(PrP) Grave Matters

[Hector]

Hector has found a problem.

It only takes him most of the day to organise the pack. Kid you not, his burner phone ran out of juice; so he had to to track through the city looking for a working payphone. And then he has to scrounge the correct change.

Yes - it probably earns him some kudos with Necessary Guile.

Yes - it takes a good portion of the day.

But it gets the job done.

Fortunately, its summer and the days are both long and pleasant. So Hector returns to the site of the problem and beds down for an afternoon nap. The pack will gather in due course. And the grave yard is both shady and peaceful.

For the moment.

[Emily Makerith]

80's rock blaring away, Emily rolls out from underneath what should be a 69 Mustang. Except it's missing a lot of parts. And doors. And an engine, that is mostly in more bits in one corner of the workshop.Urgh. There's a labour of love and then there's just a pain in my ass, she thinks, looking over the naked frame. Still. All this effort will be worth it in the end.

Wiping grease off her hands with some old rags, she sees the voicemail on her phone. "Ooops." Turning down the music and listening Hector's abrupt message, Emily ponders how far the graveyard is from here.

"Have to drive to make up the time. Oh well."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

A worn-looking blueVW bug pulls up along one of the graveyard entrances, Emily pulls out, oil-smeared and sweat-soaked, and rolls a quick cigarette before throwing her undedicated bits in the car. She pats the hood fondly before heading on in. It takes a bit of time for her to wander around before she spots the Alpha dozing and the Ithaeur lays down alongside, head on a root of a stunted tree.

"Afternoon, chief," she greets lazily, taking a drag on her cigarette. "I gotta say, it this is your problem, I envy you." By force of habit, she tries to glance across the Gauntlet.

  failure

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2018-06-22 08:01:28		Emily rolls 1 to 2 World Eyes: Wits 2 + Occult 2 + Wisdom 1 (10 Again)		2		failure

"Dammit," she mutter under her breath, rubbing one eye.

[Viola Jones]

Baling on work for a family emergency almost brought a smile to the Rahu's face. Swapping out her uniform for her dedicated shit, was a bliss. She still smelt like grease, fries and ketchup but she was free of them for the rest of the day. That alone will soften her deadened gaze towards her Alpha.

If they'd have to hunt and track and kill, well. That'll just bring an actual smile.

Finally getting to the meeting place, Viola bares her throat, submitting to Hector as Alpha before grunting out a greeting to Emily.

Locking in Moon Phase, Waxing Crescent

[Emily Makerith]

"Hey." Emily replies. watching Viola out of the corner of her eyes. She still doesn't know what to make of the other girl in the pack. Irritable, dour, silent types were never the mechanic's speciality. She preferred the chattier ones that she could actually discourse with. Didn't help, in Emily's mind, that she still had no idea if Viola was going to chase her off. But she respected the Alpha, and that seemed to be enough for now. Maybe she just needed to be impressed.

Taking a deep breath, Emily takes another shot at peeking across the Gauntlet.

  By rolling the right number of dice this time...

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2018-06-25 06:03:34		Emily rolls 5 to 2 World Eyes: Wits 2 + Occult 2 + Wisdom 1 (10 Again)		3, 5, 10, 4, 2, 7		1 success

[Viola Jones]

"Hey." she grunts out, dead eyes baleful. But from what Emily can tell this is her most neutral expression. "Do you know where Tristan Hardt and Chris Laurent are?" she asks. It wasn't like them to be no shows. Especially when Hector called them all here.

[Chris Laurent]

The phone had fallen between cushions after a particularly lovely talk between Chris, his younger sister, and their local banker. Apparently it's time to buy a god damn suit. After taking some time to cool down and not punch a wall or hunt down the damn banker Chris scrounged for his and went pale.

~~

Hopping off of a bus Chris jogs the rest of the way to the meeting point. Running would be too obvious and he only gets a few looks in his dedicated pants and old button down. Sometimes people just gotta jog.

He bows his head to Hector and nods to Viola and Emily. "Sorry, managed to hide my phone from myself."

[Emily Makerith]

Emily takes a last pull on the stub of her cigarette, extinguishes it againt the tree root and flicks it into the underbrush.

"I could head back to the car, give him a call. Or he could be on the rounds and can't get away," the Ithaeur says, casting her now missmatched eyes lazily around. "Should really start dedicating a phone one of these days," she mutters rhetorically.

[Tristan Hardt]

Tristan arrives in easy-to-shed plainclothes. The t-shirt and shorts looked well worn, but that'd be from how long he owned them and not how often he'd had a chance to wear them this year. No telltale tan lines or anything to suggest otherwise. Still, it does feel nice to relax for a while. Even if he's about to get right back to work.

Seeing the others here, already assembled and ready to go, kinda ticks him off. It might not look good on him as Beta.

"Guess I'm late." he grumbles by way of apology. "Got caught up with work."

The Elodoth hadn't really been busy, but he sure as hell wasn't going to let the others know. Especially the Alpha.

He eyes Hector expectantly, giving the raggedy Cahalith a tip of his head. "Looks like everyone is here. What are we dealing with?" Yep. Relaxation mode is officially over.

[Hector]

Hector had been snoozing, apparently, while the pack arrived. Stretched out on the ground, under cooling shade, head supported by his hands. He made general grunting noises in response to Emily's first questions. As time went on, and his People gathered, the Alpha drew himself up with oh! so much effort!

He blinked, shook himself slowly and took in Viola's stern countenance, Chris's rumpled attire and his skin, flushed, from jogging. His eyes rolled onto Tristan, holding them for an instant before his intense stare slid off to one side as if pointing the way.

The Cahalith... giggled... when his fellow Red Wolf wrestled with the Gauntlet as they waited.

"Glad you could all make it. Very glad. Now - I want you all to take a look over there. Tell me what you see. 'Cause I reckon we have a problem on our borders."

He rose and pointed over to a line of small mausolea lining the path. Relatively well maintained with stone facades that seemed to reflect the summer light.

@Emily Makerith Xadun will eventually be able to pierce the Gauntlet... Somewhat.
With effort the Ithaeur successfully peeks across but what she see's isn't very helpful. The Gauntlet appears much stronger and more rigid than it should be - almost as if a cataract of thick silken strands had been woven across the veil separating worlds. Emily can barely make out the vague shapes of the Spirit Wilds beyond.

In fact, the only reason she can is because the silken strands have been shredded and gnawed at. The barrier is broken, but it will take some time to dissipate.

[Emily Makerith]

"Spiders..." Emily snarls, squinting down where the Alpha pointed. Even in Hishu her throat rumbleswith a growl. She props herself up on an elbow and turns to look at the pack, one blue-grey eye and one a glittering, deep purple. Her face is twisted into a grimace.

"Can barely make out the wilds here, Gauntlet's so thick. Looks almost like... like Rats have been here too?" Even as she talks, the purple eye fades to match the other blue one. The Ithaeur looks at Hector. "Must be something they both want nearby. But if we can barely see, there's no way we'll get across here."