Bloody Shadows (A World of Darkness based story/thread)

[Scambo]

Jack slipped inside the house past the man standing in the doorway. Concealed in his sleeve was a small audio recording device.
"Thanks for getting here so early. The TV just switched off and wouldn't turn back on, no matter what I did."

"Don't worry sir. It may be the wiring. Some of Solace's older houses are having the same problem." He set the empty tool-box near the TV before following the wire under the couch and into the wall. He reached out and corrected the small error in the wiring that he had caused several days before. With that, the TV switched back on, bathing the room with soft ambient light. As he slid the sofa back into place, he reached beneath it and slipped the bug into the tiny slit that had been prepared by his client.

"Thats done. Is your bedroom experiencing any problems?"

"No. But do you think you could check anyway? I dont want to pester you when that goes out too. Jack grinned; he knew he would let him in.

"Sure, don't worry about it." After ascending the stairs, he crouched near the bed and reached for the wall, depositing the other bug within another niche created by his client. His job completed, Jack collected the empty tool-box and left. After walking a fair distance from the house, he stripped the cable jumpsuit off and deposited it in a subway locker before pulling on a pair of jeans, black T-shirt and a leather jacket. Before he closed his locker, he noticed his carpenter's dust mask lying within. It was a valuable disguise tool, allowing him both an inconspicuous face mask, and part of a disguise. He stuffed it into his pocket before leaving. As he proceeded up the stairs he saw a women, middle-aged, wearing sunglasses and a trench coat. As they passed, her hand emerged from the opening in the coats middle, passing him a thick roll of money. He grinned devilishly; two and a half grand in pocket. Between sabotaging the houses wiring, the Cable disguise and the bugs, that was about the right price. Things in Solace had taken a dark and unforeseen turn after he had left the Arrows. The supernatural community was restless, hostilities between Werewolves and Vampires had spiked and the violence was taking its toll on the city, supernaturals and norms alike. And while it was bad for the people, the restlessness and suspicion made it lucrative for a private investigator like himself. But this was overshadowed by what he saw during his other occupation. An investigator, but rather than of the private type, spying on wives and husbands, he looked into spiritual matters. The spirits were unruly, drifting like fireflies, winking and dimming through existence. A solemn weight at his hip reminded him that the city was no longer safe, not even in the blazing daylight. It was mid-afternoon when he departed for his other client. Watching a man as he came home from work. It was boring, the only thing he did on his way home was stop for a hot dog. He collected his payment and was on his way back when he looked over and saw that the sun was no more than a hazy ball on the horizon. Sounds floated from the next block over, and at first he could not make it out, but as he got closer he heard the screams mingling with crackling wood. He moved at a sprint, weaving through the crowd of people until he stood in front of a burning two story apartment. The firefighters had yet to arrive but he heard sirens in the distance. Too distant. Most of the buildings residents had vacated, but a woman was screaming that her children were trapped inside. He swore softly and thought about walking by. He dismissed the thought as he pulled on a pair of sunglasses and the dust mask. The less people that saw his face the better. He ducked into a nearby alley and entered through a blown out window. He rushed through the burning corridors, keeping the flames at bay with his magic. The rooms on the first floor were all clear, but as he reached the stairs, he saw that they were demolished. He wasted no time as he rushed back to a room and blew the door of its hinges with Force. He ran inside and smashed the window with his elbow before swinging outside and beginning his climb up the narrow drain-pipe. The climb was long and arduous made even more so by the drain's constant shaking and he dared not use magic to steady it while the crowd below watched. Finally, he came to the top and kicked at a window. A backdraft blew through, the flames melting the plastic frame to the building itself. Dangling from the rooftop, he swung through and once out of sight pushed the flames back. In the hall, a door stood open and he rushed to it. Rounding the corner, he saw a young boy and girl huddled in the corner, cowering from a dark figure that dominated the room. Its hands, visible beneath a black coat were pale and tipped with claw like nails. Jack approached slowly, calling a rote into his mind and hoping he could catch the mysterious figure off guard.

[Forgotten Wolf]

Brian just rolled his eyes a little at Shey’s humored remark and look back at him when she called off her hunts. He listens though and was content with what she decided. He kept his aura at its current level to avoid causing insult to Shey or her pack members. He kept quiet until her wolves disappeared before speaking again. “I’ll make sure things get done.” He says simply and calmly as he steps back into the shadows of the trees and quickly vanished. “You know where to find a Chameleon if you want to reach me but now I must be off to se the living dead. See you around Rahu.” These last few words slipped out of the shadows in the language of First Tongue with remarkable clarity for a werewolf who only changed at most three months ago.

Once Brian was back within the city limits he pulled out his cell and started dialing. Though he had friends in the vampire community, he was sure none of them could get him within the vampire Elysium and get him an audience with the Prince that night without issues… He did know a non-vampire who might be able to do it. “Hey, Chris I need a favor…”

A Cheiron Group agent************

He had been following that thing for a while now but it gave him the slip only moments ago. Kind of interesting since he was following from the roofs and the specimen was groundside. With a little patience, a little old fashion questioning, and tracking, he was able to finally locate the specimen… inside an old apartment building. He didn’t like it. He didn’t know the building lay out and that thing could be setting up a trap for him if it figured out he had been following it.

Then a solution hit him, and with haste broke one of the out of direct sight windows on the first floor and set the curtains on fire with a lighter. The thing the company had implanted around his heart gave a small squeeze of delight. Now I just need to wait for it to be smoked out. He thought as he quickly climbed to the roof of one of the next door buildings to watch for his paycheck to come running out. It didn’t though and the fire kept growing and soon he became aware of some lady yelling about her children… Wasn’t his problem, it was his job to be saving others… He got paid to capture the unusual creatures that lurked in this city.

Then that man came and went running into the burning building to supposedly find the lady’s children. Watching on the agent could almost tell there was something odd about the man and when he started climbing the drain-pipe the agent decided to make certain. Squeezing his eyes shut, he rolled his eyes in a particular pattern and the words Interface Chip Disabled appeared briefly before his eyes. Opening them, they now were solid gold (the whites, the pupils, everything) and his sight was flooded with new information that threatened to overwhelm him. Looking at the ‘hero’ on the drain pipe he could now make out his aura… and it told him he wasn’t truly human… Hmmm…. Well if one doesn’t make it I might have a nice new specimen for the lab guys to take. He thought without emotion and just continued to watch on… hoping to see one (or both) of his paychecks exit the building. After all he needed to eat… or buy a nice new car to go along with the three others…

[eferhilda]

Shey smiled and shook her head as she watched him disappear; she knew he had been something more then just another wolf when he first joined the pack. Just by that little demonstration of his ability to so fully comprehend the First Tongue was enough to show him to be someone who would only grow stronger the longer he lived. There was a certain amount of pride and respect that she had always felt for him, which was now growing as she watched him be the concerned leader of his people. Being an alpha was a thankless job most of the time, long hours spent thinking and planning the lives and well beings of several dozen members of the pack. Having to settle small squabbles and differences to maintain the peace and tranquility in the pack. She began running into the forest, slow at first then faster and faster; finally she leaps a fallen log and when she lands she is on all fours. Her lupine body sleek and moved like liquid lightening as she moved through the trees her nose and ears telling her that the rest of the pack was already moving toward the central clearing where they held their meetings. The pure and simple joy of running brings forth a joyful howl, which reaches high into the trees carrying down into the city even. Her heart leapt with joy as she heard her pack answering the howl, sharing in her enjoyment and excitement. As long as she had them at her side there was nothing that she feared to face.

Coming into the clearing they all lowered their heads in respect as she passed, some of them in their wolf form, others in their human one. She changes as she nears the large stone that had been brought there years ago for the alphas to use while conducting gatherings. She passed her second in command Uriel, a large burly man of Russian decent who was as tough as nails to those he deemed deserving. He was completely loyal to his alpha who he thought was the a lot better then the last alpha they had, her devotion to the pack was enough to make him willingly give his life for her. She patted his shoulder as she passed then took the stone and began explaining to her pack that times were about to change. There was some bickering and some heated arguments that almost came to blows, but Shey used her power and dominance to keep everyone under check. It was about two hours later she was trotting to her private den now, wanting to be alone for a bit with her own thoughts. Her mind and heart were in turmoil worrying about whether or not she had just condemned her pack to a major double crossing by the vampires or if this as indeed going to save them all from this larger threat. Sighing she curled into a tight ball tucking her nose under her tail to keep it warm as closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep waiting to see if Brian was going to come through with his end of the deal.

[Scambo]

The figure inched closer to the children, raising a hand towards the boy. Jack was about to loose a strong blast of Force when he noticed a closet door, on the right wall. Flames licked from beneath it, and he assumed there was no window to add additional air. Whoever the dark other was, they were close to the huddled kids, hand only inches from the boy's throat. Jack coughed and the other hesitated for a moment. Jack delved into pure mana, felt its ecstasy and exhilaration as he chipped a hole in the closet door with Force. There was a thunderous roar as the backdraft blew the wood-plastic door to splinters and flames leapt forward, the blast of hot air slamming the would-be murderer against the opposite wall. Bounding over the fallen vampire, for he could see it clearly now, Jack snatched up the kids, one under each arm and bolted back towards the hall. Out of his peripheral vision he noticed someone emerging from a room. Not wanting to discover a partner of whomever was attacking the kids, he skidded to a halt and sprinted the other direction. The hall ended abruptly, a blank wall and a window punctuating the monotony. Several rotes entered his mind, but could he risk using them? Heavy footsteps echoing towards him answered that.

"Kids, close your eyes and hold on to me tightly." He couldn't see if they did as he asked, but he felt them cling harder. He again felt the rush of pure mana as he loosed a small spell to shatter the window, and again as he leapt from the window. To a normal person, a fall from that height would have broken most bones in their legs if they lived. But as he fell, Jack wove a spell about his legs and the children. When they struck the ground, the spell transferred the powerful shock of landing from his legs, to the ground around him. Where he landed the ground was depressed and cracks ran for several feet in three directions. Peering around, he saw that he had landed in the adjacent alleyway, away from the crowd of people. A breath of fresh air mingling with smoke met his mouth and he coughed, realizing that not only the hat he had worn but also the dust mask had fallen off during his flight. His sunglasses however had remained in place, a fact he was very grateful for. Swearing over his lost disguise pieces, he carried the kids several feet, near where the alley met the street before setting them down.
"You alright? No cuts or burns or anything?" They nodded.

"Good. Now, who was that man who was in the apartment with you? Did you know him?" Before he could get his answer, the crowd surged to the alley, the mother rushing towards her kids as a voice in the crowd called: "Thats him! I saw him jump from the second floor and walk away just fine! It must be an angel!" The mother looked up at him through bloodshot eyes, sobbing and trying to thank him at the same time. Jack couldn't believe how the situation had turned on him. Hopefully, using his own mana and only several people seeing him using magic would keep Paradox at bay. Hopefully. As the crowd started clapping he held his hands up, palms outward.

"No no no, I just saw these kids standing here. Some guy dropped them off." Again, that same voice from earlier called out.
"No! It was you! Don't be so modest!" There was a large squealing of wheels and the roar of sirens as cars stopped nearby. A news crew rounded the corner, a woman with a microphone and a man with a camera adding to the din. The crowd was distracted by their arrival and Jack took that time to go, slipping away and into an empty lot.

[Aviose]

Deep in the darkest part of Solace, surrounded by the most filthy and foul humans, lay the vampire's den. It consumed three whole blocks, and unlike it's surrounding area the streets were clean and orderly. Most humans believed that it was one of the last bastion of civility left in the decaying city, but those in the supernatural community knew better.

In this foreboding area was the most powerful vampire the city had seen in over 75 years was pouring over paperwork, a grim look upon his face. The war was beginning to take a toll on his forces, especially since the new supernatural hunting human's arrived. Yesterday they exterminated a small force discovered while they slept, a few of them were elites. Wringing his hands in frustration, he finally gave up on the painfully dull work and stepped out into the dark night. Gazing out to the streets below the frustration he had been harboring came out in a vicious shriek that echoed down the street.

"What news do you have." Aviose said a second later, speaking to his scout that appeared behind him. Hearing the report of the human's attacking the werewolves did bring a smirk to his face, plans formulating in his head. He was slightly disappointed that they destroyed the ghost in the abandoned warehouse. He enjoyed the carnage that particular spirit caused. Once the briefing was done, Aviose sighed. "Ok, call back the scouts. If the humans are attacking the werewolves and ghosts we won't stop them. We'll go into hiding, no more hunting unless I personally authorize it." He said, turning back to the room and gliding back to his chair. "I've seen my share of supernatural hunting humans, but this new breed worries me."

[Forgotten Wolf]

Cheiron Agent**************************

Jack didn’t even make it across the empty lot before the sound of one person clapping in a slow manner would reach his ears. The Cheiron agent had easily followed him and emerged from the shadows so that Jack could see him. The agent actually looked like a normal mortal, both in his appearance and aura, wearing some jeans and some grubby old long sleeve shirt. His eyes by this point had turned back to their normal appearance and held steely blue color to them.

“I must say that was mildly impressive. The lab boys will definitely enjoy taking a closer look at you.” He slowly spoke with little emotion. The agent leans up against a wall and stare in a bored manner at his next possible paycheck. The mage could try and run but he knew that he wouldn’t get very far since he could easily outrun most with some of the muscles and tendons that had been grafted into him. “So do you want to do this the easy way or do I have to knock you out forcefully?” The agent almost challenged still looking mostly bored at the specimen before him. It was just another day at the office…


Brian*************************

It was dangerous for Brian to be in this section of the city without being hidden and if it wasn’t for his companion at the moment he probably would have been killed by an overzealous vampire by this point. Brian glanced over at his friend in his green suit with almost flame red tie and started to wonder if he really should have come with Chris to talk with the Prince.

Christopher Rosetalon was the ‘unofficial’ prince of the Spring Court and officially he was the changelings’ main diplomat when dealing with other creatures and held a lot of sway with the mages and changelings. In his human appearance, Chris had dark brown hair with splotches and streaks of dark red going through it, unnaturally sharp green eyes that partially reminded one of as if a bird of prey was looking right at you, and as for overall looks he was only out done by a mage by the name of Dherris who actually had been kicked out of the city not long ago.

In his true appearance, Chris’ face becomes somewhat more angular and his ears take on the pointed elven quality. His hair turns out to not be hair at all but rather a mixture of brown feathers and rose petals. His hands take on the appearance of something in between a human hand and a bird of prey’s talon. His clothes would even change in this instance from a green suit and red tie to a suit of emerald armor carved to appear as if made entirely of leaves with a phoenix feather tabard.

As they finally walked up to the entrance to vampires’ Elysium/nest or whatever they called it, Chris step in front of Brian and walked up to the guard. “We’re here to see the Prince regarding urgent matters having to do with the humans recent interest in our existence…” He noticed the guard eyeing Brian warily. “He’s under my protection for the moment. Now are we allowed an audience or do I need to keep coming back every night?”

[Aviose]

The two vampiric guards wore a scowl upon their faces as they measured Brian up, but they knew better than to attack someone under Chris's protection. The smaller one slipped inside, leaving the visitors alone with the guard. One could tell the larger guard wished to ask his own questions, but he wasn't high enough rank to know.

"A werewolf here!?" Aviose spat, glaring at the small guard who interrupted him. He was about to eat his meal when the guard burst in, without knocking, and totally disregarding proper procedure. "Come with me." Aviose told the guard, before standing up and leading the confused guard into a side room hidden by a large mural. Once the guard entered, Aviose instructed him to wait as he slipped back into the dining room. Flipping a switch next to the door, he could only imagine the surprise on the guards face as the UV lights activated and turned him into dust. Summoning another servant, he instructed him on what to do concerning the visitor.

Back down at the entrance, the guard kept his tongue silent, but his hateful gaze never left Brian, hoping that his stare would scare the lycanthrope. It was then that the servant appeared outside the door and addressed Brian and Chris, and unlike the guard his gaze held no hate.

"Prince Aviose does wish to meet with you, but not at this present time. He requests that you return tomorrow night, and he would be most pleased if you could return with the leaders of all the packs. After all, this does concern us all."

[Scambo]

Jack froze, the strangers words washing over him punctuated by the slow mocking claps. The lot was deserted except for the two of them, framed on one side by a tall wall, the other was blocked by a high-rise, and that left the way he had come which was blocked off by his strange pursuer. A single street lamp illuminated the empty space as best it could. He had mentioned studying him? Whatever he was talking about, Jack decided that he couldn't mean well for him. Keeping his eye on the stranger, he slowly approached the other, moving slowly making sure to appear non-threatening. Several rotes called themselves to mind, but he dismissed them; if the stranger knew that he was a mage, then chances were he had some form of defense from magic. He waited until they were no more than ten feet apart before he unleashed his spell. The whiplash of Force blew the bulbs in the lights out, leaving them in darkness. Before the stranger could react, he made a wall of Force and shoved it forward, not knowing if it struck or not. He was running, bounding from street to street in frantic flight, finally he rounded a corner and lunged upward with a blast of Force. Running across the roof-tops, he soon found himself nearing his home. After a brief consideration, he stopped in momentarily to grab several supplies before setting out. Chances were that whoever had tracked him had sufficient contacts within the supernatural community to do so again. He needed to find refuge with the other supernaturals but his choices were few. The vampires would take him as a snack and be done with the matter entirely. The werewolves on the other hand, might listen to him before ripping him limb from limb. Well, it depended on the pack. The City Lords were out; he had done one too many private investigations for them to be on good terms with him. That more or less left the Roses, and they weren't exactly fond of mages intruding on their forest. Hopefully, Shey wouldn't remember the little.....mishap...the Roses had with himself a while back. Hopefully.

[braioch8201]

Memnoch stood, the cool breeze whipping around him in a frenzy. The blood of his last kill, a pathetic newborn, coarsed through him, while the body lay crumpled and shriveled at his feet. He stared down at the city sprawled out in front of him. Lights lay dancing all around the expanse of the cityscape. The skyscraper he stood upon stood speckled by a few mortals who stayed up late doing their inane works.

The semiautomatics he kept with him lay against his side, the Uzi's pressed against his side. His small blades, throwing, hand, and other varieties lay hidden and strapped against his chest in a line. Two more short swords hung from his waist while his favorite, two katana's fell against his back. The comfort of the weapons was immeasurable, the need to kill pumped through him, blazing through him, emblazoning his body.

His glance shot down to the teeming sidewalk below him. Without hesistation he leapt over the edge. Face down he shot down towards the sidewalk, the wind howling around him as he plummeted to the ground. In a split second he had twisted himself mid-air and landed on the concrete with ease. Onlookers only noticed the good and odd looking stranger suddenly appear on the sidewalk.

With a turn, his coat swirling around him he disappeared into the crowd. The unease of the people around him caused by his appearance was sedated by the influence that radiated from him. Now people seemed drawn to this tan but radiating stranger, more than once he gained an approving glance from both genders. He smiled to himself as he moved with supreme ease through the throng of people.

He walked further, the city melting into one blurred image to him. His mind and eyes constantly sweeping the melding of images, always searching, always calmly. Within moments he was aware of three who followed close behind him. He had noticed the moment they had paid far too much attention to him when they had spotted him within the crowd. It took only a rapid appraisal for him to know who they were, WHAT they were. Were was going to be a key word within minutes.

Lycans, always ready to fight, never to calculate

He continued his stride, never breaking step. He allowed them to cover the distance that had stretched between them and himself. He could sense their eagerness, their bloodlust.

Silly young ones. So full of the need to kill, no the need to dominate. What a shame, with time it could be shaped to form them into efficient killing machines, instead their mindless beasts. Shame, but nonetheless a sufficient fight for a night such as this.

They had entered a plaza, the night's lighting cascading over the almost vacant lot. As soon as he had reached the center of the plaza, he heard their footfall reach a frenzied pace.

Memnoch spun around in an instant to face them, no talking, just the way he loved it. He grabbed the one who had rushed at him by the arm, jammed his shoulder into the Lycan brutes elbow, shattering it. The "man" howled in agony then cut off short as a small blade was embedded into his throat and dragged all the way across to the neck, severing the spine.

The other two began their transformation, but before the one on the left could finish. A flurry of bullets ripped into his body, tore him loose from his transformation as a short blade is jammed into his gut and wretched upwards through the man's chest, throat and face. Gore spilled across the concrete and Memnoch himself as he twisted with rapid efficiency.

His katana's were out in a flash and brought to the man's throat in a cross formation, the lycan half through the transformation. Memnoch's eyes glinted as his lips curled upwards coldly. With a jerk of his arms, the man's head and body fell to the ground.

Memnoch turned and cleaned his blades on the clothes of the men around him. He smiled to himself and strode off, his blood pumping easier through him, his mind at ease. He had killed, he was calm. He sat at a nearby corner, upon a bench, smiling up at the smog covered moon. He knew more nights like this would happen, the city was growing in tension, more death would be called for, and over the millenia he had existed his name had become well known and his skill called for repeatedly. He sighed contenedly to himself as he leaned back and relaxed for a moment.

[almond]

Azhar huddled in the corner outside the Elysium watching intently on the small screen of one his many tiny laptops. The live video feed hidden inside the Prince's court showed what had transpired, albeit in low quality. It was only a small camera that he normally discards after use anyway. All Kindred inside the Elysium are usually very lax and do not look to the shadows for hidden eyes. Azhar had no doubt that his voyeurism was shared among the Nosferatu clan as well.

He had known about the werewolf's arrival hours before, as well as the cause of his very risky endeavour. In fact Azhar was one of the many eyes that provided Prince Aviose with the report. There was something troubling about this group of mortal hunters. Azhar was certain that their numbers were not small and that they have an organized network as well as intelligence regarding their hunts. He has yet to infiltrate their network successfully simply because it doesn't exist. How could a giant organization that feasts on the creatures of the dark do not have a single database on them?

They certainly have done their homework. This makes them somewhat impervious to Mekhet and Nosferatu eyes and that fact annoyed him greatly. But their movements were still discernible on the field however. Azhar closes the small notebook and replaces it in his bag. He decided to take a little chance with the Lupine. Maybe even profit from the Courts as well.

He walked quickly pass the entrance of the Elysium and dropped a small piece of paper that's tied on a rock below the steps leading up to it and vanished into the shadows again.

The note read:

"New hunter movement history. Come with Chris. Rooftop of the old cinema."

He wasn't hoping for the Lupine to bite, but if he did, this would make for an interesting night indeed. He had to prepare for their welcome in any case... and for unexpected intrusions as well.