A Human, a Werewolf, and a Vampire Walk Into a Bar...

[Kaya]

Celia took in the surprise on the wolf’s face with glee, watching patiently as he struggled with his emotions. He may even be easier to manipulate than she had been expecting, which was excellent news in the long run. In these dark times, with the vampires on the move towards invading territories, wolves were becoming much more distrusting towards strangers. Which is exactly what the woman was. She had only been in the states for a couple of weeks, gathering what information she could against the Greybacks. Everything about her was different from what was considered a normal american, from her beliefs to the thick arabic accent that exaggerated her english. It was what made her pickings for a pack member so careful. She couldn’t fail her pack simply because she was too eager to try and talk to one of these members, as opening as they were. So when Celia could see the mental shake as he figured out how to greet her rash introduction, the wolf settled comfortably into place to start her flirts with the scruffy omega. Her pale gaze nearly lit up at his politeness, and she leaned back with her free hand taking place on one side of her wide hips, as though welcoming his gaze to glance over the rest of her.

“Please, call me Celia, Phelan.” The wolf slid onto the stool he presented for her after clinking the empty glass down on the bar counter top. She didn’t miss the quick glance to the human girl he had been talking with earlier, who now seemed to be fighting with the large red headed human that had been earning stares from quite a number of supernaturals all evening. She made a mental note to ask about the strange couple before offering him a smile to try and sway him back under her charms. It shouldn’t be too hard… he was an omega. He wasn’t used to being noticed, and with the addition of the beer he had ordered, the stranger felt more confident in her abilities as the bartender came back with her refill; a coke. Only a small handful of times in her life Celia had touched alcohol. This wouldn’t be one with the work she needed to do, and needed a clear mind to do it. But if Phelan wanted to muddle himself, all the better. The wolf raised the glass to her lips as she silently watched the man.

“This is my first time here, in this bar. It’s quite… unusual.” There was a fair amount of truth in her statement. Celia had been watching the bar and studying the staff members before coming inside. She had picked a day when the owner wasn’t supposed to be here, but she did her best to stay out of the vampire’s way. There wasn’t a reason to get Hiran’s fledgling to notice her. More truthfully, she wasn't used to being around those that weren't wolves. To be so casual amongst humans in particular was unsettling, though she did her best to hide the thoughts.
“As are you, standing out the way you do.” With that she smiled towards the man, biting her bottom lip in her flirt.
“Is it normal, Phelan, to mingle so much with such a diverse crowd?”

One minute Kaya was sitting on the iced snowy floor, questioning why she had to go and socialize instead of just cuddling up on the couch with an old movie with the one person she wouldn’t mind being around, the next she was… surrounded by strangers. The vampire flashed her eyes up as heated hands reached down to grasp at her shoulders, the constant phrase of ‘are you okay’ being breathed out into the chilled air. She drew herself out of the shock that came with the sudden fall and took a stranger’s hand in aid to stand. She smiled in charm to ward off the concerned wolves and fae that surrounded her, but then realized that none of the faces belonged to…

“Damnit.” Red eyes danced around to try and pinpoint the alpha that, what, ran away? Seriously? The smile faltered before she reminded herself that these were guests that were helping her, and she could already sense the distress as they looked over the clumsy vampire to make sure nothing serious was happening. Of course not, she was just an idiot who never really paid attention to her surroundings like she should. Kaya let out a light laugh as she wiped at the back of her now ruined dress, backing away from the group with encouragements to go back to their quiet break from the noisy atmosphere inside. It took some convincing, as her patrons were always more protective than the introverted vampire scene, but she finally was able to head back towards the door to face the shocked bouncer. She rolled her eyes in response before murmuring into his ear. If Morrigan wanted to be petty about this, fine, but Kaya wasn’t going to let the impulsive escape go unpunished. She asked that the word get out that if they saw the unbearable alpha to let her know immediately, and for a bouncer to escape the sneaky wolf to the VIP section. This city may belong to the Greybacks, but this was still her club, damnit.

For now, the vampire headed back inside, away from the group that was already talking about her embarrassing mishap, and headed back towards the bar. She didn’t go back to the humans just yet though. Her dress was now slitted further up her thigh from the rip much further than she was comfortable with, and her eyes were a shade darker in emotion due to the emotional torment this insufferable alpha kept putting her through. She just, wanted to be alone, and to maybe see if she could find some to repair the damage done on her outfit while she waited for her staff to hopefully corral Morrigan and send a little embarrassment towards the wolf this evening. The thought was enough comfort as she slid past the employee doors to head towards her office.

[Zeko]

Riley tensed up a little as Nadia began to speak, suddenly not out of irritation... but guilt. She was right. He shouldn't be so sharp with her, it wasn't necessary by any means. After all he had made a scene with her himself, at the hotel, when Brandon was in the picture. And, maybe he deserved the sharply muttered words. She was only trying to help the only way that she could right now, and another wave of guilt washed over him. She hadn't asked for any of this. She was, at best, a hostage in the entire mess of it. She was excellent at making him feel terrible and just as he was going to turn and calmly apologize to her... The accusation came through. She was excellent at making him see red.

His head snapped to face her as she was suddenly extremely interested in, and quickly consuming her drink. The look on his face was beyond indignant as he found himself suddenly facing her, trying to meet her eyes as she clearly avoided his.

"... Wha' was tha' now?" There was an edge to his voice he hadn't meant to include, but he was already trying to keep his voice low, and feeling too angry to care. "I knew it. I knew tha' was wha' tha' was about." He shook his head and rapped his tattooed knuckles along the smooth bar top again, quickly sliding his glass away from him. It was one thing to drink when he was sad... He hated drinking when he was angry.

"I'll be sure t'tell'er t'take it down a notch nex' time. Guess I didn' realize how heavy we were gettin' in front o'everyone..." He knew immediately he was saying and doing everything wrong. He could have been civil, and yet he chose to push her buttons instead. He couldn't help himself... He was the every bit the bitter and angry person she assumed she was in the moment. There was no denying it. They had a lot of unresolved history, so saying hurtful things was extremely easy when he was still hurting after three years. It had sure seemed obvious she had moved on happily that night at the hotel. She was dating other people... He was allowed to make eye contact with, and speak to another woman. Especially when this was all strictly business and intel... Or at least it had been, until Nadia had skipped into the picture.

"Yeah y'not much help when y'chasin' away our leads, Nadia. Not how collectin information works." His knuckles continued to tap nervously along the bartop as the words poured out of him. "This... ain' no time for. Us." He could feel his muscles tighten up with the words. "I have a job t'do, an' tha's all I wanna do. Wanna get paid so I c'n getcha outta here, an' so I c'n get back home..." It was just a job. That was it. Just business... Nothing personal...

It was extremely easy for Phelan to forget about playing referee for his love blinded friends, when the lovely wolf in front of him was clearly flirting him up and inviting him to do the same. It was a correct assumption that he wasn't terribly used to being noticed in a crowd, and the tense way he shifted as she spoke to him probably made that extremely clear. It was even easier to forget anything Riley had taught him about body language when he wasn't being questioned about his work life... She wanted to know about him and it caused his brain to short circuit a bit at the thought. He didn't feel terribly interesting...

"It's... lovely to meet you, Celia." He turned to thank the bartender as he returned with their drinks, happy to take a sip from the bottle he'd received to help ease him up a little bit. He was rusty at this sort of thing... But he wasn't terrible either. He offered a small smile as she spoke... and couldn't help a small bubble of laughter as she described him. 'Unusual' was a great word for what he was...

"I guess it's what I would call normal, anyway." Growing up strictly around wolves, he'd been eager to broaden his horizons in his travels. "I don't actually spend a lot of time around other wolves these days... So, tonight is a bit unusual for me, too." He sipped his beer slowly, trying to remain slow but not wanting it to warm up, either. He finally had the sense to set it down on the bar, and turned himself to face his attention solely on her instead.

"So, then... what brings you into such an unusual place tonight, Celia?" He offered a smile of his own as he awaited an answer, looking genuinely curious, and interested to know. If he was out of place in here... She was too. But he liked it. It seemed to easily draw him into her, whether it was her game or not. Celia was attractive, and she had chosen to talk to him. Riley was the sore thumb at the bar... But he seemed to be pretty busy at the moment, lucky for him.

[Vaidya]

Any progress of filtering some civilised, cooperative conversation into this mess had flown right out the club door and nose dived into the snow. Nadia couldn't look him at his face and was ready to be told to walk. Told that she shouldn't try the 'asshole outfit' on either because it was embarrassing. She would be ready to apologise as the right mix of shame and confusion as to where she stood came to a peak. The Irishman beside her wasn't feeling ready to give her that moment however. In any case the short blonde woman was left with eyes unexpectedly bulging before slowly, deathly slowly, turning back to the red head beside her. She could feel this... she had never felt it before so she couldn't properly explain it. It was heavy and dark and twisting and dragging through her insides. It was past jealousy. This was just plain being hurt intentionally.
"Y- ...you-" her anger was written all over her face, her breathing uneven and her drink (with very little remaining) was placed hard on the counter. The words wouldn't come out though. They were stuck just right inside her throat, perhaps in that giant lump that was forming inside. Along with the wet, hot feeling beginning to fill up her eyes. What, no. No! Don't fucking cry. Don't let him see her be affected. She hated being an angry cryer. Hated it.
But how could she escape it right here and now. After being told that he was certainly not thinking about her in any way. Her feelings didn't matter and he could do what he wanted. That might be true but... wait, was it true. He felt nothing? Nothing at all? He was happy to carry on with other attention like she wasn't even there? He had... intended to follow along with any affections he might receive? Or was her presence that fucking irritating that he would say such a thing to push her down and away?
Either way... she couldn't stand what she'd just heard. By the time she opened her throat back up to talk, the moment for a spicy and powerful retort was gone. It was obvious she had faultered, and that didn't help in holding back any moisture wavering up to her large eyes.
"You know what. Fuck you," she finally spoke up in a firm tone but certainly a notch down from yelling, and held her palms up as if to motion to his entire being, "Fuck... whatever you're doing. Fine. I tried to tone down my personal life around you as soon as you showed up, but no, you go do whatever you want and call it 'business'."
Slight exaggeration of what he was doing infront of her but... she was honestly just feeling everything right now.

"Sure. Fine!" Shit. The tears were there now as her voice wavered and her eyes shot straight up to the ceiling in a last bid attempt to hold herself together. If bluntly saying he was openly accepting romantic attention with her around was one thing, it was another thing to tell her that she was completely useless. She wasn't helping. And she bloody wasn't. Causing a scene in a public place now and earning a few judgemental looks from patrons near by the ex-couple's argument. This wasn't her... this... this might actually be him though. She didn't know now. The Riley she knew wasn't sitting infront of her right now. Scowling and looking like he wanted to punch something. Because of her.
"I'm gunna go I think. You want to focus on business, well that's just fine. Good luck," she was power walking out of there before she had even finished her sentence because she could feel those hot tears beginning to roll. He'd gotten under her skin, and that used to be her favourite thing about him. But not like this. Nadia disappeared into the crowd and was already packing her suitcase in her mind as she weaved between strangers and managed to avoid anyone she knew or had been recently introduced to. While waiting for her thick jacket to be returned from the coat room beside the club entrance, she swiped through flight times on her phone. And by the time she had wiped away her tears on her sleeves in the bitter cold air outside and smudged her mascara... she'd deleted the plane tickets in her checkout box. Her breathing was slowly starting to even out, small puffs floating about her flushed and distressed face as she stood on the side of the road waiting for the taxi the security had called for her. No... no it wouldn't work. She'd done this before. A week ago she'd packed her bags while Phelan and Riley slept. She'd taken a cab to the airport and checked in and was walking to the terminal gate, feeling the odd mixture of guilt and relief begin to fill her. Guilt for abandoning the two men in a really screwed up situation and relief to be as far away from this drama as possible. And then Sai had stood from his seat in the waiting lounge with a cheerful disposition and a shrug.
"You'll have to be a bit smarter than that Miss Jones."
It was a very powerless moment. Topped off with the Beta adding, "Hey don't make me have to put drugs in your bag next time to keep you grounded here. I don't wanna be that guy."
Worst time to try and be funny. She had felt physically sick in that moment. The bad taste in her mouth from that day was only just leaving, to be replaced with jealousy and unresolved feelings that had been simmering and unspoken.
Yeah. She wasn't being smart. She had prided herself on being clever growing up, and now she was just a stupid little girl who let her heart do the deciding. Who let a ghost of a relationship dictate and distract her every move. A long, sharp exhale wracked her body and pushed out the last of any angry tears that wanted to overflow. She was still angry though. At him, at Morrigan, at the existance of this vampiric super power behind all of this. She was also a bit drunk and loose mouthed apparently. The petite woman with layers of clothing (that did nothing!) smoothed her fingers through her hair in disdain. Things needed to change. She could either play the victim and throw more useless emotion around at Riley. Or she could actually get her head in the game in order to help get them all out of this mess. And chatting to friendly faces wasn't going to cut it. After all, she thought while her confidence picked up a little as the cab pulled up with a flash of it's lights, the slayer had not only been her lover. He had been her teacher years ago. She might be rusty, but perhaps that was the better path to take. What was the saying? If you want something to get done, just do it yourself.

The old testament might not have been so relatable to the Greyback Alpha however. Who -had- done things her way, and it had blown up in her face. Or rather left her arm and ribs torn up. Her side twinged in memory as she turned inside the dark building, lowering her hooded coat before unzipping it to reveal a more casual attire than what she normally wore. Dark torn jeans and a long sleaved top with swirling embroidered forearms that almost matched her hair in colour.
"Alpha Morrigan," one of the security guards piped up with a wary tone. The woman yanked off the purple head scarf keeping her silver hair out of view, the unique strands bouncing up free from the material before she turned and laid sharp olive green eyes on the tall werewolf. He shrank back a little but stood his ground. She wasn't his boss right now in this establishment.
"Kaya would like to welcome you to the VIP section."
"Would she now. How generous," her sarcastic tone was smooth and uncaring as she walked off toward the bar, tossing the head scarf at the person who had so politely taken her jacket. The amount of staff that were trying to redirect or serve her was irrelevant in her mind at this moment. Instead long strides took her into the thick of the social pit, unable to keep an uncomfortable grimace from twitching at her top lip now and then when someone got too close or loud. A few patrons recognised her immediately and stopped their fun in either confusion, fear or just plain curiousity. Olive eyes continued to flick and drag across different groups of people looking for short black hair and glasses. Nothing. She reached the bar on the far side of the room and let out a long sigh before her head paused in the middle of panning around. The Red Slayer was here. And in quite a heated discussion with the hostage. Gah, not the hostage. She needed to stop labeling the Jones woman that inside her own head. The collateral perhaps. Whatever the blonde could be titled as, Morrigan couldn't help but flinch her head back minutely at the show of shameless public argument. And she'd thought they'd aired enough of their dirty laundry in her office the day they all became welcomed into this war. Apparently not. She... didn't want to have to deal with this. Sai should be doing this. A defeated frown creased in between her eyebrows as she decided to not watch the shit show any longer and instead realised she was actually standing near by another of her pack mates. The one who had brought her the slayer no less. Talking to someone and minding his business.

"Omega," came her low almost bored tone before she rested her forearms on the bar, her broad shoulders flaring a little without looking at Phelan in the face, "Get me a drink."
She needed something to take with her to this damn VIP lounge if this was the way things were going tonight. She swiped through her phone for any email updates, still working amongst an ocean of people living their lives, scouring through Sai's previous messages for any contact details for Sterling. She was quite oblivious as to whom Phelan was sitting with and she probably just wouldn't have cared even if she -had- glanced over at Celia. Her drink arrived, the blonde left and the muscled security walked over all at the same time.
"Please Miss Bennett. I must insist that you move to the VIP area."
So it was sweet Miss Bennett now?
Either Kaya was pissed at her (for a change) or they were suddenly losing customers. Morrigan pocketed her phone with an annoyed grunt before plucking her drink up and taking a sip of the hard liquor to calm any irritation that began to flicker toward the guard. He was just doing his job. Didn't stop him being an irritation though.

Morrigan's eyes finally slid to her side at Phelan, quirking an eyebrow wordlessly before pivoting and moving to follow after the hired security toward the roped off section.
"Tell your friend I have his first assignment."
And she would have to wait for them to come to her, sipping her scotch behind the darker tones of the thick red curtains. Not knowing that she and Kaya were actually quite alike in where their train of thought rested this evening; should have stayed at home.

[Kaya]

Kaya headed into her office, slammed the door, huffed, then promptly leaned against the frame with a sigh as she felt the rush of embarrassment for losing her temper. That damn insufferable alpha did whatever she could to ruffle the vampire’s feathers and she hated when it worked. She crossed her arms and glared over at her desk, fingers tapping up along her arm. She breathed away the frustrations before walking over and began rummaging through her drawers for a needle and thread when someone knocked on her door. The vampire snapped her head back towards the sound of it opening, eyes flashing in their hard red stare as she slammed the drawer close.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake. What?” She hissed. The word was passed quietly in her seething anger as she shot it towards her manager. Zach shrank back for a moment. There was something up tonight amongst the group, and he was smart enough to try and stay out of the drama as was his usual strategy. His boss seemed to have a knack for dragging in trouble whichever way she walked and talked, and he found it was safer to remain absolutely clueless about her life.

“We have Morrigan, Kaya. I think Kristopher is in the process of escorting her to the VIP.” The woman’s eyes lost their temperamental shine and she sighed towards her manager.

“Thank you, Zach. Bring her the usual and I’ll be right out.” The man was all too hasty to leave as Kaya straightened her spine and brushed at her wrinkled satin dress. Dark lips frowned over the tear that stretched upwards. This was not the presentable manner she wanted for this. But she also wasn’t supposed to be here at all tonight. She was supposed to be over at Erakin’s, watching some old fashioned movie as he slowly drifted off to sleep with her in his arms. The vampire tapped her fingers on her desk, frowning down at the phone. Shit. She brushed at her messy tangled hair to make herself not seem a total loss in looks for the evening and headed out of the door.

First thing she had to do was drag the pair of humans over to the lounge with her and have them confront the alpha with her. Kaya still wasn’t entirely sure what Morrigan’s game was when it came to the pair of them, but she needed to put a stop to it. However, she saw the flash of the blonde hair and an angry face that was the human woman with the weird manners from before dashing outside. Kaya stopped as she watched her go, an eyebrow quirking with a sigh. Of course the group was separating. This whole night was a fucking disaster so sure, why not have it be a giant game of cat and mouse as the vampire tried to corral this group into one place instead of having a bit of fun in her life for once. Kaya started to head towards the door, but stopped briefly at one of her wolf bouncers to ask that he try and located the giant red headed human man and bring him to the red curtained lounge.

“Tell him that Morrigan is there, and I’ll bring Nadia with me.” She instructed before dashing outside a second time this evening to chase someone down.

The bouncer outside quirked his brow as his boss came out again with a look of determination and Kaya knew she was looking insane in front of her staff this evening. She waved him off with a weak smile and started heading towards the road, seeing the blonde hair and then the cab that stopped in front of her. Kaya’s red eyes widened and she began to pick up her pace in the snow.

“Oh for fuck’s sake. Nadia, darling! Please hold on.” She shouted towards her, feet hitting the ice and immediately the thrill of her foot catching and let out a loud gasp mixed with a shrilled squeal as she slid into the middle of the road.

“God damnit! Nadia, please don’t make me run after you! I’ve made myself a fool enough tonight by falling on my ass out here earlier.” Kaya’s arms stretched out in front of her to balance herself, watching the road with caution as she stepped more cautiously towards the cab and the human girl. She raised her hands, palms up, in a peace offering as she saw the distress in her pale blue eyes. Kaya didn’t know what else happened in the time she had left the humans alone, but by the looks of things she had made another mistake by leaving them. What was wrong with this evening?

“Look, tonight’s been rough on all of you, and I understand that you may want to not face things, but I have Morrigan stuck in the back room waiting on us. Let me help you get out of this fucking mess. Maybe even have some fun watching me get mad at her for a change for doing this to the pair of you.” The last sentence brought up a grin and a quirked eyebrow, trying to find a common connection in how much this alpha annoyed them by invading their lives.

Celia was having a hell of a time watching the wolf shift his body weight as he tried to calm his nerves around her. She drank it in and let it swim as it built up her own confidence in this meeting. Well, for now a flirtatious encounter, but she was already beginning to see the cracks in his simple wolf brain as she flashed smiles towards him and grabbed at his beer too quickly. He was nervous, and she wanted those nerves to keep if she wanted to make this job easy on herself. Keeping the man out of his element meant it would be far easier to pry information out of him as she used her wiles and wit to sweet talk it out of the man. She wasn’t lying though when she tease him for his cuteness. Choosing a target that actually did win her over in the looks department just helped make her talking more sincere.

Her bright eyes had lit up towards him when he talked about himself, though she was curious on what he meant by not hanging around wolves. He was part of the pack, wasn’t he? He had been with a group of other pack members most of the time he had been in here. How hard could it be really to stay social with them when your pack was your family? Or perhaps the Greybacks were more loose on what it meant for them to be an active social unit for this city. Celia pinned that at the back of her mind to bring up later.

“An acquaintance had let me in, wanted me to see more of the city while I visited.” She said casually, leaning in towards the counter and set an arm down on top of it. Wrong. She had stolen a card to get inside, but he didn’t need to know the nitty gritty details when acquaintance could have been anyone in the crowds, and proved that she had no attachments towards them or obligation to seek them out. Her attention could remain on the scruffy pup.

“I really had only wanted to come in to amuse them, and then of course something caught my eye.” She let the innuendo speak for itself and smiled towards him, eyes glinting perhaps a little more dark in manner than they should have for simple flirts. She leaned in close at that point towards him, nose gently inhaling his scent as she stared up as he inevitably would jerk back in reflex to the invasion of space.

“You said you don’t spend a lot of time with wolves? It was hard to tell, considering you seemed to be having a great time with them tonight.” It was a casual comment, and a way to try to try and sidestep herself into his business if he offered up why he didn’t hang with the pack normally.

“Are you perhaps just-” The scent hit her first, making her stop mid sentence as her eyes flashed to the side to see a woman come to the bar to stand opposite of Phelan from herself. Celia quickly diverted her face towards the bar, letting her hijab hide the side of her profile as she blended in with the rest of the crowd and not attract the attention of the alpha. It didn’t stop her from straining her ears and frowning her lips as Phelan was given an order. At least it was a direct confirmation this man was part of the pact, which was counteracting with why he said he didn’t take to wolves much, and he was an omega, which explained more on his attitude of being shy and inexperienced.

A new voice entered though Celia didn’t dare to look over as someone with some authority came to retrieve the alpha. It was the final statement from the silver haired woman that made her pearlescent eyes shine as her inner wolf growled. She wasn’t going to lose her victim just because his pain in the ass leader was here.

Celia tried a new approach as Morrigan moved away, looking towards the man over her shoulder, almost shyly as she pouted her bottom lip.

“Does that mean our fun is already over, Phelan?” She asked, lowering her eyes towards her drink as though she were embarrassed to be brushed aside.

“What a shame.”

[Zeko]

Riley's shoulders were stiffening up the longer he could feel Nadia's gaze boring a blazing hot hole into him. He regretted his words as soon as he realized her eyes were welling up with tears, and it was his fault it was happening. Still, she had no business directing his life or telling him who he could and couldn't talk to, this was business... This was his job. They hadn't been a thing in years, he hadn't even seen her face inor spoken to her in years... And yet here she was. With an accusatory tone, as if he had just been caught cheating on her. That's how she had made it feel, and it was only piling onto his growing list of frustrations. Despite the fact that he had acted... Well, extremely similarly, not very long ago... At least he hadn't chased off their only helpful lead in an actual life or death situation...
Suddenly she was turning on her heel and leaving, and he found himself with the strong urge to follow her. And yet, he stayed. Anchored to the bar stool by some unknown source. He forced himself to remain where he was, knuckles wrapping again along the bar nervously. He knew damn well Morrigan and her pack were going to do anything they could to make sure to keep all of them in the city, and they would probably have someone out there keeping an eye on all of them. Wherever Nadia decided to end up, she would most definitely be safe.
But whatever Kaya had to say was important, it was vital to whatever the hell it was he was doing. Flying by the seat of his pants, that was what he was doing... The vampire woman had made it clear that he was extremely in over his head. Whatever he could learn from her would only be of benefit to his cause. He knew she would be back... Sometime, anyway, to speak to him, and he wanted to be here.
In the meantime, he was content to let himself just be drunk at the bar, refraining finally from another drink as his eyes began to wander slowly around the place. They came to a stop on Phelan across the other side of the bar, but the wolf's attention was clearly elsewhere, as he did everything he could to avoid Riley's eyes now. The Irishman grunted and rubbed at his own eyes, sighing heavily and letting them shut slowly for what felt like the first time in weeks. What was he going to do next?

And who could blame Phelan for ignoring Riley now, like the Irishman had been ignoring him? Another wolf was actually paying him attention. Phelan was used to being on the sidelines, an omega overlooked for other wolves of higher rank. It was just how life was on the lowest point on the totem pole. The only problem now was convincing himself to remain collected and not make a fool of himself in front of Celia. He started by making sure to focus all of his attention on her... Yet in the back of his head, he hadn't failed to notice that Nadia had just stormed out of the building, and had instinctively felt the urge to follow after her. But another, more alien force was holding on to the omega... He wasn't about to break his contact with Celia. Especially not as he felt his face heat up as she explained her reasoning for sitting beside him and making conversation now. It was definitely the small amount of alcohol he'd had that was... Most definitely causing that, though... And he took another sip to ease himself up. It did the exact opposite when she was suddenly leaning closer to him. He swallowed down hard and instinctively leaned away almost nervously, feeling yet more heat rise in his face. He felt his eyes drop to read her lips as she spoke lowly to him, trying to bring them back to her eyes swiftly when he realized.
Celia's eyes, however, were suddenly not on him, but behind him. Her head turned... And as confusion gripped him, Morrigan's voice hit his ears and he froze up. He turned to look up at the alpha and shifted nervously, feeling his face was extremely hot now... This time with an edge of humiliation. He swallowed that down as he silently followed orders, and sought out the bartender's eyes to relay the alpha's drink of choice. On Riley's tab, of course...
Phelan settled back in his seat in silence as Morrigan looked through her phone, and Celia was suddenly quiet beside him. Who could blame her? ... That 'omega' label was hard for a lot of wolves to overlook. It was precisely why he didn't prefer being around other wolves... Rank was more important in these social circles.
Phelan did find the nerve to peek around the alpha to the new voice that approached, feeling a sense of relief wash over him when Morrigan moved to follow after them. It was short lived, however, as left him with one more curt order, and Phelan only gave a small scowl when her back was turned. Figured. Minding his own business... Having a conversation with someone...
Celia's voice rang above the bass of the music and other voices around the bar, and directly to his ears. He turned in time to catch Celia's eyes, followed by the shy glance away from him. There was that force holding him to his seat again... And in spite of alpha orders. He'd never been great about following rules as it was... And Morrigan hadn't even specified what the assignment was.
Phelan pulled his phone from his pocket, and typed furiously for a moment before sliding it back into place with a shake of his head.
"... Of course not..." Celia was still speaking to him. That was far more promising than he'd even hoped for from her. He had thought she would definitely leave before Morrigan did... Yet she was still here. He had no intention of leaving either.
"He can read so... It's already done." He gave her another smile and turned to face her in his seat again. He was determined to help her keep... Some conversation going. "... So, uhm... Where were we...?"

When Riley's eyes reopened, they adjusted on Phelan's back, but traveled swiftly to Morrigan's silver hair, and he blinked a few times to make sure he saw correctly. He watched where she was being lead to, and shifted in his seat a little, trying to keep his eyes on her. As soon as she disappeared behind a set of doors, he didn't fail to see Kaya running past next. He blinked again, readying himself to hop out of his seat to go after her... And then she was going out the door too. He grunted in frustration as he leaned into the bar again heavily. The night... No, the entire week had been a three ring circus, and there didn't appear to be any end in sight.
Just as he was already contemplating pouring another drink, he felt his phone vibrate, and furrowed his brows slightly. He only rarely received text messages... Between a handful of clients, and Phelan, he had no reason to. Which was probably clear by the sight of the blocky flip phone he opened up, and clicked around to read the message Phelan had sent. When Riley looked up almost incredulously at being texted instead of approached, he saw why the wolf was clearly ignoring him now. He was talking to a woman. That was... Admittedly unexpected.
Riley sighed and he closed his phone, sliding it back into his pocket and reaching for the bottle again. All he could do now was wait, might as well keep a steady buzz...

[Vaidya]

She stepped off the curb, the simple motion feeling as if she was back in control of her life somewhat after a quiet, cold moment of reflection. The taxi slowed cautiously on the icy road, the heat from it's exhaust sending a small veil of condensation around her. As fingertips hooked under the door handle of the cab, that brief aura of focus was broken when a voice recently introduced to her was fired out through the frosty air. The short blonde turned her head back toward the club to witness the ruby eyed woman travelling quickly out into the street after her, the deep bass of the club echoing out into the street when the doors were opened. Nadia couldn't stop the quizzical, single eyebrow on her face that raised in response. What the bloody hell was she- oh shit!
Previously in the night, the keen eyes of Morrigan had seen the errors in Kaya's footing a split second before it occurred, but Nadia was most likely not as heightened in that quality. The graceful, superior, predatory stereotype of the vampire beings was quite suddenly eliminated before her very eyes when the dark haired woman shouted out in surprise as her high heels slipped and slid her clumsily into the road beside the human. Nadia's single eyebrow was joined by her other in surprise a she flinched, a sobering and almost awkward expression stamping across her face.
Well that just happened.
"I... " she couldn't get a word out for a short moment. Part of her wanted to ask the vampiress if she was okay, a natural reflex for a polite human being apparently, no matter the odd circumstances. Part of her wanted to roll her eyes and get straight in to that cab without another word.
And then Morrigan's name was brought in to it.

Well. It turned out that Riley really had been on to a great information source after all. She couldn't help but train her eyes a little better on Kaya's ghostly red eyed face, narrowing her own dark blue eyes as she took in the new information. Her fingers still paused on the car door.
How much power did this individual have? Could her involvement really help her and Riley's situation? But if they were out of this huge mess by some miracle move from an outside party, where did that leave Phelan?
"Hey lady!"
Nadia jolted in her spot, her blonde head snapping back to the driver who had now peeked his window down to grab her attention.
"You gettin' in or what?" She heard the impatient edge in the abrupt question.
The small woman had to decide and her face stiffened in hesitation. No, she had to keep hold of that resolve she had happened upon alone in the street. She needed to stop being on the side lines, and start making her own mark on this.
"Sorry mate, I'll leave it for now," her voice was genuinely apologetic and she offered a small strained smile. Only for the man to make an unimpressed snort.
"Damn tourists," he muttered before hitching up his window quickly, Nadia having to make a quick step backwards as the cab driver drove off. A small stab of guilt for wasting the man's time was swallowed up by the matter at hand however.

Nadia didn't watch after the car for long, turning to close the distance between her and this new acquaintance. She still wasn't sure if she could trust anyone in this bloody city, but the way Kaya had presented her proposal in making things harder for Morrigan, well... it was rather enticing after the week she'd already had.
"Well, if this involves mucking Morrigan about then I gotta say," she offered a more smirking, sincere smile than their prior meeting in the bar, "I'm in."
It was then that the small human noticed Kaya's dress had been damaged. From her previous fall she'd mentioned? How many times did vampires fall around here exactly?
"Uh," she couldn't help but stare for a moment at the scarred leg that was exposed. She knew vampires didn't exactly feel the cold but she grew colder just looking at the woman with her clothing breaking away in the elements.
"Here. Do ya want my coat tuh wrap around that or..." Nadia found herself beginning to shrug off one of her many layers in offer but she wondered if it would be accepted at all. Still, there was a calming moment washing over her as her hand reached out to offer the garment to tie around the vampire's hips. She'd been clouded before by complicated feelings for Riley that she had thought long dead, aswell as readjusting to supernaturals again. This was more simple in perspective. A woman wanting to help a fellow woman from a wardrobe malfunction.
She soon had to ditch her layers anyway once the pair were back inside, where they would face the Greyback Alpha once again apparently. Sure, throwing a spanner in the works to her workings sounded fun, but would it benefit the greater good? She followed the vampire woman's lead, carefully back in to Kaya's territory of The Black Rose, watching the woman's long pretty hair for a moment before asking her.
"So... what did ya have in mind for turning this Slayer deal on it's ass?"
If this could get Riley out of his contract, then she was on board.

Morrigan entered the small VIP lounge cordoned off by it's lush crimson curtains, her olive green eyes quickly seeing that no one else was here. Her frame slumped minutely before the young werewolf slumped in to the single chair at the far end of the table that she would normally occupy during these sparse meetings. Her elbows and finger tips perched on the arms of the chair as she downed the last of her drink that she had made short work of on her leisurely walk back here. Her empty glass tapped on to the table and she exhaled the scent of strong liquor. It did nothing to warm or cloud her constantly active mind, rolling through scenarios that would lead her to feel like she was even remotely keeping her head above dark water. Her frame sank further into the chair, allowing her stern mask to slip for a moment in her appreciated solitude. She was tired. And things had barely even begun to be set in motion against Hiran.
This rogue werewolf pack that Tobias was connected to, and now suspicious movements of fae on the edge of her territory aswell... she needed to handle things quickly before the Greybacks became overwhelmed with problems.
One hand rose slowly to kneed her fingertips up against her eyebrows for a short moment before dragging her palm down her face in weariness before her ears heard someone approaching. Her frame stiffened and her soft frown returned, sharp eyes landing on the waiter who was brave enough to venture through the curtains after a brief clearing of his voice.
"On the house, Miss Bennett," he offered in a stiff voice, placing the large bottle down with a few glasses for the company she was about to receive. The silver haired woman gave a curt nod of acknowledgment but didn't speak a word. Only waited for the individual to leave before pouring herself a large glass, flinching subtley as her healing ribs pulled when she leant forward.
Those fucking Sterling wolves were going to pay for that...