2018.10.07: Pack Land Patrol - DeadThings

Pack Land Patrol - DeadThings
Isla and Jes go on patrol around their new territory, and discover DeadThings
IC Date	Sunday, Oct 7th
Players	JesST, Isla
Location	Lucky Strike Falls
Spheres	Shifter Gaian Garou

The duo make their way through the California scrub chapparal within their new territory, moving on four legs for the sake of swiftness but occasionally switching to two for certain obstacles or explorations. They cross dry creek beds and lazy streams, up and down wild hills and grassland pockets, looming redwoods and gnarled oak, and even a thin tongue of salt desert at the very outskirts, cutting into an overgrown valley like an old scar. Jes stops here and there to mark boundaries, keeping a mental map of the perimeter and making occasional notes like 'deer trail' and 'prairie dog colony'. He stops by the head of a small stand of trees, however, raising his head and sniffing. << You smell that? >> he asks, nose wrinkling. << I can't.... it's something. >>

Fiery Bellona has enjoyed this time exploring so far. Happy with the land that they have for the most part. She stops where he points to something odd and goes to sniff it herself in more detail.

Fiery Bellona wrinkles her nose a bit. >>Blood. Recent. Something more to it. Not clear like prey blood<< She looks around. >>Check out area for anything else off.<< She begins her own search and sniff. If there is a blood trail, she'll find it.

Death's Jester begins circling in the opposite direction, overlapping with her hunt but carring him outward to try and find a trail. It is she who finds it, however; a patch of bloody grass, and then a spray of droplets beyond that, leading into the gnarled scrub oak where the further scent lingers. There is a trail of hoofprints; antelope, likely. But after that... a boot, old and worn in the treads.

Fiery Bellona sniffs her way to the blood and then sees the boot. >>Boot. Person was here.<< She doesn't like it but goes up and sniffs it too, and checks to see if any blood is on it as well. >>Not sure if victim or cause.<<

He's at her side within heartbeats, leaning in to sniff the track and looking off toward the woods. << Do we follow? >> he asks, neither afraid nor eager; this is not his decision to make, and he will go where she leads. The ruddy wolf with the dappled spots in his fur sniffs again, then backs up, loping back a dozen yards before adding, << Running this way. Both of them. Didn't start here; chased down on foot. >>

Fiery Bellona yips back at her Beta. >>We follow. Find them. I want to know who is on our territory.<<

No argument from DJ, who comes trotting back to her tail and givs a soft whuff. << Ready, >> he confirms, shaking himself off for a moment and letting her take point. Then his ears lower, and he snarls a little, moving up to the boot and sniffing again. << That's a dead thing, >> he states, turning to look at her. << That's not an alive-smell. >>

Fiery Bellona snarls as well >>No. We end that right now.<< She begins to move following the trail, staying as stealthy as she can in her red flaming fur. Her fur is up right now, no dead thing is going to be prowling around their lands. Nope.

The trail runs on for some distance, painting a picture in scents and touchstones of a panicked flight and a fevered pursuit. Blood flecks leaves and small patches of dirt as the trail picks through previoiusly-unbeaten ground and between small stands of trees before finally a larger stain of blood mars a knotted old oak, snapped branches and digs in the earth illustrating that this is where the dead thing tackled its prey but not where it stayed. Death's Jester follows close at Fiery Bellona's heels, seeing the remnants of the clash, and looks around. << Two trails, >> he notes, sniffing them out to discern which is which.

Fiery Bellona keeps sniffing, noting just what he did. >>Fuck. We go together. No splitting up. We follow the dead thing.<< She will discern which one she feels is the trail of the dead thing, and they go that direction first.

Fiery Bellona chuffs at her Beta, >>We go toward the woods. Follow me.<< She is bound and determined to find this dead thing now. They do not belong here and are of the Wyrm.

<< Go easy >> the beta reminds her, following after carefully but attempting to make no noise as he does so. << Unfamiliar territory. Unfamiliar enemy. >>

Fiery Bellona knows just how to be stealthy. She's no Wendigo, but she keeps it easy, padding as quietly as possible. >>Just be ready. For anything.<<

The trail doesn't last long before there are /noises/ in the woods; a guttural, throaty sound not entirely different from a sick dog or gluttonous pig. The stand of oaks begins to thin, and there is a small clearing with a rock, upon which is a dead antelope and a dead... something.

The creature was a man once, clearly; two arms, two legs, a head, boots, pants, shirt. But it's skin is ruddy and patchy with wiry hair, and its nose is the the pink, beaky proboscis of a possum. Eyes like black marbles glint in the minimal light, and it drinks in thirsty, throaty gulps from the antelope's shredded belly, hands shoved into the viscera to squeeze more blood through still-warm veins now paralyzed in death.

Fiery Bellona crouches down. She looks to her Beta. Trying without words, just motions. This is obviously not something that should remain here, on their land now. How it is part possum, she does not know, but manpossum drinking blood sounds like those animalvampire things. Thought to be just stories, now she sees it. Her claws come out, and sharpen, signalling, it is time to get down to business. Without her bow right now, it is time to bite and claw.

Death's Jester presses his nose to her neck, once; then he moves silently, circling the grove to the other side, attempting to flank the dead thing. It has not seemed to notice them; it is focused on its meal, greedily attempting to devour all of the blood it can. It buries its face in the antelope's chest, sinking teeth hungrily into the heart, making those disgusting eating noises as it does so.

Fiery Bellona sneaks around silently, waiting for just the right moment. She then SPRIIINGS into action, still in lupus at the time. Her teeth hit this undeadpossummonstervampire, but does not hurt it. As she lands again, noting DJ's attempt that gets dodged, she shifts in her rage to hispo and snarls as she bites down again, taking that nasty thing, and shaking it as she does serious damage to it. Not quite final death, and despite the nastiness of a Wyrmy creature, it has to be done.

Death's Jester dashes in right after Fiery Bellona, but the dead thing avoids injury, a wet, hissy sound coming from its throat as it turns to dodge. That is its undoing in the moment; it doesn't see the next blow coming, and as the Ahroun grabs and shakes it, it screams a high-pitched squeal, chunks of flesh and viscera ripping free from its side.

Fiery Bellona spits out whatever is in her mouth and viciously snarls at this beast as it attacks her. No damage, but man does it piss her off. She goes rite for it, sharp teeth land and with a sickening RRRRIIIIIPPPPPPP, she takes OFF THE HEAD! It goes flying off the body, and down to the ground across from them. Continuing to growl, letting the rage calmly finishing flow out of her, she howls her accomplishment.

The creature's shredded form twitches briefly before going still, blackish old blood oozing out of its undead-now-dead corpse and into the grass of the small clearing. Death's Jester looks down at the decapitated creature, blowing out a breath before shifting into his homid form, wearing the worn jeans and thermal sweater he started out in. "Yeah... fucking vampire, I think," he mutters, walking over to kneel down next to its head. "Ugly as fuck. You fucking /destroyed/ it though, Peach; that was fucking /awesome/. I mean, I've seen Grandma do shit like that, but she's an Elder. You're a natural."

Fiery Bellona looks over the dead headless corpse and then the antelope. She checks it and make sure it is out of its misery first. A respectful howl for the dead beast and then pads around by Death's Jester. Shifting back to homid, and into her normal dress, she crouches down next to it. "Aye, I dinnae what exactly kind of bloodsucker he was, but he is the best kind now. DEAD." She reaches out the ruffles his hair. "Thanks, Sprinkles. My Dad always thought I have it in me. Be like him, and kill the Wyrm. Dinnae get much Wyrmier than this fucker here."

"No, hen, that they don't," Jes agrees, leaning into her hand but looking disgustedly down at the vampire. "It's dead, but... ugh, so gross. Shit, this is where a Theurge would be really handy, right? Clean this shit up, get rid of the body, burn it, make s'mores...." He looks back the way they came, frowning, and asks, "Do you think there were more along that other trail? Or was this the only one?"

Fiery Bellona sighs, "Fucking hell, we need a Theurge - or at least to learn to cleanse ourselves. ACH, we are tainted now with this fuckers blood. Ok, first things first. Let's check the other trail. We need to find his haven, and make sure it is fuckered also. Then when we finish we gotta go maybe back to the Sept and get cleansed. Maybe they can lend us a Theurge to come help with this and teach us how to do it ourselves."

"Yeah, I guess we gotta," Jes sighs and nods, reaching down and unzipping his pants while he looks down at the disgusting thing. "We can't cleanse the place, but we can at least claim it so anyone following our trail knows this was us. Might make a difference, might just make it easier to find our way back, but... this is for you, Nosfa-rat fuck." And so saying, he pulls out his cock and lets loose a stream of urine on the thing's head, getting some on a nearby tree as well to make sure the trail is marked. "Okay, Peach, done. Let's go see if there are more of 'em out there."

Fiery Bellona watches him take out his cock, not used to seeing it quite like that. "I'm surprised with everything else ye pissed on that you still have any left." With that she walks around him and begins toward that trail back and to the other trail she passed up for the time being. As she does, she seemlessly slips into Lupus again.

"I told you I was fueling up for a reason, plus I drank like half a gallon at that creek," Jes replies with a sigh, putting his cock back and shifting his feet uncomfortably. "Man, I fucking hate doing that in human form. Stopping peeing is /not/ easy. I should've waited." He slips into lupus as well, following after to track back to where the trails split.

Fiery Bellona heh hehs as only a wolf can, since giggling and laughing would be just weird. She continues until she gets to that point they drifted off, and then follows it further along to see what the other way led to.

The trall leads into some low hills, rising in grassland and topped with stands of oak and California buckeye. The path itself hits an arroyo, and at the stony bottom is a small cleft in the earth under a hill, overshadowed by a natural overhang and invisible from above.

Fiery Bellona waits for her beta to join her when she noses that direction. >>How much bet that is the haven?<< She moves to find a good place to get her footing and head down that direction. Time to be sure the haven is cleared out. No more dead things.

<< No bet, totally is, >> DJ agrees, padding further through the arroyo and coming to the cleft entrance. It's only wide enough for one to pass through at a time in lupus, and the area smells of the rotted passing of dead things over long periods of time.

Jes sniffs around, shaking for a moment like he's been rained on. << Smells of death >> he notes simply, but his ears are flat back, and his tail is twitchy. << Something is bad in this place, though. >>

Fiery Bellona sees a stone nearby and sharpens her claws a moment. >>It is bad. Ok, Beta, you ready to take this on? Can't let the Wyrm fester in our lands.<<

<< I will follow you anywhere, Alpha, >> DJ responds in the affirmative, bowing his head proudly and gearing himself up for what's to come. << This is our territory. I will not share it with the Wyrm. >>

Fiery Bellona pads up quietly.. or so she thought. If there was a doorbell, she's rung it. Knocking something or other, obviously making noise. The flaming red Ahroun must light up the place, so if anyone is home - they know that she is coming. Figuring, it does not matter she snarks out, >>Hey Wyrmy! Your doom is here!<<

The cleft is narrow and shallow like a wolf burrow, and the further she moves through it the worse it begins to smell. Old rot and the stink of death and offal are ahead, and the pathway dips downward to then move up again within the hill, preventing sunlight from entering and making the cavern truly dark. Finally, there is a hole through which she can crawl, popping her into a hollow within the hill.

The hollow is too dark for sight, but the smell is enough. Dead animals, rotting bloodless; a dead human, nearly torn in half. Another drained, lifeless; a child. A pile of discarded belongings rotting and mildewed in the damp. Bones, broken and bare, with bits of flesh stuck to them. Old death, new death; a wild hovel.

Fiery Bellona does not have long to take in the scents and sounds, however, as something heavy falls on her with a sickening thud, a sticky hand reaching up to her face to claw at her muzzle. Behind her ear is a wet, rattling sound like a gargling rat, and within the hollow other sounds begin coming to activity, as well. There are /things/ in here.

Fiery Bellona feels this thing on her and YUCK! >>YEEOWW NO!<< she yips out. She thrashes around to bite at it, and gets a piece here and there. It and another ..thing.. attack her, and she flips one off, but the other takes a good swipe into her. Her rage boils from it all, and bites again just rippping into it, taking it apart. She senses the last one attacking her Beta, and having none of that she bites at it. Taking a bit the first time, and not getting much done, she growls and just sinks her teeth in with her next attack, ripping whatever part she got until it is off, killing the nasty wyrmy thing.

Death's Jester is in the hollow immediately after Fiery Bellona, waiting on nothing to join her and take on whatever awaits them. However, as soon as she is attacked from above, something... slithers... out of a nook to his left, and he lashes out immediately with fangs and claws, shredding it into multiple pieces and utterly destroying it in darkness. Once his Alpha is free of her enemy they round on the remaining foe in the dark, hearing clicking rattles as it feints and attacks, but it catches only pieces of fur and nothing else with... whatever that is. He tears a piece from it, then another, but it's his Alpha who destroys it, cracking something open and sending it motionless to the stinking floor. Then, there is merely silence; nothing moves, nothing breathes save the two of them. << All dead, >> DJ states, nuzzling his alpha's neck in the dark. << Because of you. All dead. >>

Fiery Bellona huffs >>Hey, you held your own. Once we have dealt with all of this, and cleansed, I've got to show you what I think of that. << Business first though. She does nuzzle him back. >>Let's get out of this Wyrm tainted hollow. You go mark the opening so nothing else will come in. Then we got to get the supplies to burn it out and cleanse it.<<

<< Yes. After. Handling now, >> Death's Jester replies, finding the burrow out and making his way to the entrance. He begins marking the area, making certain the territory is clear and marked as theirs. He again thanks caffeine and carbonation for the territory marking fuel it is, trying to forget the smell of the place and what he knows is still there.

Fiery Bellona gets out of there and in the light of the out of the cave she realizes she has a bit of a wound. For now, she toughs it out. >>Let's get back to the pack lodge. We need supplies to get this taken care of. Get what we can to dispose of them. Then we need to get cleansed. Ugh.<<

<< Of course, my Alpha,>> Death's Jester replies, but he does not wait to follow; he knows the way home, and so he leads, dashing off in the direction of home and following the swiftest path back. There will be more time to scout soon; for now, there are important matters to attend to regarding their new territory.