Breaking the Veil

((This post relates to all PCs currently in the room, thanks to Kay's AWESOME success roll - right, Ashton? Right? TELL ME IF I'M DOING THIS WRONG))

A vision pushes itself gently against your mind, a dark place... maybe somewhere outside. A sense of the vast sky above you. A firepit, dug into the grassy land. Sitting by the fire, you see Kay (yes, the young werewolf who's across the room with her eyes closed.) She smiles a bit hesitantly, and invites you to sit with her by the fire.

[OOC: This is a mindspeak power; each of the invited people may enter a shared dream in which they can communicate. The only person who needs to *concentrate* to maintain the connection is Kay. Everyone else can easily multitask. She's not forcing her way into your mind (though you get the sense she could try to, at least), just knocking and inviting.]

All who wish to take advantage, head over to the "Kay's Mindspace" Thread!

[Oh look, interaction.Plot = Insulin]

Claire

She just stares at...well, can't really call him 'shirtless' any more. Really Burly Guy. Yeah. That totes works.

Anyway, Claire is watching Adam with an interesting mix of trepidation and resignation--wondering, all the while, what he's apparently so angry about. Can't be her, right? She's just been standing here.

Right?

Claire blinks once, her mind focusing on the vision described above. Almost against her will, a smile tugs its way onto her face. She's never seen a campfire before! But...how is there sand in here?

(((OOC: Edited because le sigh, small time gap. :'D Hope I'm correctly interpreting how the dream thang works.)))

((um... all the pcs, I guess. At the firecircle.))

"Or perhaps we've gone someplace far indeed," Constantin blinks, baffled.

((OOC: sorry; didn't see the new location. Sorry if post order gets a little jumbled as we try to shuffle our way over to the right place))

Rufus looks at Constantin worried about what's happening and his hand tightens in Claire's as he looks at the strange dream scape.

[Oh look, interaction.]

Claire

"Wha...what's going on?" Puzzlement has taken over as she looks around at the oddly inviting scape.

((Cyrus takes his leave. And takes Rush with him.))

Cyrus smiles as Officer Thompson turns toward Claire and the others. He glances to make sure no one important is watching, and then mutters a few words under his breath. He tightens his grip on Rush and Celine. Around this time, however, the mind-speak kicks in (and will be in that other thread, once our lovely GM makes it)

With this "said," a whole into seemingly nothingness appears, right under Cyrus and Rush's feet. The two (and Celine!) fall through, and the portal closes behind them, as if they were never there.

((OOC: And now, Cyrus and Rush relocate to another thread. But they stay in touch with Kay's awesome mindspeak! Party on, guys~))

((Claire, Constantin, and Rufus. Man, these guys need a shorter name now. CCR is already taken though, by an awesome band. Bad Moon Rising indeed.))

"... no idea, ingerasul," Constantin answers her, utterly unhelpfully, returning Rufus' look, stepping slightly in front of the two, without dropping Claire's hand.

((OOC: bringing interaction over to the right location! Again, sorry for the confusion and any post jumbling!))

After making his portal-warp, Cyrus glances around the mind-space campfire. He seems a mix of surprise, relief, and for some reason, extremely happy. He wanders a bit closer to the campfire as he looks around, but doesn't take a seat yet.

"Pretty nifty," he murmurs. "It works, even without all of us being in the same location." He turns to Kay and breaks into a beaming smile. "This is super cool! Thanks! Uhmm...sorry about cutting out, though? If things get too rough at the bar, let me know...I might be able to make another portal to grab the rest of you. If no one freaks out, of course."

He aimlessly wanders as he speaks, like a wide-eyed child investigating a new park. He must be pretty pleased that he's out of the bar...

((Cyrus and Rush, natch))

The duo land about a block from the apartment. Cyrus pauses a moment, making sure nothing accidentally followed, then fistpumps the air with a rush of joy. "Yes! We made it! And they thought they could keep me penned up, silly people~" He settles down, but still has a huge, stupid grin on his face.

"Anyway, you're out now. So, ah, I was just gonna' head home and lie low for a bit...don't suppose you have a plan on where to go next, eh?"

On his shoulder, Celine nudges the side of Cyrus's head before licking her paws clean.

((OOC: Just to be clear, because there's lots of wierd stuff and teleporting going on at the moment, this is NOT a real space, and does not actually teleport anyone anywhere. It's just sort of a waking dream that we all share, concurrent with whatever is actually going on in real life.

Like telepathic communication, but a bit more advanced. As a waking dream, it can incorporate all five senses, and even thought and emotion in raw form; furthermore, we can all affect the environment of the dream, too. Though no real harm can come to you here. The worst that would happen is it might be distracting.))

Kay smiles a bit as one person after another joins her around the campfire. "Hi," she says, a bit shy. "Adam just thought maybe we should have a place where we can all talk, regardless of whatever else is going on."

She looks up at the vast stars of the night sky. "It's funny, I know it's not real, but I can smell the campfire smoke. I can see the stars... It's almost like I were actually here again."

Kay glances at Claire and smiles, but shyly looks away again immediately. She asks, "You've never seen a campfire before?"

((Adam, in real life, to Claire, Rufus and Constantin))

Adam hesitates for a moment as the dreamscape distracts him momentarily, then blinks a couple times to orient his mind between the two worlds. Gaining focus again, he looks at the three of them.

"Yes, I see that," Adam says, looking down at Claire with a neutral expression. Still looking at her, he says, "People seem to be having trouble leaving this place."

He opens his mouth to say more, but just then Cyrus and Rush vanish completely, and he stares at the space they used to be in. "Or... maybe not?"

Constantin steps back to the side, out of the protective stance, since he can see who is here now, giving Claire better line of sight and the ability to answer Kay.

Adam shows up, appearing out of the shadows to put his hand on Kay's shoulder for a moment in a comforting gesture. Then he takes a seat by the fire, his concentration still mostly in the real world.

((This is a post affecting everyone in the bar - so, pretty much everyone but Cyrus and Rush))

The vast majority of the police officers freak out completely when they see Cyrus and Rush vanish, along with a cat and Officer Thompson's cell phone.

The apparently-EMT-trained officer Sara, still tentatively trying to whirl around Borogris, actually screams and spins around to stare as the grey patch of...nothingness...closes back up in the middle of the floor.

"What was THAT!?"

Alexander scowls in irritation, taking advantage of Morgan's confusion to start tapping away at his iPhone. " 'That' was what happens when my chief of security decides to get himself conveniently killed." He sticks the phone down into his pocket, fingers still moving busily over the screen, and sighs melodramatically. "You simply can't get good help nowadays."

Unfortunately for Sara, her back is turned toward Jacob just as he wakes up - and lunges forward into wolf-form on the move, clothes literally shredding over his body like tissue paper and claws shredding Officer Sara's skin from her back.

The nervous officer by the kitchen door finally loses his head completely at this, and fires at the nearest waitvamp, screaming. Borogris looks extremely annoyed, but gets quickly out of the way of Jacob, who is still growing, even as he steps forward over Officer Sara, with a noise that sounds uncomfortably like breaking bones. From the looks of it, his wolf form is approximately the size of a small SUV - or bigger.

He yelps when he puts weight on his front paw - apparently that stab wound isn't quite healed yet - and pauses briefly, sniffing around at the room. Then his eyes lock onto Claire, and a deep, rumbling bass growl starts rolling around his chest, teeth bared in a snarl, and he lunges at her across the room. Borogris reluctantly follows, holding his - still glowing - sword aloft, and behind them, Kat slowly pushes herself up from the wall.

((OOC: FIGHT TIME!!! :D :D :D))

((barfight))

Constantin shoves Claire behind him, fists curling and teeth flashing.

Officer Thompson throws himself in front of Claire, gun out and ready.

((THIS IS A POST FOR EVERYONE INVOLVED IN COMBAT))

[OOC: it has come to my attention that we need initiative for this situation. SO. Here is the deal.

You will say what you want to do for your next turn to me (on Skype, please? I think we're all friends there) and then I will roll for you and tell you if you succeed. You will then post IN THE ORDER WHICH I WILL TELL YOU. If you're not acting for a turn, post that, so other people can act!]

EVERYONE WHO WANTS IN ON THIS ACTION, TELL ME SO NOW SO I CAN GET YOUR INITIATIVE!

Thanks! :)

((OOC GM POST NUMBER TWO: Currently I have Ashton, Cayden, and Siggi involved in the fight. If anyone else wants in, say so NOW! Or shout out once you get online, and I will add you to the order!

Initiative order:
Rufus
Constantin
Kat
Jacob
Adam
Officer Thompson
Waitvamps
Borogris
4/8 Cops
Alexander
3/8 Cops (including Morgan)
Sasha

Rufus turns into a wolf the size of a grizzly bear and turns to growl at Jacob, but is disoriented enough that he doesn't rush to attack right away.

((barfight))

"Hide, and don't open your eyes," Constantin tells Claire, an urgent whisper before he leaps to the bar, running across it to get a vantage point over Rufus' hulking form, and better be able to intercept any attacks from a suddenly rabid werewolf.

He hopes.

((barfight))

Kat, as slowly as possible, follows Jacob across the room.

((barfight. WARNING: Death coming up!))

Jacob runs straight into Officer Thompson and through him, so fast that he bounces off against the wall next to Alexander, all the way at the side of the room. Thompson's head hits the surface with a sickening crack, blood starting to leak out of his temple. By the time his body has slid to the ground, he is already completely still.

Jacob's headlong rush forward, however, is checked by Rufus. He barrels into the smaller wolf at full-speed, and falls backward, crashing away sideways into yet another officer and one of the waitvamps at the opposite side of the room from Officer Thompson.

Rufus, interestingly, hasn't budged so much as an inch.

Adam glances up at the looks on the faces of the people he's talking to, then his expression turns to one of shock as a lumbering Jacob hurtles toward them. He glances back at the others, his expression worried, then seems to come to some decision.

Hair begins to grow, and a soft light glows around his form as he steps forward and attempts to intercept Jacob with an uppercut to the jaw. But his hesitation cost him, and Jacob moved faster than even he anticipated. By the time the blow connects with the space Jacob passed through, he is long gone.

Adam descends to all fours, shaking out his ruff to show distinguished white markings all along his dark fur. He bares his teeth, preparing to pounce.

((barfight))

Officer Thompson is now dead.

The waitvamps start moving to flank Alexander, leaving only three of them - one sporting a new bullet hole in his chest - guarding the door to the kitchens. The bullet-holed one turns impassively to the shaking officer with the gun, and slowly lifts its lips, exposing elongating canines.

"I'm sorry sir," says the bullet-holed vamp, "but for the safety and comfort of our patrons, I am going to have to request that you refrain from shooting any of our waitstaff. Should you desire it, we are perfectly capable of providing a vulnerable or invulnerable target for you to vent your distress."

Borogris moves over to stand over Jacob where he's flown across the room. His sword's still out. It's still glowing. He still looks incredibly annoyed, and not all that worried about his leader's fate.

3 out of the remaining eight cops, including one of the gun-holding ones, continue screaming, shaking, and generally losing their shit. One of the female cops, standing by the door, shakes off the panic and starts trying to slap her fellow officer, but is unable to bring him out of his panic attack.

Alexander moves over to where Officer Thompson has fallen, and picks up his gun.

One of the remaining three cops, the one with the gun by the door to the kitchens, continues screaming. Morgan yells "Get back, everybody! Get down!" and starts moving across the room to protect Claire and his fellow officers, most of whom are now clustered near the door.

Sasha, whose eyes are STILL BLACK, IN CASE ANYONE IS PAYING ATTENTION, also moves over to Claire, and, unlike Morgan, manages to get there, turning to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Rufus, looking at her, his back to the rest of the room. "My lady," he says politely, "we are coming. We will protect you."

Rufus pulls back one powerful arm with a snarl and claws across Jacob's face and chest, half blinding the larger werewolf. Jacob shrinks away from the young wolf with a pitiful whimper.

((barfight))

Constantin vaults from the bar, wrestling the sword from Borogris' hands, ending the glow and, he prays, the threat.

((barfight))

Kat is still making her way - slooooooooowly - over to where the fight is happening. When Jacob gets hit, she snarls a little, but if anything looks even less eager to hurry.

Jacob just lays there and whimpers, cringing against the wall.

However, just as Rufus leans down to sniff at him, snout extended, Jacob suddenly lunges forward and snaps at Rufus' throat. He misses, but catches Rufus along one ankle, ripping his fur and making him bleed.

With Jacob down, Adam's attention goes to the black-eyed Sasha. Ears laid flat against his head, he is crouched down (making him only the size of a small car) and backing slowly away from Sasha, growling and baring his teeth.

[Oh look, barfight. NON-INITIATIVE REACTION POST. I'm hoping that's an allowable thing? I just don't think she'll be entering initiative yet, if she ever does for this fight. If I am incorret in any of these assumptions, please tell me, GM! :'D]

Claire

Claire nods dumbly, backing up a few hesitant paces. As everything starts moving fast, so fast, she can't even keep track of it, does she even want to see this? Close your eyes, don't watch, close them, close them now--

And then a sickening crack reaches her ears.

She freezes, halfway to backing away from the situation like it's going to attack her--which, okay, it technically is--with her head lowered. Her eyes widen. Slowly, ever so numbly, she raises her gaze.

...Dad?

She watches him slump to the floor, unmoving. Unmoving. Why isn't he moving? Why isn't he moving? Why isn't he getting up?

"Daddy?" she whispers, voice barely audible. She tries to swallow. It doesn't work. "Daddy?" Louder this time. Her vision blurs--why is it blurry? Is it another dream? This isn't a dream, this is a nightm--

Tears. It's blurry because she's crying. They stream down her face, silent where her near hyperventilation is so loud in her ears, so whooshing, and all the while she stares at her father, her protector, her daddy--

And then, barely registering Rasputin's presence and missing his words completely, it starts: building from a hoarse croak to a sharp wail, she screams.