Fallen

[Fallen and Company] OOC Disclaimers/Scene Guidelines!

Glad you guys could come to play and I hope we all have fun! *crosses fingers* Most of the following is all standard, but prerequisite so here it goes:

1. Since this is a weeknight and people have work/I have kids, there’s a 10min time limit on posting. So once the person ahead of you in the Order posts you’ve got ten minutes to get your post up. Factor in waiting for your turn and that’s a good amount of time to work on your posts so hopefully we can all stick to this.
2. Posting order will be established after the first round of posts. So however it ends up after the first round is how we’ll stick to things unless/until we get to Initiatives.
3. Combat is gonna happen. How extensive it will be is up to your PCs!
4. If this goes to combat you’ll have 5min to declare, 3min to roll when your turn comes up, unless you’re asking me questions.
5. Ask all the questions you like of me! Just make sure to IM me the questions as I might miss them in the aim chat. Keep an eye on the aim chat as that’s where I’ll make group announcements/roll requests.
6. As per the norm, if ever anything comes up ICly with which you are uncomfortable, let me know.

If we're all good with that then we're good to go! I need you guys to post your PCs along a row of warehouses off the river, please.

[Atlas Mason] Warehouses near the river always meant junk, meant refuse and scrap, which to Atlas, simply meant raw resources, what others could never use, the man would take and transform it into something new and useful. Of course it would be him benefitting from that, him and maybe the mages he knew well enough.

His motorcycle, that aged but still pristine vintage world war 2 motorcycle with sidecar sat less then thirty feet from the man, the requisite trailer attached behind it to carry the loads of precious junk back to the Lafette.

He moved hurriedly, scanning through junk piles a little faster then normal, a little more hurried then normal. Things were in the air, dangerous things, things he had not felt since 1999 and that had been a very very dangerous year. His sturdy yet functional attire protected him as he rummaged through the refuse, leather gloves protecting questing fingers as his vintage barnstormers leather jacket protected him whenever he found something worth taking. Thankfully his brown corduroy pants never came into contact with anything, or they might have been in shreds by this time.

[Carter Walton] You can tell a lot about a new city by what it's like at night. You see what kind of people live beneath the pretty veneer that shines during the day, for one thing. You can find the places that are fun, the places to steer clear of, and sometimes, you find a spot that is sheer perfection. A spot where the moon hits just right, or doesn't. Where the scents rise up all around, or don't. Where the view is absolutely, breathtakingly, heart-achingly beautiful.

Or not.

This is the sort of thing Carter does when he gets to a new city. He roams and explores, because he could take off in the morning and there's no telling if or when he'd come back. There are things he could miss in that case, and he tries not to miss things. He sticks to the shadows, of course. Adjusts his posture into a slouch, becomes unobtrusive, blending into shadows...or at least as much as any man as tall and broad as he is can.

He's alert, always alert. Ever watchful for the things that hide in the shadows he seeks. One can never be too careful, especially in a new city. Especially at night.

[Dancing Dragon] It was nearing 8:00 pm in Chicago, and the city's newest Akashic was out for an evening run. Still somewhat unfamiliar with the city, she'd taken the opportunity to explore as she ran, and now her steady, rhythmic steps were leading her on a path along the river, where rows of old warehouses dotted the landscape. It may not have been the safest part of town, but then... that wasn't something she ever concerned herself with much. (And why would she?) All places in the city were subject to curiosity, both beautiful and ugly. After all, this was home now (for a time).

She was dressed in a pair of black runner's leggings and a matching sport's bra, and her hair was tied back in a braid that reached mid-back. It was raining, but she didn't seem to notice or care. The graceful Akashic had the look of someone who was in an almost meditative kind of state. Breath, pulse, and the sensation of her feet hitting the pavement all blended together. If nothing happened to distract her, she would keep running this way for hours.

Up above, circling in the sky, the shape of a falcon hovered and soared, lazily watching the goings-on below.

[Morgan Lake] You can tell a lot about a city at night, and you can tell no small amount about the people in it by what they're doing out in said night. There's also a lot more weird stuff at night, anywhere. That's pretty much a given. In the nicer areas, where a certain red-headed Hermetic can most often be found, there are buskers and people bustling into and out of stores and nice restaurants and coffee shops and galleries, but here . . . here, it's relatively quiet.

Glass breaks, somewhere.
A car alarm resounds.
Early bats fly, catching early bugs.
A chop shop revs up for business.

But for the most part, Morgan hears the pound of her feet as she runs, this being the second, and longer, run of the day. She hears breath moving in and out of her lungs. She hears those other sounds enough that she can react as necessary, but mostly they're a background symphony, accompanying her since she doesn't wear headphones when she runs at night.

Oh look, there. Atlas rummaging. Interesting, maybe - steps slow to a jog, to a rapid walk, to slower until she stops nearby, watching - Aware.

"What're you looking for?"

(Morgan is a tall-ish girl with long red hair pulled back into a ponytail, dressed in bright colored workout clothes and running shoes. She looks like she might be as old as twenty, but would not be able to pass as bar-legal without getting IDed.)

[Per + Aware!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 2, 4, 7, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Dancing Dragon] [Getting in on the awareness action]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 1, 3, 4, 5 (Botch x 2 at target 6)

[Morgan Lake] [.....no, really.]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 (Success x 1 at target 7) [WP]

[Fallen and Company] [Per + Aware]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 2, 2, 6, 7, 7, 8, 10, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6) Re-rolls: 2

[Carter Walton] [percept + aware]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 5, 7, 7, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6) Re-rolls: 2

[Atlas Mason] [Per+Aware]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Dancing Dragon] [Ok, mulligan!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 2, 7, 8, 8, 8 (Success x 4 at target 6)

[Fallen and Company] The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal - also known as the Chicago Drainage Canal - denotes the aspect of the rather short Chicago River that runs [thanks to marvels of civil engineering in 1900] from Lake Michigan to intersect the Des Plaines River, from which point travel through the rest of the state of Illinois joins the river system with the Mississippi. Since last nights tragic bridge collapse the river has seen heavy traffic from emergency crews dredging for... bodies. There's not much hope of any other survivors at this point. Sometime around noon today efforts stopped on the local level. A private firm generously donated its time and service to continue the efforts, their numbers more scant but their methods, apparently, far more thorough.

All non-essential traffic had been brought to a halt, which meant that the work day had ended early along the warehouses and on this particular docking bend the warehouses were largely of the overflow variety. A perfect place for Atlas to seek out cast off debris to further his goal [dream] of bring the Lafette back to its former state of glory. It's not so bad a place for runners or explorers, either, all things considered. And given what all happened last night perhaps there is some sense of deeper curiosity for Carter and Daiyu as if a search of their own might bring some bit of insight. Perhaps some bit of peace.

That is really the reason Israel is out here, sans her guide cane. She's seeing with perspectives that are still utterly alien to anyone used to normal visions and searching for things Sleeper eyes would, one assume, miss. It's a shot in the dark - in more ways than one - but still she goes through the motions, if only because inaction would drive her to distraction as she pondered the fate of those minds and lives so suddenly and completely snuffed out; careless and cruel.

Then it comes, the tell-tale sense of something Other, something More. Convergence is at play here and that is nothing new among their kind. Two Resonances she recognizes. Two are unfamiliar. [one piques her interest because it is so... similar.]. She pauses, running her hands over jean-clad thighs, then adjusting the strap of a tank top that keeps wanting to slip down one shoulder. Decision made she heads towards Atlas and Morgan. She makes her approach open, adjusting the messenger bag against one rounded hip. "Atlas... Morgan, yes? What are you both up to?" There's no accusation in the quietness of her mezzo-soprano voice, ever slightly airy, but even curiosity is rather dim. There's concern but also distraction. "Head's up.. there are other Awakened about. I don't recognize their Resonances."

[Fallen and Company] That sense of deep, old sorrow is now welled up to the surface. Heartache. Tribulation. Old [ancient. primordial] lamentation that is like wistful nostalgia, the primal ache of a wound that has healed but has left a mark for all time. Bittersweet woe, like the loss of innocence: Natural and usually necessary but still quietly mourned. Entropic yes, more so even in its strength than his own, though not of quite the same ilk. Beneath it, more subtle, a Piercing quality, the sharpness of the scalpel, precise and brutal even as it seeks to heal. Static. At the core of it all, however, the rose-glow; the gold-hue: Hope[filled]ful promise as sure as dawn comes after the darkest of nights; as sure as the deepest of pitch makes a single candle flame seem all the brighter. Balm.
to Morgan Lake

[Morgan Lake] [See Dramatis, over younder, or: Entropic (withering), Static (discerning).]
to Atlas Mason

[Atlas Mason] Atlas had felt the approach of...something, something magical, resonance meant mages, or technocratic agents or even worse. And he turned about just as Morgan came to a stop within a few meter's. In his hand is a massive twisting of copper tubing, quite a find, but then who knows what poor vehicle it came from when they dredged the river looking for lost souls. He holds it in his hand like it might somehow be used as a weapon, but when he realizes that it is simply the young and inquisitive Morgan he smiles amiably to the woman.

"Morgan, my synaptic responses to your physical appearance within this locality is internally startled!" He says with a deep breath before he looks at what is in his hand and lowers it so that its not taken as an offensive sight. "At this juncture in space time I am attempting to acquire and catalogue valuable, non-valuable, and junk status materiel for the various projects and experimental activities upon which I am currently allocating a variety of time unit's towards." He says non-chalantly, like anyone would do it, mind you...some might see it as scavenging the dead.

"What particulars have caused your personage traverse the planar curve to this locality that is five miles removed from any nearby habitation modules or module clusters Morgan?"

He asks her just as Israel shows up, the man blinks at that, and at the womans curt and quick words, and then he nods to Israel before heading quickly to his motorcycle. "Perturbatory...most perturbatory." He says to himself as he tosses the piping on the cart behind his bike and pulls out a burlap sack.

[Morgan Lake] Nearing the tail end of a long run, Morgan is delightfully blank-minded and chock full of endorphins - she's feeling good, stretched and limber, exerted, pushed. This is easy to see upon looking at her - she glows with it, and the smile that had once been so easy is again at home. There's something else, though - there's an oddly withering feeling that, if left to its own devices, feels like it might desiccate anything it touches twined and twisted with something somehow discerning. With her, on her but not of her, there's also a strange feeling of growth.

We are green and black, we are spring and fall.
Amongst that, we study and weigh it all.
to Carter Walton, Dancing Dragon, Fallen and Company

[Morgan Lake] [Wits + Enigmas to understand Atlas-ese for the scene!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 2, 4, 8, 10 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Carter Walton] It would appear the drifter isn't the only one out and about. He senses the nearness of other Awakened. The man and the young woman over by the dumpster, the small woman joining them, and another nearby, coming up behind him. He doesn't recognize any of them, would be surprised (and on guard) if he did. That's not to say his approach is not cautious.

Hands shoved into the pockets of his old jeans, he's wearing a light hoody, dark in color (faded, though that's difficult to tell in this light), the hood down. Ordinarily, he wouldn't approach them at all. He'd skirt their group and hurry along on his way, going about his business alone. Trying not to draw attention to himself.

The events of last night, though, must be taken into account. Try as he might to set the emotions he felt in that first assault, the visions he had later, Carter...can't. Despite himself, his gaze strays to the water, and he wonders. If something could have been done to change that deadly outcome. If something could have been done to save the ones who couldn't be saved.

It occurs to him that local magical community (maybe he'd run into Ashley, that'd be nice) would conduct their own investigations. Not that this trio looks to be investigating the waterfront. Still, he steps toward them, for all intents and purposes going to join them. When that elegant, lethal combination catches up to him, he stops abruptly and turns quickly.

When he can make out who it is, his brows lift. "You."

[what the hell: Atlas-ese!]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 3, 4, 6 (Failure at target 6)

[Dancing Dragon] When the flash of chaos had come last night, it had hit Daiyu as it likely had other mages in the city. Like a blinding, shrieking, searing pain. And it had been... oh so familiar.

But this was not the avatar storm. This was something else. And the truth was, she wasn't really just here to run, or to explore. She was here because people had died in this river. Unlike Israel, the Asian woman wasn't actively searching. Not yet. But her senses were open, and she felt what there was to feel as she ran ever forward.

Other mages. None familiar (but then, none would be, as she'd managed not to get a sense of Carter's resonance last night.) Now, though... the information came like music on the wind, calling out directly to her bloodstream.

She pretended not to notice. As her trajectory took her toward the direction of the small group gathering ahead, she didn't appear to be looking at them. Were it not for the evidence of her own resonance (kinetic, elegant... lethal), one would never know she was anything more than another runner. Tightly coiled muscles (graceful, fit - a dancer's body, especially in the legs) fluctuated beneath the exposed flesh and skin-tight clothing. On her back, the large tattoo of a red dragon caught the eye of any who happened to glance her way while she passed.

But then... almost at the same moment, a vaguely familiar face appeared (Carter - Verbena), and the young man addressed her as You. That did cause her steps to slow, and she pulled up to a walking pace next to him. "Surprised to see me?" she quipped quietly, offering a smile.

[Morgan Lake] "I was running," she says easily, glancing at the fancy digital watch on her left wrist - one that no doubt tracks her heart rate, times her miles, slices, dices and makes Julienne fries - to see how she's doing, then shrugs. "I'm on seven and a half of twelve point six. Half marathon," she says for clarification.

She, quite frankly, is not that interested in the pile of scrap - she's more interested in the unknowns approaching, and also in the riverfront (in which Carter is also interested.

"Yeah, I'm Morgan. Israel, isn't it? Good to see you again." Sometimes, she's better at pulling together her old confidence than others - tonight, it appears, is a good night despite the recent reeling that had hit her, the emotions and thoughts that she still can't quite put away from her.

And look, there are two more - people she doesn't know, and the apprentice pulls back just a bit to watch and listen and get a handle on dynamics - (The adults are talking.) - before she contributes too much more.

[Fallen and Company] Perturbatory...most perturbatory. Thus quoth Atlas and Israel largely concurs. His oddity of speech, as ever, causes the soft line of her lips to curve slightly upwards; but the smile is faint; distracted. Even with out her guide-cane out there are certain tells of her disability: The way her hazel eyes never really focus on anything; the way she can looks towards someone but never make direct eye-contact. Her tendency to turn her head, inclining an ear; sniffing the wind. Small and delicately built she could be mistaken from afar for a young teenager: Closer, though, closer yes... the Resonance packs a punch not by bent of its nature but by the magnitude of it that trumps those around her speaking of impacting experiences that leave their mark. Closer and she has the shape and softness of a woman grown; she responds to the elements around her with the air of a sensualist [but not overt sexuality] and carries herself with a subtle capability that belies the fragile look of her.

"You too," to Morgan, that, though she would rather be meeting the Apprentice - Ashley's Apprentice - elsewhere. But at the moment there are other concerns. Some may find it curious [or laughable] that as the two unknown persons approach, Israel shifts her positions just slightly, just a bit ahead of Morgan, just close enough to suggest undertones of protectiveness.

Then, towards the direction where Daiyu and Carter approach [she isn't really 'looking' towards them -- her face is slightly turned, slightly cocked, like a feline listening]. "'Evening, folks... you two new to town?" Her voice isn't really built for volume, the airiness in it redoubles as she raises it slightly, but it manages. Her tone is... polite. But cautious.

[Atlas Mason] The man hunches over the sidecar of that ancient motorcycle and pulls out an old burlap sack, which he slings over his shoulder. He looks briefly over towards the two young mage's walking towards them, as if drawn by some powerful magnetic or paradigmic force. He begins to reach for the sack, as if hoping to draw something from it, but when Israel calls out to the pair of them, extending the olive branch his hand falls away. It seemed that Atlas trusted the woman's judgement almost implicitly though he was still wary and ready.

He makes his way back over to Morgan and looks at the young woman with a curious look. "Are there not structures with the primary directive towards the external use of gravitics and resistence to enhance one's nominal physical structural states that your personage could be utilizing to a more positive effect then to forwardly locate your physical structure into geographical area's that would be considered a primary and secondary risk to your chronological continuation?"

He asks curiously, a hint of concern in his words, especially if something dangerous was indeed about to occur. He then turns his gaze to Israel and looks at her for a moment, his eyes blinking as if the man was taking a moment to process something particularly aberrant to his mind. "Israel, the intrinsic fields which infuse and radiate about your physical chemical biological structure have been altered. Are your extremeties and internalized processes nominal?"

He asks her all these things, an equally concerned and curious look on his face before he turned to regard the newcomers as they all did.

[Carter Walton] Surprised to see me?

Carter grins down at the small Chinese girl. Truth be told, he is surprised to see her. Then again, Ashley said the community here was smaller. He had to have expected to run into Daiyu again sometime.

"A little," he concedes.

The small woman among the trio calls out to them, lets them know that they've been noticed. Draws them to her. Carter looks back in that direction, and he studies the lot of them. The man by the old timey motorcycle. The tallish young woman in the running gear. And finally, the woman not exactly looking their way, the one whose resonance is hauntingly similar to his own. It's very likely he would have gone to her even without her beckoning.

Looking back at Daiyu, still grinning, he jerks his head their way. "C'mon, let's go join the party." There's no accent to mark his words, nothing that directly places him into any of the lower forty-eight easily. There's something about the way he talks, drawing out the words, elongating sounds that is reminiscent of a kind of drawl. He doesn't do Daiyu the dishonor of slowing his pace to match her shorter stature. One has only to look at the woman to know she's more than capable of keeping up with the much taller man. Besides, she'd been running. She probably wanted the exercise, anyway.

Carter makes his way over to the trio. When he's close, he ducks his head in a nod of greeting. "Evening, folks. Ma'am." This, obviously, is for Israel. Carter is nothing if not respectful of those whose skills outstrip his own. "And yes. I just got into Chicago on Friday. My name is Carter Walton. Lifeweaver of the Verbena."

[Dancing Dragon] If she'd been hoping not to attract too much attention, it was evidently too late for that. Still, it did seem as if the three strangers were more likely friendly than not. That could be deceiving. Hell, Carter might not be friendly either. Or they might all be friendly... but still dangerous. One never really knew, but there wasn't much point in behaving in a distrustful manner at the moment, so the benefit of the doubt was given, and she fell into a more relaxed, if alert (ready), state of being.

Carter suggested they join the others, and Daiyu followed along easily at his side. She was shorter, but her stride kept a quick pace against his longer legs. When Israel called out to greet them, Daiyu responded easily enough. "Only just moved in." Her accent was light, but unmistakably Asian.

As she drew up to the strangers, Daiyu glanced between the three. Her gaze settled for a long moment on Atlas, as if perhaps she wasn't entirely sure what to make of him. (Doubtless a common reaction.) He was something unnatural to her. Too much like the things she'd fought against in the war. That didn't sit well.

"Li Daiyu. Akashic Brotherhood."

[Morgan Lake] To Morgan, Atlas is something out of some steampunk short story or anime - he seems like he'd be right at home in "Howl's Moving Castle" or one of the ones about pretty catboys fighting in mec-suits that hiss at the hydraulic knees and elbows. She is princess of pop culture references, is the Hermetic apprentice who looks startlingly like Ginny Weasely and created a pocket in her running pants (along the reflector stripe) for the wand she'd been given by her mentor. She could, in fact, likely come up with similar correlations for any Tradition (and may well have at some point or another, but shh, she's not telling).

So there the strangers are; a tall, good-looking twenty-something Verbena [Carter Walton, wait, wasn't "The Waltons" . . . I should ask . . . shit.] and a much shorter (also good looking, if in a way that doesn't draw hormonal teenaged eyes nearly so often), Asian woman, Akashic [Li's the surname, so Daiyu.] - interesting, on both counts, if only due to relatively minimal exposure to either Tradition (though significantly more to Daiyu's, of course).

"Hi," she says in a voice that speaks Chicago, "I'm Morgan Lake. Apprentice to the Order of Hermes."

[Fallen and Company] "I'm well enough, Atlas." A simple and brief response, but the tone of it isn't curt. She is seldom so hard-edged as to reach such intonations and even in brevity a fondness for the man carries through. "It's just been a long week." The implication to which is that she'll willingly speak of it with him at a later date - now is neither the place nor the time. Indeed, while she seems to be extending a certain good will [or at least a benefit of the doubt] towards the two approaching, there is still a sense of wariness and restlessness to her; a bird sensing an approaching storm. It could simply be paranoia.... with good reason, lately.

The other two - the current x-factors - approach after she calls out to them. Where Israel capable of such things she might give Carter a curious [surprised. intrigued] surveying look. Such things are beyond her however; though some of it is still in her expression as she turns her face towards his direction, marking his passage by dint of Resonance, footfall and other, unseen things. For one moment drawn more towards him than towards the woman. That shifts however after she blinks, for the Asian-sounding woman bears the greater sense of mystical strength and experience. They introduce themselves and she nods, slowly, sensing - on the surface - no nagging tug of deception. "I'm Israel Cohen. Craft Magus," That might strike Atlas as somewhat odd: She used to introduce herself simply as an Orphan. "This is Atlas Mason of the Sons of Ether." Morgan introduces herself, of course.

Something of initial wariness starts to slip out of her slight frame; like a bow-string within is being slowly and carefully relaxed... she offers both of the newcomers a smile, a little belated but nonetheless earnest, if hushed. A ethereal quality to the woman, she isn't the sort to portray forcefulness in her ways, but beneath the gentleness is sincerity. "Welcome to Chicago," The smile begins to fade [Sorrow spikes; it peaks; the earth wails within such a small slip-of-a-woman], "Are either of yo aware of what happened last ni--"

Full stop.
She stiffens, sharply. Abruptly. Move directly and without apology to step further in front of Morgan though the direction she's blocking isn't from the newcomers but from the docks and the river. Going pale. Olive-kissed complexion going momentarily sallow as her breath catches just slightly from initial surprise.

"We've got company. Spirits. Coming up from the water. No-Life. Sentient minds. Ill-wishers... there's a Shallowing forming... Atlas, can you see anything?" And for the first time it becomes obvious that she cannot see anything of the 'real' world: Her eyes are shifting now, in the roaming-never-finding way of the long-time blind. "Morgan, stay close, please." A request on the surface but a command beneath it. Ashley's views on Ascension-via-Surviving-Adversity aside, she does not think the Hermetic would appreciate people just letting her Apprentice come to harms way.

[Morgan Lake] [Let's try this again, shall we? (Per + Aware)]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 3, 4, 6, 8 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Fallen and Company] Just as the words come there comes a groaning, bubbling, churning from the background lightness of the river nearby. The old wood boards of these docks voice their protest and the wind in a city infamous for it begins to kick up, whipping about loose strands of hair and pressing looser clothing to the form of the wearers body.

[Carter Walton] [let's keep to basics for now: percept + aware]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 3, 4, 6, 6, 7 (Success x 3 at target 6)

[Dancing Dragon] [Per+Aware]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 2, 2, 3, 8, 8 (Success x 2 at target 6)

[Dancing Dragon] [Area Mind Scan - diff 4, -1(focus)]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 3, 4, 6 (Success x 3 at target 3)

[Morgan Lake] [And a little of this! Mind 2 including mods as per Gaki's SL. -1 taking time, coincidental, probably extended.]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 4, 5 (Success x 2 at target 4)

[Atlas Mason] [Matter 1 + Prime 1 Sight beyond sight!]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 1, 8 (Failure at target 4)

[Morgan Lake] [yeeeeeeeeeah, we'll extend]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 4, 5 (Success x 1 at target 5)

[Atlas Mason] [Retry! WP]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 2, 5 (Success x 1 at target 5)

[Morgan Lake] [and one more for funsies, HAIL KAHSEENO]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 2, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Fallen and Company] Revenge/b]. Remorse. [b]Fury. Enslavement; fighting, no-no.. Eagerness. Hunger. Burning. Vindication.
to Morgan Lake

[Dancing Dragon] [Familiar - Per+Alertness (+1) for sight - just in case there's anything to see that Daiyu misses]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)

[Atlas Mason] Atlas was about to inquire about a few things to the newcomers, but then Israel froze and looked at the water, moving herself between Morgan and the water itself, she warned them of non-sentient I'll wishers, and that has Atlas tearing his burlap sack open he reaches one long arm into the sack and pulls out a curious contraption that looks like it is meant to be mounted on the side of one's face. It is an exquisite piece of workmanship, high polished brass armatures and frame work support a great number of tiny and intricately carved and ground lenses of varying metals, the entirety of it operated by beautifully exposed cog work machinery, the apparatus is held in place by a leather band, which he slips over his hair. The entire contraption may seem bulky in his hands but it is remarkably compact once placed on his head.

He adjusts a few levers upon the side of the contraption and several lenses, and crytal armatures fall and rise into various places infront of the man's face, a reddish light emits from a gem set near his temple and the focused beam of light plays through the crystals and the lenses, before diffusing and falling upon the water before them.

"Individual personages be suitably forewarned a minimum of eight autonomous, free roaming non actualizing aberrant factors are converging on our locality at a rate of 1.3 meter's per time unit." He says as he reaches into his burlap sack again and draws out an old service revolver.

"Standardized defensive lateral and intrinsic positioning in response is recommended."

[Carter Walton] [uh, Entropy scan?: entropy 1 + prime 1: diff -1 (focus)]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 1, 1 (Botch x 2 at target 3)

[Carter Walton] [MULLIGAN!]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 5, 7 (Success x 3 at target 3) [WP]

[Carter Walton] Isreal stops midsentence, moves instinctively to protect the taller apprentice. Carter has all of a half second to find that absolutely adorable before he turns his attention away. Ever vigilant, ever alert...he's had to be. His attention goes to the river, his awareness stretches out and he senses...

oh. Oh God, no. The impressions are too similar to what he felt before, in that initial emotional wave last night. He wonders. And he focuses his pale gaze out there, focuses his attention on the decay around them, the garbage breaking down, rust crawling up the sides of the warehouses, miscellaneous detritus. And he scans.

"Jesus fucking Christ," he says, his voice breaking somewhere in the middle. Pale eyes wide, even at this distance, he shifts his right foot back. His mind is on his survival, and his survival instinct is telling him to run the hell away. Run away and never look back. The question then would be, could he live with himself? Leaving these strangers alone to this fate? Could he walk away and not remember the small Asian woman, the barely legal runner, the man with his insanely incomprehensible speech? Could he forget the small, delicate woman whose resonance literally resonates with his own?

The answer, of course, is no. The Verbena shifts his weight, but that's all he does.

"What?" he asks, instinctive when Atlas says...some sort of indecipherable babble. "Look, some kind of Effect was set off out there, and it...I mean, they're zombies," incredulous, disbelieving, and yet, there it is. "I know this sounds crazy, but I think it's the folks from the bridge collapse. The ones that didn't make it."

[Dancing Dragon] Whatever the hell Atlas was saying, the Akashic was on a completely different wavelength. He may as well have been speaking binary. But that was alright, because she sensed it too. At the same moment that Israel alerted them to the presence of something...wrong, Daiyu spun around to face the river and reached out... searching. Sensing.

"Stay behind me, unless you can fight."

The Akashic closed her eyes and focused, taking slow, deep breaths. One hand reached up to touch (reassuring) the small flat stone that lay tucked against her chest. For a few seconds, everything in the world went still.

[Mind 1 / Life 2 - Resist Pain - Coincidental, diff 5 -1(foci), -1(practiced)]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 5, 6, 7 (Success x 4 at target 3) [WP]

[Morgan Lake] Morgan is doing . . . exactly nothing, or appears to be. Except.
Except.
There it is - a wand pulled from that created pocket (and if anyone laughs, she can totally poke an eye out) aimed over Israel's head in the general direction from which it appears the threat is coming.

Wait for it . . .

The build is slow. It takes time - she's young and inexperienced. But it's gathering, her resonance.

[Fallen and Company] While everyone else is doing their various 'things', the blind woman is calmly but quickly drawing out a pistol from her satchel [yes. a blind woman with a gun. it's alright: others have gotten mighty frightened at this point, too] to which she is applying a silencer and bullets from another side pocket. Quick. Orderly. Knowledgeable. Anyone who knows her cabalmate would easily see where she gets it from. They speak their warnings, share their perceptions, give their commands. She remains just in front of Morgan,

"For those of you who can: Shield your minds. Some of these abominations can bombard with emotions, illusions and the like." She is not militaristic leader, but there is authority in her voice, breathy though it may be. The Piercing quality to her is spiking as she utters words under her breath, a language few people on this earth use on a regular basis and only a handful more study. The words spoken she reaches in one last time to the bag, drawing out a stone vial, no larger than a small Bic lighter, stoppered tightly with cork. "Atlas. Drink this. It'll afford you some of that protection."

Even as she speaks, even as she moves and prepares, the things in the water are cresting, crowning, clawing. Many of them churn in the heart of the River, but already some are heading towards them and some of those move quicker than others. In no time at all three are clamoring up embankments and spidering up the docks, hissing, yowling, wide-mawed. Wet, covered in river-slime and treated sewage and oil. Two or three are slower, taking their time, lumbering, half-paddling circles as if their motor functions aren't as precise. One of them, one of those who hangs back begins to scream: A keening wail, almost too high pitched for human ears.

[Fallen and Company] Israel: Mind Shield. [Mind 1. Diff: 4. -1 Focus] [WP]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 3, 5, 9 (Success x 4 at target 3) [WP]

[Dancing Dragon] [Mind shield! What she said.]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 4, 5, 7 (Success x 4 at target 3) [WP]

[Morgan Lake] [Ditto.]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 2, 4 (Success x 2 at target 3) [WP]

[Carter Walton] [Mind shield!]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 7, 8 (Success x 3 at target 3) [WP]

[Dancing Dragon] [+7]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 10

[Carter Walton] [+5]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 6

[Morgan Lake] [+5!]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 3

[Atlas Mason] [+5]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 7

[Fallen and Company] Speedy 1: [+7], Speedy 2: [+6], Speedy 3: [+6]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 5, 5, 7

[Fallen and Company] Screamer 1: [+5], Screamer 2: [+4], Screamer 3: [+4]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 5, 6, 8

[Fallen and Company] Israel: [+5]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 5

[Atlas Mason]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 1

[Fallen and Company] [Breaking Ties] 10's
Israel, Screamer 1, Screamer 2
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 4, 9, 9

[Carter Walton]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 3

[Fallen and Company] [Breaking Ties] 11's:
Speedy 2
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 7

[Fallen and Company] [Breaking Ties] 12's:
Speedy 1, Screamer 3
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 6, 9

[Fallen and Company] ORDER:
Daiyu
Screamer 3
Speedy 1
Atlas
Speedy 3
Speedy 2
Carter
Scream 1
Scream 2
Israel
Morgan.

[Morgan Lake] Forces/Life shield around party, go!

[Fallen and Company] Israel: Holding.
Scream 1 & 2: Flounder

[Morgan Lake] [changed declare, possibly +1 diff, not makin' people wait on me!]
FEAR ME, ZOMBIES, I AM YOUR QUEEN

[Carter Walton] [Finding weaknesses: Entropy stuff!]

[Fallen and Company] Speedy 2: Charge on Israel
Speedy 3: Charge on Atlas

[Atlas Mason] [Declare Reflexive Drink charm speak: Blunt force Trauma is ineffectual."
1A: Cast Melt Reform on Speedy 3]

[Fallen and Company] Speedy 1: Charge/Grapple Daiyu
Screamer 3: Wailing.

[Dancing Dragon] [Split action:

1a: Dodge Speedy 1
1b: Kick speedy 1
1c: Trip Speedy 2 - using WP and butterfly palms]

[Dancing Dragon] [Dex+Dodge -3]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 2, 6, 7, 8 (Success x 3 at target 6)

[Dancing Dragon] [Dex+Do -4]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 2, 8, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)

[Fallen and Company] Speedy 1: Dex + Ath
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 2, 2, 5, 5, 7, 8 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Dancing Dragon] [Str+1 (for kick) +1]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 2, 6, 6, 7, 9 (Success x 4 at target 6)

[Dancing Dragon] [Dex+Do -5 +1(butterfly palms)]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 6, 6, 6 (Success x 4 at target 6) [WP]

[Fallen and Company] Speedy 1: Soak!
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 6, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)

[Fallen and Company] Speedy 2: Dex + Dodge
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 4, 5, 6, 6, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)

[Dancing Dragon] [Str+3 for trip damage]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 3, 4, 8, 8, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)

[Dancing Dragon] [Dex+Ath to stay on feet]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 2, 7, 7, 8 (Success x 2 at target 6)

[Atlas Mason] [Melt Speedy 3! Arete: diff 6 base -1 rote -1 focus -1 quint WP]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 8, 8 (Success x 3 at target 3) [WP]

[Fallen and Company] Speedy 1: Resume Clinch. Str + Brawl. +1 Diff.
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 5, 5, 6, 6, 6, 9, 10 (Success x 2 at target 7)

[Fallen and Company] Screamer 3: Wailing.
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 3, 4, 5, 6, 6, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)

[Fallen and Company] Speedy 2: Down!
Israel: Knock Out! [Mind 3, Prime 2. Diff: 6. -1 Focus, -1 Practiced, -1 Resonance.] [WP]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 3, 6, 10 (Success x 4 at target 3) [WP]

[Fallen and Company] Speedy 2: Resist!
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 4, 4, 5, 6, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)

[Carter Walton] [Entropy stuff!: diff 4 -1 (focus)]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 3, 6 (Success x 3 at target 3) [WP]

[Fallen and Company] Scream 1, Screm 1 - Flounder in the water. Israel. Done.

[Morgan Lake] [IF SOMEONE ASKS IF YOU ARE A GOD, YOU SAY YES (mind 2)]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 1, 3 (Failure at target 6) [WP]

[Morgan Lake] [WP cos Gaki. Current! Self. Don't forget to tell/ask him about this.]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 10, 10 (Success x 2 at target 8)

[Fallen and Company] Daiyu moves with a stunning speed, a stunning grace. Movement like music, that gives what it is and has nothing [but, ah, everything] to prove. Faster than the rest, she easily dodges the monstrosity that singles her out. Fluid-strikes, she kicks out, making her target though she will note that it does not have the same affect she is used to when using the supreme art of Do. No matter: She has no time to dwell on these things at the moment. Spinning to intersect the undead thing heading towards the blind woman she trips it, sending it sprawling.

Atlas, the focus upon his head emitting its prismatic lights; a beautiful creation of clockwork wonder, focuses his attention on the abomination racing towards him. It is so simple, really. So seemingly effortless: He extends the technique of his Willed knowledge and applies it on the decaying matter, reforming, reshaping, melting what was solid and letting it harden once more into a useless mold of misshapen-once-human. It is, it must be said, disgusting, that liquefying, that soften-split of flesh like over-ripe fruit, it squelches and emits an noxious odour. Reformed it is all the more horrific to behold. But it is nullified.

Israel extends her own Will while whispering words in that same old tongue, words to spark forth the core of Divine within her and sends a Primal shock through the beast Daiyu tripped; it ceases its struggle to clamour back to its feet.

Carter is focusing his attention: While he takes no actions of offense, what he is doing is by no means useless. Morgan summons up the new and wondrous [but from where and to what cost?] powers granted to her, seeking to strike fear into the mind of one of the assailants but the magic falters, it fizzles.

[Morgan Lake] [no, really, I am a god. Fuck off. THESE ARE NOT THE DROIDS YOU'RE LOOKING FOR.]

[Fallen and Company] Israel: Split: 1a. Shoot Speedy 2. 1b. Shoot Again [WP]
Scream 2 & Scream 1: Flounder.

[Carter Walton] [Reflexive: To Daiyu: "They're just dead matter!" Rip them apart if you can, tear them apart!" To everyone else: "Use Fire or Prime! Focus the attacks to blast them apart!"
uh: Prime? targetting whoever Israel targets]

[Fallen and Company] Speedy 2: Knocked the fuck out.
Speedy 3: Mound of Ew.

[Atlas Mason] [1A Melt and Reform Speedy 1]

[Fallen and Company] Speedy 1: Clinch Daiyu
Screamer 3: Wail

[Dancing Dragon] [Split action...

1a: Dodge clinch
1b: Called shot grab Screamer 3's head
1c: rip it off?]

[Dancing Dragon] [Oh, with WP!]

[Dancing Dragon] [Dex+Dodge -3]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 2, 3, 3, 4 (Failure at target 6)

[Dancing Dragon] [changing target to speedy 1]

[Dancing Dragon] [Str+Brawl -4, +1 diff]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 4, 7, 9 (Success x 2 at target 7)

[Fallen and Company] Speedy 1: Dex + Dodge
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 3, 5, 6, 7, 7, 8 (Success x 4 at target 6)

[Dancing Dragon] [Forget it, just kick the dude - Dex+Do -5 +1, +1 diff for changing action]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 5, 5, 9, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6) [WP] Re-rolls: 1

[Dancing Dragon] [Str+1(kick) +2]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)

[Fallen and Company] [Soak]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 2, 4, 6, 6 (Success x 2 at target 6)

[Fallen and Company] Screamer 3: Wailing.
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 3, 6, 7, 8, 8, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6)

[Morgan Lake]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 1, 3 (Botch x 1 at target 7)

[Fallen and Company] Israel:
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 2, 4, 4, 6, 8, 9 (Success x 1 at target 7)

[Dancing Dragon] [WP, oh joy!]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 1, 6, 9 (Failure at target 7)

[Morgan Lake]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 7, 7, 9, 9 (Success x 3 at target 7)

[Atlas Mason] [WP]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 6, 6, 6, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 3 at target 7)

[Carter Walton] [WP!]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 8, 9 (Success x 2 at target 7)

[Dancing Dragon] [Scratch that]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 3, 5, 7, 10 (Success x 1 at target 7)

[Atlas Mason] [Melt Speedy 1 Arete: Diff 6 -1 for rote, -1 for focus -1 for quint WP]
Dice Rolled:[ 2 d10 ] 7, 7 (Success x 3 at target 3) [WP]