bhediya

avi. p(r)etty. twenty-seven.

[aviofruin]

Name: Avinash "Avi" Abbas Hassim Occupation: Club promoter and Alpha of the Harford Pack Age: 27 Sexuality: Bisexual Pronouns: He/him Species/Affiliation: Werewolf / Harford Pack Hometown: Port Leiry, OR Relationship Status: Single Personality Traits: (+) Charming, Resolute, Amiable (-) Mischievous, Hedonistic, Arrogant

pinterest — playlist —

BIO.

The Hassims have long been a part of the Warwick pack, since the inception of the pack in 1900s.

Newly immigrated and lacking everything but their perceived power and everything they could bring in their bags, the Hassims strained beneath the loss against their already small numbers, and after losing her only heir to a fight with one of the other minor packs, their leader made arrangements for them to join hands with two other packs, the Echevarrias and Lazkanos. Their family had suffered enough, often at the hands of their own ambition. Many protested, wanting to stand on their own name. For some, their name was all they had left. But then their remaining resources went into building wealth and refilling their ranks, rather than fighting over land. It went towards the city. The return on these investments spoke for itself, much louder than those who protested before.

Generations later, their youngest son, Avi, greedily drinks from the spoils, uncaring of how his family got there and uncaring of who they stepped on to do so.

Though a born Warwick, Avi did not carry himself as he was meant to. He would rather indulge himself like he was Dionysus incarnate than train or engage in pack politics. As the baby of his family, he was able to hide in the shadows of his elders, including his siblings, and live as he wished. He never grew to care about the pack's beliefs, but never went against it. For as long as his status and lifestyle remained the same, he stood for nothing other than his own whims.

Except, this changed three years ago when the murder of Matias Echevarria, his best friend (and the man he loved), came to light. First as whisperings, Avi couldn't believe someone would ever want to kill him — that is, until Yuisa Echevarria's name started circulating within the rumors. A family affair, he was eventually told. Of course.

It forced Avi to re-examine everything about the pack and more than that, it ignited a burning need for retribution. That spark drove him to leave the pack. He landed with the Harfords.

Avi spent as much time as his anger would allow grieving his loss and regrets, but his ambition combined with his anger quickly led him on the path to becoming Alpha of the Harford pack. Avi decided it would be the perfect revenge. The same pack that was born out of being exiled from the Warwicks for their weakness, eventually usurping them? It was poetic.

As Alpha, Avi would have the power and influence to get things done. It took years of slowly building strength and goodwill among the pack members to earn the spot. A lot of the chips fell into the right place because his confidence did so much of the heavy lifting.

But with only one piece of the game in position, Avi still has a long way to go before he's satisfied.

MISC HEADCANONS.

app questions/answers

CONNECTIONS & PLOTS.

Harfords — Avi got to his position on hubris and charisma. Comparatively, he's also a very young wolf. He has much to learn and while he doesn't want to admit it, he's way in over his head. He’s a baby alpha who is in the beginning stages of figuring out how to lead, and i'd like him to have both successes and mistakes along the way. Looking for people who doubt him, believe in him, scheme with him, plot against him, want to usurp him, see through him, etc. Also looking for members of Harford who aren't keen on forgiving and forgetting about Avi having been part of Warwick before.

Warwicks — Avi obviously has a huge bone to pick with the Warwicks, but it's largely kept for Yuisa and anyone else who holds the same opinions as she does. If there's anyone iffy on the wolf purist thing, he's looking to poach. If there's anyone who may be able to serve as a spy on inner Warwick happenings, he's looking to gain favor.

Other Wolves — He's looking to recruit wolves to the Harford pack to grow their numbers and power. Born, turned, human in a wolf costume, he doesn't care. He's also looking to get chummy with those who are unwilling to be poached from their existing packs. More connections means potentially more favors he can pull in the future.

Humans, Witches, Vampires, and even Hunters — Avi has never cared for interspecies beef. He's never been given a reason to so he's looking to network here too, even with hunters. Avi is a chameleon, he'll schmooze whoever.

Schemers Seeking Help — Avi understands nothing comes to free, so he's willing to offer his help and resources to others who have a Mission, so long as they help him. Bonus points if the mission runs parallel to his (i.e someone looking to plot against their own/previous coven, clan, pack, or allegiance because of "outdated fuckass values" ) and he can relate and/or egg them on.

People who like or need fun in their life — As written on the tin. Avi is mischievous and just because he's got an arch nemesis now, doesn't mean he has any desire to give up the debauchery. Anything between rich spoiled kids doing rich spoiled kid things to people who just like to party.

Venue/Club Owners — Avi is incredibly social and his connections serve him well as a club promoter. If anyone is looking to draw a crowd, Avi is your guy.

Family — Siblings, cousins, aunts, and uncles. The Hassim family is big! See Warwick lore for more information, as the Hassims are largely loyal to Warwick since they are one of the founding families of the pack. MUST BE SOUTH ASIAN FC. CAN PROVIDE A LIST OF FCS IF NEEDED.

Other — Friends, frenemies, situationships, one-night stands, those who would keep his feet on the ground, those who need an obnoxious idiot in their life, those who may have causes he can contribute to, etc. I'm open to anything. That said, purely romantic connections are not Avi's goal and thus would need to be heavily plotted and developed.

current connections (this is mostly for me to keep track)

[cesarlazkano]

        avi makes good timing, catching him before césar digs his teeth into someone less deserving than the warwicks that surround the party- or at least are attempting to. if avi’s here, alive and walking, then, clearly they haven’t done their job. he can smell yuisa’s rage among the sea foam that floats from the water. it makes him smile.

        the darkness of the night hides avi from him until they hit yuisa’s office, the light flooding out after avi unlocks the door reveals the evidence of his previous run-in with yuisa’s security measures. even filled with rage, even thirsting for the blood that avi promised him many moons ago, his attention snaps to his friend with a sharpness that will not be forgotten.  “ ey, ¿qué te pasó? ”  when the wolf grabs for him, he shakes his shoulder. 

        avi starts on the desk when césar lets go, but he heads for the walls. the thing that catches his violent eye first is a family picture, among the rest of less offending frames. the very first swipe he makes is knocking that shit off the wall.  “ she shouldn’t get to keep that, not when she’s fucked all of ours up. ”  family. there’s something scrawled on the back of the frame, but his eyes blur with red, burning anger, before he can read that.

[aviofruin]

Avi shrugs César's grip off - for a moment, Avi thinks the other wolf will press, that he'll make him speak, confess the shame still burning under his skin. But then his grip loosens. Even he seems to understand they're on borrowed time. Later, Avi tells himself. When it all doesn't sit so fresh, when the lump in his throat isn't lodged there like stone.

He forces his attention back on looking for a key, a keycard, something, but the frustration is beginning to rise to the surface. The pressed and ironed suit that sat over Avi's rage had been shrugged off the moment he stepped onto the docks, and Avi isn't so sure he can deal with his own turmoil and be César's grounding point.

Then César sends a frame to the ground, the glass shatters, and when Avi shoots it a glance back, he knows what has the other man so hot. Family. The Echevarria family beneath splinters, smiling from the time they were still whole. Among it, Matias' mop of hair. It punches the air right out of him.

César's right. She's taken everything from them. Matteo. Anish. Evie. Matias. Pack. Family. She's taken it all and she's still starving for the scraps they've got left. For a moment, Avi thinks he should let César loose. Let him feast and rend, let him drown in the violence he craves to his core.

That grief he'd put a stopper on swells hot through his chest, rage bleeds into it. He yanks open a drawer, hurls it at the wall. The contents scatter with a crash. Another drawer follows. Then another. And when there's nothing left to throw, Avi grips the desk and heaves until it flips backward.

The motion stretches his torso in a way that makes his injuries scream, and Avi stumbles forward, ends up crouched down with his breath ragged, tears prickling at the corner of his eyes. From the corner of his eye, that fucking picture lays on the ground. Shaky fingers reach out for it, and Avi slumps onto the ground once its in his grip.

He's never vulnerable. It's not his thing, especially not when he isn't drowning in drink. But it's just him, César, and their shared pain here. It spills out anyway.

His thumb brushes over his love's jaw, the line of his grin, before he turns it over in his hands just because he's afraid of what he'll burn down if he stares too long. On the back of the picture, there's numbers scrawled. Avi squints in the dim light, between glazed over eyes. Matias' birthday etched across.

Well, would you look at that...

"César, look." His eyes shoot up to the rest of the frames along the wall. "Everything. Knock everything down," he says, hopping up to his feet to show his person the scrawled text. It's just Matias' birthday, and maybe it doesn't mean anything, but maybe, just maybe it means something today.

[aviofruin]

THE WAREHOUSE

continued from here who: @cesarlazkano where: warehouse, yuisa's office

Yuisa's moved shit around, hid doors, made a maze of her own warehouses. But Lucas's notes and a set of keys finally gets them through a side entrance to the last warehouse on the list, César at his flank.

Adrenaline's kept his jaw loose, but his shoulders are still tight, and he's in a foul ass mood after getting his head knocked around. Still, there's a job to be done, so he wills all that to the side, focuses up.

“Yuisa’s gotta have the key somewhere stupid,” he mutters, riffles through drawers, yanking papers and ledgers and tossing them to the floor.

A quick look shot to César, then a half-grin that doesn't make it to his eyes. “We're tearing the place up after, yeah?” He's sure he doesn't even need to say it. The look in César's eyes tells him he's already rearing to rip everything apart. "Won't have a lot of time but...I want her to know we were here."

[aviofruin]

THE SECURITY STATION

continued from here, with @howlthorne

The last time Avi set foot on these docks, Matias was still warm. Alive. Breathing. Right next to Avi, where he could look him in the face at his warm eyes and stupid grin.

Avi is keeping lookout. Or, at least he's supposed to. But it's too still here, even with the metal siding vibrating with each thrum of bass, and Avi's too restless. His jaw aches from the tension, and every minute sound feels like it might be a trigger. His wolf stalks between his ribs, snarls because he so desperately wants something to hit. To sink his teeth into.

And because the universe has a sick sense of humor, someone obliges.

The dock grunt comes out from behind a stack of containers, up the metal stairs, with his dumb heavy gate that gives him away the moment his boot touches the grates.

Avi whispers to Lucas he'll be right back, to stay on the security station no matter what.

The first punch comes quick, it splits Avi's lip and knocks him back a step. Avi dodges the second, but the third drives into his ribs hard enough that he tastes copper, and he folds over with a groan. He's not a fighter. He's never been one. Avi doesn't block the next ones, he doesn't even try. His eyes flash a molten gold but fizzle out quick.

It feels...good...?

He deserves it. He went into this wanting to use Harford like a shield. Like a plot in his grand revenge scheme, and now Remi is hurt. He deserves it for that. For bringing Flick into the crosshairs, for dragging a bunch of people into this conflict who have no business being in it. For plotting his family's downfall and pretending it's all noble, like it doesn't come from a need for something much more sinister.

For that which haunts him the most, for not being there the night Matias was killed. For not confessing his stupid fucking feelings. Maybe then the ache hole of regret in his chest would be just a little bit smaller. He thinks he could survive that, maybe.

Avi's still doubled over when the grunt seems satisfied. He pulls out a walkie for backup, for Yuisa, "Oi-"

The static of the walkie knocks Avi out of it, and he throws himself against the lug before he can get another word out to Warwick. His elbow drives into the grunt's stomach, as hard as he can. Then Avi hits him again. And again. And again.

The wind shifts and Avi swears he can smell Matias' hair, tinged with salt and sea. He should take pause to revel in it, but instead he channels all of his hurt into this man. Drags his face against the concrete, then then hits him again. Again. Harder, until the guy is knocked out.

Avi should take his eye. He should stick his thumbs in the sockets and just -

The phone in his pocket vibrates with Penny's text. Safe.

Right. There's a plan.

No word from Kenzō just yet but if Penny's fine, he should be too. Avi lets out a breath of relief, uses the back of his hand to swipe away the blood on his lips, licks away the rest, and makes his way back to Lucas. Forces his breathing to steady.

His guard watch doesn't last for much longer before a note is passed to him. He nods, offers a quiet thanks and stay safe before he's off to grab César. Fences seem to be cut off, but Avi is familiar enough with the docks that he escapes capture.

[aviofruin]

PORT EERIE HALLOWEEN RAVE

Avi Hassim's shirt is nowhere to be found. Instead, there's a chest harness that glows a radioactive green beneath blacklights and a cloak that screams degenerate Robin Hood.

He's responsible for the chaos tonight. You can spot him weaving through the crowd, checking in on vendors and bartenders like the professional he is, before vanishing back into the blur for shots and drinks. Those with a keen eye may spot Harford's team leader downing a few more drinks than he usually does, maybe an antsy step or two in his flow. He'll shrug it off, but it is clear to the observant that his mind isn't all there. He seems to be taking one two many glances at his packmates and one too many glances at his phone. After all, our spoiled prince doesn't do well with subtlety. He's the out and loud kind of guy.

Still, as always with Avi’s events, you can count on him to hijack the DJ stand before the night is over. A song or three of his own choosing, a little taste of his ego through the speakers. He wants all eyes on him -- just the way the world intended.

[felicityvanbrunt]

She's not trying to badger him, just pump him up. Whether that's worked or not, she doesn't know, but she takesthe hint to steer the conversation away from politics and annoying old-guard. "Agreed." she says, catching the same whiff of bloody liquer that Avi does and wrinkling her features imperceptibly before she takes the drink, and lets out a sigh before she takes in a sip, catching her reflection in a glinting, polished surface as he asks his question. She feels like a whole different person, if she's being honest.

"I don't know. Fine? I keep thinking I'm going to run into Casper here, or my mother, or some of their goons," Her dad may be dead, and her emancipation from his yoking plays at control might be more or less complete, but her brother's shadow casts a long shadow from the East Coast still, and he's far less easy to trick than a checked-out father who was too comfortable on his throne of power.

"But I feel like I'm getting to know everyone, getting settled in. Everybody in this pack is so... I don't know, wordly. It's nice. Less stuffy. I mean, I won't stop being stuffy, but..." She leans in, smiles wide. "... it's nice to have friends in low places, yeah?"

She grabs his shoulder, sips her drink, pulls him away from the wall. "Come on, Alpha. We've got impressions to make. Can't have you slumping in a corner." She hooks her arm into his, takes a glance around. "Nothing less than fabulous."

/END

[kevma]

Kevin doesn't look over at Avi, not sure that he really wants to get into it here, with him. Not that he doesn't like Avi, but he's not really sure how much someone like him could understand the weight that lives on his shoulders. He doesn't want someone else to look at him like he's stupid because he never learned how to ask for help.

"Nothing really to talk about. You know the.. stuff," Kevin waves aimlessly. "I was gonna tell him soon..." he leans his head back with a thump and closes his eyes. "Doesn't matter. Fucked up. I fucked up," he says. "It's probably good. Better than hanging onto the past. Fresh start, right? What kinda werewolf has a sick human boyfriend?" He's most mumbling to himself now, but Kevin just lets out a quiet hum. "See? All done."

His eyes are glassy with both liquor and tears when he looks back over at Avi. "Promise I won't do anything dumb." How could he? He still has to take care of his family.

[aviofruin]

Kevin is so sure of what comes tumbling out of his mouth. Avi, just as sure of himself, has a rebuttal on the tip of his tongue. Loud and obnoxious, as always. But then Kevin looks at him with those big, teary eyes, and Avi snaps his mouth shut. Not the time.

"Okay. Okay." Avi finally says, like he's fourteen and trying to hush down one of his horses over at Waneoft. He doesn't look away, but he does fall quiet. Leans back, makes himself comfortable, and lets his arm brush Kevin's.

He can't offer words of comfort. He doesn't have them. Instead, he offers some quiet. He doesn't make a move to leave. The night is important, sure, but as he insisted before, this is important too.

After a while, he suddenly speaks. "You know, some of us love humans." -- sick or not, but he doesn't voice that part. No reason to rehash when he's sure Kevin is reading between the lines. "Come by Infamy. I'll introduce you to someone I know. Not a werewolf, but...same difference, yeah?" He says it with no room for a refusal.

"Oh - and before I forget: tell your boss I'll see you in a few weeks. We'll hang. No funny business." The corner of his mouth quirks, just barely. "Not unless you want it."

END.

[felicityvanbrunt]

"Look at you go, O' Captain my Captain." she says, tugging at the fabric at his shoulders, and at his huff, she shakes her head.

"It's not sadism," she laughs, batting at his chest "It's knowing how little I or you or any of these Port Leiry people matter to these visiting people. You're yokels, and they think they can just come in, lecture you about being too industrious for your own good, but you're Avinash Hassim, you're the party guy. It's just a... glorified earnings call, go in there, answer what they ask, if they ask it, and if you see space to put yourself ahead, take it. Just remember, most of these visiting clan-heads don't care about this city save what they can get out of it, and you shouldn't care about them save what you can get out of them, tomorrow, most of them are gonna fly back to Europe and forget they were here, the wolfs will go back to their shit, the vampires will have their stupid cheat-code rings, and we'll still be here. This is your opportunity to make you look good to the people who will still be here in Port Leiry next week."

[aviofruin]

She's right. He knows she's right. And she knows that he knows she's right.

Still, he doesn't like to admit it. What can he say, he's stubborn.

"Yeah, yeah," he says, same way he does every other time Flick has had to yank him out of his own ass, and puts a lid on his pouting for now.

"Enough about these assholes-- " himself included "-- and this stupid fucking meeting." A server flies by with a tray of blood-filled cocktails. Avi grimaces, waits for the second tray with normal drinks. He swaps his empty glass, hands one off to Flick, too. Then leans against the wall, rolls his shoulders to shake the weight off. He needs a subject change. He needs his focus elsewhere.

"How's it feel repping different colors this year?" He figures the death of their dear patriarch has been enough to keep most of her old pack away from an event like this, but he's been keeping an eye out all the same. It's making him antsy waiting for the shoe to drop on top of Warwick's giant fucking head. He's starting to wonder if the evidence they planted simply wasn't enough.

[howlthorne]

He took the champagne flute, drinking much slower this time now that he’d said his piece. The question about control was easier to handle than the secret one. “I’ve got decent control. I’m not a born wolf, so it’s only full moons, but I was bit when I was small, so my wolf’s been used to being part of a pack for about 25 years. Never attacked another wolf, as far as I can tell, and I’m pretty sure it avoids people when it can.” 

“Control’s never been a real issue for me, I just spent most of my life around other wolves. Don’t want to mess it up when there’s a human I’d like to keep out of trouble.” Come to think of it, she might not even know about the supernatural world. Did he have any right to drag her into it by showing up again in her life? “Hey, it’s me, your long lost not-dead brother who turns into a wolf once a month! Ever wondered why our parents' deaths were ruled as an animal attack?” Some grand reunion that would be. 

He didn’t want to dump all of that shit onto Avi, not when he was trying to get into his pack and had some pretty necessary questions about it. The man was charming enough that he could already tell he was getting pulled into the idea of joining up without knowing what actually came with it. “If I’m gonna have to get blood on my hands, I’d prefer it to actually be my hands, and not paws, y'know? I like knowing if I’m going to have to fight someone.” And I’d like to know what fights might come with joining up with you, the unspoken addition. 

[aviofruin]

Who in their right mind would go around biting literal children is beyond him. Avi can't fathom it. Turned wolves are already said to have difficulties with control, he can't imagine a child. It has to be absolute carnage. But this guy is standing here steady enough, confident enough, so Avi simply files it away with a note to poke later. It'd be tacky to get into it on the first meeting.

"I've claimed the abandoned amusement park for full moons. Sometimes we take it to the forest and fuck around too. Join us. Call it a team-bonding exercise. And while we're out there I can show you all the good spots to stash your clothes."

Lucas fishes for tea, and Avi's grin grows sharp. A fighter, then. He can use that.

"I see you. You're fishing. It's a lot to lay on the table, buuuut I'll make an exception." He steps in close, claps a hand onto Lucas' shoulder, turning him towards the far side of the room. "See her? Yuisa. Captain of team Warwick. We're not fans. Old beef, outdated rules, and she's the worst of it." Avi wrinkles his nose. "There's two other packs in town, and we're pretty chummy with them, but we can talk more about that later. Let me give you the rundown on some of our people." The exact rundown he'd given Kenzō not too long ago.

He juts his jaw towards César. "César's got anger issues out the ass. Don't pick a fight. Or, you know, do and let him get all his aggro out. Just keep in mind the first sign of blood is a green light for him, not red." Avi keeps to the important stuff, leaves out the bits about how he and César are Warwick born and raised.

Then Flick, a blonde hair whirling around as she talks animatedly with someone. Avi softens a little. "That's my girl Flick. She's good people. The best, even. Don't look like a scrub around her unless you want her to take you shopping. She's richer than god."

Remi's easy to spot, towering over half the crowd. Avi waves vaguely in their direction. "That's Remi. Don't tell them I said this but they're kind of the backbone of the pack. I'm not getting into the mush and gush, but see them for post-moon care packages."

His gaze cuts to his dear cousin, and he dips his head close for a whisper under his breath. "That's Saira. She's...something. But don't approach her here. She's my cousin, used to be Warwick and is joining on the DL."

Avi spins around, dragging Lucas right along with him. "Kenzō. New recruit like you. Don't ask why but we're getting him a Build-A-Bear for Christmas," he says with a snicker.

"Questions? Thoughts? Concerns? You still with me, handsome?"

[therawend]

Thera took the locket into her hand, flipped it over. “Its not meant to be opened…” she mumbled.

But the thing that really struck her was the magic swirling around it. “It’s the same divination magic that’s swirling around the body.” The thread was clear as Thera looked into the eyes of the locket. Pembroke artifacts just kept popping up tonight.

“If you wouldn’t mind I need you to look into this,” she pulled out a notebook that had fallen from a Pembroke pocket. Weird lettering was drawn up the binding, but there was no thread of magic for her to latch onto. “Its also Pembroke, but I don’t have time to do it myself, would you figure out what this means for me.”

It was an initial test of this new forming friendship. They had reached a truce and this info gathering was the first step they would take down that path together.

[aviofruin]

Avi laughs dryly.

"Divination, huh? These Pembrokes, man..."

She names her ask. For Avi, it's an easy yes. All he needs to do is make sure none of what has happened benefits Yuisa. That's it. AFter that, he can rest easy knowing he's done what he can for his own goals and to keep Harford ahead.

"It would be my privilege, Ms. Wendell," and he bows low, dramatic, with the cheekiest grin.

AFTER SOME TIME AND AFTER SOME SNOOPING OF HIS OWN...

Speaking of cheeks...

Avi winces as the fresh tattoo on his ass catches on his pants, grumbles to himself about these damn jocks. Thanks his lucky stars that Remi, Harford's local jock, isn't like them. As far as he's seen, at least.

By now, he's certain none of this has to do with Warwick, so he confidently makes his way over to Thera. He doesn't care much for the mystery of it., so he decides to fulfill his promise to Thera and turn over what he's found in addition to that. At least someone will get use out of it, and perhaps Anish will spot him speaking with Thera all hush hush. Maybe it'll get a rise out of him, knowing Avi is in cahoots with a known enemy of the Hassims.

"Surprise! I'm back."

He hands the journal back over, but not before directing her focus towards the spine of the journal. Thanks to Flick's nosing around, he didn't have to do too much to figure it out. "Apparently the lettering on this shit is almost identical to the cipher that was on the body."

He continues. "I did some digging of my own and found a hidden camera. Seduced a DJ about it and after he worked his magic fingers, I overheard some real fucking tea." He looks around, directs Thera's attention over to Kiera, of the Berserkers. "See them? Apparently they are - er....were smooching partners with Fia Palmgren. Caught 'em kissing on the cam and caught Kiera talking about some guy. Said he's playing Fia, that he's not who he says he is. Said they don't trust him. And if that isn't sus on its own, I found Kiera's jacket in the bathroom. Seems they'd been knifed with silver and had wolfsbane planted, by the looks of it."

"Mind you, they didn't mention a name in the video, but...come to find out, Flick actually overheard Fia tell someone she had to go meet Bhansali, the Pembroke guy, on the balcony. Said they had to talk about our very own Nsilo. And and and she found a letter head. Guess what? Pembroke's letterhead is covered in the same cipher bullshit."

He leans against the wall and keeps yapping, "Did some more snooping, ended up hanging out with the Berserkers for a little." More accurately, getting an ass tat. But Thera doesn't need to know that. "Overheard them shit-talking Bhansali. They said he's too self important."

He puts his hands up, "Do with that what you will. Just promise me if you happen to hear Warwick's name, you'll let me know."

For Thera, that's an easy yes too.

Avi offers a chummy grin and says his goodbyes. Mission accomplished. Now he can set his eyes on the after-party. Thank fuck.

END.

[kevma]

He tenses as someone approaches, sits down when he is clearly not in the mood for company, and Kevin opens his mouth to say as much when he recognizes the familiar mop of curls. When the other man starts to carry on his own conversation, playing both roles instead of waiting for Kevin to answer, he simply stares at him, even though his lips twitch slightly. "Do I really sound that gay?" he asks finally, voice slightly scratchy, but he smirks so Avi knows that he's only teasing.

He doesn't address any of what was actually said. He can guess that Avi knows the gist of it, just by that snippet of re-enactment, though he wonders what exactly Jude told him. At least he doesn't have to explain the why to Avi.

"Thanks, man," is all he says, finishing the rest of his drink and leaning heavily against the wall. "You look nice too." He fidgets with the head of his cane and drowns out the intrusive thought to ask Avi to hit him across the face with it. "But yeah, you covered it, so you know, don't want to keep you from anything important. I'll be fine."

[aviofruin]

For a moment, Avi thinks he's fucked up. Then Kevin fakes him out. He lets out a relieved huff of a laugh.

"That was a good dodge. I'll give it a six. Points for brevity, minus two for thinking I'm gonna let you mope like a Victorian orphan in a Dickens novel."

Whether Kevin realizes it or not, he's been there for Avi during what would have been his loneliest nights. Kevin had been paid to suffer Avi's company, but still. It counts for him.

"This is important. Don't make me do the fake Kevin voice again. I'll do it," he threatens playfully before leaning back. He's nosy, so of course he has questions. But most of them can be answered by the look on Kevin's face.

"Do you wanna talk about it? Or do you want to pretend it didn't happen? I can be flexible."

[felicityvanbrunt]

Flick's had tattoos before - mostly because it's a cheap and easy way to piss off daddy, and werewolf fortitude makes it much easier to get the bad ones burnt off with a laser.

But this? This is forever, because it is so funny. So funny.

Her's is done first, and yeah, it's sore, but-

"You're a big brave dog, buddy!" She says, kneeling down in front of him. "Big brave dog face, come on!"

"I'm laughing because it's funny!" She's red in the face.

She snatches up. "It's a cute little puppy, it's not like it's anything bad. Besides, we can, I don't know, burn it off with a cigarette later." She snorts at his squirming. "You're gonna make him mess up, Avi," she says, and then she gets in real close. "Think about it. Eye on the prize, we're gonna be matchies."

—

Before long it's over, and they're in the bathroom, she's pacing around. "I am so glad I got back in time to partake in that."

To business, then; after the body'd been discovered, she'd set doing some snooping and skulduggery of her own, and boy has she found some juicy tidbits.

She snaps her fingers. "Eyes up here, Avi." She says, handing him the bucket of champagne ice for his ass-cheek. "So, right before it all went down, I'd heard Fia herself tell somebody she had to go meet Surya, the Pembroke guy up on that balcony to talk about some lady named Nsilo."

She hikes her pants down, checking her cute little puppy out in the mirror, and, satisfied, pulls them back up, before strutting over to her bag, found this, too. She tosses him a leatherbound journal she'd found while snooping around; it doesn't smell magical, but the lettering on the spine is almost identical to the cipher on the body.

Oh, and this, too. She fishes a piece of Pembroke letterhead covered in that same glyphic cipher.

While he investigates, she circles around to look at his tattoo, and immediately bursts into laughter. "Oh baby boy, you squirmed SO much that is... that is a masterpiece."

Earlier, somebody had made a big commotion and boosted the doors on the coat check room, and she's never been more glad to have paid extortionate amounts money to liberate her phone, because-

"This is going directly to the group chat."

[aviofruin]

END.

[aviofruin]

who: @felicityvanbrunt where: conclave gala

Absolutely not. No. No, no, no.

Avi has stared vampires in the fangs, witches with their funky spells, and the snarling jaws of his own family. But this? This is the thing that makes him question his place in the universe. A fucking tattoo.

He hadn't even meant to get this deep into it. He was just snooping. Recon. Get in, grab some rumors, get out with enough intel to keep Harford two steps ahead. But the Berserkers? They're weird. They looked him dead in the eye, took one good look at his crown, strategically styled curls, silk fit, and said: "You want info? Prove you're serious. Get inked."

Avi laughed until he realized no one else was laughing.

Now his ass is exposed and all he smells is the ink and whatever protein powder madness these people live off of. His entire dignity hangs by a thread.

"Flick," he says, voice strangled with panic. Quivering, tears prickling at the corners of his eyes. "This is not funny. Why are you laughing? Why are you still laughing."

"I could have gotten it on my shoulder," Avi mutters as the tattoo artist snaps on gloves and tells him, "Relax your left cheek, bro"

"Or my ribs. Something sexy. But no. No. Rees said only the loyal get marked where it's hardest to show. What the fuck kind of macho ass intiation rite is that?"

His voice breaks on the last word. No needle gun means it's a stick n poke situation, which is worse. Avi flinches so hard he nearly faceplants off the table.

“I'm not scared,” he whispers through his teeth. “I just don’t like the idea of art being done on my literal ass. What if it’s crooked? What if I sit weird and it stretches? Flick, tell me -- tell me I’ll still be hot after this.”

He doesn’t look back when it starts. He stares straight ahead, fists balled, muttering every anti-Warwick mantra he’s ever used to psych himself up. This is for intel. This is for Harford. You are not crying. You are not crying.

He is crying.

"FLICK, I CAN NEVER BOTTOM AGAIN AFTER THIS. IT'S ON MY ASS!"

It takes thirty minutes for his with all his squirming.

When it's all over and done with, Avi is walking funny. His pride is in the garbage. When someone inevitability asks what it is, he's going to say "a moon" and never specify which kind.

[therawend]

Closed Starter for @aviofruin

Where: Supernatural Conclave & Gala

When: Part 2 (convince/coerce someone to do something for Clan Pembroke)

She leaves that room her head eschew, her heart, well her heart something, and Thera finds she’s never been so happy to hear that an international incident has occurred.

It was like Fate had given her a mission to distract her from her life which was being throw into unwelcome chaos. But never the matter, Thera went about collecting clues with all the intention of a woman on a mission.

She was holding an old journal that belonged to a member of Clan Pembroke and had just overheard the juiciest piece of gossip about a burgeoning fight that had just been quashed between Mariposa and Pembroke when she spotted Avi Hassim. Her new friend.

She walked towards him, a woman intent to piece the clues of this devolving night together. “Avi I need your help, is your offer to help me still on the table?” There was slight force behind the words, a reminder of ties and strings that she had so amply wielded minutes earlier but they were also painted with the brush of the first test in what was turning out to be a rather welcome friendship.

[aviofruin]

Avi's on his way to find a witch, any of the witches he knows, about the eye-shaped locket he's got in one of his pockets when Thera grabs his attention. Thera, a witch. Who needs help. Maybe there's a bargain to be struck here, then.

She presses him. Avi gets it. He knows what he's done, and he's more than willing to atone for what he's done, especially if it means thwarting his family and getting a witch in his corner. Two for one deal? Yes, please.

"Of course it is. Now, if I know you," which he doesn't, but he can venture a guess, "I know you're looking into the uh...mystery, yeah? Let's say I help you. Would you help me? Teensy little favor, won't take up too much of your time."

Thera doesn't give him an immediate no, so he considers that his opportunity to full send, and grabs the locket out of his pocket.

"Help me figure out what's up with this shit -- can't be opened, don't bother trying - and you tell me what to do. Easy Peasy."

[aviofruin]

If someone's lighting a fire under Port Leiry, he'll be damned if Yuisa benefits. So. In the interest of doing his due diligence as the leader of a pack and making sure none of this freakshow murder shit is connected to Yuisa, he begins to snoop. Besides, who doesn't love a good mystery?

Wyrmwood proves to be a dead end. A list of names, all crossed out, nothing he can recognize. He rolls his eyes and throws it in the trash.

With Mariposa, he finds a little thing humming all sweet and wrong. Apparently Lucho's been using it charm folks. That's all it takes for Avi to pocket it. You never know when a little persuasion might come in handy.

Next, he finds a script held by one of the Kanoutes is left buried in a beg left on a theater seat. Forgotten in the chaos, more than likely. Avi grabs it, expecting the answers to all his questions, but instead finds a script for some play. He skims through, finds a bunch of text crossed out and a few things scribbled over, and finds it's a court drama. Boring. He's about to throw it in the trash when he remembers he's heard of some of the names. Over the bin, he skims through with the point of his finger finding names. A few he recognizes from his talks with Pembroke and Mariposa. Yawn.

His snooping around Pembroke leads him to a locket in the shape of an eye. He tries to pry it open, but no such luck. The least he can do is pocket it and hold onto it for a witch to identify.

Zhongshan is simpler. He finds a camera tucked under the awning of the balcony. The network shows a video of Kiera talking to Fia. Hushed tones, so he can't tell what they're talking about. An idea strikes him when the trinket he'd grabbed from Mariposa jingles in his pocket.

Avi finds the DJ, lets his own charm combine with Lucho's trinket do the work for him. Before he knows it, the DJ is happily accessing the network on his system. It doesn't take too long for him to enhance the audio.

When he's done there, he heads out to see what else he can find, but on his way he spots one of the Berserkers leaves a bathroom all hush hush. Curious.

In the bathroom trash can, he finds Kiera's jacket, shredded. At first, he thinks claws. But no. The tear pattern's too smooth. Knife, then. When his finger slips along one of the cuts, a burn flares up and he hisses from the sudden sting. Okay. Silver knife, then.

He rifles through, careful of the slashes. He expects cash or keys or at least gum for his troubles. Instead there's a few rolled joints, which is just as acceptable. Except when he brings it to his lips to light it up, the scent of wolfsbane almost knocks him out.

[finlayhall]

He regrets leaving the glass behind (what the hell is he supposed to do with his hands in a setting like this? he needs something to hold) even as he’s slipping through the crowd. He’s always been light on his feet, and his most recent marks (spiraled down each calf and enchanted by a rather clever witch from some backwater Montana town) did their part to further soften his footsteps. Move through silent, unnoticed, that was how he survived as a hunter. Right now, though, the most he was hunting down was another drink and someone safe to stick to for the evening.

Getting caught threw a slight wrench into those plans.

(Stay calm.) This wasn’t his turf, and he was surrounded by people that wanted him dead. So (like a prey animal with no hope of escape) he paused in place. He’s already been rattled enough this evening, and that shouldn’t be so easy for anyone to do, even with a few drinks in his system. His own breath catches (slightly) as he feels Avi’s against his ear, but he pushes through the confusing battle of turn-on vs. terrifying to steady himself.

“You’ve got plenty of people vying for your attention tonight,” he says, keeping his chin tilted up and eyes fixed straight ahead. “I’m sure you have enough on your plate. I certainly didn’t mean any disrespect.”

It shouldn’t feel this dirty, but his careful deference in tense times as these shares an uncomfortably thin border with how he flirts. “Shy is, uhm…” (not something he can claim after the ways he’s let Avi take him apart.) Finlay takes a careful breath in and continues, “Not accurate, I agree. Reserved is a better word.”

His clothes. His sweaty palms rest firmly against the sides of his thighs. It’s a terrible time to have nothing for his hands to do. “I’m just— following the dress code, it’s nothing compared to… anyone else here.” ‘Dressed too well’ flashes across his mind like a warning light and he’s quick to add on, “Thank you, though. You look…” (just a normal, respectful compliment, don’t start hitting on someone again) “..remarkable.”

[aviofruin]

Avi hums, pleased -- not with the answer, but with the way Finlay gives it. Straight ahead, as if the hunter is not being hunted. As if pretending composure could save him.

"Reserved," he echoes, like he's tasting the word and finding it too bitter. "Right. Okay," and he glances with a tilt of his head, eyes dragging along the line of Finlay's jaw. "I'll let you have it, sure."

He doesn't crowd him, not exactly. Just keeps pace as he leads him towards the bar, deliberately close. Like a bodyguard or shadow or threat or... well, it's hard to say. Right now, Avi is only entertaining himself. It's been a long night, after all.

"You know," He adds, voice dipping low, "I do have a lot on my plate tonight. But the thing is...sometimes I like to pick off the garnish first. Something light. Something...satisfying and remarkable. Sometimes that can even be the highlight of the night. Wouldn't you agree?" he presses, all teeth.

"Come on. Let's get you a drink so you can figure out what to do with your hands again. Then you can tell me what kind of business you hunters have here, considering not one of you has a seat at the table...and maybe...I'll see if I can manage to let you go be cute somewhere else after. Sound good?"

[howlthorne]

“I’m technically working tonight, but...” He took the drink, downing it in one go and setting the empty glass on a waiter’s tray. Speed was key if he was going to drink on the job. “It’s not like champagne does much.” 

“You want a secret? Is that a blackmail thing, or just a sharing thing?” Either way, he’d try to play it safe. Find a secret in the midpoint between boring as shit and could have him learning real quick that there’s no statute of limitations on murders in West Virginia. What else did he have? He was chatty enough about the past decade that he didn’t have anything that could count, prone to ending up bizarrely shirtless enough that any of his below-the-neck piercings were more of a temporary unknown than a secret, and the tragic childhood details he tended to keep out of conversations weren’t really good for parties. He wasn’t sure he even had a secret that mattered in this town.

Oh. He had one thing that mattered in this town. Probably enough to be worth grabbing a second champagne glass to down. “You asked about people I don’t want to be stuck turning around? It’s more like one person, right now. My sister doesn’t even know I’m alive, I only learned she’s not dead... what, a month ago? I’m pretty sure I’ve wimped out of reaching out for long enough that it might just be safer for her to keep thinking I’m dead."

"I came to town just to meet her, but I'm not gonna be able to forgive myself if she got hurt on a full moon.” Ugh, saying that sucked worse than he thought. He really needed to get some better secrets, ones that didn't feel awful to sat. He set the empty glass aside. "How's that? Secret enough?"

[aviofruin]

Avi watches him down the champagne like it's nothing, one brow quirking at the speed.

Then he hears the secret. There's just the barest twitch at the corner of his mouth, as if something about Lucas' admission has hit a little closer than he expected, because well- it has. Thorne. Presumably dead brother. Sister. Estranged.

No fucking way.

But then - it makes sense. He'd always suspected there was more than foul play with what happened to Romy's parents. He connects the dots. Wolves, then? Siblings. Siblings. He kind of regrets flirting with him.

He downs his drink before, "Well, that's one hell of a reason to come to town." A pause, then. It seems to stretch for too long, and Avi fills it with a glance down and away. "And one hell of a secret."

"Not a blackmail thing, not a sharing thing. More like...a get-to-know-you thing. Promise." A server passes by, Avi grabs two flutes. One over to Lucas, another for himself. "For what it's worth, you're probably doing the right thing keeping your distance. Assuming she's human, she's got no business with wolves, especially not those without control," says the wolf gallivanting with said human. "How are you with control, anyway? I should know before our first run through the park."