undergrounds | HOUNSLOW TERRITORY CLAIM

Potential growth? There are a lot of ways for that to happen, and Arthur's mind runs through at least ten of them before he speaks. If Faolan's considering it that must mean he thinks they could get away with it too, and Arthur's well aware of how cautious Faolan is when it comes to politics.

"I'm listening."

"I'm sure you do." At least insofar as it came to killing them. Natasha has a fair amount of experience with that as well. If she sounds a little unconvinced, it's not just because of discomfort with the prospect of putting targets on the backs of her own kind, though; when it comes to politics, she's less convinced they know what they're doing.

She's starting to wonder if anyone here does.

That thought is probably unfair and she sighs as she shrugs it off. "It'll do something, at least. Hopefully a show of power will be enough to forestall more action."

Daryl fell silent in that way he did, following along and nodding or grunting when she made a comment about something or other. He'd remember it fine even if he didn't give much weight to all of it right then and there.

After a while, though, he got real curious and eventually asked, "You live around here?" Tried to make it sound casual and off-handed.

Daryl stood thinking about that before nodding. Sucked in a deep breath. "You willin' to do that?" He was asking more than just if Faolan was willing to reach out for the Clan. He was asking if Faolan was willing to stand up to the woman who controlled the council he'd sworn allegiance to. Was he willing to put that on the line. Was he willing to put Hillingdon first and follow through with it.

His attempt to sound casual might have failed, but it does get a smile out of Natasha. The fact he tried, even if it doesn't come off as easily as he might have intended, is worth plenty on its own.

"Depends on what you mean by around here," she says, gently teasing. "Not too far. Why? Did you want to go back to my place?"

"Or force it out in the open," Arthur says coolly. "I don't know about you but I just want to see all of this done with, even if it means a little chaos for a moment."

"I can't say I'm a big fan of chaos," Natasha says with the ring of regret and irony in her voice that speaks to experience. "It's predictably difficult to control the outcome when you let things get to that point."

Daryl went completely still. That wasn't the direction he'd been going with his thoughts. It was certainly a safe assumption for most people to make. He really shouldn't have been surprised she'd gone that way with it. But it took him a moment to process the question and the way she'd said it. Was she joking or was she serious? And if she was serious, what was she trying to imply with that tone? It was friendly, right? Maybe it was because he'd offered to let her stay at his place. Maybe it was a return on that favor.

Okay, that made sense.

He tried to cover his stillness by forcing himself to move a second later and suck down the rest of his coffee. Ended up coughing a little as he crumpled the cup and found a basket to toss it into. He gave a small shrug to try and play off the nervousness he was sure was obvious to her at that point, "Could walk you home if you want." It wasn't a yes or a no, but it left it open to her inviting him back if she decided she wanted to.

"You could, if you wanted," Natasha says, shaking her head a little. "After we finish our rounds at least. We still have a lot of ground to cover though. We can figure out how we want to handle that then."

She gives him an amused look, the earlier awkwardness passing as she remembers his skittishness&mdsdh;that, and the way he's been her friend so far.

"I mean, you could have come by before if I knew you were interested."

He looked like he wanted to answer her, but as soon as the words 'wasn't interested' had formed in his head he knew it would be suicide to say them. Or, maybe not suicide, but definitely rude. But saying he was interested might sound like he wanted something more physical from her than what they had. Which he wasn't really after, though he guessed he wouldn't be opposed to. Hell, he didn't know.

He needed a safer way of saying it.

"Figured you woulda, know you, invited me." His tone wasn't accusatory. Just awkward. "I mean, if you wanted me to come over."

"I don't think it ever really came up." She glances over at him, watching his expression briefly for a moment, then drifts just a little closer. Her elbow bumps his lightly; from another person, it would be easy to mistake the brief touch as accidental. "Don't worry about it too much."

"No, I don't like it either," he says, to reassure her that he's not interested in all-out war. He doesn't want that, and most times he prefers to be able to plan and execute and have no surprises at all.

"Still, if it comes down to it, I'm pretty confident in my ability to improvise, and even I can admit that's what it takes sometimes."

He glances at the other man, more than slightly uncertain with himself, having to explain it when asked so bluntly. It's good to talk about it here and now though, he knows. Sylvia will undoubtedly ask the same sorts of questions, and she won't be nearly as understanding as Lancelot of his fumbling response.

"Hillingdon is running out of space," he says, simply. "The more the demand for hunters, the more hunters there are. The more hunters, the more need for territory we have. Especially in such a time as this -- Hillingdon can stand up against the vampires. But we can't do that hiding away in our little corner of the city. We aren't looking for an alliance, we aren't looking to step into politics exactly. We're just looking... To be taken seriously, I suppose. The way we should be. The way everyone else is."

Daryl glanced over at her at the bump, lips pressing tightly together. He let his eyes meet hers before nodding slowly, "Okay."

Then he fought a smile and lightly elbowed her in return, "Wouldn't mind it if you wanted me to."

Running out of space? Lancelot considers what Faolan says seriously a moment, turning over the thoughts and feeding himself as he considers it.

"You're contradicting yourself," he says finally, carefully. "You can't claim to be staying out of politics and also ask to be taken seriously as a faction. That's a political statement. Hillingdon has stayed out of things before, even if... the move seems small in the grander scheme of things, it would be significant because it has not been done before. I would... not lean on that. Sylvia will want something from you. If you want her to give up territory you can't let her think she's arming a potential threat."

"I wish I had your confidence." It might be pessimism that brings down her faith, and it might be experience. After what happened with Alex, it's hard for her to move forward boldly with this.

That was only the most recent.

The thing was, she was sure that whatever the chaos, she would probably be able to get through it herself, even turn it to her advantage. But she has priorities outside of herself right now.

"But either way... we're in a better position to handle it than we were."

Good. That seems like a good foot to be on. Natasha can work with that.

She flashes a smile in response. She plays, but she doesn't have any intentions on him. While she doesn't intend to take it beyond the occasional flirtations, she also doesn't intend to stop.

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Mm," he says in response. There's not much more to say about it, other than what he's been over with Faolan, and that isn't for anyone outside Hillingdon. It's barely for anyone inside Hillingdon. So, it's time to change the subject.

"Do you want to get coffee later?"

Smooth.

Very smooth. One of Natasha's brows twitches higher briefly, but she can't really protest. She doesn't know that there's much else to say on the subject. Not that either of them is going to volunteer, at least. Not that she doesn't worry might make their relationship, whatever that is, more difficult.

So she lets him change the topic.

"I could get some coffee. Before sunrise?"

"Any time between sunset and sunrise is fine by me," he says, all nonchalant and pleased with himself. "I haven't let myself get into a regular sleep schedule for years."

That much is true. You have to be able to get the rest you need when you need it and be awake when you need to be awake in his line of work. There isn't much of a schedule to it.

"Me either," Natasha says with self-deprecating humor. There's no sting in the words. At this point, she doesn't think there's a need for it. She can laugh at herself.

"You know, I could give you my number. Once we have the time, we can hook up for that coffee."

Arthur raises his eyebrows like he's thinking this idea over, even though he's obviously going to say yes. He can't even imagine in what world he would say no to this.

"That sounds good, for the beginning of a plan."

"And how does this plan end?" She drawls, teasing out the implication. They've had enough interruptions and derailing. Eventually, her luck had to change.

Faolan frowns slightly, shaking his head as he does. "I suppose what I mean to say is that we are not looking to form an alliance with Redbright, nor are we looking to form an alliance against her. As far as what we can promise..."

They've spoken about that somewhat, back at Hillingdon, he and Arthur, he and Daryl, before he had come to Lancelot. "We're a faction of hunters," he says. "There are vampires running rampant across the city. I'm sure that there is something we have that Redbright might be willing to trade for..."

"You know what she'll want," he counters, as gently as he can. "If you won't be an ally for her she'll want you to ally against something she doesn't like. At the moment, that's Islington. You can't have something for nothing, but..."

Lancelot hesitates, tilts his head slightly as he thinks.

"You could try and force the terms to be temporary. Make it about Harris specifically, if you wanted, since I doubt he'll survive in this climate. Or... make it less about who you're allying against and more about protecting her students, since you're edging into their territory."

HOUNSLOW TERRITORY CLAIM

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