Snippet #1809294

Calvin raised his eyebrows at Duncan's mention of other scents. It wasn't much by itself, but nevertheless he seized the opportunity to discuss anything that might be something of interest. Most of all, if there was something noteworthy, it would give him great pleasure to know about it before one of the alpha kids...

"Scents?" he said, "Travellers like? Or possibly some desperate ratty old rogues? Maybe I could come on a patrol some time? You know, familiarise myself with the perimeter? I'll be on the garrison in a couple of years so it's just as well if I get to know the route."

He spoke with a tone of sincerity and gravity, but inside he knew exactly what he was doing.

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It only took three journeys to the kitchen and back to get everything on the table, and by that point Tai was pleased to note that people were well and truly starting to assemble. She greeted each in turn, responding to their respective complements about the food with a modest, "Good."

She took a step towards her own usual seat - next to Adrian's at the head of the table - and suddenly noted how odd it was that her partner was not already at the table. He would surely have been with Duncan the whole time (wherever the two of them had been lurking, but she wasn't going to tug on that thread just now...) so why wasn't he at the table? The only time Adrian did a disappearing act was if there was somebody approaching who he wanted to av-

"Gavroch!!"

Tai winced a pained wince. Evon Argentum?? What was she doing here? How on earth did she even get in? Not that Tai wouldn't have answered the door to her...but that woman was a tour de force who seemed to only turn up when she wanted to give an opinion about something. Usually a disapproving one. It had always been a bone of contention betweem the Argentums and the rest of the pack that they chose to live a somewhat rustic, itinerrant life, whilst cheerfully relieving themselves of their son to have the usual rite of passage in the pack house. It was up to every wolf to choose how they wished to live, but Evon and her husband were neither fish nor fowl; they sniffed at the idea of living among humans, and yet they were reluctant to fully extricate themselves from the benefits and safety of being part of a town pack.

"Evon, I wasn't expec-" Tai began, but she barely got the formidable frenchwoman's attention before the brief verbal mêlée, in which Evon seemed to be fended off with indirect tactical flattery. It suited the alpha female just fine that she didn't have to get overly involved before Evon left. That had been weird. "Well," she said, "do help yourselves guys. There was supposed to be mashed potato too but...well, I'm sure there's enough food as it is."

She lowered a slightly pointed look over at Reina, before turning her head to the side as Lyra entered the room.

"Hey sweety," she said, "and Ares, good to see you joining us. Here, come and sit up here between me and Lyra. We have a very strict dinner rule in this house; you keep helping yourself to food until you've had enough. Going away hungry is strictly forbidden."

She smiled genially at the boy, and looked up at Lyra again. "Haven't seen much of you today honey. You haven't been running yourself ragged with training have you?"

She stopped herself from saying any more. It was obvious enough that Lyra had a competitive chip on her shoulder, but Tai knew from long experience that pointing it out didn't make things any better. It was as well to let Lyra do whatever she wanted to do.

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Just then Adrian peeked around the door and looked directly at Tai with that familiar 'is it safe to come in now' look on his face. Realising that Evon was gone, he walked in, adopting a confident manner once again, and sat down at the end of the table, between Tai and Duncan.

"Evening everyone." he said, relaxing into his chair and wasting no time in serving himself a generous portion, before offering the spoon to Tai. "All stations go in the house tonight it sounds like. Don't think the place has been so 'festive' since the summer bonfire."