~Why did you do that?~

[renferret]

Phoebe spars with Moros, Ex continues to fail to get along with Sue, Sue confronts April, and KL makes her return.


Greek House: Basement

This basement appears to have been refurbished recently, and has been split into three main areas. The one nearest the stairs has been kitted out as a gym - there is a large area with matting on the floor, and a hard-standing area with some free weights and a multi-gym/lifting bench. A punchbag, with its cover covered in glyphs - "Wyrm", "Weaver" and all the tribes are particularly noticeable

Two doors open through into the other areas, one, a small utility room with a washer and dryer, and then opening off that into a small bathroom, with a shower, a basin and a toilet.

The final area is a bunk room, with four bunk-beds in, and a couple of wardrobes. All new, but hardly top-of-the-range.

Contents:
Moros
Phoebe

Obvious exits:
Upstairs

Phoebe lands a complex series of punches, the last hitting heavily and swinging the bag wide. she catches sight of the other ahroun and steps forward to catch the bag when it swings back. "Hey," she says between quick breaths. The workout has her in that combative mode, and her eyes dance with that eager, ready fire. For a moment, she seems to be sizing the big metis up.

Moros's eyes narrow slightly, meeting the other's Ahroun's gaze as though it were a challenge. His chin tips up a notch as he takes a step away from the base of the stairs, and then another. Almost belatedly, he returns her greeting. "Hi."

Phoebe's grin goes just shy of showing teeth. Her gaze shifts briefly from Moros to the bag and then back. "You ever train on a heavy bag?" she asks, her tone inviting. She steps away from it and gestures for him to step up.

Moros nods as he takes another step into the basement. He's obviously ill-at-ease down here, though it's just as obvious that he's trying to pretend he isn't. "Few times," he says curtly. "Broke one, once."

Phoebe finds that amusing. "Easy to believe," she comments. The fostern steps away and suggests with a gesture that he should show her his moves. she sidesteps to the bench where a towel and a bottle of water is waiting for her. She seems intent on watching him as she drinks.

Moros replaces her at the heavy bag, which naturally isn't hung at an ideal height for someone his size, but it seems this is something he's used to. His first punches are methodical and almost light, testing things out. Soon enough, he speeds things up a bit, his focus sharpening, mouth curling into a snarl as he pummels the bag with savage, precise fists, not slow but not lightning-fast, either.

Phoebe's eyes are narrowed with focus and intense scrutiny. His strength seems to impress her, if the arch of an eyebrow is any indication. "Who do you imagine when you hit it?" she asks.

Moros lands another brutal pairs of punches, then steps back and plants a boot right in the middle of the bag, making it swing. It's not especially graceful, that kick, but one wouldn't enjoy being on the receiving end of it. And he's not even worked up a sweat yet. He turns toward Phoebe, frowning at the question, visibly debating whether or not he wants to answer. "...Different people. Just now, Dagny."

There's the sound of the back door, and footsteps upstairs, moving quickly and rather lightly.

Phoebe makes a face when the boot hits the bag--it's the kind of schadenfreudian expression one makes when they see a particularly brutal hit in a football game. It combines a grin and a wince, somehow. "Dagny? Really?" she nods, and then confesses. "KL for me. But you never met her, did you?"

Moros shakes his head. "Heard her name mentioned. Mostly by Melodie."

The footsteps head toward one end of the house and quiet for only a few seconds. Then they head for the stairs, faster. The basement door opens, and Ex pokes her head in, half a piece of blank bread hanging from her mouth.

Phoebe downs more water before putting the cap on the bottle. "What'd Mel say?" she asks. The fostern gives a quick look to the stairs when the door opens, and she offers Ex a brief wave from her taped hands.

Moros glances upward toward the door, his eyes resting for several seconds on Ex before he turns his attention back to Phoebe. "Not much. Just that... I get the feeling that she considers herself elder only until KL returns."

Ex tears a bite from the piece of bread and, still chewing, descends the stairs, leaving the door open behind her.

Phoebe thinks on that answer for several seconds before grunting. The bottle is set down next to the towel again, and she moves back to the bag. She gets close to the metis as she does so--close enough to actually brush against his side, in fact--before re-acquiring the bag for herself. The first punch is light and slow. "I guess we all kind of do that. Put her on a pedestal."

Moros moves away rather belatedly, a moment after the other Ahroun brushes past him. His steps, few as they are, are toward the steps. Unconciously? His frown deepens as he considers Phoebe's words. "I see."

Ex manages to swallow most of the bread--if not all--before asking, "Who?"

Phoebe begins to focus on the bag, but she nonetheless answers the cub's question. "KL. My teacher. The one who trained me, when I was a cub," she says, landing a combination of punches between each piece of information. The ahroun's intensity grows with each one. she's nowhere near as strong as the metis, but she is by no means weak. And, it's even more obvious that even when she's not particularly trying, she's fast.

Moros places his hands on his waist as he watches Phoebe at the bag, sizing her up. "And she's the one you imagine striking, when you work the bag?"

Ex settles at the bottom of the steps, though settles may not be quite the right word. She's not very relaxed. Her eyes flicker between Phoebe and Moros, and settle on watching Phoebe's hands.

Phoebe lands several more combinations before looking up at the metis. Her eyes have that eager spark in them, itching for a fight. "Today," she says, landing another combination. In the few seconds that follow, she also offers a shrug, as if to deflect any bad feelings that might be attached to the idea of imagining hitting her mentor. She explains, "We used to spar all the time. I miss that."

Moros squints thoughtfully and then glances up toward the ceiling. When he looks back down again at Phoebe, he's smiling, and as usual, it's not a pleasant expression. "_We_ could spar," he says. It almost sounds like a dare.

Ex sits up a little straighter.

Phoebe lands a last punch on the bag, heavy and hard, making the chain the bag hangs from squeak in protest. She leans into the bag, stopping its sway. Her grin isn't as unpleasant as his, but it's not exactly a prom queen's either. "You think the moon is thin enough?" she asks.

Moros shrugs in answer, then glances up at the ceiling again, his smile curdling. That flicker of uneasiness is back, haunting at the edges of his frown. "Outside, though."

Ex hops up, and starts to move up the stairs, finishing off the last of her bread as she goes. "I'm watching," she declares through a mouthful of it.

Phoebe follows his gaze, and she seems to concur. She heads towards the stairs, where Ex was perched, and begins to hop up the steps two at a time. She's out in the backyard a moment later, and the Fury strips out of her tank top a second later. There's no modesty or hiding behind a bush. she simply pulls her clothes off, all of them, before she begins to shift.

Moros seems rather unaffected by the sight of female nudity, though he does get a bit of a bemused smirk when Phoebe shifts up. "You're brave," he notes. His shift up into Crinos goes by in a blink, an explosion of mass and matted, greasy black fur. As if he wasn't big enough before.

Ex has already started scrambling up onto the roof by the time Phoebe is changing. She takes up a position on the edge, braced near, but not against the gutters, perched like a flesh and blood gargoyle overlooking the scene of soon-to-be carnage. She watches both Ahrouns intently, and not without a considerable amount of her own tension.

Phoebe, all eagerness a moment ago, does at least seem to hesitate when she gets her first look at the metis in crinos. Lips pull back from her muzzle as she gets a good whiff of him, as well. Her hackles are up. And although she tenses, crouches, and gets in a combat ready position, she does not make the first move. ~I am,~ she admits.

Bad Moon Rising flexes clawed fingers and begins to circle the smaller Ahroun, his steps slow, heavy, deliberate. His muzzle parts in an ugly, savage grin, baring teeth, and if that smile of his was unpleasant in human form, it's positively diabolical in Crinos.

Life-On-The-Line begins to circle, not allowing herself to get close enough to fall into grappling with the huge monster. She does, however, get in close enough to entice him to try and make a grab. In the meantime she seems to be sizing him up as much as he's sized her. That menacing, diabolical look elicits a baring of her own teeth and a provoking growl.

Ex rocks back and forth on her perch, watching the preliminaries with a particular intensity.

It's not long before Bad Moon Rising decides to take the bait, there being a somewhat disturbing eagerness within the monster. His first couple of grabs, though, are mere feints, testing the other Ahroun's reaction time and courage. The third time, he goes after her for real, lunging at her.

Life-On-The-Line's quickness easily keeps her from those feints, but when the metis comes for real, it's a different matter. She attempts to slip to the side of that lunge, spending rage and using her natural quickness to try and leap the mountainous metis and land on his back. It's not the best attempt, but she certainly will land on him. Who gets the best out of the move isn't clear at first. Claws and teeth both attmept to dig in and give her a hold.

Bad Moon Rising, snarling, drops to the ground when he feels the other digging into his back, going into a roll that'll practically squash her under his weight if she doesn't jump off. Unlike her, he's not tapped into his rage yet.

Life-On-The-Line hangs on just a second too late. So that when she jumps, she manages to avoid being crushed, but she has to scramble to get back to her feet, and it puts her too close when the two are ready to engage again.

There's the rage, then, that too-quick-to-be-natural motion as Moros gets his feet back under him and makes a grab for the smaller Ahroun, looking to pull her into a grapple and bring his strength and mass to bear on the faster Fury.

Ex shifts so fast, that even if the two were watching her, it isn't as though they'd have time to prepare. The abruptly crinos'd cub launches herself from the roof, fearless--or maybe just heedless--of the two story drop, and at the two sparring Furies. She's lacking the clear signs of frenzy, but there's still a sudden wildness to her.

Things quickly devolve into a ball of fur and fury. the metis has a hold on the fostern, but she burns more of her own rage and claws and teeth strike out in vicious combinations. The addition of the cub causes confusion, and Life scrambles to escape the chaotic melee, with little success at first.

Bad Moon Rising reacts instinctively when the cub joins the frey, using his off hand to smack the new combatant away as he strives to keep his hold on his original opponent. He's more or less heedless of the other's teeth and claws -- though biting him, Phoebe quickly learns, is not an experience one wants to repeat; that greasy fur leaves an oily, acrid, disgusting taste in her mouth, the kind of thing that lingers, begs for the use of toothpaste and mouthwash. As for Moros himself, he uses his claws primarily to retain his grip, digging talons into Phoebe's arm as he struggles to keep her close.

Rogue is sent tumbling by this blow. Claws dig and scratch at the paving stones as she scrambles back up to all fours, and then, seemingly completely unphased by how effortlessly she was just shrugged off, she lunges at both of them again. She doesn't seem to be going for biting or clawing, but more full on body charges, which, given her size, aren't exactly the most effective tactic.

Life-On-The-Line growls, trying to speak up and order a stop to the match, but that foul, acrid, oily substance has her gagging instead of speaking. Her tongue licks impulsively, and her lips are pulled seemingly permanently away from her teeth. She shakes her head. Bad Moon has no problem keeping a hold of her, but she eventually barks out an order ~Stop!~

Bad Moon Rising's snarl is deep and ugly, edging periously close at rebellion. Then he recovers his composure, getting dominance over a clear desire to continue inflicting violence, especially now that he has the other within his grasp. Stiffly, he releases Phoebe's arm and backs off a couple of steps, straightening up as he does so. He's bleeding in several places, but hardly seems to notice.

Rogue, however, /doesn't/ stop. Her ears lay back and, with Moros pulling out, she falls to trying to pummel Life-On-The-Line as hard as possible, claws curled into her palms. She's practically panting, and her eyes are glitteringly bright, the fur all along her spine prickling upward.

Life-On-The-Line ignores her own wounds, as well, rounding on Ex. she doesn't attack, but that dangerous aggression and desire to inflict violence emanates from her almost as much as it does the metis. Another precise move, combined with a last expenditure of rage, has the cub pinned down and unable to do more than squirm and gasp for breath. The fostern holds her there, glaring down at her. ~Why did you do that?~ she asks the cub.

Bad Moon Rising, meanwhile, shrinks down into human form. The claw-marks on his bare arms and shoulders are especially vivid against his fair skin, much moreso than they were against his dark, oily fur. Breathing hard, he stands and watches.

Rogue snaps rabidly at the air, but she's well and truly stuck. There's a moment, just one, where her eyes roll back and the struggle is blatantly clear, the real frenzy dragged back down kicking and screaming, and then it passes, and all she can do is breathe heavily and tremble under the other crinos's grip. She blinks at Life-On-The-Line several times, showing no understanding.

Life-On-The-Line continues to glare at the cub, her hold on control seemingly tenuous. The ahroun watches the odd reaction of the cub, and it does little to lessen her irritability. When Rogue appears to have enough comprehension and control not to blindly attack anything that moves, Life releases her. She gives Moros a brief look and says simply, ~Enough for today.~ She slips down to homid, gathers her clothes--all the while making sure Rogue doesn't bolt or do anything else untoward--and then begins to head inside.

Rogue gets up slowly. Now her ears are splayed to either side, and while that reckless energy has yet to leave her, and her fur has yet to settle, there's something uncertain and subdued about her now. She's still shaking when she drops down into lupus, but she doesn't look as though she plans to follow Phoebe inside.

Moros considers this, head tilted, then walks over to a spot not far from the cub and sits down with a grunt.

Phoebe doesn't realize they're not behind her til she's at the door. when she looks, sees Ex, sees Moros, she says to the metis, "watch her?" It's a question, but there's also the knowledge behind that she didn't need to say or ask it. "We'll talk in the morning."

----


Greek House: Common Area(#2409RAJ$)

This is the central hub of the house. From here, you can still see the entrance foyer to the west, as well as the stairway that heads to the second story. Towards the eastern side of the common area is a set of glass doors that lead out to a courtyard. To the north, an arched doorway leads to what apparently serves as a less formal lounge, with a couch and an armchair, and to the south, an arched doorway leads to what appears to be a kitchen and dining area.

There are several chairs here, simple, elegant, yet functional in their design and intent. The room has a comfortable feel to it, but is a bit ascetic in design. The walls are off-white, the molding dark cherry wood and decorated with acanthus-leaf ornamentation at the corners. A pair of antique spears are hung crossed against each other on one wall, and a wall-relief depicting a scene of Grecian warriors hangs on the other. Above the mantle of the fireplace is a small statue of Artemis, on either side of that, dark metal candlesticks with ivory pillar candles. The entire room is a study in the contrast of light and dark.

Contents:
Sue
Wallchart

Obvious exits:
Downstairs Upstairs Courtyard Out

The kitchen of the Greek House is currently occupied. Sue sits at the kitchen table with a bowl of cereal, despite that it's dinnertime, poking at it halfheartedly.

Ex is loud today. She opens the back sliding door loudly, she enters loudly, she closes it loudly. Her hair is a sweaty mess, and under one arm is what might be her sketchbook; but it's wrapped in at least two plastic grocery bags.

Sue pokes at the cereal with the spoon, but he does actually seem to be eating it, before it gets soggy. When Ex enters, there's a half-nod of greeting, and the place he's sitting in the kitchen is visible from the entryway. "Hi, Ex."

Ex stops in place at the greeting, when her eyes flick to Sue. Her ever-present frown deepens, and her eyes narrow faintly. She definitely doesn't return the greeting.

Sue doesn't press the issue further, attention turning to his food for a moment.

Ex stalks into the sitting area, shoulders hunched, and throws herself onto the couch.

It's ten, fifteen minutes before Sue emerges from the kitchen towards the sitting area, where his messenger bag is against the side of one of the coffee tables, and then he pulls out a book, sitting down on the floor to read.

Ex is silent all that time, but as soon as Sue joins her, her eyes narrow even further, and she glowers at him.

Sue looks up at Ex for a moment, then looks back down, his posture in the 'don't look at me' mode. Eventually, he asks, "Yes?"

Ex says, flatly, "I didn't say anything." She doesn't look away from him.

Sue is clearly not wholly comfortable with the degree of rage behind that gaze, the glowering. He tips his head to the side, and settles down to wholly ignore her and read his book, occasionally reading aloud very quietly. The entire book is in Greek.

Ex doesn't stand for this very long. She slams the plastic bag wrapped sketchbook onto the floor, shoves up from the couch, and stalks into the kitchen.

Sue flicks his gaze to follow her departure and then turns his attention to his book again. Notably, he only reads aloud once every ten, to twenty pages, never more than a sentence, never louder than a whisper. But he doesn't seem inclined to follow.

There's the sound of the fridge being opened, then slammed closed, and Ex stalks back out, only to head for the back door again--without the wrapped book. "You're still a fucking asshole," she says, without looking behind her, as she shoves the door open and starts to step outside.

Sue takes a breath in, and shuts the book. "You have no right to say that." Which is said very, very quietly. "I'm sorry I yelled at you the other day, at Edgewood. When the moon was full. I didn't mean the words I said."

"Yes I do," Ex says, as she stops right in the doorway, and twists back around. "You even said I could. And yes you /did/. Like you meant to take her side, so she could put her eyes all over my book. Maybe you're sorry I'm mad now, I don't know. Don't know why the fuck you would be."

Sue pulls his book, to his chest, arms around his chest and chin tilted backwards, throat shown.

Ex stares at him for a few moments, before her head ticks to the side. "What does that mean?"

Sue takes another breath. "Alright, you can call me an asshole," he acknowledges. "And no. I did not mean to say the things I did. Though I meant some of them then." He pauses. "Nor," Sue continues, "did I know what was up with her taking the book but she is Adren!" His voice raises in volume a little. "I can offer my opinion, say I think she's meaning wrong, but. That's it. I /can't/ change what she does."

Ex's shoulders push forward. "Yeah, maybe. But you didn't even do /that/. You didn't get mad, you didn't say she was wrong, you took /her/ side and told me to get the fuck out. People keep saying we're supposed to be family. How the fuck am I supposed to begin to believe that you're supposedly going to do /anything/ like protect or help or teach me? You can't even stand me existing around you. Phoebe says I have to respect you and shit. Well /fine/, but /don't/ expect me to fucking trust you."

Sue chews his lower lip. "I was mad," he explains, putting the book back in the bookbag, and then draping it over his shoulder, but not getting up. "I told you to get out, to go away, because I was mad, because I could barely control myself. I disagreed with her later, in private. And I disagreed with her a lot." He takes a breath, glancing towards the door.

"I was mad too," Ex points out. "I was mad when I was throwing rocks, that didn't change anything for me. Maybe you did, maybe you didn't. How'm I supposed to know?"

Sue wraps his arms around his chest, but at least he's no longer showing his throat. "I'm not lying. I don't lie." He pauses." I disagreed with her, it got me absolutely nowhere, because she's stubborn. It wasn't hers to take, and she knows that." Sue pauses again. "I should go," is the next thing he says.

Ex shakes her head fiercely, anger springing visibly to her eyes. "Yeah, of /course/ you're leaving. Fuck this." She turns again, and slams the glass door shut behind her. The wrapped sketchbook remains abandoned on the floor.

The metis gets to his feet a moment after, going for the front door, then, in fact, leaving.

Ex is nowhere to be seen once he goes outside.

----


Greek House: Common Area(#2409RAJ$)

This is the central hub of the house. From here, you can still see the entrance foyer to the west, as well as the stairway that heads to the second story. Towards the eastern side of the common area is a set of glass doors that lead out to a courtyard. To the north, an arched doorway leads to what apparently serves as a less formal lounge, with a couch and an armchair, and to the south, an arched doorway leads to what appears to be a kitchen and dining area.

There are several chairs here, simple, elegant, yet functional in their design and intent. The room has a comfortable feel to it, but is a bit ascetic in design. The walls are off-white, the molding dark cherry wood and decorated with acanthus-leaf ornamentation at the corners. A pair of antique spears are hung crossed against each other on one wall, and a wall-relief depicting a scene of Grecian warriors hangs on the other. Above the mantle of the fireplace is a small statue of Artemis, on either side of that, dark metal candlesticks with ivory pillar candles. The entire room is a study in the contrast of light and dark.

Contents:
Phoebe
Zeke
Sue
April
Wallchart

Obvious exits:
Downstairs Upstairs Courtyard Out

Phoebe is coming down the stairs just as the two metis are entering. She seems surprised to see Sue, but it's Zeke gets the bigger reaction. The ahroun's eyes widen. "Zeke!" she calls out, jumping down the last few steps and launching a hug at the visiting philodox. she's grinning and laughing, and completely oblivious to the pizza.

Sue grins slightly, moving to take the second bag of pizza from Zeke, wordlessly. "I'll go put these away," he remarks, before turning towards the kitchen to do so.

It's a voice from above from the Theurge still in her room. "Why must you yell?!" there doesn't seem to be any anger in the voice, but still, she belts out the question, staying from sight.

Arms go out as the metis takes note of the impending launch-hug, and he catches her just in time to steady his hold on the ground. "Phoebe. Hey! Man look at you. You're not that little kid you were when I last saw you. All grown up. Looking good too I might add." He smiles at this, nodding to Sue as he offers to take the pizza. "We brought pizza back from Garcia's. Just about three quarters of an extra cheese, only cheese pizza."

There's a heavy thump-thump ceilingward, too high and too quiet to be from the attic.

Phoebe's grin widens. "Yeah, all grown up," she agrees, but there's a tinge of something that is not quite bitterness in the word. Regardless, the ahroun dismisses all of that immediately and looks over Zeke. "Speaking of which, you look /great/. They told me you might be visiting." The pizza is glanced at, and she nods, but she seems more interested in the metis. she turns a polite and even somewhat subdued look to Sue, nodding a greeting to him as well.

April slowly comes down the stairs after a little while, looking sleepy. She frowns as she sees all the people but says nothing as she just watches from the base of the stairs for the moment.

Sue looks up at the thumping sounds. "Ex is on the roof again," he mutters. Phoebe gets a nod and a grin, and then a moment's pause, Sue at the doorway to the kitchen. "By the way, I... talked to Black some more, after you and Emma-rhya left." This time, Sue doesn't waste words. "I'd had a thought, when the Bear spirit said what she did, and. The kid's been to Erebus. From what she said, for a long time. I didn't push the matter further. /Anything/ more that she wants to tell us, she'll tell us in time." And only then does Sue notice April at the bottom of the stairs, a tense nod of greeting, a bit of shrinking away for the fact that he'd spoken up, and firmly. "Moros is going with Black and myself to talk to Jacinta in a day or two."

"Ah well yeah, living someplace where the sun comes out and actually heats up the summer season a bit will do wonders for a growing boy." Zeke gives the Ahroun one more hug before letting go. "You'll have to catch me up on how the adventure of Phoebe Argyris has played out." The thumping gets a look up, and it gives the Fostern halfmoon a chance to see the woman at the stairs. A nod is half given to April when Sue's information is passed back to Phoebe, "Erebus? That's some serious news that." Still, etiquette demands attention, and he looks back to April. "Ezekiel Hess. Fostern Philodox of the Black Furies and called Rides the Falling Water. Son of Pegasus, and adopted under Falcon's wing as Beta of the pack Outreach. Former member of Hidden Walk, and here on invitation from Melodie."

Less heavy, but still audible thumps can be heard crossing the roof, toward the courtyard side of the house. A few moments later, they stop, and are shortly followed by the sight of a dark haired, scarred woman dropping to the ground right outside the glass door. It's not a graceful landing, but it's decent enough. She doesn't look like she actually injured herself, at least.

Phoebe gives April a brief look, as well, but Sue's information dump quickly takes precedent. She nods about Jacinta, again, and then (like Zeke) she echoes the word 'Erebus'. It stuns the ahroun into silent thought.

April gives a nod in return towards the new face, waiting for the completion of his introduction before she replies with her own. She focuses on Zeke for now, not quite ignoring Sue. "April Rains, Rited as Shifting Briar, Fostern Theurge of the Black furies. Child of Grandmother Tree of the pack Heartwood." she recites before a small smile comes to her lips. "Welcome to the house."

Sue takes this chance to disappear into the kitchen, where the sounds of Sue putting away the pizza in the fridge follow.

"Good to meet you. I'd stopped in the other day and the place was starkly quiet compared to the hustle you got going now. Should have brought back more pizza. Was Sue's treat by the way. And came by way of his Hog for delivery too, so double the thanks." Zeke turns toward Phoebe then, and catches a glance outside to see the newly dropped in. (Hah! Get it?) "Anyone up for some now? Should we reheat it while we get to talking and such?"

Ex pushes into the house and stops immediately in the doorway, eyeing everyone inside. Her attention is especially focused on Zeke, the one unfamiliar person there. Feverishly bright eyes narrow.

Phoebe spots Ex, too. Her introspective look deepens, but Zeke's question is answered with an emphatic nod. "I was just coming down to get lunch, anyway. I'd love some." She begins to head towards the kitchen, where Sue is.

"I think I'll be fine without pizza, but it looks like you've got catching up to do with people. So maybe I'll just go see how Sue has been doing and let you all be." April offers with a smile before starting towards that metis who retreated to the kitchen.

Sue has put about half the pizza away, half of it not away and out in the boxes on the table, and he leans on the counter, where he can see both Phoebe and April enter through the door. "Hi Phoebe," Sue says, quietly. "Hi aunt April."

Zeke gives a nod to the Fury women present and follows in after, making a casual adjustment to the beanie hat atop his head. The greeting to April from Sue gets a slightly curious look that is quickly stifled as he moves to the table. Then he settles his gaze on Ex, and with a quick gauging of the girl, offers a nod. "You dropped in just a bit late to hear my introduction, but, for the sake of getting into the pizza faster, Zeke. Halfmoon and Fostern of the Black Furies. Here, help yourself."

"I'm X," The girl says, without any real warmth, though she's now studying Zeke with blatant intensity. After a few beats she shuts the door behind her, but she doesn't venture any closer.

Phoebe watches the exchange between Ex and Zeke, even as she moves to join Sue. She offers the younger of the two metis a smile in return for his hello, and then she helps liberate some of the pizza still out on the counter. She puts them on pans and turns the oven on to reheat. "You want some pizza, X?" she asks, lettign her voice carry to where the cub is.

"It's nice to see you back around the house, Sue." April remarks as she moves to get a cup for herself and a bit of water. "Are you still staying with the walkers or can we expect to see you around here more often?"

Sue catches his lower lip in his teeth, a visible expression of anxiety, and glances to the floor, then once towards Zeke, and towards Phoebe. "I'm still staying in the city, but I'm going to try and come visit more," Sue says, and moves, in putting some things away, to keep Phoebe between himself and April.

Zeke watches the dynamics play out between the kitchen goers with a polite, visitors curiosity. He finds some napkins and pulls those out to set at the table, and then he backs up to lean on the counter. A glance over his shoulder, and he decides to hoist himself up to take the counter as his seat. "I'm not eating so I'll steer clear of the impending food riot. Was good stuff though. And yes, Sue's told me he'll be around for me to drag stories out of. And of course there's the matter of a good old fashion, juicy tricks of the trade swap." A pause. "If he's interested."

"Okay," Ex says, in response to Phoebe. Despite this, however, she doesn't move any closer to the kitchen whatsoever. Her attention has drifted a little from Zeke to the room as a whole, though the former clearly still has most of it.

April watches Sue for a moment before before thumping her glass down upon the counter. "When you're ready to stop avoiding me, Sue, then come find me." she states directly after before turning to work her way back to the main room.

Phoebe starts making a second pan. This she scoots into the oven along side the first. "Zeke's visiting. He's an old friend." the ahroun moves tot he fridge, unknowingly removing herself as a barrier between Sue and April. she rumages for something to drink. "You want juice, Ex?"

Sue takes a deep breath, then calls after April, clearly irritated and perhaps speaking without thinking. "When you're ready to listen to what I have to say, I will!"

Zeke, for his part, stays on the the counter and watches the verbal match like a bystander at a tennis match. It's not say he's uninterested, but he seems content to listen rather than interject. The briefest of nods is given to Ex. "Last I was here, Phoebe was still just a wee cub. Ok, she was never wee. Little toughie really."

Ex's gaze flickers rapidly between Sue and April, but her response is obviously to Phoebe again. "Okay." And again, she doesn't move from her spot. Zeke gets a brief, acknowledging glance, but no words.

Phoebe has the Kool Aid in her hand when she pokes up out of the fridge. The exchange between Sue and April has her attention, but she doesn't interrupt anymore than anyone else. she makes her way to the table, setting the Kool Aid down.

April shakes her head as she keeps walking, plopping down in one of the chairs in the main room. "Been waiting for you to come back for weeks now, Sue!" she calls back as she makes herself comfortable.

Sue takes a deep, steadying breath. "Does that mean you'll LISTEN?" Sue retorts, the anger quite clear in voice and manner. "Or are you just going to use your entitlement to ignore everything I say?!" It might be a good thing that there's no direct line of sight between where Sue is, and where April is, because as he stops speaking in anger, the words sink in, and he backs further into the kitchen, away from pretty much anyone, shoulders hunched, defensive, nervous.

Sue: There goes that. More backtalk than Sue could actually manage.

Zeke watches the scene continue to unfold, and still perched quite casually on the counter, nods toward Sue. "The less anger you speak with, the easier it is is to stand tall while speaking your thoughts." It's offered very softly, and without any real accusation or heaviness of tone.

Ex's lips purse, and her expression looks quite sour as she moves a little closer to the kitchen; though not, notably, inside.

Now Phoebe does look like she's going to say something. She's not angry, but there's a worried wrinkle in her brow. Just before she speaks, though, the oven makes a ding, and all she has time to say before reaching to take out the pan of pizza is, "Sue?". She hopes to get the metis's attention, but there's no reprimand in her tone. Then Zeke offers advice, and the ahroun's quick glance to him is full of gratitude.

Moros comes down the stairs from the second floor.

Moros has arrived.

"You speak more than you listen yourself, Sue." April replies, voice rather neutral. "I'm sitting here until you're ready to talk." is added before she goes quiet, even closing her eyes as if to meditate.

Sue takes a deep, steadying breath, though he's gotten his back against a wall and seems quite happy to *stay* that way, as his attention focuses on Phoebe, and Zeke. "Right," he says, very quietly. "It, I... I don't usually yell." And his body language is screaming that now that he has, he quite clearly expects pain to come as a consequence.

Down from the attic and the upstairs comes a surly Ahroun who looks like he just _might_ have been awakened from a nap. Moros is barefoot and shirtless, greasy hair hanging in tendrils across half his face and a scruff of stubble on his chin.

From his 'seat' on the countertop, Zeke nods toward Sue. "Happens. Sometimes you gotta jump to get up in the saddle at all. Doesn't mean you can't settle in once you're up there." He nods toward the front room, voice even quieter and meant for the younger halfmoon specifically, "Got a room full of friends here. And this whole house consists of your family."

Ex fully scowls for a moment, an expression that does lighten slightly when she glances toward the stairs, and spots Moros. The cub is lingering outside the kitchen, but by no means looks as though she's going to head inside.

"You're allowed," Phoebe states to Sue as nonchalantly as she can. She pulls up a chair after the pizza is set on the table. "Ex? Come on in and eat," she says. "Moros? you're welcome to some too, if you want." It's clear at least part of her attention is on the tension between Sue and April--even if they're in different rooms currently--but she makes an effort to appear to go about eating lunch casually.

April keeps herself nice and quiet, though her eyes do open to watch Moros for a moment, only to close once more. She's said her piece for the moment and now leaves it up to Sue.

Sue nods again at what Zeke says. "I. I want to talk to her," Sue says, fairly quietly, and pauses, and then continues. "But. I... don't know if now..." Then Sue glances at the floor. "Now or never, moon's small." Though he doesn't seem inclined, for the moment, to move out to the main room, flicking an uncertain glance to Zeke, then Phoebe, then the doorway.

Moros pads over toward the kitchen, giving Ex a look and a slight nod. He ducks to enter the kitchen. His gaze goes to the pizza on the table, briefly, as well as to Phoebe, then travel over the others, settling eventually on Sue... and after him, April. He wrinkles his nose, frown deepening.

"It's hard, yeah. Even small steps. But, she's pretty calm right now, or a very good actress," Zeke offers with a smile. "Keep your head about you Philodox." The nod given to Sue is one of encouragement and gentle reminder. Moros gets a nod as he enters the kitchen, but the Fostern halfmoon seems sensitive to the atmosphere at hand and so keeps quiet, attentive eyes on the situation.

Ex cups her elbows in both hands, and looks to Phoebe. "When people are done," she says. There's tension along her jawline now.

Phoebe takes a bite from her slice of pizza. The ahroun is paying so much attention to the situation around her, she forgets to check how hot the pizza is, and she burns her mouth a little. "Shit!" she says, dropping it back to its plate. A glare toward the food follows. Ex's words grab her attention, and she fights to repress that glare so it's not aimed at the cub. "Come on in now?" she asks, and there's a plea in there, definitely.

Sue nods to Zeke once more, and there's definite effort in pushing off from the wall and walking out of the kitchen, and Sue glances to Zeke, and then Moros, moving out of the way so that Ex can get to the kitchen no problem. There's no move towards April yet, though. "Come over there with me?" he asks Moros, quietly. "I'm going to talk to her."

April keeps her spot in her seat in the main room. Quiet and waiting, one might think Sue believes him going to his death the way he prolongs it.

The grumpy monster, still perhaps only partially awake, nods to Sue. Moros grabs a slice of pizza as he heads over to the other metis, folding it practically into quarters before taking a massive bite. And if he finds it too hot, he doesn't show it.

Ex looks from Sue to the kitchen, and visibly hesitates. But even at Phoebe's request, she shakes her head a few times, and reiterates, "When people are done." That tension hasn't gone away.

Phoebe's frown deepens, but she doesn't force the cub. A slice or two is set aside on a plate for her, and the ahroun goes back to eating her own pizza--this time a little more carefully.

Zeke glances to Phoebe, and, at the scowl to the pizza has to bite back a wider grin. "The oven worked, hmm?" As Sue makes his way toward the front room and pauses to call Moros, Zeke seems to droop a little. The wheels turn noticably on the older halfmoon, and then he looks toward Ex and Phoebe once more. "Actually, I'm all done and while it's good to have everyone together, one forgets quickly how small the kitchen can be. Phoe, I'd love to catch up more later. I'm gonna go nose around the bawn. My curiosity tells me it can wait no longer to see what I've heard."

Phoebe glares when Zeke grins at her discomfort, but there's no bite in the expression--it's a glare shared between friends. As he goes to leave, she calls after him, "Don't eat the fruit, dammit!" Then, with Moros, Sue, and April in the other room, Zeke leaving, it seems it's just Phoe and Ex in the kitchen. And the pizza.

April opens her eyes as she listens to the others and waits, ever waiting, for the metis to finally make his appaearance before her.

Sue takes a breath and offers Zeke a nod, a summoning of some sort of shaky confidence in the younger halfmoon. "I'll catch up with you later?" he asks, and then heads, one step at a time, for the sitting area, taking a seat actually on the couch across from April, and waits for Moros to catch up before he says anything. Then asks. "Have you apologised to Kavi, yet?"

Moros takes a position behind the couch and remains standing. The slice of pizza disappears steadily.

Zeke gives them all one final nod, and wave, as well as a casual, "See ya later living room folks." He nods to Phoebe, "Scouts honor. No eating nothing." He salutes with his left hand, and given the missing digits, is already at a scout salute. This he grins at then scoots out the kitchen.

Ex stares at Zeke for a moment, silent, suddenly uncertain. And then, with everyone but Phoebe having vacated the kitchen, she scoots quickly into the room, and practically pounces on the pizza set out for her.

Phoebe asks Ex, her voice quiet enough not to disturb the others in the sitting room, "Why do you like avoiding people?"

April shifts in her seat, moving to the edge of it, her hands going to her knees as she looks to Sue, ignoring the hulking Moros behind him. "You've had me worried sick at times, you know." she states quietly, before motioning to him. "I'm listening."

Ex shrugs as she stuffs pizza into her mouth with all the wild abandon of a hungry teenager (though she looks as though she's a bit older than that). "Everyone was in here," she says around a mouthful. Her gaze ticks back toward the sitting area at the voices.

Sue clears his throat, and settles into the corner of the couch, though there's less of the making himself small than there was. "I asked if you apologised to Kavi yet, aunt." The younger metis' voice edges on cold, not quite demanding, but like he doesn't expect to hear the answer he wants.

Phoebe nods to the answer, but then counters. "That's gonna happen a lot. Remember what we talked about? riting and all that? How to do it? What it's going to take?" she takes another bite of her pizza, then, making sure it's cooled a little.

Moros finishes off the pizza slice and absent-mindedly wipes his fingers off on his own bare chest. Classy.

"When Kavi decides on apologising as well, then I will have no qualms about apologizing myself." April replies. It's said matter of factly. "Is that all that has been keeping you away from me and the rest around here?"

Ex lowers her voice and bothers to swallow this time, before responding, "We're not going to have it in the /kitchen/, are we?" There's the sense that she's half joking, perhaps, but it's hard to tell. And lower, "They're really fucking bossy."

Phoebe grunts, both at the question and the comment. Her own voice is lowered even more, almost a secretive whisper. "Unfortunately, that's life. And it's a big part of garou life." she takes another bite, chews, swallows, and then adds, "It might be in the kitchen. You never know."

"Be the better /person/," Sue states, not looking at April anymore, and sounding almost disappointed. "Apologise regardless. It's not reliant on him apologising. You /should have known better/!" His voice doesn't raise much, though the conversation is certainly audible in the kitchen, and there's a strain and effort for Sue to remain still, sit straight. "And no. It's not /all/." He doesn't look terribly comfortable. "It's that some of the things you say are the same things that mom said, that Thera-rhya and Ilise-rhya said. And they /hurt/, aunt, and the moment you say that I'm /there/ not /here/ and then you treat me like I'm still a cub. And you don't even see that, because all you do is smirk like you know /everything/ and act superior. And other people see it too." He swallows, edging towards the back of the couch, closer to Moros.

Moros shifts his weight a bit, then flicks back his hair with a jerk of his head. He scowls across the way at April.

April is quiet as she lets the metis speak his mind, face impassive for the moment. "I see. Then I apologise to you for being what you hate." she finally answers. "I had hoped that by getting you out here, you could get away from all that. But what is between me and Kavi should be between me and Kavi." Her eyes tilt up towards Moros. "You'll have your turn to speak your mind, to tell me how bad I am and why you glare at me so, in a moment."

Ex shovels more pizza into her mouth. Her eyes keep ticking back toward the sounds of the other conversation, but she remains near Phoebe, with her voice conspiratorially low. "Being bossy?"

Phoebe nods in answer to Ex. "Well, you'd call it that. When you live with people that can kill you in a second of uncontrolled anger, though? It's a good idea to have rules and a strict structure of hierarchy. Don't you?"

Sue takes a breath in. "I don't hate you, aunt," Sue says, quietly. "I don't. I hate the things that they said, I hate... the way things were there and that you might have been better, but you /couldn't/ change it. You /didn't/ change it, and then you weren't there." His voice drops back down, such that it doesn't carry as far. "But... what happened is not /just/ between you and Kavi. I was /there/, it was about me. And it's about my choices, and that you need to respect them, and respect me, even when you don't like them, because I know that you don't like that I live in the city. But you don't get to have a right to see me when I *do* choose to avoid you, even if it's just so that I can get my feet back under me." He pauses. "I'm away from all that, and things are better here, but there's a lot of things, and I'm not going to be /past it/ magically like you seem to expect."

"And," says Moros in his low, growling voice, "I'm not here to 'speak my mind'." His tone suggests that might come some other time. "I'm here because Sue asked me to be here."

April smirks up towards Moros for a moment before looking back to Sue. "Look, you are your own person. You've passed the rite and moved from being a cub. Do what you want. see who you want. I don't care anymore. You want me to sit here and say all kinds of things that you know will not come from me. I'm not going to change, maybe later."

"I don't know," Ex replies, between pizza bites; she's slowed down now, though it's still quick eating. "I don't think it matters if I do or don't. All the power is with other people." There's a tension along her jaw for a moment that has nothing to do with chewing, but the visible strain doesn't linger. "That's how the whole fucking world works anyway." Her eyes tick back to the sitting area once again.

Phoebe offers an agreeing nod, slow and sympathetic. "It does. Yep. But, it's a ladder you can climb, too," she says, now looking directly at the cub. "If you want."

Sue takes a breath, and uses his lap to hide the fact that his hands are clenched into fists. "Alright. If you have what to say, aunt, I'm listening." There's a tip of his head, submission and acceptance of what April's said, though there's a stubborn set of his jaw, as well, and Sue glances up at Moros.

Moros's eyes narrow at the smirk. His own mouth curls; he tilts his head a notch and just kind of _stares_ at April. It's not a challenging stare. More like he's imagining doing something painful and violent to her, in intense detail.

April shakes her head and sighs as she stands up. "All I have to say to you, Sue. Live your life how you want. If you ever need me, you know how to find me. Is there anything else you want to speak of? I have a feeling Moros wants to get out of here soon."

"I want to know how to fight," Ex says, still low, and still looking toward the sitting area. "Fight whoever I need to."

Phoebe pushes the plate away. She spares a glance toward the sitting room, but her attention is quickly back on Ex. She wipes her mouth with a napkin and pushes to her feet. "Yeah, well, one thing leads to the other. Come on. We can start with a run, expend some energy, and then maybe I'll teach you a move or two." The ahroun slips out to the courtyard, then.

Sue takes a breath in. "Nothing else." He looks at Moros, and pauses, then asks. "Walk me out?" April is flatly ignored, Phoebe gets a nod in that direction, respectful and almost apologetic.

Moros manages to pull himself out of his psychotic daydream to turn his attention to Sue. He gives a curt nod.

April shakes her head again as she watches the two metis and slowly settles herself back down in the chair as all the others seem to be leaving.

Ex pushes up from her seat and move to follow after Phoebe. She gives the sitting area one last glance, and something--it's not at all clear what--prompts a sudden, brief flash of teeth. Then she's into the courtyard as well.

Sue heads for the front door, then, slipping outside, brows furrowed, hands clenched into fists.

Moros sees Sue out. After a short while, he returns and heads back upstairs, scowling.

----


Greek House: Roof(#439RJ)

Up on top of the Fury House, on what is a pitched roof with gable ends, there's a stunning view out over the forests to the east of the house. To the west, the driveway runs up to Sunrise Road, visibly cutting through the trees. To the north, Nicholson Hall is viewable, and it's just possible to make out the I-90 beyond, on a clear day.

Obvious exits:
Down To Lawn Down To Courtyard

From the courtyard, Zeke nods. "I get that it's hard Sue. I do. But no one will look to you with respect, if you bark your demand for it, while bringing a bigger wolf in to have your back. Sometimes. Sometimes you have to be willing to take the hit that will come from standing up for yourself. It's not a matter of getting knocked down, and you /will/ get knocked down. It's about how many times you can get back up. Its about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward." Another sip of water is taken. "I was asked to come here to help you. But I can't do that until I see that you have the fight in you, to help yourself."

From the courtyard, Sue folds his hands in his lap, and nods. "I'm..." the younger halfmoon pauses, trying to sort through things, word things, "trying to." There is a set of determination, in Sue's voice, and a desperation as well, and he speaks quietly. "I'm trying to learn to stand up for myself to start with. To get back up without... getting stuck on the things that they said. Because I can't go on like I was, where I let myself get knocked down because all my life that's the only place I've ever known." He looks at Zeke once he's done speaking, directly /at/ Zeke, though politely.

There's the faintest of scrapings from the roof, barely audible, nearly silent.

From the courtyard, "Our lot isn't easy Sue. But Gaia grants us this life, and I am not going to question Her wisdom. We've a purpose. And it's our duty to stand up for ourselves enough to see that purpose through. Your first step is to replace the word try. I don't want to hear it anymore. You can be working on it, practicing it, or doing it. But try is out of your vocabulary as of this moment." When Sue looks to him, he gives the younger halfmoon a harder look. It's perhaps challenging in that Zeke does not offer any sympathies to the other, and despite his breed, there is a confidence of authority in his posture. "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act, it's a habit. And you need to make new ones."

From the courtyard, Sue is nodding acceptance, until the challenge in the look comes, and his shoulders drop a bit, arms move from in front of him to clasped behind his back, head tips to bare his throat, and then with a little more effort, normal posture resumes, a more normal nod, though his hands are still behind his back. "New habits. Okay," Sue agrees, effort in keeping his voice level.

From the courtyard, Kathryn-Laura has arrived.

Ex pokes her head up over the peak of the roof, short hair as uncared for as always, and peers down toward the courtyard.

From the courtyard, There are two males sitting on the backside of the Fury house today. One, an old familiar face returned; older, more comfortable in his skin, and sitting with confidence. The other, perhaps a reminder of the 'Zeke of old', listening to the elder halfmoon speak with an everpresent hint of submission. At the show of throat, Zeke squints again. "You are allowed to discuss things, even disagree with others, without bellying up. Especially if you feel strongly that your view has merit. Do it with a civil tongue, a cool head, and without excuses, and rarely will it be ill received. Lose your head though, and ... well, you may lose your tongue as well. But that goes back to what I just said about getting back up."

From the courtyard, From the front of the house comes the roar of a motorbike engine, the sound of gravel being sprayed by someone with a lassie faire approach to speed and braking that ends near the gate that guards the entrance to the courtyard. The roar is dampened, and then choked off as the engine is stilled.

From the courtyard, Sue settles to sit again, taking deep breaths, though his arms remain behind his back still, and nods. No longer showing throat, though, at least, and then Sue nods. An instinctive swallow shows that he's not necessarily a stranger to the consequences of losing his head, but he manages a grin towards the older metis. "Right," he acknowledges, attention flicking towards the courtyard gate for a moment.

Ex pulls the rest of herself up onto the roof's peak, perching like an oversized bird, and twists her head sharply to look for the source of the engine noise.

From the courtyard, Zeke looks back at the sound of the bike, hand tugging at his hat to make sure everything is neatly hidden from view. "Who else has a bike around here?"

From the courtyard, Sue purses his lips a moment. "Thea does, but... it's Thursday, she's usually volunteering," he says, quiet.

From the courtyard, Whoever it is, has gone round to the front door. And opened it, judging from the sound of it slamming closed.

From the courtyard, Zeke hmms at this, "Let's have a look then." The elder halfmoon stands up and hands the half empty bottle of water to Sue, carrying just the notebook under his arm as he turns to the kitchen's backdoor.

From the courtyard, Sue looks at the door back into the house with apprehension that gets swallowed back after a moment as he stands up. He follows after Zeke carefully and fairly slowly.

Ex remains in place, her gaze returning to the courtyard and the two Furies she can (for the moment) actually see.

From the courtyard, As Zeke moves towards the back door, it slides open to reveal a figure no more than five feet in height. She's dressed in black cycle leathers with the word "FURY" embossed in midnight blue down her right thigh, and still carrying her helmet loosely in her right hand. Her long hair, which looks somehow darker than it once did is bound into a plait that's currently hanging over her left shoulder, finishing at a leather band. KL blinks at the sight of the metis in front of her. "Zeke," she says, throwing the word out there like a razorblade discus - not exactly hostile, but certainly sharply edged. She steps forward, blocking the doorway.

From the courtyard, Blink blink. "KL?" Zeke asks in return, eyes widening with surprise, and lips breaking into a slight, but genuine grin. "What timing?!"

From the courtyard, Sue takes a breath in, looking from Zeke, to the newcomer, and then back again, but remains a few steps back.

From the courtyard, "You're back." The exact details of who has been away and in what order they've returned appear to have eluded her for the moment. "Who is your friend?" Her gaze switches from Zeke to Sue, and locks on. For the moment, she is very still, remaining right in the centre of the doorway, but the sharp-eyed might notice the slight whitening of the knuckles on the hand wrapped around the helmet.

Ex peers intently downward at KL, to the point where she's leaning over and out a little too far to be safe.

From the courtyard, "Melodie invited me down for a visit. Of course, in turn, my mother invited her up for one as they needed counsel from outside the sept." Zeke looks toward Sue then, giving a nod. "Actually, he's been at Hidden Walk for a bit, though I don't honestly know how long a bit is. I'll let him introduce himself."

From the courtyard, Sue takes a breath in, glances at KL a moment, and then at the ground somewhere in between. "Sue Zahakis, named Stands-Between, cliath and halfmoon of the Furies, metis," he says. "I've been at the Hidden Walk since the end of March, completed my chiminage in July."

From the courtyard, KL's lips pull back into something resembling a smile. "Pleased to meet you," she says. "Philodoxes are always useful, even the unreliable ones." She doesn't look at Zeke. "I'm KL Cole, Rises-Like-Phoenix-From-Rage's-Fire, Adren Ahroun of Black Furies. Once... well." She glances around at the house, managing an expression half-fond, half-irritable. "Zeke will tell you."

Ex ends up leaning too far indeed. She stumbles, only just catches herself, and ends up kicking madly at the roof tiles before she manages to pull herself back up into a position of relative stability. Its enough to send bits of dirt sailing groundward, and certainly noisy.

From the courtyard, "Zeke will tell you that she's one of Gaia's finest, and I'm feeling rather fortunate that fate shined kindly enough to have our paths cross this visit. It's been too long and-" Scrambling roof tiles bring his attention upward, "And that is our fly on a wall, except it's not so sticky footed as they thought." A nod upward, "A cub, currently unclaimed, but visiting the Furies I've been told. Though I only just met her yesterday, briefly."

From the courtyard, Sue manages a faint smile. "Pleased to meet you, KL-rhya," Sue responds, before fidgeting, a step back into the courtyard and the water bottle tucked under his arm until from the interior of his jacket Sue pulls out a hiking pole and unfolds it, then sets it so that the tip is off to one side, a third point of balance that helps him stand a little steadier, a glance up to the roof and hen his gaze returns to the ground.

From the courtyard, Sue's sentence ends as the helmet lands on the floor. By the time it does, KL is already half-way up the wall, moving unbelievably quickly. It's also obvious that she's climbed up the side of the house before, her practiced hands and feet finding holds easily. In a flash, she's standing on the roof looking at Ex, barely breathing harder than she was before that moment of exertion. There's a pause, as she studies the cub, before she speaks. "Hello," she says, surprisingly gently.

Ex has only just managed to fully steady herself by the time KL reaches her, and the deer-in-headlights look is in full swing, her muscles tensed for (possibly literal, if she's not careful) flight. The tone clearly throws her, as her mouth opens, then closes, then opens again. "...Hi." The word is utterly cautious, uncertain.

From the courtyard, Zeke watches KL scurry up the house and then turns to Sue, voice quiet and for him alone, "She was my elder here. She was the woman who taught me to stand, by knocking me down until I figured out that being on the ground was /not/ where I wanted to be."

From the courtyard, Sue watches KL for a moment and then nods as he listens to Zeke, lips pursing thoughtfully.

From the courtyard, "You can come down, if you want," KL says, peering to make certain that the cub is relatively firmly situated. "I'm reasonably sure Zeke doesn't bite, and I probably won't." She blinks, suddenly, and frowns, and then leans over the edge. "That's not quite how I remember it, Zeke," she says. "Oh. It's good to see you, too."

Ex scratches harshly at one of the thin, precise scars on her cheeks with two fingers. She's wearing black gloves, for some reason. "Okay." The young woman dares a glance away from KL to the courtyard, and then fairly launches herself from her roost. It's not graceful, but it /is/ quick. She slides heedlessly down the roof, catches herself right at the gutter, and then swings down against the wall, and then down completely. Thump.

Greek House: Courtyard(#2280RJh)

A walled-in Greco-Roman courtyard exists here in the clearing behind the house. The western side columns look new, the others freshly cleaned and repaired in patches. The courtyard is more or less open, in a sense, the columns creating more of a border than an actual wall. There are four arched gateways that provide entrance into the courtyard, one at each cardinal direction. Near the house, in the north-west corner, there is a small fountain that adds the soothing sound of water to a calm, almost serene atmosphere. The pond around the fountain contains a few waterplants along with a handful of orange-gold koi fish swim lazily about. Diagonally across from that, on the western side, is a statue of the "Winged Victory of Samothrace", more popularly known as the "Headless Nike." By the house is another statue, a copy of Michelangelo's David. This one has been modified by someone hacking off its... equipment. Fairly violently. There are three archery butts, set up at the far southern end of the courtyard, which look fairly new, though already show the signs of heavy use.

In one corner sits a collection of around twenty glass bottles, of varying shapes, sizes and colors - clear, green, amber, cobalt blue - all of them clean and with the labels removed.

Contents:
Kathryn-Laura
Zeke
Sue

Obvious exits:
Roof North Eastern Arch Gate Doorway

"Well, there was a lot of pulling me up too. What can I say? You're a wonderfully complex woman." The metis looks up at the roof, grinning at her. "Good to see you too. And hey, Fostern now. By way of challenge two years ago. So see, ya done some good work." Zeke tucks his hat on a bit more after shifting his gaze down again to look toward Sue, possibly gauging how he's handling arrival of KL. Ex's arrival is given a little grin and a nod, "Hey Ex."

Sue glances as Ex comes down, but for the most part he's simply watching KL with some amount of caution, the occasional glance towards the exit of the courtyard. His free hand tucks into his pocket, and he leans on the hiking pole a little, bringing it closer to him.

KL follows the cub down, actually slightly slower but about three times as gracefully. "I used to spend a fair amount of time up there," she says, looking wistful for a moment. "So. Some important questions. Have you given my room away, do you want to know what I'm up to, and..." She pauses. "How's Charlotte?"

Zeke looks toward Sue and gives him a slightly expectant look without saying anything. When the questions come up, he grins, "Of course I want to know what you've been up to. As for your room... I didn't go in it, but it seems to go untouched as far as I can tell by the past few days. And," a fond smile comes to the metis then as his eyes lid slightly. "I hadn't realized she was around to check in on. Though I'd feel weird about seeing her if you weren't the one showing her off."

Ex settles a small distance apart from the group. A single glance at Sue has her upper lip twitching away from her teeth, but she doesn't look at him again, and she doesn't get closer.

Sue watches the interaction between KL and Zeke for a long moment now, still remaining quiet. He pays Ex about as much mind as Ex pays him, as well.

"She's with Nadine," KL explains. "It... you know how it is. And then this thing came up. I'm basically assisting someone important. With the Furies." She smiles. "It's kind of an apprenticeship, I guess." She looks at Sue and then at Ex, then back at Sue. "Tell me something about yourself?" she asks the younger Philodox.

Ex, at this question, slants another incredibly brief glance toward Sue.

Zeke nods to KL. "We can catch up more later too, if you're up for it. But I'd love to see Charlotte while I'm here." He turns then to Sue, and this time, there's no expression at all from the elder halfmoon. Sue has to figure this one out all on his own.

Sue glances at KL very briefly and takes a breath in. Glance then goes to Zeke, and then to the ground, and there's a moment of silence and contemplation, Sue observing the leathers, the bike helmet, and the younger metis actually eases some, though he answers the question first with another question. "What sort of bike do you have, KL-rhya?" There's clear interest, too. "The... the Harley out front is mine. She's covered, but we could... I could go show you, if you'd like." Sue speaks of the bike with a quiet but intense joy audible in his voice.

"It's a Yamaha," KL says. "It's obviously an evil weaver-tainted thing, but it goes quite quickly. Usually I manage to stay on top of it, too." She laughs, then sobers. "Do we think that qualifies as "something about you?", though?" A glance at Zeke.

Ex scowls sharply, shakes her head once, and then fully moves away from the group. She stalks to the place where the archery supplies are kept, then picks out a specific bow, and several training arrows.

Zeke watches the exchange and then looks to KL, "If you're asking me, then I'd say it was a sort of round about way of getting at it. But, better than it could have been." There's the faintest of grins at that but his attention watches the cub settle off away from the group.

Sue swallows slightly and glances at KL, though his gaze is still at the ground. "Weaver-things, but I do like riding. Highway 1 and 101 up the coast have some pretty stellar views."

KL smiles. "It is fun," she admits. "And... yes, they do. Though I like taking the bike off road, just occasionally. Maybe we can go for a ride sometime?" Her attention, though, is shifting to the cub with the bow.

Ex takes bow and arrows to the targets, and settles with her back to the others. She takes a very, very long time setting up her stance, checking her hold on the bow, and fitting arrow to string before she even draws back; and her draw strength is clearly not much, not yet, though she does pull the arrow all the way back to her ear, and hold it for a moment, before firing. She misses the target completely, but this doesn't seem to bother her. She goes through the entire ritual again with the next arrow.

Zeke nods to the conversation and then takes a step back to watch the cub at the range. He's quiet now, settled in to observation mode for the time being.

Sue watches Ex at the archery a moment, and nods quietly. "I'd like that. There're some fun roads up here, too," he says.

KL disappears back into the house for a moment, returning with a long slim black leather case and a quiver full of arrows. She opens it, to reveal a dark brown wood bow, the surface shined to a high polish. She lifts it out and strings it, bending the bow around the outside of her knee, the end set against her instep. Then she walks out to stand alongside the cub, waiting for her to loose her next shot before taking one of her own.

Ex glances sidelong, clearly uncertain, as KL takes up position next to her. There's a decided bit of extra tension at the proximity that's for sure. Then she narrows her eyes and focuses down the arrow shaft, pulls the arrow back far enough for the fletching to tickle her ear, and lets go. This time the arrow thunks into the outermost ring of the target, but it does actually hit. There's no sign of either triumph or disappointment in Ex's expression. It remains the ever-present frown.

Zeke looks to Sue briefly, adding in a light, brotherly elbow shove at his side so he can look at him and catch the grin. Then he's nodding back toward the range. "How you think that's gonna go down?"

Sue purses his lips, and even though the shove is light, nearly loses his balance but for the grip on his hiking pole. Then he shrugs, and responds, "Dunno. I do want to learn to shoot, some time."

The Fury Adren smiles, and nocks one of her arrows, then looks at the target for a long moment, her chest rising and falling as she breathes in a deep, controlled manner. In one smooth movement she raises the bow and draws, the tip of her thumb just touching the corner of her mouth for a millisecond before she looses, the arrow humming lightly as it crosses the courtyard, lodging into the other target, just on the edge of the gold to the right. It's clear that the Ahroun is at home on the range. She looks over at Ex, just with interest rather than any kind of challenge.

Zeke nods to Sue. "Ask any of your family here Sue. That's part of what family does. Though, you'd need to be here to make use of that."

Ex doesn't look directly at KL, but it's quite clear that she's watching her, her eyes following the swift, practiced movements with interest. When the Ahroun looks back at her, she looks down at her next arrow. Stance, grip, nock. She's not any faster or more rushed than before, and the only sign of difference is that she takes a little longer to aim this time. The arrow clacks against the top of the target and rolls onto the other side. There's not even a flicker of change to her expression.

Sue nods in return. "I'm--" and then Sue catches himself, pursing his lips, and looks down at his feet for a moment. "Working on it," he finishes, a slight breath inward at the end.

"Don't aim," KL says, quietly. "Imagine. See the arrow's path before you even draw the bow. It's harder, at first, but it's more reliable. And... eventually." She closes her eyes, nocks another arrow and lets it fly again, and identical gesture, though the arrow this time rests a fraction outside the gold.

Ex's too-bright eyes move from KL to KL's arrow. She nocks her next arrow, spends just as much time checking her stance and grip, and then draws and releases in a much faster, single motion. The arrow flies way over the target and out of sight, but there's some sense of satisfaction about the cub regardless.

Zeke looks to Sue as he catches the term and nods. "Good. Eyes up. We're brothers. Treat me like one."

Sue takes another breath in, and does lift his gaze from the ground, though the perpetually defeated element of his posture doesn't change. A nod, and Sue's attention goes back to the archery range for the moment.

"If you create a space that you can go into, when you shoot, it will help you in battle, yes. But also it is always there. Whenever there's trouble, or you're uncertain or confused, you can come out here and shoot, and that calm space, just you, the bow, the arrows and the target..." KL shrugs. "It's a good thing to have. I think that's partly why it's one of the special things of our tribe." She shoots again, looking this time, and the arrow ends up quivering in the centre of the gold.

Ex doesn't fire this time. Her gaze has shifted back to KL again, and now it stays a little longer than the time it takes for her to fire, and it doesn't follow the arrow to the target at all.

Zeke watches the women fire the bows off. "I'd teach you Sue, but you'd learn best from someone other than me. Technique and all." He pauses, uninterested in interrupting the archers. "What are you proud of Sue?"

Sue swallows at the question, and glances at Zeke, then once more to the ground, and shakes his head. "I don't know," is the very quiet answer.

KL's eyes go from the cub to Sue, and she looks thoughtful. She unstrings the bow. "I'm going to go check on my room," she announces. "It was good to meet both of you." A pause. "And I suppose it's OK seeing you again, Zeke." There's a glint in her eyes, though, amusement sparkling beneath the intensity.

Ex watches KL a moment longer, then gives the faintest of faint nods. Her attention shifts back to her own bow, and the few remaining practice arrows. She draws again.

Zeke looks to Sue. "Figure that out before we talk again, alright?" He looks to KL at the comment, grinning back at her. "Yeah. Just OK." This is said with teasing tone back to her, but he nonetheless follows her in. Once inside, and out of sight of the others, the returned halfmoon slips in a quick, side-armed hug before mischievously grinning and heading toward the basement.

Sue nods at Zeke. "Okay. I will. I need to go to Edgewood and check in with Black, and some work. I'll be by later?" The younger metis waits for both KL and Zeke to be gone, before turning towards the gate from the courtyard, a vague nod to Ex somewhere in there.