Howls and Happenstance

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Name: Maxim Kozak
Age: 29
About: Works as an investigator/enforcer for a special branch of law enforcement meant to catch supernatural perpetrators. Lives in and runs a small, 6-unit apartment complex owned by his parents who no longer live in the city, which has slowly filled with a group of non-blood-related city wolves he's come to call his pack - and also his problem, as some of them work with him (or elsewhere) and if they need to be wrangled it’s become his problem as pack leader.



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Name: Simon Baker
Age: 21
About: Works as a sort of office assistant/human liaison for Maxim and his unit, and lives with Maxim's pack. Was found by Maxim after a former resident from his complex went off the rails and attacked Simon, revealing he was somehow immune to lycanthropy. Has scars on his right shoulder from claws, and still walks with a limp from the bite to his right calf.
 
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Not again.

It was the only coherent thought Simon could manage through the panic curling around his throat. Since the day he'd been bitten - hunted - he had been very aware of whenever there were eyes on him, whenever there was something at the very edges of his vision that never came fully into view but refused to go away. The streets around him were practically empty, poorly lit, and though there were cars that passed by it wasn't enough. Something was following him.

His hands shook so terribly when he pulled out his phone that he almost couldn't tap the right buttons. He would just call. The pack would call him a baby for a while if he was wrong, but if he was right and didn't call he would never hear the end of it even if he survived.

Two rings was too many. Phantom pains kept curling around the years old scars, and his grip had gone white-knuckled around his phone as he tried to keep walking, tried to keep calm like he hadn't noticed anything was wrong.

"Max," he managed when the line clicked over, and couldn't find it in himself to feel embarrassed about the way his voice broke. "Can you c-come get me?"

The response to the distress in his voice was instantaneous, but still too late. It was on him so quickly he couldn't react, one arm like an iron bar around his throat and another that hauled him back into a corner he wouldn't even call an alleyway so abruptly his phone fell from his hand with a voice on the line still calling his name.

It was pure reflex and panic that made him brave enough to fumble in his pocket for the knife Max forced him to carry, flick it open one-handed like he'd been taught, and slam it into any flesh it could find behind his back as hard as he could manage. The subsequent impact with the ground was so hard he couldn't immediately get back up. It was only when it was on him again, when he turned to try and fend it off with all four of his limbs, that he caught sight of the fangs in its mouth and was tossed back into the past so violently he finally found it in himself to scream in sheer terror.

Not again. Please, not again.
 
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Name: Colette Fontaine

Age: 27

About: Although her life could be accurately described as a roller coaster with all its twists and turns, the one constant has been her love of animals. She currently works under the guise of a human as an intern at a pet hospital in central Lantana City, with her sights set on becoming hired as a veterinarian physician once her internship completes. Although she has a bit of a rowdy and sometimes fiery personality, she is a genuinely kind individual but typically prefers the company of her furry friends over mostly anyone and anything else.

Colette lives with part of her clan, which the household at present, consists of six members including herself. She's lived with them for most of her life after she was turned at the age of thirteen, having been taken in by one of the clan's elders when she was found starving on the streets, nearly feral. They live in an older Victorian style home in west Lantana. A quiet neighborhood where they are seen as no more than a typical disjunct family. Though the elder is rather doted upon by the community and thought fondly of due to his generous heart in adopting five children throughout his life that were in need of a home.

He's always been supportive of his adopted fledglings, and has instilled the morals of how they are to act with their newest carnivorous appetites. Similar progressive views are almost unanimously shared throughout their clan, though the crusty antediluvians seem to be the ones that give the most protest… carrying considerable weight since they are the oldest amongst their vampire clan. Colette really did wish they would just turn to ash already as they didn't help the escalating situation of supernatural beings trying to find their place in the world amongst the humans that had every right to fear them.

The air was crisp tonight. A beautiful evening really, even if she was dog-tired. It had been a long shift, not that she minded it since she enjoyed her work. Not to mention she was a night owl on top of it for good reason that she wouldn't be able to tell anyone else! But it did feel nice to clock out and be on her way home to acquire some much needed isolation time in her room away from the world. She stretched her arms high over her head in an arch, groaning audibly with the coinciding stretch that felt amazing on tense muscles. A satisfying symphony of crackling sounding in her ears that instantly released tension in her bones.

Sage wasn't about to be very happy with her when she was getting back so late—

Colette nearly tripped over her own feet in her forward motion. Pausing immediately like prey caught in the eyes of a predator. Though she was no such thing. She heard something. Faint, but it was there no less. It sounded like a scuffle… something that prickled her eardrums. It drew her body into forward motion once more as she first walked, then started running over the rooftops of the closely knit apartment buildings while the moonlight glowed in her snow colored hair.

It wasn't till she heard the scream that she began to sprint. Her limbs pumping and the small backpack over her shoulders tinkling with each jostle due to the keychain hanging off of her bag. The noises of struggle were becoming louder, becoming her compass to guide her in the right direction till it was directly below her.

Jerking one strap of her leather bag from her shoulder, the zipper was damn near broke right off as she tore it open and produced an oily black firearm from within. Without hesitation did she jump from the rooftop, the air whooshing past her loose hanging hair before she felt the creak of her bones as feet made their impact with he solid concrete below. She winced at the strain, thinking that decision might come back to bite her later, but there was no time! The squabble of dark forms was now seen by her own eyes, with the glitter of the partial moon overhead being all that she needed to see within the dark alleyway.

She closed the gap in seconds.

Her fingers closed around fabric and all it took was a vicious tug of her arm to hear the rip of thread and cloth. Though it held enough together as the adversary was successfully thrown off of its chosen victim. She didn't know the situation yet, but she also didn't have to. An attack was an attack whether it was supernatural against supernatural, human against human, or any other combination! But that didn't mean she wasn't able to connect the dots swiftly.

With a snarl of her own she threw the being to the concrete. Mounting the bastard to try and keep them from getting back up again, and just so she didn't have to waste her breath in making her intentions, the barrel of her pistol was soon pressed against the being's forehead. A vampire to be more precise. The evidence clear to see as the engorged fangs revealed themselves for feeding and the whites of eyes grew veiny and pink from withdrawal. There was a single shred of empathy in her heart for the vampire that was clearly male. Just wanting to survive… but this was not the answer.

He hissed at her, but she didn't pay any mind as she rifled about his collar before finding what she was looking for. A green inked candy skull tattooed at the base of his neck. "Must've gotten lost. You wandered out of Jade Undead territory," she accused.

"I followed him from Jade territory, bitch, he's my kill—!"

A flip of her thumb signaled the safety to her gun had been disengaged. "You're awfully mouthy for someone that has a gun pressed against his head." That seemed to shut him up. She glanced over to the person on the ground, sitting up and looking scared shitless. She'd gotten here in time… which means she'd gotten lucky, considering that wasn't always the conclusion to these kinds of attacks. "I should kill you… but I'm tired and I don't feel like cleaning up the mess. So I'm gonna let you go. And you'd better head straight back home and hope I never catch you doing shit like this again. Cause next time, you're dead." They couldn't heal from wounds if they were already dead… not to be confused with vampires of fiction that were living corpses. Creative, sure, but this was real life.

He didn't look happy about it, but after a stint of silence, the perp nodded and she cautiously stood and stepped off of him, all the while having her gun trained at his head. Just in case he thought to do something stupid. He soon rose slowly too, eyeballing his lost meal who was on the ground behind her. She gave a nudge of her gun toward the opening of the alleyway. "Go on." His eyes hardened on her like she was lying about letting him go. Like she was about to blow his brains out as soon as he turned to walk away.

But even as a vampire she was not so heartless.

He turned tail and ran off around the corner and she sighed. Stupid piece of shit couldn't control his instincts and nearly killed another human… oh wait… the human-! She turned and simultaneously clicked the safety back on her firearm, stuffing it into the waistband of her pants at the small of her back as she went to the apparent male with his ass still on the ground. Poor guy had a case of bad and good luck tonight. "Hey, are you okay?" she asked as her eyes started to give him a good look over. Spotting blood upon his coat, and yet she wasn't getting the sharp pang of hunger in her gut that she usually did around any sort of blood that wasn't a vampire's. So fingers crossed it wasn't his, but she should probably make sure. Probably get him to a hospital too, or near a police station so he could tell them what happened. She never wanted to get too close to those, but she could at least drop him off near one within eyesight.

Perhaps she was being a bit forward, but her fingers began to prod within what was usually considered someone's personal bubble. Maybe it was her veterinarian mentality starting to come about. Some might disagree but medical knowledge was medical knowledge! Her hands began to look for a cut in the fabric, something that would show evidence of any bodily harm. "You have blood on your clothes. Are you injured?"
 
It was all Simon could do to just keep attempting to push the thing away. Like being attacked by a wild dog, he did his best to put his arm in the way of its fangs rather than let it bite anything vital, but it clearly didn’t want just his arm, refused to take the bait. It was so strong. His head was spinning, recalling too vividly the last time he had been attacked by something his meager strength could do virtually nothing against, trying to find some way to react through the adrenaline and panic before it could get him fully pinned down.

He was dead, and he was almost beginning to accept that when the weight bearing down on him suddenly disappeared.

Were his ears ringing? He felt deafened by the beating of his own heart, the sound of his own ragged breaths. For a long moment, he only lay still on the ground, arms covering his head, until the voices started slowly to filter through his consciousness. Gradually, he managed to press a hand to the ground, to rotate his body enough to push himself up with trembling limbs that barely held him until he was sitting up on his own power. He knew he should get up, should run while he had the chance, but his legs wouldn't move, and his scars hurt like fresh wounds.

He was staring into nothing, eyes wide and distant, and only blinked closer to reality when the woman with white hair was in front of him, pulling at the edge of his jacket. Was he injured? He’d hit the ground hard, and he was sure he’d develop bruises and must have scrapes beneath his clothes. He didn’t feel like he was bleeding, but when he managed to look down towards where she was pulling on his clothes he could only make a soft, distressed sound at the sight of blood. Only a panicked glance down the alley confirmed what he was slowly realizing on his own. It wasn't his.

"My . . . my knife," he managed in a faint, breaking voice, pointing with a shaking hand at where it lay on the ground several feet away, stained red in the dark.

It was only then that the sound of footsteps finally cut through the panicked fog surrounding his brain, too fast for any average being wandering around late at night. It was the speed that had his head whipping towards it, fresh panic in his eyes as he imagined monsters and fangs - only for it to melt into relieved recognition just as fast.

"Simon!" Maxim cried upon spotting the human on the ground, rounding the nearby corner so quickly he had to kick off of a lamppost to make the turn and only beginning to slow out of the headlong sprint as he got close to them. "Don't touch him!"

There was already a growl in his throat as he skidded to a stop right next to them, almost fully knelt down by the time he stopped at Simon's side. It was easy for him, catching the scent of vampire blood rather than human and seeing the look in Simon's eyes, but the woman in front of him was clearly not injured and not threatening, not even with the weapon he could just barely see pushing at the back of her jacket while she knelt. The real threat was gone, he just didn’t know what her part in his human's panic was yet.

"He doesn’t like to be touched." He elaborated more calmly once he had stopped, a hand held up to keep her back in a clear threat to push her if she didn't move further away, the faint rumble in his throat still just barely audible. Even he wasn’t quite touching the human, hemming Simon in with his foot planted behind his back and knee at his side, free hand near his shoulder but never making contact. Maxim had learned that lesson years ago, when Simon had still been having nightmares about the day he had been attacked. Any touch before he was calmed enough for it would send him spiraling into panic again, and the only thing that had kept him from it was the fact that she had only touched his clothes and not his body.

"I heard someone on foot," Maxim said, taking in the way Simon stared dazedly at a point near the center of his chest, searching only visually for wounds until he had calmed. "I assume there was a third party here a moment ago?"

The only reason he hadn’t chased down the footsteps was that he had to find Simon first. It was all well and good, he supposed. He couldn’t very well continue working with the police if he let his anger get to him and beat the true threat to death with his bare hands.
 
Even with heightened hearing she had a hard time deciphering what the male had said from the lack of volume in his trauma riddled voice. Poor guy… he was scared senseless. She didn't blame him either - though she didn't realize the real reason as to why he were frozen as if it was thirty degrees and then some below zero. She shifted her eyes over her shoulder to see where his eyes would lead her. Finding the glitter of the knife dripping in crimson but a few feet away. The human's knife… at least he had his senses about him not to be walking about in the dark unarmed. Not as fatal as a bullet would be to a vampire, but it would make them feel pain regardless. Who knows, it may have just saved his life.

"It's okay. You did well," she assured. Some humans were so fragile of mind when it came to the supernatural. Which was why the world did whatever they could to keep their existence a secret. Nothing but conspiracy theories and wild stories thought up by crackpots hopped up on drugs or the good drink. Ignorance was bliss in this case she supposed, though she's thought on plenty of occasions about what it could be like if the world were inclusive. She was still… her as far as she could remember. Just a… little more… special—?

Who was she kidding. Their kind was a menace.

One of them nearly ripped into this human's neck like it was tissue paper and wouldn't have felt a shred of remorse either. Because to plenty of the fanged monsters, they still thought it their damn right to suck on human necks. Humans raised livestock and the like only to butcher and eat their meat… so how was their harvest of human blood any different?

She thought there was a large difference. But she was also an animal lover, so she could somewhat see the point that some vampires made - though she'd never admit it! Humans deserved to live their lives just like every other entity that housed life. And that's where she'd stand on the matter.

"Just breathe. Take your time. Then we should probably get you to a clinic—" Her ears also picked up the pounding footsteps momentarily. Did that Jade creep already find a buddy and decided to come back to try and finish the job? Idiot. Abruptly she twisted to face the opening of the alleyway with a hand reaching back to settle on the handle of her weapon and her opposite bracing upon the ground as her body remained perched like a crouched gargoyle guarding it's sanctuary. Two against one wasn't exactly fair, but she could probably handle them—

She was caught off guard by the call of a name. A sudden aroma in the alleyway. A threatening sound that raised the hairs upon her arms and the back of her neck as instinct told her to run. Another body soon closed the distance and then she was the one on her ass as she lost balance and began an awkward scoot backward to make way as her heart began thudding swiftly in her chest in nervous panic that didn't feel like her own. It was just another person, is what her mind said, but her instinct spoke differently.

Colette wasn't sure what it was, but just like she had a hunch of what had been happening in this alleyway before she arrived, she had a similar guess as to why she was suddenly wanting to arch her back and hiss while her hair stood on end.

"I thought he might be injured…" she supplied as even a tone as she could. Attempting not to let her voice quiver as she maneuvered to her feet once more. She realized her hand was still behind her back and feeling the cool handle of her weapon that was warming due to hand wrapped about it. She wasn't about to remove it either when she still felt oddly threatened.

His voice made her heart quiver further when it broke the silence again and she swallowed as her eyes rose toward the alleyway opening. Offering a small nod to the man's question. "He ran after I arrived." Carefully she produced the weapon lingering behind her back, though it was merely held in her palm rather than angled with the barrel aimed any anyone this time. "Grew less confident after I pointed this at him. It's… empty. I just carry it as a deterrent." That was a lie. It was loaded right now, but she didn't exactly want to be the one in trouble here if this guy was about to start pointing fingers.

"I think he injured him," she mentioned softly with a little nod toward the male still looking shaken by the whole situation. "There might be a blood trail. But maybe I should… call the police and tell them that?" she asked since this guy seemed rather worried about his friend. For good reason since he'd just been attacked. She reached around to her purse after stuffing the nose of her gun back in the top of her jeans, producing a phone with silent gesture that she could make the call if he wished.

Before she ran and got the hell out of here herself…
 
As keenly aware as he was of the smell of vampire blood he almost couldn’t pick up a scent from her at all, but Maxim, like many of his kind, relied heavily on instinct, and his instinct told him she was also inhuman. Only training and calculated patience kept him from following the subsequent desire to attack her as if she were a danger to Simon, to chase after startled and fleeing prey as she backpedaled away from him. He had already seen her, if not helping, then very pointedly not attacking the human. If she was going to be a threat she would have done it already.

Still, when she pulled the gun from behind her back he almost jumped on her, quickly taking in the open palm and lack of finger on the trigger to fight the reflex down. He didn’t believe her for a second that it was empty, but at the very least she didn’t seem to intend to use it. He was seconds from telling her the police were virtually useless when Simon's hand finally latched onto his forearm. The human was shaking still, pale and frightened, but slowly beginning to come back to himself.

"Max-" He managed, and maybe some other day he might hate how his voice cracked, but he hadn’t the mind for it now. "I’m sorry - I’m sorry - You told me -"

Maxim only shook his head, shifted his grip to hold Simon's wrist in turn and pulled the boy into his chest with his other arm, holding him tight now that he was far enough from the trauma that it wouldn't frighten him further. "What happened to Jacobs?" He demanded, worry and anger in his voice in equal measure. "He was supposed to take you home."

Simon shook his head, free hand twisted tight into his own shirt over his still pounding heart. "He - He got called away. It wasn’t that far to the office. I thought - I’m sorry." He'd thought he would be fine. The one time he wasn’t escorted at night, only a short walk away from where he was supposed to be, and it had gone so wrong. He should have listened.

"Tch." Maxim clenched his jaw tight at the thought of what he might do to the agent who agreed to leave his Simon behind, but took a breath to focus and reigned himself in. Now was the time to be calm and lead. "It's all right. You’re safe now. I’ve got you."

After a pause to be sure he was okay enough for it, Maxim pulled his hand gently free of Simon's grip and got an arm beneath his legs, lifting the boy in his arms as he stood with hardly any sign of strain. Simon was too old to be carried in such a way, but Maxim wasn’t going to make him walk to safety when he was still in shock.

"I'll take care of it myself," He finally said to the girl in response to her offer to call the police, his voice firm but not unkind. His expression was calm now and lacking the hostility he’d arrived with, and rather than leave he lingered to look at her with something grateful and pained in his eyes. "Thank you. For helping him. I'm in your debt."

He wasn’t sure what he would have done if she hadn’t been around before he was. He would have arrived too late, and killing the vampire that killed Simon wouldn't have brought him back to life. Human he might be, but he was still pack. He was still family.

"What's your name?" Maxim asked, wanting to take Simon away but determined to pay his debts. "I'll give you my number, if you’ll take it. You ever have a problem with one of mine, I'll deal with it."

Like now, uniformed police and average detectives wouldn't be of much use. Maxim would handle the issue himself, just as he would handle the investigation into Simon's attacker. Given his work, and his position as Alpha, he knew many of the packs in the surrounding area personally, and if he didn’t he was at least familiar with them peripherally. It was necessary, to keep territorial disputes to a minimum in such a crowded place.

He did not, as a general rule, deal with vampires on a personal basis. But for this one, for saving his human pup's life, he would make an exception.
 
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She couldn't have been imagining the tension that was in the air at the moment. Keeping her distance, her eyes flickered to the male of recent arrival. The intensity of his eyes and the stoic demeanor prickled the back of her neck and made gooseflesh rise upon her skin. After the change, the cold hasn't much bothered her so she couldn't even blame it on a stray draft of air through the dank alleyway. The man was dangerous - that is what her instincts were trying to tell her. And yet there she stood, simply staring as inconspicuously as possible as he handled the human who seemed broken of mind, but not body.

So tenderly.

"You're sure?" she asked. Her mouth moving involuntarily to speak the words rather than heed her instincts to just run off. The static zipping through her veins slowly ebbed - still there, but lessor - enabling her to at least dull the thrumming of her blood in her ears as her heart tried to decided whether or not it was going to burst with panic.

Colette was quick to give a shake of her head and a little wave of her hands in front of her body, an odd gesture while her hands were full. One with a gun and one with her phone. She should probably put at least one of those things away before someone of authority saw her with it and she got into more trouble she didn't need this night. "No. Please. You're not I was just… passing by. I couldn't ignore it." If she had, then she'd give the human populace every right to call her a monster.

What's your name? he asked.

Don't tell him don't tell him don't tell him…

"…Colette." Idiot. She had to force herself to not look visibly uncomfortable after that utterance. What was wrong with her tonight. Sticking her nose where it didn't belong and giving her name out to strangers. A tilt of her head expressed her mild confusion, most of it real, but not for the reason she was about to speak out loud. "I'm… not sure I understand." A problem with one of his. She would have had to be a complete dolt to not know what that meant, and yet it was muscle memory at this point to play dumb as to what she was. What they both were.

Not sure how convincing her act was, she shuffled on her feet and cautiously drew her bag around from her side once more, unzipping it to carefully place the firearm back within. Though she kept her phone within her hand and in a snug grip in case she needed to start running.

Her opposite hand reached up to rub idly at the back of her neck. With fingertips feeling chilly, she drew the tips through the silvery snow locks at the base of her skull. "I'm not sure how appropriate it would be for me to take a stranger's number," she began, eyeing the ground beneath her well worn sneakers before she glanced to him with a vague shrug and speaking more words she didn't condone to have come out of her mouth. "But perhaps if you were to give me your name too, we wouldn't have to be strangers."
 
Humility Maxim could understand, but reality was still reality. If this vampire hadn’t been around at the right time, Simon would likely have been dead before Maxim arrived, or shortly after. Whether she saw it as a noble act or simply scaring another vampire off of her own turf, he wasn’t arrogant enough not to be grateful.

The waving of the gun was concerning, and Maxim tensed and shifted one foot back a bit to be ready to dodge if she were foolish enough to set it off. Thankfully, even if she was careless enough to move it in such an idiotic way, no bullets flew their way. She was a strange one, that was for sure. Even without her haphazard attitude with weaponry, the fact that she would turn down a favor from a potentially useful ally was strange. He supposed, given their species' history, she could simply hate him on principle, but most vampires he had met would have loved to have something to hold over his head.

When she played dumb, Maxim only sighed and gave a tired roll of his eyes. He didn’t have time for this; he needed to take Simon home. "It's Maxim," he said with a little shake of his head, clearly not believing that she hadn’t already sussed him out but leaving it alone for now. "And it’s just a phone number, not a home address. No one's forcing you to use it."

He looked down at the boy in his arms when he felt fingers curling into his jacket, expression briefly gone soft once more at the way Simon refused to look at either of them or go so far as to speak again. He would feel embarrassed about the way he clung like a child, some day, but despite only having seen Maxim and the others 'in action' a handful of times Simon no doubt knew that being at the alpha's side meant he was perfectly safe. As long as he or one of the pack were around, nothing would touch their human pup.

"Do you want it or not?" Maxim asked when he looked at her again, impatient now but not truly harsh. "I need to go. It's better to have something and not need it than need it and not have it."

It wasn’t as if he’d asked for her number instead. She could write his down and do nothing with it, if she so pleased, with no risk of potential harassment from a stranger. She just needed to make her decision so he could go, and he would rather she take it instead of continuing to fight him. He didn’t like hanging on to unpaid debts.
 
Yeah… she probably looked like quite a dunce just standing there asking questions like his human friend didn't just get attacked by a fanger! This was why she preferred animals… they were easier to talk to. To be around. Never judgemental and only ever loving… well, mostly. But you try sticking a thermometer up your butt and see if you retain being a furry ball of sunshine.

All in all, he had a point. It wasn't as though he was asking for her number. He was just offering his. What could really go wrong, especially if she never sought to use it. "Um… sure. Yes. I'm sorry…" She'd blame her all nighters at the pet hospital as of late, but this was how she was around people most of the time. If she wasn't in an adversary's face barking at them to get off their turf, she was busy stumbling about with her tongue like an idiot.

"Better to be over prepared, like you said." Reaching upward to tuck some lunar colored locks behind an ear, she opened up a note on her phone and looked at him expectantly. Maxim - along with a series of numbers that was his number just in case she ever thought she would need help from one of the other creatures of the night. Doubtful as instincts deep in her stomach still told her to run and not look back, but he'd yet to bare teeth and go for her throat… He didn't seem like such a bad guy. Especially not in the way his demeanor continued to shift every time he looked at the human in his arms.

"Thank you. I hope your friend feels better." Simon. Her mind filled in the blank as it was the name Maxim had called out as he barreled down the alleyway at full speed. Her eyes shifted to the human's features. It could have just been her eyes, but she thought he didn't look as pale anymore. A shade darker. With the glaze present in his eyes seeming like it was slowly dulling. For as bad a wrap as humans earned from the darker side of the world, she pitied them, really. She couldn't imagine being so helpless while in danger. Or what had to have been going on in his head during the attack. He must have known he was going to die, and yet he tried to fight. It was valiant even if it wouldn't have been enough.

"Get home safe," she bid while taking a step back as though that were the final gesture needed to end their conversation. Her first with a werewolf, to her knowledge, where it wasn't so obvious that they were wishing the other one dead. She stood there while the other two disappeared from the alleyway, taking a moment to reflect in the silence while the brightness of the moon made her form cast a shadow as though it were sunlight.

Colette was on her way out of the alleyway then too, just her boot hit the forgotten metal object on the ground, still glistening with a bit of red. Not knowing what compelled her, she reached down to take up the glitter of the knife. Observing it minutely, she'd wipe the crimson of it upon her black colored scrubs, cleaning it as best she could before silently folding the blade inward to hide the silver point. Then she placed it in her pocket for safe keeping as she began the rest of the walk home in silence.

~
Her feet didn't stop till she could see the soft light flickering in the lanterns outside. The gentle living light of which she wasn't sure why the hell Eagan didn't just get with the times and get electricity for the outside like he did the inside. Said something about how he preferred the vintage look… what a loony. Someone had to go out there and light them every night and he seemed to get kicks out of it like they were preparing a ritual. She really didn't understand the man most days, but she supposed she didn't have to. He made this place home for a good chunk of her life, and they all regarded him in kind as their caretaker.

Through the surprisingly quiet black iron fence she went. Past the tall standing lanterns that led to the grand from porch where a set of double wooden doors stood looking impenetrable. She wouldn't have been surprised either… they were heavy and built solid. The grinning gargoyles for door knockers grinned at her as usual with their secretive smirks, and she ignored them as usual to push upon the door and let herself in to the main foyer.

It was quiet as always, and a wash of calm came over her while she shrugged off her jacket and went to place it within the large closet - one better suited for use if they were to host a lively party that this place hasn't likely seen in a century. Maybe more. This house was old, but Eagan put a lot of money into it in order to make it look like new. Keeping it up with the modern age — besides those damn lanterns outside.

She was ushering the smaller wooden door closed with a click, enjoying the feeling of her shoes being off her feet as she carried them in her fingers instead so she wouldn't track litter into the household. Nor upon the fancy looking rug at the entrance that almost looked too pretty to step upon. She was about to take her first step up the grand wooden staircase when her body flushed with goosebumps. She turned about with heart a flutter to see Eagan standing over her, like a silent shadow he could have crept from anywhere! And he seemed to love the fact that he was even too quiet for any of them to ever hear.

"Why must you do that?" she asked with a huff of breath outward to calm her frantically beating heart. A rumble of a chuckle left the large man dressed in business casual with a head of silvery grey colored hair that always had a natural wave that formed over his eyes. His fingers were nonchalantly pressed into his pockets with the sleeves of his maroon colored button up rolled to below his elbow.

"I only wished to welcome my child home." Though the slow curl to lip expressed otherwise. There was also a purring fluff ball settled upon his shoulder. A cute one at that with golden colored eyes and black and white marbled fur. His tail flickered before he was nosily bumping his head into Eagan's cheek with a request to be let down. With a chuckle, the man did so, grasping him about his belly and setting him lightly upon his paws. "He was pawing at the door again so I thought I'd let him out for a short spell."

"He'd be a lot more content if you allowed me another…" Colette tried her hand as the kitty cat trotted up to rub against her legs and purred like a running truck. "… lonely kitty needs a friend, right Sage?" she asked and without hesitation picked up the cat to house in her arms while abandoning her shoes to the floor for now.

"If I did I'd only be opening the opportunity for another… and another… and another." Eagan grinned easily and closed the distance, reaching to ruffle her hair like she was thirteen years old again. She huffed and sidestepped, making him laugh. "Was your shift that bad?" he asked, genuinely interested as he reached down to take her shoes, beginning a slow meander toward her room that resided up the stairs along with the others.

"No, it was… fine," she assured, giving a little gnaw to her lip - prime evidence of her nerves of which Eagan caught on swiftly.

"What happened, Colette?" His tone changed and she could tell he wasn't exactly asking about work. Damn, he was too sharp for her own good most days!

"Nothing. Everything's fine."

"You have a strange smell on you."

"I'm around animal fluids all day, I always smell weird after work," she countered to which he gave her a look within ocean colored eyes, raising a brow before it was clear she wasn't about to elaborate. He hummed softly and gave a little nod.

"Well… alright then. Clean up and then come eat before you settle for the evening. You must keep your strength up if you're going to be doing all these long shifts." He reached to initiate the ruffle of her hair, earning a dissatisfied sound before he was away like he'd never been there at all, her shoes dropped promptly in front of her door that they'd stopped at.

Nosy old man.

She sighed and dipped to grab her shoes while assuring Sage remained in balance upon her shoulder. He liked to pretend he was so agile, but he was pretty clumsy for a cat. "Bet you're hungry too," she offered while he meowed in seemingly reply.

A day in the life for a vampire… surely not exactly what others imagined when they thought of a monster.
 
Maxim wasn’t entirely convinced that Colette cared at all about being able to contact him, but whether she did or not was her choice. The bigger mystery was why, exactly, she was so nervous. Despite the panic, he didn't think he’d been incredibly hostile towards her, and he was clearly indebted to her for now she had protected Simon, so he didn’t think she had a reason to be quite afraid. Still, the way tensions were between her kind and his, he knew it was likely she’d had bad experiences before, or had heard tales of them from others. Despite his own prejudices against vampires, it wasn’t as if he could say his entire species was perfect and never harmed a soul.

"He'll be all right," he assured after she had his number and began to back herself away from the conversation as a whole, glancing briefly at Simon and mentally biting down on his tongue to keep from thanking her again. "You as well."

She clearly wanted to get away, and he was glad enough to let her, despite the uncertainty of whether or not he would ever be able to repay his debts. What was more important than his personal code of ethics was the young human in his arms, so Maxim allowed himself to give her his back and carried Simon away. As much as he wanted to go home, he took Simon back to the office for a brief exchange first, writing down the location and a description of events, as well as a description of Colette and her name. For now, he would have to trust someone else to look into the vampire whose blood had been left on the ground while he took care of what was his.

Simon had mostly stopped shaking by the time they left, but Maxim insisted on carrying him home anyway. It was dark out, the streets all but barren of any potential witnesses, and his human pup deserved to feel warm and protected. Given all that had happened in the not so distant past, Maxim counted it as a positive that Simon was coming back to himself enough to be so embarrassed he covered his face on their way inside.

There was nothing special about the building itself, other than that it was well maintained and kept cleaner than most around it. The main door was the only one that was ever locked, and inside the six apartments it contained were generally left open, both upstairs and down. The pack home was lively as always, even at this hour, music drifting down from upstairs and footsteps clamoring here and there. As Maxim walked in with Simon in his arms, their three youngest came barreling full speed down the stairs and into one of the lower apartments, shouting another's name and something about going to the Zoo. They were followed shortly by their father, who hesitated in following them at the sight of Simon being carried in.

"Maxim?" He paused a step or two from the ground floor, brows drawn together in obvious concern. "What’s wrong with Simon? Is that blood?"

"It's not his, Oscar." Maxim assured as if the man couldn’t tell, shaking his head in lieu of being able to physically wave him away. "I'll tell you later. We should let him rest for now."

But it was, likely, a little too late for that. The small stampede came clamoring back in to tug at Maxim's arms, legs, and clothes, smart enough at least to pull on him and not Simon while they cried their concern in a mix of overlapping voices.

"Simon!" "Is Simon okay?" "He smells like blood!" "Did he get hurt?" "Do you need bandaids?" "Papa, what happened to Simon?"

"Enough." Maxim commanded, firmly but without raising his voice, and as the little ones fell into place in front of him with their hands to themselves only gave a soft, fond little sigh. "Simon is okay," he reassured gently, "He’s just not feeling well and wants to be quiet. You can all be quiet so he can rest, right?"

The resulting burst of 'yes's that followed suggested otherwise, but Maxim nodded as if they’d done well already and nodded towards the stairs. "Good. Now go back upstairs with Papa while I put Simon to bed, Hm?"

There was a small round of giggles at the idea of 'grownup' Simon being tucked into bed like a baby, but it dispersed the little ones well enough and only a look from Maxim was needed to send their father after them. When they were gone, Maxim took Simon to the apartment nearest the front doors - given it was Maxim's, with Simon occupying one of the two bedrooms inside, it required verbal permission for children to enter and got a bit less foot traffic than the others. It would be quieter there for Simon to change his clothes and recover.


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It was hard to ignore the clammer of children's voices. Nothing that the residence within the apartment complex weren't used to at this point. Not when they've all been occupying the building for a good few years now. Even the newest residents have been there long enough now that all the noise and commotion was standard. At this point, without it, it just wouldn't be home. The little voices cut straight through the music being played through a speaker in one of the rooms, not as loud as he liked, but when you had close neighbors that were like family one wanted to be respectful. That really was what this strange mash up of people were. All coming from different places and yet they formed a single close knit pack.

"Ugh-! Dammit! — ope…" A hand swiftly reached up to pass over lips that were usually not so aggressive. A hidden trait he'd come to know of and thought entirely endearing, especially when she grew terribly embarrassed due to a stray child passing by their door of which probably heard the loosed expletive. They really should make it a rule that the door ought to be closed while she was playing video games - that was the only time he's seen as of yet, when her usual nonexistent rage meter was visible to the outside world.

"Language," Kalen toyed with the woman who looked awfully comfortable cocooned in blankets on the couch with a controller in hand, fingers click clacking away at the buttons while the colorful figure on the television tried desperately to keep up with her commands.

"Sorry…" Willow offered with a sheepish look toward the door as the kiddos sailed on by. It was timed by fate at this point, it had to be, as they always seemed to be going by when she was getting fumed by her latest gaming experience! "Hey Oscar… hey kiddos," she gave a little wave to them from her nest while the game was put on pause, her fingers being used to slide the headset down from her ears and around her neck instead.

Kalen couldn't help but chuckle wholesomely and gave a wave to the parade of beings going past the door. The whole world would always know what was going on in the lives of those kids with those active jabber-jaws they had. He was pretty sure he picked up on something about them going to the zoo… before he paused and his hands froze mid cut upon the board that housed his latest victim. A potato that was going into the oven with the rest of the meal he was preparing. "Huh?" He breathed out the confusion as his utensils were put down and the apron was pulled over his head to be discarded upon the counter. Willow must have heard too, for her brow was quirked and the hazel of irises lingered on the doorway. The back of his neck prickled and he knew Willow's had to be doing the same.

He was moving toward the door instantly and Willow was busy fishing herself out of blankets before she was quick on his nonexistent - at the moment - tail. Even if their abilities weren't as keen as when they were turned, they still had damn good hearing enough to eavesdrop on what was being let loose in the open air outside their ajar door.

Both Kalen and Willow wandered toward Maxim's door that was still open, just the smallest bit, as though the kick provided by foot hadn't been quite enough oomph to close it all the way. With Willow at his side, Kalen gave a little knock upon the front of Maxim's door, not wanting to enter if it wasn't a good time, but he couldn't just ignore what he'd heard either. It got his arms feeling prickly… his own temper hot to the touch… and a growl waiting in the wings to rumble from his chest.

"Maxim?" the large man inquired softly with a little nudge to the door to widen the gap and allow a bit more light into the dimly lit space. "You can bark all you want, but I'm not leaving till you tell me what happened." He wasn't ever so elegant with words, but his voice was a tender baritone. He may look a bit like a brute, but him and Max had known each other long enough that both knew the other quite well. Learned to trust another. Something they had to learn on the job before they'd even learned to call one another friend.

He felt Willow brush against his back as she peeked around him, her eyes soft while her teeth began to gnaw gently upon her inner lip. She could smell the blood just as she was sure Kalen could. It had the same sort of hue to it. The barest tinge of an aroma that made you wrinkle your nose as though you couldn't decide if it was a good smell or a bad smell. Like a ripe spice of which one took too deep an inhale for it to mildly burn your nose. Easy for a werewolf to pick up that what was most certainly blood wasn't of them. Nor was it human. But vampire.

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Despite not being the one gently scolded for causing noise, Oscar was quick to simply wave to Kalen and Willow and herd his little ones back up the stairs. They were rambunctious, as all children with the energy of werewolves were, but they were good kids. When asked they would be quiet, and they knew well enough to listen to the other adults that lived in the building even when their father wasn’t around. Their instincts were strong enough, already, that any order from Maxim, especially, was generally met with immediate obedience.

His pack was odd and varied. Unlike many that lived in more rural communities, it was largely composed of wolves who were completely unrelated to each other by blood and came together by choice and circumstance. Many he had come into contact with through work either as partners, as part of an investigation, or as victims he had seen fit to aid. Others he had simply met in the natural course of life, or through friends of friends - there was safety in numbers, and in a densely packed city full of humans it was good to live somewhere where other wolves were there to understand. Simon was their only human exception in the residence, and only because he was one of Maxim's strays, taken under his wing after a former member of the same pack had attacked him. Given his position as their physically weakest member, and the panicked, injured state he had come to them in, he was often looked at as their smallest pup even with the actual children around, and sheltered as such.

Considering this, and the hearing of wolves, Maxim was really not surprised when his door opened not long after he’d walked through it.

"Kitchen." He said firmly as he closed Simon's door, having already gently deposited the boy inside to let him get dressed in private. It was the furthest point away without leaving the apartment entirely, which Maxim was not prepared to do, his eyes drifting back towards the door even as he moved there himself. He would listen, in case Simon needed him, but he had known everyone would want to know what happened as soon as they caught the scent of blood and had no plans to keep them in the dark. Adults didn’t need to be sent away as children did.

"Simon was attacked," he said plainly, rather than assuring Kalen and Willow that they wouldn't be scolded for following. His door was just as open to them as the others', unless he told them otherwise. "A vampire grabbed him on his way back to the office. I have someone on it already - he got them with his knife, so we have a blood sample to follow, but," he gave his head a shake, biting back the urge to growl simply at the thought of what might have happened, and focused on carefully folding the stained jacket and putting it in a plastic bag in case it was needed later on. "He wouldn’t have made it if another vampire hadn’t stepped in."

It would burn him for days to come that he didn’t get there fast enough himself, and the thought didn’t need to be voiced. Despite a lack of any true fault on their part, it would bother them all that no one was with Simon at the time of the attack if he let any of them dwell on it, including himself. He didn't want anyone panicking, or going out for revenge on their own. That was his job.

"He is, understandably, shaken," Maxim continued with a weary sigh, leaning back against a counter with arms crossed and glancing at the door again, "and he may have some scrapes that need tending to, but otherwise he’s not hurt. He's not taken it well, so far, and I don’t want him left alone for a while. It’s best to keep him distracted."

Simon's past trauma wasn’t a secret from the pack, nor was the memory of how he had hidden under blankets all alone for days on end even after his injuries had healed. That had been when he was a stranger to them; now that he’d had years to know and grow close to them, they couldn’t let him isolate. Given that he had been driven to bouts of empty-eyed shaking by only the nightmares of it before, Maxim was afraid, if left to his own devices, Simon would sink back into the same zombie-like state as he had lived in at the time of the first attack.
 
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Not that Kalen looked like a big cuddle bug being as big as he was, but to those that knew him, he usually was soft in demeanor. Until he got pissed off. His temper was quick to lighting. Perhaps why he was considered a follower of Maxim rather than being the one that made the initial decisions. He was too fueled by his emotions. If it would have been him arriving on the scene with Simon in the vampire well... things would have likely ended a lot differently. He wasn't ignorant of his flaws either. He wasn't being forced to follow. He chose to. Loyal to Maxim and trusting his level-headed judgement even at the worst of times when his own anger rose and he felt a strong urge to tear an idiot's throat out.

Just as he did now.

The hazelnut color of hair seemed to naturally rise at the base of his neck where a prickle was nestling and a deep rumble came from his bulky chest. "Who." He may be a part of the same branch of law enforcement as Maxim, but all his morals tended to fly out the window when some perp made it personal. Attacking the human pup of their pack was certainly making it so.

Kalen remembered a time when his relationship with Willow was younger. Fresher. Newer. She used to grow quite timid around his temper, but not so much anymore after their bond has strengthened these past few years. He felt her fingers wrap about his bicep, stepping up beside him and edging her jaw to nuzzle against his shoulder to attempt comfort. It always worked. At the very least, the buzz of upset gurgling in his stomach faded… or maybe that was the growling. Slowly being tempered till it resonate in the air no longer.

The bomb was successfully defused for now.

Though it nearly surged again at the identification of Simon's attacker. "Slimy fuckin' bloodsucker-!" he snarled lowly under his breath with another squeeze being made to his arm to get him to settle down. At least they didn't have to worry about him busting out of clothes in a flurry of fur and claws — lucky that it wasn't a full moon this night. Still, the way his temper ran hot made him feel wild. See red. If one were to stare at him in the eyes in such a state, they may have seen the green of his irises nearly glow with that inner feral nature.

"Is he alright-?" Willow asked with concern in her eyes, clearly the voice of reason between the two even if she looked far from happy at this news as well.

Kalen's features perked with his eyes speaking words for him, that he would be on this investigation like a dog starved for a bone if Maxim asked him too. But the alpha must have sensed this from him, and spoke swiftly that he had someone on the trail. Probably a good thing it wasn't Kalen, otherwise the vamp likely wouldn't see the next moon rising into the sky.

Though the face of both werewolves would blink in astonishment to hear the involvement of yet another vamp. One that apparently liked to play hero. "Another?" Willow needed to confirm while Kalen gave a deep furrow of brows that seemed to express swift contemplation.

"Whatever reason it had for getting involved it can't be good. I don't trust it." Admittedly, Kalen didn't exactly do his part in playing nice with the vampires. Though his reasoning may have been more validated rather than just participating in the hate for the feud's sake. Mentioning the topic of their supernatural counterpart tended to get him fumed, and this little incident with Simon was only going to tilt that iceberg further.

As though hackles were physically raised and visible to the eye, Willow continued to try and tame Kalen. Reaching upward to place the delicate spread of hand between the man's shoulder blade's and smoothing palm over in slow motions. "That's a given…" Willow offered with soft tones. Of course Simon would be shaken. Even without taking into consideration what he's been through in the past with one of their own, surviving an attack from a vampire wouldn't be easy on the mind. And now he had to suffer from two. One vampire and one werewolf - with the effects still lingering on the male from the latter encounter. "If you have to go out, we'd gladly keep him company. If you need us here or if he would like to come over to our place, the invitation is open."

Good thing Willow was the cordial one between the two while Kalen still seemed to be mulling over other facts. Murmuring next under his breath - "The hell was he doing on his own at night anyway…" Not exactly a question that needed answering from any in the room. More like a thought that was drifting outward into the open air. Still, it was a good question that someone would be answering to. And Kalen wouldn't mind being around to hear it from the rightful tongue that had made that smart decision.

"Answers we likely won't be receiving tonight." The hidden tone given by the woman suggested it was best not to dwell on something that would only frustrate them all. It would have to be dug into. But not right this second. She sighed softly and then fixed her eyes upon Maxim, trying to offer a softer arrangement of features meant to be encouraging. "Kalen was just making dinner. You look tired, Maxim. Why don't we bring something over for the both of you, so you don't have to worry about putting a meal together tonight." The male was endlessly kind to all of them, and it only made sense for them to give back when the opportunity presented itself.
 
Kalen's anger wasn't a thing that Maxim feared. Perhaps in public, when it could lead the other man to actions that would cause trouble for the pack, or for their job, but here, in the privacy of their home, it didn't worry Maxim. He knew well enough that while the words were being spoken in his direction the fury behind them wasn't for him, and it wasn’t as if he didn’t feel it as well. Beyond his trust in Kalen's good intentions and loyalty, Maxim had been alpha of his small pack for several years now, and as it had grown so had his strength. Kalen was bigger than he was, but in a fight they were evenly matched, and he knew that it would end before either of them went too far regardless.

"Breathe, Kalen," Maxim said, gentle but firm, "Take a pause."

It was his usual advice, and Kalen had surely heard it too many times. Rather than telling someone not to feel anything at all it was best to simply take a moment to focus on one's breath, then assess the situation a few seconds later when simply breathing had given the instinctual reaction time to settle. He added nothing else to quell the other man's fury. Willow could be counted on for that, after all, and so long as there were any other course of action Maxim did not use what the children called his 'alpha voice' - a loud, commanding tone that would speak directly to his packmates' instincts and allow no arguments, reserved specifically for if or when they couldn’t be reasoned with.

"Trust is earned," he continued, with a slow shake of his head. "In more than a single instance. For now, we leave the investigation to other agents, and you leave the matter of vampires to me." It wasn’t as if he enjoyed their presence, but he understood what their nature was, and that each person made their own choices about how to live regardless of species. His own kind weren't perfect, either. And their colleagues, while mostly human, were far from incompetent. They could be trusted to at least begin the investigation.

When Willow suggested dinner, Maxim gave a weary sigh and rubbed a hand over his forehead as if staving off a headache. "I would be grateful for the break. We can keep him close for now, and split the night in half. Thank you." A person's pride could insist on independence, on being 'strong' by insisting on doing everything himself, but he knew well enough that one of the keys to leadership was allowing his pack to work together, to care for them and to allow them to care for him. Anything else was futile preening, trying to make oneself feel more important.

After a pause, Maxim looked past them at the mostly open door to his apartment. "Oscar." He muttered with a roll of his eyes. "I'd wanted to tell him myself. Would you mind running interference while I check on Simon?"

The quick footsteps on the stairs were what had tipped him off, faster than most adults bothered to go but heavier than the children. Aether and Simon, being their youngest 'adults' and sharing multiple experiences involved with surviving trauma, had become fast friends upon their introduction, and it was no surprise that the young wolf would come quickly upon learning that something had happened. The music from upstairs had likely covered the noise of their entrance, leaving only Oscar and the children left over as the source of the information leak.

As predicted, Aether burst through the doorway a moment later and came to a stop just inside the apartment, eyes darting quickly back and forth to take in Kalen and Willow's presence, and Maxim walking away towards Simon's closed door. He made as if to follow and only stopped when Kalen was physically in his way, stepping back to glare up at the man and make only one furious sign. Why. He wanted to see his friend, and couldn't make sense of why he wouldn’t be allowed to.

"Stay with Kalen and Willow, Aether." Maxim instructed coolly even as he knocked on Simon's door. "I’ll let you see him soon."

If something had happened to Simon, Maxim knew nothing would stand in his way. He was younger and smaller than Maxim or Kalen, but his beast of a father had put him through an intense sort of training as he grew up. Maxim was rather sure that if he weren't the alpha, and if Aether really wanted to, the kid could probably kick his ass. Thankfully, after all he'd been through, he didn’t truly want to hurt anyone.

Instead, Aether only signed at them again, a more subdued but equally frustrated Ridiculous. He had to trust that Maxim would tell him if Simon were in danger, but if someone didn't tell him what had actually happened soon he was going to find a way around Kalen no matter what their alpha instructed.

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"-Trying…" muttered the broad male, but did take the suggested breath to cool his heated temper before it wished to go rampant. There'd obviously been enough trouble tonight and he didn't seek to add to it. For a moment Kalen would need to stew in his thoughts, venting out the anger inwardly while cinches in taut skin and twitching in certain muscles expressed the potent emotion of frustration. All the while Willow's attempts were anything but futile. Her soft stroking fingers managing to calm the quiver that ran beneath his skin in a restless manner.

After a moment of quiet and an audible sigh later, a hand that pushed back loose tendrils of his hair reached to claim her hand after. His large mitt enclosed over her smaller one, cradling it sweetly. Tenderly. "Alright, Maxim." Now wasn't a time to question their leader. His friend. Instead he relied on the trust they held between and assumed that if the man wanted help, he would as for it. Though it wouldn't keep Kalen from being a nosy ass because that was just his nature. He would butt and nudge till the very end just to make sure his friend wasn't taking on more than he could chew. An alpha was only as strong as the pack's ability to support him after all… he wasn't about to shirk his sense of loyalty even if he risked Maxim's irritability toward him.

But would it kill the guy to ask for help once in awhile? Always had to make it such a pain in both of their behinds…

And as though Maxim could read his thoughts, he seemed to back down a smallest bit. The facade that sometimes stood as stubborn and unwavering as a well-built brick wall. He'd have to give the credit to Willow. Her sweet and tender nature was what broke through his own assery after all. Beyond turning into a creature with fluffy tail, fangs, and claws, it seemed as though she had another unique ability to diffuse situations and soften people's hearts. Kalen offered a squeeze of her hand to silently voice his appreciation for her.

"Whatever you need," Willow offered with a hopeful smile lifted to be shown to both boys. Though ears would twitch - figuratively or perhaps literally - when there was the sound of more footsteps. Oh boy. Kalen nearly grumbled the words out loud as Maxim finished speaking, already guessing who would be lingering behind. Sure enough, here came another to join the party that wasn't so merry. "I got him." Kalen withdrew his hand from Willow's, barely having even turned around before one branch of an arm drew outward to catch the smaller male before he could go past. A barricade though he didn't look to start grabbing the lithe male - that never went well with upset individuals. He had to learn that the hard way.

At the very least the words of the alpha were left to linger, likely keeping the situation from escalating. If the scowl on the boy's face didn't adequately express his displeasure, then the very firm sign would have been enough. A curt folding of fingers over palm to demand an explanation of why he couldn't go see his friend.

"You.. know- why." Words were spoken as his hand formed the adequate signs. He wasn't an expert by any means, but he's learned. Just his hands never seemed to work the way they were supposed to. So the signs came, but at a slower pace. "You know… better than anyone." Promptly his arms were crossed over his chest then, keeping eyes on the smaller male for he could be a slippery one. Damn near felt like he couldn't blink without Aether slinking past to do what he was asked not to do.

"It'll be okay, Aether." Fingers formed an 'o' with the rest fanning out. Okay. Things would be okay. As Kalen stood in front of Aether, Willow came around to gently ease her hands upon his shoulders. "I'm sure Simon will be happy to see you." Just as he always was. Practically inseparable. It was quite sweet actually. "Are you hungry too? Kalen is making dinner."

"I'm gonna have to go out and buy a damn turkey at this rate. Might as well feast like it's Thanksgiving." Kalen's lips quirked in tease, reaching out to nudge Aether on the upper arm. An affectionate little bump. "C'mon. Maxim will come get you when Simon's ready for company." Better to keep the mind occupied than let it stew in silence. And food was one of those things that always made for a great distraction.
 
For a moment, Aether stood very tense, eyes shifting over and past Kalen as he quickly plotted a path through. Kalen was taller, bigger, and stronger than him, but it would make him predictable. If Aether were to dodge right, the older wolf would try to grab him around the shoulders or middle to restrain him, so all he would have to do was immediately twist and duck, then dart out of reach. A hop over the back of the couch would get him easily across the room before he could be stopped. But then, he would just end up at Simon's door with Maxim in his way at the bottleneck, and everyone would be disappointed that he hadn’t listened.

He did trust the alpha, it was just the lack of detail was what was killing him. He knew something had happened to Simon, that Maxim had carried him in and there was blood which didn’t belong to the human, but he didn’t know what and it was going to drive him up a wall. He stood stiffly but without taking away his own maneuverability by crossing his arms to mirror Kalen, leg tapping a rapid, impatient rhythm against the floor before his eyes started to follow Kalen's hands. Aether wasn't deaf, so it wasn’t necessary for the other man to sign at him, and he knew it was sometimes difficult for Kalen to do so, so the gesture did a lot towards soothing his frustration. The reminder of all the effort Kalen and the others went through for him, on top of the trust he felt towards them, had the anger gradually fizzling out. Finally, he made a soft tch under his breath and turned his head away from them both, a visible surrender.

Despite every instinct crying out at him to stay, he let Willow's gentle pushes take him out of the apartment, across the hall and into hers and Kalen's. His own apartment was the third located on the bottom floor, so he spent a decent amount of his time in theirs when he didn't feel like going upstairs. He adored Oscar's children, like they all did, but some days he just wanted to be with adults.

Is there enough? He signed when they had walked in and he could face them again without looking like he was trying to make a run for it, hands moving more slowly than they might for Maxim - or the children, who had soaked up the skill like little information sponges - to make himself easier to understand. I can bring something from my place. Anyone that cooked usually made a lot, for wolf appetites and for frequent visitors, but he had to ask. If he was going to have to be babysat, he may as well make himself useful.


When Simon called softly to give him permission to enter, Maxim found him sitting on the edge of his bed, in soft sleep pants and a hoodie that had probably at one point in time belonged to Maxim or Kalen, given how it dwarfed him. He didn’t ask if Simon was all right, as it was clear he wasn’t, just asked after his injuries and allowed for simple yes and no answers when it was clear Simon didn't feel like speaking much. It didn’t take long to check on the scrapes and bruises he’d gained from being tossed to the ground, and Maxim had them clean in short order.

"Let's go and eat with the others," he urged when the task was done, a gentle hand guiding Simon to his feet despite the boy's clear hesitance. "Aether is worried. You can play a game with him while dinner is cooking."

No one would understand feeling non-verbal like Aether would, and Willow could keep them calm and soothed - until her desire to win took over, and then hopefully she would at least be entertaining for them. Perhaps later on Maxim would allow Simon to hide, but for now it was a time to be together with their pack, where he was safe. Human or not, Simon was part of their family.
 
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Oh, there was plenty. Kalen didn't manage to get so big by feeding on scrapes, that's for sure. So he often made a lot when he cooked. Putting away any extras for snacks and lunches to keep them well-fed. Especially since Willow did a lot of her work from home, liking to ensure she was taken care of so he didn't have to worry so much about her. It was certainly helpful on days when spontaneity got the best of them. If Oscar had to be whisked away on business or if Aether was feeling lonesome. She was like the designated back up and was always happy to be so. Although just a stray like everyone else when they'd met her, it appeared she had every wish to be apart of a family. Clear that her compassionate nature made her perfect for looking after the place while the rest of them had to go work. Including Maxim and Kalen, because it always seemed like something was going on in the city that required the use of the special force.

At his rate they were going to have to expand the department, cause they couldn't continue to be ran so ragged!

Either way, Kalen assured Aether that there was going to be plenty of food and to just go park his butt on the couch with Willow to chill. He made sure to turn down his music a bit from the kitchen while Willow put in a different game that would keep the both of them sufficiently entertained. Though they didn't get too far into it before their attention was being pulled toward the door.

"Hey, come on in guys," Willow supplied in her usual sweet tone. Promptly scooting over and giving a pat to the couch to invite Simon over. "Come take a load off. Kalen's just finishing dinner." Rather than acknowledge that there was an incident… it was much better to just pretend everything was as normal. Not that this was common, but they'd seen the way Simon could get with his spurts of PTSD. Whether it be a noise or visual that triggered him or even a nightmare while he slept, it left him a bit messed up in the aftermath. In which it was always best to just let him be silent until he recovered and he wanted to talk.

"No need to worry about your shoes, buddy." Kalen supplied from over in the kitchen, mashing some cooked potatoes in a bowl till they were perfect buttery fluff. Not that potatoes were super nutritious but damn were they good. Kalen lowered his eyes then to focus on the cooking, just so he didn't stare. And so Simon couldn't so easily tell how much it frustrated him to see the guy in such a state of disarray again. It shouldn't of happened… Kalen put the brunt of his frustration on mashing the potatoes.

"Wanna play, Simon..?" Willow asked when he was making the slow shuffle over guided by Maxim. She made sure to give him plenty of room on the couch, since they all knew touching never really panned well when he was like this. Even if all she wanted to do was give him a great big hug. "Here, take my controller. You can play with Aether," she offered.

Kalen would wait for the three to be sufficiently distracted so he could beckon Maxim over with a little jerk of his head. "Want a drink?" he asked of which he was going to a cupboard to grab a crystal stout glass for himself. Sure as hell that he needed one. Whether or not Maxim agreed, he'd take that glass, clink a couple ice cubes in, and snatch a pretty looking bottle from a cupboard up top above the fridge. Pretty stocked too. Not that he ever went real hard at drinking, but with some of the shit they saw in their job, it was a must to have something at home to aid in calming his nerves when he got off of work. A cork was pulled and he poured a generous amount of the amber liquid at the bottom of his cup.
 
Aether's attention left the game the second Maxim led Simon into the room, and though he managed to fight down the urge to stand his expression was one of pained sympathy as he looked at them. His friend was hurting, in ways that felt jarringly familiar, and he wanted desperately to do something about it even though he didn’t really know what.

Simon was moving slowly, his usual slight limp more pronounced - phantom pains had curled tightly around his leg, despite lacking any new injury - but he was letting Maxim push him forward without protest. The space between Willow and Aether opened up, and for a moment he hesitated a bit at the idea of letting anyone look at him knowing that they knew how he'd behaved. As it normally did, that feeling gradually gave way to the idea of being surrounded by people that would always protect him, and he stepped carefully over Aether's feet to lower himself gingerly into the space Willow had left for him.

He didn’t have the energy to move his hands enough for signing, wanting nothing more than to curl into a tight ball and not move, but he accepted the controller automatically when it was handed to him, and after a long moment of looking at it reached up to slowly push the hood down off of his head so he could more easily see Aether in his peripheral. Blocking off his sight to someone who signed felt akin to covering his ears when someone tried to talk to him.

". . . What are we playing?" He asked very quietly, his voice as weak and trembling as the rest of him, but he knew they would always hear him.

Aether sat up straighter to quickly explain what game it was and what level they were on, doing his best to move past the concern and let Simon move on as if nothing bad had happened, until the moment he felt like talking about it. Once he'd explained, he set Simon's controller back in his hands again and jabbed an almost accusatory finger in Willow's direction. Now help me beat her high score. She's been on the throne too long.

Simon managed a little smile, at least, even if Aether thought it didn’t fully reach his eyes, and nodded for them as he settled his grip around the controller. "I'll try not to hold you back."

Maxim followed Kalen to the kitchen as soon as he was settled, confident in Willow and Aether's ability to cater to Simon's needs, or else to get his attention if they needed anything. He watched them as Kalen moved around for a moment, leaning on the counter and debating on whether or not it was a good idea before eventually just heaving a sigh and giving in.

"Yeah, why not." He murmured, pinching the bridge of his nose and taking a deep, slow breath to relax. "Thanks."

When he had the drink in hand, he took a small, careful sip, and sighed at the feeling of it sliding down his throat, afterwards resting the glass against his head as if fighting off a headache. "I'll take first shift, tonight," he said after a pause, if only because he knew it would be best to ease Simon into physical contact again with him before passing him off to the others where he would be more crowded. "What time to do you want me to wake you?"

It was better that they split the night rather than having only one of them not sleep at all, Maxim thought, and after a moment he gave a small, wry smile. "I think he and Aether will be a package deal." It was fine. Their beds were always big enough for crowding more people in, and when Simon was done feeling self conscious he would be happy to be kept safe.
 
Kalen's eyes kept shifting toward the trio on the couch as he mulled about the kitchen. Occasionally opening up the lid of the crockpot to check on the dish and then doing the same with the tins in the oven. A prod of a fork here or a light tapping of fingerprints there. All actions that were muscle memory at this point for how long he's been the cook of the house. Well… apartment. With sometimes a few added guests from their pack.

"It's not a fix all, but damn, it helps," the larger male smirked in a way that didn't seem so mirthful. Empty and a bit bitter, rather, just like the drink. After pouring Max's glass, he kept it out on the counter, just in case either of them would need a refill. It was that kind of night.

Kalen grunted the offer of thanks. His shortened response without words that it wasn't necessary. A simple drink seemed like the least he could do for how much Maxim has aided him in the past. It was a volley back and for that at this point to make sure the both of them kept heads straight upon their shoulders and sanity within their skulls.

"You sure?" Kalen asked as the timer went off for one of the tin's in the oven, which he went to the beck and call of. Snagging a mitt to house upon his hands while the smell of sweet bread as well as something buttery and hearty hitting his nose pleasantly. "I can take first shift. Not to be a dick or anything, but you look like shit." And by that, he meant exhausted. The guy was practically a workaholic with how much he was at the station. What happened tonight wasn't exactly going to lighten his load. "Otherwise, maybe around midnight or one? I'll snooze an hour or so after we eat and that would be plenty of shut eye for me." Especially since he wasn't the one that was at the PD today.

"That's to be expected at that point." The lycan chuckled mildly and settled the hot pan upon the stovetop, letting it cool while he turned back about to eyeball Maxim like he was a customer at his personal bar with woes to speak of. Kalen was merely missing the absent polishing of a glass via a white cloth. "Maybe you should take a day off or something. It would be nice for Simon too. You know how he gets." Not that he couldn't be on the scene to help, but Simon responded the best to Maxim. Aether as well.
 
As much as he would always want and need to engage with his pack, it was also oddly comforting for Maxim to stand still and simply watch over them. He stayed leaned against the counter, holding his glass against his forehead for a bit as he observed, mostly out of Kalen's way but with the two of them so used to each other it was easy for him to shift left or right in anticipation of Kalen's need to be where he was standing. From the kitchen, Maxim could relax with his most trustworthy packmate in his peripheral, and his most needy across the apartment in full view. There was very little of the usual commotion, but Simon had come out of his room and agreed to play a game, so it was progress enough to soothe his worry some.

"If you say things like that while making that face," Maxim murmured, looking sidelong at Kalen around his own hand and the cool glass pressed to his skin, "I might be inclined to worry."

He was only partially joking, but it was also not really a reprimand either. Despite knowing Kalen would help him watch after their patchwork family, he also trusted that the other man would come to him if he worried so much he needed to drink often. Maxim believed in cooperation and mutual support as the key to their strength as a whole, but he was also still Alpha. His pack's health and safety were his responsibility, and he would shoulder whatever it was they needed him to no matter how tired or stressed he might be on his own. If he hadn’t always been inclined to be that way, he would probably never have gathered all his city strays to his side in the first place. He wouldn't give them up for anything.

When Kalen spoke frankly about his appearance, Maxim only gave a faint, amused little chuckle. "I can always count on you to be honest," he said fondly, but gave his head a little shake anyway and finally lowered his glass to take another drink. "I'll be all right for a few hours of babysitting duty. It’s best for them to stay with me for a little while." The first hour or two of lying in bed, awake or asleep, would be the hardest as far as keeping away unwanted memories went. If Simon was going to have nightmares, or be unable to sleep, Maxim wanted to know on the off chance he had to be with the young human himself for the whole night.

After a long pause, Maxim finally gave a little sigh and pulled his phone from his pocket. "You're right. I suppose a day off won’t kill me." The attacker's trail wouldn't truly get colder than it was already, and Kalen was more right than Maxim wanted to admit. As much as his work helped protect their kind as a whole, his own pack still needed him and, in this instance, to a degree that demanded they take priority. He would just request to be updated on anything important from the agents working the next day, and would let them know he would be home taking care of Simon for the time being.