Foundations of Stone {Nick}

[Nick LeCroix]

"Well, hyenas, like I said, are funny.  They're pretty much the opposite of lions, actually.  Matriarchal, so the males are much more submissive, and the group as a whole turns into a pile of puppies whenever they're around each other," he explained, though he exaggerated a little on the 'puppy pile'.  Just a little.  "Jason's problem, from what Skye's mentioned, is that he's not just a male hyena and submissive around females as a result, but he also grew up with two older sisters, both hyenas.  Apparently, it isn't just bred into him, but it was drilled into his head while he was growing up by his sisters, so he's more submissive around females than is probably good for him.  Maybe my influence will toughen him up some."

Not that he really cared if Jason benefited, but it was a nice thought.  The kid could really use some toughening up. 

"You must have been around Wes right after he got infected, then," he told her, looking at her curiously.  He didn't know the full story on Wes after they parted ways, since they were both in rough shape and didn't talk much, then lost contact.  "I don't know if he'd have mentioned me.  The last time we'd seen each other at that point had been a pretty bad situation, and it was where I infected him.  Unintentionally, but it's still where it happened.  We both did a lot of bleeding that day.  I'm not surprised he didn't feel like talking about it.  We were pretty good friends, though.  Fortunately, we still are, or we'd have a mess on our hands.  The rest of the lions in this area include my brother and a girl named Melisande that Wes infected.  His friend's girlfriend, from what I gathered."

[Vanessa Miller]

"Ahhh," she breathed when he shed more light on the Jason situation. "Now I see. I guess it makes sense," she mused. "I was an only child, and I didn't have anything up with me until the lion stuff not so far back, so I guess I can't really relate," she trailed off.

It wasn't until Nick told her Wesley had infected someone else - the girlfriend of his friend? The expression on Vanessa's face was all shock as her jaw dropped, and she looked away, scrunching up her face in anger as she tried to sort herself out. That didn't sound right at all. She'd have to wait and ask Wesley about the "girlfriend" situation. She didn't know what made her mad about it, but perhaps she was a little pissed off at herself for... Whatever. She'd just have to corner him, too. With the way things were headed, she had a lot of cornering and demanding to do. "He did have some scars, but I didn't ask. I guess the damage must've been done before you infected him," she said softly, opting for something besides the rage boiling beneath her surface to show.

"A brother?" she finally said, sounding more interested than before. "How'd there get to be so many male lions, but no females besides me and this other girl?" she asked curiously. "I thought  that... well, I mean, I guess it's different than on Animal Planet, but aren't there supposed to be more females than males?"

[Nick LeCroix]

Nick wasn't going to cut Jason any more slack than he already had by explaining Jason's wimpier qualities in a way that made them make sense to Vanessa, so he gave in there and just nodded at her remarks about being an only child.  Jason's situation really didn't interest him as much as hers, so he'd rather listen.

This time, he noticed the flash of something when he mentioned the other lions, though he didn't know how she'd been infected, so he didn't understand that she was reacting to the idea of Wes infecting his friend's girlfriend.  Nick knew that most people being infected was a violent situation, since it was a blood to blood transfer, but it hadn't really occurred to him as anything more than a passing thought that it'd be possible during sex.

Oh, man, if he ever found a girl he'd accidentally infected that way?  Skye would kill him, even though he had to have known anyone that could even fit in that category before he met her.  She'd still kill him, just on principle.  Actually, he wouldn't even want Skye to know that Vanessa was infected during sex, just in case her thoughts turned to HIS ex-girlfriends.  However much they didn't talk about it, he knew he'd been her first in a lot of categories, and he'd been pretty seasoned in most of the same categories by that point.  He didn't want to bring it up.

"Before the infection took hold, I'm positive of it.  In the time it took him to really become a shifter, his body would have already started trying to heal," he offered.  He knew that must have sucked for Wes, and he actually felt bad for not thinking that he might have infected the guy.  So much had been going on, and he'd been so bad off himself when they were pulled out of there, that it didn't even click that it could have happened.  He'd just been relieved to hear the guy was going to survive.

Ah, the male lion question.  Great.  "My brother and I come in a set, pretty much.  He and I get along because we're brothers and we've always had an understanding, and I figure it's the same sort of situation with Wes and I.  Wes was new to the game when I met him, and I definitely wasn't.  I helped him out, watched his back and pulled him out of that last mess we were in.  Seems that worked out for the whole lion thing, too," he explained, shrugging some.  He really didn't get it, either, but he wasn't questioning what worked.  "As for females, I'm always willing to add another to the mix, but lions in general aren't too common."

Obviously, since nearly all of the lions he knew of had connections to each other.

[Vanessa Miller]

Vanessa nodded. "Brother, huh? I guess I'll meet the rest of them eventually," she said, though she had a thoughtful tone to her voice. She was still trying to come to terms with the fact that she suddenly had some sort of extended family she'd no idea about. She was pretty pleased, to be sure, but there were always feelings of apprehension. Would they like her? That was her main concern. Vanessa liked being liked.

"How far away is your house?" she asked, as eventually she found herself leaning against the checkout counter, eyes scouring the candy. She reached out for a Snickers, and then retracted her hand, thinking better of it. If she was about to eat, filling up on candy probably wasn't the wisest of ideas. She could hear her mother's voice ringing in her head about ruining her appetite, and then tossed the Snickers bar onto the conveyor belt out of spite. She'd eat it later.

[Nick LeCroix]

He smirked at her questioning the 'brother' thing, and nodded.  "Don't worry, you'll meet them all.  Like I said, lions aren't too common, so it's kind of a big deal when a new one crops up," he told her.  It actually was like an extended family that was forming, as far as he was concerned.  Especially the females.  They were his females, regardless of their dating situations, and he was going to keep them safe and taken care of.  It wasn't a sexual thing at all, but a protection thing.  He felt the same about Wes and Jaime, but that was to a slightly lesser extent, since they were males. 

Oblivious of the inner battle regarding the candy bar, he paid the cashier and snagged the bags, handing her the candy bar, and tugged his keys out of his pocket as they left the place.

"The house isn't all that far, but I'm only parked about a block down.  We won't be long."

With his luck, Jason would already be there by the time he arrived, even though he hoped not.  He wouldn't mind a little while with Skye and Nicole before the other hyena arrived and jumped in there.  He naturally couldn't fault the guy for thinking that his daughter was the most precious thing out there, but this was still Jason. 

[Vanessa Miller]

"Okay," she said. Vanessa was amazingly amicable, considering the people that Nick probably dealt with on a daily basis that didn't involve his wife and child. She grabbed a bag and followed him to his vehicle, nearly skipping as she did so. "So what do you do? You know, obviously, I do tech support with Jason. Well, and other stuff, but they keep sticking me on the phone with people who don't know about any of the equipment that keeps their company running." She sighed a little.

"Honestly, it's not that hard. I guess common sense is really lacking these days. But then again, I've seen Jason try to pick up on a girl before, so it isn't just humans where the brain is fail," she said, laughing a little. Ah, Jason. So socially awkward. Vanessa was glad she registered as a friend to him, although if she'd have known he was quite so submissive, she might have teased him a little more. She liked him fine, though. He was one of the only people who even talked to her when she started working there, so that was always a bonus. Vanessa liked friendly people. Plus, he was on Xbox live every time she got on, so she could chat with him while she played Geometry Wars.

She smiled at Nick as she climbed into the black Armada, shuffling around to get into her seat properly. She looked back at the baby seat, complete with a little stuffed toy in it, and smiled. She couldn't wait to see the baby. She'd never seen a lion baby before.