The most notable feature in this area is a large, flat and mostly barren lot that sits on a prime location near the river, and stands out against the various buildings--office buildings, they look like--that scatter northward along Hilliard Drive. Most are advertised as being FOR RENT. Despite the prime real estate, it doesn't seem as though this area has experienced much recent growth or development. A new, large wooden sign proudly proclaims 'Future Site of Hilliard Memorial Hospital'. Inland Construction and Gerlord Medical Association are listed beneath. On the opposite side of the street, across Silver and Beaugregory, are an assortment of medical research buildings, medical libraries, and even more banal bean-counting offices and classrooms for med students and interns from SCCU. North of Hilliard Drive, the seemingly mostly empty office buildings continue, spreading another block or so north to I-90, which slashes across the city streets in an abrupt divider.
A vast parking garage that seems mostly empty and barely maintained, though the reason for its decline doesn't seem particularly obvious. The spaces closest to Hilliard Drive are reserved for the handicapped. The wide space echoes the slightest noise, making it ring ominously off the concrete walls. Yellow lines painted on the floor indicate the direction of traffic.
An exit to the south leads to Hilliard Drive.
Compact is the word for him: wiry, maybe 5'6" in his beat-up black combat boots, with a sense of compressed energy and imminence like a coiled spring -- or a cocked gun. Never quite still for long, balance flowing through the balls of his feet. There's a striking intensity to his narrow blue-green eyes, the colour contrasting with his fair skin and spiky copper hair; just below the left is what at first appears to be a faint mole, but closer inspection reveals as a small, long-healed scar. His features are appealing, with high cheekbones and a good jawline, but it's the confident mien and roguish smile that most often seem to draw people in.
He's in a well-worn biker jacket of the traditional sort, all fairly closely fit black leather and silvery zippers and snaps. Beneath it, he's got old black jeans with a rip in one knee and the cuffs half walked off, and a simple white t-shirt which fits rather snugly in a flattering sort of way. There's a couple leather-and-bead bracelets on one wrist and a length of ball-chain disappearing beneath his collar; his nails were apparently painted black some time ago, since they're starting to show chips. Late teens, most likely, and when he speaks it's in a mellifluous, southern-accented baritone voice.
Briari stands at a fairly average height of five foot three with shoulder length curly blonde hair. Her eyes are a soft blue color. She has a lean, lanky build about her which appears built more for running than lifting. She tends to dress in boring jeans and shirts purchased at the local Hot Topic. Geekery shirts with logos of Adventure Time, My Little Pony, Futurama, Star Wars, etc. She rarely wears make up or jewelry. She has a bit of a southern tan complexion from living in Georgia.
Shaggy brown hair and darker brown eyes frames this young boy's face. Justin has a slightly tanned complexion with a hint of Puerto Rican from his mother's side, Caucasian from his father's. He has a fairly lanky build that could use a bit of bulking upas he is built like a high school track runner. He wears loose fitted 'destroyed' blue jeans, simple tank tops, and worn down sneakers that are about five months in need of replacement, and during the cold, a thick green military jacket from his Grandpa. He looks like your average, ordinary American young teen that plays outside and is fairly active. Tall at five foot ten, he is a few inches higher than most his age for now.
This short, skinny white kid is only a few inches over five feet tall and looks to be around twelve or thirteen years old. His straight black hair is cut in a basic, functional style that requires little maintenance -- super-short on the back and sides and only slightly longer on top. He's got a thin face with a beaky nose, thick eyebrows, and dark brown eyes. He's not a bad-looking kid, quite the opposite, but there's still something about him that makes most normal people uneasy, a feeling of potential violence, of predatory intensity.
He's typically dressed in jeans and t-shirt and sneakers, typical casual kid-wear, with a grey hooded jacket for outdoors. Apart from the footwear, his clothing is all a little bit too big on him, but one might imagine that he'll grow into it in a year or so.
Slug's frame is tall and lanky, somewhere in the neighborhood of six feet tall and just under two hundred pounds... But it's hard to really pin down the particulars. His semi-loose, dull orange hoodie hides much of his body and breaks up his frame, hiding the outline of his body. The hood is almost always up, and he takes pains to use it to obfuscate as much of his face as possible... And it isn't hard to see why. The right side of this young man's tan face has been torn up something awful. Deep troughs of keloid tissue run from just beneath his wild red bangs, across his high cheek, and terminate somewhere on his slender, stubbled jaw. It's hard to tell when he's got his yellow sunglasses on, but not both of his blue eyes move. It's likely the right one is severely damaged in some way, or false.
Beneath the hoodie's neckline, one might get a flash of the white tank beneath, especially on a hot day. The zipper on his hoodie has been rubbed with grit and dirt to take the shine out of it, and so has every other bit of metal on him, from hoodie right on down to his black zip-up boots. His jeans are significantly tighter than his hoodie, and often stained with something or another. On his hands he wears a pair of black fingerless gloves, something cheap and throw-away.
Thane isn't a man who's appearance stands out much. He's caucasian of skin tone with a faint swarthiness should he stay out in the sun long enough to catch a tan. His bones are pronounced, giving him the appearance of leanness despite having a solid, even musculature that speaks of someone who's gained his athleticism through rounded activity versus focused weight training. His hair is a tawny brown in most lights and usually kept in a short style. Often, there's a good day's growth of beard on his face which seems to hide small nicks and old scars. His eyes are a mid-tone blue, often held under pensive brows.
There is a look to him, the weight of something undefined. It's like looking into the eyes of a man who has seen terrible things and was never quite was the same after. It's even more haunting considering his blind right eye is couched in scars like an attack from a bear.
Usually, he's casually dressed but cleans up when the need calls. He's never seen among the normal public in anything but long sleeves regardless of the weather, underneath showing massive scarring on on his forearms. They don't seem to restrict movement, but the oddly darkened scars are numerous like lightning bolts across his skin. Another deep slice runs at the upper portion of his abdomen.
As Memory.
It took a long time--a lot longer than Blue had implied, certainly--but the call eventually comes around late afternoon on a Sunday, when shadows are already starting to stretch long and the sun has begun sinking into the horizon. Their Dancer contact describes the mage as a 'dumpy, middle aged man, brown hair with graying sides, long brown coat, business suit'. He gives them an address, and a cheeky sort of wish of good luck, and then hangs up.
That address? It's certainly familiar to those who know the city, and to those not quite as knowledgeable, they may well recognize where they are as they get closer. It's the medical district, a street once known as Hospital Drive by those who can remember. The street signs have changed, however. It's now Hilliard instead of Hospital, and as they get closer to where they've been sent, they can see the large, open lot with the sign advertising the future (and past) hospital. There's a fair amount of construction equipment behind new fencing, but it looks as though ground has yet to be broken. Furthermore, some sort of temporary dais has apparently been set up at one end. No sign of workers, however, though the sidewalks aren't yet empty. Students, most of them, are heading home, even though most of the office buildings have clearly been empty all day.
Slug sits in the seat of his borrowed car, reclining on the arm rest. The Garou keeps the engine on and the windows up, the AC on, holding a smart phone up in front of his face. The screen's busted and the thing has long since stopped working, but the rest of the phone is unmarked, and he can hold the blocky thing up in front of his face.
Salem is inobtrusively dressed -- light hoodie zipped up, jeans and tshirt, and the good running shoes he's long since broken in on parkour jaunts around the city. He affects a lazy, loitering manner, hands tucked loosely into the pockets of his hoodie.
In the back seat is Justin, who has a red bandana pulled up over his face and a black baseball cap turned backwards on his head with a black P on the brim. Since he is of the latino descent, he is going out like a Blood on this bust-a-cap mission. In his hand he holds a standard revolver he was able to sneak off the street with the serial numbers scratched off. Humming to himself, the words of Tupac is muttered: "Heavenly father I'm a soldier - I'm getting hotter cause' the world's getting coldah, baby let me holdja. Talk to my guns like they're fly bitches. All you bustas best run, look at my bitches now."
Thane is sitting in the back seat of the car as to drop to a lower profile if needed. His hair at least is no longer pink and sparkling but the man was actually cheerful on the way over, even if he was discussing his delight at finally murdering this thorn in their collective sides. As they arrive at the sight, he does let out a sigh though. "Oh wonderful, this place. Let's hope we don't end up crossing over. Of course, I say that and no doubt I just jinxed it. It's Sunday at least, small favors." He remarks as he scans casually through the closed windows, taking note of where folks are located.
A bit down the street from Salem, Felix is sitting on the curb, having a smoke and apparently texting with one hand. He's not particularly notably dressed either -- black jeans, t-shirt, jacket, his usual well-worn boots and a black beanie, covering his hair and part of his ears. Hey, it's still chilly out here when the sun's going down.
None of the scattered pedestrians they pass seem terribly close to the given description. Most of the medical students are younger, and a fair number of them are traveling together in small groups; talking, occasionally laughing. Here and there is someone older, but always something is missing from the description. An older, plump man going to his car, but no suit. A graying woman. A thin-as-rails man in a suit and tie. They turn the corner, where pedestrian traffic seems to fall off completely. The address they were given is for a building across the street from the hospital lot, but it looks closed up. No cars in the parking lot. No sign of anyone. A block further is an even more rundown site; the parking garage that Thane has visited once before, but it's in shadow from the larger buildings around it, and it's unclear if anyone is over that way.
Slug keeps things nice and sedate, occasionally looking up for someone, as if lost. "Best case," he says. "We get to fight an incredibly dangerous guy who may or may not know we're coming. Worst case, it's a trap." Slug takes a moment to change the radio. "There ain't no jinxing somethin' that's already fucked up to begin with, but, you can only worry so much."
Salem ambles down to the corner and rounds it to bring the target building into view, still nice and casual. He's even found a bit of rock to kick along. No werewolf here, no sir.
"I'm not tripping." Justin says as he continues to stare out the window with narrowed eyes. "Maybe that guy? Nah... not him... he doesn't look magey."
"I wager the first lesson any of us learns is if it can go to shit it will." Thane gives a shrug as he leans back in his seat. "Which really applies to most anyone. The trick with these situations os to ensure someone else's day goes to shit before your's." He glances to where Justin looks and then turns to glance absently out the window on his side. "...he's not going to be carrying a broom, Justin."
Felix periodically glances up from his phone and down the street as though waiting to be picked up. About the time Salem's rounding the corner, the Galliard gives his phone a glare, sighs, and gets to his feet. The phone goes into a pocket, and he heads down the block toward the corner in question, no longer checking down the street as he was, and looking vaguely annoyed.
The car continues down the street, drawing level with, and then passing the building Blue sent them to. Nothing about the other side of it seems to give any more of an impression of activity. As they pass the old parking garage, however, there's the brief spark and glow of a cigarette, just on the other side of the old rusted chain blocking blocking one lane of entry (but not the other), and the graffiti covered security booth.
Slug lowers the phone a bit below the dash. Wouldn't do to get pulled over in a stolen car full of Garou, guns, and other things because a cop thought he was texting and driving. He leaves the phone on his thigh and keeps his eyes up, but his head bowed a little.
Continuing to hum to himself, Justin mutters, "Seriously, we couldn't even get a pic texted of the guy? How we know we aren't about to cap some random fatty who's a substitute teacher?"
Salem gives his rock a good kick, sending it further along and jogging after it and down the block across the street from the target building and the parking garage. He glances up to note the position of the car with his Septmates in it as well as check other people in the area.
Being that Thane only has one-eye, he most likely will not be the one to spot a spark of someone's cig. He continues to glance about with a happy smile upon his face. Dum-de-dum. "Then at least the kids will have an early vacation."
Felix turns the corner, finishing off his own cigarette and squishing it out, then dropping the butt into a pocket. His hand stays in there, and the other slides into the other; his stride stays even and irritated, and he glances around distractedly as he goes.
Slug thinks he might see something- but between the driving and the talking, it's hard to be certain, and pulling a u'ey to go and check might be a touch weird. Instead, the Ragabash pulls over off to the side and takes out the phone again, thumbing the broken screen as if he's texting.
More medical buildings lie ahead, as well as the waterfront. There's little activity that way; most of the buildings look closed for the day, and the real waterfront activity happens elsewhere when night falls. Slug will have to turn again to avoid hitting the water, rounding the 'block' that makes up the large hospital lot.
"Well, common sense would suggest our boy'd be aiming for the buildings since they're the only things out here." Thane murmurs as he's looking towards the old hospital site. "Question is, where? Parking garage has something nasty going on so even a powerful fellow likely wouldn't be recommended to go wandering there."
Salem stops some distance away from the parked car, his last kick sending the rock 'accidentally' toward the other side of the street. He makes a face at it, then looks around, idly scratching the side of his neck.
"Guess it depends on where he's going, and what he's doing. If I was a guy and I knew some people knew where I hung out, where they could follow me, I'd probably stick between buildings and stuff so I didn't get shot from a rooftop." Slug licks his lips and shrugs. "What'd the Spiral say, anyways? That he commutes home along this way, or..."
The voice of Briari comes through their ear pieces. "Just a description and where he'd be at. I'm peeking from a distance though, trying to see if I can find him. Just be patient guys."
Felix continues down the block in the general direction of the water, apparently idly glancing over the various buildings and cars as he passes them. It's not a very exciting walk, with one side nothing but empty lot.
The dim glow of a cigarette just inside the parking garage remains, but it doesn't stay still. Up and down, then in a slow circle, and only when his body blocks it is the owner more noticeable. It's someone with a long coat, darkish in color, with his or her back to the street. The gloom of the interior, even only a few feet from the outside, makes it hard to pick the person out.
Meanwhile, most of the departing students have made their way off, either to cars or several blocks away. Here and there, lights are still on in buildings as the sun sets, but none seem particularly open or active. The building Blue sent them to remains shut and dark.
Thane hears the remark from Briari and settles back in his seat, responding only simply with a <Right.> back through the piece and otherwise keeping the radio quiet. He looks back through the window to try and keep track of where Salem and Felix are located and then towards the buildings. "Hopefully he shows soon. This'll be a lot harder in the dark."
"Everything gets harder in the dark. Trust me, I know." Slug says, as dryly as he can. The Gnawer lowers his phone, rolls his eyes, then goes back to thumbing at the blank screen.
"That's what she said." Justin chirps back with a chuckle.
The voice of Briari comes out in a long sigh from the other side. "Still nothing. Just kids. Kids. Kids. More kids."
<Well either he's not here or he's in one of the buildings.> Thane says over the earpiece. <So, empty looking blue building or parking garage where there's signs of ooze. Street view, see anything that way?> He asks of Salem or Felix. The Shadow Lord leans over to try and get a better view out the window towards the buildings.
Salem's nose wrinkles, face pulling into a grimace. "Going to check Blue's," he mutters, only loud enough for the earpiece, and then trots across the street toward the building Blue gave them the address for.
"Maybe he's down in the ooze basement, having a swim," Slug suggests. "Because that would make the evenin' complete, now, wouldn't it?"
Maybe it's some kind of smoker's spidey-sense that lets Felix pick out that dim, moving glow when that part of the garage gets into his view. <Looks like maybe someone smokin' in the garage,> he murmurs to the mic, and offers, <Could go try an' bum one to see who.>
"Checking the parking garage." Comes Briari's voice as she looks to adjust positions on the roof, peeking through her scope.
"Got a smoker in the parking garage area. Can't really see them. He's sorta .. making it dance though, instead of puffing on it. Like he's doing figure eights with it." Briari comes through the radio again.
"Blue's looks dead," Salem says over the radio, after checking out the building next to the parking garage. "At least on this side." He keeps making a show of poking around, though -- bored kids do as bored kids will -- as he moves around it toward the side facing the garage.
"Might be a signal," Slug suggests. "Could be your Spiral buddy. Or something. Whatever. Going inside all together, or we leaving some people out here, or..." he trails off.
"Or a magical spell." Justin says with a loud yawn as he leans against the window, bonking his head. "Maybe he's checking out the ooze on his own dime."
There might be something to Justin's suggestion. The movement of the cigarette glow seems more and more deliberate the longer they watch, although it's certainly not anything recognizable. Now and then the person will stop and bring it to about head height, where presumably they're puffing on the cigarette itself.
<Briari, are you able to line them up?> Thane says over the radio. <I see who you mean. Car's viewpoint isn't going to be good. I'd prefer not to rush in if we can avoid it. Salem, Felix, see how close you can get in the event this guy tries to bolt. We're not going to get a good shot at this from the car unless he flushes out of the garage.>
"I can probably plunk them from here, but it will be a really tough shot. The caliber I got in here will take a nice chunk out of 'em though, so if I hit, he's not walking out of there and feeling good about it." Briari says as she continues to squint one eye through the scope, adjusting it. "Whoever they are is at the start of a slope into the garage. So, I'd really have one chance and if I miss, it's a shit storm. Also, definitely not smoking that cig. They're doing something with it. Kinda twirling it over their head, yadda yadda. Looks like a rite of some sorts."
Salem wanders over toward the parking garage, having apparently found nothing to interest him at the closed-up building. He aims to keep out of direct sight of the cigarette wielder.
Felix continues past the car and to the corner, where he turns and crosses the street in the direction of the parking garage.
"If it is a rite or some magic thing, you probably don't want them to finish," Slug suggests, taking a moment to check his gun. He sets down his phone, then idly rolls down the window just enough that he could shoot out the window, not revealing more than than a fraction of his head and face. He keeps his eyes off the garage, so his scars aren't facing it.
"... Can we put on some DMX if we're gonna do this?" Justin asks. "I would suggest X Gon' Give it to yah'. That can be our killing sound track."
"Sing it in your own head." Thane says aside to Justin. To the radio, he says, <Briari, go for as much damage as you can with the best odds. Badly wounded with a better chance is more ideal than a riskier kill shot. The car will back you up. One round of shooting, enough to do what we can, then Salem and Felix move in. Finish him off it he's prone, do what you can to slow him down otherwise while the three of us join you.> "Justin, Slug, you two are closer to that side of the window. I'll head out when the shooting starts and head across the street to him." <Any last additions, now's the time.>
"I'll be here with the wheels, ready to shoot or drive, or both," Slug says, glancing in the rear view mirror at Justin and Thane. He blows out a sigh, then looks off down the street for a second, making sure that the way's clear to go if he needs to drive in a hurry.
"Yes, sir." Briari's voice comes through the radio. "Good luck to all of you. I'm going to shift a bit closer, give me a few seconds to get locked in. I'll count to three, then pop it off."
Salem mutters, "Roger." He glances around, brow furrowed.
"Got it," Felix murmurs as well, continuing his stroll.
"Let's hope fate decides to give a shit about us today." Thane murmurs within the confines of the car before he says over the radio, <On your mark, Briari.> And then he waits, one hand on the handle of the car door and eye on the entry to the garage.
Screwing the silencer on the end of the muzzle, Briari leans forward and kisses the gun on the top of it. "Daddy, please don't let your twenty grand super gun let me down." She says as she shifts into position, squints her eye through the scope and gives it another twitch. She watches the glow of the cherry dance around slowly, then adjusts again juuuuust a little bit. She looks to line up the shot to the body. Closing her eyes for a moment, she lets out a slow breath, then whispers, "... 1 .... 2 .... 3..." Paf! "... go."
Briari is far enough away that they can't hear the shot, even if she were working without a silencer. They do, however, hear a sharp rap from within the garage. Bullet hitting a wall? Their target's doing? In the chaos of the moment it's unclear, but the gloom shrouded figure seems to buckle and drop. Was he hit, or is he taking cover? The cigarette itself is dropped, however, and rolls well out of sight. The moment after that sound seems impossibly quiet.
Slug watches anxiously without trying to appear so, one hand on the wheel, the other laid on his thigh near his gun ( and whatever else he's got beneath his jacket ). For a second or two he drums his fingers on the wheel, then stops.
Bounding out of the car, Justin tears up the driveway as he pulls his gun upwards to chin level. If he spies the body, whether injured or not, he will fire off a rally of shots as he grips the gun tight with both hands.
At the sound of the shot, Thane is out of the car. He's only a step or two behind Justin as he has to round the car but the Shadow Lord is moving at a run for the garage and ready to react at a second's notice depending on what greets them - one hand on his gun, the other metaphorically ready to hit the button of Rage.
Salem sheds the facade of casual loiterer and bolts toward the garage when he sees the others exit the car, all deadly intent now, all business.
Felix does the same, not yet pulling out any weapons but ready to do so if there's a Mage in handy shootable position once he gets inside.
Still upon the roof, Briari continues to peer through the scope and watch the others converge upon the scene. There is a click-clack noise as she sets up another round, then slides her finger over the trigger.
Slug shifts the car into drive for a speedy retreat ( or advance ), and unzips his jacket, now that the others are scrambling out. With his cover blown /anyways/, he winds down the window all the way and looks all around, ready for the first thing to go wrong.
No sooner has Slug wound down his window than there's a massive *crunch* as the entire front of the car buckles downward from some unseen impact, the front windshield cracking into a thousand spidery splinters and yet somehow, for the moment, still holding together. There's a person suddenly on the impacted car hood, or the likeness of a person--though the more one looks, the less human this person seems to be. Their skin is deathly white and strangely patterned, almost ribbed in places, with odd, almost gill-like slits near the nose and what can only be described as ponderous tendrils along the chin and jaw. Their hair is likewise white, nails long, and mouth bared into an unnatural grimace in which long, sharp teeth are quite visible.
At practically the same moment, Justin feels something close around his gun wrist like a vise and yank him backward and up with disturbing ease, as another white skinned thing suddenly appears between him and Thane, looking very much like, if not quite identical, to the one suddenly on Slug's car.
"Slug, hang in there." Briari says as she swivels the scope around, peers through it, then gives a soft prayer as she looks to plunk the guy on the hood. Paf!
Salem neither slows down nor looks back; he charges directly into the darkness of the parking garage to where the cigarette-wielder was last seen, trading stealth and subtlety for sheer speed of attack.
As the Shadow Lord moves to close distance, the Thing appears. But he's preparing for a bigger fight and reaches inward, tapping spirit power on the head to bring forward Luna's protection. "You got this!" He bellow to Justin with a bark of half-manic laughter and is moving hot on Salem's heals to head into the garage.
There's a curse that comes over the communication device, something not wholly formed and lost to the crunch of metal and glass. Flesh and bone reform as Slug slides from human to Glabro, the shape of his body moving around in the driver's seat.
"Woah!" Justin goes flying upwards, then hits the ground with a skid as he tumbles end over end. As Thane bails on him (asshole), he bounds upwards and blurs forward into the Crinos form and howls out. ~Felix! You back Thane and Salem up!~ Diving into the white fomori, his claws look to work quickly in a blur of rage as he swipes over and over.
Felix continues doing just that, fast as he can, following the original -- well, okay, second -- plan, aiming to help Salem (and now Thane) flank the mage. Assuming he's still there.
Thane is the first to realize something might be wrong. As Walker, Gnawer, and Shadow Lord barrel down into the garage itself, he reaches inward, calling on the gift of Luna's armor...and nothing happens. A third white skinned being, still nearly but not quite identical to the other two, appears immediately in front of them, screaming with wordless glee as he lunges forward in turn.
Justin's claws find purchase in the strange, pale skin, but 'quickly' doesn't seem to be on the menu. It's far hardier than it looks, and while his strange opponent bleeds red, his blows don't go nearly as deep as he'd anticipated. The creature grabs again at his now-furry wrist, yanking it to the side with strength to match the Gnawer's crinos, and hammers with its other fist at Justin's face. It's hard enough to crack the bones in his muzzle and even a few teeth, though fortunately nothing more serious.
Briari's shot pings off the pavement in front of the car just as Slug slams on the gas. The car sputters and jerks forward, but the engine dies almost immediately despite his efforts. It's enough to send the creature on the car scrambling for purchase, first against the broken windshield and then the hood itself.
"You fucking serious." Briari click-clacks another round in the chamber, then lets out a deep breath, then takes aim once more. Steadying herself, she calls upon her will and fires off another round.
Slug reaches into his jacket and yanks out a cylinder of some kind. The Gnawer yanks something off the top, throws it onto the dash, then bails out of the car with his back to it.
As he takes a face full of fist, Mouse-Trap yanks his arm forward, the one that the fomori is gripped on, then dives forward with his jaws to try and sink them into the throat of the fomori. If successful, he is going to thrash his head back and forth wildly like a pit-bull with a cat in his jaws.
Salem calls on his Rage and shifts into Lupus while still on the move; he makes a feint at the fomor and then attempts to dodge past it, looking for the mage -- the real target.
Thane snarls as he crosses the threshold and swells up into his Crinos form, eyes burning with fury. ~Gift's blocked.~ He leaves Salem to play feign and takes the ideal distraction to try and get around the other side of the Fomor and continue on towards the mage.
Felix slides into Hispo once he's in the garage proper, increasing his speed, and continues with his group. When the fomor appears, he makes a feint toward it from the other side; he can always hope it won't be able to choose in time to stop either of them dodging it and finding the Mage, but surely it can't interrupt them both... can it?
The creature in front of Salem makes a grab for him as he shifts--its fast, too fast, but not fast enough, as its fingers close tightly on fur but not flesh, and Salem gets away with all but a rather painful chunk of fur torn out. He can smell things up ahead, and one of them is human. The others are damp. Mold. There's a dripping he can only just hear.
Felix and Thane follow suit; Felix gets around the other side without so much as an attempted grab, but Thane isn't so lucky as the thing twists toward him and tackles. It's not enough to bring the Shadow Lord to the floor, but it's enough to stop his momentum.
As Slug bails out of the car, the creature on the hood starts to follow, but too late. There's a blinding flash in that vicinity and a shriek of surprise and pain from the creature.
Briari's next bullet hits the passenger-side door, and for the next moment or so looking that way is too bright for aiming.
Justin gets his jaws around the thing's neck and digs in. The blood tastes foul as it runs into his mouth, trickles down his jaws, but he thrashes viciously. The creature gurgles, but it's still standing, and as Justin attempts to rip its throat to pieces it maintains its grip on his wrist, while jamming the palm of the other hand quite suddenly up against his chest.
Pack> Mouse-Trap says "There is a shriek of agony through the pack link."
There is a loud hiss from the rooftop as Briari rises upwards and peers over at the flash of light. "Bullets are no good up here, Slug. Something is preventing me from hitting it. I'm coming down." And with that, the sniper rifle disappears in a ripple of spirit matter as a tattoo coils about his arm in the form of a viper. With that, she starts down the fire escape rapidly.
Consumes-Shadows has no time for this nonsense. Twisting around to better face the thing that's trying to hug him round the middle, the Lord spreads his claws and moves to render the thing's head to ribbons as quickly as he might manage.
Scar bulks up into Hispo as he heads deeper into the parking garage, slowing a bit from his headlong charge once he's past the fomor. He bares his fangs, growling low and steady.
The Gnawer Ahroun lets out a loud noise of pure agony as his body tenses up. Stubborn to survive, he locks his jaw around the beast and /squeezes/ as hard as he can, then yanks his head back as his claws grab the wrists of the creature, trying to yank the arms away.
Slug takes just a second to get his bearings now that he has some breathing room on his hands. The Gnawer grabs a second cylinder from beneath his jacket, then shifts to Crinos, and lunges off toward Mouse-Trap with blistering speed. With his free hand he bends down and swipes his claws, first at the thing's right knee, then across it's back.
Chugs-the-Mystery-Brew follows Scar's lead, approaching their prey from the other side at slightly less speed than before, trying to get a good look at what's facing them as they close in.
<OOC> Sheogorath says "Party is officially split. Felix and Salem, head into the garage. :)"
Pack> Chugs-the-Mystery-Brew says "J!"
The sounds of battle from outside seem almost immediately muted as the two frontrunners enter the garage proper. They can both hear the sound of pounding feet up ahead, now running flat out, and there's a shadow at the far end of this level of the garage, undoubtably their mage. He's right on the cusp of the next ramp downward. Somewhere deeper, they can both hear a distant dripping, and the smell of damp and mold is strong even here.
Scar puts on a burst of speed once the prey is spotted, aiming to close the distance between them as quickly as possible and get fangs into flesh.
Chugs-the-Mystery-Brew growls and gets back up to speed as well, with much the same aim. He's still attempting to catch and attack from the other side from the one Scar is on.
The man--it's clearly a man now--is running flat out, but he's still human after all, no match for wolves. Scar's teeth close on his right shoulder, and Chug's on his left thigh, halfway down the second, curving ramp, and the man screams and stumbles--and he's rather abruptly not in their grip any more. He's ten feet down, partly scrambling, mostly rolling, and bleeding copiously from both horrific injuries.
Scar is surprised for only a moment, and then he's after the mage again. If anything, the desperate display of power seems to lend speed to the Walker's paws; he's tasted blood and damned if he isn't going to have more.
CHOMP--? Chugs-the-Mystery-Brew blinks at the sudden lack of flesh between his teeth, but the movement of the rolling mage draws his attention almost immediately, and he too leaps after their prey, trying to catch him before he can get much further.
Gasping, crawling, the mage makes a pretty pathetic figure. But not a defenseless one. As both Garou close in again, he lifts a hand, wide eyed, as if to shield himself, and shield himself he does. Scar and Chugs lunge the last few feet and...find that they haven't crossed the last few feet at all. As for the mage himself, the joke about a substitute teacher isn't far from reality; he's a little chubby, his suit nicely tailored but worn and ill kept, even fraying at the elbows. His brown hair is going gray at the temples, and his chin is almost non-existent. His eyes, however, are wide and terrified, and he seems to be repeating a quiet, steady mantra of, "No, no, no, no."
Scar pulls up short with a surprised snort, then shakes himself. ~He can't do that forever,~ he growls, staring at the mage. He stalks forward, tail up and hackles bristled, bloody fangs bared and tongue flicking out, pure demondog.
Chugs-the-Mystery-Brew looks startled again, then annoyed, eyes narrowing further. ~Nope,~ he agrees, advancing on the mage again, ~...but if keeps tryin' it maybe I shoot him.~ Claws and teeth are still clearly preferred, and he stalks a bit aside from Salem; if that shielding's still there, maybe it has edges.
The mage keeps his hand up, the one not attached to a mauled shoulder. Chugs goes to one side, Scar moves forward; neither of them seem to actually gain any ground. Movement feels perfectly natural, it just seems perfectly useless. Whether Scar is right about the mage's capabilities or not, one thing is clear; he's hemorrhaging, and however long he can keep up the effect naturally, his body won't have much time if something isn't done.
At least, that's the case until the blood suddenly starts coming out black.
Scar utters a really foul curseword in Mother's Tongue and shoots a look sideways to Felix. ~Shoot him.~ Pause. ~If you can.~
Chugs-the-Mystery-Brew aims to make it as smooth as he can, giving as little time for the mage to react to the change as possible; he warps up through the forms to Glabro, moving to pull out the gun as quickly as it and his opposable thumbs come back into being, aim it at the mage, and shoot.
One can't usually see bullets, but as this one crosses the threshold that seems to be stopping the two Garou, they can both make it out; a small, spinning bit of metal, going slower and slower and yet somehow remaining in the air. The mage's eyes widen even further, strain showing in his face, the trembling of his fingers...and then suddenly they can't see the bullet anymore, but they can see the impact as a black blooded flower blooms near the center of his chest. The mage gasps, looking both afraid and surprised, but his hand remains upraised, as if held there by unseen forces.
~Shoot him again,~ Scar snarls.
Precisely what Felix had in mind! One corner of his lips twitches upward as the bullet makes an actual impact, and he's already shooting again while the blood is still in the weirdly-slowed air.
This time the bullet appears to suffer no hindrance--a second wound opens up not far from the first, and the mage's hand finally drops as he does, choking on his own discolored blood. Blood from his shoulder, his thigh, his chest...and now from the eyes, copious amounts of black, bloody tears as he struggles, and fails, to breathe.
Scar makes a snerling noise of disgust and rears up into Crinos and approaches to put the corrupted mage out of his misery. ~We'll need to burn the body.~
~We're sure that blood ain't nothing-ooze or some shit, right?~ Felix asks as Scar approaches the dying mage, and takes a couple steps closer as well, ready to quickly finish things with a last shot or two should Scar decide against doing it by hand. Or tooth, whichever. ~I got a lighter but not gas or anythin'.~
There's more black blood pooling around and still coming out of the mage than there should have been blood in his body. His eyes aren't visible any more, but he continues to cry 'tears' of the stuff. The only noise he's managing now is a soft, desperate sort of gurgle.
Scar pauses, ears tilting backwards as he eyes the mess and reconsiders. ~There's probably /something/ in the car.~ He looks at Felix. ~Put a bullet in his brain, then go check on the others. Yell if you need me.~ The way he's eyeballing the soon-to-be corpse suggests he's wary about leaving it alone.
Felix has stopped a bit outside the area of pooling blood and is already aiming with just that target, so compliance with the first part of the instructions is quick -- and if it seems necessary, repeated. ~Got it. You want my lighter?~ he offers, as he turns to start on part two of the Adren's instructions.
With the third gunshot, the gurgles end, and the bleeding at least seems to slow, though it hasn't stopped.
Scar reverts to human form, hand going into a jeans pocket. "Got my own." The youth's face is quite grim.
Felix nods, giving the Walker a mock-salute before he conceals the gun again and starts back up the way they came, at a run.
Pack> Felix says "Got 'im. On my way up. You okay, J?"
Pack> Mouse-Trap says ".. I don't know.. I can't move.. I hurt .."
Memory arrives on the wing, a whisper of feathers against the air. She comes rather close to Felix as he runs past, then glides over the oozy body and Salem. Coming in for a landing a good thirty feet distant, she fold her wings and regards the fellow on the ground. "Well now, he doesn't look all that healthy."
Pack> Felix says "Fuck. Okay. We'll fix it. You'll be okay."
[Back up top...]
The remaining creature snarls and flails, attempting, and failing, to grapple with the person trying to yank its head off--yanking heads off seems to be the pattern today. While its head remains attached to its shoulders, for the moment, it's clearly in a bad way and still blinded.
~Come on! Die already!~ Follows The Money grunts out as she finally hefts her foot upwards, then slams it down upon it's skull over and over again in a crinos sized curb stomp.
Black-Light turns and stands, glancing at Consumes-Shadows, then at Mouse-Trap. His gaze lingers on his tribemate, then moves on to Follows-The-Money. He ambles over, but doesn't interfere, pausing to give Mouse-Trap a better look. ~Good enough to continue?~
It takes a while, longer than it should, but eventually the last creature's skull cracks, and its brains are smashed into the asphalt quite effectively.
The Gnawer Ahroun is visibly trembling as he chokes out. ~..C.. Can't move.. much.. it hurts ..~ He sputters out in a strained voice as it appears his jaw is having trouble working.
~Ye-Tai!~ Follows the Money cheers out, flashing a pair of fingers in a V as she bobs up and down like Chun-Li for a moment, before giving the body a firm kick. ~Woah, hey guys. You're all alive!~
Felix emerges from the bowels of the parking garage at a run, in Glabro. "Got him," he announces shortly as he nears the others, taking a look at what he can see of what's going on as he does. Any ugly white Fomori still vertical? Looks like a 'no'. "Corpse is leakin' black ooze, we reckon we better burn it," he adds as he continues toward where he last saw his packmate.
Consumes-Shadows watches Black-Light go to tend his tribemate and turns to look down-garage just in time to see folks starting to emerge. At the words of the Galliard, the Shadow Lord lets out a relieved sounding sigh. ~This whole garage is infested with it. It's why my pack could only go so far. We need to clean all of this up fast since half's in the street. Are you and the others alright?~
~Do whatever the Corax tells you to with the corpse. Scar will agree,~ Black-Light says to Felix without looking up from Mouse-Trap. The Crinos kneels, puts an arm on Mouse-Trap's shoulder, and pushes him up until he's on his feet. On a whim, he looks sidelong at the Gnawer and says, ~It doesn't hurt that much.~ Then he flashes a toothy grin at Follow-the-Money. ~Thanks for the help. Sorry for making things harder.~
<OOC> Black-Light uses Obscure the Truth when telling Justin it doesn't hurt so bad, just to see how that works. And if the Gifts are working yet.
As he is pushed up to his feet, the Crinos Ahroun is like a heavy weight of muscle and bone. As if each movement is an impossible journey for him. He gives a squint of his eyes to Slug as he says that it doesn't hurt that much.
"Yeah, we're fine," Felix answers, "He just ran an' threw up some kinda weirdass shieldin', didn't end up doin' him a lotta good." He seems a little distracted, looking toward where his tribemate is helping his packmate up. His brow furrows a little. "He sent me up to check on y'all. Everyone's lookin' pretty okay but J...?"
Consumes-Shadows points a claw down to the torn Fomor at his feet. ~Hands have teeth, kept trying to touch me. Wager they have some sort of effect. Seems like he's fine, just stunned. Go check on him. When you all can, drag the bodies in here. We'll burn them all below.~ And this said, he reaches down to hoist the body and leftover bits and goes to haul it down to the lower levels.
Black-Light looks to be completely unharmed, aside from some shards of glass and strands of gore in his fur. ~I'm fine,~ he says. Then he looks at Mouse-Trap and says, ~We can't stand around in Crinos forever. If you can't walk by the time we're ready to go, I'll carry you.~ Carefully, he takes his support away from Mouse-Trap, helping him down to the ground if he can't stand. Then he walks over to Follows-The-Money, swats her on the shoulder, and goes to grab the furthest body.
Follows-The-Money gives a wink to Black Light, then shifts back down to her homid form as she tags along with the Ragabash to snag the body and help drag it off.
As he is eased back down to the ground, Mouse Trap lets out another painful grunt, then lets out a deep, throaty groan. Reaching out slooooowly with his paw, he clutches his chest, then forces himself back down to the homid form. For those that know him a bit better than others, would see that there is a significant change. The young teenager looks as if he has aged another five years. He's taller by about another three inches, his features more prominent. No longer fifteen, now looks as if he is twenty, twenty-one.
Almost as soon as Briari has shifted down, her phone goes off.
Briari reaches into the back of her pocket and slips out her phone. She taps it. "... Yes?"
Black-Light looks at Briari, pausing, body in hand, with one ear cocked.
Felix looks at the Fomor, then nods to Consumes-Shadows. "Got it," he says, and does head over to check on Justin in person. The shifting happens while he's nearly there, and he stops short. "Holy shit," he says, eloquently, "...okay, I'm gonna move you outta the street, J." He leans to pick his packmate up, with the aim of setting him back down on the sidewalk, with his back against something to prop him to sitting.
Briari holds up a hand to the others, giving a 'shhh' motion, then says, "Oh, hey Blue. It's nice to hear your voice again. When are you going to drop your next mix tape?"
Black-Light leans in against Briari, his ear perked up, as if he's trying to listen in on the conversation. Not that he probably gets much.
Thane finishes dragging one body down deeper but leaves it and comes heading back towards the remainder as chatter continues. "Come on.. we have to move fast. Exploding cars, guns, and hopefully no one spotted us but no doubt cops will know very soon if not already." But it seems something else is going on. Justin in particular is given a look before the Lord gives a tip of his head. "Congratulations. Looks like you got upgraded to drinking age." Then he quiets and looks to Briari and her call.
Blinking her eyes, Briari says, "Thank you very much. I'll call you later." Click. She pauses a moment, then says, "We gotta get the fuck outta here! NOW!"
Justin lets out a groan as he is picked up back to his feet, wobbiling as his knees shake. ".. huh? What are you two talking about?" He says to Felix and Thane, then glances down at his hands, then back to the others as he looks confused. The sound of Briari's voice widens his eyes. "Uh.."
Black-Light doesn't stop to ask what's going on, not immediately. Instead, he grabs the corpse that they were hauling by the leg and whips it at the mouth of the parking garage like a newspaper. Then he shifts down to Homid and asks, "Spirals, or cops?"
"Worse! The Queen." Briari says as she shouts back to the others. "She knows! She knows he's dead. We gotta go! We're going to become paste!"
Thane curls back his lips in a clear snarl, even if some of the effect is lost on a human face. "Go to the Vault. There's a few cars stored there you can use to get to the rendezvous point. Use four legs if you need, we have bigger issues to worry about. Reconvene there and avoid the caern area. I'll go check on Salem and Val. Slug, see that everyone gets there." Then the Lord's heading back for the deeper areas of the garage to recover the missing two and warn them.
"I got him," Felix says, since he's still got hold of Justin, "I'm gettin' that car," a gesture with his head to an old model sedan slightly along the road, a bit closer to the more active buildings, "Come with if you want." He starts swiftly toward the vehicle in question.
"Well, that sounds fun." Justin mutters as he is hauled along with Felix, his feet dragging with lurches more than steps. "I'm just gonna slow you down ... just ...leave me." He over dramatically sputters to Felix with a wily grin on his face, forcing humor up.
"Don't need me to carry you, do you?" Slug asks Briari, since Justin's taken care of. He starts walking toward the car Felix has indicated, glancing around as he does.
"I'm sure both of my legs are still working." Briari says with a smirk to Slug as she kicks at him with a foot, then hustles to a car that Slug picks out.
Humor or not, the dragging IS a bit of a slowdown, so Felix slings his other arm under Justin's legs and picks him up in an 'over-the-threshhold' kind of carry. "Don't think this means we're gettin' hitched," he warns the Ahroun, with a fraction of a smile which looks weird on the Glabro face. He glances around as well, but as long as it doesn't seem that there are too many notable witnesses, he sets Justin on the hood when he gets there and pulls the sleeve of his jacket down over his fist, then punches in the driver's side window. Quick and dirty unlocking, pulling up the pin inside, opening the door. He reaches around to get the back door undone as well, and pushes Justin in there a bit roughly. That's probably the hardest part; he's hotwired cars like this one a hundred times.
Slug mounts up with the rest of the Gnawers, and Briari, sliding into the backseat once the doors are open. He's had his fill of driving for the day. With his combat high on the wane, the Ragabash closes his eyes and lets his head sag a bit on the headrest.
[And they drove off to Lake Arthur.]
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38 From: Sheogorath At: Mon Apr 18 01:07:49 2016 (Conn)
Fldr : 0 Status: Unread
To : Felix, Briari, Justin, Thane, Salem, Slug, Val, Brings-the-Pack
Subject: Aftermath
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Those that retreat to Arthur Island have a long night in front of them, but come morning there's no sign of any pursuers. Indeed, Nick will be able to give everyone a good looking over and confirm that no one is under any active scrying/locating effects.
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