(Skeleton Keys) Skin and Bones

[Wolven Pryde]

David's swing compounds with the landing site of Kacey's from a few seconds before, and Francesco's cheekbone fractures all the way up into his scalp. The violent wringing of Martha's neck and spine slows to a halt, and the man sways.

All of the fury has faded from his eyes. Not that it's gone complacent, or calm. There is no response at all in his suddenly slack expression. Then his body begins to tip backward, as Kacey's slightly greater weight and wrenching force wins the scales against Martha's small mass.

The three of them lurch in the same direction, as the Taifa's hands are locked in a murderous grip for a few seconds, yet. When they meet their inevitable conclusion on the floor, Martha's abdomen slowly presses against the hilt of her sword as gravity pulls her closer to Francesco, and pushes it the rest of the way through his torso. The length of steel continues to slide, meeting no resistance at all in Kacey's soft belly. She grunts at the weight of the two Kindred on top of her, but it twists into a moan of pain as the sword slips lazily through her body and out her back as well. It finally stops a half inch in the grout between two tiles in the floor.

Her dead body isn't using that kidney anyway.

In a release of tension, Francesco's Torpid arms collapse out to the side, and Martha is free. Aside from the searing fractures to her neck and spine, and the cane head pressing uncomfortably into her gut, she is fine! Or at least, no longer in danger of Torpor herself.

A moment later, when she's sure that the crisis has passed, Kacey allows her hands and boots to flop away to her sides as well.

David and Emma are the only Kindred left standing, the latter completely naked and holding a broken squeegee handle.

Combat rounds cease! Minor retcon: As Martha spent 1Vitae to activate her claws, she couldn't spend another to activate Vigor or Physical Augmentation in the same turn. We both kind of derped, there. Martha loses a success because of this, but David still finishes the job. Francesco's final Torpid Health is 3Agg, 8Lethal (until his Resilience fades)

[Martha Villiers]

Covered in gore and filth, Martha simply blinks...glad to be free from the brink of Torpor, or worse...Final Death...she allows David to perform his rescue.

Yet she's in no mood to exalt in victory.

"Thank you." Is all she dare try to croak weakly to David and risk trying to catch his eyes to amplify her gratitude.

Trying hard to avoid moving Martha begins to sheath her claws and tries to spend some Vitae to begin to heal the worst of the damage Frankie had inflicted.

-1 Vitae to heal 1 level of damage.

[Emma French]

Anger and frustration well up in Emma. She fights for control as she walks up to Francesco's body and slams the stake into it for good measure. She then turns and looks at Martha and Kacey, and shakes her head clear. Looking over to David, "We need a new squeegee from the storage. I'll get it in a few minutes." Not that Emma is heartless towards Kacey but her first concern is for Martha. "We need to get you cleaned up. If you don't mind, I can help." Emma grabs the extending shower head and looks to Martha for permission before hosing her down. Over her shoulder without taking her eyes off Martha she says, "Kacey are you doing ok?"

[Martha Villiers]

Martha nods as Emma, trying a smile, offers to help clean her up. "Please...thank you..." she croaks.

"But...Doctor, what's going on?" she asks as she looks to try a weak smile to Kacey.

It seemed a sensible question.

[Wolven Pryde]

If Kacey were still mortal, she'd probably be crying right now. She tensed as Emma angrily buried the impromptu stake in Francesco's chest. She can't blame the woman, of course, but she is also afraid that her new friend is trying to get them both. But fortunately, they're not lined up with both of their hearts along the same path. And though Emma easily buries the stick into the Torpid body, she doesn't impale him.

But Kacey is still pinned to the floor by Martha's sword. And the moment she puts pressure on the weight of the shoulders across her chest, she feels the steel slicing cruelly at her innards. Air hisses through her teeth in pain as she draws a reflexive, useless breath. She allows the weight to settle across her again, waiting patiently.

The horror of her situation is so overwhelming, she has to focus on something else. Anything else. Anything besides being a naked Kindred Shish kebab in a pile of intestines on the floor.

Anything besides the slippery mass pressing against her. The thick, greasy rope of flesh hotdogging her ass crack. The steel blade fixed coldly through her body. The boots she's trying so hard to save, soiled again. Her dead Herd and Coterie. Martin, safe but blocks away... might as well be another world.

"That's a good look for you, Emma," she jokes weakly from the floor, her voice barely more than a whimper. "You should go with it more often."

But there's something that clicks while she watches them tend to the rescuer-turned victim. It's that school uniform. The young Daeva's mind reels back to the rumors they'd heard of Sacramento, and imparted to Emma and her friend Tracy.

With renewed horror, Kacey is mortified at who she just realized she'd nearly failed to save from Torpor. And she falls into terrified silence. Not knowing what's about to happen to her.

Now that we're out of combat, Martha may heal any of her damage freely, so long as the appropriate amount of Vitae is spent.

[Emma French]

Emma cleans up Martha and moves on to Kacey. Emma tries to put the poor girl at ease, "Thanks, naked is the new black." She examines the pinned Daeva. "David, can you give me a hand here? I'll hold her if you pull the sword." She smiles at Kacey. "This is gonna hurt a bit but then we can get you cleaned up again." Emma contained a smile as a thought crossed her mind, Boy oh boy Dog would love to be here to see the Blood wrestling match.

[Emma French]

Emma nods for David to pull the sword. Once the sword is out Emma cleans the wound and holds Kacey rocking her gently to comfort her. Emma's maternal instincts were at an all time high at the moment. "I'm sorry about your boots, they are a mess. Are you ready to get up and dried off?"