Present Day

[Keira Kelly]

Cara was bored. It was just about noon and she was sitting behind the admit desk of the emergency room in the small, local hospital where she worked in just inside of Munich. It was a slow day. The only phone call that had come in had been a wrong number. She leaned back in her chair, twirling a pen.

She disliked working as what amounted to a secretary but it was one of the best jobs she had found here so far that allowed her freedom of shifts. She could work days or nights depending on what her pack or sept needed of her.

With a sigh, she glanced around at the waiting room to the side. One or two people with a cough or sniffles waiting for some doctor to see them. They looked just as bored waiting as she felt. Idly she wondered if they could tell she wasn't German like them on sight. Hmph. Oh well. She glanced out the window, seeing the green of the forests outside the city, longing to run in the cool, dark woods.

Cara had worked late the night before and started early this morning so she had seen neither of her two pack mates in a couple of days. She felt like she should check up on the others. Cara pulled out her cell phone, looking at it. Flipping it open, she quickly wrote a text to Veli.

'bored. how about you? heard from shadow? are we meeting tonight? - Cara'

With another sigh, she flipped the phone closed and put it back in her pocket as an older couple came in the ER and approached the desk.

[Veli Alvar]

Veli had been working security for the local bar/pub. On particularly slow days, management allowed him to relax inside the bar instead of being on constant watch near the front door. Today was one of those days. He had been sitting in a table, playing cards with 3 frequent visitors while having a bit to drink.

There weren't many others at the bar today. The bartender had been keeping himself busy by juggling plastic cups. The custodian was talking up a girl who comes in from time to time. They probably have a small relationship going on outside the bar. They always seemed in-tune.

It was Veli's turn in their game of Casino. He had no matching cards. "How about you guys throw down some useful cards, for once." he jested as he took a sip from his glass cup. "Haha, how's about you get a good hand, for once? And why the baby sips, Veli? Surely a guy as big as you would be used to chugging these small cups down like water." said the one sitting across from Veli as he threw down some cards, whilst picking up matches. "Well, I'm technically still on duty so I can't exactly drink like an animal." he said, picking up matches.

He felt his phone vibrate so he reached for it into his pocket. It was a text from Cara. He read it and responded with "slow day at work. shadows been busy lately and yea meet me by my house tonight".

[Keira Kelly]

Cara directed the couple to another floor of the hospital and as they started on their way, she felt her phone, set to vibrate, go off. She pulled it out, read Veli's response and started chuckling. Imagine a wolf being busy for an extended period of time. A brief image of Shadow on hind legs waiting tables passed through her mind. She wondered what he was actually doing. In some ways she envied the Lupus's freedom from the burdens of human society but.. a part of her was still too human to want to live in a den in the wild without at least some modern conveniences.

She texted back, 'sounds good. im off at 6. can drop by the gasthaus for some dinner. going to go to the woods after, see if there is anything up.'

Putting the phone away again, she pulled a pad of paper closer to herself and started doodling celtic patterns across the top. She was going to be off for the next few days, so she was determined to go see if there was anything the sept needed doing while she had the time.

[Veli Alvar]

Veli continued to play cards with the men; chuckling, talking about nonsense and recent events in the town. Not a lot happens around here. He felt his phone vibrate and proceeded to pick it up and respond to Cara's text. 'the gasthaus sounds perfect right about now.. i am starving' he texted back as the phone went back into his pocket.

One of the guys at the table had noticed a shady character enter the bar, talking up the bartender. "That guy doesn't look right to me, Veli. I think I've seen him before around town. Keep an eye on him" he mentioned. Veli followed his friends advice and kept a close watch. The guy had been muttering to the bartender and it was clear from her body language that she didn't feel comfortable.

Finally, the bartender gave 'that' look to Veli. She often looks at Veli a certain a way when she doesn't feel safe and Veli was still on the job. Veli stood from the table without a word and apporached the guy. He then held a tight grip on the guy's sleeve. "You gotta go. Now." he said. The guy struggled to shake Veli's grip from his sleeve until Veli finally let go and the guy walked out; obviously angry.

Veli turned to the bartender, Amalia. "The next time he comes back in, I'll be sure to wreck him. As long as I'm here, you're safe." he said as he walked back to the table. Amalia smiled.

"Who's turn was it now?" he asked as the fellows continued their friendly game, Veli checking his watch periodically.

[Keira Kelly]

Finally the end of her shift rolled around, Cara got up and packed up her few things as the night shift personnel arrived. She didn't talk much to them, not that they were bad people. She just didn't seem to get on very well with most humans. It had always been like that and she expected it always would be.

With a mental shrug, she left the hospital. She had to sprint when she saw the bus already at the stop and almost missed it as it started to pull away. Luckily the driver spotted her and opened the doors long enough for her to jump in. She slid her token in the collector box as the bus started forwards again and she took a seat near the back.

It wasn't long before the bus pulled up to the next stop in Baierbrunn, the neighbouring town to Munich, where she and Veli had their homes. She exited the bus quickly, heading down the main road for a ways. The local gasthaus was closer than her own little house from the bus stop, so she stopped outside the restaurant to wait for Veli.

As she waited, she wondered again where their other packmate, Shadow, had gotten off to. Those lupus were odd, taking off at times on who knew what kind of trek across the countryside.

[Veli Alvar]

Veli had been sitting at the table alone now. He looked at his watch; 6:00pm. He got up from his table and walked over to Amalia. His shift was over and the next guy would come to his shift in about half an hour. Amalia looked at Veli in disappointment. "Do you really have to leave now, Veli?" she asked. He went to go grab his vest from the employee coat rack as he began putting it on. "Yeah. I have company awaiting me but I won't be far from here. If anything happens you make sure to give me a call and I'll run over here." he said as he finished buttoning his vest.

Veli started to head out of the front door as he waved goodbye to Amalia. It was cold outside. Veli loved the cold. He walked down towards the gasthaus and he could see Cara from a distance. He approached her as he smiled and held the door open for her as he walked inside. There was an empty table near the entrance and he led her there as he sat.

"I'm starving right now. How was your day at work, by the way?" he asked as he waited for the waiter to approach the table.

[Keira Kelly]

As she sat down, taking off her light coat and throwing it over the back of her chair. Sitting down, she stretched.

"Long... too long..." she said with a sigh. One reason to envy Shadow, she supposed. He didn't have to sit behind a desk hours a day.
"Nothing happened today, which I suppose you could say is a good thing at a hospital.. but it doesn't do much for my boredom." she added, with a glint of humour.

The waiter came up beside them. "Wilkommen. Guten abend. Was kann ich für Sie?"

"Guten abend." Cara replied. "Für mich, die Rindsgulasch bitte."

The waiter turned to Veli. "Und für der herr?"

[Veli Alvar]

Veli looked at Cara as the waiter asked him the question. He only knew a hint of German but it wouldn't suffice for the situation.

"Tell him that I'd like 5 pieces of well-cut sauerbraten with 6 scoops of mashed potatoes. Extra gravy, too." he told Cara.

[Keira Kelly]

Cara nodded at Veli and turned to the waiter.
"Für ihm, Er würde fünf Stücke gut geschnitten Sauerbraten mit sechs Kugeln Kartoffelpüree wie und Extra-Soße bitte. Oh.. und ein Hacker-Pschorr bier...." she looked at Veli again, "Want a drink?"

[Veli Alvar]

Veli smiled. "A big mug of some Erdinger would really hit the spot."