Legal Obligations (August Catch-All)

[youronlylaw]

YOU'VE GOT GARLIC IN YOUR SOUL


There's a broadcast going all day long at the different intervals for tuning into the BBC News about the trial. It's less than flattering:

>> The manhunt for Stephan Alkaev is over. After three months of horrifying killings, Alkaev turned himself into authorities this Monday. While his trial date is still being planned, Alkaev will be held in maximum security. He is being represented by Defense Solicitor James Memon with Hogen & Shore. Hogen & Shore were unfortunately unavailable for question. <<

--

Whoever had been in charge of media coverage and control had done a shit job this turn around. James wasn't sure if it was on purpose or not, but that didn't matter in the long run. Typically, the policy with his law firm was that there would be no public face for the case until after they had decided on a plea for their client. He hadn't even had the file in his hand longer than a day before he watched the clip waiting in line for coffee.

And they released several pictures of himself, Stephan, and the vampire's victims. Of course, the media didn't know he was anything but human - but his kills certainly weren't mortal. The blood was drained and the necks were savaged. He didn't even bother disguising them as something else. Everyone in the community would know who this man was, because on top of the human media, there had been plenty of talk about this vampire himself. He wasn't a member of the Islington Nest in any official perimeters but he had been allowed to stay here. It was as good as calling him family.

James just hoped he wouldn't have to deal with any backlash. People usually didn't place his face, but usually it wasn't plastered all over the news.



I CANNOT BELIEVE I'M DOING THIS.

To say James never went shopping was...exaggerating severely. He just didn't do it for anything that was more than a necessity. And he'd especially never gone shopping for a girl who wasn't even out of her teens yet. What kind of phone did a girl her age even want?

James stood in front of the store inside the mall, looking at it as if the sphinx itself asked him to solve a riddle he didn't even understand. He didn't want to walk in and tell them he was buying a phone for the fiance that he had only just met a few nights ago.

Yeah that was too awkward. And he was much too preoccupied with that reality to move, or start coming up with an easier explanation. It's not like it required serious thinking. Just call her his sister or somethi -

and now he was thinking of Skip as his sister.

"Oh, Jesus." James pinched his brow in between his forefinger and thumb.



YOU SAW ME STANDING ALONE - Aug 29^th - open to first responder only

And yet again, another full moon. It was a bit disturbing, how mundane they were now. After a decade or so of them, you stop thinking of your schedule in terms of 'when will i go crazy and turn into a wolf again' and in terms of 'when's my time of the month'. And to think, there used to be a time when he wasn't a werewolf.

He didn't like thinking about that.

People in his pack sometimes ran around on the full moon together, or chained themselves up together because it meant they wouldn't accidentally eat people. James had always felt a little 'other' in his own pack. Maybe because of how he came into it, but he usually spent this time alone and far away from people. Though sometimes he's run into the odd hiker or hunter. They usually managed to get away with a scary story about how they were almost killed by a very big dog.

Usually.

James always drove far north to Epping Forest, which ran on the border of two East End Territories and out of Greater London. He liked driving just to the border of Essex - wreaking havoc there was more fun and safer.

He could feel the change rippling over him and under his skin as he drove out and by the time he had gotten to an ideal location James could easily snap at anyone walking along the trails near the edge of the forest itself. He went deeper than a lot of people would, and by the time he couldn't smell anyone near him - it was time to change.

James could only keep his fingers crossed that no one would come upon him.

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE

PM this journal or contact me at cupcakepantry if you want to plot something out!

Comments

CLOSED TO SKIP

[youronlylaw]

The first time they met resulted in a phone getting smashed instead of a bottle - and while one wasn't preferable to the other, somehow James preferred a phone shattering to a bottle splintering everywhere. The odds of that leading to Skip's curse activating were absurdly high for her.

There was a joke about stereotypes to be made here, but from her reaction to being called 'Red' - James didn't want to be the one making it.

During her shift today, while she was taking out the trash or whatever waitresses did in the back - James left something on one of her tables and told the bartender to keep their eye on it. He also slipped her a note to encourage her to keep her word.

A white smart-phone is sitting - still inside it's package - on one of her tables, with a note written in a practiced neat hand:

Try not to break this one

- J

All in all, a little creepy no?

[wolfmarked]

The phone finds its way to its intended recipient. Along with the bartender's report of a really hot guy leaving it. Skip remembers her tables. It's part of her job. Which means she remembers the guy and the last time he was in. He'd been pretty generous with a tip then, too. This, though...

Well, it's definitely surprising.

Once home after her shift, she finally gets around to really checking it out. It's almost straight out of the box, but it was set up for her. Not surprising since it was pretty hard to get out of a phone store without that happening. But the weird thing (though she supposes it shouldn't be, all things considered) is that 'J' has already put his number in.

After a bit of debate with herself, Skip uses it.

2

[emotioneater]

"You look the same way some fellows do when their girlfriends ask 'em t'pick up a box of tampons." The amused-sounding Irish lilt came from the teenager in motorcycle leathers sitting on a nearby bench. Cooper was stretched out over the entire length of the bench with his booted feet propped up at one end. He had an extra-large ice blast in one hand which he was obnoxiously sipping at regular intervals. He was watching James like the man was an interesting program that had come on the television.

[youronlylaw]

James' gaze swivels over to Cooper and he tries to subtly scent the air. A vampire, huh? Well, he couldn't exactly start a fight in public. Too many humans and not enough of his own pack to back him up.

Things'll stay civil. For now.

"Can't argue with that," he ground out with a sardonic smile. James was already growing increasingly frustrated at every little thing thanks to it being close to his time of the month.

[emotioneater]

It's a good thing that Cooper is unaware of the fact James is a werewolf or he might actually try to be annoying instead of, y'know, his usual not-so-charming personality. Not that he'd start anything right now in the middle of the mall while he's relaxing. Contrary to popular belief, he doesn't go into all situations with the intent of getting into a good fight.

"So." He pauses and makes that irritating slurping sound that a straw makes when it's getting down to the end of a drink. He peers into his cup, swirls the dregs of the ice blast around, and then looks back up. "Who's the lucky girl?"

[youronlylaw]

"My fiance."

He isn't going to lie; an adulthood of being surrounded by people who could literally hear your lies taught him not to do so in their presence; which sounded like an oxymoron for him as a lawyer but well, even if he was going to represent against someone who was a werewolf - they would be in a human court of law. Anything they said to the effect of: 'he's lying' wouldn't be admissible unless phrased perfectly.

[emotioneater]

"Ah. That explains the--" He makes a vague approximation of the expression James had on his face. "--look." He swivels his legs around until he's in a sitting position and his feet are touching the floor. The show just got a little more interesting.

"Don't wanna feck this up too bad or you'll be in hot water. What's her tastes run toward?"

[youronlylaw]

"That obvious, hm?" Coopers observation at least forces a self-conscious laugh out of him.

"She tends to like the trendier things." Really, when you fiance was eighteen - what else would they like?

2

[livelongenough]

"They're all overrated, I think."

Not that anyone had asked his opinion. Still, looking at how perplexed the man looked, Henry felt it appropriate. Especially since, well. He knew him. After all, it wasn't just the television crews that had gotten hold of the story and pictures. Newspapers -- which still existed in their printed form, thank God -- did their fair share of reporting.

And. Well. Seeing Mister Memon here... He wanted to know what kind of man would be picking apart his meticulous work. Whether the Night Council got their hands on Alkaev or had to let him be tried by humans. He was the medical examiner either way.

He avoided the mall as much as possible, but there was an absolutely wonderful little store tucked away in it that sold the finest quality scarves he'd seen since the Victorian age. Properly made, sturdy, but still light-weight and soft. He might have bought a half dozen or so. He was, after all, quickly becoming their favourite customer.

[youronlylaw]

If James' business wasn't so dependent on his ability to answer calls at all hours, he would probably agree with Henry. Unfortunately for him, he's at the whims of the ever advancing social climate. He smirks, more than a little amused at the man's chiming in.

"Try telling a teenager that."

He only turns to look at him then, and recognizes him immediately - how could he not? James did his homework.

[livelongenough]

"I learned a long time ago," Henry said with a quiet laugh, "that teenagers can't be told anything."

After all, his son had been bound and determined to join the Army despite the dangers of the Vietnam War. Not that he could just say that. After all, it wasn't something 'normal.'

"Your kid?"

[youronlylaw]

James can't help the laugh that comes at Henry's question. It is an entirely valid one, and he knows it. But there will be his own private amusement at least.

He can't backtrack and tell the truth, so a white lie will have to do.

"Ah, no. Friend of the family, actually."

Not a lie!

a.

[damnyank]

Jackson's not a fan of overpriced coffee, but some mornings just call for dark brew and excess. This morning, he finds himself lined up behind James, waiting for his turn to order, when the news report pops onto the big screen in the coffee shop, hooking his attention immediately.

"What a goddamn circus this turned out to be," Jackson criticizes, as he shakes his head. "A shit job, if I ever saw one."

And he's not talking about the investigation or the trial. He's talking about the cover-up. Had whoever handling the case done it properly, it would've never gotten blown up on big-screens all over London-- at least not with all those salacious details about vampire-like murderers.

If he'd been the medical examiner in charge... well.

[youronlylaw]

At the critique, James turns slightly to get a look at the man.

"How do you mean?"

James wasn't above discussing what was televised with people on the street. Or in coffee shops. It gave him a good indication of where he stood in the defense.