Relieving some tension (Open)

Claire didn't mind her new job, but it was bringing about some flash backs that she would have rather forgotten about. Seeing as she had the connection that she did with Evelyn, she decided to sort of take the day off in a sense. If the woman needed her she wouldn't hesitate to run, but for now she just wanted to get rid of some of the tension that build up with the hell hounds having gotten loose on school ground. She had to wonder what kind of idiot would have done something like that but she tried not to judge.

Today was going to hopefully be a quiet day, and that meant that she could take the day and have her idea of fun. Of course, her idea of fun was rather, well old in style, but she had at least upgraded her equipment. The wolf decided to spend her day doing some archery, as it was a way of clearing her mind and regain focus, which was just what she needed.

With her [Only admins are allowed to see this link] in hand she made her way to the woods where she could do a little target practice and possibly even some hunting. Sure most wolves preferred to used their animal sides but she saw nothing wrong with using a bow every now and then.

Claire made her way to a target practice area that she had made awhile back. It was in a part of the woods that few ever ventured towards so it was safe to shoot from a distance. There was also the added bonus that she could use her keen sense of hearing to detect if anyone was coming because there wasn't the distractions of the city to get in her way.

As she got to her favorite area, she reached back and pulled an arrow from her quiver and jerked her arm a bit which released the bow she had and then brought it up and attached the arrow to the bow and lined up her first shot. Unlike people today she didn't wear any form of fore arm guard because she was more then use to the burn that came from the strings hitting her skin.

Once she lined up her sights she closed her eyes for a moment and breathed for a moment before opening them and releasing the arrow. A She could hear the wisp the arrow made as it traveled through the air, and the sudden pop as it hit dead center of the target. There was a slight smile that appeared upon her lips as she set up a second shot and got ready. That was when she heard a noise, and because she didn't recognize it, she turned herself and her bow in the direction the noise was coming from and held steady, waiting to see if it was one of those hounds or not.

Though she may not have been aware of it, Claire had been being watched. From the moment Nowe had been informed of Evelyn's intent, he had sought her out and did what he did best, watched and waited. From what Evelyn had told him, she would be a good addition to the team but he wanted to see for himself. He'd heard enough about her to approve when Evelyn had brought the subject up, be he was still curious and so, he watched. When he wasn't busy dealing with hellhounds, undisciplined Fae and other such minor incidents, of course. What he saw, gave him no reason to change his mind about the woman and he decided to finally approach her and have a little meet and greet session.

So when she set off to the practice range she'd set up, he followed at a distance and wondered what kind of reception he'd get. Not everyone liked vampires and even fewer liked vampires who killed people for a living. He watched her shoot the first arrow and had to admit she was good. He could handle bows of varying types but preferred blades. Blades were easier to conceal than a bow and quiver of arrows. He could have approached silently but he thought it best to give away his presence so they didn't start off with her shooting him with her fancy bow. Not that it would kill him, but he wasn't all that interested in getting shot just because he could survive it. When she turned toward him with her bow drawn he gave her a weary look and held his hands up in a non-threatening manner. "Werewolves are always so jumpy. Relax. If I wanted to hurt you you wouldn't have known I was here until it was too late." He told her, dropping his arms from their raised position and tucking them behind his back in a fashion similar to what one might see from a military man standing at ease. "You're pretty good with that bow. How long have you been using it?" He questioned, less out of any true curiosity and more as a way to break the ice and, potentially, get her to start talking and stop pointing a bow at his chest.

Claire should have known it was a vampire coming, but her sense were a little distorted since her encoutner with one of the hell hounds. That was why she was out here to begin with, clear her mind and get her head on straight this was no time to be off of her game. As the vampire spoke, Claire rolled her eyes and turned her arms to face the target, but she didn't turn her head to look where she was aiming. "I am not always jumpy." She spoke as she released the air and it flew towards the target, splitting the arrow that was already there. "If I was jumpy I would have shot you with the arrow without waiting to see what my target was." She reached back and grabbed another arrow from the quiver.

"I should be, I have been using one since I was 6." She spoke as she turned towards the target again. Drawing her arm back again, she listened to the sound of the arrow sliding against the metal as she focused in on the target once again. This was her element, because it took patience to strike, if you let the arrow go to soon, it could give the target time to dodge, and to late it made it hard to counter attack.

The wolf looked back to the man to answer the second part of his question "Longer then you have been alive I can assure you of that." She spoke calmly as she tilted the bow up a bit, there was something else that caught her interest that wasn't the target before her. Something she had learned the sound of many many years ago. Releasing the arrow, she dropped the hand with the bow to her side and started walking calmly in the direction of the arrow. "What can I do for you Mr. Veleno?" She asked as she reached out with her extra hand and caught the squirrel that fell from the tree.

Claire was still very much in tune with her hunting and gathering side, because well she had done it for so long it was almost natural to her. "Is it safe of me to assume that you finally decided to stop following me? I mean for awhile you did a really good job, but lately your skills have sort of lacked. I expected a bit more from the head guard." She spoke as she pulled the arrow from the squirrel's neck and ran the arrow across the jeans she was wearing and stuck it back into the quiver. "I'd offer you a bite, but it's dead." She shrugged as she walked over to a fallen log and knelt down. Reaching down she pulled up her pant leg and pulled out her hunting knife which she used to start taking care of her kill.

Nowe gave a brief incline of his head at her words. "And I should thank you for not shooting me. Though it wouldn't kill me, it still wouldn't have been a pleasant experience." It was the closest thing she was going to get to any sort of admission that he'd misspoke. "I prefer blades myself. They are easier to conceal." He told her, withdrawing a throwing knife from somewhere inside his coat and held it up where she could see the glint of silver. It was a dagger-style blade but thinner, with a cord wrapped handle and balanced for throwing. "I don't doubt your claim. What Evelyn knows, I know." Yes, he'd pried some information from Evelyn and the rest he'd dug up on his own. So he knew how old she was and that she'd been trained to protect someone and followed orders. He tucked the blade back where it had come from and considered what he should do next.

He was quiet while she lined up her shot and switched targets and took her shot. "Nothing in particular. I just thought it was time we got acquainted. I've been protecting Evelyn since she took her position as Dean. There are things I know that you don't. If you have questions, I can answer them." He wouldn't discuss anything too personal without Evelyn's permission but he'd answer the questions he felt were okay to answer and wouldn't upset Evelyn. "Good shot. Though I did not doubt you'd hit what you were aiming for." He briefly wondered if she was showing off but decided it was unimportant, though he did feel an odd desire to show off himself. He refrained and merely watched as she came back and smiled just a bit as she spoke.

"Yes, it does mean that. And with everything going on recently I am not ashamed to admit that my skills are not at my usual standards. Besides, we're colleagues. It would not be a very good start to our working relationship if I followed you and you didn't know it." He shrugged at the admission. It wasn't as if he had been intending to hurt her. He'd merely been curious. When she said she'd offer him a bite of the squirrel he was slightly surprised. Not many would consider making such an offer, especially in an informal situation such as this. "I appreciate the thought but even if it wasn't dead, I don't eat animals." He told her, though what he didn't say was that he took his meals from humans, fae and werewolves and not blood packs like Evelyn and some other vampires. He was simply old fashioned like that. There hadn't been such a thing as blood packs when he'd been turned and when he had tried them he hadn't cared at all for the taste, not to mention his body had rejected it anyway. "So what is it you would like to know or think you need to know? Evelyn didn't tell me what she told you, though I'm sure she explained your duty to you. Was there anything more you wished to know about that or about Evelyn herself? Or even me, if you care to ask personal questions." He was staying away from asking her about herself for now. He wanted her to decide the direction the conversation would go for the time being.

Claire just gave a shrug as he thanked her for not shooting him. She was far to old, to wise in the field of battle to shoot an ally so it wasn't something she would have done. "Unlike most jumpy wolves you have meet I like to look my target in the eyes." she spoke calmly. It was a rare day that Claire made a mistake like that and half the time it wasn't a mistake at all.

"One thing you will learn quickly about me Mr. Veleno is that I am not to be under estimated. You may see the bow in my hand, but I am never without a close range weapon." she remarked, as she always had some form of knife on her, though the only one she would reveal would be her hunting knife. Claire didn't like to show off where she hid things especially not to her allies, as allies were just as unpredictable as enemies.

When he claimed to know all that Evelyn knew, well the wolf couldnt help but to laugh a bit. "So you don't really know me at all." she commented back, because lets face it, what Evelyn knew she found out from Oliver and what Oliver knew was very little. Basically the pair only I knew what Claire wouldn't mind anyone knowing. "You two should really do better research." she added because she was more then just the stories and legends that Oliver told.

"Well Mr. Veleno that is where we differ, you see I dont shoot until I know I'll hit what I am aiming for, and before you get all defensive, I've watched you at this school for over 100 years now and I have seen your impatience get the best of you." she could be blunt when she wanted to be. Claire saw no reason to try and suck up to him, after all Evelyn hired her not him and she wasn't out to impress anyone.

Claire raised a brow and cocked her head lighty at the mention of it not being fair to follow the other without them knowing. "colleagues or not Mr. Veleno, it's never wise to follow someone knowingly. I've followed you several times without you ever lifting one brow in my direction." she spoke as she worked on cleaning up her fresh kill.

For years the werewolf had followed people and had yet to be called out, then again people rarely ever noticed and if they did they were quick to call her out. 1400 years give or take in the heat of battle and you learned how to go undetected even with no place to hide. She wasn't even being cocky or trying to show off when she spoke, she was simply speaking the truth.

"Mr. Veleno you should choose your words more wisely, only moments ago you said that you knew what the dean knows, yet you stand here and say you don't know what her and I talked about." she spoke as she finished cleaning the guts from the squirrel which she tossed into the woods to feed some hungry carnivore later. Placing her blade between her teeth she wiped the blood from her hand and grabbed her knife again as she began to peel back the skin and cut it from the meet. "As far as knowing more about you, well there isn't much that I need to know actually, my job is protecting the dean and for that I have everything I need." she added with a small grunt at the end as she finished the skinning of the small creature.

Claire stood back up and pulled some twine from her pocket and walked over to a tree and proceeded to hang the squirrel upside down so the extra blood could drain before taking it home. "But you are welcome to tell me anything that you feel is important." she added, but what he felt was important wasn't always going to be what Claire felt was important, just facts of life really.