Did That Seem Odd To You? (Attn: Tavi, Kiyo, Evan)

Tavi had been running around like a crazy person for the past few days. She had talked to Leo and found out a few things. Not much, Leo wasn't a part of the team that was assigned to tracking Therese or the information gathering. He had told her some of the people he did know that was on among the group. She talked to them.

All of them were as quiet as little church mice. If you want to know then talk to Antoine or Vaughn.

Sigh

She finally went to Antoine. He wasn't going to tell her anything that her father didn't want her to know. At least not without some serious effort on her part. Maybe even the promise of a date.

He had let her go through the process of negotiations, bribing, threatening, flirting... only to eventually tell her that Vaughn had already told him to fill her in when she asked. Great. Just great. Antoine was going to get his date. Her father knew her better than she thought he did. And her friend was being controlled by a vampire.

Just bloody brilliant

Tavi went up the outside stairs two and a time, rang the doorbell and then bounced from one foot to the other while she waited for someone to open it.

Kiyoshi knew Tavi was expected tonight, so he opted to not run around Evan and Guillaume's (and his?) place in his jammies. Not that he was wont to do that anyway; he saved that for bedtime with Evan, if he wore them at all. Instead he was comfortable in a pair of light grey yoga-style pants with wide legs which were soft and perfect for hanging out at home. On top he had a fitted tee of dark blue with grey rings at the neck and sleeves and a grey number 42 on the chest. He had just barely changed into it after a shower which had followed a... workout. A quiet one.

Guillaume was bent over a book when Kiyo came out of Evan's rooms with Evan just behind him. He could tell someone was approaching the door from the soft noises outside so he headed over to it and answered it just as the doorbell rang.

"Hi Tavi," Kiyo said.

Tavi knew he was living here right? Mostly? He still had some things in his room at Shady Pines, just in case. Part of him was a little afraid to move everything he had here to Terminus just in case everything fell apart. He should have told her. They probably needed his room.

His face grew red as he considered the fact that he had probably inadvertently inconvenienced his friend and he felt an apology begin to form on his lips but he bit it back to save for later. Tavi had come to talk about something else with Guillaume and Evan. He wasn't entirely sure what it was, himself, but he would stay and find out unless asked to leave.

He stepped aside so that Tavi could enter, kind of sort of waiting for a hug but not exactly offering just in case it was rejected. He did like Tavi's hugs. She was always so cheerful and exuberant. As he let her in, he did his best to continually remind himself that even though this was 'home,' they still had to hide things - everything - from both Tavi and Guillaume.

"Are you hungry?" he asked Tavi. "I was just about to get something to eat."

He was the only one here who ate the same way as Tavi; Guillaume's preferences were the opposite of Kiyo's and Evan did not eat at all unless they were out in public and he was playing Lyn. So Kiyo felt comfortable in being able to provide for Tavi, and would enjoy sharing with her.

Evan followed Kiyoshi out of the bedroom, keeping his eyes on the floor instead of his companion lest a smoldering stare give him away. His thoughts were still caught up in the quick but intimate embrace after their shower. He had picked Kiyoshi up and laid him on the bed and covered him with his still steaming body. He had kissed his partner with slow loving gentleness, in contrast to the more passionate claiming that had happened before the shower. It had been difficult to stop, to force himself away from exploring every inch of his lover again. Evan had buried his face in the cool strands of his lover's long wet hair... He could still smell the fresh sharp scent of the herbal shampoo...

Forcefully derailing that train of thought was difficult; luckily Kiyoshi mentioned the door.

He looked up to find that Guillaume was seated comfortably on the sofa with his nose buried in some psychology book or another. The book was big enough to be wielded as an effective weapon and looked fairly dry (As almost all college books appeared)

For one brief moment he considered where to sit and found the situation irksome. If he could have revealed his relationship with Kiyoshi then he could claim a spot next to him. Without such familiarity it did not make sense for him to curl up next to the werewolf.

With an inward sigh, he plopped down onto the sofa, claiming the other end of it. Evan stretched his long legs out in front of him, crossed at the ankles, and laced his fingers together over his chest. He settled his head back against the cushions and then tilted his head to the side to look over at his room mate.

"So...gripping action, intense drama? Going to win a Pulitzer for best curriculum course book of the year?"

Kiyoshi went and opened the door. Evan could hear the quiet conversation with Tavi from where he sat. He tilted his head back and glanced at his lover, feeling his heart pound more quickly in his chest just looking at him, and the little werewolf girl as she entered the room.

In difference to mixed company Evan threw on a tee shirt over the black jogging pants he wore. This particular shirt was black with two stakes forming an X on the front in the background and the words '...And then Buffy Staked Edward. The End' printed in white on top of them. He didn't much care about the glittery emo vampire one way or the other but he still found the shirt amusing.

He realized that his hair and Kiyoshi's was damp. Thankfully, they both had long thick hair that took ages to dry so there was really very little way to tell if they had shower together or had simply gone one after the other.

"Good Evening, Octavia."

Guillaume just snorted at Evan's comment, finished the page dog eared it and looked up.

"I don't know about Pulitzers, but I hear they will be making it into a musical."

Blinking owlishly several times trying to clear the huge amounts of tiny text from his vision Navid noticed both Evan and Kiyo had wet hair. He didn't think much of it, other than to be glad his was short.

"You really should get a blow drier. I refuse to live with either of you if your hair starts to mildew."

It was said casually as he set the book aside and stood to greet Tavi as well, although he did let Kiyo deal with the food. Raw was not his thing.

He was also too anxious to hear if Tavi had found anything to sit any more. While he did not expect good news it couldn't be any worse than the miscarriage and breaking up the Sarkis' marriage. He was sure of that. It was more likely that she'd run into a rather unpleasant member of Evan's species and was still a bit skittish about it. This was Nachton after all.

With a faint smile at Tavi and her blue hair, which rather fascinated him, Guillaume managed some manners rather than just charging into to business at hand.

"Tavi. Please make yourself at home. Would you like some tea?"

The tea was a tradition among his mother's people and extremely strong, an acquired taste. While in Morocco it was considered rude to decline it he knew that didn't carry over into other parts of the world.

Tavi blinked at Kiyoshi for a moment or two and then smiled at him. "Hey Kiyo." So this was where he had been hiding instead of going back to the asylum. Interesting. She'd have to ask him more about that later, when she could get him alone and more likely to talk.

She hugged him, squeezing him tight briefly before letting him go. "Nice shampoo. Smells good." Tavi said as she walked past him into the room so that he could close the door.

Guillaume and Evan were both sitting on the sofa. She waved to them both and smiled at her fellow pack mate. "Hi Guillaume. Hello Evan." She wasn't sure how what she had to say was going to go over with the vampire. Would he be mad? Would he take the vampire's side? The last thought didn't really seem like Evan. Could he help? Would he if he could? Tavi wondered if any of the R'asa here would have helped Evan if a vampire friend of his was being regularly attacked by one of their own. He stuck his neck out for them a lot. She wondered what it cost him to do so. Would any of them do the same for him? She didn't know.

"Tea would be great." Tavi found a chair and sat down on the edge of it. Where she was from no business was ever done without tea, or these days possibly coffee. She looked up at Kiyoshi. "I'll have something if you are."

Turning back to Guillaume, she began without preamble. "I have some bad news about Therese."

Evan went into the living room and engaged Guillaume in conversation while Kiyo answered the door. He was happy to get his hug from Tavi, which he returned happily, squeezing the smaller woman hard and lifting her up a tiny bit before setting her back down. Nodding at Tavi he said, "Uh-huh. There's some tuna in the fridge. I'll get it."

Padding quietly into the kitchen, which was open to the living room, Kiyo's sharp ears heard everything that was said even though he wasn't right there. He heard Tavi say she had bad news about Therese and immediately felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Maybe this was something he shouldn't be listening to.

But if it was, surely he'd have been asked to give them some privacy? Of course, for Kiyo, that would mean leaving the house altogether pretty much, and going halfway down the road so as not to inadvertently hear anything. But he would have. No one had asked, though, so he assumed it was all right to remain. He would just stay quiet. All he wanted was to be close to Evan anyhow.

In the interest of polite company he took out two tuna steaks, nice thick ones, and sliced them sashimi-style, arranging them on a plate. Then he looked at the plate and considered. It was quite the mountain of fish but Kiyo's appetite was legendary. He went back to the fridge, to the one drawer he had appropriated for himself and added a steak. Then he put a few shrimp on the plate as well. And then another steak.

With a little smile, he wondered what Tavi was going to eat.

Carrying two smaller plates and two forks Kiyo returned to the living room. He handed a plate and a fork to Tavi and then set the large plate with its mountain of food on it on the low table. Then he seated himself on the floor, all the better to be closer to the food. He wanted to sit with his back to Evan but he was afraid it would be too easy to crawl backwards and snuggle up, so he sat facing Evan instead. That way he could see Guillaume too.

Helping himself to fish, steak, and shrimp, he simply sat and listened to what his friends had to say.

Evan chuckled at Guillaume. "Well that might be better received than its current format. Seems a little over the top. Couldn't they just do cliff notes? However I am all about the learning. Just don't ask me to join you."

He shrugged about the hair and the blow dryer. "It takes a long time to blow it dry. I'd sit out in the sun to air it out but...well." Evan smiled. "There would be no mildew but little else either."

Tavi joined them, sitting on the edge of the chair instead of sitting back and settling into it. This didn't seem good. He suspected as much when she wanted to come over and talk to them. She didn't know Guillaume all that well so any discussion with him was going to likely be about his cousin who she seemed to know prior to meeting at Terminus. If she wanted him there also then it likely had to do with the whole 'vampires are evil' situation. At least that was his best guess anyway.

So what did one of his kind do? There was bound to be some reason behind her behavior. It could be these memories that he had heard a bit about but she seemed pretty stressed out about it. That didn't seem like a déjà-vu moment from ages past and more like personal experience but what did he know? All his memories were his; Evan did not know what it would be like to experience knowledge and feelings that were not his own. Did it seem just as real to you as your own memories or was it like watching a movie of another person's life? So maybe he should just keep his mouth shut and wait for them to tell him why his being here was important.

Evan watched as Kiyoshi brought in a huge mound of meat piled high on a plate with several forks. He smiled at the werewolf and just shook his head. Kiyo seemed to eat enough food for the both of them. It was astonishing.

He was about to comment on it when Tavi leaned forward and got right to the point. Evan glanced at Guillaume and silently wished he could be a part of this conversation with Kiyo tucked in his arms like a very warm, very sexy, teddy bear. This being a responsible adult thing occasionally sucked.

"This is the cliff notes."

He deadpanned to Evan as Tavi and Kiyo negotiated food. It crossed Navid's mind that Kiyo didn't really need to be here, it was possible that he shouldn't be here. But he did deserve some kind of explanation as he'd been in the line of fire when Thérèse had taken exception with Evan. So he didn't say anything.

Tavi's body language was not terribly encouraging. Guillaume's jaw tightened and he nodded.

"Good news seemed unlikely."

Perhaps she should go back to Europe. The family was still in France, she would likely be safe their from all of these problems. Of course getting her to leave would have been hard enough without the added complication of a relationship. If only he knew how deeply that her connection to the Sarkis ran, if it was just something physical, something that would fizzle if they were parted it would solve so much. He was going to have to meet this man eventually.

Willing to wait for bad news Navid poured the tea. It was poured from a sliver pot from well above the glasses leaving thin layer of foam over the top and the glass was only fill perhaps only two thirds of the way. He would refill them at least twice and poured one cup for each of them.

"Now, exactly how bad?"

Tavi looked up to see Kiyoshi coming back into the room with a platter full of delicious looking meat. She hoped that she wasn't stealing his dinner but there seemed to be plenty for the both of them. Sliding out of the chair, Tavi joined him on the floor. She took a few pieces of the different kinds of meat and set them on her plate but waited before beginning to eat.

Guillaume seemed to understand the Slavic mentality or else the ritual of tea was equally important where he came from. She waited until he finished the elaborate pouring process and handed each person their glass of tea.

Once he was done, Therese's cousin then asked for the details.

She shrugged and took a sip of her tea. Tavi nodded to Guillaume, acknowledging the drink in her hand. "Very good." She then sat up a little straighter and sighed. Setting her glass back down, she said. "It is hard to give the full story because we don't know it."
"My father said that Therese came back to Shady Pines once looking as though she had been beaten up. She had told him that she fell and tripped over some pallets while at work. Some other situations caused him to believe that was a lie. He said that Therese had become overly upset whenever vampires were mentioned. He began to suspect that something was wrong and that a vampire was involved. Eventually he confronted her and asked her questions."

Tavi looked at the others to see if they were following along so far and believed what she was saying. "Dad believes that this vampire has Therese controlled. He has given her commands and the Sarkis is unsure what all those might be because Therese is unable to say. She cannot confirm or deny much of anything.

Looking at Guillaume, she said. "My father has a team of Legionnaires following her. They have checked the security tapes from the day she was attacked." She frowned and silently added, 'and lost my little half brother or sister'. "There is a man on the tapes who went in the front of the museum and came out the back. He obviously always visits at night. They did not have a good look at him on the day that Therese was attacked but they are now watching her always and reviewing the tapes daily. Anyone close to meeting a description of the man is flagged as suspicious and looked into."

"He does not think the vampire will allow her to leave." Tavi placed her hands on the coffee table and leaned closer to Guillaume. "Trust me, I believe that if he thought she could be safely moved away from this vampire's presence then he would have done so. Right now he is hoping that the man knows little of their knowledge of him but he doesn't count on it. He believes that Therese is being made to spy on her pack for them and has probably informed him of their knowledge."

It was dire news and a lot to take in. Tavi had poured it all out there in the open. They could sort out whatever details needed to be addressed after the initial shock wore off. There was not much more information she could provide. They didn't have much else since the person who knew the most could not speak of it.

"So Evan, this control thing is possible, right?" Tavi believed what Antoine had told her about what her father had concluded but it seemed sort of horror story unreal. Someone out there could actually tell you how to think, what to say, and what to do. It was frightening.

Kiyo carefully piled meat onto his own plate, after waiting for Tavi to take what she wanted. He snagged some of everything, assembling it into a little mini-mountain, then glanced furtively at Tavi to see if she seemed to be eating hungrily. She was waiting until Guillaume poured the tea. He supposed he should do the same, so he did. The scent of it was quite sharp and unpleasant to his nose; Kiyo didn't like it but he didn't want to refuse it. So he simply took his cup, thanked Guillaume, and sipped carefully at it while surreptitiously holding his breath. He took a swallow and felt his eyes start to water. He sucked down a cough, trying not to let it out.

Successful in that venture Kiyoshi set the glass down and quickly shoved a piece of tuna steak into his mouth. He chewed thoroughly and followed it with a shrimp, crunching on the shell to try and get the minty sugary taste out of his mouth.

The rest of the pile of food on his plate disappeared quickly as he listened attentively to Tavi. He didn't really understand what she was saying. Therese, controlled by a vampire? Beaten up? What did Tavi mean by command? Was Therese being blackmailed? Why wasn't she able to say?

No one else was asking questions yet so Kiyo remained quiet, feeling a bit on the dull side, which he supposed shouldn't be anything new for him. He reached out and grabbed some more meat, noting that the pile was diminishing and that Tavi hadn't really had a chance to eat yet. He tried to chew slowly, eyeballing the glass of tea with something close to fear and wishing he'd put more meat on the plate.

As he crunched through another shrimp Kiyo followed it with a gulp of tea, again holding his breath. He did it quietly, not wanting to insult Guillaume. Evan might notice the signs, since they spent so much time together but Kiyo was fairly sure he was keeping a more or less straight face. It was just so... strong. He usually stuck to water unless he was drinking something alcoholic.

Making sad eyes at the plate full of meat one last time but holding off until Tavi had a chance, Kiyo ventured a glance over to Evan and then to Tavi.

"Controlled?"

The word was very soft, hesitant, as if he were asking about something he felt he should already know. He looked back to Evan for a further explanation.

Evan thanked Guillaume for the glass of tea, waiting until everyone had a drink in hand before taking a sip. The tea was interesting and exotic tasting. The mint and green tea mixed well, smooth and mellow. The sheba leaves were sharper, adding an woodsy somewhat bitter taste to the tea that reminded him of some of the herbal remedies of childhood. He wondered what medicinal purposes it might have.

Having nothing better to do while they discussed Therese, Evan watched Kiyoshi. For some reason watching his partner eat always made him smile. Perhaps it was the enthusiastic way Kiyoshi could devour his food and then be hungry a few hours later. Perhaps it was an innocent affirmation of life. Whatever the reason, he loved it.

It did seem, to him at least, that the tea was not to Kiyo's liking. The very sensitive werewolf swallowed hard to push the tea down his throat without making a sound. He had to give Kiyoshi credit; the poor guy didn't grimace or cough, even with his eyes watering. Evan brought a hand up to his mouth to cover his smile, turning the hand palm out and leaning his elbow casually up against the arm of the sofa. No, no amusement here. Very somber.

Taking his eyes away from the food that was disappearing rapidly from the originally large pile, Evan turned his full attention to what Tavi was saying. It seemed that Therese had a very real, very present day experience with a vampire.

An Anantya.

Command was their ability and, while there were the occasional drifter and delinquent that either defected to Evenhet or decided to part ways with the clan to go solo, the chances were extremely good that it was a clan mate who was controlling Therese.

He nodded slowly in affirmative when Tavi asked her question. "Yes, Command is what its called and some vampires can do it." Evan looked around at the three werewolves in the room with him. "I can't but some of my people can." Let them sort out whether he meant vampires as his people or Anantya as his people. It was a tough position he was in. He did not want to betray a clan mate and wouldn't... Evan glanced over at Kiyoshi and realized to his surprise that he had to amend that thought. In most cases he wouldn't.

He still wanted to help them, however he could. Commanding someone to betray their family and friends was a heinous use of the ability. Disgraceful and despicable and he could not see a time or place where such a long drawn out torture would be needed so badly that one of his clan should stoop so low. They weren't all saints. They weren't even all good people. Whoever this was, was certainly neither of those things. If this vampire hadn't been a member of his clan then he would have likely helped the werewolves track him or her down.

But whoever this was, they were likely Anantya. He would confront them and give themselves to him first and then he would decide what to do after that.

Sitting up, he leaned forward and placed his forearms on his thighs, gesturing ineffectually with his hands as he tried to explain the ability. "Those with command can change the way a person thinks and behaves through the mind. They can say something like..." Evan gestured over at Guillaume, frowning in feigned concentration. "Navid, you want to stand up and do the funky chicken.""Obviously it can be a lot worse than that. Many use it to say things like. "You won't remember any of this" after they have bitten someone. Younger vampires are not capable of complicated commands. Some might need eye contact...though that is really only a psychological crutch and most grow out of it."

He sighed softly and added. "In this case, from the sounds of what you described, you are not dealing with a young vampire."

That didn't even make sense. Thérèse was a capable fighter. She had trained for years, served time in the legion she was not some one that could simply be roughed up. And she was a werewolf, they healed quickly for the injuries to still be noticeable they had been more than just a paper cut.

But it was the rest of that thought that was chilling. Controlled. By a mulo. Navid closed his eyes and took a second, willing himself to be calm. This would explain quite a lot wouldn't it, including why she tended to be home before full dark. Did they have any idea how much of her mind was her won? How much damage had she done, been forced to do by that creature.

Spirits forgive him. What had he done? This was Thérèse. She had been his rock when they were children. Stood by him when his own father had refused to Gift him. She still meant a great deal to him, even within his own family she was the one he was closest to, and yet she'd been dealing with alone.

Guillaume was sick and furious by turns. It was only his long friendship with Evan that kept him from turning on the man as the only vampire in the room and therefore as the representative of those that were hurting his family. Suddenly Navid understood Thérèse's attitude with a perfect stranger.

"How long has this been going on? Does any one have an idea? Why is she allowed out where he has access to her? Who in the legion is watching her?"

Certainly these were all questions that had been asked before and probably would be asked again. But as this was the first he had heard of it Navid needed to know the answers.

To have one's will take from them to have it bent and warped like that... She would hate it, undoubtedly she would fight it which would explain why she appeared to have beaten and or attacked on more than one occasion if he understood Tavi correctly. He turned to Evan. He must know something about this.

And he was relived not to be doing the funky chicken at that moment.

"Are you certain she cannot be just taken from him? We can see to it she is quite concealed. What would it do to her?"

Tavi nodded to Evan and listened to his explanation of this terrifying power. He claimed not to have it and she believed him. There were many times over the years that he might have had an easier go of it with the werewolves if he could just say 'you trust me' and that be the end of it. Evan either had the restraint of Gahndi or he truly had to earn their trust the hard way because it was the only option open to him.

She looked at Guillaume and shook her head. "We don't know how long this has been going on. My father believes it to be not long after she got here...perhaps even before. It is possible that he is responsible for her moving to this city." Tavi shrugged."Perhaps he even had some hand in the disappearance of the old curator so that Therese could fill the position." She had looked into the past curator to see if there was some possible hint or connection between the woman and this vampire. She did not find much. The previous head of the Arch seemed to have been a private woman. There was a small obituary stating how much the woman had given to the community, how she was a wonderful friend and a loving daughter and how much she would be missed. Tavi could find no mention of how the woman died. She had not gone so far as to sneak into hospitals to look for references or cajole employees into handing them over so she did not know if the reason for the sudden need for a curator was the result of foul play or simply misfortune. Even if the woman had been murdered there was no guarantee that Therese's attacker was responsible for it.

"Therese refused to be kept somewhere safe. The Sarkis was tempted to ignore that refusal and keep her under guard against her will if necessary, however..." Tavi smiled sadly. "Obviously he has good reasons for not wanting to alienate her. However, she made it clear that she did not want to run away from this and hide forever. Which is what she would likely need to do." She took another sip of her tea and then set the glass down again. "It is not like she can wait for him to grow old and lose interest. He's immortal. Without her here to draw him out it will be impossible to catch him and put an end to this."

Tavi looked at Evan once more. "We are assuming that death will break whatever hold he has on her. Will it?" She regarded him evenly despite talking about killing one of his kind. Hopefully he understood that she did not hold him responsible for this vampire. However, he needed to understand that they did intend on killing this monster. Tavi felt they were well within their rights to want this particular vampire dead.

She shelled a shrimp and then popped the rest of it in her mouth. Swallowing, Tavi looked up at Guillaume. "My father is...determined." Scary had been Antoine's word. The Sarkis wanted this vampire found at all costs and once he was then Vaughn would see to his death personally.

Glancing over at the platter of meat that she and Kiyoshi were sharing, Tavi noticed that more than half of it was already gone. She looked over at him and raised her eyebrows. "I see someone was hungry." Tavi smiled at him and reached out to squeeze his arm gently. It was okay. This was his dinner. She took a few more pieces of meat and another couple of the shrimp and then pushed the rest toward the other werewolf. "All yours." She smiled and then speared a piece of meat. Chewing on it thoughtfully.

"Oh, as to who is watching her, Antoine and a small task force that he has put aside to watch her around the clock. There is even someone assigned to living quarters at home next to her's so that she has someone near her even there." Tavi began shelling another shrimp. "There is another team looking into security footage and then researching the likely matches."

Holding up her shrimp she added, "All we know is he is around 5'6" in height, dark haired, medium skin tone, perhaps a well tanned Caucasian or Middle Eastern or Asian. He was wearing a well tailored suit but then so do a lot of people while visiting the Arch."

((OOC: I assume Morrigan would have put an obituary in the paper for Chryseis like the good little Elder of the Rose she is. No loose ends, even after death. ))

Kiyo's eyes grew wide in disbelief as Evan described the ability to control someone's actions and behavior. In response to this frightening knowledge, he ate faster. He said nothing on the topic however; this matter was surely not really meant for his ears. He just did his best to follow along. In spite of his bad (albeit short) history with Therese he felt some sympathy for her. He was pretty sure it had nothing to do with her dislike of him but that didn't mean she deserved to be controlled against her will by someone.

Kiyo did feel worry for Evan, though. He let his senses open wide, wider, as wide as they could, tuning in to his snapshot of the future as well, the protective little part of him that kept tabs on Evan. There was danger present, in the form of Guillaume, but it was a phantom danger. Not imminent. Guillaume was tense, wound tight, which Kiyo could only expect was a direct result of learning this news about his relative. Evan wasn't the one hurting her, but Guillaume had for a brief moment considered snapping at Evan over it and Kiyo felt that fleeting 'danger' signal keenly. He was ready to put himself between Evan and any threat, if it came to it.

The moment passed though, and Kiyo let himself settle down a little, resuming his eating while his friends discussed the trouble. Tavi's observation made him blush and smile somewhat sheepishly, even with the little squeeze on his arm.

"You sure? There's more," he said softly, but she pushed the plate toward him and he dug in with gusto.

He did note that she was shelling her shrimp, which made him eyeball her plate somewhat mournfully. When there was a break in the conversation for him to get her attention again he poked his fork at the discarded shells.

"Are you going to eat those?"

Waste not, want not... Kiyo loved shrimp shells. And seeing as how he couldn't possibly contribute anything useful to this conversation he minded his food. He did watch Evan's face as Tavi described the vampire controlling Therese. Did Evan know this person? Kiyo didn't have to think twice about whether or not it could be Evan. He knew it couldn't. He didn't think for a second Evan had this ability to command anyone and while he couldn't say that out loud, he was definitely in a position to know. Evan made friends and got things done through sheer force of personality and nothing else.

((ooc: Guardian moment assumed, as well as detection of Guillaume's tension as Mike is a slacker and has to, like, sleep or something. Will change tomorrow if you like. ))

There didn't seem to be any more questions for him at the moment. He shouldn't be surprised that they all seemed to believe what he had explained about Command. They weren't humans; they had their own abilities. Evan felt somewhat dirty, being a part of the people capable of doing such things to others. All the werewolves had seemed horrified and perhaps even disgusted. He had always been grateful to have not been passed down this 'gift' from his Creator.

Margosha seemed to believe it was something to be used sparingly and wielded with great responsibility but perhaps she was in the minority of those possessing it.

Tavi explained more about her father's decisions concerning Therese's safety. He was beginning to understand that this man was of some standing apparently, beyond being the Mayor, and, if he understood the implications correctly, in a relationship with Guillaume's cousin. Small world or something. Maybe some time when they weren't discussing vampires and their evil deeds, he could ask one of them what Sarkis meant.

It was clear that they had plans to kill this member of his clan. Should he warn this person? Shouldn't he? This was a threat to a fellow Anantya. Yet he had a hard time feeling sympathy for the man. Evan would war with his conscience and his loyalties for much longer than it took to complete this conversation. He did know that he couldn't blame them for wanting the vampire responsible to die.

"Yes, it would cancel all of his commands." Which was why werewolves could now walk around in the city. The elders of Anantya, so many years ago, did not consider that potential problem when they made their treaty with the werewolves and then enforced it with command. They assumed, and had no reason not to, that a good number of those vampires would survive for millennia.

Kiyoshi was given the go ahead for the rest of the food. His Little Wolf didn't have to be told twice. Kiyo set to work on the platter with enthusiasm. Then he turned to Tavi and asked if she were going to eat the shrimp shells. Evan smothered a chuckle with his hand.

The description that Tavi gave of the vampire involved was disturbingly familiar. Evan knew him. He was certain. He was in Nachton and he was dangerous. The werewolves did not know what kind of trouble they were dealing with. Command was hardly the worst of it. Evan had the sudden urge to gather up Kiyoshi and carry him safely away from this whole mess. Several states away would be a good start.

He turned to Guillaume and answered the question that Tavi likely could not have answered. "If he has given her commands to stay here and continue working at the Arch where he can find her then it would possibly drive her mad if she were not able to fulfill those wishes. She would most certainly continue trying so you would have to place her under lock and key at all times or at the first opportunity she would escape and do as he bid her. .... No matter how much she would like to do otherwise."

Dispassionately Guillaume noticed Kiyoshi was still there and wolfing down enough food to feed a small army. Another time he might have been amused, but right now, with his head swimming, he almost didn't process it. It was just something happening in the room.

He wanted to stand up and pace, he felt a bit trapped, caged, by all this information. But he wasn't, he was free it was Thérèse who was trapped. Rather than pacing he refilled various glasses of tea. It game him something to do and helped him think.

"She routinely spends time away from the family when we travel. And I should suspect there are others more qualified to curate a museum of that caliber."

Thérèse was not, after all, a PhD she'd just never had time to finish or even start her doctorate. It had never been of much consequence though. Perhaps he should have suspected something when she received the job at the Arch.

"I would suspect he found her before she came here."

But how long before? It may have been years.

He snorted at the idea that Thérèse had refused to be confined or protected. Navid smiled some what grimily, his words touched with black humor.

"She must lead your father on a merry chase docile compliant thing that she is."

Inhaling deeply of his tea and feeling his head clear somewhat Navid was forced to agree. This wasn't something they could wait out they were going to have to take action at some point. Guillaume felt a bit sorry for Evan as he was their best source of information right now but in one fashion or another, the person who held his cousin shared a bond of sorts and might even be family of Evan's. That, however, would not stop Navid from asking.

He wasn't shocked at the idea of using Thérèse as bait either. It was only logical so he would not protest. The name Tavi gave though made him smile again and nod. Antoine was a good man, they didn't know each other well but had met in passing and Guillaume had liked the Frenchman. It was a good choice.

"It is not much to go on but I'm sure she will not mind being used if it means we can end this."

Disgusted by the power of this 'ability' Navid sneered into his glass as he set it down. It really was no wonder that their memories their feelings of mulo were so negative.

"It is quite a good thing I like you my friend. This power your kind posses is unconscionable. It should not be allowed."

And so to keep Thérèse from going mad or from doing something stupid or turning on them the pack as a whole was forced to risk their safety and she her life. It really was too much to be born.

"It seems likely that he brought her here then. I don't know what for though and only Therese is likely to be able to answer all the questions...after the fact." Tavi sighed and shrugged.

When her pack mate suggested that Therese must lead her father on many a merry chase, Tavi was tempted to ask Guillaume if he had ever met her mother. Etta was certainly not Mrs. Molly Homemaker either. However it was probably not a wise idea to bring that up to the cousin of her father's current girlfriend. It was obvious that stubborn, strong willed, intelligent women were the kind that turned Vaughn Emiliano on. And that was all the delving into her dad's sex life that she wanted to do. Instead she smiled. "I think he probably likes it." Tavi then made a face. "You'll pardon me if I don't think of it too closely."

She grinned at Kiyoshi and nodded about the food. "This is plenty, thank you." It was nice sharing a meal with someone who understood her dietary habits. It was a rare thing to share food with someone, most of her kind at least understood and weren't terribly squicked out about it but understanding wasn't the same thing as sharing the same preferences.

Removing the shells from her remaining shrimp, Tavi then piled them all onto Kiyoshi's plate. "Enjoy."

Turning to Guillaume, she nodded. "I don't doubt that in the same position I would feel the same. She is risking her life in either case. Who knows when he might tire of her or consider her a dangerous liability. Continuing to come and go as if everything is normal in the hopes that it helps someone capture him is at least something positive. One of the few proactive choices she can make against this guy."

Tavi finished her meal and washed it down with her newly full glass of tea. She got to her feet and pointed toward the direction Kiyoshi had come from, waving her hands in illustration. Evan nodded to her, seeming to understand what she was asking. Was there a kitchen in this direction? Yes.

She went and washed her hands in the sink and got a paper towel to dry them off. She could hear Guillaume talking to Evan in the other room.

Coming back with clean hands, she paused and said. "Don't take it out on Evan. He's not responsible, besides he said he doesn't even have this ability." Tavi shook her head and then went around the coffee table and sat down in the seat next to Guillaume. She put a hand on his leg and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I know its hard to take all this in. And I'm sure you want to punch someone. Just don't choose the one vampire who has been nice to us." Tavi reached out and put the other hand on Evan's leg. "It can't be easy on him either. He might want to help us but these are his people. Would you betray a pack member if they were hurting a vampire friend of his?" Tavi looked at Guillaume with big innocent green eyes. "Its a tough decision and one we probably don't have any right to ask him to make." Family meant everything to the Vyusher R'asa they couldn't ask someone else to betray theirs.

"That and if you punch him...he's probably not going to help you with the dishes." Tavi smiled at Guillaume. "Just sayin."

She looked over at Kiyoshi and gave him a wink, then curled up more comfortably on the couch. Wrapping an arm over Guillaume's shoulders, she said. "But now they have me helping and you." Tavi smiled and gave him a one armed hug. "This vampire doesn't stand a chance."

Kiyo continued to listen quietly to the conversation around him. From what was being said it was slowly dawning on him that Therese was more than just Guillaume's cousin. She apparently meant something to the Sarkis as well. He was confused by that; wasn't the Sarkis married? It wasn't the time or the place to ask; Kiyo was hardly in the loop when it came to up to date knowledge of his leader's personal life. Some things, he didn't need to know.

He made short work of the rest of the meat on the plate, enjoying every little morsel. He worried slightly for Evan; he knew his partner must feel uncomfortable in this setting, with three (well, two) werewolves casually discussing the destruction of someone he might know. Kiyo wasn't sure how he'd fare if their roles were reversed, it he were sitting there with Evan and one of Evan's friends talking about killing Therese instead. Kiyo wished everyone could just get along, really, but he wasn't so naive as to think that would ever happen.

He accepted the shrimp shells from Tavi and crunched on them contentedly while the debate continued. He did sit up straight, however, when Guillaume mentioned it being a good thing he liked Evan. Kiyo raised his eyebrows and glanced from Guillaume to Evan. Surely Guillaume wasn't going to hold a grudge against Evan simply because some members of his race possessed a dangerous ability? Evan didn't possess it and if he did Kiyo felt certain he wouldn't use it that way. Their own kind had plenty of abilities that were just as dangerous; even Kiyo's own senses could be considered dangerous in their way. It was difficult to hide a crime, for example, when the local werewolf could smell money on your hands or gunpowder on your freshly-washed clothing.

Tavi addressed Guillaume's comment, though, as she emerged from the kitchen, in a far more diplomatic fashion than Kiyo could have.

"He doesn't have to help with the dishes," Kiyo said, jumping up at last, eager to do something reasonably helpful. "I've got it."

He gathered up said dishes and trotted into the kitchen with them, giving them a very quick rinse before putting them into the dishwasher. Returning to the living room he glanced around, saw Tavi sitting next to Guillaume, and moved back to the couch. He sat on the floor once again, at the side of the couch near Evan's feet. It was a submissive pose, being lower than everyone else, so he didn't think anyone would question it. He thought someone should offer Evan some support though, since this could not be easy for him or Guillaume.

His movements hidden by Evan's legs, Kiyo's hand crept forward just a bit until his fingertips could just brush Evan's bare foot and ankle beneath his jogging pants. It was the slightest of touches, all he could dare in their current company, but he hoped it was enough.

It was apparently good that Guillaume liked him. Evan raised one eyebrow at his room mate. The other one rose to meet the first in a questioning expression. What did liking him have to do with vampires with command? He had explained that he didn't have the ability. Even if he did, he was not the one responsible for Therese's misfortune.

"My Creator had the ability to command." Evan said quietly. There was no doubt in his mind that Margosha had been a very good person. Guillaume's words suggested that she should have been killed just for having a gift that she didn't choose.

It was that very prejudice that Margosha had died fighting against. Meeting the werewolves in the woods after the war... trying to help the survivors. She died trying to prevent atrocities like what was happening to Guillaume's cousin.

He knew the man was angry but he would have thought their friendship meant more than that. Evan could also not comprehend blaming an entire species for the actions of one, no matter how heinous those actions were. He would not have blamed all werewolves for Margosha's death, nor all vampires either.

Tavi came back into the room and proceeded to give Guillaume a mini lecture/pep talk all rolled into one. Evan did his best to hide an incredulous grin but he did feel the corners of his mouth twitching up ever so slightly. He gave in to the smile when she mentioned him not being helpful with the dishes.

"Oh..." Kiyo quickly offered to do the cleaning. The young werewolf jumped up and hurried into the kitchen with the dirty plates. "so much for holding out for a hug." He leaned forward to regard Guillaume around Tavi. "Consider yourself lucky, I'd have definitely held out for a conciliatory hug."

Tavi cheerfully informed his friend that the vampire responsible for Therese's troubles stood no chance with the two of them adding their help to the mix. Evan's heart sank. The idea of either of them facing Amir was too much to consider. He couldn't let that happen.

"I will see what I can find out." Evan said quietly, not willing to promise anything.

Kiyoshi came back into the room and sat down on the floor nearby. He would have dearly loved to take comfort in holding his partner close. Later he would have to ask Kiyo to promise not to have anything to do with helping Therese. He wanted his lover as far away from Amir as possible. He didn't want the other Huntsman to have any reason to even know Kiyoshi existed. Luckily Therese didn't seem to be Kiyo's favorite person so perhaps asking him to agree to leave this whole matter alone wouldn't be an unreasonable request.

His lover moved ever so slightly closer bringing his fingertips up to slide beneath the hem of his pants. Evan let his gaze drift down to Kiyoshi, silently thanking him with the briefest of glances that held all of the love and gratitude he could manage to place in his open unguarded expression.

It disappeared when he reached for his glass. "Perhaps I can save you some time. Maybe I will find out if this was an order or someone acting on their own." Could he make Amir go missing? He kind of liked the man, aside from his horrible taste in hobbies. Evan always wondered if Amir's attitude was not mostly brainwashing from his Creator. Margosha had told him that Subira had been very adamant about keeping the werewolves in line. The woman seemed to believe it was a personal mission. One that she passed on to her son. Surely she filled his head with all kinds of prejudiced nonsense about werewolves. Evan had always chose to believe that anyway. It allowed him to like the guy despite their extreme difference of opinion when it came to the other supernatural race and even to forgive him for his crimes against them. At least to some extent.

He couldn't kill Amir, not even to keep Kiyoshi safe. Not proactively anyway. It would be different if the other vampire were attacking his lover. He wouldn't hesitate to do anything necessary to keep Kiyo safe. But he was not going to kill his clan mate before talking to him and finding out why he was doing what he was doing to Therese.

Maybe he could even convince Amir to stop. Perhaps he could explain how much danger the man was about to be in, that they had whole teams out looking for him and that it was only a matter of time before they found him. He didn't want to give Amir an unfair advantage either. However, if he had Therese then he already knew they were watching her. He would at least give talking a try.

"What does Sarkis mean?"

((OOC: Evan means that he believes Subira told Amir nasty things about werewolves soon after he was created. Not that she used command on him. Having a sane creator, he would not have jumped to the conclusion that Subira was using command on her child. Cause that's just sick. If there is anything about the post you want me to change let me know. ))

Guillaume laughed at that. He certainly understood not wanting to know details of family member's intimate relations. How did Tavi feel about his cousin though? Thérèse had broken Tavi's parents up, was involved with her father, and some must think Thérèse was in this for the power. But given what Tavi was saying and doing for his cousin, and how the two women had interacted the other night, they must be friends.

"Then we shall let her be unknowing bait. It is an acceptable risk and she would agree."

He smiled at Tavi as apparently what he'd said had been misunderstood. Some days he wondered if his English wasn't up to par. But it wasn't ever anything Guillaume worried about too much.

"No, I wouldn't take it out on him. One can hardly be held responsible for the actions of an entire species. If I were to punch him... it would be for something he himself did."

Guillaume turned to Evan and said that last bit with a bantering smile.

Tavi was right. I was a lot to digest and he did very much want to take out his anger and frustration on some one. But Evan was his friend and, as such, would not be the target. He had not even meant to imply otherwise.

The physical reassurance she gave so easily was totally unexpected and surprisingly welcome. Navid wasn't exactly the touchy feely sort, not even with those he was close to, but right now apparently he needed it. Without thinking about it he wrapped his arm around Tavi's waist.

"I only hope it is just the one."

Knowing that the one who had made Evan had possessed this 'gift' of theirs he half shrugged an apology. He had not planned on insulting or offending his friend. He would be more careful in future. He chuckled again about the hug.

"I am no fool an attractive young woman wishes to hug me, who am I to argue?"

While he had intended to ask for Evan's help he would not have pressured the vampire one way or another. Evan did more than enough to help the Pack when he could it wouldn't be right to push his friend into a confrontation with his 'family'. They had always respected that about the other, Navid did not ask Evan to betray other vampires, Evan didn't ask him to work against other wolves. That was why Evan had been able to create this neutral ground. It was why Navid had agreed to be part of it. That didn't change just because of his cousin.

"Any thing you find out is more than we knew before and I thank you for however much help you feel it is right to give us. If you would rather we continue this discussion away from you, of course I would honor your feelings."

No, he would never force Evan into the middle of this. No matter how mad, disgusted or hurt he was by this he valued Evan's friendship too much to risk it.

The Sarkis question though, he left alone. That was best addressed by Tavi, he was her father after all.