Insulting and Irritating [August, Phoenix, Rain, Jackson]

[Jackson Montgomery] "You know my offer always stands, Rain." It's said with a little smile to the kinfolk, quirked when she winks. He knows that she's playing it down, but he also understands very clearly. The offer isn't pushed...it's simply brought up as a reminder and left there.

He chuckles at August. "There's pluses and minuses to kin group houses. I've seen one or two of them, and it's nice, but if it involves trying to have your own space away from our...intense siblings, well it ends up being a bit counterproductive. They stop by to make sure that the house of people to be protected is safe all the time, they hang out...it's not the same as like, the Church obviously. But you still find yourself surrounded sometimes. Just in your own home."

[Rain] "You grew up with dozens of folk?" is perhaps not the politest of questions, but Rain's eyebrows do shoot upward. Her home had been cramped with four people, largely due to Mr. McKellar's temper and the eldest McKellar child's penchant for any and every thing that could be mortally offensive to his elders.

"That must have been vexxing," she adds, because it's the only way she can think of so many lives folded into the narrow spaces under one roofline. But these things are not Nos to August's unvoiced question. That's left to simmer a little, percolate. Rain plays with Ella and she ponders; it's not the sort of decision to hop to, immediately, over coffee one afternoon.

There's things to talk about. Big things. The sort of things that could change their lives, and that of the beautiful bouncing baby girl goo-ing up her fingertips.

"Oh you're going to break hearts when you're older, aren't you, lovely?" she asks Ella, seemingly unperturbed by the sliming she's getting.

"I think living with folk with less sway to their moontides could be nice," she says, at last. It's muddled though. Gently worried. "Just not sure what to do, in that case, when the big bads come knocking." Because in Rain's life, they always do.

You know my offer always stands, he says. And there's both gratitude and warmth in the simple look she offers him. It means a lot, that he offers; it means more that he's made good on it. Still... there's some part of her that wants desperately to find self-reliance in the messy and often violent Nation.

[August Grant] "I did. I have thirty some odd sibilings and some of the older ones had kids of their own. It was a big house, but it was always crowded. My family was more than a bit odd.. " She shook her head as if that would just get rid of the the thought and the ick feelings that tended to go with that.

Ella was busy making Rain's finger a chew toy, grinning and the what not. Eventually, she did remove the gooey finger from her mouth - but she didn't quite let her have it back yet. It seemed as if the baby was trying to figure out how to get more than one finger in her mouth at a time and it was perplexing her.

"Do you want to hold her Rain?" If the answer was yes, August would hand her over - if not, she'd offer the same to Jackson. He looked like he might be a kid sort of guy.. hard to say.

"Hey.. did you guys ever figure out what was up with the guy with the virgin mary jacket the other night at the bar? He kinda gave me the creeps.. did he hang out long?"

[Jackson Montgomery] "We did." He nods. "He's one of our Intense Siblings." Best code for Garou ever.

[Rain] Does she want to hold the baby? That's simultaneously the most reasonable and horrifying question ever. Rain doesn't much know what to do with a baby, a fact that becomes almost immediately obvious by the wide-eyed look she offers August. Rain's the baby of her family; there were no younger cousins; she never babysat the neighborhood kids. Ella is this curiously autonomous fragile little person and as much as Rain would love to hold her, she's pretty much certain that she'd be doing it wrong if she tried.

"Um... maybe?" she says, having no idea that babies really aren't that complicated. Unless August is willing to show her how, and then she'd be more than happy to hold Ella. And the worry-angst about breaking the infant would pass quickly in the wake of some suddenly-realized natural aptitude for handling children. Who were not made of porcelain after all.

This realization will preclude her from answering August's questions about Phoenix. Or addressing the matter of thirty siblings. Rain's pretty sure that's anatomically impossible, from August's mom's perspective. And if it wasn't, then that was a terrifying thought should the Nation ever catch wind of this possibility.

[August Grant] "One of ours?" A brow rose slightly. Good lord - there were Garou coming out of the woodwork it seemed.. but she wanted to know if she should actually care about this one. And, if he were family, she should go introduce herself.. it was only polite.

Even as she spoke to Jackson, she was handing Ella over to Rain with an assuring 'you'll be fine' look. The baby sat up on her own now - with only a hand to make sure her big head didn't put her too off balance. August assisted her cousin-kin was settling the baby on her lap and making sure that she had Ella securely in hand before August settled back into her own chair.

"See.. there you go. You're doing great.. and I can take care back whenever."

And as for the thirty sibilings.. it was anatomically impossible - but she didn't ask about how many 'mothers' August had.

"What's our new Siblings name?"

[Jackson Montgomery] "Phoenix." He smiles a little, watching August hand Ella over to Rain. His head tilts to the side and he smiles a bit, warmly, before he looks back to August. "Phoenix Taylor. Hippy parents, he says."

[Rain] It gets easier to hold Ella the more relaxed she is. Before long, Rain can even glance up to steal a look at her cousin-kin, but the baby does demand most of her attention. She misses the way that Jackson's head tilts, and whatever is hidden in the warm crook of his smile.

Her hand is well and thoroughly chewed on now. The youngest of the Gaian kin doesn't honestly seem to mind.

"He seemed nice enough," Rain says, of Phoenix. She seems to have forgotten the little perturbing exchange at the end, there, before he took off. "Says he's a medicine man type, which might be good to have around," she offers as a point in his favor.

[August Grant] "Well, I suppose I should try to introduce myself now that we know who he is. Has he said where he's staying?" A brief pause. "And I agree - it's probably good if we have a medicine type around. Will probably be good for both us, and our other Intense Sibilings."

"So Jackson.. how's class going?" She was doing her best to include him. There'd been lots of talk about babies between her and Rain, so she wanted to drag him back into this!

Ella, mean while, had finally dropped her grasp of Rain's finger.. and was instead grasping at her shirt.. pondering either grabbing hair, earrings or a necklace.

[Rain] Of the two applicable things, Rain's necklace was more immediately within grasp and her hair would prove more ultimately interesting. The songbird seemed almost impervious to annoyance by hair pulling, but whenever Ella's adorable fingers reached for the little gold charm and her neck, Rain would spend a few patient moments disentangling them.

She even went so far as to offer Ella a spoon to thump around with to keep those grasping digits busy.

"Yeah, what were you writing earlier?" Rain chimes in, helpfully. But Jackson should be used to it. He has siblings. Sister-types are nosy.

[August Grant] Dang straight they are nosey! They alway like to be in the brothers business. Poking, prodding. It was all in their best interest though.

Oooh! Ella's eyes lit up at the sight of the necklace. And yes, that's instantly where her little fingers went. And when Rain carefully disentangled her fingers, she reached again for it.. until the spoon. Oooh, spoon! Ella happily waved it about and Rain even got a happy little smile.

[Jackson Montgomery] "Classes are good, they're good." He smiles as August asks about his schooling, and Rain adds to the question. The man does love to talk about it, and he leans forward a bit. He always gets a bit more animated when he talks about his school and film in general.

"I mean, don't get me wrong, there are some classes that bore the hell out of me. I just can't get into long, involved debates about formalist film versus realists...uh, rather the difference between the guys who think that the limitations of film that allow filmmakers to manipulate images to alter audience perceptions is what makes film art, as opposed to the guys who think that the use of film as a way to record real life unfiltered and objective is what makes it art. Sort of like the idea of feature films versus purely objective documentaries. That kind of abstract theory...I understand it, don't get me wrong, and why it's important. But it's insanely dull. I'm more interested in the theories of films and how they CAN be manipulated to present a filmmaker's vision and themes. Writing, editing, cinematography...mise-en-scene, as they call it."

He probably doesn't realize that he may be losing them. That's just how he gets when he talks about film, the same way a painter might talk about the mix of colors and what it means to him, or how a parent might be enthralled by the little miracles they see every day from their children.

"I was working on an essay about Hitchock's influence within thrillers and horror," he says to Rain in response to her question. "Which is really like trying to shoot fish in a barrel, except trickier. It's easy to hit the obvious points; Psycho influencing serial killers on film, Rear Window being a classic paranoia film, North by Northwest and conspiracy films and all. But digging deeper and finding new thoughts and analysis...that's the trick."

[Rain] Distraction is pretty much the only way Rain can lie. Even to someone as guileless as Ella. She distracted the baby with the spoon and then, in a flash of insight, moved her sheet music out of arm's reach with one of those slow, sneaky movements that fools no one but maybe a baby.

"I thought the whole part that made them art was that you use them to communicate, to inspire or uplift, or even to educate," Rain offered. And for a moment, she seems just a bit smarter than her GED would imply. There are reasons that Rain's not in University or Conservatory; they're not that she drew the short straw on smarts.

"Just like music though, the medium is part of the message. You get to be immersive in your art, when you're lucky. Sight, sound, storytelling -- you even control time, right, by choosing what you show and when. Seems to me like there's room enough for everyone under the umbrella of Film. That's part of why it's wonderful, right?"

[August Grant] August just smiled. Jackson lost her and she pretended to follow. Then, Rain lost her.. and she just smiled. She didn't have anything to add really. But, she'd just look content and watch the baby look quite happy and natural in Rain's lap.

Artistic types.. August just never really understood any of it. Sure, she liked both film and music but the how toos? No way.

[Jackson Montgomery] "That's always been my thought," said Jackson with a nod when Rain pipes up. "And I suppose that technically that's a formalist approach. But really, I think that's a lot of debate and argument about film in a way that excludes parts of the medium from being considered art, which is bullshit. I mean hell, I may not like Transformers 2, The Love Guru or Showgirls, but just because I don't like it doesn't make it not art."

Okay, maybe The Love Guru. He doesn't say that out loud though. He looks at August and gives a sheepish smile. "Sorry, I'm boring you."

[Rain] "Heh," Rain says. "There's a lot of noise I don't wanna call music but it's not my place to say so." Or at least it's not her place in present company. Rain's had plenty of rants in the past; right now she was mostly distracted from that memory by trying not to become a percussion instrument herself.

"Hey, sweetest, not my face, yeah?" she say, redirecting Ella's inadvertant spoon-as-drumstick maneuver to be banging against the table, which makes a far more satisfying sound.

"Sorry," she mumbles, out of the corner of her mouth to August. "I think we're both excited, sometimes, to have someone to talk to who isn't a Talesinger. It's easy to get a little carried away."

[August Grant] "You aren't boring me.. I asked."August smiled lightly in response to his apology. And really, she wasn't bored - she was just lost. At least the names of the movies she recognize.

"Oh please Rain, don't apologize to me! Please, continue on.. how about I get us some coffee? Anyone want anything special?"

August stood and gave her daughter's head a little pat. "Such a good little musician.. you stay with Auntie Rain while I get us somethin to drink, k?"

[Drew Roscoe] Some days were mercifully short at work-- fix this here, fix that there, do the rounds, done. Go home at one in the afternoon and call it a day. Other days, like this one, are hectic balls of IT hell. The new system that was so sparkling and flawless in radiology crashes like the Hindenburg and you get called in half an hour before your alarm is even set to go off. You spend your whole day trying to figure out what's malfunctioning while listening to people throw different errors at you from different parts of the building...

..at the end of the day, after the sun had gone down and dusk was replaced by night, Drew's head was buzzing and the trip home was daunting. Typically the house was quiet, but she never underestimated the potential of a surprise guest. So she stopped for some caffeine to push her through the rest of the evening. The chime on the door jangles quaintly as Drew walks in, dressed for work in a pair of low black heels, black slacks, and a pale green blouse with the top few buttons left undone to show a silver looking (couldn't be real silver, not with all the Garou around to be bothered by it) hanging on a thin chain on her chest. Her long brown hair is up in a hasty bun, her navy coat is wrapped around her without being buttoned, and her expression was drab, exhausted, disheveled.

She didn't even notice the table full of Kin as she made a beeline to the counter and ordered a black coffee to go.

[Rain] There's a table off to one side with a collection of Unicorn's kin clustered around it. Someone's youngster is artistically flailing a spoon about, randonly colliding it with the table in a pattern that could be, if we stretch our collective imaginations, construed as rhythm.

Rain's holding that child, and doing a passable job of looking like she knows what she's doing. To a keen observer, though, Ella is definitely the one in charge of the encounter.

"Hot Chocolate, please," she tells August, mostly because she does not need caffeine being another thing in her bloodstream keeping her up at night. The songbird glances from August to Jackson, but the look he gets is a little more telling. It seems to say: I'm doing alright, right? just before she glances down to the babe in her lap again. Who she bounces a little, which hopefully provokes a smile -- not a cry of terror when her mother walks away for a moment.

[Jackson Montgomery] "You're awesome," he says to August with a smile. "Um...mocha, tall with an extra shot, vanilla flavoring." He pulls out enough cash to cover all of their drinks and hands it to August with a 'I'm paying, don't argue' smile.

He notes Drew entering, and watches her a moment. His head cocks to the side, brow furrowing at her unraveled state, concern showing on the kin's face. He doesn't know Drew well at all. They've kinda-sorta met once. But he knows she's part of their world and not a Garou but kin.

[August Grant] She was about to argue with Jackson about paying .. but that award winning charming smile changed her mind. The blonde kin accepted the cash and just shook her head with a grin before she headed for the counter to obtain the requested drinks. Hopefully this would let them get their artsy talk time out of the way!

Ella was a very even tempered child. And, despite her mother walking towards the counter, she didn't scream. The infant made a concerned noise.. but then with the bouncing and the spoon to distract her, there wasn't hardly another moment of notice. Rain was doing an excellent job of distracting her.

She paused slightly, spotting the only recently known Fenrir kin standing in front of her in line. She almost sighed, but instead, decided to simply get in line behind her wtihout a word. Hopefully, there'd be no nasty interaction today and perhaps they wouldn't even make eye contact.

[Drew Roscoe] Coffee was easy to get, Drew wouldn't have to wait at the other end of the counter near the sign that says 'pick up' hanging oh-so-politely from the wall. She pays with a couple of dollars she pulls out of her coat pocket, lifts the paper cup to her face to breathe in the revitalizing scent of hot coffee, and seems all the happier for it already. The smile that spreads over her face like butter coaxes a chuckle from the barista, who hands change and receipt with a similar (but trained, not natural) smile. Drew thanks her and turns around, intent to head for the condiment counter before getting the hell out of dodge, but is stopped by the familiar face appearing out of nowhere behind her.

Drew looks startled at first, but not scared, not worried. Anger, irritation, conflict, these things do not pass over the little Fenrir's face. Rather, surprise. ...Matter of fact, that stays there dominantly as Drew tips her head to one side, just a touch, and inquires: "August?" As though she thought the girl never got out of the brownstone house or something. It's after that she realizes she's in the way, blocking the counter, and mutters and apologetic noise before stepping to the side and glancing around.

Rain and Jackson, they catch her eye, along with the half-a-year-old baby in Rain's lap. Drew blinked once, then smiled and waved to the two before heading over to the condiment counter, grabbing a few packets of sugar, and moving to join.

She doesn't sit yet, but stands, smiling down at the baby while she addressed the adults. "Hey, fancy running into the one-horned lot. How's the night?"

[Phoenix Taylor] It's growing colder outside, there is a threat of snow as the temperatures start to dip below the thirties, the sky is lit with the brilliance of an amber glow from the city lights strewn about the Magnificent Mile. A group of kin huddle together at a table, conversing amongst themselves. Grey eyes can see them through the windows of the coffee house, barely making out their forms as its wearer reclines against a lamp post. His arms are fold across his chest, head bowed to the left so his ear almost touched his shoulder. The corners of his mouth peels back in the smallest of smiles, lips murmuring behind the lit cigarette he enjoys.

"No... no... you did well keeping an eye on them. Yes, I'll remember to bring the roasted peanuts before noon tomorrow at the Park," he speaks to no one and yet to someone. The invisible whisper of a soft cooing echoes in his ear as he spoke quietly to the dove-spirit, "Popcorn now, eh? That's pushing... we'll see."

He pushes off of the lamp post, pulling the cigarette stub from his mouth, bending to tap it snuff it out on the underside of his boot. He can feel a breeze tickle across the nape of his neck like the fluttering of soft wings, a chill runs down his spine as Phoenix shakes himself. The smiling growing wider.

He looks both ways down the street before trotting across, his cheeks flushed with color. The short crown of brown hair sweeping into his eyes, he doesn't brush it aside, too lazy to do that as he heads for the door and enters the coffee house. Phoenix was average in height, a mere eight inches over five feet, even in his boots. He wears the same leather jacket with the image of the Christian Madonna painted across the back, the same checkered flannel and tattered jeans. Jewelry adorns his throat in the form of several ropes of necklaces in varying lengths, carrying small charms as they disappear down his shirt. Hemp and leather braided bracelets run along his wrists and rings worn on the first three fingers of his left hand catch the light as he finally runs a hand through his hair.

It doesn't take much to sense the kinfolk of his tribe, easily following Drew, Jackson and August like a beacon. He approaches as if they're discussion of him had made the Garou materialize out of thin air, a smile flashed to each kin. They can feel the dullness of his rage, it isn't a heavy thing that assaults them, it's a small candle flame compared to most of his kind. There's a docile air about his demeanor, as if he really embodied that whole hippie jargon he might have been raised on. Peace, love, rainbows and all that flower crap.

[Rain] Jackson has managed to convince both his cousin-kin to accept more than they were really comfortable with in the way of coincidental financial assistance. He was clever like that, well-intentioned and well-practiced she assumed.

Rain passes part of the time while August is away by getting Ella to wave (with some assistance) at the other kinfolk, who is presumably Uncle Jackson seeing as she's been dubbed Auntie Rain. It takes a moment of this silliness before she glances up and sees Drew at the counter. There's a momentary flicker of some sort of anticipation or worry, but it soothes when nothing breaks out, immediately, between the Gaian and Get kinfolk in line. Apparently being in close proximity to one another is safe, and will not end worlds.

"Drew's here," she says, softly, to Jackson. Rain likes Drew, that much is apparent, and she'll wave a little (with the hand not holding the baby) if her seeming-sister looks this way. That smile broadens when Drew heads on over.

"Hey Miss Drew," she says, and the honorific is still there but it it's growing less necessary between them. "We're shirking responsibility and bein' somewhere warmer than the Church for once -- or I am," she corrects herself, but she hasn't wandered too far from responsibility with a child in her lap and her sheet music resting on the table beside her. It's all vocal pieces; ensemble work. Not her usual cup of tea.

It isn't until the babe in her lap begins to react to a newcomer approaching that Rain glances up to see Phoenix. Ella bangs the table a few times with her spoon, and the girl bounces the baby to see if the same distraction tactics will work.

[August Grant] It was going so well.. and then.. 'August?' Damnit. A cool, practiced smile slid across her features. "Miss Roscoe.." August replied and then, once she was out of the way - she took the opportunity to order as a way to stop talking to the woman without being entirely rude. What would be rude would be holding up the line!

By the time she returns to their gathering with a tray with three drinks on it.. it seems much more crowded. For one, the most insulting and irratating Fenrir kin is lingering .. and the grey eyed man seems to have reappeared. It might have caused her a bit of distress, save for the fact that her cousin-kin had already informed her he was family.

August sets the tray down.. before politely inquiring.. "Should I get more chairs?"

[Jackson Montgomery] "No, you're cool, August." He checks his watch and rises. "I need to get going anyway. Can't keep putting off my work." A little smile all around, and he takes his coffee.

"Gimma a call sometime you guys. I'll see you later." He gives a little wave to Ella and moves to head out.

[Drew Roscoe] "Nah, you're not shirking duty. They're more than capable of handling themselves for a couple of nights, and I don't mean to be insulting but you know that sturdy old place will still be standing when you get back." Drew flashes teeth in a bright smile and borrows space at Jackson's elbow with a "How ya doin'?" and begins to tear open the sugar packets, three or four of them, and dumps them into the coffee. The stir stick she'd plucked from the condiment counter was used to stir it up, then licked so it wouldn't drip before being held along with the cup, pinned between the paper siding and the palm of her hand.

The Kin straightened, took a sip, and appeared contented, but none the less disheveled. She could be exhausted, but she still put up a damn decent mood for Family, distant though they may be.

Then comes the manifestation of a warm glow of Rage, muted compared to what she was used to, just beyond her left shoulder. Big brown eyes blinked, then switched to look at the unfamiliar face. Phoenix isn't greeted with a smile, not right off the bad. Instead he's regarded with quiet suspicion, the type that belied confidence rather than fear. Not confidence that she could take him apart, oh no, but rather the kind that came from knowing what to do in a dangerous situation. She'd been in plenty, she should be good at it by now.

August asks about extra chairs, and Drew shakes her head, speaking to August's inquiry without looking back and taking her eyes off the manifested Theurge. "Naw, I won't be around bothering you guys for too long." And the direction of her voice switches, subtly enough, to Phoenix. "What's up, friend?"

Because these were not Fenrir Kin, but Children of Gaia. Because one was a songbird, one was an impregnated mother, and the other was leaving. That made her the frontline.

[Phoenix Taylor] Phoenix's steps slow down the closer he draws to their table. His eyes fall to the child immediately, arching an eyebrow at the little girl. The kin can easily read his hesitation to approach, afraid that his presence might set the child off somehow. The mother returns in the form of August who sets the tray down, politely inquiring about fetching more chairs.

He gives the coffee house a curious look over before passing his eyes back to the Gaians + Drew. "Evening, Rain, Jackson and August." The Fenrir kin he was unfamiliar with, Drew is given a curious glance over when she addressed him, a quizzical expression crossing his features. "I didn't know Rain had a twin sister."

He offers Drew a charming smile, he appears as threatening as a teddy bear. He tips his head to the Fenrir kin, saluting her with two fingers pressed to his temple and then thrust away from his face into the air. "As well as can be. Yourself?" Jackson was on his way out as the group was shifting. Phoenix nods to him, looking for a chair that sits him as farthest from the child as possible, seeming to take great care not to scare Ella.

[August Grant] "Alright.." She quietly remarked before she retook her seat. Before she took her coffee from the table, she reached over and snagged Ella from Rain. Rain was doing an excellent job, but with someone she didn't know around, she felt more comfortable having a firm grasp on her child. "Thanks Rain.. I think she likes you."

Rain got a genuine smile as she took the spoon from Ella and instead gave her a small pink elephant. It was much quieter when banged against hard surfaces.

"Don't forget your drink, Jackson.. and I'm sure I'll see you soon. Ella.. say goodbye to Uncle Jackson.." The baby looked up and just grinned.

'Evening, Rain, Jackson and August..' Her gaze flicked up towards the one who apparently was named Phoenix. How did he know her name? She looked just a little startled at the thought. Yes, they'd spotted each other, but no introductions were made the other day.

"Hi.. you want to join us?"

[Rain] "I don't know," she says, in an aside to Drew. "The snow started melting and you wouldn't believe what started coming down through the roof instead." There's a measure of exaggeration to meet the surety in Drew's tone. They're easy with one another; there's no hidden subtext here. Warmth, yes; friendship, maybe.

Their circle is shifting. Jackson takes his leave, and Rain follows his egress with her eyes for a moment. There's kinship there, too. Different than what she has with Drew, different yet than what she shares with August. The cluster around the table turns to two Tribes, adds the dynamic of Kin and True.

"Miss Drew, this is Mr. Phoenix, recently arrived to town by way of points unknown," Rain makes ready with the introductions. "Mr. Phoenix, this is Miss Drew, family to the lead of the crew what shelters me." How's that for cryptic? But it sums up the connections nicely enough.

"And Miss August here is Family, as you guessed the other night," she adds, bringing that unspoken connection full circle. Ella goes back to her mother, and Rain suddenly finds her hands free. To clean up her sheet music. To capture her hot chocolate. To pull out a chair for Drew and offer her twin a sweetly imploring look.

You totally want to hang out with me... right? She stops short of batting her eyelashes.

"We're not twins," she assures Phoenix, belatedly, in a tone of voice that could be slightly misleading when she wanted it to be.

[Drew Roscoe] The baby goes back to its mother, freeing up Rain's hands and attention to make introductions all around. She was good for that, making sure everyone knew each other enough that they knew they were on the same side. Phoenix knew Rain, Rain knew Phoenix, and that was good enough that Drew stopped being so aware of where the gun she kept strapped to her back under her coat was.

"Phoenix." Trying the name, testing how it worked on her tongue and how well it matched the man's face and smile, then nodded and grinned a bit in greeting. It was as close to an apology for being cautious as she would get-- because there was nothing wrong with being cautious of strangers. "Nice to meet you."

Rain confirms that she and Drew are not related (though to look at them you would really believe otherwise), and drags a chair from another table, looking up at the Fenrir with a point in her eyes. Drew met it with a faint lift of her eyebrows, then without a sigh, a word, or a grunt she rounded the table to sit next to her 'twin'. The coffee cup is brought to her lips again, another drink is indulged, and Drew settles back in her seat and crosses her legs, right over left at the knee.

"How's everyone coming along? Been a while since I've seen anybody."

[Phoenix Taylor] August is startled by the fact that he knew her name. Grey eyes regard mother and child with gentle expression, he tries to offer August a reassuring smile as he took up a chair that sat him on the opposite side of the young women, his back to the coffee house, which didn't seem like the most strategic place to sit in case there was a sudden uprising of a conflict.

He leans his elbows on the table, folding his hands together to form a cradle for his scruffy chin. Amusement dances in his eyes as a wide grin splits his face in half, flashing white teeth at Rain. She assures him that they are, indeed, not twins. The rings on his left hand click together as he curls them closed.

"I beg to differ, you two look remarkably like sisters. If I couldn't sense Drew's heritage, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference."

His eyes skirt to the blond mother and child, watching the little girl bang the elephant against the table, "My name is Phoenix Taylor, ma'am, I spoke with Jackson and Rain that night in the bar after you left they made me aware of who you were and that you were family."

[August Grant] August's attention was on Phoenix as Drew and Rain were conversing. And no, August didn't answer Drew's question, because she knew well enough it wasn't for her.

"August Grant." She replied, after Phoenix offically introduced himself to her. "And this is Ella." Even though the baby was only six months old, her breeding indicated clearly enough that she was also a Coggie by birth. "It's nice to actually meet you. I had asked Rain about you earlier today actually - wondering if she'd caught your name the other night. So, welcome to Chicago. Crappy weather this week, eh?"

[Rain] "Well," Rain allows, playing with the syllable a little on her tongue. She rolls the take-away cup back and forth between her hands a bit, swaying the liquid inside that has not yet cooled quite enough to drink.

"Even that's not enough to say we're not related, really. I mean, we could be far-flung cousins or something. Far as this goes," Rain reaches up to touch the tiny gold heart at her throat, "I'm adopted anyway."

Which is probably not a thing most formerly-Lost kin would drop with a little smile and an affable roll of her shoulders. But there it was. And there it went. A simple thing; an honesty that fades under the current of the conversation easily. (Or so Rain hopes). She sips from her drink, glances at the other two kinfolk, tries to take the measure of their conversation. Introductions were going well enough, so she simply glanced Drew's way and smiled. Clearly they two had things to talk about.

[Phoenix Taylor] The richness of the pure breed reflected in mother and child doesn't seem to command a lot of his focus, he gives August enough of his attention to create polite conversation, but there are no wandering eyes to glaze over her figure in admiration. They stay plainly on her face and dip no lower, except to maybe peek at the cuteness that is Ella. He shows Rain and Drew the same amount of respect when he converses with them as well.

"The weather is quite lovely actually. It paints the city in a totally different canvas that should be appreciated for its beauty and cautioned for its deadliness to one's health. I come to Chicago via the west as I spend a good portion of my time traveling." this spoken to August.

Phoenix is observant of what's going on. He feel that sliver of tension that radiates from August in her body language with Drew's presence; this garners a sympathetic look for the Fenrir. Rain drops a nugget of information for him to pick up, he turns his gaze on the taller of the brunettes, eyes darting back and forth as he can't seem to tell which one was more adorable.

"If you think about it, Rain, in the long run, we're all related under one mother in her eyes. Just because we wear different colored pelts doesn't make you, me and August any different from Drew. Blood runs the same color when we bleed, and its still thicker than water."

[August Grant] The blonde kinfolk just smiles as Phoenix goes on to speak of how they were all really related. She agreed with it whole heartedly. August would help any person, kinfolk or Garou regardless of tribe. Too bad sometimes that attitude sometimes got her accused of having no loyality.

Quietly she sipped her hot chocolate and bounced the happy and bright eyed baby girl in her lap.

[Drew Roscoe] [Per + Empathy: August, you no like me or somethin?]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 6, 6, 8, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)

[Rain] "I can see that," Rain agrees, but the warmth of her smile and the set of her eyes does more than pay lip service to the thought. It's something she believes, one of the few fronts on which her Tribe has made inroads over the education that her long association with her Gnawer Warder had brought.

"When I first came to town, Mr. Roman was real clear on that, too." And while there's warmth in her tone, comfort in her carriage, and an ease to the way that she speaks, Rain's eyes never quite lift to meet his. They always fall short of that plane. There are things she can't hide and wouldn't know how to if she tried. "I like being part of something that's about including people, finding commonalities and communal strengths, rather than excluding them. It's a nice thing about this city."

There are undercurrents here, subtle social pressures. Rain's aware of them, but doesn't act like the color her side of the conversation.

[August Grant] {Nope, she doesn't. She's highly offended by their last meeting}
to Drew Roscoe

[Drew Roscoe] Drew had seemed content to kick back and enjoy her coffee, to burn time in a coffee shop getting her caffeine on before returning home. She didn't have any rush to get there-- no one was waiting for her, person, pet, or Monster. If they were, it was their mistake counting on her to be at the doorstep at a certain time without the courtesy of a warning beforehand. If someone really needed her, there were always paths available to finding her. The Garou knew a trick, they could pinpoint people. Drew had no idea of how it worked, but she knew it existed, in the same way she knew a quiet, patient spirit rested in the ring worn on the chain about her throat.

They spoke of being related to the same Mother, of the weather, pleasantries like that, and the odd-Kin-out was happy in her quiet, watching the baby in the lap with the small flickering light of a smile in her eyes even while her mouth was masked by the cup she drank from. Eventually, though, that attention would drift upward, past the baby that hid the swell she left behind pressed further by a second in her mother, up to the grown Kin's face. Eyebrows flick up for a moment, then relax.

And, in a tone that was as pleasant as any other she'd held that night, Drew addresses August: "August, you wanna step outside for a minute?" Eyes meet-- brown on blue, and hold.

[Phoenix Taylor] Phoenix straightens up in his chair, leaning back so he watch them better. His hands fall flat to the table's surface. Nimble fingers splaying outward, he drops his eyes to look at his hands for a moment, studying the detail in the stainless steel rings that imitate the visual of silver. Rain did not once meet his gaze, he picks up on it quite easily. Part of him wants to address that issue, but not here, not now.

He's about to open his mouth to say something, but it promptly closes the moment Drew does. He tilts his head to the side, watching the kin. First to Drew with her question, and then to August for her reply.

[August Grant] "Sure." The response was polite. "Rain, will you hold the baby?" She waits a moment for the response - and if it was affirmative, she would again pass little Miss Ella off to her cousin-kin and then stand.

A lithe hand grasped her bright pink peacoat and she slid it on. "Momma will be right back Ella.." The young woman spoke as she headed for the door - anticipating Drew behind her. She didn't really want to to this here, but, she wasn't going to refuse the request.

[Rain] [Empathy: Hey guys, do I have half a clue what's up?]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 4, 4, 8, 9, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)

[Rain] Drew asked August to take something outside. Rain's attention flicks back and forth between the two other women for a moment, and then rests on August, who asks her to look after the child for a moment.

"Sure thing," she accedes easily, opening her lap to the infant again, who is now brandishing a little elephant and not a spoon. Incidentally, stuffed elephants hurt a lot less if a particular adorable young Miss happens to clock you in the nose with them. Spoons were dicey.

Rain wants to follow the two of them with her eyes as they head for the less hospitable out of doors, but her attention is now split between the wolf at her table and the baby in her lap. And a myriad of incidental things that go along with being mindful of a child. These make it harder to hide that her smile is a little thin-lipped at the moment, and there's a note of tension between her shoulder blades.

There's quiet at the table, as much quiet as there ever is with a child present. She glances up to Phoenix and offers him a smile that flexes the corners of her mouth. It's not exactly wary, but it's tentative. And no, not even now will she meet his eyes, lovely and warm though they may be.

[Phoenix Taylor] Phoenix bows his head once more, face tilted down until the scruffy chin nearly touched his collarbone. He cranes his head to slide his gaze over his shoulder, following the two women that are about to head outside. He tracks them through the window pane of the coffee house to keep tabs on them.

The baby, despite her mother's absence, seems content to be handled by Rain and offers no fuss, just the conquering of Rain's face with the elephant. He turns to look back at her, clearing his throat as he once more pulls his hands together, lifting them to cradle against his chin.

"You don't have to do that, you know." he speaks quietly to Rain, pointing at her eyes, "I won't bark at you. I'd much prefer it if you did meet my eyes, we're on equal footing here, Rain." She can sense his hesitation about what is to take place outside. He wasn't a Philodox, it wasn't his auspice to mediate debates, but he was wise and cunning for his young age... he knew how to handle stressful situations without exploding.

"Want to tell me why they don't like each other?"

[Drew Roscoe] August concedes, and Drew closes her jacket up again (she'd never removed it in the first place) and sets her half-empty/half-full cup of coffee down on the table. Her smile is downright brilliant for both Rain and Phoenix as she rises to her feet, 'excuse me' written on her face so clearly that it doesn't need to be articulated aloud. She taps her hand twice, reassuringly, on the back of Rain's chair as she moves around the table with the low clack-clack of workshoe heels and follows August to the front door.

Once outside, Drew's fingers deftly finish buttoning up her coat, then hands dip into her pockets for safety. She walks to the left, moving them away from the large front window of the cafe, out of eyeshot of the pair of Coggies waiting inside, no doubt quiet and awkward and wondering what the hell just happened.

As before, Drew doesn't waste time or mince words. With the window cleared she kept close to the wall, as it helped protect from the wind and the freezing ice-mist that it carried along with it. She doesn't have to shout to be heard over the wind, it wasn't so aggressive just yet. Rather she addresses the taller, prettier, bustier kin flat and even.

"You're holding offense against me and you think that Kora wronged you." Stating the obvious, to start. "You're gonna have to put that behind you and get on over it, you understand? Because this entire city is falling down around our ears even if you can't hear it doing so, and one of these days we're gonna have to rely on each other and I'm not gonna have this petty bullshit getting in the way."

You hear?

[August Grant] August turned to face the Fenrir kin, arms crossed across her chest. "No Drew, I don't hold it against Kora. I hold it against you. I am upset about the assumptions, generalizations and flat out misconceptions that you leveled against me the other night without ever knowing anything about me. You don't know where I came from, nor how I got to where I am. You have no idea the lenghts I've gone to to protect my children and for you to insult my parenting as well as my loyality was over the line."

"I don't know you and I'd never assume that I know what's best for you. And I sure as hell wouldn't show up at your home and insult a stranger. So no, I'm not mad at Kora, I'm upset at you."

"Do you hear me? Because I really don't think I can be more clear on the matter. You showed up at my home and insulted me. I have the right to be offended."

[Rain] "It's complicated," she tells the Theurge, bouncing the baby on her lap and being mindful of the pink elephant all at the same time. For someone who was so uncertain about handling the child just an hour or so ago, Rain's come pretty far.

It's unclear whether that complication is the outside conversation or whatever it was that kept her from looking up and meeting his eyes. Rain drew an uncertain breath, forced herself to lift her gaze above the plane of his cheekbones, to meet his for a moment. It was an unsteady thing, uncertain. There was a deep wariness to it; something that bordered upon ingrained fear.

And the child on her lap could feel that, and protested the shift in her temporary caretaker with an unhappy squawk, which drew Rain's attention down and that, in turn, dropped some of the nervousness out of her. Though her pulse still raced a little in her veins. Though her head still felt just a little bit light.

"Shh, Ella, it's okay," she assures the child. The glances toward the door, and back to Phoenix. "Seems to be a lot of should-ing going on. I don't know most of it, don't want to to be fair. But they're a bit like oil 'n' water, Miss Drew and Miss August are."

It was, perhaps, the understatement of the evening.

[Drew Roscoe] "Frankly, my dear, I could give a dozen-and-a-half shits less about where you came from or who you even are."

She had been flat before, matter-of-fact, and her expression had matched that. Now the Kin was scowling, lifting a hand from her pocket and leveling a finger at the blonde before her. Her jaw was tight, muscles to match. August had more than half a foot of height on her, but time and time again she'd proven that size didn't have much of a factor in the scheme of things. She was far beyond being intimidated by height. Hell, these days she punched Modis in the jaw and walked away intact. Confronting another Kin was nothing.

"What I care about is the fact that you're a motherfucking liability who can't keep her shit together, so it lands in the laps of others. The Garou have this pretty nifty law that I can't argue with about tending sickness. Granted we ain't Garou, but we're awfully close, cousins and all. What you're doing is one of two things-- weighing down another Tribe or selling yourself out to it. You can't support yourself, so you go to anyone who'll take you in off their doorstep for charity. I don't wanna hear a word about you cleaning this guy's house and polishing his shoes for money because when you're a housekeeper you don't live with the client.

"Here's a tip: get your shit together because you're a mom now and your kids rely on you. If you can't do that, learn what a fucking condom is."

[Phoenix Taylor] The uplift of Rain's eyes to meet his for the brief span of a second was enough to satisfy Phoenix, he didn't ask again or tell her that she shouldn't drop her gaze. He leaves the one time as a small victory, which may lead to others if the kin grew comfortable around him. Right now, Phoenix was a stranger - a new wolf in a territory buzzing with activity.

He spares another glance to the windows, watching the women outside. He can't make anything out because of it, and this causes him to frown. He rolls his shoulders back in a small shrug, sighing in exasperation. "I'm sure the story will come to light eventually."

[August Grant] The hair on the back of her neck stood up - and if fire could have flashed in her eyes it sure as hell would have. A hand reached out and snagged a part of Drew's coat. August was pissed. She was beyond pissed. She was FURIOUS. She closed the gap between them.

"Listen here you little pretenious shit head. Ella was the result of RAPE. Do you hear that, Miss Get a FUCKING CONDOM?! My first mate beat me until I could no longer resist. How would you expect me to use a condom with an angry Ahroun who was twice my size when I could barely hold my head up?" Yes, she was screaming. There would be no secret about this dispute anymore. People who sat by the windows started to turn to look. "And the baby I carry now was my mate's - who up and left me for a slut of a Strider after he found out I was pregnant. So HOW DARE YOU tell me to use a condom. "

"Shut your mouth and NEVER presume to know anything about me again." August let go then - heart racing, skin flushed and anger above anything she'd experienced in recent memory. With a huff, she turned to grab for the door handle to the coffee shop.

[Rain] See, Rain knows more than she's letting on. Enough to let her gaze stray to those closed doors time and time again. Enough to almost get hit in the face by a flying elephant because she was likewise distracted. There's something dry at the back of her throat, some quiet worry that won't quite come to light, but Rain weathers it differently than some kin might. Conflict is a fact of life, for her. Terrible, horrible conflict that ends with all manner of violence, verbal or otherwise, is the de rigueur of the Nation, as best the Gaian kin knows.

It's a terrible thing to realize about the person sitting across from you, that they actually believe they are powerless to stop these things in their own life or in the lives around them. What's happening outside is just an echo, pale and thin and thready, but it's enough to make her worry.

"I think," she says softly, in a way that intimates it's less thinking than knowing, ""Y' may want to step out and see if they're shoutin' yet."

There's a long pause, a thoughtful thing. Rain seems somewhat worried, and then worried about what she might have implied.

"I mean, if'n you're inclined..."

[Drew Roscoe] [Init! +6]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 10

[August Grant] {+5}
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 6

[Phoenix Taylor] Was he inclined?

The moment that Phoenix wasn't watching the window, meeting Rain's face and watching the child attempt to assault her with a pink fluffy toy, chaos slips through his fingers. He pulls himself out of the leaned position he was relaxing into. The language in Rain's body a clear sign that something was amidst.

He turns in the chair, pushing it back as one hand flattens on the table, the other on the chair to maneuver it out of his way. The Gaian moves as quickly as his feet will carry him to the door. A backwards glance at Rain and the child, pointing, "Stay."

[August Grant] {Dodge}

[Phoenix Taylor] 7+
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 1

[Drew Roscoe] August doesn't get too far into her tirade, unfortunately. She pushes through rape, through 'pretentious shit head', and up to the point of 'my first mate' before words are stopped with violence.

Within Drew surged the blood of Warriors-- not the people who called the shots atop high places, not the secret gathers, not the Bane-tenders, but the front lines. Frost and blood and unadulterated aggression flowed through her veins. Combine with that the fact that her first mate indoctrinated her in a similar fashion, taught by example of how Fenrir teach and lead both by establishing dominance and not allowing it to shake...

Well, Drew didn't abide by August's attitude, and she showed it with fists.

[1a. Punch in the kisser [wp]
1b. Punch!]

[Drew Roscoe] [Punch to Mouth: Dex + Brawl, -2 split, +2 diff called shot]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 4, 8, 8 (Success x 3 at target 8) [WP]

[August Grant] {Dodge}
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 4, 5, 10 (Failure at target 6)

[Drew Roscoe] [Damage: Str + 2 suxx + 1 for called shot (B)]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 2, 5, 6, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[August Grant] {A poor attempt at a soak}
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 6, 8 (Success x 2 at target 6)

[Drew Roscoe] [Punch: Dex + Brawl -3 split]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 1, 2 (Botch x 1 at target 6)

[Drew Roscoe] [Self Damage! Awoo!]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 1, 9 (Failure at target 6)

[Drew Roscoe] [Init + 6]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 6

[August Grant] {+5}
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 2

[Phoenix Taylor] 7+
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 6

[August Grant] {Punch Drew}

[Drew Roscoe] [1a. Dodge punch
1b. Punch back!]

[Phoenix Taylor] Intercepting Drew's punch with a block

[Drew Roscoe] [Dodge will come when August punches... First, the punch.]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 1, 2 (Botch x 1 at target 6)

[Drew Roscoe] [For fuck's sake]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 1, 2 (Botch x 1 at target 6)

[Drew Roscoe] [\o/]

[Phoenix Taylor] Change of action to grab August?

[Rain] [Changing action is +1 diff? *goes to check system pages*]

[August Grant] {August isn't going to resist}

[Drew Roscoe] [Yeah]

[Phoenix Taylor] Grabbing August Str+brawl
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 3, 8, 10 (Success x 3 at target 7) [WP]
to August Grant, Drew Roscoe

[Phoenix Taylor] Phoenix Taylor
Mon 10:27 pm
Roll valid
to August Grant, Drew Roscoe
Grabbing August Str+brawl
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 3, 8, 10 (Success x 3 at target 7) [WP]

[Drew Roscoe] [Dropping last action, since there is NO honor in hitting a contained woman.]

[Phoenix Taylor] There's a conflict brewing like a storm between the two kinfolk. He's not fast enough to make it out the door as he bursts into a sprint to get out the door faster. Drew gets the first punches off on August, hitting her square in the mouth as the blond kin takes the punch. Drew misses on the second swing, air whizzing past someone's ear.

Phoenix catches up to them as more fists start flying, his arms going around the pregnant kin to pull her into his chest, giving Drew his back to shield August who he doesn't let go. "ENOUGH!!!" he growls out at the both of them.

[Rain] Outside, the scene has come to blows. Drew swings and connects, setting of a brief but rather tense interlude. Phoenix intercedes, breaking it off before it has a chance to lead to any lasting physical repercussions.

Inside, Rain has armed Ella again with a pair of spoons and they're playing the table top together in some early childhood music education exploration play. The people around them think they mind, but when the alternative is getting the screaming and punching to happen indoors, well, then a little modern percussion performance is quite preferable.

[Drew Roscoe] The fight is brief and fruitless. It starts with Drew knocking knuckles into August's lips. It doesn't do a lot of damage, perhaps stings for a second at best, but it gets the other Kin to let go of her coat. Drew's not finished there, though, she doesn't seem content until some damage has been done.

It's about this time that Phoenix steps out the door, to see both Kin with aggression on their faces and hands balled into fists. Drew was quick, but she was mad, and despite being pissed she was hesitant about where she was hitting. The woman was carrying precious cargo after all. A combination of anger and care made her fists knock on hard joints of August's body-- the shoulder, then completely past, which nearly threw off her balance but didn't manage at all.

Phoenix wrapped his arms about August, contained her before she could throw the fist that she had raised, and Drew stepped back with one fist smarting a little and nothing more, face red with anger, half-shouting at August like Phoenix wasn't even there.

"Get your fucking shit in order! I am so goddam tired of hearing you whine and bitch and fucking moan about how hard you've got it. I already told you I don't give a fuck what your past is like. So you were raped. So you were beat. So your mate was a piece of shit. I ain't sorry for ya. You had your options, your kinsmen-- all Children of Gaia, all on moral grounds better than that. You were weak for letting it happen, and if this abomination in your gut is the result of rape again? You're weak and stupid for letting it happen twice! If not? The goddamn condom was an option."

Phoenix yells 'enough', and Drew snarls right back at him. "This your kin? Then take her out of the Shadow Lord's house she's livin' in, god knows what plans he's got in his mind for her, get her back where she needs to be-- on her own two feet looking after her own self, her own tribe, and not some snake no one's ever heard of.

If not? Butt the fuck out."

[August Grant] August doesn't resist being sheltered by the Gaian. No, she appreciates it. Drew is a crazy woman - though a lucky one as August didn't have a mate and thus no one to care that the nosey Get kinfolk had just assulted a pregnant woman.

The blonde woman snarled. Her voice filled with venom. "Get out of my business you god damn disgrace to the Get. Hitting a pregnant woman? Classy. Real, fucking, classy."

[Drew Roscoe] "Your face pregnant? Naw. If I wanted to hurt your fetus I'd have kicked you right in your oversized uterus."

Venom goes both ways, and Drew's positively spitting it now. She's about ready to shed her coat because it felt heavy, felt like it was slowing her down, and the heat of her flesh, on her chest and the back of her neck both, was plenty enough for her to forget the freezing sheets of mist-rain blowing against them.

"Quit hiding behind your fertility. A hard past ain't an excuse to stop trying to stand on your own, and that you're pregnant now doesn't mean that your little bud can't handle you getting a broken nose. If you have it coming you're damn right I'll hit a pregnant lady. Next time keep your hands off me."

[Phoenix Taylor] For the love of Gaia, he is a patient man. He has to be in this situation since flying off the handle would do nothing for any of them. August can feel the slight tremor that rolls through his arms as he held her away, he doesn't look at her to acknowledge the blond's presence that he holds.

Grey eyes flashes for a second, narrowing into a stern gaze upon Drew. Her words never missing a beat to lash out at August, and thusly directing her ire upon the Garou that meant to intercede. August fires back while still protected by the Theurge. He looks between them, eyebrows raising as Drew tells him to butt the fuck out.

If he were any other Garou, he'd likely bitch slap Drew for the hiss in her remark. Fortunately, he remains calm, his blood pressure doesn't raise, and he turns squeezes August growling a warning at her. "It would be in your best interest, August, to shut your mouth and speak no more."

To Drew, "I suggest you leave, Miss Drew, this is finished. I will deal with August, as I will be dealing with your tribe for this incursion. You're both at fault here, and get the fuck out."

[August Grant] If looks could kill Drew would be dead ten times over and her corpse torn to pieces.

Drew's words continue to lash out. Her words were meant to hurt deeply, and they did. Everything she said was personal and meant to leave lasting emotional scars. Only time would tell if she was successful.

She opened her mouth to respond.. but when Phoenix cautioned her to keep quiet, she listened. Despite her instinct to want to continue to protect her children and her honor, August didn't say anything else and didn't yet try to break out of Phoenix's hold.

[Drew Roscoe] "Right. Well, you'll wanna be talking to Linus then. Never saw fit to tell me his True name, so best of luck with that."

Phoenix snarled at her, scolded her, told her to get the fuck out. So that's precisely what she did, hands jammed in her pockets, shoulders up against the rain, she turned and moved along the sidewalk with a quiet click of thick heavy heels on the pavement, up to the nearest sub station that would take her out toward home.

[Phoenix Taylor] Phoenix watches Drew, his face skewering up with distaste for the situation and how it escalated. He loosens his hold on August, keeping an arm around her to hold her in place until the Fenrir has had time to make her exit. His nose wrinkles up, sniffling as the rain starts to pelt on them.

His head twists, regarding the blond kin with a soft clucking of his tongue. "You and I are going to have a long talk, August, don't think you'll scrape by unscathed."

[August Grant] Quietly. "She has no right to judge me. She has no right to treat me like she does. She doesn't know me." The anger was still there, but now, she just kept that veil up to keep the tears from falling. People hated it when she cried. They'd proclaim she was weak - she knew the drill. Apparently angry bitch got you further in this world.

"Oh, I don't think that. Don't worry. I don't ever get by unscathed." August dug into her pocket for her phone, obviously looking for a phone number.