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[center][color=darkorange][h1]Xerxes Arvanitis[/h1][/color] [h1]and[/h1] [color=plum][h1]Zoé Flores[/h1][/color]
[img]http://i917.photobucket.com/albums/ad11/myandrallene/Xerxes_zpssv94zk7j.gif[/img][img]http://i917.photobucket.com/albums/ad11/myandrallene/Character%20Gifs/ezgif.com-crop_zpsgyv5jdts.gif[/img]
[b]Location:[/b] Mia and Pias Pizzeria and Brewhouse.
[sup][b]Interacting With:[/b] Each Other[/sup][/center]
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It was late - far later than it should have been for meeting up with someone for a simple drink, no matter how much either of them needed it. Syleste’s injuries had been a bit worse than he had initially thought, and by not being able to tend to them right away, it caused for a small infection to take place which he attended to immediately after the rest of the children had left and he was able to once more take Syleste under his own… wing.

He had remained long enough to witness the private interaction between Zoé and the two boys - the twins. But he remained silent until the moment had passed and then quietly, after slipping his wings back into his body and putting on his shirt, carried Syleste from the table Gage had placed her on, to the operating room where he was able to look her over in a much more professional way.

Eighteen stitches, antibiotics, and a small bit of internal bleeding that he was able to isolate and get under control by just himself. The nurses knew to give her painkillers if she were to wake up before he managed to get back to the hospital. She needed her rest so that her body could heal properly. She was no Werewolf - she had no accelerated healing. Though tired as he was, and knowing full well that he would be due back at the hospital in just a few hours, he could at least rest somewhat easily knowing that she would be okay.

Cassie, on the other hand… It was the only reason he hadn’t headed straight home. He needed answers. He needed a drink. Though perhaps Zoé had already headed home? He knew she was headed to the Parlor after the night they had for a drink, and had invited him along before she had left the hospital for the night. But perhaps he had already missed her? Still, he figured that it wouldn’t hurt to do a quick drive by and peek to see if her bike wasn’t still there.

There were only three vehicles in the parking lot. The delivery van, Zoé’s motorbike, and a stray car that had probably been left overnight since it’s owner needed a cab ride home from too much beer. None of that mattered, however, except the knowledge that Zoé was indeed, still there. Parking next to her bike, he hesitated for a moment, his grip tightening on the wheel. God it was late. Really, he should just go home and get some sleep… be with Cassandra… he hadn’t really been able to be at the hospital… He doubted that he would be getting any sleep any time soon, however. Not with his mind filled to the brim with questions and concerns. What kind of father could he be for Cassandra in such a distracted state? No. He needed answers. He needed to know how to help his little girl.

Getting out of the car, Xerxes closed the car door, locking it behind him and walked to the bar-side door. Surprised to find it unlocked, he pushed it open and stepped inside, looking around for any sign of the owner.

The gentle ‘clink’ of glass over the polished bar top was barely audible as Zoé placed it down, her dark eyes lifting to meet with his for only a few moments before she drew her hand back, her body turning away from his as she picked up the empty glass she had been using, the woman seeming to barely think about what it was she was doing as she pulled down on the lever, not bothering to pay any attention to the beer as it flowed silently into the glass.

[color=plum]“Heard you pull in… don’t know what your poison is, so I poured you a glass of Dopplebock. After the night we’ve had; I assumed you’d be wanting the strong stuff…”[/color]

Chuckling a bit, rather relieved that the woman seemed to be in somewhat high spirits (considering), his body physically relaxed some the moment that he realized that the beer she was pouring was for her, and his was already resting on the bar. So she had known that he was coming… or at least she knew him well enough to know it was his car that pulled in during the dead of night. Gods - he didn’t even dare look at what time it was.

[color=darkorange]“Your bartender told me all about it the other night when I was in. Had me try it while I waited for my to-go order.”[/color] Not wanting to cross any lines to go behind the bar with her, Xerxes instead walked to the opposite side and took a seat at the bar towards the center.

[color=darkorange]“German-style lager. Nearly a nine percent. Goes down a lot smoother than anything with that high of alcohol should.”[/color]

[color=plum]“Of course. It’s my brew; and I serve nothing but the best.”[/color] Turning back to him once she had shut off the tap, she leant back against the cooler, taking a few moments to hold his gaze before her attention dropped to the newly re-filled beer she had in her hand, seeming to pause but a moment before she lifted it to her lips, taking a small sip before she spoke again, her voice a tad distracted, [color=plum]“Speaking of which… I know I have another keg of the stuff in back, but it’s very popular with the regulars. I’ll have to shoot Alder a message asking him to drop by the brewery on his way in later this morning…”[/color]

[color=darkorange]”You run a good business here, Zoé. I’ve heard only positive things about this place.”[/color] Xerxes commented truthfully, only raising the pint to his lips for a drink after seeing her do so first. He wasn’t going to ask - nothing ever good came from asking a woman how long she had been drinking for. But gauging how long it took him to take care of Syleste, he had to figure a while.

[color=plum]“Thank you… but as much as I extended the invitation; I’m pretty sure you didn’t come here just to share a drink with me…”[/color]

Speaking bluntly, she once more lifted her eyes, holding his gaze for a spell before pushing away from the cooler, her glass coming to a rest over the bar before she leant forward, her arms crossing underneath her as she dropped to eye level with him, her head tilting lightly to the side causing her long dark locks to fall forward and over her shoulder, [color=plum]“..so, what can I do for you Dr. Arvanitis..?”[/color]

Xerxes lowered his gaze to his drink, half because of her more comfortable apparel being a bit more revealing than normal, the other half being that he simply could not meet her eye with the topic at hand. Where did he even begin to explain his concerns about the situation?

[color=darkorange]“I… may not be a Werewolf… but I can still pick up on emotions just as easily. You and your Beta were not happy with me earlier today. I… apologize. For a few moments there, it was only me and Cassie - no one else existed. I failed her as a father. I did not tell her about our world. I had… I had to do something… I didn’t want her to have to hear it from someone else...”[/color]

[color=plum]“..the words ‘not happy’ are a big understatement…”[/color] Frowning slightly, Zoé let her words sink in a few moments before she stood back up straight, her hand reaching to pick up the glass before she once more pressed it against her lips, allowing the strong alcohol to flow into her mouth before disappearing completely down her throat, [color=plum]“..you undermined my authority as an alpha.”[/color]

Unable to help the soft growl that emanated from somewhere deep within her throat, she turned her head away, cutting herself off before she once more became angry. That was the last thing she wanted- no, it was the last thing she needed. To get angry again… to lose her temper at the doctor that was caring for three members of her recently expanded pack. Cassandra… Syleste… Sebastian… they needed him. Clenching her jaw slightly, she placed the glass back down over the polished wood, the ‘clink’ louder than it had been earlier when she had given him his own beer, [color=plum]“What you did could have cost those pups more than you think- it could have cost them an alpha. You know nothing about me, or about wolves, and yet you chose to speak for us; to speak for me… father or not; don’t ever do that again.”[/color]

Xerxes did not answer right away. Instead, his eyes carefully watched the bubbles in his amber-colored beer rise to the surface where the carbonation was slowly lost. He thought his words over carefully, as though he were about to defuse a bomb. And in a strange, sort of way, he kind of was. After a few silent moments, he took just a moment longer to allow himself another drink, carefully setting the pint glass back down without so much as a sound.

[color=darkorange]”You being an Alpha is something I have respected ever since our first meeting. Tonight… for those first few minutes… I thought my daughter to be dead. To first start to accept that, only to find out this… Alpha or not, she is still my daughter, and she will always come first.”[/color] Finally, finding some sliver of bravery within him, Xerxes raised his dark eyes to look at her. [color=darkorange]”Tonight… you and I have crossed paths in a way I believe neither of us ever expected. I can respect you as her Alpha if you can respect me as her father. We both want what is best for her. Had we more time to discuss this information to Cas- the kids beforehand, I am certain things would have gone differently and both to our liking. So again, Zoé, I apologize deeply for how things had gone. If I’d been a better father, she would have already known.”[/color] 

As a motion that had nothing at all to do with their conversation, Xerxes’ eyes lowered back down to his glass, not because he was afraid, morso that it was something out of habit that came with deep conversations. 

[color=darkorange]”You’re correct. I know nothing. But I can’t go back to that house tonight where she will be waiting for me, wanting answers I don’t have. I can’t go back to her… knowing that I can’t comfort her…”[/color] His eyes looked back up, looking more tired than they had all day. But not just physically. 

[color=darkorange]”Help me.”[/color]

He was asking for her help; just as the pups had done before him. And that look behind his dark eyes… it was the same one his daughter had given to her hours beforehand, that loss that came with not knowing what it was that he was meant to do- of course. Like father, like daughter; why she believed she could expect anything less was far beyond her comprehension.

[color=plum]“..mierda..!”[/color]

Balling her hands up into fists, Zoé lifted her right hand up slightly, slamming it down over the counter as an exasperated sigh filled the air; a sign that she was, indeed, giving in, [color=plum]“..fine; alright… so what is it you want to know..?”[/color]

Flinching somewhat at her quick outburst, Xerxes let out a soft, tired sigh. Perhaps this was a bad idea - perhaps he shouldn’t have asked this of her at all. Perhaps he was a fool thinking that he might get any information out of her that night.

Removing his glasses from his face, he quietly set them down on the bar next to his beer and began to rub one of his eyes, forcing the sleep away.

[color=darkorange]”Her mother was a human… I kept my being an Angel from her too until she fell pregnant with Cassie… When she died, Cassie was all I had left of her - they were so much alike. She reminds me so much of her every day. There had always been this tiny part of me, though, that always hoped that she might have been like me and hadn’t yet shown it. That’s when I was going to tell her… but it never happened. It’s clear to me now, more than ever, that Cassie was, and had always been human… just like her mother. And now knowing that… I am glad… but then disheartened under the circumstances that told me so. But… I’m also happy to be able to let her into this part of my life...”[/color]

He didn’t know why he was telling her this. He hadn’t spoken about Cassie’s mother in a great number of years - not even to his own daughter. It was a subject they went to great lengths to avoid for no particular reason at all. But with how Zoé was responding to him… with how irate her mood swings were… perhaps just the tiniest bit of backstory would help her to understand where he was coming from. Maybe, just maybe, it might even calm her down. There was no way in hell he was going to use his emotion-altering abilities on her. Not with the already thin wire he was walking on with her.

[color=darkorange]”How much of her do I have to give up to you, now that she belongs in your pack?”[/color]

[color=plum]“..ninguna...”[/color] Caught slightly off-guard by the question presented to her, Zoé stared at him, her fists relaxing over the wood until eventually, they were once more resting, her fingers curling lightly over the bar; the few moments of confused and stunned silence on both their parts helping to drag her back to the present as she shook her head, repeating herself, though this time, in English.

[color=plum]“..none… I expect you to give none up to me; you are, after all, her father. Think of it like this; the pack is now her second family, as you have your own expectations, I too have mine. She will be expected to help out when needed; especially in dire times. But I don’t intend on keeping her from you.”[/color] Her voice was softer as she spoke, explaining to him as best as she could what she meant, though she was pretty sure she was only making it worse, [color=plum]“We stick together… encourage each other… and we look after one another. When I call; I give them the choice to come, I will not force them to do what they don’t feel right doing. But also know that if ever the time comes that I do end up taking her away from you… know it will be because I have no other choice.”[/color]

Her words helped to ease the growing knot of anxiousness that hadn’t seemed to go away since Cassandra and her friends first entered the hospital. But then other areas of uneasiness came - things would never be the same. Life was going to change drastically for the both of them, and he wasn’t sure if either of them were ready. Zoé could call for her at any time…

[color=darkorange]”How far does the call of an Alpha reach? If… if I were to take her away from here… we don’t very often spend our summers in Klamath…”[/color]

It was an interesting question; and one that she herself had been interested in for quite some time when she had first found herself in charge of a pack. James… Sombra… she couldn’t help but to wonder what they were doing now, especially after she had left that voicemail on his phone letting him know what had happened to his younger sister.

[color=plum]“My roar is powerful… now how far it reaches depends on just how much power I put behind the roar itself. I can be heard through all of Klamath, and just a little past the borders of town; but no further from what I’m aware.”[/color]

He nodded. If they went on a vacation… she would be safely his. The idea started to become more and more tempting. Just… pack up and leave. They could go to Tahoe. Aspen. Rent a cabin, do some snowboarding… anything to get away from all of this…

The next question on his mind made him visibly wince, as though it pained him. Taking another moment to himself, he once more took a drink of his beer, admittedly a much larger one than any of the others he had taken that night.

[color=darkorange]”Will it hurt her? Transforming, I mean. Will she be in any pain?”[/color]

She knew this question had been coming. She didn’t need to be a parent to understand that he didn’t want to see his daughter go through pain; and with the fact that she now, as of mere hours ago, had two boys of her own to care for and raise-... her heart went out to the guy. She would rather sit and take whatever pain they would feel for herself than to see them suffering before her very eyes.

[color=plum]“..the first few times will be painful, yes… maybe even the first dozen times… it’s different for each that go through it…”[/color]

Her body tensing, a slight shiver ran through the length of her spine, her heartbeat quickening ever so slightly as her mind flicked back to her first time, [color=plum]“..the first time I transformed; I was in excruciating pain… my body felt as though it was on fire, and all I wanted to do was die… it was hard to push through, but I made it, and I’m standing here because of it. My niece on the other hand… the pain she felt was nothing compared to mine. Each time it happens, it gets a little bit easier; and eventually, the pain will just disappear completely.”[/color]

Hesitating a moment, Zoé reached a hand forward, resting it gently over his own in an attempt to offer him comfort, [color=plum]“..I don’t want to see them in pain… none of them… and you have my word that I’ll do everything I can to make Cassie, and all the others as comfortable as I possibly can through this… I have sons of my own now; I don’t want to ever see them suffer again...”[/color]

For quite a while, Xerxes didn’t even realize her touch on his hand. All he heard was “pain.” His mind went a million miles a minute - his Cassie… in pain? He would rather see someone murdered in cold blood by his own hand than to see the pain in his daughter's eyes over something that she couldn’t control. His body became stiff, even after Zoé had reached out to comfort him. He almost recoiled - not because of her touch, but merely that he didn’t recognize what she was trying to do, and was instead going by his fatherly instincts…

[color=darkorange]“I can’t… she’s always looked to me for guidance… for comfort… I don’t know where, or how to go from here…”[/color]

[color=plum]“You need to trust me; and you need to let me do my job as her alpha… that’s the only thing you can do right now.”[/color] She knew she was being blunt; but it was the only way that he was ever going to let what she was telling him get through his head. He needed to trust her- trust that she wasn’t going to let them down… trust that she wasn’t willing to put them in immediate danger, and that she wasn’t going to let them suffer anymore pain if there was any way that she could help it. She wasn’t going to lead them down the wrong path.

[color=plum]“..look…”[/color] Sighing softly, Zoé shook her head lightly from side to side, her long dark locks brushing back and forth across her back as she thought on the topic. It didn’t matter what happened from this point onward, the children were always going to be her first priority, especially now that she had two of her own, [color=plum]“..you know nothing about what it’s like to be wolf… and honestly, I don’t know nothing about being a parent. Before I left I gave my son’s each a key to the house, then the keys to Melissa’s car so they could get home when they were ready- don’t go telling Melissa that though, she’ll kill me… but maybe-... well, maybe we can help each other…”[/color]

Xerxes quirked a brow, though his face remained otherwise placid. He could see in her eyes that she truly believed what she was telling him, that he just needed to trust her. She was right - he knew nothing about what it was to be a Werewolf. It was the exact reason he found himself sitting at the bar at Gods knew what time of night.

He let out a soft sigh, his eyes dropping to once more look at his beer before glancing over at her hand placed on his. This was going to be a huge leap of faith on his part. He had always looked after Cassandra on his own - it had always just been the two of them. His heart ached at the thought of that changing. He was no longer able to provide for her on his own. He needed Zoé’s help.

[color=darkorange]”...what… exactly, did you have in mind?”[/color] he asked, lifting his eyes once more to meet with hers.