Talking Shop

[hazlogs]

It is currently 16:21 Pacific Time on Thu Aug 1 2002.

Currently in Saint Claire, it is mostly sunny today. The temperature is 72
degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees Celsius). The wind is currently coming in
from the northeast at 8 mph. The barometric pressure reading is 30.05 and
falling, and the relative humidity is 45 percent. The dewpoint is 50
degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius.)

Currently the moon is in the waning Half Moon phase (47% full).

Whispering Pines - Rhiannon's Apt.

Rhiannon appears to follow the tenet of 'order in chaos', as the apartment
is a complete and total mess, save for a few small corners of sanity. The
doorway opens to the living room, which is large and bright, with a
balcony and sliding glass doors on the left and a dining nook at the far
left corner. To the right of the living room is a short hall that allows
access to the bedrooms and bathrooms, and the kitchen is located across
the living room and to the right, with a bar allowing a view from the
dining nook into the kitchen. The apartment is still sparsely furished,
with only the basics covered: a low coffee table is covered with magazines
and papers, mostly catalogues from the looks of it, ranging from Coldwater
Creek to an NRA publication or two. Blankets and pillows litter the wide,
plaid couch, and the entertainment center has a mess of VHS tapes and DVDs
in front of it rather than stacked neatly in the available shelving.
Although the TV and VCR appear to be garden variety, the stereo system and
DVD player are anything but. Several different company logos are apparent
between the large speaker system and accompanying components, the main
speakers being almost 4' tall and flanking the entertainment system.
Reiterating a love of all things audio is the pair of CD cabinets on the
opposite wall, both holding a huge selection of CDs. Unlike the movies on
the floor, not a single CD is out of place, and a closer look reveals they
are all alphabetized--several hundred, if the height and width of the
cases are any indication. The apartment walls are barren except for a few
family and friend photos.

        From here you can +view the First Bedroom and the Second Bedroom.


Salem raps sharply on Rhiannon's door.

For the second time today, and probably not the last, Rhiannon announces,
"It's open!" She's sitting on her couch again, having managed to get
through roughly half the bills she'd set out to finish an hour ago.

And there's Salem on the door, wearing almost as much black as Jeremy but
somehow looking far less goth. He takes off his sunglasses and tucks them
into his jacket. "Afternoon. Hope I'm not disturbing you."

Rhiannon uses the excuse to stop writing checks, and stands, stepping free
of the couch and coffee table. "No, no it's fine. Well yes but it's a
welcome one, so don't go running off."

Salem's glance falls on the pile of checks and envelopes and manages a
thin smile. "Excellent." He steps into the apartment, shrugging out of his
jacket as he does so. "Jeremy checks out by the way, spiritually speaking.
If Alicia hadn't told you yet."

Rhiannon bites her lip, and nods. "I hadn't heard, thanks. That's
reassuring, given what I just talked to him about." She hedges a bit, then
continues. "I mentioned moving Quentin in case it was a problem for him,
and he just about flipped on me."

Salem drapes his jacket over the back of Rhiannon's couch before settling
onto it himself. He arches an eyebrow at her words. "Flipped? Flipped
how?"

"He was mostly upset about being alone. Close to having a break-down, I
mean." Rhiannon sighs and looks away, her hands on her hips. "I think
Roger's death got to him a lot more than he's been willing to tell anyone,
and he's been engaging in a little avoidance therapy. As we've seen, it
didn't really help."

"Ah," says Salem. He rubs at his chin, realization dawning. "Of course...
I hadn't thought of that at all."

Rhiannon looks back to Salem, digging one of her feet into the carpet. "I
tried to impress upon him the significance of talking to someone, anyone,
about it. He might've listened to at least something. He just seems
convinced that St. Claire's the same as where he grew up, and apparently
he wasn't treated too well there." There's a touch of exasperation in her
voice there, although she doesn't elaborate any further.

Salem looks up at her from his seated position, frowning. "That's...
unfortunate. I'd hoped, considering how long he's been here..." The
Philodox pauses, his frown deepening. "Does he feel threatened?"

Rhiannon nods slowly. "I think he might. He was really worried about
living alone, and since he apparently gets along with Quentin fine, was
hoping he could stay for a while yet." An ominous tone slowly creeps into
her voice as she continues with, "He doesn't seem to be used to standing
up for himself, particularly since someone, at some point, gave him the
idea Kin need to take what's dished out."

Salem grimaces, his jaw clenching. "We had a cub once who tried that line
with Jeremy. Lianne put a bullet into the bastard." His voice makes it
clear that he would have done far worse to said cub.

There's approval in Rhiannon's eyes, but she can't hold back a snide
remark. "Just one?" She shakes her head just as quickly. "Sorry. Anyways,
if we can keep Quentin where he is, and just try to explain to him about
what Jeremy's dealing with, it'll be a lot better, I think. At least he's
talking about things."

There is a light, happy rapping upon the door, and pair of voices heard
from outside.

Salem nods. "Fortunately, our current cubs haven't fallen into the trap of
thinking that shapeshifting makes them better people. And I imagine that
Quentin will be more than happy to stay where he is. Plenty of
distractions." He glances over at the door.

Rhiannon takes a deep breath, and if to shout--then exhales, and actually
walks her lazy self to the door. She opens it partially, checking to see
who she was about allow in sight unseen.

Hanging out with the big bad Ahroun is Alicia, apparently the one knocking
on the door. "So dude, the wedding date is ganna be like in December or
something ya'know, and I was thinking 'bout it.. how exactly do us Garou
get married and shit? I mean.. we don't do the whole church thing right?
Cuz' of religious cross overs, so.... whatcha think?" She babbles on to
John.

Salem sits up as Alicia's voice comes bouncing through the doorway.

John certainly appears... henpecked at this point. His face is carefully
blank as Alicia talks at him. "Uh... Rina and I wanted to do the ceremony
either as-is, or possibly minus the God bits," he contribues. He clears
his throat uncomfortably and smiles tightly at Rhiannon. "Hi. This a bad
time?"

Rhiannon steps aside, opening the door completely, and invites John and
Alicia in with a mock-flourish. "Mi casa, su casa, you know the drill."

Alicia slips into the door, grinning a bit. "Hey, we were in the
neighborhood and.. Hellloooooo Salem.." She says, trailing off a bit,
peering over to the halfmoon.

"Hello, Alicia," Salem says from his place on Rhiannon's couch. "John."

The Walker Elder nods in quiet thanks to Rhiannon, and stalks inside,
looking the place over. It's his first time in the apartment. It's gaining
a thorough inspection.

Rhiannon indicates the kitchen with a wave, which is perhaps the only
clean room. "Something to drink? Water, soda, milk, orange juice..."

"I'm alright." Alicia says with a smile as she plops onto the couch next
to Salem, giving him a light nudge. "Whats up stud muff'n? I just got back
from the farmhouse and met the new Shadow Lord on the block. Boy did I
want to kick his teeth in. It was like Mini-Jarred or something."

Salem looks quizzical for a moment before recalling the identity of said
Shadow Lord. "You mean Jonas. Ye-es... he seems proficient at getting
people irritated at him."

John simply smiles again, aiming for charm this time. "Water would be
nice, if you could?" He inclines his head towards Salem, with a hint of...
approval? The tone turns sour. "Maybe I can recruit him into my Challenge
pack," he murmurs lowly. "To prove just how much one can try one's
patience and still get things done."

Salem says, his voice utterly dry, "I'm sure our young, recently-Rited
Shadow Lord friend will be thrilled at the opportunity to prove himself."

Alicia lets out a slight breath as she leans back into the cushions of the
couch.

Rhiannon heads into the kitchen, fetching down a pilsner glass and killing
it from a filtered pitcher in the fridge. As she walks back out into the
living room and hands it to John, she asks, "Salem, anything?" She only
half-listens to information reguarding the new Shadow Lord.

John accepts the glass with another smile, before his face settles into
that blank, unamused mask. "A younger, more naive Jarred. Gaia help us
all." It seems to be his toast - he tips the water back.

"Water's fine," says the Philodox. He looks sidelong at John and adds, "I
met him, _very_ briefly, when I was last in Boston, though he was still a
cub then."

Alicia draws a knee to her chest and leans against it as they all
converse. "He's a sarcastic son'of'a'bitch. I asked him if he was
interested in helping out with some of the clean up an he said he'd have
to ask Jarred for permission, to see if it was worthwhile his time or some
shit." She rolls her eyes.

Rhiannon returns to the kitchen, although this time she serves herself
some soda, the glass absolutely packed with ice, before going back to the
living room. She hands Salem his water, then moves to stand next to the
coffee table, facing the three Garou.

John simply remains standing, sipping at his water. His mouth twists in a
sour expression. "Obnoxious little shit," he murmurs. "Might be nice to
try trapping him in his own words to construe an insult, sometime, and
then beat the crap out of him."

"Too easy," Salem says, sipping at his own water. "I know his type. He'd
only be further entrenched in his own delusion of superiority. The way to
take him down is with his own weapons. Anything else is just brutishness."

John eyes Salem sideways, possibly slightly offended by the accusation of
brutishness.

Alicia shrugs her shoulders. "I got a pair of steele toe'd boots. Why
don't I just use all those Black Fury tactics I was taught as a cub by
Leda and just straight kick him square in the balls?"

Salem catches John's look and clears his throat. "In any case, you
wouldn't change his mind."

Rhiannon hides any smile at Salem's implication about John in a drink of
her soda, thoughtfully listening to the discussion.

John lets it slide with a simple - defeated - "Yeah. I know the type. It's
always politics." He sips at his water, noting absently in a quiet tone,
"I hate fucking politics."

Salem grunts a most sincere agreement.

"Word," Rhiannon agrees simply.

Alicia shifts her shoulders a bit and lets out a breath. "So anyways,
things have quieted down now. Its almost a shame, kinda got used to living
day to day wondering if I'd get my guts ripped out."

John clears his throat, lifting his gaze to eye the others. "Which isn't
to say that we mustn't be good at it," he murmurs, before looking to
Alicia thoughtfully. "Every passing day, Rina grows a little less
frightened that Dancers will break into her home and take her away. I call
it a relief." He smiles ruefully. "Not that we won't have ample
opportunity to be ripped to pieces, soon. Anyone fancy an umbral outing in
less desirable parts?"

Salem tilts his head, regarding the Ahroun with a calm, controlled
expression of interest. "How much less desirable?"

Alicia glances over to John expectantly.

John hitches one shoulder in a half-shrug. "Unfamiliar territory, maybe.
Thought we might try tripping around with the roach, as a pack, to the
Council chambers. Look for some dross on a cafe Drew Miller's trying to
set up. She's getting red tape hassles, and I thought it'd be a nice test
of our abilities to see if we can do something about it." He pauses,
looking quietly thoughtful. "And it's a good idea. Garou could mingle
there without worrying about the Rage overmuch. Have a place out back to
lie low for a few hours. Maybe keep cubs employed doing dishes and serving
coffee. You know." He clears his throat a little.

Salem sets his glass of water down on Rhiannon's coffee table. "I remember
her talking about the idea back around Christmas," he says thoughtfully.
"And you're right. It _is_ a good one."

Alicia nods her head and smiles. "That is a good idea. It sounds
wonderful..." She furrows her brows a bit, rubbing at her neck. "What
kinda red tape is she getting? Not that I know much on it all.."

John shakes his head a little, as he sips at his water. One arm folds
across his chest. "Don't know. Have to check it out. Planning permits and
things, I think. Maybe all we have to do is shuffle some paper around, but
if there's some sort of internal email system, we could fudge a 'high
priority' label for the project. Don't know. But it's also not the only
thing I want you guys to be looking at."

Salem stretches his legs out, taking care not to jostle the coffee table.
He crosses his ankles and laces his fingers together over his stomach. "Do
tell."

Alicia nods her head and listens patiently.

Inclining his head in acknowledgement of the request, John continues.
"You're all capable of displaying initiative. If you weren't, I wouldn't
have you in the pack, Alicia, and I simply expect nothing less from Glass
Walkers in this city." He takes a breath. "I'm going to be a little busy
with this Challenge pack for a while. Once I secure the final member, we
might not even see the City for six weeks. But that's no reason for you
guys and your skills to go to waste."

Salem purses his lips. "Apart from the hospital, is there anything in
particular that you had in mind?"

Alicia cants her head to one side as she listens to John speak, perking
her interest a tad. "Junk yard all fixed yet?"

John nods a few times, grimly. "Junk yard can be dealt with by Gnawers. We
have better fish to fry. You all do patrols, right? Keep the streets or at
least the Shadow clean'ish where we need to travel most?"

"Of course," says Salem, perfectly cool.

"Yup, definitly." Alicia says.

Rhiannon doesn't respond, assuming the question isn't directed at her, and
instead continues to listen.

John flicks a brief, tight smile. "Good. Well, I want you to start
travelling in pairs at least. Someone take Leala out some more, too, it'll
probably do her good to get away from whatever it is keeping her cooped up
these days. And starting from... Harbor Park, and a few other sites Tatt
selected a while back, we need to start cleansing. Everything. Buildings,
light-posts, spirits in the area. Everything. CityGardens idea again,
people. Need to get it back on track."

"Tall order," Salem says, though there's no real arguement in his voice.
Still, the Philodox regards John steadily. "How many of the pack know the
cleansing ritual?"

John's eyes flick to Alicia. Almost questioning.

Alicia glances over to John and nods her head. "Easy as pie dude. I can
definitly clean up the streets some. I was meaning to help out Yi and Kaz
in Harbor Park as it was. But.. since I'm the only one that knows how to
cleanse in the pack.. I'm ganna be kinda fuck'd up from doin all those
rituals. I could use help."

"Are we going to replace the SafeHouse? Or something resembling it?"
Rhiannon asks John. "Maybe not living quarters, but a hangout?" She
frowns, considering. "I suppose the cafe could double for that, but I was
more thinking, Tribe-specific."

John leans forward a little, smiling at Alicia. "Teach someone," he
suggests with a hint of amusement. "Frankie knows," John adds, lifting his
glass to his lips and sipping again. The Elder turns a smile on Rhiannon,
nodding. "Lianne has mentioned something, and while we have Nicholson
Hall, I was thinking we could look for funds for another safehouse, yes.
Renting existing property in suburbia seems a good idea, too, at the
moment."

One corner of Salem's mouth twitches upward amusedly at mention of suburbia.

Alicia nods her head, oh'n slightly to herself. She didn't realize Frankie
knew it also. "Gotcha. I can definitly teach."

John looks to one side. "Ideally, I would have other packs formed to take
care of these places. Once they were set up and worked upon. But if we
don't take the initiative, I have learnt that in this place... no-one
does." He shrugs. "There's other shit to do, too, of course. Start
spending a whole lot more time in the Umbra. Get familiar with it. It may
seem like too long-term planning, but in the next few years I want to
tackle this hospital, and we'll need to be adept at fighting spirits for
it. Get together as a pack and wail on some of the heftier tainted spirits
you can find. Cleanse 'em, if you can. We want allies. And lots of them."

Rhiannon taps her chin. "The sooner, the better, I think, particularly as
it relates to cubs. It'll be easier to keep them hidden if they're not
right underfoot in the city, where cops and much worse are all over."

Salem's expression flicks back to its usual solemn state. "Speaking of
cubs and the Umbra, I imagine that both Quentin and Jacob are due for a
field trip there soon."

John's lips thin. "We'll find something big to kill, then. And try to get
them into it as much as possible without getting them hurt. While they'll
only get better, it's the first time sinking their jaws into something
that a cub has difficulty with. They'll have confidence and pride, after
that."

"Precisely," Salem says. He sits up, reclaiming his water from the coffee
table and taking a sip. A thoughtful look crosses his face, gears whirring
as he considers what sort of violence to get the cubs involved in.

Rhiannon nods silently. "One more thing," she says after consideration,
directing her comments mostly to John. "We should probably leave Quentin
where he is, at Jeremy's. He needs someone to be with him, and he wasn't
keen on the idea of moving Quentin when I mentioned it."

"Hmph.. I didn't get to taste the Wyrm until after I was rited. Walkers
get all the cool fun." Alicia murmurs as she draws her knee to her chest
again.

Salem pauses in the middle of another drink of water to give Alicia an
incredulous look. "...You what?"

The Ahroun looks to Alicia, turning slightly less light-hearted at
Rhiannon's news. "Maybe it's just what happens when you have Elders who
fully intend for you to fight alongside them as equals when they Rite? I
need brothers. Not pups. Treating them as children will only keep them
thinking they are." He looks to Rhiannon, and pauses. "But all the same,
I'd prefer Jeremy didn't live with... such a new cub."

"Hmph.. Well, my first night fighting the Wyrm was saving your eyes,
John." Alicia says with a hint of pride upon her face. "So, what I lacked
in experience, I made up with sheer guts and bravado eh'?" She quiets a
bit as they talk about tribal buisness again.

Rhiannon sucks in a breath between her teeth. "Given the way he was acting
this afternoon, we need to have someone with him, even if it's just
Francisco, maybe." She shifts uneasily. "He was seriously close to losing
it in front of me, and we're not exactly familiar enough for me to
consider it generic Kin bonding. I don't expect that he's normally that
open, so something must really be wrong."

John eyes Alicia, inclining his head and levelling a finger at her.
"Experience and /intelligence/. Why on earth you used your /fists/, I will
never know, besides ignoring orders and causing distraction." There's more
a weary amusement in his tone of voice than any real reprimand, though.
Old joke. He looks to Rhiannon again. "He mention any problems in
particular?" Slightly hopeful.

Salem shakes his head slightly, still bemused at Alicia's revelation. Then
he turns his attention toward Rhiannon.

Rhiannon shakes her head. "Aside from a distinct desire to not be left
alone, he didn't name names or events. He seems to be used to getting the
short end of the stick from past experiences."

Alicia chuckles slightly, muttering. "Like anyone ever told me 'bout Glass
Banes. Least I finally picked up a lead pipe an bashed its head in." She
teases.

John rubs his face tiredly. "Check the kin," he murmurs, as if suddenly
remembering. "Dammit. Oh, and for a personal project this week... everyone
check in on a kin, hmm? Make sure they're OK, don't need any favours? And
if you can help them with something... do so." The Ahroun's expression is
weary. "I usually try to do that but I've been a little distracted these
last couple months. And I'm sure they'll appreciate seeing more Garou
faces looking concerned, rather than pissy."

Salem swirls the water around in his half-empty glass, nodding his
agreement. His face darkens slightly; he shakes his head and takes a
swallow.

"I imagine Jeremy will benefit most from anyone's company," Rhiannon adds,
perhaps unnecessarily.

"Well, I live with my kin and I'm constantly checking up on Ben when I
can. I talked to him the other day about helping out on the Bawn. Tom
isn't as receptive to that idea. Um.. bad experiences.. he got bit by one
of us a couple years ago when he was doing a school project. Its how he
came into the know." Alicia says, chiming in.

The Ahroun hitches one shoulder in a dismissive shrug. "I don't care who.
There's Lianne, Vicki, Cerwin, Alec, Michael, Siobhan, and God knows how
many others. Find one, and try brighten their day or something. Buy or
steal some flowers and chocolate, even. Be cute." He sips the last of his
water, with a rueful expression settling on his face. "Alright. So much to
do tomorrow..."

Salem eyes John. "Cute?"

At the mention of being cute, Rhiannon barely contains a laugh. She sobers
quickly though, grateful for John's insistance on behalf of the other Kin.

The towering, dark, heavily-scarred Ahroun wrinkles his nose a little in
mild confusion, shrugging again. "Apparently when I try to be nice, it's
'cute'," he mutters. With perhaps a hint of frustration.

Alicia smirks slightly. "I think you should leave the cute stuff to me.
Mmmm.. speaking of Vicki, I need to get in touch with her and drag the
twins over again to babysit. I miss those rug rats."

Rhiannon hmms, and nods to Alicia. "I can babysit for her too, when she
needs a night off."

Salem shakes his head at John, bemused, then turns toward Alicia. "Is
Glissa's daughter still staying with her?"

Alicia nods her head to Salem. "Yes, she is."

"Hmnh," says the Philodox. He takes another sip of water, looking
thoughtful.

John smiles slightly, nodding to Alicia. "Hell. You take the kids, and
I'll take Vicki out for dinner or something sometime. Dancer her off her
feet. She always seems stressed."

"How old is she, Glissa's duaghter?" Rhiannon asks, sounding curious.

"Yah well, she's dating Luke. Of course she'll be stressed." Alicia says
with a chuckle in her throat.

Salem hesitates a moment. "Seven, I think."

John blinks suddenly. "Luke's back in town?"

Rhiannon glances back at Alicia, waiting to hear about 'Luke', whoever he
may be.

"Luke.. is not back in town. But the two are shacked up in a
relationship." Alicia says, nodding her head. "I didn't realize they broke
up or something."

John clears his throat. "Oh. Well, I don't know if they did or not,
either. Just haven't heard about... yeah." He clears his throat again,
adding, "But anyway. That's something else to do for you guys. Tell the
rest of the Tribe - slash - pack."

"Noted and logged," Salem says. He seems a touch distracted, thinking.

Frowning a little, John pulls himself away from the wall and absently
heads to deposit his glass in the kitchen. "Well, just catching up,
anyway. Have to keep going. Like Alicia said, we were just in the
neighbourhood." He starts making for the door, looking rather preoccupied.

"Drop by any time. It's the easiest way to find Jacob or Francisco when
they're in-city, which isn't too often, but what the hell." Rhiannon
gestures to the apartment at large. "It's not much, but, all are welcome
to it."

John smiles at Rhiannon as he stalks out. "We appreciate it. Promise not
to laugh too much, and I'll send flowers sometime or something."

Alicia glances over to John, then idly looks towards Salem. She hitches a
shoulder and rises up also.

Salem finishes his glass of water and gets to his feet as well. "I'll have
a talk with Jeremy. Soon." To Alicia, he says, "Let me know when you go to
visit Vicki. I've been meaning to check on Julie but haven't..." He
pauses. "Had the time."

Rhiannon makes a face at John's flowers comment. "I have a black thumb.
They'll wilt as soon as I get near them." None-the-less, she waves to the
Ahroun as he leaves, and sets her own now-empty glass in the kitchen. With
regards to Jeremy she nods, and after he's spoken to Alicia she adds,
"Feel free to include me on a field trip to see Vicki, if you can. I've
not met Julie or her kids, and I'd like to."

"Alright! I'll bring Tom also. He and Vicki are best of friends." Alicia
notes to the pair as she stretches herself out some, grinning faintly.

John heads out into the hallway.

Salem reclaims his jacket and dons it. Then out come the dark glasses.
He's ready to book.

Alicia smiles and nods her head, then heads to the door, wandering out it.