looking all over.

[Alexander Vaughn] Well, he's been outta the hospital over a day now. Gaia doesn't give her kinfolk much, but she does give them healing abilities a little above and beyond the average human's. His head doesn't ache anymore. The bruises are gone, except for a smudge high on the bridge of his nose. Which, one might note, is a little off now, just a tad diverted from center.

Fuck it, it just makes him look tough. That's what Alex thinks, anyway.

It's pretty late at night to be strolling through Grant, but he's not strolling. He's jogging; a steady, even clip, faster than most joggers would want to keep. Lights flash by on the path. Somewhere a small animal scurries in the bushes. Alexander doesn't slow, keeps running, his muscle shirt plastered to his chest front and back, his hair damp.

[Aidan Whelan] This was likely the one and only thing that Alexander Vaughn and Aidan Whelan had in common. They both jogged at night. And tonight, apparently, they were both jogging in Grant Park.

Taggart had snapped at Aidan for doing this once before. Clearly, he hadn't listened.

He was coming down the path from the opposite direction, feet hitting the ground in gravely thumps that sounded louder in the quiet solitude of night-time. Tonight he had on a pair of black track pants with a thin white stripe on each leg, and one of those black micro-fiber running t-shirts that hugged his torso like a glove. Luckily, Aidan didn't have his iPod with him this time around, so he would hear the sounds of someone approaching before catching sight of Alex.

He didn't think much of it until the two of them got close enough for him to recognize the other man's face. That was when he slowed down, waiting with some apprehension to see what was going to happen. He... didn't think it was likely to be good.

[Alexander Vaughn] Truth be told, if Aidan hadn't slowed, he might've gone right past Alexander.

Alex is fucking serious about his physical fitness. He's hard with muscle, taut and lean all over; he's taken what he has and wrought it into something as close to perfection as he can. It takes some level of obsession to carve a body like that when you're not superhuman, when your life is not war. It takes a sort of mad devotion to go to the gym twice a day every day of the week, 365 days of the year, to whip yourself into this sort of shape; to run first thing in the morning and last thing at night; to train in the most brutal martial art you can find.

He does this because he's vain. And he does it because ... well; he has his reasons, and they're become the scope of this encounter.

This encounter:

Aidan, slowing. Alexander, jogging right past, his mind on his body, on his speed and the cadence of his steps, except then his concentration swerves and he notes Aidan is slowing and looking at him, and he looks at the other, frowning. The light hits the redhead just right, and Aidan has a memorable fucking face. He's beautiful.

Alexander stops dead. He's panting, and he recognizes the other, and his face twists into a scowl. You, says his eyes. He doesn't say anything at all. He just starts closing the distance.

[Alexander Vaughn] (beyond. not become. beyond. *kan tipe*)

[Aidan Whelan] Great.

Just.

Fucking.

Great.

This was so... just exactly not what he needed right now. And this was evident in the look of barely repressed irritation that shone in his green eyes. It was almost...resigned, though. As if he'd been in exactly this sort of situation countless times before, and knew exactly how it was going to go down. Big scary macho man beat me up now. Yes sir boss, I'll just stand here and take it like the little pretty little queer that you think I am.

Well, ok... minus the part about just standing there. Although that was what he seemed to be doing now. His footsteps had halted completely now, and he just... waited. He didn't even say anything.

[Alexander Vaughn] If Alexander were a better man:

He would've backed off of Boy when the kid seemed so obviously embarrassed. When the kid proved himself the better man by refusing to rise to the bait. He would've never tried to step on Boy at all; he would've never felt so fucking threatened by another guy stepping up into the scene.

He would've never bristled up when Hatchet sat down next to Liadan. He would've never lost his shit because he was being temporarily ignored; he would've never tried to hit someone with a motorcycle helmet.

He would've never ranted at Liadan when she did him the massive fucking favor of being his one and only visitor at the hospital. He would've never implied that she was blind, or stupid for trusting a Garou who's -- so far -- never been anything but kind to her. He would've never resorted to such cheap tricks as reminding her of what they did that Friday night a little under a week ago.

And he wouldn't come at Aidan like this. He wouldn't come at him even when the other man has no obvious intention of wanting to fight. He wouldn't cross the distance with his fists balling up, knowing full well that it's dark and Grant Park is empty and Aidan was just here to jog.

But Alexander is not a better man. He's not even a good man. He's insecure and prickly; he's brittle; he's a fucking shithead. And he's not the slightest bit deterred.

"Fuckin' little punk," he snarls, and his hand shoots out the grab Aidan by the hair. "I've been looking all over for you."

[Aidan Whelan] "Well congratulations, you found me."

That's all he'd be able to get out before it started. Before the inevitable backlash. If Alexander had asked, he'd have said he was sorry, because frankly... he was. Aidan didn't like to hurt people. Not usually.

But that probably would have just pissed the other man off more, anyway. And it was moot, because Alexander did not ask, and Aidan did not apologize. Instead, he found himself attempting to duck out of the way of that grabbing hand.

[Init time!]

[Aidan Whelan] ((Init +6))
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 10

[Alexander Vaughn] (+7)
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 7 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Alexander Vaughn] (a. grapple b. punch to face c. smash face on knee!)

[Aidan Whelan] ((Dodge! And...I have no dice so that's it))

[Alexander Vaughn] (grapple: str/brawl, -3 dice)
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 2, 3, 3, 8, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6) Re-rolls: 1

[Aidan Whelan] ((Dex+Dodge))
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 2, 2, 4, 6, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)

[Alexander Vaughn] (grapple dodged, no diff modifier on punch. -4 dice, dex/brawl)
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 8, 8, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6) Re-rolls: 1

[Alexander Vaughn] (str +4)
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 3, 3, 4, 6, 6, 8 (Success x 3 at target 6)

[Aidan Whelan] ((Soak - ow))
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 6, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)

[Alexander Vaughn] (and ... gonna roll this as a kick, -5 dice)
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 4, 6, 7 (Success x 1 at target 7)

[Alexander Vaughn] (str +0)
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 1, 6, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Aidan Whelan] ((Soak baby))
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 5, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Alexander Vaughn] Give this much to Aidan: he's a slick bastard, and he's tougher than he looks. He lurches out of the way of Alex's grasping hand; takes a potentially devastating punch to the face without much more than a bruise. The knee to the face he manages to avoid, as his head isn't currently caught on Alex's fist -- it hits against his side instead, glances off without much damage.

It only makes Alex angrier. The man -- who's a good three inches shorter, but a good deal wider, more solid -- is baring his teeth now, grey-white flickers in the dark. His eyes are flashing. He snarls soundlessly and comes at Aidan again, fists and feet.

(re-init! +7)
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 6 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Aidan Whelan] ((Init +6))
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 7

[Aidan Whelan] ((Declare - punch))

[Alexander Vaughn] (a. headbutt that pretty pretty nose! b. elbow face)

[Alexander Vaughn] (rolling it as a punch for lack of headbutting rules -- dex/brawl -2)
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 8, 10, 10 (Success x 7 at target 6) Re-rolls: 2

[Alexander Vaughn] (damage, str+6)
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 1, 3, 6, 6, 7, 8, 8, 9, 9 (Success x 6 at target 6)

[Aidan Whelan] ((Soak? Maybe?))
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 5, 6 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Alexander Vaughn] (stun; and elbow, also rolled as a punch, -3)
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6) Re-rolls: 1

[Alexander Vaughn] (str+1)
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 2, 6, 8 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Aidan Whelan] ((Soak))
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 1, 6 (Failure at target 6)

[Alexander Vaughn] (this is for a kick-while-down. cuz alex is an ass.)
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 4 at target 5) Re-rolls: 1

[Alexander Vaughn] (damage -- bashing rolling over into lethal)
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 3, 5, 6, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)

[Aidan Whelan] ((soak?))
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 8, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)

[Alexander Vaughn] This is not a fair fight. It never was. For all his ranting to Liadan about bullies and comparative strength and whateverthefuck he was going on about at the hospital, Alexander's never been one to play a level field.

Aidan knocking him out on Sunday night was a lucky shot. The man is tall and thin, as pretty as a model -- though his profession isn't nearly so glamorous as that -- and he's clearly not a fighter. Alexander, on the other hand, is compact and ripped, and he moves like someone who knows what the fuck he's doing.

He knows what the fuck he's doing when he drives off his left foot, comes at Aidan with all his weight, snaps his brow into the bridge of the man's nose so suddenly there's no time to dodge.

It's a goddamn world of pain. Which Alexander knows firsthand, of course. Doesn't make him any more lenient or pitying. He follows the crushing headbutt with an elbow to the face, dirty fighting, drops Aidan like a sack of bricks.

The whole fight lasted a handful of seconds. Now Aidan's laid out on the path, and Alexander's still panting from his run, sucking air through clenched teeth. "Fucker," he snarls again, drives his foot viciously into Aidan's side hard enough to feel a rib snap. Then he mops his brow on the back of his arm, steps over Aidan, and breaks into his steady, loping jog again, continuing on his way.