World of Darkness World of Darkness: Attrition - Come into my parlor... [Complete]

[SalmonMax]

Ariel couldn't help a quickly smothered laugh at Declan's observation. "I hate to damage my cred with you, but right now I can barely tell real from imaginary. I mean, c'mon...Wizards and Werewolves? I think my old high school boyfriend used to play that."

She glances at Morgan and adds, "No offense."

"And I have to tell you guys too...the idea of just breezing into a UCLA professor's room and killing her is a really bad one. I mean, I get that she's a suspected demon spider. I get that. I even get that we're going to make sure she is before we do anything." She says that last as a firm statement.

Ariel then shakes her head. "But what you have to understand is that, as far as the world's concerned, she's a sweet old lady who's teaching our future about our past. If she turns up dead, there -will- be shit raining down from on high. Once we know who or what she is, we can't just go in with both barrels."

[Astra D.]

"None taken," the young enchantress replied to the red-haired woman, perhaps a bit more curtly than she had intended. "What these two were kind enough to point out before you arrived, however, is that if it's true, a sweet old lady isn't going to turn up dead. There may not be anything left of her at all, and even if there is, it'll get foisted off onto some Fox Mulder wannabe who investigates the weird shit that happens around here... The things that you, like the rest of us, are now duty-bound to prevent them from finding out."

What Morgan was implying, of course, was fairly obvious: that now Ariel was going to have to decide whether or not she was willing to subvert the workings of her fellow officers, men who depended on her, in order to protect them, and those like the small group gathered in the groundskeeper's spartan kitchen.

The other two may have accepted her without question as one of their own, but Morgan had no such limitations, and her green eyes were busy intently appraising Officer McKenzie as the newly-initiated Uratha tried to absorb and analyze the dynamics of the situation.

[SalmonMax]

"Alright, news flash," Ariel replied to Morgan, more than a little irritated by the intimations. "Werewolves and wizards or not, this is the real world we're in. Dying or disappearing professors aren't investigated by David Duchovny here; they're investigated by actual police. And they're very good at what they do, by and large."

Now she half-rises from her seat to glare at Morgan. "And between the two of us, one of us actually knows what she's talking about right now, so when that one of us gives a warning, maybe you should take it seriously."

Belatedly she sits back down and releases her death grip on the table, grimacing. "Sorry...that came out a bit more confrontationally than I meant it to."

Great way to get yourself into a group, McKenzie. Why don't you just slug her right now and REALLY make a first impression?

[z-Amber Wren]

Wordlessly, Amber slops a couple of ribs on a plate and hands it to Ariel. "Eat. It helps," Amber said simply. "An' as much as you may hate it, Morgan's right. Shit, I wanna just go burn down the house if she's in a single-family residence. Lot better to rout her from the house than to face her in her lair. It doesn't matter who gets mad about her disappearing. They're never going to find enough to pin us for it, because they'll most likely think wild dogs did it if they find a body. And if we leave her, she'll just keep eating people. You want that? Leaving a monster go free, knowing she's eating an innocent human?

"People disappear all the time, Ariel," Amber said, her tone still completely matter-of-fact. "They go missing, and people look for them, and eventually, someone else goes missing, and they forget about the first person to find the next.

"Here's the deal," she added, polishing off one last piece of steak and sitting back in her chair. "You can come with us and help, or you can sit on your ass and wait to see if we come home. You were born to fight and kill, Ariel; you have felt that if you've gone to the Garou. Everything else is just details."

[SalmonMax]

Ariel sits back in her chair and closes her eyes. After a second she opens them again.

"Look...I know I'm the new blood here, so there's this impulse to think I don't know anything. And I will admit this much; about a lot of things, I don't. Spider demons, I don't. Azlu. Werewolves. All that stuff...not a thing. I'm going to be counting on you guys to bring me up to speed on that."

"But I'm not stupid, and I do know a lot about the possible consequences of what you're proposing. I can't tell you what WILL happen, just what might. I'm not saying we shouldn't do anything, I'm saying we should do something with the possible consequences in mind. That's all. If she turns out to be a giant spider who's killing people, I'll put her down myself if it comes to that."

She pauses, a little surprised to hear those words coming from herself, and more surprised to know she means them.

"Fuck it. Lets just go and check it out. Maybe it's nothing, and we can all have a good laugh."

She gets up out of her chair and onto her feet.

(ready to go)

[Astra D.]

Real world? You think this is the real world? The brief flash of anger that passed over her pretty features was quickly obscured by a cloud of pity. Man. And I thought I was a noob.

Morgan shrugged off the rest of the tirade with the same casual disregard she'd shown when Trent appeared at the frat party. After all, this whole shindig belonged to Declan and Amber as far as she was concerned, mouthy cop or no. She was just along for the ride, but she couldn't help feeling a twinge of pride when "Elle" agreed with her. As people started to move, she downed the last of her coffee with a grimace and retrieved the heavy clasp knife from the table.

Man, I hope I don't need this.

It went into her hip pocket, with a bit of squirming to make it fit, but the activity also provided a passable cover for her nervousness. Sure, having three big, strong werewolves between her and this spirit sounded like a good idea, but that also required her to be in close proximity to three big, strong werewolves.

[Owns-The-Night]

Declan stepped forward shoulder to shoulder with Morgan, coming around the table and nodding in silent agreement with Amber and her.

"We have a duty to do. And with all other things considered, human law can take a runnin' jump. Sorry, Ariel, but there it is." He looked at them all.

"Okay, ladies. Let's get moving while Joe Public is still jerkin' off in bed. Amber, Ariel and Morgan, you ladies head over to the Professor's place on foot. Take it casual, but not too slow." He opened the back door and, facing away from the women, kicked off his trainers and dropped his sweatpants. He looked back over his shoulder at them.

"Give me five minutes head start to sniff around and see if we're being watched." With that, he Changed, fur sprouting down his spine and spreading out across his shrinking form. In a heartbeat or two, a large dark-furred wolf with silver eyes looked back at the females, then turned and trotted out of the back door.

[Astra D.]

In spite of herself, Morgan shivered as Man became Wolf in the span of a few breaths. The transformation was just as strange and as mesmerizing as the first time she'd seen it; she caught herself making a study of the way the muscles in his back reshaped themselves, to memorize the restructuring of his bones. If everything went well tonight, she'd have plenty of time to render his form on paper, but that still meant getting through the evening. Whatever doubts and anxieties she had, it was too late to act on them; she'd gone well past the point of no return.

Let's hope this works.

She lifted her right hand, palm facing outward and fingers slightly spread in a warding gesture as her Will, legacy of the ancient mage-kings, manifested itself in a visible nimbus of power that surrounded her. Mana flowed freely, weaving itself into the threads of magic she recognized, the same ethereal filaments that now spun themselves invisibly around her to warp probability in the Enchanter's favor.

Morgan turned, then, her outstretched hand sweeping out silently before the two other women. For a fleeting instant, she winced, forcing more precious Mana through her pattern than she'd attempted before, and somewhere in the distance, a clock tolled the hour. Then another, and then another. Dim echoes of ticking timepieces filled the air, gradually increasing from a faint drone to a maddening chorus of metallic clicks and chimes as a fey, greenish haze limned the kitchen and all within in an eerily verdant radiance.

Whisper-thin lines of energy raced around the two females, arranging themselves into a protective fabric of sorcery, the threads of which would be rewoven at a moment's notice to subtly alter any ill-fortune that came their way. The low, hollow knell of a church bell solemnly sounded through the house, and the otherworldly glow faded into nothing as silence reigned once more.

"'Kay," she said, her breathing shallow as she suddenly reached for the ubiquitous messenger bag near her chair. "Should be ready, now."

Code:

Casting Fortune's Protection on self: 
(19:31:09) ChatBot: (Vivi) rolls 7d10 and gets 3,9,5,10,10,1,8.
(19:32:34) ChatBot: (Vivi) rolls 2d10 and gets 8,4. (5 successes.)
*Spent 1 Mana to increase duration to 24 hours. Exceptional success returns 1 Mana.

Casting Fortune's Protection on Amber & Ariel (-2 penalty for multiple targets):
(19:50:11) ChatBot: (Morgan) rolls 8d10 and gets 4,3,9,5,4,10,5,9.
(19:52:19) ChatBot: (Morgan) rolls 1d10 and gets 5. (3 successes.)
*Spent 1 WP to gain 3 extra dice.
*Spent 2 Mana to increase duration to 24 hours.

WP: 4/5
Mana: 9/11

[Owns-The-Night]

*sharp scents... gasoline... metal... distant reek of the sewers* A lot of people imagined what the world smelled like to a wolf. A lot of them got it wrong. Declan tried to put it into human terms, but the nearest he could come was It was like hearing colours with your feet.

A riot of sensation that took a moment to sort through, and the large dark wolf loped over the chainlink fence and, keeping low, ran a large circuit around his home. Round the front, there were the fading scents of Morgan, Amber and Ariel. He completed the circuit and gave a short, sharp *whuff* at the rear of the house once more *No threats!*

He slunk around the front again as the door opened and the females emerged. Amber ahead, Morgan just slightly behind Amber, and Ariel bringing up the rear. Wolfish mischief seized Declan's spirit, and he flowed up behind Morgan and touched his nose to her hand, then nuzzled her before disappearing into the darkness on the other side of the road with a swish of his tail.

[Astra D.]

Given the sad, sorry state of her nerves at that particular moment, Morgan was utterly unprepared to have a cold, wet nose pressed against her hand- no matter the source. She started, biting down on her lower lip to keep from screaming bloody murder... And then the wolf that had appeared from out of nowhere nuzzled against her hand, peered up at her with what she could have sworn was a grin, and trotted off contentedly into the shadows.

With a shake of her head and a decidedly ragged exhalation, she jogged the next couple of steps to catch up to "Elle."

[SalmonMax]

For all that she'd seen before and since her Change, Ariel was completely unprepared for the lightshow Morgan made. Immediately she regretted some of the snappishness she'd treated her with. Even now, she'd doubted that the girl was anything more than Declan's 'friend with benefits,' trying to play along. Now she knew better.

Startled out of her bemused self-examination by Morgan's muffled yelp, Ariel goes over to join her as she is catching up with Elle.

"Hey, you okay? What...what did you do? That was the most..." here Ariel paused, then amended herself, "...second most amazing thing I've seen all day. And believe me, that's saying something given what I've seen today."

[Astra D.]

"Oh, I'm fine. Someone's just being a smartass," she replied, glaring off across the road where Wolf-Declan had disappeared. The sincerity in Ariel's voice was obvious; when she'd apologized, she'd meant it. Morgan immediately felt a little better about the Titian-haired beauty, and she offered a mildly flattered smile by way of truce.

"I pushed myself a bit farther than I usually do, I'm afraid. Normally, no one would've seen anything at all." She continued walking, keeping pace with the newest member of their impromptu little group as they made their way through the night. "As for what it was? Well, as luck would have it, you should be harder to hit for the next day or so. I had to reinforce things a little, since I wasn't sure how long this was going to take. Better safe than sorry, right?"

[z-Amber Wren]

Amber moved along silently. Her mind was on the upcoming fight - and as much as she tried to deny it, her first glimpse of Declan's backside. This was the last thing she needed, and with extreme effort, Amber tried to push it away.

It was much easier to not think about the lights and the lines that had settled on her skin. They were scary, in that they were a little alien and beyond her understanding. It made her nervous, to know that something so strange had sunk into her very flesh.

Fine, she finally acknowledged, it was dark, very late and she could get away with it if careful. She shifted a little, sliding up into Dalu. Her height and mass increased and her features because courser. She began to hug the shadows, using them to conceal herself. Releasing even that tiny bit of the wolf was enough to help her focus, to push the chaff away.

"Morgan, Ariel," she said in a feral, rough voice. "This 'Amber takes point and Ariel takes rear' works best if we walk point-middle-rear, ok?"

[Dave ST]

‘Professor McArthur’ paced behind the young couple for several blocks. A customary tactic for her was to simply watch and wait. The campus was a dangerous hunting ground, too many witnesses at all hours of the night.

They cuddled and giggled in that sick way humans do, all full of mirth and joy. The bag rolled her eyes on more than one occasion as the romance in the air about made her gag. These two weren’t her first choice, she’d devoured a small child last week and the essence was so sublime that going back to college whores and morons was far from its preference.

She stopped suddenly…

The air was strange, a ripple in the breeze, a movement off to the side across the way there beyond the shadows.

They come. The Uratha come.

She would have to abandon the hunt to night, she knew. Slipping the large glass bottle of chloroform back into her handbag, she turned on her heel and started moving away from the strange sensations in the air.

[SalmonMax]

Ariel stared for a moment at 'Amber Plus,' before nodding, embarrassed. She wanted to apologize, but controlled the impulse. In this case, the best apology was getting back on the ball, not simpering about how sorry she was.

She drops back behind to the tail end and concentrates on keeping an eye out to the sides and behind, glancing forward just to check on the others occasionally and make sure she was following at a good distance.

She didn't change or anything though...visions of screaming college kids aside, she was still uncomfortable with the change. It wasn't that it was painful. Kind of the opposite. There was a terrible, savage joy in it. Something not at all human, and thus unnerving. She did unsnap her gun through, not drawing it, but making sure that she COULD draw it when the time was right.

[Owns-The-Night]

Declan paced them, keeping low, running in that smooth even trot that made wolves seem to glide over the ground. His nose and ears were pinned back and on high-alert, and he drank in the scents and sounds as a literary genius would read Shakespeare and extract every last fragment of meaning from the Bard's texts.

He kept pace with his companions, dropping behind and reading the back trail to ensure they weren't followed before flanking wide to the left and right and making sure that there were no threats there. He came closer in as the pack drew nearer to Professor McArthur's place, waiting for Amber to call the halt.

[z-Amber Wren]

Amber came to a stop well back from McAuthor's house, giving Declan time to catch up with them. Not for the first time, she wished they had an Irraka in their pack; the intel that one sneaky werewolf could provide was invaluable.

When Dec's wolf form appeared out of the shadows, she knelt down and murmured, "Did you see her? Is she there?"

[Owns-The-Night]

Declan was bristling as he slid from the darkness, his hackles raised in a clear danger signal. With a soft growl as Amber's only answer, the silver-eyed wolf swelled, shoulders becoming more powerful, small sharp wolf-teeth becoming terrible rending jaws as Declan took the Urshul shape. He stalked off to the side of their intended course, head low: a clear indication that their quarry was not in it's lair this night, was in fact out and around on a hunt of its own.

He gave them time to follow before breaking into a steady trot, the physical equivalent of the burning fuse before an awful, carnage-wreaking charge.

((OOC notes:

Form: Urshul, Defense 3 Initiative +7

Essense: 7/10

Willpower: 5/5

DAMAGE: 0/11

[Astra D.]

When Declan reappeared, Morgan's first instinct was to weave the same protection for him that she'd done for the other two, though Amber's new look made her wonder if it would even be necessary. She was still trying to recall where she'd heard that name before when the large wolf that was quickly becoming a familiar sight suddenly got much, much larger. She took an involuntary half-step back before she managed to stop herself, remembering belatedly the talk a younger version of herself had been given by Loki's father.

Their Norwegian Elkhound, Jotun, had not been impressed the first time ten-year-old Morgan came to visit, and nearly bit her when she came running in to talk to her friend. He made it clear in no uncertain terms that these were his humans, and he didn't know who she was. It had taken the better part of the afternoon for Conrad to explain to her that, among other things, being afraid was more likely to yield unpleasant results with the protective canine- the most difficult part was actually getting her to stop giving off "fear" signals, since her experience hadn't exactly been a good one, and it didn't seem to make sense to the young girl that she shouldn't be afraid of a dog that had almost attacked her.

Ten years later, with that giant wolf-beast in front of her, that lesson was brought crashing back into the forefront of her mind.

It's just Declan, she told herself. He just looks different. It's still him in there.... in all those teeth, oh, fuck. Okay, okay. Get a grip. Breathe. Don't freak out. You're probably going to see worse than this, if what they said about McArthur is true. How do you expect to handle that, if you can't even deal with this? He said himself, it's still his mind, his thoughts. Just a different shape. Breathe.

She did just that, forgetting completely what she'd meant to do and scurrying to keep up with the others.

[z-Amber Wren]

Amber slipped into the night, her longer, stronger legs easily keeping pace with the easy trot. Looking around in the night, she kept a sharp look out for any sign of their quarry, such as webs or obvious spiders. Occassionally, she glanced back to make sure Morgan and Ariel were keeping up with her.

[Dave ST]

No! No! Professor McArthur began to panic. She was close to becoming a queen, only three more weeks or so and she'd have developed her own egg sac. Why now did the Uratha have to discover her? How? Did the Uratha discover her?

Owns the Night tore through the shadows and raced off towards her. His massive frame powerful muscles send the horse-sized wolf vaulting across the street in a single bound.

On reflex, driven by fear and eons old hatred, the Azaroth hurled the bottle of chloroform from her purse at the hulking feral guardian.

The glass shattered, covering Owns the Night's head and breast wit the strong vapors.

Quickly, Professor McArthur turned and ran.

Code:

Thrown Attack (Declan): 6,9,2,6,1,6,10(3).  No damage, glass shattered.

Chloroform: Toxicity 3B Poison +Bonus Perception Dice.  Lasts 3 turns.

Willpower 6/7

[Owns-The-Night]

Declan, known to his Blood Talon brethren as "Owns the Night", felt his charge falter as he was assailed by the chemical stink of the chloroform. He was all but a few bounds from the spider-bitch before his legs started to waver, the senses of the near-wolf were too sharp, too keen to be blocked out. Another few seconds and he would pass out.

Luckily, he had another option.

Silver eyes turned molten gold, blazing with the force of his inner Rage as it howled its way up through the mists of Time. Already massive shoulders swelled further, forelegs lengthening and thickening as paws the size of a man's head sprouted fingers, terrible claws extending as they flexed, seeking flesh. He moved from quadruped to slouching biped, looming over the nascent Queen as she fled. The fumes still stung his throat, but now the stinging merely enraged him more. All of his conflict, all of his frustration at the vagaries of life and love, vanished as they were consumed to stoke the fire of ancient fury that seared in his breast.

He threw back his head and bayed, a sound not quite a howl, and not quite a roar, but a horrifyingly exultant mixture of the two. It was the sound of the Hunt, of shadows moving through the borders between worlds in the times before Men reckoned Time. It called to his companions, letting them know that battle was joined as he leaped after the Spider-Host, moving with flowing and relentless speed on her heels.

********************

((OOC notes:

Form: Gauru, Defense 3, Armor +1, Initiative +6

Essense: 7/10

Willpower: 4/5

DAMAGE: 4B/12

Action:

Resistance roll (Declan) rolls 10d10 and gets 2,10,7,4,7,1,4,3,7,1. re-rolls 1d10 and gets 8. [4Bashing]

Shapechange: Sta+Surv+Primal Urge Declan) rolls 7d10 and gets 7,3,2,10,6,7,5. re-rolls 1d10 and gets 4.

[z-Amber Wren]

The sound of shattering glass brought Amber's head up. Looking back at Morgan, she growled, "Stay close to Ariel. She'll watch you." Then she put on a burst of speed, long legs eating up the ground. She slowed only when she triggered her change, her Dalu form giving way to the supernatural Urshul form. Clothing shredded as she became the primtive near-wolf, terrifying in the ancestral memories it invoked.

Wearing her fastest form, Amber angled out into the night, intending on circling the Azlu, driving her back to her packmates and being the anvil on which Declan-the-Garou-Hammer struck.

[OOC Notes:

Form: Urshul, Defense 3, Armor 3, Speed 17

Essense: 10/10

Willpower 3/3

DAMAGE: 0/11

Shifting roll: Shifting form (1d10=4, 1d10=10, 1d10=8, 1d10=6, 1d10=2, 1d10=6) plus the ten: Poppin the ten (1d10=3) = 2 successes ]

[Astra D.]

Mutely, Morgan nodded in response, her wide eyes sightless as she stared into the shadows from whence that awful, breathtakingly primal sound had come. By the time she managed to stutter out something that sounded like acquiescence, Amber was already darting off in furry, lupine form. She had to give the woman credit: whatever was making that noise was not something she'd be willing to charge after right now.

Then, realization struck.

Oh, shit. What if that was the A.... spider thing?

Both Declan and Amber had gone off after something (she could only assume it was their target), and she didn't expect Ariel to hang back much longer. She'd agreed to help them if she could, despite her definite misgivings about this being a good idea, and now she had to do just that.

With a groan, she glanced at the policewoman, jerked her head toward the darkness, and jogged off in their direction with obvious reluctance.

[Dave ST]

The Azaroth bolted down the sidewalk and Owns The Night was on her heels. He noticed the ripple down her spine as her skin across her arms and legs began to split. Blood and preservation fluids began pouring onto the sidewalk.

Within the skull a spider, curled up as best it could, slept silently in place of the brain. This body however was no match for a Gauru. In an instant the spider's essence dissipated, revealing it's true from.

Flesh was torn and tossed aside violently as the gigantic form of the Azaroth revealed itself in the dark back streets of the college campus.

It was a horrid mix of human and spider, reminiscent of the centaurs of old myth. Six massively thick spider-like legs held up the creature that now was the size of an F-150 pick up truck.

At full height it had to be eleven feet tall! The human torso was now warped and hardened into chitinous plates. Her forearms solidified into serrated blades and chelicerae danced hungrily in anticipation for wolf-flesh.

Code:

Action: Stop and transform.

Inititvie: 10
Willpower: 6/7

Note: This is the largest Azlu any of the PCs have ever seen let alone faced.

[Owns-The-Night]

Declan slowed his pace, ducking his head and half-crouching out of reach of the blade-like arms. The Azaroth gloated slightly as she mistook the apparent hesitation for fear.

It wasn't: the Wolf was simply deciding where to strike.

With a bound of his hind legs, Owns The Night drove forward and under the swaying forearms, conscious of their sharp edges. With the same flowing motion he struck upwards, feet leaving the ground as his jaws closed on the would-be Queen's throat. His teeth, long and sharp as daggers, ripped through the weaker armor of the spider-thing's neck and sank deep into the alien flesh within. The Azaroth shrieked in outraged pain: in it's corporeal existence nothing had even come close to this agony. Dark viscous fluids gushed from the terrible wound in it's neck as Declan twisted his jaws and let his own weight tear them out of the chitinous flesh, taking a sizable chunk with him as he dropped lightly to the ground in front of the swaying, screaming spider-host. He spat out the foul-tasting lump of meat and bayed again, long and loud, a triumphal note ringing out into the night above the spirit-thing's rattling cries.

Code:

Form: Gauru (4 turns left after this one), Defense 3, 
      Armor +1, Initiative +6
Essense: 7/10 
Willpower: 3/5
DAMAGE: 3B/12

Action: 
Reflexive: heal one bashing level.

Attack: 9 dice, bite +2, burning WP +3, going for the throat -3, 
def + armor of target -5:  Pool = 6 dice

(Declan) rolls 6d10 and gets 10,9,9,8,6,4
Re-rolls 1d10 and gets 1.  = 4 successes.  Throat hit +2 dmg.

6L dmg.

[Astra D.]

As that soul-shattering howl pierced the night, Morgan picked up the pace, rounding the corner of an obscure and unimportant university building. She wondered briefly, wildly, if she really did have the suicidal impulses the counselors had described, and if this was some bizarre way of acting on them without the fear and guilt normally associated with the act. The sound of Ariel's footfalls was just behind her, she noted with some relief, and that's when she saw it. Her feet immediately refused to move any farther, and she stumbled gracelessly to a stop, mouth agape in shock and horror.

It was right out in the open, and almost the size of the band's ancient '87 Dodge van, with long, barbed legs that speared into the ground, scrambling for purchase as a wicked-looking wound on its (HUMAN! Spiders do NOT have those!) throat gushed some foul liquid. Movement drew her eyes to its attacker, and for an instant, the blood in her veins turned to ice.

If she'd thought the spider was terrifying, having well exceeded her expectations, the monstrous, bipedal creature that roared/howled in triumph was something straight out of a horror film.

"Holy shit," she murmured. "Holy maniac skull-fucking goetic nightmare on a goddamned trolley!" Her mind didn't snap; there was no merciful respite to be found in madness. Fear needed an outlet, though, and swearing incoherently was as good as any. She continued to string words together in foul and scarcely-comprehensible combinations as she summoned up the courage to act.

Code:

(18:33:15) ChatBot: (Morgan) rolls 1d10 and gets 6. 

6 + 5 = 11 Init.

[Dave ST]

Owns the Night's attacks were vicious and brutal. Flailing in rage the Azaroth lashed out with its gigantic bladed arms.

Owns the Night slipped around behind the beast, gripping claws into its bulbous armored abdomen and the first blow caught only fur.

A shriek of desperation filled the night air as she shook the Gauru loose, dropping him the pavement near the middle of the street. With all haste she stomped forward as quickly as her legs would carry her. With all her might she dropped the blade down into the pavement.

The mighty Blood Talon rolled away with barely a millisecond to spare as the blade sliced into the pavement, nicking his ear, and burying itself five inches. Swiftly the blade was retracted, two attempts and no success with this Gauru was already leaving a bad taste in 'Professor McArthurs' mouth.

Code:

Form: Azlu Defense 4, Armor +1, Initiative +9

Essense: 17/17 
Willpower: 5/7
DAMAGE: XXXXXOOOOOOOO

Action: 
Reflexive: Regenerate one Lethal wound.

[Merit Use: Focused Attack]
Attack #1: 8 dice, Evicerating Bone Scythes +2
burning WP +3, going for the spine -1, def of target -3:  Pool = 9 dice

Miss

Attack #2: 8 dice, Evicerating Bone Scythes +2
going for the spine -1, def of target -3:  Pool =  6 dice

Miss

[SalmonMax]

Ariel pelts after Morgan, and even as her mind revolts against what she's seeing, long training makes her body move without needing thought to guide it. She plunges her right hand under her left arm and yanks her pistol free.

Somehow she finds the presence of mind to stop herself from shouting for the massive demonic spider to freeze. This wasn't a warning type of situation.

The slim black automatic pistol bucked in her hand as she took a hasty snap shot at the creature, aiming at the massive, bulbous abdomen to avoid hitting Declan's towering form.

"Morgan, stay behind me!" she barked.

(Init: 10 Attack is 9 dice, -2 for armor for 7 dice. Rolled 1 success (in chat).)

(Defense 3, Armor 3, Willpower: 5/5, Essence 7/7)

[Owns-The-Night]

Owns The Night's feet came under him with blinding speed, long claws striking showers of sparks from the road as he rushed forward with his head low and tilted to the side. The retreating bone scythes were easily avoided as the Azaroth tried to block his advance, and weaving around them in one fluid motion the Rahu struck, bit down, and ripped a large slash in the thing's bulbous belly. He whirled past and out again from under the lethal bone spears, trailing ichor from his mighty jaws as the Queen-to-be's scream of pain followed him.

His eyes were shining like newly-minted gold coins, alight as they were with the fires of battle and Rage, and he felt the war songs of his tribe thundering in his blood. A third time he bayed in its ugly face, a taunting, triumphant sound, a foretelling of death.

Code:

Form: Gauru (3 turns left after this one), Defense 3, 
      Armor +1, Initiative +6
Essense: 7/10 
Willpower: 3/5
DAMAGE: 2B/12

Action: 
Reflexive: heal one bashing level.

Attack: 9 dice, bite +2, , going for the belly -1, 
def + armor of target -5:  Pool = 5 dice

(Declan) rolls 5d10 and gets 2,10,3,6,9.
(Declan) re-rolls 1d10 and gets 9.

3L damage

[Astra D.]

A gunshot rang out nearby, and she could see the outsized thing-that-had-been-Amber closing on the Azlu even as the beast-that-was-Declan savaged it again and again.

There was no way in Hell she was getting close enough to need the clasp knife stuffed in her pocket... Not with natural weaponry like that possessed by these otherworldly beings. She didn't have a gun, so she did the next best thing she could think of. Mana rippled outward, coursing through the weave of her pattern as her eyes locked on Amber's swift-moving form. She would strike soon, Morgan guessed, and Fate would be on her side when she did. The young Mage-girl lifted her right hand with a curious flourish, straightening her fingers as she blew lightly across the palm.

Code:

Casting Bestow Exceptional Luck on  (Fate + Gnosis only).
(20:13:52) ChatBot: (Morgan) rolls 5d10 and gets 7,10,10,6,6.
(20:14:01) ChatBot: (Morgan) rolls 2d10 and gets 4,8. (3 successes.)

3 successes = 3 rolls w/ "9 Again," declared before rolling. Duration = Scene.

Spent 1 Mana to activate.

WP: 4/5
Mana: 8/11

[z-Amber Wren]

Amber ran freely, cutting between buildings and around trees. In her full-out run, her front and back legs moved together, and each slam of her paws brought a grunt of effort as she ran as only the Urshal could. Unerring hunter's instincts moved in a tight oval, so when Declan's howl split the night, Amber turned sharply and joined battle.

As she rushed in, she saw Morgan gesture at her, but she didn't have time to worry or wonder what the Mage had done to her. She came from the side, not slowing at all as she opened her jaws wide and bit deeply into the bitch's underbelly. Her fearsome teeth tore deeply into its belly.

[OOC Notes:

Form: Urshul, Defense 3, Armor 3, Speed 17

Essense: 10/10

Willpower 2/3

DAMAGE: 0/11

Action: Biting attack = Attacking the Azlu (1d10=2, 1d10=10, 1d1...1d10=1, 1d10=6) plus popping one ten because I rolled one too many dice: popping the ten (1d10=1) = 3 successes]

[Dave ST]

Too many... far too many.

The Azaroth looked around in a panic and clicked her massive legs away from the protecting herself as best she could along the backward stride. Three of her massive legs were up on the curb while the other three remained in the street.

Violently she lashed out wit her bony scythe like blades. Owns The Night felt the massive blade pierce his chest, blood spattered as the Azlu fiend pushed forward thrusting the massive Gauru down on to his back. The second blade tore into his abdoment and Declan heard felt and knew immediately that the blade had shattered and severed his spine.

The great beast felt his legs go numb in an instant as the Azlu tossed him aside. She hissed at Amber and slid her blades together... from her position above the sewer grate, she had little to fear any longer.

Code:

Form: Azlu Defense 4, Armor +1, Initiative +9

Essense: 17/17 
Willpower: 4/7
DAMAGE: XXXXXXXXXOOOO

Action: 
Reflexive: Spends 3 Essence.  2 to regenerate 2 lethal wounds, 1 to inflict aggravated damage.

Attack #1: 8 dice, Evicerating Bone Scythes +2
burning WP +3, going for the spine -1, def of target -3:  Pool = 9 dice (7,5,3,8,9,4,2,9,7)

3 Aggravated to Declan. Spine was struck and is severed.
Character may not walk (in any form) and must crawl along with his arms.  Speed = Str only.

[SalmonMax]

"Holy HELL!" Ariel blurted on seeing Declan's fate.

He's dead, her mind gibbered. Nothing could have survived that!

Her body felt cold and numb. She'd only just met him, but... They were supposed to be in a PACK!

She heard a rising cry of anger as she pulled the trigger on her gun again, a cry that spilled from her own lips. While it wasn't a wolf's howl, the sheer elemental fury in it had a chill all of its own.

(Rolled 7d10 for gun, got 2 successes in chat)

[Owns-The-Night]

He howled again, this time the note less full-throated, more high-pitched. The pain was bad, but worse than the pain was the despair. He couldn't feel his legs: he was crippled. And he felt the terrible injury seething in his flesh, some otherworldly venom that pushed back his body's defenses, stopped his strong predator's frame from becoming whole once more. He coughed, his own blood in his mouth. For a moment he nearly swooned.

But the Rage of his forefather's would not let Owns The Night stop now.

He growled defiance as Ariel's shots rang out and he heard the creature shriek. Mighty heart beating at a speed that would be cardiac arrest for a man, the Uratha used his arms to roll over onto his stomach and scrabble towards the spider thing that had caused his hurt. Dark red blood trailed behind him, mixing with the spirit-host's ichor, and every motion was agony that merely served as fuel for his Rage. He saw the horrid thing standing over the drain cover and roared his hate at it, watching it's head snap around in inhuman amazement that the Rahu wasn't dead yet, was still moving, was still coming for it.

Black talons glistening from a mixture of his foe's blood and his own, Declan's clawed hand whistled through the air. He was reaching, ignoring the screaming pain in his back, and wasn't quite close enough to make the blow count. A glancing blow scored the creature's spindly leg, but it was still powerful enough to throw off it's precarious balance. The Azaroth staggered, hissing in it's fury, and Declan waited for it to recover and finish him off, his blazing eyes meeting it's foul caricature of a gaze.

Code:

Form: Gauru (2 turns left after this one), Defense 3, 
      Armor +1, Initiative +6
Essense: 7/10 
Willpower: 2/5
DAMAGE: 1B+ 3 agg/12

Action: 
Reflexive: heal one bashing level.

Attack: 9 dice, claw +1, WP +3  , going for the legs -2, 
def + armor of target -5:  Pool = 6 dice

(Declan) rolls 11d10 and gets 6,4,3,7,1,2,7,7,10,1,4.
(Declan) re-rolls 1d10 and gets 6.

1 Lethal and critter is staggered (-1 to defense)

[z-Amber Wren]

Seeing Declan fall turned Amber's anger from a bright flame to a raging inferno. She didn't know if he was dead; that thought was like a lightening bolt to her skull, shattering her reason and rationality. Roaring, the seething Uratha brought the full impact of her rage on her body and soul. Spirit stuff disappeared from her body as she used it to fuel a massive change in her body. For the first time since her First Change, she released the Garou. Her mass increased and she remained on all fours as she attacked the thing.

She knew what would happen. She knew that they were winning the battle to lose the war. And she didn't care. This almost-queen would fall tonight. She revisited the wrath of Father Wolf, on a smaller scale, on this near-queen, tearing into her with an overwhelming rage. The Uratha's teeth tore deeply into the Azlu's flank and ripped her apart in a symphony of gore.

[OOC Notes:

Form: Garou, Defense 3, Armor 4

Essense: 9/10

Willpower 1/3

DAMAGE: 0/11

Bite Attack plus WP dice: 13 dice - Attacking the Azlu (1d10=5, 1d10=2, 1d10...d10=10, 1d10=1) plus rerolls: Popping the nines and tens (1d10=1, 1d10=7, 1d10=8) = 5 Successes]

[Dave ST]

The hulking creature lurched onto its side, its legs unable to withstand the meteoric charge or feral savagery of Amber's primal rage.

Blood and viscera were scattered to places lost to shadow and gloom. Her chitinous plates cracked and broke while a pungent stench filled the air. Violently the near-queen withered and collapsed immediately breaking down and dissolving into hundreds upon thousands of spiders of all species.

Scattering all directions and several down the storm drain, the assembled warriors of the night realized that the threat was gone, but far from destroyed.

[SalmonMax]

In the heartbeat between the monster howling it's last, bone-jarring screech and it collapsing into a torrent of spiders, Ariel squinted a little...remembering what the spirit had taught her just earlier that night. The spirit veil parted, just a little, giving her a glimpse at the soulstuff that lay under the twisted flesh.

A mark appeared on its gore-spattered forehead, limed in sickly green light. The mark was a word. The word was a name. The name was it's.

Then she was running forward, gun in both hands but held pointing up. "Declan!" she shouted...making sure to stomp on any spiders that were between she and the male werewolf, but not going out of her way or pausing to do it.

"Declan!" On reaching his side, she stopped, speechless, as she looked down on him. Nothing she'd seen before could have prepared her for that sight, and for a moment her training failed her...leaving her transfixed with horror.

"He's...still alive" she whispers.

[Owns-The-Night]

The large fur-covered form sprawled out, dark blood oozing from the smaller hole in it's back as well as the torn, gaping wound in it's belly. Talons flexing, Owns-The-Night tried to crush as many of the escaping spiders as he could, his Rage not quite spent. But even as Ariel ran over, the strain of the Gauru shape took it's toll.

Pain was the first thing to return, and the wolf-thing let out a hoarse, gasping howl as it's limbs and torso shrank. The golden fire left his eyes, their natural silver dulling further as a film of agony covered them. Twitching, his cries becoming more human-sounding, the Rahu passed through his Dalu shape and snapped back into Hishu, the human skin, in a matter of seconds.

One could only scream so much, no matter the hurt done. Declan's cries trailed off into whimpers and snarls as he pushed his hands against the blood-slick ground in a vain attempt to rise, not accepting that his legs would not obey him any more.

[z-Amber Wren]

She'd stomped on a few spiders, but she knew it wasn't going to help. Still, it was enough for today. Then she'd surrendered the Rage to the more manageable Dalu form. "Of course he is," Amber said, stepping forward. "He's Rahu."

There was a sort of stiff pride in her voice as she knelt down next to him, naked save the thick body hair and scraps of clothing. "Ariel, Morgan, I need you guys to take point and rear now. We can't be seen on our way back to Declan's." In a much softer voice, she said, "Dec, you're not going to be able to walk for a bit. Here, can you get on my back if I go Urshal?"

She didn't let herself show how much it hurt to see her friend so badly injured.