Gathering of friends

[survivesitall]

It had taken a lot to convince Clayton this was a good idea. He didn't like having people around his home he didn't need to, and liked crowds even less. But Elena had insisted, some of the people invited as close to Pack as they'd have here, and others hopefully trusted friends. He'd even coughed up a name or two when she pushed, something that made her happy. She found she had a lot of leverage since she'd agreed to start trying for children, even if that was something that scared her no matter how much Jeremy had told them of their future.

The setup was simple enough. They'd opened up the doors to the barn and set tables around in front of it. Clay had set up a spit with a deer, and it was likely better if no one asked how they'd caught it. There was a regular grill sizzling with sausages and for whatever people brought, and a bowls of salads for anyone who wanted them. Elena wsn't sure of how much others ate, but she knew she and Clay could pack away enough for three humans. There were pies inside the house for later, once they'd all eaten their fill of everything else.

There might have been a chill on the air, but that just made the day more special to Elena. There were only a few more weekends they could do this before it got too cold for most.

Comments

[survivesitall]

"Can I get you a beer?" Elena looks at him with hope in her eyes, her smile warm and friendly. She's dressed casually, a plaid shirt and jeans that Clay always teased her was some sort of Canadian tuxedo. It usually earned him a punch, when he wasn't fast enough to get out of her way. "Or we have coke and juice if you don't drink."

[notaretriever]

It's been a long time since Luke has had a beer. Even at the bar he wouldn't drink, needing to be the one who stayed sober in case things started to go wrong, in case there needed to be mediation, which there often was. So when Elena offers, he mouth quirks into a smile and he nods.

"That would be nice," he says. "This is... it's nice. The food smells incredible."

[survivesitall]

"What can I say, I miss home. We always has people in and out of the house." Pack though, not just anyone. It was an important distinction, but the people Elena had invited were all people who were becoming freinds. The steps were small, but one day maybe she'd have that here too. "Come on. You can take your pick from what's in the cooler."

[notaretriever]

"Very different than what I'm used to," Luke admits, following Elena toward the cooler. "When I was in New York it was just the three of us." Jocelyn and Clary would often some into the store unannounced, or even Simon now and then, but for the most part it had been just the three of them. Jocelyn never would have allowed anyone to just walk in and out of their lives, mostly out of fear that Valentine would one day find them all and Luke could never blame her for that.

[survivesitall]

"Our Pack, we used to be bigger." She says the word to him, but still says it softly, aware of the people that are gathered here. But he knows what she is, it's something that was often obvious to others who were the same.

She pulls out a Spritz for herself, waving her hand at the drinks on ice for him. "Here it's just the two of us. It's too small."

[notaretriever]

"When I had a pack it was... it was large," Luke says with a laugh, selecting a drink for himself. "In Idris my pack was several hundred, but the number fluctuated. Manhattan was smaller, around seventy."

But he never would have let them run in and out of his life.

"I liked my privacy, though. In Manhattan it was only my friend Jocelyn and her daughter who would come by. They weren't like me."

[survivesitall]

"Our Pack was neer large, but it was bigger than this." A dozen, once, before the ones who had died - been killed. It's not the sort of thing to discuss on a day like today though, so she moves past it. "Here, it's just the two of us. I guess there's a point where you want to reach out and find more people you can trust and include in your lives."

[notaretriever]

Such a thing is difficult for Luke and even here he hasn't really made the attempt. There's Derek, Jason and Ron, but beyond them there are few people Luke trusts. He's never been given much reason to trust people, even other wolves.

"Did your packs have leaders where you're from?" he asks curiously. "I was a pack leader for a long time and that position... well, it's different."

[survivesitall]

"We had an Alpha. Jeremy, he was here for a little while." And then just as quickly he'd gone, making them miss him all the more. "He said that I'd be Alpha someday, succeed him. I'm still not sure I believe that."

[notaretriever]

Luke's gaze drifts away then, knowing the only way his pack would have found a new leader was with his death. "It's different where I'm from," he says with a faint twist of a smile. "Pack leaders have to die to be replaced. Die or be challenged for the role."

And even that almost always resulted in death.

[survivesitall]

"They do as far as I've known too." Not that Elena has known another Pack leader than Jer, but she's read the histories. "Apparently he plans to retire. Things changed a lot, I guess."

[notaretriever]

"It happens now and then where I'm from," he admits. "I left my first pack after a few years and they replaced me without the new leader tracking me down to challenge me." He'd been a good leader, even at a young age, and he knows his pack hadn't wanted him to leave, but they had known. His heart had belonged with Jocelyn. With Clary.

[survivesitall]

"That's a good thing. Otherwise you wouldn't be here would you?" Elena keeps it light, knowing that their conversation could easily move in another direction. "I've never met anone who gave up being an Alpha. I guess, other than Jeremy."

[notaretriever]

Luke smiles, the expression a little grim. "I might still be here." He's never lost a fight with another wolf before and while he prefers to never have to be in such a situation again, if it were to come to that, he likes to think he'd still be more than up to the challenge. His years of Shadowhunter training benefit him when it comes to fighting. He's not just a wolf, he's a trained assassin.

"But it's nothing worth worrying about here now," he says. "I have no interest in being a pack leader in Darrow."

[survivesitall]

Elena has to nod at his words, knowing that she's in a similar boat. "I'm not either. With Clayton and me, it's different, I'm happy to take the lead. I suppose I more ust want to know we have people out there. Who think like us."

There's something unspoken in her words, and she wonders if he'll pick it up. In case we need it, she thinks, knowing both the things her own world threw at her and this one had too.