Quote from Adriana on August 25, 2018, 9:43 am

Indy

Jackie waved off Memphis with a lazy flop of her hand, as though trying to be ironic about the gesture then giving up entirely halfway through the motion. The end result was something a little more pathetic than she’d intended, when her arm had settled weakly on the cement wall she’d been leaning on.

The woman sighed wearily. The support of the cement wall was reassuring.

“Well wolfy, looks like it’s just you and me,” it took her a moment to hunt down his form hiding in the shadows, “I think this is where we’re supposed to get all gushy and figure out what landed us in time-out in the first place”

A little pause. Jackie investigated a small scrape on her arm that hadn’t been wrapped. “Not that I’m exactly good at ‘gushy’ so you go ahead and start”

---

A curious figure glared at Memphis as she entered the cozy kitchen space. Yet while many had been taking in the sight of a young girl with two blinking eyes, this one did not blink even once and remained almost hidden in the thick folds of tattered fabric. It peered at her with a knowing and awareness that seemed unfitting to a thing that was not alive at all.

The wood carving was sitting on top of the trash bin, inside a pair of tattered fabrics that had once been shorts. What woe and anguish it seemed to convey from it’s undignified and precarious perch ! It’s past owner had been such a negligent one as to allow its majesty to be forgotten in those fabric depths…by all accounts, that it had managed to remain in the pocket in spite of the numerous holes and tatters was in itself a small miracle. In fact, it’s previous companion, a small carved flute, had fallen ages ago on the forest floor.

So it was with those two tiny wooden eyes did it peer at the young stranger in the home, as though compelling her towards it…

---

Theo happily took to Levi’s bearhug with one of his own, maybe squishing more air out of his friend’s lungs then was proper for such a greeting.

“I’m just happy you’re back! The way you disappeared like that with Sabrina, I was worried you’d gotten in trouble. I’m just happy you’re – “ ,”

A strange pause took him midsentence. He squinched his eyebrows close together, concentrating… Then the strange air passed and a smile took hold and he grinned again, as if nothing had happened.

“Just happy you’re here”

Quote from Adriana on August 25, 2018, 11:53 am

Deseree

The hum of an engine, the sound of tired pressing against gravel... Jackie and Timothy would only have to endure that "awkward" silence for a few moments longer.

Bob twisted the key in the ignition of good old Bessie, his favored Ford Crown Victoria. She'd long been retired from fieldwork and painted all black (currently donning a shade of brown with the dust she'd kicked up her way into the mountain), her motor was changed once or twice, but according to Mr. Chapman, she still ran like a champ and at this rate, would outlive himself. No one would ever pay much mind to the seemingly random howling wolf and moon silhouette decal on his back window.

"It looks a lot different during the day." he examined aloud. "Alright, up we go..!" he opened the door and proceeded to hoist himself from the drivers seat, his stiff back protesting the movement. He stood there for a moment, admiring the craftsmanship of the cabins before him.

"You'd just think it was a ski resort if we were higher in the mountains! If I had a salary large enough and half the energy that I used to, I would have loved to do something like this... I wonder how he managed it all. And it smells like we're just in time for lunch." he beamed with a bright smile.

Now his eyes were drawn to the fence off to the side, and without giving it a second thought, he made his way over to the ditch. Upon seeing the convicts, a hearty laugh escaped his throat.

"You two have bad been pups, huh?... Who's that down there? Oh, Red, haha! I shouldn't have expected anyone else! No more cars were hurt this time I hope?" with another laugh, he turned away and walked up the steps leading into the cabin. Three heavy knocks were placed on the door frame, and he peered in with a half smile to see such a large company.

Quote from Adriana on August 25, 2018, 11:53 am

Mae

There came no reply to answer Jackie.

Two strangers had come and gone from the top of the wall, completely unhindered by the rest of the pack. There were others on the territory too that went unknown... but their presence could be felt.
Timothy at last began to feel trapped. If the pack was not responding to the intruders, then something was wrong. If something was wrong then action needed to be taken, and here at last, Timothy found a reason to speak. So seldom as a werewolf had Timothy ever seen the point of a vocabulary, it served such a little purpose, but now it was an advantage - and he would utilize every advantage at his disposal.

Timothy growled and his cuspids shown even in the shadows, he looked at Jackie and at last prowled out where she could see him.
"Let's skip that part." He said, "And go straight to getting out of here."

Timothy eyed the wall on the far side of the ditch where at the top was the gate to the confines.

"I'm so sick of warnings. Let's see if she meant it."

**********

Ulric returned to the kitchen after the other plates, and - albeit briefly - searched the fridge for anything that might have been hidden away. Just as he came back into the main room to eat, a knock sounded on the door and Ulric lifted his eyes to greet the stranger.

Even though Ulric recognized the man at the door from the night of chaos, he was sorry to say that his heart froze, as unexpected company on werewolf territory brought instinctual alarm. Nonetheless, Ulric recovered himself and invited the gentleman in.

"Oh, hey! Hey!" He called, setting aside his plate quickly and going forward with a hand extended. "Please, come in! We were just about to eat, join us, please."

After inviting the older man in, Ulric beckoned everyone in the room to get themselves a plate, and he continued to talk with the new guest.
"We owe you a lot for the other night. I didn't know what we were going to do, but I know sir, if you hadn't shown up we would have lost a life. Please, help yourself, and forgive me, I don't know your name."

Quote from Adriana on August 25, 2018, 11:54 am

Mae

Figuratively, living with the monster there was always a fear present that it might consume you; that at any moment the doors to keep it in would break down and you would find yourself defenseless to overpower it.
The werewolves knew this battle, but it was not exclusive to them: there were many men and women in the world who fought an endless battle for self-control and discipline while things in them seemed physically and emotionally out of their power. The question, "who would be the conqueror?", was hard and sometimes impossible to answer. Would it be the person inside, or the nature of the creature who won out in the end?
That consuming feeling of self-doubt and worthlessness, the despair of the human mind and soul, was a greedy, hungry beast that feasted relentlessly on individual worth and self-confidence ...

An old Native American story once described the conflict of two wolves who fought over power and dominion ... Two wolves, a black one and a white, in an seemingly eternal battle. Ultimately, the story concluded on the question "which one will win?"

But the answer was really pretty simple, "whichever one you feed."
In the end, it was the thoughts and the actions of the person who owned the wolves that would determine who got fed and who was starved - who had strength to continue the fight, and who had to go back to lick his wounds.

"Don't feed the black wolf." An elderly voice had warned long ago. While a strong body was bent over, working sticks and lumps of clay in his weathered hands, the man spoke from years of experience and toil. "The black wolf thrives on emotional despair and physical temptation. His determination is to subject you to him, and he will try anything to make you believe you belong to him... But it is still in your power to feed the good, and starve the bad."

Meanwhile as he spoke, a young girl in the seasons of youth watched the ends of her long nut-brown hair dance across a shimmering water surface. Always, it seemed, the creek wanted to carry her locks away, but the little girl sat with her knees against her chest, unmoved as she listened to the old patriarch's voice...

~~~~~~~

Tammy fell out of bed with a lurching feeling in her stomach. There wasn't a second spared in the desperate scramble across the floor that ensued thereafter! In time to save herself an unfortunate mess, Tammy discovered her bag and its assorted items under the bed and made use of a disposable glove.

There were likely many suspects to blame for Tammy's early misery that morning, but the most persuasive culprit was the smell coming in from the window, a smell which she could only describe as flesh searing on hot iron. Instinctively she knew how fresh the blood had been and that it had been draining on hickory wood for hours - it made her stomach turn and her skin crawl - but there was another smell too, which Tammy found far more alarming in nature.

If there was a proper way to describe Tammy's emotions just then, it was desperation - flight was the reaction invoked, and she looked wildly for a way to escape both the wheeling in her stomach and the present feeling of danger.

"Don't think about it. Don't think about it!" Tammy said, coaching herself to forget the smell if she could, but the attempt failed to keep her head from swimming.

Tammy retreated from the room where she found herself was in a dark hallway with several branching doors and a flight of stairs on either end. The smell traveled strongly through the hall, and Tammy went straight through another door without thinking in order to escape it. This new room Tammy knew had no windows, though she did not look around, for the smell was lesser in here and the atmosphere seemed isolated, so she sat down and folded her arms around her knees with her back against the door.

*********

Ulric was enjoying speaking with Bob Chapman, who he admired more every moment he spent in the elder man's company. But right in the middle, their conversation was interrupted by a howl from outside - a howl of warning from Timothy!

Ulric looked to the other faces in the room and got to his feet, quickly leaving the den outside where a surprising scene awaited him...

Quote from Adriana on August 25, 2018, 11:54 am

Indy

Jackie was lying flat on her back again, staring straight up. But instead of the tender blue sky of early morning, this time she saw the dark shadow himself closed in around her. Her face was squinted in pain… and this had less to do with the set of serrated teeth closed around her throat and more to do with the dozen stitches she’d just torn.

“I’m not screaming, fuzzbutt,” she finally managed, after she’d gasped away the worst of those tight needles around those torn stitches “And I’m not a stupid rabbit”.

Distantly she was aware of someone running outside to behold the wonderful spectacle. Jackie could not see them from her position, and she dare not twist to see them lest those teeth actually break her skin, but she still had a feeling on who had just come.

“I'm fine!,” she shouted, her vocal chords vibrating uncomfortably against the teeth,”Just… playin’”

---

Melinda had opened her eyes some minutes prior, sharp focus and calm washing over her like a thick wave. She’d wasted no time in what she needed to do next and had grabbed her cell phone to make one final call. How risky it was to do in ear-shot of her guard; yet no one came to interrupt her, and so Melinda had begun climbing up the chain of secretaries and lower-level officials with increasingly aggressive tactics, before at last reaching her desired recipient. And then, with greatly honed skills, grinding him down as well with vague threats about his job security based on his own extrapolations of her working relationship with his supervisors.

Officer Calypso was the epitome of helpfulness in less than five minutes.

Melinda had been so heavily engaged in the conversation, writing things here and there, that she did not hear the panicked approach of footsteps headed her way. Yet even as the girl burst in through the door, panic filling her eyes, Melinda’s languid posture at the edge of her bed did not change. Rather, she motioned casually to a small chair in the corner, implying the girl could wait there if she so pleased.

The man on the other end mumbled something and Melinda’s expression suddenly turned light.
“Really now, a missing girl you say?” A pause, more speaking. “No no, I think that will be all, you’ve been most helpful. I’m sure Barty – or ahem, excuse me, Comissioner White – will be delighted to see this case closed. Yes you take care now, I’ll call you with any questions mm hmm, buh bye now”

She shut the phone closed in her palm. Her eyes were suddenly on the girl again, but with an interest she did not have before.

“Stay as long as you like. You should be safe there, miss… ?”

Quote from Adriana on August 25, 2018, 11:54 am

Cat

Granny Buttermilk hadn't shown any resistance to Levi's fetal attempt at aiding her up the stairs, though she did glance irritably at him out of the corner of her eye. Upon reaching the main level and starting past the kitchen, Granny signaled Cherise that they were leaving now.. That was the last anyone had seen of either the two women.

Meanwhile, Toby had hobbled his way to the closet and gotten himself dressed. Unfortunately, he did not currently have the mobility required to put on one of his trademark sweater vests, much to his dismay. He never felt fully dressed without one of those vests over his button-down. Nevertheless, he didn't want to cause himself any more pain. His bullet wounds were painful enough, and ever since the night of Timothy and Jackie's ramble, he was literally more sore and bruised than ever before.

Honestly, it was a wonder he even bothered getting out of bed. He felt sure he was going to regret it by the end of the day-- Not because of how sore he would be, but because something else was bound to happen to him-- Yet the smell of steak was too strong a temptation even for him.. That was the one thing Toby felt was actually wolf about him. He could never turn down a good steak. He hated chicken and turkey, felt so sorry for poor pigs, and wouldn't touch tofu, but he loved steak!

So it was, in clean kahki slacks and a light blue button-down shirt, Toby opened his bedroom door and limped out into the hall. His crutches had been damaged that night, so he couldn't bother with them. Holding the wall for support, he made his way toward the kitchen, desperately hoping this wasn't a Bring-You-Own-Steak kind of breakfast.. How beastly cruel that would be! He hadn't had any time to go shopping. He'd surely starve to death. .. The very thought made his stomach growl and caused him to whimper quietly to himself, feeling very pathetic and wretched.

He had no sooner reached the kitchen and tried to assess all who stood there, when Timothy's warning howl rung out! Toby resisted the urge to slam the wall and collapsed in a fit of sobs. He had only just made it to the kitchen! Couldn't tragedy and trouble wait until AFTER he'd eaten? Just once?!

Quote from Adriana on August 25, 2018, 11:54 am

Deseree

The food was spread out on the table, and Logan had prepared and set aside her own plate on one of the kitchen counters... set aside, because her thoughts were occupied. There were things that needed to be said, and the longer she spent inside the cabin, the more times her eyes went to that staircase leading into Kratos' den.

Another stranger had made himself present, a werewolf just as well. Logan vaguely recognized the scent to be similar to that of the other newcomer, Bianca, and again, she did not question the presence of a second stranger, let alone what it implied in terms of being a werewolf.

While Ulric had been speaking to the man, who introduced himself as Bob Chapman, Logan had been leaning against the countertops with her arms crossed over her waist. At last she decided she could wait no longer, and would see if the meeting was coming to a close. So she began to descend the steps with a cautious demeanor. If Kratos was half as weary as the subjects who had left that room already, and he certainly had cause to be, she resolved for once to consider herself carefully.

Having all but made it to the bottom when a howl rang out, Logan hesitated, just long enough to see the door open and glance at the faces inside. They might, however, only catch a glimpse of her heels as she ascended back to the top of the stairs, three steps at a time, and made a dash for the door!

Bob hadn't been standing idle, however, and he'd already assessed what he needed to in those few vital moments. Logan came up the stairs and shot towards the door, but the flight was cut short - Bob only had to put his foot out just before she made the exit, and sent her with a crash onto the porch! The next instant he conjured a pair of handcuffs and descended, grabbing her wrists up behind her and locking them in place. "Calm down pup," he muttered, keeping a knee on the back of Logan's neck.

"Timothy...!" she snarled, and tried to get back to her feet. The old Chapman however, held up his own, and wasn't easily budged. "We're not going to go down that road again, alright? Let somebody who knows what they're doing handle it. Now where's that Alpha of yours?"

"He will die!" Logan roared, tensing her muscles to no avail; in the position and the form she was in, she was useless. With tears in her eyes, she grew increasingly frustrated.

"Jackie!" she called again, something desperate in her tone. "Jackie! I am sorry!"

---

Bianca, having dried her tears, was ready to sit at the table and meet some of the faces that were the Calagathorm Pack. Her attention, along with all of the others in the room was abruptly shifted on that same source of chaos, the howl, followed by the others making for the door. She couldn't help flinch and cover her mouth as she watched her grandfather take down the woman, and her brow stayed furrowed as the second female flew from the cabin.

For whatever reason, she decided to follow them out, and opted to go nearer to Ulric and giving a small gasp upon seeing the werewolf looming e woman, with his jaw around her neck! A small "oh no" was the only thing she could utter and though she did not turn her head, her eyes darted around to see who - if anybody - would move to remedy the situation..

Quote from Adriana on August 25, 2018, 11:54 am

Kaqurei

Levi did not bother to try to translate the expression that had passed over Theo's face, nor fill in the blanks where he had paused. The message conveyed was pleasant, and the once-spy decided to take it at face value. He was no good at faces. Or humans in general, really. Growing up the sole child and only human being aside from his mother or occasionally his werewolf father on a homestead located in the middle of no where, Levi didn't have too much experience with decoding human expressions or body language. Wolf body language came to him easily enough for whatever reason. People just made him uncomfortable, hence he usually tried to avoid large groups of them.

"More trouble 'n ae did what led to our first meeting, ye mean?" the lad asked with a sideways smile. Then came the howl. He raised his head and eyebrows in the same movement. "What now? Oh dear," he muttered in a wee voice.

<- This post is continued from SP-RP8. 

Sabrina flew by the kitchen like a white flash--though human in form, she was, of course, dressed in apparel of her trademark colour.

She was neither heard nor seen on Logan's heels as she had raced up the stairs. Light-footed as a fox, she merely weaved past Chapman at the door and leapt right over the ensuing tumble that Logan became after she was tripped up.

She did not pause nor look back. She simply continued her course straight for the pit. Once she got there, she peeked through the grate down at the pair entrapped below, and her shoulders sank. There had been something akin to alarm in her face. Now there was, certainly, disappointment. The sort of disappointment one's mum might have had on if she had expected one not to clean one's room and found out that she was right.

Shifting her weight to one leg and crossing her arms, she leaned back and looked at Kratos through half-closed eyelids.

Quote from Adriana on August 25, 2018, 11:55 am

Mae

"Get off of her, Timothy!" Ulric shouted down into the pit.

Timothy had his ears back, listening to the others and more particularly for the rattle of the gate.

"Come down here and make me." Timothy growled in reply, still not removing his teeth from Jackie's skin.

****

Tammy's heart flip-flopped. She had not noticed the sole occupant of the room when she had entered and so-noticing now her face paled, dare she to go from the door?

Tammy looked as if she were about to flee the room with her hand on the doorknob the moment she had realized that she was not alone. However she faltered in her flight when she detected the lack of prevalent danger.

"You're... you're not one of them?"

****

Kratos reached the top of the stairs well behind Sabrina, and he was the last of all to come out of the house.

As he crossed the threshold, the giant bowed his head and his hand grasped high on the door frame to move himself past it to the porch. He walked behind the rest of the pack who had come out into the yard as if his presence was not important, and casually walked around them to see down into the ditch.

Jackie was lying on her back with Timothy standing over her, his teeth were clamped shut and pressed against her skin, and though he did not hold her there, Jackie was responding in much the same way to Timothy's assertion.

The most prominent thing of all to note was that Timothy's tail was raised, proclaiming his full dominance over Jackie.

Kratos rested his hand on his belt and walked a short ways from the others, coming around to the north-side. When he had gotten to the fence, the Alpha rested his hand on the chain links and caused them to clatter.

Although his back was turned Timothy's ears were immediately in the Alpha's direction, yet even so he did not release Jackie.

Kratos said nothing. Timothy's bluff was called; Timothy was a calculating creature, he knew the consequences of carrying through with his threat, he did not dare do it. Surely the damage was already done however - Jackie had submitted, it did not matter that she was injured and weak; that the fight had not been fair.

Timothy relented his stance, he pulled his head away from Jackie and bounded away from her, stalking around to the edges of the pit with his ears back and his tail tucked.

Kratos shifted away from the fencing and looked back at his pack, noticing the strangers among them, and it must also be said that he appeared displeased to see Logan bound. With a glance the Alpha noted Bianca and Memphis but his gaze settled on Bob Chapman.