[Spirits] Rule 8. No Multitasking!!!
[Spirits] Heat scorched the midday afternoon, humidity sweltered as the day wore on. It makes skin slick with sweat, dampening clothes and hair to plaster it to the skin. The air buzzes with invisible electricity as the sky quickly darkens with a low overcast of black clouds… thunder rumbling in the distance.
Wolves are called together, over a totem bonds and spirit-messengers in the shape of tiny, brilliantly shining hummingbirds. The messengers whisper in the ears of the Garou chosen for this task… Bogeyman are sought out for because of their close association with the turf. The summoner?
A small little blond Gnawer called Mama Ankle-Biter.
The streets of Chinatown are not filled with as many people as one would think. A heaviness carries in the quiet seclusion of one part of town, several blocks from the Market Square, closer to the Vice District and just a little beyond. Spirits in the umbra are jittery around, shying away quickly at the approach of any garou that arrives via the Penumbra.
She stands on the street in the realmside, working the patrols as the hours wane into dusk. An alley that once served as a battlefield lies before her; nothing remains of the destruction that was wrought except for an upturned dumpster. Next to the alley, around the corner of a storefront that long since been closed down, the windows and doors boarded up tightly, graffiti defaces the building in a mural of gang signs and territory markings, scratched into the brick and wood facing.
[Bone-Grinder] Cute! A Hummingbird! "Sure I'll follow you creepy little dude!" Was Simon's response to the freaky spirit thing sent to fetch him. He brought with him a bag and a bat... His usual trappings. The Ahroun arrived with a smile on his face. He came alone and on foot. A proud representative of Dark Sky and certainly it's most active member. He stood behind Mama, strong, young, and brave and all that crap.
"Ask and ye shall receive!"He says softly to Mama. He seemed ever eager to prove himself, not just his strength but his supposed resourcefulness as well. The young man has worked hard to make a name for himself but the problem with being a Shadow Lord is names mean nothing. When one ceases to pull his weight he becomes useless to the nation and when one is useless to the nation he needs to be cut loose. There is no time for relaxing, Mama and her creepy hummingbird friend needed him!
[Holds the Line] Cinatown. The Moonrunners were patrolling it now. Chiminage owed to the man who claims it. Claims part of it. The moonrunners make true to their chosen packname. The massive midnight hispo is running across the sky as if it had wings. Paws silent on the air as it looks around. IT had been called by its alpha and it searched out the familiar ground. Diving down, it landed in the alley and scented the air as spirits fled from the massive war-beast.
It stays in the umbra for now, reaching out through the shared totembond to his packmates. To victor that was flying close, to Mama in the alley.
~We are here.~
Simple affirmation.
[Hard Knocks] Hummingbird calls and Annie, young and athletic and prone to fits of delight, literally squees at how beautiful it is, and never mind that she's a bad ass Ahroun. She's also five feet tall, like, exactly.
Rory, we're meetin' Mama. C'mon, I'll drive unless you wanna walk.
And so, whether they walk realmside, run through the umbra, or drive in Annie's beat up (and very recognizable to those who know it) VW microbus, the two female Bogeymen arrive together, not long after Simon does. Perhaps oddly, Annie mostly ignores him - which is to say eyes land, briefly, and then skitter away to rest on anything else but the Shadow Lord who's over a foot taller than she.
"Hey, lady, been awhile," she tells Mama with a grin. "Missed ya! We're here for ya now, though."
[Tongue Twister] She had caught a ride with Annie when it was offered, summoned by the Hummingbird because this was their Territory. Delmar was patrolling on the other side of their holdings - or getting drunk at a titty bar, who knew - and Edwin was busy. Thus, the female half of the Bogeymen answer the call.
They choose to drive, because, well, the microbus is COOL, and she steps out with her packmate, taller, leaner, and overall quieter than her boisterous packmate. She offers Mama a shy little smile, and looks around at the others, in general greeting. She says nothing though, just waits to find out what they will face.
[Victor Oseragighte] Where Karl chose hispo, he had gone with the near-man form, glabro, preferring it for the moment due its superior manual dexterity.
This form stretches the brown dunagrees and black tanktop tight on his frame. Expecting trouble, he's drawn his bone blade, keeping it ready in hand as they alight, not yet pushing through until they know more about what they are facing. Karl had offered affirmation, and he sees no reason to repeat it.
[Sorrow] There was a hummingbird at the Sparrow-shrine, jeweled amongst the little plain brown birds. Now: there is a Fenrir woman in Chinatown. Sorrow walks, she takes the bus. She takes the El. Other passengers find a reason to get off a stop or two or three or four early, for reasons they cannot remember, and will not name. The tall blonde is oblivious, watching the streets pass by, one city neighborhood fold into another.
The Skald's pale hair is loosely plaited behind her neck, though fine curls escape from the heat, the humidity, twist around her features. She's here alone, hands in the pockets of her worn jeans, a black t-shirt clinging to her torso. The evening is hot and humid; she has a bottle of water in hand, and a small messenger bag against her left hip. Were it not for the rage, she could be a graduate student in something impractical, like literature, or art history.
Instead: she is an animal.
Now, she too is arriving in the alley, lifting the sweating bottle of water (Evian) in a vague salute towards Mama Ankle Biter by way of greeting.
[Spirits] The eyes of the small Gnawer close for a moment, she steps up close to the outside wall of the abandoned storefront. Hands raised, palms press to the brick. A furrow spreads over her features as she can feel something.
The wind moves through the alley, it howl the ears of those that arrive to join the Theurge, she can feel the presence of her pack in the Umbra. If they listen closely, Kora, Annie, and Rory could almost hear the softest of whispers tickling at their temples and sliding along their cheeks -the childish giggling of spirits.
The wind cools the alley, it grows stationary, continuing to dance around and around them. Karl and Victor will notice the ethereal wave of air-spirits that move around them, through them, tugging at their fur, or clothes. A collection consciousness forms amongst the garou present, bonded under the voice of the wind-spirits that bound them in a temporary link of communication.
"Couple of nights ago, the Moonrunners dealt with a gaggle of banes. One of them was more powerful than the others, it looked like a girl wearing a china doll mask... and handled a pack of yapping ankle biters." She snorts softly, as her voice fills their minds. "A voice called Mama here, heard it and went to investigate and woke the bane... something in the building awoke that psychomachiae."
[Tongue Twister] A wind moves through the alley, and Rory tips her head into it, letting it brush her curls from her face, briefly, before she ducks her head again. Brow furrows at the giggling of the spirits, but it is Mama that has her full attention - Mama, who speaks via a temporary link, that has the redhead blinking.
Neat.
She lifts her gaze to the building, listening still. She glances at her packmate, and then to the building. This is Mama's party, so she waits for her decision - even though she moves toward the building, the door, touching it experimentally to see if she feels what the small Gnawer does...
[Bone-Grinder] He tensed when Mama spoke, the words were ominous and a little threatening. He looks towards the building and then back towards the diminutive woman. His smile growing as he steps a little closer to her."Well then we go in there, find what woke it up and silence it right?"He asks her with a bit of a smile."Or is this gonna get a little bit more complicated?"
Simon wanted to know what they were up against, and dealing with. The Ahroun liked to know as much as possible before taking anyone to their deaths. He didn't like leading folks to their deaths, that was the second most important part of his job as he saw it. Killing the badguys being the only thing more important.
[Holds the Line] Pale ice blue eyes shift from the gauntlet where he was watching Mama’s form and the tohers through. Glancing to the building at their sides. A low growl in his throat.
~You think this thing that woke that… beast… is still in there?~
Karl had felt the whispering caress of the spirit that had been aw,akened. He had felt it close cold fingers around his mind, and it had nearly gotten him. Nearly taken his mind and body and turned it on his own pack. His lips pulled back in a silent snarl.
~if it has the power to awaken spirits, it must be tied to the umbra somehow. Shall I take Victor and search through the webs? ~
[Victor Oseragighte] Victor remembers, very well. The Wendigo was starting to hate dogs. They did not like him to begin with, but since arriving here, in the past week alone, he'd been bitten by dogs in three separate battles, fomori in two cases and banes in the last.
He remembers, too, the China Doll, the one he'd not known much about. He had never gotten around to asking about it, he realizes now, and perhaps that was a mistake. A big mistake.
He could only guess that now Mama had discovered something more, something requiring immediate attention. He did not have to say a word, even mentally, for her to know she had his backing. Karl's response suited him as well, and he slipped skyward, several feet above the pavement, keeping a watch on their surroundings.
[Spirits] "Couldn't find a way to get in through the umbra. The walls of the building are thick, had to squeeze through a hole in the wood blocking the front entry, didn't see a back way out..." the garou that stand in the alley can see her features pull into a mask of deep concern. Her hands remain against the brick facing, head tilting up to look at the wall again.
"Whatever's inside knows Mama's here... don't think it'll let me in again." She looks around at all of them, "Gone need ya to go in for me. Can do what can be done outside here but ain't much, still worn out from that last fight for the fucking box."
[Sorrow] Sorrow filters through the assembled Garou. She knows some of them by sight - from the moot - by reputation, the stories passed among the Guardians. She has fought with one or two. Now, the tall creature stands along, her arms crossed, her fine dark eyes direct on the theurge. It feels - strange, to be without a totem after so many months in a pack thought was closely woven, the weave tighter for the death of her Alpha, the shared experience as the fought the battle of his death over and over and over in the Battleground under every breathless minute was seared into their consciousness, both individual and collective.
Now she's alone. The whisper of air spirits is a strange echo of the strength of the totem bond. Kora turns her head at some sound that feels like a breeze as the air stills, the twist of subtle fingers across her pale cheek. It awakes a phantom pain inside her - just momentary, just this twinge she will not indulge. Simon asks the first half of the question on her mind; then Karl suggests searching through the webs. Her head cants, animal, at the sound from across the umbra.
" - rhya," the Skald appends, after the first two questions. There is a spare smile on her generous mouth. "I'm no theurge," a glance at those assembled. " - and neither are any of the rest of us. Can you tell which way the connection goes - from spirit to flesh, or flesh to spirit? If it is as powerful as you say, perhaps it would be best to act in concert - attack the outgrowth, then tear it out at the root."
[Spirits] To Kora - "Flesh to spirit and spirit to flesh. It was human once."
[Sorrow] The theurge's response is enough for Sorrow. The Skald nods once, then cants her head sidelong, neatly feral in this, listening for those in the umbra, anticipating the shifting of air currents as they come across. "Will this - " a pause, a faint gesture at the air around them, the invisible link joining the disparate Garou. " - link remain for us, inside?"
It is after all easier to act as a pack when you can think like one. Feel like one, even if this is an illusion born of air spirits.
[Hard Knocks] "I'm the smallest," Annie says easily, as if this is the only thing that matters - facts and figures are great, really, but she has no head for them. She wants to know what they're up against, how many. "So, I can slip in and see who's best placed where, ya know?"
Gum pops and the teeny-tiny Ahroun buzzes with energy, with playground laughter, with running and sports.
"An' I like Sorrow's thinkin'." By name. By reputation. If the Gnawer's met the Fenrir, it's been brief at best. "But ain't no good at cleansin' or whatever. Mostly just good at beatin' things."
[Spirits] Mama nods her head to Kora, looking at her now, her eyes flickering over to Annie briefly.
"It'll remain as ya go inside, Kora. Courtesy of the wind spirits."
She clucks her tongue at Annie, and then smiles at her, "Ain't recommended ya go in alone. When Mama did small hounds appeared to chase her out, tripped some kind of alarm or watch dog."
[Holds the Line] Mama’s words brings a huff from the great shaggy hispo, and it is with a shake of its head that he shifts, taking homid. Looking to victor, he waves him down. The gauntlet is thick in the scab, and together they have a better chance of piercing it quickly and easily. He grabs a small polished mirror and waits for the other before focusing his will with Victor to cross over.
[Crossing Gauntlet! -1 for mirror. Mutual with Victor!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 2, 4, 10, 10 (Success x 1 at target 7)
[Bone-Grinder] "The quickest way to overcome a threat is to rip out it's heart... Or cut off it's head. You chop and hack at the other bits and pieces and you only waste time which is a valuable asset in any conflict."He says with a nod of his head."Whatever this thing is we get to it... if we can't crawl our way to it then we will fucking claw our way to it and if claws won't work... I got some power tools in my car that will do the trick. One way or another we'll get to this thing. Honestly I think getting to it sounds like the hard part."He says with a bit of a smile.
[Victor Oseragighte] The soft murmur of the air spirits is familiar and comforting to Victor, and he listens while others debate. He'd started to rise higher still when Karl waves him back down and the Wendigo plummets, landing lightly, black eyes darting to the mirror acting as their beacon to the other side.
(( Roll with Karl ))
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 2, 3, 3 (Failure at target 7)
[Tongue Twister] She tips her head, slightly, as Simon speaks, excited as a kid at Christmas. So she's heard the saying goes, having no such experience herself. She looks at Mama, and smiles shyly.
"Annie and I can to gogether. Go in pairs - one in, second in, move go tuard as others join. Then tight fogether."
[Spirits] A quick glance to those that are gathered, the Gnawer immediately rummages through the gunnysack that always hangs on a strap across her chest. She pulls out small wooden disks, painted with protection glyphs. She passes around one to each of them, "Soak talens." She murmurs absently.
There is a strain of tension lying in her features, she looks fatigued, but continues to press on. Once the talens are passed around, Ankle-Biter motions with a wave of her hand towards the end of the alley to the store front, she walks around the corner, pausing in front of the large sheets of graffiti plywood. There is a tear at the bottom, big enough to fit a small woman like her in homid.
If the others wanted to get through, they'll have to tear off the plywood and go through the door. A glance around the neighborhood shows no one on the street as the hour darkens. A lone car makes it way down the street, speeding too fast to notice the gathering. The sound of thunder rumbles in the distance, a streetlight flickers overhead. The heat continues to choke the air as the humidity thickens.
[Hard Knocks] "Was human, once," she answers Simon, sharp, though the words are directed at everyone; she has Views on this, it would seem. "Can whatever's got it be gotten out?" She's no Theurge either, doesn't know much about this - she's already stated her skill set. "I'll kill what ya point me at, but if there's somethin' worth savin', I'd like ta try an' save it. If it's all th' same ta th' rest of ya."
Then Rory speaks up, and Annie's shoulder bumps her . . . elbow, about, but it's a gesture of solidarity. "An' we can do that, yeah."
[Victor Oseragighte] Speaking up for the first time as he looks at that door, he turns his eyes skyward. "Wouldn't be too hard I bet for a couple of us to go in through a window higher up. Just a little climbing."
Those dark eyes are already scanning, asessing the building's structure, its integrity, with the experience that comes from growing up around construction workers.
[Spirits] "Nothing is worth saving."
A voice answers Annie, it doesn't come from the small Gnawer woman that has gone quiet as the others prepare and talk. The voice is cold, a breath chills at the back of her neck and the air around her suddenly becomes devoid of heat, like she were standing in a freezer butt naked.
[Spirits] At Victor's suggestion, Mama looks towards him, she angles her head back, eyes scaling up the length of the store front. It was two-story's tall, the windows were blacked out with paint and plywood, the some of the window panes missing completely or chipped.
"Not sure ya want to separate, Vic."
[Sorrow] Sorrow's gaze flickers over Annie, holds the small, scarred Ahroun in her field of vision for a long, slow minute. the others are crossing now; the gauntlet is thinning, growing sharp and refined. It is thick here, though, natively so, strung with webbing, inherent calcified.
"This threat sounds large enough, that I think Mama Ankle Biter-rhya means for us to go in as a pack rather than in twos and threes. We'll be stronger together, in any case." As she says this, a glance drifts between the pair of Ahrouns, then settles over the theurge, watching the Fostern's small features for a reaction - agreement, or disagreement. This is her prey, and her battle. And so, Sorrow defers, quietly restating herself. A brief glance back toward the building at Mama's back. " - there's just the one entrance, then? No humans to worry about?" A brief pause, her mouth thinning with thought, " - and we can expect the dogs you mentioned, but the dogs are secondary targets. Guards in the way of the thing inside, correct?"
Then, questions answered by the theurge's actions, Kora accepts the talen wordlessly. Half-closing her eyes, she invokes it, allows it to settle over her skin as she breaks it in two and allows the protection to settle over her skin.
Sorrow follows Mama around the corner to the front door, then, and reaches to begin tearing off the plywood. The door will work for her. Victor suggests climbing through a window, and Sorrow shakes her head.
" - a threat like this, you get isolated, you're likely to die. Unless someone here has the Battlesense gift, we go in together, fight together, and stay together. Once we're in, those of you who can slip in the shadows, do so - but stay close, I think. Does that work for everyone?" Kora glance at Karl as the other Fenrir arrives with his packmate. She is ready to tear down the plywood and go in the front door.
[-1 Gnosis, soak talen! -1 WP, resist pain!]
[Sorrow] Ancestors - to brawl!
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 2, 3, 8, 9 (Success x 3 at target 8) [WP]
to Spirits
[Holds the Line] ”We stay together. Last time, the spirit tried to twist the mind. If we stick together, we can make sure that if it happens, they can be stopped without to much bloodshed.”
Karl points to the storefront windows.
“The plywood. Easy enough to break through. I say we have given whatever is in there long enough to prepare for us. Let’s make sure it will regret remaining.”
Says as he takes the Talen mama offers, holding it to his chest. A burst of his spirit and it melts into his flesh.
[spend 1g to activate soak talen]
[Bone-Grinder] He takes one of the talens that is offered with a smile and a respectful bow of his head to Mama before turning his attention on the building.
He shakes his head at the mention of anyone going in alone."No one is separating from anyone. We;re not doing this in small groups... We're going in together, we are going to fight whatever this is side by side and if anyone has a problem with that then you can shut the fuck up because whatever is in there is fucking serious enough threat on its own and the last thing we need is people splitting up. So we find a way in... Or we make a way in."
"It's a building, that means it is made outta stuff and stuff can be broken. If we can't all go in then we don't go in till we find a way we can all go in."
[Bone-Grinder] [Activating soak talen!]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 4, 6, 6 (Botch x 1 at target 7)
[Tongue Twister] She whips her head around as something that's not Mama answers Annie, and nudges her packmate in return. Then, the nearly Fostern Fianna, the shy little mule who rarely speaks to anyone when it is not this, not battle, not what she was born for...
She shakes her head. "Sot neparate."
She activates the soak talen they were given, and dusts off her hands, and goes to join Kora at the plywood. A nod. Shy and soft as her smile, and she grabs a piece of the plywood, ready to rip it from the door and find their way inside.
[Spirits] The talen blows up in Simon's face! Smoke fills his lungs as he inhales it through his nose, causing a sudden sting and a trickle of blood to run down his left nostril.
[Bone-Grinder] He sneezes and grumbles."Your talen attacked me!"He says in annoyance to Mama. A slight growl of annoyance as he wipes the blood off his face.
[Hard Knocks] [Woo, Gnawers! Resist Toxin, Stam + Survival, Specialty! Mind bendy doesn't mean there isn't poison or somethin']
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 5, 7, 9, 9, 9 (Success x 5 at target 6) [WP]
[Victor Oseragighte] He lowers his eyes, listens to the arguments to stay together, and has to admit they make far more sense. There is a moment where he glances to the talen before slapping it against his chest, drawing on his reserves of energy to invoke it. He then drops into a crouch, looking quite prepared to rush and crash through the plywood. He does not actually do so, though, not yet, waiting for approval with a silent, questioning look.
[Spirits] The Garou peel at the sheets of plywood that cover the reinforced metal frames of double doors that once held glass in them, they only need to take out one side in order for them to create a man-sized hole that anyone can fit through. Anything large than a homid has to squeeze through.
Ankle-Biter steps away to play lookout, scanning the streets as walks away from them, her head turning to glance back over a shoulder, looking someone worried that she can’t go with Victor and Karl.
Six Garou file into the front half of the store. Filthy drywall is covered in tattered wallpaper that peels at the corners from the low hung ceiling. Gritty yellow water stains cover the tile ceiling, they can see only one door that stands across from them, behind a series of counters, painted in green and red. A Chinese takeout calendar is pinned to its surface. A sign hangs on the bottom that says “employee’s only”.
The room is pretty wide, but not very deep. The shallow back wall with the second door that leads through it, provides the illusion of a small room, despite the building’s exterior. There had to be more beyond the small door. The shelves are empty; trash litters the floor around them. A few chairs are strewn behind the counters, which lead signs to the room’s recent use by whoever works here.
[Holds the Line] ~Scouting ahead. Will stay just one room. Be ready to charge on my signal.~
The Fenrir’s voice is carried to them via the air spirit’s that are riding them, providing for the silent communication, a weak mirror of a pack bond, but always something.
The Norse Fenrir drops forward, form melding into Lupus and he calls on Gaia’s gifts to shield his form from sight and then he creeps forward, scouting for the group.
[Blur!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 4, 5, 8, 8, 10 (Success x 4 at target 8) [WP]
[Holds the Line] [Ehm closed doors = bad, make it Glabro]
[Sorrow] Simon begins cursing; Sorrow gives him a look, dark eyed and direct. She's wordless, still now. There's someone else behind her eyes, sharing her skin, looking out into the changed world. The name rises silently in her mind, unbidden, the sense of otherness opening inside her is both familiar and charged. When the now-quiet Skald's blue eyes fall on Karl, they linger. When the other Fenrir is close enough, she takes a deep breath. His pure breed resonates with the ancestor spirit that has settled over her, lending her the memory of his skill, expanding her own beyond its native boundaries.
I know his line, the long-dead Fenrir says, this basso-sound that echoes in her mind, some language she knows only like this - from memories shared over age after age. Some part of her wonders if the others can hear him over the spirit link. Mostly, though, she's focused on the matters at hand, peeling away the plywood from the metal door frames, watching the street with sharp eyes as the others crawl through, until it is her turn.
Sorrow walks carefully through the trash-strewn room, lifting her head to take in the details - the water stains on the tiled ceiling, the remnants of the wallpaper peeling back from the drywall, the calendar and the counters. With a brief glance at the others, she circles the counters, alert now, watchful and ready - working her way through the room to the far wall with its small door. If necessary, she gestures the others out of immediate line of sight, and opens the small door for the Rotagar, staying behind the door as it opens.
[Hard Knocks] On the way through the door, once out of danger of sight, Annie's shifting to Crinos . . . which quite possibly doesn't make her the tallest of the group, amusingly. Victor in Glabro is quite likely still taller. Once there, there's claws sharpened on anything handy, honed to razor sharpness, with a few nice sssssssssshicks. Clothes shift with her, easy, and soak talens can wait.
Needless to say? She's small, and fast. She's heading in first, bright eyed and curious.
[Tongue Twister] She tips her head as Karl takes point and goes to scout, and she moves as well, pointing to direct the other's to spread out over the width of the room - still together, but with more maneuvering room in case Karl sends something scurrying back at them.
She, herself, moves to stick close to Karl, hovering at the open door to listen for his signal, flanking the door that Kora opens with a nod.
[Holds the Line] [Sta + PU, Resilience spec]
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 1, 2, 4, 4, 5, 7, 7, 9, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Bone-Grinder] He enters with the others. His attention shifting around the room and back to the others. He was quick to get inside and begin looking around. He gave a glance to the others at the door before looking into the back Room with a smile."I'm gonna check this room out... Someone get my back."He says with a nod of his head.
[Bone-Grinder] [Sta+PU]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 3, 3, 5, 8, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Hard Knocks] [Stam + PU + spec (resilient)]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 4, 5, 5, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6) Re-rolls: 2
[Tongue Twister] Simon says he's going to check the room out, and Rory snarls at him.
"Stay."
[PU+sta]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 3, 3, 5, 6, 7 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Victor Oseragighte] When they they decide simply to peel the plywood away, he relaxes and watches them. Victor hangs back a moment to place a hand on Mama's shoulder, the message clear to his Alpha; they'll be coming back. Don't worry for them.
With that he is squeezing through, a tight squeeze for a man with his broad frame, especially in Glabro. He straightens and looks about, listening as they arrange the marching orders while he hangs back, ready to act, watching their backs.
(( Stamina + PU ))
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 3, 6, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Sorrow] Primal-urge + stamina in homid!
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 3, 5, 8, 10 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Holds the Line] [Stealth! Dex + stealth]
Dice Rolled:[ 10 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 7, 7, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6) Re-rolls: 1
[Spirits] Upon entering the second door, they are thrust into complete darkness and bone-chilling cold. The room is devoid of heat, the cold sucks at their bodies, pulls the air from their lungs in thick white puffs as it condensates in front of their faces. The streetlight from outside floods through the opening they had created, lighting up the main room they stood in and casts a halo of shadows at their backs.
The wind at their ears circulates the coldness around them, making it worse. There is a heavy stench that assaults their noses the moment they all file through. It reeks of sweat and blood, decaying flesh and the stale, hot slick smell of rotting garbage. It is strong enough that it makes them gag and their eyes water. The smell pulls at their wolf senses, raising their hackles with an overwhelming emotion of Fear, Anger, Violence, Rage.
It snarls at them, but does nothing more than that.
[Holds the Line] [per + alert -2 lupus]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 4, 4, 5 (Failure at target 5)
[Hard Knocks] [Per + Alert!]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 3, 3, 5, 6, 8 (Failure at target 7)
[Tongue Twister] [per+alert]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 6, 8, 8, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Sorrow] Per + alertness
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 1, 4, 4, 7, 9, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 3 at target 7) Re-rolls: 3
[Victor Oseragighte]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 4, 7, 8, 10 (Success x 3 at target 7)
[Spirits] The stench is too overpowering for Annie and Karl, worse for the Rotagar as his nose is more sensitive to the finer details of such things.
For the Others, their eyes slowly adjust to the darkness, allowing them to vaguely make out shapes along the wall, outlines of metal shelves. The structure of a staircase that sits on the far right side of the room, and an wall at the back that juts out from the stairs by three feet, running parallel with it.
Karl steps into the room, heavy paws stick to the floor, small fragments of bone prick at the pads of his feet as bones crunch under his weight when he walks.
[Holds the Line] His lips draw back in a silent snarl at he bone that covers the floor. Whatever was hidden in here was an old tenant. It made him want to howl. But he kept his quiet. It takes him longer to find the staircase, but when he does, he moves towards it, whispering over the air spirit link for the others to follow into the first room.
[Sorrow] Metal shelves against the far wall, Sorrow's mind-voice is deeper and less melodious than her human tones. It is short, really, direct. And a staircase, with a wall beside it. See anything else?
She's flanking the door; as she stands there, her body bulks from human into her near-man skin, making her rougher, more wild. The clothing expands to fit her cro-magnon frame, the sloped brow and heavy jaw, the thickened keratin of her fingernails becoming short, rough near-claws.
Karl whispers to them over the loose bond of the air-spirits, and Sorrow follows, holding the door carefully behind her to allow the others to come in, pushing it all the way open so that some light from outside will spill into the dark interior.
[Tongue Twister] She looks. She looks the same as all of them do, and trusts Sorrow to tell those who don't what they see. At the question, she shakes her head - she sees nothing else. She still does not shift. Not yet.
She slips through the door, letting Sorrow hold it as she takes flank, and directs the others to spread out once more. Karl still has point... and once everyone is through, Rory follows him toward the stair case, where she'll wait for word once more, walking as quietly as she can.
[Victor Oseragighte] Victor winds up in the rear with the metis, silent, observing, studying their surroundings, trusting nothing that they see. The hair on his skin stands on edge with the sensations that bombard them, but he maintains his focus, though his knuckles grow pale due to the tighteness of his grip on the haft of the simple bone blade he holds up before him.
[Spirits] “Precious…?”
The bone-chilling voice that had spoken to Annie outside wafts from the top of the stairwell. A spark ignites; a white lambent flame snaps into existence. It grows and trembles, a wisp of glowing white cloth swirling in the air to take the shape of a small girl with black, inky hair spilling down the front of her tattered dress. They can see the sharp, beautifully contoured points of a bone-white wolf mask - much like those that Kabuki dancer's wear - peering at them with red lines running along the muzzle.
The eyes are black soulless sockets.
The air only seems to grow colder around the floating figure... the voice is clipped with a broken English, accentuated with Asian flavor.
[Hard Knocks] Annie recoils from the smell, but hears what Sorrow has to say, and then they're all going through - she stays near Rory, but watches and listens all around.
[Holds the Line] Karls voice snaps over the shared bond.
~It’s one of those spirits! Do not listen to its whispers! Do not let it touch you! Ahrouns, lure it forward, I will fall on its back! Hard and Fast!~
The Stealthy shadow that is Karl waits for the spirit to pass, readying himself to strike when its attention is stolen by the others.
[Bone-Grinder] The other Ahrouns seemed on the matter. He wasn't about to throw himself into the fray when there were others oh so eager to handle just that. So Simon kept his distance though he did shift forms to something a little more comfortable.
[Glabro]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 9 (Failure at target 7)
[Bone-Grinder] [Screw this trying again]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 4, 4, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10 (Failure at target 8)
[Tongue Twister] Ahrouns, lure it.
It's a command, and Rory is born and bred to obey them instantly. She would have done it anyway. A leader takes point. A full moon takes point. Rory? Takes point.
She steps forward, and is instantly in hispo - heavy paws hitting the ground as she growls low and dangerous, a clear threat to the approaching Masked Spirit... A clear dare of the come and get me persuasion.... drawing it down the stairs and into the room proper so that Karl can flank it...
[-1R, hispo!]
[Victor Oseragighte] "Come down. I can take you to precious." He did not see a need to lure when he suspected that the spirit's own twisted nature could be used against it. 'Precious' he gathered to be the other spirit, the one they'd slain. His knife hand goes down to hold it close to his side and his free hand goes up, beckoning to the spirit, seeking to draw it into position for them to strike best.
[Hard Knocks] Ahrouns, lure it, says the rotagar and though Annie's not bred to obey orders unless they're from her alpha, it seems like a fine thing to do. Don't listen. Don't let them touch. Eager and already in Crinos, Annie bounces forward with her pack-sister. She's not as clear of a threat, no, so small even in war form. But she has claws, and she has teeth. And she and Tongue Twister have --
Wishbone?
[Spirits] The order runs across the temporary pack link from Karl. Ahrouns, lure it. The Rotagar has a very good idea to what they are dealing with. Victor know what it is... the bodies of the garou start to twist into their fighting forms to lure the white wolf kabuki masked spirit towards them.
A whisper runs across Sorrow's thoughts, a ghostly voice as she is one of the few who can speak to Spirits without the aid of a gift - Shiranui... it whispers... help us... Kuroinu...
Simon's body trembles with rage, he is having difficulty shifting, he can't seem to gain a hold of his beast. He stands at the back of the room, growing angrier by the second, feeling his rage pulsate through him. His inner wolf wants to burst through him and tear at his own skin. Chains rattle at Simon's feet, the cold shadows pull across the light from the second, open door that beats at the Shadow Lord's back.
A second flame sparks to life, a reddish-purple glow that begins to take the shape of a second masked figure. It is the opposite of the white spirit. The same beautifully contoured kabuki mask hugs its face, black on red lines...
[Sorrow] Sorrow drops abruptly from Glabro to Hispo, fueled by rage. The bones are sharper against her paws than they were against the boots on her feet, and the air seems thicker with the scent of the creature's - the near/once/no longer human creature's - victims, old and new, scattered over the floorboards.
The others speak, seeking to lure it out. The Skald - there is some irony in this - remains quiet when the rest of the pack whisper. She circles in the room, her tail low with caution, spreading out so that she can flank the spirit when battle comes.
The voices that whisper across her mind are another layer. There is the old one inside her, a heavy presence, alert at the possibility of battle, contemptuous of the place she fights, of the city for which she fights. Sorrow pulls them apart, offers them back to the pack across the bond of the air spirits.
They say, Shiranui, help us. Kuroinu.
When the second spirit appears, opposite, Sorrow swallows a low growl - not alarm, more challenge - her hackles are standing on end, now, her stance wide, alert, ready.
[Sorrow] [-1 rage! FYI.]
[Holds the Line] [Ambush roll! Dex + stealth]
Dice Rolled:[ 10 d10 ] 1, 2, 2, 2, 6, 6, 6, 7, 8, 8, 10 (Success x 6 at target 6) Re-rolls: 1
[Bone-Grinder] He sighs to himself. You see the thing about being Simon means no matter how much others bitch and groan about you being around and stealing all their glory it really doesn't matter. Cause the Wyrm knows where you are, and the wyrm is coming for you Simon. It fuckin' hates you and why? Because it fuckin' fears you and what you are capable of. It knows the threat and danger you will one day pose and hopes to stop you before you can achieve that potential."Nice fuckin' eyes scout..."The words were directed in annoyance at the Rotagar who had apparently missed the mask that was now floating behind the Full Moon who had been covering the other Garou's asses. With a roll of his eyes he turns to face his enemy, and as immediately as he can he Shifts to a form better suited for war.
[-1 Rage shifting to Hispo!]
[Spirits] [Shiranui: to not be ambushed]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 1, 3, 8, 10, 10 (Failure at target 10)
[Victor Oseragighte] ~If there are more than two, this could get bad for us. We need to deal with these now.~
One of them was bad enough. Two was a very bad thing, though, and he swelled into Crinos, muscles thickening, limbs and face lenghtening, not wishing to be caught flat.
((Sta + PU))
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 3, 3, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Holds the Line] [Ambush Attack on Shiranui. 1r Reflex shift hispo! +5 dice ambush -2 dif attacking back target 3]
Dice Rolled:[ 16 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6, 6, 7, 7 (Success x 9 at target 3)
[Holds the Line] [Dam +8]
Dice Rolled:[ 16 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 4, 6, 7, 7, 7, 8, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Spirits] Shiranui soak
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 4, 6, 6, 6, 6, 9, 9 (Success x 6 at target 6)
[Bone-Grinder] [+9]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 5
[Victor Oseragighte] 19
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 5
[Tongue Twister] [+8!]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 8
[Hard Knocks] [+7]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 3
[Spirits] Shiranui 7+
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 10
[Holds the Line] Holds the Line strikes from the shadow, fangs flashing as he shimmers into the dire wolf form, jaws snapping but finding little real resistance, tearing at the layers of clothing that swirl around the spirit. The frustration fuels his rage, making his eyes burn.
[Init 11 + 10]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 8
[Sorrow] [+9]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 2
[Spirits] Kuroinu 8+
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 2
[Spirits] 29 Karl
24 Vic
17 Kuroinu
16 Rory
14 Simon
11 Kora
10 Shiranui
Annie declare first...
10 Annie
[Spirits] Shiranui should be 17 and Kuroinu at 10
[Hard Knocks] [Poor, poor Annie.
1a) claw mask in front of her
1b) ditto
[Spirits] Kuroinu:
Corruption on Simon: Kill the weakest, assume dominance, tend not to the disfigured, the wounded... Kill the scarred one... kill Annie.
[Sorrow] 1a. BITE. 1b. BITe. 1c. BITE. Rage 1. BITE. Beginning on Shiroinu, flanking if possible (see previous post!) switching to K if S goes down.
[Bone-Grinder] 1a. Bite Stupid Mask
1b. Bite Stupid Mask
1R: Don't kill Annie, Bite Mask!
[Tongue Twister] 2 rage, split first action
1a: bite
1b: bite
1R: bite
2R: bite - all on S unless she goes down, then to K. (or Simon if he attacks Annie. Heh.)
[Spirits] Kuroinu: Corruption on Kora: Kill the strongest... he mocks you, does not respect you... will not follow your leads...You are weak to his eyes...he will steal the Jarlship... kill Karl
[Spirits] err. Shiranui: Corruption on Kora: Kill the strongest... he mocks you, does not respect you... will not follow your leads...You are weak to his eyes...he will steal the Jarlship... kill Karl
[Victor Oseragighte] The blade goes to his off hand as he rushes the white masked spirit, lips curling back from his fangs, ready to strike hard before the spirits can use their twisted magics.
1a Bite white
1b Claw white
1c Bite white
Rage 1 Bite white
Rage 2 Claw white -- change to black if white has fallen
[Holds the Line] [Declare
1 WP reflexive- Resist Pain
1a. Hush Kuroinu
1b. Hush Shiranui
Rage 1. Bite S
Rage 2. Bite S
[Holds the Line] [Hush Kuroinu target 8 -2 split]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 8, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 5 at target 8) [WP
[Holds the Line] [hush Shiranui target 7 -3 split]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 3, 5, 7 (Success x 1 at target 7)
[Victor Oseragighte] He leaps high at first, trying to sink jaws into a shoulder.
Bitye!
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 2, 4, 5, 5, 5 (Success x 3 at target 5)
[Victor Oseragighte] Damage!
Dice Rolled:[ 10 d10 ] 2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Spirits] Shuranui soak
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 2, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Victor Oseragighte] His right hand lances into the spirit's side then to tear...
Claw!
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 2, 8, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Victor Oseragighte] Damage!
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 6, 7, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Spirits] Shuranui soak
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 4, 5, 6, 6, 8, 8 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Victor Oseragighte] He feels more resistance this time, but uses the leverage to twist his head and hopefully tear away more of the spirit's essence.
Bite!
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 1, 2, 4 (Failure at target 5) [WP]
[Spirits] Shuranui change of actions, cannot whisper, lashing out at Victor!
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 3, 5, 6, 6, 9, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Spirits] Damage
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 3, 4, 4, 6, 9, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Victor Oseragighte] Soak!
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 7, 8 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Tongue Twister] split 1: Dex + Brawl + Hispo = 3+4+2 = 9 -2 for split = 7 diff 5 - reroll 10s
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 1, 3, 3, 4, 5, 9 (Failure at target 5)
[Tongue Twister] Kahseeno? STOP BEING A WHORE.
split 2: Dex + Brawl + Hispo = 3+4+2 = 9 -3 for split = 6 diff 5 - reroll 10s
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 5, 7, 7, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 5 at target 5) Re-rolls: 1
[Tongue Twister] That's right - i said STOP BEING A WHORE!
Str + Hispo + Bite + (suxx-1) = 4+3+2 = 9 + 4
Dice Rolled:[ 13 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 5, 6, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Spirits] Shuranui soak
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 3, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Bone-Grinder] [Bite Black Mask! Dex+Totem+Brawl+Hispo = 10 -2 = 8 Dice Diff 5]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 5, 6, 8, 9, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Bone-Grinder] [Str+Totem+Hispo+2 = 9]
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 7 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Spirits] Kuroinu soak
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 4, 4, 5, 10 (Failure at target 6)
[Bone-Grinder] [Bite 2 Same -1]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 3, 6, 8, 8, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 5 at target 5) Re-rolls: 1
[Bone-Grinder] [Same+4 = 13]
Dice Rolled:[ 13 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6, 7, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Spirits] Kuroinu soak
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 2, 2, 3, 4, 6, 6, 7, 7 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Sorrow] Dex + Hispo + Brawl + Ancestors Sux = 12 1a. -3
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 4, 6, 6, 8, 10 (Success x 3 at target 5) Re-rolls: 1
[Sorrow] Damage!
Dice Rolled:[ 10 d10 ] 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 9, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 6 at target 6)
[Spirits] Shuranui soak
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 2, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Sorrow] 1b. -4
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 3, 3, 4, 7, 9, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 4 at target 5) Re-rolls: 1
[Sorrow] Damage!
Dice Rolled:[ 11 d10 ] 1, 1, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 7, 8, 9, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Spirits] Shuranui soak
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Sorrow] 1c. -5
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 3, 4, 4, 5, 8, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 6 at target 5) [WP] Re-rolls: 1
[Sorrow] Damage!
Dice Rolled:[ 13 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 8, 10 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Spirits] Shuranui soak
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 3, 4, 5, 5, 8, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Spirits] Kuroinu: cannot whisper, physical attack on Simon, chain whips
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 8, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Spirits] Damage
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 2, 4, 5, 5, 5, 8, 8, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Bone-Grinder] [Soak that shit!]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 3, 6, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Hard Knocks] Claw 1! Dex 3 + 1 (Crinos) + Brawl 3
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 3, 3, 3, 6, 6, 8 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Hard Knocks] Claw 1, Dex 3 + 1 (Crinos) + Brawl 3, -2 (Split)
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 3, 8, 8, 8 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Hard Knocks] Damage Str 3 + 2 + 1 sux +1 Razor Claws
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 6, 6, 8, 9, 9, 9 (Success x 6 at target 6)
[Spirits] Kuroinu soak
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 1, 3, 4, 5, 5, 7, 8 (Failure at target 6)
[Hard Knocks] Claw 1, Dex 3 + 1 (Crinos) + Brawl 3, -3 (Split)
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 3, 6, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6) [WP]
[Hard Knocks] Damage Str 3 + 2 + 1 sux +1 Razor Claws
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 5, 6, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 6 at target 6)
[Spirits] Kuroinu soak
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 1, 6, 7, 7, 7, 8, 8 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Holds the Line] [Rage 1. Bite S! Still behind! target -2]
Dice Rolled:[ 11 d10 ] 2, 2, 2, 3, 4, 4, 4, 6, 6, 6, 8, 10 (Success x 9 at target 3) Re-rolls: 1
[Holds the Line] [Dam + 8 Split into 2x8 dice]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 2, 2, 2, 6, 7, 9, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Holds the Line] [Dam + 8 Split into 2x8 dice]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 4, 4, 4, 6, 7, 7, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Spirits] Shuranui soak
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 3, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Victor Oseragighte] Karl leaps into the fray and he is happy to split the white mask with his packmate, trying to sink his teeth in once more.
Bite!
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 (Success x 7 at target 5)
[Victor Oseragighte] Damage!
Dice Rolled:[ 14 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 4, 6, 6, 8, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Spirits] Shuranui soak
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 6 at target 6)
[Tongue Twister] Dex + Brawl + Hispo = 3+4+2= 9 diff 5 - reroll 10s
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 2, 5, 5, 5, 7, 7 (Success x 3 at target 5)
[Tongue Twister] Kahseeno - I swear to gaia, if you are a dick this time.... JUST DO IT.
Str + Hispo + Bite + (suxx-1) = 4+3+2 = 9 + 2
Dice Rolled:[ 11 d10 ] 2, 3, 3, 5, 6, 7, 7, 8, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 7 at target 6)
[Spirits] Shuranui soak
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 3, 4, 8, 8, 8, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Spirits] Shuranui is dead. x_x
[Bone-Grinder] [Woot Bite that shit! Dex+Totem+Hispo+Brawl Diff 5]
Dice Rolled:[ 10 d10 ] 1, 1, 4, 5, 5, 6, 8, 8, 9, 9 (Success x 5 at target 5)
[Bone-Grinder] [Str+Hispo+Totem+2+4 = 12]
Dice Rolled:[ 12 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 6, 6, 8, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Spirits] Kuroinu soak
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 8, 8 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Sorrow] The white ghost falls under the metis' jaw. Sorrow's mouth is full of the taste, cold and bitter, remnant blood - the crunch of bones underneath her paws. At once, she wheels in a great, wide arc around toward the remaining creature, snarling challenge now - fierce and wordless.
Dice Rolled:[ 12 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 4, 6, 6, 6, 9, 10 (Success x 2 at target 5) Re-rolls: 1
[Sorrow] Damage!
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 2, 5, 5, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Spirits] Kuroinu soak
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 8, 8, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Holds the Line] [Karl Rage 2. Bite K]
Dice Rolled:[ 11 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 5, 7, 8, 8, 9 (Success x 3 at target 5)
[Holds the Line] [Dam +2]
Dice Rolled:[ 10 d10 ] 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7, 7, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 7 at target 6)
[Spirits] Kuroinu soak
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Spirits] Kuroinu is dead.
[Victor Oseragighte] He felt something lash into his back and spun, claws lashing out at Kuroinu, only to find the black-masked spirit fallen already to his packmate.
[Spirits] Shuranui the unknown fire – she of the white wolf mask, innocent and beautiful once – her sister, Kuroinu the dark dog – she of the black mask, vicious and rageful – vengeance incarnate; they come together, the white kabuki flowing down the stairs as the ahrouns lure it towards them. She floats across unsuspecting of the ambush attack brought on by the sneaky Rotagar as his teeth tear into the ivory fabric of her gown… He manages with a gift to hush the spirits, to keep their sickly sweet voices from whispers dark longings into the ears of the garou they want to touch.
The Wendigo is strong and fierce in his attacks against the white ghost, tearing into as the others follow suit. Teeth grinding and twisting into the white folds as she manages to lash out at Victor and claw him across the muzzle. The wolves will bring her down, she will cascade into a shimmer of white cloth and the white Kabuki mask will land in the center of a pile of salt. A crack running down the center of its forehead.
The black spirit rises up, chains thrashing towards the Shadow Lord that it cannot control, it cannot whisper to. Anger broils over in it, it feeds on Simon’s rage and sent it back to him, pushing the ahroun’s anger far above his own… black cloth shreds under the teeth of wolves that bring her down… her mask also cracking in the forehead as she melts into a pile of ash.
[Spirits] The room is thick with sweat, it grows heavy with the stench that overpowers their noses with its filth and decay. They stand victorious, panting as the cold air continues to pull their breath from their lungs.
[Victor Oseragighte] The second bane down, he looks back to the stairs, ignoring his own wound for now, a fairly minor injury anyhow. "We need to be certain those were the last." His gaze on the stairs, it's clear what he is thinking, that there may yet be more trouble above them.
[Tongue Twister] She whirls to attack the black one, the taste of the white one still in her teeth, in her throat, in her belly. It falls under the efforts of the others, and she remains there, paws spread wide, waiting... breathing.
Then, she takes a breath, and shifts back to her monkey skin, and makes a visual check on them all - though it is Annie, that her gaze lingers on. Then, a shy little smile shared with her packmate. Triumphant. Edwin will be pleased.
[Sorrow] The moments after battle are often anticlimatic. The air is full of sweat and the sweet afterburn of rage. The ancestor spirit inside her unfolds, awakening in the moments of battle, remembering the feel of a foe folding beneath his thrashing teeth, the sizzle of hot blood spattering across new fallen snow.
The ghosts fall, the masks cracked, the gowns and bodies underneath crumbling into piles of ash. Sorrow shakes her fur, pacing and prowling, stiff through the spine as she looks up the stairs, waiting for something else to come down, waiting for more.
When it is clear that there is no more threat from above, Sorrow melts from hispo into glabro and crouches near the center of teh frigid room, passing the ashes over her fingertips.
[Spirits] Mama Ankle-Biter's voice flickers across their thoughts, "Is everything alright? Felt a shudder... spirits outside the building are restless."
[Bone-Grinder] Soon enough he is growling and nodding in agreement with Victor the place had to be searched from top to bottom. It had to be searched and it had to be cleansed. He wanted to be certain what kept Mama out was these things and not something of greater danger to them.
[Hard Knocks] Rory gets her smile returned in spades, and Annie slowly shrinks back down to homid - so small to have done such damage, even in Crinos. She's fine, the feisty little playground scrapper. "We should help look, see if there's anything else," Annie says, though as soon as she's assured herself that Rory's okay, before she does anything else, she checks on Simon. Assuming he, too, is alright, she helps with what needs to be done.
[And CC goes to bed. G'night and thanks for the scene!]
[Sorrow] There is a supple acknowledgment from Sorrow. Shuranui and Kuroinu are broken under our claws. The bodies dissolves, the masks are left. Should we bring them to you?
[Holds the Line] IT is over as quickly as it begins. The Garou work as a team.
Holds the Line has fought these spirits before. He knows the lure of their whispers and he was not about to let them whisper to the others. After the first fruitless attack, he snarled at the spirits, his gift settling over them, quieting their whispers. It was only after that the Fenrir struck out, tearing with fangs at the spirits. One goes down under savage assault, and they move on to the next. In the space of a few breaths, both spirits are crumbled remains.
Karl turns to look at the others, still wearing the massive Hispo form. His voice over the shared bond low, steady and cold.
~You fight like Fenrir.~
Probably the greatest compliment the Rotagar can offer the others. To Kora, it is just affirmation. She is his Jarl, she is Fenrir. He expects nothing less from her.
~Beware the whispers.~
Then Karl is stealthing to the stairs, looking up, scenting the foul, cold air.
[Spirits] Heat scorched the midday afternoon, humidity sweltered as the day wore on. It makes skin slick with sweat, dampening clothes and hair to plaster it to the skin. The air buzzes with invisible electricity as the sky quickly darkens with a low overcast of black clouds… thunder rumbling in the distance.
Wolves are called together, over a totem bonds and spirit-messengers in the shape of tiny, brilliantly shining hummingbirds. The messengers whisper in the ears of the Garou chosen for this task… Bogeyman are sought out for because of their close association with the turf. The summoner?
A small little blond Gnawer called Mama Ankle-Biter.
The streets of Chinatown are not filled with as many people as one would think. A heaviness carries in the quiet seclusion of one part of town, several blocks from the Market Square, closer to the Vice District and just a little beyond. Spirits in the umbra are jittery around, shying away quickly at the approach of any garou that arrives via the Penumbra.
She stands on the street in the realmside, working the patrols as the hours wane into dusk. An alley that once served as a battlefield lies before her; nothing remains of the destruction that was wrought except for an upturned dumpster. Next to the alley, around the corner of a storefront that long since been closed down, the windows and doors boarded up tightly, graffiti defaces the building in a mural of gang signs and territory markings, scratched into the brick and wood facing.
[Bone-Grinder] Cute! A Hummingbird! "Sure I'll follow you creepy little dude!" Was Simon's response to the freaky spirit thing sent to fetch him. He brought with him a bag and a bat... His usual trappings. The Ahroun arrived with a smile on his face. He came alone and on foot. A proud representative of Dark Sky and certainly it's most active member. He stood behind Mama, strong, young, and brave and all that crap.
"Ask and ye shall receive!"He says softly to Mama. He seemed ever eager to prove himself, not just his strength but his supposed resourcefulness as well. The young man has worked hard to make a name for himself but the problem with being a Shadow Lord is names mean nothing. When one ceases to pull his weight he becomes useless to the nation and when one is useless to the nation he needs to be cut loose. There is no time for relaxing, Mama and her creepy hummingbird friend needed him!
[Holds the Line] Cinatown. The Moonrunners were patrolling it now. Chiminage owed to the man who claims it. Claims part of it. The moonrunners make true to their chosen packname. The massive midnight hispo is running across the sky as if it had wings. Paws silent on the air as it looks around. IT had been called by its alpha and it searched out the familiar ground. Diving down, it landed in the alley and scented the air as spirits fled from the massive war-beast.
It stays in the umbra for now, reaching out through the shared totembond to his packmates. To victor that was flying close, to Mama in the alley.
~We are here.~
Simple affirmation.
[Hard Knocks] Hummingbird calls and Annie, young and athletic and prone to fits of delight, literally squees at how beautiful it is, and never mind that she's a bad ass Ahroun. She's also five feet tall, like, exactly.
Rory, we're meetin' Mama. C'mon, I'll drive unless you wanna walk.
And so, whether they walk realmside, run through the umbra, or drive in Annie's beat up (and very recognizable to those who know it) VW microbus, the two female Bogeymen arrive together, not long after Simon does. Perhaps oddly, Annie mostly ignores him - which is to say eyes land, briefly, and then skitter away to rest on anything else but the Shadow Lord who's over a foot taller than she.
"Hey, lady, been awhile," she tells Mama with a grin. "Missed ya! We're here for ya now, though."
[Tongue Twister] She had caught a ride with Annie when it was offered, summoned by the Hummingbird because this was their Territory. Delmar was patrolling on the other side of their holdings - or getting drunk at a titty bar, who knew - and Edwin was busy. Thus, the female half of the Bogeymen answer the call.
They choose to drive, because, well, the microbus is COOL, and she steps out with her packmate, taller, leaner, and overall quieter than her boisterous packmate. She offers Mama a shy little smile, and looks around at the others, in general greeting. She says nothing though, just waits to find out what they will face.
[Victor Oseragighte] Where Karl chose hispo, he had gone with the near-man form, glabro, preferring it for the moment due its superior manual dexterity.
This form stretches the brown dunagrees and black tanktop tight on his frame. Expecting trouble, he's drawn his bone blade, keeping it ready in hand as they alight, not yet pushing through until they know more about what they are facing. Karl had offered affirmation, and he sees no reason to repeat it.
[Sorrow] There was a hummingbird at the Sparrow-shrine, jeweled amongst the little plain brown birds. Now: there is a Fenrir woman in Chinatown. Sorrow walks, she takes the bus. She takes the El. Other passengers find a reason to get off a stop or two or three or four early, for reasons they cannot remember, and will not name. The tall blonde is oblivious, watching the streets pass by, one city neighborhood fold into another.
The Skald's pale hair is loosely plaited behind her neck, though fine curls escape from the heat, the humidity, twist around her features. She's here alone, hands in the pockets of her worn jeans, a black t-shirt clinging to her torso. The evening is hot and humid; she has a bottle of water in hand, and a small messenger bag against her left hip. Were it not for the rage, she could be a graduate student in something impractical, like literature, or art history.
Instead: she is an animal.
Now, she too is arriving in the alley, lifting the sweating bottle of water (Evian) in a vague salute towards Mama Ankle Biter by way of greeting.
[Spirits] The eyes of the small Gnawer close for a moment, she steps up close to the outside wall of the abandoned storefront. Hands raised, palms press to the brick. A furrow spreads over her features as she can feel something.
The wind moves through the alley, it howl the ears of those that arrive to join the Theurge, she can feel the presence of her pack in the Umbra. If they listen closely, Kora, Annie, and Rory could almost hear the softest of whispers tickling at their temples and sliding along their cheeks -the childish giggling of spirits.
The wind cools the alley, it grows stationary, continuing to dance around and around them. Karl and Victor will notice the ethereal wave of air-spirits that move around them, through them, tugging at their fur, or clothes. A collection consciousness forms amongst the garou present, bonded under the voice of the wind-spirits that bound them in a temporary link of communication.
"Couple of nights ago, the Moonrunners dealt with a gaggle of banes. One of them was more powerful than the others, it looked like a girl wearing a china doll mask... and handled a pack of yapping ankle biters." She snorts softly, as her voice fills their minds. "A voice called Mama here, heard it and went to investigate and woke the bane... something in the building awoke that psychomachiae."
[Tongue Twister] A wind moves through the alley, and Rory tips her head into it, letting it brush her curls from her face, briefly, before she ducks her head again. Brow furrows at the giggling of the spirits, but it is Mama that has her full attention - Mama, who speaks via a temporary link, that has the redhead blinking.
Neat.
She lifts her gaze to the building, listening still. She glances at her packmate, and then to the building. This is Mama's party, so she waits for her decision - even though she moves toward the building, the door, touching it experimentally to see if she feels what the small Gnawer does...
[Bone-Grinder] He tensed when Mama spoke, the words were ominous and a little threatening. He looks towards the building and then back towards the diminutive woman. His smile growing as he steps a little closer to her."Well then we go in there, find what woke it up and silence it right?"He asks her with a bit of a smile."Or is this gonna get a little bit more complicated?"
Simon wanted to know what they were up against, and dealing with. The Ahroun liked to know as much as possible before taking anyone to their deaths. He didn't like leading folks to their deaths, that was the second most important part of his job as he saw it. Killing the badguys being the only thing more important.
[Holds the Line] Pale ice blue eyes shift from the gauntlet where he was watching Mama’s form and the tohers through. Glancing to the building at their sides. A low growl in his throat.
~You think this thing that woke that… beast… is still in there?~
Karl had felt the whispering caress of the spirit that had been aw,akened. He had felt it close cold fingers around his mind, and it had nearly gotten him. Nearly taken his mind and body and turned it on his own pack. His lips pulled back in a silent snarl.
~if it has the power to awaken spirits, it must be tied to the umbra somehow. Shall I take Victor and search through the webs? ~
[Victor Oseragighte] Victor remembers, very well. The Wendigo was starting to hate dogs. They did not like him to begin with, but since arriving here, in the past week alone, he'd been bitten by dogs in three separate battles, fomori in two cases and banes in the last.
He remembers, too, the China Doll, the one he'd not known much about. He had never gotten around to asking about it, he realizes now, and perhaps that was a mistake. A big mistake.
He could only guess that now Mama had discovered something more, something requiring immediate attention. He did not have to say a word, even mentally, for her to know she had his backing. Karl's response suited him as well, and he slipped skyward, several feet above the pavement, keeping a watch on their surroundings.
[Spirits] "Couldn't find a way to get in through the umbra. The walls of the building are thick, had to squeeze through a hole in the wood blocking the front entry, didn't see a back way out..." the garou that stand in the alley can see her features pull into a mask of deep concern. Her hands remain against the brick facing, head tilting up to look at the wall again.
"Whatever's inside knows Mama's here... don't think it'll let me in again." She looks around at all of them, "Gone need ya to go in for me. Can do what can be done outside here but ain't much, still worn out from that last fight for the fucking box."
[Sorrow] Sorrow filters through the assembled Garou. She knows some of them by sight - from the moot - by reputation, the stories passed among the Guardians. She has fought with one or two. Now, the tall creature stands along, her arms crossed, her fine dark eyes direct on the theurge. It feels - strange, to be without a totem after so many months in a pack thought was closely woven, the weave tighter for the death of her Alpha, the shared experience as the fought the battle of his death over and over and over in the Battleground under every breathless minute was seared into their consciousness, both individual and collective.
Now she's alone. The whisper of air spirits is a strange echo of the strength of the totem bond. Kora turns her head at some sound that feels like a breeze as the air stills, the twist of subtle fingers across her pale cheek. It awakes a phantom pain inside her - just momentary, just this twinge she will not indulge. Simon asks the first half of the question on her mind; then Karl suggests searching through the webs. Her head cants, animal, at the sound from across the umbra.
" - rhya," the Skald appends, after the first two questions. There is a spare smile on her generous mouth. "I'm no theurge," a glance at those assembled. " - and neither are any of the rest of us. Can you tell which way the connection goes - from spirit to flesh, or flesh to spirit? If it is as powerful as you say, perhaps it would be best to act in concert - attack the outgrowth, then tear it out at the root."
[Spirits] To Kora - "Flesh to spirit and spirit to flesh. It was human once."
[Sorrow] The theurge's response is enough for Sorrow. The Skald nods once, then cants her head sidelong, neatly feral in this, listening for those in the umbra, anticipating the shifting of air currents as they come across. "Will this - " a pause, a faint gesture at the air around them, the invisible link joining the disparate Garou. " - link remain for us, inside?"
It is after all easier to act as a pack when you can think like one. Feel like one, even if this is an illusion born of air spirits.
[Hard Knocks] "I'm the smallest," Annie says easily, as if this is the only thing that matters - facts and figures are great, really, but she has no head for them. She wants to know what they're up against, how many. "So, I can slip in and see who's best placed where, ya know?"
Gum pops and the teeny-tiny Ahroun buzzes with energy, with playground laughter, with running and sports.
"An' I like Sorrow's thinkin'." By name. By reputation. If the Gnawer's met the Fenrir, it's been brief at best. "But ain't no good at cleansin' or whatever. Mostly just good at beatin' things."
[Spirits] Mama nods her head to Kora, looking at her now, her eyes flickering over to Annie briefly.
"It'll remain as ya go inside, Kora. Courtesy of the wind spirits."
She clucks her tongue at Annie, and then smiles at her, "Ain't recommended ya go in alone. When Mama did small hounds appeared to chase her out, tripped some kind of alarm or watch dog."
[Holds the Line] Mama’s words brings a huff from the great shaggy hispo, and it is with a shake of its head that he shifts, taking homid. Looking to victor, he waves him down. The gauntlet is thick in the scab, and together they have a better chance of piercing it quickly and easily. He grabs a small polished mirror and waits for the other before focusing his will with Victor to cross over.
[Crossing Gauntlet! -1 for mirror. Mutual with Victor!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 2, 4, 10, 10 (Success x 1 at target 7)
[Bone-Grinder] "The quickest way to overcome a threat is to rip out it's heart... Or cut off it's head. You chop and hack at the other bits and pieces and you only waste time which is a valuable asset in any conflict."He says with a nod of his head."Whatever this thing is we get to it... if we can't crawl our way to it then we will fucking claw our way to it and if claws won't work... I got some power tools in my car that will do the trick. One way or another we'll get to this thing. Honestly I think getting to it sounds like the hard part."He says with a bit of a smile.
[Victor Oseragighte] The soft murmur of the air spirits is familiar and comforting to Victor, and he listens while others debate. He'd started to rise higher still when Karl waves him back down and the Wendigo plummets, landing lightly, black eyes darting to the mirror acting as their beacon to the other side.
(( Roll with Karl ))
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 2, 3, 3 (Failure at target 7)
[Tongue Twister] She tips her head, slightly, as Simon speaks, excited as a kid at Christmas. So she's heard the saying goes, having no such experience herself. She looks at Mama, and smiles shyly.
"Annie and I can to gogether. Go in pairs - one in, second in, move go tuard as others join. Then tight fogether."
[Spirits] A quick glance to those that are gathered, the Gnawer immediately rummages through the gunnysack that always hangs on a strap across her chest. She pulls out small wooden disks, painted with protection glyphs. She passes around one to each of them, "Soak talens." She murmurs absently.
There is a strain of tension lying in her features, she looks fatigued, but continues to press on. Once the talens are passed around, Ankle-Biter motions with a wave of her hand towards the end of the alley to the store front, she walks around the corner, pausing in front of the large sheets of graffiti plywood. There is a tear at the bottom, big enough to fit a small woman like her in homid.
If the others wanted to get through, they'll have to tear off the plywood and go through the door. A glance around the neighborhood shows no one on the street as the hour darkens. A lone car makes it way down the street, speeding too fast to notice the gathering. The sound of thunder rumbles in the distance, a streetlight flickers overhead. The heat continues to choke the air as the humidity thickens.
[Hard Knocks] "Was human, once," she answers Simon, sharp, though the words are directed at everyone; she has Views on this, it would seem. "Can whatever's got it be gotten out?" She's no Theurge either, doesn't know much about this - she's already stated her skill set. "I'll kill what ya point me at, but if there's somethin' worth savin', I'd like ta try an' save it. If it's all th' same ta th' rest of ya."
Then Rory speaks up, and Annie's shoulder bumps her . . . elbow, about, but it's a gesture of solidarity. "An' we can do that, yeah."
[Victor Oseragighte] Speaking up for the first time as he looks at that door, he turns his eyes skyward. "Wouldn't be too hard I bet for a couple of us to go in through a window higher up. Just a little climbing."
Those dark eyes are already scanning, asessing the building's structure, its integrity, with the experience that comes from growing up around construction workers.
[Spirits] "Nothing is worth saving."
A voice answers Annie, it doesn't come from the small Gnawer woman that has gone quiet as the others prepare and talk. The voice is cold, a breath chills at the back of her neck and the air around her suddenly becomes devoid of heat, like she were standing in a freezer butt naked.
[Spirits] At Victor's suggestion, Mama looks towards him, she angles her head back, eyes scaling up the length of the store front. It was two-story's tall, the windows were blacked out with paint and plywood, the some of the window panes missing completely or chipped.
"Not sure ya want to separate, Vic."
[Sorrow] Sorrow's gaze flickers over Annie, holds the small, scarred Ahroun in her field of vision for a long, slow minute. the others are crossing now; the gauntlet is thinning, growing sharp and refined. It is thick here, though, natively so, strung with webbing, inherent calcified.
"This threat sounds large enough, that I think Mama Ankle Biter-rhya means for us to go in as a pack rather than in twos and threes. We'll be stronger together, in any case." As she says this, a glance drifts between the pair of Ahrouns, then settles over the theurge, watching the Fostern's small features for a reaction - agreement, or disagreement. This is her prey, and her battle. And so, Sorrow defers, quietly restating herself. A brief glance back toward the building at Mama's back. " - there's just the one entrance, then? No humans to worry about?" A brief pause, her mouth thinning with thought, " - and we can expect the dogs you mentioned, but the dogs are secondary targets. Guards in the way of the thing inside, correct?"
Then, questions answered by the theurge's actions, Kora accepts the talen wordlessly. Half-closing her eyes, she invokes it, allows it to settle over her skin as she breaks it in two and allows the protection to settle over her skin.
Sorrow follows Mama around the corner to the front door, then, and reaches to begin tearing off the plywood. The door will work for her. Victor suggests climbing through a window, and Sorrow shakes her head.
" - a threat like this, you get isolated, you're likely to die. Unless someone here has the Battlesense gift, we go in together, fight together, and stay together. Once we're in, those of you who can slip in the shadows, do so - but stay close, I think. Does that work for everyone?" Kora glance at Karl as the other Fenrir arrives with his packmate. She is ready to tear down the plywood and go in the front door.
[-1 Gnosis, soak talen! -1 WP, resist pain!]
[Sorrow] Ancestors - to brawl!
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 2, 3, 8, 9 (Success x 3 at target 8) [WP]
to Spirits
[Holds the Line] ”We stay together. Last time, the spirit tried to twist the mind. If we stick together, we can make sure that if it happens, they can be stopped without to much bloodshed.”
Karl points to the storefront windows.
“The plywood. Easy enough to break through. I say we have given whatever is in there long enough to prepare for us. Let’s make sure it will regret remaining.”
Says as he takes the Talen mama offers, holding it to his chest. A burst of his spirit and it melts into his flesh.
[spend 1g to activate soak talen]
[Bone-Grinder] He takes one of the talens that is offered with a smile and a respectful bow of his head to Mama before turning his attention on the building.
He shakes his head at the mention of anyone going in alone."No one is separating from anyone. We;re not doing this in small groups... We're going in together, we are going to fight whatever this is side by side and if anyone has a problem with that then you can shut the fuck up because whatever is in there is fucking serious enough threat on its own and the last thing we need is people splitting up. So we find a way in... Or we make a way in."
"It's a building, that means it is made outta stuff and stuff can be broken. If we can't all go in then we don't go in till we find a way we can all go in."
[Bone-Grinder] [Activating soak talen!]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 4, 6, 6 (Botch x 1 at target 7)
[Tongue Twister] She whips her head around as something that's not Mama answers Annie, and nudges her packmate in return. Then, the nearly Fostern Fianna, the shy little mule who rarely speaks to anyone when it is not this, not battle, not what she was born for...
She shakes her head. "Sot neparate."
She activates the soak talen they were given, and dusts off her hands, and goes to join Kora at the plywood. A nod. Shy and soft as her smile, and she grabs a piece of the plywood, ready to rip it from the door and find their way inside.
[Spirits] The talen blows up in Simon's face! Smoke fills his lungs as he inhales it through his nose, causing a sudden sting and a trickle of blood to run down his left nostril.
[Bone-Grinder] He sneezes and grumbles."Your talen attacked me!"He says in annoyance to Mama. A slight growl of annoyance as he wipes the blood off his face.
[Hard Knocks] [Woo, Gnawers! Resist Toxin, Stam + Survival, Specialty! Mind bendy doesn't mean there isn't poison or somethin']
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 5, 7, 9, 9, 9 (Success x 5 at target 6) [WP]
[Victor Oseragighte] He lowers his eyes, listens to the arguments to stay together, and has to admit they make far more sense. There is a moment where he glances to the talen before slapping it against his chest, drawing on his reserves of energy to invoke it. He then drops into a crouch, looking quite prepared to rush and crash through the plywood. He does not actually do so, though, not yet, waiting for approval with a silent, questioning look.
[Spirits] The Garou peel at the sheets of plywood that cover the reinforced metal frames of double doors that once held glass in them, they only need to take out one side in order for them to create a man-sized hole that anyone can fit through. Anything large than a homid has to squeeze through.
Ankle-Biter steps away to play lookout, scanning the streets as walks away from them, her head turning to glance back over a shoulder, looking someone worried that she can’t go with Victor and Karl.
Six Garou file into the front half of the store. Filthy drywall is covered in tattered wallpaper that peels at the corners from the low hung ceiling. Gritty yellow water stains cover the tile ceiling, they can see only one door that stands across from them, behind a series of counters, painted in green and red. A Chinese takeout calendar is pinned to its surface. A sign hangs on the bottom that says “employee’s only”.
The room is pretty wide, but not very deep. The shallow back wall with the second door that leads through it, provides the illusion of a small room, despite the building’s exterior. There had to be more beyond the small door. The shelves are empty; trash litters the floor around them. A few chairs are strewn behind the counters, which lead signs to the room’s recent use by whoever works here.
[Holds the Line] ~Scouting ahead. Will stay just one room. Be ready to charge on my signal.~
The Fenrir’s voice is carried to them via the air spirit’s that are riding them, providing for the silent communication, a weak mirror of a pack bond, but always something.
The Norse Fenrir drops forward, form melding into Lupus and he calls on Gaia’s gifts to shield his form from sight and then he creeps forward, scouting for the group.
[Blur!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 4, 5, 8, 8, 10 (Success x 4 at target 8) [WP]
[Holds the Line] [Ehm closed doors = bad, make it Glabro]
[Sorrow] Simon begins cursing; Sorrow gives him a look, dark eyed and direct. She's wordless, still now. There's someone else behind her eyes, sharing her skin, looking out into the changed world. The name rises silently in her mind, unbidden, the sense of otherness opening inside her is both familiar and charged. When the now-quiet Skald's blue eyes fall on Karl, they linger. When the other Fenrir is close enough, she takes a deep breath. His pure breed resonates with the ancestor spirit that has settled over her, lending her the memory of his skill, expanding her own beyond its native boundaries.
I know his line, the long-dead Fenrir says, this basso-sound that echoes in her mind, some language she knows only like this - from memories shared over age after age. Some part of her wonders if the others can hear him over the spirit link. Mostly, though, she's focused on the matters at hand, peeling away the plywood from the metal door frames, watching the street with sharp eyes as the others crawl through, until it is her turn.
Sorrow walks carefully through the trash-strewn room, lifting her head to take in the details - the water stains on the tiled ceiling, the remnants of the wallpaper peeling back from the drywall, the calendar and the counters. With a brief glance at the others, she circles the counters, alert now, watchful and ready - working her way through the room to the far wall with its small door. If necessary, she gestures the others out of immediate line of sight, and opens the small door for the Rotagar, staying behind the door as it opens.
[Hard Knocks] On the way through the door, once out of danger of sight, Annie's shifting to Crinos . . . which quite possibly doesn't make her the tallest of the group, amusingly. Victor in Glabro is quite likely still taller. Once there, there's claws sharpened on anything handy, honed to razor sharpness, with a few nice sssssssssshicks. Clothes shift with her, easy, and soak talens can wait.
Needless to say? She's small, and fast. She's heading in first, bright eyed and curious.
[Tongue Twister] She tips her head as Karl takes point and goes to scout, and she moves as well, pointing to direct the other's to spread out over the width of the room - still together, but with more maneuvering room in case Karl sends something scurrying back at them.
She, herself, moves to stick close to Karl, hovering at the open door to listen for his signal, flanking the door that Kora opens with a nod.
[Holds the Line] [Sta + PU, Resilience spec]
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 1, 2, 4, 4, 5, 7, 7, 9, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Bone-Grinder] He enters with the others. His attention shifting around the room and back to the others. He was quick to get inside and begin looking around. He gave a glance to the others at the door before looking into the back Room with a smile."I'm gonna check this room out... Someone get my back."He says with a nod of his head.
[Bone-Grinder] [Sta+PU]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 3, 3, 5, 8, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Hard Knocks] [Stam + PU + spec (resilient)]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 4, 5, 5, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6) Re-rolls: 2
[Tongue Twister] Simon says he's going to check the room out, and Rory snarls at him.
"Stay."
[PU+sta]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 3, 3, 5, 6, 7 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Victor Oseragighte] When they they decide simply to peel the plywood away, he relaxes and watches them. Victor hangs back a moment to place a hand on Mama's shoulder, the message clear to his Alpha; they'll be coming back. Don't worry for them.
With that he is squeezing through, a tight squeeze for a man with his broad frame, especially in Glabro. He straightens and looks about, listening as they arrange the marching orders while he hangs back, ready to act, watching their backs.
(( Stamina + PU ))
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 3, 6, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Sorrow] Primal-urge + stamina in homid!
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 3, 5, 8, 10 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Holds the Line] [Stealth! Dex + stealth]
Dice Rolled:[ 10 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 7, 7, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6) Re-rolls: 1
[Spirits] Upon entering the second door, they are thrust into complete darkness and bone-chilling cold. The room is devoid of heat, the cold sucks at their bodies, pulls the air from their lungs in thick white puffs as it condensates in front of their faces. The streetlight from outside floods through the opening they had created, lighting up the main room they stood in and casts a halo of shadows at their backs.
The wind at their ears circulates the coldness around them, making it worse. There is a heavy stench that assaults their noses the moment they all file through. It reeks of sweat and blood, decaying flesh and the stale, hot slick smell of rotting garbage. It is strong enough that it makes them gag and their eyes water. The smell pulls at their wolf senses, raising their hackles with an overwhelming emotion of Fear, Anger, Violence, Rage.
It snarls at them, but does nothing more than that.
[Holds the Line] [per + alert -2 lupus]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 4, 4, 5 (Failure at target 5)
[Hard Knocks] [Per + Alert!]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 3, 3, 5, 6, 8 (Failure at target 7)
[Tongue Twister] [per+alert]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 6, 8, 8, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Sorrow] Per + alertness
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 1, 4, 4, 7, 9, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 3 at target 7) Re-rolls: 3
[Victor Oseragighte]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 4, 7, 8, 10 (Success x 3 at target 7)
[Spirits] The stench is too overpowering for Annie and Karl, worse for the Rotagar as his nose is more sensitive to the finer details of such things.
For the Others, their eyes slowly adjust to the darkness, allowing them to vaguely make out shapes along the wall, outlines of metal shelves. The structure of a staircase that sits on the far right side of the room, and an wall at the back that juts out from the stairs by three feet, running parallel with it.
Karl steps into the room, heavy paws stick to the floor, small fragments of bone prick at the pads of his feet as bones crunch under his weight when he walks.
[Holds the Line] His lips draw back in a silent snarl at he bone that covers the floor. Whatever was hidden in here was an old tenant. It made him want to howl. But he kept his quiet. It takes him longer to find the staircase, but when he does, he moves towards it, whispering over the air spirit link for the others to follow into the first room.
[Sorrow] Metal shelves against the far wall, Sorrow's mind-voice is deeper and less melodious than her human tones. It is short, really, direct. And a staircase, with a wall beside it. See anything else?
She's flanking the door; as she stands there, her body bulks from human into her near-man skin, making her rougher, more wild. The clothing expands to fit her cro-magnon frame, the sloped brow and heavy jaw, the thickened keratin of her fingernails becoming short, rough near-claws.
Karl whispers to them over the loose bond of the air-spirits, and Sorrow follows, holding the door carefully behind her to allow the others to come in, pushing it all the way open so that some light from outside will spill into the dark interior.
[Tongue Twister] She looks. She looks the same as all of them do, and trusts Sorrow to tell those who don't what they see. At the question, she shakes her head - she sees nothing else. She still does not shift. Not yet.
She slips through the door, letting Sorrow hold it as she takes flank, and directs the others to spread out once more. Karl still has point... and once everyone is through, Rory follows him toward the stair case, where she'll wait for word once more, walking as quietly as she can.
[Victor Oseragighte] Victor winds up in the rear with the metis, silent, observing, studying their surroundings, trusting nothing that they see. The hair on his skin stands on edge with the sensations that bombard them, but he maintains his focus, though his knuckles grow pale due to the tighteness of his grip on the haft of the simple bone blade he holds up before him.
[Spirits] “Precious…?”
The bone-chilling voice that had spoken to Annie outside wafts from the top of the stairwell. A spark ignites; a white lambent flame snaps into existence. It grows and trembles, a wisp of glowing white cloth swirling in the air to take the shape of a small girl with black, inky hair spilling down the front of her tattered dress. They can see the sharp, beautifully contoured points of a bone-white wolf mask - much like those that Kabuki dancer's wear - peering at them with red lines running along the muzzle.
The eyes are black soulless sockets.
The air only seems to grow colder around the floating figure... the voice is clipped with a broken English, accentuated with Asian flavor.
[Hard Knocks] Annie recoils from the smell, but hears what Sorrow has to say, and then they're all going through - she stays near Rory, but watches and listens all around.
[Holds the Line] Karls voice snaps over the shared bond.
~It’s one of those spirits! Do not listen to its whispers! Do not let it touch you! Ahrouns, lure it forward, I will fall on its back! Hard and Fast!~
The Stealthy shadow that is Karl waits for the spirit to pass, readying himself to strike when its attention is stolen by the others.
[Bone-Grinder] The other Ahrouns seemed on the matter. He wasn't about to throw himself into the fray when there were others oh so eager to handle just that. So Simon kept his distance though he did shift forms to something a little more comfortable.
[Glabro]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 9 (Failure at target 7)
[Bone-Grinder] [Screw this trying again]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 4, 4, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10 (Failure at target 8)
[Tongue Twister] Ahrouns, lure it.
It's a command, and Rory is born and bred to obey them instantly. She would have done it anyway. A leader takes point. A full moon takes point. Rory? Takes point.
She steps forward, and is instantly in hispo - heavy paws hitting the ground as she growls low and dangerous, a clear threat to the approaching Masked Spirit... A clear dare of the come and get me persuasion.... drawing it down the stairs and into the room proper so that Karl can flank it...
[-1R, hispo!]
[Victor Oseragighte] "Come down. I can take you to precious." He did not see a need to lure when he suspected that the spirit's own twisted nature could be used against it. 'Precious' he gathered to be the other spirit, the one they'd slain. His knife hand goes down to hold it close to his side and his free hand goes up, beckoning to the spirit, seeking to draw it into position for them to strike best.
[Hard Knocks] Ahrouns, lure it, says the rotagar and though Annie's not bred to obey orders unless they're from her alpha, it seems like a fine thing to do. Don't listen. Don't let them touch. Eager and already in Crinos, Annie bounces forward with her pack-sister. She's not as clear of a threat, no, so small even in war form. But she has claws, and she has teeth. And she and Tongue Twister have --
Wishbone?
[Spirits] The order runs across the temporary pack link from Karl. Ahrouns, lure it. The Rotagar has a very good idea to what they are dealing with. Victor know what it is... the bodies of the garou start to twist into their fighting forms to lure the white wolf kabuki masked spirit towards them.
A whisper runs across Sorrow's thoughts, a ghostly voice as she is one of the few who can speak to Spirits without the aid of a gift - Shiranui... it whispers... help us... Kuroinu...
Simon's body trembles with rage, he is having difficulty shifting, he can't seem to gain a hold of his beast. He stands at the back of the room, growing angrier by the second, feeling his rage pulsate through him. His inner wolf wants to burst through him and tear at his own skin. Chains rattle at Simon's feet, the cold shadows pull across the light from the second, open door that beats at the Shadow Lord's back.
A second flame sparks to life, a reddish-purple glow that begins to take the shape of a second masked figure. It is the opposite of the white spirit. The same beautifully contoured kabuki mask hugs its face, black on red lines...
[Sorrow] Sorrow drops abruptly from Glabro to Hispo, fueled by rage. The bones are sharper against her paws than they were against the boots on her feet, and the air seems thicker with the scent of the creature's - the near/once/no longer human creature's - victims, old and new, scattered over the floorboards.
The others speak, seeking to lure it out. The Skald - there is some irony in this - remains quiet when the rest of the pack whisper. She circles in the room, her tail low with caution, spreading out so that she can flank the spirit when battle comes.
The voices that whisper across her mind are another layer. There is the old one inside her, a heavy presence, alert at the possibility of battle, contemptuous of the place she fights, of the city for which she fights. Sorrow pulls them apart, offers them back to the pack across the bond of the air spirits.
They say, Shiranui, help us. Kuroinu.
When the second spirit appears, opposite, Sorrow swallows a low growl - not alarm, more challenge - her hackles are standing on end, now, her stance wide, alert, ready.
[Sorrow] [-1 rage! FYI.]
[Holds the Line] [Ambush roll! Dex + stealth]
Dice Rolled:[ 10 d10 ] 1, 2, 2, 2, 6, 6, 6, 7, 8, 8, 10 (Success x 6 at target 6) Re-rolls: 1
[Bone-Grinder] He sighs to himself. You see the thing about being Simon means no matter how much others bitch and groan about you being around and stealing all their glory it really doesn't matter. Cause the Wyrm knows where you are, and the wyrm is coming for you Simon. It fuckin' hates you and why? Because it fuckin' fears you and what you are capable of. It knows the threat and danger you will one day pose and hopes to stop you before you can achieve that potential."Nice fuckin' eyes scout..."The words were directed in annoyance at the Rotagar who had apparently missed the mask that was now floating behind the Full Moon who had been covering the other Garou's asses. With a roll of his eyes he turns to face his enemy, and as immediately as he can he Shifts to a form better suited for war.
[-1 Rage shifting to Hispo!]
[Spirits] [Shiranui: to not be ambushed]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 1, 3, 8, 10, 10 (Failure at target 10)
[Victor Oseragighte] ~If there are more than two, this could get bad for us. We need to deal with these now.~
One of them was bad enough. Two was a very bad thing, though, and he swelled into Crinos, muscles thickening, limbs and face lenghtening, not wishing to be caught flat.
((Sta + PU))
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 3, 3, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Holds the Line] [Ambush Attack on Shiranui. 1r Reflex shift hispo! +5 dice ambush -2 dif attacking back target 3]
Dice Rolled:[ 16 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6, 6, 7, 7 (Success x 9 at target 3)
[Holds the Line] [Dam +8]
Dice Rolled:[ 16 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 4, 6, 7, 7, 7, 8, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Spirits] Shiranui soak
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 4, 6, 6, 6, 6, 9, 9 (Success x 6 at target 6)
[Bone-Grinder] [+9]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 5
[Victor Oseragighte] 19
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 5
[Tongue Twister] [+8!]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 8
[Hard Knocks] [+7]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 3
[Spirits] Shiranui 7+
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 10
[Holds the Line] Holds the Line strikes from the shadow, fangs flashing as he shimmers into the dire wolf form, jaws snapping but finding little real resistance, tearing at the layers of clothing that swirl around the spirit. The frustration fuels his rage, making his eyes burn.
[Init 11 + 10]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 8
[Sorrow] [+9]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 2
[Spirits] Kuroinu 8+
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 2
[Spirits] 29 Karl
24 Vic
17 Kuroinu
16 Rory
14 Simon
11 Kora
10 Shiranui
Annie declare first...
10 Annie
[Spirits] Shiranui should be 17 and Kuroinu at 10
[Hard Knocks] [Poor, poor Annie.
1a) claw mask in front of her
1b) ditto
[Spirits] Kuroinu:
Corruption on Simon: Kill the weakest, assume dominance, tend not to the disfigured, the wounded... Kill the scarred one... kill Annie.
[Sorrow] 1a. BITE. 1b. BITe. 1c. BITE. Rage 1. BITE. Beginning on Shiroinu, flanking if possible (see previous post!) switching to K if S goes down.
[Bone-Grinder] 1a. Bite Stupid Mask
1b. Bite Stupid Mask
1R: Don't kill Annie, Bite Mask!
[Tongue Twister] 2 rage, split first action
1a: bite
1b: bite
1R: bite
2R: bite - all on S unless she goes down, then to K. (or Simon if he attacks Annie. Heh.)
[Spirits] Kuroinu: Corruption on Kora: Kill the strongest... he mocks you, does not respect you... will not follow your leads...You are weak to his eyes...he will steal the Jarlship... kill Karl
[Spirits] err. Shiranui: Corruption on Kora: Kill the strongest... he mocks you, does not respect you... will not follow your leads...You are weak to his eyes...he will steal the Jarlship... kill Karl
[Victor Oseragighte] The blade goes to his off hand as he rushes the white masked spirit, lips curling back from his fangs, ready to strike hard before the spirits can use their twisted magics.
1a Bite white
1b Claw white
1c Bite white
Rage 1 Bite white
Rage 2 Claw white -- change to black if white has fallen
[Holds the Line] [Declare
1 WP reflexive- Resist Pain
1a. Hush Kuroinu
1b. Hush Shiranui
Rage 1. Bite S
Rage 2. Bite S
[Holds the Line] [Hush Kuroinu target 8 -2 split]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 8, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 5 at target 8) [WP
[Holds the Line] [hush Shiranui target 7 -3 split]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 3, 5, 7 (Success x 1 at target 7)
[Victor Oseragighte] He leaps high at first, trying to sink jaws into a shoulder.
Bitye!
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 2, 4, 5, 5, 5 (Success x 3 at target 5)
[Victor Oseragighte] Damage!
Dice Rolled:[ 10 d10 ] 2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Spirits] Shuranui soak
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 2, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Victor Oseragighte] His right hand lances into the spirit's side then to tear...
Claw!
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 2, 8, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Victor Oseragighte] Damage!
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 6, 7, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Spirits] Shuranui soak
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 4, 5, 6, 6, 8, 8 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Victor Oseragighte] He feels more resistance this time, but uses the leverage to twist his head and hopefully tear away more of the spirit's essence.
Bite!
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 1, 2, 4 (Failure at target 5) [WP]
[Spirits] Shuranui change of actions, cannot whisper, lashing out at Victor!
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 3, 5, 6, 6, 9, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Spirits] Damage
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 3, 4, 4, 6, 9, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Victor Oseragighte] Soak!
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 7, 8 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Tongue Twister] split 1: Dex + Brawl + Hispo = 3+4+2 = 9 -2 for split = 7 diff 5 - reroll 10s
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 1, 3, 3, 4, 5, 9 (Failure at target 5)
[Tongue Twister] Kahseeno? STOP BEING A WHORE.
split 2: Dex + Brawl + Hispo = 3+4+2 = 9 -3 for split = 6 diff 5 - reroll 10s
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 5, 7, 7, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 5 at target 5) Re-rolls: 1
[Tongue Twister] That's right - i said STOP BEING A WHORE!
Str + Hispo + Bite + (suxx-1) = 4+3+2 = 9 + 4
Dice Rolled:[ 13 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 5, 6, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Spirits] Shuranui soak
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 3, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Bone-Grinder] [Bite Black Mask! Dex+Totem+Brawl+Hispo = 10 -2 = 8 Dice Diff 5]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 5, 6, 8, 9, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Bone-Grinder] [Str+Totem+Hispo+2 = 9]
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 7 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Spirits] Kuroinu soak
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 4, 4, 5, 10 (Failure at target 6)
[Bone-Grinder] [Bite 2 Same -1]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 3, 6, 8, 8, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 5 at target 5) Re-rolls: 1
[Bone-Grinder] [Same+4 = 13]
Dice Rolled:[ 13 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6, 7, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Spirits] Kuroinu soak
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 2, 2, 3, 4, 6, 6, 7, 7 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Sorrow] Dex + Hispo + Brawl + Ancestors Sux = 12 1a. -3
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 4, 6, 6, 8, 10 (Success x 3 at target 5) Re-rolls: 1
[Sorrow] Damage!
Dice Rolled:[ 10 d10 ] 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 9, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 6 at target 6)
[Spirits] Shuranui soak
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 2, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Sorrow] 1b. -4
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 3, 3, 4, 7, 9, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 4 at target 5) Re-rolls: 1
[Sorrow] Damage!
Dice Rolled:[ 11 d10 ] 1, 1, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 7, 8, 9, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Spirits] Shuranui soak
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Sorrow] 1c. -5
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 3, 4, 4, 5, 8, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 6 at target 5) [WP] Re-rolls: 1
[Sorrow] Damage!
Dice Rolled:[ 13 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 8, 10 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Spirits] Shuranui soak
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 3, 4, 5, 5, 8, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Spirits] Kuroinu: cannot whisper, physical attack on Simon, chain whips
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 8, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Spirits] Damage
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 2, 4, 5, 5, 5, 8, 8, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Bone-Grinder] [Soak that shit!]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 3, 6, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Hard Knocks] Claw 1! Dex 3 + 1 (Crinos) + Brawl 3
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 3, 3, 3, 6, 6, 8 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Hard Knocks] Claw 1, Dex 3 + 1 (Crinos) + Brawl 3, -2 (Split)
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 3, 8, 8, 8 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Hard Knocks] Damage Str 3 + 2 + 1 sux +1 Razor Claws
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 6, 6, 8, 9, 9, 9 (Success x 6 at target 6)
[Spirits] Kuroinu soak
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 1, 3, 4, 5, 5, 7, 8 (Failure at target 6)
[Hard Knocks] Claw 1, Dex 3 + 1 (Crinos) + Brawl 3, -3 (Split)
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 3, 6, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6) [WP]
[Hard Knocks] Damage Str 3 + 2 + 1 sux +1 Razor Claws
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 5, 6, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 6 at target 6)
[Spirits] Kuroinu soak
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 1, 6, 7, 7, 7, 8, 8 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Holds the Line] [Rage 1. Bite S! Still behind! target -2]
Dice Rolled:[ 11 d10 ] 2, 2, 2, 3, 4, 4, 4, 6, 6, 6, 8, 10 (Success x 9 at target 3) Re-rolls: 1
[Holds the Line] [Dam + 8 Split into 2x8 dice]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 2, 2, 2, 6, 7, 9, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Holds the Line] [Dam + 8 Split into 2x8 dice]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 4, 4, 4, 6, 7, 7, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Spirits] Shuranui soak
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 3, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Victor Oseragighte] Karl leaps into the fray and he is happy to split the white mask with his packmate, trying to sink his teeth in once more.
Bite!
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 (Success x 7 at target 5)
[Victor Oseragighte] Damage!
Dice Rolled:[ 14 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 4, 6, 6, 8, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Spirits] Shuranui soak
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 6 at target 6)
[Tongue Twister] Dex + Brawl + Hispo = 3+4+2= 9 diff 5 - reroll 10s
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 2, 5, 5, 5, 7, 7 (Success x 3 at target 5)
[Tongue Twister] Kahseeno - I swear to gaia, if you are a dick this time.... JUST DO IT.
Str + Hispo + Bite + (suxx-1) = 4+3+2 = 9 + 2
Dice Rolled:[ 11 d10 ] 2, 3, 3, 5, 6, 7, 7, 8, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 7 at target 6)
[Spirits] Shuranui soak
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 3, 4, 8, 8, 8, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Spirits] Shuranui is dead. x_x
[Bone-Grinder] [Woot Bite that shit! Dex+Totem+Hispo+Brawl Diff 5]
Dice Rolled:[ 10 d10 ] 1, 1, 4, 5, 5, 6, 8, 8, 9, 9 (Success x 5 at target 5)
[Bone-Grinder] [Str+Hispo+Totem+2+4 = 12]
Dice Rolled:[ 12 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 6, 6, 8, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Spirits] Kuroinu soak
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 8, 8 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Sorrow] The white ghost falls under the metis' jaw. Sorrow's mouth is full of the taste, cold and bitter, remnant blood - the crunch of bones underneath her paws. At once, she wheels in a great, wide arc around toward the remaining creature, snarling challenge now - fierce and wordless.
Dice Rolled:[ 12 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 4, 6, 6, 6, 9, 10 (Success x 2 at target 5) Re-rolls: 1
[Sorrow] Damage!
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 2, 5, 5, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Spirits] Kuroinu soak
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 8, 8, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Holds the Line] [Karl Rage 2. Bite K]
Dice Rolled:[ 11 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 5, 7, 8, 8, 9 (Success x 3 at target 5)
[Holds the Line] [Dam +2]
Dice Rolled:[ 10 d10 ] 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7, 7, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 7 at target 6)
[Spirits] Kuroinu soak
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Spirits] Kuroinu is dead.
[Victor Oseragighte] He felt something lash into his back and spun, claws lashing out at Kuroinu, only to find the black-masked spirit fallen already to his packmate.
[Spirits] Shuranui the unknown fire – she of the white wolf mask, innocent and beautiful once – her sister, Kuroinu the dark dog – she of the black mask, vicious and rageful – vengeance incarnate; they come together, the white kabuki flowing down the stairs as the ahrouns lure it towards them. She floats across unsuspecting of the ambush attack brought on by the sneaky Rotagar as his teeth tear into the ivory fabric of her gown… He manages with a gift to hush the spirits, to keep their sickly sweet voices from whispers dark longings into the ears of the garou they want to touch.
The Wendigo is strong and fierce in his attacks against the white ghost, tearing into as the others follow suit. Teeth grinding and twisting into the white folds as she manages to lash out at Victor and claw him across the muzzle. The wolves will bring her down, she will cascade into a shimmer of white cloth and the white Kabuki mask will land in the center of a pile of salt. A crack running down the center of its forehead.
The black spirit rises up, chains thrashing towards the Shadow Lord that it cannot control, it cannot whisper to. Anger broils over in it, it feeds on Simon’s rage and sent it back to him, pushing the ahroun’s anger far above his own… black cloth shreds under the teeth of wolves that bring her down… her mask also cracking in the forehead as she melts into a pile of ash.
[Spirits] The room is thick with sweat, it grows heavy with the stench that overpowers their noses with its filth and decay. They stand victorious, panting as the cold air continues to pull their breath from their lungs.
[Victor Oseragighte] The second bane down, he looks back to the stairs, ignoring his own wound for now, a fairly minor injury anyhow. "We need to be certain those were the last." His gaze on the stairs, it's clear what he is thinking, that there may yet be more trouble above them.
[Tongue Twister] She whirls to attack the black one, the taste of the white one still in her teeth, in her throat, in her belly. It falls under the efforts of the others, and she remains there, paws spread wide, waiting... breathing.
Then, she takes a breath, and shifts back to her monkey skin, and makes a visual check on them all - though it is Annie, that her gaze lingers on. Then, a shy little smile shared with her packmate. Triumphant. Edwin will be pleased.
[Sorrow] The moments after battle are often anticlimatic. The air is full of sweat and the sweet afterburn of rage. The ancestor spirit inside her unfolds, awakening in the moments of battle, remembering the feel of a foe folding beneath his thrashing teeth, the sizzle of hot blood spattering across new fallen snow.
The ghosts fall, the masks cracked, the gowns and bodies underneath crumbling into piles of ash. Sorrow shakes her fur, pacing and prowling, stiff through the spine as she looks up the stairs, waiting for something else to come down, waiting for more.
When it is clear that there is no more threat from above, Sorrow melts from hispo into glabro and crouches near the center of teh frigid room, passing the ashes over her fingertips.
[Spirits] Mama Ankle-Biter's voice flickers across their thoughts, "Is everything alright? Felt a shudder... spirits outside the building are restless."
[Bone-Grinder] Soon enough he is growling and nodding in agreement with Victor the place had to be searched from top to bottom. It had to be searched and it had to be cleansed. He wanted to be certain what kept Mama out was these things and not something of greater danger to them.
[Hard Knocks] Rory gets her smile returned in spades, and Annie slowly shrinks back down to homid - so small to have done such damage, even in Crinos. She's fine, the feisty little playground scrapper. "We should help look, see if there's anything else," Annie says, though as soon as she's assured herself that Rory's okay, before she does anything else, she checks on Simon. Assuming he, too, is alright, she helps with what needs to be done.
[And CC goes to bed. G'night and thanks for the scene!]
[Sorrow] There is a supple acknowledgment from Sorrow. Shuranui and Kuroinu are broken under our claws. The bodies dissolves, the masks are left. Should we bring them to you?
[Holds the Line] IT is over as quickly as it begins. The Garou work as a team.
Holds the Line has fought these spirits before. He knows the lure of their whispers and he was not about to let them whisper to the others. After the first fruitless attack, he snarled at the spirits, his gift settling over them, quieting their whispers. It was only after that the Fenrir struck out, tearing with fangs at the spirits. One goes down under savage assault, and they move on to the next. In the space of a few breaths, both spirits are crumbled remains.
Karl turns to look at the others, still wearing the massive Hispo form. His voice over the shared bond low, steady and cold.
~You fight like Fenrir.~
Probably the greatest compliment the Rotagar can offer the others. To Kora, it is just affirmation. She is his Jarl, she is Fenrir. He expects nothing less from her.
~Beware the whispers.~
Then Karl is stealthing to the stairs, looking up, scenting the foul, cold air.
