IC Time: March 23, 2007
Location: Forks - Forest: Cliffs
Synopsis: An ambush on vampiress Joyce Hudson and her companion Mitch Anderson takes place.
Submitted by: Staff
NOTE: By player request, Kate's participation in this scene has been retconned.
It's early evening, and the forest is gradually darkening, still, and utterly silent. Or at least it should be. What actually happens is that a sizable, and seemingly totally random, explosion illuminates the evening sky for no readily discernible reason. The fireball lasts a couple of seconds before fading into a plume of smoke, and is accompanied by a loud BOOM.
That was clearly a rather loud explosion…and for once it actually wasn't one of his. Aset wasn't terribly far from the cliff, but unlike most bystanders that are suddenly witness to something loud and terrible he doesn't make haste to investigate. Rising from where he'd been seated, back against a tree the wolf-man slowly trudges several steps in the opposite direction only to snatch up a large black duffle that had been poised against a large pine not far from where he'd been resting. "Really should've thought about programming my phone…" he murmurs softly to himself as he pulls forth his phone that is decidedly lacking in certain numbers. Taking a quick inventory of his belongings, Aset takes a deep, calming breath before beginning into the direction of the explosion both slowly and steadily.
The forest is a peaceful place in these early evening hours. In the very top branches of one of the tallest trees in the forest, a black-haired, blue-shirted figure sits, resting and near invisible against the fading blue of the sky and the greens and browns of the tree. He balances effortlessly, looking out at the landscape morosely… Until a loud *boom* suddenly shakes the tree, startling him off his branch. With a yelp, he falls several yards, and ends up hanging by his feet, blinking blearily in the direction the noise had come from. "What the…" He hesitates momentarily, but then he just can't resist investigating. Maybe one of the silly werewolves made an /exploding/ hole in the ground? You never know. Whatever the truth is, he lets go of the branch he's hanging from, falling a couple of feet to catch a branch with his hands, swinging to the next tree like he thinks he's George of the jungle. One can only hope he watches out for those trees as he scrambles like a squirrel on speed, little more than a blur in the branches to the mortal eye, heading in the general direction of that explosion.
"Good thinking," a chipper voice murmurs shortly after the boom. Joyce Hudson dusts off her impeccable pink polo and pleated khakis and jumps agilely over a rock, her face lifted into the air. "The scent's coming from this general direction." The 'June Cleaver' of vampires heads toward a scent she's picked up in the wind, softly singing a melody as she peers over her shoulder and waits for her companion. "Baby mine, don't you cry. Baby mine, dry your eyes. Rest your head close to my heart, never to part, baby of mine…" Her eyes glitter as she approaches the end of the cliff, quickly realizing there is company. She freezes. "Are there usually others here?" Joyce waits for Mitch, suddenly tense.
Silent and swift, Stasia moves through the forest. This is -her- turf here. This is where -she- reigns and judging by the ease of which she glides, that is a fair statement. She carries with her a sweatshirt that doesn't belong to her, taking care to brush it against trees as she moves.
Having already been in the woods (as it's not safe for Lilly's presence to be in town or for the humans there), it doesn't take much to gain her attention as she runs through the forest towards the sound. Silent and deadly, her feet almost seem to not even touch the ground. Blending in with a dark green hoodie, the teenager takes to the trees as she nears, looking over her shoulder for someone maybe, before she continues on. She stops a good ways away from the cliff, crimson eyes peering through the trees as they land on Aset, a smile to her lips. Now all she needs is Lev, and it would be like old times. Then those crimson eyes of hers drift to Joyce, and any others around. A curious gathering, and for now this Newborn just watches, a roll of duct tape held in her hand.
Luc smoked quite a few cigars before coming this evening. He would have drank, too, if he didn't need his judgment. The usually easy-going Frenchman is presently transformed into a flaxen, oversized wolf that pads cautiously after a red wolf. He lets out a sigh that sounds alarmingly human, and then stops suddenly, ears flicking and tail going up at the explosion. Uh oh. He eyes Abbey, lamenting that they aren't in the same pack. No telepathy here.
Kate cocks her head to the side, and looks at Jasper and Esme, on either side of her. "What the hell was that?" She, too, carries a pair of jeans that don't belong to her, and she's taking care to use them to mark every patch of ferns and log and any other surface she comes across.
Abbey had thought about drinking as well, but she needed a clear mind that's for sure. At the moment the large red wolf is slowly moving along, careful about where she is moving to not give herself or Luc away for that matter. At the boom she glances back to Luc blinking slightly before grumbling faintly and starts to pick up the pace to get to where the action seems to be happing so to speak.
Esme starts slightly, just slightly, a the boom, before turning to look at her son and her friend, she's quick to respond to Kate's enquiry. "I've no clue, but it can't possibly be anything good," she woman gives, her tone filled with curiosity and a bit of worry, too.
Jasper looks off towards the direction of the explosion. Closing his eyes he can already feel the curiosity in the air, "We should go check." Looking at Kate and then over at Esme he tilts his head sideways, "I'll go check." he changes his mind starting off in that direction.
As the explosion fades into a small, fiercely burning crater - containing the barely recognizable remains of a metal Samsonite briefcase, some sticks, and absolutely nothing else of interest - a soft and somewhat scratchy chuckle emanates from a think clump of trees nearby. "That was fun," says the clump, in an amused and somewhat elderly-sounding voice with a distinct prairie twang. A deep shadow within the trees gradually resolves itself into a man - a very old man, by appearances, with long grey hair tied into a ponytail and a smoldering cigar stub in the corner of his mouth. He ambles lazily in Joyce's general direction. "Seriously, we should do that more often. There's this old car in a ditch a few miles south of here-" he cuts off abruptly as he comes to a halt next to her. "Who're your friends?" Mitch asks, nodding vaguely at the seemingly empty woods around them.
Slowing his step as he nears the cliff ledge, Aset's brow furrows lightly as he spots the unfamiliar sight of Ms. Hudson and her brightly colored polo, as well as Mr. Anderson who seems to be the rival explosives expert. For a moment he just stares, unsure of what to make of the vampires lurking not far from his position, but hundreds of years of sound preparation kicks in an instant. Dropping the black duffle to the forest floor he takes a knee beside it, only to lift his cellphone of all things and aim the camera toward the enigmatic pair. A few stills are taken at range from the cover of the surrounding trees, and then with a few taps of his thumb the lupine begins to record, making no further movement for the time being save the free hand that slides casually into the satchel hanging at his side. Well, well…what have we here?
Kyler comes to a halt some distance from the cliffs, moving more slowly and stealthily through the trees to get closer. He takes note of the few other lookie-loos that he can spot, and is beginning to wish that he'd stocked up on firecrackers. Really, it's about time to make another raid on the joke shop… But then, that can wait, for now. Curiously, he slinks along the perimeter, keeping a relatively safe distance from the two who appear to be the source of the explosion. Eventually, he comes to a stop over Aset's head for a moment, looking down at the wolf with confusion. "Hey! Psst! Wolf!" he whispers down, being less than stealthy or helpful. "What're you gonna do with /that/? Overcharge their long distance to death?" He grins to himself, but then slinks higher into the tree balancing precariously in the windblown treetop to get a better view.
The explosion did exactly what it was supposed to: it summoned all of the annoying people out of their hiding spots and right onto the cliff. Joyce grins slowly at Mitch. "Well now, I'm not familiar with most of them, but I love new friends. Especially acrobatic ones." She shoots a glance toward the trees and shrugs. The whisper is heard — her head turns toward Kyler's tree, and the wolf scent below it. "Hello, everybody! Staring only gets you so far. We're happy to answer your questions, but if there are none, we are proceeding. And don't worry, to all you protective ones, we are full up and not looking for a meal." She beams.
Stasia grits her teeth. She expected that the explosion was a diversion and her 'extra' perception has confirmed that. This vampire keeps to the original plan, using the scent trail to lure the vampires deep into the forest…. at the same time, keeping careful tabs on the activities at the cliff.
Lilly lets her scent travel a bit to all who is present before she jumps from the limb to land down behind Aset, her hands on her hips as she stands behind the wolf but at a respectable distance. A deep pull of air into her nostrils as she scents everything around her, but still she doesn't speak, that roll of duct tape still dangling from her wrist as the teenager wears it like a bracelet. There is no sound from her, or words, save for the simple, "Aset," she speaks whisper soft in greeting to the wolf she knows. Anyone else who is there seems to be ignored, crimson eyes settling on Joyce as she seems to be waiting on more words from her.
Luc arrives at the edge of the cliff, stopping short of the clearing. He takes in the scene with another sigh, seeming really quite reluctant to be here. Nevertheless, he is here. He looks in the direction of the explosion, and a small bit of flame still burning on the debris… his gold eyes flick to Abbey questioningly.
"Not alone, you're not," says Kate, lengthening her strides to catch up with Jasper. She stows the Bev-scented goodness in a hollow log, along with a t-shirt of Bev's she'd brought. Satisfied that they were properly out of sight and the log stunk of Bev, she went to catch up with Jasper. The faintest electric current began to gather upon her arms.
Abbey has stopped a few paces in front of Luc, her ears flicking forward and back while her gaze rests on the still burning debri as well. She doesn't think that's one of Aset's, and even if it was why would he be doing this stuff now? Her ears flick back as she starts to take in the thick scent of vampire in the area and her gaze slowly lifts towards the voice that carries and she can only assume it is a vampire that is talking. A glance is offered towards Luc before something else has caught her attention, Stasia scent but from a different direction. Her gaze turns to Luc and she points towards where she is rather sure Stasia is seeming to ask if they should go that way? Its rather hard to get questions asked and answered when they can't speak to one another.
Esme isn't about to permit Jasper to go on his own, so as Kate takes off after him, she's right be her side, her own stride lengthening as she goes until she's at an appropriate rate. As she hears the woman's words Esme can't help but grimace slightly, just enough to make it known. "This is not good on any account," the woman gives, her voice inaudible to any humans that may be around.
"Yeah, I just had a nice drink," Mitch says in something not entirely unlike a conversational tone. "As a result, I've now officially decided I really, really don't like gophers. I fully intend for my first to be my last." Glancing around, he says in a voice that would be inaudible to a normal human without special equipment, "Well, looks like we've got a nice little crowd gathered 'round." This was, as has been stated, the entire point of the detonation - it probably won't benefit Joyce and Mitch all that much, but it won't exactly benefit their opposite numbers either, and this sort of chaos and confusion is just the sort of thing Mitch finds amusing at times.
That voice sounded familiar… Didn't he tell that vampire to keep away from his grounds? Or maybe they'd ended up agreeing on different terms. Either way, Kyler was a bit of a pain, and not too subtle to boot. Narrowing his eyes a bit, Aset takes a deep breath and shakes his head as the vampire above him ascends higher within the treeline. "Last thing I need," he murmurs to himself, but for the time being he remains poised as he is, simply observing the two new vampires with video interest. As the one called Joyce speaks, the wolf-man can't help but smirk at her words just as Lilly lands behind him. "Lilly," the wolf replies to the other's greeting, and slowly reaches into the black duffle that he'd brought along for the ride. "Here, I'm guessing that whatever happens… You're on my side," he offers to her along with both a simple cigarette lighter and one of what is likely many wine bottles housing an old rag within the bottleneck after wresting them from the black bag. "Kerosene… Just in case," he tells her quietly without glancing back as he continues to vigilantly record the unfolding scene.
As promised, Joyce does indeed move on, seeing as nobody lingering in the trees says much. She turns in the direction of where Kate stashed the Bev-scented shirt. She pauses, then, a brow raised. "But it's coming from there, too." Where Stasia left Bev's scent is a bit further in another direction, and Joy stands confused before taking to the trees, searching out "Bev" — or really just that log. In a matter of moments she's out of the clearing, making her way steadily. "…I heard big game tastes better. I told you to try for the bear, Mitch," she calls, amused. She does think of the scene, but like Mitch, thinks the confusion and the gathering of both 'sides' might just cause enough chaos. Not like she was doing anything bad, anyway. She wanted her daughter.
There was a moment there, where Stasia was sure the dance was up. That Joyce would see through the diversion. So it is with a breath of relief when the two vampires start following her scent again. Of course, that means they are also following -her- as well! Stasia chooses her battleground carefully, seeking the best ambush points, the best places to attack.
"Hi Aset." A grin from Lilly now as she moves from behind the werewolf to his side, finally looking away from the new vampires to him and then to the bottle he holds out to her. "Ew. That really smells." A flick of her wrist which sends the duct tape to spin around her wrist. A glance of her eyes towards Kyler as she heaves a great big sigh, "Banished to the woods, and new neighbors move in. I'm going to have to speak with Lev about getting out more." Stuffing the wine bottle into her back pocket which takes some careful manipulation not to rip a hole in her jeans, she begins to walk lazily after the two vampires, Joyce and Mitch, thumbing the lighter idly so as she moves. Whether Aset goes or not with her doesn't seem to really concern her.
The fire. There's too many people here, too many bloodsuckers. Luc turns his back on Abbey and stares at the smoldering briefcase hard. It takes a moment, but the tiny inkling of a flame begins to grow until it's a four-foot-high flame, rising at a slightly unnatural pace. The wolf's eyes are glassy and fixed.
Abbey lifts her head slightly as she catches sight of one vampire on the move it seems. her maw twitches while she takes in the scents of the area and also catches Aset's somewhere out there. Her attention goes back to Luc and she blinks while watching him and then looks over at the fire. She leans out and noses his side faintly before she slips off to follow after Stasia's scent, and thus Bev's as well. She didn't know until she caught the scent just who the vampires was after, an of course it would be one human that she actually knows and likes to a degree. Her movements are swift but careful as well, she doesn't want to give away to everyone just where she is after all.
Kate is on her way to following Jasper when she notices Luc and Abbey. She glances at them, wincing slightly at the ripe smell, but all the same, she crouches slightly. "You two on Bev's side?" She murmurs quietly.
Esme spots Abbey as Kate does, and tilts her head. "She's good, she can't be against her," is stated with a slight nod as she looks at Abbey, almost daring the wolf to prove her wrong. Though Esme truely hopes that she isn't proven wrong in this case.
"You're speaking the truth there, Lil… Story of my life," Aset replies to the Newborn vampire, a light smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. "Be safe," he tells her beefore reaching for the handles of his bag which he then hefts up onto one shoulder as Lilly moves onward. He's only here to document the situation… Another bargaining chip, documented proof of supernaturals, just in case the Volturi ever decide to take up old habits against his people. Beverley isn't really his concern, but he's already done what he can to properly arm the troops for now. Rising to his feet, the wolf-man slowly begins to move as well, carefully stalking the woods to document from afar.
Still in that exceptionally quiet voice that humans simply can't manage, Mitch says to Joyce, "Run this by me again, by the way. Why are we here again? Don't get me wrong, I'm perfectly willing to help out - we're a team, y'know? But I've had too many bad experiences pertaining to blindly following orders, and you were a bit vague on why we were here and what we were after." What, not who. He either doesn't know Joyce is after a person or is dehumanizing the victim to make himself feel better. He follows a few paces behind her, deceptively slow and quiet - his feet don't make a sound, and of course there is no breathing. Aside from his voice, the only sound he makes is the occasional noise of tiny bits of ash from his cigar (which is somehow still illuminated even though he hasn't inhaled for several minutes) pattering onto the ground. Both are probably inaudible to the average human. He doesn't seem to notice or care that said cigar glows like a beacon, and is apparently unfazed by the fact that there is what amounts to a tiny fire smoldering rather close to his lips, which are incidentally a part of his dangerously flammable body.
"Well, I told you about how that one wretched creature took Beverley away from me. If you wanted to, you could take care of her in one of the ways that you do. I'm looking for the girl that is rightly mine. Can't you smell the scent? It's right near the river," Joyce responds to Mitch, in tones only to be heard by those with extraordinary hearing that might be nearby. However, Joy is now far from the cliff, approaching the river, where the scent of Bev seems strong. Followers are ignored, for the most part. She can act quick, she isn't scared. Mitch is here too. She smiles warmly at him despite his callousness: he was a good security blanket, he was.
A bit of a sweater is left at the riverside, quite close to the water. Otherwise, the river continues its slow course toward the ocean, hiding the predator in its cold depths. Overhead, the bird of prey continues to circle, sharp eyes alert.
Lilly just keeps on walking but then she realizes Aset isn't following her, a "Hey!" yelled out to him as he retreats. A grunt from her at this as the teenager simply runs now, "Hey, you man, female, hey!" Yes, she's calling out to Mitch and Joyce as the Newborn runs towards them, a hand idly straying to the rump of her jeans at times to keep the bottle from falling out. "Hey! Wait up!"
As Abbey moves on, Luc stays put for a long moment, the fire now roaring. He turns and sighs again, running quickly through the trees to catch up with the red wolf. At least the fire was burning. He could always come back. He moves toward the scent of the human, spotting Kate and Esme and tilting his head at them. Golden eyes do not go unnoticed by the wolf, and thus they earn a nod of sorts before he continues.
Kate nods as Esme vouches for Abbey, and offers a tentative smile. "Good. We're in this together, then." She hears Lilly shouting, and turns her face towards the noise. "What's going /on/?"
Abbey ears flick forward and she pauses for a moment to turn her blue gaze to Esme and Kate, she merely smirks at Esme and wruffs faintly.. Of course she's good! An with that she is back following after the scents. As she follows along, the oscent f water catches her attention nd her maw twitches as she remembers what Stasia was talking about now and it dealt with the river. Its not to hard to follow the trail, specially when one of the vampires up ahead is smoking a cigar. Her ears twitch back towards the yelling though and she ponders who that is and why she is shouting and coming closer for that matter..
Esme smiles slightly and nods her head in Abbey's direction before shrugging at Kate. "I haven't the slightest clue. Nothing good, as I said," the woman states as she moves forward.
"Oh, okay," Mitch says. "Why her? I mean, sure, we have a man down and we could kind of use a replacement, but she's young, definitely unwilling, and didn't really seem to have much to contribute to the team. We don't know how well-protected she is, either. I told you about that gas station owner in New Mexico I was thinking of snagging. She'd do okay. And loners are easier to recruit, especially the sick ones." Although they're probably no more willing at first then Bev would be - it's not like he's looking for volunteers. He turns as the newborn runs up behind him. "Hey," he says, in a mockery of her voice. "Probably-female. Hey! What can you do for me today?" This last bit forces his way out of his mouth due to simple habit - he's been running a ski resort for quite some time, in as rude and brusque a manner as he can get away with.
Joyce pauses for a moment near the muddy river bank, considering Mitch's very logical words for a moment before dismissing them. "It just has to be her. I felt that she needed me, we needed to help her. 'Sides, the ones that want it are never fun," she complains in soft tones, a frown creasing her face. "Mitch — just stop. I always listen to your smart ways of doing things and this time I'm letting my heart lead. I just know this is right." Spoken like a true maniac in denial. Lilly's arrival surprises Joyce for a moment. She observes the pretty young woman with compassion and smiles. "Hi there. You look lonely…" her "motherly" tone starts. She scrap of fabric is spied, however, in the corner of her eye. "Mitch! She fell into the river, look, here's her dear shirt. Oh dear, oh dear…" Thinking no further, the matron treads into the water tearfully toward the shirt.
The attack comes without warning. Like a Nile Crocodile striking a zebra, Stasia ambushes from under the water. Grabbing the other vampire's ankles, she pulls hard, dragging Joyce under the water. In the next microsecond, Stasia wraps her arms and legs around her prey, keeping her under the water. She leans sharply to one side, like a crocodile's death roll, trying to keep her victim enveloped and disoriented, while biting at the back of her neck. Above the water, there is a splash, then some ripples, betraying the struggle in the depths.
Lilly gives a sharp screech when the female disappears under the water! Eerie and almost hollow sounding, before Lilly has jumped into the water. She doesn't know Stasia is doing this, she just saw a female vampire go down. So what if Joyce has brown eyes, the teenager is seeking to pull her out of the water, the bottle of kerosene falling out of her back pocket and onto the shore. Screech.
Boy does Elizabeth pick the worst times to wander in. After a double shift at the hospital, the young doctor found she was too tightly wound to sleep. Being well aware of her own proclivities, she parked her car in the lot outside town and started walking, flashlight in hand. The warnings of that strange woman earlier briefly crossed her mind, but Elizabeth was still too much of a city girl to pay much attention. Half an hour later, she was well and truly lost. Unwilling to admit defeat just yet, she trudged onwards, remembering that the trail made some wide loops. She figured she'd hit it eventually, then pick a direction and follow it until it wound back around to her car. She was far from sleepy yettoo much coffeeand she had her cell if things went too badly south. Before she finds the trail, however, she stumbles in on a very odd sort of gathering. A splash and then an unearthly screech, followed by yet /another/ splash, set her instantly on alert. Tense and wary now, she edges forward, drawing the beam of light back and forth ahead of her to highlight any pitfalls. She doesn't call outexcess noise would only call attention to herbut rather creeps forward to investigate, as quiet as she possibly can be.
Luc watches the scene with steely eyes, arriving on the shore. He tilts his head and makes no move. The sudden movement of the newborn into the water causes him to growl slightly. He assumes the younger one must be working with the creepy June Cleaver and tenses, looking at Abbey, growling again, and then springing into the water after Lilly, his teeth bared toward her lower leg. If he might have waited a moment longer he would have smelled the human. Now it's too late.
Kate growls as Joyce is sucked into the water, then Lilly follows. She is about to go in after her, a ball of electricity forming in her hand, when a breeze wafts human scent towards her. "Esme, do you smell that? One of us should get the human out of here, and the other should go help our ally in the river."
Abbey ears flick forward as she catches sight of one going into the water and then another.. Though her attention goes towards Mitch as his the one with the cigar.. Without a thought she is racing forward and puts herself in the middle so Mitch can't get to the river without dealing with her it seems. Her head lowers, and her hackles raise while a deep growl escapes her. Jaws snap out at the air and her tail flicks about. Basiclly saying, back off or else.. With everything going on in the area, the smell of cigar and vampire she also does not pick up on the human scent, and isn't this interesting? Its the human she met mere hours before. Its such a small world around here it seems.
Esme sniffs at the air and frowns, just a little before nodding at Kate. "I do, and we should. Go with Jasper, Kate," she requests and quickly turns in the direction of the smell. She hardly leaves time for an enquiry as she darts immediatly through the trees in Elizabeth's direction, keeping in mind to actually finish her approach to the human at, well, human speed.
"It's an ambush," Mitch murmurs. "Don't go in the damn river." He winces as Joyce proceeds to do exactly the opposite. He swears sharply. "Sam, cover my-" he begins, and then pauses a second to chuckle softly at himself - Sam has been dead over 30 years, and the only member of the group who actually seems to have something resembling a stable mind just came close to having a full-on war flashback. As Lilly leaps in, he does so as well, hoping to assist his partner in whatever way he can.
And so going with her heart didn't turn out to be such a good idea. She doesn't scream as she's taken under; at the exact moment Mitch issues his warning and it all begins to make sense. Under the water, her eyes remain open, contacts burning and revealing a more sinister red color on her irises. The struggles with her attacker, but is nevertheless bit in the neck, causing a gash to open — watery venom and blood mix into the river, betraying nothing but a pale pink aura of color. With a bit of strength mustered up, she mouths: "For Bev!" under the water and digs her nails into Stasia's flesh, anywhere she can get a hold of, and rips. Hard.
Lilly's arrival takes her by surprise, and Joyce isn't sure which side she's on — she can only watch as Lilly approaches. Her eyes, wide under the water, seem to beg for mercy.
Stasia doesn't flinch as Joyce's talons dig into her, raking her granite skin. This is the business of culling the weak. And this is exactly hat Joyce is: weak in the mind. Insane vampires need to be put down. With impunity. She keeps her lock on the other vampire, keeps rolling, keeps biting as she seeks to separate Joyce's head from her body. Subsequent splashes in the water are registered, but Stasia keeps focused on her prey. It's up to the wolves to watch her back now.
Lilly hisses at the wolf that moves towards her, the Newborn actually hissing at it as Lilly simply launches herself to the other side of the bank with a good jump in order to avoid the mutt's jaws… removing herself from the water and from Stasia's and Joyce's little (large) spat. Well, goodbye Joyce. Lilly seems to be looking out for number one now, no doubt something she learned from the Krinov's. Luc is stared at with her crimson eyes now as she begins to slowly back away from the bank.
The sound of voices, plus a growl and the continued splashing cranks Elizabeth's curiosity up about four notches. She moves closer still, peering around a tree trunk to get a better view. The beam of her flashlight is cut off, the switch flipped to off so that she may observe a bit longer. It's hard to make out details in the dark, but there are some indistinct shapes—some that could be human. Before she can move in for a closer look, however, Esme is suddenly /there/. Blinking rapidly a few times, the doctor hisses under her breath, surprise coloring her whisper. "Mrs. Cullen?" Apparently the last person Elizabeth expected to find out here at such an hour.
And Luc misses. He gets a mouthful of water, mixed disgustingly with venom. Shuddering, he turns to get a grasp on the situation, finding Mitch an easy target in the water. The large wolf uses his strong rear legs to launch himself at Mitch's neck. Now what was he saying to Abbey yesterday about not liking violence?
Kate nods approvingly as the two wolves turn on Mitch. "Go on, get 'im!" She encourages, as she rushes forward to engage Joyce. Her hands find the vampire's hair, and move down onto her face and latch upon her jaw. With all her strength - and there is quite a bit of it - she wrenches the woman's head into a deeply unnatural angle, trying her best to rip it right off her shoulders.
Abbey is quick to follow after Mitch and leaps forward towards the vampire in order to try and stop him. Her jaws snap out and she makes a grab for his leg with a deep snarling growl escaping her. If she gets hold of his leg she tries to drag him backwards away from the water.. if not she'll have to try something else.
Esme offers a pleasent smile in Elizabeth's direction, ignoring, as best she can, the chaos that's going on not that far. "I could say the same, Dr. Tyler," she responds in as pleasent a voice as she can muster up. "I don't suppose you intended to be about here?" the woman enquires. "Or are you lost? It certainly wouldn't be the first time a newcomer's gotten lost in these woods. I'd be happy to show you the way out," she suggests, making every attempt to remove the human from what's going on right now.
It's all coming back to him now. Three years of fighting for his life in seven-foot-tall elephant grass and thick rainforest had gifted Mitch with a kind of sixth sense in these sorts of situations even before he was turned, and they're only amplified now. He jumps out of the way of whatever it is that leaps toward him from the side, ignoring the shape for the time being - one of his comrades is in trouble, along with a number of random creatures that he couldn't possibly care less about, but whom he'd still rather not injure until he knows more about them. "Leave her the hell alone, she ain't right in the mind!" he yells as he wades forward. Mitch feels jaws close around his leg, and does his best to ignore them, moving with single-minded purpose. After a moment, he almost absent-mindedly draws a small knife and stabs downward in the general direction of his leg.
Joyce's pleading did nothing, apparently — he attacker is still on her, and by now, there is a grotesque and quite graphic gouge in her neck, though she kicks still. The water isn't really an issue, aside from she can't talk. Still, she'd do better on land — she cannot pry Stasia off, so instead she stands with a groan and breaks the surface of the water, emitting a high-pitched scream, almost a whistle as she throws herself toward the shore. "Mitch — if I don't make it, please get Beverley. F-for me," she grunt, swinging violently and in the process, falling right into Kate's hand. There's a lovely RIIIIPing sound as the two reckless female vampires manage to tear flesh and muscle off Joy's neck, leaving only half left. Nearly Headless Joyce, the future wife of Nick.
Stasia doesn't know who this red-haired female vampire is, nor why she is helping her, but doesn't question her good fortune at this rather critical juncture. With a flash of her teeth, she finishes decapitating the vampire in efficient fashion. While at work finishing the dismemberment, a new scent registers…. the abandoned bottle of kerosene, dropped by Lilly.
Speaking of Lilly, she watches what happens with a sheer look of horror on her face, "You monsters!" Screeches the Newborn to the vampires that are killing Joyce and attacking Mitch. Then, she simply turns and begins to streak away from the scene of death, maybe one of these days she'll inhale and smell Elizabeth. Maybe.
"I needed to wind down after work, thought I'd take a walk…" Elizabeth trails off, eyeing her colleague's wife suspiciously. "Sure…that's fine. I'd wanted to talk to you anyway. I have an architectural project I want to hire y—" Suddenly, Mitch's yell pierces the air. Instinct and years of crisis response take over and the flashlight is back on as Elizabeth sprints ahead without a thought, aiming for the source of that yell. Something is amiss. Her light catches a man in mid-air, his leg in the jaws of what looks to be a mutated bear. "Jesus Christ," she exclaims under her breath, stopped dead in her tracks by the sight, even as he pulls a knife on the creature. She thinks that now, just maybe, she understands Abbey's suggestion of a gun. The unmistakable sound of tearing flesh galvanizes her into action, edging closer to the source of the sound while trying to avoid the Enormous Mutant Ninja Bear. It's no easy task.
What is he doing? Luc has to pause, to let the animalistic instinct die. Once it does, he stands on the shore panting, fur dripping. He looks at Abbey, looks at Mitch, and then shakes himself dry. She was more than safe — if anything, the two supposed villains were outnumbered. And the dismembering… the wolf treads back in disgust. True, the vampires were the named enemy, but that's all they were, right? Just /named/ enemies. Weighing the violence of the night, he turns away heavily, toward where the fire still burns. Smoke burns his eyes as he approaches the flames, and in the safety of the trees, far off, her transforms back and weeps silently.
"Evil," Kate grunts as she gives the final tug that leaves her with a dismembered head in her hands, "bitch! Mess with my family, THIS is what you get." As she notices the human, she drops her hand so that the head is no longer seen under the surface of the water. "Esme!" She hisses at a volume only the supernatural can hear. "Get her out of here before someone /eats/ her!"
Abbey grimaces at the taste she gets in her maw while she chomps down harder upon the leg and now refuses to let go. She starts to pull Mitch back even if it is a few inches at a time she isn't going to let him move towards the water if she can do anything about. A half hissing and muffled growl escapes her at the sting of a knife stabs down towards her neck, but it doesn't cause her to let go of his leg, seems he'll have to do more than that if he wants her to let go of his leg. Even if Luc thinks his slipping away without anyone noticing him his wrong, Abbey does catch sight of the other wolf leaving an will follow after later to make sure his alright. She hears the ripping of flesh coming from the water and can only imagine what is going on over there.
Esme is about to respond to Elizabeth when the doctor takes off, causing Esme to take off. The fortunate thing that vampires have over humans is their speed, thus Esme's at Elizabeth's side in a limited amount of time, no longer concerning herself over propriety right now. "Dr. Tyler, please, for your own good, come with me back to town," she gives, very calmly as she attempts to position herself between Elizabeth and, well, everything that could possibly want to attack her, and there could be way too much of that in the forest right now. Upon hearing Kate's words the woman nods, an unnoticed movement to the human eyes, but one any supernatural being could see. "I'm sorry, Dr. Tyler, but we really must be going now," is stated as she grabs the doctor and proceeds to carry her away from the melee. At this point, saving the human as taken over pretenses, she'll blame it on… something… later.
Mitch Anderson would probably go dead-fish white if he wasn't technically deceased. As it is, he appears to visibly slump, practically shrinking, as though his entire world has just collapsed. He let his people die - again. He let them down. Most things don't really effect him - he's probably one of the most cynical people on the planet - but his little group was literally all he had. And now he's the only one left. Mitch stops in his tracks, the knife halts in mid-stab, and he swears softly.
Joyce manages a last monologue, though it comes out in a slow slur, hardly recognizable. "Why was I always looking for …. m-more? I a-always had you." Her blood-shot eyes stare stoically at Mitch and then her body dissembles.
Aset had been privvy to the entire assault that looks a lot more like an execution. Swallowing hard, the wolf begins to shake his head in disbelief. "This looks amazing on camera… They are not going to like this," he chuckles to himself before finally lowering the phone to slip it inside of his jacket pocket. Mitch becomes the focus of his attention now… The guy had some moves, and was obviously older, or at the very least better trained than the headless woman in the drink. Aset stood to his feet and began to move forward into the light of day, revealing himself to what remained of the obvious 'losers'. Red-amber eyes fix onto Mitch, and from many meters away the lupine calls out to all of those involved in the melee, "I think he's defeated!" Still looking intently upon the underdog, the wolf-man's expression hardens as he speaks next for the intruder. "If they let you live, stay out of Forks!" Wasn't his fight, but he was going to deliver a message of his own none the less. That said, he begins to retreat from the messy field of battle.
Stasia finishes the grisly task of ridding the world of Joyce with grim efficiency. She then darts with preternatural speed to the discarded kerosene bottle. Armed then, she turns to face Mitch. "She was insane. Not right in the head, as you said. She had to be put down to protect the rest of us." Her voice, like her task, is grim, sober. There's no exaltation in a victory, no bloodlust, no thrill of the kill. This was a necessary task.
Before she can make it to the sound's source, Elizabeth finds herself again facing Esme Cullen. "Wha-" she starts to question, but is cut off as the breath is caught out of her lungs. Suddenly, her feet are no longer on the ground. She's being carried away by…by someone—it couldn't be the petite Esme… Could it? "Hey!" she calls, pounding fists on the back of her attacker. "Hey, put me down!" She waits a beat and tries again, jerking her knee into her abductor's torso. "Let me go!" She scowls. "Put me down, there are injured people back there! If they don't get medical attention they'll die. I can help them, let me /down/!" She continues in this vein, her voice fading away into the night as their distance from the turmoil increases.
If Abbey does decide to catch up later, Luc would not be there. His scent trails all of the way back to Port Angeles, lost in the mix of smells of the city streets. One thing is certain, his phone will be off, and his house will be drawn shut for the next several days.
