Dominion Estate(#1632RJ)

Contents: Natalie

Natalie pages: Want to say Nat's invited him over already?

page Nat = Sure.

Natalie's in the parlor, speaking on her cell. She's waved Tu to a chair, but continues talking and pacing. "...checked out. Are you free?"

Tu closes the door behind him, and shrugs off his coat, which he folds over his arm. He stands in the main entryway, waiting quietly.

Natalie finishes with a bright, "See you soon. Thanks," before folding her cell with an audible click. Coming out into the hallway she asks, "Sleep well? --Oh go hang up your coat if you'd like. Or if you have to run after they're finished, that's fine too. How'd you sleep?"

From afar, Natalie nukes that 'how'd you sleep'.

Jana enters the mansion from the outside.

Jana has arrived.

Tobin enters the mansion from the outside.

Tobin has arrived.

Tu smiles, and moves to the closet to free himself of his jacket. "I slept fine, thanks. I'm starting to make headway on the boxes, finally. I'll be glad when that's all finished."

"Oh, I hear you," the Galliard agrees wryly. "Just think of me, having to pack up this place and then look forward to six months of construction before I can settle down again." She waves Tu into the parlor as she heads for the kitchen saying, "They'll be here in just a little bit. Go make yourself at home. Cream in your coffee again?"

Not too very long after Natalie got off the phone with the Silver Fang elder, the sounds of the gate buzzer can be heard. On the monitor is a sleek looking BMW.

Tu nods. "Please." He heads into the parlor, and takes a seat. When the buzzer rings, he glances towards the entryway.

Just call Nat the Happy Homemaker. While the coffee's brewing she yells up to the front of the house, "Bet that's her! If it's a silver Beemer driven by a girl too young to be legally at the wheel, and she's blonde, buzz them in, will you?"

Its a blue beemer, the girl at the wheel looks about fourteen and boy oh boy is she blonde. There's someone else in the car as well. Maybe its her driving instructor. The lovely little girl leans over and starts to 'buzz' 'buzz' 'buzz' 'buzz' impatiently.

After sitting down for mere moments, Tu stands back up and heads back to the entryway. He looks at the monitor to see if the caller resembles the appropriate description. When the machinegun buzzing commences, he looks around quickly for the correct button, then presses it to open the gate. "Is everyone in this Sept young?" , he asks.

Jana pages to the room: Its. Always. Blue.

Natalie pages to the room: *coughcoughSilvercough*

Long distance to the room: Tu assumes it's a Black and White monitor. :P

Natalie returns up the hall, managing a tray with a cream pitcher, a cute little sugar bowl, and four mugs. --Four? "It's a long story," she says, nodding approval at the end of the incessant buzzing. "Which I'll tell you a little later. Want to let them in, or play Mother?"

That might just be a cuss word when the gate starts opening. Not very ladylike. Either way, the car proceeds up the driveway and, only a few minutes later, the two Silver Fangs enter the house. Leading the way is the young teenager. Despite her age, it is crystal clear that she has all the poise and arrogance that seems common to her tribe. "I don't know how long this'll take, Tobin, but Natalie said she'd make coffee," she's saying as she comes in the door.

Tu waits by the door, watching the monitor as the two leave the car and reach the porch, before he opens the door. Just a crack. "Password?", he asks of them.

Tobin is taller than Jana, and looks to be about ten years older. His poise is much the same, but his deferrence to Jana is clear as he keeps himself one pace behind her. He scans the Glass Walker mansion with a curious eye. He nods at Jana and making a soft grunt of acknowledgement. His eyes narrow at Tu and his question, but he keeps his mouth shut, letting Jana handle this.

Hearing no reply to her question, Nat pokes her head back out into the hall. "I asked..." Only the door's already open. "Oh for the love of Pete. Let them in, Tu." "

What the -fuck- is this?" Jana asks as she gets to the door. The words and tones are at odds with the distinctly southern accent to the Theurge's voice. "Open the damn door."

Tu pulls his head from the door long enough to smile at Natalie, before swinging the door wide enough to allow passage. "Sorry.", he says simply.

Tobin sighs heavily, possibly resigning himself to the company of some Glass Walker who thinks he's funny, but determined to be polite. Still, he says nothing, letting Jana take the lead.

From afar, to the room, Tobin is at work, btw, so is prone to brief distractions. Shouldn't be too busy, though. :)

"Come in," Nat calls to the Fangs with a smile of apology. She comes out of the parlor, hands already reaching with a, "Let me take your coats. Introductions can wait until we're seated, I think."

Jana gives Tu a dark look and sweeps past the taller man, familiar with the mansion enough that she knows which way to look. Slipping her coat off, she hands it to Natalie. "Thank you," she replies demurely, flashing a cool smile. "You want to handle this in the parlor then?"

Tu keeps his smile as Jana moves by, Tobin in tow, and heads inside. He closes the door behind them and pauses long enough to ensure the gate has re-closed, before following them into the parlor.

Tobin shrugs out of his coat and hands it to Natalie after following Jana inside. "Thank you," he echoes. He nods at Tu, the little joke apparently forgotten.

From afar, to the room, Tobin is going to need to go in about half an hour.

Jana pages to the room: Damn you!

Tobin pages to the room: I just got assigned a task. There are three computers that need their motherboards switched out. c.c

Natalie pages to the room: Gotcha. +mp/h =No worries. We can either go on assuming you're here, or pause and finish another time if we're not done.

You paged the room with 'No worries. We can either go on assuming you're here, or pause and finish another time if we're not done.'.

Tobin pages to the room: Just go on assuming I'm here. Tobin doesn't have a lot to do or say at the moment. But we've got some time.

The tray of coffee things waits patiently as Nat returns from the hall. She pours, nodding to Tu with a, "There he is. Tu, why don't you start with introductions. I'm going to be rude and make everyone do their own cream and sugar." After liberally dosing her own coffee with both, she nudges the tray towards the others and sits back. Her own mug happily declares itself (in rose script, on a pink background) to be a 'frail fragile flower of femininity'.

Jana prepares her coffee first, her hands moving delicately as she dumps a ton of sugar into it. Sitting back, she watches the Ragabash, one eyebrow raised slightly as she sips at her drink.

Natalie pages to the room: The other mug options are a bright blue with 'STFU' in white, a black one with 'RTFM', and a white one with a cheery smily face on it. Nat's getting out the -good- china. ;P

From afar, to the room, Tobin hahahah Jana pages to the room: Oh, I totally took the STFU one then. ;)

Natalie pages to the room: 'Cause it's blue, to match her car!!

Tu turns his attention to his primary concern, which is coffee. He pours some creme into his mug, gauging the amount by the shade the coffee becomes. When he is satisfied, he leans back in his seat and takes a sip. "I'm Tu Dinh, Cliath new moon from the Jack Rabbit Sept in California."

Jana pages to the room: Do not mock happy-fun Fang.

Tobin mixes cream and sugar very carefully into his coffee, as though he were perparing some arcane potion. He leans back, sipping from the smiley face mug, which makes an amusing contrast to his very serious expression. "My name is Tobin," he says simply. "Cliath Theurge of the First Tribe. I'll save you the recitation of the family history," he says, quirking a wry grin that lasts only a moment.

Jana gives Tobin an amused look before introducing herself. "Jana Sulkowski. I am elder of the Silver Fangs of St. Claire and a cliath theurge of the First Tribe." At least she doesn't start naming dozens of ancestors. "

Natalie Baker, acting elder of the Walkers here, called Holds-the-Line, and cliath Galliard." A gesture of her mug shows more writing on the back side, but it's impossible to read.

Tu flicks his gaze between Jana and Tobin when they give their introductions, taking another draw on his coffee, and considering them both. "Nice to meet you both. " He looks towards Natalie, assuming she'll take the lead from here.

Long distance to the room: Tu resists insisting he would have been fine with a full heritage recitation.

Jana pages to the room: Stupid Ragabash. ;)

From afar, to the room, Natalie cheers weakly.

Tobin settles back in his seat, watching the whole thing over the rim of his mug. His eyes half-close and his breathing gets deep and even. He seems intent on keeping quiet as much as possible. Is he a Fang or a Strider?

Tobin pages to the room: And that's how Tobin'll remain for the duration. If the scene ends before I get back, then he'll just leave with Jana.

Natalie pages to the room: Sounds good. Thanks for coming!

From afar, to the room, Jana pets. Later Tobin.

Tobin pages to the room: Thanks for having me. Sorry I couldn't play more. :)

Jana ignores Tobin--or at least seems to--before turning to the Glasswalkers. "So. We doing this?" Tobin pages to the room: Tobin's doing his own Sense Wyrm, btw. He'll just tell Jana about it later.

Jana pages: Btw, would I sense anything? +sheet

Tu doesn't think so. 4 rage. 6 wp.

"If you wouldn't mind," Nat says politely, glossing over the fact that this is why she called Jana in the first place. "At least he's less... morally objectionable? than Scratch, hey?" She grins, remembering, and settles back into her chair, grinning over the top of her mug."

Natalie pages to the room: EXTRA sniffed!

Long distance to the room: Tu should have used Right Guard instead of his generic 'Bob's' deoderant.

Tu puts his cup down on the table, as if aiding in the process. He leans forward, and looks at Jana, offering himself for consideration.

Jana snorts faintly at the Galliard's words. "I'll never forgive you for that sight." By the little smile on her lips, that might have been her attempt at a joke. Either way, she just -stares- at Tu for a long moment, her eyes going slightly distant as she does. It doesn't take long before she comes back to herself and, after sipping at her coffee, says, "He's clean."

After Jana confirms his non-wyrm taint, the Ragabash reclaims his coffee and leans back once again. "You must be quite the Theurge", he suggests, "To lead your tribe at such a young age." His tone is strictly observational.

Jana pages to the room: Tu's gonna die. :(

You paged Jana with 'Well, he had to say SOMETHING.'.

Natalie pages to the room: He hasn't been told the story yet. Gotta cut him some slack.

Natalie nods acknowledgement, then leans forward sharply at Tu's words. "Ah," Nat cuts in before Jana can take offense, "Remember that long story, Tu? This isn't the time or the place. But she's not - mentally - as young as she looks physically." "

I'm eighteen," Jana says. The knuckles of her hand whiten on the cup but otherwise she manages to stay fairly composed. "Had a bit of a tough time with a wyld spirit recently."

Tu glances between the two Elders, and nods. "I didn't mean any offense. It is just unusually. And, I would imagine, and honor." He wisely lets the topic drop.

Natalie eyes the Ragabash for a moment, worried, then turns those eyes on Jana. "I imagine you'll be doing a little... exploration of the problem in the next week or two?" she prods, delicately. "If you could use some backup - a couple of heavies - just let us know."

Jana frowns slightly. "What? My age? Far as we've been able to figure out, I'm stuck. Just...around sixteenish." Upon a closer inspection, that age seems accurate. She just looks soft, somehow, which drops a few years from her apparent age.

Tu lets the two elders talk, then realized that the topic hasn't been dropped. "You don't age at all?", he asks, "Or you just were altered to be this age again?"

Natalie answers for Jana. "B. Like she said, Wyld spirit. I'll give you the skinny later." Then to the Fang, in the tones of politest curiosity, "Oh? What sort of looking have you done?" "

I *think* its just I get to start over at around sixteen. This is rather new--maybe a month--so I'm not sure." She sounds impatient. "I havne't done looking, Natalie, as there's no looking to do. The damn thing doesn't even have a name and the umbra was mostly out of reach. Tobin and I are heading there as soon as its safe."

Long distance to the room: Tu :Ps Nat. See, she might be aging.

Tu pours himself more coffee, then adds the creme. "Are you married?", he asks looking at the Fang.

Natalie might be outwardly polite, but she's still a Galliard, and the moon's getting fatter. "That's what I just _asked_ you, and you said there was no point." As Tu cuts in she looks away, a single huff dissipating enough tension so she's able to feign calm and drink her coffee.

Jana seems generally crabby--her own moon's just past and Luna keeps getting bigger. "No. No marriage. No kin here for me. Males, at least."

Tu watches the interactions, and decides not to float his observations. At least not yet.

Long distance to the room: Tu develops a whole' Then what's the problem' rationalization. :)

Leaving it up to Natalie to find a new topic. Good call there. After a moment's petulant staring into the hallway, she turns back with a more-or-less repaired veneer of calm. "I'm thinking of taking Saul out to the farmhouse for a few weeks. Does your cub spend much time there? How old is he? --Another Galliard, isn't he?" "

I've parked Andy out at the farm house for now. Auggie's been kind enough to take his combat training under his belt. We don't have big moons among the Silver Fangs here," Jana says to Tu as an explanation.

Tu lets the conversation involving people and places he is ignorant of, continue around him. He keeps an ear out for details which are useful, nodding when it seems appropriate.

"Auggie..." Nat repeats. "Fianna, isn't he? Or am I thinking of Cole? --Thanks for the tip, by the way. He's a damn fine Galliard." She glances over at her tribemate. "Whoops, sorry. I'll have to take you out to the farm sometime soon. S'just on the edge of the bawn." "Its where most of the others hang out,"

Jana says. She's not one for stories but she can pass on information sometimes. "Auggie is a hippie. A soon to be packmate of mine as well. Unconvential fighter for an Ahroun too. He's teaching Andy and the hippie's Ahroun cub. Cole's the Fianna. My other soon-to-be packmate." That causes Jana to smile slightly.

Long distance to the room: Tu doesn't want to pose 'filler' poses, so don't wait for me. I'll add when I think I need to.

Natalie pages to the room: Hokay.

Jana pages to the room: Sure. :)

"Packing?" That's caught Nat's attention. "Just the three of you, then? Who are you going to look for, do you think?" "

We're still talking it over. Not a war totem, that's for sure. Looks like Wisdom or Respect." Jana waves a hand. "We're still considering candidates."

Natalie breathes a, "Yeah," before turning to fill Tu in. "There's only one real City pack - Havoc, where I run. Well, no. Griphus is up in the northeast corner, but they claim both sides of the river, right?" This of Jana, for confirmation. "There's about, hmn, five, six packs total at the Sept." "Griphus isn't a War pack. There are two to three that I know of--there's rumblings of a new one."

Jana waves a hand. "There's a Guardian pack, Havoc, Griphus which is an enigma's one, that one full of Get that's under Wyrven and so on."

Tu nods. "Do the woods packs come into the city frequently..." He seems to be listening intently as the two share information. "...or do they mostly ignore it?"

Tobin has disconnected.

"Ignore it," Nat answers immediately. "Though... the Alpha's pack, Resonance, is supposedly an info pipe between city and Sept. I have to say I've never seen any of them actually /doing/ any info running. Any time I want to find out something, I have to do the footwork myself. --Speaking of," she turns back to Jana, "I saw at the Moot that Alicia'd popped. Know what kind it was?" "No."

Jana shrugs. "Didn't even know she was pregnant. Our pack is planning on being an informational or scouting type of pack."

Natalie grimaces at her coffee. "Lovely. Well. Just do a better job than Resonance, and I won't have any problems."

Tu places his empty cup down on the table, choosing not to refill it. "How possessive are the city packs of territory? Do we need to let them know every time we pass though, or just if a major operation is underway?" "Near as I can tell, its fairly informal for all but the fucking guardians."

Jana grumbles that. "They're almost stupid with how territorial they are." But how does she really feel? She doesn't answer Natalie, just studies the Galliard thoughtfully.

Nat snorts derisively at Jana. "What do you expect? They're /Wendigo/." She kicks her feet out in front of her, crossing her ankles. "Well, like I said, only Havoc and Griphus really claim the city. We've got 14th and 15th Avenues, from Bridge Street south. Don't do anything stupid, and you'll be fine. Walking there? Peachy. Hunting down leeches? Not so peachy. As for Griphus... hell if I know. I've never actually heard Olga say one word about their territory. Riverfront Drive is all I know. Gnawers," she adds with a derisive snort. ...another derisive snort.

Long distance to the room: Tu hands Nat a tissue for her allergies.

"Gnawers have a great number of uses," Jana says, giving Natalie an almost stern look. It'd be comical from the girl except for a light in her eyes. "As for the Guardians, one is a Glasswalker, remember? And he's been put in his place by me but regardless, once you are allowed to, approach the caern with care. They'll overstep themselves one of these days."

Tu nods, with a soft sigh. "I don't plan on spending more time in the woods than is absolutely necessarily. It sounds like the city is more pressing, anyway.

" "Wendigo," the Galliard repeats in a mutter. More sharply: "And before you get your panties in a wad, Jana, he might as well -be- one. He'd /rather/ be one. I've got no damn idea why has hasn't gotten the balls to ask Megan to let him leave." Tu? Ignored for now.

From afar, to the room, Natalie's gonna idle for about 30 min Real Soon Now.

"Idiot won't even acknowledge that he's homid, much less a Glasswalker." Jana shakes her head. "I've no tolerance for someone who tries to pretend they are something they aren't. Regardless," she adds, pushes to her feet and bringing Tobin with her. "We've places to go inspect at the moment. Thanks for the coffee and it was a pleasure meeting you, Tu."

Tu stands up as the prepare to leave. "Thanks for clearing me, and it was good to meet you. I'm sure we'll see each other again, before too long." Natalie remains in her chair, scowling sulkily at her coffee. Damn coffee.

Jana gives Tu a very long look up and down. "Yes. I think I will want to talk to you before too long." She looks toward Natalie and a hint of displeasure darts across her face. "Natalie." And with that, out she goes, Tobin in tow.

Jana pages to the room: All these favors I do for the GW....

Jana pages to the room: OK, guys, it was fun but now I have to go afk! :D

Natalie pages to the room: Hey, Nat /offered/ to come play the heavy in the Umbra! ;)

Jana pages: And yes, Jana will call you once she gets number.

Natalie pages to the room: But NoooOooooo...

You paged Jana with 'Thanks!'.

Jana pages to the room: Two theurges don't feel a need for a heavy. ;)

Natalie pages: And yeah, if you'll be around in about... *checks time* an hour-ish, Nat'll happily do info dump.

Jana goes home.

Jana has left.

Long distance to Natalie: Tu will be around.

Natalie pages: Whee!

After escorting the Fangs out , Tu reclaims his seat. "Sure, that's probably a good idea. I got some information from the conversation, but this place seems to delight in ...uniqueness."

Scratch comes down from the upper floors of the mansion. Scratch has arrived.

That's one way of putting it." Nat and a stranger are down in the parlor. The smell of coffee is strong in the air, as obvious as Natalie's itchy irritation. Two other coffee mugs have been abandoned on the coffee table. "Well, what do you want to know? I should tell you: I've got this little button," she points to the center of her forehead. "You say, 'Nat, what do you know about this', push it, and stand back. --It's a hypothetical button," she quickly corrects, eyeing Tu.

Scratch limps down the stairs looking like death warmed over and lightly buttered, cursing the many stairs down from his bedroom to the kitchen in a low, growly undertone.

You paged the room with 'Scratch, are you coming to us?'.

Scratch pages to the room: Kitchen first, actually, but he'll probably pass by the parlor if anyone's looking that way.

Tu grins. "I promise not to jab it too hard. Well, I guess, the best place to start may be politics. Give me an idea..." He trails off, as movement is heard and Scratch makes his way towards the Kitchen. "An idea of who our friends are. It seems you and the Fangs are on okay terms."

"Politics. Euysh." She sinks lower into her chair, not even giving the hallway a glance. "Sept Alpha's a Fianna. Adren Philodox. Her name's Megan. Like you'd expect, she's traditional as hell. For the most part, if you toe the line, they're all right. Um... what else. Oh yeah - Hidden Walk -is- unique." She glances over at the Ragabash. "A couple of months ago we had a Stargazer wander through. Looks like he kept on wandering too. Pity. Other than them and the Talons, we've got at least one of every tribe out there. The Wendigo, like I said, are all in the Guardian pack, and are prancing around on the bawn like it's their own personal playground. That's where that /other/ Ahroun of ours is: playing Indian."

Scratch isn't making any attempt at stealth; even with bare feet, the regular >thok< of cane against floor is easily audible. He pauses to peer into the parlor. "What, Josh?" His voice sounds like he spend the night chewing rocks and swallowing sand. "Y'outta lay off the kid. He ain't hurting anything."

The ragabash looks towards the path Scratch took, then back at Natalie. He starts to reply, a puzzled look on his face, when Scratch injects himself into the conversation.

Natalie looks over sharply, her expression only easing a smidge after spotting Scratch.

"Oh no? Explain to me how taking away a good half - or more! - of our available fighting force out of the City 'isn't hurting anybody'. He's gone /feral/, Scratch. Getting him to shift to homid is like asking him to swallow glass and rape children." She flicks an irritated hand between the two men. "Scratch, this's Tu. Ragabash. Tu, Scratch. Ahroun."

Jeremy pages to Scratch, Natalie, and Tu: Hey, can I join? :)

Natalie pages to the room: Scratch? I know you said you only had a little bit.

From afar, to the room, Scratch has a little more, it turns out. But as long as I can duck out when I need to it's cool.

Tu nods slightly towards the Ahroun. "That would make you the other half of our fighting force?" Confidence does not seem to accompany the statement.

Natalie pages to Scratch, Tu, and Jeremy: It's just an info dump, but sure.

Natalie interjects, irritated, "That would make /me/ the other half of the fighting force. Until about three weeks ago, it was just me as the only other adult Cliath in town."

Jeremy enters the mansion from the outside.

Jeremy has arrived.

Scratch leans heavily on his cane; the Ahroun is standing more or less in the doorway to the parlor, looking in. His tone's both amused and irritated. "So he's gone feral. If he was really city, he wouldn't have. Kid's right about one thing, though. A caern needs Guardians. He's doin' his duty to Gaia an' he's fuckin' enjoying his life." He coughs, clearing his throat wetly and noisily, then swallows with a grimace. "Mmnf. Anyway, lotsa homid Garou go feral. Even, shock and horror, Glass Walkers."

Tu leans back in his chair, letting Natalie and Scratch argue the details. It's clear by his occasional nods and head shakes, that he tends to agree with her point of view, but doesn't come right out and say it.

The front door opens up to reveal Jeremy, wearing his work clothes today instead of the typical gothic attire that has been fading away bit by bit as the days go on. His hair is tucked under a hat, wearing a pair of khaki pants and a simple polo button shirt tucked into the waistband, sporting the trademark: Stark Installations. He is carrying a backpack over his shoulder, letting it sway back and forth, yawning into his hand.

"_He_," Nat presses, "Doesn't want to /be/ a Glass Walker. /I/ don't want him to be a Glass Walker. The only person who wants him to be a damn Glass Walker is _Megan_. He's wanted out of this tribe since before I got here. She ought to just stop living in whatever little perfect world she's visiting and let the damn boy renounce. Stop making my life - /his/ life - miserable." Poor Tu. This may no have been the info dump he wanted, but it's the one he's getting.

Natalie pages to the room: Got /here/.

Scratch's lip curls upward at Natalie's tone, showing a brief hint of teeth. The way he casually shifts his weight to lean a shoulder against the doorjam seems calculated. "He seemed just fine with bein' called a Glass Walker when I talked to him last night. Even had some people he wanted me to say 'hi' to when I got back inta town." His free hand pushes into the front pocket of his jeans while he fixes a narrow gaze on Natalie. "Yeah, he belongs in another tribe. I even fuckin' told him what tribe really means. Fact is, if he wants to get anywhere in the Nation, and I have a good fuckin' idea that he does, he'll _have_ to shape up and shift over to a tribe that fits him better, and he'll either figure that out or someone he'll listen to'll figure it out for him. 'Til then, how the fuck is his being out there pissing in your personal cornflakes?"

From afar, to Jana, Scratch, Natalie, and Tu, Jon returns from lunch.

Hearing the conversation at hand, Jermey grows quiet, offering up a quick wave to everyone, then lets his gaze fall upon Tu for a moment, offering a quick smile. "... afternoon guys." He murmurs, settling his bag down, sliding into an empty seat.

Natalie pages to the room: ...I thought Scratch was blocking the door to the parlor? Or am I confused?

From afar, to the room, Scratch is, actually, but Jer could have slid past if he didn't mind a) getting rather pissy Rage 5 and b) just-woke up body odor and last night's beer and cigs.

Scratch pages to the room: Coin toss which is less appealing. :>

Jeremy pages to the room: Ah, my bad. I guess he can be standing behind Scratch then, peeking past.

From afar, to the room, Natalie pokes Scratch. OK. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. ;)

"Because," Nat snaps, eyes boring into the older Ahroun's, "I want to have piss-flavored cornflakes. All right?" She's yet to notice the Kin's arrival, even after his quiet greeting. "Why's it matter to you?"

The ragabash does interject then, though his distance from the people and the past prevents any real investment in his words. "He's still carrying the walker name. His actions reflect on the tribe. He maybe serving the Sept, but it appears he's rejected his tribe. That doesn't look good. He takes orders from someone else, apparently. It would be different if he provided us with some information, a pair of eyes for out there, but he doesn't appear to be filling that role, either."

Scratch rolls his shoulders into a shrug as he digs a pack of cigarettes from his jeans and pulls one out with his lips. "Oh, yeah?" The bloodshot blues roll over to Tu. "So, his bit last night about 'whatever the tribe wants from me, ask' was bullshit, huh? I kinda doubt it. Hard to bullshit in lupus." Lighting up, he looks back toward Natalie -- and steps to one side a bit to let Jeremy enter as well, though he doesn't look at the kin once. "I'm not sayin' I think it's fuckin' spectacular or anythin' that he's gone all White Fang, but him bein' Guardian _is_ fuckin' honorable. Least it was an honorable post back at Wind Catchers." "...."

Blinking slightly, Jeremy turns on heel and slips back a bit further. "Um.. I'm just.. going to.. be .. out here.. um.. playing Solitarie." He admits. Inch. Inch.

Long distance to the room: Tu craps and is waylaid at work. "Sorry, I need to idle for a bit. Assume Tu doesn't add too much more."

Natalie pages to the room: Gotcha.

From afar, to the room, Scratch nods.

"I'm not arguing that being a Guardian isn't honorable," Nat says, following Scratch with her eyes. Jer hasn't even been glanced at once. "I'm arguing that pretending you're the next White Wendigo, refusing to /admit/ that the damn fight's in the damn /City/, and refusing to take one step off the bawn because you're afraid someone'll call you 'Urrah' when you're a damn /Glass Walker/ is dishonorable." Huffing - rather like Tu saw her do earlier when the Fang got snippy - she yanks her eyes away to study the far side of the room. "--Anyway," she continues after a second, sounding marginally calmer, "He stays out there, I stay here, and I don't expect him to do anything useful for the Tribe. It all works out."

Scratch shakes his head, blowing smoke into the air. "Whatever, doll. Enjoy the taste of piss." Pushing off the doorjam, he turns his back on the scene and starts limping off toward the kitchen.

From afar, to the room, Natalie cheers! He didn't call me Honey!

Scratch pages to the room: You like 'doll' better?

Natalie pages to the room: I dunno. Is 'doll' for when he's mad at her?

Peering over into the room from over the lid of his PowerBook, Jeremy furrows his brows in a bit of concern, then goes back to tapping away at the keyboard.

From afar, to the room, Scratch uses all terms for all moods.

Natalie yells after him, "And don't call me _doll_!" She stares savagely at her coffee as though seriously considering throwing it. But with Tu quiet and Jeremy hidden behind the wall, she settles for flinging herself into her chair and sulking instead. Scratch disappears into the kitchen for an afternoon breakfast.

From afar, to the room, Scratch is still here for a bit, but will be out of room, so don't wait on my poses or anything. :)

Now that is quiet, Jeremy lets out a breath and rises up, making his way into the parlor, peering in. Lightly, he clears his throat. ".. Hey Nat.. um... I got something to tell you." He admits, looking a bit nervous.

Natalie glances over sharply at the kin, not relaxing in the slightest. Demands, "What are you doing here?" A pause, and she amends it grumpily to, "And what do you have to tell me?"

The kinfolk faulters for a moment, then hunches his shoulders back a bit. "Well.. those things I was making for ya? I got three done." He says. "Um.. ya'know.. the scope light thingys.. and um... last night Dakota told me she was pregnant." He slips his hands into his pockets, just so they won't get busy with each other. He is obviously nervous.

Natalie mouths silently, uncomprehending, "Things." Then memory strikes, hoisting her eyebrows up. "Oh! The scopes. Yeah, I remember. Three, huh? Cool. --And Dakota's pregnant? Congratulations. I bet Megan's happy as a cow in clover. When's she due?"

"Um... Eight months or something." Jeremy says. "I think.... I probably should ask her." He sighs and glances up to the ceiling. "I don't know what Megan thinks.. I'm not really close with her pack. We kinda try and leave that well alone.. ya'know... tribe an pack an relationship stuff kinda doesn't mix well."

"Speaking of not mixing well..." She hesitates. "Take this with your tact filter on full, 'cause I don't have one right now: What the hell are you doing here, under -this- moon?"

Glancing at his watch, Jeremy furrows his brows a bit, then sighs. "Kinda just wanted someone to talk to in the family, thats all." He admits. "I'll take off then. Sorry."

Natalie says "You'd be more sorry if I'd flipped out and killed you." Still, she hasn't moved from her chair, just flicks an absolving hand at him. "Talk to Jon, if you have to talk to Family under this moon. Or Emily. Or Rina. Just -- for the love of Gaia, don't come /here/. If -I- can't see Jon, -you- don't get to see, well, me. Get it?"

Wordlessly, the kin slowly nods his head, then heads back out to the other room, gathering up his bag once more. No smart assed words for a change? He looks completely subdued. She adds, attempting humor, "There aren't enough of us that I want there to be one less." "See you in a few weeks. I left the scopes upstairs in the server room if you want to play with them." Jeremy says softly, then slips out the door, closing it behind him with a soft thump.

From afar, to the room, Jeremy waves. "See ya guys! :) I gotta shower an get the hair cut.

Natalie pages to the room: Bye, Jer. Jeremy

Tu watches the kinfolk leave, and sits quiet for a few moments, letting the elder catch her breath. "Well", he says with a somewhat strained smile, "That certainly gave me an idea of some of the politics, though I was expecting more intra-tribe, as opposed to inter-tribe. Maybe we should move on to something else?"

Natalie leans forward to set her coffee on the table; leaning back, she scrubs a hand through her hair. "Sure. Sure, that'd be fine." Her shoulders roll a couple of times as she attempts to regather savior-faire. "What else do you want to know?"

Tu thinks for a few moments. "How about goals. Do we have any beyond just holding down the fort?"

Long distance to the room: Tu wonders. I should be okay moon phase wise, right? The New moon is my problem, right?

Scratch pages to the room: What's your Rage like?

You paged the room with '4. Wp 6.'.

Scratch pages to the room: WP doesn't mean a whole lot except for resisting frenzies. You're still apt to have them. You'll be tetchy on new moon but you get just as pissy on waxing moons as the rest of us. OK, not as much as me with Rage 5, but still.

Long distance to the room: Tu nods. I'll be more tense next scene.

Natalie breathes out a long breath. "Up until now - until you arrived - I barely had numbers to hold down the fort." Tilting her head, she studies him for a moment. "That I know of, we don't have any permanent vampires in town. There's a gang down in Havoc's territory that's making itself difficult, but that shouldn't be a problem. The Hospital's a blight, like I told you. Tobin and another Fang have been doing some scouting of it, and they want to organize a couple of attacks. I'd be all over that like white on rice. Scratch is. Otherwise, I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off, trying to keep partially in the know of everything, and pretty much failing." A shrug. "It's a question of manpower."

From afar, to the room, Scratch zooms. Gotta run.

Scratch has disconnected.

Tu chews on that for a bit. "Understandable. Well, I'm here, so you can start ordering me around to lighten your load, if you want." He grabs the cups off the table, and prepares to bring them into the kitchen. "Anything you need done immediately?" "Immediately," Nat echoes, watching him with her eyes. "

Hell, I don't know. -Immediately- we've gotta pack up the house in two weeks. And then I've got an Ahroun and two Theurge to wrangle for the next two months. I've gotta get you introduced around - Jon, Emily, Rina. You should meet Saul. Get out to the farm. There's nothing press-- Oh!" The woman leans forward, jabbing one finger to punctuate her words. "There's a Mage in town. He's taken it on himself to play traffic cop. If you have to do anything in the City, make sure you clean up afterwards. Otherwise... well. He decided it'd be fun to blow up all our electrical gear one day, because of a messy Firsting."

Tu disappears into the kitchen with a nod, and drops the mugs and stuff into the sink. He returns to the parlor a few seconds later. "Well, I should probably go, then. I'll be on my cell if you need me." Natalie only nods at him - she hasn't risen from her chair. "Thanks for coming over, Tu. -And- the offer." Another wave at her forehead. "Like I said, big red button. Maybe next time things won't get quite so heated." A wry smile shows precisely what she thinks of -that- possibility. "Cockroach watch your steps. I think I'm gonna go... pound the snot out of the punching bag, see if I can't calm down a bit."

"Probably a good idea. I'd probably do the same if unpacking wasn't so tiring. I'll be in touch." He presses the button on the control panel to open the gate, and heads out.

Natalie pages to Jon and Tu: Hey Jon - when should we warn Tu that Nat's a bitch? ;)

Jon pages to Natalie and Tu: I think that should be included in the disclaimer document Natalie should present to all new GWs to have to sign. :)

From afar, to Jon and Tu, Natalie mutters. Mean.