Quote from Adriana on August 25, 2018, 12:39 pm

Kaqurei

Sabrina gave Bianca an appreciative smile for her rallying howl, and waited a moment longer. When Theo still did not appear, she huffed and clicked her tongue. "Wait here just a moment," she directed. She caught and followed Bianca's gaze towards Logan at the pit. She didn't know what she was doing over there, but she knew Kratos had ordered it. "The Alpha will see to them," she said reassuringly, before turning her back on them and sprinting towards the cabins. That was where she had last seen Theo.

****

Josh coughed and choked. He was barely aware that Silas had been there, and then he wasn't. Someone had squeezed his hand. Everything was too fuzzy. He couldn't concentrate. He choked again and spit. Then, his ragged panting stopped short and his body relaxed. His clear blue eyes stared half-closed up at the equally pale skies above. In a moment of surreal clarity, he realized there weren't any clouds... just grey tendrils of mist that flowed over his face, like the kind that rose up on the streets whenever it rained in Pinerich... but he could still see the sky through it. There was no storm. A moment or two passed and he sucked in a desperate swallow of air. Then he was still again. And repeat. He didn't feel like he was getting enough. But it was all the strength he could muster.

Then light faded from his eyes. He heard thunder.

****

Levi made his decision quickly, and with a leap and a kick dislodged the tree before bounding back to a place of safety. At first, the tree merely bounced, and nothing else moved. He heart sank. The Badger didn't have much more time. If he miscalculated the stability of that rockslide--

CRAACCK!

The tree groaned and split. The stones and soil wasted no time. The captor had fallen. They were free to race down and cause whatever havoc they liked below. Levi gave a satisfied nod. That should do it.

****

This post is a continuation of SP-RP8 "Wooden Beads & Borrowed Fables".

She entered the cabin and confirmed by his scent that Theo was still there. Both relieved and irked, she proceeded briskly up the stairway to search for him. Surely he must have heard the noise outside, how could he miss? And why hadn't he answered their calls?

Only for a moment did the possibility that he might have come into some trouble with their human prisoner cross her mind. But it was dismissed. The woman was unarmed, and Theo, being a pureblood, could transform at will on the off chance that she became too much to handle in a physical confrontation. She almost smiled at the thought, for she truly did not think much of the woman she had written off as being some troublemaker's lost secretary.

However, Theo's scent did indeed lead her right to Melinda's room. She scoffed. Only he would manage to get himself bound and gagged by a human prisoner. And if that wasn't what was delaying him then he had better have a darn good excuse handy instead. This wasn't the time for games.

The door was already half open, so she merely kicked it the rest of the way for a decent bang, because she was in that good of a mood. Immediately she saw two things: Melinda standing by the window, and Theo and the girl Timothy had injured standing together a short distance from her. "Theo," she barked, "What are you doing? Didn't you hear--?"

She did not get the chance to finish her rebuke. At that very moment a black ravaging form exploded into the room through the window, spraying shards of glass in all directions and shredding the curtains to ribbons under his violent entrance!

It was Timothy.

Quote from Adriana on August 25, 2018, 12:39 pm

Mae

The long smokey tendrils did not so much as swirl in the passing of the two spectres, yet after a short while a third pair of eyes opened out of the hazy background and the silhouetted hillside was seen to rise and like a shadow it moved and pass away...

*****

There could have been neither doubt nor precedence as to what happened next. No one could argue that it was dangerous to allow Timothy to pass unchallenged up the ladder, but where he would go after reaching the top no one could guess.
Likewise, even in choosing not to choose, it would seem Jackie was ever responsible for the outcome of her fate.

Timothy had gone with passive calmness up the ladder, and when he reached the top and Logan did not halt him, Timothy proceeded away from the argument as if the matter was comfortably none of his business. Yet if one may look after him as he went, they might have seen how his ear was inclined just a little over his right shoulder, and they would see how his eyes trailed up to the window of the house when Jackie spoke of her sister and Logan pleaded for her to obey.

In a moment no one saw Timothy's skin was exchanged, and in a striped flash of black and grey he had no sooner decided what to do when then it was done.

*****

Meanwhile, a ceasefire had followed Silas' well-aimed shots. A shout had been heard, and then silence until the calamitous fall of great stones, dashing, crashing and slamming over each other to gather over the sloping forest floor. The thick mountain foliage was broken beneath the rocky landslide, yet the greater weave had slowed the descent of smaller stones and many hearty bushes, though they were battered and ripped apart, yet they remained standing.

Ulric's heart jumped at the commotion some short distance away and he could not help but stop to consider it before he went all the same to Josh's side and took refuge from sight beneath the smoke and green. Ulric saw the brilliance of blood on the ground and felt his stomach clinch as he noticed the brutal wounds that Josh had attempted to close. It was not the first time that Ulric had been met by a gruesome scene, and bloodshed did no longer astonish him. But Ulric himself possessed no medical knowledge or ability, and he knew that he could do nothing to save Josh's life.

At this moment of grief and slackening strength, Ulric shivered at the sight of a shadow rising overhead and smelled the exertion of the great black hands that shortly rested before his face.

"Kratos." Ulric said with both despair and relief. "Where have you been?"

Ulric's voice could not be mustered above a whisper, his mind was not on the question although it burned in his heart and could not be kept from his tongue. Ulric's earnestness in Josh's behalf could be seen in his eyes and every glance between his Alpha and the fallen intruder seemed a desperate appeal to the strength of the former.

Kratos bent down over his brother and said, "You will have to leave him. If he is moved he will die within this hour, but if he is left and fortune favors him then he will still have his life when Sabrina comes to mend him. Bury him with leaves and branches so that he is not discovered and then come."

Ulric did not argue. How could he argue? Ulric could do nothing to help and to a soul as bewildered as he, any word spoken in confidence was a word whereupon all hope must be hung. Thus, in full obedience and compliance to the Alpha's word, Ulric quickly covered the poor sight of Josh's body with soft leaves and light branches and departed, following behind Kratos as he withdrew.

Quote from Adriana on August 25, 2018, 12:39 pm

Mae

Miles Cook sprinted over the boulders that came rolling at his ankles, his rifle was held in both hands. Bevis had been hit in the thigh by a rather large stone and Jon had saved her from then being plowed over by the rest of the fall. From her vantage Mary Berg had seen the Badger take dirt and crash into the trees, but she couldn't get a fix on the werewolves that fled from it. Her team had showered Silas' position from the west side of the road, but they had lost sight of him when the armored truck had moved out in front and sheltered him from what would have been fatal blows.

Meanwhile on the east side of the road, Hal climbed down to Paul and Calerry's position to survey the damage they had taken from enemy ricochet, and finding that neither one were severely injured they began to look for Daniel and Douglas.

*****

After Ulric took leave of Diane, she went down on her paws and sprinted away. She had no intention of getting far, however, as from the moment she had received the poison pain had spread quickly through Diane's body and had seized her chest even before she had escaped the Badger. At last, though she could not go far, Diane determined a place to take refuge and had no sooner reached the area when she fell to the ground and relented her secondary form.

"This accursed mountain!" Diane hissed between her teeth as she clutched her arm and collapsed against the roots of a tree. "The Svalnaglas have not come here since the Grun'ack."
Diane tightened her eyes in a grimace as her focus was pulled inward and monitored her breathing into slow sharp gasps, lest a greater breath bring greater pain.

Quote from Adriana on August 25, 2018, 12:40 pm

Deseree

Josh was left in the care of strangers, phantoms for all he knew. Maybe he had only imagined those glowing eyes, or that voice. He couldn't shake the feeling however, that he had heard that voice before, stared into those eyes. He shook his head, glancing back in the direction of Diane and Jodecai, wondering which way Eva would go. Wondering if Josh would live another day or if that would be the last time he saw him.

Or anyone.

While his legs seemed to move automatically, he found himself painfully aware of everything else in his body. His breathing was no longer second nature, instead every breath a conscious effort. Blinking, swallowing.. it was amazing how many things the body did without being told, and he hoped he wouldn't have to tell his heart to keep beating, too.

---

Logan knew should she halt Timothy, he would be ready to face her as an enemy. She knew also he possessed control of his secondary form, and as it was, her body was weak. So it was, he passed unchallenged.

"You had a family once."

She had uttered to him in passing, her head bowed and her eyes closed. She never looked back, only towards the pit once again, staring sadly at Jackie. Wordlessly she turned around, glancing in the direction Timothy had gone, and in the direction of Bianca and Toby. She cast an expectant gaze over her shoulder, before making her way towards the cabins.

Quote from Adriana on August 25, 2018, 12:40 pm

Indy

“Shut up Logan,” Jackie said at last in heated defensiveness, in the way a person does when they have nothing else to say,” I never said I was a great person anyways”.

Then she heard the crash, not so far away. Her eyes bolted immediately to the far end of the window. She could feel her blood turn into ice.

“Melinda,” she hissed under her breath. She paused. Logan had already walked away. She was alone in the bottom of this pit.

She spread her palms. Human. Weak. There was no way she could do anything with them.

But there was no other hands she had to use right now, none that would come when called. She grit her teeth, starred up the top of the ladder, then pulled up her body as though her life depended on it. Her injuries did not slacken her speed, though each footstep left behind a small trace.

—

Much occurred in a few slim seconds.

Sabrina appeared at the doorway, pulling Theo’s gaze away from the window. Half an answer was caught in his throat. It might have been “Um”, or “Sorry” or possibly “okay”, but when all words were jumbled together it was little more than a grunt in his throat.

Then the glass shattered. Theo could sense Timothy’s presence where it hadn’t been before, but his back was to the window and he thus could see nothing of his intentions. Instinctively he placed himself protectively between the window and Tammy, relenting to his secondary form. He cast an apologetic glance back at the girl, knowing how afraid she must be…

—

It were as though all the air was sucked out of the room at once. Melinda had only a fraction of a moment’s good sense to retreat a pace to the side, so as the glass exploded outward she was not in it’s direct path. Yet even so, her legs were not fast enough and some of the shards glanced painfully off her exposed forearms.

The black beast before her was all sinew and teeth and muscle. There was no restraint in his dark eyes.
There was no mistaking what he was.

She was backed against the wall, all at his mercy. The wolf boy had thrown himself protectively around Tammy. But no one, not even the other woman that had entered, had yet to protect her.

A shame… there had been much she intended to do today. Much she had yet to do. She squeezed her eyes shut, maintaining her heart rate and breathing so it would not betray her fear. A shame, for without her, then truly Jacqueline had no hope…

Quote from Adriana on August 25, 2018, 12:40 pm

Mae

Shining glass shards and crimson red spray spread across the ash wood floor. Timothy's wild and calculating eyes had seen the room as he burst through the window and in a searching glance he saw Sabrina by the door. He gave no chance, no moment, no pause for his designs to be altered in anyway and in one moment his teeth had clasped Melinda's blouse while in the next, with one jerk of his thick black neck, he pulled her toward the window as if he were to cast her out! Her body would seem a weak and weightless doll against Timothy's inhuman strength, yet just as his large black forearm came up to wrap around Melinda and pull her along with himself out of the room, a cry went up and that wild beast was caught about the neck!

Had Timothy been permitted to carry through with his designs, not only would hope for Jacqueline Ryder be lost, but hope for Timothy himself. Little did he know it and little less did he care, yet the arms that tightened with desperate strength around his throat as if to slay him were the very arms that sought his redemption.

Timothy was forced to abandon his query and thrashed madly to escape the assault! He could not see the attacker who clung for all life to his back and kicked him away from the windowsill. The grip, fierce with despair, reminded him with mistaken accuracy of Gathen's abuse, and thus the more his efforts became, mad and desperate to escape!

When at last in a frantic counterattack he threw himself over on his back, slamming his attacker's head against his own skull and the floor, Timothy's claws caught fabric and he viciously thrust his attacker off!

It was Tammy who had made the merciful assault and it was she who was thoroughly abused for it. Theo's goodwill might have saved her the struggle had she remained behind him, but it would not have saved Timothy nor Melinda, for Theo's kind and timid heart had not yet the strength to combat Timothy with as much desperation and ferocity as was needed to prevent the two from going out the window. Yet, if Theo should have a second chance, now was the time! For no sooner had Timothy freed himself when his eyes, full of passion and rage, turned blindly against Tammy and in only a split moment of time his teeth came racing down upon her!

Quote from Adriana on August 25, 2018, 12:40 pm

Indy

Melinda fell to her knees with a sharp gasp, clutching her throat and then curling around her chest. The top two buttons of her blouse had torn, revealing a silver chain that had not been seen before. By the time Melinda had recovered her senses, she became aware that the banging was not a heartbeat that had betrayed her control, but rather the beast itself thrashing…

She blinked. There was a girl flying off the monster's back.

A cry caught her throat, and she turned rapidly toward the wolf-boy starring wide in shock of Tammy’s form flying through he air and the beast that had thrown it.

“What are you waiting for?” she cried out, almost exasperated,”You have the power, so save her!”

It were as though she had watched a dark house turn on all the lights at once. His hair stood on end, his eyes flashed a bright green, and a growl caught his throat. He leaned forward, arms outstretched, and burst into a tackle sprint towards Timothy just as he made a move to strike Tammy.

---

With one step before the other, Jackie progressed. It was obvious by the state of her injuries, each step caused her pain. And yet her walk was neither too fast nor too slow, as though each movement was perfectly measured and executed. She did not look to her other pack members as she passed them; in her mind was a single goal, and nothing, not pack member, injury, or otherwise, would deter her from it.

She heard the noises in the other room well before she reached the base of the steps in the cabin. Yet it was there at the base of the stairs, one foot on the first step and the other on the ground floor, she betrayed observation of the outside world. She froze at the spot as every muscle in her body tensed. Yet it was not fear that paralyzed her. She was paralyzed with energy. Like a pointer dog, every muscle had gone rigid and her eyes were steeled straight ahead at her objective. Every ounce of focus and energy was gathering like a spring about to be released.

Then a growl caught in her throat and she flew up the stairs. Had the door been locked, she would have thrashed against it; it was only by half-a-moment’s thought she turned the knob first.

---
Meanwhile…

An unfamiliar man knelt on the ground hardly more than a mile from the hunter’s location. At first glance he seemed almost a comical and cheerful sort. His frame was of the limber green bean variety with arms and legs that scarcely appeared to fit his torso. He wore a duster length coat that blended into the browns of the undergrowth, jeans, and a crumbled fedora that had seen better days. From the fedora, his appearance quickly deteriorated. The harsh circles under his eyes, the grimace on his lips, and the scrutinizing gaze which studied the faint passing of what had been a very large truck spoke of harder days. It were as though the lightness of his frame had been weighed by a burden it had not been meant to carry.

As the man pulled away from the tire tread on the earth, he shook his head.

The gunfire moments prior had not escaped his notice. No trained ranger that could read the subtle disturbances in the woods would miss such an obvious sign. And yet, with his few clues pushing him only closer towards it, there was no other option.

“Blasted woman,” he hissed, then crept carefully, but deeper into the woods.

Quote from Adriana on August 25, 2018, 12:40 pm

Shea

The chaos of battle could fog the mind of most any composed man. Jodecai was not an exception - but if he was to fulfill his duty, he could not become consumed by the noise of it all.

The cover provided by Eva was their perfect opportunity to retreat, and with the plan in motion, he watched as Diane futilely ran to her own fall. Her independence as a person couldn’t be choked - not by any toxin, at least.

Jodecai didn’t waste another second of what precious time remained, and came to Diane, hoisting her into his arms, and sprinting off - away from the blazing guns and fog. Unlike his comrades, he was working on a time limit, for Diane’s condition would surely only worsen if not treated.

“Diane, I can’t promise your safety if we wait for the others. Once we reach the end of the forest, I’d think it wise to find somewhere to have you treated..” He spoke softly, maneuvering through the forest to the best of his abilities.

Quote from Adriana on August 25, 2018, 12:40 pm

Deseree

"Every action has a consequence."

If Kratos had considered the consequences of Logan letting the ladder down into the ditch, then the outcome was one of which Logan refused to accept the guilt for. Give credit where credit is due, they say.

Like a match, flickering to life and with a breath being put out again, the Fire had gone past the Statue and up the stairs. Logan looked on - the doorway before her. The sound of glass breaking, the thuds as Jackies feet plowed into the stairs and bodies hit the ground above her - it came as a wisp and swirled in Logans mind before leaving. While her feet remained planted where she was, one on the step to the entryway and one still set against the warm gravel below, her eyes glanced in the direction the Badger had gone.

In spite of being in the open, the air in her lungs felt stale. She lifted her hand and wondered when the bandage had fallen off. Certainly during the transformation, when her body stretched and expanded rapidly. Her shirt had come untucked and her watch lay near the ditch, the strap broken.

Stretched.

Maybe it's why she felt so outside of herself in this moment. The beast had come and gone so quickly. Or at least, the body of it. In essence, it still lingered over her, waiting for that massive body to return so it could fill the void left by the assault.

Inhaling deeply, Logan realized she had been holding her breath for some time. As she inhaled, she could smell it; blood, gunpowder, sweat, fear. Things the human nose could not--not from this distance, at least.

Resting both feet on the gravel, she turned her back on the door and closed her eyes. She could feel it now, as distant as a spirit on another plain and simultaneously close enough to touch. Like an all too big shirt, she needed only to grow into it. It tugged at her, tantalizing, its power just within her reach.

Before she could ask herself how, it was already done. It was never a how. Lungs don't ask how they fill up with air. Leaves don't ask how they grow. Wolves don't ask how they howl to their packmates. It just is.

Now the gravel pressed into the pads of her paws, gravity tugging at her heavy body. She found herself inclined to lean forward, and felt her ears like satellites, rotating back towards the cabin doors and forward again. She came down on her forepaws and tensed the muscles in her shoulders and legs for a moment, then turned her head to look over her shoulder. Looking then towards the roads with her stubbed tail erect, those muscular haunches propelled her forward as she began to follow the trail of the Badger.