A Swing on the Ropes {ALEXIA}

[ROSS ♥ WHITE]

It was quiet, quieter than usual and with little bustle to keep the wolf busy. With a small sniff his senses were awakened by the strong scents of the coffee around him, but tickled by the different patrons and friends in the area. That was the trouble of being a tracker, there wasn't much you could do to get away from your nose. Even then Ross wasn't the type to complain. This was his life. This was his way of keeping his pack safe. After all it was his sensational smell that landed him his spot as Beta. Contrary to popular belief, Ross didn't earn his spot because he was Henry's bff. No, no the young wolf had earned it by using his incredible snout to track down a missing pack member.

He took a breath as he leaned into his hand. He looked extremely bored, face smushed by his hand and close to near falling onto the counter. Ross traced the little pinky of his other hand over the miniature porcelain cup that once housed his espresso shot. That was the nice thing about working at Lacroix, he got free coffee and pastries whenever he so choose. Of course Ross felt that, that was any junior's nightmare. It was like asking for Freshman Fifteen, even before you became a freshman. Ross continued to play with the cup and sighed. It still didn't mean that he didn't take advantage of free coffee.

With an exasperated sigh, Ross straightened up folding his hands in his lap. Thirty minutes had passed since opening and he was still waiting on the arrival of some new employee. From what he had heard it was some girl who had just enrolled in the school. "Because we need more of those..." He muttered thinking of all the new students that had flooded the school. It was worse than it was exciting. Ross had a prejudice towards the new students. While he was a fairly accepting person, he had felt more comfortable around the small trickle in of new students. Thanks to the Holy Cross however, there was a rush of new students.

This meant that none of them could be trusted. Their case files weren't looked over and their characters weren't examined as closely. The collection of new students was full of arrogance, evil and maliciousness. Ross was the kind, however, to give most people the benefit of the doubt. Either way, he wasn't going to get close to them anytime soon. With the opening to the public, every rich parent and their psychologically unstable kid was paying for a spot in the ranks. Not only did it make him uncomfortable, but it made the school feel a lot less safe than it was before the publicizing of it's existence.

He lifted the little cup and took a deep whiff of the aroma before taking the strong espresso shot. He set it down with content, happy that it woke him up. Now he would wait. For the new Lacroix barista that would probably get frustrated just like the rest of the former employees and leave. Not like it bothered Ross. So many people came and went that he was used to the training and used to the goodbyes. Hopefully this one wouldn't be too hard to train.

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[ALEXIA ♥ SOLHEIM]

CARVE YOUR NAME IN MY HEART

“Seriously? It’s 6 in the fucking morning and already you’ve had two cigarettes.” Lexie shook a finger at William, “Three actually.” She corrected him, zipping up the side of her boot. She had to admit, there was an air of excitement in the room; her first day at a real job. It both delighted and terrified her.

“I feel like, if you died and they did an autopsy on you, your lungs would be like leather.” Rolling her eyes at her brother, she tossed her pack of cigarettes and cellphone in her purse, hefting it onto her shoulder. “How do I look?”

“A vision of Athena herself.” Her favorite brother gave a very elaborate sigh, chuckling. “Thanks for letting me sleep in your bathtub by the way. I really didn’t want to have to walk all the way back to my room.”

“Thank you for helping me move all this shit in. I’d have asked him but…” Alexia let her sentence drop and William had the good grace not to pick it back up. Alexia and her elder brother had been in disagreement for a while now and it didn’t look like it was getting any better. And as far as she was concerned, it didn’t have too either.

Glancing at the clock, William finally broke the quiet that had settled: “You’re going to be late, sis.” And with a look at the clock and a groan of frustration, Alexia was headed for the door.

“Make sure you’re out soon. I’m literally right next door to the Headmaster.”

“Why should that matter?”

“William…he knows about us, about the family I mean.”

Jaw set for a moment as he looked at her, he gave a short nod: “Fair enough. We don’t need that headache.” Trusting her brother to hold to his word, Alexia left the dorm.

One 20-minute cab ride later

The scent of freshly brewed coffee and warm muffins greeted her when she walked in the door, pleased with herself. She wasn’t late. Granted, she had literally made it by about 3 minutes, but still. That was 3 minutes she wasn’t late by. She wasn’t sure how long the café had already been open, but it looked like it’d seen few to no customers so far. Stopping for a moment in the dining area, all beautiful tables and carved chairs – Alexia took in her surroundings. The crystal clean silverware, a small vase with a flower on each of the larger tables, morning light pouring in through smartly placed corner windows.

It’s perfect… She thought to herself, walking farther into the café before coming out of her miniature reverie and noticing there was actually another person here. Awesome, already I seem like a freak.

A rather handsome man stood behind the counter where he looked like he was either dangerously close to slitting his wrists from boredom or about to fall asleep. “Hi…” She gave a half-hearted, awkward wave as she approached the counter. “I’m Alexia, I guess I work here now.” Oh! The handshake thing people do! Alexia recalled what she’d seen from movies and tentatively held out her hand, “It’s…Ross, right?”

(OOC: It's awful, you can say it. XD)

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TEMPLATE BY WE WERE INFINITE ! OF CAUTIO 2.0

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[ROSS ♥ WHITE]

From the outside Lacroix looked very cozy and worn in. It had a Parisian feel about it and was an identical copy of its mother in France. Outside its pastel walls were big open glass windows, sets of tables, chairs underneath a large red with gold trim awning. Inside it was clean and immaculate. It was a miracle it all stayed clean with the amount of traffic that came in and out of Lacroix. According to his boss Lacroix was its busiest at night and during the weekends. Ross was around for long enough to know the truth behind that. After all, that was when students weren’t busy with class so it was only natural that the café was bombarded during those times.

As the door swung open Ross brought his eyes up from the counter, noting their arrival. He made a quick glance at the time before looking over. She was slight and pretty in gay man’s terms. With the smooth way she entered the café she looked pretty in control of her coordination and it relieved him. She wouldn’t be like the last girl who tripped over air and knocked everything over. Surrounded by porcelain, glass and pricey equipment, one could imagine she was gone before the workday was over. As he eyed her, he scrutinized every little detail, debating on whether or not she was going to be a good work mate. Lucky for the new girl, there wasn’t anything Ross seemed to dislike.

Still as he took in a breath of air, Ross found something was off about her. He couldn’t tell, but something about her blood smelled funny… strange almost. As a tracker for his pack, Ross picked up on a lot of scents. Just by smelling her Ross could tell you what path she took to Lacroix, what her perfume was made out of if she wore it, her species and what scents played out during her morning. Yet there was something in her genetic makeup he couldn’t pin point. Something that was odd and something he had never encountered before. Even then, that happened a few times here and there and Ross never cared too much to figure it out.

Within seconds he returned her wave and gestured over to the swinging door that admitted workers to the adventures behind the counter. “Hey there, you must be the new girl” He said with a small smile as he ran his fingers through his hair. ”Welcome to Lacroix, that’s right. I’m Ross. The one and only.” Ross took her hand and gave it a fair shake before he gestured to decorative notepad with a feathered pen attached to it. ”Just sign in here so that the Boss knows you came in for work on time today.

Then without missing a beat he explained a few things to try and ease any anxieties she might be feeling. After all, he was told that according to her application this looked like her first job. First jobs were pretty nerve wrecking, but luckily for her Lacroix wasn’t too hard of a gig and she came to learn during a pretty empty time. ”So we don’t’ have uniforms here, but just keep it appropriate. We were these little nametags which are fairly simple, but kind of expensive. So I wouldn’t lose it or they cut it out of your paycheck to get you a new one.” With that Ross handed her the small little Eiffel tower pin that had a white marble name plate attached to it with black engraving that said Alexia. ”Did you have any questions or should I explain some of the machinery? We have a book so if you’re the reading type I can just give you the manual? Either way is fine with me.”

[ALEXIA ♥ SOLHEIM]

CARVE YOUR NAME IN MY HEART

Finishing the last stroke of the pen, Alexia grimaced at her name; staring up at her glistening with still-wet ink. She’d never had the best handwriting, generally smooth but it could turn spidery at any moment.

Just like me… She smirked at herself, thanking Ross for the name-tag while simultaneously pinning it to the collar of her white blouse. She listened to the smooth tone of the teenager – being quite courteous – though Alexia did wonder if it was natural or painted on under order from his superior. She hoped it was the former; the idea of making an actual friend birthed a smile on her lips.

“Um, how about both? I’m a fast reader but I’m guessing people are about to start showing up rather soon for their morning cup of coffee and I’m not that fast.” Chuckling, Alexia walked behind the counter, quickly tying her hair into a manageable pony-tail. Flipping on the sink, the hot water was just what her tired hands needed, though the witch couldn’t seem to keep her eyes (or ears) off her new co-worker.

He was handsome to be sure. Young, of course – Alexia wouldn’t have been surprised if he hadn’t graduated highschool. A flash of her youngest brother whipped across her vision, his face tear-streaked, some awful bully throwing a rock at him, a pretty little blonde turning him down for his schooldance.

Alexia squashed those thoughts. Gregory always hated it when she worried over him.

Finding Ross’ reflection in the small mirror above the sink, a sudden shiver ran down her spine. Alexia had always been taught to trust in such things, and with a low exhale; she gathered her energy.

Vision came alive with color as she looked into the aura of the man behind her. She saw his own small sense of trepidation towards her, like he could smell something on her. But that was the other thing.

The touch of a Were graced his aura.

“No way!” Whipping around, her hands gripping the sink behind her; Alexia stared hard at the young man, eyes inquisitive with nearly reckless curiosity. “But you have no origin bite-marks. Are you…are you a pureblood?” Recognizing her more studious, unfeeling aspect rearing its head; Alexia dropped her gaze to the floor, mentally kicking herself.

“I’m sorry, I’m so…fucking sorry. I didn’t mean to suddenly pry like that, I’m…” Taking a deep breath, she raised her eyes back to him. “I’m a witch, and…my family has a lot of them. That’s probably what you smell on me, or…something. I’m…sorry. I didn’t mean…” Could you stumble over your own words anymore, Alexia? Berating herself, she turned back to the sink and grabbed a paper towel.

“I…uh…I need recipes, I guess.”

TEMPLATE BY WE WERE INFINITE ! OF CAUTIO 2.0

[ROSS ♥ WHITE]

He took a sip of the coco crinkling his nose slightly as the steam settled in moisture on his face. Ross placed the cup down taking time to enjoy the magazine that was on the counter and keep a relaxed eye on Alexia. She seemed like a very capable girl and there was no use hovering over her like a maniac. It proved a lot more effective just to mentor from a distance and allow the trainees to learn on their own. That way it never felt suffocating. Freedom was the key to happiness and Ross surely wasn’t going to step on Alexia’s toes.

”I do too.” He hummed flipping straight to the embarrassing stories. Schadenfreude. That was Ross. Awkward moments were only awkward if you thought of them that way. For Ross it was all just fun and games. The laughter that emerged from his lips was never about making fun, it was laughing to ease to ease the tension in the situation. Of course when it came to the columns in the magazine it was a completely different story. Why put the story in, if it wasn’t supposed to be laughed at. “It makes me feel that much better about being different.”

The hum of the blender filled the air as he read. It was a very familiar sound that often filled the shop and occurred all year regardless of the season. Some students simply didn’t like warm beverages and the taste of a sweet milkshake was delightful regardless of the season. However there were some students who didn’t benefit from human delights and thus the mini fridge underneath the counter was to service them. There were three of them underneath the counter. Each of them had a stock of blood bags organized on the shelves by blood type. It was a little macabre, but with a special heater in the back and discrete cups special made for the blood, it was a nice treat for the students who had a limited diet.

“Hey no worries.” He laughed shaking his head a bit. That was a new one. There weren’t a lot of people pawing at Ross screaming about how they were excited to meet a pureblood. When it came to his brother and his family, purebloods were pretty typical. Still it was nice to be noticed and to have someone be so interested. “If you have any questions feel free to ask’em.” It was a small gesture of friendliness on Ross’s part. If she was interested in his kind he was sure he could debunk some silly book rumors about what the wolves were like. There were a lot of secrets that supernaturals held and the world of books, while some were written by supes themselves, were misleading and full of false stories.

As he flipped through, Alexia presented him with the milkshake. He eyed it for a moment, taking a deep breath before giving her a nod. As he held it in his hands he took a brief whiff. It smelled innocent enough. The composition looked thick, color was right and the smell didn’t hint of anything wrong. With a wrinkle of his nose he took a test sip and let it linger. He took a satisfied swallow and nodded with relief. Luckily for Alexia and Ross’s taste buds everything was just the way it should be. “Correction. It’s your very first awesome milkshake. Good job, you want to take a shot at the espresso machines? They can be a serious bitch sometimes.”

It was a fair warning about the machines. They were often finicky and tended to shoot out steam in the wrong direction if the settings weren’t right. It was a nightmare to work around on a busy day especially with leftover heat of summer. Luckily or Lacroix employees, the fall was cool and despite the increase in heated beverages, brought less stressful heat into the work areas. Strangely enough the warning of the machines paled to her hint that there was something different about her. Everyone had their secrets at St. Gabriel, some more sinister than others. Ross respected all of them including Alexia’s. Personally he’d rather have her keep it to herself if it made her feel better, but regardless he was there to listen.

He set the glass down on the table closing up the magazine and crossing his arms over his chest. Solheim. There was a cash of information that was passed down through pack ranks. The memories and information of old pack leaders were passed down to the Alpha and Beta from previous leaders. It was an interested process and a tradition between wolves. As or the Solheims, there wasn’t much Ross could take from the bank. Old families like the Rothschilds and Capetians were a dime a dozen when it came to the knowledge that the Shreveport pack had. The taylors had descended from a line of European wolves some bearing French origin and others Scandinavian. When Ross had been given the information in pass down ritual, it was an overwhelming experience. It was one that really couldn’t be explained. Regardless he was a at a loss, not wanting to insult her, but not wanting to lie Ross would simply have to admit he hadn’t heard of them.

Carefully he shook his head. “Sorry, I can’t say I have. I guess it’s my lack of knowledge of witchcraft.” He took another sip of the milkshake eager to switch subject in case she was proud of her family name. There was a lot of that at St. Gabriel. Because of mystique and the headmasters ability to keep private matters, private, wealthy family’s tended to send their children to St. Gabriel. They had well known family lineages like several dukes from Denmark and Sweden and supernatural family lineages like Sephora from the Van Der Veldt line of Sirens and an Elder from a prominent and ancient vampire coven. It was always hard figuring out which ones would blow up if you didn’t respect the name and which ones wouldn’t. Either way Ross was a fighter and if someone had beef, he wouldn’t back down. “You did pretty well, I think you’re going to catch on pretty quick.”

[ALEXIA ♥ SOLHEIM]

CARVE YOUR NAME IN MY HEART

It’s just like alchemy, only edible… Alexia thought to herself, smiling as she stirred together the ingredients, keeping a close eye on the recipe. Potion-making had never been a strong-suit of hers, more often than not – Carla was the best alchemist the family had been gifted with for generations, but Alexia still knew her way around a setting like this.

She smirked at the Harry Potter reference. That was considered contraband where she grew up. ‘Such rubbish is not fit for you.’ Her mother would growl whenever she caught Alexia with one of the novels before tearing it away from her, and casting it into the fireplace. Alexia was precocious as a child though, and she always managed to get another copy from somewhere. “I’ve never thought of St. Gabriel’s as a real world analogue for Hogwarts, but I love that comparison.” She chucked, grabbing two whole vanilla-beans from a nearby jar.

Sliding the tip of her knife along the vanilla bean, she gathered the small seeds on the flat of the blade before tapping them into the blender with the ice cream and milk already in. Flipping the lid shut and turning on the blender, Alexia took a second to gather her thoughts before she turned to face Ross.

“Sorry about the whole…super excited yelling. I – uh…I’ve only ever read about pureblood’s, and I’ve always wanted to meet one, and so I got excited, as I’m sure you…noticed…” Biting into her bottom-lip, partially out of habit and partially as a defense mechanism to keep her face from turning beet-red, she grabbed one of the clean glasses and filled it once the blender had run its course.

“My first ever milkshake!” She presented it proudly to Ross: “And you weren’t wrong by the way. I’m…positive I smell a little off to a Were…” Alexia would’ve been lying if she said she didn’t toy with the idea of telling him all about her and her fucked-up family. The Headmaster already knew, that was a given.

Her mother had made some mention of him before as if she’d known him (or knew of him) in some capacity but Alexia hadn’t bothered to pay attention. She rarely did where Vivian was involved.

Everyone will figure it out eventually. People talk…

But was that a good enough reason to sell out such sensitive information? If I told Ross, than that would mitigate the shock it might have on the lycanthrope community. They could become allies… Alexia caught herself, her jaw setting ever so slightly.

I’m not here to play politician.

“Have you ever heard of the Solheim family, Ross? They’re as ‘old money’ as ‘old money’ can get, and witchcraft is sort of a family tradition. They aren’t half so powerful as they were 30 years ago, but the lingering scent of aristocracy remains, I’m sure.” It wasn’t a lie, not exactly. Alexia never counted ‘lies of omission’ as actual untruths, and so she felt no grief over this. It was safer for both of them if she kept her history light, brief and mostly obfuscated.

“How’d I do on the shake?”

TEMPLATE BY WE WERE INFINITE ! OF CAUTIO 2.0

[ROSS ♥ WHITE]

He took a sip of the coco crinkling his nose slightly as the steam settled in moisture on his face. Ross placed the cup down taking time to enjoy the magazine that was on the counter and keep a relaxed eye on Alexia. She seemed like a very capable girl and there was no use hovering over her like a maniac. It proved a lot more effective just to mentor from a distance and allow the trainees to learn on their own. That way it never felt suffocating. Freedom was the key to happiness and Ross surely wasn’t going to step on Alexia’s toes.

”I do too.” He hummed flipping straight to the embarrassing stories. Schadenfreude. That was Ross. Awkward moments were only awkward if you thought of them that way. For Ross it was all just fun and games. The laughter that emerged from his lips was never about making fun, it was laughing to ease to ease the tension in the situation. Of course when it came to the columns in the magazine it was a completely different story. Why put the story in, if it wasn’t supposed to be laughed at. “It makes me feel that much better about being different.”

The hum of the blender filled the air as he read. It was a very familiar sound that often filled the shop and occurred all year regardless of the season. Some students simply didn’t like warm beverages and the taste of a sweet milkshake was delightful regardless of the season. However there were some students who didn’t benefit from human delights and thus the mini fridge underneath the counter was to service them. There were three of them underneath the counter. Each of them had a stock of blood bags organized on the shelves by blood type. It was a little macabre, but with a special heater in the back and discrete cups special made for the blood, it was a nice treat for the students who had a limited diet.

“Hey no worries.” He laughed shaking his head a bit. That was a new one. There weren’t a lot of people pawing at Ross screaming about how they were excited to meet a pureblood. When it came to his brother and his family, purebloods were pretty typical. Still it was nice to be noticed and to have someone be so interested. “If you have any questions feel free to ask’em.” It was a small gesture of friendliness on Ross’s part. If she was interested in his kind he was sure he could debunk some silly book rumors about what the wolves were like. There were a lot of secrets that supernaturals held and the world of books, while some were written by supes themselves, were misleading and full of false stories.

As he flipped through, Alexia presented him with the milkshake. He eyed it for a moment, taking a deep breath before giving her a nod. As he held it in his hands he took a brief whiff. It smelled innocent enough. The composition looked thick, color was right and the smell didn’t hint of anything wrong. With a wrinkle of his nose he took a test sip and let it linger. He took a satisfied swallow and nodded with relief. Luckily for Alexia and Ross’s taste buds everything was just the way it should be. “Correction. It’s your very first awesome milkshake. Good job, you want to take a shot at the espresso machines? They can be a serious bitch sometimes.”

It was a fair warning about the machines. They were often finicky and tended to shoot out steam in the wrong direction if the settings weren’t right. It was a nightmare to work around on a busy day especially with leftover heat of summer. Luckily or Lacroix employees, the fall was cool and despite the increase in heated beverages, brought less stressful heat into the work areas. Strangely enough the warning of the machines paled to her hint that there was something different about her. Everyone had their secrets at St. Gabriel, some more sinister than others. Ross respected all of them including Alexia’s. Personally he’d rather have her keep it to herself if it made her feel better, but regardless he was there to listen.

He set the glass down on the table closing up the magazine and crossing his arms over his chest. Solheim. There was a cash of information that was passed down through pack ranks. The memories and information of old pack leaders were passed down to the Alpha and Beta from previous leaders. It was an interested process and a tradition between wolves. As or the Solheims, there wasn’t much Ross could take from the bank. Old families like the Rothschilds and Capetians were a dime a dozen when it came to the knowledge that the Shreveport pack had. The taylors had descended from a line of European wolves some bearing French origin and others Scandinavian. When Ross had been given the information in pass down ritual, it was an overwhelming experience. It was one that really couldn’t be explained. Regardless he was a at a loss, not wanting to insult her, but not wanting to lie Ross would simply have to admit he hadn’t heard of them.

Carefully he shook his head. “Sorry, I can’t say I have. I guess it’s my lack of knowledge of witchcraft.” He took another sip of the milkshake eager to switch subject in case she was proud of her family name. There was a lot of that at St. Gabriel. Because of mystique and the headmasters ability to keep private matters, private, wealthy family’s tended to send their children to St. Gabriel. They had well known family lineages like several dukes from Denmark and Sweden and supernatural family lineages like Sephora from the Van Der Veldt line of Sirens and an Elder from a prominent and ancient vampire coven. It was always hard figuring out which ones would blow up if you didn’t respect the name and which ones wouldn’t. Either way Ross was a fighter and if someone had beef, he wouldn’t back down. “You did pretty well, I think you’re going to catch on pretty quick.”