Ornature

brickFaster than they could have blinked their eyes the two incongruous Garou take down the oil-skinned creature.

The first attack catches it upside the head and while it does not stun it the creature does look momentarily confused. As if it cannot comprehend a creature as large as the one before it using a staff to bean it so soundly. The blow does more damage than she could bring herself to do with her claws. The second strike from the staff misses entirely but it does distract the creature long enough for Pokes the Mind's Eye to get behind it.

And shoot it in the back of the head at point-blank range.

Ballistics being what they are the bullet ricochets against the inside of the creature's skull and goes veering up and off rather than going straight through and lodging itself in Still Waters' stomach. She is however covered in a fine spray of blood and brains despite not being the one to deal the killing blow.

Close as he was stood to the creature the spark from the weapon catches the fumes come off its skin. They cannot smell anything rank but as it falls the headless body goes up in flames. If they had not taken it down when they did they can assume and rightly so that it would have immolated of its own accord.

That takes care of that.

KeishaShe has no idea that Milton is there. And thus she has no idea that there will be wounds popping up anywhere on the creature that she did not inflict.

This means that she is completely surprised by the spray of living being that spatters her and blinks as if falls down. Moments later, she's back down into homid form, still shocked and bloody.

"What...the..." She blinks twice, spits the nasty shit out of her mouth. "Oh. Oh, HELL no. You did NOT just make me swallow brains. Do you KNOW the last time I had anything remotely close to living being in my stomach?"

She doesn't quite realize what she just left herself wide open for. And bless her for it, but she's in angry attitude mode. Patent pending, her mother.

Pokes-the-Mind's-EyeHe gets a smile on his face, proud little thing that he was, and he takes the time to put the weapon away. This was, well... It was Milton's first real Kill since he came to this place, and it was a rather impressive one, at least that's how he saw it.

Once the firearm was away he approached Keisha curiously, she was bloody, he wanted to be sure she was alright, wasn't dying. "You alright?" He asks her calmly as he looks down at the thing with a sigh. There was a frown as he looks at the thing.

"You see that?" He asks as he kneels by the burning shit. "That was some pretty gangsta shit if I say so myself!' He says with just a little hint of pride and just as much teasing in his voice. No he might not be a gangsta, he was a middle class white boy but he was Garou, and Garou deal with some shit that would make your average gangsta, your average soldier, piss his pants!

He sighs. "Shit, we gotta get you cleaned up." He says to Kiesha. "Hopefully... That was the only one!"

brickTO BE CONTINUED!~

Pokes-the-Mind's-Eye"We all break the litany a little now and again! It's cool! So you ate a little human! I won't tell if you don't tell!" He says back, a charming little wink is even presented to the Child-of-Gaia.

In the silence punctuated only by the crackling of weak fire and Keisha and Milton's bickering they cannot hear the infant-voice winding itself up again. Fallen silent as it had moments earlier they have not heard it during the last several minutes. Aside from the weak spot in the wall and the hole torn in the Gauntlet they have found no way to the other side of the dirty brick wall through which they heard the noise.

Lola has managed to return to the sidewalk with the intent to swing around the block to try and find the source of the noise. She has reached the corner and turned north by the time the fight has ended. She may have registered the subsonic boom that came from Milton's weapon discharging. She may not have. She is listening intently for the crying to come again.

Navigating in a city is not the same as orienteering through the woods but the principles are the same. Use the sky and ambient landmarks. Keep track of your cardinal directions. Listen for water and other animals.

While the Garou decide what their next move is going to be Lola comes upon what appears to be a pawn shop. Or was a pawn shop. Its display windows have been reinforced with boards and no wares or hours of operation grace them. A metal security door is drawn and padlocked in front of the glass front door.

Nearly three minutes after the Wretched pushed through the Gauntlet to attack them they hear the crying again. Low and mournful in its insistence. Like it knows they're still there and can't sort out why they haven't rescued it yet.

The Kinswoman had taken off running just before the beast, whatever it may be, ripped its way through the space between worlds to hurl itself at Keisha. Lola would have felt a little guilty leaving the Child of Gaia Theurge there to fight for herself, but she was a Garou and could turn to claws and teeth to save her life if she needed to. Plus, Lola had seen her in action with her staff and found her to be capable enough.

There's also the fact that Lola was pretty sure that wherever Milton had gone off to, it couldn't be far. He was a Ragabash, they got lost track of all the time. That was their job, after all.

She goes out the way they came and back onto the sidewalk, then out and around on the sidewalk to find the other walls to the building that she and Keisha were positive they'd heard the squalling of an infant coming from. She'd heard the gunshot and figured that Milton must have been lurking nearby after all. So much for her plan not to draw attention. But, at least they were Garou. They could sidestep if they had to. Lola kept on, around the corner, until she found the front of the building.

The mewling sounds of a miserable infant had started up again, now a sound in her ears like a radio in the distance after being lost in the woods -- soft, consistent, and honed in upon. It didn't tear her up inside or drive her mad like some may expect would be the reaction from a woman carrying life-- that whe would be rendered particularly wounded by the sound of an infant in distress thanks to the hormones adjusting and fluxuating through her bloodstream.

Rather than rattling at the security door and padlock, Lola instead just put her hands on her hips and stepped back from the front of the pawn shop to look the front of the building over. Maybe she could climb in through a window if she got decent leverage standing on something, like that security gate?

Three minutes from Milton's jokes, they'll be hearing crying again. There's still three minutes to go, and the pacifist vegetarian who was essentially used as bait and them sprayed with blood from someone who is joking about her eating human flesh is not pleased. Which is to say that her Rage, weak as it is, spikes considerably as she bristles at the Ragabash.

"You know what, Milton? Fuck you. You can deal with this clean-up. You killed it, it isn't my fucking problem. And if you even joke that I ate human again, I'm going to beat you into god-damned coma. That's not against my vow, you wannabe wigger."

And yes, she was in the process of walking off and leaving him there when the sound of the infant wailing pops up again. Which makes her stop, set her jaw.

"Goddess. Dammit."

"Victory has been achieved! Gaia's champions stood against the darkness and once more emerged... Uhm... Victorious! If not for the quick thinking of the handsome, charming, and brilliant new moon known to the nation as Pokes-the-Mind's-Eye this victory could have just as easily been a crushing defeat, but our hero refuses to allow the Wyrm even one single victory, not so long as blood still flows in his veins!" Milton says as he stands proudly over the corpse, his cape wasn't flowing but it was clearly pushed out for emphasis as he shows off his best side.

Yes ladies and... Ladies, this right here is what it's all about for Milton Kegler, saving a damsel in distress, waiting patiently for her to admit her undying love for him. Of course, he will have to turn her down, because he knows in his heart of hearts that it can never truly be! Keisha and Milton's children would be abominations, pariah's among the garou whose only saving grace was knowing they were the children of the nation's most important and powerful ragabash!

"Besides, his heart already belongs to another! That sassy uktena kin just doesn't realize what her heart is really feeling. Clearly it's conflicted, this is why she lashes out at him, he understands quite well, she insults him because deep down inside she is afraid to admit what she truly feels but one..." He breaks his pose and looks around with a confused look on his face. "Wait... Was I just saying that last part out loud?"

He fumbles around for his ear buds, slipping one into his ear, and getting a glowing smile on his face as his head begins bobbing.

Keisha begins yelling and he looks back at her and nods his head as he listens to her. He didn't understand what the problem was, the battle was won... Blood was everywhere. This was, and always has been, the life of the Garou.

However, the best part of his song comes up so he gives a little grin. "Wait up wait up... This is the best part!" He says as he slides the other earbud into place.

♫ The rythm of love,

keeps me dancing on the road,

the rythm of love,

got the groove that hits the bone,

the rythm of love,

Is the something something oooh,

the rythm of love,

It's the heartbeat of my soul! ♫

He notices, however, that Kiesha is looking annoyed about something else, and he pulls the buds out of his ear. "What now?" He pauses to look around. Goddamn it, he's missing the song!

[How was his performance? Cha+Performance!]

Dice: 4 d10 TN6 (1, 2, 4, 9) ( success x 1 )

[Dexterity 3 + Larceny 0: +1 diff for lack of ability]

Dice: 3 d10 TN7 (2, 2, 9) ( success x 1 )

"Go home, Milton. Let the adults do their job. Call someone who has value to me if you really want."

It's about all she can say without getting in a physical fight with him. And she starts walking around.

Her hopes to locate a window that she could easily open on the second story were scattered, but to be fair they weren't up too high in the first place. After her brief survey of the building front, Lola stepped back up to the building's front and peered at the set up with the security gate and the padlock that kept it in place.

She had to break the padlock to get in, and Lola's first thought was to find a tool to do this with. Unfortunately, all she had for a tool that could pass was her revolver, and she took too good care of her weapons to mistreat them in such a way.

So, she stepped back again and cast her gaze up and down the sidewalk.

When she was sure it was clear enough, she squared her balance, lifted a foot, and stomped her foot against the padlock hard as she could, throwing her weight into the kick and angling it to try and snap the latch itself.

Her foot smarted and her ankle stung a little from the maneuver, but she didn't break anything and the padlock was damaged enough that she could finish the job unhooking it with her fingers. The padlock itself was tucked into her coat pocket, so not to be left obvious on the sidewalk, and she pushed the security gate open just enough for her to get through and test the door behind it.

He nods his head. "Anger management would really help." He says as he moves to follow the Theurge, and he pulls out his iPhone to begin looking up a number. "You might also wanna think carefully about using the w word here in Colorado! Lot of hate associated with that word, well... Hate's not the right word. Lot of entitled white people who don't know the difference between racism and not being happy with their lives! But still! I'd be careful throwin' w-bombs around like that! Could get you sued by a pack of rich white boys!"

He does his best to keep up with her, wondering, quite curiously, where they are going and precisely why. Though he wasn't too worried about it at the moment. Wherever they were going it would be fun!

This side of the block has significantly less foot traffic than the other side but that doesn't mean Lola can't feel the eyes of the world upon her as she starts fiddling with the padlock and then decides to use brute force instead of patience to get the thing to relinquish its grasp over the rusted metal door.

Keisha's voice lifts up out of the alleyway but the phonemes are lost to distance and architecture. Muffled by the impatient wailing of an infant. If she is heading towards the opposite side of the block with Milton in tow the Uktena kinswoman can hear him talking a mile a minute behind her. Refusing to do as Keisha suggests and leave them to finish this.

No one else seems concerned by the wailing. Kids cry. That's just a thing that they do. It's annoying but it's not their kid. They can turn up their stereos and drink more and it will stop being annoying.

Someone in the distance turns up their stereo. Some blue-eyed soul song comes wafting down the street as Lola pockets the padlock and hauls aside a metal security door that shrieks its rusted discontent.

The crying morphs into a surprised hiccough.

"If you want to stay within ten feet of me and not get assaulted, shut the fuck up. I'm not telling you again, I'll just start attacking you."

And that is literally all she says as she is hopefully going in the same direction as Lola is going. Her tone suggests that she isn't joking. Seeing the kinfolk ahead she picks up the pace to catch up with her.

Lola can hear a stereo turn up somewhere else on the street. She vaguely recognizes the tune that's playing but pays it no mind. She also feels the suspicious eyes on the back of her neck and shoulders. She can hear Keisha and Milton's voices around the corner, but Lola doesn't wait up for them.

Time could be of the essence, for all she knew.

Or, at least, that was the excuse she'd give if anyone tried to set her down and lecture her about charging off into the unknown on her own. So she didn't wait for the voices to catch up, but instead was quick about opening the door that existed behind the security gate. The gate itself was slid back shut, but with no lock to secure it the Garou could follow after her with ease. Hopefully they'd figure out that they should close the gate behind them so as not to draw so much attention, too.

Inside, Lola pulled her revolver from her holster once more. She was only worried about people out on the street seeing her running about with a gun in her hand. In here, anyone that would see her she figured would be too young to remember or old enough to understand how not to get a bullet in their head.

His eyes light up. "Right!" He says, counting the steps between Kiesha and himself. Each stride should be at least a foot, so he uses that as a measurement and once she is ten strides away he continues moving with her.

The sight of Lola makes him tilt his head, he wasn't sure what all was going on, so he uses his iPhone to start taking pictures. Memories are important and one day they would all look back at this day and laugh and laugh and laugh! Because...

He caught sight of Lola pulling her weapon, and this is when he took the time to look around to see precisely what was going on. Was there danger around? He was pretty sure he already saved everyone!

[a little present for lola

-1WP and rolling WP]

Dice: 5 d10 TN8 (4, 4, 6, 8, 10) ( success x 2 )

She hears that digital Click-Click-Click once she gets inside and turns around, blinking at Milton with a dumbfounded expression.

"Are...are you taking pictures of me soaked in blood as we go to investigate a mysterious baby crying that went silent when the Wyrm attacked, then started back up again? Like, seriously? Unbelievable. Delete all of those. Can't wait for the next moot."

And with that, she is moving to pull the gate open and follow Lola.

He smiles when he hears what she says. "Yes Sir! Right away!" He says with a Salute, waiting until Keisha is inside and moving to follow her, putting his iPhone away for the moment!

Keisha steps over the threshold and Milton puts away the fucking iPhone and steps over the threshold and slides the metal gate shut behind them. These things happen shortly after Lola steps inside the darkened and emptied commercial building and takes a look around.

Anyone whose eyes were not cloaked behind the Veil would see a toddler sat in its diaper on the floor. Smeared in god knows what and left here to fend for itself. A healthy toddler with cornsilk-blond hair and ocean-blue eyes just so cute and helpless and coughing and crying away because no one is coming to pick it up. All babies look the same before their parents get ahold of them. Hard to tell its sex with Pampers maintaining its modesty.

As soon as they're inside and can see what it is they're dealing with those the Garou realize it isn't a human baby sitting on the floor. It isn't a tiny cute drooling infant that needs to be picked up and consoled and taken to a Safe Place so the police can start finding its parents.

Keisha and Milton and Charlotte when she pops out of the Umbra because the spirits are careening out of there fast as they can to find someone who can come do something about this abomination parked inside the store see something entirely different. It doesn't serve as an immediate affront to their mental stability but no one would blame them if they have to take a moment to absorb what it is they're looking at.

The building's ceiling is only ten feet high and the creature's head is nearly smashed up against it. Its arms and legs are disproportionately short and it does not appear to be able to walk with its swollen and glistening feet stuck straight out in front of it. It is grotesque in its mass. Covered in boils and blisters. A sideways mouth cut into its midsection flaps as it babbles in a language they can't understand. That they don't want to understand.

As they stand there the auditory distortion disappears along with the visual. The creature is making an ululating and guttural noise that rides the line between agony and ecstasy.

Lola, meanwhile. She doesn't fear much. No one has ever known her to scream or cry or exhibit anything other than determination or annoyance. But she saw something in the seconds between pulling her revolver and Keisha coming in behind her.

[Willpower Check]

Dice: 6 d10 TN8 (1, 3, 4, 4, 6, 9) ( success x 1 )

The gauntlet thins and then separates and then bulges, and how of the remarkable immediacy of the half-broken world comes a girl with eyes nearly the color of the toddler that the sightless would see, and flaxen hair tipped in pin. The familiar pop of the gauntlet distended and then rearranging itself into something whole, the barrier returned.

Breathing sharp and deep, already reaching into a the messenger bag slung across her narrowing frame, the creature takes a half-second to orient and then reorient herself to their immediate surroundings.

The other Garou can scent her breeding in the air; it is as sharp and pungent as the promise of her madness behind it.

Whatever it was that Lola saw inside the building, it was hard to say.

Well, of course she saw the giant mockery of a baby, with its grotesque head smashed up against the ceiling, with it's swollen feet and useless little arms and filthing, rotting boils. She saw the gash in the stomach that made a second mouth, and she heard the terrible noises that came from it, cadenced and structured like language but nothing that she could know of.

But when the Garou came into the room Lola was standing still and stiff with her eyes wide and half-focused on the wailing infant abomination in front of her. Her nostrils were flared, her cheeks were flushing red, and tears had gone from forming in her eyes to rolling down her cheeks, down her neck and into the collar of her coat.

She didn't seem to notice or care about the Garou that came in along with her. She didn't say a word to them, or to the thing before her as she raised her revolver. Instead, she choked out a horrible sobbing noise, bared teeth that clenched hard enough to hurt, and lined up a shot.

He looks at the monster with a puzzled look on his face and a slow grin takes shape. "Weeping woods..." Is all he says as he looks towards Kiesha and then moves his attention towards the creature. Something told him that this problem was best solved in another form! Something told him this was only the beginning!

She looks at the thing. And then suddenly Charlotte is there. And Milton is grinning and taking another form.

And so she grips her staff and changes into Crinos, holding her staff.

gerbie

+6

Dice: 1 d10 TN6 (5) ( fail )

[[Init +7]]

Dice: 1 d10 TN6 (4) ( fail )

+6

Dice: 1 d10 TN6 (4) ( fail )

Init +8 (homid)

Dice: 1 d10 TN6 (2) ( fail )

[3+3+2=+8]

Dice: 1 d10 TN6 (5) ( fail )

Sense Wyrm

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (1, 2, 2, 3, 7, 8) ( success x 2 )

SPOILER ALERT: IT IS IN FACT OF THE WYRM

ROUND ONE - FIGHT

milton: 13

keisha: 11

gerbie: 11

charlotte: 10

lola: 10

declare in reverse order, you maniacs

[Splitting Actions1A. Shoot1B. Shoot again!]

Charlotte: Reflexive: rageshift. 1a. Bite. 1b. Bite. Rage 1. Claw.

gerbie

1: HAZARDOUS HEAVE @ charlotte

[[Rage spent]]

1a. Push Charlotte out of way of the Heave

1b: That double staff-whack thing I don't remember the name of right now from Iskakku

2: Staff thrust.

[2 Rage! Ima Tank this bitch! You all kill it! Shit... Don't let me die!

1a. Bite!

1R Bite!

2R Bite!]

[Biteybite!]

Dice: 7 d10 TN5 (3, 5, 5, 7, 8, 8, 8) ( success x 6 )

[Str+Hispo+2+5=12!]

Dice: 12 d10 TN6 (2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7, 9, 10, 10) ( success x 6 )

[SOAK]

Dice: 6 d10 TN8 (1, 3, 6, 6, 7, 8) ( success x 1 )

[[Attack #1: -3 for second action and then halved]]

Dice: 2 d10 TN6 (5, 9) ( success x 1 )

[[Damage: +1 staff, -1 maneuver]]

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (3, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10) ( success x 5 )

[OW]

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9) ( success x 3 )

[[Attack #2, -3 for second action, halved]]

Dice: 2 d10 TN6 (2, 10) ( success x 2 ) [WP]

[[Damage: +1 staff, -1 maneuver, +1 succ]]

Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (1, 5, 5, 7, 7, 8, 9) ( success x 4 )

[OWWW]

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10) ( success x 4 )

[changing actions

dex + brawl: hazard breath @ MILTON +1 diff thanks a lot keisha you're so mean]

Dice: 6 d10 TN8 (1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10) ( success x 1 )

[Soak!]

Dice: 5 d10 TN6 (4, 4, 5, 6, 6) ( success x 2 )

1a. Bite. -2

Dice: 5 d10 TN5 (1, 3, 6, 8, 10) ( success x 3 )

1a. Damanananananange

Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (2, 2, 3, 4, 4, 5, 7) ( success x 1 )

[that is adorable]

Dice: 6 d10 TN8 (4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 9) ( success x 1 )

1b. Bite

Dice: 6 d10 TN5 (1, 4, 6, 9, 10, 10) ( success x 4 )

dAMAMNANANANANANANGE

Dice: 8 d10 TN6 (3, 5, 7, 7, 8, 8, 8, 10) ( success x 6 )

[OWWWW]

Dice: 6 d10 TN8 (3, 3, 6, 7, 7, 10) ( success x 1 )

[Shot 1: Dexterity 3 + Firearms 3, -2 dice for split, -2 diff for point blank range rules due to opponent's size]

Dice: 4 d10 TN4 (1, 4, 4, 10) ( success x 3 )

[Damage: 5 Base + 2 Suxx]

Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (1, 5, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10) ( success x 4 )

[OWWWWW]

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (2, 3, 5, 6, 6, 8) ( success x 3 )

[Shot 2: Dex 3 + Firearms 3, -3 dice for split, -2 diff for point blank range / massive opponent]

Dice: 3 d10 TN4 (1, 8, 9) ( success x 2 )

[Damage: 5 Base + 1 Suxx]

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (4, 4, 7, 7, 7, 7) ( success x 4 )

[OWWWW]

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9) ( success x 3 )

[Ima bite again!]

Dice: 7 d10 TN5 (2, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 7) ( success x 3 )

[Damage! 2+3+2+2=9]

Dice: 9 d10 TN6 (1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 7, 7) ( success x 2 )

[did a window fly open?]

Dice: 6 d10 TN8 (2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 8) ( success x 2 )

Per + ze enigmas.

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5) ( fail )

[[Thrust attack! Dex+Iskakku, normal diff]]

Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (1, 1, 6, 6, 7, 8, 8) ( success x 5 )

Oer + enigmas + ancestors

Dice: 8 d10 TN6 (1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 10) ( success x 3 )

this bitch is gonna explode when it dies

[[Damage +1 Staff, +2 maneuver, +4 successes]]

Dice: 13 d10 TN6 (1, 1, 1, 4, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 6, 8, 8, 9) ( success x 4 )

[AIIIYEEE]

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (2, 2, 5, 7, 9, 10) ( success x 3 )

[EVERYBODY SOAK THIS]

Dice: 8 d10 TN6 (1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 7, 8) ( success x 2 )

Rage: shielding Lola

Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (1, 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10) ( success x 3 )

[[Soak]]

Dice: 5 d10 TN6 (1, 5, 7, 8, 9) ( success x 3 )

[Actually fuck it. Everybody soak 8A.]

Soak.

Dice: 5 d10 TN6 (1, 1, 4, 7, 7) ( success x 2 )

[Soak!]

Dice: 5 d10 TN6 (1, 1, 1, 3, 10) ( success x 1 )

DAMAGE TALLY

milton: 7A, incapped

keisha: 5A

gerbie: 10A/2L/3B, dead and exploded

charlotte: 5A

lola: OK, freaking out

Around her the world erupted into violence. All at once three Garou-- two Wolf Beasts and a Wolf-Man beast with its staff all attacking the squalling, babbling, tongue-twisting abomination before them. Lola didn't cringe or flinch back with the sudden furious movement of her Cousins, nor did she recoil from any sort of ichor or blood that would spray from the carnage before her.

She pulled her trigger and shot two bullets into the massive body in the center of the room. They landed, but were like stones thrown from a sling against a creature of this size and endurance.

For Lola, the world was in slow motion and clouded. Tears still ran hot down the trails the first few had made on her cheeks, and before she had the chance to fire another shot the circumstances changed. When there were enough tears and rends in the flesh of the grotesque mutant baby it started to bulge and distend and make a terrible noise. The Garou knew what was coming, and it took Lola a half a second more to register that the thing was about to explode.

She was slow to defend herself, but fortunately for her the valiant Silver Fang dashed in front of her and gave her something to hunker down behind. So Lola ducked her head and shoulders and wrapped her arms over her head and waited for the terrible ringing in her ears to stop and the world to stop its flurry around her.

There was injury. She smelled the burnt fur and the blood and the cooked meat flesh, but Lola didn't unfurl to check the damage around her. Instead, slowly, she sank down into a crouch with her knees apart and her arms still over her head.

She's still, quiet save for the muffled sobs coming from behind the shield her arms and elbows made.

"Tell my family... I... Hate... Them... So... Much..." and with that Milton is dead, with a little grin on his face. Well, not really dead, just laying, lingering on the brink of death. Helpless. A pile of cheeseburger on the floor. Delicious cheeseburger.

She begins the process of healing people.

[Starting with Milton. Mother's Touch. -2 for Wound Penalties]]

Dice: 3 d10 TN6 (2, 2, 6) ( success x 1 )

The world peels itsef apart and reforms. What happens happens to them in seconds; in fractional seconds, in secondary splits and the wolves are in the midst of it, torn apart and stitched together again. The Thing is a Thing is a monstrous Thing and the taste in the back of her throat is sharp and foul and oleaginous and the remnant sulferous promise of what is to come. One wolf - monstrous, massive, prehistory - throws itself in front of the human-with-the-guns and the blast takes her off her feet, massive whitefurred body shielding the softers, slighter body beneath.

The world is still ringing.

The first few moments after the explosion, she can do nothing more than begin to find her feet.

Milton's eyes open and he looks around slowly and then he lets out a sharp. "Ow!" He says sharply as he begins patting himself down and checking out his wounds. "You're supposed to warn me before you blow shit up!" He says to the other trueborns.

The sound of sobs brought his attention towards Lola and he blinked several times. What the fuck? Lola doesn't Cry! This is backwards, HE is supposed to be crying! Lola doesn't cry over anything!

This must be a dream! Er... He'd pinch himself, but he doesn't need to, simply breathing sends pain shooting through his body. Yep, hes awake.

"Shit... You alright?" He asks, even managing to partly forget his pain as his eyes wander in Lola's direction. This is supposed to be a happy time, so he didn't quite understand what had the woman responding like this.

When Milton is at least conscious, the Theurge moves on over to Charlotte. She's in agony of course herself; she's dropped back into Homid and is using her staff to support herself as she moves along, wincing along the way. But other people need her healing, and so she offers it.

Milton's initial comment draws a narrowing of the eyes, but it goes away when he realizes something is wrong and actually acts like a person for once. She lowers herself very carefully (luckily it doesn't have to be very far), enough that she can reach out and rest a hand on Charlotte.

[[Mother's Touch on Charlotte. Going for Diff 2 'cause there's no such thing as Diff 1]]

Dice: 3 d10 TN3 (3, 5, 6) ( success x 4 ) [WP]

Milton inquired after Lola's well-being.

He meant well, truely, bless his heart he did. But Lola must not have heard him. She stayed crouched down like she was and adjusted only a little, enough that her elbows were on her elevated knees and her hands were clasped to the back and sides of her head, so her face was pressed into her forearms and tucked under her elbows into the progressively shrinking space between her legs and abdomen in this position.

She continued quietly to cry, shoulders and ribs jerking under her coat a little with the shuddering breaths that accompanied the act.

The Silver Fang - shining, astonishing, even in extremis - is breathing deeply, sides heaving, skin sloughing off her frame, singed fur sharp in the noise. Keisha heals her - hands on - and quite abruptly the beast is improved. the injuries are knit over and closed, the suppurating wounds reknit.

The gesture is returned.

- then the hispo starts sniffing through the pawn shop for additional threads, ready, stark, alert.

Mother's touch: [Keisha's current rage]

Dice: 4 d10 TN6 (1, 4, 5, 5) ( success x 1 ) [WP]

Sense Wyrm

Dice: 5 d10 TN6 (1, 4, 4, 8, 9) ( success x 2 )

Milton struggled still. He was fucked up to all hell and back, but he could move. So he began towards the woman with a curious look on his face. "Hey... Hey... Lola... You alright?" He asks as he moves to hands and feet and wanders closer, crawling the best he can. Walking would be difficult in his state, would take a little more work, so he simply crawled up to her, and reached out his hand to touch her shoulder.

"It's alright... We won... It's cool, really." He says softly to her, he didn't deal with emotions like this all that well. Normally he'd try to cheer her up, but he wasn't sure exactly what was wrong. "We killed it! We won..." He sighs. "Shit... Uhm... Here..." He says as he pulls his iPod (yeah he has an iEVERYTHING! Fuck off!), and tried to switch it around to find something cheerful for her to listen to. Some J-pop oughta do the trick!

"Milton, even though you haven't listened to me all night, listen to me now. Shut up right now and turn that shit off."

She doesn't wrap her arms around Lola, doesn't talk to her. She doesn't try to tell Lola it's okay. She's just staying there, and Lola can draw comfort from her and lean on her and talk or she can not. The point is, she is only there to provide what Lola needs, and if the kin tells her to go then she'll do that too. (Albeit stay nearby.)

His eyes narrow at Keisha, and for the first time... Ever, the others see the flash of rage within the Ragabashe's eyes. Ever...

He simply stands and turns his back, and leaves saying nothing more to the Theurge.

Thankfully, two of the three present were Theurges, and knew how to heal. So, they laid hands on one another and on the Ragabash as well, enough to keep him from slipping over the brink into death's waiting arms. Though he wasn't quite well enough to comfortably walk on his own, Milton kept vested interest in the condition of the Kinfolk. He'd seen her hold a belt around her own thigh to prevent herself from bleeding out while keeping a cool head. He'd watched her shoot twisted monsters to their deaths with teeth bared and no flinches for the blood that sprayed her face. That this strange and quick-to-die monster reduced her to tears was a curiosity indeed.

He'd pulled himself across the floor and braced a hand on her shoulder. Keisha hovered nearby, available without pressing her presence onto anyone. Charlotte had gone off to investigate the rest of the scene.

Lola moved her arm down from her face to look at Milton when he'd touched her, and the Ragabash will see her eyes are red and puffy and her face tear streaked. She looked at him for a second with her lips pressed closed and trembling with efforts to be kept still, but it didn't hold up very well. "It... It showed Hector," she'd started to explain, but Keisha warned the Ragabash to keep his mouth shut and iPod silence, and the Glass Walker rewarded her by forcing himself up to his feet and limp his proud way out the door-- all in the name of the cold shoulder.

So Lola stayed with Keisha for another minute instead while struggling to compose herself. She didn't lean on the Child of Gaia for support, but any hands that might have found her back, arm, shoulder, or what-have-you were accepted and covered briefly with her own hand before nodding and swallowing. It didn't take more than another 90 seconds or so after Milton left for Lola to pull herself together enough that she managed to get the tears to stop rolling down her face and her breathing level enough to stop shuddering like it was.

Beyond explaining that she saw Hector, she didn't say anything more from there. The ordinarily stoic Kinfolk needed to process on her own, apparently.

Oh, sure, she would stay behind for any clean-up or hiding that needed to be done. But her time spent behind was quiet with clenched jaws and occasional solitary tears being angrily, hastily swiped away from her cheeks. When there wasn't anything left for her to do, she'd leave without much beyond a solemn thank-you to Charlotte for shielding her from the blast that nearly tore three Garou apart.