The Howl

Breaker watched as the woman removed herself from their territory. He spoke to no one in particular, "The crazy bag lady image is deception. She likes the riddles sure enough but sharpened up pretty quickly when confronted."

Turning towards Snow he cotinued, "She lays claim to the river and shores and speaks of a barrier between us and the lands beyond the river. Perhaps, if what she says is true, we can put less effort into securing our Northern border for now."

He shrugged and nodded at Snow, "That said, we should confirm that this barrier exists before trusting in its ability to protect us. That would be your area considering the whole "walls that are not there" crap she spoke of."

Looking up at Johnny's position, Breaker noted, "At least she understands the Oath and that means a whole shitload when it comes to neighbors."

"It's better than the alternative," Snow agrees. "But I want to tread cautiously with her. She's the type to believe she owns the place, and for all we know maybe she does. I'm glad she didn't challenge us when I told her this territory was ours. I wonder where her pack is…."

Snow pauses a moment in thought, then inhales deeply before letting out a long, drawn out breath. Then her body language abruptly changes, she motions Johnny in, and she takes charge.

"We better get to business. The first thing we need to do is identify a suitable den. Eventually we'll need half a dozen scattered throughout our territory, but for now let's find an isolated and defensible place where we can hold up if push comes to shove. I'll place wards around it and try to contact any spirits in the immediate area to make sure things are relatively safe."

"Once that's done we'll set about setting and marking our borders, and begin to scout out the lay of the land. I'm much more concerned with what lies within our territory than what remains safely outside it right now, but we'll locate the local tur and leave a formal message to make sure everyone respects our claim."

"I don't want any of you to get the idea that this is going to be easy. We may not be as pressed in here as we were in San Francisco, but these next few days will be very dangerous. We don't know anything about this place, or what terrible things might lay waiting for us just on the other side of the gauntlet. We don't have a locus, which means we have no source of essence or way of crossing over, and we have no spirit allies or contacts to help us gather information. We may be able to intimidate many of the spirits here, but rest assured there will be some bigger, nastier things that will challenge us. And it will likely occur quickly, while we are vulnerable."

"For that reason I don't want anyone wandering off alone. Stay with the pack as often as possible. When we must be apart or split up, make sure you are with at least one other member of the pack. Things will be easier in a day or two when the others arrive from San Francisco. Right now we're quite thin, which means our movement will be limited for the time being."

Snow stops then and looks to the pack to make sure her words are sinking in.

"Close to the pack it is. What kind of deal are we after regarding the den? Renting or squatting?"

"It will be as you say." Breaker says as he looks at the Pack and awaits Snow's answer to Bodycount's question.

"You want up town, down town, parkside, or riverside?" Keys perks up as she pulls her iPhone out of her pocket and starts calling up web sites. "Industrial, commercial, or residential? I bookmarked some listings before we came out so I got street views on most of dem. You just want some place for tonight?"

"No, something permenant," Snow answers. "And if its a bit off the beaten path more the better. I wouldn't mind being able to see who's approaching the place as they come."

"We'll probably have to squat, considering we have no way of purchasing or even renting the kind of place I'm thinking of. We'll want something like the warehouse on the warf back in Frisco. A place with dormatories for sleeping, a mess hall, a common area, and enough space for working out and training. If I know you Talons, you'll make enough noise and commotion in your excersizes that even my wards won't keep snooping neighbors away."

"Hmm," Keys murmurs the list of requirements to herself as she scrolls through pages on her iPhone. "Tought you might want sum'in' like that, sooo...." Keys holds out her phone for Snow to look at. On the screen are three properties: an abandoned quarry north outside the city (nearest cross street 7th and D), a condemned building sitting next to a dirt lot on 8th and K, and finally an empty warehouse on North C street that 's for sale or lease.

"Now, I like de warehouse. It got de open space, close to de park, de train, de buses, and wit' everyting else closed at night, no one to bother us. But, you got to worry 'bout de agent bringing people round to see de place. I hacked de agent's website, an' it ain't had no showin's in months, but it could happen any time.

"The one on 8th and K is good. We doan have to worry 'bout people comin' roun' to look at it, tho, since anyone wantin' to buy it will be tearin' it down an' won't care what it look like inside. But it sit right in city center, so it's kinda busy in the neighborhood, even at night, an' since it condemned, it ain't got no utilities." She taps the final property.

"De quarry may be best for practicin' an' all, but no utilities an' most like we have to worry 'bout kids and gangs usin' de place. No sweat to chase dem off, but not too subtle, either. No worries 'bout it bein' sold, since dey lost their bid for a variance when they got caught pollutin' the river with their runoff. Ain't nobody gonna touch dat property till it get cleaned up, an' ain't nobody got de money to do it." She shrugs. "A generator be easy 'nuff to get for de places wit' no power. Findin' water shutoffs are easy, too. The quarry most like to have a shower, an' I know de warehouse don't have nuthin' but crappers."

"Any of dese look good to you?"

"Oh! And the quarry be a good place for the dogs," she grins at Bodycount.

"How 'bout I just put you in charge of that?" Snow says, smiling just a little. She puts her hand on Key's upper arm. "Since you know so much, you can pick the den. The only factors we'll have to be wary of are the spirit landscape around those buildings. I expect to have to clean house no matter what, but some places are easier to clean than others."

"Yeah, the one ting I can't check for on de internet is spirit presence... not unless someone sensitive's been spooked an' blogged 'bout it." She chews the corner of her lip as she thinks, calling up more information on her screen.

"The quarry's 'bout the best spot I got so far. It's nearest the bend in de river, so we got both banks at our back. Nuthin' but industrial aroun' so mostly day shifters. We got the trains, the buses, the highways, Old Sac, an' Down Town all within 'bout one mile..." She taps a few more times on the screen before breaking out into an even bigger grin.

"An there's a McDonald's, a Hardee's, an' at least ten other restaurants within a quarter mile! Yep, dis is de one!"