Lou had fallen into an odd routine, waking in the morning, alone, finding a list of things to be done or fetched, following those instructions and then if there is time before sundown she would spend in the shop working. It was a routine that needed little thought, and there was something comforting in that.
What was the stressor that had pushed her to this point? It had been years that he was gone, years that she muddled through but now the lack of him was a dull throb that she couldn't seem to ignore. Maybe it was the flux of familiar faces in town, seeing Silent and the others. And she was just so tired. Tired of the emptiness, of being alone, of making decisions.
She wasn't aware that anyone was looking for her, wasn't aware that anyone was thinking of her, she was simply... out. She had a list of things she was supposed to pick up before sundown and today, rarely enough, she felt confined within her own shop. Today she would roam the Quater, a slender figure in loose-fitting jeans and an oversized t-shirt, simply making her way along the streets, savoring the heat of the day.
Old faces and new were looking for that little wandering wolf. Benny was one of them, but he had not stopped by her shop from the news from earlier that Louisa May most as like wouldn't be there.
The Texas wolf had scoped out a nice corner in the Garden District, but had decided to let his rattlesnake boots talk a walk around town before he set up shop. Now he found himself in the Quarter, jamming out with a band that had a decent drummer, and a singer with a higher pitch than he was capable of. The case of Ivory Portals was open on the ground in front of the trio, and her sound was jamming out of the Fender amp just behind the old werewolf. They happened to be singing a song he'd written with the band, by request of some people walking by.
That hat covered skull was lowered, and those grey eyes were covered with cheap sunglasses as his leg tapped to the rhythm. It was only because of the wind he caught scent of Louisa May, and his head snapped up faster than humanly possible. Fortunately, people were paying attention to the man singing and his fingers on the frets, which didn't falter as he looked for the wolf.
They finished up the song, and he nodded to those gathered, watching them drop money in the guitar case as he took a step back, sitting down on the amp. The wind changed, and would carry his scent of desert and guitar strings to the wandering wolf, and the ole man waited to see if she'd notice him. He waved the band to continue without him, his eyes, hidden behind those shades, watching Louisa May nearby.
The red-headed wolf was just wandering, hands in her pockets, shoulders curled inwards as she made her way along the street. She did her best to avoid contacting anyone, even the slightest brush of contact as she moved along the streets, avoiding the little clusters of tourists gathering around the street muscisans that all seemed to have claimed corners. She was looking for inspiration, of c sort, looking for something to catch her eye. It happened all the time, something would catch her attention and next thing she knew she was sketching, head bowed over a notebook and pencil scratching at the page. Nothing had quite gotten her attention that way as of the moment.
Yet another group were making music not that far away and she'd was angling her path away from the gathered watchers. She heard the applause as they finished their set as she continued along the sidewalk until a hint of something familiar teased at her nose. She paused, nose wrinkling at the hint of scent on the wind. Desert and steel? Her fingers curled into fists within her pockets, torn between impulses. She hesitated, turning slowly towards where the musicians were because that's where he had to be right? Her eyes searched the crowd of people breaking up, finally picking out her target, not like he was difficult to pick out of a crowd.
A deep breath was taken, slowly making her way across the distance between them, a faint smile flickering uncertainly over her lips. "Hey." It had been a while since she'd seen the old wolf but he looked the same as always, beard and shades concealing his features, guitar nearby.
When she approached, the little wolf seemed almost nervous. Benny arched a brow behind those shades, but said nothing about it. The old man straightened, and he grinned down at Louisa May, taking her into a full-on Texan hug. A grin split his face, but it would be nearly indiscernable underneath all his whiskers.
"Howdy Louisa May. I got to town and was lookin' for ya. An' I ain't the only one," he said. His words tumbled through his beard like the rhythm from his bandmate's bass. He settled back down on his amp, offering up the empty stool to his right. "Got some folks worried. Should we be?" There was no condescension in his tone, just curiousity.
Benny, big bad wolf that he was, could smell the vampire on her. The only vampire he knew happened to be his lawyer, and he was only as bad as any other lawyer, his supernatural status notwithstanding. Benjamin Sessions was not one to judge. He'd lived through times of racism when it came to blacks wanting to go to the same school as whites, and the (mostly) unfounded prejudices against vampires would be resolved in time as well. Mostly. They were certainly a species to be respected, just as any other supernatural species, like werewolves, just for instance.
Benjamin sat back in his chair, and idly fooled with his guitar as he awaited Louisa May's response, having all the patience in the world for the girl. She could take as little or as long as needed to talk to him.
When the old man's arms wrapped around her in that big old hug she stiffened just for an instant but then she was returning to the hug, sinking against him and breathing deeply of his scent. When she drew back from him a faint smile had even appeared on her lips, some of the tension seeming to have eased from her.
"Looking for me?" OK, so yeah, that tension was back again. Her nose wrinkled, head dipping her hair falling about her features in sheilding curtain. "No, I don't think so." A murmured response that held just a hint of scent of a lie. She fidgeted slightly, hands dugging back into her pockets before peeking up at him, "I don't know... maybe." The truth came out in a near silent whsiper.
He felt her relax, even in the slightest bit, and he was mighty glad for it. When she replied, it wasn't so much a lie as it was her own uncertainty of the truth. He lifted his shaded gaze from Ivory Portals to Louisa May, tilting his head much like any dog with a questioning look. She continued on in her words, barely in a whisper, and Benny slowly set Ivory Portals back in her case.
"Well now, don't think of what you don't know." Cheap sunglasses looked up to her, a deliberate wisdom to his words. "Think of what you do know." He reached over and brushed her hair behind her ear.
"What you know here," he said, tapping her temple before he moved his hand towards her chest and tapped lightly with his finger on her breastbone, "an' here. If you need Reverend B for a shoulder or an ear, I'ma settin' right here for ya. Gittin' on up in the age I am, I got plenty years a' stories, an' I might'n be able to pick out a pearl or two." Once again he smiled to her, letting the feel of his aged grey wolf out for her to brush up to if'n she felt like it. "An' well I can be here and just set if'n you want me to and do nothin'."
With the little blonde wolf, who was fond of profanity, riding bitch on his chopper, he roamed the city. He disdained from obeying most of the laws, though. His baby girl was missing, and possibly in trouble. He went to her place first, and sniffed around the shop, and any entrance he could find. His little cub was nowhere on the premises, but he caught her scent. It wasn't very old, but it had a strange sapor about it. Something he hadn't smelled on her when she had come to his shop.
"Well, little darlin', Poppa Bear's comin'. Don't you worry." He muttered to himself as he walked back to the bike. Maya had done her own reconnaissance. "She headed out not too long ago. Let's go partner."
He had talked tot he girl on their way to Lou's, shouted was a better term, and gotten a feel of her. She was young, but she was definitely strong willed. He figured she would make a damn fine momma wolf someday. She had also told him why she had come tot he shop in the first place, and he had grinned like a proud father. He already had visions of her on a bike molded to her figure, painted up to match her bubblegum lips, and raising hell and asphault. They followed the scent at breakneck speed, never knowing that good ol' Benny had already found the wayward wolf.
Maybe it was just timing, or maybe it was the way he'd phrased his words, or maybe it was just the comfort the old wolf offered but she felt the sting of tears in her eyes, lashes closing against the burn even as the little red wolf curled up against the grey one.
"I know I can't ignore the hole inside, the empty place he used to be. He tried to put... put a wall there to keep me from following but I just... I'm tired of being alone in my head." Whispered words, not sure if he'd understand, not sure if anyone that hadn't been Marked would ever understand. But it wasn't just the Marks, he'd been her heart too. The ancient warrior had seen something in her that no one else had and claimed her for his own, but now he was gone and she was just so tired of pretending everything was ok.
"I've been trying to.. I don't know." She sighed, hand lifting to rub at her forehead, wanting noting more then to curl up somewhere and let the world pass her by. She didn't know how to talk about the Twins, what was going on there, why she'd welcomed them, served them. "Silent is back in NOLA, she's so different then before but... she's just the same. And its like she wants me to be who I was before but I'm not and I just don't want to think or feel anything anymore." The words started hesitant but buildt to a rambling blurt. She was shivering now, even in the heat of the day, wrapping her arms aorund herself in effort to still the tremors.
Big Bad Wolf by the Tres Texanos (his band of over thirty years) may be the front man's theme song, but he had a vulnerable spot for a few select people, and Louisa May was one of them. When he heard that tone in her voice, he stood and wrapped an around around her once more, mostly to block her emotions from the rudeness of folk, but he thought she wouldn't mind the comfort neither. That long beard of his was softer'n a teddy bears bottom, and might'n tickled her a bit as it was compressed between them. He nodded, listening to her words.
"Sounds like you've loved'n lost," words spoken by a man who couldn't apply them to himself. She would feel and hear the deep rumble of his voice as he spoke. He didn't understand the whole being alone in her head, but he chalked that up to some mysterious woman thing. He could ask about it later after these other important issues were being addressed. "Nobody kin ask you to be the same as you was afore. People change, now that's a fact of life. And here it sounds like you ain't grieved proper for this man of yours, and you need to. 's only way to move on, and that takes time. When people love you and have concerns for ya, they should understand that. You just gotta let them know as little or as much as you want, and nothin' more. You can even tell 'em to go eat dirt if'n you want." He smiled through his beard. "I heard it's right proper to get all depressed about losing someone, and it ain' nothin' to be ashamed of. You are a grown woman who can take care of herself, and that's somethin' I'm mighty proud of."
He stepped away from her, just a small step to give her some space once more. That old grey wolf leaned into the little red wolf. Just give Louisa May a red cape and they'd have themselves a right nice fairy tale going on, if with a bit of a twist. Benjamin lowered those cheap sunglasses to look over the top at Louisa May, those ageless grey eyes full of the concern and love he felt for the little wolf as he spoke his next words.
"But you ain't entirely alone. You have people that do love you, maybe not in the same way as this other fella, but they love you just the same. We're all here for you for anything you need, if'n it can be provided. You know I'd go to hell'n back for ya Louisa May, and that's a fact." He slid those shades back to their proper place, and he gave her shoulders a quick squeeze before he let go. "You can only be who ya are now, and never who ya were, cause that person don't exist no more." Ben glanced behind him to take a seat on his Fender Champ amp again, and he leaned a bit forward, a grin showing through his whiskers.
"Now let's get to the reeeal important stuff. You got my motorcycle all purtied up?" He said motorcycle like motorsickle, and that grin on his face went right along with his teasing tone, letting her know it of course was not the real important stuff, but he wanted her to cheer up a might if'n he could get a smile from that pretty face. That old grey wolf nudged playfully at the little red one, up for a romp if she wanted to go at it. Louisa May knew Benny would be in town for quite some time, and they could continue the conversation later anywhere else she wanted to, he just didn't think the best of places was on a corner in the French Quarter. He could only hope he'd helped her out with his pearls he had to offer.
Again, there was that moment of tension when his arm wrapped around her but in the space of a breath it was gone again, sinking into his larger form, breathing deeply of his scent even as his beard tickled at her nose. His words made sence, she knew they did it was just hard sometimes to take such sage advice and turn it into reality.
She managing a tiny little smile when he continued, "I'd never ask you to go to hell and back. Its an ugly trip and they don't like music." She'd never had much of a family, even the Packs she'd been in had been so ephemeral at times, but the old wolf had managed to get added to those few that she considered family, no matter how rarely she got to see him. She rubbed the back of her hand against her nose as she stepped back from him, feeling more grounded then she had in a while. Maybe it was just all about telling people what was going on.
She had to laugh when he brought up his bike, just a soft little giggle, shaking her head at him. "Of course its all 'purtied up'. You know I keep her tuned and ready for you since I never knew when you'll be blowin' into town." The little red wolf danced around the grey a bit before turning and giving a little flick of its tail, a peek behind to see if the old wolf was watching. Talking about bikes always helped, pushing away the wayward emotions and dealing with the solidity of mechanical skills. "We can go get her if you want." Head canting to see if he wanted to head over to the shop.
Benny leaned over to check the clasp on the case emblazoned with the infamous guitar's name. Satisfied that the latches were secure, he grasped the handle of the case with an aged hand, bringing it off the ground as he stood.
"Well, you know I would." Those grey eyes hidden behind his shades searched her features and then he looked away. She was going to be just fine, of that he was certain. She just needed some time. "I'd like to see what you've done to it since I was here last." Louisa May had his motorcycle, and she was allowed to change it to suit her mood for whatever itch in her britches. There hadn't been a time Benjamin had come to town that he hadn't liked the changes she'd made to it.
They started to walk down the sidewalk at a slow stroll, as neither of them had a vehicle they'd brought, nor did either of them mind a good walk. He got good use out of his rattlesnake boots. He believed a man should only wear lizardskin boots of a creature he'd killed themself, he had killed the snake himself, a shifter that was in form. He'd had the rest of the massive organ made into a couple of guitar cases for some of his other guitars, namely Joanna Beth, Myrtice, and Ellen.
The case in his hand swung slowly in syncopation with his gait, and that grey wolf lifted itself, making a playful snap at the little red one as it danced around. His bushy tail began a slow wag as he moved after the more energetic one, playing a little game of tag.
-- Edited by BENNY SESSIONS on Sunday 31st of July 2011 11:17:41 PM
Branson was mostly enjoying his ride with the diminuitive blonde's hands wrapped around his waist, and her voice chattering in his ear. The only unenjoyable bit was the fact that his mind couldn't get off of Lou's disappearance. His olfactory senses were working overtime tracking that scent while his bike roared down the street.
As he tore around one corner, his vision was caught by two significant sights in the distance: red hair flashing in the sunlight, and a pale blonde beard. Benny had found his adopted cub. He shifted down, using his toes to press the shifter. The bike rolled to a stop, far enough away that if Louisa May didn't want to see him, she could easily turn a corner.
He waited for Maya to dismount from the back, and then he swung his leg off. Putting the kickstand down, he turned the wheel at an angle where the big ass bike wouldn't fall over. He placed his helmet on the seat, and waited patiently for the two wolves he cared most about to reach him.
If Louisa may decided to come to him, he wouldn't say a word of greeting, but instead, he would wrap his arms around her in a hug so tender, one might get diabetes from seeing it. He leaned his lips in close, and whispered to her ear. "Don't worry, lil' one. Poppa Bear's here, and will make it all better. No matter what."
She paced along at the old wolf's side, stretching her stride just a touch to match his but it was an easy walk, a pace that people that spent all day on their feet might have. Hands were pressed into the pockets of her jeans, except for now and then when one would lift to try to restrain a wayward curl of titan hair.
"I didn't do much. Maybe added some chrome. A bit of a rake to the front end." Tone purposefully non-chalant, a hint of teasing to go along with the playfulness of the dancing red wolf that was busy chasing the grey wolf's tail. "I'm still looking for an old Harley Servi-Car for you." Lips twitching at that. She'd said years ago that if she found one she'd trick it up so he could carry his guitars in the back and wouldn't have to leave his bike behind as often.
The sound of a familiar rumble caught her attention first, head canting slightly. She knew the sound of every bike she worked on, could recognize one from the other from blocks away so it didn't take long for her to spy out the old bear. Her nose wrinkeld a bit, a sidelong glance sent Benny's way. "Not the only one huh?" A wry smile touched her lips but she went over to where Kodi was parked, head dipping sheepishly before she was enfolded in his arms.
"I'm ok," the words muffled against his chest. "Things just... sort of crazy lately." Understatement of the century. She nuzzled lightly against his chest before peeking out at the blond that he'd brought along with him. She remembered her from the lupenar, a little nod of her head given in greeting. "Hey."
-When they pulled up in Jackson Square and she saw Lou and Mr. Pervy-Pants coming towards them Maya frowned. What the fuck had they all been hunting for? The woman was just mopeing around Jackson Square. Climbing off the back of the bike she saw the way Lou sort of sank into the bear and cuddled up with him. Maya couldn't help but wonder why Lou was here with a bear and an old perv instead of with her pack.-
"Okay then, mission accomplished. I guess you guys can let Silent know you found her now."
-Since there was really no point in Maya being there except that she'd been ordered, and since she really wasn't much into being told to go looking for someone who was hiding in plain sight. That pawn shop surely wasn't the only place in the fucking city that sold motorcycles so Maya would just have to go sniff out a different one. Giving a wave of her hand she turned and headed back up the street, leaving the three amigos to tend to whatever business of theirs needed tending to.-
A nod was given to Kodi when they approached, and Louisa May fell into a hug. His gaze, hidden behing those cheap sunglasses, shifted to the pretty blond who mentioned Silent and then she started off. She was a peppy little spitfuck, and it was too bad she didn't have an initial respect for strangers. Those eyes shifted back to Louisa May and Kodi, and he smiled.
Of all people, except for Louisa May herself, he knew what she'd been through the past seven years. He'd come through town on tour or just passing through for a few days. At least he'd had his own three man pack, the band, but here...there hadn't been an organized pack here in so long. It was sad to think about the only contact she could count on with another wolf was him, and that was intermittent and chaotic. No, he decided he would stick around much longer this time, now that he understood a bit better about what was going on with the little red wolf. His old grey wolf wagged his tail as her little one pranced around, and then the wolf turned suddenly to nuzzle up to her.
"Well Louisa May, I'ma tell ya now. I'll be here in town awhile. Ain' goin' nowhere until you want me to. An' that's a fact." Once the old Texan realized just how wary she was around other wolves (her actions when Maya had arrived with Kodi had been very indicative)...her caution made him realize she just wasn't used to it. It'd been too long. At least now there was this Ulfric woman, Silent, although Benny had his doubts about her. Someone who just started spouting off about being Ulfric and trying to push people around with their power was someone to be cautious about. Fortunately old Benny kept those shield up tight, and it hadn't even been a pinprick.
"Right now, I'ma head over to the Garden District, and set a spell." He would come over to her shop to see his bike another time. He leaned over to kiss her on her forehead, and then he glanced up to the bear. "Kodi." He gave the man a nod and then he turned and started walking, getting good use out of those rattlesnake boots. He knew she'd be just fine with the bear.
He stroked her hair with those large mitts of his, and his stubbly cheek rubbed the top of ehr head, and a bit of her cheek. Branson let her snuggle for a good bit, before he backed off, and looked at her. "I can't make things better if you don't let me know what to fix."
He saw the tiny wolf try to sneak away. He put an arm around Lou's shoulders, and called after her. "Hey, Lil' Bit. Where ya goin'? You need a ride or anything?"
Benny started to leave, and the big bear gave him a smile, and a nod. "Ben. Be careful out there, old man."
He loved to jibe at the fairly ancient wolf, and he knew the man would never take him seriously. Not to mention there wasn't really any reason why the man would need to be careful. Unless there was a horde of vamps, or someone shot him with a silver sniper bullet, the man would be just fine.
"Maya, Lou, you guys up for some refreshment? I could use some liquid fire, myself." He invited the two she-wolves to have a drink, and maybe talk a bit. From the way Maya had talked, she liked bikes, and him and Lou could talk her ear off about them if she wanted. If not, then he and Louisa May could have a real heart to heart.
