Wandering around Athens

[Adele Holst]

Adele woke abruptly in a quiet darkness; alone. What was that? Looking around the room, nothing stirred; the villa was silent, its residents either sleeping, out in the city, or quietly preoccupied. Nothing struck the girl as being out of the ordinary. So why the hell was she awake?
It was her first night back in Athens and the blonde Lycan was sprawled out on her stomach under a down comforter in Perrin's king size bed. Upon her arrival, the attendants had informed her that they'd prepared the master bedroom for her, as they did every time she visited. And though she'd blatantly refused the offer, as she did every time, a curiosity had pulled at her as she walked passed her late Sire's bedroom door that night. She'd only wanted to sit on the mattress to see what it was like, but before she knew it she was lying between the blankets, a small guilty smile on her face as she drifted to sleep. There were still faint traces of his scent in his room; it felt safe. Over and over she told herself she should leave, this was not her bed; but it was so comfortable being in what was left of her Sire's presence. And all the attendants kept telling her the villa was hers now, that she'd inherited it at Perrin's death. They even called her 'lady' and 'miss' despite her protests. At least she wasn't 'mistress', she supposed.
Rubbing her eyes, Adele reached for her phone lying on the nightstand to check the time: 05:24. A low, disappointed moan escaped as the young woman rolled onto her back to stare at the ceiling. She'd only been asleep for about 2 hours, but she was wide awake now. The sun hadn't even started rising yet; darkness crept through the curtains filling the room.
Vague visions of the dream she'd woken from came back as Adele stewed quietly in her discomfort, but the details eluded her. Damien had been there... But what was the dream about? Why was she dreaming of Damien anyway? The same vision of Damien's tow-headed, golden gaze was all she could remember, but they'd been doing something, talking about something... Adele frowned, and rolled back over, adjusting the comforter over her shoulders and holding it close.
Gripping the soft blankets, Adele inhaled slowly, closing her eyes, praying for sleep to return.
It would not, as was becoming pretty evident. 06:07. Dim light was slowly beginning to peek through the windows, the girl grumbled reluctantly and crawled her way out of the large bed. She was only going to give herself a hell of a headache if she tried to force herself back to sleep, that she knew from experience. After making her Master's bed to how it had been before she invaded it, Adele dressed and left the room, making her way downstairs to the crypt that had been built for Perrin. Attendants bowed slightly as she passed, greeting her with a "My Lady," or a "Good morning Miss Adele." It still felt really awkward to her, and even though they were only acknowledging her presence with a greeting, it still took her a moment to realize they weren't expecting her to stop and talk with them.
As she descended, the air grew somewhat musty and chill. Dim light flickered below, and as Adele rounded the corner at the bottom of the stairs, she could see the lit sconces on each wall surrounding the raised tomb of Perrin Goldeneyes. The flames of the candles flickered across her Master's stone grave, like ghosts dancing among the shadows. Unclasping her pentagram necklace, Adele placed it at the head of the coffin and knelt. "Rome was a success..." She whispered shyly, biting her lip. "Your son was injured, but he... he fought really well. Alena said I did good too. She raised my rank..." Adele lowered her head, blonde hair falling forward, and rested her forehead on the side of the stone coffin. "I wish... there'd been more time to learn from you..." Silence moved around the tomb, in answer to the Lycan's words. For a good while Adele just sat there on the cold ground beside the coffin. It didn't have his smell, or the weight of his presence, but he *was* here. Technically.
After a while, the blonde girl stood and placed her hands on the tomb, "Mai Odin geben sie Wissen über ihren Weg, Mai Thor gewähren ihnen Kraft und Mut auf ihrem Weg, Und kann Loki geben sie lachen als sie gehen." Taking her necklace off the coffin, Adele turned to leave.
Resurfacing on the main floor of the villa, Adele shielded her eyes. The sun was up and shining through every window in the house; more attendants appeared to be up and moving around. A dark haired man approached her, bowing slightly, "My Lady, may I get you anything to eat from the kitchen?"
"Um, no," adding a quick, "Thanks. I was going to go out for a while. I'll eat then." She fastened her necklace back on.
The man smiled, "I can wake Alex to have him drive you where you want, if you wish."
"I can walk. Th-thank you." Perrin's attendants had always treated her warmly, but it was a little much for Adele.
Grabbing her black hoodie by the door Adele walked into the sun and made her way into the city of Athens. It was sunny for the moment, but it was still morning and off in the distance the sky looked dark. The wind was chill, and Adele could smell rain looming in the air.

[Caroline]

Just like every morning, Caroline woke up to the singing of birds, rumbling of leaves, and threatening shouts of policemen. Apparently they found it disturbing when a woman slept in a public park all by herself. She never quite figured out whether it was the fact that she was alone that bothered them, or the idea of a dirty woman residing in a perfectly healthy public location. It wasn't her first time bumping foreheads with the authorities, and it certainly was not - God's a witness - sleeping in a public area. She didn't have a home to go to, after all, and she didn't want one, either. At least not what the rest of the world considered a home. Years ago, Caroline had realized that four walls and a roof can be easily taken away from you. Nature, on the other hand, cannot be confiscated. With that small piece of philosophy, Carly had decided that nature itself would be her home. Therefore, some officers that attempted shooing her, quickly learned to regret their actions. Over time though, Caroline had to acknowledge one very simple fact: messing with authorities is very bad. Werewolf or not, having a whole bunch of men and women in uniforms chasing you is absolutely the opposite of survival.

When the pair of policemen asked Caroline to go, she obediently moved away. Instead of letting her go, however, the officers insisted she leaves her belonging behind. They also mentioned something about stolen property, but Carly didn't stick around long enough to listen to all they had to say, because she made a run for it. She noticed that only one of them bothered to chase her while the other spoke into a little device attached to his uniform. Calling for backup, she guessed. The officer chasing her had no chances of catching up, and Carly almost relaxed when a police vehicle nearly rammed into her. She managed to jump onto its hood, and then continued running. The car had much better chances of catching up, but thanks to some improvisation and many random maneuvers, Caroline managed to lose them. Again, she was on the verge of relaxing when once again she was spotted. This time, the officers not only used two-wheeled vehicles, but also pulled out their weapons.

At that moment, Caroline noticed a rather large villa up ahead, which had become her primary goal, where she hoped to hide, transform into a wolf, and then hopefully escape her pursuers. Following some more zigzagging through narrow alleys, Caroline turned toward the villa and forced herself to run as fast as her legs could possibly allow. Shorty after, however, she yet again narrowly escaped a collision. Fortunately, it was only a woman -not in uniform - walking down the street, with whom Carly had near-collision. Once she regained her balance, Caroline glared at the woman and - literally - growled at her. It didn't exactly sound like a savage animal, but it wasn't quite human, either. Right then, Carly had two option. One, she could continue on her way to the villa and hope her plan works. Two, she could try using this here woman as a hostage and with any luck get the cops to go away. There wasn't much time to decide, but for some reason or another, Caroline had trouble choosing.

[Geoff]

As the sun peaked through the curtains in his base, he arose out of bed to a large building completely void of life other than himself. It felt like it had been forever since he left Alena and the den behind, he felt alone, he had had enough time to gather enough supplies for the based to be as fully stocked as possible. And being alone made it easier to gather everything without being detected. He had been smart, buying all sorts of things from all sorts of different stores, he had been doing everything possible to prepare for his revolution. But he kept in the back of his mind the pain of this situation, he was supposed to be an Alpha in Rome, he was going to be the second of the entire lycan race only to Alena. And now he has to be hiding out in his little fortress hoping to show the lycans what they are doing wrong. But he needed more lycans on his side other than himself.

He arose out of his bed, got showered, put on work boots, an undershirt, and a black dress shirt, but he didn't even bother buttoning it up. He grabbed his keys and his cell and walked out to his car, it was a clunker, nothing special, but Geoff needed to lay low. As he drove off, he decided to head to a cafe in Athens. He quickly arrived at the cafe shortly after leaving. He sat at a table just outside the front window, he only had time to order a drink before he scenced a lycan, and then another. The first one he scenced was one he didn't recognize, so he didn't panic, but rather he got excited, maybe this lycan would join him. He could tell this lycan was getting close, and in an instant she ran by, seeming to be in a hurry. He wanted to think of a way to contact this lycan, so he thought he would try to mentally contact her, hoping she could hear. Hey, if you think you are alone, you aren't. I can help you, give you a home, keep you safe. Help you out if you need it. Please answer me if you can. As he was trying to contact the new lycan, he caught the scent of a lycan he recognized. It was Adele, and even though Geoff was a powerful lycan and Adele seemed to be not as experienced, he knew not to mess with someone who trained with any golden-eyes, especially Perrin. Adele? What are you doing here? Please tell me you haven't come to cause trouble, you know what has happened, and if you have come to kill me like Alena promised someone would, then I will tell you I won't submit easily.

[Adele Holst]

The dream she'd had was still incredibly fuzzy. Just when Adele thought she had a grasp on an image or scene in the dream, it would slip through her fingers and all would be lost again. Maybe she was thinking on it too hard; it was just a dream anyway, and at least it wasn't another nightmare. She had no problems remembering all the nightmares she'd had since becoming a Lycan. Just when she thought she might finally have a piece to the puzzle, Adele heard footsteps coming her way, quick, and looked up just in time to narrowly avoid being run into. "Aufpassen, wo sie sind!" Adele instictively showed her teeth and growled back when the woman snarled at her; and it hit her: she was wolf-kin. A few years ago the connection might have gone right over the blonde's head, but she'd been around enough Werewolves now to tell one apart from a Human. At least, she could recognize the Lycans who weren't hiding their smell and presence. Humans would be clueless to this woman's true nature, but she was not hiding it, and Adele knew at once.
Beyond the woman, Adele could hear and quickly see what this Lycan had been running from. The police. Adele's heart skipped faster and she just about turned to bolt herself even though she hadn't done anything that could be traced to her. Police in any language or country were no friends of Adele's, and the sight of them running toward/after her was all too familiar. But she paused for the slightest of moments. Maybe they hadn't seen the woman stop yet. The way Caroline had come was up an incline and she'd had a pretty good lead on them. As the police came closer, Adele grabbed the woman by the hand and led her out into the street, running right passed the authorities and down the hill where Caroline had come from. The girl looked back for a moment to see if the strange Lycan had followed her, and to watch the police turn and have to run back down the hill. They seemed to be getting exhausted.
Officers on motorcycles sped up, and Adele moved quickly to the left, jumping over a low stone hedge and cutting across a small yard, through a busy street and into the main downtown area of Athens where tourists and people of all ages were out and walking the streets. Small bubbles of giggles that started out quiet, quickly erupted into loud, maniacal laughter as Adele ran through the people and passed the police. She hoped the other Lycan had followed her, or at least managed to get away from the authorities who'd been chasing her.
Dodging in and out of a few alleys, Adele felt she'd managed to get herself lost in the crowds of people well enough that she slowed to a walk to fit in with the movement of the tourists and not be detected. That was when she got the message and could feel his presence. Geoff? What was he doing in Athens? Scheiße! Trying to act calm, Adele walked over to one of the street displays, pretending to be interested in the merchandise; but the stand owner shooed her away probably thinking Adele couldn't afford anything on the table.
What was she going to do? Geoff knew she was here, it wasn't like she could really hide now. A sick feeling turned in her stomach; she didn't want this, why did she have to be the one to come across Geoff first? At the feast, Alena had told the entire Den with all of its visitors from around the world of Geoff's treason and had ordered him to be killed and brought back. Adele didn't harbor the man any ill-will, he'd been really nice to her his whole time at the Den; but she didn't want to be cast out and labeled a traitor either... Biting her lip, Adele looked around, and sent a message back to Geoff: I don't want to cause trouble. What are you doing here, Geoff? Just.. leave me alone.

[Geoff]

Geoff was sipping his coffee as he got a reply from Adele. You come here, I'm guessing to kill me, and you don't want any trouble? Where is the logic in that situation? I'm guessing Alena didn't explain the full situation as to the reason why I left and why I think she is wrong. I discovered something in Rome, I found the house of my family, where they had been killed, and evidence showed me that Alena killed my family, which means that she doesn't care who she kills, and then she decides to turn me the same night claiming that she actually has feelings for me. So she is okay with killing any person. And if we are okay with killing anyone for food, then I need to ask, what makes us any different then the vampires? You probably won't understand me, but that is why I am here. I had to leave sweden. So please, help me or leave me, but don't make more trouble for me than I'm already in. Geoff finished with Adele, trying to reach out to the new lycan again, Lycan, it's okay, you can trust me, my name is Geoff, I'm hoping you can hear me, and if you can, no this isn't your mind playing tricks on you, I am real. I can provide food, I can provide shelter, I can provide protection, I can provide safety. Geoff finished his coffee, and left the cafe, he went around a back alley trying to avoid detection, getting into his car via the long route. Starting up his old clunker, "I hope I don't have to do anything I'll regret later, please let her not actually be here to kill me." He said to himself before driving off to follow the new lycan to see what's going on.

[Caroline]

Caroline was very much used to being chased. She maybe doesn't like running away and doesn't do it often, but as one of the oldest rules in the books suggests, live to fight another day, or as in this case, run to be free another day. Besides, it's not like running from pathetic humans is too difficult. They are slow, they tire easily, and best of all, they have no clue what they are up against. Little do they know that cornering a beast does not cut off its paths of escape, it only makes you an obstacle to through. Of course, unless the beast is dragged away by a random woman who speaks gibberish and growls like a dog. Caroline was taken aback by the woman's sudden reaction. Normally people would run away or at least shout a few unfriendly curses, but not this chicka. Instead, she took Caroline's hand and began running. Carly was so surprised at that moment that she couldn't immediately respond. She wouldn't really mind being assisted by the similar gender, if that woman wasn't pulling her toward the cops instead of away from them. Quickly, Caroline pulled her hand out of the grip hoping that there's still a chance for her to get away. Unfortunately, the momentum she picked up running downhill made it incredibly difficult to turn around or even stop. Like a mentally challenged charging a psychiatrist, Caroline charged toward the police officers as a last attempts to get past them.

The plan was a success, and Caroline ended up following the blond woman that dragged her into that mess. Eventually, they both found refuge within the crowded streets by blending in. Caroline, being a freaky creation of nature, had some trouble mixing with the civilized population. Luckily she managed to snatch a jacket that was left hanging unattended on the back of a chair by one of many restaurants. Her moderately clean pants in addition to the stylish jacket, Caroline looked very much like a human. With that done, she went after that other woman, but before she could reach her, words began forming within her mind.

At first, Caroline thought that the voices were coming from the people around her, but in mere moments, she realized that nobody was talking to her. Plus, the voice was so loud and clear as if someone was speaking directly into her ear. The voice kept on talking about safety and help and whatnot. With an irritated expression, Caroline lifted her palm and slapped herself in the face right then and there. The voice sounded like it belonged to a rather powerful male. Sure, Caroline had not known the company of men for some time now, but this is ridiculous! hearing voices? Come on!

[Adele Holst]

Yes, Alena told us, all of us. Adele looked back to see the woman had followed her, and they seemed to be clear of any police. The blonde smiled softly and waited for her to catch up. She said you'd lost your stomach for fighting, Geoff. That the life of a Wolf had become too much for you. If at all possible, Adele tried to avoid being around people for full moons. She didn't take any particular joy from killing and feeding on Humans, but the very first hunt Perrin had taken her on, she'd been told it was alright to prey on the Humans. Still, if the Wolf Mother wanted to eat Adele's parents, the girl would be absolutely fine with that. They'd given her a life of pain, but Perrin had brought her into a better life. Maybe Geoff had had a loving family though...
Adele brought her hands up to her face and over her forehead, grabbing onto some strands of hair and tugging slightly as Geoff continued to speak to her mind. The Lycan mind-speak had been one of the hardest things to adjust to since becoming a Werewolf. Not only had there been so many new sights, sounds and smells Adele had never noticed before, all screaming for her attention at once, her pack mates could also transmit their thoughts and ideas to her without ever having to open their mouth. It was enough to drive her mad. Like all her own thoughts were being pushed aside for a voice that isn't hers. I'm not here for you Geoff!! She growled softly to herself and looked over to the woman who'd almost run into her, then up to the sky. You shouldn't be in Athens. Was the last thing she sent to her former pack mate.
Biting her lip, Adele looked to Caroline, deciding to try English first, "Are... you alright?" As if as an afterthought, the young woman added, "I'm Adele." She wondered if Geoff was trying to speak to this Lycan too.

[Geoff]

Geoff started to get mad with Adele, she didn't understand the trouble that Geoff had, Geoff had morals and if the pack didn't want to keep the same morals, then they might as well be vampires. Fine, but I'm telling you right now, I'm not going anywhere, I can hold my own. Geoff drove up and saw Adele with the new lycan trying to confront her. He started to wonder what Adele was here for if not for him, Perrin's mansion was near here, but Geoff lived farther out than that, and what would she be doing in the city? If not for something important. Geoff kept trying the new lycan, hoping that being within visual distance, she could better understand him and know that he was real. Listen, we lycans can communicate telepathically, and you need to know, this woman that you are talking to is dangerous, I can help you, but have to keep yourself safe for the moment, you need to get out of there. I can help you but you need to trust me. Deciding that for the sake of the new lycan, he would approach her. He revved his clunker and sped up and swung the car around so it parked right in front of them.

Geoff exited his car, his muscles started to ripple and Geoff let out a low growl at Adele. He then turned to the new lycan, "You there, new lycan, I am the one who has been trying to talk to you, in your mind. Listen to me, there are certain lycans you can't trust, some you have to be careful of. This one, Adele, she is a part of a clan that doesn't care who they kill, they have no morals, they will kill whoever and whatever they need to to get their way, and if you do something wrong, they will try to kill you to. You have to trust me, you could be in great danger right now."

[Caroline]

That voice just kept on coming. Caroline wasn't listening to what it had to say, she really didn't care what evil mental spirits wanted, as long as they went about their business outside her pumpkin. Perhaps those mushrooms growing in the forest at the edge of the city weren't as healthy as they seemed. Before Caroline could smack her head against a nearby wall to hopefully get rid of the voice, the second object of her madness approached. That woman. That nuts woman who dragged her who knows where. Instead of saying something sensible, or at least explaining her motives, the woman instead introduced herself as if the two were already becoming best buddies. Had the world gone mad? Or is it just Caroline that's feeling a bit fuzzy? Regardless, it was time to bid farewell to this abnormal town.

Just when Caroline thought things couldn't get any better, a car parked near her and ejected a rather large fellow who seemed to be taking responsibility for the voice she war hearing. His voice and the one stuck in her head did sound familiar, but accepting the idea of telepathy was slightly harder. Most interesting was, however, how that man went on and on about the dangers of trusting the wrong person, after he had supposedly tormented her brain with certain psychic powers. At least that woman helped evade the police, whereas that man - apparently an enemy of that lady - had done nothing but act creepy and drive her to the edge of a mental breakdown. Whom to go with? Such a difficult decision... oh, right.

Pointing to Geoff first, Caroline finally spoke. "Go fuck someone else's brains, Einstein." She snapped at him with irritation before turning to the woman, who honestly at this point seemed like the nicest of the two. "Hi Adele. I am a sane person for the most part, and you seem to attract insanity." She glanced at the big guy as a reference for the insanity. With that, she took a few steps away from the two and kept eyes focused mainly on the larger speciment, which seemed to pose more of a threat at the moment.

[Geoff]

Geoff came closer, turning his palms to face them signifying that he was going to be completely honest with them. "Adele, I'm sorry for what I said, but look that den has lost it's morality. Alena may be the mother of lycanthropy, but I'm telling you now that killing any and all humans is wrong. When I became a lycan I thought we were saving the humans from the vampires, no just hogging food from them. And how would they see us, as vile evil things that do whatever we want. I'm not saying the vampires are right, but if we do as they do, then what makes us better than them. It makes us as much of an animal as they are, we might as well just stay in wolf form and leave our human side, our humanity and morality as a whole, behind forgetting it and becoming nothing more than a simple animal. I still want to do what's right, despite what Alena thinks is okay and what isn't." Geoff then turned back to the new lycan, "I'm sorry for trying to contact you, but I did notice the police following you, and if I didn't pull my car up to where I did, when I did, two more police would have found you." Just then two police sirens seemed to be near by, Geoff stepped out to talk to them, you could overhear mumbles between Geoff and the police men. Not to long after Geoff came back. "You see, I'm doing what I can to protect you, and despite what Adele and you might think, I want protection and unity between all of the lycans. But I want us to be right in what we do, humans need protecting, they are not just a food source. The humans need protecting from the vampires. And the lycans need to be shown that we are better than the vampires. But if you two wish to dismiss everything I say, then I'm sorry but there is nothing more I can do for either of you." Geoff turned around and slowly started walking to his car hoping his message sunk in to both of them.