undergrounds | You're gonna go far kid (OPEN)

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You're gonna go far kid (OPEN)

Private for Sylvia

James wouldn't dareask Slyvia to meet him somewhere when it was him asking a favor of her. A pretty big one too. He makes an appointment to see her, like anyone else. Unlike anyone else however, James is trying for clever and inwardly is tempted to just turn around and walk away right now and pretend none of this ever happened to begin with.

But then it's his turn to walk into the dragon's den. So he smiles, small and polite. Not too sure how to address her, he starts simply - with a brief nod and a greeting of,

"Madame President."

Private for Norrell

The day just after meeting with Sylvia, James has arranged to meet with Norrell in his own Night Council offices- he's pulling out all the punches for this attempt at diplomacy and is practically willing to sell his own mother (practically) to get Norrell to help him.

He's never had any real dealings with a Daybreak witch and thus holds no opinions of them over anyone else. Abigail Widdowson, however, does hold his ear a little better thanks to their brief associations before they became anything of note in the political climate.

Knowing Norrell's opinions (how could anyone not?) on werewolves, James is going to approach this like he would any client and starts with a smile.

"I appreciate you making the time to speak with me. I understand you have much to do."

Private for Abigail

After Abigail's voicemail and ensuing conversation with her, James asked to meet her in person to discuss things in more detail at the restaurant they first met at. It's meant to serve as a reminder that they'd tried before to ally and found that neither had something the other would need or even want in an alliance - both of them being too low on the totem pole at that time.

And now look at them both. Maiden of Witches and a new Alpha.

"Miss. Widdowson." James greets her like he would an old friend when she is escorted to their table.

The same bottle of wine - at least the same vintage - is on the table as last time.

This time however, two glasses are already poured.

Private for Eames & Finnick

Though all of his meetings these past few days have been difficult, this is probably the one that demands the most from him. With the two Seelie Lords, James knows they've had their hands tied rather severely, and it wouldn't be advantageous to ignore that. His intent is to take Havering out of their hands while the election occupies a large portion of the public attention in the supernatural community - but if he can arrange a peaceful and agreeable takeover...well, he'd rather try and say he made the attempt before taking action.

"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, gentlemen."

James has asked to meet them both in their own territory - specifically Bromley, near the border of Greenwich in a little cafe that is quiet and cozy. He doesn't anticipate having to make a hasty exit but if he has to, James would rather know exactly where he needed to go than wander deep into Fae territory and be in some potential danger.

He's reserved the backroom of the business for their purposes and has no traps or pack members to back him up. James does not anticipate this ending violently.

Drinking - Jolly Roger

What a week. James has decided to actually get willfully sloshed tonight and has visited his least favorite bar, the Jolly Roger. The only reason he's here is because Skip works here and knowing someone behind the bar means his glass is rarely empty - even if she wasn't here.

He's about halfway through his first glass when his phone vibrates angrily on the bartop and James looks at it like he wants to dunk it into his glass and forget about it.

"Can this election just be over?"

Settling pack disputes - Redbridge - first responder

Lupercalia was still managing to bite James in the ass two months later. The small but long lived pack that had hunted one of their older members to sacrifice to ensure a new year of young, activated wolves would take their place down and eventually lead him to James' door to plead for sanctuary.

As such, now that the festival was over, James went to the pack hoping that they would allow him to rejoin his family and live the remainder of his life in peace.

Apparently, that didn't go over well.

James can be found in a small park, bent over and leaning against a tree nursing what looks like a broken nose back into place as it slowly healed. There seems to be the remnants of bruises and cuts on his face and under his shirt - the only sign of them being the small pinpricks of blood that have soaked through his clothing and the small slashes in his shirt.

In short - he looks a mess.

As he straightens himself, James looks down at his jacket and notices that the seam of his shoulder has torn. This is apparently the straw that breaks his back as his face crumples for a moment and he mutters (loudly) a single, "Fuck."

WILDCARD
James can be found anywhere in the city you would like to encounter him, if you would like something more specific tailored to you - we can work that out, PP

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Alex specifically goes looking for James. She doesn't want to talk to him over the phone, and she doesn't want to just leave a note. She actually wants to see him, which proves to be easier said than done.

Finally, she finds him in a park looking like he's just had the crap kicked out of him.

"What the hell did you do?" she demands by way of greeting, somewhere between concerned and annoyed.

For a moment, James starts upwards at the sound of someone coming near him - his eyes flash dangerously yellow and he snarls a low growl intending to intimidate ...but it's just Alex. He deflates and goes back to looking human.

"Tried being altruistic. It's not working out."

He sighs and sniffs, trying to coax blood back into his nose - it's not attractive and he winces as he does it.

Alex is ready to go the second she sees his eyes turn yellow. She hasn't had a chance to take her own brand new moonlight jewelry for a spin yet. She'd prefer to keep it a secret, though - it's hidden under her shirt and looks more or less like any of the slightly too expensive necklaces she wears - so she's glad when he turns fully human again.

She half-smiles and raises an eyebrow at him. "See, now you know," she says dryly. "You have to be an iron-fisted dictator."

"Darn. I was hoping for benevolent."

Quick rapport was something he could do even if he were dying, and it's kind of comforting to do now as his sides stitch themselves back up. His nose, however, is still noticeably not in place and he's going to have to wait to push it back in place.

That's going to be fun.

"What's up?"

Alex shakes her head. "No way, benevolence gets you beaten up." She kind of wants to figure out who beat him up, and beat them up in return. "You sure you don't want to track them down? Show them who's boss?"

For the moment, she ignores his question. She steps closer and reaches up to snap his nose back into place if he'll let her.

"No point. They're an established pack."

Going back and picking a fight would be like starting a civil war - which was something they did not need. He wouldn't be going back for anything from them any time soon, though.

He's so distracted by his own planning that he doesn't notice Alex reaching in to rebreak his nose until she had her hands on it. By then, all he can do is just brace himself for the pain.

Which is immediate and awful.

James wouldn't call himself a touch guy and he doesn't bother trying to hide the fact that it hurts, he whimpers as the healing begins again - this time correctly.

"Jesus fucking - ugh."

After a few moments of groaning, he wipes his already ruined sleeve under his nose to clean away the rest of the blood.

"Thanks. I think."

Alex frowns at him while he swears and groans and wipes the blood away. She really doesn't like the idea of some other pack beating up the alpha of hers. Deep down, part of her believes that the alpha's supposed to be the meanest, toughest, most terrifyingly murderous member of the pack, and if James can get his ass kicked that easily, what does it say about the rest of East End? But she's not gonna push it, since he seems determined to let it go.

"You're, uh, you're welcome," she says curtly, since she's not used to thanks and isn't entirely sure how to respond to it, even if he doesn't sound totally sure about thanking her.

She crosses her arms and looks away before saying, "I need a favor." She hates asking for favors, but she needs one and she's not sure who to go to besides James.

He looks much better now with the fixed nose back in place, and James buttons up his jacket to try and hide the blood staining his shirt underneath.

"Hm?" Alex asking for a favor is not expected, but it's not unwelcome. He's actually rather pleased she even bothered to. To him, it says that she might trust him. A wry sort of smile crosses his face at her sort of sullen approach to asking. She's very young still.

"What is it?"

"I have to go out of town for a week or two." It's painfully obvious that she doesn't want to talk about it and feels awkward asking. "I need--" She almost says 'someone' but cuts herself off. She doesn't want someone to do this, she specifically wants James to do it. "--you to keep an eye on my apartment."

She's not wild about the idea of him potentially poking through all her stuff, as impersonal as her possessions are, but better him than a relative stranger.

"Just in case. There's stuff in there I don't want my landlord to find."

There's also the possibility that she won't come back at all, in which case someone would have to dispose of her stuff. But she really doesn't want to ask for that favor, because then she'd have to talk about it.

....That was shockingly mundane.

James tries not to grin at the request and nods with some initial hesitation, like he can't quite believe what he's hearing.

"Alright."

He's curious about why she wanted him to do this...but that question isn't as important as: "Where are you off to?"

Alex just nods in thanks. The fact that he was smiling and still seems like he wants to smile has her a little off balance, so she's not sure what to say.

"Nowhere really," she answers quickly. She frowns hard, still feeling deeply awkward about the whole thing. "It's, uh, I have a family thing." Not technically a lie.

She holds out a copy of her key. "Here. If you need it." She definitely plans on taking it back once she's returned. And maybe changing her locks too. She trust James more than most, but only up to a point.

He can hear avoidance when it counts and right now she does not want to answer that question. Which is fine, he decides as he takes the key from her hand. He would like to encourage a little more trust, but that was something that had to be earned not bought.

So he'd wait. Patiently as ever.

"Any pets or plants I need to know about?"

It's more of a joke but...well, Alex had hidden depths he was sure, like everyone else.

"Yeah, I run a shelter for lost kittens out of my living room," she says dryly. It's actually not an unreasonable question, but really, pets and plants aren't her thing. "But other than that, no."

She gives him a sincere grimace, which is about as close as she's going to come to smile. "Thanks, James."

"You did look like the nurturing type." Sarcasm is so easy to fall back on, but work and politics demand a little less sass in his speech. Whenever he gets the chance to say what he's thinking, it's nice.

"Don't mention it."

We're pack. It goes unsaid.

The whole concept of having a support network is still fairly new to Alex. She doesn't expect people to do favors for her, so she wants to make sure he knows how genuinely grateful she is that he's willing to do it. "Really. Thanks."

She glances around, trying to find something to say to make her feel less awkward. "You sure you don't want me to find those guys and beat them up for you?"

James laughs and it sounds like a bark for a second it's so shocked out of him.

"No, I don't think that'd be a good idea...," he pauses in his laughter long enough to listen around them and scent the air for the people who did this to him.

"Wanna hear about it? I could use someone's opinion."

It's sort of a test.

"Uh. Yeah." She still feels awkward, wondering why he wants her opinion and whether he really wants her advice or is humoring her or trying to take her under his wing or something. Even after all this time, she's still not entirely sure what their relationship is.

The laughter isn't helping. She doesn't get what's funny.

But if he genuinely needs help with whatever the problem is, she'll do what she can. "Okay."

"Okay."

James starts to walk, hoping she'll come with him.

"During Lupercalia...an older wolf came to us seeking asylum from their own pack. They were planning on killing him to activate a child's curse and he didn't really feel like dying. I've been trying to get them to accept him back since the festival is over but," he gestures to his face - his nose in particular.

"I should probably let it go after that...but he misses his family."

It's possibly the most good-hearted thing he'll ever do in his life, and he's painfully aware of it. Which is why he wants it to turn out well for the guy.

Alex scowls at the mention of Lupercalia. She really hates that holiday. But she glances sideways at James with a certain amount of sympathy - it's a really nice thing he's doing.

"If he goes back, they'll just kill him next time." She has no doubt about that. "Get his family out, move them to our territory." She doesn't know the old wolf, but he certainly doesn't deserve to die or to be without his family just for the crime of being old. "We can protect them."

Maybe the family doesn't want to join a different pack. Maybe making a bigger deal of this than has already been made will start more than a fistfight between a few guys in a park. But Alex isn't really one to think too hard about complications - start simple, and if complications arise, push through them, that was her philosophy.

James nods with a small grimace of thought. He'd considered that, but never really devoted much thought to it... which seemed stupid in hindsight. How could he have overlooked such a simple solution?

Still, he didn't want to admit that it hadn't crossed his mind much. Where Alex liked to start simple, James already thought of every complication that could arise and planned accordingly to the worst case scenario.

Which could sometimes be a detriment.

"Good idea."

is all he gets out, thinking out the moves of Alex's suggestion.

Alex nods in agreement, assuming that he'll at least try her idea.

"It's nice of you. To help him like that." It comes out a bit awkwardly - she's not much better at compliments than she is at asking for help.

"It seemed like the right thing to do."

Which sounds so trite coming out of his mouth but it's true. James had always wondered what being an Alpha meant and apparently it meant sticking your neck out for those who couldn't afford to.

"Just ah, keep it to yourself. I have a reputation."

It's a joke more than anything but there's a grain of truth to it. James doesn't know how he feels about being known as the guy who had a weak spot.

Alex glances sideways at him. Her eyes narrow, a little amused and a little perplexed. A reputation for standing up for people seems like a pretty good reputation to have, but it's his reputation. She won't mess around with it if he wants to keep this a secret.

"You got it."

That does raise a slight doubt, though. She wants to make sure he will try her idea. "You'll do it, right? You'll help his family?"

"If they'll let me. Horses and water...," he trails off, shrugging a shoulder as he does. He wouldn't force them to agree to leave their pack and join a new one for their grandfather. But he would hope that they wouldn't be so attached to their Alpha.

"But yes; I'll do what I can."

He hoped she wouldn't hold it against him if this didn't turn out like he wanted.

"You could get rid of it, you know. Lupercalia." She doesn't expect him to do any such thing, but she at least wants to bring up the possibility. James made it so their pack could only kill hunters, not old werewolves, which is a step in the right direction, but Alex still hates the whole holiday.

Of course it wouldn't make any difference for the other packs in the city, even if James were to abolish Lupercalia for the East End pack.

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You're gonna go far kid (OPEN)

Settling pack disputes

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