First change.
Dec. 29th, 2011 01:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kiananlogsThursday, 29 December 2011
The moon is in the waxing Crescent (Theurge) Moon phase (30% full).
Flint walks down the street, following the gutters and the sidewalk nearly mindlessly. Pebbles get thrown, sullenly, at walls and windows and trashcans and cars, anything they'll bounce off of, as his backpack is adjusted on his shoulders. A secondhand black jacket is pulled tighter around his too-skinny frame against the wind, and the teenager visibly chews on his lower lip. Eventually, a few of the cars get kicked in the door as he passes them, something to take out the frustration on.
The trio of Glass Walkers make an odd group, but this part of town sees a lot of odd groupings, so they don't get as much attention as they might. The taller man with the darker skin and blue-black hair points at the pizza parlor as they pass by, commenting to the younger about the quality.
There's nothing terribly unusual about the day, but it's not the greatest for sightseeing, admittedly. It's chilly, and grey-skied, and now and then a drop of rain will splatter threateningly on the sidewalk, promising more to come. It's probably not surprising that Mouse looks a little distracted, but as it is, she's barely glancing at the other two. As Kavi points out the pizza parlor, she does give it an intent looking over, as if she were trying to peer through walls, but shortly after she's looking into the street again.
More attention is paid to his surroundings than the pizza parlor, though Devon does take a second glance at the shop as chance allows for a faint whiff of temptingly delicious smells. The lanky, blond haired youth slows a fraction, slouching step lagging enough to let him peer into the shop before picking up again to return him to his elders.
Another car door kicked, this time with enough force to set off the annoying and high pitched flare of a car alarm, though thankfully for Flint it doesn't seem to draw the attention of the owner of the car. Then the boy continues, pushing hair out of his face and picking up his step a bit, a little further from the parked cars. When his hands do become visible, they're clenched into fists, matching the expression on his face fairly well.
Kavi looks across to the elder, and then down the long street to the faint commotion. It's only a momentary glance, however, and then he returns his attention to his companions. A gesture is given to the alley as they pass, and he speaks in a low whisper. "There's a tunnel entrance, there. The leeches were using it. We try to keep an eye on it, now."
At first, it may seem to simply be a part of the car alarm. It has that same decidedly electronic sound to it, and the car alarm is so loud that it almost drowns it out entirely. But then it gets louder, closer, and abruptly switches to what is unmistakably a digital version of the Mission Impossible theme. Da-da-daaa! Da-da-daaaa! No one on the street seems to notice anything amiss. Flint hears nothing. But to the three Garou, it cuts through even the traffic noises of downtown St. Claire.
Devon looks off toward the sounds of things striking things and distant car alarms with a small frown. An absent nod is given to Kavi's explanation as his eyes tick toward the Galliard. "They live underground," he asks, mimicking the low tones, though his own has a hint of distraction to it. The strangeness of the alarm tugs at his awareness, causing the boy to look for the source.
And just as abruptly as Flint started walking, he pauses, absently. Today, walking isn't releasing the pent up anger and frustration for the teenager. Kicking car doors isn't doing the trick, nor is throwing stones, and at the edge of the curb, the teenager sits down, hands still balled into fists in his lap.
Kavi stops abruptly as the sound reaches him, and starts to look for the source. Not finding it immediately, he glances to Devon, and then to Mouse. "I don't see it," he says, clearly to the elder, and without explanation of what 'it' is.
Mouse has gone rather still now, looking as though she's focusing on something very important that isn't actually there. She's turned in Flint's vague direction, but after a moment her head jerks upward, and her eyebrows arch.
It's a full second or two of that theme getting louder before it abruptly shuts off, replaced by what would be a very familiar noise to anyone watching a certain British sci-fi TV show. Vworrrp Vworrrrp! Something small, dark, and metallic appears right in front of Kavi's face, and then latches right onto his face, antennae waving, cheerfully teedling out the Mario Brothers theme now. It looks like a cockroach, except that it's a full three inches long, metallic, and there are little colored lights along its wing cases that are flashing along with the ungodly loud tune it's making. No one on the street seems to find anything unusual about this whatsoever. No one looks, no one turns their head, nothing about the world seems to react to Kavi being accosted by a metal singing bug.
Likewise, when Kavi looks to Mouse, so does Devon. He lifts a shoulder, shrugging, and aborting any thoughts he might put to words seeing the elder's expression. When the sound is suddenly, or finally, amidst the trio of Glass Walkers, the Ahroun cub turns toward the sound. His mouth opens slowly, brows pinching into a vee above his nose, when the metallic little fetch finds itself a perch on the Galliard's face.
Kavi jerks backward at the sudden appearance, blinking rapidly. A small sound of surprise escapes his throat, but for a wonder, he doesn't shake his head or try to brush the spirit away. "Where?" he whispers urgently. And though he doesn't try to remove the bug, he does continue backing up, as if to better see something too close.
Mouse swears. "Shit." A little too loudly, too, because that does get a glance or three from other pedestrians. She lowers her voice and leans in, "Shit, shit. We're going to need a car." One hand digs into her right pocket. "Mine?"
Meanwhile, the metal roach spirit flutters its wings and probes at Kavi's forehead with its antennae. The Mario theme ceases, and it declares, in a loud man's voice, "PICK UP THE PHONE!" And then starts in on the Nokia jingle.
After a while sitting on the sidewalk, though, restlessness kicks in and Flint gets up, kicking a fire hydrant as he walks by it. Determination pushes the teenager's hands, still balled into fists, into his pockets, and pushes the quaver of anger and frustration out of his jaw for the moment as he continues moving purposefully forward.
Kavi puts a hand to his ear, as if he might have a Bluetooth device there; he doesn't, but the hand conceals the lack. "I know," he says, and at least stops moving backward. "I know, but I can't see it. Tell me where?"
"Mine," Mouse says, answering herself. "It's going to take me a bit, Kavi, I'll be back as soon as possible." She turns and starts off at a swift jog back toward the Tenement; she doesn't dare run faster, that would definitely draw attention.
The roach spirit vibrates, taps Kavi's forehead once more for good measure, and then suddenly flutters off of his face and down to the pavement, where it starts trundling at great speed in Flint's direction. It makes a lightsaber noise, and then DUN DUN DUN DA DA DA, DA DA DAAA! goes the Imperial March, still sounding vaguely electronic and a little tinny.
Devon's arms fold over his chest, eyes going from each passerby to the next. The change of music, the tiny spirit's choice of the Imperial March earns a lifting brow and a slight shift in posture, a touch more wary.
Kavi drops his hand from his ear when the spirit drops, and if he's even aware of Mouse at this point he makes no indication. "Now," he says, quietly but sharply, to the cub beside him, and takes off after the cockroach, weaving around the pedestrians to keep up. His gaze is more on the ground, on the spirit, than on his environs, barely glancing up enough to keep from running into people.
Flint has let his hair fall into his face, further obscuring where he's going. Not that he was paying attention to anyone around him to begin with, between the bad mood and well, the bad mood. However, enough attention is paid to his footing that in stepping around something else, he finds himself walking straight into Devon. That at least gives the young teen pause, and he stumbles backwards, muttering an apology underneath his breath, but the words are terse and hurt in tone.
The kinfetch trundles with PURPOSE… straight past Flint. Oops. It's actually a full ten to fifteen feet away before it seems to realize its mistake, because suddenly it zips around and makes a beeline for the un-changed cub's back, tooting out the Imperial March much much more urgently, and much faster. Da da dadadadadaDA!
"What," Devon begins to ask as Kavi finally addresses him. Any further questioning or protest is given off as he hurries to follow the older man. That, in turn, is cut short when the younger teen runs into him. The Ahroun cub puts an arm out to steady Flint, a furrow to his brow as he looks from the other boy to Kavi's still following the fetch. "Sorry," he echoes in distracted mutter, "you alright?"
Flint answers the question with a sullen shrug and a toss of his hair out of his face, rather than words, though the expression on his face is clearly that of less than okay. But he doesn't duck away or leave, his attention split between Devon's companion and retaining his composure.
Eyes on the spirit, Kavi completely misses the impact of cub on cub, until the cockroach turns back, and he turns with it. His gaze rises, and he looks between Devon and Flint. For a moment, his brow furrows, and he glances again to the spirit. "That one?" he whispers, almost to himself, and then hurries to Devon's side. "Hey," he says, voice again taking on its normal tone and volume as he echoes the Ahroun. "Are you okay?" His accent is more subtle, a few years in St. Claire having mellowed it somewhat, but he still caries the broader vowels of the British influenced Indian tones.
Devon shows a little bit of relief when Kavi turns back, and allows his attention to turn to Flint. He frowns just a fraction more, though it isn't at the other boy himself. "You uh… lost? Or…" Another look slants off to Kavi, one shoulder raising into a shrug, a shadow of uncertainty touching his expression.
As if in wordless— but by no means silent— answer, the metallic cockroach spirit zips up the back of Flint's leg, spouts a few notes of a very electronic Pachelbel's Canon, and then vanishes.
Another shrug. "Not lost," Flint answers, in response to Devon's question. Then there is pause, while the teenager looks at Kavi, head tilted to the side. "No. I guess." Hands shove further into his pockets. "I'm fine. Why do you care?" The curiosity behind the question is evident. "No one else does."
The galliard looks across to Devon and gives the slightest of nods. "Are you hungry?" Kavi asks the dark haired youth. "There's— We were talking about getting a pizza." He gestures back the way they came.
With a nod, the Ahroun cub turns slightly, hands going into his own jeans pockets. "There's a place just down the street. 's really good." He pauses, flicking his gaze to Kavi and back to Flint. "Name's Devon. That's Kavi. You want to join us?"
"Yeah, I am." Flint swallows visibly and then nods. The answer wavers slightly. The boy is not a stranger to hunger, and it had been pushed towards the back of his awareness. "Sure," he agrees, after a moment of thought. "Pizza sounds great." There's a fair amount of eagerness in his voice once he internalises the fact that the offer is serious. Another moment of pause, and hands are shoved further into the pockets of his jeans, and Flint ducks a nod. "I'm Flint." He looks between Kavi and Devon once more. "Thanks."
Kavi nods in response and holds a hand out to indicate the direction of the pizza parlor. "It's not far," he promises and waits for Devon to lead the way. With his free hand, he pulls out his phone and starts dialing, a text message of some sort.
"You from here," Devon asks, shrugging a shoulder in the direction of the pizza parlor. He steps that way, staying a half step ahead of the younger boy.
The worst of Flint's temper and anger averted, at least temporarily, by the offer of food and the distraction of people, he shakes his head. Hands come out to hook thumbs in his pockets as he walks. "No. We just moved here." The answer is as nonchalant as he can make it, watching Devon carefully. "My grandparents are, and my mom grew up here, but whatever." There's no fondness indicated there, and another sullen shrug follows.
Kavi reaches out to hold the door open for the others. "You can order," he says to Devon. "Maybe get two? We can take one back for Kevin and the others."
"Yeah, moving sucks," Devon agrees with a lift of his shoulders. He toys with his lower lip, teeth pulling at it while he thinks. Thankfully he's rescued from more small talk when they arrive at the shop. "Yeah, sure, Kavi," the boy answers. He glances toward Flint, then turns for the counter to put in the order.
Flint shifts from foot to foot, distracted as much as anything by the smell of food, before he finally settles his gaze on Kavi once they're inside. "You're not going to like, tell my mom I was wandering around this part of town or anything, right?" he asks, after a moment. From the sound of things, there's not too much love lost in the teenager's relationship with his mother, either. Especially not when he was supposed to go straight home. Both his hands get shoved into his pockets again, quickly.
A fairly non-descript four-door Toyota pulls into the pizza place's parking lot, though the windows are tinted and no one gets out.
Another text received, and replied to, as Kavi lets the door close behind him, and then he looks up at the boy with a small smile. "No," he says, and gives a small shake of his head. "We aren't like that." He looks over to the counter, to check the progress of the food, and then back to Flint. "Do you… Do you have a safe place to stay? When you don't go home?"
Money is exchanged for the promise of pizza and several cans of Coke. The task over leaves Devon to linger near the counter, arms folded over his chest while he leans against a wall in wait. His attention shifts between checking the progress of the pies and Kavi and Flint's location and interaction.
"No…" The teen shrugs, though there's a faint but visible sigh of relief, and tension in his shoulders lessens. "I just go home when everyone's asleep already," Flint says, regaining the nonchalance and dismissiveness from before. "It's easier."
Kavi nods, catching the edge of his lip between his teeth for a moment. "We," he nods toward Devon. "We have a place. It's not. We're not the government, or a cult, or anything like that? But we have a place that's safe. If you want to see?"
A question of why is bitten back, before Flint just nods his head, one hand coming up out of his pockets automatically to brush the hair out of his face. "Yeah," he says, eventually, with another nod. "Thanks, I guess." The boy looks over towards where the pizza is being prepared, then bounces on his heels, the frustration and anger cooling down into mere anxiety.
Once again, Kavi looks to check on the progress of the food. "It's okay," he says quietly. "It's… The city can be hard. And. It's good to have a safe place."
Devon steps up to the counter about the time Kavi and Flint look over, collecting a couple of large pizza boxes and a bag of canned sodas. The fellow chosen to place the pies on the counter seems only too relieved when the youth turns away, making a slow approach toward the two he'd come in with. Brows lift in askance of Kavi, a silent question from the Ahroun if they're set or staying.
Flint's expression brightens noticeably at Devon when Devon comes over with the pizzas. "Suppose it is, yeah." His brows furrow, though, as he tries to make sense of things. "First my mom goes all crazy and everyone else goes nuts, then people're actually…" the muttered words trail off, with a startled glance upwards at both Devon and Kavi. "Nevermind, sorry," he offers, an excuse for talking to himself.
Kavi answers Devon's unspoken question with a tip of his head toward the door. "It's okay," he says to Flint. "We can show you, now, if you want. It'll be a quieter place, and. We can talk while we eat."
Devon turns for the door at the nod, weaving around a table and its chairs. He juggles pizza and sodas fairly easily, pulling open the door and holding it open with a foot so Kavi and Flint can lead the way out.
The boy doesn't argue, and is only too glad to be rid of the enclosed space and the few other people in the pizzeria and to be out the door. There's a brief glance down the street once he's outside, but the promise of food wins out, and Flint waits for the other two, quiet and fairly still once they're outside again.
Mouse is sitting in the car, waiting, but tense. She's only barely visible through the tinted windows, and appears to be a mostly nondescript woman with short messy brown hair and sunglasses. She's looking at her phone.
Kavi waves to the car with the tinted windows, and then heads straight across to it. "That's our ride," he says with a glance to Flint. As he nears the vehicle, he looks back to Devon, too, to make sure he has a decent hold on the food.
Devon falls in behind the other two, following them to the car. He cracks a small, half grin at Kavi, then nods to the driver.
Flint nods again, the backpack coming off in order to be clutched tightly to his chest when he gets into the car, automatically approaching the backseat. Knees also come up to his chest, and for the moment, he's quiet.
There's the click of the doors unlocking, allowing everyone in. Mouse's car is clean and well-vaccuumed, though there's the ever present smell of old cigarette smoke. "'Ey. Homeward bound, then?" Now that he's in, it's clear this woman also has a weird tracery of thin spidery scars all over what can be seen of her skin.
Kavi follows after, letting Devon and the food take the front seat. "It's not too far," he says to Flint, after a nod to the driver. "That's Mouse."
Devon climbs in last, sodas finding a home at his feet and pizzas shuffled to keep from being tipped until they're resting on his lap. He glances up at Mouse briefly, then over his shoulder to Kavi and Flint before settling himself for the ride.
"Hi," Flint says, after a moment, though there's nothing else offered once they're in the car. The boy's focus is elsewhere, out the window and internal, and every so often his hands ball into fists again, the only indication of whatever he's thinking.
Mouse starts up the car, and backs out. There's nothing hurried about her driving as she pulls onto the road, and it's not terribly long before they reach the Tenement, though, being Mouse, she actually ends up circling the block once before pulling in to a parking space. "Doesn't look like much on the outside, I know. But it has its charm."
Kavi slides out of the car, and then moves to help Devon juggle the food so he can get out as well. "Once you're inside, though, you'll see. It's really a nice place."
"Home sweet home," Devon says to himself, passing pizzas to Kavi as he climbs out of the car. He offers a quiet thanks, taking the food back after dragging out the bag of Cokes. He falls in somewhere amidst the procession, glancing down the street as he follows the others to the door.
Flint nods, with half a grin as he appraises the building, though his gaze goes back to the pizzas every so often. His backpack is held to his chest still, instead of put on, and that he is slight of frame shows. "Better than my family either yelling at me or trying to pretend I don't exist," he adds, with a bit of a grin such that the comment borders on self-deprecating.
Mouse hangs back as they all pile out, presumably to lock her car. In reality, however, once they've started heading toward the Tenement, she gives the street a brief, careful looking over, to make sure there aren't any people paying particular attention to the group.
It's Kavi that unlocks the front door, and lets them all into the Tenement building, holding it open so that the others can enter.
Devon tips his head toward the seating area as he looks at Flint, making his way into the building. Without a word, he puts the boxes of pizza down on table, once he's inside, the sodas following. Hands go to the Ahroun's pockets once freed of their burden, gaze shifting from the food to Kavi and Mouse once the elder has joined them.
Flint follows Devon wordlessly, and looks around, choosing an out of the way place for the backpack to be put down, and coat after it. As tightly as he'd clung to them, food is more appealing, and there's a faint smile as he makes his way towards the table. "Pizza," he says, with all the same excitement that would be shown to ice cream or candy. "Pizza."
Mouse slips in behind everyone, and quietly closes the door behind her.
Kavi smiles as the boys settle in with the pizza, and then he glances across to Mouse. "I need to go upstairs, but. If you need me?" His brow furrows slightly as he looks to her.
Devon edges back from the table a half step after the door is closed, dropping his gaze to a vague point on the floor for a moment. He glances toward the younger teen, half grinning once again.
Mouse gives Kavi a significant look, and nods. "I think you'll hear if we have any trouble," she says easily, which doesn't quite match with how carefully she looks Flint over once she's done speaking.
Kavi nods, and heads for the stairwell door. "I'll be back soon," he tells the others, giving each of them a glance before he disappears.
Flint looks up a moment, meeting Mouse's gaze but only for a second, before his gaze falls to the bozes of pizza, yet at the same time it is clear that the teenager won't actually take the initiative and open one of the boxes to get a slice. Not yet.
Mouse leans against the door, casual-like, and proceeds to tap tap tap at her phone. She doesn't make any move to join in on the pizza eating.
Devon's eyes flick toward Mouse as he starts on his slice, slower and more contemplative as he eats. After a moment or two he turns his attention to Flint, watching the other boy silently and far more openly than his furtive glances toward either of the two elder Garou.
The second piece of pizza is eaten at a more moderate rate than the first, and then Flint brings himself to sitting crosslegged, rather than getting up for a third piece. Yet.
Mouse catches Devon's eye as he looks toward her, just briefly, but her chin does jerk toward the basement door before she looks back down at her phone.
Devon glances toward the basement, head tilting a little. Confusion works its way across his features and he looks back at Flint, then Mouse. With a sigh, he stands, dropping his half-eaten slice of pizza back into the box before slouching off toward the basement door. His scarred hand goes into a pocket, the other working the handle to open the door.
Flint pulls a knee up to his chest two of his fingers in his mouth, licking off the few crumbs of pizza, before he simply sits there and watches Mouse. The interaction between her and the older teen is watched with interest and curiosity, although in silence.
Mouse remains leaning against the door, even once she's finished messing with her cell phone (finally). Awkward. "You want to go help him with something, kid?" This directed at Flint.
The stairwell door opens again, and Kavi reappears, another figure close behind him.
Flint nods, climbing to his feet in a slightly disjointed motion, and retrieving his jacket and backpack before making his way to the same door Devon left by, though not before Kavi returns. "Sure, I guess," he responds, almost not loudly enough to even be heard. A glance is cast in Kavi's direction before Flint opens the door to the basement.
There's a light on, just enough to illuminate the way down into the basement and show Devon walking down the stairs. He glances over his shoulder, a brow arching as Flint appears in the doorway, then shrugs to himself as he reaches the floor.
Mouse gives Kavi a somewhat disbelieving look, once Flint is on his way down. She leans off of the door, and moves to follow the two boys, though at a distance right off.
Kavi glances behind him and draws in a breath, but he doesn't say anything, and instead follows after Mouse.
Rina follows as well, her eyes shadowy.
Flint makes his way down the rest of the stairs, following Devon, before looking back at the rest of those coming down. A half step to the side makes way for everyone else to come down, and the teenager shoves his hands back into his pocket, his gaze darting between everyone present.
By the time everyone else has come down the stairs, Devon has moved partway across the open space. His unscarred hand now goes into the other pocket as he turns toward the stairway, askance settled firmly into his expression as he watches the rest file down into the basement.
Mouse steps aside to allow Kavi and Rina down, but she does mouth to the kin 'unchanged'. She still has her sunglasses on too, which in the basement looks stranger than ever. "Well! This's always the really awkward part. What's your name, kid?"
Kavi doesn't move too far from the stairs, and once he's allowed Rina to pass by, he actually takes a step back toward them. "Flint," he answers for the youth, and offers the boy a small smile.
The woman who follows Kavi is striking, a lean little Italian beauty, maybe pushing thirty. She watches Flint closely, with the attention and focus of someone perceptive. "Hey," she offers, in a low, slightly hoarse voice. "I'm Rina."
Flint nods a bit, moving further into the room to drop the too-large-for-him winter coat and his backpack down in an empty spot, then sit down next to them. His eyebrows raise slightly at Rina, spending more time watching her than the others, and slightly wary. "Flint." Eventually, he repeats his name, though not overly loudly. "Flint Madden, if you want to be precise."
Devon offers a small nod to Rina as she joins the small gathering. Then he looks at Flint, pressing his lips together into a line while he watches the other boy.
"Flint," Mouse echoes. "I'm afraid this's where it gets weird." She pauses. "—er, anyway. I think you're gonna want to stand away from your stuff." She looks at the rest of her tribemates, and eases away from the stairs a little. "Let's go ahead and just push it. More pizza and question answering later."
Kavi draws in another breath and holds it as he nods to Mouse. Turning to look to the kin, his brow furrows. "Be careful," he whispers, the intonation, for those who can hear it, coming more as a question than a statement.
Rina answers with a small nod. "Right behind you, caro," she says, stepping back to switch places.
With some confusion evident, Flint pulls off his sweatshirt as well, though it's old and worn, and shoves it with the rest of his stuff, before standing up and walking some few steps away. Towards Mouse. "Okay…" There's some hesitation evident in his voice, before he gives a shrug, gaze flitting to Kavi every so often.
Devon's hands come out of his pockets, a glance going to Mouse and Kavi and Rina briefly. His feet shift slightly, taking a couple of steps to one side as his gaze returns to Flint.
Mouse regards Flint with a look that's partially obscured by those sunglasses, but which seems, nonetheless, a little disbelieving. "Damn. You've got to be the easiest cub we've picked up since I've been here. Okay. Here goes. Sorry in advance and all." She reaches up and pulls her sunglasses off, tucking them away. Flint might catch a strange flash of gold, but otherwise he doesn't really have time to see what was under them, because suddenly there's a massive, hairy, snarling beast taking up the space between him and the stairs (and the other Walkers, at that), roaring right in his face. It's the Garou equivalent of 'BOO!' really.
As if the boy's world hadn't been turned upside down enough by people being actually nice to him for one, today. It's enough. But there isn't room left for him to think, and it's enough. One step forward becomes a much bigger one as the change occurs, and a voiceless, almost confused snarl as he charges forward in the confined space at the two much larger Garou there.
Devon hangs back, for the moment unchanged himself but watching carefully. There's a readiness, a preparedness to shift or throw himself where needed to help control the new firsting cub.
Triumph! First-Strike was expecting this, of course. The bizarrely shaped crinos drops one shoulder, steps to the side to give Kavi some room if he needs it, and attempts to thump the newly changed cub heavily on the back of his head. Whump.
Kavi steps into the space provided, ready to strike as well if the elder's blow doesn't do the job.
There's an attempt to hit someone in some direction, and a much louder snarl after he's been thumped than before, as Flint pushes his way back up onto all fours.
First-Strike is business-like now, if a twisted, deformed werewolf can be that. She brings up both hands, makes big, furred fists, and brings them down again against the back of his head and neck. WHUMP.
Devon takes a step forward, skipping Glabro and going into Crinos. His ears splay and there's a glimmer of teeth, but he holds himself back after a glance toward Mouse and Kavi.
The galliard moves quickly, more quickly than should be possible. Fingers entwined, he brings a hammer blow down at the back of the cub's head once and again, almost too fast to be seen.
There is some residual movement, another attempt to push himself onto all fours, but Flint fails. The whine and snarl cuts off abruptly, as well, as the cub falls towards unconsciousness.
One-Foot-Forward lets out a breath when the other cub goes still, half sigh and half derisive huff. He glances sidelong toward the elder Garou and kin, one ear twisting toward them, then returns to his birth form. Arms fold over his chest again, eyes slanting off to where Flint's belongings still rest. "Yeah, so…"
First-Strike flicks the back of Flint's head, just to make sure, and then steps back to shrink back down to homid as well. Her coat appears to hide the strange length of her body, but those yellow, lupine eyes don't change in anything but size. "So. When he wakes up, poor kid, we get to stuff his brain full of information he's going to likely be flailing around and denying a lot."
Rina's voice is quiet, hoarse. "I'm good at that part."
Kavi takes a step backward as the cub falls, and slips back down to his own homid form. He swallows, glancing back toward Rina as she speaks, and then turns the rest of the way to join her.
"I'll… go set up a bunk for him," Devon offers, gathering up Flint's backpack. The coat is left, dropped unceremoniously onto the new cub's body. The pack is pulled onto a shoulder, and a glance angles to Mouse for a second.
Mouse nods at Devon. "Thanks, kid. You did great. Sorry we didn't exactly explain things as they were happening, back there, but we didn't want him popping in the street."
Rina steps forward, coming up to kneel by the collapsed cub. "Anyone wanna tell me how y'found him?"
Kavi pulls in a sharp breath as Rina comes forward, but it only lasts a moment before his posture eases and he moves across the room to find one of the spare sets of sweats. "He had a 'fetch," Kavi explains. "We were on the way to the park, but."
"It's cool," Devon responds with a shake of his head. "Keeping the Veil and all that. Him changing where everyone'd see would've been a bad thing." He starts up the stairs, calling over his shoulder. "I'll be in the bunk room, 'f I'm needed."
Mouse settles into a crouch near— but not too near— the downed cub. She briefly pinches the bridge of her nose, grimacing, but the moment passes.
The first twitches of Flint returning to consciousness happen, with a low pitched whine giving way to silence as he moves, trying to push himself into more of a seated position. Eyes open, and he turns, slowly, looking between Mouse and Rina.
"Hey," Rina says quietly, helping him up, an arm behind one of his shoulders.
Kavi looks up, gaze following Devon as he leaves, but at the whine from the new cub, he returns quickly, the replacement set of clothes in one arm. "Hey," he says, echoing Rina's soft greeting.
Mouse drops her hand and looks at Flint. "Don't try to move too fast. Take it easy. And uh, yeah this'll be a bit of a shock."
One hand comes up, rubbing at the back of his head, and Flint laughs. Quietly, but laughter nonetheless, as he leans his other arm on the floor, for balance. Several times, the boy opens his mouth to speak, but for the most part, he's just speechless.
"It's aright," Rina says gently. "Take a minute."
Kavi crouches down nearby. He offers the clothes without a word, holding them out until the boy is ready.
Mouse says nothing now, merely watching carefully.
Flint does reach out and take the sweatpants, managing to squirm into them underneath the cover of the jacket, before pulling the jacket around himself properly, and then attempting to sit up further. "So," he begins. His gaze shifts to Mouse. "You um." He falls silent again, trying to find the right vocabulary for what happened, and failing, tries again. "That actually happened?"
Rina gives him a little space, moving back to sit cross-legged on the floor.
Kavi nods. "It did," he says quietly. Once the boy takes the clothes, he moves back a little, placing himself closer to Rina. "It's… real," he adds, watching Flint carefully.
Mouse licks her lips, and straightens. "What's your birthdate? I'm going to go check it."
Flint rubs at the back of his neck for a moment, before pushing his hair out of his face again. "Ow," he mutters, though there's no hurt underneath the physical in his tone, just teenaged stubbornness. "Right." Eyes squint and furrow for a moment, before he comes up with an answer to Mouse's question. "October 11th. 1997."
Rina glances over her shoulder to Mouse, and then returns her attention to the boy.
When the boy gives his answer, Kavi also glances toward the elder, but it's just a glance, and then his attention returns to the new cub. "You have a lot to learn. But it's… It'll be okay. We'll help you, and. And it'll be better than before."
Mouse stands up, stuffing one hand in her pocket as she tromps over to, and then up, the stairs. "Back in a minute."
"It's real," Flint says again, the disbelief suspended for the moment. "Then again, my head sure hurts enough, that has to be real." He pulls one knee up to his chest so that he can rest his chin on it, and there's a half-nod given. "Yeah, well, anything." A pause. "Almost anything would be." The sentence is forced, strained.
Rina's brow furrows. "Got family?" she asks quietly.
Kavi settles in, dropping down to sit beside the kin.
Mouse vanishes upstairs, and makes sure to close the door behind her.
A shrug. "Just my mom. And my grandparents. For all the good that's…" Flint trails off, before shaking his head. "So, no."
Rina nods slowly. "S'aright."
Kavi's hand reaches out for Rina's, and his gaze ducks downward for a moment. "You do, now," he says as he looks again to the cub. "You have us, now. It's— It will be different. But, we'll be a family to you."
The statement earns a small, tentative smile from the boy, and a genuine one at that. "This city," he muses, quiet, the rest of his thoughts not said aloud for the time being, before turning back to both Kavi and Rina with a slight wince. "Thanks," Flint says. "Back in the bay, my mom. She won't even be in the same room as me, much, lately. 's why since she moved us here I just made sure to not be there much."
"She in town now?" Rina asks. "Is she gonna be worried about you?"
Kavi falls silent, listening as the others speak.
Mouse steps back down the stairs, with a lit cigarette, and her phone. Which, as she had her phone earlier, and therefore down here, might be a little suspicious, but there's nothing else unusual about her reappearance.
"Dunno," Flint answers. "Maybe she'll care. More likely not. She didn't care about anything else, so." The boy ponders the question. "And if my grandparents remember I exist, maybe, but they didn't want me around anyway."
Rina shifts slightly, moving to one knee. "Hey," she murmurs, searching his face. "It's gonna be okay. We want you here. And you're needed. Aright?"
Kavi glances up as Mouse returns, nodding to her. Something in his posture shifts as Rina changes position, attentive to both her and the cub, though he still remains quiet.
"Weeell," Mouse says, drawing the word out around her cigarette, "Congratulations, Kavi. We've got a Galliard." She eyes flint for a moment, eyebrows arched. "Well, Takes-it-All-in-Stride, you're uh. Handling this incredibly well. I ain't complaining."
Eyebrows raise, and the boy pushes his hand up to his forehead. "Like I said. My head hurts too much for it to be not real," Flint says, obviously proud of the rationalisation of things. "You um," and he pauses. "You said earlier, something about more pizza?" The boy grins, a little, though still perhaps trying not to move too much.
Rina's smile tugs up at one corner, and she rises smoothly to her feet. "There's always food."
Kavi smiles at Mouse's words, and nods to the boy. "Maybe— We could go upstairs and talk, while we eat? There's still some pizza, but." He looks up to the kin, and then rises to stand beside her. "Rina's cooking is much better."
"Something we need to emphasize first," Mouse says, as she tucks her phone back into her pocket. "You can't leave the building right now, kid. No sneaking out, no phone calls, no emails. Actually, wait. You have a phone?"
Flint shakes his head in answer to the question. "No minutes on it anyway," he adds. "I use it as a clock and an an alarm clock. That's about it. Hasn't had minutes since last summer, not very good for much else." A pause follows, as the boy considers things. "No sneaking out," he agrees, pushing himself slowly to his feet.
"It's just so… in the outside world, we don't want anything like, well, that—" She gestures toward the room. "To happen out in the open. People could die."
Kavi reaches a hand toward the boy, palm out. "Let me see your phone? Just for a minute."
Mouse glances from Flint to Kavi. "They can still trace it," she mutters, but it doesn't actually seem to be to either of them, especially since that's clearly something Kavi already knows. Back to Flint. "Okay. We will know, and I don't mean to be all aggravatingly overbearing about it, but it's desperately important. That bit'll pass pretty quick, I think, you're really just taking this in. And if you feel really angry, like really, really angry, like you were today? Come down here, where you won't cause so much damage."
Flint nods. Arms withdraw into the jacket, which might as well fit the boy like a tent, and he fidgets with it for a moment, before coming out with his phone. It's a cheap, old flip phone, that's placed in Kavi's hand, already with the battery opening on the back removed. "I like it here, so far," he says quietly. "Even if it is a bit weird." More fidgeting inside his jacket produces a worn iPod classic, and a DS, and they're both dropped into an exterior, more accessible pocket.
Rina studies him for a long moment, and then claps a hand to the outside of his shoulder. "You'll do aright," she says succinctly.
Kavi takes the phone and removes the battery. He takes the card and pockets it, before replacing the battery. A few more adjustments, and he turns it over in his hand before turning it over to the cub again. "It's okay," he says, more to Mouse than the boy, and then he gestures toward the items that went into the pocket. "If you want? I'm good at fixing things."
The words draw another small smile from the boy, and then he nods. Carefully, the phone's stowed in the exterior pockets, and both of the other items are handed over. Part of Flint's attention remains on them, still ever so slightly wary, but more of his attention goes towards beginning to edge towards the stairs and the promise of food, trying to do so without seeming too overly eager, and without moving too quickly.
Mouse eases. "Trust me, kid. It is going to get so much more weird. But tomorrow. Pizza tonight." She looks at Kavi. "You good with taking point on teaching him? I think we're going to get Devon situated… really soon."
Rina rakes a hand back through her hair. "How is Devon?"
Kavi nods to Mouse. "It'll be good." He takes the items, giving them a cursory glance as he juggles them into position. "I think. We have games, upstairs. You can play those, while I fix yours. It might take a couple days."
"And TV," Mouse adds, helpfully. "Computers too, but they're password locked and you don't get that just yet. When you can leave the tenement, I'll give it to you."
Flint nods, taking the first few steps quickly before slowing down. "Alright, I guess," he says, a deep breath taken. "Books?" There's a hopeful note in his voice as he asks, and a pause in the stair climbing.
"Lots," Rina answers, slower to follow.
Kavi hesitates, waiting for Rina, but then follows the others up the stairs.
Together, the three Walkers and the new cub tromp upstairs to the elevator, and then, after inputting a code into the keypad (which Mouse firmly informs Flint he is not to give to anyone), they take a ride to the fifth floor, and the tribe break room, where there is food and entertainment to be had.
The moon is in the waxing Crescent (Theurge) Moon phase (30% full).
Flint walks down the street, following the gutters and the sidewalk nearly mindlessly. Pebbles get thrown, sullenly, at walls and windows and trashcans and cars, anything they'll bounce off of, as his backpack is adjusted on his shoulders. A secondhand black jacket is pulled tighter around his too-skinny frame against the wind, and the teenager visibly chews on his lower lip. Eventually, a few of the cars get kicked in the door as he passes them, something to take out the frustration on.
The trio of Glass Walkers make an odd group, but this part of town sees a lot of odd groupings, so they don't get as much attention as they might. The taller man with the darker skin and blue-black hair points at the pizza parlor as they pass by, commenting to the younger about the quality.
There's nothing terribly unusual about the day, but it's not the greatest for sightseeing, admittedly. It's chilly, and grey-skied, and now and then a drop of rain will splatter threateningly on the sidewalk, promising more to come. It's probably not surprising that Mouse looks a little distracted, but as it is, she's barely glancing at the other two. As Kavi points out the pizza parlor, she does give it an intent looking over, as if she were trying to peer through walls, but shortly after she's looking into the street again.
More attention is paid to his surroundings than the pizza parlor, though Devon does take a second glance at the shop as chance allows for a faint whiff of temptingly delicious smells. The lanky, blond haired youth slows a fraction, slouching step lagging enough to let him peer into the shop before picking up again to return him to his elders.
Another car door kicked, this time with enough force to set off the annoying and high pitched flare of a car alarm, though thankfully for Flint it doesn't seem to draw the attention of the owner of the car. Then the boy continues, pushing hair out of his face and picking up his step a bit, a little further from the parked cars. When his hands do become visible, they're clenched into fists, matching the expression on his face fairly well.
Kavi looks across to the elder, and then down the long street to the faint commotion. It's only a momentary glance, however, and then he returns his attention to his companions. A gesture is given to the alley as they pass, and he speaks in a low whisper. "There's a tunnel entrance, there. The leeches were using it. We try to keep an eye on it, now."
At first, it may seem to simply be a part of the car alarm. It has that same decidedly electronic sound to it, and the car alarm is so loud that it almost drowns it out entirely. But then it gets louder, closer, and abruptly switches to what is unmistakably a digital version of the Mission Impossible theme. Da-da-daaa! Da-da-daaaa! No one on the street seems to notice anything amiss. Flint hears nothing. But to the three Garou, it cuts through even the traffic noises of downtown St. Claire.
Devon looks off toward the sounds of things striking things and distant car alarms with a small frown. An absent nod is given to Kavi's explanation as his eyes tick toward the Galliard. "They live underground," he asks, mimicking the low tones, though his own has a hint of distraction to it. The strangeness of the alarm tugs at his awareness, causing the boy to look for the source.
And just as abruptly as Flint started walking, he pauses, absently. Today, walking isn't releasing the pent up anger and frustration for the teenager. Kicking car doors isn't doing the trick, nor is throwing stones, and at the edge of the curb, the teenager sits down, hands still balled into fists in his lap.
Kavi stops abruptly as the sound reaches him, and starts to look for the source. Not finding it immediately, he glances to Devon, and then to Mouse. "I don't see it," he says, clearly to the elder, and without explanation of what 'it' is.
Mouse has gone rather still now, looking as though she's focusing on something very important that isn't actually there. She's turned in Flint's vague direction, but after a moment her head jerks upward, and her eyebrows arch.
It's a full second or two of that theme getting louder before it abruptly shuts off, replaced by what would be a very familiar noise to anyone watching a certain British sci-fi TV show. Vworrrp Vworrrrp! Something small, dark, and metallic appears right in front of Kavi's face, and then latches right onto his face, antennae waving, cheerfully teedling out the Mario Brothers theme now. It looks like a cockroach, except that it's a full three inches long, metallic, and there are little colored lights along its wing cases that are flashing along with the ungodly loud tune it's making. No one on the street seems to find anything unusual about this whatsoever. No one looks, no one turns their head, nothing about the world seems to react to Kavi being accosted by a metal singing bug.
Likewise, when Kavi looks to Mouse, so does Devon. He lifts a shoulder, shrugging, and aborting any thoughts he might put to words seeing the elder's expression. When the sound is suddenly, or finally, amidst the trio of Glass Walkers, the Ahroun cub turns toward the sound. His mouth opens slowly, brows pinching into a vee above his nose, when the metallic little fetch finds itself a perch on the Galliard's face.
Kavi jerks backward at the sudden appearance, blinking rapidly. A small sound of surprise escapes his throat, but for a wonder, he doesn't shake his head or try to brush the spirit away. "Where?" he whispers urgently. And though he doesn't try to remove the bug, he does continue backing up, as if to better see something too close.
Mouse swears. "Shit." A little too loudly, too, because that does get a glance or three from other pedestrians. She lowers her voice and leans in, "Shit, shit. We're going to need a car." One hand digs into her right pocket. "Mine?"
Meanwhile, the metal roach spirit flutters its wings and probes at Kavi's forehead with its antennae. The Mario theme ceases, and it declares, in a loud man's voice, "PICK UP THE PHONE!" And then starts in on the Nokia jingle.
After a while sitting on the sidewalk, though, restlessness kicks in and Flint gets up, kicking a fire hydrant as he walks by it. Determination pushes the teenager's hands, still balled into fists, into his pockets, and pushes the quaver of anger and frustration out of his jaw for the moment as he continues moving purposefully forward.
Kavi puts a hand to his ear, as if he might have a Bluetooth device there; he doesn't, but the hand conceals the lack. "I know," he says, and at least stops moving backward. "I know, but I can't see it. Tell me where?"
"Mine," Mouse says, answering herself. "It's going to take me a bit, Kavi, I'll be back as soon as possible." She turns and starts off at a swift jog back toward the Tenement; she doesn't dare run faster, that would definitely draw attention.
The roach spirit vibrates, taps Kavi's forehead once more for good measure, and then suddenly flutters off of his face and down to the pavement, where it starts trundling at great speed in Flint's direction. It makes a lightsaber noise, and then DUN DUN DUN DA DA DA, DA DA DAAA! goes the Imperial March, still sounding vaguely electronic and a little tinny.
Devon's arms fold over his chest, eyes going from each passerby to the next. The change of music, the tiny spirit's choice of the Imperial March earns a lifting brow and a slight shift in posture, a touch more wary.
Kavi drops his hand from his ear when the spirit drops, and if he's even aware of Mouse at this point he makes no indication. "Now," he says, quietly but sharply, to the cub beside him, and takes off after the cockroach, weaving around the pedestrians to keep up. His gaze is more on the ground, on the spirit, than on his environs, barely glancing up enough to keep from running into people.
Flint has let his hair fall into his face, further obscuring where he's going. Not that he was paying attention to anyone around him to begin with, between the bad mood and well, the bad mood. However, enough attention is paid to his footing that in stepping around something else, he finds himself walking straight into Devon. That at least gives the young teen pause, and he stumbles backwards, muttering an apology underneath his breath, but the words are terse and hurt in tone.
The kinfetch trundles with PURPOSE… straight past Flint. Oops. It's actually a full ten to fifteen feet away before it seems to realize its mistake, because suddenly it zips around and makes a beeline for the un-changed cub's back, tooting out the Imperial March much much more urgently, and much faster. Da da dadadadadaDA!
"What," Devon begins to ask as Kavi finally addresses him. Any further questioning or protest is given off as he hurries to follow the older man. That, in turn, is cut short when the younger teen runs into him. The Ahroun cub puts an arm out to steady Flint, a furrow to his brow as he looks from the other boy to Kavi's still following the fetch. "Sorry," he echoes in distracted mutter, "you alright?"
Flint answers the question with a sullen shrug and a toss of his hair out of his face, rather than words, though the expression on his face is clearly that of less than okay. But he doesn't duck away or leave, his attention split between Devon's companion and retaining his composure.
Eyes on the spirit, Kavi completely misses the impact of cub on cub, until the cockroach turns back, and he turns with it. His gaze rises, and he looks between Devon and Flint. For a moment, his brow furrows, and he glances again to the spirit. "That one?" he whispers, almost to himself, and then hurries to Devon's side. "Hey," he says, voice again taking on its normal tone and volume as he echoes the Ahroun. "Are you okay?" His accent is more subtle, a few years in St. Claire having mellowed it somewhat, but he still caries the broader vowels of the British influenced Indian tones.
Devon shows a little bit of relief when Kavi turns back, and allows his attention to turn to Flint. He frowns just a fraction more, though it isn't at the other boy himself. "You uh… lost? Or…" Another look slants off to Kavi, one shoulder raising into a shrug, a shadow of uncertainty touching his expression.
As if in wordless— but by no means silent— answer, the metallic cockroach spirit zips up the back of Flint's leg, spouts a few notes of a very electronic Pachelbel's Canon, and then vanishes.
Another shrug. "Not lost," Flint answers, in response to Devon's question. Then there is pause, while the teenager looks at Kavi, head tilted to the side. "No. I guess." Hands shove further into his pockets. "I'm fine. Why do you care?" The curiosity behind the question is evident. "No one else does."
The galliard looks across to Devon and gives the slightest of nods. "Are you hungry?" Kavi asks the dark haired youth. "There's— We were talking about getting a pizza." He gestures back the way they came.
With a nod, the Ahroun cub turns slightly, hands going into his own jeans pockets. "There's a place just down the street. 's really good." He pauses, flicking his gaze to Kavi and back to Flint. "Name's Devon. That's Kavi. You want to join us?"
"Yeah, I am." Flint swallows visibly and then nods. The answer wavers slightly. The boy is not a stranger to hunger, and it had been pushed towards the back of his awareness. "Sure," he agrees, after a moment of thought. "Pizza sounds great." There's a fair amount of eagerness in his voice once he internalises the fact that the offer is serious. Another moment of pause, and hands are shoved further into the pockets of his jeans, and Flint ducks a nod. "I'm Flint." He looks between Kavi and Devon once more. "Thanks."
Kavi nods in response and holds a hand out to indicate the direction of the pizza parlor. "It's not far," he promises and waits for Devon to lead the way. With his free hand, he pulls out his phone and starts dialing, a text message of some sort.
"You from here," Devon asks, shrugging a shoulder in the direction of the pizza parlor. He steps that way, staying a half step ahead of the younger boy.
The worst of Flint's temper and anger averted, at least temporarily, by the offer of food and the distraction of people, he shakes his head. Hands come out to hook thumbs in his pockets as he walks. "No. We just moved here." The answer is as nonchalant as he can make it, watching Devon carefully. "My grandparents are, and my mom grew up here, but whatever." There's no fondness indicated there, and another sullen shrug follows.
Kavi reaches out to hold the door open for the others. "You can order," he says to Devon. "Maybe get two? We can take one back for Kevin and the others."
"Yeah, moving sucks," Devon agrees with a lift of his shoulders. He toys with his lower lip, teeth pulling at it while he thinks. Thankfully he's rescued from more small talk when they arrive at the shop. "Yeah, sure, Kavi," the boy answers. He glances toward Flint, then turns for the counter to put in the order.
Flint shifts from foot to foot, distracted as much as anything by the smell of food, before he finally settles his gaze on Kavi once they're inside. "You're not going to like, tell my mom I was wandering around this part of town or anything, right?" he asks, after a moment. From the sound of things, there's not too much love lost in the teenager's relationship with his mother, either. Especially not when he was supposed to go straight home. Both his hands get shoved into his pockets again, quickly.
A fairly non-descript four-door Toyota pulls into the pizza place's parking lot, though the windows are tinted and no one gets out.
Another text received, and replied to, as Kavi lets the door close behind him, and then he looks up at the boy with a small smile. "No," he says, and gives a small shake of his head. "We aren't like that." He looks over to the counter, to check the progress of the food, and then back to Flint. "Do you… Do you have a safe place to stay? When you don't go home?"
Money is exchanged for the promise of pizza and several cans of Coke. The task over leaves Devon to linger near the counter, arms folded over his chest while he leans against a wall in wait. His attention shifts between checking the progress of the pies and Kavi and Flint's location and interaction.
"No…" The teen shrugs, though there's a faint but visible sigh of relief, and tension in his shoulders lessens. "I just go home when everyone's asleep already," Flint says, regaining the nonchalance and dismissiveness from before. "It's easier."
Kavi nods, catching the edge of his lip between his teeth for a moment. "We," he nods toward Devon. "We have a place. It's not. We're not the government, or a cult, or anything like that? But we have a place that's safe. If you want to see?"
A question of why is bitten back, before Flint just nods his head, one hand coming up out of his pockets automatically to brush the hair out of his face. "Yeah," he says, eventually, with another nod. "Thanks, I guess." The boy looks over towards where the pizza is being prepared, then bounces on his heels, the frustration and anger cooling down into mere anxiety.
Once again, Kavi looks to check on the progress of the food. "It's okay," he says quietly. "It's… The city can be hard. And. It's good to have a safe place."
Devon steps up to the counter about the time Kavi and Flint look over, collecting a couple of large pizza boxes and a bag of canned sodas. The fellow chosen to place the pies on the counter seems only too relieved when the youth turns away, making a slow approach toward the two he'd come in with. Brows lift in askance of Kavi, a silent question from the Ahroun if they're set or staying.
Flint's expression brightens noticeably at Devon when Devon comes over with the pizzas. "Suppose it is, yeah." His brows furrow, though, as he tries to make sense of things. "First my mom goes all crazy and everyone else goes nuts, then people're actually…" the muttered words trail off, with a startled glance upwards at both Devon and Kavi. "Nevermind, sorry," he offers, an excuse for talking to himself.
Kavi answers Devon's unspoken question with a tip of his head toward the door. "It's okay," he says to Flint. "We can show you, now, if you want. It'll be a quieter place, and. We can talk while we eat."
Devon turns for the door at the nod, weaving around a table and its chairs. He juggles pizza and sodas fairly easily, pulling open the door and holding it open with a foot so Kavi and Flint can lead the way out.
The boy doesn't argue, and is only too glad to be rid of the enclosed space and the few other people in the pizzeria and to be out the door. There's a brief glance down the street once he's outside, but the promise of food wins out, and Flint waits for the other two, quiet and fairly still once they're outside again.
Mouse is sitting in the car, waiting, but tense. She's only barely visible through the tinted windows, and appears to be a mostly nondescript woman with short messy brown hair and sunglasses. She's looking at her phone.
Kavi waves to the car with the tinted windows, and then heads straight across to it. "That's our ride," he says with a glance to Flint. As he nears the vehicle, he looks back to Devon, too, to make sure he has a decent hold on the food.
Devon falls in behind the other two, following them to the car. He cracks a small, half grin at Kavi, then nods to the driver.
Flint nods again, the backpack coming off in order to be clutched tightly to his chest when he gets into the car, automatically approaching the backseat. Knees also come up to his chest, and for the moment, he's quiet.
There's the click of the doors unlocking, allowing everyone in. Mouse's car is clean and well-vaccuumed, though there's the ever present smell of old cigarette smoke. "'Ey. Homeward bound, then?" Now that he's in, it's clear this woman also has a weird tracery of thin spidery scars all over what can be seen of her skin.
Kavi follows after, letting Devon and the food take the front seat. "It's not too far," he says to Flint, after a nod to the driver. "That's Mouse."
Devon climbs in last, sodas finding a home at his feet and pizzas shuffled to keep from being tipped until they're resting on his lap. He glances up at Mouse briefly, then over his shoulder to Kavi and Flint before settling himself for the ride.
"Hi," Flint says, after a moment, though there's nothing else offered once they're in the car. The boy's focus is elsewhere, out the window and internal, and every so often his hands ball into fists again, the only indication of whatever he's thinking.
Mouse starts up the car, and backs out. There's nothing hurried about her driving as she pulls onto the road, and it's not terribly long before they reach the Tenement, though, being Mouse, she actually ends up circling the block once before pulling in to a parking space. "Doesn't look like much on the outside, I know. But it has its charm."
Kavi slides out of the car, and then moves to help Devon juggle the food so he can get out as well. "Once you're inside, though, you'll see. It's really a nice place."
"Home sweet home," Devon says to himself, passing pizzas to Kavi as he climbs out of the car. He offers a quiet thanks, taking the food back after dragging out the bag of Cokes. He falls in somewhere amidst the procession, glancing down the street as he follows the others to the door.
Flint nods, with half a grin as he appraises the building, though his gaze goes back to the pizzas every so often. His backpack is held to his chest still, instead of put on, and that he is slight of frame shows. "Better than my family either yelling at me or trying to pretend I don't exist," he adds, with a bit of a grin such that the comment borders on self-deprecating.
Mouse hangs back as they all pile out, presumably to lock her car. In reality, however, once they've started heading toward the Tenement, she gives the street a brief, careful looking over, to make sure there aren't any people paying particular attention to the group.
It's Kavi that unlocks the front door, and lets them all into the Tenement building, holding it open so that the others can enter.
Devon tips his head toward the seating area as he looks at Flint, making his way into the building. Without a word, he puts the boxes of pizza down on table, once he's inside, the sodas following. Hands go to the Ahroun's pockets once freed of their burden, gaze shifting from the food to Kavi and Mouse once the elder has joined them.
Flint follows Devon wordlessly, and looks around, choosing an out of the way place for the backpack to be put down, and coat after it. As tightly as he'd clung to them, food is more appealing, and there's a faint smile as he makes his way towards the table. "Pizza," he says, with all the same excitement that would be shown to ice cream or candy. "Pizza."
Mouse slips in behind everyone, and quietly closes the door behind her.
Kavi smiles as the boys settle in with the pizza, and then he glances across to Mouse. "I need to go upstairs, but. If you need me?" His brow furrows slightly as he looks to her.
Devon edges back from the table a half step after the door is closed, dropping his gaze to a vague point on the floor for a moment. He glances toward the younger teen, half grinning once again.
Mouse gives Kavi a significant look, and nods. "I think you'll hear if we have any trouble," she says easily, which doesn't quite match with how carefully she looks Flint over once she's done speaking.
Kavi nods, and heads for the stairwell door. "I'll be back soon," he tells the others, giving each of them a glance before he disappears.
Flint looks up a moment, meeting Mouse's gaze but only for a second, before his gaze falls to the bozes of pizza, yet at the same time it is clear that the teenager won't actually take the initiative and open one of the boxes to get a slice. Not yet.
Mouse leans against the door, casual-like, and proceeds to tap tap tap at her phone. She doesn't make any move to join in on the pizza eating.
Devon's eyes flick toward Mouse as he starts on his slice, slower and more contemplative as he eats. After a moment or two he turns his attention to Flint, watching the other boy silently and far more openly than his furtive glances toward either of the two elder Garou.
The second piece of pizza is eaten at a more moderate rate than the first, and then Flint brings himself to sitting crosslegged, rather than getting up for a third piece. Yet.
Mouse catches Devon's eye as he looks toward her, just briefly, but her chin does jerk toward the basement door before she looks back down at her phone.
Devon glances toward the basement, head tilting a little. Confusion works its way across his features and he looks back at Flint, then Mouse. With a sigh, he stands, dropping his half-eaten slice of pizza back into the box before slouching off toward the basement door. His scarred hand goes into a pocket, the other working the handle to open the door.
Flint pulls a knee up to his chest two of his fingers in his mouth, licking off the few crumbs of pizza, before he simply sits there and watches Mouse. The interaction between her and the older teen is watched with interest and curiosity, although in silence.
Mouse remains leaning against the door, even once she's finished messing with her cell phone (finally). Awkward. "You want to go help him with something, kid?" This directed at Flint.
The stairwell door opens again, and Kavi reappears, another figure close behind him.
Flint nods, climbing to his feet in a slightly disjointed motion, and retrieving his jacket and backpack before making his way to the same door Devon left by, though not before Kavi returns. "Sure, I guess," he responds, almost not loudly enough to even be heard. A glance is cast in Kavi's direction before Flint opens the door to the basement.
There's a light on, just enough to illuminate the way down into the basement and show Devon walking down the stairs. He glances over his shoulder, a brow arching as Flint appears in the doorway, then shrugs to himself as he reaches the floor.
Mouse gives Kavi a somewhat disbelieving look, once Flint is on his way down. She leans off of the door, and moves to follow the two boys, though at a distance right off.
Kavi glances behind him and draws in a breath, but he doesn't say anything, and instead follows after Mouse.
Rina follows as well, her eyes shadowy.
Flint makes his way down the rest of the stairs, following Devon, before looking back at the rest of those coming down. A half step to the side makes way for everyone else to come down, and the teenager shoves his hands back into his pocket, his gaze darting between everyone present.
By the time everyone else has come down the stairs, Devon has moved partway across the open space. His unscarred hand now goes into the other pocket as he turns toward the stairway, askance settled firmly into his expression as he watches the rest file down into the basement.
Mouse steps aside to allow Kavi and Rina down, but she does mouth to the kin 'unchanged'. She still has her sunglasses on too, which in the basement looks stranger than ever. "Well! This's always the really awkward part. What's your name, kid?"
Kavi doesn't move too far from the stairs, and once he's allowed Rina to pass by, he actually takes a step back toward them. "Flint," he answers for the youth, and offers the boy a small smile.
The woman who follows Kavi is striking, a lean little Italian beauty, maybe pushing thirty. She watches Flint closely, with the attention and focus of someone perceptive. "Hey," she offers, in a low, slightly hoarse voice. "I'm Rina."
Flint nods a bit, moving further into the room to drop the too-large-for-him winter coat and his backpack down in an empty spot, then sit down next to them. His eyebrows raise slightly at Rina, spending more time watching her than the others, and slightly wary. "Flint." Eventually, he repeats his name, though not overly loudly. "Flint Madden, if you want to be precise."
Devon offers a small nod to Rina as she joins the small gathering. Then he looks at Flint, pressing his lips together into a line while he watches the other boy.
"Flint," Mouse echoes. "I'm afraid this's where it gets weird." She pauses. "—er, anyway. I think you're gonna want to stand away from your stuff." She looks at the rest of her tribemates, and eases away from the stairs a little. "Let's go ahead and just push it. More pizza and question answering later."
Kavi draws in another breath and holds it as he nods to Mouse. Turning to look to the kin, his brow furrows. "Be careful," he whispers, the intonation, for those who can hear it, coming more as a question than a statement.
Rina answers with a small nod. "Right behind you, caro," she says, stepping back to switch places.
With some confusion evident, Flint pulls off his sweatshirt as well, though it's old and worn, and shoves it with the rest of his stuff, before standing up and walking some few steps away. Towards Mouse. "Okay…" There's some hesitation evident in his voice, before he gives a shrug, gaze flitting to Kavi every so often.
Devon's hands come out of his pockets, a glance going to Mouse and Kavi and Rina briefly. His feet shift slightly, taking a couple of steps to one side as his gaze returns to Flint.
Mouse regards Flint with a look that's partially obscured by those sunglasses, but which seems, nonetheless, a little disbelieving. "Damn. You've got to be the easiest cub we've picked up since I've been here. Okay. Here goes. Sorry in advance and all." She reaches up and pulls her sunglasses off, tucking them away. Flint might catch a strange flash of gold, but otherwise he doesn't really have time to see what was under them, because suddenly there's a massive, hairy, snarling beast taking up the space between him and the stairs (and the other Walkers, at that), roaring right in his face. It's the Garou equivalent of 'BOO!' really.
As if the boy's world hadn't been turned upside down enough by people being actually nice to him for one, today. It's enough. But there isn't room left for him to think, and it's enough. One step forward becomes a much bigger one as the change occurs, and a voiceless, almost confused snarl as he charges forward in the confined space at the two much larger Garou there.
Devon hangs back, for the moment unchanged himself but watching carefully. There's a readiness, a preparedness to shift or throw himself where needed to help control the new firsting cub.
Triumph! First-Strike was expecting this, of course. The bizarrely shaped crinos drops one shoulder, steps to the side to give Kavi some room if he needs it, and attempts to thump the newly changed cub heavily on the back of his head. Whump.
Kavi steps into the space provided, ready to strike as well if the elder's blow doesn't do the job.
There's an attempt to hit someone in some direction, and a much louder snarl after he's been thumped than before, as Flint pushes his way back up onto all fours.
First-Strike is business-like now, if a twisted, deformed werewolf can be that. She brings up both hands, makes big, furred fists, and brings them down again against the back of his head and neck. WHUMP.
Devon takes a step forward, skipping Glabro and going into Crinos. His ears splay and there's a glimmer of teeth, but he holds himself back after a glance toward Mouse and Kavi.
The galliard moves quickly, more quickly than should be possible. Fingers entwined, he brings a hammer blow down at the back of the cub's head once and again, almost too fast to be seen.
There is some residual movement, another attempt to push himself onto all fours, but Flint fails. The whine and snarl cuts off abruptly, as well, as the cub falls towards unconsciousness.
One-Foot-Forward lets out a breath when the other cub goes still, half sigh and half derisive huff. He glances sidelong toward the elder Garou and kin, one ear twisting toward them, then returns to his birth form. Arms fold over his chest again, eyes slanting off to where Flint's belongings still rest. "Yeah, so…"
First-Strike flicks the back of Flint's head, just to make sure, and then steps back to shrink back down to homid as well. Her coat appears to hide the strange length of her body, but those yellow, lupine eyes don't change in anything but size. "So. When he wakes up, poor kid, we get to stuff his brain full of information he's going to likely be flailing around and denying a lot."
Rina's voice is quiet, hoarse. "I'm good at that part."
Kavi takes a step backward as the cub falls, and slips back down to his own homid form. He swallows, glancing back toward Rina as she speaks, and then turns the rest of the way to join her.
"I'll… go set up a bunk for him," Devon offers, gathering up Flint's backpack. The coat is left, dropped unceremoniously onto the new cub's body. The pack is pulled onto a shoulder, and a glance angles to Mouse for a second.
Mouse nods at Devon. "Thanks, kid. You did great. Sorry we didn't exactly explain things as they were happening, back there, but we didn't want him popping in the street."
Rina steps forward, coming up to kneel by the collapsed cub. "Anyone wanna tell me how y'found him?"
Kavi pulls in a sharp breath as Rina comes forward, but it only lasts a moment before his posture eases and he moves across the room to find one of the spare sets of sweats. "He had a 'fetch," Kavi explains. "We were on the way to the park, but."
"It's cool," Devon responds with a shake of his head. "Keeping the Veil and all that. Him changing where everyone'd see would've been a bad thing." He starts up the stairs, calling over his shoulder. "I'll be in the bunk room, 'f I'm needed."
Mouse settles into a crouch near— but not too near— the downed cub. She briefly pinches the bridge of her nose, grimacing, but the moment passes.
The first twitches of Flint returning to consciousness happen, with a low pitched whine giving way to silence as he moves, trying to push himself into more of a seated position. Eyes open, and he turns, slowly, looking between Mouse and Rina.
"Hey," Rina says quietly, helping him up, an arm behind one of his shoulders.
Kavi looks up, gaze following Devon as he leaves, but at the whine from the new cub, he returns quickly, the replacement set of clothes in one arm. "Hey," he says, echoing Rina's soft greeting.
Mouse drops her hand and looks at Flint. "Don't try to move too fast. Take it easy. And uh, yeah this'll be a bit of a shock."
One hand comes up, rubbing at the back of his head, and Flint laughs. Quietly, but laughter nonetheless, as he leans his other arm on the floor, for balance. Several times, the boy opens his mouth to speak, but for the most part, he's just speechless.
"It's aright," Rina says gently. "Take a minute."
Kavi crouches down nearby. He offers the clothes without a word, holding them out until the boy is ready.
Mouse says nothing now, merely watching carefully.
Flint does reach out and take the sweatpants, managing to squirm into them underneath the cover of the jacket, before pulling the jacket around himself properly, and then attempting to sit up further. "So," he begins. His gaze shifts to Mouse. "You um." He falls silent again, trying to find the right vocabulary for what happened, and failing, tries again. "That actually happened?"
Rina gives him a little space, moving back to sit cross-legged on the floor.
Kavi nods. "It did," he says quietly. Once the boy takes the clothes, he moves back a little, placing himself closer to Rina. "It's… real," he adds, watching Flint carefully.
Mouse licks her lips, and straightens. "What's your birthdate? I'm going to go check it."
Flint rubs at the back of his neck for a moment, before pushing his hair out of his face again. "Ow," he mutters, though there's no hurt underneath the physical in his tone, just teenaged stubbornness. "Right." Eyes squint and furrow for a moment, before he comes up with an answer to Mouse's question. "October 11th. 1997."
Rina glances over her shoulder to Mouse, and then returns her attention to the boy.
When the boy gives his answer, Kavi also glances toward the elder, but it's just a glance, and then his attention returns to the new cub. "You have a lot to learn. But it's… It'll be okay. We'll help you, and. And it'll be better than before."
Mouse stands up, stuffing one hand in her pocket as she tromps over to, and then up, the stairs. "Back in a minute."
"It's real," Flint says again, the disbelief suspended for the moment. "Then again, my head sure hurts enough, that has to be real." He pulls one knee up to his chest so that he can rest his chin on it, and there's a half-nod given. "Yeah, well, anything." A pause. "Almost anything would be." The sentence is forced, strained.
Rina's brow furrows. "Got family?" she asks quietly.
Kavi settles in, dropping down to sit beside the kin.
Mouse vanishes upstairs, and makes sure to close the door behind her.
A shrug. "Just my mom. And my grandparents. For all the good that's…" Flint trails off, before shaking his head. "So, no."
Rina nods slowly. "S'aright."
Kavi's hand reaches out for Rina's, and his gaze ducks downward for a moment. "You do, now," he says as he looks again to the cub. "You have us, now. It's— It will be different. But, we'll be a family to you."
The statement earns a small, tentative smile from the boy, and a genuine one at that. "This city," he muses, quiet, the rest of his thoughts not said aloud for the time being, before turning back to both Kavi and Rina with a slight wince. "Thanks," Flint says. "Back in the bay, my mom. She won't even be in the same room as me, much, lately. 's why since she moved us here I just made sure to not be there much."
"She in town now?" Rina asks. "Is she gonna be worried about you?"
Kavi falls silent, listening as the others speak.
Mouse steps back down the stairs, with a lit cigarette, and her phone. Which, as she had her phone earlier, and therefore down here, might be a little suspicious, but there's nothing else unusual about her reappearance.
"Dunno," Flint answers. "Maybe she'll care. More likely not. She didn't care about anything else, so." The boy ponders the question. "And if my grandparents remember I exist, maybe, but they didn't want me around anyway."
Rina shifts slightly, moving to one knee. "Hey," she murmurs, searching his face. "It's gonna be okay. We want you here. And you're needed. Aright?"
Kavi glances up as Mouse returns, nodding to her. Something in his posture shifts as Rina changes position, attentive to both her and the cub, though he still remains quiet.
"Weeell," Mouse says, drawing the word out around her cigarette, "Congratulations, Kavi. We've got a Galliard." She eyes flint for a moment, eyebrows arched. "Well, Takes-it-All-in-Stride, you're uh. Handling this incredibly well. I ain't complaining."
Eyebrows raise, and the boy pushes his hand up to his forehead. "Like I said. My head hurts too much for it to be not real," Flint says, obviously proud of the rationalisation of things. "You um," and he pauses. "You said earlier, something about more pizza?" The boy grins, a little, though still perhaps trying not to move too much.
Rina's smile tugs up at one corner, and she rises smoothly to her feet. "There's always food."
Kavi smiles at Mouse's words, and nods to the boy. "Maybe— We could go upstairs and talk, while we eat? There's still some pizza, but." He looks up to the kin, and then rises to stand beside her. "Rina's cooking is much better."
"Something we need to emphasize first," Mouse says, as she tucks her phone back into her pocket. "You can't leave the building right now, kid. No sneaking out, no phone calls, no emails. Actually, wait. You have a phone?"
Flint shakes his head in answer to the question. "No minutes on it anyway," he adds. "I use it as a clock and an an alarm clock. That's about it. Hasn't had minutes since last summer, not very good for much else." A pause follows, as the boy considers things. "No sneaking out," he agrees, pushing himself slowly to his feet.
"It's just so… in the outside world, we don't want anything like, well, that—" She gestures toward the room. "To happen out in the open. People could die."
Kavi reaches a hand toward the boy, palm out. "Let me see your phone? Just for a minute."
Mouse glances from Flint to Kavi. "They can still trace it," she mutters, but it doesn't actually seem to be to either of them, especially since that's clearly something Kavi already knows. Back to Flint. "Okay. We will know, and I don't mean to be all aggravatingly overbearing about it, but it's desperately important. That bit'll pass pretty quick, I think, you're really just taking this in. And if you feel really angry, like really, really angry, like you were today? Come down here, where you won't cause so much damage."
Flint nods. Arms withdraw into the jacket, which might as well fit the boy like a tent, and he fidgets with it for a moment, before coming out with his phone. It's a cheap, old flip phone, that's placed in Kavi's hand, already with the battery opening on the back removed. "I like it here, so far," he says quietly. "Even if it is a bit weird." More fidgeting inside his jacket produces a worn iPod classic, and a DS, and they're both dropped into an exterior, more accessible pocket.
Rina studies him for a long moment, and then claps a hand to the outside of his shoulder. "You'll do aright," she says succinctly.
Kavi takes the phone and removes the battery. He takes the card and pockets it, before replacing the battery. A few more adjustments, and he turns it over in his hand before turning it over to the cub again. "It's okay," he says, more to Mouse than the boy, and then he gestures toward the items that went into the pocket. "If you want? I'm good at fixing things."
The words draw another small smile from the boy, and then he nods. Carefully, the phone's stowed in the exterior pockets, and both of the other items are handed over. Part of Flint's attention remains on them, still ever so slightly wary, but more of his attention goes towards beginning to edge towards the stairs and the promise of food, trying to do so without seeming too overly eager, and without moving too quickly.
Mouse eases. "Trust me, kid. It is going to get so much more weird. But tomorrow. Pizza tonight." She looks at Kavi. "You good with taking point on teaching him? I think we're going to get Devon situated… really soon."
Rina rakes a hand back through her hair. "How is Devon?"
Kavi nods to Mouse. "It'll be good." He takes the items, giving them a cursory glance as he juggles them into position. "I think. We have games, upstairs. You can play those, while I fix yours. It might take a couple days."
"And TV," Mouse adds, helpfully. "Computers too, but they're password locked and you don't get that just yet. When you can leave the tenement, I'll give it to you."
Flint nods, taking the first few steps quickly before slowing down. "Alright, I guess," he says, a deep breath taken. "Books?" There's a hopeful note in his voice as he asks, and a pause in the stair climbing.
"Lots," Rina answers, slower to follow.
Kavi hesitates, waiting for Rina, but then follows the others up the stairs.
Together, the three Walkers and the new cub tromp upstairs to the elevator, and then, after inputting a code into the keypad (which Mouse firmly informs Flint he is not to give to anyone), they take a ride to the fifth floor, and the tribe break room, where there is food and entertainment to be had.