Finding Strength (CLOSED)

"Something like that. Our father was the previous Grand Master, and when he died, the title passed on to my sister because she's half an hour older, and more mentally stable. If there is no suitable heir, or no heir at all, the big guys take a vote." Jack set his empty pizza box aside, and grabbed a beer. He cracked it open, and took a large swig. "So yeah, I've been laying low here with Katherine, teaching her how to defend herself should she ever need to."

Julian nodded. "She's lucky. Got a person with experience teaching her how to fight.
I didn't have that years ago, and my bestfriend, he.. he teared up a bit, and eventually cleared his throat, wiping a bit of tears away. "Lets just say I used to have a Bonnie and Clyde thing going."

"Shit, Julian. I'm sorry about your loss" Jack said sadly. He quickly turned his head when he heard a scream come from the kitchen.
"NO! NO! JESUS NO!" Jack dropped his beer, and bolted into the kitchen.
Katherine was curled up on the kitchen floor, crying.
"Whats wrong, Kitty?"
"She's here! She found me" Katherine cried. Jack stood up, and looked out of the kitchen window.
"Oh for fuck sakes!" When someone knocked on the door, Jack stormed toward it angrily.
"What do you want" Jack said coldly as he opened the door.
"I ant to shee my daughter, Katherine Wuulf."
"Never heard of her!"
"Plesh, I have to shpeek to 'er!"
"No, you don't! You're drunk, Linda! Just like you were for her entire childhood! You broke her, you demented bitch!"
"Plesh. Sheee wad a kid, she don remember it..." Jack lost his shit.
"She remembers it all! Christ! You abandoned her for two weeks! She moved halfway around the earth to get away from you!" Jack hit her square in the middle of her forehead, knocking her out cold. As soon as he was sure she was out, he phoned someone and arranged for her to be picked up by some associates. He shut the door, and turned to face the others. "I'm so sorry you had to see that."

Standing up, Julian seemed concerned. "What was that?", genuine concern in his voice. He went into the kitchen, and upon seeing Katherine on the floor, sat next to her. "Hey, we're here for ya... Nothing's going to hurt you here. By the sound of it, Jack's got it dealt with.". He extended an arm, placing it on her shoulder for a few seconds before going into a hug, feeling she really needed it. Calum had walked up to Jack, his limbs fully charged already. "What's going on? We in danger?"

"We're not in danger, Cal, it was Katherine's mother came around. Found her somehow. My people should be around soon to deal with her." Jack rubbed his knuckles, only to punch the wall out of anger. "We need to check on her." On the way to the kitchen, Jack turned on the sound system, and played a specific song.


Katherine just sat there crying, finding some comfort with being hugged. The ferrets looked at her, as if trying to figure out what to do.
"Thank you" Katherine sobbed. When she heard the song, she started to calm down.
"She's gone now, kitty" Jack said as he watched the woman get loaded into the back of a van, and driven off. Jack handed her some pills, and a glass of water.
"Thank you, Jack" Katherine said quietly before swallowing the pills.

Calum sighed, following Jack into the kitchen. He looked around, before eventually just standing off to the side. Juluan stood up, finally stopping his hug. He walked towards Jack, asking him "Wouldn't she just try to come back?
Or do you bave a way to keep her away?"

"They're going to hold her until we decide what to do with her" Jack said before helping Katherine up from the floor. He turned to Calum, and Julian, "So what are your plans for tonight?" Katherine grabbed a chocolate bar from the cupboard, and started nibbling at it.

Julian said "Well, I'm staying here. Kat offered me her couch to sleep on til whenever, since I'm a wanted man by Abstergo.". Calum checked his watch, which was just a built-in clock on his arm, and said, "I need to be going. I havr an apointment with a man named Ethan.". He extended his right arm, and he extended a hidden blade from his arm. "I wan' show 'im this 'ere very up close.". He retracted it, and walked towards the door. "Welp, ah'm- I'm off. Later." he said, as he left. Julian looked back, then at Jack and Katherine again."What about you, Jack? Any appointments with any guys named Jason? I jest, of course. Any plans, though?"

"Honestly, I was just gonna chill, maybe play some games" Jack said with a laugh. He looked over to Katherine, who was doing her happy dance. "But I think Kitty has other plans. Ok, you've gone from crying, to laughing, and that scares me."
"Woo! Ethan's gonna die! Haha, finally gonna be safe at work! You know what this calls for?"
"Oh dear bats, no..."
"Oh yes! SHOTS!" Katherine pulled out shot glasses, and began filling them with apple sours. She was so happy, and who could blame her. "Jack, get the hub and haze." Jack couldn't help but laugh. He turned to Julian, a smile on his face. "Sorry about this, mate, but seeing her this happy is cause for celebration enough. You up for a party" Jack asked as he pulled a hub out from one of the cupboards, and a bit of weed from a purple jar.

Thinking a bit, Julian shrugged and eventually said "Eh, fuck it, yea. Haven't been in a part since... Highschool, I think, damn. Near a decade now.". He went back to the couch he would eventually sleep on, and sat there, thinking, and slightly teary eyed.

"What's wrong, Julian" Katherine asked softly as she sat down next to Julian. She handed him a shot glass and gently put her hand on his shoulder, just like he had done. The cat sat on Julian's lap, purring loudly.

Julian sighed, and said, "Just... remembering my friend. One of the only people I could of trusted, and died back before we knew what we were even in for.". He looked at the shot glass, and quickly took the shot. "I miss the brilliant bastard."

"I'm so sorry, Julian" Katherine said softly as she gave him a warm hug, albeit a very tight hug. When she hugged someone, she hugged them properly, none of that noodle armed shit. "I know we've only just met, but I want you to know that you can trust me. Slytherins and Hufflepuffs!"

He smirked, returning the hug. "A combination capable of everything.". He sat ther, reaching his hand up behind her back to wipe away a couple of tears. "Don't mean to sound weird, but... I forgot how hugging felt. Haven't had an actual friend since him. Hufflepuffs and Slytherins all the way."

"Hell yeah! Oh, I almost forgot!" Katherine quickly ran to her room, and returned with a large blanket, and a pillow. Katherine held out the blanket revealing the Slytherin crest set against a black background, and green sherpa lining. "A gift, for you. You can keep them" Katherine said happily as she handed him the blanket and pillow.

Looking at the blankets, he happily said, "Ah, I love it!". He grabbed it, and simply felt it, exclaiming "Damn... This is so soft, I love it." He set it to the side, waiting to cover himself in it whenever he needs to sleep.

"You're most welcome" Katherine said happily before heading off to help Jack. The two of them arrived with a bottle, a hub, and a basket. Katherine sat on the couch next to Julian, and began packing the hub, while Jack sat on the floor, and poured the shots. "I used to spend nights like this with my friends back home before I left. We'd usually end up watching YouTube together, playing an unsuccessful session of Dungeons and Dragons, or listening to Creepypastas. It's nice to feel like I'm starting it again."

Julian smiled. "Glad to know I'n a part of that, then. I'm just still amazed it hasn't even been a day yet, you know? Feels like so long since I got shoved against a wall in a seedy alleyway.". He stretched a bit, and said, "Man, I stumbled upon Dont Hug Me Im Scared while doing this at my place once. General bad time."

"We try to keep moments like that to a minimum here. Hate to break it to you, but you're sitting in the house of madness, and mental illness." Katherine kicked Jack gently, and gave him a stern look.
"What Jack means, is that this is a safe place for everyone. Sure, we have multiple mental illnesses. But our door is always open to those that need it." Jack got the hub going while Katherine ate a cookie, offering one to Julian at the same time.
"And when the meds don't work, or they start making us mad, we switch to locally grown weed."
"And by locally grown, he means that I grew it. Got to add to our income somehow."

"True, true. Can't go wrong with more money here and there." he said, as he took the cookie and began eating it. "So," he began, "you said door's open to any? Anybody else take up that offer, or not? If not, damn, they're missing out.". He took a couple of bites of his cookie, and said, "House of madness and mental illness - great description, and a killer band name. Tried to start a band myself, speaking of which. Flopped horribly, but still, I attempted none the less."

"Well, Kitty's never bought anyone home before" Jack said with a laugh before taking a pull from the hub. He handed the pipe to Julian.
"I brought you home" Katherine said before turning to Julian, "Like I said, stay as long as you want."
"A band, you say? I tried that, but... Well, didn't do so well either."

"Spare Lynyrd Skynyrd, when do garage bands ever work? he said before taking a pull as well but coughing. "Damn, haven't done that in a few months, already rusty...", and he passed it to Katherine. Thinking a bit, Julian eventually said, "You used to live hete I take it,
Jack?"

"Yeah, I still do" Jack said with a chuckle. Katherine rolled her eyes before taking a pull from the pipe. "When I'm not out of town on business, I stay here. It's an arrangement that benefits us both."
"Only because you wouldn't leave" Katherine said with a laugh before taking another pull, and handing the pipe over to Jack.
"Oh come on, you know you love me" Jack said jokingly.
"Shut up!" Katherine gently kicked Jack before she picked up her guitar, and began strumming a simple, sweet melody.

Julian smirked a bit at their exchanges. He was about to say something, untill his phone buzzed. He opened it, saw the message, and quickly turned it back off. "Well, I assume Ethan's dead. Unless he can leave with a hole in his face and a good deal of broken teeth, aswell as no nose." he said as he stashed it back in his pocket. "Cal thought it would be funny to send a selfie with him, with no warning."

"I've heard of people surviving worse, but let's hope he is dead" Katherine said with a sigh. She checked her phone, a strange error on the screen. "Meh, I'll take care of it later. Right now I get to relax, not a care in the world." Still, Katherine couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. It had been a long day, and she was quite tired. "You two have fun, I'm heading to bed. See you in the morning" Katherine said before heading to bed. Jack watched her leave, before turning to Julian.
"Well, that was odd. Anyway, what do you want to do now?"