The Top Dog Always Gets the Bone [AGAINST SIRENS]

[Mordechai]

[against_sirens][/against_sirens]


G. … Ahh Grant. They had met, conversed, made some plans. He would be an acceptable accomplice. This human though… so many had attacked his few friends in the recent weeks. Mordechai said nothing, he would accept Azraeth’s judgement. For now. Shaking his head slightly, the huge killer paid close attention as Grant spoke. The man ran in very different circles then the ones Mordechai and his close friends did, something that made him wonder how Prudence had met him. The titian haired killer was a kindred soul. The two killers had been inseparable for over six years. Most times, Mordechai didn’t even need to use his powers, the pair were so matched they knew what each other was thinking before it happened. Especially when they went to war.

One eyebrow slowly rose as Mordechai took in Grant’s revelation. “I do not think I will be welcome at such a meeting. There is no love lost between the siren and myself. I have spent the last three months cleaning out their mutated spawn, and aborted experiments.” Pausing for a moment his eyes drifted toward Pru, “But I will be near, and they will not stop me, if I am needed.” Refocusing on the newest comer he continued “Information, any you can get will be good, but I have a feeling this is the only negotiation they will understand in the end…” Silently he swung the modified FN-FAL forward, and across his muscled chest. “ Prudence was waiting for your arrival, to continue this debrief, I enlightened the gathered on the subject of some of the sirens mutations I have found within the labyrinth.”

Heterochromatic orbs had tracked an incoming vampire for the last few moments. A blonde female was approaching, her track straight towards them. As one hand rose to draw his companions attention, as the other in an almost lazy motion let the barrel of his rifle drift to a closer vector on the unknown female. Humans and sirens did not have a monopoly on stupid or dangerous.

"Buenos noches, amigos. Have room for one more in this skull-bashing expedition?"

The killer took an easy step back, keeping the newcomer covered as he allowed for the others to speak.

[Prudence]

A new presence had Prudence on alert. She had never seen the woman before, but perhaps 'G' did? Her eyes went to him, as if silently questioning him. She looked at Mordie and his explanation for wanting to sit the meeting out-though she doubted he would be doing much sitting. She pretty much felt the same way.

"Uhhh, well what if we split up into groups? Mordie and I do a little recon, while those who want to play the diplomatic part of things, do that with 'G?' that way we can meet up in say, an hour and see if what he or she says, matches up to the **** we've found out?" An hour in her mind was enough time to get to the bottom of some things. Probably not everything, but a lot of things.

"So, if you wanna join us, I guess you'll have to decide if you're team diplomat, or team ask questions later..." She looked at the woman, eyes studying her and her belongings. Prudence pointed to 'G' when she mentioned team diplomat, then pointed between her and Mordie when she mentioned the other team.

"What I can tell ya now, is unless they got something really, really good to say, and promise to behave, I'm not interested in playing nice. Mordie says they've been doing some shady **** in that place there..." Prudence pointed to the never ending caves behind them, "And I know they're after something that makes them bat **** crazy, and after something that to me, is pretty much a full on statement of '**** you,' to the vampire community." She shrugged her shoulders, not caring how crass she came across with the statement, or how she said it. It was direct and to the point, just like her.

[Flynn]

[against_sirens][/against_sirens]

Grant's arrival to the party came soon after Azraeth asked the others about him, leaving no opportunity for an answer. His introduction was polite enough, and though hesitant, at first, Flynn shook his head and offered his name in the process. The contact was uncomfortable, as it so often was, but the Paladin ignored it to the best of his ability, as he so often did. The only one of the party who would have likely noticed a reaction on his part, at all, would have been Azreath, and even that would have only been due to his proximity to have practically felt the tension take hold in the human. Needless to say, he was happy enough to divert his focus elsewhere, where it fell onto the giant of a vampire as Grant went on to explain his reason for being late.

Except that Flynn was only vaguely paying attention, as he was watching the way Mordie's gaze tracked something in the distance, and it was only a moment later that the hairs at the back of his neck stood on end. It was an all too familiar sensation, that of vampires nearby. In time, he had gotten better at reading his body's natural reaction to their presence. Even when surrounded by several, he could generally pick up the comings and goings of others in the immediate area. While his repulsion and 'fight' reaction to their presence was usually more of a hindrance when it came to the company he kept, it had its perks. His head craned to look over his shoulder, gaze landing on the approaching blonde just before the group's attention was drawn to her.

He kept quiet as Pru seemed to welcome the addition to the group without question, though it didn't seem as if she actually knew the woman. Questioning the motives seemed a bit useless, however, because that would just make a scene, and he was already the odd man out in this party. With the looks he was already getting from Mordie, he didn't need similar ones directed his way. Silently appraising the new female (who he was still hoping Az or Grant might know and vouch for), he considering the plan proposed and the two options that put before him. Go with Grant, who he and Az didn't know from Adam, or the vampires that his partner could, at least, say he trusted. Still, when faced with the options, he was more inclined to take the diplomatic approach. It fell in line with usual philosophy in regards to vampires; leave them to their own devices until they create a problem. There was certainly rumors of the problem, but it had yet to be confirmed. He was generally good at reading people, so maybe he could be of use to Grant on that front.

There was a quick glance at Azraeth, lingering there for only a moment, as if trying to read his mind before it moved passed him to Grant. He was skeptical of the new face, sure, but he was here for the same reason that they all were, and he had wasted no time in bringing up the meeting. Maybe not full disclosure, but obviously not an attempt to hide it, either. That was a start. Finally turning his gaze back to the group as a whole, he nodded his head in Grant's direction, "I'll hit up the meeting with him. If we're approaching this as a group, we should at least stick together in some sense." Flynn honestly wasn't sure where Az's head was at in terms of this arrangement, and the thought that he may choose to go into the Labyrinth immediately set the Paladin on edge. Separating wasn't their agreed upon approach to this, but it wasn't his place to make a decision for both of them.

"I have my doubts that the meeting will give us much more than what they are spewing to the media, let alone to vampires, but it can't hurt to see what they could potentially let slip in a face to face," he added with a shrug, shooting a glance back to the blonde that had joined their group. "And for the sake of actually knowing who we're working with...do you happen to have a name, or should we just refer to you as, 'Hey, you.'" So, he had some trust issues. Sue him.

[Azraeth]

[against_sirens][/against_sirens]

Two new faces in a short period of time had Az pressing closer against his partner’s form, his arm around a middle. He could feel tension building inside of the Paladin, and there was little he could do to alleviate it. Az had been inside of the Labyrinth, and knew there were undead creatures in there. Of course, attacking those would only have benefited the sirens, which was the opposite of what they wanted to do. In the future though - in the future, maybe Flynn could take off some of that edge by gunning down the ugly abominations in the ground. The Mystic pressed a brief, soft kiss against his companion’s jawline. Hopefully the touch would distract him just a little bit from his discomfort.

Of the two new faces, the first he assumed was Grant or ‘G’. It seemed all sorts of info bombs were being dropped. The Sirens had agreed to meet? That seemed terribly out of character for them, and Az’s first instinct was to assume it was some kind of trap. Maybe what they really wanted was to gather information about vampire motives, numbers, power. And the best way to do that was to play nice. Sirens were literally serpents and spiders. Who the **** would have trusted that?! Sure. Maybe they could put on a nice face. A good act. But so could Allurists, and Az had been bitten by being too trusting with the particularly manipulative members of that group in the past. No. Sirens just seemed like the sort who would charm you and then eat you. Azraeth was not about that life.

The other new face he felt the vaguest familiarity with. Like maybe he had met her once a very very long time ago. “Her name is Arauchia.” He supplied. Not because he knew, but because the moment he’d picked up on her, he had immediately dipped into her brain. Sure. It might have been considered ‘rude’ by some vampires, but they were in a high tension situation, and Azraeth knew that failing to take precautions was like begging to get fucked with a hammer. Again. Not about that life.

“I agree, we should meet back here soon. I can act as transport if need be.” He supplied. “Which is to say that I’ll be playing on team diplomat for now.” Not that he suspected they were going to get much in the way of intelligence. Half of the reason he was going though, was because Flynn was going. And Az wasn’t about to send his human companion, with someone he didn’t know. Which flowed excellently into the other half of his reason for going. He didn’t know Grant. He got some really strong ‘charming as ****’ vibes from him, but Azraeth specialized in mental war games. The team certainly hadn’t called him in for his fighting skills. And if they were going to talking to a Siren, he wanted to be there. Because he knew that he could keep the interests of their group in mind through whatever negotiation process was going to happen.

Which was to say that he agreed with Prudence. Anything short of a miraculous reveal wasn’t going to garner his sympathy.

“Where is this meeting taking place?” He asked of Stonehouse, before giving his duffel bag full of weapons a toss towards Arauchia. He assumed she would be going to murder some Sirens, given how she’d introduced herself. She would need the weapons more than him for the moment. Besides. He had a few on him still. His phone slipped out, so he could set a timer to go off, to remind him to drag them back to the Labyrinth when Prudence and Mordie would be expecting them.

[Stonehouse]

[against_sirens][/against_sirens]

The party was growing by the minute, a blonde haired woman being the latest to join the fun. She had a fleeting resemblance to Shakira, and although the Colombian singer had faith in hips because they never lied, Stonehouse wasn’t yet sure if he should automatically trust a complete stranger. Who was she? Could anyone vouch for her? Harper Rock was full of sly foxes who would backstab you at the drop of a hat, so letting an unknown vixen into the chicken run could prove problematic. The cautious businessman had already found himself thrown together with a pair of unfamiliar faces, albeit one of whom was apparently allied to Pru and Mordie. Was another drifter a step too far?

One of the new male pair, the vampire who went by the name of Az, gave the blonde latecomer his verbal thumbs up by introducing her as Arauchia. Stonehouse always liked to give strangers the benefit of the doubt, working on the assumption that they were simply new acquaintance who hadn’t yet been fully introduced, potential business partners or customers in waiting. He was generally a good judge of character, and enjoyed making snap decisions about a person’s personality. The analytical entrepreneur had formulated the instant opinion that Az and his… partner, having been given the green light by Pru and Mordie, were to be trusted, albeit at arms length. A friend of a friend was a good enough connection in circumstances such as these. However, a friend of a friend of a friend? Well, it looked as though Stonehouse would have to suck it up for now, ensuring that he kept his keen eyes peeled at all times.

“Hola… Arauchia,” said Stonehouse, “welcome aboard the good ship Siren Slapper.”

A wry grin slowly radiated from Stonehouse’s face, his eyes constantly weighing up the three strangers, attempting to glean any information from the trio’s subtle body language. The businessman hoped to get to know a little more about each of the newcomers as the evening took its course, but for now, it was time to get down to the matter at hand.

“Pru is correct,” he continued, “I think that we have effectively a choice between an attempt at diplomacy, or the all guns blazing approach. Either way, we need to know exactly what these sneaky buggers are up to.”

Stonehouse glanced across to the nearby entrance to the mysterious Labyrinth.

“It looks like a few of you have a bit of existing knowledge about that place, and are eager to get back inside?”

Stonehouse’s dark eyes shifted between Pru and Mordie, almost certain that they couldn’t wait to start kicking ***. He then shifted focus to the human, Flynn, and his buddy, Az.

“Whereas others could be up for a bit of a chat with the good folk over at the Hebigumo Foundation headquarters? That’s where my meeting has been arranged. Granted, it’s more than likely with some fairly meaningless PR minion, but it’s an option.”

Finally, Stonehouse shifted his attention to the blonde, unsure as to which way she would go.

“And then there are the ones who haven’t yet decided.”

In an ideal world, each of the gathered posse would be able to fully explain their reasons for being here, their rationale for taking up arms against the Siren threat, but the gang weren’t at the local pub with hours to spare; they were next to a potentially powerful ancient ruin, littered with lethal enemies. There was no time for job interviews. Similarly, Stonehouse would love to be able to both attend his pre-arranged meeting at the strange corporation, and go on a killing spree in the Labyrinth. Being able to be in two places at once would be such an excellent ability, certainly one that the wannabe omnipotent mastermind would love to possess.

Stonehouse glanced down at his sturdy watch, noting the time.

“In terms of timing, my meeting is not until tomorrow afternoon, so as long as nobody is scared of a little sunshine, then feel free to come along.”

He smiled, slinging his fully packed rucksack onto the floor in front of his feet.

“Which also means that I’m happy to play a bit of Slap the Siren for a while. In fact, I have a feeling that we may already have a few more partygoers getting a head start inside the Labyrinth.”

Pulling out his iPhone, the tall Englishman offered up yet another grin to the group.

“I sent a few more texts and emails earlier. I think a familiar face or two may be waiting for us.”

Be prepared: it was a simple mantra to follow. When embarking on a journey to the unknown, it was always a good idea to invite a handful of friendly passengers, preferably ones wielding heavy machine guns.

“How about we all make our way to the Labyrinth first? See what we are up against. We can finalise who goes where later.”

[Ripper]

Ripper says: "you and me, Grumpy...we need to sneak our way into Hebigumo Corporation."

Ripper says: "just crazy enough to be down for something like that?"

Grumpykitty says: "Yea, if there is hacking and slashing involved I`m game."

Ripper says: "There could be some of that on the way out, but ideally this would be an in and out espionage before they`re even certain we`re inside."

Grumpykitty says: "Oh that`s simple for me, an in and out job, hack and sneak and cling to the shadows is what i do.."

Ripper says: "There`s only one area we could run into difficulty though and that is the siren`s song."

Ripper says: "Anybody we know who could lend along a few human servants along for muscle? Their kind isn't affected by the glamour."

Conversation 1 of 2

[against_sirens][/against_sirens]

[Arauchia]

[against_sirens][/against_sirens]

It was quite the motley crew that was assembled before her, and now they were all staring at Arauchia. She cut a rather unimposing figure at 5'3'', but they seemed to think the shadow, even in her weakened state, was a severe threat. They were rather wrong, but she wasn't intending to let them in on that secret. Only she and Jesse knew that at present. Then a man inquired as to whom she was. How curious. His aura didn't feel like a vampire. So he might have been one of those super natural human races she heard so much about. However, this was not an unreasonable request, after all it was important for team members to know each other.

Before she could answer, a man blurted out her name for her. Violet eyes bored a hole into the man's forehead as she appraised him. Immediately, Chia noticed the slited eyes looking back at her. Of course. Nikolae's blood was present here. She would have to lodge a complaint with papa dragon later for this one's rudeness, but for now she merely gave the man a disdainful look as she snapped back at him. "Look here, Dragon boy. Stay the hell out of my head. You could've just asked like chico here."

The Spaniard gave the man next to the one who had probed her mind a smile, as warm as she could muster. "I have nothing to hide. I'm Arauchia Rivera. I benefited from the rift staying open, therefore I want these...creatures to not succeed." As none of these faces looked at all familiar to her, she would leave it to them to figure out what that mean. Perhaps if they survived this, then she would regale them with what happened to her.

Chia's attention then turned to the Englishman talking strategy. He seemed to be the ringleader of this outfit, so she would just have to trust him for the time being. He however then was accounting for who was going to talk first, and those who were going to ask questions later. A playful grin appeared on her lips as fingers started drumming on her hip. "Words and diplomacy bore me, and I stick to the darkness. So I'll stay with them." A hand gestured to Prudence and Mordechai before her eyes glanced to the weapons bag that was pushed towards her by the rude man. Perhaps this was his way of making amends for being rude? Either way she wasn't questioning it as she rifled through the weapons to pick up a rifle, a short sword, and a few more clips of ammo. "Gracias." She drawled as she put the ammo up in her bag and put the new additions in comfortable carrying places on her petite frame.

The smooth talking English guy was however eager for them all to get going, and that likely wasn't for the best so the enemy didn't see them congregating near by. "Lead the way then, Senor." Chia commented to Grant and waited for the party to head that way.

[Mordechai]

Mordechai watched as the introductions were made, before lowering his weapon. The newcomer had the scent of an Andras, and while not all of that line were worth the piss to put them out if they burned, some were.... and he had enough respect for the patriarch and matriarch of the line to give this fledgling a chance. A shallow nod acknowledged her choices, at least she knew something of weapons. Glancing towards the female, Mordechai gave a quick recap of his earlier sitrep. "These within are mutated, not all will be as it seems, but they bleed, and they die." Turning towards Azraeth, Grant, and the other 'diplomats' his voice rumbled low "Si vis pacem, para bellum" Stepping towards the labyrinth a slow smile spread as he lightly touched the titian haired killer beside him, "Let's hunt"