Midmorning in the Library, and Felix is in the recreation nook with his guitar, as is so often the case. It's not particularly loud right now, and he's sitting on the back of the couch, boots on the cushions, rather than standing on the ground as is more usual. Whatever he's playing isn't immediately identifiable, and the singing is quiet enough that even up close it's hard to tell what it might be over the music. There's a bag of jerky on the cushions near his feet, along with a soda bottle, and a mug that seems to have been being used as an ashtray earlier. In the kitchen area, there continues to be a pink cake box sitting on the counter.

Slug comes out from his little cave from between the shelves, pushing the tarp open and poking his head out. The Gnawer wears sweats, from head to toe, and the kind of thick socks that are basically slippers. He waves at Felix, then pads his way over into the kitchen for a can of soda and the first edible thing he lays hands on, which is a half-eaten burger.

Felix glances up at the sound and movement of the tarp, and flashes Slug a grin in return for the wave, lifting his chin to the Ragabash in greeting. One more short riff, and he sets the guitar aside and hops down to his feet, heading over toward the kitchen as well. "Mornin'. 'sup?"

"Sleepy. Tired. Stayed up a little late annoying a Glass Walker." Slug explains, drinking down a couple gulps of soda. He doesn't bother heating up the burger before taking a bite. "You just jammin', practicing to do a little buskin' on the street? It's a good way to get some scratch. Everyone likes guitars."

"Who an' how?" Felix asks, opening the fridge and staring inside for a moment or two before taking out an apple and closing it again. "Just workin' on a song. Might actually have folks for a band again finally. But yeah, it's gettin' warm enough people might start stoppin' again... I oughta start takin' the acoustic out s'more." He takes a bite of the apple and lifts the lid of the cake box just enough to take a brief glance inside, shaking his head slightly as he drops it shut it again.

"I play a violin, but I mostly play solo. It takes a lot of concentration, and I'm... not incredibly good. But I used to play along with a Walker that sang, 'cause she paid me. She also gave me a suit to wear." Slug stretches out both arms, cringing as something pops in his spine. "A bit like being a pet, except we were friends, so not really." He points a foot at the box. "That'd best not be a head. Or a human head, anyways."

Justin heads down the stairs in a yawn, wearing a pair of boxer shorts and not much else. As he hops off the last step, he rubs his eyes with his knuckles, then gives a grin to the pair. "What's up guys? I thought I heard a guitar." As he gives a stretch of his body, he ambles for the kitchen area with plodding footsteps upon the ground.

Felix pulls a pen out of his pocket, a ballpoint with printing and a short length of ball-chain suggesting it originally lived in a bank or similar, and doodles on the edge of the box until the ink starts running. "Yeah? Lemme hear you sometime," he says, "Sounds more like an employee than a pet. Ain't heard of a lot of dogs in tuxes. Well, outside hallowe'en an' those weird dog weddin' things." He writes a 'J' on the top of the box and pockets the pen again, leaning against the counter comfortably. "It ain't a head," he promises, "...this time. But you didn't answer my question, so now I'm even curiouser." He looks to the stairs at the sound of feet, and grins back to his packmate, calling, "Hey! Yeah, I was playin' some."

"Oh, you know how it is. Someone says they have a DVD you'd like to see, but then they get all wishy-washy when you nag them to bring it out so you can watch. Then I ate a lot of her food and left a mess in the sink." Slug rolls his shoulders, finishes off his burger, and takes a swig of soda. "I'm a good teacher." He looks up as Justin comes in and waves with his now empty hand, then looks back at Felix. "Sometime. Sure. Not today, but sometime. It's been a little while since I played."

Scratching the back of his ass with his rough fingernails, Justin pokes his head into the fridge and pulls out a soda, then ambles back into the main room and flops down on to his bean bag. "What kinda DVD? You trying to get someone to show you porn? You know you can get that for free on the Internet." He says with a grin.

Rap-Tap-Thump comes a knock on the front door. Who knocks on an abandoned building's door? Certainly not the fuzz, they'd just barge in.

"Maybe, but if someone's sayin' they got a DVD they think you'd like, so come over, an' it turns out it's porn, it =definitely= ain't the same as gettin' it on the Internet," Felix points out, and takes another bite of the apple. "But sounds fair, next time maybe she won't be a tease about it. An' if she is you get to eat all her food again. Win-win." At the knock on the door, he glances at the others, and heads over to see who's there. Speaking of curiosity.

"You kids and your internet," Slug says with a demure wave of the hand. "You can't find everything there." He takes a sip of cola and smirks at Felix. "That, too, but not with her. Not that kinda thing. I like my balls where they are, and all." Slug lifts his now-empty can and tosses it into the bin, bouncing it off the rim and in with the rest of the cans with a clatter.

"So, what kinda porn are we talking here? You saying this Walker was gonna show you like, personal porn or something?" Justin asks with a wider grin from his spot on the bean bag. He is only wearing a pair of boxer shorts, having just woke up and his hair is sprawled out in different directions.

Lily is the one standing on the other side of the door, dressed in a long royal purple sweater dress belted with a thin black leather belt with matching low boots and leggings. Her hair is neatly braided behind her neck. The girl looks like she's off to an interview, not a social call. She's got one arm in front of her and there's a large honest to God picnic basket hanging from it - red checked lining, woven wicker, and all. As she takes in Felix with a look spanning hair to toes, the young teen says, "Ah, hello, I was here to see - oh, I hear Justin in there? I take it you're a... friend." She says with the audible equivalent of air quotes.

Felix smirks over his shoulder to Slug. "Hey, I'm just sayin'!" he says, spreading his hands, or as well as he can with most of an apple in one of them. He opens the door with the other, and Lily gets an up-and-down look all of her own, and a grin, the Galliard leaning against the edge of the door, "Well, if you're lookin' for one, you could do worse. I got references an' everything. An' good mornin' to you. Who should I say's callin'?"

"Not everything has to be about porn," Slug says, sniffing, feigning offense. "Even though we did used to live in a porno theater..." he trails off, his eyes ticking toward the ceiling. "Man, if I'd had that 'make trash work' gift back when I was a teenager, things would have been way less boring." Slug peers up at the front door of the Gnawer hideout, but he doesn't seem too concerned yet. Is that a Jehova's Witness?

Justin pushes himself upwards as he hears the familiar voice of Lily, then heads over for the door. Peeking around Felix, he gives a wide grin. "Hey, stripes. What's up?" He says as he gives Felix a nudge to the ribs. "This is Lily, the tiger cub I was telling you about the other day." He says as he motions her to come inside. "What brings you by?"

Lily opens her mouth and is about to respond to Felix when Justin ID's her. She gives a dip of her head in a nod to Justin, though one corner of her mouth pulls back slightly. "I'd say put on pants but I know your selection is low. As is food, so.." She holds up the picnic basket. "So as you don't need to try and blackmail my mentor and as an overdue thank you, I have brought you some. Sandwiches of varying sorts, fruit, a pasta salad, and some cookies."

Felix steps back, pulling the door along with him, to makes room for Lily to enter. "Nice meetin' you, Lily. I'm Felix. I'd say don't encourage his pantslessness, but we prolly oughta just be glad there's what there is." He shakes his head woefully at his packmate's lack of sartorial self-attention. He reaches out to try to lift the basket's lid with a finger and peek inside, despite having just been told what it contains. "That sounds delicious. Joinin' us for lunch, then?"

Slug finds his feet and comes strolling over with his hands in his pockets, his posture loose and stooped. "Hi," Slug says, peering at her from somewhere behind the other Gnawers. He considers her, inspecting her, then presumably finds her to his liking. "I wouldn't mind," he says, yawning a little bit, scratching at his sweat shirt. "Anyone that brings free stuff is welcome."

Smirking at Lily, Justin gives her a waggle of brows. "If you get lucky, maybe you will see me without them one day." He leans over and pecks her cheek, then motions for Felix to take the basket. "So, why the food? You cat types need us rats for something?" He does not seem to mind the bribe if it is one. Food is food. "If you got a job for us, we're down. We got nothing else to do these days."

"During my brief stay I determined it was a pointless argument to have." Lily says to Justin and stiffens at the invasion of both her space and her cheek. The tension in the muscles of her jaws would suggest she's trying her damndest not to scowl. "I don't want to intrude if you're all otherwise occupied and no, it is not a bribe, it is a repayment since you refused my other offer of some clothing with less holes. I insist on repaying you somehow, it's rude otherwise. Certainly there's plenty of Things to squish if you're bored, given your doomsday yammering."

Felix quirks a brow at Justin's gesture, but he does take the basket anyway. "It don't take that much luck," he asides to her dryly, and heads over to set the bounty down beside the cake box. "We weren't doin' nothin' but chattin', so it ain't an intrusion. Feel free to have a seat an' a drink or somethin', if you like." He flips the basket's lid entirely open this time, considering the contents. "You wantin' the basket back?"

Slug reaches forward and grabs the back of Justin's shorts, which he uses like a leash, tugging the Ahroun back an inch or two. "Down, boy," Slug says. He turns to Lily and bows his head, low enough to show respect, but not so low that he takes his eyes off of her. "This should be more than enough to compensate. Garou are... lucky to get anything at all, when we help gather our own cubs. Besides, Karuvar isn't the type to be taken for a ride, so I wouldn't worry about that."

Swatting at Slug as he tugs on his boxers, Justin glares at him, then ambles for the kitchen to peek into the picnic basket. "What's up with the cake box?" He asks Felix, peeking at the letter J written on it. "Is this for me?"

Lily does appear somewhat mollified by Slug's intervention and show of respect and returns it with a faint nod of her head. "Oh I'm sure he isn't but I'd be remiss to not pay back a debt. No need to have the basket back, I bought it as part of the package. Use it how you wish." She steps inside then once permitted and relieved of the basket and closes the door behind her. "And it sounds like Justin has spoke of me, but my name is Lily Song Breckenridge. Khan Kit. I know there's alternate names the changing sorts use but I don't have one as of now."

Felix unpacks the basket, putting it on top of the fridge when it's emptied. The rest stays on the counter right now; he's got an apple to finish eating. "Felix T. Sinclair, Chugs-the-Mystery-Brew, Fostern 'Gnawer Galliard," he introduces himself further to Lily, and sweeps a flamboyant bow toward her. "Formerly known as Lets-Them-Eat-Cake," he adds, and to Justin, much too innocently, "an' yeah, I reckon that one's yours."

Slug raises an eyebrow at Justin, but lets go, and doesn't seem anything other than bemused. "I've heard of you, yes. I'm Slug, Elder of the Gnawers, Herder of Cats." He waves a finger at Lily. "No offense." He strolls back over to the fridge and fetches another soda, which he drinks on his way back over. "My 'wolf' name is Black-Light, and I'm a Fostern Ragabash."

"So... did you get one for everyone else too or just me?" Justin looks at the box, then back to Felix with suspicion in his eyes. "Hey, Slug, come over here and have a piece of cake." He calls over as he opens the box to peek at it.

"Oh right, your.. jobs, I guess that'd be the closest word." Lily remarks when the auspices come up. "It's an interesting concept. I suppose it makes sense that if 'herding cats' is difficult, there's a reason we don't label ourselves so strictly." She looks over towards the cake box as it becomes an apparently suspect item and pointedly stops right where she is with her hands loosely clasped in front of her.

"No one else had a reason for one. Far's I know," Felix says, adjusting position slightly where he leans against the counter, and watching Justin peek into the box. "Plus, everyone likes cake, but there's only so much cake anyone can eat at once."

"Oh sure, flirt with a Bastet, but hesitate when it comes to possibly poison cake." Slug lights up a cigarette and draws in a lungful of ash, exhaling with a wistful smile on his face. "Trust me, a night with a Bastet more dangerous than any poison." The Ragabash gives Justin a pat on the back and nods toward the cake, glancing at Lily. "I'm only really the Elder until some other Fostern decides to beat me, but, ah. Someone has to do it. And yeah, I'm not a huge fan of our job-stuff, but it works more often than not. Let Garou pick, and everyone would be an Ahroun."

You paged Justin with 'It is essentially this, clearly done by a supermarket bakery:

"Yeah, you know this from personal experience, Slug?" Justin challenges him before looking down at the cake, then closes the box lid quickly with a flush to his cheek. "Oh, for fuck sake, dude." He says as he carries the cake to the fridge, then sticks it in with a loud sigh.

Lily looks between the discussions of implied Bastet-debauchery and suspect cakes with as placid a look as she can manage. Nope, she is not about to ask and instead just inspects her manicure which is of a matching purple hue as her dress with a black floral design painted on a few. "Well, to each their own calling I suppose. Being the boss of anything seems a rather thankless spot."

Felix watches that reaction from the Ahroun and briefly bursts out laughing, apparently quite satisfied with it. "Well, yeah, exactly," he manages, in a tone that would be admirably reasonable if it weren't ruined by the hint of more laughter trying to escape. He stretches, looking pleased with himself, and asks Lily, "So, while I'm still over here, you want a soda or somethin'?"

"I do," Slug says, picking at a little dirt beneath his fingernail with his thumb. "Teeth. Nails. Lots of going for the neck- but I guess that's instinctual." He looks up at Justin and Felix, eyebrow raised, then turns his attention back to Lily. "It usually is, but it has to be done. The Garou are not something you want running around without a leader, but I guess a lot of our leaders have been kinda shitty at times." He shrugs. "I'd like to think I'm not."

"A lot of our leaders are shitty right now." Justin says rather bluntly as he takes another sip of his soda, then lets out a loud belch. "Either way, whatever." He has a scowly look upon his face as he hops up on the counter top, letting his legs swing back and forth in a tick-tock motion under him.

"Diet if you have it, thank you." Lily says to Felix before turning to look towards Slug and still is not commenting on the discussions of her race's mating habits. "Well considering you said someone would need to come after your position, it may be safe to assume they're content enough with your leadership. Or they're just behaving while I'm here." She says with a wave of her hand towards Justin and Felix.

Felix opens the fridge and looks in, checking the contents, and comes up with a Diet Pepsi. He turns, and seems about to toss it to the Bastet kit before changing his mind and instead walking over to hand it to her. "Oh, we're just behavin' 'cause you're here. Second you walk out there's gonna be a knock-down drag-out over who's actually in charge here. It'll be horrible. You may hafta stay for lunch just to save us from ourselves."

"Justin would challenge me if he had the rank," Slug says, humming. "Felix doesn't want to, but doesn't have a strong opinion of me either way." Slug's eyes tick to the side as he considers any other possibilities. "Gnawers are very chill. Most of the time. We tend not to mess with our leaders too much, and vice versa, because really- what have we got to fight over?" Slug turns his head to the side and gives his neck a pop, his cigarette flaring in satisfaction.

Lily takes up the Pepsi with a nod of thanks. "Well, your business is your own. I'm certainly not getting in the middle of it. You'll all know far more than me about what works. In any event, I should be getting back. I just wanted to bring that basket over while it was fresh. Thank you for your hospitality and it was good to meet you both, Slug, Felix."

"I do have the rank." Justin says with a glower towards Slug. "We are both Fostern. I am the Alpha of a pack. I could very well challenge you, or just take it. I am constantly doing things for the family, working for both rat and coyote." The Ahroun says as he rubs his nose with the back of his wrist. "Sometimes it's not about fighting over nothing, it's about fighting for what you have earned. Even us lowly Gnawers still need a voice to guide us and to keep us in line. In all honesty, I pretty much been doing that the entire time. I just don't strut around trying to make it official." His nostrils give a flare, then he hops off the counter and heads for the stairs.

<OOC> Slug says "I was trying to stick for another round of poses, but, I gotta go."
<OOC> Justin says "Blah."
<OOC> Slug says "So. SORRY. Assume Slug slinks off."
<OOC> Felix says "Aw. Bye"

Felix heads over toward the couch, giving the other two Gnawers a slightly wary look as Slug evaluates the threats to his leadership. "You're just gonna leave us to our fate?" Felix complains to Lily, and sighs, shaking his head. "You're a cold woman, Lily Song Breckenridge. Nice meetin' you, though." He flops down on the couch, reclaiming the soda bottle he left there earlier, and opens it up, taking a drink. It looks, for a moment, as if he might have something to say about the evaluation, as well, but Justin beats him to it, and then both he and Slug start heading off; it's the former Felix watches after for a moment.

After a few minutes, Justin returns back downstairs, this time fully dressed in cargo shorts and a baggy baja hoodie. As he spies only Felix left, he flops back down into his bean bag and lets out a loud huff. "So, anyways ... what is your plans for the day?"

Felix is sprawled on the couch eating jerky and sipping his drink, studying the room's ceiling thoughtfully when he hears Justin on the stairs again, and looks over toward him, watching as the Ahroun flumps into the beanbag. "Dunno," he answers, "was just givin' that some thought. You got plans?"

"Hit up the junk yard, find some PVC and a few other knick knacks to build some stuff, make a few repairs around the house here." Justin says with a bit of a scowl as he rubs a hand along his face.

"You want a hand findin' shit?" Felix offers, "Whatcha gonna build?" He eyes the shape of a jerky piece before popping it into his mouth and talking around it, "We could go see if that's your van you tracked down. An' if you still wanna learn Contrition, I'm still down to teach it."

"I was thinking of building a drain so we can put a washer and dryer in here at some point. Maybe have the run off go to the back of the library. But, yeah, we can head out and track down the van. That sounds more fun than digging through trash." Justin says with a grin as he takes his car keys out and jingles them.

Felix's brows lift a bit. "Yeah? Lilah'd prolly 'preciate that, stop havin' to hit the Laundromat an' all," he says, and swings around on the couch to put his boots on the floor, "Save a shitload of quarters." He folds the bag of jerky and tucks it in one pocket, eyes his half-empty bottle and puts the lid on, heading to the fridge to trade it for one of the full ones he leaves in there, at the back of the bottom shelf. "A'right, I'm ready. Let's go find us your Mystery Machine."

"Yeah, that is the idea. Try and save us some money. Who even pays for our electric and water?" Justin asks as he spins the keys about his finger. "Maybe Slug knows. I think we are stealing the electricity. That or someone is being nice enough to pay our bills."

"We're prolly stealin' it," Felix says, utterly unconcerned, "...I guess it wouldn't hurt to know 'zactly where from, though. Hey, think we could get cable off someone?" He glances toward the TV, briefly, not that he seems to spend much time trying to watch it as it is. "C'mon, I'll drive."

"We could probably get cable I suppose." Justin says as he shifts his jaw a bit in thought. "You want to drive?" He says with amusement, then tucks his car keys into his pocket. "That's cool. But I wanna fiddle with the radio."

Felix leads the way out, glancing over his shoulder to Justin. "What? I like drivin'. An' fine, but I got veto if you pick somethin' shitty." He still doesn't have any keys, which still doesn't seem to be a problem as far as he's concerned. "So," he asks once they're settled and started, "where'm I goin'?"

'We are taking your car, right?" Justin asks as he steps outside and gives a glance about, then looks back to him. "Going to New Brunswick, about an hour from us."

"'course," Felix says; the Caddy is parked nearby and, of course, unlocked. The Galliard gets in and gets her started, waiting for Justin to get settled. The radio comes on with the engine, fairly loud and currently on a modern rock station. "So an hour what, north? West?"

"About two hours down the freeway." Justin says as he gives directions for his old home town, where his mother lives, then kicks back after buckling and dialing down the volume some. He decides the current station is fine as it is. Rolling the window down, he flops his arm along the window sill, then leans his head a bit so he can stare out it. "I guess someone probably dropped it off there and they couldn't find my mom since we moved so many times."

Turning the corner toward the Library on the street where the Caddy is, one might spot a Lilah. She's got a grocery bag, but there's not much in it today, and she's 'home' quite a bit earlier than she was planning to be. Whether she's spotted or not, she happens to glance over at the Caddy, and a wide grin lifts into place. She starts heading for the Caddy at a quickened pace.

Felix nods to the instructions, and despite the coolness of the morning, presses the button that lowers the Caddy's roof. Hey, it's nice and sunny, and technically Spring, right? It may well be that movement that makes Lilah happen to glance that way; it's glancing over his shoulder about to pull into the street that makes Felix notice her. "Hey!" he calls, grinning broadly, "Come help us find Justin's Mystery Machine. ...too bad we don't have Watcher and another chick with us, we could start solvin' mysteries with it right away."

"Howdy!" Lilah calls to the two of them, waving in their direction. She hurries over to the Caddy, and climbs into whatever backseat's closest. "That'd be real groovy," she teases with a nod, and passes the bag forward to sit between Felix and Justin. Inside, they'll find three small pieces of apple pie. Nom! There's also a couple sets of plasticware, three napkins, a piece of toast (just one), and some fixings for the piece of toast. "How y'all doin'?" she asks, "..and tell me 'bout this Mystery Machine!"

"Oh, you can have shot gun, you being the girlfriend and all." Justin says as he pops his door open and hops out, motioning her up front. "And, I got a lead on my dad's van. Guess the Gnawers of the old days here called it the Mystery Machine. Last I heard Yi and Kaz had it, and now it showed up in my mom's city in a repo yard. I got the keys to it from mom. So, we're gonna bust it out... if it is drivable."

"Ooh, you brought us lunch?" Felix asks, peeking into the bag, and then turns to try to catch Lilah and pull her close enough to kiss. "Food looks good, but I'd rather have you sittin' here by me than it... plus, someone's gotta fix that toast for me if I'm drivin'." He bats his lashes at her, and breaks into a grin again. "...or that," he allows to Justin's suggestion, with a vague gesture. "Hey, J. You got a plan if it =ain't= drivable?"

"Yep. There was this pie that ain't sold in time, and so me an' some of the others got a bit o' it." Lilah grins, and returns Felix's kiss before saying to Justin, "Well, I 'ppreciate it." She listens to the explanation about the Mystery Machine, and then nods her head. "Well, I hope it's there, then, an' we can get it out. I know that'd mean a lot to ya." She gives Justin a broad smile, and then climbs over into the front seat, reaching for the bag.

Flopping down in the back seat, Justin says, "Plan if it is not drivable? Kill everyone in there, fix the car up, load the bodies in the back, then bury them somewhere far away." He says as he rolls the back window down and flops his head against the rail.

Felix grins at Lilah as she settles in beside him, sliding an arm around her shoulders as she takes the bag. Handy thing about bench seats and complete ignoring of the existence of seatbelts. "Seems excessive," he says to Justin's claimed plan, "Anyway they prolly got cameras an' you know how that went last time. Plus you ain't got tools with you far's I can see anyhow, though maybe they got 'em there already..." A shrug. "Be a lot less work to sweet-talk 'em or somethin'. Or steal it after closin'." Not that that one would help with the theoretical camera issue much. Regardless, now that everyone's settled in, he pulls into the street and starts them toward their date with destiny, or at least van-ity.

"Nah, I don't have any tools on me. I figure we can wing the plan when we get there." Justin assures as he gives a wide grin, then lets out a deep breath as he feels the wind hit him in the face. "I have only seen a picture of it. I can't wait to see it in person. I bet it's really cool."

Lilah leans over into Felix's space just a bit, hopefully not enough to impede his driving, and asks Justin, "What'd that picture look like, anyway? Just a plain ol' van, or did it have decorations 'n junk?" Now that they're getting onto the road, she carefully removes the piece of toast, and indeed begins to butter and jam it.

<OOC> Justin says "He will show you a pic in a moment. But it is this [see pic in gallery], but bright green with fierce looking rats painted on it and the words: Mystery machine in bright yellow 70's styled bubble words on the sides."

"Works for me!" Felix says cheerfully. "Although I'd've been kinda impressed if you did have a buncha tools hidden on you somehow. Be cool if I could walk around with a crowbar or bolt-cutters or whatever on hand just in case they came in handy."

"I do have a few things dedicated to me, but nothing that will help fix up a van, especially if I do not know what is wrong with it." Justin laughs as he reaches into his pocket, and pulls a picture out of his wallet. He slips it forward to Lilah. in the front seat. "Here you go. That's the picture that mom sent me with the keys."

Lilah balances the toast in one hand and reaches for the photo with her free one. She looks suitably impressed, saying, "Daaang, Justin, that's real nice! I hope we find it 'n can bring it home. Some'm like that deserves to be with you." She carefully passes the picture back, careful not to let it fly into the wind, and then offers the piece of toast to Felix.

Felix glances at the picture despite having seen it before, and gives Lilah a quick kiss on the cheek when she offers the toast, which is not the safest maneuver he's ever made in a car. But also not the least safe. For what that's worth. "I just got my clothes. An' whatever I got in my pockets, but that don't really count..." A bite of the toast, which apparently Lilah gets to continue to hold. He speeds slightly on the city streets, but that stops once they get onto the freeway, where he speeds considerably instead. As usual. It's quite good for that wind-in-the-face feeling, though.

"Heh. I got a blow torch dedicated to me." Justin says with an amused grin as he takes the picture back, then folds it back up and sticks it in his wallet. "If it doesn't run, I suppose I will just figure out what is wrong with it and ask nicely for them to not scrap it and let me get it when I put the work on it. Felix, it's your job to deliver a sob story that is oscar worthy."

"If anyone could come up with a good story, it's Felix," Lilah says with a fond grin, and doesn't seem to mind holding the toast. In fact, she'll hold it ready for whenever Felix decides he needs a bite. "J, you lemme know when you want some pie. S'cherry."

"Maybe I oughta dedicate a crowbar or somethin'," Felix muses, and has another good bite of toast. He laughs at the assignment, swallowing the bread. "Reckon I can handle that. Shit, the actual truth'd prolly work on it own." Lilah gets a smile for her vote of confidence, and despite the fact that the radio's busily playing something completely different, her last comment gets an exuberantly sung "She's my cherry pie, put a smile on your face ten miles wide!"

"Ah, I'll hit some of that later." Justin assures in regards to pie. "I have the story but I do not think I can sell it. Too ragey and rawr. I can't cry on command." He admits with a smirk upon his face.

Lilah leans over to kiss Felix's cheek at his singing, and then she turns to look at Justin. "I can't cry on command, either... nothin' wrong with that." She smiles at him, then pats Felix's leg. "Y'reckon there's anythin' in the van, still?"

Felix grins more at the kiss, and gives Lilah a squeeze with the arm still around her shoulders. "I could," he says, "I just don't. Might let someone think I'm tryin' not to if it'll get what I'm goin' for, though." He takes another bite of the toast, and looks generally pleased with his overall situation, humming absently along with the radio as he changes lanes.

"I don't know. I just want it because it was his. The tribe used to use it for everything, mom told me. At the time he was the only Gnawer around with a car. So I am sure there is at least some memories in there. I don't know. Maybe it's cleaned out." Justin says as he shrugs.

"Sometime, you're gonna hafta cry on demand for us," Lilah grins at Felix, and then looks over to Justin, nodding her head. "Well, I hope it's everything y'hope it is." She gives him a smile, and then adds, "I dunno about y'all, but I'm excited, anyway."

"Ain't cried since I was three," Felix says, "It better be a hell of a demand." He finishes off the toast and attempts to lick Lilah's fingers, resulting in a bit too much of a swerve and an angry honk from another driver, who gets flipped off. But he does settle back and focus on the road again. "I'm excited too. Find out how it's holdin' up, after this long..."

"Probably a rust bucket on bald wheels." Justin says with a grin. "This van is from the 70's or 80's. It has to be dead. Probably will need a new battery at the bare minimum."

With her eyes on Felix, it's Lilah's turn to bat her eyelashes. "That enough of a demand?" she teases, and then glances away as he licks her fingers, shaking her head. She doesn't look too worried about the swerve, though. When Justin replies, she turns to face him again, nodding her head. "Could be fun, fixin' it up, though."

"Hey, the Caddy's from the '70s an' she's doin' just fine," Felix says, giving the wheel a pat. "Never know. Maybe there's some kinda rite you can do on a car to keep it runnin' nice for years an' they did it." He grins at the lash-batting, and moreso at the headshake. "Take more'n that," he tells her, a bit more quietly.

"Yeah, but you are using the car. I don't know how long his has been sitting idle for, or who else used it after he died. It could be sitting on four stumps and no wheels and a fucked up engine block." Justin rubs at his nose a bit. "Almost thinking maybe we shouldn't even go. I don't want to get my hopes up."

"I'll work on it," Lilah says with a soft laugh, and then looks to Justin again, tilting her head. She opens her mouth as though to say something, and then glances to Felix. His jaw gets a light kiss, and then she pulls away enough to allow him unimpeded driving.

"Yeah, but who knows how long she was just sittin' there bein' neglected before I found her?" Felix replies, "Long enough to get dusty inside, know that for sure. An' we're already nearly there, anyhow." Possibly a slight overstatement, but not a massive one. He smiles again at the kiss, and when Lilah starts to pull away, pulls her back a bit.

"S'a good point... points." Lilah looks only mildly surprised as she's pulled back, and she rests her head against his shoulder. "An' it's always worth knowin', one way or 'nother, right?" Presumably, this is directed to Justin, but she doesn't look away from Felix right now.

"Right," Felix agrees, whether the question's meant for him or not. "Anyway, if it's broken, you can fix it. You're good at that shit. Prolly even got parts lyin' around. It'll work."

"Yeah, even if it's broken I can fix it. Long as I can find the parts. Old girl like that will have expensive, hard to find parts." Justin admits as he closes his eyes to feel the wind hit him in the face.

"It'll be one o' them life goals," Lilah encourages him, and nods to what Felix has had to say as well. She glances off toward the road, and then looks back to Justin without saying anything. Instead, she smiles as she notices his closed eyes... and closes her own, leaning back in her seat.

"Prolly got at least some at the junkyard already," Felix says, and gives Lilah a small smile as she adjusts position. When they're chatting less, he sings along with the radio, weaving between slower cars from lane to lane. "Keep an eye out for New Brunswick," he says to Lilah when they're probably getting to the right general area.

"I hate New Brunswick. It's where you go to die." Justin mutters to himself. "It's where mom moved to after dad died. Ain't nothing there but a community college, paper mill and a Mickey D's. So we can at least get dinner." He says with a smirk, then raises a brow. "Orrr... you guys can ...maybe meet my mom?"

Though her eyes remain closed, when Felix starts singing, Lilah rests a hand on his chest, smiling softly, and hums along on occasion. His words make her reopen her eyes and adjust position so she's sitting up fully again. "You got it," she promises, and does just that. She only looks away for a brief moment, and that's to glance over at Justin, nodding her head. "I'm up for meetin' your mom if Felix is, an' you want us to." She pauses, than adds, "Could be interestin'." Another pause. "In a good way, I mean." She looks as though she's ready to add more, when she spots their exit, and points it out for Felix.

Felix shrugs, and nods. "We could do that, sure," he says, "...Mickey D's AND meetin' your mom, if you want. Why not? If we're in town you might as well say hi, she'll prolly be all hurt if you don't an' she finds out anyhow." He gives Lilah another small squeeze when she points out the exit, and swings the Caddy rightward to take it.

"Prolly got at least some at the junkyard already," Felix says, and gives Lilah a small smile as she adjusts position. When they're chatting less, he sings along with the radio, weaving between slower cars from lane to lane. "Keep an eye out for New Brunswick," he says to Lilah when they're probably getting to the right general area.

"I hate New Brunswick. It's where you go to die." Justin mutters to himself. "It's where mom moved to after dad died. Ain't nothing there but a community college, paper mill and a Mickey D's. So we can at least get dinner." He says with a smirk, then raises a brow. "Orrr... you guys can ...maybe meet my mom?"

Though her eyes remain closed, when Felix starts singing, Lilah rests a hand on his chest, smiling softly, and hums along on occasion. His words make her reopen her eyes and adjust position so she's sitting up fully again. "You got it," she promises, and does just that. She only looks away for a brief moment, and that's to glance over at Justin, nodding her head. "I'm up for meetin' your mom if Felix is, an' you want us to." She pauses, than adds, "Could be interestin'." Another pause. "In a good way, I mean." She looks as though she's ready to add more, when she spots their exit, and points it out for Felix.

Felix shrugs, and nods. "We could do that, sure," he says, "...Mickey D's AND meetin' your mom, if you want. Why not? If we're in town you might as well say hi, she'll prolly be all hurt if you don't an' she finds out anyhow." He gives Lilah another small squeeze when she points out the exit, and swings the Caddy rightward to take it.

"Sure, we can do both. I haven't seen her since the whole kidnapping thing anyways. Though I've called her a few times and she's sent me stuff. So this will be good to do." Justin says as he kicks back in the seat, letting out a loud yawn as he leans himself against the window. "Maybe we'll see if Grandma can make us dinner instead. Some old school Mexican food."

Lilah smiles over at Felix, and then nods to Justin's words. "I reckon either way, that sounds nice. McD's 'r homecooked 'r whatnot. Thanks for invitin' us to come with." She pauses, then asks, "What's yer mom like, anyway?"

"Ain't you Puerto Rican?" Felix asks, glancing over his shoulder to his packmate. Not ideal while driving, but he glances back in time to stop them at the red light at the bottom of the ramp. "Left or right?" he asks, "...ain't seen mine since before then either. Must be pretty common, I s'pose."

"Mexican, Puerto Rican. It's all the same food." Justin says with a wave of his hand. "Mom is pretty chill. Kinfolk who isn't involved with the fam. After dad died she just went back to school, worked ... uh ... tried to be normal. That is until I started showing the signs. Sucks to be her, right? At least I'm off her hands now. And, go left."

Lilah kisses Felix's cheek, apropos of nothing, and then looks back to focus on Justin. "I reckon ain't many get to really be 'normal' with all this," she muses. She opens her mouth as though to say more, and, not finding whatever words she was thinking of, simply closes her mouth. "How close is yer mom's place from here?" she asks instead.

Felix turns left, and apparently is just going to continue going straight until and unless directed otherwise. The kiss gets a small smile. "So did they not do a baptism on you, then? Or did she just kinda ignore it 'til it was gettin' near time?"

"My Aunt baptized me. She used to live in Seattle. Grandma is a kinfolk also. Gramps wasn't. He passed away last year though so... we don't really have to watch what we say now around them." Justin says as he gives directions here and there as they go until they reach a small suburban neighborhood that looks about twenty or thirty years stuck in the past.

Lilah leans back in her seat, eyes front again, and watches the road ahead as they forge into new territory. She's eyeing the scenery more than her companions now, particularly as they're closer and closer to their goal. For now, she doesn't contribute to the conversation at hand.

Felix follows the directions -- even any given at the last minute, which may not be ideal for passenger relaxation -- taking in their surroundings with some interest as they go. "Well, that's handy," he says about the lack of needing to watch their words, as though the 'why' hadn't registered at all.

"Yeah, I know, right? Grandma can be a bit overbearing as a head's up. She is pretty old school." As they head down the street and in front of an old house that could use a new coat of paint, Justin unbuckles himself, then slides out. "Here we are. The place I grew up at." He says as he starts for the door.

Lilah gives a terse nod to Justin's heads up, and waits for Felix to get out before she even makes a move in that direction. Lazybones. She's looking about her, though, taking in her surroundings and the like, and once she's out of the car, she gives another nod to Justin's announcement. "Looks real nice," she states, and does seem to mean it.

Felix parks by the curb, fairly neatly, and holds the door for Lilah after he slides out, so she can easily follow him. He even offers her a hand up, and keeps hold of it once he's closed the door. "Nice place," he agrees, mostly studying the house, though the neighbourhood gets a thoughtful scan as well as he follows the Ahroun.

"It's Grams. They had it paid off for years while they were prison guards." Justin says as he reaches out and knocks on the door a few times. After a few moments, the sound of a chain lock can be heard coming undone, followed by an older woman in her 70's with thick gray hair and lines along her face. With a happy noise in her throat, she throws her arms around the Ahroun, giving him a squeezing hug and lifting him up from his feet. Rambling excitedly to him in Spanish, she drags him in through the door. "Who is your friends my little bambino?" "These are my friends, Felix and Lilah. Felix is my packmate and Lilah is his wife."

Lilah follows after Justin, not speaking just yet. She does give a very friendly wave to his family member, but for now she's hanging a bit back. She squeezes Felix's hand, and goes quiet to let Justin catch up with family.

"Afternoon, ma'am," Felix greets when introduced, with a bright grin and a small wave -- just the lift of his free hand, pinky and ring finger bent down and the other three spread as he rotates it slightly. Lilah's hand gets a return squeeze.

"This is my grandmother, guys! We came out here to say Hi and to get dad's van." The old woman gives her another hard squeeze, followed by a kiss to the cheek. "And dinner I assume?" She asks as his stomach rumbles hungrily for a moment. "Is mom home?" He asks as he peeks inside his old home to see if anything has changed. "Oh, no, she is at work for a few more hours. You just missed her."

"It's real nice to meetcha," Lilah tells his grandmother, and adds, "Lilah Sinclair. Gnawer Kin, 'course." She waves again, smiling politely. "You got a real nice home," she compliments in addition, and then goes quiet again.

"'Gnawer Galliard," Felix volunteers after he steps inside and closes the door behind them, apparently assuming Justin's grandmother can apply the remaining name from the Ahroun's introductions to him without further repetition, "Nice meetin' you. He's always sayin' nice things."

The older woman rustles Justin's hair as he passes by and immediately heads for the kitchen. "He better say nice things after putting up with him." She says with an impish grin upon her older features. "Always hungry, getting into fights and living in his Papa's garage, working on that car." She gives both Lilah and Felix a quick hug, then shuffles her way with a limp to the kitchen as well, looking to shoo her grandson out so that she can begin working on dinner. "I didn't get into /that/ many fights." He persists, but wilts under her knowing gaze from behind her spectacles. ".. at least I won them." "Out of my kitchen!" She points a wooden spoon at the ahroun, causing him to back peddle. "So, uh ... you guys wanna see my old room?" He grins.

"Sounds normal to me," Felix says, "First two, anyhow," and returns the hug, stepping back when Justin does to give him some more room. A glance to the kitchen, where even now bustling seems about to break out, and he nods to his packmate. "Sure, why not?"

"Gramma, can you make fajitas por'favor?" Justin calls out to the kitchen as he leads the pair down the short hallway to the second door on the left. The room faces the street and has a number of boxes piled up to the ceiling. It appears that they are now using it for storage. Though, it seems that most of his room is still intact. Posters fill the wall of 80's rock legends, and shelves have a number of sports trophies in the form of soccer, football and track. Opening the closet, he starts to rustle through some of his old clothes, pulling them out and lobbing them to the mattress that is his bed. No frame. No sheets. "We may as well take stuff back to the library, huh? If you see anything you like, just snag it."

Lilah returns the hug, of course, and also nods to the question about seeing his old room. "This place's so nice," she repeats the sentiment, and she sounds like she's seeing the Taj Mahal, not a home in need of a paint job. She leans over into Felix's space, resting her head against him for a moment, and then straightens up. "Y'should see if there's anythin' y'like, right?" she nudges him.

"May as well," Felix agrees, and moves among the boxes once Lilah straightens back up, checking things out -- the posters, the trophies, whatever else may still be out. "I dunno, you've seen what he wears," he teases to her nudge, but does actually go poke at things. "It's a nice place," he agrees, with a glance to the window -- being a street-facing window, it doesn't really answer his next question, "You got a yard an' all?"

"Yeah, we got a yard, though there is no fence and no real lawn unless you count crab grass. Grandma has a garden back there for veggies." Justin says as he lobs some jeans on the bed, then grabs a box that is stuck on the top shelf deep in the closet. Blowing the dust off the top, he opens it up and gives a wide grin.

Tucking a curl behind one ear, Lilah admits, "I ain't never had a veggie garden before. Or any kinda garden." She pokes Felix at his teasing of Justin, shaking her head with amusement. When the Ahroun takes down that box and blows the dust off, she tilts her head, and pipes up to ask, "What's in there?"

Felix picks up the recently-lobbed jeans just to see. They're still too long. Possibly fixable, but he drops them back on the forming pile. "That's pretty nice," he agrees, "Growin' things an' shit." The dust-blowing catches his attention, and he grins at the opening of the box. "Found your porn stash?"

"No. Just some of dad's stuff." Justin says as he digs out a number of cassette tapes that are in their plastic containers. "Stuff that mom kept for me. No porn though. At least in this box." He tips a wink to Felix. By now, the smell of steak and sizzling vegetables is in the air, as well as the sound of Spanish music.

"Oh, yeah?" Felix sounds more interested in this than the postulated porn, coming over to look over -- well, around -- Justin's shoulder and check out the box's contents. "What kinda stuff?" Not that looking doesn't swiftly answer at least some of that, and he reaches to pick up one of the cassette tapes and check it out, unless stopped.

It seems that Jason Statton was a fan of mix tapes of all types. He has each song written on the back in scribbly hand writing. Everything is from the 70's and 80's. Power Ballads and heavy metal. He even has names for each of them. Killing Shit. Being in love. Mystery Machine. Flying High. The rest of the box is filled with some jewelry in the form of rope necklaces, a military grade combat knife, which Justin puts into his back pocket, and some small toy rats with scuffed pain and chipped plastic. There are other doodads, but nothing too exciting. All except one shimmer of plastic near the bottom.

Felix has 'Killing Shit', and looks more or less approving of it, before he puts it back. The music seems to be what gets his attention most, and he seems to be aiming to check out all the tapes, though the toy rats get an amused, gentle poke, which is about when he notices the shimmer. "'sat?"

Justin reaches down into the bottom of the box and pulls out what appears to be a baseball card trapped in a plastic shield which is screwed in on all four sides. He turns it about in his hands a few times, then holds it out to him. "Babe Ruth." The card has a bit of wear to it, but not too bad.

Felix accepts it when offered, and turns it over in his hands a few times as well, studying both sides. "I dunno baseball cards," he says, "but ain't his supposed to be pretty valuable? Really old ones, anyhow. Huh." He squints at some of the card's text, then hands it back to the Ahroun.

"Yeah man. It's Babe Ruth. He's a legend. The sultan of swat. The king of swing. The greatest Yankee of all time. Not only is he an all time home run leader, but he was a pretty good pitcher. Guy was fat as hell and smoked like a chimney. Not like the roided up dudes now." Justin says as he puts it back into the box. "Card is worth between a grand and a few hundred last I checked."

"Nah, King of Swing's Benny Goodman," Felix replies, "...but yeah, I heard some of that. Did your dad play baseball, or did he just keep the card around?" He picks up another of the cassette tapes to check out the mix. "Ain't a bad thing to leave someone."

"Just kept the card around. Wasn't even meant for me. I just got it by way of hand me down." Justin puts the cassettes back into the box after counting them off. "I figure maybe his dad gave it to him. Ruth played in the 30's." His lips tug back into a smile. "I played a year of baseball but traded it in for football. It was more my thing."

"That's a long fuckin' time ago," Felix observes, and straightens up again, stretching. "They had me playin' baseball for a season when I was about 8. Borin' as shit. Football woulda been more fun if I got to hit people more. Better'n soccer, though."

[This scene is intended to be picked up again. Hopefully soonish.]