[Marrick Fisher] (is it a good day?)
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 4, 7, 8, 8, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Charlie] [123 NOT ME]
[Joey] 1-2-3 not it!
[Marrick Fisher] Oz Park.
This was a place that had a basketball court, a baseball diamond, spaces to run, and statues of well-known storybook characters. Marrick Fisher had taken to spending a lot of time around the tin man. Something about that seemed to fascinate her; she’d not read the Oz books until she was well into her junior year of high school. Odd, because she was past her first change at that point, approaching her rite of passage, she had better things to do than read about good witches and bad witches and flying monkeys.
They were more than that. There were magical pearls and talking, irritable goats and a patchwork girl.
Marrick was not a child that had really appreciated “book learning” while in school. She just ran track and looked pretty. Time went on, and her focus became more on being a complete package than a meathead jock or cannon fodder. She wasn’t good at conventional learning. So, what do you do when you aren’t good at something?
You practice until you get better.
All that rant aside, Marrick was at the park, a part of her territory that was guarded as fiercely as her locker room at home in Oklahoma. Attire was comfortable- jeans that were torn to Hell and back, and a hooded sweatshirt from Abercrombie. Men’s. A little big on her. More than a few years old.
It didn’t smell like her brother anymore, but it didn’t stop her from wearing it.
This is where we open the scene. In a park with absurd statues, dying grass, and brimming with potential.
[Joey] The cold fall weather cannot keep the Fenrir Rotagar indoors. She still goes up onto the roof to practice swinging her bat around, only these days she tends to go out fully clothed rather than in a t-shirt and boxers and bare feet. She’s an outdoors kind of kid, always has been, always will be. So even though she derives much pleasure from fill books and magazines filled with puzzles and brain teasers with her messy scrawl, she’s much happier getting out into the…well, not sunshine anymore, but the fresh air.
Joey’s been to Oz Park before. Right after she returned from a brief vacation in the Weaver’s realm, she was left on the side of the road by her alpha. The Rotagar had shifted, and spent the next few nights curled somewhere out of the way in various parks around the city’s north side. She wanted to see it in the daylight hours. Because it’s not too far from The Brotherhood, and because even though it’s cold Joey is fascinated by the weather changes that affect the city in ways she’s never experienced before, she is walking.
Charlie had been around, and though she knows he usually sleeps during the day, she had convinced him to go exploring with her.
And that’s why she’s coming to Oz Park today, with an overcast sky threatening to drop cold rain on their heads. Where the rest of the city’s inhabitants have switched to sweaters and jeans and the occasional hoody, Joey is dressed more warmly. Her jeans are faded and worn, her sneakers are new. The hoody beneath her cheap Walmart faux-leather bomber jacket is old and grey. Her hands are shoved into the pockets of the bomber jacket. For once, her bat bag has been left at home. It’s not the season for baseball or softball, and it’s no longer warm enough that the sight of a girl wandering the streets with a bat bag strapped to her body is no longer inconspicuous.
[Charlie] People are giving the blond athlete and the tall gangly kid a wide berth today. Something about them doesn’t feel right, feels downright dangerous, and the Greek kid has a wild cast to his gaze that would seem more securely placed in the eyes of an animal than a human being. Standing next to him for too long causes the hairs on most people’s necks to stand up, causes them to begin to fear for their safety. He seems like he’s about to snap.
He isn’t an Ahroun, yet he, like anyone else who carries the mantle in this fight for Gaia, can feel a tug when he looks up at the night sky these days. The moon is not visible right now. Small mercies.
Charlie is not dressed nearly as warmly as his friend is. She’d wanted to go exploring, and so he’d climbed into his dedicated jeans and his hiking boots, pulled on a gray henley, and set off into the city’s streets. The breeze is sharp and tugging at his hair, but he hardly seems to feel it. This is the sort of weather that he’s used to, that he had spent most of his life in. Though it’s dropped into the fifties and is likely going to start raining soon, he’s got his sleeves pushed up to his elbows and his hands crammed into the pockets of his jeans as they lope through the park he’d been telling her about.
He’d also been telling her that this is where La Familia’s territory is, that Bones To Dust had invited him and Lee up here to play basketball back when he first got to Chicago, and that’s about the full extent of the conversation that the Theurge has engaged in. He’s tired, and he looks it, but he hasn’t devolved into crankiness yet.
Then again, it’s rare that anyone sees Charlie in a bad mood. He’s not in a bad mood, today, necessarily; he’s just not cracking jokes and having to smother smiles and laughter with any great regularity. That brawl with his packbrother had worn him out, and then he’d been learning from Bear all night long.
At least he isn’t stoned yet.
[Joss Lehrer] You know what ELSE is near Oz Park? The best coffee shop in Lake View. Not only does this little hole in the wall delight make the best mocha EVER, but they have baked goodies made fresh daily and the smells of the little place is just DIVINE. And they don’t mind a certain Godi curled up in a corner booth, reading and munching and drinking more coffee than should be legal for a girl that has the natural… uh… exuberance.. that Joss possesses.
But it explains why the Goofy Godi herself has exited the little shop, hands wrapped around a cup of steaming mocha, lips pursed as she blows in the little opening meant to drink from, not cool.
Along with her energy, there’s the need to walk, and thus she heads across to the park, her skirts swishing about her calves, her boots scuffing along the concrete. She isn’t wearing a jacket, but the heavy sweater looks warm enough, and one would think that along with weight, those dreads at least keep her neck warm, right? Right.
[Marrick Fisher] She was aware of things. she had a laundry list of tyhings to do, namely to get some sort of surveillance in her territory so she’d know what was going on when she wasn’t here. It was a fair chunk of land for two cliaths to cover. Yes, two. Dietrich had given them the I’m leaving to take care of other matters speech. They had no totem to notify of his departure.
It was like starting from scratch all over again.
The moon was nearly full, and even on darker days, people gave Marrick her space. Today? A couple false moves could move her from enjoyable to unbearable. The breeze is sharp, and is playing havoc with the blonde’s already tangled hair. It makes her smile, something too sharp and too white, but genuinely pleased.
A little wandering away from the tin man gets her a good view of a tribemate and a… something. Something with a coat on. Marrick can’t quite tell, but she gives a greeting regardless.
“Whatuuuuuuup?”
[Joey] The something with a coat on was looking up at the sky as they walked, looking for breaks in the cloud cover. She’s never been in a place so grey before.
She looks down when she hears the elongated greeting, gives a sharp shake of her head to flip her bangs out of her eyes. Her shoulder-length blonde hair is down today, in a vain hope that it can protect her ears from the slight chill. She’s already been getting flak for her need for layers already, she’s not about to add to it by wandering the streets with ear muffs. Although maybe a hat would be in order. She stores that thought away for a later time.
The newcomer is greeted with a friendly smile. Apparently Charlie knows a lot of girls, has a lot of friends in this city. And Joey has…well, Joey has Charlie. And occasionally Sinclair. And even more occasionally a drunken kinsman.
And a tribesister, cutting across the park with a drink of something steaming, dressed in a skirt and a heavy sweater. Joss gets a brighter smile and a wave if she happens to look in the direction of the impromptu gathering of young Garou.
[Charlie] It isn’t often that Charlie is the oldest person in a particular gathering, and when it happens, there is never any reason to pay any mind to the occurrence. The metis’s age is almost impossible to pin down without coming out and asking him; based on appearances alone he could be anywhere from sixteen to twenty-four, with the number fluctuating in either direction depending on his demeanor on any given day. For a Garou, he is surprisingly consistent. His mood swings are few and far between, his attitude tending to remain the same from day to day, but he’s been slipping recently. He’s having trouble keeping on top of his Rage because he’s having trouble sleeping, and he’s having trouble sleeping because his Rage keeps getting away from him. It’s a slippery fucking cycle, and it’s the reason he looks as though he’s well into his twenties today.
Marrick hollers out to them–or, more likely to Charlie–and the Theurge pulls a hand out of his pocket to wave back at the blue-eyed blonde several yards away.
“Hi!” he calls back, idly scratching at his sternum with the hand that had been waving. His fingers are reddened and chapped from the cold, but he doesn’t even shiver.
[Joss Lehrer] The call catches her attention, which is snagged even more by the cheerful wave of her tribemate. She grins and waves in return, as feet automatically shift direction to head their way, and join the little impromptu gathering.
Joey looks cold. Charlie not much better. Joss? Well, aside from her obvious delight in the warmth of her coffee cub, it could be in the middle of the damn summer for all she cares. They build em tough in StormHammer, and this dip in weather is nothing in comparison to the winters she’s weathered already in her young life.
That doesn’t mean the sips of her mocha aren’t welcome. That and the caffeine. Look out World!
[Marrick Fisher] Question: Godi A leaves her current path and changes directions at 4:55. At the same time, an ahroun travelling forty-five feet away changes her direction and heads for the same location. Assuming that both are travelling at one-hundred twenty yards a minute, at what point will they crash?
Answer: in a couple seconds.
Marrick and Joss manage to get to the small outcropping of garou at about the same time. It seemed that the auspice elders were both in a good mood. Joss was caffinated and Marrick was… well… she had no reason to be in a good mood, she just was.
“What brings y’all out here?” she asks, and she looks between those gathered. Two fenrir. Two furies. Three females, one male. Two theurges (one theurge, one godi, excuse us), one ahroun and a no-moon. “S’nice.”
A pause, a realization that she doesn’t know Joey.
“Hi, I’m Marrick,” she offers. THe name sounds a little like Mark, given her draw. Like Eric with an M.
[Joss Lehrer] (FIIIIIIIIIIINE. Charlie looks much better. :) )
[Charlie] [FUCK yeah!]
[Joey] Though she may want to, Joey does not shiver or shake or otherwise display the fact she thinks it’s winter already. Night’s in the Nevada desert in December have been known to drop down into the twenties, but the times that Joey has been out in that weather she’s been wearing fur.
“Joey,” the older blonde greets cheerily. She’s never met Marrick before, but as soon as she says her name she places her within the Nation. Marrick. Bones to Dust. Ahroun Elder. “Laughs in the Face of Death, Cliath Rotagar of the Storm Chasers.” All of this is said with pride, with especial emphasis on her deed name.
“We were just out explorin’. Sorry for bustin’ in on your territory, but I wanted to look around. I’ve never seen fall before.”
[Joss Lehrer] They join the gathering at the same time, and Joss laughs lightly at the question. In reply, she holds up her coffee cup. “Best mocha’s in the entire CITY right over there. Hope you don’t mind my busting in to get some.”
Joey gives her full name rank serial number, and Charlie is all quietly standing there.Joss can’t seem to be still even now, as she rotates her hips lightly, causing her skirts to twist about her lower legs – much as a little girl does on a… playground. Is it any wonder Decker told her to “go play” last time they met up in such a setting?! She gives off the little girl glee vibe without even trying too.
[Marrick Fisher] She’s not as fanatical about her space at the moment. She’d come with Charlie; Charlie was her tribemate and, ergo, this made Joey cool. Gave her the leeway to come in; she listens to the answer. Marrick doesn’t have to give her introduction, but Joey does give hers.
The name made her grin ear-to-ear. Or, rather, the pride in it did.
The fact that she hasn’t seen fall, though? Makes her cock her head to the side curiously. Her hands go to the front pockets of her hoodie and she regards the rotagar. “You haven’t seen fall?”
A blink.
“Well, uh… damn, that kinda sucks. Fall’s a lot prettier up here than in OKlahoma, so… yeah, good place to look. C’mon, I’ll show y’all stuff.”
She looks at the Fenrir. “There’s statues of characters from the wizard of oz here, there’s trees, there’s… okay, this place pretty much kicks ass.”
Genuine pride in her territory.
[Joey] Not having seen seasonal changes does not, at least in Joey’s mind, equal weakness. So it doesn’t bother her much when Marrick cocks her head to the side and blinks at her.
“Yeah, in Vegas we got, like, summer. And a month or two of winter, which is like this.” Her hands are still in her pockets, but that doesn’t stop her from gesturing. Meaning the cloudy sky and the chill. “‘Cept without all the clouds and shit.”
She follows after Marrick when she says she’ll show her stuff. Like the statues of the characters from the Wizard of Oz. Joey can appreciate the pride the Ahroun takes in her territory. It makes her wonder if maybe she and Sinclair should seek out a space in the city. Maybe move out of The Brotherhood.
Joss seems to be wired with more energy than the Rotagar, if that can be believed. But then Joey is more subdued these days. It could be simple seasonal affective disorder, compounded by the fact that she’s never not seen the sun for so many days in a row before. Dark blonde brows rise at the mention of the best moca right over there. Joey glances over her shoulder in the direction the Theurge points and grins. “I’ll prob’ly check it out in a bit.” The most she’ll admit to being chilly, which is a weakness.
“Charlie said you guys played basketball with a kinfolk around here, yeah? You got a ball? Maybe we could play.” Something changes in her demeanor when she mentions athletic activity. If she were in one of her lupine forms, her ears would be pricked and her tail would begin to wag. Though the layers hide her physique, it’s obvious in the way the young woman moves with the rolling gait of the athletically inclined that it’s what she was built to do.
[Charlie] As tends to happen in group situations, or when the conversation does not directly involve him, the Theurge appears to have zoned out while the women are talking. Maybe it’s just conditioning. Maybe he just has had the capacity to speak up when in the gender minority beaten out of him after so many years packed with Adren and Fostern Black Fury warriors. Marrick and Joey have both witnessed him falling silent when he is the only male present, and now is no exception.
He pushes his hand back into its pocket now that he is no longer using it to wave or scratch, and his gaze wanders off down the path until he hears his name leave his friend’s throat. Dark eyes dart back from the horizon, lighting on her face as she asks after a ball for playing, and he appears to delve into deep thought for a moment.
Ultimately, he says nothing.
[Joss Lehrer] Joey is athletically inclined, and it’s easy to see in her sudden demeanor change when she talks about basketball. Joss – while full of energy, and graceful in her own way, and possibly even athletic, would probably be the airball queen when it comes to basketball.
(She ROCKS the swingset though. And Jumprope champions of 4th grade? RIGHT HERE. Ya betta recognize!
Ahem.)
“Fall’s nothing. Wait till you see Winter.” She grins, and takes another warming sip of her Mocha.
[Marrick Fisher] “Got one back at the pack house, but that’s a couple blocks over. So, we could play, but y’all would have to wait until I get back,” a pause.
“We could play tag. We could play hide-and-seek we.. hmmn. Ya know, if we got some more folks out here, red rover gets pretty brutal,” she said. There’s a quiet delight in that. Truth be told, it was one of her favorites. Trying to break through, speed, power- it is an awesome game. Plus, the idea of it almost being a contact sport seemed to please the ahroun immensely.
[Joey] It’s been a hard few months for Joey. She’s had a lot of learning experiences since she moved to Chicago from Las Vegas, since she left the rather sheltered environment of her family and home to a place where she knew two people. And to say that she ‘knows’ Sinclair or Dietrich is stretching things considerably.
Over the course of the last two months, Joey has gotten quieter. Her smile tends to be dimmer, and her laughter fades more quickly than it did before. There have been times when she has gone out of her way to find a taste of home. She took Charlie to The Dunes Park in Indiana because she missed the desert so much so suddenly it literally hurt. In exchange for helping him work through his phobia, she extracted from him a promise that he would play with her more.
And now here is Marrick, suggesting games Joey hasn’t played since elementary school, but it doesn’t matter. Her excitement level is rising. Her dark eyes are getting brighter, and her smile is becoming a permanent fixture in her freckled face. Marrick is suggesting group activity.
So when Joss pipes up about winter being better than fall, the Rotagar fairly explodes. She turns to the Theurge elder so fast she practically hops.
“Oh, I know, I can’t wait! I’ve never seen snow before, I mean, not really. Sometimes, if it got cold enough, the desert would get, like, frost overnight but it was always gone by morning. That was pretty cool. Charlie said sometimes in Boston it snowed in October, do you think it’ll do that here? If it does then Charlie and I’re gonna build a snow fort.” What is she, five?
Joey finally takes a breath and says, “Tag would be awesome. I’d totally be down for tag.”
[Charlie] [*whistles*]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 4 (Failure at target 6)
[Charlie] As the conversation turns away from introductions and territory and delves into what will happen once winter is upon them, Charlie’s attention, perhaps surprisingly, remains rooted in what the females are saying. His eyes move from Joss to Marrick to Joey, where they remain by virtue of the fact that Joey unleashes a torrent of speech. Enthusiastic, youthful, vivacious speech.
He hasn’t seen her get this excited about anything since before that horrible afternoon in Lakeview, when she had been literally dragged through the Penumbra and into a deeper, whiter realm and Charlie had been impaled by a steel girder. Waking up to himself himself in his birth form and speared by something metal and unyielding had not been the worst thing that has ever happened to him, but dragging himself down the hall only to find out that neither Truth in Frenzy nor White Oak had any idea where the younger Rotagar had gone off to had shot him through with panic. She’s back now, but she’s been subdued, even quiet, compared to how she was when they first met.
Watching her now, there’s a strange light in Charlie’s eyes. It’s recognition, mostly, but there’s something stronger than that, something warmer… something a little too strong, a little too warm. When Joey takes a breath, he seems to catch himself. He gives a sharp shake of his head, as if clearing water from his ears, and drops his gaze as if one of the myriad layered stains on the toe of his hiking boot is the most interesting thing he’s seen in the last several minutes.
Maybe no one saw.
[Joss Lehrer] Her smile brightens – here, she’s found a kindred soul. More than one. “Dude. You guys build a snow fort, and we’ll build one and we’ll have a SNOWBALL WAR. Wonder if Decker n Evan would play? I know James would, if he’s around. We could TOTALLY get down with some serious snowball wars…”
In her head? she’s already planning on summoning some ice spirits to strengthen the walls of the fort, and pondering how to enhance the snowballs too. Wonder if there could be a snowball cannon. Because that would be awesome.
This is your Theurge Elder, folks. Tremble in fear.
You’d think she was so distracted she didn’t see that look in Charlie’s eyes – but she’s not, and she did. She says nothing though, as he shakes himself out of it (…this time…) and studies his shoe. Instead, she goes back to contemplating the logistics of a snow cannon…
[Marrick Fisher] Snowball wars.
She looks…
Enthralled with the idea.
“This must happen,” thus spake the ahroun elder. The idea seemed to please her immensely, and Joey says that she is down for tag. Joss is seething and breeding exuberence and Charlie?… well, Charlie is pleased about something. He’s obviously fond of Joey, and the Fury nods and is content to leave it at that.
“Okay, who’s it?”
[Joey] They’re doing it. A snowball fight and war. All of them. As a group. Joey is so excited to be around people her own age, doing things like playing tag or basketball or football, that she is, almost literally, glowing. At the very least, with her hands still shoved in her pockets, she’s bouncing on the balls of her feet.
“Oh!” Her right hand shoots out of her pocket. It’s bare of gloves or other protection from the chill. “Oh, I can be it. Can I?” She’s already unzipping her bomber jacket and tossing it to the side. The hoody, however, does not come off.
[Ewan Selwyn] *Marrick’s cell phone gave a pecululair little warbel she’s probably never heard from it before*
[Joss Lehrer] Joey wants to be it. They’re gona have a snowball war when the snow comes – and if anyone says different the AHROUN ELDER demanded it so suck it up and start packin, spoilsports – and now… now it’s tag. And Joey is it.
Joss grins, takes a long drink of her coffee, and looks around for a place to set it out of the way. It finds a new temporary home on the base of some statue or another, and she rubs her hands together in delight.
“Oh I am SO in.” As for Joey being it? That’s totally ok by her.
[Marrick Fisher] “Go for-”
her phone chirped. The Fury stopped, and dug through the front kangaroo pocket of her hoodie. She looked at it with quiet confusion. This is a new sound for her, that much is certain.
“-Joey, yer it,” she said, and the Fury answered her phone and ran at that point. All that was heard on the other end was breathing. Rhythmic. Practiced.
[Charlie] “Wait…”
Charlie looks back up as he realizes he has no clue what’s going on, speaking up for the first time since Marrick hollered her greeting at them.
“What’s tag?”
[Joss Lehrer] Joss grins at Charlie as she turns to start running. “DON’T LET HER TOUCH YOU. That’s it. That’s tag. RUN!”
[Charlie] “Oh!” he hollers back. A beat, and he’s still standing there. Turning to Joey, he asks, “What happens if you touch me?”
[Joey] “Then you’re it! Run!” Joey’s laughing, and she takes off after Joss.
[Marrick Fisher] She stops briefly, long enough to pick out what the voice was. Marrick was fast. Well, it wasn’t so much that she was fast, but rather, that she could run for hours on end and didn’t seem to get tired. And it wasn’t that she was tireless or that she was stronger or more resilient than others, but rather, she did it simply because she could. Her stamina was more testament of will than a testament of her physical prowess.
“Yeah… Ewan? What’s up?”
And she’s running again.
[Joss Lehrer] (RUNNIN! – Dex+Ath=6)
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6) Re-rolls: 1
[Joey] [I’m it!: dex + ath, -2 diff ability apt]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 2, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 7, 10 (Success x 7 at target 4)
[Joss Lehrer] (dex+Dodge that Fenrir!)
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 5, 6, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Joey] [goin’ after Charlie!]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 4, 4, 5, 7, 7, 8, 10, 10 (Success x 8 at target 4)
[Joss Lehrer] … she shouldn’t have stopped to talk to Charlie – because Joey? Joey is FAST, so fast that the Godi doesn’t even get a chance to REALLY run, but she narrowly dodges that touch with breathless laughter – and she takes off the other way.
[Charlie] [Brawl+Dexterity: Tackle!]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10 (Success x 2 at target 7)
[Charlie] [Athletics+Dexterity: Knock Down?]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 2, 3, 4, 10, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Joey] [Stay up! Dex + ath]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 2, 6, 7, 9, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Damage: Because Tackling Hurts. Not using Bear’s boon.]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 4, 9, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Marrick Fisher] “We do,” she tells the man on the phone. The Fury stops moving for the time being and just watches the game for what it was. A grin was on her face the whole time, and she sounded downright pleased.
“Yeah, just come on by,” she tells him, “you need anything?”
[Joey] [SOAK!]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 6, 7, 8 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Joey] [You tackled me? IT’S ON, SMITH!: Punch tag: dex +brawl]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 1, 4, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Joey] [damage!]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 2, 10 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Marrick Fisher] “Isolation breeds a lot of things,” she tells him. Marrick, occasionally, has wise moments. Now, the Fenrir and the Fury are going to blows… well, rather, they’re playing rough. The Fury doesn’t seem to mind too much.
“Got some stuff for you guys to do, come by, we’re in Oz park.”
[Charlie] [Soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 1, 4, 8 (Failure at target 6)
[Charlie] Charlie appears to be perfectly content with just standing still on the path and watching what everyone else is doing. The Theurge Elder takes off, but she isn’t fast enough to escape from the natural athlete; Joey tags her out, then turns on her heel and tears back to where she left Charlie, bewildered and not any more adept at learning the rules of this childhood game than he was at figuring out Dead or Alive 4 last night.
So when Joey tears toward him, he makes an attempt to tackle her to the ground. All he really does is make her stop running and cock back a fist to hurl at his chest. It jostles him, but the bruise will be gone by the time Joey draws and releases a breath.
“She didn’t say anything about punching!” he laughs, moving forward to knock her down again.
[Charlie] [+6]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 5
[Joey] [+8]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 5
[Charlie] [Split Action: Leg Sweep/Sit On.]
[Joey] [split action: tackl/sit on]
[Joey] [Tackle!: dex + brawl]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 3, 6, 6, 10 (Failure at target 7)
[Joey] [tackle foh realz!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 4, 6, 7, 9 (Success x 1 at target 7)
[Joey] [Stay up?: dex + ath]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 4, 5, 7, 7, 9, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 8 at target 4)
[Joey] [damage]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 1, 2, 7 (Failure at target 6)
[Marrick Fisher] She hangs up the phone, and trots over to go stand next to Joss. She watches with a small smile on her face. They’re really going at it, but she seems content not to break them up.
“So, is the coffee good?” she asks.
[Charlie] [Changing Action: Brawl+Dexterity: Knee her in the back! +1 diff (changing).]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 4, 6, 10 (Failure at target 8)
[Ewan Selwyn] *Having gained permission to enter the turf, Ewan heads on in and towards the coffee shop. He’s dressed in black converse with green laces, a pair of jeans with one knee blown out, a long sleeved gray teeshirt under a short sleeved red tee, “WELCOME TO THE NEXT LEVEL” on it in black. Over it was a Canadian digital cammo jacket two sizes too large. A black ball cap on his head with a gold explanation point on it. A pair of shades over his glassy clear blue eyes, even though the sun was going down fast*
[Joss Lehrer] “Everything alright?” referring to the call, of course.
Joss? She doesn’t care if she’s tagged again or not, gets punched or tackled – it’s all in the thrill of the chase, of play. She grins at Marrick. “Delish. It really is the best in the city.”
She’s bouncing on the balls of her feet, ready to take off again when Joey or Charlie head their way…
[Joey] Joey ‘tagged’ Charlie, and the gangly metis laughed and came after the smaller blonde. In response, Joey launched herself at her friend. Endorphins are running high, and what with the excitement of actually being outside, playing, running around, she easily knocks Charlie on his back. She promptly sits on his stomach, pinning him.
Charlie tries to counter with a knee to Joey’s back, but either she’s too far forward, or his jeans are dragging on his leg just a little too much. His knee doesn’t come anywhere near her.
Laughing, Joey pokes Charlie in the shoulder. “Yer it!” She vaults up off her friend and takes off running again, cackling like a madwoman as she goes. The Rotagar seems to realize she has an unfair advantage over her friends, and she tries to tone it down a notch. Fairness and all that.
[Marrick Fisher] “Spin Doctor needed permission to come play,” she said, “he actually called about the coffee too. I’m starting to think y’all know somethin’ I don’t.”
They’re an easy group to find. There’s a Fury and a Fenrir rolling about, and another Fury and another Fenrir standing, watching, and talking about coffee. THe proportions have changed: two males, three females. Two ahrouns, two crescent moons, and a rotagar. Two Fenrir. Two Furies. And a glasswalker.
[Joss Lehrer] …walked into a park. 5 will enter. 1 will…
never mind. She laughs and shrugs. “I started drinking coffee about the time they started putting chocolate in it. Before that it was disgusting…” She watches Joey get Charlie, and arches a brow. “Whatcha think – he gonna come for one of us, or go after her again….”
[Charlie] He’s it.
Groaning, Charlie hauls himself to his feet at a much slower pace than the Rotagar is able to accomplish. He’d hit the ground and hard when his friend had countered his failed tackle with a powerful one of her own, and before he knew what was going on he was on his back. He’s back up now, though, and rather than immediately going after Joey he goes tearing after the stationary females talking about coffee.
[Athletics+Dexterity: WEEEOOO!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 3, 4, 7, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Ewan Selwyn] *Swinging by the coffee shop first, Ewan exits and heads into the park. Indeed they weren’t hard to find when you knew look for them.
The tall, 6’4″ bony white boy strolls in with that innate grace of a predator. Glancing around. Peeling off the shades as the light fled the city he pocketed them and headed towards the other garou. Keen eyes blessed by his totem helped him pick them out in the growing shadows of the urban night.*
[Marrick Fisher] “Going after her. He’s gonna wear her down, so it’ll be easier-”
Oop, nope, she was wrong.
And, with that, the Fury turns and darts to the left. “Haul ass, Joss!”
[dex+athletics! ruuuuun!)
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Joss Lehrer] And that answers that. She tosses Marrick a grin? and BOLTS!
(REALLY. RUN FAST. Please?)
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 2, 4, 5 (Botch x 2 at target 6)
[Joss Lehrer] ….and trips over her own two feet and goes down HARD. because. you know. she’s GRACEFUL like that.
[Marrick Fisher] Joss faceplants.
She goes down hard and it’s enough to make the fury turn and run in her direction instead of the opposite direction. One has to protect their allies, even in tag.
Especially in tag.
[Ewan Selwyn] *Ewan pauses and tilts his head watching this. The cup raised to his lips and he takes a sip. The smell of a raspberry mocha wafers from his cup as he watched the… interactions*
[Joss Lehrer] (how much damage didst she do to herself?)
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 6, 8, 8 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Joey] Joey slows her pace and turns, just in time to see Joss trip over her feet and eat dirt. There’s still a bright, billion-megawatt smile plastered across the Rotagar’s face. This is how all games should be. Tough. Brutal. And with punching.
Marrick doubles back so she can defend Joss. Joey runs across the distance to help.
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 3, 3, 6, 6, 8 (Success x 2 at target 5)
[Joss Lehrer] (Kahseeno, you WHORE.)
Ouch. But That’s the thing about Fenrir. They’re stubborn bastards. She is a little slower to get up, but that’s because she’s ignoring the pain of her shedded hands, and messed up knee. And by ignoring, she means spending rage to ignore any and all pain, and dash away from her portecters with a delighted laugh.
[Joss Lehrer] (now. RUN BITCH.)
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6) Re-rolls: 1
[Joss Lehrer] (and by portectors she means protectors. *L*)
[Charlie] Oh, shit.
Charlie puts on the brakes as soon as the Godi’s feet trip her up, slowing his run to a trot that is meant to cross ground quickly rather than catch another person. He wobbles a bit as he goes, the shock of Joss face planting nearly causing him to fall down himself, but he stays on his feet.
A tall, bony figure comes out of the distance. The male Fury’s eyes glance to him quickly, and then he’s coming up on the cluster of women. Joss breaks away quicker than a human would be able to move after such a spectacular wipeout, so Charlie runs after Marrick instead.
[Athletics+Dexterity: WEEEOOO!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 3, 5, 8, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Ewan Selwyn] * Standing there he watches this and one dark brow rose. Another sip of the coffee was taken and he watched them run. Ahh…. Combat training. Nodding to himself, Ewan walked closer. Not about to comment on the Fostern-faceplant. Nope. Some how he managed not to even laugh*
[Marrick Fisher] Marrick wants to stay in one piece. Marrick decides to draw fire, and her intentions were clear. She buckles down, and she turns tail, and she runs. However, she runs towards Ewan and not towards actual cover.
There’s a chance that Charlie’s faster than her. There’s a chance that she takes a faceplant too, but either way, she seems absolutely elated to be playing.
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 3, 8, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Marrick Fisher] (okay, loves, be back in thirty to 45 minutes. I gotta get off work)
[Joey] Joey’s laughter, high and bubbling and light, continues to cut through the air. Joss gets up and takes off. Charlie changes direction and goes after Marrick, who puts on a burst of speed, increasing the distance between the Furies. Joey is still headed in their direction when she pivots and runs in the same direction as Joss.
[IIIIII’M runnin’!]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 1, 3, 5, 5, 7, 7, 9 (Success x 3 at target 5)
[Charlie] [Weeeooo!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 3, 5, 8, 8, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Joss Lehrer] Alrighty – she’s managed to run, and NOT face plant this time. It’s going well! Marrick bolts, and Joey’s headed this way, and Charlie’s a chasing and she keeps right on truckin, completely oblivious to the blood dripping from her palms and knee. This is the chick who walked home with 5 agg completely drained of everything but the will to get there. Nothing’s gonna stop her playdate!
(Iiiiii’m a runnin awaaaaaaay!)
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 3, 4, 4, 5, 7, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Ewan Selwyn] *Ewan took another sip of his coffee and then tilted his head as Marrick ran towards him. He took two more steps and then launched himself not to the left, nor to the right, but up, and over the young lady. The tall bony man has pretty good up’s for a white boy.
(Dex+Ath, trying to flip up and over Marrick. Note…. trying… likely to dive straight into the ground with my luck))
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 6, 6, 7, 8, 10, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6) Re-rolls: 2
[Charlie] [Brawl+Dexterity: Tackle!]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 3, 3, 5, 8, 9 (Success x 1 at target 7)
[Charlie] [Athletics+Dexterity: Stay Up!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 2, 7, 8, 8, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Joss Lehrer] (CRAP! don’tgettackleddontgettackled)
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 4 at target 7) Re-rolls: 1
[Charlie] [Damage!] [B]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 5, 7, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Joss Lehrer] (soak!)
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 2, 5, 7 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Charlie] Charlie tags hard.
It takes him a few seconds, but he catches up to Joss easily, reaching out a hand to tag and running into her hard enough to bruise her shoulder. Neither of them fall down, and the metis is immediately turning on his heel and tearing off in the other direction.
[Athletics+Dexterity: III’M RUNNIN’!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 2, 4, 6, 7, 8 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Ewan Selwyn] *Ewan cleared Marrick and landed with one hand held out to the side. Glancing to it he nodded noting his coffee remained unspilled and took another sip.*
[Joss Lehrer] She would expect nothing less. After all, she is Fenrir. She grew up tagging and getting tagged HARD. Now she has a bruised shoulder to match her palms and knee. She doesn’t care. She turns and takes off again. She doesn’t know if there’s no tagback rules in effect, but either way, she’s after Joey.
heeeeeeeeeeeere lil rotagar…..
(I’m RUNNIN! And she’s a fast lil sucker so runnin with WILL!)
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 2, 2, 7, 7, 9 (Success x 4 at target 6) [WP]
[Joey] Charlie knocks into Joss. Regardless of whatever pain the Godi must be feeling, she’s it now. And Joey is her target. Laughing, Joey turns and runs.
[RUN, white girl, RUN]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8 (Success x 5 at target 5)
[Joey] [Still runnin’!]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 3, 4, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10 (Success x 4 at target 5)
[Joss Lehrer] (Runnin after the quick like a bunny Joey!)
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 2, 6, 8, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Shit shit!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 4, 6, 6, 8 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Joss Lehrer] …..damn she’s fast. She’ll sneak up on her, by going after Charlie instead! That’ll fool her!
Heeeeeeeeeeere sleepy lil fury!
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 4, 5, 5, 7, 10 (Success x 1 at target 6) Re-rolls: 1
[Charlie] [Run run run run run!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 4, 7, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Ewan Selwyn] *Ewan watched and sipped his coffee, some what amused now. Noting how each moves and dodges and such*
[Joss Lehrer] (nothing to see here..)
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 4, 4, 7, 9 (Success x 1 at target 5)
[Joss Lehrer] (wits+ rituals +1,+2 diff because it’s this side= diff 6)
(also – nothing to see here. :) )
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 4, 4, 6, 7, 7, 9, 9 (Success x 6 at target 6) [WP]
[Joss Lehrer] Well. Fast lil suckers, aren’t they? She pauses, and puts her hands to her thighs, catching her breath as she laughs. Her fingers tap out a beat as she eyes her charges, her eyes glittering with delighted mirth and mischief as she does so….
You see, she has friends. Friends she’s played tag with since she got to Chicago. Friends she’s fostered relationships with – so much so that in answer to her call? the wind kicks up, and seems focused on her targets, focused on slowing them down and helping their Godi friend.
Joey and CHarlie are surrounded by the wind itself, kicking up dust, pushing at them, and slowing them down… and Joss? Is laughing. “HOLD’EM Guys! I’ma COMIN!”
And she is – she’s a RUNNIN to take advantage of the help of Chicago Wind….
(air elementals – and lots of them that LOVE her. I’ll let ya’ll decide how it hinders you and to what level. :)
in the meantime? I’m RUNNIN!)
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 3, 6, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Ewan Selwyn] *Ewan felt the winds and tilted his head looking up and around. Grinning a bit he said a few words in the language of spirits. Nice things, and proceeded to watch the theurge charge*
[Charlie] A considerable amount of distance has been put between himself and the Theurge Elder by the time he hears the tapping of fingertips on a spirit drum behind him. He doesn’t think too much of it, at least until he feels the wind picking up, until he feels as though he is attempting to run into a gust of air where before he had just been feeling an approaching storm tugging at his shirt and hair.
The air elementals of Chicago are apparently quite taken by Miss Lehrer.
[Athletics+Dexterity: RUNNIN’! +2 diff (wind).]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 2, 4, 7, 10, 10 (Success x 2 at target 8)
[Joey] The wind picks up, and becomes a force to be reckoned with. Joey is still laughing (you’d think she’d be running out of air by now). Leave it to a Godi to call on the spirits to help her in a game of tag. It’s a game, but it’s a game being played by otherworldly creatures, after all. There’s no harm in calling on what gifts and spirits are willing to aid them, right?
Joey had slowed herself down in order to make the game a little more fair for her new and older friends. Now with the wind as her opponent kicking dirt and debris at her, she kicks up the speed again. Why be fair?
This was Garou tag! There are no rules, and there are no pulled punches.
[Runnin’! dex + ath, -2 diff ability apt is back on! +2 diff for wind]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 1, 6, 6, 7, 8, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Joss Lehrer] (Ima comin for ya Charlie!)
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 3, 4, 8, 10, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Noooo!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 2, 2, 3, 4, 8 (Success x 1 at target 8)
[Joss Lehrer] (Tackle Charlie!)
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 4, 4, 5, 8, 8, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6) Re-rolls: 1
[Joss Lehrer] (stay up!)
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 5, 5, 7, 7, 8 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Athletics+Dexterity: Stay Up!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 5, 5, 5, 6, 8 (Success x 1 at target 8)
[Joss Lehrer] (Damage! – and is nice and NOT using Eagles Might. Yet.)
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 1, 4, 7 (Failure at target 6)
[Joss Lehrer] (fuck that – Hey Eagle! Wanna play TAG?!)
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 3, 3, 8, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Mother of god.]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 6, 7, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Joss Lehrer] The wind IS quite enamoured of the Godi, and slows Charlie just enough so that she can catch, and tag – though she goes for the tackle instead. Successful, she manages to stay up, and even thought she invites Eagle to play for a bit of added strength, Charlie shakes it off as if it’s nothing. No bruising, but? Still a solid tag.
She winks at him, pats his shoulder again, then turns and bolts away again. “You’re it!”
(i’m RUNNIN!)
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 4, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6) Re-rolls: 2
[Joey] Joey knows that someone’s watching their game. She knows, and that’s all the thought she gives the tall coffee drinking stranger who doesn’t seem the least bit surprised that there’s a sudden gusting of wind in Oz Park. Her mind is on the game.
Charlie’s it again. She waits until he’s on his feet again. And then the Rotagar is running.
[Goooo!]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 2, 3, 6, 7, 7, 8, 9, 9 (Success x 6 at target 6)
[Charlie] Charlie didn’t play much as a kid.
No, scratch that. To say that Charlie didn’t play much as a kid would be implying that he had ever been a child, and that just isn’t the case. He was born a monster, and by the time he was old enough to acquire the ability to walk the earth in the guise of a human, he appeared as a teenager to the rest of the world. In between simply surviving and learning how to read and heal and fight there had not been enough room for this sort of carefree physical activity, and when there was, there was no one around who was overly concerned with cutting loose and acting ridiculous once and a while.
He’s taken to it easily enough. If anything he’s looking at it as an opportunity to work on his endurance and his agility, and it’s getting his heart rate up. If he could just burn off some of this Rage that’s got his hackles so raised, this would be quite the game.
[Athletics+Dexterity: I’mma GET YOU! +2 diff (wind).]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 2, 2, 7, 9, 9 (Success x 2 at target 8)
[Joss Lehrer] Joey is fast. DAMN fast. And so she helps a brother out… The elementals are still hampering charlie, and Joey is still running through like they’re not even there- it’s a simple command…
“Get’er!”
…to refocus them on hampering the roadrunner over there….
(command spirit!)
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 3, 3, 6, 7 (Success x 1 at target 7) [WP]
[Marrick Fisher] “Ewan!”
She came back just in time to see him sipping coffee and observing. The Fury stops running,and she doesn’t even seem as though she is out of breath, or really tired.It is more testament to her will than her strength of body, but the two were so intertwined that it was hard to tell.
“Come play.”
[Joey] The wind intensifies it’s efforts against the Rotagar, doing everything it can to hinder her speed.
Joey throws up an arm to protect her eyes. She actually stops, looks around to assess the positions of the others.
And then she’s off again.
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 2, 2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 3 at target 7)
[Charlie] [WEEEOOO!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 1, 4, 9, 10 (Failure at target 8)
[Charlie] [Should’a been diff 6. Retrying anyway.]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 3, 4, 6, 7, 10 (Success x 2 at target 7)
[Joey] [still runnin’! stamina + ath diff 3 (wind)]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 2, 4, 6, 6, 7, 10 (Success x 2 at target 7)
[Ewan Selwyn] *Ewan raised his brows and then nodded. Turning the cup up he chugged the rest of the coffee. Extended the arm to the side and dropped the cup in a trash can. Then reached up to turn his ball cap around backwards, and then grinned. Jogging out into the melee and keeping an eye on the womens*
[Charlie] [Still running!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 2, 3, 6, 6, 9 (Success x 4 at target 6) [WP]
[Charlie] [Brawl+Dexterity: Tackle!]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 4, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 2 at target 7)
[Charlie] [Athletics+Dexterity: Stay Up!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 2, 5, 8, 8 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Joey] [Stay up!: Dex + ath]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Damage!] [B]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 5, 7, 8 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Joey] [SOAK!]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 6, 8, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Charlie] Joss directs the elementals to take their energy off of the metis and refocus on Joey, and it manages to slow the Rotagar down just enough that with a burst of focus, he’s able to catch up to her. He makes an attempt to tackle her that does not wind up taking her down to the ground or bruising her, but she can feel his Rage crackling in the air behind her. He’s physically exhausted, he’s mentally drained, and she’s seen him when he isn’t getting enough rest and his Rage has not been depleted to match the rest of him.
Granted, he hasn’t been knocked to the ground by the sudden weight of an Ahroun’s anger piled on his thin shoulders, but there are still days when the mild-mannered Theurge struggles with that newly-heightened fire burning in the pit of him.
Today’s going to wind up being one of those days.
[Joey] [You need a break, Charlie boy?: percept + emp]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 3, 5, 7, 9, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Ewan Selwyn] *Ewan got out onto the field and then paused, bent at the hips with his hands on his knees, watching*
[Joey] Joey has seen Charlie when he hasn’t gotten enough sleep. She knows that his rage is more powerful than it had been when they first met, that he still struggles under the weight of it from time to time. And he’s been off today, twitchy and rage crackling.
She’s breathless with laughter by this point, and from running against Godi-called wind elementals. But she’s not so out of it that she doesn’t notice that there’s still something off about her friend. She doesn’t ask if he’s alright, doesn’t draw attention to it. She simply pats him on the shoulder reassuringly, straightens, and stretches. The Rotagar doesn’t leave Charlie’s side. The newcomer is given an upward lift of her chin in greeting.
[Ewan Selwyn] *Ewan returns the nod and watches them. Glassy clear blue eyes shifting from one to the other*
[Joss Lehrer] Her friends whip away from Joey once she’s caught, and Joss stops running laughing in delight. She finds herself surrounded as the wind kicks up in a little mini twister of grabby spirit fingers tugging at her dreads, her skirts, her very being, and she just spreads her arms, tips her head back, and closes her eyes…
A few moments later they dissipate, as if they had never been there at all. All that’s left is Joss’s laughter, and the delighted shine of mischief in bright blue eyes as she opens them again.
[Marrick Fisher] The Fury stretches a little, and then reaches into her front pocket to check the time again. Something about this seems to please her, and she nods. The time was unimportant, and she seemed content to call it for now-
“‘kay, guys, I’m callin’ it. I’m hungry,” she announces. “I say we take five, get burgers, and readdress this whole tag thing when we’ve eaten shit.”
[Charlie] [Alright, guys, T-minus 10 until I drop an ST post. Just a head’s up, if you haven’t posted yourself in yet, do it now!]
[Ewan Selwyn] *Ewan tilted his head. Then nodded. He was born of the war form. Burned 1000s of calories a day just walking around. Standing straight he reached up to turn the black ballcap back around to the front and pulled it down snug. The gold exclamation point glittering in he dark*
[Sinclair] Young Miss Oliver and young Miss… Warcry are not sufficiently bonded to each other or to their totem to allow them to speak to one another across any distance, any noise, with nothing but thought. However, there is this much: they can find each other minutely faster than they could find anyone else. They feel each other, sense each other, before anyone else notices.
Joey, therefore, is the first person to know that Sinclair is coming. She is the first one to notice the athletic blonde walking their general direction. As with Joey, the weather here is officially Cold Enough To Signal The Apocalypse, as far as Sinclair is concerned. She is no longer walking around in cutoffs and tank tops. She’s in jeans, sneakers, and a long-sleeved thermal shirt underneath a Tool t-shirt. The thermal was once white: it is dingy now. The cuffs used to be intact: it has thumb-holes now, the hems crossing her palms instead of her wrists. She has a crocheted winter beanie with ear flaps, the long ties left dangling and her pale hair sticking out from underneath the green and gray yarn.
[Joss Lehrer] She laughs and makes her way over – hey! THERE’S her coffee! – to Marrick, stopping only to grab her coffee cup on the way buy and gulp the much cooled liquid within.
“That? Was some of the most fun I’ve had in days.”
[Charlie] There’s never any warning.
Even on a day like today, when tempers are held in check despite the swelling crest of the moon overhead and there’s some semblance of fun to be had on a windy, cold Saturday afternoon, the War is not forgotten. They live in a city, in an age, where just walking down the street and stumbling upon the Wyrm had claimed the lives of four of their own this summer. There are four spaces where dirt has been freshly turned, four new stone slabs signifying who is eternally resting beneath the earth, and those are not to be the last four to fall to the twisting of fate.
While the Garou are engaged in their game of tag, they may or may not be too distracted to realize that the city has gone quiet around them. What animals had been moving about in the trees or the bushes have gone silent; there are no birds chirping, no squirrels scurrying about in preparation for winter, no children laughing.
As a matter of fact, there don’t appear to be too many humans milling about anymore, if any. The Rage present on this patch of grass had been too much for those who had been braving the cold weather for an afternoon stroll, and now that the rain is preparing to come down in a frigid drizzle, those who had been out have returned to their cars and the bus stations to brave the trek back home.
Several of them are bruised and battered, or they’re drained, or they’re otherwise prepared to call it a day. Some of them are just arriving on the scene. But they can all feel it in the air. Something’s coming.
[For those of you I haven’t ST’d for before or it’s been a while, here are Dorn’s Ground Rules&+8482;:
1. Keep your declares and inits to 3 minutes unless you are asking me questions.
2. If you have questions, privately IM me (new AIM SN is ‘dornkicksass’ for those of you I haven’t added… it’s changed again!). Do not ask questions in the chat or in PMs; I probably won’t see them.
3. If I make a mistake, I appreciate having it pointed out to me; if someone else makes a mistake and I don’t catch it, just let it go.
4. If you could IM me your character’s current health level or active Gifts/talens now, that would be great.
Next round starts as soon as everyone has posted at least once. I will not be posting again until everyone else has. Weeoo!]
[Wyrmbreaker] It’s raining, and abruptly cool. Standing on the streetcorner, Lukas is waiting for the crosswalk light to change. He has a coffee cup in hand — not Starbucks; something local. His car is parked on the opposite side of the street.
Something’s in the air. It’s the way the city hushes, and the way even the rain seems to fall a little softer. There’s a sense of a collectively held breath.
Wyrmbreaker looks around. He can see a group of his septmates down the street. He changes his mind on going back to his car and walks toward them instead.
[Ewan Selwyn] *Ewan was dressed for the cold. Or what he preceived as cold. He was born in the sept out side of Phenoix, and like some others here thought the Chicago winters were hell on earth. Black converse alllstars, jeans with a knee blown out and thermals on under, a dark gray long sleeve teeshirt with a crimson short sleeved teeshirt over it with “Welcome to the Next Level” on it. Over it was a Canadian Digital Cammo army jacket two sizes too large. A black ball cap with gold exclimation point was on his head.
Glancing around he nodded to Sinclair as she approached. His glassy clear blue eyes surveying the growing conglom of garou present. Pausing for a moment, he looked ‘Up’ for any impending danger. Long held habit of one that himself, liked to drop out of the sky unaware*
[Joss Lehrer] (rolling troll skin, with STs permission)
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 8, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 7)
[Joss Lehrer] Something’s coming. Her laughter dies in her throat and she tips her head, and does a slow circle. She can feel it. Part of what she’s looking for is to see if she’s the only one who can feel it – the tension is crawling up along her back, her neck, her spine is straight, her body is suddenly tense when just a few minutes ago she was relaxed completely.
And she hums, idly…. i can feel it comin’ in the air tonight, oh lord.… under her breath.
She knows that feeling – it’s never good. As such, she takes percausions, and suddenly, she is covered with warty skin and smelling…whew. Pungent. yum.
[Joey] Joey stretches her arms out to the sides and rotates her shoulders back. There’s the faint sound of vertebrae popping. She rolls her head on her neck a few times, and there are a few more pops and snaps. The blonde Rotagar lifts her head and looks around, and spots her alpha. Her face splits in a grin and she waves to Sinclair.
It’s when she looks up, when she’s finally no longer distracted from the rest of the world by their furious and frantic game of tag, that she sees how empty the park has gotten. How empty the streets are. How quiet it is. Like the calm before the storm.
There’s a pin stuck in the collar of her old grey hoody, black with the symbol for earth. There are other such objects in the pockets of her bomber jacket, forgotten near the statue of the Tin Man. Hopefully she’s not going to need them.
[activating soak talen]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 4, 5, 10 (Success x 1 at target 7)
[Marrick Fisher] This is her territory. She should be aware of these things. There is silence enough that Marrick finds a cause for concern. it’s cold. There is no sound there is a lack of nature stirring. No laughter, no people coming by. None of the sounds of everday life. Just an unnatural silence, like someone turned off the background noise.
It’s suddenly cold. She can feel something in the air, and tension rides over her senses, and immediately, the Fury starts to give any kind of orders.
“Stay close, and whoever’s hurt should try to keep with someone as best you can,” she stated.
(sense wyrm: WTF?)
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Sinclair] Since she got back into town, things have been tense between Joey and Sinclair. Or rather: they were tense. And then just quiet. They’re easing up. Things change. Things always change. It’s the essence of their totem, the whole fucking point. Shit has to break. Burn. Scatter. Arguments get forgotten in the wake of devastation; frustrations get accepted and moved past when there is something else to attend to.
Like now. Sinclair heads towards her sister and the others…and her step slows, then hitches. She pauses, looks over her shoulder, then digs around in her pocket til she gets a small pin out like the one Joey is wearing. “Aw, hell naw,” she mutters, sticking it into her yanked-down beanie as she picks up her steps again.
She is focusing too hard on it to wave back to Joey, but she does whistle a hello in response.
[soak that shit! that shit that hasn’t happened yet!]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 7, 9 (Success x 2 at target 7)
[Ewan Selwyn] *Ewan looked down from the sky and around. Nodding to the spoken words but reacting more to the Fenrir going ugly and smelly, he called on his own gift to push pain from his mind and body*
(( Resist pain 1 wp spent))
[Wyrmbreaker] (1WP – resist pain
1Gn – bloody bandage
Rolling Gn toward soak talen.)
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 3, 5, 10 (Success x 1 at target 7)
[Joey] [1WP Resist Pain]
[Marrick Fisher] Somethign was coming.
Something tainted beyond tainted, and that much she knew. The Fury looked around quicklyto survey her assets. Who did she have, what was she working with, who could she place where, what could she do to make sure that they all madeit through this.
Wyrmbreaker. Sinclair. Ewan. Check
Joey. Jess. Charlie. Marrick. Check.
She calls out to whoever is there, and she speaks with as much authority as her position affords her (because her rank certainly does little good). “Whatever’s coming, there’s a lot of it. Get ready.”
(-1 wp for resist pain)
(rolling gnosis to activate a soak talen!)
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 2, 5, 10 (Success x 1 at target 7)
[Sinclair] [-1WP Resist Pain: Well, since everyone is doing it…]
[Ewan Selwyn] *Hearing Marrick he takes a moment to activate one of the bloody bandages in his pocket as well*
(( 1 Gn for bloody bandage))
[Charlie] [Charlie
-1 WP, Resist Pain]
[Charlie] Charlie looks worn out, but he isn’t so out of it that he is missing that feeling of impending wrongness that is coming across even those who do not have the Fury’s capacity to sense the approach of the Wyrm. He glances across the distance to see if Marrick is feeling the same thing, and then they can all see what it is that has their hair standing on end and their innards turning to ice.
Several of them begin calling on the gifts that Gaia has given them, or calling forth spirits that they have bound into brief servitude, or simply find themselves hurrying towards the epicenter of that creeping horrible feeling, but in any case, they are not completely caught off guard.
They’ve been being tracked.
They come out from behind a cluster of bushes, their muzzles to the ground and their sinuses pulling for air, bringing with it the scent of pure breeding and Rage. The Rage is what is drawing them to the area. Many of them have never seen anything like this before; others know immediately what it is that they’re dealing with.
There are four of them, one larger than the others, all the size of small ponies. They have stumpy legs with powerfully cloven hooves at the end, putrid-smelling gray hides with old war wounds and gaping sore spots in places, tufts of gray hair at the base of their skulls and at the end of their short tails. Their heads, though; their skulls are the stuff of nightmares, would ensure that even were every last mortal in the area not returned to their vehicles and dwellings by now that they would be blocking out what they saw due to their brains not being able to comprehend what is being seen.
The skin on their skulls are pulled so tight as to be translucent. Thick veins pump with dark, dangerous blood, and their eyes are so small and so black that they are almost invisible, hidden by their upright, torn ears. Their tusks are the length of a human male’s arm and covered in dried blood, strips of desiccated flesh hanging off like miniature battle flags. They absolutely reek of death, and after they catch the scent, after they raise their heads in victory, their leader throws back his head and looses a howl that sounds like an air raid siren going off.
And they charge.
[Inits!]
[Joey] [+8]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 7
[Sinclair] [+8 WHEE I LIKE KILLIN’!]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 4
[Marrick Fisher] (6+1d10)
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 2
[Joss Lehrer] (+7)
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 3
[Charlie] [Charlie, +6]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 2
[Ewan Selwyn] 7
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 9
[Charlie] [The Horde, +7]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 7
[Wyrmbreaker] (+10, +8)
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 2 (Failure at target 6)
[Charlie] [ROUND ONE — FIGHT!
Lukas: 20
Ewan: 16
Joey: 15
The Horde: 14
Sinclair: 12
Joss: 10
Marrick: 8
Charlie: 8
Declare in reverse order. Keep declares to 3 minutes unless you have questions. WEEOO!]
[Charlie] [Charlie
Reflexive: Rage-shift to Crinos.
Split Action: Claw/Claw closest piggy. Rage Action: Claw him ‘gain!]
[Marrick Fisher] (Declare! -1 rage, snapshift to hispo
1a: -1 rage for spur claws to nearest skull pig
1b: Be a meat shield for Joss and/or Charlie
rage1: continue defense of allies)
[Joss Lehrer] [Reflexive: 1R shift to hispo
spit first action – here piggy piggy!:
1a. bite
1b: bite
1R: another motherfuckin bite.]
[Sinclair] [Reflexive: Snap-shift to Hispo (-1R)
Reflexive: Snarling to Ewan and Joey to attack the same skull pig she’s going for
1a: Blind said skull pig
1b: Bite
Rage: Bite skull pig nearest Joss]
[Charlie] [Duncan
Action: Tusk Charlie. Rage Action: Dodge.
Malcolm
Action: Tusk Marrick. Rage Action: Dodge.
Donalbain
Action: Tusk Joss. Rage Action: Dodge.
Banquo
Action: Tusk Sinclair. Rage Action: Dodge.]
[Joey] [1R shift to hispo
regular: Bite Sinclair’s hog
R1: Again!
R2: And again!]
[Ewan Selwyn] Reflexive: Shift to birth form (( crinos)
2 rage spent:
1a: claw “Banquo”
1B claw + Spurclaws
R1: Bite
[Wyrmbreaker] (1R snapshift hispo
2R – actions
Reflexive: telling ewan to take point on leader pig (Duncan), joey sinclair and charlie to flank/back.
telling joss, marrick and himself to each tank one of the other pigs, intercepting them from attacking their current targets if necessary.
1a. chomp banquo
b. taunt banquo
R1. chomp
R2. chomp)
[Wyrmbreaker] 1a. chomp!
dex+brawl+2hispo+1totem-2 split, -1 diff for flanking
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 9 (Success x 6 at target 4)
[Wyrmbreaker] (damage str+3hispo+2bite+5succ)
Dice Rolled:[ 14 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 7, 9, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 6 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Banquo
Soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 3, 4, 7 (Failure at target 6)
[Wyrmbreaker] 1b. also chomp now. +1 diff, -3 for splits.
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 5, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8, 8, 8 (Success x 7 at target 6)
[Wyrmbreaker] (damage +6succ)
Dice Rolled:[ 15 d10 ] 1, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 6, 6, 7, 7, 7, 8, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 8 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Banquo
Nooo I want to liiive!]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 6 (Failure at target 6)
[Charlie] [Banquo
Rage back!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 2, 3, 3, 5, 8 (Success x 1 at target 8)
[Ewan Selwyn] 1A claw Dex+brawl+1 -2(split) Diff 6
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 8, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6) Re-rolls: 2
[Ewan Selwyn] str+1+3succ
Dice Rolled:[ 11 d10 ] 1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6, 6, 9, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Duncan
Soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Ewan Selwyn] 1B dex+brawl+1-3(split 2) Diff 6
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6) Re-rolls: 2
[Ewan Selwyn] str+1+3
Dice Rolled:[ 11 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 7, 8 (Failure at target 6)
[Joey] [Bite Duncan’s ass: dex + brawl -1 diff for flanking]
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 2, 2, 4, 6, 7, 7, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 7 at target 4)
[Joey] [damage +6 suxx]
Dice Rolled:[ 14 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 7, 9 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Duncan
Soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 2, 4, 5, 6, 6, 7, 9, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Banquo
Action: Brawl+Dexterity: Claw Lukas. +1 diff (changing targets).]
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 2, 3, 4, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 9 (Success x 3 at target 7)
[Charlie] [DLP]
[Charlie] [Banquo
Action: Brawl+Dexterity: Tusk Lukas. -5 pool (wound penalty), +1 diff (changing targets).]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 3, 4, 6, 6 (Failure at target 7)
[Charlie] [Donalbain
Action: Brawl+Dexterity: Tusk Joss.]
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 1, 3, 4, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Donalbain
Damage: Strength +3 (tusk) +3 (suxx).] [A]
Dice Rolled:[ 11 d10 ] 1, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 9, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Joss Lehrer] Come on baby SOAK – sta+hispo+TS=10
Dice Rolled:[ 10 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 3, 5, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Marrick Fisher] (soaking for Joss, yay soaking! sta4+hispo3+talen1=8)
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Malcolm
Action: Brawl+Dexterity: Tusk Marrick.]
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 3, 4, 8, 8, 9, 9, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 7 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Malcolm
Damage: Strength +3 (tusk) +6 (suxx).] [A]
Dice Rolled:[ 14 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 5, 8, 8, 8, 9, 9, 9 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Marrick Fisher] (eek! Dodge!
dex3+hispo2+dodge2= 7 -3 (split)=4)
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 2, 2, 3, 4 (Success x 1 at target 6) [WP]
[Marrick Fisher] (*kicks that aside* soaking instead, don’t look at that)
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 4, 5, 5, 5, 5, 7, 8, 8 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Malcolm
Ignore the last damage roll!
Damage: Strength +3 (tusk) +5 (suxx).] [A]
Dice Rolled:[ 13 d10 ] 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 8, 9, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 9 at target 6)
[Marrick Fisher] (SOAK! PLEASE!)
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 4, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 7 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Duncan
Action: Brawl+Dexterity: Tusk Charlie.]
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 4, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 7 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Duncan
Damage: Strength +3 (tusk) +6 (suxx).] [A]
Dice Rolled:[ 14 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 8, 8, 8, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Charlie
Soak: Stamina +3 (Crinos).]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 6, 7, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Delete last damage and soak roll.]
[Charlie] [Duncan
Damage: Strength +3 (tusk) +4 (suxx).] [A]
Dice Rolled:[ 12 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 7, 7, 7, 9, 9, 9, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 8 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Charlie
Soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 3, 7, 7, 10, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Sinclair] [Reflexive: Bark at Joey to drag Charlie out of the way
1a: Bite Duncan // Dex + Brawl + 2Hispo + 1Totem -2Split // -2 diff (back attack)]
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 7, 7, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 3 at target 3) Re-rolls: 1
[Sinclair] [Damage: Str + 3Hispo + 1Totem +2HispoBite + Suxx -1]
Dice Rolled:[ 11 d10 ] 1, 3, 3, 3, 3, 5, 6, 6, 7, 7, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Duncan
Soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 2, 4, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7, 7 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Sinclair] [1b: Bite Duncan // Dex + Brawl + 2Hispo + 1Totem – 3Split // -2 diff (back attack)]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 2, 4, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 10 (Success x 7 at target 3)
[Sinclair] [Damage: Str + 3Hispo + 1Totem +2HispoBite + Suxx -1 PART THE FIRST]
Dice Rolled:[ 10 d10 ] 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 6, 7, 7, 8, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Duncan
Soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Sinclair] [Damage: Str + 3Hispo + 1Totem +2HispoBite + Suxx -1 PART THE SECOND]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 3, 3, 3, 4, 5 (Failure at target 6)
[Joss Lehrer] 1a biting whoever the hell is the closest piggy since I lost track. Heh.: dex+brwl+his=8-2(split)
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 (Success x 2 at target 5)
[Joss Lehrer] (HAil MOFO. CHOMP!
Damage – str+EM+his+bite= 11+1= 12.
Dice Rolled:[ 12 d10 ] 2, 3, 5, 5, 5, 6, 7, 9, 9, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 7 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Donalbain
Soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 3, 3, 7, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Joss Lehrer] CHOMP YA AGAIN!
1b – dex+brwl+his=8-3(split)
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 5, 6, 9, 9 (Success x 3 at target 5)
[Joss Lehrer] (damage! HAIL MOFO!)
Dice Rolled:[ 13 d10 ] 1, 1, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 7, 8, 8, 8, 8, 9 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Donalbain
Soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 2, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Charlie
First Split Action: Brawl+Dexterity (+1): Claw Duncan. -2 pool (split), -1 diff (flank).]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 6, 6, 6, 8, 9 (Success x 5 at target 5)
[Charlie] [Charlie
Damage: Strength +4 (Crinos) +1 (claw) +4 (suxx).] [A]
Dice Rolled:[ 12 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 7, 7, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Duncan
Soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 2, 3, 3, 7, 8, 8, 9, 9 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Charlie
You bastard. -3 pool (split), -1 diff (flank).]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 3, 9, 9 (Success x 1 at target 5)
[Charlie] [Charlie
Damage: Strength +4 (Crinos) +1 (claw) +NOTHING.] [A]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 8, 8, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Duncan
Soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 2, 3, 4, 6, 6, 7, 8, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Wyrmbreaker] R1. spur claws on Donalbain. +1 diff for changing actions. 1R spent on gift.
Dice Rolled:[ 11 d10 ] 2, 2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 8, 9, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 5 at target 7) Re-rolls: 2
[Wyrmbreaker] (damage +4)
Dice Rolled:[ 12 d10 ] 1, 3, 3, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Donalbain
Soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 2, 4, 8, 10, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Donalbain
Rage Action: Dodge+Dexterity: EEE! -1 pool (wound penalty).]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Wyrmbreaker] (DLP, damage +3)
Dice Rolled:[ 11 d10 ] 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Ewan Selwyn] Ewan Rage 1) Bite. (( Doh! poison blood. Motherfrakers)
Dex+Brawl+1(crinos) Diff 5
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 1, 3, 4, 5, 5, 7, 7, 7, 9 (Success x 5 at target 5)
[Ewan Selwyn] Str+1+4(successes)
Dice Rolled:[ 12 d10 ] 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 7, 7, 8, 9, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 7 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Duncan
Soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 4, 6, 6, 7, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Ewan Selwyn] soak
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 4, 5, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Joey] [according to ST: Charlie will not be dragged
R1: Bitin’ on Duncan: dex +1 (Totem) + 2 (Hispo) + brawl, diff -1 (flank)]
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 6, 7, 10, 10 (Success x 5 at target 4)
[Charlie] [Duncan
Dodge! -1 pool (wound penalty).]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 2, 3, 7, 10, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Joey] [damage +1 suxx]
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 2, 2, 3, 4, 4, 8, 8, 8, 9 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Duncan
Soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 2, 4, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Joey] [SOAK! +1 talen]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 2, 4, 4, 7, 9, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Sinclair] [Rage: Bite Duncan? // Dex + Brawl // -2 diff (back attack) AND YOUR MOTHER SMELLS OF ELDERBERRIES]
Dice Rolled:[ 11 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 4, 6, 6, 6, 6, 7, 8, 8, 10 (Success x 7 at target 3) Re-rolls: 1
[Sinclair] [Damage: Str + 3Hispo + 1Totem +2HispoBite + Suxx -1 OH YOU LIKE THAT? YOU LIKE THAT, YOU LITTLE BITCH?]
Dice Rolled:[ 15 d10 ] 1, 2, 2, 4, 4, 5, 5, 7, 7, 7, 7, 8, 9, 9, 9 (Success x 7 at target 6)
[Sinclair] [Soak +1]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Duncan
Soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8 (Failure at target 6)
[Charlie] [Duncan
Rage back!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 1, 3, 5, 9 (Failure at target 8)
[Wyrmbreaker] (Lukas: tells everyone on Duncan to repeat the effort on Donalbain. goes tank Malcolm with Marrick.)
[Joss Lehrer] (1 Rage: Another MOtherfuckin BITE! Bite! Full Pool, baby!HAAAAAAAIL!)
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9 (Failure at target 5)
[Marrick Fisher] (Bite Malcolm: dex3+hispo2+brawl4= 9, diff 5)
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8, 9 (Success x 7 at target 5)
[Charlie] [Malcolm
Dodge+Dexterity: Wee!]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Marrick Fisher] (damage! str3+hispo3+bite1+hispobite1+3= 11)
Dice Rolled:[ 11 d10 ] 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 7 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Malcolm
Soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Marrick Fisher] (soak?)
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 1, 3, 5, 5, 6, 6, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Charlie
Rage Action: Brawl+Dexterity (+1): Claw Donalbain!]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 1, 3, 4, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Charlie
Damage: Strength +4 (Crinos) +1 (claw) +NOTHING!] [A]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 2, 2, 3, 7, 8, 8, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Donalbain
Soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Wyrmbreaker] (R2: chomp malcolm, +1diff from changing actions)
Dice Rolled:[ 11 d10 ] 1, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 6, 6, 8, 9, 9, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 7 at target 6) Re-rolls: 3
[Wyrmbreaker] (damage +6)
Dice Rolled:[ 15 d10 ] 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 9, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 6 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Malcolm
Soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 7, 9, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Joey] [R2: bite Donalbain!: dex + brawl -1 diff (flank)]
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 3, 3, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 6 at target 4)
[Joey] [damage +5 suxx]
Dice Rolled:[ 11 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 9 (Failure at target 6)
[Joey] [soak +1]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Wyrmbreaker] (oh right, soak vs poison blood)
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 3, 5, 8, 9, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Charlie] Blanketed by the Delirium spreading across the land, four of the Garou present throw themselves into their dire wolf forms at the first signs of trouble, the other two reverting to their monstrous birth forms. What once had been a site of play becomes a battleground as the thundering hooves of the Skull Pigs sounds out in the air.
Wyrmbreaker barks out orders for the group to concentrate their fire before setting his teeth into one of the smaller charging monstrosities. It only takes two clacks of his jaws before he is tearing through the thing’s jowly throat and dropping it in a twitching pile of putrid meat at his paws. It twitches with the life refusing to bleed out of its body, but it does not get back up.
Spin Doctor slashes his claws at the largest of the Skull Pigs, raking through its hide before rearing back and burying his claws into its shoulders, leaving them there when he draws back. Face of Death charges in to bite at the thing’s neck but her teeth seem to slide right off its leathery hide.
Gossamer Wing becomes the target of the next attack, but Bones to Dust throws herself in front of the thing’s waving tusks, deflecting the blow and taking no damage herself. When another Skull Pig surges from the side to attempt to spill her blood on the grass she jumps to the side, catching the tip of the thing’s stained tusk in her side. She doesn’t feel it.
Lights Out isn’t so lucky. He fails to get out of the way when the largest of the Skull Pigs throws itself at him, and it unzips his torso from hipbone to ribs, intestines pushing out from behind opened muscles. Face of Death feels a surge of Rage welling up inside of her when she sees her friend injured but still fighting; it’s not quite the fury that came across Lights Out when Face of Death was pulverized earlier this week, but it comes close.
Warcry sees the metis take that hit and barks at her packsister to drag him out of the way before she lunges at the creature that had gored him; her teeth fail to penetrate his hide with the first lunge, but on the second she drags her teeth through his hide and draws blood.
Gossamer Wing throws herself at her attacker, tearing through putrid flesh and baring bone, while Lights Out fruitlessly swipes his claws at the creature that laid his innards out.
The gathered Garou call upon their internal reserves of righteous anger to fuel the next leg of their fight. Wyrmbreaker plants his claws in his targeted pig, Spin Doctor and Face of Death work together to tear chunk after chunk out of the largest creature, and Warcry surges in to separate the monster’s head from its shoulders with a snapping closure of her jaws.
It can’t rage back from that.
Wyrmbreaker calls for the gathered to concentrate their efforts on the wavering of the two Skull Pigs while he and Bones to Dust concentrate on the as-yet unscathed creature. Gossamer Wing tries and fails to sink her teeth into the creature while Bones to Dust crunches through bone and punctures internal organs. Lights Out claws a chunk out of the creature that had tried to gore Bones to Dust, and Wyrmbreaker tears a chunk out of the squealing creature with the broken ribs.
And that threatened rain starts to drop down on them.
[We’re going to reroll inits. Everyone remember your form Dex bonuses!]
[Joey] [+10]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 8
[Marrick Fisher] (8+1d10)
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 1
[Sinclair] [+10]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 3
[Ewan Selwyn] 8
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 7
[Joss Lehrer] (+9)
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 6
[Charlie] [The Horde, +7]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 1
[Charlie] [Charlie, +7]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 10
[Sinclair] [Wyrmbreaker]
[+10 +10]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 6
[Charlie] [Damage Tally
Marrick: 2A
Charlie: 5A
Everyone Else: OK
Banquo: Incap
Donalbain: -2
Malcolm: -2
ROUND TWO — FIGHT!
Lukas: 26
Joey: 18
Charlie: 17
Ewan: 15
Joss: 15
Sinclair: 13
Marrick: 9
The Horde: 8]
[Charlie] [Malcolm
Split Action: Tusk Marrick/Tusk Lukas. Rage 1: Tusk Marrick. Rage 2: Tusk Lukas.
Donalbain
Split Action: Tusk Ewan/Tusk Charlie. Rage 1: Tusk Joey. Rage 2: Tusk Sinclair.
Banquo
Action: Bleed.]
[Marrick Fisher] (action: reflexive: “Gossamer Wing-rhya, help Lights Out!”
declare: 1a: dodge tusk
1b: Be Lukas’s meat shield
rage1: Dodge
rage2: continue taking defensive actions for Wyrmbreaker)
[Sinclair] [1a: Move behind Donalbain.
1b: Bite Donalbain.
R1: Bite Donalbain AGAIN.
R2: Go bite Malcolm, too, he’s being left out. OF HER MIGHTY MAW.]
[Wyrmbreaker] (Orders: pretty much the same thing. Backing up Marrick’s call for HAELZ on charlie. Tells Marrick to quit tanking for him, HE’S FINE (whirrwhirrwhirr).)
[Joss Lehrer] And since Charlie is obviously the worst injured
1a – get to Charlie
1b – MT baby, while standing over him as Meatshield.
[Ewan Selwyn] 0: 1 rage, Flanking Dona
1a: Claw Dona
1B: Claw Dona
R1: Claw Dona
[Charlie] [Charlie
Split Action: Claw/Claw Donalbain.]
[Joey] [regular: bite Donalbain (fuck you, poison blood, you can’t stop me!)
R1: Bite again!
R2: Bite again!]
[Wyrmbreaker] (1Gn – Luna’s Armor.
splitting four ways.
1a
b
c
d — all chomps on Malcolm. WP on the last one.)
[Wyrmbreaker] 1a chomp, -4 for split
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 3, 4, 4, 5, 8, 9 (Success x 2 at target 5)
[Wyrmbreaker] (damage +1)
Dice Rolled:[ 10 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 3, 5, 5, 6, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Donalbain
Soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 10 (Failure at target 6)
[Charlie] [That was Malcolm. Drink more booze, Dorn.]
[Wyrmbreaker] (soak!)
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 6, 6, 8, 8, 8, 9 (Success x 6 at target 6)
[Wyrmbreaker] (b. coup de grace on malcolm! -5 for split, attack dice -1 to damage)
Dice Rolled:[ 15 d10 ] 1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 9, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 6 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Malcolm
Sooooak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Malcolm
NOO I want to LIIIIVE!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 (Botch x 1 at target 8)
[Wyrmbreaker] (c. coup de grace on banquo! -6)
Dice Rolled:[ 14 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Banquo
Ack!]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 5, 5, 5, 8, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Wyrmbreaker] d. no srsly, DIE.
Dice Rolled:[ 13 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 3, 6, 7, 7, 7, 7, 8, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 8 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Banquo
Fucker!]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Joey] [Bite Donalbain!: dex + brawl -1 diff (still flanking)]
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 3, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5, 8, 10, 10 (Success x 6 at target 4)
[Joey] [damage +5 suxx]
Dice Rolled:[ 13 d10 ] 2, 2, 3, 5, 6, 6, 8, 9, 9, 9, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 9 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Donalbain
Fuck!]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 4, 4, 5, 6 (Failure at target 6)
[Charlie] [Donalbain
Rage back!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 2, 4, 5, 9, 9 (Success x 2 at target 8)
[Joey] [Soak that blood!]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 3, 3, 4, 5, 9, 9, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Wyrmbreaker] (erk. soaking three times.)
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Wyrmbreaker]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 7, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Wyrmbreaker]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 8, 9 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Ewan Selwyn] 1st claw flanking
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 8, 9 (Success x 5 at target 5)
[Ewan Selwyn] damage
Dice Rolled:[ 12 d10 ] 1, 2, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6, 8, 8, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 7 at target 6)
[Charlie] [Donalbain
Nooo I want to liiiive!]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 3, 10, 10 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Charlie] It’s over in a matter of seconds.
The Fury Ahroun calls out for the Theurge Elder to tend to the injured metis, who is apparently reveling in his newfound ability to keep fighting despite grievous injury, while Wyrmbreaker and Spin Doctor converge on the surviving Skull Pigs. The Fostern Shadow Lord bites through his target’s hide, spilling blood onto the dampening grass, and another gnash of his jaws has his throat torn out. He and Bones to Dust are soaked in the thing’s life fluid, and unlike its friend, it does not surge back to life to fight once more.
Wyrmbreaker moves to tear out that friend’s throat, but his teeth rake off the thing’s flesh; a second lunge ends its life. Meanwhile, Face of Death is still furiously fighting. She brings her target to the ground, bleeding and twitching, for Spin Doctor to finish off. Its head is cleanly severed from its neck, jaws agape in a howl even in death, and the silence that falls upon them in the wake of carnage is almost eerie. Chests are heaving, steam is rising from open cavities and gasping mouths, and rain is whispering on the grass and trees and statues all around them.
All but the Furies are unscathed. Bones to Dust will heal in a couple of days; Lights Out is going to be in a world of hurt when Bear’s protection wears off.
[And we’re out of combat! Post at will!]
[Marrick Fisher] The battle was over. For the most part, those assembled were unscathed, with the exception of the Black Furies, and the Fenrir who had taken quite a beating earlier. Marrch takes a second to shift back to her birth form.
Jeans and a hooded sweatshirt. All bloodied to hell and back.
“Okay,” she starts “that… y’all did well.”
Praise where it was due.
A beat.
“Joey an’ Sinclair, take trophies back to th’ wyrmpole. Charlie an’ Joss? Can you cleanse this? Ewan, you gotta know people. Get yer kin out here for clean up an’ damage control.”
Another pause.
“If anyone needs to clean up, packhouse is a few blocks from here.”
[Joss Lehrer] She doesn’t shift, quite yet. She was already on her way to Charlie even before Marrick had yelled for her to head that direction. She continues to move as people start to gather their wits. Close to Charlie’s crinos form, she simply leans forward right into his personal space, a giant handpaw resting on the worst of his wounds.
He doesn’t even get a chance to resist.
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 3, 4, 6, 6 (Success x 4 at target 1)
[Wyrmbreaker] Wyrmbreaker is a Shadow Lord. In homid, you can see that in his black hair, his icy eyes. In the lupine forms, the mark of it is all the more evident. Thick fur, black on black. Broad through the chest and shoulders, heavy-jawed — nothing like the lean, dappered grey wolves that roam the world today. A throwback to an older time. A monster out of memory and myth.
His jaws run with slaver and blood. He snaps his jaws a few times, dislodging bone shrapnel, flesh-gristle. When the Ahroun Elder barks orders —
— Wyrmbreaker’s savage eyes turn her way. The hackles on the back of his neck are still up. Or go up again. It’s not certain.
Rain is beginning to mat his fur. His forepaws are braced wide. He does nothing; says nothing. He simply stares at the Fury.
[Charlie] As soon as the carnage is over, Lights Out looks down at his midsection to see what the Skull Pig had done to him. It’s hard to read his expression in this form, but he seems as if he’s having an out of body experience as his brain tries to process the fact that his intestines are on the outside of his abdominal cavity but his body isn’t registering pain. Last night had not done a thing to prepare him for heavy battle, and when Gossamer Wing hurries over to the older Theurge, he doesn’t have the Rage left in him to wheel back or snarl at her not to touch him.
He doesn’t trust her, he doesn’t know her as well as he knows those who normally heal him, but there is a sort of illusory camaraderie to be found in having fought alongside each other, and when Gossamer Wing touches his glistening midsection, he doesn’t yank away. He just holds still while his body is suffused with light and warmth and pulls itself back together.
When the wound is nothing more than an angry red line raking from his right hipbone to the underside of his left ribcage, he melts down into his human form. His gray henley is torn where the creature’s tusk hit him, and he’s soaked in his own blood, but he is not pale or wavering on his feet. He takes a breath, scrubs at his gaunt face with one bony hand, and says, “Thanks, -rhya.”
Can they cleanse, Bones to Dust wants to know. Charlie pats his pockets as if trying to find lost car keys, and then admits, “I don’t have anything on me. I can ask Water, though.”
[Ewan Selwyn] *Ewan spits out stuff caught in his teeth and looks around, sniffing the air for more foes. Left, right… front.. behind…. ‘up’.
Ewan may not be coming back for coffee here any more.
Stepping away from the body he looks into the darkness from which the pigs charged forth. Speaking in the speech of spirits to the phone at his hip. Sulu fires off the text to the clean up crew.
The crinos turns and looks to the others, then back into the darkness of the park. they could chat. He’d keep an eye, nose and ear out. Just in case*
[Joey] What an exciting day this had turned out to be. First, she got to explore the city a little more. Then she made new friends, and even got to play. And then they fought.
It was a good day. Except for that heart stopping moment when one of the skull pigs ripped Charlie open, dumping his entrails. He didn’t seem to feel it, didn’t let it stop him from continuing on. Laughs in the Face of Death watches as Gossamer Wing heals her grievously injured friend.
Blood coats the fur around Joey’s face and muzzle, staining the white at her cheeks. She lifts a forepaw and licks along her leg, wiping the blood from her tongue before shifting up into her war form. In the heat of battle it’s easy to ignore the dangers of biting her opponents in favor of damage. But for the act of preparing the trophies, she would prefer powerful humanoid arms.
[Sinclair] After tearing the largest Skull Pig’s head off of its body, the hulking Glass Walker whips her blood-drenched muzzle around, pale blue eyes gleaming, searching for the next one. Body language, howls: the voice of the Fostern Ahroun in battle with them directs her towards another of the swine, which falls so efficiently underneath Joey’s teeth that it makes Sinclair twitch.
Her tail whips, her jaw snaps, and rain starts to fall down on her head, glinting in drops on the piercings that show up even in this form’s ears, as blood runs through the grass. She snarls when Marrick tells them they ‘did well’ and issues her orders, but not in defiance. It is the equivalent of grumbling, and it passes.
My trophies are for Maelstrom until the solstice.
She growls this quietly this as she strides forward, lifting the head of the Skull Pig Lukas sent she and Ewan and Joey after, carrying it by one tusk rather than digging in her teeth where it’s bloody. A glance is thrown Charlie’s way — he cleansed both she and her packmate of taint in the past, and apparently his welfare makes some difference to her, but seeing him tended to, she keeps walking. She does not have Joey’s attachment to the metis. It could very well seem that she sees him as nothing more than a useful tool.
A few steps away she glances back at Wyrmbreaker, sensing a rising tension. She looks back at Marrick. Then Lukas again. The skull pig’s head dangles from her jaws as she goes back and forth.
And then gets out of the way.
[Joss Lehrer] If Charlie were a betting man, he could likely bet that the dire wolf that is the Godi – grinned at him. Winked even. She knows he doesn’t trust her yet, but fact of the matter is, she’s his Elder, by position and rank, and she would have healed him anyway. It is her duty, and privilege.
Only then does she shift down to homid, and stretches slowly. Then her hands fall to the strap of her small bag that’s with her wherever she goes. “I’ve got the supplies, Charlie, if you’d like to help, still.”
And she digs inside to grab her cleansing stuff, and goes about doing exactly that.
[Marrick Fisher] She gives orders, his fur bristles, and she looks back at the Shadow Lord. He’s larger than her. He’s stronger than her. And he is faster than her. And he’s just staring at her.
She looks back.
“Wyrmbreaker-rhya, I need t’have some words with you, privately, once this is all said an’ done,” she tells him. And then? “I would appreciate the audience.”
Anod at rank, acknowledging the fact that he was, in fact, a Fostern. And everything neat and tidy and control gripped so tightly that it might have been fractured.
a pause. Then? To everyone.
“Take whatever y’all think’s appropriate,” she says. Then, the Fury takes a moment to take on a shape more suited to war, and goes to rend whatever is left of the skull pigs in a more manageable, removable form.
[Ewan Selwyn] *Ewan extends one obsidian arm and what appears to be a small flock of shadowy bats shoots forth from his fur. They reform into the shape of his battle axe.
One last sniff and look around and he turns back towards the bodies. Pauses and looks to Wyrmbreaker and Glossamer. Ears perk forward a bit, silently waiting for their thoughts on it.
Unlike many, he grew up in Garou society. Rank was beat into him from infancy, not just puberty. He awaited ranking people to get their shit out of the way. Namely Lucas looking like he might have somethin’ to say/do here.*
[Joey] The Ahrouns are facing off. Joey rips skull pig heads from skull pig bodies, gathers them by their tusks, and moves out of the way. She follows her sister, providing cover by means of the Delirium incited on weak-willed humans when she’s in her war form.
She’s not familiar with Spin Doctor, doesn’t know if his trophies will go on the Wyrmpole, or if his pack is like the Eagles, with their own means of displaying the spoils of war. So she leaves the skull pig he finished off for him once he has his ax in hand.
[Wyrmbreaker] (+10+10)
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 7 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Marrick Fisher] (I’m confused! 6+1d10)
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 5
[Sinclair] Wyrmbreaker: 27
Marrick: 11
Declare in reverse! Now… STARE! STARE LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT.
[Joss Lehrer] The Eagles place their trophies on the Wyrm poll like any other. The grisley reminders that border their territory have a whole story of their own. She glances at Ewan, who seems to be waiting for something. She snorts.
“You afraid to get your ax dirty or something? Get busy. Keep everything central for cleansing.”
Standing there like there’s no reason to get this shit cleaned up and gone before folks start to trickle back in as the rage subsides and curiosities raise. She’s not completely oblivious to Marrick and Lukas, either. She’s watching, but still going about doing her duty at the same time. Multitasking. It’s her friend.
[Marrick Fisher] (You got somethin’ on your face…: STARING AT LUKAS!)
[Wyrmbreaker] (Facedown. Char+Intim+PB vs diff 6, need 8 succ total.)
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 2, 4, 4, 5, 8, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Marrick Fisher] (Facedown: Charisma+Int+PB, diff 6(because that’s what Damon did) 8 successes necessary)
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 4, 8, 8, 8 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Wyrmbreaker] (Moar facedown!)
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 2, 2, 2, 6, 6, 8, 8, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Marrick Fisher] (More staring! Spending a willpower to keep going)
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 6, 6, 8, 8 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Ewan Selwyn] *Ewan wasn’t afraid to get his axe dirty. He was just deferring to rank. Which all those with rank bitch and moan about if you don’t, and apperently if you DO. FIRST SHARE OF THE KILL TO THOSE OF HIGHER STATION Was PART of Ewan. So he’d waited till Higher station said or indicated something.
Once Joss said something he flickered his ears back and the axe moved with blinding speed.*
[Wyrmbreaker] One word, a snarl: “Submit.”
[Marrick Fisher] Submit.
One word. She doesn’t reply; she just keeps glaring at him.
[Marrick Fisher] (-1 WP, keep staring!)
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 4, 6, 8, 8, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Sinclair] [Wyrmbreaker
(Moar facedown!)]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 2, 4, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Sinclair] [REDACTED. SOMEONE HAS FUCKING AMAZING TIMING.]
[Wyrmbreaker] (FINE, MOAR STARING. Round three, -1WP)
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 2, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Marrick Fisher] (KEEEEEP GOING -1WP)
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 1, 4, 7, 8, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Wyrmbreaker] (WP down to 3, STILL STARING)
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Marrick Fisher] She stared at him much longer than should have been possible, but eventually the Fury does look away. She doesn’t say a word.
[Wyrmbreaker] The entire ordeal lasted a handful of seconds. At one point, Bones to Dust’s eyes flickered … did not turn away. At another, later, Wyrmbreaker begins to growl, so low and deep in his chest that he may not be aware of it himself. All the fur on the Hispo’s back is on end when the Fury at last turns away. Capitulates.
It’s not enough.
The Shadow Lord takes a single step forward. The subaural growl spikes suddenly into a snarl. He crowds her space; blatant dominance in his upright ears, his braced stance, his tail straight out.
“You’re beaten. I’ll see you show your throat, Cliath.”
[Ewan Selwyn] *Ewan’s glassy clear blue killer’s eyes flickered up when Lucas’ spoke, the axe in his crinos claw dripping tacky poisoned blood. Then he was back to work. Hacking the pigs up into manageable pieces. As Joss indicated, keeping them central. Stacking them like cord wood. The heads, those grizzly skull pig heads left to one side for the pole.
As usual. Ewan says nothing. Just goes about the work as if bred to hacking up giant monstrosity’s. Which, in part, he was*
[Marrick Fisher] It takes a seconds for her to do this. She looks away, she stays tense. He invades her space and the Fury doesn’t move. She doesn’t back away, she doesn’t do much of anything.
She just stands very… very still.
You’re beaten, he reminds her, I’ll see you show your throat, Cliath.
It is the reminder of rank that does it. The emphasis that she is of a lower rank, that he is afforded this, that she is to respect those of a higher station. She submits, and it’s not enough.
Chin tilts upward, head to the side. Her throat is bared, and the Fury submits.
[Joss Lehrer] She continues to keep an eye on Marrick and Lukas as they go about settling their differences, even as she travels around the battle field in windershins wth smoldering torch, purified water, and branch of willow, Charlie working with her. The two of them pooling resources in order to make short work of cleansing not only the trophies and skull pig parts, but all those within the circle.
Soon enough, they break their silence with the unearthly howl needed to drive the wyrm from the area.
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 3, 8, 8, 8, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Sinclair] All this time, Sinclair has been standing some distance away, watching Lukas and Marrick. She does not join in the cleansing or the howl that fills the park when Joss and Charlie raise their voices to get it done. She watches, and witnesses, and remembers. That is, she hears, part of her job.
When it’s over, she does something else that — at least in her mind — fills the description of a Galliard’s duty. Without a howl, without even a sound, Sinclair evokes both Litany and story with the eloquence she often lacks when she is in her birth form and opening her mouth.
Marrick tips her head back and shows her throat.
Sinclair pads forward in hispo, her steps shortening and her tail lowering as she gets closer. She drops largest skull pig’s head not far from Lukas’s forepaws, her head down. The only thing she takes from it is the swine’s left tusk, ripped sharply from its face. This, she continues to hold in her jaws. Lukas did not lay a hand on that particular pig. He did, however, order her, Joey, and Ewan’s attack on it.
The Galliard does not bare her throat. She backs away again, returning to Joey’s side.
[Wyrmbreaker] Some of the tension leaves Wyrmbreaker’s body when Bones to Dust submits. It lifts — not like a storm, but like some pressure, some ultra-low-frequency noise so pervasive and subversive that it’s only noted in retrospect, when it’s gone.
Or no — not gone. Lessened.
His tail drops a little, hangs easily now. He chuffs once, glares at the Fury for another second, and then snaps his head around when the Glass Walker approaches from his side. Wyrmbreaker’s terrible pale eyes glitter from Galliard to trophy to Galliard. It’s seconds on end before he shakes his head, suddenly, sending his thick fur riffling, scattering the electric moment like rain from his pelt.
“You slew it; it’s yours to hang on the Wyrmpole.” He pushes off his forepaws, rises unsteadily on his haunches. Steadies. Changes. Homid now, the Shadow Lord wipes blood off his face, shakes it from his fingers. Cleanup — and Cleansing — is proceeding readily. He takes his car keys out; offers them to the group at large. “My car is just across the street if anyone needs it to move carcasses.”
Which is another event he’s not participating in. Because:
“Bones-to-Dust, let’s have that talk you wanted.”
[Ewan Selwyn] *Ewan looked over and then towards where the car was indicated. Then the 3 pony sized and one horse sized monster pigs then back to see what sort of car Lucas drove*
[Wyrmbreaker] Lukas’s car, as it turns out, is a rather small BMW M3 coupe. It’s about 5 years old. It’s black.
There is no way three ponies and a horse would fit into his trunk. Even if they folded the rear seats down.
[Sinclair] The Galliard, then, drops the tusk from her maw. She melts back into her breed form, bloody and… well. Still wearing that hat. Maybe it’s sentimental; she dedicated it. The talen she activated before the battle is still pinned to it. Sinclair is crouching, one hand on the grass beside the torn-off tusk, and she repeats herself:
“All my trophies belong to Maelstrom until the winter solstice. I made an oath.” There’s a beat. She spits blood out of her mouth, wipes her jaw with her sleeve. “Nothing on the Wyrmpole will bear my name til my chiminage to Maelstrom is paid.”
She doesn’t argue, though. Sinclair goes back towards him and reaches down, hauling up the enormous head in one fist like it’s nothing — or like she, already surreally strong on her own, has the force of a devouring wind backing all her efforts.
“My car’s that-a-way,” she says, jerking her head eastward. She looks at Joey. “You run faster.” She digs her free, bloody hand into her pocket and takes her keys out, tossing them to her sister.
[Ewan Selwyn] *Ewan shook his head. Once the offal was cut up he shifted back down to homid. Wiping off his hands on a rust red hankie he then took out his awakened Iphone 3g and checked on the cleaning crew. (( going out on a limb here…)* ETA on clean up in 5. Coming from the west.
*He nodded to Marrick to let her know they’d be entering her turf. but it was as requested. The axe in his other hand shattered and the tiny flock of teny bats flew up his sleeve*
[Joey] The staredown finishes quickly, with the higher ranked Shadow Lord the victor. Joey watches the whole business with her massive head cocked to the side. Occasionally, her ears flick and swivel as they catch or seek out sounds.
She watches as Sinclair offers the head of the largest pig to Wyrmbreaker in accordance with the Litany. Her head cocks to the side once more when he returns it to Sinclair.
Joey drops the two heads she was holding and melts into her homid form. That of an athletic young blonde girl, freckled face smeared with blood. She catches up the keys, grins and salutes her alpha. Index and middle finger tapped to her temple, then flicked out in a wave to the group at large.
“Later!” She is the faster runner, as she proved earlier in a game of tag where a Godi had to train the wind elementals exclusively on the Rotagar to slow her down to everyone else’s speed. Joey shoes her speed once more as she bolts down the road.
[Marrick Fisher] Some of the tension leaves his body, and eventually she does relax once she determines that the point is made. Which brings up the point that she needed to talk to him. However, the only expressions of privacy would be found in her volume.
There were things that she liked, and things that she didn’t, and therewas a quiet displeasure in knowing that he was several inches tallerthan her and she would have to look up to talk to him with any modicun of privacy.
She glances to Ewan and gives an upward nod. “Thanks,” she tells him.
Then, it’s back to the fostern.
“Well, this is Oz park. Part of La Familia’s territory,” she tells him, “figured I should say that.”
Another pause, and her voice drops. Clearly, whatever words she was having were meant for his ears alone.
[Joss Lehrer] Sinclair tells Joey she runs faster, and the Godi? Laughs.
Not at the comment so much, certainly not at Joey, but for the simple fact of how very true it is. She watches her run off, still chuckling as she takes a moment, and simply sinks to a crouch, comfortable, and watching Marrick and Lukas, Ewan and Sinclair and Charlie, and waits for clean up crew to arrive so they can load everything up.
[Ewan Selwyn] *When the crew arrives, Ewan directs them to the butchered pigs and what not. Letting them do their thing.
He looked to the remaining garou* Anyone need anything else? *Glassy clear blue eyes flickering between them*
[Wyrmbreaker] They’ve always managed to interact with civility, even friendliness.
Tonight, however, Wyrmbreaker’s countenance is stony, his silence rather cold. When Marrick reminds him that this is her pack’s territory — aloud — he looks at her flatly.
“It is,” he agrees. “And this is the second time in as many weeks that you have been unable to defend it alone.”
They move further away. She drops her voice. He lowers his head a little to hear her better, his bloody hands laced behind his back, his bloody face frowning in thought: the cannibal Thinker. A little ways down the road, he turns his head toward her. Whatever he says then is inaudible.
[Sinclair] Sinclair, primitive little beast that she is, takes the hint rather efficiently. She keeps her distance from the Ahrouns, though she glances over occasionally in case one of them lunges for the other, and crouches down in the rain, one hand still on top of the skull pig’s…
…well. Skull.
“Nope,” she says succinctly to Ewan, giving him and his crew a nod that is part appreciation, part dismissal. She stands with her and Joey’s trophies, waiting for the other Twister blonde to bring the El Camino around.
[Ewan Selwyn] *Ewan waited till they were finished and looked over at the low speaking Ahroun. Reaching up he scratched one arm though the Canadian digital cammo jacket where a spur was breaking the skin underneith. His voice came out soft, though accented strangely as usual. One of the few to learn High tongue before English or spanish. His tonals coming out harsh, like Russian or Klingon.*
Would some one thank Marrick for her pack’s hospitality for me?
* He didn’t even seem Ironic. Hell he’d called and asked permission before entering. Respecting her turf.
Bending he picked up the skull they’d left for him*
If there’s nothing else. I should get back to my own turf and put in a few patrols. Make sure there’s no pork problems at home.
*He looked to Joss and bowed his head respectfully to the fostern. Then nodded to Sinclair. It’d be weird leaving her name off things but it’s as she wished. Then turned and headed out. catching a ride with the clean up crew. Some how he doubted even the ‘seen it all’ attitude of Chicago night transit would be able to overlook a Skull pig skull on the El train.*
[Ewan Selwyn] (( they, being the clean up crew, being finished))
[Joey] It’s not long before the El Camino is rumbling down the street toward Oz Park. Joey drives like a beast. She grew up in the desert, learned to drive on long stretches of desert freeway, and from wild and crazy boys. She knows how to make nearly any car do what she wants it to do, move as fast as she needs it to move. And if it won’t, she knows how to modify it so that it will the next time.
For a girl, the young Rotagar has a lot of decidedly unfeminine skills.
Today she’s not driving crazily. They’re on someone else’s turf, and that and the need to keep the eyes of the public off them are all that keep Joey from peeling out, or hopping the curb to park right beside her packsister. Instead she parks as close as she can, kills the engine, and hops out of the green El Camino. Then she’s jogging over to the others, passing them, stopping over by the statue of the Tin Man to retriever her bomber jacket. Which she puts on over top of her bloody sweatshirt. She doesn’t know how these other assholes can stand the cold now that the fighting is over.
She hurries over to Sinclair, to help drag heads to the car.
[Joss Lehrer] She lifts her hand in a little wave at Ewan’s nod. Joey arrives shortly after, and Joss stands, and moves to help them drag their trophies to the El Camino. She has not claimed one of her own. It may be that she feels she does not deserve one, or that others deserve it more – or perhaps there’s something all together different in the reasoning as she helps them load up.
Either way, she doesn’t say. Godi’s are strange anyway – why would this be anything different?
[Marrick Fisher] She’s looking at Lukas, and it’s a very intent sort of look. First, with confusion, and then, almost defensive, which gets shut down-
Immediately.
And then other words.
[Wyrmbreaker] There’s a very small scoff when Marrick appreciates his advance warning.
“I don’t get anything out of trampling my Septmates down, Bones to Dust. If you two can pick yourselves up and get back into shape, then all the better.”
The alternative is left unspoken. He’s already told her, anyway.
“Was there anything else?”
[Marrick Fisher] Lukas was, at this moment, one of four Shadow Lords she has met in her entire life. The first being back in Oklahoma, who needed little mention, who taught her without saying a single word that her body was a weapon, and that it could be used for psychological warfare. The second being Lukas himself, then the third and fourth being the Boogeymen, whose names escaped her but the resentment did not.
Suffice to say, Lukas was not Emilio. Even if they were both tall and dark haired full moons. Lukas was not Javier, nor was he Edwin. Even if the blood did sing similar tales.
She was left with no frame of reference, and a mindset that was both logical and disconcerting all at once.
“We’re finishing the defenses for the Brotherhood, soon. I’m going to need all the residents to help break them down, then I wanna know how y’all did it. Figured I should give you the heads up.”
A pause.
“Everything after that is covered by “I ain’t makin’ excuses,” so…” a break. “Need anything?”
[Wyrmbreaker] Lukas stops walking. They haven’t been moving with a destination in mind; they were merely walking to walk, giving their bodies something to do while they spoke. For all he knows someone drove his car away. For all he knows he’ll be walking back to the Brotherhood now. Or flying. He still has that for another day, another night, though Lukas knows already that that is coming to an end.
Now he stands where he is, a dark thing born of dark blood, rain on his shoulders, rain on his bare head, rain running down his cheeks and washing streaks of clean through the blood. He thinks for a moment; shakes his head. Then he changes his mind.
“I would have still followed you tonight, had you taken the lead. Now I’m not sure.” He punctuates the pause with a shrug of his shoulders. “So show me my trust would not have been misplaced, Bones to Dust, and you’ll earn it back.”
[Marrick Fisher] (whatchu thinkin’ ’bout, Willis?)
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 2, 3, 5 (Failure at target 7)
[Marrick Fisher] She stains.
Her hair is blonde, and even with the rain coming down, parts are still red. Morbid strawberry blonde. By now, they’re both wet. And they stop, and she regards him and his thoughtful expression but finds herself sorely wanting in that regard. She doesn’t have a damned clue what he is thinking
But nothing stings worse than disappointment, and what’s worse is that she’s not even sure why she’s looking for approval.
She nods, but doesn’t say a word.
It’s odd, because even on the best of days, she is not good at hiding what she’s thinking. On the best of days, Marrick Fisher is an open book with an accurate index. On the worst of days, she simply is.Whatever is there is written across her face, in her body posture, everything. He says that he would have followed her tonight, and it is equal parts wanting to believe him and doubt. What kind of doubt was uncertain, though.
“Am I dismissed?” again, trying to nod to rank. Trying and succeeding were two different things though, and it was clear that she wasn’t going to leave until he told her to go away.
[Wyrmbreaker] Lukas is new to his rank. His Challenge was so trivial that it was clear to all that his rank was already earned and deserved, but even so, the blatant nods to his position occasionally give him pause.
It doesn’t discomfit him. But it does make him halt for a second. Then he nods. “Goodnight, Bone to Dust.”
Lukas turns; he walks back the way he came, turning his face up to the rain as he goes, letting it wash carnage from his skin.