Gothic City [CVnU: Living Location]

@aberdeen:

With an uncertain eye Jack watched as the blade grew closer to the strangers neck, struggling with the fear he might not be able to save him. This whole night was not going the way he planned. In his head he figured on a small fight with some locals, followed by an adored “Thank You” but now another mans life was in danger, and it was all his fault. It was then he saw a look in the strangers eye, a look screaming confidence and a clear knowledge of how to take care of oneself in a fight. It was a look Jack had not seen since his early days back in a gang, and it was a look he would never forget. With a firm confidence that the stranger could back up his look, Jack turn his attention to the other victim in the alley, the prostitute. Still bent over a rusted trashcan she screamed to the heavens for help, followed by a stream of soulful tears. In some distorted way, she was a true damsel in distress , and Jack was about to save her.

Taking his eyes off the stranger, he turned toward the lady with his hands raised at the ready. With the application of ink glands under his wrists, a fine black mist is released that enveloped the alley in seconds. Like a fog of black ink, visibility was reduced to zero, with everyone inside its cloak unable to see their hands in front of their faces. Jack, however, could see clearly, clearly enough to see the gang men running around confused without a clue to where they were. Using this to his advantage Jack made a straight B-line to the prostitute still cuddled up in a fetal position, crying alone in the dark. Like a bull he ran towards her, knocking thugs left and right with some well timed body checks, ending up slamming shoulder first against the nearest goon standing over her. Hoping not to have killed him, the punk went flying ten yards through the air, crashing down upon some discarded garbage on the far side of the alley.

With the mist slowly fading away, the prostitute was now able to see Jack standing over her, through her red and runny eyes. As opposed to saying something heroic, he spoke from his heart and like a father figure he said, “Listen lady, I ain’t here to judgeyou, but withyour occupation, you mayhave brought some of this down upon yourself.” But knowing full well what it was like growing up on the streets, and the way it can change a man, inside he silently wept for her. Unfortunately now was not the time for life lessons, and with a stern voice he shouted, “Now Go! and try to get some help” as he pointed her in the direction of safety, as he quickly turned his attention back to the remaining gang members ready to finish the fight. But just as he turned around his attention was drawn straight towards the stranger, as he and he alone was dealing with his immediate danger, and the remaining thugs around him.

@alpha_dog: (This was a little longer than planned)

She didn't stop to look back - that way lay madness. And defeat. That way lay certain defeat. The blade should have gutted him, and if it hadn't, the poison should have killed him almost instantaneously. Healing factor, an intense one. That tracked with everything that was known about the Dog, a savage combatant with no conscience and a particular taste for blood.

He was also a tracker. A goddamn tracker; one of the world's most elite. And he had her scent in his nose. She wiped at her neck as she speed-walked through the thronging crowd and grunted when her hand came away with specks of blood. His claws must have lightly punctured her skin. She couldn't feel it past the bruises that had bloomed purple and blue around her neck, something she worked to obscure as she sank a little deeper into her leather jacket.

Fork, fork, fork. She was forked.

It took concentration to force her heartbeat down. She didn't want to exude sweat, or breathe heavily, that would just make his job easier. She was under no delusions - he was tracking her, hunting her through the city like prey. And a sick little part of her looked forward to the chase. She'd kept her head down for so long, she couldn't even remember the last time she'd felt adrenaline pump through her veins.

Kellan would of course have a setback with this, and she grimaced at that thought. But there was only so much she could do. And in this moment, she was doing everything possible to get out of this intact. Tessa turned a corner and walked into Market Square, a section of the city that had been reclaimed and set up for merchants to sell their wares. Sofia had a booth full of delicate scents and soaps, and that was where Tessa made a beeline for.

The Spanish beauty narrowed dark eyes as she saw Tessa's unkempt state. "Need a favor," Tessa murmured as she reached for one of the delicately designed glass bottles, full of a scent that was slowly becoming the rave among the city. "Don't have time to explain, but put this on my tab," she said as she picked the bottle up and liberally applied it to all of her pressure points to promote the bloom of scent. She winced before dumping some of it along the arms of her jacket and smoothed it over her hair.

Then she began making her way towards one of the many throwaway nests that she'd setup throughout the godforsaken city.

@tessa_callahan:

Tessa turned a corner and walked into Market Square, a section of the city that had been reclaimed and set up for merchants to sell their wares.

I love this bit of world building.

@hawkshade: Thank you! I've been trying to think of little/big pieces of what the city that's been essentially abandoned would be like and what would crop up without regulation, influence, money, and economy as we know it. Homemade wares and a market to sell them, where people gather, share wares, and information seemed like a natural fit.

@tessa_callahan: Awesome post!

@tessa_callahan: Welcome welcome. And that makes sense; I imagine there would be a number of areas like that. Probably a number of Gothic-specific industries too. For example, lawyers that specialize in squatters rights and outside investors coming in and flipping bad neighborhoods because the property values are so low.

@alpha_dog: Danke!

This is getting my wheels turning now.... I need to write a semblance of a bio and then I kind of want to get cranking on a masterlist of little things like this.

The gentrified (re-gentrified?) area of the city with super-luxe housing and around the clock security so you can claim you live in Gothic for the edgy factor without actually experiencing the down and dirty side of Gothic.

@tessa_callahan:

Yeah, she was clever. Too damn clever.

Her scent abruptly vanished in the Market Square. Dog muttered a curse under his breath as he glanced around, trying to reestablish visual contact. Not that he wasn't willing to start his hunt over, but that would cost him time, and he had other goals he meant to accomplish, not all of them related to this long-suffering city. If he could figure out how she'd disguised herself from his nose...

Bingo. Her scent disappeared near a booth where an attractive woman was hawking a number of overpoweringly-scented...things (Dog really wasn't well-educated on bathroom luxuries). Several quick strides took him to Sofia's booth, and he was towering over the surprised merchant before she even realized he was there. "Ya just sold something to a woman: red hair, 'bout so tall. What was it?"

Sofia visibly recoiled from his size, appearance, and aggressive manner, before attempting to adopt a confused expression and shrugging helplessly. A strangled gasp escaped her lips as one of the Alpha Dog's massive hands shot forward and locked on her throat, lifting the frightened woman effortlessly off the ground. A shopper with more courage than sense stepped up and grabbed at Dog's arm, only to stagger back, dropping to the street as his life gurgled out of his torn throat. "I'm in a hurry, sweetheart," the vicious mutant growled, ignoring the screams of the panicked crowd and returning his attention to Sofia, "so how 'bout some customer service?"

To her credit, Sofia refused to answer, but her eyes ultimately betrayed her, glancing reflexively at the bottles containing the scent that Tessa had applied to herself so liberally. Following her gaze, Dog smiled sadistically, before dropping the poor merchant to land in a heap on the ground, gasping for breath and holding her bruised throat. "Thanks, darlin'," he sneered with a chuckle, grabbing a bottle and getting a good sniff. "Ya just may get some repeat business from me." With that, he he was off at a full run. His prey was clearly too clever to be playing games with; it was time to run her down and put an end to this.

That was clever.

@yggdmillennia: @venator_umbra:

The Docks: 11:21 PM

Sah Ed Valam arrived on the docks under the cover of night. In this less-then-gentrified division of town, smog hung thinly in the humid air. The docks were worn and weathered, many vessels grimy with corrosion. At this hour not a soul tread the area - not that the one soul who did could blame them.

The fact that this little harbor was all-but abandoned made it ideal for Sah Ed Valam's business here. He'd arranged a meeting with an old contact - the only other survivor of the dismantled Society of Shadows. Touching base with this former associate could prove very useful to the Dark Hunter's redemptive endeavors. He otherwise had little way of ascertaining any current activities of the League, assuming it too hadn't been eradicated. He didn't even know who the current al Shaytan was!

And so he waited, arms crossed over his runic breastplate, gray eyes staring out and over the murky waters of a city he hadn't seen in years.

@alpha_dog:

She heard the scream and fought back the urge to run and check on whoever's shrill tone had pierced the air. There was nothing she could do if she was dead, and that's exactly what Tessa was going to be if she didn't figure out a substantive plan of attack or escape in the immediate future. She broke stride and ran through the streets, darting in and out of alleyways. She couldn't lead him back to the Cave, even if she had a cache there that could put him on his ass. That may be a risk she'd take on her own, but she wasn't on her own.

Her vision condensed to a singular tunnel as she ran through the Seaport, towards the Bay of Midnight and the docks. Rotten wood fell away beneath her as she took a running leap and dove into the chilling waters of the Atlantic. It was an immediate shock to her system, and she struggled to draw in a breath before she dove underwater. The murky waters of the bay would obscure her scent enough to break the trail - she hoped. The challenge now was making it the several hundred years to the other side of the series of docks. There was an abandoned lighthouse at the end of the jetty and in there was a rifle, if she could get that... she could have a chance.

@tessa_callahan:

Once he had her new scent, she was easy to follow; she'd laid the stuff on pretty heavy. The crowd of shoppers was in full panic mode, fleeing in all directions, and Dog had to swat a few of the slower ones out of his path as he charged after his prey. The scent led him straight to the docks, where it abruptly terminated at the end of a pier. Crud. Tessa had just jumped from "impressively smart" to "irritatingly smart," in Dog's book; she clearly knew how his enhanced senses worked and was using every trick in the book to foil them.

Narrowed eyes scanned the surface of the water until he saw what he was looking for, the telltale bubbles that indicated something was just under the water's surface. If they were any indication, though, she was making a beeline for the far shore, and while Dog's strength allowed him to plow through the water pretty effectively, her smaller, lighter frame would serve a pretty effective equalizer. Nothing for it, though; his only other recourse would be to make his way to the far shore on foot, and hope he could pick up her scent there.

With a leap that would make any Olympic athlete jealous, the huge mutant launched himself out and into the water, claws extended in front of him, hoping to get a grip on either clothing or flesh and drag Tessa into a crushing, submerged bearhug.

@alpha_dog: Her instincts kicked into overdrive and she tried to pour on the speed, even as she dove deeper down. But there was only so much room to maneuver in the murky depths of Gothic water, and this was a failing endeavor in the end. Her lungs burned as air was forced from them in a gasp. His claws punctured her jacket - and dammit, that was her favorite jacket - and plunged into tender skin along her ribs. Not enough to do damage to organs, but enough to prevent her from extricating herself. She was like a small animal caught in the talons of a raptor.

Her vision started going dark at the edges, and she tried to use the remains of her energy, to break to the surface, but it was no use, none at all. He was weighing her down far more effectively than the blocks of concrete that littered the floor of the bay. A claw sunk too deep and she opened her mouth in shock, and in came the water. The grimy, murky water flowed into her mouth and she sputtered, coughed, and instinctively gasped, only to ingest more water.

Her gag reflex triggered, causing her to gasp again, instinctively searching for air. Despite all of her instincts, panic was beginning to set in, and she began thrashing, expending more energy, consuming more oxygen. Her vision was going dim now, and shit that was bad. Like wow... really bad. She was sleepy, so sleepy. It wasn't bedtime, was it? No. No. It was... what was it? The ability to think, to process, to survive was starting to leave her. And all she could think was at least she hadn't led him back to their Cave, at least...

@tessa_callahan:

Later...in the basement of the abandoned funeral home where Dog had establish a temporary lair...

Dog had to admit, he was starting to like this one. She was a fighter, and despite not having skills or abilities that matched up well with his own, she'd still fought, and not desperately, in a panic, but pretty damn cleverly. He had to respect that. Granted, it didn't alter his intentions in the slightest, but it was something, at least.

He hauled her out of the harbor after she'd lost consciousness, and after making sure to clear the water from her lungs so she wouldn't drown on dry land, he's hot-footed it to his lair, taking a path that led him over rooftops as much as possible (it was amazing how few people ever really looked up as they went about their day). Stripped to the waist, he toweled himself off as he waited for her to regain consciousness. Respect didn't exactly translate to kindness, with Dog, and when Tess regained consciousness, she's find herself dangling by her bound wrists from a pulley system that was once used to raise and lower caskets from the embalming room to the viewing rooms above. He'd left her in her soaking wet clothes, as this would make one of his favorite methods of getting intel out of an unwilling subject that much more effective...

I love it when people use this, and it's something I've used several times. Humans never had natural prey that came from above, so we never developed the instinct to look to the skies for danger.

Lada had no official business in Gothic. It certainly wasn't Russia, but there were occasions where some odd rich individual from Gothic, or at least not too far away from it, would contact her Army of Radegast, and she liked to drop in sometimes. So she wasn't really going out of her way by visiting this place that seemed to just attract every bit of evil this world could throw at it short of becoming a desolate haunted hole.

It was for this reason Lada had made the decision to use a different form while wandering this place. It was unlikely to profit her walking around as her normal self, and after-all, if she chose to, she could always just turn back. Those who knew well who she was knew that she had some powers, although most had no clue what she was capable of. Smoke magic and the occasional shapeshifting comprised the majority of what she'd used in front of people for awhile now. Little else was ever needed.

So she took on another appearance. It was one she used often and was associated with the name Elizibeth Semenov...most of the time. As she didn't really need to bother with another form often it wasn't very well known, records of it were practically nonexistent which was convenient. Most of those who knew both the name and the face that went with it were spread out and few.

She glanced about Gothic, her eyes dancing over the area only for her to pause as she noticed something out of the ordinary. Magic. Not too far away from her, she could see the aura of an individual who had a more noticeable skill in the art of magic then should be expected. She kept her distance, keeping more in the shadows, but began to move closer to Sah Ed casually. Wondering what business someone with arcane gifts had in this sort of place. Not that she was one to judge.

@tessa_callahan: >:D

Alpha Dog is coming for all of us.

@grimmwald: Some call me a sociopath; I say I'm a socialist: I mess up everyone nice and equal-like. >;)

@alpha_dog: Training just for you, mano.

@grimmwald: I only ever do one exercise:

@alpha_dog:

@alpha_dog:

Consciousness returned to her slowly, and regaining it was as much of a struggle as trying to escape the deadly waters of the bay. Tessa didn't open her eyes, and tried to control her breathing as she came to. She had been sure she'd die in those waters, but the ache in her arms and throat were sure reminders that she was alive. There would be no salvation, no nirvana, no respite for her here. At least not today.

She inched her eyes open, trying to take in as much of the room as she could without wiggling the chains and risking a creak. Her torso ached as she held her muscles tight in an attempt to prevent herself from swinging on the chain that held her bound. She was as good as dead and he'd pulled her from the water and revived her. This... didn't bode well.

"You were better off leaving me dead," she rasped, every word an agony.

@tessa_callahan:

Dog glanced up as she spoke, his trademark murderous grin returning to his face at the pain her voice. "Nah," he answered, stepping up until he was less than an arm's length from her. "I ain't interested in the price on yer pretty head; I want what's inside it." He reached out with one clawed finger, which he almost playfully tapped against her forehead for effect. "The folks who want ya dead want ya dead bad enough to make ol' Dog think ya got some pretty useful intel in that noggin' o' yers. Now, ya gave me some fun, so I'm willin' to repeat my offer: tell me what ya know and ya can walk, and I'll use it to make life so damn rough on yer real hunters that ya won't be such a priority to 'em, anymore."

He stepped away, crossing to a pile of discarded automotive equipment at the far end of the room, and returned momentarily with a car battery attached to a pair of jumper cables. "Only fair to tell ya, though...I ain't takin' no fer an answer. Only choice ya got is whether ya give me the intel now, or after I've made ya scream fer awhile."

@alpha_dog: Of course he wanted what was inside her head. Everybody who knew of her existence wanted to know what was inside of her head, or wanted her simply dead. Duh. That's why there was a torture and kill out on her. It wasn't rocket science - they wanted her flow of info stopped and they wanted to deter anybody else from going rogue in the same way that she had.

She didn't give a frack what they wanted.

She was either dead, or she was tortured and dead. Those were the two options laid out in front of her. Once somebody had you trussed up in a secret lair it kind of broke any sense of truth their words might have held. He wasn't going to ease off on her. He was going to try and get info from her and then kill her. That was the endgame here, she wasn't fooled by false promises. "Don't threaten me with a good time," she rasped, grinning even as her lips cracked from exposure to the briny bay water.

@tessa_callahan:

Dog actually laughed, a sound that was not entirely unlike the howl of an angry hyena. "Oh darlin'," he chuckled, pausing for breath, "I've been many things, but I ain't ever been a tease." He set the battery down momentarily, and then swiped at Tessa with his claws, once, twice. He didn't so much as graze her skin, but he did completely tear away the lower part of her shirt, baring her midriff.

"It's funny," he continued, speaking as casually as if they were sitting in a bar discussing sports, "a car battery generally ain't strong enough to kill. Heck, sometimes it ain't even strong enough to feel, but since ya were so obligin' as to get yer skin good and soaked, this is gonna tickle a lot. Ain't science fun?"

Without further ado, he picked up the cables attached the battery. The clamps on the ends were quite large, no doubt designed for larger, industrial engines, and he mercilessly snapped them onto the bare flesh on either side of Tessa's abdomen, making her body part of an electrical circuit.

@alpha_dog: "You're gonna be dog meat at some point," she whispered, jerking away from him as best she was able when he ripped her shirt, only to cause herself more pain.

At least it wasn't the parilla, she thought, with a brutally morbid sense of humor. Could be worse? Guess that's where she was right now. He was creating a closed circuit through her body with a car battery and it... could be worse. Small favors, right? Right. Totally. Whatever it took to convince herself. This wasn't the worst she'd seen, it would be fine, she'd be fine, totally fine.

She refused to let herself react when the metal clamps dug into tender, pale skin. Soon enough she let herself slip into the small bite of pain, blocking out everything else, becoming immersed in it, preparing for far worse. It wouldn't be strong enough to kill her, but it could certainly make her wish she was dead. "Do your frackin' worst."

@tessa_callahan:

"We all wind up as dog meat, sweetheart," he shot back, as he connected the battery to a small car engine block back in the pile of assorted parts, "I just plan to enjoy every damn moment between then and now. Speakin' o' which, these walls block sound plenty well, so be sure to let me know how this feels." With that, he cranked the engine's ignition, kicking the battery to life and sending current surging into Tessa's body.

O____O

@feral_nova: Hope the Catholicon's well-staffed, tonight.

@alpha_dog: She had just the wittiest of retorts planned. Really she did. You could take her to the bank on that one. But it was all lost as soon as he cranked the ignition, and the electrical current went through her body, lighting her insides on fire. It was the most agonizing pain that she had ever felt, and good god had she been privy to some real pain. Had the scars to show for it and everything.

Through no control of her own, her body thrashed wildly, and she felt something go extremely wrong in her shoulder, no doubt exacerbated by her arms at such a bizarre unnatural angle. Dislocation, yeah, that was for sure a dislocation. Tears streaked down her cheeks, and she fought the wall of blackness that was zooming in on her vision, but she didn't utter a single word. She refused to scream, refused to. He couldn't make her, lord please, don't let him make her.

@tessa_callahan:

Dog stood silently, arms crossed, and a wicked smirk on his face as he watched Tessa dance like a worm on a hook. Why so many people shelled out so much cash for "high-end" entertainment was beyond him, when all you needed for the best shows were a few basic tools and some creativity. All amusement aside, though, he was starting to understand why the price on her head was so high; someone this smart and tough was dangerous to begin with, even without having compromising information on you.

After what was only about 10-12 seconds (but probably felt like an eternity to his new playmate), Dog casually reached over and cut the engine's ignition. Wouldn't do to have her pass out on him before she spilled the beans. He gave her a couple of moments to recover, before stepping over and lifting her chin in one clawed hand so he could look her in the face. "Yer a strong one, girl," he said, "but I also know yer smart. We only gotta do this as long as ya keep that pretty little mouth o' yers shut. I reckon ya can tell me what I wanna know a lot quicker than I'll get tired o' seeing you dance fer me."

@feral_nova: I should start a request list...

Damn...

@alpha_dog: (Sorry for the delay - internet cut out for a bit)

She fought to keep her eyes open, to memorize every aspect of his face, every strand of hair, every scar, every minute detail. She would commit it to memory, and hunt him to the ends of the earth. Should they ever come face to face again, she would put a bullet in his brain, separate his head from his body, remove every limb, burn him to ash, and scatter it across the globe.

She slumped against the chains as soon as he cut the ignition. She knew it was a trick, but all her body knew was that for at least a moment, the pain had stopped, and that was enough for now. She took deep breaths, every single inhalation wracking her addled body with pain, but she breathed through it and pushed forward. "Guess we gotta.... guess we gotta do it... do it forever...." she rasped.

@tessa_callahan: (No worries!)

Dog chuckled as her bucked her playfully under the chin with his fist, like he was her Little League coach, rather than her tormentor. "I got time to burn, babe, but even I ain't got forever." He strode back over to the engine, placing his hand on the ignition switch, but paused, glancing back over his shoulder at Tessa. "Ya know, if yer own pain ain't gonna break ya, I don't gotta stop there. How about yer pretty little friend from the market, the one who gave ya that nasty scent? Bet she'd be a thing o' true beauty, writhin' and screamin' as I put a dozen volts through her body. Bet she'd scream even louder as I dragged in all her family 'n friends, one by one, and cut 'em to ribbons right in front o' her."

Without waiting for a response, he cranked the engine back to life, letting it pump Tessa full of electric juice for another ten seconds before cutting it off again. "How 'bout it, pretty bird," he growled, as he stalked back over and again forced her chin up to face him, all pretense of gentleness gone this time, "ya gonna sing me a song, or do I need to find a new playmate?"

@alpha_dog: Her head hung down, putting more pressure on her dislocated shoulder and sending searing shocks of agony through her petite frame, even before he sent the volts through her. She almost bit through her lip in her endeavor not to scream. It was the one thing she could hold onto. She didn't break, he couldn't.... oh.

Oh.

Frack.

Tears tracked down her face, cutting through the sweat and the grime even as she refused to cry. Sofia. She was an innocent. She hadn't asked for this, hadn't signed up for any of it, and Tessa wasn't cold enough to throw her to the dogs. She cursed violently under her breath before whispering something almost indecipherable, a sole piece of information that he could take and run with, that wouldn't blow back on the Shadow Trinity. And immediately disgrace filled her, as bitter a pill to swallow as any. But at least she had protected innocents.

At least she had.... frack. Her vision. It was starting to go, closing in on her. She didn't think she was dying, he hadn't done enough to her to send her over that edge, right? Frack frack frack. This wasn't good, not good at all, it was...

@tessa_callahan: @grimmwald:

A lot of ears would have missed what Tessa whispered, but not Dog's. His twisted grin spread wide across his feral face, putting all of his animalistic fangs on full display as he strode back over to Tessa, pulling the clamps from the cables off her sides and dropping them to the concrete floor. "See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" He patted her cheek with obscenely faux affection, before noting that she seemed to have finally lapsed into unconsciousness. A quick swipe of his claws severed the bonds that hung her from the ceiling, and he caught her limp form and threw her unceremoniously over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes before heading for the exit.

Several blocks away, he dumped Tessa's still unconscious form in a pile of trash at the end of an alley that was remote and deserted even by Gothic's standards. He didn't typically leave his victims alive, but he also wasn't about to kill her until he found out if the intel she'd given him was any good, and if it wasn't, he was going to be coming after her for a refund.

"Sleep tight, little bird," the Alpha Dog chuckled, as his massive form faded into the shadows of Gothic City and vanished.

@hawkshade:save her!!! T___T

@feral_nova: Ummmm... you know... busy day.. lotta crime in Grimm.. trying to find the Shayton... >.>

@hawkshade: LMAO SONNOVA xD