Scouting the Rave

[hazlogs]

Date: 10/3/02

Currently the moon is in the waning Crescent Moon phase (20% full).

The Glass Walker Philodox and his Gaian packmate drive out to the location
of the rave, following the directions that Salem copied from the black and
red poster. Alicia's the one behind the wheel; Salem plays navigator.

You drive out to the warehouse district of St. Claire, navigating through
the late afternoon and early evening traffic. Every so often you catch
sight of cars that are probably going to a similar destination.

Music rumbles from the subs in the trunk as Alicia manuevers her kin's car
through the dark streets. She is lightly bobbing her head back and forth,
blowing a strand of red dyed hair from her face.

Salem keeps an eye on the passing scenery. "Left here," he directs, then
glances sidelong at the Galliard. "I'm assuming that you've been to one of
these things." Underneath the taciturn demeanor, Jack's actually in a
rather good mood; the thin moon and the promise of _doing_ something
probably has something to do with this.

"Tons of 'em. Its like going to a school dance, but with lots of drugs,
weird people, louder music that doesn't have a rhythm, and glow sticks."
Alicia says after making the left, humming along with the song inside the
car.

Salem snorts. "Hmnh. Never went to a school dance. But as long as there
are no horses..."

The last turn directs you to a smallish warehouse as these things go.
Easily big enough to hold a few hundred people, but not large enough for
several thousand. Cars are scattered across the parking lot, and you see
party-goers heading into the doors. Most look to be college students, some
high school and all reasonably mundane looking.

"Mmmm.." Parking her car in the back, Alicia turns off the engine and
tilts her head to the side. "Remember, this was your idea." She says
teasingly as she slides out the door and into the cold air.

One corner of Salem's mouth quirks upward. "John's always nagging me to
loosen up," he replies, exiting the car. The cold air hits him like a
fist; he'd left his coat at home, thinking of the heat of crowded
warehouses. The noise hits him a bit harder; there's a slight twitch
across his face, but otherwise he seems fine. He smooths back a stray
strand of hair and offers his elbow to the Gaian. "Shall we?"

The door is fairly well marked, and there's a string of people waiting
there to go in. Someone seems to be checking IDs.

"It's not a ballet, we don't need to walk in there like a couple. Gotta
get with the times bro." Nudging him in the side playfully, Alicia simply
strides to the doors, almost in her element. "C'mon, whatever you do,
don't take anything from anyone. Prolly laced with LSD or X, or
whatever... bad shit. People come to raves to fuck themselves up an then
dance like a puppet upon strings."

"Heathen," Salem accuses, lightly. "And noted." He follows after her with
brisk, long-legged strides, one hand dipping into his pocket for his
wallet and driver's licence.

The check at the door is cursory at best and then the two Garou are inside
the rave. A pulse of pounding, throbbing music rolls over newcomers as
they are plunged into the darkness that is the dance. Lights -- mostly
strobe -- flash like shooting starts, throwing everything in a strange
relief.

Heading inside, Alicia glances about with a huge smile on her face,
reaching out to snag Salem by the hand so he won't get lost among the
ocean of bodies. Already she is moving in beat with the song, floating on
cloud nine. "If you don't know how to dance." She says loudly. "I'm ganna
teach ya." Her eyes dart about the rave, noticing details, pursing her
lips in thought. "Wonder if they are newbies.." She says, pulling him
close behind her, guiding his arms about her waist. "Place looks way
too.... um... well... it looks organized and professional."

And speaking of newbies... Salem grimaces faintly as he adjusts to the
chaos of light and sound. After a moment, he takes a deep breath and
forces a more relaxed facade, letting Alicia take the lead. "The poster
was fairly slick, too. Mimicking the real thing, eh?" He has no comment on
her offer to teach him to dance.

Myste pages: Somehow, some way, you hear a snatch of conversation, "Yeah!
Tuesday...Maple's...real deal..."

Off to the edge of the mass of humanity, you catch sight of a quick
scuffle. Someone throws a punch but is quickly taken down by an enormous
bouncer.

"Yah well.. most posters are done in magic markers or some shit." Alicia
says as she turns around to face you, her body moving up against yours,
dancing. With a wry grin, she catches her pack brother's eye, winking.
"They'll charge ya 'bout twenty bucks for a bottle of water too." She
teases.

"All praise the entrepreneurial spirit," the Walker retorts sardonically,
at least half his attention on the crowd around them. He picks up the
rhythm of the music, dancing close enough to the Gaian to raise the
Litany's eyebrows, if it were around to see. Just enough to hopefully not
stick out completely -- the staid boyfriend of a wild party-girl, probably
trying to impress her enough to get her in bed. Or something like that.
Putting his mouth close to Alicia's ear, he says, "We should try to find
out where the next will be."

"That should be easy nuff'." Alicia says as she dances with Salem, hands
sliding about his body as she grinds up into him. Though her moves seem
erotic and passionate enough, her mind is straying, as well her eyes. She
seems to be darting them about, perhaps trying to pick out familiar faces
from her times on the street, or anything that may pull her interest.

Salem disengages himself slightly from the Gaian after a while of this,
putting some space between them and catching his breath. Even if she's
Garou -- and not his type -- there are some things a little too close for
comfort's sake. Or dignity. "Good Gaia," he mutters, then asks, "Anyone
you know about?"

Fashionably late, or, at least just somewhat fashionable, and semi-late,
the white-haired Shadow Lord quite honestly fits in better at a rave than
she does in the 'regular world'. Moving past the bouncer after receiving
scarcely even a nod,, she weaves her way through the crowd.

"Nah, I don't see anyone recognizable." Alicia says as she steps away from
the Walker, spinning around a bit as she dances, then starts moving
through the crowd. As she flows like water through the bodies, she spies
the Shadow Lord entering, picking her out by the white haired features.
Lifting up an arm, she waves it into her direction.

"Hmn." The Walker pushes back the stray hair that's escaped his ponytail.
When he looks around again, his packmate's lost to the crowd. Grimacing,
he mutters a word in Serbian and then spots the Winter Queen herself and
heads her way through the crowd.

Scuro pauses a moment, as if fumbling for something her jacket pocket, and
then moves towards Alicia, smirking faintly. "Now, now," she says, after
getting close enough to the woman, "Certainly I don't stick out /quite/ so
much, here."

"Not too much." Alicia says loudly over the music as she glances about,
before leaning in some. "You find anything out 'bout those happy red
friends you found?"

Lights streak across the warehouse ceiling, briefly blinding those who are
dancing before it all fades back to blackness. As if that were a signal,
things begin to pour from the top -- party favors, it looks like.
Glowsticks, cheap rings, scraps of paper -- a whole variety.

In the midst of the scurrying partygoers, Scuro withdraws her hand from
her jacket pocket, revealing in her palm... a happy red friend. "No,
actually. But it appears that I have gained another 'friend'."

Salem, on his way over to join Alicia and Scuro, halts at the blinding
flash of light, then grimaces as the party precipitation begins. A brief
shake of the head and an expression of long-suffering later, he continues
pushing through the mass of people toward the other Garou. He behaves --
very firmly not scowling at anyone who happens to accidentally bump into
him.

[Very few, of course, thanks to rage.]

"After this is all over." Alicia says to Scuro. "I wanna 'sniff' one of
those out if ya'know what I mean." As things fall from the ceiling, she
rolls her eyes upwards, catching a glow stick. Without breaking it, she
pockets it in her jeans, then glances to the approaching Salem. Reaching
out, she snags him by the hand and tugs him closer, letting out a breath.

Scuro nods to Salem as he arrives, then looks back to Alicia. "Certainly."
She glances around quietly, and for a moment pauses to stare thoughtfully
at a young person who apparently is pacing a rather strict square. "Ah,
yes," she returns her gaze to the Garou. "Have either of you been to such
a 'party' before?"

"She has," Salem answers the Lord, indicating his packmate. He looks,
unsurprisingly, somewhat ruffled; scraps of paper cling to his head,
unnoticed.

"Live in these kinda places." Alicia comments as she follows the Lord's
eyes. She furrows her brows, then offers a smile to the two. "I'm ganna go
out there an dance. See if something comes up."

Scuro nods faintly, then grins, "Sure. We'll just... " she eyes Salem a
moment, then the grin widens, "We'll just yin and yang over here for a
while, then, I guess."

The rave has swelled by now to several hundred people all crammed into the
warehouse. Music at a near deafening level pulses and throbs. For the
newly arrived, there is a very faint space around Salem where the Garou
can be seen.

Not exactly her usual attire, Yi steels herself to enter the party scene.
Why she was allowing herself to be lured in like this, was beyond the
Gnawer's conscious comprehension but nevertheless, she is here and
awaiting admission. Her clothes, well. What was that word the Coggie had
used? Skimpy? Looking it up in the dictionary had been not exactly the
kind of style she had wanted. So opting instead, the asian girl is dressed
up with a red V-neck short cut shirt with a design of a silver oriental
dragon on the front - flattering but not too much so. Beneath, a
comfortable pair of black pants. Guarding against the cold and covering
her arms, a midcalf lengthed black jacket. She's not tall, no, but it
makes her appear sophisticated anyway. The scrap of paper she gets is
tucked in and saved for when she can have a good look at it. Now, to look
for that Coggie galliard.

Making her away from the group, Alicia heads into the crowds, dancing,
spinning about, possibly picking up an easy partner or two while she does.

Renee, on the other hand, is drawn in by curiosity. She has never been to
one of these before and the Galliard has a strong desire to see what
actually happens in these things. It doesn't take long for Renee to decide
that she likes raves, actually grining as she watches the choas around
her.

Yi, making her way in with a flash of her card at the doorman, just looks
around for a moment to take in the amount of people. Somewhere or other
there's going to be Alicia, likely dancing it up. That's where the Gnawer
ragabash goes, slipping down towards the dance floor to find the Coggie.

Shortly after the rain of stuff, the music picks up and the beat becomes
even more frantic. Glowsticks begin to flash on and off as people throw
themselves into the frenzy of dancing. The polish begins to wear off.

Renee moves into the mass of humanity, joining the dance floor and
allowing the frantic beat of the music guide her feet. The Gnawer is
loving this, feeding of the chaos and the near frenzied energy of those
around her.

Yi just seems to radiate an aura around her tonight, wading through the
currents of people to look for the Coggie galliard. It's in all likely
impossible event, but as she picks through the path of least resistance,
at some point or other she's going to encounter the little pocket that
contains her. As a guy tries to dance up to her, she gives him a look and
keeps moving through the oblivious, crazy crowd.

Salem has, apparantly, had enough of dancing for a while and loiters near
Scuro, hands folded into the pockets of his BDUs. Yin and yang indeed, or
better yet, chess pieces -- black king and white queen.

Scuro casually glances around at the chaos, periodically turning her gaze
to the dark Walker. "The things people consider entertainment," she says,
quietly.

Having found herself a pair of twins, Alicia dances between the two,
having worked herself up quite a sweat. Her hair is pulled back into a
pony tail to stay out of her face, and her body rolls between the two
smoothly. She doesn't bother with chatter as she sinks into her own
Galliard passions, losing herself within the rolling melodies. The way she
moves though, its as if she is on fire.

Yi sweeps herself through and between a pair of girls, unknowingly bumping
against Alicia on her pass between the galliard and the twin. Just as
she's about to move on, Yi has a double take on the other and recognizes
the galliard. "Hey!" she shouts above the music, sounding rather faint
against the bass beat.

Salem tilts a look down at Scuro, expression quizzical, catching the fact
of her remark but not the meaning of it. "Hmm?"

Scuro waves a hand theatrically, "This. Writhing noisy sweating mass of
humanity. Entertainment. Fascinating."

Renee remains on the dace floor, but far enough away from Alicia that the
two would be hard pressed to notice eachother. The Gnawer finds her own
partner, grinning savagely as she moves with the heavy beat of the music.
Her movements are not quite as smooth or graceful as Alicia's, radiating a
sense of primal savagery instead. Renee fits in very well, but would seem
just at home dancing around a fire with a drum beat in the background.

Dragging herself away from the turmoil of spinning notes and electronic
harmonies, Alicia glances over to the Gnawer and grins widely. With a
sweeping motion, she moves up to her, dancing, drawing her close as she
leans in to talk loudly over the thrumming life of bass. "Hey girl, glad
ya'made it."

Yi doesn't need too much help to pick up the beat, eyeing Alicia for a bit
before she decides well, hell why not. The thrum of the music is catching,
and it isn't before long that she's swinging and stomping along with the
galliard. Still, as if there was a possibility of maintaining a
conversation, Yi leans close and shouts. "I need to talk to you!" And
indicates with a lean of her head towards a less hyperactive part of the
floor.

Salem brushes back stray hair, his hand catching one of the bits of paper
that have decided to cling to him. He eyes it, then lets it drop. "Mm."
Conversation's difficult at best; he satisfies himself with a curt nod,
his eye skimming over the post-punk chaos with a mixture of bemusement and
some form of detached appreciation. He spots Renee in passing, very
briefly, and arches a brow.

Renee continues to grin savagely, eyes wide as she tries to take in
everything around her. "This is fantastic!" Thats about all the Gnawer
gets in, before she is reswallowed by the crowd and Alicia is distracted
by Yi's arrival. Still, its a good thing that the moon isn't full. Renee's
passion is in full control, her internal restraints no longer in place.
Letting youself go into the chaos, is not always the wisest of choices for
Gaia's warriors.

Nodding her head, Alicia pulls away from the set of twins and starts
making her way off with Yi. She is literally brimming with energy tonight,
dancing and still twirling herself about. "C'mon!" She calls to her
friend, leading her back towards Salem and Scuro.

Renee is all but lost on the dance floor, moving from one partner to the
next at random.

Yi is half pulled back towards the rest of the Garou grouping, a hand
going into her pocket when she has the chance to pull out that slip of
paper she had stuck in there. It's a bit hard to read in the colorful
spinning and strobe lights.

Salem's brows lift as Alicia and Yi approach. His mouth twists into a
thin, slanted expression of amusement, but he doesn't bother to say
anything until they're quite near.

Pulling up to the other Garou, Alicia smiles and glances over to Yi,
fishing out her own scrap of paper from her pocket. "Hey, you guys having
fun?" She asks in a loud voice, trailing her eyes upon the contents.

Yi squints at the paper, but in this light it's hard to read. Too hard.
The Gnawer folds it and sticks it in a pocket, before looking up at seeing
Salem. Scuro as well, who she's not met before. "This is fun?" Yi smirks,
clearing her throat and looking over to Salem's conversation partner.
Yeah, sizing up the others with a glance.

Alicia whips out her glow stick and furrows her brows. Cracking it, she
watches the light glow brightly, then tries to hover it over her paper to
read the contents.

Scuro nods with a faint smirk, "To some," she answers, loud enough to be
heard over the din. She seems more interested in the passers by, but she
spare a glance to Alicia and the newest arrival.

"Complete bliss," responds the Glass Walker, dry as deserts. He cocks his
head, looking curiously at the paper in his packmate's hand, one brow
rising.

"Hey, those pieces of paper they are stuffing in our pockets? Gotta addy
on it.. downtown." Alicia murmurs as she holds up the piece of paper, glow
stick behind it to give some luminscence.

Yi figures within the proximity of all three, she's pretty safe. A bow of
her head once and a hand reaching out in greeting, Yi offers her
introduction towards Scuro. "I'm Yi." In the back of her head, she wonders
what Salem might be doing in a place like this. "Anyone else you invited
here Alicia?" she queries.

When her attention swings back towards Yi, it swings back undivided.
Ice-blue eyes regard the young woman quietly, as if marking each detail,
then, the Shadow Lord smiles slightly, "Chiaroscuro. But please, just call
me Scuro."

Salem glances at Yi. "_I_ invited _her_," he informs the Bone Gnawer,
somewhat archly. A bit of humor around his mouth takes some of the scorn
from his tone of voice. "And Scuro here invited me." He looks at Alicia,
then. "When? Tuesday?"

Chiaro... The name rings a short bell in her mind, but Yi nods and makes
little of it. At Salem's remark the Gnawer concedes the point to him. "I
did not think you were the party type," she notes at the Walker philo,
glancing back over her shoulder to the crowds and then to Alicia, ears
straining to hear her.

"Dunno, doesn't have an addy on it." Alicia frowns slightly, then reaches
out with a hand, snagging the first person who walks by, girl, guy, drunk,
sober, whatever. "Hey dude." She flashes the paper. "When is this
happening? I forgot."

It takes a few snaggins, but someone finally comes up with "Tuesday" as an
answer for Alicia.

"Aiiight. Tuesday." Alicia confirms with a wide grin upon her face as she
lets the messenger take off.

Scuro frowns faintly, and looks to the Gaian. "/What/ is going to be
Tuesday?"

Yi looks over to Alicia, not needing to echo the question Scuro asks.

Salem answers Yi's observation about his party-readiness with a shrug,
giving her a thin, wry little half-smile.

"Dude, pay attention. I'm flashing numbers here guys." Alicia says,
holding up the piece of paper again with the address on it, flashing the
glow stick upon it. "Here, tuesday. Its a place downtown. Its another get
together, and since the local populance knows 'bout it, Ah'm figuring
another party." She glances about, fainting frowning. "Should we try an
collect more of the UL? See who is carrying it, who is dealing it?"

Yi files that note about Salem away, another peculiarity of Walkers to
wonder about. To Alicia, though, she's back questioning. "What are you
talking about?"

Scuro says "We also should try to ascertain what it does when taken."

Alicia babbles on to Yi. "UL is a buncha new happy red pills that has hit
the streets." She says, talking in close quarters to all the Garou
surrounding. "Scuro 'ere snagged a few off some punks, led us to here. But
ya'know? I don't wanna be the test dummy to these pills. Got any kin up in
the science field with the know how to take 'em apart an figure it out?"

Yi ohs. "So that is what everyone has their money out for now. I thought
it was a Sudafed." The no-moon thinks a little more, and then says, "Well
if people are taking it, why not watch them?"

Salem pays the conversation only half of his attention. Hands in the
pockets of his BDUs, he watches the crowd, letting his gaze skim over the
surface of writhing, oblivious humanity.

Those who are taking the drugs seem, well, fairly relaxed and happy.

Rina whirls through the chaos of the rave, a wild-eyed dervish, something
fey and strange in her eyes. She dances in a half-aware trance, dark eyes
slitted, her body twisting through the maelstrom.

"Mmmm..." Alicia murmurs, glancing about. "Everyone here seems real.. laid
back. You think this is kinda like a relaxer?" She squints her eyes, then
rolls her shoulders back some. "I still want to do a test on it if we
can.. sniff it out, see if the big guy shows up in it. On from there, we
can find out where they are coming from, who is making 'em, shipping,
producing."

Yi follows Salem's gaze around the crowd, but then to Alicia suggests,
"How about Jeremy? He is really smart. Lived with Roger. Maybe he can
figure out what it is made of."

"Was thinking more along the lines of Alec, who at least have experience
in the medicine field and drugs in general. Or, Rhiannon, a detective who
also may know of a few things." Alicia says as she wanders about the
gathered, being the mouthy one for a change, throwing everything on the
table. "Jeremy maybe, but he's more of a techno nerd then anything, could
pull a webpage or two."

Yi nods with a tilt of her finger. "You have a point or two." The asian
fidgets, adjusting her jacket. "Well, maybe we should go back and see if
we can get more of the drugs."

Salem's body abruptly goes tense, stiffening as he spots a familiar form
in the dancing mass. Those closest to the Walker might catch a mutter in
Serbian -- Scuro alone is able to catch the meaning. "Oh, good god." Then,
in English, he offers an abrupt, "Excuse me," and heads into the crowd
toward Rina. As before, the tall, feral halfmoon has little trouble making
the mass part before him.

Scuro arches a delicate eyebrow, watching the Walker leave, curiously.

"Getting the drugs won't be hard to do.." Alicia trails off, watching
Salem go and catching sight of the prize. "Great.. Rina's here. Which
means she'll either be shot, stabbed, beat up, or flirted with. Maybe all
four in one night." A teasing smirk toys on her face.

Yi could might as well be surprised by Salem's enthusiasm (heh) to get out
on the floor there. She shrugs, sticking her hand in her pocket. Alicia's
commentary, though, doesn't go unchecked as the Gnawer defends. "Hey, she
is a nice woman... don't wish any ill on her." Yi eyes the Coggie
galliard.

"I'm predicting the immediate future Yi. I'm not wishing ill on her." The
Gaian cuts a look to Yi, tapping her temple slightly. "Just that everytime
I hear something 'bout her, she's getting stitched up."

Renee is pretty well the only person that provides Salem any resistance,
as he makes his way toward Rina. Eyes wide and wild, the Gnawer stops her
frantic dancing to look at the walker half-moon and identify his target.
Getting in Salem's way for a few seconds in the process.

It takes Salem a moment to properly recognize Renee; his eyes narrow, just
for a moment. He pauses, managing to give the Gnawer a thin smile,
distracted but generally amiable, and without any focussed hostility. He
lifts a brow questioningly.

Yi shrugs. "She gets into trouble sometimes," Yi agrees grudgingly. "But I
need to ask you about the ... the horse." She looks straight at the
galliard meaningfully.

Scuro nods quietly to Alicia. "Quite honestly, I found myself in
possession of one of the pills almost as soon as I walked in. I did not
notice the hand that slipped it into my pocket, however." She cranes her
neck around, to look more fully at the area. "Perhaps I should wander
through, again."

Alicia pats herself down and comes up empty. "I only got the piece of
paper." She says, furrowing her brows. "Yi, I'll get to that after we
leave." She lets out a slow breath, then holds her hand out to Scuro .
"Hey, can I get that one?"

Scuro reaches back into her pocket, and hands the small round pill over to
the Gaian. With a slight smile, she adds, "I would not, however, decide to
taste it, were I you, eh?"

Renee's teeth flash in return, a savage and happy grin. Then back into the
crowd she goes, nearly disapearing in the throng of humanity. The whole
time her eyes remain wide, frenzied, and not quite all there.

Yi nods at Alicia. "It still looks like a Sudafed pill," the ragabash
remarks before glancing towards the area that might have a drink or two
available.

Rina seems to have hooked up with a slender redhead in a silvery-grey
dress. She leans back against the taller woman, the two of them writhing
in a brief partnership that turns a few heads in their immediate vicinity.

"Mmmm.." Placing the pill into her pocket, Alicia pats it. "I won't take
one. I know better." Cutting her eyes about the crowds, she wisely bites
back the next thing on her tongue, but gains a huge grin because of it.

Yi looks back in time to see the huge grin on Alicia's face and quirks her
head. "What is it, Alicia?"

"Oh, nothing." The Gaian hurriedly says as she starts making her way for
the exit. "C'mon, lets go have that talk you want to have. Scuro, got
buisness ta' intend to. I'll be in touch, for sure."

Salem watches Renee absorb herself back into the crowd, then shakes his
head slightly and continues forging a path toward Rina. He doesn't bother
with conversation; this deep within the ocean of bodies and lights and
noise, it'd likely be useless. But he does tap her on the shoulder to
catch her attention.

Scuro inclines her head towards Alicia and Yi. Then a slow smirk spreads
over her features, even as she begins to gaze around the room again,
"Indeed. I shall continue to make a point to hover about the park during
twilight, then." Seeing as how she has no phone number or address.

Yi furrows her brow, but otherwise nods and figures she can extract it out
of the galliard later. To Scuro another bow of her head in politeness
follows. "Nice to meet you, 'Scuro." Likely she probably, nearly, mangled
the name with her own accent. Then she's off and following after Alicia to
the exit, rather glad to be out of the intense club scene.

"If yeh'want Scuro, just pass along a message on the barking chain.
Gnawers know it well an I get calls that way." Winking, Alicia heads out
the exit and into the cold air again, breathing.

The tall redhead gives Salem a rough-edged grin, narrowing her eyes at
him.

Rina's eyes flicker open, wild and unfocused at first; then she finds
Salem, and pulls away from the beauty behind her. A strange, euphoric
smile comes to her lips, and she steps across to him, coming to a halt
only when her hands rest on his chest. Her balance is less than steady.
"Whoa."

The space around the wintry Shadow Lord shrinks, now that Salem has moved
on. Nonetheless, there is still a slight gap in the throng around her, and
she seems to enjoy that.

Salem meets the redhead's gaze for a moment, giving the woman a thinly
polite smile. Then he catches hold of Rina by the arms, noting her state
with a rueful shake of his head. His grasp is more to keep the kinswoman
from losing her feet than anything, but he does make an attempt to guide
her off the dance floor, putting an arm around her as he does so.

Rina laughs as she paces alongside him, slipping an arm around his waist
and leaning on his chest. "Fancy meeting you here... I was just thinking,
I bet Jack would love to go out and party, mister self-destruct..."

"You wound me," Salem replies, his wit more or less on autopilot as he
moves the pair of them back toward the spot where, now, Scuro waits alone.
"Truly. Actually, I came with Alicia."

Scuro watches the Walker maneuver the kinswoman through the crowd, amused.

A flicker of anger crosses Rina's face. "Happy fuckbunny Gnawer girl," she
mutters. "Yuck. She healed you though. You were alllllllll fucked up..."
She sways against him gently, missing a step somewhere.

"Easy," Salem murmurs. "She healed John, too. Saved his sight once, or so
I've heard." His admonishment is mild, though, tempered both by his
fondness -- some might say weakness -- for the woman as by the fact that
she's clearly in an altered state of mind. "Dare I ask what you're on?"

Rina giggles hazily, turning her face away to catch at his hand with her
teeth. "No idea," she answers after gnawing idly on his knuckles.

The look on Salem's face is... very strange. Hard to read. He's near Scuro
now, close enough to catch her eyes, very briefly, before looking down at
Rina. "Red pill?"

Scuro arches an eyebrow at the Walker, having continued to watch Salem's
progress. She takes a step towards the pair.

A dreamy smile comes to Rina's lips. "Somebody gave it t'me... mmm. He was
hot." She turns her head toward him, then, giving a wild-eyed, fey grin.
"Not's much as a one-eyed devil with a face like an axe murderer,
though..." The tip of her tongue touches her upper lip, and she giggles
again. "I'm'na be in trouble..."

They're close enough now that Scuro can get a good look at the
disconcerted expression that flits briefly across Salem's face, the way
his steps almost stutter, before he recovers himself and shuts it down.
His face goes tight, very carefully neutral. His voice manages to keep an
approximation of a light, bantering tone. "Yes. Yes, you are. You've had
far too much fun tonight. Time to go home."

Scuro says only two words, "Red friend?" to the Walker, as she closes the
distance between them.

"I'm thinking so," Salem responds to the Lord.

"'S'not even midnight yet, babe," Rina says lightly. She draws away, just
enough to tug on Salem's arm, watching him with those otherworldly eyes.
"And I'm /so/ flyin' on this shit... come dance!"

Scuro frowns, glancing around the group's immediate vicinity. She glances
at Salem, and nods, indicating a willingness to follow his lead, should
the need arise.

Salem resists, reaching for Rina's wrist in order to prevent her from
diving back into the crowd. He meets Scuro's eyes for the briefest flash
before turning back to the kin. "It's late enough. And I don't dance."

Rina catches her lower lip between her teeth, a flash in her eyes as his
hand closes on her wrist. It is not anger, but something far more
disturbing--a sudden fire, an answer to the wild and writhing chaos around
them. "I could teach you, Jack," she says lightly. "You oughta learn."

Scuro, patience already tried by the cacophony surrounding them, says, a
bit shortly, "I don't think it is he who needs to /learn/ something."
Shaking her head quietly, she gives the Walker a very brief apologetic
look. Exhaling, she looks to the disturbingly disoriented woman. "Perhaps
Salem will learn to dance another time? Right now, the fresh air sounds
appealing, yes?"

Salem is too dignified and far too controlled to squirm, but there's a
disconcerted flicker around his eyes, movement of his Adam's apple as he
swallows. In that pause before he can focus his willpower to find
something to say, Scuro speaks up. "Another night," he says to the
kinswoman. "I promise."

Rina wets her lips, and glances to the pale woman. Her cheeks are flushed,
her eyes fever-bright. "It's hot, yeah..." The smile comes back slowly, as
the dark gaze slides between the two of them; then she gives Salem a
veiled, dangerous look. "Promise, huh? Talk about dancin' with the devil
in the pale moonlight..." With a wild little laugh, she relents and steps
close to the man again. "Or maybe the Demon and Luna..." A sidelong,
hungry glance to Scuro makes it quite clear who the moon might be.

Scuro gives a quick sigh, "Yes. Well. Outside, then?"

Salem exhales a breath. He gives Scuro a look, a bit of rueful gratitude
there, then puts his arm around Rina's shoulders and steers her toward the
exit. His expression is rigid.

Rina falls into step with Salem easily, nuzzling into his shoulder, an arm
draped loosely around his waist.

[...]

With Scuro's help, Salem gets Rina back to the door of the studio without
further incident, and he's recovered nearly all of his composure by that
time, too. The Shadow Lord parts ways at the street level, leaving the
halfmoon to walk Rina up to the studio itself. It's still a couple of
hours or so before midnight.

Rina is still flying at that point, her eyes bright as she stumbles in
with Salem's help. Her hands have a bit of jitter to them when she fetches
the keys, and she's quite clearly under the influence of that unknown
drug... or something, at any rate. She leans against the man with a
drunken tilt.

The apartment's dark - but amidst the stumbling and the shuffling of feet,
the click of a weapon being cocked and readied is quite clear. Faint
moonlight filters through the window to illuminate a half-naked John
sitting on the edge of the futon... aiming a TMP at them. He slowly lowers
the weapon as the figures become recognizable, and rubs a hand tiredly
over his face.

Salem, completely sober, plucks the keys from the kinswoman's shaking
hands and unlocks the door with quick, sharp motions, his face kept
carefully bland, all business. Nothing but. Right. Opening the door, he
steers Rina into the studio, turning a wary eye at the Ahroun and the
weapon. "Special delivery," he says, deadpan.

Salem's dressed somewhat differently than normal, but only slightly. BDUs
instead of jeans, and a white button-up shirt hanging open over the usual
plain black t-shirt. His hair's tied back, but a good deal of it's escaped
the ponytail. And somehow, only Gaia knows how, a glowstick managed to
find its way into a pant pocket.

Rina flashes a wild, dreamy smile at John. "Mmm, I love a big gun," she
murmurs. Her eyes brighten, and she touches the tip of her tongue to her
upper lip. "Baby.... you should come back out, dance with me."

John watches the two of them for a moment, eyebrows raised slightly, then
closes his eyes tiredly and shakes his head a little. "Gimme a few minutes
to pull some clothes on," he murmurs softly.

Rina shakes her head emphatically, crossing the room toward him, none too
steady on her feet. "No." The sober answer is spoiled by a giggle.

Salem passes a hand back over his hair, pushing aside the escapee strands.
"Little red pills," he says, somewhat dourly now. "You get my message?"

"Too late, yes," John replies to Salem - rising quickly so Rina can't take
advantage of his sitting state. He frowns slightly, looking past her to
the halfmoon, then back to Rina. "You didn't take anything you don't
know?"

Rina catches her lower lip between her teeth, giving John a wild, direct
look, euphoria clear in the fey, dark eyes. "My black angel's a
spoilsport," she says. "/He/ wouldn't dance with me. I'm'n'a hafta teach
him too, sometime..."

She laughs again, spinning around in a dizzy circle, the black eyes
landing on Salem when she comes to an unsteady halt. "Mister
self-destruct," she murmurs. "Needs to learn ta chill out every once in a
while. We oughta find him a girl..." She tips her head, regarding him
darkly. "Y'straight, right?"

John just sighs softly, and nods a few times - he steps forward to slip
his hands around Rina's waist from behind, and tilts his head to watche
Salem thoughtfully for the answer.

She is decidedly distracted by the physical contact, when John finally
embraces her; her eyes drift closed, and she tips her head back, reaching
back for his hips with both hands. A low, pleased sound comes from her
throat, wordless.

The mask cracks slightly, consternation and irritation being let slip.
With an air of long-suffering, Salem says, "Yes. I'm straight." He eyes
Rina sourly, then glances at John.

John hitches a shoulder in a half shrug, and lets a hand trail up along
Rina's side, to her neck - brushing her under the chin. "Drugs," he grunts
wearily - as if that explains everything. "Thanks for keeping an eye
open."

Rina looks across at Salem, dark and dangerous. "Mmm, thought so," she
says softly. One hand slides over John's hip, idly.

Salem inclines his head, mollified at the thanks, though it's clear that
Rina's questioning of his sexuality still needles the man. He gives her
another look, then takes a breath and turns back to John. "You want me to
leave you two alone? I can give you a report... another time."

"If you would," John replies flatly. There's little excitement apparent in
his posture or his gaze, as Rina leans back against him, sliding hands
over his hips.

Rina merely watches the dark-haired man, wetting her lips, the disturbing
wildness still in her eyes.

Salem says, "Right." Brisk. Businesslike. Completely. Of course. He nods
once, avoiding Rina's eyes now, and heads out the door, to the chill
October night.