Meet me at the Blue Chalk. I have something for you!
And it's nearer to her than to him, this cafe they've only been to once. Maybe she's forgotten what transpired there, or maybe she doesn't care, or maybe it's sort of a game to her, to go back and erase that evening's brutality and harshness with something more powerful. Danicka's there when Lukas arrives, sitting in a big armchair with a flat black box on the table next to her. She's reading Sharp Teeth. Again. She's got a mug of something close to hand, keeping her warm while she waits.
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] When Lukas reads his text messages, the name of the cafe gives him a moment's pause. The Ahroun has a good memory, long and clear; he winces when he thinks of what transpired here the last and only other time they came here. His heart gives a single, hard, unpleasant thump when he thinks of what she did, and with whom, mere days before he met her here, and mere days after they left one another at the seedy motel outside Mr. C's.
Lukas has a good memory. It's very likely he'll never forget how he dragged Danicka out of the cafe meaning -- let's be honest, now -- to beat her for her dishonesty. It's very likely he'll never forget now, though he didn't know then, that in the seven days between then and the motel, she'd fucked another man. Seeing Blue Chalk on his iPhone, he very nearly texts back, Let's go someplace else.
But --
Avoidance is not a valid form of letting go. Of moving the fuck on. Utterly burying the past only means one day it'll crop up again, rotting and fetid and poisonous.
He texts back: See you there :)
It feels like spring tonight when he steps out of the Brotherhood. It's closer to him than to her, but he takes the subway instead of his car. He shows up a few minutes after she does, when her coffee has already arrived. His jeans are dark grey tonight, his shirt a paler, cloudy shade. The light trenchcoat he throws over the back of his seat is somewhere in between, rumpling behind his back when he sits down, leans back, looks at his mate for a moment
and then smiles at her, slow and warm, like he couldn't possibly do anything else right now. Then he sits forward, reaches out for her hand, pulls her across the low, round table between them and kisses her softly. Again, at the corner of her mouth, smiling again.
"Hey," he says quietly. His hand holds hers for another moment; then he lets go, leans back. Settles in his seat, large, sprawled, relaxed.
"I didn't like the second half," he says of her book. "It kind of felt like he ran out of steam and all these loose ends were left unknotted. But the first half was amazing. Do they still have caffe correttos here?"
[Danicka Musil] The smiley face at the end of Lukas's message is a lie, and Danicka knows this because of its existence. He doesn't frequently sign off with emoticons, and she knows him well enough, has known him long enough now, to know it. She knows exactly where they are, and how long it's been since the last time they were. She chose this place anyway. That might be saying something.
She smiles as soon as he walks in the door. Her hair is in pigtails of all things, low at the base of her skull, straightened lengths resting on the fronts of her shoulders. His mate doesn't have bangs, but the arrangement of her hair suggests them nonetheless, sweeping across her forehead to the left. His left. Her right. Her jeans somehow manage to accentuate the fact that her legs are as thin as they are, her pale orange blouse wide-necked and long-sleeved but made of some thin, crushable fabric. It's proof that she's used to the cold that her feet are clad in rubber-soled ballet flats, cute little striped things with pretend buckles across her toes.
Her smile grows to a grin when he takes her hand, and she laughs quietly at the way he pulls her forward, all wordless and insistent. She deigns to kiss him, lets him kiss her, no matter that they're in public. "I don't know," she says, still smiling when he sprawls back, "I just got a misto." She flicks the little box on the table between them in his direction, nudging it with a snap of her finger.
Like most things in Danicka's life, it is well-packaged. The box is silky, matte black. The ribbon is a simple band of dark red, wrapped around the box and lid's middle. Right in the center of the square box, right on top of that ribbon, is a tiny creamcolored envelope, big enough for perhaps half a business card.
"Š&+357;astný Jaro," says she.
[Lonna Larson] There could be all sorts of lead up to this.
Lonna could have been walking, she could have been drinking, she could have been contemplating the greater meanings of life and so on and so forth and whatever it is when busty, almost stereotypical Children of Gaia thought about when left to their own devices. Realistically, Lonna was thinking about how she was going to get everything out of her apartment and shoved ina storage unit practically overnight.
She hadn't been back to clean up glass. She's wearing the same jeans she wore yesterday.Luckily, there's no one at this particular location that knows Lonna's wearing the same jeans, or could tell the difference if they did know. She looks down long enough to spit on her thumb and rub idly at the horned melon spot on her upper right thigh.
Aside from yesteday's jeans, she comes to Blue Chalk in a relatively nice sweater and that green corduroy jacket she's taken to wearing again. She bumps the door with her shoulder to open it. Lonna's fiddling with something in her purse when she walks in; cell phones can't wait.
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Lukas tilts his head when he looks at the box. Sometimes there's something almost childlike, or animallike, about his reactions: his clear-eyed curiosity, his ability to be charmed by the most minor things. A brief hesitation, almost uncertain, and then he reaches for the box.
"D&+283;kujeme vám," he says. He sits up a little to balance the box on his knee, though he doesn't open it yet. He reaches into his pocket instead, his keys jangling against one another as he pulls them out.
He feels a little silly now, unthreading one key from the ring. She gave him a box, an envelope, presents. He gives her ... a simple nickel-plated key. Handing it over, mildly ashamed of its plainness, Lukas wishes he'd at least bought one of the blanks with a colorful grip.
"So you can come by whenever," he says softly. He doesn't have to tell her what the key opens. After she's taken it, he opens the envelope, his eyes flicking over Danicka's shoulder. He points with his chin, nodding upward in Lonna's direction.
"It's Lonna."
[Danicka Musil] They have that in common: that occasional childlikeness, that curiosity and wonder that seems too honest to even be human. He thanks her, and she grins, but it falters a bit when he doesn't open it but reaches into his pocket. Falls entirely away, when she sees what he's offering her. Danicka watches, unhesitantly staring, as he wiggles one key free from the ring and hands it over.
Her hand comes out, and her palm opens, and the key gleams on top of her hand when he sets it down. Danicka stares at it with that... oddly similar curiosity, as though she's not quite sure what this does. And then the corners of her mouth curl; she's charmed, just as much as she would be if he'd conjured an illusion of a rose out of thin air and given it to her with a boyish grin.
Protectively, her fingers close over the key. She doesn't put it in her pocket, but takes her own keychain out of the pocket of the coat wedged into the chair with her, giving it a place among her own. It looks just like the rest, so she puts it on the other side of the keychain-sized grocery store card, bookstore card, and Starbucks card she also has on there. And she grins happily to see it, nestled right beside the little red strip of plastic from Borders.
Danicka puts the keys away and looks up at the door, nodding. "I know," she muses, and lifts a hand to wave as soon as the blonde Gaian glances up from her phone.
[Danicka Musil] Inside the envelope is indeed a piece of cardstock roughly half the size of a business card. Written on it in black, clear and large, is simply:
0909
to Lukas Wyrmbreaker
[Lonna Larson] She did not have an iPhone. Being the kind of woman that she was, Lonna would break an iPhone. The poor thing would experience an untimely demise and then the Child of Gaia would be sans phone. Instead, she had a little beat up flip phone. Back when the Razr had come out, it was posh. For now, it was what she could get on a budget.
Made phone calls and text messaged, that was important enough.
She shoves the phone in her purse, and looked up in time to see Danicka and Lukas. She lifts her hand to wave back- there's no movement of the fingers, nothing spastic. Just a raise of her hand, followed by peachy pink lips upturning and revealing a flash of good-orthodontal-care teeth.
She does not see the card, she does, however, decide that it's for the best that she headed over. The blonde
"Danicka, it has been too long," and content to exchange pleasantries, too. She says them like she means them.
[Danicka Musil] [perception + empathy // what is wrong with you, woman?]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 2, 2, 2, 6, 7, 8, 10, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6) Re-rolls: 2
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] While Lonna is heading over to make her hellos, Lukas is head-bent, studious, slipping the card out of the envelope to read it. His brow furrows for a moment in puzzlement. Then he understands.
The envelope goes into his shirt pocket. It seems vaguely rude to be gleefully opening presents in front of someone without, so Lukas quietly sets the box aside -- not on the table but on the armchair beside himself.
"Lonna, hi. I haven't ordered yet; do you want to pull up a chair?"
[Danicka Musil] Her eyebrows flick up slightly when Lonna -- well -- talks like Katherine. She just stares at the woman she went back in time with, saved the soul of a bloodline with, and hasn't heard from or seen since. The stare lasts for a moment, and then her brow furrows slightly.
What she can tell is this: Lonna is fatigued, wracked by anxiety but repressing it, rushed, and is carrying around her an inexplicable air of something like desperation. She has no idea why. That might have something to do with the aforementioned radio silence between the two kinswomen.
"Where have you been?" she says, perhaps a bit blunt, perhaps a bit rude. "Did you get my card, any of my emails about the coalition or anything?"
[Lonna Larson] Perhaps a bit blunt. Perhaps a bit rude. Perhaps like lime in one's diet coke- an unexpected taste, but not entirely unpleasant. Just... unexpected.
Did she want to pull up a chair?
"If you don't mind?" Spoken like I'd love to.
She takes a second, and finds herself thinking, musing, tasting Danicka's question. She winced at the thought, offered her half an apologetic smile. The last time she had seen Danicka, the two had done unthinkable things. She'd seen a side of Danicka that, presumably, others did not. Or, possibly, they did. The radio silence gave the blonde very little baseline.
"I'd been meaning to call, I kind of-" no, not kind of. She stops and corrects, "I acquired a sort of live-in housemate that ended up being a lot more demanding than I'd originally thought. I was kind of tied up for awhile."
Only kind of, though. Diminish the severity, and she pulls up a chair.
"But? I'm moving, so that's good. I feel really bad about missing the meetings, though. I've talked to Gina and Moira a couple times.. I don't know if Drew's back in town, but if I find out before you do, I'll let you know."
[Danicka Musil] "I don't even know who Drew is," Danicka says mildly, waving the name away with the sentence. It may even be the truth. "Gina hung up on me the last time I called her and Moira walked out on the last meeting." She says all this without accusation, without anger, without anything more than some lingering what the fuck, Lonna?
She exhales and leans back. Glances at Lukas, looks back at Lonna, brow lined. "Ezra?"
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] "Not at all." The chairs here are actually lowslung armchairs; Lukas, gentlemanly, gets up and helps Lonna haul one over.
Then he keeps an ear on the conversation as he flags down one of the passing waitresses. This is a old-school cafe: the sort of place where you sit down and have your order taken, then brought out to you in porcelain mugs.
Lukas orders quietly, then interrupts Danicka and Lonna briefly for Lonna to place hers. When the waitress departs, the Shadow Lord listens, pale eyes on Lonna.
[Lonna Larson] With help, the chair doesn't make a godawful screeching noise that it would if she had done this herself. Lukas gets a half-voiced thank you, followed by a smile.
she sits down; Lonna crosses her legs at the ankle, and sits with the posture of a pageant queen. She places her order- chai latte if they have it, black coffee if they don't. Gina hung up on Danicka last time she called, which illicits a surprised look from the child of Gaia, and Moira walked out of the meeting.... which brings out a similar reaction.
Wow, that look says.
Back to reality, and she shakes her head. The blonde reaches back to tighten her ponytail. Ezra?
"Yeah," she says. It's all she says for awhile. "He's... Well, he'll be fine. It was... Well, it was an interesting experience that I am perfectly fine not recreating any time soon."
[Danicka Musil] "What I heard," Danicka says, lowering her voice, "is that he was holding you hostage."
She's gentle with Lonna, at least in terms of her tone. She guards their privacy with the volume of her voice, hides quite well any feelings of her own, makes herself seem wholly receptive while -- at the same time -- asking probing questions, leading, drawing Lonna out. Most of the time Danicka doesn't even have to try to get people to start talking to her. All she has to do is say something, step back, and be quiet.
And wait.
Danicka can be incredibly patient.
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] "Did Lila come get you?" The male of the mated pair -- because that's what they are: a mated pair, animals, not-human, even with their fine clothes and their snappish sense of style and their expensive taste and their remarkable ability, the female's better than the male's, to pass as human -- rejoins the conversation with that.
"Theron mentioned your situation a little while ago," he adds, by way of explanation -- both Danicka's comment and his own. "I asked him to let Lila know."
[Lonna Larson] What Danicka heard...
Makes Lonna's brows raise and her cheeks lose a little bit of their color. A passer by might think they told her some particularly odd or bad bit of news. danicka heard she was being held hostage. Or had been. Truth be told, it was a slow-burning siege, one the Child of Gaia was vaguely unaware of. If she were aware of the amount of restraint exercised, that things could have been worse, she would have-
Well, now, we can't live in woulds and would nots
"It wasn't like... I mean, I left, I just... didn't have people over. He made it rather abundantly clear he didn't want me dating," she said, "he and I had a talk and I made it abundantly clear that I needed to be a little closer to me and mine so I moved in with Lila. We left on a sour note."
She looks at Lukas and Danicka, from one to the other, and her stomach muscles tighten, Brows drop and she looks carefully.
"It wasn't bad all the time though. He said he loved me," whatever that's worth, "... should I be concerned?"
[Danicka Musil] Whatever Danicka's true reaction is to that, all of that, is tied so neatly and so prettily one might think it is, like the box Lukas tucked away when Lonna sat down with them, a gift waiting to be given. It would be easy to look at the single blink of her eyes and the subtle tilt of her head and think her a pretty, dumb thing who only sounds intelligent when she's following the rules and laws of high society, which is easy because all you have to do then is memorize a script, right?
"Concerned about what?" she asks the other woman, sounding a bit lost.
[Lonna Larson] "I mean, like... nothing bad's going to happen to Lila or anything because of this, right?" says the Child of Gaia, openly concerned about her fifth warder.
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [WTF, it just booted me out]
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] While Danicka asks about what?, Lukas subtly extricates himself from the main flow of conversation again. He sits back, crossing one ankle over the opposite knee to create a small private space for himself. Picking up the small matte-black box once more, he sets it on his lap.
Lukas's hands are long-fingered, broad-palmed, large, capable. The hands of a pianist or a sculptor, though he's neither of these things. He does, however, have the manual dexterity to easily and carefully undo the ribbon around the box, to slip it off with minimal effort.
While he does so, his eyes flick occasionally and mildly between the women, maintaining at least a token involvement in the conversation. Lonna speaks of her fears, and Lukas interjects quietly, "Don't be silly. You belong to her tribe and always have. If anyone should be worried, it should be Ezra. But that's between him and Lila."
He tilts the lid up on the box, his eyes lowering briefly to look within. Then they rise again, clear and blue. "But -- you left of your own accord? Lila never came to get you?"
[Danicka Musil] Surreptitiously, almost sneakily -- one could say -- Lukas opens the gift that Danicka called him here to receive. Her eyes flick once in his direction, instantly back to Lonna, and she does not look away. She has nothing to say to Lonna that should be interjected between Lukas's question and Lonna's answer, so she holds her tongue.
[Danicka Musil] Inside the box is batting very similar to that which cradled the Christmas ornaments she got him a few months ago, the full and crescent moons dangling at the end of ribbons from the tree she bought for their den. But the soft white batting is the end of the similarity. Beside one another on top are two keys: one shiny, new, and nickelplated. One in the shape of a magnetic card, unadorned white, a narrow hole at one short end in case he wants to attach it to a clip or ring or what-have-you.
Three keys, to Danicka's place. A code for the garage, though he'll only ever need it if he's driving her car or if they're taking up her car's place with his BMW. A card for the lobby door, to let him bypass intercom and doorman. And the one that's so similar to the one he just gave her: the one to her front door, the one he'll take out when he gets up to 23-C, to let himself in
to come inside,
to find her where she is
and wrap her in his arms, just because he wants to.
to Lukas Wyrmbreaker
[Lonna Larson] "To be completely honest, she tried, I just... jumped the gun on her a little. I was packing up to leave and Lila was going to talk to him, and things just happened before she got there. So.. I did leave of my own accord. She didn't have to do anything particularly harsh. Admittedly, he didn't take the news well, like I said, but... yeah."
She watches. He tells her not to be silly. She shrugs it off.
"I just don't want this to get out of hand. I trust Lila will handle things if it does get bad again, she can take care of herself."
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] "Yeah," Lukas agrees, "Lila can take care of herself."
There's something a little absentminded about that, as though he were parroting. Also: he's smiling, and it's not to comfort her. It's just a happy smile. Pleased. This hardly seems like an appropriate topic to be happy about,
but then, he did just look at his present.
"Anyway," he continues, sitting up and twisting around to put the precious little box into the pocket of the coat draped over his armchair, "I hope things go better for you." When he turns back he's regained composure, and the seriousness the topic deserves. "It's unfortunate what happened between you and Ezra."
Their waitress is approaching at last, Lonna's and Lukas's drinks balanced on a serving tray. She walks slowly. She looks a little pale. It's been a long night.
[Danicka Musil] Danicka grins, once, just to herself. It's lazy at the edges, almost sleepy, and it gives her a momentary wicked look. She yawns quietly, picking up her mug to sip at the misto she ordered, mmming under her breath. Apparently her concern for Lonna was short-lived, or faked, or is now well-concealed. There's any number of options, but a moment later Danicka's face is half-hidden behind her mug
and her hand is reaching over to gently squeeze Lukas's knee. She doesn't notice that the waitress is pale. Or if she does, she pays it no particular mind.
[Danicka Musil] [perception + intuition]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 7, 9, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6) Re-rolls: 1
[Lonna Larson] [Ow, poor waitress... Per+nonexistent-intuition= 3]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 1, 3, 7 (Failure at target 7)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Something doesn't feel right. Suddenly the cafe seems too crowded, too loud or too quiet; the colors are stiflingly bright, and the lights seem dim, or...
...or maybe it's just that tired-looking waitress shuffling toward them. This sort of establishment doesn't hire tired-looking people. They hire snappy, chic young hipsters with tight black clothes and smart black-rimmed glasses. She feels out of place and wrong.
to Danicka Musil
[Danicka Musil] Danicka closes her eyes a moment later, though, as she's setting her cup down. There's a look on her face like it tasted bad when she swallowed it, or the expression of someone getting a sudden headache. Wordlessly, Danicka -- frowning -- turns to look over her shoulder at that waitress, but does not call out to her.
[Theron Locke] It was just another day for the Shadow Lord Theurge, but yet not. He hadn't been sleeping at all well with a presence...no a void inside his mind. A space that he was unable to access, no matter how hard he tried. Frustrated almost to the point of madness, Theron had headed to his car and taken off for a drive.
Cruising the streets for the Magnificent Mile, had parked his car after finding an adequate spot and then started out on foot. A black jacket wrapped around his slender frame as he eyed a small cafe that looked appealing. The Blue Chalk Cafe. Perhaps a drink and a good meal would assist him with his problem.
Stepping upto the door he waits for several patrons to exit, before stepping inside himself. Eyes surveying the premises, wondering if he could just find a table himself or needed to wait for a staff member to direct him.
[Lonna Larson] Her attention was elsewhere, namely on the male half of the mated pair. It's unfortunate what happened between her and Ezra, she shrugs. Fatigued, but not self-pitying. Word from the man's tribal elder that she had little to worry about, that whatever happened was between Ezra and Lila now. She catches a look at her waitress, and misses the wordless frown on Danicka's face.
"Oh, hey, coffee's here."
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] The Blue Chalk cafe is a swanky place. A european-style coffee house, it's a place where most people still order at the table, and your drinks are brought out in ceramic mugs and cups. The saucers are square, solid blues and deep reds and black and whites; the pastries are overpriced but excellent. The wait staff are, for the most part, thin, chic young things in black, their smiles practiced and cool and thin as razors. The clientele is wealthy; not much of the college crowd, here. As the night wears on, it feels less and less like a coffee house and more and more like a lounge.
--
Contact, then: Lukas's hand covering Danicka's for a moment, his palm warm against her knuckles. The last time they were here, he touched her too. He grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her out of here.
That was then. This is now.
Then Danicka's eyes are lifting over his shoulder to the approaching waitress. Lukas starts to look up, and the waitress staggers sideways suddenly, her bony hip hitting his shoulder. Caffe corretto a cognac and whatever it is Lonna may have ordered sloshes out onto the bamboo serving tray. Lukas's attention snaps sharply up.
"Sorry," she mutters. "Oh god. I'm sorry."
Lukas is frowning too now. A pause; then he says, "It's all right. Don't worry about it." The waitress manages a wan smile, sets their tray down -- bangs it down, actually --
and then vomits all over the table.
Someone one table over says, "Euugh! Oh my god!"
[Danicka Musil] "Jesus!" Danicka says, half in surprise and half in disgust, rearing back from the vomit instinctively and because, well,
do you have any idea how much those shoes of hers cost?
She's on her feet a moment later, looking up and around to see if her coworkers or her manager are rushing over, checking to see if someone could get some towels. But she's also keeping her distance, making sure none of the vomit got on her. Something tells her that if the waitress doesn't have H1N1, it's something just as contagious, possibly even more disgusting.
[Lonna Larson] "Whoa-" is her first reaction. The waitress doesn't look so hot. Her skin is pale, she seems a little disoriented, and now she's throwing up on the table. Or, rather, she's thrown up on the table. The blonde scoots back as quickly as she can. Her hands are up; she pulls her own hair back to make sure that she doesn't get anything on herself.
She does stand up, and the blonde moves to regard the waitress. She is up to look for a small, preferably portable trash can for the poor girl.
"C'mon, sweety," she says, "let's get you to the restroom."
[Theron Locke] Theron had just been greeted by the serving staff, when there is the sound of a commotion as a waitress staggers. The sounds of an apology given, Theron's vision drawn to the source of the voice as he witnesses the waitress vomit all over the table before her.
It is then that he spots his Alpha, mate.. and was that Lonna sitting at the table. A small frown creasing his forehead as he tells the staff member that he is with that part and begins heading towards them..
Watching as the two females attempt to avoid getting the mess on them. Lonna moving to help the obviously ill waitress. "Need any help there?" the Theurge asks when he is close enough , already removing his jacket and beginning to roll up the sleeves of his shirt. A nod of greeting to his Alpha, a warm smile on his lips for his brother and then one given to Danicka.
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Almost at once, all three people around the vomited-upon table are on their feet. That's not surprising. People at the next table are half out of their chairs, some craning to see, others turning away in disgust.
What is surprising is their speed. Their quickness, and the balance in the man's posture, the understated wariness in the way he watches the sick woman.
Lonna's looking for a trash can, then -- there's one behind the counter -- and the waitress, still bent over the table, clutching the edges with a white knuckled grip, is coughing and gagging, stumbling over sorrys and i'm so sorrys between retches. Behind the counter, the baristas are staring, one looking to another, one of them moving toward the mess, apologizing to patrons as she comes.
Some bystander: "Does she need help?"
Some asshole: "Do you know how unsanitary that is? What sort of establishment are you people running here?"
Lukas, firmly, reaching to support the waitress under her elbows: "That's a good idea. Let's get her in the bathroom."
And the waitress retches again. Brings up another gout of vomit: her dinner splashed all over the table. This spasm is so violent it brings her to her knees. Toward the end, what she's bringing up is thin, dark and clotted -- bloody. People are starting to cry out in horror and revulsion. Some get up and head for the doors.
Another of the cafe patrons abruptly tumbles out of his chair, lands on all fours.
Begins to retch.
[Danicka Musil] Oh god. She's still going. Danicka whips her head around to Some Asshole and snaps: "Oh, shut the fuck up!" with a sort of blasting impatience. She doesn't touch the woman. She's loathe to go near her, until she sees Lukas move to her. Some gut reaction, some twist in her chest, wrenches:
"Ne, je n&+283;co špatn&+283; s ní," with the first show of real concern that perhaps any of them have seen from her, the sort that would make both Lonna and Theron realize that genuine or not, any care Danicka has for them is a pale imitation of the way she sounds just then... whatever it is she's saying.
But then there's blood coming out of the woman's mouth, and someone else is vomiting, and Danicka is seriously considering throwing up the misto she's been drinking.
"Please don't touch her. All of you, get away."
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] "Vím." Suddenly the rather attractive pair at the vomit table are speaking in unfamiliar vowels and consonants from the back of the alphabet. "Musíme ji dostat z dohledu --"
Then it becomes useless and impossible to try to contain the situation. Another man is vomiting on the blood. And then a third. And a fourth. Now there's a panicked stampede for the doors; some of the employees are shouting frantically that gift vouchers will be issued for all; some patrons are literally throwing their cups across the room, and the asshole is screaming that he didn't pay $12 for salmonella in his coffee.
Their waitress crumples to the floor, half on her side, half on her back. Her eyes roll back. Her mouth is a bloody hole. She's convulsing. Cafe patrons are shrieking now. The waitress's mouth drops wide open.
There's something clawing out of her throat.
"Okay," Lukas, shouting now, "everyone GET THE FUCK OUT. GET OUT."
It's not really necessary. People are running for the doors and the exits. He turns back to the others. He says, low:
"There are security cameras in the corners. We need to break them or turn them off. No shifting until then." A quick glance over his shoulder: an emptying-out cafe, half a dozen people convulsing on the floor. "Move. We don't have a lot of time."
[Theron Locke] Theron gives a startled look towards Danicka when she swears loudly at the patron who had started complaining. Blinking several times in surprise, he doesn't say anything though as his attention returns to the waitress. He was about to reach down, when Danicka calls for them to get away. The Theurge giving her a single nod as he takes a step back.
Looking a little unsure about doing so, but trusting in the kinswoman's judgement for the moment. Though he looks rather troubled when blood starts coming out of the woman's mouth and another patron erupts into a bout of vomiting.
"Okay.. what now.. seems to be getting worse. Are you guys showing any symptoms?" Theron eyes flick from face to face of the people he knows. Then there is the sound of shrieking, turning to the waitress as he sees something crawling out of her throat "What the fuck...." and then his Alpha is shouting for people to get out. Theron escorting people to the door way as best he can, ushering them out into the cold night air. When he is free to move past them he begins heading for the nearest camera.
[Lonna Larson] This... was not a good thing. She looked at the waitress, holding the trashcan in hand. Danicka says not to touch the waitress, or anyone, really. She nods, content to follow her order on this. She looks around, and her stomach is in knots for different reasons. Lonna Larson has never been the sort to get ill out of seeing someone else vomit, which is incredibly ironic all things considered.
People were leaving, though, and she looks at the three Shadow Lords she happens to share the company of tonight. okay, everyone needs to get the fuck out, she takes a second and-
Don't have to tell her twice. The blonde moves to where she knows people typically put surveillance equipment. She starts with the farthest corner, or the one with the best vantage of where they were now.
[Danicka Musil] "Holy Christ," Danicka breathes, and grabs her jacket and her purse, one in each hand, though they're barely up before she's bolting towards the back, quite literally smacking an employee across the face who tries to stop her from getting to whatever office is in back, whatever computer or switchboard there might be that controls the cameras.
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [let's roll inits!]
[Danicka Musil] [+6]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 8
[Lonna Larson] [they see me roolliiin', they haaaatiiiiin. 5+1d10]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 6
[Theron Locke] [ Inits 5+ ]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 3
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [Lukas: +18]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 6 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [Waitress +6]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 10 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [Waiter +6]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 1 (Botch x 1 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [Hipster +5]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 5 (Failure at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [Hipstress +5]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 4 (Failure at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [Metro man +7]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 6 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [Jr Exec +8]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 7 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [Lukas 24
Waitress 16
Jr Exec 15
Danicka 14
Metro 13
Lonna 11
Hipster 10
Hipstress 9
Theron 8
Waiter 7
Annd let's say from left to right, the orange blobs represent Waiter, Waitress, Hipster, Hipstress, Metro and Jr Exec. Metro, Hipstress and Jr Exec are far enough to be a (splittable) action away!]
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Waiter
1. Barf on Danicka!
[Theron Locke] [ 1a Move to Security Camera
1b Unplug Security Camera ]
[Danicka Musil] [Reflexive: "I'll get the cameras!"]
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] There are ten of them left in the cafe. Outside, people are scattering, running for their cars, calling 911. They're in the middle of one of the wealthiest areas of town. Cops will be all over them in minutes, if that.
Not that the six ... victims? writhing on the floor care. The waitress has begun to scream in escalating, hoarse bursts. I'm burning up! It burns! I'm burning! AAH. As Danicka turns to run for the office, and as Wyrmbreaker reaches for a plate and shatters it sharply on the edge of the table --
the waitress grasps the sides of her mouth with both hands
and rips.
She peels her skin off her skull. Squirms out of it. Starts to rise up out of the ruin, bloody and red, eyeballs huge in lidless sockets, still shrieking as she staggers toward them.
Others around the cafe are beginning to undergo the same terrible metamorphosis.
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [Hey DB! Sorry man, I think this oneshot is maxed out for me. I think Chinatown and the Caern are open scenes though!]
[Theron Locke] Theron stops and gives Danicka a nod
[ Re-declare
1a Punch Waiter - Called Shot Head ]
[Danicka Musil] [Sorry! I forgot to take the 'open' out of my tag.]
[Kyle] (it's all good. China's wrapping up and combatting and the Caern is umbral so I'll go haunt another room :) enjoy)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Hipstress
Mid-transformation
1a. tears face off
b. staggers toward them!
Hipster
Transformed
1a. bite Theron!
[Lonna Larson] Lonna: Oh shit, those are big windows (look to see if she can cover those! The Veil is Important!
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Metro
Transformed
1a. grapple Lonna
b. chew face
[Danicka Musil] [1a. Running! Going to office to disable surveillance/wipe what's already been recorded tonight.
1b. Dealing with code/lock on door if necessary. Otherwise, barging in and playing with their system.]
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Jr Exec
1. Twitch, convulse, shudder through metamorphosis
Waitress
1a. claw Lukas
b. follow Danicka!
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Lukas
1a. Stab waiter in back with plate-shard!
b. again!
c. one more time!
d. grapple waitress!
[Lonna Larson] (action change:
1a: dodge
1b: dodge more!)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Lukas, 1a! -4 dice, -2 diff back attack, +1 from knife diff due to weirdly shaped weapon.
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 8, 8, 10 (Success x 8 at target 3) Re-rolls: 1
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [eh heh. right. melee pool!]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 2, 6, 8 (Success x 2 at target 3)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [damage! str+1]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 2, 5, 6, 10 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [waiter soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 8, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [b!]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 6, 8 (Success x 2 at target 3)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [dam +1!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 6, 6, 6, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [waiter soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 1, 5 (Botch x 1 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [c!]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 9 (Success x 1 at target 3)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [dam!]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 5, 8, 9, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [waiter soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 6, 6 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [d - grapple waitress! -7 dice]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 5, 8, 9, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Jr Exec
Twitching
Waitress
1a. Grappled -- can't claw so I BITE! Wif mai HUMAN TEEF! Rolling it like a vampire bite; +1 diff for changing actions, -2 for split.
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 3, 3, 4, 5 (Failure at target 7)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] b. ...TRY AGAIN!
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 3, 6, 9 (Success x 1 at target 7)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [damage!]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 4, 8, 8, 8 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [soak against damage]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 5, 7, 8, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [soak against effects of bite]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 6, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 3 at target 8)
[Danicka Musil] [1a. III'M RUNNIN'!
1b. wits + computer, -3 (split) / -2 diff (aptitude)]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 1, 3, 5 (Failure at target 4)
[Danicka Musil] [That was diff 5. Still a fail. *sadpanda*]
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] It's no easy task to grasp what was once their waitress. She's slippery with blood, all raw, hot meat: twisting around in Lukas's grasp to snap her teeth at him, twice. She doesn't draw blood. The scrape of her teeth inflames his skin nonetheless, stings like a catscratch.
"Watch out for their teeth!" he shouts.
Meanwhile, Danicka runs for the office. The door opens easily. This isn't the sort of establishment that really has to worry about thieves amongst its clientele. Then again, it's not the sort of establishment that has to worry about fucking fleshflaying zombies, either.
The computer's encrypted. Danicka reboots it, tries a simple workaround. It fails.
Outside, Lonna's going for the windows, trying to draw down the shades. What was once the pretty, metrosexual fellow near the door rears off the floor suddenly, bloody and horrid. He flails for Lonna.
[-2 dice!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 4, 8, 8, 9, 9 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Lonna Larson] [dex3+dodge2: move!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 2, 5, 7, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6) [WP]
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [2 succ needed to get free!
Metro, b. chew face! -3 dice]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 1, 9, 9 (Failure at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Hipster
Bite Theron!
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 1, 4, 4, 5, 6 (Failure at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] His face a glistening mask of muscle and gristle, the hipster snaps his bloodstained teeth at Theron.
Misses.
His girlfriend is still shrieking on the floor behind him. She rips her own face off, pulling great handfuls of skin from flesh, and begins to half-limp, half-crawl toward them.
[Theron Locke] [ 1a Punch Waiter - 6d8]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 2, 2, 5, 9 (Failure at target 8)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [Sumup:
No one hurt yet amongst goodguys.
Waiter - 4L
Action order:
Lukas 24
Waitress 16
Jr Exec 15
Danicka 14
Metro 13
Lonna 11
Hipster 10
Hipstress 9
Theron 8
Waiter 7]
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [reflexive--]
"How's the situation on the computers, Dani&+269;ka!"
[Danicka Musil] Though she can't see what's going on in the cafe proper up close, personal, and in full color, Danicka can turn her head slightly and look at the tiny black and white television on the corner of the desk. It's in four segments, one from each angle. From four angles, she sees what's going on, and yells back:
"Almost taken care of!"
She hopes. Ever the optimist, Danicka Musil.
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Waiter
1a. Get in office!
b. Bite Danicka!
[Theron Locke] 1a Punch Waiter
1b Punch Waiter
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Hipster
1a. Bite Theron
b. Vomit at Lukas
Hipstress
1a. Bite Theron
b. Hang on and chew (-2 diff, -2 damage)
R1. Bite Lukas
[Lonna Larson] reflexive: "Uh, problem! Window?"
action: Stop being grappled!
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [reflexive]
"Anyone outside?"
Answer: not really at the moment, no.
"Fuck the windows!"
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Metro
1a. Bite Lonna!
[Danicka Musil] [1a. Crack password 2, Electric Boogaloo.
1b. Cameras! Stoppit! Nyeh!]
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Lukas -- grappling waitress still
1a. Snap neck! +2 diff, 4 succ after soak cumulatively needed
b. Again if not quite snapped!
c. Grab waiter
d. Introduce face to table's edge!
Waitress
1a. Bite Lukas!
b. CHEW!
Junior Exec
1a. Stagger over to Lonna
b. Vomit on
R1. Bite!
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Lukas
1a! -4, +2 diff for maneuver, grapple mod N/A since target must be grappled
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 4, 6, 6, 7, 7, 9 (Success x 2 at target 8) [WP]
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [Damage +1!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 3, 3, 3, 6, 6 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 3, 6 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] b. AGAIN! IN ONEESHAK WE TRUST!
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 8, 8, 8, 10 (Success x 3 at target 8) Re-rolls: 1
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [Damage +2. ALL HAIL ONEESHAK!]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 5, 5, 7, 10, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 4, 6 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] c. grapple waiter!
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6) Re-rolls: 1
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] d. bash! +1
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 (Failure at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Waitress
1a. Bite! -2
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 2, 2, 2 (Botch x 1 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Ow, my tongue!
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 2, 6, 10 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [self-soak]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 1, 8 (Failure at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] b. changed to bite!
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 3, 9, 10 (Success x 2 at target 7)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Damage!
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 4, 5, 7, 8, 8 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 4, 6, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [soak against effects!]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 5, 7, 8, 10 (Success x 2 at target 8)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Jr Exec
1a. Mvmt
b. Vomit on Lonna! -3
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 3, 6, 8, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] At one end of the room, an Ahroun is struggling to hang on to two... what? Fomori? Zombies?
At the other, the sharply dressed young executive in the corner has turned into an atrocity. He shambles to Lonna. She's held by another, his arms hard and wet with blood, with interstitial fluid. It's soaking unpleasantly through her clothes
and then that's the least of her concerns, because the once-exec grabs her by the hair, pulls her head back, and vomits in her face.
It burns. She's burning up.
[no immediate effects this round]
[Danicka Musil] [1a. wits + computers, -2 dice (split) / -2 diff (aptitude)
Kahseeno, you little bitch. I got this nice, big strap-on with your name on it. Be careful.]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 3, 3, 6, 10 (Success x 3 at target 5) [WP]
[Danicka Musil] [1b. int + computers, -3 (split) / -2 diff (aptitude)
OH YOU ARE BEGGING FOR IT AREN'T YOU, KAHSEENO?]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 4, 4, 9 (Success x 3 at target 4)
[Danicka Musil] Suddenly, from the back of the Blue Chalk Cafe:
"DONE!"
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Once Danicka's in, it takes her a matter of seconds to find the video controls. Click, click, click, click.
Four cameras off. Four monitors go dark.
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Metro
1. Bite Lonna!
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 7, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Damage!
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [oops, diff 4! +2]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 4, 7 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Lonna Larson] {eek!]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 1, 1 (Botch x 2 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [Lonna: stunned![
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Hipster
1a Bite Theron!
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 2, 5, 8, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Damage! +1
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 4, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Theron Locke] [ 1 R Snapshift Crinos
Soak - 6d6 ]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 3, 4, 6, 9, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Theron Locke] [ Stam 6 diff 8 ]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 4, 7, 9, 9, 9 (Success x 3 at target 8)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Danicka's shout doesn't make the creatures so much as bat an -- well. They have no eyelids now. But that's beside the point.
The point is: they keep coming on. Doggedly. Mutely. One of them sinks his teeth into Lonna and rips a chunk out of her throat. Another latches onto Theron.
And Theron --
he bursts into fur and claws, the tips of his ears suddenly brushing the light fixtures hanging from the high ceiling.
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [For the record: -1R for hispo on Lukas!
Hipster 1b: vomit at Lukas!]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 2, 3, 10 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Theron Locke] [ re-declare
1A Claw Waiter
1B Claw Waiter ]
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Another blistering gout of vomit erupts: splashing over the blackfurred beast that stands where Lukas used to.
The direwolf rears back from it, snarling in pain, one forepaw coming up reflexively to paw at his eyes.
[Theron Locke] [ 1a Claw Waiter - 5d7]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 3, 4, 4, 7, 9 (Success x 2 at target 7)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Waiter soak!
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 2, 10 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Theron Locke] [ Dam - 7d6]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 7, 8 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Theron Locke] [ [ 1b Claw Waiter - 4d7]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 4, 7, 9 (Success x 1 at target 7)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 1, 10 (Failure at target 6)
[Theron Locke] [ Dam - 6d6]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 5, 6, 6, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] That's that for the waiter. One moment, stumbling for the office and the sweet, sweet flesh of the blonde in there --
-- the next, a smear on the wall.
[Recap:
Waitress down 3
Waiter X_X
All other enemies OK
Lukas 2L, tainted but regenerating
Lonna 4L, tainted and not regenerating.]
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [Lonna, roll stamina vs. diff 8!]
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [action order:
Lukas 24
Waitress 16
Jr Exec 15
Danicka 14
Metro 13
Lonna 11
Hipster 10
Hipstress 9
Theron 8]
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [Lukas, stam check]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10 (Success x 1 at target 8)
[Lonna Larson] [Sta, diff 8: want to liiiiive!]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 9, 9 (Success x 2 at target 8)
[Theron Locke] [ 1a Move towards Metro and Hipster
1b Claw Metro
1R Claw Hipster ]
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [Whoops, rage actions from last round.]
Jr Exec
R1. bite lonna!
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 4, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [damage +3]
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 2, 2, 5, 5, 8, 9, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Lonna Larson] [Please please please soak 2]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 3, 4 (Failure at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Hipstress
Bite Lukas!
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9 (Failure at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Lonna was not meant to die like this.
She was not meant to die tonight. She was coming here for coffee; ran into some old friends. She would have called them friends, at least: that's the kind of woman she was. Kind, and loving, and sweet. Sas not born to fight the way Garou are. She is not a fighter. She's a healer; a kind soul; a woman who never could bear to leave anyone out in the cold. She's a good person,
and Chicago devours people like her.
Lonna was not, perhaps, even meant to live in a world like this. She was meant for a younger, more innocent world, for a prehistoric period when her kindness would have been cherished instead of exploited; when her innately loving nature would have been protected, and nurtured. She was meant for the mountains and meadows of Parthia, the vast grassy plains of Scythia, from where her people arose. She was meant for mateship, for motherhood, for cubs, for caregiving, for loving.
She was meant to be protected and cared for. To protect, and care. She was meant for a gentler world, and she comes from a gentle people. She deserved a gentler time.
--
Now here's the truth.
Lonna didn't really have a chance, at the end. She was outnumbered, and alone, dazed by damage. She was halfway across the room. If they had had more time, if things had happened differently, perhaps one of the Garou could have crossed that space, saved her. Perhaps someone might have healed her.
They didn't have time.
And in the end, both Garou, both Shadow Lords, chose to defend the kin of their own tribe first.
They had their own priorities.
That's the cold truth.
--
What is sad, then:
That she deserved better than what she got. These people.
A world full of the selfish, the wanting, the lustful, the greedy. A city that turns a blind eye to the suffering and the sick.
A Sept full of Garou who were all too happy to fuck her without loving her. All too happy to take her beauty and her goodness and crush it, twist it, malign it, use it, warp it, manipulate it, exploit it.
Or, worse: simply too fucking busy with their own concerns, their own issues, to do anything more than take and take and take from her. All too fucking wrapped up in their own business to care that Lonna was always selfless, and indiscriminately caring, and unconditionally giving
and dying across the room
while they saved their own kin.
--
It was not an easy end. There was pain. There was a rising nausea, a horrid feeling of sickness washing over her. She had been bitten. Vomited on. She was being held down by the slick hot arms of a man without skin.
She was getting chewed on.
She was being eaten alive.
Imagine how that would feel.
Imagine how it would feel to be assaulted like this, to be helpless to it while those who should have protected you, those you would have protected if you had the chance, were half a room away. While they fought and raged wrapped in their own concerns, attention on their own family, their own friends, their own possessions, while your flesh was rended. While your body corrupted from within. While your blood poured out of your body and left you shivering cold, left your veins collapsing, your vision darkening, your consciousness ebbing away.
No. It was not an easy end.
--
What is tragic:
is that Lonna had been ground down by life. Worn down to almost nothing. Beaten down, weakened, robbed, abused.
What is tragic is that she had gotten out of it. Theron never spoke to Lila. Lila never came to her. She got out of it. Herself. She woke up one day and decided:
enough.
And she left Ezra. And went to Lila. Who would have taken care of her. And cherished her. And protected her, because that is what Lonna deserved.
That's where Lonna stood tonight,
when she died.
--
One last thing to say, then.
Lonna is going home. To her meadows and plains. To her mountains and rivers. To the pure white love of Unicorn, who does not ask for anything in return. Who does not exploit, nor use, nor turn away when her need is greatest.
And all those people Lonna lost. Arthur and Liam. Evan. Abney. All those children of Unicorn, those lost lights of the world, those caregivers and kind soul:
they're waiting for her there.
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [+4 rage to Theron!]
[Theron Locke] [ Frenzy Check - 6d4 ]
[Theron Locke] [ Frenzy Check - 6d4 ]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 2, 3, 5, 6, 9 (Success x 3 at target 4)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Hipster
1a. Move toward Theron!
b. Bite!
Hipstress
1. Bite Theron!
R1. Chew!
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Metro
1a. Move toward Lukas!
b. Bite!
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [actually, put Hipstress on Lukas. I mixed up blobs!]
[Danicka Musil] [1a. Draw and load
1b. Activate damage talen
1c. 3RB on Metro, aw HELL naw!]
[Danicka Musil] [HIPSTRESS THEN]
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Lukas
1a/b, R1-3: Biting! In order if/when they go down: Waitress, Hipstress, Metro, mvmt if necessary, Jr Exec, Hipster.
Waitress
1. Bite Danicka!
Jr Exec
1a. Grab Theron!
b. Barf!
R1. Bite!
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] a. -2! Bite waitress!
Dice Rolled:[ 11 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 2 at target 5) Re-rolls: 1
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [dam +1!]
Dice Rolled:[ 10 d10 ] 2, 2, 3, 3, 6, 7, 8, 8, 8, 9 (Success x 6 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [ack, i wanna live!]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 4, 10 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] b. On to Hipstress!
Dice Rolled:[ 10 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5, 8, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 5 at target 5) Re-rolls: 1
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [dam +4!]
Dice Rolled:[ 13 d10 ] 3, 6, 6, 7, 7, 7, 7, 8, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 12 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [ack. how bad do i die?]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 4, 5, 7 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Waitress
X_X
Jr Exec
1a. grab! -2
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 4, 4, 7, 10, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] b. BARF! -3
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 3, 4, 7, 8 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] The mood has changed.
However belatedly: the werewolves are raging now. In two vicious snaps Wyrmbreaker leaves his corner of the cafe red; the waitress in two pieces, the hipstress an unrecognizable, mangled mess. More meat then human. If she could even be counted human anymore.
That's three. Three to go.
One of them -- the tall, lean thing that used to be some junior executive at some up-and-coming pharmaceutical firm -- grabs Theron by the ruff. It's an absurd sight. A fucking skinless human grappling at a monster. Wrenching his head down, opening his mouth, spitting fetid vomit in his face.
It burns Theron's eyes, stings his nose, the sensitive membranes there.
The Theurge probably doesn't even notice.
[No immediate effect]
[Danicka Musil] The surveillance screens are dark. Danicka is shouting that she's done, and she hears at least one Garou snarl into another form. She closes her eyes. She tells herself something she almost never tells herself, because she's never believed it to be as frequently true as most people would hope:
You can do this.
Danicka opens her eyes, coat left in the office and purse slung over her arm. She's moving towards the office door and reaching into her bag for a firearm and the nearby ammunition, slamming a clip home with motions that are becoming more and more familiar, never any less unexpected from the seemingly demure, fearful young woman.
When she sees the [i]thing/i] that Theron has become, blistering with Rage, roaring as bloodsoaked vomit splashes onto him, Danicka takes a sip of air and instantly moves her eyes and the barrel of her gun elsewhere. She does not try to help him. She can't. She tries to pretend he's not there, because if he notices she's there, then
she will be on her knees, begging for her life.
She looks at the monster that is Lukas, instead. And the disgusting things that are coming at him, that he is tearing apart. And her eyes, pupils constricted into tight beads of fear and -- then -- anger, flash. She holds a small wooden disk in her palm, holds it tight against the gun as she raises it, and her heart goes into a panicked, triphammering beat with the exertion of effort it takes to activate the talen.
[1a. move to door, draw and load
1b. -1WP, talen activation
1c. dex + firearms -5 (split), +3 (3RB)]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 4, 5, 9 (Success x 1 at target 7) [WP]
[Danicka Musil] [/i][goddamn tags]
[Theron Locke] Did Theron love Lonna... he didn't know. The young Theurge was a man who seemed to be in love with idea of being in love. A hear worn on his sleeve that he seemed eager to share. And share it he did on cold winters night when he found the kinswoman standing alone stood up by her companion. Company shared as they seemed to find an easy connection with the other.
The memories of a White Christmas spent shopping for his packmates with Lonna at his side. The verbal games they played, as they teased each other... her laughter filling his ears even now. The sparkle in her eyes as she seemed so full of life...no...she was Life. Now it had been taken away...
The sight before him, would be forever burned into his mind.... watching these things.. tear at her ... defile her. All of it a reminder that he had failed her. Failed her when he walked away from her, failed when he didn't fight for her. Failed her when he was one of the last to know of her being held captive by Ezra. Failed her now as her life was stolen from her.
He watched this nightmare unfold before him, he could feel the beast inside him raging. Wanting to busy out of his chest and send him into a maddening rage. The anger ...the hate.. burned within him..but at last he gained control over it. The fire focused from wildly lashing about to a pure blue flame... almost cold. Eyes growing cold and fierce as he strode out towards those responsible. Claws beckoning for the sensation of tearing through soft flesh and the warm embrace of blood.
[Theron Locke] (( hear = heart ))
[Danicka Musil] [-2 diff for point blank range = 2 suxx
damage! 4 + 1 (talen) + 1][L]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [metro soaks!]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 1, 7, 8 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Metro
1a. move!
b. changing actions -- bite the bitch with the gun! -3
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 8, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [damage +3]
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 6, 8 (Failure at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Hipster
a. mvmt
b. bite Theron!
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 3, 5, 10 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [damage!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 2, 5, 6, 8, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Theron Locke] [ Soak 6d6]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 4, 4, 5, 7, 9, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Theron Locke] [ 1b Claw Metro - 4d6+WP]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 2, 4, 5 (Failure at target 6) [WP]
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Lukas
R1. Chomp Metro!
Dice Rolled:[ 13 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 8, 8, 8 (Success x 5 at target 5)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [dam +4]
Dice Rolled:[ 13 d10 ] 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 9, 9, 9, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 8 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [metro soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 1, 4, 10 (Failure at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Jr Exec
R1. Bite Theron!
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 4, 6, 7, 7, 8, 9, 9 (Success x 6 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [dam +5]
Dice Rolled:[ 11 d10 ] 1, 2, 2, 2, 5, 6, 6, 7, 7, 8, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Theron Locke] [ Soak 6d6]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Theron Locke] [ 1R Claw Hipster - 7d6-1Wound ]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 6, 6, 7, 8 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Theron Locke] [ Dam - 8d6]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 8, 8 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Lukas
R2. Mvmt
R3. Bite Jr Exec
Dice Rolled:[ 13 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 6, 7, 7, 8, 9 (Success x 2 at target 5)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [damage +1!]
Dice Rolled:[ 10 d10 ] 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6, 8, 10, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [Jr Exec soaks!]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 2, 4, 10 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] The floor is slippery with blood. There are mangled bodies everywhere. In the chaos and the violence, it's not even immediately obvious to Danicka that Lonna is gone. What's obvious to Danicka
is that the horrid things are attacking them, attacking Wyrmbreaker, attacking her. Cold terror, the sort most kin outgrow by the time they're old enough to speak, grips her heart. Chokes her. She pushes through it.
I can't do this.
But I will.
Her bullet splashes blood off the shoulder of the creature shambling toward her. Its bloody teeth snap at her. She doesn't even feel it. A moment later, it seems to literally explode apart. Blood splatters all over Danicka. Her mate, unrecognizably savage, drops the pieces to the floor. Meets her eyes for an unbearable second, then turns away to join his packmate across the room
where the Theurge advances, bristling, cold. His teeth snap for the ghoulish thing that had held Lonna down.
It dies now.
[Summary:
Waitress X_X
Jr Exec 4A
Metro X_X
Hipster 2A
Hipstress X_X
Waiter X_X
Lukas 2L - tainted
Theron 2L - tainted
Lonna - RIP :[
Lukas 24
Jr Exec 15
Danicka 14
Hipster 10
Theron 8
Declare!]
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [Theron, stam vs diff 8!]
[Theron Locke] [ Stam 6d8 ]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 3, 4, 5, 5, 7, 9 (Success x 1 at target 8)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [Lukas: stam check, diff 9 now. forgot my spec: resilient]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 10 (Failure at target 9) Re-rolls: 1
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [Whoops, also: roll stam vs diff 8 to regen 1L!
Lukas's]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 8, 9 (Success x 2 at target 8)
[Theron Locke] [ Regen - 6d8 ]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 4, 8, 8, 9, 9 (Success x 4 at target 8)
[Theron Locke] [ 1a Claw Hipster
1b Claw Hipster ]
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Hipster
1a. bite Theron!
b. CHEW!
[Danicka Musil] Lonna's just... unconscious. Maybe she got tainted by the vomit, knocked out, maybe she's just stunned. Maybe she'll get up. In just. A minute.
Danicka squeezes off three quick shots at one of the fomori, proving once and for all just how fucking strong her stomach is. At least one part of her is made of iron, even if the rest is twigs and grass and ether. At her core is not the strength and resilience that is born to all of her kind, the brothers and sisters and children and parents of the Garou, but something else.
Something far more hard-won. Something she clawed out of life for herself, when it would have been easier not to bother. She flinches when something tries to bite her, lets out a shriek of fear rather than pain, and then clamps down on that fear when the thing just... explodes all over her. Lukas looks at her for a moment. Danicka flinches and looks away until he's gone.
She keeps her gun up the whole time, but it shifts directions. She still can't bear to look over at Theron, or near him, or... anything.
[1a. 3RB on Jr. Exex!]
[Danicka Musil] [Exec!]
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Lukas
1. Retching!
R1. Grapple Jr. Exec for Danicka and/or Theron
R2. Bite if not dead!
R3. Again!
Jr Exec
1. Bite Lukas
R1. Bite Danicka
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Lukas
1. Wuargh!
Jr Exec
1. Bite!
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 4, 4, 5, 7, 9, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [Damage +2!]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 2, 3, 5, 6, 6, 7, 7, 9 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [Soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 5, 6, 6, 9, 9, 9 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Danicka Musil] [OH BITCH DID NOT MAKE MY BOYFRIEND THROW UP IN FRONT OF ME THAT IS SO NOT COOL.]
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 1, 6, 7, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 1 at target 5)
[Danicka Musil] [4 + 1 (talen) + WHAT THE FUCK KAHSEENO YOU FUCKING WHORE.]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 3, 4, 6, 6, 7 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [nooo i want to liiive!]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 5, 7, 8 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Hipster
1a. bite Theron!
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 6 (Failure at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] b. no really, BITE
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 3, 4, 8 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Damage!
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 4, 7, 9, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Theron Locke] [ Soak 6d6]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Theron Locke] [ 1a Claw Hipster - 4d6]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 3, 4, 7, 8 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Theron Locke] [ Dam - 7d6]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 4, 5, 5, 6, 7, 8 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 7, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Theron Locke] [ 1a Claw Hipster - 3d6]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 5, 8, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Theron Locke] [ Dam - 7d6]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 3, 4, 4, 6, 9, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 4, 10 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [Lukas
R1. Okay, if no one's biting/shooting I'ma just nom! +1 diff]
Dice Rolled:[ 13 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 6, 7, 7, 8, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6) Re-rolls: 2
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [Dam +2]
Dice Rolled:[ 11 d10 ] 1, 2, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [Nooo I want to liiive!]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 1, 5, 8 (Failure at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Panting, still crackling with rage committed but unburnt, the black hispo comes to a halt. His sides are heaving. His fur bristles. In another eyeblink, he snaps back to Homid form and, for once, doesn't go immediately to his mate. He goes to Lonna instead.
It's far too late.
[Lukas drops out of battle at this point!]
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [sumup:
All dead cept Hipster
Hipster: 5 damage (mixed agg/lethal)
Lukas 1L - tainted, barfing
Theron 1L - tainted
Action order:
Danicka 14
Hipster 10
Theron 8]
[Theron Locke] [ Stam 6d9 ]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 8 (Botch x 1 at target 9)
[Theron Locke] [ Stam 6d8 ]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 3, 4, 7, 8, 8, 10 (Success x 3 at target 8)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Lukas
Stam check -- putting a WP on this!
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 3, 4, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 2 at target 10) [WP] Re-rolls: 2
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] And regeneration check!
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 3, 5, 5, 5, 6, 8 (Failure at target 8)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Hipster
1a. Chew on convulsing Theron! Om nom, yummy!
[Danicka Musil] [3RB on Hipster!]
[Danicka Musil] [All I wanna do is BANGBANGBANGBANG...]
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 1, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 7, 8, 10 (Success x 5 at target 5)
[Danicka Musil] [4 + 1 + 4 ...AND TAKE YA MON-AY!]
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 7, 8, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [nooo i want to liiive!]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 1, 5 (Botch x 1 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Maybe it's the rage ravaging Theron, perhaps more than he's ever felt before. Maybe it's shock, or fury, or grief.
(Or maybe he's just not strong enough. That's what the doubt in him whispers.)
But Theron can no longer hold on against the taint in him. The great beast drops to the floor. His tongue lolls past his clamping teeth. He bites it again and again, turning the white froth from his jaws pink with blood. His limbs thrash and jerk. Tables crash down. The hideous thing standing over him drops to all fours: hungry,
and three bullets from Danicka's 9mm send him flipping backward, immobile.
It's silent in the cafe then, save for Theron's fading convulsions; his heavy, labored panting; the unsteady, thin breathing of the once-hipster, now-monster. Wyrmbreaker is kneeling over Lonna's body. He's pulled her onto his lap, cradling her gently, and with respect, but
(and this is the cold truth)
without any real attachment or love. He barely even knew her. He didn't try to save her. He doesn't deserve to mourn.
[Danicka Musil] At the very end of it all, one blonde and lovely kinswoman is dead, and the other -- in pigtails, for chrissakes -- is the only person left standing. The two Shadow Lords that rent the place apart are on their knees, one to retch and one to go pull the body of the lone Child of Gaia out of the muck she fell into when she died.
Danicka is not looking at the vomiting crinos. She is shaking, like a leaf, when she walks over to the thing she just shot. This time it's only one bullet, and it makes an earsplitting racket when it slams home into the fomor's head.
After that, Theron has gotten a hold of himself a bit. And it's rather quiet. And then Danicka starts to remember how to breathe. And she remembers that she's alive. And she remembers that she's in a room with
one of those
and she starts
to scream.
First it's a few hiccups of shrill breath, and then wheezes as though she's being suffocated, and then just... shrieking. She even drops the gun, loaded and unsafetied, right on top of the tainted corpse she just created, and starts reeling backwards, sucking in air only to scream it right back out.
[Theron Locke] His body is racked with convulsions, unable to hold back the contents of his stomach. Eyes glazing over as he just loses the ability to control his body. The noises around him fading out to a murmur, the only thing on his mind is his shaking body and how much it hurts when there is no longer anything to bring up.
Not worrying about the creature above, not even seeming to notice as bullets slam into it and send it flying.
Eventually though he gains the sembelance of control. Ragged breaths taken in as his head snaps up and sees Lukas with Lonna. Wanting nothing more than to rush over there and pull her too him, but in the same instance not wanting to believe it be true. That this was a nightmare and nothing more...but the cold hard truth was that it wasn't.
Then a scream rings out within the cafe, a head snapping to the source. Eyes watching as Danicka shrieks , gun dropping to the floor as she tries to reel back. Her eyes wide... Theron attempts to move as he tries to find his feet. Unsteady, as he sways for a few moments before padding over to Lukas and Lonna. Body shifting and changing as he moves back down to homid, left only in a pair of trousers....a heavily tatooed naked torso remains - covered in blood, vomit and bile. Speechless as dark eyes witness her lifeless body.
[Theron Locke] In a quiet voice "I'll take care of her now... You should see to Danicka." as a hand is placed on Lukas' shoulder, the words meant for him
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Lukas's head turns sharply as Danicka begins to shriek. Theron approaches, and Lukas lifts the woman easily into his arms. Death makes people seem smaller. Or lighter. Or -- really, what it is is that death makes people seem so much less. As though something's departed irreparably.
She was here
and now she's not.
When Theron puts his hand on his shoulder, Wyrmbreaker hands Lonna gently into the Theurge's care, nodding once. In reciprocation, the Ahroun's hand falls to the Theurge's shoulder briefly. Squeezes. Then he stands, the last scraps of his undedicated clothing dropping; dark blood soaking slowly through his undershirt and boxer briefs from the inside out.
A card falls amongst the mess. Lukas sees it; leaves it for now. 0909, it reads -- whatever that might mean. When Lukas opened the box under it, Lonna was still alive, and there's a stab of something like guilt as he remembers how, for a moment, his attention slipped utterly from the Child of Gaia.
He leaves bloody footprints across the cafe floor. He goes to Danicka slowly, holding his hands out, palms up, as though praying, watching to see if she'll run or no.
"Ono jsem já," he murmurs. "Ono jsem já. Já jsem tady."
[Danicka Musil] It's seeping into her mind in the midst of her terror that Lonna's not getting up, that Theron's not over there to heal her, that nobody is doing anything and she's seen enough death --
had seen enough death, before she could legally drink
-- to figure it out even as twisted and warped as her mind has become in the last several heartpounding seconds. It doesn't make her scream any less intently, as though the shrieking is going to help her calm down, or fix something. Danicka's voice shudders when Theron moves into her vision, even though he's shifting down, and she starts to stumble backwards, putting her hands over her face.
She's the only one of them even remotely clean, the only one untouched, unscathed, unhurt. She has a smear of bloody vomit on her blouse where one of them tried to bite her. That's all.
Danicka is starting to crouch, arms over her head like a bomb's about to go off. Her screams are dying down. She's not running. She's hiding, because she doesn't know what else to do. A moment ago she was ready to claw a crinos's eyes out if he'd come anywhere near her. Now she's just...
and Lonna's...
"I don't wanna come back here," she hiccoughs, gasping. "I don't wanna come back here. I don't wanna come back here."
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] So Lukas snatches his coat up. It's bloodsplattered too, though the box inside it -- that's still clean. He lays it over her shoulders as though Danicka might be shivering because she's cold, though he knows that's not it. His hands are on her upper arms, stroking her gently through his coat; he can't tell if it's helping or making things worse.
"My jsme se nikdy nevrátí zde."
That's a promise. Enough. Enough of this place. The shit that went down the second time. The good that they replaced it with this time, and the brief warmth of their gifts to each other, the keys that meant:
Chci, abys v mém život&+283;.
and then -- this. Fuck it. They were through with this place. What sort of establishment were they running here, anyway?
"M&+367;žeš se postavit?"
[Danicka Musil] Her coat is in the office. And she knows this. Her coat has her keys in it, and her phone in the other pocket. In the office there are surveillance files that need to be wiped, and she needs to make sure they aren't automatically transferred somewhere else on a regular clock. This matters, because if all that's seen is a few hipsters and waitstaff losing their minds and ripping their skin off while two blondes and two men stand around and don't run away, they're going to try and track them down and they'll crack open the register and go through and find credit receipts and it will take some time for them to find everyone who was here tonight between one time and another
but then they'll find out whose faces match those on the tape and they will ask questions
not to mention that Lonna had a life, Lonna had her own bank accounts and cell phone providers and so on and so forth and the human world will know she's dead, too.
Danicka has things to do that she knows for damn sure Theron and Lukas would take hours to figure out on their own, and she can't stop shaking. She clutches at her hair, mussing that artful sweep that is not bangs but mimics them, as Lukas covers her with his coat. Her gorge rises; she fights it.
Her hands part, and she looks at him. His eyes are the same now as they were when he was in hispo, staring at her after destroying the thing that splattered blood all over her. She's not as clean as she thought she was; she forgot about the thing he killed just inches from her. She remembers, when she sees the blood on her palms that came off her face.
"I need to find a way to wipe the footage. And then I think I'm going to throw up."
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] His eyes are the same.
Perhaps that's not a comfort. His eyes are the same, cutting blue as a monster's. As a beast so huge and powerful he could tear a more-than-human body apart in one bite... three times in a row. That's the monster she's mated to. That's the monster she gave her house key to, gave permission to to come to her unannounced, perhaps in the middle of the night, perhaps while she sleeps.
But his voice is gentle, and quiet. His back is to the cafe as though to shield her from the sight of others, though the only one who remains is Theron, who has his own concerns now.
Lukas says, "Okay. But do it quickly. We're going to have to burn the place. There's no way Theron and I can move all the bodies out before the police arrive. So we need to have a good fire going by then."
[Danicka Musil] [overkill!]
Dice Rolled:[ 10 d10 ] 2, 3, 3, 4, 6, 6, 8, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 6 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [nooo i want to --gak.]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 6, 7 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [Final damage tally:
Waitress 7 +1 overkill
Junior Exec 7 +3
Metro 7 +2
Hipster 7 +4
Hipstress 7 +4
Waiter 7 +3]
[Danicka Musil] She nods, once, then three times in quick succession, grabbing suddenly at his forearms. Not because she's about to throw up, not because she's panicking again, but because she's using his strength as leverage to haul herself up. Her eyes are faraway, not looking at Lonna, or Theron, or the bodies. If she processes anything but the task at hand right now, she's going to fall apart.
So Danicka, almost coldly, stands up and leaves her mate, and his brother, and her once-friend without a backwards glance or a word of understanding. She goes back into the office, staring at the computer, which does not care how many people died tonight. It just wants to be told what to do.
Danicka tells it what to do. With a pristine sort of focus, and shaking hands that leave bloody fingerprints all over the keyboard and mouse, Danicka tells the computer that no, it doesn't want to do that. No, really. Someone else told you to do that, but I'm telling you this, and you can trust me, I promise.
Everything that happened after sunset is gone from the files. Just static, now. And whatever is left will be burned. Danicka pushes away from the desk, taking several tissues from a box to wipe off her hands before she picks up her coat
and leaves the office.
[Theron Locke] Theron had been passed the lifeless body, he couldn't call her Lonna anymore.. no he wouldn't. Lonna was now somewhere where she would be free. She had been the untameable Unicorn, forever wanting to be free to just live and love everything and everyone. It had been part of the reason that he had walked away, he feared how easy it felt to dominate her....to possible corrupt her. She deserved more than that, she deserved more than him.
He barely reacts to the hand on Lukas' shoulder, but he gives the smallest nod of thanks. His Alpha had warned him about something like this or had tried too. The moment where a person you cared for slipped through your fingers or you theirs. He wants to scream... to howl.. to roar.... but now was not the place or time. Instead he sat there in silence holding her, brushing stray hairs from her face. Tears rolling down his cheeks, resisting the urge to wipe them away. He had failed her... the least he could do was grieve for her.
Theron eventually straightens and takes a cleansing breath as he focuses. There were things to be done, as his mind swims back to the present. The reality of the situation dawning on him as he lays Lonna's body on the ground in a restful state. Turning to his Alpha, his brother "We will need to take her back to Lila. Can you accompany me?" his eyes scanning the area around them "How are we dealing with his... what do you want me to do?" his voice flat and his eyes deadened... ones that were normally so bright and full of mischief.
[Caleb Delacourt-Alden] ( This a private party, or can anyone join? )
[Theron Locke] (( I think we are working towards a wrap.. not sure tho ))
[Caleb Delacourt-Alden] ( Okay. )
[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [it's open again now, but i think most of us are about to crash!]
By the time Danicka comes out of the office, and by the time the first numbing wave of Theron's grief has passed, Lukas has quietly found the liquor bottles kept behind the counter. You can't make a caffe corretto a cognac without cognac.
He's dragged the skinless bodies together, piled what scraps of clothing and newspaper and magazine he could find atop. Doused it all with liquor, built a pyre out of tables and seat cushions atop. He doesn't know if it'll be enough to start a fire, to burn well.
It'll have to be enough.
He doesn't ask if Danicka succeeded. If she didn't, she wouldn't be out here. He looks at Theron briefly, and then nods.
"Of course."
Lukas finds someone's abandoned book of matches at one of the tables. He strikes one, lights the whole book, tosses it atop the pyre he's built. The alcohol catches with a small, muffled noise, burns with a clear, thin flame. Paper catches next, the flames brighter, crackling as it burns. Lukas steps away from the mounting flames as they reach the seat cushions, the bloody clothes; turn thick and oily.
The Shadow Lord reclaims his own coat, putting it on, buttoning it. No one looking closely will mistake him for anything but what he is: half naked and bloody. It'll have to do.
"Let's go," he says, quiet. "We'll leave out the back."
It turns out Danicka drives. Lukas and Theron sit in the back, holding Lonna between them: a modern day Pieta, reversed. The trip to Lila's place, which Lukas remembers because he's dropped her off a few times, is long and silent.
