7/19/04


Cockroach Mansion -- Downstairs
The heavy, dark opulence to this mansion known as Dominion is perfectly
      exemplified by the room vistors first enter, this front hall. 
      Dark-stained wood serves as paneling on the walls, gleams with high gloss 
      in the hardwood floor, and supports a semi-circular balcony in carved 
      pillars. The heavy double doors, made of oak, open into the hall from the 
      south, opposite the huge, hourglass-shaped staircase composed of red and 
      black gneiss which soars up to the balcony; both are fenced in with a 
      wooden railing of simple spiraled posts. Several doorways can be made out 
      on the second floor, nearly blending in discreetly with the back wall. 
      The wall to the left of the front doors is composed entirely of windows 
      which run from the forty-foot-tall domed dark wood ceiling to the floor; 
      if drawn, the heavy velvet drapes of deep red would completely mask them 
      from view, but when parted, as they often are, one has a marvelous view 
      of the grounds outside.
A doorway to the right of the front doors leads to a parlor, and towards the
      back are the kitchens, the large dining room, and an office with an 
      adjoining bedroom suite.

"You say you know you are crap, and yet feel you are better than me, and expect
      me not to be insulted?" Marcus rumbles, although he apparently lets it 
      slide. "Perhaps give him what he wants. Make him in charge of something 
      that will require him to successfully deal with all the worst and most 
      difficult parts of being an Elder. He must obtain something from the 
      various Tribe members that they would not normally be inclined to do or 
      give. And he must do it without losing control, so no force or the like."
"Crappy /Elder/," Nat corrects, picking up her coffee again. The three of them
      are back in the kitchen, sitting around the table. "...Hmn, that could be 
      a place to start. Something that requires he be calm and persuasive over 
      the full moon, almost for certain."
The quiet sound of bare feet coming down the stairs precedes Chaney. The lupus
      has Little Leap with her, hanging by the leg from the cub's right hand.
Emily nods slowly at Natalie's words, one hand reaching up to pluck at her
      lower lip. "That would certainly be hard for him."
"Impossible for him." which is why Marcus looks like he likes this idea so much.
Since Natalie and the others are at the back of the house and talking, the
      Galliard at least won't be the first to notice the quiet pad of cubbish 
      feet. "I told him I'd have to him by the Moot, so I've got time to 
      consider," Nat's saying, having more coffee. For someone looking as worn 
      as she does, she isn't mainlining the stuff. "I just wish Thomas were 
      here."
"Thomas isn't here. You are here and you have been leading the Tribe for some
      time now." Emily says this quietly and firmly. "Some things have been 
      rough and some good. Let go of Thomas and accept that this is your 
      position."
Marcus dosn't say anything to that. He's returned to brooding about Joshua's
      Challenge.
Currently the moon is in the waxing No Moon phase (16% full).
Natalie grunts and rubs at her eyes. "I suppose you're right. I'm getting as
      bad as the Jeremy about the Sanctified Dead Walkers, aren't I? ...Did I 
      tell you he called the other day?"
"Yes, you did." Marcus replies with a nod. "Anyway, to buisness. The buisness
      of failing Joshua."
"/My/ business," Nat corrects firmly, "of giving Joshua a Challenge. I'll take
      ideas, but his Challenge is -mine- to deal with."
"Natalie, he must not pass." Marcus replies through gritted teeth. "It is
      imperative he has failed before he even starts."
"Your advice is noted, Philodox," Nat says firmly. Quellingly. "Now then. I've
      asked Jeremy to pass on to Yi the information that we will -not- kill her 
      out of hand. I figure with the way he talks, it will be spread to Dakota 
      and then all over the Sept faster than even I could take the information."
"And you want us to look weak to the entire Sept." Marcus stares at Natalie
      like she's woken up and forgottemn to insert her brain.
Chaney follows the sound of voices to the back of the room and peers in where
      the 'grown ups' are gathered. She opens her mouth, then closes it, not 
      saying anything for the moment.
Emily's eyes flicker between Marcus and Natalie, worry on her face. "There must
      be a reason she made that decision," she says slowly.
Natalie, letting Marcus slide for the moment, catches sight of Chaney and waves
      her in. "Afternoon, Chaney." Back to the others, her attenion evenly 
      split between Philo and Kin. "Because it makes us - me - look like I'm 
      listening to what they think. It will make this... this rift in the Tribe 
      heal. Or it should help that, anyway."
Chaney is ignored for now. "And it makes us look weak to the Outsiders! Makes
      us look push overs. As for this rift...." Marcus catches whatever he was 
      about to say, and dosn't say it.
"Nah," says the lupus quietly as she enters. And, greeting the Philodox,
      "Mah-ehs." She stares at Emily for a moment in a non-threatening kind of 
      way, then looks up alertly at the sound of the doorbell.
Natalie's head comes up too, with a, "Doorbell." In case anyone missed it. A
      glance at her watch, and she relaxes. "Ah, that must be Jon. Emily, would 
      you mind letting him in?"
Emily stares between the pair of Garou then nearly leaps up. "I'll get the
      door." Before they can say anything, she's heading down the hallway, 
      sighing to herself. They can hear her open the door and greet whoever is 
      there.
"Chaney." Marcus nods to the cub, before looking to Natalie. "You're expecting
      Jon now? Are you sure this is a...good time, given recent events?"
"He called earlier," is Nat's explanation, waving Chaney in out of the hallway.
      "There isn't a better time, really - especially considering recent 
      events. He might as well join us in the deep end."
Chaney comes in and finds a seat somewhere like a proper normal person. She
      hugs Little Leap to her chest, prompting him to say, "G sounds like 
      giraffe!"
Emily leads Jon down the hallway, not bothering to explain the injured Rina in
      the parlor. "I'm sure that Natalie can explain things to you." And into 
      the kitchen they go, Emily gesturing toward the gathered Walkers. "Meet 
      the Family."
"Well, I sure hope he can swim." Marcus replies. "Otherwise, you'll be doing
      CPR." He quiets as Emily shows Jon inside, looking up to regard the man 
      measuringly.
This man does not immediately strike the eye as anyone notable of appearance,
      but observation of him over a short period of time conveys the sense of 
      that rarity of rarities, a sincere salesman--the kind of man who you can 
      identify right off the bat was born to shmooze, but even knowing that, 
      there's the sense that he's genuine about his interest and personable 
      approach.
He seems somewhere in his mid-twenties and stands at just about 6' tall,
      average build and comfortably fit, someone who works out regularly but 
      doesn't spend his life in the gym. He parts his medium brown hair on the 
      left side, brushed to the right in a gentle sweep that only stays put 
      occasionally, stray strands often falling to curve boyishly over his wide 
      forehead, the overall cut short and business-like. His eyes are an 
      unusual shade of brown most closely approximating the color of good 
      Scotch whisky, or could be called dark amber, a few shades darker than 
      skin tanned lightly from outdoor activities such as golf.
His clothing varies but is nearly always appropriate for the situation, suits
      and ties during business hours, khakis and casual shirts in the off 
      hours, with the occasional need for jeans usually paired with polos. He 
      nearly always wears a couple of elegant gold rings on his long, slender 
      fingers.
Natalie calls without moving from her spot at the table, "Why don't you bring
      him back here, Emily?" She offers Chaney a tired smile before reaching 
      out a hand for the frog... and her cell rings. She swears under her 
      breath and stands to answer it, ready to give Jon a nod when he enters.
Chaney looks up as well, big blue eyes staring openly at the stranger from
      behind the unkempt auburn hair. Her direct stare is partly a canine's 
      dominance test and partly a young child's frank curiosity.
And since Natalie is distracted, the lupus gets to keep the brightly colored
      stuffed toy frog with the alphabet on its belly and the stupid smile.
Natalie frowns at her phone and moves to the far end of the kitchen, pitching
      her voice low. Jon'll just have to do without her cheery welcoming smile. 
      Chaney'll want to show him her frog anyway.
Jon trails after Emily with a faintly bewildered expression, an expression
      which clears only a little bit as he enters the kitchen. "Hi," he says to 
      everyone at Emily's general introduction. But given that Marcus is 
      speaking, doesn't add anything as yet.
Emily decides to undertake introductions herself. "You know Natalie. This is
      Marcus DeFalco and he can give his formal introduction himself and this 
      is Chaney. She's a lupus cub." Perhaps that's a bit of a warning for the 
      man. Smiling reassuringly at Jon, she gestures toward him. "And this is 
      Jon Stark, kin like me." Once that's done, she looks at Marcus, her thumb 
      of her left hand thumbing at her ring.
"Sahk!" chirps Chaney, almost standing up from her chair; she sits her butt
      back down before it gets too far up.
Marcus stands, heading in Jon's direction. "Marcus DeFalco." He holds out a
      hand to the Kin. "Cliath Philodox, and Tribal Beta. I've heard a lot 
      about you."
Natalie scratches at the back of her head, drops Jon a wry 'hi, how are ya'
      nod, and continues speaking.
Jon claps hands with Marcus, but carefully doesn't meet his eyes directly as he
      gives a hearty handshake. "Really," he more states than asks, smiling in 
      friendly fashion in return. "All good I hope?" For the moment, he doesn't 
      look away from the cliath philodox, to either Chaney or Natalie on the 
      phone.
Emily seems to be watching the exchange between Jon and Marcus carefully, a
      faint hint of tension clear in her body.
"Of course." Marcus smiles, not showing teeth. "I understand you work in
      security?" It's taking a lot of effort for him to be so polite, but so 
      far it's working.
Chaney hugs Little Leap to her and watches the exchange avidly. Fortunately,
      the frog keeps his trap shut.
Natalie flips her phone closed and approaches the others, pausing behind
      Chaney's chair to watch the boys jostle for dominance. Well, watch Marcus 
      jostle.
Jon nods convivially. "Security systems," he clarifies. "As opposed to computer
      security." He fishes into his pocket to pull out his wallet, opening it 
      with a flick of the wrist and pulls out a crisp, ivory business card 
      which he presents to Marcus. "Big businesses, banks, houses, that sort of 
      thing. We combine as much as we can of human technology and the 
      occasional assistance of Glass Walker theurges, bleeding edge stuff."
Chaney twists around in her chair and peers up at Natalie, then bares her teeth
      in an awkward impersonation of a grin and holds Little Leap out to the 
      Galliard. "Weeb," she tells Natalie.
Natalie grins back, to show Chaney how it's done. "Little Leap, right. And
      that's," she nods toward the new Kin, "Jon. -Jon-." She does pitch her 
      voice low enough that it shouldn't interrupt the others. "And Emily. 
      Em-i-ly."
"Yon," echoes Chaney. "Em-eh-wee."
"Security systems." Marcus smiles wider, taking the card and tucking it into
      his pocket. "I see a lot of buisness in your future, Mr Stark. Big 
      buisness." He glances over to Natalie as he says that, for some reason.
For some reason, Emily relaxes a bit at the exchange, nodding to herself and
      settling into a chair again. "Go ahead and sit down, Jon," she suggests.
Jon doesn't take up on Emily's offer, as yet, slipping his hands in his pocket
      as he speaks with Marcus. "Oh?" he asks with a smile. "We've done some 
      studies of the area, but, a first-hand, outsider's perspective would be 
      useful, if you've had a chance to get a better feel of things in your 
      time here?"
Natalie says "Very good," as she reaches out to give Chaney's hair a mussing.
      "And Rina's in the parlor. Sleeping."
Chaney grins, doing a bit of a better job at it, but not by much; the
      expression's still rather ghastly. "Eena. Eena, Nah, Emma-wee, Mah-ehs, 
      _Sayn-ee_." She's terribly proud of herself.
"Well, I was thinking this place might benefit from having a professional
      overhaul the security." Marcus replies. "And I've a view to purchasing 
      some property, which I'll want to be safer than Fort Knox." There's a 
      glance to Emily as he says this.
Emily works very hard on keeping her expression neutral as the various male
      postures continue. Reaching a hand up, she pushes her hair back from her 
      face, her lips only faintly pursed.
"Ch-," Nat corrects, emphasizing the hard sound. "/Ch/aney." She keeps an eye
      on the pair of males, letting them finish discussing.
Chaney's brow furrows. "_Sh_," she says, with emphasis. "_Shayn_-ee."
Jon follows Marcus's glance to Emily with a flicker of interest, but the
      flicker dies away, buried under another friendly smile. "Well, if you're 
      interested," and here he does look to Natalie, so that he's saying his 
      next words to both of them, "I could look over the place, do an actual 
      proposal work-up and cost assessment, if you don't mind if I bring in one 
      of the new sales people I'm training."
Emily's lips thin and she's beginning to look a touch offended. "Jeremy already
      has some things set up."
"It never hurts to have a professional take a look at things," Nat begins, only
      to have her phone ring -again-. She mutters an expletive after checking 
      ID. "You guys'll have to excuse me." A small apologetic smile for Jon 
      spreads to the others, and she's into the Elder's office, the door 
      closing firmly behind her.
"Yes, he does Em. But you remember how vulnerable that proved to be." Marcus
      replies, before nodding to Jon. "As Natalie says, that sounds like an 
      excellent idea." He dosn't openly say it, but it dosn't take a class a 
      detective to realise the excuse for having Jeremy's security replaced is 
      just that. An excuse.
Chaney gets up from her chair, following Natalie to the door out of the room.
      The cub watches her go, then heads back in and goes over to Emily and 
      attempts to hand her Little Leap.
Emily seems vaguely started by Chaney's action before smiling at the cub and
      saying with a smile, "Thank you, Chaney." She mimes giving the toy a 
      little hug, careful not to trigger it.
"Emma-wee, Weep," Chaney explains to the woman, solemnly. "Eena. Weep,
      Emma-wee."
Emily nods slowly to Chaney, smiling at the cub. "Right. This is Leap. Do you
      want to give Leap to Rina? She's still sleeping, Chaney." There is a 
      group of Walkers in the kitchen, Jon and Marcus posturing at each other 
      and Chaney standing beside the seated Emily, having just handed over a 
      stuffed frog toy.
Chaney blinks a few times, then repeats. "Emma-wee, Weep. _Emma-wee_." She
      reaches over and puts a hand on the toy to push it against the blond.
Jon gives a business-like nod to Marcus. "Great. I'll talk to Natalie about
      scheduling an appointment, then." He continues to give the philodox his 
      full attention, even with the conversation between Emily and Chaney in 
      the background.
Rina shifts, and a faint, hoarse sound of protest comes from her--soft enough
      not to carry as far as the kitchen. Some attempts to move follow, and on 
      their heels a scratchy but audible voice, not entirely sounding like the 
      Kin's: "Oh, /fuck/."
Holding the toy close against her now, Emily tilts her head at Chaney. "Yes.
      I'm Emily." She says her name slowly so that the cub can hear the sounds. 
      "And I have le---" Her voice trails off and she thrusts the toy back at 
      Chaney, rising and heading toward the parlor. Making her way in, she 
      smiles reassuringly at the other kin. "Don't move too much, ok?"
"Excellent." Marcus nods to Jon, ignoring what's going on the in the
      background. Mostly because he dosn't want to have to deal with Chaney and 
      that stupid frog.
Chaney opens and closes her mouth, brow furrowed, looking confused and a little
      hurt and more than a bit frustrated. "Weep," she says quietly. Jon and 
      Marcus get a sidelong look, and then she wanders out, clutching the frog.

Marcus pages to the room: Chaney no longer wants her frog?
Emily pages to the room: She was trying to share but Emily dissed her.
Long distance to the room: Chaney was trying to give Emily Little Leap because
      Emily made Rina better. :P

Dark, hazy eyes manage to focus on Emily; one of them is still quite swollen,
      while the contusions aren't quite so severe on the other side. "Yeah," 
      she answers, her voice hoarse from disuse. "Figured that out when I tried 
      to breathe too hard. What-- what happened?"
"Apparently," Emily states in a calm voice, the sort that seems perfected by
      professionals in the medical field, "you were jumped by three idiots 
      doing a hate crime. Josh killed two of them and the other ran. They 
      brought you back here and I took care of you. Some broken ribs, 
      contusions, concussion but you look worse than you actually are. Not 
      especially reassuring but some painkillers for a few days and careful 
      movements for a while and you should be OK."
Jon's attention is finally pulled away, by the sound coming from the other room
      and Emily's reaction to it. Reflexively, he looks over his shoulder as 
      Emily makes her way out. "Is that the injured person Emily mentioned?" he 
      asks of Marcus.
"Yes, that would be Rina." Marcus nods. "Another Kin, like you. Go in and say
      hello, if you like."
Rina swallows, closing her eyes and wincing slightly. "What'd you give me?" she
      asks quietly. "Feels like..."
"A morphine derivative." Emily crouches down by the couch, pulling a
      stethescope from her bags neatly placed by the couch and waving her into 
      silence. She listens to her chest a bit then nods, putting the scope 
      around her neck in a practiced gesture. "Its an opiate. Not my preferred 
      choice but we work with what we have."
"You... a nurse or a doctor, or just know what y'doin'?" Rina's eyes flicker
      open, or rather, one of them does. One corner of her mouth tugs upward in 
      a pained half-smile.
"If you don't mind," Jon responds to Marcus with a nod, and an air of waiting
      to be fully dismissed before doing so.
"Trauma nurse, actually. Worked in a level one trauma center in Baltimore for
      five years and all so yeah, I think I know what I'm doing." Emily offers 
      Rina a faint smile. "For now, we will get you upstairs and you get to sit 
      tight, nice and boring, until I give you the all clear sign."
"Of course not, you go and introduce yourself." Marcus returns the nod. The
      dismissal Jon's seeking is clearly there.
"I can't stay here?" Rina wets her lips, and studies the woman through a
      haze. "I know I know you but I can't remember y'name... and I don't think 
      'hey beautiful' will go real far with you, f'some reason..."
Jon flashes the man a grin before following the sound of Emily and Rina's voice
      curiously down the unfamiliar hall, pausing in a doorway to the room 
      they're in.
Emily is crouched down by Rina's side, crooking a smile at the woman. "I'd
      rather have you in a regular bed. But I'm Emily Miller, actually. And 
      while flattering, it doesn't do much for me, no." She glances up at Jon 
      as he enters the room, waving him in. "A meeting of the Kin. Rina, this 
      is Jon, Jon this is Rina. Jon's a newly arrived kin."
Jon lingers by the doorway, not wanting to crowd either the nurse or her
      patient. "Jon Stark," he says more completely, then adds. "Hi."
Marcus is in the kitchen, drinking.
Rina's expression shifts slightly--something wry might be detected under the
      bruises. "Rina Vencenzo," she offers. "I'd get up to shake y'hand, but." 
      That's definitely a twitch at the corner of her lips.
"No, you won't get up to shake his hand. You're going to rest for a few days
      before I left you even think about it." Emily glances toward Jon, giving 
      him a warm smile before returning her attention to Rina. "So. How's the 
      pain? The whole 1 to 10 scale thing?"
Jon smiles in friendly fashion at the badly bruised woman. "But, you look like
      you called a Garou a sissy. It's fine," he says, waving a hand in her 
      general direction. "I'm on my way out, anyway. Emily," he addresses the 
      other woman, voice soft, "if there's anything I can do, you'll let me 
      know?"
Emily looks toward Jon and hesitates for a moment, nodding slowly. "I'll be
      calling you later this week, OK?" She pushes another lock of hair behind 
      her ear as she speaks to the man.
"Good t'meet you," Rina says quietly.
Jon flashes a grin at Emily. "Sure," he says, then looks over to Rina. "And
      you. I look forward to getting to see you when you're more ambulatory. 
      Good night, and take care, Ms. Vencenzo," he finishes with a respectfully 
      polite dip of his chin along with the smile, then sees himself out of the 
      house.
Emily turns back to Rina, giving the injured kin an expectant look. "So. Pain
      level?"
"Mm hm." She closes her eyes, and takes a cautious breath, inhaling until she
      winces, and then slowly releasing. "Not bad. Somewhere in the middle. 
      Six. My stomach hurts... and my back. They musta rabbit-punched me in the 
      kidneys or somethin'."
Emily grunts faintly at that information, nodding to herself and starting to
      pull out various bits like syringes and the like. "Probably. Wish we 
      could have met under better circumstances," she adds, preparing a measure 
      of painkiller for injection with practiced movements.
Rina's expression tightens. "I shouold call Jenny," she says hoarsely. "What
      day is it?"
"You haven't been out that long," Emily states, not especially surprised by the
      question. "Its only the next day. Not even twenty-four hours yet." She 
      places the syringe down and gets an alcohol pad. "Once you get the drugs 
      you can make a /short/ phone call."
Closing her eyes, Rina answers with a tiny nod. "Aright," she murmurs. With a
      weak movement, she turns her arm wrist-up, offering it to the woman and 
      her needle.
Emily cleans the skin with the swab then neatly and swiftly injects the drug.
      "You likely know the drill." A small pad is held over the site even as 
      Emily's thumb snaps the guard back on the needle. "Pretty soon it'll kick 
      in and you'll be more comfortable. This is likely the last injection I 
      do."
Rina inhales at the slight sting, holding her breath for a moment before
      shakilyu letting it out. "You're good," she says quietly.
Yes, that's a hint of smug pride on Emily's face. "I know. Its what I was paid
      to do, once upon a time." Snagging a small bandaid, she traps the gauze 
      on then starts to clean up her space. "Once it kicks in I'll, uh, I guess 
      have Marcus carry you up so you can go back to sleep."
Rina swallows, and leaves her eyes closed for a time. "I'd rather be here,
      unless I'm totally in the way. Which I probably am."
Emily runs her hand through her hair, tilting her head. "Well, that depends on
      what the others think. I don't live here but Chaney usually watches a lot 
      of tv in here."
"I don't mind if she doesn't," Rina murmurs. "Rather be around people. I'll get
      up sooner that way. Sleep less.
Emily gives the woman a doubtful look, her small bits of supplies gathered in
      her hands. "Well, its your choice at this point."
Rina nods minutely. "Don't worry about me," she murmurs. "I'll be fine here."
      The dark, vague eyes flicker open. "Can you pass the phone over?"
Emily pulls her own phone out of her pocket. "Use mine for right now." She
      holds it out to the woman then frowns. "Actually, I'll dial and rest it 
      by your head. Raising your arm would strain those broken ribs."
"'Kay," Rina says hoarsely. "It's 535-6412."
Emily dials the number and carefully arranges the phone by her ear. "OK. Its
      dialing." She then rises and heads back toward the kitchen, preparing to 
      toss a few paper supplies away.
Marcus is sitting at the table in the kitchen, drinking gin.
Rina's voice is hoarse, scratchy. "It's me."
Emily frowns faintly at the sight, her head tilting to one side. "Why're you
      drinking?" she asks quietly while throwing the bits of things away. Once 
      that's done, she moves toward Marcus', standing at his side and gently 
      smoothing his hair back.
"Well, it's better than going off and shooting Josh." Marcus replies. Clearly
      he still feels highly insulted. He looks up at Emily. "You know, Jon 
      isn't so bad after all." Apparently the man's deferential manner has gone 
      down well with the Philodox.
Rina makes a stifled sound of not-quite-laughter, followed by a parenthetical
      "...ow. Yeah, I'll be aright. Be a while before I can see Angel without 
      scarin' her, though." Her voice softens, to something apologetic, 
      conciliatory. "Cara? I swear, it wasn't my fault."
Emily sighs faintly and continues smoothing at his hair. "Yeah, he's a good
      guy. I like him." Which is, of course, part of the problem. "Once I get 
      Rina settled, I'm going to need some sleep."
Marcus shakes his head at the first comment, but he dosn't seem to feel the
      dislike he originally expressed for the newcomer anymore. "You needing to 
      sleep here tonight again, to watch Rina, or you thinking of going home?"
"It's okay," Rina says quietly. "I'm sorry about that." She speaks away from
      the phone, then, calling out, "Home! Cat can babysit me fine."
Emily is about to say something when Rina calls out. Emily frowns, turning
      slightly. "What the hell is she talking about?"
"She means you should go home." Marcus guesses. "And that Cat can look after
      her here."
Emily rubs her hand against her head. "God, I must be way more tired than I
      realized. I think its a sign. Let's go home, huh?"
Rina quiets again, talking to whoever is on the other end of the line. "I don't
      remember. But apparently Josh brought me in and said it was a hate thing. 
      I remember shootin' pool... that's about it."
Marcus smiles, pushing away the gin and standing. "Yeah, let's go home. You
      feel like driving?"
Emily clucks her tongue playfully. "Of course. You know I like driving your
      car."
Rina lets out a breath. "It's okay, hon. I-- don't think you wanna see me for--
      a few days. Maybe after that, if you wanna run me home... but I don't 
      want the Bug t'see me all fucked up. Probably scare her."
"How could I forget." Marcus laughs, chucking his keys to Emily.
"Sort of," Rina murmurs. "There's someone new who patched me up. Good nurse."
      She wets her lips. "If you really wanna come, I guess it's aright. But 
      it's not worth the trouble of finding a sitter, y'know? I don't wanna 
      upset you, lover."
"Hey, you usually have /me/, you know," Rina murmurs. "I promise, I won't be
      out sick for long. You're okay, seriously? Not gonna come finish the job 
      with a two-by-four?"
Emily takes the keys from him and tweaks Marcus' chin playfully, giving the man
      a fond look. "Come on, you. Let's get moving on." And with that, the 
      woman starts to head out of the kitchen area.
Marcus laughs, following Emily out. "You got all your stuff, or are you going
      to leave it here for the time being?"
"I'll leave it here, just in case. We're not that far, after all." She swings
      into the parlor briefly, waiting quietly for Rina to finish her phone 
      call.
Natalie comes in the front, kicking the heavy door closed with a thump. She
      doesn't come any farther in, but fusses with keys or something equally 
      jangly in one pocket of her jeans. Heat? What heat?
"Doesn't mean you can't /feel/ that way," Rina murmurs. "You know where it is,
      right? And you got the phone number here... call first, so we know 
      someone... ambulatory can let you in." She glances to Emily, offers a 
      grateful, hazy smile and a nod. "I gotta go, hon. Nurse Ratchet is 
      leavin' and it's her phone." If she /could/ grin michievously, or give 
      Emily a wink, she probably would; the best she can do is a bruised, 
      lopsided attempt at a smile.
"Love you," Rina murmurs, before gingerly lifting a hand as if to pick up the
      phone.
Emily rolls her eyes at the name. "Only hear that a million times," she mutters
      before plucking up the phone herself. "You sleep and relax and don't 
      strain your ribs. Period. You understand me?" She's professional but not 
      friendly toward the woman.
Marcus heads outside to wait in the car, before remembering he dosn't have the
      keys.
Natalie drops Marcus a nod as he passes; she heads down the hall to peek in on
      the parlor, still jingling.
Chaney emerges from wherever she's been hiding -- someplace dusty, judging by
      her appearance. The cub still has hold of Little Leap the Talky Alphabet 
      Frog and heads toward the parlor with it.
Rina winces. "Yes ma'am," she says quietly, letting out a resigned breath.
Emily absently thumbs her ring before nodding slowly. "All right then. If
      there's a problem, have someone call me or Marcus. We'll be back in the 
      morning to check on you."
Rina glances away, thoughtful. "Is that--" She closes her eyes. "Nah. We'll
      talk later." She looks back to the woman with that ugly-swollen squint. 
      "Thanks," she says.
"Eena?" queries Chaney from just outside the parlor. She tries to peer in.
"Its an engagement ring." Emily takes a stab at what the other woman was about
      to ask. "And I suppose we can." Nodding slightly, she heads out, her 
      phone going into her pocket. Chaney gets a small smile at the door. 
      "Rina's away, Chaney."
"Saney," Rina calls out hoarsely. "Come watch TV if you want."
Natalie keeps Chaney from heading into the parlor until Emily's left; she drops
      the nurse a nod and grabs her for a few quiet words as the other woman 
      passes.
Chaney brightens visibly. "Ee-bee!" She shifts her weight from foot to foot,
      then enters the parlor when she can and squats down next to Rina's head. 
      "Eena," she says. "Weep." And she puts the toy frog next to the battered 
      kin.
Emily has already reached a hand out toward Marcus as Natalie speaks to her. At
      the Galliard's words, she nods slowly, speaking to her quietly.
Natalie nods and murmurs something back, then goes to hover in the doorway of
      the parlor.
Marcus is leaning on his car, smoking a cigerette.
Rina musters up a rather deformed smile. "Thanks, Saney. That's nice of you..."
      She reaches out gingerly with one hand, to pat the girl on shoulder or 
      arm. "I'll be okay."
Emily actually waggles her eyebrow at Natalie then runs out toward the car,
      grinning at Marcus. "You ready?"
"Yeah." Marcus smiles back at Emily, and nods. The cigerette is crushed out and
      discarded.
Chaney twists around to bump her head against Rina's hand, then sits down on
      the floor, leaning against the couch. "Eena, Eena." She concentrates a 
      moment. "RRRrrr-eena." The 'rr' noise is gutteral.
Zoom zoom. Off go one pair.
Natalie continues to hover in the doorway, almost as if afraid of what welcome
      she'll find within the kin's sickroom. Thumbs hooked into her front 
      pockets she watches cub and kin, opening her mouth once or twice as if to 
      say something, but remaining silent.
Rina grins despite her swollen features. "That's awesome! Good job..." She lays
      her hand on the edge of the couch again, and finally notices the figure 
      at the doorway. It isn't quite the grin earned by Chaney, but one side of 
      her mouth quirks up slightly. "Hey. Is it okay 'f'I stay here a few more 
      days?"
Chaney looks over toward Natalie, greets her with a subdued, "Nah," and then
      yawns widely, tongue curling out of her mouth.
"Mi casa es su casa," Nat answers, "Or whatever the hell the Spanish is. Of
      course, Rina. Stay here as long as you like. As long as you need to." 
      "Naa-/t/," she adds, pushing off the doorframe to come further into the 
      room. "Naaa/t/." Emphasising that final glottal sound. Bluish eyes flick 
      back to the recumbent Kin. "If she gets to be too much, let me know, and 
      I'll drag her upstairs. Same with you - just let me know and we'll get 
      you into a proper room."
Chaney echoes, "Naaaah... tih!" and yawns again, looking quite content to crash
      out right there on the floor.
Rina nods minutely. "I'd rather be down here in the thick of it." She reaches
      over and rumples Chaney's hair, with an effort. "Good, Saney!"
Natalie tsks at Chaney and orders her, "Upstairs, Chaney. You go sleep in your
      room. Little Leap will stay here to keep Rina company."
Chaney makes whining protest, but lets Natalie shoo her upstairs. Good thing,
      too, since the lupus cub tends to sleep lightly.