welcome!

[sonja evangeline howard]

It really had just been one of them days for Sonja, and it wasn't about to get better before it got worse. The only real thing besides work that was bothering Sonja was well all the rain, well not so much the rain as the fact that it was now Fall. Just like any other gardener Sonja knew what fall meant, death and decay and withering, and large cleanups. The weeds wouldn't grow no where near as much as they did in the warmer seasons but unfornutatly neither did her beloved flowers. The roses had alreay bloomed the fullest and had already been deheaded, and well besides Tulips and Lilac bushes roses were by far Sonja's favorite flower.

The greenhous eplants were also starting to wither and shrivel, even with all the nurturing and babying that they recieved from Sonja and her advanced studies class. It was just the natural order of things and no matter how hard you might try it you will never beat death, you might cheat it with long lives but eventually everyone will die. All of this was just the adding to the cake as Sonja walked down the streets with a umbrella in hand allowing it to block all the rain that was threatening to ruin her hair style.

Sonja liked rain because it borught forth new life but at the moment it was delaying the cleaning of her yard. Plus it was soaking her boots and the very bottoms of her long jeans and that just mad eit all the bit more merrier. She liked to think when she walke dbut here wasn't the best place afterall the streets were crowded and wet and busier than ever. It would be to easy to get hurt just because she wasn't watching where she needed to step, though getting hurt would be nothing the next day with her own healing powers.

"Ah it's just a perfect bloody day isn't it.." Sonja said quietly to herself as she stopped at a vendor to get the morning newspaper and a small scone, it never was to late for anything that mad elife more enjoyable.

[christopher jackson dodge]

Life seemed to be moving at a speed that Topher couldn't understand. Not too long ago, he was living with a woman and her younger brother, so young he saw the woman as his mother. They were expecting children, too. Even better than any of that? She was a wolf. A few, short months later, she told him that she was moving back home to America. It hadn't ended well. Topher wouldn't have survived in that place and he had no intention of moving there, either. He'd sooner move to Canada. He probably would have, too, if Mae were ready to go back. No, he had responsibilities and, without giving him any reason, he wasn't moving. She didn't and she told him that it was over with. Confused and unsure of what to do, Topher had sold everything that he didn't need and moved himself into a small, two bedroom apartment with Mae that was closer to the center of the town. In his mind, it would save on a lot of things like traveling and time and those were important. Not three weeks ago, he'd gotten a letter with the pictures of his children inside and a letter saying that he'd never know them so he needed to move on. Without much more to say about it, Topher had set the photos and the letter on fire. No doubt, the bitter woman would tell them horrible stories about their father and the country he came from - if she even did that much. They'd never want to see him, he was sure of it. Oddly enough, that didn't bother him so much. Without having known them or being there for much of the pregnancy, Topher found that it wasn't as tragic as it should have been. You know how you hear about a person dying on the news and you're sorry for the loss of life but can't conjure up anything more because you didn't know the person? Yeah, it was kind of like that. Life moved on and he had a lot going for him.

It wasn't all bad, though. While training at the gym, a talent scout had come by and taken an interest in his boxing. Now, he was headlining local fights. He was getting a little too old but that was in human years. For a werewolf, he thought that he was pretty young and vital and he knew how to tap into his wolf attributes to be able to keep his head above water. Yeah, okay, so maybe that was cheating a little but what did he care? It was providing him with a decent living and he was having fun. Even better, he was in the prime of his life and he felt great. As long as he didn't have fights on full moons, he was more than fine. He had found himself a wolf manager who knew exactly what kind of problems he was dealing with if anyone saw him. That, in and of itself, was a blessing. He was also starting to get used to who he was and what happened once a month. His buddies and he would joke about it - the ones that knew. They'd laugh about how it was that time of the month for them and how they needed to be sectioned off from others. When it was time to shift, they all got into a van and rode up to a cabin that one of them owned. There, they'd spend those few days and play cards and relax during the day and, then, they'd shift at night and go hunting. All in all, it wasn't too bad and he kind of looked forward to it, now. As long as he wasn't hurting other humans, where was the harm in it? Granted, there weren't many of them out there but he was glad for the friends that he had.

After having worked and cleaned his apartment and watched a bit of the news, Topher had decided that he wanted to go for a run. He pulled on his trainers, a pair of black track pants and a black tee. It was fall and it was cool but the reason for his wearing a black track jacket was not for the weather. As a wolf, his temperature was always a little warmer than normal but he didn't feel like dealing with the cold rain. He left the jacket unzipped but pulled the hood up, over his head, and took off to run through the city for a few miles. He didn't run in the park, that was no fun. He liked to be able to see the city. Even if he ran the same path, every day, he was still seeing different things. Sometimes, though, it didn't hurt to see the same things. He had gotten rather used to seeing old Mrs. McCracken on her front steps when he ran past and he would wave to her as he did so. Today was no different. Nearing his halfway mark, Topher began to slow down to a slight jog and, then, eventually to a walk.

Topher stepped up to the vendor and asked for a bottle of Powerade and a pack of gum, greeting the man with a smile as he tried to catch his breath. Another plus side to having been bitten was that he didn't have to worry about sweating as much. He'd just taken in a deep breath when he caught a scent that perked a brow and had him turning his head, sharply, to look at the woman beside him. A wolf? Could it be?

[sonja evangeline howard]

Sonja's hair was now falling down the back of her neck hiding it from veiw of those behind us and even framing her ears giving them a invisible appearance as she smiled while she dug around in her pants pocket for the right amount of cash. Sonja was still smiling as she handed over the right amount of currency for her small cup of coffee and the schone that the had ordered and had turned slightly to the left when a headline on the morning paper caught her eye on display. Her eyes focused in slightly on the headline, of course it was about politics. People still unhappy with the prime minister, some people herself included still wished that Tony Blair would have retained his office and not resigned in August of 2007 like he had. Sonja sighed before she turned back around and was about to start off when the wind changed directions and blew a particular scent into the back of her open throat and up into her nostrils almost knocking her back with the intentsity of it.

Another wolf? Where? When? Sonja's mind filled up instantly with questions as she slowly turned her head allowing her blonde hair to fall over one shoulder as her eyes searched for the cource of the scent only to find a young man looking over at her. Could it be? Could he be one to? Sonja thought to herself as she examined him and after a few more seconds she decided that the only way was to go over and introduce herself to him and see, afterall it never really hurt did it? Sonja walked over slowly still letting her nose take in small sniffs here and there until she was right in front of him and then it only took a small sniff to determine that it was right the scent was coming from him, "Hi there, I'm Sonja Howard...and I uh... well yeah How are you?" Okay so Sonja hadn't really thought this through and small talk wasn't her storng point either.

[christopher jackson dodge]

He had to get home to start dinner, soon. Mae was horrible in the kitchen and, after that last fire, she wasn't allowed to use the stove. Therefore, it was all up to Topher to cook for the two of them. It wasn't a problem, however. He didn't mind cooking all that much. It was just something that was on his mind for the moment. He already had everything out and thawing, he just needed to get home. Still, there wasn't a huge rush. He wouldn't have gone running if it was urgent and he suspected that the girl wasn't even home! Therefore, he had plenty of time. Yeah, while they lived together, he didn't interfere with her life too much. As long as she was safe and happy and well taken care of, he was doing his job. She was old enough to take care of herself and she'd been doing it long enough. He wasn't about to tell her how to live her life. As long as she wasn't bringing any trouble into the home, she was free to do what she liked... within reason. That just meant no drugs or shady boyfriends but that wasn't something she seemed to be into. They had their bonding time, though. Topher took her with him to the country side when it was time to change and they played cards and other things while they were both at home. He wasn't much for the television but, if she asked him to watch a movie with her, he would. She attended his matches, too. It was a little dysfunctional but what family wasn't, these days?

His gray eyes locked with her brilliantly lit blue ones and he examined her with that piercing stare that usually unnerved people. He couldn't help it, it was just the way he looked! Was she a threat to him? He couldn't tell. Just because she was a woman didn't mean that she wasn't older and stronger or that she didn't know how to fight. Topher was starting to feel the hair on the back of his neck raise and his muscles tense as she approached. He was ready to fight and defend himself if he had to. He could smell it on her but he might have been wrong. There might have been a wolf at the stand before her and, now, he was just smelling what was left behind. Still, it was possible, wasn't it? It was. That sniff said it all. Who really sniffed like that unless they were trying to catch the smell of whatever it was that was bothering their nose? When he finally realized that he was staring, he turned his focus back onto the stand but he reached out with his other senses to keep an eye on the woman. He knew her exact position when she came to stand beside him and he'd turned to listen to her speak. Topher gave a curt nod to her and resumed his appraisal with his eyes. "Not bad," he replied with his slight Cockney accent. "Mates call me Topher. 'Ow are you?" He didn't feel like explaining that his name was Christopher but he preferred to be called Topher. Just introducing himself as such seemed the easiest and best way to go about it.

[sonja evangeline howard]

Sonja's eyes met his with the same never breaking gaze though she had the slight urge to shudder and itch and scratch she resisted it. Though she was sure the look was just a part of him and his character she couldn't help but slightly already start to doubt that he'd appreciate her coming over and saying hey and being friendly. She didn't have to be looking at him to know that his eyes had swept up and down her body figuring and calculating both her strengths and weaknesses. Sonja really wasn't one in favor of violence by any means and she really thought it was childish to solve ones problems with violence and to fight and squabble like litle children over nothing. Though that didn't mean that Sonja couldn't fight; she could and did when necessary or if there simply wasn't another option at all. Sonja was still very young for wolf standards to be considered anything close to aged and at the ripe old age of 29 she couldn't really imagine feeling any better than she did right now.

You would think that after so many years of looking up to speak to people that she would have gotten used to doing it but she still wasn't, it annoyed the hell out of her and here she was having to look up to another person of her own race. Sonja's ears easily picked up his replies and she smiled softly almost in a comforting way as she looked back up at him. "I'm fine Topher, thanks I'm sorry to be a nuisance and bother you but there's just something about you that is very familiar and I am trying to put a finger on it." Sonja said softly as she tried to covey her thoughts and real meanings through her eyes. Hopefully he'd take the hint and ask to walk and talk so she could say what was really racing through her mind right now.

[christopher jackson dodge]

He looked her over, yet again, and nodded. "I know what you mean. S'pose we just run in different packs." He opened up his beverage and took a long drink from it before he nodded to the vendor and put him out of his mind. "Gotta be gettin' on, still loads to do today and all. You 'eadin my way?" He jerked his head in the direction that he'd come but knew better than to lead her to where he lived. Such a stupid move wasn't just dangerous for him, it also meant danger for Mae and he was not about to have rescued her from vampires to throw her into danger, again. If she hadn't caught the comment he'd made about packs, she was a lost cause but he didn't think that talking in code would work for too long. You never knew when there was a hunter around, either. If they listened to enough of the conversation, they'd understand everything. If the woman would just come with him, they could take the cut through the park and she'd never have to know here he lived and he'd still be on his way home. Not a bad thought. He could always pop into the Chinese restaurant and order their dinner from there. It would, probably, mask the scent so that he didn't have to worry about her following him anywhere. While she could put on a good face and make him believe that all was well, it was still a very dangerous position that he was in and he wouldn't let his guard down with her for a second. That was just how it was going to be, like it or not. He wouldn't have blamed her if she'd done the same with him so, really, he didn't see a problem for anything.

When she finally agreed to walk with him, Topher nodded and started to walk. For several minutes, he didn't say anything. He was trying to think of the best way to put it but he couldn't find the words. He had a lot of questions but he didn't think that too many of them were as relevant as he told himself that they were. "Thought I was the only one." He wouldn't mention Maebee, not yet. She didn't need to know that he had a cub with him. True, they'd both been bitten about the same time but she was still a lot younger than he was and he'd had more practice with his change. Besides, it seemed that a year or so could make a lot of difference. Having the girl around had meant something of a milestone in his time as a wolf, though. While they were small, they were a pack and he'd been put into the alpha male role. He wasn't sure how to take that just yet but he was learning how to feel it out.

[sonja evangeline howard]

She glanced over at him with her blue eyes as she listened to him speak and she had to supress a small smile that was threatening to slip out and cut across her lips as he spoke. "Yes I do believe so and we're probably from different sides of the tracks as well but none the less it's a pleasure to meet you." Sonja said softly before she gave her head a soft shake which sent her blonde hair falling down across her shoulders cloaking her shoulders from veiw. She looked over and smiled at the vendor before she took a bite out of her Scone and commenced to start chewing it slowly as Topher spoke again and she nodded her head as she swallowed a mouthful of scone. "Yeah, sure am my friend, an dif you don't mind the company that is." Her eyes cut back up to examine his face and for the breifest of moments she wished that she could see the inside of his mind to figure out what he was thinking. She wasn't fully sure if he trusted her any it wasn't as if all of her species got along entirely and it was very common for interspecies fights to break out. She didn't want to fight but merely to be friends at the moment unless he proved to be like her father and then she would leave and never look to see him again and that was a promise.

Sonja fell into perfect step with him walking silently beside him aletting her eyes wander down or around to the surrounding area taking in the plants and just little odd things as she allowed the silence to grow and envelep them. It was so quiet she could hear about everything on the block including her own thoughts and she almost startled when Topher finally did speak breaking the silence for the first time in several minutes. Her eyes looked up at him before she snorted with laughter, "Ah your funny boy, there's always more than one, see." Sonja said as she held up her free hand to show two fingers to aid her explanation. "There are always more, like take me here I wouldn't be here without my parents, and you obviously wouldn't be here without your parents or someone else who helped, so you should know you wasn't the only one. It's very simple. You just have to think a little." Sonja said before she took another bite out of her scone with a small smile, yes she had sounded like she was talking with a three year old but, sometimes being simple was one of the only ways to convey what you really wanted conveyed.

[christopher jackson dodge]

While she found it amusing, he was figuring that it was more like a job. He was doing a bit of reconnaissance and trying to make sure that they were on the same page before he started running his mouth off at things that he might not have been one hundred percent about. The last thing he needed was to go saying things that would out him as a wolf or as a complete nutter. Either way, it wouldn't make him look good so he didn't really think that it was worth much to go through too much trouble. So they were both wolves but what did she mean by saying that they were from different sides of the tracks? He knew what the expression meant but there were so many different ways that it could have been taken. He nodded to her in reply to her greeting but didn't think that it needed much more. Sorry if he wasn't much of a talker... Was there anything that they could talk about in front of a human? Of course he didn't mind! Think about it, he had suggested that they go for a walk. What kind of sense would it be if he didn't want her to go with him but he suggested that she go? If that was the case, he could have just excused himself and kept on about his business but he didn't think that such a thing would be all that smart so it was better to just pull her along with him and see what he could get out of her.

Her reply caused him to growl and glare at her from the corner of his eye. He didn't take too kindly to be laughed at and he wasn't making jokes. Who was she to say something like that? It was honestly what he thought and he knew that there was more than himself. He had Bee and the guy that had bitten him but he thought they were the only two in the city. Surely, the one that had bitten him was long gone and there couldn't have been anymore, now. He would have met them by now, wouldn't he? He had to think? Was that really what she was saying, here? "No one 'elped me," he barked. He had been cursed, unwillingly. That same wolf hadn't stayed with him long enough to explain anything to him so, really, he didn't know thing that he hadn't learned on his own. "So, you was born a wolf? Just like that, ya mum and dad was wolves so, now, you're one?" Were vampires born to be the way that they were or did they still have to deal with simply being bitten in order to be turned? Too much information and he had a feeling that he wasgoing to need to tell Bee about all of this.

[sonja evangeline howard]

Sonja shook her head causing her blonde hair to fluff a little while she contiuned to walk along beside Topher hading for lord only knows where and she was still smiling even when she heard him growl and noticed the small glare that was sent her direction. Sonja allowed her smile to melt into a small line that formed her lips as she looked over at him with questioning eyes as she thought on her words silently in her head. It was odd for one to be how he was about things, it was obvious he wasn't a nautral born wolf or he would have been taught the basic rules of being a wolf. He also would have hoply been a little more socialized with other wolves and had expected there to be more than one wolf in this city. It was so large and it housed countless numbers of wolves, vampires, and shifters though not everyone was so keen to annouce their prescence to the world. She wasn't, Sonja wasn't to keen on everyone knowing what she was, where she lived and all that good stuff, but the difference in her was that she chose to be alone. Sonja was a sociable person she really was but Sonja had had enough of a family pack life growing up and she had decided by the time she was a teenager that it wasn't for her or at least being on the bottom wasn't. Her father had been a hard male to live with he was always ill with everyone and paranoid that they all would be killed if they slipped up for even the breifest of moments. Her mothers death had been enough to send him over the edge but even though it had been fro nautral causes it had pushed him over the edge and Sonja had decided that night she was leaving. Her sisters had fled to other family members and were still staying with them to stay away from her father just as she was. That was really her only fear living in London was that she'd turn the street corner and there he would be lying and waiting on her.

Sonja's eyes cut across to look up as he spoke again with a note of harshness in it, it was odd to hear one be so indifferent about things and so harsh. "Maybe not but they did help you to become what you are, I am assuming that you weren't born a wolf now were you? I'd say you were bit and from the tone you take you still aren't very thrilled with the factor are you?" Sonja said in quiet voice as she looked down at the ground, his voice would be enough to tell her the truth she didn't want to look and see if her words really scored a hit or not. "Yes... both of my parents t'were wolves, my mum and my da if you'd call him a da. But yes they both had the gift and it was passed onto me and my sisters." Sonja said as she looked back up at him, that was one of the most common ways and one of the few only ways to pass on the gift. "Its one of the two ways you can become one, either your born on or your bit and you become one when the next full moon happens."

[christopher jackson dodge]

[ignore topher. he doesn't like people playing "know it all" (telling him something he already knows)]

He was in a touchy mood. He wasn't always like that, though. It was a defense mechanism he'd developed against people that he didn't trust and she was someone he couldn't trust. If things went well, she'd get to see a different side of him but, until then, she was going to be dealing with a grumpy gill Topher. While he'd known another wolf aside from her, it didn't mean that he was welcome to anymore. He didn't know if they were dangerous and willing to just bite and kill at random. Vivien was gone and he and Mae made it a point to leave the city when the moon was up. Until recently, he'd never even believed that such things were possible and he was starting to realize that there was a greater population than what he'd thought and they were all too close to him and his pup. Moreover, he didn't like them being in his city without him knowing about it. Call him territorial, he didn't care. It was instinct for him to now be cautious and suspicious of any wolf that wanted to make themselves known to him.

His eyes narrowed at her in annoyed disbelief. "Who do you think you are?" She didn't need to make assumptions. All she had to do was ask if he had been bitten rather than born and leave it at that. She didn't need to guess how he felt about his new found life. He didn't like anyone bothering with his personal life. A gift... Was that really how she saw it? He'd killed a person because of that so called gift. "Yeah, I know what happens when you're bit," he snapped. He didn't need a lecture on the things that he already knew. She should have kind of figured that he knew about the biting "method". He just couldn't believe that they were actually born. Did they come out looking like puppies? It was absurd, all of it. Topher shook his head and scoffed at the whole idea of it. He had a lot to learn but he didn't think he wanted to learn it from someone who thought of it as such a great thing. It was best to learn about these things from an unbiased mentor and he wasn't going to get that from her. "And, what? You just pretend to be normal or do you go around killing and biting, too?"