2023.04.06 Damsel in Distress

04.06.23 Damsel in Distress
Iris brings Trey and Branton to the woods where a scene of torment is playing out between a female cougar and a hunting party of Fomori. The group defeats the fomori, saves the damsel in distress, and cleanses the forest – then finishes off with a celebration with stolen Fenrir mead.
IC Date	04.06.23
Players	Branton, Iris, Trey
Location	the woods south of Prospect
Spheres	Garou, Bastet, Kinfolk, Sorcerer

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So Iris is just out in the woods somewhere. WAY off the beaten path. Like there's literally no trails to where she's at, unless you count meandering deer paths or something. South of town, still in the Prospect area, of course, but just like 'not in anyone's direct back yard,' basically. She's sent String to go find Trey and bring him to where she's at, in a similar way as before; wrapping around his wrist (or paw) to tug in the direction he should be going. The Fury is meandering around this small area between some madrone and pine trees, searching and looking... concerned. Perhaps a little worried. She's pressing her ear to a tree to listen, or to the ground to listen. She's snapping off blades of wild grass to eat, picking up a small stone to eye it very closely, maybe lick it, or listen to it.

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Trey comes, naturally; he's in good spirits, as usual, not quite sure what to expect, but down for it. He had been not too far away and secreted his bike in one of the safe spots in an alley, then went on foot into the woods. You're not gonna get a Harley in here. He follows, loping steps reasonably quiet; he finds other footsteps in the ground, faint, and discerns their direction is the same as his. Finally, he wanders up to Iris herself, and watches her analysis of grass and rock. He asks, quietly, "What're you tracking?" Because what ELSE would she be doing?

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"Iris startles slightly, her head was in a whole different cloud and she managed to get herself snuck up on a bit. "I'm trying to get the land to tell me what happened, but it's being difficult. Here, look." She gestures Trey over towards one of the trees and hunkers down to look. There's a small spray of blood, tacky but not totally dried out yet, near a little hole in the tree. The hole is maybe a quarter inch wide at most. Another gesture towards the ground, which has been disturbed. But by what, or who, or how many is not immediately discernable. "Something's wrong. I mean... Listen." And she points upwards and just pauses so that she can hear the sound of wind in the branches.

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<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Trey rolls Intelligence + Survival vs 6 for 6 successes. 2 +8 +9 +9 +10 +10 +10
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<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Trey rolls 3 vs 6 for 1 successes. 2 3 +7
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<OOC> Trey says, "Spec applied on int."

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Trey approaches, but not too close; he's careful to not step into whatever she's examining, crouching down to lean a knee into the ground and bend over, looking at what she's pointing out. He falls silent, listening, a serious expression on his face, sniffing the blood, looking over the hole in the tree, and lightly biting his lower lip in focus. He's gone from 'silly dude' to 'serious predator' in about half a second. A slow nod follows, and he makes a motion at the hole, then the blood, as if linking them, and then the tracks.

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The main theme here is obvious: There was an attack, the blood pretty much spells that out all on its own, but there's a lot of nuance. Was it basic hunting, or something nefarious, was it human or animal, what kinda things are we talking about, and so on. But Trey's got some damned good eyes on him, and his careful analysis of the area helps clue him in on a few things.

1) There is in fact a bullet lodged in that little hole in the tree, so an attacker had a gun, and a prey was injured by the shot.

2) Injured but not killed, there's no blood pool or heavy depression or drag marks that say something/one died here and was moved.

3) The injury was not mortal, there's little in the way of a blood trail but there is a single spot of blood on a leaf some ten feet away, heading south.

4) The area is silent. There's standard breezes and the rustle of leaves, but there is no bird song, squirrel chatter, or buzzing insects. Whatever happened was recent enough that the area is still spooked and keeping a low profile.

5) There are tracks, they're muddled up and half hidden or blanked out by leaf litter or SoCal's stupidly dry dirt, but they're recent enough to have been involved.

6) There are heavy, worn boots involved in the tracks, and the gait is wide enough to signify the person(s) were running. It's unknown if that was prey or predator, but the tracks also lead south.

7) A single fresh animal print is found in a tiny patch of softer dirt. It's not a complete print, but but it belongs to an animal. Due to your own very personal experience, you're absolutely sure the animal that made it was feline, and quite large and heavy. Bigger than a lynx, smaller than a tiger.

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Trey gets out the utility knife and gently works the bullet out. They might need it for something. He frowns and looks over the scene -- it looks to him like the target was winged by the shot, not seriously hurt, but the drop of blood makes it easier to track the beast. And he knows it's a beast of some sort, a cat, one bigger than him. The lack of sound... hrm. He looks up to Iris, holds up a hand, and points southward to indicate direction. Then he rises, and mouths to her, "Cat shot. Man ran." He motions to the boot prints with that. "Follow?," he mouths, though clearly he intends to rescue the cat in any case.

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Mercy's Messenger rolls Intelligence(5) + Animal Ken(4) (9 dice) vs 5 for 2 successes. 1 1 3 4 4 +6 +8 8 9
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Iris winces at the news, but she nods her agreement. Chewing on a wild flower she pauses, and then nods again. "It happened in a hell of a hurry, the ground's still confused about the whole thing." She lets out a sigh of 'god damn it' and then looks to Trey, "You're in charge, lead the pack." she decides. If there's a cat involved, then it's Trey's wheelhouse and he should call the shots for today's little adventure, so she gets ready to follow by closing her eyes to concentrate for a moment, and then assuming the form of a lynx. Follow the leader and all that.

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<OOC> Mercy's Messenger says, "That is the Thousand Forms gift"

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Canadian Lynx rolls Perception + Survival vs 6 for 3 successes. 2 2 5 +9 +10 +10
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Canadian Lynx blinks as she takes on his cat form -- and smiles a bit, then pauses to shift down to Lynx form, his shape a little larger than the average lynx. He uses his better senses to find the exact route to move south, seeking the smell of the human, the cat, or the blood. He's figuring they'll all be roughly in the same direction. While he moves swiftly, he clearly understands how to use cover and move swiftly even while concealing himself somewhat, and his summer pelt is more brown and grey than white. In this moment, it's easy to see that this is his *natural born* form, and that he is much more graceful and comfortable in it.

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Iris IS a cute lynx though! Completely normal sized, so smaller than Trey, and patterned after a completely mundane cat. She obviously does not have any Bastet bonuses by being a cat, outside the everyday mundane bonuses that said cat would have. Eye sight, olfactory sense, hearing, that sort of thing. So basically her normal lupus stuff, with kitty flavoring. But hey, if the cat's gonna be in charge, then be a cat, right?

The scent trail is of course the easiest to follow, a coppery twang in the nostrils, a scent of really nasty cigarette tar, old sweat and dirty denim and leather. A blood spot pops up here and there as the cats moves quickly through the forest, but they start coming more and more quickly. A cat print is found with congealing blood pooled in the divots of its toe and palm prints. Just then, a sharp CRACK-ACK-ACK-ack-ack echos through the forest, startling the shit out of a few robins and jays that were keeping quiet in the branches of trees.

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<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Canadian Lynx rolls Perception + Survival vs 6 for 4 successes. 1 +6 +6 +7 +8 9
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Treads-on-Thin-Ice hears the shot, and he takes a moment to shift again. He's not running into a gun fight without his knives. All of them, including the teeth. He is now a HUGE saber-toothed... lynx. Weird, huh? Well, that might not be the first thought an onlooker would have. More like 'OMIFUCK WHAT IS THAT KEEP IT OFFA ME EEEEEEEEEEE!' He looks back to Iris, to see if she is shifting, and once she's set, he takes off in that direction at a run, strides eating the terrain rapidly.

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Iris can’t do the sabertooth thing, so she stays as she is for the moment, giving him a twitch of the ears that says, (IN FELINE!), "You lead, I'll back you up." She CAN keep up just fine, she's got speedy little murder beans.

Covering the distance isn't too bad, and the closer the pair get to their presumed destination the more noises there are to hone in on. First and foremost is the desperate, fear filled, agonized and PISSED THE FUCK OFF hisses and screams of a puma. Cougars cant really roar, they mostly scream like banshees. Second is the infuriating sounds of people. But not regular people, total *asshole* people. There's laughter, shouts, and as the racing pair approach, the taunting and almost drunken sound of some redneck beef cake hollering, "Heeeeeeere kitty kitty kitty!" right before there's another gun shot. Trey and Iris are just in time to witness the shot, and it's not pretty.

Four stanky, rough looking fellows are on the ground in a small pseudo-clearing, and there's a wounded cougar up a tree. The cat is cornered and it's panicking, desperately trying to use the trunk as cover and get up to higher branches. Unfortunately, the tree is not super large, it's not super strong, and its failing has it rocking the thing like it might snap at any moment. As the second deafening shot goes off, there's an explosion of flesh and blood in the tree. The cat's not dead, these guys are... 'playing' with it, and the poor thing is having a hell of a time maintaining its place in the tree with a demolished back paw.

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<---======##================[ Current Moon Phase ]================##======--->

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Current Phase: Full Moon, Rage diff 4 (3 if Ahroun and/or Crinos)
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<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls Rage vs 6 for 1 successes. 4 5 +8
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<OOC> Mercy's Messenger says, "We're gonna go a solid 3 successes, it's the full moon and this torture of your kind. No frenzy, but emotions are running HIGH"

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls Dexterity + Brawl vs 6 for 1 successes. 1 2 3 3 3 3 3 +8 9
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<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls Strength vs 4 for 2 successes. 2 3 +4 +10
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<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls 1 vs 6 for 0 successes. 5
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<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Mercy's Messenger rolls 2 (2 dice) vs 6 for 1 successes. 2 +10
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Treads-on-Thin-Ice wriggles his back end, and run-jump-POUNCES on Redneck-with-Gun. He's now got a few hundred pounds of pissed off cat on his back, and even if he isn't hurt all that bad, he's gotta be unhappy, being as he has a Giant Fucking Lynx using him as a chew toy. Trey lets out a pissed-off yowl that sounds uncannily like an enraged woman's voice, and well... he is definitely pissed off.

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Mercy's Messenger rolls Dexterity(5) + Archery(5) (10 dice) vs 6 for 8 successes. 3 4 +6 +6 +7 +7 +8 +8 +9 +9
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Trey was seeing red and leapt immediately, And now that he's closer he can see the enemy better, smell them better, and engage them better.

Redneck 1, the shooter, is face down in the dry, weedy forest litter, his hat - which is NOT cool, it's probably a really *stupid* hat, unlike Mini-Meros's hat - is knocked off and away. Skinny with lank hair and some bad skin condition, when the breath is knocked out of him it reeks of chaw and unbrushed teeth.

The other three are a range of beefy or beer bellied, but they all smell equally unwashed and are dressed fairly plainly, jeans, teeshirts, flannel, old leather belts and boots, that kinda thing. "Ah for FUCK's sake, Dale!" That's Redneck 2, a man packing a keg for a belly shouts when a god damned prehistoric monster jumps on one of their guys. "You said this area was fuckin empty!"

Iris follows up as backup - one of the men yells as an arrow appears in his leg, the wound beginning to sprout torn covered rose vines.

Welp, now the surprise round has ended...

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Mercy's Messenger has rolled NPC initiative: NPC Redneck1 goes on 14 Mercy's Messenger has rolled NPC initiative: NPC Redneck2 goes on 7 Mercy's Messenger has rolled NPC initiative: NPC Redneck3 goes on 14 Mercy's Messenger has rolled NPC initiative: NPC Redneck4 goes on 14 Mercy's Messenger has rolled initiative: 26

already includes +10 for Spirit of the Fray (add another +10 if Gnosis spent) Treads-on-Thin-Ice has rolled initiative: 16

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls Strength + Brawl vs 4 for 3 successes. 2 3 3 +5 +10 +10
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<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls 2 vs 6 for 2 successes. +10 +10
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<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls 2 vs 6 for 1 successes. 2 +8
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Treads-on-Thin-Ice opens his mighty maw, yowling in fury, and his huge teefies look a lot like kitchen knives -- especially as he grabs the man's neck in his mouth and begins to dig in, shaking him like a ragdoll and making lots and lots of blood pour from the grappled, reeking flesh. You wanna piece of this, fucker?

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The guy with the gun was JUST knocked down at first, but Trey gets a solid grip and actually pins him now. Holy *crap* this guy tastes like a garbage dump smells. OH god it's so bad, and it's so much worse when he starts bleeding. Like does his blood just smell like actual shit, or what?!

Probably, because his friends aren't... normal. Not really normal, no. #2, the guy with the keg belly, well it... it swells. His already clingy, sweaty teeshirt rolls up over his belly as it distends and splits open to display good damned teeth running down either side of the split, and a gross, goopy chasm beyond.

Number 3, the beef cake of the group, he backs up and proceeds to ooze some sort of smelly, viscous fluid from his pores. Surely some of it is nervous sweat, but he smells and looks like a rotten frog as he gets greased up. Claws and fangs begin to sprout from hands and mouth respectively.

A little skinny weasely guy that looks frankly inbred backs WAY the hell up and begins searching in his pockets in a panicky not-dealing-with-sabertoothed-cats-well sort of way.

None of them succumb to the delirium, but that last guy isa nut hair away from freaking out bad.

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<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls Dexterity + Brawl + 2 vs 4 for 4 successes. 1 1 1 2 4 4 4 +6 6 7 9
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<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls Strength + 4 vs 6 for 3 successes. 2 2 3 3 4 +9 +9 +10
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<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls 1 vs 6 for 1 successes. +8
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<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Mercy's Messenger rolls 2 (2 dice) vs 6 for -1 successes. -1 3
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<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Mercy's Messenger rolls 5 (5 dice) vs 6 for 4 successes. 5 +7 +8 +9 +10
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<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls Stamina vs 6 for 3 successes. 1 +6 +7 +8 8
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<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Mercy's Messenger rolls 2 (2 dice) vs 6 for 2 successes. +9 +10
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<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Mercy's Messenger rolls Willpower(10) (10 dice) vs 7 for 2 successes. 1 2 3 4 5 5 6 +7 +8 9
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<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls Willpower vs 7 for 0 successes. 1 2 3 6 6 9
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Treads-on-Thin-Ice loses one Willpower

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls Dexterity + Athletics vs 7 for 0 successes. 1 1 -1 -1 2 3 7 8
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---

New Activity ---------

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls Strength + Brawl + -2 vs 4 for 4 successes. +5 +7 +10 +10
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<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls 2 vs 6 for 0 successes. 4 5
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Treads-on-Thin-Ice manages to break the neck of the gunner; he heard the snap and it made him even more ferocious. One of the hunters spouted a mouth in his gut and the other, claws and fangs... and Trey groaned. Fomori. Fuck. The clawed one nicked him, enough to hurt but not to do any real damage, but it was the belch of the MOUTHGUT that laid him low, making him desperately try a roll into the lower half of MOUTHGUT in an attempt to topple him; a shove forward managed to get a grasp on him!

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Mercy's Messenger rolls 2 (2 dice) vs 6 for 2 successes. +9 +10
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<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls Strength vs 6 for 1 successes. 2 4 5 +10
<-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->


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The gunner was a quick and easy kill, face down and prone with his neck available for biting, he went down like a chump.

1. 3, Oily Beefcake, he rushes forward and slashes sharp claws through the werelynx's fir, leaving bloody gouges in his pelt and, frankly, just REALLY pissing the bastet off. Honestly, he thought he had a great swipe but god that cat's tough! There's a mild 'oh shit' look on his face when he fails to just gut the thing right away.

There's a long series of "AAAAH! AAAAAAAAAH!!"'s from #4 as he gives up trying to find whatever he was looking for in his pockets, shakily trying to yank the arrow out of his leg and almost gingerly trying to grip the thorny vines and pull them out of his leg before they can get deeper into the muscle and bone there. His whole world reduces to just that action, he's not even looking at the rest of the combat.

Right about then is when the slower #2 GutMouth, opens his actual gut mouth and releases this horrifying belching sound, releasing a cloud of THE most god awful noxious fumes into the area. Mercy gags but manages to keep her lunch down. Trey is definitely having a worse time dealing with that, he can feel bile jumping up into his mouth and nose, it's eye wateringly *bad*. So bad that when he rushes to deal with Gut Mouth, he cant quite concentrate even his primal mind on flattening the guy, he grabs him, ready to pin or throw him but just... oh GOD it's SO BAD! It' SO FUCKING BAD! He can’t complete the attempt to grab and hurl him, not when Trey himself feels like he needs to hurl.

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<OOC> Treads-on-Thin-Ice says, "burning 2 rage this round. This is just getting ugly."

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls Willpower vs 7 for 2 successes. 3 4 5 5 +7 +8
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<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls Strength + Brawl vs 4 for 6 successes. +6 +7 +8 +9 +10 +10
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<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls 2 vs 6 for 0 successes. 1 8
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<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Mercy's Messenger rolls 3 (3 dice) vs 6 for 2 successes. 3 +6 +8
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<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls Strength vs 6 for 4 successes. +6 +6 +8 +10
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<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls Dexterity + Athletics vs 7 for 0 successes. 1 1 -1 3 5 6 8 10
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<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Mercy's Messenger rolls 5 (5 dice) vs 6 for 1 successes. 1 4 5 +7 8
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<OOC> Mercy's Messenger says, "Give up a rage action to dodge, or soak 1 point of damage"

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls Stamina vs 6 for 2 successes. 2 3 4 +6 +8
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<OOC> Treads-on-Thin-Ice says, "Soaked"

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Mercy's Messenger rolls Dexterity(5) + Archery(5) (10 dice) vs 6 for 7 successes. 1 2 +6 +7 +7 +8 +9 +9 +10 10
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<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Mercy's Messenger rolls 2 (2 dice) vs 6 for -1 successes. -1 -1
<-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

Treads-on-Thin-Ice is nearly puking, and that just pisses him off more. He decides that the source of that stench, GutMouth, must be punished. Well, for that and other reasons, among them being a Fomor. He manages this time to clamp down on the fomor's crotch with his enormous teeth, driving a fang in and bringing forth a spurt of blood. He can't tell if he actually severed anything, but he continues, using the mouth grip to shake-throw the barrel-bellied fomor toward the third redneck, missing his target but still leaving #2 thrown and bleeding.

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This is in a small pseudo-clearing in the woods, it's not in anyone's direct back yard, so the basic shifter crew aren't prowling around here at all. Probably that's what gave these guys the idea they could go out and cause some trouble without any trouble finding them in return.

There's a badly wounded cougar up a tree that's not really big enough or strong enough for it, but when you're desperate you just have to do what you can and hope for the best.

There is a single rednecky looking dude (#1) lying dead on the ground, a rifle clutched in his limp hand and his neck bent at a very unnatural angle. Three other people remain standing. Mostly.

A keg bellied man (#2) has his greasy tee shirt pulled up over his big fat paunch because that paunch is in fact a mouth. His gut is split open down the middle and lined with sharp teeth. He also has a badly bleeding crotch, thanks to Trey. Like, he literally just got thrown by his nuts. Needless to say, he's got some REALLY choice words coming out of his face-mouth. The whole area stinks like holy hell thanks to his GutMouth.

A more beefy, muscular guy (he's no ahroun, but he works out) looks REALLY really, like really greasy, he's practically dripping with ooze at this point that's sliding from his pores. His mouth has fangs and his fingers have claws, bloody from scratching Trey.

The last guy is a Weaselly looking redneck punk that literally JUST finished pulling an arrow and thorny vines out of his one leg, and had just started trying to cast a spell when POP! An arrow ledges in his OTHER leg and starts growing thorn vines and sprouting roses. That came from Iris, who has stationed herself between the cougar's tree and the battle.

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<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls Dexterity + Brawl vs 5 for 7 successes. 2 2 +5 +6 +7 +7 +9 +10 +10
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<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls 2 vs 6 for 2 successes. +6 +6
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<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls Strength + 8 vs 6 for 6 successes. 2 3 4 4 4 5 +6 +7 +8 +8 +8 +10
<-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

Branton was in the middle of something and since the call didn't seem urgent or distressed he came but may have dawdled a bit but now he sees the mayhem in progress and with a rapier in hand he calls out to Trey "Did you want all these for yourself or can I cut in?"

Treads-on-Thin-Ice grabs the GutMouth fomor with an open mouth, trying to open a wound on his thigh... and well... just rips the whole leg off at the thigh. He spits out the leg at the fomor, and growls from a sabertooth mouth, "Absolutely, after you!" And cordially, he backs up Branton, squaring off against #3.

Branton has rolled initiative: 18

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls Dexterity + Brawl vs 5 for 3 successes. 1 1 2 4 +6 +6 +7 9 10
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<OOC> Mercy's Messenger says, "And Str+2+1"

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls Strength + 3 vs 6 for 4 successes. 3 3 4 +7 +8 +8 +9
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<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Mercy's Messenger rolls 3 (3 dice) vs 6 for 1 successes. 1 +6 8
<-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Branton rolls Dexterity + Melee vs 3 for 7 successes. 1 2 +6 +7 +7 +9 +9 +10 +10 10
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<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Branton rolls 3 vs 3 for 1 successes. 1 +4 6
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<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Mercy's Messenger rolls 5 (5 dice) vs 6 for 1 successes. 2 3 3 4 +8
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<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Branton rolls Strength + 4 + 6 vs 6 for 2 successes. 1 1 2 3 4 4 4 4 5 +6 +6 8 10
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<OOC> Branton says, "+4 potence. so 6 lethal"

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Mercy's Messenger rolls 3 (3 dice) vs 6 for 2 successes. 4 +6 +7
<-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls Dexterity + Brawl vs 5 for 2 successes. 1 1 2 3 4 +5 +8 9 10
<-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls Strength + 2 vs 6 for 5 successes. 5 +7 +7 +8 +9 +9
<-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Mercy's Messenger rolls 3 (3 dice) vs 6 for 1 successes. 2 4 +7
<-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

Branton squares off against the offered baddie and goes into a classic lunge, stabbing round about where the kidney aught to be. It’s hard to tell with wyrmspawn, even when they're person shaped on the outside their insides are often scrambled up.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Treads-on-Thin-Ice is more than happy to share the last one with the ever-resourceful sorcerer and his stabby-stabby! He grabs for the nearest leg with his mouth, biting down hard to keep the fomor from getting much of anywhere -- and, well, kind of rending a bunch of flesh and bone in the process. The deft stab from Branton pretty much turns the fellow into a pincushion, and Trey finishes the target off, his shake-and-play motion doing the job again. He's going to have to play with more dog ropes to practice that shake!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All of this has happened in the span of a minute or less. A fast, rage fueled rampage by Trey, the BRIEFEST of interruptions as Branton arrives, and then it's just over. Fomor lay on the ground, torn apart and bleeding out. GutMouth is on his last gasps as massive blood loss ends him, the beefcake is turned into swiss cheese by steel and saberteeth. The only sounds come from the "AAAAAAHHHHH!" of the last remaining dude left standing, but he's not... really *doing* anything yet, he's just now ripping the arrow out of his leg and shakily yanking thorny tendrils from the open wound, finishing that right about the same time Branton and Trey are finishing off the last of his friends. He's like 'oh thank god, now maybe I can-' buuuut then an arrow shoots him in the first leg again, right next to where the first arrow wound was, and tendrils go growing around and through his leg. By this point, the ability to stand is gone, and he falls down. He's still alive, he's just made of agony and 'aw damn it!' right now.

Up the tree, an adult cougar is clinging for dear life, hissing and yowling with pain. It's got a very injured shoulder, one front leg soaked red with blood and its grip isn't very good with that paw. It's also completely missing a back paw, but it keeps trying to grip with its bleeding leg anyways. The tree is skinny and weak, and it’s had a fat notch blown out of its already clawed up trunk when the cat's foot was shot off. The tree makes some very alarming creaking sounds as it sways and jerks around. The limbs of this dry pine are not even close enough to hold a full grown cat, so its just holding on to the trunk and trying not to fall. Also what the *fuck* was happening down below? Today sucks and everything is scary!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Treads-on-Thin-Ice is a little wounded, not too badly, just enough to have pissed him off. He looks up to the big cat in the tree and says, in Feline, "Come down. Safe now." He sits on his haunches as if proving this truth, and fixes placid cat-eyes, blinking, on the cougar. "Will lick wounds if you come down." He's keeping it simple, making sure the cat understands and doesn't see him as an attacker.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Branton stays well clear of the tree and the injured cat, not wanting to frighten it as Trey gets to work. A glance is spared for the fallen enemies "I should probably wait to tidy up yeah? Till your new friend there is settled and seen to."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Treads-on-Thin-Ice agrees, "Yeah. I think he's gonna be leery of anyone human shaped," the words mangled a bit by the sabertooth mouth. "S'why I'm not shifting yet."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The cougar is... not super sure about all this. I mean sure, Trey SAYS it's fine, but IS it?? It was *fine* ten minutes ago and NOW look at it! There's a terrible ripping, cracking sound as the cat sorta kinda tries to comply, shifting its paws and its claws in the tree's bark, and then sliding downwards abruptly a few feet, its body snapping branches and sending down a rain of tree litter. The puma lets loose its famous banshee wail in pain and aggravation, and returns to clinging tightly with its two good arms/paws, one injured paw/arm, and one bleeding stump. "I don't think she can." Iris says with a worried tone, and casually shoots to one side without looking to plink that guy again. "Quick thoughts guys: The tree is going to break and she'll fall, and it's too skinny to climb. How do we get the cat down?"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<OOC> Mercy's Messenger says, "The cat is, say, 15 feet up. Not ludicrously high"

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls Charisma vs 6 for -1 successes. -1 3
<-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls 2 vs 6 for 0 successes. 1 9
<-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

Treads-on-Thin-Ice exhales as he sees the desperate cat struggling. "Us in Crinos. We catch her or lift her down. She'll freak out but we can get her that way. I'll hold her down if you heal her, Iris?" He frowns. "She might let us if I can persuade her. Branton, do you have any movement magic that might help her down easier?"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Got it." Iris says, and unslings her bag so she can rummage in it. "Branton, you're strong, if you help Trey up with your strength and boots, he can probably get the cat into his arms." Best of both worlds, Branton can pretend to be crinos and Trey can actually do so, and have the thumbs and strength to deal with the rescue. Meanwhile, Iris can find a couple things required for their next steps.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Branton nods at Trey and shrugs "I've got a couple of options there. I'm telekinetic and I have some movement spells for levitation or such."

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls Charisma + 2 vs 7 for 1 successes. 3 4 6 +9
<-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

Treads-on-Thin-Ice shifts up to Crinos; it isn't quite as massive as a typical Garou's Crinos, but still, eight feet tall is still a lotta cat. "That'll help. I'm not *hugely* strong; I know you've got more there than I do, so let's see if I can persuade her to trust us." Trey looks up to the puma, and switches back to Feline speech again: "Will heal you. Will catch if you jump. Will not hurt you. Let us carry?" He keeps his voice as calm and soothing as he can, with a low rumble under the tone -- a touch of a purr for comfort. He's speaking to her like a person, more or less, not an animal, though he's keeping the concepts simple.

Treads-on-Thin-Ice loses one Willpower

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Branton nods at Trey and moves a bit closer "I just need to be able to see her to help her down, I don't need to get close enough to touch her. I'd rather not have to fight her on it though, if she starts moving without meaning to it might freak her out. If you can get her to come to you I can support the weight with my powers."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Treads-on-Thin-Ice nods agreement. "Sounds good to me. Let me get in there." He looks up, talking as he walks closer to the collapsing tree, voice soothing as he can make it, words in Feline reaching her (he hopes). "Come down. Will help. Will heal. These humans help, not hurt. Safe now. No fear. Will protect you."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Choices are *so* slim for the cougar, and after a half a minute of moving its head around to look around it and see if there's ANY other options, the cat's really just forced to accept that it's choices are stay up here and die, or get down there and maybe possibly not die. Fuck. Thin branches crackle and snap as the cat tries to shift its weight and adjust its position to try and mitigate further damage from falling. It's only seven feet, but have you ever fallen seven feet? That shit *sucks*! With a last, pathetic sounding mewl of pain, the cat retracts its claws and SNAPSNAPSNAPSNAP! Every last remaining branch under its bulk is torn off the tree as it falls in an ungainly, flailing heap towards the Qualmi's arms. With the situation run naturally (as in before any magic might be used), catching the cat is not gonna be comfortable, it’s got claws and instinct will demand it firmly grip with those claws anything that they catch, including the bastet.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls Willpower vs 6 for 0 successes. 1 -1 -1 2 2 6
<-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

Treads-on-Thin-Ice loses one Willpower <OOC> Treads-on-Thin-Ice says, "I am NOT dropping her."

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Branton rolls Wits + Empathy vs 6 for 5 successes. 2 4 5 5 5 +6 +7 +9 +10 +10
<-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

Branton was standing ready for emergency response and Trey showed his commitment to the cat's safety so Branton doesn't feel too bad about interceding. When the branches snap, he whips out his free hand in an unnecessary gesture. He slows the cat's fall, enough to keep her from further injury and diverts the trajectory so her sharp bits aim towards the ground and not Trey's tender parts.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Treads-on-Thin-Ice is prepared to get clawed, or maybe even bitten, but with Branton's aid, he gets neither, and instead winds up with an armload of cougar (with help). He lowers himself into a crouch, putting her down on a soft spot of ground without any nastiness, but lets her see for herself that the attackers are not moving. "There you go," he murmurs to her. "Lie and rest. Will tend your wounds." He strokes the back of her neck gently, comfortingly but in a way that reinforces that he is the dominant cat right now. He looks up gratefully and says, "Thank you, man, that could have been seriously ugly."

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Mercy's Messenger rolls Charisma(5) + Animal Ken(4) (9 dice) vs 6 for 5 successes. 1 4 5 +6 +6 +7 +9 +9 10
<-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Mercy's Messenger rolls 1 (1 dice) vs 6 for 1 successes. +10
<-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

<OOC> Mercy's Messenger says, "Specialty vs wild animals and the calming thereof"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As the resident expert medic, Iris shoves her control onto the situation as the cat is being laid down. It's still panicky from fear, having a bit of flailing from pain and injury, and is showing signs of heavy blood loss and shock. As soon as the cat is down, Iris lays her hands on the poor thing's head, making sure she's not hidden from its view, and applies some Mom Touch to ears and jaw. It's not a gift or anything, just natural forest charisma and a basic knowledge about how a mom might soothe her kitten. The pressure points of family, so to speak. "Trey, groom that shoulder." she says, gesturing to the cat's first bad wound, the bullet wound at her shoulder that's got her leg half crippled. "Branton, get this over her mouth and crush it." she hands him one of her golden apples. Cats don't really eat apples, but who doesn't love apple juice? She hads for the missing back paw to handle that one. EVERYbody healing!

<---======##============[ Item Golden Apples: 635504 ]============##======--->
Charges:................9 Gnosis:.................7 Magic Type:........Fetish
Name:.......Golden Apples Owner:..Mercy's Messenger Reference:......WW3813/82
Type:...........39/Fetish
Created:20181226-1003 by WhoopingCrane
Effect: When eaten - Roll the user's Gnosis against a difficulty of the eater's Rage; every success restores one health level.
Updated:20230224-2129 by Equipment Manager

<-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls Intelligence + Medicine vs 6 for 5 successes. +7 +9 +9 +10 +10
<-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls 2 vs 6 for 1 successes. 5 +9
<-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

<OOC> Mercy's Messenger says, "Branton, your talen is Gnosis vs 7 to use, I recall you saying you can fake the gnosis part!"

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Mercy's Messenger rolls Intelligence(5) + Medicine(4) (9 dice) vs 4 for 6 successes. 1 3 +6 +7 +7 +8 +9 +9 9
<-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

<OOC> Mercy's Messenger says, "Ability aptitude for Medicine to drop my doff."

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Branton rolls Intelligence + Spirit Awakening (numina) vs 7 for 0 successes. 1 1 1 -1 2 2 2 3 7 7 8
<-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

<OOC> Branton says, "...." Branton loses one Magical Essence Branton loses one Magical Essence Branton loses one Magical Essence Branton loses one Willpower <OOC> Branton says, "re-roll at +1 diff, -3 diff for spent mana. Spending wp"

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Branton rolls Intelligence + Spirit Awakening (numina) vs 5 for 3 successes. 1 1 2 3 3 3 +5 +6 +7 9 10
<-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

Treads-on-Thin-Ice bends over the puma and begins to lick the wound on her shoulder, in that gentle-rough way cats have. He knows it'll hurt, so he's doing it firmly and thoroughly the first time and making sure to get it right. The cordite from the bullet tastes acrid and dry in his mouth; her blood tastes coppery, and after a moment or two, more vital as he licks the bullet wound closed. He can see, feel, as some of the tension leaves her as the pain begins to recede. His hands keep stroking her coat in the same pattern as the licks.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Branton takes the apple and moves as directed, going to stir the spirit in the talen and offer the sweet mash as a treat to the cat. He mentions, in quiet soothing tones so as not to freak out the patient "Do we need to replace any missing parts? I have specifically regenerative magic Trey can borrow if he likes."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reforming an entire missing paw is gonna difficult, but Iris has some mojo in her back pocket. She very carefully places her hand on that mangled leg and concentrates, channeling her love of Gaia and a prayer to save the helpless wild into her efforts. Meat, bone and sinew begin to knit themselves back together. "Yes." Iris says, her tone distracted and quiet. The cat further calms as the bullet slides out of her half crippled shoulder, and as the warm blanket of calm from the apple embraces her.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<---======##=============[ Proving note for Branton ]=============##======---> <---======##=-------------[ RODOFHEALING (PRIVATE) ]-------------=##======---> Status: APPROVED by SassyCat on Tue Dec 07 17:49:56 2021

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ritual Name: Rod of Healing
Enchantment Ritual Level: 6
Level of Item Created: 4
Appearance: a Wooden rod about eighteen inches long carved with runes inlayed with a variety of precious stones and metals in the shape of spells invoking Asclepius and legends of how that god was taught the arts of medicine by the centaur Chiron.

Effect: When the user bends their will (spends 1 wp) the rod then takes a toll on the user in either blood or power (1 mana, faith, quintessence, glamour, or an unsoakable health level of lethal damage (manifests as thorns growing out of the rod and piercing the hand holding it)). Once the price has been paid the user rolls Perception + Medicine vs 6. Each success heals one level of lethal damage or all levels of bashing damage that the subject has suffered. Lost limbs or organs are restored completely, and any illness or poisons are purged from the body. Aggravated damage cannot be healed with the Rod nor can it ressurect someone who is already dead. The rod must be able to touch the patient to activate. (see Lore of Flesh level 4, D:tF core page 208)

<-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

Treads-on-Thin-Ice watches as the shoulder is healed, capturing the bullet and shoving it roughly into a pocket. "I think we need more..." As all three work on the wounded cat, he half-smiles, turning to see what the others are doing and exhaling in relief. "She may have kittens she was protecting," he says quietly.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Branton calls forward his duffle bag with a telekinetic float from where he dropped it in the woods on his approach, and he reaches in and pulls out a carved wooden rod with an assortment of precious stones and metals laid in to runes and images invoking the god of healing from his pantheon "Lay this against her fur and concentrate, the rod will try and take from you to fuel the healing and you have to pay in power or blood for it to act. Your own skills guide its healing too, it just gives you the option."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mercy has stopped the ongoing damage, like bleeding, and pulls her hands back before the severed leg can close over with skin and heal pawless. The better to ensure what Trey does with the rod isn't impeded by the cat's own body parts.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------- New Activity --------- Treads-on-Thin-Ice loses one Magical Essence

Treads-on-Thin-Ice accepts the rod and gets the feel of it in his hand, quickly sensing the magic Branton describes. It's a potent piece of work, to be sure; Trey smiles again at the discovery, desite all the chaos, and lays the wooden rod against the puma's pelt lightly. He closes his eyes and focuses, letting it take the power it needs from him to work the healing.

Treads-on-Thin-Ice loses one Willpower

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls Perception + Medicine vs 6 for 4 successes. +7 +8 +8 +9
<-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

Treads-on-Thin-Ice's hand shakes just a bit as he feeds his own will and power into the rod; the rod, in turn, lives up to its deific inspiration and begins to reform the missing paw on the puma's back leg, the murder mitten being reformed from whole cloth -- whole flesh? -- and eventually coming to a finality as an intact foot, identical to the others.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Branton grins as Trey makes the patient truly whole and he sets back "And you mentioned kittens? They should probably be checked on. Do you have somewhere to take her and them if they need to be relocated?"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The cat's breathing slows down to something normal and her eyes flutter and... you know what... maybe a little nap is... is just what the doctor ordered... And now you have an unconscious but totally healed cat. Holy shit what a day.

Also there's three dead guys and one groaning, pain filled wild rose bush, and a lot of taint. Iris picks up her bow, standing while Trey does his limb rejuvenating, and shoots the last fomori again, unleashing a new set of growth. "Trey, would you like to do the honors of cleansing the taint today?" she asks while starting to drag dead guys over into a pile. Minus the guy that's being eaten alive by roses. It's a REALLY pretty wild rose bush, by the way. Lovely blooms. "Worst case, we can probably follow her back trail to find her den."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls Charisma + Rituals vs 5 for 4 successes. 4 4 +5 +7 +7 +8
<-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Treads-on-Thin-Ice rolls 2 vs 6 for 0 successes. 1 10
<-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

Treads-on-Thin-Ice nods at Branton and says "If need be, I can call up the staff at Kitten Itza. We'll have to see how she reacts; if this has somehow made it hard for her to live wild, I may need to ask them to get her and any kittens to an enclosure." He grins and adds, "I live there thanks to one of my elder cousins. Right in the middle of a big-cat sanctuary. It's very welcoming for me. You should see the gorgeous jaguar kittens, I have photos. They're adorable." He turns to Iris as she asks the question, and nods, still in Crinos, "It would be my honor." He shifts down, unlimbering his dedicated pack, and finds clean water and a willow branch stashed inside. He then shifts back up to Crinos, because you can't scare away taint in man-shape! And for the next however long, he makes a circle around the clearing, working to rid the forest of the taint of Fomori and wyrm gunk. Treads-on-Thin-Ice loses one Magical Essence
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Branton once the rite is finished and the taint cleansed away Branton offers "Buried or burned? Won't be but a few moments either way." with a gesture in the direction of the gross meat pile.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Burned, if you're able to keep it contained and not start anything. Buried, otherwise." suggests Iris as she ooooofs and lugs big fat fomori fuckers over. And then picks up a severed leg to throw on the pile. Except for the last guy. But she does shoot him again. There's not any sound from the rose bush any more, but... Might as well be thorough. "Leave that guy, he'll nurture the new bushes." Whether he likes it or not!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Treads-on-Thin-Ice mms agreement, "I'd say burned, just because fire cleanses." He glances to Iris for confirmation, just to be safe, and then helps get any remaining bits onto the pile. "If nothing else, there's some lovely roses there now," he adds with amusement. "At some point I will need to learn how to make those," he says, completely predictably.

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Branton rolls Manipulation + Meditation + 4 vs 5 for 6 successes. 1 1 2 2 2 3 +7 +8 +9 +9 +10 +10 10 10
<-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Branton rolls 4 vs 4 for 1 successes. 1 3 +5 5
<-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

Branton nods at Iris and gives a grim, thin lipped smile. The fire sparks to life and swiftly engulfs the pile. And when it gets to the point that it should spread? Branton's brow furrows in concentration and the destructive energy reflects inward from the barrier of his will and builds in a wave of constructive interference until the flames burn white with heat and light but harm nothing beyond the bare circle of the pile that's rapidly being reduced to fine ash. <OOC> Branton says, "Pyrokinesis 5. 2 successes to size, 5 successes to intensity. Effectively increasing the diff to soak by 5."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Iris gives the pyre the eye, but she's got total faith in Branton's fire mastery and doesn't get too paranoid about it spreading or anything like that. "It's the bow, actually." she says, offering it to Tey to check out if he'd like. "There's a reeeeeeally angry Wyldling spirit in there that turns the arrows into lethal seeds that'll just keep growing and growing in you if you don't get the arrow and all the bits out. It's called a Thorn Bow." While Trey checks out her favorite weapon, she does a once over to check and make sure there's nothing laying around that'll cause problems, but mainly it's just the rifle and some blood that's left over.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Treads-on-Thin-Ice accepts the bow and looks it over -- a slow, thorough perusal, smiling. "Yeah, the spirit in there is pretty angry," he agrees, and adds, "And that's a pretty vicious way to die. Though it's nice to see that anyone you kill with it winds up contributing to the Mother whether they wanted to or not." He looks over the rifle and shrugs. "I have no real use for it, myself."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Branton shrugs at the Rifle after he finishes with the bodies "We can leave it in the stash outside the caern with a 'free to a good home' sign. Someone will have use for it. Guns aren't really my thing. I could just burn it if it comes to that."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Treads-on-Thin-Ice eyes the pile of ash, pensive. He shifts back to Homid for the moment, eyeing the blood and gunk that transferred from his fur to his Dedicated clothes, and then shrugs it off. "Sounds like a good plan to me. I'm sure it'll help someone." He shakes his head and looks over at the snoozing cat. "We will have to see how she reacts, but I don't want to startle her awake. Wondering if it might not just be better to back off out of sight and let her go once she wakes, then see about her den and any kittens." He takes a moment to look at her underside without touching, to see if her nipples are swollen from nursing, or there's any signs she's making milk.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Having a closer look is the ticket, the cougar seems kittenless, BUT, she's a bit plumper than she probably should be. Likely pregnant, but in the very early stages. Small baby bump. It doesn't seem like she has evidence of a current stash of kittens, though. At least, not anyone that's nursing. Iris nods to Branton and shoulders the rifle helpfully, to play transport mule.

If waiting for the cat to wake up is the plan, that doesn't take TOO long, an hour at most, but once she's up the first sound she makes is the Hungry!! sound, and the second sound is the 'oh shit where are those guys that are trying to kill me!?' panic sound.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Branton is content to leave be at this point, keeping a brief watch to make sure she recovers and goes about her business seems reasonably in order tho so he's more than happy to share canteen of water and jerky or trail mix for snacks while they wait.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Treads-on-Thin-Ice accepts some water and jerky, but generally remains quiet. As the puma wakes, he listens, also planning to let her be. Her panic worries him, though he doesn't intervene in the mood. With any luck, she will simply return to her life, which is the best-case scenario.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Iris is all about the trail mix! And also some jerky, but MOSTLY the trail mix. She's a bad Black Fury, she really likes nuts. *rim shot!*

When the cougar gets up there's a brief moment of just whirling around, her brain trying to duct tape her last memories together with the present and try to dig up or fill in blanks as best she can. Her fur is poofed as fuck, her ears laid back, her teeth on full display. In cat language, it's just a stream of obsenities that'd make a cat sailor blush. But uh... no bad guys... She eyeballs the shifter crew suspiciously, but not aggressively, she remembered them being helpful people, maybe? Surely... "Where they go??" she asks via vicious hiss, her thickass tail lashing. She shakes her reformed back foot a few times absently, her body just trying to recombobulate the missing limb/not missing limb memories and feelings.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Branton rolls Charisma + Animal Ken vs 7 for 2 successes. 3 4 4 5 5 6 +9 +9
<-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

Branton can totally understand the cat as well, having the gift of speaking with beasts. He doesn't offer an answer though, he just looks to Trey to take point on cat business. Because cat.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Treads-on-Thin-Ice says back to the feline, in a Feline growl-purr, "Dead. No more hurt." His voice can be heard easily by the female cat. He exhales and murmurs, "Shit." A step forward, then, and he says to her, "Safe now to hunt." He hopes. He wants to bring something down to feed her, but he also knows that instinct for a human one, not one born of his cat side.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Iris looks to Trey to be the leader here as well, he's still leading the pack till they're the job is done, by her count. She stays sitting by Branton and watches silently as this crazy wildlife program plays out.

The cougar has to double and triple check around the, by eye and flaring nostril just to confirm Trey's words, ears swiveling and flattening again and again, the she cat even panting with her mouth open to catch the tiniest of scents on her padaa. She slowly starts to relax, but a ridge of stiff fur stays up on her back to show her stress about the whole thing. She approaches Trey to look him cat eye to cat eye, just *barely* touches noses while shaking her back foot again, and then BAM! She's off like a silent streak of brown fury, darting into the trees and making haste the hell away from here. Probably just gonna go home for the night, put her foot up, watch some bird-tv and find a new place to hunt later.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Branton grins as the cat runs off and he dusts himself off as he gets to his feet "Well that went well. Easy enough to check up on her later if you decide you want to. Do you have tracking magic of your own to use Trey?"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trey watches after her, the human part almost saddened at her departure, and then finally shifts back to Homid. It is a strange thing to live with feet in two different worlds and find yourself torn between two sets of instincts. Branton's question makes him shake his head. "Not as such. But to find her again, I likely won't need it, unless she ranges pretty far. And... yeah, I'd want to, but I'm not sure how happy that would make *her*. A pregnant female cat wants no male near her. Except lions, and lions are just fucking insane to begin with." He flashes a quicksilver smile, one with something more behind it. "Female cats, for the most part, will allow a male to hunt around the outside of her range, maybe, but no closer."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"We can probably find a way to scry." Iris offers while getting up and dusting off her butt. "And I'll point you in the right direction if you wanna lighten the hunting load. Till then though, let's go home, I think there's poison oak around here, my ankles are itchy. What an exciting day!" she seems pretty thrilled. A few late afternoon butterflies go check out some of the roses blooming not too far away, and then flutter off happily.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Branton considers Trey's problem for a bare moment and nods as his mate makes her suggestion then he straightens up and snaps his fingers as something occurs to him "Call Natalie. She's a Swara that lives around here, have you met her? She could probably do the welfare check if you asked. I'm almost sure she'd go for it as an available lady cat."
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Trey ohs and his smile melts into something a little more pensive. "Yeah," he agrees, pleased, relaxing a bit more into his more normal demeanor. "I may do that when she's bigger, if she's having trouble. If nothing else, the kittens'll wind up fatter and healthier." And that, to him, is a good thing. "Oh, no..." He checks his own ankles for a rash, and then remembers he was in every form *but* homid, pretty much. "Definitely a great day..." He spots the butterflies, and that, too, lightens his spirits, taking the joy they bring as the gift it is. Branton's suggestion makes him smile. "I do know her, and she might if I asked her. I'll do that... I think she'd go for that."
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"Great idea!" Iris tells Branton and unstrings her bow before they begin their walk back home. She grins as Trey agrees it it also. "Keepin in touch, keepin everyone involved, that's so great. I think we should celebrate!" Of course she does, it's the full moon, so she's in excitable mode. Like... more aggressively excitable, I guess. "I think I know where one of the Get stashes his mead." Mercy's Messenger also really quickly adds, "Trey, do cats care about cool battle scars?"
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Trey ooohs at the idea of swiping Get mead and laughs brightly. "If I'm asked, I'm going to deny knowledge of any such mead," and then chuckles at the next question. "We do, though not to the degree Garou do. I haven't gotten any impressive ones yet."

---

"Well if you DO end up with a cool owie that you wanna keep, shout out, I've got a rite that'll get it to scar over nicely. Super impressive to the ladies, or so I'm told." she says with a grin. To cut down on travel time, she opens a moon bridge to a place a few miles away where they can search out the fabled Get Mead and get sloppy on their ill gotten gains. "Search around, I'm *sure* it's here somewhere." She starts lookin in bushes and under rocks.

---

Branton grins broadly at his mate's suggestion of celebration and follows along when she opens the bridge. Setting down his bag he starts looking around for where the mead might be.

---

Trey hrms and begins to look for likely spots for a hidden bottle of honeymead -- he picks a spot away from the other two and begins checking bushes, rocks, the branches of trees, and just about anywhere else that a bottle of booze might be hidden. "You have the coolest ideas," he says with a chuckle.

---

Branton finds the hidden brew under a suspicious mat of thin pine branches and pine needles, and the cask has a piece of paper taped to it that says 'Cersed beer - dont drank'. The spelling and handwriting both really suck. "Yeah you say that, but we haven't been clobbered yet by a Get looking for the hair of the dog..." She snerks though. Sure, she's not tribist or anything, but if there WAS going to be a tribe she'd pick on a bit, it'd be the Get.

---

Branton grins at his success and digs it out "Victory." and he delivers his prize to his lady and then goes to the duffle to get some cheap metal camp cups to serve it in. He says to Trey "She really does."

---

Trey beams in agreement and joins them, settling in on the ground and picking a tree to lean against. "Feeling accomplished, today." He pauses, and then holds up his hand. "Did String come back to you or do I need to look through my clothes?"

---

Iris randomly babbles some shit while trying to figure out how to get this fucking thing open. "So I'm sneakin Irsa and whoever else of her pack into a snow in a couple weeks, you guys wanna go with? It's for Black Violin, it's kinda like if hip hop and classical had a badass baby. Over in Sacramento, so it's not too far away. Oh shit!" Well she got it open! And then quickly holds it at a different angle so it wont spill everywhere. "Let's get cursed, friends!" she adds while pouring. "...Oh hell, where is String??" She starts patting herself down too, knowing full well that's not going to help.

---

Branton blinks at the musical description "That sounds like what you'd get from a grizzly bear rampaging through a chuckie cheese ball pit. Of course I'm in." Branton looks serene and unbothered about where String might be.

---

Trey nods, "Sounds like a blast, definitely. I'm game. And if it sucks, I can just yowl along as commentary." He wouldn't. Would he? Well, not if they were enjoying it. Probably. He takes off his jacket and begins searching pockets, murmuring, "String, dude, you here?" He doesn't seem frantic, more 'curious and sure the spirit will turn up when it feels like it.'

---

"I see you, ya little punk!" Iris blurts, and reaches out towards Trey. She sticks her finger right up his nose to hook onto String and start pulling like it's a long, multi colored booger. Fortunately this is not a painful removal, but it's probably tickly. One cant even be sure it's actually IN Trey or if it's slithered into a pocket dimension inside of Trey's nose. Either thing is equally possible. Since her hands are full she asks, "Branton, can you find my phone for me? I'll look up a clip and you can get a gander of their music."

---

Branton rummages for the requested phone in the gear bag, because of course he's carrying stuff for his mate. Finding accomplished he stands ready to hand it over once she's done picking her friend's nose.

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Trey heys! And then he starts laughing helplessly, because it tickles, damnit! "Ow, shit, I mean..." And then String is out and he shakes his head, still chuckling. "Okay, that was a new one. You summoned a spirit out of my damn nose." Well, sorta, but now he's got a story to tell...

---

Iris disengages one hand from the Great String Removal, using that hand to find youtube. It's laggy because they're in the forest, but she eventually finds the video she's looking for and hands it over to Branton again so he can control the screen while she finishes pulling roughly thirty feet of yarn out of Trey's face. Once removed, String goes limp. Dejected! Oh woe is String! Now it shall sulk. "String has a gift for Zones. I've learned to just assume it could be anywhere. Aaaaanywhere."