After hanging up, Alicia stares off into space for a moment, then shifts her eyes to Dakota. "...told you I'm not going to get sleep." She murmurs, sitting up off the couch and nudging the blanket off her. "Natalie will be here in a few moments, she's returned my phone call." She rubs a hand down her face.

No rest for the weary, it would seem. Dakota lets out a sigh and pulls herself up. "Guess I'll go make some fresh coffee. We're all probably gonna need it." She says and heads for the kitchen to do just that.

It's longer than a few moments - closer to half an hour - before the knock comes on the door. The peephole reveals the Walker Galliard, hands tucked into the pockets of her leather bomber, and waiting as patiently as the moon will allow.

Rising up off the couch, Alicia lets out a wide yawn and makes her way to the door. She looks real tired and burnt out as she opens up the door. "...Afternoon."

Dakota is in the kitchen collecting up mugs for the steaming coffee in the pot. "Hey." She says out of the kitchen to Natalie before she goes back to what she's doing, sounding like her cousin's dour mood has rubbed off on her.

"Alicia," Nat agrees as she slips past the other Galliard, hands dropping out of her pockets once the door's closed. "You sounded pretty anxious to see me. Why here?" 'Here' fetching a curious look around the apartment. "--Afternoon, Dakota. Congratulations."

Alicia closes the door and locks it, then makes her way for the couch, flopping down onto it once more, sliding her face into her hands, rubbing at her eyes. "Yeah, that was when I had ten coffee's in me. I haven't gone to sleep yet. Fuck... Natalie... you know Lucas, right?"

Dakota murmurs a brief thanks to Natalie before asking, "Coffee?" She heads back towards the kitchen to fill a mug for both her and Alicia, returning quickly so she can hand one over to her cousin.

"If it's decaf," Nat answers, tossing Dakota a quick smile before turning to the elder Galliard. "Of course I know him. Lost cub, stayed with us for a couple of weeks before he turned to the dark side. What about him?"

Glancing up at Natalie, Alicia clears her throat. "I'll apologize in advance if my story telling sucks. I've been up now past twenty four hours and I've told it at least five times so far. Last night, Stacey and I were on our way through the Wharf to speak with Requiem about some things. Just general news passing and just out for a walk. We ran into Lucas, darting about in Hispo down near the wharfs. We engaged him in combat when it was obvious the guy was out of his fucking mind. After I put him down, I noticed a large storm like drain that he came out of. After investigating there was a lot of bodies of humans, dogs and cats. They were..." She pauses here. "...devoured..."

"Can make it." Dakota says and heads back for the kitchen with her own mug in tow, not even waiting for any reply. Traditionally, when Dakota is worked up about something she'll engross herself in busy work, regardless of how trivial it is. And it's a good bet the situation of the Lord is what has her feathers ruffled.

As Alicia speaks Nat's lips slowly pull off her teeth in disgust.

"He was really Wyrm tainted." Alicia says with a nod of her head. "So after putting him down, I called Cutter and we went back to the Compound. From there I got Tobin and Cole and all of us preformed the Cleansing ritual on him. He started to spit up black stuff from his lips." She furrows her brows. "From there, Cutter took Lucas away and I called Matthew. So... he and I went to the storm drain, in police uniform and we cleared it out of the human bodies at least. Taped it off... pretended to make it official without calling it in. We didn't want anyone else to find the remains. We have the bodies bagged up and stashed away for now so that Olga can sift through them and see if any of them is her kin. Then, I went and found Megan and explained to her what happened. She told me to find Kenneth and have him judge both Jarred and Lucas on what happened. She also told me to find Lucas an have him confined to the Bawn. After that, now nearing seven in the morning I tracked Dillen out in the woods and he told me that he 'thought' Lucas was getting 'better'. Seems to him that Jarred knew all about this, he and Kenneth both. They were going to 'fix' him but.. they didn't do it. Supposedly James was going to bind a spirit to him?" She shrugs helplessly. "Instead of just cleansing him? But... that didn't happen either?" She looks frustrated. "So... a whole pack.. an two Fostern knew he was chewing on people? So... I can't have Kenneth judge 'em. I need to find Layne." She slumps into the couch, breathing slowly, tapping at her throat. "Ran into Olga at the Odeon, told her what happened and she got pissed off... I also kinda said some stupid things and pissed her off even more, but she'll get over it. By then I was just as burnt out as I am now and... whatever. So now I'm talking to you."

Natalie's hands clench so hard her knuckles go white, fingernails undoubtedly carving crescents into her palms. "Damn Shadow Lords," she growls before whirling to give the others her back, muscles visibly tense and quivering. She adds a low-voiced, "Give me a sec," her voice closer to the glabro's growl than her usual.

"Take all the time in the world Natalie." Alicia says with a yawn. "I'm running on fucking fumes. I called you over cuz' I just need a Galliard to Galliard talk. I will have to go to Jarred about this eventually. I figure you are good with Signe, you can let her know about James and see if she can get his side of things. But.. I don't want to talk to Jarred alone. Sadly as this sounds, I'm afraid he'll try and 'quiet' me."

Nearly half a minute passes before the Walker is able to turn, the only sigh of her recent struggle a spark deep in her eyes. An inhale and forcibly calm exhale and she repeats, "Damn Shadow Lords. Yes. Yes, I'll talk to Signe. And no, I wouldn't trust Kenneth. We're short of judges I'd trust. There's a new one in town - Brom, but he's a Get and I don't know him. --Thomas is back," she adds reluctantly, "But I don't know if people would trust him either. I think Layne might be your best choice."

A look of interest flashes briefly past Alicia's eyes at the mention of Thomas, but she nods her head slowly. "I haven't heard of that Brom guy.. I feel comfortable with Layne just because she's also the Master of the Challenge and Fostern. She has some experience in this." She furrows her brows. "I can't believe Jarred let it go this far. He's a Fostern.. and a Galliard. He knows my fucking number. He coulda called me and I would have preformed the cleansing. From what I've been told, Lucas has been known to lose it more than once?" She looks up at you questionably.

"Lucas turned to the Shadow Lords because they're the only ones who would hold his hand and wipe his nose," Nat snaps, folding her arms across her belly and staring past Alicia at the far wall. "I haven't had anything to do with him since."

"I didn't even know you had anything to do with him. I just figured maybe you'd know something since your territory an there's are 'kinda' in the same range." Alicia says as she shrugs her shoulders back.

Nat gives a quick shake of her head. "No, they're not. Not really. Requiem's claimed the wharfs. Havoc has the other side of town. We're both on the south side, but that's it." She accepts the coffee from Dakota with another nod, uses the act of curling her hands around the mug and blowing on it to settle her nerves further. "Sorry I can't help."

"Its alright. I just needed someone to talk to." Alicia murmurs as she rubs the back of her neck. "Will you come with me to talk to Jarred?" She asks.

Natalie begins hesitantly, "--I'd... Huh. I don't know, Alicia-rhya." Her eyes flick back to the other before she hurriedly continues, "Of course I will, it's just that... he's Fostern, in addition to being an experienced Galliard. I think it might be best if we have a third person along. I am Challenging Layne at the Moot, but that's over a week away. I don't want there to be any... mistakes."

"Bring Thomas then. He hates Jarred." Alicia says with a slight grin upon her lips. "And he owes me a big ass hug anyways. I sat up with him in a hotel room years ago when we thought spirals were ganna kick down his door. He can do this for me."

Natalie opens her mouth, closes it and looks down into her mug for a second. "He's Charach," she says flatly, delaying the inevitable by taking a swig of coffee.

Alicia blinks her eyes slowly, then shakes her head. "...He's fucking another Garou?" She asks, raising up her brow. "...I'm... tired as fuck, use... um... blunt words. What is going on?"

"Was," the Walker sighs, folding her left arm over her stomach and meeting the other's eyes. "Was fucking another Garou. A Metis. That's why he left - she'd dropped out of touch. He hunted her down, finally found her, and she'd been Tainted. He took her to another Sept for Cleansing, and it all came out there. He's been scarred," her coffee-holding arm lifts to display her forearm, "and he's Cliath again."

Alicia blinks her eyes, slowly, then just stares at Natalie in silence. "...Wait... he... " She pauses, eyes squinting. "...He was... fucking a Metis... here?"

Natalie opens her mouth again, then just shakes her head. "No. I... I don't think so. She was Ronin. He met her in Las Vegas. I don't think she was ever here. He looks like several miles of bad road - looks like crap. I... I think he's been punished enough. We still have to talk to Megan-rhya, though."

"...Oh..." Alicia says, shaking her head again, then reaches over for her own cup of coffee, sipping at it. "...Oh man..." She squints her eyes, then blanches. "...Oh man..."

Natalie smirks, thin-lipped, at the other woman before transferring her attention back to her coffee. "--Yeah. I know. So while I'd normally have him judge it... nuh-unh. Not right now. Layne - or Megan-rhya - is really our only choice."

Alicia nods her head. "Megan kinda has me in charge of this shin-dig. I mentioned Jarred and the look she gave me could break glass. Layne would be the wisest choice... at least it'd be partial." She murmurs as she ruffles up her hair. "Alright. So, can't have Thomas go with us... hmm..." She ponders. "Man... Jarred has always been weird. You know he's... I dunno... it's hard to explain." She says as she tilts her eyes over to you. "OK... this is going to sound stupid.. but.. ever get the feeling someone may have a jealous crush on you? Like, a tickle in the back of your head.. a spidey sense."

"Take Thomas for the beat-down," Natalie disagrees with another head-shake. "He's got the experience, and we can use it." The rest of the Coggie's words draw Nat's eyebrows down again. "No? You mean that shiver like when someone walks over your grave?"

Alicia nods her head. "Yeah. Like that." She says. "I get that from Jarred... had it since I was a cub. When he found out about Tom, he freaked out.. totally did everything he could to break us up. He was so angry.. he threatened to kill Tom once, in our own home." She furrows her brows. "...I know he's gay... but... there always been a thought in the back of my head that he had it bad for me. He was real touchy, kinda... um... 'too nice', if you know what I mean?"

Natalie pulls back, her nostrils flaring and lips shivering off her teeth once more. "That's... disgusting."

Alicia nods her head. "Yeah. I know. I never said anything to anyone before because maybe I thought I was being paranoid." She says. "But I'm not fifteen anymore, I'm twenty now and I've gotten good at reading people."

It takes another few seconds before the Walker's lips cover her teeth again - no confusion on where she stands on that part of the Litany. "Disgusting. Yes, I'll go with you, and I'll bring Thomas. Let me know when and where."

Alicia nods her head. "Awesome. Tell the big guy I said I love 'em, even if he can't keep it hidden." She says, forcing a brief grin to her face. "Thank you Natalie. I'll owe you one for this."

"It's nothing," she says, waving off the idea with a flick of her fingers. Then... "Wait, there is something. I need to get Thomas sniffed. Kevin, too. I was going to ask Megan to do it when... well. But can you do it? Or maybe Dakota? I've been asking the Fangs a lot, and I'm getting pretty deep in debt with them."

"I can do it. I don't think Dakota knows how to." Alicia says with a firm nod of her head. "Here.. let me grab another liter of mountain dew from the fridge and we can do that now if you want. I'm not going to sleep today."

Natalie says instead, "It's entirely up to you. If you want to hunt down Jarred in the next couple of days, I'd suggest sleep over more caffeine, though. Whatever's going on with those two, it'll wait a few more hours."

"Well, I meant giving 'em the sniff right now. I can wait on Jarred. I want to get my head on straight first, and talk to James," Alicia says. "And talk to Kenneth if I can. I want to know everything before I head butt with my long term rival."

Natalie's mouth makes a little 'o'. "I still think you need to get some sleep though. It'll take me a day or so to get Signe to talk to Kenneth. Let me... give me a sec to see if Thomas is in. He should be..." As she's saying this doubtful last, she's pulling her cellphone out from under her coat and off her hip, thumb flipping open the clamshell.

Alicia nods and heads to the kitchen, correcting you with a grin. "Talk to James." She smiles, then disappears to root into the fridge a bit. "...I'm ganna have to buy Kota and Jer more mountain dew. I'm sure I'm not drinking hers."

Grey answers with a terse, "Yes?"

"Right," Nat answers sheepishly, "Sorry." Then it seems Thomas has picked up, for she continues, "It's me. Are you at home? And is Kevin with you?"

Grey says, "Yes and yes."

"Good. Alicia's agreed to come get the pair of you sniffed." A beat and she adds, voice lower, "I told her." [Natalie]

Alicia heads back out and leans into the kitchen door, sipping off the big green bottle, watching you.

Grey pauses for a moment, then says, blandly, "I expected you would. It can't be kept a secret, after all."

"Just letting you know," her voice returning to its previous briskness. "So if you and Kevin could be in the other half in, oh, about 15 minutes. We'll be right over."

We'll be there. *click* [Grey]

Natalie holds a quick conversation with her telephone, paying Alicia's casual eavesdropping no mind. "--We'll be over in about fifteen minutes," she says, adding a, "Bye," before flicking the phone closed and looking curiously at the other woman "You safe to drive?"

"I don't have a car anymore. Tom took it with him to Portland when he.. left me." Alicia says with a shrug of her shoulders. "I got a motorcycle and thats it."

Alicia can see the question in her face, but tact wins out over Natalie's curiosity. "--I'll drive, then. Um..." A look around and she strides over to the kitchen to dump out her coffee in the sink, then rinse out the mug. "After you?"

[Travel deleted]

A used couch and a pair of recliners are grouped around a coffee table in the living room, with a foursome of wooden chairs claiming the bump out for quieter conversation. The dining room boasts a white laminate table with four aluminum and vinyl-upholstered chairs - too new to be 'vintage', too old to be trendy. The appliances and cupboards in the kitchen are new - or at least refurbished to look like it - and a door leads out to the backyard from there.

Up the stairs are a number of empty rooms where anyone affiliated with the Sept can crash and an office for private meetings. The Glass Walkers have their own area accessible via a locked door off the foyer. The main doors themselves lead back out to the front porch of the house.

Grey leads the British Ragabash out into the non-roach-blessed section of the safehouse and makes sure that the door is closed behind them. His expression is stonily neutral, giving little and revealing less.

Perhaps fifteen minute pass between Grey's phone call and the arrival of Alicia and Nat through the front door. "Crap, Alicia, I'm sorry," the Walker Elder's saying as she holds the door open for the other woman. Spotting the other two she gives them a pleasant nod. "And there they are."

Kevin follows the philodox in, his face a good deal less of a stone wall. It's plain that the cub isn't relishing the experience ahead; equally evident, though, that he appreciates it's a necessary ordeal. "Here, indeed, we are," he drawls in forcedly casual tones.

"Eh... don't worry." Alicia says as he steps through, her eyes landing on Thomas, staring at him for a long moment, arms crossing over her chest. She raises up a brow, letting a breath out through her lips.

Grey greets Alicia with a nod, not meeting the Gaian's eyes, and clasps his hands behind his back in a rather formal manner. "He's a good deal more polite today," he notes to Natalie, obviously referring to Kevin.

"I like polite," Nat answers, coming around the half-wall to lurk in the arch that leads back to the dining room and kitchen. She doesn't add anything else, letting the Gaian Galliard take center stage.

Kevin looks from one of the garou surrounding him to another; not in panic but a calm appraisal. "I'm not feeling like someone hit my head with a sledgehammer today," he explains. "Okay. What do I do?"

Nodding back towards Thomas, Alicia sniffs the air a bit, hands gliding into her pockets. "Hey Kevin." She says in a tired voice. Her eyes look dark and she seems to be shifting her weight from one hip to the next, constantly.

Grey doesn't seem inclined to say anything more; he just stands near the cub, hands behind his back.

Natalie keeps quiet while Alicia stares at the pair, her attention on a spot halfway between the two males. Where usually her thumbs would be hooked into her pockets, right now her hands hand at her sides, loose and open.

"They're clean." Alicia says in a relieved tone to her voice. She rubs behind her ear, then glances around for a chair, moving to flop down into one, sliding her head down into her hands, fingers lacing behind her neck.

Kevin blinks in surprise, saying nothing. But his body language screams "Is that it?!"

Grey glances sidelong at Kevin. "Not as bad as you thought it would be, mm?" His voice is cool.

Nat lets out a long, patently relieved breath and paces back into the room. "Good. Thank you, Alicia-rhya." A corner of her mouth twitches up as she leans on the back of the couch, forearms braced. "Getting checked for Taint is pretty simple. Though like I told this one guy once, you usually notice it happening." She offers Grey the other half of her smile.

Kevin shakes his head in response to Thomas. "Hell, no. Where are the spotlights in the face, the nice-and-nasty cops, the rubber hoses and the hand in the toaster?" The release of tension on the new-mood cub seems to have put him in rather a silly mood.

"You mean you didn't tell him about the shot I have to give him right afterward?" Alicia murmurs, patting her jacket down some, then begins to fish in her pocket. "I know its in here somewhere."

Grey doesn't return Natalie's smile, though he does give a nod which suggests that, yes, he remembers her saying exactly that. Sometime in the past year, his sense of humor got surgically removed. Or stuffed in a bag and dumped over a bridge somewhere.

It wouldn't have made that big of a splash. "Well, we could shoot him," Nat comments thoughtfully, studying the back of her cub's head. "I was going to have Jon do it, since he's the best shot of us. But... you're handy with a gun, right, Alicia? Are you packing?"

Kevin turns his head, either to look at his elder or to take the back of his head away from her gaze. "And get my blood all over the nice paintwork that we all spent so much time working on? Oh, I think not, I think not." The cub laughs, but the laughter is painfully, obviously brittle.

Alicia flips her jacket back and reaches in, drawing out one of her Glocks. She checks the magazine, then shrugs. "Got two more shots of black talon in there. The rest of it went into Lucas." She raises up a brow and looks to Kevin.

"The Shadow Lord?" Grey glances over at Natalie for confirmation.

"The Shadow Lord," Nat confirms with a nod to her tribemate before looking back to Alicia. "Black talons are a little bigger than I'm thinking. We don't need that much oomph. Thanks, though." Back to Grey she adds, "Got himself Tainted - really Tainted. Alicia and Stacey caught him running around the wharves in hispo. He had a nice little den set up with munchies for later. Dogs, cats..." She pauses to eye Kevin before adding, "Humans."

Kevin looks hard at the weapon that Alicia is carrying in what evidently seems to the cub to be an overly casual manner. "Humans," he mutters. "Bye bye Veil, bye bye Litany..."

"I kicked his ass in and dragged him back to the Compound with Cutter later." Alicia murmurs. "I preformed the cleansing ritual on him with Tobias supporting me and I think we fixed him, but then I found out a lot of people knew that he was tainted and chewing on people and no one did anything. Jarred and James were supposed to fix it, but that was almost.. two months ago." She lets out a slow hiss. "So as you can see, I'm frustrated, because I'm going to have a talk with Jarred, now that I've talked with Megan. Thomas, you want to come with me when I do it?"

Grey's eyebrows rise, vanishing behind the black hair hanging raggedly over his forehead. "Jesus Christ." He's disgusted -- revolted, even -- at the news of man-eating and grimaces when Alicia explains the situation further. The Gaian's request takes him by surprise, somewhat, and he frowns slightly at her, bemused. "Me?"

"I suggested you," Natalie interrupts, pushing herself off the back of the couch and straightening. "You've got the experience. I'm not Fostern yet and, well. If Jarred would try to kill Alicia, he's got a chance at taking us both down. Taking three of us out, though... It ought to be enough to make even him stop and think, but it doesn't tell him we're afraid of him."

Kevin keeps his mouth shut and his eyes open. And focused on that gun still.

Alicia nods her head. "You know how he is... when he gets scared, he'll try an take me out most likely to save his neck. Which is kinda why I spread the news about this to a few Elders before I got this far. Ya'know... if I go missing.. you know why." She glances over at Kevin, then back down to her gun, holstering it into her jacket again. "That and I know you two are best buds." She says with a faint, weak grin to Thomas.

Grey snorts. "He's every bit a Shadow Lord. All their worst qualities." No, there's no love lost there between him and Jarred. "If you need the backup, I'm there."

Natalie says, "Just let us know when and where you want us," with a nod for the other Elder. "If you've told Megan, I'll tell Signe. She might take it a little more calmly from me."

"Ah, yes, the Shadow Lords," Kevin says quietly. "Jarred told me, when I was looking for my tribe, that the Glass Walkers are a twisted bunch of losers and I should steer clear of them. When I asked why, he just sneered and told me I'd make a good one. So in a way, you guys have him to thank for me being here."

"Mm..." Alicia murmurs, nodding her head to Natalie after Kevin's statement. "I will definitely be in touch." She pushes herself up out of the chair, shaking out her arms a bit, then yawns. "...I think for now, I'm going to catch some sleep that I've been missing for a few days." She glances to Thomas again for a moment. "And.. we can talk later? You an me?"

"There's a bed upstairs if you want to crash there," Natalie offers, cutting over the Philodox. "Or I could drive you back to your place...?"

Grey's jaw tightens a little, but he dips his head to Alicia and answers, calmly and deferentially, "You know where to reach me."

Kevin exhales gently, rubbing his hands together. "Thanks for pronouncing me clean, Alicia-rhya. Hey... good to see you again." The cub cracks a quick smile to her.

"Oh... if you could drive me home, I need to see Matthew when he gets off work. We have a lot to talk about." Alicia murmurs as she rubs her neck, offering a nod in Kevin's direction.

[End of log]