Nice Day Out

[Deleted]

Outfit

When she had left the hotel earlier that morning she had intended to search out the alpha male that had sent out the call that had pulled her towards this particular city. But instead her nose had led her towards the nearest lake.

The sun was out and shining brightly through the trees making the ground look dappled with light and dark spots. The wind was blowing softly making her hair wave and brush her cheeks. Lilly walked slowly down the sidewalk through the trees towards the lake. She was new to the city so she didn't really know where she was but she could smell the water and wildlife around her.

She walked out from under the trees and paused in the sunlight, taking in the warmth and renewing landscape. She absolutely loved spring weather and all the little animals that came out of their homes to enjoy the sun.

The female walked towards the edge of the lake and sat down on the bank with her jacket laying on the grass next to her. She smiled and tilted her head back so the sun could touch her face.

Lilly acted like she hadn't a care in the world but she made sure to keep her shields tightly around her and to keep herself from being to noticeable.

[Hieronymous Banks-Walker]

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Hiero didn’t run every day these last few weeks in fact he was kicking himself for not doing so more. He’d gotten out roughly two-thirds as often as he would have liked. To make up for it he pushed himself covering nearly the entire jogging path from Evanston to Hyde Park. It was a hell of run because of the distance but moreso as he had to hold himself back and stay at human average speed. The music helped but he still need to watch his speed keep his head down and blend in. It made the run a death by inches. He chided himself every time he felt himself pouring on a burst of speed. It had him looking forward to the breakfast he was going to consume once he made it home to change. As he neared Belmont rocks on his return leg he caught scent of a lycanthrope. It stopped him in his tracks as he scanned the faces body language and orientation of those within eyesight. It wasn’t just lycanthrope it was big cat. The jamboree it dawned on him. Stretching to stay limber he pinpointed the general area. Between the lakes fresh water roar and the need to be circumspect he was having a harder time than he should have pinpointing the source of the emanations. That meant that whoever it was was shielding hard and laying low.

The usual reason for such a tactic was to insure ones own strength was kept from general knowledge. For such an old cat as he there many ways to get to the crux of any situation such as these without making a fuss. He smiled to himself miming checking his pulse as he jogged in place. Lowering his shields he had his beast scent the air. Sending a small portion of his strength from behind his shields he found the source a young dark haired woman who was taking in the chill of the air and the lovely sight of the lake. His lion caught a whiff of her strength. Judged by her ability to keep her shields in place as it tested the solidity of said shields. A lesser would have jumped out of their skin having a beasty seem to try and hugs it way inside their shields. The action in turn opening their shields as their own beast attempted to distance itself from the other. She didn’t look worried in fact she seemed unfazed.

That was good to know and he filed that knowledge away for later . Altering his path to include where she was laying Hiero closed the distance clearing his throat to announce his approach instead of just doing so and startling her. “It’s a nice view,” he said stopping just over her right shoulder. ”Your interest in the view means you are either new to town or homeless. Maybe both. I’m Hieronymous,” he offered by way of introduction the and you are hanging in the air between them…

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Hieronymous Banks-Walker

Wardobe

[Deleted]

As Lilly was sitting there enjoying herself she caught a whiff of another lycanthrope, lion if she wasn't mistaken and it was all male. Quite possibly the Rex or a very high ranking alpha if the power of him being washed over her was anything to go by. Wasn't quite what she had had in mind but maybe she would be able to get some much needed information from the locals.

She knew it wouldn't take the lion long to find her even with all the humans, water and her own ability to keep herself well hidden. She knew the moment he spotted her because his scent and presence became heavier in the air as he made his way to where she was seated.

Still as he moved towards her she didn't move or by any means act like she was bothered by him being there. As the male stepped up to the right of her body she kept her eyes closed until he spoke announcing that he was in fact intent on speaking to her.

Lilly opened her dark brown eyes and looked over at the lion who called himself "Hieronymous", 'this one had a name that was a mouthful' she thought to herself with an inward smile. Hieronymous earned himself a full smile when he mentioned that she looked new and was possibly homeless, as if that wasn't a given if he was truly from this area.

She tilted her head to the side a little and studied his face before she answered his query. "I agree, it is a nice view however i was i enjoying the feel of the sun more then anything that's around me. Now if there wasn't so many people around I would rather be in the lake right now even though its still bound to be chilly." Lilly lifted her hand to shield her eyes some so she could see the lion better, "you are quite correct on both accounts. I am new and technically homeless as well as I'm currently staying in a hotel. Its nice don't get me wrong but its definitely not very homey. My name is Lilly, by the way. Nice to meet you" she held out her hand.

[Hieronymous Banks-Walker]

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

She stayed her ground which was interesting. She hadn’t taken a defensive nor aggressive position. Which was even more telling in and of itself. She’d kept her shields in place which added another layer to the mystery of her. Lilly she’d said that was a nice name and a lovely flower her parents must have had another life in mind for her besides being infected with Lycanthropy. “I believe the pleasure is mine. We don’t receive many strong lycanthropes these days. Especially those as rare as your particular flavor.” Crouching he moved closer to her. He had no fear of them being overheard they were just far enough off the jogging path where that wasn’t an issue. “As for the dip you missed the polar bears annual swim so it’d probably be best to wait a few more weeks unless you’d sneak down here after dark.” Shrugging at the idea of sneaking down to the lake to swim. There were so many gyms in the are that offered the amenities of a heated pool the idea was foreign to him. Not to mention there was a very strong chance that she might be arrested as the beach wasn’t officially open for quite some time. She’d stand out like the proverbial sore thumb.

Sighing he went on rattling off the questions to be answered by her. He hadn’t the foggiest idea as to what to do with her but then again she wasn’t one of his so he didn’t need to worry about that just yet. She didn’t seem to be of a mind to cause trouble for trouble’s sake.”So if you don’t mind me asking, what brings you to Chicago? It’s a little off the beaten path especially with the troubles we’ve been having as of late. Actually better phrasing of the question would be what can you do to help set things right here as the help would be appreciated and anything that might be at a counter-purpose would not.”He kicked himself mentally as he plowed right to the heart of the matter in no time flat. He couldn’t help himself Ocham’s razor was more than a philosophical bent. He couldn’t stand disseminations in anyone including himself and thus rarely allowed much time to fritter away with niceties when there was business to attend to.

The business now being the maintenance and rebuilding of the union of lycanthropes of the city so that when the brewing storm came there would be enough shelter and strength to weather it.He knew that plans would hold until the first volley was launched he just hoped that the influx of the strong non-predacious would at least stave off the horrors of them being routed completely… he wouldn’t ask any quarter from the Kiss and expected them to be the cruel vicious lot he’d always known them to be. To that end he’d been watching Sion’s comings and goings it was time to have a few words with the man. Time to grab the bull by the horn as it were. If he could arrange it he’d strike the fear of god into him slowing if not ceasing this thing before it got too out of hand.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Hieronymous Banks-Walker

Wardobe

[Deleted]

Lilly finally got tired of having to tilt her head back to see the male so she slowly got to her feet and left her jacket laying on the ground for the moment. She smoothed her shirt a little as she settled back on her left foot. The wind started to blow a little harder causing her hair to fly across her face which in turn keeping getting in the way of her seeing. She pulled the scrunchy off her wrist and quickly tied her hair back.

Lilly raised her eyebrow some and said, "There are so few of you then.. Or just of my nature? I was kind of hoping there would be more of us here in general. I haven't gotten out much in the last several years..." the woman trailed off a little confused. Her old leader in Connecticut had kept those few jaguars under his command close to home at all times and told only what they needed to know.

Apparently whatever it was that had happened here in Chicago had not ranked on the need to know scale. Sure Lilly had heard rumors but hadn't paid them much attention. She guessed that maybe she should have but hopefully this lion would fill her in. "Well i decided to leave my old jamboree to start somewhere else and since i was raised in a small town a few hours from here I figured this would be an ideal spot."

Lilly straighted her stance and added "I will help all I can. I'm not afraid to do what I have to. I enjoy helping others, its what i have always been best at. Its why I became a teacher..." Her shoulders shrugged a little and her expression became one of sheer determination.

[Hieronymous Banks-Walker]

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Actually so few,” Hiero inhaled looking over his shoulder as he stood to his full height. “Of your flavor of fur. The Jamboree is a recent arrival the city. So new in fact that they haven’t carved out a clan house that anyone knows of just yet.” Hiero was sharing a bit much as he really didn’t the young woman. Nothing about her however evidenced that she was untruthful. In fact just the opposite was written about her countenance. She was fairly direct in her seeming. The only off bit if there was anything off was the small pause in regards to why she’d come. He was sure there was more to the reason of her arrival but it would be a foolish person that divulged all that they were upon meeting a strange lycanthrope in an even stranger city. Be that as it may someone needed to set her right. Give her the lay of the land. He hadn’t a clue as to how to actually contact the Jamboree King. That was a glaring issue he needed to correct. He knew approximately where he could find the man but that wasn’t public knowledge he figured the man would appreciate anyone knowing. Especially how Hiero had come about the knowledge.

Hiero rubbed his chin as he contemplated how best to crack the nut of getting Lilly to her clan without sharing things he shouldn’t know. "As far as numbers well there have been a few recent additions to the city. The numbers are growing all the time. Teacher? Now that is a really good thing. There’s a school I know would love to have you." Looking north along the jogging path then back to Lilly he knew his jog was over. It would be the height of rudeness to leave a new lycanthrope to their own devices without showing them around to the best of his ability. He nor any leader of any accord would swallow that lightly. The least he could do would be to point her in the right direction but that would mean revealing how much he actually knew and that would in and of itself raise issues. So that left only one recourse.

Smiling, he shrugged "Well no time like today. Unless of course you’d like to continue taking in the sights. Of course," He said cocking a brow. “Both things can be accomplished at once I suppose. We can get you the lay of the land and do a little sightseeing along the way. Actually a lot of sightseeing actually depending on what you’ve already found out about Chi-town.” He wouldn’t waste her town with things she’d already learned or discovered. She could rediscover those things on her own. He knew the first thing would be explaining what was taking place between the Kiss and the clans. That way she could at least protect herself from any of the blood suckers.

“Lilly first thing you should probably know before you decide to stay in the friendly confines is that the Kiss here unlike anywhere else isn’t all that strong. To be honest it’s a relatively new Kiss they’d just solidified their hostile takeover. They’ve not bothered to reach out to the clans and as such there is a bit of a cold war taking place.” There the biggest gorilla in the room was unveiled. He watched her face looking to see if she actually grasped what he was saying. In most cities the Kiss was the hub of the preternatural all of the clans moved about the kiss as the planets did the sun. Here that was not the case. In fact that was just the opposite and would remain that way if Hiero had his way. He preferred the clans free of predation not tied to the fate of the Kiss. Especially as most Kisses considered the clans at best their personal shock troops at worse meals on wheels. Playthings to be discarded or used as the whims of their inhuman urges dictated. "So what say you willing to traipse across the city catching most of the haunts of the fierce and furry? "

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Hieronymous Banks-Walker

Wardobe

[Deleted]

A slight frown touched Lilly's face at what Hieronymous said about there being so few of her kitty in this city. But at least that meant that she wouldn't be alone here. She watched the lion look over his shoulder and then back at her with some curiosity, he was kind of acting like he was sticking his hand in a cookie jar. Made her wonder what all he knew that he wasn't sharing, not that she could blame him. "I cant wait to meet the jaguar that has positioned himself as leader."

Lilly perked up a little more at the mention of a school "What kind of school? And that's good to know at least, plenty of new people to meet then." She grinned at the thought and bent down to retrieve her jacket from the grass. She looked up at him and said "I'm more then ready to continue site seeing, i only arrived yesterday and i spent the majority of it yesterday relaxing in my room so i haven't seen much. Having somebody that knows where everything is as my guide will help undoubtedly."

She couldn't help the scowl that crossed her face as he warned her about the kiss. Vampires weren't exactly her favorite creatures but the fact that they wern't bothering to interact with the lycanthrope community was definitely a foreign concept to her. "All i have to say about that bit of news at the moment is.. Who needs them anyways, honestly its not like we need them.."

"I'm game. I like wandering and learning new things"

[Hieronymous Banks-Walker]

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“You’re game that’s good to hear.” He switched off his IPod taking the headphones and wrapping them around the device. He honestly was hoping she took the news to heart he would hate to have to avenge anything horrible that could very well happen. He knew he couldn’t be everywhere but he could make those who did wrong pay. Realizing that if he did he would be overstepping the boundaries of clan lines Hiero did his best to suppress his urge to if not protect to avenge. “We can talk about the school later but I am glad to hear you are interested in it I know someone that would leap for joy having you there.” Speaking of the school he would have to look in on Ryssa making sure that she was in fact as happy as she appeared. It wouldn’t be the first time she hid her true feelings on a matter behind staying too busy to breathe. “Sorry about the few numbers of the Jamboree. But you have to remember most people didn’t believe it was possible. Everyone assumed that Jaguar types were just Alpha level Pard members. Hell the Leap is still in hiding as those same wrongheaded scientists believed that Snow Leopard Lycanthropy was so rare as to be proof against any others." Shaking his head at the dunderheads who somehow always ended up in positions of authority in the rest of the world.

He was sure that Sabin would kick and scream a bit as he would push the issue of there being too many people to watch. He was paranoid but Hiero could understand why. He couldn’t however truly explain that there was a sense to these things a gut feeling that made him sure about certain things. Even with that surety he knew he wasn’t fallible and would allow Sabin his verbal pound of flesh just in the off chance that he was proven right. Moving across the grass towards Lake Shore Drive Hiero looked to make sure that she hadn’t changed her mind and taken off. “As for the Kiss yeah well you’re right. Who needs them anyway we’d be stronger as a city with a good one in place but how good can anything that’s already been dead truly be…”He said with a smile and a wink. “All the same just so you know they like the freaks come out at night usually near the club Excaliber and the Powhaton in Hyde Park. They’ve been trying to branch out into other venues and businesses but they’ve been having … bad luck of a sort. Their Temoin recently disappeared so they’re up in arms about that so just keep your wits about you and you’ll be fine.”

Stopping at the light to cross he pointed towards the visible elevated tracks. “If you take that to the Clinton stop there is a dojo where you can usually find one of the Pride or at least leave a message for me, if you like. It’s going to be a decent trip around are you okay hunger wise?” He was mapping where there trips might take them omitting things that weren’t his secrets to tell. If they took Randolph straight west he could point out the various businesses that dotted the trip. They’d also be able to stop at a midpoint and grab a bite if she was up for it. If she couldn’t wait there was plethora of restaurants nearby. He looked towards the Aon building knowing that there right now on the twenty-third through twenty-ninth floors the members of his board were hashing over best how to reel him in. It made him smile he couldn’t help being after all these years the same mischievous youth he started out all those years ago.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Hieronymous Banks-Walker

Wardobe

[Deleted]

Lilly watched Hieronymous put his ipod up and start to walk off and then stop and look over his shoulder at her. 'Did he think she was going to sneak off somewhere?' She shook her head slightly at him before she stepped towards him. Lilly nodded her head in agreement as he spoke. "I'm pretty sure we both know just how stupid people can really be. They have their heads buried in the sand and don't want to see what is really in front of them. The majority of people in higher ranks don't live in the real world like the rest of us, so long as they leave us alone i don't care what they think."

Lilly eyed the lion as he hesitated mid sentence as he spoke about the now missing Temoin. Kind of made her wonder if he knew something about it but she didn't dare ask since it was none of her business. But that did make her curious.. "I think for now I'm going to try to avoid both Excaliber and the Powhaton, at least at night anyways. I don't think i want to run into any wacky vampires." She smiled a little and slipped into her jean jacket as they walked towards the light.

She followed the line of tracks as he pointed them out to her and told her where she could get in touch with him if she liked. "I might just do that one of these days. You seem like you could be good company". Lilly looked Hieronymous over again but tried not to make it too noticeable. At the mention of food her stomach growled but she wanted to get a little further before they stopped to eat. "I can wait for now but here in a little while i am going to need to stop and eat, I barely touched the food i ordered this morning. I really wanted to get going." She looked a little sheepish about it because she knew better then to go to long without a full meal.

She stepped up next to the larger male and asked "So do you have a nickname or something? Because i don't know about you but i feel like I'm going to be tongue tied anytime i try to say your first name. Do you ever have that problem?

[Hieronymous Banks-Walker]

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Lilly was a brave sort of woman the city could use more such people. In fact it could use a whole boatload of brave courageous and relatively fearless folks to lead it into a better place. Hiero couldn’t shake the idea that something bad was coming to town. He tried to shake it but couldn’t it was there at the back of his mind prowling like some predator in the shadows. “Yeah people can be a handful. Most folks just call me Hiero. It’s easier off the tongue I guess, not quite such a mouthful." Having heard her stomach Hiero smiled acting as if he hadn’t. “I can eat was the reason I asked I’d jogged down from Evanston hit just about the whole strip today. Thinking maybe I pushed it a little much. Luckily there is a Ranalli’s on our way, that is if you don’t mind me stuffing my face with some grade A Chicago deep dish.”


As the light changed Hiero began crossing with the crowd that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It was the way of things here there were always more people when you least wanted them. It was the same in the bars people bottle-necked right where it was least appropriate. Moving closer to Lilly as they walked Hiero lowered his voice, “Up here we are going to pass a coffee shop,” Hiero said pointing towards into the Bean. “There is a holistic mastermind that runs the place she can get her hands on almost anything it seems. Her names Alexius but everyone calls her Esme not sure why, never asked.” He would have to swing by and drop in on her it’d been quite some time. In fact not since before Ian or Breon left. Then again he hadn’t spent much time around anyone that wasn’t a member of the pride or in need of an attitude adjustment in nearly as long. Sooner or later he’d have to begin making his rounds verifying that everyone was still not only living but not up the wrong creek sans paddle.


As the crowd thinned around them Hiero spoke up to match the growing sounds of bustling downtown. “Chicago is a lot like ost cities but at the same time completely different. When I first got here the Streak were the bully boys and all around baddies. There Chang and Khan went mad and well things changed quickly thereafter. The Cackle and the Sleuth occupied a similar roles as the Pride and the Nest do now. Funny that I kinda miss the Oba she was a handful but she shot straight even if it skewered how her clan was viewed.” Shrugging he sauntered on Ranalli’s was coming up along with a slew of other eateries. The one thing Chicago did really well was food. That much hadn’t changed in all he years he’d been here he hoped it never would. Pointing across the street to Ranalli’s “That is our first stop.”


After grabbing a bite to eat they could either catch a cab or the green line out west to the Fireside. Maybe killing two birds with one he thought of swinging by the Garage it was just about completed. Now all that was left was a marketing blitz and staffing. He still had to discuss his idea with Ramone about having him come in and run the day to day if he was able. It would be a first of its kind a joint clan venture providing a fall back for any lycanthrope to have a publicly private way aside from the Fireside to make a meet and greet.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Hieronymous Banks-Walker

Wardobe