1. IC posts: 10 minutes or less. Declares and rolls: 3 minutes or less unless you are waiting on me to answer a question. I'll be more lenient on this tonight, but if it's holding up the scene I'll start imposing auto-fails.
2. Speaking of questions: ask me in the chat. Do not IM me. If I don't answer immediately, just keep yelling my name. If you absolutely cannot wait, send me a PM.
3. There is no posting order, but post once for every post I make unless I tell you otherwise.
4. PM me now if you have any Uncrossable Lines and/or Exploitable Flaws.
5. Keep track of your own health and tempers.
6. Your characters are somewhere in Bronzeville, on a street with the usual dive bars, barely-making-ends-meet cafes, pawn shops, and fast food places.
7. GO!]
[Alexander] (Overconfident, Intolerance: being made to feel inferior/slighted)
to struggle
[Wendy Berber] *The church street hauntings were pretty legendary in Chicago's occult circles. Coming up on Halloween it seemed like she was getting more and more questions at the bookstore about books on the topic, but very few of the sources she'd found were very comprehensive. It was to that end Wendy Berber sparked on an idea. And so here she was, having lost track of time while in discussion with an older resident of bronzeville who apparently was involved in the first indecent of poltergeist activity at 1408 Church street. Spindly legs carry her down the sidewalk, wrapped tight in an old tweed coat. Woolen collar scratchy against her face as she reviews the notes she'd made, book satchel clunking at her skinny hip.*
[Drew Roscoe] Drew should have learned her lesson about coming to Bronzeville by now. One night she's getting leered at prospectively by a small herd of men on a corner, saved only by the grace of the fact that she stumbled on in to Joe and Thomas's territory. Another night, her truck breaks down and she has to wait in the cab with the doors locked for a tow truck. Hell, just two nights ago she was tranquilized by a Bad Guy and Joe
And yet!
And yet Drew Roscoe is meandering up the street in a somewhat more populated part of Bronzeville than where Joe's territory lies, where there are people, bars and McDonald's chains lining the street. It felt dusty here, despite the drizzle of rain, and all the glowing neon signs hanging in window fronts seemed dimmed compared to how they would be in Chinatown or along the Mile.
She's dressed in her work clothes, a pair of black slacks, a dark crimson dress blouse that was untucked so the tails fell out over the waistband of her pants, with an emerald vest buttoned snugly overtop. She had a wad of black fabric curled in her left fist and tucked against her hip, and her flat-bottomed non-slip work shoes thudded a mute rhythm on the sidewalk as she walked. She was holding her cellphone in front of her, eyes down on the screen, not paying as much mind to where she was going as she should.
Text messages were getting everyone killed these days.
[Alexander] Alexander is coming out of a greasy spoon named Sloppy Jo's, which is not-so-coincidentally across the way from an adult bookstore named Sloppy Blo's. There are copyright-infringement/defamation lawsuits in litigation between the two parties. The Glass Walker kinsman, wiping his mouth on a napkin that he balls up and tosses in the gutter, doesn't really give a damn. He looks both ways. He crosses the street toward the porn shop.
[Maija] Near said porn shop, there's a corner store, and it's from here that Maija steps to the street. A single bag in hand, and the other is occupied in pulling the hood of her sweatshirt up over her hair, tugged low to cover her face more from habit than anything else. Her stay in Chicago has been without her past finding her, and she relaxes, slowly, just a little bit more with each passing week.
Never fully relaxed, of course, as that would be stupid. Especially in Bronzeville. A glance along the street, and she turns toward a path that will eventually lead her home - and also leads her right past that porn shop.
[struggle] Chicago is one of the most haunted cities in America, or so it's said. Supposedly even Harpo Studios is haunted, but Oprah won't answer questions about it. One could make a rather logical leap to say that the people of Chicago are, themselves, also some of the most haunted in the continental United States.
Both of these statements are, of course, completely ignoring Louisiana and its citizens. When you get right down to brass tacks, they know a thing or two about being haunted.
This street is not known for being haunted. It's not known for anything. The people here are forgetful because they can't be bothered to be otherwise, not when they have to face trauma on a nightly basis -- or at least it seems like a nightly basis. There's Fenrir staking territory around here, but they're outside of those borders right now. There's plenty of things to do along this strip of street, but not a whole lot of people filling those places. They're poor, they're tired, and it's goddamn cold out tonight. Wet. Nasty.
Kind of like the shit Alex is looking for at Sloppy Blo's, at least in two out of three categories. But we digress.
Wendy and Drew have several yards to go before they run into each other. Alex and Maija, less. But it's not Alex or Maija or Wendy, kin to citified Garou, that get stopped by the woman in the red naugahyde jacket sitting on a bus stop bench. She could've been pretty, once. Her hair is damp and bedraggled, dyed pink and red in places, and she's shivering constantly.
"Miss," she says, without the rising, questioning inflection so many people append to every word out of their mouths these days. "Miss," she says again, whether Drew turns around or not. "Hey, hey Miss."
[Drew Roscoe] Cell phones are some of the rudest items on the planet, if you ask Drew and most people older than fifty years. People were too invested in their own lives and the conversations transpiring over the little hand-held communication devices that they blatantly ignored those around them. Workers in retail were downright ignored, offered no thanks or farewells or smiles, just shoved money and then walked away from. Comments were ignored, questions or otherwise from strangers on the street. Even when texting, people would pretend to be so caught up in what they were doing that comments like 'miss, hey miss' were bypassed entirely.
Drew, however, wasn't one of those types of people. Someone was calling for her attention, so she paused, looked up from her phone, then over her shoulder to the woman with bits of pink and red streaked throughout her hair. Drew blinked once, then closed the phone and tucked it into the hip pocket of her slacks.
"Yeah?," she asked simply, turning to face the woman entirely. Probably asking for some spare change, but it wasn't nice to assume and ignore.
[Wendy Berber] *Someone speaks up ahead of her, and Wendy Berber looks up from her notes, flipping the cover closed and struggling to tuck the notepad into her satchel while looking towards the source. Owlish eyes blink, magnified by coke bottle spectacles as she recognizes Drew with a pang of regret. Last time she'd seen the kin-girl, Drew had shaken off the GW kin's attempts at sympathy and charged out of the woods in tears. Some woman with bright hair was soliciting Drew's attention, likely looking for a hand out. Wendy's long legs eat up less and less distance as she approaches, nerd clearing her throat and raising a hand in shy Hello, to be ignored or acknowledged as Drew saw fit.*
[Maija] She's not unaware of her surroundings. In fact, most times she's almost hyper aware, and it's not always the good thing that one might think. For now, though, this awareness brings Alex into her line of sight, and farther down, the instantly recognizable figure of Wendy - someone she might even call a friend.
She tucks her free hand into the 'roo pocket of her Hoodie, glances at the shop that Alex is headed toward, and then backdown the street. His vices are none of her business.
She doesn't recognize Drew until she turns to talk to some red n pink haired lady, and there's a slight tightening at the corner of her lips, a brief flash of something in her eyes, a tightening of the muscle along her jaw. Then it's gone, as fast as it arrived.
[struggle] Alex goes into the porn shop without so much as a glance at the three women who share his sometimes unfortunate relationship to the Garou. The woman talking to Drew actually gets off the bench and walks closer, perhaps three or four paces, ignoring Wendy and Maija as well, even when the stork-legged one clears her throat.
"Hey..." she says, softer, as though in an attempt to be cajoling, "hey... you maybe... you maybe wanna..."
She reaches into her pocket, digging out a large roll of cash, each bill neatly pressed and tightly bound by a rubber band.
"I'll give you three hundred dollars if you show me your pussy," she says, hazel eyes bloodshot. She blinks several times, and takes another couple of steps forward.
[Drew Roscoe] Wendy came over, and Drew glanced to the woman, looked at her for a few seconds to try and recall why the girl was familiar, then placed the face and build. The girl that had been knocked out cold when they'd both been attacked by the men determined to abduct/kill/godknowswhat in the park perhaps a month ago. And she'd been at the Bonfire, but she barely recalled that detail. Irrelevant, too, the bonfire was pretty much put behind her. All it did was confirm that she was One of Them or One of Her.
The woman stands up and walks forward, but Drew doesn't recoil. She just keeps her eyes on the lady, chin tipping up little by little the closer she gets so that she can keep looking into her face. The large wad of cash comes out, as does the illicit offer.
More than anything, Drew looked caught off-guard, but hardly offended. She blinked her surprise out with a few bats of mascara-lengthened lashes, and then burst out with laughter, the sound loud, surprised, and pleasant to hear.
"Hahahahah! Oh, man. No... That's funny, but no."
[Wendy Berber] *A further glance about her surroundings gets Maija a nervouse nod of her head, and a shy smile, before Wendy's whip thin frame twitches like she's been exposed to a low grade electric charge. What?! What did that woman just ask? Her mouth falls open and snaps shut as Drew starts laughing.*
Wh-whoa.
[Wendy Berber]
[Wendy Berber] {damn tag}
[Maija] There's a brief smile for Wendy - considerably more than most folks get from her, just before Drew's laughter, and Wendy's shock registers. She doesn't quicken her steps, she'll get there soon enough. Slow and steady wins the race, as they say.
Her hand is wrapped around something in her pocket, through habit more than anything else. Fingers tighten around the straps of her canvas grocery bag, than relax again. Just another night in the neighborhood, right?
[crow] ((Anybody mind if I watch?))
[struggle] "Hey," snaps the woman at Wendy, whipping her head around. She sounds and looks displeased, but only comes out with: "Hey."
She looks at Drew once more, pocketing the cash, and keeping her hand in there. She cocks her head to the side. "Hey. That was like...rude, y'know? Laughing like that? You're supposed to be scared. Fuck. I fucking hate the ones like you. You don't even know what you're up against, y'know?"
She looks exasperated, like she genuinely wants Drew's agreement. "I mean... y'know?"
Then, shrill: "JEFFY. JEFFY C'MERE SHE DIDN'T TAKE IT."
A tall, broad, barrel-chested man with long blonde dreadlocks peeks out from a nearby alleyway. His mouth is agape, his eyes wide and paranoid, his fly undone. "Wha?" He spots Drew, then. And runs towards her. The woman takes her hand out of her pocket. This time she's holding a switchblade, the blade approximately five inches long and flicking out with a twist of the junkie's wrist.
[struggle] [No problem!]
[struggle] [Inits! You can write a short IC post with your declare.]
[struggle] Jeffy [+5]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 3
[struggle] Trixie [+6]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 1
[Drew Roscoe] [Init + 5]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 8
[Maija] [Jeffy, Heffy commer, she didn't TAKE IT
"Shit." She drops the grocery bag right there, and takes off at a run to close the last distance between her and Wendy - pulling her own blade from the pocket of her sweatshirt as she does so. Well. One of them, anyway.
(+7)
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 2
[Wendy Berber] *Wendy's eyes snap wide and the nerd makes a loud sharp noise of terror, hands diving in her book satchel to draw her little snub-nosed pistol with a shakey hand.* Hey st-stop!
[init+5}
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 6
to Alexander, crow, Drew Roscoe, Maija
[Wendy Berber] *Wendy's eyes snap wide and the nerd makes a loud sharp noise of terror, hands diving in her book satchel to draw her little snub-nosed pistol with a shakey hand.* Hey st-stop!
[init+5}
[ahem. re-doing out here! *headdesk*]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 5
[struggle] [Init Order:
Drew
Wendy
Maija
Jeffy
Trixie]
[struggle] Trixie
[1a. Stab Drew
1b. Stab again]
[struggle] Jeffy
[Reflexive: "No! Trixie's my FRIEND!"
1a. Smash Wendy's pistol-holding hand
1b. Punch Wendy]
[Maija] [Reflexive: "get OFFA her, asswipe!" Cuz Wendy's HER friend.
1a - stab Jeffy
1b - punch Jeffy]
[Wendy Berber] ["EEK!"
1.Shoot Jeffy.]
[struggle] [A belated Ground Rule: I do not require you to put WP expenditures for auto-suxx in your declares. You may add it on as you like. The earlier rule remains: keep track of your own tempers! I trust you guys not to use WP more than once in a turn without me policing it, so don't abuse it. Not that you would. *L*]
[Drew Roscoe] [1a. Draw gun
1b. Dodge]
[Wendy Berber] [dex/fire]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 4, 8, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Wendy Berber] [damage = 1sux +4]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 5, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[struggle] Jeffy Soak
Why yes, Virginia, we DO soak lethal.
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 2, 4, 5, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Maija] 1a: stabbity! +wp!
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 3, 5, 8, 8, 8 (Success x 5 at target 4) [WP]
[Maija]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[struggle] Jeffy Soak
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 7, 8, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Maija] 1b - punchin too, ya bastard!
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 4, 6, 8, 8, 8 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Maija] damage - DONT PWINK DAMMIT.
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 6, 6, 6, 8, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[struggle] Jeffy Soak
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 2, 3, 4, 4 (Failure at target 6)
[struggle] Jeffy
[1a: Changing action to draw hammer]
[1b: Hit Wendy with hammer. Dex + Melee, -3 (split), -5 (health)]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 5 (Success x 1 at target 6) [WP]
[struggle] [Damage: Str + 2 + Suxx -1]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 4, 4, 6, 8, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Wendy Berber] [soak!]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 3, 4 (Failure at target 6)
[struggle] Trixie
[1a: Stab! Dex + Melee -2 (split)]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 3, 5, 5, 6 (Success x 3 at target 4)
[Drew Roscoe] [Dexterity + Dodge, -3 split]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 2, 3 (Success x 1 at target 6) [WP]
[struggle] [Damage. Str + Suxx -1]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 1, 5, 5 (Botch x 1 at target 6)
[struggle] Trixie
[1b. Stabbin' again! Dex + Melee -3 (split)]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 4, 4, 7 (Success x 4 at target 4) [WP]
[struggle] [Damage][L]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 3, 7, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[Drew Roscoe] [Soak]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 4, 6 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[struggle] [John, post in and add your init to the end. We're re-Initing due to damage taken and dealt out! Go!]
[Wendy Berber] [new init +5]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 8
[John Thornton] The night was cool, in spite of the fact that the wind had died down to the merest draw of breath interspersed with the faintest of sighs. Overhead, the sky was dark, the thickening moon overshadowed by a thick cloud bank that shone garish colors with the pollution of light from the never slumbering Windy City below.
It was from just such an environment that a man stepped, entering the shopping area, with hopes of finding his errant informant. Mickey was a bad man, who luckily enough, was more afraid of being shanked in prison than he was of his employers. Or perhaps, who was greedy enough to overlook all the little pieces his bosses would cut him into if they discovered he was on the take from the C.P.D.
Hazel eyes scan the night, recognizing persons both familiar and not... Understanding the scene almost instantly.
A hand moves to his left ribs, black trench coat flaring as he increases his pace. As his hand reappears, a wicked looking .45 caliber pistol comes along for the ride. Wordlessly, his left hand claps to the butt of the pistol grip, and he begins taking aim at his targets...
((Init + 6))
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 1
[Maija] [init! +7]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 5
[struggle] Jeffy [+1]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 5
[struggle] Trixie [+6]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 2
[Alexander] +7!
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 6 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Drew Roscoe] [Init +5]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 1
[Alexander] Not too long later, Alexander strolls out of Sloppy Blo's. He has an opaque black bag in his hand, and his head is down, and he's riffling around inside it to make sure all his smut is in there and ...
the scuffle across the street draws his attention.
"Holy shit," Alex says. It's not shock, or fear. It's something closer to glee. He sounds a little outraged, too. "You fuckers left me out?"
The bag o' smut hits the ground, spills skin mags all over the sidewalk. The wet, dirty sidewalk. Someone's gonna have to buy him replacements later. Alexander's hands go to his pockets, come up with the sort of cheap, spiked brass knuckles they sell in Chinatown for $3/ea, and he goes tearing across the street to join the fun.
[struggle] [Init Order:
Alex
Maija
Trixie
John
Wendy (N/A unless healed)
Jeffy (N/A)
Drew (N/A unless healed)
Damage Tally:
Drew: 3L, Stunned
Wendy: 2B, Stunned
Jeffy: 1L, 5B, Stunned
Everyone Else: OK
Scene Rundown:
Drew, Maija, and Wendy are standing near a bus stop bench with Trixie and Jeffy. Drew is bleeding profusely from a stab wound to the front of her torso. Trixie is holding a 5" switchblade covered in Drew's blood. Jeffy is holding a hammer but looks dazed, as does Wendy, who is holding a firearm that's recently been discharged. Maija has a knife out as well, and Drew is holding a firearm that she has not yet fired.]
[Drew Roscoe] [Be stunned, that's about it.]
[John Thornton] ((Reflexive: Approach Jeffy (point blank range)... Safety off...
Base: Split Action [Shoot Jeffy/ Shoot Trixie] ))
[John Thornton] ((Re-declare:
Reflexive: Safety off...
Base: Split Action [Shoot Trixie/ Shoot Trixie]
[struggle] Trixie
[Reflexive: "Keegan!" she shrieks shrilly, blood trickling down her wrist. "Keegan the goddamn four-eyes hit Jeffy! KEEEGAAAN!"
1a. Stab Drew!
1b. Stab her again!]
[Maija] Declare! Let's do it again, sam.
Reflexive "Alex - get'im!" Jeffy, apparently.
1. Stab Trixie BIG TIME. [WP]
[Alexander] a. run!
b. flying kick at jeffy! (modified body tackle?)
c. stomp his head into the asphalt. shout obscenities gleefully.
[Alexander] -4, dex/brawl kick, +1 diff.
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 2, 4, 4, 7 (Failure at target 8)
[Alexander] c. well fine then. HEADBUTT INSTEAD.
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 1, 3, 6 (Botch x 1 at target 8)
[struggle] Jeffy [The damage his head does to Alex's. Stamina + Botch]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 3, 6, 9, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Alexander] (ow.)
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 3, 4, 7 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Maija] (STABITY da bitch!)
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 (Success x 3 at target 4) [WP]
[Maija] Damage! 2+2=4 cuz we can count! DON'T PWINK GODDAMMIT!
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 5, 6, 9, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[struggle] Trixie Soak
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 5, 5, 6 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[struggle] Trixie
[1a: Stab! Dex + Melee -2 (split), -1(health)]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 2, 5, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 4 at target 4)
[struggle] [Damage]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 3, 4, 6, 7 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[struggle] [Delete last 2 rolls.]
[Drew Roscoe] [Soak]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 1, 9 (Failure at target 6)
[struggle] Trixie
[1a: Stab! Dex + Melee -2(split), -1(health)]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 3, 8, 8 (Success x 2 at target 4)
[struggle] [Damage]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 4, 5, 6 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Drew Roscoe] [Soak]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 4, 4 (Failure at target 6)
[struggle] Trixie
[1b: Stab again! Dex + Melee -3 (split), -1(health)]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 4, 9 (Success x 3 at target 4) [WP]
[struggle] [Damage]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 3, 8, 8, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[John Thornton] ((Split 1/2: Trix are for kids. [Shooting Trixie]
Dex + Firearms - Split (2), diff = 6
Hail Kahseeno))
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 2, 5, 6, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[John Thornton] ((Split 1/2: Bang... [Damage]
Base Damage (5) + extra suxx(1), diff = 6
Hail Kahseeno))
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 4, 4, 6, 8, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[struggle] Trixie Soak
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 2, 4, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[John Thornton] ((Split 2/2: Shades of Bruce Campbell [shoot Trixie]
Dex + Firearms - Split(3), diff = 6 [wp spent]
Hail Kahseeno))
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 3, 4, 6 (Success x 2 at target 6) [WP]
[John Thornton] ((Split 2/2: And THIS is my BOOMSTICK! (damage)
Base Damage (5) + Extra Suxx(1), diff = 6
Hail Kahseeno))
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[struggle] Trixie Soak
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 1, 3, 6 (Failure at target 6)
[struggle] There are downsides, perils, shadows to being a purebred kin of heroes. There are unfortunate side effects to being young, and pretty, and charming. Alex is safe from what is being done to Drew: his tribe long ago lost that connection to their ancestors that gives pure breed. Plus, attractive as he might be, fit as he might be, he's an asshole. A violent asshole, at that. Wendy has no trace of breeding in her veins. She's unpleasant to look at for the vast majority of people and Garou, too tall and too thin and too swallowed by her own clothes. She's highly intelligent, learned in several areas, but not exactly the best breeding stock out there. Maija's tribe, too: if they have any breeding left it's buried under years of eating fast food and living in the cities. She, too, is too skinny and too surly to take much notice of.
Drew, though. Ah, Drew. Pretty. Just curvy enough. Strong blood. And now here comes John, just the same. Not hard to look at, good stock, and better yet, of a bloodline that would shudder at being tainted. Which only makes it better.
Knives and guns come out, threats and shrieks are issued, and the stork is the first one to move. She shoots the big man with his fly undone, nicking his arm. He looks down, displeased, only to have a knife tug at his shirt, ripping it. He looks down at Maija in consternation, and then her tiny, hard fist barrels into his jaw, hitting him so hard that he reels back from it. It's comic, like David and Goliath redone with a tiny hoodie-wearing girl and a dreadlocked white man. He responds by pulling out a hammer and hitting Wendy straight in the chest with it, just barely hard enough to make her as dizzy as he is. What a pair they make. What a pair.
And then someone's knife hits home. Trixie thrusts the switchblade into Drew's torso with a terrified yet delighted shriek, and blood rushes out of the darkhaired friend of Fenrir warriors. Drew doubles over, going pale, and sways. She barely remains standing.
Just about then, the Knights In Shining Armor show up. And one of them drops his porn -- he's just that chivalrous -- and puts on his brass knuckles, and takes a flying leap to attack the big man, Jeffy. He slips, falls short, manages not to lose his balance. Since that didn't work out, he tries headbutting the giant...whose head is apparently so hard to Alex's forehead is red from the impact and Jeffy looks no worse than he did before. Maija seems to be the hero, though. She goes after Trixie now, leaving Jeffy to the apparently inept Glass Walker, stabbing the woman in the arm, deep enough to make Trixie flail.
Trixie is not to be dissuaded, however. She cries for help and shoves the knife into Drew again and again, laughing the whole time, bouncing up and down a little. Blood trickles down Drew's legs, down her stomach. She drops her cellphone, her apron. She crumples to the ground. Blood pools, fills the cracks in the sidewalk. Her skin is paling rapidly.
From down the street, a bullet flies towards the knife-wielding woman twice in quick succession. Trixie screams when the bullets hit home, one in her thigh and one in her shoulder. She looks down the street at John and her eyes light up.
"KEEEGAAAN!" she screams. "WE GOT ANOTHER ONE!"
She sounds... happy.
[struggle] Jeffy [+1]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 2
[John Thornton] ((Init + 6))
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 6
[Drew Roscoe] [Init +5]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 4
[struggle] Trixie [+4]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 10
[Maija] (Intis +7!)
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 7
[Wendy Berber] [init+5]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 1
[struggle] Keegan [+7]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 10
[Alexander] +7!
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 4 (Failure at target 6)
[struggle] [Init Order:
Keegan
Maija
Trixie
John
Alex
Drew (N/A unless healed)
Wendy
Jeffy
Damage Tally:
Trixie: 5L
Alex: 1B
Drew: 7L
Wendy: 2B
Jeffy: 1L, 5B]
[struggle] Jeffy
[Reflexive: "That HURT."
1. Hit Maija with hammer]
[Wendy Berber] [Shoot Jeffy]
[Alexander] [pissed off! reflexive: more cursing.
a. take his goddamn hammer (disarm)
b. put the claw end in his face]
[John Thornton] ((Base: Split action [Shoot Trixie, Shoot Trixie] ))
[struggle] Trixie
[1a: Dodge
1b: Stab Maija]
[struggle] [ACK. Delete declare.]
[struggle] Trixie
[1a. Draw 9mm
1b. Three-round burst on John]
[Maija] [Stabbity Trixie - TWICE. DIE BITCH.
1a stab (-2)
1b stab AGAIN (-3) (wp)]
[struggle] Keegan
[1a. Emerge from truck parked down the street. LIKE A BOSS.
1b. Fire shotgun at Maija]
[struggle] Keegan [1b. Fire. Dex + Firearms -3 (split)]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 1, 4, 7, 8, 10, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[struggle] [Damage]
Dice Rolled:[ 9 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Maija] SOOOOOOOAK THAT SHIT GNAWER GIRL!
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 1, 4 (Botch x 1 at target 6)
[Maija] (...ouch, mofo. FINE. STABITY TRIXIE!
dex+melee=5-2-1= HEY I ONLY NEED TWO! STABITY!)
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 3, 10 (Success x 1 at target 4)
[Maija] TOLD YA. Damage - DON'T PWINK.
str=2
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 1, 4 (Botch x 1 at target 6)
[Maija] harumph. Fine.
1 aughta do it. 1b!
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 4 (Success x 1 at target 4)
[Maija] ROLL that beautiful bean footage...
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 9, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[struggle] Trixie Soak
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 2, 4, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[struggle] Trixie
[1a. Draaaw, pardner!
1b. 3RB on John: Dex + Firearms -3 (split), -5 (health)]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 3 (Success x 1 at target 7) [WP]
[struggle] [Damage]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 2, 7, 10 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[John Thornton] ((Soak
Hail Kahseeno))
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 2, 8 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[John Thornton] ((Split (1/2): No, make no mistake, sir... It's not revenge he's after. It's the Reckonin'. [Shoot Trixie]
Dex + Firearms - Split(2), diff = 6
Hail Kahseeno))
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 2, 2, 9, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[John Thornton] ((Split (1/2): They're bugs, Wyatt. Ain't no dealin' with bugs. [damage]
Base Damage (5) + Extra Suxx (1), diff = 6
Hail Kahseeno))
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 2, 3, 3, 5, 7 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[struggle] Trixie Soak
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 5, 9, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[John Thornton] ((Split (2/2): Shoot Trixie
Dex + Firearms - Split (3), diff = 6 [wp spent]
Hail Kahseeno))
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 2, 6, 7 (Success x 3 at target 6) [WP]
[John Thornton] ((Split (2/2): Damage
Base Damage(5) + Extra Suxx(2), diff = 6
Hail Kahseeno))
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 3, 4, 6, 6, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[struggle] Trixie Soak
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 2, 6, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Alexander] Disarm! -2 dice, +1 diff.
WP! cuz kahseeno's being a meanie!
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 3, 4, 6, 8, 9 (Success x 3 at target 7) [WP]
[Alexander] (whoops, brass knuckles do not count as a melee weapon. diff 8, but same result.)
[Alexander] (going on to damage!)
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Alexander] (um. just punching, since did not disarm. +1 diff for changing actions, -3 dice from dex/brawl pool.)
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 2, 3, 3, 4, 8 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[struggle] Jeffy Soak
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 2, 3, 3, 3 (Failure at target 6)
[Alexander] (annnd damage on that.)
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 5, 8, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[struggle] Jeffy Soak
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 9 (Failure at target 6)
[Wendy Berber] [Shoot Keegan, as Alex has jeffy handled +1 dif, -1 dice for wounds (wp)]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 9, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6) [WP]
[Wendy Berber] [Rollin damage. 4 +2sux]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 9 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[struggle] Keegan Soak
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 2, 8, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[struggle] Jeffy Incapacitated
[John Thornton] ((Init + 6))
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 7
[Maija] +7-1= 6
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 10
[struggle] Keegan [+6]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 3
[Wendy Berber] [init +4(-1 wounds)]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 6
[struggle] Leslie [+7]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 8
[Alexander] +7!
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 3 (Failure at target 6)
[struggle] [Init Order:
Maija
Leslie
John
Alex
Wendy
Keegan
Jeffy (N/A)
Drew (N/A unless healed)
Damage Tally:
Maija: 2L
Alex: 1B
Wendy: 2B
Keegan: 2L
Jeffy: 4L, 3B (Incap)
Drew: 7L (Incap)
Trixie: Dead]
[struggle] Keegan
[Fire on Maija]
[Wendy Berber] [shoot Keegan]
[Alexander] (i want alex to:
a. takes the gun. AND the goddamn hammer. snark at jeffy.
b. run at Keegan while shooting. (movement, +1 diff)
c. hammerclaw to face!)
[Alexander] (a. take gun
b. take hammer, and snark.
c. run and shoot!)
[John Thornton] ((Base: Split(2) [Shoot Keegan/ Shoot Keegan] ))
[struggle] Leslie
[1a. Emerge from truck, close distance
1b. Elbow Alex in the face
1c. Headbutt]
[Maija] Jeffie falls with Alex still hitting him. Trixie falls, Dead. Drew's out and bleeding. It only takes a quick look around...
Reflexive: "Wendy, help Drew! John, ANOTHER ONE!"
1a - stab Jeffie. Die asshole.
1b. again, if it don't work. If it does - close distance with Leslie.
[Maija] Die, JeffY
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 4, 9 (Success x 3 at target 4) [WP]
[Maija] DIE.
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 2, 7, 9, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[struggle] Jeffy Soak
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 4, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Maija] I. Said. DIE.
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 10 (Success x 1 at target 4)
[Maija] REALLY THIS TIME.
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 9, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[struggle] Jeffy Soak
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 2, 2, 2 (Botch x 1 at target 6)
[struggle] Leslie
[1b. Elbow to face! Dex + Brawl -4 (split), +2 (targeted shot)]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 4, 5, 6 (Botch x 1 at target 8)
[struggle] [Leslie collides with Alex, reels back, loses 3rd split, and gains 1 Rage]
[John Thornton] ((Split 1/2: Shoot Keegan
Dex + Firearms - Split (2), diff = 6
Hail Kahseeno))
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 2, 9, 9, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[John Thornton] ((Split 1/2: Damage
Base (5) + Extra Suxx (2), diff = 6
Hail Kahseeno))
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 9 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[struggle] Keegan Soak
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 4, 5, 5 (Failure at target 6)
[John Thornton] ((Split 2/2: Shoot Keegan
Dex + Firearms - Split(3), diff = 6 [wp spent]
Hail Kahseeno))
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 4, 4, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6) [WP]
[John Thornton] ((Split 2/2: Damage
Base (5) + Extra Suxx (1), diff = 6
Hail Kahseeno))
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[struggle] Keegan Soak
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 1, 1, 4 (Botch x 2 at target 6)
[Alexander] (a. grab!hammer
b. grab!gun
c. changing action: shove gun under leslie's chin, pull trigger. +1 diff changing, -2 diff point blank; -5 dice. lawl. shit. i forgot how small my dice pool was for this! +WP!)
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 1 (Failure at target 5) [WP]
[Wendy Berber] [change action - move to stabalize Drew as per Maija's request +1 dif, -1 dice WP]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 2, 3, 3, 3 (Success x 1 at target 7) [WP]
[struggle] They are not alone with two strung out idiots anymore. That really should have been enough to get Drew compliant enough -- wounded enough -- to drag her to the truck. But nooo. Her friends had to help. That must explain why the tall man with the pretty but unpretty face and the long fingers and long hair looks so irritated when he gets out of the pickup truck down the street, kicks the door closed, and levels his shotgun at the miniscule Gnawer that just stabbed Trixie.
He fires, and Maija takes what she gave out, only hers comes with the smell of gunpowder and the pain of impact. After that, very little happens. Maija's knifing arm is weaker now, and she can barely hurt Trixie when she defiantly goes after her again. Trixie drops her knife, pulls out a nine millimeter, and fires on John, to no effect. He's too far for her. Apparently she's now too far for him, or he's too distracted, because they don't manage to hurt each other.
And then John shoots again. And the bullet hits Trixie square in the chest. She crumples, flopping over on top of Drew, who doesn't notice. Drew is unconscious. Her blood is starting to drip into the rain gutter. Not by droplets. By a steady, if thin, stream. Alex isn't even paying attention as he tries to use his brass knuckles to take the hammer from Jeffy, which doesn't work so well. He slices the spikes across Jeffy's wrist, though, then punches him, creating several tiny holes in the big man's jaw. The big man falls, but he's still breathing.
Barely.
Wendy doesn't seem to be paying attention to Drew, either. But then again, no one can right now. There are people with knives and guns coming at them, intent on hurting them. Wendy fires at the man with the shotgun, hits him, and he flinches hard, one shoulder rearing back as blood spurts from it. He snarls something that doesn't quite sound like English, and the truck's door opens again.
Maija goes over to Jeffy and stabs him in the chest. Her knife isn't long enough to reach very far, but it doesn't need to be, as hurt as he is. A second later she and Alex are standing over the prone, enormous form of the moron himself. He is beaten and bloodied and breathless. He, just like his little friend with the nail enamel, just got killed on the street. At least he didn't land on anyone.
Someone is running at them out of the pickup truck, small and lithe. The baggy-clothed figure leaps up and tries to plow an elbow into Alex's face but just collides with him, reeling back several steps in shock. A pulse of hair-raising fury snaps across the air, a feeling that none of them may even recognize with their own adrenaline pumping and hearts pounding. It's also hard to notice under the smell.
Sweet. Fruity. And rotting.
John, having felled Trixie and not knowing what they're facing out of the truck now, turns his firearm on the man with the shotgun instead. Two shots does it. The shot gun falls just as Jeffy's hammer and Trixie's knife and gun did. The Kinfolk have three dead bodies that look entirely human to deal with now. Possibly a fourth, because none of them know yet if Drew is dead or alive at this point.
Alex picks up two weapons. Delightedly. And the latter he puts against the short teenager's chin, only to have the teen twist away. The shot goes skyward instead, quite possibly damaging the teen's ears but nothing else. Hell. Could damage Alex's, too. He'll live. Unfortunately, so will Leslie.
Wendy is the first person to know that Drew is not quite dead. Drew's pulse is weak. Drew's breathing is present but irregular and shallow. She is alive, but barely, and won't be for very long. Left like this her lifespan is measured in minutes, not hours. Wendy pushes past Trixie's limp arm and starts applying pressure, starts pushing Trixie off, and extends those minutes. Buys a few more for Drew. But it won't last. If she takes her hands off of the Fenrir girl, her life will likely be over before this battle over.
Especially when they consider the fact that Leslie over there is looking at Alex with livid, dark eyes, shoulders moving with heaving, furious breaths. Especially when they see the rippling, sickening beginning of a Change right before their eyes. It isn't the rapid snap of an experienced Garou changing shape. It takes a little bit of time. But it won't take long enough. The next sound they hear is a shrieking, undulating roar as the teenager reacts to the loss of the three others by unfurling into a gaunt crinos with oozing green eyes and matted black and tan fur shot through with gray.
[John Thornton] ((Init + 6))
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 4
[Maija] (....shit. This aughta be fun... INITS! +7-1=+6)
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 3
[Alexander] 7
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Wendy Berber] [+4]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 7
[struggle] Leslie [+7]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 3
[struggle] [Init Order:
Alex
Wendy
Leslie
John
Maija
Damage Tally:
John: OK
Leslie: OK
Alex: 1B
Wendy: 2B
Maija: 2L
Drew: 7L, currently stable
Keegan: Dead
Jeffy: Dead
Trixie: Dead]
[Maija] "FUCK." Maija slides her hand into her back pocket and flips a card to Wendy. "Call her - tell her it's me and gimme your gun."
1a - toss card/takes gun
1b - fires on Leslie [wp]
[John Thornton] ((Base: Split [Shoot Leslie/ Shoot Leslie] ))
[Wendy Berber] *Wendy's spindly form is couched over top of Drew, tearing lining out of her coat and tourniquetting wounds. Too busy for a card though she hands Maija the light pistol, frantic.*
[continue to work on drew~]
[struggle] Leslie
[1a. Shift to crinos
1b. Claw Maija
R1. Close on John]
[Alexander] (sorry about the delay, folks.
a. shoot again
b. whack with claw end of hammer)
[Alexander] (-2 dice, -2 diff)
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 3, 3, 4, 9, 10 (Success x 3 at target 4) Re-rolls: 1
[Alexander] (damage +2)
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 5, 6, 7, 7, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[struggle] Leslie Soak, still in homid
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 8, 8, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Alexander] b. whack! -3
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 3, 4, 5, 8 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Alexander] (damage, str+2L)
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 2, 4, 5, 5 (Botch x 1 at target 6)
[struggle] Leslie
[1a. Shift: Primal Urge + Stamina]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 4, 5, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6) [WP]
[struggle] [*headdesk* DLR]
[Wendy Berber] [stabilizing DREW continues. DO BETTER. (-1dice) WP4 outta 5]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 3, 4, 5, 8 (Success x 2 at target 6) [WP]
[struggle] Leslie
[1a. Shift, dammit -2]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 4, 10, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6) [WP]
[struggle] Leslie
[1b. Claw Maija: Dex + Brawl -3 (split)]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 6, 6, 7, 8, 8 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[struggle] [Damage]
Dice Rolled:[ 12 d10 ] 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[John Thornton] ((Split (1/2): Shoot Leslie
Dex + Firearms - Split(2), diff = 6
Hail Kahseeno))
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 2, 6, 10 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[John Thornton] ((Split (1/2): Damage
Base (5), diff = 6
Hail Kahseeno))
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 7, 7, 8, 9, 9 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[struggle] Leslie Soak
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 2, 3, 7, 8 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[John Thornton] ((Split (2/2): Shoot Leslie
Dex + Firearms - Split(3), diff = 6 [wp spent]
Hail Kahseeno))
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 6, 7, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6) [WP]
[John Thornton] ((Split (2/2): Damage
Base (5) + Extra Suxx (3), diff = 6
Hail Kahseeno))
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 5, 8, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[struggle] Leslie Soak
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 8, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[struggle] Leslie [+6]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 5
[John Thornton] ((Init + 6))
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 10
[Wendy Berber] [init +4]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 8
[Alexander] 7
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 1 (Botch x 1 at target 6)
[struggle] [Init Order:
John
Wendy
Leslie
Alex
Damage Tally:
3 Dead Bodies
2 Kin at Incap
A couple points of bashing
And a partridge in a pear tree]
[Alexander] (a. shoot! from behind!
b. more!
c. and more!)
[struggle] Leslie
[1a. Dodge
1b. Claw John
R1. Claw John]
[Wendy Berber] [Pick up Drews gun, (no dice for split)]
[John Thornton] The clip falls from the bottom of John's gun as the slide pulls back, the weapon empty and smoking. Hazel eyes narrow as the detective stares down the creature of nightmares before him, his hand moving even as he watches to withdraw the next clip from his belt.
Slamming it home, John draws back the slide, and begins unloading anew on the monstrosity that is Leslie.
A simple cheshire smile resting upon his lips... A pregnant smile... One that all but dripped with unspoken knowledge.
A smile unseen for some time upon the detective's typical deadpan expression.
((Reflexive: Reload Clip, prep weapon to fire (-2 attack dice)
Base: Split [Shoot Leslie, Shoot Leslie] ))
[John Thornton] ((Split (1/2): Shoot Leslie
Dex + Firearms - Split(2) - Reload(2), diff = 6
Hail Kahseeno))
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 1, 7 (Failure at target 6)
[John Thornton] ((Split (2/2): Shoot Leslie
Dex + Firearms - Split(3), diff = 6 [wp spent]
Hail Kahseeno))
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 2, 4, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6) [WP]
[John Thornton] ((Split (2/2): Damage
Base (5) + Extra Suxx (1), diff = 6
Hail Kahseeno))
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 3, 3, 6, 7, 7, 9 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[struggle] Leslie Soak
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[struggle] [Delete Soak and Damage]
[struggle] Leslie
[1a. Dex + Dodge -2]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 3, 3, 5, 5, 8, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[struggle] [...and DLR, too. Oy. I can do math.]
[struggle] Leslie
[1a. Dex + Dodge -2 (split) -2 (health)]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 3, 3, 8 (Failure at target 6)
[struggle] [To clarify: John shoots Leslie for 2 suxx, Leslie fails to Dodge, John does 4L, Leslie soaks 1]
[Alexander] (KILL IT!
-3!)
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 3, 4, 5, 10 (Success x 3 at target 4) Re-rolls: 1
[Alexander] (4+
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 3, 6, 6, 7, 7, 8 (Success x 5 at target 6)
[struggle] Leslie Soak
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)
[struggle] Leslie
But she was going to have my babies! We were going to be so happy together! THEN YOU KILLED ALL MY FRIENDS AND SHOT ME. YOU GUYS ARE ASSHOLES.
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 2, 2 (Success x 1 at target 8) [WP]
[struggle] [Combat over! Recap coming!]
[struggle] They are now dealing with a Black Spiral Dancer cub. An angry, ambiguous, fast as hell cub who seems to elude any attempt they make at injury. Alex shoots and the bullet may as well be absorbed. Alex lashes out with the claw end of a hammer and it's shrugged off. And then Leslie unfurls into crinos, bypasses the Walker entirely, and tears into the female that hurt Jeffy so badly, that stabbed Trixie over and over, that is closer than the bastard that killed both Trixie and Keegan.
Maija goes down before she can take Wendy's gun. Her blood mingles with Drew's on the pavement. Her skin begins to pale, just like Drew's. Wendy has two felled acquaintances to tend to now, and she can only focus on one.
And then John spends his last bullets to blow a hole in Leslie's chest. It will regenerate. They all know this. He reaches for another clip and slams it home, fires again...and misses entirely. Maybe he swears. Maybe he just focuses. Maybe he laughs...maybe he just grins. This time when he shoots Leslie, the beast of war hits the asphalt. This time when Alex follows to shoot it again, Leslie's enormous head bounces on the pavement from the impact.
Dark eyes open. Leslie begins to stir, to try and roll over. Slumps again.
Wendy is reaching for Drew's firearm when it happens. Maija and Drew are bleeding. John and Alex are standing at angles, firearms pointed at the body on the ground. They don't share a look. They don't nod or speak. They unload bullets into the crinos, stopping only when it becomes
inevitably
the shape of a mangled, bulletridden teenager again, loose clothes torn, multicolored hair matted with blood, form limp and motionless.
[John Thornton] John for his part just stares at the corpse of Leslie for some time after it's over. The Cheshire smile upon his face dies a slow, almost painful death... His brows furrowing, his mouth becoming a thin line of anger.
With a tight lipped snarl, he speaks while standing over the body...
"Bad dog."
Then, the loud .45 caliber is heard time and again, until the slide draws back again, the chamber open... Every last round expended into the body of Leslie.
It is only then, after all the rounds are gone, that John turns and begins to tend to the fallen. His expression a sober deadpan, untelling... Unfeeling... Numb...
He carries the still smoking pistol to Maija first, and sets it on the ground beside him to cool...
A piece of paper rests near Maija's fallen form; hazel eyes are drawn to it like a compass needle to magnetic North. Taking it in hand, he recognizes it as the card Maija had given Wendy to call...
Wordlessly, he begins doing what he can to stop Maija's bleeding, to stabilize her...
It's only after he's done what he can that he takes a cell phone from his pocket and begins dialing the number on the card.
((Stabilizing Maija
Int + Medicine, diff = 6
Hail Kahseeno))
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 2, 7, 7, 8 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Wendy Berber] MAIJA! *Drew's gun clatters to the ground, and Wendy's crawling the short distance over to Maija, thrashing to get out of her dam coat. Spindly limbs fly this way and that as she stoops her too skinny frame over the gnawer kin, and starts applying pressure to wounds with a whimper.* Maija.. ..
*John hands her a card, takes over and the blood covered glasswalker kin fumbles slippery handed for her phone, leaving John to it only reluctantly as she makes the call.*
Um hello? Maija told me to c-c-call. Um. we n-n--need help? Um.. c-c-c-orner of.. uh.. Garret avenue and um.. Cl-cl-clemenstine.. um.. B-BB-B-bron-bronzeville?
[Alexander] Actually, Alexander doesn't pull the trigger over and over. He shoots twice more after the thing goes down, and when it starts to slip back into its birth form, he stops.
Thornton doesn't. Thornton calls it a bad dog, which makes Alexander's eyes snap to him suddenly, dark and unreadable. Then he just watches as Thornton unloads his clip, flesh bursting open and mangling more with every hit.
When it's over Alex's ears are ringing. Everything sounds distant, muffled, filtered through cotton and fog, the way it does after a long night playing drums for some half-crap band at some half-crap venue or other. His trigger finger aches, though he hadn't pulled it nearly so many times as John had. He's never shot for such a prolonged time before. Alex is a fighter, this is undeniable, but he's not actually much of a killer.
And he's never, ever seen one of them die before. He's heard of it, sure. But he's never seen it happen; never seen that last dreadful shift back to homid.
He doesn't really have a smartassed comment. He just stares at the mangled Dancer ... cub.
A moment later he tosses the gun down. He'll want the shotgun later, but right now, he doesn't want to hold the empty, hot piece of metal anymore. By then John has moved on to staunch Maija's bleeding while Wendy continues to work on Drew. Alexander looks at them for a moment.
Then he says, "We're going to have to do something about all the bodies."
[John Thornton] "Hello... I'm in Bronzeville, in a shopping area at ((please insert appropriate address here)). We ran into trouble; Maija is hurt. She needs medical assistance immediately. Before she went unconscious, she gave me a card with this number on it...
We have two people down, one with knife wounds, the other with more significant lacerations. I also have multiple bodies to deal with.
Any assistance you can provide would be appreciated... Is your expertise medical or cleanup?"
His voice was level, belying the furor he'd felt mere moments before, the one of but a few times he'd let his emotions best his reserve of late. Now, it seemed John had withdrawn into himself; the deadpan was as unreadable as ever... The eyes as vigilant as always...
His voice held tightly in check.
[Wendy Berber] [Good enough. I misread John's post. Wendy will continue to tend Drew, seeing as John has Maija + call wrapped up.]
[John Thornton] ((Folks, I'm pretty much wore out. I gotta git to bed. Can we assume that whichever answer Murray gives, John does what he can to help with the other, and what not?
Basically, put him on auto-pilot for the remainder of this scene?
I hate to run off like this, but I gotta be up again in 2.5 hours.))
[struggle] [No problem, Mandrake! Thanks for playing!]
[Drew Roscoe] Well this certainly wasn't how the night was planned to go. Drew was supposed to meet up with a couple of friends, chat with them and hang out for an hour tops before she went home and to bed. It had been a long afternoon and evening at work, several things had gone wrong involving dropped plates, incredibly rude customers, and a roaster ceasing to function, making for outrageous wait times for customers to get their plates. Drew wanted to relax, to smile and mean it.
...And instead she got this.
Some woman mugging her because she didn't yank off her pants, take the money, and be happy with that. She had enough time to grab her gun from where she'd wrapped it up in her apron, to register that people were running to try and help, that the woman had screamed for someone named Jeffy and his fly had been undone when he stepped out of the alley... But then a knife plunged into her stomach in a vicious strike and stayed there. Drew didn't manage to step far enough out of the way, and she was left staring down with wide, shocked eyes at the blood that wet her shirt, blending with the crimson that the fabric already boasted but appearing so bright on the woman's fingers and wrist.
She registered laughter, yelling, gunshots, and two more harsh rips of pain before the world span and she had collapsed in Bronzeville for the second time this week, gun clattering to the ground and apron fluttering down to join it. Her belly hit pavement and bled a steady thin stream into the crease of the sidewalk where it would travel to the curb, well, and spill into the gutter. And it would. not. stop.
Trixie fell dead atop Drew, and she did nothing but continue to bleed and grow pale. Wendy dropped to help, pressed her hands against the wounds through the sopping wet fabric of her shirt and vest, but there was only so much that could do. It would help, but only for the moment.
Real medical aid was a necessity.
[John Thornton] ((John has his car, it's a sedan, so he has room for a couple, but I suspect Maija and Drew will need to remain lying down. *ponder* John could call for an ambulance, but that takes them back to the hospital; I don't think he can smooth over "drop us off at this other place that isn't a hospital."
Anywho, I gotta go. Please let me know how things end up.
Thanks for the rp folks; I had a blast))
[Wendy Berber] [can they be moved? - answer comes "no"]
[telephone] ((What's the time frame for how far away this would be from Maija's?))
to Alexander, Drew Roscoe, Maija, struggle, Wendy Berber
[Maija] (I'll let Kai say for sure - but she usually walk to the store, and just outside of Joe/Thomas's territory as stated, so few blocks? So not TOO far? )
to Alexander, cricket, Drew Roscoe, John Thornton, struggle, telephone, Wendy Berber
[Wendy Berber] [Getting very tired over here. could just skip ahead to Ambulances, or whatever is happenin? Any objections?]
[Drew Roscoe] [None here.]
[struggle] [Let's say 10-15 minutes.]
to Alexander, Drew Roscoe, Maija, telephone, Wendy Berber
[struggle] [If you need to go we can NPC Wendy just like John.]
[struggle] [Basically if you need to go, go! Sleep >>> RP!]
[telephone] ((10-15, they would still be stablilized? Skip ahead then?))
to Alexander, Drew Roscoe, Maija, struggle, Wendy Berber
[Maija] (works for me!)
to Alexander, Drew Roscoe, struggle, telephone, Wendy Berber
[struggle] [I don't know what we're skipping ahead TO. If ambulances, you have a very short amount of time to deal with 4 dead bodies. If someone's coming, that's another matter.]
to Alexander, Drew Roscoe, Maija, telephone, Wendy Berber
[struggle] [*puts this here, too*i'm gonna go ahead and log out, guys, and let you handle the aftermath. i think by now most everyone is pretty used to the cleanup routine! *L*
thank you guys so much for playing, i was really glad to get to ST tonight :] ]
[Alexander] (thanks everyone for the RP, and thanks V for the STing! gonna bow out too. i think alexander would help deal with bodies (probably with JT?), but stay out of the halp-the-wounded type stuff.)
