Up on top of the stage, Kaz is perched, reading a comic book. The Rialto has been festooned with them, the past few weeks; this is no longer true. In fact, the only one there is in Kaz's hands. And it's a Sandman, too. She looks faintly tired.

Bernie strolls in, hands in her jacket pockets, looking a little bit tired herself, a little subdued. "Hey," she greets her Alpha, dropping gracelessly into a front row seat, "'sup t'day?"

Kaz looks up, and, despite looking tired, sounds amazingly happy when she asks, "Hey. You want the long version or the short version?"

Bernie tilts her head, shrugs, and grins a bit. "Yes," she replies, working out a position in which she can put her feet up. "Either or both."

Kaz takes a deep breath. How she manages to keep sitting is nothing short of miraculous. "Did I /mention/ the part where Jarred gave me an Aquaman #1? Did I /mention/ the part where you have a computer and I want to /sell/ it on fuckin' E-Bay, because there was no way I was giving that fuckin' thing to Elan? Hell, forget /that/ part -- /this/ part's even better. The fucker /confessed/ to me, Bern. He up an' /tol'/ me he fuckin' killed Rotem. Culled him, whatever. Who gives a shit, he /killed/ him. I mean, yeah, we had 20 reasons to cull him, but he's the only one who went an' fuckin' took his dignity away. Man, am I gonna be takin' a pound of flesh outta /him/. Well, him an' his tribe. Because he fuckin' /owes/ us. Oh, an' should we tell just us Gnawers, or the whole damn Sept? Not, I mean, that most of the Sept gives a shit, but y'know. /I/ do. An'," she adds, hopping off the stage, "That ain't all, because Jonathan the fuck of a Walker bought me the rest of the comics, since I'm a lazy bastich, and then I finally tracked the fuckin' Elan himself down and gave him his fuckin' comics so hey, guess what? I can stop thinkin' about it now. Well, stop thinkin' and keep /doin'/, only officially. So I tol' Andrea t'day an' she basically said I was boss Galliard, which I guess makes sense but hadn't even occurred to me. An' she talked about her mate, an' how he's, uh, well, he's a mage. He owns th' Knight's Rest Inn. I tell you, what is it with this place, all the Alphas have weird ass mates. Anyways," she sobers, quickly. "So, like, there's a reason f'me tellin' you, 'cause if I go an' die an' shit, I kinda figured someone oughta know, but don' go blabbin' that part? To anyone?"

Bernie blinks, taking the torrent in silently, though she definitely reacts. The bit about Jarred makes her Rage flare up in her eyes, but she just nods, and continues to listen until the update's complete. Then, she keeps track of the points on her fingers, responding in order. "I c'n do that. Which ish? I'll look up th' goin' value t' determine where we wanna start it at. An' I =knew= it, an' I still say we make him pay as much an' as painfully as we c'n possibly work out, def'nitely tell alla us, an' if it'll fuck him over for other people t' know, them too... 'less we c'n make it worse if we =don't= tell." She pauses, pressing her teeth together a moment. "Fuckin'.... I don't even know a strong enough goddamn curseword, right now. Anyway. Movin' on for now. Congrats! See, I =toldja= you'd make it, Mama Kaz!" The tone brightens appropriately for the change in subject, but rather startlingly, and she breaks into a grin. "'bout fuckin' time things were rearranged officially th' way they really are. Ditto on bein' lead Galliard, 'cause, duh, everyone knows who t' go to for news an' shit 'round here, an' I'm lookin' at her. Yi an' I, we're jointly doin' th' head Raggie thing, 'less Chaser or Patrick d'cide they wanna do it, seein' as she an' I seem t' be the ones mostly keepin' tracka all this shit anyway. An' promise. My lips are sealed." She sings the last line, and half-smiles, looking embarrassed. "...so yeah. I'll keep it t' myself, if you promise no dyin' or anythin'." She levels a stern, if slightly wry, look at the Galliard.

"First," Kaz explains. "Numero uno. And the thing is, the prick is such a... prick... that he brings this fuckin' comic to me -- it's /mint/ condition, Bern, absolutely gorgeous -- and then not five minutes later, he's fuckin' tellin' me about Rotem. HelLO, I honestly don't mind bein' bribed, most of the time, but I'd like some /subtlety/ to it..." She trails off. "Anyways. We gotta have a Moot. I can tell folks then. An' I'll think on what we wanna get outta him. I'm not... real good on this negotiation shit yet, an' we got time, so I ain't rushin'. An' the words y'lookin' for?" Her voice goes low, dangerous. "Mother /fuckin'/ cock/suckin'/ goddam /son of a bitch/." There's a pause. In a much calmer tone, she adds, "In case you were wondering." A spark of amusement rising in her, she adds, "An' it ain't like /I/ object t'queer folks, I mean, I am one, but... he gives us all a bad name." Mama Kaz /still/ makes her wince, just slightly, but not nearly as strongly as it has in the past. "Yeah, well, y'know, superstition an' shit, but... thanks." She blinks, for a moment, on the Ragabash news. "I had not heard that, Bern. But it makes sense, since you two /only/ rock the mother fuckin' casbah... As f'dyin'..." She holds a hand up, solemnly. "No dyin'. F'one thing, if I died, Max'd find my reborn ass an' kill me all over again, so yeah, seems easier just t'not do it t'begin with."

Bernie considers, and shakes her head. "Close. But still a li'l short on th' venom. I'll work on it." There's a quick, not at all pleasant little smirk with that, before she relaxes a little, slumping back into the chair more comfortably. "An' yeah. I thought his kind were s'posta be sneaky ass bastards. Which he is, but I thought they were s'posta be GOOD at it. Subtle. What-the-fuck-ever... an' thanks. 's onea th' things from th' Raggie moot, las' night an' all. Did various updatin' an' shit. As for dyin'? I'd lend Max my fries, so you =better= think twice."

Kaz looks at Bernie thoughtfully, as she begins to pace. "You once said somethin' about makin' his life shitty an' him not knowin' who was doin' it...?" It's more than half question. A few paces later, and she asks, "Any other lil' nubbins I oughta know offa the Moot?"

Bernie gives her fingernails an exaggeratedly innocent inspection as she allows, "I mighta mentioned entertainin' such a notion at some point, yeah..." She glances sidelong at Kaz, adding, "Though as I r'call you'd rather not know 'f I ran inta any suitable ideas? Speakin' hypothetically, of course." She stretches, pushing her hands out in front of her, splayed, and dropping them to her thighs. "Mootwise. I told everyone how th' bone thing was pretty much wrapped up, an' how we need more people for sewer scoutin' an' lightin', an' Yi talked 'bout hospital foo; Chaser too, some. Lessee. Not much there y'don't know, really. Patrick c'n float in th' air an' be invisible; THAT I wanna learn sometime. Only, not for, like, ever, since seein' as no one else c'n do it far's I know, I'm guessing Gaia says only experienced Raggies need apply."

Kaz stops pacing. "Yeah." There's a pause. "I don't really wanna know. But I just wanted to mention I didn't think it was somethin' you should be, y'know, shyin' away from. Hypothetically. 's all." She flops into one of the seats, watching Bernie as she lists of Moot details, nodding. "Yeah, hospital, John's been wantin' raggies for a bit. If Chaser actually /does/ it, great; if she don't do it sometime soon, I think you an' Yi better start recruitin' people t'help out." She blinks, slowly, at the Patrick news. Wryly, "Great. Some guy who I ain't never seen can float an' turn invisible. /That/ makes me real secure..."

Bernie grins. "Maybe that's why you ain't never seen him. Ooga booga! I dunno, guess we just gotta trust he uses his powers for good an' not for evil. He seemed a'ight, which's a good thing seein' as he's th' elder Raggie even if he isn't th' Raggie Elder. An' don't worry. Yi an' I are pretty good at gettin' shit done, seems like, so yeah, things go too slow over there, I'm sure she'll kick it inta gear. I gotta get th' public works mapsa th' sewer for Chaser, too, that an' apparently Sepdet mapped 'em once?"

Kaz says, a little glumly, "Yah, well, let's hope." She nods. "Yeah, you guys are, which's why I just wanneda, y'know, reinforce it. But -- Sepdet? Why would /Sepdet/ make a map of 'em?"

Bernie shrugs. "Beats me. That's what I was told though, I'm pretty sure. I made a note, I c'n check it when I get home again..."

Kaz says, "Huh. Weird." After a moment, she adds, "I should see if I can find /Chugs'/ old map, down here somewhere... He once did a rough sketch of th' area around Harbor Park, an' the hideyholes he knew. I'll look f'it. But meanwhile, I think.... I gotta go patrol."

Bernie nods, swinging her feet to the ground, pushing up out of the chair, and stretching. "Yeah. I prolly oughta go home an'..." she pauses, gesturing vaguely, "...do things. Dinner, an' et cet'ra. Been at th' lab at school all evenin'. Lemme know if you find that map, yeah?"

Kaz says, "Di--" and then cuts herself off. "Right, yes, you're th' woman with no time. Must remember. Anyways," she says, levering herself out of her chair, "Definitely." Rather than going out the main door, she waves, and disappears downstairs.