2023-04-19 SP: Around Every Corner
Around Every Corner
Participants: Alaska Kateri River Wovoka Jones
Storyteller: Elyse
Location: A Pico-Union Housing Project
Date and Time: April 19, 2024 2:40 am
Summary: Kateri has a vision from Jaguar, who urges the Sentinels pack to follow up on a strange murder in their territory.
Mood Music: Grey Days by Chelsea Wolfe
On the one night that the twins are actually sleeping well following a decent amount of feeding, Kateri is brought into a Totem-induced dreamscape. She walks along a pathway leading some residential project; there are squat, low houses on either side of her, different little duplexes that have been constructed to house low-income families. Some music is playing, but Kateri can't quite place it. In her mind's eye, she appears as she did when she first arrived in Los Angeles, before motherhood, before becoming mated. She turns a corner on the pathway within the housing project and sees a porch light pop on in front of a door.
Very suddenly, she stands before the door, noting the number: 18. Based on traffic from nearby, it looks like the housing project is somewhere around Olympic and Normandie.
Inside the building, Kateri gets an impression and hears a voice in her mind but also around her to LOOK. WATCH.
She sees the outline of a jaguar shape and the hum of insects. She passes through the hallway in this place and sees an old woman sitting at a table. A man steps up to her and presses his fingers into her face; her face seems then to be made from wax and deforms under the man's hands. The woman does not scream or cry out, but the man does. He's large, probably six feet, five inches tall, bald, and broad shouldered, maybe in his thirties. Both the man and woman are Latino.
The man picks up what appears to be a bag full of something and shakes it. There's a sense that something has entered the room, but Kateri cannot see it. The man looks at her and says, "Now they belong to me." He disappears in front of her as if he stepped sideways.
Kateri wakes in a cold sweat.
Twitches ring out through her body, fingers dancing along the edging of the bedding that she sleeps not-so-peacefully next to River while the twins are in the other room after feeding. There's already troubled sleeping from te kinfolk on the best of days and add twins into the mix, it only intensifies that. Amongst that dreamscape there's that feeling once more echoing out through her like the last time, it's not something that feels *right* given that she isn't quite used to her newfound connection with Jaguar. In the real world, that push into the wax face brings a jerk of her body, her head smashing back against the pillow as if attempting to get herself away from what's going on. Then she's waking - but it's not a silent one but it's a strained cry rising from her as she jerks herself up into a seated position, drenched with that sweat that draws across her form. She's quickly reaching out to smack against River, not even waiting for him to be fully conscious as she strains out. "Call the pack." <English>
River is awakened not by the swat but by Kateri's dreamstate jerk. He blinks himself awake and gets through the bleary looking around phase while her dream finishes for her. He is already sitting up when she cries out and sits bolt upright and reaches for him, making contact before she maybe thought she would. SMACK.
He opens his mouth and then shuts it, considering her for a moment. "All right," he agrees. He hasn't quite been blessed enough to summon his pack telepathically... thankfully. For all of them. And so he sends texts.
To Wovoka: Kat has had a dream. Need you at her house brother.
To Alaska: Not sure if you still have that phone. If so, Kat wants to see everyone - are you in town? Can you come?
Wovoka replies with a thumbs-up emoji and 'soon'. An hour later, an aging Toyota Corolla sedan with crisp baby blue paint, long overdue for a wash, pulls up about half a block from Kateri's abode. A long-haired stuntman-looking motherfucker from western Nevada slides out, taking the hand tools he used to hotwire the vehicle out with him.
He comes in the front door. "'sup, big man," he says, dapping River. "Where's our Martin Luther King Jr. at?" he asks, looking for Kateri, bag of MnM's in hand.
Soon after Wovoka, the little Ragabash has arrived. With her hood up and her army jacket over it, she looks not much different before though her face is mostly obscured. She follows Wovoka in, having slipped in after he left himself in. Padding in around him, she stands to the side. "...hey. Um..hi. I'm here for whatever is needed." A look up to the side. "Wovoka..." Then looks forward, "Kateri....brother."
Wovoka Jones daps Alaska as well, naturally. He makes the Web Walker gang sign.
Birthed not one but TWO weird-shaped-head babies from River so has hopefully earned some lenience in smacks without looking. After all, when she comes out of dreamscape or nightmares, there isn't quite that level of 'awake'. As River's taking care of texting, she's slipping from bed in order to go into the babies room. It's in teh babies room that she remains during that wait for the rest of the pack to arrive, tending to the twins to ensure that they sleep through the arrival of more rage-filled beasts in teh house with another feeding, diaper change and suc. Once she hears Wovoka's voice is when she slips of the bedroom, carefully closing the door behind her as she glances towards River's direction tehn to Wovoka and Alaska, nodding her head in silent greetings. There's a bit of a worn down look to Kateri - not only from what happened to her but the fact that she had twins that need double duties.
River is by now at least wearing some clothes. The selections of the moment are a pair of unflattering mom jeans and his BURGER TIME t-shirt (the words, meat-coloured, between two lighter-coloured cartoon buns).
He returns Wovoka's dap and offers him a smile, but is his usual serious self. At lest while his mate is having disturbing dreams from their Totem. He points at Wovoka afterward and notes, "Ah! I get that!" He sometimes does, with soft pitches like that one.
When Alaska arrives, he looks her over and gives her a small, brief smile and a nod. "Alaska," he greets.
He was good enough to not go into the babies' room. Whenever he does, they squirm and cry, even when asleep. The Curse is not kind for Garou parents and, as most do, River opts to stay away more often than not, rather than watching his defenseless children grow upset and fearful from his mere presence.
When Kateri emerges, River simply looks at her with another small, inviting smile. The gang is all here!
Kateri's eyes watch her mate for an extended moment at the gesture to continue. She remains what aalmost appears to be blocking the door to the children's room for a prolonged moment before she slowly slips away rom it. "Jaguar came to me again in dreams."
Having spent a great deal of time within the general area by foot, she's able to recognize areas a bit easier. "I was standing before a door with teh number 18. It looked familiar, perhaps somewhere around Olympic and Normandie."
Unlike her Galliard mate, this retelling is not quite with the flourish of a story teller perhaps due to the tiredness resting within her. "I.. had that feeling to watch what happens next to not remove my eyes." Which brings a hard swallow to form.
"I saw jaguar shape and the hum of insects. I went trough the hallway and there was a old woman sitting at the table. A man steps up to her and presses his fingers into her face, like pressing into soft wax her face caved. The man did scream, not the woman. Large, six feet and a half.. Bald.. Broad shoulders.." She pauses. "Thirties? Both are latinos." There's a flinch. "The man picked up a bag and shakes it and I can feel it.. Someting surrounding the room unseen and he said.. now they belong to me and just disappeared, like side stepping." <English>
Alaska looks up at Wovoka and nods, staying subdued for her. Arms fold, somewhat defensively as she turns back to River and then Kateri, giving a very slight smile to the pair. "...congratulations. I um..kept meaning to come by but..." She looks not quite comfortable but takes a long breath. "Sounded important. I'm here and ready for whatever you need. We can talk later. "
Listening to the story. "That sounds like some sort of wyrmy thing, unless its symbolic. 18 definately isn't. We should be able to find that without too much issue. Can you draw out the numbers? Colors of doors and hallways? It may give us the first steps when we get in a building."
"The only other meaning I can think of for 18 is Barrio-18, the rivals to the Maras," River replies after giving a singular nod to Alaska. Time enough for conversation later, if everyone lives. He folds his arms across his chest, adopting a similar posture to his adoptive sister's. They're alike in some ways, certainly.
"But... if it's the actual place, hm. Insects... often seem Wyrm like. At least feasting on the destruction the Wyrm brings. The rest..." He puffs his cheeks and shakes his head slowly. "I'm no Theurge. Perhaps we could check out the place - even on the computers to see if it is what Kateri saw? To seehow literal the vision was, as for location?"
"I've got a car outside when we're ready to move," says Wovoka. "Alaska, you got your good phone for skimming street view? My cell phone's kind of a piece of shit for that kind of thing."
Alaska slings her backpack around and pulls a tablet out as she moves the handgun to the side and slides it back on. "Let me try." Pulling up the Google Maps of the area, she zooms in on street view and slips it around, seeking it out but moving so Kateri can see. Maybe something about it will look familiar to her as she does the search.
River nods in satisfaction. Yes, she's doing the computer thing, just as he suggested!
+ROLL/+DICE> Alaska: Wits + Computer vs. 3 -> 2 successes. (9 8 7 5 1 1)
Kateri looks less than impressed as the idea is to move to technology but she isn't outwardly saying anything. Instead, she's being a cooperative good kinfolk by looking over towards the tablet as the mysterious google maps are drawn up.
River looks around at the others as the place is soon enough identified. "Well... that was surprisingly easy and without blundering around. So Jaguar has shown us one of the Wyrm... something to quietly investigate, at least, I think?"
Wovoka Jones says "Sounds like it. Give it, eh, a day of surveillance before we kick in any doors?"
Alaska nods, "I can bring the drone around. Or we can just sit and watch it old school, or both. Can we scout it from sideways as well? Not that its my specialty." Setting the tablet down, she slips her hands into her pockets.
"All are good ways," River answers, looking from one to the next. "But... you never know when you'll have to kick in those doors. Hard to know if Jaguar wishes us to learn or to hunt until we get there." He glances around at the others with a slight, pensive frown.
"Alaska, can you get a drone surveying fairly quickly? We could go and take a tour there, then try sidestepping somewhere close, look from the other side."
+ROLL/+DICE> Alaska: Perception + Technology vs. 6 -> 3 successes. (10 8 7 5 5 4)
Alaska reaches over and taps the location and copies something to another program. Tapping rapidly on the tablet, "Ok...deployed..." A small video in the corner shows movement as she continues to add commands then lays the tablet back down. "Ok, it will be there in about ten minutes."
Alaska can, indeed, quickly scan the area with her drone. It buzzes out and off into the distance, and has enough range to reach the housing project. If Kateri watches the camera feed, she can see the exact path she walked in her dream, turn right at a sidewalk, and the drone passes by a porch with an illuminated '18' on the door. Further video footage shows no one around, save for a few people who are listening to loud ranchero music and cooking outside. Not terribly odd in the middle of the night in this area, but definitely a little odd considering that it's very cold. There are some surveillance cameras around unit 1, which belongs to the landlord, but otherwise no other indication that the area is protected or surveilled in any way.
A *good* kinfolk as she is, despite her hate for tecnology - Kateri remains close by Aaska to look down towards the screen once there's a drone in flight. She'll lean over, murmur here and there to comment that she recognizes the path but otherwise remains silent with her eyes flicking behind her towards the door of the babies as if listening out for them.
River watches the last of the electronic surveillance and motions to the screen with a couple of gestures to identify any rooftops or other places that might make for good, real-world vantage points.
+ROLL/+DICE> Kateri: Wits + Elusion vs. 5 -> 3 successes. (9 6 5)
+ROLL/+DICE> Wovoka Jones: Dexterity + Stealth vs. 6 -> 4 successes. (8 8 7 7 5 3)
+ROLL/+DICE> Kateri: Dexterity + Stealth vs. 6 -> 2 successes. (9 7 5 5 2)
+ROLL/+DICE> River: Gnosis vs. 6 -> 2 successes. (10 9 5 4)
+ROLL/+DICE> River: Dexterity + Stealth + 4 vs. 6 -> 5 successes. (10 9 9 8 7 7 6 6 3 1 1 1)
+ROLL/+DICE> Alaska: Dexterity + Stealth vs. 6 -> 1 success. (10 9 7 4 2 2 1 1)
The pack makes its way to the housing project; it's called La Calendula Homes. And, as advertised, there are a great deal of marigolds out front. The dark of the night covers most of their approaches, and the four of them are able to get into position well enough. Kateri can scale the building with relative ease -- there's a drainage pipe that's securely fastened and takes her weight, allowing her to clamber up and sit on the flat rooftop overlooking building 18.
he others make their way around to scout the housing project first, seeing largely nothing out of the ordinary, nor sensing anything specifically Wyrmish, the trio can head for the duplex in question. There's a loud buzzing from one of the lampposts near the street. Yellow sodium bulbs that barely illuminate the exterior sidewalks cast a strange gloom over this area, largely lit by porchlights.
River checks around the perimeter of the building and, finding nothing particularly concerning, suggests finding a car parked on a sidestreet so that they can check out a sideview mirror and make their way across the Gauntlet.
+LOSE/+BURN> River burns 1 Willpower.
+ROLL/+DICE> River: Gnosis vs. 7 -> 1 success. (9 8 5 1)
River pushes through the Gauntlet for his pack. Soon enough, they are in the shallow Umbra, and here he quickly shifts into Lupus to see about sneaking closer without having to worry about the Veil.
+LOSE/+BURN> River burns 1 Rage.
+SHIFT> River shifted into form Lupus!
Wovoka Jones revs up his arm...
+ROLL/+DICE> Wovoka Jones: Gnosis vs. 8 -> 2 successes. (10 9 6 3)
Wovoka Jones 's theomechanical right arm flexes to life with a dull murmur of distant song.
Plunging through the cold threads of the Gauntlet, the Sentinels emerge and take the second breath in the penumbral reflection of this place. Kateri, who may have been watching them, sees them disappear, River guiding the way.
This part of the city has been recently built up. This used to be a vacant lot with a collection of trees and shrubs, of which the spirits still remain. There is one single building -- that of building 18 -- which sits in the Umbra. The other half of the duplex, building 17, is absent in this reflection. Instead, 18 sits as a kind of half-finished structure. Black vine-like shapes curl and twist around the exterior.
There are the usual spirits in the area, but they largely avoid building 18. Instead, they content themselves to rummaging around the spiritual reflection of the trees that were knocked down to put this housing project in.
Not being cool enough for umbra travel, Kateri continues to remain on watch witin her perch. No longer having mega-preggo belly means that she can actually do stuff again. Yay no babies.
River chuffs wolfishly to urge his packmates to follow as he seems to nearly become one with the shadow, slipping closer to have a better look at this portion of the structure that seems to have attracted such spiritual significance, faster than its surroundings. Wovoka Jones asides to Alaska, "Never seen this sort of off-balance umbral manifestation before..."
Alaska nods in response. "Its probably what has it edging into Kat's dreams. There -is- something here. Do we want to drop in from this side? " She does have that fireaxe. "It could be something horrible on this side."
Wovoka Jones says "It could be something horrible on the other side, too. But yeah - I want to look behind that door somethin' awful..."
As River gets closer, it's clear that there are Banes inside. They seem to be in a nascent or docile state, largely ignoring the werewolf despite feeling his Rage. They mostly cavort with one another. Little spirits of murder and violence listless dancing around the interior of the place, visible through the open wall-section that should have building 17. Aside from that, there appears to be something ominous about this building; it's as if something is waiting, holding its breath, hoping not to be seen.
On the Realm side, the large Latino man opens the door to building 18 and steps out onto the porch. He lights a cigarette and takes a drink out of a beer he's got in his grubby mitts.
Back in the Umbra, there is a closed off door to where Kateri indicated she saw the wax-face compression. The Banelings ignore any Garou who come their way. Ecology of this part of the Umbra, apparently.
+ROLL/+DICE> Wovoka Jones: 11 vs. 6 -> 5 successes. (9 9 8 7 7 5 4 3 3 3 2)
+ROLL/+DICE> Wovoka Jones: 11 vs. 6 -> 4 successes. (10 9 9 9 7 6 5 4 2 1 1)
+ROLL/+DICE> Wovoka Jones: 11 vs. 6 -> 5 successes. (10 8 8 6 6 6 4 3 2 2 1)
+ROLL/+DICE> Wovoka Jones: 7 + 4 vs. 6 -> 5 successes. (10 9 8 8 7 6 6 4 4 1 1)
+ROLL/+DICE> Wovoka Jones: 7 + 3 vs. 6 -> 4 successes. (10 9 9 6 5 4 4 3 2 2)
+ROLL/+DICE> Wovoka Jones: 7 + 4 vs. 6 -> 4 successes. (10 9 7 7 6 4 4 3 3 3 1)
+LOSE/+BURN> Wovoka Jones burns 3 Rage.
+SHIFT> River shifted into form Crinos!
+ROLL/+DICE> River: Rage + 1 vs. 5 -> 2 successes. (10 7 7 4 1)
+LOSE/+BURN> River burns 2 Rage.
Wovoka Jones 's sword moves with sharp, decisive movements, his footwork reminiscent of a lunging hound. His nostrils flare, pupils dilate - he has spilled blood. Will he go insane?
+ROLL/+DICE> Wovoka Jones: Rage vs. 5 -> 2 successes. (7 7 4 3 2)
+ROLL/+DICE> River: Dexterity + Brawl vs. 6 -> 5 successes. (8 7 7 6 6 5 4 3 2)
+ROLL/+DICE> River: Dexterity + Brawl vs. 6 -> 1 success. (8 5 4 4 3 3 3 3 2)
+ROLL/+DICE> River: Dexterity + Brawl vs. 5 -> 1 success. (10 9 7 6 3 2 1 1 1)
+ROLL/+DICE> River: Strength + 4 vs. 6 -> 7 successes. (10 10 10 9 9 7 6 5 4 4 4 2 2)
<OOC> Elyse says, "+1 more for claws!"
+ROLL/+DICE> River: 1 vs. 6 -> 0 successes. (2)
+ROLL/+DICE> River: Strength + 1 vs. 6 -> 9 successes. (10 10 9 9 7 7 7 6 6 3)
+ROLL/+DICE> River: Strength + 1 vs. 6 -> 4 successes. (10 9 8 8 7 4 3 3 2 1)
+GAIN> River regains 1 Rage.
+ROLL/+DICE> River: Rage vs. 5 -> 1 success. (10 6 3 1)
River gives a low growl with the tainted bane's blood dripping from his maw. His viscera-festooned claws flex and his eyes swivel to that door, burning with white-hot rage, and yet in control.
+ROLL/+DICE> Elyse: 7 vs. 6 -> 2 successes. (9 7 6 5 4 2 1)
The scraglings never knew what hit them. As Wovoka swoops in with the blade and River comes in with his claws, the creatures are quickly dispatched. At least a little bit of this place has been cleansed.
On the Realm side, the man looks up suddenly and glances over his shoulder towards the door of building 18. He throws his cigarette and sets his beer bottle down on the railing, then begins to make his way down the path leading away from this place -- and quickly. Headed for the parking lot.
In the Umbra, the dingy yellow backrooms-ass carpet and wallpaper is further illuminated by the spiritual presence of a light that glows from the walls itself. The door at the other end of the room seems to pulse as if it were a beating heart.
+LOSE/+BURN> Kateri burns 1 Willpower.
+ROLL/+DICE> Kateri: Dexterity + Elusion vs. 6 -> 2 successes. (10 6 5 3)
+ROLL/+DICE> Elyse: 3 + 3 vs. 6 -> 1 success. (10 7 5 4 3 1)
Wovoka Jones , as the sole remaining guy with functioning hands, prepares to open the throbbing door, if River seems amenable to that.
Alaska crouches and waits upon the other too before quitely licking her paws and waits.
River flexes his claw-tipped fingers once more and gives a nod to Wovoka. The rage is close to the surface now, and he intends to destroy whatever lies through that door. Wovoka Jones opens the door. Twisty the knob...
Kateri continues to move across the shadows that she finds following the man on his path.
+ROLL/+DICE> Elyse: 6 vs. 7 -> 0 successes. (9 7 5 1 1 1)
Beyond the door is a void. Empty and purposeless, something was once here before, but all that remains is darkness. That oppressive feeling grows stronger here. It is not necessarily a feeling of the Wyrm, but one of death and despair, violence and pain, but without Jaguar's blessing. People were murdered here for some reason, and it created this blight.
Beyond, in the Realm, Kateri is able to follow the man. He stops for a moment and takes that little bag out of his pocket, looking around with some degree of paranoia on his sweaty face. A vein throbs in his forehead. He retrieves a human tooth form the bag and tosses it on the ground. And waits.
"Fuck!" He shouts, then begins to run as fast as he can towards a car in the parking lot.
+ROLL/+DICE> Wovoka Jones: Intelligence + Cosmology vs. 6 -> 3 successes. (9 8 8 5 2)
Wovoka Jones shoves the door open, ready to dive in, then slaps his hand against the door-frame and shoves himself back and away from the Hole in the world. "What in the /shit/?" he says. "Nothing to kill here. Just a... graveyard. Something's /really/ wrong here, River," he says, looking over his shoulder. "We're gonna need a specialist for this one. Someone's fucking with the land of the dead."
+LOSE/+BURN> Kateri burns 1 Willpower.
+ROLL/+DICE> Kateri: Dexterity + Athletics vs. 6 -> 5 successes. (8 8 6 6 6 3)
+ROLL/+DICE> Elyse: 3 + 2 vs. 6 -> 1 success. (9 6 4 2 1)
River growls faintly and then shifts back to human with the popping and rending of joints and limbs. His body contorts and shifts back into its clothed, human form. He changed into his dedicated apparel for this - black skulking-appropriate attire. "We should find a place to cross back over," he says, eying the blight uncomfortably. "Clear out whatever is on the other side... and bring a Theurge here. This is... hmph. Higher than my paygrade, the Wyrm-bringers like to say." He glances from Wovoka to Alaska and arches his brows to solicit agreement or objection.
There's that voice in the back of her head that's screaming 'don't do it' but then there's that spark of her pre-motherhood, that want to feel the adrenalin and it's only a second debate before it's like instinct that she's taking off after the man. As Kateri begins to gain distance on him, she's trying to cut him off in direction to come to literally use her own body to get in front of him and stop.
Voices emerge from the void. The wolves hear snatches of what sound like prayers, or maybe more like declarations or some form of begging.
"PLEASE! No! I don't-"
"...and when I was last there I saw him, his eyes were too dark..."
"I should have known about the crossroads, I just was so desperate that--"
"...and then Esmerelda and I touched for the last time. I loved her more than..."
"I can't feel my skin anymore. I can't feel my heart beat. I can't feel my eyes. I can see, but I can't feel my eyes."
"...who are you? Why are you looking down into this?"
"...but then Esmerelda was dead already. How could I have known..."
+ROLL/+DICE> Elyse: 3 + 2 vs. 6 -> 2 successes. (6 6 5 3 2)
+ROLL/+DICE> Elyse: 4 + 1 vs. 6 -> 0 successes. (10 5 4 3 1)
Seeing Kateri, the man attempts to shove his shoulder into her to barrel her out of the way. It's effective insofar as he's able to connect with her, but it doesn't do much in the way of damage to the Kinfolk. He attempts to continue on through, refusing to get locked into a melee with the woman.
Back through the looking glass, the trio of Garou find themselves standing in what appears to be an old sitting room. There's the corpse of a woman in a rocking chair, her face heavily deformed due to an intense amount of physical pressure. Judging by this, and no other obvious wounds, it's clear she died in a state of agony. Her eyes have been pressed in, her nose and cheekbones shattered as her face has caved in.
The yellow lighting in this place extends from its umbral reflection. There are pictures on the wall: the woman and the large man. They were connected in some way. The two of them look happy in all of the photographs which are framed and hung on the walls. The woman has a large cross hanging from the wall, as well as what appears to be more mystic symbols over and around the door. Whatever they were intended to do, they couldn't stop the woman from being murdered.
A cat meows nearby. There are no other sounds in the house.
+LOSE/+BURN> Kateri burns 1 Willpower.
+ROLL/+DICE> Kateri: Dexterity + Firearms vs. 7 -> 2 successes. (9 7 7 6 4 1)
+ROLL/+DICE> Wovoka Jones: Intelligence + Occult vs. 6 -> 2 successes. (6 6 5 3 2)
+ROLL/+DICE> River: Intelligence + Occult vs. 6 -> 3 successes. (8 7 7 3 2)
There's a particular glean over of Kateri, that lack of emotional response as she's struck over that brings her foot to slide out. The fingers curl around the pistol as its dislodged from its resting spot and without even a thought to cross her mind, she aims the pistol down towards the man's leg and pulls the trigger.
Wovoka Jones 's ears perk in exactly the way a human's ears shouldn't.
River is looking around at the place slowly and then looks toward the front door with a curse as he hears a gunshot. One can never be sure in this part of town, but with Kateri outside with a gun. He glances to the door and then moves to rush out after pulling his hood up and low around his face. He knows there are cameras about!
The gunshot hits him in the back of the knee, causing him to spiral to the side and fall to the ground. The man's eyes go blank for a moment, and he offers a yellow-toothed smile at Kateri.
The gunshot was loud enough that the people grilling out have heard and have decided, wisely, to run away from the housing project.
