[Simon] Simon had called her, even given her an address for the location. He stood in the parking lot of the large building, looking upwards towards it. Cars lined the parking lot before him, and off to the side was a small playground now inhabited by young omen and women playing music and drinking.
Simon’s car was parked behind him, and he wore a brilliant smile on his face. He glimmered, glowed with excitement about what he was looking at. He called her out here in the evening for a reason and that reason… Well… Was towering before and around them.
[Stormbreaker] Mila stepped out of the shadows near by – she’d gotten there.. somehow. She was a sneaky little thing. The young woman was dressed in a dark sweatshirt, a pair of jeans and dark shoes tonight. Nothing fancy – she looked like she fit in here well enough.
“Hey Simon..”
[Simon] He heard her approach and his smile grew, he peeked over his shoulder before looking back at her.”What do you think? Do I know how to pick ’em or what?”He asks her curiously before grinning brightly and looking back towards one of the buildings.
“The quintessential “Projects” the area is called White Wall cause the buildings used to rise out of the area in every direction like a fortress. They’ve cut down the size to only a few thousand units with some nicer housing nearby. Doesn’t change the fact that Gang activity is a way of life out here. These people sit at the bottom, the world around them would just as soon bury them under the ground and forget about them. They struggle to survive… And they work damn hard at that. They don’t trust anyone… Especially not the police, or the government…”He looks back at her then looks back towards the buildings.”Since the Nineties the majority of the projects have been torn down in the hopes they would get rid of them… But it didn’t get rid of them just moved some of them elsewhere. But what it did do is create a power vaccum… One that a smart group of individuals could easily exploit.”He smiles.
“Think about it… Eyes and ears everywhere. Right here smack dab in the eye of the fucking storm. It’s only a matter of time before the Wyrm sinks it’s talons into these people and drives the last bit of hope and life from them. I say we change their fortunes… I say we deny the Wyrm yet another conquest. We get rid of the worst elements and those who can play by our rules we keep… Skim a little off whatever trades they’ve got going and keep eyes and ears on every level. In other words. A hostile takeover… Shouldn’t take more than a week before we’ve got this place under our boot.”
[Stormbreaker] Her gaze shifted up to the building and then to the other surroundings. “Hrm.. I see you’ve been thinking.. and doing some research. And, since you’ve done so much work – I’m guessing that you already know if the building is owned or not?”
Hands came to rest upon her hips as she stepped up beside him.
[Simon] He shakes his head.”Ownership isn’t the question… The buildings are owned by the city. Sure we could seek to claim ownership if we wanted… But that might take a while… In the meantime these things are like fortresses. Have you been inside? Solid concrete walls reinforced with steel… Barred windows even the balconies are barred. We procure ourselves a few rooms on the top floors put in some reinforced doors of our own and we’re set.”He says with a nod of his head.
“The city isn’t gonna touch these three buildings for a while yet. Not with the economy in the state it’s in… Last ones they tore down were in the nineties so we’re not exactly gonna be losing out on much.”He smiles and stands.”And the most beautiful part of all this? These places are used to violence… No one’s gonna find it too terribly suspicious if the occasional apartment blows up or if there’s a murder or two… In other words we’re a bit safer operating here than say in Lake View…”
[Stormbreaker] She was silent for a long moment. “Well thought out, Simon. You’ll have to run it by Thoth.. and if he thinks its a good idea as well.. we can speak to Ray about getting a permit or something – I’d rather not have issues with the law. Especially if we’re going to be the new law.”
“Lets go take a little tour.. I’m interested.”
[Simon] He nods and stands.”After you then…”He says with a smile, gesturing for her to lead the way. His eyes skimming around for a few seconds to make certain they weren’t being watched before he moves to join her.”The nice thing about the setup is that the residences are all packed tightly into a small area. Allows us to keep our eye on the equivalent of several neighborhoods worth of people in three buildings within a short walk of one another.”He says as they walk through the parking lot.
“We can also set up cameras and the like to keep an eye on who might be coming our way before hand. Though with properly secured doors we should all have the ability to keep our own residence but still be close enough to one another that we’re not in each others face all the time. Though I would recommend we slap some doors to connect our private residences up in case any of our homes are ever breached Backup will be right there.”
[Stormbreaker] “Uh.. I’m not going to give up my nice place to come live in this hole. I’d be happy to inhabit this place sometime, but my mate and myself will keep our condo.” Mila wasn’t trying to argue, she was just stating a fact. Carefully, she picked her way passed the garbage and the broken crack pipes until she found a window that was open. Easily enough, she lifted herself up, and headed inside.
She would have offered him a hand, but she didn’t want to insult him or anything.
[Stormbreaker] .. {Edit fairy!}.. and.. she goes in through the front door!
[Simon] He follows along with her and shakes his head.”Well that kinda defeats the purpose of setting up a collective pack residence now doesn’t it? A pack should live together for their own protection… No one said they had to sleep in the same fucking bed. But there is a reason Packs have been living together since the dawn of time. It’s the same reason people have been living together.”He shrugs his shoulders.
“It doesn’t make sense to break the pack up like that. What’s worse it endangers those who aren’t living close to the others. We’re all on someones hit list… I’d rather know that someone had my back when it comes to it.”
[Stormbreaker] Mila sighed very quietly. “We will have this discussion with Thoth. Just so you know, I do live somewhere nice because I hate cockroaches.. ” She paused just inside and stepped off to the side. “Show me where you were thinking, Simon..”
[Simon] He nods and leads her to the stairs. Opening one of the heavy doors and leading her up the stairwell all the way to the top floor. They walk along the hall which is lined with doors on one side and on the other is a heavy gate opened to the world. Likely erected to keep children from falling more than anything else. He drags his fingers along the gate and they walk past a small group of young men gathered in the hall talking. One of the men gets up but the second he sees Simon he backs up.
He grins and leads her into an actual hallway. Opening the heavy door and smiling.”Like I said… Reinforced walls.”He says tapping one of the doors.”The doors here are pretty heavy but we could make them heavier with a little work.”He says with a nod.”I figure we could snag all the apartments in this little corner for ourselves… We could pretty much set it up however we like.”
[Stormbreaker] Mila gave the men in the hallway a smirk – and no, it wasn’t the type that was inviting. It was the type of smirk that dared them to try it. She even had enough rage that they would think twice, or three times before messing with her.
She placed a hand on the wall.. “Do you think we could connect the apartments from the inside? And I mean, get through these walls type of thing..”
[Simon] He nods his head.”That’s how I figured we’d do it and sure of course we could… With the right equipment you can get through anything.:He says with a nod of his head.
[Stormbreaker] “That.. is why we need to purchase the apartments, and get the right permits. That way, we can get the big equipment out and not draw unwanted attention.” She walked over to the window to look out.
“How long have you been considering this?”
[Simon] He shrugs his head.”The past several days… We need somewhere we can establish ourselves. Somewhere where we can settle in and start looking towards expanding. Somewhere we can defend and protect… Somewhere we know and where we are in charge not the other way around.”
[Stormbreaker] Mila nodded. “I get what you’re saying. This location is good. I suppose we should check with the other packs to see if they’ve established themselves around here. I do think that Sparrow and her cousin live in this area.. but, they don’t really have a pack presence..”
[Simon] He tilts his head curiously.”Who are Sparrow and her cousin?”He asks her before leaning back against one of the walls.
[Stormbreaker] “Coggies.. so, not a serious threat. Though, I do like them. Roman is his name, I believe.. her cousins’ that is.”
[Stormbreaker] (Hi! I do think I might have lost Simon.. so.. Mila could come back outside. They are currently in some crappy mostly abandoned but still occupied public housing thing?)
to Rory
[Rory] (*L* sure, Rory wanders. I’ll figure out some reason for her to be around there)
to Stormbreaker
[Rory] (dootdedoo)
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 4, 6, 6, 6, 6, 7, 9, 9 (Success x 7 at target 6)
[Stormbreaker] Simon must have gotten lost in thought.. or he was just busy designing their place here. Oh well, she figured he’d head back out when he was done. She planned on waiting outside.
Mila stepped out of the big, white building and onto the sidewalk. She looked like most of the other people around here, hooded sweatshirt, jeans, sneakers.. and her hair was pulled back into a low poney tail. Save for her rage, she’d blend right in.
[Simon] He nods his head and follows Mila.”Well as long as they don’t get in the way I don’t see a reason not to like them.”
[Stormbreaker] She shook her head slightly. “They are very good people. And friends. Just remember that, should you run across them. I count them as some of the few who I could count on..”
[Rory] It’s not the best area of the Green, but it IS a good place to practice being sneaky, moving shadow to shadow, skipping through the alleys and streets as if she were meant to be there. Tonight – tonight it’s going well. Usually she trips over her own feet, but not this time. No, tonight is Rory’s night, and under the darkened sky, the Full Moon Fianna that usually sticks out like a sore thumb is virtually invisible.
she’s made it past the bums on the corner, she’s made it the drug deal midway, and she snuck right past the smoking convenience store clerk even though she walked under the light. Fox is with her daughter tonight…
She slows as she sees Mila and Simon exit a building, tipping her head slightly, and tiptiptoeing closer still..
[Simon] He shrugs his shoulders.”Someone you can count on, and someone who will do their job are two entirely different things. Don’t get my wrong I like the coggies just fine, I just worry now and again about whether or not they are ready to do what they need to when the time comes.”He says with a shrug of his shoulders.
“This is war and soft hearts are best left at home.”
[Stormbreaker] Mila saw.. nothing. She didn’t have a chance. Rory was that good.
“Simon, you’ve really gotta start to try to give our allies some credit. Just because you’re born to one family doesn’t mean you automatically fit the mold for that family. So, cut ’em some slack until they don’t deserve it anymore.”
[Rory] [dootdedoot]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Rory] (goddamn. *L*)
[Rory] She sneaks up and finds that Fox is most certainly with her tonight, as she blends into the shadows behind the Lords, and gets to listen in. She tips her head, curiously, and then brazenly sneaks right past the duo so that she can get into the alley nearby. She then decides that she might not want to continue eavesdropping unseen, as it’s really not polite and she.. well. She is always unfailingly polite.
[…unless she’s angry…]
So instead, stealthy creeping dropped, she steps out of the alleyway and pauses to hitch her pack up on her shoulders. Even under the darkened moon, there is no doubt what she is, and who she belongs too – the purity of her rage is almost a slap in the face. Especially considering what she is…
[Simon] He shrugs his shoulders.”Just because the Nazis tried to exterminate the Jews doesn’t mean every Nazi hated the Jews. It’s not my place to judge my allies, but it is my place to fight… I need to be prepared to expect certain things out of my allies. For in the event they behave according to the Stereotype I will have already accounted for it and I will not be at a loss…”He shrugs his shoulders and looks back towards the building.
It was then he heard the sound of the other stepping into view. He paused and his eyes looked Rory over. He narrowed his eyes and sniffed at the air to see what he could detect.
[Stormbreaker] It was the movement so near by that caught her attention – specifically the backpack beign moved. Grey-blue eyes met Rory’s.. and she offered a light smile and an upnod in greeting.
Simon might not be the picture of warmth and friendliness.. but Mila was, for the most part. Plus there seemed to be some vague notion of meeting her, or maybe just walking passed her before?
[Rory] Rory is a being of contradictions. Simon sniffed the air, and finds no scent, nothing that tells him anything of the girl standing right there in front of them. What they may note, however, is that her rage is high, and controlled with a practiced negligence that suggests long acquaintance with the burning sensation. And then there’s the purity of her blood that marks her distinctively Fianna, telling tales of Kings and Warriors and Heroes that go back to the time before time…
[….yet will end with her – though that part of the story is untold…]
Also – as she steps into the light, it’s clear that her hair, her eyes, her skintone, her freckles that number in the hundreds – all of it is in a leggy bundle that, while skinny, is undeniably attractive too.
Mila smiles at her, and Rory reacts differently than one would expect such a bundle of stereotypes to do… Rory, the renowned Full Moon of the Fianna….
…blushes. And ducks her head, hiding behind the fall of those fire-red curls, unbearably shy.
[Stormbreaker] Well, that was a surprise. Never would she suspect that woman would blush under a simple polite smile. Mila averted her gaze for a moment, perhaps she looked back at Simon, perhaps not. Though, she did honestly hope he minded his manners tonight.
“Good evening..” She spoke up a moment later while motioning the woman closer.
[Rory] As with the other interesting bits about Rory, is this one; her voice is soft, mellow, and barely carries. One might expect a roar, instead – but what they get is a very mild-mannered, shy little Fianna.
“Hi.”
She moves closer as bidden, and sneaks a peek upwards to meet Mila’s gaze briefly, then drops them instantly again. Simon gets the same. Her submission is practiced, well intentioned, and curiously honest.
[Simon] Simon watched the woman curiously. He could smell nothing but he was more concerned with her reason for stalking them without announcing her presence. He allowed Mila to speak but he kept his stance rigid, not about to rlax until he is absolutely certain that there is no threat.
He might be young, but like Rory he was an Ahroun. He didn’t need words to convey that much, it was visible in his stance and his motions. He wasn’t being rude just doing his job and backing up his Alpha.
[Stormbreaker] She was careful not let her gaze linger too long. There were other things to look at around here.. even though the shy Fianna was a bit of a curiosity.
“I’m sorry.. I don’t quite recall if we’ve met. I’m Mila.” She motioned then to her quiet companion. “This is Simon.”
[Rory] Her smile is a shy little thing, like sunlight peeking from behind the clouds as Mila introduces herself. She glances toward Simon again as Mila mentions him, and nods, slightly. For all they know she simply was passing through the alley ahead of them – there is nothing to suggest any stalking = and there’s Rory herself. How could one so shy possibly do such a thing?
“Rory.” A pause, and then, softly – achingly shy. “I ron’t demember either.” She doesn’t seem to notice her words are mixed up, as if she hears only what she intended to say, instead of what she did…
[Stormbreaker] “A pleasure.” A beat. “Just hanging out, or does your pack claim an area around here?” It was an honest question – especially since they were looking to move in.
The little slip in her words was noted, though not thought anything of it. Afterall, the woman was proving to be a interesting mix of things.
[Simon] He cracks his knuckles and glances at his alpha and then back at Rory. He usually had access to a weapon, but not tonight… Luckily he doubted that he would need one tonight.
He nodded his head when he was introduced and then took a glance around them to assess any threats that might be roaming around out here before returning his attention to both ladies.
[Rory] Thin shoulders shrug, slightly, as she’s asked if she’s hanging out. Her smile reappears as she ducks her head, letting those curls slide forward again to hide it. “Us Bogeymen are in Bronzeville.” Some sentences are easier than others.
She lifts a slender hand, and rubs the side of her nose absently and gives the reason for her being in the Green. “Heading home.”
[Stormbreaker] She nodded slightly. “Good to know about Bronzeville.. I don’t think I’d had the pleasure to meet any of the Bogeymen yet. Always a first.. right?” A brow rose slightly as she grinned.
“We.. are part of Dark Sky.. and looking to possibly claim this dump..” She thumbbed toward the white building behind them.
[Rory] She nods, slightly, and then looks at the building behind them, before glancing back at the pair of Dark Sky. “Eagles used to glaim ‘creen” There’s that switch again… weird. “Gone now. Fenrir might move tere hoo.”
Another shrug of her slim shoulders. The Green is a big place – plenty of room for more than one pack.
[Stormbreaker] Fenrir? Really? Of all of Gaia’s creatures.. why them? Ah, but Mila was better than that – she just nodded, taking in the information.
Hands slid into the pockets of her sweatshirt as she rocked back and forth just slightly.
{I think my brain died..}
[Simon] He nods his head slowly then smiles.”I’m sure the Fenrir won’t mind sharing a little piece of the area with us. Besides I’m guessing they’ve got their plates full if they’re trying to hold this whole place. We’ll me taking a hint of the weight off their shoulders.”
[Rory] She shrugs her shoulders slightly, and offers them that shy little smile again. It’s not her place to decide who holds what land, or anything of the sort. She does peek up at Simon again, curiously, and then down to the cement at her feet, scuffing her toe along the cement idly.
[Stormbreaker] {Still no luck getting the brain restarted.. so I think I’m gonna go to bed}
“I’m heading back home.. I got a car a few blocks away. Do you want a ride home or anything?”
[Rory] (no worries. *L*)
She shakes her head, curls bouncing across her shoulders. “Tho, nanks.” Then she simply nods to Simon, and then slips past them and continues on her way.
[Simon] He looks back to Mila and shakes his head.”No… I am fine, I got my car anyway and if I don’t get it outta here tonight there won’t be a car left to come back to.”He laughs then looks back to Rory with a smile. Watching her leave and folding his hands behind his back.
[Rory] (thanks for playing!)