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

[thelocalpsychopath]

Clayton understands being somewhat of a loner. Even with being an anthropology professor, he prefers to avoid crowds and anyone who isn't Pack. If it wasn't for Elena and Jeremy, and a need for money, he would probably refuse to leave his home and be perfectly fine with it. But Elena needs people, she even likes them, and so he tries for her benefit because it makes her happy. And Elena being happy and safe is pretty much his driving force these days.

So he accepts that she wants a party and he has to admit that he is somewhat curious about the people she invites. Especially the man he doesn't recognize who looks nervous about being there.

Drawing close, he studies him with an inscrutable gaze as he lifts his chin in greeting. "Hello. Are you a friend of Elena's?"

[notaretriever]

There are a lot of wolves here, enough to confuse Luke's sense of smell a little, but when he man approaches he still knows easily enough that he's not human. He smiles a little and nods, his chin dipping. Elena had been good to him his first day where when he'd been bloodied and bruised, aching from his broken leg and heartsick at having been taken from Jocelyn and Clary. If this man is here, if he's a friend of Elena's, Luke sees no reason why he shouldn't be honest.

"Hello. And, yes, I suppose so," he says. "I met her my first day here and she... she helped me out." Wolf's honour, she'd promised, an expression that still makes Luke grin. "I think she sensed a kindred spirit."

It's vague enough that it might not mean anything, but he hopes significant enough that the other man understands what he's saying. He's like them, a wolf, too. "I'm Luke Garroway."

[thelocalpsychopath]

Clayton relaxes a touch when the other man tells him about how he met Elena. "Right, I think she mentioned something about that." Most likely he had been reading or working on a paper which meant he wasn't always paying as much attention as he should be when she was talking. Probably something she knew all too well.

Reaching out to take his hand, he nods again. "Clayton Danvers. Nice to meet you." He adds the last part as he remembers that it's usually nice to add a statement like that when meeting someone.

[notaretriever]

Luke smiles, shaking his hand and he knows he looks nervous, but he relaxes a little, feeling slightly less anxious now that someone is speaking to him. "And you know Eleana from... before?"

He's used to tiptoeing around certain topics, having been unable to tell anyone but Jocelyn that he was a wolf for such a long time. It's the same here, asking people if they're from Darrow or if they've come from somewhere else.

[thelocalpsychopath]

The corners of Clayton's mouth twitch at the question as he nods. "I do." He actually starts to smirk. "Elena is actually my mate." He only says it so easily because he is pretty sure that his nose is right in telling him that this man is like him and Elena. He could be wrong but he was pretty sure that wasn't the case.

[notaretriever]

It's an interesting concept, one Luke's pack had never really adhered to. He'd spent three years with another wolf, he'd loved her in his way, but she hadn't been Jocelyn. Most wolves in his pack had been the same, forging relationships much in the same manner as humans despite spending most of their time in their wolf form.

But that was a long time ago. With the exception of the full moon, Luke doesn't spend much time as a wolf anymore and hasn't for thirteen years.

But he nods his understanding and resists the urge to say he left his behind. Jocelyn has never been his mate. "And so you live here together," he says with a smile.

[thelocalpsychopath]

"Yes." Clayton nods as he glances over his shoulder at the house behind them. "It's a lot better than living in the apartment building where we were living before." He looks back. "I don't really like small spaces like that. At least here I don't have to worry about anyone seeing me naked if I misplace my clothes."

Which had happened to him at least once when he had first arrived in Darrow. "People tend to freak out a bit when they spot a man walking around naked in the middle of a city. Or anywhere, really."

[notaretriever]

Luke's mouth twitches at that, another smile, and he nods his agreement. He remembers that first time he'd turned, stumbling back home to Alicante, pounding on his sister's door and begging to be let in, naked and streaked with dirt and blood.

It hasn't happened like that since then.

"I've had to be fairly careful," he says. "I have a place in the city and I don't mind it, but..." He trails off and nods again. "Well, it's a challenge at times." But he'd managed it in New York, he can manage it here.

[thelocalpsychopath]

"Usually we take bags of clothes with us but I wasn't familiar with the area yet." Clayton replies. "So I forgot where I put the bag. I found a piece of old tarp though." Which really hadn't done much for him though it had saved him from startling a few people when he used it to cover up his front.

"So...born or bitten?" He asks, not really thinking that such a question might bother some people.

[notaretriever]

"Bitten," Luke answers. "Seventeen years ago." He's long since become comfortable with what he is and the changes in his life that he had to make, but sometimes he still holds a bit of resentment toward Valentine for the way he'd been set up. "I was something called a Shadowhunter in my world prior to my change. We were demon hunters. Someone wanted to get me out of the way, so he set me up to be bitten."

And he had been exiled.

[thelocalpsychopath]

"Demon hunters?" His nostrils flare slightly at the revelation and the idea of demons running around. He glances briefly towards Elena then as though to check where she is and if she is okay before looking back. "Did you get back at the guy who set you up to get bitten?" He is pretty sure he would have.

[notaretriever]

"Real demons," Luke clarifies, not knowing if it's the same where Clayton and Elena come from. Where he's from all Downworlders are part demon, but the Shadowhunters never paid them much mind. "The big, scary kind you don't want bursting into your world."

At the question, though, he smiles a little and shakes his head. "No. He was married to my best friend. He had an entire organization of demon hunters at his back. I fled and didn't see him again until just before I arrived here."

[thelocalpsychopath]

"We have demons back home but I don't think I have come across one yet. I know people who have though." Really, he doesn't like the idea of meeting a demon and having one around his Pack. "I think they like the magic users more than us."

"Sounds unpleasant." Which Clayton figures is putting it mildly. "I would have tried killing him when I saw him." If he had been in Luke's shoes. "But I've been told I'm always a little too quick to go with that option."