Starring:
Summary: Zeke finds Matthew and asks him to meet Hannah, Matt tries to figure out who is friends are.
Date It Happened: February 19, 2002
Scheduling a Meeting with the Alpha
East LA
Its really not that tough to find people, well people that smell like blood anyway. So here we find Ezekiel, quietly waiting with the patience befitting a proper ninja indeed. He was quite normal in appearance at least, even if he did need a touch of a shave. Late nights aside however, Ezekiel has purpose today. So he plays up the motorcycle messenger angle and plays at fiddling with his backpack as he waits. He knows it wont be too much longer now, the smell is too sharp not to be a well traveled route for today's prey.
One of these days someone is gonna have to teach Matt how to use that nose of his. A determined teenwolf, he's currently walking down the sidewalk going into business after business in search of odd jobs, regular employment really out of his reach at the moment. So far? Not so good, 6 hours into it and less than $20 to show. Heading out from a laundry mat this time, he paces out to a bench nearby and sits heavy in it, tired and exhausted.
Ezekiel saddles up his pack, before quietly slipping across the road and then its down the sidewalk before he dares get close to Matthew. He doesnt want to be seen just walking about, appearances and all of that. "Hey pup."he offers from behind, while his face may not be the least bit familar at least his voice should be. "Whats going down?"
Oh, that voice is more than familiar enough. Matt's shoulders tighten up instantly at the greeting and the hair on the back of his neck begins to stand on in. Slowly turning his head to see the fox behind him to not see the fur takes him off guard. His eyes quirk curious and confused. "Just try'n to eat." Is his answer, simple and direct. "I thought I thought you'd be older."
Ezekiel smiles softly, vaulting the bench from behind to fwump down next to Matt. "Ok so anyway, I have this girl I want you to meet. She's something of an expert on your affliction, and she's a very nice person to boot. Would you be down for meeting her if I provided you with a safe place?"
"Wait does everyone know about me?" Matt asks, a bit confused about hearing of yet another person with inside information.
Ezekiel shakes his head "Naw, I didnt spill your secret or nothin. I just told her there was a dude who she should meet, and she was down with it."He sets his helmet in his lap to tug his shemagh down a touch more. "Your secrets are for you to tell, not me dude dont worry. It'll be a chance for you to network, and you can meet another buddy of mine if you want. It'd be in Inari's temple, so I assure you nobody will start shit."
Matt just shakes his head with a bit of a grin on his lips. "Sure, I guess I can. But I'm running out of time with things, soon." Matt tilts his head up to signal to a moon that isn't in sight just yet. "Might be a little busy with things. Who is this friend of yours anyway?"
Goodness "He's a foreigner, who knows the worth of things and the place of parts. Thats high praise form a Fox, but heck now we're getting back into the issue of telling people secrets right? "He grins never the less, Ezekiel that is. "Hows tonight or so, do you have a phone I can reach you at?"
"No, no phone or nuthin', man, I spend half my nights sleeping on a box. You have an odd definition of secrets." Matt decides with half of a hollow laugh. Though he certainly doesn't look like he's been sleeping on a box lately. His balls his hand up into a fist and rests his chin against it. Flaring his nostrils, he takes a good smell of it and his face distorts instantly into discomfort. "I don't know if I can tonight, there there is something I'm tryin' to deal with right now."
Ezekiel unzips his jacket to produce a simple prepaid phone, another good reason to keep these sorts of things around. "Its only got like sixty minutes on it, but hey its yours. "curious indeed, Matt had places to be? Unthinkable. "Well look dude, you do what you need to do but this is important. She has someplace safe where you can, yaknow do your thing and she can teach you to control that side of you. She's like a professional, when it comes to this stuff. She may have a job for you too, I dunno but she owns a joint."
"What I have to take care of is important, too." Matt answers with an odd weight on his word. Yes, more important than the moon and his fuzzy on the inside. "But wait…" his guard raises and his eyes turn towards Zeke, suspicious again. "This isn't the first time I've heard an offer like this, I already told Jack, I'm not interested."
Instantly things snap into place, Jack. Zeke visibly tightens, a new sharpness taking home in his gaze. "Jack, who is jack. Tell me about Jack."Theres no further discussion of cages and control or the temple or a big huge snake. No, this conversation has taken a decidedly more dangerous turn.
Matt stands to leave, not liking the new intensity in Zeke's expression. A wave of fear washes visibly down the kid. "Now we're back to the issue of tellin' people's secrets again?" he counters as his heart begins to race, borrowing from Zeke's own voice.
Ezekiel frowns hard "my friends, dont go out of their way to ensure maximum body count. My friends dont believe the slaughter of innocents, is acceptable. Things happen, and when wild things happen so be it. There is a distinct difference, between something wild and someone in full control doing their very best to slaughter and bite and disfigure as many people as possible. I know Jack, and I know you want absolutely nothing to do with him Matthew. Now come with me, I know someplace you can hide."
"Who am I supposed to trust here?" Matt asks challengingly, turning around to look at Zeke? "Jack? You? The Witch?" holding his hand out in front of him, he turns it over, smelling again. "Which cage is it? You're all tellin' me the same thing, and I don't know anymore. What has Jack done, and how is it any different than what I've done? How long is it gonna be before you point one of those bullets at me?"
Ezekiel takes a moment, closing his eyes to find a little zen. "Your a hand grenade Mat, you go off and people get hurt. You dont have any more control over who gets hurt than any other explosive device, but you can chose where you go off. Jack is a knife blade, he's fully in control and makes the intentional decision to do harm because he can. I watched him take another wolf, who chose by his own will to be caged, out of his cage and then wind him into a homicidal frenzy. I watched him kill a man, use a baby for a shield, rend a woman nearly to death and then flee when it became apparent the wolf he freed was trying to hold himself back. Jack is evil, you have an evil affliction. You may not see the line from where -you- stand Matthew, but I see it clear as day. Your a good man, with a problem."
There is something in there that puts a calm over Matt, something that softens his nerves and slows his heart. "The girl… her mom. That… " Something clicks inside his head, puzzle pieces sliding together. "Zeke, I'm not a hand grenade. I'm not the one in control, but what I do is no accident." This is stated with a confidence of fact, not the scared ramblings that come from him from before. "I don't want it, I never asked for it, and I'm tryin' to fight it with every last breath I have, but that is exactly what it's going to take from me. I'm just tryin' to keep as many people as I can from getting hurt before it does."
Ezekiel tightens back into a frown. "The fuck you are,your so god damned self centered you dont know a boot from a helping hand. I'm trying, very hard to be your friend. When people ask me, I say your my friend. I've dont nothing but be cool with you, I've answered your questions and fixed your wounds and never asked anything in return. I dont keep tabs, I dont accept debts."he pauses, biting his tongue for a moment. "Please, just do this one fucking thing for me ok? If your so scared of me your all the more stupid, because if I was going to hurt you it would have happened a hundred times before."
"You don't really understand…" Matt begins to counter, but shakes his head at the ground. "And you're right. I owe you, I really do." Pacing over to the phone, he picks it up and slides it into the pocket of his shorts. "I'll meet with your friend."
Theres an audible sigh of relief, and even a little smile. "Thankyou, If you need a ride just tell me when I call you and I'll come get you. Now, please please -please- do not talk to Jack again. If you do so, at least talk to my friend first. At least, get the whole story. Ok buddy?"
Matthew simply nods, and turns to leave, his mood considerably worse than it was 10 minutes before, and his head hanging a little lower. He heads for Dajan's.
