Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: Greenwood Inn, Room 238. The room that Aerin told Alex over the phone. Not the best of hotel rooms, but not bad at all, either. The hotel is about eight blocks from Central Park, the room on the second floor. The door to the hotel room is unlocked.

Alexander Donovan: Alex is right on time. Of course, he had booked another room in the hotel. He knocks on the door before trying it, and enters wearing a swimsuit with a towel over his shoulders. His hair laying flat from the water.

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: d10: Dex+Stealth: 5,7,10,7,

Alexander Donovan: d10: per+alert: 8,5,9,9,8,

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: He's standing to the side of the door, so that Alex opens the door to partially cover the Gaian. When Alex walks in, he raises what looks like a modified dart gun in his hand and prepares to fire at Alex's back, hoping that he's sneaky enough that the Simba doesn't notice him. Sadly, he's not QUITE sneaky enough. ((Umm. Initiative?))

Alexander Donovan: d10: five plus: 8,

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: d10: Initiative + six: 2,

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: ((Declare order: Aerin, Alex. Aerin's trying to shoot. Streamlined rules, declare then roll.))

Alexander Donovan: ((Aerin behind the door?))

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: ((And unless Alex stepped too far into the room, I'm thinking this is point-blank, as point blank is defined as less then six feet...that work for you?))

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: ((A little bit still, yeah. I figure he had to move to get the shot off, which would be why Alex saw him. Say, he's about half behind the door still?))

Alexander Donovan: ((If Aerin is in position for it, Alex will try to hit him with the door.))

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: ((Cool, I'll say he is. Rolling my shot now, go ahead and roll Dex+Brawl.))

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: d10: Dex+Firearms (WP): 2,8,1,6,8,3,

Alexander Donovan: d10: dex+brawl: 3,3,3,7,3,10,

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: ((I'll say a door is...say Strength+1 damage? So with the extra success, Strength+2 total.))

Alexander Donovan: d10: str+two: 5,6,10,2,6,7,

Knife: (str+1 bashing for the door makes sense)

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: d10: Soak: 3,7,

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: ((Rage spent to ignore stun and get the shot off))

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: d10: Damage (Lethal): 3,3,4,5,4,

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: RECAP: Alex slams the door into Aerin, and the dart gun hits, what looks like a tranqulizer dart coming out. It skitters off Alex's side, leaving only a scratch.

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: ((3 Bash Damage to Aerin, no damage to Alex. Round two!))

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: ((Spending 1 Rage)) Aerin growls in frustration...can he NEVER do this right? Mental note: firing range. And stealth lessons. He tries to get another shot off.

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: d10: Dex+Firearms (WP): 9,8,7,1,5,7,

Alexander Donovan: Alex isn't going for second chances, the room is a bit small spend a rage to shift to Sokto, and then just kick the hell out of Aerin.

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: ((Rolling WP vs. 6 to abort to a dodge))

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: d10: Willpowwer: 9,4,9,6,9,2,

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: d10: Dex+Dodge: 8,5,8,5,7,

Alexander Donovan: d10: dex+brawl (wp): 2,9,7,4,3,6,3,

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: Aerin JUST manages to get out of the way, barely, as the kick brushes him but doesn't quite hit with any force. ((Rage action)) "Just go down, Alex," he growls, very much NOT your standard Aerin, but the more predatory one, as he fires the dart gun again.

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: d10: Dex+Firearms: 8,4,10,6,7,4,

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: d10: Damage (Lethal): 4,5,5,6,6,2,

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: ((Miscounted...7 damage total, sorry. Rolling last die))

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: d10: Damage: 6,

Alexander Donovan: d10: soak: 8,3,5,9,

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: The dart just manages to dig in (1 Lethal), and the drug fills into his system. Rhino tranquilizer. ((Roll Stamina to resist the drug, resisted by the drug's strength of 6))

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: d10: Drug Strength: 6,4,9,7,9,5,

Alexander Donovan: d10: sta: 10,1,5,5,

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: The drug takes immediate effect as it courses through Alex's body, dropping him like a rock as it's paralytic effect courses through the Simba.

Alexander Donovan: Lays there.

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: He looks down at the fallen Sokto form and tosses the dart gun aside as he shuts the door. "Dammit. Only two left now." He sighs and shifts up to Glabro, knowing he'll need that to lift Alex. He bends over and picks Alex's form up, moving him to the bed and setting him down. "I know you can still hear me, Alex. Been shot with this shit before. You'll have to give me a moment before I give you the antidote so we can talk. The blindness will go away in a while."

Alexander Donovan: Listens, as if he has a choice.

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: He moves to the closet, dropping back to Homid as he does so, and opens it up. "I'm sorry it's got to be done like this...but I didn't feel you'd listen unless I had your undivided attention." He pulls out a duffel bag and opens it up, pulling out the restraints. Hand and leg. He slaps them on, then goes into the duffel bag to get the antidote to administer.

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: The needle is inserted into Alex's arm, Aerin taking care with this. He doesn't want to fuck it up and cause problems. Once it's administered, he moves to take a seat in a chair near the bed. "So. You mentioned a name to me over the phone. I'd like an explanation. Hopefully, a good one. For your sake."

Alexander Donovan: Alex tests the restrain, breifly, turning his ear toward the sound of Aerin's voice. Checking their position. "She was in Battery Park, her boyfreind has died."

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: "So I've heard." He nods a little bit. "I fail to recognize what thar has to do with me."

Alexander Donovan: "Freedom of choice. Why is it that the enemy rates higher than me. Did one of Black Tooth's leutenants come through town or something?"

Alexander Donovan: The tone isn't as hostile as it could have been. In fact, he seems downright calm. The restraints.. are interesting. Never been on this side before.

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: He snorts a little bit. "You think that person was given freedom? For fuck's sake, Alex. She was cut loose."

Alexander Donovan: Alex feels a bit more comfortable, sitting up slowly. "You know that if Tony finds out, he'll want to know why... and not for good reasons. And people slip a lot faster around him than around me."

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: "She was, in fact, considered a complete loss to the Garou Nation. Absolutely unsavable. She willingly chose corruption. The only thing keeping her from being turned into human cole slaw by half of the Sept like so much fomori was the fact that as a slave to her master, she fell under a grey area of the treaty. Protected by two aspects of it." He nods a little bit. "And I expect that, since none are supposed to speak of her, being worse then permanently Ostracized, that won't be a problem. I'll make sure to talk to those in the house, though. I doubt anyone even knows that she's still alive or cares...and certainly not anyone in the house, except maybe Dara."

Alexander Donovan: "Alright. As much as I'm thinking the Treaty might be less valuable than the information she might bring them... I don't know for certain enough to state that for sure."

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: "There was a deal worked out. Some kind of...thing. I don't know the specifics, but the Sept was convinced her lips were sealed."

Alexander Donovan: "Alright. So, now can we talk about a couple other things?"

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: He raises an eyebrow, smirking a little bit, and nods. "Sure, Alex. Let's talk about a couple other things. What's on your mind?"

Alexander Donovan: "Well. For one, thank you for getting the spirits out of Tony's room... as much as possible anyway."

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: He nods a little bit. "That whole situation wasn't doing anyone any favors. There was no reason for him to have more stress on him like that."

Alexander Donovan: Alex wiggles his way onto the bed a bit better. (Hands bound in front or in back?)

Alexander Donovan: "The other was to ask if you'd had any luck in talking to the ..as far as I know... unnamed personality yet." If there's anything that can calm Alex down, it's getting into something constructive.

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: ((In back)) "No, not as of yet." He shakes his head. "I needed to let him remain calm while I dealt with a certain situation. I spoke with Gordie, but not the other."

Alexander Donovan: d10: (wp) partial shift: 7,6,4,6,2,5,

Alexander Donovan: Alex focuses his hands, doing the opposite of his usual. Instead of making human hands grow claws, he brings the Sokto 'claws' in, returning his forarms and hands back to human form. He wonders if the bindings have any special tricks on them.

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: ((No special tricks)) Aerin keeps his eyes on Alex. "Anything else you wanted to discuss?"

Alexander Donovan: "I might know a way to get him to come out less stressfully..."

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: "How is that?"

Alexander Donovan: Alex slowly sits up. Hands undone but feet NOT undone doesn't help him much when Aerin has a gun. Alex does allow the binding to slip off before allowing his hands to return to their larger size, slowly pulling them back in front of him.

Alexander Donovan: And gives Aerin a moment to respond to that action before answering his question.

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: He raises the gun instinctually, aiming it straight at Alex's head. He holds it there for a long moment before it slowly, slooooowly goes down. "Okay...point to you, Alex. You got the cuffs off."

Alexander Donovan: Alex smiles as the gun goes down. "I have a certain talent for encouraging people to do the things I want. I don't use it often, but... one of it's most useful use is to lower someone's inhibition. I think, under the right circumstances, I could convince him to come out without the usual stress it takes."

Alexander Donovan: He rubs his wrists a little, but doesn't undo the leg restraints.

Alexander Donovan: Or smiles as Aerin doesn't shoot him again.

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: He considers for a long moment. "Alex...we're at a crossroad here. And I frankly am not sure how to proceed. I know you want to help...and I sympathize. I do. I don't want to split you two up. You love each other, that's clear. And..." He purses his lips. "I'm not quite sure how to resolve this. Or, not in a way that you may entirely want."

Alexander Donovan: "What I want is for him to be healthy and whole." He seems like he has a great deal more to say, but pushes it aside.

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: He pauses for a long moment, considering Alex. Struck by those words. "And what if..." He pauses. "What if, when he became healthy and whole and decided he didn't want to be you anymore? Completely theoretical. What then?"

Alexander Donovan: "I'm a lion...Aerin... not a wolf. I don't mate for life. If he wants to go, he goes. The key to his collar has always been in his own pocket."

Alexander Donovan: Although he does watch Aerin's reaction to that carefully.

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: "Mate for life." He gives a bitter little smile. "I hope we don't." He sigha and shakes his head. "All right. I tell you what. I'm going to lay out a ccouple of terms here that are contingent to anything continuing. If you're not amenable, we have one other option. Ready for the terms?"

Alexander Donovan: "Go ahead."

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: "First off. This is a big one. I want you to stop calling me up and throwing accusations in my face, like you did with the former kin. I want an end to this hostility you keep launching at me, like I'm the one who caused all of this and not the one who risked everything to keep Tony out of the hands of the Furies. You're in a very rough spot. I sympathize. I also don't care, strictly when it comes to being an excuse for making me a target of your anger, because you can't take it out on Yolanda."

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: ((in regards to the former kin))

Alexander Donovan: Alex... laughs.. about something, stretching his legs a little through the binding. "Alright, I think I can manage that."

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: "Do more then manage it. Excel at it." He takes a deep breath. "Second. Dara is a very, very dear friend of mine. I almost consider her family. And when she is in the process of grieving for the death of a very close friend, Wyrmspawn or not, is not the proper time to demand answers from her. You have anger. You didn't know the situation. Great. You still don't cause further emotional damage to the woman who had the misfortune of delivering the bad news. This goes for all my family--Ethan, Bliss, Kelsey, Dante. Michelle and her sister Annette. Kaeleigh O'Reilly. My daughter. If you do, we will be back here again. This is how protective I am of my family, Alex."

Alexander Donovan: "I didn't demand the answers, she offered them. And if you remember, I sat with Dante too. I made sure Ethan was safe when you thought he might not be, and watched over all of your family when things got rough. I agreed to that term a while ago. And on that note, you might want to warn Kae about Keith if she's one of yours."

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: He frowns. "Kaeleigh knows about Keith. We've discussed it. Keith and her have. And as Dara explained it, you were angry to the point of Lucien feeling the need to step between you two."

Alexander Donovan: "Of course I was angry. But I'm not going to fight with Dara. Hell, we were talking about finding a way for her and me and Ziahl to get into the spirit world together to talk to .. don't know your name for him... the Sun.. for guidance. Hell, that's why I apporached her that night. One of the reasons I was angry was because if Jocelyn has switched sides, she just painted a big bright target on Dara and everyone Dara talked to that night."

Alexander Donovan: Alex looks at his hand intently, mentally adding the ability to resist poisons to the list of rumored tricks he wants to learn if he can ever find a #$%@ teacher.

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: "Well, I'd consider giving her another apology and then giving her a good, long amount of time." He sighs. "Last up. I think this goes without saying...but our sake of our people not going head to head with each other...you and I never had this altercation. Things are tense enough typically between Garou and Bastet, and we don't need it getting worse. The only people that ever need know about this, ever, are you and I. Agreed?"

Alexander Donovan: Alex stops, blinks, thnks real hard. "Are you asking me if I'm going to tell my people that I let you get the drop on me?"

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: "Anyone, Alex. Your people, my people. Tony, Bliss, Ethan. The third Hispanic man you see doiwn the block ina pink tutu. I tell nobody, you tell nobody."

Alexander Donovan: "Wholeheartedly agreed." Alex finally allows himself to shift down to homid, confident that enough of the drug's effects are gone to relax that last little bit.

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: "Good." He watches Alex for a long moment, before finally: "Are we cool?"

Alexander Donovan: "Yeah, we're cool. Though I wished you had let me just enjoy the afterglow for the first few minutes of our conversation."

Alexander Donovan: ((Stick damn you.))

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: ((*Beats computer* SOrry.))

Alexander Donovan: ((Mine does that occasionally too.))

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: He smirks a litle bit and rises up from his seat. "If you'd like, I can shoot you up, again, but then I waste a dart, and without the antidote, you die." He sighs. "All right. Then IO think we're done here. Go ahead and shift down, and you can get those leg cuffs off. The room is rented through the night, so if you need to stay here until you can see, feel free. I need to get home...Ethan's home from Gaia's Hand, and I rather miss him."

Alexander Donovan: ((He already did shift down. :P )) "Actually, I was refering to the fact that one of my lovers made sure I was in a very good mood. Went swimming so you wouldn't smell that lover on me when I came in. And you didn't answer either of my questions. About possibly trying to bring the third personality out... or about who the other Simba you've met was..."

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: "Oh." He shrugs. "Yeah, we can probably try that during one of your visits. As to the Simba I've known..." He purses his lips. "His name was Malcolm. Malcolm DeWitt."

Alexander Donovan: "There are two things he wants. Talk, and 'play'. I'll try the former, and let you weigh the risks and reward for the latter."

Alexander Donovan: Alex sighs at the name. "I thought you said it was an honor... damn.... there's... ah shit. We should have moved to Alaska."

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: He frowns. "Malcolm DeWitt was a very good friend of mine, Alex...albeit one with some very severe, SEVERE enotional issues. We even served in the same sentai together, once upon a time. Recognize, though, that most around here didn't have a high opinion of him. I'm sorry this wasn't explained to you before."

Alexander Donovan: "No, not your fault. Go on, see to Ethan... but try to be discreet. Don't rub it in to Tony that he isn't allowed that."

Alexander Donovan: Alex rises up, punching picking up the phone and hitting a trio of numbers (in building call), letting it ring once and then hanging back up. "I'll go back to my own room."

Aerin Thomas [PB 3; Hotel Room]: ((And faaaaaaaade))