[Sofie Janssen] [will be right back, start without me!]
[Kora] The moon hangs full somewhere above the cloud cover, heavy, round - shining bright in a darkling sky. Nevermind the clouds, it shines somewhere, and they can feel its incessant pull all the same. An unreachable itch under the skin, a need for movement, a certain taut awareness that sharpens perceptions of the world around them, that pulls out the wolf in them even at the most improbable times.
The weather tonight is utterly foul; well below freezing. The air inside the sanctuary of the old church is a wall of cold except where it is chased away by space heaters, the other provisions they have made against the cold. The thick, insulated brick walls in the social hall - where the roof is largely intact, the windows, generally hidden from the street, unbroken - with its kitchen, its warren of old classrooms, its several half-explored floors - remains warmer. But out here, go ten feet from the space heaters and your breath fogs out.
Snow covers the streets again, a faint dusting on the steps leading up to the church. In places where the roof is a ruin, preciptation falls. Not flurries tonight, but a hard freezing rain that falls from the sky liquid, turning to ice in the lower atmosphere, glazing the roads and lacerating the skin.
She leaves fresh treads in the icy snow up the steps, and the wooden door falls heavily closed behind her. Even from here she can feel the radiant heat from the heaters, dissipated though it may be, and she closes her eyes just inside the door, then shakes her head like a dog to rid herself of some of the damp. Two large paper bags smell like Chinese - from that little take-out kitchen on the edge of their territory - and swing from her right hand. The rich scent fills the sharp cold air, makes her salivate.
[Sofie Janssen] It's not long after Kora has had a chance to settle down with her food, get herself warmed by the space heaters and let her fingers thaw out, that Sofie is walking through the drifts towards the church. She had ditched cabs tonight, having to spend her money sparingly, and took the trip by bus and foot.
The collar of a black jacket is turned up, fitting high across her jaw. Her hair is hidden under that and her knit cap. A scarf is wrapped around the mouth and nose of her face, and what's left of her is a pair of very pale blue eyes, staring out at the world. Boots leave a trail of footprints across the sidewalk, and the bottom hem of her jeans, at the back, are soaked with the dampness of the snow.
She climbs up the steps and takes a hand out of her pocket, knocking twice on the church door.
[Kora] She's starving, Kora. There's something in among those bags that she's craving, and she means to devour it like a hungry wolf. There's all the business of unpacking the little white cartons to be done, digging through the containers of white and fried rice, the wax bags of eggrolls and fried dumplings, to find the goddamned shrimp toast.
Then, there is the work of undoing all the layers. Tugging off her gloves, unwinding her scarf, unbutton the woolen winter coat, a dark plum color with oxidized silver buttons. Missing none of them, this winter, Kora seems nearly respectable.
Chinese food goes best with beer, cold but still in the bottle, resting on the cold stone floor by the legs of the old arm chair into which she has sunk after finding the food. It's not beer, though. It's root beer; same brown bottle, less satisfying liquid. The first mouthful fills her nose with bubbles and her senses with the dark, liquid taste.
There's a certain echo behind the door; the suggestion of space - right - into which sound waves can open up, can find their fullest expression. There's a faint sound of movement - the hingest do not groan, but there's weight to the door that cannot be denied - and then the door swings open.
Winter things shed, Kora stands there in her boots and jeans, a half-zipped cotton hoodie over more layers: a gray t-shirt, a white thermal. Her pale hair is mussed from the hood, captured in a complex twist behind her hair. She holds the door with her right hand, and a small tin contain of shrimp toast in her left.
There's a moment's sharp-eyed study. Then, recognition, which does not soften her expression so much as resolve it. "Sofie, yeah?
"C'mon in."
[Sofie Janssen] Yesterday Roman had opened the door. He'd greeted her with questions and smiled, and half an eaten sandwich. He'd also been less dressed then Kora is now, and been singing, sounding suspiciously like a cat in heat. Naturally Sofie had put an end to that, only by showing up. Now Kora stands in the opened church door, dressed in layers and with food in her hands.
Tugging the scarf away from her mouth and nose, she wormed her chin out of the layers and looked back at the Garou. She hadn't verbally stated who she was, just nodded when asked. It was an honest assessment, and she had told Roman she'd be back today rather then wait around, so she's expected this time.
"Thanks."
Stomping off her boots, she headed in through the door and reached up, pulling off the knit cap. Her other hand smoothed down her hair as she moved out the way of the closing door and got ready to follow Kora. "Sorry to interrupt dinner." It's the polite thing to say.
[Roman Turner] "I smell Chinese and here I brought burgers."
He filed in close on the heels of Sofie.
"Extra rare, triple decker if anyone is interested."
Cold air whipped in around him till he kicked the door closed with an easy back sweep of a foot, leaving a snow print on the wood.
"Not much fries left, I sort of got hungry on the way here. Well howdy there Miss Sofie."
He swept around her to brush a quick kiss on Kora's cheek.
"Sis."
And though he danced out of the way, he tried to make it look natural and not rushed because he was afraid she might thump him.
"How's my nephew coming along?"
[Linus] "...You know it's Sunny in Hawaii..."
He is flapping out his clothes as the sudden rupturing pop collides with the interior pressure, sending unseen and unfelt waves of presence through the Church proper. He's soaked through, dripping on the cold stone and carpets, which is about as much water as will be entering the newly tarped Church. Linus had been busy at work the last couple of days, making use of his Crinos height and strength to effect a few roof "repairs" that basically consisted of nailing in some slack-free tarps to keep the rain, sleet, snow and other unpleasantness out of the Packhouse.
Well, ok not completely. That was what the three drip buckets placed around several of the pews had been for. It was a spit shy better than the freezing rain and snowfall that might have turned their little home into a pre-sub-zero water park.
His umbral jaunts however, for lack of an umbrella and notoriously unreliable insulation of wet fur, he'd needed to deal with simply wandering the streets and finding hideouts where he could get them.
Or simply 'sucking it up' as Kora liked to put it and talk in the rain.
He unwound his sodden scarf and slapped it up onto one of the front pews, unraveling bits and pieces of his attire with vague grimaces and sneers, until he was little more than a damp creature in a pair of black long johns, a white t shirt and wrinkled feet, pale from the chill of it all and nostrils flaring around the scents of food.
"...We could move there and join up with the Honey Dew Sept, where they fight pygmy creatures no higher than their knees and Gaia pours Beer out of her springs. Ice Cold!"
And he's finally turning around from his disrobing enough to notice the Food. The Pack. And the new girl. In that order. He points at Roman.
"Do I smell burgers?"
[Roman Turner] "Yup, Whataburgers. Want some?"
He fished three out, shoving one towards Sofie and handing the bag over to Linus.
"I wanna go to Hawaii. I want to try surfing and see some of them pretty girls in those little grass skirts with coconuts about right here."
He held two burgers up over his chest about where coconuts would be as a bra.
[Kora] "I think it's technically breakfast," the creature returns, with a slow half-curl of a smile. " - and you're not interrupting. There's enough for everyone. C'mon in."
The air inside is permeated now with the scent of Chinese food. MSG and brown sauce, deep fried wonton wrappers, all that hot fat cooked to a crisp, golden brown. Kora's winter things - scarf and gloves and hats - are scattered over the couches warmed by the space heaters - in the reasonable shelter underneath the solid overhang of the choir loft.
She steps back to let Sofie inside, then feels Roman behind her before she sees him. They move in tandem, Roman and Kora, with the familiar ease of pack animals. When he sweeps close, lifting his mouth to her cheek she assumes he's going to tell her something; something he doesn't want to share with Linus. So she dips her ear in his direction and is caught off guard by the brush of the boy's mouth across her cheek.
Kora goes stiff, a sharp look in Roman's direction. And she would cuff him across the back of the head, except that it would upset her container of shrimp toast.
"Your nephew?" she chokes to Roman, that note of incredulity in her voice as she lets the door swing closed. " - for - " But then Linus comes in, and Kora glances up as Linus appears. "With a hundred virginal kin to massage your spear arm the night before battle, eh? All that luxury makes you soft, you know. Like half-melted jello."
Protecting the shrimp toast with her life, she heads back to the lounge area. "Linus, this is Sofie. Sofie - you want a beer?" she asks, pausing over a cooler, ready to retrieve whatever the young kin requests. "We have some sodas, too."
[Kora] And chocolate milk, but it's hers and she's not sharing.
[Sofie Janssen] What was it with Roman and shoving food into her hands? She took it from him, watching him and Linus talk about Hawaii and coconut bras. "I really don't want a burger, thanks." Immediately offering it back to Roman once he's done playing around with his chest and pretending he has girl-boobs.
With the banter, she's left with a half grin that she's trying to contain. Her eyes sparkle, sharp with the back and forth between the pack. With the Moon as full as it is she had expected something else and is pleasantly surprised at the ease that flows through the church and between its members. It relaxes something coiled inside of her.
"Hi Linus," she lifts her hand to give him a half greeting, gaze shooting from him back to Kora. "Sure, a beer would be great. Thanks." If Roman hasn't taken his burger back, she offers it to Kora instead, because Sofie isn't into raw meat.
[Linus] "...Give my right arm to be able to talk to a Volcano..."
He murmurs it, catching the bag of burgers and waddling toward one of the nearby chairs to take a seat, a glance cast at Sofie with something like curiosity. A swift up and down that carries no hint of shame, bashful or respect for potential Lady status, nodding in half-assed greeting to Sofie and then he's glancing back at Kora again.
"...Just keep popping up don't they?" And he bites into a burger, fished and unwrapped from the bag.
"So wha's this 'bout virghuns?!" He says around a mouthful.
[Roman Turner] "She's a virgin?"
He blurted out, quickly followed by a good long look at Sofie before he started to flush up to the tips of his ears.
"How can ya...nevermind."
He cleared his throat.
"And yeah, I was asking about my Nephew, cause I done explained to Sofie that I'm your brother from a different mother and father, while Linus is your brother from maybe the same mother or father, but I ain't sure, so that makes him my brother from some other."
[Linus] "You're a virgin?"
He blinks, frowning at Sofie and then glancing at Kora.
"Kinda strict inspection policies these days, don't you think sis?"
[Sofie Janssen] Her brows rise sharply at Roman's remark about virginity and associating it with her. The long look he gives her is leveled back at him, a small stiffening in the spine, making her posture a little taller and more rigid. She doesn't blush like he does, but the look clearly says she doesn't appreciate the thoughts of turning to her sexuality. That's a line, right there.
But it passes. He clears his throat, and she looks away, reminding herself who these folks are and where she is, and how Luna's face is full in the sky tonight. She's missing something in the double talk, maybe a private joke, or... she's not sure, and isn't prying.
Then Linus gets in on it and her nostrils fair, faint, but annoyed. She doesn't go on to say anything though, because she's looking at Kora and wondering what the hell her folks have said over the phone...
[Sofie Janssen] [fair=flair. oi.]
[Roman Turner] "Oh lookee, I ain't so sure she is cause she's making that pinched face look Miss Doctor Slaughter Ma'am does when she doesn't want to tell the truth. They fluff up like a hen about the time ya try to sneak the eggs out from under her."
He hid a smile behind filling his mouth with half a burger in one bite.
[Sofie Janssen] Her gaze darts back towards Roman, find his eyes smiling even if his mouth is hiding behind a bunch of food, and her tongue rolls over her lower lip. Not in that sexy way, but more of a probing, irritated gesture. There's plenty of things coming to say, none of them are wise. "You always this rude, or is this a special occasion?" Her eyes flick to Linus too, to include him in on that.
[Roman Turner] That flush rose higher till his ears looked like they were sunburned.
"No ma'am. Just testing your limits and found them right quick. Sorry about that."
[Linus] (I think we lost Liz?)
[Sofie Janssen] [I think so. :( ]
[Roman Turner] ((I think you are correct))
[Kora] Kora extracts a beer from where it's plunged in the ice and starts to extend it - rather thoughtlessly - to Sofie. It's a local brand, not some big-name national brand, requiring a bottle opener to get the top off. Kora sets her tin of shrimp toast on the edge of a table and twists off the metal top anyway, sending it dancing over the table with a subtle metal clatter.
Hands it, wordlessly, to Sofie as the gentlemen in the room go on, at length, about virgins. The shadows are deep, so Kora's expression is mostly, but there's a certain twist of irony to the curve of her mouth as the exchange continues. Sofie offers her one of Roman's burgers, and Kora waves it off, picking up her appetizer and pausing at the table for a container of pepper steak and fried rice.
"Enough," Kora says, a dark look from Roman to Linus and back again. She does it - only when Sofie gets her back up, her spine straight. When she speaks up against the ill treatment. "Sofie's our guest. Not yet properly introduced. You know quite well I wasn't talking about her, and - " a ghost of a half-smile here. "It could be a girl, you know." This last to Roman.
"Have a seat, Sofie. Chinese if you want it. There's General Tso's in there, and some eggrolls. Crab rangoon. I'm Kora, Jarl of the Fenrir here. These are my packmates. Roman's a No-Moon, and a Child of Gaia. Linus is my brother, a Godi."
[Linus] Roman apologies like the proper kid he is. Linus, is wiping down his features with a stray hand and wiping the excess water off on the table, chewing vigorously in an effort to keep his jaw from freezing and his teeth from chattering. The warmth of the burger is clutched with ingredient dripping force when he shifts his eyes to meet Sofie's. They narrow marginally but he doesn't offer a response after Kora's call for a cease. He bites into his burger again and reaches over the dinner table to pluck up the flannel blanket he was so fond of these days.
[Sofie Janssen] Distracted by beer, and silenced by the Jarl, she takes the beer with a simple: "Thanks."
Moving over to sit down, she first sets down the burger on the table with the rest of the food and unbuttons her jacket with the one hand. Her scarf is tugged open until it falls along her shoulders and down her torso, and she's left sitting on one edge of a couch with her beer in her hand.
As Kora goes through introduces, she glances back to Roman and Linus as they are introduced. "Well met." Though, she's not sure about that yet. First impressions had her thinking Roman a bit better then he was tonight, but Linus must be the influence.
"I'm not looking to give you any troubles," she has turned to Kora now, getting right down to it. She knows her folks had already called ahead, that was a week back yet, before they had even gave her permission to head into Chicago. "Or interrupt your time. I just wanted to say hello, see if there's anything you need from me, or .. . you know." Following some laid out protocols.
[Sofie Janssen] brb
[Roman Turner] He finished off the first burger quickly and was still wiping his lips on one of the crappy brown napkins as he rose from his seat.
"I gotta get back to it. Just thought I'd bring food in."
The second burger was snagged and shoved in the pocket of his coat as he pulled the wool lined jean jacket on. A scarf followed and then knit cap before the stetson was set on top of the knit cap like a crowning glory.
"Nice ta see ya again Miss Sofie. See ya Linus, Miss Kora."
Something had obviously lit a sudden fire under him, throwing the Coggie in to flee mode. He was to the door and out before his last words stopped echoing.
[Roman Turner] ((Thanks for the play. Sleep time. Night!))
[Sofie Janssen] back
[Kora] Kora shoots a ghost of a look in the wake of her fleeing packmate. A faint, fond curve steals across her mouth, but only after he has disappeared out the door. The atmosphere in the room is considerably more sober with his absence, and when the Skald looks back to Sofie, her expression matches it. She's still, a faint curve to her mouth, her voice is low.
The seat of the big armchair sags comfortably, and Kora sits with her right ankle braced atop her left knee, shrimp toast in her lap, pepper steak in its carton on the stone floor beside her rootbeer.
Sofie begins half apologizing. She doesn't mean to interrupt. She doesn't want to give trouble. Or -
Kora interrupts, her voice quiet and sure, her dark eyes direct. "You're welcome here." The phrase is oddly formal; it means more than the throwaway placemarker, and that much is clear from the tone of her quiet voice, and the direct manner in which she meets and holds the kinswoman's gaze.
The sobriety of her mien is broken by a quick, quiet twist of her mobile mouth, then. "I am sure you understand that as Jarl, your safety is my duty, your punishment my right, and your behavior reflects on my honor. I will defend you as if you were my own mate, and should another Garou or kin offer you some offence, you will swallow your pride and bring the matter to me.
"I did not speak with your parents long, but you should know that our Sept is at war. There are cursed ones in a small town to the north that you must avoid no matter the cost, and dark things everywhere you turn in the city. We burned a son of Fenris under the new moon. If a male Garou wishes to claim you as mate, he must bring his challenge to me before any other while you remain here."
[Linus] "Male Garou?"
Linus stops his chewing and shifts forward slightly, sitting up right. A tall lanky twenty something with a tight frown on his features.
"I know you meant to say Male Fenrir..."
[Sofie Janssen] Her expression is serious, solemn. She's soaking in Kora's words as if each were of importance, and they are. Her folks had said as much and she understands the way things work within a Tribe. She doesn't know how much it changes in a city, but that's part of why she's out and about. Can only learn so much in a smaller, isolated community.
"I understand, and I will treat your honour as my family's." This, too, is no light thing. It means she will be on her best behaviour and do all that is right. Not only would she have to answer to Kora and her pack, but her own family and own honour, which she holds in high regard - no matter that she is, as they say, just kin.
Her gaze shoots to Linus briefly, a small tweak of a smile present, before she looks back to Kora. "I won't cause any trouble with that, either. I know potential mates go through Tribe and family first. I'm not looking to dishonour anyone. Period." Its good to make these things clear.
"You think I could get a look at a map, see where this North part is you're talking about? Just to stay clear." Then, almost as an after thought, she's frowning. "Sorry about our loss. Was a good death?"
[Sofie Janssen] [let's pretend I'm not skipping words. "Was it a good death?"]
[Linus] To which Linus seems intent on restraining a snort. Then a grunt and he's crumbling up the remnants of the burger and it's wrapper and putting them on the table. Reaching for some of the Tso in the process.
[Kora] Kora's nostrils flare with a subtle wash of breath, and her dark eyes cut narrowly over to her brother, sitting up tall, lanky. He has an inch on her, maybe two. There are faint, haunting correspondences between them, subtle genetic markers - but no precise resemblance except for the hair and height, the long length of their limbs. "Fenrir was understood, Li," she tells him, low-voiced, her attention winging back to Sofie, after.
"He died in battle." Kora says, in her low, steady voice. She does not endorse this as a good death. She does not endorse is as a poor one. " - protecting a kinswoman. A Fiann, outside a bar named the Winchester." Kora shoots a look to Linus, " - we'll show you a map before you go tonight.
"I'd like to know more about you, though. Why you're in Chicago; where you plan to live; what you do. All those things."
[Sofie Janssen] Protecting a Kinfolk. Maybe this is what Linus' fuss is about. She casts a look over to him about the same Kora does, and takes a swig from her beer. Even settled back into the couch she's not relaxed, she's alert and focusing back on the Jarl of the Get of Fenris. A young looking woman, at that, which is a difference from an old grizzly looking bear back home. But it doesn't make Sofie think less of her for the comparison.
"That'd be good," she says on the map, and leaves that there, not touching the death of the Fenrir again.
When it comes to questions about her, she ponders with a small shrug. "I'm staying with some kinfolk right now. We're working a lot with humans. You know green peace and all that?" She doesn't wait for Kora to respond, just continues. "We work with some of those, finding some places that are doing wrong shit, protest, do what we can, and siphon information off to those that can do more then we can."
"I'm just new at it." She shrugs again. "Hoping to learn more by being in a big city, you know? They've set up some small quarters here, and we're all bunking in the one place. I've got to find a job to get by. Waitress or something." Maybe. She's never done that in her life either. But it can't be hard.
[Linus] "Greenpeace. The furry lovers?" He looks a little confused at the admission, climbing back to his feet to begin to shift some one of the two heaters currently doing them a warming service, toward his clothes on the pew. Umbral work was hard. Harder yet without clothes to do it in and this was just a lunch break after all.
"Last I checked, safest zones in the City are still the downtown lot, the Mile and Lakeview's upper class districts. Most of them can be vouched for a considerable less amount of Taint on the flip than a lot of the others like-" He flips a hand around at the church "-Cabrini here, but we knew that. Bronzeville on down south, which is, believe it or not Kor? Worse off than here. Suppose that's our doing though." He plucks up the Tso Chicken on his way back to the chair. "...If you're going to be working, might want to find some places further from either of the Two ugly zones. Chinatown's a fuckin' labyrinth I ain't goin' near anytime soon so that one's Russian at your leisure..."
[Sofie Janssen] "Yeah, Greenpeace, ALF, ELF, Earth First, you know?" Since Linus spoke up, she glanced towards him as he stood to warm himself. "Environmentalists, animal activities, whatever you want to call it. But you know it's just pushed by the Nation into the human front. Some don't agree with the tactics, but you get that however you go about anything, you know? Bit like all the Tribes and the disagreements about cause of actions." So she gets a little more wordy when she starts talking about things she's only on the fringe of being part of, but it's clear it lights some fire in her. Sofie's young.
Quietening as he rambles off places to go and not to, or where she might look for work, she nods with a small frown line cut between her brows, taking it all in so very seriously for such a youthful face. It doesn't make her look older, just makes her eyes glint with a little more solidness to them. The girl knows it's not all ponies and fairies. "Alright. Thanks."
[Kora] "You need to stay away from Elk Grove. It's north of here, a good thirty or forty miles, but too close for comfort. They're based up there. If you ever need to go to Milwaukee, you don't take the interstate, see. You go well around. But yeah, Linus covered the safe zones in the city. I trust you'll keep us informed if you run across anything that requires more than - " a flicker of a look toward Linus, " - a picket line, yeah?"
There's a pause, somewhere in here she's taken a mouthful, and then another one. "There's a few other kin and tribe here. A Godi and a Forseti, feral-born. A few kin - one's a Detective, and then there's Drew. We'll have a tribal moot soon enough, so you can meet them then. The Sept has a boarding house of sorts; dorms above a restaurant named the Brotherhood if you need a bed for the night, food and drink if you can't afford it yourself. The beer's decent, too."
Then Kora stands up, pushes herself up from the sagging depths of her chair, shoving the last of her shrimp toasts into her mouth. "Shit, Li - show her the map, will you? Before she goes." A flash of a look between them. "You're always welcome here, Sofie. Stay as long as you want. If you need anything, Linus'll give you my number. Leave yours, and your address so we can add you to the circuit."
Her mouth curves, briefly. "Got a date," she explains, shoving the last little bit of shrimp into her mouth before she starts gathering her winter gear. " - have to run or I'll be late."
[Sofie Janssen] As Kora stands, Sofie shifts to sit on the edge of the couch, as if ready to stand too. When Kora declares she's going, Sofie nods up at her. "Alright. Thanks. I'll do that." All of the above. There's a small grin at the mention of a date, which has Sofie nodding and her eyes smiling. "Thanks again, Jarl. It's really appreciated."
[Linus] "Go on White Rabbit."
He waves Kora off with something that have been imperialist were he not in a pair of damp long Johns and his cheeks puffed out from Tso chicken, squinting against the heat of the spice. It takes him a few moments to choke down the last tid bits of a mouthful before the box, half-finished, is set down on the table once more. Sofie receives a glance and he's wiping at his mouth with the bottom of his T-shirt rising to go and check on his clothes.
"So what exactly did you do before all of this Chicago nonsense?" A Beat. "Your parents not like you or something?"
[Kora] The moon hangs full somewhere above the cloud cover, heavy, round - shining bright in a darkling sky. Nevermind the clouds, it shines somewhere, and they can feel its incessant pull all the same. An unreachable itch under the skin, a need for movement, a certain taut awareness that sharpens perceptions of the world around them, that pulls out the wolf in them even at the most improbable times.
The weather tonight is utterly foul; well below freezing. The air inside the sanctuary of the old church is a wall of cold except where it is chased away by space heaters, the other provisions they have made against the cold. The thick, insulated brick walls in the social hall - where the roof is largely intact, the windows, generally hidden from the street, unbroken - with its kitchen, its warren of old classrooms, its several half-explored floors - remains warmer. But out here, go ten feet from the space heaters and your breath fogs out.
Snow covers the streets again, a faint dusting on the steps leading up to the church. In places where the roof is a ruin, preciptation falls. Not flurries tonight, but a hard freezing rain that falls from the sky liquid, turning to ice in the lower atmosphere, glazing the roads and lacerating the skin.
She leaves fresh treads in the icy snow up the steps, and the wooden door falls heavily closed behind her. Even from here she can feel the radiant heat from the heaters, dissipated though it may be, and she closes her eyes just inside the door, then shakes her head like a dog to rid herself of some of the damp. Two large paper bags smell like Chinese - from that little take-out kitchen on the edge of their territory - and swing from her right hand. The rich scent fills the sharp cold air, makes her salivate.
[Sofie Janssen] It's not long after Kora has had a chance to settle down with her food, get herself warmed by the space heaters and let her fingers thaw out, that Sofie is walking through the drifts towards the church. She had ditched cabs tonight, having to spend her money sparingly, and took the trip by bus and foot.
The collar of a black jacket is turned up, fitting high across her jaw. Her hair is hidden under that and her knit cap. A scarf is wrapped around the mouth and nose of her face, and what's left of her is a pair of very pale blue eyes, staring out at the world. Boots leave a trail of footprints across the sidewalk, and the bottom hem of her jeans, at the back, are soaked with the dampness of the snow.
She climbs up the steps and takes a hand out of her pocket, knocking twice on the church door.
[Kora] She's starving, Kora. There's something in among those bags that she's craving, and she means to devour it like a hungry wolf. There's all the business of unpacking the little white cartons to be done, digging through the containers of white and fried rice, the wax bags of eggrolls and fried dumplings, to find the goddamned shrimp toast.
Then, there is the work of undoing all the layers. Tugging off her gloves, unwinding her scarf, unbutton the woolen winter coat, a dark plum color with oxidized silver buttons. Missing none of them, this winter, Kora seems nearly respectable.
Chinese food goes best with beer, cold but still in the bottle, resting on the cold stone floor by the legs of the old arm chair into which she has sunk after finding the food. It's not beer, though. It's root beer; same brown bottle, less satisfying liquid. The first mouthful fills her nose with bubbles and her senses with the dark, liquid taste.
There's a certain echo behind the door; the suggestion of space - right - into which sound waves can open up, can find their fullest expression. There's a faint sound of movement - the hingest do not groan, but there's weight to the door that cannot be denied - and then the door swings open.
Winter things shed, Kora stands there in her boots and jeans, a half-zipped cotton hoodie over more layers: a gray t-shirt, a white thermal. Her pale hair is mussed from the hood, captured in a complex twist behind her hair. She holds the door with her right hand, and a small tin contain of shrimp toast in her left.
There's a moment's sharp-eyed study. Then, recognition, which does not soften her expression so much as resolve it. "Sofie, yeah?
"C'mon in."
[Sofie Janssen] Yesterday Roman had opened the door. He'd greeted her with questions and smiled, and half an eaten sandwich. He'd also been less dressed then Kora is now, and been singing, sounding suspiciously like a cat in heat. Naturally Sofie had put an end to that, only by showing up. Now Kora stands in the opened church door, dressed in layers and with food in her hands.
Tugging the scarf away from her mouth and nose, she wormed her chin out of the layers and looked back at the Garou. She hadn't verbally stated who she was, just nodded when asked. It was an honest assessment, and she had told Roman she'd be back today rather then wait around, so she's expected this time.
"Thanks."
Stomping off her boots, she headed in through the door and reached up, pulling off the knit cap. Her other hand smoothed down her hair as she moved out the way of the closing door and got ready to follow Kora. "Sorry to interrupt dinner." It's the polite thing to say.
[Roman Turner] "I smell Chinese and here I brought burgers."
He filed in close on the heels of Sofie.
"Extra rare, triple decker if anyone is interested."
Cold air whipped in around him till he kicked the door closed with an easy back sweep of a foot, leaving a snow print on the wood.
"Not much fries left, I sort of got hungry on the way here. Well howdy there Miss Sofie."
He swept around her to brush a quick kiss on Kora's cheek.
"Sis."
And though he danced out of the way, he tried to make it look natural and not rushed because he was afraid she might thump him.
"How's my nephew coming along?"
[Linus] "...You know it's Sunny in Hawaii..."
He is flapping out his clothes as the sudden rupturing pop collides with the interior pressure, sending unseen and unfelt waves of presence through the Church proper. He's soaked through, dripping on the cold stone and carpets, which is about as much water as will be entering the newly tarped Church. Linus had been busy at work the last couple of days, making use of his Crinos height and strength to effect a few roof "repairs" that basically consisted of nailing in some slack-free tarps to keep the rain, sleet, snow and other unpleasantness out of the Packhouse.
Well, ok not completely. That was what the three drip buckets placed around several of the pews had been for. It was a spit shy better than the freezing rain and snowfall that might have turned their little home into a pre-sub-zero water park.
His umbral jaunts however, for lack of an umbrella and notoriously unreliable insulation of wet fur, he'd needed to deal with simply wandering the streets and finding hideouts where he could get them.
Or simply 'sucking it up' as Kora liked to put it and talk in the rain.
He unwound his sodden scarf and slapped it up onto one of the front pews, unraveling bits and pieces of his attire with vague grimaces and sneers, until he was little more than a damp creature in a pair of black long johns, a white t shirt and wrinkled feet, pale from the chill of it all and nostrils flaring around the scents of food.
"...We could move there and join up with the Honey Dew Sept, where they fight pygmy creatures no higher than their knees and Gaia pours Beer out of her springs. Ice Cold!"
And he's finally turning around from his disrobing enough to notice the Food. The Pack. And the new girl. In that order. He points at Roman.
"Do I smell burgers?"
[Roman Turner] "Yup, Whataburgers. Want some?"
He fished three out, shoving one towards Sofie and handing the bag over to Linus.
"I wanna go to Hawaii. I want to try surfing and see some of them pretty girls in those little grass skirts with coconuts about right here."
He held two burgers up over his chest about where coconuts would be as a bra.
[Kora] "I think it's technically breakfast," the creature returns, with a slow half-curl of a smile. " - and you're not interrupting. There's enough for everyone. C'mon in."
The air inside is permeated now with the scent of Chinese food. MSG and brown sauce, deep fried wonton wrappers, all that hot fat cooked to a crisp, golden brown. Kora's winter things - scarf and gloves and hats - are scattered over the couches warmed by the space heaters - in the reasonable shelter underneath the solid overhang of the choir loft.
She steps back to let Sofie inside, then feels Roman behind her before she sees him. They move in tandem, Roman and Kora, with the familiar ease of pack animals. When he sweeps close, lifting his mouth to her cheek she assumes he's going to tell her something; something he doesn't want to share with Linus. So she dips her ear in his direction and is caught off guard by the brush of the boy's mouth across her cheek.
Kora goes stiff, a sharp look in Roman's direction. And she would cuff him across the back of the head, except that it would upset her container of shrimp toast.
"Your nephew?" she chokes to Roman, that note of incredulity in her voice as she lets the door swing closed. " - for - " But then Linus comes in, and Kora glances up as Linus appears. "With a hundred virginal kin to massage your spear arm the night before battle, eh? All that luxury makes you soft, you know. Like half-melted jello."
Protecting the shrimp toast with her life, she heads back to the lounge area. "Linus, this is Sofie. Sofie - you want a beer?" she asks, pausing over a cooler, ready to retrieve whatever the young kin requests. "We have some sodas, too."
[Kora] And chocolate milk, but it's hers and she's not sharing.
[Sofie Janssen] What was it with Roman and shoving food into her hands? She took it from him, watching him and Linus talk about Hawaii and coconut bras. "I really don't want a burger, thanks." Immediately offering it back to Roman once he's done playing around with his chest and pretending he has girl-boobs.
With the banter, she's left with a half grin that she's trying to contain. Her eyes sparkle, sharp with the back and forth between the pack. With the Moon as full as it is she had expected something else and is pleasantly surprised at the ease that flows through the church and between its members. It relaxes something coiled inside of her.
"Hi Linus," she lifts her hand to give him a half greeting, gaze shooting from him back to Kora. "Sure, a beer would be great. Thanks." If Roman hasn't taken his burger back, she offers it to Kora instead, because Sofie isn't into raw meat.
[Linus] "...Give my right arm to be able to talk to a Volcano..."
He murmurs it, catching the bag of burgers and waddling toward one of the nearby chairs to take a seat, a glance cast at Sofie with something like curiosity. A swift up and down that carries no hint of shame, bashful or respect for potential Lady status, nodding in half-assed greeting to Sofie and then he's glancing back at Kora again.
"...Just keep popping up don't they?" And he bites into a burger, fished and unwrapped from the bag.
"So wha's this 'bout virghuns?!" He says around a mouthful.
[Roman Turner] "She's a virgin?"
He blurted out, quickly followed by a good long look at Sofie before he started to flush up to the tips of his ears.
"How can ya...nevermind."
He cleared his throat.
"And yeah, I was asking about my Nephew, cause I done explained to Sofie that I'm your brother from a different mother and father, while Linus is your brother from maybe the same mother or father, but I ain't sure, so that makes him my brother from some other."
[Linus] "You're a virgin?"
He blinks, frowning at Sofie and then glancing at Kora.
"Kinda strict inspection policies these days, don't you think sis?"
[Sofie Janssen] Her brows rise sharply at Roman's remark about virginity and associating it with her. The long look he gives her is leveled back at him, a small stiffening in the spine, making her posture a little taller and more rigid. She doesn't blush like he does, but the look clearly says she doesn't appreciate the thoughts of turning to her sexuality. That's a line, right there.
But it passes. He clears his throat, and she looks away, reminding herself who these folks are and where she is, and how Luna's face is full in the sky tonight. She's missing something in the double talk, maybe a private joke, or... she's not sure, and isn't prying.
Then Linus gets in on it and her nostrils fair, faint, but annoyed. She doesn't go on to say anything though, because she's looking at Kora and wondering what the hell her folks have said over the phone...
[Sofie Janssen] [fair=flair. oi.]
[Roman Turner] "Oh lookee, I ain't so sure she is cause she's making that pinched face look Miss Doctor Slaughter Ma'am does when she doesn't want to tell the truth. They fluff up like a hen about the time ya try to sneak the eggs out from under her."
He hid a smile behind filling his mouth with half a burger in one bite.
[Sofie Janssen] Her gaze darts back towards Roman, find his eyes smiling even if his mouth is hiding behind a bunch of food, and her tongue rolls over her lower lip. Not in that sexy way, but more of a probing, irritated gesture. There's plenty of things coming to say, none of them are wise. "You always this rude, or is this a special occasion?" Her eyes flick to Linus too, to include him in on that.
[Roman Turner] That flush rose higher till his ears looked like they were sunburned.
"No ma'am. Just testing your limits and found them right quick. Sorry about that."
[Linus] (I think we lost Liz?)
[Sofie Janssen] [I think so. :( ]
[Roman Turner] ((I think you are correct))
[Kora] Kora extracts a beer from where it's plunged in the ice and starts to extend it - rather thoughtlessly - to Sofie. It's a local brand, not some big-name national brand, requiring a bottle opener to get the top off. Kora sets her tin of shrimp toast on the edge of a table and twists off the metal top anyway, sending it dancing over the table with a subtle metal clatter.
Hands it, wordlessly, to Sofie as the gentlemen in the room go on, at length, about virgins. The shadows are deep, so Kora's expression is mostly, but there's a certain twist of irony to the curve of her mouth as the exchange continues. Sofie offers her one of Roman's burgers, and Kora waves it off, picking up her appetizer and pausing at the table for a container of pepper steak and fried rice.
"Enough," Kora says, a dark look from Roman to Linus and back again. She does it - only when Sofie gets her back up, her spine straight. When she speaks up against the ill treatment. "Sofie's our guest. Not yet properly introduced. You know quite well I wasn't talking about her, and - " a ghost of a half-smile here. "It could be a girl, you know." This last to Roman.
"Have a seat, Sofie. Chinese if you want it. There's General Tso's in there, and some eggrolls. Crab rangoon. I'm Kora, Jarl of the Fenrir here. These are my packmates. Roman's a No-Moon, and a Child of Gaia. Linus is my brother, a Godi."
[Linus] Roman apologies like the proper kid he is. Linus, is wiping down his features with a stray hand and wiping the excess water off on the table, chewing vigorously in an effort to keep his jaw from freezing and his teeth from chattering. The warmth of the burger is clutched with ingredient dripping force when he shifts his eyes to meet Sofie's. They narrow marginally but he doesn't offer a response after Kora's call for a cease. He bites into his burger again and reaches over the dinner table to pluck up the flannel blanket he was so fond of these days.
[Sofie Janssen] Distracted by beer, and silenced by the Jarl, she takes the beer with a simple: "Thanks."
Moving over to sit down, she first sets down the burger on the table with the rest of the food and unbuttons her jacket with the one hand. Her scarf is tugged open until it falls along her shoulders and down her torso, and she's left sitting on one edge of a couch with her beer in her hand.
As Kora goes through introduces, she glances back to Roman and Linus as they are introduced. "Well met." Though, she's not sure about that yet. First impressions had her thinking Roman a bit better then he was tonight, but Linus must be the influence.
"I'm not looking to give you any troubles," she has turned to Kora now, getting right down to it. She knows her folks had already called ahead, that was a week back yet, before they had even gave her permission to head into Chicago. "Or interrupt your time. I just wanted to say hello, see if there's anything you need from me, or .. . you know." Following some laid out protocols.
[Sofie Janssen] brb
[Roman Turner] He finished off the first burger quickly and was still wiping his lips on one of the crappy brown napkins as he rose from his seat.
"I gotta get back to it. Just thought I'd bring food in."
The second burger was snagged and shoved in the pocket of his coat as he pulled the wool lined jean jacket on. A scarf followed and then knit cap before the stetson was set on top of the knit cap like a crowning glory.
"Nice ta see ya again Miss Sofie. See ya Linus, Miss Kora."
Something had obviously lit a sudden fire under him, throwing the Coggie in to flee mode. He was to the door and out before his last words stopped echoing.
[Roman Turner] ((Thanks for the play. Sleep time. Night!))
[Sofie Janssen] back
[Kora] Kora shoots a ghost of a look in the wake of her fleeing packmate. A faint, fond curve steals across her mouth, but only after he has disappeared out the door. The atmosphere in the room is considerably more sober with his absence, and when the Skald looks back to Sofie, her expression matches it. She's still, a faint curve to her mouth, her voice is low.
The seat of the big armchair sags comfortably, and Kora sits with her right ankle braced atop her left knee, shrimp toast in her lap, pepper steak in its carton on the stone floor beside her rootbeer.
Sofie begins half apologizing. She doesn't mean to interrupt. She doesn't want to give trouble. Or -
Kora interrupts, her voice quiet and sure, her dark eyes direct. "You're welcome here." The phrase is oddly formal; it means more than the throwaway placemarker, and that much is clear from the tone of her quiet voice, and the direct manner in which she meets and holds the kinswoman's gaze.
The sobriety of her mien is broken by a quick, quiet twist of her mobile mouth, then. "I am sure you understand that as Jarl, your safety is my duty, your punishment my right, and your behavior reflects on my honor. I will defend you as if you were my own mate, and should another Garou or kin offer you some offence, you will swallow your pride and bring the matter to me.
"I did not speak with your parents long, but you should know that our Sept is at war. There are cursed ones in a small town to the north that you must avoid no matter the cost, and dark things everywhere you turn in the city. We burned a son of Fenris under the new moon. If a male Garou wishes to claim you as mate, he must bring his challenge to me before any other while you remain here."
[Linus] "Male Garou?"
Linus stops his chewing and shifts forward slightly, sitting up right. A tall lanky twenty something with a tight frown on his features.
"I know you meant to say Male Fenrir..."
[Sofie Janssen] Her expression is serious, solemn. She's soaking in Kora's words as if each were of importance, and they are. Her folks had said as much and she understands the way things work within a Tribe. She doesn't know how much it changes in a city, but that's part of why she's out and about. Can only learn so much in a smaller, isolated community.
"I understand, and I will treat your honour as my family's." This, too, is no light thing. It means she will be on her best behaviour and do all that is right. Not only would she have to answer to Kora and her pack, but her own family and own honour, which she holds in high regard - no matter that she is, as they say, just kin.
Her gaze shoots to Linus briefly, a small tweak of a smile present, before she looks back to Kora. "I won't cause any trouble with that, either. I know potential mates go through Tribe and family first. I'm not looking to dishonour anyone. Period." Its good to make these things clear.
"You think I could get a look at a map, see where this North part is you're talking about? Just to stay clear." Then, almost as an after thought, she's frowning. "Sorry about our loss. Was a good death?"
[Sofie Janssen] [let's pretend I'm not skipping words. "Was it a good death?"]
[Linus] To which Linus seems intent on restraining a snort. Then a grunt and he's crumbling up the remnants of the burger and it's wrapper and putting them on the table. Reaching for some of the Tso in the process.
[Kora] Kora's nostrils flare with a subtle wash of breath, and her dark eyes cut narrowly over to her brother, sitting up tall, lanky. He has an inch on her, maybe two. There are faint, haunting correspondences between them, subtle genetic markers - but no precise resemblance except for the hair and height, the long length of their limbs. "Fenrir was understood, Li," she tells him, low-voiced, her attention winging back to Sofie, after.
"He died in battle." Kora says, in her low, steady voice. She does not endorse this as a good death. She does not endorse is as a poor one. " - protecting a kinswoman. A Fiann, outside a bar named the Winchester." Kora shoots a look to Linus, " - we'll show you a map before you go tonight.
"I'd like to know more about you, though. Why you're in Chicago; where you plan to live; what you do. All those things."
[Sofie Janssen] Protecting a Kinfolk. Maybe this is what Linus' fuss is about. She casts a look over to him about the same Kora does, and takes a swig from her beer. Even settled back into the couch she's not relaxed, she's alert and focusing back on the Jarl of the Get of Fenris. A young looking woman, at that, which is a difference from an old grizzly looking bear back home. But it doesn't make Sofie think less of her for the comparison.
"That'd be good," she says on the map, and leaves that there, not touching the death of the Fenrir again.
When it comes to questions about her, she ponders with a small shrug. "I'm staying with some kinfolk right now. We're working a lot with humans. You know green peace and all that?" She doesn't wait for Kora to respond, just continues. "We work with some of those, finding some places that are doing wrong shit, protest, do what we can, and siphon information off to those that can do more then we can."
"I'm just new at it." She shrugs again. "Hoping to learn more by being in a big city, you know? They've set up some small quarters here, and we're all bunking in the one place. I've got to find a job to get by. Waitress or something." Maybe. She's never done that in her life either. But it can't be hard.
[Linus] "Greenpeace. The furry lovers?" He looks a little confused at the admission, climbing back to his feet to begin to shift some one of the two heaters currently doing them a warming service, toward his clothes on the pew. Umbral work was hard. Harder yet without clothes to do it in and this was just a lunch break after all.
"Last I checked, safest zones in the City are still the downtown lot, the Mile and Lakeview's upper class districts. Most of them can be vouched for a considerable less amount of Taint on the flip than a lot of the others like-" He flips a hand around at the church "-Cabrini here, but we knew that. Bronzeville on down south, which is, believe it or not Kor? Worse off than here. Suppose that's our doing though." He plucks up the Tso Chicken on his way back to the chair. "...If you're going to be working, might want to find some places further from either of the Two ugly zones. Chinatown's a fuckin' labyrinth I ain't goin' near anytime soon so that one's Russian at your leisure..."
[Sofie Janssen] "Yeah, Greenpeace, ALF, ELF, Earth First, you know?" Since Linus spoke up, she glanced towards him as he stood to warm himself. "Environmentalists, animal activities, whatever you want to call it. But you know it's just pushed by the Nation into the human front. Some don't agree with the tactics, but you get that however you go about anything, you know? Bit like all the Tribes and the disagreements about cause of actions." So she gets a little more wordy when she starts talking about things she's only on the fringe of being part of, but it's clear it lights some fire in her. Sofie's young.
Quietening as he rambles off places to go and not to, or where she might look for work, she nods with a small frown line cut between her brows, taking it all in so very seriously for such a youthful face. It doesn't make her look older, just makes her eyes glint with a little more solidness to them. The girl knows it's not all ponies and fairies. "Alright. Thanks."
[Kora] "You need to stay away from Elk Grove. It's north of here, a good thirty or forty miles, but too close for comfort. They're based up there. If you ever need to go to Milwaukee, you don't take the interstate, see. You go well around. But yeah, Linus covered the safe zones in the city. I trust you'll keep us informed if you run across anything that requires more than - " a flicker of a look toward Linus, " - a picket line, yeah?"
There's a pause, somewhere in here she's taken a mouthful, and then another one. "There's a few other kin and tribe here. A Godi and a Forseti, feral-born. A few kin - one's a Detective, and then there's Drew. We'll have a tribal moot soon enough, so you can meet them then. The Sept has a boarding house of sorts; dorms above a restaurant named the Brotherhood if you need a bed for the night, food and drink if you can't afford it yourself. The beer's decent, too."
Then Kora stands up, pushes herself up from the sagging depths of her chair, shoving the last of her shrimp toasts into her mouth. "Shit, Li - show her the map, will you? Before she goes." A flash of a look between them. "You're always welcome here, Sofie. Stay as long as you want. If you need anything, Linus'll give you my number. Leave yours, and your address so we can add you to the circuit."
Her mouth curves, briefly. "Got a date," she explains, shoving the last little bit of shrimp into her mouth before she starts gathering her winter gear. " - have to run or I'll be late."
[Sofie Janssen] As Kora stands, Sofie shifts to sit on the edge of the couch, as if ready to stand too. When Kora declares she's going, Sofie nods up at her. "Alright. Thanks. I'll do that." All of the above. There's a small grin at the mention of a date, which has Sofie nodding and her eyes smiling. "Thanks again, Jarl. It's really appreciated."
[Linus] "Go on White Rabbit."
He waves Kora off with something that have been imperialist were he not in a pair of damp long Johns and his cheeks puffed out from Tso chicken, squinting against the heat of the spice. It takes him a few moments to choke down the last tid bits of a mouthful before the box, half-finished, is set down on the table once more. Sofie receives a glance and he's wiping at his mouth with the bottom of his T-shirt rising to go and check on his clothes.
"So what exactly did you do before all of this Chicago nonsense?" A Beat. "Your parents not like you or something?"
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