RP:A Rogue's Heart

Summary: Leoxander and Loravelle are at the Rogue’s Den with their two strange wolf cubs, when Lanara drops in for a visit. Leo gives Lana an elegant yet deadly weapon, an exquisite black swan fan, as a thank you for excellence in the division that she leads. Lora and Leo announce their unexpected and joyous news… They are engaged!

This is a Rogue's Guild RP.

Part of the Waxing Crescent, Wayward Course Arc

Lanara makes her way from Sage Forest to Gualon under the cover of the shadows, hoping that she travels undetected, because her husband will be furious that she had left their home without a bodyguard. One of Tiber’s associates threatened their Pack, primarily Lanara, and so security measures had been put into effect and new ‘rules’ established. Did he truly expect her to just sit at home and do nothing, while he was playing guitar with the guys!? After an hour of staring at four walls, it’s sheer boredom that has her making a beeline towards that secret location where only a few select individuals are welcome. Under the alias of ‘Minx’ she feels that this affords her a safe haven where she can play some cards and have a drink, all while hoping to catch another Swan to add to her division. If Tiber’s band practice ends early, she’s sure to get an earful, but he can always pinpoint her location by their unique bond. The shadow veil is dropped as she enters the room, donning a simple pair of denim pants, an off-the-shoulder black sweater, and a pair of leather ankle boots. There isn’t any makeup on her face, not that she needs it, and her long hair has been pulled back into a sleek ponytail. The witch pours herself a tumbler of scotch before she proceeds to the bulletin board to see if there are any messages that draw her interest.

Leoxander just so happened to be in Gualon for the last couple days, a night spent in the den and a day spent… well, he wasn’t going to turn over and think through all the crowded parts of yesterday, yet. It was still too much to take in and it was distracting him from work. Needless to say he and Loravelle had returned to the underground refuge, a table and chair pulled over to the book keeper’s desk with the map taken from the wall and spread out across the surface beside her, a container of quill tipped writing implements with various shades of ink cartridges secured in the hollowed shaft, almost like miniature bolts for a crossbow. His surprisingly fancy script was more a scrawl, red marks pinpointing various areas; Frostmaw, Cenril, Elimdor across the east sea, and now he had caught some word on the wind that Xalious and it’s unpredictable magical source had -something- going on. The wolf and the mouse hadn't had a chance to investigate that, yet, but he might have mentioned to her in bits of quiet conversation that were sometimes interrupted by the strange sounds coming from the very two wolf looking cubs that startled and started barking at Lanara once the door opened to provide her entrance. She might make it easily to the alcohol stock without incident or risk of being bitten, as the small cubs had hackles raised and one of them, with a blinded eye, deafened the room with the strange howling roar of a still high pitched bark they produced. Before he could do much more than acknowledge Lanara’s presence with a look, he dropped the pen for a mild splatter of crimson ink on the edge and covered his sensitive ears with a deep yell that definitely quieted the meeker pup to silence, and reduced the other to an uncertain whiny grumble. “Nine hells, shut yer traps!” Dog dad of the year, here.

Loravelle has her head lowered to the map Leo has spread out across while taking little notes for herself in one of the notebooks stocked in her book keeper's desk as he marks locations. She wouldn't dare write on the map herself. His far neater handwriting better suited it and the notes she wrote down were more for herself, potentially not of much use for anyone else. Despite the previous day being eventful to the point of the mouse wanting to hide somewhere secluded to avoid her entire family for the next month or so with how much socializing she and poor Leo were subjected to, she's all smiles. The sound of the den's door opening followed by the pair of cubs and their strange roar-bark has her practically leaping out of her skin at the sudden noise, and before Leo can holler any more at their little ones, she's on her feet, attempting to soothe the shyer of the two cubs while the other, one-eyed pup plants his little paws on the floor and keeps on barking. “H-Hi Lanara.” Hopefully her voice is raised enough to combat the noise. Kneeling to pet both cubs and try calming them down, she looks around for one of the bones her father gifted them to use as a distraction. They probably managed to get shoved under one of the cots nearby...

Lanara had noticed that Leoxander and Loravelle were present when she stepped into the room, but she didn’t want to disturb them as they were pouring over a map. For once, the witch tries not to be so intrusive, but naturally it backfires. The two pups bark and growl at her and she pauses, drink in hand, to lower her gaze and stare at them. Did they not detect her empathic abilities? Lana’s not afraid of them in the least, even when the one with the blinded eye aims to sink his teeth into her designer shoes. “No-no! That’s not very nice, little guy!” She’s about to bend and run a consoling hand over each of their backs, in an effort to calm them with the aid of her Goddess given blessing, when the pirate shouts at them. Lanara rarely loses her cool around animals, because there are many ways to discipline that don’t involve shouting. She’s about to fire back at Leo, but she knows it’s not her place and that wolf cubs can be rather difficult to raise. “I was so sure that you were going to pop in one day and adopt Nala.” The lion cub is growing at an alarming rate and still in need of a home, but she refrains from elaborating. “So… Where did you find these two cuties?” Dark eyes drop to closely examine both cubs, as it’s in her nature to make sure they are healthy and happy. As Loravelle offers a greeting, Lana drops into a chair and smiles, “Hello! How are you doing? I still want to hear all about your weekend getaway! We didn’t really get much of a chance to talk at the lantern festival.”

Leoxander shook his head as Loravelle went to collect the gremlins and tried to wipe up some of the ink with the side of his hand, only making it worse and staining his right hand a bit red. He picked up his empty glass as he stood and headed to use the water fixture set through from the orphanage above for the hydroponics station to wash some of it away before he refilled from the bottle of scotch Lanara had opened. As for the twins that looked like wolves for now, the meek one being coddled by the Mouse would be much more likely to melt into a cautious but friendly mode while his brother thought himself tough-stuff and barked because he could. At least until the rogue yelled at him. “Who the hell’s Nala?” She probably explained the name of the cub he’d found himself surprisingly calm with in his arms, but there had been quite a bit going on that day at the event. Busying himself by draining the cut glass he’d been using over the past couple days, his gaze swept over to the two women through the mess of blonde that always had an uneven trim, but it seemed there was a specific piece missing as though he’d barely dodged a blade swung for his ear. But with his uncombed style, one would have to be very observant to notice. Loravelle’s raven mane… not so much. “Up near Ogre territory on the island. Dragons’re breedin’ up there and mighta picked off his parents, though Gamorg’s probably runnin’ out of beasts for furs with how quiet it was.” Hopefully the subject could steer clear from their Enchantment vacation, but he didn’t count on it.

Loravelle audibly gasps when the one-eyed cub sinks his teeth into the witch's shoe. Oh dear god. “I'm so sorry, Lana-” If that little cub ruined Lanara's shoes...Well, she'd pay for replacements. And give the cub a stern talking to. If only she knew about the witch's empathic abilities with animals. That might be useful now. The meeker twin has decided that Lora's lap is his new seat after she caves and gets comfortable on the floor to sit cross-legged. At least one of them will stay calm. Hopefully. With her lengthy black hair down and loose in what she deemed a safe and secluded space, it's glaringly obvious with her hair that a lock of it, equal in length to Leo's missing hair, is gone. After the rogue explains where they found their cubs, Lora takes over answering about Enchantment, though she'll gloss over some details so her face doesn't turn beet red. “We had a great time! It rained one morning, so we slept in.... Leo taught me how to play Blackjack and how to throw axes.” She trails off then, wondering if her question might be a little too strange while casting a sidelong glance at Leo. “Do you know of any other places like that that aren't in Enchantment? I think it might be fun to do it again sometime.”

Lanara rolls her eyes as Leo has somehow forgotten the ridiculously adorable lion cubs that she had brought to the festival, “She is the lion cub that you held at Meri’s table! Simba was adopted right away, but I think she’s a little too feisty and that’s why she hasn’t had anyone really interested in taking her home, yet.” The pirate tells the tale of how he came into ownership of the two cubs and compassion flares in those big brown eyes, “That’s awful… They are lucky to have you both.” The food chain has always bothered the witch and she had been a vegetarian for most of her life, at least until she had been bitten and turned into a beast. It dawns on her that maybe Leo doesn’t intend to keep the cubs, but she sees how Lora seems to have bonded with the shyer of the two and she knows that they have found their home. “If you’re in need of any supplies, just stop by the sanctuary. We have everything you could possibly need, but I recommend that you get lots of teething toys and bones. There’s fresh meat brought in daily, too, since they may be too young to go hunting. We do offer socialization classes, and of course, if you need any help with training…” Her voice trails off, because of course they had some knowledge of her skills. Lana’s gaze shifts to Lora and she’s about to say that the woman looks lovely with her hair down when she notices that there’s an obvious lock that’s missing. She tries not to stare and fails, so she comments, “I love your hair when you wear it down, Lora. You must do so more often!” Maybe she would explain what happened. Hopefully that stick of gum she gave to the woman didn’t end up in her hair, because she’d feel awful! “I love a good game of Blackjack! We must play sometime. Axe throwing sounds like fun, but I’ve never done it! I’ve thrown knives and darts, that sort of thing, but I haven’t leveled up yet.” She smiles when a few details are glazed over of their stay, because she can only imagine what went on in that cabin, but she doesn’t want to embarass Lora. “There is a lodge in Frostmaw with lots of activities nearby, actually! Tiber and I spent some time there and we had a wonderful time! We went ice skating, dog sled racing, fishing, spent a lot of nights by the fire, great meals, that sort of thing. But, it is in a -very- cold and snowy environment.”

Leoxander refilled his glas a second time, quickly, a subtle sign of some nerves as he took that drink down with another large swallow. Lanara’s offer earned another sidelong look and a nod that suggested his thanks, but rather than speak that out loud he added in a sarcastic question. “All that come with a babysitter?” Regardless, they’d definitely have to make their way out to Sage at some point, and maybe he would even pay a visit to the lion. The sanctuary was leagues better than a cage or worse, but there was enough left of a heart in the rogue to relate to the idea of being unwanted and considered dangerous. “I heard somethin’ went down in Frostmaw, lately.” Yet another refill, clinging desperately to a conversation of business though he had a feeling with those two women in a room together he wouldn’t be able to steer entirely clear of the girlish topics they had a tendency to talk about. It made him check a glance to see if Lora’s hand was still wrapped in some minor bandaging, as he had long since healed and removed his own. “I been meanin’ to catch you on the path, actually…” This said to the witch, but they’d have some time to continue their reunion as he worked on his drink and went for a board in the wall that was slid out of place in order to open the lockbox behind it with a key retrieved from one of Lora’s desk drawers. The medium flat box gave away nothing of what was within, but with a bit of weight to the package, it wasn’t a new dress or knitted sweater.

Loravelle could just hug Lanara now. She knew more about animals than Lora did, and any help she could get to learn how to better take care of Chee and Jee was worth smiling about. “Thank you, Lana.” The witch's comment about her hair has her flustered, both bandaged and unbandaged hands reaching to try hiding her hair behind her back almost, instead of letting it all drape over a shoulder. “T-thank you! I...I don't keep it loose often...” What a silly thing to say. Lanara's sharp, she'd likely know that by now. Mention of Frostmaw has her eager to ask more questions, specifically about ice skating. How do you skate on ice? But Leo's reminder that something happened in that frozen land has her hesitant to visit for a while. “Maybe we can go there sometime later...” Much later. She falls silent then as Leo retrieves a box she didn't know a thing about, leaning forward from her seat on the floor with interest at just what it might be for the witch. The pup in her lap mirrors the movement, curious dark eyes wondering what 'Dad' was up to.

Lanara laughs at Leo’s sarcastic reply, nodding her head in agreement, “We -do- have play groups, but they will have to get along well with other animals. However, if you and Lora need someone to watch them every now and again, or if you’re traveling…” She winks at Lora, because she senses that the couple will be making a trip up to Frostmaw in the future for another romantic getaway. “I could always look after them.” She has her own mini zoo of pets at her home and Tiber’s input is often ignored, so in a jam, Leo could drop the pups at their home in southern Sage Forest. “I’ve heard about that too… I also heard of some business with a tree in Xalious? Supposedly, one's magic is depleted if cast in the area!” She shakes her head as she hasn’t gotten all of the details about what has occured, but her attention shifts to the box that Leo places in her hands. “What’s this…?” Had the pirate gotten her a gift? It has a little bit of weight and she wonders if he’s gotten her a muzzle, because he’s always cracking comments about how she talks too much. “Shall I open it now?” The question is silly, because obviously it’s intended to be opened. Lana’s gaze drops to the box as her fingers work to lift the lid and peek at what’s within. As Lora leans forward to see what’s inside the box and the pup looks as well, the witch smiles, finding that it’s adorable. “They are seriously super cute! Lora, at our next Swan meeting you must bring them by for a visit.” She notices that the woman’s hands are bandaged and she pauses in lifting the lid, “Are you alright? I’m fairly good at healing, if you need help with a cut or burn.” After receiving reassurance, the witch’s anticipation has reached its peak and she pulls the lid entirely off of the box.

(1 of 2) Leoxander likely caught that wink. Or he knew that tone of Lanara’s voice well enough to read, or rather listen between the lines. But more importantly, the Swan Queen had information and he was never one to bat that aside. Approaching the two, he returned a flat look for the surprise in her eyes, interrupting her thoughts on a muzzle with a ‘calm down’ kind of gesture. “Don’t go expectin’ me to start being generous, now. But… I can’t deny the work you put into the job an’ your division. Plus I s’pose I owe you one for getting Lora’ into that dress an’ heels.” He hadn’t received his daily arm smack from the petite bard, so maybe he was overdue until about then. While the witch’s attention was pulled from pups to her hand, he answered a bit quickly for the Mouse. “She’s fine. Open yer box.”

(2 of 2) Leoxander finished off his drink and set the glass down somewhere convenient and crossed his arms loosely over his chest, all the ink on his arms and torso revealed from that ‘wifebeater’ type lucky shirt bearing tears and old blood stains, and it was hard to avoid the fact that the pirate had a full beard that needed to be shaved. It was while she opened the package to the folded, feathered object within that he idly asked the animal expert. “You know what they are? They look like wolves though they don’t bloody smell it. An’ I never heard a sound like these blaggards make.” She’d probably be inspecting her present before she answered that distracting question, and the rogue watched as the swan feather fan was revealed. Of course, it had to be practical and not just pretty. “Watch that trigger, it gets sharp.” A squeeze in the right place that was subtle but flowed into the etched design, when open, would unlock the mechanism that was similar to his retractable wrist blades, a few blades concealed well enough by the plumes and casing a subtle way to slit someone’s throat while being elegant about it.

Loravelle wonders if explaining her bandaged left hand was an okay thing to do, so she looks to Leo first. It wasn't anything bad at all, but she's never been in a situation quite like this. Her mouth opens to answer, but the pirate beats her to the punch and blindsides her with his comment about the gorgeous dress Lanara gave her. He does get a swat at his arm with her unbandaged hand, while the other holds onto the little one in her lap back so he doesn't hop hop out of her lap to bound over to the witch and sniff at her gorgeous new fan. “That's beautiful,” she murmurs, grinning. “When am I getting something like that, Leo?” Lora teases, payback for the dress an' heels comment. Though if she ever got her hands on a fan as lovely as that, she isn't so sure she had the swifter dexterity Lanara must have to wave it around with its hidden blades.

Lanara laughs as Leo makes the ‘relax’ motion and tells her why she is receiving a gift, because she had done her duties without any expectations. She enjoys being the Swan Queen and she’s touched that her work has been noticed, “Thank you, Leo. I appreciate it. And you know I have bigger plans for Lora!” The bandaged hands and missing hair mystery has fled her mind as her eyes remain glued to the exquisite fan that rests in the box. Carefully, she holds the fan and admires the design of the item, as she fumbles to form words of gratitude, “Noone’s… I-I…” As Leo explains that the beautiful fan has a trigger, she finds it and she squeals in delight as the deadly blades thrust forth. It had to cost a fortune! It’s the -perfect- addition to her title of lead Swan and it’s so easily disguised as a harmless fan. Lana waves it in front of her chest, toying with the trigger, as she pretends to strike at an invisible foe. After testing it out several times, she looks at Leo and surprises them both, as she pulls him in for a quick hug, “Thank you so much! I love it! No one’s ever given me a weapon before, as a gift! Even my book of shadows! It was passed down…” It means a lot to Lana and the grin on her fair face cannot possibly get any bigger. “Just be mindful of the trigger…” She warns, before passing it onto Lora so that she can get a closer look. Sitting back in her chair, Lana looks at the pups, “It’s hard to tell. They -look- like true wolves, perhaps direwolves. They tend to get much bigger and have a powerful bark. I think when they grow up you will have a better idea.”

Leoxander might have been heard murmuring in reply to Lanara something along the lines of ‘you an’ me, both’ before he turned his attention to Loravelle for her tease. “Now why would you need somethin’ like that when you got all this?” Crossed arms unfolded and he raised his hands slightly to make a motion to himself, in need of a shave and shower and definitely some laundered clothes. He had everything from beach sand to shedding pup fur to something a kid might have spilled on his leg in their estate event the day prior, so Lanara was probably going to regret suddenly pulling him into a hug that he awkwardly attempted to return with a light pat. Withdrawing to watch the witch offer the fan to Lora, he had no worries of her with a blade and vaguely explained why. “She’s pretty handy with throwin’ blades, herself.” Since the empath had mentioned it in regards to the hatchet sport. Back to Lora with a mock furrow of his brow. “Ain’t enough to build this woman a house an’...” Well, this wasn’t exactly how he’d expected to make it known, but not only had none of their weekend been planned, his partner looked like she was really struggling to keep it down, even for the quiet type she (almost) always was. “...You gonna tell ‘er..?” Not that Lanara couldn’t keep a secret, if it even was that, but the fact that she was Miss Social Butterfly of Festivities was not lost on the rogue.

Loravelle is touched by just how touched Lanara looks over her new fan, and has to look fondly at Leo even when the witch pulls him into a hug. He's so thoughtful, though she'll keep that comment to herself since he might not want two women gushing over just how nice he is sometimes. She'll tell him later. After the witch tests out her new fan weapon and hands it over for her to try holding, Lora carefully lifts Chee off of her lap and sets him down on the floor so she can stand up and hold it without risk of a little maned wolf cub getting cut by accident. Before opening the fan, she locates the trigger and makes a point of keeping her fingers far away from it to just wave the fan a few times in front of her, with an extra careful experimental twirl of the fan before she hands it back to the Swan Queen with a smile as if she just appraised the fan's quality. Really she just liked twirling fans around. “It's perfect for you, Lana. Beautiful and deadly.” Her description of the cubs growing bigger has her falling silent then, envisioning the little ones considerably larger in size and prowling around. Leo's comment has her laughing. “You're right, I don't need a pretty fan when I have my... pretty fia-” Her eyes grow wide as she swallows her words, but now the rogue is talking about the house, and now Lora's face has turned from its typical pale color to bright red. Her brows raise at Leo, as if silently questioning if he's sure that she can be the one to break their news. Instead of keeping Lanara in the dark with their cagey behavior, she lifts up her bandaged left hand, as if that makes sense. There isn't a ring on her finger. “W-we're engaged...”

Lanara is still somewhat in shock after receiving a gift from the pirate, so imagine her surprise when Leo mentions that Lora is skilled with throwing blades! She thought that the woman was innocent and very shy, and had assumed that she’d be a healer of sorts, if anything. Brows lift and Lana leans forward, “Was it difficult to shift from throwing blades to axes?” Perhaps Lora could give Lana a lesson in the future! The witch is already growing rather fond of the pirate’s lady, and the more she learns about her, the more she finds her admiration growing. Leo motions to Lora and asks if she’s going to divulge a secret and it’s enough to have Lana give a taunting verbal nudge, “Tell me what? Now you -gotta- tell me!” It’s true that she’s a socialite, but she’s also great at keeping secrets, which is likely why she does so well in their group. The fan is taken back and gently returned to its box, for now, so that the pups don’t somehow get a hold of it and injure themselves. “Come on, I won’t tell any-” Lora lifts her bandaged hand and says two words that immediately have a reaction out of the witch, “Oh my Goddess! That’s wonderful news! Congrats to you both!” She flies out of her chair and hugs her Swan close, “I’m so happy for you! Have you set a date yet? Will it be a big affair or an intimate ceremony?” Lana pulls back so that the woman can breathe and she puts the pieces together as she takes her left hand, “You took a sacred blood oath. Right?” It’s a larger promise than one made with a diamond, from what she knows, as some customs do things differently. “Leo! I can’t believe it! How did you propose?!” She pauses, “Am I the -first- to know?!” Lana pats the pirate on the shoulder, because after the last hug, she noticed that his hygiene didn’t seem top notch. Still. The sentiment is there and her smile is genuine.

Leoxander‘s expression held the usual grouchy note with a bit of uncertainty on how Lanara, or anyone for that matter might react. And of course the witch wanted all the details on the approach, jaw tightening as he imagined her experience with Tiber was probably much more worthy of a swooning tale. “Besides her family, yeah. I just…” How -did- it happen? He looked toward Loravelle and had to resist the urge to return to the scotch bottle, immediately, arms folding again in habit, but watching his fiance for mental strength and reassurance. “...I mean, I d’know th’fug I’m doin’ when it comes to this, you know that.” Lanara had known him a bit longer than Lora’, but he could have been admitting that to either of them. “We were sittin’ here, talking… had plans already to get some land squared away.” One of his hands lifted to scratch at the nape of his neck. “So I stabbed her in the hand an’ stole some o’ her hair.” Yeah, that was about how it went. It was difficult for Leo not to add some dry humor or sarcasm to the explanation, even if he looked a touch more vulnerable than usual as he tried to explain. “Look, I know everyone’s gonna figure it out eventually, but maybe we don’t put up fliers or start plannin’ for another wine an’ roses retreat jus’ yet…”

Loravelle's smile likely isn't going to leave her face for the rest of the evening, especially with Lanara's reaction. She's scrambling for answers to the witch's questions while squeezed tight in that hug of hers, hugging the Swan Queen back. “I...Well, my father wants us to wait a few months. So my other sisters can sail over.” Whether or not they waited that long was up in the air, she thinks. As for the ceremony's size, her family alone will make it a gigantic affair unless they pare it down to just her nine sisters and her father. She looks to Leo at that thought, and shrugs. They hadn't planned that far ahead, have they. They haven't really planned at all yet, with the proposal being so spur of the moment. Free from Lana's tight hug, she looks down at her bandaged hand in the witch's grasp and shakes her head. “A tattoo.” Though it did draw a drop of blood. That might make it a blood oath, right? She isn't sure. Can she pull the bandage down? It probably wouldn't hurt, so she carefully inches down the bandage on her upturned palm just enough to show a very small black dot tattooed on her skin just underneath her little finger. “And I stole some of his hair after he stole mine,” she explains, to borrow Leo's words, grinning. “We braided them together,” she adds, explaining the missing lock from either of their heads. And then Lora beams, finally, nodding with more enthusiasm than she's ever really shown around others apart from the pirate. “After my family, you're the very first.” She looks to her fiance then, and tries to temper some of her enthusiasm because like him, she didn't really know what she was doing. Just that she's happier than she has ever been. “I think we can plan all of that stuff later...” Right? It wasn't as if they had a deadline. “Whenever it happens, consider you and Tiber invited.” That didn't seem like taking things too far, but her eyes are on Leo then, checking his reaction.

Lanara smiles, touched that she’s the first of their friends to learn of this joyful news. Despite the fact that she had two failed engagements, one of which left her at the altar, she had never given up on love. Tiber came along, and they have their happiness, as he proved all other men wrong and won her heart. Their love wasn’t always rainbows and glitter, and they had been off and on for three years before he had gotten the courage to pop the question. “I don’t think anyone knows, for sure, how to go about these things. But, you did it, Leo! That’s what matters! You love each other and are committed.” She agrees that matters of the heart are difficult to put into words and she senses that the pirate is feeling vulnerable, so she quits putting him on the spot with her neverending questions. As Lora speaks and shows her the tattoo, Lana touches her hand to her heart, “That’s -so- sweet! I love that you braided your hair and have matching tattoos!” The braiding of the locks faintly reminds her of handfasting, though that’s with rope, and she nods eagerly, “You have all the time in the world to plan a wedding. If you need -any- help with that stuff, please don’t hesitate to ask me! I officiated Khitti and Brand’s wedding and I’ve planned so many events over the years that I can recommend the best florist, caterer, musicians, all of that good stuff!” It seems that both of them are content to keep their engagement on the quiet side and Lana nods, “Tiber and I will definitely be there on your special day and we won’t tell a soul. I promise! It’s your news to spread, whenever you’re both ready!” The witch smiles and looks at them both again, “Seriously. I’m so happy for both of you! I wish you a lifetime of love and happiness.” The strange wolf pups draw her attention next, and she squats and extends her hands, “Maybe next time I will bring some meat and see if they warm up to me.”

Leoxander did give Loravelle a lingering stare, mostly because he and Tiber weren’t exactly at a chum status, but he wouldn’t protest the invite. Well, that was enough of that. While the women gushed over the news he returned to close the lock box and resituate the board back on the wall and the key, well it would go in a new place just as it did every time he retrieved it, not for a lack of trust but more just the rogue’s habit. Florist? Caterer? Musicians? Nine hells. Just excuse him while he refilled his glass a fourth time. “Speakin’ of him, might be best you claim that fan as a perk of the job an’ don’t mention me. He looked ready to stab me in the eyes for recognizing you a while back.” Tossing that last large gulp of amber liquor back, he turned the glass upside down and began to ‘clean up’ the paperwork that was scattered between the table and desk, busying himself with retacking the map and rearranging the furniture back to their space. He wasn’t damn well trying to sleep with his fiance and two pups on a one person cot again that night, and started to collect up his things with a fixed look that his partner might read as a warning that they were going to try to sneak back into the ‘green room’ once farewells were said and done.