[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/tR921tl.png[/img]     [img]https://i.imgur.com/pmkMn37.png[/img]
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[sub]with [@NoriWasHere][/sub][/center]
[right][code]The Grove[/code][/right][hr]
[color=b23b07]"[i]Fuck[/i]."[/color] Bryn grimaced as they arrived in the Grove. She didn’t seem to be injured that badly, but it was probably worth taking a dip just in case. She dumped the bag of ashes and took a step towards the water. Her knee suddenly buckled beneath her, her hands shooting out to stop herself from properly falling. Fuck. More than just a broken rib then. Thankfully it wasn’t so bad she couldn’t make the last little bit, sliding into the waters beside Elara. 

[color=b23b07]"Fuck."[/color] Bryn repeated, groaning as the waters started to work their magic. She turned her head to look at Elara. [color=b23b07]"Good job tellin’ those outsiders to stay out. Makes our job harder… and fuck, what the fuck was that?"[/color]

[color=00FFFF]“I don’t fucking know,”[/color] Elara sighed as she felt the waters repair the broken ribs and mend her cut body,  [color=00FFFF]“it was strong though.  You okay?”[/color] 

[color=b23b07]”I am now,"[/color] Bryn grunted, feeling the hidden damage repaired by the waters. [color=b23b07]"Guess we got more to talk ‘bout with our city contacts… Hopefully Mo'll know somethin’. They got records we ain't, I bet."[/color] She then shook her head. [color=b23b07]"I don't like how many outsiders turned up there. Like our jobs ain't hard enough."[/color]

[color=00FFFF]“I think the one is harmless,”[/color] Elara said of Varnan, [color=00FFFF]“I agree.  We need a grove wide meeting tomorrow at the church, start setting up patrols or some shit to spot these monsters or outsiders miles away”[/color] Elara paused as she felt more of her body getting healed, [color=00FFFF]“I fucking love these waters though.”[/color] 

[color=b23b07]"The first guy? At least he knew Bill,"[/color] Bryn groaned at the thought of another Grove wide meeting. It made sense but… fuck! Her days off were quickly slipping away from her. Fucking responsibilities. [color=b23b07]"We’re gonna need to figure that shit out ‘round everyone’s work schedules. We ain’t got massive numbers either… I guess pairs would work. We don't want shit getting in our town."[/color]

She tilted her head back to look at the other Grove members around them. [color=b23b07]"For now, y’all’re gonna watch out for shit in the town. Patrols or whatever, I don’t give a fuck. Me ‘n Elara gotta go to the city soon as she’s healed."[/color]

As Bryn spoke she stood up, looking down at her damp clothes with a grimace. What a pain… but it didn’t matter, they’d dry on the way. [color=b23b07]"C’mon. Let’s getta move on."[/color]
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[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/pmkMn37.png[/img]      [img]https://i.imgur.com/zCtOt85.png[/img]       
[h1][color=b23b07]Bryn Woods[/color] & [color=15A663]Moriah Motta[/color][/h1]
[sub]with [@AtomicEmperor][/sub][/center]
[right][code]Sin Sisters. 12pm.[/code][/right][hr]
It had been a long day. A far too fucking long day. 

By the time Bryn reached Sin Sisters’ she was already exhausted. Thank fuck she didn’t have to deal with paying or any of that shit, the doorman just giving her a nod on the way in. Even the buzz of the place, surprisingly energetic for so early in the morning, wasn’t enough to improve her mood. Not that it should… things were fucked. Utterly fucked. Who would’ve thought the twelve hours [i]in[/i] the mines would be the most enjoyable part of her day. 

Nobody stopped her from making her way right to the elevators outside the club itself, completely ignoring all the public and non-VIP areas. She wasn’t here for the club’s actual purpose… something that was obvious just from how she was dressed. Worn khaki dungarees over a white tank top, with her equally worn jacket slung over subtly muscular arms. She’d had to change [i]again[/i] after fighting that fucking thing. 

The short time in the elevator, going all the way to the bottom floor, was spent leaning against the wall with her eyes closed. So many fucking creatures appearing… she wasn’t sure whether it was a good or bad thing that she’d been attacked today of all days. 

The ding of the elevator, doors opening, interrupted her thoughts. She sighed, stepping out into the bottom floor corridor. She assumed Moriah would be in the same office as normal, so… without thinking about it she walked along. A courtesy knock was given, before she pushed it open, quite frankly not giving much of a fuck about politeness right now. 

[color=15A663]”-ating into a-”[/color]


[color=b23b07]"You want the bad or the awful news first?"[/color] 

Momo stared up from her desk, legs swung up on the massive black wood surface with her shoes off. Actually, most of her clothes were off, and one of her dancers was standing behind her chair with the strangest kind of massage contraption. They were mid conversation, the dancer’s elbow driving into the crook between her neck and shoulder with significant force.

The Proprietress’ face was immediately concerned, the blotchy skin-pigmented tattoos on her body shifting slightly as her attention skipped to Bryn. It was like the two of them were buffering the unannounced arrival until Moriah finally took a deep breath. Feet swung off the desk, presumably slipping into the pantlegs waiting on the floor. 
She bent and tugged them up, buttoning them.

[color=15A663]”Y’know, when you said later I figured that meant like… Nighttime. It’s noon, so unless things have gone to utter shit, I clearly need to readjust what I consider ‘later’... Bonnie, can you get me a new shirt? Just one of the club ones, I’m not picky.”[/color]
“Yes Ma’am… Bryn; nice to see you. Care for a drink?”

[color=b23b07]”Well I'm on the night shift, so this [I]is[/I] my nighttime,"[/color] Bryn snorted, hand raising in a slight wave to Bonnie who she felt… a little bit bad for interrupting. But she was otherwise unbothered by the general lack of dress and whatever she'd walked into.
[color=b23b07]”Nice to see’ya too. A boilermaker, thanks. Make the beer strong."[/color]


Nodding, the woman made haste for the door and slipped out. Moriah’s hand swept toward one of the chairs.
[color=15A663]”Now, chill out Cave Princess… Tell Mama Momo all your troubles: I presume you’ve had a run-in with those clay bodied freaks?”[/color] she asked gently, legs sliding back into her tall boots.

Bryn's eyebrows shot up as she sat down, slouching immediately and suppressing a yawn. 
[color=b23b07]"Fuck, you too? Guess I don't need to go into the fuckin' bad news then."[/color] She groaned, pressing a hand against her forehead. 
[color=b23b07]"Me n' Elara went to check up on the local tattooist - Bill, nice guy, been in town for long as I remember… but that fucker had taken his body. Fuckin' imperfectly, too… wait, freaks plural? You deal with multiple?"[/color]

Momo’s brow furrowed.
[color=15A663]”Imperfectly? Like you could tell? The ones I fought definitely weren’t trying too hard to impersonate anyone I’d recognize; but yeah. Multiple. They were eerily polite about it, but… They caught me at my station into the city. Three, and one had some kind of prior wound. Big gaping hole in its chest. Made it pretty creepy.”[/color]
Her face softened, and she slyly smiled.
[color=15A663]”They don’t die easily.”[/color]

[color=b23b07]"Yeah, it didn't have his tattoos - fuckin' stupid move when imitating a [I]tattooist[/I],"[/color] Bryn snorted, shaking her head in disbelief that Momo had fought [I]three[/I]. Really, she shouldn't be that surprised… she was incredibly strong. But it was still a lot. 
[color=b23b07]"Tell me about it. Took three of us to take down one. Me, Elara n' some city guy… fuck, it was a bad fight. I really hope there ain't anymore. But I wouldn't be surprised if there were…"[/color]

Bryn frowned, one hand sliding into a pocket of her dungarees almost reflexively - making sure she still had some ash in there. 
[color=b23b07]"It ain't just them. Somethin' big is comin', this is just the first time it's got to this side of the city."[/color]

Momo cleared her throat, nodding her head.
[color=15A663]”It’s worth looking into. I’ll call my younger Brother, get him working on the case. Have you talked to him recently? Or is he still drowning in a bottle across town?”[/color] she asked after her brother Lazarus, whom their Matriarch had given to the Grove as a symbolic gesture of exchange.

[color=b23b07]"He ain't reached out, I ain't reached out, so I expect he is,"[/color] Bryn shrugged. There was always that thought with people who she'd grown up with - like him - who'd then moved away from Raven's Rest. But there was her job and grove duties, nevermind her complete inability to text. 
[color=b23b07]"It'd be good to get him involved… in the past two weeks we've had about ten different attacks. Vampires, werewolves, other Paranormal. Comin' in from the west and hittin' town. It ain't just us, it's towns all across the mountain. That's why I'm here - cause somethin's pushin' ‘em at us. According to our Paranormal Pastor friend, we gotta month till the worst of it hits."[/color]

Momo’s face turned slightly sour.
[color=15A663]”[i]John?[/i] And what’s he know that we don’t? Be leery of shit like that B- There’s no tellin’ who else the goodly Father’s been chattin’ with… Could be something just to scare us, and this is just the typical migratory patterns of the clans following old hunting tracks. I’m only worried about these goopy clay freaks because they’re… Poking around my shit.”[/color]

At that, the woman returned with a Double-Boiler: a double shot of whiskey and a pint of beer slid onto the desk in front of Bryn. 
“Anything else, just give a knock. I’ll be waiting Ma’am.”
[color=15A663]”Thanks, Bonns. Just go take a break, sweetie.”[/color]
“Mmm, alright. Whatever you say!”
And then she was gone, leaving the two of them alone again.

[color=15A663]”They… They were aware of my project space under the station. Or, aware that [i]something[/i] was around. It’s not hard to find them with a bit of White Lux, but I’ve done my best to mask it with the magically touched debris from the Cataclysm… However they know, it makes me nervous.”[/color]

Bryn took the double shot of whiskey straight, chasing it down with a long drink of beer before saying anything else. Her eyes narrowed at Momo slightly. 
[color=b23b07]"Y'know, Momo, I get not trustin' him. And wantin' to protect [I]that[/I]… but I didn't expect you to act just like every fuckin' city person - only givin' a fuck when it starts to affect you. This ain't typical migratory patterns. Y'think we ain't aware of those? We got fuckin' records… and this ain't in them. [I]My[/I] people are already dying."[/color]

Bryn frowned, taking another long drink. Fuck, it had been a long day. 
[color=b23b07]"Yours will too. I'm tellin' you that this is the start, no matter who says it. It ain't gonna be just them coming for your [I]project space[/I], cause I don't think they're the worst. If they can find it, so can whatever else is coming."[/color]

The pale-skinned woman had pulled her replacement shirt on- A t-shirt featuring the bar’s logo -and was digging through the drawer for a tall glass bottle. 
[color=15A663]”Alright, alright… No need t’get uppity with me, Sister. If you say it, I trust you. But… What are we gonna do about it? I say we should get proactive. If it’s some coming tide, or a wave of nightmares headed our way, shouldn’t we be sending people out west to head it off at the pass?”[/color] Moriah asked thoughtfully. 

She had called home to make sure that they were on high alert after the attack, but now it was more concerning thanks to the idea that this could be some kind of concerted effort from an unseen enemy.

[color=15A663]”Also… I don’t mean to disparage John. I’d just like to know [i]how[/i] he knows what you’re saying. That make sense?”[/color]

[color=b23b07]"I get it,"[/color] Bryn waved a hand, tone evening out again. She got it, and got why someone outside of the community wouldn't just trust him. Bryn was no woman of God, much as her parents would've loved that, but Father John was as much part of the community she loved and protected as anyone else. So she got touchy. 
[color=b23b07]"Him ‘n the other Pastors - fucking paranormal pastors of the mountain, absolute mouthful - have been keepin' track of it all. Every attack recorded, mapped, fuckin' estimates of the next one's and all that shit. While the Grove is dealing with the ground shit in our town he's been… doing the magic admin work, I s'pose. I ain't sure how accurate the month thing is, but they got records from each town that it's gettin' worse. All of ‘em."[/color]

It wasn't good to think about. They hadn't lost any Grove members yet, which would be like losing family… but townsfolk were bad enough.
[color=b23b07]"I also think we should head it off. We ain't had time to discuss that as the Grove, cause we decided to talk to our allies [I]here[/I] first. There's not enough of us to do shit alone anymore. I dunno how many we can even spare but… you're right, we gotta push back and find the actual fuckin' source."[/color]

Momo nodded. If it was going to hit them, chances were that it’d affect the ladies down South as well… Past Roanoke, the Ashram of Untouched Glory was a bastion of Whispering Flesh. A hardpoint to escape to if things got too crazy.
[color=15A663]”We ain’t leave when Nyrah came… Ain’t gonna leave for this either. Whatever comes, we’re here. If I have to drag a thousand Sons and the Commendatoriate here, I will. At that point, it’s just a matter of whether or not you’re [i]cool[/i] with breaking those old ass treaties…”[/color]

She referred to the Founding Pledge; Sylvia Motta’s agreement with the ancient Keepers to reduce the overall presence of the Whispering Flesh near their sacred grounds. It forbade any large-scale troop movements on the part of Momo’s people within range of their precious coal town and the surrounding cities, which included Cloverfield. 

[color=15A663]”But I’ll have to warn my Grannies. Ain’t no chance they won’t send the absolute limit… Ain’t salaries I want to be payin’, but if it keeps Cloverfield secure, that’s necessity.”[/color] she conceded.  

[color=b23b07]"If it comes to breakin' the treaties to keep us all safe, then we break ‘em,"[/color] Bryn shrugged. To her, only two things were important when it came to being a Keeper: protect the Grove, protect the people. 
[color=b23b07]”If they ain't in the Grove itself, it ain't a problem. I gotta talk to Elara and Seren first, but far as I see it, we can't stick to the old when we gotta protect the new. We should look into it first before you call on those sorts of numbers- and use that sorta money. You should still warn ‘em but… Maybe it won't be as bad as Nyrah."[/color]

But that was just hopeful thinking, and Bryn wasn't really a hopeful person. If it was something in the mountain, then it had been trapped in there for a reason.
[color=b23b07]"It might be worse. You got any records of somethin' that might've been sealed in the mountain? We got records of some shit, but most of our learnin' is verbal. Great when all your elders just fuckin' die."[/color]

At that [i]very practical[/i] question, Moriah seemed to turn thoughtful.
[color=15A663]”I’ll check that too when I talk to B-Nana. I can’t say for sure, but my guess is probably. What do you think spits all that water up into y’all’s spot, huh? Could be anything!”[/color]
She took a breath, popped the top of the handle she grabbed, and Bryn would be able to watch her polish off a half-handle of what could only be genuine Appalachian moonshine. Absolute jet fuel. Moriah felt the alcohol washing through her liver and kidneys pretty immediately, and the conversion process of alcohol into carbohydrates far more processable by her advanced gastrointestinal system.

[color=15A663]”We should just send Elay. Honestly, him and your cat guardian’ll probably be plenty for the scoop.”[/color] 

[color=b23b07]”The fuckin' guardian probably knows better than all a' us what it is,"[/color] Bryn snorted. She didn't even blink as Momo downed half a bottle of Moonshine - Green Lux oddities or whatever. She just finished off her own beer.

[color=b23b07]"He [I]is[/I] a Grove member, even if he ain't been to a meetin' in years. Might as well get some fucking use outta him…"[/color] It was all rough talk about someone Bryn did genuinely see as both a close friend and family. He just hadn't turned up for fucking ages…
[color=b23b07]"Still can't believe he got the fuckin' Grove guardian and I got stuck with a barely grown fire baby."[/color]

[color=ef5c23]”I’m not a [I]babbbbbyyyyyy[/I]!”[/color] The head of a child, barely more than ten, stuck out of Bryn. She was pure, glowing white with little flames across her whole body, her hair a wreath of fire above her head. Surprisingly expressive dark eyes looked between Moriah and Bryn, pouting. 
[color=ef5c23]”I’ve been alive ten years now!”[/color]

[color=b23b07]"Yeah, yeah, get back in, the adults are talking,"[/color] Bryn snorted, looking at her companion spirit. The little girl just pouted more, sitting in her lap instead of going back into her body. 
[color=b23b07]"You gonna contact Elay, Mo, or am I doin' it?"[/color]

For a moment, Momo considered what talking to her little brother would entail. Probably nothing she wanted to deal with.
[color=15A663]”You do it. I’m barely his sister… Especially after what happened. I doubt he feels any different about the fact that I didn’t drop my whole life to go find his fucking home-womb.”[/color]
A fairly derogatory way to refer to a Matriarchal Dame’s consort. Most of the time they were simply “Bonded”, but Moriah didn’t exactly love Cadenza’s Bonded… Even if her blood was one of the few non-Matriarch contributors. She was [i]mother[/i] just the same as anyone else in Culla…

[color=15A663]”I will say; I think it's more important now that you Girls and your kin make it over here for Thanksgiving. If we’re all gonna be on alert, we should have as many friendly bodies as we can surrounding our little lights. Raise the spirits and all that.”[/color] she offered the thought without much emotion behind her voice. An easy way to tell when she was being genuine.

Bryn just nodded about her contacting Elay - she'd text him later. She knew enough about the shit that'd happened between him and Momo to not shove her foot in it. 
[color=b23b07]”Well that shouldn't be too much of a struggle. All the Keepers spend it with their family, but Elara and Seren ain't got anyone no more so… they'll be with me and my siblings. I'll try convince ‘em we should come here. The more the merrier and all… So long as nobody gets my littlest sister proper drunk."[/color]

[color=15A663]”I was thinking we’d host down here, but I think we’ll probably do it upstairs. Not like we don’t have a whole restaurant or anything to use.”[/color]
Moriah smiled warmly.
[color=15A663]”Now, is there anything else, Love? You’re free to stay and chat, relax if you need… Take some supplies and goodies for your people…”[/color]

[color=b23b07]"I ain't gonna say no to free shit, times are tough,"[/color] Bryn gave her a tired smile back.
[color=b23b07]"I hate to ask this, but can I have a room for a couple of hours? I gotta wait for Elara to be done so I can take her back, but after that fuckin' shift… I gotta nap or I'll drive us into a tree."[/color]

Moriah laughed to herself, standing up from her desk and stretching her arms out.
[color=15A663]”Oh sweetness… You ain’t ever gotta ask me. You go’in give your name up at the front desk; your I.D. and such. The Winter Room is always available for members of the Grove. You want me to send some company up? Give you a nice massage and such? I think there’s a Temporal available; we could generate some stiff-time for you to get a full eight hours in.”[/color]

[color=b23b07]"That'd be great if possible, but nothin' else,"[/color] Bryn waved a hand, barely able to suppress a yawn. She stood up too. 
[color=b23b07]"Ain't ever time for the full eight hours without magic… really helpin' me out here, thanks."[/color]