Starring:
Summary: A lot of people want to ask Matt some questions. Scary people, like Vampires and Were-Foxes. They find out that he doesn't know much, but Angel learns a bit more from the Fox. Angel is grumpy.
Date It Happened: February 1, 2002
Interrogating A Teenage Werewolf
Los Feliz
Matt's grip on the warm paper bag is iron tight. Its hot, its fresh, and it took 3 hours of cleaning the restaurant's parking lot to get. His stomach rumbles and his face contorts as he works his way behind the building to get a chance to enjoy it. He's being a bit cautious at the moment, spooked honestly. He keeps glancing over his shoulder, and it is with a large amount of trepidation that he leaves the light of the street lamps.
He wasnt looking for cubs, granted by kitsune standards Zeke is definitely still a cub. Anyway, Ezekiel was looking for Jack. Now granted Matthew wasnt jack, but he was curious. He didnt know what Jack looked like when he wasnt wearing fashionable fur so with the same patience he utilized for all the other wolves he'd come across, he followed. Keeping mostly to the rooftops when he could, he kept himself at range. He had slowly begun to evolve beyond the costume he'd sort've been born into, now wearing something far closer to a SWAT uniform only without the body armor. While Matt plops down to eat his dinner, so does Ezekiel. Fox teefs making quick work of the official ninja fox field ration, squid jerky.
Strangely enough, Angel finds himself back in Los Feliz looking for any of the individuals who happened to be involved in the trouble there last night. He's got a few leads in mind, of course, but given that he's not exactly talking with the rest of the people at Angel Investigations yet he hasn't been getting anywhere quite as quickly as he might otherwise. He isn't built for research, after all.
So Angel is back on the streets of Los Feliz, keeping an eye on every homeless individual he happens to past. Does he recognize that one? No. That one? No.
Dajan has returned to Los Feliz as well. Searching into the night bore no fruit, and she is concerned about the mother and child. She's invisible, though, looking at every raggedy man she sees. And hoping that somebody might know or see that poor mom.
Matt's food begins to disappear quite quickly, hardly a crumb escaping, and his licks his fingers absolutely clean. But something out of the corner of his eye makes this gorging stop quite suddenly, and that something is Angel. Ninja's and Invisible people having the advantage over his senses. Half of a burger is quickly wrapped in its plastic and shoved quickly back into the bag, which itself is half hidden behind a garbage tin. His food, he's not sharing. Slowly the cub stands and makes his way to the edge of the building to get a better look at the (he thinks anyway) other wolf.
Theres no need to press in just yet, but he does at least change position. Setting himself down for a little auditory spying, rather than ye olde visual observation. Ears tended to be less obvious than eyeballs, even if they were behind tinted lenses. Holding his G36C tight to his chest to keep it from bumbling about.
Angel picks up a familiar scent before too long, lifting his head to return the look from Matt at the same time he's peeking around the edge to look at him. He's got questions and even if the look was meant to be a stealthy one, he's spotted him now and he's already moving in the direction of the homeless werewolf. He doesn't look all that happy, either. But that isn't unusual.
Hm. There he is. The other scary-fast dude from last night. The one who was trying to nab Ol' Ragman before he took off with the baby. Dajan smiles in a tense, tight sort of manner, pleased she's not the only one who came back to this spot. She lets her levitation power lift her off the ground, and she drifts toward him, knees bent so she doesn't kick random passers-by in the head. The wind is fortunately with her, which helps her move closer and closer to him until she's ready to step back onto the concrete just behind him, at which point she turns visible again and politely murmurs, "…Excuse me?" to Angel.
Matt's eyes lock onto Angel's as he begins to head towards him. Matt does indeed have more than a few questions for Angel, too. He wants to talk to him. However, he also wants to see his 18th birthday. Matt rabbits, taking off down the ally as fast as his legs can carry him. Pretty fast, actually, on the human scale, but nothing like the JLA stuff they were pulling last night.
He can hear the footsteps, and just like that Zeke is off! Working up to a super human sprint before he veers towards the edge of the building and just jumps. A single rotation and a flip swing our favorite foxy around infront of Matt, where he hits the ground without any semblance of sound. Ears laid flat for a moment before he fixes his gaze up onto Matt, when they all but fwoom upwards! "Stop there kid."The voice is muffled behind rubber and charcoal, but the individual words are clear enough. His tail, swaying slowly behind him as if there was any doubt as to what he was.
The sudden voice talking right behind him accords Angel to turn quickly, taking a quick step backwards to put some distance between himself and Dajan. Not out of fear but rushing towards somebody who has snuck up on you is a good way to end up with pointy wooden things sticking out of your chest. He glances over in time to see Matt flee which is annoying because he's got to talk to him. So all he really does is give Dajan a glare and turn around to run off towards the alley - he's definately faster than your average Olympic sprinter.
Dajan sighs. "Great. So much for politeness." She isn't any faster than human running speed, even levitating with the wind at her back. "I was just trying to find out," she yells, annoyed, "What happened with the mom and the kid!" She groans. The boss isn't gonna like this one bit. Particularly now, what with the moon like it is.
Matt does indeed skid to a stop, eyes growing wide and frightened at the site of Zeke. Of course that only last as long as it takes for him to shift his balance and jog right back off in the other direction. He again has to stop when he both sees and remembers that Angel is heading down /that/ way. So chest heaving in and out, Matt simply presses his back against the brick and reaches for the inside of his Jacket.
Wonderful, now he was freaked out. Ezekiel stays right where he is, rifle lowered still. "Chill out kid, if I wanted to hurt you I would have done so already. I just want to ask you a couple questions, no need to get all wound up."His gaze isnt fixed on Matt however, its fixed on Angel. He blades up a touch, turning his right side away to hide his right hand and the pistol on his thigh. Most people would focus on the rifle, and forget the possibility of a sidearm."God kid, you got yourself a fan club dont'cha."
There'll be time to answer those questions later, Angel thinks as he slows down to close the distance between himself and Matt. He gives Ezekiel one of those patented threatening looks before he turns his head slightly to speak to Dajan. He's not taking his eyes off the pair who are, as far as he's aware, working together.
"They're fine."
Very informative. The mother and daughter 'are fine.
Lovely, would be what Dajan has to say about it, but she's out of breath from trying to levitate as fast or faster than she can run. So she just tries to catch up with Angel to see what's going on now. Because if bundle of rags is still loose, it could still happen again. At least this time, she's come prepared.
Matt's hand slowly leaves the inside of his jacket, and he spreads his fingers out wide as shows all parties that have him pinned down that he doesn't have a weapon. "White flag, white flag." he calls out, as he tilts his head both right and left addressing all parties involved. On a terrified scale of one to 10, Matt is currently just under the one where yellow puddles begin to form at your feet.
"Chillout brother, eat your dinner. You aint in trouble by me, you follow?"He steps just a touch closer, but its clear Angel has got the majority of his attention. "Evening buddy, you got business with this one?"He keeps his tone cool, certainly not accusing or such. "Seems like he's got something of a fan club, doesnt he?"
"Yeah. I do."
Angel seems to be solely interested in questioning Matt, so when it comes to conversation with the other people he isn't a great contributor. He uses the more-than-obvious fear that Matt is experiencing to his own advantage, taking a few steps closer to loom over him.
"I've got questions."
Dajan sighs, and puts a hand on Angel's shoulder, finally catching up. "You think he's going to be able to say more than 'eep!' with you glowering at him like a jock about to shove him in a locker? Really?" She lands. "If he was gonna hurt you," she tells Matt, "He'd have done it. He's just facing. Answer him and you can get on with your life."
Despite Dajan's assurances, Matt isn't really inclined to scale down on the scared crapless ladder just yet. Beads of sweat begin to form on his brow, and the hairs on his neck are already standing straight up. Goosebumps cover his skin, and he swallows hard as he pushes back the aforementioned 'eep!' "What do you wanna know?" he manages to stutter out. He doesn't move one inch.
Ezekiel keeps his mouth shut for the moment as he circles slowly to the opposite side of the alley, he wasnt sure who Angel or the freaky tag along chick where but he didnt like the looks of this at all. He lifts a paw up, turning each of the small charcoal canisters on his mask to bypass the filters. Now he can breathe, inhaling deep lungfuls of the stuff.
Angel doesn't quite like the fact that Dajan is raining on his 'scary parade', although he decides to not irritably shrug her hand off his shoulder because he doesn't want it to look like he's annoyed. He continues to stare Matt down, speaking lowly.
"I want to know what you know about Jack."
Yep, Angel has a name. Evidence gathering at it's finest.
Dajan removes her own hand, a little smug, as the kid finally decides to talk. Does tall, dark, and loomy not know "good cop, bad cop"? Geez. She shakes her head apologetically at Matthew, in that 'whattayagonnado' sort of manner. She tried to keep him from being all snarly and ominous, but she's just a little girl. "Just tell him, kiddo, and get it over with."
Matt lowers his hands, and tries to fake being relaxed, it doesn't really work all that well. "Just know what you probably know." He stutters out, looking over to Zeke and back to Angel, and then very curiously at Dajan. "I was hungry, asked him if he knew were I could get something to eat. He's like you." You being the collective you of the fox ninja and Angel. Matt's /wrong/ but he doesn't know any better.
Theres another soft pop, before he pulls free his mask entirely to reveal delicate vulpine features and those entirely unwolfish eyes of his. "I'm a fox, He's a vampire and your a wolf. "He glances from one to the other, notably on Dajan for a moment "And I dont know what the bird is, but do me a favor kid. I dont call you a dog, so dont call me a vampire." Odd thing though, he talks and carries on but his lips and mouth never once move the entire time.
Angel could've told everyone who was what - well, except Ezekiel. He'd have gone with 'demon' though given the strange looks, though. Still, he's not a fan of people wandering around broadcasting his situation to everyone. Most people think 'vampire' and 'stake it!' in the same line of thought and he doesn't like having to beat up would-be vampire hunters. In fact, he's a little mad. He's more than a little mad. His face contorts, brow furrowing and eyes turning yellow as fangs become prominent - vampire face.
"Is that all you know?"
Vampire face. Impressive. Dajan's horrified, but she doesn't let on. Keeping the game face is an old trick from a life of being the weird kid. This is a rather extreme example, but the premise is the same. She shrugs at Matt, encouragingly. "If you know more, now'd be a good time. You see his patience? Looks a little thin to me."
At the sign of the face and that 'V' word coming up again, Matt nearly jumps out of his skin and pushes further against the wall. "Thats it, that's everything, oh god, I promise that's everything." His eyes closes briefly and sweat is absolutely pouring down his face at this point.
Calmly, the mask goes back on. "Relax kid, he's just acting. If he was gonna do something he wouldnt let me stand here with enough timber to build a cabin" He smiles inwardly, behind that mask. "If you want to know about Jack, why are you talking to the kid. Why not talk to the fox, that filled him full of silver once already? Leave the poor kid alone, he's so green you can still smell his mother on him."
Angel's face quickly reverts back to the non-vampiric one, turning away from Matthew and proceeding with the intimidation techniques on Ezekiel. He doesn't actually ask him any questions, he just looks expectant.
Dajan glowers at Angel. "Nice work. You terrified what, two sentences, out of a teenager." She walks past Angel and goes over to Matt. "It's okay. Breathe." She glances over her shoulder at Angel, briefly, then turns away again.. "Could you put away the spooktacularness now? Obviously he doesn't know anything. And if he did, you're not gonna get anything coherent out of him until he's sure you're not going to eat his face." Because Angel looks way scarier than Dracula does in the movies and all. She hears him move (all that leather, you know!) and rolls her eyes without turning around. "You okay, kid?"
When Angel turns away, Matt backs slowly away from the fox with automatic weaponry and the guy he's pretty sure is going to eat him. A lot of that going around, lately. To his credit, he doesn't bolt again. Of the three, he's gonna go with the one he thinks might just be human, and so slowly backs in her direction. To answer her question, he swallows, shakes his head and answers with an ironic (but still quite terrified) half smile: "No, not really."
Ezekiel just shrugs"He's an outsider, who's trying to muscle in on the packs hanging out around the park. He's trying to incite a fucking riot, letting wolves who know well enough to lock themselves up for their change out. attacking folks himself, you know just general bad stuff. Whats your interest in him?"He glances from Angel to Matt, before focusing his attention oncemore on the vampire. "I didnt quite catch your name, but I am known as the Demon Fox of Hokkaido. Perhaps you've heard of me."
To the north of East Hollywood and just south of the Santa Monica Mountains rests the neighborhood of Los Feliz. Despite the designation of most residences as being middle class, the neighborhood has an eclectic, almost bohemian air, frequented by artists, writers, and other creative types. The buildings primarily reflect a Spanish Mission design, hearkening back to the neighborhood's roots. The main streets are filled with all kinds of restaurants, bars, clubs, and cafes. There's also several movie studios, and of course, Los Feliz is the gateway community to Griffith Park, which looks over the whole of Los Angeles.
"Angel," says Angel plainly. He doesn't have any fancy prefixes to his name … well, he does but he either doesn't use them or they better suit Angelus. As for the information regarding Jack, he's clearly taking it all in but he doesn't do much more than glower.
Well, at least things are calming down now, Dajan notes. Except for poor Matthew. "It's okay," she says quietly, reaching with a gentle finger to brush his hair out of his face. The contact is all she needs to activate her power — healing. In this case, all it will do is help his body more rapidly flush the fight-or-flight chemicals out of his system; the adrenaline, the lactic acid. He'll need the restroom in 15 minutes if it works, but at least he won't be a jittery, incoherent, near-panicked mess. "Take it one moment at a time. You're all right," she says, voice soft, gentle, and soothing.
Her head snaps around as Angel introduces himself. "Angel?" she repeats. "The great Champion Angel?" Disbelief drops from her voice. He isn't acting much like a heroic protector of the weak to her.
The fox doesnt seem impressed, titles. "Good, now let me be straight with you Angel. I dont care what that crazy chick is calling you, act like a thug and dont be surprised if you die like a thug. Now, is there anything you need to get off your chest, before I get the kid a halfway decent meal, a shower and a safe place to sleep for the night?"
Angel lifts an eyebrow at the Fox. Hmmph. Dajan can go ahead and call him a great Champion but he doesn't seem quite willing to identify with that title just yet. He's got a name. He's got a general motivation behind this Jack-figure and that was more than he was expecting to get for one night's work. So he doesn't spare any apologies or changes in attitude for the assembled folks, giving them all a brief Look before he turns about and walks towards the darker end of the alleyway. Cue cloud of steam from a nearby grate to disappear through.
Dajan watches Matthew rather than sparing any further attention on the so-called 'Great Champion' she was told Angel was. Not even. She takes her hand away, and looks at Matt. "You feeling better?"
Dajan's power gets to work just fine, and Matthew regains some of his composure. Fight or Flight may have subsided, but Angel leaving is definitely a step in the right direction. But the fox guy? Still not cool with that, the guns don't help, and thats what he's fixated on when he talks to him. "Sorry but no thanks, I got a hot meal, in the uhm… garbage, and I'll get a shower next time I make to a shelter."
"See, and this is why nobody likes vampires."His gaze sweeping between those who're left. "Hey kid, come on. Lets get you cleaned up, I can get you a safe place for the night. I know a woman who'll help you control that grenade your carrying around inside you. I may not be a Wolf, but I know what your going through. I have answers, and I can share them. If you want this girl to come along, and if she wants to come. Thats ok with me."He stays right where he is though, like a proper statue. "No strings, no complications. Your a wolf, and theres a fox trying to remind you the difference between what you are and a rat. "
Dajan has to nod at Ezekiel. "Dunno if all vampires are as cranky as that one. No big hurry to find out." Dajan glances at Matthew, though, well aware the man introduced himself as 'The Demon Fox of Hokkaido.' So she'll let Matt decide what he wants to do and who he wants to go with. "My boss has a spare room if you'd rather drop by. Hot shower, soft bed, and breakfast in the morning." She's potentially gonna get chewed out for it; but at the moment she's concerned for the young man and willing to take the hit if Celestina doesn't like her decision.
Matt looks between the two, and his face get's pretty conflicted. Honestly? This is a harder decision than it should be. In the end though, he turns to Zeke. "If you really wanna help, find me again, without the gun. I'm not hard to find. I just… can't handle this tonight." And so he turns towards Dajan instead. "Thanks I appreciate it."
Ezekiel steps closer, snapping a gloved hand to produce a single white card from seemingly thin air. "Take this, its my email address and a phone number. I have alot of enemies, because there are alot of people who think vampires and demons should rule the world. Its complicated, but the gun stays. If its any consolation, theres no silver on me tonight."
Dajan has the good grace to not look smug. Genuinely, she's not. All she cares about is getting this kid — this werewolf kid — under a safe roof. She smiles at him, warmly. "My name is Dajan," she tells him, now that he's feeling better. While she does have silver on her, it's safely sheathed in a pocket of her cargo pants, and she has no need to pull it out now.
It is an uneasy hand that accepts the card, though further mention of demons and vampires doesn't really help much as he tries to calm his nerves. He nods to Zeke and turns to go with Dajan. "Matt, my name's Matt." A warm bed the night and a shower? Well, the price was a little high for it, but he isn't about to turn it down. Still, though, he's sure to fetch his dinner from the trash before he's gone.
With a blink, there is no more fox. He's left another card to flutter down infront of Dajan though, poof. Thin air is fun for all ages.
Dajan blinks, and grins, catching the card. "Awesome," she says, more impressed by that than by anything Angel did. Dajan doesn't object to Matthew fetching his dinner. She calls a cab, and gives the driver directions to her boss' house — Celestina's house. It isn't long before Matt has that hot meal and that warm bed. Dajan asks nothing of him in return other than that he stays the night, long enough to meet her boss in the morning. Hopefully the moon phase will make that a meeting she won't need to cancel.
