When the Alpha's away the Wolves will play

[zozee9]

Zeina, as always, had a hard time reading the Lone Wolf's aura. It was as if he felt two different things at once. Usually when people were conflicted over something, the two colors mixed together to form a different color. But with Kassom, there were two colors that formed swirls around each other. It was pretty to look at but unsettling to never quite know what he was feeling.

At this time, one of the auras was a deep blue worried color while the other was red. It seemed as if Kassom was planning something. Zeina's attention was diverted back to the conversation going on when he mentioned the Gold Jackal. That was someone she knew well. But the fact that the Lone Wolf wanted to talk to him was not something she was suspecting.

Zeina listened as Kui talked rudely about Vent, looking calm on the outside but scorning her on the inside. True, Kui didn't know about Gaze's... hinderance and weakness wasn't looked well upon in the pack, but it still was unacceptable to talk about Vent like that. Partially to get on Kui's nerves and partially because she was curious, Zeina spoke to Kassom.

"I might be able to arrange a meeting with Vent for you, depending on the situation" Zeina calmly slipped into the conversation once Kui finished her b****ing. While there was a possibility she could arrange for the Lone Wolf to actually meet with Gaze, she wasn't planning on checking. The Lone Wolf wasn't the most trustworthy one out there and Gaze probably wouldn't agree to the meeting, anyway. "What do you need to talk to him for?"

[kleineklementine]

Jack gave Kui an obligatory pat on the thigh. Must she really control everything, even his piece? And when she was such a tease. He wondered how necessary she'd really be in the future. But for now he focused his attention on Kassom.

"Relying on Zahi is the same as relying on the guild," he remarked offhandedly. Lone Wolf indeed. What was he playing at? Jack realized that his tone was getting a little cold and took the display between Alko, Vex and Spot to lighten the mood. He chuckled, genuinely, at poor Vex. "Ah, he's a good kid," he said to Kassom's compensation remark. The he added, to vex Kui, "And that Spot is a pretty little thing. Alko might be on to something."

At one point, Jack had only been a charming and trustworthy member of the Wolves. It was why he was Beta. And for a moment, laughing at the two young wolves, he remembered that. But the arrival of the face changer had changed all of that. Jonathan Amsel could tell which way the wind was blowing, whether he wished it or not. He wouldn't end up on the wrong side.

He let Kui and Zeina answer the inquiries about the Gold Jackal for him. Convenient enough. Jack had just been calling his bluff. Let one of these two beauties deal with him. But for now he wanted to continue to play his angle. There was no reason to keep the Lone Wolf around After, so let him fall with that odd-eyed Jackal. "Apparently he got a tip on a gem from Zahi," he answered Zeina's question. She'd been around longer than him and she should hear the lie in this statement without him needing to emphasize it. "Apparently it's dried up. He was hoping Akello could help him out,but as we all know, she's scarce these days. So I told him he'd get farther with the Gold than the Red."



"Oh ho, Vex Idrian," Spot laughed, "now who says you'll be rubbing anything off anywhere, huh?" Spot flopped back down in her chair and raised her eyebrows, smirking at the Omega.

But she couldn't help but frown when he asked about "life in the Shadows." Did he know? Was she that sloppy? Well, he might only know that she was a Shadow Wolf. That'd be okay, maybe. Or maybe he was in Rufus's confidence? Maybe she could actually say something to him. After all, he seemed the most trustworthy of everyone here except Alko, for whatever that was worth. Alko... Hm. Spot put the ideas aside for now. She'd have to wait to act on either of them.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean," she answered airily. "I'm just a thief same as you. Not that I wouldn't mind the promotion. Well, not the same as you. You have that pretty badge. All I've got is my looks," she grinned. Then added, more eagerly, "And you have this fancy knife!"  Uninvited, she reached out and picked it up, admiring the jewel encrusted hilt and glittering blade.

"That's pretty good work, you know," she told him admirably, not joking for a change. "'No mess,' that is how it's done. Seems like there's too much mess lately." She paused just long enough to see how Vex would react to that before finishing, "What with this nasty cat business and all. Well, lots not get all grim thinking about that and our lofty company," she threw an exaggerated look to the four at the bar, then picked up her glass. "Here's to you, Vex, and your beautiful, er, knife!"

OOC:  iPad = so many ridiculous typos! D:

[TheHighwayman]

"Didn't mean anything by it," Vex said and shrugged. "Just trying to be poetic, is all." Well, he had meant something by it. The young man wasn't exactly sure Spot was in the Shadow Wolves, per say, but he had his suspicions. Suspicions that weren't helped by her reaction. Not that the thief really cared who did what job anyway- he made it a point to keep his nose as clean as a thief could keep it, he didn't have anything to hide from the other wolves. It was just useful to know as much as he could.

When the girl mentioned messes, he rolled his eyes. "Tell me about it. It seems to me some of the Wolves are a bit too good at killing people. Becomes a lazy shortcut that makes life harder on the rest of us when the guard gets doubled or traders paranoid. No finesse." The more... extravagant approach some of his coworkers tended to take had always been a peeve of his. Not only was it clumsy and bad for business, but Vex had never had the heart or stomach for killing. He'd threatened to, been willing to in one or two really tight spots, but never actually had killed anybody in his life.

Raising his glass, he grinned. "And to more jobs like it in the future, I hope. You know, you strike me as pretty reliable. I hear a lot of things here and there, got plenty of ideas for profit. Sometimes a bit easier to pull off with a partner. If you'd ever be interested, of course." Ordinarily the Omega preferred to work on his own- schemes were easier when some of the -ahem- less cautious of the Wolves weren't around to cause a ruckus, but he had regretfully had to pass up golden opportunities before just because one man with a bucketful of tricks wasn't quite enough to get the job done.

Taking a sip and setting the glass back down, he snapped his fingers and his outfit changed colors- now a deep red and orange. To anyone watching, it would appear to just be him showing off, but it was really because he'd had the other illusion active for quite a while, and it was getting harder to maintain... an aspect of his magic he figured there was no profit in revealing at present. "Besides," he added with an overdramatic sigh. "Sometimes it gets lonely being this amazing by myself."

[zozee9]

A smile spread across Zeina's face as Jack explained to her why Kassom wanted to speak to the Gold Jackal. Zahi tipped him off about a gem? That was the most foolish lie she had heard in a long time. Clearly Jack understood that too, based on the color of his aura. Either the Lone Wolf didn't know Zahi very well or he was lying in hopes of being caught. Either way, Zeina wanted to play this out and see what happened.

Her smile grew even more enthusiastic when she replied, "Oh! Why didn't you just say so? I'm sure Gaze would be more than happy to help you find the gem. After all, it must be worth a fortune. I'll call for Vent for you as soon as I'm able." Both Vent and Gaze would unquestionably hear the lie in the statement. After all, they were her first kids. Gaze was loyal to Zeina so she knew that whatever he found out through Kassom would be shared with her... which meant that there was no harm in sending the Lone Wolf his way.

There was a chance that the people at the bar would have questioned Zeina's sudden helpfulness, but most probably would write it off on Zeina being... Zeina. Her personality fluctuated with the situation and it was near impossible to know what she was thinking. And even if one of them figured out any part of her motive, she doubted that person would do anything. Kui didn't know her well enough, Jack was already playing along, and Kassom couldn't complain without revealing he was lying. And Alko usually minded his own business... which was good considering some of the conversations that happened at this bar.

[Nascent]

Kassom nodded, doing his best to give the impression he was paying close attention to the advice the others were giving him about contacting the Shadow Wolves. In reality, at least part of his attentions were elsewhere...

When Alko was next behind the bar he would find a single coin sitting right center in his mixing area, as if silently demanding his attention. He certainly wouldn't remember it as having been there when he went to take Vex's drink over to the far table, and to anyone who happened to glance that way they wouldn't note anything strange about a single stray coin in the bar. It was the fact it was not only in Alko's work area, not only where it shouldn't be, but that it was engraved with script in a daemonic tongue that Ilaelis could now safely assume he was familiar with that was almost certain to draw the barkeep's attention. The demon of metal had a message for the well-informed barkeeper.

On it's showing face: 'Your master beckoned me'.

And on the reverse: 'We must speak'

While Ilaelis was showing the barkeep that he, too, could send phantom messages, Kassom was being directed that he'd hear back from a couple of Wolves named Vent and Gaze. He still wasn't sure who he could really trust... but he liked the way this was playing out so far. If he'd been forced to either stay at the bar or wander the Den until he got the answers he needed... well, there were too many variables. Too many things that could go wrong. Even if he did have good reason to suspect Jack had an angle to play regarding Zahi, what was he going to do? Announce it to the whole bar and get laughed out? Not helpful. The Scavenger Wolves? Now they could be useful. Come what may, it was best to play along with all this for now; maybe Zeina would call him out on the lie once she had him in a position of advantage, but if so that was just as well. Finding Zahi had to start somewhere...

... and something told Kassom that he'd have to deal with Grey and White shadows behind him as he made his inquiries. Whether they knew the Red Jackal's whereabouts already or not.

"I'd certainly appreciate the help." He reached into one of his many pockets and pulled out a small but fat bag of coins, tossing it Zeina's way. "There's more where that came from if you and your helpers help me pull this off. When and where do you want to meet up?"

[Brisinger987]

Torak had already had a bad day. First he had realised he lost record of those contracts, and ripped apart his quarters looking for the contracts. Then Zahi had turned up, and after scolding him and threatening him, told him he could leave the Soot Wolves. She had made him angry. Normally he got frustrated or irritable, but never truly angry. She had the power to do that.

He was in his armour, having stolen it back from the guild, and had his helmet under arm. No wolf questioned him for fear of reprisal from Zahi. But of course, when the conversation he wanted to have was over, he would be working for a different wolf. One that wouldn't irritate him. But, the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to prove her wrong. Prove that he COULD follow her orders explicitly. She had made him angry enough to.

She made him angry, and made him want to prove her wrong, to have a reason to be smug. He was going to prove her wrong. Instead of a different wolf, he would give Zahi the pain of being his superior. And he would show her up, he would make it look like she kicked him out for nothing.

He burst through into the tavern, not in a violent manner, but clearly unsociable. He scanned the room for the beta. And then he saw Jack. He composed himself, pushing his anger to one side.

"Beta Wolf." Torak bowed respectfully.

"I will not pad it up. Me and Zahi had a falling out. I failed to follow orders. She has told me to leave the Soot Wolves." Blunt and honest was exactly how he was going to take this.

"I do not desire to leave. But I did wrong, I disobeyed orders. Rightfully, I should be dead. But, I do not wish to die. I wish to prove myself. I respectfully request to be placed back under your command, as per your position as beta, and power in Rufus' leave. Rufus had ordered to not have me killed as long as I remain a Soot Wolf." Torak waited for his reply.

[Aeytrious]

Kui wasn't a fan of Zeina's, and so she rolled her eyes and took a drink of her delicious drink as the Coyote talked shop with Kassom This was so boring. She wanted to do something more fun, she wanted a fight. Maybe later she'd go out and find some idiot man to lure into an alley and beat unconscious. She licked her lips in excitement at the thought.

As Alko came back around his bar, he grabbed the coin, flipped it in his hand and disappeared it into his sleeve. Nobody knew that his hands were nearly as fast as Theo's but he wasn't gonna blab that secret. People around here didn't think of Alko as a thief. He had never stood out as anything special. He'd been Theo's accessory since boyhood, more like furniture than anything else. People saw him, but paid little attention. He poured some regular ales for the Bloods in the corner. They didn't seem to be in the best of moods. One seemed to be upset that he didn't get picked to go with Rufus. He was Chuck's blade brother, and had been passed over for Sandra, Tegan's blade sister. He'd be glad he hadn't gone, when Sandra didn't return.

As the new waitress, Melyndaria, took the ales from the bar and headed over to the table of Blood Wolves, Torak entered the room. He was back in his tin can, so either he had finally gotten on Zahi's good side, or things were now much worse. Alko was a bit shocked by his declaration, and his candor. But he was impressed with Zahi's cunning. He had only just heard that the Beta had ordered her not to kill him. So instead she threw him out. Looks it was Jack's turn to play.

Kui loved this. A confrontation. But she held in her excitement. As soon as Torak finished, she let out a little giggle. She licked her lips to make them just moist enough and planted a kiss right on Jack's mouth. Then she stood, with grace of a predator, and stepped up to Torak. She adjusted her White Wolf badge, making sure Torak got a good view of her cleavage. "It takes courage to admit you were insubordinate," she walked around Torak, looking him over. "Evidence shows your brain is functioning if you desire to stay, and thus live." She faced him again, and reached out to knock on the chest of his armor, "but do you have heart?" She returned to the bar, and stood beside Jack's stool, where she downed the rest of her alcohol. "What do you think Jackie? Is he worth the time?"

[kleineklementine]

"Oh, but I don't know if I'd be able to keep up my confidence, Vex, if I were working with such a bright and brilliant star of thievery as you," Spot said with feigned seriousness, looking very earnest. "But maybe if I work a bit on my disguises..." Working with both hands, she pulled her long hair forward and mussed it about, loosely tying two thick strands of it around her chin and draping another under her nose. Tada! the 'perfect' beard and mustache. "How's that?" she asked proudly before hair tickling her nose caused her to sneeze. Laughing, she shook her head so her raven hair fell back, roughly, into place.

"Alright," she agreed brightly. "I'd be happy to, Vex. If you think you can find a use for a poor, poorly-disguised, magic-less thing like me," she added after he snap! changed his get up again. "But I'm game for anything that brings in something as pretty as that knife!"

She had opened her mouth to say something about how she'd liked the blue coat better when, of all people, Torak - and in his big metal getup - came striding into the bar. Spot didn't try to hide her surprise and her eyes widened in a combination of anticipation and amusement. "Oh boy," she said, dropping her voice. She nudged Vex under the table with her foot. "Speaking of 'messy...'" she gestured with her eyes to Torak.

Clearly all the Wolves in the bar were watching this now, Spot included. Inwardly, she wondered what this meant. Even when something might seem good, it worried her now. Now that she knew with certainty that there were two - no, three - sides at work. And now that she didn't know, with any certainty, which one she was really helping. It was hard for Spot, who wore her heart patently on her sleeve, to keep it all on the inside, and for a moment or two a worried look darkened her face.

But it didn't last. Spot pulled a face of disgust when Kui flagrantly kissed Jack on the mouth. "Doubly messy," she concluded with a cringe.



Jack let Kassom and Zeina work out their trip to the Gold Jackal themselves. He wasn't sure what Zeina's intentions were, if she would really take him to the Shadow Wolves or not, but for now he was content to let her deal with the Black Wolf. As for himself, Jack would be happy when this whole thing was over. Everything would be easier then.

He had just turned his attention back to the watch the two young Wolves, when the tin-clad Torak stormed into the bar. The Grey Wolf watched the assassin coolly, letting him say his entire piece. Aha. Well, that hadn't been quite what he'd expected out of the Red Jackal. Whatever she might personally think of a situation, she usually followed direct orders. Then again, that's what everyone thought of him, as well. He might need to reconsider his angle there. But, of course, she hadn't actually disobeyed anything. He'd only told her not to kill Torak. And here he was, alive as ever, and his problem now.

He was had just opened his mouth to speak when Kui moved and kissed him. He pushed her off, after a moment, looking annoyed. It was a look that didn't leave as she circled Torak, and certainly not when she called him 'Jackie.' He shot her a look.

Turning his attention back to Torak again, his expression returned to one of cool and relaxed consideration and he let the man wait for several more moments before making any reply. "And your first act after being dismissed was to steal from the Soot Wolves?" he asked, gesturing to Torak's armor, which as far as Jack was concerned became Soot Wolf property the moment Torak had forfeited himself to Rufus and Zahi. "And now you're asking me to directly undermine the decision the Red Jackal? That's not a light matter," he said, though his tone was light indeed. But he made a point of using her title to show what he thought of Torak calling a ranked Wolf by first name. "But you've certainly got balls, Torak, I'll give you that."

Jack took a drink of his beer, finishing it, then asked, "Tell me. Why should I allow you to stay, when you've been told to leave? What do you have to offer the Soot Wolves that the Red Jackal apparently could not see?"

[TheHighwayman]

Vex chuckled at Spot's mock disguise; he knew there was a reason he liked her more than most of the other Wolves. He gave an appraising 'hrmmm', and smirked. "Not bad for a rookie, but I think you might be better off relying on your charm and good looks." When she agreed to work with him, the Omega practically beamed... then he realized he looked somewhat like an idiot and uttered a fake cough. "I don't know about anything as good as the knife, but I've got one or two leads that might come pretty close. I'll tell you about them later though, so nobody here decides to try it first." The illusionist grinned and took another sip of his drink- which he almost spit up as Torak barged in wearing his armor. "What's he up to now?" Vex muttered.

Simply listening in with one arm over the back of his chair, the young man was hardly surprised at the situation. Or at least, he wasn't surprised that Zahi had kicked him out. He'd probably have kicked him out three times over by now, if he were in her shoes. What was surprising was that he was offering the Beta his services, instead of running while he could. "What's he playing at?" Vex muttered.

This couldn't be good. Something was already up around here- the Omega didn't know the who, the how, or the what, but he knew things were even less on the up and up than usual. Torak somehow becoming even more of a loose cannon than usual would only confuse the situation further.

[Brisinger987]

"Unique talents. Allow me my armour, and I am almost invisible. I can operate without it now, thanks to the Soot Wolves. But my armour silences my footsteps, allows me to blend with the shadows, change my voice, absorb magic. Some benefits which no kind of talent other than specialties allow." Torak had considered a lot of what he had to offer. He could give up his assassin life for this job. He WOULD give up his assassin life.

"I can fight. I am excellent in combat. I can record information well, spy on meetings. Charon shares an ability of mine. To blend almost perfectly with shadows." Selling himself to Jack would be the key here. Without Jack, he was stuck. He would seriously have to leave.

"Plus, you said it yourself, I stole from the best thieves guild around, what more is there to say about that?" There was nothing else he could think of. He could bind himself to Jack. Make an unbreakable assassins word. A promise beyond most.

"I can bind myself to you. Make an unbreakable promise that was designed for life debts. It will not end until one of us dies. And the terms are servitude. The bonded makes a life pledge to the bonder." Torak offered this man a perfect tool, a good tool. Hopefully Jack would bite.

[zozee9]

When Kassom offered her a bag of money, Zeina sighed. First Torak, and then Kassom. Was she really dressed so badly that people thought she, the head Scavenger Wolf who probably had more money than any of the other wolves in the bar, needed charity money? Given, the Lone Wolf was paying her for her services. But Torak had told her and her other card game partners to 'split' his gold. She took the money anyway and was just about to reply when Torak walked into the bar.

She watched what happened afterwards with mild curiosity and silence. It really wasn't a surprise that Zahi kicked him out, considering what he had done. Zeina was more surprised that Zahi accepted him in the first place—not that it was her choice. But for that fool to just go up to the Jack and request a position? He was even stupider than she had thought.

But in the pack, it was go big or go home. And it seemed as if the boy wasn't planning on going home. Kui stood up and was her normal disgraceful, slutty self before returning to the bar. That part wasn't very surprising to Zeina. But it did surprise her that Jack offered the boy a chance to prove his worth. And the boy sure tried to do just that.

Nothing the boy said particularly impressed Zeina, but it was clear he was desperate. And perhaps Zahi making the boy leave taught him some respect—the main thing he had been lacking. If he started following pack rules, even Zeina could see potential in the boy.

With another sigh, she turned to Jack. Out of all people to defend Torak, Zeina would probably be the most unsuspected. But that was exactly what she planned to do. "Let him stay," Zeina started, her voice unwavering. "He could be useful." Plus, Rufus had let the boy join the pack even after he killed civilians. That meant Rufus had seen something special in Torak. "I would offer to take control of him myself, but he isn't my type. And by that I mean I don't like ruthless killers... or adults." She paused and turned to Torak, even though she was still speaking to Jack. "He's a Shadow Wolf, let Gage take full control over him."

Then, as an afterthought, she added in, "Though it is suspicious that he hasn't made eye contact with me since we first met." Nobody in the bar knew about her aura seeing skill, and she planned on keeping it that way. But if she was going to vouch for the fool, she wanted to be able to see his emotions. Nobody would think it was odd that she questioned his lack of eye contact—it was thing of respect, if nothing else.

[Nascent]

"Tch. How juvenile."

The comment came from Kassom and was directed at Torak; one look at the Feral's face would make plain that he was both mildly amused and equally unimpressed by the former assassin's overly-formal bluster and forthrightness. He looked at Torak through the shot glass that had held his drink, seeing the grey-eyed killer distorted through it. He then shot a look towards Jack, a telling gaze that was basically another way of saying 'can you believe this joker?'

"Is this what the Wolves do when I'm not here, entertain wanna-be's and upstarts? Feh." He stood, eyes on Torak, taking a measure of him. From anyone else, that kind of insolence wasn't something they could get away with... but he wasn't just anyone. He was, after all, the Lone Wolf -- it was his privilege, and occasionally his duty to act as a dissenting voice to the other higher-ups in the Soot Wolves, a check against the authority and dominance even of the Alpha. Whether Rufus had brought him in to exercise this liberty in a certain way or not, Kassom was nonetheless free to do so.

And here he was, stepping between the Gray Wolf and an arrangement that literally had nothing to do with him. It was a move that took guts, gall, and just a touch of complete irreverence. And at the moment, it was the best move on the table.

"Oh, don't get me wrong -- you're the Beta, you can do with this guy whatever you want. Kill him for breaking the rules, cast him out, make him your right-hand man; doesn't make a tick of difference to me." Kassom shrugged and walked first towards, then in slow circles around, the former assassin, going from addressing Jack to Torak flawlessly.

"You don't know me, wolf, but you're about to. I'm the Black, the Lone Wolf, the head-strong hot-shot solo thief that Rufus inducted when he was looking for someone with the stones to keep him on his toes." Kassom stopped briefly. "I like to think I'm the best there is at what I do -- I know a lot of thieves like to have that opinion of themselves, but not everyone has the skill and audacity to back it up. You probably thought you were damn good too, until the Red Jackal took that fancy suit away from ya and told you to take a hike. I'll bet you don't think so right now though, considering you're practically grovelling at the Gray Wolf's feet."

"So you can fight, and you've got some fancy-pants enchanted gear. I'm not impressed." He leaned in as he spoke, sneering. "Yeah, you've got the look of a killer about you, sure. Maybe you're even good at it. But if you messed up so badly the Red Jackal told you to take a hike I'm guessing there's something fundamental missing with you, something beyond just not following orders. I know your type -- all orders and structure and hierarchies. Heck, you ran right from one leader to another, just stopping long enough to grab your kit."

"But this is a thieves guild, not the freakin' Serenian army. What'd you do before this, wolf? Mercenary? Caravan guard? Were you somebody's knight? Because you know what I see when I look at you?"

By now, Kassom was willing to bet the entire room was watching him berate Torak. His next words would, then, fall with all the resounding force of a hammer. "Not. A. Thief."

Hook, baited. Plan in motion. Now to see how armor-boy and gray would respond. It was time to roll the dice.



(OOC: Please don't take Kassom's insults as a personal attack from me against your character; I have something in mind if you're willing to play along with it. We're all friends here.  :D )

[Brisinger987]

(OOC: I'm game for that Nascent! I will play along))

Torak lost his temper with this man. How adare he insult him? How dare he even try and insult Torak, assassin fatale and Shadow Wolf?!

From his face, Torak had just been told the worst set of insults possible. To him, he had, but to someone who didn't think like Torak, they would see overreaction. Torak was proud, and this man spat on his pride, his achievements.

"Tell me, Black Wolf, how do you measure strength? Do you measure it as physicality, as the ability to hurt, and kill? Or do you measure it like me? I measure strength as the ability to incite fear. True strength comes from respect, and the strongest type of respect, is fear. Not the type of fear that dictates allegiance, but that dictates the cowards. You incite no fear in me. I need to refine, get better. I have no purpose, other than to be better at what I do, be it stealing, killing, or commanding. Give me a task, and I will use it to better myself." Torak stood to full height. He was slight, but height gave him his advantage. The armour was defensive, it bolstered his defensive capabilities.

"Do you know what my armour actually does? Ever looked at the specifications?" Torak put the helmet on, the eyes glowing as the magic course. "It absorbs a limited amount of magical energy, two or three fireballs. It muffles my footsteps..."

Torak mentally willed the most intimidating voice enchantment. "It changes my voice, makes me more intimidating. It weighs nearly nothing to the wearer. It is not something that enhances my teleportation. I could do that with no clothing. My skill with my sword is not augmented. Neither is my skill with a crossbow. Or dagger."

Torak willed himself to teleport, not behind the man, but in front of him. He hand went for the man's throat.

"I was an assassin, a damn good one at that. I attacked 10 shadow wolves at once, and won. I spent 3 days interrogating people to find out how to join this guild. I am trying to earn my place. Prove my use. Not be abused by my superiors. Rufus beat me for killing the Soot Wolf members I did, and it was a poor waste of life." Torak took a breath.

"Anything else you would like to add?"

[kleineklementine]

"Who knows," Spot answered Vex. What was Torak playing at? Spot was beginning to wonder if the man was 'playing at' anything at all, or if he was just rather... unhinged. She watched the scene with wide, unbelieving eyes. Was this really happening? It seemed like a bit much.

Spot scooted her chair closer to Vex, like she might if she were off with a boy at a play or a show. She snorted, audibly, when Torak listed his 'unique talents' in his petition to Jack - and again when he offered to bind himself to the Beta Wolf. "Oh boy," she whispered, leaning in close to Vex, "talk about 'go big or go home.' You think he might be a bit, you know," she made a face and gesture to indicate 'crazy.'

But Torak quickly answered that question himself (as far as Spot was concerned) when he teleported in front of Kassom and went for the man's throat. Spot went tense and without really thinking about it reached out to hold onto the sleeve of Vex's shirt. She did not like the direction that this was taking. As if she weren't rattled enough already! She was rooting for Kassom in this fight, for sure, on principle, but she wasn't so sure about provoking Torak. He might fly completely off the handle. Spot might work for the head of the Blood Wolves, but she had no stomach for violence and avoided fights whenever she could. She thought about asking Vex if he didn't want to get the hell out of here, but she knew she needed to stay. Whatever happened here would certainly be something the Red Jackal would want to hear about.

"Do you think we should, er, do something?"

It might be a dumb question considering how many Wolves, important Wolves, were here, but the whole thing made her rather antsy. Couldn't anything just be easy anymore?

[kleineklementine]

What in Kia's name had Rufus been thinking, letting this maniac into the Wolves in the first place? That was the first thing Jack thought as Torak made his case. Not that it hadn't been an interesting lark, and it had worked out well enough for Jack and Kui. The Blood Wolves hated Torak and were livid that he'd been foisted upon them. Zahi most of all, to be sure, but Torak's presence had unsettled the rest of the Bloods, either to think Zahi was too weak to control him, or that Rufus was unfairly burdening them. At least, that's what Jack heard. Either way, the agitation Torak caused had been very helpful indeed to the Grey Wolf. But Jack couldn't for the life of him imagine how it might have helped the Red.

And now Torak was offering to bind himself to him? No thanks. The last thing Jack needed was to be tied to a maniac for the rest of his life. "I don't think anything that dramatic is necessary," he answered. Then turned to listen to Zeina's thoughts on the matter. That surprised him quite a bit. Normally the Coyote was rather clear-eyed. What did she see in him? Maybe her and Rufus had some clairvoyance that he lacked.

But his aggression towards Kassom was too much. He might not care much about the Lone Wolf, but Torak's behavior was completely out of line and he at least had to look like he was running things for the Guild while Rufus was away. And anyway, even if he didn't really like the Feral, he was beginning to like the assassin much less.

Jack jumped to his feet, hand on the knife at his side. "You're flying dangerously close to the window, Torak," he warned, a hard edge to his voice.

The Blood Wolves in the corner were already on their feet with their weapons drawn, and were already moving over when Jack motioned for them - four in all. The Bloods grabbed Torak roughly away from Kassom, two holding onto each arm. The third aimed a crossbow at Torak's chest, and the fourth roughly pulled off the helmet from the assassin's head and placed his blade to Torak's throat.

"Teleport again, and even if you teleport all the way to Fell, the Soot Wolves will hunt you down and kill you," the Grey Wolf warned. Jack looked to Kassom. He also wanted to know if there was anything else the Lone Wolf wanted to add.

[TheHighwayman]

What a laundry list of crap, Vex thought as Torak went through his whole spiel. The idiot just didn't get it, did he? It wasn't his talent that was in question here, it was his ability to listen. Heck, if the man had half as much in the way of brains as he had in the way of tricks he'd probably have been a contender for some titled rank or other. The Omega rolled his eyes- did he really think that an oath would convince anyone? There was such a thing as honor among thieves, but that didn't mean any thief who lived long expected it. "I think," he whispered to Spot, "that you might be giving him too much credit"

And then Torak went and did it. He actually went and blew it worse! Vex slowly grabbed his knife and summoned up his magic- hopefully he'd practiced enough to pull this off under pressure. For an instant his fancy outfit was gone, replaced with his somewhat shabby street clothes, and then the rest of him followed suit, vanishing into thin air. Vex didn't think Torak would try anything, but then again he'd not expected him to go and fly off the handle on his last ditch effort at staying in the Wolves either. If the man did want to die today, the Omega was going to make sure he wasn't one of those Torak took with him.

Standing up and resting his free hand on Spot's shoulder to let her know he was still there, Vex considered covering her in the illusion as well, but he quickly realized he wouldn't have the strength to maintain it. "Stay back for now," he whispered.

[Echtronis]

Quite out of the blue, the door to Bujari's chambers in far end of the bar had opened, and a young woman, with sandy brown hair and bright, teary blue eyes came out in a hurry, slamming the door shut behind her. She seemed to have been naked, wrapped up in a mess of sheets with a bundle of clothes clenched in her hands. She quickly took notice of the events occurring in the bar, and with a "Oh, Kia!" she quickly trotted away to the halls, barefoot, and hoping that the Commander Coyote didn't see her, especially in tears.

Alko watched her leave, and just shook his head, and went back to wondering if he was going to have to mop up blood off the floor tonight.

[Aeytrious]

Wag had been watching in silence. The Bloods grabbed Torak, and a naked Lapis went running from Bujari's room. Alko watched the girl run with his usual reaction to the seeming endless harem that the Animus had. With a quick nod to Wag the signal was sent. Zahi needed to know things were getting crazy in the Bar, that her Bloods were now involved. Wag sent a hand signal to his hidden Shadow team, and the three dashed off down a corridor to locate Zahi. They would split up at the disguise room. One to head to the Bloods 'crash' room, one to the training rooms, and one to her quarters. Wag himself drew out his padded cudgel and stepped up to stand behind Torak. He was prepared to knock out anyone he needed to.



Kui wasn't blind. She saw Wag signal to someone out of sight, and she easily put it together. She quickly sent a similar signal to Spot to interrupt and prevent Zahi from coming. It was best for their plans if the Red Jackal wasn't brought into anything quite yet.

[kleineklementine]

"Vex Idrian, you lousy coward..." Spot hissed as the Omega began to disappear. But then she noticed that he'd taken the knife - well, that was more likely to be him not wanting to lose his prize than him planning anything heroic - and decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, she certainly wouldn't be here if she didn't have to be... But when she felt the hand on her shoulder, she leaned into it and thought how handy it would be to be able to turn invisible and how she hadn't really meant it, calling him a coward, anyway.

Before turning back 'to the action,' Spot spotted the hidden Shadow Wolves slipping out of the bar. Wag's. Well, fine by her. But then she caught Kui's eyes on her. The miserable feeling that she'd almost forgotten in the excitement came crashing down on her. Not only did Spot not want to do Kui's bidding in general, much less in particular now, but she'd harbored a hope that she'd be able to get Vex away from the bar after this calmed down. Somehow get him to guess what was going on; at least enough of it to make her tell him the rest. She was at her bursting point. Maybe Kui had noticed that, too.

The silent exchange between the two women was too short, too fast for anyone in the bar to notice. Anyway, except maybe the invisible boy standing behind her. Realizing this, Spot decided she didn't want to entirely lose the chance and let out a small, frustrated sigh that would have been inaudible to anyone else.

"Well, time for me to go," she grumbled, apparently to herself, "this is getting too exciting for me."

Spot waited some moments longer, though, before getting up - it couldn't be obvious to anyone else. When it'd been long enough, she got up from the chair, slipping out from under Vex's hand. On her way out, she risked one, meaningful look back at him. She had no idea if he'd seen it or not, but she hoped he had. She wanted him to catch her. Then, Spot disappeared.

[Brisinger987]

Torak wrestled the Bloods for a minute, then decided to use alternative methods. He elbowed one blood, and the second he did, he threw a seemingly random following punch, and teleported again, knocking another down. He started the movement of a kick, but felt a sharp pain, looking down to see a bolt through the armour.

Damn blood wolves.

He keeled over, trying to push the bolt out. It was stuck in his leg. The blood wolf kept his crossbow trained on Torak, while two other bloods hoisted him up to be scolded.

"Dammit... Argh...."