undergrounds | HOUNSLOW TERRITORY CLAIM

He shrugs loosely. "Just taking a look around," he says. "It's not every day your organization doubles its footprint."

Organization. Just a house full of hunters and a safe haven for everyone that isn't a vampire. Arthur wonders how Natasha feels about them, knowing what they are, especially seeing as she's not with Islington. He makes a point of only hunting vampires that have already killed indiscriminately, but it's not like he can say for sure the rest of Hillingdon's hunters follow the same moral compass.

"I imagine," Natasha says neutrally. "It's a bold move."

Nothing personal. She puts on a professional face, keeping whatever her feelings are on the exchange to herself. For the time being, she'd handle this the way he's always handled work; rational, precise, level headed.

Arthur, she hopes, will be the kind of person to appreciate that.

"It's a good strategy."

"I think so," he replies easily. He was the one who advised Faolan that it was a good idea, after all, and he wouldn't have done that without thinking it over. Like she said, it's a bold move. He continues cautiously.

"I would, however, be interested to know how someone on the Redbright side of things feels about it."

She hesitates, but there's a very real reason to answer his question. They're working together, and if she's any judge then it's asked in good faith. Natasha is on this team, and they're working together.

"I think it sends a strong message, and it's a good time for that. I think it'll make people think twice before they side with Islington, and right now that's important. It's a good move for Hillingdon—it's a big get, and even bigger when you figure you got it without a fight or making any new enemies." She figures Harris wasn't going to be on their good side anyway. She meets his eyes, tilting her head a little. "Hard not to worry a little that Redbright is taking one hand off the wheel, but sometimes that's the price you pay."

Arthur thinks over what she says for a moment but his expression remains frustratingly neutral.

"It's only one borough," he finally says, "and Hillingdon has the manpower to keep it. Maybe it's better for you to have a smaller focus, have to cover less ground, especially if Islington makes a dumb move like attacking you."

Natasha can respect that neutrality. It's a professional sort of presentation that's very different from their previous interactions, but suits the situation. Hopefully a sign he won't take any disagreement personally.

"It is," she admits. "But a sharp departure from politics as they've been since I arrived. It'll be interesting to see how they settle."

Redbright can technically tell Faolan to do whatever she wants him to, Arthur thinks to himself, but he keeps that thought private since he doesn't want to reveal just how uncomfortable he still is with that arrangement. He trusts Faolan to do right by the clan, but Arthur has no idea the extent to which he's controlled by his oath as a Guardian. But he digresses.

"This world is always interesting," he says, cracking a genuine smile in her direction. "Honestly, that's part of why I like this so much. Before, when we weren't making any moves, it felt like we were just on the outside looking in. This just shows that we're involved, we can affect things."

"I don't think you're alone in feeling that way," she says. Maybe not from Hillingdon, but she's heard it before. The werewolves she's known in particular seem to chafe at their power too influence what was happening.

Up until Alex killed Millicent, at least.

"Mind if I ask how you'd like to affect things?"

Arthur raises his eyebrow a touch, just hinting at how bold he thinks that question is. His conversations with Faolan have always been behind locked doors, as if they were planning to stage a revolution, but their ideas have never been as extreme as all that.

"We just want to make London safer, for everyone," he finally says after a beat of hesitation. "The best way to do that changes all the time."

Sometimes seeing how people respond to a question is more useful than the actual answer. Natasha hardly expected details, or that he'd open up to her. She notes his hesitation, the fact that he does have goals, and nods noncommittally.

"You're right about that." A beat herself and she adds, "It's a good goal."

"Thanks," he says dryly. In theory, making London safer is objectively a good goal, but in practice it's as messy and ugly as any other political campaign. Everyone has a different opinion on how it should be done. He decides to change the subject quickly.

"So, how long have you been working for the school?"

"Since spring," she tells him, letting the subject move on easily. "When I got to London, I knew I couldn't join the local nest. That was what I was getting away from. On the other hand, there weren't a lot of places that would take in someone like me."

She shrugs as though it could be that simple. It was a pragmatic decision. It also skirted a lot of the details. "I had to be somewhere. Redbright was more welcoming than I could expect."

"Mm, she does like to take in those that don't... fit," he says, his tone a bit cautious, but still implying that it's a power play. It's always a power play with Redbright; he kind of admires her that way. Not too much, though.

"You like it? Working for her?"

Natasha isn't naive. She doesn't have illusions about Sylvia herself. She appreciates the principle behind the school, in its way. Her decision to join was mostly pragmatic, though.

And her answer doesn't sugarcoat that, though it might sidestep the heart of the question.

"I like it better than I'd have liked Islington," she says. "And it really beats a stake through the the hard. Don't think I'd care for that much at all."

Arthur gives her a wry smile. "I don't think anyone would appreciate that, vampire or otherwise."

It's not his preferred method anyway. Far too up close and personal. That's what the wooden bullets in his pistol are for.

"Anyway, it's a good thing you didn't join Islington, especially now. And I think this," he gestures around, indicating that he's talking about the Hillingdon hand-off, "will help. We know what we're doing when it comes to vampires."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"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."

HOUNSLOW TERRITORY CLAIM

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