Never Mess With A Taxidermist (IMPACT THREAD)

[River]

The conversation was moving far too fast for her to process, and she found herself wishing that the wall would simply swallow her whole. There was no way that she was going to be able to handle anything at this rate. She could barely control the trembling of her hands, let alone find her way into an enemy campground and sort out information. You have no choice. You have to do something - anything. They’re looking at you, for crying out loud. Digging her nails into her palms, she took a deep, unsteady breath and shook her head. She could still hear them speaking, each word sounding further away than the last, leaving her with the sensation that she was floating. She didn’t belong here - hell, she didn’t belong anywhere.

From the moment that her life had been shattered and laid at her feet in decay, she had found herself in the dark. It had been a bittersweet curse, one that she often found herself wishing she could trade in for just a minute of noticeability. How many nights had she laid awake wondering what would happen if she were to die? How many days had she spent tossing black paint across a blank canvas while wondering what color would look like? No matter how often she dreamt of shedding the despair, she had woken to a morning as bleak as all the rest. After a while, she had no choice but to embrace the shadows. She had wrapped it around herself like a long lost lover. The quiet, the inevitable invisibility - she had welcomed it.

It had been fine - until him.

Chancing a brief look in her sire’s direction, she shook her head and bit into her lower lip. She could see the gears work behind his eyes as he mulled over something another had said, and she couldn’t help but wonder what it would have been like to be him. Fearless. She remembered the first night she had seen him, the way his presence had taken over the room. He had been reborn in the same way that she had, and yet, he didn’t suffer as she did. He wasn’t cowering in the corner waiting for the storm to pass. No, he was standing in the eye of the hurricane with his back straight and head high, commanding their small army with ease. She could barely spit out her name, nevertheless send a group into enemy territory.

You’re useless.

With a resigned sigh, she realized that she had been caught up in her own thoughts for far too long. The scene had shifted, and she felt the weight of the stranger’s arm drop from her shoulders. However, it hadn’t been without consequence. As she was propelled forward, she found her unclaimed hand pressing to Skylar’s back and she curled her slender fingers into her top for support. What in the hell just happened? Closing her eyes, she quickly tried to process what she could have possibly missed in the span of a few seconds - only to have it all summed up in the midst of the blonde’s rant. She was so accustomed to being overlooked, that she hadn’t even bothered to defend herself past that one small outburst. She had expected her statement to be ignored - but this was far worse. They had heard it - they just hadn’t cared. They had spoken over her and spoken for her.

And what would you have done about it?
Nothing.
You don’t fight for yourself.
You never fight.

Clenching her teeth, she tugged her hand free of Skylar’s grasp to press her fingers to her temples. This was not the time for her ex-fiance’s voice to enter her thoughts. She would become comatose within seconds if she didn’t lock it away. Even if she was right. You’re a doormat, she thought, the acid in her own thoughts familiar to her. With another twist of her fingers, she held onto Skylar as she tried to will her feet to move. One step would put her in the line of sight - another would force her in front of the blonde. It would be easy - two steps, and she could defend herself. Two steps, and she could set everything straight. It shouldn’t be this hard, it shouldn’t be this painful. She should be able to speak up, to have her voice heard - even if she hadn’t a damned clue as to what they were discussing.

As her hand began to tremble again, she forced her gaze from the floor - and stared straight into a pair of the brightest blue eyes she had ever seen. Quickly averting her gaze, she attempted to steady her hand as she finally lifted her converse from the floor and moved to the left. One step down. With her hand still wrapped in her friend’s top, she managed to move to her side before she finally relinquished her hold. In her mind, it had seemed as if it had taken a lifetime for her to find herself in the center, when in reality it had only been a second. A second, and she found her life changing. To them, it would be nothing - but to her, it would be a milestone. Shaking her head, she lifted her hands to her hood and slid it back to reveal her dark curls, her gaze focused once again on the floor.

“T-T-Thank you, S-S-Sky.”

The words tumbled in that frustrating stutter of hers, and she once again clenched her hands at her side. She had made that move forward - and she hadn’t a clue what she had planned to do after. She couldn’t possibly argue, could she? Wetting her lower lip, she brought the tie of her hoodie to her lips and chewed on it before beginning to speak once again. “I-I-I c-can d-do m-my be-best, bu-but I-i-I d-d-don’t want t-t- talk. I-I can g-g-gather w-what I c-can.” Reaching down, she gave Skylar’s hand a squeeze, a silent thank you in the gesture, before forcing her gaze to her sires as a thought entered her mind. For a second, she debated on speaking it, knowing that she could possibly be humiliated, but she knew that there was a possibility it could work. Bracing herself for the hundredth time that night, she tilted her head towards the leather clad blonde bombshell at the edge of the group.

“W-Why do-don’t w-w-we se-separate th-them? Skylar a-and … her. S-Sky c-could s-stay w-with y-you and she c-comes with D-Doc and I? Di-distraction. D-Doc c-c-could c-command us.” By the time she was finished speaking, an embarrassed type of frustration had bled into her eyes, causing the mismatched orbs to shine brighter than usual.

[Freyja]

The towering young woman had stepped back, edging herself to the fringe of the group as she patted at the pockets of her jacket. Feeling what she was after, her hands dipped into the leather coat in a flash, returning to sight with a long, red hard carton of House of Prince cigarettes. In her other hand, a silver zippo rested in her palm as she pushed a filter from the torn corner of the pack’s foil. One quick motion plucked the cigarette from the carton, resting it between her lips as the zippo clicked open, the flame meeting the paper tip in a single, fluid flick.

The paper caught in a flash, the tobacco glowing a bright red-orange as she flicked the lighter shut with a sharp click. She took a long, slow drag of the cigarette and visibly melted with the pleasure of the action. It was a dark, smoky embrace, like a punctuation after a night of heated passion with some kind of demon. The sweet, grey smoke curled from her lips as she exhaled, away from the group. The breath formed a sort of thin, wispy haze as she pulled the long, slender shaft from her lips to flick her gaze over the group again.

She was the outsider here. She knew that. The strongest relationship she had with any of these people was cursory at best. That was her own doing, if it was anyone’s. She couldn’t feel bad about it, so she didn’t. All she looked to now was proving herself in this. Making herself useful, and showing them all that she was worth knowing. Should be easy enough. While the air she carried about herself was light, free, and cheerful, she carried a darkness with her that only these sorts could understand. Sometimes, she let that darkness free. Let the real monster inside of her free, let her taste the crisp air of liberty, the sweet, metallic tang of blood on her tongue. Tonight was going to be one of those nights of freedom.

Without a doubt.

Her icy stare moved to the other blonde in their small troupe as her temper gradually swelled to a crescendo, until she could feel the agitation rolling off of her in waves. It took her concentration to keep from getting lost in that current of emotion, to ride the other woman’s anger into a frenzy of her own. Now was not the time to lose her cool, so as the shorter of the two blondes unleashed herself, the taller clasped tightly at her collar, clutching the chain that kept herself in check. She took another drag of her cigarette, the action soothing, her shoulders shivering lightly as she relieved herself again.

A long sigh left her, smoke leaving her lips in a stream. Her eyes moved to the woman she knew best of the others gathered. Juliet. Something she said, Freyja’s mind seized, mulling it over, turning it this way, and then that, before she nodded to herself and took another drag of her cigarette before she spoke. “Juliet has a point. If they are training, then getting the drop on them should be easy. If some of us are going to be running intelligence gathering, then I would think that the rest of us should be dropping a hammer on them. Hard.”

Her eyes moved to Doc, the more aged gentleman of the group, and to his phone. The technology was impressive. She didn’t know this ‘Ari’ person, but she could recognize skill when she saw it. If the program only halfway worked, it was still a remarkable application. “That could work from a distance, right? Couldn’t take more than one of us to use it. Fascinating tool.” She brought her cigarette to her lips again and thought, as she watched the shy Shadow inch her way from behind her small blonde shield.

Interesting.

She trembled like a leaf in the wind, and she stuttered so hard that if she hadn’t had the Dane’s apt attention, her words would have been lost in a flurry of unnecessary syllables. What she heard, though, made her lips curl in a smile again. She was determined to make herself useful. They were both, at least, in that boat together. It was when she tipped her head in Freyja’s direction, however, that the tall woman’s brows knit, waiting for what she was going to say. To try to say, anyway. She rested her hand on her hip, the other letting the cigarette rest between two fingers as she listened.

Splitting up her and Skylar.

It did make sense. Of the six of them, she and Skylar were the two most passable for living, breathing humans. That hadn’t escaped her. And as Doc had said, these paladins have a way of sniffing out the vampire even in the most convincing of them, but surely such a healthy look, actual blood in your cheeks, a tan on your skin, had to give them just a little pause. They wouldn’t murder innocent human beings, would they?

She doubted it.

Her thumb flicked the cigarette, a long column of ash floating to the filthy floor alongside her leather boot as she nodded to the little Latina. “She’s got a point, you know.” She wouldn’t bring up that the cute, shy little thing might create a little bit of a distraction on her own. It was abundantly obvious, the way her eyes flicked to her time and time again. She was sure she had seen her looking, at least once. She could keep her head on straight, she wasn’t worried about that. When these… things were there in front of her, nothing else in the world mattered. Everything narrowed down into a simple, easy equation; an ultimatum as old as time itself. It was going to be them, or it was going to be her, but only one of them was going to walk away.

It’s always you. You’d never let one of those things drag you down.
They’ve tried, and they’ve tried, but you’ll never let them win.
Never.
And you won’t let any of these people go down, either.
Not for anything.

She took another pull from her cigarette, this time inhaling until the last of the long shaft of white had gone an ashy grey, before she flicked the spent cigarette into the floor as well. She tipped her head back and exhaled smoke into the air over their heads before she dropped her eyes to the small ring of vampires and smiled a bright, gleaming grin. The cheer in her expression was impossible to miss.

“And I’m totally game.”

Let’s go kick some *** already.

[Juliet]

“I wouldn’t let anything happen to her.” The confirmation came after Roderic had said as much, and she flashed a smile to River as she listened to everyone once more. The look is met with a glare, pointedly saying nothing will happen to either of us. Chill the hell out. She almost huffed, but managed to suppress the sound itself much to her surprise. It was something she was used to, however, how protective her brother could be - it was something that she appreciated, considering the rest of Altaire hadn’t really seemed to give a rats ***. When Sky began to rant, all that Juliet could do was blink.

“Sky… breathe.” She suggested.

Juliet knew that they didn’t need to breathe, it wasn’t something that anyone needed to do as a vampire, but she suggested it as a way to say that the woman needed to calm down. She didn’t think it was the alcohol influencing her emotions, either, as she knew that she was an allurist. “Granted, if the Paladin say something that’d set her off, at least she’d likely stomp their asses…” She thought to herself and then shook her head, chuckling quietly as she considered the possibility. It would be one interesting sight, for sure.

Very softly, as if not to start River, Juliet spoke into the girl’s mind, “You should take a few deep breaths, too, I know it doesn’t allow oxygen… but it’d probably help your nerves. You look like me when I used to drink espresso.” When she was finished speaking, Juliet gave her a warm smile to indicate that she’d done it, as if not to scare the girl any more and her green eyes flickered back to Skylar and then to the others to take in their expressions. She turned her head to Doc and nodded as she listened to his plan, but then turned her gaze back towards River as the girl mentioned a distraction.

It could work, couldn’t it? When Doc lowered his voice, she listened closer and lifted her eyebrow at the phone. She knew about hackers; she used to hack and some annoyed the crap out of her with her businesses a few years back. “You do realize I can’t go invisible, right?” She asked, lifting her eyebrow as she figured it’d probably be the best time to put it out there, “I could sneak around, but I’m no shadow. Learned the other way.” She shrugged and then chewed on her bottom lip. It’d be a good way to get information when they all needed it, sure. Her arms folded in front of her chest again, continuing to chew on her lip in thought.

Juliet nodded her head towards Freyja as an indication that she agreed with what she had said. “That I agree with, should be a good way to get about.” Looking around, she found what looked to be an old receipt and reached over to grab it. Finding it to be a piece of paper folded over a few times with blood staining one corner, she simply brushed off and removed a pen from her pocket before beginning to write it all down. While she might be able to remember a lot of it, she did better when she wrote things down so that she knew it would be processed into her mind.

When she finished writing, Juliet simply gave a shake of her head, “Maybe someone or two people should get a wraith out there to keep an eye on them so we’re able to continue to plan, but make sure it’s not worth a waste of effort? A second piece of visual, you know?” The suggestion was made as she looked over her handwriting. It was chicken scratch, something that had been part of the fall from dealing with Cassadee’s hands being a different size than Juliet’s own, but legible. “We wouldn’t want to plan and be ready to move only to find them on top of us.”

[Doc]

Doc: Doc had been about to explain about the bombs, when Skylar when off on him about Sparky. Doc took half a step back. Skylar who had been all giddy about agreeing to kill the paladins, until she turned into raging mama bear. Apparently Skylar took exception to Doc’s playful banter regarding Sparky. As Skylar hugged the girl Doc gave her a look that clearly said, he was backing off. He surreptitiously gave Ric a look that indicated he hoped he never saw Skylar get really angry.

Instead of countering Skylar contention that he had not planned on using Sparky as a sacrificial lamb; that his plan had both Jewels and Sparky relatively safe; that he was going to take the risk, not them, he chose to bide his time and let others comment first. Doc had a bad habit of pissing people off. He did not want that to happen right now. It worked to his advantage. Sparky decided on her own to stay on his team. And once he found out she was a shadow, his plan evolved. He would use his power of animal form to go Puma, and attack the paladins. Sparky could go to shadows and and stand watch for paladins returning while Jewels used his phone to get any data off the cells that the paladins might have left behind.

That was the chink in his plan, what if they didn’t set their phones to the side? What if they carried them? The plan evolved again. Puma would have to kill one, just in case. Doc grinned to himself, that would be a new experience. He was up for a new experience. He brought his attention back to the group, as Jewels suggested a wraith needed to watch them. “Good call. I will send Bob.” Looking from Jewels to Ric, “The bombs, if we are successful in getting information from their phones, we can back trace the calls to the cell tower they originated; and then we see where the majority calls ping. That will be the area of at least one of their ‘lairs’. We will have to scout it out.. unless one of them is stupid enough to leave that information on their phone. If we come up dry.. there is always that church..of theirs that we can blow sky high..”

Having expounded his idea regarding the bombs, he looked at Sparky, about her idea of adding the blonde amazon to his team. The blonde was ready to rumble, that gave Doc pause, he liked to play things calm and quiet, he got the impression the Amazon would go in guns blazing. “We’re scouting Sparky. Lurking for intel only. The way I want it to go down, no one takes any heat.. but me. And I will be in animal form.. so any unease they may feel could be put down to fear. They are in the hunting grounds, having a puma attack should not be out of the realm of possibility, while the puma chases them off.. you and .. whomever will search their stuff. Since you are a shadow, you can hide in shadows and be a lookout, in case they double back. You would give Jewels a warning, and you both disappear.”

[Roderic]

We had a plan, but now the plan was going to crap because my wife was somehow emotionally attached to my new Thing. Great. I let my wife go on her tangent because trying to interject is like trying to outrun a pissed off bull-you’re not going to outrun it, just like you’re not going to outrun her big mouth when she gets like this. I’m about to suggest we leave Skylar at home until she sobers up and comes to her senses, when everyone else starts coming up with other ideas, or making suggestions on how to alter a plan that could have, should have, been solid. Doc and I do this kind of stuff all the time.

I look at my wife with narrowed eyes when she’s done, just missing Doc’s look while Jules pipes up with a decent idea. I could have face palmed right then and there. Duh. Our wraiths. We do this sort of thing all the time. Why hadn’t Doc and I thought about it? No matter, Doc was up to speed and agreeing, as I would have and added his own thoughts and opinions in about what people had said after they disliked the plan Doc and I formulated.

I liked the plan until I heard my Thing talking and knew she wouldn’t last if anyone saw her while she was supposed to be scouting. The other guys would get frustrated with trying to gain intel as to why she was in there, snooping around by them and kill her before five minutes passed.

I liked Freyja’s spirit though. I want her on my team, even if she is a little loud. I believe she can get stuff done or will try her hardest to get it done, or die trying. I’m glad Doc declines her help. I put an arm around Freyja and say, “Stick with me. We’ll kill a lot when the time’s right.” My arm drops from her shoulder, because as much as I don’t like talking to people, I like touching them even less.

“Want Daegal to help scout some woods, or do you got a wraith, Jules?” I look to my sister, because either way I don’t care, but I think having two go to a large area like the hunting grounds would kill a lot of time. I wait to hear what Doc has to say, before moving on to the task of others. “I’m heading upstairs to my space. Our space.” I point to my wife. “We’ve got weapons there. Swords. Why don’t the rest of the team come on up and sit in the foyer on eight? She can do a proper weapons check while I look around for those bombs of mine.” I’m pretty sure they’re in the lock box, but they could be in the closet too. It’s not like I go around blowing things up often, or ever. “Sound good?” I don’t really wait to hear everyone chime in and say it sounds good before heading to the elevator. I’m getting antsy with standing around in one place talking about the destruction of a large number of members of a big group in the city that liked to start **** with our kind. I’m still thinking about where those bombs might be at as I push the elevator button twice and wait for it to come to the main floor.

[Skylar]

Doc sensibly back off. I love him, but I’m not having mess with my girl. The decision is hers and hers alone. I hear Jules tell me to breathe but my mind doesn’t register what she’s going on about. Breathe? We don’t need to breathe. What the **** Jules. I’m confused until she tells River the same thing and explains it might help calm her nerves. Duh. She was telling me to calm the **** down, only in a nicer way. I should have got that. I would have got that, if I wasn’t half-cut. I don’t much care if I have to rant at people so River’s thanks wasn’t necessary, but I smile at her as if to say ‘no probs.’ Ric’s not impressed with my outburst, but **** him, he was being a dick. Rather than glare at him, I blow him a kiss. I’m sure to get told off the moment we’re alone but I can handle that. I can handle him.
The conversation moves on and people are throwing out ideas left and right. The teams aren’t changing. River’s happy to make herself uncomfortable, if she’s trying to prove something to anyone other than herself then she’s made the wrong decision. I’m not saying anything more though. I’m staying quiet. Unless I need to say something that is. I’m not the sort to just stand there with my finger up my arse, if I have something to say, I say it.
There was talk of the other blonde going off with the others but I didn’t really understand why? Why did we need to be split up. Do they assume we’re both stupid cos of our hair colour? Split up the dumbasses? I fold my arms across my chest and huff to myself. Honestly, even drunk I’m smarter than most people. Normal people. Not vampires. This lot could probably kick my arse in the brains department but I don’t care. There’s always someone better than you at whatever it is you’re great at, somewhere out there in the big wide world. Though honestly, there aren’t many that could beat me when it comes to my music and art, I really excel at those.
I’ve gone off topic and almost miss the talk of ghosties and animal forms. I have one of those. I could totally run around all stealthy like in the hunting grounds. I mean who’d wanna shout me. Besides Ric. I make a cute arse Bambi. At least I think I am. I haven’t actually seen my animal form, but all Bambi’s are cute, right?
It’s my turn to narrow my eyes at Ric when he puts his arm around the blonde. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe he doesn’t have a thing for busty, brunettes after all. I don’t even know this chicks name and he’s hugging her. Him and me are gonna have words. It’s okay for me to be feeling people up, but Ric? He doesn’t do that. He never does that. I really want to ******* kick him right now but somehow I stop myself before I make a scene, but his time is coming. Mark my words. I’m gonna get him for that.
Ric voices the need to move things upstairs. Damn right it’s our space. If he hadn’t corrected himself on that he’d really be in the ****. No-one's coming in our apartment. That’s our space. That was our agreement. Besides I need to change and get coffee and ****. Mmm… coffee. If coffee were a guy it would be perfect. Rich, dark and bitter. Okay. I’m twisted, but you can kinda apply all those words to Ric. Well I would anyways.
I should probably say something about the whole checking weapons thing. I can appraise a sword in my sleep, but the fact is I outfitted most of this lot with theirs, so if they’ve been looking after them, I already know what they carry is pretty **** hot. When it comes to guns I have no idea what’s what. Someone else is gonna have to check those things out. Still, I’ll tell ‘em that when we get upstairs.
Since the plans are made I follow Ric. I walk over to the elevator and kick him none too gently in the shins. I don’t say nothing. He knows why. And if he doesn’t, too bad, he should.

[River]

Once again she found herself pulled under the steady current of conversation as it picked up, leaving her feeling more out of place than before. She had voiced a sound plan - at least, in her mind - and had been rejected in less than a second. I can’t do this, I can’t, she chanted in her mind as she worked her fingers over the material of her hood. With a flick of her wrist, she once again concealed her features from view, sheltering herself from the world - from them. She had pushed the boundaries of her comfort, and her body language spoke volumes as she carefully sidestepped the group until she was on the outside. Her muscles were coiled tight, and she felt an unfamiliar sensation in her chest. The panic had lodged itself almost painfully in the back of her throat, the urge to scream nearly suffocating her.

I can’t, I can’t, I can’t.

Gripping the sleeves of her hoodie, she pulled them further down over her hands and curled in on herself, hoping to make herself as small as possible. Her mind screamed for her to turn and run for the exit, yet her feet remained cemented to the floor. Her desire to be with her sire at all times seemed to outweigh the desperation of the situation, and it left a troubling sensation in the pit of her stomach. Biting into her lower lip, she kept her arms wound tight around her middle as she moved her gaze from the floor and back to her sire. He was her pillar in the middle of her inner storm, and she found herself pulling strength from him. He held every personal trait that she had only dreamt of possessing, leaving her to live vicariously through him. He kept the madness that threatened her peace of mind at bay, and within a few seconds, she found her levels of panic decreasing to something more manageable.

You can do this, just one night. That’s all it is.

With a quiet sigh, she pressed her back to the wall behind her and scrubbed her hand over her face. She was unaware of what all had been said in the past few minutes, her demons having drowned out any and all conversation - yet she had an inkling of an idea. They wanted to keep to the original plan - the plan where she put her life on the line for the hope of finding something useful. Even as untrained as she was, she could see the potential for disaster in it. Doc seemed far too optimistic about his abilities, and she found herself having to bite down on her tongue to stop from blurting out the obvious.

Even the best made plans can lead to failure.

Everything seemed to be falling into place - and she found herself needing to move as adrenaline began to course through her veins. As if her sire was intertwined with her thoughts, he began to leave, and she found herself keeping to the outside of the group as she followed, her fingers brushing along the sharp edge of her family crafted blade. Whatever was going to happen would happen, and she was incapable of stopping it. Either things would go off without a hitch - or they were going to become ashes in the wind.

[Freyja]

Laughing to herself, she shook her head and pushed a freshly manicured hand through her thick, silky hair. She half figured that the talk was useless. She let her eyes move around the group, watching the rest of them as she wrapped a long lock around her finger. She would do her best to be patient. The quiet and subtle game was not the way she tended to play, but this wasn’t her court. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, debating another cigarette when Ric’s arm fell around her shoulders.

She turned to the man and offered him a smile. She even gave a chuckle at what he said and gave him a sly grin. “Trust me, Sugar; there’s going to be a huge hole in their ranks before we see dawn.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder as he dropped his arm from around her. Closeness had never bothered her. She was a very friendly, very intimate kind of person, so the gesture of his arm around her, no matter how small, had made her feel much better about being here. She was ready for this, to stand up with these people and fight. If not for herself, and for her hate, then for Ric and his stomping grounds.

She notices the look on Skylar’s face, and couldn’t help the twist of her lips, the subdued half-smile. It was cute, flattering really, that she would even think to worry about Ric anywhere near her. This was the first time they had even spoken in close to a year, and it was certainly, as far as she could remember, the first time that they had ever had physical contact of any kind at all. Besides, he simply wasn’t her type. He had all the wrong parts. She had no idea what Ric’s kind of woman might be, but she was sure that she wasn’t it. The idea was amusing, and it was getting harder to keep the smile off her face. She settled for giving Skylar a reassuring smile, and a subtle shake of her head.

She listened as Doc and Ric both stick to the original plan, which again she had expected, but now she felt less dismissed. At least she had spoken her mind, something she was very open with doing. There was the mention of having eyes on the group. In this case, the wraiths. It was a good call on Juliette’s part, and something she wouldn’t have thought of herself, not mastering a wraith of her own. She did, however, still have dominion over Bambi, a completely different kind of asset. She parted glossy lips to offer the woman’s assistance before she snapped her mouth shut so hard she jarred her teeth. She was going to risk her own life for this, sure, but she wouldn’t dare put poor Bambi into this situation. She had already gambled with the human’s life far more times than she would have liked. It made her feel almost sick, just thinking on it.

No; they would have to be fine without her. And they would be fine, she knew it. Everything seemed to be moving now. Finally. Bambi would only be in the way. She trailed her tongue along her lower lip as she nodded her assent to Ric’s suggestion they take the party upstairs. It would be quieter there, anyway, even in the floor lobby. She understood wanting to keep their space private. She had her own place here in this very building, an apartment she kept just in case she ever needed to make herself scarce around the Wickbridge neighborhood, and she wasn’t about to volunteer her place, either.

The last she had checked in on the place, Caligrace’s things were still there. She was fine invading her childe’s privacy, but wasn’t one to invite others to join her. Instead, she quietly let the group sift past her, bodies shuffling through the lobby toward the elevator, until River pulled up the rear of the group. She turned to follow, without saying anything at all to the girl, but gave her the slightest nudge with her elbow against her taut bicep. The Latina was small and lean, but beneath that baggy sweatshirt she had some hard muscles. She could feel it in the curve of her arm as she nudged her. She could feel the girl’s distress, the way she was so close to losing it, and she knew that trying to talk would only make things worse.

If she was going to talk, she was going to be the one to do it. She could see the way that she had retracted herself back into the protective shell of her sweatshirt that she was finished with being goaded into conversation, so instead the towering Allurist just kept close, letting her know that she was there. She even offered her a smile as she waited on the elevator with the others. She turned as the elevator doors opened, looking over the lobby.

It was always such a busy place. The zombies seemed like an endless wave of rotting and decayed flesh, stumbling and stinking. The young and the old alike came here to cut them down in droves, either to train or to collect the rotting hunks of flesh that still remained of the slimy, disgusting lumps these things passed for ears. Apparently, in this town, rotten meat was wildly popular among those that dabbled in the more mystical arts. Maybe she should send Bambi down here for a night. It would do her some good, and humble the pompous little ***** a little.

She turned to the elevator, a critical eye looking over the space inside and she shook her head. “Why don’t you guys go ahead? I can wait for the next one.” She waved a hand at the elevator car. She was not shy by any means, and spent most of her night packed like a sardine between the bodies of her customers. Most of those bodies were doing some kind of bumping, grinding, or thrusting against her, too, much closer packed and more suggestive than a mere elevator ride with relative strangers, but the elevator made her wary.

The Flats hadn’t been maintained in years, she was certain. Who would take up the day to day care of a hotel locked inside a Quarantine Zone? She wasn’t keen of being on an elevator that insisted a very good possibility of crashing back into the ground floor lobby. Not with so many people in the car. The pain in her thigh throbbed again, and her hand moved to grip the leather-clad limb, squeezing tightly at the agonizing pain that wasn’t really there.

All in my head. It’s all in my head.
Get a grip.

She shook her head and gave them a smile. “I’ll be right behind you. I can check my guns here while I wait. No sweat.” She practically bounced on her heels as her blue gaze slipped to the smaller Shadow in the group, offering her a different kind of smile, one that told her she was welcome to wait for the less crowded car as well. She wasn’t sure if she would appreciate the relative privacy of the mostly empty car, or if she would go with the rest, but either way the blonde was going to wait. Her own kind of nervousness demanded it of her.

[Juliet]

There was a shake of her head to show that no, she didn’t have a wraith. She hadn’t bothered to relearn the ability, it hadn’t done anything for her in the past other than give her a headache at times. “It may be best to send Daegal, too, I don’t have one any more.” She made a mental note to start preparing to learn again; it wouldn’t hurt her, really, to have an extra set of eyes floating around at a later date if this happened again. “Went to seeking powers, instead.” Though, she began to wonder if that would do any good for her at the moment. Instead of voicing the question, she simply chuckled to herself and then rubbed the back of her neck as she lifted the pen and looked down at the notes she’d scribbled down again.

So Doc could shift into a mountain lion. That made sense, it would come in handy. The plan was coming together and Juliet had to smile a bit to herself as she listened to everyone. As she waited. Picking up her note, she eyed the page before folding it and tucking it into her back pocket. “Sounds like a good idea to me.” Juliet said about going upstairs. She tried to think of anything that she might need out of her own apartments, if she had anything stashed away. For the life of her, however, everything came up blank. She didn't think she had anything but cameras or ammo that would be of use. As she followed the others to the elevator, she focused on connecting to the auction - she could use her phone to do it, but where was the fun in that?

A shield would be done, later. She thought that may be best to do it then. After a few minutes and finding nothing of use on the auction block, she cut back off and then lifted her chin as she heard the elevator lowering itself into the lobby. “I never understood why Paladin couldn’t just attack the ones that got themselves in trouble or known. Minus drinking blood, and of course having a different body, pretty much the same stuff is done that I did while human.” She sighed, “It isn’t as if all of us are stupid and draw attention to ourselves wearing a sign.” Then again, she supposed some in Harper Rock were. And she knew that it could be the old concept of a few rotten apples - she once knew a farmer to throw out several bundles just because he had found three. It was a waste, but he hadn’t wanted to risk it. Perhaps it was that same mentality.

Upon hearing the other woman speak, Juliet turned and looked at the younger vampire with an incline of her head, “Are you sure, Freyja?” She asked, a frown playing across her lips. She glanced at the group itself, thinking that they all could fit, but after the other spoke again, she gave a nod of her head and stepped inside once the doors had slid open. She began to make a checklist of all what she would need to do - gather a better gun, have Sky appraise the sword she'd gotten last year (it was still in good shape, she was sure, but it wouldn’t hurt to check), make a tally of what they had in items and gadgets. “This’ll be one hell of a run.” She muttered aloud and to no one in particular.

[Doc]

Doc: Doc subsided into silence as he made contact with his Wraith Bob, mentally detailing the specifics to him. To find and report A.S.A.P. He wanted numbers, specific locations, the type of weapons and firepower they had with them. In addition Bob was to scout the surrounding area to make sure there were no more groups sprinkled about the area. And if there were, he would want the same details. Wraiths were good, but it would still take time for Bob to get the information that he needed.

By the time Doc returned his focus to the group, it had been decided to regroup on the either floor lobby. He chose to take the stairs. It wasn’t like because he disliked elevators, but it did seem to him, that of the others several didn’t want to ride in the current car. He figured it was because they thought they would be stuck in the care with him, and they didn’t want to ride with him. He was a fatalist. What ever could wrong, would go wrong, if he was involved, and then it was more or less.. it was his fault. Even if it wasn’t. He realized he gave people the creeps. And usually he didn’t ******* care, but today, in this case, he did care. He was about to go into a combat situation, and he needed them, to know that they could trust him. That he would cover their ***. He would go down, before allowing them to get hurt.

In Doc’s mind, he always expected the worse case scenario. He wasn’t going to put the kid in harm’s way. But, he hadn’t exactly explained himself either. He hated ******* explaining himself. He expected to be trusted. But yea, why should they? They didn’t know him. For all they knew he would turn tail at the first sign of trouble; except that we wouldn’t. As he headed up the stairs, he went back over the plan, or his particular part of the plan. He needed alternate scenarios. What if he couldn’t get the entire group to scatter into the woods?

That was why when he found out that Sparky was a shadow, it fit his plan even better. He had not been aware of her skills in that area before. He had planned along to be the ‘bait’ as it were. In animal form he could kill one of the paladins, and chase the others out of the area. But now knowing, Sparky was shadow, it gave his plan extra security. If they didn’t scatter, Sparky could take a position in the shadows and take them out long range. Well depending on whether she was a decent shot.

Then there was Jewels. He had seen her routinely in the sewers, so it seemed to him, she should be comfortable with sparring with and killing the paladins and hunters found down there. But he wasn’t sure of her skill set either. He didn’t know her really. So he needed to ask a few more questions.

Entering the lobby of eighth floor from the stairwell, Doc saw most everyone was already there. Without getting into Sparky’s personal space, he moved toward her, looking from her to Jewels, as if to say, ‘let’s confer’.

“So Sparky, you’re a shadow.. what skills have you mastered?” He paused as he looked at Jewels, “I have sent Bob to scout out the details, so if things have changed, we should know pretty soon. How are you both with rifles? In case distraction isn’t a viable solution and we need an alternate plan?”