Night's Omen

 Corinne felt pain swell in her chest, and despite her face being mostly hidden due to both the way her head was turned and her hair, her shoulders shook as she began to cry. Alexander's confession, however gently he tried to deliver it, was awful. It hurt, hurt like someone was crushing her heart with a vise, and she drew her other knee up to her chest to try and make herself as small as she felt. The person that she had loved more than anything (except her sire, obviously) for well over two thousand years had just told her that he had no idea who she was, and he wasn't lying.

The only good thing, if there was any aspect of this that could be considered good, was that when Rajz had told her that Alexander hated her and he wasn't coming to save her because he no longer cared for her weak nature, it had been a lie. He may have had some sort of amnesia (and was he human?), but it wasn't the same thing. That had been what tipped her over the edge with Antoine. Not the physical pain. It had been the idea that she had been abandoned because she was too kind and too weak - that, paired up with Rajz's emotional manipulation, had been very potent fuel for the fire that Justinian and Iloquil had set. And Antoine had suffered for it.

The relief of knowing it had been a lie was quickly swallowed by her guilt and shame of being foolish enough to believe it. She was trying to appear dignified, but sobbing wasn't helping. Alexander reached his hand out slowly, and she slapped it away, crying out. It wasn't a word formed on her lips, but just a noise of pain and sadness.

"Corinne - " Eithne started, wincing as the vampire rejected the hunter's comforting hand.

"It's me, it's Kore, please, you have to remember me," Corinne begged. She'd shifted so that she was on her knees, which still made her a little shorter then Alexander. She was speaking in old Greek, much like Iloquil had - though it was hard to understand her through her crying, she was marginally LESS hysterical than the ardent vampire had been not very many nights ago. She reached out finally and grabbed at him - it looked like she was trying to go for his hand, but her fingers wrapped around that tie he insisted on wearing, and she yanked him towards her.

"Please, remember me," she whispered, her voice small and kittenish. With the final plea, she planted her full lips on his own no doubt surprised mouth, trying to push out with her memories while holding back on her power. It would be a lot - a lot, unfortunately, but Alexander was tough even in his human state, so she hoped she wouldn't fry his brain.

At least now his attraction to Rose would make more sense. Petite, brunette, pale, and very innocent - not what most men went for, especially hunters.

Rajz had definitely been lying when he told her that Alexander hated her and wasn't coming to save her because she was weak, though he hadn't been wrong about Alexander not coming.  He didn't know to do so, and as a human, Rajz might not have given a shit, though Justinian had a pretty strict 'no-touchie' rule on Alexander being spread to the more dangerous ancients right about now.  If Corinne hadn't seen him herself now, she eventually would have gotten word that something was wrong, even if Justin and Iloquil were putting out some serious effort to keep his 'condition' from leaking.  Nothing like painting a target on his back and letting him wander around a battlefield. 

As it was, this situation was likely going to make them feel like their hands were being forced.  The more people who knew who he was and what had happened, the more danger he could be in, and Justinian wasn't willing to lose him.  It seemed that Corinne could share that sentiment, even if she wasn't a fan of Justin or Iloquil and Alexander wasn't as she remembered him.

One of his many problems with not remembering her was that he didn't know how to deal with her.  Comfort was difficult, especially with an ancient vampire, when she was inclined to slap at his hand (even not hitting hard, he was lucky she didn't break his wrist) and then drop Ancient Greek all over him.  He couldn't help blinking at her as she switched languages on him, rising to her knees and crying hard enough that it definitely made the language more difficult for others listening; to him, it was about as clear as if a girl was crying and speaking English, and even though this wasn't the first time in the past few days that it had happened, it still fucked him up a little to experience.  How the fuck did he know Ancient Greek that fluently?

Nevermind, when she grabbed his tie and yanked him in, that took priority over how he understood a dead language like he'd grown up speaking it, and even though he grabbed her wrist to do...nothing, since it wasn't like he could break her hold unless he wanted to pull a knife to cut her or the tie.  "Kore," he murmured, but though the perfect accent on the name was the knowledge of the language, it wasn't because he remembered her, but because she'd said it was her name. 

How the hell was he supposed to deal with this?  She went from crying and begging to even more of a pleading, soft, desperate sound, and the sadness and even more apology hit his expression, but there was nothing he could do.  He could fake it, but that would only cause her more pain when she realized it wasn't real, and he didn't know how to remember her.  Too bad she knew how, and wasn't filling him in on the methods until she already had him in a liplock, and he was too surprised to do much more than clutch at her shoulder with his free hand as the kiss was forgotten for whatever natural reaction worked there while she flooded his mind with her memories. 

It wasn't a guarantee, not when he had over two thousand years' worth of his own memories locked up somewhere in his mind like a tidal wave waiting to completely wreck him, but she took the breath right out of him with the very first blow, and the hits just kept coming.  They'd known each other almost since they were mortal, and it was actually Kore who'd helped draw him out of the mindset that made him Justinian's bodyguard and into his own person, just by giving him someone else to care about.  Iloquil was Justinian's, whether she sired him or not, and so she was an extension of Justin for Alexander, meant to be protected unless it was against his friend.  Kore was different, and over the years, he'd protected her as vehemently as Justinian, and sometimes even against his own sire, though he was less aggressive and more smart about those situations.  He cared deeply about her, and though her hitting him like this didn't instantly bring all of that back, seeing it all from her point of view came with its own revelations. 

There were things in her memories that he'd never known, even when he was himself.

When she released him, he fell back and unless she opted to help support him, he was going to land on his ass, at the very least.  His eyes had rolled up into his head during the exchange, and yes, it was extremely fortunate that he was resilient and 'tough', even as a human, or she might very well have fried his brain with a move like that one.  As it was, it would still take a few moments for him to recover enough to get back into the present after wading through two millenia of experiences, and some of the more recent years alone were enough to take his breath away.  He'd just gotten extremely well acquainted with what Rajz, Iloquil and Justinian had done to her, and what had been said.  He knew how he'd been used against her, and maybe she'd caused a crack in his memories that would allow him to figure his shit out, or maybe he was just going to work off of what he'd seen from her, but when he could finally function again, he wrapped her up in his arms, blinking away tears that he hadn't ever felt fall.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, Kore, forgive me."  It was Greek.

 Corinne's shoulders sagged with relief as Alexander began to speak with recognition; he called her by her name, and oh gods, it felt so good to hear him say it. She wanted to hug him harder, but she was afraid she'd crush him beneath her grasp, which was a definite possibility while he was human. Speaking of - "Why are you human?" she asked, finally coming around to the question that would make very little sense to James and Antoine, but not to Eithne, who was very much wondering the same thing.

She wiped at her face quickly and stood up with Alexander, brushing herself off absently. She still had her hand on his shoulder possessively, and only reluctantly let go of him so that she could pass her fingers through her brown hair and heave a sigh that felt good after all of the crying.

"Is he not supposed to be?" Antoine asked, still close to James in case Corinne decided to blow up again. When his brother said he wasn't going anywhere again anytime soon, Antoine had merely nodded, because they were both men and there was already a lot of crying going on without him getting emotional about it.

Eithne raised her eyebrows, arms folded. "He is definitely not," she informed the hunters. "But I think there are other things that need to be worried about at the moment... Antoine's name is clear as far as we're concerned, but I need to make sure that the rest of the guilds know it, too."

Corinne nodded emphatically. "Whatever I can do to help," she said, turning to the brothers. "Please, forgive me for my outburst. Antoine, I know you have been through a lot, and some of it was at my very forced hand..." She looked down for a moment, only continuing when Alexander placed his hand at the small of her back in reassurance. "But I will do whatever I can to ensure that you never have to stand alone again." She paused, glancing to James. "I don't know how you feel about having a vampire at your back, but I will be there."

"Take it," Eithne advised. "She's over two-thousand. Not every hunter can have an Old One in their corner." She paused, realizing that she wasn't part of the conversation. "Or not. I'm just the Therrayan," she added, her cheeks red.

"And a Fae, apparently," Antoine added, his brows raised. Eithne didn't miss the small smile from him.

It was extremely likely that Corinne would break something if she hugged him any harder, which was pretty much the last thing he needed right about then.  He'd had enough trauma with the sudden memory blast without taking physical damage, as well, and it sounded like he needed to be at his best in the very near future.  Corinne didn't want to mess that up, especially when she was used to seeing him as a vampire and he was definitely not up to that standard currently.

Actually, that part sucked, because now he had over two thousand years' worth of her memories supporting the insanity that Justinian and Iloquil had suggested was true, and it had all been from her point of view with her own impressions built in.  He'd seen himself as she saw him, and she'd thought he was strong, brave and indestructible, had remembered things that seemed impossible even for a vampire, and he was pretty damn sure that he couldn't be that anymore.  Not human, and not as he was now.  That person was larger than life, and he was just a hunter, not even high enough ranked to even be invited to this guild.  It was dizzying to try to work out.

He took a deep breath at Corinne's question, righting himself and trying to preserve whatever dignity he could after that, though if he'd looked to Antoine and James before, he would have realized that they weren't judging.  In fact, James had started forward like he might interject, and then had considered the fact that she was as old as dirt and there wasn't anything he could do that Eithne couldn't.  He was possibly more battle-seasoned, but she still had some training, lots of age and power behind her, so she definitely had the better chance.  Now that Alexander was back on his feet, he felt that little pang of potential guilt at staying right there with his brother in case Corinne exploded again dissipate, and he glanced to Alexander and Corinne after Antoine asked if the man was not supposed to be human.  As far as James knew, he was.

Eithne's response covered it, but that didn't explain the what for James and Antoine, or the why for any of them, but Alexander offered up one of those shrugs that could mean absolutely anything from 'I don't know' to 'I don't want to talk about it', and his answer was some mix of the two.  He didn't know the details, but apparently, Papa Aristide was involved.  That meant anything could happen, but he was hoping to be one of those rare cases that stabilizes in time, even if that meant he stayed human.  He was okay with that, just as long as he didn't have to deal with more bullshit.

Not that being human spared him that.  This situation alone made that clear, since Corinne was only the tip of the iceberg here.  Justinian and Iloquil were involved, and they'd done things that Alexander wasn't okay with, though he wasn't so sure there was much he could do about it.  According to her memories, standing up to them was a skill essentially exclusive to him, but he didn't get the feeling that they cared what he thought right now just by virtue of him being human.  They had complexes.

"I can second what she said," he offered in Eithne's support of Corinne's offer, even if the ancient vampire's memories didn't color her in a kind fashion.  She was hard on herself, harder than he'd known in his own memories.  He had a lot to deal with when and if he got it all together.

Antoine and James seemed to be absorbing everything fairly quickly, and taking in stride anything that wasn't usual fairly well.  Whatever Antoine's theory on the vampire (and it seemed favorable enough), he was okay with it.  "That's generous of you, thank you.  Now that you've finished with him, do you think we can have Darling back, as well?  You okay, mate?  You're looking a little washed out."  Whatever Alexander was supposed to be, he was currently human, and he was looking as much like he'd been put through the ringer as James had ever seen him, which was impressive on Corinne's part.  James just didn't want people forgetting that the man wasn't a machine, especially before the important stuff even got started.

He conveniently didn't give any indication that he'd heard anything about Eithne being fae, interesting himself with Alexander and Corinne.

 When James asked for 'Darling' back, Corinne bit down a sharp laugh. "Darling?" she repeated. She just looked at Alexander for a long moment, then shook her head. "Iloquil," she muttered, as if that explained everything. She stepped away from him, her hand sliding off of him almost reluctantly. "You can have him back, of course," she said to James. "I suppose we should go back in and let everyone know that I haven't gone nuclear, yes?"

Eithne was already pulling the huge doors open, pressing her back to them so that they could all go back inside. She wasn't surprised when she found Murphy directly on the other side, his brows raised and a determined expression on his face. He was obviously surprised to find her there, though, and she only shook her head a little. I'll tell you later. In detail, she assured him mentally.

"I take it everything is in order?" Lani asked, standing from her seat at the head of the table. Corinne nodded, and Lani sighed. "Good. Now to put our house in order. If any of you have any contacts who have worked for European guilds in the past, please feel free to bring them in on this - and if any of you know anyone inside the guilds you're stationed in that can afford to be missed for a few weeks, let me know as well. We'll find a way to sort it out without blowing your covers."

Antoine cleared his throat a little. "Do you want me to throw in on this or should I stay behind?" He glanced at James, then back to Lani.

Lani shrugged. "We'll need your input, absolutely, but if you want to come back overseas, that's up to you. I can understand if you refrain, and nobody here will blame you. We'll have more than enough firepower with or without you, but I won't say that you wouldn't be missed." She paused. "Anyone who can put Isabelle on her ass that quickly is someone I want with us."

The Arun smiled at Antoine. "No hard feelings, mate," she said warmly. "I'll go toe to toe with you any day."

"Take that as a compliment," Lani informed him, satisfied that her point had been proven.

James didn't get the 'funny' when Corinne asked about 'Darling', considering yes, it was a pet name that he used often, but in this case, it was the man's name.  Yes, he was certain to use it more just because of that, but he wouldn't have asked for 'Cupcake' back.  At the mention of one of the Ancients that was apparently an issue almost as though she were the cause of the joke, he frowned and stared at her, but in the end just let it go.  Alexander had merely shrugged, not entirely on the same page as, well, anyone right about then.  He still had a lot to wrap his brain around, and though James kept looking to him at his silence, he looked alert and in the present.  Damn it, he didn't need guilt for getting the man steamrolled as soon as he walked in the door.  What the hell was even going on here?

Murphy had, dutifully, remained behind to shield the group from Corinne's blast, and then even after she'd stopped putting out that ridiculous drugged aura, he'd lingered.  Why?  For starters, he trusted his sister and would have known if she was in danger, so his main concern was no longer a concern, and he frankly didn't want to deal with anymore drama.  It seemed like Desmond and Antoine had kickstarted it with some serious shit, and then Alexander's appearance had thrown it into overdrive.  He wanted to sit down, figure out what the job required and move the fuck on.  He didn't need the soap opera to go with it, and Corinne's situation with Alexander seemed like something along those lines, so he didn't give a shit for being present.  Eithne would give him the info afterwards, and her promise when they all marched back in confirmed that, despite him being surprised that she was even still present.  He actually figured that she would have sent the men back in and taken Corinne off somewhere to stay calm.

Problem with not joining them out there?  He was out of the loop on the 'Alexander is human' thing, and though he was wondering, he also knew that bastard to be powerful enough to hide.  He didn't trust him, however pale, ill and mentally worked over he looked.  If Justinian and Iloquil let their egos slide enough, they sure as hell could do it, so why not Alexander?

Whether the rest of the table was having the same issues as Murphy (Benjamin and Irene were watching the entire situation silently and with their own mild interest, while Aaron and Firuza oh so casually worked to regain their footing after Corinne's emoting) in trusting Alexander not to be a weapon of mass destruction or not, they didn't let on and James had moved on to concern for his brother as his ally and sometimes friend stayed close to Corinne despite the vampire giving him the option of space, but still returned to the room. 

He wasn't so sure he wanted Antoine in on this, not after how shitty the situation had gone last time, but he sure as hell had a lot of back-up here that he didn't have before.  That James had been contacting all of Broadsword under the table the whole time helped, though as he pulled his phone out to check his messages, he was surprised to find that Liam was the only one not responding.  What time was it there?  He was probably drunk and in bed with his wife, the lucky bastard.

"What of our people in the US guilds?  You know some of them would be disappointed if they didn't get the chance to join this one," Benjamin pointed out, speaking up to help Noelani get the meeting back on track.  He was thinking specifically of Dante, who would be a huge help (as much as Benjamin didn't approve of some of his ways, he didn't require any encouragement to make known his opinion that the man was wasted in his position in New York) and enjoyed going to Europe for anything at all, and of course Oksana, who was just damn useful.  "Sutherland may have taken out key people in this situation, but there's no guarantee that rearranging the guilds won't get resistance from Midnight."

If they had plans and had compromised any of the guilds out there?  He'd almost guarantee it. 

"I've heard back from nearly all of my team, they need a briefing," James offered, and actually, so did Alexander, but he assumed they'd all get it at the same time.  He kept trying Liam's phone, just in case he responded, but soon he'd skip texting and move to calling.  He had no idea that when Declan or John got there and tried Liam's wife, they'd get bad news.

"My cover was blown when Midnight grabbed me for gladiator play, but have we gotten word from Natalia and Virgil?" Aaron asked, having been unwilling to contact them himself in case it revealed them, but both were still over there, last he heard.  They had to know something.

 "I would tend to agree with Benjamin about our own undercover members. They are much more useful to us rather then leaving them where they are and taking other members along for the ride," Corinne said, glancing to the vampire with a nod. She'd always liked Benjamin. He was sensible. Irene, too. "The only person I'd really suggest would be Devraj Rashana. I worked with him when he was in England, as I now work with his protege. If you tell Dev that Mary will be joining us, I can say with certainty that he will want a part of this."

"Ah, the Virgin Mary," Antoine said, a laugh escaping him. "Of course you'd know her."

"Of course I would," Corinne said matter-of-factly, her large green eyes focusing on Sutherland. "I know several rather influential members of the Fae community. It comes with age," she added with a grin.

Antoine frowned. "Fae?" he echoed. It was his brother who answered him, his rich laugh causing Antoine to become more curious. "What?" he demanded. "Do you know her?"

Corinne blinked rapidly, her smile becoming wry. "Antoine, Mary is a Succubus. Did you never wonder why a girl so utterly petite could get such accurate information out of prisoners?"

Antoine nearly choked on his own spit. "Virgin Mary? She's so proper!" he sputtered. "And besides, I heard the guy who trained her is one of the best, so I just assumed..."

"They call her that because she's the least-obvious Succubus you'll ever see," Corinne said. She looked directly at James, then, and added, "She's a lady. Don't get any ideas." Her statement just made James laugh harder, which made Corinne think that they either had already met, or that James really found her nickname funny.

"Who else do you have?" Benjamin prompted.

"I've got a Level 5 werewolf hunter, Natasha Radcliffe - she hunts under the name Tasha Smirnova - I know James has met her once, because she knows Emile - they can both vouch for her ability," she added, glancing at James again. "She's talented in her own right, but she's got a heavy hitter backing her, so I feel like Midnight would be reluctant to involve her, which gives her a little more wiggle room than some of our other members. Lani, what about Dashiell?"

Jordan emphatically shook her head. "He's retired," she said firmly. Not many people knew she had a daughter, or that her ex-husband had custody of her. Or that he was only her "ex" because it was safer that way, for that matter - and they would continue to not know. "But his protege, however, is more than capable of filling his shoes."

"I agree about Rashana.  Besides his skills, he has contacts throughout the UK guilds that will help," Benjamin put in as support, though that was...basically it.  There were good hunters in the US guilds, that much was certain, but those people had been approached with offers to Diamond or they were so entrenched in their ties to their current guild that Benjamin wouldn't dream of pulling them in on a job that might stretch their loyalties. 

Chase Paxton was a good example of one of those, just because he found her abilities and the way she used them to be incredibly interesting, and he was pretty damn sure she didn't miss a thing (probably even including Diamond's involvement, to a point), but her loyalty to her brother the guild leader made her potentially untrustworthy.  In fact, the family ties she had practically everywhere made Benjamin uneasy about trusting her not to either tell someone something she shouldn't or make a decision with family in mind instead of the job.  If not for that, she'd be on his list, and even his 'almost want on the job' list was rather short.  The only definite calls he had were their own people and Rashana.

Benjamin didn't have much to say about Mary, though he knew her because she'd come up in the past, especially given her track record and being trained by Rashana.  He didn't know much about her, not like the other three did, but he knew of her.  James, on the other hand, knew her well, which was part of his enjoyment just then.  That Antoine hadn't known she was fae made him feel a little better, since his brother obviously just didn't have any ability to pinpoint a fae even when they weren't hiding that hard, and then it just improved his mood that little bit more that Corinne defended Mary with the 'lady' bit.  Don't get any ideas?  Too late.  "Wouldn't dream of it, love.  I'll treat her like a proper lady, always have."

Yeah, and a proper lady deserved just the right amount of attention.  They had a job to do, but if she was putting out that kind of energy, she'd need a snack now and then.  He'd always been the generous sort, and that might not put Corinne at ease, but Benjamin apparently didn't have the patience for their chit-chat, since he pushed once more for business, getting another name that James was familiar with.  "She's good.  I don't know about her insurance plan, but on her own, I wouldn't mind having her at my back."

"Walker will do fine," Benjamin interjected, scowling harder and leaning forward on his forearm on the table, all very focused interest very suddenly.  "You said 'Smirnova'."

"Benjamin," Murphy started to cut in, but the vampire jerked his head towards the fae and glared.

"I won't have that demon in on this, O'Shea," he insisted, then turned the same untrusting look on Corinne.  From a man who was usually so cool and practical, the force of the look would be surprising, no doubt.  "This heavy hitter of hers is Alexei Smirnova, is it not?  Who is she to him?"

Frankly, he didn't want Alexei on the same plane of existence as Irene, which was going to turn into a 'situation' at some point, mostly because it pissed him off that the little shit had any clout with him, since before he'd been granted life away from Hell, he would have crushed that pest like a roach under his shoe.  There was debate over whether he still would, since vampirism had treated him well with the bloodline and power he'd possessed.  It probably wasn't a good idea that they test it while reorganizing the UK guilds, though.

 Corinne, as well as several others in the room, widened their eyes when Benjamin suddenly went from zero to sixty. She pursed her lips together, thinking about the last time she'd spoken to Tasha.

"It's a bit much, don't you think?" the brunette had said, looking down at her left hand, very clearly embarrassed. Corinne had held her hand out to take Tasha's own, examining the ring more closely - she could tell that the wolf was tense about the entire situation, as though the very presence of the diamond made her uncomfortable. "I haven't told the guys yet."

"It's beautiful, Natasha," Corinne breathed. "I don't think it's a bit much at all, but you have to remember you are a hunter and you don't wear jewelry, so of course it seems excessive to you at the moment." She frowned; her thoughts should have been happy, not self-conscious.

"You don't think they'll make fun of me?" she asked, arching her eyebrow.

The girl had more sense than whimsy it seemed, to have been scared to tell anyone that Alexei had proposed. She was known for being particularly practical, tough - very masculine qualities that, while she was clearly feminine, she felt may have earned her respect she'd quickly lose with the other rough and tumble members of Frost. Unlike Frost in the US, Frost UK was very male-dominated, and much more aggressive. She was like the "little sister" to many of the men there, and she didn't need to give them a reason to make fun of her, however light-hearted it might be.

There had also been something else Natasha hadn't told Corinne, but she'd known it anyways. She hadn't even thought it was possible, but then again, sometimes there were simply things that happened that she could not explain. She almost wished she hadn't said anything at all as that small detail popped back into her head, and she was thankful that nobody in the room was strong enough to read her mind - Alexander would have been, had he not been human (which still confused her).

"Corinne?" Irene asked, her own posture very tense. She was prompting the vampire for a response, which she very much wanted. She needed to know who the huntress was, or if she was connected to the demon who'd given she and Benjamin so much trouble over the years.

"Perhaps her involvement wouldn't be for the best, then," she said quickly.

"No, I'm interested, now," Irene protested. She spoke a little loudly, which was uncharacteristic of her.

Corinne winced. "No, I really think perhaps you should consult her on those matters."

Irene pushed her chair back loudly. "Well, then let's ask her!" she volunteered, pointing to the large mirror. "I mean, I'm sure I can drum her up in a few seconds." All of the shit that asshole had put she and Ben through, and suddenly he was playing nice with some Eurotrash? Oh, no, Irene was definitely going to find out what was so important about her - right before she stabbed her in the eye. No offense to whoever the girl was, but Alexei deserved a lot more, and if Irene could deliver even a part of that pain to him, she'd take the opportunity in a heartbeat.

"Oh dear," Corinne muttered.

Oh, the girl had plenty of sense in not wanting to make it common knowledge that Alexei had proposed, but not for the reasons she seemed nervous about - Benjamin didn't even necessarily want to harm her, but he wanted to use her as a bargaining chip to make the demon stay the fuck away from Irene.  Between his wife's talent and ability to bring her to them and his own very extensive reach, Alexei would be stuck between a rock and a hard place if he ever so much as breathed in their direction again, which was fine with Benjamin.  He sure as hell wasn't going to call Irene off.

No, it was Murphy who had to do it, since nobody else in the room knew how to handle the normally calm, collected and incredibly proper duo getting set off like that (that or they just didn't care), so it was him who stood up from his chair yet again, though this time it was to plant both hands on the table in front of him, leaning in their direction.

"Irene, you set that mirror off, and I'm breakin' it.  Fair warning," he shot at her, and his voice carried because he made sure of it before he fixed Benjamin with eye contact that met the vampire's ire with fae stubbornness.  "Call your wife off, Benjamin.  If I have to put her on her pretty little ass to stop her bringin' that poor girl here, I will."

"Why?  You know what he's done, and you of all people have no room to talk about revenge," Benjamin snapped, which made some of the witnesses present, such as James and Alexander, wonder how long the two had known each other.  Aaron had thought they'd worked together some time, but he never would have guessed much in the way of history, but then, he hadn't known that Murphy was fae, either, and if Benjamin had been surprised, he hadn't let on.  He might have known.

"I'm not denying your claim to revenge, but you do that shit on your own time.  This is guild time, and this is Noelani's house.  You respect that, or I'll put both of you on your asses."

"Are you so certain that you can?" the vampire demanded, standing himself with a spread of a harsh, suffocating power that didn't inspire nausea the way Corinne's had, but it was certainly giving the impression that the air was being sucked out like a vacuum, with whatever remained too thick and hot to breathe properly, and Murphy's power struck it like a blast of fresh, cool air; it was ironic that the Irishman that nobody ever would have pegged for being light and airy about anything had a feel like that, but such was his nature, whether he admitted it or not.  He was well-equipped to push back against Benjamin. 

"Try me."

There was a long moment there that they just stared, the air in the room so charged with power that it nearly crackled, and then Benjamin glanced back at his wife and clenched his jaw.  He didn't trust Eithne not to get involved if Murphy was outmatched, and if he was in that situation and Irene stepped in, Eithne would be certain to.  He didn't want the women involved.  "Another time."

Just like that, the air cleared, and Alexander didn't feel bad being the one to take a long, deep inhale and comment.  "Desmond, what did you invite me into?"

 Irene was much more potent than they all gave her credit for, sometimes - especially when she was angry. Even at her reaching for the mirror, and despite Murphy's threat, she'd still managed to charge it with some power. It darkened, then revealed a scene while the rest of the hunters argued amongst themselves. Through it, a few of them who were watching caught more than a little glimpse of the girl in question.

She was standing in front of the mirror, a dress hooked around her neck with a clothing hanger, while she smoothed it across herself. She was smiling, and speaking to someone on the phone. "No, I haven't told him, yet. I haven't told anyone yet," she said. She looked at her reflection, which essentially meant she looked out across the meeting room (that she couldn't see), her green eyes focusing on her body.

"Because, Tally, it's not supposed to be physically possible." She paused. "I know it. The best the Therrayan could tell me was that because he was a werewolf before he was anything else, some things still work the same way. No, if I tell Emile he'll try and take me off of active duty," she said, replying with a little irritation in her voice. She was quiet for a moment, then barked laughter. "Did you just quote 'Jurassic Park'? Life, ah, finds a way? Right, listen, do me a favour and don't say anything. Not until I figure out what I want to do - or if it's even true. All this came off of a Smoke witch with some heavy intuition."

She paused, looking at the mirror strangely, and now it did seem like she could see through it. "Tally, I'll call you back," she said slowly. She hung up the phone and threw it behind her, where it hit her bed noiselessly. Slowly, she removed the dress from her form, revealing that she wore a pair of yoga pants and a tank-top that had been pulled up and folded beneath her chest. She reached out and put her hand on the mirror, frowning at something. Then, as though it had never happened, she shook her head a little, muttering to herself, and placed her hand flat on her abdomen again.

"No freaking way," she whispered to herself, her dimples painfully obvious as her serious expression gave way to a wide smile again.

Irene, who had been properly chastised, grabbed her husband's shoulder tightly just as the mirror went back to normal and they lost the peephole into Natasha's world. "No freaking way," she hissed, her eyes wide. The difference between she and the lupine hunter was more than a little obvious, though - Irene was definitely not smiling. "No fucking way!" she repeated, this time swearing at full volume (which she VERY rarely did - and an f-bomb was even harder to come by).

Benjamin would know what Irene was mad about, even if the rest of them didn't. Having children was a big deal for her - despite Benjamin having to change her to a vampire to save her life, a thing for which she was eternally grateful - she was still haunted by the fact that it did mean they could never have a real family of their own. It wasn't that Benjamin wasn't enough for her, because she loved him tremendously, but it was one of those things that, even after three-hundred years, would still bother her, however little it was mentioned.

"How does - " she stopped right there, because she wasn't about to add anymore to the soap opera that Diamond was currently experiencing, but her husband would know exactly what about that situation made her the most mad. How was it fair that Alexei, the personification of Wrath, could find a girl who seemed so capable and kind (and in another lifetime, perhaps she and Irene could have been good friends), and not only was he apparently engaged to her as told by the giant ROCK on her finger, but had apparently found a way to get her pregnant? Irene just made an angry choking noise and slammed her fist down on the table.

"I feel like whatever the rest of you come up with, I will be amenable to. If you will forgive me, I believe I need to excuse myself," she said to the room, particularly to Noelani. She spoke carefully and sweetly, though at the words 'excuse myself' she had switched to talking through gritted teeth.

"Of course, Irene," Noelani said, surprised at not only Murphy and Benjamin's stand-off, but also by Irene's ire and outburst.

Irene turned on her heel and left, each step from her heels painfully loud in the otherwise silent room.

Antoine turned to Alexander, his eyebrows raised. "Welcome to Diamond, apparently," he said, clapping the man on the shoulder.

Irene really was much more potent than she usually got credit for, but Benjamin was assuming that so was Eithne, which was why he wasn't going there.  Getting the glimpse into Natasha's room was unexpected, but since Irene didn't drag the girl through, Murphy didn't have the room to bitch like he probably wanted to.  At least, that was how Benjamin felt about it, and then he just didn't care anymore, because he was seeing Alexei's woman, the ring on her finger and hearing her talk to 'Tally' (he had a guess as to someone that could be) about what was obviously a pregnancy.  That fucker.

He set his hand on Irene's where she'd grabbed his shoulder, squeezing it and looking to her rather than the now smooth mirror or Murphy, and there was just enough in his expression for the woman who knew him better than anyone to know that he would do anything to make things different.  He knew she wanted a family, and of everything that he had and would give her, that was the one thing he couldn't.  They were vampires, and even if Alexei had managed it on some strangeness because he'd been a werewolf before he was a demon, Benjamin had only been a creature that could have fathered a child for a total of a few days in his entire life, and Irene wasn't able to carry a live child any longer.  That didn't mean that he wouldn't have done something about it, if he could have.

Within seconds of his wife making her excuses and getting up, Benjamin had also stood, nodding to Noelani and pointedly ignoring Murphy, and followed after her.  He'd said what he had to, and Irene was more important than what they were deciding here.  He was finished with this soap opera, anyway. 

With the two puritans (or whatever the fuck they were) gone, James whistled to Antoine clapping Alexander on the back and throwing his own comment in there, and he glanced between the two of them with a bit of disbelief.  This was a new one on him.

"Excuse the insanity here, gentleman.  Looks like you really stirred everything up from the bottom," Murphy offered, simultaneously apologizing and blaming them, which was just a fucking talent of his.  After seeing him deal with shit so far, James was pretty damn certain that he wasn't going to be jumping him again anytime soon, and that he'd probably gotten off easy.  He would also be warning Emile that the girl he had an eye out for was on the shit list of two powerful vamps, but that could wait until he arrived, or until they had a moment alone.  He wasn't sure if he'd wait for privacy, or not.

"So, are we waiting on anyone else to arrive before I get details on this job, or am I being tested to see if I crack up and start speaking in tongues?" Alexander prompted, not realizing that the most efficient way to get Broadsword here had just excused herself in an emotional fit.  Welp.

Noelani was about ready to dismiss everyone as a whole, mostly because there was far too much in the way of theatrics breaking out. She appreciated Murphy holding his temper in, mostly because while she had faith in Benjamin's abilities, she'd seen Murphy on a bad day, and demonic influence or not, she wouldn't have wanted to try him. Full-blooded Fae, especially as old as he and his sister, had nasty tricks up their sleeves.

"I think I have a few more people who may be of help, but there's no reason for us all to be in this room together any further, if that's what you're asking. We need to get everyone here before we really formulate a plan, though if you want to get caught up I'm sure James and Eithne would be more than willing." She paused. "Eithne may also have something in her books for that memory issue of yours," she added, nodding to the blonde who had, as she spoke, crossed the room to where the three men stood. "Eithne, do you want to show them around?"

Corinne held a finger up to get Noelani's attention. "If anyone needs to be brought immediately, I can offer myself as transport," she said, though the glance she threw over her shoulder told Jordan that Corinne didn't really want to be away from Alexander.

Noelani sighed, then nodded. "Get the members of James' team that he has spoken with, then collect Mary and anyone else she wants to bring with her. If you can collect the wolf along with Emile, that would be even better. Just be careful with her," Noelani said, dropping her voice. "Shapeshifters aren't as easily affected by your ability, but she may be pregnant."

Corinne nodded emphatically. "Of course," she said, "absolutely." She smiled a little. "I also believe I can find a few of our Diamond connections, as well. With Natasha comes Natalia, after all."

Noelani didn't smile, but she was pleased that the wolf and the gargoyle had made friends. Natalia may have been enlisted with Diamond, but she lived and worked almost exclusively in Europe, and she didn't necessarily play well with others. However, if she had taken to the shifter, Noelani was certain she would follow the young wolf into Hell if asked. A gargoyle's loyalty was something you could always count on. Noelani was glad that she'd recruited her when she had.

Corinne dismissed herself, Oksana going with her to help bring people back. "Is there anything else that needs to be addressed, or can it wait until everyone's here? I need to make a call," Lani said, turning to Murphy. The rest of the Diamonds were already leaving the room, which left the duo mostly alone. Murphy would know that Lani wanted to call her husband (ex, whatever) to speak to him about Walker.

While Noelani's vote of confidence was awesome to have, Benjamin might have had more power behind him than Murphy had banked on, though he'd never admit that.  Full-blooded Fae, especially as old as he and his sister, had nasty tricks up their sleeves, but from what Murphy knew of Benjamin's history, 'demonic influence' didn't quite cover it.  Also, the Puritan bastard had just tossed far more raw power his way than he'd ever seen him throw around, which was interesting.  That was filed away for later, which really just meant that once Noelani rid the room of the extra bodies, he was bringing it up.

True to his expectations, she went right ahead in trying to clear the room, starting with sending Eithne off with James, Alexander and presumably Antoine (if it was Murphy, he'd be making sure his long-lost brother stayed close), and any extra Diamonds quickly started taking off as Corinne and Lani discussed transportation plans.  Murphy had noticed Oksana appearing at some point in the chaos and he approved of her as an escort or whatever with Corinne while she handled all of the people that needed to be picked up, and he glanced to Gunnar and Firuza before they could make tracks.  Aaron was already gone, probably off to catch up with Azhure, and Murphy didn't really blame him.  The weapons master was about as low-drama as they came, and he'd had his own problems in the past few days.  It was probably soap opera overload for him.

"You two, help Corinne and Oksana get people settled as they show up, yeah?  We'll catch up with them as soon as possible," he instructed, just to make sure the bases were covered.  As long as someone wasn't bleeding or puking, he figured Gunnar was free to help out until the potentially pregnant shifter showed up, and then he'd be occupied.  Murphy wasn't stupid.

Once the room was cleared, the fae leaned back in his chair in a completely leisurely lounge that betrayed none of the stress of the past hour or so, and regarded his boss and friend carefully.  He wasn't going to hold her from her phone call, not when he knew who she'd be calling, but he thought the whole thing deserved a bit of a whistle.  "I think Benji's been holdin' out on us."

Alexander, whether he really got any help from Eithne and James on the memory thing, was more than happy to take the hint and get the hell out of Diamond's grand hall.  Enough had happened already, and though Corinne didn't seem to want to leave his side (he wasn't sure how he felt about her doing so himself), he figured he'd been in more dangerous places than a library recently, Midnight among them.  He'd be fine.

Besides, at this point?  Any information would be awesome.  He was all ears.

 Noelani made a noise that said his words were an understatement. She stayed where she was for a second, then sighed and shook her head. "You know, with how quickly all of this happened upon us tonight, I'm glad I'm - " she paused, then smiled. "I'm glad I've got capable people around me." She'd almost said that she was glad to have her own lineage to count on, but nobody really knew what made Noelani so special aside from Murphy, his sister, and of course, Natalia. It didn't need to be said.

She let her eyes linger on her friend for a moment. "Make sure we have enough internal firepower to handle Rutherford if he steps out of line." She knew what she was really saying, there, and she knew Murphy would understand. Make sure we can put him down if we have to. "I don't want anyone coming here to feel threatened, by anyone, and I really don't think that that little girl knows what she'll be walking into." She was referring to Natasha. Capable hunter or not, she would be grossly outmatched against Benjamin, and if Noelani had any doubt before, his display of anger earlier certainly indicated that he would flatten a normal person, however good of a hunter they were. "In fact, if I'm not around when they arrive, have Chad try to stay close to her. Roma will let him know when he can back off, but I need him to get a read off of her and find out what the deal is."

Noelani wasn't even the slightest bit happy about involving anyone carrying a child in this mess, but she'd need to formulate a good plan before she even knew how necessary Natasha would be, so for the time being, she'd have to deal with it. Phone in hand, she gave a wave to Murphy. "I'll tell Dash you say hi," she informed him, a small smile on her face before she excused herself.

Eithne, meanwhile, was walking and talking, trying to get Alexander as up to speed as possible. Once they got to the archives, they were met by another, more petite (if that were possible) blonde, who was glaring at Eithne from her seat in front of a computer. "What?" Eithne asked, not even bothering to introduce the trio behind her. Nicolette had probably already eavesdropped enough to get their names, so there was no point.

"I knew I wasn't bisexual," Nicolette hissed.

"What?" Eithne said again, though this time her tone was less indignant and more surprised.

"Fucking FAIRY!" Nicolette exclaimed. She jumped out of her chair, pointing at Eithne. "I knew it! Ahahaha, I called it like a billion years ago, oh my god. It explains SO MUCH! How old are you guys? Does Gunnar know that you've been schmoozing him this whole time? Oh my god, can you tell me what the Faeworld is like? What kind of Fae are you, exactly?" Nicolette demanded, climbing on top of her chair in a crouched position and hammering Eithne with questions.

Eithne held her hands up as the men fanned around her, seeking the three comfortable-looking chairs away from the loud blonde with the bright blue eyes. They settled down in front of an honest-to-god fireplace and looked amongst themselves. Antoine didn't know about either of them, but he was interested in all of the answers Nicolette wanted.

"Okay, first, you'll have to hold your questions for later," Eithne said, making a 'shut up' motion as Nicolette let out a loud whine, "BUT. But, I'll tell you this now: You'll never get my age, or Murphy's, so don't try. Gunnar knows now, and I'm sure he'll be here at some point to ask to speak privately to me so he can attempt to shame me over it. I can't tell you what the Faeworld is like because it's not something I can really accurately describe right now, and as for what kind of Fae I am, you know, it's actually really rude to ask that. But," she said again, and this was with a glance at the trio to see if Desmond was listening, "Murphy and I are members of the Royal Seelie Court."

"Royal-Blooded?" Nicolette squawked. "Like Irina?" She climbed down from her chair, grabbing the massive 40oz cup of soda she had and sucking noisily on the straw.

Eithne sighed. "Like Irina. Now, can we move on?" Nicolette nodded, still drinking, eyes still huge, and Eithne turned and went to where the guys were sitting, only to drop down on the two-seat couch with a loud 'whump', ignoring the obvious cloud of dust from the furniture not getting much use. "Since you're so interested in the Fae, want to tell me what can help us with someone having memory trouble?"

Nicolette followed Eithne to the couch, though instead of sitting down on the cushion like a normal human, the over-caffeinated girl perched on the arm, studying each of the men intently. "What sort of memory trouble?" she asked. "Hi, Desmond. Who are your two handsome friends?"

"Nicolette," Eithne snapped. She was tired and starting to lose patience - the revelation hit her suddenly that she didn't have to play human anymore, so she could speed this up. As soon as Nicolette turned to look at her, Eithne smiled her charming smile, letting some of her Glamour slip. While Desmond would remain completely unaffected (and in fact, became twice as amused), Antoine and Alexander may have found Eithne suddenly very attractive. It wasn't as sexual as if she were a succubus, of course, but the quiet blonde who was essentially a librarian was, at the moment, very noticeable, and very... sparkly.

"Hmmm?" Nicolette asked, a grin spreading across her face. She leaned in to Eithne a little bit.

"Sweetie, what do you think would be the best way for us to find memories that have been lost or magically purged?" Eithne purred.

"A vampire can do that," Nicolette said, twirling a strand of her blonde hair absently.

"No, we need something stronger. Say that a very powerful vampire had his memories taken somehow.."

Nicolette leaned so far that she began sliding off of the arm of the couch, coming to sit effectively wedged next to Eithne. "Well, if it was something like that, I'd say you'd want to find a Kirin. They can manipulate memories, so finding them probably isn't out of their grasp. Eithne, you're so... pretty..." she trailed off.

Eithne snapped her Glamour back around her like she'd turned off a light switch, then turned her head to look at the trio. "Kirin, right. I should have thought of that myself." She paused. "I can't believe you know more than I do about my own kind," she said, glancing at Nicolette, who was now rolling her eyes and standing up.

"I can't believe you just rolled me!" Nicolette said, though there wasn't much anger in her voice. "And yeah, I don't exactly think a Kirin classifies as your own kind, Eithne. I mean, they're a totally different type of Fae."

"There are different types, now?" Antoine cut in.

"Oh, buddy, you have no idea," Nicolette began, but Eithne cut her off.

"Later! Now, I really need to know where we can find a Kirin," she prompted.

"You take the fun out of everything, " Nicolette hissed. "The only one I know of is one that works with that Triste, Leone? Her name is - shit, let me check." And with that, she stepped away from them and went to her computer, clicking around at icons until she found what appeared to be some sort of Beastiary. "Uh, Sophia Tseng? Man, she's legit the only one we have in our system," she muttered. She turned around to look at them, still crouched over her monitor. "Anyone know her? Well, whatever, just be prepared for her to want something in return."

"Do you know her personally?" Antoine asked.

Alexander snorted. "I do, and trust me, that's a Sophia trait, not any supernatural trait. She's definitely taken more of my partner's money than any one person should ever spend on a bartender," he said wryly. Ugh, he didn't even want to think of Samantha right now.