Hal O'Neil

“I mean no harm to you, your pack, or the citizens of Birchwood. I just really need to know what’s going on. People have been murdered and I want to catch the ones responsible.” - Hal O'Neil

[whishawnews]

Ben Whishaw attends the ‘Suffragette’ premiere at the Opening Night Gala during the BFI London Film Festival at the Odeon Leicester Square on October 7, 2015 in London, England. (Source: Gareth Cattermole)

[saucekayuchiharrr-deactivated20]

The Headcanon Game

Send me an object and I have to make a head canon out of it. (Examples to send: Chair, barbie doll, tooth brush, etc.)

[hal-o-neil]

the-alecmerriman

“Why you choose to stick your nose into everyone’s business I’ll never know, but it’s your true weakness.” Alec pushed both hands through his brown hair more in utter annoyance than actual frustration. Even though Hal deemed a frustrating person to deal with at times. “Dante and the Chastain’s are being very discreet that not even I know the specifics. You just need to know this army Hunt’s building is his way of climbing to the top. He wants the glory and fear from others. He gets off on it. I can relate.”

“That should suffice your dying thirst for knowledge.” Hal’s next comment really struck a nerve for Alec. He grew sick of anyone who claimed they could deduce him like a painting and nitpick his story. The initial insult didn’t bother him, but the implication did. Alec dropped the article of clothing and walked over to the other man. “So, you think I am so perceptive of everyone but myself? Not in your wildest dreams could you ever know the first thing about me, Hal. Stop assuming you can figure me out in just one night.”

Of course they were being bloody discreet about the hybrids. Hal even knew that. Which of course didn’t help his current situation about why he was here in Alec’s bedroom rushing to put his clothes on. He wasn’t really sure if Alec could be blamed even though Hal so desperately wanted to pin everything he was feeling on the man.

He scoffed as Alec ended his first explanation. “Oh good, you can relate? That’s lovely. I just slept with a power hungry witch who enjoys scaring people into respecting him. That’s just great!”

Hal stood (or more like sat, since he was tying his shoe) his ground even when Alec towered over him. He quickly glanced up at the witch and smirked, nodding as he spoke. “Well, I do know one of your pet peeves now. You have to give me that.”

[hal-o-neil]

megawattwilburn

You obviously love snooping. Figure it out yourself.

---

“You obviously love being a prick. I’m trying to figure it out.”

“This isn’t as easy as it looks.”

[hal-o-neil]

rudigilbert

“Yes, there were plenty that I did not see. However, it was not a list I saw. It was missing persons forms - all of which were taken back by the person that came to me with them. That person being Foster Etheridge,” Rudi took a gulp of breath, without realizing what he was doing he took another drink from the delicate glass. His face immediately wrinkled in disgust and he coughed. At least the glass was now completely empty, he swore the aftertaste was even worse. Running a hand through his hair he tilted his head with a look of curiosity. “Perhaps, he will let you see them? Are the two of you on good terms?”

---

Hal’s eyebrows raised at the mention of Foster. He bit his lip and made a “eh” sound. “No... Can’t say we really are. However, that wasn’t my fault,” Hal defended. “He yelled at me.” Hal made a face while gesturing to himself. “But I could try to talk to him again. You know, if he’s not going to be a prick.”

[hal-o-neil]

andreasandler

“Good question. This town is… not normal.” He felt out of place here. Mostly, he towered over the general population, it smelled like damp earth instead of sea, there was sounds of different birds instead of the gulls, and tall trees secluded everything. He was a man of sea, not land. “Rather theatrical, this is. Are the papers normally like this? Is this the standard American way of writing?”

Hal could tell this guy was a new com- Hold on a moment. Has Hal really been here long enough to tell which people were new and which were not? The stranger’s next question answered Hal’s internal one. This guy wasn’t really hiding that he wasn’t new was he?

Hal pushed the thought away and chuckled at the man’s question. “No, not normally. Unless we’re talking about Birchwood, then in that case I haven’t been here long enough to know.”

[hal-o-neil]

andreasandler

Dax looked at the paper and rose a brow at it. Andie wasn’t kidding, this place was mental. “Sending a message. Whoever published that wants you to know they have the power?” His accent was thick, a perpetual upbeat sounding, when in reality, he was a tad confused.

“I have to give it to them, it’s not a bad way to do it...” Hal’s eyebrows copied Dax’s at the thought. “However, who, is the question of the hour.”

[hal-o-neil]

eloisebellefleur

Curious, isn’t it? I honestly don’t see what all the hype is.

---

“Well, considering the answer is “death” and a lot of that happens in this town, I don’t blame some people for taking it seriously.”

[hal-o-neil]

the-alecmerriman​

“I speak only the truth. Sometimes.” Alec busied himself with at least trying to tidy up the room, straightening the pillows and fixing the bed covers. He never saw the point with making a bed when you were just going to sleep in it the next night, but he had a guest over. A mess is still a mess. “You want answers? I’ll give you all the answers you could hope for, but not all at once. Just as long as I get what I desire in return for any questions asked. I already told you everything I knew about the hybrids, Hal.”

---

“I’m not talking about just the hybrids,” Hal snarled. “Your little witch friends and the Hunts have been torturing innocent people all for power! Since you’re close with them, I can only assume you know some things about the Hunts and their plans!”

“Unless you don’t have anything and I wasted my time,” He scoffed, slipping on a sock. Hal knew deep inside that he didn’t waste his time being here with Alec. What happened the night before was something Hal wanted since he laid eyes on Alec. He shook away the thought and continued his rant. “You’re too focused on your own selfish needs that you don’t notice anything going on around you.”

[hal-o-neil]

rudigilbert

Rudi paused at the question. After a few moments of thought he began to shrug. The openness of the individual’s that he could not give names for was always going to be a tricky aspect to what the Hunts had done. He ran a hand through his hair in the process of thinking, the chat he had with Harper Joseph, and the past relationship with the Hunts made it seem doubtful. If any of the unidentified were alive they would be in town, but it would be highly unlikely that the Hunts would let them run free. It was with this that he shook his head again. “If any of the unidentified are alive, they are probably among the hybrids. I spoke with a Hunt pack member, one I remembered vaguely from my time as a contract, we both agree that it is highly unlikely that Brandon would let a hybrid go. The thing is with these individuals is that they could be dead, and they died during an influx so I missed them. Or they were never even here, but their cases looked similar to the others. It’s all too open to give a definite answer.”

---

“Well if the answer is indefinite, there is a chance there is someone out there,,,” Hal leaned back in his chair, gulping down the remaining liquid in his glass. “It’s improbable, but they could’ve escaped. Is there anybody on the list who you didn’t see? I could check an archive or something to see if they really died. And if not, we’d have some people to talk to.”

“Who did you talk to for this information? Was it Andie?”

[hal-o-neil]

thexpetrovaxfirex

As he spoke at her like a parent she rolled her eyes. More on principal than actual annoyance. This was a conversation her father once had with her, it was the classic ‘do as I say, not as I do.’ Small towns had little to do for teenagers aside from get into trouble. Like many teenagers her father was not among those that never experimented with cigarettes among many other things. 

“I think you forget that I’m past the years of experimentation. If I was going to smoke cigarettes I would already be smoking them,” she said with a light smile, “Alcohol’s more of my thing. Hence the job. Anyways, glad work’s helping with the edge. Have you seen the stuff that’s being spread around by Birchwood Underground?”

Hal couldn’t help but chuckle at her comment. He always liked her sass. It was sort of uplifting at a time like this. “True. Alcohol is the best.” He tapped the table in sort of a quick rhythm before answering her. “I have. The riddle wasn’t hard to figure out, my father told me it a long long time ago. However, what’s it doing in the Underground?”

[hal-o-neil]

poznauskissteph​

Stephanie smiled and let the edge of her water bottle clink against his. It was always nice to see that networking abilities had the potential to expand to teaching opportunities. While taking a sip of water in preparation to explain things to him, the question came. It was the golden question of sorts. Depending on which werewolf you spoke to a pack networker had high power, others found their jobs to be glorified and useless. Stephanie was the latter, she found her job useful, but hardly one of high power. Not on the caliber of alphas and betas. 

With a light grin she pointed to the blank space outside of the triangle and circle, “My position doesn’t fall within these categories, so I’m not on the triangle. Now, let’s begin.” The pen pointed to the top, “You have the alpha, their position is the highest in regards to power. You know that Brandon is the Hunt’s alpha, and the chances of immediately speaking to him about his pack is slim to none. Hunt doesn’t venture out of his land very often, he has the people below him do that. If you find yourself at his office, unless you are planning to sign a contract with him, which I hope you would not, that means the worse for you. Hunt’s done heinous things, he won’t be lose-lipped about it unless he’s going to kill you.”

The pen moved to the next category, pointing at the first half of the second tier, “Brandon has multiple betas, but the main one you need to focus on is Hoch Bartlett. That’s the one that he works close with, and the one you would probably meet on Hunt lands. Some alphas are like that, they have multiple betas, but there might be one that they consult more - Hunt is one of those alphas. Betas are powerful, alphas get final say on things, but betas can challenge their decisions or heavily advise against something. Betas also have administrative power over pack members, if the alpha is not around, they can discipline werewolves that are acting out of line. Similar to Brandon, the chances of him giving accurate information are slim to none.”

“Although,” she pointed to the second half, “Hunt’s son, Blake, is a beta, and he has two or three friends that are training to become betas. Alphas that will inherit the title, like Blake, usually spend a few years as betas. Provided the pack will need more betas, which the Hunts will need more since they’ve grown, the next-in-line can pick out who they want to work alongside them in the future. They are tall tested during this time, given more responsibilities as they get ready to take their titles. As it stands, Blake is in training. However, most of the things that he does are not within his duties, but just him acting out. Brandon does not do anything about it, so while it looks like Blake is close to taking over the pack, there’s still time. With all that, Blake Hunt would probably speak to you. He’s a snake, but he lacks the grace to actually keep his mouth shut and not make himself noticeable. One of the training betas, Lee Randazzo, is similar in this regard. They’ll probably yank your leg before slipping up and giving anything of use, but they’d be less likely to drag you to Brandon, unless you hurt them. Then they’ll do it. Lee and Blake are usually found at the Dens, it’s less likely but they occasionally make their way to the Ridge. It’s where most of the teenagers and young adults go to party.”

It was after all of this that Stephanie decided to pause. Mainly to catch her breath, and to let Hal absorb the information. “If you have any questions, or want more details about what I just said, now’s the time to ask.”

Hal smirked at her answer and proceeded to pull out his little notebook and pen, and started writing names down as she mentioned them, also drawing a copy of the diagram on the page before it.

Hoch Bartlett/Beta - If he could find him, Hal would try to befriend him, maybe not even try bring up anything about supernatural. He’d have to play it a little dumb, like he had just moved to Birchwood, but if he got the chance, he was going to take it!

Lee Randazzo/Beta - Also a good target. Actually, a better target, considering how loose lipped he was.

Blake Hunt/Beta - A good target, but too risky. If he saw through Hal’s facade, he’d never see Brandon.

“Question, would it be weird for me to show up at the ridge?” He raised an eyebrow. “On a more serious note, what would I have to do to keep them in the dark about my true intentions, despite what the rest of this damned town knows about me?”

[hal-o-neil]

“The riddle is obvious. It’s why it’s in the paper that I’m so confused about.”

[hal-o-neil]

@ezralazarus

“Ezra Lazarus,” he said and purposefully blew smoke into the man’s face. Watching him fight his cravings was amusing to Ezra. So far, this man amused Ezra greatly. He had been expecting much more bite from the man. Someone had been schooling him. “Well, Lazarus isn’t really a surname. It’s a title. My parents were Lazarus, but you earn it. Do you know what Lazarus means? Of course you do, writer and such. Here’s the thing though. It’s… opposite of that. Instead of raising someone from the dead, I… rather, I cast them into it.” Ezra laughed, a sick and twisted sound that was borderline mad sounding.

“I am… the grim reaper.” Ezra snapped and pointed at him with a full fledged smile coming to his lips. “And not like one of those fucked up goth kids or the dark witches around here. There is only one witch, one dark witch that is actually worth a damn. Ravenna. Not because she kills people, but she has so much, what’s the word? Enthusiasm and disregard for consequence. Now, I can see it in your eyes. You want to know. Just ask. No? Well, I’ll ask you. Would you like to know how I killed him?”

---

Hal held his breath to stop himself from breathing in the familiar scent he missed so and clenched his fist when his craving grew stronger. He pushed those cravings away and licked his lips. Hal wasn’t very appreciative with the egotistical lecture he was being given. In fact he was feeling a little annoyed. Of course the young man was just trying to throw him off the edge and Hal was not in the mood to be trifled with.

Instead, Hal smiled. “I’d love to hear what you have to say. But if you don’t mind, I have another question. First you tell me if I go all out on you, you’ll lose your patience and now you’re telling me to ask my questions? Seems a little unfair, is it not? Trust me, I’m very interested in what you have to say but I like to play fair.” He leaned back, biting his lip slightly. “I’ll be polite, but don’t get angry if you don’t like what I’m asking. Just don’t answer. Deal?”

[hal-o-neil]

thexpetrovaxfirex

“I heard that chewing a stick of gum when you have a craving helps,” she weakly offered. Nicotine was not a vice of hers, there  were times that she had a cigarette around friends, but it was hardly a regular occurrence. Most of the smokers that she knew were from the past, and it had been awhile since Farrah stepped back into it.

On instinct she swiped the empty glasses away. She almost began to pour another one, but stopped herself. With a sheepish smile she tucked the bottle back. “Sorry about that, I have slippery hands,” she said with a shrug, “How’s work been? Did it at least take the edge off?”

“As long as it’s not one of those nicotine ones...” He ruffled his hair before leaning against the bar again. “I want to get off the stuff for good. Let me tell you right now, it’s very hard. Don’t smoke. Ever. Take it from me.” He pointed at her like a stern parent would at a child.

“Actually, it made me feel a little better,” He said, leaning into his folded arms. “Thank you. Of course, I chose a bad time to try and quit. It’s killing me...”

[hal-o-neil]

poznauskissteph

Stephanie perked up as he asked about the Hunts. She had a feeling this was why he was here. Business. She returned the smile and reached for a water bottle for herself, “Let me start by not getting your hopes up. I know very little about hybrids, they’re on lock and key, and it’s not my place to get involved with hybrid matters.”

It was at this point that Stephanie reached for a notepad, rummaging through the desk’s drawers before laying it down with a slap. With a careful hand she drew a triangle, and separated it into sections. At the top tier she wrote the word “alpha,” betas came second and were split in half. One portion for the older betas, and the next for the younger betas, or training betas. The third section went to trainers and den mothers. Then she drew a circle next to the triangle and labeled it as the tracker. The notepad was pushed in between them. “Anyways, this is the information I can explain: power dynamics. Other people could give names, and descriptions, but that always means until it is given perspective. This is a basic layout, and it’s not always so cut-and-dry for packs, but it’s what I can offer. If that’s not what you’re looking for, then you have tea for your troubles.”

Hal nodded at her warning and took a sip of the tea he was given. Any information about the Hunts was better than none. Besides, Alec had basically given him his answer, all he needed was evidence to back it up since Alec wasn’t very trust worthy and Rudi saw ghosts (and some people still don’t believe that everything says was true).

He watched her finish the drawing of power dynamic on the pad and traced the lines with his eyes. She was right, it wasn’t exactly what he was looking for, but it would be very helpful. Especially with talking to certain types of wolves. He smiled, putting his bottle up in a mock toast. “This is very helpful actually. Cheers for giving me helpful information.”

Hal leaned back and set his drink on the table. “Where do you stand on this little triangle?” He smirked.

[hal-o-neil]

rudigilbert

“Possibly,” Rudi replied, he dipped the glass back and wrinkled his nose in disgust. Champagne was never one of his favorite drinks. The bubbling and acidic taste never sat on his palette just right. He pushed it away and shook his head at Hal. While plenty of the fliers did contain the faces of the dead there were some that he did not remember, which could mean an array of things. For now, Rudi chose to believe that they got alive. He tried to grasp at the numbers in the two piles, living and dead, and found it difficult to provide one. With a light sigh he began to speak: “Of course not. A little less than half I never saw, or did not remember leaving. That can mean one of three things: they survived the experiment, they died during mass murders, or their missing cases are not connected to this place.”

He took another sip of the drink despite not enjoying the taste. Regret came immediately as he winced. “I want to believe that they are alive. The pile of the dead was larger than the unknown one. A little more than half I could pinpoint with certainty.”

Hal chuckled at Rudi’s reaction to the taste of the champagne. Hal drank his with ease, having acquired a taste to the drink in his years of service to journalism. A smirk followed Rudi’s explanation. “Whoa whoa...one case at a time. I’m not Sherlock Holmes.” Hal put his drink on the table. “In all seriousness though, if they are still alive, do you think they’re still in Birchwood? If they are I could question them. Maybe even get them to a safe house.”