RP:Placing Blame

Summary: Hudson gets wind of the bank robbery in Cenril and sends an inquiry to Meri, asking her to bring her accomplices, so that they could all meet and go over some details. The lycan is shocked when Meri shows up along with her mate, Callum... And none other than the woodland witch, Lanara! After the four start talking it's obvious as to why they had to break into the bank, harm the vampiric guards, and rob the security deposit boxes for a particular rose quartz skull. The skull speaks the truth, and without it, Lana will surely burn at the stake for her heinous crimes. Cal and Meri come up with the idea to blame the heist on witch hunters, and Huds agrees that's it's a foolproof plan and he will let this transgression slide under the rug.

This is a Rogue's Guild RP.

Part of the Magic, Madness, and Mayhem Arc

Part of the Through A Glass, Darkly Arc

Hudson is waiting with a seafood platter in the private back room of the restaurant. Seafood's been banned at home for a while on account of the smell being offensive to his pregnant wife's nose, which is a shame considering Cenril's on the water and seafood is Cenril's thing. It's fine. He can eat oysters and Cenril soft shell crabs on his own time now, while he waits for this meeting to start.

Here's how we got here. In the wake of a nearly flawless hit on the Cenril bank, certain leads had developed: psion and storm mage powers had clearly been used. The team looking into the bank had been a squad of dirty guards on the payroll, meaning the leads had been escalated to Hudson, who had ordered it buried. Pin the robbery on anti-witch, anti-magic radicals. And it was, in the papers too. And so Hudson had sent word to Meri setting a date and time to meet ("Invite Cal, and any other friends. .."), scrawled in his handwriting in the margins of an article speculating that the bank robbery was a job by home grown terrorists.

Does Hudson feel guilt about putting the blame on innocent parties? Well ... screw those people, they had it coming. Gotta crack a few eggs to make an omelet, sometimes one has to spread a little disinformation to get people to see the truth, etc. And while Mayor Uma's line is tolerance and free speech and a Cenril where every citizen's voice matters, that's never been his. It's nice that she can say those things, though, it's an idealized Cenril he wants people to believe in, but it's not real, not in Cenril not anywhere. Every place needs a dark angel, or two, to take the knife out for democracy while everyone else's got their hands tied.

So that's how he sleeps at night, next to his wife in her silk pajamas on high thread count sheets, paid for in blood... Though, technically, there's less blood when all crime is organized. The cartel is working. And speaking of cartel: that includes Meri, who seems increasingly like she was involved, given the storm mage link pointing to her babydaddy. He could have hoped for a heads up, but didn't get one here. Maybe relates to the items stolen. That's his current theory. Why steal those things, though? Hudson has a tiny wooden hammer for his crab. He hammers at a claw before prying loose the meat, which he chews, gazing at the door.

Meri :: The fact that Meri had received request for a meeting in the form of a newspaper article being sent her way was...mildly alarming. If anyone else had sent her this article with the request to meet she may very well have been in a straight panic. It was Hudson though, they have had many dealings together in the past. Most recently they bonded over some breaking and entry themselves, as well as some court testimony. All that in consideration, Meri would be a fool if she was completely carefree in light of this article.

The article is about to make it's rounds amongst those involved in the crime, margin notes included and all. The first to see it would obviously be Callum, if only because he was her babydaddy and they were living together. Next in line to receive this article was Lanara, it would be forwarded to whatever address she had provided she and Callum to reach out to her. Unfortunately Meri was going to take a cryptic approach. No further explanation to this article was provided, no hints as to whose handwriting it might be requesting that meeting in the margins. There was no demand that Lanara actually show up for this meeting, it was entirely optional for her as far as Meri was concerned. Lanara had to be extremely careful and mindful of more things than Meri likely understood until her trial.

Meri would arrive, miraculously on time. Hudson knows the struggle, he knows the struggle better than anyone else in this room. Meri and Cal only have one struggle to deal with, Hudson has managed to make many struggles...aka children. The point is! Meri is on time and she very likely does not arrive alone, if she and Cal do not make their way into the restaurant side by side then he is probably quite shortly behind her. Despite the fact that this bank robbery seems to have been traced back to her by at least one source, Meri seems to be able to find humor enough to greet Hudson with, "Wow. You didn't even wait for your entire party to arrive before ordering?" Meri claims a seat for herself and while she is sinking down into said seat she declares, "Rude." She doesn't mean it though. A point made by the fact she is about to exhibit some rude behavior of her own. It was a platter, right? Surely Hudson needed help eating it. Even if he was not expecting help...Meri is going to find a fork and help herself to some of the platters samplings.

Callum certainly did walk through that door with Meri, and sat down next to her, though he neither spoke as of that moment about the present issue nor did he just help himself to Hudson’s plate. The smell of food had set the newly turned lycan’s stomach to growling, and he quickly flagged down a waitress. “Fish and chips. Malt vinegar. Lemon.” The waitress nodded and just about turned and went off when he continued, “I’m not done. Fit as much fish and chips on a platter like that,” he said, pointing to Hudson’s food,”and I’ll give you the biggest tip you’ve ever seen in your life.” The Catalian could be generous sometimes. Not -all the time- mind you--because then he wouldn’t have any money and the Rochester-Boyce household likes their money--but here and there when he wanted something -just- badly enough, he’d sprinkle cash on an unsuspecting individual and get exactly what he wanted. There -is- that whole saying of “money talks” after all. It almost always ensured he’d continue to get what he wanted with said individual. Today, it just so happened to be this lucky waitress. Callum had a literal wolf’s hunger and it needed to be fed, damn it! The waitress stayed just long enough to add anything to her list for Meri or Hudson before heading off to the kitchen.

Lanara had received her mail at her apartment over the flower shop in Enchantment, and after sorting through the obvious letters of those running for office, a few advertisements from the local markets, and a love letter from a certain Backstreet Bard stalker; she comes across an envelope addressed to her in unfamiliar handwriting. Of course the witch had been receiving death threats ever since returning to the lands, as she was accused of some heinous crimes, so she half expects it to be another one of those. Rolling her eyes, she tosses it onto the kitchen table and makes herself breakfast, as the hound puppy and tikifhlee kitten play in the next room. She smiles to herself, hoping she has more mornings such as this, despite the fact that the right side of her face is covered in bruises, her hand are bandaged from rope burns, and she has a line of stitches on her left collarbone. An attack from a few nights ago, courtesy of one of the locals who didn’t want her lurking about the magical realm and under the protection of Enchantment. The plate of toast and eggs is placed on the table, and while holding the mug of steaming coffee, Lana tears open the envelope and her eyes are drawn to the notes in the margin, the accusations plain as day staring her in the face. Someone knew she had robbed the bank in Cenril!? They had been so careful and she truly thought no one would connect the dots! She spits out a mouthful of coffee, staining the article and her bandages, and suddenly she no longer has an appetite.

The day of the meeting arrives and the witch heads to the location, thinking it best that she appear as herself and not bother with a disguise. Clearly, her identity was already compromised, and after Scandal’s funeral and hosting the Samhain celebration many knew that she had returned to the realm and that her trial was ongoing. Who exactly she is meeting is still a mystery, and she arrives a few minutes behind Callum and Meri, with her curiosity piqued. The witch wanted to reach out to the couple and get their take on things, but she didn’t want to further escalate the situation. It was –her- fault that they were in this mess to begin with, and they had a daughter! What if they were being watched? Their mail being read? Lanara walks through the restaurant and fidgets with the strap of her purse, which is burrowing into the stitches on her shoulder. She’s nervous, her palms are sweaty, and her cheeks are flushed with embarrassment. Nonetheless, she’s arrived, and is ready to take the –full- blame for the events that unfolded, in hopes to clear the names of Meri and Callum. Finding her way to their table, she is shocked to see that Hudson is there, looking as chill as ever and hammering away at a crab. “Hello…Everyone.”

There’s a long pause, as Callum is ordering food and Meri and Huds are sharing a platter, while Lanara just stands there with her mouth agape and wondering what the hell was going on. Eventually, she takes a seat and shakes her head at the waiter, “Nothing to eat, just a glass of iced tea, with lemon…” She didn’t have much coin to spread around these days with the cost of her legal fees combined with the fact that her assets at the bank were still frozen. Plus… Who could eat at a time like this?! Lana swallows and exchanges a look with Meri and Cal, figuring since they arrived before her, they may have some sort of idea where things were leading, but they don’t give up anything. And so, she finds herself locking eyes with Huds across the table, managing a small smile for her old friend, “Good to see you… How is Alvina?” Asking about his significant other is all she can muster right now, though it’s likely she will follow up with a comment about the weather. Lana is trying not to panic.

Hudson smiles broadly when Meri and Callum are shown into the room. He likes when he guesses correctly. "Meri, Callum, good to see you," he says warmly. He gestures that they be seated, that they make themselves at home, help themselves to the seafood platter, etc. A waitress comes around to deal with drinks. "I ordered a variety! I was hungry and Alvina's banned seafood because of the smell at home," he says by way of explanation for his having gotten started. He sighs when Cal orders fish and chips. "The one thing I didn't get," he grouses good naturedly. Hudson tacks on a pitcher of beer to the waitress' running order because it goes nicely with seafood, and like that the meeting is ready to get started. Or .. not. Lanara arrives, and Hudson's jaw nearly hits the floor. A tiny piece of crab literally nearly falls out of his mouth. He forces a swallow from his glass of water and asks the room at large: "Are you serious?" He watches, feeling his surprise expand within him as Lanara rather meekly orders something for herself and takes a seat. The question about Alvina seems utterly quaint. "She's good, over being pregnant, thank you for asking," he answers, looking rather wide-eyed at Callum and Meri as if they could explain Lanara's involvement here. "Good to see you. I thought ah ..." he will put it delicately, "you were away at a facility." He wonders if Callum and Meri know that Lanara is possibly dangerous/escaped from a mental institution. This plot twist continues to blow his mind. "Well, thanks for coming to the meeting, anyway," he continues. "I should think the purpose is obvious: heads up, please, next time you feel like doing a little bank robbing? So I can make sure at the outset guys on the payroll are the ones who look into it?" But maybe also so he can get his beak wet. "Are there any more attendees who are going to surprise the hell out of me? You guys want to tell me what's going on so I can make sure we stay out in front of the investigation and press?"

Meri could sense Hudson's confusion over the matter the moment that Lanara arrives. I mean, he did advise that she bring friends...Meri only assumed that he meant to bring the friends that were actually involved? So she did. She lets him stew and puzzle over this, not because she does not have the answers to his questions but because it is not really her story to tell. The female witch present needed to speak her piece. First were the pleasantries, Lanara and Hudson chat about Alvina, her pregnancy, he admits why he has such a craving for seafood right now. Meri is content to let them chat, she's not in a rush to get down to business. The longer they chat, the longer she can munch on the fish and chips Cal has ordered. They do eventually find their way to the heart of this meeting. "Just us three, no other surprises." Meri says, with a mouthful of food. She takes a moment to finish chewing and swallowing before going on to address some of Hudson's other concerns -- sort of. "Were it actually my idea, I would have given you notice." Though Hudson surely must know that if Meri wanted to rob a bank? She'd not pick the Cenril one. That's a bit too close to where she resides. Honestly, she'd rob the Larket coffers? "Some secrets aren't mine to speak. And I very much live by the saying that loose lips sink ships." The blonde shrugs. It's at this point she turns her attention to Lanara, because if anyone was going to be able to offer Hudson any more clarity it is going to be her.

Callum doesn’t comment on most of the subjects. It’s not that he doesn’t care--okay, he kind of doesn’t, but pretend he does--he’s just very hungry. Once the conversation does make it to what they’d been brought here for, he shrugged. “You make it sound like this is something that was planned for months,” he said, his words directed at Hudson. “It wasn’t. Lanara’s not been back for very long.” Okay, so it’s been a month or two, but he’d not been around for most of that. “We helped because it’s something we’re good at, but unfortunately there just wasn’t time to tell you. It was and still is literally a matter of life and death, but like Meri said, that’s not our story to tell.” His line of sight shifted towards Lanara briefly, before looking down at his food, “That’s about it on our end, I think.” There was another shrug and he was back to eating his chips. Were they not in such a public place, he’d probably also comment on the fact that he found it amusing to be robbing a bank where his own wealth was kept. “Blame it on the witch hunters,” Cal eventually suggested, his voice much lower than it already had been. “I made it a point to take my own things.” The Catalian paused, all smiles as the waitress came back, wanting to know if anyone wanted refills on drinks or food or anything else in general. He’d shake his head at her, letting anyone else voice if they needed anything before he sent her on her way again, and resumed his hushed tone and thought on how to spin things to the press. “Two witches were robbed. There wasn’t time to look for every single witch’s safe deposit boxes that might be there, but it’s not much of a stretch to say that after Lanara was sent elsewhere, that the witch hunters found out about her belongings being locked up there. I’ll even make some sort of statement if I need to, to the city guard for their investigation. It won’t work for Lanara, but there’s plenty of people in this city that know me. I have their trust, after years of selling my herbs and potions and whatnot to them, and it’d spread like wildfire if I told them the witch hunters were targeting me again.” He’d quiet himself then, letting Lanara speak finally, so that Hudson could finally get the full picture.

Lanara is all uneasy smiles and forced small talk as she chats with Hudson about Alvina’s pregnancy, adding a few small details here and there about how spearmint helps with morning sickness, and how she needs to elevate her feet at night to reduce swelling. She’s perfectly content to continue giving pregnancy tips as the healer in her enjoyed being helpful, and it momentarily steers things away from the criminal side of things. As Huds asks about her being ‘away’ her cheeks flood with color and she lifts her glass to take a much needed sip of water, thinking about an answer that would suffice. Surprise, I’m not crazy!? Didn’t –all- psychopaths say that they were –not- sick in the head? How are they all able to eat at a time like this?! Lana swallows hard and gives a slow nod, “Yeah… I was away for quite a few months, Huds. But I’m all better now and I will be on trial soon to answer for the crimes that were committed.” It’s not an outright lie, but she’s not being truthful, either. It wasn’t that the witch mistrusted Hudson or Alvina, she just didn’t want to pull them into her drama, and although she considered them good friends, they weren’t in her inner circle of witches or guildmates. “It’s sort of complicated… Basically there was mind and, er, body control involved. So it was me, but not really that did those things?” Thankfully, Meri takes the lead and after she’s done speaking, Callum pipes up about how he will give a statement and how they will pin the robbery on witch hunters. It’s a genius plan, but Lana wishes they both didn’t give her the ‘look’ after their words concluded. It’s obvious that –she- was the one that planned this whole heist, and though she’s grateful that they kept mum about the matter, they were hoping she would offer more than ‘I’m not crazy’ to the man interrogating them. The waiter arrives and Lana fidgets, wanting desperately to run from the establishment. Instead, she orders a martini with extra olives, as though the liquid courage would help her explain what the hell happened.

The drink arrives and Lana finishes it in three sips, draining the glass and ordering another as her shoulders slump and she lifts her bruised face to peer at Hudson. “Cal and Meri are telling the truth… It wasn’t their plan. It was mine… But I had no other choice, and they were kind enough to help me. We were so sure that everything went according to plan, and had I known that our involvement would be figured out, I –never- would have asked them to put themselves in danger.” She’s stammering through her statements, her face flushed from shame, as the second drink arrives, though she only takes tentative sips from this glass. Lana swallowed an olive whole the last time around so she’s being careful with this martini. “My assets are frozen while I stand trial… So, in order to get a very specific item from my safety deposit box, we had to break into the bank… It was designed to look like a robbery so it wouldn’t be pinned on me, as I’m already facing some hefty charges including murder, arson, animal abuse, child endangerment, among other things…” She waves a dismissive hand, as though she weren’t tainted by the rumors, but the psion and storm witch know the truth. Lanara was hurting tenfold, and she would burn at the stake if found guilty. “Basically, I used astral projection; another spirit entered my body and committed those horrible actions. I fought to gain control, but I was too weak, and everyone thought I had multiple personalities so they put me into a nuthouse. Finally, they figured out what happened, I regained control, and although I could’ve moved somewhere else, I chose to return to the lands to clear my name, those that were involved, and so I could live here again with my family.” It’s the nitty gritty, minus a few details about the cleansing ritual and how the Backstreet Bard had taken the fall for her crimes. “I needed a particular item… It will show the truth about what happened…” Lana falls silent then, exchanging a look with Cal. If she told Hudson –what- the item was… Would this still be swept under the rug? The last time it had been used a witch had been brought back from the dead, Cramer’s book had hit the market, and witches everywhere were under scrutiny. “Without this item, without my truth? I will be put to death, Huds.”

Hudson :: "Ah," says Hudson to Meri when she mentions that she isn't the one who'd drawn up the plans to go robbing banks. Callum adds a bit more color: it had been a spontaneous bank robbery. Good to know. He talks like someone who also isn't the mastermind behind the idea. The plot thickens. His attention shifts to Lanara, who seems rather sane but then again that had also been the case before her 'incident' that had resulted in her being sent away. Hudson appreciates that she tackles that head on, although her explanation is a bit threadbare and ends on a bit of a curious note. Mind control? Best to not pry just yet. Instead he gives her a quizzical glance and hammers out more crab meat (as quietly as it can be done) while Callum proposes they double down on the scapegoat. He finds himself nodding, slowly. "That'll work. Definitely down with blaming witch hunters," Hudson says, between bites. Easy enough, conspiring with people. Especially so when you have some control over the press. It's time for him to learn why the bank got robbed, though, and the room's attention has moved once more to settle on Lanara. There's a little pause for drink orders, but the floor is so obviously hers.

Lanara begins to speak before Hudson has to prompt her, first expressing her concern for the safety of Callum and Meri. "Everyone's fine," reassures Hudson, appraising her nervous tells, her flustered demeanor, as she tries to buy time with a second drink. It is something that Meri and Callum evidently trust her, but he's also the type of guy who wants to make his own assessment too. And .. these are some serious charges that Lanara is facing. Except the way Lanara discusses them isn't the way he'd expect. She's not exactly appealing to him as a fellow hardened criminal... And there it is: a spirit entered her body and made her do it. He grunts knowingly: the concept isn't that far away to him. He lives with a second version of himself, the wolf, who sometimes takes a different, more violent view. Maybe Meri (and little does he know, Callum) know a little about that. It must be nice to simply step away from one's misdeeds and blame an evil spirit squatting inside your person! For clarification, it's not that he doesn't believe Lanara. He does. It's that her story causes him to reflect on how this option is unavailable to werewolves, who are stuck with the darkest versions of themselves, forever. They can learn to control their other halves, and some do so very successfully, including him at this moment in time. (It only took many years and, frankly, making Alvina into the wolf's mate. Alvina ... still learning to control herself, if Meri is any indication.) But no matter what level of control a werewolf has over his or her violent impulses, whether that control is absolute even, the werewolf can never simply walk away... And therefore in the eyes of some, the werewolf will always be a menace. Lanara, however, is a victim. No part of her is the savagery she became, in those moments. No part of her secretly liked it. He nods slowly, with empathy. "What can I do?" he asks, directing the question to her but also Meri and Callum, since they seem in the know as well. It's a subtle offer of Cenril's assistance, the unspoken reality being that it was Uma who did his bidding, and always has. He wouldn't have thought Lanara would be in the know on that, but now that he knows she's connected with Meri and Callum, he's certain that she is. "I assume you're not being tried in Cenril or you would have asked me sooner. Even so, how can I help? Apart from continuing to ensure that this gets put on the witch hunters."

Meri :: How could Hudson help? This was a question that Meri felt mostly ill-equipped to answer. The need to retrieve the skull from the bank was a request from Lanara. It was her trial, after all, her life and death situation. Meri turns her gaze to Lanara, watching the witch and trying to mentally will her to calm down now that she has assurance that everyone is fine. Meri was not really surprised that Hudson would have some understanding toward Lanara's plight. They could all relate, as Hudson has internally noted, given that Lanara is currently surrounded by werewolves...Though given many of the strange things that happen in this land, a spiritual squatter is not that farfetched. "Well I guess that is up to Lanara...I guess the biggest help that you could offer us right now is making sure that everyone stays fine. I mean, you were able to piece the details together..." There is a slight pause, "Cal's line of thinking is definitely not bad. Stupid witch hunters." Meri gives a slight shrug, but then falls silent to mostly defer to Lanara on this topic. In the mean time, is happy to continue snacking away on the various foods ordered. At some point Meri decides she's full, and thus her attention begins to wander. Only slightly. Look, she can listen to the conversation at hand while also tormenting Callum. She nudges his foot with the toe of her boot. Well. Hopefully it is his foot. Awkward is not, but he is sitting next to her so...hopefully her aim is true.

Callum felt Lanara’s gaze and sighed as he finished off whatever was left on his plate once Meri’d finished devouring her share of it. He was getting impatient; Lanara kept stalling and stuttering and telling half of what happened and Cal only had so many fraks to give right now--blame it on his wolf side. “She needed her damn crystal skull,” he said finally, his tone clearly denoting his impatience. “I sure hope she’s right about it helping, because nine times out of ten, mine’s been nothing but trouble--and Meri can certainly vouch for that.” He paused briefly, wiping his hands off on a napkin before rubbing at his eyes, “This is why I took my own stuff. Because it was going to be far too obvious who got into Lanara’s deposit box. Doing what we did is one thing, but now she needs to make sure she has a cover story of her own.” Callum eyed Lanara pointedly, his lips pursed together into a grim line, “It’s going to be real suspicious when it turns out that you’ve got your skull suddenly but no one seems to know -how- you got it, if it was stolen.” His attention shifted back to Hudson. “Maybe that’s a way you can help her. A paper trail of some sort to give her an alibi.” Meri’s toe-prodding certainly hadn’t gone unnoticed, and he soon smirked at her, nudging her foot back.

Lanara sighs as Callum spells out that which she struggled to admit, and she looks at Hudson with that deer in the headlights fearfulness she was incapable of hiding. Her big brown eyes look like saucers, and were Meri not such a badass, the witch may have socked Cal in the arm or called him an unsavory name. Of course she trusted Meri with her life, so that trust had been extended to the wolf’s mate… And she trusted Hudson, but Lana knew little to nothing about his past dealings with crime, so perhaps she had a reason not to be so frank about the details. “Uh, yeah… I’m the Keeper of the rose quartz skull… The one that helped to resurrect Valrae.” She swallows, fully prepared to order a third martini, but on an empty stomach that wasn’t wise. “He…” She motions to Cal, “Has a valid point… In trying to prove my innocence we’ve had to rob a bank and reclaim the skull, as it speaks nothing but the truth, should I call upon its power. And, seeing as I murdered someone a few nights ago in self-defense, the courts may not take kindly to adding theft to my already long rap sheet.” She was attacked by a trio of men and had taken one of them out with a dagger to the chest, and sadly, the night had ended with Kyori slipping into a coma. Every so often she lifts a hand to pull her hair forward, and were they perceptive, they’d see the faint bruises that line the right side of her fair face. Lanara is quick to move along the conversation, “Huds… You truly would help me?” She waits a beat, exchanging a look with Meri, as though to gauge if it was alright to ask for help. Clearly, the psion knew more about Hudson’s under-the-table antics than the witch, so she wants to be sure that everything is kept confidential. “Could you pin this on the witch hunters? Make this… Investigation… Go away? Also… I’m not sure how close you are with Mayor Uma, but I was wondering if you could reach out to her on my behalf? I think I have a plan for how to deal with how the skull was obtained… Perhaps, Uma wishes to give a presentation on the skulls to some magical scholars? She had gotten my written permission, and the bank gave her access to my safety deposit box, prior to the theft? I know that Taly would loan hers, and of course my skull… Perhaps, we could get the others, too? Or even just replicas, as the only ones that feel the power of the skull would be its keeper! I highly doubt the Committee would find fault with the leader of Cenril using the skulls for educational purposes! And, it would bring less doubt when I use my skull before the court, as it would be common knowledge that it’s the skull of honesty!” Lanara looks excited about this little plan she’s devised, and she hopes the others won’t find any flaws, but she’s open to suggestions.

Hudson :: Callum interjects with the key missing detail here, and Hudson pauses mid chew, needing a second to remember the skulls. But then he does, the memories blurring together like pages in a flipbook: Uma, pacing a room filled with allies, the click of her heels punctuating an explanation about ancient magics; a tense meeting between himself and King Macon; later, Uma's face drawn in austerity as he told her to put off the ritual; a night when the air had been so thick with magic he could smell it, and know that Valrae lived; a woman, the mole, frightened, squealing as her jaws were forced open, she would never speak another word again; her flailing limbs, fishing wire cutting into his hands, her throat, his mind filled with Valrae.

Yeah, Hudson remembers getting into some stuff in connection with these skulls ...

"This explains a lot," he says to Lanara, who looks spooked by his now being more in the know. "Take it easy, there's a lot you don't need to know, but I've been on Team Witch." His gaze shifts to Callum. "I agree, it'll be a little suspicious if she suddenly has this extremely powerful--" his gaze once more hits Lanara, his mind only now registering this remark about a murder in self-defense. He gives her a long, searching look. "Obviously," he'd help her. "You are in some trouble aren't you," he muses. He falls silent as Lanara continues, audibly wringing her hands over just how he might help her. Her idea is a good one. What endears him is her breathless confusion as to his role in the city, and cautious delight as his offering to help her. He may be happily married but it'll always be a cheap thrill to bail beautiful women out of trouble. He grins at her and then trades an amused look with Meri and Callum (whom he assumes is In The Know because Meri). "Lanara," he begins cheerfully, reaching to pour more beers for those whose glasses are in need of it, "... I think that all sounds like a beautiful plan to make this go away ... Because that's what we're going to do ..."