All the facts that Cora mentioned were things that Alexander had read and learned on his own - he was a hands-on leader, after all, and appreciated being kept in the loop whether or not he had asked for it. Mara had dropped the files on him once Cora had finished with them, mentioning something about the human not believing it was worth acquiring the company at all, deeming them hopeless in all regards. It wasn't as much that he wanted to save the company as it was that the Commander of the Wyr desired to keep it out of the hands of those who would abuse it furthermore. Environment was a high priority to the Wyr globally and Alex was not going to abandon a goal simply because of some racial difficulties. Or attacks. He'd lived through so many ages that this was by far not the most violent of these.

"Thank you, Miss McKenzie," he smiled briefly, this time emotion clicked with his true emotions, making the smile mirror in the depths of his eyes. He had made up his mind before he had asked her about the company, that much was sure. Cora's knowledge was going to be useful and Mara did sing her praises whenever they met... He understood perfectly that she was merely trying to evade responsibility herself(Mara was never much into business negotiations although she did have a good head for them) but in this case and in this very particular situation, it served him well.

"Get the contacts list we have for Ryder from Mara, you're going to replace Matt," the Wyr then said, his tone certain and unwavering. This was going to set things in motion even Alexander couldn't foresee in his supposedly infinite wisdom. "Travis, assign a security detail for her," he looked at his second in command, satisfied that the other merely acknowledged the order instead of arguing it. At least not in front of the others. It was a safe bet that the old bear didn't like that idea. But therein was the line and Travis would have to have been mad to cross it. Not when he knew that they could handle it. He gave a simple nod in response.

"Jacob, you are to accompany Miss McKenzie everywhere she goes. Keep her safe," Alexander continued, turning to the cat Wyr now, his words more meaningful than it seemed from the way he said it. Cora needed to be guarded not only from the unknown assailants but the more wild Wyr  that had only recently been brought into the fold. If it was a surprise that he'd received the task, it didn't show. Jake smiled brightly and tipped his imaginary hat. "I'll stick with her like honey to hair." His english had a mixture of flavours to it, russian, finnish and british accents blended into one very simply understandable kind of speech. It was soft with the L-s and rough with the R-s, a pleasant soft wave of shockingly cold water. Jake also was infamous with his sometimes nonsensical sayings, the honey and hair one being the example of it. Who said that kind of a thing, anyway?! Jacob Hunt, apparently.

"For the time being, you'll have to stay at the premises of Grey Castle," Alexander told Cora, managing her life as if it was the most natural thing imaginable. "Mara will assign you the necessary quarters."

Travis Kyle shifted then, perking up and sliding to the edge of his seat, as if ready to get up. "Anything else?" he asked, antsy to get to work. Besides, he still had an army to manage and a meeting of his own officers coming up. His gaze brushed over Cora, evaluating and cool now. He was still not convinced she was up to the task, almost daring her to argue and refuse. Because she was weak, vulnerable and confrontational. Or so he viewed her at this point.

"No, I just need Carl to stay. The rest of you are dismissed," Alex said, leaning forward and placing both elbows on the table in front of him. He felt slightly uneasy but certain that he'd made the right call. It didn't help that Mara was dumping them and Alannah had quit merely days ago, leaving Carl to deal with the possible disaster management. The next press conference was going to either break the temp or make the next PR-director. He really hoped they weren't going to have to call for resumes on this. It was hard enough for him to trust as it was...

None of the men knew much about the human among them. Alexander knew probably the most, having actually signed the employment contract with her and having had Mara sell the idea for him. He wasn't against working with humans, far from it. In fact, he made all the effort to in fact employ more of them, to learn from them and for them to learn about the Wyr. If they were ever going to coexist peacefully, without the short-lived but massive in population society being apprehensive in better days to downright hostile in bad ones, they needed this perspective and for them to bring it back to their peers, telling them that yes, the Wyr were different from humans but they were not going after them.

From all the Elder Races, the Wyr was viewed as most aggressive, the pushiest bully and their numbers grew as new populations of Wyr were found and joined the fold. Still, it was nothing compared to the number of humans that lived in the world. They did not need another PR hit while they were already on crackling ice.

Alexander listened to the heartbeat of the woman grow quicker and her words came out almost offended. The civilian wing was the safest place for a human to work in, the safest that he could guarantee. There were plenty of new Wyr from all over the wide continent in the Military Wing and while they were excellent fighters, most of them needed quite a lot of time to get into the mentality of working with instead of against or for the human society. Travis did what he could but it would take time. Time during which every human on the wild one's way was in danger of being insulted, challenged or otherwise assaulted. It wasn't a problem this side of the headquarters but should someone like Cora McKenzie get lost in the barracks... Everyone knew that Alex would not tolerate violence towards those weaker than them and he punished those who erred against this rule, personally.

Travis huffed at Cora's words, shaking his head and insisting:"Would they not rather live than die? This is not a negotiation over buying the coffee machines that nobody cares about outside the Castle." He may have sounded harsh but it all came from that same urge to protect that was so ingrained in most dominant Wyr.

It was Carl that tried to smooth it all over. "I'm afraid I must agree with Travis here, Miss McKenzie, we need to be able to keep our employees safe or we wouldn't be a very good employer."

It was then when the whole cat thing happened. Carl twitched slightly at the violent reaction of the woman. He had heard, felt the cat shift and approach but the human female probably not. He reached out to be able to catch her if she lost her footing in the sudden movement but as she managed on her own, Carl's arm withdrew and rested on the table, his eyes following the newly shifted person with some disapproval. "Really, Jake? Maybe try to be a bit less dramatic next time?" he sighed and Alex added with a poorly hidden smirk. "Jacob. Clothes."

Without missing a beat, the young man turned in place, heading back to the bench. There were small deposits of various clothes dotted all over the living area of the castle, simple trousers and shirts for those Wyr who'd not thought to bring their own before they shifted. For a cat, it would have been incredibly uncomfortable to walk around with a backpack of human clothes. Thus, most clothes placed in random places, were Jacob's.

Wearing a pair of dark blue sweatpants and picking up a white t-shirt, the person named Jacob returned to his original path, finally plopping down next to Travis that had held his tongue throughout this event, only rolling his eyes at the cat before resting back again. Jake seemed completely at ease, smiling playfully at the woman across the table as he pulled the shirt over his head, covering his tattood torso, thus returning the meeting to a more human society accetable format.

"We have to draw them out in order to take them out, find their hideout and eliminate this threat," Alexander said once everyone had settled again. "This may be just a rogue faction but I have a feeling it's more than that and if we don't stomp it out quickly, the situation will grow over our heads."

"What do you want me to do?" Travis Kyle's dark brown eyes were fixed on his boss, Carl was scribbling some notes onto his tablet. Jacob continued to watch the human curiously but his smile had receded into a more neutral expression by now, to fit the serious mood in the room.

The Wyr Commander turned once again to Cora. "You know of the situation Ryder Oil is in, I take it?" he inquired gently, his murky green eyes baring into hers.

This was certainly different to what she was accustomed to, and it was exciting, dammit. She couldn’t deny it. There was something palpable in the air, and while she couldn’t name what it was, she had this feeling like those cold mornings when you can hear the wind and rain howling, and you’re snuggled up with a hot chocolate on the sofa with a comfortable duvet, and then you realise you need the bathroom. Yes. It wasn’t unlike that, that comfort and discomfort all rolled into one.  She cleared her throat ready to knuckle down.

Aside from Cuddle’s voice - molasses and bourbon - catching her off-guard, amusement pulled at the edge of her mouth as she watched the exchange between the men. Testosterone wars were something else here, it seemed, and if it remained as casual as this, she could get used to it. She eyed ‘Jitters’ (a much better name! She and the big fella would get along nicely), before Cora realised instantly just how horrifically out of her depth she was here. She managed clients, not the world. She managed expectations in transactions and customised contracts for mutual benefit. She wore pinstripes and stilettos, and drove revenue and margin higher whilst delivering a service. But that service was exemplary, as per client requirement, and she’d be damned if this business meeting would the get the better of her so soon.

She listened intently, running a few paces behind, but grasping at the tidbits of information as they fell across the tabletop from the American. Attacks… Ryder… Rogue faction… It swirled in Cora’s head as she took in the gravity of his words.

She’d known Ryder as a company for a while. They weren’t remotely similar to IGT, in that they were a fossil as much as the fuels they harvested, and it was at Mara’s insistence that Cora had begun to read up on case files and budget reports and asset liquidation beneficiaries in the case the company finally rolled over and called it a day. They were in such an unstable state of affairs that Cora had shied away from the project, reluctant to back Mara’s belief that they could turn around into anything resembling ‘eco-friendly’ - this was a company that had bastardised the Caspian Sea basin and made Azerbaijan the weak adversary it was now in the export game. Ryder had nothing left to offer in terms of moral stability, and being run into the ground by a total Neanderthal certainly hadn’t been a golden egg worth chasing. But then, why was Mara still intent on it? And why were people being attacked? Was it being close to a floundering company, or just a statement being made? Her attention was caught now and she listened on.

She saw the genuine concern colour Jitters, and she smiled weakly, but warmly. It hadn’t dawned on her at first, that she was involved in this now. It hadn’t hit home what they were saying that someone getting close to Ryder was in the line of fire from whoever was behind this. It could have so easily been her, and then what? Her heart fluttered momentarily, but the comfortable strength in the room settled her again in an instant. She turned from the apprehensive younger male back to the bear opposite her.

She bristled, and wondered at whether to hold her tongue as he suggested only the Wyr would work the case. If Ryder really was going to be taken on by the Civilian arm for acquisition, that was a huge percentage of the workforce dropped from a case larger than any she’d seen in the recent years, and more and more non-Wyr were being taken on. From personal experience alone, she knew she was more than a pen-pusher. She leaned forward slightly to interject, “With all due respect, sir, this is an arm of predominantly non-Wyr, and I speak from the front line. You’re dealing with a company of non-Wyr, and they’re reluctant to deal with Wyr in clean business already.”

It was here that Alexander stepped in. She listened to his words, to how he showed concern for other companies, and swivelled her head to Carl as he continued Alexander’s meaning to a conclusion. She breathed out slowly, allowing the weight of what they knew to settle over her.

This wasn’t just a business deal going awry. This had the potential to become a coordinated attack, and the byproduct was an already sketchy opinion being tarnished even more. Cora knew what that meant. Humans waged wars on each other over far less. Humans were distrusting of the mythology that surrounded the Wyr, and it was a powder keg in the making. The thought saddened Cora for a moment. She’d held them in such high regard, seen them almost as the enigma to be understood and admired. But not everyone shared that opinion, and she’d defended herself against sly remarks and insinuations from people before for her associations. She looked back to Alexander and regarded him for a silent moment before the movement caught her focus.

A long, inked arm slid before her silently, and time seemed to slow to a halt as she heard his offering, and took in the black coffee, the hand that belonged to none of the four she knew to be in the room, and continued to take in a shocking amount of the stranger. It doubtlessly looked hilarious to an onlooker as her gaze roamed up past the elbow, over the perfectly formed bicep, the soft curve of a shoulder, the angle of his jaw, lazy smile, his feline eyes, and the messy hair that finished the image. Her head craned up to him, her mouth fell slightly open, before flight took hold, and she scrabbled out of the chair and a few paces back, catching the chair for balance more easily than she caught her breath.

“Sweet fucking Jesus,” she uttered, still agape at the entirely naked male as he moved around the table. She remained fast at the side of the chair, her knuckles almost white as they cramped from gripping it. Eyes up, eyes up became her mantra as she watched him unfalteringly. She should have apologised, should have sat down,. Should never have lost her nerve at all, but this was something else entirely. This was a naked man from nowhere. Placing a silent cup of coffee before her. Exquisite, but totally fucking naked. She mouthed silently before the words found her.

“The cat,” she whispered, “you…” She glanced around the unfazed men, aghast, flushed, and utterly out of her depth. Would they all be naked? Would they expect her to be? Were they usually naked? Oh good grief, was Mara normally naked? Her head spun with questions she didn’t need answering in any lifetime, and she managed a strangled “Thank you” in response to the coffee - she hoped not the floorshow? - and slinked back into her chair, maintaining eye contact as best she could so as not to show any more ineptitude than she already had. Though a brief “Jesus fucking Christ” did fall out of her as she pulled the coffee closer. “Sorry. Sorry, that was just a bit… of a shock.”

Demons

Miami