Eavesdropping

[hazlogs]

4 November 2014

Currently in Saint Claire, it is a cloudy day. The temperature is 55 
degrees Fahrenheit (12 degrees Celsius). The wind is currently coming in 
from the southwest at 5 mph. The barometric pressure reading is 30.24 and 
rising, and the relative humidity is 86 percent. The dewpoint is 51 degrees 
Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius.)

Currently the moon is in the waxing Full (Ahroun) Moon phase (82% full).

West Bridge Street

The desperate hopelessness of the industrial sector just to the south makes 
itself felt here, in crowding tenements and dying trees. Many of the people 
here leave their homes to go to the factories and warehouses, and to return 
again to noise, crowding, and the tempers of too many people in too small a 
space. The street is a patchwork of potholes and attempted fillings of 
them, cracked across with the imperfection of the work. The occasional shop 
is tucked in here, small building among those a few stories taller. From 
13th to 15th Streets, every inch of land is used, mostly for buildings, 
occasionally for a small, struggling garden which even in the best years 
cannot hope to provide all the needed vegetables.

It's dark out and Val wanders the streets with her hood pulled up over her 
hair, obscuring it and part of her face. Looking like a fourteen-year old 
has some serious disadvantages and one of them, is that traveling alone in 
certain areas makes you a potential target. Moreso, than an adult. Not that 
this area is all that safe for any woman, all on their own.

Quoz shuffles along Bridge Street, pausing every now and then to check a 
garbage can for loot. His voluminous hoodie is also drawn up so that his 
face and head are almost completely obscured. He notices the young woman 
out for a walk and checks up and down the street to make sure there aren't 
any miscreants about.

Ramos doesn't have a hood, though his unwashed black hair does hang over 
his face a lot. He's hunkered down in the doorway of an empty four-story 
apartment building, an old wreck of a building covered in graffiti and 
occupied by trash, vermin, and the homeless. It may be night, but his eyes 
are still covered with the ever-present welder's goggles.

Val scoots to the side to avoid a group of young males heading in the 
opposite direction. In doing so, she catches sight of Quoz and slowly makes 
her way towards him. "Hey, Quoz."

Quoz looks up as someone calls his name, then peers under the girl's hood. 
"Oh! Hello there, Val. didn't recognize you there. How are you this evening?"

Ramos's nostrils flare as he inhales once, twice, three times. He looks 
over toward Val and Quoz, though he's pretty well outside normal human 
hearing range of their conversation.

Val smiles, as she pushes her hood back a bit, revealing her brightly dyed 
hair. "Yea, I'm doing well. Got a big weight off my shoulders. Where is 
that little rat-friend of yours?"

Quoz hmms? "You mean Iago? Oh, he's around here somewhere." The rat pokes 
his head out of a hole chewed in the top of a shoebox in the cart. "Ah, 
there you are. Say hello to the nice young lady." Iago squeaks at Val and 
disappears back into the box. "What weight is that, if I may ask?" He 
glances over toward the man in the doorway, as if trying to place his face.

Ramos looks away as soon as Quoz turns an eye in his direction, staring off 
across the street at a knot of tough-looking young women in tattoos and 
denim and expensive high-top sneakers. They pass around a bottle of 
something, smoke cigarettes, and talk amongst themselves with hard, 
smirking, cocky expression as they watch the street.

Val reaches in to her pocket and pulls out an energy bar. "Finally got to 
see the Buzzard that was made from Beth's Egg, put down." Drawing in a 
breath, she holds it as she steps closer to the Gnawer and his cart. 
Opening it, she breaks off a piece and hands it to the rat, before offering 
the rest to Quoz.

Quoz looks blankly at Val for a moment. "Buzzard? I take it that's a good 
thing?" Iago pokes his head out again, then sniffs at the piece of energy 
bar. He nibbles a corner, then takes the rest back into his box. Quoz holds 
up a hand. "Oh, no, I'm good, thanks."

A taxi roars by, going way too fast down the mostly empty street, and Ramos 
winces.

Val takes a step back, before she starts breathing normally again. "Yes. 
It's complicated. Buzzards are... Corax that serve the Wyrm. They're made 
from the stolen eggs of pre-change Corax. I found a girl that my mom looks 
after. She is damaged. Mentally disabled, because her egg was stolen and 
used to make a Buzzard."

Quoz winces and inhales sharply through his teeth at that news. "Well, I'm 
glad it was put down. Is the girl going to be okay?" He also flinches a bit 
at the speeding taxi.

Ramos gets up and withdraws deeper into the doorway of the derelict building.

Val shakes her head. "No. Again, it is complicated. Loosing an Egg is 
rather like loosing a piece of one's soul. Beth is permanently damaged. Her 
soul is incomplete. We're looking after her. All we can do."

Quoz nods. "I understand. Let me know if there's anything we can do. I have 
a bit of news, there was a dog-fighting ring broken up recently by Thane 
and Brom and a few others. They were operating out of an abandoned 
warehouse, but they might be somewhere else now. I don't know if they're of 
the Wyrm, but keep an eye out and spread the word. The cops are alerted to 
them. Anything else new with you?"

Val shakes her head. "Not really. But, when the Buzzard was taken out, a 
Spiral cub was found. A human infant, with a Spiral fetch attached to it. 
Along with the kid, there were five young female wolves. Spiral Kin for 
certain. No idea if any are Garou."

The widening of Quoz's eyes in surprise is just visible under the hood. 
"*Really*? My word. Now there's a switch. Usually, it's them taking ours. 
Maybe we can save him. Or her. Who's looking after the child now? And the 
wolves? This is a great opportunity."

Ramos reappears in the doorway, half-hiding around the doorframe, lurking, 
looking toward Val and Quoz with an intent expression.

"Her," Val supplies, a faint smile playing across her lips. "An eye for an 
eye. Balance. Raven lost one of his kids, but we've managed to save one 
Garou child. Alicia, Dakota, Charlene. They've taken responsibility for the 
wolves and child." A smirk. "Wasn't gonna go anywhere near Dakota while she 
was coddling that kid, that's for certain. Anyway. Talk with them. I'm 
gonna scoot along home."

Quoz chuckles. "No, wouldn't want to get between mama bear and her cub. I 
will, you stay safe! Goodnight!" He glances over toward Ramos, who is 
eyeing them now, then heads in his direction. "Say, I remember you, you 
were there during the earthquake, right? How are you doing?"

Ramos stares unsmilingly at Quoz for nearly half a minute, then ducks back 
into the darkness of the old building.