Impulse Mission

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Kinny beamed. "Well, that's why I came." Pride swelled in his chest. If he was lucky, everything would go smoothly, and he could present his aunt with new allies. But that would be later. His ears could hear the thrum of engine and bass and he looked toward the source of the sound, but couldn't see through the wall. The windows shook as the sound came closer, and Kinny lifted his hands toward his ears, only to stop, a grimace marring his child-like features for a moment before he forced himself to try and block it out.

"They're uh... energetic." He forced a grin as he saw them skateboard past the window. At least the music and engine had stopped, though their voices hadn't, and the rumble of wheels on what he assumed was gravel or concrete raked at his ears. He couldn't bring himself to say anything against people he hadn't met yet, though, not when they didn't appear to be malevolent.
 
"They certainly are something," Ajax replied, shanking his head.

"Oh, be nice, Ajax. They're good kids."

"Don't let them hear you say that. Their egos are inflated enough as it is."

The three young adults came into the kitchen area, as noisy as ever, but stopped abruptly in mid-conversation when they saw that there was a stranger in the house. The one in the lead, a tall, broad-shouldered young man with shoulder-length black hair pulled back into a messy ponytail, spoke first. "You didn't tell us we were having company, old man," he said with a slight eastern European accent. A mischievous grin spread across his handsome face when Ajax visibly bristled at his 'endearment'. The other two burst into laughter and ran to get sodas out of the fridge and avoid any of Ajax's wrath.

Trying his best to disguise his irritation, Ajax smiled and gestured to the three newcomers. "Kinny, this charming young man is Viktor. He and his companion over yonder, Ronnie, are our two resident werewolves. The young lady is Caryn, and a selkie. They've just returned from a trip to the coast, as Ronnie and Caryn were in a surfing competition."

Caryn took the opportunity to gleefully muss Ronnie's blonde hair and proclaim, "and I totally kicked his ass! I got a trophy!" She brought her soda over to the table and pulled a chair up next to the stranger. "So, you're Kinny?" she asked, running a tan finger around the lip of her soda can. "Nice t' meetcha."
 
Kinny's eyebrows lifted at the blatant disrespect, and nodded at the introductions. "Viktor, Ronnie, Caryn. Nice to meet you." He smiled. Kinny himself looked like he was either the same age or a tall younger, especially with his youthful face that looked like it couldn't hold a single hair on its chin. He could feel his nose tissue growing full, and switched it out, shoving the used into a pocket quickly.

"A surfing contest, though. That sounds like a lot of fun. Congrats on your win, Caryn." His smile grew into a grin. "Closest I've been to surfing was trying to surf off my family's barn roof. I hope surfing in water is safer I broke my spine in two places, both my legs, and one arm." The fact he was standing at all now was a testament to Hunter healing. His parents made many, many new rules after his childhood, teen years, and even the adventures he'd managed after recently becoming an adult, to the shock of his parents, given his many brushes with death from conception until now.

They didn't know he was...

Kinny yanked his mind from that. If anyone here could read minds, and if his protections went down, that would be a problem.

Already Viktor annoyed him a lot, but it wasn't his place to judge them. They weren't hurting anyone; they were just obnoxious.
 
Caryn laughed and jerked a thumb in Kinny's direction, looking over at the boys. "This is my kinda guy! Sounds like he likes to live dangerously!" She tucked a stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear and grinned at him, and her deep brown eyes (which seemed a little disproportionately large for her face) reflected her good humor. "Are you gonna hang around here for a bit, or are you just visiting? There's plenty'a rooms, if you're staying! Ajax even keeps a whole bunch of 'em decorated different ways so that guests can pick one that makes 'em happy!" She leaned closer to Kinny and whispered conspiratorially, so that the boys wouldn't hear her. "Jaxxy's actually pretty cool, even if he is a stick in the mud."

"I heard that, Caryn."

"Shhhhhhhhhhoooooosh, you didn't hear nothin', Jaxxy," she said, waving a finger in Ajax's face.

Ajax rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, Caryn. I'm glad to hear you all had a good time in California, but Louis, Kinny, and I were having an important meeting, so if you wouldn't mind..."

Caryn flashed Kinny a knowing look. "Told ya. Stick in the mud. But! I know when I'm not wanted," she said, tossing her hair dramatically over her shoulder. "If anyone needs me, I'll be in my room."

As she got up from the table and headed for the door, Ronnie quickly followed. Around a mouthful of potato chips he'd grabbed from the snack cabinet, he said, "Hey! Best two outta three, Mortal Kombat, Caryn?"

Viktor hovered in the doorway for a moment, having a silent staring contest with Ajax. After a few moments, which seemed much longer than they actually were, he grinned and turned to leave.

"Behave yourself, would you, Viktor?"

"Я всегда делаю," he replied cheekily, just before he vanished around the corner.

Ajax stared after him silently for a moment, then closed his eyes and tilted his head up to the ceiling, as if to ask the heavens 'what have yuo sent me?' "I don't know what I'm going to do with that boy."
 
Kinny waited until he could no longer hear Viktor's footsteps, and he felt his bleeding let up some. "Win when he challenges you for dominance, I'd say." Kinny shook his head with a grin. "Where I'm from, at least, young wolves without a pack struggle when they find one until they know their place, and then they find some peace." He paused. "It sounds a lot worse than it is. Wolves are just hard-wired for knowing their place in life, the types I've been around. It may not be the same for all of them in all worlds, though." His eyebrows lifted, and he puckered his lips to one side as he thought a moment.

"That was probably assuming too much, wasn't it? I'm sorry." He resumed his grin and bowed his head briefly. "Mama and Dad always tell me I meddle too much."

He resisted the urge to stretch as he looked at Ajax and Louis, eager to continue their earlier conversation.
 
Louis leaned out of his seat and slid a small trashcan nearer to Kinny. "You didn't seem terribly distressed, and I didn't want to point it out in front of les enfants terrible, but are you all right, Kinny?"

"And you certainly aren't meddling, Kinny. That's probably a very astute assumption. It's also entirely possible that he's just a troublemaker, though," Ajax said with a sigh. "He's always causing havoc around here. Or, rather, coming up with harebrained schemes and tricking Ronnie into causeing havoc on his behalf. They aren't bad kids, though. Annoying, but not bad."

He took a sip of his tea, then pulled a face, as it had become cold. "Oh, for goodness' sake. Would anyone else like more tea? Or, well, I suppose it is about lunchtime now. Since we've already been interrupted, shall we take a break for lunch?"
 
The Hunter nodded. "Yes, thank you. It's a... defense mechanism." He removed the tissue from his nose and inserted another. It looked goofy, but he assumed he'd bleed for the entire time he was here, unless he went for a shopping trip away from everyone. He'd either adapt to the locals, or he'd finish and go home in that time. He didn't mind either option, honestly.

He was glad to hear that Ajax didn't think he was meddling, and nodded as he mentioned that the kids weren't bad, just annoying. That much was good to hear. He didn't like to think of anyone, least of all kids, as evil. Some people just needed to be reminded how to get along with others.

Lunch? "Oh! Yes please." He grinned, even as he reminded himself not to eat his allies out of house and home. He decided he would watch them and eat as much as they did, roughly. "I'll eat pretty much anything!" He paused, then chuckled. "That's a food, I mean. I'm not picky."

Was he presuming too much? He hoped not. He would have to eat at every opportunity he could without depriving the others, if he was going to last without his stomach rumbling in protest every minute or so.

"Would you like some help?" He offered almost automatically as he started to rise from his seat.
 
"Sure, if you'd like," Ajax said. He smiled mildly and gathered the teacups from the table, depositing them in the sink.

"Don't let him fool you, Kinny," Louis chuckled. "He loves to cook, and he loves to have helpers. He would make a fine chef de cuisine, if he weren't already occupied."

"Shh, Louis. Mysterious professionnels vampire d'affaires ne sont pas passe-temps," he said, failing to hide his amusement. "But, yes, Kinny. I would be delighted to have you cook with me. What would you be in the mood for? My father is Greek, and my mother French, so my culinary expertise has a wide range."

As he spoke, he opened a door to the left of the stove and gestured for Kinny to look inside. It was a pantry, the size of which could have amply accomodated the costume department of a large theater troupe. There was a trapdoor in the floor, currently closed, which suggested a root cellar. At the back of the room were two large chest freezers and a standing cooler. One wall was covered in dry goods, the other in produces which didn't require refrigeration and cured meats.
 
Kinny nearly blurted that he'd like something Italian, but quickly stopped himself. Some vampires had a harsh garlic allergy, and like hell he'd want to offend or hurt his hosts. "I'm not terribly picky." He grinned as he followed Ajax into the pantry, then whistled as he looked around. "Wow. I feel better eating here now. Not very likely to eat you poor." He spoke in a hushed voice as he looked around. "Even my parents don't have a pantry this stocked."

Mostly, that was because they had multiple Hunters to feed, and his family naturally had huge appetites.

He looked around, dark blue eyes alight with possibilities. His first idea was sous-vide steaks, but that would take far too long for lunch, at 1-6 hours. His mind churned towards other steak possibilities as his mouth watered. Steak was more of a dinner thing, though, so he kept his words away from steak for the time being. "Maybe some fish?" He didn't think there were any alps present to be bothered by lemon. Fish was easy, and usually cooked in very little time.
 
"Fish sounds wonderful, Kinny!" Ajax said, his mind immediately cycling through all of the various wonderful fish recipes he knew. "But what to make..."

"Ajax, we could do some sort of poisson en papillote. That should be quick and easy enough for lunch," Louis said, standing in the doorway. He watched Kinny peruse the shelves with a look of awe and wonder on his face, and grinned. "I think he's impressed."

Ajax chuckled and shook his head as if to indicate that there wasn't really anything to be impressed with. On the underside of on of the pantry shelves there was a small, fold-out counter, which Ajax used for gathering his ingredients. He pulled it out and began placing a variety of things from the nearby shelves on it. He was never sure exactly what he wanted to make until the dish was made, but Louis' suggestion was a good jumping-off point.

Kinny had mentioned "eating them poor" so Ajax could safely assume the boy had a voracious appetite, which he was more than prepared for, since he fed his resident young wolves on a regular basis and they could nearly eat their weight in food. Without even looking at what he was doing, he stood on his tiptoes to grab a roll of parchment paper down from the top shelf. That would be necessary for making the 'papillotes' in which they would cook the fish.

The fish... But what kind to use?

"Kinny, do you prefer whitefish, or something fattier, like a salmon or tuna? I should have plenty of both. For whitefish, I believe we have quite a bit of sea bass, and I think I still have some mahi-mahi."
 
Kinny beamed. "We usually go through food too fast at my house to have this much there at once." His wide smile refused to falter as he looked around, eyes bright.

"My biggest preference is edible, but given the choice, I really like salmon, but I haven't tried a lot of white fish, and I don't think I've ever had mahi-mahi, so... Can we have that? Mahi-mahi, I mean?" He watched Ajax and helped him reach anything that looked beyond his grasp, eager to help as his stomach spoke tales of starvation, despite the fact he had two huge bowls of cereal that morning, plus six eggs, half a pound of bacon, and several pieces of buttered and jam-slathered toast before his dad shooed him from the kitchen so the others in the house could eat something 'before my Hunter child eats the whole cupboard'.

He absently licked his lips, expression shifting slowly from awe to hunger at all that was present in the pantry.
 
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