"Have you made arrangements for daytime protection?"

[hazlogs]

It is currently Sun May 25 2003, night.

Currently the moon is in the waning Crescent Moon phase (37% full).

The park's a bit of a drive out of St. Claire and off to the city's western side. It's little-known and, at night, completely deserted but for a few stray cats.

It's dubious as to whether Orion drove, but he's there waiting in the park. Should anyone care, behind the bench he's sat on is a dead cat, one suspiciously lacking blood.

The two Glass Walkers arrive together in K. C.'s car. Though the female Philodox does the driving, it's Salem who leads the way into the park and over toward the waiting vampire. The inner beast is quieter within him than it was the night Orion first met him, but it's by no means missing.

Salem greets with a guardedly neutral, "Evening."

K. C. follows Salem toward the bench and the vampire perched on it. She tucks her arms across her chest as she slows to a halt and offers her own, "Good evening, Orion."

"Evening," Orion offers with a pleasent smile, one particularly human-seeming and lacking in fang. "Please, don't feel you have to stay standing on my account." He gestures to one of the other benches, as if offering to bring one over.

"Thank you," Salem says, with perfect courtesy. He takes a seat; all that's missing is a big desk for him to be settled behind with just _one_ piece of blank paper and _one_ pencil. Mechanical, perhaps. Maybe a stapler, too. "K. C. has told me about your offer, and has an idea of how we can keep your hide in one piece." He looks over at the other Walker.

K. C.'s not near as formal, but neither is she relaxed. She does, however, go to take a seat on the same bench. The student waiting for praise from the teacher, or punishment? Hard to tell. "Assuming, of course, that your safe place is still.. safe. You haven't had any visitors, have you?"

There's another faint smile from the leech. "I haven't, no. Probably because nobody, as far as I'm aware, knows where it is. That's how I like it, and that's how I intend to keep it." Tugging a packet of cigarettes from his pocket, the vampire gestures then to both Garou in offering, before lighting up one of his own. Apparently, a lighter-flame dosen't worry him.

Salem shakes his head slightly, refusing the cigarette. "Have you made arrangements for daytime protection? There are people who could find you if they tried, just as we located your haven before."

K. C. shakes her head and holds up a hand, refusing the offer. She takes a breath, and says nothing as Salem voices her question.

"I don't think I want to know how," Orion replies directly to Salem. "I'm going to assume it's not by following your nose?" He sits back, puffing absently on the cigarette as he does so. "I do have some protection, yes."

Salem glances over at K. C., then shrugs and turns back to the vampire. "All right," he says evenly. "The offer remains."

K. C. returns Salem's shrug, then looks at Orion again. "You have enough? People who can be there during the day to watch over you. You're sure?"

"If you're implying that I don't have enough people to fight lupines, you're probably right," Orion responds dryly, to KC. "Then again, when humans are all I have to work with, what can you expect? I'm not even allowed to gift them with extra strength for their defence."

K. C.'s eyebrows lift. "Allowed? You said, you swore, that you wouldn't do that sort of thing anyway." She frowns faintly and shakes her head. "Nevermind, nevermind. You're right, though. If your humans wanted a fight, they wouldn't have much of a chance. That's why I -- we -- had another offer for you." She takes a deep breath. "I can watch over you."

"I woulden't bind them to me, no," Orion replies placidly. "It's not the same thing, you know. In any case, I appreciate the offer, and what it might have cost you to make it, but I'll have to decline. Chances are, if someone wants me out of the picture, they'll attempt such regardless of any protection I might have - lupine or otherwise."

Whether she's relieved or disappointed would be hard to say, judging by her expression, but K. C. nods. "Well then. Obviously, I won't insist. I'm glad you've found someone else. Let's hope they're not needed."

Finishing his cigarette, Orion stubs the end out on the bench beside him before flicking it with fair accuracy into the nearest trash can. "You people arn't quite so bad as they say, you know," he observes, absently running a hand back through his short-cropped hair.

K. C. smiles just a little. "I suspect we're actually every bit as bas as 'they' say. There's a lot more to 'we' than they can see, though. Maybe we're just not quite a black-and-white."

"Nobody is, these days," Orion notes dryly. "As I hope you're also finding out. Not all of us nightcrawling bloodsuckers are the horrific creatures of legend, just as it dosen't /look/ like you'd be the kind of wolf to go and eat Red Riding Hood's grandma."

"Not as a habit, no," says Salem, speaking up for the first time in several minutes. As polite as he is, it's somewhat clear that he still looks upon the vampire with some distaste; there's little warmth in his manner.

K. C. shakes her head and adds, "Only when Granny's been very naughty."

That draws a chuckle, however brief, from Orion's lips. "I see. I'm trying to understand where you're coming from here, you see. What drives you to hate me, and my dear 'brothers', the way you do. And before you answer, please don't waste your breath on the spiel that we're unnatural. If we weren't meant to be here, we woulden't be."

Salem answers, curtly, "You wouldn't understand. Call it a territorial compulsion and leave it at that." He shifts his weight and changes the subject. "K. C. says that you're willing to give lessons."

K. C. closes her mouth on an answer once more, and tucks her hands under her legs, sitting on them to still them while she listens.

"Limited lessons, yes," Orion responds, looking at Salem again now. "Being as I've had no formal teaching on the pecularities of my species, it'll have to be based on my own experience, but I can no doubt teach you /something/ new."

"I'm sure you can," Salem says. "When do you plan to start?"

Orion sits back slightly. "That depends on you. I'm beginning to feel that we've not been on the same....wavelength, as they say, Mr Salem," he remarks calmly. "As I understand it, your promise of not killing me does not extend to all the people of your race in this area, am I right? I'm sure I recall Lady KC remarking that there was some difficulty with the young woman who pulled a knife on Mrs O'Ryan."

"It doesn't," K. C. says, and glances at Salem then back at Orion again. "As I told you when we spoke before. It's no easier for one of us to speak for the whole than it is for you. You may not be killing people for sport, but some of your kind are. We may not want you dead, but some of our kind will."

Salem wrinkles his nose. "Actually, it does. And in order to make it so, I have let people know that you're not to be killed. You are, in essence, my territory." He leans back, resting his arm on the back of the Walkerbench and regarding Orion frankly. "That doesn't mean that someone won't go rogue and come after you without going through me first, but it _does_ mean that I will take it out of their hide if they do." His face doesn't change, but the menace in his voice at this last is almost palpable.

"I appreciate that, or I would if I were around to be assured of it," Orion replies darkly, to Salem's latter comment. "At least in final death, I'll be avenged. Poetic, but not exactly reassuring for the now. Still, I hear what Lady KC is saying; it's not easy controlling the supernatural at the best of times. In any case, who will best benefit from my limited wisdom? You two?" A sly, amused smile now. "Of course, you might not like my methods of teaching, but the offer stands."

Salem arches an eyebrow. "What _are_ your methods of teaching?"

K. C. ducks her head, caught in the contradiction, and smiles wryly at her knees. "That'll teach me to answer for someone else." She lifts her chin again, once more silent to listen.

"When I was a boy, Mr Salem, I had it beaten into me that one learns from experience, not from words," Orion replies, lifting his hands then as if to defend himself. "I'm not about to try and give the Embrace of Death to any of you, far from it, but to best combat the enemy, you have to understand him. Learn the things he does in attack and defence."

Salem nods curtly. "I agree. And I have one or two people in mind who would most... benefit." He gives Orion a small, humorless little smile. "I find that _small_ classes make for a better educational atmosphere."

K. C. nods agreeably. "It's easier to control who does what with the lessons, too," she offers.

"The most important lesson, Mr Salem, is the one you might object to the most," Orion then murmurs, his expression ever-so slightly guarded. "Why one shoulden't ever, /ever/ try to pin a vampire. Lady KC got lucky, in her case, because I refuse to bite women, but had she been male, she may not still be in the lands of the living. In order to bring the full effect home, the best method would be to show someone how it feels to be utterly defenceless, in the bite. That, I fear, is what you would dislike."

Salem pushes to his feet. There's nothing particularly threatening in the gesture except what's inherent in the man himself, but in his answer, the temperature in his voice has dropped several degrees. "That's not a lesson I need to learn, actually. As it happens, I already have some experience with your kind. I plan to oversee these... lessons, but I will not be one of your students."

K. C. frowns as well and sits up a little straighter. "You want to -bite- someone?"

"Yes, bite. Not drink from," Orion clarifies to KC, before looking up towards the towering Elder. "Unlucky, Mr Salem. It explains some things, however. You are of course welcome to attend, though regrettably all lessons will be in the middle of the night."

"Naturally," Salem says.

"You want to bite someone," K. C. says again. "And you expect us to just assign someone to that? Pick someone out, who doesn't happen to be female, because you've got some problem with that?" Her frown deepens, and she looks to Salem.

"No, Lady KC," Orion responds, his tone still placid. "I do not particularly /want/ to bite someone, but it is one of the most important lessons a potential enemy can learn. For some reason, nobody believes me when I say that once bitten, a victem is /helpless/. Experience is the best teacher."

Salem makes a 'hold' gesture at K. C. "He has a point. And I doubt that Mr. Orion will do anything... untoward with myself and several others watching him. Anyway, we can discuss the details later."

K. C. continues to frown, but she goes silent a third time. No doubt she's biting the inside of her cheek.

There's a flash of a grin now, fangs partly-extended in humor. "If I did, I'm sure it would be my last action," Orion murmurs wryly to the Elder halfmoon.

"Indeed it would," the Elder states coolly. "I'll have K. C. contact you when I've gotten you some pupils."

K. C. climbs to her feet. "Then I guess we're done," the younger halfmoon says crisply. She digs her car keys out of her pocket and starts off toward the car, shoulders and chin high.

"Wal...no, that would be inappropriate," Orion murmurs, catching himself in his tracks. "Be well, both of you," he substitutes instead, no doubt far better than what he /was/ going to say.

Salem arches an eyebrow, but lets it go. "Be seeing you," he says, and follows the other Walker back to the car.