The Roof

[Jess]

Suddenly it seemed as if everyone had either gone off with Cole on whatever thrilling adventure that group was currently engaged in, or they had wandered up to the roof. Not that Jess had anything against that, it was nice as she had said before, to be surrounded by those she loved and cared for even if they weren’t actually talking to her. Their very presence was soothing enough for her, to know they were there and to catch their scent whenever the wind blew it along in her direction, along with snatches of their voices as they went about their own conversation.

On that point at least then, she and Annelise would have to silently disagree, if only because of the part of Jess that constantly needed the male fighter, who felt as though things were always just the tinniest bit incomplete when he wasn’t around. She would never dream of voicing such a view of course, and it was a little doubtful if Jess was truly aware of the feeling beyond the odd sensation that things were not… whole. “Who needs fancy entertainment, when you have this?” Jess added, agreeing whole heartedly with Annelise’s comment.

[Dylan]

As Rosie came to join him against the ledge, all but standing in front of him, between his legs, he feigned a look of dissatisfaction at her hair-ruffling before allowing himself a casual laugh, content as they came. It had been a while since he had come up to the roof, and now that he was up here, he was starting to wonder what had been keeping him away. On a clear night like this one, the views were breathtaking, likely the best in the city, or among them at the very least.

“Ah, now you’ve jinxed it,” he told Rosie, almost with a lightly scolding tone, clucking his tongue with a roll of his eyes. “Don’t you know anything? You’re not supposed to say stuff like that. Now, somethin’ crazy’s gonna happen, and we’ll all know who to blame.” That wasn’t true, of course; if anything crazy happened, then there wasn’t necessarily going to be anyone to blame, but how could he pass up the opportunity to tease Rosie? She was practically asking for it.

So long as she didn’t push him off the roof…

[Rosaline]

Of course she wouldn't push him off the roof! That would've been mean.

Not that Dylan didn't deserve it, on occasion. Instead, Rosaline removed her hand from his blonde hair and gave him a smack on the leg. "Smart ass," she rumbled. "It's only a jinx if you say, 'what could possibly go wrong?'. That's the big jinx."

The female looked to her other companions for support. Sure, Dylan did like to torment her, but at least Rory and Lily would have her back. Hopefully.

[Annelise]

Annelise would have to make sure she found someone who had gone along with the group and ask for the details of what had happened. She knew that they would all find out, perhaps sooner rather than later, but when she didn’t go along on such things, she liked to get the details from another fighter’s point of view. She liked to keep track of what happened. It was the curse of her curiosity. Still, she didn’t regret not going. There were likely more than enough fighters along for the task and it just would have put her in a bad mood if there ended up being nothing for her to do in the end.

There was nothing wrong with disagreements, especially when they were over something as simple as whether or not a scene was complete. For Annelise, it was as complete as it would ever be, even if others joined them or some wandered away. For Jess, it wasn’t unless Kate was there. It was all a simple matter of perspective and the world would have been rather boring if they all saw things exactly the same way.

“Certainly not me. It’s times like this that make televisions, video games and computers seem overrated.”

[Lily]

Lily knew better than to go too near to the edge of the roof mostly because Steven, no doubt knowing her extremely clumsy tendencies, had told her never to go too near the edge of the roof. She thought that was probably safe among the older pack members though, so she wasn't too worried, she was confident in their ability to grab her should she stumble off the edge. Not that she particularly fancied the idea of actually falling, mind you.

Smiling happily to everyone, she walked up beside Rory, happily linking her arm with his. Being around other members of the pack always made her feel happy and somewhat secure and comfortable, almost as if nothing bad would happen to her when she was around them. For a while she didn't think that she'd be able to get the feeling of happiness you get from being around family - not after she realised she couldn't go back home - but she was glad to have been proved wrong by everyone here, who had looked after her during probably her most needy hours after she was first brought to the Hyperion, just like any family would do. Lily knew she was blessed, and loved the pack more than she could ever really tell them.

Still clinging to Rory's arm, she looked back up at the moon, momentarily spellbound by it; she felt more than a little sad that, at least for a while yet, she wouldn't be able to look up at the moon when it's full but it would happen one day. Then, tilting her head a little Lily, following her own bizarre train of thought as usual, said, "I wonder if there really is a man on the moon."

[Jess]

If she found out, then she would find out and if not, that would be okay as well. Jess trusted that the fighters would be fully capable to take care of whatever threat was impeding on the peaceful existence she was lucky enough to enjoy. It was doubtful that something would happen that would need her involvement and as selfish as it might sound, Jess was happy for that to remain the case. Far better for those capable of protecting them, such as her friend Annelise to get the information they needed and for life to just carry on. All Jess really wanted was life to carry on quietly, in a similar way to how it was now, when things were good.

Jess agreed with Annelise there, although that didn’t mean that she looked down on those types of entertainment or the people who preferred them. Just because she personally, was really bad at such games didn’t make the games themselves bad and the dark haired wolf had just as much respect for people within the pack who liked to spend their free time in that way, than she did for those who sought out the simpler methods. Some of the things people could do with those games, the amazing activities they could play out and the apparently unstoppable villains they could defeat made Jess gasp a little whenever she watched them play. Given a controller herself, she had no doubt she would walk her character right off a cliff by accident – even if there were no cliff’s in the game.

[Dylan]

“Well you just said that,” Dylan pointed out almost lazily, tossing Rosie a grin before following Lily’s gaze and train of thought skyward, unable to help himself when he gave a small chuckle of good-natured, light-hearted amusement. There were those in the pack who just made the little things more enjoyable by their presence alone, and while Dylan often came across as a tough, combat-driven male wolf, he enjoyed his downtime just as much as anyone else, and sometimes there was nothing better than sitting around with the younger members of the pack and listening to their animated, entertaining conversations as they jumped back and forth.

“If there is,” he said, in response to the youngest blonde female amongst them, “then I hope there’s a woman up there too, or another man. Otherwise, he’s one heck of a lonely man on the moon, which is just sad.”

[Rory]

Dylan beat him too it, from pointing out that just saying what the worst thing you could say to jinx yourself still counted as a jinx. They were tricky things that way. Just when you thought you had worked out all the pitfalls and ways to avoid them, they would crop back up again. If something amazingly crazy did happen then it would be all their faults, because Rory was sure that most of them had thought about a jinx – and jinxes were telepathic. Even from wherever they came from, no matter how far away it might be they could pick up the vibe and rush to justify the thought.

Smiling back at Lily, he made sure to keep his arm firmly linked with hers. It made Rory feel all warm and important to think that she was trusting to him to help keep her safe from falling off the roof and the youthful werewolf was determined to do his part to help. That and he just liked it when any of his family were close to him, in any sort of way. They both had the moon hanging above them as something to reach for, a desire to see it full to propel them onwards. It wouldn’t really be that long before they could control their wolf, not in the terms of their long life span but there were times when it felt as far away as the moon actually was.

Always eager to be a part of any conversation, Rory chirped in with his own view on the living situation of the man on the moon; “I’m sure there is someone else up there with him, it would be too cruel for him to be alone. He’s a smart guy; I bet he figured out a way to get a friend up there.”

[Annelise]

One of the reasons Annelise did what she did was so that those like Jess- those who wanted nothing to do with what she and the other fighters did- could continue on with their lives the way they wanted to. That and she had always wanted to be a fighter. She had always felt the need to be out there, in the fight, protecting her friends and her pack and doing whatever she could to make sure they could keep going about their lives without having to worry about dealing with the things the fighters did. Perhaps she was selfish in it, though, because she wanted to be right out there where the action was. It was rush.

Annelise had absolutely no problem with television, movies or video games. She had been known to indulge in them herself from time to time when she was bored and there was simply nothing else she wanted to do. She wasn’t nearly as good at video games as some of those in the pack were and she knew she never would be, but she could usually go for a little while without whatever character she was controlling ending up dead. By the time they were finished playing, though, she was usually dead in game and simply watching.

[Dylan]

POST TIMESKIP.


Life had quieted and for that, Dylan was grateful. AS a fighter, he was no stranger to action and it was true that so often he craved it, felt that itch common to all pack protectors, but sometimes it just became too much. Everyone needed a break. Even fighters. Since the chaotic evening of only a number of weeks ago, such a short space of time for any lycanthrope, the pack had settled again. It felt strange to have two of their own gone but in a way, things had balanced again. Such was the way of pack; members left and members joined. True, the two males and the young female -- very young; so many were genuinely shocked by the age of the little girl and the fact that she was bitten, not born, and therefore already a wolf -- had not accepted the offers of membership in so many words, but Dylan believed they would. Perhaps he was a little biased. It was entirely possible that one of the males, at least, Flynn, would decline the offer in order to keep his job full time, something that would be a little difficult as pack wolf. Nerys' job at the museum was different, she didn't work constantly or to a strict, concrete schedule. But then, perhaps Cole and Marion, even Nate, could pull some strings.

Putting the matters out of his mind and allowing himself a long and full yawn, Dylan turned his head from the stars above to scan over the city from his vantage point, skewed as it was while he lay on his side on the ledge of the rooftop of The Hyperion; everything was sideways, tipped at an angle, and briefly he allowed himself a crooked smile. Werewolves had to learn how to enjoy the little things, the small changes. It could be so easy to get used to everything as a lycanthrope, grow restless and bored with the world around you. Dylan had learned a long time ago just how to appreciate the little things.

[Connor]

Rooftops had become Connor's second home in recent weeks, using them to scout out the city, to keep his attention focused on one half, the half that had the wolf who he had come to believe with more and more fervour was actually his brother. After all this time, he still wasn't sure he actually believed it, wasn't sure he could trust himself to believe it, to think that his long search might finally be at an end. And what would he do now? Dylan, if it was Dylan and he wanted so badly for it to be him, had a family already, a pack of his own. What would he want with a stranger claiming a blood connection? Connor understood the importance of pack, of the bonds that wound themselves so deeply into being apart of a pack and it was one of the many reasons why he hadn't joined another since his old one had fragmented apart. To join would mean giving up, it would mean swapping the brother he had never known for a new family, people he would give everything to protect and while Connor would be lying if he said that hadn't appealed to him, he couldn't form those kind of attachments knowing somewhere in the world was the chance he might find his brother; only to find that Dylan had done just that.

It hurt and it was stupid that it did so. From what little he had been able to gleam from his father's books, Dylan had no idea their father had even married again, let alone sired another child. Of course therefore, he would seek out a family, would join a pack and grow close to others. It still hurt as illogic as it was to do so, didn't stop that burn in his chest at the thought of his older brother having what he didn't. So Connor tried to push it out of his mind as best he could, trying instead to find proof that the wolf was who he thought he was. Once, Connor had nearly given himself away, hanging over the edge of a roof, watching a pair of patrolling fighters with eager, hungry eyes. They had mentioned a Dylan - but no last name, no way to attach the first name to any face, no matter how much he had longed to do so - and almost fallen, a sudden movement and a scrape of boot against stone. If it hadn't been the vampires appearing further down the street and distracting them, then he would have been discovered, instead of leaving once he was sure they could manage fine.

There was a Dylan within the pack. There was a wolf that looked like him, that looked like the drawing. It had to be Dylan Hall, his Dylan Hall and tonight he was alone on the rooftop, a chance that hadn't happened yet and who knew how long before it happened again. He couldn't take it any more. Patience had never been Connor's strongest suit, it had been his main failing in fact for years during his training, the main thing that had held him back from achieving the role of fighter sooner. Over time, he had managed to find some sort of inner peace, hold himself and wait for the right moment to attack, but it had been a weak hold at best and after three weeks, that hold had snapped.

Which probably explained why he had leapt off a nearby roof to catch an over hanging pipe, climbing up it with skill and grace, pulling himself from window to window and never holding onto one thing for longer than a few seconds, not wanting to alert or damage. Finally however, the top was in sight, Connor pulling himself up, eyes instantly finding the other male there.

[Dylan]

For a time Dylan didn't realise anything was wrong at all. To him, lying on his back staring up at a sky strewn with stars, nothing seemed wrong in the least, it felt natural and comfortable, easy and relaxed, and he could be alone with what few thoughts tumbled lazily through his brain. It wasn't until he heard flesh against stone, a prelude to the abrasive shift of loose stones on the rooftop itself, that the fighter knew he was no longer alone. The door to the roof hadn't opened, no footsteps had heralded an approach, and his mind snapped into alertness, pulling everything in and together, his body catching up quickly and rolling him tightly and neatly off the edge opposite the one over which the intruder had invited himself onto pack property, his eyes shifting to the menacing shade of his wolf, a growl lacing over his tongue as he set his gaze on the male. Unfamiliar, definitely not a member of the pack; a rogue at the very heart of the territory, cocky and too bold.

Dylan rose from his crouch to his full height, the growl still rolling in his chest as he stepped away from the edge off which he had rolled to his feet, striding towards the rogue with every intention of making him back away and off The Hyperion. If a rogue wanted to speak with Cole, wanted to negotiate with the pack in any way, whether it was to arrange help or request membership, they came through the front door. This rogue didn't seem to understand how things worked. "You've got five seconds to get off this roof before I make you leave," he told the other male. Dylan might not have been the biggest wolf -- in human form, at least; in his other form it was a different story, he was formidable and muscular, a tank of a creature -- but he knew how to carry himself to communicate a threat, knowledge he didn't hesitate to put into play in that moment as he held the rogue's gaze in a warning.

[Connor]

The growl while expected was still a disappointment, as if he had hoped that somehow Dylan would ‘know’ him, would instantly realise who he was. Despite not even knowing he existed. Connor never claimed to try and make sense of his own thoughts and feelings, to put logic in front of everything. All too often his passions and his emotions ruled his head, something he had been chastised and punished for, attempts to train him to be better and for a time at least, it had seemed to work, he had managed to push it aside for duty and honour. It was a mindset that Connor could go back to if he wished and tried hard enough but without the structure of a pack to support him it was next to impossible to keep his behaviour as it really should be.

Hands lifted in what might have been an attempt at a calming motion but were also submissive; trying his best to show that he wasn’t a threat. Eyes lowered, deliberately breaking the gaze between them, another attempt at showing submissiveness, although it made the wolf growl and snap inside, twisting and turning, hating that it had to make such a show for anyone. It was also hard not to be able to see Dylan, not to be able to know if danger was coming and so after a second or so eyes lifted again, careful not to meet Dylan’s gaze but still to keep the other wolf in his sights. Connor knew how utterly stupid it had been to climb up onto the roof instead of the more usual channels, instead of speaking to the Alpha first. It wasn’t an attempt at disrespect towards either Alpha, he had the utmost respect for the position, but again, his impatience, his feelings had gotten in the way of what should be.

“One minute,” Connor pleaded, not moving an inch or backing down despite his hands still held up in front of him, palms towards Dylan. “One minute talking to you Dylan, that’s all I’m asking for.” Right now at least and he needed this, needed his hopefully brother to just listen, to give him this chance.

[Dylan]

Those kinds of submissive motions could be misleading, an attempt by an enemy to lull you into a false sense of security and Dylan knew better than to fall for it straight away. This wolf had already pushed the boundaries of propriety when it came to pack by not only approaching the pack's home but inviting himself onto the very grounds the way he had, without announcing himself first. The male could have shouted up from the ground all the way down below at the back of the hotel and Dylan would have heard him or even called from another rooftop in the vicinity but he hadn't done that and in the fighter's eyes that only made him more untrustworthy. There were protocols when it came to approaching packs when you were a rogue, a wolf's instinct as much as anything else, but this unknown male had ignored all of that and just climbed up to join him as if there was no harm in that. He was lucky Dylan hadn't attacked him already.

The other wolf knew his name. Dylan froze at that, eyes waning red in the low lighting of the rooftop and narrowing in suspicion. "You know me." It wasn't a question, but what followed most certainly was, and a low, guttural one that spoke of distrust and the promise of violence if the answer wasn't one he approved of; "How?" This rogue had either spied on the pack long enough to catch names from whatever point he had used to watch them from or he had found another way to acquire information. Where? Dylan couldn't even think of that right now but it made him cautious and concerned. If this rogue could learn about them, acquire specifics like names, then what was to stop vampires or rival packs from doing the same? It was the healthy kind of paranoia a good fighter needed and one that Dylan kept a tight hold on, refusing to let go until this rogue gave him something satisfactory to explain the situation.

[Connor]

There had been plenty of other ways that Connor could have gone about it and perhaps if he had the chance over again, he would have called from the street or a rooftop next to him. Perhaps he would have simply knocked on the door and asked to be allowed to speak to Dylan. Probably not though, if he was going to be totally honest with himself, for as much as he was a solider, a fighter, his heart still ruled him far too often and his heart wasn’t patient, had a reckless, desperate streak to it. He’d needed to speak to Dylan, to finally talk to him, learn if after all this time he had finally found his brother and waiting, using the proper channels just hadn’t come into it. This wasn’t a pack matter, not to Connor at least, this was nothing to do with pack or structure or rules.

Hands remained lifted, submissive, although Connor was ready to react at a moment’s notice if he had to, to defend himself if he had too although he hoped that it wouldn’t be the case, that he wouldn’t have to fight the person he believed to be his brother. Even if this went badly south, there was no way that he was going to be able truly fight, rise a hand against the other wolf. Throat went dry at the question. How? There were so many answers, none of them good, none of them that made much sense and they were all fighting to be heard, all wanted to come out first when so many required information before. “I… I read it. You’re Dylan Hall? I’ve been looking for you, searching, not bad looking, for a long, long time.”