2018.12.8:Fried Bacon on the Bawn
| Steele Fitness Academy | |
|---|---|
| A temporary pack of Garou visit a suspected wyrm stronghold called "The Steele Fitness Academy", following up on the lead found in 2018.11.24 Sadism Stick in the Woods | |
| IC Date | Saturday, December 1st, 2018 |
| Players | Hushed Blaze, Two Souls, Xavier, Connor, The Lamp Wrangler and Puddle Jumper (ST) |
| Spheres | Shifter Gaian Garou |
It's one of those nights when it probably feels far later than it actually is. The sun set almost two full hours ago, even though it was barely four-thirty in the afternoon. The Pacific Sun goes to bed earlier and earlier, the closer the calendar moves to winter. In the woods outside, it is a little lighter than usual, thanks to the cloud cover. There is no moon, but the city of Prospect is less than twenty miles away, and the light pollution it casts out is enough to make the clouds glow with faint, reflected light. It is by no means bright outside, but a bit better than a typical night of the full moon.
All of this peace and tranquility is broken by a sudden, loud squealing in the night, a muffled thump, and then the sound of something heavy crashing through the brush. Seconds later, there is an explosion of noise, glass, and fur as a massive form hurtles through the front window of the cabin, crashing inside with an animal snarl of pain and Rage. Puddle Jumper has arrived! Did somebody forget to take her for walkies?
<<Wyrm things! Many many!>> She climbs to her feet on the glass-covered cabin floor, then turns to face toward the broken window with a snarl. Outside, dark shapes as big as small horses can be seen. Wazi is bleeding.
The soft tones of electrically produced music come from the His iPhone, idly forgotten on the arm of the sofa. Notes playing*, concealing the softer sounds coming from within, the cabin's lights dim, all providing some proof that there are likely occupants within.
And after all, they have hardly left since, and before, being mated -- it's a fair assumption that they're still in there. Especially as the weather turns colder, and there's plenty of huddling up, cuddling up for heat to do when the air begins to get the bite of winter to it.
As the ruckus outside grows louder, nearer, and all but impossible to ignore, Dusk does his damnedest to do just that. Eyes clench closed to shut out the distractions; his head gently lulls up. His pant legs crinkle while he shifts his position a little to get more comfortable beside Drey; his head gently lulls up. The soft luster of his broad, bare shoulders reflects off the flickering, iridescent light; made dim with a tan scarf thrown over it to give the room a soft, romantic mood.
And his head gently lulls up.
With the sudden inward explosion of glass, Dusk lifts his head from beside Drey's, slipping his left arm from underneath her, and uses his arm to shield his lips from the shards of glass.
Confusion beats out panic. The puppy is barking something, but his mind hasn't focused, not at all combat horned.
Drey... well, Drey is distracted. The youth is clad once more in whatever t-shirt Dusk wore that day, and... little else. With one of her hands buried deep in the Kinfolk's hair for a kiss, fingers tightening with initial annoyance. Hazed as much by Dusk's 'curious' actions as the weed that still taints the air. Heavily. After all, it takes /quite/ a bit to 'get through' to a Garou. And just enough to stone her Mate out of protesting such excess. As he would. Repeatedly.
And so she's not responding to those muffled sounds as rapidly as she might've. In fact, it seems she's as willing as Dusk to simply ignore them. And then there's the crash. Glass. Hispo. No one can miss /that/. <<Fuck!>> The curse is in Spanish, but the mixture of shock, fear, and fury is conveyed just as well.
She's backing quickly away from Dusk, managing to get to her feet by the time the giant wolf comes barreling toward them. <<Dusk, behind the couch!>> Spanish again, though as Wazi's words are taken in, it's unlikely that she'll be speaking anything 'Homid' in the near future.
The transition is rapid. Where there was a scrawny teenager, tousled and half-naked, there's now a pitch black Hispo. Anyone ask for another pony-sized wolf? Well, now we've got one... and save a small white patch on her chest, the unnatural creature may as well be a shadow for how little detail is visible in the dim room.
<<Blood!>> She snarls first in Garou, stating the obvious. Wazi is hurt. Then, shaken abruptly out of that lovely high, again in Garou, <<They follow?>>
As if in answer to Drey's question, the squealing sounds outside intensify, more large heavy shapes smashing through the brush toward the cabin. The massive shapes outside gallop closer, massive, white pig's skulls tossing from side to side with tusks as long as a man's arm protruding from the things' faces. Gigantic, pony-sized boar monsters in the night, three of them. The tusks of one of the group are dripping fresh blood.
<<More.>> Puddle Jumper growls, answering Drey's question for real. Then, the Ahroun is flattening her ears back and twisting in place to drop her head to the ground, lifting one massive paw up to rest over her snout, as if hiding her eyes. There is a subtle change in the air, a tingle of magic for those sensitive to it. Then the hispo's wound closes and she slams her paw to the floor of the cabin, leaving deep gouges in the wood.
<<Out!>> She chuffs the command, before launching herself through the window again with an animal snarl, barking a challenge at the pig things >> I am Puddle Jumper! Die tonight! << It's much more dramatic than her usual approach to combat.
Most interestingly, when she jumps through the window (which is too small to fit her gigantic form, by all rights) she leaves a spray of fur to drift lazily through the cabin's air in her wake. If she were feathered, it would be like a pillow exploding in a movie.
"Wha?" Dusk offers the sound with a whiny tone while his favorite toy was taken from him. His head, on a swirl, looks from Drey, then Wazi, and finally to the source of the sounds coming from outside. And at her request, or let's not kid ourselves, order, Dusk rolls over to his back and scoots to the opposite side of where he had once been. Putting himself behind the sofa and what was once their front window.
Ducking, to make himself as small a target as possible, there's an adjustment made because Dusk doesn't want any of his poses fit for Nom-ness, while he starts looking for weapons. The room is made all the brighter when the scarf pulls from the lamp. And the shadows contort when Dusk pucks up the lamp by its neck and turns it around. Holding it like a baseball bat, twin mossy green-and-red eyes, along with ruffled brown hair poke up from the sofa arm to look out the smashed window and the shadowy, blurry, hazy shapes. A single pass is made to smear his lips dry with his bare right forearm. "I /am/ dripping balls," he murmurs, porcelain bat once again in both hands.
With the other wolf already out the window, and the enemy quite /literally/ just yards away, the black wolf's gaze strays away from what promises to be violent. Very soon. It's not until she's spotted Dusk, as small as a six-foot-something man can make himself, armed with that lamp, that she's turning toward the door with a growl.
A door with a handle, and paws -- while extremely large -- lacking fingers. Having assured herself of Dusk's sense of self-preservation, there's only a split-second hesitation before the Hispo is barreling full speed at the wooden door. Fortunate for whoever gets to put it back up, the thing buckles at the hinges rather than splinter apart, but in either case... it's open, and Drey is outside. With... whatever Waziyata has decided to bring with her.
Outside the cabin, three pony-sized boars surround Puddle Jumper, snorting and squealing and tossing their heads as they scuff the ground, clearly readying to charge. Their massive heads look to be little more than blanched skulls, gore-dripping tusks positioned as if to skewer the Ahroun. They hesitate only a moment, before snorting and screaming a challenge as they each charge at the massive wolf from all sides.
Wazi stands poised and tense in her Hispo form, pale, off-white fur contrasting strangely with the skullpig's heads. She snarls a silent challenge to them and a silvery sheen lights her fur, the gift Luna's Armor taking hold. Then, as the pigs charge her, she springs forward and dances amidst them, placing one massive paw down, spirning from spot to spot, staying just ahead of most of their attacks, though one pig finally slashes a massive tusk through her side and she yelps, then snarls in Rage.
For her part, Drey charges into the battle, snapping at the pigs, for all the good it does her or Wazi. She throws her massive weight into the battle, trying to at least distract them from the other wolf, biting and biting again. All she gets for her trouble is the taste of fetid pork.
Eventually, the pigs seem to wear themselves out. They back off, panting with exertion and regroup, squaring off against Puddle Jumper once more. Then, all at once, they squeal out in Rage and spring at her again, tossing their tusks recklessly back and forth with preternatural speed, determined to kill the wolf. Drey is ignored entirely for the moment; clearly the lesser threat.
Puddle Jumper snarls, springing forward to meet the pigs head-on this time, as they charge her again. She drops low to the ground, sliding just under one set of tusks and lunging in to take hold of one skull pig's throat. She gives a vicious shake of her head and, with a grisly pop, the monster's head comes off and the pig collapses, dead. Afterward, she spins about and charges for the next pig in line, the one that Drey has been harrying. She smells blood; the Ragabash has scored a hit! The Ahroun storms in during the moment of the pig's confusion, as it looks back to Drey, and bites deep into the creature's stomach, pulling free entrails.
Drey stays doggedly determined to kill or hurt at least one of the pigs. They've attacked her home, her mate needs protection, and Wazi probably can't hold out forever. She growls, then springs in to bite at the flanks of one of the big pigs... and scores a hit! She comes away with a big piece of meat torn free from the skullpig, then skirts back as Puddle Jumper leaps in for the kill. Two down, one to go.
The final skull pig squeals and snorts, bucking in place, eyes rolling in terror as its two companions are brought down. Then, the piggy turns and flees - charging away back into the woods!
Puddle Jumper chuffs as the pig turns and flees, <<Kill it.>> Then, she charges after the pig in turn. She catches right up to the pig - this is her favored territory, after all, her home. She gathers herself up as she runs just behind the massive pony-pig, snarling, then springs... and SMASHES into a tree, head-first. The ahroun yelps and collapses to the ground, dazed, as the pig flees deeper into the woods. If it had its wits about it, it might be able to come back and finish her off right then.
Drey charges after the two and, when Wazi takes that terrible fall, she winces in sympathy. She glances back, but then sees Puddle Jumper reeling in a daze and trusts that her friend will be alright. She's got a pig to catch. She charges through the woods after the skull pig, trailing well behind it, but steadily gaining ground.
As the pig crashes through the woods, squealing and snorting in fright, other massive shapes move through the darkness to join it, bursting from the surrounding foliage. More shapes than Drey can easily count, too many shapes. In the darkness, it's hard to tell just how many pony pigs are actually in the area, but from the way the shadows dance, forms burst from the underbrush, and the weak light reflecting off the clouds above, there could be as many as ten.
Just as this realization comes to Drey, the biggest pig yet steps from the shadows directly ahead and squeals loudly, squaring off to face her. It is almost as large as she, as big as a draft horse, massive tusks resting comfortably at her eye line. The big pig snorts and stamps one foot as he steps forward, levelling the tusks at her aggressively. In the dim light, she can just make out the ritualistic, gnawed scars that cover his body like tattoos, and a gleam of mad intelligence lurks within his eyes.
"Smells like BACON around here," murmurs Dusk, lifting his head up a little more to peer over the sofa. As though his vantage is poor, he stands up from his hiding spot, and darts towards the half barricade that was, at one time their front window. The lamp is held over his head, double handed, while he gives a mighty yell, "Raaahhh!" Before he has a chance to enter the zone of broken glass bare-footed, his club's cord goes taut, and Dusk's feet are flung from underneath him.
The next sounds are the thud of his beefy body hitting the floor boards, kicking up little dust from the newly constructed cabin. "Ugghh!" sounds Dusk, as the wind is knocked from his sails, and lungs, a wounded groan, more of pride than injury follows, emanating from inside the cabin, shadows dancing while the bare light moves around at floor level.
Standing up, unsteady on his feet, Dusk isn't even facing the right direction. Fragile club in his left hand, holding his head with his right, Dusk takes a moment to shake off his daze, literally when he gives his head a shake and then winces, hunching his shoulders. It's the sounds of combat that draws his attention back outside, and for a short infinity, he stands, partially covered, watching stupefied while watching the five mammoth-sized creatures going at it, tooth and tusk. A slow sneer contorts his features while the monsters are a blur, a flurry of gnashing and goring. In the end, two of the swine lay unmoving, and one runs out. Dusk perks, and without thinking, transfers his club from his left to his right hand.
"Freeze, pig!", he yells before he throws.
But the lamp is still plugged in, and its arc is short. So short it barely clears the opening through where the window was before the cord goes taut again, the lamp falls, dangles and smashes against the wall, covering the porch in porcelain shards to go with the broken glass. The light blub fittzzles, flickers and pops before covering Dusk in darkness just as everyone darts to chase that last pig, the tall man standing in disbelief of what happened.
Alone, Dusk murmurs, "Well. Damn," over the sound of the mood music he'd put on, Ginuwine adding his advise:
"~Ride my pony, My saddle's waitining...~"
Puddle Jumper clambers back to her feet after her disastrous collision with that tree. She gives herself a shake and growls low and deep in her chest, before looking back toward the little cabins near the cave leading to the caern. She hears nothing horrible happening in that direction, but she still hears the distant crashing through the bushes of Drey pursuing her quarry. Then, Drey howls: <<FUCKING PIGS EVERYWHERE! COME HELP! WYRM MONSTERS!>> Or something to that effect. She's a ragabash, so don't expect too much eloquence.
Puddle Jumper groans, gives herself another, more forceful shake, then she charges toward the sound of that howl, running to join the Ragabash.
For those who respond to the call, anyone running past the little cabins will see that cabin number five has been ransacked. The door is laying in the grass, hinges and part of the frame exploded. The window has been smashed inwards with glass and fur sprayed all over its interior. Luckily, the other cabins seem to be empty tonight, for whatever reasons, or their inhabitants are hiding under beds and the like. The attacked cabin has lights on and romantic music playing, and a naked Dusk inside holding a lamp like a baseball bat. Out front are two dead skull pigs - pony-sized boar monsters with skulls for heads. Leading away into the brush, away from the caern, is the trail of large forms crashing through the wilderness.
Connor has spent more than a few years building up good relationships with the spirits of the city and surrounding area. Good thing he was on patrol nearby when the howl goes out and some spirits come to warn him as well. He'll use the umbra and all the other sneaky paths the Druid knows to get to the scene as quickly as he is able to
Hushed Blaze hears the howl and thankfully is not /too/ far away. She leaps into Hispo as she takes off toward the howl, arriving not too long later to discover the disarray and skull pigs. She yips, >> WHO CALLED? << She see s Dusk and avoids looking at the naked kin for now. He seems safe enough and if there are Wyrm about, they need to find that first.
Looking up from the mess that is... 'his?' cabin when he spies another dire wolf charging in, Dusk, who is definitely not naked, but the mistake is understandable as he is shirtless, and standing behind what once the front window. He stares, wide eyed, for a split second, having no idea what was just barked at him and then points, "They ran that way?", Dusk offers, hopefully, helpfully.
Ten seconds. Ten /very long seconds/. First a window crashing, a lamp shattering, pigs... everywhere. Bacon, anyone? The black Hispo that used to be Drey-the-teenager is crashing after the hog that frenzied and ran, only to run head-long into a larger boar, this one covered in ritualistic markings. As far as they may be from the cabin, they're still not Far Enough. And so the howl goes up. <<FUCKING PIGS EVERYWHERE! COME HELP! WYRM MONSTERS!>>
And over 'that way' there is the sounds of animal snarling, barking, howling, and pig squeals in the wind. Continued crashing through the brush. It's distant now, the sounds disappearing into the distance, away from the Caern. But Puddle Jumper, the white hispo, comes running back toward the assembling garou at the cabins with a bark. <<They are running this way.>> Then, she turns and charges back the way she came, toward the sounds growing fainter in the distance.
Hushed Blaze charges toward the sound of the howl, keeping up with Puddle Jumper. >>COMING!<< She is at top speed to get toward Drey and this larger boar. She is ready to take it out and protect whomever is in need right now. >>What I would not give for my pack right now. We can do this!<<
Having heard the howl himself, he was told not to rush off he needed to know what the situation was. Granted that was already communictated, still he's is a cub and without a moments thought. Quickly shifting into Hispo and rushing through the cabin area, this is where he stays as well so it doesn't take long though instead of announcing himself Xavier is keeping quiet and trying to pick up the scent of the others and their query.
Puddle Jumper leads the way, crashing through the woods and out to the edge of the Bawn and a short ways beyond, where the group soon catches up to Drey, a snarling black Hispo on the heels of a gaggle of Skull Pigs running for all they are worth. Eventually, the pigs come up against a river and, cornered, the turn and squeal loudly, stamping and pawing at the ground before tossing their heads aggressively at the on-coming Garou. The biggest of the pigs steps to the fore, a massive, horse-sized boar whose very flesh is twisted and warped, covered in chewed, ritualistic scars and dripping with poisonous ichors. He snort-snort-squeals and then stomps at the earth, snorting loudly, before the three merely pony-sized pigs at his flanks form up for a charge. Then, Connor comes into view and all four pigs give horrific squeals and begin thrashing as if in great pain and Rage. None of them frenzy, but each of them seems weakened by his mere presence.
Hushed Blaze leaps toward the attacking Pig3, her claws out and ready! She lands right one it, striking and shredding, but that DAMN HIDE is too much to get through! Despite her attempts, it does not affect that beast! She goes again, this time ripping further into it, and again! As it starts to attack her, along with another Pig, she brings the power of an electricity elemental, and ROASTS that piggy! If that doesn't bring Billy out, she isn't sure what will.
Connor leaps in from what looks like a ring of mushrooms in the forest. The large man packing even bigger muscles than usual as he's taken his glabro form. There's a reason he's called the Shining-Walker, his flesh taking on a slight sheen as his frost troll heritage also shows though, one eye of his bulging out and glowing a baleful red as he lands. He howls out his answer to the call for aid and one of challenge as he sweeps that angry gaze over the skull pigs. A massive spear is gripped between his hands and starts to while in a defensive weave as he makes himself the biggest target. A few parries see some blood drawn and then he goes on the offensive with a few more blows from that spear. When the last of the pigs tries to run off he slams his fist into the ground, his tattoos and woad paint running off his arm and down through the ground to sprout up around the creature of the wyrm to make it an easier target for the others.
Having used the night and his surroundings to his advantage, Xavier in his Hispo form was able to ambush one of the pigs. Leaping from where he was hiding, he slams into the pig with his considerable weight. MOuth open in an attempt to take a bite out of the pig, but he wasn't able to get purchase, though having Drey teaming up with him or he teaming up with here on this pig. Bouncing back, and channeling his RAGE, he is able to shift into his Glabro form and he throws a kick aimed at the worst part of the oinker, the kick connects, but the pigs girth helps defend it from Xavier's kick. Still the young cub jumps back so not to be in the way of Drey as she battles the pig.
The four pony and horse-sized boars with shining, pale skulls for heads and gigantic tusks charge as a group, each of them squealing and stomping and throwing their heads back and forth to swing grisly, gore-stained tusks at Connor, the biggest and ugliest of the pigs at the fore. The man holds his own and strikes out again and again, dealing terrible damage to the maddened pigs. One falls, two others give up and spin about to charge at Hushed Blaze instead, squealing and snorting and roaring their pain and Rage.
Puddle Jumper lunges in under one swing of Connor's silver klaive, just out of the crinos's easy reach, and tears into the massive Voodoo Pig, tearing chunks of flesh from him. She snarls wordlessly, slavering and snapping again at the pig, and brings it down after a particularly nasty strike of Connor's klaive. Without missing a beat, the Ahroun drops to the ground and spins, charging for the remaining piggy even as Hushed Blaze brings one down with lightning.
The final pig, bleeding from many wounds and squealing and snorting madly in pain and fear abandons the fight! It turns and bucks and charges through the mud toward the riverbank, many of the Garou hot on its tails. It stumbles and nearely falls down as the little woadling springs up before it, eliciting another scream of Rage from the creature. Then, fangs tear into it moments before a clap of thunder and a sharp sizzle-pop of Hushed Blaze's lightning brings the thing down.
In the moments immediately after the pigs have all died, Puddle Jumper stands amidst the carnage, covered in blood and gore, wrapped in tattered, blood-stained bandages over most of her form. Then she drops to her breed form, that of a white wolf (also wrapped in bandages) and turns to grovel in the mud before the gathered garou. >> It is my doing. Sorry! Too many, they did chase me. Next time, I run better.<< She's a step away from launching into a full-on rite of contrition, but doesn't quite go that far as she whines.
Two-Souls continues in her joint pursuit of the smaller pig, timing her attacks to avoid interfering with Xavier's own. Several hard bites land, but fail to take the creature down entirely. It's only after one of the others have finished the foe off that she's taking a few backward steps. Bronze eyes flash first toward Connor, and then Hushed Blaze. With the former busy finishing off the foe, it's toward Hushed Blaze that she continues to look. Her ears twitch slightly, and her bloodied muzzle is lowered in deference. <<May I go? My mate was in the cabin.>>
Connor gives a nod of his head, his nostrils flared and his gaze flicking about for any other threats for the moment "Go, I'll clean up here." He holds up a hand to Puddle Jumper "We'll deal with that soon enough, first make sure everyone is alright and no one needs any healing. Then we need to burn the bodies and cleanse the area."
Waziyata doesn't complain or offer any protest to the responses of Hushed Blaze and Connor. She clambers back to her feet, tail held suitably drooping-low, and then joins the clean-up crew. Luckily, none except her have been injured, and her bloody bandages talen has healed those wounds at this point. But she plays the good and contrite garou for the night, awaiting the later results of her mistake.
Hushed Blaze adds to Connor, >>I will give a report to the Wyrmfoe. It was good you were here to assist with clean up. Will let you know status of the other scene.<< She will take off with Two-Souls to check on her mate, and assure that cleanup of the cabin and surrounding destruction is also taken care of and cleansed.
