[Null Moon] [I’ve run scenes for all of you before, but for those of you who need a reminder, here are the rules for this scene. Please read the entire thing: if I get someone asking whether I want you guys posting to start off you’re getting an army of Gorehounds. With chainsaws. Dual wield chainsaws.
1. In order to finish in under 5 hours, I’m asking you to keep your narrative posts to under 10 minutes; when we go to combat, keep your declares to under 3 minutes unless you’re asking a question or you’ll be skipped, and your rolls to under 2 minutes or I’ll roll for you.
2. Speaking of questions, don’t ask them in the chat; your ST has the attention span of a gnat. Please IM any questions that you have, the sooner before your turn the better.
3. Speaking of the chat: pay attention to it, please.
4. This is important: I am not going out of my way to kill anyone tonight, but there is a good chance of PC death. If you’re not prepared for the possibility of losing a character tonight, it won’t hurt my feelings if you log out now.
I’ll be dropping a post to set us up in a few minutes. Sit tight!]
[Null Moon] This isn’t the part of town to be caught in without a reason, without a place to be or someone waiting to make sure that they’re going to make it there safely. On a good day, the streets are crawling with youth in revolt, boys who never grew up, men who have nothing to lose but their lives. On a good day, it’s quiet, without the echo of sirens or the crying of abandoned mothers, without agony rolling down the sidewalk in waves.
Today is not a good day.
The inhabitants of the Last Drop on the corner of South Racine are not terrible people. Not all of them. The bartender has seen better days, looks as though she’s eying the clock until it’s time to go home, and her regular customers are all blue-collar workers and wage slaves. People come here because it’s a good place to play pool and watch the game, because considering the fact that they serve alcohol here they have some pretty good food. It’s a good place to go after work, or when the kids are getting to be too much, or when you’re pissed off at your boyfriend. They play derivatives of ESPN on all of the televisions, but last night they watched the health care reform bill as it was passed into law.
Maybe Lee is here because she’s looking for a change of pace, because she wants a beer and a place to drink it where she doesn’t have to worry about running into werewolves. Maybe Cora just wants to be alone in a crowd, to have the hum of extraneous conversation going on around her while she collects her thoughts. They’re here tonight, and people are leaving them alone, and so that has to be counting for something.
There are two guys in the corner, though, two perfectly normal-looking guys who could be pimps or drug dealers given how well they’re dressed. They’ve been eying the two women for the last several minutes, talking amongst themselves, whispering even. The rest of the bar is oblivious to their presence, though there’s something about the two guys that makes even these hardened barflies uneasy. They feel dangerous, but then, plenty of people do.
They’re not bad people. But some of them are.
==========
Meanwhile, the Warders have sent out a call for bodies. Whoever they could find, really, and whoever they could find winds up being a lupus Modi, a metis Ahroun, a recently-packed Skald and a totemless Theurge. They’re called together because there have been reports of what seems like Wyrm-tainted Garou driving around the South Side looking for trouble, or targets. They’re driving a red Volkswagen van, is all the information that the Warders had. With the Sept at war and fears of infiltration ratcheting with the impending fight being brought to Moraine Hill, they can’t be too careful.
None of them are packed, but tonight they’re going to have to act as though they are.
[Coraline Emerson] [Per + Intuition: Diff 7 – I’ve got a feeeelin’…[we hope]]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 7, 9, 10 (Success x 3 at target 7) Re-rolls: 1
[Tongue Twister] The warders had sent the call – and found Rory. The quiet, non-obtrusive, non-confrontational Ahroun (…apparently, they do exist, though she’s quite a step away from norm) had been doing her rotation at the Caern. As parts of Bronzeville are home, and fall under the Bogeyman watch, she responded instantly – and slid umbral, into Lupus, and – quite frankly – hauled ass.
When she arrived at the area they’d been directed too – known to her not by reading signs, or understanding directions, but by the simple knowledge of an area one gains from patrolling over and over and over again – she found a darkened spot, slipped into Monkey skin and slid through realmside into an Alleyway.
Her jeans are new. Her hoodie old, as is the t-shirt underneath. She doesn’t want to mess up all her nice new things, after all. Light flats on her feet, and near silent steps, as Rory looks around to see who else answered the call with her…
[Gut Song] Gut~Song is present for the Warder’s decree, the monstrous Athro’s explanation and information bringing a none too subtle bristle to the Skald as he describes the presence of the Fallen within the boundaries of his pack’s home turf. Or rather…what had once been Joe and his stomping grounds. Bronzeville was a big place, but when one spoke the name with obvious pride, there was little guess as to the need for retaliation when an unwelcome presence was brought to light.
So it is, the Skald is one of the first to break from the collective, a snarl under his lips, the thrum of Hermodr in bones and mind (“Steady, warsinger. I’ll not have a mind lost to Anger, blazing my trails”). A lingering glance is cast at each of the others present (Wrath delivered a curl of a lip, that turns his features from average to ugly in an instant) before the Galliard climbs down into his Lupus shape effortlessly.
…And then it’s through the Barrier between worlds and into the landscape that breeds Hatred like armies and compassion like waves. Running, with expectation and the snap of a War banner in his wake.
* * * * *
As the heights of Bronzeville approach, the alleyway Tongue~Twister chooses is sufficient place of hiding to push across. Gut~Song takes the same advantage and settles into place a half dozen feet from the Ahroun, with a restrained grunt of exertion. He slips back into homid before he’s righted himself again, turning his eyes to the air and his ears to the sounds of the fast approaching late night.
“…We need a Trail. Something to follow or we could be wandering these streets forever and not find a single touch of evidence.”
[Liadan Whelan] Lee’s here to be somewhere quiet, somewhere low-key after a lunch date with a client in a much nicer part of town. She’d had to be on her best then, had to be sharp-witted and smooth, and now she needs a beer or eight before she cabs it back to the north side.
She’s noticed the men in the corner, because Lee notices things. She sits where she can see the room to best advantage, where she can see the doors and watch who comes and goes, and she sees the men who have been eying her and another woman, talking amongst themselves.
She ignores them, mostly. Casts them furtive glances but otherwise keeps her attention on the glass in front of her. A glass of something dark and foamy that has lost its foam, that is warming, that — considering how badly she’d wanted a drink after she left her client — is mostly untouched.
Flagging down a waitress, Lee orders a plate of fries. No, no meals, no burgers, no steaks, no anything but fries.
[Wrath] Wrath had been prowling the Caern, waiting, looking for Gut Song. Exuding a low level of constant, almost debilitating rage a he did so, not deigning to speak to any as he searched for the other Fenrir. When the Warders approached him, however, he didn’t hesitate–a chance to battle Wyrm Spawn–Black Spiral Dancers no less–and he swallowed his ire at the sight of the Skald, and simply followed them through the Umbra.
He moves with an effortless in the lupus body that the others can’t hope to emulate; but when they emerge into the alley, his is the disgust of the wilderness savage, his nose wrinkling as he forces himself to approach the alley mouth and begin scenting the wind, seeking to distinguish the scent of the Wyrm from the myriad other foul odors in the air.
[Per + Alertness, Heightened Senses active]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 2, 5, 5, 6, 6, 8 (Success x 4 at target 4)
[Tongue Twister] [I see stuff sometimes!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 2, 3, 5, 8, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Coraline Emerson] She is here… why is she here? It’s not so far from home, certainly, though she lives in a slightly safer area of the city. Everything being relative, of course. She is here… if she was in the mood to be perfectly honest with herself she would have to admit that she is here because it is not at all the sort of place she expects to run into anyone of her Tribe. And in this place she can sit at her table and mull things over. Sit at her table, a [stupid, bloody, useless] soft drink before her, and [being honest] brood. There’s a book beside her – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – [because her sense of humour is dry. ironic or maybe morbid, today] though she isn’t reading it. Dressed simply in a black v-neck sweater, two scarves of emerald green and sky blue entwined about the slenderness of her pale neck; dark jeans and her usual well-kept steel-toed Docs. Mulling. Thinking. Brooding. Sulking? No… not that bad, one hopes.
It is belated, that sense of an itch beneath her skin, between her shoulder blades. It grows and, eventually, is enough to have her scanning the people around her, though once she cares to pay attention she can hone in on her goal easily. Muttering a curse under her breath she pushes her drink away and stands… she’d noticed Lee walk in after herself. It is only now that she makes her way towards the kinfolk whose face she recognizes but name she doesn’t know, stopping beside the woman and, “Hey… I think we’ve met before. At the library? Cora…. d’you play pool?” She’s smiling now, easily and the way she leans down and in towards the red-head… well, she could just be that kind of woman looking for a particular companion. Because brooding gets boring.
[Null Moon] [There’s a parking lot across the street. You can’t smell anything in this form, but you can see a guy packing back and forth from where you stand. He catches your attention because he’s smoking, but there is nothing fascinating about him.]
to Tongue Twister
[Oncoming Storm] He had heard the call and replied, while he felt weakened without the strength of his Totem at his back. Theron knew that there was going to be no rest for the wicked. He was needed that’s as simple as it was.
The Theurge had a car at his disposal and had offered it too any of the other Garou that had responded to the call. The black car crawled into a parking spot. The occupant(s) soon pouring out and stepping out onto the pavement. Moving towards the spot they had picked out to re-group.
His dark eyes scanning the scene around them, as he seeks out his temporary pack.
[ Per + Ale – 5d6]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 2, 3, 5, 5, 10 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Tongue Twister] She tips her head, slightly, bloodred curls sliding over the shoulders of her hoodie, as she searches the area, her brow furrowing slightly as movement catches her attention. A parking lot across the street – a man pacing back and forth, smoking. Not exactly fascinating or exciting, but movement, and for a long moment she simply… watches him as she listens to the others.
[Wrath] The slow snarl that tears itself from Wrath’s throat is one of sheer delight. Hackles rise. Lips writhe back from his fangs.
Across the street. Red car. Fomori. Time to kill!
And with that, he’s streaking forward, out and wide, the Mjolnir’s Thunder Modi moving like a gray iron bolt, heading across the lanes of the street, slicing through traffic to come at the fomor with all the speed and fury of a force of nature.
[Liadan Whelan] Lee is aware of the blonde woman heading her way. It’s not until she’s closer that she recognizes the woman, one of those in the public library some time back. The redhead vaguely remembers the blonde carrying a gun at the time. It doesn’t do much to quell the rising panic she feels as the two men continue to eye her.
“I remember you,” she says pleasantly.
Garou. Looking at her in a way that makes her extremely uncomfortable. She smiles up at Coraline, and pushes up out of her booth. “I do play pool.” Her jacket and her bag are left behind, and Lee heads for the pool table.
[Gut Song] Gut~Song’s attentions remain with the alley’s occupants a moment longer, before heading into the alley mouth and beyond into the street. The gathered Garou here are shades and silhouettes against the lane’s darkness and refuting of light. Theron’s truck arrives and settles into place at the curb, the Theurge climbing out with searching eyes.
A Flick of an arm raises as Theron’s gaze travels toward the alley, Gut~Song motioning him forward with an upraised hand-
-as Wrath’s low slung growl ripples out, bringing the Skald’s attention around quickly enough to catch the tail-end of his Wolf Speech. The Skald’s eyes widen sharply, lips peeling back from teeth as he steps into place infront of the Modi before he shoots out of the alleyway, body hunching and flesh rippling slightly.
“We do no make war like this!”
[Gut Song] (Cha 3 + intimidation 2 + 1 for Totem benefit.)
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 5, 6, 7, 7, 10, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Wrath] The lupus, already envisioning his jaws closing about the man’s throat, suddenly draws up short just shy of the alley’s exit as Gut Song interposes himself and snaps out his command, his denial. Such was Wrath’s momentum that he’s forced to sit down on his hind quarters to prevent himself from colliding bodily with the Skald, and then he’s up, ears pinned pack, golden eyes blazing pure fury at the homid before him.
There are no words. There is only incoherent menace as the lupus stares Gut Song in the eyes, contesting his order with all his might.
[Coraline Emerson] “Lovely.” Another smile, apparently lazy, just a touch of teeth, a bit of dimple in a heart shaped face. For her part she has her bag with her, a messenger-style shoulder bag, practical instead of feminine. To the pool table they go, unobtrusive, just two female things hanging out, perhaps one picking up the other. There is the urge to flee, yes, somewhere. Anywhere. But she’s made a career of studying predators… fleeing beckons chase. And she is perhaps hoping on the men [monsters] not wishing to cause a… scene.
So she takes up pool pin, handling it less like a dick and more like a potential bludgeoning tool [because with predators you make yourself seem not worth the effort, y’eh?] and chalks the tip, still speaking lowly, all smiles and the appearance of light flirtation. “Never fails, does it? Just when yeh think y’er free of them…”
[Tongue Twister] Wrath darts forward, and then the Skald.. the Skald barks his order in order to stop the lupus – and it has dual effect…
Rory flinches.
Rory cringes.
Rory slinks back a step.
Rory looks like it is she who will receive whatever punishment comes, instead of the Lupus.
It takes her a full minute, before she inches forward again, to once more find the man who paces, and smokes, searching for the red car that Wrath said he saw – working to put the two together as she awaits orders.
[Oncoming Storm] Theron’s eyes are drawn when he spots an upraised hand. A nod of recognition as he begins heading in that direction, watching as the man that gesture towards him steps in front of the lupus born. He walks around the two Garou as each tries to determine their dominance.
A polite nod towards Rory, the red-head had assisted them in Grant Park several days ago.
[Null Moon] The plain young woman with the blond hair gets up from her seat and walks over to the equally plain young woman with the red hair, and a set of eyes follows her.
The guy on the left is wearing a dark blue suit with a black dress shirt underneath, a red tie. He’s got heavy yet handsome Mediterranean features to go with his swarthy skin and his black hair, the sort of looks that good girls go for because he looks like a bad boy. His companion is shorter and blond, baby-faced, yet no less dangerous-feeling. What women are in the bar are leaving them alone, if only because they look like the sort of guys who would start trouble if you made the mistake of making eye contact with them.
It’s towards the pool table that the two young women are heading, and thus, towards the pool table that the two men head, sliding out of their seats with animal grace and fluidity. They leave behind drinks.
Outside, tires shriek.
==========
The representative of Mjollnir’s Thunder would have darted right out into traffic were not for the fact that Gut Song gets in his way. As it is a car squeals to a halt at the mere hint of movement out of the alleyway, the driver not at all interested in hitting some poor bastard’s dog this time of night. After a tick to make sure that neither the furry creature nor the tall young man are going to scrabble out in front of her, the driver presses down on the gas and shoots through the intersection.
Meanwhile, they’ve got the full attention not only of the cigarette-smoking man, but of his friends. Three sets of footfalls sound out on the pavement across the street, and three sets of eyes watch the proceedings. The Garou in the alleyway can see them just barely in the wan light of the streetlamp: one of them has horns on his head, one of them has scales instead of skin, and the other one is an albino.
These aren’t Fomori. That’s not mere menacing bubbling beneath the surface; it’s Rage.
“Woooo, shit!” the albino whoops, and the horned one hits him in the chest. They turn in staggered succession and start to head back into the parking lot.
[Gut Song] Gut~Song’s body rears back slightly, an instinctive respect for the Modi’s power granted in that simple gesture even if the features twist into something controlled. Thomas was one of the last to be giving such a measure to Wrath, his own Rage a blossom, a stain in the air that constantly overshadowed his own Will. Yet the whispers of Hermodr, drift at the back of his mind, a constant drone of war that set rhythm to the Beast and it’s movements.
Through grating teeth and bunched muscle, burning Beast to Beast, the Skald meets the Modi’s eye.
“…Your skin is wrong, Modi. Find another form, that won’t expose-…Shit.” The hollering of one of the Parking Lot bodies, snags at Gut~Song’s attention, even as he steps free of the alleyway. Exposed now to those across the street, Thomas sneers and moves to the edge of the sidewalk, watching them push deeper into the parking lot.
“Useless now.” Thomas moves between two cars, a steady walk to his gait, fists clenched as his mind goes in search of Gifts and Fury.
[Liadan Whelan] Cora isn’t the only one eyeing the pool table not to line up a shot, but to look for weapons. Lee isn’t as good with a stick as she with her feet, with her legs, but a pool cue will do in a pinch. The two men approach them and Lee leans back against the pool table, and she smiles sweetness and light at them.
“Hello, boys.”
[manip + subt: I ain’t afraid o’ no BSD!]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 5, 6, 6, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 4 at target 7) [WP]
[Gut Song] (Sigurd’s Stride: Primal Urge 2 + 2 for Totem + Stamina 3. diff 4)
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6, 8 (Success x 5 at target 4)
[Wrath] The lupus’ attention snaps past Gut Song to the enemy across the street, ears flicking back up at the sound of the albino’s cry, and then the Skald is moving into the street. The roar of traffic is coming to him now, the Skald’s words having momentarily broken his need to simply engage the Black Spiral Dancers, and as such he pauses, looking both directions, before turning back to plunge deeper into the alley, to break through the Gauntlet and into the Penumbra.
[Coraline Emerson] Lee is all smiles and sweetness and Cora.. well, Cora suddenly turns a bit shy. She is preoccupied with the pool stick at first, then set it against the table and reaches a hand to readjust the messenger bag. An awkward smile for the fella’s, “Hullo.” and she digs in the bag and removes.. a-ha!… chap stick. Yes. It is applied, while one hand lingers in the bag and moss-green eyes dart at the males from the periphery.
[Tongue Twister] Theron nods at her, and Rory drops her gaze, a blush painting across her cheeks, even as she turns her attention back and finds the Pacer has two friends and they’re each one uglier than the last. Gut Song steps forward, and the slender metis follows, instantly. She flanks him to the left side, half a step back, as they move to cross the street.
She has no gifts to call on, not at the moment… she has only her Rage, which ripples and rattles the cages she keeps it locked away in, seemingly with such ease. Her skin burns with the desire to let lose, her heart pounds, and her hands, her hands rub absently across the thighs of her jeans. It is the last bit of nerves that she wipes away.
Now there is only War.
[Gut Song] (Wits 4 + Primal Urge 2 + 2 for totem. Diff 6)
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 2, 2, 4, 5, 5, 6, 9, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Gut Song] (Persuasion; cha 3 + sub 1.)
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 8 (Failure at target 6)
[Gut Song] (Fucker. Try that again. +1 Diff.)
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 2, 3, 3, 8 (Success x 1 at target 7)
[Null Moon] [Ithaqua
Charisma+Primal-Urge, diff Cora’s WP]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8 (Success x 2 at target 5)
[Null Moon] [Hastur
Charisma+Primal-Urge, diff Lee’s WP]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 3, 3, 5, 5, 7, 8 (Success x 4 at target 5)
[Null Moon] The darker of the two of them, the one whose attention is on Cora, is the one who feels the most overwhelming, whose Rage is enough to drive even the most hardened of the bar’s patrons away. People might have been concerned for the well-being of the two young woman at the epicenter of these two’s attention, but now they’re starting to filter out of the bar, deciding that they have better places to be than the bar at eight o’clock at night. Maybe they’re bar-hopping, or maybe they left the stove on, or maybe Latisha is going to throw a goddamn fight if he doesn’t get himself back home before the kids are in bed. Whatever the case is, the tables around the pool tables are the first ones to empty, and the patronage disappears by a third.
The blond one seems easier to deal with, doesn’t drive pangs of fear into Lee’s gut the way the dark-haired fellow seems to be doing. He’s the one who speaks for the both of them.
“Now what are two nice-lookin’ girls like yourselves doin’ in a dump like this?” he asks, eyes squarely on Lee. “Or have you heard that one before?”
[Liadan Whelan] [wits + intuition!]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Coraline Emerson] [Wits + Intuition]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 7, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Wrath] [Gnosis check to cross Gauntlet]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 4, 4, 5, 9, 10 (Success x 2 at target 7)
[Oncoming Storm] Theron smiles as he watches Rory blush, but the expression soon vanishes from his face. Listening to Gut-Song as the Galliard mentions that they’ve been given away. A scowl forming on his face as he steps upto the edge of the sidewalk as well.
Eyes focused on the parking lot as he watches. He was here as support, so he was going to let others take the lead. Waiting for their plan of attack if one was coming. If not he would just follow Thomas as they kept sight of the group of spirals at a safe distance.
[Coraline Emerson] Tall, dark and handsome [were it not for the Rage; for the sense of impending doom; for the way her ass clenches slightly like she’s flexing a tail she doesn’t possess] has his eyes on her and it’s making her sweat. Resisting the urge to drop the hand holding the chap stick to her lower abdomen, she instead rubs her lips together slightly; subconscious nerves. The bitter taste of adrenaline in her mouth is slightly nauseating and she aware, bizarrely, that it tastes just a little like licking a battery. Vaguely she is aware of people shuffling, moving, leaving. The lucky bastards.
“Just what are you guys looking for?” Direct. Low-voiced. No sweetness and smiles from the one with the Fang blood; neither is she aloof or disdainful. Pointed. Agitated.
[Null Moon] The Garou split up, the Modi heading off on his own while Skald sets off across the street to shadow the group of Dancers heading deeper into the parking lot. Traffic is thin on this street, at this time of night, and he easily heads across the asphalt without having to fight cars for territory. There is no mention of a plan, no calls for someone to either follow or remain across the street; just three unpacked Garou on the sidewalk and another pushing his way into the Umbra with the assistance of a puddle leftover from the earlier rain. He becomes a shimmering shadow, an impression of a wolf, and then he’s gone.
Meanwhile, the Dancers are murmuring amongst themselves. The scaly one peeks over his shoulder, then prods the horned one in the arm and reaches for something in his pocket.
One by one they, too, start to disappear.
[Null Moon] [Lloigor
Cross over!]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 1, 6, 6 (Botch x 1 at target 7)
[Null Moon] [Cthugha
Cross over!]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 8, 9 (Success x 2 at target 7)
[Null Moon] [Zhar
Cross over!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 2, 2, 6, 8, 10 (Success x 2 at target 7)
[Liadan Whelan] The men come over, oozing danger, a potential of pain, harm, death. And Lee greets them, and she’s charming and sweet and not at all afraid. Meanwhile Cora is shy, demure.
And they’re a couple of nice-lookin’ girls about to play pool in a dump like this. Cora is direct, questioning, demanding. Lee, though. Lee has been a part of this world a little longer than the Silver Fang with the nearly non-existent breeding.
She turns her smile on Coraline. “Don’t be rude, they’re just asking a question.” Smooth, eyes never leaving the blond one.
“You forgot your drinks,” she points out lazily. As if it doesn’t matter that they might need to go back for their beers.
[Gut Song] (Decision making time…)
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 2
[Gut Song] Thomas’ attention snags sharply, eyes darting toward the front door’s of the parking Lot’s establishment as patrons begin to leave in droves and small groups. A flicker of a frown crosses his face, even as his attention snags on the quickly vanishing Spirals. Thomas’ sneer travels smoothly over his face, even as he calls.
“Get to shadow. Cross over and engage. Stay with the Ahrouns.” It’s all Thomas has, the faith and training of years, put into the strength of the Full Moons amongst them. A pause in his own motions, mind leaning toward those steadily departing crowds. The Skald turns from the two in his wake, moving to the broad window on the Bar’s front, lit through with neon lights, pool tables and a dank interior.
(“If some of the Fallen got past you, son, might be what’s made the sheep run yellow out those doors”)
[Wrath] Wrath feels the broken shards of the Gauntlet rake across his pelt, scoring his body with numbing coldness as he shoulders his way through, his reflection in the oily puddle distorting, yawning, and then slipping all around him and gone as he steps through into the Umbra.
He doesn’t pause for breath, to blow out the cold from his lungs; rather he spins around, and moves as he had originally intended, breaking out of the alley, tail low, ears perked, moving across the now empty street, senses peeled for signs of the enemy, of new enemies, rejoicing, almost wanting to leap and cavort as he goes, eager, yearning, needing to find them, to fight them, to kill them.
Searching for those tell-tale glimmers that show in the Umbra when spiritual beings are standing close by on the other side of the Gauntlet.
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 5, 5, 5, 5, 7, 8 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Ithaqua
Charisma+Primal-Urge: Extending.]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 3 at target 5)
[Null Moon] [Hastur
Charisma+Primal-Urge: Extending.]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 4, 5, 7, 7, 8, 9 (Success x 5 at target 5)
[Tongue Twister] Thomas commands, and she instantly obeys. While many Ahrouns are leaders in battle – Rory has always been commanded, instead, always deferring to leadership of others, despite the rank, despite the auspice.
And so she instantly turns, the alley being closer, and runs to the shadow – and finding a puddle of water, she concentrates, and sidesteps
[please?]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 5, 6, 7, 9 (Success x 2 at target 7)
[Null Moon] The young men keep their eyes on the young women, and both Coraline and Líadan begin to feel a change come over them. It’s nothing foreign or alien to either of them, nothing they likely haven’t felt before: this isn’t soul-obliterating love or heart-rending fear, but desire, but a sudden need for the man who’s come over here from across the table to talk to her, only need would imply some sort of higher brain function, that this is anything other than base, animalistic lust.
Which it isn’t. This isn’t the urge to start a family or fall in love or run away together. This is just the urge to get someplace private, and both women, being the intuitive, intelligent creatures that they are, notice immediately that something is not right.
What remains to be seen is whether they can do anything about it.
[Ladies! WP diff 8!]
[Liadan Whelan] [WP]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 2, 6, 7, 9, 10 (Success x 2 at target 8)
[Coraline Emerson] [WP]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 3, 4, 5, 6, 10 (Success x 1 at target 8)
[Oncoming Storm] Upon hearing the order THeron nods once in understanding and turns and follows in the direction Rory takes, watching as she shimmers and side steps before he attempts to do the same.
His gaze reflected back to him as he gazes into the pool of water, body shrouded in shadow. Concentrating as he attempts to sidestep.
[ Gnosis 6d7 ]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 2, 2, 5, 9, 10 (Success x 2 at target 7)
[Null Moon] Wrath reaches the other side about a minute before Tongue Twister and Oncoming Storm do. It takes him a moment to get his bearings and familiarize himself with his surroundings, but eventually he turns and looks back toward the spiritual reflection of the bar and finds the area around him looking rundown, derelict almost: the buildings here are all dormant, some of them fallen down on this side, and none of the concrete or glass is awake here. There doesn’t seem to be anything here other than the vague impression of life, and as he focuses, he can see the spirits of the live creatures on the other side of the Gauntlet: he can see Gut Song peering in through a window, he can see the metis and the monkey pushing their way across to join him.
They aren’t the only ones heading in after him. The Fallen, too, are hauling each other across the Gauntlet, their scaly Theurge narrowly saving their albino Galliard from being sucked into another realm.
[Coraline Emerson] It’s there, that tug down near the pelvis; the peaking of nipples already too easily stimulated these days; that warmth and tingle between the legs, where the core of her heat is centered. Focused. Pleasurable and titillating, though not yet demanding. Were she sitting she might cross her legs, a subconscious action just to get that tiniest jolt of friction, that little sense of mmmmm. But she isn’t sitting. And Coraline is rarely governed by her bodies baser urges [though her quickening womb might belie that statement]. She frowns, her shoulders rolling, some sense of outrage in her gaze, her nostrils flaring slightly.
She says nothing. Clearly Lee has the social strengths here.
In the messenger bag her hand tightens. Vaguely she is aware of the last stragglers in the bar, but by and large her attention is riveted on the Garou.
[Coraline Emerson] [Per + Int]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 1, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 10, 10 (Failure at target 8) Re-rolls: 2
[Liadan Whelan] Not so very long ago, Lee would have given in to that sensation. It doesn’t matter what his face looks like, what the gender of the person is. How many times has she caught someone looking at her from across a crowded bar/club/restaurant and gone to them? How many has she taken to a hotel or a motel or just back into the bathroom?
But Lee isn’t who she was even a month ago, even a day ago. And this feeling isn’t right, because she doesn’t want what these men have come to offer. She doesn’t want this blond man looking at her like he wants to whisper oily words into her ear as he pounds her against the wall.
She doesn’t want this. She doesn’t want them. She doesn’t want any of it. What she wants is to get away, and she wants Coraline to come with her.
She smiles at the men, and her hand reaches out for Coraline’s arm. “Would you boys excuse us? We need to freshen up.” When she has hold of the other kinswoman, Lee starts herding her toward the restrooms.
[Gut Song] …The Bar’s front door is clasped as the last man pushes his way through, bumping shoulders with Thomas. The Skald barely notices, pushing his way through and letting the door slide closed behind him, slowly and without fanfare. His eyes, narrowed, seek through the gloom for the shapes of the four near the pool tables, he’d spied on his way forward.
(“The War Sound gathers-“)
A sneer crashes over his face, watching the backs of the two men standing over Cora and Liadan. The Skald pushes past the threshold of the doorway and in and among the small tables and chairs that scattered the bar, gaze lifting from the backs of the pair toward Cora (Silver Fang, faint, War Legends) and then to Lee, as he moves deliberately into a space that exposes him to the Fianna’s eyes (Fianna, Bonfire, Ancestral) and finally back to the hulking pair.
(-“To beckon us all”)
Thomas sucks in a sharp breath, lips nearly vanishing as they peel away from human teeth, muscles cording below as the ripple of flesh and the slow peel of humanity from the structure, leaves behind a Monstrous shape. Hulking and furious…
“..The Blood of Legends is not yours to claim, traitor…”
(Visage of Fenris: Charisma 3 + Intimidation 2 + 1 Totem benefit.)
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 2, 4, 7, 7 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Wrath] There–the sign, the sight of the Fallen crossing over incenses, sends Wrath’s spirit to burning, boiling fury. They’re coming, and now is the chance to take them, now. With a snarl, a snap, he leaps forward, exploding across the street, moving hellbent to position himself in an advantageous spot. Claws skittering and digging deep into the broken asphalt as he launches himself forward.
Moving, angling himself to be in the exact best position to launch an attack on the first Fallen to cross the Gauntlet.
[Burning 1 Rage to cross distance]
[Tongue Twister] The pop across – well, a slow pop, anyway. She sinks to a crouch when she arrives, her green eyes searching immediately for Wrath, for the others, trying to get her bearings as she shakes off the effects of crossing the gauntlet. She stands, but when she does so, it’s with the slow shift that can no longer be contained, until she falls forward on massive paws, stepping forward not as the Monkey skinned redhead, or even in her birthfrom – but as Hispo, a silent snarl indicating her readiness for war…
A shake of her head, and she sees what Wrath is doing, and sets about distracting the Spirals that are coming over – by being in their direct line of sight and directly approaching with a howl…
When one doesn’t sneak well – they use her as a pack distraction technique instead. And she does so here, as well.
[Gut Song] (Ancestors 3)
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 3, 8, 8 (Success x 2 at target 8)
[Oncoming Storm] Theron moves through the gauntlet slower than he is used too. He feels the web cling too him, trying to slow his movements into the Umbra. Finally stepping through as his eyes scan the area locating Rory and Wrath as he heads in their direction.
His body snapping and changing as his body slowly changes and adapts into his war form. Body covered by a jet black pelt. That glistens faintly as he moves. Watching as their intended targets move into the Umbra also.
[Null Moon] The odds are not in their favor.
When Thomas strides into the bar, full of righteous fury, he finds that the place has been all but emptied: the bartender, an older woman with kinky gray hair and toned biceps, is left by herself, her regulars all filed out of the bar and gone home to their families and their dogs and their refrigerators full of beer. The only ones left inside the bar are the two nice young white girls being hassled by those good-lucking young white boys, and those two nice young white girls are only marginally aware of the fact that the Garou they’re dealing with are up to no good–that stirring in their loins comes the complete blue fuck out of nowhere, and has nothing to do with the boys’ charisma or their good looks. Each woman has someone else who they’re interested with, for whom they have felt legitimate desire recently; they may not be as attractive as these young men, but they have to be somewhat comforted by the fact that the men to whom they typically find themselves attractive would not use their animal virility to draw their desire.
Or would they?
At any rate, Thomas strolls in, protected against fire but not against claws, and begins to morph into a hulking war machine, all muscle and teeth and claws, and the bartender… stares. She stares, and then she does something that Thomas might not have been prepared for.
She squawks “Aw HELL naw” and reaches under the bar.
Meanwhile, the two shark-like young men abandon their previous course of action and their human skins to meet and match Gut Song’s form: they explode into massive, snarling Crinos wolves, and they move forward, albeit it slower than they would have were not for the terrifying visage of the warrior in front of them.
And behind the bar, a shotgun pumps.
==========
As the metis and the Shadow Lord cross over to the other side, they’ll see a furry gray streak that bears some passing resemblance to the lupus wolf who left them realmside. He’s using his Gaia-given Rage to propel himself across the abandoned Umbral street and meet the crossing pack of Spirals, positioning himself behind the horned one and preparing to strike as they become visible.
[Iniiiiits!]
[Coraline Emerson] [Inits: +6]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 4
[Oncoming Storm] [ Inits – 7+]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 4
[Gut Song] (9 +…)
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 9
[Tongue Twister] 8
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 7
[Wrath] (+8)
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 7
[Null Moon] [Ithaqua, +6]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 3
[Tongue Twister]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 1
[Null Moon] [Hastur, +5]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 2
[Null Moon] [Lloigor, +6]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 7
[Null Moon] [Cthugha, +6]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 8
[Null Moon] [Zhar, +6]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 3
[Liadan Whelan] [+6]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 4
[Coraline Emerson]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 5
[Wrath]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 8
[Null Moon] [Lee]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 1
[Null Moon] [ROUND ONE — FIGHT
Thomas: 18
Wrath: 15
Rory: 15
Cthugha: 14
Lloigor: 13
Theron: 11
Coraline: 10
Lee: 10
Ithaqua: 9
Zhar: 9
Hastur: 7
Declare in reverse order. Remember you have 3 minutes to roll unless you’re asking a question and 2 minutes to roll. Go go go go!]
[Null Moon] [Rita, +5]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 6
[Null Moon] Thomas: 18
Wrath: 15
Rory: 15
Cthugha: 14
Lloigor: 13
Theron: 11
Rita: 11
Coraline: 10
Lee: 10
Ithaqua: 9
Zhar: 9
Hastur: 7
[Null Moon] [Hastur
1: Grapple Cora.
R1: Run run run run!
Zhar
Reflexive: Snap-shift to Crinos.
1: Finish crossing over.
R1: Claw Wrath.
Ithaqua
1: True Fear Thomas.
R1: Claw Thomas.]
[Liadan Whelan] [1a: Grab Cora, go for the bathrooms: IIIII’M runnin’!]
[Coraline Emerson] To Lee: You go! He’ll just catch us if we both run.
[1a: Shoot Haster.
1b: Shoot Haster again.]
[Null Moon] [Rita
1: Shoot Thomas!]
[Coraline Emerson] [quick addendum: WP spent on 1b. Sorry!]
[Oncoming Storm] [ Withholding Action ]
[Null Moon] [Lloigor
Reflexive: Snap-shift to Crinos.
1: Finish crossing over.
R1: Charge Wrath!
Cthugha
Reflexive: Snap-shift to Crinos.
1: Finish crossing over.
R1: Claw Wrath!]
[Tongue Twister] [2 rage, split first action
1a: Bite
1b: Bite
1r: bite –
2r: bite – all on Lloigor unless he falls, than Chtu]
[Wrath] [Declare: Reflexive: Resist Pain
1a. Falling Touch Cthugha
1b. Bite Zhar [WP]
Rage 1. Bite Zhar
Rage 2. Bite Zhar
Rage 3. Bite Cthugha]
[Gut Song] (Ancestors 2 – Brawl +2.
Split Actions:
1a) Claw Ithaqua
2b) Bite Ithaqua (WP)
3c) Circle to Ithaqua’s right, putting him between Thomas and Rita’s Shotgun
Rage 1: Claw Ithaqua
Rage 2: Claw Ithaqua)
[Gut Song] (Dex 5 + Brawl 3 + 2 Ancestors. -3 for split. Diff. 6. Fenris abides mofo!)
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Gut Song] (Strength 6 + 1 Claw + 3 sux. ABIDES!)
Dice Rolled:[ 10 d10 ] 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 8, 8, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Ithaqua
Soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 2, 5, 9 (Failure at target 6)
[Gut Song] (Second split: dex 5 + brawl 3 + 2 ancestors. – 4 for split. Diff 5 for bite. WP)
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 2, 5, 6 (Success x 1 at target 5) [WP]
[Gut Song] (Strength 6 + 1 Bite. ABIDES FUCKER!)
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 4, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Ithaqua
Soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 1, 6, 6, 7, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Wrath] [Falling Touch on Cthugha: Dex + Med]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 4, 4, 4, 4, 6, 10
[Wrath] [Bite: Dex + Brawl + WP]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 (Success x 6 at target 5) [WP]
[Wrath] [Damage! Str + 1bite +1hispo bite +5 suxxors!]
Dice Rolled:[ 13 d10 ] 1, 3, 4, 4, 6, 7, 7, 7, 8, 8, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 8 at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Zhar
Soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 2, 3, 5, 5, 7, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Tongue Twister] CHOMP Llor!
split 1: Dex + Brawl + Hispo = 3+4+2 = 9 -2 for split = 7 diff 5 – reroll 10s
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 2, 4, 4, 6, 10 (Failure at target 5) Re-rolls: 1
[Tongue Twister] OH COME ON KAHSEENO! STOP BEING A BITCH!
split 2: Dex + Brawl + Hispo = 3+4+2 = 9 -3 for split = 6 diff 5 – reroll 10s
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9 (Success x 2 at target 5)
[Tongue Twister] LIKE YA MEAN IT, BITCH.
Str + Hispo + Bite + (suxx-1) = 4+3+2 = 9 +1
Dice Rolled:[ 10 d10 ] 4, 4, 4, 6, 7, 7, 8, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 7 at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Lloigor
Soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 4, 5, 5, 6, 9, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Rita
1: Firearms+Dexterity: Boom! +2 diff (fucker’s hiding).]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 3, 3, 6, 7 (Success x 1 at target 8) [WP]
[Null Moon] [Damage: 8 +0] [L]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 5, 5, 7 (Failure at target 6)
[Coraline Emerson] [1a: Pew Pew. Dex 3 + Fire 2 – 2 [split]. HAIL, GOD DAMMIT!]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 1, 5, 10 (Failure at target 6)
[Coraline Emerson] [1b: 5 – 3 [split] [WP]]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 1, 3 (Failure at target 6) [WP]
[Liadan Whelan] [dex + ath!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 2, 3, 5, 7, 7 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Liadan Whelan] [str]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 5, 10 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Coraline Emerson] [str]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 2, 3 (Failure at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Ithaqua
1: Intimidation+Strength (+4): True Fear. -1 pool (wound penalties).]
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 1, 5, 5, 7, 8, 10, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 7 at target 5)
[Null Moon] [Hastur
Changing Actions.
1a: Chase Lee/Cora.
1b: Grapple Cora.]
[Null Moon] [Hastur
1a: Athletics+Dexterity (+1): Chase! -2 pool (split).]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 9, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Hastur
1b: Brawl+Strength (+4): Grapple! -3 pool (split).]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 5, 7, 7, 9, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Oncoming Storm] [1a Bite Zhar]
[Oncoming Storm] [ 1R spent – moving across the street]
[Oncoming Storm] (( fixes)) – 1a Moving across the street , 1R bite Zhar
[Wrath] [Rage bite: Dex + Brawl on Zhar]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 3, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 5 at target 5)
[Wrath] [Damage!]
Dice Rolled:[ 14 d10 ] 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8, 9, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 8 at target 6)
[Gut Song] (Re-declaring;
Rage 1: Block ithaqua.
Rage 2: Grab table, throw at Hastur)
[Null Moon] [Zhar
Soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 5, 8 (Failure at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Zhar
Nooo I want to liiiiive!]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 6, 7, 7, 10 (Success x 1 at target 8)
[Gut Song] (Rage 1: Claw Ithaqua. Dex 5 + Brawl 3 + 2 Ancestors. Diff 6. FUCKER!)
Dice Rolled:[ 10 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Gut Song] (Strength 6 + 1 Claw + 1 Sux. ABIDE!)
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 6, 9 (Failure at target 6)
[Tongue Twister] RAAAAAAAAGE! DIE LLOR!
Dex + Brawl + Hispo = 3+4+2= 9 diff 5 – reroll 10s
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 5 at target 5) Re-rolls: 1
[Tongue Twister] DIIIIIIIIIIIE!
Str + Hispo + Bite + (suxx-1) = 4+3+2 = 9 + 4
Dice Rolled:[ 13 d10 ] 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 8, 9, 9 (Success x 7 at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Lloigor
Soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 3, 7, 9, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Cthugha
R1: Brawl+Dexterity (+1): Claw Wrath! +2 diff (on the ground).]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 3, 9, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 8)
[Null Moon] [Damage: Strength +4 (Crinos) +1 (claw) +3 (suxx).] [A]
Dice Rolled:[ 11 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 7, 7, 9, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Wrath] [Soak]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 7, 7, 9, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Theron
Damage on Zhar.] [A]
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 3, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 7 at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Zhar
Ded!]
[Oncoming Storm] [ 1R – Claw Cthuga – 4d6 ]
[Oncoming Storm] [ 1R – Claw Cthuga – 4d6 ]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 4, 4, 10 (Failure at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Ithaqua
R1: Brawl+Dexterity (+1): Claw Thomas! -1 pool (wound penalties).]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Damage: Strength +4 (Crinos) +1 (claw) +1 (suxx).] [A]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 8 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Oops. That was supposed to be 10, not 1!]
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 1, 4, 5, 6, 6, 6, 7, 8, 8 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Hastur
R1: Athletics+Dexterity (+1): Run run run!]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 5, 5, 6, 7, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Thomas
Soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 2, 2, 2, 5, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Thomas
R2: Claw Ithaqua. Dex 5 + Brawl 3 + 2 Ancestors.]
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Damage: Strength +4 (Crinos) +1 (claw) +0] [A]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 1, 7, 7, 8, 9, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Gut Song] (Strength 6 + 1 Claw, damage. ABIDES!)
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 3, 3, 5, 5, 5, 10 (Failure at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Ithaqua
Shit!]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Wrath] [Rage Bite on Cthugha]
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 1, 3, 4, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 7 at target 3)
[Wrath] [Damage]
Dice Rolled:[ 14 d10 ] 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 8, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Cthugha
Ack!]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Tongue Twister] Rage 2 – Bite Cthugha! DIE FUCKER!
Dex + Brawl + Hispo = 3+4+2= 9 diff 5 – reroll 10s
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 8, 8, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 8 at target 5) Re-rolls: 1
[Tongue Twister] DIE!
Str + Hispo + Bite + (suxx-1) = 4+3+2 = 9 + 7
Dice Rolled:[ 16 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 8, 9, 9, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Tongue Twister]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 4 (Failure at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Cthugha
Aaaack!]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 9 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Wrath] [R2 Bite on Cth]
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 7, 8, 10 (Success x 4 at target 3)
[Wrath] [Damage]
Dice Rolled:[ 10 d10 ] 2, 2, 5, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 6 at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Cthugha
Aaaaaack!]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 3, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Null Moon] [ROUND TWO — FIGHT
Thomas: 5A
Wrath: OK
Rory: OK
Cthugha: 3A
Lloigor: Incapped
Theron: OK
Rita: OK
Coraline: OK
Lee: OK
Ithaqua: 3A
Zhar: Incapped
Hastur: OK
Go go go go!]
[Null Moon] [Hastur
Reflexive: Rage-shift to Glabro.
1: Maintain Grapple.
R1: Run run run run!
Zhar
Incapped!
Ithaqua
1a: Chase Lee.
1b: Grapple Lee.
R1: Run run run run!]
[Liadan Whelan] [1a: Run to the bar!]
[Coraline Emerson] [1a: Shoot whatever she can. [WP]
1b: Again.
Because like Albert said.. the definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. \o/]
[Null Moon] [Rita
1: Shoot Thomas!]
[Oncoming Storm] [ 1a Claw Cthugha]
[Null Moon] [Lloigor
Incapped!
Cthugha
1: Cross Gauntlet!]
[Tongue Twister] 2 rage – split first action
1a. Bite
1b. bite
1R. bite
2r. bite – die Cthuga!
[Wrath] [1a. Bite Cth WP
1b. Bite Cth]
[Gut Song] (Spend WP for resistance.
Split action: 1a) Grapple (Hold) Ithaqua
1b) Use as Shield against Rita’s shot
Rage 1: Renew Grapple
Rage 2: Bite Ithaqua)
[Oncoming Storm] [ re-declare – 1a Follow after Cthugha – Sidestep ]
[Gut Song] (Strength 6 + Brawl 3 + 2 ancestors. – 2 for wounds)
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 3, 4, 4, 5, 7, 8, 8, 8, 9 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Gut Song] (Re-roll. Split dice pool. -2 more)
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6 (Failure at target 6)
[Gut Song] (Second action. -5 for Wound penalties and splits. +1 Diff for changing)
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 6, 6, 7, 8, 8, 10 (Success x 6 at target 6)
[Wrath] [1a Bite -2]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 6 at target 3) [WP]
[Wrath] [Dam]
Dice Rolled:[ 13 d10 ] 2, 2, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 9, 9, 9, 9 (Success x 8 at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Cthugha
Soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 3, 4, 5, 6, 6, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Cthugha
Noooo I want to liiive!]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 6, 9 (Success x 1 at target 8)
[Tongue Twister] Redeclare –
1a: Cross back realm side – we be finished here, yo.
1b: get ass into the bar to help Thomas
1c: BITE BAD GUY. BAD, BADGUYS!
[Tongue Twister] [RE REDECARE. CROSSING OVER DAMMIT. AND THATS ALL.]
[Tongue Twister] [come on baby, light my fire…]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 2, 2, 5, 9 (Success x 1 at target 8)
[Oncoming Storm] [ Sidestep – 6d8 + WP *gazes fondly in the pool of blood8 ]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 (Success x 2 at target 8) [WP]
[Null Moon] [Rita
1: Firearms+Dexterity: Shoot–looks like Ithaqua!]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 3, 6, 10 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Damage: 8 +0] [L]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 2, 3, 5, 8, 8, 8, 10, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Ithaqua
Ack!]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Coraline Emerson] [1a: Shoot, -2, Diff 4 [close range], [WP]]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 3, 3, 4 (Success x 2 at target 4) [WP]
[Coraline Emerson] [Damage]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 3, 3, 6, 6, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Hastur
Soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 2, 3, 4, 4, 6, 8 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Coraline Emerson] [1B: pew pew?]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 7, 10 (Success x 2 at target 4)
[Coraline Emerson] [Damage]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 7, 7, 9, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Hastur
Soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Liadan Whelan] [dex + ath!: c’mon, kahseeno, let the pretty redhead live!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 3, 5, 6, 8, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Ithaqua
1: Brawl+Strength (+4): Lemme Go! -1 pool (wound penalties).]
Dice Rolled:[ 10 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Hastur
1: Brawl+Strength (+4): Maintain Grapple!]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 3, 3, 4, 4, 6, 6, 7, 8 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Gut Song] (Bite Ithaqua: Dex 5 + Brawl 3 + 2 ancestors. Diff 5 + 1 diff change. – 2 partial immobilization. Diff 4 total.)
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 7, 10 (Success x 5 at target 4)
[Gut Song] (Strength 6 + 1 Bite + 4 Sux.)
Dice Rolled:[ 10 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Gut Song] (Whoops, 1 More)
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 6 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Ithaqua
Soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 2, 2, 3, 5, 9, 10 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Gut Song] (Rage 2: Bite. Diff 5 – 2 for Partial Immobilization. -2 dice for wounds (applied to last roll as well))
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 3, 5, 8, 8, 10 (Success x 2 at target 3)
[Gut Song] (Strength 6 + 1 Bite + 1 sux. THIS IS FOR MAMA!)
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 4, 5, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Ithaqua
Ack!]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 4, 7, 7, 7, 9, 9 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Null Moon] So sooner does that shotgun pump itself than does Gut Song lash out at the darker of the two Spirals, his claws singing through the air and tearing a large gash in the Fostern Ahroun’s neck and shoulder. Blood flies in an arc, splattering the two kinswomen in front of him; his jaws have less success, scraping off of the creature’s flesh as he rolls with the blow. Behind them, the shotgun bellows and spits a hail of pellets towards the fracas, but doesn’t find flesh. Coraline finds similarly bad luck when she fires off two quick shots at the dark-haired creature who had inspired such terrible lust within her, then finds her wrist grabbed by the redhead at her side and tugged towards the bathrooms. Lee runs, and fast, but not fast enough. The dark-furred monster is momentarily distracted by glowering at the Skald, striking him with icy-blooded terror as his companion turns and gives chase to the two young women, wrapping his giant arms around Coraline and lifting her bodily off the ground. The Skald remains in action, tamping down his terror to swing his claws at the Ahroun; they scrape the flesh but don’t find purchase. The Ahroun, however, opens up a gaping smile across Gut Song’s abdomen: blood and viscera spill from the wound, and the downy-furred Philodox sprints across the bar with his much-smaller captive in tow.
In the Umbra, the furious lupus lunges forward, knocking the scaly Galliard to the ground with a touch and locking his fangs into the shoulder of their Theurge. With a ferocious shake of his head, he removes the Spiral’s arm from his shoulder, causing a shriek of rage and pain, spilling the first of the night’s blood onto the glistening Umbral asphalt. The red-furred dire wolf snaps her jaws and misses, but that doesn’t deter her from striking again. Her second bite hits home, and she deposits the horned Full Moon’s intestines on the ground at his feet. Wrath tears the Theurge’s throat out, dropping him to the ground in a nearly-decapitated heap; the creature is dead when he hits the earth, but a shudder of Rage saves his hideous life. For now. The horned Ahroun finds himself dropping to the ground a moment later as Tongue Twister tears what’s left of his intestines free from his body. The pack’s Galliard swipes at Wrath, but doesn’t do so much as ruffle his fur. Eyes of the Oncoming Storm flies in from across the street and bites the Theurge, removing his head from his body and leaving him steaming on the ground, wholly dead now. The two Ahrouns face off against the prostrate Galliard, and it takes three attacks for a laceration to open itself up in the creature’s flesh.
Back in the bar, Gut Song makes one and then two attempts to grapple the Full Moon, the second leaving him clinched so securely that he cannot even begin to think about escaping. The shot gun pumps and spits again, but the grizzled bartender is having no luck injuring any of the monsters in front of her. Her resolve gives out, and she drops the gun, running through a door leading to the back room and slamming it behind her. As she’s being carted towards the door, Coraline lodges a bullet in her now-Glabro assailant’s thigh, but it fails to slow him down. Lee tears to the now-abandoned bar as the dark-furred Ahroun struggles with her savior, who bites twice at the Spiral’s neck and manages to draw a bit of blood. The Full Moon snarls in fury, but cannot break free.
Meanwhile, Wrath lives up to his name, nearly decapitating the Galliard with a gnash of his teeth. Seeing their foes dropped around them like flies, the Ahroun and the Theurge decide to head back across the Gauntlet and rejoin the fray. The Shadow Lord shimmers out of sight far quicker than does the Fiann, finding himself back in the parking lot several seconds before the female.
[Null Moon] [ROUND THREE — FIGHT
Thomas: 5A
Rory: OK, crossing Gauntlet
Theron: OK
Coraline: OK
Lee: OK
Ithaqua: 3A
Hastur: OK
Go go go go!]
[Null Moon] [Actually, Hastur is 1L and Ithaqua is 5A. Carry on!]
[Null Moon] [Hastur
1: Let Coraline go.
R1: Fuckin’ run!
Ithaqua
1a: Bite Thomas.
1b: Bite Thomas.
R1: Bite Thomas again!]
[Liadan Whelan] [1a: Make molotovs like a motherfucker! +WP
1b: Throw one at Hastur!]
[Coraline Emerson] [1a: SHOOT. [WP]
1b. AGAIN.]
[Oncoming Storm] [ 1A move to Thomas
1b Heal Thomas ]
[Tongue Twister] [Twiddles thumbs whilst crossing Gauntlet. how long is this flight anyway?!]
[Gut Song] (1 more WP for Resistance! Hang in their Fenrir!
Split Action:
1) A Bite Ithaqua.
1) B Bite Ithaqua
1) C Bite Ithaqua.
Rage 1: release Ithaq, run run run to Hastur!
Rage 2: Sweep hastur!)
[Gut Song] (Bite 1: Dice pool 10 – 5 for splits and wounds. Diff 5 – 2 for Partial Immobility.)
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 2, 2, 2, 4, 5 (Success x 2 at target 3)
[Gut Song] (Strength 6 + 1 Bite + 1 Sux. C’MON YOU FUCKER!)
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Ithaqua
Soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 1, 6, 9, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Gut Song] (Strength 6 + 1 bite + 3 Sux)
Dice Rolled:[ 10 d10 ] 1, 2, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Ithaqua
Soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Ithaqua
Nooo I want to liiiive!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 6, 8 (Failure at target 8)
[Oncoming Storm] [1a Move to Thomas
1b 1Gnosis Spent – MT 7d2-3]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 4, 6, 6, 6 (Success x 4 at target 2)
[Coraline Emerson] [1a: Shoot. -2 [split],[WP]]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 3, 10, 10 (Success x 3 at target 4) [WP]
[Coraline Emerson] [damage]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 1, 5, 8, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Null Moon] [Hastur
Soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 1, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Coraline Emerson] [1b: SHOOT YOU BITCH]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 1, 2 (Botch x 1 at target 4)
[Coraline Emerson] [damage]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 4, 4, 5, 7 (Failure at target 6)
[Liadan Whelan] [1a: FAI-YAH!
1b: Throw it at Hastur!]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 1, 9 (Success x 1 at target 4) [WP]
[Null Moon] [Hastur
Soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 6, 6, 7, 7 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Gut Song] (Rage 2: Sweep Attack on Hastur.)
Dice Rolled:[ 10 d10 ] 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 6, 7, 7, 9, 10 (Success x 2 at target 8)
[Gut Song] The air is brittle as Theron punches through the Gauntlet, a mixture of blood, alcohol, terror and wrath, creeping into nostrils and pushing adrenaline levels past the red Bar:
Thomas and the hulking Ahroun Spiral are locked together, teeth gnashing at one another, spittle coating bloodied fur as the steadily growing pool of red beneath them, intermingles freely. The Skald’s whines and snapping jaws are almost desperate, the fading vestiges of his Anger, pushing back at the clustering sensation of Fear riding heart and mind. Teeth ratchet out to clamp around the throat of the Monster, ripping free a chunk of hide, flesh and internals, the pulse of an artery visible for a second before gouts of blood rush forward to wash down the falling creature’s front.
No sooner, has Thomas reached forward to clutch that artery between claws, crushing it whole, then does the soothing comfort of Gaia’s blessing rush through fur and flesh, devouring the wounds inflicted to his stomach and abdomen, a miraculous jolt of calm and cool lacing itself through guts and body to leave behind a jagged laceration that dims the Skald’s movements only slightly.
Both Garou glance one another in the eye, Fenrir to Shadowlord, a moment of tense uncertainty suddenly leaping there, quickly quashed by the eruption of a desperate shriek from the Bar top and the bark of gunfire:
Coraline, clutched in the arms of a Glabro shape, hulking and bursting through tables and chairs as he barrels his way toward the door, screams and manages to set off several shots from her gun. The bullets graze fleshy thigh, a brief, guttural grunt of-
“Bitch!” Erupting from the monster, even as one arm reaches out in his charge to batter the Door down physically, on his way outside.
The second, sharp shriek erupts from Lee. The tall Fianna Kin has scrambled her way behind the bar, sliding over pools of spilled liquids to grab up a bottle of Gold Sauza. The dish rag the old Bartender had been using moments before the attack is tucked into the bottle’s mouth and neck with improvised efficiency (odd the reflexes one can pick up in this line of work). Lee’s lighter makes an appearance, a few quick steps made behind the bar, as the rag is set alight and thrown at the fleeing Glabro’s back.
Glass shatters. Flames erupt and the howl of surprise is dwarfed by a sudden Fwoosh that tears through the interior like the sudden bloom of illumination. Eyes squint to focus for a moment…
…Thomas bolts forward, climbing to all fours momentarily as the Rage fuels movements and throws him bodily through tables and chairs, scattered already in the fleeing Spiral’s wake, to crash a shoulder and arm into the legs of the immolating villain, still clutching a desperately screaming Coralina in the process.
The three go down in a fiery mess, Coraline’s furious shrieks of both outrage and adrenaline fueled insanity, lasting moments only as Theron rushes in to grab her by ankle and arm and drag her bodily from amidst the flames, singes, holes and char marking her clothing and hair.
Thomas turns to right himself, mutual growls of anger spreading from between Crinos lips, as the Spiral surges into his own War-form-
-Then comes a Pop–
-And the Spiral’s growl is interrupted with a furious and visceral squelch, as the back of his head explodes in gore, spraying over Thomas’ legs which gather beneath him slowly.
Rory crouches behind the kill, eyes regarding the fallen spiral with almost innocent aplomb, claws dripping where the brain matter clings to the curve and crevice of each talon.
…And the fire continues to burn around the Skald and the steadily crisping corpse of the Spiral philodox, the bar sounding with brief tinkles of glass, as things begin to settle around the Garou and Kin.
[Tongue Twister] (OOC: slight edit:)
Rory crouches behind the kill, eyes regarding the fallen spiral with almost innocent aplomb, maw dripping where the brain matter clings to the curve and crevice of each wicked tooth.
[Gut Song] (OOC: Edit!
Lee stares and reacts with a clenched jaw of tension and hard eyes for the moment)
[Null Moon] [Thanks, guys! That’s it for me!]
[Coraline Emerson] A roasted, sizzling, crackling, slaughtered Tainted Philodox that was… and a shaken, singed, frazzled, hoarse [barely Blooded] Silver Fang kinfolk who gathers herself up with a grunt, stalks back to the ruined form and with a double handed grip empties out the last of the pistols clip into the corpse, her mouth a grim rictus of bared teeth and heavy breathing. And when the trigger resounds with a dry, impotent click, click, click she turns the bit of metal over in her hand and bludgeons with grunts and heaving snarls more animal than human, until undoubtedly pulled away.
[Gut Song] The Skald rises, brushing aside the flames of the Molotov without a hint of recognition for their heat. He is homid in an instant, wincing at the pain rushing over his stomach. Residual and ignored for the moment, the haunt of his gaze holding in the air even as he addresses Theron-
-Interrupted by the jerk of the Skald’s head at the bark of more gunfire, then on to Theron, nodding at the Kin-
“Get her home.”
And ’round toward Lee, breath pluming in hard gasps, one hand on his stomach.
“Take the shotgun and go with the Theurge.” He points at Theron. “Keep out of sight and do not return here.” His gaze then falls to the pair of homid shapes that have sembled in death. A flickering sneer on his face, for the vague whimpers from the backroom and the scared old woman waiting there.
The flames from the Molotov begin to climb the walls.
[Tongue Twister] She tips her head, almost curiously before she gives a vigorous shake, blood and gore flying from her form until she stands, and melts down into Monkey skin again. Her rage a low thrum now, nothing of the fire that near burns her at all other times. Rory lifts a hand, slender, fragile looking, and tucks her curls back behind her ear, listening as Thomas gives orders, nudging the bodies closer together.
She’ll stay until dismissed – and then she disappears near as silently as she arrived – back to her own haunts.
[Gut Song] “…Earned your worth, Full Moon. I require a name for the effort…”
Thomas motions to the bodies and then toward the centre of the Bar, where he begins to push broken chairs and tables together. A pyre to be constructed. The words, however, as the Kin and the Theurge depart, are for Rory.
[Tongue Twister] She peeks up at him through dusty lashes, face and neck covered with the blood of the enemies, though she hasn’t a scratch on her. Nothing touched her tonight, other than a very sticky gauntlet. She doesn’t quite meet his gaze, and she blushes under his praise, color spreading under freckles, as she offers him a shy little smile, and concentrates on helping build the pyre.
“Rory. Tongue Twister. Fiann mull foon. Cliath.”
She doesn’t seem to note the mistake in her words, the odd little verbal dyslexia – hearing only what she intended to say, rather than what she did.
[Gut Song] Thomas pauses as a Chair is hucked onto the stack, gaze snapping toward her at the mention of her moon. Or the mismention. A casual flicker is tossed to her hands, that same glance having dusted her lack of claws in the Hispo shape. A momentary grunt is all it brings though, Thomas returning to piling the efforts high. The wild tension refuses to leave his frame, the wrack of the night’s escapades having taking it’s mental toll on the creature.
The fire was spreading, increasing the heat in the Bar and making a spectacle to the outside that was less capable of being ignored by the general public, then gunshots.
“…You earned your moon, tonight. The Spirits know it as does this Skald.” As the pyre grows, the Skald steps back and surveys quickly.
“We’re done here. Time for you to leave.”
It was the dismissal she’d be looking for, the Skald turning toward the bar and the door behind it.
[Tongue Twister] She slides the chair into the pile, and when he glances at her hands, she curls her fingers to her palms, reflexively. So much power, so much wasted purity in the hands of one who can never pass it on… so much shame…
She manages a very, very soft “Thanks,” before he dismisses her, and she nods. One more look around, and she slips from the side door, into the welcome dark of the alleyway – and then off somewhere… because somewhere nearby is home.