A whole world away.
Monday, 26 March 2012 19:20![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
flint_garouStressfull sometimes, but there're good things too.
26 March, 2012
The moon is in the waxing Crescent (Theurge) Moon phase (28% full).
"Flint should be there, this time," Alexandra tells Ky as the two of them draw near the tenement. "It'll be nice when I have a phone again, so I don't have to worry so much about making arrangements when I happen to see someone, though."
Flint's sitting sprawled on the couch in the lobby, such that he can see the security monitors, with his sketchbook balanced on one knee. Seems that the young Galliard's got security detail, for the moment.
Ky climbs up the steps to door, glancing up at Lex. "Yeah, a phone would be good. Dropping in unexpected is… some people don't like it." He pauses, looking back at the Cliath. "Anything I need to know about him? Or… he like Salem or Mouse?"
"Nah, not nearly as intense as meeting someone like them. Flint and I were cubs together, part of the time, and he passed his Rite a couple of weeks before I passed mine. So it'll be a little more relaxed." Alexandra hits the buzzer, then.
Flint glances at the monitor when the buzzer hits, and then puts aside the sketchbook onto the coffee table, getting up to go open the door. There's a small smile on the teen's face, and he steps aside immediately to let the two in. "Hi Lex." Attention turns, a little more closely, to Kyler. "Uh. Hi."
Ky looks at the door when it opens, then edges a fraction of a step back to follow Lex in. "Hi," he answers, gaze averting downward.
"Hey," Alexandra greets as she comes inside. "This is Ky. Ky, Flint. I brought him over to meet you the other day, but you weren't around. I'd run out of breath trying to do both of your full introductions, as long as they are, but feel free to do them if you want to."
Flint grins a little. "'s no worry," he assures Lex, sparing a brief half-hug for the Ahroun after he's shut the door behind them. To Kyler, the Glass Walker adds. "Requiem's good enough, for. Formalness. I'm Galliard, cliath, and—" he points to the building that they happen to be in "—Glass Walker." That said, he leads the other two back towards the couch.
"True Arrow Finds His Mark," Kyler responds, still falling in behind Lex. "Ragabash cub, Grandson of Thunder." He casts furtive little glances, side to side, peeking about at the lobby with more interest than his first trip to the building.
Alexandra says, "Flint and I are going to pack together, eventually. Not that we've decided much more than that yet, but it's still just the two of us at this point, so we've got a little while before we can decide too much." She takes a seat on the couch, settling in and getting comfortable.
Alexandra …after making sure there aren't any roaches underneath her.
Kaz can be seen in the monitors, whistling something or other as she lets herself in with her key. "Whups!" she says, once she's inside. "I shoulda knocked, instead. Hey, people."
Flint offers the Bone Gnawer a grin, nearly equal to the one he'd given when he let the two Shadow Lords in, and waves. "Hi Kaz-rhya," he says, folding himself down right next to Alexandra. A nod is directed to Ky. "Nice to meet you finally. Lex has. Lex said some pretty good stuff 'bout you." And from the tone of his voice, it's an opinion that the Glass Walker does value.
Ky looks over his shoulder when Kaz enters, offering her a tentative grin. He moves to sit on the floor, near Lex's feet, looking up at Flint. "It's good to meet you, Flint-rhya. I… can't say the same about you, except Lex-rhya had said you're less intense than Salem-rhya."
Alexandra says, "Hey, I told you about the fight against the skull-pigs, and that was Flint that I was fighting the boar with! But yeah, I really haven't had the chance to tell you much of anything that happened when I was a cub, have I? But now that you're at the Vault, I actually see you, so I'll be able to tell you about more." Kaz gets a smile and a wave. "Good evening, Kaz-rhya."
Kaz salutes Flint (as Walker In Charge Of The Room, apparently), and grins at the Shadow Lords. "Hey there," she says, and clumps over to flop onto a couch. "Most people are less intense than Salem. Who all was in on this pig thing?"
Ky makes an 'oh' with his mouth, though no sound comes out. His arms drape over his knees, gaze casually wandering from one face to the other as they speak.
Flint is, more or less, sputtering in the even brief comparison to the Philodox, and he grins at Kaz. "I should. I should hope so. Really." Then, Flint settles back into the couch he and Lex are on, not overly far from her, such that she could, if she cared to, easily nudge him or whatever. "Anyway. That skull pig thing, suppose I ought to, then?" A moment, and a deep breath, before the young Galliard starts. "Anyway it. Lex and Nikolai Thunder's-Heart-rhya and I were there, and then um. Owen-rhya. And Aaron-rhya… Lionheart, once Savages-Enemy?" Fingers tap on his knee when he falls silent.
"This was when I was still a cub, though just a few days before my Rite," Alexandra adds during the pause, then falls silent herself so that Flint can continue.
Kaz is flopped on one couch, Alexandra and Flint on another. "It is damn good to have Aaron back," she says, as she listens to Flint. Tilting her head at Alexandra, she says, "Huh. Good show. Them pigs ain't no fun."
Ky, sitting on the floor near Alexandra's feet, listening quietly to the conversation.
Nicodemus lets himself in through the front door to the Walker's safehouse, quickly comes inside, closes the door, and double-checks that the door is secured and locked before turning around and assessing who, actually, is already in the lobby area. "Uh." He focuses on a familiar face. "Good evening, Flint. You've got friends over tonight?"
Flint is nodding to Kaz, and has his mouth open as if he's going to speak and tell more of the story, when his gaze focuses on the monitor that shows the front door when Nicodemus becomes visible. As such, the kin is greeted with a half wave. "Hi Nick," he responds, then points out the other three with him in turn. "Yeah, kinda. Guys, this's Nick. He's kin. New-ish and such, so…" A pause, and Flint turns back to Kaz. "No," he agrees, "they're not. If I never bite one again, it. Too soon. Also, Kaz-rhya, if. If you hadn't heard, the. Wasps're here. And all."
Kaz blinks. "Ain't he—" Then she stops, and turns to stare at Flint. "Wait. Like, here as in at the Caern here? Well, shit." She bangs her head on the back of the couch, then sighs. But then she shakes her head, stands up, and offers Nick her hand. "Kaz," she tells him. "Lotta people call me Ears, though they're kinda borin' in homid. I'm a Bone Gnawer Galliard. Metis, in case that means anything t'you. I thought you were a cop, though?"
There's no way Alexandra's calling someone she's just met who's more than twice her age by their first name, but with nothing else to go with, she reverts to more general courtesy, offering, "Hello, sir. Alexandra Morgan. Shadow Lord Ahroun. Cliath."
Ky looks up at Nick, offering just a small wave and a grin to him. He follows Lex's example after a moment, quietly offering, "Kyler Smith, Ragabash cub, also Shadow Lord."
"Used to be a cop, then a homicide detective, then I decided to quit before the job killed me and took a network security job down in San Fran. Decided the place wasn't my speed. Came back here. Now I'm working as a licensed private investigator who specializes in finding people who go missing: trying to do some good before there are corpses involved. Dalton," the man says, completing the prelude to his introduction. "Nick Dalton. Glass Walker kinfolk." He addresses each of the new-to-him garou in term. "A pleasure to meet you Miss Kaz. Miss Morgan. Mister Smith." He moves further into the room and inquires, hovering near a vacant chair, "Mind if I join you? Or is this an 'adults only' conversation?"
There is, for the perceptive, still a definite and instinctive flinch that crosses over Flint's expression at the mention of 'cop'. Each time it's said. "No, sit, it's. It's fine," he says to Nick, and attention turns back to Kaz. "Well. Probably at the Caern? I'm not sure but. Yesterday night there was a… Lex, a stampede's a good way to, right?" Flint looks over at his packmate for a moment, then continues. "And there're a shit-ton more brambles and they were growing still from. I was at a distance but. And, this is what Mouse-rhya said—before she went to do what she needed to—was likely to happen. And there was a falcon-spirit that swung, over the Edgewood meadow, and it. It said, 'she is coming!' and I'm pretty sure. Wasps," the young Galliard finishes, glancing up to Kaz every so often as he speaks. "Mouse-rhya also said that, stay the hell out of their way when. When they come. So. I. I sent email the moment I got back here, and."
Kaz and Nick shake, and Kaz laughs, a short burst of it. "You change jobs like I change Septs. But yeah, you're just as adult as any of the rest of us, have at it." Then she's listening to Flint. "Do you ever finish a sentence the way it started?" she wonders, but then nods. "Alla them warnings was saying that, every damn one. Shit fuck. I wanted t'say goodbye before— Well, anyways."
Alexandra says "Yeah. Stampede, or maybe flood. It was a lot like something I saw on the Discovery Channel once, about these ants from South America or Africa that just go on a rampage, a massive carpet of them that covers the jungle floor, and all the other insects and small animals just have to run or be overwhelmed."
"Only one not 'adult' here is me," Ky says with an amused grin. "And," this to Nick, "Just Ky. Only ones that use Smith or Kyler or a combination are …people yelling at me." The grin fades a touch as he completes that sentence, and he goes quiet again.
Nicodemus offers a mild grin in response to Kaz's comment about his job-hopping, Ky gets a nod of acknowledgement, and he then settles down into a free chair. One leg crosses over the other, and the smile rapidly fades and reforms as a puzzled expression as he picks up on the thread of the conversation. He stays quiet. Listening. Perhaps trying to better understand the conversation and situation.
Flint purses his lips at Kaz. "Sometimes I do… Not usually, though. Mouse-rhya pokes me about it a lot about confidently talking, and such and." The young Galliard shakes his head and shrugs, obviously not letting it be a big issue despite the hesitations in the words, and then the next sentence is much more carefully spoken. "I know I need to work on it. Anyway, the spirits were. Were fleeing from stuff and. So like I said, best guess is that, Wasps are… here."
"Do it more often. It ain't only confidence, it's letting the story be more obvious. You're more a visual arts dude, but if you're tellin' it in words, you gotta have respect for your materials." Kaz shrugs. "Anyways. Yeah. Good assumption." She glances at Nick. "Take it you ain't been filled in on this crap?"
Alexandra asks, "Do we have any idea how long they'll stay?" She knows some of the details. "I'm a little curious to see what it's like when things are normal, personally, since I only got here once things were already starting to get weird."
Ky pulls his knees up a little more, arms wrapping around them. He lets his gaze wander again, a single circuit taking in the ranked Garou and Kin before falling off to a place near the door.
"Mouse filled me in on a little bit of it," Nicodemus says in response to Kaz. "How the caern had to be put to bed because there's wasps and brambles with weird fruit and mushrooms and the woods are dangerous even to the garou and how there are dreams of it getting worse and worse." Although Nick is speaking the words, there's the occasional stilted hesitation in their delivery—as if he's heard the words before from Mouse but doesn't really follow or comprehend their deeper meanings or subtleties. As if to confirm his weak grasp on the situation, he adds, "I think all of this stuff is well above my pay grade. If I can do something to help, just let me know. Unfortunately, I think all of this stuff falls well outside of my areas of expertise." He then offers, "But I could put a fresh pot of coffee on?"
Flint looks over to Nick. "If you want to. To put up coffee I…" the young Galliard smiles. "I can't object." There's a much more subdued look from Flint when he turns to nod to Kaz. "Yes, Kaz-rhya. I'm working on… On it." There might be a slight reminder of another Walker Galliard, in the hesitation of speech, but there's a smile for Kaz as well, before Flint scootches a little closer to Alexandra and leans against her, ever so slightly.
Kaz nods to Nicodemus. "Well, it's going to be inundated with wasp spirits that want it for their nesting ground, but close enough. Coffee'd be great, sure." She flops back down on her couch, and shrugs at Flint. "Like I say. Respect your tools. That's all. I ain't going, "Shape up or ship out." That'd be both stupid and useless, specially since you are workin' on it."
Alexandra tells Nick, "When Flint gets cut, he bleeds coffee, so you'll be doing the Glass Walkers a great service by putting on a pot." Her friend gets a squeeze of the shoulder. "You'll get it," she tells him, tone absolutely confident.
Nicodemus uncrosses his legs and heads off into the other room to make a fresh pot of coffee for all. He idly whistles a bit of the classical music scored most frequently to "Peter and the Wolf" as he goes about making coffee. Extra strong.
Flint looks over at Lex for a moment, and does relax a little at the shoulder squeeze. "Do not. I'd have to drink, um. More coffee, to bleed it." Another nod of acknowledgement is turned to Kaz, and it seems that now is as good of a time as ever to work on it and practise, because the words come far, far more deliberately, though still with some hesitation. "Then again. Hardest part of my Rite of Passage was probably when I had to explain to Mouse-rhya and Kavi-rhya and Salem-rhya about the memorial idea. But I… am working on it, so."
Kaz brightens. "Yeah! Hey. How did that go? I mean. It musta gone OK, but…" She sits forward, looking at him with interested intent.
"Drink more coffee? Is that physically possible?" Alexandra teases him, grinning. She doesn't say anything else, though, letting him answer Kaz's question.
Flint nudges Lex's knee with his hand in response, grinning a bit, and the teasing does get him to relax. "Sure it is," and then Flint nods slightly to Kaz. "It was good. Kinda scary, but I showed them the sketches, and explained it, and I'm. I'm working on it and get to build it." When Nick returns with the coffee for everyone, Flint pauses a moment to rescue his sketchbook from where it is on the table. "I. When I was done explaining it, Mouse-rhya asked, how it was going to be built, and. Then, she named me cliath and I have. I've got 'til Memorial Day, and 'm already working on a lot of it up in the workshop." There is a hint of the younger galliard's excitement that bubbles through the words. "And, th' new name's long," Flint adds, glancing up from his coffee to Kaz, now that he's pretty near done. "Carves the Requiem for Cockroach's Children. So, Requiem."
Kaz murmurs thanks to Nick, then dumps some more sugar in. "Dude," she grins. "That's a name and a half." Then she thinks. "I bet—I bet you don't want to show it to people 'til it's done. Am I right?"
Alexandra offers Nick a polite thank you as she's given a cup, though she'll hand it over to Flint untouched once he's finished his cup. She stays quiet for the moment, looking between the two of them, although her pride in her friend's accomplishment is clear enough in her bearing and expression.
"You're right," Flint responds with a nod. "Mostly right now, I'm. Trying to get lumber, going to the lumberyard and the scrapyard and seeing what I ask them to give to me cheap. Rough-shaping pieces. Making some cutting boards, and simple boxes, before I get into the more… um, complex, parts of the project itself." A smile and a pause, before there's a slight change of topic. "And, Lex and I are talking about packing, too."
"Ha. I was right." She listens, nodding; at this last, Kaz looks over and gives Alexandra a thorough examination-by-glance. Then she nods, with a grin. "Good. You guys make each other happy. What kinda Totem you thinkin've lookin' for?"
Alexandra replies, "We don't know for sure yet. We've talked about maybe a totem of wisdom or of war, but when it comes to war totems, definitely one that favors planning rather than just rage."
Flint pauses a long while after Lex speaks, another slow sip from his coffee taken. "But, we're not entirely sure. And. Ishmael-rhya said… I'd asked him about it while were working. And he said something 'bout that. The right Totem does tend to find/come, when you go looking." There's a full-on grin in there, as well.
"Sure does. And you tend to bond with Totems that… lead you in the right direction." Kaz shrugs. "Mystical processes, whatchagonna do?"
"I hope Flint and I find a Theurge to join our pack…I know enough about spirits and mystical stuff to have some idea of just how much I don't know," Alexandra answers. "What totem spirits have you packed under, Kaz-rhya?"
Flint sets his now empty coffee cup aside, and does, in fact, go to take Lex's now, without seemingly giving too much thought to the matter. And then once he's done so, there's a definitely curious glance to the elder Galliard, attentiveness showing in subtle cues of posture and gaze.
Kaz has to think. "Rat, Dog, Raccoon—Those were all before I got here. Then Weasel, which was fuckin' weird at first, Rat, Wolverine, which was, thankfully, brief and to the point, then Raccoon again, then Badger when I was in Portland, then Raccoon, then Rat again." She adds, with a mild grin, "Each specific Totem spirit's different, which is why I say it like that."
Alexandra says, "Raccoon…I don't know anything about them as spirits, but if they're like the animal, that must have been especially interesting each time."
Another nod from Flint, who keeps mental count, tapping one finger on his knee as Kaz lists, and then stares not quite at the older Galliard in a good bit of awe. "Makes sense," he adds, head tilted to one side in thought.
"Raccoon as a spirit is just the best dude ever. He's stubborn and he can fight, but he has a sense'a humor, too. I've always liked 'em, 'cause they ain't spirits with a lot of assumptions or like, dignity? They's just themselves. So you can learn from 'em without feelin' like you're a fuckwad or nothin'." Kaz shrugs. "It's been a good fit. Almost as good as Rat." Then she grins at Flint. "Lotta people look at me weird because I been in so many packs, but I wander around a lot. Plus, I'm old, so there you go."
One disadvantage to not drinking coffee—no caffeine to keep you awake as it starts getting later in the evening. Looking at the time, Alexandra says, "Ky and I should probably head back to the Vault now, given how long it took us to get over here. Don't want to draw unwanted attention by being out past curfew." She doesn't sound like she particularly wants to go. "Was good visiting with you both." The Ragabash cub also offers his own farewells.
Kaz says, "Aw," but nods. "Yeah, OK. Y'all have a g'night."
Flint gets up for a moment to hug Lex, a nod. "Okay, yeah," he agrees, a nod of parting given to Ky. "Be. Be careful, and stay safe, and all." As the two Shadow Lords depart, flint eases back down onto the couch, settling cross-legged and back into the corner a bit.
Kaz flops back further, herself. "When's y'birthday, anyway?"
"I turned fourteen in…" Flint pauses to think, birthdays not being something he's spared too much thought for in the past several months. "October. It's the eleventh of October, actually."
"Have t'try 'n remember that one. M'mom never tol' me mine." Kaz thinks about it. "Gotta be sometime in April, though."
Flint nods at Kaz. "I've just been… there's been so much the past few months. My last birthday seems a whole world and a half away, really," he admits, quiet.
"No shit. One thing I can say about this kinda life, it sure ain't boring. I might wish it could be less stressful sometimes, but…" Kaz shrugs. "It is what it is."
"Mmhm," Flint says, hands wrapping around his coffee. "Yeah, but. It's definitely not boring. Always something, 's far as being kept busy." A quiet sigh follows, but more one of exhaustion than anything else.
Kaz looks at the young man assessingly. "Sleep. Eight hours of it. And meals. Frequent ones."
Flint blinks a moment, and then nods. "Yes, Kaz-rhya," is acknowledged with a grin. "I've. It's been so busy, I mighta not been sleeping so much." Shifty-eyes. "Kinda when I can. But I've got the project to work on, and I've been back and forth from. From Edgewood, and then there was the stuff with Rina," which draws a worried furrow of brow and involuntary glance like the teen wishes he could see through the ceiling, "and there were the dreams, and now the wasps. And sometimes I go up to the workshop just to do one thing and lose. Lose track of time a little, and then it's morning."
Kaz says, "Alarm clocks," as if she's thought of this before. Probably, she has. "Them cell phones have 'em. Set 'em to bleep at you at specified times, so you'll at least notice the time, if not do anything about it." And then she adds, "How is she, anyways? I mean, other'n mad, bad, and dangerous to know."
Flint frowns a little more, one knee drawing up to his chest. "I. I don't quite know, right now it's complicated and. You should… should ask Lefty-rhya," is the conclusion that Flint manages to come to, after a long moment of thought. The concern's clear in the young Galliard's voice. "Th' other day, Lefty grabbed me from. From what I was doing in the evening alluva sudden and." There's another pause. "And we went and found Rina, and killed the fucking leech, but." After this, Flint's lips purse into a thin line, and he sighs again, more worry this time.
"…But Rina's kind've addicted and the world ain't no fun? Yeah." Kaz nods, sympathetically. "It's like that. Long as the leech's dead, and she ain't … I dunno the term, but she ain't tied to it irrevocably, she'll get better."
Flint nods. It's a very small nod compared to the teen's usual, and he looks over to Kaz, the worry still not quite gone from his expression. "Yeah. That, pretty much. And yeah, it's dead. And. I'd been out with Rina few weeks back and the thing came right up to us and talked to her, but I didn't have 'nough of a clue other than that. I didn't like it," he says, chin resting on folded hands eventually.
Kaz nods, slowly. "It ain't like you can tell. And it's hard f'you t'learn t'sense the Wyrm. And… Well." She starts rummaging in her pocket. "And I know that you're like, "I should have done something!" but it's awfully fuckin' hard to be a mindreader. And it ain't too easy to try and tell Rina what t'do, either."
Another nod follows, this one a little more certain, and a faint snort of laughter. "Yeah, I'm not 'bout to try an' tell Rina what to do," Flint states. "But I mean. I was on. Back in Oakland, I spent time on the streets long enough that. Not liking when someone asks to speak in, in private's a pretty basic instinct for me. Kinda like not trusting cops." This is added a little more quietly. "And so I didn't like him off the bat, pretty much."
Kaz nods. "Yeah. And like. That kinda instinct is often just as good as any magical shit. I mean, f'all you know, he may just be an abusive shithead. Which is also something devoutly to be avoided."
"Yeah," Flint agrees. "I try and. Trust those instincts, and all. Been good in the past." Then, Flint yawns, one hand coming up to politely cover his mouth as he does so, pulling out his cell phone to look at the time. "Right, I've only got security for another hour and a. And a bit, 'fore Ishmael's supposed to be down to take over. And then," he says, with a grin, "eight hours of sleep. Or maybe ten or twelve if. If nothing explodes."
"You want," Kaz offers, "I can take it f'th' last half hour. I got some books to listen to."
Flint thinks for a moment, then nods. "If, it. Yeah. Thanks, Kaz-rhya," Flint says, rolling his shoulders and then stretching his arms out. "I. Only got a nap since the stampede thing. Had to send email, stuff."
"Any chance you could forward me a copy? I'd kinda like t'see t'heat of th' moment news." She levers herself off her couch to give him a grin, and then ambles over to the actual observation portion of the program. "You sleep good, huh?"
Flint pushes towards his feet, cup of coffee in hand as he starts towards the stairwell, then abruptly turns for the elevator instead. "Can do. Sent it just to th' list, but." Yawn. "Inna morning, will do. G'night, Kaz-rhya." And with that, the elevator makes the tinny *bing!*
26 March, 2012
The moon is in the waxing Crescent (Theurge) Moon phase (28% full).
"Flint should be there, this time," Alexandra tells Ky as the two of them draw near the tenement. "It'll be nice when I have a phone again, so I don't have to worry so much about making arrangements when I happen to see someone, though."
Flint's sitting sprawled on the couch in the lobby, such that he can see the security monitors, with his sketchbook balanced on one knee. Seems that the young Galliard's got security detail, for the moment.
Ky climbs up the steps to door, glancing up at Lex. "Yeah, a phone would be good. Dropping in unexpected is… some people don't like it." He pauses, looking back at the Cliath. "Anything I need to know about him? Or… he like Salem or Mouse?"
"Nah, not nearly as intense as meeting someone like them. Flint and I were cubs together, part of the time, and he passed his Rite a couple of weeks before I passed mine. So it'll be a little more relaxed." Alexandra hits the buzzer, then.
Flint glances at the monitor when the buzzer hits, and then puts aside the sketchbook onto the coffee table, getting up to go open the door. There's a small smile on the teen's face, and he steps aside immediately to let the two in. "Hi Lex." Attention turns, a little more closely, to Kyler. "Uh. Hi."
Ky looks at the door when it opens, then edges a fraction of a step back to follow Lex in. "Hi," he answers, gaze averting downward.
"Hey," Alexandra greets as she comes inside. "This is Ky. Ky, Flint. I brought him over to meet you the other day, but you weren't around. I'd run out of breath trying to do both of your full introductions, as long as they are, but feel free to do them if you want to."
Flint grins a little. "'s no worry," he assures Lex, sparing a brief half-hug for the Ahroun after he's shut the door behind them. To Kyler, the Glass Walker adds. "Requiem's good enough, for. Formalness. I'm Galliard, cliath, and—" he points to the building that they happen to be in "—Glass Walker." That said, he leads the other two back towards the couch.
"True Arrow Finds His Mark," Kyler responds, still falling in behind Lex. "Ragabash cub, Grandson of Thunder." He casts furtive little glances, side to side, peeking about at the lobby with more interest than his first trip to the building.
Alexandra says, "Flint and I are going to pack together, eventually. Not that we've decided much more than that yet, but it's still just the two of us at this point, so we've got a little while before we can decide too much." She takes a seat on the couch, settling in and getting comfortable.
Alexandra …after making sure there aren't any roaches underneath her.
Kaz can be seen in the monitors, whistling something or other as she lets herself in with her key. "Whups!" she says, once she's inside. "I shoulda knocked, instead. Hey, people."
Flint offers the Bone Gnawer a grin, nearly equal to the one he'd given when he let the two Shadow Lords in, and waves. "Hi Kaz-rhya," he says, folding himself down right next to Alexandra. A nod is directed to Ky. "Nice to meet you finally. Lex has. Lex said some pretty good stuff 'bout you." And from the tone of his voice, it's an opinion that the Glass Walker does value.
Ky looks over his shoulder when Kaz enters, offering her a tentative grin. He moves to sit on the floor, near Lex's feet, looking up at Flint. "It's good to meet you, Flint-rhya. I… can't say the same about you, except Lex-rhya had said you're less intense than Salem-rhya."
Alexandra says, "Hey, I told you about the fight against the skull-pigs, and that was Flint that I was fighting the boar with! But yeah, I really haven't had the chance to tell you much of anything that happened when I was a cub, have I? But now that you're at the Vault, I actually see you, so I'll be able to tell you about more." Kaz gets a smile and a wave. "Good evening, Kaz-rhya."
Kaz salutes Flint (as Walker In Charge Of The Room, apparently), and grins at the Shadow Lords. "Hey there," she says, and clumps over to flop onto a couch. "Most people are less intense than Salem. Who all was in on this pig thing?"
Ky makes an 'oh' with his mouth, though no sound comes out. His arms drape over his knees, gaze casually wandering from one face to the other as they speak.
Flint is, more or less, sputtering in the even brief comparison to the Philodox, and he grins at Kaz. "I should. I should hope so. Really." Then, Flint settles back into the couch he and Lex are on, not overly far from her, such that she could, if she cared to, easily nudge him or whatever. "Anyway. That skull pig thing, suppose I ought to, then?" A moment, and a deep breath, before the young Galliard starts. "Anyway it. Lex and Nikolai Thunder's-Heart-rhya and I were there, and then um. Owen-rhya. And Aaron-rhya… Lionheart, once Savages-Enemy?" Fingers tap on his knee when he falls silent.
"This was when I was still a cub, though just a few days before my Rite," Alexandra adds during the pause, then falls silent herself so that Flint can continue.
Kaz is flopped on one couch, Alexandra and Flint on another. "It is damn good to have Aaron back," she says, as she listens to Flint. Tilting her head at Alexandra, she says, "Huh. Good show. Them pigs ain't no fun."
Ky, sitting on the floor near Alexandra's feet, listening quietly to the conversation.
Nicodemus lets himself in through the front door to the Walker's safehouse, quickly comes inside, closes the door, and double-checks that the door is secured and locked before turning around and assessing who, actually, is already in the lobby area. "Uh." He focuses on a familiar face. "Good evening, Flint. You've got friends over tonight?"
Flint is nodding to Kaz, and has his mouth open as if he's going to speak and tell more of the story, when his gaze focuses on the monitor that shows the front door when Nicodemus becomes visible. As such, the kin is greeted with a half wave. "Hi Nick," he responds, then points out the other three with him in turn. "Yeah, kinda. Guys, this's Nick. He's kin. New-ish and such, so…" A pause, and Flint turns back to Kaz. "No," he agrees, "they're not. If I never bite one again, it. Too soon. Also, Kaz-rhya, if. If you hadn't heard, the. Wasps're here. And all."
Kaz blinks. "Ain't he—" Then she stops, and turns to stare at Flint. "Wait. Like, here as in at the Caern here? Well, shit." She bangs her head on the back of the couch, then sighs. But then she shakes her head, stands up, and offers Nick her hand. "Kaz," she tells him. "Lotta people call me Ears, though they're kinda borin' in homid. I'm a Bone Gnawer Galliard. Metis, in case that means anything t'you. I thought you were a cop, though?"
There's no way Alexandra's calling someone she's just met who's more than twice her age by their first name, but with nothing else to go with, she reverts to more general courtesy, offering, "Hello, sir. Alexandra Morgan. Shadow Lord Ahroun. Cliath."
Ky looks up at Nick, offering just a small wave and a grin to him. He follows Lex's example after a moment, quietly offering, "Kyler Smith, Ragabash cub, also Shadow Lord."
"Used to be a cop, then a homicide detective, then I decided to quit before the job killed me and took a network security job down in San Fran. Decided the place wasn't my speed. Came back here. Now I'm working as a licensed private investigator who specializes in finding people who go missing: trying to do some good before there are corpses involved. Dalton," the man says, completing the prelude to his introduction. "Nick Dalton. Glass Walker kinfolk." He addresses each of the new-to-him garou in term. "A pleasure to meet you Miss Kaz. Miss Morgan. Mister Smith." He moves further into the room and inquires, hovering near a vacant chair, "Mind if I join you? Or is this an 'adults only' conversation?"
There is, for the perceptive, still a definite and instinctive flinch that crosses over Flint's expression at the mention of 'cop'. Each time it's said. "No, sit, it's. It's fine," he says to Nick, and attention turns back to Kaz. "Well. Probably at the Caern? I'm not sure but. Yesterday night there was a… Lex, a stampede's a good way to, right?" Flint looks over at his packmate for a moment, then continues. "And there're a shit-ton more brambles and they were growing still from. I was at a distance but. And, this is what Mouse-rhya said—before she went to do what she needed to—was likely to happen. And there was a falcon-spirit that swung, over the Edgewood meadow, and it. It said, 'she is coming!' and I'm pretty sure. Wasps," the young Galliard finishes, glancing up to Kaz every so often as he speaks. "Mouse-rhya also said that, stay the hell out of their way when. When they come. So. I. I sent email the moment I got back here, and."
Kaz and Nick shake, and Kaz laughs, a short burst of it. "You change jobs like I change Septs. But yeah, you're just as adult as any of the rest of us, have at it." Then she's listening to Flint. "Do you ever finish a sentence the way it started?" she wonders, but then nods. "Alla them warnings was saying that, every damn one. Shit fuck. I wanted t'say goodbye before— Well, anyways."
Alexandra says "Yeah. Stampede, or maybe flood. It was a lot like something I saw on the Discovery Channel once, about these ants from South America or Africa that just go on a rampage, a massive carpet of them that covers the jungle floor, and all the other insects and small animals just have to run or be overwhelmed."
"Only one not 'adult' here is me," Ky says with an amused grin. "And," this to Nick, "Just Ky. Only ones that use Smith or Kyler or a combination are …people yelling at me." The grin fades a touch as he completes that sentence, and he goes quiet again.
Nicodemus offers a mild grin in response to Kaz's comment about his job-hopping, Ky gets a nod of acknowledgement, and he then settles down into a free chair. One leg crosses over the other, and the smile rapidly fades and reforms as a puzzled expression as he picks up on the thread of the conversation. He stays quiet. Listening. Perhaps trying to better understand the conversation and situation.
Flint purses his lips at Kaz. "Sometimes I do… Not usually, though. Mouse-rhya pokes me about it a lot about confidently talking, and such and." The young Galliard shakes his head and shrugs, obviously not letting it be a big issue despite the hesitations in the words, and then the next sentence is much more carefully spoken. "I know I need to work on it. Anyway, the spirits were. Were fleeing from stuff and. So like I said, best guess is that, Wasps are… here."
"Do it more often. It ain't only confidence, it's letting the story be more obvious. You're more a visual arts dude, but if you're tellin' it in words, you gotta have respect for your materials." Kaz shrugs. "Anyways. Yeah. Good assumption." She glances at Nick. "Take it you ain't been filled in on this crap?"
Alexandra asks, "Do we have any idea how long they'll stay?" She knows some of the details. "I'm a little curious to see what it's like when things are normal, personally, since I only got here once things were already starting to get weird."
Ky pulls his knees up a little more, arms wrapping around them. He lets his gaze wander again, a single circuit taking in the ranked Garou and Kin before falling off to a place near the door.
"Mouse filled me in on a little bit of it," Nicodemus says in response to Kaz. "How the caern had to be put to bed because there's wasps and brambles with weird fruit and mushrooms and the woods are dangerous even to the garou and how there are dreams of it getting worse and worse." Although Nick is speaking the words, there's the occasional stilted hesitation in their delivery—as if he's heard the words before from Mouse but doesn't really follow or comprehend their deeper meanings or subtleties. As if to confirm his weak grasp on the situation, he adds, "I think all of this stuff is well above my pay grade. If I can do something to help, just let me know. Unfortunately, I think all of this stuff falls well outside of my areas of expertise." He then offers, "But I could put a fresh pot of coffee on?"
Flint looks over to Nick. "If you want to. To put up coffee I…" the young Galliard smiles. "I can't object." There's a much more subdued look from Flint when he turns to nod to Kaz. "Yes, Kaz-rhya. I'm working on… On it." There might be a slight reminder of another Walker Galliard, in the hesitation of speech, but there's a smile for Kaz as well, before Flint scootches a little closer to Alexandra and leans against her, ever so slightly.
Kaz nods to Nicodemus. "Well, it's going to be inundated with wasp spirits that want it for their nesting ground, but close enough. Coffee'd be great, sure." She flops back down on her couch, and shrugs at Flint. "Like I say. Respect your tools. That's all. I ain't going, "Shape up or ship out." That'd be both stupid and useless, specially since you are workin' on it."
Alexandra tells Nick, "When Flint gets cut, he bleeds coffee, so you'll be doing the Glass Walkers a great service by putting on a pot." Her friend gets a squeeze of the shoulder. "You'll get it," she tells him, tone absolutely confident.
Nicodemus uncrosses his legs and heads off into the other room to make a fresh pot of coffee for all. He idly whistles a bit of the classical music scored most frequently to "Peter and the Wolf" as he goes about making coffee. Extra strong.
Flint looks over at Lex for a moment, and does relax a little at the shoulder squeeze. "Do not. I'd have to drink, um. More coffee, to bleed it." Another nod of acknowledgement is turned to Kaz, and it seems that now is as good of a time as ever to work on it and practise, because the words come far, far more deliberately, though still with some hesitation. "Then again. Hardest part of my Rite of Passage was probably when I had to explain to Mouse-rhya and Kavi-rhya and Salem-rhya about the memorial idea. But I… am working on it, so."
Kaz brightens. "Yeah! Hey. How did that go? I mean. It musta gone OK, but…" She sits forward, looking at him with interested intent.
"Drink more coffee? Is that physically possible?" Alexandra teases him, grinning. She doesn't say anything else, though, letting him answer Kaz's question.
Flint nudges Lex's knee with his hand in response, grinning a bit, and the teasing does get him to relax. "Sure it is," and then Flint nods slightly to Kaz. "It was good. Kinda scary, but I showed them the sketches, and explained it, and I'm. I'm working on it and get to build it." When Nick returns with the coffee for everyone, Flint pauses a moment to rescue his sketchbook from where it is on the table. "I. When I was done explaining it, Mouse-rhya asked, how it was going to be built, and. Then, she named me cliath and I have. I've got 'til Memorial Day, and 'm already working on a lot of it up in the workshop." There is a hint of the younger galliard's excitement that bubbles through the words. "And, th' new name's long," Flint adds, glancing up from his coffee to Kaz, now that he's pretty near done. "Carves the Requiem for Cockroach's Children. So, Requiem."
Kaz murmurs thanks to Nick, then dumps some more sugar in. "Dude," she grins. "That's a name and a half." Then she thinks. "I bet—I bet you don't want to show it to people 'til it's done. Am I right?"
Alexandra offers Nick a polite thank you as she's given a cup, though she'll hand it over to Flint untouched once he's finished his cup. She stays quiet for the moment, looking between the two of them, although her pride in her friend's accomplishment is clear enough in her bearing and expression.
"You're right," Flint responds with a nod. "Mostly right now, I'm. Trying to get lumber, going to the lumberyard and the scrapyard and seeing what I ask them to give to me cheap. Rough-shaping pieces. Making some cutting boards, and simple boxes, before I get into the more… um, complex, parts of the project itself." A smile and a pause, before there's a slight change of topic. "And, Lex and I are talking about packing, too."
"Ha. I was right." She listens, nodding; at this last, Kaz looks over and gives Alexandra a thorough examination-by-glance. Then she nods, with a grin. "Good. You guys make each other happy. What kinda Totem you thinkin've lookin' for?"
Alexandra replies, "We don't know for sure yet. We've talked about maybe a totem of wisdom or of war, but when it comes to war totems, definitely one that favors planning rather than just rage."
Flint pauses a long while after Lex speaks, another slow sip from his coffee taken. "But, we're not entirely sure. And. Ishmael-rhya said… I'd asked him about it while were working. And he said something 'bout that. The right Totem does tend to find/come, when you go looking." There's a full-on grin in there, as well.
"Sure does. And you tend to bond with Totems that… lead you in the right direction." Kaz shrugs. "Mystical processes, whatchagonna do?"
"I hope Flint and I find a Theurge to join our pack…I know enough about spirits and mystical stuff to have some idea of just how much I don't know," Alexandra answers. "What totem spirits have you packed under, Kaz-rhya?"
Flint sets his now empty coffee cup aside, and does, in fact, go to take Lex's now, without seemingly giving too much thought to the matter. And then once he's done so, there's a definitely curious glance to the elder Galliard, attentiveness showing in subtle cues of posture and gaze.
Kaz has to think. "Rat, Dog, Raccoon—Those were all before I got here. Then Weasel, which was fuckin' weird at first, Rat, Wolverine, which was, thankfully, brief and to the point, then Raccoon again, then Badger when I was in Portland, then Raccoon, then Rat again." She adds, with a mild grin, "Each specific Totem spirit's different, which is why I say it like that."
Alexandra says, "Raccoon…I don't know anything about them as spirits, but if they're like the animal, that must have been especially interesting each time."
Another nod from Flint, who keeps mental count, tapping one finger on his knee as Kaz lists, and then stares not quite at the older Galliard in a good bit of awe. "Makes sense," he adds, head tilted to one side in thought.
"Raccoon as a spirit is just the best dude ever. He's stubborn and he can fight, but he has a sense'a humor, too. I've always liked 'em, 'cause they ain't spirits with a lot of assumptions or like, dignity? They's just themselves. So you can learn from 'em without feelin' like you're a fuckwad or nothin'." Kaz shrugs. "It's been a good fit. Almost as good as Rat." Then she grins at Flint. "Lotta people look at me weird because I been in so many packs, but I wander around a lot. Plus, I'm old, so there you go."
One disadvantage to not drinking coffee—no caffeine to keep you awake as it starts getting later in the evening. Looking at the time, Alexandra says, "Ky and I should probably head back to the Vault now, given how long it took us to get over here. Don't want to draw unwanted attention by being out past curfew." She doesn't sound like she particularly wants to go. "Was good visiting with you both." The Ragabash cub also offers his own farewells.
Kaz says, "Aw," but nods. "Yeah, OK. Y'all have a g'night."
Flint gets up for a moment to hug Lex, a nod. "Okay, yeah," he agrees, a nod of parting given to Ky. "Be. Be careful, and stay safe, and all." As the two Shadow Lords depart, flint eases back down onto the couch, settling cross-legged and back into the corner a bit.
Kaz flops back further, herself. "When's y'birthday, anyway?"
"I turned fourteen in…" Flint pauses to think, birthdays not being something he's spared too much thought for in the past several months. "October. It's the eleventh of October, actually."
"Have t'try 'n remember that one. M'mom never tol' me mine." Kaz thinks about it. "Gotta be sometime in April, though."
Flint nods at Kaz. "I've just been… there's been so much the past few months. My last birthday seems a whole world and a half away, really," he admits, quiet.
"No shit. One thing I can say about this kinda life, it sure ain't boring. I might wish it could be less stressful sometimes, but…" Kaz shrugs. "It is what it is."
"Mmhm," Flint says, hands wrapping around his coffee. "Yeah, but. It's definitely not boring. Always something, 's far as being kept busy." A quiet sigh follows, but more one of exhaustion than anything else.
Kaz looks at the young man assessingly. "Sleep. Eight hours of it. And meals. Frequent ones."
Flint blinks a moment, and then nods. "Yes, Kaz-rhya," is acknowledged with a grin. "I've. It's been so busy, I mighta not been sleeping so much." Shifty-eyes. "Kinda when I can. But I've got the project to work on, and I've been back and forth from. From Edgewood, and then there was the stuff with Rina," which draws a worried furrow of brow and involuntary glance like the teen wishes he could see through the ceiling, "and there were the dreams, and now the wasps. And sometimes I go up to the workshop just to do one thing and lose. Lose track of time a little, and then it's morning."
Kaz says, "Alarm clocks," as if she's thought of this before. Probably, she has. "Them cell phones have 'em. Set 'em to bleep at you at specified times, so you'll at least notice the time, if not do anything about it." And then she adds, "How is she, anyways? I mean, other'n mad, bad, and dangerous to know."
Flint frowns a little more, one knee drawing up to his chest. "I. I don't quite know, right now it's complicated and. You should… should ask Lefty-rhya," is the conclusion that Flint manages to come to, after a long moment of thought. The concern's clear in the young Galliard's voice. "Th' other day, Lefty grabbed me from. From what I was doing in the evening alluva sudden and." There's another pause. "And we went and found Rina, and killed the fucking leech, but." After this, Flint's lips purse into a thin line, and he sighs again, more worry this time.
"…But Rina's kind've addicted and the world ain't no fun? Yeah." Kaz nods, sympathetically. "It's like that. Long as the leech's dead, and she ain't … I dunno the term, but she ain't tied to it irrevocably, she'll get better."
Flint nods. It's a very small nod compared to the teen's usual, and he looks over to Kaz, the worry still not quite gone from his expression. "Yeah. That, pretty much. And yeah, it's dead. And. I'd been out with Rina few weeks back and the thing came right up to us and talked to her, but I didn't have 'nough of a clue other than that. I didn't like it," he says, chin resting on folded hands eventually.
Kaz nods, slowly. "It ain't like you can tell. And it's hard f'you t'learn t'sense the Wyrm. And… Well." She starts rummaging in her pocket. "And I know that you're like, "I should have done something!" but it's awfully fuckin' hard to be a mindreader. And it ain't too easy to try and tell Rina what t'do, either."
Another nod follows, this one a little more certain, and a faint snort of laughter. "Yeah, I'm not 'bout to try an' tell Rina what to do," Flint states. "But I mean. I was on. Back in Oakland, I spent time on the streets long enough that. Not liking when someone asks to speak in, in private's a pretty basic instinct for me. Kinda like not trusting cops." This is added a little more quietly. "And so I didn't like him off the bat, pretty much."
Kaz nods. "Yeah. And like. That kinda instinct is often just as good as any magical shit. I mean, f'all you know, he may just be an abusive shithead. Which is also something devoutly to be avoided."
"Yeah," Flint agrees. "I try and. Trust those instincts, and all. Been good in the past." Then, Flint yawns, one hand coming up to politely cover his mouth as he does so, pulling out his cell phone to look at the time. "Right, I've only got security for another hour and a. And a bit, 'fore Ishmael's supposed to be down to take over. And then," he says, with a grin, "eight hours of sleep. Or maybe ten or twelve if. If nothing explodes."
"You want," Kaz offers, "I can take it f'th' last half hour. I got some books to listen to."
Flint thinks for a moment, then nods. "If, it. Yeah. Thanks, Kaz-rhya," Flint says, rolling his shoulders and then stretching his arms out. "I. Only got a nap since the stampede thing. Had to send email, stuff."
"Any chance you could forward me a copy? I'd kinda like t'see t'heat of th' moment news." She levers herself off her couch to give him a grin, and then ambles over to the actual observation portion of the program. "You sleep good, huh?"
Flint pushes towards his feet, cup of coffee in hand as he starts towards the stairwell, then abruptly turns for the elevator instead. "Can do. Sent it just to th' list, but." Yawn. "Inna morning, will do. G'night, Kaz-rhya." And with that, the elevator makes the tinny *bing!*