Meat and greet

Hale let Dare settle into his own thoughts as he brought out the smile that had closed more than one deal before his opponents even knew they were being played. He was sure that the Hidden Goddess of the Island would see them. He wasn’t sure how he knew that but he did. He wasn’t sure how the details would work out especially as the sun was high but he moved into the compound as if he knew where he was going. It was easy to guess where a queen let alone a goddess would reside. Only the Dolphin house itself would do. He was at a loss as to how she would survive the blistering heat of the sun as Dolphin house was a marvel of design focused on sun worship.

As they neared the House he immediately knew. The House was painstakingly constructed the technological upgrades while hidden were apparent the moment they stepped within the doors. The sun’s light reached inside but its heat its fire did reach. He could guess how it was done but he wasn’t sure. He wouldn’t be sure without a closer look but he was already devising an attack plan as he took in the home.

“Mistress Uli, we have come for an audience and terms.”

Hale was projecting an air of calm. He was fighting off the memories that swam to the surface of his last time in the place. Those memories swam up out of the murk along with the frequent glimpses of Uli’s men surrounding his life. He was projecting strength yet there was something just under the surface of him that poked and prodded him from within.

Darren about winced when Hale just started shouting into the halls. He bit his lip and caught up but still hung sort of back so as to give his Khan space. He was glad when the world didn't crumbled around them and even gladder when a slinky young thing in very little dress came to greet them. She was all elegance and smelled like cupcakes, when he looked closer her hair was feathers. A swan the goddess kept a swan in her entourage, they were so very rare as most were born of curses.

She looked at them and nodding calmly gesturing to a  hall and then walking down it in a swish of beads and sheer mesh. Leading them to a room with a black lacquered throne and a long blood red carpet. The walls were covered in floor to ceiling curtains the color of storms over seas. There was opulence with out ostentation around him, burst of color from birds in cages that were the color of the sunset and raucously chirping until Hale walked by. They quieted and hid as if they could smell the predator in him. Darren thought it was odd as they surely had to be used to the others that lived here right?

Finally they stood in front of the empty throne waiting for her arrival and he shot Hale a warning look, that said please for the love of what ever do not mess this up.

Hale’s tiger stirred to the surface as the swan walked into the room. He’d felt her pinky aura from a distance however the scent of prey was stirring all the same. Especially as she was calm as if she were sitting in a room full of kittens. She he was sure had grown accustomed to the feel of predatory beasts around her. Especially if it was true that Uli had the ability to call tigers to her. He took a second to inhale the scents of her place more completely. Yes tiger was prevalent along with other more exotic types of fur. The combined scents of predator prey and vampire mixed together forming a special cologne that he would only bother to name as power.

He could grow accustomed to the feel of it along his skin. He pushed those thoughts aside squaring himself away. He couldn’t afford a misstep because he was taken in by the décor. He didn’t like the birds in the cage but he was never a pet sort of person. Cages always bothered him the idea of them. He took it as an animal thing and didn’t look at it to closely.

Stopping in front of the throne he slipped his hands into his pockets. Resting on his heels as he knew that the wait was part of the show. He’d employed such tactics to set the tone of a meeting himself and was nonplussed by it. He was curious what an immortal would think of as an appropriate amount of time to keep someone on the hook. He hoped it wouldn’t be too long he knew Dare would be cutting him a look to be on his best behavior. What Dare never took into account was that he was always on his best even when others thought otherwise.

Uli could feel them both then she heard the Khan and quirked a brow looking at her knight. He'd finished dressing and complemented her perfectly. She'd dressed in red leather over pink and gold sheer the gown clung to curves and cut away in front at the knees to a longer length in the back. The leather corset at her waist held her firm and added edge to the other wise soft outfit. Hair done up in elaborate coils studded with gold beads and a hair stick that looked bone but was more then it would seem.

Kenji was behaving some what oddly but she attributed it to his having not been allowed in the suite with her while she dressed. He was her shadow but lately she wondered about his behavior and it kept her pondering as she let them both escort her out to the tigers. When she came through the curtain just behind the men she paused. Something felt off, then when they flanked her throne and she was about to sit she looked at hale and it was only well schooled time over the centuries that kept her smiling.

Her jaw ached she felt it there in him even tho he he hid it well, she was a master of tigers and she knew each in her head and heart like a flavor and the man in front of her had one flavor yes it was like the other behind him but there was another all together. That flavor was almost a dead echo for the man to her left and mentally she pulled the string that bound them tighter.

" Well to what do I owe this visit , have you finally chosen suitable tribute? The one behind you is very nice"

He didn’t realize he had until he’d done it. He’d moved closer to Uli. Not because he was drawn even as she was scenting vaguely of a little queen. He moved closer to the throne she lounged on as a way of drawing her attention to him instead of Dare. He had come to settle things seemed it would be settled sooner than he’d hoped and far more negatively than he’d prayed.

He had come honestly to assuage Dare’s fears and worries yet now he was beginning to have second thoughts. This while not a mistake was feeling as if it was exactly what Uli wanted. She seemed to be playing at something he had not guessed at. He couldn’t be sure but something was happening just beneath the surface. Something he wasn’t sure he would like. All the same he held onto his composure. His smile dimmed a hair but didn’t falter.

"We have come to discuss terms. Uli. One being that no Liéren Yú Hei'án Wáng will serve you against their will. Except perhaps me."

If he laid his neck in the noose he would uphold his end of the deal he was merely offering a diversion to distract her from Dare at the moment. He was Khan and for things to change she would need to see the Liéren Yú Hei'án Wáng and its Khan were not as she’d come to believe.

He knew that chastisement over it would be time for other things and so wasn’t surprised as Uli removed herself from him and her pomme. As he cleaned himself with her aid he fell in behind her moving to dress as he felt she would appreciate. He was her strong right hand while Kenji was her silken blade. He didn’t mind his role and for the most part enjoyed his place in her sphere. The thought of Kenji did trouble him some as the man for all of their joined sharing held secrets like most drew breathe.

As his goddess spoke he glanced at the clock checking against his own internal clock. Night being so far away troubled him some. While he had the ability to withstand the press of the grave sleep it cost him significantly; Especially if he were to operate at anywhere near his full capabilities. He dressed in his usual monochromatic black on black. Ninety percent of what he owned was in fact black making his choice of attire a simple one on most accounts. " Mistress…"he began stopping himself as Kenji appeared at her side dressed to match. His eyes as still as tranquil pools yet his aura stirred. He held a scent about him of the ocean. Sin instantly disliked the man in that moment and stilled his tongue. Sin hated the ocean even as he was drawn to it. He had often walked the edge of land and sea and knew many of its secrets including the subtle changes the various places around the islands held. Kenji had been on the far side of the island. The reasons were unknown to Sin and that was even more troubling because he was sure that the Goddess didn’t know or wouldn’t share either.

Closing down drawing his shields in like the walls of Jericho Sin dressed in silence falling into step with Uli and Kenji. It wasn’t until the stench of Kenji overwhelmed him that he knew that they would be receiving tigers. Not any Tigers but two of the strongest from the Liéren Yú Hei'án Wáng. The supposed hidden Kings, it made him laugh thinking of the double speak of the name. The Streaks were ruled by their Queens and yet here they were touting the idea that they were the real kings. He could admire their nerve if it wasn’t sure to be their downfall. As Uli spoke he drew his attention laser like on the obvious leader between the two. He was familiar with animal politics and knew that fraction of an inch step making him the center of attention was an attempt to protect the other. It also was vanity to say the least. Sin would enjoy breaking him should he move a hair closer. He would take it as a threat to his Goddess. He would gladly take the punishment he was sure would come if he acted without her express permission to place the whelp in his place. Not to mention that he knew it always bothered Kenji when the Liéren Yú Hei'án Wáng were played with by him.

He was taken with her, more stunning then the pictures and she noticed him, made him smile and he looked at the ground bashfully. When Hale stepped in front of him to " protect him" but in affect steal the attention from him it triggered something. The anger lashed and he felt like they were at the mating dance all over again, his beat paced and it was only surgeons control that kept him from speaking up and showing that bit of dissension in the ranks.

How did hale know he wouldn't go willingly? Then he seemed to shake him self all over something was wrong he'd never gotten to this point of logic so quick there had to be something in her power that was doing this to him. He planted his feet and bolstered his shields. Finally catching sight of the other two and he let his nostrils flared the man on the right  facing him looked like a definitive warrior he was alert and watching them all and if things went south Dar would be more concerned of him. The man on the left seemed like he'd stepped out of an old Japanese painting, he seemed to be a real life samurai and staring at his face he saw something that gave him pause.

It wasn't alot but there were features that,.. no it couldn't be could it? He'd felt the gold in his friend all be it briefly and the man in front of them was all gold he could feel it he could smell it. No way it was to much a coincidence. He remained silent because anything could set off the powder keg he now knew they were all sitting on.

" You dare come into my compound and give me terms? I will take who and what I please when I please as up to now I've harmed none of those who've been sent to me and have often sent them home favored and well off. The one behind you yes hes delicious and strong and would be welcome here but since you seem so willing to place your neck to the block then fine I accept you as tribute and the other may leave when he pleases."

She was already mad and he was testing her patience with his bravado looking to kenji and her jaw flexing. " you my tiger have some explaining to do and you will start now as it concerns my newest acquisition.. choose your words wisely because they might be the last i allow you to speak should they be the wrong ones."

Her gaze glittered with unprecedented anger and heat, the air got heavy and anything or one that needed to breath might began to have a hard time of it as she pulled the power out of the room slowly like a leaking balloon. He'd know she could feel it he'd hidden this boy this child from her  the proof of his disloyalty now stood and talked and walked and led right under her nose and it boiled the blood in her veins that he'd been able to keep such a secret for so long. He had no right, to defy her godhood and the feelings she had for him even as they were so entwined bit back at her almost mocking. 

Fist curling hard and going stone still because the presence of her right hand and the control he held was what kept her controlled right then. Had he not been present she might have killed them all including her self accidentally by killing her tiger.

Being a born tiger Hale never quite had the chance to appreciate the differences that came from having a hyper-attenuated visual acuity. His ability to see and the detail he saw always placed him a few seconds ahead of his competitors. He never counted or relied on those few moments and always went into every situation as well prepared as possible. This situation was no different. He had meant to speak with Uli next week. He had a few more things he wanted to square away. They would have to wait as this moment took precedence. Especially when confronted with the sheer force of the entrenched beliefs of the Liéren Yú Hei'án Wáng. Uli was as blind to the reality of the world outside her direct control as he had been lead to believe. She was as vainglorious as he remembered.

Sighing as he felt the heat of Dare at his back and the blistering of Uli’s aura before him. It would be as uphill as he expected. Holding his smile despite the increase of the pressure in the room as well as the anger level. Though in truth it was more of a baring of teeth. Her challenge was thrown and he had accepted. He really didn’t have much of a choice. With Dare all but swayed by her will even without her exerting much force behind it he had no choice. It was why he had intended initially to come alone. As he needed to make a definitive action he chose a road that went wholly to the reason for this meeting.

“You miss the meaning of my words…Uli. I mean as my words stated that none would serve against their will. Save me if that is what would be needed but none would be subjugated to you or your Kiss. We are a free people yet our supplications don’t come freely." He spoke holding himself rigid despite the lessening of the oxygen in the room. His voice carrying by the strength of his blood and something else. Terms needed to be understood by all and he had every intention of seeing this through. The Liéren Yú Hei'án Wáng would be more than any could expect. They would seize the strength in their blood and usher in something never before understood. They would be the kings their name stated them to be.

Speaking as he had he did not lose sight nor fail to account for the two men that shadowed Uli. The dark male to her right dressed in shades of night was her enforcer. He was a hammer and would be a challenge but one Hale knew he was more than up to the task of. The tiger on her left the one who scented of tiger he knew to be her assassin. His aura beat at the edges of his shields. He also smelled strangely familiar. There was a similarity to his aura that Hale knew had to be not just tiger but either Blue or Gold. He had more than a sinking suspicion that it was Gold to which the mysterious Kenji haled.

Punctuating his words he called to the winds beyond as well as the Earth below them. The gentle breeze moving in accord with growing disquiet in him as the ground beneath their feet responded in kind, a duet of elemental mayhem promising to unleash what hell could be. Hale made no overt threat but as he was sure that those in the room could feel him about them in proportions beyond what should have been they would know what he offered in a heartbeat. He had no intentions to go quietly into any night and would take them all with him should things reach the untenable.

It was the effect of bringing a bomb to a gunfight. Except he was the bomb and the gun.

Sin didn’t like the unease that grew in the elements. Nor did he like the fact that it was obvious the tiger was the cause. Stupid upstarts he thought as he freed the draw on the sig sauer at his hip. The mosquito would definitely cause the tiger to itch especially with its silver sulfate load. It was designed to annoy lycanthropes of power and end the lives of lycanthropes that were of no note. So if the Khan was as big shit as he thought himself it would annoy him just enough to stop his little display of chest beating. Just because the swirling of the elements bothered him deeply didn’t mean that Sin wouldn’t shoot the misbegotten child of Kenji’s loins. In fact if Uli herself hadn’t been preset he would shoot him just for having the unnatural call to the elements.

He stayed his hand as he reconsidered his choice of targets. The other tiger would take care of the would be king. It was obvious that he had fallen prey to Uli’s heady aroma. It was a foregone conclusion that he would be another puppet to her will. The true tell in the room would be Kenji. There was no stress showing in him which was the most telling of signs. The calmer aura he projected the more bothered he truly was. It was a subtle thing but of all the many tells he had it was the most glaring he held. It more than anything was what caused him to reevaluate things. His actual target was Kenji who came to the ire of his mistress. No sooner had the whelp spoken had Sin immediately changed targets. He was a product of his time. This modern era where nothing was sacred all was permitted save adherence to the sacred.

Before he had a chance to speak or suggest anything Kenji had dropped to his knees before Uli. It was childish however the idea of Kenji punished made him smile inwardly. Listening to Kenji however stole his sunshine. As the man spoke it was clear that while no one else had been thinking of the whelp Kenji had. ‘Mistress, there is nothing to explain as all is within your view. This would be king is in fact the child of my flesh. Though no child of my heart. There would be no denying what is plain. His strength of character if lack of foresight is as well obvious. I know he would not have survived these few short years without your abundant blessing and trust in my faith of you as to what is to happen now…’ It was short to the point and filled with far too much onus placed on Uli’s divinity. Sin wanted to shoot him all the same.

Darren cringed and then he felt the earth and wind and his eyes widened he'd never known that his friend could do this. He moved before thinking and laid a calm hand  on his back trying to quell the wind. He could tell this would anger her and that would be a mistake. 

When the other gold kneeled at her feet and offered her some form of apology like explanation for...hale? Wait no way they were saying that hale was his son? That made a lot of things clear and sense and then he felt bad instantly as the words said reached his ears. That hale was his physically but not his in his heart, that made the hackles rise on his beast and he had so many thoughts going through his head.

He'd wanted for Hale to feel how having a father was even tho Dar him self had lost his father before his first shift. The last major skirmish between red and blue had taken the mans life when he'd been jumped by two reds in a bar fight and one had landed a lucky strike to the throat which left him bleeding out. That had colored his feelings toward the other clan and why it was so hard for him to let go of the hate, it was worsened by the fact his mother in her sadness had withered away and his second year as a doctor had died of a broken heart.

He blamed it all on the reds and that was why he never saw him self ok with letting one close enough to kill. Hale tended to like to gloss over that in his search for the creation of the ultimate streak. It all played now and he focused on what went on around them had calmed Hales wind.

She would crush this upstart here and now how dare he try to bring her home down around her and she focused in on him about to bring him to his knees when Kenji pulled his stunt. She had to think quick as to how to handle this because to admit that she'd not allowed it would be horrible for all she put forth. The lesser of two evils would be use the Khan and let him live for now as a means to an end.

So instead of stealing his power from him along with his breath she smiled at her tiger and then his  son " well it seems as this is a celebration of home coming young Hale of both gold and blue. You will live at my grace and be offered my help and protection should it be needed. But mark my words son of Kenji, should you ruin this with your bravado or disrespect no quarter will be shown and I have lived and survived longer even then this island had buildings of concrete on it. Do not think that you will win against me,"

Her gaze was serious and strong and the black fire blazed in her gaze, she waited to see if he would accept or decline and looking finally to kenji" you will speak with him and make up for lost time should he wish it so you and I will handle our time later. My Knight please take the other and offer him refreshment while I stay if I need you you will know yes?"

Blowing him a soft kiss and leaning back into her throne suddenly very tired.

“This would be king is in fact the child of my flesh.”

The words echoed in his ears like swords at clanging against shields or hammers beating through a steel door. They were hard, sharp, and the loudest things in his hearing. They almost did the job of ceasing his hold on the elements he was whipping to a murderous frenzy. He had to hold his grip or else the elements he beat to a lather would take out their ire without a hand at their nape. His was the hand on the leash if he lapsed they would slip the tenuous grip any mortal mind could ever have over them.

Dare’s touch at his back and his added will contesting his grip caused Hale to surge the elements with the enmity he wanted to have for the face in the crowd that had been his unknown father. The years of abuse the tests the knowing stares and the silent ridicule. He wanted to be angry he wanted to rage but instead he found himself looking the back of the mans head as the winds howled as Hale would not allow himself to do. He wanted to the wish was there for a cathartic release. Some catastrophic end to this and the years that led to it.

Wants were not needs. Anger was no solution. Tempting though it was an emotional response would not win the day. So he bottled the bile of his anger. Saving it for later. There would be blood. There would be fury. There would be many things but none of them would be for the pleasure of a watching listening audience. Flicking his gaze to Dare his eyes squinted to slits his anger contained but as apparent as the moon on a cloudless night. He listened as Uli passed her proclamation but what was not said was more interesting as he didn’t tell Dare to never do so again. He didn’t share anything with Dare instead he returned his gaze to Uli her court and the tiger she held control over. The biological donor of the genes coursing through him. And most importantly her strong right hand that seemed happier with the idea of simply eradicating every tiger on the island starting with the man called Kenji.

“The choice is yours Darren, though I think it would be rude to keep our hostess waiting…” It was a hair too dismissive but damn it all he was angry despite keeping it from being unleashed it still leaked into his being. Peeking around the edges it threatened to break loose if he didn’t keep a hold on it. Dare had overstepped but that was a matter to be dealt with later. Forcing his smile which had faded without his noticing Hale pushed his hold on the storm brewing out to sea. The ocean wouldn’t sleep well tonight. Then again neither would he, probably not for a very long while.

Nodding he moved closer to the throne as the tiger who was Kenji and the vampire who was Uli’s knight moved towards him the knight continuing on and the tiger stopping just outside of Hale’s immediate attack range…