(IC) New Bedford at Night

[Ladorak]

Solomon holds the phone gingerly away from his ear, wincing slightly 'We're fine, thanks Mitchel. We just had to step outside of cell reception for a bit. The warehouse is safe, make your way here using the route we discussed. We'll try and have the place somewhat liveable by the time you get here.' He picked up a smaller box with his free hand and fell in beside Bear clearing a living space 'Bear sends his love by the way.'

[Bennosuke]

“Good good,” Mitchell says, his voice still a little too loud, “We’ll see you soon.” There is a pause, then he says, “Oh, and if you guys are getting food tonight, make sure to order some for us. We’re starving.” Solomon can almost here the man grinning on the other end.

[Ladorak]

'Man you really think we'd forget about you guys?' Says Solomon while gesturing at Kara wildly 'We're a pack. Kara's gonna order pizza. You hurry and it should still be warm when you get here.'

[Bennosuke]

Act 1 Scene ii

”Now there's no holding back, I'm making an attack/
My blood is singing with your voice, I want to pour it out/
The saints can't help me now, the ropes have been unbound/
I hunt for you with bloodied feet across the hallow'ed ground”

-Florence and the Machine, Howl

It wasn’t till early afternoon the next day that the members of the pack begin to awake. The pizza hadn’t come till after 4am (who delivers pizza that late?), and most all members of the pack were deep sleepers, despite having nothing more than sleeping bags. The whispers of the ocean, waves crashing and retreating was lullaby enough.

The pack had already filled the Wolf Blooded in on night’s events over meat lovers pizza, but there was plenty of business to cover today.

E, the consumate punk rocker, and clad in a denim vest covered in patches, and tight ripped up jeans sat in the back, less interested in the group’s business. And Chris Wentworth, the youngest member of the pack was outside, sitting on the peer and watching the waves in a semi-dream state that he often seemed to slip into.

But the rest huddled in a circle chatting. Mitchell Sanders was speaking now. He had a cigar out, and was chewing on it, though the thing wasn’t lit. He was grinning a self satisfied grin, that the entire group was. “I already have it all set up,” he said, moving his hands about like a magician working his art. “I’ve got you guys set up to perform tomorrow night at a dive called Poor Hut. Friday night gigs are hard to come by, but I have you guys opening for another band.” The grin widened and with another dramatic gesticulation, “You Guys will blow them out of the water. You’ll be a big hit, I know it. You open at 8:30, so be there at 8pm please.”

Mitchell pauses, waiting to take in any reaction of admiration that he can get, befor shrugging and saying, “The real question is, what will you kids do until then?”

[Erulasto]

Kara rubbed her bleary eyes and pulled her hoodie a bit tighter around her shoulders. Her sleep was....fitful....and half-remembered visions made her shudder involuntarily. Between her brush with Kuruth and the proximity to the Locus, the usual dreams - nightmares - were becoming more vivid; more...real.

She found herself zoning out as Mitchell gave them his speech. Kara fought to draw her attention back to the matter at hand, and managed to push down her troubled mind and flash a characteristically crooked grin. "Damn right, Mitch! We'll show this provincial little town how to rock it doggy style!"

Kara popped onto her Twitter feed and gave a quick update about the time and place for their first gig in New Bedford.

"We could unpack a bit more....or go buy some furniture or something? Or...like...y'know....go poking our snouts where they don't belong?"

Spoiler: Kara St.Claire Stat Box

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Harmony: 7
Willpower: 4/4
Essence: 10/10
Health: 7/7
Beats/EXP: 4/0
Tilts/Conditions:

Spoiler: Aspirations

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Short Term 1: To write a another hit song that will help catapult Cry Wolf to higher popularity.
Short Term 2A: To find a way to deal with her traumatic dream-prophesies.
2B: To find out why Luna and her Lunes have taken such an interest in her.
Long Term: To have the band become platinum-album Rock Legends.

[Madmal]

"We have plenty of stuff to do. Soundchecks and practice are only part of the priorities. We still have alot to do on settling up. Wi-fi should be one of the top priorities too" Iago sat cross-legged, unshaven and uncombed, checking his tablet with wis usual 'Oversleeping is unacceptable' flavour of grouchy face. "We could also map this new place, get a feel on nearby services and amusements...Knowing the locals would be good too, specially if we don't want to soundproof the entire warehouse. And that's just the 'normal' side of things." His mind wandered wistfuly to his CPU rig and his Magika Gatherings Pitfight Beta access account, but there were other priorities..."And define living space. Most of us ended up sleeping in the same room, and I'm pretty sure we don't want to make that a regular occurrence."

[tonberryking]

Spoiler: The Serpent Bogatyr

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There once was a brave bogatyr, a knight errant of a Russian emperor.

Often away on quests for his liege, his bravery and honor knew no bounds, though his luck was another matter. He happened through a dark forest, unwittingly having trod through the garden of Baba Yaga. She found his apologies lacking. In her ire, so that he may never step on her plants again she smote him with terrible magics that first broke, then reformed him. His armor was crushed about his body, pressed down so hard that they became scales. Fragments of his shattered sword were fashioned into two fangs, the gems in his helmet became his new eyes. He was now a metallic serpent, left to crawl on his belly as the witch laughed.

This was not enough to deter the bogatyr, however...

Though it took many days and nights, the serpent crawled back towards his liege's castle, making his way through crevices in its stone work, home again but hiding in shame. And yet, though he did not show himself, he tried to make use of his form, hunting the rats plaguing the castle. Soon the castle was without mice, though other vermin still yet lurked. While crawling through the tunnels, the serpent bogatyr overhead conspiring nobles plotting to murder his liege. One by one he hunted them, struck them with his fangs and retreated, until ultimately he lay waiting in the emperor's own chambers, waiting for a would be assassin. When the killer did arrive, the serpent launched itself at him, and though the killer's sword found his heart, he died saving his liege once and for all. Not knowing the identity of the snake that had saved him, the emperor nonetheless arranged for the serpent to have a funeral pyre befitting one of his bogatyrs, freeing the spirit of his former vassal. When the fire was put out, the serpents metallic scales remained, and a clever blacksmith forged them into a viscous short blade to honor the serpent.

By the time this blade fell into the hands of Uratha, it had been prized by many as an enchanted blade, worthy of only the most honorable of warriors...

..And No, Juno, stop asking me to tell you stories of the lady bogatyrs. I don't know any and don't know why you have such interests.

When Juno found the knife, she was yelling across the warehouse that she had found some similar protection wards like the ones rigged about before her blue eyes locked onto the sight of the sheathed blade. Dropping anything she was holding, her hand shot out and latched onto the hilt, causing something of a commotion before she rushed to the closest light source to inspect the klaive, giving a shrill snarl if anybody tried coming close to her or asked about the knife before her suspicions were confirmed.

This scorpion klaive was slightly smaller than Poppa's knife, and the grip was unlike the scale wrapped knife she always saw hooked to his belt. The venomous animal engraving was placed differently, but if both klaives were in front of her she would wager the same maker produced them. But... if that was true... What about the stories her father told his children? Did another knight become cursed? An uratha craftsman got inspired by her father's weapon to make something similar? She didn't like the implication, even if it certainly wasn't the first lie her parents had told her. It left her with more questions than answers, though she at least had the klaive. Good luck trying to get it away from her; whether she slept on the floor, in the van, or on a cot, the klaive found its way under Juno's pillow for what was left of the evening. It can only be assumed that she has it hidden under her large hoodie when she wakes up sometime slightly after twelve o'clock and starts trying to organize and clean this place up...

...A task which seems more daunting than preparing for a gig.

You go poke your nose wherever you want, Kara, but I'm getting some brooms, mops and soap to make this place halfway livable. Besides, we should prepare more before we head out to investigate matters; best act like a band for now instead of night warriors.

[Erulasto]

You go poke your nose wherever you want, Kara, but I'm getting some brooms, mops and soap to make this place halfway livable. Besides, we should prepare more before we head out to investigate matters; best act like a band for now instead of night warriors.

Kara snorted bemusedly, and shakes her head. "Yeah, I don't really want to go sticking my nose anywhere but back into bed. But...we've only got a few hours before we need to look at getting ready to go on stage so I suppose cleaning it is."

[Thundercracker]

Blaze

“So, sooner we clean sooner we get to sleep?” Blaze asked, “alright let’s get to it then...”

[Ladorak]

Solomon shot an affection look at Blaze and resisted the urge to say something about his smoking, he had no intention of going down that dusty road again. Besides none of us are truly thinking clearly right now. None of us slept enough. They had slept in a great dogpile and while he had enjoyed once again sleeping as a wolfpack does there was no denying that humans move about far too much in their sleep to make any such slumber truly restful. Additionally he had been sandwiched between Mitchell and Kara who, for entirely different reasons, he felt uncomfortable being so intimate with.
He was more concerned by what Juno was saying See the ultimate predator abroad in unfamiliar territory. A mighty Rahu Uratha, Luna's perfect warrior formed from flesh and spirit, too busy cleaning to defend her turf. He couldn't think of a polite way of saying cleaning was work for wolfbloods so he kept his mouth shut and shot a glance at Bear. Juno was young and didn't understand her new place in the world, it was up to the pack to teach her.

'I'll be sticking my nose where it does belong. This is our town now, I intend to get to know it.' Slightly embarrassed he added almost as an afterthought 'I also thought I'd check out the whaling museum.'

[Erulasto]

'I'll be sticking my nose where it does belong. This is our town now, I intend to get to know it.' Slightly embarrassed he added almost as an afterthought 'I also thought I'd check out the whaling museum.'

Kara immediately perked up, and with a wide grin she threw an arm around Solomon's shoulder.

"Whaling museum, huh? Some sight seeing? I am there! Get some great shots for Instagram!" A sight-seeing tour struck Kara as infinitely more fun that scrubbing and mopping and other back-breaking manual labour.

Maybe she could even find a new outfit for tonight's show?

[Daishain]

Bear is a bit torn, yes he wants to see the new city, but he'd rather avoid breathing in any more mold while he sleeps. Everything still smelt funny even after he went and got some fresh air.

The need to secure the area wins out though, and he nods to Solomon, "I'll pass on the museum for now, but we definitely need to get familiar with the area. Lets avoid the hotspots for the moment, we'll start probing them when we're a little more secure. Agreed?"

[Thundercracker]

Blaze

“On second thought, maybe I’ll come with you folks to the museum, never know what might be there,” Blaze said.

[Madmal]

Iago shifted uneasily, he still felt a bit at odds leaving the actual work to the wolf-blooded. His family had never skirted or diminished honest work, and it had been that tenacity and reliability that had helped them get a hold on this country in the proper way. But then again, everyone had a place, and such seemed to be the lot of the wolf-blooded while the uratha carried on the hunt.

And well, he would certainly NOT learn a thing about this new place staying inside. Not without burning up his precious phone plan at least.

He sighs heavily."I'll go to the museum too, but I think staying here will give them privilege on picking their own space. And It'll be good to start checking our town. Now, Who drives? Not it!"

[Erulasto]

"I'll go to the museum too, but I think staying here will give them privilege on picking their own space. And It'll be good to start checking our town. Now, Who drives? Not it!"

Kara grins a manic grin, and waggles her brows suggestively. "I'll drive if you insist."

Kara was a bit of a maniac behind the wheel - She never got her license, but claimed she was good at driving due to countless hours playing Grand Theft Auto with Blaze.

[Ladorak]

Spoiler: OOC

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I just checked and none of the 4 going have drive so...

Solomon emitted a deep unhappy rumble from his throat. Being in a car with Kara was a singularly terrifying experience. Solomon had stalked Azlu, gone down into a pit of Beshilu and travelled a Wound, all of which were more scary than being in a car with Kara but, as he often joked with the pack, not by much. He was fairly sure Blaze had already sparked up today and it Iago didn't want to do it that left Solomon himself. Which was a more terrifying prospect then letting Kara do it.

He eyed the wolfbloods, trying to judge which of them was most likely to object to a day of cleaning. That would probably be E, who drove like she fought, ferociously and with reckless abandon 'Pine, you mind driving us there? We need to do some shopping for this place anyhow.' By which he meant fish hooks, nails, ropes, anything he could find he could use to trap the warehouse. It wouldn't necessarily hurt to get some food though, and some furniture.

[Bennosuke]

Pine grins at Solomon, "I can drive if you really want, but if you had checked your phone, you'd know its really about a 15 minute walk. Weather doesn't look too awful either you lazy bums" She gives him a teasing wink and says, "But I suppose i can drive if you want to get groceries. We should also, you know, get like beds for this place, and maybe figure out if there aren't rooms upstairs that will better suffice as bedrooms."

[Madmal]

"Welp, that's it." Iago played up his resigned attitude, staring at Kara "Kara has decided to end our lives tonight. So long, everyone. It was a good hunt."

And finally someone talking sense too! See? Pine has it clear here! Clearly putting enphasis to cover over the fact that he never bothered to look up the adress.

[Bennosuke]

Pine chuckles at this, “So are you walking, or am I driving you kiddies. I wouldn’t mind the chance to do some cleaning in this place. It looks like the place was attacked by dust spirits. Those are things, right?”

[Ladorak]

'Near as I can tell every spirit is a thing.' Said Solomon trying not to sound resigned about it 'I'm up for a walk. Best way to get to know a town, you miss too much looking out a window.' He considered for a moment 'Does this place have running water? Electric? So much to do! We need food obviously, and beds for you wolfbloods.' He carefully watched how wolfblood and Uratha alike reacted to that one. What else?

[Daishain]

Bear nods, "Yeah, walking is fine. Before we get too carried away with buying furniture though, just how much in the way of funds do we have for such things? We might need to run a few more gigs before we can set this place up properly."

[Thundercracker]

Blaze

“Dust spirits are things, man,” Blaze called from across the room, “don’t piss them off.”

[Erulasto]

The young and frustratingly restless Cahalith groaned melodramatically.

"Walk? Really? Her shoulder slumped a bit, Kara adopting a dejected look much like that of a kicked puppy; which was frighteningly close to the truth some days. "I suppose...it's better than staying a cleaning...."

Sudden inspiration struck her, and she glanced around the rest of her Pack who were coming with her on their excursion with wicked glee in her eyes.

"Eeny, meeny, miney, moe....
Catch a Uratha by the toe...
If it howls, let it go....
Eeny, meeny, miney...MOE!"

She slowly drawled, finger pointing between Solomon, Blaze and Iago in turn. When she had finished, she sprang forward and launched herself at Iago with a graceful pounce. The goal was to land in his arms, and with an overly exaggerated moan, she offered a devastatingly pathetic looking pout.

"Carry me! Pleeeease?"

Spoiler: OOC

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1=Solomon
2=Blaze
3=Iago
(1d3)[3]

[tonberryking]

With so many of the wolf-blooded opting to stay and clean, and walking/shopping now an option, Juno shuffles after the others with a huff.

"I'd better go with you lot, after all. If you're getting supplies, you'll need my input. Brooms, mops, eco-friendly cleansers... If we don't scrub the place from top to bottom, we might miss something like more of those wards or hidden caches or rooms. Though I suppose we'll have to play a few gigs before we can afford anything bigger than a camping stove?" she not-so-subtley slides away from Kara when she starts her shenanigans again, wanting little more than to roll her eyes and lecture the girl but it's way too "early" for that.

[Ladorak]

Solomon makes a show of rolling his eyes at Kara's performance but he cannot stop a grin fighting it's way past his attempts to keep his face stern. He began to step closer to catch her should Iago decide to unceremoniously drop her but then thought better of it. The fall wouldn't hurt her after all, so why spoil anyone's fun?

Spoiler: OOC

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Between us we have 8 points in resources. Should be enough to get cleaning supplies, trapping materials, beds, food etc

[Madmal]

Iago humors Kara for a while, probably a block or two. He agrees with Juno, specially about rooms.

[Bennosuke]

The pack, sans Blaze, depart from the factory, locking the tall iron gate behind them.

Despite the daytime sun, the sky is still overcast with clouds, and the bay winds run hard and cold. The pack follows the overpass over the freeway, and make their way into town. Santiago makes it past the freeway before giving up and nearly dropping the female Uratha.

Downtown New Bedford is a surprisingly retro neighborhood, with historic architecture and cobble stone streets that have not been replaced in centuries. Many of the major buildings are decrepit, boarded up, windows smashed, completely abandoned. Much of this had been seen on the drive in, but surprisingly, the streets are nearly abandoned. No people out and about, no cars clunking along the stone roads.

As the pack moves down the blocks, the Uratha can feel eyes glaring at them from windows. Shadows seeming to dart into alleys as the pack comes near. The pack again passes The Church of Dagon, on the way to the museum.

The Whaling Museum is a giant facility made jointing an old brick warehouse that has been expanded upon with a second larger modern glass structure. Outside the entrance is a large skeleton of a baby whale, the strange assembly of bones somehow appearing friendly and cute. Outside the building stands an older woman, dressed in a black turtleneck and a conservative but tasteful ankle length skirt.

“Welcome to the New Bedford Whaling Museum” she says, offering an overly friendly smile. The woman has unusually large eyes for the shape of her hair, her skin slightly ruddy and grey. Her hair is perfectly primped and sprayed into a practically solid do that came straight out of the late fifties.

[Erulasto]

Kara luxuriates in Iago’s arms, taking the opportunity to snap a few photographs of oddities, curiosities and other things that catch her fancy on the walk with her phone. She even snaps a selfie of herself being carried, and posts it to her twitter with #BandLife.

When Iago finally sets Kara down – after a near fumble – she grins and claps him on the shoulder. ”Thanks for being a good sport!” There is a moment where she eyes the others, trying to decide if she should push her luck. In the end, however, Kara decides to continue under her own powers of locomotion.

She stops to take a picture of the Church of Dagon, an unconscious shiver running down her spine as she eyes the building warily. Just another reminder of unspeakable visions and fears gnawing at the back of her mind.

When they get the Whaling Museum, she rustles up everyone to pose in front of the whale skeleton for a photo-op.

When the older woman speaks, Kara offers her a wide, friendly smile and offers her hand out to shake.

”Hi! Thanks so much! I’m Kara.”

[Thundercracker]

Blaze kept his eyes open for good places for rituals. If they were going to consecrate their territory, might as well do it right.

[Ladorak]

'And I'm Solomon.' Said Solo with his best charming smile, which really wasn't very charming 'We're doing a bit of location scouting and we've found this old warehouse that looks perfect. But it's gotta be the right fit, I was hoping you could tell us about it's history.' Solomon rattles off the warehouse's address.