Breaking New Ground {Leon}

[Antonia M. DeLuca]

There were a lot of things in this world that Antonia DeLuca just didn't understand. How microwavable popcorn managed to pop, how YouTube celebrities made money, and why preteen girls seemed to find effeminate boys in skinny jeans so attractive. Baffling , mind boggling facts that no matter how much she tried to make sense of, were never illuminated. Manicured nature, while not as high up on the list as tight pantsed little boys, was still something she could quite grasp. Looking out across the park, taking in the overbright colours dappled in the sunlight, the vibrant green of the grass, the gleaming plastic of the playground, and the well packed winding trails, she had to shake her head. Why would someone choose this when there were real trees, real woods, real nature.

The park was bustling, mothers with their children, a group of young boys playing soccer-or was it football here? And Toni watched as she strolled slowly along one of the trails. Laughter, the small murmuer of conversation, and the occasional twitter of birds. It was idyllic in a way, a little on the boring side, but idyllic. Her converse clad feet shuffled along, kicking up a rock. She hadn't been here for long, though not her first time in England, this was the first time she wasn't traipsing around the seedy underground of London, or the twisted streets of Manchester. This was a different side, this quiet, Coronation Street shit. It wasn't exactly her cup of tea, but as with everything she'd experienced since she'd left home, how would she know that if she didn't try? And trying she was, and while the peaceful park was a painted a pretty picture, she much preferred a spicier flavour. A cigarette hung limply from her lips, the red cherry glowing bright as she inhaled. Her dark eyes squinted against the smoke that curled out from her nose. Nimble fingers plucked the smoke out of her mouth, which quickly turned into a small, but defined pout.

Having just spent four and a half weeks on the sun bleached beaches in Greece, spending the days baking next to the azure ocean and the nights dancing, drinking, and sleeping her way through what seemed like every bar in Athens, Toni had wanted exactly what this park was personifying. A change of pace. It had been a coin toss really, pastoral France, or quaint English countryside. It was one of the greatest bonuses of her lifestyle- to pack up and move on. Unfortunately, being nomadic had it's downsides as well, one of the more frequent problems was a severe lack of funds, and while Toni was able to thrive on very little, sleeping in hostels, couch surfing with near strangers, and when worse came to worse, finding the nearest woods and hunting alone for food. Be that as it may, there wasn't much a girl could do to make a plane ticket or train ride any less expensive. And the month hiatus in Greece had made more than a dent in her pocketbook. As much as she hated it, she needed to buckle down for a bit, pick up some work. And this was, simply because she wasn't going anywhere else anytime soon, was going to have to do.

She dropped the smoke to the ground, crushing it under the heel of her shoe, almost visibly shaking off the short lived melancholy. If this was where she was going to make her home temporarily, then she sure as hell was going to make the most of it. Filled with a lively spark again her eyes took in the area with renewed energy. The whole reason she'd come to the park in the first place was because she knew there would be people there on a nice summer day. If her travels taught her anything, it was that the only place better than a pub to meet people was outdoors. A social creature by nature, Toni never did well very long completely on her own, she'd much rather find someone to, preferably a few someones, to take the edge off the loneliness.

Cowed by the sneering looks her crushed cigarette had gotten from a group of mothers, she scooped it off the ground, finding the nearest garbage can and tossing it in before giving the women a sarcastic smile and thumbs up. “Christ, you'd think I'd dumped out a barrel of freaking toxic waste.” she muttered under her breath. Not shockingly, the young mothers were quickly dismissed as not suitable acquaintances. Instead, Toni's eyes kept being drawn to the boys playing football. Probably close to her age, maybe a year or so younger, but overall, a much better fit. Even though she'd have to consciously hold herself back, kicking the ball around for awhile would be fun. Deciding she was just going to go over and insert herself into their game, Toni started walking over to the field. A light breeze rustled through the air, stirring up the fresh sent of dirt and cut grass, and with it a familiar musky scent. She stopped in her tracks, nostrils flaring. She scented the air, her head moving in a way that was more reminiscent of a dog sniffing than of a young woman. The soccer game was entirely forgotten as her eyes searched for the source. It had been months since her last encounter with another lycan. Wanderlust was a wonderful thing, but she still craved and missed the contact with others of her kind. One quick breeze had suddenly changed her entire outlook on this place. If it were home to lycan or two, hell, maybe even a pack, it wouldn't be bad at all.

Her gaze settled on an older gentleman sitting on a bench, the scent seemed to be coming from that direction. With a smile on her face she walked over, eyebrows furrowing the closer she got. She was closer to be sure, but that man definitely wasn't the person she was looking for. Her lips pursed slightly, and she stood arms crossed. If she smelled them, then they sure as hell smelled her. Eyebrow raised, she looked around. “You really going to make me walk around and sniff out every damn person in this park? ” she said out loud, her voice no louder than any of the surrounding conversations, but knowing that if whoever it was as as close as she thought they were based on the stronger scent, then they would likely hear her. The words drew an odd look from the man on the bench, which she promptly ignored, eyes restlessly looking from one person to another, waiting for someone to step forward.

[Leonardo K. Mattias]

Sitting amongst the shadows of one of the low hanging trees with an ipad across his lap, a few books on his right side, and a picnic blanket claud with a tea pot, tea cup and saucer, and an array of small dishes delicately placed in what one could clearly see was a circular pattern, Leonardo worked. To those that questioned why he was not in his office, Leonardo stated that his office was being renovated and therefore was unusable to him at the moment. Why he didn't use his resources to get a new office in the mean time? He would admit that he was a tad frugal, and it was simply for a day meaning that he could tolerate the outdoors for a short amount of time. This would most likely quell whatever arguments he had against doing so especially by his subordinates, and when it wasn't, he simply hushed them, said some cute words, and walked away.

All of this, though, was a front. Though he detested it, Leonardo did need some fresh air. Though he found it useful, he felt the craving to willingly go outdoors at times. Though he squished it from his heart, he did passively enjoy sitting there in the somewhat quiet away from the office he generally confined himself to unless on personal business trips. All these things had heightened in the last few day after a certain incident that he would refuse to talk about with anyone outside of the family. As if the blood of his ancestors was rising up against his will, he found himself desiring things that were improper for a gentleman- improper for a Mattias the last name he held so high for being a part of. He was Leonardo Mattias- heir to the pretentious Mattias Guns and Weapons Company- and was held to a higher standard than the supernatural, than humans, than everyone. He had since accepted that as a part of who he was since childhood and held himself therefore above everything else. He mimicked his father and clung to the man that was nothing short but a business gentleman - an austere combination but a powerful one. Mitchel Mattias would not allow such wolfish tendencies get in the way of the work he did, and neither would Leonardo! Even if he had his doubts his father had ever had to do what he had to in the last few weeks. Not that Leon would admit that in the least, though.

Mentally sighing as he shifted screens from stocks to the letter he was writing via the screen, Leonardo stopped briefly upon finding that he had a new message. Frowning, he transitioned and read over what had been noted only to frown deeply. "Young Master Mattias," a voice nearly caused Leonardo to jump as brown eyes raised themselves and stared at the young dark skinned man that had just ducked under the trees in order to reach him. "A-ah forgive me sir, I ..." the boy started, but Leonardo gave a brief wave of his hand, and the boy silenced himself again.

"What is it, Gabriel?" Leonardo asked the newest subordinate that he had took on. Gabriel stopped, hesitated, and frowned realizing that he had done something wrong but unsure of how to correct it. After a moment, his lips moved, and he began to speak once more as if nothing had happened.

"Sir," Gabriel started again briefly smiling before continuing. "I have the documents you required of me," he stated before pulling a folder from behind his back and holding them forwards for Leonardo to take. Rather than reach forwards to snatch up the papers, Leonardo made an elbow motion to the books beside him. All too quickly the young man nodded his head and quickly set the papers down. "Is there anything that you require, sir?" Gabriel asked after a brief moment uncertain of whether or not to simply leave now or what, exactly.

Leonardo smiled his signature easy smile before shaking his head slowly. "Thank you for going to the trouble, Gabriel. Please return to the manor now," he mused out wishing to be alone. Gabriel looked at him more than a little uncertainly. After the attacks, Mitchel had made it clear that he did not want his children to be alone at any moment, and Gabriel was left with the distilled feeling that he was doing just that. Little did he realize that the upper servants, Lucia and Guido had since recovered from their injuries and were at their 'young' master's side abet farther off to give him some of his own personal room. That was what came of Gabriel being human- the lack of intuition that Leonardo wished all the subordinates had- even if this came with the negative side effects of being a werewolf in general.

"A-alright sir," Gabriel replied before walking away rather quickly.

Thereafter, Leonardo looked down once more and started to reread the email he had received. Mikey... was the brief thought that was made before Leonardo shut his eyes, closed the message, and went back to the stocks page that he had been so avidly looking at before. Flipping through them, he rearranged a few before closing off the ipad completely and picking up one of the books he had brought with him, a personal checklist, in fact, was inside. Just as he was about to divulge into more work, a voice hit his surprisingly sensitive ears. “You really going to make me walk around and sniff out every damn person in this park? Leonardo nearly jumped at the sheer closeness of the voice at hand, and all too quickly he looked up from the shadows of his more secluded spot finding what appeared to be a short haired woman looking around.

At one time, Leonardo might have ridden it off as a simple play on words, a misstatement or something of that nature. However, his perception had since been changed by... a few instances. Chewing his bottom lip briefly, he pressed his back a bit harder against the bark of the tree just staring out at the woman. Haphazardly the hairs on the back of his neck raised, and all too quickly he was aware that his pulse had shot up. Breathing in briefly shutting his eyes to calm himself once more, he relaxed again rather quickly. Setting the book down to one side, he slowly stood before ducking under the brush of the trees and coming out from his hiding place for a moment- brushing off the grass and dirt that was cling to his more than expensive clothing. "Are you looking for someone, Miss?" he mused out a small smile coming to his features as per habit.

[Antonia M. DeLuca]

Lips pursed slightly, Toni's eyes continued to scan the area. It had been a few seconds since she called out, but she was, for lack of a better word, an instant gratification kind of girl, and what she really wanted, was someone to bound over, smile on their face, and immediately declare themselves her mystery werewolf. Her eyes lingered on a few likely contenders, waiting for them to make a move towards her. A young man running quickly along one of the paths, his arms each the size of one of her thighs, a woman watching the younger men play football, a distinctly predatory look flashing in her eyes. Her gaze met the older mans, still sitting on the bench, and still giving her an odd look as she stood waiting. She shot him a disarming smile, shrugging her shoulders. “Just waiting for a friend, don't mind me” she said dismissively, her attention turning away from him again almost before it really settled.

It really was an annoyance, the way a few seconds managed to stretch out indefinitely. She'd been perfectly content moments ago, an afternoon wide open and free had stood before, the possibilities, while not the most tantalizing, were still relatively endless. One quick gust of wind and a teasing scent in the air changed that. It was one of those moments where you don't realize how much you miss something until you're reminded of it. The comforting presence of other werewolves was a thing she'd managed without more often than not. But now that, in theory, it was within her grasp somewhere in nearby in this god forsaken park, nothing else was going to do. And once decided on that course of action, the results couldn't come soon enough for her.

A rustle of tree branches, loud as a fog horn to her ears, had her turning, pulled out of her thoughts, and a man stepped out from a secluded spot. She smiled broadly, call it coincidence, or some level of anamalistic intuition, but as soon as she saw him, Toni knew this was who she was looking for, even before her nose could confirm it. Inquisitive eyes took in every detail. Good looking, trim, and impeccably dressed. He definitely wasn't what she had been expecting. Not that she looked like anyone's stereotype of a werewolf, conceivably if her short frame and scrawny ass could be a lycan, than anyones could. Still, more often than not, the werewolf men she came across were huge beasts, whether they were wolves or human. Her own brother was roughly the size of a small mountain and looked more like a dire wolf out of a novel than any normal wolf running around the forest. Most of the guys in her pack fell into that category, hulking and musclebound, looking like an add for steroid use and a little rough around the edges. Maybe that was mostly a Bantam thing, she certainly had come across more people in her travels that didn't fit that stereotype, but it was hard to dispel an image you were so used too.

A thin eyebrow arched on her face when he spoke, the unasked question evident on her face. Really? First off, who said 'Miss'? Though she supposed it was better than being called 'M'am'. That was of course, reserved for matronly old ladies. More important though was the implied fact that he had no idea what she was talking about. Surely he smell her, there couldn't possibly be any mistaking what she was, or who she was addressing. She walked over to him, a grin on her face in spite of the still questioning brow. “ Miss? Come on now, do I really look like a 'miss' to you?” she said, a hint of laughter in her voice “Hell, I think even my teachers stopped calling me that in the third grade man. But hey, maybe it''s a Brit thing. Does that mean I should be callin' everyone Sir? Because let me tell ya, that is so not going to fly with me. I mean, I like Downton Abbey as much as the next person, but that stuffy ass shit is just so not my thing..... Sir/” she spoke easily, adopting the kind of instant intimacy she usually did whenever meeting someone new.

A few steps took her closer to him, and if there had been any doubt about what he was, it was removed. She stayed a few step away, not because she felt some need to maintain personal space boundaries, nah, Toni didn't really pay that much attention to those. It was more because she hated having to look up at people, and a lifetime of usually being one of the shorter people in any given room made her keep a literal arms length between herself and people a lot of the time, if only to save herself from having to crane her neck back. “More to the point, yes, I am looking for someone. Which I'm sure you know.'” She said, her eyebrow possibly quirking even further upwards at the statement. “Coincidentally, it would appear that I'm looking for you. Which, I'm sure you also figured out, huh? ” She said, eyebrow dropping as she held out her hand with a smile“Name's Toni, and you- Sir- are a freaking breath of fresh air right now. Seriously, it has been way to damn long. ”

[Leonardo K. Mattias]

Running a few fingers through his hair briefly, Leonardo settled his attire and appearance once more as the young woman walked towards him. Ah what am I getting myself in to? he mentally sighed briefly. He was not a man that indulged in the supernatural escapades that being a werewolf supposedly entitled him to. He had been avoiding most of this as long as he had been alive, but in the last few weeks, it had begun to become increasingly hard to ignore. Just stay calm, be pleasant, you know how to act. You are a Mattias... The voice of his father range out in Leonardo's mind, but what had once grounded him briefly pained him in doing so. Again the thoughts of the revelations of that night threatened to crawl up from the bowels of his nightmares. However, he was quick to dispose of them kicking them as far from his mind as possible. He would not be dealing with that today. He would act accordingly.

Though he prided himself with his sense of hearing that was acute as could be, Leonardo did not enjoy the sense of smell, taste, etc that came with being a werewolf. Wherein some could indulge in the scents of others, he was quick to evade it, to try and shut down his sense of smell by mentally muting it as much as possible and mitigate his breathing to where he could avoid it. However, Leonardo did not need his sense of smell right then and there to feel as though something was wrong. Paranoia was once again sticking her fingers where they didn't belong, and he reflected on the encounter he had with that dragon child. Stay calm was the mental order. Leonardo did so.

As she spoke, questioning his wording, he raised his eyebrow and allowed for a gentle bemused look to come to his features. "Forgive me but it is a force of habit, you see," he replied to her apparent disdain for the word miss. As she continued on talking about --Leonardo deadpanned. Was there really any reason to be vulgar? Frowning a little, he mentally sighed. Commoners was the fast word that came to mind. Why did he have to deal with them again? He shouldn't have had to. They were beneath him. By birth right he was above. He was a Mattias, a man above society! However, he had brought this on himself he supposed, damn it. Maybe being interested in a silly word was going to get him somewhere he did not wish to be. Leonardo mentally sighed.

As she drew closer and stopped at an apparent bubble zone, he mentally sighed thankful she was at least adhering to some of the social norms not quite realizing it was she was doing it for her own devices. The proclamation thereafter, though, caused his face to reflect nothing but confusion. As she continued and made a note of 'figuring it out', Leonardo mentally sighed. The sniff, the gesture. He didn't need a nose to know she was some sort of supernatural, damn it. Damn it. Of course he would willingly take interest in something that he felt no compulsion to reside in. Of course. And of course she was looking for him probably because of the thing he detested about himself. Leonardo's lips upturned after a moment a small laugh escaping from him thereafter. As she gave her name and the compliment, he stopped blinking briefly before another amused expression came to his face. Ah why did she have to swear so much? He thought for a moment careful to choose his words before continuing.

"Miss Toni you are quite amusing," he began by allowing a soft laugh to escape from him. "But I do believe that who you happen to be looking for is not me," he mused out easily. "Unless you happen to be looking for a man who has been pulled from his paperwork and needs to return to it soon enough." There. He would give no indication of what he was- even though now he was a bit too sure of what she was. He would keep it calm. He was a Mattias. He could do this.

Maybe Leon needed to stop giving himself mental preps some day.

[Antonia M. DeLuca]

To say that so far, this interaction wasn't going quite as she would have imagined was an understatement. Maybe she was expecting too much, forgetting that not every damn werewolf was out there on their own, craving just a little bit of nearness. Because what she wanted at that moment was to give this slightly fussy dressed stranger a hug and drag him off into the woods. She wanted to go somewhere secluded, strip down, and for one of the few times in her life, keep her head and actions out of the gutter. She wanted to shift and have someone else there. Just to run through the woods, maybe hunt, maybe just screw around. Hell it didn't matter, just anything. It wasn't in her nature, wasn't in any wolf's nature, to want to be alone. Despite her rather flimsy grasp on social norms, she knew well enough that she couldn't exactly just manhandle this guy away from whatever it was that he was doing just to suit her own needs. Give it a few minutes Toni, be patient she chided herself. Mental chastising aside, she was a barely contained ball of energy. She could feel electricity thrumming through her veins, sparking, connecting, waking up.

She smirked a little, cocking her head to the side. “Force of habit you see” she said in a poor rendition of an English accent. “God, I love it, no matter how many times I hear it, I can't get over how freaking stuffy you Brits sound. ” Her voice cracked at the end, the tone turning raspier, grittier. She snapped her lips shut and clearing her throat. She knew she was excited to be around another lycan, but that was just ridiculous, acting like some little pup. She's learned soon after she left Bantam that not all were's had the ability to change outside the full moon, that it was something that had to be taught and practiced. It was however , like second nature to her. So long as it wasn't too close to the new moon, she like most of those in her pack, could choose to change. The downside, was that by opening yourself up to the ability, you also opened yourself up to loosing control of it. Toni had discovered long ago that anger and excitement were the worst triggers for her. Her brothers used to make a game of it, see who could piss her off, or rile her up enough to shift, and usually at the most embarrassing moments possible. Clearly she'd been more in denial about missing the companionship than she'd thought, if here she was acting like some little pup, so excited she felt like she was going to do the werewolf equivalent of wetting her pants.

She reigned herself in, not really something Toni was prone to doing, but she wasn't about to wolf out in the middle of a public park. If that didn't get every hunter in a 10 mile radius knocking down your door, nothing would. Besides, it had been ages, not since she'd left home, that she'd let a shift sneak attack her, and she'd be damned if it happened again. She focused in on the actual conversation that was happening, not her own train of thought that was chugging away at lightning speed. Actually paying attention to the man she was talking to rather than her own inner dialog, she paid attention as a slight frown crossed is face, apparently in response to something she'd said, though for the life of her, she couldn't freaking figure out what, to replaced by confusion then a slightly bemused expression. After a pause he spoke again, his laugh sounding every bit as stuffy as the rest of what he's said. She quirked an eyebrow and shrugged. “ Amusing, huh? Well I guess I try- You do realize you are playing into every damn stereotype that Colin Firth has convinced Americans of, right? I mean 'Miss Toni'? Dude. That's just wrong. ” she replied back easily, not missing the fact that he hadn't given his name.

The look on her face was one of sardonic disbelief. Either this man was actually an idiot, and the prissy accent just hid the fact that he was functionally retarded, or he was being purposefully obtuse. And she'd take bets on the latter. The real question was why. Some people may choose to muse on such things quietly. Toni was much more inclined to just barrel on ahead and ask. “Really? Ok, see, now I'm confused. What kind of game you playin' mystery man? Because close as I can figure, you are either a dumbass, or you're screwing with me. And you don't look like much of a dumbass. ” she said eyeballing him before glancing around, no one appeared to be in earshot. “Let's just call a spade a spade. I know what you are, you know what I am. Birds of a feather and all that shit- so you can drop the act dude/color]”

[Leonardo K. Mattias]

Leonardo had to fight the urge to deadpan as she all but outright mocked him for his speech. He was Italian, and though he had indeed grown up in England due to Father's wishes and other circumstances that he was slowly beginning to understand, Leo didn't see himself with an accent from anywhere- British or Italian. It was her speech that was strange obscure and barbaric. Probably American or something.. he mentally dismissed once again reminded of his father's disdain for them in one form or fashion or another. Lip twitching before a subtle smile graced it, Leon tilted his head a degree or two causing the brown locks at his shoulders to slide. "Stuffy? I beg your pardon," he replied habitually with a few words that didn't mean much of anything to him when it came down to it. He was growing to dislike this woman with every passing second. Why again did he put himself into this situation? Curiosity, sigh. Curiosity also killed the cat now didn't it?

Her excitement was sadly evident, and Leonardo couldn't honestly understand why. Though he was a lycan, and though he was aware of the social structures of packs- though the Mattias themselves could be considered a small pack, such a world of transformation and wild life was estranged to him. Mitchel, his father, had had strict rules over transformation- especially after Leonardo's own first incident with going wolf as a child that had all but scared his human mother, Nadia. After that, there was little tolerance for such foolishness. They took medications- personally created and prescribed by a doctor all too close to Mitchel's heart, and with it, they were kept in check. Transformation did not occur outside of the full moon even when other emotions came into play. It was only the call of the full moon that shoved past the medication and drove the wolf blood up within them- that or when Mitchel Mattias himself called for it. He was their alpha and had an uncanny ability to call on things that would otherwise be suppressed within his family. However, in Leon's years of life, he had never done it that he could remember, anyways.

As she replied to his words, Leonardo mentally sighed. He didn't quite care for any sort of stereotype when it came down to it. Father demanded that his sons be gentleman and his daughter be a lady for that matter, and thus even in English- his second language considering within the manor it was more than a little rude to speak it- Leonardo acted according to what he had picked up over years of conditioning and put up the front of a gentleman. Hide one's irritation, disdain, and stress, and act accordingly. Was that not what was inclined? It was. However, here was a woman ready to mock it at every turn, and a small spark of anger was starting to simmer somewhere in his stomach. Such a distasteful woman.. he mentally mused to himself. That was what she was, a distasteful rude woman. He wouldn't show that, though. Instead, the smile remained on his lips. "Again, force of habit," he replied as if he were bemused by her response.

As the conversation continued, Leon mentally sighed deeper than he had before, a heavy sort of sigh that if he had done aloud, he would probably have earned a few looks from someone or some people for that matter. "Please refrain from swearing," was his first statement almost lacking a filter between his mind and mouth that he normally kept in place. "It is unbecoming of a lady." He might as well have been scolding a child except for the fact that his tone was not nearly as critical as a parent's with a child's. Instead, it was straightforwards but not biting. It could be taken in a condescending way simply because of what words were said, but his tone didn't reflect that. It was a strangely melodic statement when it was all said and done but with words that described disdain. He fell silent after a moment trying to decide whether or not he wanted to confirm her words. In a prior situation, he had simply walked away and all but gathered a dragon on his tail. For the love of God he did not want that happening again in any form or fashion. However, as of now he feared that was about to be the case with this woman who had referred to smell and whom he was all too sure now was indeed a werewolf.

"As for your accusations," he began before setting his hands in his pockets. "I do know what you are, but I am afraid I cannot help you in whatever it was you would hope to gain by finding me," he stated calmly a small smile coming to his features. "However, if you wish, I do have tea and a picnic under the tree if there is a matter you wish to discuss." What the hell was he doing? Leonardo deadpanned at himself. No, he should have been shooing the woman onwards telling her to go now and do- womanly things or something. However, he supposed if she was willing to talk, he could probably wrap her mouth shut about having found him in some form or fashion before sending her on her way. Yes, he would use that as the reasoning behind his actions.