(PRP) Colder than the hinges of Hell

[Bleeds Well]

Bleeds Well reclined in the old torn out car seat. The bucket seat probably came from sold old van, but now decorated a vacant lot. Trash and detritus was strewn about the lot in plentiful quantities.

In no particular hurry, with no particular urgency, the Rahu waited for a certain little Bird .

[Bird]

Bleeds Well waits for a little while. But, sure as anything, Bird shows.

The Irraka walks up the street with that kid Bleeds Well had given a meal a while back.

The kid doesn't approach. Instead he takes a whispered order from Fa-ninna and books it down the block. One meal with the Rahu is apparently enough.

Bird lights a menthol and makes his approach. Slow and steady, seemingly at ease. He stops several paces from Bleeds Well's seat. Keen eyes sweep the lot before coming to rest on his pack mate.

"Evenin'," Bird says.

If the Beta is here, then he's got something to say. And if he's got something to say, then he'll say it.

[Bleeds Well]

Bleeds Well is quiet for a long moment. The silence drags in a way that would make many uncomfortable. Bleeds Well sits in the silence and broods, his eyes find Bird, but he's not looking at the Fa-ninna.


"You're no Briget. You're no Matt." A strange statement, he announces matter-of-factly. Eyes flick up and down Bird. "You did well in the hunt. When we took down Sewer Slave-Driver we scattered the Beshilu swarm, but it persists."

And there have been signs... have you seen them... what have you learned ... how would you kill a swarm?

A plethora of unasked questions hang between the two pack-mates. Tests within tests.

[Bird]

Bird squats. Smokes. Looks at the sky. Looks at the ground. Gives the Rahu his time. Fa-ninna knows silence. Silence is his friend. It does not bother him.

"Naw," he replies. "I'm not. I'm Bird." Bleeds Well is somewhere else. That much is clear. Lost in time. Bird is willing to give him the space he needs to find his way back.

He lets the acknowledgement of his role in their recent hunt pass without comment. Bird was simply doing his job. That's enough.

"You drive a rat off, it doesn't go up. It goes down. Goes to ground. Gotta go where they are. Sewers. Tunnels."

[Bleeds Well]

The Rahu nods, slowly getting to his feet and making his way out of the lot.

Pausing he turns to Bird, "Spend much time at the river?" The Rahu is clearly searching for something from the new moon.

[Bird]

"I been down there. But haven't spent too much time. Why?" Straight to the point. As always.

Bird watches Bleeds Well closely. It's clear the Rahu is looking for a certain answer. Fa-ninna isn't one to try reading his pack mate's mind.

[Bleeds Well]

The path Bleeds Well leads Bird down is winding, indirect. He pauses at a storm drain here, at a dilapidated building there. There is plenty of tell-tale signs of rodent infestations.

"A lot of the sewers and drains around the city converge on the river." He waves a hand, indicating a young teen's height, "You look after the streets, but their are the most vulnerable to the Belishu." He motions up ahead, "There's a squat camp up here, under an overpass, next to a storm drain. I suspect at least on of them to be a host." He pauses, "so tell me Bird. Can you find the infected?"

[Bird]

Bird follows Bleeds Well down the path, silent and watchful as ever. His keen eyes note the many rat-signs as they go. The vermin have been busy in this area.

When Bleeds stops, Fa-ninna stops as well. Listens to what the Rahu has to say.

"I'll find your rat, brother," he says finally. Knowing full well that this a challenge.

He turns and starts in the direction indicated by Bleeds. Immediately assuming the stealthy posture of a hunter.

His pack mate has named the prey. Now they hunt.

3 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-07-14 15:41:13	Bird rolls 7 to Dex + Stealth + 1 (specialty) (10 Again)	7, 7, 9, 5, 6, 9, 8	3 successes

Almost by instinct, he expends some of his essence to dampen his scent.

[Bleeds Well]

Bleeds hangs back as Bird makes his stealthy approach. The Irraka is a ghost among ghosts, unnoticed as he the tent city. Cardboard boxes and tattered tents held up by frayed string and rope create makeshift walls. Huddles masses move, someone yells into an empty box of cereal, pining away about the destruction of civilization.

The smell is the most overwhelming here, mildew with an underline of human feces.

[Bird]

Fa-ninna knows how to creep. And so he creeps along.

The sights and smells don't bother him. Bird came up in the streets. He's seen things. He knows what life is like down here at the bottom. He knows how to act and how to look, how to blend in with the cast-offs and the hustlers.

He also knows what to look for when it comes to the Beshilu. The tell-tale signs of a rat-host walking on two legs in man-skin. The twitchiness, the sickening bulge of human flesh stuffed with vermin. The frantic, manic gaze.

As Bird slips through the camp, his watchful eyes cast here and there, searching for someone that matches the description.

Rat Watch, 2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-07-21 13:23:00	Bird rolls 6 to Wits + Investigation (10 Again)	7, 4, 9, 2, 2, 8	2 successes