The place where John enjoyed his solo spot of hunting is a small house with a detached garage and a large lush yard. The grounds are enclosed with a square-bar style black iron fence. The garage and the house are white with peeling, chipping paint that's long overdue to be refreshed. Of course, it's cold and raining - just enough to intensify the cold and make it a bit miserable out there.
There's a couple of lights on - back porch, front porch, and one of the people sized garage door.
John leads the group toward the house from a nearby alley, stopping once it's in sight. He's dressed for this in black sweats and a dark gray hoodie, with a black watch cap on his head. "There it is," he says, pointing the house out. "I fought Bhu'uhur meli there, in the yard."
Raven follows John through the dark alleys, she brought her normal biker attire with the sleeves cut off on the jacket. She says to John, "The perfect shithole for the to hide out in? How many did you come across?" She looks the place up and down, looking for signs of anything that has been here. She looks down the streets as well, getting more aware of her surroundings. She looks back to John, "So where do we start then?"
"I see, I suppose this would be an interesting note for the saga. Later, I will hear your tale later so that I may add it to the working story. I am curious what all transpired." Nick is decked out in his denim ensemble once more with an older denim jacket that looks like it has seem some use.
Slipping his hands into his pockets, Nick glances around slowly as he seems to take in the details of the area with a practiced gaze. "And you say you found sign of the pack here?"
Rachel has dressed down for this operation, dressed in understated blacks and dark greys, hoodie and sneakers and leggings, a beanie helping keep her wavy hair in check. This is supposed to be recon after all, not assault. Still, she has armed herself with her retractable keratin Evalyn claws, just in case, and taken on other aspects of her former shape to lend her aid.
Likewise she follows the group, peering around the Werewolves to get a look at the house.
"I caught scent of four of them," John says softly, his eyes narrowed as he peers at the house. He keeps to the shadows, on the alert, occasionally scanning for movement down the street or even around them in the alley. "But there could have been more. However many there were," he adds, "Theye's one fewer, now." He pauses a moment, and shakes his head. "There was something off, something ELSE, but I couldn't figure it out." He looks to his companions, perhaps hopeful.
"If all we want is a look inside without raising the alarm, I can do that no problem," Rachel says perkily, spine straightening and a confident smile turning her lips. "Just tell me what I should be on the lookout for, and I'll come back and tell you what I've seen."
It seems quiet. There's no sign of movement or lights on -inside- the house, but there are blinds down to get in the way of any peeking.
Raven looks towards Rachel as she sees her claws extend, "I'll be sure to give you a wide berth if we get jumped." She recalls the gash that was left on John's arm before looking back to the house. She says aloud, "Well I can always go knock and see what happens while Rachel sneaks in, or we search the perimeter for anything unsual to us, sniff around the garage and such. So far doesn't look like anyone is gome but that don't mean nothing."
"Four of them" Nick says quietly as he squats down and looks towards the house, resting his elbows on his knees as he considers. "Well if that is the case, even with one fewer...this could prove problematic should this endeavor go south."
Glancing back towards Rachel, Nick arches an eyebrow and studies her for a second then says "If you believe that you can accomplish this.." he glances over at Raven and John and nods slightly "..I say we let her try. She's already proven willing to stand shoulder to shoulder with us, I would like to see what she is capable of." While a small smile has curved his lips, there is no mocking on his face as he seems quite serious. Glancing back at Rachel, "Just be careful if you intend to do this."
Turning back to the house, Nick falls silent and watches.
John is silent only a moment, then nods his agreement to Nick. "I don't really know," he answers Rachel, shaking his head. "Signs that they're still here, and haven't moved on," he says, "But with the Pure... They have a strange relationship with Spirits, and I don't know what that means for their den. And whatever else it was that raised my hackles..." He shakes his head, eyes still scanning the house, "I'm sorry I don't have better information." He considers, and shakes his head. "The plan was to take a look at it, see what's going on. We should stick to that, gather information, and then face them down once we've learned everything there is to learn from them."
Raven nods in agreement to all present, "Well I'll keep watch then, not really the quiet type you see." She looks to Rachel, "Shit hits the fan though just yell and run, we will intercept." She crosses her arms and awaits what comes next. She looks over to Nick also, "She can definitely do some damage, that's for sure." She gives Rachel a smile.
Grinning fiercly for a moment, Rachel looks back into the alley for a spot of deeper shadow. "Alright, nobody look at me while I turn invisible," she glances at Raven and winks, before sauntering off towards that shadow. "Watch your phones, I'll text if I need help with something."
Rachel spends a minute in darkness, letting it wash over her. It's a strange experience, invoking this contract. Letting the world forget about you. Even while she was in Arcadia, she wasn't forgotten, not entirely. Or maybe that's not true. Maybe she's kidding herself. In any case, she makes herself party to that ancient deal, to be unregarded, and steps out of the shadow and towards the target house.
Confident that she's masked from mind and senses, Rachel makes her way across the street, looking for somewhere convenient and preferably stealthy to hop the fence and get into the yard. From there, she has a plan for how to get into the house.
John keeps to the shadows across the street, his phone in his hand now so that he'll feel it if it vibrates. He watches the house and the area around it for any signs of movement. After a moment, he tells Nick and Raven, "I'll shift. I was ~Urhan~ last time I was here. I'll see things more clearly that way." He steps back deeper into the shadows, and steels himself for the pain as his body folds in on itself, flesh and bone shifting so that what steps back out into the dim light is a wolf.
Raven nods to John as he shifts, "Well if were getting ready then." She squats down to compensate for the increased heighth while she shifts into her Dalu form, her mucles expanding as her form grows and claws being to form on her fingertips. She returns to her watch but shifts her senses to wolf to get a better look in the darkness and low light as well.
"Very well." Nick nods at Rachel before turning his attention from the woman who slips into the darkness before he begins to sniff the air softly a few times before taking a deep inhale and nods to himself.
When John speaks, Nick glances at him and considers this before inclining his head befre glancing back at the house. "Let us hope, it is as simple as she believes. At the first sign" he agrees with Raven "we get her out. I do not wish to lose anyone if it can be avoided." He seems content to remain in his human form for the moment, hands wrapped around his phone.
Inside a werewolf den would be a bad place to run out of Glamour. Rachel pauses deep in a shadow to pull her assortment of goblin fruits out of the pockets of her hoodie, stuffing them mechanically into her maw one by one until they're gone. Then, she hops the fence, keeping low and quiet as she proceeds to the back door. Finding a bit of shadow there, she touches it... and slips into the shadow herself. Nothing more than a patch of darkness as she darts under the gap in the back door.
It is a struggle to resist the urge to pace, or track, or follow the scents on the night air. John fights that fight, staying to the shadow and watching the house.
Raven watches John for a moment before looking towards Nick and seeing his phone in his hands, "I figure after too long if we haven't heard from her we go in anyways as one." Hopefully it doesn't come to that she thinks as she looks back towards the house. Now she is getting fidgety and starts flexing her clawed hands open and closed as she waits.
Within the house it looks worse than on the outside. The linoleum is caked with grim and nearly black with it and cracked with age. Several places it's peeled up and just been cut away, revealing a few different layers and making for subtly uneven footing.
Worse is the smell. It doesn't seem a few days empty - the stink of mold and mildew, rotten food piled in the sinks. Worse, under all that, is the lingering stink of something dead and the old copper of long dried blood.
More or less, it looks like a hoarder's house after the hoard is gone, but the maggot shells, rat shit, and raw filth hasn't been cleaned.
"Patience" Nick says quietly as he speaks to the pair with him "but I agree, if it is quiet for to long we will act. Till then, give her the benefit of the doubt and we will see how her chapter in our story goes." Nick chuckles and glances back slightly to look at John, motioning to relax and lay.
This is gross. Unpleasant. But Rachel is used to gross, and has a strong stomach. After materializing out of shadow on the other side of the back door, she starts creeping about the house. First priority: Count how many people are in here. Second: Look out for anything wierd or interesting. Which, come to think of it, wherever that dead scent is coming from is probably a good place to start.
Aziha Zuu, the wolf that is also John, manages a single, simple word in the First Tongue. "~Calm~," he says, his eyes on the house as he sniffs the night air for familiar scents.
There's no sounds, no movement. The windows are boarded over, with the blinds down to keep up the guise of normalcy. So the layers are: blinds, board, blackout fabric tacked over it, but the shape is unmistakable.
There's a few signs of recent use, but nothing... promising. In fact, the nursery is apt to be downright unsettling, with the crib, a few discarded toys, and the blood on the walls. No body, though. That is found in the old pantry where the floor's been ripped out and a whole family has been torn apart and stuffed. It's been some while, most of the flies are gone, and done their job, but the stench is still fresh *enough*.
Whoever was here, seems to have cleared out.
The sight of the massacre is upsetting. It's not the gore, it's the senseless, shocking violence and loss of life. She looks on that mess for a moment, then shakes her head, lips tight in an expression of sadness and distaste. Given that the house is empty, she returns to where she started; the back door, and goes to unlock it and open it using the sleeve of her hoodie pulled over her hand. (Wouldn't want to leave fingerprints.)
From what she's seen, it's safe enough for the werewolves to come take a look for themselves.
Returning to the alley where she left the wolves, Rachel goes back to the shadow she initially departed from. Maybe that way she won't be so surprising when she lets to of her Light-shy contract, and returns once more to their minds and senses. She makes sure her footsteps are making a sound (albiet a soft one) on the surface of the alley when she steps back towards them.
"Nothing alive in there. But it's... not good."
Raven begins to count the seconds, minutes as they go by. But soon she hears the footsteps and sees Rachel approaching them. She relaxes her tense muscles for a bit and smiles. She says in a low voice to the other two wolves, "Well she returned in one piece." After hearing what she has to report though, Raven gives a concerned look, "How not good? Nothing alive in there is a start I guess."
John turns as the scent of Rachel appears in the alley, the tall, light-furred wolf managing to look relieved. He listens to her words, then turns to lope quickly across the street, clearly meaning to take a look himself. He pauses at the edge of the yard, looking back to see if the others are following.
Watching the wolf (John, presumably, since he's the only one not here) lope off, Rachel glances at Raven, taking in her shifted shape as she answers her question. "They murdered the previous occupants, and brutalized the bodies. At least I hope they weren't alive when that part happened. God I hope." She sighs, shaking her head and following John at a walk out towards the house again. "Don't look in the pantry unless you've got a strong stomach."
Raven watches John move towards the house. She looks back to Rachel and Nick, "I guess we can group up and have a look around then." She also adds to Rachel's comment, "Sorry to say but they were probably alive, though it should of been over quick if that's any consolation." Raven looks to Nick as he puts his hand on her shoulder and nods. She begins to stand to move with Nick towards John's location.
Turning his head as Rachel returns to the material world as a material girl, Nick offers a small smile and a slight nod of greeting before looking at Raven and the wolf "You see? Her story is not yet finished. Belief is a potent weapon." Speaking to the group he says, "Raven, if you would be kind enough to guide me for a moment?" Placing a hand on the Rahu's shoulder, the Storm Lord takes a moment and concentrates before sending his senses across the gauntlet into the Shadow as he begins to follow along with Raven as she walks.
For a long moment Nick is quiet before finally speaking of what he sees. "The House remains, it has been descrated far worse than what we know. Spirits caper about like children but alight with an inferno about them. An-..." the grip tightens on Raven's shoulder as Nick stops dead in his tracks and hisses out "...Pure. It knows we are here."
"What?" Rachel's hands extend to her sides and her claws flick out. "Shit!"
Nick's words draw an immediate reaction from the wolf. There is another moment of hideous creaks and cracks as his body shifts, and what is left is a man, but more. Broader, heavier, bestial. He snarls into the night, "Can it hear us?" Then, louder, "Can you hear me, ~Anshega~? Show yourself. I am Aziha Zuu. Your packmate, Bhu'uhur Meli, faced me, and died fleeing."
Raven approaches John but when Nick speaks of Pure being aware of them she stops dead. She looks to Rachel and say, "Something is here, get ready." She takes her stance, ready to leap at whatever comes their way. Her fingers are left in a open relaxed position. She says to Nick, "Just one?"
"We are beneath its notice. The marks of renown are...something else. A pet it has was just absorbed by another spirit near and" he pauses as a growl begins to echo from the mans body as his body starts to crouch slightly, unseen hackles rising. "It mocks us, is amused by our antics...and is now leaving in" he waves his free hand in a vague direction but says "...though I know not where it goes."
She glances in the direction Nick indicates, "How'd I miss it?" The question is rhetorical, rather than pointed. But given Nick says it's leaving, her shoulders drop and some tension leaves her posture. "Do we chase? I'm not really a tracker."
Raven says to Rachel, "Will be difficult to chase, have to cross into the Shadow." She looks to Nick, "Is the spirit still around? What is it doing?" The tension returns as she readies herself to be jumped. The waiting is the worst part. She looks back to John, "Any way we can get there quickly from here?"
John watches the change in Nick's body language, and turns in the direction of that broad gesture. "We couldn't get to anywhere to cross over fast enough," he growls, "And we couldn't take you." It chafes at him -- he WANTS to hunt, despite that he knows the danger -- but he knows this is not the time. "We should go. Find somewhere safe, hear the story of what you and he have seen, and make ready."
Well, Nick seems to come out of his own head as he shakes it to clear the image in there, "It is gone. Or at least does not care about us. The spirits seem to just be...milling. I do not know, it is not my area of expertise." Running a hand through his hair, Nick takes a deep breath before saying "We should find some place to talk." Not that he heard anything while his senses were over on the other side.
Originally designated as a social science research project by the University of Chicago and officially adopted by the City of Chicago. The Riverdale neighborhood extends from the Calumet River in the north to 138th Street in the south, and from Indiana Ave. in the west to the Union Pacific railroad tracks in the east. Over half of Riverdale's area is made up of the water reclamation plant, rail yards, landfills and industrial sites. In addition to these industrial usages, the community area houses a number of residential neighborhoods.
It's safe to say the social experiment failed. Numerous economic hardships have taken their toll on the residents of the various 'projects' that make up the neighborhoods housing and crime runs unchecked through the streets. Golden Gate park is the areas only really notable feature and even locals wouldn't be caught there after dark. The only people who still live in Riverdale are those who can't afford to leave and the truly desperate.
Raven nods to Nick and John, "Well if someone knows a place nearby to retreat to for now I'm down, maybe figure out what were dealing with or how best to approach." She looks around for a moment despite knowing she probably can't see anything. She looks back to John, "At least we might have a face to find, we can regroup with a new plan and continue this hunt. We will find them."
Rachel sighs. Guess this mission is a bust. Except for finding a butchered family; that's going to be in her nightmares tonight. "Nothing else we can do here?" She's not sure what Nick is doing or seeing, but trusts that the werewolves have their own weirdness just like she has her's.
"I know a place," John says, nodding to Raven. "There's something I should show you there, anyway." He casts one last fruitless look in the direction Nick pointed, and then sets off back down the alley at a job, motioning for the rest to follow.
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