Night's Omen

Murphy gave Noelani a very serious, very straightforward look when she told him what she was glad of, and though he believed what she said, he knew what she'd been about to, and it was true.  That didn't change the fact that he didn't like it.  "I'm glad, too, but you weren't in a position to need help.  The day your life is in real danger in this house will be a day I'm dead or dying, I promise you that," he pointed out, and while 'serious' wasn't always one of his preferences, especially deep and meaningful, but this wasn't something he messed around about. 

As though he hadn't said anything important, he glanced out across the table, considering and fiddling with a coin he'd pulled from his pocket against the smooth wood.  "Since the cat's outta the bag, I want everything iron out of arm's reach.  He was too quick and precise with that thing when he hit Stark, and we all know he's good, but he's dealt with fae before, you can bet your ass on it.  No need to give him a leg up."

It might have been wrong, essentially plotting against one of their own like they were, but demons had a worse reputation for being assholes than fae did, and Murphy wasn't risking it.  Better safe than sorry.  "If I'm not near enough to step in with him, I'll make sure one of our heavier hitters are at all times, and Old Wick'll be her personal man for awhile," he informed her, looking over as he finished and smirking like it was no big deal, which was a lie, but he was good at it.  It would all work out, he'd make sure.

"You do that.  Tell him I say he's too pale for all that sun and beach," he offered, standing and waving as he practically sauntered out of the room.  He had to have a talk with Benji, and fast, because having that bastard on their watch list just wasn't going to work for long, and Murphy didn't like having to figure out who could take him on and coming up so short.  The problem was that Benjamin would splatter anyone who couldn't get close to his range power-wise (which was a hell of a lot, Murphy was thinking now that he'd gotten a peek at what the bastard was sporting), and he was too good physically for someone to make up for the magical distance.  He normally would have said Aaron was a good choice since he was the least magical bit of matter Murphy had seen in his entire life, but they needed to test that theory now that he was bound to something that was almost all magic.  It was probably going to wreck his ability to be wonderfully oblivious to metaphysical everything, which was definitely useful sometimes.

Murphy wouldn't admit it, but on some level, he was hoping that whatever his sister had going on with Alexander would get him involved enough that he'd be a deterrent for Benjamin.  Until she filled him in on the whole situation, he wouldn't understand how much work was going to be necessary for that, but he'd have still thought it was worth it.  He'd have also gotten a kick out of the 'are you fucking kidding me?' look that Alexander was exchanging with James and Antoine as the small blonde went off on Eithne about being a fairy, though James just seemed to think the whole thing was funny.

Funny, but also informative, since Nicolette didn't have any bad questions.  If Antoine thought he wanted to know, then James was twice as curious, and also slightly horrified when he realized that he'd plowed into a royal-blooded Seelie that was probably as old as the rocks this castle was built on.  Fuck.  Anyway, yes, he was absolutely listening, and he wasn't the only one, though Alexander and Antoine seemed to become distracted when Eithne dropped her glamour, which was all the more amusing.  It was so rare for Darling to not be at the very top of his game, so to see him tuning in because of a fae trick?  Yes, that was absolutely encouragement.  Desmond would be trying that, just for laughs.

Alexander's saving grace in not becoming too interested in the beautiful fae (which really just meant that he recovered somewhat from his almost-gawk) was that she mentioned him as a 'powerful vampire who'd had his memories taken', which caused him to rub at his face like he was just so over that whole situation.  It was true, he was, but the experience with Corinne's memories that he was still recovering from had kicked it up quite a bit.  It was no longer confusing and something he wanted to get away from, but something that was confusing, frightening and very vital that he figure out.  That was too much to be fabricated, and the kind of enemies he'd seen featured in her memories of him required the skills and power he had before; he would be smeared across the floor if any of them realized the spot he was in, and though he very much liked being human and didn't want to be some undead monster, he was nothing if not practical.  Survival came first, even if it felt backwards to die to live.

He quickly became more interested in the answers Nicolette was offering about the Kirin than in the fae receiving them, and then Sophia was mentioned.  That Eithne pulled her glamour back up right at that moment helped with an intelligent reaction and he snorted, unable to believe that he'd fallen for the far trick and that Sophia was a Kirin, or argue that she was going to want something in return for helping them, and he figured it'd be big.  Damn it, and there went keeping this from Samantha.  He didn't put much stock in how much his partner cared about him, especially when she was driving him nuts intentionally, but he would have been surprised if Sophia didn't have something to say on Samantha's behalf.  Maybe he was wrong, though.  It had happened before.

James, while they discussed important matters, had sidled up to Nicolette (or had she made her way to the arm of his chair?), which was absolutely acceptable because he enjoyed the girl immensely.  "If it makes you feel any better, love, I wager Murphy made your weapons master doubt himself for a moment there.  Was a rather magnificent display, you should have seen it," he offered quietly, smirking at her and at the poleaxed expression Thorson had on his face at the time; the only reason James had noticed was because he'd scanned the group to see if anyone was a threat other than Rutherford, and there wasn't much that he missed.  Nicolette would certainly get the lowdown on the handsome friends he'd brought with him, as well, if she so desired. 

Naturally, it was Alexander's privacy that would really suffer, since James wasn't revealing much on his brother; the American would be the trade-off.

After leaving Noelani to her phone call, Murphy caught up with Taro and told him to stay alert, especially where Benjamin was concerned, and though the bastard gave him shit about how he wasn't stepping into 'that fucker's line of fire', the Seelie put in a few choice comments as to what he'd do if he survived Taro letting Benjamin overwhelm any of them, so he thought he might at least consider trying to help intercept if it was necessary.  Until Natalia, Corinne, Walker and Alexander were present and in the game, Murphy didn't have many options to keep Benjamin under control in an unexpected situation, and he wasn't even confident in those four.  Natalia was tough in ways that most creatures weren't, so she might stand a chance, but he didn't think she could win, and the same went for Walker; the young sorcerer was damn good at what he did, but Murphy wasn't certain of him.  Corinne was old and powerful, but she wasn't much of a fighter, and could Alexander be trusted that far?  Emma could stand off with the vampire, but Murphy wouldn't depend on her for anything, Chadwick wasn't likely to have the oomph, and Aaron was sure to have gaping holes in his former immunity. 

That was what prompted him to call William in asap, giving him a quick rundown on the phone, before he went to meet with Corinne as she brought people in.  They all had spacious living spaces on-site, so he didn't see Benjamin and Irene going far while the plans were still in a state of flux, and he wasn't leaving the wolf unsupervised, just in case his point hadn't been made well enough already.  He honestly didn't expect Benjamin to just blatantly disobey, but he didn't trust him not to be sneaky about it, not when it meant an advantage over that demon, and Murphy almost couldn't blame him.  If it was himself and Eithne in that situation, he'd have taken any opportunity he was presented with, but it wasn't happening here, not on Diamond's grounds and time.  She was safe for the time being, he'd make sure of it.

 "Well, aside from her wanting someone's firstborn, what are we waiting for?" Antoine prompted.

Eithne smiled. "Weeeell," she began. "Kirin don't exactly.. like Fae, per se." She looked away, smoothing down her hair absently.

"Don't like Fae why?" Alexander pressed.

"Oh, I know this one!" Nicolette exclaimed, now from James' lap. "So, the Kirin aren't really Fae - I mean, they're creatures of Faeworld, but the Fae government system sort of is really hands-off with them, and they're kind of at war with another race of creature called a Rakshasa? Basically, Rakshasa eat memories, and Kirin are sort of not conducive to that. But, the Rakshasa are kind of monsters in a way, their true form and all, and they're also kind of a vicious race to begin with, so they - well, they essentially hunted the Kirin into extinction."

"Yeah, but why don't they like Fae?" Antoine asked, glancing to Eithne.

"Because, most Fae are old. And with age comes memories, and we don't precisely want anyone with the ability to rifle through them - so the Kirin and Rakshasa killing eachother off wasn't really a problem for us." She spoke so matter-of-factly that it was easy to gather that Eithne really had been playing human this whole time, because a day ago, nobody would have ever thought they'd have heard her say a genocide was fine by her. "Look, our world is a lot different than yours, it isn't like I'm Hitler or something," she said hotly, noticing the expressions they all wore.

"Anyways, my point is, I can't go with you, and this will be one situation with a Fae creature where using mine or Murphy's name won't help you any. You don't want to tell her how you found her, and if she asks, you just leave me out of it." She glanced at James, still gathering that Antoine didn't know he wasn't human. "She's mostly got the problem with actual Fairies, so I wouldn't worry about having the vampire - sort of - in tow."

Nicolette sat up a little. "SO when do we leave?" she asked enthusiastically.

"Oh, no, not you little pixie," Eithne said, reaching out to grab her arm as she stood up off of James' lap. "You're with me, because we have other, more interesting research to do."

Nicolette looked suspicious. "What other research would that be?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. "Or are you just going to Glamour me again?"

"We're going to have a house full of interesting people in a few hours, and I need you to be ready. One of them is a wolf shifter that's pregnant by a demon," she added.

"WHAT?" Nicolette exploded. "NO. Shut up!" She shoved Eithne in shock.

"I know," Eithne said, her green eyes wide. They truly looked like two high school students right then. "Murph wants all the info he can because I guess the demon totes has a past with Benji and Irene, and my brother and Ben almost came to blows over it," she informed the blonde, speaking quickly and in a tone that was rare for her.

"You actually like all this drama?" Antoine asked, his brow raised. "I hate to see what you'll say about me when I'm gone."

James looked at his brother, brow raised. "She's a Fae, brother dear... and a Therrayan. Gossip is not only in her nature, it's sort of what Diamond pays them to do."

"It's not gossip if it's all true," Eithne said, widening her eyes on the last word. "And besides, I'll be Queen of the Archives today because I now know one of Klaus' fledglings." She raised her nose to Nicolette, who immediately dropped to one knee.

"Your highness," she breathed.

"That's it," Alexander said, standing up. "Let's go now, before they start writing in their diaries."

"Right behind you," Antoine said. "Who's going to take us there?"

"Oh, I think Taro's around here somewhere," James said, smiling at his brother.

As far as Alexander was concerned, wanting your firstborn sounded like a big deal, but then, if he was supposed to be some kind of crazy powerful vampire, that wasn't a problem, was it?  He still had trouble swallowing that part.  The rest of the explanations they received, and the sudden jump from normal conversation into gossip, had him rolling his eyes and ready to go just like the other two men, but Antoine wasn't alone in wondering what they were going to be saying about him when they left - and that was without knowing exactly who he'd been and what would be in their archives.  If Nicolette wasn't highly interested in him when he returned, it would be amazing.

For James, the information about the Kirin and Rakshasa was pretty damn key, though he got Eithne's point that it was actual fairies that the Kirin wouldn't like; most fae, in his experience, considered Changelings to be like the diet coke of the faeworld.  They were full-blooded fae, but they were raised among humans and until they got older and earned some of that immortality (which typically included a lengthy stay in the faeworld with some serious 'etiquette' lessons), they just weren't up to standard.  Since most of them never made it there, they didn't have a reputation among the old ones as being all that awesome.  James, hanging with Eithne and Murphy, intended to learn everything he could, and push his limits on power, but right now, it was probably for the best that he was 'just' an ignorant changeling.  The Kirin might not hate his guts.

They were bringing Taro, though.  James liked Taro for the mischief he liked to get up to, but he wasn't so sure that he was the best for making a good impression.  Oh well, they'd make it work somehow, of that he was certain. 

"So if you're familiar with this place, is it in New York, Darling?  Haven't spent much time there, this should be fun," he offered, though his thoughts had gone to Liam and perhaps picking his ass up.  It was strange not to have heard back from him, yet.  Liam was something of a mad scientist, but being married typically made one check their phone fairly often, he heard.

"Yes, it is, and no, it probably won't," Alexander replied, cutting a brisk walk back in the direction Eithne had directed to hopefully find Taro.  He had the air of a man who was dreading what he had to do, but was eager to get it over and done with, and James found himself hurrying just a bit to keep up.  Damn those long legs, he was pretty sure the lean hunter was almost all leg.

"Come on, live a little.  The Kirin's a bartender, I'm sure we'll meet plenty of interesting people."

If Alexander had a response, he didn't say anything, and James glanced Antoine's way and winked.  Maybe before this was over, he'd have his brother in on screwing with the other hunter, as well.  He insisted that he only did it in the other's best interests.  Honest.

They found Taro, who basically told them to suck it for thinking he was free transport until he found out they were going to Hellcat's Hollow, and then he changed his tune real fast.  Naturally, that put Alexander slightly on guard, but James just saw it as a good turn of events; he didn't know that Sophia was the sort who'd probably be friends with Taro, and that Alexander was already thinking that was the case, just from Taro being so familiar with the place.  Considering the natural way that Taro wandered on into the bar and immediately zeroed in on an Asian girl as soon as they'd arrived, Alexander didn't seem to be wrong.  He followed, while James hung back a little to get a good look at the place.

Attractive, pale blond behind the bar with a clipboard while a similarly pale dark-haired man tended bar and made comments back and forth with him, and while James might have missed the bartender's species on first glance, he felt the power coming off of the blond man and instantly upped his threat level.  When the bartender looked up to see who'd entered, the eyes gave him away.  "Feline," he murmured, and his brother glanced in that direction, likely also assessing threat levels. 

Their contact, Taro quickly made known, was on the other end of the bar, talking to a man with the longest hair James had ever seen a male wear and who looked peeved.  They walked up just in time to hear him complaining.  "--it was Lala's night.  She switch with you or something?  No offense, but you're not my favorite.  You have too much going on."

James very nearly clapped him on the back and assured him that his bartender was absolutely lovely as he walked up, but Alexander snatched him by the wrist mid-motion and stopped him.  "Don't touch him, believe me."

That got the man's attention, and he glanced up and to the situation they were in as James took his hand back, then glared at the changeling.  "Back the fuck off, fairy."

For a second, James almost thought he meant it, then realized the bastard was calling him gay.

 "Shut the fuck up, Luke," Sophia snapped. This was directly in response to his rude remark to the rather attractive man (men) who'd come up behind him. She threw her bar towel down and pressed her hands against the bar, leaning forward to speak in a low voice. "Either get your drinks from Darren, or deal with me, but figure it out fast, because Lala isn't here and you're holding up my bar," she said.

Taro made it a point to sit down directly next to Luke, who he was familiar with only from other people complaining about him. He was aware, at least, of what his ability was, and so when he turned to him pointedly and smiled, it was every bit the threat he meant for it to be. "I think you're bothering the lady," he said. His tone was clearly a suggestion for Luke to follow Sophia's advice and get his drinks from Darren, but unlike Sophia, Taro was a lot more willing to motivate Luke.

"We're here five minutes and Taro's already trying to fight someone," Antoine said, his voice amazed. "Is this like his special power?" He didn't sit down, preferring to stand off to the side of whatever was about to happen. He'd definitely noticed that the bar was well-stocked on supernaturals, particularly the staff itself, nevermind the clientele. The Kirin was probably the most exotic thing there, if he had to guess. He was picking up a lot of vampire/shapeshifter vibes - and that wasn't some magic sense he had, that was just what he'd learned from years of hunting. You had to know your enemies, after all.

"Babe, I don't need you to handle my shit," Sophia told Taro hotly, her eyes still fixed on Luke.

"Yeah, but you've got this unique ability to make people's heads explode, and frankly, I've already been covered in enough blood for one night," he replied smoothly, glancing at her. He was still smiling, but it was much less bared teeth and more genuine for the short Korean. When he turned back to Luke, though, he was all business.

"What's it going to be, Heroin Bob?" he asked. From the way Taro spoke, he almost hoped Luke would piss him off. Taro needed to do some vengeance fighting, because he certainly couldn't hit Antoine. At least, not at the moment. The former hunter had no doubt that he and Taro would have a rematch some day, although it would be in much more controlled conditions.

"What's got your panties in a bunch?" the psychic snapped at Taro, not even bothering to be afraid because why should he?  He knew how to take a beating, he'd gain information Taro probably wouldn't want him to have, and he just didn't care.  Ash wouldn't let anyone get too violent in the bar, and he was standing just a little ways down.  Luke figured he was as safe as he ever got, which was probably why he didn't move out of the way as Taro sat down.  He wasn't stupid, though; he realized that the vampire was spoiling for it.

His plan, if necessary, was to get what he could out of contact and then chase him off with it, which had worked for him in the past, but Darren and Ash had noticed the confrontation and if there was one thing the Triste was good at, it was diffusing situations.  Darren was pouring Luke's drink and Ash was informing him that it was on the house before anyone else could comment, and there was a beat where the two regarded each other before the psychic shrugged and slid off of his stool; he liked Ash, and though he never would have accepted the triste's pity, he didn't entirely mind it if the man dampened his anxiety without him having to partake of anything illegal. 

He didn't know Ash planned to offer exactly that tonight to help with the ridiculously bad shit he'd been picking up off of everyone and everything since the Midnight problem, but once he settled into another stool closer to Darren, informing the cat that while he had some nasty shit going on right then that he needed to extract himself from asap (he didn't drop details for Darren's privacy), he still liked him better than 'that bitch'. 

Obviously, Lala was still his favorite, and even if he'd joke and loosen up with Darren just because the cat was that friendly and easy to talk to, he was downright pleasant to her.  Ash lingered a few seconds after Luke had moved, looking the group over and getting their measure.  Whatever he noticed, it was Taro that his gaze ended on.  "You know my rules.  Don't rile up my customers."

With a final glance over the rest of the men present (Taro got the most 'stern' look of them all), Ash looked finally to Sophia and lowered his voice.  "If you need anything, I'll be here the rest of the night."

Obviously, he'd noticed that something ridiculous was up, so it wasn't surprising that he was planning on being nearby.  One man was a fae, one was a human with some serious auras, there was the vampire that he'd met in the past and then Alexander was...strange.  He'd be nearby. 

"Pretty sure it is his special power, come to think of it," James agreed with his brother, leaning in and not necessarily trying not to be heard, but still being somewhat quiet about it.  Alexander shot him a look and cleared his throat, and the fae quirked his eyebrows up in a 'yes, dear?' fashion, just to irritate.  The hunter rolled his eyes, but James stepped forward and offered a hand to Sophia to shake.  Humans liked that, and as a result, those pretending to be human tended to like it.

"Sophia?  It's a pleasure, name's James, and this is my charming brother, Antoine," he offered, smiling and gesturing to the man, then tilting his head in Alexander's direction.  "The one with the stick up his arse is Alexander."

 Sophia didn't miss being called a bitch, and only glared at Ash as he came over and mediated the situation by pretty much rewarding Luke for being his usual asshole self. Taro hadn't helped much, which automatically meant the focus went to him rather then where it should have gone.

"I only made an exception for the one the most deserving of it," Taro said to Ash, but he held his hands up to show that he wasn't trying to go any further. Of course, if Luke decided to, at any point, come back down to Sophia and start to piss her off again, it would be a totally different story. Taro didn't have to put his hands on Luke to take the fight outside, either - he could just float him out. It might actually be more amusing to  just hold him up in the air, come to think of it.

"Thanks Ash," Sophia said loudly. It was obvious that she didn't like how Luke was handled with kid gloves. She wanted to throttle Layla for making her swap shifts, but even the unicorn had a life outside of this place. As soon as he'd gone, the Changling (seriously?) was holding his hand out to her, introducing the man behind him as his brother (seriously?) and insulting the third. She looked between the three of them, then took James' hand, giving a harder squeeze than necessary (or should have been expected) for her size.

"James. Antoine. Alexander. Taro."

"Soph, take a break," a new voice said. Anthony was coming around the bar, a fresh case of Blue Moon in his hand and a register drawer in the other. "I've got to do the changover and re-stock, so this side will be closed for fifteen or so." The blonde looked from her to the trio plus vampire on the other side of the bar. Taro he'd seen before, and Alexander, too - the others, he hadn't. He'd already noticed Ash coming over to reprimand one of them (Taro, if he had to guess), and he mistook Sophia's irritation at the situation for irritation at them.

"Are these guys cool?" Anthony asked. He slowly set the beer and the register down on the counter behind the bar.

"They're fine, Ant," she assured him, already squeezing by him to get around the bar to them. "I might be longer than fifteen. Just let Darren know, since he's everyone's favourite bartender anyway, he should have no problem covering both wells for a while." She snatched Taro by the arm as she approached the group. "I need to talk to you," she said harshly.

Anthony laughed, not even bothering to turn back around from stocking the beer. "I'm probably not going to tell him that, Negativa. I'll just cover for you if you're not done when I am." Bonus for Anthony, he'd been trying to get more shifts bartending, but at night, it was mostly the hot females of the Hollow that got to serve drinks. To be fair, they made better money - if Darren hadn't been grandfathered in before Ash started hiring more people, he probably wouldn't have been behind the bar, either. Fortunately, Darren was well-known and well-liked, so he got to stay where he was. Anthony tried to imagine what feline he knew that they could replace him with, and fell short after thinking of Martine, who was far too hot to be Darren's mother.

And that's where Anthony's thoughts will stop being broadcast.

"Uh, we'll be right back?" Taro said, being lead away by Sophia. It was funny to see, given that he had at least six inches on Sophia (she was wearing flats since she was on her feet all night), but since she was their potential ticket for Alexander's memories and Taro and she obviously had some sort of relationship, Antoine didn't say anything. He found a booth that wasn't taken, glad that it was also furthest geographically from most of the noise.

When they did return, Taro looked sufficiently admonished, and Sophia seemed a lot more calm. She sat down, crossing her tanned legs at the knee, and rested an elbow on the table. In her mouth was a cherry stem, which she tugged at with her glittery manicured nails; she tipped her head to the side, letting her long honey-coloured (obviously dyed) hair touch the table, and smiled broadly at James. A Changeling, eh?

"What can I do for you fine gentlemen?" she asked. Despite the flirtatious nature of the way she moved and spoke, there was something... sinister in her smile. Greedy. A Kirin with an opportunity.

Not necessarily 'rewarding' so much as giving Luke incentive to remove himself from that end of the bar without incident, where he could then deal with the man on his own.  That was, if Darren didn't already get there, since he set a drink down in front of the psychic and told him he should be nicer to the other ladies, even if they weren't Lala.  That sent the two of them into a conversation, during with Darren tried to suss out what the man's problem was this time. 

Each of the bartenders at the Hollow had their skills, and while Sophia's had to do with memories, both boozing customers up so they forgot and offering to help them remember, Lala put people at ease and soothed their bad days, and Darren knew how to listen.  He could talk out someone's problems with them until either a solution could be found or they just felt better about whatever was bothering them, and though he wasn't ever going to be able to solve Luke's problems (and tended to get a lot of asshole comments that he knew were the man's attempts to chase him back some), he made progress each time they talked.  He still wasn't Luke's favorite because he couldn't make him feel better without talking it through, but he was firm and friendly enough to shut the guy up if he overstepped his bounds without exacerbating the situation.

Darren might not have been a hot lady, but he was an attractive young man and there weren't just male clientele.  It might have been a subject of debate among employees in the bar, but as long as he wanted his job, it was his.  He was in no danger of being replaced, and brought in his own share of customers, but he was a smart kid; he didn't talk what he made, and he supported the ladies wherever he had to, including acting as a bouncer along with Anthony when it was necessary.

Suffice to say, Luke wasn't going back to bug Sophia.

That left her to drag Taro outside and give him shit for...whatever, and James made himself comfortable at the booth with Antoine and Alexander for some casual small talk.  For him, that meant prying to figure out what the backstory was on the memory issue.  "So Darling, before our lovely new acquaintance comes back and starts making her unreasonable demands, exactly what are we bargaining for?"

Alexander looked like the last thing he wanted to do was explain to Desmond, James, whatever the hell his name was, but he clenched his jaw, considered for a moment and then straightened on the bench seat.  "Five years ago, I woke up in an alley not far from here with no memory of who I am and killed a vampire that Devraj Rashana was tailing.  He brought me into the guilds and set me to work wherever he needed, and that's what I've been doing since.  A few days ago, I went into Midnight to negotiate a hostage exchange and almost didn't leave because two heavy hitters swore that I was a very old, very powerful vampire friend of theirs, which is impossible.  Tonight, Corinne supplied memories of her own to support their claims."

It was the reader's digest version, but about as short, sweet and informative as it got, and James' expression remained good and serious the entire time.  He was absorbing, taking everything he'd seen during the evening and putting it with that information to paint the pictures he needed.  When Taro and the pretty Kirin with the extra-firm handshake returned and made themselves comfortable, James leaned back leisurely where he sat and returned her smile with a slower, more playful one of his own.

"I'm sure there's plenty you could do for us, love, but we're interested in some memories and we hear you're the one to go to.  My dear friend here seems to be missing some, and I'm hoping that if he gets them back, there'll be a sense of humor in among them somewhere," he offered, gesturing to Alexander and smirking at the way the hunter stiffened and looked annoyed.  The fact of the matter was that the man didn't like having his most vulnerable spot displayed for others, and it was being talked about quite a bit, but James hadn't mentioned anything about him being a vampire powerhouse or anything.  In fact, he was offering as little information as possible, and just as she was playing the flirtatious card, so was James.  That he'd been used often in seducing whoever needed it for Broadsword didn't hurt his chances with her, though it was likely still just him playing along with her game.

He leaned forward just a little, hand visible on the table and just serving to make for more confident, assertive body language, and tilted his own head slightly.  "The question is how much it would take to interest you in the job, of course."

 Sophia recognized that the Fae was playing nice, but then again, so was she. These men wanted something from her, she had it, and they were going to have to be very nice, indeed, if they wanted it. She pulled the stem out of her mouth, now firmly knotted, and rolled it between her fingertips, eyes leveled against James' own.

"Of course," she echoed. She dropped the knotted stem into the votive candle that rested at the center of the table, and it sizzled before melting in with the wax and flame. "Sit down, fanatic," she said to Taro, still looking at the trio in front of her. Taro had been hovering behind her chair, hands against the back of it, but clearly he was annoying her with his 'bodyguard' attitude, despite whatever conversation they'd just had. He dropped down next to her, but it was still obvious that he had difficulty taking his eyes (or hands) off of her as one arm snaked behind her to entangle itself in her hair. That was as good as it was going to get, she realized, and sighed a little.

"I'll tell you what, diet Fairy," she said to James, leaning forward a little. "I'll do you this one favour, but you three owe me in return." She sat back in her chair, resting her arm on the back in a rather relaxed posture (and knocking Taro's own arm off in the process). Her eyebrows raised as Antoine looked from her to James, a surprised expression on his face.

"Diet Fairy?" he parroted.

Sophia looked pleased. "Oh, didn't you know?"

"I don't know," he said, turning pointedly to look at his brother. "James?" he prompted.

Sophia turned to Taro, smiling. "Can you be a lamb and get me a gin and tonic, extra lime?" she asked sweetly. "Please?" she added, fluttering her long lashes at him. He pursed his lips, knowing she was trying to get rid of him for a moment, but found himself unable to refuse her. God-damned Kirin. He got up and went back to the crowded bar to get her drink, leaving her alone with Alexander, James and Antoine.

She smiled at them.

She called that playing nice?  James' smile didn't leave his face when she called him 'diet Fairy', but it certainly left his eyes.  He already knew without trying that he couldn't risk the task at hand by getting angry at her, and Taro sure as hell wouldn't take it well, if his behavior towards the Kirin was any indication so far, but for that moment, his eyes gave him away.  He was just fine not being thought much of, being the distraction and the trick, but you didn't make it onto a team like Broadsword by being anything other than a force to be reckoned with.  The Kirin could do many things, and she had a skill that they needed, but if they decided she wasn't needed, she would be depending solely on Taro.  If he wasn't around, then what?  She couldn't be protected always.

The thought of violence was gone as quickly as it came, but he wasn't entirely different from the rest of his teammates in that the thought came in the first place.  He'd intended to tell Antoine, especially after all of this mess, but he hadn't wanted to on the heels of so much drama and he sure as hell didn't want it done that way.  She better watch what favor she asked of him, because he was likely to go Djinn on it and make her regret it.

"I assure you, I can explain," he told Antoine, and he absolutely meant it.  The smile and any trace of amusement was gone, because dealing with his brother was never an act.  It was actually Alexander who cut in, perhaps for the better, considering the drama level of the evening.

"Explain later, in private.  Or now, in private, I don't care," he told them, taking a step forward and effectively putting himself more into the bargaining.  "Three favors for one is insane.  I'm willing to be fair on our end, and you stand to gain more by doing the same."

That was the end of James handling the discussion, it seemed.  That Alexander wasn't bluffing helped his case, and that he had a fantastic pokerface, but he had enough memories to know for a fact that he had the backing he thought he did, and he knew that there were more people than just Diamond interested in ensuring he got his memories back.  Justinian and Iloquil wanted him back, and so did Corinne - all of them were powerhouses compared to this fae creature.

"I will trade you one favor for one, of equal value, and I can promise payment," he told her.  "These gentleman merely escorted me here, they have no stake in this one way or the other.  They owe nothing."

"He has a point," James offered, quirking an eyebrow up. 

 She leaned forward again, resting her elbow on the table and her chin in her hand, fingers drumming against her cheek. Her eyes narrowed a little as Alexander spoke, though it was more because she was listening to him, and trying to scheme her way around it, rather than hostility. She waited until he was done talking, then took her time taking a long sip of her drink, which Taro had finally returned with.  When she set it down, she tilted her head, looking at Alexander.

"And how do I know you're honest? You're not a Fae, so you're not bound by your word like they are. You make it sound like I have nothing to lose digging through that costume trunk of yours," she said evenly. "It's not exactly a picnic." And it wasn't - it was painful as hell, not to mention she refrained from digging through the heads of older creatures because there was a lot of shit to go through. She wouldn't go crazy from it or anything, that was the beauty of her species, but it didn't mean it was comfortable, either. She usually had to get drunk first, which was sort of ironic.

Meanwhile, Antoine just shook his head at his brother, saying nothing and concentrating on his beer. In truth, it made a lot of sense - actually, it made a lot of things make a lot of sense. He just wasn't sure if that meant that his mother had cheated on his father with an elf or not - or whatever they were. He really didn't want to think about it at the moment, so, beer. He'd have to talk about it later, no doubt.

She had a valid question, and he felt James turn his eyes on him in expectation of a response, but he got the feeling that the man was looking to avoid awkward discussions with his brother right about then, so he understood his interest.  That didn't make it easier - only gypsies bargained harder than fae, and how he knew that, he couldn't say, but he did.  At least she seemed to be considering, which was a step in the right direction.

He had the grace to look somewhat indignant when she questioned his honesty, but other than scowling and appearing annoyed, he brushed it off.  "I'm sure Samantha has complained enough about me for you to have an idea what I'm like.  I'm not expecting this to be easy on either of us, but that's why I'm offering equal value, and not everyone needs a magical law forcing them to keep their promises.  Some of us do that, anyway," he pointed out, glancing at Desmond almost accusingly.  The changeling wasn't always trustworthy.

"If it helps any, love, I can vouch for him.  He's a stick in the mud, but he takes that whole 'honor and reputation' thing seriously.  I'd trust him with my life, and I'm not even sure he likes me," Desmond added in, leaning back where he was sitting and not giving any indication that he actually cared whether Alexander liked him or not.  He was, as Alexander had noted, too busy caring about how Antoine was looking with Sophia's accidentally-not-on-accident revelation.  The absolute last thing he wanted was to get his brother back, then have a blow-out with him over something that he couldn't really help. 

He could almost see the wheels turning in the man's head, putting together any little details that he'd previously dismissed and trying to work out the 'how', which was going to be interesting because even James didn't know all the answers to that.  The whole thing was very confusing, and thanks to Sophia, he had limited time to figure it out and come up with good answers.  Bitch.

 Taro cleared his throat, then put his hand on Sophia's lightly. "Sophia, despite your distrust, which I do understand," he began, looking pointedly at James and Alexander, "I will personally vouch for them. If Desmond says he's good, he's good." And he silently prayed that James wouldn't make him eat his words at a later date, but given that Taro was even the reason he and Antoine had been reunited, he didn't suspect that the Changeling would.

She seemed to consider this, then sighed. "Fine," she said, slipping her hand from Taro's to rub at her temple lightly. "I'll do it."

Antoine seemed to perk up at that. "You will?" he asked, looking critically at her.

She nodded. "I will. But, I have to get drunk, first. And, Alexander, you may want to get drunk, also. If you're missing as much as it sounds like you are, which, judging from your looks have to be at least twenty or thirty years, then it's going to hurt you when I unpop that cork. I'll go as slowly as I can, but it's just better to have alcohol to lubricate the way." She ignored Taro's snort at her wording, then stood up.

"I'll go tell Ash I need the rest of the night off, then I'll work on getting obliterated. It won't take long, I promise." She turned, then glanced over her shoulder. "Oh, and I'm telling Anthony to put it on your tab. Hope you don't mind," she added, pointing at Alexander. And with that, she went to find her boss. It didn't take long once she explained that she'd already pretty much said she'd do it; fortunately Anthony was doing well enough on his own that it wasn't a problem.

"I need a round of tequila shots. In fact, keep them coming," she told Anthony. She patted Chloe on the back as she walked by. "We're going to be keeping you busy tonight, girly," she warned her.

It took a while, but finally Corinne returned, with a full array of Fae and 'Other' in tow. She had gotten Natasha and Natalia, as well as Mary, who had insisted that Cormac come along. Corinne had wanted to object, but Mary told her that Cormac had more pull with the Fae community then it seemed, and Corinne had caved when she'd actually met him. My, but Crimson UK had a healthy stock of powerful creatures. She'd not seen a Mesmer in a very, very long time.

"Is there anyone else?" Lani asked, taking a moment to greet them all.

Corinne shook her head. "The members of Desmond's team will be coming over with Ketevan in the next day or so; they had to wrap up some business there, first. Emile did say that he told Desmond their ETA, so it won't be any surprise to him when he finds they didn't accompany me."

Natasha seemed a little out of sorts, but it was more because she hadn't traveled like that very often. Murphy talked to her briefly, immediately suggesting that she meet with Gunnar so that he could get rid of that dizziness she felt. Natalia went with her, of course. He then turned his attention to the plus one that Mary had brought along, trying to size him up. He looked intensely familiar.

"Nice place you've got here," Cormac said. He held his hand out to Murphy. "Cormac O'Malley. Cory if you like. Mary said that there was a situation with Midnight over on our home turf that apparently escaped our attention, but she didn't fill me in, fully." He smiled when Mary wandered over. "I assume you'll want to wait until everyone's here, so I won't bother you for details. I can just assure you that we'll do everything we can. We don't know Antoine, but Mary's friends with his brother. His situation always seemed a little bizarre to us, but we never got an opportunity to investigate further. Our guilds don't work as closely as the ones here do, I've been told."

Eithne had come in to meet the new arrivals, only stopping when she saw Murphy talking to Mary and Cormac and frowning. Corinne caught her expression and offered her a confused look in return.

"Have you met him before?" Corinne asked.

Eithne shook her head. "No," she began, "but he looks a lot like someone I know."

"Is that good or bad?" Corinne pressed. She was worried she brought someone who wouldn't mesh well with the others. It seemed like he and Murphy were having a normal conversation, but then again, Fae were strange. A lot of rules she didn't know about.

"I'll let you know when I know myself," Eithne promised. "As it is, we need to try and get everyone settled in. Did Natasha's, uh, fiance arrive? I'd like to make sure he and Benjamin don't cross paths, if it can be helped."

Corinne shook her head. "Not yet. Natasha said she would call him when she arrived, but your brother ushered her off to Gunnar without letting her really have a chance."

Murphy wasn't stupid; the very first thing he did was send Natasha to Gunnar so that they could figure out exactly what they were dealing with, and naturally, Natalia went with her.  He texted Chad to tell him to get his ass down there so that he could meet up with the Smoke and the two ladies, and the affirmative response he received made him feel better about Natasha being on-site.  Between Gunnar, Natalia and Chad, Benjamin wouldn't pull anything.  He was smarter than that, Murphy was positive.

With one guest taken care of, he was able to devote more attention to Mary and her addition to the group, which took a hell of a lot of effort on his part not to react to.  Something wasn't right there.

"We try.  Murphy O'Shea," he offered, shaking the younger fae's hand and silently puzzling over the details of this boy, starting with the unbelievable resemblance that he would have thought to be impossible.  If he believed in coincidence, he'd have sworn it now.  "We'll be briefing the group at large very soon, but for now, we're focusing on collecting and getting a feel for skill sets.  We appreciate the help, but we don't do anything half-cocked."

He said it almost apologetically, but it was the truth of the matter.  They wanted everyone settled and a chance to figure out what was at their disposal and how to hit this problem from all directions as quickly and efficiently as possible.  They also had to consider the aftermath of the purging of the guild of its poison, which involved rebuilding it.  Murphy had a feeling some of them might not prefer it, but he might see if some of the promising candidates they'd found in the last few days for the American guilds could be shipped to the UK for training and some filling out of positions; they needed people who could be trusted in the future, and he had a feeling they'd be trimming that guild down hard.  It might be more than trainees they'd be shipping there.

Before they could get to planning anything, Gunnar was responsible for figuring out exactly where Natasha stood medically.  He was certain to cure the dizziness that she said Murphy sent her for, but it was obviously the bosses' excuse to get him close to her for other concerns, and she didn't seem at all surprised when his check-up moved one of his hands to her abdomen and the chakra point there.  Chad had slipped in and stayed towards the back until Gunnar (who, fortunately, had a very comforting presence most of the time) introduced him, and Natalia leaned against the wall nearby in a stance that somehow managed to look leisurely and alert at the same time.  She trusted Gunnar and Chadwick, but that didn't change how she felt about her pregnant friend.

"I'm sure it comes as no surprise to you that you're pregnant," the Smoke offered, smiling slightly and withdrawing to give her some space.