IC: S1:E2 "The Fast and the Furriest"

[Laurie Brightman]

The last couple of days had been, to understate matters slightly, interesting for Laurie. The "May you live in interesting times," kind of interesting. While she'd long suspected that Robert Brightman hadn't been her real father (it was a sad reality that trophy spouses were often left to find their own amusements), the notion that she was the offspring of an actual god seemed almost laughable.

Almost.

But Grace had demonstrated that there were others, and despite all the wailing and gnashing of teeth that her rational brain was doing, despite the fact that she had had plans and a life, it was difficult to deny the apparently reality of the situation. After years of falling just short of her goals, of endless hours of practice and rehearsal that earned her near-perfect technical marks but never a soloist's position, of aching muscles and sleepless nights spent studying... It was with a mixture of horror and fascination that she watched her metaphorical slate, both her shortcomings and achievements, wiped clean, as if none of it had never happened. Her future, as she had envisioned it, would simply never be, and she wasn't entirely sure how she felt about it yet.

As the newcomer, to Salem and to the group of godlings, it would be understandable if Laurie kept to herself and observed quietly. No one would judge her for taking time to assess the situation and her new "Band-mates." No one would mind if she eased into the social dynamic after determining where she fit in.

Laurie, for good or ill, rarely bothered to wonder where she fit in; rather, she concerned herself with where others stood in relation to her.

Shooting a disappointed, somewhat disparaging glance at Austin, she shook her head. "I was given the impression that Mr. Fingers, as a more experienced adult, was responsible for overseeing our education. If someone in his position wanted to harm Rachel or Fisher, I would assume there are much simpler, less contrived ways to go about it." She snorted in amusement, her expression warming to a teasing smile. "Besides. Hauling someone off to the woods to do away with them is so... cliché. Honestly. Who does that?"

"And, why wouldn't we go to class?" she inquired, directing bright blue eyes, wide with astonishment, at Nadya. "They've got work to do, and a member of the, ah, faculty is with them. Besides, the year's hardly started. Surely your academics can't be a lost cause already?"

[Dave ST]

"You obviously haven't seen her Spanish homework."  Grace joked.  "Oh, and math."

"It's not my fault Math is my first class, I mean seriously, how can they expect us to number that early in the morning.  It's practically child abuse."  Nadya argued.  Convincing though it might have been, Mr. Syracuse glared at all of them.

"There will be no skipping class,"  He stepped forward, crossing his arms in a authoritative manner.  Adults enjoyed doing that, crossing their arms, like it somehow intimidated a room full of half-blood teenagers, a small portion of which were rebellious juvenile delinquents.  "I mean it, Grace."  He glared at her like he knew what she was thinking, Grace gave Laurie a look the said 'thanks a lot' since she'd texted it and Laurie blurted it out loud.  "Now, off to class, all of you."

"Capra, Cooper,"  Victor waved them to him and started to walk out of the room.  "Let's go.  We have a drive ahead of us."

 

As the two left with Victor (he was 'Victor' when he was playing Ichor-Fueled Hero) Rachel and Fisher passed Billy Troup at his locker.  Rachel shot him an icy glare and Billy looked at her in turn.  His eyes weren't filled with fear or anger, but a calmness that made Rachel's begin to boil all over again, like he'd already blown the whole thing off.  They walked off and he went in the opposite direction.  "Hey," He heard come from behind him as he rounded a corner on his way to class.  He turned about to see Devenne attempting to get his attention.  She approached slowly, looking a bit embarrassed.  "I heard about the locker thing."

He rubbed his neck, looking more embarrassed than her.  "Yeah, I figured it'd gotten around by now"  He smiled, or at least attempted to.  She could tell he was wound up a bit, he may not have shown it to Rachel, but he had to posture, if only a little.  "I guess people are getting a kick out of it.  Watching the old bully get bullied?"

Devenne laughed.  "Dude, it was ten years ago.  I've forgiven and forgotten.  Although you still owe me for the ice cream you slapped out of my hands on the pier."

"You remember that?"  Billy's eyes grew wide.  He laughed a bit, mildly ashamed and embarrassed, bu he couldn't help but laugh about it after ten years.  "More to he point, that was you?  Wow, I didn't even recognize you."

She nodded, pursing her lips tightly.  "Yup, that was me.  My chocolate/vanilla swirlie cone all over the boardwalk.  I plotted your ruin until at least eighth grade.  Here or not, I was gonna get you back."

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry."  He shook his head apologetically.  "Seriously, I was a different person then, I had all this anger and iss-"

Darcy cut him off, raising her hand to stop him.  "Seriously, don't.  It's cool.  Water under the bridge and all that.  People change.  Like Rachel, shes not really like that, she's just... on edge lately.  I don't know why, but trust me she really is a sweet person."

"When did she get so..." Billy searched for the right words.

Darcy quirked her brow.  "Angry?"

"Hot."  He replied bluntly.  Apparently the right word was the simplest one.

"Seriously!?"  Darcy looked absolutely stunned, her mouth went agape for a moment.  "She threatens to pummel you within an inch of your life... and tapping that is all you got out of it?"

He bashfully shrugged, trying, poorly, to hide his smirk.  "Sorta, yeah."  They shared a laugh for a moment before Billy decided his heart wasn't really into class today.  "Hey, look, I know this is gonna sound weird, but do you wanna get out of here?  With all this going on, Natalie in the hospital, dealing Rachel... I just kinda need to get away for a bit.  I could use someone to talk to, I'll even throw in that ice cream."

She thought about it for a moment then smiled and gave a nod.  "Actually, I'd like that.  I'm not really feeling Friday classes either.  Although... luring me out of school with promises of ice cream?  Really?  It's a little late nineties pedo, don't you think?"

"Eh," He shrugged.  "I'm a sucker for the classics."  They turned on their heels and headed for the exits.

 

About three hours later... Charlemont MA., a little while outside Savoy...

The ride with Victor wasn't all bad.  He owned a pretty sweet ride, an old 1969 Dodge Charger made famous by the Dukes of Hazard.  It was all red and roared like a charging boar when he revved the engine.  Like Victor, the ride was a beast.  He wasn't much of a talker, and the late seventies early eighties classic rock made them feel like they were suddenly in an episode of Supernatural.  Rachel and Fisher spent most of their time texting the rest of their Band, getting updates from the various classes.  It didn't take long for Fisher to find out that Darcy was seen leaving school with Billy.  The rumor was that Billy was too embarrassed to stay at school after everyone saw Rachel threaten him at the lockers and him back down.  That was pretty much social suicide, and in High School his credibility was pretty much  wrecked after today.  Billy and Darcy had a mutual friend in Natalie, but when did they start hanging out?

"Here we are," The car slid to a halt outside a place called "Racks and Rhinestones".  A truck stop bar and strip joint.  "We'll get lunch and I gotta talk with Mrs. Belle."

"Who's Mrs. Belle?"  Fisher asked.  Rachel was already out of the car stretching her legs.  She was just thankful to be able to move around.  She looked up at the sign for the place and just rolled her eyes.  Men.

"Local spirit, nymph, actually."  He smirked and headed for the door.  "Try and keep your tongue in your mouth, kid."  He looked to Rachel and thumbed back to Fisher.  "Keep an eye on him, will ya?  Keep him out of trouble."

Thankfully the clothes at Racks and Rhinestones stayed on until after 7:00pm.  Not that it mattered much, they were still all dressed in various western or school girl themes.  The place was packed, even this early in the day.  It was only around noon and this place was hopping.  Truckers and hunters mostly, dozens of them.  It was like all of the extended family of Deliverance gathered in one place.  Rachel had to roll her eyes again when Fisher bumped into a patron on accident while his field of view was distracted by what appeared to be a 'bad cop'.  He blushed a bit and shrugged a 'what' at her and she just gripped his jacket and led him on where Victor was leading them.  They sat at a table, a very unclean table that still wreaked of stale beer.  A server approached and handed them menus, she had the loveliest green eyes, not that Fisher noticed since his eyes never made it up that high.

"Order what you like, lunch is on me."  He flipped open the menu and browsed.  "Before we go, we'll see what Belle knows.  We won't be stopping for more food, I'm hoping to get this wrapped up before the end of the day.  I hate babysitting."

Spoiler

This portion will focus on Rachel and Fisher for a bit.  The rest of you are welcome to stay at school or skip classes.  You can't follow them to Savoy, but you are welcome to ditch classes and go to The Drip, for a walk, smoke out with Dane... whatever.  Your portion will begin a bit, after I get Rae-Rae and Fishmonger set up.

 

[Fisher Capra]

Fisher ended up ordering the simple option, the corned beef and hash with two eggs from the brunch section. The oddity of Darcy going quiet on him and now suddenly hanging out with Billy Troup bothered him. But the former he could probably get from him later. She couldn't be upset at him to the extent of silent treatment forever?

This left the other ball hanging in the air. Rachel's raging threatdown on Billy and the locker punch was the other thing to get on the table. The masquerade, as it seemed to be, was something Mr. Syracuse, the Sheriff and the collective adult Scions valued very highly. So Rachel acting in an uncontrolled fashion like that was a major problem.

Heck, Rachel acting like that at all was so out of character for her. The guardian had turned threatening marauder. This imbalance had to be rectified. Fisher cleared his throat and bravely caught Rachel's eyes.

"Billy Troup. This morning. What gives, Rachel?"

[Rachel Cooper]

The thought of eating anything from this cesspool turned her stomach. In the end she ordered a grilled cheese, really how can you screw up two pieces of bread and some cheese. As soon as Rachel thought that her mind came up with several ways they could, which just made her stomach flip even more.

9 hours ago, Fisher Capra said:

"Billy Troup. This morning. What gives, Rachel?"

Fishers voice brought her back to the here and now. Her head whipped around and her narrowed eyes glared at Fisher, her lips drawn into a straight thin line. She idly wondered if she could throw Fisher through the wall or if he would bounce...

After a long moment of glaring at Fisher, she turned to Coach Fingers. "Why us? Is this some kind of test?"

[Dave ST]

"Something like that.  I don't test, I teach.  You'll either learn, or you'll end up maimed or killed."  Victor said as he winked at a passing server who was dressed in a Hooters outfit, save that the shorts were brown and her top said 'Racks and Rhinestones'.  He smiled, like he'd just had an epiphany.  "Y'know, I don't think I've seen any rhinestones in here before.  Huh.  Anyway, believe it or not, I'm the talent scout of this whole mentoring program."

"Seriously?" Was all Rachel muster, because all one could see when they looked at Victor was a beer drinking, cigar smoking, testosterone laden, womanizing pig.

"Yeah.  Moonbaby is your chubby (Nadya would always be chubby to him) comic relief, Lang is your reserved quiet type, Grace is your rebel and free thinker, Laurie?  She's your pretty little socialite.  You two though, you two are the ones who have adapted and accepted this whole mess a bit easier than the others.  Given the last week though, Cooper, aside from your tight little ass and firm rack, you're nothing but a walking Donner.  So, we're gonna do some bonding, it'll be fun."

His smile was less than encouraging.

[Fisher Capra]

Fisher blinked, but surprisingly, he conceded that Victor Fingers had a point. About the first stuff. The idea of him doing bonding did not sound like a fun time. But it had given him a start point to press the question to an irascible Rachel. "And we know what you and I feel about Donner, Rachel. So I'll ask again. Billy Troup. WHAT GIVES."

[Rachel Cooper]

Rachel grimaced at what Fingers had said. it was rude and very uncalled for (even if there was a bit of truth now that the thought had been planted).

30 minutes ago, Fisher Capra said:

 "And we know what you and I feel about Donner, Rachel. So I'll ask again. Billy Troup. WHAT GIVES."

And there was Fisher again as if on cue. Her head whipped around and if she had had lasers in her eyes (that would have been cool) Fisher would be a smoking grease spot on the chair. "None." She said teeth grinding, "Of." She could easily send him through the wall she concluded. "Your." She picked up her fork and twisted it into a small metal ball which she then set down in front of Fisher as a warning. "Business."

She turned her attention back to Coach Fingers. "I'm sorry coach, I was wrong yesterday how i handled our meeting. I've been having some anger issues since this whole... meeting my real dad thing. Not that that's an excuse, just an explanation."

[Fisher Capra]

"Anger issues." Ok, Fisher chose to interpret this as a quarter-step forward in the right direction. But really, much as a voice inside him seemed intent on matching her strength for strength, the other side said this was not the way. The way required the calm and dignity that needed to be restored to Rachel herself demonstrated to her.

"Rachel, I'm your friend." Fisher told her. "More importantly, remind me. Who has been trying to take the lead in our Band?" That was rhetorical, given Rachel's push on the idea of them all training together. "If you want to be in charge, then your anger issues are all our business." The tone was that of all things, a long-suffering mother dealing patiently with an emotionally overwrought child or husband.

"So I'm going to ask for the third, and I'd hope, last time. What gives?"

[Rachel Cooper]

Again with the personal intrusion. Rachel looked to the coach who didn't acknowledge her, but she saw a slight shrug as he sipped his beer. She actually turned in her seat to face Fisher. She looked at him. Fisher Capra was a nerd. Beyond that she really didn't know anything else about him. She knew now that their was some history between him and Donner but not exactly what. Donner was a prick but she had never caught him actually bullying anyone not like she had with Billy.

Silence hung between them for several seconds. Fisher opened his mouth the say something but she raised her finger silencing him. "One, I have not been trying to "take the lead' in this band I am not a power hungry demigod like Eric Donner. I despise how he abuses what he and his band have been given. Two, my personal issues and problems are my own and those with whom they involve. I will deal with them in my own way not by committee. Three, we are a band, a gang, what ever you want to call it. We are here to fight stupid monsters in a stupid war which is doing nothing but complicating and messing up our lives. Before this we were school friends which means I waved at you and said hi when we passed in the hall. The same with Nadya. The same with Austin. Just because we are now superheros does not make us family. Does not give you any right to know my personal business." She sighs heavily. "Now Billy Troup is an evil person. He says he has changed but i don't believe him and I am apparently the only one who doesn't. You think Eric is a bully? Eric Donner is a sweetheart next to Troup." She pauses seeming to lose her train of thought...

[Fisher Capra]

"I beg your pardon?" Something in Fisher's voice yanked Rachel straight out of her distraction and surprised her. Fisher's gaze was... different. Flat, inscrutable. She refused to think it intimidated her, but it was creepy. Nothing like what she'd seen before out of the amiable nerd. "Let's see, shall we? Billy Troup's vile and villainous deeds occurred when he was seven, I heard, right?"

Rachel opened his mouth, but Fisher gave her a look and she simply nodded. "And since then, this is the first time in a decade he's back in Salem. With time to mature. And from what the word was apologizing to his old victims when you slammed him into a locker."

Rachel again tried to protest, she knew the true scummy nature of Billy, but Fisher slapped the table to preempt her. "I get it, you're skeptical. But guess what? So far, no proof. And guess what? He's not seven anymore, neither are you. You don't get a slap on the wrist for playground fisticuffs in high school, bully-beating or not. Frankly, with your strength, odds are you'd get arrested and not on the misdemeanor level."

He picked up the fork-ball and held it his palm for visual edification.

"What a thing for Dad One to arrest his little girl for, and Dad Two to have to prosecute."

"Now for the personal business? Hate to break it to you, but you just said it: we're in a war. A war where people have lost their lives, and we might too. We may have been just school friends, but we know things are already changing. And again, war. Whether or not you're taking charge, these anger issues are a liability. As a member of the Band, it's therefore all our concern. And to be honest, you have been a driving force. It's like Coach says. Laurie is the literal newcomer. Grace is still relatively new to Salem and still finding her footing among us. Austin stays quiet and takes direction. Nadya... is Nadya."

Fisher raised a finger to his eyes, then pointed it to Rachel's. "That leaves you and I. The quote: 'ones who adapted and accepted it easiest.' Let's be honest, of the two of us, it's you. I'm the brains. In the Museum, you were the one calling the shots - on approach and in the fight. You're the closest thing to a leader we've got. Anger issues liability multiplies by 500."

"We clear?"

[Rachel Cooper]

He made good points. Rachel had to give him that. But at the same time, she was suspicious. So much happening all at once too many changes and upheavals. Maybe it was her fathers blood,  but she just couldn't believe that the way she felt, or thought she felt, about Billy Troup was real. She could sit and argue with Fisher all day but she didn't want to. They had more important things to do. She cut her eyes over to Fingers, pretending to ignore them drinking his beer and ogling the half naked women.

"Fisher, your right I have excepted this, hell maybe I even embrace it. Do you know who my father is?" She didn't wait for his answer. "The fucking Norse god of vengeance. Not Forgiveness. Not let bygones be bygones. Vengeance. Now maybe I'm wrong about Billy Troup and he has turned over a new leaf maybe he wants to make amends. Maybe everyone he has ever hurt forgives him Maybe the whole world thinks he is the best person alive the Mother Theresa of Salem. I don't. And until I'm satisfied that justice has been served, he is number one on my list. As for leading this band I am not your nurse maid, I am not the team captain. I barked orders because I saw what needed to be done at that moment. I am not a think it over kind of person I act from my gut. and i don't usually ask for advice. Now there's one more thing I want you to think about as far as Billy Troup is concerned. Don't you think it a little coincidental that the one person who he was buddy buddy with since his return, just happens to be the daughter of the nut case who tried to end the wold and that he was the one who gave us the clue where to look and almost get killed in the process?"

Shifting gears she leans over and gets the coaches attention. "So when is this nympho showing up? We are wasting time."

[Dave ST]

"Quit with the 'coach' bullshit.  It's Victor when we're saving the mouth breathing masses.  And she's a nymph."  Victor correct her.  "A grain nymph to be exact, hence why the beer here is so damn good.  So, let me get this straight, you saw what needed to be done, and you took it upon yourself to get it done."  He 'humph'd', sipping his beer as he did.  "Sounds like a damn leader to me."  He leaned in and smirked.  "Kid, take it from me, you are not your father.  The more you let that line of thinking poison you, the more like him you'll become.  Food for thought."

As if on queue their server sat a plate down in front of Rachel.  The grilled cheese looked amazing, two slices of garlic buttered Texas toast with two thick slices of cheese oozing between the bread.  A large order of seasoned steak fries rest beside it and the whole thing looked delicious,  Fishers corned beef hash and eggs were no joke either.  Everything seemed seared to perfection.  Cubes of potatoes spiced with an alluring scent mingled with the meat which remained juicy and tender.  The eggs were prepared, oddly enough, just like Fisher liked them.  "Made those, 'specially for you two."

"Jezzie," Victor's smiled and greeted the woman who'd brought them their food.  After dealing with Scions like Mercedes and Laurie, and even Grace or Nadya, it was no surprise that this woman turned beautiful into an understatement.  Then again, she did work at a strip joint, so it sort of made sense.  She was somewhere between an indeterminable mid-twenties and early thirties.  She wore Daisy Dukes and had a flanel top tied to keep her assets in check and her modesty secure.  Wavy golden hair flowed down her shoulders and it was almost hypnotic the way it swayed on it own, like grain caught in a Heartlands breeze.

"Wait, your name Jezzie Belle?"  Fisher couldn't help but ask, in fact he just sort of blurted it out at the shock hearing such an obvious yet unusual name.

"It's Amber, actually," She said with a wink.  "So, Vic, who're the kids?  The nerdy one's kinda handsome."

"You can make him a man later, Belle, we need info, after all, you called me, remember?"  He handed her his empty glass and raised his brows pleadingly.  She took it and grinned, and as she held it it filled itself up, magically.  She handed it back and he continued.  "You are a doll, you know that?"

"So I've been told." She mused.  "I called you, yes.  There's a guardian in Savoy, a nemean wolf.  She's protected the area for over a century.  Well, Vic, in the last few days, I do't know how to explain it, but she's gone nuts.  She hunting and killing everything that moves up in those mountains.  I was sorta hopin' you could find out why and if need be..."

"Kill it."  He said simply enough, like ending a life was just another day in his life.

Amber looked sorrowful, but nodded slowly.  "She's been a good guardian, Vic.  She's not like typical nemeans, my sisters and I practically raised her.  Be kind, or at least, merciful."

He chugged down his glass and gave Amber a very matter-of-fact look.  "Only good nemean, is a dead one.  I've the scars to prove it.  Those things are corrupt, they always turn and bite the hand that feeds, you girl shoulda known better.  But, we drove all the way out here, might as well bag us a trophy."

"You're a real bastard, Victor."  Amber walked off furious.

He grinned.  "Takes more than good beer and great tits to keep from killing titanspawn, darlin'."

[Rachel Cooper]

Rachel had been sulking since the coach...sorry Victor, had admonished her with the leadership shot. She had taken a couple of bites of the sandwich and it was incredible good but she couldn't bring herself to eat it or enjoy it.

She had listened to the inteplay between Victor and Belle with sullen interest and when neither offered further explanation spoke up. "What is a Nemean Wolf?"

[Dave ST]

"Well, you've of the Labors of Heracles, I'm sure.  He killed the Nemean Lion,"  Victor sliced into his steak and took a bloody chunk and started to chew.  It was no surprise that he didn't wait til he was done to continue.  "Big lion, invulnerable hide."  A bit of blood and juices ran from the corner of his mouth which he cleaned with a single swipe of his wrist across his chin.  "Well, same thing can happen to any regular animal if someone gives them, or they somehow imbibe Titan blood.  Aesir do something similar, but it's not a nemean, nemeans are uncontrollable killing machines.  Twice the size of a typical animal, usually, and most are incredibly strong, not to mention the invulnerable hide thing.  Saw it happen to a house cat once, it was kinda funny... sad, but kind funny.  Had to club it to death in front of a bunch of little kids getting off a school bus..."  His eyes drifted off in macabre reflection.  "Man that was sorta twisted now that I think about it.  Huh."

[Rachel Cooper]

Rachel pushed her plate away, got up and went after Belle " Hey Belle, Does this wolf have a name?" She asked when she caught up to her.

[Nadya Lunălescu]

Math class wasn't that bad. Sure, her homework hadn't been all done and when called upon to show her work on a math problem, it was a sprawling, messy affair that at least looked like it was correct, at first glance anyway. When challenged on it, Nadya begged an indulgence and demonstrated the 'Short Change' confidence trick, claiming it was the equivalent of her math work. She managed to cajole Mercedes' scowling flunky Lexus to help her, as she was the only one that had enough cash on hand to show the trick in action, trading a ten for ones back and forth and ending up with a twenty somehow. The class was amused, the teacher less so, but Nadya ended up not being called on for the rest of the class, while Lexus got her twenty back.

Though in the process, Nadya did nick one of her credit cards unnoticed.

Spanish class didn't turn out so well for Nadya. Ms. Elliot had not been impressed with her turning in her homework written in Arabic text... and she proceeded to correct it to Nadya's consternation and with what to her eyes was an excessive amount of red. Then Grace decided to be a bitch about it and wouldn't let her crib any answers off her for the rest of the class. Why do I have such trouble learning damned Spanish?

To make herself feel better, when she went out for a bathroom break, Nadya used Lexus' credit card and ordered a pair of large pizzas from Super Duper Pizza for delivery, one Total Carnage, one Tree Hugger. It was one of the more expensive pizza places around Salem, but they piled their pies high with toppings and cheese.

When Nadya stepped out of school and crossed the parking lot, her pizzas was waiting. Then she crossed the back fields and joined Dane among the trees abutting the golf course for a toke in exchange for pizza, which was why she'd gotten the Tree Hugger Pizza. Dane was a vegetarian, but an okay guy despite that.

Nadya could get weed if she or someone else really wanted, but she had to go through someone else, not really being a dealer herself and Dane Summers had the best. It was totally a West Coast thing, she mused. Nadya didn't mind the occasional bit of pot and if she had to stick around school for the rest of the day while Rae-Rae and Go Fish went on a field trip, she wanted a bit of a high while enduring the afternoon.

They were rambling lackadaisically on completely random topics as one was want to do while getting high when a sound caught Nadya's attention. Without moving her head, Nadya lazily turned her silvery-grey eyes and saw Miguel Jimenez, a Junior, cutting through the woods as he walked his younger brother Roberto home. They didn't have much and usually went home for lunch nowadays, especially after some, Lexus chief among them, teased them about being so poor, they couldn't afford to bring a lunch to school.

"-and blue Play-doh-"

"Can we put a pin in that for a sec, Dane?" Nadya interrupted, sitting up and picking up the Total Carnage Pizza, only one slice of it missing. "I need to speak with Miguel for a minute."

"De nada, Nadya," Dane said, then chuckled as his tongue tangled over the similar syllables.

Nadya got up and scampered after the Jimenez....es? Jimenezi? The Jimenez boys. When Miguel looked over and saw Nadya coming after them, he bent over to whisper something to his brother and they both hurried up. What?! I never-- Why does everyone believe everything Mercedes says? Hiding her annoyance under a grin, Nadya sped up.

"Miguel, hold up, man! This thing is heavy," Nadya called out. "I just want to give you a pizza."

Miguel really just wanted to get away from the klepto-skank, but he could smell the pizza now and Roberto's stomach grumbled audibly. Against his better judgment, he let Nadya close with them.

"Look, we don't want your stolen pizza," Miguel began. He could smell the pot on her now too.

"It's not stolen," Nadya countered, putting a hurt look on her face, just the funds to pay for it were. "Totally paid for."

"And you're just giving it away?" he demanded suspiciously.

Nadya shrugged and stretch the pizza out to him. "They messed up my order and sent us two," Nadya lied breezily. "It's a Total Carnage from Super Duper's, double toppings, no way I and Dane can finish them both and you were the first people who passed up so..."

"What's the catch?"

"No catch!" Nadya protested. "Honest! Look, if you don't just want to take it, help me out with Spanish class and we'll call it even. Deal?"

Miguel was still a little reluctant, then nodded and took the pizza, eyes widening at the weight, even giving her a small smile. "Deal. Thanks Nadya." He paused for moment, glanced down at his brother then back at Nadya. "Did you really-"

"No! I didn't! Don't believe a thing Mercedes or her posse say! Enjoy the pizza and make sure your dad gets a slice."

Miguel and Roberto turned and hurried home while Nadya rejoined Dane, taking the joint from his fingers and taking a puff.

"Dude! What about when we get the munchies?"

"There's still have a pizza left," Nadya commented while reaching into her pack and tossing something at him, that hit his chest with a crinkling sound. "Plus funyuns."

"Sweet!" Dane nodded the way the Jimenezes went. "Why'd you do that?"

"Kuntari, man!"

"What?"

"Universal Balance. Universal Harmony," Nadya explained, leaning back on the ground and staring up at the blue sky and white clouds. She tried to make a smoke-ring but it come out more like a Cthulhu-inspired starfish. "Everything has its place and what goes around comes around."

"Huh?"

"Karma, dude," Nadya massively simplified.

"Ah! Gotcha!" For a hippie stoner from Malibu, that made perfect sense.

It did to Nadya. Lexus gave them the most shit about being poor and needing food stamps, so it felt right to Nadya that she should buy them a pizza that was good for two or three meals. She'd known the Jimenez boys came this way on their way home, their father did landscaping and maintenance on the golf course.

She'd also known how dire their straits were getting after their father had come into the Lost & Found to pawn a ring. It was a very nice emerald ring with obvious sentimental value, but Alberto Jimenez had his pride and hadn't wanted to resort to charity to provide for his boys, so he had parted with it.

There were certain sorts that went to a Pawn Shop. Some wanted cash for a fix, some where just looking to get a few bucks for their junk and others were just looking around to get something at a good deal. Thanks to Pawn Stars and shows like that, the number of people for a lucky find were on the rise. And of course, there were those that were looking to off load stolen goods.

And more rarely, there were those that just had to part with valued items for funds just to survive. Her father had given Alberto a good deal on the ring, then had set it aside in the back to give Alberto a good, long chance for his situation to improve so he could get it back. Laszlo could tell he'd be back for it, if he could.

Nadya's grin widened, a crossed leg bouncing to the music she and Dane were listening to.

"Sometimes, it just needs a bit of help."

[Dave ST]

[Racks and Rhinestones...]

"Walk with me and talk with me sugar," Belle said as she was walking past the table, giving a few hunters a refill from a pitcher that Rachel was sure she spiked with her nympho-mojo.  "And bring your sandwich, darlin', it'll be better twenty paces away from Victor, most things are."

She couldn't help but smile.  Belle had a sort of charisma about her that people at ease, which she was sure was part of her mojo again, but the nymph didn't seem like a bad person, spirit... elemental... thing.  She'd have to ask fisher about that later.  What was a nymph, really?  Scooping up her plate, and ignoring the gesture Victor was giving Belle for her twenty paces comment, she followed along.  "Her name is Honiahaka.  Or 'Little Wolf' if you haven't been around for a few thousand years and had a chance to brush up on your Cheyenne.  My sisters and I found her as a pup.  We had no idea what she was until she started to get really big really quick."

She continued to make her rounds and Rachel noticed that place seemed awfully busy for noon at a random truck stop/strip joint.  Every table was filled with hunters, truckers, bikers.  You name it, they were here, everyone except tourists, but that didn't seem too strange, after all, it was a strip joint...well, after 7:00pm anyway.  Once the two ladies were far enough away, Belle took Rachel by the arm and led her off to the side of the bar.  Without explanation, Belle locked eyes with her.  "He's testing you, sweetheart.  Victor is a great man," At Rachel's swiftly raised eye brow and audible scoff, she smiled and raised her hand signaling to let her finish.  "Trust me, he is.  But he only respects strength.  He'll do anything, say anything, to get under your skin and make you feel or act weak.  He wants to see you face down in the dirt."

"Great guy," Rachel mused.  "Not really a healthy testing method.  What's the point?"

"To see if you're strong enough to pick yourself up, and move on.  Just be strong, oh, and never apologize, he considers that a sign of weakness."  Belle offered her a wink and smile.  "And, let's keep this between us girl, honey.  Victor's being a prick, so you lucked out today."

[Meanwhile, back in Salem!]

If there was some magical void where time was standing still, the Scions left behind to 'enjoy' their school day found that it was dragging on very slowly.  Aside from Nadya getting baked on lunch, which she had to admit was some bomb ass kush, there wasn't a whole lot going on.  Grace was moody today, which meant she saw Natalie last night and her condition hadn't improved any.

Austin shook his head, declining Nadya's invite to go get baked and turned to his locker to put away his books and collect his books and assignments for his next class after lunch.  He twisted his combination and popped the release on his locker.  Immediately an envelop slid out and fell to the floor.  Austin looked around the hallway, to see if he may have noticed who dropped it off.  He popped it open and all that was inside was a letter.  He seemed an unlikely target for an anthrax attack, so he took some solace in that slice of positive thinking.
The letter was written with an old fountain pen and the hand writing was exquisite.

Spoiler

Dear Heroes,

I hope this letter finds you in good health.  We've not met but we've spoken briefly, sort of.  I'm the shadowy voice from the museum who was bent on killing you and plunging all of Salem into a festering pool of undead.  Now, I know that sounds bad, but honestly, anything sounds negative and can be taken out of context when its put into the written word, so I'm offering an olive branch of a sorts.  Meet me at that gods forsaken coffee house you twats call a 'hang out', The Drip tonight at 7:00, sharp.  Bring your friends, I'm so eager to meet them I'm all atwitter as a I write this.  That's not true.  That was sarcasm.  Again, context and the written word.  I look forward to meeting all of you formally!

Tatty bye,
The Bad Guy

P.S. I'm not buying the coffee.  I may be evil but I'm not like rich evil.  I'm more like that middle class evil, where I have a little of extra evil money to spend on my evil deeds at the end of the week after all my evil bills are paid, but not enough to buy evil baby shower gifts for that smug, pretentious soccer mom that lives a few doors down.

 

 

[Austin Lange]

Austin read the letter twice, if only to be sure it said what it did.  This was straight out of some budget horror action movie.  He actually contemplated chucking it, but the fact whoever wrote it knew about what had happened there did give it credence to not being a hoax.  He pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to everyone still on campus, arranging for them to meet up quickly in the south courtyard.   He'd let them read the letter, and they could decide to go together.

He knew this much, the author of the note had some delusions, not so much of grandeur it seemed, but of life and reality in general.  At the very least they thought they did, and he quietly wondered if this person.god actually spoke like they wrote.  "Well if it's middle class we can rule out Dr. Evil, probably just Mt. or Mrs.. Evil."  he muttered under his breath.

[Rachel Cooper]

"Well He plays the part well, 24/7 well." Rachel took a couple of bites as she contemplated what the nymph was saying. She swallowed realized she had not brought her Dr Pepper nad then smiled when Belle handed her a full glass. "Thanks." She took a big sip through the straw. "No idea at all what might have set her off?"

[Dave ST]

"None."  Belle said with a shrug.  "We might see her once a year, but only in passing.  She respects us and allows us on her territory, but,"  She paused as if she suddenly remembered something.  "Actually, a Scion was through here a few days ago, asked a few questions, but nothing about Honiahaka, so I didn't consider it important.  We get you lot through here quite often, but this guy seemed... I don't know... off."

[Rachel Cooper]

Rachel stopped halfway taking a bite of the sandwich. "How so off? and you never seend this guy before? What did he look like?"
 She asked in rapid succession.

[Dave ST]

"Well, he was dark."  Belle said, her eyes were off in that place they go when people try to recall things.  "Not like the Reaper boy who comes through here, but a more, sinister sort of feel.  He was around six foot, wore dark glasses, even indoors.  A fedora, if you can believe it.  He was older, maybe early thirties, with dark hair and fetching eyes.  He was very well spoken, and seemed educated.  His suit was tailored and I think he was driving a Prius."

[Rachel Cooper]

Rachel really didn't know what questions to ask or even if this had any relevance. She looked back at the table with Fisher and Victor. "Can you come back to the table for a minute? Please?"

Belle looked over at Victor. "Sure, but I'm not promising I wont hit him with something."

Rachel with Belle in tow returned to the table. She sat down and quickly filled Fisher and the coach in about her discussion with Belle.

[Fisher Capra]

Fisher kept eating, but finally paused to consider Victor as the absence of Rachel raised the issue to concern for this coming wolf hunt. "You know, if there turns out to be a way to get this wolf back to normal - within reason - we should do it, not kill her." Why did he get the sense Victor was going to brush this off with a 'pff, women' kind of response?

[Dave ST]

"It's a fifteen hundred pound killing machine, Capra, where you exactly do figure the 'within reason' range to be for a Titan corrupted wolf?  There ain't no 'back to normal'.  You can no more cure a nemean than you can cure being a Scion, kid."  He took a large swig of his beer and pointed his fork at Fisher for punctuation.  "Look, saving the animal, noble as shit, I get it.  Honestly though, when was the last time the animal was saved, hm?  We don't save animals, we put them down.  This one's started killing, and there's no telling who or what it's killed.  It has a taste for blood.  Whether it's the victim or not, kid.  It's gotta die, just ensure that others are safe from it.  Leaving a rabid beast to roam just isn't the American way.  Especially one that's almost a ton, the size of an SUV, and happens to be bulletproof.  Y'feel me?"

With actual intel to share, Victor curbed the '80's tough guy' routine for a moment and listened.  He agreed with Belle that 'Reaper Boy', whoever that was, would never wear a fedora, but the description didn't sound like anyone he knew.  "It's weak, Cooper.  Very flimsy."

"I know, but it's all we have to go on."  Rachel retorted.

Fisher set his glass down and wiped his mouth.  "It's more than we had a few minutes ago, besides, it's a solid lead."

"It doesn't spare the wolf," Victor said coldly.

[Fisher Capra]

"Fine." Fisher flatly muttered, not quite giving Victor a dirty look. Would it kill him to not be such a jerk about it, logical points as they were? You'd think he'd demonstrate more kindness around Amber, his friend, or at least contact of the sort that men generally liked to keep on good terms with. "So how far does the wolf range? Does she have a den that you know about?"

[Rachel Cooper]

Rachel finished her Dr Pepper and pulled out her gloves, Domrmund, and pulls them on. "Don't worry...Victor, We'll do what we need to do." She gets up "Thanks for everything Belle." Without waiting for Fisher or Victor she goes outside.

[Nadya Lunălescu]

Nadya caught up with the rest of the Scooby Gang during last period. Her silvery-eyes were bright but she looked as relaxed as a house cat on Xanax as she read the letter Austin had found in his locker, her gaze visibly tracing the exquisite cursive writing. When she was done, she pursed her lips as she tapped the edge of the folded letter against her chin. After a moment that was just a tad too long, she handed it back to Austin.

"Well, this is totally a trap," Nadya commented. "But I guess we're gonna have to trip, in case he sends out another horde of zombies to eat people. Maybe one of should stay back and see if can follow'im unnoticed after the meet, track'im to his lair or something."

[Dave ST]

Fisher and Victor stood up and tried to go after Rachel, but it was hopeless, she had a mission.  Victor wiped his mouth and dropped his napkin on his plate, looking to Belle he got a sour look on his face.  "You've been naughty."

"And you've been a dick.  All's fair," The nymph smiled at him.  Fisher was already chasing off after Rachel and the sight brought broader smiled to her perfect lips.  "They're good kids."

"Yeah, they all are.  Rough around the edges, and way to young to be caught up in all this,"  Victor's eyes met Belles and there was a tenderness to his expression that none of the students would probably every see.  Belle knew the man he was compared to the man he showed the world, and she traced her hand down his cheek.  "Can't say I envy them, but I'm not letting them walk the road alone and unprepared.  Not like me."

"About an hour up the trail, it branches off towards a stream.  Follow the stream North about a mile or two.  There's an old tree whose roots make a shelter for her size.  Start there."  She gently raised herself up on the tips of her feet to match his height.  Gently she kissed him, her lips tasted like perfectly aged whiskey.  "And thank you."

He licked his lips, savoring the taste.  "You know what I do, darlin'.  Don't thank me yet."  He winked at her and walked off after his charges.

 

The hike was longer than the drive, but a couple hours later the three of them had followed the stream to the old tree.  She was impressive, that was certain.  An old, massive oak that seemed like the heart of the forest, it's ancient roots supported it's massive, towering body as it overlooked the entire state park.  Vines and a variety of foliage had grown in between the massive roots and the water from the stream had eroded the soil away over the years.  All in all when on stood at the base of the stream and looked towards the tree it was nothing but one massive cavern underneath the trunk.  The area smelled terrible, like decaying flesh.  It was rare since wolves didn't drag their food home with them.  On the inside of the cavern there was a deer carcass, and if the wolf was as big as everyone was saying, that would hardly have been enough for a meal...

Victor was loaded to the teeth, a side arm, a ka-bar knife, an assault rifle and a shot gun.  All hail the Scion of War.  He still felt naked, but it was good enough for now.  It did help confirm that he was living in a Supernatural episode, since he had a secret compartment in his trunk where he kept it all.  "Alright, have a look around.  See if you can find anything that... I don't know... a clue or something..."  He didn't want to kill her, he never would admit that to these two, but if there was a way to save the Guardian, he would.  Until then, he had to remain the hard ass.  This was a tough life, and he would toughen these kids up.

Spoiler

About two miles away...

The trigger was pulled and the bowstring released it's payload.  The arrow soared trough like a bullet and shattered the plate of shaved bark like a porcelain saucer.  "I did it!"

"See?  You're a natural."  Billy smiled and took the compound bow from Darcy and walked with her to the tree.  "Thanks for coming, by the way.  I know it was a hell of a drive, but as far as escapes go this is number one on the list.  I planned on making the trip tomorrow, ith hunting season coming up, I wanted to test the few tweaks I made to my bow, but one day early with company... can't beat that."

"Are you kidding?!  It's gorgeous out here.  I love it."  Darcy brushed her laong dark hair back behind her ear, her glasses caught the sunlight leaving a sparkle in her eyes.  "With everything that's been going on, it's nice to just... get away, you know?  Things are just so... stressful.  Between Natalie in the hospital, school drama, Fisher..."  She sighed, letting her sentence end there.

"Fisher?"  He asked, pulling the target arrow out of the tree.  Suddenly everything clicked when he saw her expression.  She was lost in a thought, her eyes were on the ground traveling to a place in her mind where the thoughts of Fisher dwelt.  "Ah, that nerdy guy you like."

Her eye swelled big as she processed the comment.  She slapped him on the arm.  "He's not a nerd, and I don't like him.  I mean I like him, but I don't like him like him..."  Billy was just looking at her, smirking.  "Okay... he's a bit of a nerd.  But a lot of people are into anime, manga... video games... table top RPGs..."

Billy just looked at her, still smirking.

She broke out into laughter, slapping his arm again which made him shirk back and laugh to.  "Okay, he's a mega nerd... shut up!"

"So, tell him you like him," Billy finally said.  It felt good to laugh, he had to admit that having someone to talk to was a nice change of pace.  His return to Salem hadn't really earned him any new friends, and all his old ones he'd beaten up years ago.  "The worst he could say is that he's not interested.  Life's short, take a chance."

"Oh, sure," Darcy scoffed.  "I'll get right on that as soon as you tell Rachel how hot she is."  She air quoted the word hot for him while adding a snarky tone and matching expression.  "Billy, have you seen the girls Fisher hangs out with?  I mean seriously, they are all so... perfect.  Rachel is gorgeous, athletic, strong... she's a lesbian, so I'm not threatened by her.  I mean Nadya was never ugly, but she had a few extra pounds last year then over the summer... BAM, she's smoking hot now.  It's like P90-X landed on her and skipped all the muscle aches.  Grace?  At the hospital with her I feel myself wishing that I was her, perfect caramel skin, alluring eyes, and everything she wears just hugs her perfectly... and now... now some new girl is hanging out with them and she has this total Disney Princess vibe going for her.  Perfect blonde hair, pouty lips, blue eyes... and she's so fricking cute you can't hate her even if you want to... and trust me, I've tried.  I spent hours last night trying to hate her.  The bitch is hate-proof."  Her rant subsided and she calmed a bit.  "I can't compete with that, Billy, and Fisher is right in the middle of it.  Why would he want a... me when he has that to choose from."

"Wait," Billy cut her off and looked at her a bit confused.  "Rachel is a lesbian?"

Darcy arched an eyebrow and cocked her head.

"Yeah, okay,"  Billy conceded.  "I guess that makes sense.  Putting the lesbian thing aside, even if she were straight, Rachel and I could never happen, Darcy.  She hates me.  But Fisher?  Liking people is not all about looks.  If you truly want a shot with the guy, you have to take a chance.  Let him get to know the person under that big mess of insecurities you have." Billy smiled wide as Darcy mouth opened wide, offended by his tactless judgement.  "I'm kidding!  I'm kidding!"  He yelled as she flailed on him.  They were out of breath by the time she stopped, but the laugh was something they both needed.  "Woah..."  Billy said as he looked to the ground.  There in the soil was a massive paw print.

"What is it?"  Darcy asked.

"It's an animal track... a massive... animal print."

 

[Rachel Cooper]

Something didn't smell right. The carcass was one thing, but aside from that, it just all seemed so convenient.  Rachel Tuned everything out. This is what her life was now Hunting monsters. With an inward sigh she got on the ground close to the carcass, opened her senses.

Her sense of smell.  Her sight, it was all turned up to 20. She smelled Fisher and Victor she was surprised how good Victor smelled and she smelled Belle mingled with Vic's scent. Well how about that she thought then she put those scents out of her mind. She was looking for smells of the animal that lived here and the one that put the deer here.

 

Spoiler

     [Nina] 3:02 pm: making an awarness roll spending one legend point for extra sux
Nina *rolls* 5d10+4t7: 3,9,1,10,5.  Successes = 2. Plus 4 auto successes.  Total = 6.
     [Nina] 3:03 pm: 7 sux
     [Nina] 3:03 pm: witness?
[Dave] 3:05 pm: I saw nothing!
     [Nina] 3:05 pm: hello?
     [Nina] 3:05 pm: heh

 

[Dave ST]

[Rachel] She could smell the Guardian, the scent was lingering in the air and it was on everything.  Then something else caught her unawares, something that explained the deer carcass... she walked to the far side of the lair and the scent almost caused her to lose her lunch.  A pool, or puddle that had dried up weeks ago still had a strong scent.  Fluid.  Embryonic fluid had dried up in this corner, the carcass was too small for her, but not for a child.

The Guardian was a mother.

[Rachel Cooper]

That explains everything, she was about to tell Vic and Fisher but she stopped when she looked at the carcass studying it. She wished she knew more about wolves and how much like a wolf this really was. "She has a pup, at least one. I have the scents. I should be able to track them. That could explain her behavior. If her offspring were threatened."

[Fisher Capra]

"Probably." Fisher agreed, looking out around the expanse of woods. "Implying we can get her to stop if we return her pup. But if a hunter killed the pup..." That was a path with no answer that would leave the group feeling happy. Could they find and save the pup before the mother killed again?

[Dave ST]

"Well, shit," Victor complained.  "This isn't good.  She'll wreck everything to get her pup back.  She's probably been following the scent for the past few days.  Parks not that big, why hasn't she caught up with it yet?"

[Fisher Capra]

"...Because it's not in the park anymore?" Fisher suddenly realized. "I mean, if she's been trained to not go beyond the park boundaries, or you know, mystically bound to stay within the limits? That or it really is dead and she's just raging at people."

[Rachel Cooper]

"We haven't ascertained that yet. Shes the danger we track her first and see whats what." Said Rachel. "Unless you have a better Idea Vic?"

[Dave ST]

"Roger that,"  Victor said.  "We go for Mom.  Chances are her baby is dead, if it were another animal, no big deal, she'd kill it and call it a day.  Humans did this, and she hasn't caught them yet, and if I know Titanspawn, she won't stop until she does."  He looked to Rachel and cocked his head to the entrance.  "Go."

"Try and keep up, old man," and the track star was gone like a shot.  It should have been Fisher she warned.  Victor was a Marine before he became a Scion, and he had little keeping pace with the young athlete.  Fisher had received a few athletic blessings on the day of his visitation, but that didn't mean he was use them regularly... actually he had a tendency to run only when being chased.  They stopped a few times, Fisher nearly died only once, so that was a win.  Fun fact about God-like stamina... just because Mr. Syracuse said their new stamina would make them more tolerant to starvation and thirsty... didn't mean they wouldn't be hungry and thirsty... it'd just take them longer to die of it... yay.

"Guys..."  Fisher leaned against a tree.  They'd kept the pace for several hours, and it was starting to get dark.  It got dark earlier with the winter months coming upon them, but it didn't seem like any of them feared the dark.  Hell, with a Scion of Ares packing that much hardware... who would be?  "I need a break.  I gotta rest... y-you're killing me."

"We rested two hours ago,"  Victor offered up casually, like he wasn't the only Marine here.  Fisher shot him a 'are you serious' look.  "Fine, fine.  I gotta piss anyway."

"Rachel," Fisher called for his ally and she crossed over towards him.  "Tire tracks."  He pointed at the damp soil.  Thankfully the earth wasn't drying now that the chilly Autumn months has started to creep in.  Soil remained damp for days.  "ATVs two of them, dragging something.  Something big.  Smaller than our wolf though."

[Fisher Capra]

Fisher peered more closely at the tracks. There was something about them in particular that nagged at him. "So the tracks go west." West. West. What was west of where they were? Ok, if they kept going west, they would... .... Fisher suddenly smacked his face and let out a muffled cry of indignation at the absurdity of it all.

"They went to the TRUCK STOP!" All this exhaustion, and they'd only succeeded in wasting a lot of time going in circles.

[Rachel Cooper]

Rachel bent close to the tracks Fisher pointed out. "Shes been here and her blood is up. The pup has been here too but it's fainter. The atvs are pulling a trailer and its heavily loaded. If it's game it would have to be a helluva big grizzly and I don't think there are any grizzlies around here. Let's go rest when your dead Fisher."

Rachel takes off tracking not waiting.

 

[Fisher Capra]

Fisher let out a wheezing sigh. "Given that my mom is the ruler of Yomi," he said, not knowing if Victor was still around to hear, "I'm not even certain that either would be possible." He wiped the sweat off his forehead before doing his best to follow Rachel in the growing dusk.