A small McDonald's which is devoid of any sort of garish trappings. Instead, it seems to focus on fast, friendly service with a smile and good food. Above the counter to the north, you can see the glowing yellow billboard which details the food and prices. Behind the cashiers, a few people can be seen scurrying about near the grill, making drinks or tossing finished burgers down a small metal chute toward the cashiers. Along the side wall, children's high chairs can be seen, each with the grinning face of Ronald McDonald. A wall poster asks you to donate money to the Ronald McDonald House. Opposite the cashier counter are both Smoking and Non-Smoking sections for in-house dining. Fake plastic plants hang from the ceiling and below the skylight in the center of the room is a square wooden basin that rises 3 feet into the air. In the basin are live potted plants, including a rather stumpy tree.
A glass door on the western side of the fast food joint leads back out onto the street.
The second floor of the library begins with a wide landing that temporarily interrupts the great spiral staircase. The floor is dark mahogany that might look beautiful again if restored. Unlike downstairs, this floor is divided into several, symmetrical rooms, the doors to which are arrayed in a circle surrounding the landing. Each door is solid, dark stained wood with an insert of frosted glass. Each door is labeled with various Dewey Decimal Classifications in black lettering painted across the center of the glass.
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 mein and roguish smile that most often seem to draw people in.
He's in old black jeans with the rip in one knee and the cuffs half walked off, today with a blue t-shirt bearing the superman logo, the print very faded and the fabric looking thin enough that it may have genuinely gotten that way through time and not retro-merchandising. The shirt's rather snug in a flattering sort of way. Over it he's wearing a white short-sleeved shirt, unbuttoned, with a scattered pattern of tiny blue and red dolphins; he's also in possession of a pair of white plastic wayfarer-style sunglasses with iridescent indigo lenses. 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.
The tall, angular frame appears gawky and awkward when at rest, but fluid with competent, well-practiced movements when at motion. Dark chestnut hair makes no dramatic statement either in color or cut, muting down the impression of plainness of the face. A brown vest, worn over a white shirt, and paired with a nearly matching brown ankle-length skirt, makes up the formal-casual look.
A relatively small guy, he stands at a lean 5'8. He possesses a lean runner's frame, and carries himself as such. His sandy brown hair is worn semi long and is casually swept to the right of his face so as not to obscure his brown eyes. His complexion is a smooth white, his jawline clean shaven. He wears a pair of dark blue jeans with a light blue flannel button down and a pair of tennis shoes.
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.
Thick honey-blonde hair, styled in a poofy set of curls, rings this pretty blue-eyed young woman's head. She's in her late teens, and her hair's currently left down, though it's occasionally pinned up. She stands about five and a half feet tall, and is a little on the thin side of things, though not to an extreme. She dresses mostly in informal styles, from ripped jeans and tank tops to the occasional sundress.
Currently, she wears the former, her black tank top emblazoned with a large sequined red heart, and her jeans so ripped as to be nearly indecent. About half of the heart's sequins are missing. Her feet are clad in red strappy lightly-heeled sandals that have seen better days. She wears little in the way of jewelry, just a black wooden bracelet, a stainless steel and rhinestone mood ring, and (probably fake) gold earrings. When she speaks, a fairly thick Southern accent is evident.
Val is is a young girl in her mid-teens, who has an angular face, high cheekbones, and a prominent nose. All softened by the faint chubbyness of youth. Her hair is shoulder length and streaked in a series of rainbow hues, everything from dark purple to a brilliant orange. Due to the Val's strong northern Italian ancestry, her pale olive-tinted skin darkens to a rich brown during the summer months. She stands an inch below five feet tall, which accentuates just how thin and petite she is. The young woman's figure is whip-thin, with the faint curves that identify her as female. Val smiles a lot, a friendly cheerfulness that is hard to ignore and is almost contagious in nature.
Currently, Val is wearing a summer dress that is rather flattering and shows off the fact that the young teen is now more woman than child. The upper part of the single-piece dress is black, sleeveless, and form-fitting. Just above the hips the cloth becomes loose, flowing, and comes to a stop mid-calf. The lower part of the outfit is a repeating Arabesque design, in pale reds, blues, and some gold. On her right wrist, Val is wearing a thin charm bracelet; there are a few birds, an old-style sun with a face on it, an egg, and a lippy-mouth. The Corax's neck is decorated by braided leather necklace with a large black opal pendant. Lastly, her fingers are decorated by a number of thick rings; some with a mirrored surface, others holding the luster of stainless steel. A black and white leather backpack with the image of a magpie sewn in to it hangs from her shoulders, always filled with something or another.
Physically, Watcher looks like a young man maybe in his late teens. He's lean and in the high five foot range. Overall he has a distinctly native american look to him, with a tanner toned skin and long hair dark enough to black save under direct sunlight where it has a faintly brown cast. His eyes have the marked epicanthic fold and look to be a dark brown in hue. There are a few features that don't entirely match, though. He's got a wider nose bridge and nostril set that might fit better on someone of african-american stock along with a faint texture to his hair that can be seen at close range. He tends towards two wardrobes. One is very traditional clothing one would expect of an ancient Native American - a deerhide tunic and trousers and high boots dyed a dark brown. Sometimes, a coat lined in grey rabbit's fur is added. The other is more modern, simple jeans and varied shirts and flannels. None of those seem to fit him nearly as well though as if they're third party.
Val watches as Slug takes off, then starts to rise out of her seat a moment later. "I'll dig out that sample and the info I do have, then give you a call, Justin. Seeya 'round." With that, the small Corax slips out of the McDonalds.
Justin gives a wave to the pair, then looks back to Watcher with a shrug as he sucks another french fry clean of milkshake. Smirking to himself, he says, "For some reason, I think they're fucking each other."
Amy's on the street, doing her part to clean up the mean streets as she applies a Denver boot to the front wheel of a car that looks just like Felix's, except that it's a different model, a different year, a different color, a different shape, different everything, but it has four wheels just like Felix's car, it's lived through several different presidencies, and it's in dire need of new parts. Tires, for one, since it's been parked on the street so long that two of its tires have flattened completely and one is completely missing. Its windshield is completely crazed with cracks from many sessions serving as a backdrop for handball games by the local youths.
Watcher squints aside to Justin and gives his shoulders a shrug. "Bad nose in this form. Cannot tell." The rest of his milkshake, which looks like some overlarge mixture of whatever came out of the nozzle, is quickly finished off before he collects up the other burger. Unlike the milkshake which was relished, the burger disappears in a few fast and efficient bites. "What now?" He says as their company has departed and his eyes rove over the interior of the restaurant.
The door opens, Felix pulling it back to let Lilah head in first, and eyeing the policewoman booting the car that definitely isn't his as if... well, not quite as if it were, since he's staying out of it. But them's some narrow eyes when he watches it. His tone's cheerful enough as he talks to Lilah, though, "...so Chet follows us over the fence, right, but he takes too long givin' up on tryin' to bring that cooler also, and the dog gets his boot right as he jumps. Made it down to the bottom of the hill before the rest of us, practically broke his neck though. Never seen that many somersaults in a row."
Lilah does indeed head in first, and tilts her head as she listens to the rest of Felix's story. She laughs at the conclusion, and decides, "S'too bad y'all didn't get a good picture of it. That's one for the memory books. My question, an' I find it to be the most important of the lot, is: what happened to the cooler?" She smoothes out her shirt once she's inside, and turns her head back to watch Felix for a moment.
Rush hour hasn't started yet, and the traffic is nearly non-existent on the side street on the eastern side of the McDonalds--not like the main street on the southern side, where you'd want to look before jaywalking lest you get turned into a road pizza. Those who are outside are vastly more likely to hear what sounds like.... gunshots? Is that gunshots? It just sounds weird. Like muffled. But not muffled. Quiet, but not silenced. And... Okay, no. Definitely a gunshot, but where the hell is it coming from? That's weird. Seems... maybe from somewhere on the side street? Not the main artery. But not the alleyway either. Huh.
"So I ball so hard mutha-fuckas wanna fine me. But first niggas gotta find me! What's fifty grand to a motha-fucka like me? Ball so hard this shit is crazy. Ya'll don't know that shit don't phase me." Justin raps at the table as he kicks back in the booth, lobbing a french fry covered in milk shake upwards so that it sticks to the ceiling. The poor cashier slaps his hand to his face in frustration. "Ball so hard, dat shit cray!" Up goes another fry. That is until the noise catches his attention. One of the fries falls down and lands on his head with a splat, but he is peeking out the window.
Watcher does not pay mind to Felix or Lilah as they enter save a passing glance. The noise outside though and Justin's focus of attention does though. He twists around in their booth and cranes his head to look towards the window unblinkingly and nostrils flaring.
Amy straightens up and looks in all directions to try to localize the sound of what seem to be gunshots. She looks up the street, down the street, into the McDonald's (and so making direct eye contact with people staring out). She gets her radio out, and reports, "Possible gunshots fired at 2386 Regan Avenue West", then gives the details of the booting of the car. Priorities.
"Dunno, sure as hell wasn't goin' back to see right then," Felix answers Lilah, with a quick grin at her laugh, "...an' later I guess I was busy doin' other shit. But I reckon maybe that dog called up its friends an' had a pool party itself, why not?" He glances over at the sound of the rapping -- noticing the fry-throwing, and flashing Justin a grin with a slight chin-raise of greeting -- but hesitates on following Lilah the rest of the way in at the sounds, going more alert and glancing around to try to pinpoint the source.
Picking the fry off his head, Justin gives Watcher a nudge as he rolls out of the booth. Scrubbing his head with a napkin, he catches sight of Felix and Lilah with a wide grin, then motions with his head outside, putting a finger to his nose, tap tap. "Felix, this is Watcher. Watcher, this is the dude I was telling you about. We should go investigate what's going on out there. Uh.. Lilah.. hate to be that guy but you should probably .. uh.. not get shot at." He says with an apologetic smile as he ambles for the front door. "I'm bored and this has potential."
Lilah grins lopsidedly at Felix, and looks ready to quip something or other before she first notices Justin, and then hears the sounds as well. Justin is offered a quick and friendly wave, and then she takes a step further into the McDonald's, peering out the windows before stepping further in. "I ain't sure where it's comin' from, but uh." She fluffs up her hair. "I can wait here. S'okay to be that guy." She gives a quick smile to Felix, intended to be reassuring.
The dispatcher replies to Amy, saying something about observe and report and call for backup if it turns out to actually be gunfire. Gunfire--or potential gunfire--in Saint Claire seems to be a relatively common phenomenon, it would seem. For a few more seconds, there's nothing that sounds even remotely like gunfire. And whatever it was earlier... was it even gunfire? No sign of anything out of the ordinary. In fact, those few people who did seem to have heard something earlier seem to have largely decided it was nothing at all, going back to what they were doing. It's at about this time that the heavy metal manhole cover on the street is flung off and a swarty, half-naked, sewage-coated man with a few bleeding bullet wounds all but /leaps/ out and into the street. He starts running for the nearby alleyway.
Watcher keeps an unblinking and intent stare through the window, the Galliard as still as a stone on a windless day. He only begins to slowly inch out of his booth as Justin and catches up to his packmate as the Ahroun moves for the door. As the man jumps free of the sewer, Watcher gives a reflexive jerk and a blurted humanized snarl. Then he takes off like a shot for the door as the man begins to run, every bit reminiscent of a greyhound spotting a rabbit bolting down the track, with every apparent intent to go outside and after him.
Amy studies the faces of people staring out of McDonald's as if trying to match their faces to those on the 'Wanted' list, but as no one rushes out with the fast food place's money haul of the day, and the attention of the people inside the place is towards the outside, she begins to decide that McDonald's isn't being held up. All thoughts of McDonald's vanish from her mind as she sees the manhole cover getting thrown, followed by a strange man. She grapples for her radio, forgetting for a few moments which button to press, then reports, "Gun shot victim running on Regan Street."
"Wait here, doll," Felix murmurs to Lilah right around the same time Justin's talking to them, and steps inside to pull her a couple feet further inside before giving her a kiss and his wallet. "Get a drink or somethin', we'll be right back." Back toward the door, then, probably reaching it just after Justin by that point. He gets another grin for the last sentence, and Watcher gets a small wave of introduction-acknowledgement... right about as someone bursts from the sewer and the taller guy shoots by. Felix heads out as well, if not quite as swiftly.
As the man bolts from the sewers, Justin's eyes widen and he lets out a crow of joy. "The night won't be boring after all, coyote be praised!" The once wide-receiver of high school football takes off as well, pounding pavement as he calls out to the gunshot riddled man. "Hey man, slow down! You need some medical attention!"
Lilah nods to Felix, returning his kiss and happily taking his wallet. Like ya do. "I'll be sure to buy the most 'spensive drink on the menu," she teases, and then her eyes widen as the man practically leaps out of the sewers. "What's he runnin' from?" she has to ask, but may or may not even be heard as they're headed out. She seems a bit discomfited, and heads for the counter as though nothing's going on.
The injured sewer-man ducks into the alleyway with Justin approaching fast, gaining ground, and nearing the corner that will lead him into the same alleyway should he choose to continue pursuit. There's dribbles and drops of blood on the ground, so he'd be fairly easy to tail unless the bleeding and injuries suddenly, miraculously, healed themselves up. The police dispatch replies to Amy's information with a request for a location to send an ambulance and a description of the man. A few people inside the McDonald's stare, and one car slows down. By the time people have their cell phones out to potentially record something or snap pictures, the guy is already out of sight, though. Watcher follows suit behind Justin, but not as quickly as the other man. Perhaps he's slower, or perhaps he's spending more time looking at things left on the cement by the fleeing sewer-man and not as focused on running?
Watcher doesn't seem quiet as focused on the target as Justin, instead he is focusing on the man's trail as much as he is the man himself. Nostrils flared, eyes scanning rapidly, he's decidedly taking in what the running man leaves behind before he retrains the bulk of his focus on the man himself. His stride lengthens as he moves to match pace with Justin.
Amy stares at the two men chasing the sewer-man and updates her radio with, "Two men in hot pursuit of the gun shot victim", and she gives their descriptions in short, sharp phrases, following up by "Possible gang dispute."
"Golddigger," Felix teases back while he heads to the door, and then, well, everything's happening. He laughs at Justin's exclamation and runs along with the other guys after sewage-dude as well; luckily he's fairly quick too -- though probably closer to Watcher's speed than Justin's, and he started a couple seconds behind. If he does happen to catch Lilah's question, there's no obvious indication, alas.
Amy updates her radio report, adding Felix's description.
Pushing himself harder, Justin turns the corner quickly and into the alley at full pursuit, slamming his shoulder against the wall as he skids to the right, then digs in with his sneakers. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulls out a pair of bright emergency glow-sticks and cracks them as they flare up in a bright neon green. "Hey!" He calls out, hoping to catch the ears of the man.
Lilah shrugs at Felix's teasing, as though to ask, 'What're ya gonna do?' and then she looks to the counter. She has to sway back and forth a bit to catch the eye of the cashier, and then she peeks up at the menu board. "Sorry... could I get a coke? A small'n is fine." Of course the woman behind the counter just has to ask, "Would you like fries with that?" and Lilah gives a quick shake of her head. "Nah, but thank ya kindly." She's calm, albeit not her usual bubbly self. And for whatever reason, she pays out of her own money, which is stuffed in one jeans pocket. She even has to count out a few pennies.
Having gotten a text from Justin asking him to drag his ass down to the McDonald's, Henry putters along in his old Volkswagen beetle. The engine roars with all the fury of a half dead weedeater, but that does nothing to deter from the essence of cool given his blaring of the classic tune, "Lowrider." As he begins to ease up to the restaurant his headlights move over the fellow that climbs from the manhole and runs for the alley and spots his packmates and one other he doesn't know head off in pursuit. Henry shrugs and keeps on puttering along, following in his car in hopes of lighting up the alley with his headlights.
Justin disappears into the alleyway with a "Hey!" emerging after he's out of everyone's line of sight, though it's not an alarm "Hey!" More of an attention-getting "Hey!" Doesn't seem like something a gang member would be doing. Probably. Watcher disappears into the alleyway a few seconds later, following Justin. Felix seems to be the caboose in this chase, following at the rear--up until Henry arrives. It'll be a bit before he can make his way down the side street and then turn at a 90-degree angle in the middle of the road to shine headlights down the alleyway, though. Which might not be adviseable as there seems to be a cop present. Life in the McDonalds? It seems to be abuzz a little more as people talk about what they just saw. A couple people go outside to look, but no one seems to be eager to get involved. In fact, a number of people leave out the other side of the restaurant.
"Only smell stink." Watcher grunts aside to Justin, lips curled back to show his teeth in disgust. "Legs too slow!" Comes the frustrated addition, though for now he keeps up the chase on two human legs and sprinting for all he's worth to try and close the distance.
Amy stands by the booted car, updating the radio report with the addition of Henry's car in the chase. "They're going into an alleyway. It's a fucking parade. Just need a float with a helium giant elephant."
"Hey bro! Hold up! You need some help, man! You're bleeding!" Justin calls out, trying to catch the attention of the bleeding man as his glow-sticks cast off a ghostly green neon flare in his fists. He gives a laugh to Watcher. "Don't skip out on leg day!" Everyone knows you don't miss leg day.
Lilah waits patiently for her soda cup. When she gets it, she makes her way over to the soda fountain, and pours herself some Dr. Pepper. She doesn't bother with ice first. Once that's done, she sticks a straw in it and siiiiiiips. She leans back against the soda machine, and right now no one's trying to get past her, so she just stays there, sipping at her soda. She looks thoughtful, and after a minute or two, walks over to peek out at the manhole cover through the windows.
Felix continues following, taking it in his turn to sharply switch directions into the alley. He looks more like he's having fun than anything else -- not the malice of an angry gang member nor really the concern of a worried citizen, either.
Spotting the cop as he gets nearer to the chase he blows out a sigh and says, "Shit, it's the fuzz." Changing course he wheels the Volkswagen to a stop without trying to turn the lights down the alley. He kills the engine and hops out of the car, pulling what appears to be a long staff behind him. He pays no heed to the cop and gives chase down the alley after his pack as fast as he can manage.
The dispatch operator squawks something semi-garbled back at Amy. Darn system needs to be updated from 1990s era hardware, but there never seems to be enough money in the budget to manage it. Justin and Watcher continue pursuing the man down the alleyway, Justin almost within tackling/grabbing range by now, should he choose to do so. The stink, however, is almost palpable. Ew. Henry lights out of the VW lickity split, likely some kind of track runner--or certainly a talented and speedy athlete. One or the other. He's soon about halfway to where Justin and Watcher are at. Life seems to resume some semblence of normality near the McD's. People go back to being good, hungry consumers.
<OOC> Felix hopes he's fairly near the others too. :)
<OOC> M'aiq: Justin's within potential tackle range. Watcher right behind and could potentially get a lick in or dogpile if need be. Henry's got another round of running to catch up. Felix is still in front of Henry, but Henry is gaining fast (using rage, which Felix might recognize).
Lowering his head, Justin pours on the speed as he leaps forward and tries to tackle the man down, also calling upon his warrior's gift of the falling touch. "I said hold the fuck up!" As he goes for the flying tackle, the bright green neon glow-sticks fall to the ground around them to light their place. If successful, he'll drop a knee upon the man's back to hold him down, followed by a hand to the back of his neck.
Watcher puts on his own burst of speed as his Ahroun packmate moves for first strike, the Lupus ready to move in and back him up in grabbing legs to hold the man down - should he actually go down that is. Should it fail? He's still angling to go for the legs.
Lilah keeps an eye on that manhole, just in case, though she stays inside the McDonald's. The urge to go out there and see for herself, sewage or no sewage, is written all over her face. However, she just stares at the manhole and sips at her Dr. Pepper. Sippity sip!
Amy remains in the relative safety and comfort of the street, although without a drink to sip like Lilah. She reports to the radio, "Waiting for backup. Request a license check.", and gives the license plate of the car that's just ejected its driver with a staff.
Felix continues catchin' up, heading down the alley to where all the excitement's happening. He's just not quite as fast as the others today, apparently. Probably comes from short legs.
Justin's use of Falling Touch offbalances Sewer Man and sends him sprawling and skidding across the dirty alley floor. Although, technically, the alley's ground is cleaner than the swarty, half-naked Sewer Man, so him falling actually dirties the place up a bit more. And more blood from scrapes. But falling just turns flight into fight, and he manages to strong-arm Justin off before getting pinned or immobilized--although he's still on the ground and struggling to get up. He's wide open for an attack by Watcher, then Justin (again as he's close by), then Felix, and finally Henry. But this guy seems really strong. He did, after all, just throw a manhole cover and take a couple bullets.
Watcher gags slightly as he comes up close and personal with Mr. Stink but the wolfborn looks determined to tangle up his legs as much as possible. There's a diving lunge before arms, legs, and even his body are all employed to try and hobble the man and keep him from fleeing again and allow the other Garou to dogpile on.
Instead of trying to attack more, Justin looks to apply pressure to the man and hold him down now that Watcher has joined in. "Relax dude! You're super hurt and freaking out. You've been shot and you need a hospital." If the stink is bad, try standing next to Quoz! That dude is the Grim Reaper of body odor.
Once within range, Henry draws back his staff as he sees the man begin to struggle against his packmates. As he draws on his gnosis to enact his fetish, the runes and vines carved along the staff's length begin to glow, and then raise from the surface as the Bo swings forward, the vines becoming tangible as they whip forth attempting to wrap around the strong man to subdue him.
Felix makes a face at the smell, but hey, dude's being all struggly and he knows which side of this he's running with. Watcher seems to have the legs, so he aims to grab the guy's wrist -- hopefully the one of the arm that seems like his main one, but distance is possibly a more important consideration -- and flatten the arm down and out against the ground, kneeling on it to pin it there if the struggling's continuing.
<OOC> Amy: Amy's backup will come after any excitement has ended, after the danger has dissipated. They're going to hope there isn't too much clean up in the alley. So don't leave too many body parts for their sake. ;) I'm out, late for me. Thanks for the scene!
As the man gets tackled and then progressively subdued--damn, he's strong!--he yells out a loud "NO!" Followed by, as soon as Henry's fetish staff starts disgorging out tangling vines, an even louder and more desperate "HELP!" that carries down the alleyway. More screaming and yelling bloody murder happens and he thrashes even harder than before. Good lord, is someone being mugged or tortured or murdered down there? And the stench? Lord, it's everywhere. And that is definitely alternatingly sticky and slimy raw sewage on his clothes and bare skin. It's enough to make most people want to retch.
Watcher keeps trying to keep a grip on the man's legs, difficult as it is. The reaction of Stew-age though draws his eyes to their arrived pack alpha and the Galliard balks. "Veil!" He barks out in alarm as hands slide on the befouled skin.
He winds up, here's the pitch! Justin cranks a punch right into the middle of the man's forehead, putting his shoulder into it as he looks to knock the guy out. There is a hint of a growl in his throat as his fist blurs. "Henry! Hey bro, meet Felix. Also, dude, we're in public. But, eh, coyote rules. Hashtag-yolo."
Henry shrugs his shoulders in reply to Watcher and offers a nod of his head to the relative dark of the alley and then toward the crazed strongman. "Darkish alley, crazy man covered in shit and blood running away from something, and fighting back against you guys.... I want to control the situation. Anyways... this is just a toy. You've never seen a stick with a whip on the end? Now knock his ass out so he'll stop screaming or do what we need to do so we can get our asses out of here," he says. Turning his eyes to the other stranger he says, "Sup Felix?"
"Hey," Felix greets Henry somewhat distractedly -- the vines not helping with the distraction any more than the rest, really -- and eyes the screaming guy; if Justin's punch doesn't seem to do the job, the poor shot dude gets the side of an elbow soundly under the chin, a fair amount of shifting bodyweight behind it. If Justin's does do it... then so much the better!
The guy is /really/ putting up a fight, but the old one-two on a mostly restrained target quickly knocks him out. Sewer Man goes limp. Limp and stinky and disgusting and half naked.
Justin gives his fist a shake out as he stares down at the man, then gives a slight smirk. "Well, that was a thing. Not as exciting as I was hoping but I got my cardio in. Buenos noches mi amigo." He pats the guy's head a few times, then starts to inspect his body and fish about for a wallet on him. "Felix, Henry here is our Alpha of the Gaians. Henry, this is my tribemate and new bro. I'm gonna poach him for the pack." He grins.
Watcher huffs with a noise of deep disgust as he begins detangling himself. He tries to catch a mostly clean spot on the man to catch his actual scent before banishing his gift to save his poor nostrils and stand upright. "Keep or leave?" He grunts out and his eyes turn back towards the way they came. "...will not stay alone."
Wallet? Keys? Anything? There's nothing in the guy's pockets. Partly because it seems his clothes are rotting cast-offs no Good Will would ever take in. The bottoms of the pockets seem to have gigantic holes in them. In addition to no wallet or identification or cell phone, there's also no weapon. But definitely there's two gunshot wounds. One to the shoulder and one to the torso, though it doesn't seem to have slowed him down much--much less be lethal. The wounds are not healing, though.
Felix looks the guy over, and down at his pants, and makes a face. "Fuck. I just washed these," he complains without sounding too terribly upset about it. Henry gets a better look, now, as Felix shifts his weight back slightly more. Another look to their... well, victim, I guess, and his brow furrows. A pause. "Hey... y'all? Not countin' us... what was he runnin' =from=?" Probably not a coincidence that the phrasing is almost exactly what Lilah asked, though if not it sure took a while to sink in.
Henry nods his head and says, "We'll see how Coyote likes him. At least he seems to be dedicated enough to chase this kind of guy down an alley." He gestures to the alley behind him and says, "Block the view," with that he moves over and squats down to the unconscious man, placing his hands over the gunshot wounds and attempting to heal the guys gunshot wounds. "I'm going to try and heal these so he doesn't bleed out, then I think we need to take him somewhere. What's the deal? Why were you chasing him?"
"Dude came out of the sewers after what was gunshots underground. But, St. Claire pro tip: Do not go in the sewers. Worst things down there than guns." Justin says as he stands up and wipes the gunk off his clothes, then slips the glow sticks back into his pockets. "And we were chasing him because it was fun, and was hoping to find something more. Guess we can chalk this up to typical bullshit." Glancing upwards to the sky to gauge the moon, he gives a grin. "C'mon, let's head down the alley further and sneak sideways. Cops will be here soon, they were calling it in."
Felix nods. "A'right, one sec." He stands as well, visibly resisting the impulse to brush the guy's gunk off his pants, and digs in a pocket, sending a short but not amazingly quick text on a cheap-looking phone. "You get a lotta that? Shot guys fleein' sewers? Interestin'." He puts the phone away, and Henry gets a grin. "Where're you thinkin' we need to take him? Justin's right, though, chick fuckin' with people's cars was callin' it in when we passed her."
Henry lays hands on the downed, unconscious, reeking man and his wounds rapidly begin to heal--almost fully!--before the gift peters out. Still, it's impressive work from a cliath. He's breathing still. He'll recover. There's the sound of sirens in the distance.
Justin gives a shake of his head. "Just leave him here. Cops will bring him in. Hopefully he'll still be knocked out until they get here. He's their problem now." Motioning with his hand, he starts off further down into the alley, stripping off his shirt and wadding it about in his hands. "Let's roll out, coyotes."
Henry nods his head and says, "I have my car out in the street. I probably need to get that thing out of here. She saw me pull up in it."
You paged Lilah with 'Felix texts: am k bbiab dont wory'.
Felix nods. "Yeah, prolly should, if y'think you can fast enough. Sounds like they're on their way." He shifts his weight a bit from one foot to the other, antsy. "One direction or another, we better go."
"Henry, get your car outta here. Meet us at the library. I'll switch your plates." Justin says as he heads down into the dark alley and fades away once he slips out a small compact from the back of his sock. Flipping it open, he waits for Felix to join him before bringing them both through the shadow.
Felix heads along with Justin easily enough, with a quick grin to Henry as they go.
<OOC> Felix: Just us I guess!
<OOC> Lilah hugs!
<OOC> Felix hugs. You want to play more? Felix could text her to come back to the Library (with food)... ;) Although I dunno where the others would be, since they're not OOCly around.
<OOC> Lilah: I definitely would like to play moar. Am cool with new night or continuing-- others could have stepped out to wash off, and Felix is waiting for shower?
<OOC> Felix: That could work. :) He doesn't need that much washing anyway, since he didn't tackle the dude. Probably is up changing pants. ;)
<OOC> Lilah: Hehehe.
<OOC> Lilah: To ze library!
So, after not too terribly long Lilah got a second text: @libry. cm bak w/shit? That, Felix can spell. His teachers must be so proud. When she does arrive, he's upstairs, in his underwear, grabbing pieces of clothing out of his duffel. In a corner is what he was wearing before; it looks in the right number of pieces and not too messy, but it does stink like sewage. Not too intensely, but any is an issue, really.
When Lilah sees Felix is pantsless, she lifts a brow and leans back against the door she just entered through, closing it. "If I'd have known it was gonna be that kinda party..." she drawls with amusement. Her gaze does settle on his pants, and then she brings over a McDonald's bag stuffed to the brim with food. Which she paid for. And doesn't comment on. She wrinkles up her nose, asking, "So. How'd it go with the stank-man? Y'all ever find out what he was runnin' from, or... I'll just be quiet and letcha tell the tale."
"...you'da hurried back faster?" Felix suggests, grinning at her over his shoulder, and somehow seems in less of a hurry to get re-dressed, suddenly, setting aside some jeans and a t-shirt but settling comfortably indian-style on a mattress and reaching for the food bag instead. "Thanks." He pats the spot next to him, and starts pulling stuff out of the bag; he was hungry when they headed to McDonald's in the first place so it's probably not surprising how he eyes the food after a good run and a minor fight. "Well, dude kept running, right into an alley, 'til Justin tackled him," he says, "...good tackle, too. Guy was strong, though, threw him right back off. Not, like, movie-special-effects into-the-wall threw or anything, just got 'im offa him. So Watcher jumped on the guy's legs, and I got his arm, and Justin was holdin' him down an' tryin' to talk to him, and this other guy, Henry -- he's the other guy in their pack -- had showed up and he had this staff that sent out vines to twine the guy up and help subdue him too... and the guy just freaked the hell out and started screamin' an' shit, so Justin clocked him one. Which didn't look like it was workin', so I gave him an elbow to the chin an' then he was out. Dude smelled rank as shit, an' I mean literally. Henry fixed his gunshots up some an' we left, 'cause the sirens were gettin' close." He shrugs. "'pparently they got real dangerous sewers in these parts."
"I mighta," Lilah says with a shrug and a broad smile, settling in next to him on the mattress. She kisses his shoulder lightly, listening closely to the recounting, and then furrows her brows slightly. "Wonder what he was doin' in the sewers in the first place... maybe it'll be on the news or some'm." Her frown increases, and then she shakes her head as though to clear it. "Guess it was good we was so close," she says, and rests her head over on his shoulder.
Felix puts off eating long enough to pulls Lilah in for a good proper kiss after that one to his shoulder. "I dunno, but apparently somethin' or someone with a gun didn't want him to be," he says, "an' it might be on the news, maybe. We could keep an eye out. Not sure the dude thinks it's good we were so close, but sucks to be him, I guess. Though less'n if he hadn't got some healin' out of it, prolly. Dunno which side of that fight down there we really oughta be on, but at least it was fun." He grins, hauling out a thing of fries and a drink and starting in on both. "Sorry for abandonin' ya there, though."
Lilah is all about that kiss, returning it in kind, and nods slowly to the rest of what he has to say. "I should really start payin' attention to the news 'round here. I'm used to hearin' anything through the grapevine, but I ain't on this vine yet." She reaches for one of his fries, and if that succeeds, she aims to 'steal' another one. "Ain't nothin' to be sorry for. Somebody had to keep an eye on that manhole, just in case, right?"
"Good point, gorgeous. It do anythin' interestin' while we were gone?" Felix asks, leaning in sideways against her. The theft of the fry does succeed, though he sets down the drink and snags the other end of the second she steals, gently starting a mock tug-of-war with it. One that he lets her win, and the fries tellingly stay well within reach of both of them, afterward. "'s weird, actually sorta stayin' here a while but not knowin'... well, the city an' specific people in it the way I'm useta. Guess we'll get there, if we don't head out soon." Which may be the first time he hasn't sounded like getting going again was obviously both their top priority and imminent, really.
"Oh yeah. It was real interestin'," Lilah lies-- probably transparently-- and then fixates on eating her fries, rather than expanding on that. "Yeah, it's weird, but ... 'm just glad it's... workin' out. Everything's goin' real nice." She glances over at him for a long moment, and then snakes her hand out to steal another fry. "People're bein' real nice here."
Felix quirks a brow at the transparent lying -- and the fixating -- studying her sidelong. "Somehow I'm feelin' less than entirely convinced," he says, probably about the interestingness, although some of the rest could be involved as well. "How much you reckon we oughta be savin' up before we get goin' again? I figure we at least gotta hang out long enough to finish fixin' up the Caddy, maybe get her that paint 'case they made some kinda record 'bout how she looks. Dunno how long that's gonna take, yet." He munches a couple fries -- not just one, three or four at a time, really -- and is quiet a moment, glancing sideways to her again. "You 'kay?"
"I never was a very good liar," Lilah says, smirking, and doesn't look in the least bit upset about being caught out. She munches on her fries rather daintily, and shrugs to his question about saving. "T'be honest, I got nooooo idea. I thought we had enough to get 'cross the border pretty easily. But we ran out a lot sooner'n I figured, even *with* your hagglin'. Gas's expensive some places, an' cheap as hell others. Same for food, an'-- everything, really." She tilts her head at his other question, leaning in to kiss his cheek softly. "Yeah, I am. Better 'n okay. Things is good. How 'bout you? You doin' okay?"
"...well, we mighta made it if whatever happened with that spark plug didn't happen," Felix muses, "'specially if we'd stopped a couple places long enough to come up with some more." Money, presumably, since he's managed to get hold of a fair amount of that one way or another on the trip, versus zero spark plugs. Or one, if you count the one Justin temporarily put in the car. "Sure does disappear quick, though, don't it?" It's more of an observation than a complaint, at least at the moment, and her kiss gets a little smile. He rummages in the bag and comes up with a burger box, opening it to see just what waits within and considering a moment before remarking, "Justin's talkin' like he wants to draft me into their pack."
"We mighta, it's true. Though I mean without stoppin'-- cuz I dunno how much we'd need t'not have t'stop so much." Lilah shrugs, though, not seeming too concerned about it. "It always does," she says, of the money disappearing quickly. She leans in a little closer once he has the box open, though she doesn't seem interested in the Big Mac that waits within. She smiles at him warmly, and asks, "An' how d'ya feel about that? About Justin, 'n the pack?" She runs a hand through her hair, looking as though she'll say more, but in the end she just kisses his shoulder again. She's fond of affection tonight, it seems.
Felix rarely seems to have a problem with any sort of Lilah-proximity, so the further lean and the kiss to his shoulder get an arm around hers and a kiss to the top of her head (while it's bent) in return. The burger gets somewhat messily scooped up one-handed, and he takes and chews a large bite from it while he considers his answer. "I dunno," he says, then. "I mean, 's flatterin', an'..." a slight pause, and with what seems oddly like a wistful edge to it, "...an' it was nice runnin' with 'em, tonight." It's gone when he continues, "And Justin seems pretty cool, mostly. Reminds me of somea the guys I useta usually hang with. Plus he didn't HAVE t' help with the Caddy. But. I mean, y'don't go joinin' packs an' then skip town in a week or nothin', y'know?" He lifts the burger but pauses before biting, adding, "But I only known him a couple days. An' I barely met the other guys. Might not even like each other much, who knows?" He takes that bite.
Lilah smiles at him as he wraps his arm around hers, and waits patiently for his answer. She doesn't comment for several moments, just watching him as he has that second bite. And when she does comment, it's brief: "Who says we HAVE to skip town in a week?" She pauses, then once more looks like she'll add more, and instead steals another fry. Munch munch.
There's another pause before she gets a reply, although at least part of it is probably due to finishing off that bite... not that Felix has never been known to talk with his mouth full. Just not, apparently, right now. "There's a hell of a lotta shit we still ain't been an' seen," he says, but matter-of-fact as he's going for, she may well sense the underlying uncertainty about their current options is a serious one. "I mean, we didn't even get into Canada yet, an' there's still seein' if we can climb on Mount Rushmore, plus all that shit back east, I always heard there's an awful lotta interesting stuff there."
Lilah waits quietly for him to finish talking-- and finish chewing-- before she tugs him in a little closer. Her ultimate goal is a quick kiss to his cheek, and he may or may not sense she's tempted to do so multiple times, but ends up pulling away to look at him. "We could travel if'n you want. Or we could stay here for as long as ya want. Or, we could stay here for a bit like we planned, travel a bunch, an' end up comin' back here. We got *options.*" She smiles softly at him, and then pauses before saying, "I'm happy no matter what we do, just about."
Felix tilts his head slightly, watching her sideways again. "Yeah?" he asks, "...hmm. I mean, it ain't a bad place, so far. An' I figure we're prolly stuck here a bit either way, I was bein' figurative about the week thing. But..." He trails off, then shrugs. "Reckon I'll see what happens when I get t'know them an' the place better some, I s'pose." A sudden grin, "And whether Justin makes me hafta kick his ass for hittin' on you too hard." He has another big bite of the burger, but the chewing seems cheerier, just now.
"Yeah," Lilah confirms, when he asks. She grins back at him, laughing a little, and says, "He just don't know when to quit, that's all. If it helps, he ain't my type. Not by a long shot." She smirks, and then dips into the fry bag again while he chews on his Big Mac. She munches at a few fries, far less daintily now.
"Oh, yeah? An' what's your type?" Felix teases, all unconvincing innocence; only the fact that his mouth is promptly busy eating the last of the burger keeps him from utterly ruining even that much believability.
Once Felix teases her, Lilah shrugs, grinning a little. "I woulda said 'you,' but you're just gonna tease me. So I'mma say 'that guy what was with Justin tonight.' Whoever that was." She nods her head. "Yep. I'm all 'bout that'n." She laughs to herself, and then flops back onto the mattress. If it means she has to disentangle her arm from his, then more's the pity!
Felix ffts, letting her slip out from under his arm to flop back like that; he sets the remaining fries in the now-empty box and pushes it aside toward the bag and what's left in there, so he can roll over and plant a hand to either side of Lilah's shoulders, hovering slightly diagonally over her. "Oh, 'zat so? You all about Watcher, now, huh? An' you ain't even spoken. Tch. Y'all girls're fickle." He shakes his head, and then lowers it to kiss her again.
Lilah looks over at his hands, so close to her, and then smiles sweetly up at him. "'zat his name? I'll hafta see if he's in the phonebook. Lessee... Watcher... Smith? Jones? If I could only remember what 'e looked like, I'd be ever s'much happier." She giggles lightly, and then loses herself in that kiss, closing her eyes and running her hands down his sides.
"Tall dark 'n' Indian?" Felix reminds, "I mean, I wouldn't wantcha to be =unhappy= or nothin'." He grins down at her, albeit not real far down, resting most of his weight on one forearm to stay well within re-kissing distance, and to free his other hand enough to get in on that whole side-running thing, albeit not his own. Re-kissing commences, as well. "...maybe I wasn't gonna tease you," he murmurs when it breaks again.
"I didn't really get a good look at 'im," Lilah admits, "But ain't nothin' gonna stand in the way o' my love at first almost-sight." She mmms softly against the second kiss, and then blushes at his murmur, looking up at him curiously, as though trying to determine if he's teasing her *now.* Whatever she sees there, she softly murmurs, "You're my type," before lifting her head up a bit so she can go in for a third kiss.
Felix smiles at the return murmur. "...good." The kiss is about as easy to get as a kiss can be, since it's clearly what he had in mind right then as well. The non-supportive hand runs its way all the way down over her hip, and starts back upward, though when it meets the hem of her shirt this time it slips underneath for that portion of the trek. The poor rest of the food, sitting there neglected and getting cold. Woe.
Woe, indeed! It was a pretty full bag, even! Lilah gives him a look, equal parts heat and adoration, and then they're kissing. Her eyes close, her breathing only just barely in the range of 'calm' still. Her hands pull him as close to her as she can manage to make them, and then start to roam over his sides again. After a bit of this, her nails get in on the act as well, albeit lightly.
Well, let's be honest, he'll probably just eat it cold. Later. Felix cooperates with this closeness thing -- mostly. He does pull slightly away after her nails get involved, but as it turns out it's just to try to get her tank top pushed up as far out of the way as he can. Off would be favourite, but he's flexible on the matter. He takes a moment to redirect some of the kisses to Lilah's shoulder and neck while he's at it, adding in some of their close relations while he's at it.
He probably won't even have to eat it all alone. Lilah's not shown herself to be all that picky. Except about anchovies. DIE, FISHY PIZZA! She makes a little noise of frustration as he moves away, but when she sees where he's going with that, she definitely cooperates-- 'off' is most certainly on the table. When his lips leave hers, she chews on her lower lip, and then starts to wriggle out of her jeans, unbidden.
Felix grins a little at the frustrated noise, wickedly, but at least he doesn't seem to take it as a cue to try to frustrate her more. He does, as long as she's gettin' that wriggle on, see about sneaking his hand under her and testing whether he's good enough to unfasten a bra with one hand while he can't see it and it's being at least mostly laid on. Hey, all skills need development and testing now and then. Nipping at her ear and then aiming to kiss her again probably isn't the kind of split attention that helps, but it's a challenge he's willing to face.
When Lilah realizes what he's up to, she keeps up her wriggling, and then sits up a tad to make it that much easier for him, once she's managed to get her jeans 'round her ankles. He's got the SKILLZ, so he can probably succeed in his mission, particularly since he's got time while the two kiss; she nips at his bottom lip, kissing him with abandon. Everything but the kiss appears to have slipped her mind, then, as she settles back onto the mattress and squirms just slightly beneath him.
It does take a fair amount of the time available, admittedly, but there is eventual success. Felix would probably look damn pleased with himself if he weren't currently too busy kissing. Possibly it can wait for the same later as eating. He tugs the appropriate bits of fabric to get them out of his way, and shifts position a little, one knee settling in between hers to get him somewhat less diagonal to her and take more of his weight; it makes it easier to run his hand over some of the freshly revealed skin. All in all, they're reasonably lucky, given the lack of door-locking; no one comes looking for either of them at any point before it's well 'later', and Felix is stretched out lazily on the mattress with an arm cuddling Lilah in close, looking currently quite well-pleased with the universe. Especially when a languid stretch of the other arm encounters the bag with the rest of the food. Gaia loves me, this I know...