Sepdet follows the Gnawers back to their base of operations, coming in with them through the main doors.

Jay pushes open the main doors, yawning loudly as his tired, opaque filled pools glimmer for a dull moment. "Home sweet home.." He softly mummers.

Rina nods minutely, hooking both hands into the pockets of the leather jeans. "Yeah, I've done some," she murmurs. When the doors open, she glances over her shoulder, eyes narrowing slightly to scan the backlit forms.

Yi slips in, like she always does. Taking in a deep breath of night air, she glances around the church. Eyes settle on the two occupants, and though it may not be possible to see, her hand tenses at the sight of Rina.

Rina stands up near the altar, her back to the door--talking to Jarred. Their voices are quiet in the large space.

Sepdet, oblivious to any tensions, moves towards a pew about halfway down and slumps down into it. "Isn't this place for praying?" she asks no one in particular. Her eyes fix on the pair by the altar, but she doesn't make any move to approach or interrupt the quiet conversation.

Jay glances over to Rina and Jarred, one brow quirking upwards curiously as he makes his way towards them. "Hey guys..whats going on?" Wetting his lips a bit with a slow, swipe of his tongue, he cants his head in regards.

Jarred looks up at Jay. "We have the answer to Nevada's frenzy yesterday. Rina, I think it would be best to let him know what happened."

Yi slides into a pew a few rows in front of the Strider, her eyes settled on the trio with interest. She wanted an answer to Nevada's frenzy as well, and questioned through her eyes peering from the darkness.

Jay rubs his bruised shoulder absently, the cuts gone and healed, leaving only a fresh, red mark. "Oh?" He asks, training his gaze towards the kin as his eyes soften a bit, stopping just before them, a bit off to Rina's left, looking casual and comfortable.

A startled smile comes to Rina's lips as she catches sight of the Strider. "Hope?" She looks back to Jarred a moment, blinking. "Oh--oh, yeah, sure." Glancing over to Jay, she gives him a nod. "I'll tell ya before I go... scusate." Then she is making a beeline for the dark-skinned girl, her eyes bright. "It's been ages..." She holds out a hand, tentative, but her smile fades. "You aright?"

Sepdet almost growls at the nickname, but recovers by the time the human's in striking range and only gives her a diffident smile. "People should really learn," she says softly, "not to ask that question, in this city. I'm surviving. And you appear intact."

Jay turns slowly as his eyes follow the young girl's, trying to hide the affection which has subtely risen back up within him. Sighing, he crosses his arms over his chest, closing his eyes for a moment as he takes a deep breath, then slumps his shoulders a bit. "So Jarred....'sup?" He says in a soft breath, barely a whisper.

Rina's lips twist in a wry not-smile, almost a wince. "Mostly," she says quietly. Her chin lifts a little. "Drop by sometime. We can talk. Look like you could use it."

Jarred has not missed the affection in the Gnawer's voice, and shakes his head every so slightly. "Nothing's up. I'm just trying to get to the bottom of things, here."

Yi follows the activities, catching bits and pieces of the conversation as they ensue. She slumps into the pew, a little tired, but not much more. Her eyes close, but her ears stay open.

Sepdet shakes her head. "I'm here less than ever now, Rina. Sorry. Got work elsewhere." She looks towards the others and tips her chin. "Sounds messy. Who's Nevada?"

"My cub.." Jason replies to Sepdet as he glances to her, then heads back towards one of the pews, settling down heavily.

Sepdet grimaces. "Ah."

Jarred says "Your cub, who is now gone, Jay. Nevada has run away somewhere, apparently. Put a blanket downstairs over some wood to make it look like he was still sleeping."

Rina's expression darkens. "Ex-ganger." She turns to look at Jay, and then heads toward him, leaning on the end of the pew with one arm. "He got pissed at you 'cause he knows me," she says quietly.

Jay blinks and shoots his head upwards, glancing to Jarred quickly. "What?" His voice goes deadly serious. "What the fuck? He didn't leave a note, nothing?" Standing up, he turns his eyes quickly to the basement door, then back to Rina. "Why? Why would he get pissed at you for?" He asks, rather sharply without meaning to.

Jarred sits back in the pew, silently.

Sepdet follows the talk with her eyes, looking fairly unsurprised by the snippets and news she absorbs in silence. Well, mostly silence. Jay's question elicits a faintly amused snort.

"He knows me," Rina says quietly. "Knows who I am." Her expression remains neutral, steady. "I offed some gangers a couple years back. Some people who needed killin'. Apparently the scumbags were friends of his.

Yi turns also as the ahroun's voice gets serious. She's got enough concern for the cub to be worried, and inwardly beating herself for not watching the cub more closely. The idea to track the cub springs to mind.

Jay takes a moment to draw in a deep, heated breath, calling upon his will this full moon night. "Oh." He says simply, gripping his hands tight, knuckles beading white, then releases with a shudder. "Shit..." Hissing to himself, he slumps back down into the bench, glancing towards the main doors.

Jarred speaks up. "So you see why he freaked. But at the same time, you can't think that it's unusual for gangers to get killed on occasion. It comes with the territory."

"We can track him," Yi offers to her brother, her voice a soft suggestion.

Rina nods, straightening. "There's ways to track him," she says quietly. "Good luck. Just don't mention my name around the kid." With a nod to Yi and a glance to Sepdet, she says, quietly, "Take care, people. Watch your backs, there's Dancers out there."

Sepdet looks at Rina with a sharpness in her glance. "I know. You too. Keep out of trouble for a few weeks, eh?"

"I know... I know..." Jason says softly, glancing back over to Rina, regarding her for a moment. Standing back up, he opens his mouth to say something, but lets it go, heading towards the back of the church.

Yi growls under her breath, the mention of Dancers increasing the worry she carries for the galliard cub. She gives the kin a brief nod for her departure, before gazing at Jay walking towards the back of the church. A small sigh escapes her.

Rina flashes a raw, humorless grin to Sepdet, and nods. "I've got all the protection I need," she answers. "Forty-five ACP silver. See y'around." With a glance back to Jay, a look that only hints at concern, she turns and heads for the doors.

Jay paces near the back of the church, kicking a bible across the floor in thought, sighing heavily. He looks worried, frustrated, mad, all at once.

Yi glances briefly at the ahroun at the back of the church, and then turns to Sepdet. The Strider's words from before came bubbling back to her mind, and the concern for some lake that the theurge had poked at Yi's thoughts. "Sepdet-rhya," she began, "if you have something to do, don't feel you must keep us company." Her eyes searched the dimness of the church for the crescent's. "We'll be fine here. Thank you for helping Perrin." The hints of a smile creep onto her features, one warm with gratitude, and also understanding.

Sepdet shakes her head slowly. "If she's got all the protection she needs," the STrider muses, "why do I get a call to heal her once every six months." She rises to her feet again and nods to Yi. "Yeah. I can't let myself relax...sometimes I forget." She gives Yi a thoughtful look. "You make sense," she observes cryptically. "If you ever feel like packing with non-city Garou, I think I could use someone with your voice. Maybe. If you need me, I'll be at Lake Arthur." She gives the two of them a nod and starts for the door.

Jay sighs heavily at Sepdet's words, opening up the basement doors, storming down into the nether realms of the church. The slam echos through the entire building, shaking for a moment.

Yi turns at the sound of the slams, but then returns her attention to the theurge briefly with a nod. "I'm honored for the invitation," she replies. "Good night, Sepdet-rhya."

Sepdet stares after Jay and winces. "Another heart lost to Rina," she mutters. "Goodnight, Yi. Keep this place safe." She gives her odd little saute, touching the braid behind her ear from which the feather depends, and slips out.

You go down to the basement.

Forgotten Church Basement(#1279RJLM)
This basement is only partly below ground level, and there are windows evenly spaced on the walls, right below the ceiling level. The main part of it is a large open area with a small kitchen in one corner and a large, ratty carpet in the center, covering the cement floor. There is a rather large window in the kitchen; it looks as though it might actually open onto the street. On the wall opposite the kitchen is a large bin, and there are folding tables along the wall perpendicular to it. On the other wall there are a few folding chairs, many fewer than one would expect from the number of tables.A hallway next to the kitchen leads off to two offices and what once might have been a classroom.
Contents:
Jay
Obvious exits:
Sanctuary

Yi tentatively calls from atop the stairs, her voice floating in the darkness. "Jay?" The edge of concern skirts the tone, underlined with caution.

"Yah?" Comes the voice from the shadows, deep within the basement.

Yi follows the sound, though it fades off before she can really pinpoint the origin. Instead, she sits down cross-legged at the center of the large floor, just watching the darkness from where she thinks the voice came from. "Being angry will only bring bad spirits," she intones. "Nevada will be fine. He needs time to sort out his anger as well." The ragabash gazes at her hands, lit by the beams of moonlight streaming in from the scummy windows.

Jay steps into view as he slips down next to her, sighing heavily. "It seems that things are falling apart... this pack is nevr ganna get up an running it seems. My own cub has flown the coop.. I'm crazy for a psychotic kin, and Jarred is... I dunno...he's Jarred."

"What seems to be falling apart, is only shifting with the winds of change," Yi replies softly.

Jay rubs his temples slightly. "Sepdet wanted you to join her pack.." He trails off for a moment..

Yi leans against her brother slightly, her head resting on his arm, then sits upright and gazes at the ahroun. "It seems many wish me to join their packs, ever since I arrived. I hold faith that I will find the right one." Her eyes shift downward, to her hands which wring against each other softly. "Nevada is a cub, who still needs to learn about withdrawing anger from the past." She pauses, thinking her words over. "You seem to have learned that well. I don't know what sort of hurt Rina caused you, but you look like you have forgiven her. Nevada still hasn't. He needs time. This experience, it makes him face his past and realize, he just has to move on. His friends have moved to the spirit world." Her eyes lift slightly, peering into the darkness as if to search for her words. "If I join another pack, Jay... would you be angry?"

"Yes." He's honest, right to the point, blunt as usual. "I already see you as my pack mate Yi.. You... me.. Baney and Nevada...I've already lost Kit as a pack mate, because the Furies took her away from us. I would be /really/ upset if we were to lose you to." He sighs, glancing away from her. "But, I'd understand just as well. It must be an honor to feel....'wanted' by other packs... No one has ever asked me to join them..." He scoots away from her, rolling back to his feet, then lets the darkness swallow him as his footsteps only linger in the silence.

"Why do you think I haven't joined one already?" her voice floats to the ahroun, even if he's not listening. Yi rises to a kneeling position, sitting on her calves. "It's because I think our pack will come together. Of course it is an honor to feel wanted. I didn't expect to even stay this long in this country. What do you think holds me from going back to Hong Kong? /Who/ do you think holds me from going back?" Her voice pauses, letting the question fade into the air. She rises to her feet and walks peer out of one of the windows, out at the fullmoon.

"Me?" The word comes out of the shadows after a few, silent, dead filled minutes. He comes back towards her, rubbing absently at his wounded shoulder which slowly heals. He doesn't say anything else, he simply lets the question linger as he faces the young asian, his eyes training downwards slightly.

Yi turns from the window, facing the ahroun and gazing up at his downward trained eyes. The light reflects the truth, as she replies. "Who else could it be?" She answers question with question. "From the first night, Jay. You offered me shelter. You may have thought you were just giving another Gnawer a home, but what you gave me was far for than that." Her eyes begin to water, and she blinks, turning away to hide the tears.

Jay sinks down to his knees in front of her, staring into her liquid pools, his own wettening with over riding emotions built around the full moon. Biting his lip for a moment, he leans forward, wrapping his strong arms around her, drawing her into his embrace, hugging her as he craddles, nearly engulfing her within his frame.

Yi doesn't let it all out, but her frame shakes just slightly in his arms. Her arms slide around him as the two share their emotions that no words can express. After a few minutes, her voice manages to come back in a soft whisper, "You gave me reason to go on. Not even fighting for Gaia could fill it." Her arms tighten and she buries her head in his chest.

Jay runs his fingers gently through her hair, tracing down along her cheek as he tucks the black, ebon strands back behind her ear. "I am honored and touched deeply Song Yi to hear those words from you. Thank you.. you have gave me something I haven't felt in such a long time...pride..appreciation......" He trails off for a moment, almost as if he wanted to say something else. Finally, he softly whispers. "Sometimes, I wish I was born kin, and then I wouldn't be scared for what I feel for you."

Yi only bears two tears that run down her cheeks as she gazes up at her brother. "The honor," she says quietly, a gentle smile coming to her face, "is mine." She reaches up to wipe the tears away, and lets her hand rest on his chest. With the other, she draws his hand to hers, holding it over her heart. "Sometimes I wish I had been born kin. But then this life would be completely different, wouldn't it," she smiles, looking at him. "Between us, a bond that lasts forever," she says with warmth.

A slow tip of his head is the Ahroun's only reply as he stares back into her ebon filled pools, drinking her liquid gaze for a few minutes in silence. Wetting his lips, he leans forward, gently brushing his kiss upon her mouth, holding it there as he tips his head slightly to the side. Fingertips feel the slow ebbing of her heartbeat, a gentle rhythem of their honored bond between them.

Yi closes her eyes as the natural feeling comes to her to return the kiss, her lips brushing against his in embrace. The beating of his heart pulses through her fingers. Her eyes open slowly, finding his dark orbs with a warm light of love.

Jay stares back into her eyes as he teaches her lips how to kiss, his warm nubs playing upon hers. His hands find the small of her back, gently resting as he lets a soft moan pass into her mouth, parting his lips, daring to deepen their forbidden union.

Yi's judgement screams for her to go back, her instincts carry her forward. She meets his kiss with a quiet touch of her own, gentle against his parted lips. She leans forward at his touch against her back.

o/~ Shinjitsu wa saikou no uso de kakushite, Genjitsu wa gokujou no yume de gomakasou; Sonna futari demo, Anata wo ushinaitaku nai. Nee doushite sonna ni fuan na no. Yuruginai ai nante hoshikunai no ni. Kanashimi wa yasashii ame ni makasete. Shiawase wo omoidasou. ~o He meets her lips with each soft tap, slowly turning it into a more hungry, burning desire. The dark orbs close as his fingers spread out along her back, raking gently, tip toe'n upon her spine as his warm breath spills out along her lips and cheeks with each brief part.

Yi meets his lips each time with her gentle kiss, feeling the fingers crawling upwards to give her a slight shiver of anticipation. Something, though, is holding her back from giving her all with him. Each kiss that meets her lips tells it, and she briefly whispers between breaths, "Jay..."

Jay leans back after gently nipping her bottom lip, then opens his eyes slowly to regard her, heart thundering loudly in his chest. "Yah..?" He says softly, tracing two fingers down her cheek.

She touches her forehead to his, her hand coming up to touch his cheek in a similar gesture of affection. Dark eyes glisten even under the dim light that filters through the window, as the two of them gaze at each other intently. Her gaze holds his, telling him with unspoken words what she feels. As much as she would want, she could not give herself to him. In the love she holds for him, expressed through her eyes, through their closeness, a glimmer of sadness flickers. Such was the law of Garou, that they could not be more than the closest of friends.

Jay notices this and understands, a slight smile tugging upon his lips. "Its ok.." He says softly to her, leaning upwards to kiss her forehead as he brushes his fingers past her hair. His heart slowly dies down from the heated rush, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up.

Yi steps forward and wraps her arms around him in a hug, her face brushing against his, brown hair mixing with her black. "Thank you," she says softly behind his ear. A soft laugh flits from her, which grows into a small giggle. "If Nevada were still in that room, and happened to walk out now..."

"I think I'd be embarrassed." He says with a grin, laughing wolfishly as he holds her tightly. "Thank you for everything Song Yi. You are so special to me, I hope we grow old and die together as Elders."