[Niklaus Schmidt]

Klaus was feeling annoyed. There was judgment in Ben's expression or so Klaus perceived. He rolled his eyes, not truly caring at this point what Ben thought of him or his antics. He hadn't had enough to drink to be stuck here, he figured. A beer was hardly anything. Truthfully, there was little keeping him here than societal expectations of nicety, and when had that been enough for him? He was more assertive than that. Yet, free alcohol. And the bloke had magic, so he could get his gear repaired rather than have to shell out to replace it. Eh, he wasn't perturbed enough. Annoyance was a manageable emotion when the payoff was that.

And then, there was a question that he hadn't expected. Klaus looked up from the bottle he had been staring at blankly to look at Ben, a brow raised as though inquisitive. He was mildly curious. Money was good, and that amount? Well, aside from likely needing to offshore it to avoid taxes, he couldn't argue with it. Yet he didn't want to seem overly interested. That was never a good way to be. Made you seem desperate or meant you were desperate, and desperation could make one rash. Klaus wasn't hurting for cash in the cost of living sense, but he certainly didn't have much to spare if he wanted to keep his savings account where it was in comparison with his monthly paycheck at the dead end job he'd taken to avoid blowing through what he had.

Klaus took a drink and remained leaning forward, elbows on his legs, arms draped, barely paying attention as Ben performed the spell. Magic had lost its excitement to him.

All things considered, the offer was good. But there was one thing Klaus did while hunting that such an arrangement could compromise. Dissociation from the human he was essentially hunting had to be maintained. He usually had a suspicion, observed, and then hunted. And one thing he had noticed was that wolves tended to have the same routine, the same chosen place to go to wolf out. It was their way of controlling the uncontrollable, of trying to avoid guilt and questions. Made sense but didn't truly remove all dangers associated.

Klaus shifted in his seat and glanced at Ben. "Interested," he said, looking back to the bottle as he turned it in his hands. "But on one condition." He returned his focus to Ben directly. "Minimal details. I want to know the beast, not the human."

[Eben Rook]

The shallow interest and distance wasn't surprising. Following a strange wizard into their home took a lot of courage. Such wariness was a sign of an independent hunter, and Ben respected that. the spaciness was typical for some after a hunt. Eben got energized instead, so he had to keep his mind on not running his mouth a mile a minute. Klaus' look of caution and his slowness to respond were all signs of reluctance to the American. England was incredibly different from his home. People didn't just say what they were thinking or feeling. They wasted time with bullshit displays of this or that emotion. If Klaus wasn't interested, Ben would have rather been told to fuck off. On the other hand, if he was interested, why not just start asking questions and get into it? Ben's wish was finally answered when Klaus gave his one condition. And honestly, it was so silly that he didn't know how to respond at first. He frowned and cocked his head.

"Werewolves aren't human. Even if they look like it, they're not. They're a disease." Eben started pacing around the room, frowning at the carpet as he continued. "Whatever was human in them once is dead, or twisted. What we do...hunting and eradicating them...it's like an extreme quarantine for a disease with no cure. Now, don't get me wrong, when the day comes a cure is found, I'll be the first jabbing the beasts with it...but for now, the kindest thing to do for them and the community is to put a bullet in their brain."

Was he talking werewolves or vampires? It didn't matter, did it? Monsters got dead. Period. Anything that preyed on humans met the edge of a blade or the tip of a bullet. He stopped his movements by his reading nook. That reminded him...new gear. Eben pulled down a catalogue and thumbed it open. The spread displayed several state of the art military grade shotguns with tactical rails for mounting grenade launchers, bayonets, flashlights, red dot scopes, and other tools.

"I like shotguns for hunting. You need to be closer, but the silver shot is not survivable. All our gear is silenced. If you need a carry permit, we can arrange for that. Some of my coworkers prefer rifles," he continued with a page flip. "but I can guarantee we have whatever you're comfortable with. Otherwise, I can arrange a training trip to Nevada. That's available to you any time for a fee; I recommend it, especially if you've ever wanted to experience a No-Maj flamethrower." He flipped to another section. "Armorwise, I can gear you with dragonhide or minotaur. Minotaur is slash resistant, but chemicals and flames can still get you. It is lighter weight and more flexible though. With your focus on the wolves, it's probably your best bet. Additionally, we have some spell-woven denim and dragonhide boots. Headgear, I'd recommend a motorcycle helmet...Here, take the catalogue. You can either make some choices tonight or call me for an appointment. I'll need to take some measurements for the armor. My number's on the card stapled inside." It wasn't his best sales pitch, but it worked.

[Niklaus Schmidt]

Oh brother. The things people told themselves to justify what they did. Klaus did the same himself some months, naturally, although most months, he chose not to think about the humanity and simply stake out certain sites he knew tended to be popular. This month hadn't been one of those. He'd spotted someone acting a little off. New wolf, probably hadn't even known what was happening to him, but he'd recognized it and hunted down the son of a bitch. Mercy kill, he always told himself. And he knew it was. He knew these wolves weren't human when it came to the end of the day. Why or how could a monster fully keep his own humanity when he had such a beastly nature deep within? Only those smart enough to know how to restrain themselves where no possible "accidental" kill could occur could even fathom keeping any humanity, Klaus always figured. Those that didn't? Well, they were a threat. And after the group he'd hunted with MI:6? Well....

Klaus let Ben prattle off a bit as he nursed his drink. He was getting tired, he realized. Perhaps that explained his annoyance. He was used to sneaking back into his home, taking a quick shower, and laying down in bed just in time for the adrenaline to wear off and his body to crash into a fitful sleep. Always fitful, always of her, of his sister. Maybe if he had enough of these, he could escape that. He'd always been a bit too scared to try that. He had enough of a flirtation with a drinking problem as it was.

Shot gun... No-Maj. Dragon hide. Minotaur. And then a book in his hand. Appointment. Ok, yes, appointment. He absently looked inside as though he needed to make sure there was truth to what the other man was saying about the card.

"Yeah, appointment sounds best. My head is swimming." And it wasn't the words. No-Maj was odd, but the rest were concrete enough. It was just a lot, and he still had to get across town to his flat. Maybe he'd skip the shower tonight. His sheets needed a change anyway. Klaus went to stand. "Nice meeting you." A pleasantry. Somehow sounded devoid of emotion tonight. The man had probably saved him a huge hassle, healing him as he had with his magic. Yet he just couldn't muster up much more energy at the moment than to get the statement out.

[Eben Rook]

If his head was swimming and h still had to drive, Ben wasn't going to let him do it in an unsafe manner. In fact, looking closer at Klaus, the wizard could see the tell-tale sign of exhaustion and an imminent crash. Ethics demanded that Benn kept it metaphorical rather than literal.

"Since coming to England, I've been hearing all sorts of quaint little phrases. 'Done in' is one that I think applies here?" He let the question hang in the air while he considered what to do. His state of anxious energy was obviously not shared by his new...coworker? Contractor? And something needed to be done about it. A pep-up potion wouldn't be appropriate here. He'd just be a wide awake exhausted mess. Maybe he'd want to stay in the guest room. The thought of that made Ben's skin crawl with anxiety. It wasn't that he wouldn't shelter his guest, but the man was basically a stranger. It was one thing to take him in and repair his gear, but it was another thing to trust him in his home while he slept. Ben wasn't there yet. He could offer to drive Klaus, but then which car? Ben doubted that Klaus would let him drive his restored gem. And to leave the McLaren somewhere outside of his wards was out of the question...

"I'm gonna call you an Uber. You're not safe to drive. And before you push back too hard, your car will be safe here. Twenty four hour surveillance plus some security spells I laid down myself...I'm not gonna waste my time on investing in you just to find out you wrapped that gem of a car around a light pole or drove yourself off a bridge on accident." Blunt, and maybe a bit harsh, but Ben meant what he said. Klaus was an investment worth the fifty bucks for a driver. Ben straightened his relaxed posture and headed to his charging phone. With a few taps in the app, a car was on the way.

"It'll be here in five minutes." He stated. If the man was going to argue with him, he had that long to convince Ben that he was wrong.