Welcome to Gaia! ::

Receiving a response to his ad* on the shop's bulletin board was heartening.

Even his recent talks with the Rat Beta had only tickled a cruel, faint glimmer of hope in the Cat Alpha. Who really cared about pack-related things anymore? Who wanted to trust something that could easily be guaranteed but only followed through with a great weakness unless everyone stood behind their pack? Who was willing to take that chance and invest such effort and faith in a concept made so flimsy by modern culture? That is, unless one was involved in organized crime, perhaps. Could he blame any them? No, never. Ignatius had never blamed anyone, not even other pack leaders save himself; how could he when he himself had been away for a whole year? It had not been his fault, but he still treated it as if it was. He was responsible, someone had to be.

But this, this was going to be a test of his faith in himself as much as others. He was good with the sales pitch, which had encouraged these cats to set up a meeting with him today, but leading and mediating others was never as simple as he liked others to believe. And he had no idea what these cats even needed from him, if nothing more than to touch base with one's alpha.

Beside him sat his son, Keahi. It had been a simple enough decision for the youth to come along. He was, after all, serving in David's absence, not as a beta but as a personal assistant. In some cases that might amount to the same thing, but never had the hybrid ever assumed a measure of power, instead he served merely as a voice, sounding board, and of course to provide support. Isn't that what a spouse is for? he wondered wryly. After all, that seemed to be some of the capacity he and Blythe were serving one another, among other things. He sighed and grinned lightly at his father.

Sandwiching the alpha and his son were Aponi Hateya and Inari, respectively. Inari was currently being clung to by a more recent, wide-eyed addition to the Nullspace, Lev. Aponi sat quietly waiting on the far end. The three foxes had accompanied in response to news that the Fox Beta, Jiki, would be there. Once the old gossip Inari had caught wind of this meeting, he had gone looking for the foxes in residence and finally managed to snag the other two, fully aware that there were others that were currently unavailable. He would be sure, of course, to make sure Jiki knew this and would arrange meetings later on.

This large group, soon to be joined by still more, had had no choice but to reserve a large booth against the back wall of the restaurant. Hopefully the restaurant's owner would not come to regret such a large group's presence, even though enough money had been exchanged to ensure any inconvenience was well-compensated.


(( * Mel still needs to write that out and post it. Durr. x.x <3
Strike that. It's been made. ;D ))

There was a small commotion at the door. Everyone was in a state of waiting and became aware of the new arrivals within a moment or two.

Lev, forever-nervous, jumped a little in place with a small, half-drowned squeak. He then made a conscious effort to relax, with unfortunate obviousness. Taking several deep breaths, he unwound himself from Inari's arm leaving behind tiny, unintentional claw-marks behind, and folded his shaking hands in his lap.

"They're here," one of the foxes said quietly without taking his eyes off the menu he was studying. Aponi did not need to look up. He had a way about him that hinted at precognition though anyone to assume such a thing would be wrong.

Keahi leaned with one arm over the back of the booth to look back at the door. "He's right."

"Of course he's right," Inari spoke with amusement while he watched Lev's valiant attempts to conquer the many fears he had been living with for untold years of his life. He was very proud of the little fox for even considering coming along, let along actually doing so, and his ever-present smile was genuine when Lev glanced up at him briefly.

Ignatius did not look up. It would be untoward for everyone to be staring. However, he did look up with a broad smile that needed no coaxing as the others arrived at the table. He spoke with a purr that accompanied his raspy voice pleasingly. "Welcome! Please do sit." And as the others decided how they were going to arrange themselves, he gestured to those in his company, introducing each in turn. "Jiki, your foxes are Aponi Hateya..."

The fox Ignatius had indicated bowed a head covered in long, luxuriant, black hair. He wore clothing in home-cured doeskin leather, including a vest that only partially concealed the tattoo-work on his torso. "Good day, Alpha," he said with reverence that Jiki was probably not used to.

"And over here are Inari..."

"Greetings! It's a pleasure to meet you," piped in Inari with another genuine grin. First estimates put Jiki at 'powerful but overall inexperienced leader,' which was a good sign. Time would tell, of course, whether Jiki would prove to be the Beta the foxes needed, or not.

"...and Lev."

Lev jumped again, far less noticeable than before, and stared up at Jiki with round eyes. Something about him exuded energies like Ignatius', but like the Cat, the Fox had a benevolent air about him. "Oh... um, hello..." He offered a small, shy smile to Jiki, eyes sliding back to his menu almost as quickly as they had locked in with the Beta's. What had he decided to order, again? In his nervousness, the answer eluded him. Quickly, he opened his menu and scanned it again, hardly seeing the words printed on the page. He had almost tossed his coffee right out of its cup in the process as it skidded a couple of inches across the table; following suit were his complimentary glass of ice water and Keahi's as well.

Inari leaned closer and murmured in his ear. "You were going to order..."

"Oh. Right." Sheepishly, the little fox folded the menu and handed it over so that it could be placed safely in the small stack that was forming at the end of the table. His ears were flattened to either side of his head. Inari lifted and offered Lev's coffee back to him and he concentrated on sipping at it; the caffeinated brew actually worked to calm the shakes a little.

Meanwhile, the firecat had continued on to finish the introductions with his gracious, hostlike manner. "And of course my son, the fox-cat Keahi, and myself, Ignatius Alpha of the Cats."

Keahi bobbed his head to everyone, his smile eerily similar to his father's. "Welcome, everyone. Feel free to order what you like. They haven't been around to take our orders yet, but the coffee's pretty good."

"The tea isn't too bad either," Inari commented, sipping at a cup with a little flag hanging down the side. Inside was a flowery herbal brew that he had thought would be appropriate for the meal.

Each anthro met Jiki's handshake differently. Ignatius held the fox beta's hand firmly, testing for resolve; but he did not linger out of rudeness. Keahi's was also a firm shake, but weakened toward the end by curiosity and distraction with the others around him. Inari had already made his silent inquiry, what was left was an enthusiastic enough pumping of the other's arm. By contrast, Lev could hardly take hold, his hand shook so badly. It snaked back toward his lap after the briefest of contact, but not before almost dumping several glasses... again. Aponi's grasp was confident but warm; from him came reassurance, almost like an energy flowing from one fox to another.

Xenophon's nervous drumming set Lev on edge. That is, more so than before. He tried to ignore the cat and focused instead on Jigue. The subtle commotion between the fluffy cat and the fox beta was naturally not lost, and he was left wondering whether... no, Jigue was not nervous. If anything he was irritated, but not so upset that he would miss the fact that his menu was upside-down. Could he be... blind? He knew better than to stare however, as it often brings unwanted attention, and dropped his gaze.

The atmosphere was understandably tense. Half of the crowd was a stranger and a good portion of them were not outgoing people. Ignatius considered this as he considered Jiki's question. "Introductions have been made, but unfortunately that does not mean we all know each other. I think it might be best to share a meal first. Perhaps that will give everyone ample time to relax and perhaps get to know one another... at their leisure." He glanced back at Jiki for for approval.

Inari and Keahi were in agreement with the alpha. Lev hoped this suggestion would put him at ease. Aponi had no preference one way or another; like Inari, he would make his observations whether they ate or spoke. Interaction was interaction.

Next to Xenophon, Inari glanced over his shoulder. "Kwee-chie? Ahh. That's quiche," he commented, pronouncing it correctly. "Ever heard of it?"