Chapter 04 - Lucien LeBlanc

11th of January 2013

Lucien LeBlanc

Lucien could not focus on school for the last week. Every stray thought he had led to thinking back to Leena and her situation. Being grilled by Bella Flynn about his intentions and what exactly he did to her daughter wasn't necessarily the best experience of his life. It was, however, extremely exciting. He had been taught a lot about Garou by his grandfather. He had a great deal of knowledge on tribal stereotypes, the dangers of Metis, concepts of the war against the Wyrm, and a great deal of opinions from a high-ranking Shadow Lord. There was something awe inspiring to actually find a werewolf in the woods. He was lucky Leena took so long to wake up, because it took him a good 15 minutes to gather his thoughts and calm his hammering heart.

He was pretty sure that Bella wanted him dead. Leena, sweet girl though she may be, didn't seem to realize that the more she demanded her mother to calm down and that the hormone-driven young man certainly didn't do anything to her, the greater her mother's rage would grow. Lucien answered her questions as best he could, calming explaining about giving Leena clothes, helping her transform, and the extent of her injuries. He knew that Bella could smell her daughter on him from the two times that Leena embraced him, once in comfort and the other in life-saving warmth. Luckily, his analytical side was quick to embellish his story to say that he carried Leena to his car form the frozen ground so that her feet wouldn't get frostbite. He wasn't sure if Bella had believed every word he said, but 95% of it was true, so he felt he was reasonably safe.

So, he made it home alive with his heart racing and an exhilarating laugh bubbling in his chest. He couldn't really focus on his class time when all he wanted to do was revel in that feeling. He was so out of it that he didn't realize he agreed to come to a minor acquaintances house for a party until after they walked away. He couldn't exactly back out and had to come up with some means of explaining why he was going to a high school party when he ordinarily never left the house. He settled for close to the truth, complaining about the idea in front of his older sister, who scoffed at him and called him stupid for thinking of backing out. His father sided with his sister, telling him to go and have fun. Lucien was known for being bright about what he got up to at night and his father knew that he would be safe.

So, one week exactly since he found a beautiful woman in the woods and had his first taste of Garou society, he was sitting on a couch in a modest house on a good bit of land. He was surrounded by older girls, booze, and drugs. He was bored out of his fucking mind. He was also slowly getting more and more frustrated by a particular individual. Apparently, 'his girl' had said that Lucien was 'cute' and the man thought, in his drunken stupor, that Lucien had chatted her up. Lucien explained that quickly enough with what he thought was cleaver use of self-abuse by explaining that he was a virgin and wouldn't know how to chat up a girl if he tried. The drunken fool had then spent an hour badgering Lucien about that comment. What response he was expecting to illicit, Lucien didn't know.

The response he did get, after one more 'Maybe I can find a nice dog for you to pop your cherry on. Don't need to chat those kinda bitches up, do ya?' comment, was Lucien grabbing him by the throat and throwing him into the wall with such force that everything on the wall toppled to the ground. Lucien stopped himself from breaking the now reeling boy's face, by punching the wall next to his head. The tiles along the walls shattered around the fist-sized hole Lucien left in the wall.

Lucien dropped him and moved away quickly. That punch tempered his rage slightly but it was growing. He moved to a spare room, where he found the pot heads, doing what they did best. "Hey man, that shit is supposed to calm you down, right?"

The most coherent one laughed and offered it. Lucien had already taken it and sucked in a huge drag before the man spoke. "Yeah breathe deep man you seem tense."

Lucien handed it back holding it before breathing it out. It did absolutely nothing. He moved out the door, over the field, and out into the woods. He went to the only way his temper was lessened and started wailing on a tree. Time slowed down and all he saw was bloody bark flying off as he swung his fists at the tree, until he smelt something delicious. He turned around to find that drunk idiots girlfriend and two of her friends standing nearby. She smiled warmly at him. "Hey there, I'm sorry about the things my idiot ex said."

Lucien could feel the anger again and ran a bleeding hand through his hair. "Ex? Well that changed quickly."

The girl smiled at him moving closer. "You look like you have some tension to work out. We can help you with that."

Lucien choked on his laugh slightly bewildered. "Excuse me?"

The trio advanced on him with the lead girl running a hand over his face. "We can help you work out this issue of yours, just let the big girls show you how it's done darling." Her voice was like honey and she smelt so good that Lucien closed his eyes and breathed deep as three pairs of hands ran over his chest and arms. Then he smelt something different. It was something wrong.

His back was cold, the cool breeze sinking deeper into his hands and face than the rest of his body. Lucien lifted his hands above his head and opened his eyes. His hands were covered in gore up passed his wrists. Lucien licked his cold wet lips, and tasted something distinctly metallic, blood. He felt no pain from any injuries, just sore muscles. Lucien stood up slowly, letting out a groan on his sore muscles.

"You seem to be taking your situation remarkably well." The dry voice was coming from behind Lucien.

Lucien turned his torso behind him to find a remarkably well-dressed man, wearing a steel grey suit, steel grey bowler hat, shining black shoes, and even had a chain attached to his jacket that likely led to a pocket watch. "Well, a mysterious Englishman appears. Tell me good sir, am I Garou?"

The Englishman nodded, his hands gripping the wolf's head at the top of his cane. "Yes, you are indeed, and, might I add, you are remarkably coherent and well informed."

Lucien rubbed his arm, effectively only coating his upper arms in blood. "I would be happy to explain everything, but could we go someplace warmer, preferably with clothes?"

The Englishman laughed and stood up. "Certainly, my car is parked a good distance behind me. Perhaps we can get you to transform."

Lucien nodded and held up a hand. "Okay, let me try something then." He closed his eyes, imagining his approximate size in Lupus form and imagined himself walking on his hands and knees. Suddenly, he fell to the ground and when he opened his eyes, the world was much sharper, though a bit duller in color.

The other man was on his feet, adjusting his bowler from his quick rise. "Well, you are certainly a quick learner." He then shifted through his forms until he too was in Lupus. His cane went with him, so it must have been a dedicated item. The steel grey wolf tilted his head back and then took off into the woods. After a bit of trial and error, Lucien followed after him, stopping at the edge of the woods when he noticed the black town car parked on the side of the road. The Englishman was already at the tree line when Lucien arrived and indicated that he should wait. He walked forward and opened the back door, gesturing for Lucien to enter with a flourish, which Lucien took with haste, diving into the car and finding a warm robe folded neatly on the chair as the door was closed behind him.

Albert Kaihn

Albert leaned into the window to talk to his driver. "I must apologize again for calling you away from home so late at night Angela. Do apologize to Brittany for me, will you?"

The dark-skinned woman in stereotypical chauffeur clothing grinned at him. "She knows where the money I spoil her with comes from, Mr. Kaihn. I am sure she won't be too hard on you. How is the new puppy?"

Albert adjusted his hat smiling at her. "Either way, I shall send her some flowers as an apology. He is remarkably well informed and has been adapting quickly. It appears that he was Kinfolk, and one with a well-informed family at that."

Angela smiled at him, adjusting her own cap. "Then I shall keep the partition closed so you might have your privacy. I'm taking you home correct?"

Albert nodded and smiled at her before climbing into the back. The new pup had shifted back and put on the robe that was laid out for him. He was currently wiping his arms and face with a hot towel. Albert sat across from the boy and smiled at him. "Feeling a bit better?" After he received a nod, he continued. "My name is Albert Kaihn, and if you don't mind, I have a great deal of questions as to how you know so much about our society."

The boy leaned back into the leather upholstery. "Well, Mr. Kaihn, I would be surprised if you didn't. My name is Lucien LeBlanc, and I learned all I know about Garou Society from my grandfather, who was a Sept leader back east in his day. The validity of the information, being that he is a Shadow Lord, is questionable. So ask away Mr...Get, I think."

Albert smiled and took off his bowler, showing his slightly messy steel grey hair. "Glass Walker actually, but I do get that look at first quite frequently. They tend to realize I don't have the stereotypical Get of Fenris temper." Lucien looked surprised and sat closer to learn more information. He reminded Albert of Molly, when he started speaking about combat instead of academics. "As for my questions, I understand that being a Kinfolk with a Garou grandfather likely leads to you having a greater grasp of the situation. How, exactly, did you shift so quickly? Did your grandfather teach you to do that on the off chance that you might be a Garou?"

Lucien smiled what seemed like subconsciously. "No, my grandfather gave me a lot of information, but nothing like that. I just reversed the idea I gave another pup that seemed to work when I met her."

Albert lifted an eyebrow. "You ran into another new Garou? That must have been interesting if there were not other Garou there to explain it to her. Though, with the amount of information you seem to have, she probably had an easy enough time of it. When was this?"

Lucien laughed. "It was last weekend." Albert sat forward, folding his hands over his cane and gesturing for him to continue. "I found her unconscious, covered in blood, and mostly healed bullet wounds, on the forest floor by 'Lover's Hill'. She was very wary of me, but I used a visualization technique to get her to shift. I took her back to the car, got both of us warm, and took her home."

Albert just stared at him for a second. The boy said that he got the girl to shift and then brought them to his car and took her home. How would he take a Lupus 'home'? Then it clicked and Albert felt his eyes widened. "Leena"

Lucien nodded. "Yeah it was Leena. Apparently, she ran into some vampires coming to raid her mother's home and she woke up on the forest floor. Ms. Flynn said that there were no survivors from the strike team." Albert felt his left hand twitch and a let out a heated breath that was closer to a growl. Lucien evidently took notice of this. "What's wrong? I am assuming you already heard about this. Oh shit, are you her father?"

Albert looked up and, from the way Lucien pushed back into his seat, his eyes betrayed his rage. "No, I am decidedly not that glorified sperm donor. That male is useful for jeopardizing alliances and vainglorious claims to redeem his reputation and nothing else. Putting that matter very firmly aside, no I hadn't heard that Leena had changed. Nor had I heard that there was an attack on Bella. It seems I have a number of calls to make once we arrive at my home."

Lucien had seemed to calm down and leaned forward. "You are a Glass Walker. Can't you send everyone a wall of text without moving your hands away from that cane? Why didn't you know about Leena's change? I was under the impression that you would put them into training immediately."

Albert chuckled lightly, despite his slowly receding rage, feeling the car pull to a stop. "I could do that rather easily, yes, but some messages require the personal touch. I am what you might call a 'conservative' member of my tribe. I keep up with technology but understand the importance of interpersonal communications on a more biologic level. As for Leena's introduction, it is usual to wait for up to six months before introducing them. It is easier for pups to be introduced in a group then have one be individually introduced, trained for a month, and then suddenly there is a new pup to add to their pack." At Lucien's nod, Albert opened the door. "Now let's take this upstairs, you have a few things to tell me about your first change, and I am sure we both have some calls to make."

Albert ushered Lucien upstairs quickly and pointed him toward his landline to call his family and reassure them of the situation. While the boy was working things out with his family, Albert went to the kitchen, poured himself three fingers of whiskey, placed his bowler hat on the counter, and dialed his pack's Shadow Lord.

Rudella answered quickly, the sound of a history channel coming through over the phone. "Hello?"

Albert downed his drink and sighed. "Hello, Lie-Cutter"

The television was shut off. "You don't just call me Albert. What is going on?"

Albert leaned back against the table and sighed heavily. "I found a new pup."

Rudella whistled. "That's good news. That makes it, what, two this month. With the wolf you forced on poor Gally, that would make enough for a starting pack. Sounds like this month's moot is going to be fun."

"First of all, I didn't 'force' anything on Heart-Breaker. How much of a death wish do you think I have?" Rudella's laugh relaxed Albert's muscles a bit. "Besides that, we have three this month."

There as a noticeable pause. "Three?"

"Yes, the young man that Heart-Breaker found at the start of the year. I must say she has horrible luck. Two New Year's celebrations cancelled due to younglings. Then there is the young man I found an hour ago, and the one he found a week ago apparently."

There was the sound of moving furniture. "Wait, an unchanged Garou found a pup right after their change? Fuck, what kind of damage are we looking at?"

Albert had poured himself another and drank it before continuing. "None. This young man was quite well versed in dealing with werewolves. A very well-trained Kinfolk indeed. It must have been extra difficult considering she was Metis."

There was a noticeable pause on the other end of the line. "Bella's daughter changed?"

"Indeed, she did. Young Lucien did a good job in getting her to turn Homid, get her dressed, and take her back to Bella. He is still alive, so I'm guessing he will be excellent under pressure."

Rudella's sigh sounded painful. "True, that bitch is dangerous and those maternal instincts likely didn't help the matter. Let me guess why you're calling me. You want me to talk to our dear Natalya about sending Thinks-with-Cock out on a mission during the moot."

Albert drank his third triple and poured again. "Yes, I thought we might as well make it as easy as possible for the poor girl."

"Why the fuck do you call me for this shit?"

"It is what you get for being the only non-Fury, non-man-hating bitch of our pack."

"God, I need a drink."

Albert raised his glass to her over the phone. "Way ahead of you Lie-Cutter" He hung up, drank it down, and turned to find Lucien leaning against the frame of a doorway. "What did you tell your family?"

Lucien took a glass and poured some whiskey into it. Albert didn't stop him. The boy's new regeneration and metabolism wouldn't let him get drunk on non-Garou brewed alcohol anyway. "I told dad the truth. He knows everything I do about it. He told me to stay away for a bit, until we can figure out if my mother is Kin or not."

Albert clinked his glass with Lucien's and then tilted it back. "That is a good plan. Now, before I get to make another amusing phone call, why don't you explain what you remember. We need to figure out where the blood came from."

Albert sat down across from the young man as he explained his trip to a party, his slowly growing rage, and his encounter with the trio of young women. Lucien looked up. "I smelt something really foul right before I woke up again. Do you have any idea what that was?"

Albert cocked his head to the side and thought for a moment. "I think you got accosted by a trio of 'Enticers' I believe is what Pentex calls them. Fomori built to seduce and potentially kill their targets. Was there anyone important at that residence?"

Lucien nodded. "The mayor's son was there, I saw him for a moment on my way out. Besides him, I can't think of anyone else there."

"They may have occurred naturally, though that seems unlikely. I think they smelt the wolf in you, thought you were an easy Kinfolk to pick off before seducing their main target or were led there by a strange attraction to your wolf blood. You played a really good Honey Trap on them didn't you." Lucien turned a little red and scratched the back of his neck. Albert smiled at the innocent young man. "Why don't you head back to the room down the hall there and take a look at some of the clothes I have. If you find something you can tolerate, I will get them dedicated to you."

Once Lucien left, Albert picked up the phone and watched the test appear on the screen. Calling Heart-Breaker.

Galataea picked up the phone almost immediately. "One-Claw! I thought you were not coming down until Sunday, unless this is one of those calls where you tell poor Molly that you won't see her."

Albert chuckled, smile shining on his face. "No, I would never do that to Molly. I will be heading down on Sunday, but I have some things to tell you."

There was the sound of crashing on the other end of the line. "Oi, slowdown in the house you two! Take it outside!" There was more crashing and then a sigh. "Molly has taken a liking to the new boy. Poor kid hasn't remembered anything except his name, so I think he relishes in the distraction." She put on a very sultry voice for him, likely the one she used to get poor bastards at bars to follow her to a hotel. "So, now that I have you all to myself, what do you want to tell me?"

Albert smirked. "Careful there my dear Heart-Breaker, it isn't necessarily good news. I found a young puppy in the woods tonight."

She snickered. "Oh, and didn't pawn it off on me this time. What, are they one of yours?"

Albert took a drink. "Actually, it's one of Lie-Cutter's brood. His name is Lucien and he seems to be quite the accomplished Kinfolk, or at least was."

He heard the sound of liquid pouring over ice. "Another Shadow Lord. We shall see how ambitious the boy is. That makes three new puppies, which means we can introduce Molly to the pack at the end of the month."

Albert ran his fingers over the head of his cane smile growing on his lips. "We have four actually."

Galataea put down her glass with a little more force than necessary. "Did you find one on your little trip to that Washington drilling site?"

Albert leaned back grinning. "No, our new Shadow Lord found her last Sunday. She told him that there were a group of vampires planning to attack her home before she experienced her first change."

Galataea coughed on her drink. "What? Well, she must be a well-informed Kinfolk as well if she could find vampires."

Albert sighed. "I would agree, except the fact that it was Leena Flynn." He heard shattering glass and curses. "I would take that to mean that this is the first time your hearing of it too?"

Galataea growled, breathing heavily. "We...we need to get Godrick out of the Sept for this moot and I need...I need to call Bella, no I need to beat that woman! Why the fuck have I not heard about my pack being attacked by vampires!"

Albert smiled sadly. "I already contacted Lie-Cutter, she is taking care of it. I am sorry to bother you with this but your Beta will not answer my calls. Please have a drink, call Karen, and try to relax Taea. I will see you Sunday."

As he hung up, he heard Lucien knock on the wall. "Was that your wife?" Albert simply started to laugh hysterically.