undergrounds | I'VE BEEN A RAMBLER ALL MY LIFE (NOV CATCH-ALL)

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I'VE BEEN A RAMBLER ALL MY LIFE (NOV CATCH-ALL)

A. COME AWAY, O HUMAN CHILD - CLOSED TO LANCELOT & RINGER
As soon as there is placed a bounty on a rogue fae kidnapping children into the Other Realm, Faolan knows several things for certain. One, that they must be stopped no matter what the cost, because children are innocents, and having had his own childhood taken from him, knowing others who have had their own taken from them as well, the sooner this is put an end to the less people there will be out there developing complexes around such things. For another, he knows that he's bound to get support when he asks around for help. He's certainly not going to be the only one after the reward, with a bounty like that placed on it. But it's not just the money he's after.

So he manages to rope a few people in to aid him on this. Ringer, from Hillingdon, who like him bristles when she hears that it's children who are being affected. And Lancelot, of course, for who better to aid in such an affair than a man who was once stolen away by the fae to the Other Realm when he was a child himself. He calls them individually, arranges for them to meet him in a cafe near where the latest child went missing, and lets them know that there will be company besides just himself on the job. He does not give names, figuring introductions can be made in the cafe itself.

He orders a coffee while he waits for them. He'd look suspicious not to, and to be honest even in the most dire of situations Faolan would rarely turn down a coffee. Sitting in the back of the establishment, his back against the wall so that he can watch who might be entering and approaching him, he sips at it and flicks through his mobile, making certain he'd told both of them the right time and place.

B. UNDER COVER WORK - SEMI-OPEN TO THE SHADOW COVEN
Faolan has been doing his best despite his new rise in the ranks back at Hillingdon to maintain his anonymity as 'Dubhan' as he does work for Kenzi, but everything has him more on edge now. As Leader of the Hillingdon Clan, even there he's still been keeping it a secret for the most part, his involvement with the Night Council as a Guardian, and here he has to keep double the secrets, not only the involvement with the Night Council (obviously), but also any and all mention of involvement with Hillingdon. As asking around about a 'Dubhan' there is going to bring an investigator up with next to nothing, but conveniently might lead straight into the fact that he's been lying to Kenzi about who he is and what he does for a living this whole time.

So he does his best to keep his mouth shut and keep his head down. Whenever she needs him, he's there. Whenever there's the need for someone to look imposing, Faolan steps up to the job. or rather, 'Dubhan' does. Looks imposing where and when he's needed, makes sure that Kenzi and her friends make their way home safe more than a few nights and generally plays his role of dutiful bodyguard. No one need know that he's there to collect information on them at the same time. It'll be his little secret.

C. HILLINGDON HOUSE - SEMI-OPEN TO HILLINGDON
Faolan doesn't really understand what he's done right (or wrong, for that matter) to find himself in this position. It's true, he's been with Hillingdon Clan for close to 10 years now. But he'd never imagined himself its top ranking officer. He knows that it has something to do with the fact that he's been doing good work for a good while and that he's finally being recognized for it. But honestly, isn't there someone higher than him? Someone more deserving of the job? Someone who isn't, say, spying on the clan for the Night Council? Not that he had much of a choice one way or the other, but that is neither here nor there.

He tries to make himself available for those within the clan itself to meet with, however. Most of his undercover work is done at nights, so the majority of his days are spent at Hillingdon House. He recognizes that there is a distinct lack of leadership here in the Hillingdon Clan, and that there has been for some time now. The best solution of course is not to blunder in and start installing himself willy-nilly. No, another approach must be made. So Faolan makes himself available. For the most senior members and the newest. He doesn't know that he's the best choice for this position. But he's willing to give it a try...

D. THE COFFEE FIX - OPEN TO ALL
Of course, Faolan's day would hardly be complete with at least one visit to some coffee shop or another. If he were to stop and think about exactly how much caffeine he put in his body on any given day he would probably wonder how he had any blood left running through his veins at all. And god help the day where someone tells him to give it up or cut back on the stuff.

He sits at a table in the back of the store with a pastry in front of him and a coffee gripped between both of his hands, soaking in the warmth of it. It's early still, he doesn't have any specific plans for the day other than to eventually get into Hillingdon and to answer his call from Kenzi if and when one comes that evening. Which means it's the perfect time to stop and take a breath and enjoy a good cup of coffee.

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Faolan raises an eyebrow at the other man, though he can't help but quirk a smile at him in return. "Admit it. If I were to stay out of trouble, you'd be wondering what other sort of trouble I'd found myself in, in turn," he says, wryly. He leans back in his seat, glancing at the other man out of the corner of his eye and taking him in. It's been a while since they've met face to face. He really needs to finish up this undercover job, sooner rather than later. He wonders whether Lancelot's even heard of his promotion yet. Ah well, it's neither here nor there, he supposes.

He takes a sip of his coffee, glancing at the door to see if Ringer's on her way in, before starting idle conversation with the other man in the meanwhile. "What's it like, work without me there? Is it everything you'd dreamed?" he asks, wryly.

"Very true," he allows, and settles himself more comfortably. There's something pleasant and familiar about this dynamic, about the gentle teasing of Faolan and the way he teases back. He had missed it, in truth, and he's glad of being able to see him again. Even if it is over fae.

"Work?" he echoes, frowning and pretending to consider the question. "It's... quiet, peaceful. Almost as if there's a lack of something in particular. A lack of someone to... lead me into danger, perhaps? Does that seem right?" His frown deepens in exaggerated thought, face screwing up with it.

Faolan's expression quirks something at that. He'd missed this too, in truth. All the work he'd been doing for Hillingdon as of late, it was... Business. There had been a lot of menial 'passing of the torch' sort of business. Ironic since no one had really passed it on to him exactly. He had a lot of work ahead of him, and Hillingdon doesn't exactly pay.

"I vaguely remember that someone watching your back through a fair amount of your own danger, I will remind," he retorts coolly, taking a sip of his coffee as he does. Ah, well. He supposes Lancelot being here means that nothing serious has come up. He'd hope he'd have heard about it if it had, for that matter.

Lancelot screws up his face in exaggerated thought, as if struggling to remember this alleged watching of his back.

"You might be right..." he offers, squinting thoughtfully before taking another sip of his coffee. He grins at Faolan, shrugs after a moment helplessly. Faolan knows he doesn't mean anything by it, he just can't help himself. "So, we still waiting on someone?"

Faolan nods slightly, slipping a hand in his pocket and checking his phone. "Yeah," he says, "She said she'd be here. I hadn't heard that her plans had changed, but she's got my number. We can wait for a little longer." Take a few more moments away from work, before they throw themselves into potential danger.

He glances back up at Lancelot. "Unless you're wanting to get rid of me? And here I was, believing that you'd missed me."

"I can wait, I've nowhere else to be."

He reaches out and smacks the back of a hand against Faolan's arm, fond smile still quirking at his lips.

"And I have missed you. Nobody else appreciates my jokes as much as you do, for one thing."

For a given value of 'appreciates', and perhaps a given value of 'jokes' for that matter.

Faolan huffs out something of a laugh at being smacked by the other man, reaching to pick up his coffee again as he does. "Ah. I see how it really is," he says, smirking slightly as he raises the cup to take another sip, moving to sit back in his chair as he does.

He glances around, but it's a cafe. He can't exactly talk about his assignment. He shouldn't start talking about what they're going to be investigating, not without Ringer. Which means he's not sure what else to say, really. "Has it really been quiet, work?" he asks at last. Trying to ask as delicately as he can. They really shouldn't be discussing work so openly in public, but he's been missing it, truth be told.

"As quiet as it gets. You know about the Lambeth business already, of course, thats still leaving ripples. You know about my poor attempts to avoid being hit on by school children and strangers."

He lofts an eyebrow, shrugs finally.

"Don't worry about me, I can handle myself most of the time. That, and I've been saving up all the troublesome things for when you get back. Wouldn't want you to miss out."

Ringer moves quickly through the streets, her punctuality robbed from her through no fault of her own. The girl hates being late, unbuttoning her black coat as her other hand reaches out to pull the cafe's door open. Her eyes immediately scan the fairly scarce crowd, finding Faolan without difficulty and moving forward. Halfway there, she notices the man with him and nearly halts in her tracks.

After a split second hesitation, she continues as if there's no problem at all. Ringer gracefully drops her short peacoat onto the back of the free chair and takes a seat, folding her hands in her lap. She's always reserved. Only someone who knows her as well as Faolan might would actually recognize the abnormal tension and tightness to her lips.

"Which clan are you doing this for?" She asks evenly, regarding Faolan and keeping Lancelot in her peripheral vision for now.

Faolan nods. He does know about Lambeth, as well as the rest of it, since Lancelot had texted him about it as it had progressed. He laughs slightly at the last bit, however. "Now that I believe," he admits, and is about to elaborate when he spots her from across the cafe. And he does know her well enough to spot that hesitation. To spot the tension in her as she drops down in the extra chair, and drops her question as well.

Faolan raises his eyebrows at her slightly. As far as he knows, she doesn't know about the Night Council Guardian role. As far as he knows, no one knows about the Guardian role. Which either means she's figured it out, or it means... He turns to throw a sideways glance at Lancelot, a question in his eyes before looking back at her. Giving her a look as well. He's the Hillingdon Clan Leader. Who else does she expect him to be doing this for?

"Last time I checked, I was still a member of Hillingdon," he says, dryly, eyebrows still raised. "Is there a problem?"

Lancelot blinks in surprise at the sight of Ringer, at the exchange she shares with Faolan, and although he can't be sure of it he has an idea what the problem might be.

"Good to see you again too," he offers lightly, and quirks a smile at her. Well, still, he supposes he should offer a real answer. After all, as much as she directs her question at Faolan he suspects an answer from him might help too. Lifting his hands up in a mock surrender he sighs. "I'm not here officially. If the fact that I'm here at all is a problem I'm happy to leave, actually. I'm just... here because I'm familiar with the problem at hand."

A delicate turn of phrase, but... well, he's attempting for subtlety given that they are technically still in a public place.

"I don't trust the Night Council," she says plainly, quietly. Her gaze is on Faolan as she says it, then passes to Lancelot to include him in the conversation as well. It's not her intention to be rude, even as she knows she lacks a great amount of tact. She's oblivious to Faolan's affiliation with the clan and speaks only of knowing Lancelot's.

Ringer's lips press together, pursed in thought. She has questions about Lancelot's loyalty and what makes him qualified, but both those - and the rest - can wait until she receives one or both of their responses to her statement. It's the more important topic. And while her distrust and borderline hatred of the Night Council isn't enough for her to abandon the children they need to rescue, she needs to know who of them will have her back and who will stab her in it.

Her gaze shifts back to Faolan.

Faolan flicks his eyes to Lancelot, then back to Ringer as he weighs his options. How to respond to her. What decision to make here. She doesn't trust the Night Council, she says.

"I haven't asked the Night Council here," he says, looking at her straight, although well aware that the other man can hear everything he's saying too. "I have asked Lancelot. A man who I would trust with my life, I think. And suppose that I have, in some ways." He shrugs slightly. "I won't ask you to do the same, not if you don't think you can. But trust me, if nothing else. And my decisions."

He glances aside at Lancelot again, before sitting back in his seat to address the pair of them. "There are reasons I've called you both in on the matter, after all. Although they're perhaps best discussed elsewhere. If you're still willing to help, that is." He raises his eyebrows at them, asking the question without quite posing it.

Lancelot lets out a heavy sigh and shrugs, sipping his coffee nonchalantly.

"I'm happy to stay and help, or I'll leave if I'm in the way. Honestly, you can trust me or not trust me -- I'm not expecting this to end with hugging. I'd just like to help. Unofficially. No badge, no backup, just... me irritating him by being stronger and, hopefully, getting to the bottom of all this."

He lofts an eyebrow at Ringer, shoots a small smile sideways at Faolan before leaning back in his chair to wait for her decide.

"I think Unstoppable is on E4 tonight. I could watch that instead."

Ringer's expression remains tight and cold as Faolan addresses her concerns. She has no intention of bailing on the mission, both because she doesn't believe in abandoning children and because leaving evil unchecked is worse than being around it at times. Her gaze slides over to Lancelot as he chimes in, her brows creasing as he seems to put a stupid movie and saving peoples' lives on equal scale. Spoken like a true member of the Night Council.

"I'll help," she states firmly, looking to Faolan again. Ringer has no need to reiterate how she has no intention of trusting Lancelot at any point or that he sounds like an asshole. It's clear the two of them have a closer relationship than she was aware of and, while it makes her question her trust in Faolan, she knows she has no potential to change his mind right now.

Faolan gets the feeling, from the expression on Ringer's face, that she doesn't exactly appreciate Lancelot's brand of humor. But he's not about to play peacemaker here, that's not what he'd called them there for. They're all adults, more or less, and whatever happened between the pair of them, he's sure that they can put it behind them for the sake of the task at hand.

"Good," he says, glancing between the pair of them once more. "We should find somewhere better than this to talk. Compare notes. I shouldn't have any more coffee than I already have. If you're both ready?" He pushes his chair back and makes to stand. Really, he could have another coffee, but money is always tight and he probably shouldn't, especially if he wants to get one later in the day. He's got enough of this one to nurse for a while yet, anyway.

His expression changes at that, brow furrowing into something more serious as he nods quickly.

"Of course. Do you have a place in mind?"

He's pushing up from his chair already, dark eyes searching Faolan before flitting to Ringer.

"Do you want something to take with you?"

Because, regardless of how she might feel about him, Lancelot is just going to carry on regardless. He'd buy her a drink even if she was abjectly stating she couldn't stand the sight of him.

Ringer waits a beat for the two men to stand before following suit, sliding from her chair and taking her coat from its back. She slides the jacket back into place and tucks her chair in. Irritated and uncomfortable as she is, it's easy to default into an even-tempered state.

"I'm fine," she declines with a small shake of her head to Lancelot. If she's going to make the choice to willingly be around him, there's no reason not to be polite. If they're going to work together, however, she'll need to actually trust him or to leave him behind. But that's something she has time to figure out.

Moving outside the cafe, she silently echoes Lancelot's question as to where it is they're meant to be talking and glances to Faolan. Then her gaze is on the stranger again, watching him with vague both curiosity and distrust.

Faolan wonders not for the first time how the pair of them met, how they knew each other before, to be getting such a reaction from each other now. Especially from Ringer about Lancelot, who is one of the most mild-mannered people he knows. Is it because of the faction alone? He knows that Lancelot's sense of humor is rather different than some, had he offended her in some way before? He doesn't seem to be very apologetic about it if he does, though, and one would think he would be, if that were truly the case.

He sighs softly and decides to put it all behind them. For now at least. He glances between the pair of them. "There's Hillingdon," he says, "but it's hardly wise for me to be bringing you there." He glances at Lancelot apologetically. There are probably rooms back at the office as well, but he's not supposed to be seen near the building for now. So that rules that out as well. He could invite them back to his flat, but. No. Out of the question. Can't very well volunteer either of theirs for them either.

"We just need to find somewhere quiet. Less people. Keep them from overhearing." He glances between the pair of them. "Any ideas?"

He squints up at the sky to gauge the weather, but although it's cold it isn't raining for now -- doesn't seem like it will any time soon.

"Park?" he offers, "we can keep walking that way while we talk, or just walk until we find an empty spot. Everywhere indoors will be full of people shopping, resting from shopping or hiding from the cold."

Which, in Lancelot's opinion, is a fairly sensible idea. Still, though, Lancelot can't really think of anywhere warm and comfortable that's nearby and suitable for this kind of talk.

Ringer knows what he's getting at. She doesn't live too far and her flat can more than accommodate the three of them for a nice chat over tea. Like hell she's going to offer to let Lancelot know where she lives though. Not for the first time, she considers the merits of renting out a second place for meetings and to deal with injured and ridiculous people. For now, it was irrelevant.

"We can try requesting a conference room at the library. Otherwise a park is the best option," she quasi agrees with a light shrug. Ringer pulls some gloves from her jacket and slides them on before returning her hands to the warmth of her pockets. Less cold would be nice, but she prefers the discomfort to that of the Night Council knowing her address.

Faolan doesn't know how many eyes there might be at the library, he doesn't know who might be there and who might see him in the presence of someone from Hillingdon and someone from the Night Council. Of course, there's no guarantee at a park either, but it's going to be sparser since it's cold out, and the majority of people will be sticking to more reasonable venues, as Lancelot says. "Park is good," he says, before nodding in the direction of the nearest one and heading in that direction.

Once he's sure that they're more than a little ways off the beaten path, although they have not reached their destination, he slows, glancing to the side at both of them before speaking up once more. "They're taking children." He knows that he's said this before, but it's good to stress the fact that this is what they're working towards. "Across the border and into the Other Realm. Stealing them away." He glances to Lancelot, knowing that has to mean something to the other man. "The bounty is on the fae himself, but. I think I speak for everyone when I say that getting them back, if such a thing is possible, is a top priority as well."

"I used to know a witch who could force fae doors closed, I haven't heard from her in a while though."

He sips the remnants of his slowly cooling coffee, thinking as he walks.

"Halloween -- Samhain, if you will -- is the easiest time for Fae to come through. The further we are away from that the stronger the divide between this realm and the next comes. If this fae is opening the doors himself to take children through then they're a court fae, not an outcast. Outcast fae no longer have that power."

Ringer acquiesces to the decision easily, walking along beside Faolan - Lancelot on the man's other side - and keeping her eyes mostly to the path in front of them. She walks silently, waiting for Faolan to finally get to it and then listening intently. The only thing she's more protective of than human life is innocence and the idea of the fae kidnapping kids enrages her to an icy cold degree. Lancelot's information is helpful and she listens as closely to it as to Faolan, thinking.

"We get them back," she cuts into a pause in the conversation finally, speaking as if it's an inarguable fact. As far as she's concerned, it doesn't matter if the kids are dead, wrong, or something else. The trio need to bring them back or what's the point? It's probably the most emotional Faolan has ever heard her, even though it's barely above normal volume.

Faolan glances aside at Ringer. "We'll do what we can," he says. If it comes down to a choice between one of the two at his side or one of these unknown, missing children, Faolan knows who he will choose. Maybe that makes him hard. If it keeps his people safe, then he doesn't particularly care one way or the other.

He looks to Lancelot now. "What does this gain us, this knowledge? That they are court fae? Whatever they might have been, they have obviously gone rogue. Do you think that either court would work with us, if the matter was brought before them?" Somehow, he doubts it, but he might as well ask. Better to cover any and all bases that they can.

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5a1a1a1a1b.

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Sorry, never got the notif that you tagged. :|

no problem! c:

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