Testing the waters. (OPEN)

[Luca Staropoli]

"Well I passed the bar on the way...to my dingy hotel room."

Luca Staropoli was leaning forward in his park bench, staring out at the lake in front him. It was a beautiful Monday afternoon, the sun hanging overhead casting bright reflections on the water. This time of day, most people were still at work or school, with very few pedestrians wandering through the park. Exactly how Luca wanted it: a little bit of privacy, even outside his apartment. Even as a two bedroom, it was a bit cramped.

"I spent all my money, I've been drinkin' since half past noon..."

The young man's mouth moved with the song playing in his earbuds, punk being the flavor of the day. His brown hiking boots tapped along with the beat of the song, and the rest of his atire hadn't changed much since the night at the Sunset. Light brown khakis covered the top of his shoes, and a blue t-shirt with a picture of the opening screen of Sonic the Hedgehog was half covered by a worn in leather jacket. None of his jewelry or bracelets were on today, and for good reason. His right arm was hanging out of the jacket, the elbow stuck in the sleeve like a sling. A foldout pocket knife was held in his left hand, the blade being slowly folded in and out.

"Well I'll wake there in the mornin', or maybe in the county jail..."

Dark brown eyes stared down at the blade. He really didn't want to test himself like this, but what other way was there? Sure, it could have been done within his own home, but something about the place had always bugged him. Though Luca was used to living by himself, he never did like the silence. Every roommate he ever had just pounded it further into his head that he should stay by himself. The extra income from a roommate splitting the bills would be nice, though...maybe it was time to put another advertisement in the local newspaper?

"Time's are hard, getting harder..."

Well, back to the matter at hand. After one last glance around to make sure he was alone, his blade moved to the back of his right arm, just above the wrist. If Luca could actually take care of it, then no harm done. Otherwise, he could at least cover it up with the jacket he always wore.

"...I'm born to lose..."

Teeth dug into his bottom lip, his eyes closing half way. Oh, if only there were an easier way to do this...

"...And destined to f-"

The final line of the song ended in a painful growl as the blade dug into his flesh, drawing out a fine red line of blood. Luca tasted blood on his tongue, his teeth punching through his lip from the effort to keep from yelling out. The fool had enough sense to wipe the blade off on the grass before folding it back up and placing it back in his pant's pocket. "Alright, come on. Work that magic, work it." Luca said, reassuring himself as he placed his left hand over the cut.

Through clenched blood-stained teeth, Luca's breathing slowed to a rhythmical, almost meditative pace. Hey, it worked in the movies sometimes, might as well try it here. His mind focused on the pain, imagining his bodies energy flowing to it, working to take the pain away. To mend it, to make it like it had never happened. Luca felt the familiar surge of energy flowing through him to the cut, the same way he felt the night of the car wreck when he healed his friends broken arm. "Well..." The young man muttered, his eyes opening again. If anything, the cut hardly hurt anymore. "...Lets see." Luca raised his blood-soaked hand away from his arm...

...And the cut was still there, for the most part. It seemed like his talent had shown through somewhat, however: the clot on the cut looked like it was several days old already, and the edges of the cut had already healed over. It wasn't perfect by a long shot, but it was a hell of a start!

Feeling rather pleased with himself, Luca shifted off of the bench he was sitting on to kneel by the lake, trying to wash his hands and arm of his still-fresh blood. The act made him stumble around abit before making it to the lake's edge. Now that was odd: he sure as hell didn't feel light headed or weak a couple days ago during the wreck. Why now? He shrugged it off as adrenaline, continuing to splash water up on to his arm as he sang along with the end of his song.

"Take away, take away, take away this ball and chain..."

[Nathaniel Roshan]

Needing fresh air from being locked away like a recluse in his hotel room in Seattle, Washington, Nathaniel Roshan ventured out finally after 3 days. He needed time to think, and the beautiful Puget Sound called to him. He didn't have his Harley, but everything was within walking distance to his hotel, so he didn't mind hoofing it.

Clad in a pair of new Calvin Klein jeans, a Fox Racing T-Shirt and some new Vans on his feet, he seemed like a ordinary person in Seattle, just with enough emotional baggage to sink a ship with. He came upon a park, with a marina and water to look at. It was nice, the sun reflecting off the water, he came to a bench and sat down.

By the water, there was a man kneeling at the edge where water gently lapped up on the shore. What was he doing? It looked like he was cleaning a fish at first, but there was no tackle near him, no poles. But there was the metallic tang of blood that was irresistible to the lycan in Nathaniel. He lifted from his place on the bench, and gracefully walked over to where Luca was.

"Are you all right?," he spoke in a Northern Middle Eastern accent, probably Israeli. He noticed the fresh cut on his arm, and a glint of gold came to Nathaniel's blue green eyes. Got to keep the beast in check.. Nathaniel thought to himself. "My name is Nathaniel Roshan, what is your name?" he asked the man.

It couldn't hurt to be social, and Nathaniel was naturally that way, not anti-social. Besides, he could use a few friends in this strange yet new city. He would wait until Luca stood up, then Nate would offer him his hand, in greeting. "This is a beautiful place, I am new to the city. " Well, three days was pretty new. He hoped to establish himself, at least through one contact.

Luca didn't have to know what he was. The human seemed different to him for some reason. His aura was not entirely that of a human's. There was a heat signature there that Nathaniel had never seen before. It wasn't lukoi. He would have recognized a wolf if he saw one, definitely. Unless it was a higher ranking wolf with metaphysical shields up.

Anyway, Nathaniel's day was about to get interesting, to say the least. One never knew what they would come across in a new city, and Nathaniel was eager to discover anything that crossed his path.

[Luca Staropoli]

Nathaniel had startled Luca enough that the young man's skin could have ripped itself off and away from him. Had so much time passed that someone was able to walk over to him after seeing nobody else around? Or was this guy just that sneaky? Luca hopped up, turning around to look at Nathaniel, stammering out some sort of excuse. "Hey! Yah, yah, I'm alright. I, ehh...wasn't paying attention a little earlier, bumped into one of the trees on the path there and opened this old cut up again." It was complete bullshit, but maybe this guy would buy it? Not likely, but it was worth a shot.

Luca quickly slid his arm back into the sleeve of his leather jacket, turning his mp3 player off as he listened to Nate talk about the city. "New here, huh? No kidding." His accent and way of speaking wasn't thick at all, but enough was there to identify him as a native to the area. "Well that's pretty cool. Hope the city's been treating you well so far." He liked how forward and friendly this guy was being, despite having scared the crap out of him just a few seconds ago.

After wiping the water from his hand on his jacket, he extended it out to Nathaniel, ready to grasp it in a handshake. "Nice to meet you, Nathaniel. Luca Starop-" The man froze mid sentence as his hand clasped Nates. It felt as though a wave of energy, much like his own, was flowing from Nate up his arm, filling him with more negative emotions than he could put names to. The feelings came so fast that Luca pulled his hand away almost as soon as he touched Nate's, holding his head as he stumbled backwards and muttering curses.

For a few seconds, Luca just stood there wondering what had just happened. Eventually, he realized how heavily he was breathing, and that Nate was still standing there. "I...I'm sorry." Luca did his best to wave the event off, though he was thoroughly convinced that Nate thought he was crazy at best. "I had a pretty rough night...still feeling the effects of whatever the hell it was I drank." It was a half truth: Luca had drank pretty heavily the night before, but the hangover had gone long before he stepped foot into the park. There wasn't an easy way to play it off, but he'd much rather have this guy think he was on drugs than just plain nuts. Maybe then he wouldn't have to go into any more detail with the cut on his arm, at least.

[Nathaniel Roshan]

Nathaniel just had mad skillz in creeping up on people, that was the predator inside him walking silently. He hadn't meant to startle the man, who wasn't cleaning a fish, but was cleaning a cut on his arm instead. "Looks nasty. I'd offer you a bandage if I had one on me." Nate said, looking down at him with kind blue green orbs.

Nathaniel seemed relieved that Luca was all right. He shook off the feeling of his beast and the blood, remaining Nate. He felt like he was blathering on about being new to the city, so he kind of stopped talking. His offered hand was accepted, and when Luca introduced himself, Nathaniel felt a ripple of strange energy almost like a probing in his mind.

Luca reacted to something, and his hand grip grew weak until his hand fell to his side. Something had spooked him. Nathaniel tried to smile, puzzled by Luca's reaction. "Are you sure you're all right? You don't look so well." Nathaniel thought perhaps the fellow should sit down on a nearby bench, before he fell over. Very strange sensation from him. It wasn't exactly human.

Nathaniel's bullshit meter went off when he felt Luca was lying to him. Like most lycans he could sense a lie. Nathaniel canted his head, and took a step backwards from Luca. "I'm sorry too. But you are being dishonest." he said bluntly. He wasn't an alpha, so he could not shield himself, or the feelings of rejection that haunted Nathaniel either from past places he sought to find togetherness in a pack.

His comment about the lie, surely would raise suspicion from Luca. But it was apparent that the man saw something that frightened him. Or at least unruffled him enough to let go of his hand suddenly. Nathaniel needed someone to talk to. He wasn't sure if Luca wanted to listen. "I'll let you get back to what you were doing Luca. I'll be over on the bench should you wish to talk."

Then the blonde wolf turned just as gracefully as he had arrived and walked the distance from the water's edge to the bench he originally sat down at. Just watching Luca's response to him sink in slowly. Nathaniel was known for being rather forward, at least with his thoughts...as well as his actions. Maybe it was because he hadn't received proper training as a young wolf. Maybe it was just being put out on his own at an early age and depending on himself for everything.

[Luca Staropoli]

Well...that was unexpected. Luca's jaw dropped when Nathaniel called him out on his lie and rather calmly walked back to the waterside bench. Any ordinary person would have either stepped away slowly or just pretended that the young man hadn't done anything...the average citizen not being very confrontational. This guy was different. Way to calm for what had just happened.

“What in the hell...” Luca's mouth formed the words to himself as he tried to collect what had just happened. The emotions that had flooded him a moment ago were gone, but there was no real explanation for where they had come from. Did this guy just send it to him? Or...was Luca feeling his thoughts and emotions on his own?

The man was walking away! That was the break he needed: no need to explain himself, no awkward exchange to try and get away from the conversation. It was the perfect opportunity to just go home and forget the whole thing happened. He could have just left right then and there.

So why didn't he? With a deep sigh, Luca turned around and slowly walked over to the bench Nate was sitting at, still a little light headed from the experience. Something about this guy just drew him in. He knew something was up, and was acting like it was nothing new. What was this guy? There was no way that Luca was going to just let this slip by him unexplained.

“Hey...” His voice was light, apologetic. “...I need to apologize again. That was, well, pretty new for me.” Luca eased himself onto the bench beside Nate. Hell, if this guy was being so forward, there wasn't any reason to beat around the bush. Might as well come out with it. “The past couple days have been pretty interesting, to say the least.” Luca's eyes looked up, trying to find Nate's. “But, you don't seem like you're all there, either. Guess we both got something to talk about today...you want to start explaining, or should I?”

[Nathaniel Roshan]

Just for shits and grins, Nathaniel studied Luca's reaction to his words, about his being untruthful. He didn't add anything to the comment, just let it ride. It looked like Nathaniel had dropped a bomb on Luca's head, his mouth lolling open in shock, as he was cold busted.

Not that it made Nathaniel feel any better. He sat on the bench, took out a black pack of Djarum's, tapped it upside down and pulled out one of the clove scented cigarettes. Placing the butt end in his mouth, he flicked his Bic once, then twice to light it. Puffs of smoke were exhaled as he lit up.

The Israeli wolf looked at ease, despite giving away a secret. He could tell a lie from the truth. Almost like a "were" lie detector. But there was something more to Luca than met the eye. He looked like he felt something odd in Nathaniel's grip and Nate couldn't put a pulse on it.

Eventually Luca decided to join him there on the bench, rather than jet. Nathaniel was grateful that his metaphysical psychic ability didn't spook the man off. Besides, he had already seemed a bit skittish from shaking hands with him. Usually, Nathaniel had a good natured attitude, and was quite the optimist.

Things as of late had turned sour for the Israeli wolf. He was handed his first failure in getting a shop off the ground, he had lost some friends by leaving New Orleans, as well as future clientele. He lost a million and a quarter dollars by purchasing Seven Sins, and he was somewhat jaded when it came down to pack business.

All those burdens were on his mind, even though if you looked at him you'd see a rather emotionless face. Blame it on the war. He also had lost Ramsey, and part of him wanted that attachment to another. Inwardly, Nathaniel thought he'd lost his friggen mind. He just walked away from everything. Leaving no information behind for someone else to trace.

When Luca spoke to him, Nathaniel cast his aquamarine gaze in his direction. "Apology accepted." A smile twitched at the corners of his lips. Being a former Mossad agent, Nathaniel was all about communication. "Why don't you start by telling me why you had to fib about what happened by the water, then I'll tell you how I knew you were lying?" Then he blew a ring of clove scented smoke over his head, resting like a diadem on his wheaten crown.

[Luca Staropoli]

Well, at least Nate was acknowledging that something was up, which actually put Luca a little more at ease. Ever since the accident, his biggest fears had been breaking the news to the wrong person and being thrown in a padded cell or just straight up disappearing. He knew that there was another world out there, but had simply tried to keep his head down and out of it for the most part. No point in sticking your neck out where it wasn't wanted, and was likely to get bitten. Of course, that had changed rather quickly for him a few days ago. Knowing that at least one person wasn't put off by it was pretty nice.

“Right...thanks.” As Luca started to talk with Nathaniel, he slipped his cut arm out of the jacket sleeve again for inspection. It still looked like it was a few days old, just freshly busted open. Luckily, it hadn't opened up again. “Alright, then...damn.” He scratched the back of his head, laughing nervously. “There just isn't an easy way to say this, is there? I was in a car accident with a friend a few days ago. I got out fine, but he was hurt pretty bad.”

He let himself lean back in the bench a bit, trying to put himself at ease. Luca just couldn't shake the feeling that something bad could happen for letting it out to even one person. There were to many people to call and tell that he would be getting sent to the funny farm. For once, he was happy about his latest break-up, which meant one less person to worry about. “And I just...fixed him up.” Luca looked down at the ground, trying his best to explain. “I don't know how, but when I saw how bad he was...I just felt this sort of...energy, I guess, flow from me to him. I watched his cuts and broken arm heal up, right in front of my eyes.”

“I didn't believe it at first, thought I was going crazy. Fought with myself over it for a few days, 'till a few minutes ago...I decided to try it again. Couldn't fix my arm up all the way, but it's not to bad, I don't think. I can't explain...” Luca took his left hand and stuck it out slightly, making a handshaking motion. “...Can't figure that part out, though.” He let his arm fall down to his side, releasing a deep sigh. Letting the experience out made him feel a little better. “So there. Your turn, pal.”

[Nathaniel Roshan]

Undoubtedly something was definitely up. Nathaniel didn't know exactly what it was about the stranger he had befriended, but he knew whatever it was, it wasn't normal. Luca seemed at ease when Nathaniel asked him to spill the beans, to coin a phrase. Less shaky then he had been at the water's edge. It seemed like his aura had somewhat lifted and wasn't quite as heavy when Nathaniel looked Luca over.

The man revealed the cut to him that he'd been washing down at the water, when Nate smelled the strong tang of crimson flowing from somewhere. It had been the cut, but he could not see any blood flowing when Nathaniel looked at it. Was almost as if the wound had clotted all ready. Then Nate cocked his blonde head to listen to Luca's tale. His expression was patient, one of Nathaniel's gifts as a businessman. He got the part about his friend and the car accident.

Nathaniel's mesmerizing gaze was locked on Luca, as the story continued, ears perking to the words "I just fixed him up...the energy, flowed from me to him. I watched his cuts and broken arm heal up, right in front of my eyes." Nathaniel's deep gaze grew wide. He was a werewolf, and knew that some Alpha's had the gift of healing others, either to calm a younger wolf that had been excited into shifting, or a grievous wound that had been incurred in a fight with another. No wonder Luca's heat signature had been different. He was a healer!

"You mean to tell me, that you injured your own arm, and then tried to heal it yourself?" Nathaniel blew smoke out the corner of his lips, so it wouldn't be blown out in Luca's face. Whatever Luca had done, it hadn't knitted completely, or Nathaniel caught him in the act of healing himself. "Well. That is interesting." Nathaniel took his spent cigarette and squashed it under the heel of his Vans. "What is my story? Hmm...lets see." It wasn't everyday that Nathaniel gave away his true identity. But he would comply to Luca's wishes.

"I was a young man of 21 and I had just been discharged from the Israeli Defense Forces. I had saved some men under my command from an ambush and was wounded, forced to retire." Nathaniel took his hand and brushed his lips with it for a moment, letting his thoughts simmer. "My parents had thrown me out when I returned home from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They did not approve of my joining the military. I was disowned."

He crossed his legs at the ankles, and continued speaking. "So I decided to travel Europe and stay at some cheap youth hostels because I didn't have much funds available. One night in Spain, I came across a man named Anton Capraru. He was Romanian. A gypsy. He had a camp outside of Madrid. He asked me to stay with him. Well I was pretty naive then..." He let his voice trail off.
Nathaniel paused as he let the bomb drop."He was a werewolf. He infected me with a scratch, when he attacked me during a full moon."

Letting the words sink in, he gazed at the water for a moment. "So...I am a werewolf too. Every full moon I shift. I look completely normal when I am not under a full moon." Nathaniel turned his gaze towards Luca, whom he probably shocked into silence. "That my friend, is my story." he smiled, and gazed back at the lake.

[Luca Staropoli]

More laughter erupted from Luca when Nate asked about the cut, realizing just how stupid it was for him to have gone that far. “Yep, I did. I'm no emo kid, oh no! I can fix it up myself!” Without saying much, Nathaniel had managed to bring Luca back to himself again. It was great finally being able to get that off of his chest.

“It's hard, isn't it? Trying to put your story into words. You can think about it all you want, but when the times comes to spill it, you just blank. It's like...I dunno, writers block or something.” Luca threw his arms behind him and over the bench, his right arm still hanging out of the sleeve. His dark brown gaze was fixed on Nate. “Military man, then. You'd think that your parents would be proud of you serving. Still, you don't seem like you turned out that bad.”

Luca was nodding along with Nathaniel's story, up until he started to speak about Anton. The more Nate described the attack, and how he was cute and furry inside, the young man turned his head out towards the lake, but with no real change in expression or emotion. He should have figured there was something off about the guy.

“Now that's interesting.” Bringing his arms back across his lap, Luca sat up again in the seat to look back at Nate. “But...it doesn't really bother me. I, uhh, was actually introduced to this stuff back in high school. I was friends with this guy, Daren, I always saw at local metal shows. Goth looking type, pale skin, you know the look. I figured he was just from another city and had friends here or something...but never seeing him in the day time would have been a big tell if I had known any better. Some rapist escaped police custody one night, and some how, some fucking way, I came across Daren hunched over this guy in an alley on the way back from a show, blood all down his face and the convicts neck.”

With that, Luca let out another deep sigh, kicking a rock by his feet out towards the lake. “It was kinda funny how nice he was about it, acting like it was business as usual.” The thought of it brought a grin to his face as he chuckled. “So yeah, I'm not blind to that other world, this is...well, just a bit of a big shock to me, knowing that I can do this now.”

The laughter from Luca continued, bending forward a little. “This is terrible...two complete strangers meet up in a park and tell each other their life stories, and that they're some sort of healer and a werewolf. It's like the start to a bad sitcom or something.”

[Nathaniel Roshan]

Nathaniel tossed back his long mane, and gazed to Luca who was laughing, and revealing his true self. A smile quirked Nathaniel's lips at the obvious humor. It felt as though he hadn't smiled in an entire month. Things had really gone to hell in a handbasket in New Orleans, just everything seemed to blow up in his face. In a way, he wished he could fix his situation just like Luca patched up his own arm. The veil of being found out lifting from the man, as they spoke.

"I don't usually tell anyone about myself. I tend to keep the matter private. I would appreciate of course, if you would also. Not everyone is as accepting as you are." Nathaniel observed the easy going stance Luca took on the bench, and the tension seemed to leave him, at least for now. "Yes, I was. They wanted me to go to University and become a doctor or lawyer. I was a disappointment to them." No love was lost in Nathaniel's eyes, which sparked when he mentioned his parents, Mikal and Miriam Roshan. "I learned to just survive without anyone's help. Even now."

There was nothing cute or furry about a wolf the size of a small horse. Not to mention when he was in Crinos form, about 7-8 feet in height, he was all teeth and claws. Half man-half beast. Even Luca would become a meal when his beast was activated by the full moon. It wasn't that Nathaniel was emotionless, or had a flat affect. He just was so fucking jaded by being an untrained, unwanted wolf...that it wasn't even funny. He could not find a decent pack to save his sorry life. Maybe that was what Luca sensed. Being a werewolf for Nathaniel was more trouble than it was worth.

“Now that's interesting.” Bringing his arms back across his lap, Nathaniel listened to Luca speak of a friend in high school next. That drove home his point about seeming "normal" to others, but when the moon was full creatures from all corners came out to feast on the innocent....as well as the guilty, according to Luca's story. "I have many friends, or had them. They don't stay in my life for very long." he said with a breathy sigh. When he swallowed the lump in his throat, his Adam's apple bobbed in his neck. "I just left New Orleans to come here. I had a bad situation occur, so pardon me if I seem out of it."

"You need to watch yourself Luca, cutting yourself like that attracts the wrong crowd." Not that Nathaniel would have eaten him, not even on a bad day. It was daytime, so the leeches were asleep. "Smelling blood can excite a younger werewolf into attacking. I have some control over my beast. And besides, the blood wasn't like...pouring out or anything of that nature. It had practically healed, from whatever energy Nathaniel had seen around Luca when he met him at the waters edge.

Nathaniel laughed. That was a strange sound he made. As if he hadn't heard his own laughter in the same amount of time as his cracking a real smile. But it was an infectious laugh, nonetheless. "That's for sure, Luca. What are the odds of that happening?" He snorted, and gazed at the healer.

[Luca Staropoli]

Now this was more like it! For the first time in days, Luca didn't have to resort to a bar to be able to relax. Not that he didn't like meeting new people, especially the night he ran into Taran, Two, and Kim. But that much alcohol couldn't be good for anybody, human or not. “Don't worry about it, pal.” Luca bent over to pick another rock up from off the ground. “We both got our secrets to keep, and you can bet yours is safe with me.” With the declaration, he chucked the rock out onto the lake, trying to angle it right so it would skip across the water. He was pretty bad at it, though, and it landed with a single loud splash.

As Nate explained how the scent of blood could whip the supernatural into a frenzy, Luca looked back down at his arm, now snugly in the sleeve of his leather jacket. “Good information to know, there. Trust me, though, carving myself up isn't really a hobby of mine. Like I said, it was more an experiment than anything.”

After a moment's thought, Luca nodded towards Nate. “I think I get it now. You're sitting here telling me about all this crap that's happened to you. When I shook your hand, it was like I was feeling what you were. It's hard to explain it, but it was like this new set of emotions were overtaking me. Sadness, grief, regret, all just sort of came at me in an instant. Maybe...I can feel what others are feeling, too?”

“But...that really sucks to hear, Nate. You know, you don't have to be a lone wolf if you don't want to, and if you pardon the figure of speech.” Luca wouldn't have minded another friend at all. Even after finishing up his degree and moving on to the adult world, the young man didn't have that much time to keep in touch with the people he had used to. Even Daren, who he used to run with on a near nightly basis, had been silent for months. “Maybe, whatever the hell it is you're looking around for, you'll find here in Seattle.”

Luca smiled with his next words, trying to use one foot to push a rock onto the other to kick out towards the lake. “And hell, I'll be more than willing to help you find it, if you stick around long enough anyway.” He paused from his rock throwing for a moment, reaching over to give Nate a pat on the shoulder. His hand stopped inches from Nate, remembering what happened the last time he touched the wolf. The hand closed into a fist, then fell back to his side in defeat. “...So if you need a friend, I'm here for you if you need me.”

[Nathaniel Roshan]

Nathaniel had been reclusive since his arrival here in Seattle, up until now. It was his nature to keep secrets, just like the Mossad trusted Nathaniel with top secret information when he was a part of their association. "You don't have to worry about me keeping your secret. Who am I going to tell, and why would I tell someone else about you?" he smiled softly. Nathaniel's blue-greens squinted from the bright sun which he was sensitive to. But he left all his shit back at the apartment in New Orleans, so he didn't have his Oakleys. "That one sunk like the Titanic!" he commented about the stone Luca tried to skip over the surface of the water.

Well that experiment could have cost Luca his life if he had been a lesser werewolf. Fortunately for Luca, Nate had a sense of control over his shifting unpredictably. His information however was valued by Luca, and so it stood. "Just a word of advice, is all. You wouldn't want to attract any leeches either, with your experimenting. Better to cut someone that pisses you off." Nate snickered, and was tempted to light up again, but he resisted that urge. He actually was enjoying the conversation with Luca.

"You felt what I was feeling? No wonder you looked so pale there by the water!" Nathaniel exclaimed. He supposed feeling the emotions of loss, grief, regret and sadness were better than seeing what actually happened to cause the emotions in the first place. "At least you didn't see anything along with it, I suppose. That must be a comfort in a way." Nathaniel didn't know if it was okay for Luca to have a empathic power. It sounded more like a curse than a blessing to him. "That means you will think twice about shaking someone's hand. Not sure if I would want to have that kind of power. I tend to shake people's hands a lot."

Nathaniel paused, ruminating over what Luca had just said about his being alone. Past experiences with pack, had failed him miserably. "I have my MBA degree, and own two shops. One in Los Angeles, California and the other in London, England. The one in New Orleans was destroyed by a telekinetic. I lost $1, 250,000 when I left. I just...lost it. I walked away from everything. Everyone. I have never failed at something I was determined to accomplish before." his voice trailed off. Nathaniel sighed deeply, and glanced to Luca. "You really think so? I'm not sure Luca...I stopped being certain of anything when I left New Orleans."

Nathaniel offered a small smile to Luca, as he attempted to kick a rock this time, rather than actually let one fly. "I'm too tired of moving from place to place now Luca. I don't think I will be leaving any time soon. I just need time to get my mind together again. Then I can focus on opening a business, and maybe searching for a pack here." One thing, one day at a time. No rushing Nathaniel this time. The impulsiveness of his youth was long gone. "I appreciate your help Luca, really it means a lot to me. " He replied to his new friend. "If you need anything in return, my cell phone number is [phone]." He didn't have a pen but he still had his business card from New Orleans for Seven Sins BDSM Parlor, and he handed it to Luca. "Just change the area code to 206."

The gesture to touch Nate was noted. Luca was afraid to get the same feelings again. Nathaniel couldn't help what he was, or what had occurred to make him feel that pent up emotion. What he needed was a good cry to get rid of what he was feeling. Sooner or later, the dam would bust wide open, and the tears would flow. Just in solitude.