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Sunday, 8 July 2012 21:09![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
flint_garouWorth at least trying.
8 July, 2012
The moon is in the waning Gibbous (Galliard) Moon phase (67% full).
The door to the stairwell down the hallway swings open, and footsteps pad down the hallway, followed by Flint coming up behind Nick in the doorway, then slipping through the doorway, for the moment.
Rina's brow furrows. "Shit," she murmurs. "God dammit, I just started getting somewhere with him. I'm gonna kick Kevin's ass."
Nicodemus checks behind him, looking for anyone else that might be coming up on his blind spot, and offering a, "Hey," in greetings to Flint as he heads into the room.
Ex's eyes flick to Rina, and then Flint, and then away. She goes, suddenly, very still, with her shoulders hunched over.
Kavi looks from Rina to Ex to Flint, and his brow furrows. He pulls in a breath and holds it for a moment, releasing it only as he moves to crouch down by the cub. "This is your space," he says softly. "You can ask us to go, if you need to. If you want to."
Flint doesn't come very fall into the room, taking up the spot he tends to against the wall next to the doorway, and there is a nod after what Kavi says. "What happened?" he murmurs, barely above audible.
"Too many people?" Rina asks quietly, watching Ex. "I'm sorry."
Ex shakes her head vigorously. "Get away from the door," she stresses.
Rina nods, stepping into the kitchen and glancing over her shoulder to Nick, to invite him in.
Flint takes a step further away from the door and along the wall, then sinks to sit down crosslegged against the wall. "Sorry, Ex," he offers.
Kavi smiles, despite the tension in the room. The expression is fleeting, but real, for the moment it lasts. Then he rises, and crosses back to the kitchen, and Rina, and the pile of bandages.
Nicodemus hesitates, unsure whether to come in or go out. He opts for the latter. "I'm going to get moving and give you folks some breathing space. Take care. You've got my number and e-mail if you need anything." He backs out of the doorway and begins moving towards the elevator.
Ex exhales, and then flops back onto the floor, her source of stress apparently gone. She tucks the hand of the arm opposite of the injuries under her head, then turns to watch Nick leave.
"Call me, Nick," Rina calls out. She turns, then, and starts making tea.
Flint glances to Kavi again after Nick has left. "You alright, Kavi-rhya?" he asks.
*Ding.* Nick apparently decided to use the elevator on his way out.
Rina turns to greet the Galliard, and touches a worried hand to Kavi's cheek.
Kavi gives a nod to Nick as he turns to go. "Stay safe," he calls after the kin, and then turns back to put the rest of the bandages away. He pauses, at the sound of Flint's voice, and looks down at his own arm.
Ex rubs at her face, grimacing just a little.
Flint just sits there for a moment, quiet, though he does look towards Kavi and Rina, brows ticking upwards.
Kavi looks to Rina at the touch and his teeth catch at his lower lip. "I'm okay," he says. "I… After. I'll shift." He casts a glance back toward the cub. "Just… later."
Rina nods, and switches the kettle on before going out to Ex. "Can I sit?"
Ex nods herself, without quite looking at Rina.
Flint nods at what Kavi says, then settles to lean back against the wall, not leaving, but neither interrupting, though he glances from Kavi, to Rina, once.
Kavi finishes the task of putting the bandages away. He glances to the others and then moves to the sink to better wash the rest of the blood from around the wounds. He's quiet, but his gaze returns frequently to the others.
Rina folds herself down to the floor beside Ex. "You're gonna be fine," she says quietly, looking the girl over with a critical eye.
"Course," Ex mumbles. "It's always fine."
Rina's brow furrows, her expression turning thoughtful. "You wanna tell me about what happened?" she asks quietly.
Flint glances towards Ex. "I. Can… go, if you want, or. If you need," Flint says, quietly. Not that he's got a real purpose in being there himself, aside from perhaps not wanting to go be alone in his apartment right now.
Kavi shakes his hands to rid them of the excess water and winces at the result. Frowning, he reaches up to retrieve a set of the bandages he just put away, and wraps it loosely around the offending limb.
Ex shrugs in response. "Kevin and the creepy guy were arguing. Dunno what about."
Rina listens. "The one with the red eyes?" she asks softly. And after that she listens, for a time, letting the other prompt Ex.
"Devon," Kavi supplies as he crosses back to sit by Rina.
"Him," Ex confirms. She does not, however, continue.
Flint looks over, and chews on his lower lip. "Devon," Flint repeats, sounding not at all happy about it.
"…and?" Rina's voice is soft, gentle.
As he settles in at Rina's side, Kavi extends his uninjured hand to reach for hers. He looks across to Ex and nods, offering a small smile. "It's okay," he offers softly.
Ex shrugs again. "Guess the creepy guy lost it. They were fighting when I came in."
"Moon's big," Flint says. "It. It happens." He looks to Kavi. "I. Can see if, I can get Kevin to. To fill me in on, what. What set Devon off, at. At some point," the cliath offers.
Kavi nods to Flint, and to Ex as well. "We can all frenzy," he says. "It doesn't matter how long we've been learning. How… how much we've trained. We can all frenzy. It's just… The more we can learn to recognize what it feels like? The more we'll be able to stop it. Sometimes, you can feel it coming for a while. You feel angry, or afraid, or even excited. And you can tell, you can feel in the pit of your stomach, that it's coming. You have to choose. If you can leave? If you can go be alone and find a way to calm yourself? You can avoid it altogether."
Ex closes her eyes. "Always angry," she emphasizes.
Rina listens quietly, watching the cub.
Flint nods, and looks at Kavi for a moment. "But," he says, pausing to try and and collect his words. "But there's angry, and there's… going to lose it. They don't feel quite. Quite the same."
"The normal stuff, there's… stuff that can help," Rina says says.
Kavi nods once. He looks down at his hand, threading his fingers with Rina's, and then looks back to the cub. "You can learn to feel the difference. Your rage? It's always with you, and… There are things you can do to make it… easier. But there are also things that are going to make it worse. One of those is the moon, but. People blocking the door is one, for you. And when it's worse? When you feel that difference? That's when you can choose. Choose to be alone, or to do something that helps you calm."
"Or tell people to get away from the door," Rina murmurs.
"And walls," Ex says, a little acidly. "And stupid morons grabbing me. Did he grab me?"
Flint doesn't add anything, quiet for the moment.
Kavi nods. "He… He tried to fight you, and Devon, instead of letting you help." Anger enters the galliard's voice and expression, and he looks away, forcing it down.
"Moron meaning Kevin?" Rina murmurs.
"That was dumb," Ex says. "Yes. That's his name now."
Rina winces slightly.
Flint brings his face to rest on his palms for a moment and groans, entirely wordlessly and barely audibly. "He. Might not have…" Flint pauses and looks at Ex. "He might not have, have know that. Help, he, that. That you were, trying to help."
Kavi nods again and then draws a breath in and holds it. He lets it out slowly, at least until Flint speaks, and he turns to the younger galliard. "He should have known," he says, a sharpness to his quiet voice. "She grabbed Devon. No claws. No teeth. She was holding him, when Kevin tried to hurt her." All the anger is back, all the tension of the moment.
Flint pulls his lips back from his teeth, nods at what Kavi says. "He. Should have, yes," Flint agrees.
Ex's expression is that of someone who's been vindicated. "See? Captain Moron, that's him." She rolls over and eyes Kavi. "Can I learn a mutant power that shocks people that touch me or some shit? That one guy could make stuff come to him, like Magneto, except it was paper and stuff like that."
Kavi extricates his hand from Rina's and bows his head, focusing on his breathing again. He shakes his head a little, at Ex's question, but doesn't offer more than that.
Flint makes a face, quiet amusement. "If you. I-if," Flint looks over at Ex. "Sometimes," he starts again, "the entire. Shocking people that. Touch me, thing. Sounds. Pretty neat."
Ex looks decidedly disappointed by Kavi's answer. She flicks a glance toward Flint, and her forehead wrinkles.
Flint bites his lower lip and looks down at his lap, then glances towards the door. "Should go," Flint murmurs, glancing towards something that the younger galliard quite clearly hears, even if no one else does. "Sorry."
Rina looks over to Flint, then speaks to Ex. "After you go through a rite of passage," Rina says quietly. "Basically, after people feel like you've learned enough for that to—" She straightens a fraction.
Kavi sits at Rina's side, all four of the current occupants sitting or laying on the floor. The galliard's shirt is soaked through with blood at the shoulder, and both he and the cub sport bandages with various amounts of visible blood, the adren's on his arm, and the cub, primarily at her neck. Kavi's head is bowed, and he focuses on keeping his breathing even, though as Flint moves to leave he looks up again and nods. "Stay safe," he says softly.
Flint pushes to his feet and leans back against the wall. Not leaving yet, just being able to should he need to.
A gentle rapping precedes the door to the room opening and Holland's entrance. A look to the others, particularly at the injuries from Kavi and Ex, "So it wasn't just Devon tonight, then. I hope I didn't come at a bad time?"
Rina twists to her feet, to regard the new arrival doubtfully.
Still fighting with his own anger, the sound of new arrival startles Kavi and he nearly jumps to his feet. His eyes narrow and his fingers flex and curl into fists at his sides.
Rina doesn't actually say anything, but a hand moves to touch one of those clenched fists. She doesn't take dark and suddenly unreadable eyes from the stranger. "Someone gave you a key, and I don't know you," she observes, stepping forward to offer a small hand. She isn't wearing her jacket, but she is wearing a .45 in a shoulder rig. "Rina Vencenzo, kin. Nice suit."
Flint turns, edgy a little but overall quite calm. "Hi, Holland-rhya," the cliath says after Rina speaks, then glances back to the elder Galliard. "Kavi-rhya?" Flint's voice drops a level on volume, a little questioning, and he leans against the wall.
Holland says, "Holland Altimari, Fostern Philodox and representative of the Sept of the Mountain Fortress, out of Colorado Springs. I'm here as part of the Terminus Group." The family name is likely to be recognizable, given its prominence in the tribe—it has strong ties to the Wiseguys in Europe and to the Corporate Wolves in the US—even if his own name may or may not be. "A pleasure to meet you."
Kavi's breathing begins to ease at the touch of Rina's hand, and by the time the philodox has given his introduction, the galliard seems more grounded. "Kavi Bhaskar, Bridge Builder, adren galliard and member of Fidelity, under Sphinx." He looks back toward the cub, just a glance, and then returns to the new arrival, though he doesn't move from his spot.
Rina wets her lips, sizing up both the individual and the introduction. "Been hopin' I'd get the chance to meet one a you guys," the woman says. "I think I remember a Carlo Altimari in Chicago, any relation?"
Flint sinks to sit again, cross-legged and leaning back against the wall, and looks at Holland. "'s Devon… alright?" the cliath asks, softly. "Or. Well." Shoulders raise in a shrug.
Holland says, "I should've known you'd know Carlo. My second cousin, as a matter of fact." At Flint's question, he answers, "Devon is having a rough time. That's actually part of why I'm here—I want to review some of the security tapes, see if I can't help him figure out what's going on this past week. I'm wondering if it might be an angry spirit, based on what he described."
Flint grimaces, turns his head up. "I. I've looked at. At the tapes," he says. "There's nothing. Nothing's there. I. I know that, it's real to him, but it's not real, enough. For the tapes to get it."
Rina lets out a breath. "We've had leeches," she says quietly, a flicker of tension coming to the line of her jaw. "Thought maybe it was somehin' like that, or a namebreaker, might be fuckin' with his head. Tea, or whiskey?"
Ex finally opens her eyes, and, without quite acknowledging the newcomer in the room, looks at Rina and sighs. "What is a Rite of Passage?"
Rina glances over her shoulder to Ex. "Or …why don't we adjourn to the lounge, yeah?"
Kavi turns back to the cub and shakes his head. "It's. A test. At the end of your training. You… You don't need to worry about it, yet. We'll explain more, later. When it matters." He turns to the others and nods at Rina's suggestion. "The break room would be a better place to talk." He starts moving toward the door, but glances again to Ex as he does. "You can come. If you want." It's clear from his expression that there is more he wants to say, but just as clear that he's holding his tongue for the moment.
Holland says, "The break room it is, then. And tea for me, please," he adds, in answer to Rina's question. "Leeches or namebreakers…so Devon's problem may be much more complicated than I'd thought."
Ex regards Kavi for a long moment, before giving her head a brief shake and closing her eyes again.
Flint half-ungracefully scrambles to his feat and heads down to hall for the breakroom, careful not to block the doorway as he exits.
Rina paces to the kitchen and fills the kettle, then starts it, the movements those of long habit.
Once the group relocates, Kavi heads to the kitchen to help Rina with the drinks. "It—" He starts to speak, looking back to the philodox, but cuts off with a momentary frown. "His symptoms? What's happening? It's. It happened before. There was a vampire here. A girl. She did it to my packmate, and to others."
Holland says "If you've dealt with the vampire before, have you had any luck using Questing Stone or gifts to track her down? I know they don't always work, especially when you're dealing with creatures like that."
Rina shakes her head minutely, as she gets down mugs. "She's been eliminated."
Reaching up to get the last two mugs from the higher shelf, Kavi looks down to Rina when she speaks. He nods, though, at looks back again to Holland. "At least. I thought? But this one… She sounds like she might be the same. Maybe she was made by the one last summer. Or… But she sounds the same."
"Plenty a things out there that can mess with your head." Rina glances over toward Kavi, her expression dark.
Holland says "Hmm. Did you know the name of the one from last year, by chance? I was planning to talk to Nieve about helping with a spirit that might have been upset with or set on Devon, now it looks like I'll be talking to her about a spirit that might be able to break or at least ease somewhat the mental powers of a leech."
Rina turns back to the counter as the kettle clicks, her back to them. "Mia," she says quietly, her voice tense and hard. She pouts boiling water into the teapot.
Kavi tenses at the question, or perhaps at Rina's reaction. He nods to the philodox, and then turns to follow the kin those few steps, one hand reaching to touch her shoulder. "When it happened to Solsiva?" He says, looking over his shoulder to Holland. "When… When she saw the shadows? It only lasted a few days."
Holland says, "Whereas Devon said it had already been around a week for him. At least that means there's a chance it'll wear off on its own, assuming it is the same thing. I'd still be more comfortable knowing we could break the effect when we need to, though, especially if it's coming from a leech."
Rina nods swiftly, leaning a hip against the counter, her head bowed in thought.
Kavi nods again, though at least half of his attention remains on the kin. "It's worth… at least looking. At least trying."
Holland says, "I'll let you know what we find out." A brief pause, and then he asks Kavi, "Before all of this, how close was Devon to others in the tribe?"
Rina's brow furrows and she turns to lean both hands on the counter, bowing her head.
Kavi's hand comes again to Rina's shoulder, and this time it remains. He swallows before he looks across to the philodox again. "He's young," is the answer he gives. "He… has trouble connecting. We were working on it, but. I think… He's young, and it was hard for him when new cubs came and needed us more."
Abruptly, Rina moves to pour the tea, turning to hand Holland a cup.
Holland nods, accepting the cup from Rina. "Thank you." Then, to Kavi, "So that part isn't just a symptom, then. Given the rest, I wanted to be sure. And I'm glad to hear it is something that you're aware of and working on. I'll be doing what I can to help on that front as well."
Rina nods minutely. "Maybe someone like you… a new person, with some rank.. could really help. He's been feelin' alienated, and it's a hard thing to fix. Proving a negative, yadda yadda yadda."
Flint is quiet through this, and nods.
8 July, 2012
The moon is in the waning Gibbous (Galliard) Moon phase (67% full).
The door to the stairwell down the hallway swings open, and footsteps pad down the hallway, followed by Flint coming up behind Nick in the doorway, then slipping through the doorway, for the moment.
Rina's brow furrows. "Shit," she murmurs. "God dammit, I just started getting somewhere with him. I'm gonna kick Kevin's ass."
Nicodemus checks behind him, looking for anyone else that might be coming up on his blind spot, and offering a, "Hey," in greetings to Flint as he heads into the room.
Ex's eyes flick to Rina, and then Flint, and then away. She goes, suddenly, very still, with her shoulders hunched over.
Kavi looks from Rina to Ex to Flint, and his brow furrows. He pulls in a breath and holds it for a moment, releasing it only as he moves to crouch down by the cub. "This is your space," he says softly. "You can ask us to go, if you need to. If you want to."
Flint doesn't come very fall into the room, taking up the spot he tends to against the wall next to the doorway, and there is a nod after what Kavi says. "What happened?" he murmurs, barely above audible.
"Too many people?" Rina asks quietly, watching Ex. "I'm sorry."
Ex shakes her head vigorously. "Get away from the door," she stresses.
Rina nods, stepping into the kitchen and glancing over her shoulder to Nick, to invite him in.
Flint takes a step further away from the door and along the wall, then sinks to sit down crosslegged against the wall. "Sorry, Ex," he offers.
Kavi smiles, despite the tension in the room. The expression is fleeting, but real, for the moment it lasts. Then he rises, and crosses back to the kitchen, and Rina, and the pile of bandages.
Nicodemus hesitates, unsure whether to come in or go out. He opts for the latter. "I'm going to get moving and give you folks some breathing space. Take care. You've got my number and e-mail if you need anything." He backs out of the doorway and begins moving towards the elevator.
Ex exhales, and then flops back onto the floor, her source of stress apparently gone. She tucks the hand of the arm opposite of the injuries under her head, then turns to watch Nick leave.
"Call me, Nick," Rina calls out. She turns, then, and starts making tea.
Flint glances to Kavi again after Nick has left. "You alright, Kavi-rhya?" he asks.
*Ding.* Nick apparently decided to use the elevator on his way out.
Rina turns to greet the Galliard, and touches a worried hand to Kavi's cheek.
Kavi gives a nod to Nick as he turns to go. "Stay safe," he calls after the kin, and then turns back to put the rest of the bandages away. He pauses, at the sound of Flint's voice, and looks down at his own arm.
Ex rubs at her face, grimacing just a little.
Flint just sits there for a moment, quiet, though he does look towards Kavi and Rina, brows ticking upwards.
Kavi looks to Rina at the touch and his teeth catch at his lower lip. "I'm okay," he says. "I… After. I'll shift." He casts a glance back toward the cub. "Just… later."
Rina nods, and switches the kettle on before going out to Ex. "Can I sit?"
Ex nods herself, without quite looking at Rina.
Flint nods at what Kavi says, then settles to lean back against the wall, not leaving, but neither interrupting, though he glances from Kavi, to Rina, once.
Kavi finishes the task of putting the bandages away. He glances to the others and then moves to the sink to better wash the rest of the blood from around the wounds. He's quiet, but his gaze returns frequently to the others.
Rina folds herself down to the floor beside Ex. "You're gonna be fine," she says quietly, looking the girl over with a critical eye.
"Course," Ex mumbles. "It's always fine."
Rina's brow furrows, her expression turning thoughtful. "You wanna tell me about what happened?" she asks quietly.
Flint glances towards Ex. "I. Can… go, if you want, or. If you need," Flint says, quietly. Not that he's got a real purpose in being there himself, aside from perhaps not wanting to go be alone in his apartment right now.
Kavi shakes his hands to rid them of the excess water and winces at the result. Frowning, he reaches up to retrieve a set of the bandages he just put away, and wraps it loosely around the offending limb.
Ex shrugs in response. "Kevin and the creepy guy were arguing. Dunno what about."
Rina listens. "The one with the red eyes?" she asks softly. And after that she listens, for a time, letting the other prompt Ex.
"Devon," Kavi supplies as he crosses back to sit by Rina.
"Him," Ex confirms. She does not, however, continue.
Flint looks over, and chews on his lower lip. "Devon," Flint repeats, sounding not at all happy about it.
"…and?" Rina's voice is soft, gentle.
As he settles in at Rina's side, Kavi extends his uninjured hand to reach for hers. He looks across to Ex and nods, offering a small smile. "It's okay," he offers softly.
Ex shrugs again. "Guess the creepy guy lost it. They were fighting when I came in."
"Moon's big," Flint says. "It. It happens." He looks to Kavi. "I. Can see if, I can get Kevin to. To fill me in on, what. What set Devon off, at. At some point," the cliath offers.
Kavi nods to Flint, and to Ex as well. "We can all frenzy," he says. "It doesn't matter how long we've been learning. How… how much we've trained. We can all frenzy. It's just… The more we can learn to recognize what it feels like? The more we'll be able to stop it. Sometimes, you can feel it coming for a while. You feel angry, or afraid, or even excited. And you can tell, you can feel in the pit of your stomach, that it's coming. You have to choose. If you can leave? If you can go be alone and find a way to calm yourself? You can avoid it altogether."
Ex closes her eyes. "Always angry," she emphasizes.
Rina listens quietly, watching the cub.
Flint nods, and looks at Kavi for a moment. "But," he says, pausing to try and and collect his words. "But there's angry, and there's… going to lose it. They don't feel quite. Quite the same."
"The normal stuff, there's… stuff that can help," Rina says says.
Kavi nods once. He looks down at his hand, threading his fingers with Rina's, and then looks back to the cub. "You can learn to feel the difference. Your rage? It's always with you, and… There are things you can do to make it… easier. But there are also things that are going to make it worse. One of those is the moon, but. People blocking the door is one, for you. And when it's worse? When you feel that difference? That's when you can choose. Choose to be alone, or to do something that helps you calm."
"Or tell people to get away from the door," Rina murmurs.
"And walls," Ex says, a little acidly. "And stupid morons grabbing me. Did he grab me?"
Flint doesn't add anything, quiet for the moment.
Kavi nods. "He… He tried to fight you, and Devon, instead of letting you help." Anger enters the galliard's voice and expression, and he looks away, forcing it down.
"Moron meaning Kevin?" Rina murmurs.
"That was dumb," Ex says. "Yes. That's his name now."
Rina winces slightly.
Flint brings his face to rest on his palms for a moment and groans, entirely wordlessly and barely audibly. "He. Might not have…" Flint pauses and looks at Ex. "He might not have, have know that. Help, he, that. That you were, trying to help."
Kavi nods again and then draws a breath in and holds it. He lets it out slowly, at least until Flint speaks, and he turns to the younger galliard. "He should have known," he says, a sharpness to his quiet voice. "She grabbed Devon. No claws. No teeth. She was holding him, when Kevin tried to hurt her." All the anger is back, all the tension of the moment.
Flint pulls his lips back from his teeth, nods at what Kavi says. "He. Should have, yes," Flint agrees.
Ex's expression is that of someone who's been vindicated. "See? Captain Moron, that's him." She rolls over and eyes Kavi. "Can I learn a mutant power that shocks people that touch me or some shit? That one guy could make stuff come to him, like Magneto, except it was paper and stuff like that."
Kavi extricates his hand from Rina's and bows his head, focusing on his breathing again. He shakes his head a little, at Ex's question, but doesn't offer more than that.
Flint makes a face, quiet amusement. "If you. I-if," Flint looks over at Ex. "Sometimes," he starts again, "the entire. Shocking people that. Touch me, thing. Sounds. Pretty neat."
Ex looks decidedly disappointed by Kavi's answer. She flicks a glance toward Flint, and her forehead wrinkles.
Flint bites his lower lip and looks down at his lap, then glances towards the door. "Should go," Flint murmurs, glancing towards something that the younger galliard quite clearly hears, even if no one else does. "Sorry."
Rina looks over to Flint, then speaks to Ex. "After you go through a rite of passage," Rina says quietly. "Basically, after people feel like you've learned enough for that to—" She straightens a fraction.
Kavi sits at Rina's side, all four of the current occupants sitting or laying on the floor. The galliard's shirt is soaked through with blood at the shoulder, and both he and the cub sport bandages with various amounts of visible blood, the adren's on his arm, and the cub, primarily at her neck. Kavi's head is bowed, and he focuses on keeping his breathing even, though as Flint moves to leave he looks up again and nods. "Stay safe," he says softly.
Flint pushes to his feet and leans back against the wall. Not leaving yet, just being able to should he need to.
A gentle rapping precedes the door to the room opening and Holland's entrance. A look to the others, particularly at the injuries from Kavi and Ex, "So it wasn't just Devon tonight, then. I hope I didn't come at a bad time?"
Rina twists to her feet, to regard the new arrival doubtfully.
Still fighting with his own anger, the sound of new arrival startles Kavi and he nearly jumps to his feet. His eyes narrow and his fingers flex and curl into fists at his sides.
Rina doesn't actually say anything, but a hand moves to touch one of those clenched fists. She doesn't take dark and suddenly unreadable eyes from the stranger. "Someone gave you a key, and I don't know you," she observes, stepping forward to offer a small hand. She isn't wearing her jacket, but she is wearing a .45 in a shoulder rig. "Rina Vencenzo, kin. Nice suit."
Flint turns, edgy a little but overall quite calm. "Hi, Holland-rhya," the cliath says after Rina speaks, then glances back to the elder Galliard. "Kavi-rhya?" Flint's voice drops a level on volume, a little questioning, and he leans against the wall.
Holland says, "Holland Altimari, Fostern Philodox and representative of the Sept of the Mountain Fortress, out of Colorado Springs. I'm here as part of the Terminus Group." The family name is likely to be recognizable, given its prominence in the tribe—it has strong ties to the Wiseguys in Europe and to the Corporate Wolves in the US—even if his own name may or may not be. "A pleasure to meet you."
Kavi's breathing begins to ease at the touch of Rina's hand, and by the time the philodox has given his introduction, the galliard seems more grounded. "Kavi Bhaskar, Bridge Builder, adren galliard and member of Fidelity, under Sphinx." He looks back toward the cub, just a glance, and then returns to the new arrival, though he doesn't move from his spot.
Rina wets her lips, sizing up both the individual and the introduction. "Been hopin' I'd get the chance to meet one a you guys," the woman says. "I think I remember a Carlo Altimari in Chicago, any relation?"
Flint sinks to sit again, cross-legged and leaning back against the wall, and looks at Holland. "'s Devon… alright?" the cliath asks, softly. "Or. Well." Shoulders raise in a shrug.
Holland says, "I should've known you'd know Carlo. My second cousin, as a matter of fact." At Flint's question, he answers, "Devon is having a rough time. That's actually part of why I'm here—I want to review some of the security tapes, see if I can't help him figure out what's going on this past week. I'm wondering if it might be an angry spirit, based on what he described."
Flint grimaces, turns his head up. "I. I've looked at. At the tapes," he says. "There's nothing. Nothing's there. I. I know that, it's real to him, but it's not real, enough. For the tapes to get it."
Rina lets out a breath. "We've had leeches," she says quietly, a flicker of tension coming to the line of her jaw. "Thought maybe it was somehin' like that, or a namebreaker, might be fuckin' with his head. Tea, or whiskey?"
Ex finally opens her eyes, and, without quite acknowledging the newcomer in the room, looks at Rina and sighs. "What is a Rite of Passage?"
Rina glances over her shoulder to Ex. "Or …why don't we adjourn to the lounge, yeah?"
Kavi turns back to the cub and shakes his head. "It's. A test. At the end of your training. You… You don't need to worry about it, yet. We'll explain more, later. When it matters." He turns to the others and nods at Rina's suggestion. "The break room would be a better place to talk." He starts moving toward the door, but glances again to Ex as he does. "You can come. If you want." It's clear from his expression that there is more he wants to say, but just as clear that he's holding his tongue for the moment.
Holland says, "The break room it is, then. And tea for me, please," he adds, in answer to Rina's question. "Leeches or namebreakers…so Devon's problem may be much more complicated than I'd thought."
Ex regards Kavi for a long moment, before giving her head a brief shake and closing her eyes again.
Flint half-ungracefully scrambles to his feat and heads down to hall for the breakroom, careful not to block the doorway as he exits.
Rina paces to the kitchen and fills the kettle, then starts it, the movements those of long habit.
Once the group relocates, Kavi heads to the kitchen to help Rina with the drinks. "It—" He starts to speak, looking back to the philodox, but cuts off with a momentary frown. "His symptoms? What's happening? It's. It happened before. There was a vampire here. A girl. She did it to my packmate, and to others."
Holland says "If you've dealt with the vampire before, have you had any luck using Questing Stone or gifts to track her down? I know they don't always work, especially when you're dealing with creatures like that."
Rina shakes her head minutely, as she gets down mugs. "She's been eliminated."
Reaching up to get the last two mugs from the higher shelf, Kavi looks down to Rina when she speaks. He nods, though, at looks back again to Holland. "At least. I thought? But this one… She sounds like she might be the same. Maybe she was made by the one last summer. Or… But she sounds the same."
"Plenty a things out there that can mess with your head." Rina glances over toward Kavi, her expression dark.
Holland says "Hmm. Did you know the name of the one from last year, by chance? I was planning to talk to Nieve about helping with a spirit that might have been upset with or set on Devon, now it looks like I'll be talking to her about a spirit that might be able to break or at least ease somewhat the mental powers of a leech."
Rina turns back to the counter as the kettle clicks, her back to them. "Mia," she says quietly, her voice tense and hard. She pouts boiling water into the teapot.
Kavi tenses at the question, or perhaps at Rina's reaction. He nods to the philodox, and then turns to follow the kin those few steps, one hand reaching to touch her shoulder. "When it happened to Solsiva?" He says, looking over his shoulder to Holland. "When… When she saw the shadows? It only lasted a few days."
Holland says, "Whereas Devon said it had already been around a week for him. At least that means there's a chance it'll wear off on its own, assuming it is the same thing. I'd still be more comfortable knowing we could break the effect when we need to, though, especially if it's coming from a leech."
Rina nods swiftly, leaning a hip against the counter, her head bowed in thought.
Kavi nods again, though at least half of his attention remains on the kin. "It's worth… at least looking. At least trying."
Holland says, "I'll let you know what we find out." A brief pause, and then he asks Kavi, "Before all of this, how close was Devon to others in the tribe?"
Rina's brow furrows and she turns to lean both hands on the counter, bowing her head.
Kavi's hand comes again to Rina's shoulder, and this time it remains. He swallows before he looks across to the philodox again. "He's young," is the answer he gives. "He… has trouble connecting. We were working on it, but. I think… He's young, and it was hard for him when new cubs came and needed us more."
Abruptly, Rina moves to pour the tea, turning to hand Holland a cup.
Holland nods, accepting the cup from Rina. "Thank you." Then, to Kavi, "So that part isn't just a symptom, then. Given the rest, I wanted to be sure. And I'm glad to hear it is something that you're aware of and working on. I'll be doing what I can to help on that front as well."
Rina nods minutely. "Maybe someone like you… a new person, with some rank.. could really help. He's been feelin' alienated, and it's a hard thing to fix. Proving a negative, yadda yadda yadda."
Flint is quiet through this, and nods.