Always 'On Call' ( Tag Dev)

[Vaydra]

Vaydra could only nod as she took in all h e had to say about his uncle.
"I will keep that in mind if he finds his way to my neck of the woods. Wolf Sanctuary and a Women's Shelter? Sounds as if you all keep busy." She smiled a bit, impressed. She knew or had at least heard rumor before now of the larger septs across the pond becoming more involved with communities and such. But hearing it direct from the lips of one was different.

She picked up one of the last few onion rings off her plate and chewed, looking over at him as he seemed to take amusement or annoyance over her choice of words about the girl. She shrugged, deciding rather than to apologize she'd have a bit of amusement of her own. "Probably not your girlfriend, no. I'm willing to bet you're not my type nor I yours, regardless." She even gave him a little wink. Vaydra didn't much bother pursuing men or women for that matter in general, once in a while though it prooved to not be an entire waste of time. She continued. " As for Primal Urge, Didn't mean to insult your prowess in the game of attraction, Devon. You likely could have, but it would have taken longer, I'd bet."

The Fenrir didn't actually have a bad personality, at least not so far. But logic dictated, without the eye contact, the little extra push of Primal Urge, that going on that alone might not have been a resounding success. It could well have been, but she hardly wanted to speculate. Second to last swig of her beer as she listened to him go on about the 'ritual'. She nearly choked on it as he asked her if she'd done that sort of thing before.
"What I meant by job, was the one she is paid to do, not her duty to the gene pool. Meaning that if she forgets her tasks, her tips and livelihood will suffer. To me, it would have to be a special person worthy to risk that. I guarantee though that she's on the line. A girl knows when another is long gone like that, even though I've only known Meg here and not outside." Oh and yes, I've got no trouble attracting mates when I want one, thanks for your concern."

She took a little breath and another onion ring, trying not to be annoyed at what he had said. It had not meant to be insulting, she guessed, or t least if it had it was in retaliation to her remarks. Fair was fair. She glanced towards the bar again and saw Meg notice and start heading over to them.

[Devon alNailo]

"We've got a couple of other places. Gives the Kinfolk and Garou places to work that will be... understanding. Plus it buries money, gives tax cover to keep the government at bay, and secures our Caern grounds without having to worry about over ambitious developers and the like. If anything we don't like encroaches we can throw down the monkey wrenching just like everybody else but the Elders have found soft hands is the way to go to filter out the evil from the merely misguided. The Wolf sanctuary started out as a way to secure the undeveloped land, the Women's Shelter is a bit of a pet project for the family." Most of the Nailo's had a special spot of hate in their hearts for domestic abuse so the place had just made sense when they went for places to make tax write offs and financial filters.

Dev snorted. "Yeah, I'm not into chicks who've had their first change. I know, it's nitpicky, but it's worked for me so far."

"Well, you notice I haven't been making it harder for her. It's not like I took her by the hand and walked her into a storage closet or anything, or talked her into going home early." He looked Vaydra over when she declared that she had no trouble finding mates. Dev shrugged after a moment, making a face like he assumed it was a cultural thing that allowed the gawky girl get what she wanted out of men without using Primal Urge. "Good for you." He winked to turn it all into a joke at her expense.

[Vaydra]

Vaydra perked up and listened to his explanation of the businesses and their purposes. It shouldn't really come as any surprise that a large sept such as theirs had things so well organized. It wasn't too much, more that it was interesting and something she'd been wanting to bring up to the one nearby here. Nothing wrong with throwing support into a community with tax and land protection as benefits. Land was a little scarce to claim these days, and they'd been approached by people wanting to buy x acres for this or that. She nodded, to the bit about being a 'pet project', though she was abundantly curious why domestic abuse was the cause that called to them most, but didn't want to sound judgemental. "Our place is currently a park and conservation land, but of late it's been a little tougher to keep that way. Good to keep in mind there are ways to do so we hadn't put on the list."

She chuckled a bit as he explained he wasn't into garou. It was kind of a given, and both of them knew it. Even if you were unrelated to another, it was frowned upon at best, persecuted and punished at worst. They had plenty of kinfolk and humans in the world as it was anyhow, so the need to look in one's backyard for that sort of thing just wasn't there.

She let the smirk play on her lips as he explained how he could have gone about courting Meg. "You haven't talked her into going home early...yet. I'm not entirely sure she'd need much convincing, you should go for it. I was going to see about getting you someplace to stay as a courtesy, but that is up to you.."

Vaydra tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder and tried to look offended. His opinion of her appearance and abilities to attract men hardly were worth her concern. She was tempted to court one right now, just to prove she could. But this was business, not pride.

Meg approached them then, looking at Vaydra, then a longer look at Devon. Slightly longer, but just enough to be noticeable. "Well then, can I clear empty plates for you yet? Dessert?" She smiled, warmly.

"I'll have a water with lemon please. No dessert." Vaydra replied, getting her order out of the way to let the waitress focus on the object of her interest.

[Devon alNailo]

"Send one of your more personable Ragabash down to the local town hall to chat with everybody about how nice it is to have that as it is and how how good people keep it that way. Then start hunting down the leeches that undoubtedly have their claws sunk in around the place. Once they are out of the way you'll be able to spot Wyrm influence easy, like mental disorder hiding the symptoms of brain cancer." He was approaching the problem like a battlefield, discussing the solution like large scale academic formation tactics. "Then get a good, clean, lawyer to set up a foundation and apply for any and all available non-invasive government protections. We've found that being a nationally recognized preserve has kept the real monsters at by for fear of their reputations rather than it being any real lawful protection."

Laws meant nothing to those who felt they were above the law in the first place, but making the company look bad was a far more effective deterrent because the bosses didn't just fire you, they ruined you, if you screwed the reputation of the company for something as petty as a couple hundred acres of land that would be nothing but a headache anyway.

"No offense, but I bet her place has better turn down service than what you were going to find." Oh yeah, she was gonna tuck him in and everything. Dev grinned. "And I'm not gonna get her in trouble, I can stay up for a while longer. Besides, if I do knock her up she's gonna need to be on good standing with the boss man."

When Meg came along Dev just sat back against his chair, watching her with interested eyes. Vaydra ordered a water with lemon, which would have gotten her a good-natured ribbing back home, and then Meg was looking at him again. He enveloped her in his Primal Urge once again as he leaned forward. "Actually, Meg, at the risk of sounding forward, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind letting me walk you home when you get out of work."

[Vaydra]

She just nodded as he explained how he would go about securing the holdings. It was sound, if not a bit rough, and likely similar to how it was done in their case. The Fenrir, considering her past with them and current understanding, were brash, bold, and brutal in how they got things done. But they were thorough and far from thoughtless in how the went about at least things concerning their own land. That couldn't be overlooked. "I was planning on taking a trip there tomorrow afternoon, and will make a point to check on what's being done to sort that out, and bring up the matter. Of course, you would be invited along."

It was as much a polite, informal invite as it was a necessary one. Both would likely know the unspoken rule in regards to newcomers. If you weren't the one in charge, you brought them to who was to meet them. The elders of her small sept would need to be told, regardless of his attendance or absence. He likely would want to meet them, if his mission was as it seemed to be, peaceful at least now. Those she knew of would be interested to see the American Fenrir, especially because of his ties with such a prominent influence. Vaydra had been planning a trip in three to four days, but it was expedited by his sudden appearance here in her neck of the woods. Devon didn't need to know the kernel of truth at the center of the acorn though. It didn't affect him in the least. She didn't know how long he was planning on staying in her relatively quiet jurisdiction and it might as well not be days in that case.

She smirked a bit as he politely turned down her offer of lodgings in favor of Meg's. He had the bravado of any young male, human or garou, and it showed, but she let him have his win and shrugged to concede her point. He even mentioned his intentions with her. "Oh of course. You would see an entire lack of turn down service at my place. Who am I to deny you your entertainment?"

He claimed she wouldn't be in trouble, but that would remain to be seen. He struck her as someone who might not have a problem with loving and leaving a girl in his wake. Especially if he wasn't just here on a pleasure trip. But, either way it wasn't much her concern or care whose bed he chose to warm.

Meg nodded to her order and turned to Devon. Vaydra knew the second the influence of the man across the table hit her again. It was strong enough to almost shift the air, give it weight. Meg bit her lip and listened as he gave her his invitation and request. She blinked a bit in surprise as his words sunk it. She clicked her pen twice and cleared her throat lightly. "Well, um......I'm not off for another half hour or so. Really want to walk me home? I don't know..."

Then, to the blonde's surprise, Meg glanced her way, as if for help or information. Oh of all the damned things.... Vaydra shot a look at Devon for a split second and then straightened up a bit, putting on a smile.
"Meg, this is my... cousin, visiting from America. He is forward, it's an across the pond thing, but he's alright."

She had no idea why she was helping him, but at this point, he'd been no real trouble, and this would at least mean she'd know where to find him tonight too and she'd rather have him in one place than running about Exeter.
Meg tucked the pen behind her ear and smiled a bit at Vaydra. She didn't know the woman overly well, but she was in often enough to be familiar. Plus, now that she'd established that the two weren't a couple, it seemed to put her at easy. She turned the smile on Devon.
"Well, is that so? I figured so, since no accent." She paused, then set her jaw and seemed to make her decision. "Um........yes. You can walk me home if you still want to. Just have two more tables after here to finish out and boss said I can head home." Her cheeks were a bit pink, blushing. It wasn't everyday someone hit on the waitress without being a vulgar pig about it. He was pretty cute, and that helped too.

[Devon alNailo]

"Sure, why not." Dev seemed not the slightest bit put off by the idea of going to a Sept. Though in that moment he was wondering if he'd find the idea of a Caern in a city building tolerable. That was what the Glasswalkers did, right? Or was she talking about one of the ones in the countryside and that was why she referred to it as a 'trip'. "I always like to meet new people."

He merely nodded at her revelation of lack, a sage expression that he'd likely learned from somebody else entirely because it looked out of place on a young warrior like himself.

Dev waited, watching her, not pushing. She was already on the hook, a touch or two and she'd be begging for the natural conclusion as her base nature roared at her from the bottom of her brain. He waived politely when she introduced him as her cousin. An unnecessary kindness but one that certainly eased things along. Meg accepted his offer to walk her home, noting how many tables worth of people he had to out wait. "I look forward to the walk then." If there was anything his grandfather and great uncle had taught him, it was patience. All he had to do was work out when and where to meet back up with Vaydra.

[Vaydra]

"Good. It's not a long trip up." She assured casually. Less than two hours, round trip. Hour and a half if her cousin Pam drove them. The woman was a leadfoot, probably had something to do with putting up with George and Vaydra both. It was hard to fault her for having a short fuse, given all they'd been through just six months or so back.

From across the table, she watched the interaction take place between them, noting the ease that settled in the slightly older woman's shoulders as she revealed the loose blood tie and vouched for Devon's character. If it had been a road block for the woman, knowing he wasn't some vagrant or something kicked the thing to the curb and cleared the way. Good for him. She smiled politely to Meg as the woman nodded with reddened cheeks to Devon then briefly her, as she turned around and hurried off to finish her tables. Was that a spring in her step? Probably.

The young ahroun straightened her shoulders a bit and caught Devon's eye hen he was done following the auburn-haired waitress with them. "Seems like she's rather excited to finish work all of a sudden, huh?" Vaydra smirked, but continued. "It might go without saying, but if anything happens to her, I'll come looking to ask you about it, no offense, just my duty here is to keep an eye and keep things quiet."

She knew he'd likely catch her drift. A bar fight, even a bad one, happened at least two or three times a week around here. Young woman goes missing or found dead? Not so much. She had a couple of recruits, tentative pack members settling in now, but it was her who was in charge here, at least by Glasswalker standpoint, and as Beta for her own currently scattered, pack. It wasn't a threat, just a friendly word of caution she followed up with a bemused comment. "I bet I don't see that water with lemon. Oh well."

[Devon alNailo]

"Wouldn't matter if it was. Car, boat, or paw?" He was always fascinated by the way various Septs were approached. His great uncle had even found one that was only easily approached by military helicopter, even on foot for a Garou it was a pain in the ass to get to. Suited the Uktena who lived there just fine, though, so nothing had been said about it in criticism. His Grandfather had spoke of a Makole in southern Egypt that required one to squat down and duck walk through chest high water into a grotto. The waters just happened to have a healthy dose of Crocodiles living in them, for flavor.

Devon raised an eyebrow at the logical conclusion style threat. "If you've been doing your job, I can't imagine how anything could happen to her that would have anything to do with me." A lot of the other Tribes had some very definite ideas about how the Fenrir treated women, and those very definite ideas were very definitely incorrect. Devon preferred not to make the assumption but to leave the door open for people to make the accusation so he could slap it down. "I can remind her. Then you'll have six of them."

[Vaydra]

Vaydra smiled as he seemed quite agreeable to the idea of going still. Hopefully it wasn't for show and he meant it, so she could hook up with him tomorrow and take him in. She had no reason to suspect he'd be less than a man of his word, honestly. "Car for most of it, but the last mile or three could be done on paws if you need to stretch them. Sometimes I do, though the parking is usually not a problem in the lot at the conservation office."

It was one of the few places you could run easily without anyone telling local news there were rabid wolves in the streets hunting down precious babies and the elderly and whatnot. For that, Vaydra was at times thankful. Being a modern garou of her tribe had it's perks but everyone needed to get back to nature once in a while, even if only to visit.

All she could do in reply to his assurances was nod. He was right in that. If she honestly wasn't comfortable with him in the city, they wouldn't be having dinner and a nice chat like old friends. It had nothing to do with preconceived notions either. It was just in general something someone should say to someone they have vouched for, put their name on the line for. "I only said it because I've told her we are related, Devon. If you are less than a gentleman who gives her a night to remember for months or years to come, it would be on me. No offense meant."

At his offer to remind Meg of the drink order she shook her head and laughed lightly. "Really just no need for that. I didn't drive here and don't fancy floating my way back to my place or risking public urination. Girls get away with it more often than men, but the fine would be rotten."

The waitress came back out, giving the receipt back to the first table to close them out. Then the second table, she brought one more beer to and then placed the three guy's check on the edge of the table. It was clear though she was being nice, there was an urgency to her step, and none knew better why than them.
"She's almost all yours. Almost makes me wish I wasn't going home alone tonight. Almost."

Truth was, she hated having men over. George teased her, Pam asked when she was going to keep one longer than a couple of nights, and breakfast was awkward at best. Better to meet them and go to their places. Tonight, she had a lot on her mind before Devon, and certainly way more after.

[Warlord]

"A proper run always sounds good to me. I like using the four-legged forms between cities, has a better miles-per-day rate than hitch hiking does for a guy my size." Few and far between were the humans, even strong healthy males, who would slow down for a big muscular beast of a man like Devon. Even fewer that would actually let him into their vehicle. He was an Ahroun, the curse of Rage was strong with him. His best ride so far had been a bus full of nuns and it had still taken him the better part of two hours to put them truly at ease with his presence. He'd had to be much more chatty than was in his nature, essentially ending up with him doing a fair impression of his father or great-uncle.

To be honest, it had struck him as odd. His Rage scared the nice little ladies in their black drapes, while Rand would have instantly been as safe when he was really the one nature should have been warning them about. Maybe Gaia got a giggle out of that sort of thing. He knew Rand would.

"I'll do the best I can, hopefully she appreciates enthusiasm and a willingness to accept instruction." His father had once used the term 'enthusiastic amateur' to describe a young Garou in lust. It seemed apt to Devon, he certainly had no delusions that he'd fundamentally altered anyone's sexual expectations by spending the night with them. But then he'd never aimed to, either.

Devon chuckled when she stated that women got away with public urination more often than the men. "The British..." he mused rhetorically. "I can ask if she has a roommate, or a single dad, or a brother. But maybe if you go home frustrated you'll be motivated enough to keep up with me when we go for our run." He was teasing her now, figuring he'd let her get going so he could focus up on Meg. She was a pretty gal, probably deserved to be focused on. She didn't have the smell of anyone else on her that he could notice yet. That said something for a bar waitress of her looks and age. "You know where abouts she lives? Or should I howl you up come morning?"