Apparently it still matters[Open]

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Normality was returning, Brynmor could see it all over the city. The shops were refilling, the curfew was gone and even the tall gothic buildings that gave the city it's dark look seemed to have relaxed since the barriers were removed and people were free to come and go again.

Since his chance encounter with Hawkgirl a few months ago Brynmor had almost continuously switched between laying low in doors and returning to his old habits of lurking about the streets of the city. It was over a week after the FBI left that he found out about it. As with all these things it was good for some and bad for others and in this case without the government funding to keep them inside and out the way the homeless had returned to the streets. Not all of them were unhappy about it, one swore the government had been doing experiments on them while they were there but that was Crazy Larry and no one really listened to him even before the lock-down. Mysterious as ever Brynmor had swept back in to catch up with old friends and got the news from them. For him it was a relief to see things returning to normal, he even considered inviting a few of the guys back to the safe house to get a roof over their heads but the place was a secret and if he invited one he'd really have to invite them all and they didn't even know he was an alien, living with them would be too risky.

There were of course other downsides to the FBI leaving the city, the crime rate was quickly getting back up to speed as gangs came out of hiding and a lot of criminals got released due to a lack of evidence to actually hold them. Without the curfew the nights were certainly busy again and it was long past dark when Brynmor stood up on a rooftop, watching the distant flash of some police cars charge down a street several blocks away.

The increase in crime didn't register much in him mind, anyone who took as much time to just stop and think as he did could really see it coming but much like the FBI freedom was also a blessing and a curse for the city.

Brynmor's mind had wandered and instead was completely out of place, currently figuring through the problem of how to fix a toaster. He'd dismantled one at the safe house to see how it worked, you'd think heating bread would require less wires but no, humans seemed to put them in everything.

A nearby scream and call for help cut the air and Brynmor didn't seem to stir from his thoughts for a good couple of second before finally "Hmm?" His head slowly rose as he re-engaged with the world. A blink and suddenly he was more alert. Someone wanted help, from...that way.

He paused. Every single time for the last eighty years or so he'd stopped to see if he still cared. Eventually he was convinced he'd be so out of touch it just wouldn't matter anymore but today still wasn't that day. He could leave whoever it was to their fate or save them so at most they'll live what? 80 years? It was nothing. Still, leaving them to get hurt just wouldn't make him happy.

Suddenly he moved, long legs getting him to the edge of the building within a second and he hopped off the edge.

For a guy of well over thousand he was fast, his mind might be going but he was always happy to see his reactions were still good. The fire escape shook as he grabbed it with a small grunt, wrenching his shoulder. It didn't matter, it had stopped his fall and he swung onto the fire escape and jumped down a few floors before leaping the rest of the way to the ground. By the time he got there his shoulder felt fine again.

He sprinted the alley, his mind thankfully staying on focus as he stopped on the street to listen...Laughter. Muffled cries. He narrowed his eyes on another alley and showed absolutely no caution in walking straight into it.

Eight thugs, judging by the matching generic demon tattoos, a gang. Guns, bats, knives. Standard weaponry. Brynmor didn't even look at them past a glance, he was focusing on the two women in the middle of it all. Brynmor considered them to have distressingly little clothing but he really didn't understand the fashion sense of the young, that one had been stabbed in the arm and the other was being held at gun point with a hand over her mouth he certainly did understand.

The gang spotted him instantly and one the closest raised his gun and started his idiotic display of dominance, which mostly seemed to consist of an inability to stand up straight and talking gibberish "'ey! Keep on movin', yew ain't saw nuffin'" Brynmor did keep on moving, but it was towards the gang still. Clearly it wasn't the desired motion as the thug advanced "Wot yew deaf? I'm gonna pop yew-" he got too close, Brynmor didn't let him finish. He could have just hit the guy with his staff but the silly little thugs momentarily be a bit of fun. His free hand shot out over the guy's shoulder to grab his ponytail. His jaw tightened and he flinched at the bang as the guy actually did shoot him through the lung but Brynmor was good with pain and it'd take more than that to slow him down much, he still forcibly used the ponytail to swing the guy's head into the side of a dumpster.

"Wot da fuck yew think yew doin'?! Git 'im!" yelled another and aside from the one pointing the gun at the girl the rest ran for the tall intrusion who was spoiling their fun. Brynmor actually smiled as he let them come. Seven against one, fun odds.

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Wulfen had heard the scream as well and went to go see what was happening. When he saw the eight men and the two women and the situation they were in he knew that he couldn't just sit by. So he started to snuck up behind a dumpster that was at the back end of the alley and watched.

He then saw another figure appear. He narrowed his eyes and backed deeper into the shadow of the dumpster and watched the figure. He thought that he had to be the leader. He started going through how he would fight these guys. He had never fought a group this big before. So he had a bad feeling in his gut. But he stayed hidden and watched.

It was clear by the way the group and the figure interacted they weren't on the same side. But still he didn't know what the figure was up too. Then he saw the figure smash one of the men into a dumpster.......... Head first.

'Ok they aren't on the same side' He thought.

Then it registered that there was a gun shot. But he figured that it missed seeing how the figure didn't fall to the ground.

Wulfen waited until he saw his chance. He saw it in the form of the seven remaining men advancing towards the figure. He silently snuck out from behind the dumpster and silently crept up behind the farthest one back and jumped on his back and knocked him to the ground. and then smashed his head into the ground. He hoped that he didn't do anything that would kill the guy. Just put him out for a few hours. The fact that the man shouted out in surprise ruined his plan of taking out more then one of them without being seen by them. So instead he simply looked up still crouching over the man and asked the figure. "Mind if I join in?"

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Bullets began flying and the alley descended into chaos as the two gang members left with guns started firing before the rest could get too close to Brynmor. Brynmor though has little fear of being shot, sure the right hit could kill him for a few minutes but after the first few hundred deaths it mattered little.

His jaw tensed and he recoiled for a second when a bullet got him in the shoulder but his only attempt to dodge was to swerve as he started to run towards the others. He could already feel the first bullet wound healing up, breathing getting a little easier again, soon it would just be another hole he had to sew up in his jumper.

The arrival of a wolfman on the scene just made the chaos and confusion worse for the gang as one of the gunmen who was hanging back got his head smashed into the ground by Wulfen. Shouting erupted, three of the gang turned back to attack the new danger, one with a knife, two with bats.

The remaining gunman who was guarding the girls started to see that it might be better to ensure he had an escape route and between the tall homeless looking guy and the wolf he chose to avoid the wolf. Shoving the girl he was holding aside he headed for the entrance to the alleyway, shooting as he went while the girls started screaming again and crawled for cover behind some bins.

Brynmor was about as confused as the gang by the arrival of Wulfen, he didn't stop moving, knocking another of the gang to the ground by driving his staff into the man's gut followed by a well placed elbow to the temple without a care for the guy's knife before his attention turned to Victor and he yelled back with curiosity and not a hint of concern despite the situation "Who are y-?" His question was cut short by a bullet, he wasn't paying attention to the gang at all and it was a lucky short to the head. For a second Brynmor retained his balance, he didn't even look surprised but a hole in his brain wasn't something he could just will himself through, he crumpled and fell to the ground.

To all appearances Brynmor was dead, he didn't even have a pulse, not that the gang was about to check, they just figured a bullet to the head meant dead. There was a laugh from the gunman as he turned towards Wulfen instead, the remaining guy near Brynmor carried a bat and swung it a couple of times at the unmoving body on the ground just because he hadn't had a chance yet but soon he too turned towards Wulfen. With the other gang members so close to the wolfman and him low on bullets at least the gunman didn't start shooting again. Small mercy though it was, it was still five against one.

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When Wulfen saw the three men turn back to face him he started to think about how he would do this. He figured that he would go for the guy with the knife first. Then he would take down the two with the bats.

He ducked a few times when the thug fired a few shots as he ran. But he let him go. After all he was running and these three weren't. He stood up and got off the one he had pounced on before and got ready to fight. Then the man started to ask him a question and was shot dead. Or at least that's what Wulfen thought. He then saw that now all five of them were facing him.

So he changed his plan quickly. He wold try to take out the guy with the gun first. Then the knife, then the two... No wait. Three bats.

He watched the gunman and then after a few seconds he lunged straight away from the gunman and landed behind a dumpster. He saw the girls and mouthed for them to stay where they were. Running right now would be a bad idea.

Then he saw one with the bat more closer to him and got an idea. He grabbed the man's wrist and twisted it and caught the bat as it fell then he threw the bat like a spear and hit the man with the gun right on the noggin. Then he realized that in the process he got alittle farther away from the dumpster then he liked. And he was in an awkward pose. He was exposed and unable to get into a stance fast enough. 'Is this really how it ends?' He asked himself.

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Brynmor blinked and almost instantly wished he was still dead, or unconscious, or whatever you wanted to call it. People complain about headaches, his healing powers would never let him get one for more than a few seconds but he was pretty damn certain being shot in the head hurt more.

He gritted his teeth and remained still, not entirely by choice as he was still healing. He had to wait until enough damage was repaired, curse whatever kept him conscious and just kept trying to move his hand, waiting for it to work. He could hear fighting, his head wasn't at the right angle to see what was happening but suddenly his memory restored itself and he remembered the wolfman, the girls and the thugs.

Darn those bullets! Things had been so much easier when it was just bows and arrows. He kept focusing on his hand, trying to move, willing his brain to hurry up and fix enough to get him up and fighting...Twitch. Yes! Finally!

Brynmor sat up fast and took a quick inventory of the situation. Little dizzy, no big deal. Head still pounding from the healing hole in it, he'd cope. He quickly swung his head around, gave it a second for his vision to stop dancing and focused on the gang. Another second and he quickly got to his feet, grabbed his staff from where it fell and stepped up quietly behind the men.

One advantage to getting killed of course, very few people bothered to watch out for you when they thought you were dead. The gang didn't look back, too focused on Wulfen to notice the corpse wasn't a corpse and was right behind them. He was also understandably pretty angry.

Firstly, the gunman. A little revenge was nice but just like Wulfen Brynmor also considered him the one to get rid of first. Still several feet behind he swung his staff into the side of the guy's head while he was still cursing about getting hit with the bat and clutching his face. The gunman crumpled, the others whirled round and a couple of them cursed. Brynmor didn't really give them much time now though, driving the staff into the gut of one of the remaining men with bats, leaving them doubled over wheezing while the last knife guy jumped him.

Brynmor got stabbed in the chest and didn't care. Gritted his teeth and put up with a few more knife wounds after he put the guy in a headlock. Plunging the knife into his arm didn't make him let go, he just dropped the staff from his other hand and snarled through the pain as he punched the guy repeatedly until he went limp. The last two he'd get to in a minute, if Wulfen didn't beat him to it.

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Wulfen was alittle confused when he didn't get attacked. The confusion was only added to by the fact that he saw them turn around. Then he saw the man that had been shot was up and fighting back. 'Well I guess my time isn't up.' He thought before standing where he was along with the two bat wielding men that had approached him with that dumbfounded look on his face.

Then he snapped out of it faster then the two men did. He tapped the two on the shoulders and they turned out to see what it was. "Weird, eh?" He asked before punching the one on the left in the nose and then twirled around and elbowed the other in the throat. Then he punched both of them in the gut with caused them to double over. Then when they were bent over in pain he brought his elbows drop down on the back of their heads which put them down.

He looked at them and thought if they were still alive. He relaxed abit when he saw that they were breathing. Then he looked back at the man. "I saw you get shot." He said. He didn't mean to say that. Rather he meant to ask if he was ok. But he was still confused and those were the words that slipped past his mouth.

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Brynmor remained tense as the alley fell into silence, scanning the gang. No one left to fight. He dropped the unconscious knifeman and flexed his hand, checking on the healing of his arm with a small grimace. So easily distracted it's not until Wulfen speaks again that he turns sharply back to look at the wolfman.

For a moment he just stands there looking down at Wulfen, thinking but thankfully he doesn't get too lost in his thoughts and instead glances away and stoops to pick up his staff again "You must be mistaken" he lies easily before giving Victor another look "Who are you?"

When faced with the unexplainable Brynmor has found that most humans prefer to believe they made a mistake, come up with a more rational explanation and try and forget it all and even if they believe in something more unusual they're rarely right. Never mind that there's a hole in his hat and his coat and jumper have several more thanks to the bullets and knives at least there's very little blood, the small amount that remains was replaced before it could return to his body and so just got left behind. Though it's blue, so obviously it can't be blood, that would be crazy!

The dark of the alley aids him, it's questionable why he'd be wearing sunglasses at night but keeping them on raises less attention than the alternative of showing off his eyes. In the gloom his skin colour look relatively normal, hat still hides his hair, bullet hole or not. Yes he only has three fingers and a thumb on each hand but people rarely think to look, particularly when he's straightened up to his full seven foot and staring down at them, as he is with Wulfen.

It isn't thoughts of being seen as weird that fill his head though, he's been through that stuff before, just like being shot it's dull for him to think of because it's happened so many times. What he's more interested in is Wulfen, wolfmen are new.

With the distraction of Victor he's forgotten all about the girls too, remembering why he entered the alley and beat up a gang just doesn't cross his mind again yet.

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Wulfen got on his guard as the man reared up to his full height. He narrowed his eyes as he watched the man still wondering if he was ok. He listened to the man and answered. "I'm Wulfen. Nice to meet you Mr." Then he looked at the man. He had a strange smell about him. "I heard the gun go off and I saw you drop....... Are you ok?" He asked. He didn't by what the man had said..... But if he didn't want to talk about it then he wouldn't push the subject.

Then he took a step closer to him But only one step.... He wasn't sure if the man would have liked it. "You new here? Or have you been around for a while and I just haven't been paying attention?" He asked trying to start a conversation. After all this tall guy had to have been interesting. "Your pretty tall dude." He said. "Ever try basket ball?" He asked trying to make a small joke to break the ice.

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Brynmor lets Wulfen step forward without a hint of doing anything but watching him. He has no reason to even be remotely worried, not because he doesn't think Wulfen could hurt him but because he doesn't really care if the wolfman does. He'll survive. He'd come back and kick his butt for it. It's that lack of care that makes it near enough impossible to scare or intimidate him so he's certainly not going to be bothered by someone getting close.

His response is slow and delayed, his mind distracted, trying to pick out any similar meetings from his memory. It was like the moment he stopped fighting and started thinking again his mind dulled, wandered off with too much room to roam. Hawkgirl only really comes to mind simply as a animal/human thing who beat up some miscreants in Gotham. He squints behind his sunglasses, suddenly wondering if Wulfen could also be an alien as well.

Bending to get a better look his mind finally brings to mind the questions, or the gist of them anyway "What do you think?" He's clearly standing, not dead, not injured. There's slight curiosity, an interest to see what Wulfen comes up with to his own question.

There was a moment in the alley and at first he didn't react, his attention on Wulfen but once it made it through the muddle of his brain he quickly spun and made the poor girl who was crawling out of hiding yelp at the movement. Quick to react that time he relaxed back, wiping away the aggressive stance and she quickly pointed at her stabbed friend and hysterically babbled something about a cell phone. Brynmor nodded once, permission to carry on. She didn't need it, he wouldn't have stopped her but it was reassuring to one so scared.

When she hesitated by one of the guys, working up the courage to check their pockets he figured they'd probably stolen the girl's phone and calmly walked over to help "I've been around for a very long time but I doubt you would have seen me" he replies on the way, assuming 'here' to just mean Earth in general.

A quick search of the guy's pockets and he found a wallet, set of brass knuckles and a phone. He knew just enough to know in general that it was probably a phone anyway and offered it to the girl, she seemed satisfied so he assumed he was right and let her make the call. Technology, bah. He wouldn't know how to use the thing.

For a second Brynmor considered taking the brass knuckles, could come in handy but they always put one finger hole too many in them for him so he left them with the unconscious guy and went to check out the injured girl, giving the other one the lightest squeeze on the shoulder as he passed. A little reassuring gesture.

On the way to the other girl he shot Wulfen a confused look, finally remembering the joke, one he was sure he'd heard before "Which one was basket ball?" he remembers it was a sport but as he didn't care to memorise the details he's unsure what it has to do with being tall.

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Wulfen noticed that the stranger was rather slow. He guessed that he must've been tired. He looked at the man still trying to take in his size. Granted it might have something to do with Wulfen not being the tallest man around. He was just an inch or two shy of six feet. But it was still something brought to his attention many many times.

Then the man replied asking what he thought. "Well.......... I know I saw you get shot.......... But you sure do seem fine now." He said confusion written plainly on his face. "Just don't drop dead on me ok." He said in a calm tone.

Wulfen stopped at a certain distance away from the man. He couldn't shake the feeling that this man had a really strange smell. He didn't smell like a human. It wasn't the first person he met that didn't smell human........ But unlike her, this guy didn't smell like mint.

When he saw the man turn as though he was going to attack Wulfen looked to see what it was. He had completely forgotten about the girls. But he didn't want them to get hurt. So he started to move to stop the tall man. Not fight him.... More just get his attention. But he stopped himself when he saw that the tall man stopped. Then he moved to help the girls. "Hi your gonna be alright." He said kindly and gently to the two women. They both reacted by trying to put distance between them and him. IT was a common reaction. After all he was dressed like a urban werewolf. He simply gave them a sympathetic smile and turned back to the tall guy.

"Well I've been here a few months." He said to the man. "I'm Wulfen by the way. You are?" He asked offering to shake hands. Then hoping that this man didn't shake like Hawkgirl did.

He then smiled at the man's question. 'which one?' Wulfen motioned a man shooting a basket in Basket Ball. "The one where they through an orange and black ball at a basket and they're all at least two feet taller then I am."

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Brynmore lives in a state where he's almost always mentally tired with everything so it's probably not a bad guess, even if he's not physically tired. There's a note of amusement for Wulfen's request to not drop dead though, even a tiny bit of a smile "Heh. I think I could manage that" manage it very easily indeed.

Mint is certainly not the smell of someone who usually lives on the streets however Wulfen is in some luck as having a house to live in has improved things greatly. The underlying scent though isn't the usual human. He's similar in a lot of ways but just as a tiger doesn't smell like a lion, Brynmor doesn't smell like a human.

Crouching down by the injured woman while the other one called for help he gestures for the girl not to let go of the stab wound in her arm. He seems unconcerned, she's doing alright all things considered. Another offered pat on the shoulder and he straightened up. The girls were nervous, given the choice they would have ran by now but that would mean getting closer to the unconscious gang members. Their rescuers are scary enough, particularly as one seems to be a werewolf, but at least they seem to be safe for now. All they need to do is stay that way until the police arrive. Sirens in the distance suggest that shouldn't be too long.

Brynmor meanwhile stands there, slightly leaning on his staff and listening out for those sirens. Distracted still he doesn't shake hands at all but at least this time he pays enough attention to catch the introduction "What kind of name is Wulfen?" he glances the vigilante over "Wolf thing I suppose. Brynmor Jerr" The motion of playing basket ball results in Brynmor just giving the wolfman a very long stare, one eye brow raised. Eventually though he does slowly nod "Seems familiar, suppose I've played it at some point" but not enough to make a significant memory of it.

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Wulfen couldn't help but chuckle at the big man's reply to his 'don't drop dead' comment. "Thanks it would really freak me out." He said with a slight smile.

He looked the man over.. Or what he thought was a man, there was something strange about him. His smell was off. Not bad just off. He also looked to be way to tall to Wulfen. But then again Wulfen being short, most people looked too tall to him. He decided not to dwell on the man's strange quirks and just deal with the moment. He looked around when he heard the sirens in the distance.

He then looked at the women and sighed when he noticed the looks they had on their faces when they looked at him "Look I'm not going to hurt you." He said taking one step towards them. They only shied away. "Ok ok sorry." He said putting his hands up and taking a step back.

He smiled at the man when he asked what kinda name was Wulfen. "Well its inspired by a game I played when I was younger." He said with a grin. He then noticed the man's lack of interest with his basketball act. "Yeah I never card much for it either." He smiled. "I was always picked last at baseball." He then looked in the direction of the sirens and shifted on his feet. The police hadn't seen him yet. But he didn't want to find out how they would react to a man dressed like a werewolf the hard way. Just in case it involved bullets. They didn't need to be silver to hurt him.

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The sirens were starting to get too close for Brynmor's liking but he was still curious about Wulfen. If not for him Brynmor might have left already. There was no time to hang around left though, while he had no fear of bullets there were many other reasons for him to fear ending up in the hands of anyone official.

He has no comparison to getting picked for sports, school was a very long time ago on another world, one he barely remembers after everything that's happened since. His mind if on the approaching police though. He seems calm but his thoughts stick on less than pleasant memories and after a few moments he turns and heads towards the back wall of the alley, going to experimentally tap the muzzle of Wulfen's costume on the way both out of curiosity and to ensure he has his attention "Come on wolf man, you don't want to be here when they arrive" he doesn't know quite what Wulfen is but he's willing to bet the police wouldn't be instantly friendly to him.

The wall is handled easily as he suddenly sprints towards it, springs from a bin, up onto a dumpster and vaults over the wall, landing with a small clatter among some garbage bags on the other side before he calmly starts walking down the street on the other side, giving Wulfen time to catch up again. "So what are you exactly?" he asks at last once Victor's in range again, they're out of earshot of the gang and the girls and safe from the police so long as they don't come looking for them. Brynmor's hoping an unconscious gang and the girls will be more than enough trouble to deal with first.

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Wulfen again shifted on his feet as he heard the sirens approaching. He didn't want to be seen by them, not until he had a reputation... And hopefully it would be a good reputation. Which he felt wouldn't happen for a while.

He looked at the tall man again and watched him move. He seemed to be rather calm with his movements. He then looked back at the women and gave a kind smile. It didn't help him much at all, They still seemed to not like being around him. And he didn't blame them. After all he was dressed like a werewolf. Then the tall man walked past him and touched the 'snout' of his costume. Wulfen frowned in confusion as he did this. It didn't bother him... He just wondered what the reason behind it was.

When he saw the man easily clear the wall Wulfen stood staring at the wall for a few seconds.

'Did I just see that?' He mentally asked Lupin.

'Yes you did.' Was the reply.

Then when the sirens got closer and he could hear the cars Wulfen felt he better get moving. He clapped his hands a few times, bounced on the balls of his feet a few times. Then ran towards the wall.He launched himself up like he saw the man do. Made it to the dumpster. Then to the wall, then came up short. He grabbed on to the wall and with a grunt pulled himself over just as the police arrived.

When he heard the man's question he he smiled. That wasn't a completely rare question to him... "Well I'm somewhat of a historian... But I'm pretty sure the question you meant was what species am I. I'm a human. Just a slightly different then usual human." He said walking along beside the man. The man.... What was his name again? Oh right Brynmor... Or something like that."If you don't mind me asking where are you from? Your name doesn't suggest an English based country." He said kindly yet curiously.

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There was a simple reason for Brynmor's tap upon the wolf's snout. He wanted to see how real it was. Wearing sunglasses at night isn't helpful for picking up on the finer points of a costume but Wulfen's reaction confirms it, the muzzle is just part of the look. He was a little disappointed really, an actual talking werewolf would have been interesting.

When it comes to getting over walls being tall certainly doesn't hurt, though it's the few hundred years of practice dodging the law that means he makes it look easy. For a moment he wondered whether Wulfen would follow but a stylish move or not the wolf makes it over the wall and catches up leaving the threat of having to possibly get him away from the police behind.

Brynmor looks down at the man once he's caught up but a little amused smile appears when Wulfen calls himself a historian. Brynmor chuckles at his own private little joke. Historians, archeologists, reenactments, Brynmor finds them all quaintly amusing "I'm history" he mutters back with a small smirk but what makes sense to him often ends up sounding a little cryptic to anyone who isn't lost in his head.

Wulfen was human though, disappointly normal for Brynmor aside from the whole dressing up as a wolf, beating up guys in alley thing. Unusual human apparently but human "Different how?" he enjoyed something to be curious about, it passed the time and focused his mind a little better than usual.

The question of where Brynmor's from earns Wulfen a long stare. It's a delicate question. How much should he say? Is his name the only reason for Wulfen to ask?...Despite thoughts to be careful and distrust Wulfen Brynmor finds it hard to be concerned. The conversation is far from unfamiliar and he's survived with only minimal problems so far. He decides upon a half truth and looks back in the direction he's going, a small frown appearing as he tries to remember back that far with limited success. In the end it's a couple of minutes before he replies again "I don't recall much of my home. I remember Greece better. It is not where I'm from but it's where I came to begin again"