It was bad enough that the man hardly trusted anyone to begin with, the only two exceptions in his miserable world currently only existing in Donovan and his little sister Ellie, but one of the abolsute last being on the face of this forsaken world that Lazarus would ever trust was the man that was sitting there at that polished bar with him. It was far too coincidental that their wayward uncle would have ended up in the same exact city as the siblings when they'd left that city in their rearview mirror without telling so much for as a soul. Okay, well Lazarus was almost entirely sure that Elain had probably made mention of their location to a friend or two at her school, and if anything the dark hunter was ninety-nine percent certain that at the very least his little sister had told her closest friends from their old stomping grounds where it was that they were moving to. Lazarus never had an issue with the mousey girl, if anything thinking that just maybe Naomi would be able to help himself keep tabs on his sister and any dumbass guys looking for trouble if they thought they could try and get into the honey-blonde woman's pants. What was even stranger was that Lazarus hadn't really minded the near constant presence of that timid little woman, having once regarded her with a tolerance simply because she seemed to keep Ellie in the apartment instead of running around all over the town like his little sister's more exuberant companions that were always wanting to go to the park or hit up the malls. He didn't trust them as far as he could throw them, knowing all too well that those locations would be the prime placed to try and see if there were any attractive guys to flirt with. Oh yes, he knew well how that game worked. Thankfully though, Naomi was the opposite and always had a way of bringing out the calmer side of Elain.

Would she have ratted them out to James, though? Lazarus didn't think so... but it was hard for him to even begin to guess at just how the older dark hunter had been able to track them all the way to Sacrosanct. It only made the man that much more suspicious of James, though he was careful to keep that usually distant and cold air about himself, still not entirely certain of what the dark hunter was capable of. Their father might have told them about their uncle's morals and cruel ambitions, but what he failed to mention before his untimely death was anything in relation to the power that Jams wielded. If he was so adamant on eradicating the other species of the world, wouldn't he need to have a weapon to make such sinful aspirations possible? Still refusing to look at the man full on, his peripheral vision enables Lazarus to see that ever so slightly and yet still clearly amused grin on his features. It was enough to make him grasp at that glass in his hand that much tighter, although the last thing he wanted was to deal with having Ellie play doctor on his hand and remove excess glass shards from his skin. Instead he simply lifts that drink up to his lips and swallows the last of it in large gulps before the light clinking of the bottom hitting against the bar falls deafly into the atmosphere around the two men sitting there beside each other, lacking in the space that Lazarus wanted from the last remaining remnant of his past. When James remarks on how these types of drinks were among some of the most common for today's young adults such as himself, a gruff yet hardly amused chuckle rumbles from the dark hunter as if to say without words "whatever you say, guy", Lazarus almost entirely certain he knew plenty about good alcohol and shitty booze. He was more than happy to drink straight liquor, very much enjoying the smooth burn and delicious haze that came along with it, but he wasn't out the get hammered tonight. At least, that wasn't his intention.

James seemed hardly bothered by that blatant refusal to join him for dinner, Lazarus only becoming ever more certain that the man beside him was up to something. What it was the dark hunter wanted with his late brother's children Lazarus hadn't the slightest idea. Not yet. But he'd have to check into it if James continued to insist, if only to make sure that he stayed as far away from Elain as possible. It almost unsettled the man to think that the older man had been able to find them, but it was what their kind was made for. Hunting. Even if it meant hunting their own kind it seemed. As the British man shrugs in that near perfect suit, satin-smooth tones question the likelihood that Lazarus would tell Elain of the man's sudden reappearance in their life and all the younger man does is give a wolfish smirk as he looks down into the empty glass as if he were too occupied in the contemplation of another drink to give his uncle a "proper" reply though he was sure that James got the idea. But when he goes on to say that he'd heard of where Ellie had taken up a part-time job, those dark forest eyes snap back to meet the cold blue gaze of his uncle, eyes narrowing with a wordless threat."Stay away from her", he nearly snarls lowly at James then, making it even clearer that he had no business disrupting the balance that she seemed to find so easily in that new start to their life away from that which they'd fled. Dark forest eyes bore into the man now as he goes on to confess his ways before he offers Lazarus the suggestion that he'd re-evaluated his life and perspectives since the death of Tal and their mother. He says nothing as he watches the man's face take on a softer expression but the dark hunter is quick to hold that suspicion, hardly convinced that James had truly changed in such a drastic way.

Lazarus refused to ease his hardened look on the man, as though if he glared at James hard enough then he might just be able to guess at what sort of bullshit he was trying to sell, but he can see nothing except that gentler demeanor now and it was enough to almost sicken the younger of the two men. He's up to something, I just know it. Again, his uncle persists in Lazarus affording him the chance to show that he wasn't the same man that Tal had told them that steer as clear away from as they possibly could. He finishes the last of his drink as Lazarus is quick to interrogate his uncle in how it was the man intended on repairing their shattered family that surely only consisted of the three of them now. He extends that previous dinner invitation that Lazarus had been quick to reject, and before the dark hunter has a moment to once again shoot the all too perfectly dressed man yet again, James speaks once more as pushes himself out of that seat, something in his willingness to answers any "questions" Lazarus might have only making the younger man wonder just what he meant by that. He watches throw still narrowed eyes as James reaches into his pocket and places a business card in front of the dark hunter, asking that Lazarus consider his offer before retrieving cash from his pocket and telling the bartender that any other drinks were to be on his charge. How nice. His thoughts is hardly anything beyond sarcastic, but it is interrupted as James speaks of having someone waiting for him. That was hardly the reason Lazarus refuses to look away from his uncle now though, instead finding a seriousness in the dark hunter's assurance that if too much time passed he would simply come looking for the siblings. Anger burns hotter in Lazarus' veins then as he realizes that the only way to keep James from seeking out Ellie was for him to accept that damn dinner invitation. He is silent for a moment, clearly debating on just how he wanted to go about this dilemma of his."I'll be there next Wednesday. Seven o'clock. Don't go anywhere near that bistro", he answers finally, that last sentence heavy with warning as he looks away from James now and gestures for the bartender to replenish his glass. He would give James this one chance, even if he was entirely sure that the man hadn't changed in the least, but if it kept James away from Ellie then he'd just have to deal with it.