Briari and Blue Have a Chat
Apr. 20th, 2016 08:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
renferretYou paged Briari with 'It's a fast pickup, maybe three rings in all. "Heeeeeey, Princess. What's up?" Definitely Blue's voice.'.
Briari pages: Briari's voice comes through the line, "Hey, I do not have long, but what do you know about went down last night?"
You paged Briari with 'A soft breath on the other end of the line. "Well, I know you killed the Queen's little pet, but you already know I know that. I also know I haven't heard anything from my friends in a bit. Been all quiet."'.
Briari pages: Your friends, at least five spirals and one of those hyper smart fomori tracked our Alpha down at his own safehouse, tortured and interrogated him." Briari says with a wrinkle of her nose. "You know anything about that?"
You paged Briari with 'There's a beat, a longer delay than usual where Blue's concerned. "...No, I didn't. Huh. Might explain the quiet. What can you tell me about that, princess? Any ideas how they knew?"'.
Briari pages: If I knew, I wouldn't be calling you. It's what I am trying to figure out.". There is a long whistle of a sigh from the Ragabash. "All I know is they tore the place up and was waiting for him. He barely got out of there, but one of the fomori I guess turned one of the spirals to dust as a show of power. So he is kinda a step up above the ones that we killed earlier. He's very intelligent.
You paged Briari with 'Oh, they can all do that, kiddo," Blue responds. "I thought you knew? Okay, okay. Hmm. Not much investigating I can do until my friends stop being all quiet. I've got a question: how many've yours know about me?"'.
Briari pages: There is a shift of the jaw as Briari thinks for a bit. "Leadership of course. I had to present the data to Sept leadership of what I had before we executed this plan. I had to be honest and we had to weigh the risk."
You paged Briari with 'Hey, I'm not mad or anything," Blue says, in a reassuring sort of tone. "I just need information so I can get you information. Look, I'll see what I can do, a'ight? Might not have anything for a while though if my friends are being careful. They've got as much to lose as you do if her Majestic-ness finds out, yeah?"'.
Briari pages: Yeah. So .. about that. They beat your name out of Thane, but they did not seem to know who Blue was. They kept asking for more information from him but he wouldn't cough it up." Briari says as she furrows her brow. "Shadow Lords, right? So ... look ... be careful, okay? I know there is about an 82 percent chance of you stabbing me in the back later, but, I am stupidly optimistic and since you've been so helpful, I do kinda care if you get whacked .. "
You paged Briari with 'There's a small, disappointed sigh. "Seems like your friend's already done the backstabbing. I'm not too surprised. A'ight, princess, that actually helps a lot. I bet she's scouring for leaks, it'll be a bit before I hear anything if that's the case. Now, you keep your head down, and I'll do the same, and we can laugh about how her best way've finding us just ended up getting shredded, yeah? As for the rest, I don't have any reason to backstab you. I like you, and we both dislike the same ugly people. Besides, we do good work when we work together, so don't go getting yourself killed either."'.
Briari pages: Yeah, so far we are working pretty well together. I promise to not kill you until I at least get your new mix tape. Like I said, it's fire." Briari says with an amused tone to her voice. "At least Sound Cloud it." She rocks back and forth for a moment before she says, "What are you going to get out of this? Besides kicking the Queen off. You looking to be the new top dog?"
You paged Briari with 'Naaaah," Blue says, still sounding quite amiable in spite of the joking/not joking threat. "King sounds pretty boring to me. I just don't like Queen Rancordiant. She's a real hag in personality. Needs to come down a peg, preferably onto something sharp. Once that's done, I got other places to be, you know, other venues. You don't have to worry about me sticking around, Princess. This's your place."'.
Briari pages: There is a chuckle from the Ragabash. "Sure, sure. What do you know about Amelia by the way? Do you have names of the rest of her pack? Rank? Anything? If you are feeling generous, she is next on our list."
You paged Briari with 'Dukovy? Aw, princess, I know she isn't the most personable person, but she's just doing her job. Look..." There's another beat, and Blue's voice sounds a bit more thoughtful when he next speaks. "There are some things I'd rather not talk about over the phone, you dig? Safest for both of us, but you never know. Politics is one've them. Trouble is, of course, setting up a face to face meeting means I'm primed for being ambushed. I don't know what the solution is there."'.
Briari pages: Nazis were just doing their job too." Briari points out with a grunt under her breath. "Then let's meet up. You and me. No ambush, promise. I am not keen on getting the only good intel we have in there whacked. You want to hit up a Whattaburger and get shakes?"
You paged Briari with 'That cuts, that cuts deep," Blue says, in a tone that suggests his sincerity on the remark is...rather non-existent. "Now you're talking. Somewhere public, when we got daylight. No one lurking in the shadows for either of us. You sure that's alright with your bosses? Not gonna think I'm leading you astray with milkshakes, are they?"'.
Briari pages: There is a loud snort from the new moon. "It is better to beg for forgiveness rather than permission sometimes. Come on, let's get shakes. Sixth and Main downtown. We will snag a corner near the back, one that faces the entrance and window so we can see incoming and outgoing. That way either of us won't get jumped or surprised." There is a smirk upon her face. "Bring your mix tape and I will pay for lunch, cool?"
You paged Briari with 'See you there. Toodles, princess." Click.'.
After parking her new Ford (which is not a Ferrari now) across the street, Briari has picked out a corner seat in the burger joint, her back to the wall and facing the entrance from across the restaurant. She is fiddling with her phone at the moment, playing a rousing game of Tetris as the tip of her tongue is sticking out.
Blue arrives not too long after, at a brisk but still mostly unhurried walk. His hair is what makes him so easy to spot, although he's still quite easy on the eyes as he draws close to the booth and flops in across from Briari with a lazy sort of smile. "Afraid I'm paying for my own meal," he says, humor glinting in his eyes. "You did make a promise not to kill me until after you had my new mixtape, so I think I'll hang on to it for a while longer."
As he approaches, Briari glances up from her phone, then shifts to sit up a bit straighter. Sliding the phone into her pocket, she gives a visible frown. "What? You serious? That's a dick move." She says as she blows a strand of blonde hair from her face. "I'll still pay for your lunch, it's no biggie." Smirking at him, she says, "So ... here we are, sitting at a table having burgers together."
Blue runs his fingers back through his own hair before steepling them together on the table in front of him. "Hey! So is killing me, I'd like to point out." He glances out the window, and then to their fellow customers; who are not exactly trying to sit very close to their little gathering. "Yeah, here we are. It's good, I like burgers. I like you. It's a nice day out. So..." His smile turns into a faintly crooked grin. "You want to ruin it with politics?"
"Well, either this is a business meeting or a date." Briari says with a smirk on her face to him. "I like burgers and politics." She gives a look out to the door again, then plucks up her menu. "I am not going to kill you. Sides, I am pretty confident you would be able to take me in a fight. I have a particular set of skills but combat is not exactly in my top ten."
"It can't be both?" Blue asks. "Alright then. So, your people, you like your politics too, right? You've all got different ideas about the best way to do things, even though technically you've all got the same end goal. You even pick out...let's call 'em mascots for this conversation. Mascots to represent what you think's best and what you value, to give you direction...even the ability to do it better."
"Sure, we can call them mascots. I think right now my people just want to clear the tower out of the immediate threat, then go back to a normal life. This whole end of the world thing is obviously scaring everyone and with good reason." Briari says as she twirls a finger along the table top in a random design. "So, which mascot do you follow?"
"You know me, princess." Blue leans back against the plastic seat cushioning. "I do my own thing. I don't get all worked up about this sort've stuff. Better for the blood pressure. But yours and mine aren't so different. My people got mascots too, and some really important ones. I'm bringing this up 'cause you need to understand what's going on below the surface here." He lowers his voice. "Now, Queen Rancordiant and her bunch, they're real fond of someone called Eater-of-Souls. You might've heard of him. Nasty. No fun at all. But they embody him real nicely, 'cause they're hungry and they like to feed. What your boss saw that guy do? That's them feeding. They don't eat burgers, they eat what keeps people living. And it hurts, Princess. It hurts like nothing you can imagine, so I'm told. You can't even die until they let you."
"Yeah. That is what is coming down the pipeline right now. He said that they have mouths on the ends of their hands and they latch into you. I think we figured out the Eater of Souls part as well awhile ago." Briari says as she waves a waiter down, gives their order while they pause for a moment, then picks up once she leaves. "So, what are they? They are not any kinda fomori we have seen before." She says softly. "Where did they come from in the first place?"
Blue's expression actually turns a little more serious, a little more solemn. "I don't know," he says. "But I can tell you one thing. They're not fomori. Those things you saw, they don't come from some humans making nasty with a bane. They come from the Queen. She makes 'em herself. Where she comes from? Well, that's a mystery I'd like to know too. I think she's old. Certainly powerful. Pretty sure she ain't fomor either, but princess, there're things down deep you can't imagine, things that just are. I think maybe she and her sisters are one've those, and now they've come up and they're carving out little queendoms for themselves. But they didn't do it alone, as you know."
Briari nods her head slowly. "Yeah. I know. If we kill, what happens next? Does this all go away? Do the other two sisters make a new Queen? Do they come here seeking vengeance?" She fiddles with a straw wrapper, winding it about in her fingers. "Right now though, our plan is to figure out if we take the Queen out in the tower, or find a way to draw her out. I take it she won't leave without a pretty damn good reason, huh?"
"Dunno," Blue says. "Your guess is as good as mine. Getting her to leave the tower though?" He gives a low whistle. "Not sure you'll be able to manage that. Far as I know none've 'em have left their little towers once they get set up, though of course they were traveling quite a bit at the start. Getting ahead of ourselves though. First, I gotta explain something about her allies. See...another mascot my people're real fond of is called Beast of War. Man, those guys just want to kill, kill, kill. They love fighting. They love destroying. Beast-of-War and Eater-of-Souls don't usually get along all that well, and neither do their followers. But the Queens? They made a good pitch to those guys. Help them out and you get to kill a whole lot of people, and a whole lot of Garou. So she got them on board, and princess, those're most've my people involved in this thing. They don't really like the Queens 'cause they got fundamentally different ideas, but the start of this whole mess was real popular to 'em, they got to do a lot of what they love."
Nodding her head, Briari grows quiet as she listens, propping her chin up in the palm of her hand. Her tongue rolls about the inside of her cheek in a slow thoughtful circle.
Blue nods as well, and continues. "But now, see, things've gone a little quiet. Oh, they still get to kill Garou sometimes, but the Queens just want to sit around in their towers, eating and ruling. A lot've 'em are feeling a little impatient. Starting to wonder if maybe this deal's outliving its appeal. Realizing the Queens don't like differences of opinion, challenges to their rule. Some've 'em that get too loud about it get turned. Suddenly they're all fawning, loyal, desperately dedicated. So if the Queen here dies, I think maybe a lot of them are just going to leave. Oh they'll /fight/ you if you give 'em the opportunity, but once she's gone? Unless they think they can take you on themselves, and they won't if you can kill a Queen, they're gonna go back where they came from, call it a wash."
"Yeah, I think a wash is fine. None of us is too eager to shed any more blood as it is. We want to go back to our lives where the biggest headache we have is a bane or a bad batch of jelly beans that poisons kids or whatever." Briari says as she leans back in the chair thoughtfully. "So, if we are to stage an attack, you are saying that we are pretty much stuck going into the tower, right? Any chance your people can pull the juggernaut sized banes away from the tower so we can gain easier access? Give us at least some type of window to get in and do what we do?"
Blue shakes his head. "Don't know. That's something we can't practice until it's go time, and right now I can't even get a return call from inside. Banes do their own thing, it'd have to be something real tempting, 'cause they've got their own deals going. There's also...well. Don't know if I should even mention it, doubt your bosses'd be game."
"Well, now you gotta tell me, or else I will give you the puppy eyes." Briari says with interest as she perks up a bit.
Blue brings one hand in front of his eyes. "Ah no, not puppy eyes. My one weakness." He grins around his spread fingers, then lowers the hand. "Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you. Now, Rancordiant here, did you ever wonder why she's in your city? I mean, I don't mean any offense, but St. Claire ain't the choicest one when it comes to picking out your own kingdom. Her sisters, they got New York City and Los Angeles. That's big, right? Why'd she pick here?"
"Because we are the largest Sept in the North West. So, as we understand, if you look at us, Los Angeles and New York, it covers at least three corners of the US. The smaller fallen Septs seem to make a pattern which is apart of a bigger ritual. Kinda like how a shape will have points to it. Like a Pentagram. Our Sept falls upon a point." Briari says with a nod of her head. "My best guess based upon the data we have put together."
"Ain't a bad theory," Blue says, "but not quite. I mean, I'm not aiming to burst your bubble or anything, but the Queens don't really seem to care all that much about your Septs. Even your Caerns. I guess they like draining Garou, but that's about it. See...Rancordiant, she's not one to settle. She wants grand. She wants big. She wanted Seattle."
"Well, she can have Seattle. It's just a few hours down the road." Briari says in a whooshing motion with her hand. Go. Scoot. Get along little doggie. "Couldn't she just roll in there and squash Renegade and then be done with it?"
Blue laughs a little, quietly. "If she could, what's she doing here? Nah, she tried. Not forcefully, she showed up and tried to be persuasive. And she was pretty persuasive to a number've Dancers, but Renegade turned her down flat. Queenie doesn't like it when people tell her no, but she's patient, right? So she came here and set up here and now she's sitting and...what? Growing more've hers, I think. She got some forces from New York when things settled down there, but she keeps sitting and waiting, and it's not because she's forgotten. Hell no. She's gonna go back to Seattle some day, and she won't be asking nice this time. Seattle knows /that/."
"So why didn't Renegade pop a cap in her when she came to his town? He is freaking powerful, right? The name kinda sends shivers up the spine and what not. I mean, if he wanted to build some street cred as a badass, that would be the way to do it, right?" Briari says as she frowns.
"Pop a cap in her?" Blue repeats, looking rather incredulous. The moment, however, passes. "Politics, princess. It's not all 'kill everyone that looks at me funny immediately'. I mean, you're the closest threat to him, right? If she comes down here and keeps you busy and out of his hair, then what's the downside in letting that go on for a bit? I mean, you got a certain reputation these days. Big powerful things that fuck with you tend to end up dead. But I figure he's got a vested interest in making sure she doesn't get strong enough to show up on his doorstep again. You...could ask for some reinforcements. He might very well say yes. But, like I said, not something your bosses are likely to ever entertain. They got their pride."
"Yeah, well .. /some/ of my bosses /may/ entertain the idea, but there would probably be a disclosure of ... afterwards, you get a ten second head start." Briari says as she drums her fingers along the tabletop. "But I suppose that makes sense. If we do end up taking her out, it will make us look pretty freaking boss and I'm sure Renegade won't be picking a fight with us as well any time soon. Still, what do you suggest at this point to get rid of her? Any strategy that /you/ would take? Right now our hang ups in general is the tower. Lots of mundanes. Little access to the upper levels without proper security." She lets out a slow breath. "Is there a weak link at all?"
"Taking her out with or without his help'd get you some definite respect in my world," Blue agrees. "Which isn't a bad thing. Respect means less chance of getting fucked with, and your bunch has already got a lot of that. If you think word about Carnage didn't get around..." He deliberately lets that sentence trail off. "Well...yes, actually. I told you she was /pissed/. She's got all the patience in the world, but you shit in her salad and that goes out the window. You killed her pet, now she's gotta respond. This thing with your boss, that's a taste, she's gonna do more. What? I don't know. I won't have a chance of knowing until I can talk to my friends in there. You made her more vulnerable, but more important, you took something that was hers. So she's gonna do more, and she's gonna over-extend. Why? 'Cause if she had all the resources and all the pieces in play to take you out, she'd have done it already. So she doesn't. So she's gonna spread thin. If you can weather that and take advantage of it, she'll be more open than she's been since the first day she arrived."
Briari nods her head a bit and rubs at her nose. "Does she know where our Caern is?" She asks with a curious probe. "I think that is a pretty important question to ask. In the history of this Sept of which I have researched, we have been attacked several times by your ranks over the last twenty years. So I am assuming it's no secret."
"That is a good question," Blue says seriously. "I'm guessing she does. You're a gigantic target, last one in Washington State and all that. Word gets around. And if she doesn't already? She's gonna try to find out."
"Yeah ... hooray." Briari says, then gives a motion of her head as the waitress brings their food and drinks. She plucks a straw into her shake and takes a long sip, then grins at him. "So, who are your friends by the way? Kin?"
That incredulous look returns to Blue's features, although there's a certain dark humor in it now. "Now come on, princess, I've already been outed. Do you think it's a good idea for me to let any've you know who my allies are when she's on a warpath?"
"I'm not asking for names. I am trying to gauge the level of risk that you currently have on the inside. Because, 'maaaaybe' I am trying to come up with a contingency plan of getting them out of there without getting them killed when we make our move."
"You let me worry about me and mine," Blue says, with a faint smile. "So long as I know what you're going to do in advance, I can make sure they stay out of your way. Let's leave it at 'they're well enough placed that what I've told you isn't just speculation', and call it good."
Nodding her head, Briari takes another few sips off her straw. "So you're a Galliard, huh? What rank are you?"
Blue takes a small sip of his own shake and grins at her over the top of it. "Does it matter?"
Briari nods her head. "Yes, it does to me. I won't spread the word if you don't want me to, but I do want to know."
Blue taps his straw, looking thoughtful again. "Lemme tell you something about rank, princess. Rank's for people who just have to prove themselves. Me, I got nothing to prove to anyone but me, and I like it that way. Rank comes with obligations. Expectations. Everyone clawing at you to try to get a piece of their own. All I want? Freedom. Freedom to do what I want, when I want, without having to keep looking over my shoulder every day."
Raising a brow upwards, Briari says, "I'm not asking you to prove anything to me. I just want to know what rank you are. Why are you so eager to duck the question for?" She smirks at him.
"Why are you so eager to know the answer?" Blue counters, with another grin.
"It's just important to me, that's all." Briari says, then pops another fry into her mouth. "I've been very trusting so far. I just would like a laurel branch extended in return."
Blue wrinkles his nose. "Yeah, but...didn't I just explain how it's not important to me? Feels like giving my serial number or something. Rank's not quite the same with us as what you're thinking anyway. It's not, uh.../pleasant/ to earn new ones. Frankly, I don't really like thinking back on the experience. You get to know yourself better'n you like."
"It's important to /me/." Briari insists to him. "Just.. please, okay?"
"Alright," Blue relents, with a small sigh. "But if you've been so trusting, how come I still don't know your name?"
"Bridget Aria Wasson. Fostern and Ragabash for the Glass Walkers. Corporate Wolf Camp and south east regional chess grand champion." The blonde says as she begins to unwrap her burger. "Beta for Otter Space."
"Blue," the young man says slowly. "As you know. I've passed the second circle, which means I'm Fostern too, and, thank you very much, I have no intention of going back in for the third." He sips from the shake. "Otter Space is a pretty unusual name for a pack."
"It's a terrible name. I didn't pick it. I just recently joined and due to my rank, I took Beta just because it looks good on the resume." The ragabash says, "You can call me Briari if you want. It's what my friends call me. Or Bri. I'm called Follows The Money Down Darkest Alleys. Also called The Chess Warrior because I can literally beat anyone on this planet in like five or six moves." She says with a grin, then takes a deep bite of her burger. "We have someone here that can save you." She chews after a few bites. "Take a swim down the silver river, repent your sins, come out sane and cleansed and a do-over."
"Briari." Blue lets that roll over his tongue. "That's a beautiful name. Well," he smiles. "I'll remember not to challenge you to chess." The rest of it takes a moment, enough to suggest that perhaps he's simply not going to respond, but then, "...Tell me, is that really your idea of saving people? Let them burn for a long, long time? Do you really think that sort've thing makes people saner?"
"It burns the taint out of your body and soul. From what I was told. As long as your intentions of being saved and joining Gaia's ranks are true, the ritual will work." Briari picks an onion out of her burger, then reaches over to put it in your box with a grin. "I am not a Theurge. But I have heard stories of powerful spirals becoming saved and then going on to great things afterwards." She peeks up at him from behind her blonde hair. "You seem like a nice guy who is probably manipulating the shit out of me. If you ever get curious, I can ask for more information and get back to you on it."
Blue toys with the onion she gives him between thumb and forefinger. "Briari," he says, with a smile that's softer than any she's seen from him before. "That's sweet, it really is, but do I seem like a guy who needs saving? Hell...you're the one who needs it, from where I'm sitting, but I know how well that tends to go over when I bring it up. Are you really happy like this?"
Shrugging her shoulders upwards, Briari says, "I am like anyone else. I have good days and I have bad days. My bad days just do not consist of chewing on babies while watching the Golden Girls." She says as she twirls a fry about her fingers. "I know that as a Galliard, you are experienced with word play. I also know that as a Fostern, that you have several gifts at your disposal to make yourself appear more charming, persuasive and silver tongued. This is what you do. You lie, you manipulate, you sweet talk, you flirt. I'm not stupid, Blue. I know that once you no longer find me useful, or, that when we accomplish what it is that you want, which is to take out the Queen, you will make your move. By having us take out the mage, you have elevated yourself in the eyes of your allies and superiors. You've proven that you are able to set us up like a game of chess. Taking out the mage is a win for you. The mage taking us out is a win for you." Her fingers give a light drum of her fingers. "And you know that I know, but you also know that I am calculating everything in the form of standard deviations and percentage to risk. I'm very smart. Genius, actually." Her eyes lift upwards. "I'm not for a moment thinking that you're helping me, or us because you're a sweet thing. This may as well be your rank challenge and you aced it. Either way, high five for both of us. My dice roll in working with you paid off in spades and I elevated myself in the eyes of the Sept in return. We helped each other out." She says with a small smile. "And I hope that if we do take out this Queen, that you pack up and run. Because ... I feel that with the help you gave us, it'd be a dick move to whack you."
Blue idly brushes his shake aside, then leans his elbows on the table between them, bringing his face a little closer. "Aw, Princess. You always think the worst of me. I haven't used any Gifts on you, and I already told you my end move is leaving. 'Course you aren't going to believe that, but that doesn't make it a lie. I'm helping us both, 'cause neither one of us wants to be devoured by some entitled ancient evil. After that, I'm gonna go do what I feel like, somewhere far enough away that it's not going to hurt either of us." He pauses, and then grins. "And it won't be chewing on babies. It'll be...watching some movies. Listening to good music. Eating good food. Maybe making love to someone not quite as pretty as you. Certainly someone without the brains."
"What sucks is that you are really cute." Briari says with a grumble as she takes another bite of her burger, chewing on it a few times, then swallows.
"I am, aren't I?" Blue grins, practically beams. "So let's not talk about what happens tomorrow. But I am curious, Briari. Does our date end with a kiss? I won't tell if you won't."
There is a soft snort from Briari, followed by an amused turn of her lips upwards. "Shut up and eat your burger."
Blue laughs, but he follows through with the order, picking up his hamburger and taking a large, unhurried bite out of it.
"So you think she is going to throw the kitchen sink at us then?" Briari asks after a few more bites of her burger, half way through it. "Besides vampire hands and spirals, she have anything else we haven't seen yet?"
"Banes," Blue says around that mouthful. He swallows. "The usual sort of thing. No more mages for her though. That'll have stripped away a lot of options."
"Yeah, so who was that guy? By the way, when we killed him, he was bleeding black ooze. Kinda like all that shit we've been trying to resolve at the same time." Briari says as she squints her eyes. "He seemed pretty freaked out when we iced him, like he was shocked. Looked like a substitute teacher. Hardly a big scary Nephandi."
That wipes the humor from Blue's expression. "Black...ooze," he repeats. There's no question in his tone. "...Well, what's a big scary Nephandi supposed to look like? Substitute teacher's pretty good if you think Nephandi don't look like that, right? Far as who he was..." The young man shrugs. "No idea. They work with my people sometimes, though usually it doesn't end pretty. I steer clear, especially since they don't like to share, and they sure don't like to serve." He pauses a moment, possibly for emphasis. "But this one was serving. Makes you wonder, huh?"
"I don't know what a mage looks like, I never met one before." Briari says as she tosses another fry in her mouth. "Yeah, black ooze. You /know/ about that, right? Rumor is the ooze have gotten into your ranks up in the tower and it's scaring the shit out of some of you."
"I know of it," Blue says, a little darkly. "But not about it. You steer clear of that shit if you can, Briari. And, as we're on the subject, some friendly advice; steer clear've mages too, if you ever run into one. You catch them off guard like you did the other night? Outside their territory? Then maybe you've got a good shot. You try to challenge them up front though... never, ever give a warper time to prepare. Maybe the best advice I can give you."
"It's called The Nothing. It's an old, legendary .. thing ... that woke up when some dick head mage we believe, messed with an old dead Caern. It got angry, sucked off the nuclear power plant near by, and then just ... uh .. started getting more powerful." Briari says with a nod of her head. "You can't kill it. The goal is to put it back to sleep. It consumes creatures, those mostly affected by the Wyrm, turns it into a goop zombie. Your tower is like an all you can eat buffet for it." Briari says to him. "Since you've been so nice and gave me all these yummy details, I can hook you up on this. Right now we have no leads on how to put it down. Killing those goop things is difficult. It absorbs light, heat and fire. Gifts are useless against it's minions."
Blue listens with clear interest. "You know anything about this dick head mage? Still kicking in any fashion?"
Briari gives a shake of her head. "No, every time we travel out that way, we get hit with more banes and nasty shit than you can throw a stick at. We strapped a go-pro on to a flier once and we watched the video afterwards. She got pretty deep down there, but then goop monsters came after her, chased her all the way back here and our war pack killed them off. Was not an easy fight."
"Hmm." Blue takes another slow bite of his burger, and chews for a while before swallowing and saying anything else. "Flier? You got those around here?"
"We got a little bit of everything here. We're the melting pot of the west coast." Briari chuckles. "But hey, if you get bored, take a walk out there. But if you come back goopy, that's all on you."
Blue shakes his head. "Ohhh, I did once. No, thank you. That shit's trouble I don't want any piece of."
Popping the last bite of burger into her mouth, Bri' asks, "How come the white things can turn our gifts off and block spirits? What makes them special?"
Blue pauses with his burger half raised. "Eh? Turn off gifts and block spirits? When'd they do that?"
Briari rubs her nose. "When they attacked our Alpha. He said that he lost connection to his totem, that he could not activate his fetish, none of his gifts worked."
"Hm, well." Blue takes another bite. "They lock you down when they drain you. Some sort've paralyzing ability on top of the pain. You sure he wasn't just too weak?"
"Maybe. I don't know. I'm just going off third party information." Briari says as she starts to work on the last of her milkshake. "You worried about your friends in the tower?"
"Can't be fun in there right now," Blue says. "Course, not like it was ever fun. They know they've gotta keep their heads down though. If we're lucky, she won't find anything."
Briari nods his head. "Those your packmates?"
Blue points out, "If they were, I'd actually have some way to know what was going on. In any case," he starts to slide out of the booth. "Think I ought to get going. Need to keep my own head down a bit, in case one've her little invisible minions spotted me once or something."
Rising upwards, Briari flips a pair of twenties on to the table, then says, "I'll walk you out and take a peek along the street. I can see them when they're invisible. I can go first."
Blue grins a little, appreciative it would seem. He offers Briari an elbow. "If you insist."
Briari gives him a pat on the shoulder, then starts past him as she heads for the door. Once she opens it, she leans and sweeps her gaze along the street as she activates her cyber senses.
Blue lets his arm drop when she doesn't take it, and follows behind her at a leisurely pace. Outside, there's nothing out of the ordinary to be seen. People walking, cars passing. Birds. No sign of invisible monsters.
Blinking her eyes back to blue, Briari gives them a rub, then passes a thumbs up to him. "We're clear."
Blue returns the thumbs up. "Then I'm out. Keep yourself safe, Princess. We'll talk soon."
"Yeah, yeah. Sure. Maybe the second date you'll get a kiss." Briari says with a grin on her face, then fishes her car keys out as she heads for her car.
"Tease," Blue says. He watches her for a moment, with his hands in his pockets, as she heads over to her car.
Briari flops down into the car and rumbles the hybrid engine, then slips on a pair of mirrored shades. With a wave, she puts the car into gear and revs off down the street.
Briari pages: Briari's voice comes through the line, "Hey, I do not have long, but what do you know about went down last night?"
You paged Briari with 'A soft breath on the other end of the line. "Well, I know you killed the Queen's little pet, but you already know I know that. I also know I haven't heard anything from my friends in a bit. Been all quiet."'.
Briari pages: Your friends, at least five spirals and one of those hyper smart fomori tracked our Alpha down at his own safehouse, tortured and interrogated him." Briari says with a wrinkle of her nose. "You know anything about that?"
You paged Briari with 'There's a beat, a longer delay than usual where Blue's concerned. "...No, I didn't. Huh. Might explain the quiet. What can you tell me about that, princess? Any ideas how they knew?"'.
Briari pages: If I knew, I wouldn't be calling you. It's what I am trying to figure out.". There is a long whistle of a sigh from the Ragabash. "All I know is they tore the place up and was waiting for him. He barely got out of there, but one of the fomori I guess turned one of the spirals to dust as a show of power. So he is kinda a step up above the ones that we killed earlier. He's very intelligent.
You paged Briari with 'Oh, they can all do that, kiddo," Blue responds. "I thought you knew? Okay, okay. Hmm. Not much investigating I can do until my friends stop being all quiet. I've got a question: how many've yours know about me?"'.
Briari pages: There is a shift of the jaw as Briari thinks for a bit. "Leadership of course. I had to present the data to Sept leadership of what I had before we executed this plan. I had to be honest and we had to weigh the risk."
You paged Briari with 'Hey, I'm not mad or anything," Blue says, in a reassuring sort of tone. "I just need information so I can get you information. Look, I'll see what I can do, a'ight? Might not have anything for a while though if my friends are being careful. They've got as much to lose as you do if her Majestic-ness finds out, yeah?"'.
Briari pages: Yeah. So .. about that. They beat your name out of Thane, but they did not seem to know who Blue was. They kept asking for more information from him but he wouldn't cough it up." Briari says as she furrows her brow. "Shadow Lords, right? So ... look ... be careful, okay? I know there is about an 82 percent chance of you stabbing me in the back later, but, I am stupidly optimistic and since you've been so helpful, I do kinda care if you get whacked .. "
You paged Briari with 'There's a small, disappointed sigh. "Seems like your friend's already done the backstabbing. I'm not too surprised. A'ight, princess, that actually helps a lot. I bet she's scouring for leaks, it'll be a bit before I hear anything if that's the case. Now, you keep your head down, and I'll do the same, and we can laugh about how her best way've finding us just ended up getting shredded, yeah? As for the rest, I don't have any reason to backstab you. I like you, and we both dislike the same ugly people. Besides, we do good work when we work together, so don't go getting yourself killed either."'.
Briari pages: Yeah, so far we are working pretty well together. I promise to not kill you until I at least get your new mix tape. Like I said, it's fire." Briari says with an amused tone to her voice. "At least Sound Cloud it." She rocks back and forth for a moment before she says, "What are you going to get out of this? Besides kicking the Queen off. You looking to be the new top dog?"
You paged Briari with 'Naaaah," Blue says, still sounding quite amiable in spite of the joking/not joking threat. "King sounds pretty boring to me. I just don't like Queen Rancordiant. She's a real hag in personality. Needs to come down a peg, preferably onto something sharp. Once that's done, I got other places to be, you know, other venues. You don't have to worry about me sticking around, Princess. This's your place."'.
Briari pages: There is a chuckle from the Ragabash. "Sure, sure. What do you know about Amelia by the way? Do you have names of the rest of her pack? Rank? Anything? If you are feeling generous, she is next on our list."
You paged Briari with 'Dukovy? Aw, princess, I know she isn't the most personable person, but she's just doing her job. Look..." There's another beat, and Blue's voice sounds a bit more thoughtful when he next speaks. "There are some things I'd rather not talk about over the phone, you dig? Safest for both of us, but you never know. Politics is one've them. Trouble is, of course, setting up a face to face meeting means I'm primed for being ambushed. I don't know what the solution is there."'.
Briari pages: Nazis were just doing their job too." Briari points out with a grunt under her breath. "Then let's meet up. You and me. No ambush, promise. I am not keen on getting the only good intel we have in there whacked. You want to hit up a Whattaburger and get shakes?"
You paged Briari with 'That cuts, that cuts deep," Blue says, in a tone that suggests his sincerity on the remark is...rather non-existent. "Now you're talking. Somewhere public, when we got daylight. No one lurking in the shadows for either of us. You sure that's alright with your bosses? Not gonna think I'm leading you astray with milkshakes, are they?"'.
Briari pages: There is a loud snort from the new moon. "It is better to beg for forgiveness rather than permission sometimes. Come on, let's get shakes. Sixth and Main downtown. We will snag a corner near the back, one that faces the entrance and window so we can see incoming and outgoing. That way either of us won't get jumped or surprised." There is a smirk upon her face. "Bring your mix tape and I will pay for lunch, cool?"
You paged Briari with 'See you there. Toodles, princess." Click.'.
After parking her new Ford (which is not a Ferrari now) across the street, Briari has picked out a corner seat in the burger joint, her back to the wall and facing the entrance from across the restaurant. She is fiddling with her phone at the moment, playing a rousing game of Tetris as the tip of her tongue is sticking out.
Blue arrives not too long after, at a brisk but still mostly unhurried walk. His hair is what makes him so easy to spot, although he's still quite easy on the eyes as he draws close to the booth and flops in across from Briari with a lazy sort of smile. "Afraid I'm paying for my own meal," he says, humor glinting in his eyes. "You did make a promise not to kill me until after you had my new mixtape, so I think I'll hang on to it for a while longer."
As he approaches, Briari glances up from her phone, then shifts to sit up a bit straighter. Sliding the phone into her pocket, she gives a visible frown. "What? You serious? That's a dick move." She says as she blows a strand of blonde hair from her face. "I'll still pay for your lunch, it's no biggie." Smirking at him, she says, "So ... here we are, sitting at a table having burgers together."
Blue runs his fingers back through his own hair before steepling them together on the table in front of him. "Hey! So is killing me, I'd like to point out." He glances out the window, and then to their fellow customers; who are not exactly trying to sit very close to their little gathering. "Yeah, here we are. It's good, I like burgers. I like you. It's a nice day out. So..." His smile turns into a faintly crooked grin. "You want to ruin it with politics?"
"Well, either this is a business meeting or a date." Briari says with a smirk on her face to him. "I like burgers and politics." She gives a look out to the door again, then plucks up her menu. "I am not going to kill you. Sides, I am pretty confident you would be able to take me in a fight. I have a particular set of skills but combat is not exactly in my top ten."
"It can't be both?" Blue asks. "Alright then. So, your people, you like your politics too, right? You've all got different ideas about the best way to do things, even though technically you've all got the same end goal. You even pick out...let's call 'em mascots for this conversation. Mascots to represent what you think's best and what you value, to give you direction...even the ability to do it better."
"Sure, we can call them mascots. I think right now my people just want to clear the tower out of the immediate threat, then go back to a normal life. This whole end of the world thing is obviously scaring everyone and with good reason." Briari says as she twirls a finger along the table top in a random design. "So, which mascot do you follow?"
"You know me, princess." Blue leans back against the plastic seat cushioning. "I do my own thing. I don't get all worked up about this sort've stuff. Better for the blood pressure. But yours and mine aren't so different. My people got mascots too, and some really important ones. I'm bringing this up 'cause you need to understand what's going on below the surface here." He lowers his voice. "Now, Queen Rancordiant and her bunch, they're real fond of someone called Eater-of-Souls. You might've heard of him. Nasty. No fun at all. But they embody him real nicely, 'cause they're hungry and they like to feed. What your boss saw that guy do? That's them feeding. They don't eat burgers, they eat what keeps people living. And it hurts, Princess. It hurts like nothing you can imagine, so I'm told. You can't even die until they let you."
"Yeah. That is what is coming down the pipeline right now. He said that they have mouths on the ends of their hands and they latch into you. I think we figured out the Eater of Souls part as well awhile ago." Briari says as she waves a waiter down, gives their order while they pause for a moment, then picks up once she leaves. "So, what are they? They are not any kinda fomori we have seen before." She says softly. "Where did they come from in the first place?"
Blue's expression actually turns a little more serious, a little more solemn. "I don't know," he says. "But I can tell you one thing. They're not fomori. Those things you saw, they don't come from some humans making nasty with a bane. They come from the Queen. She makes 'em herself. Where she comes from? Well, that's a mystery I'd like to know too. I think she's old. Certainly powerful. Pretty sure she ain't fomor either, but princess, there're things down deep you can't imagine, things that just are. I think maybe she and her sisters are one've those, and now they've come up and they're carving out little queendoms for themselves. But they didn't do it alone, as you know."
Briari nods her head slowly. "Yeah. I know. If we kill, what happens next? Does this all go away? Do the other two sisters make a new Queen? Do they come here seeking vengeance?" She fiddles with a straw wrapper, winding it about in her fingers. "Right now though, our plan is to figure out if we take the Queen out in the tower, or find a way to draw her out. I take it she won't leave without a pretty damn good reason, huh?"
"Dunno," Blue says. "Your guess is as good as mine. Getting her to leave the tower though?" He gives a low whistle. "Not sure you'll be able to manage that. Far as I know none've 'em have left their little towers once they get set up, though of course they were traveling quite a bit at the start. Getting ahead of ourselves though. First, I gotta explain something about her allies. See...another mascot my people're real fond of is called Beast of War. Man, those guys just want to kill, kill, kill. They love fighting. They love destroying. Beast-of-War and Eater-of-Souls don't usually get along all that well, and neither do their followers. But the Queens? They made a good pitch to those guys. Help them out and you get to kill a whole lot of people, and a whole lot of Garou. So she got them on board, and princess, those're most've my people involved in this thing. They don't really like the Queens 'cause they got fundamentally different ideas, but the start of this whole mess was real popular to 'em, they got to do a lot of what they love."
Nodding her head, Briari grows quiet as she listens, propping her chin up in the palm of her hand. Her tongue rolls about the inside of her cheek in a slow thoughtful circle.
Blue nods as well, and continues. "But now, see, things've gone a little quiet. Oh, they still get to kill Garou sometimes, but the Queens just want to sit around in their towers, eating and ruling. A lot've 'em are feeling a little impatient. Starting to wonder if maybe this deal's outliving its appeal. Realizing the Queens don't like differences of opinion, challenges to their rule. Some've 'em that get too loud about it get turned. Suddenly they're all fawning, loyal, desperately dedicated. So if the Queen here dies, I think maybe a lot of them are just going to leave. Oh they'll /fight/ you if you give 'em the opportunity, but once she's gone? Unless they think they can take you on themselves, and they won't if you can kill a Queen, they're gonna go back where they came from, call it a wash."
"Yeah, I think a wash is fine. None of us is too eager to shed any more blood as it is. We want to go back to our lives where the biggest headache we have is a bane or a bad batch of jelly beans that poisons kids or whatever." Briari says as she leans back in the chair thoughtfully. "So, if we are to stage an attack, you are saying that we are pretty much stuck going into the tower, right? Any chance your people can pull the juggernaut sized banes away from the tower so we can gain easier access? Give us at least some type of window to get in and do what we do?"
Blue shakes his head. "Don't know. That's something we can't practice until it's go time, and right now I can't even get a return call from inside. Banes do their own thing, it'd have to be something real tempting, 'cause they've got their own deals going. There's also...well. Don't know if I should even mention it, doubt your bosses'd be game."
"Well, now you gotta tell me, or else I will give you the puppy eyes." Briari says with interest as she perks up a bit.
Blue brings one hand in front of his eyes. "Ah no, not puppy eyes. My one weakness." He grins around his spread fingers, then lowers the hand. "Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you. Now, Rancordiant here, did you ever wonder why she's in your city? I mean, I don't mean any offense, but St. Claire ain't the choicest one when it comes to picking out your own kingdom. Her sisters, they got New York City and Los Angeles. That's big, right? Why'd she pick here?"
"Because we are the largest Sept in the North West. So, as we understand, if you look at us, Los Angeles and New York, it covers at least three corners of the US. The smaller fallen Septs seem to make a pattern which is apart of a bigger ritual. Kinda like how a shape will have points to it. Like a Pentagram. Our Sept falls upon a point." Briari says with a nod of her head. "My best guess based upon the data we have put together."
"Ain't a bad theory," Blue says, "but not quite. I mean, I'm not aiming to burst your bubble or anything, but the Queens don't really seem to care all that much about your Septs. Even your Caerns. I guess they like draining Garou, but that's about it. See...Rancordiant, she's not one to settle. She wants grand. She wants big. She wanted Seattle."
"Well, she can have Seattle. It's just a few hours down the road." Briari says in a whooshing motion with her hand. Go. Scoot. Get along little doggie. "Couldn't she just roll in there and squash Renegade and then be done with it?"
Blue laughs a little, quietly. "If she could, what's she doing here? Nah, she tried. Not forcefully, she showed up and tried to be persuasive. And she was pretty persuasive to a number've Dancers, but Renegade turned her down flat. Queenie doesn't like it when people tell her no, but she's patient, right? So she came here and set up here and now she's sitting and...what? Growing more've hers, I think. She got some forces from New York when things settled down there, but she keeps sitting and waiting, and it's not because she's forgotten. Hell no. She's gonna go back to Seattle some day, and she won't be asking nice this time. Seattle knows /that/."
"So why didn't Renegade pop a cap in her when she came to his town? He is freaking powerful, right? The name kinda sends shivers up the spine and what not. I mean, if he wanted to build some street cred as a badass, that would be the way to do it, right?" Briari says as she frowns.
"Pop a cap in her?" Blue repeats, looking rather incredulous. The moment, however, passes. "Politics, princess. It's not all 'kill everyone that looks at me funny immediately'. I mean, you're the closest threat to him, right? If she comes down here and keeps you busy and out of his hair, then what's the downside in letting that go on for a bit? I mean, you got a certain reputation these days. Big powerful things that fuck with you tend to end up dead. But I figure he's got a vested interest in making sure she doesn't get strong enough to show up on his doorstep again. You...could ask for some reinforcements. He might very well say yes. But, like I said, not something your bosses are likely to ever entertain. They got their pride."
"Yeah, well .. /some/ of my bosses /may/ entertain the idea, but there would probably be a disclosure of ... afterwards, you get a ten second head start." Briari says as she drums her fingers along the tabletop. "But I suppose that makes sense. If we do end up taking her out, it will make us look pretty freaking boss and I'm sure Renegade won't be picking a fight with us as well any time soon. Still, what do you suggest at this point to get rid of her? Any strategy that /you/ would take? Right now our hang ups in general is the tower. Lots of mundanes. Little access to the upper levels without proper security." She lets out a slow breath. "Is there a weak link at all?"
"Taking her out with or without his help'd get you some definite respect in my world," Blue agrees. "Which isn't a bad thing. Respect means less chance of getting fucked with, and your bunch has already got a lot of that. If you think word about Carnage didn't get around..." He deliberately lets that sentence trail off. "Well...yes, actually. I told you she was /pissed/. She's got all the patience in the world, but you shit in her salad and that goes out the window. You killed her pet, now she's gotta respond. This thing with your boss, that's a taste, she's gonna do more. What? I don't know. I won't have a chance of knowing until I can talk to my friends in there. You made her more vulnerable, but more important, you took something that was hers. So she's gonna do more, and she's gonna over-extend. Why? 'Cause if she had all the resources and all the pieces in play to take you out, she'd have done it already. So she doesn't. So she's gonna spread thin. If you can weather that and take advantage of it, she'll be more open than she's been since the first day she arrived."
Briari nods her head a bit and rubs at her nose. "Does she know where our Caern is?" She asks with a curious probe. "I think that is a pretty important question to ask. In the history of this Sept of which I have researched, we have been attacked several times by your ranks over the last twenty years. So I am assuming it's no secret."
"That is a good question," Blue says seriously. "I'm guessing she does. You're a gigantic target, last one in Washington State and all that. Word gets around. And if she doesn't already? She's gonna try to find out."
"Yeah ... hooray." Briari says, then gives a motion of her head as the waitress brings their food and drinks. She plucks a straw into her shake and takes a long sip, then grins at him. "So, who are your friends by the way? Kin?"
That incredulous look returns to Blue's features, although there's a certain dark humor in it now. "Now come on, princess, I've already been outed. Do you think it's a good idea for me to let any've you know who my allies are when she's on a warpath?"
"I'm not asking for names. I am trying to gauge the level of risk that you currently have on the inside. Because, 'maaaaybe' I am trying to come up with a contingency plan of getting them out of there without getting them killed when we make our move."
"You let me worry about me and mine," Blue says, with a faint smile. "So long as I know what you're going to do in advance, I can make sure they stay out of your way. Let's leave it at 'they're well enough placed that what I've told you isn't just speculation', and call it good."
Nodding her head, Briari takes another few sips off her straw. "So you're a Galliard, huh? What rank are you?"
Blue takes a small sip of his own shake and grins at her over the top of it. "Does it matter?"
Briari nods her head. "Yes, it does to me. I won't spread the word if you don't want me to, but I do want to know."
Blue taps his straw, looking thoughtful again. "Lemme tell you something about rank, princess. Rank's for people who just have to prove themselves. Me, I got nothing to prove to anyone but me, and I like it that way. Rank comes with obligations. Expectations. Everyone clawing at you to try to get a piece of their own. All I want? Freedom. Freedom to do what I want, when I want, without having to keep looking over my shoulder every day."
Raising a brow upwards, Briari says, "I'm not asking you to prove anything to me. I just want to know what rank you are. Why are you so eager to duck the question for?" She smirks at him.
"Why are you so eager to know the answer?" Blue counters, with another grin.
"It's just important to me, that's all." Briari says, then pops another fry into her mouth. "I've been very trusting so far. I just would like a laurel branch extended in return."
Blue wrinkles his nose. "Yeah, but...didn't I just explain how it's not important to me? Feels like giving my serial number or something. Rank's not quite the same with us as what you're thinking anyway. It's not, uh.../pleasant/ to earn new ones. Frankly, I don't really like thinking back on the experience. You get to know yourself better'n you like."
"It's important to /me/." Briari insists to him. "Just.. please, okay?"
"Alright," Blue relents, with a small sigh. "But if you've been so trusting, how come I still don't know your name?"
"Bridget Aria Wasson. Fostern and Ragabash for the Glass Walkers. Corporate Wolf Camp and south east regional chess grand champion." The blonde says as she begins to unwrap her burger. "Beta for Otter Space."
"Blue," the young man says slowly. "As you know. I've passed the second circle, which means I'm Fostern too, and, thank you very much, I have no intention of going back in for the third." He sips from the shake. "Otter Space is a pretty unusual name for a pack."
"It's a terrible name. I didn't pick it. I just recently joined and due to my rank, I took Beta just because it looks good on the resume." The ragabash says, "You can call me Briari if you want. It's what my friends call me. Or Bri. I'm called Follows The Money Down Darkest Alleys. Also called The Chess Warrior because I can literally beat anyone on this planet in like five or six moves." She says with a grin, then takes a deep bite of her burger. "We have someone here that can save you." She chews after a few bites. "Take a swim down the silver river, repent your sins, come out sane and cleansed and a do-over."
"Briari." Blue lets that roll over his tongue. "That's a beautiful name. Well," he smiles. "I'll remember not to challenge you to chess." The rest of it takes a moment, enough to suggest that perhaps he's simply not going to respond, but then, "...Tell me, is that really your idea of saving people? Let them burn for a long, long time? Do you really think that sort've thing makes people saner?"
"It burns the taint out of your body and soul. From what I was told. As long as your intentions of being saved and joining Gaia's ranks are true, the ritual will work." Briari picks an onion out of her burger, then reaches over to put it in your box with a grin. "I am not a Theurge. But I have heard stories of powerful spirals becoming saved and then going on to great things afterwards." She peeks up at him from behind her blonde hair. "You seem like a nice guy who is probably manipulating the shit out of me. If you ever get curious, I can ask for more information and get back to you on it."
Blue toys with the onion she gives him between thumb and forefinger. "Briari," he says, with a smile that's softer than any she's seen from him before. "That's sweet, it really is, but do I seem like a guy who needs saving? Hell...you're the one who needs it, from where I'm sitting, but I know how well that tends to go over when I bring it up. Are you really happy like this?"
Shrugging her shoulders upwards, Briari says, "I am like anyone else. I have good days and I have bad days. My bad days just do not consist of chewing on babies while watching the Golden Girls." She says as she twirls a fry about her fingers. "I know that as a Galliard, you are experienced with word play. I also know that as a Fostern, that you have several gifts at your disposal to make yourself appear more charming, persuasive and silver tongued. This is what you do. You lie, you manipulate, you sweet talk, you flirt. I'm not stupid, Blue. I know that once you no longer find me useful, or, that when we accomplish what it is that you want, which is to take out the Queen, you will make your move. By having us take out the mage, you have elevated yourself in the eyes of your allies and superiors. You've proven that you are able to set us up like a game of chess. Taking out the mage is a win for you. The mage taking us out is a win for you." Her fingers give a light drum of her fingers. "And you know that I know, but you also know that I am calculating everything in the form of standard deviations and percentage to risk. I'm very smart. Genius, actually." Her eyes lift upwards. "I'm not for a moment thinking that you're helping me, or us because you're a sweet thing. This may as well be your rank challenge and you aced it. Either way, high five for both of us. My dice roll in working with you paid off in spades and I elevated myself in the eyes of the Sept in return. We helped each other out." She says with a small smile. "And I hope that if we do take out this Queen, that you pack up and run. Because ... I feel that with the help you gave us, it'd be a dick move to whack you."
Blue idly brushes his shake aside, then leans his elbows on the table between them, bringing his face a little closer. "Aw, Princess. You always think the worst of me. I haven't used any Gifts on you, and I already told you my end move is leaving. 'Course you aren't going to believe that, but that doesn't make it a lie. I'm helping us both, 'cause neither one of us wants to be devoured by some entitled ancient evil. After that, I'm gonna go do what I feel like, somewhere far enough away that it's not going to hurt either of us." He pauses, and then grins. "And it won't be chewing on babies. It'll be...watching some movies. Listening to good music. Eating good food. Maybe making love to someone not quite as pretty as you. Certainly someone without the brains."
"What sucks is that you are really cute." Briari says with a grumble as she takes another bite of her burger, chewing on it a few times, then swallows.
"I am, aren't I?" Blue grins, practically beams. "So let's not talk about what happens tomorrow. But I am curious, Briari. Does our date end with a kiss? I won't tell if you won't."
There is a soft snort from Briari, followed by an amused turn of her lips upwards. "Shut up and eat your burger."
Blue laughs, but he follows through with the order, picking up his hamburger and taking a large, unhurried bite out of it.
"So you think she is going to throw the kitchen sink at us then?" Briari asks after a few more bites of her burger, half way through it. "Besides vampire hands and spirals, she have anything else we haven't seen yet?"
"Banes," Blue says around that mouthful. He swallows. "The usual sort of thing. No more mages for her though. That'll have stripped away a lot of options."
"Yeah, so who was that guy? By the way, when we killed him, he was bleeding black ooze. Kinda like all that shit we've been trying to resolve at the same time." Briari says as she squints her eyes. "He seemed pretty freaked out when we iced him, like he was shocked. Looked like a substitute teacher. Hardly a big scary Nephandi."
That wipes the humor from Blue's expression. "Black...ooze," he repeats. There's no question in his tone. "...Well, what's a big scary Nephandi supposed to look like? Substitute teacher's pretty good if you think Nephandi don't look like that, right? Far as who he was..." The young man shrugs. "No idea. They work with my people sometimes, though usually it doesn't end pretty. I steer clear, especially since they don't like to share, and they sure don't like to serve." He pauses a moment, possibly for emphasis. "But this one was serving. Makes you wonder, huh?"
"I don't know what a mage looks like, I never met one before." Briari says as she tosses another fry in her mouth. "Yeah, black ooze. You /know/ about that, right? Rumor is the ooze have gotten into your ranks up in the tower and it's scaring the shit out of some of you."
"I know of it," Blue says, a little darkly. "But not about it. You steer clear of that shit if you can, Briari. And, as we're on the subject, some friendly advice; steer clear've mages too, if you ever run into one. You catch them off guard like you did the other night? Outside their territory? Then maybe you've got a good shot. You try to challenge them up front though... never, ever give a warper time to prepare. Maybe the best advice I can give you."
"It's called The Nothing. It's an old, legendary .. thing ... that woke up when some dick head mage we believe, messed with an old dead Caern. It got angry, sucked off the nuclear power plant near by, and then just ... uh .. started getting more powerful." Briari says with a nod of her head. "You can't kill it. The goal is to put it back to sleep. It consumes creatures, those mostly affected by the Wyrm, turns it into a goop zombie. Your tower is like an all you can eat buffet for it." Briari says to him. "Since you've been so nice and gave me all these yummy details, I can hook you up on this. Right now we have no leads on how to put it down. Killing those goop things is difficult. It absorbs light, heat and fire. Gifts are useless against it's minions."
Blue listens with clear interest. "You know anything about this dick head mage? Still kicking in any fashion?"
Briari gives a shake of her head. "No, every time we travel out that way, we get hit with more banes and nasty shit than you can throw a stick at. We strapped a go-pro on to a flier once and we watched the video afterwards. She got pretty deep down there, but then goop monsters came after her, chased her all the way back here and our war pack killed them off. Was not an easy fight."
"Hmm." Blue takes another slow bite of his burger, and chews for a while before swallowing and saying anything else. "Flier? You got those around here?"
"We got a little bit of everything here. We're the melting pot of the west coast." Briari chuckles. "But hey, if you get bored, take a walk out there. But if you come back goopy, that's all on you."
Blue shakes his head. "Ohhh, I did once. No, thank you. That shit's trouble I don't want any piece of."
Popping the last bite of burger into her mouth, Bri' asks, "How come the white things can turn our gifts off and block spirits? What makes them special?"
Blue pauses with his burger half raised. "Eh? Turn off gifts and block spirits? When'd they do that?"
Briari rubs her nose. "When they attacked our Alpha. He said that he lost connection to his totem, that he could not activate his fetish, none of his gifts worked."
"Hm, well." Blue takes another bite. "They lock you down when they drain you. Some sort've paralyzing ability on top of the pain. You sure he wasn't just too weak?"
"Maybe. I don't know. I'm just going off third party information." Briari says as she starts to work on the last of her milkshake. "You worried about your friends in the tower?"
"Can't be fun in there right now," Blue says. "Course, not like it was ever fun. They know they've gotta keep their heads down though. If we're lucky, she won't find anything."
Briari nods his head. "Those your packmates?"
Blue points out, "If they were, I'd actually have some way to know what was going on. In any case," he starts to slide out of the booth. "Think I ought to get going. Need to keep my own head down a bit, in case one've her little invisible minions spotted me once or something."
Rising upwards, Briari flips a pair of twenties on to the table, then says, "I'll walk you out and take a peek along the street. I can see them when they're invisible. I can go first."
Blue grins a little, appreciative it would seem. He offers Briari an elbow. "If you insist."
Briari gives him a pat on the shoulder, then starts past him as she heads for the door. Once she opens it, she leans and sweeps her gaze along the street as she activates her cyber senses.
Blue lets his arm drop when she doesn't take it, and follows behind her at a leisurely pace. Outside, there's nothing out of the ordinary to be seen. People walking, cars passing. Birds. No sign of invisible monsters.
Blinking her eyes back to blue, Briari gives them a rub, then passes a thumbs up to him. "We're clear."
Blue returns the thumbs up. "Then I'm out. Keep yourself safe, Princess. We'll talk soon."
"Yeah, yeah. Sure. Maybe the second date you'll get a kiss." Briari says with a grin on her face, then fishes her car keys out as she heads for her car.
"Tease," Blue says. He watches her for a moment, with his hands in his pockets, as she heads over to her car.
Briari flops down into the car and rumbles the hybrid engine, then slips on a pair of mirrored shades. With a wave, she puts the car into gear and revs off down the street.
