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World of Darkness: Attrition - Boot-Scooting Boogie


z-August Turner

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Aradia laughed, and swam over towards the floating bikini top, snatching it right before one of the frat boy wanna-be's could get to it and draw out the view a little longer. Then she swam back it Kaitlin's direction and gave the girl a hand, tying the strings behind her back while the embarassed skater girl held the bikini in place in the front. She didn't seem to linger on the view the way an interested girl would've, though she didn't seem too concerned about Kaitlin's partial nudity either. The tying seemed methodical, actually, like someone who was used to helping someone else dress.

"The circus."

"Oh, c'mon."

"Seriously, the circus. I was raised in one. I've been learning to be an acrobat since I was old enough to hold on to a trapeze. Spent a lot of time with the animals too, but that was mostly behind the scenes stuff. Except for the horses. I did some bareback riding stuff too, once I got older. Damn."

Kaitlin tried to glance over her shoulder to see what had distracted Aradia from her story, and felt the bow the other girl had just tied start to unravel again. Aradia took the strings again, and this time began to knot it in the hopes it would hold tight a bit longer.

"I think it's shot. Tell you what, I've got a couple older ones upstairs - nothing fancy, and my girls are a bit smaller than yours, but I bet they'll stay on better than this thing will. You're gonna have to, if you wanna pull off anymore diving at this party. Or swimming. Or moving much, for that matter." Aradia swam over to the side of the pool, and pulled herself up and out of the water. "What about you - where'd you learn your moves? They weren't too shabby either!"

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The bikini comment elicited a surprised look and actual laugh - a rare thing for Sarah in the past few years.

"No, no bikini, with or without rhinestones," she managed at the end of the laugh. "Just knew that there was a party, and figured I'd give it a try." Shrugging, she added, "I'm just not the mingle-flirty-pool-diving type, I guess."

With a raised brow, she asked, "And what has you wandering away?" A look at his jacket later, she amended her question. "To a bike, from the look of it?"

Romeo perked at the genuine laugh. It boosted his confidence and he smirked at his success. It made him feel better knowing he had entertained someone, if only for one line.

"Oh, nothing. Just escaping the melodrama llamas back there for a moment." he said, scrunching his nose to pull his glasses back up in a quick, practiced motion. "My bike is out front, I'm just not used to the heat here." he added, looking at his jacket and pushing his glasses up reflexively as they slid on his slicked nose.

"How about you? If this isn't your kinda thing, are you stalking victims or something? Walking the fringes of parties is usually reserved to creepy guys in thick-rimmed glasses."

Maybe she just wanted the free booze. She doesn't seem drunk...doesn't smell like it anyway...and yet she still laughed...

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Kaitlin followed Aradia to the side of the pool with several strokes of her strong legs, but paused before slipping out of the water, rolling her shoulders to test the resilience of her bikini top. It would hold, but not for long. Kaitlin followed Aradia, plucking up her shorts and wagging her finger with a smirk at the Fratboy who had gone for her bikini top in passing before giving her a grateful smile.

"Thanks, Aradia, that's awesome of you." The younger girl's grin turned rueful. "I wasn't actually expecting swimming today and well... I really need to do a laundry run, y'know? About my moves, oh, I learned them here and there."

At the wry twist to Aradia's lips and the lift of a brow, Kaitlin held up her hands and gave her an apologetic shrug, as the two of them entered the gorgeous house. Kaitlin couldn't help but take an appreciative look around, Aradia's favour was providing her a perfect, if inadvertently, opportunity to case the place.

"I'm not trying to be evasive, honest!" Kaitlin protested. "I took some gymnastics classes when I was much younger, but not for long - my dad couldn't afford them. I learned most of my skills through trial and error on the streets and YouTube clips. Freerunning and skateboarding - and snowboarding too - takes constant practice and discipline, and both really teach you how to move. Jake - he ran the local YM/YWCA - he let us set up the gym regularly so we could train, landing on mats instead of concrete, though I've done that plenty too. But when you get knocked down, you just get back up again, right? I've competed at the X-Games since I was fourteen, and won both Climbing and Skateboard -Street," Kaitlin said proudly.

"Oh, and I've seen Cirque de Soleil dozens of times, even got the occasional lesson from the performers when practice was slow. They said I have a lot of talent, but I'm too freeform, lacking the polished technique. If I keep at it though, the talent scout I could audition in a year or so... though I'm not sure that's what I want to do... I'm not sure what I want to do, now..."

Kaitlin glanced away while to the two of them went up the stairs, taking them three at a time, but not before Aradia caught the melancholy cast to her eyes. Aradia didn't think it was thoughts of Cirque de Soleil that shadowed her thoughts, but she couldn't tell exactly what was. As Aradia unlocked the door to her room and waved Kaitlin in, Kaitlin shot her an engaging grin before looking around, all signs of her prior dark thoughts hidden behind bright eyes.

"Y'know, you'd totally have a shot at Cirque, Aradia. Working in a circus is, like, a first class pass to an audition - they always look at those with professional experience first."

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Biker Boy's question knocked Sarah back for a moment. Recovering, she deadpanned with a solemn nod, "Yup, that's what I'm doing: stalking victims for my nefarious and secret needs. Needs that might include taking a ride on the back of a bike. Whadya say; you up for being my victim?"

The corners of her mouth quirked up in a wry grin as she waited for a reply from her breakfast.

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Shivers ran up Romeo's spine at Sarah's reply, quashing the laugh he would have normally let out at a sarcastic reply such as hers. But he did manage to smirk back as he spoke, shaking his head. "I don't even know your name. Plus...you don't have a helmet. And to be quite honest...what you just said there...kinda creepy."

Romeo pulled his cell from his jacket pocket and woke it up to check the time.

Need to eat and take pills...hope there is something here that isn't spiked.

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Dammit... why do they always have to do it the hard way?

Doing her best to put on a bashful look, Sarah looked at the ground then back up at Biker Boy. "Sorry about that, didn't mean to be creepy. Just seemed like a fun follow-up to your line." And I don't get to be honest all that often, she rued.

"Anyway, I'm Sarah," she said, offering her hand in the near-universal sign of a handshake.

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"Clone me?" Lucien asked with a chuckle. "I think not. I'm an attention whore, and if there were more of me that'd certainly spell less attention for, well, me[/i." He listened politely as Astra attempted to regale them her tale of 'yer story' and had had to laugh a bit when she only got as far as where she was from before someone else introduced themselves. "I'm from the East Coast," he said with mock sincerity. "That the short version though." With a smile and a wink he raised his cup to Astra.

"Dec," Lucien shook the man's hand. It was a strong and firm grip, the type associated with business men, politicians, and others who shook hands firmly. "I've seen you around a bit, you work on campus right?"

"Yeah." Declan nodded as he replied dryly. "I do a little of this and a little of that. I hope you don't mind me crashing the party."

"Hey man, not. At. All." After he released his hand he gave the large guy a slap on the shoulder. "We don't throw these for the elite, we throw these because the elite parties suck and everyone wants to have a good time, especially with classes kicking back up. Feel free to take it all in."

"Seems we're collecting quite the following," Lucien smirked to Oneca. "Last time this happened we had a very interesting spin the bottle session." He shook his head and laughed. "God that was a drunken nightmare."

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"Honestly? Ravens are hunters. Except our eatees are on the smaller side. And I can be a rather badass bird when fighting comes." Jeremy replied, knowing what the response was going to be like.

Swara-Ann's face was confused, given what she'd seen so far. "Uhh, huh." Jeremy sighed and decided to use an analogy. "You know how your Uratha can go into regular wolf form?" "Yeah..." Swara definitely wasn't connecting the dots, so Jeremy continued, "That's my version. Now you werewolves can go into more deadly forms? I can do that too." Letting her exaggerate it in her own mind would be best. Jeremy figured.

"Anyway, I don't smoke or any of that. I hunt, I guard my territory, I go out into nature when I feel like it. I make a living. I have fun. I do as I please, and luxuriate while the sun still shines on Earth. And of course, those who cause trouble for Nature... I trouble them too. We Changing Folk have none of this spiritual thing. We're human and animal in one."

"So you frolic with nature and you become a battle-bird." She slowly nodded her head, absorbing it all. "From the way to describe it you pretty much do as you please and live life as you see fit. That's pretty cool, I can admire that. I don't get that luxury. The People are the Stewards of this world and the spirit world. My people were given a duty, and slacking off and frolicking are not amongst them. I guess you guys got the nice end of the deal."

She seemed to perk up a bit. "You came here to drink, get laid and party? Out of curiosity how did you plan on accomplishing that out here when the drinks, women and party are all in there?" She thumbed over her shoulder pointing back at the party.

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"I think this group would have an even more interesting one," Triessa opined, looking the bunch over. Her eyes lingered on Astra, and she got a brief expression of surprise, as if she'd just recognized her from somewhere. Then she laughed. "In fact, this is more interesting right now and we've hardly done anything yet. I had no idea parties in the city would be like this. Or maybe it's just who's throwing it."

She chuckled and stepped back...almost falling into the pool for a second before she regained her footing and quickly scooted away from the edge.

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"We should do that again sometime," August said with a quick grin. As she was already in her cups a little, the idea of having a merry game of spin the bottle appealed to her a little more than it should have. "We have right about the right number of people to make it really interesting." Her grin was impish as her eyes came to rest on Lucien. Her green eyes darkened as they met his and her smile curved into a far more interesting one. For a moment, she forgot he was already claimed, and by her best friend; then Oneca giggled and leaned against him and August remembered. Her smile went from 'eager horny' to 'party happy' as she mentally ordered herself to stand down. He is Oneca's party toy.

"If we're not going to do that," she said, "we need to come up with something. Ring of Death is always awesome, though usually better for smaller parties and I'd need to look up the rules again."

"Ring of Death?" Declan asked, looking far too interested in the game for a second - at least to August's suspicious mind.

"Yeah, you take a deck of cars and make a ring of them, face-down and touching, around a drink," August explained. "A strong drink. And you have your own drink of choice in front of you. Then you all go around in a circle and pull out a card one at a time, trying not to break the ring. Each card means something, I forget what. But usually, you have to drink a certain number of times. The rules are online. The first person who breaks the ring has to drink the drink in the center."

"Sounds like an excuse to get drunk," Declan remarked.

"It is an excellent excuse to get drunk," August confirmed, grinning.

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Doing her best to put on a bashful look, Sarah looked at the ground then back up at Biker Boy. "Sorry about that, didn't mean to be creepy. Just seemed like a fun follow-up to your line."

"Anyway, I'm Sarah," she said, offering her hand in the near-universal sign of a handshake.

Not drunk, but definitely on something.

"Romeo, a pleasure." he replied, taking her hand.

Yes, really. Yes, my parents liked Shakespeare. No, I am not likely to kill myself over you and if you say 'where for art thou' I will stab you in the eye.

"I need to wander back towards the cattle. I have a pharmacy to ingest and I'm guessing if I want something that isn't at least 50 proof, I'm gonna have to go inside. Hopefully the potheads haven't eaten everything." Romeo said.

You can always stop at In & Out.

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Sarah quirked an eyebrow at the name, but let it pass; she'd heard far more ridiculous monikers from both werewolves and vampires. And this was, after all, California; she'd not have been entirely surprised if he'd given his name as 'Dirk Steele' or 'Psychedelic Echo'.

Then Romeo made mention of ingesting a pharmacy, and that was a disappointment. The last thing Sarah needed was to take in some kind of drug along with her feeding. But something that wasn't entirely self-serving did make it's way through her brain and past her lips.

"The odds on finding anything in there that isn't obvious booze or spiked isn't all that high." That said, she did manage to twist the following statement to her potential benefit. "The Red Dragon isn't all that far from here, and you've got a helluva better chance of finding something safe to drink - and eat, for that matter - there than here."

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Romeo casually tapped out a reply to email on his phone as she talked, then shoved it back his pocket when she finished. "I thought you said parties weren't your thing? he asked, calling into doubt her judgement on party fare. "Regardless, I'm sure the kitchen sink hasn't been spiked yet. Unless...you really are that interested in me...which I doubt...and you really want to talk."

He smirked again with a little snort, "I'm guessing its a biker fetish, or you're coked outta your mind...or you want my kidney or to sell me something. I'm good on encyclopedias, bibles and vacuums and I already have a knife that will cut through cans, by the way. If you think I have money to compensate for these looks, you'd be sorely mistaken, I couldn't afford to have a prenup drafted. So don't ask me to help finance your script or film. Neither do I have interest in one night stands that will garner me a burning sensation the rest of my life.

I appreciate the tip on the Dragon. Its been great chatting with you, Sarah. I hope you have a nice night."

Romeo smiled and gave a nod. He turned and started heading back towards the house.

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The brush-off was brutal, and had Sarah been human, it would have stung (particularly the burning sensation comment). But Sarah wasn't human, and instead of getting hurt, she got angry.

Very angry, in fact. And the source of her anger had turned it's back.

No more wasted words. No more gentle proddings. No more Miss Nice Vampire.

Sarah moved swiftly, wrapping one arm around his midriff and clamping her other hand tight over his mouth.

Going for the grapple, and spending a Willpower to boost it. Str 2 + Brawl 3 + Willpower 2 = 7.

Sarah Dead-Wolf *rolls* 7d10: 2+3+6+8+8+3+2: 32

Two successes. Romeo's in a grapple.

Dragging him backward into the surrounding gloom, she whispered to the struggling young man, "Don't worry; there won't be a burning sensation."

With that, glistening white fangs sank into Romeo's neck, and he fell into a state of utter bliss at the "KIss".

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"Well, sometimes there's a need for space." Jeremy clarified. "About now's a good time to go back and get some more booze and some tail... if you want to walk back with me or not is up to-" He stopped, and paused with an odd expression on his face. It sounded like something was being dragged? "'Scuse me one sec."

Perception roll
Jeremy *rolls* 6d10: 9+9+9+5+9+7

He quietly walked off, moving in the direction of the sounds, in the gloom two figures ahead were by the bushes, and damn- but it looked like a struggle. Then, as he closed in, the figures were now visible and the lack of heartbeat from one of them was pretty evident. "The hell, Sarah!" His voice was controlled in volume, but his shock to see the vampire feeding on this guy was instinctively raising his hackles.

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Fangs still embedded and the sweet ruby elixir of life flowing smoothly into her mouth, Sarah's eyes darted at the sudden and familiar call, and saw - through the very corners of her vision - Jeremy.

Oh hell.

With practiced easy, the ivory slid from the young man's throat, a remarkably gentle brush of her tongue bringing the wounds to vanish. "Go back to your party, Romeo; hope you enjoyed the moment," she whispered, then pushed him forward to stumble back in the direction of lights and people and relative safety.

Even as she did so, she turned to look at the were-raven. "Do you mind?" she asked, licking the last traces of crimson from her lips.

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"What?" Sara asked quizzically as Jeremy just began to meander off in mid sentence. Curiosity, and perhaps a trace of duty, found her following off after Jeremy along the rather quiet perimeter of the mansion as the party went on inside. She followed a few steps behind him, unsurprised that Jeremy possibly heard or saw something she didn't; Swara wasn't the most perceptive of Uratha, he head spent most of it's time in the clouds it seemed at her mentors back home never ceased in reminding her of that.

"The hell, Sarah!" His voice was controlled in volume, but his shock to see the vampire feeding on this guy was instinctively raising his hackles.

Swara stopped suddenly as Romeo was released and Sarah asked the pair if they 'minded'. "Wow, a Suck-Head. No way," she explained with a mixture of sarcasm and surprise. "But obviously way, because I mean, there it is. Cool."

The reference to 'it' didn't escape Sarah's notice. "It's all good Jeremy, the guy's alive, I think."

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Aradia looked wistful for a moment at the idea. She missed the circus life. It had been two months since she'd been in front of a crowd, two months since she'd felt herself flying through the air from a trapeze, or feeling the ripple of horse muscle beneath her feet as she flipped and leapt her way around a ring on the back of a beautiful mare or a steady gelding. But she shook it off and shrugged a little, closing the door behind them and heading over towards her dresser.

"Yeah, I might give that a try sometime down the line. But.. someone I know - kind of a mentor, really - suggested to me that I should spend a little time away from the circus. Work on some other skills, do the 'normal life' thing everyone's always talking about.. staying in one place for awhile, school, friends my age, that sort of thing. I've never had that. And I don't know if I'll like it, but.. I guess it's worth a shot. Can't hurt, right? If it's not my thing then maybe I will. Not like I dont have the resume for it, right? Though I'm used to being the star, and they'd probably wanna start me off as some acrobatic version of a chorus girl or somethin'. I dunno if my ego could take it - AHA!"

She had been rummaging around in the dresser as she spoke, as Kaitlin listened and looked around the room. The bed was covered with a worn-out quilted coverlet in lime green, and a bunch of multi-colored pillows that didn't look like they'd been acquired with any particular common thread in mind, other than a propensity for being overstuffed and brightly colored. The only things on the walls were advertisement posters for what had to be Aradia's old circus. To the young acrobat's credit, she seemed to be exaggerating about her ego - only two out of the nine or ten posters hanging on the walls had her picture on it. Most of them were pretty modern looking, although a couple of them seemed to date back further than Aradia herself, maybe even to the eighties. Most were other things - a couple advertisements about the animal shows and just one - one of the older ones - advertising "Fortunes Told! Tarot and Crystal Ball Readings", that had a picture of a woman that bore an uncanny resemblance to what Aradia might look like in five years on it. They were all in those cheap plastic frames that movie posters were normally hung in, though from their shiny newness Kaitlin could tell those were a recent acquisition. The corners of many of the posters were either torn away or showed little pieces of tape left on the corners, or holes from tacks from where they'd been hung before. The only new things in the room other than the plastic frames was the furniture - prefab, IKEA furniture from the looks of it, simple and inexpensive and low to the ground. But Aradia's noise of triumph drew Kaitlin's attention back to the dresser, where the other girl pulled out a neon purple and pink striped bikini. It was a little worn, but in a lot better shape than the one Kaitlin was (barely) wearing. Aradia tossed it to her a piece at a time before closing the drawer and standing up.

"I knew I had an extra in there somewhere. Take it, it's yours. I've got a couple."

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Jeremy cast a 'shut the hell up before you create a hunter' glare to Swara-Ann before attempting damage control. "Yeah, sorry about Sarah." He told Romeo, trying to help the man along. "She's got this blood disorder, and the meds- they don't help the brain that much, they are drug drugs practically. You're staggering. Let me help you inside. What's your name?" Jeremy asked, as he guided the staggering man along.

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Sarah was already turning for the deeper gloom further from the party when she heard what Jeremy was saying to her victim. Eyes huge in disbelief, she shot a look back that way - then at the blonde that had followed Jeremy, whoever she was - and didn't wait any longer. As fast as stolen blood could help her move, she dived deeper into the underbrush, putting distance between the place of her interrupted feeding and her.

This has gone from bad to worse really, really damned fast, she rued as she tore through through the shrubbery into a neighboring yard, then stayed close to their own wall of greenery while dashing flat out for the next street.

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"Sounds like an excuse to get drunk," Declan remarked.

"It is an excellent excuse to get drunk," August confirmed, grinning.

"I like this plan." Dec announced with a lopsided grin. "Though you'll have to take it easy on the new guy, huh?" he nudged August, smiling at the others. "I ain't really partied in a year or two, so no decorating my face with marker pen or lipstick if I pass out." He looked around. "So is it Ring of Death, Spin the Bottle, or somethin' else we're doin'?" he asked amiably.

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"I like Ring of Death," Triessa decided. "It sounds like an extreme sport or something. I can impress my friends when I regale them about the time I took part in...the Ring of Death, and lived to tell the tale. Assuming I do live of course. No telling what'll happen if this bunch gets drunk enough." She grinned.

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Sarah moved swiftly, wrapping one arm around his midriff and clamping her other hand tight over his mouth.

Dragging him backward into the surrounding gloom, she whispered to the struggling young man, "Don't worry; there won't be a burning sensation."

With that, glistening white fangs sank into Romeo's neck, and he fell into a state of utter bliss at the "Kiss".

With practiced easy, the ivory slid from the young man's throat, a remarkably gentle brush of her tongue bringing the wounds to vanish. "Go back to your party, Romeo; hope you enjoyed the moment," she whispered, then pushed him forward to stumble back in the direction of lights and people and relative safety.

Even as she did so, she turned to look at the were-raven. "Do you mind?" she asked, licking the last traces of crimson from her lips.

He told Romeo, trying to help the man along. "She's got this blood disorder, and the meds- they don't help the brain that much, they are drug drugs practically. You're staggering. Let me help you inside. What's your name?" Jeremy asked, as he guided the staggering man along.

Romeo staggered as his mind tried to fight its way clear of cobwebs. Vaguely, like a mosquito buzzing in his ear, he heard someone asking his name. He moved his arm brush at it, but his limbs fought the command and he could feel himself being ushered.

What the fuck did she do to me?

He took a couple more steps towards the crowd and lights, still hardly realizing there was someone with him.

Did she drug me? How long was I out?

Romeo pawed at his side, reflexively going for his cellphone to check the time and discovering that his phone and the jacket it was in, was gone.

She took my fucking jacket! Fuckin' bitch robbed me!

Without a word, Romeo threw away the guiding hand, pushed away and started to stumble and half jog quickly to the pool.

ONECA!

It didn't take long to spot the woman, she tended to stand out. Romeo rushed to her, nearly bowling her over in his still-recovering daze. His jacket and hat were missing. His pants and shirt had dirt and grass stains and his glasses had a smear on one lense. Even his boots had leaf litter caught in the straps. "What...the fuck kind of party is this?! You have people hiding in the bushes to mug people?! Someone call 911...I've been drugged..."

I hope there's no reaction. Oh my God I'm gonna die. I'm gonna sue the fucking shit out of her.

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Oneca's eyes went wide as Romeo yelled at her, but she caught him (a little clumsily) as he fell into her. Her phone appeared in her hand from seemingly nowhere and she was dialing the police before he finished speaking. The shock and slowly building anger was quickly burning through the alcohol in her system. While the phone rang, she murmured to Lucien, "Get Remy and round up the kids and whoever else needs to not be here when the cops show up. Spread the word that the party's over early."

"911. Please state the nature of your emergency."

"My name is Oneca Bahaar and one of the guests at my party was mugged and drugged. He's speaking fine, but he's not in total control of his body."

"What is your address, Ms. Bahaar?"

Oneca gave the numbers and words in swift but precise words and nodded at the reassurance that police and an ambulance would be dispatched immediately. It paid to live in Bel Air and Oneca apparently knew how to speak dispatcher well.

Once she'd hung up, she moved Romeo over to chair and sat him down; she knelt down next to him, her expression concerned. It took her a moment to remember his name, "Romeo, the cops are going to go over all of this, but it might help to talk about as much as you remember before they get here, too, to keep the memories fresh. You said someone mugged and drugged you? Do you remember what they looked like? How they drugged you? Do you think drinking some water might help?"

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Ok, Jeremy figured when he was pushed away. Time to get out of Dodge... he walked rapidly into the treeline and once within the shelter of the trees, morphed into raven form and flew off. That went very badly. Best lie low for a few days in case he thinks I was with Sarah, hope he doesn't remember me...

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"Water would be nice, thanks....in a sealed bottle." Romeo insisted. "Not sure how she did it, I can't remember, its all fuzzy. I'm guessing a needle...the neck maybe...or my back somewhere. Her name was Sarah, jeans, jean jacket, reddish hair...bluish eyes, about my size. She grabbed me from behind, the bitch. Some guy was with her when I came to...I can't remember what he looked like."

Save it for the cops and a lawyer.

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Dec watched as Oneca fussed over the poindexter-looking guy and Lucien rapidly passed the word from on high along to Remy. This wasn't normally his business, but some nutjob this close to his territory drugging people was. It could be someone from UCLA, which meant that it was definitely his business. He went over and crouched down next to Oneca.

"I'm going to go take a walk around the bushes. Whoever did this is long-gone, but they might have dropped whatever they used on him. Don't worry, I won't touch it. I'm more worried there might be other drugged people KO'd out there." As with all good lies, it was mostly true. Dec didn't believe that the attacker really dropped anything - he was more interested in picking up a scent and running whoever it was down.

"I'll help." Lucien stepped forwards, smiling easily at Declan. "You look like you can handle yourself, but two pairs of eyes are better than one, and it doesn't hurt to have someone watching your back." Dec nodded, though inwardly he ground his teeth. There was no chance of wolfing out and giving chase with Captain Underpants riding his shirt-tails... But at the same time, the dude was just trying to be cool. Fuck.

"Yeah." he said, standing up. "Let's go take a look-see. Which way was it, man?" he asked Romeo. Receiving a loose 'thataway' wave, he nodded to the others present then jerked his head at Lucien. "Let's go."

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Triessa kneeled down beside Romeo on the opposite from Oneca. "I have some training at this," she lied glibly. "Romeo, try to relax...you're safe now. Just look at me for a second so I can see your eyes."

She reached down and took his hand in hers as she spoke, weaving streams of magic through that contact that spread out into his body; searching for where his Pattern had diverged from how it was meant to be.

After a moment of peering at his eyes, she remembered the rest of the act. She took his pulse. She felt his forehead. She 'hmmed.' She coughed to buy time to think. It wouldn't do to be TOO well informed.

"You're going to be fine," was her diagnosis. "You may be having a chemical reaction...but it could also just be that you're really...really...tired. You need to lie down and get some liquids...non-alcoholic. And not soda either. Juice would be good. Oneca, lets get him set up. I don't know where anything is."

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Declan brushing against her made her skin tingle and August grinned at him. The alcohol and the memory of the kiss made her bold, and she leaned back against him, enjoying her body's reaction. Mmm, electric... Wonder if Lucien would feel the same way. She was willing to bet that he did. Right now, though, Declan was going a great job of slowly revving her up. She was probably going to need some later tonight.

And then Romeo, ironically, ruined it.

When he staggered out, the young film student stared blankly, frozen for a long moment. By the time she was able to act, he was being tended to by other. August gasped when Romeo loosely described his attacker. "That sounds like the woman that jumped me outside the Red Dragon. Same thing, too - she jumped me from behind," the green-eyed girl said when people looked at her.

"What'd she give you?" Romeo asked.

"Nothing, I got away," August replied. Then Declan and Lucien volunteered to play the hero and August pleaded, "Guys, please be careful. I bet she's gone, but please don't you get hurt. Either of you." Attempting to lighten the mood, she added, "The ladies of LA need you studs hale and healthy." She smiled and gave them a jaunty wink, though she wasn't feeling that at all.

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Aradia turned her back on Kaitlin, so that the other girl could change into the new bikini. The sound of several car doors slamming outside caught her attention, and she leaned out the window, calling out to the group of people down below, two of whom she recognized.

"Oneca? August? What's going on?"

Her cousin glanced up at her, searching for a moment for the source before she realized it was coming from a second story window.

"Someone was attacked, Aradia - we had to call the cops. Can you help us thin the crowd a bit?"

Aradia nodded, turning back to Kaitlin with a bit of a grimace. The girl looked young - no older than Aradia if that, and Aradia was only nineteen. Fortunately, Aradia hadn't gotten around to drinking anything yet, so there wouldn't be an issue there.

"Hey, sorry to bust up the party, but if you've had anything to drink, you'd better get out of here. You're underage, right? Sounds like the cops'll be by soon, some guy got mugged or drugged or something."

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"I knew I had an extra in there somewhere. Take it, it's yours. I've got a couple."

"Hey, thanks, Aradia," Kaitlin chirped, spinning around to put on the donated swimsuit just as Aradia turned her back to her. The knot in her old bikini had tightened and there was the sound of ripping cloth as Kaitlin tore it off and slipped on the purple and pink bikini, giving her girls a jiggle to settle them in the triangular cups. Not exactly her style and she filled it out a bit more than it was meant to, but she liked the tight fit anyway and it didn't seem in danger of fraying to pieces with just a breath. She spun around and struck a pose. "Fits good enough."

Her grin faded slightly, expression contemplative and shadowed. "Yeah, I hear ya. I've just... uh, had a big change in my life too. Just moved out and away from Vegas and still figuring out what I'mma gonna do..."

"Hey, sorry to bust up the party, but if you've had anything to drink, you'd better get out of here. You're underage, right? Sounds like the cops'll be by soon, some guy got mugged or drugged or something."

Kaitlin chewed on her lower lip and Aradia could see the girl's large gold-green eyes widen in sudden alarm. Shit! Shit! Shit! This ruins everything! I didn't get a chance to nab anything and now... fuck! Now I have to head back to the damn storage unit... in the dark! And whatever else is out there, just... lurking. And what if the LVPD want to ask me about Maddy? If the LAPD take me in, they might find out and start asking questions. But she couldn't hardly explain that to anybody, not without sounding completely insane. She'd think it was insane too, if she hadn't witnessed it with her own eyes, felt Madison's hot blood spraying across her back and neck.

Quickly tugging her shorts up her hips then stamping her feet in her shoes, Kaitlin snorted a laugh, trying to hide her worry, even from herself. "So I had a couple of drinks, you'd think the cops would be more concerned with the scuffle or whatever, eh? I got an ID, but it's better not to risk it with the cops if you don't have to. Thanks for the heads up, Aradia, don't want to get you guys charged with serving minors or whatever it is in this state. Maybe I'll see you 'round - there's some great skate-parks here, but I'm still looking for a good gym." Kaitlin skipped towards the door, but stopped to look over her shoulder and give Aradia a small wave. "Ciao!"

Kaitlin raced down the hall, swinging herself around the banister and taking the stairs in a single leap, landing in a roll and popping back to her feet without stopping. She did take the time to wrap up some of those tasty wings in a ball of napkins though - she was coming away with something more substantial than a kiss, yessir!

"Hi-bye-great-party-Nice-to-meet-you-Oneca-Remy-Other-Peoples-Gotta-go-You-must-do-this-again-sometime," Kaitlin said in a blur as she loped by, crossing the already rapidly emptying yard, and heading for the foliage lining the surrounding wall.

It took her two tries, but she found her stash under the second bush. She pulled on her Offspring shirt, stuffed the wad of wings in her pack, then swung her pack onto her shoulders and took her skateboard in hand. Heart pattering in a rapid cadence, Kaitlin conscientiously slowed her paced, sauntering out of the foliage and over to the main gate in the wall with affected nonchalance. Cars were already peeling away, but it was always better if you didn't have to run from a scene of a crime - it drew attention and made you look guilty. Running for fun was an entirely different matter, of course.

Her worn, Element skateboard hit the ground with a clatter, instantly stilled when she planted a foot it with intimate familiarity. She stared out pass the gate, into the night, the formerly crowded street seeming desolate with half the number of cars in sight, and that number was dwindling. Her jaw tightened, lips peeling back in snarl, but she couldn't bring herself to leave, to go out into the dark, alone, into the gloom that was her former playground. Anything could be out there. Anything! And for her, now, 'anything' included a lot more than it used to.

Shitfuck! This is stupid, you cowardly cow! The storage unit isn't even that far! Just go! It's not like there are monsters everywhere. They can't be! If vampires and werewolves were common, people would know about them - they'd be on the news, just like in True Blood. Nothing will happen, Just turn on some tunes and roll, you'll be fine.

But Kaitlin stayed right where she was, one foot balanced on her board, watching the cars leave, their dwindling headlights leaving the street that much darker. Under the deepening shadows, her face was pale and her vivid eyes were tight. Dammit!

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For a moment Swara thought about giving chase. She knew she could easily catch up with the vampire woman, or so she assumed; very few creatures, human or otherwise were as swift as she on her feet. Then it dawned on her that it really didn't matter one way or the other. Sarah, like any predator, had to eat. She was justified; Romeo wasn't fast or smart enough to be safe around a stranger... in L.A.... at a party... in a quiet, shadowy nook with lots of background noise and no foot traffic. He should be happy just to be alive.

"Well, that was exci-" She was suddenly interrupted by the flapping of wings as Jeremy beat a hasty retreat, disappearing into the night. "Oh. My. God! You felching little coward!" She hissed loudly up at his shrinking corvid form, fists clenched at her sides. A small voice in the back of her mind urged caution, reminded her about the dangers of losing her temper, and she exhaled in a sharp, derisive huff. "Okay, relax Swara, no biggie. Shouldn't have expected anything less from a twelve piece with biscuits. Oh well, his loss because I'm awesome and hot, and totally not going to talk to him now. Nope. No siree... Big jerk face."

She moped and pouted for a moment as she gazed at the path Sarah had torn down a moment before. The leech was already long gone but she stared after it nonetheless, the hunter within her demanding she pursue the fleeing target.

"S'cuse me, but, ah, to whom are you speaking?" The cultured voice startled her; she'd been so busy ranting to herself about the jerk face and her own awesomeness in comparison, she hadn't noticed Declan and Lucien approaching.

She whirled to face them, her long blond hair floating in a dramatic arc before falling gracefully over her right shoulder. Her arms were crossed and she flashed them both a warm and welcoming smile until she caught sight of Declan. From those pretty pink lips emerged a low, guttural growl, more animalistic than human. It was that of a wolf passing a warning on to another of its kind. It was obvious and it was audible.

Also a bit awkward...

She slapped her hand over her mouth and they could see her dimples expand between her splayed fingers. She giggled a bit as she lowered her palm, looking more than a little embarrassed. "Heh... sorry 'bout that. Upset stomach. Too many pizza rolls at the party." It was weak. Declan would have had an easier time believing an autistic child with Down's Syndrome went as a five day Jeopardy champion than buying this girl's story. She smiled again, shyly, and tried to not look at Lucien's rugged companion.

"It's a western-themed party." Lucien said dryly. It was his turn to fold his arms and raise a brow at her. The growl had put him off a bit, but in a world with continually expanding horizons, the boundaries of normality were constantly in flux. He tried instead to focus more on the task at hand, and a guy as big as Declan did wonders for helping him feel safe. Especially from an idiot blonde. "The caterers brought Tex-Mex which would exclude pizza rolls. Nice try though. You see what happened out here?"

The gears in her skull turned. Of course, hers turned somewhat more slowly than others, but they did turn. Okay, they sort of chugged along, but there was certainly clockwise and counter-clockwise movement of some variety involved. Y'know, revenge is gonna taste so sweet. Go ahead and fly off, you big emo chicken. I'm not cleanin' up your mess. "Um," she began tentatively, "well, I kinda stumbled upon it. I was getting some air, from the smoke 'n all in the party, y'know?"

She paced around, looking serious, as if she were trying to recall details. "I heard a struggle... over there, in the bushes. So I came to see if someone had fallen, gotten too drunk or something, but when I got here there was this... lady and she was holding this guy down. I don't know if she was mugging him or trying some weird date rape thing, but this other guy, kinda emo lookin', was there too. I think he said earlier that his name was Jeremy, maybe? I don't know..." She shrugged. "Anyway, when she saw someone coming, she took off like a shot. I didn't get a good look at her. The Jeremy guy tried to play it off like he knew the woman and it was no big deal, but when the guy with glasses didn't buy it and ran, the emo dude took off too. I hope that guy's gonna be all right, kind of a rough start to a party," she added, her big blue eyes wide with concern.

Technically, Swara has told the truth... from a certain point of view. The fact that she's compounding on the problem is irrelevant!

:D
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Declan's reaction to Swara was almost as comical as hers toward him. Fortunately, though, it was less obvious, especially with the bulk of Lucien's attention on the blonde bombshell. His own eyes widened at the sight of the flying blonde hair and perfect boobs ideally framed by the arms crossed beneath them, and his internal dialogue, always distractable when hot women were around, jumped a few rails and got some serious air in the process.

Whoa.

And then she growled at him. Not a girly-growl, either. No sound of feminine frustration, rage or sexual come-hither: this was a wolf's growl of recognition and warning, a 'yes-I-see-you-and-I'm-taking-no-shit' growl. Dec knew that growl - hell, it was practically his song. To hear it from a female was... well it was unexpected. And hot.

Double whoa.

"Wait. Jeremy?" Declan asked Swara, who fought the urge to growl at him again and just nodded. "Dark hair, wearin' a coat, shortass kid, about so high?" Swara nodded again, blue eyes flicking to meet Dec's. It was hard to meet his gaze without feeling the urge to... well, growl or something, but the broad-shouldered man was already looking at his more-elegant companion. "I met that kid earlier. He tried to get me to take a walk with him. Weirdest damn come-on I've ever experienced, and not just because it was a dude doin' the deed."

"Sounds like we have a two-person team then." Lucien said, peering around before smiling at Swara. "I'm Lucien, by the way. And this is Declan."

"Swara." said Exhibit A, returning Lucien's smile almost on reflex. It was hard not to smile back at him, after all. He was charming, and good-looking in the extreme, and didn't make her want to... go all growly.

"Heya." Dec said with a nod, trying to play it cool. Damn, but she smelled good. And that hair... woof. Normally his tastes ran to brunettes, but only because most blondes he met were out of the bottle. But she didn't seem to want to look at him, which was a downer. Shit.

As Lucien and her talked, Dec stepped to the side and moved in the direction she'd indicated the struggle as having taken place. Eyes keen enough to penetrate the murkiest gloom sought signs of a struggle, nostrils keener than anything on two legs scented the air... and got a big ol' dose of the female wolf-on-two-legs. Oh fuck, I'm in love or something. Focus, Dec. She smells gooood. Down boy, sort through the scents. Damn, but being part animal has some drawbacks sometimes... like when meeting a female of the species. Wonder what she's doin' later... There, under the perfume of Swara, were other smells. Romeo's, shocked and frightened, was a big one. Scared human was a rank, aggression-inducing scent, and Dec rumbled a little in his chest as he crouched by the scuffed grass and tussled bushes. There was also... Jeremy. That kid who'd tried to get him to take a walk earlier. So that was his fuckin' game, eh? Play a little Judas-goat - Dec sniffed, puzzled - Okay, Judas BIRD for... *Sniff*. A vampire. Had to be. A personal scent so faint even his nose could barely make it out, but overlaying it was the smell of a corpse that didn't know to lay down and die, already.

Dec was kinda wistfully wishing that he'd taken bird-brain up on his little invitation, even if it had been totally fucking gay. The chance to kill a vampire was one thing, but to throat a vampire's shapeshifting shill as well? That was a double-Jeopardy bonus.

"Um, Dec?" Lucien's voice intruded on the vargr's reverie. Dec looked over his shoulder and up at the playboy, silver eyes flashing as they caught the lights from the house. "What are you doing?"

"Trackin'." Declan said shortly, pointing out the scuffed turf. The gloom was sufficient that the mage had to look twice before seeing the scruffy grooves made by booted heels. "Here's where Poindexter was jumped..." he rose from his crouch and walked alongside the skid-marks, which led through a bush and into a dark space behind it. Lucien stuck close behind, and behind him came Swara, evaluative curiousity in her eyes. "...and here's where his attacker did whatever to him. Ah, gotcha." he squatted and picked up a shapeless, dark mass that, to Lucien's eyes, was near-invisible until the groundskeeper had actually grabbed it. Dec gave the garment a quick once-over and tossed it to the model. "Romeo's jacket... and the wallet's still there." He rose, dusting off his hands and grinning that charming, if slightly menacing (wolfish) lopsided grin. "Nothin' else around here that I can see, but the cops'll want to go over it anyways. Short version, though - he was definitely jumped, and his attackers have definitely booked."

"That's... pretty impressive work." Lucien said slowly, looking at the jacket in his hands, then at Declan, who shrugged.

"Grew up in Montana, the unpaved parts." he replied with another grin. "This shit's kindergarten for me. We better get that dude his jacket back - that oughta make him feel a little better. At least his shit wasn't robbed." He looked over at Swara. "You wanna come along?" he asked, trying not to sound too hopeful and, in the main, succeeding.

[Owns-The-Night] 8:17 am: Wits 3 + Survival (Hunting) 2 + 2 Perception bonus + 1 Hound's Honor aspect = 9 dice

Owns-The-Night *rolls* 9d10: 2+4+10+10+4+7+8+7+3: 55

[Owns-The-Night] 8:17 am: poppin' 10s

Owns-The-Night *rolls* 2d10: 10+1: 11

[Owns-The-Night] 8:17 am: ...

Owns-The-Night *rolls* 1d10: 8: 8

5 succs

There's no hidin' when this wolfy's on the case. Booyah!

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Oneca nodded at Romeo's request and found the nearest ice-filled cooler and dug around until she found a bottle of Fiji water. She'd just handed it over when Kaitlin made her million mile per hour goodbyes and headed outside. The former party hostess frowned.

"Romeo, I need to go check on another situation. You've got people here watching out for you and Declan and Lucien taking a look around outside. And the cops'll probably be here in less than five minutes." She spoke quickly and kept moving to keep any protests to a minimum.

She was surprised that Kaitlin was still at the gates, then frowned in more worry when she realized that the girl was just staring at the street - and using a skateboard to get wherever she was planning on going. I may not be right, but I doubt it. I've seen Yolanda and Remy take in too many kids like her. She stepped up to the girl's side, making sure to make a little noise when doing so; no need to completely spook the kid. "Hey, Kaitlin," she gave the girl a tired smile. "I wanted to talk to you before the party ended, but....yeah."

She bit her lip and shrugged, "Short version, it looks like you could use a place to stay. For the night or for a while. I don't know your story and I could be way off base, but we have a spare bedroom and I can deal with the cops if they really start nosing around the house. Everything happened outside and the house is pretty trashed, so finding anything useful there will be a pain in the ass. And most cops called to parties at o'dark in the night don't really want to wade through half-eaten food, spilled beer, and vomit."

The sounds of sirens could finally be heard, heading quickly to the rented Bahaar home. She held out a hand to Kaitlin, "Once they're here, I won't have the time to hide you in the house. Now or...another day. You get the point."

The last was a bit flustered, but the cops were almost there. For tonight, it really was now or never.

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Kaitlin, locked inward on her own fears, gave a start when Oneca came up and spoke to her, her skateboard almost rolling away from her before she stamped down on the back end and flipped it up into her hand. She gave Oneca a rueful grin, but when she understood what she was offering - and why - her jaw instinctively jutted stubbornly, even though this was exactly what she wanted, she had her pride.

On the other hand, there were monsters that went bump in the night and living in a storage unit wasn't what she had envisioned. Her eyes cut towards the street, a shiver running through her which she covered under an insouciant shrug and a grateful smile. Maybe I'll came away with something after all...

"Uh... Oh, well, yeah, I have a place -" Kaitlin's head cocked to the side at the sound of sirens, "- that is, that's really nice of you. How can I say no? Moving to LA was a... sorta... spontaneous thing. I was hoping on the prize money from the X-games, but that... didn't go well, so I'm still looking for a job." Kaitlin took Oneca's hand, her grin growing easier. She is hot. "Lead the way."

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August nodded to Oneca as she led Kaitlin inside. The green-eyed girl knew the drill; they'd had to do this once before, when a girl on E had collapsed at a party. That was when Lucien and Oneca had cracked down on the no-drugs policy. So while Oneca made sure the runaway had a place to stay and was out of the eyes of the police, August stood at the door, ready to greet them.

The paramedics were there first, roaring up the driveway and slamming to a stop. "This way," August said, turning and gesturing to the men. They each grabbed an oversized duffel and followed her through the house, to where Romeo was still reclining with Tree fusing over him. "Him," August said pointing, "he's the one that was attacked."

The paramedics immediately swarmed Romeo, moving Tree gently but firmly out of the way. Without waiting to see what happened next, August turned and dashed back toward the front of the house. Boys paused in their exits to admire the results of her exertions, grinning and nudging one another. August didn't even notice them; all she had eyes for was the kids who shouldn't be there, the ones that would get Oneca and Lucien in deep trouble. The next arrivals to the party wouldn't appreciate either's casual stance toward underage drinking.

Sure enough, the police were outside by the time August bounced to a stop. Her feet were very unhappy; running in boots was not to be recommended unless she had better cushioning or they were more broken in than this pair. Still, she had no time to remove them, because the cops were here. Their presence was emptying out the house of even the legal drinkers, and the party was going down the drain faster than the LA housing market. August didn't let her disappointment show as she led the officers out to Romeo again, saying, "I don't know much - he came out of the trees over there and said he'd been attacked and drugged. Some of my friends went over to see if they could find the girl that did it."

"Girl?" The officers exchanged a confused glance. In the darkness, August misinterpreted.

"Hells yes! Some red-head in jeans! She jumped me, too, outside the Red Dragon. I reported it, you guys should know about it." The officers politely refrained from explaining that they didn't know every single crime reported personally. Instead, one went to the trees to find what was out there, and another knelt by Romeo to see if he could get a statement.

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She looked back to where Sarah ran off, still wanting to chase her down. She had the scent though and it wouldn't e hard to locate the vampire, she knew. "Uh, yeah, sure." She said, sounding a bit distant as she turned to face Declan again. He won an attractive grin from her in his direction as she silently pursued the gentleman and Declan as they walked back toward the manor.

"So, what do you think?" Dec asked Lucien quietly.

"She's not being fully honest with us, but more or less I don't think she had anything to do with it." He looked straight ahead with a very serious expression. "Nor do I think this Jeremy guy had a hand in it either. Something's not right."

"What makes you think that?"

"Just call it a hunch." Lucien said as he stepped aside allowing Swara-Ann to enter as he held the door for her. He looked back over area one last time. His eyes reflected the moon light with a shimmer and the darkness of the night was stripped away. He could see as perfect as one could in the light of day, and to him there was more to the story than the nose could detect. "Something's just not right..." he murmured silently.

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"I dunno." Dec murmured to Lucien with a shrug as they re-entered the lounge. "Dude tried to get me to take a walk out in the dark with him. That's some suspicious shit, even in L.A. I agree that Swara probably ain't involved, though. Romeo didn't say anything about hot blondes."

"Maybe he didn't notice her." Lucien said with a sly smile, noting the evaluative sweep of Declan's silver eyes as they watched Swara, now ahead of the two men. Dec just snorted quietly.

"I would of." he muttered out of the corner of his mouth, lips tugging back in a wolfish smile. "We're back." he said more loudly as they approached the circle of commotion around Romeo. Paramedics, cops, August and Triessa. He motioned to the jacket in Lucien's hand, speaking to the cop by Romeo. "We found where he was jumped. The guy's jacket was layin' on the ground right next to the scuff-marks, like it was dropped there. No sign of needles or anythin' they might've used to inject him like he was claimin', but they might've just taken that with 'em." he shrugged.

"I'll take the jacket, sir." said the officer to Lucien, recognising the playboy from his billboards and squinting slightly at the burly man beside him as Lucien handed the biker jacket over. "If you'd wait around, I'll have some questions once I've taken this man's statement."

"Certainly, officer." Lucien replied easily. Dec didn't say anything, but shrugged and nodded his aquiescence before drifting over to a wall and leaning against it, arms folded over his chest. The cop who'd gone to look around came back, conversed for a moment with his partner, then approached Declan, pulling out a notebook to take the groundskeeper's statement. As Dec talked, he noticed that the cop was repeatedly glancing at his face, trying to read his expression and scrutinising the vargr with a suspicious glint in his eye.

"And where were you when the attack happened?" he asked after writing down Dec's name. Declan repressed the urge to sigh or growl - the cop was eyeing him as though he was up to no good, and the suspicion had migrated from the eyes to the voice. The werewolf forced himself to remain calm - he was used to this shit. He'd always radiated bad news to cops, and teachers, and would-be foster parents, and indeed girlfriend's fathers the one time he'd actually met one. Declan Perault, even in high school, was the boy you didn't take home to meet your folks unless you wanted to be grounded 'for your own good'. The Army had been different once he'd gone through Basic, then AIT. He'd been judged on his team-playing skills, his soldiering, his fitness and how well he looked after his gear. But he'd still had to walk the tight line so as not to bring superiors down on him hard. After his Change, he'd come to comprehend that effect, understood that it was simple threat-response. And also since his Change, it'd gotten more intense. Humans might not have vargr-keen senses, but they still had instincts. And a wolf in human clothing was still a wolf.

"I was in here." he said patiently. "I was right here with August, Lucien, Oneca, Triessa and Astra." he pointed them out as he spoke, the ones he could still see anyway. "We were chattin' and about to play a drinkin' game when that Romeo fella comes bargin' into Oneca hollering about being attacked. Me and Lucien, there, we head out to see if there's any sign of the person he described."

"And you found his jacket, and where the attack took place. Just like that?" the cop said, his expression carefully neutral.

"Not just like that." Dec narrowed his eyes now, trying not to get irritated. Figures. One time I try to be a good guy and what the fuck happens? "We looked around some, found a girl who says she saw a lady holdin' onto a guy over there. So we go over there and look, and find where it happened. It ain't rocket science. Scuffed turf, messed up bushes, and dude's jacket layin' on the ground."

"How do you know it was his?" the cop asked immediately. Dec did sigh, now.

"Cos his wallet was in the pocket, and yeah I looked, and no I didn't take anything. You're fuckin' welcome." he growled.

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Triessa was suddenly by Declan's side giving the officer a sad, tired smile. "Officer, it's been a stressful evening. We came here to have fun and let steam off...and then this happens. It's like we can't even feel safe at our own houses anymore." Her hand landed on Dec's forearm in a gesture that might have been to keep Dec from talking, or perhaps indicated possession, or that she was speaking on his behalf. "We're sorry if our tempers are a little frayed, I guess is what I'm trying to say. It's easier for some of us than others, but we'll all help as much as we can."

She smiled sympathetically up at Declan for a second...using body language to 'vouch' for him in front of the police. It was clear that she at least held him in no suspicion. Then she looked back at the officer expectantly.

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Declan looked surprised at the support from Triessa and made a visible effort to calm down. That effort became easier when August stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Dec's arm. Her partially covered breasts and bare stomach pressed against the back of his arm; he could feel the fringe of her denim short brush his knuckles. Unlike Tree, she looked less tired and more over-stimulated as she hugged his muscular limb, her green eyes wide. "Officer, I'll vouch that I've been with him most of the evening. I ran into him before Romeo left the group. And he was here when Romeo came back." Though her words had been respectful enough, her tone suggested that the officer was letting his bias interfere.

In truth, she was mad. This was, to her, just another case of bias against the big groundskeeper. Much like she believed that the officers would know the details of the attack on her, she thought that they had recognized Dec's name and were reacting to the 'Crazy Perrault' stories. She was savvy enough about how authority worked to know that she couldn't lash out or let them see her anger. So she simply focused on looking frazzled as she hugged Declan, as if her touch conferred protection to him.

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