Gnawer Fullmoon."
he avoids the quip that comes to the tip of his tongue
instead, reaching to take the cash from his packmate"Thanks."
there's something in his eyes
there's something in his grin
it's for a lot more than the cab-fare home
infinitely patient with the child
he knows she's going to fade out soon, and fast
but at least he can stay here a little longer
fingers tapping against his glass in thanks to Elizaand this one? he drinks
slowly(petar)
...not a Lord.....
If only Petar knew James' thoughts.
But he smiles at the introduction, and at the child, and he spares Rune not a glance as she leaves, his eyes remain on his drink. The glass is lifted to his lips and he sips it slowly, like an amateur might, and sits it back down. "There are many Garou here in this place?" He questions quietly, to any that might wish or think to answer his question. He, much like Lila, rubs at his eyes a bit tiredly.....which makes him look all the more younger.
Split seemings, night and day ....wicked changes.(eliza)
Her eyes lift from her drink, sliding in the direction of James. She figured, even though he was city bred, he may know of more Garou than she was. Any that he might leave out, she could fill in, but it was shifter business, in a way, what they were discussing, and therefore not entirely her business. Or so many Garou kept telling their 'little' cousins.She loosens one hand from around her glass, using the free fingers to tug some errant spiral curls away from her cheeks and behind one ear.
James wasn't too far off from his thoughts on just how soon Lila would begin to fade as she curls up against him, legs tucked under her and against one of his legs and her small head resting against his chest. One hand clucthes Rounie and the other held fast onto the end of one of his errant dredlocks.
(james)
if only
if only they knew each other's thoughts
if only the met on the streets and not in this place of peace
things might be different
or, they might notand muscles in his thighs stretch
tank boot toes pressing against the hardwood floor
tilting the chair back a bit
making it a bit more level for Lila to lay
so she can rest against his chest
instead of having her head slide down and wake her up every time she tries to doze off
chin tilting in a slow nod"Depends on where you look, have a number out in the Barrens, quite a few Urrah up north. What brought you our side, Petar?"
a demure Fang
now this is priceless
why ain't someone videotaping this for posterity?(simon bobtail)
*THough the night the dark black wolf slinks.. back to the cabin he'd scouted before. peeking at it from behind the small building out back he sniffs the air. Differing scents preveiled. All layered on top of one another. So he slinks closer. A shadow across the snow as he moves twords the back proch*(petar)
"My sister and I are coming to America for the first time..." He pauses, as if contemplating the idea that that was not a complete answer to James' question. "....visitng. Elora and I are visiting..." His hands hold gingerly the glass and he takes another sip.....demure....yes. Most assuredly. He's not quite submissive, but his air and demeanor border on 'inexperienced' perhaps.
The Gnawers keen eyes might, if they were laid upon the Fang just so, a scar that funs the gamut of Petar's neck. From one side to the other, the scar is pronounced and noticeable, even to those without the bright perception Garou are blessed with. But, Eliza cannot see this, and he does not seem as shy with Rune gone from the Cabin.(eliza)
The back porch light wasn't turned on, but there was light illuminating it well enough from the kitchen window. A faint hum of voices can be heard, indistinguishable as seperate words, more an incessant buzz of sound that intermingled with the faint sound of panpipes and hollow drums that was the music that flowed quietly from the living room stereo, creating a backdrop of sound during the lulls in conversation.Eliza merely listens to the men talking, sipping her drink and staring down at the top of the table top with eyes devoid of emotion or the passing of thought, but her expression was vaguely thoughtful.
(simon)
*He slinks up on the porch. A black wolf. Compact and a bit stocky. Easily lost in shadow with it's inky blackness. Would be perfect except for something missing. Ears more acute than a humans perk up as he sniffs quietly around the door. The little Manx tail wags rapidly as he smells PURE BLOOD*
(james)
if he noticed it
he doesn't bring it up
if he's drawn any conclusions after his packmate departed
he's keeping them to himself
he's Gnawer, but he's not uncouth
and there some things you just don't talk about when children are present
even if they're asleep
instead just nodding
slow flex and curl of muscle keeping the tilted chair at slow rock"There's an Athro out in the woods, easy enough to find.... or he'll find you, if you visit long enough. My pack's territory is up North State."
idle conversation over the idle music, right?
though his eyes flick to the back porch
the snuffling from under the door
there's a sound in his throat, directed at King
he doesn't want the dog barking and waking up Lila"Can you get that?"
nodding at Petar
his hands are full
and Eliza seems so comfortable
she's already answered the door so many times tonight(petar)
Reduced to errand boy....how....nice.
He smiles and nods, slowly and quietly getting up from his chair he moves towards the back door, leather boots creaking in protest. Hand on knob, the door is pulled open and with one brow arched in question, dark blue eyes swarm over the black night before him and then the porch below him.
(eliza)
Even quietly, the weight of the wolf on the back porchboard causes slight creaks and groans as the chilled wood shifted under the change in pressure. The snuffling sound of an animal at the back door. It was all things that the acute hearing of King's ears could percieve. His head comes out from under the couch, his forehead frames by the tassles so that it looked like he was wearing a bizarre tiara of some sort. He snorts and grunted as he wrenched his enormous frame out and went at the back door, nails clicking on the floor boards. He sniffed back at the visitor, smelling canine, more pointedly wolf... A growl, lips peeling back. They didn't come from the back often. A bark, regardless of what James was hoping for otherwise. Skitters back, claws clicking on the floor, and huffs at the door as he sneezes away the smell of wolf out of his nose. Oh god, not again... not another...When Petar opens the door he is standing there in it, hackles up, trying to make out the perputrator of the investigation.
Lila gave a plaintive whine in her sleep as the bark startles her, her lower lip trembling and her eyes screwing up. It was late and she had stayed up beyond her bedtime and to be rudely woken up... just didn't sit well with the little girl... the whine broadens and lengthens into what became a plaintive, pitiful wail that was grating on the ears of those not used to a child crying.(simon)
*His head low as he smells another approaching the door. Those pheromones unmistakeable.The Door opened and reveiling a stocky black wolf. Seeing the Dog challenging him his lips peel back and his own hackels rise. He's silent. Silent as the grave but his own rage flows though in his pale green eyes. Dismissing the dog he looks up further to the source of half of the pure blood he smells. There is no mistaking that smell or that look. Petar was Pure and Simon knows it. Even as his hackels rise for the dog he's judging the fang before him.*
(james)
sup with the lower tribes and be treated like one of them, Petar
isn't that what your brothers and sisters warned you about?and the wail is right. in. his. ear.
by the Gnawer's expression
those eardrums are vibrating quite painfully
(oh. my. god.)
it makes his teeth hurtbut above it all
he stays perfectly calm
save the withering glare at King
it's all gone when he turns back to the child"Hey now..... ssccchhhh.... you just met me tonight, Lila, you're not allowed to deafen me until after the 72 hour waiting period.... hush now....."
basically murmuring nothing and everything at the girl until she quiets
(petar)
Ah ... Pure but not overwhelmingly so....
He stares down at the wolf, then the Rot, then back at the two at the table. "........you want me to let the wolf in?" It sounds rather strange....yet the words ease from his lips in that sharp accented English. Dark hair, boyish good looks......charming.(eliza)
Eliza stands quickly but smoothly, her hand catching the back of her chair as it starts to fall backwards at the rapid movement and she pulls it back and to one side, out of her way. She reaches across the table to where she knew Lila was curled up upon James' lap. Her hand brushes over the Gnawer's arm and touches her daughter's back."Shhhhh..."
Very soft, very quiet and then she closes her eyes for a brief moment, exhaling a long breath. An overwhelming sense of peace sweeps over James and surrounds Eliza like a warm blanket that flowed outwards from her in a silent aura of peace. As much as the change in sensation rushes over her daughter, encapsuling her in a comforting embrace from the mere touch of a hand, the peace slithers through James, twining around his rage and dampening it to a lull within his veins. HIs rage just seems to... abate... just as Lila's overwrought state subsides. The little girl sniffles, but relaxes completely and limply in James' arms, falling asleep almost instantly.
She finally takes another breath, her eyelids fluttering before she cocks her head to one side, hearing Petar's question and purses her lips.
"If it is a cousin, ask them to shift up, please. I don't want a fight between my dog and a wolve in my house."
(simon)
*His pale greens flickering back down to the Rot his head rises. Damn if some dog was going to dominate him. Hackes still raises. Lips peeled back. Ears flat aginst his head. He's yet to make a sound and his short manx tail is sticking straight out and bristled*
(james)
he just.... blinks.... at the touch
he knows he's only had a few sips of the screwdriver?
but goddamn it kicked in
confusion in deep umber as they raise in question to Elizaof course, she can't see the question
but it's there!she musta done something
he's just about to meeeeelt into that chair
and he slithers down into it a little bit more
uh, for the child's comfort, and all
as she goes right back to sleep
as he? is feeling damn goooooood
it's more than said in that grin that's spread over his faceRock on, Eliza, rock on....
murmuring softly"Might want to use it on our new friend over there, he's challenging tha King...."
he's had some bong rips that haven't even been this good
(petar)
He frowns and looks between wolf and dog, dog and wolf. "......um" Not quite that helpful when dealing with the lupus, now is he? Perhaps this is more James' cup of tea. "Shift ... up?" He says, almost as if he were rubbing a magical lamp, and expecting results from just a command. He is Royalty after all, right?(simon)
*He waits in the doorway. About to bite off the dogs face if he don't back off. He looks up at the one standing before him. Sniffing as he does so. Noone's addressed him directly. hince his lack of doing anything. He watches Petar and looks back to the one still standing before him.As Petar speaks his eyes flicker back to him and as the garou speaks he steps back.
His form growing. Musel mass adding on. Expanding bones as the stocky black wolf becomes a monster version of itself. A supersized big gulp of a hispo and then further up to crinos. It's inky black fur springing out to added length as he does so. He pauses there and looks down at the man and the Rott and speaks in quiet High tongue* "This better?" * he's not purposefully trying to be scary, it's just an involentary aspect fo what he is.*
(james)
he can't help the laugh
he seriously can't
head shaking
that is a Fang?
why didn't he just say "open sesame" and see where it went
his chin lifts to call out a bit
loud enough for them to hear, but not enough to disturb the child"Homid... like the rest of us, so you can step inside and stop letting the heat out and quit freakin' out the dog."
(eliza)
King howls, as to be expected from a normal (nonKin) animal and backpeddles into Petar's legs, throwing the Fang off balance probably in the process and runs from the kitchen door, thudding into the back of James' chair on his way past straight for a known hiding spot. Why did they always have to do that??Eliza had nodded faintly to James' comment, stroking Lila's head with a hand. Luckily she hadn't really started to move towards the kitchen till aftr King took his very sound retreat. He clipped her legs, though, on his passing and she lost some of her balance, catching herelf with a hand and part of her weight against James' shoulder and side. She was trying to keep from falling altogether, because that would mean onto James, which also meant onto Lila. Lila, being her prime concern.
She regains her stance and composure and stalks (yes stalks) into the kitchen, hand out to touch Petar's shoulder and move him to one side. She can't see the crinos, but judging by the heat it gave off from it's sheer weight... well...
"Learn some manners and try again."
And shuts the door on the crinos' form, leaning back against it. She didn't say he couldn't try again soon, but right now? Her dog was petrified and her daughter had been reduced to tears only a few moments before.
(simon)
*he bends down to peer though the door and nods slowly. His form shrinking. Not that he really cares about the dog. But it wasn't really made clear. he'd shifted UP as much as he could after all. he slips past glabro and his clothes mystically appear there. On down to Homid. A slender man with broad shoulders. Pale skin, dressed in black tall boots, olie pants with a rust colored stripe and an olive long coat that hangs to his knees with the same Rust colored accents. Hands clad in fingerless gloves come up to flip a rust colored cowl up. Sheilding his eyes in shadow. He's quite surprised with the woman shuts the door. For a spit second he conciders just punching though it and ripping her head from her body. Then again.. that wouldn't really be social. He arks a slender black brow and tilts his head. Severly confused. He looks to the left and the right and behind him and back to the door. The hand clad in the fingerless glove coming up to gently tap.After all it wasn't HE that made the child cry, it was her own dog. He's quite unsure why she is expressing anger at HIM for simly coming up.*
(petar)
The wolf-man shifts. The door hauls it away. He's nearly knocked down and for a moment, a flicker flash of something beyond that calm man-boy can be seen. A dark shadow of some other self that threatens to devour the cause of his unhappiness. Royalty. He can feel ,then, Eliza's hand on his shoulder and he manages to steady himself quickly. He still wears his coat....and the door is shut...and the wolf is on the other side....and the child is calm....and Petar slowly and quietly wanders over to his chair and downs his drink....that brief insight into something beyond the glass exterior is gone as quickly as it came.
"I should be going....thank you very much for your hospitality...."(james)
he reaches a hand to help steady Eliza as well as keep his own chair from tipping completely back
he watches the door slam in the shifting manmonsterman's face
glancing down to the bundle cradled on belly and chest
damn, that's a cool gift
kid slept right through itand while it seems like the Gnawer is simply suddenly stoned off his ass
he's just quietly observing now
watching the Fianna kin in her blood driven temper
watching the Fang.... boy... in his changing glass house
watching the door from behind whih is the tapping.... wolfmanthing
even peering over and watching the Rottweiler hidden beneath the couch for a moment(eliza)
She takes a long deep breath, facing Petar by the table because her back was against the door. She nods and smiles faintly, because as he was reigning in his temper she was reigning in her own."My house is always open, should you wish to visit again, Petar."
That being said she turns and opens the door, slightly, and leans against the doorframe, her body taking up most of the space of the opening of the door that was between the open kitchen and the porch.
"Not tonight." A deep breath and a slow exhalation. Fianna Temper. Control. Returning. Slowly. Calming. Calming... "I think my dog will have a heartattack if I let you in at the moment. I'm sorry."
She'd be spending the next day or two trying to coax the poor Rottweiler out, having been half scared out of his wits by the invocation of the Delirium.
(simon)
*He looks at the Kin. A KIN actually telling him No and he's amused. Still when in Roam and all that. His head tilts to the side and his voice comes out soft. Quiet. Not at all threatening or frightening* I don't understand... I merly did as I was asked...... and you express anger? * his tone betraying honest confusion. They didn't say to the wolf "Shift to homid" they said "Shift UP" and he had done so. Wasn't HIS fault their request scared the shit out of the dog.*(petar)
He scratches at the back of his head and nods, bows slightly to the pair of them. One who can see the gesture, the other who cannot. "I apologise for the trouble I seem to have caused..." Work it...work it...work ...it "My sister will be here tomorrow.....I should go begin to settle in...." Into that dirty, terrible, rustic, nasty shanty the hillbillies here call home... With that he turns to go.....his hands back in his pockets again until he reaches the door to open it.(eliza)
"Everyone knows that shifting in front of an animal - especially one that isn't Kin - incites the Delirium. As for trying to pick a fight with my dog? Ugh. No comment."She takes another deep breath and slowly exhales it, still trying so amn hard to not just shut the door again.
"I apologise if Petar's request was no phrased properly for you, or explicitly enough, but I am going to have enough trouble getting my dog out as it is without you coming in at the moment. If you wish to come back another day, that would be fine. So long as you come in homid."
(james)
you will notice the Gnawer is as silent as the sleeping child
waving a bit at Petar as he leaves
damn that smile looks genuinehe's in a safehouse
all differences are set aside
course, he probably couldn't bristle right now if he had to(simon)
*he frowns a bit as he looks at her. Her words were mocking and few baited a garou with out risk.Taking a moment he composes himself and looks for the words in english. As his speaks his baltic accent shows though a bit*
You were the one that told Petar to request my shifting I belive. Can I be held to blame for respecting a hosts wishes?
As for it being phrased... properly * he srugs gently his sholders rolling slightly* I dont know that it was phrased wrongly. Just not in a way that indicates what you wanted. When you requested Homid It's what I've given.If you hold so much malice for those of us not... blessed... to be born human I will go and apoligise for bothinring you. The kin of my homelad don't hold such vehemiant predjusts aginst us. I was told that here in america it was even less so. * his words betraying the hurt at being condimed because homid wasn't his birth form*
(petar)
The Get passes a very nice SUV. Expensive thing, that is more for flash than off road traveling. There's an emblem of some sort on the front of the hood....Benz....BMW....Cadillac...who knows. He's ducking out the door, a man-boy of no more than 20 perhaps, with dark thick hair and sharp angled features. His pure breed is senses, his bearing is regal .... royal....his gait expresses more than words ever possibly could. I'm.Goddamned.Roaylty. He starts walking towards the cabin he'd rented for his sister and himself .... head bowed a bit.(decker)
Groceries. Again.Pack truck held a lot in the bed. It's not full by any means, but there's a four or five loaded bags there, juices and meat and bread and vegetables and some runt-sized winter fruit. Outside that, vaguely hemming it in on all sides: home improvement equipment. Boards, nails, handsaws, the like. Nothing too expensive or too fancy. God knows what he wanted it for, because it sure as hell wasn't for Eliza.
But the groceries were. So the Tacoma crunches up in the gravel driveway, engine roaring, and the headlights sweep across the door. Eliza, Simon.
A stranger.
Great. More company. On top of all that he was pretty sure he felt James inside, too. The truck falls silent and the groceries stay where they are for the moment, as the Modi, dressed for winter, gets out of the truck's cab and crunches his way up the drive, easily heard. And if Eliza didn't know him by his particular thug's gait by now, coupled with his hellstorm presence (gibbous moon. waxing rage.), she never will.
So there's no greeting.
(eliza)
Oh, that was a good thing. Tell her that she was prejudice when she was already obviously in a bad enough mood as it was. A lot she could take, yes, but now, at the moment?
"I. Have. No. Problem. With. Nonhomids."
She spoke very carefully, and not in a way that said she was trying to be insulting in insinuating he was stupid, but in a way that indicated she was trying very hard not to be rude and slam the door in his face.
"I have a small to take care of and a dog to haul out from under the furniture. I'm sorry. I'm too busy to deal with this at the moment."
And with that, a polite enough goodbye, all things considered, she shut the door quietly and then turned and walked away.
Straight past James and her sleeping child and to the front door, which she opened and then turned and walked away without saying anything to Decker. A silent, blunt invitation to enter. Before she went back to the kitchen and poured herself a drink. A very strong one. Which she downed in one mouthful before pouring another one. She took this one, however, back to the table and sat down.
(simon)
*He stands there wondering what the hell a Small was and why she had to take care of it. Baltic was hard enough to learn after High tongue but apperently English was defeating him. ANd he'd thought he had a firm grasp on it. He blinks as she basicly kicks him out and tells him not to come back unless he's human and then in the next breath says she has no problem with them. It doesn't make sence. Either she does or she doesn't....(decker)
The Fang, on the other hand, passes a pretty nice truck. Brand-new, all the fancy trims, but a Toyota Tacoma when it comes down to it. Not an Escalade, nothing like that. Judging by the Get's secondhand clothing and that particular and peculiar mark of poverty practically branded upon him (like a sort of human purebreed to match his Garou purebreed - because that was there as well, and strong: the cursed blood of his father), he didn't buy it. Either he stole it, or it's not his, period.It happens to be the latter in this case, but the former is just as likely.
Passing Petar, Decker's eyes are on the other, wind-narrowed, grey as thunderheads: a critical, judging stare, and not the slightest bit friendly. No grunted greeting, no nod, either. Pleasant, he is. Really. There's no challenge issued, though; no question of what he was doing here. His stake in this place is a loose one at best; nonexistent, for all intents and purposes.
He just brought her groceries.
(james)
yep
he's just sitting there
call him pillow James
he doesn't really look over as Decker pulls up
just like with Rune earlier
he knew who was at the doora brow lifts out of habit as she sits down
curious
but he just sips at his spiked juice
....right.(petar)
Decker is spared a brief glance. The cold is not a bother to Petar, he is used to it. The heat come summer, if he is still here....that will be another issue all together. The young Russian makes his way to the apartment, his eyes never leaving the path he has set for himself towards his new Gaia. Help.Me home.(simon)
*He blinks as she basicly kicks him out and tells him not to come back unless he's human and then in the next breath says she has no problem with them. It doesn't make sence. Either she does or she doesn't....
and she still seems to be pissed off that her dog got scared when he did EXACTLY what she TOLD him to do to come inside.He scraches his head. This is a strange place.
"DO this!!"
"HOW DARE YOU DO THAT????"
He blinks and looks at the door and around the porch. It made his teeth ake or was that because he was grinding them. He moves over and sits on a rail Watching though the window. Eyes hidden by the shadow cast by the cowl but his perplexed look is still clear.
Mayby understading thes humans was just beyond him or something.... He did what they asked and the little female yelled at him and acted offended.... if they didn't want him to do it, why ask? He was content in the smaller form he was in. All very confusing he reaches up and scraches his head again watching them*
(decker)
"James," for his packmate, there is a grunted greeting, while Decker crosses the threshold of the door, which stays open behind him, letting the precious warmth out. Another penetrating glance for the Bone Gnawer, and then:"You look...real happy."
(james)
now, when Decker gets close enough
there's a quirked grin for a greeting
still parked out at that half chair tilted back angle with Lila asleep on his belly/chesthappy?
none of his packmates have ever seen him this content
no matter how drunk or stoned or fuckered he's been
this is a contentment that comes from one's soul
and it's not just the errant effects of the gift
he was like this before
when Rune was here
she saw it too
for once?
that hollowness that haunts his eyes is completely gone"More than I have been for a long time."
there's a tip of his skull back towards the door
the loaded Tacoma outside"Want a hand unloading?"
(eliza)
"Shut the door, Decker."This from Eliza as she also sat at the table, hands wrapped tightly around her glass. Why bother with orange juice this time? It was straight vodka. Probably more than James could handle on a good day. Decker, well, he could hold his liquor. He'd shown he could in the past. She closed her eyes, dropping her head down slightly so that the curls fell forward over her shoulders. A deep breath. Fianna tempers, you have to love them once they have been provoked. Regardless of whether a person thought it was right or not.
"She still sleeping soundly?"
She finally looks back up, eyes opening and sliding from where she knew Decker to be over to James, who cradled her youngest.
(simon)
*he just watches though the window. Thwe waning moon Ragabash. A small sinister smile starts growing on his lips*(decker)
A cool flick of a glance shot at Eliza. Don't tell me what to do."Groceries," he says, simply, but of course James has already asked the question. Another grunt. Obviously, Eliza told him. Wonder what she said. Decker eyes James, startlingly astute eyes scanning for signs of shit-talk underneath all that contentment. Finding none, the Modi shrugs. "Naw I got it." A flickered glance toward the kid. "Look like you got yer hands full."
James and his kids, man. Decker didn't understand that feel. Paternal instinct, after all, is acquired whereas maternal instinct is innate - excepting Rune and Imogen. Turning, the Modi tromps back out to fetch the things from the truck's bed. Bags rustle as he comes back up the stairs and into the house, this time kicking the door shut behind him.
(simon)
*He watches Decker though the window. Perched all spider like on the railing out back. He sniffs the air a few times and snors. Sitting quietly and watching*(eliza)
Lila whimpers in her sleep when the door shuts loudly, helped along by Decker's boot on his way back in. At least this time, wrapped in her mother's gift, she doesn't startled awake and start crying that thin piercing wail again. That would be the last thing they needed.Eliza winces slightly at the noise and it is probably a good thing that she couldn't see that cool glance that Decker had awarded her with prior to heading back out and then in with the groceries.
(james)
that's the difference between the two full moons
for Decker it's an acquired taste he's just not ready for
for James it's innate, it's the way he was raised
or maybe it's the face he was a parent, for a short while
and even years later the instinct hasn't ebbedthere's a bit of a frown as the door slams
"Yeh.... think she'll stay put this time, though... which room is it?"
slowly weight shifts to go from sit to stretching stand
(simon)
*The dark eyes and upper face hidden by the shadow cast by the rust colored cowl. THe bottom of his pale face still revieled. He watches. looks to the little girl. The mother. The two garou. He watches in silence. In darkness. In shadow and he waits*(eliza)
"First on the left."A smile of appreciation for James, that he'd take the sleeping tyke back to her room and put her back to bed. Hopefull, she'd sleep through the rest of the night and into the morning, after such a night of excitment. It would be much easier, after all, for James to put her away, what with Lila's hand wrapped into his hair tightly. Better he try to extricate her clutch, than for her to be lifted, pulled, and carried away by another figure.
"Thank you, James."
(decker)
Decker starts for the table. Notes the three sitting at it like some sort of modern nativity scene. Notes the child whimpering in her sleep with a tightening of his eyebrows. Never in his life would he be able to hold a sleeping child the way James does. He's too angry, too blistering with rage in a way that transcended boundaries of human and feral. Supernatural, his anger, and overwhelming.Children - and many adults, many kin, many Garou even - inevitably grew discomfited by his presence.
He veers toward the kitchen instead, dumps all the groceries on the counter, and turns to wash his hands at the sink - not because they were dirty, but because hot water would thaw his fingers out. That's when he looks up and -
- Hello.
Disbelief passes over his features an instant before he reaches over the sink with a dripping hand and pushes the window open so fast that if Simon doesn't jerk back, it'll crash into his nose. A beat of silence.
"The fuck you lookin' at?"
(james)
"No problem, Eliza.... least I can do for your hospitality."she can't see the grin
but she can hear it
punctuated by the soft sounds of his boots down the hallway
finding the right room
and oh. so. carefully. extricating his dreadlock from sleeping deathgrip
(think your kung fu's pretty good, uh?)
and after making sure the child settles
he heads back outthat's about when he hears Decker's question
here we go again.
(decker)
And...
no habla espanol.
...more staring."Yeah?" The correlation between scaring a dog and looking in the window escapes the Modi, who reaches down halfmindedly to slap the tap off. Water sluices down strong fingers that curl into loose fists, braced at the edge of the counter. "So?"
(eliza)
She waits till Jame is passing by her, her head laid down on folded arms. She'd heard the question Decker had demanded in the kitchen. She mutters under her breath, one hand slowly running up and down the outside of her glass."He didn't leave did he?"
(simon)
So the little one said I couldn't come in. Said she needed to pull the dog from under a couch or something. Said she only wanted to converse with homids. * he srugs, rolling the broad shoulders under the jacket* Si I can't come in but I thought I would observe.... so as not to some how anger her again by doing what she asks..... I was in Lupus... she and the other said for me to shift up. So I did.... the dog was frightened and she's mad. I haven't quite figured it out yet but I'm trying to understand.(james)
instead of moving back to the table
he hangs out in the hallway
and finding their new friend is still around
he moves on up by his packmateand finally catches that accent
this? should be delightful
(let's hear it for that well-timed calming gift)"Dogs don't get along with wolves, most of the time, especially Rottweilers which were bred to hunt them if they came down to attack herd animals."
a hand runs through and rearranges ropey dreads
"It was all a misunderstanding and miscommunication. You did exactly as you were asked, yes, and you're right, what you were asked ended up not being what was wanted. But it terrified the dog and got tempers raised. She told you to come back another time when everybody was more calm... so do that. Rather than observe and maybe catch on, come back another time, in homid so you don't scare the dog, not because she doesn't want to talk to you in any form, and then we can sort things out, allright?"
(decker)
Cold air's rushing in through the gaping window, raising the hairs on his arms. For all that, the Modi stands like stone, and the frown only deepens. Had this been a week earlier, he might've been vaguely, evenly sardonically amused. Might even think Simon was staring in through the window hoping to get a glimpse of the kinfolk (a looker, for sure) when she stripped down to get into bed. Hell, isn't that why most people spy?Too bad past the halfmoon, his miniscule sense of humor ceased to exist. Blankly, "'N you thought starin' like some sorta nutcase ain't gonna anger her."
Then James comes up and Decker glances at the Bone Gnawer, listening to the tale told with a vague noise of acknowledgment.
(simon)
*his head can'ts to the side as he listens to James. A slow look of understanding crossing his features. He nods slowly as that makes infinatly more sence in english than what he's been told so far. His own rage high and he nods again as he reprocesses what James says finding words there he could accept. He hops, actually moving closer a foot as he does so to hop off the rail. Landing on his toes he slowly lowers down to the heels of his feet. His motions quiet and graceful. He tilts his head looking back the other way to Decker. The voice with the thick but intelligentable accent comes again* To be honest I didn't think watching though a window would be preceived by a blind human. My intenion was not to bother her. Simply understanding. * he nods and then nods deeply to James and looks back to Decker.* Sorry if I frightened you. * His hand, clad in a fingerless glove reaches back to grasp the rail and turning the man hops ot landing in a courchl again on his toes. One might expect him to shift and dart into the night as qa wolf but he slowly rises. broad shoulders, slender hip. the olive and rust colors being easily misplaced in shadow and darkness as he heads away though the back yard*(eliza)
She stands up, finishing her drink in a long swallow (Fianna and their drinking, huh?) and pushes the chair out of the way. She enters the kitchen, but doesn't even 'glance' in the direction of Simon, for if the boys hadn't noticed him, she durely probably wouldn't have unless he had made some noise. It was a small kitchen, which, with three people in it, made in somewhat cramped (or cosy... whatever). She can't help but brush past James and Decker as she reaches around them for the bottle of vodka.(decker)
Simon had a point with the blind thing. Decker, however, didn't often think things out from the other person's point of view.As the lithe man heads away, the Modi shrugs. Don't be a stranger, y'all......or not. He simply reaches forward, grabs the window, and slams it shut again.
There. Much warmer. Since it's getting a little crowded in the kitchen, Decker backs out of there. Bags rustle on the counter from the breeze as he moves past. The fridge door swings open on his way, and he snags some sort of beverage from it. Whatever his fingers brushed first. Whatever's in there.
(james)
there's a bit of a grin
there's a bit of a wave
(have fun stormin' the castle)
there's a bit of a turn and press back against the counter for Eliza to make her way past
the peeping-Lord basically disregarded for now
at least things got cleared upand he edges back out to the table
taking up his drink and draining the glass a little more
but not quite as vehemently as Eliza
he can being to keep up with beer
if he tries to even begin to keep up with hard liquor?
he's not walking out of here tonight(eliza)
She catches the closing door of the fridge after Decker has grabbed something for himself out of it and her finger tips run across the containers till she finds the one with small brail inprinted on the top of the plastic, lidded jug and pulls it out. Jug in one hand, bottle of chilled vodka in the other, she also returns to the table. She places the things in her hands on the center of the table before sitting. She then carefully begins to pour herself a drink. Not as strong as before, but well... stronger than was usual."Thank you."
She looks up from the glass in front of her, at where she knew Decker to be seated, when she speaks, before her eyes lower to the glass again. She idly runs her finger up and down the side of the glass, her brows knitted together slightly in a faint impression of a frown of thought.
(james)
for a spell, he watches the juice in his glass
swirling the last bit around into a nice orange whirlpool
but there's really so long you can contemplate the mysteries of a screwdriver
and that's when he glances up
blinks
and looks right back down againyep.
mysteries of the universe.
orange.
right.fuggit
he drains the rest
he may have the body weight to counter it
but he's still working on that tolerance thing
settling the empty glass back on the table softly(eliza)
"Drink?"She tilts her glass towards the bottle or vodka and jug of orange juice on the table, indicating them both to James and giving him free reign to help himself as he so chose to. She knew the hollow glass against wood, no matter how softly he had attempted to put it back down. Her hearing was exceptional, a compensation for her lacking what most people considered the dominant sense of sight.
(decker)
The Modi's made himself at home at Eliza's table, his presence unwinding into the air like blood in water. His drink, as it turns out, is a carton of OJ -Yeah. A whole carton.
- and as Eliza thanks him, his grey eyes flicker up. A half-frown sketched over his brow, all the more frequently seen the closer one gets to the full, he stares at her for a moment. It's a stare that has a weight even the blind can feel, unnerving, and then he shrugs and lifts the carton of juice to drink straight from the mouth. Couldn't be more than a glass and a half left in there anyway.
"Fer what?" - not honest curiosity, but simply something to say to deflect her gratitude. Then he happens to glance out the window at the truck: something that happens more often than you'd think. Growing up the way he did, he learned to keep an eye on precious commodities and possessions lest someone steals it, and old habits die hard.
He sees: big green cap. Big blue crowbar. Big black truck, shiny new paint. Suddenly the carton bangs down on the table and the Modi gets up ("Fuck."), toppling his chair, and stomps to the door; throws it open with a crack of wood on wood like a gunshot.
"The fuck you doin' to my truck, Dire?"
(james)
there's a bit of a grin
again, she can't see it
but he's sure she can hear it
he doesn't doubt how excellent her hearing is
chuckling softly"Rune was right, you know, if I start drinking I'll have to be carried home."
flat out cringing as the Modi explodes from the table
this shouldn't be good
but he doesn't get up
he doesn't particularly want to meet whom he now knows is outside(eliza)
James wasn't the only one who cringed at Decker's less that subtle exit (when is he ever subtle though?) and shakes her head slightly. She lifts her head, eyes moving off the glass in front of her as she leans back in her chair, holding the glass in one hand and trailing patterns in the condensation on it with the other."You think Decker would be a sweetheart and carry you if you got legless?"
When would Decker ever be a sweetheart. She was using the fact that the Modi had stormed outside and his attention was on Dire's stalk of his truck to slip the comment in. She could feel his temper, knew the Rage was up and running, so she wouldn't have said such if he'd been at the table.
[wolf. passing. out. about. now.]
[james npc'd to passs out, and sometime later, from decker's blog]
Decker Rohl
Fri 06:17AM EST
He gets up almost at the same time the kin does, and his eyes follow Eliza down the hall until Dire speaks. A careless glance at James, considering. "If I don't, he got a long walk in front o' him." That said, the Modi heads over to the couch and - just as James predicted might happen - kicks the cushion under James' head. THUMP.As the Bone Gnawer looks up groggily, he says, "Leavin'. You comin'?"
Dire
Fri 06:20AM EST
*he nods and moes over to curl up infront of the fire. taking off the stolen biker jacket two sizes too large he uses it as a blanket and his arm as a pillow. He ... probly won't revert to Crinos..... while he sleeps. Most times he doesn't. He snorts and poof just like that as if a switch was flipped he's snoring lightly.
one of the benifits of living a warriors life... the only real happyness you can have anywhere is getting good sleep. Thusly you learn to fall asleep any where any time, poof just like that.*Dire
Fri 06:22AM EST
A soft murmer is heard*
"Gaia lay me down to sleep
I pray the wyrms heart to eat
And if they attack before I wake
I'll kill um all, that's no mistake......"Decker Rohl
Fri 06:29AM EST
Yeah, that warrior's sleep looked familiar to Decker. It's the sort of sleep Erik fell into. And James. And himself. Most the time.Didn't even have time to say goodnight. Not that he would. A brief, under his breath sound at the 'prayer', a grunt or a chuckle or an amen, and then he glances back at James in time for the negation - just before the Bone Gnawer's out again, like a light.
Guess he wasn't going. A moment's pause, wondering if the Gnawer and the Skald would murder each other if he left them here. Wondering, then, if he should bother to say goodnight to the one other waking inhabitant of this house in the middle of nowhere.
Fuck it. Woman was probably asleep. The Modi lifts his coat from the back of the chair, shrugs it on, and lets himself out the front. With two warrior Garou guarding the place, he doubted the lock was necessary.
Dire
Posted by james at December 12, 2002 12:00 AM
Fri 06:30AM EST
*He opens one icy blue eye and smiles as decker closes the door and rolls over warming himself at the fire. "Good boy" Resounding in his head*
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