Breaking the Veil

"I'm Rufus and this is Constantin. And as I said to your friend here we're not in town very long so you don't have to worry about us in your territory much longer." Rufus is still positioning himself between Constantin and the wolves, Adam seems nice enough but he's still not trustworthy.

Adam shakes his head. "You're not in town for long, and you manage to find your way into this bar?"

He lifts one eyebrow, "You're either the least lucky bastards in London, or you're not being entirely honest." After that, he glowers around the room and mutters, "Not that I could blame you."

(To Jacob and Adam)
"A pleasure to make your acquaintances," Constantin smiles at the strangers, before laughing lightly and confessing to Adam, with a hint of dry humor, "This is actually our first night in London."

"Shall we try to find a larger table, or, now that introductions and welcomes are done shall we cease intruding upon your packs and hospitality?"

Rush straitens up at hearing his name called, breaking into a wide grin at the sight the bb wolfs. "Kids, hey!" He waves back, mixed with a hand gesture that says 'I'll be around in a sec!', still slightly distracted with looking for his dinner guest.

Adam looks from Rufus and Constantin, to Jacob and his goons, and shakes his head, "Nah, sorry buddy. I'm sure you're swell and all, but I'd rather just go take my own seat. Stay out of trouble."

He turns to head back toward the three kids at their far table, flashing a grin and a tight wave at Rush as he does so. But he keeps looking around, as though hoping to see someone who's not there.

Rufus turns to Constantin when Adam goes to his own table. "Maybe we should just go back to the airport."

The waitress bows politely to Kalynn. "Pardon me, Madam Minister, I believe your dinner appointment is right over there." She gestures to where Rush is happily chatting in the middle of a crowd of wolves.

Jacob has withdrawn over to the bar with his fellow Tutorem wolves after Adam's crowd entered. The three of them have been muttering among themselves and looking distinctly unhappy. Finally, Jacob reemerges from the conference holding a glass of Welsh ale and a somewhat strained smile out to Rufus. "Well, sorry to hear you won't be sticking around - if you change your mind and want to find some decent company, come sniff me out sometime. I should warn you, though," he adds in an undertone, drawing Rufus slightly aside, "since you're new in town - those wolves over there are not to be trusted. Street riffraff, all of them, stealing and killing and doing other people's dirty work for a living. Rumour has it they've broken the Laws. I'm sure you can handle yourself, just...be careful. As a new Alpha, you'll want to make the right kind of start for yourself and your pack."
He takes a step back, making sure to make deliberate eye contact with Rufus, and takes himself and his two goons off to a corner of the room far away from any nearby vampires. Coincidentally, this also happens to be the corner where Cyrus is trying to hide. The three of them take a table near Cyrus and settle down in heated conversation.

Without a further glance at Jacob, Adam rejoins his pack. He sits down with the teenagers, and the group begins to talk animatedly. Mostly, it's in hushed whispers, but Adam's voice carries, even though he pitches it low. "I'm sure she'll be here soon; don't worry. And this is it. She promised. After this, everything is going to be fine."

Just then, Kay looks up and happens to catch a glimpse of the Minister, Kalynn. She suddenly goes pale, and quickly turns to hide her face in Sam's arm.

(to Rufus)

"We can't, Rufus," Constantin whispers. "They're watching and testing you right now. You have to prove you're the stuff of which Alphas are made... whatever that is. Why did you think I was abandoning you to do all the introductions and things? Sorry mate, but this seems to be the part where we steel our spines and try to make it look like we know what we're doing."

Cyrus was perfectly content to ignore all the other conversations, but now there's werewolves at the table next to him. Lovely. He's certainly not going to go talk to them, but if he can discreetly listen in...well, it never hurts to have information, right? And hey, maybe having werewolves nearby will deter anyone else from coming near him.
Still, just to be safe, he moves Celine and her food to the seat next to him, so he can grab her quickly if he has to run. Got to keep the cat safe, after all.

(So, according to the rules, I have to let you know if/when I want to roll? I'd like a roll to listen in on Jacob and co's conversation without being noticed, pretty please~)

[GM SPEAKING: Cyrus is a clever Cyrus! Well done! *gives cookie* Yes, you can INDEED roll to listen, and you have succeeded! Expect an email with bits of conversation. :) ]

((Ms. GM, may I roll to notice Kalynn?))

(to Constantin.) "Jacob just pulled a /Draco Malfoy/. That was practically a direct quote from the book. And I'm supposed to prove I'm an Alpha to someone like /that/."

(to Rufus)
Constantin chuckles. "Yes, you are. Harry Potter would have had an easier time of it if he'd been able to claim the Malfoys as colleagues. And the Malfoys the reverse. So yes, Rufus, as alpha you need to make nice with the Weasleys and Malfoys alike. I don't know if you noticed, but it seems like you'll have automatic enemies from my quarter."

(To Constantin) "But he's such a wanker. At least Adam seems decent enough. Jacob's like those boxing buddies of yours who always tried to intimidate me into doing their homework too."

(to Rufus)
Constantin sighs, and continues their whispered conversation, sitting a little too close so they can keep their voices low and words private. He hopes. Who knows. There are probably people with superhearing or whatever here.
"To stick with your very grown-up comparison for a moment, Harry thought Draco was a wanker too. It still would have been a good idea to become his friend, and they both would have ended up less the wanker for it. So I guess what I'm saying is: suck it up and at least pretend to be diplomatic if you're going to head a pack."

The four young werewolves are conversing among themselves, when suddenly the skinny, awkward kid, Larry, stands up and shouts across the room to Rufus, "Hey, are you really a werewolf too?"

Adam facepalms, and Kay and Sam both flush. Sam pulls Larry down, while Larry makes a face like, 'what?'

Kay hops up and comes across the room toward Rufus and Constantin to apologize. After saying "sorry" more times than is probably healthy, she ends with, "What my friend was trying to say is, if you want to come join us, that would be fine. Both of you," her smile includes Constantin as she gestures back at her friends' table.

Then her eyes go wide and she shakes her hand quickly and says, "But if you don't want to, that's fine too! We just thought, well, since you don't know anybody around here..." She turns a little red.

Rufus looks the girl up and down as he stalls trying to find the right words for the type of answer Constantin expects of him. "Am I going to be propositioned to join your pack? Would any of you threaten my friend?" He watches her face before asking definitively "Or am I going to be shown respect as an alpha in my own right, with the people under my protection given equal hospitality?"

Kay blinks and looks back at her table uncertainly. Adam offers no support, just looks on, amused. "I was just asking if you want to sit at our table..." she mumbles.

She takes a breath and tries again. "Yes, of course. We will respect you as the alpha of your own pack." Her eyes flick to Constantin and back, but she doesn't say anything. "While you are under our hospitality, the Summer Wolves will guard you and yours as if you were one of us."

After a moment's hesitation, she offers, "For now, we can offer hospitality for as long as... umm... we're here at Alexander's."

She glances back at Adam. He nods, smiling.

"Did I do it right?" Kay beams at Rufus and Constantin.

Constantin smiles at Kay, a warm apology for the (judging by everyone's behaviour) necessary posturing. "Perfectly, ingerasul. Thank you for the invitation; it would be a pleasure to meet the Summer Wolves."

Rufus smiles at her, trying to apologize for how in her face he was about it and to put her at ease. "Thank you for inviting us. We'd love to meet you all."

[GM note to Rush: YES, of course you can notice Kalynn! No roll necessary. :D]

((Sorry this response took so long. As the latest email says, I've been having serious internet issues.))

[Conversation between the Summer Wolves pack and Rufus and Constantin]

Kay grins impishly and guides Rufus and Constantin over to the table where her friends sit. "This is Adam; you met him already."

Adam lifts one hand in a silent salute, his eyes quietly tracking the two newcomers.

Kay continues, "This is Larry. He's the special member of our little group."

"Hey!" Larry objects. Kay sticks out her tongue at him.

"And this is Sam," a new tone comes over her voice as she says that, and she throws her arms around the neck of the largest member of the pack. Even with him sitting and her standing, she barely leans down at all to reach his neck.

Sam smiles, with boyish shyness that's almost surprising coming from him, and gives a small, restrained wave.

[Convo between Rush and Kalynn.]

RUSH:
Speaking of the lady he's supposed to be meeting, adorable distractions though baby werewolfs are, Rush roams his eye around the room again, finally noticing Kalynn. He startles, with a small, distracted wave at the waiter, inwardly relieved that the politician doesn't seem too concerned with keeping a low profile.

"And speak of the devil, I'll just ask her." He makes his way over, trying to school himself to look polite and professional. A politically prominent changeling is kindove a new one.

"Ms. Worthington?" He flashes an awkward smile.

((Thanks Amelia! It's okay, no rush. ;) How is this for denoting which chars are speaking?))

[OOC GM NOTE TO RUSH]

((Looks awesome, thanks!))

((This is a conversation between Rufus and Constantin; and Rufus, Constantin, and the Summer Wolves))

As Rufus rises to meet the Summer Wolves, Constantin catches his shoulder and whispers something, with a wink, before carrying on to the Summer Wolves' table.
"It's a pleasure to meet those of you I am, and to see again those of you I already have. Constantin Musat: Domnitori, and Rufus' friend. Call me anything you like, but the terrible nicknames he," Constantantin gestures towards Rufus with a grin," conjures."

((This is a conversation between Rufus, Constantin, and the Summer Wolves))

Rufus grins at Constantin as they walk over. "I'm Rufus Call, of the newid blaidd apparently. My dad's probably written a fair bit of code for your cell phones and computers. And don't listen to him," he gestures at Constantin with a mischievous grin, "he /loves/ being called Connie."

[Summer Wolves speaking to Rufus and Connie]

Adam barks with laughter, "Hi, Connie! Mine's the pleasure. Make yourselves comfortable."

The kids readjust to make space at the table for the two newcomers. Larry perks up at the mention of computers and codes, but then, almost before Rufus is done speaking, he interjects, "What's a newid blaidd?"

[OOC GM NOTE for Rufus, Constantin, and Adam & co: All who wish to can make a roll to see what they remember having heard about the newidd bleidd at this point. Yes, Adam, that includes your ENTIRE pack!]