(no subject)

[nick_garou]

Woke up this morning, still tipping the scales at 22.5 lbs. After the morning routine, (OMG, the stuff in the fridge is sooooo gross) I checked mail (Salem confirmed he'd take care of my cat), took pictures of the houseboat, and wrote up an ad for it on Craigslist. Put a sign in the front window, too. As I was finishing it up, Val popped in through the electric cat-flap door she installed in a window when I was off in San Fran earlier. Val asked if I was sure I wanted to sell the place and I confirmed that I did: I like it, but I just feel the need to change--it happens every so often. I'm restless that way.




Val wanted to know what to do about Nadia having punched me, and I told Val that if she did anything at all to Nadia, then she was just proving Nadia to be right. It seems like they already met and got along okay. They talked about weird stuff they'd seen in the past and Nadia thinks she may have known a Mage in the past. He'd pull whatever she asked for out of a pocket--right up until she commented on how it was weird how he was able to do that, and then he never did it again. I've had a rote that was somewhat similar in the past, where I passed around a bag to my friends and told them to add something useful to it and gave everyone who participated $20. I never looked in the bag, so had no idea what was in there, and would pull out some interesting things from time to time. But I quit doing that about a decade ago as I never liked carrying a bag with me--and it was kind of bulky. Anyway, Val said I should avoid doing a trick like that around her. No telling if it was or wasn't a mage trick--or just a guy who had a good anticipation of what she wanted. If it was magic, it sounds like it'd involve a nice dose of Entropy. Eh. Euthanatos. I could do without dealing with that.



Val proposed a new backstory for how we met. Basically, it's how we met--minus me being a mage. She was working as a crime scene photographer. I was working as a smarter-than-your-average cop. I started noticing things and putting pieces together. I figured out something was going on behind the scenes. Val noticed I was poking into things best left unpoked into and which might later prove to be dangerous to the garou. She figured I could handle it and be useful instead of slowly become a danger to the Veil. So she pulled a corner of the Veil back for me to see how I'd handle it. I did well, and we started working together to protect the Veil and tip off the garou when things needed to be dealt with that the police couldn't or shouldn't be handling. (Corax don't have kin per se, but they do work with certain humans.) Mouse eventually got wind of me, did some background checks, and viola. Drawn into the Walkers' folds.



Val then told me that Salem and Kaz had thanked her for her recent work. She asked if I'd had a hand in that and I admitted that I had suggested to Salem that he do something--but not Kaz. (I haven't even met Kaz.) Val showed me a pic on her cell phone. The old coot had baked her an actual cake with "THANK YOU" lettering on it and everything. Val thought it was touching--and hillarious. Salem also shared with her the location of a few bolt holes that Val could use in the future in the event her place was compromised. I suspect that went a long way to smoothing over Val being turned out of the Walker Safehouse earlier. (It was the right thing to do, but it still stung Val a little.)



Val also mentioned how she's been working with the Shadow Lords recently, what with the BSDs in town and after two of their members. And how Salem doesn't like that tribe. (It's a cool-sounding name, though.) The leader of the Shadow Lords is this guy named Nik. He apparently worked closely with Val in calling up the BSDs. When they were out talking shop and having drinks at the Rat and Raven, Nik apparently referred to the meeting as a 'date'. He might have been joking, he might not have. I hope Val is careful, whatever she chooses to do there. She didn't seem particularly enamored. Part of me wants her to find a nice relationship, but the other part of me wants it to be with someone normal who won't hurt her. Ultimately, I don't control her life though. I hope she's careful. But this Nik guy sounds like a slightly insecure jerk, and Shadow Lords do not have the best of reputations by default.



We talked a bit about the Fox shifter from the other night. Val wanted to know if I got any info after she left or saw his human form. I lied and said I'd quit scanning. I'm 99 percent sure I know who the shifter is--and he's posing as being kinfolk. (Did I set a fucking trend recently or what?) But I didn't tell Val. The incident with Nadia.... It's made me not want to share information about others so openly and readily. This guy--Thomas Lee--is apparently very concerned about his privacy and means no harm. Kind of like me, and it would suck if the tables were turned. So I'm hoping that Lee shows up for the meeting later with Val and they get along and everything is golden.

Lee'd better not fuck with Val, though. Or I'll take the motherfucking gloves off.


Val had to bail to go pick at some bodies that Kaz saved her from the other night. Gross. So. Damn. Gross.

Shelby didn't call about taking a run in the woods today. Good. Bad timing.


Not much for me to do today, what with my current condition (which I don't think Val noticed), so I spent the day cleaning the houseboat and packing my things. It'll be easier to show and look more spacious without my personal stuff in it. I should probably not have that shotgun laying out on the front room's coffee table, too. Oops.