Wandering around Athens Part II

[Adele Holst]

After grabbing lunch with Caroline, Adele excused herself to meet Damien and Pete at the airport. The time on her cell phone indicated the two Lycans should have arrived almost ten minutes ago, so the blonde waited outside the building in the area where the 'arrivals' would be exiting. She didn't want to have to enter the airport if at all possible, and hoped that the young men would find her easily enough. It was too crowded even outside of the building for the girl's taste.
When the two blonde boys emerged, Adele lead them back into the city, "I have to take care of something before we go to Perrin's. I hope you guys don't mind..."
As the sun began to sink beneath the buildings along the horizon, a chill wind picked up, sending welcome shivers along Adele's spine. The rush of traffic and pedestrians slowed to a crawl as the evening wore on, heralded as the lights for the businesses around town took up their watch, illuminating the city.
The young Lycan made her way through the streets, cutting through alleyways and leaving the main city of Athens behind, heading for the bay Eleusis. Instead of calling an attendant at Perrin's villa to pick her up and give her a ride, the girl had stubbornly chosen to walk and clear her mind of the day's encounters. The time spent walking, she hoped, would help prepare her for her confrontation with Geoff.
Geoff had been at the Den in Sweden six years ago, the night Adele first arrived with the burdening news of Perrin Goldeneyes' death on her shoulders. It was Lena and Alena who'd welcomed her into the strange mansion of Werewolves that night, but every night after, whenever she'd seen Geoff, he'd always had a nice word to say and even tried to get her to train with him. He'd been encouraging and supportive even though Adele hardly spoke around him and would shy away from his offers to train.
Dark purple and deep shades of blue stretched across the sky as the sun fell lower into the horizon; the blonde was going to be a little late from the looks of it, but she was almost to the bay, and no more prepared than when she'd started off.
Despite how friendly Geoff had been, he was an enemy now. He stood against Alena Wulf and the Den in Stockholm, and her friends would be out for his blood. Adele could understand some of his apprehension with they ways certain things were done at the Den, but Lycans were supposed to stick together. Why hadn't he just stayed to try and work things out? Instead he was an outright traitor to the Pack. The whole mess was exhausting and left a bad taste in the girl's mouth. Adele was supposed to be working to take up Perrin's mantle; Perrin who'd been a leader of the Lycans, she couldn't be stuck in the middle on this topic. What would her sire do if he were here? Somehow, Adele thought she knew; he given her his gene with his bite. But the answer didn't please the girl. Perrin may have offered his villa as a sanctuary for the Lycans he sired; but his affection was hard and hard earned, and Adele had heard accounts of what happened to traitors who crossed Perrin's path, and it wasn't pretty. From what she knew, Pablo, another Lycan bitten by Perrin, would be after Geoff too. Adele really didn't want to fight Geoff, but if she was going to follow her Sire's lead, there wouldn't be much of a choice.
Oh, what am I doing here...? Biting her lip, Adele walked over the dunes along the Eleusis Bay, approaching the water and looking around for where Geoff might be. Upon spying him, she shoved her hands in her hoodie's pockets and made her way to the older Lycan. They appeared to be the only ones around in the visible distance, but Adele's greeting came out soft, "Hey."

[Peter Sharpe]

Though Pete had only met the girl a few weeks prior, he was never one to decline an invitation. Especially considering the circumstances. Sure, he had his suspicions as to why he was invited to accompany Damien and Adele to Athens, but a vacation was a vacation. And if his suspicions were correct, and Damien was keeping an eye on him, the best course of action would be to remain as close to him as possible. Though he had absolutely nothing to hide, it would further disprove any allegations of treatchery. He also found the idea of enjoying some rest and relaxation in Athen's to be a refreshing change of pace. Afterall, the last time he'd visited Italy, he was fighting tooth and nail against the Lycan's eternal enemy. Interestingly enough, he thought, he was thrown into battle with the vampiric hordes every time he set foot on European soil.

He'd heard that many of his Lycanthropic brothers and sisters retched at the thought of traveling via airplane, and the vast majority found the experience to be less than pleasurable, but Pete was unique in that aspect. There was something comforting about the fact that at 40,000 feet in the air, he was the same as everybody else. Super-human strength, speed, agility, and immortality itself meant nothing there. If fate, or god, or simply bad luck dictated that the plane he was one fell from the sky, he would perish despite all of his gifts. In battle, one can rely on their own two hands, but 40,000 feet in the air, he could only trust in the machines, and if worse came to worse, one small nylon lap-band. But the best part was Airport security. It filled him with mirth every time he set foot in an airport. The human's security measures were perhaps the most humorous thing he'd seen since he'd become a Lycan. The humans' take precautions to prevent weapons such as blades, guns, and bombs were kept out... but if only they knew that everyday, an untold number of Lycans and Vampires alike were let onto airplanes with dozens, sometimes hundreds of defenseless meatsacks. Their ignorance never ceased to amuse him. But he supposed that's why he and his pack of Swiftpaws were neccessary, to protect them from those who would use their power to turn humankind into cattle.

Upon arriving in Athen's, Pete immediately departed for the bus-loop just outside of the building. Fortunately, he hadn't any need to dick around with baggage claim, instead only taking his backpack as a carry-on. Perhaps he packed a bit light, but it wouldn't have been the first time he'd traveled across Europe with nothing more than a backpack. Unsurprisingly, the small blonde girl was hidden by the endless sea of the crowd, but Pete was able to sense her presence due to the faint ripples of thought he picked up over the every present mental link between Lycans. It was situations like these that made him thankful he'd spent so much time practicing the lesser utilized gifts of his kind.

After a brief exchange, Adele mentioned some task that had to be attended before they returned to Perrin's villa. The vague manner in which she explained what she was doing, and her almost... guilty demeanor was intriguing. He nodded as she left in a direction that he knew to be away from the city, thanks to the aerial view he observed from the window seat of the airplane. Once a few minutes had passed silently along with Damien, he set off at a brisk pace after her, careful to remain out of sight and earshot. Apparently Damien's curiousity had been aroused as well, as he followed closely behind.

As he had suspected, Adele's destination was just outside of the city limits. Though the two were far enough away that he couldn't make out any details even with his super-human eyesight, there was no doubt as to who the pair on the sandy shores were. There, standing next to the diminutive form of his host was a massive man who stood with the aire of command that only one who'd seen many battles would have. Though his scent was lost to the salty sea air, Pete could recognize the presence of his own flesh and blood. Against his better judgement, he ran towards the two Lycans. He had no idea as to why Geoff was here, or why the two had met, but he would have his answers soon enough.

[Damien]

It was a very interesting combination. Damien never really understood the phrase 'mixed feelings' before. After all, the way in which he lived his life in with the single-minded determination that nothing would keep him from his goals left the world pretty much black and white. Yet here he was, perhaps mere minutes away from finding out the truth about his father. One half of him was elated. He'd been searching for these answers ever since he'd cast his human life in America aside. But he also felt a deep-seated sense of dread. What if these answers weren't the answers he'd imagined them to be? Over the years, the fact that Perrin may in fact be dead had slowly sunk in, but he wasn't sure if he actually wanted closure. After all those years, what would he do? What would give him purpose? A question for another time.

Damien despised airports. Hundreds of businessmen and tourists mindlessly scrambling about with a strange urgency. People in airports walked with a sense of false urgency that would lead you to believe that the end of times was approaching, only to discard the thought when they reached their gate and sat down, tapping their feet for an hour before being ushered onto the plane in a single file line. He also found the concept of "over-booking" to be one of the most foolish things he'd ever heard of. How could they over-book a flight? Were they simply not fully aware of the exact number of seats on the plane? Surely they couldn't have overlooked something like that.

Luckily, at Alena's request, Damien was able to obtain a ticket for the flight Pete had taken to Athens. Once the plane had been boarded, Damien chose a seat a few rows behind the older Lycan. It was an aisle seat, and he was thankful... it allowed him to stretch his legs ever so slightly just so long as the flight attendant wasn't running around peddling small bags of peanuts for more money than a chinese sweatshop worker earned in a month. The flight, though uneventful to say the least, was over quicker than he had anticipated. He could have sworn that they all boarded the plane less than an hour ago, yet there they were circling the city of athens preparing to touch down on the runway.

Though Damien had never been to Athens, and he wasn't entirely certain of where he was supposed to meet with Adele, Pete seemed to know exactly where he was going. Not sure of what else to do, he followed the older Lycan into the crowd to... exactly where Adele had been waiting for them. He made a mental note to ask the man at a later time how he'd manage to locate her so quickly. She mentioned that she had something to take care of before taking them to Perrin's villa, but Damien could tell from her body language that she was hiding something. Pete had obviously came to the same conclusion, as he took careful note of the direction she went, and after a few minutes, set off in pursuit. Damien was curious... what could she possibly have to hide. He made his decision quickly, the best way to find out would be to follow Pete, he'd proven on several occasions in the past to be an extremely competant tracker. Soon enough they would find out what she was up to.

And soon enough they did find out. After tracking her through the city to the bay, they found her meeting with a large man whom Damien couldn't identify. Pete obviously knew who this man was, as he wasted no time sprinting off in their direction without a word. Again following after Pete, he expected some sort of jovial family reunion, this man was obviously some mutual friend of the groups'. As they drew closer, he realized that he was partially right... there stood the traitor to the pack. Damien took his place next to Pete and Adele, greeting the man with a snarl.

[Geoff]

Geoff looked over the three lycans standing before him, he really didn't want to fight, but he knew the others probably wanted to kill him right then and there. Geoff knew that he had strength unlike any other lycan out there, almost strong enough to take on Alena, but even he wasn't stupid enough to try and take on three lycans at the same time. Not to mention the fact that Geoff felt tired of everything was going on. He wanted peace, but he also wanted what was right, he knew even with all of his fancy words, he couldn't talk or fight his way out of this alive, but he had to try.

Putting his hands up in a position of surrender, "Go ahead, take your best shot, and get it over with quickly, because if standing up for what's right leads too. Then this will be so much easier then what is probably coming for me. But do me a favor, use a gun, I'm wanting this to be quick." He waited around for a brief moment, then looked at the three without any hope in his eyes at all what so ever. "Well I guess, before I die here on this beach, I can tell you why I did what I did so you guys can have a full story of my life and death." He took a brief pause, "I wouldn't be a lycan today if it wasn't for Alena. She is the one who turned me, and all that you already know. But what you may not know is that she turned me because she told me that vampires killed my family and she did that to save me. If she had been honest with me, maybe I would have recovered eventually, maybe I would have come around. But she lied to me, and in that lie I came to realize something about our little den, we kill whoever we want and don't give a crap about it. Now I hate vampires just as much as the next lycan, but if we do that, then what makes our actions any different from theirs."

Geoff turned around to look at the beach, knowing full well that anyone of them could deliver a deadly blow without him even knowing. "In life, we are not defined by what we failed at, but what we succeeded at, at least that's what we want, but if we don't have any successes, then we are defined by our failures. We live and sometimes we try to do what's right, we should aim to do what is right, not what is easy. And that's what makes us better than the vampires. Or so I thought. But hey, if none of this gets through to you, if none of it sticks. Then know this, knowing I am trying to stand for what's right is all I have left now, doing the right thing took everything else from me. And if you don't believe me, then just shoot me in the back right now, because frankly this is making me tired of living lately.

[Adele Holst]

From the moment Adele departed and left the city, she figured her two pack-mates would follow her; at least, she was sure Damien would. And thinking about it, she hadn't really given them any alternative places to go while she went off to meet Geoff. Of course they were going to follow her, this was their first time in Greece that she knew of; what else would they do? All that aside, she hoped they'd give her distance when it appeared she'd reached her destination.
Standing beside Geoff, about to speak, it became clear the distance she'd desired would not be granted. She heard sand kicking up under quick footsteps, and soon after Pete was by her side, followed not long after by Damien. Both men had been at the feast to celebrate Rome's victory and heard of Geoff's betrayal, and both Adele knew to be loyal to the Mother of Werewolves. The situation the girl had been dreading all afternoon was instantly made more uncomfortable by their presence. This probably didn't look very good; she hadn't intended to fight Geoff, but with her pack-mates at her heels, she'd look like a traitor too if she didn't do something.
Biting her lip, Adele looked at the sand, and listened while Geoff spoke, such sadness in his voice. He'd gone from being Alena's lover with a comfy spot in the Den and a secured future, to being wanted by the enormity of the Lycan Den. Not even tomorrow must feel secure for him. He'd lost everything; his home, two families, even the woman he loved. Which still bothered Adele, by the way: you were supposed to stick by the people you loved, and try your best. He could have tried to talk things out with Alena if he'd really wanted to, she thought.
Thinking about it just made her frustrated, so she tried to pause the racing thoughts and looked up at the back of Geoff's head as he finished talking, and then to the Lycans accompanying her, "This isn't... ah I was just. Um." She looked back to Geoff. The Traitor. "Geoff, I... I'm not here to kill you, and I didn't really mean to bring company, but..." The words stumbled awkwardly out, damn she was not good in these situations. "I just wanted to warn you. To get out of Athens, cause the next time I see you... We might have been friends at the Den, but, things have changed."

[Peter Sharpe]

What started as elation to see his brother alive and well quickly turned to a boiling anger. Geoff had raised his hands in surrender... What the hell did Geoff think he was doing here? Pete was disgusted. Disgusted that Geoff would not only throw away his own pride, but make a mockery of Pete's honor as well. The human inside of him was disgusted that it had even crossed Geoff's mind that he was here to kill him, and the wolf was enraged that his own half brother would simply admit defeat, and accept his death without pause or objection. He was weak. Not able to contain himself any longer, Sharpe's calm, silent demeanor shattered as he began to shout at the large man.

"How dare you address me like that? Climb down from your soap-box, I'll not be preached to by one so naive. You think that their deaths meant nothing to me? You think that I haven't considered the fact that I'll have an eternity to remember every single one of the faces of those I've killed? My hands are covered in blood, and I'll see to it that they're only stained further. Do you have any idea of the sacrifices I've made? I gave up my humanity to this cause. I lost Arai to this cause. I was going to marry her... we would have lived together until this world came to an end. And now she's dead! Sacrifices have been made, and I won't rest until I've freed this world from the vampires. If a family or two has to die to make that happen, so be it... I'll sacrifice them a thousand times over, and they should die content knowing that I won't allow their deaths to be in vain! But you... you're just giving up! You think this is what they would have wanted?!"

Shoving Damien aside with a bellow, he was upon Geoff faster than a human eye could perceive, and faster than the larger Lycan could react. Before anybody could restrain him, Pete delivered a hard right hook to Geoff's chin. "Take my best shot? Kill you quickly? I hadn't planned on pursuing you, and at the risk of my own life and the lives of my men I would have ensured your safety. But if you're willing to throw your own life away for something as trivial, I don't see why I shouldn't sit by and watch as Alena and her posey hunts you down and turns you into a fucking trophy to be mounted on the wall as a reminder of what happens to those who lose sight of what we're here to do!"

[Geoff]

Geoff's eyes burned with rage as his half brother jumped and attacked him. Geoff let out a roar that almost sounded like a lion. His werewolf teeth started to show. Geoff's muscles began to ripple as he grew with anger. As Pete was on him, he grabbed Pete by his arms and threw him to the ground with such pressure that would break the spine of a normal human. Geoff grabbed Pete's arm and put it in a kimora and kept on cranking it until you could almost hear it crack. If he cranked it anymore, Pete's arm probably would have ripped off.

Geoff finally picked Pete up by his arm and threw him down on the ground and let out another roar. He finally began to make conceivable words in his yelling. "How dare you insult me like that, don't you think I understand the sacrifices you have made, I know. I was in New York, I know everything that has happened to you. Don't give me this shit about honor, trying to do what is right is what gives me honor. You speak of honor, killing people to kill vampires. Your logic doesn't even make sense, I didn't come here to fight you."

Geoff finally began to settle down, and he finally looked all human again. "Now I didn't come to fight, we need to work together here. You speak of all the blood on your hands, I'm not saying that you are some piece of scum for it, but you can avenge that. You can bring about justice. You can do what is right." Turning back to Adele, "You can see where I am coming from, Perrin believed in what is right, and so should you all."

He turned back to Pete, "Now Pete, you are my half brother, we shouldn't fight. I'm simply trying to do what is right here, why can't you people understand that."

[Adele Holst]

Adele stepped back unconsciously as Pete charged headlong toward his brother, bumping slightly into Damien. It was a hell of a punch, and the girl's own fists raised slightly, her first instinct to cheer, but she stifled her 'whoop' as Geoff countered quickly, throwing his brother to the hard ground in a painful lock. Geoff's outrage was clear, and Adele could tell he was struggling painfully to contain his rage and wolf. Suddenly, the young woman found it difficult to quiet the fire inside her. No, she hadn't wanted to fight, but Pete's declaration had been so personal and heartfelt; so raw and true. And when he jumped toward Geoff, the smell of a conflict brewing was more than enough to rouse the blonde's instincts. She'd been in and seen more than her fair share of fights before, and it was more fun, especially now, participating in them than it was just watching.
No... She told herself, clenching her fists tight; she didn't come here to fight, and she wouldn't act on her wolf's desires right now. Besides, what Pete said had been personal, and while that much was clear to Adele, Geoff seemed to know exactly what his half-brother was talking about. This battle was perhaps best left settled between the brothers. Adele grabbed Damien's arm at his elbow and wrist, holding it firmly, ready to enforce the hold with her Lycan strength if the boy tried to resist, and whispered, "Let them work it out." The closeness would normally have weirded the girl out, but the adrenaline of the fight took any of that hesitancy away.
Her golden eyes narrowed at Geoff, frowning, when he mentioned Perrin's moral code; what the hell did he know about Perrin? She cocked her head slightly and snickered softly, "Sure," she allowed, "he believed in what was right, and he acted on it too. Perrin did what was right for the Den. For all of Lycan-kind, even if it wasn't pretty. You.. you're causing a rift and making it easier for the Vampires to pick us apart."

[Geoff]

Geoff was just about ready to leave, they kept on about the same thing over and over again. How Geoff had caused a rift, he wanted the rift to be gone, but he also wanted to do what was right. And if that caused a split for those who don't want to do what is right, and instead do what is easy. Geoff felt this was definitely a loosing battle. He kept trying to convince them of everything he did and why.

"The reason why I have made a rift is because I am trying to do what is right, not what is easy. Killing whoever you want, treating the humans like they were a bunch of meat sacks. Let me tell you something, you all were a bunch of meat sacks before. And now we have fur and claws, now that we have been blessed with the gift of lycanthropy. We also have an obligation to protect those less fortunate than us." Geoff continued to pace back and forth, he began to wonder if he could say anything to convince them. "Why can't you all see that killing whoever we want isn't right? The Nazi's did it, the vampires do it, we are supposed to be better than them. But look at all of you." He looked over each and every one of them, "You are no better, and I was right there with you. But now I see clearly, unfortunately it took the killing of my family to see that." Geoff started to walk back to his car, hoping one of them would stop him, hoping one of them would say something to lift his spirits somehow, despite the fact that he knew he just spat in their faces with what he said. Turning back after he put his hand on the car, only turning slightly, not looking at them but still talking to them. "I do what's right and you brand me a traitor, but I suggest you look over your own lives, then tell me who is the traitor. Me? Or Alena? I'm done trying to convince you." And Geoff opened his car and got in, waiting to turn the engine over to see if anyone might actually join him.

[Damien]

Upon seeing the two brothers, Damien's hope quickly dissapated. Though a traitor to his own race, Geoff was one of the most powerful Lycans in the den, boasting absurd levels of strength and fortitude, even by lycanthropic standards. Even alone, it would likely take much more than either of Perrin's decendants could muster together. But the situation Damien had stumbled into was much worse than that. Even if he'd taken the coward's path and ran for his life, he likely wouldn't make it far before Pete caught him. Again, even by their own inhuman standards, Sharpe was a step ahead of most, commanding his own den in the Americas, even earning the title of Swiftpaw among both lycan admirers and vampires that were lucky enough to witness him in battle and escape.

Damien was not only caught off guard by the speed and ferocity of Pete's attack, but it's target. Contrary to his suspicions, The White Lycan apparently had no intentions of aligning with his step-brother to undermine Alena's authority. Picking himself up from the ground, readying himself to enter the fray, he was quickly stopped by Adele. Before he was able to free himself, Pete had lost the advantage, and now found himself in an armbar. "Let them work it out? He needs our help!" Damien shouted, fearing that at any moment Geoff would incapacitate his brother, and move on to them. But apparently Adele was a better judge of character, as Geoff released the kimura and walked away from the group as if nothing had ever happened. He would have gone to aid his fallen companion, but again Adele's grip tightened as she shook her head disaprovingly.

"Are we just going to let him get away?"