A Nice Trip

[Atticus Tuck]

This place is so, like, big! Atticus's eyes flashed, her enhanced dragon senses drinking in everything she could-the new smells that were so much more different than the thin, clean mountain air, buildings and new faces at every turn of the corner, it was so much more interesting than the boring, never changing mountain hut she had been stuffed in for the majority of her hatchling-hood. All the humans smelled of choking perfumes and colognes, the sound of their hearts pitter pattering as they rushed and scurried about like ants to reach their destination intrigued her-she even found herself trotting after a couple of people to see if they were heading anywhere remotely fun, but she lost interest after a few blocks and gave up.

Atticus remembered how her parents told her that humans were a "Sometimes food, only if there is absolutely nothing else for you to eat. Humans aren't as yummy as they can smell, Arty, trust me. And they can leave you with the most horrid stomachaches if you eat the wrong ones!" Her parents had explained a plathora of things on the flight to their new home, actually. They made Atticus promise to stay in her human form whenever she was out in public, to not do anything that could give her away, to be polite to any other mythical creatures she met-even if dragons were the dominant species it didn't give you a right to be rude-, to make sure to keep Rogwink fed and watered, and also to try and avoid bringing home any more useless pieces of junk just because they reflected the sun.

The last part made Atticus huff in annoyance right then, as she forced herself to move faster as a human's watch caught the overhead sun just at that moment, the overwhelming urge to snatch it and run growing as the fat human started swatting his hand around at a pesky insect of sorts, the glare flickering over one of Atticus's eyes just once and make her halt dead in her tracks. Her conscious was no help, either. Shiny! Look at how it sparkles! it exclaimed shamelessly, that human is just a human, and you're a dragon! You can take what you like! And Atticus probably would have right at that second, if it had not been for an even bigger feeling of excitement as a newer scent caught in her nose. It smelled like dog, but it was intertwined with something else, something powerful. THe only thing able to puill her away from a glittery treasure for the taking-werewolf.

Atticus smiled to herself widely, earning a few odd looks from the humans passing by as she sprinted down the street. Like, wait until Dad hears I found a werewolf! My own werewolf! Atticus had always been fascinated by werewolves. They just had a certain charm to them, like her trinkets she adored so much. They were right below dragons on the food chain as well, meaning they had to be quite a force to be reckoned with. Not as much as dragons, but close.

On arriving at the location, a large grassy expanse known as a park-Atticus found the word funny to say, she wasn't sure why it just was-, she kept going following her trustworthy snauz. Deeper and deeper into the park she delved, nearly falling flat on her face three times, until finally she did trip. Her left, stupid, too-in-the-way human foot somehow managed to catch on a abandonded shoe left carelessly alone and she was propelled forward. She flailed her arms, trying to fly and gain her balance but remembered human arms were rather useless when it came to flight and met the earth with a painful thud! She lay there, dazed, her tongue coated in crummy dirt and loose gravel, her hands stinging, and inside her mind she was coming up with at least twelve new curses against her human body. "Like, ow!" she growled, her annoyance already flaring at the thought of what her Dad would say when he saw her scratched hands and probably now ripped jeans. Most likely something along the lines of: "It's a good thing all the trips you take are free, Arty, or we'd be flat broke by now." which honostly made no sense to Atticus but she was sure he was teasing her. She groaned, struggling back to her knees and glowering at her palms as if it had been their fault gravity was so cruel and merciless. "Like, how do humans keep from falling all the time? Is there, like, some secret I'm missing? A trick?" She sat there muttering to herself, completely forgetting her purpose for scrambling all the way out to the park in the first place.

[Leonardo K. Mattias]

At times even Leonardo needed a break from day to day activities. Though the man normally conformed to a set schedule and followed the rules society had offered up to him... in one form or another, anyways, he was not always a creature of habit by design or function. Days like that day were times he decided spontaneously to depart from the norm. He had his secretary, a mousy woman whom he got along with well enough on most days, cancel all of his meetings. He postponed everything but the most necessary of personal shipments and inspections till the day after, and with all his work subsequently closed and boarded up save for in the case of some ridiculous emergency, he head out into the park.

It really was bad for business when he did such things- especially considering he rarely even gave a day's warning to his general movements much to the horror of some that worked under him and were expected to shoulder whatever stress and strain he normally did. However, considering he did it seldom, Leon didn't care what others thought on the matter. He would rather ask for forgiveness than for permission especially in his own life. That was something his father had taught him, heh. It seemed the old man still had some grade of influence when it came down to it.

A soft chuckle escaped from the brown haired man as he moved down the gently sloping pathway winding its way around the park. He considered leaving after a stroll or so and going off to find some less than worthy place to snoop around or something, but even that felt droll at the moment. There had to be something of more interest around here, he supposed. The question was not 'what was it' it was more of 'where was it' when it was all said and done. Dark brown eyes shifted here and there taking in the scenes in the vicinity. A few women were at the heels of their little ones in a chronic but somehow elegant display of role reversal as Leon saw it anyways. Nothing new; nothing of interest.

Look deeper was the compulsion that burst into his skin, and he couldn't help but release a brief laugh. Ah how funny it was his body knew him better at times than he knew himself. He recognized the underlying dissatisfaction in himself though he blamed it more melodiously on behalf of his part in society than the influences he had picked up in his life. At one time, in a joking display, his mother had noted that a shrink would probably be good for him to go see at least once or twice if nothing more than to say he had gone. Leon had laughed it off, of course, but the wrath at being labeled a possible crazy or a person that needed help had laid the seeds of a disapproval of his own mother. He respected her. She gave life to him, after all. However, she was not one he would allow into his inner world. Then again, there were very few he would let in anyways.

The sound of something moving quickly behind him drew Leon's thoughts back to the surface, and he stopped and turned right as a young blond woman went colliding with the ground. Habitually, he flinched in response- a pang of forced empathy running across his features for a moment. A part of him scolded himself for not having reacted faster. As a gentleman, he should have been able to do that much. Then again, he had been in a fit of self-reflection, and it always drew his mind to matters that were beyond space and time as it was.

As the young woman seemed to recover and brought herself to her knees, he debated whether or not to ask if she needed further assistance. She was young looking, and children of that age tended to bounce back with vigor -or at least he remembered his youth being a time of such things, anyways. The words that escaped from her though all but stopped Leon's heart.

As a man, he prided himself with not his strength or endurance as much as his hearing. It did him well for the business he put himself in and was what truly divided him from the humans as he saw. Being a half-wolf gave him some of the sense perks one of them being his superior hearing, heh. One of the less fun ones the insanity that gripped him every full moon. Kicking that thought away before it threatened to irritate him, Leon focused on what he had heard.

She had said humans, and it was a clear sign she considered herself something else. However, considering her age, it was questionable as to whether it was just a phase or what, exactly. Paranoia was already slipping up into his veins, and he found himself wondering if he should investigate just to make sure. Of course he should.

Starting towards the young woman with a quick step and almost too rapidly closing the distance between the two of them, he offered up a hand. "Are you alright, miss?" Leonardo asked his features forming one of his signature smiles- a force of habit beretted into him over the years. He loved and hated it.

[Atticus Tuck]

Paying much attention to her surroundings had never been a strong point for Atticus. Which explains her unexpected fall caused by a filthy piece of discarded footwear. She couldn't really control herself, but at times she would simply zone out and it would become only her in the world along with her expanse of confusing trains of thoughts, worries, dreams, and what ifs. And that's sort of what happened as she stood-er-sat, uttering all sorts of dragon-like curses at her hands. She probably could have been there for an hour, shutting out the world until she finally cooled down enough to make her way back home where she would rant to her friend, Rogwink, about her day.

She would had, if it had not been for the sudden chill that raced up her spine-a chill that would have made her scales shudder had she been in her original form. This happened to her sometimes, her Dragon senses warning her of a nearby potential threat. She was snapped back to reality at a low voice belonging to a man saying, "Are you alright, miss?" It was followed up by a hand palm up being offered to her.

Atticus blinked at first, curious as to why she had shivered. Her eyes followed the arm up to the face of the human-she supposed-and found herself staring at a young man with a smile that made her ears burn. Not because he was a tad handsome, but because he had more than likely witnessed the great Fall of Atticus Tuck, which made her feel a pang of irritation right away. Before she could think about it, she was already spitting out the words, "Like, of course! Why wouldn't I be? I, like, totally meant to. . . trip." Her voice faltered slightly at the end from embarrassment. Stupid human! He was probably laughing at her in his mind, completely ignorant to the fact she could gobble him up if she wanted. But something was off. Her nose twitched like a cat's, it clicked how quickly this man had gotten to her from so far away, the chill, and now the scent of the potential were she had scented was much greater-almost choking. Though, Atticus had never seen a real werewolf in her life-only in crude drawings and sketches in mythological journals her parents had provided her with.

This being said, Atticus was not aware werewolves could look so normal, so at the moment she was totally unaware she was face-to-face with one. Instead, she scrambled to her feet without the "human's" help and began to turn her head different directions to try and see which direction the scent was coming from or if she could catch a very hairy were running on all fours with a bone in his jaws like she suspected. He's, like, got to be around here somewhere! My senses are never wrong! The very thought of her nose playing a trick on her sent a flicker of disdain through her, having to leave the park-hehe-without meeting her very first werewolf would bruise her ego and most likely leave her in a less-than-pleasant mood for the rest of the day. She snapped her gaze back to the man, frowning, trying to look as serious as she could.

"You wouldn't have happened to notice any giant dog-men running around here, would you?" A rather foolish question, if asked to the wrong person, but Atticus was too focused on locating at least one werewolf before going home to really think about it.

[Leonardo K. Mattias]

The words that hit the air after his own drew a confused expression from Leon's features if only for a moment before a more amused one took its place. She had meant to trip and fall on the ground? No, that was silly and illogical to the extreme. Then again, children and women too were illogical at times, so who really knew when it came down to it? Maybe she had been trying to attract the attention of someone who wasn't him? Brown eyes raised themselves and scanned the terrain for any confirmation of this theory. However, Leon found none and drew his eyes back to the young girl. After, he stifled a half-laugh and replied. "I see," he hummed back calmly moving his hand back to his side as she seemed to get on her feet by herself.

Unlike with Leon's hearing, he could not quite pride himself with a sensitive nose. He had never really needed to distinguish things especially the pheromone differences between species. Thus outside of the fact that she had said 'humans', he had little to actually run off with on the subject that she was not human. Again it could easily have been a misunderstanding or something. However, the more thought put into this theory of words, the more Leon found himself interested- and the more he found himself getting a headache. Maybe he shouldn't have taken the day off, heh. That was a silly thought.

The girl's next question was enough to draw a frown out of Leon. A giant dog-man? Whatever could she mean? The image of bipedal chihuahua looking dog-man was actually enough to draw an even deeper frown as he fought back an actual laugh. Little did Leon actually realize she meant werewolf to which he would have denied outright if she had pointed him anywhere close to it. Leon disliked his genetics and disliked what the moon did to him as it cycled. He still remembered his mother's fearful accusing looks when he had finally come back to himself after the night of his first full change. It was something he hated more than anything else. How ironic it was that it was within him.

"I would have to say no," Leonardo replied shaking his head and causing a few locks of hair to shift with him. "I see dogs, and I see men, but no dog-men," he finished looking back to her and smiling a little bemused. With children, he could be a little more cynical than usual and get away with it. Those whose eyes were on him wouldn't judge such a thing if an older man found it amusing that a young girl would have such an active imagination. "Was that what you were chasing after, my dear?" he asked after a moment.

[Atticus Tuck]

Atticus's frown slowly changed into a scowl, her eyes narrowing as she detected a hint of what she assumed to be mocking in his voice as he brushed away her claim of tripping on purpose. Adult humans, she mused, they think they know everything just because they're, like, "older". The corner of her lips twitched in amusement at how shocked even the eldest of humans would be if they found out her age. She wouldn't say it out loud, because she detested being called a youngling or a child, but she could promise it was much longer than any human's pathetic life span.

Atticus crossed her arms, she stared right up at the man, locking eyes with him to try and portray that she meant strictly business. Even if he wasn't laughing at her,she was becoming increasingly impatient to get back to her hunt for the werewolf and leave this human behind. Unless... She leaned forward tentively, only slightly, and her nose twitched once more-one might think she had a tickle in her nose or something. This "man" seemed okay, he wasn't setting off any red alerts in her head, and her instincts were buzzing simply because of being so close to encountering a mythical being other than a dragon.

At that moment Atticus came to a realization, and her stoney face broke into a large grin of pure delight. The man asked her what she was chasing, which made her scoff at his ignorance. She took a step back, not answering right away, searching his brown pools for any sign of recognition of another mythical being, but she found none. He didn't know she was a dragon herself, but he was a werewolf. Were'nt they supposed to have a nose nearly as good as her own? This puzzled Atticus, and she lifted one hand to her lips, tapping them in thought as she took in the man's appearance to memory-mentally comparing him to the pictures she had looked at back at home.

Like, he's certainly not a dog-man, he looks like a normal human! She tried to remember something she had once read about werewolves. Couldn't they change, just like dragons, to look human? So, like, if he's a werewolf, I just have to catch him when he shifts. Easier said than done, though. She dropped her hand and raised her eyesbrows slightly, giving a small knowing smile. "Nothing really," she said. "I'm just going for a. . . erm, run. In the park,"-she couldn't help but let out a small snicker at the word once more-"Do you like runs in the park?" She wasn't entirely sure what she was doing, maybe looking for a reaction to confirm her very accurate suspicions, maybe she was just so excited about talking to a real live werewolf she was having trouble thinking up something interesting or clever to say.

[Leonardo K. Mattias]

As the young woman leaned forwards, Leon's eyebrow raised a question coming to his lips that he wasn't going to ask just yet. His dark brown spheres caught sight of the twitch of her nose, but he assumed she was fighting off some allergies or something. In another moment, the girl's face had lit up, and a pang of paranoia jumped into Leon. What exactly had just happened? He had blinked for a moment, and she seemed to have done a one hundred eighty degree turn. Why? As she'd leaned back and produced more questionable actions, he just stared unsure of what exactly was happening. For the first time in a long time, Leon didn't know how to react.

The words that followed caused Leon to mentally flinch that much more. She was just going for a run after she had said she was falling intentionally? Just what was going on with this young woman, and what in the world was up with that smile? Wasn't she just angry or something a minute ago? What had he missed, exactly? As she snickered, it only increased his worry. The question that followed after that only made him that more uncertain. Why exactly was she trying to relate to him?

And suddenly another question hit him. Had she been following him? And if so how long had she been? Brown eyes shot around looking for a sign of Lucia or Guido, but it was in that moment that he remembered he had dismissed his familial servants for the day in order to pursue it in the way that he secretly enjoyed when it came down to it. Damn it all, they should have been there to serve as an interception block or something to this girl that he was now looking at. What if she was some sort of spy? What if she had been following him and just messed up? The thoughts that she was of a different race outside of humans had been picked to the back of Leon's mind as his paranoia heightened. had she been waiting for the day that he had no men around him to do something? If so that explained why she was talking like this, but what did it mean beyond that?

An almost awkward cough was given, and Leon shook his head after a moment. "Forgive me but I do not fancy the sport. I prefer fencing," he stated with a brief nod and a calm smile despite the thoughts that were dancing in the back of his mind. In truth, it wasn't a complete lie. He had watched fencing matches here and there but had never been one to participate in them. Of course he hadn't said that he enjoyed actually doing the sport, just that he fancied it more. "Leonardo, by the way," he stated deciding to make an introduction despite his paranoia. If he was lucky, she would trip up and actually give her real name. Then he would quickly try and part and find out what he could about her. This day was turning out a bit too rapid and more stressful than he had realized it could be.

Maybe Leon was overreacting.

[Atticus Tuck]

Like, fencing? Atticus's heart dropped a little at the mention of such an interesting and powerful creature enjoying something so. . . uninteresting. But, maybe it was just because he wasn't in his "wolf mode"? A new theory popped into the young dragon's mind, one she was eager to find out. Maybe, like, he has two different personalities! One when he's in his human form, one when he's, like, a werewolf! How amazing! Werewolves were becoming increasingly more intruiging to her every second. It'd be like figuring out one of those puzzle boxes Atticus read about in an old magazine. Her-probably senile-grin slowly fell to a small, admiring smile as she just looked up at the uncomfortable man, wondering if a werewolf was as fast as a dragon on foot when he coughed awkwardly and introduced himself as Leonardo.

Atticus nodded once before stating her name as professionally as she could, wanting to make a good impression on her first werewolf. "Atticus Tuck, I just, like, moved here from the mountains." She twitched her nose once more, commiting his scent to memory for two reasons: so she'd be able to find him easier, and so she'd have a genral idea of what the local werewolves from around here smelled like. She had so many questions she wanted to ask him about weres and himself, but scaring away her first werewolf would be, like, totally not cool at all. She pursed her lips slightly, a question on her tongue but she wasn't quite sure how to word it, so she tried to remember any other useful info she had learned about her second favortie species (right after dragons of course) but was coming up with a big blank. She should have really come up with flash cards or something to help her along when she finally met the were.

Atticus's ears strained slightly as she picked up the faint waves of anxiety coming from Leonardo, but she pushed away the thought of a werewolf feeling that way. Even if they weren't as powerful as dragons (not including herself, since she was still a youngling), they could still hold their own in a fight. And besides, she was about 14 in human years, and he looked to be in his twenties, so what was putting him on edge? She raised her eyebrows slightly, as if silently questioning his nervousness, and also in slight surprise. She had read werewolves feared nothing-except maybe a full-grown dragon or potentially signifigent Hunter- but maybe her research had been wrong? Or perhaps it was just because he could sense she was a dragon? She waited for him to say anything, do anything remotely interesting.

Atticus waited, and while she waited she began piecing together a plan to get a good reaction out of "Leonardo the Werewolf" without getting herself into too much trouble. She wasn't completely dense. She was aware that a werewolf could be quite reckless and uncontrollable at times, and though she wasn't too wrried about herself, there were lots of little human hatchlings running about the park. Atticus could care less about most humans, but she wasn't so heartless as to put the hatchlings in danger-considering their lives were so short anyway, why take away what little time they had on the earth?

[Leonardo K. Mattias]

Was he perspiring a little? Leon didn't think it was hot out, but he was becoming aware of small beads of sweat already trying to breach the surface of his skin. Calm down damn it all he willed himself and ended up standing up a little taller than usual as the young woman gave her name. Atticus Tuck... and she just moved here from the mountains. Leon rolled over this information several times in his mind but found nothing more of interest each time he went through it. If she had moved there from the mountains, then maybe she was just some sort of off chance person who was trying to make friends or something? Well that was odd; he would have assumed she would have tried to talk to those of her own age.

Then she had to be either lost or a spy. Those were the only two options that were coming to mind, and Leon was leaning towards the latter of the two. Damn it where were his guard when he needed them? Not that he couldn't fend off a little girl if he absolutely needed to but... and she was a child but... Ugh that would make things awkward now wouldn't it? Unintentionally, the half-werewolf bit the inside of his mouth all but cutting the tender tissue on his more than shape canine teeth in the process. Ah that was another thing that seemed to come with being a werewolf- teeth that were always after some sort of flesh, sigh.

"I see," he finally replied drawing a few fingers up to his own chin and looking her over carefully after a moment. "Nice to meet you, Atticus," he stated restating her name as though trying to get it correctly in his own mind. Though faces generally came easy to him, it was names that he always kicked himself for forgetting. It was un-businessman-like to forget names, though, and he refused to do so especially with this one for obvious reasons. "What brought you down from the mountain area?" he asked after a moment more or less trying to draw up conversation more than he was trying to get information.

It was as he thought on this that Leon kicked himself. He needed to focus on what he was saying- draw out enough information to either prove or disprove his theory, and go on. He had other things to do today aside from worry about a child and her estranged speech and mannerisms. Yes, she was a child. He reminded himself of that fact several times over, and somehow it was comforting for the moment. However, in another second, a different thought hit him like a truck. Were her parents here? Was she being unwittingly used to sport some ulterior motive? He wouldn't doubt it from adults as skeptical as it sounded. That was how Leon was.

[Atticus Tuck]

Atticus shrugged slightly. Admitting to her first werewolf that the reason she moved was because she had finally finished a good mount of defense training would probably make her look weaker than she was, that she had to hide away because she couldn't handle herself in civilization. So, she tried to come up with something else believable. "It was, like, only my parents and I. After a while they decided I should be able to get out in the world, like, have more options and chances that I wouldn't get living up in the mountains." Atticus fiddled with her shirt hem as she spoke, then mentally patted herself on the back. That's good. He'll believe it.

She wasn't used to lying, well. . . except when some of her Mom's human jewelry disappeared and asked Atticus if she had any idea where it could have gone. That was a different story.

Like, this is going nowhere fast. Atticus pondered something to say, what could she do to hint that she knew what he was? Should she say it right now? Should she wait? Should she tell him she herself was a dragon? All of her options seemed a little boring, because they would end quickly and she wanted a challenge, she decided. Perhaps she should stick close to her new werewolf? Catch him when he changes forms? Or maybe he would eventually figure out she was a dragon and admit what he was. Atticus smirked slightly without realizing it, option "Catch Him In The Act" sounded like the most excersising and enjoyable of the bunch, albeit a little stupid and no doubt dangerous, but she pushed the consequences away-she'd deal with them when they came.

"So, like, do you have any family? Like, brothers or sisters? I'm an only ha-" She caught herself before she said "Only hatchling," and coughed as a ploy to cover up her stumble. "Child! Only child." She clasped her hands behind her back, still beaming up at Leonardo as if he were an incredibly intelligent dog who preformed a particularly spectacular trick on command. Nice save! She silently praised herself, hoping she would get used to using human terms when out in such a public area such as this. There seemed to be a few more humans than there had been when Atticus first arrived. Her nose twitched once more, to her annoyance, as it was overcome with a plathora of new unwanted scents that clogged her nostrils. Ugh! Like, why do humans have to have so many different smells? It's starting to drive me, like, crazy! I wonder who's shoe I tripped on. . . At the reminder of her fall, she ran her fingers lightly over her right palm, the scrapes already starting to close.

[Leonardo K. Mattias]

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Leon was becoming aware of just how annoying the girl's speech was. It was far from refined English, and her compulsive use of the word 'like' was a nail trying to insert itself into his cranial fluid and having trouble due to medial but repetitive force. He could only imagine what his parents and those of his more common social group would say to such a girl, but Leonardo himself was not sure if he wanted to completely brush off her speech least it kill her tongue and break off any hopes he had for figuring out why she was socially engaging him at the moment. He would deal with it for now, but certainly after all this was over, he needed to bang his head against a wall for a couple of hours to finish off the nail.

"I see," Leon replied his eyebrow raising at such an odd answer. How old was she if her parents were willing to do such for her when she looked so young? Well, he certainly wasn't a parent and didn't want any parental experience when it came down to it. Who was he to judge? Leon judged anyways. "Where do you live now then?" he asked mostly as a follow up question. Considering she was the one that had started talking to him, more or less, he decided it was courtesy that she answer some of his questions without too much fret.

The return question caused an eyebrow to raise. She was interested in his family, and that perturbed him more than anything. There was nothing he liked better than separating work from family, and at the moment, this was work. This spy would be dealt with accordingly in good time. How he would thwart her actions, Leon was already planning. However, he had to keep her there now until he could somehow summon Lucia or Guido or someone. Leon's train of thought was cut off briefly as Atticus caught herself and changed speech. Eyebrow raising briefly. It could easily be nothing more than a mistake that she was correcting. However, what mistake could one have when saying one was an only child? Trying to remember what she had said right after the word 'only', he fidgeted with the h sound in the back of his mind. Hm, he would have to think on that.

"My parents are deceased, and I have no other siblings to speak of," Leon lied with a little too much ease in his speech. There was even a hint of sadness that came into it for a brief moment as though he were trying to hold back some sort of immense grief. It came with the territory at times to lie, and he scarcely though much of it when it came down to it. Words were words, and this ensured that he could keep the space between work and play. "Shall we start a different conversation?" he asked after a moment raising his eyebrow as though and keeping his face more somber than not.

[Atticus Tuck]

Atticus's smile dropped almost immediatley when he stated he had no family whatsoever. She was more than disappointed, to say the least. She was hoping that he would be able to introduce her to other werewolves-once they established one another was indeed both mythical beings themselves. She felt the tiniest pang of guilt in the pit of her stomach, maybe his family had had unlucky encounters with Hunters? This made her heart do a little jump. If the Hunters could kill off his entire family of werewolves. . . Atticus gnawed on her tongue for a brief moment before composing herself once more.

She nodded. "Of course, my apologies." She blinked at his inquiry about her current living space, though. She wasn't sure, but that seemed like a rather odd thing to ask someone you've just met. But, she just smiled brightly as if nothing was wrong and answered. "Not too far, I've only, like, walked maybe a few blocks to get here." She tried to keep the answer vague, but acceptable. Strict words from Mom and Dad: "Don't give away personal information to anyone you just met. You never know who you can trust these days." True, Atticus had sort of broken that rule by giving away her last name. . . but she was certain werewolves didn't assosciate themselves with those who tried to eliminate them for a living.

She pursed her lips. "How do you feel about wolves? Or dogs?" Subtle, Atticus, real subtle. She managed to keep her voice casual, as if asking about the weather or time of day, but she narrowed her eyes slightly while raising her brows a fraction of an inch. Atticus decided that perhaps she could get a slip-up of some kind. She just had to watch his eyes. That's where most beings faltered. She rocked back and forth on her heels, totally at ease around her new werewolf-treasure. Even if he seemed to be being a little on-edge, and Atticus had not missed the appearance of beads of sweat beginning to form across the were's forehead, she liked him already. He was the very first creature-and a werewolf at that!-she had met, and on her first day in her new home too! What luck! Even if he was the only werewolf, she'd be okay with that.

[Leonardo K. Mattias]

Somewhere deeper in his subconscious, Leonardo smirked at the clear sign that she had believed him. To some, lies were bad things that needed to be avoided at all costs, but to Leon, they were friends just waiting to appear. In that moment he found himself coming to terms with the other part of a lie: it had to be followed through at all costs. He could not slip up at even a moment's notice nor could he give her any hint that he was lying. Basic information was already spinning about in his mind being twisted up and changed so that he could state another lie without a problem. He was Leonardo Vessalius, heh how fun he found it to borrow the last names of his associates at times. His parents had been killed in a car accident when he was rather young, and now he made his living as a philosopher. Oh it all came too easy to the man right then and there! He could have been an actor for a play he was sure. Maybe his pride was more than a little heightened at the idea of acting, and maybe it had always been something burning in the back of his mind. The stage, the lights, there was something magical about it. Of course, Leon would never admit this to himself. He was a Mattias, after all, and business came before pleasures. Not... that he even found pleasures in acting now a days! No sir!

There was some estranged part of Leon that wondered what exactly he would have been like if he had been left alone as a child. If his father had not intervened and sent him to those variety of social building 'classes' when he was younger. He probably would have been more introverted and less functional when it came down to it. He probably would have dissolved into some books and never done anything good with his life. Despite this, Leon despised the man for what he had done. Heh, as if anyone would ever be allowed to know that.

As she apologized, he allowed a soft sigh to escape from him- respectively easy to associate with sadness though just below the surface it was a sigh made towards his old man. As if Mitchel even looked that old to begin with. Nadia was certainly aging quickly, but Mitchel looked as young as he always did. There were perks of having a long life-span, one could guess.

As Atticus stated that she didn't live that far away and gave a basic description of where she lived, Leon quickly wrote it down in the back of his mind. Atticus Tuck, and she supposedly lived not too far away. He would look into this matter- or maybe have Lucia look into this matter later. Yes, Lucia would be good for the job. Damn it why weren't his men here? "I see," he replied giving a brief nod of understanding or possibly just one of acknowledgement. It was somewhat hard to tell considering they were roughly the same expression on the werewolf's face.

The question was unexpected, and for a few seconds, Leon was without words not because he couldn't think up a quick reply but because he didn't understand the nature of her question. Why was she asking this? What sort of hidden meaning was she trying to attain Was she just making conversation or---? Like a ton of bricks raining form the sky, it hit Leon. She had said humans earlier. She was excluding herself from that group. She was asking about wolves and dogs and... He mentally swore much harsher than intended deep within the recesses of his mind but gave no immediate response physically. Was this girl a werewolf? Had she somehow recognized him maybe by the scents in the air he chronically ignored and couldn't recognize for the life of him anyways?

Leon mentally groaned. This was much worse than he could have imagined. This girl was a spy, and she was now trying to black mail him with a secret he had kept so well over the course of years, apparently. Why did his idiot father have to spread his genetics around when it was clear as day that it didn't help anyone in civilization... not that Leon didn't want to be born, of course. However, he would much rather not deal with the chronic insanity that wrapped him up on full moons nor did he appreciate some of his heightened senses at night when he was trying to do everything in his power to block them off.

"They are decent creatures, I suppose," he replied forcing a brief bemused smile as though his words and actions actually lined up on the deal. "Though the smaller dogs are quite.... yippy," he mused after a moment thinking about a particular patron's nuicense of a Pomeranian. "How do you feel about them?" he asked returning the question as smoothly as possible. He would get to the bottom of this! She would not be allowed to black mail him this short young-looking spy girl!

[Atticus Tuck]

Atticus wasn't positive, but she could have sworn that his breathing quickened-just for a second, as if her question had caught him by surprise. Her sharp blue eyes caught the momentary flash in his eyes. Had she finally hit a nerve? Had she made it click that she knew what he was, and that she herself was a dragon? She couldn't read minds, only body language, but he seemed so at ease-perhaps too at ease? In the back of her mind, she wondered if she had made him nervous by hinting at his non-human-ness. It was possible. Her parents always made sure to get it through the young dragon's thick skull that revealing your species was a rather large faux pas in the human world when you yourself wasn't human.

Most of her excitement had finally bubbled down, allowing her thoughts to clear a bit-giving way to more intelligent, clever conversation and questions. She also came to the realization that Leonardo might not be the only werewolf around, just alone with no family-which was still quite sad. She couldn't imagine what her life would become if her family-Mom, Dad, and Rogwink-were taken from her, the idea was both terrifying and anger-inducing to the young dragon-sending a chill up her spine. She shook it away the best she could without looking too awkward. She noted how Leonardo used the words, "I see," as a reply quite often. She crossed her arms, then uncrossed them and began pulling at the hem of her shirt once more. The girl's patience was wearing thin, until finally she couldn't take it anymore and she blurted out what she had been "subtly" trying to say the entire time.

"I know you're a werewolf." It came out quick and hushed, a second after Leonardo had asked her what she thought about dogs herself. She bit her tongue as hard as possible while mentally kicking herself. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Are you trying to scare him off, Atticus? she scolded. She took a deep breath, then lifted her chin slightly to regain her dignity-or what little she had left after that mess of a conversation that just happened-and tilted her head slightly with a wholehearted smile. "But it's okay because I'm a dragon." Her voice was barely a whisper, confident that his werewolf ears would hear and none others. It wouldn't be ideal to have unwanted Hunters jumping out at her before dinner-it'd probably ruin her appetite.

As Atticus awaited Leonardo's reaction, she inspected something she had failed to notice before due to the appearance of the were: an ice cream stand. She wasn't sure what that was though. Ice cream. WAs it good? Maybe not. Human food typically was distasteful to a dragon's tongue, except for watermelon. She loved watermelon more than any other cuisine humans could provide. Though, in all fairness, she tended to keep far away from any nourishment tampered with by Man. Maybe this "ice cream" was different? Once this werewolf business is over, she'd consider it, who knows, it could be better than her beloved watermelon. A little human hatchling recieved a cone happily, squealing as some of the pink. . . liquid? Solid? It looked solid, but it was melting. Well, it did have "ice" in the name, which could explain it.

Suddenly snapping back to reality, she focused back on Leonardo, wondering if he had answered yet. He could have and she would have not heard anything with her mind drifting off as it did. She blinked twice, peering up into his brown eyes curiously.

[Leonardo K. Mattias]

Leon's brain shut down. As if someone had tripped the wire of his tower matrix, his mind skipped a beat, and he found himself trying to reboot as quickly as possible. She knew he was a werewolf. She had come right out and said it so plainly even if it was quick and hushed. He doubted that anyone else had heard, but it was the sheer fact that she had been bold enough to say it right then and there that had broke him for a moment.

He had never really dealt with other supernatural creatures. Outside of his family, it was humans he surveyed and worked with. His father had never seemed to be a fan of looking into other creature's presences, and thus he hadn't either. However, now right then and there, he had wished that some spark of interest had driven his mind there even for a moment. Just as he was about to collect his thoughts and produce a refutation - a laugh of sorts that would have hopefully diffused the tension in his veins followed by some sort of simple word such as "I did not realize we were playing a game" or something of that nature, she had spoken revealing herself to be a dragon.

A dragon? The corners of Leon's lips twitched briefly as if he were about to speak but settled again just as quickly. No sound escaped from him. She was a dragon, a creature that even he knew a good bit about only from the among of common legends that warped around it. She was a dragon, a creature that could breathe fire and whose sharp claws tore into even the most strong of knight's armor. This small girl was a dragon.

Before he realized it, a laugh escaped from Leonardo. It was surprisingly genuine and much more light than some would have imagined his vocals would produce. Almost instantly, a hand raised itself and covered his mouth as Leon tried to silence himself and recover from the sudden feeling that was gripping him. Oh for Pet's sakes this girl was a dragon? This little girl was a dragon. Oh Silvanus this was hysterical. Biting back another laugh, he did finally manage to compose himself before removing his hand and shaking his head briefly.

"I see, well forgive me Miss Tuck," he replied looking at her with an amused expression on his features. "I have never come across a dragon before and did not recognize what you were." he hummed lightly before giving a shrug of his shoulders, much more light than he had been before. "Do you breathe fire and eat white knights?" he asked smirking a little as the stories his mother used to read came back to him. "Maybe you were looking for Arthur Pendragon perhaps? Or Maybe Beowulf? Oh I know, you stepped out of an Eragon book, yes?" he hummed. Somehow despite everything, this new information had changed Leon's mood drastically. How long this would actually last, though, was up for debate.

[Atticus Tuck]

Atticus had expected Leonardo to be shocked, to be relieved, maybe even a little. . . glad that she had revealed herself for what she really was after stating his own state of being. Well, he had the first two reactions down pat as far as Atticus could tell, but then out of the blue he began laughing. At her. Not only that, his laughter was followed with ridiculous accusations and -God forbid- stereotypes. He began recalling names from the more-or-less annoying stories foolish humans told about her kind. She crossed her arms, digging her nails into her jean jacket sleeves to avoid lashing out in her mortification.

One of the things Atticus could not stand was being teased. Especially by a species lower than her on the food chain. It just wasn't done.

Atticus could hold back from taking a swing at him, yes, but she couldn't stop the growl rumbling deep in her throat. Perhaps she should spit a few flames on this werewolf to show him his place? His clothes looked nice and expensive afterall, they should burn rather nicely. Her eyes flashed at the tempting action, but she insteadlet out a chagrinned huff. Like, no. Just keep calm. So he doesn't believe you? You're human form ins't exactley the most intimidating, and this werewolf's nose is too dense to notice your scent obviously.

"You don't believe me." It wasn't a question. She stared at the man accusingly, waiting for him to quiet down. I'll tell you this, so you don't sound like such an idiot around any other dragons who you happen to meet-you'd do best not to throw your foolish stereotypes all around in their presence. Perhaps I'm not the biggest threat to you, but there are plenty of other dragons who could swallow you in one bite for that comment." She scrunched her nose and looked away. "Besides, we only eat humans when there's nothing else, or if they're being particularly irritating. They can, like, give one a horrid stomachache. And you'd have to have rocks for a brain to eat a human, like, wearing armor for treasure's sake. Armor doesn't settle easily in anybody's stomach I would think."

Atticus sniffed, eyeing him in annoyance. "Why don't you use that werewolf nose you've been given? Surely your senses aren't as bad as, like, a humans, are they? How do you think I know you're a werewolf? Not by your looks." She scoffed, straightening up slightly trying to gain a few inches at least. Stupid human body being so small! If she were in her dragon form, so help this werewolf. . .