It is currently 19:32 Pacific Time on Sat Jun 22 2002. Currently the moon is in the waxing Full Moon phase (83% full). [Harbor Park] Kaz is perched on the back of a bench, half-reading a comic book. Dane enters the glade in the middle of the open meadow. Dane has arrived. Kaz is perched on the back of a bench, half-reading a comic book. Dane wanders up from the meadow and curiously studies the blue markings. Renee enters the glade in the middle of the open meadow. Renee has arrived. Kaz calls lazily over to Dane, "Warper detritus. Yo, dude." The moon's fat and still waxing, and Salem's stroll through the park is more like a predatory stalk, an aura of tightly-controlled bad temper oozing off him like a Bone Gnawer's stench. Dane grimaces at the "warper" comment and heads toward Kaz. "Dude." Renee isn't all that far behind Salem, hands stuffed into her pockets and shoulders hunched. Kaz's attention is, of course, immediately garnered by both Renee and Salem. "Man, if it ain't old home week. Y'all doin' ok after alla that shit?" Dane glances in the direction Kaz is looking. He nods and raises a hand....in the Vulcan salute? Salem glances up, then directs his path toward Kaz. "Still a bit battered, nothing life-threatening." He glances, briefly, back over his shoulder at Renee. Renee pretty well ignores the Walker, detouring around him before coming to a stop infront of Kaz. "Yea, I'm doin' okay." Brown eyes dart toward Dane, eyebrows lifting. "Allo," the young Gnawer rumbles. "Who the 'ell are you?" Kaz adds, "Both've y'all're cool, so don' go worryin' about no Veil shit." Dane gives a lazy smile. "They call me Gaia-Will-Judge. Half-moon of Her children." Salem regards Dane for a moment. "Didn't I see you at the scrags?" Kaz grins. "He was with my bunch. Bustin' ass an' takin' names." Dane nods. "Ayuh. I was with Ears." Renee grunts and briefly looks down at her arm, picking off a piece of tirty paper that is sticking to her shirt. "Renee, Sees-True-Form an' a Galliard. Gnawer too, if ya ain't figured that out already." Salem nods curtly, arms folding across his chest. "Jack Salem of the Glass Walkers. Also half-moon." Dane glances around and murmurs, "Any news on whether the ones we were aiming for got theirs?" Jarred enters the glade in the middle of the open meadow. Jarred has arrived. Kaz waggles a finger. "It ain't certain. Andrea ain't gotten to ask her Totem yet, but I done some Questin' Stone shit. First time I tried, they was all gone but the guy that led the raid on the Safehouse. Second time, they was /all/ gone. So maybe they ain't gone to Erebus, maybe they're just hidin'... But /maybe/ they're gone, too." Kaz adds, "Jame suggested it, first time I did it. Kid got brains, sometimes." Dane nods. "Sounds hopeful." He shrugs. "Hope for the best, prepare for the worst." The Shadow Lord appears again, this time like magic from behind a tree not too far off. He is dressed in dark clothing, a distant street light playing off of his blue-black hair as he walks up. Renee frowns and sits down on the edge of the fountain, as she looks over the gathered Garou. "Was a good idea. Lets hope that it actually did work an' they ain't just hidin' from us." Kaz asks the group in general, "Anyone /else/ have the Rite?" before she blinks at Jarred. "Dude. I got news, and it ain't so fun." Jarred simply nods. "Brittany wasn't at Falcon's Rest. They haven't seen her. What news?" Salem's eyes narrow thoughtfully. "We can only hope. And see what other methods bring up." He doesn't notice Jarred's approach until Kaz does, and then he regards the Shadow Lord neutrally. Dane shakes his head. "You want truth, I can tell it for you. Finding people isn't in my bag, though." Kaz sighs. "Well, see, I went lookin', with th' Questin' Stone. I couldn't find Robert, which is one reason I /really/ want someone else with the Rite, or better yet, someone with that trackin' Gift. But anyways. Brittany's at Hilliard Memorial Hospital. Now ain't /that/ fuckin' grand?" Kaz adds, "I already called th' Fangs an' told 'em." Salem frowns. "What the hell is she doing _there_?" Jarred nods. "Do we have someone watching over her? Dane shakes his head and mutters, "Ah...fuck. Robert's missing?" Renee blinks. "Robert's missin'? Shit." Kaz blinks. "Um," she says slowly, "Focus, people. Hilliard's a /Blight/. Hilliard is /bad news/. We ain't got no one watching her because I ain't goin' in there by myself. An' as for what she's doin' there, she was helpin' Robert out with the diversionary tactics, an' I guess she got taken." Jarred curses under his breath. Salem grits his teeth and doesn't any anything for the moment; his hands clench into fists. Renee growls softly. Dane looks around thoughtfully. Jarred's eyes flash, and his jaw sets. "We have to go and get her." His tone brooks no argument. Kaz adds, "But. Kin. Alec. I should call him, see if she's at least /Realmwards/. Hold up a sec." "...And Robert's missing," says Salem in a low voice. A small muscle twitches in his jaw; the Glass Walker is absolutely rigid. "Fucking _Robert_." Kaz pauses, before she takes her phone out. "Yes," she says, quietly. "And /we/ appear to have fuckin' sent people to /Erebus/. Like, their big fuckin' kahunas. So, yes, our /Alpha/ is missing, but that just means we have to fuckin' /pick up/ and keep /going/. And we are /not/ going to fuckin' /panic/." Renee's attention focuses on Salem, as she tenses up. "Shit man. Try takin a few deep breaths, alright?" Salem refrains from a sharp retort and takes a breath. "I am _not_ panicking." Renee snerks. "Nope, you're gettin' your hackles up and startin' ta twitch. Breath." Completely at odds with the tense conversation taking place in the park, a jaunty whistle drifts from the streetside. A dark silhouette hoists itself up and scales the chainlink fence, dropping noiselessly to the grass. There's a guitar case slung over the figure's back, and its straps are adjusted as the new arrival scans the dark field. Kaz watches Salem carefully, and then flips her phone open. She apparently gets no one, as she tells the phone, "Yo. Alec. Call me," and flips it shut again. "OK, you're wonkin' out. Whatever." Then she breaks off, and peers into the distance. Dane hmms thoughtfully. "OK. Gonna need...." He trails off and peers in the direction of the whistle. Salem closes his eyes for a moment, and yes, he _does_ breathe. In, out. Philodox or no philodox, he still has an Ahroun's Rage. "I'm fine." He opens his eyes again, meeting Kaz's gaze and ignoring Renee. "Really." Renee looks toward the new arrival, squinting. At Salem's voice, Kaz brings her attention back to him. She looks at him for an assessing moment, then nods and turns toward Tatt. Tatt closes the distance between herself and the group with ground-eating strides--no sign of a limp, for those who know about her recent injury. Recognizing Kaz, she throws upa mock-salute. "Looks like it's party night at the park, hey?" Jarred seems deep in thought. "Well. I would say our priority is Robert, much as I hate to see Sterling trapped in that hell-hole. What do you recommend, Kaz?" Salem, then, turns his attention toward the new arrival; recognizing her, he gives the Strider a curt nod of greeting. Kaz relaxes faintly once she recognizes who it is. "She's cool, y'all." She then blinks at Jarred. "I... Wish we had someone else with the Rite, so we could see if it was just me fuckin' it up. I'll give Alec descs of both of them, just on the off chance Robert /is/ there, but if he didn't register... I dunno." Alec enters the glade in the middle of the open meadow. Alec has arrived. "Alicia knows it," says Salem, looking toward Kaz. "I'm not certain if John does." Seirian enters the glade in the middle of the open meadow. Seirian has arrived. Renee's nose wrinkles. "I'll start askin' around." Taking a moment to dump her knapsack and guitar case on the ground, Tatt seats herself atop the overstuffed pack and glances sharply at Kaz. "Am I hearin' that y'all can't find /Robert/?" Kaz says, "We cannot fuckin' find Robert. Given as he and Brittany were doing the same Realmside Diversion thing, and Brittany is now in the fuckin' /Hospital/, the one that's a /Blight/, I'm not feelin' any too rosy about shit. I left Alec a message..." The arrival of the Galliard and her fiance is rather sedate. Alec looks like he's ready to shoot anything that moves untowards. Seirian at the moment is her generally affable self. The two look like any other couple that would be walking around the park in normal times. That is if your normal couple were a man who looks at everything and everyone as if they were a target and the woman a 9' were-beast out of legend. But right now she's a wolf in human skin. With a directed path towards the Bone Gnawer holding council the couple covers ground with ease. A small smile alights itself on Alec's face as he arrives. "Bon soir mes amis." Even if Alec doesn't know you, Kaz does atleast which is good enough for him. "I did get your message Kaz. I have the burn mark to prove it." Dane cocks an eyebrow curiously. Kaz immediately hops off the bench and makes a beeline for Alec. "You, sir, rock my casbah. I doubt they'll be holdin' either Robert or Brittany there under their real names, or even there in the Realm, but we gotta try. You willin'a take a look for us?" Tatt runs a hand over the short stubble of her hair, begins to answer Kaz--Alec and his companion receive a sharp, wary glare. Daboo? Alec cocks his head and looks towards Seiri for a moment and then back to Kaz. "Kazbah or no, I do not have the foggiest Idea of what it is you are talking about." His eyebrows go up as he looks to Kaz to explain herself. Salem, silent, stands with arms folded, holding himself tensely in place as though his body would much rather be pacing around like a pissed-off tiger. Seirian glances from face to face, noting familiar and unfamiliar ones in kind, settling in at Alec's side with a brief smirk at the music reference. She gives Kaz the same measure of inquisitiveness, wondering where this is going on what she's heard. Kaz stops short. "Oh," she says, faintly embarrassed. "Let me explain." she pauses. "No, no, there is too much. Let me sum up. We had a fuckin' big Umbral assault, killed some evil shit, all that good stuff. Brittany, the Silver Fang, and Robert, the Sept Alpha, went off on a Realmside diversion, to fuck with their minds. No one ain't seen either of them since then. I can't get ahold of Robert on Questin' Stone, but Brittany's at Hilliard Memorial, Wyrm Central, and I ain't goin' there til I got more information. You work there, an' all, I was figurin' you could check an' see if anyone of their general description was there, on this side of the Gauntlet." Renee runs a hand over her greasy hair. "I'm goin' ta start lookin' for people." Hoping off the fountain's edge, the Gnawer slowly makes her way out of the park. "Seeya." Kaz tells Renee, "Catch you later." Renee steps out of the glade and into the surrounding meadow. Renee has left. "Holy bleedin' Mother of Jesus!" Seiri blurts out in a somewhat low voice at hearing this, eyes going quite wide. The Fianna farely well gapes for a moment before recovering and shaking her head. "Shit, man...shit." Tatt pulls a wicked-looking butterfly knife from her back pocket, flicking it open and shut with absent fingers as she frowns in thought. "Hey, Kaz--we got other kin, hey? Could send in Rina. They wouldn't smell her." Several looks fall upon Alec's face as he gets the news with regards to that. It all ends up getting summed up in one word. "Merde." Alec's hand runs through his hair... a return of the nervous twitch that he has when he's thinking and things around him are not good. Maybe it's just his imagination... is it getting a little thin up top? Anyways, he looks the startled Fianna-Fiancee and with a slight quirk to lips he turns back to Kaz. "I did work there yes, and still have privileges, but I left for a reason if you'll remember." Ah yes, the paitent turning into Spiders and almost eating him... fun. "But if you'd like, I'll get some info and see about getting them out." Kaz says, "Fuck yeah I want info. Thanks-- I knew you left, but I also know, you don' ever really /leave/ a place like that. An' you know people." She blinks at Tatt. "They wouldn't? That place... ain't somewhere that's good f'Rina, though. But-- why wouldn't they smell her?" Salem's expression darkens at Tatt's idea, but for the moment he says nothing. Tatt shrugs a shoulder. "She ain't no ex-doctor, like St. Jean here. Plus, the girl's a runt. Ain't nobody gonna look at her twice in a pit like the Hilliard--just another junkie kid." The Strider pauses, flicks the knife shut. "If she knows how to stay on the sly, that is." Kaz says, "Oh. She knows. Th' place is what fucked her up in the first place, but..." She trails off. "Might ask both of 'em. Do an official pokin' an' an unofficial one. You ok with that, Alec?" "Hrmh," says Salem, dourly, and then remarks, not quite off-hand, "John won't like it." "John's got one hell'uv a pole up his ass, too," Tatt grates dryly. Alec nods thoughtfully for a second before being brought out of his fugue by Kaz's question. "Oui, that sounds like a good idea in principal, but you must understand, Hillard may be a trap for all concerned. And how am I supposed to know if someone is tainted mn? Does anyone have a talen or fetish that would be useful to me in that regard. Do no get me wrong, I will go, but I do wish to have my ass not have a pole shoved up it. I do still plan on getting married you know. Yer not getting out of it chere." Awww. Salem cocks an eye at Tatt. "Concerned about the safety of his fiance. Yes, how very unreasonable of him," he replies, deadpan. Kaz says, "Fuck John," not at all casually. "This is fuckin' /Robert/. We can't spare a lot of resources to go fuckin' /get/ him, not if he's in the Umbra out there, but if he's Realmwards and we can get him without fuckin' shit up, with some /subtlety/, John can go /hop/ on that pole that's up his ass." She pauses, and tells Salem, "No offense. Though you can tell him I said so. Alec, we can think of something, yeah." Seirian's mouth curves in a smile, "You're not getting out of it either, luv. I don't like you goin' back in there, but most of us can't very well waltz in there like we own the place." "I'll relay the message," is Salem's rather curt reply to Kaz. Dane covers his mouth to try and hide the smile. Silver flashes in the lamplight as Tatt flicks the blade open again, with a steady glance at Salem. She adds no further comments, and turns her attention back to the conversation. Kaz looks just the slightest bit apologetic. "Anyways, Alec, they can't turn someone that quick. Generally. So if you find 'em within a week or so, they oughta be fine." Salem echoes, "Generally," in a pessimistic mutter, underbreath. His gaze shifts, glowering toward the river, and eastwards. Kaz gets a sudden look in her eye, and hands over something that looks rather like a talon and a tail tied together. "This here," she says, "Will supposedly make you smell Wyrmy. Dunno if it'll work for you, but..." "Well, if et works then by all means." Alec looks a little concerned. "If they are there, I hope they believe me when I tell them who I am and what I am doing there." He nods acceptance. "Lets try it and then scan me." Owen enters the glade in the middle of the open meadow. Owen has arrived. Kaz circles Alec, peering intently at him. "It /seems/ to be workin'..." Seirian mutters lowly, "Better believe I'm going to cleanse your arse when you get out of there." Folding her arms loosely over her chest she eyes and moves a little out of the way for Alec to be looked over. Despite the seriousness of it all, Alec was, is, and always will be a Coggie. "Well that's incentive for me to get back all right isn't it." A laugh escapes his lips. "Well I certainly can't wait to get back and get my sponge bath." Ahh, Coggies. Dane grins at that. Kaz manages a half smile. "I'd help, but... they'd just kick me out." Salem glances back toward the group, arching a brow at the doctor. He doesn't _quite_ smile. Tatt blinks, arches a dark brow, and shakes her head. "..Says the guy we're sendin' in to save the fuckin' sept," she mutters under her breath. Seirian smirks knowingly and fingers one of her sleeves. "Just for that..." she starts, then looks around at present company, turns a pleasant shade of pink, and quiets. Owen comes through the park, using it as a shortcut from Chalrlie's Tarvern to wherever it is he's going next. Kaz calls, "Yo! Owen! C'mere!" Tatt lifts her head at the mention of the Get's name, casts an unreadable look in the new arrival's direction. Kaz tells Alec, "Oh, and dude? If you run into /anything/ fucked up, /call/ me." Dane studies the new arrival thoughtfully. Alec smiles softly and nods. "I intend nothing less. Excuse me for a moment." Alec walks away from the group for a moment, why? Well with his back to the group a dozen meters or so away from the group Alec reaches to his side and moves his hands back and forth for a moment. Returning shortly he nods. "I'm ready." Owen looks up, obviously not having expected to be called by anyone tonight. He tturns towards the crowd soon enough, noting who's here. Kaz says, "Awright. After I fill Owen in, I'm gonna go hang out somewhere in th' direction've Hilliard, just in case." She notes to Owen, "I got news. Want it all at once, or in bits an' pieces?" Tatt moves her attention away from Owen to watch Alec for a moment, then asks Kaz, "Why're we sendin' in kin t'do our dirty work, hey?" Seirian watches Alec calmly, though the Galliard is less than calm in her posture, shoulders tensing and expression darkening as she hears Tatt's question. She doesn't respond, though, keeping her eyes on her fiance instead. Salem, at Tatt's question, glances toward Kaz. Owen walks right on up the Kaz. "You're the talker. You choose." He gives Kaz the time to answer Tatt first, however. Kaz tells Tatt, "Because, dipshit, he has connections, he don' got rage so people won't be runnin' away from him like he was a house afire, and because he's got connections. Did I mention the connections part? If I go wandering around in there, someone'll inevitably kick me out. If he goes wandering around in there, they'll practically wanna marry him. He's /useful/, see." Jarred yawns. Seirian pipes up, "Hey, marrying him is my domain. They can get their own, dammit." Kaz says, "First of all, Andrea ain't gotten to ask her Totem yet, but I done some Questin' Stone shit. First time I tried, them Dancers was all gone but the guy that led the raid on the Safehouse. Second time, they was /all/ gone. So maybe they ain't gone to Erebus, maybe they're just hidin'... But /maybe/ they're gone, too. An' second of all...I went lookin', f'Robert an' Brittany, the ones that did the Realmside diversion, with th' Questin' Stone? I couldn't find Robert, an' /Brittany's/ at /Hilliard Memorial Hospital/. Now ain't /that/ fuckin' grand?" The tattooed Strider lifts up both hands in mock-defense. "Put yer teeth away, amiga," she rasps mildly. "Far as I've heard, the guy's got history in the Hilliard, yeah? So they're gonna /spot/ him. And besides that... where I come from, kin ain't exactly a booming population, if you know what I mean." She hunches her shoulders, glances briefly towards Alec. "I know you're useful an' all, but I don't see why we oughta put you in the line of fire /first/, hey?" "Well, I don't see why anyone should go out on point, however, someone has too." Alec shrugs and downplays his role. "Anyways, if you'll all excuse me and wish me luck, I'll say good bye to my fiancee." Owen grimaces at some of the news. "I heard about French-Bob already from Andrea, but the princess too?" He sets his dufflebag down on the grounds, a faint clatter of wood and metal escaping from inside. "And in the hospital, you say?" Kaz says, "I do indeed say so." Then she looks at Tatt. "Honestly, the place knows Rina, too. It fucked her up one side and down the other. If /you/ wanna try it, more power to you, but really, you just don' got Alec's advantages. You dunno the place, you don' know shit about it. 'Course, /I/ was kinda figurin' Alec'd /call/ some people, but... I trust his judgement." Jarred nods to Owen. "What do you recommend, for Sterling?" Seirian keeps a small smile on her face and drops her arms to her sides, moving up to Alec's side again since it appears he's as settled as can be at the moment. "You know I don't like this, luv, but I know you can handle yourself." Owen sucks on a tooth for a moment. "Get her out. Now, if not sooner. Or at least give them nothing to play with. who here is familiar with what is going on with that ass-pit we call a hospital?" Salem finally _does_ start pacing, a few steps back and forth, keeping near the group. Jarred says "I was in an assault there once." his voice is flat, almost expressionless. "What I mean is, how many garou do you think it would take to get her out? I'll go tonight if there are enough."" With a smile The Good Doctor, touches Seirian's face and gives her a wink. "I will chere, and you take care of yourself. I did mean what I said about the sponge bath mind you." With a grin and his lips to her a quick kiss is given and received. Turning back to the group he adds. "None, I feel that in this stealth is better than force. A scalpel not a chainsaw this time mon ami." Alec smiles a quirk and then asks. "Anything left to say or do? Owen overhears the doctor. "Fine. No guns, then. This should be a simple get-and-go. And, if need be, I want to know who here has reservation about putting Brittany down if need be?" Kaz snorts quietly. "Jesus Christ, Owen, she ain't gonna be Turned yet." Tatt grits her teeth visibly, but says nothing, keeping her gaze on the patch of pavement between her boots. Alec, plainly packing makes no comment. But his grim face makes no doubt of his intentions if the need arises. "I would consider her a friend, and Robert is Kin." ~But I would do them.~ Is what his look says plainly enough. For Robert it is only appropriate. Jarred nods slowly. "If it were necessary, I would kill her." Owen shoots Kaz a glare. "Don't count on that. But if she's in the hospital, it might just be worse." He gives everyone else a look. "Good. I assume you've been making a plan?" Kaz says, after a pause, apparently to figure out what Owen actually meant, "But if there ain't no way to get her out? Yeah." Seirian gives Alec a brief smile and tucks her hands into her pockets, looking between all present before speaking. "If it came t' it, I'd do it as well. Until then, tho', I'll keep th' hope tha' it's not necessary. A little goes a long way." "Oui, and I'm it." Alec says to Owen, plainly ready to go and get it done. "Unless anyone has anything eles to contribute?" Kaz adds, "Alec's basically scoutin'. I'll be backup if necessary. We'll get more elaborate once the scouting's done." Dane nods. "Works for me. I'll hang around in case you need backup." Owen gives Alec a look. "You know, French really pisses me off." To the rest, "How much time are we giving for scouting?" Salem continues to pace nearby, cracking his knuckles, listening. Kaz considers. "Alec, you call me every 5 minutes or so. You stop callin', I'm in after you. Owen, I'm trustin' him to know how long he should expose himself over there." Alec says "Right... and I can't stand German Beer." That in German to the Jarl, "I'm off." With a quiet look to Seirian, "I'll be back before you know it chere."" "You better." Seirian says firmly, returning the look evenly. "You don't, I'll come in and get your ass." Owen just shakes his head. "Damn Froggies never did have any real taste." He finds aplace to settle down in, not bothering to waste any energy just now. Alec steps out of the glade and into the surrounding meadow. Alec has left. Kaz mutters, "Y'all excuse me," a few minutes after Alec leaves, and wanders off toward the hospital. Tatt watches the kin's departing back for a time, then murmurs, "Nice knowin' ya,amigo." Dane follows after Kaz, just far enough back that he can keep her in sight. Kaz steps out of the glade and into the surrounding meadow. Kaz has left. Salem stares toward the departing Gnawer and kin, lips compressed into a thin line. Dane steps out of the glade and into the surrounding meadow. Dane has left. Seirian, for all that she's said, stays in place, eyes following Alec until he's out of sight. "He'll be fine. I know it." Salem mutters something curt in Serbian and walks off in a similar direction. [Alas, other nameless Walker errands keep Salem from doing backup for the scouting kin. As in, his player was about the faceplant into the keyboard.]