Decker Rohl

Decker Rohl

Thu 12:12AM EST
Speak of the devil...

Not quite a devil, Decker. Not suave enough. But speak of him and he does show up: Ford, James, Livingston and all, bouncing through the pinelands at night at some insanely fast speed. 30, 40mph, offroad, with one working headlight.

"STOP!"

That would be Livingston, hollering from the back of the truck where he was getting bounced around but good. Decker slams on the brakes; the truck creaks and groans to a stop ten or twelve feet from the little gathering.

"You wanna tell me why we stopped?" grumbles Decker, throwing the handbrake on and turning around to call through the open window at the back.

Livingston shakes his head and sucks a hit off his pipe. "Straight ahead, mon."

Decker and James look. Why, if it isn't Nova and Siobhan. A mutter under his breath, and the doors of the Ford creak noisily open. Thud, thud: two FUll-Moons land on the forest floor.

Siobhan

Thu 12:14AM EST
Her head snaps to look at Nova..
crack the vertibre in her neck cracking and making that sound...trying to save her...shit she should just say
thanks for compeltely botching shit up, not thinking and ruining the plan (was there a plan)
a warrior she was supposed to be a warrior...she WAS a warrior, she wouldnt act without thinking next time...thats for sure..never again but Curious by Nature...she could have helped it that time..
"yeah.." she pauses..
"Sorry i didnt get us out of there"
enough words there...that was for sure....

the sounds of a vehicle...something...coming towards Gabes clearing...

oh....him when he gets into view....But she doesnt say anything...she merely paces, ignoring her shadow who seems to be pacing behind her

Dire

Thu 12:15AM EST
*He turns to look up at the truck. Stopping his pacing behind Chewie. Gently resting the head of his long handeled hammer on the ground he puts one hand on top of it. He's in glabro form at the moment. Platinum blond hair and slightly silvered furr here and there. Dressed in Combat boots, jeans, a furr lined vest, bracers. Crystle blue eyes seem to take in the two new comers and laugh. His voice crunchy and rather amused* Your missing a headlight.

Nova

Thu 12:17AM EST
She hears the truck a mile away, rolled her eyes as it got closer and she recognizes the sound of the engine. She ignores it, still speaking to Siobhan.

"Not an issue. Trying is the best anyone can do. It's good enough for me."

Siobhan

Thu 12:18AM EST
She mutters to Nova quietly..
"it isnt good enough for me"

Decker Rohl

Thu 12:18AM EST
Livingston's still tripping out in the bed of the truck. James and Decker are trodding up through the nighttime forest scented with pine, the former glancing at his tribesmate, the latter glancing at his.

Well. Sort-of tribesmate, in the case of Siobhan.

Then the glabro wiseass points out the obvious. Decker twists around to look back at the one-lighted truck; twists back. "No shit, Sherlock." A nod up for Nova. "How you feelin', Crescent-Moon?"

Dire

Thu 12:20AM EST
Yeah fuck nuts. * he nods to the truck* you do. Could be a safty hazard. You might wanna check that.

Nova

Thu 12:21AM EST
A not-so-sweet smile crosses her face as she addresses Decker.

"Stoned. Whatda'ya want?"

Siobhan

Thu 12:22AM EST
fuck nuts? Her eyes merely roll...When would she come across people who actually acted as Gaian...who respected the territory of another, who respected the land, who respected the Mother...
Ugh...She just continued to slowly pace...As she hears Deckers voice ask about Nova she can hear his voice in Decker..and it makes her cringe inside. [are you your fathers child]
She doesnt speak to him, nor does she speak to Dire...his childlike antics disturbed her as much as everything disturbed her...and she wasnt a girl of many words...
generally quiet

Nova

Thu 12:23AM EST
She was obviously annoyed at not being able to stand, to be forced to look up at Decker. It was like rubbing a cat the wrong way, and there was definate puff-up effect in the air.

Decker Rohl

Thu 12:23AM EST
Another twist around to look at the truck while beside him, James keeps his peace. For an Ahroun, James had a lot of that: peace.

Decker looks back at Dire. "Yeah whatever," he grunts. "Ain't dead yet." A closer, scrutinizing look, noting the glyph carved in over his eye. "Got a name, Fenrir?"

And then, to Nova. The smile grates on his nerves; his nerves are wearing thin. "Visitin' yer ass," he replies, cool and quiet, Southern boy to the core. A flick of a glance around. "Looks like you ain't achin' fer company, though."

Dire

Thu 12:25AM EST
*he nods still sizing up Decker* Yeah, and I can spell it too. Can you say the same? * mimicing Deckers accent* Or do they teach that by grade 3 in Mobile?

Decker Rohl

Thu 12:27AM EST
A blond eyebrow, darker than the shortcropped fuzz of his hair, shoots up. Beside him, James would feel the faint bristle in the Modi's mood. "Askin' you yer name, boy. Answer the fuckin' question."

Jukebox

Thu 12:29AM EST
peace
it's amazing what that can bring for one
good ol', all natural, 100%, low down, knock out, drag out, you'll be this way if it kills you, peace

it might also be he not about to get all riled up in this part of the woods
literally
this ain't his territory
this ain't his thing
sinuses all clogged up with pine-sol

course, it is sorta nice to be out of the motel room
and it shows in the easy smile that's formed somewhere in the frame of light brown dreads
well, at least until that familiar ripple washed over him
(here. we go. again.)
he isn't thrilled with the new Fenrir's attitude, either

muscular shoulders shrug
rebar in the sling clacking
he's not saying anything.... yet

Nova

Thu 12:29AM EST
She knew his temper was wearing thin, but then, wasn't it always? And that wore thin on her. But she was quite happy for Dire acting as a distraction for Decker.

Siobhan

Thu 12:30AM EST
She looks at Dire..."watch it" she snaps her words flipping off her tongue. She isnt in the mood, and certainly doesnt like her own home being insulted in front of her...
2 words
watch it and she meant both of them, it wasnt past her to fight..to hurt or to win..in fact she didnt mind fighting one bit, the rage inside her always pushed her to the edge, the edge she enjoyed walking 99% of the time..
not tonight though She wasnt in the mood...
Lifting her arm slightly in a circular motion, wincing only briefly as she continues to move it...fucking great comapny here in the one place she figured no one would come to...Didnt they all like the stench of the wyrm ridden city more...more their style

(remind you of anyone) They were more alike then they knew

Dire

Thu 12:30AM EST
Earn it slow, stupid and Ill favored. I suspect your rep preceeds you and I already know yours. * He arks a platinum blond brow himself and stands there.*

Nova

Thu 12:33AM EST
Looking around, she idly found herself wondering if they were more likely to fight near the fire, or away from it... Cause she certainly didn't feel like getting trampled.

Dire

Thu 12:35AM EST
*He steps out of the way and lets him fly on by with a slap on the butt* OLEY!

Siobhan

Thu 12:39AM EST
Her head moves to watch the 2 dammit she hated watching...she could feel her heartbeat racing..the anger from the past few days stewing on the fact she had made a mistake int he battle with the spider filling her up inside..
she needed to release it yet she couldnt...still fucking healing...
Sonnofabitch--She continues to pace, slowly...not even bothering to watch the 2 flaunt their manlihood...or whatever it was She merely paced...every once in a while looking up at the sky...

Jukebox

Thu 12:39AM EST
well
not one to be left out
a dark brow lifts
cooly glancing at Dire

"And apparently yours isn't reputable or intelligent enough to proceed you. Must you posture this way, or are you capable of interacting like the others?"

hm. too late now.
he has to admit there's a beauty in that
watching Decker go six-ways-furry-from-Sunday
he doesn't move back
just watching
amazingly relaxed with all the tempers swelling, isn't he

Decker Rohl

Thu 12:41AM EST
--and the direwolf lands, turns, claws tractioning through dirt like a motherfuckin' michelin from hell. A whuff out - might've almost been a cold snort.

Quick, aren'tcha?

A paw at the earth, and then the direwolf bunches to lunge again - a feint - and this time, anticipates the dodge. Six ways furry from Sunday barrels right into Dire, knocking him down, and a crushing bite finds home on the throat.

Just one?
He was still playing around.

Dire

Thu 12:41AM EST
*Still apperently clam* I interact quite well. Chewie and Short stuff here haven't killed me yet.

Siobhan

Thu 12:42AM EST
She narrows her eyes yet again..."not yet anyways" she mutters as the fight continues.."and thats only cause im still fucked up"
nuff said bout that

Jukebox

Thu 12:43AM EST
there's a look
even a bit of an easy grin
as the grey storm hits Dire
yeh, but you forgot about Alabama boy, didn't you

Nova

Thu 12:43AM EST
The puff-up effect. Even though she doesn't shift, and she's tiny, she looks damn pissed. Raising up as much as she can with two bum legs...

"ExCUSE ME! This a place of healing! If you're gonna fight, get the FUCK OUT!!"

That's a lot of voice for a tiny person.

Dire

Thu 12:44AM EST
*He nods* Very. * He sees the flient but desides to take the lundge straight on. The long iorn handel of the sledge coming up and braced in two hands it racks across the teeth side ways. Rolling backwards he lets the hispo Take him to the ground and then with titanic strength he levers his legs up sending him on his merry way in the same direction he was going to start with. A gentle kip up and twirl of the hammer and he loos down at a gnash in his theigh* Humm... mayby not quite as slow as I thought... still look funny though.

Jukebox

Thu 12:46AM EST
a rebar stick makes its way out from the sling
sharpened tip (wait, what happened to the wrappings) gently finding its way beneath Nova's jaw
lifting up
chsh
he doesn't say anything
it's all in a look

do you want to be next?

she should know the ways better than that
and the Gnawer goes back to watching

Decker Rohl

Thu 12:49AM EST
Decker...isn't patient. He didn't like games. He liked a fight as much as the next Fenrir, but somewhere in the middle of every brawl, things turn serious.

They just turned serious here.

When the iron-grey beast attacks this time, he explodes. All the speed and strength of his Moon come barreling down, hurricane in a windtunnel, whirlwind in grey pelt, and when it hits Dire - it seems to split. Not one, not two, not three, not four -

Five bites. Five different directions. Anywhere he could reach, every which way, tearing flesh, crushing bone. Dire can dodge one, maybe even two - but not all five. Not all at once.

Nova

Thu 12:49AM EST
She grabs the end of the rebar, glaring down it to James, her eyes telling him that she doesn't give a shit.

A noise much like a growl comes out of her throat as she shoves the rebar away from her, still looking at James.

"Dont. Touch. Me."

Siobhan

Thu 12:52AM EST
So ya
Thought ya
Might like to go to the show.

She stops her pacing, its a wonder how there wasnt a groove wore into the ground where she continued walking back and forth...Stopping completely to watch the show

To feel the warm thrill of confusion
That space cadet glow.

She isnt amused..[you are so much like your father] but she also isnt compltely appauled, this was their way...and she knew it, she still felt the rage building up inside her..she wanted in..and for some reason...not against her (half) brother..no not at all in fact her anger was building towards the other guy...
how dare he come here and..
But what could she do right now...not until her arm and back were healed...
Tell me is something eluding you, sunshine?
Is this not what you expected to see?
If you wanna find out what's behind these cold eyes
You'll just have to claw your way through this disguise.

Jukebox

Thu 12:53AM EST
the tall Gnawer falls into a crouch
dreads swaying in the tilt of his head
leaning in a bit towards Nova

"You want him to turn on you next, kid? If so... keep it up."

I covered your tail when that creepy guy was asking about you
don't make me regret it

Nova

Thu 12:56AM EST
She keeps her eyes on James.

"Thanks for the help, but it's it's so conditional, I don't need it. Besides, you admitted you don't know enough about spirits. And they're fucking it all up. As a Theurge, it's my job to protect the clearing. So leave me to it."

Jukebox

Thu 01:00AM EST
"Exactly."

there's a soft chuckle

"But there's a fault in your plan. Do you think those two are actually going to listen to you right now? Save your breath for fixing things when we're gone unless you want to become a part of the fight."

c'mon kid, you're a Gnawer, you should know better
besides
this is Decker we're talking about here
and I honestly don't want to see you splattered

Dire

Thu 01:12AM EST
* he looks down at his leg* Ok bitch. Now youlearn to hurt. * Calling on his gifts he turns off his pain, surdging to crinos he pivots on his good leg his speed ungodly and the long handeled battlehammer singing though the air to knock that arrogent bastard into the next country

Nova

Thu 01:17AM EST
She smirks, an evil little smirk, like she carries an important secrets.
Kid. He called me kid. And being a Bone Gnawer, he still thinks me powerless...
A laugh escapes her lips as she turns to the hypnotizing flame that sits next to her, gets lost in it, and starts speaking in the language of the spirits.

Siobhan

Thu 01:21AM EST
She moves to the treeline..not wanting to watch what she couldnt be a part of
Fucking...fucks..
She didnt even know what she was annoyed at now...She hated that, being pissed off and not even knowing EHY she was pissed off, just knowing she was pissed off the rage building inside like a full bladder..ready to explode if she didnt have some...sort...of...release..
pissed off.. She just stews at the treeline...

System Admin

Thu 01:21AM EST
The spirits are informed their clearing is being desecrated...informed by the girl...
the winds change and rush in strong...a warning

Decker Rohl

Thu 01:27AM EST
Crinos for Crinos, the Modi throws out his right arm even as he charges into the blow. Black tendrils creep down the length of the knotted, corded arm, coming together in his clawed hand - a staff, no, a spear, no, a greataxe that only a Crinos could ever wield.

Ogre. Foot upon foot of black metal inscribed with runes; a heavy spike at one end, a two-headed axe, one drastically larger than the other, on the other. The axe is dull black from tip to tip, but the edge gleams hot and bright.

The warhammer catches the Modi on the side of the skull, and he staggers sideways under the onslaught, nearly falling to one knee. In the next instant, the greataxe screeches to a stop an inch from the Skald's neck.

A low, rippling snarl: You don't know me. No accent in the Garou-speech; nothing but the blood of Fenris. Don't pretend you know me. While your 'friend' here poisoned you against a tribesmate, my pack and I tracked Dancers. While you were sitting here listening to her crap, we killed two of them.

There's more out there. Two at least. Good killing. We can keep this bullshit up or you can ask how you can get a bite in.

The greataxe vanishes back into the arm of the Crinos-wolf. (Boldly) shifting down first, though only to Glabro, Decker rubs the side of his (cracked) skull, spits to the side, and levels a steady grey gaze at the Skald.

Dire

Thu 01:30AM EST
*His brows raise at the axe. He nods at that seeming to ponder it* Yeah.. You got a point. * He shifts down to glabro himself and gently slings his hammer over his shoulder on the slender cord. He looks at his leg* You have to fuckin' bite me?? * he grunts and hobbles over to sit beside nova and roots though his pack and pulls out duct tape and starts taping his leg up* She didn't posion me aginst you by the way. Just let me in on your character. * he chuckels his leg hurting like a mother fucker*

Siobhan

Thu 01:31AM EST
And her head turns as the words come from his mouth...Dancer?
She turns and heads back towards the 2 fighting...Dancers
She forgets the anger and rage for the moment...her own mind now racing with thoughts...
warrior she moves to Decker..looking at him.
Eyes taking him in, [you look so much like him]
she looks right into his eyes..ignoring the fight, the brawl, and not waiting for Dire to answer...instead she speaks..
"How many more do you think there are?" she is quick to ask the question..."You killed 2?" the corners of her mouth turn up slightly..."Did you gut them?" and the smile widens

Jukebox

Thu 01:33AM EST
that was....
eventful
but the Gnawer hasn't moved much
slightly wondering what Nova was doing
..... paranoid? not him....

Nova

Thu 01:34AM EST
Her eyes refocus back to normal, and she turns to look at James again with a smirk.

Decker Rohl

Thu 01:35AM EST
No words, as he watches the Skald sit. Only after the other has lowered himself down does Decker sit as well - half-buckling down, one hand rising to hold his throbbing. Concussion from hell.

"Ain't never pretended to be a hero," is his short reply to one or all of Dire's comments. Then, the storm-grey eyes lance to Siobhan. A quiet. "Two more at least. A fucked-up Garou and a twisted kin. Don't know where they's holed up."

He ignores the invitation to boast. To boast would be to remember; to remember would be to hear Asher's voice ringing through his head again.

Dire

Thu 01:37AM EST
*He nods to Decker* We'll find um... fucking bastards... WHAT? * he looks around and squints* Go away* He half lunges at something that apperently only he sees and cackels as it runs away. Looking back to them he finishes taping his leg and puts the duct tape in his bag* Chewie and Short stuff were telling me about some killer Spider rats too.

Jukebox

Thu 01:38AM EST
at this point
he's still quietly listening
though at the sudden outburst, he can't help the little grin that starts
(you know, that little boyish grin when you just figure out the jinx)
and it flashes at Nova
so that's what that was

Decker Rohl

Thu 01:40AM EST
Chewie. Short Stuff. Decker's eyes flicker, and he decides not to say anything about it. Coiled on his shoulder, the black tattoo (axe) gleams one moment, liquid-bright; is dull the next, dark as velvet-night. Slowly, slowly, the tattoo seems to settle down, resuming its original sheen against the Modi's skin.

"Killer spider rats?"

Siobhan

Thu 01:40AM EST
At least 2....she ponders this..
at least...2 Her hand moving to her chin as she thinks...
Then hearing Dire again she snaps
"I said A RAT..a big fucking rat..not a spider rat" you freak She shakes her head..."one big fucking rat..and lets not talk about the stupid spiders" she shakes her head.."plus there was some guy on the awning" she shrugs....
and returns her glance to Decker, then her eyes move to Nova and James...and she remains quiet...
not cause she has nothing to say She does...but more to listen for now..she really cant tell much of the incident with the spiders..except the acted before thinking and made things worse.
curious by nature

Dire

Thu 01:42AM EST
*he throws his hands up in the air* WELL I WASN"T HERE! * He shakes his head* Spider AND rats then Sheesh.

Nova

Thu 01:42AM EST
Returning James' smile with a grin, she nods.

"A Theurge is rarely powerless. Especially at sacred sites. And this is close enough.

Decker Rohl

Thu 01:43AM EST
Oh. That.

"James's lookin' into that this Friday." Rage blown off in one fell stroke, the Modi seems almost indrawn, contemplative. "Guy on the awnin' ain't human and he ain't Garou. Dunno what he is."

As the throbbing in his temple subsides, the Modi resumes his birth form, leaning down to tie a blood-splattered shoelace.

Siobhan

Thu 01:45AM EST
"Looking into it?" she asks..."looking into it how?" She ponders the thought of not being human and not being garou...that didnt leave many options...
Looking at James now...
"I want to tag along" she replies..."I'll be healed by then"

Dire

Thu 01:47AM EST
*He nods* Yeah count me in. Chewie needs somone to watch her back * he smiles. Not meanly*

Jukebox

Thu 01:48AM EST
there's a laugh, soft, warm, even musical

"Never said you were powerless."

who wasn't giving whom credit?
though he can't help a look between Siobhan and Decker
hm. odd.
it's shrugged away
or.... nodded away
either way

"Yeh, I'm going to meet the guy about something." dark gaze moving to Sio, then Dire "But I can't allow you to go along, I made a deal."

and I don't break my deals
not for anybody
especially not strangers

"No offense."

Decker Rohl

Thu 01:49AM EST
The Modi shrugs, loose, lazy, as James bars the way. " 'S Jame's call."

Nova

Thu 01:51AM EST
She turns back to stare at the fire, whispering softly to it, thanking the spirits for listening, offering them a libation of the only food she happens to have on hand, which is water and beany-weenies.

Siobhan

Thu 01:52AM EST
She looks at him
"no offense taken" nuff said bout that

Dire

Thu 01:52AM EST
*He srugs and looks around* Damnit... they are gathering nuts again....

Nova

Thu 01:54AM EST
Glancing up at Dire, she tilts her head slightly.

"When was the last time you offered them libations?"

Dire

Thu 01:55AM EST
*he blinks* I usually just goosh um...... * blink blink*

Siobhan

Thu 01:56AM EST
What the hell were they talking about? she glances to the 2 of them sitting on the log..
"Offered WHO...what?"
Moving over towards where Decker was she shrugs slightly and shoves her hands in her pocket..
"you think they (dancers) know about out here?"

Nova

Thu 01:57AM EST
She shakes her head.

"No wonder they're pissed at you. You haven't done the ritual sharing of bread and wine. They're very particular about those things."

Decker Rohl

Thu 01:57AM EST
Decker watches Dire, somewhere between incredulous and bored. Mild curiosity might have a foot in the door, too. Sitting forward, elbows on knees, feet planted wide, he's quiet like he usually is. His whole damn pack was pretty quiet.

(Wonder what Livingston was up to in that truck...)

At length, he lowers his head, paws a hand over the short-buzzed hair, and shakes his head once like a prizefighter before a fight. Getting to his feet, he nods up at James. "Go fer a walk." An invitation or a request or a command...pick one.

A pause, turning back to Siobhan. A grimace. "Yeah, they do. One of 'em, at least."

Jukebox

Thu 01:59AM EST
he figured they'd understand
some things do cross tribal boundaries
but the Gnawer stretches to stand
somewhat skirting the circle
moving into the smoke for a few
damn pine-sol
making his sinuses burn

a glance to Decker
and he moves off as well
wouldn't matter which one it was

Dire

Thu 02:00AM EST
I know they bite.... * he blinks at her* You think that'd work?? * He looks up at Decker and Chewie and raises his brows* How about you? You think I should try and appease them?

Siobhan

Thu 02:02AM EST
She watches as they leave...yeah whatever...Decker and James..
leaving her here..why wouldnt they..she has no reason to be asked to go with them
she was in fact a stranger and why did she want to go with them anyways...fuck that..she didnt need them, she didnt need shit..she didnt like the fucking city anyways, and thats where they all stayed...
And so she begins to pace again, slowly...eyes moving to Dire now..
"huh?"

Nova

Thu 02:02AM EST
She shrugs one shoulder.

"It's worth a try. You may have pissed them off too much already though."

Decker Rohl

Thu 02:03AM EST
A lifted brow at Dire. "Why not?" - with that, turning, moving off. He had issues to discuss with his packmate, and they'd been brooding too long already.

As the voices in Gabriel's clearing (which is apparently where they are) fade into the distance, Decker's muddy shoes track over pine needles, dead leaves - and, beneath that, the spongy, soft earth.

He wasn't really Urrah...not at heart. He couldn't tap into the flow of the city. Couldn't strengthen his soul in the heart of the iron towers. Then again, he couldn't stand to be cooped up out here for long, either, but sometimes it was almost good to be back. Almost.

Another quarter-mile or so. "Shit I said 'bout Gaby really had you worked up the other day, huh."

Dire

Thu 02:05AM EST
*He nods and hops up and hobbeling a bit, not that it hurts but that he knows it should, He paces behind Chewie* So you two... no pack. I'm in the same boat. Think we could work together with out killing each other? * Hobbel hobbel*

Siobhan

Thu 02:09AM EST
She turns her head..."not me..no offense" she shakes her head.."i dont know how long im staying out here..." eyes glance to where Decker retreated...that general direction..."I found what i was lookin for" she shrugs.."dont know if i plan on staying"
but with Dancers here...there was more to do...
She shakes her head.."cant think about a pack..not yet..not here" she sighs.."sorry"

Dire

Thu 02:11AM EST
*He raises his brows and nods* Kay...

Dire

Thu 02:11AM EST
*He raises his brows and nods* Kay...

Jukebox

Thu 02:12AM EST
sometimes, you take a walk in the woods, in total silence, and you feel like you're on a death march, there's things you don't want to talk about, where you've been, where you're going, and why you're heading there..... and other times..... you can walk between cities and not say a word and still be comfortable
at ease
at home

well, almost

he's certainly not at home way out here in the woods
getting used to it, slowly and surely
he learned a lot on the drift south from NYC
but the scents are so severe and pure it gives him a headache
he's Urrah through and through

and if it weren't for his packmate, probably two days from finding his way back from whence they came

but he is comfortable in the silence
he's just as comfortable breaking it, softly

"For a lot of reasons."

Siobhan

Thu 02:13AM EST
She looks at them both.."hey you are both welcome..and i got your back, i just dont betray a pack, and I dont know how long ill be around here" she sighs...
"I mean..." pausing to think..."a pack stands by the others through and through, you dont want me just up n leavin on you both" she shrugs.."i cant pack up unless i know im stayin round"

Dire

Thu 02:15AM EST
*He nods* Yeah but garou arn't ment to run alone. * he falls over and blinks looking at his leg* Damn thing... You see that fucker trip me?!?! * he shakes his head and looks up at the ladies* We could do a temp pack... say.. till we just figured out these spiders... AND * he looks pointedly at Chewie at the "and"* Rats?

Decker Rohl

Thu 02:18AM EST
Decker, moving low to the ground, simply spreads his open hands: a shrug, an invitation to elaborate.

This far from the city, the stars are pinpricks of blazing light overhead. The Milky Way is visible, a diffuse scattering of distant stars spilled like quicksilver. The tips of the trees trace black against the blue-black sky. One of the few pure places left on earth, this, and while the Urrah can't appreciate it, even he would know this is what they fight for. And Decker knows, too - deep inside, under the apathy, under the fury, under the ugly side of him that wants nothing more than to kill and kill and kill.

A Fenrir does not fear death, but nor does a Fenrir love it. A Fenrir does not fear death because he fights out of love of life. And what he fights for, in the end - is not the glory. Not the honor. Not the wisdom and not the rank. Not the blood, not the violence, not the thrills and not the kills.

He fights for this. A peaceful night when rage was spent and the beast was slumbering (if only for a while). A silent night with your pack, when you don't have to think about Dancers, corrupters, lovers, traitors. If only for a moment. If only for an instant.

Born to fight.
Born to die.
Someday, Decker will understand.

Talk to me, Jamey-boy.

Nova

Thu 02:20AM EST
Pulling out a worn, diary-like book, she begins flipping through the pages.

Siobhan

Thu 02:22AM EST
Her eyes move to Nova then to Dire...She is quiet...so quiet She scratches her head...not sure what to say...just watching the 2 of them...
finally she speaks..
"You and Decker were in a pack before..right?"

Dire

Thu 02:23AM EST
*He blinks at his idea being ignored and just kinda half lays there.*

Nova

Thu 02:25AM EST
Looking up from her book, she answers.

"Not really. He said I was. Never got confirmation from the Alpha. Same as this time. I'm done with the games."

Siobhan

Thu 02:29AM EST
And so she thinks...not sure how to answer..packs meant a lot to her She didnt know if it was fair if she wasnt going to stay...however while she was here...
Her eyes move to Dire then back at Nova...
She stands there thinking...not sure what exactly to do, she certainly wasnt joining the city pack (not that she had opportunity) She wasnt sure about Gabes pack..."Have you spoken to Gabe about a pack?"

Dire

Thu 02:33AM EST
*He props himself up on one arm and listens to them*

Nova

Thu 02:33AM EST
She shakes her head no.

"Up until now, I have seen no other prospects for a pack, outside the city pack. There's been no need to bug Gabe about it."

Jukebox

Thu 02:34AM EST
part of the walk he spends looking where he's going
but soon as he learns the triggers in Decker's footsteps to what's ahead, the lay of the hidden path, he lets his eyes drift up
falling into that easy, ground covering stroll
one nice thing about being so far out
you can see the stars

not just what works down through the city's jungle canopy haze of electric confusion
but everything
Pegasus..... parts of Sagittarius...... Draco..... Scorpius......
all drifting down through the trees
enjoying it for a dozen or so yards, soaking it up, getting used to it
he's known it all along
he's just never known how to appreciate it

some things take time to wrap your mind around

"Ever say a Gnawer, for any reason, doesn't matter again, Decker..... I won't hold back. I don't know your history with her. I don't particularly care. I met her, and there's something tragically wrong.... but that doesn't mean she doesn't matter. We hear that all the time. From Lords..... Walkers..... Fangs.... Wendigo..... Fenrir.... everybody. But to hear it out of the mouth of your own packmate?"

dark eyes glance over, watching the Modi's profile in the starlight

"That hurt."

he's quiet for a few more steps
this is the hard part

"Tainted Gnawers are something of tender spot."

Dire

Thu 02:36AM EST
*He smiles a bit* We have a decent start here. Theurge, Galliard, ANd... * he eyes Chewie* Ahroun?

Siobhan

Thu 02:36AM EST
She looks over at Dire..."You know how to act when with an elder?" she puts her hands on her hips.."how do i know you wont act out and get me in trouble?" she watches him..."you were jumpin all around earlier, even threatened the elder in his own turf" she pauses.."tell me why you are a good person to pack with"

Dire

Thu 02:39AM EST
*He smiles up at her* If you were observent I didn't really threaten the elder. I only stated that I would not be labeled with a derogitory name for something beyond my control. I was quite respectful and pleasent when he was asking questions and even was regailing him with a story when you walked off. As for jumping around. * he nods* I'm kinda a jumpy person but I know what's what.
Why I'm good to pack with? * He smiles and stands slowly* Because when you need me. I'll be there. I'll watch your back. * He looks to Nova* And you'll never be sent anywhere alone.

Decker Rohl

Thu 02:40AM EST
Dark eyes on his profile: he feels it, and turns to meet the gaze, slowing, stopping. Hands in his pockets, he looks at his packmate by the light of the distant stars for a long, long moment, and he's the first to look away.

An exhale. That ain't how I meant it. But that wasn't something he could say. A frown stirs his brow, which could be kingly in ten, twenty years, in another life.

"Got it," he says at last; unvoiced apology. Then - a sharp glance back; a sharp frown. "She ain't--"

Pause. Stop. Decker didn't lie often, didn't lie well, and couldn't really lie to a packmate. A shake of his head, once or twice.

"Don't know that she's tainted. Was - hoverin', the last I saw o' her. But I ain't sure o' that."

There's too much taint around him. Sickboy, Salome, and now Gaby as well...? And if one knew about Imogen, they all knew. He didn't want to accept it. It wasn't something he wanted to face. For the first time, Decker felt himself trying, trying hard, to willingly block the truth.

Nova

Thu 02:41AM EST
Continuing her flipping through the pages of her book, she stops suddenly.

"Ah hah!! Found it! Goblins."

Dire

Thu 02:42AM EST
*his brows shoot up and he hops over on one leg. Fals right over the log and lands with a SLAM and then crawls up to peek at what she's reading*

Nova

Thu 02:44AM EST
She reads the passage.

"Originally a general name for small, grotesque, but friendly brownie-type creatures."

She smiles.

Dire

Thu 02:45AM EST
*he shakes his head* ohhh no. They bite... and throw things...! * he nods and grumps*

Siobhan

Thu 02:45AM EST
She listnens and nods at Dires answer...now listening to Nova talk about the goblins.."what are you talking about goblins for?"

Dire

Thu 02:46AM EST
*He wiggles a finger* They like to follow me around and cause untold Havoc.. thing is I'm the only one that can ever see um.

Nova

Thu 02:48AM EST
"From what I understand, that's fairly common. They'll often make themselves visible to only the one they're causing mischief for. So... brownies..."

She goes flipping through the book again.

"I know they're in here."

Jukebox

Thu 02:50AM EST
he knows that's more of an apology than most get

half of him didn't even expect it
not from a Fenrir to a Gnawer
not from a Foster to a Cliath
but he doesn't make anything more of it
just a little bit of a smile - accepted
it's the past now

but in a breath it changes
tattered tails swirl around second hand Cochrans as he steps up to the Modi
right up
so this time storm gray can't look away

"You don't know. You're not sure."

something burns deep inside the rich brown
even out here in the darkness beneath the trees
it's visable

"Or do you just not want to accept it."

he didn't either
he hated accepting it
..... and who's he talking about, anyway?

Dire

Thu 02:51AM EST
*He grunts a small surprised sound and nods and looks up at Chewie* So... ?

Siobhan

Thu 02:52AM EST
She shrugs.."lemmie think on it" she begins to pace again.."i need to sleep on it..i mean.." she shrugs.."yall sure you want to have someone who may leave tomorrow?" she looks over at them.."i mean shit, that aint right....although.." (dancers) "I suppose i may be stayin a bit"

Dire

Thu 02:54AM EST
*he smiles at her and peeks back at Nova's book, His blue eyes looking up to smile at Chewie*

Decker Rohl

Thu 02:54AM EST
"Back off," snaps Decker immediately. Seems like the Modi still had some fire left in him. A step back, a frustrated turn. Two steps away, two steps back. Pacing.

"I don't care. I don't fuckin' wanna know. I don't - know."

Silence. Turning, moving, head down, one restless hand running over skull so recently cracked, already healed. It's not the physical cuts that stay with a Garou, most times. It's the other ones that you can't see, that cut the deepest.

"I ain't no Theurge," muttered. "I can't figger it out none, either."

Nova

Thu 02:55AM EST
Her nose in her book once again, she mumbles an answer.

"It's not like the Middle Ages, when a coven would kill one of it's members if she tried to leave. Shit happens, people have to leave. I understand."

Siobhan

Thu 02:57AM EST
She stops and looks at them..goblins? when Decker just mentioned dancers
"the fuck does this have to do with anything?"
remind you of someone? its in the blood

Dire

Thu 02:58AM EST
*He nods* I understand too. Sometimes you got shit you gotta do. Three of us packin up and looking out for each other beats the pants off of 3 of us standing alone. We could also get a totem. * he nods* I've seen Packed units move. They are .. * he waves a hand* Connected.

*He points off to the right* Those little foot tall green guys with the pointy ears and sharp teeth like to fuck with me.

Siobhan

Thu 03:00AM EST
She looks over at nothing
"aint nothin there"

Dire

Thu 03:02AM EST
*He snorts* Yeah.. that's what they WANT you to think.

Jukebox

Thu 03:03AM EST
this time
he doesn't back off
he doesn't back down

not. from. you. not. this. time.

while the Fenrir paces, the Gnawer stands still
such a contrast they've always been
one sleek, seething, stalking between the trees the frustrated, explosive predator
one shaggy, tattered, the calm statue of a strange school of reason

"Let me tell you something, Decker. Ahrouns can figure it out. It's just a matter if they do it too late. You don't want to let it become too late like I did."

Nova

Thu 03:04AM EST
"Brownies! Says here they make themselves responsible for the house where they live by coming out at night to complete unfinished work. Any offer of reward will drive them away, but they expect a bowl of milk of cream and cake to be left out. Tradition says they do not like teetotallers and ministers. If offended, brownies will create malicious mischief."

Decker Rohl

Thu 03:05AM EST
His back to the Bone Gnawer, the Modi turns his face to the stars. Inhales. Fills his lungs with pinescent and starlight.

Exhales. Barely audible,
"Like you did?"

He doesn't turn; he just listens. Sometimes, eye contact made it that much harder to speak. To listen. To hear.

Siobhan

Thu 03:05AM EST
She begins to pace again, slowly...there were dancers nearby (well close enough) and they were sitting there talking bout goblins...which she didnt see at all...goblins? What the fuck....
She glances to Nova who is encouraging Dires behavior...
But she seems to ...understand him...
Siobhan doesnt understand shit bout gobmins or brownies or nothing, she knows there are big fucking rats and stone welding spiders and dancers
She paces a little faster...thinking...thinking...

Nova

Thu 03:09AM EST
Looking up, she frowns at Siobhan, and closes the book.

Someone is not finding this fun or interesting. Nova will stop being a huge dork now."

Dire

Thu 03:09AM EST
*He nods* I don't have a home.. I probly got goblins. * he nods sagly and looks at Chewie* Your all up in the guts about those dancers eh? * he nods* I feel it. Once all 3 of us are back to rights we'll get um.

Dire

Thu 03:11AM EST
Your not a dork. * he smiles at Nova* I like you. Your spunky. * he crawls over the log and pokes at his taped up leg wondering if it's healing*

Siobhan

Thu 03:13AM EST
She looks at the 2 of them.. and sighs...she wasnt a people person, she wasnt much of a talker its in the blood Nova had packed up with her (half) brother, she should be used to the attitude attached with it, she didnt feel bad, never called the girl a dork, just didnt know what they were goin on n on bout..

"fuckin right we'll get them" she replies.. thinking now...just pondering as she paces...
"at least 2 of them left" she speaks softly...looking up at the sky.."2 at least"

Dire

Thu 03:15AM EST
Yeah but we're get, and we got a spunky blue haired Gnawer thurge. They know how to survive. We'll get um.

Nova

Thu 03:16AM EST
She shuts up and puts her nose back in her book, still listening, but unable to add anything helpful to a conversation about fighting.

Dire

Thu 03:17AM EST
*He grins and keeps trying to peek at the book*

Siobhan

Thu 03:22AM EST
The path you tread is narrow
And the drop is shear and very high
The ravens all are watching
From a vantage point nearby
Apprehension creeping
Like a tube-train up your spine
Will the tightrope reach the end
Will the final couplet rhyme
She paces...thinking..the 2 of them almost not there in her mind..she is in her own world...thinking...one of these days, she and Decker would have a talk..without the others there for distraction...[are you your fathers son]
She would find out answers to things...

Remember a day before today
A day when you were young.
Free to play alone with time
Evening never came.
Sing a song that can't be sung
Without the morning's kiss
Queen - you shall be it if you wish
Look for your king
Why can't we play today
Why can't we stay that way
She comes out of her little world and glances at them...."IT's getting late..im getting tired." she looks at Nova.."how are you feeling?"

Jukebox

Thu 03:23AM EST
"Yeh.... like I did."

again, that silence between them
when the Modi looks up to find his answers in the stars
he looks down, already knowing what's laying beneath the earth

"Because when you've denied it until you're the only one left, you're the one that has to kill them."

Nova

Thu 03:25AM EST
She looks up at Siobhan.

"Getting sleepy. And my ass is sick of the ground. But otherwise okay under the circumstances."

Siobhan

Thu 03:26AM EST
She glances to Dire.."and you?" she looks at his leg...
there...i at least asked didnt i

Dire

Thu 03:28AM EST
*He smiles brightly* I live. I'll be awright

Siobhan

Thu 03:29AM EST
She looks around..."you need help gettin to where you sleep?" she doesnt react to the other get...she isnt the playful type, she actually wonders if he is a ragabash in disguise....
Glancing around she looks for any sign of the others (James and Decker) but hears nothing..."it's getting late, my arm is still sore.." she speaks softly...

Decker Rohl

Thu 03:30AM EST
And...
...silence.

Crickets somewhere, the last of the season. The next cold front will kill them all, and the land will know winter.

Crickets, a babbling brook, the wind in the trees.

Decker lowers his head, inch by inch, and finally runs both hand over his face, over his head, scrubbing hard as though to scrub the last few months away. If he'd known the complications he'd face here, if he'd known the responsibilities he'd bear as a Fostern...

No use regretting the past. That was the path of the weak, the cowardly. Dropping his hands, Decker lets a breath out.

"Me 'n Gaby, we was tight. We had an agreement," he says. A year of silence passes before he speaks again. "Unspoken truce. I ain't gonna break it. Not before she does."

And another.
"But she hustles at the Stix Billiards Hall."

She was James' tribesmate. Was. She was Decker's...friend? Either way, Decker didn't want this kill.

Dire

Thu 03:31AM EST
*He hops a bit and tests the weight on his leg and hopes that Decker still has a headake*

Nova

Thu 03:34AM EST
"I'm fine were I am. The fire is a good bed-buddy."

Siobhan

Thu 03:35AM EST
She ponders this...and shrugs..glancing at the fire...then Dire..then her own little place over in the distance..away from them all..."right..ok"
turning her head to look once more at the woods she finally stops pacing..."we'll talk more tomorrow"
neff said, she wasnt a people person

Dire

Thu 03:37AM EST
*He smiles* Sleep well Siobhan. Watch out for the goblins

Nova

Thu 03:37AM EST
"Night"

Dire

Thu 03:43AM EST
*He nods to Nova* I guess we should crash too. You ok? *He nods to her legs* Gotta like.. use the bushes or anything?

Nova

Thu 03:45AM EST
*nods*

Yeah

Jukebox

Thu 03:47AM EST
unseen
dreadlocks shift across fabric in his nod
he can understand that
filing the information away

it didn't need to be said
it was obvious he was going to do it anyway
(it was obvious he was told to)
and the Gnawer steps up
just beside his packmate, shoulder to shoulder
his eyes lift, too
but maybe what he searches for is entirely different

"I lost my pack.... and my mate.... because I let it be too late. I won't let it happen again."

it may mean nothing to Decker
but it means everything to him

Dire

Thu 03:47AM EST
Yeah you need the bushes or yeah your just gonna crash? * He stands*

Nova

Thu 03:50AM EST
"Yeah, I'm just gonna crash."

Dire

Thu 03:51AM EST
*He nods and smiles softly to her* It's good you stood up to that guy eariler. I was busy.. but I saw it. Good job. * He hobbles over to his bag and pulls out a blanket and curls up in it resting his head on his bag*

Decker Rohl

Thu 03:51AM EST
A dichotomy.
A juxtaposition.

The raggedy Gnawer looks to the stars. The purebred Fenrir, an echo of the great heroes of the past, looks to the earth. The one so young by human terms, already a Fostern by the Garou. The other older, wiser, still a Cliath - perhaps only because of the weight of his past, which he could not set down. Side by side: packmates, auspicemates. Matched in height and strength and little else; connected in ways humans could never dream of.

He doesn't have to say anything. In the end, Decker just sets a hand on James' solid shoulder, squeezes once.

James will track her down and do what's needed, but he'll be there to back his packmate up. And to close the book that he opened.

Imogen Slaughter

Tue 11:07PM EST
She's been watching James pace a trench into the motel floor for hours. Silence is common with her, as uncomfortable as it can be, and it's hardly been broken by less than four words.

He's not supposed to tell her.
She's not supposed to know.

And his silence speaks louder than words, and she answers it with her own. So, at first, she'd attempted to do some work. Case folders with gruesome pictures, scrawling hand written notes. That lasted for forty minutes, before his pacing had intruded once more onto her attention. Abandoning the work, she'd simply moved to sit on the bed, cross legged and smoking, dark eyes following him as he walks from one end of the room to the other. And back again.

And the tension grew thicker and thicker as the silence grew longer and longer.

Decker Rohl

Tue 11:16PM EST
There hadn't been a pack pow-wow before they'd all left. They met up somewhere en route, and so she couldn't have known what they were up to. Or so went the idea.

The reality is different. When Decker asked for the silver knives - both of them; when she saw the two Ahroun say their silent farewells at the door, one grim-eyed, one so worried; when she watched James pacing enough to smoke the floor - she had to know something was up.

An hour, maybe two, maybe three, pass in that tense sort of silence. Then, down the hall, an elevator reaches the sixth floor. The other two Full-Moons of the pack, the Fenrir and the Glass Walker, come down the hall side by side. The former had pulled a sweatshirt on over the mess he'd made of his dedicated clothes, but smudges of red show here and there. From the fingers of one hand dangle one of the knives - immaculately cleaned, polished, shining.

A knock on the door.

Rune

Tue 11:23PM EST
The latter had wrapped thought ahead - (bloodstains? in her car?) and shrugged into another shirt somewhere along the way. The blood wiped easily off her slick leather pants with the soaked fabric of her dedicated blouse, wrapped in a plastic bag that dangles from her index finger.

Leaning against the doorframe as Decker knocks, she watches the empty hall with dark, brittle eyes and fumbles through the pockets of her leather coat for cigarettes and a light.

Imogen Slaughter

Tue 11:26PM EST
She would have to be dense not to have seen the signs. Half of her was waiting for her pager to go off, a symbol of the carnage that Decker and his packmates were going to unleash. She almost hoped for it. At least it would have given her something to do.

As James moves toward the door, she stands up, stabbing out the cigarette, crushing the ember beneath the ash. "I'll get it."

The sound of a voice in the room is uncanny, when for hours (they lost track) there'd been nothing but the sound of James's feet on the floor, and her exhaling poisonous smoke.

A glance through the peephole, before the deadlock snicks open, and she turns the door knob opening it to permit the two Garou inside.

Rune

Tue 11:32PM EST
Rune's cigarette is already lit, the acrid stench of burning tobacco spills into the room, just above the underscent of blood that lingers about the pair. Dark eyes flicker over the room - not quite as shabby as she expected, given the lobby's decor - but not exactly pleasing to the discerning (spoiled) eye, either.

"Mind if I smoke?" mumbled, the offhand courtesy as she precedes Decker inside. The other silver knife - cleaned as well, gleaming sharpbright - she pulls from her coat pocket and tosses onto the bed, before searching out her own space in the now crowded room.

Decker Rohl

Tue 11:34PM EST
In the peephole: Rune, Decker. The former seems a little more relaxed than usual, steam blown off, bloodlust sated (for now). Gacking that damn white-furred Spiral must've felt good.

The latter is, if anything, more withdrawn. Having found a stick of gum somewhere in Rune's car, he's chewing furiously, jaw working the increasingly tough bit of candy long since gone tasteless.

Door opens; his grey eyes latch onto Imogen immediately, but he lets Rune go in first. Her body crosses his line of sight. He doesn't look away. Rune's inside then, and he's still looking at Imogen. A nod up, silent, and he holds out Asher's knife - handle first - as he brushes by on his way inside.

"Put it away somewhere." He didn't ever want to see it again. He could still hear Asher's last words in his head: seraphic, devilish.

James

Tue 11:41PM EST
tension
a part of him hated the situation he was in (he should be there to help)
a part of him hated the situation hew as putting Imogen in (not telling her when he knows she knows)
a part of him hated the thoughts that were roiling around in his mind (memories)
a part of him hated the color of this carpet he's been looking at and pacing for so long

and..... wearing it, by the looks of it

perhaps its a whim that makes him change course
for the carpet
for her sanity
for his sanity
who knows

he is supposed to be here to guard her
but she's not a damned prisoner
keeping her company would be nice
and after hour three and round fifty-seven of the room, he's just about ready to find some vestige of conversation to flail at just so he doesn't feel so guilty about (what happened long ago) being nothing more than a shooting duck for her to watch wander around in aimless aggravated circles
.... the knock

he's ready to come out of his skin
half ready to assume the worste and go charging out
but, elsewise, there's something that tells him
.... it's pack

even though he sees them
he's. still. tense.

there's a thousand questions he wants to ask.
but instead he just watches them come in
flopping into the chair - which surprisingly doesn't break - only talking with his eyes
he's just got that.... look

Terrapin

Tue 11:44PM EST
Let my inspiration flow
in token lines suggesting rhythm
that will not forsake me
till my tale is told and done
Stepping off of the bus. She flips the long dirty blond dreads from her shouders. Woven into them are handmade beads...long patched homemade overalls with large bellbottoms cover her black t-shirt. The smell of patchrouli on her. 2 dimples set into her cheeks. Stepping off that bus..which reeked of the diaper the mother in the front seat had ignored far too long, she takes a deep breath of the fresh night air.
While the firelight's aglow
strange shadows in the flames will grow
till things we've never seen
will seem familiar

Destiny brought her to this town...and so she would stay here. At least for now...She always managed to keep going...no matter what. Nighttime in a new city...heaving the backpack over her shoulder and making sure it was secure on her back before starting up the street. Wondering if she perhaps got off the bus too soon, was this area safe for a young girl? Certainly this wasnt what she was used to. Her kind...family... was always in the woods, but this was where the bus let her off, and this was where she'd start this leg of her journey...
Terrapin Station
in the shadow of the moon
Terrapin Station
and I know we'll be there soon

Imogen Slaughter

Tue 11:45PM EST
The room smells of cigarette smoke, with an ashtray, with cigarette butts littering the translucent bowl. Though Imogen does not answer Rune, the red haired woman rather assuming that the female Garou is not speaking to her, if the question is directed at her, it's obvious she won't mind. It seems the woman smokes quite enough herself.

Her eyes follow Decker as the Fenrir enters, offering her Asher's knife (and it would be impossible not to notice that blood further stains the hilt), reaching out and her fingers wrap around the profferred hilt talking it from him.

The door is shut behind them, the dead lock thrown. There are approximately three places to sit in the room. Two twin beds. And a chair, that James has just taken.

The knife is stowed into the night table, the closest there is to "away" there is in the tiny motel room. Imogen walks around the Garou, finding the fourth. The window sill, leaning her hip against the cold metal, hands sliding into her pockets.

Rune

Tue 11:51PM EST
Slim pale fingers - capable hands, killing hands - slip through bloodblack hair, and here and there twist through a few congealed spatters of blood. She tugs at the snared strands absently, then leans to flick ashes from her bright pink cigarette into the ashtray.

Relaxed? Released? Perhaps, though only in comparison to the brooding Fenrir, for the GlassWalker has her own brood own. Her mobile red mouth is still, set into a distant half-frown, and her shadowed gaze affixes itself somewhere in the middle of the opposite wall.

Terrapin

Tue 11:52PM EST
She had to get some rest. That was for certain. The trip was long and she was tired. Light baby blue eyes glance around for someplace to sleep. Then tomorrow...tomorrow she would find the woods...or the likes of the woods. Slowly she walks, the backpack almost the same size as she was. Only standing 5'4..she hefts the large canvas bag up once more before setting her sights on a motel close by. Her small hand reaches into her pocket, feeling for the wad of cash...and there it was...She moves slowly towards the Motel...the backpack a weight on her shoulders, but nothing like the weight on her mind.

Decker Rohl

Tue 11:52PM EST
James takes the chair; Imogen, the window. Decker takes one of the beds, and Rune presumably takes the other.

Sitting on the edge, lifting one foot onto the opposite knee and undoing his shoelaces, then reversing, he lets the silence expand until all that's done. Two dirty shoes thud to the floor and finally, he speaks, quietly and tersely informing James of the news.

"Got two of 'em. Asher and the pretty-boy Alpha. That twisted fuck's still out there somewhere, though, 'n Erik says he don't know how many more are holed up elsewhere." Peeling his socks off as well and stuffing it into his shoes, he adds, "Erik's all right. Jus' takin' a walk."

Finished - lapses into silence. To be sure, he sees James' state, but he was never one to counsel another. Tonight's no exception. Without another word, the Modi gets up and walks toward the bathroom, peeling bloodstained and stiffening clothes off as he goes.

James

Tue 11:57PM EST
this is
just
dandy

there's almost a nervous edge that clings to him
hello?
is someone going to tell me anything
or will you let me crawl out of my own skull, first?
his attention
snaps
to the Modi's drawl

instant
relief

....... sorta

you know how most people would return with a "glad you're allright"?
notice he doesn't
he knows something isn't allright
but he'll take what he can get now
Gaia knows he's learned not to push Decker when he's in a mood.

so he waits until he's safely occupied in the shower

"What happened?"

real soft anyway
this time to Rune
he's asking for a lot of reasons.

Rune

Wed 12:00AM EST
"It was a fuckin' mess," Rune continues Decker's tale, her voice cool and distant, at some strange remove and almost preternaturally even. "They were in a fuckin' night club. People every-fuckin'-where."

There's a brief flicker of her gaze - James, Imogen, the door through which Decker disappeared - and a glimpse of a gallows smile. "Missed 'em at the lab-placed. We got away clean, though.

"Not a scratch." Another brief, bitter half-smile. "But that nightclub..."

Terrapin

Wed 12:00AM EST
She stops at the small "night window" and peers into the glass, ringing the bell that sits on the counter..waiting....seconds feel like minutes which then crawl to seem like hours...when the man who looks as inbred as they come heads to the door, scratching his crotch...nice...she makes a mental note to avoid this place after tonight...
"Yes, i need a room, smoking..one person" Shifting through her many pockets she produces a tattered ID and fills out the correct forms...a little more waiting as she tries not to make eye contact with the *thing behind the counter* before checking the paper he scribbled the room number on...
Easy enough. (wrong room) She forces a friendly smile and nods as she walks from the night window and towards her (not hers..theirs) room. The backpack now feeling like a ton of bricks setting on her small frame. She stops in front of the room and lets the backpack fall.
thump
Taking out the key she tries to shove it into the lock..to no avail..she tries again...odd..it sounded like there were people in there.

Imogen Slaughter

Wed 12:02AM EST
A hand leaves her pocket to rest on the window sill. Fingers tap a silent tattoo against the metal of the window sill, patting out a half remembered beat of some song, either half remembered or half formed. Like James, dark blue eyed attention jerks toward Decker as he speaks, and continues to follow the Modi as he departs into the bathroom. Watching him without moving until the door shuts. Then dark eyes flicker away to look out the window.

As Rune speaks, mentioning the club, she reacts, however subtly, lifting off the window sill to pull a pager from her belt, eyeing the screen. It's returned to clip against the waistband of her jeans. The sound of a key scraping against the lock. Blink. She pushes off the window sill, starting to cross the room.

James

Wed 12:06AM EST
both brows lift in the frame of light brown should length dreads
(vines of the urban jungle, baby)
just stopping for a mo', here
night club? people everywhere?

oh. shit.

"How much clean-up?"

a glance to Imogen
hey, even if they played different sites
they both shared the same Veil
but it all goes to Hell when that key sounds

Erik would knock

this time he beat's Imogen to the door
looking out
some chick....?
and the door opens
barely
only enough to let one 6' dreadlocked surplus geared had entirely too long of a night Bone Gnawer look out

"Help you?"

Decker Rohl

Wed 12:06AM EST
Water runs: sink and shower at once. Turn off the lights, flush the toilet, scream bloody mary thirteen times and she'll come and scratch your cheek. At least that's what they said when he was a kid.

Ten years ago.
A fuckin' eternity ago.

In the bathroom with the door shut behind him, Decker strips naked and throws his clothes in the sink under the blasting water. Almost immediately, tendrils of red-turning-pink curl out and seep (spiral) down the drain. The Modi himself steps into the shower running just a tad too hot, yanks the curtain shut, and watches the blood of his foes begin to wash down the drain.

Pushing that knife home, holding it there while the light flickered and faded: it had felt good. But what the Dancer had said - it'd made him keep tearing at the carcass long after it was only a carcass, and no longer a Dancer - Garou - no longer anything at all.

There was still blood under his nails. Furiously, he tears the little packet of soap open and scrubs himself head to toe, white soapsuds turning pink, running down his body and vanishing.

Imogen Slaughter

Wed 12:11AM EST
Hands raise slightly as James passes her, turning away so he can answer the door, stepping away from the foyer. She moves to sit on the edge of the bed that Decker had vacated, drawing her legs up indian style, one hand racking through vibrant titian locks, shaking them over her shoulder, as her head tilts, one ear on the conversation at the door.

Terrapin

Wed 12:13AM EST
She looks -shocked- to say the least. As the guy with matching hair (ok that was odd) opens the door to [her] room. Pausing for a moment to figure out the right words to say. Standing there in the dark.
"Help me?" she pauses tugging at one of the beads woven into her dread. "the freak at the front gave me a key and a paper that said this room...but the key doesnt work" she smiles, the dimples in her cheeks caving in making her appear younger then she really is. "But obviously either I paid for a co-ed room...or he wrote down the wrong number" she blushes slightly at the mistake and looks around. The office now dark again..."which means I have a key to one of these rooms..." she points.."but i guess this isnt the one" On her backpack if he looks is the glyph of kinfolk. This was to assist her in finding others along her travels. Shrugging slightly and shaking her head she chuckles..."Sorry to bother you...I guess I will wake [him] up again and find out which door this key fits"

Rune

Wed 12:15AM EST
Behind the door, the bed creaks beneath the Glasswalker's weight as she leans to grab the knife tosses carelessly onto the bed not five minutes before, and spins supple and quick to shove it into the nightstand drawer with its cousin.

Erik would knock, after all.

Whatever she might say, whatever she would say, she bites her tongue and sucks down another lungful of poisonous smoke. It's a good substitute for words - better, really, to bleed away the remnants of nervous energy, of battlelust.

Movement again - lean and long and sure - to grind the half-smoked cigarette to bits in the ashtray, before settling back and pulling a second from the pack tucked into her pocket. She lights up again, then tosses the pack to Imogen by way of offer and pulls more goodies from her depthless pocket: silvery Zippo, mottled brown prescription bottle.

James

Wed 12:18AM EST
a brow remains raised
skepticle to say the very least
but upon seeing that glyph.... well.... he doesn't need to say it out loud to get Rune over here
chuckling softly

"Was it the guy with the black hair? He's not all there sometimes."

there's that easy going smile again

"May I see the key?"

hand held out
palm up
no, he's not going to steal it

Terrapin

Wed 12:20AM EST
She shrugs and hands him the key [not like it did her much good anyways] "black hair? actually i didnt really look at his hair, i tried to avoid any eye contact with him at all" she chuckles. Not glancing into the room...she did respect peoples privacy...
"I'm sorry if i inturrupted" she shifts her weight from foot to foot fidgeting a bit..."But since i am not psychic, i did not know this room was taken"
Eyes move to the backpack then along the ground back to the [dark] office. Oh what a night...

Imogen Slaughter

Wed 12:21AM EST
Attention shifts toward the sharp movement of Rune on the other bed tossing the cigarette package her way, and she fumbles with catching it, her quick reactions no where near what one would expect for a Garou. She does, however, keep the package from falling, so it says something to her. A half raise of the cigarettes in quiet thanks, she taps out one of the coloured ones, slipping it between her lips, as her hands pat for a zippo. Her own pack had been exhausted with the last cigarette before the Garou had come to enter.

Eyes still half turned toward the doorway as she listens to the conversation, she thumbs the lighter's wheel, the orange flame brushing the cigarette's tip, brightening to an ember.

The package is tossed back toward Rune, either to be caught by the lithe Ahroun, or to land soundlessly on the bed as the Glass Walker answered her packmate's unspoken words.

Rune

Wed 12:23AM EST
Rune blinks, shooting James a brief (incredulous) glance. It's the sort of suspicious coincidence that cannot be a coincidence, and while James smiles, Rune's painted red lips slip-slide into a darkening frown.

"The hell?" softly voiced, from somewhere behind him. The bed creeks, and lighter and pill bottle spill from her opening hands onto the scratchy polyester comforter as Rune rises and pads quietly across the room to her packmate as the rainbow colored pack falls silently on the bed.

Decker Rohl

Wed 12:25AM EST
The shower turns off ten, fifteen minutes later. The bathroom is steamed up, the mirror fogged. Dripping, not bothering to grab one of the motel towels, Decker braces one fist against the side of the bathroom counter and reaches forward to scrub a window in the steam. In it, he can see himself, and the reflection seems to transfix him for a moment. Not a cut, not one single scratch in six feet of pale northern skin somehow baked into tanning by an Alabama sun. Blond hair shorn short, fierce grey eyes, a hard mouth, sharp cheekbones, stubborn jaw, slightly crooked nose.

Blood of Fenris: just like Dad.

Then: voices outside. Someone new. Attention caught, diverted from his reflection, Decker straightens, looks down at the water still blasting over his sodden clothes. Probably not a good idea to walk out in a towel. Grabbing up his clothes, he scrubs them the best he can, then wrings them out solidly. Pinkish water dribbles out. Rinse and repeat: the water is mostly clear.

Satisfied, Decker puts the same clothes on again, cold and soggy though they may be. On top of everything, he shrugs into the still-grey sweatshirt, zips it up halfway, and opens the bathroom door.

Steam, scent of soap, blast of Rage: that's what accompanies Decker's re-entry into the room. An eyebrow shoots up at the new girl; a look, up and down; a grunt. Turning, the Modi moves deeper into the room, turning sideways to let Rune slip past on her way to the door.

He takes his seat on the bed Rune just vacated. Scooping up the rainbow cigarettes as though he'd known it'd be there, the Modi lights up as well, a puff of bluish smoke making up his contribution to the carcinogens circulating in the room. "Hell's she?" he asks with a jerk of his head toward the door: loud enough to be heard, not particularly caring.

James

Wed 12:26AM EST
again, there's that soft, almost warm, laughter

"Quite allright. Here, try 906."

handing the key back
reversed
seems Mr. Front Desk was dyslexic
though the movement gives Rune more than enough room to see the girl outside past muscular shoulder

hell if he knows what to do

glyph
woman
coincidence
strange night

I do not make the decisions here

Terrapin

Wed 12:31AM EST
She nods and takes the key back into her hand.."of course" she smiles. Hearing the reaction from in the room to her she quickly decides this isnt the place to be and reaches for her backpack..."Thanks for the help, sorry to have inturrupted anything" She looks around for where the hell 906 would be before starting off on her journey. Something about her just is calming, she has pure blood in her, she is confident, however she also knows when it is time to make a grand exit...and from the sounds of the inside of the room, now would be that time. "I will give 906 a try...thanks again" she pulld out something from her pocket in the quilted overalls. "For your help"

Imogen Slaughter

Wed 12:31AM EST
One hand rubs against the bridge of her nose, watching as Decker re-enter the room, and plop himself down on the opposite bed. A slight eloquent gesture of her hand indicates how much she knows, equalling nothing. A half pause, "Dunno. Apparently she's got th'wrong room," soft cornish tones, speaking drily. After all, if that was all it was, they wouldn't need both Rune and James, would they?

Terrapin

Wed 12:31AM EST
She nods and takes the key back into her hand.."of course" she smiles. Hearing the reaction from in the room to her she quickly decides this isnt the place to be and reaches for her backpack..."Thanks for the help, sorry to have inturrupted anything" She looks around for where the hell 906 would be before starting off on her journey. Something about her just is calming, she has pure blood in her, she is confident, however she also knows when it is time to make a grand exit...and from the sounds of the inside of the room, now would be that time. "I will give 906 a try...thanks again" she pulld out something from her pocket in the quilted overalls. "For your help"

Rune

Wed 12:34AM EST
Behind James, a tall woman with swinging red-sheened black hair spilling across the cut of high, curving cheekbones, shadowed dark eyes and a redpainted frown. Her gaze flickers over the girls figure and absorbs the glyph, and a brief but pregnant pause follows as she absorbs, too, James' deference.

Unsettling, that. Responsibility sits ill upon her shoulders.

"Interesting symbol - " her voice is quiet, but thick now with the rasp of too many recent cigarettes. She's been chainsmoking since the battle, after all, even after they picked up her beloved Beemer. " - I've seen it before. Why don't you come in for a moment?"

It's hard to know whether to accept - the scent of blood is probably too faint for human senses, so far removed from the scene, but there's no pure breed in either of these Urrah.

Decker Rohl

Wed 12:36AM EST
Another grunt, mainly because he was taking a drag and couldn't form words. Didn't want to.

Smoke in. Smoke out. Smearing hints of moisture in a long trail over the sheets, he backpedals on the bed until his back was to the headboard. Knees drawn up, he catches cigarette between two fingers, rests elbow on knees, and presses the heel of that hand against his brow.

Thus he remains for a moment, as though a headache pounded at him. Raising his head later, he looks about the room, taking inventory of the people, the things. Imogen, her files, her guitar, and the traces of Rune and James and the stranger though they were out of sight, just around the corner in the short hallway.

"You wanna go home?" he asks, and this is for Imogen.

Terrapin

Wed 12:39AM EST
Uh oh...her eyes move to the backpack then to the girl who now has taken control. And this wasnt the place she would expect to see any *friends*
"Symbol" she nods.."um really i dont want to bother you all" she glances to the guy who opened the door...feeling rather inconveniencing (if thats a word)
Someone recognizing that symbol out here couldnt be too good...she tenses up...only slightly.
"Really I dont want to be a bother" her voice quiet...dammit...this sucked...
"are you sure?" one last ditch effort to try to avoid going into that room.

James

Wed 12:42AM EST
tense as he's been the past few hours
he could have leapt out the door and cracked her skull in two
he thinks this is going fairly well so far
must be that calming thing
and that glyph, too, that helped

and a brow lifts at the gift
you can't mistake that
not .that.
taking a deep breath for a smile

well, I'll be.

"Anytime."

but as Rune takes over
(he knows his place)
he steps out
or more.... back in
heading back to reclaim his chair
pausing en route and holding out the joint to Decker
(he looked like he needed it more)

purple haze

Imogen Slaughter

Wed 12:43AM EST
He smokes, she smokes, pausing in the drawing cancerous fumes into her lungs long enough to get up an take the step it is to reach him, and tap lengthening ash into the ashtray.

For all the arguements she'd put up when she'd been forced to leave, it was hard to see the condo where she lived as home. However, it was better than here.

"Yeah." She replies, honestly.

Rune

Wed 12:45AM EST
"I'm sure." firm-spoken, the words, though Rune hadn't realized it would be this easy. On another night - on any other night - they would be leavened with a smile, or at least a smirking grin, but tonight they sound grim as a death sentence. "C'mon in."

Smoke spills out - old and new, the ashy scent thick as oil in the air - and Rune steps back, holding the door open just enough to let the girl in.

Decker Rohl

Wed 12:46AM EST
Decker scoots forward a foot or so, rumpling the sheets, and takes the joint from James' hand. Leaning back again, she smokes, he takes a hit. Passes it back to James.

Still had most the cigarette left. Instead of wasting it, he puts it out carefully, tucks it behind his ear.

Ten, fifteen seconds later, the slow, steady exhale. Head tilted back against the headboard, he watches smoke diffuse in the air. Terrapin would have to have the mother of all colds not to smell that on the air.

Turning his head without lifting it, he studies Imogen. "Yeah?" A beat. "Bum a ride when you do?"

Terrapin

Wed 12:48AM EST
And that leaves no choice...as she tugs at the large backpack, which weighs half of her whole body weight. Reluctantly entering the room. Her mind flashes to the movie 4 rooms, and to the room with Quenten Tatantino and Bruce Willis, oh how she hopes this isnt anything strange like that.
She tries not to focus on anyone in the room, and keeps a close eye on the door in case she needs to escape. [not like she could if they were evil]
She stands there quiet...
ok everyone looking at me

James

Wed 12:51AM EST
with the joint firmly in place between his lips there's a loong, gloooooorious inhale
(okay, maybe Decker wasn't the only one that needed to relax)
taking place at the foot of the bed the Modi is on
just to keep within passing distance
but he holds it out to Terrapin first
nodding to the open chair on a cloud of smoke
(good chit)

"What's your name?"

she'll have to hand it back to him to get it back to Decker
but at least it won't muck up the rotation
'sides, it was her joint

Imogen Slaughter

Wed 12:53AM EST
Everyone looking at Terrapin.

She's not. And while the Urrah's are not paragons of purebreed, there's something there beneath the waves and curls of vibrant red locks, the fresh pale skin; something about the blood that flows beneath, some thickness to the blood. It's not something she can hide, even if she wanted to.

Slenderly built, and dressed in jeans and a light sweater, the fabric clinging to her frame, the woman doesn't even grace the other with a glance (too many damned people in this room), dark eyes flickering toward Decker. "Alrigh'. Whenever y'wanna leave," she replies, only then glancing at the small dread locked girl, flickering attention up and down, features solemnly unreadable.

Terrapin

Wed 12:55AM EST
She looks at the joint...then slowly makes her way around the room, quick inventory...2 guys 2 girls and her...yeah and that did what.....nothing. Slowly her small fingers take the joint..hell this couldnt be too bad, at least if they were going to do something to her, she would go out with a buzz.
*answer the question* Taking a long drag from the joint, making sure it didnt canoe she holds it in her lungs...feeling quite strange..to say the least. One long exhale as she sputters a few coughs out and hands it to the next person...[whoever that may be]
"Im Terrapin" she chuckles.."and yes that is my real name" the chuckle stops..yeah this didnt look like the best place to be cracking jokes..*tap tap this thing on* The smile fades slightly as she awaits the inquisition...*recognized the symbol..*

Rune

Wed 12:56AM EST
Rune turns shuts the door behind Terrapin, and snicks the deadbolt home as the girl walks into the crowded, smokey room.

Given tonight, let's see if we can get Livingston to check her out. - she doesn't need to say it aloud. The pack will hear her, loud and clear.

"Have a seat," Rune says aloud, reinforcing James' silent invitation as she slips behind Terrapin and swipes her bottle of Xanax from the floor where it fell when Decker slung himself onto the twin bed and dislodged it. "...and please tell me you know what that symbol means."

Terrapin

Wed 12:59AM EST
She nods.."course i do" and then promptly sits down. fidgeting only slightly with her dreads before laying it on the line
"and since you also do, it means either I found family...or im dead meat" Enough said there...it was obvious as kinfolk, she wasnt quite prepared to fight off much of anything. The sound of the deadbolt makes her flinch slightly..."and im hoping its the first of the 2"

James

Wed 01:02AM EST
there's a grin that flashes
Terrapin is far from the strangest given names he's heard
it might also be the amusement of her choke at the toke
either way, he reaches for the joint
takes his piece
and twists to hand it back to Decker

otherwise silent
Rune invited her in, he didn't

though he doesn't mine the blaze

Decker Rohl

Wed 01:05AM EST
Decker looks at all the people piling into the room and makes a predictable decision. Rolling off the bed, he grabs his cigarette just before it falls out from behind his ear, lights up again. "How 'bout now." It's not a question. He rarely ever questions. "Help you pack."

Cigarette between his teeth, he shakes his head at the joint. Another grey-eyed stare for Terrapin - the Fenrir had a stare that could peel paint. "Family," he repeats, snorting.

Rune

Wed 01:06AM EST
"Me too," the brief flash of a tired grin, the shake of a darkling head, as Rune straightens and slips around Terrapin back toward the door. "Though I suppose it depends which side of the Force you're on. I'm guessing you're a good guy, but I wanna have you checked out anyone. It's a little weird that you showed up tonight."

"I'm Rune, by the way." She tips two - three - pills from the bottle into her cupped hand and swallows them, hard and dry.

Terrapin

Wed 01:09AM EST
Ah that was a relief...[not] From the sounds of it, family with a hint of attitude.
Eyes moving to the girl, ahhh a little friendlier...[mental note on the pill popping. she had some of those too, and ya never know when it could come in handy] "Oh i see what you mean" she relaxes only slightly..."I was thinking the same about you" she smiles..."Normally I dont expect to find *good guys* out here, isnt there a forest or woods?" she bites her bottom lip..."I came from Oregon...been on a bus all day, and this was the end of the line" Ok hopefully that helped a bit

James

Wed 01:14AM EST
hint?
girl you've got something to learn

"James."

grinned
but otherwise, he just stays quiet
letting the buzz sink in

happy that his pack is home again

Imogen Slaughter

Wed 01:15AM EST
A half shrug, as she pushes off the bed, walking toward where a pile of folders were left after James finally drove her insane with his pacing, beginning to scoop them up, as her other hand shoves the lit cigarette between her lips, holding it captive there. There's very little here of her own. Packing should be easy.

Rune

Wed 01:17AM EST
"Haven't you heard of Urrah before?" What with the clothes - low-slung black leather pants, and a designer leather jacket cinched at the waist, silk shell beneath it, and good black boots encasing her feet - and the grooming - dyed black hair, manicured nails, painted mouth and blacklined eyes - she didn't look like a country cousin. "I couldn't find my way through a child's terrarium."

Rune's gaze slips from Terrapin to James - apparently deeming him the more responsible of the two remaining here. "I'm gonna go find Livingston. Can meet you here, or back at my place. I've got some calls to make too."

None that she wanted to make, to be sure, but necessary calls, nonetheless.

Decker Rohl

Wed 01:21AM EST
"Pine Barrens," is Decker's terse response. Thickly muscled at the shoulder, trim at the hips, Decker can be startlingly quick when he wanted to be - but never graceful. He thumps across the floor, grey eyes flicking to Rune as she announces her departure. A nod up. "Yer place."

He was ditching out of here soon. Steering clear of the drawer where the silver was stored, he stands in the center of the room, looking for something he can pick up. If Imogen was a light packer, he was even more so: the whole of his belongings in the room sat on his body. Clothes, jacket (at last, in deference to the growing autumn chill), fetish-axe relegated to a tattoo on his shoulder, keys and wallet in his pocket. At length, he picks up Imogen's guitar and slings it over his shoulder by the neck like a baseball bat.

"James," he addresses his packmate, "we're goin' back to Rune's. You comin'?" A slice of a glance toward Terrapin. Apparently the kin was 'invited', too.

Terrapin

Wed 01:23AM EST
That makes her chuckle.."I tend to keep close to nature..." she looks over at James..then back to Rune..[ok who was Livingston] But she is relaxed now, the THC mixed with the fact that she didnt have to worry about being dinner tonight. At least not so far.
"I'm afraid i dont know what Urrah is" she looks embarrased...
And now she doesnt quite know what to do...she didnt mean to rain on anyones parade, or crash the party in fact she had planned on smoking the perfectly rolled doobe and chilling in front of the TV with comedy central on or something...but she was among family, and was always up for a party, even if the partiers were a bit uptight

James

Wed 01:25AM EST
dreads dance over his shoulders in a nod

"Sure thing Rune, I'll get back to your place by morning."

while a place to stay was a place to stay
he's gotten more tired of this room in the past three hours than he has in the past odd weeks
seriously
he'll jump at the chance to go back to the condos
..... without worry of the Dancers showing up

(wait.... what about Asher's little friend?)

something in the haze of dark eyes finding Decker
well, he's going to have to ask something
just.... not now

well.... maybe he'd be there sooner than morning
while Decker's fast yet not graceful
he's got the two pretty covered
half-rolling to the side of the bed and picking up the tattered patchwork trench, and the sling with the rebar in it
already heading to the door

"C'mon. They'll explain in the car."

yea.
They.
another hit before he hands the joint back to whoever wants it
he's a Hood, not a Bogart

Rune

Wed 01:28AM EST
"City folk," begins Rune's terse explanation. "Bone Gnawers. Glasswalkers. The odd Fenrir."

Some crackling of old amusement slips into her voice at that, and Rune turns away, opens the deadbolt, slips out the door without another word.

Terrapin

Wed 01:30AM EST
C'mon? ummm ok...She looks at the backpack...then to them as they leave. Aint going anywhere without it...she hoists it up..[must weigh half as much as her] and regains her balance..."yeah ok why not" she smiles and takes the joint one last time...fuck it she wastn gonna waste it.
wondering if she should find 906 first she shrugs it off..life was an adventure

Imogen Slaughter

Wed 01:31AM EST
File folders. No clothing. Everything stayed at the morgue, in her own morbid fashion. She brought as little as possible. Only the essential. Her eyes follow Decker as he slings the guitar (essential) over his shoulder, before packing the file folders into a brief case.

Knives.

The quiet woman crouches before the nighttable, pulling out two large sized knives, and a holster.

After a moment, cigarette still clutched between her lips, the brief case is tossed back onto the bed, and reopened. Click. The knives and holster are tossed in, amid file folders and their neatly ordered death. Clunk. It's shut and locked. A minute. Maybe. She's ready, shrugging into her jacket and scooping up her mass of keys.

Decker Rohl

Wed 01:37AM EST
They? Decker the sullen, Imogen the bitter?
Oh, this'll be good.

As everyone gets ready and heads for the door, Decker takes a last glance over the room, makes sure nothing's been left behind, and then follows them out. Room 609. Imogen's 'home' for the past week or so. Door shuts behind them, and that's it.

What about Asher's little friend...?

A good question, that. He'd caught the Gnawer's worried look, but there were certain things he couldn't account for. Too many what-ifs in the world. What if Asher had another five or six packmates? What if the whole Hive came after them tomorrow? What if...

Ding. Elevator comes. Lowering the guitar from his shoulder so it didn't bang in the tight confines, Decker gets in and taps the ground floor button.

James

Wed 01:40AM EST
"Well.... you've got the room if you wanna stay there."

shoulders shrugging into the tattered trench
doing what he can to hide his reaction to Decker's unspoken response
(yea.... what if....)
letting the warm fuzzy of the buzz melt away the strange tension
easy going James
that's him
settling back against the wall of the elevator

Terrapin

Wed 01:44AM EST
And so she follows...why the hell not...Leaning against the wall,in the elevator. Pack acting as a pillow in between. Those dreads making their way far past her shoulders. She was a small thing, small fragile hippie tree hugging smiley happy girl [shiny happy people holding hands] among a bunch of uptight garou who seem to have had a helluva night. Oh what the hell, everyone needs a little sunshine in their world...right?
Balancing the pack she remains still...eyes moving around the group..and hat a group it was.
"you sure you dont mind me tagging along?" last chance to ditch her...

Imogen Slaughter

Wed 01:46AM EST
She shuts the door behind her with a hollow click, and walks quietly into the elevator, along with the rest of the group. As they go down, she stabs the cigarette out, dead and smouldering in the elevator ashtray, freeing up one hand to pull out her wallet from her jean pocket. The door opens on the ground floor, and she walks out, heading toward the desk, to settle the bill.

The pitiful excuse for a night clerk is sleeping. A few times thwacking on the table to get his attention, and a few moments later, the bill is settled.

Back toward the group.

Decker Rohl

Wed 01:48AM EST
Apparently they didn't mind; no one answers Terrapin. The group's clustered near the door in a loose knot. As Imogen returns, Decker pushes the door open. More herding: the four go out into the night. 2am again. The night clerk probably thought they were nocturnal.

Out to the car. Wait by the passenger's side, get in. Terrapin and James pile into the back, and they're off to the races.

Imogen Slaughter

Wed 01:53AM EST
The large silver SUV drives from the rather seedy motel, down a myriad of roads and streets. Imogen's a fast driver. It doesn't take long for the area of town to improve and for them to reach a condo plaza, with all the bells and whistles. The stark contrast is almost devestating, comparing the grungy motel to the cleanler nicely trimmed plaza.

The SUV pulls into the parking lot and they all pile out, a click of locks and chirp of an alarm as soon as all the doors are closed.

[continued later]

Asher
sand crunches (bone crumbles) beneath the steady progression (degeneration) of the Galliard within the club's boundaries, mismatched (metis) eyes half lidded beneath the throbbing weight (pulsebeat bass) of music

he can feel it speaking to him (just him)
treble's (brilliant) chill on skin
subbeat's gutwrench (nightmare) sickness
the steady writhe of sweaty lives around him
wrapped in this blanket of thickening delight

the wolf among the sacrificial lambs

pleasure finds way to creep into his smile, the lean blond swathed in black (in so. many. ways.), a flyer retrieved (so.... that... was her last name) from previous venture into this territory, a whim bringing him from the tunnels of (hell) home into the catacombs of mythology

the marked (stigmata) running his fingers along the entryway walls, tracing the heiroglyphs, a pause just before crossing the (veiled) entrace, paying the cover, faking the ID

black velvet curtains parting for a blacker soul

Kaj'sha.
Behind the depraved Galliard, the immaculate Philodox whose hands do not touch the walls, whose eyes pass with only the slightest of curiosities over those within, whose feet do not touch the floor. He pays and flashes ID without so much as looking at the bouncer. Dressed all in white, he somehow manages to pull the 'look' off: angel, cherub, seraph.

His eyes are black.

His eyes are black, and they cast over the room, over the hundred dancing skeletons. Most the decorations are lost on Kaj'sha, and the music does not tug at him the way it does Asher, but...

...not bad. Overall, not bad. The sand crunching beneath his feet makes him smile, half-distractedly.

Erik
Mistakes. Already they're making mistakes.

No, that isn't right. He is making mistakes. Should have checked the gift earlier. Could have got em at that lab place. But nooooo. He snuck his pack up all the way to the lab, then powered his senses with gnosis, and found that Asher had already gone...

Fuck. fuck fuckfuck fuck fuck!

Now, finally, he is cornered. But hiding in a mass of sheep. Nightclub...

a low growl escapes the No-Moon's mouth as he stands in the dark alley, the rest of the pack back in the shadows, and stares at the club.

finally he turns to the pack. "We'll have to cross over..."

Decker
Crouching on the alley floor while the Alpha checked his senses and consulted with himself, Decker looks up as he speaks. Nods wordlessly, holds out his hand for one of his packmates to pull him across. Decker's spirit was...less than powerful. In the usual army-surplus cargoes and wifebeater, one hand rubs idly at the jagged, stylized tattoo sprawled over his right arm from shoulder to just below the elbow. Ogre. A good weapon, but he would not desecrate his grandfather's memory in using it against an unworthy foe.

In his hand, a knife glinting dully, unable to hold the edge steel can. Silver. Asher's knife.

What comes around, goes around.

Rune
Sleek and cool as the night, Rune slouches back against the brick wall of the alley, breathing deliberately through her mouth (it stinks back here) and avoiding the strewn debris with assiduous care, attentive to her clothing even now, despite the gravity of their mission. The heels are gone for the night, and so too the more expensive clothing. Tonight, she's dressed down in dedicated clothing she usually eschews - lowslung leather pants curving across her hips, black, and a black sleeveless shell, stark against her pale skin. She slips her leather coat from her shoulders and tosses it aside, but not before retrieving her own silver knife from the pockets. Dark hair swings across her face, obscuring hard dark eyes, as she grasps Decker's hand and pulls him across the gauntlet.

The club. The sheep.

It won't be a pretty night.

Asher
the angel and the devil
(damnation and salvation)
the dream and the darkness
the Philodox and the Galliard

perhaps there's an uncoinscious feed (sharing) what crackles synergy through the lean form, each note a thousand tiny sparks to stimulate and aggravate each muscle, each chaotic refrain (frenzy) of the exotic against animal (whatever became of the man........ you were never a man) skin stroke through the strangest of (invisable) pelts

he does not choose a place to sit
he stops at the edge of the sand covered floor
listening
breathing
unweaving this tapestry of sound and scent that lays itself at his feet

Kaj'sha
At his side, the slighter, slimmer Alpha cocks his head briefly, lightless eyes half-lidding as though listening.

Strange...could have sworn I felt...

But this is the heart of the city, the realm of the Weaver, who answers to no man nor beast - Wyld, Wyrm or Gaia. No wyrmlings comes to speak to the Philodox, and he has not the skills of the Theurge to force an answer from them.

Probably nothing.
"Just watching?" - this, to Asher.

Erik
He hammers a way through the steely guantlet of the city. Immdiately he is alert, looking in every direction with fevered intensity.

All clear for now. He begins the crackling shift to Crinos and grips the black barrelled, sawed off shotgun fetish in his hand. Only here its barel looks made out of hammered storm clouds... They writhe and seethe yet retain their shape. And a white hot light flickers down inside the barrel...

He waits for the rest of the pack to follow across. Then orders are given. the plan is already known. He adds only "Wait. seperate from the herd. Hunt like pack."

The bathroom would be an ideal place for this...

Decker
If Rune thought the alley smelled bad, the Umbra was about to smell worse. In apparent response to his Alpha's command, the Modi cracks his neck to one side - swells - and then to the other.

On top of iron-grey fur, a layer of knobbed, warty, stinking hide grows. The Troll's Skin. Aptly named, indeed: those around him might find their eyes watering from the stench.

In his hand, the silver knife looks like a toy. A miniature swiss army knife gripped in the clawed handpaw of a monster.

Again, he places his hand on Rune's shoulder, letting the Ahroun's stronger spirit draw him across.

Asher
"Yes."

silk from mouth or mind, the Galliard does not say it loudly, but knows it is heard just as easily (a whisper in the darkness, a cry lost in the flames, tell of your terrors now..... child..... elsewise you've only yourself to blame) hands slipping to curl in pockets

so close, this pretty flesh (genuflect at my altar of madness) just within reach
tempting, teasing, taunting, calling out with each crawling echo of rhythmic catastrophe
indulge. yourself. in me.

only watching
newly healed flesh burning againt the fabric of his shirt

Kaj'sha
Languid as an Oscar Wilde nobleman - and as pretty - the Alpha leans (never slouches) back against the wall. Skeletons dancing in strobe lights - of which his strange eyes could pick up the distal wavelengths of, flashing through his eyelids.

Kaj'sha. Clubbing. It's a strange sight.

Presently, a pretty brunette passes by. Kaj'sha is not easily tempted by the flesh he cannot see, but Asher is another story. A slip-slide of eyes. A lick of lips. Indulge? Why, yes please.

Erik
"Yes, Just watching... Heh. There's another."

He speaks as he peers throught he guantlet, oblivious to what transpires around him. Damn ahrouns better have his back...

And he waits, and waits, watching the two wyrmlings watch the sheep and lick their chops. Maddening! Not that he cares overmuch for the sheep....

He suddenly stands and repositions himself, and then draws his senses back into the spiritual.

"Enemys not leave pack. We kill now. Look quickly as I did. then we kill."

Asher
does he even remember the name of the last that walked by in such a way (did he even know her name?) in a provocation tease of (sinister) senses

I wonder what your screams will sound like.

skull tilts in backwards glance, a scythe slash of pleasure curving young lips that will never be seen by his Alpha (and never, ever, acknowledged), weight already shifting to follow

"Not anymore."

the invitation never spoken aloud

Rune
With the word from their Alpha, Rune peers across the gauntlet and studies - briefly - the shapes and movement of those beyond. Full red lips are set in a hard, lowering line as (she likes this setting not at all, but likes Spirals even less. The flashback spills bright across her surface mind - the sleeping darkness of the pack's warehouse loft, the spiraling smoke spilling from the pack's prized hookah, distant groove teasing the senses, languid and low, and the pack - her pack - sprawled unsuspecting in the darkness, the low murmur of desultory conversation mixing with the clink of beer bottles and then - and then - ) she draws her vision back and shifts again into hulking warmform, ready to push through the gauntlet.

Erik
He fades across the guantlet quickly, crouched low (for a hulking 9 foot plus werewolf) behind a nearby bar.

Unprepared. They're fucked.

Then, when he is sure he is fully across and physical, he rockets to his feet and sends one of the deadly silver explosions into the one called Ashers back. Call him coward if you like, just make sure he spends that other round first.

Of course there is a dead silence for a split second, until the screaming starts.

Erik
He swings the deadly, steaming shotgun towards Asher's friend and pulls the modified trigged back to the second notch. Thunder laced with silver lightning erupts from it, but he is jostled by a panicking human, of all things, and doesn't harm the wyrmling much.

Rune
With the shotgun blast, the crowd scatters. The initial wave of panic that spreads through the crowd is doubled and redoubled by the sudden vision of three Crinos Garou emerging from nowhere behind the bar. Glass shatters, alcohol and blood sprays, and more than a few of those in the immediate are release the contents of their bladders in reaction to the sudden, pre-conscious surging of primordial fear.

The dim lights flash and flutter, and the crunch sand is spattered with blood from the spray of the shotgun blast, which catches more than just the Spirals unaware. Several patrons fall, and others are trampled in the ensuing panic as those mortals with wits enough turn and fucking - run.

Anywhere. Anywhere but here.

The female - in the gargantuan warform, the differences are subtle, at most - the female rockets past the bar and turn's her warrior's gift upon Kaj'sha, Asher's immaculate companion - the stink of it, the primal dominance of the full bloody moon - is almost as palpable as the stick copper stain of blood in the air, or the ammonia stench of the mortals' fear.

Still, she rages - nine feet of muscle and mottled fur, more inhuman than a nightmare - and surges forward, silver knife held low. The upward slashing stroke is inelegant, but savage in its effectiveness and soon the silver blade is running red with the other's life's blood.

Kaj'sha
He is perfect.
He is.
Pure.

His eyes are black. His eyes are black, but the rest of him is as the dawn: golden, white, rose. He is all in white, his hair a golden halo of short curls, his skin fair and luminous. His mouth is a poet's, and it is just curving to smile (...angels could fall...) when--

BLAM.
Blood. Red on white.

Shock rockets through him. He doesn't even feel the pain until the warmth of blood blooms on the back of his immaculate jacket. Amazed - who dares?! - the Alpha whirls around; from beneath the sleeve of one long, slim arm, steel-grey drifts and solidifies from a tattoo that's sometimes there, sometimes not. Liquid into solid, smoke into steel and plastic. A shotgun. SPAS-12, futuristic, at once jarring and oh-so-fitting in the beautiful Fallen One. White and golden and pink and RED and black. Beside him, Asher totters, his back a ruined mess. Kaj'sha takes one look and levels the shotgun at the two Gaian Ahrouns crossing the Gauntlet to flank their Alpha.

I believe you have made me quite angry...
...thwarted. Unholy terror hits him; the SPAS-12 wavers in his grasp.

A second shotgun blast, poorly aimed, doesn't do nearly the damage it could've. By then the Spiral Philodox is in his beautiful/terrible Crinos form, staggering back with the blow.

It's not going well. It's not going well at all. His lips peel back, black from white teeth, pink tongue, and he looses the defiance of a howl - the Symphony of the Abyss - a maddening whine, flies and insects, maggots and centipedes.

Lucifer and Beelzebub sat under a tree...

He always has a backup plan. From his other hand, a gathering darkness; a flickering of the lights overhead as shadow expands, engulfs -

- dies.

Just a flicker.
Just a flicker of doubt in his eyes, black, looking up now -

- just in time for the Crinos female to fall upon him. Silver bites deep, thrusting up, invading his twisted perfect heart. The blood of kings, purest of the pure and the most tainted of all, falls in a flood. White. to. red.

Kaj'sha.
Staggers.

The world is woolen and indistinct. Beside him, he can hear the blade of the Fenris-wolf cleaving into his packmate. Inside him, he can feel it through the pack-bond: the shattering of the Spiral's Heart, the destruction these faithless ones wreak. Through the shield of his own disbelief, Kaj'sha makes a realization.

Am I dying...?

It comes as such a surprise. Such an inconstant, such a ...loose end.... Death. He has never considered it. The Father promised him. All this and more I shall bestow upon thee, if only thou wilt fall and worship me.

He fell.
He falls, to his knees.

One.
Last.
Plan.

The barrel of the shotgun jams up under the sleek snow-white blood-red muzzle. The Symphony of the Abyss falters in his throat, but it matters not. The maw of the abyss opens wide: darkness, as dark as the blindness he began his life in so long ago, unfolds to take him in. Less than a week ago he carved the Sign of the Beast into the breast of his Beta. Today, he carves his own sign.

And he's going home.
And he has.
One last loose end to tie.
One last silver bullet.

Kaj'sha: perfectly tainted, the Spawn of Mahsstrac, the Alpha of the Spiral's Heart, the Bastard of G'louogh, the Chosen of the Wyrm and the Philodox of the Silver Fangs:

pulls.
the.
trigger.

None but the purest shall make an end of me.

Asher
curves (sin) waltzing (entrancing) to weave through him, crowd parting a red (bloody) sea this strange, eternal voyage
blinding beauty
blinding pain

[Aethera Enamorata - there is divinity in pleasure
Spiral's Heart - there is divinity in pain]

there is no doubt in his (cracked) mind silver tears through skin (splintering bone, ripping organs) a thousand electric nerves in overdrive the sudden (blistering) heat that pumps (paniced Rage) into the lean Galliard's body, screaming crowd around him doing nothing to dim the shreiking that begins from somewhere long forgotten, somewhere deep inside (.....no...... not again...... please)

blood belches onto the floor beneath the Dancer flipping to his back, finest fabrics replaced by black tar fur, reactive (reactor) rage thundering, mule ears spike (the devil's horns) from twisted skull, tail lashing (serpent's wrath) sweeping a mortal woman from her feet (orientation waning)

just in time to see the Ahroun mauling his Alpha

..... no.

the third (final) blast shatters
something in the Galliard dies

...... not again

the fury of gray stormed skies is almost not enough to grant his attention, before the silver (how familiar) plunges into black (silken) throat there is nothing but the nightmare of white becoming crimson

and lightning cracks

massive fist reaching to wrap around the Modi's wrist, plunging the silver blade deeper into his own throat (there is nothing for me now) and echoing, whispering, completely filling this moment suddenly frozen in time, needling its way into Decker's mind (a voice he will never.... can never.... forget) in vice-grip torture

...... how does it feel...... indulging the pleasure of violence..... the glory of rage.... the ringing chorus of cruelty..... tell me of the power you feel now...... do you like it?

the Gallaird is going home (the Father's warm embrace) already he feels the Spiral's rapture pull
perhaps a smile curls the underhinged maw (I will see you there, soon enough), rippling guard hairs on deformed muzzle, somewhere behind the growing haze in uneven eyes a bitter (bale) fire erupts (victory), lips that could never form even the Spiral's twisted speech quiver as if to attempt one. last. time.

...... you're more corrupt than me.......

head twists, tongue snakes out, smearing through the (tainted) crimson soaking into gray fur (staining), combing it through the hairs, against the skin, the right (night's dark sky) eye flickering in a wink
then the light..... darkens