A L P H A

The overly polite tone was not lost on her, even if she saw little reason to return it in kind. "Good afternoon, JC." Her own greeting was entirely sincere, if a touch absent-minded. "It's been different with Imran around, but nice all the same, to see him back in town." His remark earned a faint hum. "Thank you. It'll be an interesting night. I hope the evening goes well for you and the pack as well." Her gaze fell to the car. "Seems a busy afternoon for you? How are you finding things lately?"

"Yeah, he's great. I'm grateful he was able to come in and help keep everything running smoothly for a bit." A nod followed, but JC shifted in place a bit with it, rolling his shoulders as if he could not find a comfortable position. "Hope he keeps you all on your toes."

At the question, though, JC offered a hum. "Just stocking up the Den. We lost everything in the fridge during the blackout. So. But things...well, things suck. We're all feeling it. Not really looking forward to this Ren Faire stuff either. A lot of medieval weapons all over the place, you know what I mean?

"Okay, noted, but I don't like when I feel ignored multiple times, either, dude. Like, I get it, okay? You care about the woods, but so do I. So, when I've put the joint away and said I'm not going to set them on fire multiple times over, I don't get why you can't just take me at my word for it, cause I'm not the one arguing here. I'd just like it if someone I just met wasn't already doubting me."

"Your job is to worry about the wolves, and I'm sure it's a lot, but I'm not one. So, can we just breathe, dude? And okay, that was kinda fucked. But apology somewhat accepted, even though polite works both ways here, buddy. But, yeah. I will keep my comments to myself. I already said I was sorry. But while we're on the subject, that whole sentence sounded really condescending, so if we could not do that too, that would be great. So are we good, or?" She tilted up a brow, half expecting the Alpha to lie to her face again and try to Irish goodbye her.

"I was just...Yeah. Fine. You put it away. Got it. Heard."

JC cleared his throat. "Right. Sorry. I was also not trying to be condescending. Just sort of expressing that that remark made me feel some type of way. But we're good. I'm good. You can still come hang on the deck. Or not. Your choice."

JC's comment about recycling earned a laugh. "Yeah, maybe the planet'll give us a lil extension." Zuva clicking his tongue, disappointed. "True. Makes tellin' a good lie an art form these days." Letting out a low whistle though, attention shifted when JC mentioned his family. "Few hundred years in Lunar Cove? That's a hell of a family tree. Yeah, mine's got witches but I don't know enough to give you a number. And I ain't got the desire to track folks down or raise a few graves and ask." In a sense, he was better of not knowing.

"Actually, yeah. You offerin' tips, I'm hearin' free lessons." He grinned. "Good for you?" That brought forth another laugh. "Oh, you got thoughts, don't ya? I can feel it." Despite saying that though, Zuva did pause for a moment, debating whether to push that button or not, but with a shrug he let it settle for now and answered the other question with a nod. "You'll be the first I find. Got any names for me to try my luck on? If it goes badly, I promise I ain't gonna say you told me to do so. Scout's honour."

With that, though, JC shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, there's another reason to check in with the Fae. They have to get creative with it," he hummed. "Yeah, since right around the founding. You'd think we'd have something to show for it, but well...moderately priced pool chemicals." He hummed. "I had a relative win a few rounds of Match Game in the 70s. But, you know, I'm half-witch myself. Sounds about the same as on my end." He did not know his mother's extended line terribly well. "Luck of the draw on the genes, I guess."

JC hummed. "Noting's ever really free, you know. But nah, man. Coven's great. I imagine it works for the people who want to be a part of it. They're the best at doing what it is that they do." He nodded definitively. "Do you know Suresh? Tall? Frowny? Less of a social butterfly lately, but I'm sure he'd help."

"I know you never asked for this, and I get needing time. I do. I think that's a good idea to take it. But maybe during that time you should talk to... some of the bitten wolves? I again am not saying it is at all the same, but some of your own people were turned, irrevocably changing what they were at their core. And as much as it can be hard not to feel bitter, there is still a community of people in this town who would understand. I can help you set up a controlled area?" She offered. "Obviously, I wouldn't be there when you shift to give you peace of mind. I know the last thing you'd want is to risk hurting me, but I was going to ask Nyra if she might help oversee controlled shifts of my own, given that she can fly and all."

"I think that list is a lot fewer than your mind would like you to believe, Júlio César," She whispered softly back to him. "I get why you're upset, but I don't really think you can say what is or isn't true regarding why she brought the bat to the game to begin with. That's her own reasoning, which I already told her was out of line to arrive at a sporting event with, but plenty of residents show up armed to events nowadays given this town's track record. As for her comment, I'm not saying that it couldn't be perceived as a threat or wasn't one. I'm explaining that she hadn't arrived at the game with the intent to do such, and if you have further questions about her reasoning, you should ask her, but I said I'm handling it, and I am. And I thought you barely remembered it, but now you can quote her verbatim?" She asked, softly, not at all questioning him, but wanting to understand, "You said you wanted a break from Council issues, so let's not talk about it at the present, and talk about something a little more pressing, like are your memories coming back to you now, or how does that work?"

"Okay, then why not stick to skating? You might not create the next Olympian, but that doesn't mean there isn't still value in it or that people don't want to learn. I see kids in this town wanting to learn how to skate all the time. And you could always expand? Teach both figure skating and hockey. I'm sure the school would love having an intramural hockey team," She suggested. But when he kept talking about getting a job he didn't like, regardless, a sigh broke from her lips as her eyes met his and she asked him forthright, "Júlio César, look at me. Do you actually want to have this conversation, or have you already decided what you're going to do for yourself?" Her voice was soft as she spoke, and while she would hardly judge him for it, she did want to check to see if anything she said on the matter was truly going to be as fruitless as it felt. "And why are you so adamant about looking into a job you don't even love at the present? You just said you were stressed, and starting a new job is nothing but stressful. You just told me you thought you might need to step away from the Council for a little bit. Are you sure you want to add anything else to your plate right about now?"

"I'm aware of how it is for a lot of people, JC. I've known you've needed to have money to make money all my life. You're talking to a woman who got married as a financial decision. Not as a love match. Even if Teddy lucked out far more financially in that arrangement than I had. But as much as it was a teasing comment, it also doesn't mean that it isn't mildly concerning for anyone mortal who has to live paycheck by paycheck, because whether or not it's right or fair, there will come a time when age catches up to them, and they'll be unable to work. And I know many can not do a thing about it, but why do you think I donate so much to this town and care so much about helping anyone in it who hasn't been taught how to invest financially? I invested money for Ralph to set him and all of his living ancestors up for success, because I have more than I will ever need," She explained quietly.

"If we want to talk financials, my father was a self-made entrepreneur who became one of the wealthiest men in all of England by the year 1787, and all that wealth has only accumulated. You can imagine how much that might equate to my net worth, but I only keep at most one billion tied up in accounts and assets at any given time. The rest is all donated to fundraisers and charities around the world. So when I say you don't need to stress about taking on a job you wouldn't want at the present, I mean it, and that's not me swooping in to try to financially resolve everything, or reducing or erasing very real concerns. But that is me saying that you don't have to shoulder everything on your own anymore. If you truly want to be a we, then let's be one. But that means big decisions regarding our personal lives are made together, as they affect both of us. It means that if you're stressed or struggling, you have someone to rely on and vice versa. If one of us is feeling the weight of the world, the other can help carry part of it, which includes things like emergencies."

"We're not. But I've lost nearly everyone I've ever cared about, Júlio César, and while I respect your decision to stay mortal for the rest of your days, I am telling you-" She started to say, but as he carried on with 'when things are better' and 'when we get through all this together', she pressed her lips together, squeezing her eyes shut as she breathed through the own feelings threatening to claw their way out. "I'm telling you that the person who will have to live with that grief won't be me. That's all. I'm sorry if that puts more on your plate, but I needed to say it, because there might never be a right time and you deserve to know. But now that you do, it can be your call if you ever want to bring it up again, and okay. I'll, uh, I'll be right back," She said as she started to stand up from the couch. "To go grab that shirt? Meet me in the kitchen?"

He swallowed hard. "I know a lot of bitten wolves. I talk to them. And, sure, it's all true. The bite changes everything. It's new. Maybe it was traumatic. The initial change can be that. I get it. And it's not that they wouldn't understand. But I don't know. I think it's not the time for me to be sowing 'I hate being a werewolf' energy among them. I always try to focus them on the positives." He weakly shrugged his shoulders.

"But sure. I'll speak with them. Maybe it'll be productive. And, yeah, we can set up somewhere. I'd rather it be a solitary place. I really don't want to hurt you or anyone else." He bit his lip. "Is there anything you need that I can help with, though? I can help you set up an area too. If you wanted to practice. I know it's tougher in the air."

As they continued, Júlio César fell silent. "I'm not going to talk to Aaliyah. It's over." He cleared his throat. "I remember mostly up to the alley. That's when it goes to shit. I remember having the flag. I remember getting there. I remember being worried about being in my Alpha form in front of you. It was pretty frantic. All mixed up with normal adrenaline. And then waking up. There's this block covering whatever went down in-between." He rolled his shoulders. "Maybe I need, like, a grounder. Something I can keep on my person that's heavy enough not to break during the shift so that it's still there on the other end to jog my mind."

"I teach beginner classes already. The rink meets the demand, but maybe we could advertise more." He gave a weak shrug of his shoulders. "But sure. I'll make some phone calls." He trailed off. "I'm just trying to be realistic here. I mean, I appreciate the input and all. It's not that." JC sighed. "And...look, this isn't commentary on you or anything, okay? Just know that. But I've always paid my own way. I've always worked. And a lot of the time in my life, I've found that if I'm not being actively useful or contributing something material, I kind of get ditched. People don't want me around anymore. Hell, my dad didn't once he realized my place in the pack wasn't helping him. And that's not to say you're going to do that, Meena. I promise it's not." He swallowed hard. "But I think I've built up this version of myself that's self-sufficient so no one could suggest otherwise." He sighed. "I have to work on it. And be okay with just being."

Lying back, he closed his eyes. "I know you didn't mean anything by it. But that was never...investing is all Greek to me, to be honest. We had a bad summer season growing up, it meant we felt the hurt all year," he admitted. "And a billion dollars is more money than I can even fathom. But if you wanted to help with the stop sign, I would appreciate it." JC offered a weak smile.

"I know," He replied more quietly. It wasn't his job to heal anything, but there was a part of him that felt obligated to atone in some way. Earn his way of living here. "It's solid advice. I hope you do the same." Malcolm could only imagine the stress that JC carried. There were duties that JC had to uphold, but he also hoped that at the end of the day, JC was taking care of himself the same way he tried to take care of everyone else. "I will say that Lunar Cove has been a nice place to raise my daughter so far." He could only assume that Rhiannon was special like her mother. In fact, Malcolm hoped that she was. In Lunar Cove, she would be free to be who she was without the dangers of his world trying to hurt her.

For those reasons, he was grateful that the council had decided not to take further action against him. Now that his daughter was back in his life, Malcolm wasn't going to leave ever again. They would have had to fight tooth and nail to remove him from her.

"I wouldn't say ridiculous, more so old school, which isn't a bad thing either. Yeah, okay. Coffee sounds great." He smiled, hope flickering somewhere deep inside of him. "I've spoken to a few. Not many. I need to make a point of interacting with the wolves in town. I guess .. I was hesitant for a while."

"Uh...I'm not trying to pry or overstep here, so please forgive me if it feels like that, but...uh, depending on when she was born, you are capable of passing on the werewolf gene now. That's worth being aware of. I'm a born wolf myself. Do you know anything about what that entails?" JC cocked his head to one side.

"Yeah. That brochure is in need of a serious update. A lot of the past forty years have been pretty heavy on the word-of-mouth. There was less need to have it all written out, I guess." He bit his lip. "You should. Pack wolves too. Rohan, Sawyer, Nell. They're good people. Nell owns the Bad Moon Brewery. Do you know it? It's a bit of a wolf hangout."

The nervous movement of JC's hands had already betrayed how difficult it was becoming for him to keep everything contained. Imran did not rush him. At the mention of Kitty, he felt his own heart tighten. He did not know much about the girl, but she had been young. Then Bobby. "Yes," Imran said quietly. "He was still ours." There was no need to qualify it. They both knew what Bobby had been like, and neither of them needed to pretend his leaving the pack erased the years before it. But it did make something very clear. "Hmm. I see what you're doing with that." His gaze stayed on JC. "You're turning every bad thing that's happened into a list of things you did wrong." There was no accusation in it, only the sort of fond exasperation reserved for someone he'd known far too long. "Hindsight is something you cannot fix. If you'd known this chain of events would happen, perhaps you would have made different choices, but you didn't know. Bobby leaving the pack doesn't mean you failed him. He was still one of yours. You said that yourself. I think that's why it hurts so much." And that was perhaps the cruellest part of grief. There was no version of the past that could be tested, no way to go back and make the other choice simply to see whether the outcome changed.

JC's attempt to pull himself back together was becoming increasingly obvious now. The tension in his shoulders, the way he kept trying to temper his own reactions before they could get ahead of him, even the heat he mentioned as though it were something physical he could blame for the sudden difficulty breathing around the words. Imran's attention briefly flicked toward the open door, catching the way JC seemed increasingly drawn toward the cooler air beyond it. But he listened without interrupting, though there were several points where his expression shifted despite his efforts to keep it neutral. The campaign sabotage, the messages about eliminating an Alpha, the casual acceptance of it from people who should have known better. The way JC had been pushed until whatever control he had left was stripped from him. And finally Prometheus, turning survival into a vote and making the people around him decide who deserved to die.

By the time JC reached the part about being one of the people chosen, Imran's jaw had tightened. "That's a lot to survive and then be expected to lead through," he said quietly. He didn't need JC to confirm it. The restless pacing, the rigid set of his shoulders, the way his attention kept slipping away whenever he got too close to something that hurt told him enough. It wasn't just a singular tragedy, but one thing after another. "What I'm hearing underneath all of this is that you're trying to find the part where you could have done something differently, but sometimes other people make terrible choices and you don't get a say in them." Imran's voice remained level, but there was a quiet gravity to it now. "I can understand why you'd come out of that thinking you have to anticipate everything now, why you would start looking for every possible failure before it happens. But if that's what you're doing, then you're asking yourself to be omniscient rather than a person."

Imarn nodded. "It absolutely does suck. Maybe it can't be okay but I don't want you confusing acceptance with surrender, either. Accepting that something terrible happened doesn't dictate what happens next, and acknowledging that you couldn't prevent it doesn't mean you stop trying for better." There was no judgement in his voice, only the steady practicality of someone who spent years watching people punish themselves for surviving things they never should have had to endure. "That's not me softening it, just telling you things as I see them. If you just need me to sit with you while you acknowledge that this is one of the worst things you've ever been through, I will, because it is, and it's horrid."

There was a shift in his expression then, something firmer settling behind his eyes. "Though, I am going to push back on something." Imran gestured toward JC, not just the man standing in front of him, but everything he'd described. "You keep calling what happens to you that thing. That beast. That horrible, mindless thing." His voice softened. "I understand why you are terrified of it, more so now since you've had people use it against you. Of course you don't trust it. Of course you're angry. But I don't want you deciding that because you lose control of yourself, you've somehow become someone else. You've been through enough without adding self-loathing to the list."

Then there was the werewolf situation, which was something he made a mental note to look more into. "I don't think you're wrong for feeling that way. Just as you're allowed to be upset when it comes to attempts at your life, from the people trying to bring about bigger destruction in the town to those you work with. You've not just lost people, but also the trust in people. And I think that's fed into the certainty you had about yourself and about what being Alpha was supposed to mean. You taught Dhruv and thought you were friends, then had someone come into your territory disregarding your concerns. I can understand why that would feel like you're being undermined."

His expression turned a bit more thoughtful. "I'm going to ask you to do something for me here. Ask yourself why they made those choices. Not to excuse them and certainly not to tell yourself you shouldn't be annoyed, but because there's a difference between understanding someone's reasoning and agreeing with it. You said you were talked down to. How? What was actually said and what was being asked for? The same applies to the people who voted for you. Did they maybe believe what Prometheus told them or did they have something to gain?" His tone remained gentle despite the quiet firmness beneath it. "You don't have to like any of those answers. Some of them might be unforgivable to you. But if you don't understand what was happening in the heads of the people around you, then you're only seeing the choice they made, not the circumstances that led them there. And that matters. You're the Alpha. You don't have to agree with everyone, but you do need to understand them if you are to lead them. Sometimes people make choices that look like betrayal from where you're standing but it could be entirely different from where they are. And, again, this isn't to excuse them or minimise the hurt you felt, it just means there's more information to gain by looking outward."

Still, he could not quite stop his fidgeting. Vulnerability brought with it the impetus to shield himself; Júlio César crossed his arms across his chest, sinking back in the chair. "I don't know what else to do. Even all this bullshit with the Council. Over the past few years, I've spoken up. I've fought. I've stirred the pot. Called people out when I thought they were avoiding the point. And has it done any good? I don't know. I really don't. It's made them pissed at me a lot. And I feel like every time I try to move forward, someone's waiting there to say how scary or awful or hypocritical I am." He rolled his shoulders, chasing away an ache that was settling right between the blades. "I don't regret bringing Nico to Lunar Cove. I don't. Nico's the best. I wish he were here. We could use him." He shook his head back and forth, wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand and stiffening up his back. A heavy silence settled over him now. "Bobby didn't die himself. He didn't die a wolf. And that's...that's what I think is going to happen to me. I don't know. I black out." His voice was hoarse.

JC sighed very deeply at that, crossing his hands in his lap. "Someone has to do it, though, right? I signed up for this. And I take it seriously. I love parts of it. I love this pack. I want to do right by it. Hell, I wanted to lead Lunar Cove. God knows why. I guess this town still means something to me even after everything." Looking back up, he met Imran's eye, but he could not quite find a smile to offer. "My whole life is a series of other people's choices, huh? Family. Neighbors. Friends. Enemies. So yeah." He cracked his neck from side to side, the ache between his shoulders continuing to pester him as it settled. "We're all superhuman around here, though, aren't we?" A humorless laugh echoed in his throat.

Closing his eyes and craning back his neck, then, JC let out a long, unsteady breath. "Yeah. I get it. I don't even know where to start. There's no rulebook here. It's like everything could come crashing down at any minute. We're taking precautions at home. We are. But it all just feels so futile. And like...man, I'm a weapon. My bite is deadly to Meena, and she's already had to live through a wolf bite before." His entire body seemed to tense, and he looked back to the door, as if making sure the escape route was still open for both their sakes. "It sucks. That's it. It just fucking sucks. I hate it. I hate everything about it."

Looking back, he clenched his jaw. "Between you and me, self-loathing has been...Look, I was an athlete, right? And then suddenly, this body you rely on, it just doesn't work the way it did. It's changed. And everything's different. And besides, I have to be someone else, don't I? I can't be angry or stressed or afraid or let myself feel those things because if I do, it takes over. I have to become this dulled numb husk of myself for everyone's own good, and hell, maybe it's for the best. That's scary. Because then at least I'd be more tolerable for everyone. Fuck." He stepped physically out onto the deck now, passing through the door to stand with it half-open, caught against his arm as he inhaled the night air. It did not settle him completely, but it at least gave him a grounding on which to plant himself.

Júlio César listened in silence with that, tapping his fingers against the doorframe. "Yeah. If I had nothing else, I had this, this Den, this pack, but that's all...it's different now. No one wants it. All these lone wolves would rather deal with it on their own. I don't know what to do. I've talked to them. I have. But they don't want the telepathic link. They don't want to have to be part of a group. I don't know. And now, with these wolf injections, tradition's dead. No bite. No group shift. Gone."

Turning back, JC leaned backward against the wall, jaw tight. "What was said? I mean, she said she was interested in genes. And wanted to be involved in science. And I think to be a wolf to keep her memories when she leaves Lunar Cove. Which is fair enough. But it sounded like she was just making me aware? Not really input or advice or bringing me into the loop. Her mind was made up. And look, I didn't shut it down. I didn't. I asked questions. I started expressing concerns, but she had a retort for each one, man." He bit his lip. "I had just killed a rival Alpha right before this, and we had stragglers from two enemy packs still in the area trying to rebuild ranks. So when I said I was concerned about new wolves being deliberately created, new wolves not bound to this pack, she said something like: 'what do you even have to worry about? You didn't give them any Alpha DNA.' Well, damn! That just solves it, don't it?" He sniffed. "And when I pointed out that she could die and that Dhruv could face all the real consequences, she accused me of not really caring about her? Which is just..." He trailed off, eyes wide. "This is in addition to having to stop herself from laughing in my face when I expressed concerns about K Labs, mind you. Which has been broken into. Along with the hospital. Both of which are run by the same family, who refused to cooperate when the stuff that was stolen was used to kidnap people."

JC huffed. "She also suggested Dhruv had some hang-ups about being the lone science wolf. Which, man...I never let him be alone. I gave him my time. And my companionship. Real friendship. I treated him like any other wolf. Hell, I thought he was maybe even on an advisor path some day. And if a pack member made him feel less than, I would have fucking nipped that shit right in the ass. But I guess that wasn't enough. I don't know. Logically, I know it's probably not about me. But it still hurts. Like I'm not worth anything but how useful I am to anybody. The convenient backup plan." JC swallowed hard again. "And as for the votes? I'm sure they were afraid of Prometheus. Everyone was. But they didn't pick me out of a hat. The Supreme didn't like me. The vampire who sabotaged me voted for me. I was chosen deliberately."

JC closed his eyes, tight, wiping at them again with the back of his hand but doing a poor job of maintaining composure. His stomach lurched, but he rallied against the frothing monster with all his willpower. "Yeah. Fine. Sure. Heard. But I need to tell you, Imran, I think a lot of people around here just keep me around for the benefits I can give them. How do I find more grace? How do I ask for it when I so desperately need it here? I want to move forward. I don't know how."

"I don't even really have all that kind of money. We live paycheck to paycheck, but I take it you like the whole competitive skating thing?" She asked, though her eyes did fall at the outstretched bottle before she moved to tuck the good liquor she had back into her pocket. "Suit yourself."

"I didn't say I did?" She held up her hands in the air as if to signal that she hadn't meant any harm by it. "All I was trying to say is that you seem really stressed, dude, and you're right, I don't know you. But from an outsider perspective, it seems like you've got a lot going on and you look really tense, so I figured if I offered you the good weed or a drink, it might help? Sorry if that was overstepping," or if that tense look of his was just his face doing that and he really wasn't all that tense at all. "I just meant that, like, if you spend all your time worried about others, who's going to worry about you, I guess? That and you did seem kinda overly cautious about the whole forest fire thing. Not saying you don't have a reason to be, but like I did put the joint away and am telling you I'm not going to start a forest fire, so if anything happens after that, you kinda just gotta trust that people can be accountable for their own shit, ya know?"

"You're good. I don't know the ins and outs of all the wolf shit. No dude. I meant, I was saying it would be shitty if everyone wanted me to deal with their messes cause of my job, but I can also handle myself. But," Lennon had to do a double-take as the Alpha of all people just tried to fake a phone call with her. "Did you seriously just try to pull a 'fake a phone call' on me? I might not know much about wolves, but I've lived in this town for long enough to see how you all shift to talk to one another." Not to mention she was a telepath and would be able to hear if he got a message all of a sudden. "What the hell man? Were the being out of cheese puffs a lie too?!"

"Uh, yeah, that's what I did for a living back in the day. I just coach now. You know what they say. When you can't do, teach. I do okay for myself." At the very least, it paid the bills with an appropriate amount of budgeting. But he had someone on his team now, he had Meena, and he was making efforts to remember that.

"It's not...look, I do appreciate the offers. Really. It's not that. And hell, I'm sure I must look a goddamn mess. But there's a lot going on around here right now. With all due respect, though, I'm not trying to micromanage anyone, and to be frank, I kind of resent the insinuation that's what I'm doing. I just don't want a fire. Period. End of story. I'm not tryna argue with you about it. You put it away. It's fine. It's done."

He put his hands up in mock arrest. "I'm in charge of the pack. It's my job to have to worry about everyone, you know?" Shoulders slumped, then, but JC did not have the wherewithal to carry on, not with so many other stresses already mounting.

"Yeah. I did. Look...sorry. We are actually out of cheese puffs, but I kind of...don't have it in me for the back and forth right now. It's not something I can do right now. We can go to the Den. It's fine. But we, not really knowing each other, are gonna be polite and not discuss my stress and how I deal with it. Fair?"

"I don't need to wait and see. I've lived it. Both as a banshee and now," Z offered the Alpha a soft smile, this time with their fangs on display. "I know how these stories go. Maybe not all the details, but history has a way of often repeating itself." Though at the mention of the foreboding prophecy, Z let out a longing sigh. "Oh how I miss propheticizing. It was terrible in the moment, mind you, but it's always funny the memories you hold dear after you're no longer able to experience them. Though, oh darling, it's hardly just you. It's the culture. It's why as part of your sabbatical, why not swing by my shop? Treat yourself? Kick your feet up and relax, hm? Not if I beat you to it first," Z teased. "I need to swing by to procure one of those daylight rings," They explained as they motioned up to the umbrella overhead and how they unfortunately were having to cover themselves amidst the heat. And you as well. Oh, just about the past twenty-six years or so? I died in town, so I've been putting off the whole reunion. But its certaintly good to be back now."

"Well, good. I'm already two dozen or so in. So we're making progress." While JC tried to deliver this remark as a joke, it landed too gravely, weighed down by the gravitas of its own truth. He cleared his throat. "I get it, though. Kind of literally, actually. Wounds scar, tissue heals, but...hell, you put your foot down the wrong way, and all the pain comes back again. Old injury." He patted his leg, and while he lived with it, the remnants of that day still prevented him from pushing himself as strongly as he would have liked. He was always going to hit the wall eventually, he reasoned, and at this moment, he was crashing into it at full force.

"That's nice of you. I hope so." He did not have a choice, he knew, and while temptation lingered on his tongue, a sudden thought that no, sometimes things did not get better, JC bit it back, managing a smile that masked some of the lingering, rotten uncertainty.

"Ah." He nodded at the appearance of fangs, but these things did not surprise him. "I mean, we all live with the...fuck-ups of everyone who came before us. Pardon the French. I hope we don't leave too many of our own behind for the next generation." He bit his lip. "Sorry. I didn't realize...I wouldn't have brought it up to be upsetting. But sure. I'll try to stop by one of these days. I'm just...I don't know. I feel like I have so much to do, and I'm not supposed to be doing too much. It's like a big Catch 22." He sighed. "Oh, yeah. Joining the clan then? But...uh, I was out-of-town a lot 26 years ago myself. Used to compete then. Junior level. The kids can't travel the way I did. Too dangerous. Hunters. Everything else. What can you do, huh?"

“I think you should. You’d get millions of views. It’s okay, gramps, I'll get you with the times. Probably not very regulated if I had to guess.” At the end of the day, money made the world go ‘round. The people pushing wanted to make their earnings and needed some desperate fool to push their janky products. Sawyer liked to believe he was better than those who took any sponsorship. He at least had taste and some morals. 

“You’d think. All our lives would be too easy if we had something to solve all our problems. I think Imran would mention something about not being able to grow or whatever.” Lunar Cove hadn’t been sunshine and rainbows. He knew that much even from the short year of being here. He couldn’t imagine the stress JC was under due to recent events. Sometimes, he swore the veins in his head would pop. “Listen, you might have to. Structure works for some, but also if I gotta clean up someone’s moldy leftover one more time I might scream.” Sawyer had done chores when he was a kid. His career had given him the privilege of having people do tasks for him. Going back to doing everything for himself again was another one of his endless wake-up calls. While he was part of the pack, Sawyer was going to carry his weight.

“Yeah, no problem, boss,” Sawyer replied with a smile. “Okay, yeah. I know you can't leave. You have Alpha duties. Yeah ... that was a better idea in my head. Maybe hold off on that, but you do gotta relax eventually." The stress that JC was under could've crumbled anyone. "Me? Oh, I'm peachy. Great as can be. I mean, Lunar Cove was kind of the escape. Give me wide open spaces and some good beer, and I'm fine."

"Yeah, yeah. But you still need rest days, right? Can't be all growth all the time." Lunar Cove was long overdue for a lull, for a single solitary reprieve not immediately pierced by some new calamity. The hope became more and more fleeting each day. JC smiled despite himself. "I get it. But I really do appreciate it, man. You pull your weight. You should feel good about it. It makes a difference." Perhaps that was silly; it was just tidying. But the pack worked best when it functioned a whole, when its members looked out for one another. He would have to keep a closer eye on who was falling behind, he decided. Maybe they needed a polite reminder.

"I am. Imran's coming in and all. So I'm going to be...taking some time for myself. It'll work out, right?" He nodded with more certainty than he actually felt. "You wanna have a beer? They're...lukewarm. But we have some."

"Oh, really?" She rolled her eyes softly as she pointed out, "You sound bitter. I know it might be hard to give other people the benefit of the doubt right now, but no one is blaming you for the stop sign, and I'm not saying that this town doesn't love to point fingers, because it does, and, us, leaders are treated often to an unfair standard as everyone else. But maybe we all need to stop pointing fingers at each other if we want to find any semblance of common ground?"

"You're not collateral. I'm sure people just don't know what to say, but I know it doesn't make those feelings go away," She trailed off. "I know. I spoke to her on the matter, and I don't agree with what happened, but she wasn't carrying a bat around to threaten anybody with. I can very much see how it can be and was construed as such, which is why I said I'm handling it. Nor am I telling you this to make excuses, but she brought the bat to Capture the Flag to make people forget as to how she's a weapon. There are plenty of us in Lunar Cove affected by ichor right now, and we're all grieving and coming to terms with what happened to us in our own ways, and the werewolves are hardly the only species in town people are terrified of. And with fear, well..." He knew how people could be. They both knew firsthand how fear could make others react. "Let's not talk about the Council anymore, okay?"

"I'm not saying you shouldn't have a job, Moonfang," She rolled her eyes lightly. "I'm just saying it should be something you actually enjoy, whether that is skating or another love of yours. I don't think that's such a wild concept, do you?" She poked him lightly in the chest at the thought. "You know I was talking financially. I just don't see the point in you taking a gig you don't like just to be able to pay a bill, when we're already living together, and between the two of us, have more than enough to not ever have to worry about a stop sign, for example." She moved to sit up. "Do you not have savings? Because if not, that is mildly concerning for someone your age," She teased, though she did think he really should've at least opened up a retirement account by now, given that he was a mortal of the age of forty-two. He might not need one if they were going to stay together long term, given how well off she was financially, but it wasn't as though he would've known that even two years ago. "If you want to discuss it in depth," She paused momentarily before giving him a small nod in consideration. "We can, though I think the whole mortality question we are always skirting around might be more pressing before we discuss what we'd want this to look like down the line. Though the concept of it is not... well, I wouldn't say it's never in my cards again."

"Mhm. I like the sound of that, though," She teased, pressing a tender kiss against his lips before she pulled back just enough to admit, "I do, but until I get the whole growing wings and losing control thing under wraps, I think it might be best if I stick to blood bags for now and you go on vervain like we previously discussed."

JC shifted on the sofa, stretching out his limbs. "I am bitter. I'm so bitter. But...sure. Yeah. Like I said, I'm probably going to have to step to the side, so I'll back off...let things happen." Looking up, then, he met her eye and spoke uneasily. "I think a lot of people would be a lot happier if I were dead, Meena." Curling into himself a bit, then, JC grit his teeth. "If that's what she told you, it's just...it's not true. I'm sorry. I know she's your advisor. I know she's your friend. I appreciate you speaking with her. Really, I do. I trust you. But there's no construing happening here. She literally threatened me with it out loud. I don't know how else to take 'I don't want to hit you with this' but as a threat to hit me with it unless I dropped the flag. So." There was no ease in his tone. "It's whatever. It happened. It's done. And I'm trying not to keep getting worked up about it."

JC sighed again. "Skating is all I've ever loved. I poured my whole life into it. Since I was a little kid. Everything else is just work. Which is fine. People work. I don't have to like it. I just have to be able to do it. I was lugging shit when I was building up my coaching profile. You get on with it." He smiled with some fatigue, letting out a laugh. "Savings? Meena, look, if we're going to combine things, I need to...give you a realistic picture of my finances here. I have some savings. A real emergency would blow through them. In a good year, I make, like, 50K? Give or take? I'm a contractor at the ice rink. My amateur classes are part-time, so I don't get medical, life insurance, a 401K, none of that. And during my prime? I could maybe make 70K on grants, stipends, and local sponsors. I mean, I was never in the Olympics, so I didn't even touch national corporation money. That's when you get into six figures. Maybe. And whatever I did make, I spent on training, which racks up into the thousands easy, and I'm still paying off medical debt from my injury because I was on low-tier marketplace insurance at the time. Free agent life, you know? Like, I know you didn't mean anything by it, I do, but my situation is...sort of just how it is for a lot of people."

"Oh yikes. That's a lot. Nah, I just want to drive it like once would be cool. I don't really think I need to get into all that heating, dehumidification shit, 'cuse my language," She reasoned, running her hand along the back of her neck at the thought. "Oh, well, you should've just said so. Mini fireball?" She finished a travel-sized little bottle of fireball out of her other pocket to offer out to him. "Or do you not drink either?"

"Dude, can I say this? I'm going to say it, but I think you'd seem a whole lot less stressed if you stopped, I dunno, trying to micromanage everyone else? No offense, but It's a joint. It's not starting any fires in the woods, and yeah, I knew of Poppy and I never really got the hype about her, but, dude, that's also not how light magic works. I get you're saying it with confidence, but you are talking to a witch right now who gets that you're the Alpha, but is also going to respectfully call you out on your bullshit. Poppy was a light magic witch. She couldn't do ice spells or ice magic. The closest light witches have is the Chill at Will spell, which can only cool things down if they touch them, and it can't freeze shit. I'm different."

"Valid and eh. It would be, but I can handle myself," The corner of her lips lifted up every so slightly as she side-stepped into tandem with his. "So is it true y'all have like an endless supply of vegan cheese puffs or some shit? I've heard the Wolf Den is like the Mary Poppy's bag of them, but figured that might just be the rumor mill."

"No, it's fine. I get it. I wouldn't spend all that money on something I didn't really, really want to do." He had poured so much of his life into the one thing he wanted to do, and that had proven a bust. JC sighed, offering a weak smile. "Thank you, but no thank you. I do drink, but just...it's hot. It's early. Maybe some other time."

Raising his brow, then, JC cocked his head to one side. "Uh...look, you don't actually know me. I don't know you." This came flatly. "But sure. You got me there. I don't know all the ins and outs of all the witch shit. Sorry. My mother was one, but she wasn't in the coven. I'm not trying to bullshit anyone, though. It's very hot. It's very dry. But sure. Heard. Got it. I can't stop you."

JC offered a stilted nod, stomach lurching a bit. "Uh, we don't have any right now actually. But you know, I'm getting a wolf telepathy thing. I'm needed somewhere. So we're going to have to rain check, yeah? You can find your way back, right?"

"You say that like I don't clean up after people for a living, but score. I'll hang out on the deck." She nodded, following after him curiously.

"Since...I don't know. At least the late 90s. Largely out of Canada, surprising no one. There are online courses. And in-person courses, sure. Probably a few thousand dollars. But again, that's if you want to work on the big Olympic rinks. And it's beyond just driving the Zamboni. It's heating and dehumidification and water system management. Everything you need to get a place operational." He hummed. "Sports. Working out. I used to be a professional athlete. We were tested for things like cannabis. I guess I never really acquire the taste," JC explained. He raised an eyebrow. "I never said you were planning on it. But again. It's dry. I think we should probably not start any fires in the woods. Did you know the former Supreme? Also a witch with ice spells. Didn't save the inn from a fire spell." He clicked his tongue. "Well, we clean up after ourselves for the most part. And I feel it's still polite to tidy before company...even if the company does it for a living, huh? It'd be pretty shitty if everyone just wanted you to deal with it because of your job." He shrugged his shoulders, starting through the trees along a hidden path he had walked countless times before on two legs and four.

"I'm here, and I'm listening," She assured him as she continued to trace soft circles along his skin. "I know. I didn't say it because I thought you would. I'm telling you the truth because I love you too and I don't think it's right for you to blame yourself when you were antagonized. Even if I know, as the Clan Leader, I probably shouldn't. You deserve to know." It wasn't fair what had happened to him, to them. None of this situation was fair, but neither were the members of the town's expectations for them to just suck it up and deal with, when they were people just as any other resident, who, when provoked like with a bat or some choice words, were bound to react. "And no. I don't think it's unfair to think. I think that is fairly likely, actually. And I know you want reciprocity, rightful so, but I'm not sure what the new leaders can even say outside of the fact that they don't condone what Poppy did. I'm sorry," She frowned at the thought. Her bottom lip jutted out slightly as she let out a soft sigh of her own. "I know what it's like to be voted to die by a fellow leader, and I know we're just expected to brush it off, but I also know that it doesn't get easier. And of course. The Clan has no issues with the pack. I hope you know that. And as for select vampires, I'm... trying to navigate misdirected fear and grief. It's just... this job isn't always easy, is it? But enough Council talk. You are currently on vacation, which means that this is a Council-free household at the present," she decided, determined to offer him some semblance of reprieve and hopefully joy if she could.

"You could, if you wanted to, but look at me," She gave his chin a small nudge as she told him, "I know we're both workaholics, but I don't want you taking a job you don't love. Not when there isn't any reason to, and before you start with me, I know you're more equipped to take care of and financially support yourself. But you happen to have a selfish girlfriend who is well aware that time will never be on our side. So, I happen to want to have as much of it as I can with you and," A genuine laugh broke from her lips at the mention of the stop sign. "You are more than welcome to pay for the stop sign," She promised, lifting her hands up even to make it abundantly clear that she was hardly going to fight him on it. "Though, let's, and it should be more than just for things for the house or for the two of us. It should be for anything either of us might need or want. Okay?" She nudged him lightly back. "You're the one who said that you loved me and don't have any plans of being with anyone else for the rest of your life, right? So, in that case, wouldn't you say that what's mine is yours and what's yours is mine? And if so, then even if we invested the same percentage of our overarching finances into a shared account, I hate to tell you this, but it means that both of us are," She scrunched up her nose as she flashed him a teasing look. "Filthy stinking rich and don't need to be doing anything that we don't love."

"I think that could be arranged," She teased. Another flutter of laughter escaped her lips as she kissed him. "Though we might have to move at some point. Last I checked, werewolves need to eat, but I could always put on one of your shirts and make breakfast before we end up right back here."

He hummed softly. "It's hard not to blame myself, Meena. It sort of feels like most people do, anyway. So why not? Maybe a lot of it's deserved too. I'm difficult. I don't beat around the bush. I call shit out. Everyone would be a lot happier if I kissed them on the forehead and said 'do whatever the fuck you want.' But I'm not bitter." He was, and the sensation was a festering one. He seized hold of it before it could settle too deeply into his gut. JC closed his eyes with it, trying to ground himself.

"I don't know either. Hell. Maybe acknowledgement is enough. But the last time I brought it up...it's like...I don't know. I don't matter. I'm just collateral damage." He shifted his shoulders from side to side. "The pack has no issues with the clan. We're good, okay? But, Mimi, with love, with respect...for my sake, the person holding the bat wasn't some random vampire. It was your advisor, right? It's hard. I get it. God, do I get it. But that is a complicating factor. I trust that you're dealing with it, and I'm grateful." JC nodded, voice trailing off. "But yeah. I don't wanna talk Council anymore."

Looking up, JC met her eye. "That's life, Meena. You do what you got to do to get by." He smiled weakly. "And I do need something to do with my time, you know. Otherwise, I'd sit around and be a pain in everyone's ass." He cleared his throat, flashing her a teasing look. JC's expression softened. "I have most things I want, Meena. It doesn't really take much. And I do love you. But you hear what you're saying, don't you? What's mine is yours, and what's yours is mine? For the rest of my life? This is not a proposal, and if that's not ever in your cards again, I believe we can have a long, fulfilling, happy life without one. But was that something we should discuss? In-depth? Like real people who aren't just their Council positions?" He hummed, pushing some hair from her face. "A percentage of zero is zero. I need to look out for some kind of job. But I find work fulfilling." He smiled.

"I could go for breakfast," JC whispered back. "Let me help. You can wear one of my shirts, and I'll throw on just an apron. Do you need to feed? You can if you do."