A lean, well-built man shifted uncomfortably in his plush seat, golden eyes drifting occasionally towards the front of the restaurant. His thick fingers fell from his brown tassled hair and rolled across the painfully white tablecloth, not daring to go too close to the masses of oddly assorted european utensils that profaned either side of his gold-flecked plate. The only other movement he made was to wave the waitress off for a third time when she came to check on him, her annoyed look going ignored for the time being. Silence was his only response to the dull buzz of high-class chatter that echoed around him, and for once in his life, Yugo regretted his animal-keen hearing. It was very hard to hold his temper when those around him continually insulted his best garments, especially when the pieces of clothing in question involved a painfully starched shirt one size too small shoved under the familiar leather vest his girlfriend had refused to let him wear by itself.

The soft sound of resounding chimes echoed through the overly decorated building as the door opened. Yugo's gaze shifted upwards, his jittery hand falling to his side as a massive, but surprisingly dignified persona strode through the door, ducking slightly so not to hit his head on the frame. The newcomer's lone brown eye made a quick sweep of the room, briefly settling on Yugo and offering a cornered half-smile before he turned to the maître d' and began to speak with the wide grin of a diplomat. The younger man couldn't help but snort as the massive man made his way into the restaurant without any further trouble, remembering with only partial amusement the amount of time it had taken for him to be admitted in.

A few moments later and the tall man was sitting across the table from Yugo, his mane of hair unnaturally combed back from his face. It was almost as neatly arranged as the massive black tuxedo that fit perfectly to his muscular frame.

"As usual Gado, you and the restaraunt you pick manage to pretty much maul me in the class factor."

The taller man smiled wryly, lifting his menu slightly and muttering under his breath, "Believe me, given the choice, we wouldn't be here."

"UN's French representative making suggestions as to where to take this important missionary from Japan again?"

Gado grinned rogueishly, "God help me if I don't wine and dine the Japanese religious hero, famed throughout the land for his kindness to animals and service to the Lord as he rips out the evil-doer's sinful jugular."

A brown brow arched up in amusement, "Come on, my man. I'm not that bad."

"No I suppose you aren't." He paused, unscarred eye twinkling in amusement, "You're worse." Gado's massive hand rose to catch the waitresses attention, "One brandy please, and the house tea for my friend."

The woman nodded before heading back towards the kitchens, and Yugo turned his face back towards his friend. "Tea? Honest to God you ordered me tea?"

"My bill, my amusement."

Yugo shook his head quietly, allowing a brief moment of quiet between them before he leaned forward into the table, removing his elbows after a warning glance over the menu from his companion. "So why did you have me come here?"

Gado's eyes flicked down to the menu again, "Order first. I don't like to discuss our kind of issues on an empty stomach."

"Believe me pal, waiting for you I've looked the damn menu over five times. Problem is, all the words could be Greek as much as I understand."

"Or French."

"Alright then, French. Tell me how to say dead cow."

The waitress returned then with their drinks, and took a brief step backwards, her gaze falling only towards the older and more dignified of the two.

"Deux bifteks s'il vous plait, mademoiselle."

The waitress smiled and returned to the kitchens with the order.

Yugo raised an eyebrow, "And what was that... more tea?"

"Two steaks if you please, miss."

"Damn polite of you."

The man smirked, "You should try it some time."

"Heh." Yugo leaned forward and sipped once at his tea before placing it back upon the table, "Not as bad as I expected."

Gado laughed aloud, "Trusting your friends really can work out."

Shaking his head, Yugo peered upwards at his companion, a wry grin on his face, "Sure, but do friends always know the answers to everything?"

"Only most of the time."

Both men sipped at their drinks quietly.

"So.. have you proposed to Alice yet?"

There was a brief spluttering from Yugo's end of the table as a mouthful of tea went flying back into it's cup.

"Um, no. But where the hell did THAT question come from?"

"Curious minds want to know." Gado took another drink of brandy.

Yugo grabbed his teacup and gulped the rest of it down before slamming it back on to its intricate little plate.

"No."

"Why?"

"She wants kids."

A brow rose quietly over an unscarred eye, "And this is a problem because..."

Yugo shifted nervously in his seat, "It's not what you're thinking."

"Well, obviously it's not what I'm thinking; considering that I'm thinking of nothing! You're both beastmen, and beyond that non-existant possibility of a problem, there's no issue!"

"Damn but you can be a loud bastard when you want to!"

"A somewhat hypocritical statement my friend."

Yugo didn't smile at the attempt at humor, Gado's grin similarly faded.

"Look, because of the World of Coexistance project, you're a well known public figure now. Therefore, there's no reason to try and keep the matter of our existence hidden! Especially when you're surrounded by the staring eyes of many of the United States' richest and inescapably curious citizens."

There was a soft muttering of coughs and turning chairs as those at the tables around them turned back toward their food. Gado leaned back slightly in his chair, massive arms crossing over his chest.

"So are you going to give me a reason cub, or are you just going to sit there with your fangs gaping?"

Yugo snorted, shaking his head once as if the tassle of brown hair that fell forwards onto his face could hide his embarassment.

"I'm just don't know if I could handle it."

"Kenji's doing well..."

"Yeah, sure he is. He's doing so well in fact, that after months of mental recooperation with Alice he's regained a little over half of his old personality after the brain-washing. And of course, Busuzima's gotten into the one place that I can't fight; his mind."

Gado shook his head, "It's not your fault he was captured."

"Re-captured, damn it. Re-captured, tortured, brainwashed, and then torn open by my own hand."

"You made him remember didn't you?"

"Yeah, sure. But what kind of guy beats up on his own little brother?"

"The circumstances are not the same Yugo." The older man snorted, "First of all, it wasn't deliberate. Second of all, you adopted Kenji in order to rescue him from harsh circumstances which you knew would likely result in later issues down the road. Finally, the boy was a killer for the first half of his life. Children like that need a little bit of force to get a response."

"Did you ever even touch your kid?"

A low growl, rippling in an odd timbre from a human throat, was the response from the man across the table. Yugo sighed and dropped his gaze, never having recieved much more than acknowledgement about Gado's child, he knew better then to push the subject.

"Look, let's just go back to the original topic."

"Wise."

Yugo remained silent, slowly dipping his gaze towards the blinding whiteness of the fancy tablecloth, submission to the man across from him.

"It's the ZLF."

Golden eyes flicked upwards, "The Zoanthrope Liberation Front? But didn't we..."

"Stop them? No. We only barely removed my name from the suspect list of leaders."

Yugo grinned half-heartedly, "That whole thing was so stupid, Gado. Imagine you, running a group of beastial terrorists!"

The piercing brown eye that looked straight through him sent the younger man's smile crumbling back into an tight wince.

"So... what are they doing now?"

"We're not sure, but the UN's been getting furious reports about Shenlong, the actual leader. He's been spotted in multiple cities in multiple countries."

"Good God, more clones?"

"No, he doesn't have that kind of technology. Nor would he use it. That beastman would gladly call himself the Tigren Messiah given the chance, and there's never been a plural of Jesus. He's on the move."

"Shit."

The larger man grimaced, his tone falling flat.

"I'm sorry to hear you say that Yugo, considering it's your problem now."

Yugo twitched slightly, gaze rising to hold Gado's own, "You're fu..." The man's face spasmed into a brief silence, "...you're kidding me."

"You're the hunter Yugo, and I'm the diplomat. I provide you with the information; you and your World of Coexistance take care of the issues that information brings up."

The younger man shoved himself back from the table, a sharp burning sensation on his thigh going ignored as his fancy chair fell backwards and snapped on the stylized tiles of the floor.

"You know what? I'm the one that's sorry. Sorry that your claws and teeth get to rot inside some pinstripe suit. Honest to God, when was the last time you hunted something living, felt prey die beneath your true, powerful form; all because you actually had the skill to take the beast down?"

As Yugo turned and began to walk from the restaurant, his muscles strained against the clothing that was growing tighter and tighter upon his body. He watched as the waitress came to yell a few high-pitched words at him in French before she grew silent, an odd expression contorting her face before she fled.

i Enjoy two plates of your master's kill. I will have none of it. /i

A massive grey wolf-form wearing the tattered remains of a white dress shirt and a leather vest over top loped out of the restaurant. He said nothing further, but gained speed and leaped over a table by the window, crashing out through the massive translucent pane.

There was a brief silence in the restaurant before one woman started hysterically crying, her husband rolling his eyes before he gathered their belongings and led her out. Other patrons followed them, but a few seemed to ignore the proceedings and continued to eat their meals.

Gado hadn't realized so many zoanthropes cared for French cuisine.

A slender hand interrupted his brief thought, curling around the older man's shoulder as he stared after the path of the wolf's disastrous exit. A fashionably short bob of blonde hair leaned into his slicked mane, a soft whisper caressing his ear.

"I taste success."

Then the woman left. Her high-slitted black dress was a shadow over long pale legs tipped in dark stiletto heels. She carried herself out of the restaraunt, fading into darkness that shouldn't exist in the noon-day sun.

Gado did not watch her departure. Instead, he rose and padded across the rubble towards the waitress now huddled in the corner. A few soft words in French and she allowed him to help her to her feet... he then pulled out his wallet, muttering a few promises of compensation.

One brown eye stared emotionlessly at the cold leather of the money-holder, full of cards, keys, and human paper.

The shaking woman watched as Alan Gado then gently placed the entire wallet in her palm, gently curling her fingers around the object to show his intentions. His face turned towards the light streaming in through the shattered window, and then his body twisted to face it, needing so badly just to absorb the warmth...

A golden paw stepped out onto the sun-baked Serengeti concrete, it's partner joining it to pound freely against the human earth. The lion curled slightly, then extended his bulk into an elegant leap to the rooftop as the police siren's wail screamed from around the corner.