Welcome to MQA!

[JOHN ALDEN]

John actually wasn’t needed at the board walk. He was needed behind his desk, under a stack of paperwork, but really, paperwork wasn’t John’s style. He rarely hated it in Aldenville and he hated it here, only on the islands it was much easier to avoid doing it. The islands had been relatively calm but the place where there should always be a police presence was the boardwalk. There were always drunken fights on the damn thing between college kids and rowdy tourists. John used this as an excuse to check up on those who were patrolling the area.

”Albert, stop it!”

John looked away from the pair of task force officers he’d been chatting up. They had heard a commotion, but had assumed it’d be ended quickly on its own.

”C’mon, let check it out,” he said, nodding his head in the direction of the shouting. He led the men to the brawl, then quickly began pushing through the onlookers when he realized who was at the center. That damn, Poisson. John couldn’t count on all of his fingers and toes how many times he’s had to pull this man off of someone. It was like all he did was fight.

John and the two other officers quickly split up, one to pull Albert off of the men, another to pull the men to safety, and John… of course to make sure the woman was okay.

”Hey,”John said soothingly, frowning at her tears and the scent of blood. ”You do realize you’re not Rocky Balboa, miss, right?”

John grabbed her arms ad helped her to her feet, trying to usher her a safe distance away from Albert who seemed to be still trying to gain his wits. The first officer had left him there sitting in a daze and gone to help escort the victims away.

”Make sure they get to the hospital,” he shouted after them before turning his attentions to Maxine.

”Ma’am, would you mind…”John paused and blinked. Being a newly bitten werewolf his strengths and senses fluctuated unreliably. His sense of smell punched him in the face that this woman was not only a female, but a werewolf female. He quickly took a step back from her and coughed. ”Uh, would you mind telling me, what happened here?”

[MAXINE McMANUS]

Maxi was still pissed, but she was relieved when Albert's fists finally stopped moving; she fought the urge to tackle him herself. Hadn't his mother ever taught him not to hit a woman? Suddenly there were two cops in the picture, one pulling Albert to his feet and the other pulling the unfortunate young men a safe distance away. It was over, and the normal, sweet Maxi felt a huge sense of relief, making her senses focus on the pain in her cheek. It was throbbing like it had its own heartbeat when she realized there was another man standing over her. She turned her large blue eyes up in surprise, finally noticing the water on her long eyelashes and the wetness on her cheeks. When had she been crying?

"You do realize you’re not Rocky Balboa, miss, right?”

The comment made a small half smile come to her lips, only spreading on the side of her face that wasn't injured. She let the nice man grab hold of her arms and help her to her feet, her legs still a little shaky. "Thank you," she murmured. Looking at the man, he was actually pretty handsome, and from his scent, another werewolf. She was surprised that there would be a werewolf cop, even on the islands. What was it about today? Was she releasing more pheromones and attracting all these handsome men to her? The thought made her brow furrow as she was escorted away. She glanced over her shoulder to look at Albert, seeing him sitting in his daze, and it made her stomach sink. The pain in her face made her angry, but she couldn't help wondering if Albert was okay; the fact that she even cared made her angry at herself. She looked away again, hanging her head a little--it had been such a good day to begin with.

As she turned to face the police officer, she looked up at him again when he began speaking. He cut himself off, though, and looked surprised for a moment. Maxi looked at him quizzically, trying to figure out what had surprised him all of a sudden. He took a step back and she thought, What is with men and me today? He finished his thought and she glanced again at Albert, sighing. "Albert and I were having drinks and this guy came up asking if we wanted a picture. He called Albert my boyfriend, and I told him he wasn't, and so the guy asked for my number. I told him no, he persisted, and then Albert threatened him, so the guy went away. He came back a few minutes later with a friend and threw a ball of paper at Albert's head. I tried to get them to go away, but they wouldn't, and so Albert walked over and started beating the crap out of them. When I tried to stop him...well, this happened." She gestured to her cheek, not sure how bad it looked. Her face turned into one of worry, her big eyes turned up to the cop. "Are those men okay? I tried to tell them this would happen and they wouldn't go away." She felt responsible, like they had gotten beat up because of her. If they had just listened to her, though, this wouldn't have happened. Men were such odd and stubborn creatures.

[JOHN ALDEN]

Screw what happened. As soon as John caught a whiff of her his give-a-fuck just about disappeared. He did try to focus though on what she was saying and did his best to nod at appropriate moments. Albert and her, drinks, yeah yaddah yaddah. Nod. Yaddah, yaddah, something lame about pictures, whatever. Nod.

John was so wrapped up in pretending he was listening that he hadn’t realized when she stopped talking until moments after, even though he was still nodding.

”Oh... um, those guys? I’ve seen worse,” he said looking off in the direction the men had been ushered off to. In all honesty he had. Those guys got off relatively lucky compared to some of the men he had pulled Albert off of.

”But you said, uh… they hit him with a paper? Technically that’s assault, so Al was well within his rights to make rings out of their teeth. Y’know… self defense,” John reasoned. Technically it was true but it was all bullshit and paperwork he didn’t feel like dealing with. Open and shut. ”It’s actually kind of a clearing a clogged toilet with a cherry bomb type of self defense but… still legit.”

John cleared his throat again and took another step away from Maxine, trying his best to not to alert her with his own very interested scent. Why in the hell did she have to be a red-head? And she had those… big… blue… teary eyes…

Staring. He was staring. Shit.

”So uh, you’re alright though, Miss… Miss? Should I call you Rocky, Little Red…?”

Hell, he’d call her Empress of the Moon if she asked him to.

[MAXINE McMANUS]

Maxi watched as the cop kept nodding...after she had stopped talking. Was he listening? It seemed like her question snapped him out of a daze and her eyes got wide as he said he'd seen worse. Albert had just left their faces bloody pulps, and this guy was saying he'd seen worse. She wouldn't be surprised if the guy who had done worse was Albert, though. Apparently the man had been listening, as he brought up the young man throwing the piece of paper at Albert's head...and called it assault. She looked at him like he was crazy for a second; was he serious? At his explanation, she gave a nervous laugh, not sure what to think about all of this. Albert wasn't in trouble for beating the crap out of two guys who threw paper at him; somehow that seemed wrong. Maxi let it slide though, thinking, Well, he's the cop... He also seemed to know Albert, since he called him "Al." For some reason, a nickname for Albert seemed very odd. He was always so formal, so she just always called him Albert. Besides, Al was so American, and Albert was so...French.

Silence fell for a very long moment and Maxi felt like she was under a microscope. She started to blush a little and she had to look away from this guy's intense gaze. It was different from Albert's. Albert's gaze was calculating, cool, whereas the cop's gaze was interested and almost...hungry. It made her stomach tie into knots, almost as much as Albert's did. The man seemed to realize he was staring and he quickly opened his mouth.

"So uh, you’re alright though, Miss… Miss? Should I call you Rocky, Little Red…?”

That made Maxi laugh despite herself, and immediately wince from the pain in her cheek. Her hand came up and touched her right cheek again, though she gave him a half smile with the other side of her face. "You can if you want, but my name is Maxi. Maxi McManus. And I'll be better when half of my face doesn't hurt," she replied, putting her free hand out to shake hands. True, the guy was awkward and kind of weird, but he had been so nice helping her up. Plus, he was a cop: how bad could he be? "And what should I call you?" Her smile was sweet as she waited for his answer.

[JOHN ALDEN]

“Ah, Maxi Mack. I can dig it. You should call me a lot of things, but I usually answer to John,” John frowned slightly when she winced at her smile. He glanced around for a second, knowing exactly what he was looking for, he had spied it earlier. Her nearly empty glass still sat on their table sweating, filled with ice. He picked up the cool glass and motioned with it toward her face.

”It’ll help. Not as good a steak though,” he said. At the word steak is stomach growled audibly. He was always so damn hungry. It was like he could never eat enough. How in the hell did the others deal with this? He felt like he could not only flip a meat truck over but run around like a mad man shoving all of the meat into his gut.

”So, Mack, if you don’t mind me asking. How did you get mixed up with Pe-Pe Le-Bad-Attitude over here? We’ve got this bet running back at headquarters that he eats babies and spits on nuns,” John asked curiously. Someone who cared enough to try to break up a known werewolf fight? There’s no way they’d be able to keep their sanity around someone as apathetic as Albert.

”If you’re here against your will, wink twice. I won’t let the bad man hurt you anymore,” he said jerking his thumb toward Albert who seemed to be coming to.

[MAXINE McMANUS]

Maxi smiled more when John came up with a new nickname for her on the spot. It had been a very long time since anyone had called her anything but Maxi or Maxine; it was nice to have a new name to adjust to--like making a new friend. And it was such a relief that John was so nice, a stark contrast to Albert. When John handed her the sweating glass and motioned to her face, she took it gratefully and held it to her cheek. Somehow, though, her face wasn't hurting as much as it had before. "Thank you," she said kindly. At the mention of steak, she heard his stomach growl and her own did the same. She hadn't realized she was hungry until now, not with all of the excitement. A nice, rare, juicy steak sounded really good right now. Her inner wolf was licking its chops at the thought.

John called her Mack again and she flashed her teeth in a smile, before she laughed aloud at his question and following comment. She ignored the angry throbbing in her cheek, finding his picking on Albert hilarious. "He's my violin instructor. As far as I know he doesn't eat babies, but I'm pretty sure he would have no qualms with spitting on nuns," she replied. A true sense of humor was so refreshing compared to the serious men she seemed to be surrounded by. The only men she had regular contact with were Freddie and Albert, both much too serious to have a good sense of humor.

”If you’re here against your will, wink twice. I won’t let the bad man hurt you anymore."

Maxi giggled more. "Aww, my white knight!" she teased through her laughter. Carefully she shook her head, though, trying to avoid spilling the watered down, icy drink pressed against her face. "No, I'm here of my own accord. I don't think Albert cares about anyone enough to hold them captive." Though she laughed, saying it out loud made her stomach sink a little. It was the truth, as evidenced by her swelling cheek, but it stung. Until the fight, she had hoped there was a softer side to Albert that she might uncover, one that might care about her enough to want to hold her captive...her disappointment now was enough to make her want to cry. Of course, she wouldn't tell John any of this, nor would she let it show on her face. Smiling a little more again, she looked back up to his rather handsome face. "How do you know Albert?" she inquired, genuinely curious as to how many people the irate werewolf would have to have been pulled off of for a cop to know him by name.

[JOHN ALDEN]

John laughed a bit awkwardly. He’d never been called a white knight before. And most times was referred to as quite the opposite. He was very blunt and assholeish most of the time using sarcasm and wit to get under people’s skin. Granted his recent transformation into a werewolf forced him to become more social and cordial.

”I met Albert a couple of months ago,” John said, looking over to the man who had seemed to regain his senses. ”I had to save him from getting his ass filled with lead over at Luna Matris for fighting in the bar.”

John smirked a bit at the memory. Rachel was a force to be reckoned with. She was also very eager to join the VSITF, but her trigger happy attitude made John feel like she’d be more of a headache than a help.
”Seems like most of the time I’m pulling him off of someone,” he sighed stretching a bit as Albert began making his way toward them.

”Al, we’ve got to stop meeting like this. People are starting to talk,” he said to the Frenchman adding a jokingly flirty wink.

[ALBERT POISSON]

Albert rolled his eyes at John’s idiotic statement when he regained his composure and walked over to where the pair were chatting. If he weren’t already weak and exhausted he probably would have attempted to hit the man. He seemed to know every way to get under Albert’s skin.

”My name is Albert, not Al. Al sounds like some lazy American slob. I am not a lazy American slob,”Albert said with a roll of his eyes. He looked to Maxine and the bruise forming on her cheek. He offered no apology.

”You don’t have to entertain, Mr. Alden,” he said to her, ”I’m sure he has work to do elsewhere.”

[MAXINE McMANUS]

Maxi was not surprised to hear how John had met Albert. She had been to Luna Matris before and knew the beautiful blonde bartender to be very fond of guns. The thought made Maxi sigh inwardly, wondering how Albert had made it alive this far. She was still mad that she cared. Looking towards Albert making his way over, Maxi felt herself bristling. If she were in her wolf form, she would have growled lowly in her displeasure. She had no desire to be around him right now. Her deep blue eyes glared at him, as she moved to set the glass down on a nearby table. Gently, she brushed the water from her face, looking back at John as he greeted Albert. His greeting made her smile in spite of herself, and his humor lightened her mood a little. Hearing Albert correct John's use of his name gave her a smug sense of satisfaction, now knowing at least one way to irritate him purposefully.

Albert's eyes on her again made her stomach jolt, leaving a sickening sensation in her stomach. Maxi was infuriated with herself for always reacting to his icy blue eyes.

"You don’t have to entertain, Mr. Alden. I’m sure he has work to do elsewhere."

The comment made Maxi bristle again. In her mind it sounded like he was giving her an order to dismiss John, and she didn't like it. After the events of today, she would be more than happy to dismiss him instead, and spend more time laughing at John's japes. "I'm not doing anything I don't want to do. I'm fine with talking to John as long as he can spare the time," she replied to Albert, her voice even and a small smile on her lips despite the fire boiling in her stomach. Just looking at him right now was pissing her off and making her cheek throb again. She looked up at John once more, her face mildly concerned. "Unless I'm taking up your time. I don't want to hold you up from your work." Maxi gave him a shy half smile, feeling like she had just made John the monkey in the middle. The fact that she was somewhat surrounded by handsome men right now was starting to bring out more of the shy, sweet Maxi once again. She rued her awkwardness.

[JOHN ALDEN]

John could feel the wolf within bristling at Albert’s presence. Generally they got along because it was easy for John to annoy Albert, and impossible for albert to make John mad. There was also the added bonus that Albert had a little more restraint when it came to attacking Alexi Von Steel’s employees. But his general smug demeanor, sometimes did make John want to kick his teeth out of his face.

”I actually need more excuses not to work, it’s all I do,” John said giving Albert an annoyed frown. ”I don’t like the smell of assholes, so I’ll mosey on my way.”

With that John began waling away and turned around to offer a farewell. ”It was nice to meet you, Mack. And Albert… go fuck yourself.”

[ALBERT POISSON]

Albert didn’t like the way John looked at him. As if he was daring the wolf to challenge him. He could feel his heart rate quickening again. He avoided eye contact because the instinctual urge to snuff out any competition in the natural order of things. John was a wolf without a pack and so was Albert. The urge to be overly territorial was unavoidable.

”If my brain were as dysfunctional and my mouth a filthy I’d bid you adieu as well,” Albert seethed as John walked away. Albert then looked to Maxine and gave her a disapproving stare.

”Do not forget about your next lesson,” he said before departing in the opposite direction.

[MAXINE McMANUS]

Maxi waved as John walked away, smiling when he told Albert to go fuck himself. Sometimes she wished she could say the same. "It was nice to meet you too, John," she replied. Albert's reply wasn't as kind and Maxi frowned at him. Here she was, alone with Albert again. This time, though, he only frowned at her. Something about his face seemed disapproving and she wanted to smack that look right off his face; he could keep his disapproval for their violin lessons. She smiled coolly at his words, saying, "I never do. Saturday, my house. Don't be late." He never was late, but she felt like irking him. She turned and walked away from him, grabbing her bags before she headed back to her beat-up old truck. When she got home, she was putting a whole bucket of ice on her face.