Los Angeles: Blood Moon - ❌🌙🟩ch8-i-see-bad-times-today

Chapter 8 Location : not far from the Ash & Daniels Cigar Bar, LA Hills Outskirts Players @Diego, Bruiser Rat the dead rat: ST @Slinar [Alexander Montferrier] Previous scene : #❌🌙🟩ch8-an-irish-man-walks-into-a-bar (edited)

Diego followed her. She seemed to be lazy walking, looking at the town, glancing around, slowly but surely making her way. Something was definitly off. She continued a bit, before going throught what seemed to be an already opened door leading to what seemed to be a building. Maybe a shortcut ?

@Diego, Bruiser Rat

Diego tailed her. Everything about her screamed danger. And she was shrewd, cunning. Hunters need to have that, if they are to survive the years. Seeing Balle walk inside a building, Diego stopped to assess the scene. Shortcut? The gunlugger realized that the time for games was over. Shorty was in his hands, still loaded after Selma's house. Should have unloaded it then, and hopefully will, after this situation plays out. Following after her, he diverged near the door, and reached for the nearest window, trying to get a peak inside. (edited)

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The right window seemed to not give informations on where she went. It seemed to be a corridor from the outside, but it seemed pretty dark. The other window on the left was visibly painted black.

17:23

The building was clearly abandonned.

17:24

The right window seemed to not give informations on where she went. From the outside, Diego could see the beginning of a corridor, but it was pitched dark. The other window on the left was painted in black. The building was clearly abandonned.

Diego gently tried the window. It didn't budge. That meant there was one way it. He returned to the door, grabbed the sawed-off at the ready and walked inside. Hoping for dear life that he wasn't dealing with something that had him pinged him back at the bar.

@Slinar [Alexander Montferrier]

Diego entered the corridor. On the ground, he noticed white dust, like flour, to visiby track his path. The only thing he had to do was to jump stealthily on the other side, more into the corridor. When he turned back, he could see Balle just waiting behind the door, hands along her legs, waiting for something to move in the flour. But she didn't managed to pass his powers of dissimulation.

Diego's heart didn' skip a beat, he wasn't caught breathless. That was all gone now. There was only the Beast left, which huddled in fear against the walls of his soul at the sight of the hunter lying in wait. He felt it churn, felt it scratch and tear at the walls of his self-control, demanding the run, hide, or lash out blindly. And then thrill flooded his mind, gorging the Beast, placating it... He was in control. She was waiting on him, and he didn't tip her off. The trap failed and he had the advantage. His crooked smile hidden from the world. Diego lowered the sawed-off. He wasn't here to murder somebody. He was here to learn. He stepped back away from the ambush, to a place from where he could observe Balle and follow her comfortably. (edited)

The woman waited for a good dozen of minutes, before saying out loud : "Hoy, Rat guy, I know you’re there, get out so we can talk."

Diego waited. It could be an honest invitation to talk, it could be a trick to reveal the position of an enemy she knows is trailing her. Or it could be a last-ditch attempt to fish for a tail and see if anything takes the bait. Hunters think alike, and Balle probably accounted for these options as well. So, the gunrunner decided to let Balle reveal to him which option it was. But, just in case, he squatted down, reducing the space he was taking up in the room to the absolute minimum.

"If you don’t wanna talk, to bad for you. I’ll just get out and lose you with my bike." She began to get out of the corridor, by the same door he came by.

Diego jumped over the dust again and followed close behind. He was at a respectable distance, but now with a phone in his left hand. For somebody who did not expect to trail Balle at all, Diego knew that it was important to know when grab your winnings and bail. And Balle just named his price. He followed her to the bike. Typed down the faceplate numbers into the phone and then took a place by a wall of the building, a respectable distance from the kindred. When the woman threw her leg over the motorcycle, Diego finally revealed himself. - Did you have something interesting to say, or just wanted attention?

"Just wanted to understand who was trying to follow me. And I thought we could have a spare contest, you, me and prizes at the end. If you’re still eager, you can jump at the back of my bike and I’ll get you to some nice spot." She said it out loud, as she was slowly starting her bike.

- After seeing you up close in that house, with that kiddie trap, I'm barely sure you are worth my time and vitae burned, - said Diego in a tone as casual and dismissive as possible. - Should I be interested, Balle? Are you worth being interested in? This was a risky act, but hey. He needed info. The bike was probably stolen - with luck, his contact might be able to find out which city it was stolen in. And driving with her wouldn't be the thrill-ride it has been up till now. It would be a suicide, a willing move into her personal space, where he would be in her hands, and in the hands of those she was intending to drive to. So Diego was willing to settle for whatever the faceplate divulged and whatever her ego forces her to say right now.

She laughed, amused of the Nosferatu. "You are already interested. You seek informations, but yet, I know your kind. You seek thrill, just like me. My little trap as you say is a pretty dangerous one if fallen into, but yet you’ve go up and forth to find me. You’re not bad in a fight from what I heard, so let’s not just talk, and come seek this rush of danger. I’ll take you to a place, just you and me. We spare, and the winner gets something from the other. What do you say ?"

She didn’t seem like the kind to lie. And if she drives him somewhere, he could always stake her from behind. It was risky for her too.

From behind the collars, Diego grinned and barked a laugh. From behind the grin, Diego shivered and tensed up. - Low blow, Balle, low blow. There is a good place nearby. A multi-floor parking lot under construction. You're not afraid of heights, are you?- he said as he pulled himself away from the wall and straightened up.

"That’s perfect. Come on, get behind and guide me." She wiggled her back, indicating him to go.

Diego approached the bike. He took off the backpack and put Shorty inside and then swung his leg over the bike. - It was a good trap, - conceded he, as he seated himself and grabbed the handles on the seat. - One of the better ideas I've seen around these parts. Promises to be a good fight. Diego told her the name of the street, to check how well versed the was in the city geography. And from there, he directed here to the location. With his hands at the handles, outside of Balle's view, Diego figured it was worth stacking, if not the fight, than the outcome of the meeting in his favour. The silent phone slipped in his hand and he attempted to type out a message to the most recent number.

I & Balle at 42 Rens Drv parklot. want c us fight?

Of the six floors, only three were finished. Building equipment stood silent, and at this time of night no workers were at the scene. And third floor offered both seclusion and a nice view of the city. (edited)

It was as they were approaching the closed gates that the screen on his phone lit up. No sound, no vibration, nothing for Balle to notice.

Can't leave the bar right now, could have told me you were tailing her. Try not to die, going to need you if we launch a full raid once I tell the Sheriffs, she's involved with the Sabbat it seems like. Don't expect her to play fair. Also apparently she's "very fast".

Diego's internal dialogue could be summarized with a single word. Well he'll need to improvise. Especially with a kindred moving faster than eye can catch. They still needed to get past the locked gates onto the construction site and ascend three floors. Time enough to think of something. Hopefully. (edited)

It was all about the right moment. Diego waited for Balle to slow down near the parking lot construction site. Diego figured they were similar enough to approach these situation in a similarly level manner: she would need to assess the scene, make sure it wasn't a trap. When that moment came, Diego reached for Selma's stake. Diego noticed Balle move her head a bit half second too late. Before he could ram the stake in her back she suddenly leapt off the bike, graciously, leaving it going full spead ahead towards the site. He dashed for the handle bars, just at the moment when the bike ran into a short stack of wooden pallets, sending him flying forward through he air face forward. Diego hit the asphalt with his head and shoulder and slid on it for several meters. Had it not been for the layers of clothing he was wearing, covering him head to toes, Balle would be able to follow a trail of blood marking his breaking path. Gunrunner got up, seeing Balle slowly walk toward him, cracking up her knuckles - Well..., - he whispered, before dashing for the the construction site gate in an effort to jump over it and break eye contact. His mind was racing, dead-focused on slipping away from Balles reach. If there was one good thing about what happened, is that every mishap got him closer to the site. (edited)

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Diego jumped over the construction site gate in a rush, trying to escape, to find a better position into the first floor of the in-construction parking. He rushed, more and more. He needed a place to rebound, to be able to stake her, to have just a little frame of opportunity for him to grab. As he turned around one of the main collumn of the first floor, he was welcomed by Balle, smiling widly, as she kicked him in the chest. He was propulsed five meters back, as he felt some of his bone cracking under the shock. The shock was more brutal than the one with the bike. She was terrific, as she walked one step after the other, so slow now but ready at any moment to burst. The expression of playing cat and mouse never had such sense. "Time to play, Selma's boy."

@Diego, Bruiser Rat

And there it was. That little taunt redefined this entire altercation for Diego. "Selma's boy...". The boogieman was here. Diego's entire reason for being out in the night was in front of him. And she was as terrifying and monstrous as she needed to be to live up to the grief and bitterness the nosferatu felt in that seemingly abandoned house in the suburbs. And then some more. - Time to play. - he affirmed, without the certainty and bravado that he displayed so very recently. Time for that was gone, and it was full on survival mode. Survive first, retaliate later. With no time to loose, Diego broke off. Ribs hurt, but it was the aftershock - movement caused no pain, meaning his body withstood. However, he sensed blood flow to the spot of impact, almost on instinct, warming it up, spreading through the muscle tissue. Tightening it, hardening it. An instinctual response Bloodbuff 1 BP, Stamina She was playing her game. The nosferatu had little choice, but to insist upon his. Every column, every heap of construction trash, every shadow, every nook and cranny - like the namesake for his clan's nickname, Diego was running for cover. (edited)

Diego circled her, from column to column, from one pallet pile or stack of construction panels to another. Behind one of those, he gently lowered his backpack and got out his sawed-off. He was running short on free hands now, so he bit down on the stake. There was a trick that worked once. A vibrating phone. A distraction. Except Diego was sure she wouldn't buy it. She was smart. Cunning. She knew she was fighting an obfuscated Nosferatu. The second she'd hear an out of place sound in the front, she'd react to protect her back. That's what he would do, too. Which meant that that's not where his window of opportunity was. When, in 30 seconds, the alarm clock by a column ahead of her starts vibrating, he would need to be in a blind spot. If she's right handed - it would be to the left of her. And if she's left handed - to the right. The called it a Kansas city shuffle. Let the person know they are being tricked. Just let them be wrong about what the trick is. He counted on her thinking he'd hit her in the back. He counted on her thinking she knew him enough to risk attacking her at all. He counted the seconds to the alarm clock going off, hand firmly holding Shorty in his left hand, and the stake at the ready in his right hand. Willpower 1 As the timer on the clock got closer to to the 30 sec mark, he too was beginning to close in on her. With each step he got closer, blood rushed to his legs and arms, giving him more bounce, more grace. Bloodbuff 2 BP over time, Dex The phone lit up and vibrated some 6 meters ahead of Balle. Faster than he could see, she spun, swaying at the invisible attackers in front, to the right and behind her. Except Diego was on the left. Seeing an apparent opening he took so long to set up, he stabbed at her heart with Selma's stake. No words of bravado, no crooked smiles. (edited)

The blow was swift. It was perfect. And so goes the avenging of Sel- A palm landed itself on the ribcage of the Nosferatu. One, two, four ribs shattering from the impact. The stake was nearly touching her, but the raw force of the hit pushed him back. Balle was extactic, a rictus planted on her face as she had given a blow just behind her, and she now turned to him. The Beast howled in him. It wanted to run, to not stay in front of her, but at the same time, it wanted the blood sprayed on the ground, the affront to the clan washed in her pain. The Nosferatu stepped back. Left foot pushing on the ground to use the impulsion she's given him to stay away. He dropped the stake, switching Shorty in his right hand. Her eyes opened up a bit more, as she didn't expected the shotgun. As she saw the barrel in front of her face, and the fire rising up in it. The shot resonnated in the parking lot, as Diego saw her right face partially crippled with pellets, and a bit of Vitae smearing of red her cheek.

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11:07

MOOD MUSIC https://youtu.be/olfPh9kb6vw

hardcoretechnoone

Watching Me Fall Underdog Remix - The Cure

She pivoted on her foot, trying to slam away the shotgun with a left hit from her forearm. No, Shorty stays with me. The fire rose up again in the shotgun, but missed her as she dodged on his right. "I don’t think you understood, Rat." The first punch came out of thin air, as her fist crushed the jaw of Diego with a uppercut. Pain, as he felt himself lifted up from the ground. He felt her elbow shattering his left leg, as he was thrown to the ground. How.. could she move so.. He saw her leg coming at daring speed, before he rose up both of his arm to protect his face and torso. She kicked him three meters away, but this last blow he managed to block. "I am the one who knocks."

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It all added up. Every bruise, dislocation, microfracture, fracture. They all slowly chipped at Diego, degrading his ability to fight, to function as an efficient blood-fueled mechanism. Gunrunner recognized that he'd gone greedy with that last attack of his, and that it could cost him his life now. Best he could do, was retreat beyond view, again, slip away, again. But for that, he needed to get away from Balle. With her speed, there weren't that many ways to do that. So he had to work with what he had. With Balle, for better or worth. Feeling his flesh groan and crack at her hits, he swallowed pain best he could, and waited for the right move. He saw her leg coming at him, focused and rode the strength of her kick to get thrown tad further, than Balle probably intended, and at a different trajectory. He was aiming for one of the columns, intending to dive behind it. (edited)

Diego did not speak with bravado, spout proud words, or try to get at Balle's nerves. But when she rushed to get at him again into the shadows whence she'd kicked him, she found nothing. Not there, not behind the column. Nowhere in reach. Unseen, unwilfully ignored, Diego walked from cover to cover, with each step his body was shifting itself back into normal shape, until of the wounds Balle inflicted upon him only the most basic of bruises remained. Pain went away. Hunger filled the gap it left. Bloodheal, 3 BP spent But Shorty was once again loaded and at the ready, and not much time was spent. (edited)

Her wounds slowly healed, as she cracked her bones. "Come, Nosie. I’ll not kill you, I have others plans. If you’re… Obedient enough, you’ll walk alive from here."

Just as the wounds on one left side of her face were beginning to heal, just as she spoke the word "Obedient", a shotgun flash stripped the shadows from Diego some five meters away from Balle and a sound of another blast echoed the large hall. He instantly stepped back, with a single half-whispered word breaking his silence. - ... knock... (edited)

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The shot blasted her in the face, and this time it wasn't scratches and pieces of skin shivved off. The blast licked clean flesh skin and flesh off her cheek and cheek-bone, made a mess of her ear and barely missed the eyes. Balle darted at Diego, enraged, but this time he was faster, and was behind cover before she could be at him. He focused, attempting to escape into the shadows again, but this time his concentration failed him. And before he had the chance to even comprehend the fact, Balle appeared from beyond the column and came upon him. He strong hands wrapped around him, attempting to restrain him crush him. Diego instantly dropped any pretense at tactics. Her pushed back at her, his muscles bulging beneath the layers of fabric. But riding the moment, she grabbed his arm and started pulling, until he heard an unpleasant crack. Hunger was nagging at him, Beast was howling, demanding escape or feast. And Balle intended to rip him limb from limb, it seemed. - ... fine... - the word sounded like an angry, exasperated curse. Diego suddenly made a step forward, causing Balle to take a step back in turn. Her opponent, who, up until this point, has only been making shifty potshots at her and fleeing, was suddenly matching her in strength. For a second they stood matched, but then... maybe she wavered, maybe he found reassurance. Diego twisted out of the grip and grabbed her by her arms, pressing them into her sides. They were facing each other. Balle saw the Beast behind his eyes, barely held at bay. She saw him smile, like he did back when he showed himself to her in the streets. And then his maw-of-a-mouth opened and he bit down into her face, crashing muscle, cartilage and bone with supernatural strength. Last thing Diego clearly saw before the Beast took over, was the Beast in Balle's eyes. Time for control was gone. (edited)

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Diego could taste the blood of Balle. Her delicious blood, filled with anger, passion, lust and with sensations he never experienced that much. FEED. DRINK. DEVOUR. He stabbed her neck with his fangs, as he began to suck. A moan was heard from Balle. She let herself to the pleasure, her fighting weak. But slowly, she took hold of herself, as he felt more and more full, she was more and more desesperate, furious, frenetic. The kiss fell on him, as her eyes were rolling out in her orbits. The pleasure washed over him. But he couldn't let it slide. He needed to fight. As he pushed her to let her go, she dislocated her fangs. Her mouth was red with his Vitae, but she wanted more. At hallucinating speed, she pushed him to the ground, as the grabbed his hands with hers and get those ahead of them. She was on top of him, and the Kiss fell down once more, as she grabbed his mouth and bit down on his tongue once more. He wasn't ready for that, but the Beast didn't cared. He felt his hunger grow more and more as she sucked him, draining him slowly, pleasurely, but in a deadly way. A scream from his soul erupted, as he felt the last drop of Vitae dissapearing from him. He remembered Selma, she who always wore gothic clothing, smiled never enough, and still was proud of him. She needed him. *His might was focused, as his body crumbled slowly under the stress he put it throuh. The flesh wrecking itself. The power of his damnation flowing, as he managed slowly to push her hands, to struggle against her. But the Beast in front of him was the not the one to be battle against. She plaqued her body against his, his hand crackling the ground as the they were crushed against it again. And the vile embrace began. The Amaranth. His soul was drained, slowly, steadily, as he struggled, feeling his very being dissolving. Stretching. Being ripped apart. The terror was absolute, everlasting as the madness and the darkness consumed him.

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==END SCENE==

Recap: After taking up Balle's offer for a fight in a secluded place Diego directed her towards a neat little place he's been keeping in mind for quite some time now for deals and other dealings: the construction site of an elite multifloor parking lot. It was secluded enough for them not to be disturbed, it wasn't her turf, and it was also a place not too far removed from the rest of the city. Something Diego counted on. Before taking action, Diego sent a message to Volg, hoping for back-up if everything went wrong. Alas, the new acquaintance seemed busy, leaving the bruiser on his own. Having reached the scene, Diego engaged Balle in a fight. Despite occasional successes and careful planning, everything Diego threw at her failed to become a viable long-term tactic. The fight stretched out, and in the end Diego found himself brawling Balle in a clinch. For a moment there, he felt like he was winning, until the Beasts took charge and everything went red. And then dark... (edited)

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#❌🌙🟩ch9-dont-go-around-tonight