[FURY] Speed Hunt (August 1.4, Dog 1.5)

Rich

Dog,

Buck hands over your weapons, and you head out of the Yacht Club. Outside where there is no coffee smells, just the smell of the muck and bloody mire outside. The crowd's celebrating Grimace's victory, shouting back and forth at each other. A few fights have broken out with Pikers who were upset over the loss or the taunting.

Speed normally hangs around Admiral's inside gang, who live at Team Store (section 6 on the map in the images thread). You know walking in there are demanding one of their own could be dangerous, Dog.

What do you do?

halcy

My nose crinkles up. The stink of the place is always worse after I've been in Yacht Club for any time. Why ain't Admiral's inside crew dealing with these fights? Lazy splashers.

Admiral may be trying to run me right into bloody business, sending me to get Speed myself. Or he's not thinking about it. And all my Arrows are in Pikes.

Bloody rotten times.

I could wait for him to do something alone, but I'm hungry and Admiral is waiting. So what I need is some bait. Or to split 'em off.

Rich

Dog,

As you head over towards Team Store, you see Grunge:

Grunge is sitting on a concrete guardrail, with her heavy clompy boots on the broken plastic of an old bleacher seat underneath. She's smoking some weed, watching a few folks in a beatdown a section below the team store. Her "hacking stick", a broad flat sword she cut and sharpened herself, is strung over her back.

She looks over, gives a nod hello, "Dog, sup?" She pulls the blunt from her mouth, holds it out for you.

halcy

I nod back, puff on the blunt a little bit, happy to take some edge off how it stinks in here. I glance down my nose at the beatdown. Pass it back.

"Got some business for Speed," I say. "I don't feel local enough to go in and tell him myself." I reach into a pocket and pull out a little baggie of pure blue dye, color of water forgotten.

"I have a fistful of this for you if you get him walking this way without shining him on me bein' here."

Rich

Dog,


Grunge gawks at the dye, her joint hanging from her bottom lip. "Whoah. That's..." She cocks her head, looking at you curiously. "Yo, why are you skittered about going to Team Store? You owe summin?" She reaches for the baggie, doesn't pull it away, just wants to touch it.

halcy

"You wanna know that, you do it for just this." I hold the baggie in place, not pulling it away or handing it over. "Ain't skittered anyway."

Rich

Dog,


Grunge's fingers caress the bag longingly. "Didn't think ya's skittered. Dig me some Arrows." She takes a puff from her J, holds it for a moment, exhales. "Promise me a couple free ride alongs, too. Then I'll fetch Speed."

halcy

This girl is pushin' it. But I press the bag into her fingers. I only look good in pink or red anyway.

"Worth it. Walk towards Yacht Club when you've got him; Admiral wants to see him. I'll be behind."

I pull the hood from the layer under my jacket up over my hawk and find a place to squat behind the eyeline of the door to Team Store.

Rich

Dog,

Grunge takes one last toke, then hands you the half-J and strolls into Team Store. That fist-fight down near the pit ends with a Piker laying bloody. It was "soft talk", no weapons, so there's nobody dead from it. Must've been why Grunge was watching.

A couple minutes later, you're hunkered down with a view of Grunge as she struts out followed by Speed. Speed seems casual, Grunge must have a good poker face. So, I'm thinking you're going to try and follow him to Admiral, right? Are are you planning on grabbing him to rush him there?

halcy

I keep the bitty thing between my lips for the look of it. Not looking to blunt my edge. Get it?

Anyway, I'm here in case Speed rabbits. If my patience runs out I might want to collar him and rush to Yacht Club. Might do it if Grunge splits off.

Rich

Dog,

Grunge doesn't bail, she wants that trade. She marches him all the way to the front door, where they both turn over weapons and head inside. Buck's standing outside with the pair of guards checking weapons.

What do you do?

halcy

I peel off the hood and check my weapons with Buck again. I pull on Grunge's arm once I'm in, give her a nod to the side - she's not a part of the talk's gonna happen here.

I look for Admiral. "Done." I announce to him.

Rich

Dog,

When you pull on Grunge's arm, she nods, then slips off to the bar. She'll be gone in a moment or two, but she's not going to take a direct route.


Admiral sees you behind Speed, but he doesn't. Admiral is still sitting with Hope, but he isn't paying attention to her anymore. Her eyes are downcast. Admiral addresses Speed, "Speed, tell me about the thief who tried to take some of the hold's alcohol. The boy you caught."


Speed didn't seem to catch on that you're behind him, answering, "I caught the whelp grabbing a bottle of hooch, and I grabbed him up, soaked him a bit in the barrel until he'd learned his lesson."


Admiral nods, like this treatment is fair, or reasonable. He asks casually, "Who was the boy?"


Speed crosses his arms, answering with confidence, "Name's Joey. One of the Arrow's whelps. Dunno which one."


Admiral shakes his head, "Speed. Speed, Speed. We took this place together, cleaned out all the rotters and filth. We built it back, built it stronger. This hold, this home, this was a thing we made." Around Admiral, people start growing quiet, moving slightly away, like cowed animals. "Tell me, Speed. After all we've done. Why would you take it upon yourself to even touch one of the Arrow's kids? Why would you disrespect me like that? You know how we do things. We wrote the rules, you and I." Speed stammers, starts a response, but Admiral cuts him off, "Dog, take Speed. Make it right. Do what you need to even the score with this man."

That's when Speed turns around, his mouth opening with shock. That's when he sees you.

What do you do?

halcy

I grab Speed by the shirtstuffs and drag him out of Yacht Club where the folks who are just here to drink coffee and get laid don't have to see what I'll do. The first time he makes some kind of beg-noise I headbutt him real hard. "Shut up!"

When we're at an empty booth, I throw him inside, against something, maybe a table or a wall or a bench. Grab something solid looking. What is this? Baseball bat. I smash it into the area around Speed. "D'you think you're gonna die, old man?! Hanh?!"

I want him to feel that way. But Joey needs to see him broke, not dead. Joey's not like me, he might get sad that it happened 'cause of him.

"I don't wanna hear your name, you get me?! You do something anyone so much as whispers to someone else in front of me, I'm soaking you in WaMu. DO YOU GET ME?!"

Rich

Dog,

You know Speed's out of sorts, broken as much by Admiral's anger as your violence. He does seem afraid of you, and that bat. But how will this work out?

I think you're Going Aggro here, something fierce.

halcy

Tough to agree more on that.

(Rolled: 2d6+2. Rolls: 5, 3. Total: 10)

halcy

Marked XP for rolling Hard - situated at 3

Rich

Dog,


Speed tries to wrench himself free, but you hodd him, probablyhit him a couple more times. He's not going to beg or anything, but you outmatch him, and if you don'thold him up, he slinks to the ground. "Just... just rotting end me then." His face is red and sweaty, he's worn out.

What do you do?

halcy

"Not doing that for you." I throw the baseball bat across the room, it knocks around real loud. I let him slide down and walk away, whatever happens to him now is none of my business.

Unless he makes it my business. With my hand on the door, I give him one last look over my shoulder. Dunno if I'll see anything makes me change my mind. "Not. A. Whisper."

Rich

Dog,

Speed doesn't muster a hateful look or any kind of defense, thoroughly beaten, and just tired. He's lost a great deal today. Not just his nerve in front of you, but Admiral's trust and favor. You may have an enemy out of him someday, but not any day soon.

Anything else for you in the hold, or are you heading to meet up with the Arrows at Pike?

halcy

Unless someone's got business for me I am so ready for some food at Pike. I square things away with Grunge; she can come with if she wants. There'll probably be enough for her.

Rich

Dog,


When you square with Grunge, mention Pike's, she nods, "Yeah, Dog. Let's it go. How fast you take your h-bike? Fast fast, yeah?" She grins, showing teeth. She follows you out to your h-bike, but hesitates for a moment when you mount. "Dog... how's it that I ride?" Seems like maybe she's never been on one.

What do you do?

halcy

"Yeah, I like it fast." I zip my key down into the starter and run my fingers over the time-a-round glass the way I'm supposed to. Little picture squares under glass slide away and the engine starts.

I pat the seat behind me, then point at the footrests and the exhaust. "Climb on, then hold onto me. Feet go there, not there; that part goes real hot."

Rich

Dog,


Grunge nods, listening, watching all the places you point. She steps gingerly on, her face a mask of concentration for a moment there as she tries to get it just right. Her hands slips around your waist easily, and she nestles her head near your left ear, "Let's go fast fast, Dog." She squeezes you once, eager to kick off on the h-bike with you.

How is the ride to Pike's, Dog?

halcy

If she's never been on an h-bike before then she doesn't know what fast is like. I gun it to Pike's, show her some fast-fast. I keep my course straight until I think she gets how to follow my lead on turns.

Now, in Pike's proper the place is a mess of people and alleys and their crap, and I need to spot my Arrows, so I go half and then quarter throttle. Still faster than a person would jog. "You see 'em?"

Rich

Dog,


Grunge holds on, teeth gritted for a half mile as she grips you tightly. Once she gets used to the motion, she whoops barbaric yawps and laughs on every turn.

When you near Pike, Grunge points out a trio of h-bikes by a husk of an old convenience store. You also see the silhouette of Zeus and her old grounder bike.

halcy

I pull up beside Zeus and throttle down low. "Hey, Zeus. How's you and the grounder?"

Rich

Dog,

When you come closer, you spot Cujo and Laika on their bikes with Zeus. Cujo looks at you, then Grunge, shakes her head with disapproval. Laika chuckles at the pair of you, but it's an agreeable chuckle.

This is Zeus:


She squints at you, "She's rumbling along, Dog. Bitch is still the best action I get." Zeus calls her cycle "bitch", because she says they're "two of a kind". "What're you doing with Dog, Grunge? Don't you know she's dangerous?" Zeus grins, showing crooked teeth.


"I'm dangerous." Grunge answers simply, like the two of you cancel each other out or something. "And I wanted to go fast fast."

halcy

You know, I've never named my bike. Not sure why. Guess I don't need it to be special.

I chuckle and grin for the old lady. She's fun, our Zeus, makes me remember Nana a little. She's been in from the beginning and really seen some floods.

::Grunge did me a solid for trade and that's what's up.:: Cujo is really thinking of me the way she treats her own bike, isn't she? Nobody else gets on unless it's some sorta thing. Not the way I think about it.

"Where are we eating?" I shift on my seat, eyebrows up and pleeeeaase let it be good.

Rich

Dog,


Zeus slides her lips back over her teeth, pleasantries over and done with, "Ace wanted leech and moss, so we're at Yellowhouse. Rainey's getting trashed with Chance." She revs her bike, then starts spinning her back tire with one leg down. With a practiced move, she slides the tire in a sweep to kick the bike into a standing 180, and now she's facing the route to Yellowhouse. She pulls her goggles down and starts off.

Laika hangs back with you, and Cujo lets you both scoot ahead on the way.


As you move past Cujo, she glares at Grunge, then signs to you, ::Picking up lotsa strays today. You lonely or some shit?::

Yellowhouse is located in Pike's, an old wineshop with broken yellow doors and windows. The lower level is nearly ruined by rot. Only the kitchen is half-functional and all the seating and eating happens on the second story. There's balcony over the side door and stairs, so it's easy for the Arrows to park and head up, but keep an eye on their h-bikes.

What happened the last time you were at Yellowhouse, Dog? Why haven't you told Rainey about it?

What do you do?

halcy

Yeah Zeus is like the god-queen of bike skills. I love it when she shows off (even if that's a really legit way to make a turn at a dead end.)

::You must love the view from on top of my tits because you have been standing there all day.:: I sign as I idle around Cujo, then take off for Yellowhouse.

The last time I was at Yellowhouse, there was someone from Binge Hole out in Big Open who really wanted to talk to me about old times and how rad it was when I got 'faced and oh they got a business opportunity for me and I threw 'em off the balcony. They needed a reminder who I am. I didn't tell Rainey cause I thought it would be a hard talk.

Rich

Dog,

Back before the Big Wet, this is a pic of what Yellowhouse used to be:


You pull your h-bike in under the balcony where your whole gang is sitting at weathered plastic tables, drinking and shooting the shit. The h-bikes are all in stand-by mode, a couple grounders parked, including Zeus's. She's standing near the door to the upstairs, finishing a smoke, probably waiting for you.


As you pull the bike in, Grunge leans up to say low in your right ear, "I want to drink with you and the Arrows, yeah." It's a statement. And a question. What little tradition do the Arrows have for someone who wants to drink with them? Do you discourage it? Who hates it the most?

Cujo is already heading up the stairs, you caught sight of her golden ear before she disappeared in the doorway. Zeus heads up the stairs ahead of you. She curses quietly with each step up on her left leg, using the warped handrail for support. You know better than offer her a hand-up, but Grunge might.

What do you do?

halcy

If you're new to drinking with the Arrows, for your first drink you get a shot of the hardest thing available, and you got to balance it on your tongue and wait till one of the gang takes pity on you and tips in into your mouth for you. Then you can round in with us as long as you don't start shit.

Touching it with your fingers is cheating and counts as dropping it, dropping it is a penalty - we laugh at the poor sop, of course, but then someone declares something like 'Ugh, I can't finish this, make the stranger do it!' and they have to pound it back. Then they get a new shot on their tongue.

I kinda love it. It's fun for us, except Sounder thinks it's really unfair the way some of us will do shit to make them drop the shot.

If Grunge makes to help Zeus, I hold out a hand to stop her. Shake my head quiet-like.

When I reach the top of the stairs I call out "Someone pour me a shot!" I pull out a chair for Grunge and lean in with a grin. "You gotta hold this right here," I pat the end of my tongue, "and not drop it. Wait till someone gives it to you."

Rich

Dog,

Grunge did step quicker like she was going to offer Zeus an arm, but she backs off when you put a hand in front of her. The strange ganger peers at you for a moment before falling in.

The stairs up are a mix of creaking wood and metal replacement plates. The idea of sneaking up these stairs is an act of insanity. The peeling paint gives a warped myriad of colors in the dimming light. The music playing isn't live, it's old, dry music playing on a tinny radio running on ancient batteries. The music is called "hippity hop" or somesuch. Right now, some men are speak-singing about five Jurassics, whatever those are. Seem to be a crew. Belka loves this song, and she's speak-singing with the long-dead crew, at the top of her lungs.

The Arrows all greet you with joyous whistles and whoops. Chance, who looked over the side to see Grunge on her way up, already has a viscous black shot of some foul smelling substance. You know it's a licorice alcohol, but it looks and smells like melted tires. Chance grins wide when she hands it over to you to give to the newcomer.


When you give instructions to Grunge on the shot, she nods, serious. The heat of the day has caused her face-paint to run a bit, little rivers of tanned skin under the cake-white and crimson. She takes a shot from you, then pushes out her tongue, which has a shiny metal stud in it, then places the shotglass on top of it, beginning her little hazing ritual.


"Dog," Belka asks between lines, "Where's lil Shy? She skittered?" Belka laughs and punches Tin-Girl, who glowers at Belka. Belka doesn't even notice Tin-Girl's ire.

After a moment of Grunge's balancing, Arrows are starting to watch.

What do you do?

halcy

Aw, cool music. I scan the tables for chow once Grunge is takin' her test, and settle in between Tin-Girl and Belka. "Shy girl might got work, might have skittered but we'll see her again."

I bite into something and pour myself a drink. If Grunge drops the shot before someone has mercy on her, this is what she'll have to pound down. "Hang in there, Grunge, wait for it!"

What all is there for chow and how's Ace? I sign with my mouth full. ::SeaTac making noise today about a run to scavenge a casino. Some big roof to the South. Could be fun.::

Rich

Dog,

Yellowhouse serves bark stew as a staple, but you catch a whiff of boiled meat in the bowl that Laika hands you. She nods, like she saved you some choice bits. There's hunks of bread on metal plates to sop up the stew, which is usually stained hot with spicy sauces and spiked with alcohol to help mask the taste. Really, the brew is why one comes to Yellowhouse. And the view of Pike, maybe.

As for Ace, she's sitting on a bench away from the gang, one thin leg up, boot flat on the bench. She has her knife out, and she's quietly digging into the old, warped wood, scratching some design idly, lost in herself. The gang's giving her space, nobody bothering her.

Grunge nods when you tell her to hang in there, but her eyes are widening a bit, this is a heavy shotglass. Cujo laughs noiselessly, then leans in to the newcomer and gropes her left breast, just a tweak to try and get her jerk back back. Grunge looks over at her, brows furrowed, but she doesn't let the glass fall. Sounder hoots about Cujo getting a handful, but it isn't signed, so Cujo doesn't know.


Laika answers aloud, "A roadtrip sounds good. Should we split, leave some here for work?"


Rainey cuts in quick, shaking her head no, ::A trip like that? We all go, right, Dog?::

halcy

I smile at Laika; this stuff looks good. I wolf down my stew, chewing for real when something's tough and stuffing some bread in my mouth when something's too hot. More food is how I fix any eating problem. Except maybe choking. Or biting my cheek.

I get a little lost deciding if I want to put down the bowl or just finish. I put it down. ::All bikes out on that. Could be a milk run could be dicey. Those big places go real weird sometimes.::

Time to look around, see if the gang is forgetting about Grunge or wanting to see her suffer more. Maybe Sounder won't have mercy on her.

Bowl back up, I watch without looking much.

Rich

Dog,

The gang hasn't forgotten Grunge. Cujo's moved inches away from her and has begun growling in her ear. The rest are laughing and watching Grunge's struggles. Grunge, for her part, is doing her damnedest to follow this ritual. She emits a low hum like she's using the sound to try and give herself some strength. The shotglass is wiggling more and more, some of the liquor dribbling over the side. Grunge has put her arms out wide, ignoring Cujo's taunting.


"Moist!" Sounder exclaims as she moves forward for the shotglass, "I want a drink!" Sounder reaches for the glass, but Cujo grabs her wrist, practically daring Sounder to make a thing out of it.

What do you do?

Rich

Dog,

You hear the whine of an h-bike and Drumma flits down to the table near you, eyes on the bowl you just emptied.

August,

After hunting around for a bit, you follow Drumma, who leads you to Yellowhouse. Looks like the whole gang is up on the top, drinking and eating.

What do you do?

halcy

I reach out and grab Cujo's wrist, give it a warning squeeze. You can clown on the stranger but not your own Arrows. I look at the empty bowl in my other hand, try to fit it onto Cujo's head in my imagination. Grin.

slickhop

I slide in the door and follow the noise, acknowledging the Arrows assembled with a nod or a wave. A wary wink at Rainey. Raise my eyebrows at Dog when she has to learn Cujo that lesson.

Sidle up to Grunge, put my arm on her shoulder. Careful not to dislodge the shot. ::How long she been holding it?:: I sign to Cujo with my free hand. ::Also, who the flood is she?::

Rich

August and Dog,


Once Cujo has let go of Sounder's wrist, she tips the shot over, sending the tire-black liquid to Grunge's mouth. She tries to catch it in her teeth and ends up spilling half of it on her shoulder. She drinks it down, reaching up to pull the glass from her mouth once she done and hold it up like a trophy. She laughs and the gang laughs with her. Chance claps, Laika joins her. Ace doesn't, though. She's lost in her little work on the bench.


Cujo sneers, ::Some stray. She better stay out of the pile.::

slickhop

::She looks sticky,:: I sign to Cujo, turning towards Grunge and flicking a bit of hair away from the makeup sweating off the stranger's cheeks. ::But nice enough?:: The question mark is conveyed with a shrug.

"I'm August," I say out loud to Grunge as I gesture for a drink of my own. "Try not to get bit, okay?" Friendly enough, but not sticking my neck out enough to get anyone riled up.

Glance around. We drinking our own hooch or getting served? I think of the redrum I'm distilling back at my own place. Hand slinking under the table to hook a finger into one of Dog's belt loops.

halcy

I put away some of my own drink. It's safer than the water they serve here.

I put an arm around August's waist and fit my hand into her pocket opposite me. The denim presses my hand in closer and I wanna pull her into my lap. I start, give her room to nudge off and tell me no.

"Did you get to feel happy today, August?" I want to know.

Rich

August and Dog,

Cujo shakes her head to you, August. She obviously isn't into "sticky".


"I'm Grunge," she answers you, August. "I work for the inside gang at SafeCo. Seen you around."

slickhop

"Thought you looked familiar," I say to Grunge.

I let myself get pulled into Dog's orbit, steal a swig from her drink while I wait for my own. Consider her question. "Yeah," I say. "Happy enough. Remind me to tell you about Snikt and Bamf later. Although it started rough with things at the Yacht Club. How'd it go with Admiral?"

Rich

Yellowhouse's owners are a raggedy couple of folks with barely wrinkled skin and narrow eyes. They are old, Rainey thinks they lived when it was dry, but she's never asked. The elderly man, Old Mako, brings out some swill for you, August, and refills glasses.

Belka moves over to sit by Grunge, throwing an arm around her and hugging her, giving her lots of attention. Dog, do you catch Grunge watching you with August?

halcy

I rest my chin on August's shoulder, smell her skin and feel comfortable. "It went the way it needed to go. I'll talk about it later."

You know, I do catch her, but it doesn't matter, I'll hold August how we like. Grunge isn't in for the pile tonight, and if August and I go aside on our own I will handle what comes up in my own way.

slickhop

I settle in against Dog. "Okay."

I thank Elder Mako when he comes by with the drink, keep sipping and hide my shudders. "I saw Harbormaster today. At the Club. He...almost ignored me." I'm pretty sure Dog will hear both my relief and confusion.

halcy

Are these whiskey shudders or something else? "..I'd like it better if he ignored you all the way. What's your feel on it?" Dunno why he was there today, and I had other stuff on my mind.

August, what's the most fun we've had together?

slickhop

I shrug against her. "I don't miss that life, at all. But feels strange to see that face again and just get... nothing. I'd take anything else. Fear, anger, anything. And now he's gonna be here all the time? What a red bloody flood."

Maybe that time at Falls? Weird, perfectly sunny day. The other Arrows went on a run, but my hand was busted and your bike was acting cranky. So you and I spent the day together next to all that noise, all that rushing water. Finally decided we could slide down that thing like kids, just had to keep our heads above the pool at the end because it was a little pink...

Rich

The hippity hop dies down and Belka heads over to turn on some song about "Going the Distance", with a nice baseline. She dances while walking back over to sit at Grunge's bench. Grunge tosses down a clip full of bullets to pay for her part of the share and starts drinking in earnest, ignoring Belka's arm around her shoulder.

Chance has climbed up on the roof and she's slowly drinking some homebrew and watching the lights of SafeCo, humming the rhythm of the Distance song. Ace has finished up her work on the bench and stands up, heading for the stairs. She's going for a ride, probably. Tin-Girl sees Ace leaving, looks over to you, Dog.

What do you do?

halcy

I grumble into August's back. "I don't like his face." Maybe I could change it forever.

Standing, I hoist August up with me, let her separate mostly at her ease. She gets a soft kiss on the side of her neck by way of saying I'm sorry to part with her.

I give Tin-Girl a nod to stop Ace, and wind my way over to her. Try to look at her carving, but she's more important so if it's not on the way, flood it. I turn my body between most of the gang and Ace as I sign to her. ::Let us talk. I want to know how you are and help.::

Rich

Dog,

Tin-Girl steps to, moving in front of Ace. Ace signs for her to get the rot out of her way, but your mechanic looks over at you. You do get a glance at Ace's carving. It's a crude face of a man, looks a bit like Harbormaster. Well, Harbormaster after he's been shot in the head a few times.


Ace's face is stony, but her hands speak loudly with quick and violent signs, ::I am angry, Dog. She said she owes that bastard, said she wants to keep working for him. Doing that stuff. It is stupid. We should go and murder him.::

slickhop

I still my face, look carefully from Dog to Ace and back.

halcy

So she did get to see Hope, that's good. ::I been someone's beast before, it's bad rot and I hate him on that alone. I'd love to kill him and his in-crew but we got to not soak it up and YOU don't get to decide by yourself.::

I love Ace so hard right now. Girl is speaking my heart. ::So what happens to his pets when we blow his head off? We take Hope. The rest, what? Who comes down on us for it? I want some soak-and-go murder, too, but more is I want it all. Every Arrow on Point.:: I huddle over her a bit, I want her to think and talk like we're sharing some secret.

slickhop

I'm frozen. Did I go to all that trouble to keep HM alive for the rest of the gang to just decide to end the bastard?

Can't see all the handsigns Dog is talkin' at Ace. I just wait.

Rich

August and Dog,


Ace looks up at you, Dog, ::I do not care about his pets. Hope is muddy, she thinks the jingle is worth the THINGS she is doing. Nobody can come down on us, Dog. We're the wind. We blow in, blow him away, then blow over. It can be an Arrow thing.:: She looks over at you, August, ::Or a August and me thing.:: She gives you a nod, like "solidarity".

slickhop

A frisson of cold runs through my spine from watching Ace talk. Ace talks like she's dancing, wide gestures, hard swipes. Talking about the wind, being the wind, she's hypnotic-like. I find myself nodding, then I catch myself. That shred of feeling I still have for that monster, I can't shake it.

I am an Arrow, but I was also once once of HM's 'pets.' They all know that. How much solidarity is there to go around?

::Listen,:: I say, standing where everyone can see me, ::We make him low. But we don't kill him. We just make him realize he's nothing, like he once made me.:: I pause a beat. ::Like he made all of them. Hope too. And if his 'pets' want to stay, we will stand for them. Because when they are without him, they will having nothing too.::

halcy

I nod at August. Her thinking is good. ::Wind doesn't make mud clear.::

What I'm saying is Hope's not guaranteed to love it once we make these things happen to her. ::I love being the wind but I want more from you.::

Rich

August and Dog,


Ace fixes you with a hard stare, Dog, ::What more? I am no child. I am not skittered. My sister is broken by him. August's child murdered. Life for life. We pick up the pieces and ride on. Simple.::

Rainey's catching on, Dog and August, she's heading over. Most of the Arrows are looking at you now, except Belka, who is trying to convince Grunge to take off her paint.

halcy

I stare back, snarl at Ace mentioning August's child. Not hers to say. ::We do this MY way. You want to end up like What-a-Mess?::

I've left off of shielding my talk. This is open.

halcy

Imposing my will on my gang. Marking XP.

(Rolled: 2d6+2. Rolls: 6, 2. Total: 10)

Rich

Dog,


She stares at you for a long moment, mouth hanging open in shock. Her signals are smaller now, her face still twisted like you'd struck her, ::You would take me down? Put me out?::


Rainey is at your back, Dog. She signs clear, ::Ace. You have done nothing all this time and now you call for the red way? Go drink. Stop being man-headed. Dog is right. We will do it her way.::

The Arrows are standing now, all of them. Laika reaches down to pull Belka up to her feet. Ace swallows once, doesn't cow, but stops signing.

What do you do?

halcy

Ace gets the smallest nod I've got. I'd do it for the rest of the gang, keep em safe from reprisal. I hate that I would. But I would take it all on.

Rainey gets a nod, too. Smart. Glad I have her. Glad I have August to speak my heart, too. We need more than a splash of red from this. "We'll talk more later."

I'm spent on words, and I can't go soft to comfort August or Ace after throwing down what I just did. But it's a time to talk to Laika.

I give Rainey a look with meaning, walk to Laika and motion for her to come on a walk with me. "Let's take a quick walk."

Rich

Dog,

Rainey nods, pulling Ace and Tin-Girl over to sit by Zeus, asking the elder to tell them about Dry Days. Belka pulls out a rag and starts back on talking Grunge into wiping down her face. You overhear Grunge asking Belka if she knows how to ink hair.


Laika nods, stepping up to walk with you. She walks along the roof beside you, looking at you in the moonlight, the sounds of Zeus's story fading in the background, the surf covering it like a blanket. "What the what, Dog? Need something?"

August,

As Dog walks away with Laika to have "that talk", Chance appears beside you. She's got that mischievous smile and you don't recall when she climbed down from the roof.


"Hey August." Chance says, looping her arm in yours and laying her head on your shoulder, sister-like. "How are we gonna bring Harborrotter low? It sounds like a fun trick. You know I adore fun tricks." Then she leans up to whisper-ask, "Wanna bet on Belka's chances with new face?"

slickhop

I laugh at the whispered suggestion. "That doesn't seem like a good bet. Folks usually catch what Belka's throwing, if she's throwing hard enough."

Thinking about plans for HM doesn't seem so fun to me, so I quiet down a bit when I'm answering her other question. "The trick in it will be in not riling up Admiral more'n we have to. And in making sure he's so far deep that he can't climb out. Or no one can pull him out."

Rich

August,


Chance peers at you, "I bet a tomato from Valentine's hotbox that Belka gets what she wants." A cocky smile spreads on her face, lips slipping back to show teeth, even her canines filed to points.

"And I'm going to wrap HM's cock in a bow for you." Chance adds, like she's whispering Christmas presents she's spied in her ma's closet.

halcy

I lead into this slow so's we have more walk time. "Laika, I just broke Speed as a man. He 'fessed to whupping on Joey and sinking him in clean water for trying to steal hooch. Now he's out with Admiral."

My hands are in my pockets. The jeans I'm wearing are kinda baggy but they got hella pockets which is sweet.

"Joey is fine, even wanted to square it himself. Tough kid." Jeez, I remember I used to give him piggyback rides and when we had to explain to him Shy wasn't dying because of her bleeding time.

slickhop

My vision sort of goes white, and it's like I'm going to faint for a second. I slide out from under Chance, not saying anything back. It probably looks weird but I just can't handle that kind of talk.

I end up next to Ace. I don't say anything yet, just sit by her. Thinking.

Rich

Dog,


Laika's eyes widen when you share the story. She clenches her hands into fists, face tight, neck clenched. "Over hooch?" She looks over at you, her feet picking a way over the roof by habit. "Glad you broke him. I'd have killed him for sure. Slow."

August,

Chance scampers back up to the roof, she didn't expect you to react that way, she thought you'd be happy.


::Will you help Hope? For me? She will not talk to me anymore. She only uses speaking. She is embarrassed of me.:: Ace signs without looking at you directly, quiet signs.

Both,

Belka has convinced Grunge to clean off her face. Her tan skin is smooth. She's trying to convince Belka to dye her hair, and you know Belka will expect a trade for it.

slickhop

I'm blinking back a tear, probably no one saw it. I hold one of Ace's hands in both of mine, sign against her palm. ::We'll help her. Together.::

Rich

August,

Ace nods, pulls her hands up while bending down, kisses your hand thankfully. She turns her head against your chest, pulling your arm over her, eventually settling in your lap. The Arrows are a bit more subdued, affected by the dust up earlier and Ace's mood.

slickhop

I'm happy for us to just hold each other while we wait for Dog's return. I half-sing a lullaby into Ace's hair, quieting only as I myself slip into an almost sleep. I don't say or sign anything, but the other Arrows should know it's cool if they end up in the impromptu snooze-pile too.

halcy

"I know, it was rotten thing to do. And SafeCo knows better now." I nod back to the gang to check and see if Laika's ready or if she's got more to say.

Rich

Dog,


"I'll abide your way, Dog. I'm sure you did right by us." Laika says slow. She reaches the end of one of the roofs and sits down, looks towards the lights of SafeCo. "If Speed splashes with my boy again, it will be bad. I'm a mom. Gotta be that way." She's not asking permission.

August,

Zeus's story is done. Most of the Arrows sing along to some song about someone's base. The woman singing on the radio is "all about it". Ace gently pushes her head closer to your lips, feeling the vibration of your voice. Hachiko is watching both of you, her face inscrutable in the dimming light.

halcy

I nod to Laika. "I know. I'm gonna join back." After one last, slow look at SafeCo I walk back to the gang.

Rich

Dog,

Laika doesn't walk back with you, but you think she'll be back before long. You spot August with Ace in her lap, Hachiko is watching over the both of them. Chance is up on the roof, looking down at the group, listening to Zeus tell tales. Belka has her arm around Grunge, who looks less dangerous out of her makeup, a bit younger. She's not pushing Belka away, but she's watching you come back to the group, less like she's possessive, more like she's taking mental notes.

halcy

I wonder, not for the first time, if Grunge is looking to jump crews. She's seen more of the Arrows tonight for sure.

I take my seat next to August and lean in. What thing is Zeus remembering out loud for us? Some'a that stuff is real weird.

Rich

August and Dog,

The "base song" ends and Chance asks for another story, so Zeus takes a swig of Chance's bottle, then clears her throat.


"In the dry times," Zeus begins, like she always begins her stories. She's not a wordsmith like you, August. Tin-Girl signs the story, but only Cujo is watching her, Ace is asleep. "Before the rain cried blood and the seas boiled, there were machines that ran on the surface of the water..."


"Come on, Zeus!" Sounder bellows. "We aren't babies, we know boats!"


Zeus glares at Sounder for a long time, giving Sounder her famous "hairy eyeball" where she tilts her chin forward and the bushy brows cover the tops of her eyes. "Am I telling this dripping story?" Sounder relents, making a rolling forward motion as if to say "go on, go on."

Zeus clears her throat again, then adjusts her seat. "As I was saying. And these boats. They would pull people after them. Those people, skeers. They would hold onto ropes and balance on wood on the surface of the water. And they could jump the water, and move back and forth behind the boats. And it was called fun. They did it on purpose. It wasn't a torture."

halcy

I chuckle. That stuff sounds ridiculous. "What if they fell and ate water?"

I know the answer but I want to hear it. I know it's true but I just can't get my head there.

Rich

August and Dog,

The "base song" ends and Chance asks for another story, so Zeus takes a swig of Chance's bottle, then clears her throat.


"The water was blue! An oh-shun! All the way round." Zeus says, her voice cracking with the wonder of it. Sounder chuckles, but it's not derisive, she's into it.

halcy

More chuckling. "Blue! Skeers. Haha, that's great stuff, Zeus. Maybe I'da lived in the dry times I woulda skeed. Had one of those phoneys." I make like I'm tapping some small flat thing held between my hands with my thumbs. Saw it on a big picture on a wall once. I always wanna take em, but where would they go?

slickhop

I gesture ::Well done:: a few times without disturbing Ace, then rest my hand on Dog.

Mouth up next to her ear: "I told Ace we'd help Hope. Maybe when we do whatever we do, we get Hope out first. Just take her out of it, so she doesn't make any snap decisions." I know how that sounds kinda like taking her choice away. "She decides whatever she decides, don't get me wrong. But she's not her best self right now."

halcy

I take August's hand and answer back quiet. "Hmmm, yeah that's for the best." I nod, and though August is talkin' quiet real close to my ear, I tap her on the back like I was pointing at Grunge.

I didn't want to stay with Nana and the Arrows, at first. Who was that person who was so stupid?

Now I speak up. "Arrows, looks time to get back to the hideout and sleep, yeah?" I look over the tables. If there's any bread left it's coming with me.

slickhop

I nod and carefully extricate myself from under Ace, hopefully waking her gently in the process. Time to roll out.

Rich

August and Dog,

The Arrows all pay off the old couple for their food and brews, Chance scampers down from the roof, Laika heads back from her own perch, she still looks angry, but simmering. Belka has her arm around Grunge, who is playing along, but you can tell she's not "super into it" yet. She's still drinking and nearly wasted, so Grunge is getting there (whether there is a good or bad thing, your call). Zeus groans a bit as she stands and Cujo hoists her up. The old woman backhands Cujo, but Cujo just laughs it off and hustles down to her h-bike.

Ace wakes up, yawning with a wide open mouth, her tongue curling as she stretches herself awake. She signs a thanks to you both, seems a bit better.

In a few moments, the Arrows are mounted up and riding on, on to the hideout.

Dog, tell us about the Arrows hideout. Where is it in relation to Safeco?

halcy

Our hideout is just south of SafeCo, in this building between the old rails. We got ramps of scrap laid up to get our bikes high and dry. We don't keep much junk here, that'd be dumb. Sometimes we change spots if we don't like the way the spot feels or we think there's some heat coming. This spot's nice and big and to boot it's close to where the hard ways come together.

Ace gets a you're welcome. A small nod.

"Belka, you should take Grunge back to her place." This is the soft way of saying she's not in the pile tonight. Also wow she been drinkin'. I bump into Belka and quietly tell her "And in her shape it'd be like you were by yourself. Stay dry."

Rich

Dog,


"Not 'zactly like I'm by myself." Belka answers as she guides a slightly giggly Grunge down the stairs and to her h-bike. "Stay dry, Dog." She starts up her bike and is gone.

August and Dog,

Please a go here.