undergrounds | August Adventures: A Catch-All Post.

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August Adventures: A Catch-All Post.

[A - Injury]

He'd panicked.

It was the only logical thing to do at the time. He'd gotten lax and cocky, going so far as to try to read a discarded newspaper at a public bench and someone had recognized him. And alerted the police. Considering how fast they were on him, Sirius still considered it a miracle he had gotten away. He hadn't even had the opportunity to shift into his faster form.

He'd launched himself into the first back alley he saw, hoping for a moment where he could undress and shift but that wasn't likely. His pursuers were determined, he'd give them that but Sirius's desire not to return to prison spurred him on and eventually he lost them. But not before he'd had to jump a fence and land funny on his leg. He'd sat in the alley for a long time, breathing hard and waiting for the police to catch up. But they didn't and finally he could breathe.

But not for long. The moment Sirius stood up, he knew he had a problem as pain shot up his leg. He'd definitely done something to some part of it. Assuming it was just a twisted ankle, Sirius had limped off to find somewhere a little closed off where he could rest.

That had been a weekend ago, and things still hurt. Sirius knew he would have to do something about it.

[B - Safehouse]

The events at the beginning of August served only to remind Sirius that he was in a pretty vulnerable position. He needed somewhere a little safer than the back alleys of London if he was going to get anywhere. He needed a safehouse of some sort. It didn't have to be big or particularly comfortable, but somewhere that he could stay if he needed to keep out of sight for a while, or at least rest for a couple hours without worry.

Not entirely sure how this place was going to manifest and assuming that he would know it when he saw it, Sirius wandered the streets of London, looking for something that might just work or just inspiration.

The fact that he's currently a large black dog certainly won't draw any attention now would it?

[C - Hillingdon]

It's been a long time since Sirius has been here.

Even though it's been a long time, the streets still seem familiar to him, as if he never left. He's not sure why he was reluctant to come back. Perhaps the presence of his family or just the fact that he let his connections to the Hillingdon Clan slide. He'd never sat well with the insular nature of things.

However, things had changed and Sirius had to see if his name still had any sort of weight around here. Surviving on his own was only going to get more difficult, especially since he was finding it very difficult to lay low. If he could just find someone he knew from the old days, convince them, maybe he might have a chance. It was a slim one and he was prepared to bolt the moment things went south.

But for now he had to try.

[D - Wildcard]

Feel free to set up something completely different.

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"Right now?" Faolan asks, waving the other man towards any one of the free seats that isn't the one he'd obviously been preoccupying, before he'd come to answer the door. "People are usually in and out at this hour. There's no 'usual' night crowd. During the day there are something closer to regulars, though. A couple people that like to keep the records tidy. People looking to sell what they can to those looking to buy -- I'd watch out though, they'll cheat you out of house and home if you let them."

He moves to reach for his glass, before pausing and turning to ask, "Do you want any?" He'd brought the whole bottle out, and luckily enough, he knows where the extra glasses are.

Sirius nodded. He'd keep an eye out for those types, although there's not much they could do to him. Right now he didn't exactly have anything worth cheating him out of.

"Please," he replied, taking a seat. How long had it been since he'd had any sort of drink? Too long probably.

"So, who's in charge currently?"

"Much of the same," Faolan admits, as he goes for another glass and pours the other man out a drink of his own. "I suspect that the same people have been in place since before you left. They've certainly been there since before I joined, anyway. There isn't much turnover, here. Everyone seems pretty set in their ways, all things considered." That, and not that many people survive making their way up that far in the ranks. Hillingdon by nature sort of weeds them out.

He hands the glass to Sirius before picking up his own again and moving to take a seat himself. He watches the other carefully, but he just can't seem to get a good read on him. "There a reason you're sneaking around in the dark like this?" he asks. Might as well cut straight to the chase. Faolan's never really been one for beating around the bush, all things considered.

"Same old, same old then," Sirius says, accepting the drink. He's not sure if that's an advantage to him or not. They'd know him, certainly, if that's the case, but where they stood on him was another question. Had his family poisoned his name, or could he make a fresh start and prove himself. That was the next question he needed answering. But that would have to be set aside for now.

It's unfortunate that his cover story of being abroad doesn't quite extend to his suspicious activity. He has to think fast.

"Not really. I'm just on foot mostly these days and had to walk quite a ways. It was dark before I realized it."

Faolan raises his eyebrows again. Dark before I realized it is a bit of an understatement, at this point, considering the time the sun sets these days. But he lets it go for now, filing the fact away in his memory instead. "Well," he says, swirling his drink in his glass somewhat, "I'm sorry that I can't be more helpful. Company and a drink, now that I can offer. The rest of it's going to have to wait for regular business hours."

Somehow, Faolan wonders whether this man will return during regular business hours. Or whether it's purposeful, the idea that he's come so late, when no one else might be around. Come to think of it... "I'm not sure I caught your name," he says, giving the other man a very direct look.

"And it is appreciated, believe me," Sirius replies, taking a drink. He tenses at the next question however. This is a moment of truth, and depending on how things go, hopefully he doesn't have to make a run for it.

"Sirius," he says, sticking with his plan to not reveal his last name, "and you are?"

Faolan notices the lack of surname, but he makes no comment of it. If that is how it shall be, then that is how he will treat it.

"Faolan," he responds, before sitting forward and offering the other man his hand. He doesn't need to give Sirius his last name (O'Neill) to let him know how Irish he is, how out of place he feels in London at times, despite having lived there for nearly a decade. The first name and his overall accent, his general demeanor, take care of that for him.

Sirius takes the offered hand.

"Good to met you," he says, smiling. He's relieved that his name has gone unnoticed, at least for now, and he can relax a little.

"How long have you been around?"

"About a decade, give or take," Faolan says, sitting back in his chair, swirling his drink in his tumbler as he does. "Not really certain that the first few years should really count, considering." He was basically the epitome of a sullen teenager, with the added chip on his shoulder that his whole family had died and he truly was alone in the world.

"It was a rough start of things, but I made my place here in the end," he concludes. "I'd say that surviving the ten years isn't a bad accomplishment, all things considered. I've known a great many others not to have survived this life as long as that."

"Considering the kind of things that go on around here, that is rather impressive. You're a hunter, I take it?"

From what he could recall, it was mostly hunters who took the dangerous missions. He'd played that role before, but being a shapeshifter he was typically helping the young ones out.

Faolan takes a sip of his drink, nodding in response to the question as he swallows it down. "I am," he responds, with something of a hiss as he does. The drink is strong, strong enough to give a good burn, which is what a good drink should do, in Faolan's opinion. He lowers the tumbler to play with it in his hands again.

"Ordinary human, if you're wondering," he says, glancing up at the other man, with a quirk of an eyebrow. "Part of the reason why I consider the decade such an accomplishment. Considering some of the things we go up against, it hasn't been easy. I've had my fair share of near-misses." But Faolan hasn't really made friends, he's only had himself to rely on, and so he can safely say that he really has seen himself through those years. Perhaps it's part of the reason he's gotten himself into all that trouble as well, with no one else to fall back on, but that's neither here nor there.

"That is pretty impressive," Sirius admits. "When I was around more, I remember most humans tended to work in teams if anything else." And he assumes it's the same way now. But there are always those who don't play to the norm. He could respect that.

"So, you've got a few stories, then?"

Faolan nods. "You could say that," he agrees. "A few stories, though I doubt that any of them would be worth anyone's time. Everyone's got battle scars in this place. If you don't, then you're dead."

He shrugs slightly. It sounds kind of morbid. But he's lost far too many people to this profession to not feel a little bitter about it. Someone has to do it though, and do it right. Maybe that sounds self-serving, he doesn't care. He knows that he's good. He has to be, if he wants to make it.

"I'm sure you've got some stories of your own," he posits. Eyeing the man himself, the way he looks, the fact that he's turned up now of all times. He's also fairly certain that the other man is just about as inclined to talk about his own experiences as Faolan is to talk about himself. So the look he gives him is perhaps a little pointed, at that.

"A few, yeah," Sirius says, taking the pointed look in stride. He'd worked with a few hunters, but most of his energy had been dedicated to helping with other shapeshifters. And the more he thought about it, most of the stories he had were the shenanigans he'd gotten into with his friends after he'd drifted away.

Faolan nods slightly, swirling his drink in his glass some more. "Well," he says, after a short pause. "I'm sorry that I can't be more helpful to you. Nor more entertaining for that matter."

He doesn't know this man, though, and he doesn't know whether his stories add up. He doesn't want to say too much, just in case. He has just let him in the house on his word that he had once belonged there, after all. There is nothing but Sirius' word in return to back that up. Faolan regrets being so cautious, but it is being this cautious that has kept him alive for so long, in turn.

"It's fine," Sirius replies. He understands being cautious and again there's an ache to go back to the way things used to be. When he could be far more open and easily chat up anyone. He missed those days.

"I just appreciate you letting me in, Faolan. And the drink."

Faolan nods slightly, raising the glass in response to the other man's words of thanks. "Least I could do," he answers easily. "I've spent enough nights drinking alone to understand that it's a pleasure to have the company, when I can get it." That much at least is true.

After a moment's hesitation, Faolan reaches into the pocket of his jacket and produces a card, holding it out to Sirius. And yes, it does give more information about himself than he had given before, although not much. Just his full name, phone number, and an email address -- generic, for professional use, but it's hard to tell what he does even still. "If you ever need anything," he says. "That's how to find me. Besides coming here, I suppose."

He tilts his head at Sirius, slightly. "I hope you find what it is you are looking for, in coming back to this place. I'll see what I can do to help you, if I can."

Sirius takes the card, looking it over a few times before pocketing it and making a note not to lose it.

"I appreciate that, thank you. I hope so as well."

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August Adventures: A Catch-All Post.

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