2020.11.17:Before Black Blood 2

Before Black Blood 2: Thorn
Thorn witnesses Wraiths, Spectres, and Ghouls all coming together for something unthinkable
IC Date	2020/11/17.
Players	Bobo(ST) Thorn
Location	The Dingy back-alleys of Prospect
Prp/Tp	Black Blood
Spheres	Wraith, Mage

        It is a cold, fall morning in Prospect California. At least, cold for California. It's around 65 degrees but the locals seem to be dressed like it's gonna snow. There's a pale, orange hue over the entire city as cars begin to fill the streets, and the whole world begins to awaken. But the streets aren't full yet... and that makes this oddity stand out even more. A Wraith and a Spectre, floating side by side through the Shadowlands of Prospect... two creatures who should fight-on-sight, and yet, they seem perfectly content with eachother. Strange red veins in their corpus that don't correlate with any Arcanos, and smiles written on both their faces as they drift into a nearby Alleyway, just on the periphery of Thorns vision.

	 It's rare that Thorn is up this early but, yet, here she is. Spending time with Bobbi over the past few weeks has gotten her out on the roads in the early morning to put a few miles in, stubbornly refusing to let her back into the upstairs loft until she got at least a lap of downtown before sunup. And now? It's with the slow, rhythmic pounding of footsteps on pavement as she jogs. Her dual perception is off, allowing her continual glimpses of the spirit world as she passes. The trailing lights of her outline as she runs gains the attention of a few curious spirits that flutter along in her wake, wondering who this thing is making its way through the world. 

	 The sight of the Wraith and the Spectre cause Thorn to nonchalantly jog to the other side of the street - sure, they might notice her, but it's more polite to not run through the middle of them...wait... She slows from her jog to a slow canter, then slowly to a stop, watching. How curious! Every interaction Thorn's had with wraiths has had them at the throats of specters. These two...they look odd or, rather, odd for what they are, with the red veins on their forms, and the seemingly intoxicated expressions on their faces. Glancing down the street both ways, Thorn walks to the mouth of the alley to peer after the pair, studying, listening.

The first thing that will become immediately apparent to Thorn is the sheer number of Wraiths and spectres. They float together in a crowd, all with the same, reddish black markings running through their Corpus that the initial two had. And they all seem to be waiting patiently around a gray, windowless Van. They chatter and chat amongst themselves in such a cacophony that nothing can clearly be made out... but then, there's the familiar sound of a Car door unlocking. A man pokes his head out, the same tranquil smile emblazoned on his face. "Greetings... Brothers and Sisters." He says, his tone soft and welcoming.'

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======---> Thorn rolls Intelligence + Medicine vs 4 for 1 successes. 1 2 +4 4 <-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

	 This is not normal. Not at all. Sure, Thorn's heard of small groups of wraiths getting together - like families to support themselves - but never something so wide and varied. She remains quiet, watching and listening. While wraiths normally can't bother her too terribly much, a group this size could cause issues.

The Wraiths and Spectres all stop their chattering immediately, turning their heads towards the Man as he pokes his head out. There's an almost mechanical "Hello, Brother" in not-quite-unison from them. Now that they aren't moving anymore, something will become very apparent to Thorn. These 'Red Markings' are not mere random lines in a Wraith's corpus. They correlate exactly with where major arteries would be on a normal person, with smaller red markings visible for the capillaries. But Wraiths don't HAVE veins.

"But...Before we begin... I want you all to do a quick sweep of the perimiter. I hear this town has an abundance of people who can see the spirits... make sure there's no one lingering around who can see you." The young man says, his voice still soft. Almost sensual. A few Wraiths begin to float down all the different sides of the Alleyway... with one headed right for Thorn's end of the alleyway!

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======---> Thorn rolls Stealth + Dexterity vs 4 for 2 successes. 2 +8 +9 <-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

	 What a well-spoken pied piper! Thorn remains silent where she is, watching and listening, studying the spirits and their circulatory systems that are surrounding the van. She lifts up on her toes, trying to see the license plate of the thing, maybe the make or model other than 'van,' when the call for a sweep comes. Thinking fast, Thorn ducks out of the mouth of the alley and behind some heavy plastic recycling bins, moving one slightly to give her a view. Normally she'd just run off and leave this as an interesting story to tell her girlfriends, but if someone's deliberately looking? Something strange is afoot.

The Spectre lazily floats by the mouth of the Alley, looking back and forth without enthusiasm. Hiding from a spectre would normally be an incredibly difficult task... but this one seems to be unfocused. Uncaring, even, and it's written clearly on it's oblivion-twisted features. It's eyes float right by Thorns place in the Plastic Bins. Despite her being hidden completely behind the trash cans... it still sees her.

"Ugh...Disgusting Bums." It mutters under it's breath, floating back towards the Van without giving Thorn any more thought. As he drifts back, Thorn will catch a clear view of the Van's license plate: M0TH3R5

"All clear?" The young man asks, receiving several nods of affirmation from the Ghosts who bothered to go check as they reconvene. "Come then... Brothers and Sisters. Mother sent me all this way to share her LOVE with you." The Doors swing open, revealing several large pots. They look to be in the style of ancient greek clay pots, though they show no signs of aging. "Form an orderly line... Mother will share her love with ALL of you." The Wraiths and Spectres crowd and argue for a few moments, before falling into a couple single file lines so they don't spill out into the streets. Thorn has left. RP Rooms Lobby

	 Glowing like she's outlined with sparklers does not make it easy for Thorn to hide but, apparently, the plastic bins made this specter overlook her. Somehow. She must be lucky in that regard. When it slips away to rejoin the queue, Thorn stands and walks quietly towards the mouth of the alleyway again, retaking her vantage point. "What in the world...?" she whispers to herself, barely a breath, as the ghostly ebings form into orderly lines to recieve whatever it is inside the urns...

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======---> Thorn rolls Medicine + Perception vs 5 for 5 successes. +8 +8 +9 +9 +10 <-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

"Come forth, Brothers and Sisters. Feel Mother's love..." He says distantly. One by one, Wraiths and Spectres approach him. He uncorks an urn, and tilts a splash of some strange, thick reddish-black Liquid into their mouths. The lines ebb and shift JUST enough to get clear, perfect views of exactly what's happening. As it hits them, the lines in their corpus violently flare up, going from the soft maroon to actively pumping whatever that strange liquid is... but the realization hits Thorn like a truck. It's Blood. Perhaps a little different than normal blood, a little darker, but the way it pours, it's thickness, how it actively seems to fill the 'veins' of these Wraiths... there's nothing else it could be. And the Wraiths and Spectres have a 'need' written in their eyes. Like you're waving around a needle in front of a Junkie. And when they get it... their wails of ecstasy and joy could be heard a block over.

       Thorn feels the bile rising in her throat at the sight of the feeding, covering her mouth as the wraiths line up and then, as they're suffused with the blood, wail in ecstasy. A bone-chilling sound that builds and builds and builds. She covers her ears to block the sound, even going so far as to let her sight in the spirit world lapse for just a moment to regain her bearings, taking a few deep, calming breaths before looking again. One does not provide such a boon without reason. And this man sounds too much like a revival preacher that's about to pass the offering plate around with the way he shares whatever it is that's in those jars.

"Please, Brothers... Mothers love is JOYOUS but I simply must ask you to keep it down... who knows who might hear you?" He chuckles to himself, a genuine joy to his tone. Several Wraiths, and Spectres join him. ...There's something absolutely terrifying about hearing a Spectre giggle. "Please...give me a moment. I could use a little love myself..." He says, taking a moment to sip from the Conservatias. As he does, his pupils flare, going wide like he just took a shot of raw China White. He sets the Urn down, stumbling for a second. He almost falls from the Van, but a Wraith and a Spectre both Embody themselves for a moment to catch him, letting him down to the ground gently. "Thank you, Sisters... Mother's love can be simply overwhelming at times... but where were we?" He says, as he goes back to splashing blood into the eager mouths of the Restless Dead.

	 Tearing her attention away from the man and the horde of spirits, Thorn looks around to see if anyone /has/ been attracted by all of this noise. A cacophony of wails like this might attract other curious wraiths...

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======---> Thorn rolls Occult + Intelligence vs 6 for 3 successes. 4 5 +6 +8 +8 <-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

As the Blood clearly kicks that man into overdrive, an idea will suddenly enter Thorns mind. The Man reacting like this blood is a drug, his dire /need/ for it, the altered emotional state of all these beings: They're acting just like the Ghouls Thorn has heard about, perhaps even met. But...even the ghosts seem to be under the enchanting spell of this Black Blood... that's not normal. One who has even the slightest dealings with the Spirit Realm should know that affecting spirits like this is just...just wrong. Impossible even.

Thorn's hunch proves correct... but it's not a Wraith who makes it's appearance known, but a Spectre. It appears to be a man in biker gear, wrapped head-to-toe in barbed wire, with his tongue flicking around him like a snake, even as he speaks. "What the FUCK is going on here? I KNOW you can hear me through the hive you wretches. Do you care to explain what the hell this is? Tear these Wraiths APART or I'm gonna get the BIG BOYS involved." He says, fury in his tone. After all, a Spectre would never dare lift a finger against another one... it's simply impossible. It's against their nature.

Against their nature, true, but when something as impossible as a physical thing affecting the spiritual, anything is possible since the impossible has already occurred once. The appearance of the biker wrapped in barbed wire has her shrinking against the wall, stock-still, trying to remain out of sight or, at least, beneath the notice of this beast of a spectre. Something bad is about to happen. IT's the same feeling she got in the back of her skull when a fight was about to break out.

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======---> Thorn rolls Stealth + Dexterity vs 7 for 0 successes. 1 -1 10 <-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

There's a soft, sensual laugh from the young man as he points towards the Spectre. "Brothers...Sisters... The time has come to share Mother's Love". The Several Spectres and Wraith's who have already received their fill pounce, wildly leaping upon the spectre like animals in a feeding frenzy. There's torrents of Corpus flying left and ride, and within mere seconds, the Spectre has been subdued."LET GO OF ME." He screeches, as he is dragged towards the Van. "THE MALFEANS WILL HE-" As he screeches, the young man simply splashes some of the Black Blood into his mouth. "W...wha..." The Spectre stammers, visibly calming down. "What is this?" Tendrils of Red begin snaking their way through the Spectre's body. Like his body was growing a vascular system, purely to accomodate the blood. The Spectre does not seem troubled by it. Instead, his voice takes on the distant joy of someone in the throes of ectasy. "P...Please. I need more." He says. The young man simply smiles at him. "Of course... there's enough of Mother's love to go around... Welcome, Brother." The man says with a smile on his face.

Two Wraiths begin to float down the alleyway. "Come here...I swear I saw somethin' a second ago." They pause, looking squarely at Thorn. "You see that?" One says, pointing. "Oh... get real. It's probably just a junkie. This IS California, after all." They float over, looking Thorn dead in the face. "Hey! Hey you! Can you see us! Boo!" They start to wave their arms wildly, like someone trying to catch someone elses attention.

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======---> Thorn rolls Manipulation + Subterfuge vs 5 for 2 successes. 4 4 +9 +10 <-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

	 It's not like she's hard to see. I mean, if one were looking, like these two are, it's easily something that can be seen. Surely the wraiths see the outlines, the glowing of Thorn's form as she crouches there behind the bins. And when they approach, they can certainly see she slips back a little, out of sight, and is gazing up and away at something - the street light overhead. When the two wraiths try to get her attention, she just stares at the light, blinking occasionally, doing her best to not focus on the words, on the waving of hands, of anything. this is so unlike what she normally does - speaking to the restless dead when they speak to her - but this is a different situation entirely. She can't see them...as far as they can tell.

       "HEY! YO! YOOOHOOOO!" They continue waving their arms. They look like idiots. "OK, she can't see us." The first one relents. "...But what about her Aura? That shit is WEIRD. It's all...sparkly." The second one posits. "Maybe she's a fuckin' werewolf or something? Who cares, she can't see us. She's probably all tweaked out or somethin'... I mean, look at her." But one gives a devilicous grin. "Well...maybe we should Embody into the Skinlands... and show her a little bit of Mother's love." They second one smiles sagely, and they give a nod of agreement. They both disappear into the still-feeding line of Wraiths, gathering a small group of Wraiths and Spectres together. They mutter something, and point in the direction of Thorns trash can.

It's time to get out of here.

	 Outrunning Wraiths is hard. Like, very hard. And with a group of them intent on causing her difficulty, getting their attention probably isn't the best. Thankfully, Thorn's facilities are still about her and the sounds of wailing and the scent of the alleyway do tend to overwhelm pretty much anything else besides those two things. Thorn climbs up the bin and stretches, taking a few steps back from where she's standing, not looking at much of anything until she's out of the alley and /running/ down the road towards safety.