[Marni] The streets are home. All the streets, any streets – even the most affluent ones. These are not those streets, however. This is the ‘ville, and here the streets are not where little girls should be walking all on their own – except little girls that turn into monsters and throat the assholes that piss them off.
Most of them, anyway.
[fuckinlords]
Now, most folks find out about a certain “blessed event” because they’re spewing everywhere. Not Marni. No, Marni’s even hungrier than usual, and can’t seem to stop eating. Which is why, right now, sitting on a bus bench, she’s chowing down on two of the most disgusting looking, fully loaded, heartburn inducing, special hotdogs that she’d conned from the boy at the AM/PM on the corner. She’s got mustard on her fingers, and a spot of ketchup at the corner of her lips and an open bag of doritos leaning against her thigh. Her pack is in her lap, and her legs swinging under the bench as she makes happy little ‘i’ma be FULL soon’ sounds…
[Adamidas] There’s a Black Fury in the trashcan.
This isn’t where Black Furies belong. They don’t go in the trash at all- they’re recyclable. They biodegrade quit well and, as such, someone should at the very least compost them! But no, this Fury was in a trashcan, about knee deep in a trashcan, in a particularly dark, dank, terrible alleyway-
dumpster diving. She looks down, she pushes something to the side, and gives it all a good shove. The trash rustles uncomfortably, and the Fury keeps on digging. Like she saw something, like there was gold at the bottom of the dumpster, and if she could only get to it, she would have the best time of her life. The moon is getting closer and closer to full, and this particular brunette is incredibly aware.
“Aww, comeoncomeoutnow!” she opines.
[Marni] A voice in the Alley, in a dumpster (but not The Dumpster – as that is in another alley, near another cardboard fortress) and Marni looks over that direction, and watches, quietly, as she sees the feminine shadow pleading with the shadows below, begging them to come out.
Curious.
Marni licks her fingers, sucking the juices of the hot dog from her skin before digging into the second. She doesn’t say anything, not yet. She just watches.
[Simon] Simon is out jogging. Athletic pants tied at the waist, with long stripes running down the side. They were loosely fit and comfortable for what would apparently be quite a long jog. In fact his brow glistened with sweat, and if his hair weren’t already rather short it would likely be clinging tightly to his face. Steam rose off the surface of his body… Well his arms and chest where the tank top wasn’t covering. He was young and in amazing shape, the finely sculpted flesh was slightly hidden, however, behind the ink work that seemed to cover arms, chest, and up the side of his neck. He looked like a ruffian, a hoodlum, or generally someone you wouldn’t want a problem with. However he didn’t need the tattoos and stern face to ward others off his rage did that well enough.
Simon was a warrior, born, trained, and let loose upon the world. The simple fact he was out jogging at this very moment was a reflection of that fact. He knew the importance of keeping himself in shape, of pushing himself to his limits and then pushing himself beyond them. Technically he was still a growling boy even if what little growth he would do would be superficial at best.
Fuckinlords with their late night jogging.
[Oliver] The rumble of a powerful engine signals the imminent arrival of a certain young Rotagar. Bronzeville is where Joey goes to pit her precious Camaro against other modified vehicles. It’s where she goes to drive fast and hard and tear up the streets. It’s where she goes to race.
It’s still early yet for the latest little competition she wants to get in on, so she pulls her car into the lot of a nearby convenience store, looking for something to drink. She’s heading for the entrance when the sound of someone digging in trash catches her attention. Could just be rats. There’s a loud crash and rustle as garbage shifts. So. Maybe very big rats.
Joey moves past the nearby bus stop bench to investigate.
For now, she just leans against the corner of a building’s outer walls, arms crossed over her slim chest. Patiently waiting. The crinkle of a wrapper catches her attention briefly, and she gives the other No Moon an upward nod of greeting. Then turns her attention back to the alley.
[Adamidas] Maybe she could start framing her lack of perception differently. Maybe, instead, Adam could call it being driven. Ah, yes, driven, that was a good word for it. She was driven, she was singlemindedly focused on finding what was at the bottom of the trashcan. She reaches, she pushes things aside. And she moves, rustles carefully. Her eyes don’t waver and a few things are pushed to the side. Refuse tossed and soon enough she makes a pleased sound.
It carries, and she pulls back something that is difficult to see, cupped very neatly in her hands. The Fury holds it close, as though it is some guarded secret, as though she should want to keep it. She starts to look around the trashcan, finding that she’s about knee deep in muck and grime and keeping whatever was in her hands was more important than getting out of the trash.
“Huh,” she says. The fury wiggles, and very gently, very carefully takes whatever is in her palm and puts it in her jacket pocket (even though it is a little hot to be wearing a jacket). Whatever words they exchange are between herself and the pocketcreature. It might not even be an animate object.
Alethea Adamidas talks to concrete.
She puts her hands on the edge of the dumpster and pulls herself out.
[Oliver] [what’cha got there?]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 2, 7, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Marni] Her eyes flick toward Joey as she moves past the bench, and she arches a brow. Joey nods, and Marni returns the salute with a lift of her hotdog, before another bite goes down the hatch. Then her attention re…
…no. it turns, not returns, just turns, as there’s a Jogger and he reaks of ShadowLord and there’s a low, low, growl at the back of her throat before she catches it and silences it with a swallow.
Fortunately, it’s not one she knows, so she doesn’t lose her appetite. (As if she really could…)
And then, it’s the girl in the alleyway and her find. Far more interesting, for sure.
[Marni] .
to Marni
[Simon] He was only out jogging, he certainly wasn’t looking for much of anything more than a jog. The sight of a familiar face, however, specifically Joey peeking into an Alleyway he finds himself brought to a sudden stop. A hand lifts in greeting, a militant salute to Joey as he comes to the mouth of the Alley and finds himself peeking into it. A blink when he spots Adamidas as well. “That’s just fuckin’ weird.”He says to himself.
He stops jogging in place and almost immediately he falls forward. Hands on his knees as he finds himself overcome by the overwhelming urge to breathe which he does deeply and fully. Oh god this air stuff was awesome, he could feel it both cooling and being sucked in along the blood stream to provide more fuel for his body to replenish that which it’s burned.
“I wasn’t exactly expecting to run into anyone tonight.”He says as he pushes himself into a standing position and pants heavily. He had been pushing himself quite roughly but it would pretty much appear that is how the Shadow lord keeps himself in shape.
The smell of hot dog pulls his attention rather quickly, however, and his eyes soon shift towards the one eating one. Passions ignite, and the full moon’s stomach churns as he eyes the tasty meaty, calorie filled treat. Must eat strange woman’s hot dog. His goal has been set now how to go about it?
[Oliver] It’s a good night for Oliver as far as perception goes. Earlier, while on a hunt with a certain Fostern Godi, only she noticed that two balefire blasts incinerated a jaggling, not one. Only she found the summoning ritual hidden behind the undergrowth and trees of the Wyld area of Grant Park.
And now, leaning against the brick facade of a building, only she and the Fury know what the Fury has pulled from the dumpster. Joey’s brows lift, her dark eyes brighten, and she pushes off from her leaning spot. Someone with Lord breeding is getting closer, is probably close enough to pick up her own bloodlines, but Joey only has eyes for the little Theurge and her burden. Stepping into the alley, and toward Adam, she whispers, “What is that?”
[Adamidas] She jumps in freezing lakes and hangs out in dumpsters, and Gaia only knows what else. Maybe she lives in the moment, who really knows. She looks at the bottom of her coat, and starts to zip it up. She is very… very careful with herself.
Adam’s playing it cool, you see. She’s playing it close, you see, because she has a little friend in her pocket and she seems very keen on making sure that it stays there.
She looks from left, to see Simon and gives a little wave, and she also notices Marni. Her voice drops, and she looks at Joey. Her eyes are wide, her lips are upturned slightly, and she speaks quietly. She whispers, and even though her voice doesn’t carry too well at the moment.
[Marni] Joey pops into the mouth of the alley, whispering to the shadow, and Marni arches a brow slightly – until her gaze shifts toward the [fuckinglord] one staring at her now. She takes another bite of her hot dog – only a couple left, now – and chews it contemplatively while watching him watch her.
She says nothing. Just watches, chews, and swallows with the aid of a gulp from the slurpee (cherry and blueberry, mixed, natch) that leans against her other thigh – a Dorito from the bag, and it’s back to the dog. A meal fit for a [gutter] Queen.
[Simon] He crosses his arms over his chest, and his eyes follow that hot dog. So much hunger, so much need. He opens his mouth to speak, before snapping it shut, then opens it again when she looks at him.”That hot dog looks delicious. You remember what they used to teach people when they were young about sharing?”He finally says in an almost pleading voice as the woman teases him with food in the same way a stripper might tease a paying customer. He was a growing boy who was constantly hard at work, those calories were necessary to help him build muscle.
[Marni] She snorts, and damned if she doesn’t plop another bite into her mouth before she answers. In fact, it seems the last thing in the world she intends to do is share her meal with him, and after she swallows, what she says might just confirm that.
“Ya remember what they fuckin told ya bout tryin t’take food from a BeeGee? Specially a HUNGRY one?”
Good way to lose some fingers – only that, if you’re lucky…
[Oliver] She’s dimly aware of Simon’s proximity. Someone says something to her, or to the group at large, she’s not really sure. It’s not that she’s actively ignoring anyone, it’s not on purpose. She’s not listening to the fuss over hot dogs behind her. Joey’s attention is fixed on Adamidas and the pocket where she saw her put her find.
“Cool,” she says, stepping closer. “What’re you gonna do with it? What can you do with it? Is there a way to separate them without them gettin’ hurt?”
As Joey steps closer, Adam will notice something is different about the Rotagar. She feels remarkably like a normal human. There is no blanket of Rage surrounding her. And she smells clean, like she’s recently taken a shower. The fragrance of cheap shampoo and soap is still heavy on her skin.
“Can I see it?”
One would almost think the moon was darkening toward New instead of swelling to Full, for all the questions that begin to tumble from the Rotagar’s mouth.
[Simon] He looks back with an almost pouty voice as she wolfs the food down. He looks at the other girls a moment before looking back at her.”Well what if I am hungry too? You know I would think having my gratitude would be a good thing! I can totally do stuff! Awesome stuff like lift dressers, and beat the crap outta people!”He says touting the many reasons it would be beneficial for Marni to surrender her hot dog to his stomach which is soon growling.
“You could even think of it like diplomacy… Feed a starving man and make an Ally! It’s totally a win/win for everyone. Or you could be totally selfish and gobble it up all for yourself, then you would win… But would you really win? And for how long would that win last?”He asks her with a charming youthful grin.
”
[Marni] She snorts, as he goes on and on, and then plops the last bite into her mouth. A chew, a swallow, and she grabs her slurpee and takes a long drink. “Too bad you’re a ‘Lord. Mighta fell for that shit otherwise.”
Bitter, Marni. Very Bitter. “Though I’m sure it’d give you props with your higher ups if you’d managed to charm the food from the hated prego streetrat.”
Then she relents – a tiny bit – and holds out the bag of chips “You can have some doritos though.”
[Adamidas] Joey doesn’t… feel the same. She feels like Joey, yes. Her eyes are the same her smile is the same, but she smells like cheap shampoo and calm. She doesn’t taste like rage, not like she normally does. Joey is normally just as intense as most philodoxes Adam knows…
Well…
Knew.
Chicago is different.
Right now, it’s the Fury that seems to be exuding rage and that sort of warmth-and-tension. She starts to unzip her coat, opening it enough to have a few words. She chitters something. And that’s the appropriate word- Alethea chitters. It’s an oddly appropriate sound, though it also sounds remarkably like nonsense.
Back to Joey, “well, I think there is. There should be. I don’t think it intends to take up home forever, I think it’s just… well… I don’t know. I could ask it to leave nicely? Find it a better home. I was thinking I’d take it back to maelstrom and let it run around for a little while… Find out if it got separated from something bigger or find out where it came from. I don’t want to send it away, but I want it to be somewhere that it can thrive.”
What can she do with it? The Fury shrugs.
“Iuhnuh,” she says.
Then, very, very carefully, she starts to reach into her jacket. And, with both hands, she takes the little thing out. Adam looks left, then right, as if she’s trying to sell Joey a stolen watch or crack or something. Nope, just peddling Wonder.
“Cup your hands,” she says.
[Simon] He smiles back to her and tilts his head.”Too bad I’m a Lord. Last I recalled we were trying to get away from that whole racism thing! I mean I never held anything against anyone who didn’t deserve it!”He says with a nod of his head then a frown as she finishes the hot dog off.
He then rolls his eyes and shakes his head.”My higher ups couldn’t give a rats ass what I do. I would think stealing food from preggo street rats would be low on their list of grand achievements.”He pauses to think.”No actually they’d think it was funny but see I don’t lean so much in that direction.”He says with a nod of his head.”See I judge each and every individual by their merit, and worth and could give a rat’s ass who their mom or pop fucked. That’s not what I’m about, hell it’s not even what we’re about…”He adds with a little laugh.”I’d rather spend my time with a street rat than some bitch with an ego problem and a stick so far up her ass she can’t bend her neck forward enough to see her goddamn toes.”He says with a grin as he walks up to slide onto the Bench and seat himself with his feet on the bench itself and his ass on the back of the bench.
Her offer of Doritos is met with a hand diving in and soon enough they were picked up and he began to pop them into his mouth aggressively chewing them.”Oh my god this is delicious! Remind me to kill the next person who says anything bad about you!”
[Marni] He launches into his views and she just blinks at him, right up till the last bit after he’s snagged some chips. At that, she smirks. “And if it’s you’re Tribal leader? He’s got a whole lot of bullshit to pedal about me right now…”
She slurps some of her drink, and then wipes her mouth with the back of her hand – then belches. Sexy.
She glances over at the alley, where Joey and Adam are conversing and looking at…something… Pedaling Wonder, or something like that… then back up to Simon. “Don’t mind me. I’m just not in a very good mood.”
[Oliver] Cup your hands.
Joey holds out her hands. They’re strong hands, rough and calloused from sports and labor as well as from war. And in the darkness of the alley, Adam can see the flash of Joey’s teeth as she smiles. Shoulders hunching, Joey positions herself to block the others from seeing what the two young females are doing.
And she holds out her hands to Adamidas, conscious of her strength.
[Marni] .
to Marni
[Simon] He shrugs his shoulders.”Aw man! Don’t ask me to kill my own!”He says with a laugh.”We do enough of that in our spare time, last thing we need is for others to start asking us to keep the practice going.”He says rolling his eyes. It was true the only other tribe who likely killed their own more than Shadow Lords was probably Fenrir. Though Shadow Lords probably killed a lot more… Who weren’t their own.
“If you’ve got a problem with the guy bring the problem to him and ask him what he wants to do about it. He’ll likely respect you a little more for it.”He says with a shrug of his shoulders.”I dunno what to say, but I do know you fed me so you’re pretty fuckin’ kickass in my book!”He pops another Dorito into his mouth and chomps it down swiftly.
“But then again I’m not in this city to play politics.”He then presents a hand out to her.”Simon Zahradnik by the way. New to town, and looking to learn my way around, make friends and all that jazz.”
[Adamidas] Her hands move out to rest over Joey’s. They’re fairly close together. And the female looks at her, and she waits. Her eyes meet Joey’s for a second, and it’s only clear for a second that Adam’s eyes are grey and not brown. Most of the time, people look at them and see “dark” and think “brown.” They’re grey. It’s odd because the rest of her is in shades of brown.
She smiles, and her shoulders are forward. Joey’s hands are strong. Adam’s are calloused from where she’s pulled back a bow too many times. Notched in the places where she’s held a pencil too tightly. Her nails are short. She doesn’t smell like cheap shampoo and soap. Alethea smells a little like the trashcan and fresh water and grass.
Plop.
She uncups her hand, and something small and incredibly light sprawls into Joey’s hands. It reaches out and holds her palm as though it expects this bottom to drop out, too. Soon enough, it sits up and bows its head forward so it can investigate her hand more carefully. Its nose is cold, and it pokes the place where her ring finger meets the rest of her hand once… twice… three times…
Adam is beaming.
[Marni] Bring it to him.
Bring it to him, and he’d respect her.
She snorts – then laughs outright – and shakes her head. “Oh kid, you sure do gotta lot to fuckin learn…”
She reaches up and takes his hand briefly. “Marni.” S’all he gets, for now.
[Oliver] [WP: Fenrir don’t giggle, +1 diff ’cause they sometimes really want to]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 4, 5, 8 (Success x 1 at target 7)
[Oliver] Joey glances up at Adam just before a small furry weight lands in her cupped hands. That’s how she sees that Adam’s eyes are not just dark. They’re not brown like Joey’s, they’re not brown at all. They’re grey, dark like storm clouds over the lake.
Then the creature is in her hands, and Joey forgets everything else. She forgets that there’s a race starting in about thirty minutes a few blocks over. She forgets that Simon is behind her, talking to Marni. She almost forgets that Adam is there, except that the girl is in her peripheral and can’t be completely ignored.
The little thing is so tiny and soft. Joey’s whole body tenses with the effort to keep her hands relaxed, and she’s grinning. No, smiling. It’s broad and beaming, and suddenly she breathes out hard. It could be a laugh, if she would release it as such. But if she let out a laugh it would be a giggle, and Joey doesn’t do girly things like giggle. At least not in front of non-packmates. Especially not in front of people she hardly knows, that she’s just met or has only seen at moots.
“Ohhhh my fucking god,” she whispers so that only Adam can hear her. “It’s so fucking cute!”
[Marni] .
to Marni
[Marni] .
to Marni
[Adamidas] She watches carefully, and trust goes unspoken. Adam just plops the little creature into Joey’s hands.
And it topples, pokes Joey’s finger with its nose. Its ears perk forward, and little pawhandthings come up to scratch behind them. Its head bows down, and its large blue eyes close while it scratches. Little white ears stay forward as it reaches for a particularly difficult spot. The creature opens its eyes again, and pads over to the edge of Joey’s hand.
It creeps up, fearless, and pokes its tiny head over the side of her thumb. The epiphling has no luck in doing so, though, and it topples down back into her palms. The sides are too steep, and it is distinctly lacking in useful climbing tools. It tries again.
Adam is watching the whole time. Her hands have come to rest parted, slightly, on either side of Joey’s in case the little bugger does manage to get out of her hands. She looks up, catches Joey’s smile, and returns it long enough before she looks back down. The Fury whispers back, “I told you it didn’t belong in a trashcan.”
She thinks, then whispers back, “do you think it’d like the caern?”
[Simon] He nods back to her then gives her a look of acknowledgment.”Marni? I’ve heard mention of you… Mila likes you.”He says with a nod of his head.”Since she’s my soon to be Alpha that makes you good people.”He then nods his head and shrugs his shoulders.”You’re right I do have a lot to learn, but I’ve also got a lot to teach as well.”He then leans back a little and draws his hand back.
“You could always find yourself a Shadow Lord pack who will back your ass up if the tribe is givin’ ya shit.”He says with a shrug of his shoulders and a bit of a smile.”I mean… I don’t mean to brag or anything but I happen to think that Mila and I would certainly make for some pretty damn good backup.”
[Simon] ((So sorry about that!))
to Marni
[Marni] She smirks, slightly, and shrugs. “We’ll see.”
She finishes the last bit of her slurpee, and then stands, stretching slightly, before she slings her pack over her shoulders and tosses her cup into the nearby can.
“Duty calls. You can have the rest.” A nod to the chips, and she turns, and heads down the street, soon dipping into an alley and disappearing into shadow.
[bedtime for Lessa. Thanks for playin – night!]
[Marni] np. i gotta sleep though. night.
to Simon