2020.12.13: Valkyrie Test Flight

Valkyrie Test Flight Part 1
A Valkyrie Test Flight runs intro trouble when a bane appears.
IC Date	12.13.2020.
IC Time	Afternoon.
Players	Ulf, Theron, Heidi, Einar
Location	Deep Forest
Prp/Tp	Rise of the Valkyrie
Spheres	Garou
Theme Song	Rise of the Valkyrie

The forests around Ravenscar, Theron knows them well but he doesnt know every area. What he does know is that they need to be as deep as they can, to find ancient forests primordial untouched by man. Its either that or a properly dedicated caern like that of the Sept of the Trollslayer, where such primal spirits are common. After some hiking he pauses and looks around to breathe, "How deep into the dark woods do we dare go?" he jokes with a chuckle.

Heidi pauses with her mini pack on her back and her sword strapped to her back. She stops to get a good look around. "I could work on shifting and try to get a birds eye view of how far away we've already traveled. We're how many hours in now, four hour hike?"

Ulf is on four legs, more for the breadth of senses than the endurance and agility (though they help). He scouts out odd scents and possible game trails, slipping in and out of view when he scouts ahead and often falling back to walk with the two Kinfolk. He loves it out here, where the gods are louder, and runs into a whole host of interesting tidbits about this part of the forest he didn't know before. He avoids frightening a porcupine and disturbing a snake, and when Theron asks his question the wUlf is there to wag his tail twice and chuff as he sweeps his head forward.

	 Heidi sets down her pack by a tree and walks over to rub Ulf behind the ears. "I'm sorry but you are way too cute with that wagging warrior's tale of yours." She leans down and takes a moment to offer a nose bump and nose kiss. She hugs his big wolfy head too as they take the breather and break. "Hi beautiful."

"Alright, A bit further forward." Theron says in response to Ulf. Then to Heidi, "What see where we are and ruin the adventure?" he grins. He continues down and then around a ridge before suddenly the rocks open up to a beautful valley. The river that runs down to Ravenscar in the distance just in view. "This...could be the place, the ridge opens the sky line for flight and the forest and rocks anchor us to the earth..."

Heidi gets a nuzzle and a puppy-kiss when she cuddles the wUlf, who is just eating it up. But Theron's pressing on, so he gets a grip on Heidi's forearm and tugs her a couple of playful times before dashing forward a few paces and stopping with a wagging tail, waiting for her to follow.

	 Heidi grabs up her bag to follow the wolf that is waiting for her. She hurries it up like it's a game between them and smiles. "Yeah I see the view, Theron. I think you are right." She walks a bit further until she finally gets to where he's seeing that river down below. "It'll be like falling to my death, or hang gliding." She chuckles. "I'm all for it!"

Ulf finally slips back up onto two legs to enjoy the view through human eyes, looking out at the vist and smiling slightly. "It's beautiful here," he notes, eyes following the stream. "A good place to try for miracles, yes?"

	 Up above, the stand on the rock ledge looking way, way down at the valley. Heidi strips off her hoodie and hands it over to Ulf. "No pain. No gain." He's his regular human height now and she leans in to kiss him on the lips. 

	 Beneath her jacket she wears a tank top, which should accomodate her wings once she transforms. The sword worn, she keeps on her back for now and does a double check to make sure it's secure. "Yeah, I am loving this spot for a first flight." She looks to Theron. "Ok we ready?" It's a long drop down there, but should give her a good enough glide down and to move over the valley trees. 

	 Heidi shakes out her hands at her sides and then drops down into a runners pose before beginning a race. "Everyone growl. Ready? On the count of 3... 2.... 1..." She's going to make that Valkyrie jump!

Ulf takes the hoodie and the kiss with an encouraging smile, bowing his head. He watches her prepare proudly, shaking off her nerves and getting ready for something incredible. As requested, he growls low in his throat and lets it build loud until it's practically a snarl, adding a grunt for emphasis while he goads her on to her own change.

	 Heidi hears Ulf first and most likely Theron joins in with his own rendition of a growl. She gets seriously pumped and her whole body begins to vibrate. She joins in the howl revel with them and then starts to run for that cliff edge. Four steps in, and she begins to shimmer into a light flash! Her whole body suddenly takes off to leap off that big cliff into a swan dive of sheer bright yellow golden light. And then it rockets downward with a Yippppeeeeeeeee! Her wings haven't popped yet, but they are about to! 

From above, Theron and Ulf can look down now to watch this crazy legendary experience taking form in front of them. The mythos of her black wings suddenly spread out like a giant Valkyrie taking flight, and her body slows the dive with a flap to juttison her forward so she isn't going to hit the rocks below. Yet something else moves on the rock face below where they are standing. 12 yards down something inky black sticks a claw out onto a jagged broken tree root, and the black blob of shadow form leaps after whatever just zoomed by its cave! 

Theron joins the growl and lets out a low human howl as she takes the leap. "Christ for a second I got nervous." he tells Ulf then with a chuckle, "Im kidding I knew it all along..." he begins and then he sees the shadow claw, "Ulf did you see that?! Heidi!" he calls out a warning trying to point to the danger as he draws his sword.

Ulf watches Heidi take her glowing leap and then spread her wings, gifing a wild war whoop as she catches the updraft. He sighs, commenting to Theron, "Yes, I also...," but then there's the shadow claw below. And he's immediately after it; war form taken as he jumps and rakes claws down the cliffside to slow his fall, SKREEEEEEEing downward to pursue whatever that beast is!

	 What Ulf is doing... it is exactly what the Shadow Bane creature is doing. Except the black ink beast just doesn't give a shit about rocks and taking a thump down to move after the flying big birdie human. It's grounded, and can't fly, but it's going after their kin as if it were a big dog now chasing a mailman that forgot to stop by. 

Heidi didn't see the black creature dropping out behind her. She's moving pretty fast but so is that little bugger behind her. It makes a sudden burst of unnatural speed trying to catch up and then Heidi levels out her arms to glide on the upstream in the nic of time before that thing leaps up off the ground to try and snatch at her. It misses! 

Heidi turns to hover and flaps her wings a few time, sending airbursts along the ground when she catches sight of something black trying to leap up at her. "WHAT the fuck is that?!!!!" Alarmed, she calls back up the cliff.

This creature that fell out of the hole above on the cliff looks unnatural. It has sleek black fur but it's not exactly looking like it's solid. If anything it might even seem like it slipped through a crack between one world to this one. In broad daylight, the beast has two rows of sharp fanged teeth, and six spider black reddened eyes. It moves like a beastly animal on all fours, but when it did leap seconds before it looked tall like a bear would rise up on clawed feet and taloned paws reaching for the Valkyrie.

	 Heidi turns and suddenly sees her Godi coming down the rock cliff face very fast. He's scrambling in his warform and she knows this isn't good. Whatever is below her spooks her enough to suddenly jettison herself upward with a few strong flaps of those wings. Up and Soaring upward she gets to the top and clasps Theron right on the edge of the rocks. "HOLD ON!" This is gunna be... fun. Or death. Her eyes convey adrenaline running all through her veins.

Grimshade catches up with the shadow-beast quickly enough, having slid down the cliffside and charged into the woods right on its tail. He snarls << CRY HAVOC! >> and his claws slip through the shadowy edge of the darkling, biting instead into the trunk of a tree. He makes another broad swing but shears only obliviate fur, nearly catching claws to his own face for his efforts. The creature's attack shears off some of the Crinos' gray mane, but otherwise leaves him unharmed. But very angry.

	 Everything is happening so fast down below. Heidi has Theron in her arms and she is squeezing him as tight as she can. Her hold on him isn't graceful either. They are probably face to face from the direction of their grab and she is really busy on looking below as her wings flap above everyone. She pushes out off the cliff and to get down again in a Fast Dead-drop. It's going to entirely make their stomachs flip like an amusement park ride, but there's no second to waste. They are going to have to be adrenaline junkies now! 

	 They dead drop and about six feet above the monster's head and behind him, Heidi makes that sudden flap of wings to hover them and she drops the Berserker. It's not even graceful. The dead drop was beautiful! But Theron being let go, is like dropping weight she knows she can't sustain for long.

Thud. They are going to have to work on these tag team maneuvers. Theron lands and staggers only a moment before regaining his footing and swinging that sword deep and hard into the beast cutting it down. "Where did that come from?" he asks as he looks around.

The beast sneers and shows its rows of teeth, and Ulf just ROARS in its face and swings an uppercut slash that draws blood from shadow, staggering the creature. It will regret that, as Theron arrives immediately afterward, and... well. He dead. Ulf chuffs, looking down at the dead creature, then the path back. "We. See." The words are guttural and growled, but clear enough as the Crinos Fenrir slips into Hispo to turn back the way they came.

	 When the creature falls to the unexpected giant blow from behind, it goes down hard in an even harder thump. A black mist seeps upward off its fur, similar to how a warm animal who meets cold temperatures might dissipate its body heat. This is entirely something else and unnatural to being here. The body of the bane is cut into from the front and a deadly slash from behind. It oozes blood out onto the ground in a big pool spreading outward. 

Heidi slowly tries to learn to land on her feet and totters. She sees how quickly this thing went down by the Might Fenrir tribal mates of hers and she stretches out her hands now as if willing her wings to fold back and settle. She takes a sudden breath. "Where did that come from?" She moves around closer to Ulf now since he's in his warform, and looks back at the rock cliff face to see if there's any other danger incoming.

"I was going to ask you the same. It happaned so quick." Theron replies, "Like it came from the cliff face...or the shadows within. Ulf do you sense anything?" he wonders.

"CLLLLLLLLLLIFF," the Dire Ulf growls, looking back the way they came for a sign of an opening in the rock. "CHHHHHASED YOOOOU." His big head swings over to brush Heidi gently, and he chuffs a great breath before answering Theron, "NNNNO. WWWE GO." He jerks his head back toward the cliff, growling a bit before stalking forward at a careful pace. "THENNNN SEE."

Heidi lifts up her hands to touch Ulf and his great big wolfish head. He brushes over her and she gently touches the side of his face. "You were quick. I didn't see it and you guys did." She's really thankful. Another nod goes to Theron to thank him, and then she's looking back up at the rock face again when Grimshade does.

"Plenty of time to repay me...how about that flight. May want to work on that carry." Theron teases her, "But first we need to verify there is no danger around here and then cleanse the area...you can do that?" he asks Ulf as he begins to scan the path to make sure they can get back up and look for signs of greater threat.

Heidi pulls out her cell phone. "I'm calling in some help to get this .. thing buried. We don't have any shovels and if there's more in that cliff hole up there? Safer to do it in numbers." She strokes Grimshade on his backside.

<Phone> (You to Einar) Ring Ring Ring!

<Phone> (Einar to you) Yo, this is fuckin Einar

<Phone> (You to Einar) This is going to sound like a bad joke but it isn't. Is anyone out on patrol on the northwestern side of the area that you know of? We need some shovels. And a recon team. You won't believe what just.. uh, ambushed us out here. Imma gunna take a picture of this guys teeth, ja? Send it your way.

Picture sent to Einar: 'A close up picture texted of yep, this banes scary fucking double row of jagged teeth.' Heidi walks over and doesn't get close with her phone, but she does adjust the screen on her cell. She zooms in and gets a picture of the creature's teeth. "Sending this back to Einar."

<Phone> (Einar to you) I can swing up see if anyone's around on my way, sounds like it's fuckin dealt with though?

<Phone> (You to Einar) We hiked four hours to get up to this remote spot. This one's dead, but Theron's here and Ulf's here. And Ulf says it crawled out of this cliff and came after... us. None of us want to check the cave without more backup. And I don't even know if it's a cave. It looks like a ... I can't even see it from the ground. Might need rapelling gear, and climbing equipment. And it's going to be dark in a few hours, so whoever comes might need to know this could be getting dark before finished. We have to dispose of the body too.

Heidi looks to Theron and Ulf, "Do we want to go home and come back with people and more gear?"

You paged Einar with 'Einar hears Heidi say in the background, "Do we want to go home and come back with people and more gear?"'

Heidi puts the phone on mute and looks to Theron. "I could fly you back up there but I can't promise it will be steady. When the wind gusts, I can't keep straight very well. If Swift Wing upon the High Wind teaches me, maybe I'll get some flight instruction on how this works." She eyes the cliff. "I think I can. But.. do either of you know how to use climbing gear?"

<Phone> (Einar to you) Yayaya, unph, uhhh. Yeah, I'll see if Gumby's still got the rappelling gear, just don't fuckin ask him where he got it. I'll get the fuckin call out...soon.

Theron nods, "I do, I lived in the mountains." Theron reminds her, "Alright...we can go back, I dont think you should fly me. Maybe I stay here and Ulf runs back? I dont know...I hate to abandon the area when we dont know its safe." Heidi hears Einar on the phone and takes it off mute. She conveys to the others, "Einar says he's going to have Gumby bring out some rapelling gear, and he'll get the call out to the others about coming out to help us."

Ulf slips back onto two legs, since there's discussion to be had, though he looks concerned. "If there are more of them, I am thinking it is not good to give them a chance to get away. Or prepare further for the attack. They will come looking for this one. If climbing is required, I will step sideways and climb in the Umbra, with claws. Easier for me, that way. But... I do not like the idea of abandoning this spot if there might be more in there."

	 Heidi looks up at Grimshade and looks reluctant to be left down below if he's going to go sideways. One look back at the beast on the ground and she shivers. Her gaze lifts to Theron and then she decides to look at the cliff once more. "My jacket is up there?" He probably dropped it when he lept after her. "Think it's safe to go and get or should I wait?"

Heidi takes one look at the creature again and she retracts her wings in a shimmer to transform back to her human self. She shiver again, and then mutters. "Screw going back up there right now. Not a good idea to go solo. I'll brave the goosebumps."