Werewolf Chapter 2: Tennesse Waltz

[General Havoc]

Sophie didn't believe in bullshit coincidences, not after this Jack Diamond guy had apparently followed them all the way from Kentucky, and walked in here to sing a song about missing bone treasures. Whatever else he was, Jack Diamond was plainly not just an itinerant singer. Her money was on a Garou, a Ragabash of some unknown tribe that, if she had to guess, was here for the fetish, though why he had chosen to announce his intentions like this was beyond her. Probably some insane custom from a Tribe she knew nothing about.

"Excuse me a second," she said, getting up from the table and walking over towards Jack Diamond, who was still receiving the applause from his adoring fans. She waited until the applause died down, and then stepped in to where he could hear her.

"Nice song," she said, trying to sound as no-nonsense as she could. "Think we can talk about this for a minute?"

[LadyTevar]

"Why sure, lil' lady," Jack Diamond grinned, removing his guitar and setting it down beside him. Up close, the slight differences between him and Jack the Whistler were more evident. Just tiny things: cheekbones, shade of blond hair, niggling things. Yet, there was so much more that was the same.

"Liked the song, didcha?"

[Cynical Cat]

"Pretty good, for country," said Alex with a smile.

[LadyTevar]

"I'm assuming you prefer Sturm und drang?" Free replied, lip curling in amusement at Alex. "Or the Old Masters? At least the other has some taste in.."

"Trey!" Megan interrupted, far too quickly. "Enough teasing the ..." she dropped her voice as one of the waitresses looked her way. ".. him." she finished, although Alex could get an idea what was unsaid.

[Cynical Cat]

"A little of this, a little of that," said Alex.

[General Havoc]

"It was very nice," said Sophie in as non-committal a tone as possible. By now she didn't know what to make of the various "differences" between this Jack and the other one. Some spiritual-magical nonsense, she assumed.

"We saw you in Kentucky," she said simply. "Last night. You followed us here, and I don't think it was just to sing a song."

She sounded as non-threatening as possible, certain that this guy already know who, and therefore what, she was. Physically undersized or not, Sophie was still a werewolf, and thus, at need, could become a towering, animate mass of unstoppable rage and primal fury, more than capable of tearing this entire building down and killing every living thing in it. Alex, who whatever he was, was neither physically undersized nor unarmed for this sort of thing, could do much worse. And as for Sees-Faces, what spiritual weaponry he had on-hand was unknown even to her. She was next-to-certain that Jack Diamond, whatever he was, and whatever he was doing here, knew these things already. It was therefore not necessary to make threats. Her very presence here was a threat.

"What do you want?" she asked, folding her arms.

[LadyTevar]

If Jack was surprised by Sophie's low-voiced statements, he didn't show it. "Kentucky? Last night?" he asked, his grin not slipping at all. "Well, me n' the boys were in Louisville, but I think I'd have seen such a lovely face in the crowd." He pronounced the city as 'louie-ville', just as any Appalachian native would.

"As fer the song, I've been workin' on it for a while. Ol' man Peebles had spoke 'bout the legend for a while, after he gave his 'luck-piece' to the University. Said his gran'dad found it in the ashes of Moriah Tallman's house, not a burn-mark on it. Thought the story would make a good ghost-tale."

*******
Trey wilted a little under Megan's stare, looking away to not meet her eyes. "If you're sticking around, Korolyi, I just might introduce you to a few local bands," he said, changing the subject. "Jack & the Ruff sing Southern Rock, but we've a couple good metal-heads about."

[Cynical Cat]

"Be careful," said Alex with a smile. "I might take you up on that."

[rhoenix]

Walking slowly and calmly through the diner, "Joe-Smith" moved to stand near Sophie; about a foot away. He wasn't standing in a ready combat stance, or even an aggressive stance. Indeed, his very stance was relaxed, nearly radiating calm, a smile on his face. "I liked the song - the way you sang, it was like you were there."

Sophie had caught onto a facet of life lupus Garou learned very early - because Gaia and Luna both gave their blessings and kissed their very souls, werewolves were a savage dance of man and wolf. As such, it didn't matter if you were a runt of the litter, and it didn't really matter too much how aggressive one was - making the man and wolf move in perfect harmony to embody Gaia's pain and Rage was something that would utterly terrify most beings, save those with gifts themselves.

Glasswalkers, being wolves that received the blessing of both Wyld and Weaver instead of just Wyld, knew that just as well as the Red Talons. Around those without similar gifts, the mere threat of a Garou's capability of feeling and embodying Gaia's rage as the harmony of man and wolf was enough to make most pause for thought before acting, at the least.

"Joe-Smith"'s smile widened a bit, more enthusiastic, still friendly. "You're a good storyteller."

[General Havoc]

"Old Man Peebles is dead," said Sophie as calmly as she could. "He was murdered two days ago by someone who wanted his luck-piece. And someone stole that same piece from the university the night before."

She let that one sink in for a little bit, before playing off Sees-Faces comment.

"So tell me, 'storyteller', what else do you know about this story?"

[LadyTevar]

The look of shock was as genuine as it gets, eyes widening, head jerking back slightly. One could almost believe this wasn't the same Jack who had given Caitlyn and the rest of the 'pack' the news, before leading them to the Bledsons who'd killed him. "Dead? Murder'd? Why?! E'ryone knew he'd giv'n that bone away!"

"Barbara, darlin', one of the special brews, please!" he begged of one of the waitresses who'd been listening earlier, and who'd just helped deliver food to the Patchwork Quilt's other members at their table. The brown beer bottle came quickly, and Jack lifted it to the sky. "Peebles, God bless ya," he toasted, then took a big swig from the bottle.

[Cynical Cat]

"I couldn't tell you," said Alex. "Was he involved in any bad feuds?"

[General Havoc]

If Sophie had to guess, she would have guessed that the men who murdered Peebles were already dead, specifically that she and the others had killed them. But that much was far from certain, and despite Jack's apparent surprise, she still hadn't ruled him out as being involved. It was a no-brainer to say nothing about the fact that they had the fetish of course.

"You can understand that it's a little weird to hear a song based on his luck-piece now, of all times," she said.

[LadyTevar]

The beer was brought over, and Jack lifted it to the ceiling. "Here's ta you, Mr. Peebles. Lord bless ya." Only after taking a swig did he look back at Alex. "Nah, no one bother'd Old Man Peebles, he jis' kept to himself an' dint harm no one. The Caudill boys would come help him out som'times, but the Bledsons left him 'lone mostly."

Another swig, then he looked down at Sophie, answering her question. "I jis' sings what the mood strikes, darlin'. Right time, right place, right song. That's the true gift of a storyteller," Jack added, nodding to Joe-Smith.

+++

Megan frowned, listening in on the conversation. "He is right," she said lowly, her voice going no further than the table with Alex and Free. "There's been more than once I've come in here and one of his songs had an answer to a problem I was worrying over."

Free snorted. "I've told you before, it's just coincidence."

"Coincidence or not," Megan replied softly, "It's helped us out."

[rhoenix]

Giving Jack a thoughtful look for a moment, for a brief moment he looked much older than his years as he gave a wry smile. "We all have talents. Yours is a good one," he said before nodding once respectfully and turning away to the others of his almost-pack.

Having satisfied his curiosity and figured out something, "Joe-Smith" looked like the young "man" he was again as his eyes locked onto the picture menu Alex still held in his hands. He forced himself to look away, though for a moment he couldn't tear his eyes away from the wonderful, succulent-looking hamburger pictured on the page Alex had open in the menu.

[General Havoc]

Not only did Sophie not believe in co-incidence, but she really didn't believe in positive co-incidences. If something appeared too good to be true, not only was it so, but it was usually the harbinger of something highly unpleasant. And given how much blood and Gnosis had been shed over this damned bone already, that Jack had just happened to show up singing about it, after all this, defied credibility.

At the same time however, both Megan, and Sees-Faces were apparently prepared to live with just that explanation. While she wasn't about to agree, she did restrain herself from playing "Bad Cop".

"You didn't know about any of this?" she asked. She decided to confront the matter directly. "We saw you last night in Kentucky, or someone who looks just like you. Have you been following us?"

[LadyTevar]

"I've been told I've a twin up in Kentucky," Jack allowed, "so I'm guessin' you saw him, lil-lady. Why would I follow you here, when I've had this gig tonight set for th' last month?"

Sophie's outburst got more attention than she needed. "That's right!" one of the waitresses added. "So he's not followin' you. Maybe you're followin' him!" The other waitress nodded in complete agreement.

++
Trey lowered his voice, looking at Alex. "Might wanna rein her in a bit, unless you want them gossiping about her the whole night."

[Cynical Cat]

The first response that came to mind was actually "how about I fuck you and the rest of your pack up until I get some fucking respect from you inbred, stupid fucks?" Of course he didn't say that. It wouldn't be productive, but by Thunder the yokels were wearing on him. And Trey did have a good point, which was a rarity.

He leaned forward and whispered. "Might want to dial it down a little Sof. He isn't going to give you a straight answer here and too many people are paying too much attention."

[rhoenix]

Moving as if it had been his idea the whole time, "Joe-Smith" walked over to pick up a menu, and saw the pictures of chicken parts coated in bread, feeling his mouth water as he did.

Moving with rapid steps over to Sophie, "Joe-Smith" presented the menu excitedly to her. "Look! They have breaded chicken parts!"

[General Havoc]

Sophie did not know it, but her and Alex' gut reactions were startlingly similar right about now. Whatever Alex' helpful suggestion, she did not particularly want to "dial it down", nor did she care overmuch what these damned people chose to gossip about. Right now she wanted to be back in Chicago, away from this place and these intentionally obscurist people, back where she could get a decent pizza, a wifi connection, and a guarantee of indoor plumbing. If this made her a bad werewolf, she was by now happy to accept the moniker.

And then Joe Smith told her about breaded chicken parts.

Clearly there was a God, and He was an asshole.

She swallowed her urge to do sixteen different unpleasant things to Jack Diamond, took a deep breath, and nodded to the waitress.

"Maybe so," she said. "Maybe so..."

"Thanks for the music," she said to Jack, in her best 'I give up' voice, and then looking (and feeling) like she had a backpack full of lead weights on, she turned back to Joe Smith.

"Why don't we get some breaded chicken parts?" she said wearily as she walked with him back to the table.

[rhoenix]

As if completely unaware of everything else going on, "Joe-Smith" happily walked back to the booth with Sophie while thinking about the delicious, hot breaded chicken parts that were hotter even than a real chicken, less messy, much less noisy, and no sharp beaks were in sight.

After a time gazing fondly at the pictures on the menu, "Joe-Smith" suddenly looked up at Sophie, and spoke in a very quiet voice, one intended to not carry beyond the table, even to more sensitive ears. "We're almost done and can leave soon, yeah?"

[Cynical Cat]

"Yeah," said Alex. His eyes didn't leave Jack. "We can leave soon. The locals have been able to wind us up and have their fun. They're sure as fuck not going to tell us what's really going on, despite the favor we've done them." His voice was level, but his right hand clenched and then relaxed.

[LadyTevar]

Megan frowned, but Trey beat her to the words. "Jack's kin, but whatever game he's playing is his," the SilverFang stated bluntly, but not loud enough to go past those at the table.

"You got what you want, we got what we want. But if you want to get froggy, I know where you can jump." Trey deliberately did not meet Alex's eyes -- that would be too much of a challenge, and that wasn't Trey's plan. "Banepit,"

Megan frowned. "They're wanting to head out, not stay longer."

++++

Up on the stage, Jack had started telling one of the barmaids all about Ol'Man Peebles. "He was a Liar, you know. One of the best you ever heard. He'd start out a story about going out into the woods hunting, and then it would start getting stranger and stranger, until he'd have you laughing and searching that he had been caught by the Indian Little People and taken out to dinner! And he'd be tellin' it like it was GodsHonest Truth!"

[Cynical Cat]

Alex smiled at Trey, showing straight white teeth. It was not a friendly smile. "Everything in due time," he said in a false friendly manner.

[General Havoc]

Jack's words stuck in Sophie's head as she walked away, but she didn't turn around, and she didn't stop. She simply wanted to get out of this damn city and back to Kentucky. The fact that she was standing here, actually wishing that she was in Kentucky, she was prepared to take as proof that she had gone insane.

"We should get going," she said to Alex and Sees-Faces. She turned to Megan. "I hope that stuff helps nail this guy. We've gotta get back to Kentucky."