bloodsuckers.

[Wyrmbreaker] (w00t, 2 hour panic fight! let's do this with like... 2-4liner posts, folks. 3-5min each. no posting order. once combat starts, try to declare within 3 min too, and if you don't roll on your turn within 2 min i'm rolling for you!

away we go!)

[Henry Allard] He can't sleep. He doesn't work weekends, Tristan sleeps like a rock, and the weather isn't trying to freeze them all still. So he runs. Farther than he meant to, but he runs.

[Danicka Musil] She got back this morning. Flew into O'Hare and took a cab -- she hates cabs -- home to sleep for a solid six hours. It wasn't the jet lag. It was not sleeping last night, standing outside smoking a cigarette after her father went to bed, thinking over the conversation they'd had after dinner. She took the subway out here, not because she needs to score a hit of anything or visit a run-down bar but because the best coffee she's had in this city is in a hole in the wall run by a squat Italian fellow who seems nervous to be doing business here but he just started, and she believes with a sort of sick optimism that he's going to be okay.

She's not often optimistic. She blames it on his coffee, and he laughs. She kisses his cheek as she heads out the front door, carrying a black paper cup.

[Mackenzie Walsh] She's not running.

She's leaning against the door of an antiqued blue Cadillac with a torch in her mouth, peering down at an open manila folder while she secures long hair from her face with a hair-tie. For a change, she's not dressed like a corporate wolf in sheep's clothing but rather like a resident of the area in gray sweats and a hoodie, the zip half lowered and a coffee cup sitting half-cold on the roof of her car.

[Caleb Delacourt-Alden] Caleb is not ordinarily seen meandering the streets of what he would term "hell's outhouse." It was likely that he just needed to go for a walk and clear his head, and found himself in this area.

Still when he passed a particular coffee shop, he was a touch surprised to see Danicka exiting. An eyebrow raised, yet he still managed to shrug a touch and fall into step with her. "Good evening, Miss Musil," he said pleasantly.

[Gael Sandoval] There was no particular reason for Gael to be wandering around Bronzeville in the middle of the night, but sometimes one didn't need a reason other than the restless urge to go out. And so he had done just that, leaving his new room at the Brotherhood to wander the city, exploring and taking in the new and unfamiliar atmosphere.

We're not in Texas anymore, Toto.

He had on a typical outfit. Serviceable. Well-worn jeans and a plain black t-shirt. The boots on his feet were not of the cowboy variety. He'd left those at home.

[Wyrmbreaker] The night is overcast. Bronzeville isn't the best area of town. Streetlights flicker and buzz on the 1300 block of Michigan Ave where, inexplicably, six members of the Garou Nation have crossed paths.

Four stories above, Lukas stands at the edge of a rooftop. He always feels a little like fucking Batman when he does this, which would've tickled Sam pink. Sam always thought he was Superman. Sam's no longer in the pack.

He has no reason to be here except that it's not the Brotherhood, and it's not the Caern, and it's not familiar to him. He has no reason beyond cosmic coincidence.

A block down, a streetlight flickers, flickers, blinks out.

[Henry Allard] He's only paying attention to his surroundings and where he's going because in the profession he's chosen, a lack of vigilance has a funny tendency to lead to a loss of life. When that street lamp flickers out ahead of him his pace, which was steady but on the fast side for someone just out for a leisurely post-midnight job, slows, but he does not stop.

[Danicka Musil] Her hair is straightened and in a ponytail, her clothing subdued: jeans, sneakers, and a short-sleeved button-down shirt meant to be worn untucked, the shape of it following the lines of her body. There are tiny white bows on the sleeves. It's green, with miniscule white dots. She looks like she could be a teacher, a girl from the other side of the tracks trying to Make A Difference in some urban preschool.

She smiles when she sees Caleb, tenses slightly because the moon is quite full and his Rage is high. She forces relaxation, so smoothly that it doesn't seem forced, and gives him a nod. "Hello, there," she says warmly. Her eyes flick past him as a light goes out a block away, then back to his face. "How have you been?"

Polite, polite. Careful.

[Mackenzie Walsh] The streetlight flickers.

Goes out right above where Mackenzie Walsh happens to have parked her car. The petite brunette is suddenly swamped in shadow but for the halo around her face cast by her tiny, barely effectual torch. "Great, that's just great." She murmurs and takes the device from her mouth, hoisting her file onto the roof of her car and directing her torch toward the streetlight that had just died.

"It's nice to see money being well spent on refurbishing the area."

[Caleb Delacourt-Alden] "Well enough, madamoiselle," he said just as casually with hands clasped behind his back. The light flickering out caused him to glance up quickly, but it was mostly ignored for the moment as he strolled along beside Danicka.

The moon might of been full, but Caleb was no Ahroun. Amazing to think one as expensively dressed as he would openly walk about in this distrinct, and unless Danicka was dressed like a slumgirl, they might attract eyes. Then again, his Rage was enough to keep most of the dregs at bay.

An eye found Mackenzie for a moment down the block, but she too was ignored. Though why in the hell anyone drove a Cadillac to Bronzeville must have a screw or 20 loose.

[Gael Sandoval] The street was oddly crowded considering the time of night. At present, Gael was approaching from where Mackenzie stood by her car, and he paused when the streetlight went out above them, peering up at it suspiciously.

Then he glanced over at the woman near him, head cocked slightly as he noted her car. She didn't quite look like she belonged.

"Evenin'."

May as well be polite. He was scanning the street again, though, almost immediately. Suspicious as always.

[Wyrmbreaker] Nothing suspicious about a single light burning out in a bad area of town. Half the lights around here look about to go that way. One of them is glowing baleful red right over where Danicka and Caleb are standing.

Another one a block down flickers out. And then another. Three dead streetlights in a row.

[Henry Allard] The 6'4" figure has been running for a while, is drenched in sweat and gasping for air, and the faltering lights seem to be the impetus he needs to stop. He slows down as he realizes he's going to be running into a dead zone on the pavement, then plants his hands on his hips and looks around. He isn't the only one out here tonight. He doesn't recognize anybody immediately, so he just takes a breath to calm his pounding heart and turns around.

[Danicka Musil] "You're...in Lukáš's pack, aren't you?" she asks him as they stroll, sipping her coffee. She sounds like she's guessing. She sort of is; she and Caleb have never interacted much, for one reason or another. The ins and outs and changes the Unbroken Circle has endured over the months haven't made much impact on her; she knows Mrena died. She does not know that Lukas is the Alpha. She doesn't know that Sam is no longer bound to them.

One could easily imagine she doesn't care much about any of those things, either. But she guesses, casts about for conversational fodder, or...maybe...starts to take an interest. For some reason. She looks up as another light goes out, frowns deeply, her mouth pursed slightly in a troubled pout, and eyes the one over her and Caleb. "Would you mind escorting me to the station?" she asks, her voice light. It is nowhere near as disturbed as her frown.

Then again, her frown looks more annoyed than anything else.

[Mackenzie Walsh] It was vintage.

That was always her emphasized excuse when someone gave her car that same sort of once-over-with-raised-eyebrows that Gael, who had just materialized from the shadows, was currently casting it. Aspersions on her vehicle were enough to make Mackenzie bristle a little.

What, was it so incredible that she had a fondness for old cars?

At any rate: the stranger speaks to her and Mackenzie lowers her flashlight so that it blares straight into Gael's eyes.

Oh, that's friendly, Ms Walsh.

"Hi." I have pepper-spray, suggests her tone.

More lights flicker out. The slight brunette straightens and lowers her flashlight.

[Caleb Delacourt-Alden] "Oui, cher," he said with a nod. "I am Caleb Delacourt-Alden." Simple enough of an introduction out here in the open as they were. Truth to tell Caleb had enough on his plate to keep track of much beyond caern duties and his pack.

"Escourt you?" he asked curiously. "Certainly." An eye for the lights overhead; one flickering out was not that big of a deal, but more? Perhaps there was a power-surge, or a pissed off electricity elemental.

[Gael Sandoval] Gael blinked and raised a hand irritably to cover his eyes from the glare of the flashlight.

"You don't need to blind me."

He didn't really sound angry. It did, after all, make some logical sense that a woman alone at night in this part of town would be afraid of a large, male hispanic stranger. Point in fact, he liked her car. But that wasn't really where his attention was at, at present.

He was watching the lights go out, one by one, and looking around in the ever-deepening darkness, his senses on alert.

[Mackenzie Walsh] "Tell me that's a totally regular occurrence around these parts." She'd lowered her voice without realizing it and taken a step away from her car, closer to the stranger who only moments ago she'd been ready to spray in the eyes if he took her for an easy mark to rob.

Newcomer to the city she was, but there were some things that were universally unsettling. This was beginning to feel like one of them.

[Danicka Musil] Delacourt-Alden. That was the name she was missing. She files it away; she'll remember. Danicka sips her coffee and starts to walk in the direction of the station, unaware that Lukas is anywhere nearby. There's an incredibly tall man jogging, there's a man talking to a lady by her car, but that's all. Nothing important.

"Thank you so much, sir," she says, her voice demure enough to be counted as a purr, soft and perhaps a little frightened.

[Wyrmbreaker] Another light goes now. Now the area of darkness is at the intersection. There's a pause, as though the darkness were a living thing considering its next move.

Then, all at once, the entire 1300 block of Michigan goes dark. Every light goes out. Not just the streetlights but the ones in the buildings too. The nightowls find their ceiling lamps going out, their bedside lamps, their computers, their TVs. The OPEN sign in Danicka's cafe goes black. In the sudden darkness, the clouds overhead are livid orange with reflected light.

(percep/alert diff 7, everyone!)

[Henry Allard] [Alertness+Perception!]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 4 at target 7)

[Danicka Musil] [perception (apprehensive) + alertness]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 3, 4, 5, 6, 6, 6, 7, 10 (Success x 2 at target 7) Re-rolls: 1

[Mackenzie Walsh]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 3, 3, 4, 7, 7 (Success x 2 at target 7)

[Gael Sandoval] ((Perc+Alert))
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 4, 5, 5, 6, 10 (Success x 1 at target 7)

[Caleb Delacourt-Alden] ( 1 Gnosis spent, Eyes of the Falcon. Perception+Alertness, WP added, 1 Diff for Eyes of the Falcon. )
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 6, 6, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 6 at target 6) [WP]

[Wyrmbreaker] Wow, Alley 1 sure is dark!
to Gael Sandoval

[Wyrmbreaker] Alley 1 is unusually dark. But there might be movement there.
to Danicka Musil, Mackenzie Walsh

[Wyrmbreaker] Alley 1 is very, very, very dark, but something's hiding there. Alley 2 seems to be occupied too.
to Henry Allard

[Wyrmbreaker] Alley 1 is unnaturally dark. There are definitely things hiding in there. Alley 2 isn't safe either. There's at least 1 other guy in there. Oh and Lukas is up on top of building 2. And the brick across the way has a chip in it. YOU SEE ALL.
to Caleb Delacourt-Alden

[Caleb Delacourt-Alden] "Danicka," he whispered softly to her, enough to carry in this darkness. "I'm going to take your hand. Do not let go of me for anything. We are not safe, nor are we alone." he said as his sword was drawn from his skin.

Lukas, this darkness is not natural obviously. There are... people, or things within. How Caleb knew of this in the pitch-dark was anyone's guess, but needless to say his sight hasn't been removed. Also how Caleb knew of Lukas' prescence was anyone's guess.

[Henry Allard] As he turns away from the darkness, Henry notices something crouching in the alleyway across the street. He notices a figure on the rooftop, but is more concerned with whatever is in that alleyway.

And then he sees Mackenzie.

"Shit," he mutters, and looking both ways, trots across the street.

[Gael Sandoval] "Wouldn't know. Just moved here."

And from the sound of his drawl, by 'here' he probably meant the Northern part of the country in general, and not just Chicago.

"I'd guess... likely not."

One would note, too, that he wasn't moving. Oh, he was looking around. Listening. Trying to peer through the darkness, to no particular avail. But there was that protective instinct kicking in... so he kept close to Mackenzie. Even if she had shined her damn light in his eyes.

[Mackenzie Walsh] It was a feeling like being back in your childhood bed, eyes widened as you stared at your closet and willed the shadows not to come alive with your nightmares as your five-year-old imagination swore it would.

There seemed to be degrees of blackness surrounding her and the alleyway nearest them almost impenetrable to the sweep of her torchlight across it. Was there someone there?

She took a step closer, and in a surprisingly steady voice called: "Hello? Is someone there?"

[Danicka Musil] Danicka is very obedient. She pauses, sets down her coffee against the wall of the building they're passing, and upon straightening, puts one hand in the purse slung over her torso and reaches the other hand out to take Caleb's. And then he's pulling a sword out of his arm, and she's less obedient. Danicka snatches her hand back, and a few moments later there's some very odd noise coming from inside that purse. She doesn't know if Caleb will recognize the sound of a firearm being loaded as quickly as she's able while what little light she has lasts, but...frankly...she doesn't care.

The look on her face is noticably less demure than before, and a hell of a lot less frightened-seeming.

[Wyrmbreaker] If this were a horror movie, Mackenzie would be wet right now, and in her underwear.

This isn't a horror movie. But when she calls into the pitchblack alley -- the darkness comes alive. It boils out of the alley in lashing tendrils and barbs. It comes for her.

(INITS!)

[Gael Sandoval] ((Init +5))
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 4

[Danicka Musil] [+6]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 1

[Henry Allard] [+5]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 2

[Wyrmbreaker] (for simplicity, all baddies are going at once.

+6)
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 1 (Botch x 1 at target 6)

[Caleb Delacourt-Alden] ( Homid. +5 )
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 7

[Mackenzie Walsh] [+4]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 6

[Wyrmbreaker] (Lukas -- Hispo +9)
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Wyrmbreaker] (Init order:
Lukas 19
Caleb 14
Mackenzie 10
Gael 9
Danicka 7
Baddies 7
Henry 7

Declare in reverse!)

[Henry Allard] [God damn. Pull Mackenzie away from the alleyway.]

[Wyrmbreaker] (OK, these baddies have weird naming schemes. Just ignore 'em. They're for my bookkeeping.

B: a) grab mackenzie
b) yoink!

C: a) jump out b) conk henry with a baseball bat c) bite gael

D: Something Evil.

F: Shouts something.)

[Danicka Musil] [Oh she is SO staying on her side of the street and finishing loading that gun.]

[Gael Sandoval] ((Declare: Rage-shift to hispo
Split Bite/Bite... whatever is grabbing mackenzie))

[Mackenzie Walsh] [Backing away from the scary shadowy thing, kthxbai/being pulled out of harm's way.]

[Caleb Delacourt-Alden] First action - Move away from Alley 2 with Danicka in tow, towards the middle of the street.

1 Rage - Snapshift to Glabro

[Caleb Delacourt-Alden] NIX THAT

[Wyrmbreaker] (orite, lukas's percep/alert)
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 3, 4, 6, 8, 8, 9 (Success x 4 at target 6)

[Caleb Delacourt-Alden] 1 Rage spent

1. Persuasion+Spirit Speech
R1. Charisma+Ettiquette - Beg to get the electricity spirits back into the street lamps for uber brightness.

[Wyrmbreaker] (Lukas:

Totemphone to Caleb: More in the alley behind you!

2 rage. split on first.
a) jump down
b) bite B from behind, blindly
R1) bite B blindly
R2) bite B blindly

No roll for jump, though soaking against 3 bashing from falling)
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)

[Wyrmbreaker] b) biting B, -3dice, +2diff
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 10, 10 (Success x 2 at target 7) Re-rolls: 2

[Wyrmbreaker] (damage)
Dice Rolled:[ 10 d10 ] 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 9 (Success x 5 at target 6)

[Wyrmbreaker] (B soaks)
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 2, 3, 8 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Caleb Delacourt-Alden] ( Persuasion! WP added. )
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 6, 6, 9 (Success x 4 at target 6) [WP]

[Gael Sandoval] ((Dex+Brawl switching target))
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 3, 4, 4, 6, 9, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 7)

[Gael Sandoval] ((Redo cuz I iz dum))
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 5, 8, 9, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 5 at target 7)

[Gael Sandoval] ((Str +2 +4))
Dice Rolled:[ 13 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 5, 6, 6, 6, 7, 8, 8 (Success x 4 at target 6)

[Wyrmbreaker] (soak)
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 3, 4, 6, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)

[Gael Sandoval] ((Dex+Brawl +1 diff -3))
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 4, 5, 7, 9 (Success x 1 at target 7)

[Gael Sandoval] ((Str+2))
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7, 7, 8 (Success x 4 at target 6)

[Gael Sandoval]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 6, 10 (Success x 2 at target 5)

[Wyrmbreaker]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 5, 6, 7 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Danicka Musil] [Willpower: Oh Hello Hispo]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 5, 5, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)

[Danicka Musil] [Dex + Firearms: Loading]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 3, 3, 6, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)

[Wyrmbreaker] (grappling mackenzie, -2)
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 6, 6, 6, 10, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)

[Mackenzie Walsh] (Dodge!)
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 10 (Success x 2 at target 6) [WP]

[Wyrmbreaker] (annnd Mackenzie is yoinked out of sight.

C: a) changing first action to biting Gael back, since he's right there. This is not a split action.)
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 8, 9, 9, 10, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 8 at target 6) Re-rolls: 4

[Mackenzie Walsh] (reroll because I fail at life)
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 3, 4, 7 (Success x 2 at target 6) [WP]

[Wyrmbreaker] (er. C, with wound penalties)
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 7, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6) Re-rolls: 1

[Wyrmbreaker] (damage, str+3 ... +3 auto damage)
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)

[Gael Sandoval] ((Soak))
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)

[Wyrmbreaker] (soak against 7 agg)

[Wyrmbreaker] (b -- knock henry out with a baseball bat)
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 1, 2, 9, 10 (Success x 1 at target 6) Re-rolls: 1

[Wyrmbreaker] (damage, +3 auto)
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 7, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)

[Wyrmbreaker] (7 bashing on henry -- KO.
c -- bite gael again)
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 4, 7, 8, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6) Re-rolls: 1

[Wyrmbreaker] (damage, str+2, +3auto)
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 8 (Success x 3 at target 6)

[Gael Sandoval] ((soak))
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 6, 10 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Gael Sandoval]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 2, 4, 7, 7, 10 (Success x 2 at target 8) [WP]

[Wyrmbreaker] (Gael has Raged back and is at 5agg.

D: Quell the Beast on Lukas. Each succ strips 1 Rage.)
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 2, 5, 8, 9 (Success x 2 at target 7)

[Wyrmbreaker] (F: tells Lukas to SIT.)
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 5, 5, 6, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Wyrmbreaker] (Henry: KO

Lukas, Rage 1: Sits.
Caleb, Rage 1!)

[Caleb Delacourt-Alden] HAIL KAHSEENO!

Charisma+Ettiquette, -1 diff for Persuasian!
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 4, 7, 8, 8, 8 (Success x 4 at target 5)

[Wyrmbreaker] (Lights on!)

[Wyrmbreaker] (Lukas, Rage 2: biting B again)
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 3, 3, 7, 9, 9, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 3 at target 5) Re-rolls: 2

[Wyrmbreaker] (whoop,s that shoulda been diff 7. no change though. damage)
Dice Rolled:[ 11 d10 ] 2, 2, 2, 4, 4, 4, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8 (Success x 4 at target 6)

[Wyrmbreaker] (soak)
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 1, 1, 2 (Botch x 2 at target 6)

[Wyrmbreaker] (sumup in 3 min)

[Wyrmbreaker] Instant chaos.

The man standing on the rooftop is suddenly no longer a man but a black monster. It leaps off the roof. Its claws rake chips loose from the brick, slowing its descent, but only by a little. It hits the alley floor hard, vanishes into the blackness. There are growls and snaps in there; howls of pain.

Caleb invokes his inner might. He suddenly becomes that much more commanding, that much more magnificent: a Silver Fang in truth, lord of spirits.

Gael leaps into the fray, snapping at the monstrous man who steps from the blackened alley. He's enormous, at least seven feet tall, his bare chest bulging with muscle. He has a baseball bat in his right hand. His left hand flashes with all manner of gaudy rings, and an upside-down anarchy symbol swings from a wide gold chain around his neck. He's the first of their mysterious assailants that they see, and when he bares his teeth at Gael, fangs drop in the place of canine teeth. Gael doesn't falter. He tears into the big guy, nearly rips his head from his shoulders.

His neck snapped, his head hanging at an obscene angle, his neck a ghastly red mouth ... the big guy grabs Gael and bites back. Twice. And backhands Henry with a baseball bat, too.

Henry drops like a stone. Gael dies.

...

And then Gael comes back. Roaring, frenzied, seeing nothing but red: he comes back.

In the darkness, there are voices: one tears at Lukas's rage, severing a piece of the Wolf from him. The other tells him to SIT, like a dog, and like a dog, he finds himself obeying.

Across the street, Danicka loads her gun. Caleb shouts for the spirits' help.

Lights flood the street. The streetlights, previously so wan and flickering, burn with a sudden, ferocious, white-hot light. The street is illuminated, clear as day.

And Wyrmbreaker tears the spine out of his prey. Shadows drop. Both alleys are lit now, and for the first time, they see their enemies.

[Wyrmbreaker] (same init order. while you guys are declaring, i'ma write a quick descrip of what you're facing)

[Wyrmbreaker] (to remind:

Init order:
Lukas 19
Caleb 14
Mackenzie 10
Gael 9
Danicka 7
Baddies 7
Henry 7)

[Wyrmbreaker] (oh shit, i guess i dec first. ahhaha. okay one sec.

A: a) grapple Caleb b) something really awful.
B: dead
C: a/b/c) bite Gael! go down fighting!
D: claw Lukas
E: does something pretty awful to Danicka
F: a) grab mac before she gets away b) something fairly awful)

[Wyrmbreaker] The unnatural shadows are gone from the northern alley now. Deep inside it: Wyrmbreaker, hispo, bristling, fur on end.

At his feet: a pile of ash.

Not far away: a skinny girl, tangled hair, wild eyes, hissing and spitting like a feral thing. This is the one that leaps, clawing, at Wyrmbreaker. And beside her, a tall, thin man in combat fatigues and a flak jacket. This is the one that grapples with Mackenzie.

--

The southern alley isn't empty either. There are two occupants, and they're ... far more interesting, a matched pair, as different as night and day.

The first is a man so beautiful he doesn't seem real. It doesn't matter what he wears, or what color his eyes are, or what color his hair. He's surreal. He shines.

The second is a monstrosity. And they've seen monstrosities before, these Garou, these kin, but this is ... beyond the pale. Nine feet tall, but cadaverous, ribs bellowing behind leathery skin stretched taut; limbs long and spiked with bone at the joints; stance digitigrade. The face is something out of a nightmare. Its cheeks are literally hollow -- they can see its teeth, which are arranged in three concentric rows in a long, draconic jaw.

It shrieks, a noise like trains colliding, metal scraping, as it lunges at Caleb.

[Danicka Musil] [Perception + Alertness]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 3, 3, 7, 7, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6) Re-rolls: 1

[Danicka Musil] [Three-round burst at Monstrosity]

[Gael Sandoval] ((Declare: Spending WP to NOT ATTACK GOOD GUYS
Rage1: Bite
Rage2: Bite))

[Gael Sandoval] ((er...Bite for main action too))

[Wyrmbreaker] (Mackenzie: resist grapple/run)

[Caleb Delacourt-Alden] 1 Rage spent
First action split:
1a.Plead with electricity spirit to use Charm: Blast to electrocute or whatever the dude with the baseball bat.
1b. Sword-attack: Guy going after himself

Rage action: Slash guy going for Danicka.

[Wyrmbreaker] (Lukas: 2 rage
a) get off ass b) bite girl
R1) bite girl
R2) bite girl

a -- no roll.
b -- -3 dice.)
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 1, 3, 3, 6, 8, 10 (Success x 1 at target 5) Re-rolls: 1

[Wyrmbreaker] (o kahseeno.

damage!)
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 1, 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)

[Wyrmbreaker] (girl soaks)
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 6, 9, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)

[Caleb Delacourt-Alden] Charisma+Ettiquette, -2 dice for split, -1 diff for Persuasion. WP added.
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 3, 3, 8 (Success x 2 at target 5) [WP]

[Wyrmbreaker] (Zap!)
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5 (Botch x 1 at target 6)

[Wyrmbreaker] (Electricity Spirit: sad.)

[Gael Sandoval] ((Dex+Brawl))
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 2, 8, 8, 9, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 5 at target 5)

[Gael Sandoval] ((Str+2+4))
Dice Rolled:[ 13 d10 ] 1, 3, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)

[Wyrmbreaker]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 5, 10, 10 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Wyrmbreaker] (C is dead.)

[Caleb Delacourt-Alden] Second split. +1 diff for change, negates Persuasion atm.

Charisma+Ettiquette, -3 dice. Oh crap.
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 1, 3 (Botch x 1 at target 6)

[Wyrmbreaker] (ZAPPING CALEB NOW.)
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 7 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Caleb Delacourt-Alden] Soak
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 2, 4, 6 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Danicka Musil] [Three-round burst at Monstrosity. +1 diff. // HAIL GOOD LUCK BEAR!]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 6, 6, 6, 9 (Failure at target 8) [WP]

[Danicka Musil] [Re-roll because Damon's a big teddy bear]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10 (Success x 1 at target 7) [WP]

[Danicka Musil] [Damage]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 2, 6, 10, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)

[Wyrmbreaker] (soak!)
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 2, 4, 4, 7, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)

[Wyrmbreaker] (A, grappling Caleb.)
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 4, 4, 6, 7, 7, 8, 9, 9 (Success x 6 at target 6)

[Caleb Delacourt-Alden]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 6, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)

[Wyrmbreaker] (B, Bonecrafting.)
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 2, 3, 3, 5, 9, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 7)

[Caleb Delacourt-Alden]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 3, 5, 7 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Wyrmbreaker] (B, dead. C, dead.
D, clawing Lukas.)
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 3, 8, 8 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Wyrmbreaker] (damage, str+2)
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 3, 5 (Botch x 1 at target 6)

[Caleb Delacourt-Alden] 1 Rage - Crinos. Bitch plz.

[Wyrmbreaker] (E: a) grapple Danicka, b) the Kiss. These are not split actions.

Grapple.)
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 1, 3, 9 (Failure at target 6)

[Wyrmbreaker] (OH COME ON. b) changing to Grapple.)
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 1, 5, 6 (Botch x 1 at target 7)

[Wyrmbreaker] (AHHAHAA. right. *folds paws* you'll get yours, Musil.)

[Wyrmbreaker] (F: a) changing action to yelling at Gael: "SLEEP.")
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 4, 4, 8, 8, 8, 9 (Success x 4 at target 6)

[Gael Sandoval]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 6, 7, 7, 9, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)

[Wyrmbreaker] (Lukas, Rage 1 -- biting girl.)
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 8 (Success x 5 at target 5)

[Wyrmbreaker] (damage)
Dice Rolled:[ 13 d10 ] 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 7 (Success x 8 at target 6)

[Wyrmbreaker] (girl soaks)
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 1, 4, 7 (Failure at target 6)

[Wyrmbreaker] (Lukas, Rage 2 -- changing action to biting tall dude.)
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 3, 4, 4, 5, 8, 9 (Failure at target 6)

[Caleb Delacourt-Alden] Sword. In Crinos now.

HAIL KAHSEENO!
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 2, 2, 5, 5, 5, 8, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)

[Caleb Delacourt-Alden] Str+4(Crinos)+3(suxx)+2(sword)
Dice Rolled:[ 12 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 6, 7, 8, 8, 8, 10, 10 (Success x 7 at target 6)

[Wyrmbreaker] (soak!)
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Gael Sandoval] ((Dex+Brawl))
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 8 (Failure at target 5)

[Gael Sandoval] ((Dex+Brawl +1 diff))
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)

[Gael Sandoval] ((Str+2+3))
Dice Rolled:[ 12 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 7, 7, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)

[Wyrmbreaker] soak!
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 1, 10 (Failure at target 6)

[Wyrmbreaker] And it's on.

Wyrmbreaker goes for the girl that's coming for him. The Ahroun's teeth snap closed on a skinny, sinewy arm, but the girl is startlingly tough. There's nothing, not even blood.

She grins at him, all jagged teeth. Then she claws for his eyes. The Ahroun jerks his head back. In the next eyeblink his teeth crash closed on her head, crush her skull to pulp. There's no surviving that.

She drops, aging twenty years in as many seconds.

Meanwhile, Caleb calls to the spirits again. He beseeches their help. He asks the spirits of electricity to smite their enemies -- and the spirits respond.

Or they try. But they've given too much. The entire block blazes with light. They have no strength left for what the Theurge asks. The lights buzz and pulse, cycling darker for a moment, then brighter.

Caleb pushes. He calls to the spirits again, and this time there's a short, angry buzz, and then the light nearest him explodes in a shower of sparks. An arc of electricity strikes him across the distance. It doesn't hurt badly. It's a warning: he's asking too much.

Across the street, Gael, frenzied, tears the big guy's head all the way off. It's ash by the time it hits the ground. He doesn't stop. Snarling, eyes wild, he looks for his next target. He snaps at the tall man, who shouts at Gael to SLEEP! The frenzied werewolf doesn't even falter. He keeps coming on.

Gael's third bite takes a chunk out of tall man's arm. His nerve shatters. He turns and runs...

...while the monstrosity descends on Caleb. Danicka's bullet pings off its shoulder, sending a bone shard flying. It barely seems to feel it. It seizes Caleb in its massive, gnarled hands. Its fingers seem to plunge into the Theurge's body. It grabs something deep inside -- the pain is unreal, unlike anything Caleb has ever known before -- and twists.

Caleb's left shoulder fuses together into a useless mass of twisted bone. The monstrosity hisses in his face, a taunt.

So Caleb boils into his Crinos form. He cleaves its fucking head off.

There's only two left. One is the tall man who had shouted at Lukas so effectively; at Gael, less effectively. He's running.

The other is the beautiful man that had stood with the monstrosity. He swipes at the blonde kinwoman, twice, tries to lock her into a clinch. His fingers bat off her shoulder the first time. The second, he manages to stumble, fall to his knees in an awkward heap.

If Danicka's going to run, now would be the time.

[Wyrmbreaker] Init order:
Lukas 19
Caleb 14
Mackenzie 10
Gael 9
Danicka 7
Baddies 7

Baddies declare:

E: a) Activate Powerz
b) run the FUCK away.

F: Running!

[Danicka Musil] [Three-round burst at Pretty Man. Point-blank.]

[Gael Sandoval] ((Bite
R1: Bite
R2: Bite))

[Mackenzie Walsh] [Getting the heck outta dodge, crawling toward Henry]

[Caleb Delacourt-Alden] 1 Rage spent, first action split.

Normal action:
1a. Sword-strike to pretty boi.
1b.Sword-strike to the pretty boi.
R1: Reflexive - Bow and one single arrow comes out to take down the tall, running man.

[Wyrmbreaker] (Lukas:
a. run after pretty man
b. hamstring
c. bite
R1. bite

no roll for a.
b. hamstring, -4 dice!)
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 7, 8, 10, 10 (Success x 2 at target 8) [WP] Re-rolls: 2

[Wyrmbreaker] (damage)
Dice Rolled:[ 10 d10 ] 4, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 8 at target 6)

[Wyrmbreaker] (Dead. Lukas won't bother running after tall man.)

[Caleb Delacourt-Alden] ( Dex/Archery.
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 3, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 9 (Success x 5 at target 6)

[Caleb Delacourt-Alden] dmg
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 2, 2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)

[Wyrmbreaker] (soak!)
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 2, 8 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Gael Sandoval] ((Dex+Brawl))
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 1, 3, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10 (Success x 2 at target 5)

[Gael Sandoval] ((Str+2+1))
Dice Rolled:[ 10 d10 ] 3, 3, 4, 4, 6, 6, 7, 7, 8, 10 (Success x 6 at target 6)

[Wyrmbreaker] (he can't soak all that -- ded!)

[Danicka Musil] [Wits + Firearms: Do Not Drop Gun]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 4, 6, 6 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Danicka Musil] [And Danicka is running, as fast as she can, to get away from Caleb.]

[Wyrmbreaker] It's just cleanup now.

Pretty boy's just starting to run. Wyrmbreaker's huge paws tear across the asphalt. He cuts him off; his teeth snap at his hamstring. He ends up tearing his entire leg off, half the hip joint, and spills ashen-pale, cadaverous entrails all over the street. The Shadow Lord drops the mess, snarling, and turns his head --

-- just in time to see Caleb's arrow whistle past. Tall man's running. He doesn't get far. The Theurge's arrow hits him squarely in the back. And then Gael is upon him.

Tall man gets a single hoarse scream out before his throat is ripped out.

--

The lights overhead slowly, slowly begin to dim. The street, once blazing bright as day, fades into gradual and growing dimness once more.

[Gael Sandoval] ((Frenzy done now, yes?))
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 8 (Success x 3 at target 5)

[Caleb Delacourt-Alden] The fight is over, and night returns. Caleb nodded briefly to Lukas, but in glancing around everyone seemed not much worse for wear. Well, almost everyone. An eye for the sprawled form of Henry gave the Silver Fang pause as he reverted back to his breed form in the blink of an eye.

Sheathing his sword, he limped slightly over to the Kinfolk to lay healing hands on him, then Gael. There would be no one to heal Caleb, but of course the man could take it.

[Caleb Delacourt-Alden] ( Mother's Touch. 1 Gnosis, on Henry.
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 7, 7, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)

[Gael Sandoval] When Gael tore the throat out of the last of the leeches, his frenzied rage died away, and he was left panting and dripping fresh blood from his wounds. They hurt now, but he didn't have time to think about that. Instead, the giant hispo wolf turned and trotted back to the two kinfolk he had been attempting to guard, looking at them anxiously.

The woman seemed to be alright. At least, physically. The man, though? Unconscious, as he had been when Gael had seen that baseball bat go swinging. Caleb was already healing him when he got there, and Gael looked on, watching.

[Caleb Delacourt-Alden] Mother's touch on Gael - 1Gnosis.
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 2, 4, 4, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 3)

[Mackenzie Walsh] It was another experience she could gladly state she didn't want to endeavor another go at. Crawling along the dirty alleyway ground to where Henry lay, his skull split open and bloody, Mackenzie Walsh was fairly certain she had only escaped a fate worse than most she could imagine by the good grace of one of the Garou present.

Her little torch was in pieces, dropped when she was grabbed and hoisted into the shadows, suspended like a hooked fish wiggling on the end of a fishing line. She climbed back to her feet as Caleb approached; her hair in a state of dishevelment and her skin chalky-gray.

There were many things to say, but the only that she managed when her heart ceased to beat out a samba was: "We can use my car."

[Danicka Musil] At least she manages to keep her grip on the goddamned pistol. It's cold comfort, and she isn't even entirely aware of her decision to clamp down her right hand on the firearm before the rubber soles of her sneakers are twisting and she's bolting. It's not a blind dash, but that, too, is cold comfort: she's still running. She doesn't scream, she doesn't burst into tears, but she is biting back one and choking on the other, going as fast as she can in the direction of the station.

The irony is: she's running from the very person she asked to escort here there.

[Wyrmbreaker] (stay and clean up! +1 ARGH BUT...)
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 2, 3, 4, 9 (Success x 1 at target 7)

[Gael Sandoval] The strange garou approached Gael second, healing most of his wounds, and for that he was grateful. When the Theurge was finished, Gael shifted back to his birth form momentarily, looking around to survey the scene.

"Thank you," he offered to Caleb.

He would, of course, introduce himself to those present... offering proper introduction to the other garou. He would also help clean up any mess and make sure the kinfolk were able to get home (or wherever) safely. After that? He's slip into the umbra to run home in lupus and go to sleep.

[Wyrmbreaker] When Lukas returns to his homid form, his mouth is red with cold blood. His face is splattered with it, his neck and chest wet with it.

Most of his clothes are shredded atop the northern buildings. What he has left is his undershirt and his boxer briefs, which are absurdly, irrationally clean, though blood begins to bloom through the cotton almost instantly. He returns Caleb's terse nod, and then he's turning to see that Danicka is running, running, running away.

A muscle flashes in his cheek. He doesn't follow her. He does call after her: "Dani&+269;ka, stop. Wait."

Whether she does or not, he turns back to his packmates; the strangers.

"Only some of the leeches turned to ash. We need to clean up the rest." He looks at Mackenzie. "How big is your trunk?"

[Mackenzie Walsh] You'd think she'd look far more afraid, surrounded by bloodied Garou, but the brunette Black Fury Kinswoman merely meets the stranger who may just have saved her life's eyes without a hint of hesitation.

She gestures toward the faded blue Cadillac. "Big enough, or we can put the smaller pieces in the backseat. I have a plastic sheet we can wrap them in," she tenders back some hair that looks more black than any shade of brown in the moonlight.

[Danicka Musil] She could not stop right now if she wanted to, and not a shred of her wants to stay. She did not recognize the massive black dire wolf with the gleaming blue eyes that ripped apart the vampire that tried and failed to get a hold of her; she recognized the war-formed one only dimly, and only because of the sword. It does not matter if she knows them. It does not matter if, on some level, she knows they won't hurt her.

Because that level is buried beneath a hand clamped over her mouth and a voice saying Shh, shh, stop crying. That level is buried beneath the house shuddering as a wall broke. That level is buried beneath the knowledge, bone-deep and tested over time, that they will hurt her. They'll break her.

So she runs. She runs until she can't even see the street, until her legs are trembling, until something flashes in her brain to turn the goddamn safety on the gun and stow it in her bag. She runs until her heart is thrashing, until her head is pounding, until she can't breathe normally. And when she stops running? She doesn't stop walking. She doesn't look back. She is the opposite of the dark-haired kinswoman still standing on that street far behind her, the Black Fury's steely backbone reflected in reverse in the way Danicka's hands shake as she heads down into the subway.

No one, not a single mortal underground nor stranger in the dark, scares her as much as her own kind.

[Caleb Delacourt-Alden] Miraculously enough Caleb's overcoat suffered most of the damage since shifting to Crinos, the clothing having melded with his body. A look to Mackenzie: "I am Caleb," he said casually enough through gritted teeth as if he just hadn't been in a battle with several leeches and suffered quite a bit of injury.

"Let her go," he said gently to Lukas. "I've seen it before - she reacts the way humans do to us. She might lose her mind." Of course he was only trying to give some form of comfort to his packmate. Gaia knew what Caleb would do if his wife ever ran in terror from him.

A look to Mackenzie's Cadillac, and he nodded. "We should be able to get the scraps in there without a fuss. And then when we finish? I'm getting a bottle of 15 year old scotch."

[Wyrmbreaker] Danicka does not stop. She keeps running, getting farther away by the second, and Lukas watches her go. In his mind he tries to calculate probabilities and chances; the likelihood of more leeches in the shadows, waiting to leap at her. He tells himself he can't spend his whole goddamn life following Danicka around keeping her safe. He tells himself there's a mess to clean up, a Veil to seal.

He tells himself these things, but there are really only three words, three notions beating in his head like a migraine:

KEEP. HOLD. PROTECT.

It's a moment before Lukas even realizes others are speaking to him. He hasn't the faintest idea what Mackenzie just said. He hears Caleb's tone more than he hears the words, but it makes him turn around. He looks at the other two, his packmate and this startlingly courageous brunette who, two minutes ago, was hanging ten feet off the ground at the end of a leech's shadow-arm.

The Ahroun draws a breath. "Okay. Let's do it." And he bends to the once-beautiful man rended at his feet, unhesitatingly lifting the torn mess.