World of Darkness World of Darkness: Attrition - Looking Down the Rabbit Hole [Finished]

[z021]

The Evening of Sunday, January 18th, 2009

Remy was pacing back and forth between the "comfy corner"'s two plush leather chairs and soda fountain. He'd bought a drink, just so the watery-eyed night manager would go back to playing his PSP in the manager's office. Oneca glanced up at him from one of the chairs as his orbit brought him close to her. "You didn't have to come, y'know. I can handle this on my own."

He stopped and ran a hand through his hair, tapping his head in annoyance, "You, a half dozen strangers from some UCLA chat room, and trespassing on a crime scene. How could I resist."

Oneca shrugged and sipped at her chai tea latte. She wasn't about to start another round of arguments with him; Remy completed another lap in his Panera marathon. She was about to go back to contemplating the fake fireplace when Remy folded himself into the other overstuffed chair.

"Do you really think they can hel- they can find anything the cops haven't?" His eyes were a mixture of reserved hope and fear.

"I don't know," Oneca answered truthfully. Her eyes flicked to the front door. "I guess we'll find out when they get here."

[Adrian Moss]

Adrian drove up the Panera's a very vexxed man. He had personal problems, sectarian problems, and a hunger on too boot. Hopefully he would be able to hit the club scene past midnight and handle that last of those problems. The first, woman problems, would also be thankfully put off for another day. He wouldn't be meeting Erica and Gwen had been put off with the promise of spending some time after school this week.

He adjusted his black leather jacket as he got out of the car. It was a bit chilly tonight and he had best act the part. He would have to fake living soon, but that could wait until he was inside. No sense in making himself any crazier than he already was.

How dangerous could this be, anyway. Declan was going to be here. Even if No Moss wigged out a bit, Dec should be able to handle it. That just left the girl - the woman. There was also the small matter of the murdered kids. He was afraid it might be one of his. His kind were known for their sense of depravity at times.

Adrian did a little mantra, cleared his mind of the maelstrom of distractions and put his best game face on. He crossed the street to the Paneras and walked in. He hesitated in his steps toward the counter - he had to buy a coffee for the hand warmth - and looked around.

[Owns-The-Night]

Declan trotted across the street, flipping the bird at the boy racer with a horn fetish who was upset that his just-over-the-speed-limit progress had been slowed for about 10 seconds. As the blare of the car horn faded away behind him, he stepped onto the sidewalk outside the Panera. He had jogged all the way here, a curious ground-eating gait that had not even left him breathing heavily. Even in his best shape as Sgt. Declan of the Ranger Corps, he hadn't been this in shape. He smiled at the thought.

Despite his shaggy hair and short beard, there was no mistaking him for a bum. The hair was clean, the skin clear, and the silver eyes were too bright and alert to be fogged with drugs or alcohol. Dressed in loose dark grey track bottoms and matching sweatshirt, the werewolf was ready for the possible need to shift his shape, but didn't think it likely to be necessary. He saw his role here as being support for the real investigators, as well as taking the measure of the newcomer, No-Moss.

He pushed open the door and entered the cafe, taking in the place with a sweep of silver eyes. The first thing he saw was Adrian, moving towards the counter. The young vampire saw him and smiled briefly before ordering a coffee. Otherwise the place was mainly deserted, except for two people sitting at the back corner of the store. As the bleary-eyed kid turned from the coffee machine to ask the newcomer what he wanted, Dec grabbed a carton of milk, paid for it and, clapping Adrian on the shoulder gently in greeting, moved towards the girl he recognised from the pre-season party. Oh yeah, the one that danced with Hunt all sexy-like. Looked a handful then. Looks like one now too, but worried rather than prowlin'. He took the comfy chair across from her and sat down, leaning forward hunkered over his knees as without preamble, he opened his carton of milk before raising his eyes to meet hers.

"Declan Perault. Call me Dec." His voice was deep and quiet, a distant thunder of waves against the hum of the lights and machinery of this place. "That back there is CS. He'll be with us in a moment, I'm guessin'."

[z021]

Oneca nodded to Dec, unconsciously leaning away from him while still looking him over thoroughly; she smiled warmly. "I'm Oneca. This is a friend of mine, Remy," she motioned to the chair next to her. "Thanks for trying to help us out. Most people don't usually care, especially for people they don't know."

The young man of obviously mixed heritage nodded to Dec and flicked his eyes over to "CS" as the vampire and his coffee headed towards the small knot of people.

"Oneca told me you guys were going to head out to the warehouse, see if you all could catch something the cops missed." His tone was carefully neutral.

[Adrian Moss]

"Hey," Adrian waves, taking one hand off the coffee he has been cupping, "I'm Adrian."

His eyes flicker from Oneca, to Oneca's legs, to Remy.

"We have some history of looking into bizarre and unexplained events and this qualifies."

His hands go back to rubbing the coffee.

"Maybe we won't find anything, but maybe we can find something by looking at things from a different take. If we don't find anything, all we've really risked is the loss of a few hours. Those we can spare."

Looking back between the eyes of the two humans something occurs to him.

"You two aren't coming with us, are you?"

He sounds somewhat distressed.

[Owns-The-Night]

Declan took a sip of his milk and, feeling eyes on him, glanced over at Remy while Adrian talked. The darker-skinned male was giving him a second, more measuring glance. Dec's eyes narrowed slightly. Both of them smelled human, but so did willworkers.

And so did hunters.

Owns-the-Night felt a slight tingling in his gut, a reaction to the thought that had just flashed through his mind.

"Sure they want to come." he rumbled. "This is their friend, and they're lookin' to help him out." An argent gaze bored into the two humans. "Right?"

He waited for Oneca or Remy to give an answer. If they said no, Dec was tempted to bail out of an almost-certain trap. If yes, then they were ballsy enough to risk their own necks in that trap, if it existed at all. Either way, Owns-The-Night wouldn't let Adrian go into that alone.

[z021]

The two exchanged a look, mildly confused on Oneca's side and mildly suspicious on Remy's.

"Of course we are," Oneca's suprise seemed genuine. "First, we're the closest to a legitimate excuse you'll have for being there if you get caught. Second, we want to look around for ourselves and third -"

"We don't know you." Remy cut in, leaning forward from the chair. He gave Oneca a mollifying look before turning back to the two strangers. "No offense, and I am greatful for any help I can get in figuring out what happened and getting Peter out of jail, but we don't know you. Peter doesn't know you, and it's his warehouse. We go with you." He gave both of them a ghost of a smirk. "Don't worry, we won't be in the way."

[Adrian Moss]

Adrian nods slowly in response. He seems mollified somewhat by Declan's agreement and Remy's honesty.

"I can see that,"he finally says. "Okay. We wait a few more minutes for No Moss to get here and head out. My car holds five, sort of ... or do we want to take more than one vehicle?"

Inwardly, Adrian is a bit worried about the humans coming along. That means no walking in the ever-quiet shadows, which was disquieting. Adrian liked playing up to his Shadow namesake. Still, he had his skills and natural abilities to fall back on. He also had his heightenend senses to call upon.

While turning a bit to see if No Moss was here yet, he breathed in deeply, gathering up the scents of Oneca and Remy. Not only would this let him find the two if they get lost, he could remove their scents from the area, if they appeared, which was unlikely he hoped.

He also brought out their heart beats which spiked his hunger once more. When he looked back over at them, it was with a more predatory gaze. He fought it down, but the fact that he was an inhuman predator was just below the surface.

[Rorx]

Scott strode up the street looking around at the area of town like a tourist, which to a large degree he was. Checking a printout briefly at an intersection he smiled and picked up the pace as he saw the sign for the Panera up ahead. A few people on the sidewalk gave him a second glance as they stepped aside for him. Not being overly big he assumed that the reason was the leather bike trousers, jacket and matching boots he wore, although perhaps his now shoulder length hair and short beard something to do with it as well.

Walking into the cafe Scott glanced around and it was clear who he should be meeting, the group of four in the corner stood out, if nothing else by their mixture of clothing styles. Adjusting the small daysack on his back he went first to the counter and ordered a coffee. Scott liked real coffee, but didn't like the prices that the big chains charged nowdays. However, after 2 weekd on the street hiding from potential hunters he was willing to pay that bit extra for a decent cup right now. Reveling in the aroma of a nice Kenyan Blue Mountain quad espresso he made his way over to the group.

He looks them over curiously and sticks his hand out to the closest, saying.

"Hi guys, we stopping here long or hitting the road again? You can call me Moss, as in Stirling Moss. I know I've met some of you on line, but I'm afraid that doesn't really help when we meet face to face for the first time, so I'll need some intros I'm afriad."

[Adrian Moss]

Well, the accent kind of gave him away, but it was nice of him to introduce himself.

"Sterling Moss, I'm Adrian Moss. Maybe we are long lost cousins," he grinned. Looking around the room then back to Moss, "This is Oneca, the lady that has brought us all together; Remy her friend; and Declan, who will be calling the shots."

"Now that that is done, why don't we get going? Between eleven and midnight is our best window of opportunity."

[Owns-The-Night]

Declan stayed quiet for now, studying the strange Uratha. He had felt No-Moss's wolf as soon as the Brit had stepped into the cafe, and had twisted in his seat to watch the newcomer. Owns-The-Night's silver gaze was unwavering as he glanced at the mug in Moss's hand, then back at his eyes as Adrian made the introductions, nodding in greeting as his own name was mentioned, then nodding in agreement with Adrian's not-quite suggestion.

"Yeah. Let's go." He stood up, draining the last of the milk from the carton with a single long swallow. "Just to avoid confusion later, though..." and he pointed a thumb towards Adrian. "He's Adrian, and you're Moss." The big Rahu smiled slightly. "Call me Dec."

He nodded to Adrian. "Lets go, kid. Lady rides up front with you to direct us. Moss, you and Remy are in the back with me. Hope neither of ya had garlic for dinner." Chuckling deep in his chest, Declan led the way to the door and held it open for the others.

[Rorx]

Scott smiles at the slight confusion, "No I'm not.. oh never mind. Yeah, lets go if that's what's happening."

With a last deep inhale of the aroma Scott downs the espresso and turns back towards the entrance again.

[z021]

As the final member of their impromptu group arrived, Remy shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He shot Oneca a look that was hard for anyone that didn't know him well to read. Oneca shrugged in response, either to the look or the orders being handed out, and stood. "That's fine by me."

She headed out of the cafe without any sign of reservation; Remy seemed caught between staying near to her and not having one of these odd chat friends of her at his back. Eventually he shrugged and headed out as well.

Once everyone was settled into the car, Oneca began giving out directions to the warehouse. It was obvious that it would be a bit of drive before they made it to their destination. In the back seat, wedged between two predators, Remy's only sign of nervousness was a constant spinning of a gold ring on his left hand.

[Adrian Moss]

Adrian drove through the streets with great care and concideration for the rules of the road. He listened to Oneca, nodding each time she gave him a change in direction. Perhaps she might have noticed he breathed very shallowly, if at all. He was also animal attentive to his surroundings, checking his mirrors, and studying the street crossings as they came to them.

When they finally came to the district, Adrian turned off the lights, but kept driving normally. When he spotted a patrol car coming their way, he turned into a side alley. Adrian waited for the car to pass before pulling back out. He pulled to the back of the designated warehouse, parking it behind one of those massive dumpsters.

"Excuse me," he said as he reached across he and opened the glove compartment door and pulled out a lock gun. Adrian got out and looked to Remy.

"What can you tell us about the alarm system, if any?"

[z021]

Remy didn't bolt out of the car, but he did put a bit of distance between himself and his riding mates once they were at the warehouse. He shook his head at Adrian, "The cops had the security company put turn off the system while the investigation was going on. They said no one would be able to get into the place 'cause they'd have uniforms on site. That lasted about two weeks. Now it's just the patrol cars, once every hour or hour and a half. There's cameras inside, leftovers that Peter never got rid of, but they aren't on. Well, unless the cops turned them on." He shrugged, "No one came to run me off the last couple of times I was here, so 'long as we don't get too loud and clear out for the patrols, we should be fine."

He lead the group over to side door and slipped a key from his pocket to unlock the door and let them in. The warehouse was two stories tall, with a veranda running the perimeter of the inside; stairs to left of them ran up to the office area and the veranda. The warehouse was loosely packed with all manner of odds and ends; a mix of antique store, museum, and oversized garage. A large path had been made to near the center of the building, with police tape marking off the area. Starbucks and DunkinDonuts litter had gathered on the edges of the cordoned off area and on the open ground were the fading remains of two chalk outlines.

"This is it." Remy's voice was nearly hushed, his eyes on the open space in front of them. "Most of the dust is gone now, but if you walk around the...less traveled areas, be careful. Extra shoe prints and coughing fits aren't what we're here for."

[Owns-The-Night]

Declan stepped forwards, his eyes lingering on the two chalk outlines before wandering over the surrounding clutter. The pathos of the small human-shaped series of white marks seemed highlighted somehow by the callous litter of fast-food packaging that had collected around the marked-off area. He was silent for a long moment, then turned his head towards the others, his eyes glinting in the darkness.

"Adrian? I got some ideas." He spoke quietly, a rumble in the gloom. "Couple of us should go up there..." he pointed at the stairwell. "...and poke around. Those bodies were found awful central in this place. Maybe someone was keepin' an eye on things from that verandah. The offices are probably worth checkin' too. Cops did that, probably, but ya never know." He carefully stepped over the police line and crouched a short distance from the outlines, his eyes and nose scanning for blood marks. "What did these kids die of? Anyone said anythin'?" he asked without turning around.

[z021]

Remy nodded to Dec and motioned for anyone that wanted to go upstairs to follow after him. He seemed relieved for the excuse to move himself farther away from the crime scene.

The scents of the warehouse were mixed. Mostly it smelled of dust and wood and metal, with occasional twinges of slightly molding cloth and old paper; fading but still there was the metallic smell of humans that habitually carried firearms, most likely the patrolling cops. Oneca lighted down next to him, her eyes tracing the outlines in front of them.

"The official report is that they died of exposure and dehydration," her voice was as hushed as Remy's had been and she ran her fingers over the concrete towards the two dimensional figures as if she could somehow comfort them with the gesture. "Remy has a friend that....well, Remy knows a lot of people. She said from what she saw that they looked liked they'd been out in the woods: thorns and bramble and such all over their clothing and in their hair. Most of it wasn't from anything you'd find around here, though. More like what you'd find in northern California or the East Coast."

[Owns-The-Night]

Declan cocked his head, puzzled, and turned his head to regard Oneca. "So they died out there... and were dumped here?" He scritched his bearded chin absently. "That's weird as hell." He wished for his wolf nose right now. He'd be able to tell swiftly whether the bodies had been dead when they got here or if the children had been alive for a while.

"So, Remy's friend saw the bodies." he mused aloud, refocusing his gaze on her. "Anything else come out of that source?"

He tried to ignore her scent, faintly perfumed and clearly Female. The scent this close reminded him of Morgan, and those thoughts weren't conducive to a clear head and keen eye. He grumbled internally at his libido and shunted it to the back of his priorities, focusing on the task at hand. But in that moment of distraction, he slipped up a little.

Without thinking he leaned forward on both hands and, lowering his face to a few centimetres from the floor within the markings, was about to take a deep strong sniff of the scents present when he caught himself. Thinking fast, he instead examined the ground closely, taking his time to see if anything was amiss and subtly tasting the scents. It was harder, slower work, but at least it didn't run the risk of breaking the Code. He worked with one advantage the police detectives didn't: Owns-The-Night's mind was open to the possibility of strange forces being at work. In fact, given the Uratha duty to protect the Herd from the spirit realms, he was more inclined to look for the strange shit first: he was alert for supernatural meaning as well as mundane clues in what he perceived.

Click to reveal..

Wits and Investigation extended roll: First ten minutes

(07:29:06) ChatBot: (Goddamn_Declan) rolls 4d10 and gets 1,1,8,9.

2 successes

[z021]

Oneca shook her head at his question, watching his actions quizzically. "No, that was all she knew. Or at least all she was willing to tell Remy."

The outlines were close together, even overlapping at one point, but other than suggesting that the bodies had been touching when they were discovered, the white lines gave up few secrets to scent and sight. After a moment a thought did occur to the Rahu: there were no smells of blood or bodily fluids usually associated with dying, nor was there any smell of the bio-hazard cleaners used by police when such evidence is found at a crime scene.

[Adrian Moss]

Adrian scouted around the edge of the crime scene taking in the sights and scents of the crime scene. He let his mind drink in the positions of the bodies and whatever else seemed abnormal, or out of place. With a keen ear, the junior detective took in the conversation between Declan and Oneca.

"Dumped here ..." and he looked around for any footprints that seemed out of place. He lowered his head half until he was half way's bent over and took a deep wiff, hoping to find some scent of this woodland outing on one of the footprints.

Click to reveal..

Investigation (Crime Scene)(14:21:26) ChatBot: (Adrian) rolls 10d10 and gets 7,8,4,9,7,6,3,4,4,8 = 3 successes plus Auspex

Once he had made a full circuit of the taped off area, he closed gently, carefully to the chalk outlines. Again, he sniffed the are and studied every little tidbit he could find. He even ran a finger inside one of the outlines and tasted it, desperate as he was for any clues.

Adrian then took a step back and studied the two bodies to see if they were laid out in any pattern. He scanned the veranda to see were the best place to view the bodies from above was. Anything could be a clue.

Click to reveal..

Enigmas:(14:27:13) ChatBot: (Adrian) rolls 9d10 and gets 4,3,7,3,10,10,3,10,2.

(14:27:29) ChatBot: (Adrian) rolls 3d10 and gets 6,5,8 = 4 successes.

[z021]

As Adrian sifted through the scents in warehouse he was able to pull several very faint traces that were out of place. It smelled like spruce or redwood, maybe, and other more exotic green smells that didn't bring any particular place to mind. With those scents was the faintest trace of the copper/iron smell of blood. The faint signature of these smells attested to the time that had passed since their origins had been in the warehouse.

As for the bodies, other than their proximity to each other there seemed little to suggest a pattern to their positions. The chalk tasted of, well, chalk. The veranda ran the perimeter of the interior so any place along the walkway would have been able to view the bodies.

While contemplating the possible clues in that Adrian's mind fit several other questions together: there were no windows on the first floor of the warehouse and the door they had come through also lacked any way to see inside; how then had the police discovered the bodies here? If the children were killed somewhere else, somewhere with trees and underbrush, why bring them into the city and put them here? How had whoever brought the bodies here circumvented the security system that the cops had to order shut down?

[Owns-The-Night]

"Adrian." Declan called the P.I. over. As the slim Shadow crouched beside him, Declan spoke in a low voice. "No blood here. No piss or sweat from the bodies. They didn't die here, man. And they weren't here long enough to decompose: no cleaners or biohazard agents." He looked around. "It's like someone killed them in the woods miles away, then somehow dumped them here for some goddamn reason."

He stood up and concentrated, his pale metallic eyes going distant as he tried to get a feel for the local Gauntlet. Was there a locus here? Had someone transported these kids through the Hisil and dumped them in a locked warehouse to make a 'locked room' murder? And if so, why?

He was relatively new to this, but he stretched out and tried to connect tentatively with the Spirit realms. If there was a weak Gauntlet here, he'd feel it. After a few moments, he shook his head to himself. Nada. So that ruled out most types of spirit activity.

He looked at Adrian. "You found anything?"

[Adrian Moss]

Adrian hesitates before continuing, eyeing Oneca for a moment. Well, letting a human know you were bizarre wasn't against the rules, as long as they didn't know you were kindred, right?

"The funniest thing I tasted/scented was the taste of Redwood or Cedar, but that's faint. Could have been from something stored here."

"I agree that the kids were killed elsewhere but planted here. Two things bugs me is this: how did the killer, or killers get the bodies in without setting off the alarm system? Also, who saw the bodies in here? There are no windows in the second story and the warehouse doesn't look like it was used for the past several months."

The young Mekhet hangs his head.

"Not that I was expecting all that much, but this is really not much. It's like I'm seeing something, but not making sense of it. What have we got here? A woodland killer, or maybe someone who works in a wood shop? All I can put together is exaclty what has happened is what the killer wanted to happen - the owner of this place is in jail."

He stands up and looks around. His voice is kept low so that only those on the bottom floor can hear.

"What do we know now? We can tell you that the killer was someone with a wood/woodland fetish and could walk through wall."

Adrian looks past the two humans and at the windows. In an even quieter tone,

"Hold on a second. I want to check the upper windows. Not only for the alarm system, but to see if any of those windows were used to get the bodies inside. A human couldn't ... normally do that, but maybe? I'll be back."

Adrian proceeds to do just that. He starts going around to the windows on the second story to see if someone has gained egress through them. You never know.

Click to reveal..

Investigation check (17:43:47) ChatBot: (Adrian) rolls 9d10 and gets 1,6,1,3,8,5,5,10,10.

(17:43:56) Re-roll tensChatBot: (Adrian) rolls 2d10 and gets 10,9.

(17:44:07) Re-roll ten ChatBot: (Adrian) rolls 1d10 and gets 7.

= 5 successes!

[z021]

Oneca listened to the pale young man as he spoke, her own color draining some as she listened to him go over his course of thought. She stood up, still eyeing the chalk outlines.

"Redwood?" Her voice was barely above a whisper and she seemed far away from the warehouse as she spoke, "There was tip....an anonymous tip." Her expression was still far away but the line of body was taught and her hands curled in and out of fists.

Adrian made his way up the stairs and passed the small office; the windows along the second story didn't open and hadn't been cleaned or bothered for years from the look it. The occasional chip or crack in the panes was hardly space enough for more than insects and cold air to get in. That left two possibilities: whoever had brought the bodies here knew how to disable the alarm system without leaving a record of having done so, or they were able to enter and exit the warehouse using supernatural abilities that bypassed the security. Given all the trouble gone through to put the bodies here, there was definitely some sort of connection between whoever did this and the owner of the warehouse. The case screamed planted evidence, misdirection, and above all, personal.

As he walked around Remy came out of the office to the railing, glancing over to Adrian, "You guys find anything?"

[Owns-The-Night]

Dec moved in closer to Oneca, head tilted as he regarded her curious reaction to Adrian's find. The large man's nearness was strangely reassuring to the woman despite that eerie gaze resting on her face. When he spoke, the voice was very quiet, pitched for her ears alone.

"What do you know about redwood, girl?" The werewolf asked as gently as he could, placing a calloused hand on Oneca's upper arm. "Somethin' about a tip?" He heard Remy and Adrian talking upstairs, but kept his focus on the female in front of him. Instincts were prickling the hairs on the back of his neck at the tension in her posture.

[Adrian Moss]

This was a conundrum - a problem Adrian couldn't figure out. He was too weak, too young, and not gifted enough to find the answers. As a result, he had to stifle a growl of frustration when Remy came by. It wasn't the poor human's fault. He was just the wrong man at the wrong time.

To distract himself, Adrian looked down to the floor before replying to Remy.

"We found out a little, but I'm not sure how much of it you already know. We should get down to the others."

He started to go down and tell Declan that he would stake his unlife that no one had gained entrance through the second floor when something else occured to him.

"Remy, what is your relationship to the owner of the house? What do you and Oneca mean to him? I'm asking because this is a masterful frame job by someone of little conscience. They want your friend to suffer. We just don't know why. Hell, I still don't know how he, she, or they got in here."

Adrian seems angry to admit the last. What really frosted him was the doubt that a really gifted human serial killer was getting away with this. Being bested by a supernatural critter would at least not leave him feeling inadequate.

[z021]

Upstairs Remy seemed surprised by Adrian's question, and gave his first genuine smile of the evening. "That's a little complicated. Well, it's complicated with Oneca. Peter and I are pretty simple. We're lovers, partners." He frowned, thinking. "I can think of a list of people that might want to get at me, but either they wouldn't go this far or they don't have the resources to pulled off something like this. Unless...."

He sighed and then shrugged. "I've got another friend that's been stirring up a bit of hornet's nest, but this seems a little convoluted for that."

Downstairs Oneca was simmering. She hadn't answered Declan, hadn't seemed to register his words or the hand on his shoulder. He could feel the tension in her, like hot current coursing through her and after touching her, into him as well. The nighttime LA air had been cool when they'd arrived, but it was decidedly warm in here now. Just at the point where Declan might have pushed the issue something decidedly strange occurred: Oneca's shirt set on fire.

[Owns-The-Night]

"What the fuck?!" Declan snatched his hand back reflexively. "Adrian! Fire!" He called as loudly as he dared, warning the vampire even as his peripheral vision picked up several tiny match-flames starting to spring up around Oneca. Cursing in a curious mixture of 'Military English' and the snarling consonants of First Tongue the Uratha jerked off his oversized sweatshirt. He knew that what was happening was something to do with the girl: he had felt the charge building up in her, some imminent sense of power looking for a way out. Dunno what the fuck this is, but it's not goin' to be good for her to be on fire.

Naked to the waist he leaped forwards, wrapping Oneca in the sweatshirt and tackling her to the floor. As he did so, he noticed that the girl's long hair wasn't catching fire, and her skin wasn't reddening at all. The only burning smells were of cloth: not flesh. Okay, fuckin' weird Owns-The-Night told himself as he did his best to put the flames out. We really don't need the whole place goin' up.

Click to reveal..

Brawl roll:

(00:52:57) ChatBot: (Dec) rolls 7d10 and gets 8,9,3,9,4,5,9.

(00:53:02) (Dec): 4 succs

Also 2 succs on a Perception roll.

[Adrian Moss]

His instinct was to get to Declan's side. Declan was his friend.

"Remy, head for the door," he yelled over his shoulder to the young human following him. It would be better to have him in a known place if there was smoke.

What he saw when he came downstairs didn't make any sense. Oneca seemed to be on fire and Declan was trying to smother the flames - or that's what he would verify to Morgan if he ever saw her again and she asked. But first, was that raw terror that came with flame. It was even worse for Mekhet's - the Shadows. Flame burned them with a biting hunger.

Click to reveal..

Spending a Willpower for the roll: (19:52:36) ChatBot: (Adrian) rolls 9d10 and gets 8,5,2,8,6,6,9,8,8 = 5 successes

Though the fear was clear on his face, Adrian advanced within a few feet of the Declan/Oneca pile looking for something to do. From what he could tell, Declan had the problem well in hand and Oneca ... wasn't screaming or crying out? That was fucking odd. Adrian knew he would be crying his fucking lungs out.

Click to reveal..

Perception test: (20:03:32) ChatBot: (Adrian) rolls 9d10 and gets 6,4,1,10,8,3,4,4,8 = 3 successes

"What's going on?" he cried out desperately to the air then "Declan, what do you need me to do?"

Besides come any closer to those flames of death that is. Flames so close he could reach out and touch them wihout moving a foot was too close for Adrian, but ... Declan ... on fire. Oh hell. For once having the beast in charge sounded so much safer.

[z021]

Oneca went down easily as Declan pounced her in his rescue attempt. She let out a sound, not a scream but more of grunt, as she hit the floor, flailing against the weight now on top of her. The small flames and sparks in the area seemed to blink for a moment and then come back stronger. Several sheets that had been covering items in the warehouse were now burning in small spots; mixing in with the smell of burnt fabric was the sharp bite of burning paper. The flames might still be manageable, but if nothing was done soon enough the whole room would be burning.

Remy had looked over the railing at Declan's yell, and never acknowledged the Mekhet's order. Instead he vaulted over the edge of the veranda, landing in an awkward but injury-avoiding roll. Adrian was already down the stairs by the time Remy got his feet back underneath him and had taken stock of what was going on. He tried to find a way between Oneca and the big man pinning him, but after the flames in the area flickered a second time he gave up.

"Oneca! Can you hear me? Oneca!" He waited only a heartbeat or two before calling out again. "Dec! This is gonna sound crazy, but you've got to get her to calm down. You've got to....dammit!" He followed that with a curse that sounded vaguely French. He focused on Adrian, "Do you keep water in your car?"

[Owns-The-Night]

Get her to calm down? Shit! Declan took in the situation, and looked up at Adrian. "Get the fuck out and get water, kid." he snarled, then turned to the flailing girl. How the hell do I...?

He hesitated a split second, then operated on instinct, treating her like a frightened cub with a trapped paw. He removed the now burning sweatshirt and cast it onto a bare patch of floor before slipping one arm around Oneca and pulling her into a gentle embrace, her head on his shoulder. The fire bit at his skin as he finished patting it out, but with inhuman resolve the Rahu forced back the pain and kept the blank-eyed girl close, making low soft sounds that rumbled deep in his chest as he rocked Oneca back and forth. The smoke stung his eyes, but the two of them were low to the floor: for now the safest place to be.

Looking down into her face, he saw awareness slowly returning to the deep blue eyes, but Oneca was far from calm. She was shivering now, her fear palpable to the werewolf's senses as she struggled against whatever waking nightmare she faced. Hurry up with that damn water, guys. Declan half cursed, half prayed.

Click to reveal..

Presence 3 & Empathy 0 (-1)+ Striking looks = 3 dice.

Burning a willpower.

(01:48:03) ChatBot: (Dec) rolls 6d10 and gets 8,1,1,4,2,2.

1 success

Takes 1 Lethal damage from the flames

7 Health levels left

Spending 1 Essence to heal.

10 essence left

[Adrian Moss]

Water? Both men were asking him for water.

Adrian remember he had taken out a case of water when he had bought the car. He had told the previous owner he wouldn't need it. The guy had just shrugged but had told Adrian he would regret it. Bastard.

Lightining quick, Adrian made an inventory of what he had in the car. He had coolent, and a fire extinguisher, and his spare tire back in, and ... Gwen! Gwen, bless her still-beating heart had put two one-liter waters in his car to drink. She was health concious that way. The Vampire looked at Remy,

"Get a fire extinguisher. I'll get some water!"

and he was off.

Click to reveal..

Dex+Athletics roll for speed: (21:06:18) ChatBot: (Adrian) rolls 9d10 and gets 8,1,4,1,10,10,7,9,6.

(21:06:31) ChatBot: (Adrian) rolls 2d10 and gets 1,3 = 4successes

Bounding to the door with some relief, Adrian was out the door and to the car like he was the one on fire. He threw himself over the seat and grabbed the two waters out the floor of the front seat. Monkey-quick he was back on his feet and bounding back inside before the door had even shut.

His beast was back at his throat, but he held to his core self. he wouldn't let these people down because some Bastard from Hell was afraid. He ran back to a safe throwing distance from Declan and Oneca.

"Okay! I've got some water."

Only then did it occur to him that what he had might not be enough - not nearly enough. Of course, there was always the fire extinguisher in his trunk.

[z021]

Oneca was shaking uncontrollably, but the flickering excitement of the flames had settled down into the normal growth pattern of fire. Not comforting, but at least it wasn't growing by leaps and bounds any more. She took in breaths in deep gulps and the Rahu could feel the chill of tears soaking into his shoulder.

Remy plucked one of the bottles out of Adrian's hands and strode past the flames encroaching on them to kneel down next to Declan and Oneca. "Love, can you hear me now?"

Oneca nodded mutely, still clinging to warm and comforting body in front of her.

"Alright then." Remy spoke softly but insistently as he uncapped the bottle of water and placed it in her hand. "Drink this, and then I need you to put out the flames. The safety system is off, remember? Can you do that?"

It took a long moment for her to disengage from Declan, and she downed the liter bottle without pausing for a breath. She closed her eyes after finishing the water and let out a low, long sigh. The flames in building, every one of them, dimmed until they went out.

Oneca wiped the tears from her face and seemed to really take in the situation for the first time, starting with the singed and smoldering warehouse and ending with Declan's bare chest. She did the only thing one can do in that situation: she promptly blushed deep red and fell off his lap.

Click to reveal..

1 Willpower spent to put out flames.

[Owns-The-Night]

Declan sighed with relief as the flames died down, and let the girl slide off his lap. While Oneca recovered her composure, the Blood Talon looked down at his hands. They were blistered and scorched from holding Oneca close while patting out the flames on her, and his teeth bared slightly as he flexed his fingers. The healing process was already underway, and in a matter of heartbeats the blistering, reddened burns faded and disappeared, becoming normal tanned skin once more.

He sighed and licked his lips, then turned to Adrian holding out his now-healed hand. "Let me have that if you got no use for it, kid. Throat's dry as fuck." Dec's deep voice was raspy from the smoke, but he smiled as Adrian passed him the bottle. Leaning his head back, the large man downed half the water before rinsing his face with the rest. Wiping himself down, he cast an eye at the equally half-naked Oneca, who was still a deep shade of pink and seemed more than a little flustered.

"Well." he began, a grin playing around his lips. "Seems we're not all what we seem, huh?"

[z021]

Remy had been watching Oneca for the most part but he'd glanced over Dec as the Uratha was healing. He unbuttoned his shirt and draped it around Oneca, who was still slightly out it. He shrugged as stood up next to her, addressing Declan, "There isn't anyone in the warehouse that's normal, 'far as I can tell."

He put his hands on his hips and surveyed the damage, "Do you know what set this all off, Dec? You were the one down here with her."

[Adrian Moss]

Okay, what the fuck was that?

"Umm ...Okay, what the fuck was that?," Adrian said looking from the half-naked Oneca to Remy. "I mean ... Hello. Flames. Really hot flames."

It takes a moment for his thoughts to catch up with reality. Adrian took off his jacket, walked over to Oneca and draped it over her shoulders. He got a nice view of her nice, lucious neck while he did so and had to look away.

"Umm ... here ya go."

Thankfully Adrian took a step back to give Oneca her space and to give himself some room from her. Was there something extra enticing about fire and feeding? He looked around with some desperation and latched onto Remy.

I wonder if he does something special like her. She's like HeatBlast from Ben10. Is he like a ... Gwen or Grandpa, or does he have ... super powers ... mystic gifts ... too?

"Hey now, what do you do?" he askes Remy directly. At the same time it occurred to him that he should perhaps be more weirded out at running across such a powerful, kindred-killing weapon. Or, if he was a human, weirded out by anyone doing what Oneca had done.

[Owns-The-Night]

"It was a word, near as I can tell." Declan likewise stood, unconsciously imposing his own dominance on the conversation as he drained the last of the water from the bottle. He glanced at Oneca, wary in case she caught fire again, then leaned in close to Remy. "Redwood." he murmured in a low rumble, then straightened up. "Not sure why, but she zoned out then caught fire." He moved over to the discarded sweatshirt and scooped it up, tossing it to Remy.

"Here. That oughtta cover more of the girl up." He looked around too, mildly annoyed at the smoke-scent concealing everything, then back at Oneca. "So, how'd she do that?"

[z021]

Remy tossed the sweatshirt to her; Oneca blinked at all the clothing dropping on to her but ditched the too-small button-up shirt for the smokey sweatshirt. She was still blushing furiously, but seemed to be getting her mind back into the present.

Remy frowned at Declan's explanation and shrugged at the question. "How did you pull a Wolverine with you burns?" He cocked his head to the side and turned to face Oneca. "Redwood? You don't usually go ballistic over...trees......" He trailed off and took the few steps back her side, crouching down next to her. He cupped her chin in his hand and tilted her face up to look at him. "Her? Do you really think she'd do this?"

Oneca closed her eyes, fresh tears making tracks down her face, and nodded. She tried to speak several times but couldn't seem to get any words out; finally she just nodded again. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have....I should have just...just left and then....then..." She hiccuped and seemed on the verge of another breakdown, though there didn't seem to be any heat to this one.

[Owns-The-Night]

Owns-The-Night rumbled in his chest; faintly, but a sound of primal irritation for sure. Taking a deep breath, he stepped over and crouched down on the other side of Oneca, a little further away than Remy. His voice was calm for Oneca's sake. It was obvious that the girl wouldn't take well to Dec in 'irritable' mode.

"Let's deal with this quickly, and without code-speak. Who is 'her'? And why is 'she' using your pal's warehouse as a dumping ground. And last, but not least, where do we find them so's we can slap seven kinds of shit outta them, clear your buddy, and get those other kids back?"

The smoke had cleared now, and both humans could clearly make out the strange-looking black scar pattern on Declan's broad chest as he leaned close. He balanced easily on the balls of his feet as he squatted there, his silver eyes intent on Remy and Oneca's faces. There was something other about him, crouched like that before them. They felt no menace or threat from him, but there was something frightening, exciting, savage and fierce about the 'Crazy' groundskeeper.

[Adrian Moss]

Her? Some demented woodworker is the one behind all this and we have flambé girl on our side ... until she realizes what we are.

Adrian's mind whirled with the possibilities to himself and too his race. Would he tell someone in the Order about this? Should he talk to Declan about it? He wasn't sure.

Well, for right now he could agree with what Declan was saying. Something needed to be done to right this wrong and save those kids. Let the demented wood-worker suffer for her crimes. The humans could see to that just fine ... and if they couldn't, Declan and Sarah could jolly well do it.

All Adrian had to do was stay the course, do what Declan said, and see this thing through. That would give his life some serious meaning and restore his hope that there could be good change in his life as well as dark. He could make the world a better place.

He took a step forward,

"Oneca, whatever it is, you can count me in."