Next We Sharpen our Fangs
| Next We Sharpen our Fangs | |
|---|---|
| Players |
Information is passed, plans begin to form |
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John sits at his desk in what was once the principal's office, two empty plates in front of him, crumbs suggesting that they're from a recent meal. He stares at his computer, lost in thought, but clearly not thinking about the work. His jacket is draped over his chair, his tie draped over the jacket, and his shirt is unbuttoned at the neck and sleeves.
A trio of raps comes at the door before Aleks noses his way in. "This a good time?" he asks John. "Figured it's past time we talk shop." He seems relaxed for all of that.
"Hey, yeah," John says, snapping out of his reverie. He waves Aleks in, pointing toward the empty chair across from him. "Have a seat." He leans back into his own chair, elbows on its arms. "Thanks for heading up that thing the other day, into the Undercity." There's a hint of tension in him when he brings it up, but the gratitude is real. "It went about as well as could be expected, right?"
Aleks heads in and sits as indicated, feet on the floor, leaning his right arm on the armrest. "Thanks," he says. "That's right, I was surprised he didn't try to mooch favors from us. I think he got the picture and decided that it was a free win on his end. Next we sharpen our fangs and prepare, right?" He pauses. "As for Jack, I figure you ought to know he's pack with me, at least right now. He was Wolf-blooded before he got bit, and something of the wolf remains in him, somehow. If the legends are real, then he's something I don't think has been seen around this city for some time."
"I figure he's getting his due in information," John suggests, shrugging. At the mention of Jack, he nods, his voice dropping just slightly in register. "I thought you mentioned something about that, at the pizza place, that night. Your pack, your business -- I was just surprised he doesn't call you Alpha. That caught me off guard, but I could've hidden it better, in front of Protz. I apologize." That done, he grimaces, thinking. "What do you mean? What do you think he is?"
"We don't really do the Alpha thing," Aleks replies with a shrug. "We... face one another in an unique way. But, as far as Jack goes. have you ever heard of a Dead Wolf? Legend has it that a vampire of a certain clan turned a Wolf-blooded into one of them. That Wolf-blooded never quite lost the wolf in the transformation, and was hurt by silver like us. Jack can't even look at the stuff without threatening to jump otu the window, so... what else would I have on my hands?"
"That..." John frowns, his forehead creasing in thought, then shakes his head. "I'm not going to pretend to understand the implications of that," he finally says. "But if you need someone to lean on -- someone outside your pack, a fresh set of eyes -- I'm here, and I'll do my damnedest to keep an open mind."
"I'll tell you one thing," Aleks says, leaning back now. "I'll send him your way when it's time to cut up the Pure. He hates no one more than them. He will kill them, and already has. But enough about that. Think it's time we move to the next stage of preparation? I've played my part for now, seems like the next step is going down there and learning our way around."
"That has started," John confesses. "I crossed paths with an ~Izidakh~ named ~Bhu'uhur meli~ last night, and killed her." He lets that settle, then nods his agreement. "I told one of the fey folk who were at the restaurant that night that I would vouch for her, when the time came to go. Karmen. She doesn't want to fight, if she can avoid it, but she's a scout," he explains. "I know resources are tight for some of us. They're not, for me. Not particularly. So if you have a list of gear we need, I'm sure I can provide some of it. Do we all go together? Or separate into smaller teams?"
That gets Aleks' attention, and he sits up straight now. "Cool," he says. "Looks like we have our work cut out for us. Karmen Khan, was it? We should take the help. Not sure when we'll get it again, depending on how it goes." Aleks thinks about the question of group size for a minute. "Maybe we think about what we're trying to find down there, first," he begins. "We should be mapping, making supply caches. Learning. Ideally we find a Locus, so we can find a way to deal with the Shadow down there, too."
"That all makes sense," John agrees, "But if we don't have some way to protect the supply caches, we're just giving material away, right? I don't have a plan for that, but if you do I'm all ears." The Rahu leans forward to put his elbows on the table, steepling his fingers. "So this plan has a lot of steps -- not just find it and kill it. I've gotta admit," he grins, "That's what I was hoping for. It sounded like Protz had been bumping up against this thing for a long time, though."
"Yeah, it's one issue after another," Aleks says with a moment's grin. "It's going to require us putting our heads together. Shouldn't be hard, now that we've got the green light to go. Far as Protz goes, who knows? The Wound is apparently too dangerous even for them. Maybe more dangerous for them than us, though spiritual taint means little to one so accursed as to hide from the sun in the rubble of the old town."
"They aren't us," John agrees, no small amount of pride in his smile. "We're not as fragile, or easily frightened." He drums his fingers on the tabletop, and offers, "I'll talk to Karmen, and get her input. Maybe put together a team to go down soon and take a look around, see what we see. You do the same," he suggests, "And then we can put our heads together again?"
"I can do that, yeah," Aleks replies, and stands to look out the window. "I'll get some people together. We'll try to focus on what's going on in the Shadow. Depending on how these forays go, we may find unexpected allies down there. Of course, we'll just eat the disagreeable spirits." He chuckles. "Okay, good to see you. I'll be in touch." With that, he heads on out!